6:24pm, Outside Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville

Bronze couldn't help but feel a moment of gratitude for Shining Armor’s insistence that she continue to sleep in the barracks after becoming his squire. It had meant years of bad sleep, but also crisis training and emergency drills. Now, even as her heart dropped into her stomach at the news of Rarity's kidnapping, she ran breathless after Winona, doing everything she could to catch up with the dog girl. Yet as worried and panicked as she was, a part of her mind was on autopilot, picking out signs in the trail of blood the raiders had left behind.

As Winona crested a hill, a heavy clod of dirt caught her square in the jaw just as she started to bark in the direction of the kidnappers. Rocks mixed in with the dirt and mud left the canine girl stunned and staggering, but Bronze was ready. Rushing to the dog’s side, she had only a second to survey the sight before her. Two Diamond Dogs stood together by a half dug hole, while a third hunkered in the depression with Rarity’s bound form over his shoulder, broadening the hole with one massive paw while building a pile of loose dirt. The others were swiftly building clods of dirt, and were about to toss another chunk at Winona. Bronze brought her shield to bear in Winona’s defense, completely shielding the small dog as she ignored the warring feelings of anger and desperation at Rarity being kidnapped. The muddy chunk of dirt that splatted against her shield hardly even registered as memorable to Bronze, but before she could start searching for the renegades, the volley of flying dirt and rocks increased, leaving her too preoccupied with making sure Winona was safe to take any other action.

It was Barb who finally broke the onslaught. Shaking with rage and blue around the cheeks, the tiny dragon rushed forward, around Bronze’s shield, belly to the grass before suddenly leaping up with a roar. “Give her back! She's mine!” The little dragon's outcry was followed by a shocking burst of blue flame totally foreign to the green fire that Bronze associated with Barb. That was something Bronze was going to have to ask Dusk about later.

With a break in the shower of earth, Bronze knew she had to do something. “Winona, watch over Barb!” Bronze roared at the dog before rushing past the shaking dragon, sword at the ready. Out of the corner of her eye, Bronze saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash rush in from the other side of the clearing, pinning the Diamond Dogs in an accidental pincer attack.

As they closed in on the dogs, the mutts’ retreat unfolded before Bronze’s eyes. The largest of the dogs leapt into the tunnel, Rarity’s bound body over his shoulder. No longer throwing dirt defensively, the other two dogs followed immediately. As they fell, they tore vicious blows into the walls of their hole, and it was already caving in on their heads as Bronze’s first swing cut the air over the head of the last dog. Dash brought her lance forward to strike, but the ground under her feet collapsed, the hole crumbling closed and leaving the two pegasi sprawled in the dirt.

Barb jumped into the new depression immediately, crawling forward and digging with all four limbs at the collapsed tunnel. The loose soft dirt that had caved in did the little dragoness no favors, pouring back in nearly as quickly as she could dig it out.

Clambering to her feet, Bronze made sure that Dash was fine after the athlete had slammed into the armored pegasus. Bronze cursed Thunderlane for shattering her impact greaves. “With my greaves, I’d only need to make one good landing and the tunnel would be cl-”

Feeling like a fool, Bronze threw her arms around Barb's belly and hefted her out of the shallow hole, spinning around on one foot to face Dash. In a commanding tone, Bronze called out at the other mare. “Dash, clear that tunnel! One hard drop and you'll open it up!”

Only able to stare blankly, Dash threw her arms out wide before gesturing exasperatedly at the tunnel. “What do you mean, Bronze? You’d need something like impact greaves, and there's no way Applejack’s earth pony ones will work for me!”

Bronze heard a soft growling from behind her, and turned to see Barb impatiently stalking around the hole Dash was standing in. Taking a second to reach out and pet her muzzle with one hand, Bronze scowled at Dash before thrusting her chin at her boots. ”So? You've got your own pair, so stop wasting time! The longer you take, the further away they get with Rarity!”

For a moment Dash just stared, flabbergasted at what Bronze meant, before slowly shaking her head. “But I don't have--" then her eyes widened in realization and her voice rose a full pitch higher in excitement. "YOU GOT ME IMPACT BOOTS?! Oh Rarity, here we come!"

In a burst of furious effort, Dash launched away from the ground, wings beating the air so enthusiastically, she spiraled even as she gained elevation. Coming to a halt high up in the air, she drew an enthusiastic breath then cried out. “Here… we… go!~”

Dropping out of the sky feet first, Dash made every extra effort to align her impact with the soft pit of dirt that marked the caved-in tunnel. She beat her wings hard to add the power needed to turn her casual flight into a blow that would spread the impact greaves’ magic through the loosely packed dirt.

When she hit the ground, the collapsed tunnel exploded open, throwing dirt and rocks everywhere. There was a minor vibration even as she disappeared from sight into the darkness of the Diamond Dogs’ cave.

After a moment, Dash’s voice echoed out of the tunnel, sputtering and spitting dirt out of her mouth. “Shit, these are way more powerful than the ones from school.” Despite how Dash panted for breath, Bronze just knew an eager grin was spreading over her lips. “So cool!”

Taking Dash’s excited tone to mean she was fine, Bronze gave Applejack a nod. She moved to kneel while the larger mare helped Winona scramble over the side of the reopened tunnel into the darkness below. As Barb started to clamber over the edge of the hole, the guard put her hands on the dragon’s shoulders and stopped her. When the dragoness turned to look at Bronze, her slitted eyes were determined and angry, and there were flickers of blue flame at the side of her mouth for a moment. Taking a deep breath, Bronze steadied herself before speaking. “Alright Barb, now comes the important part. We need you-”

Stiffening up and squaring her shoulders, Barb’s growl cut Bronze off. “To guide you in the tunnels, right? Don't worry. I know caves are dark and dangerous, but I can follow Rarity’s perfume no problem! And besides, I'm a dragon, I can see way better in the dark than you four. Even Winona’s nose will go practically blind if the cave gets too damp or rank.”

Suddenly confronted by Barb’s determination and logic, Bronze was torn as she gazed into the darkness of the pit. She was already struggling to make out Applejack’s hat as the tall mare descended deeper into the tunnels. “I really shouldn’t take her in, it’s too dangerous, especially since we don’t know how many dogs are in this pack…” Looking back at Barb, Bronze saw that the tiny dragoness was practically hovering on her toes, tail whipping from side-to-side with impatience.

Realizing just what she was considering, Bronze couldn't help but feel guilty as she scooped the little dragoness up into her arms, careful to not pinch her against the heavy armor. “Al- Alright, Barb. But if anything happens down there, get behind Applejack or Rainbow Dash. Dusk’s already going to clip my wings for letting Rarity get kidnapped, and if anything happened to you… he'd never forgive me. And neither would I.”

Floating up over the lip of the hole with a few easy beats of her wings, Bronze heard the way Barb's claws scrambled as she searched for safe places to hold onto the large pieces of her her plate armor. Slowly descending into the hole, it was Barb's soft but glowing breath that helped reveal the tunnels around the hole as she joined Dash and Applejack deep underground. Nearly twenty feet down, the light from the hole above barely made an impact on the darkness, with three tunnels trailing off in radically different directions. A soft yip from the darkness made Bronze leap to the ready, half-drawing her sword before Applejack’s hand came to a rest on her wrist.

Speaking softly, the towering mare's voice was barely a whisper. “That’s Winona. She says she’s got a hold of their trail thanks to Barb making one of them bleed. Want me to lead? Winona and I don't need to talk a lot to understand each other.”

Gently lowering Barb to the floor of the tunnel, Bronze was forced into another decision, glad that this time it was easier to make. “Alright, Applejack, but keep your warhammer ready. Remember what happened to those Wonderbolt Cadets the last time they had a run-in with Diamond Dogs. Their noses are better than their ears, and their ears are way better than ours.”

Grinning confidently, Applejack hefted her warhammer from her hip to rest on her armored shoulder with a clank as metal hit metal. “Don't worry. After working together with Winona for years, there’s nothing we can’t track.”

Allowing Applejack to take the lead into the darkness, Bronze placed a hand on Dash’s arm to make the other mare hold back, moving slowly to keep Applejack at the edge of her sight before whispering carefully to Dash. “Look, Dash… your lance isn't going to be nearly as useful down here. There's too little space for you to pick up speed or take flight. Dodging like you usually do is gonna be a lot harder, too. What I need you to do for now is to stay a good twenty feet behind me and watch our backs. You’ve probably got the best eyes down here besides Barb, so if something sneaks up on us from behind, you'll have the best chance of spotting them. And if we need your lance, you'll have the distance to get up some speed and blitz anyone in our way.”

At first Bronze could see in Dash’s expression how much she disliked being told to slow down, to watch their backs, to let Applejack and Bronze handle things up front. But as Bronze explained, the resentment drained from Dash’s expression, and she finally gave a small nod. Speaking nowhere nearly as softly, Dash adjusted her pace while keeping her lance ready. “Okay, yeah, I get it. Just don't make me wait behind and watch over Barb and Winona when things get crazy, alright?”

Bronze tried not to wince at Dash’s volume, but was glad as her pace slowed and allowed her to drift back to the rear of their group. “Sure, Dash. I promise you'll be a part of whatever happens. Not gonna separate the group, not down here.”

When she was finally alone with Barb, Bronze looked away from the dragoness, unsheathing her long dagger from its sheath at her hip. Flipping the dagger around so she held it by the blade, Bronze thrust the handle at the girl. “Look, Dusk’s gonna kill me for bringing you down here anyways, so take this. I've seen you with a knife in the kitchen, I know you're not gonna cut yourself. Just… look, if a stranger comes at you, grip it with both hands and aim for the chest, alright?”

Taken back by Bronze’s offer, Barb looked hesitantly at the blade, her eyes glowing faintly in the dark. After a moment, however, her eyes narrowed and she nodded firmly. The tiny dragon reached out, taking a grip on the handle and slowly pulled it close. Bronze’s instincts instantly demanded she correct the girl's grip, but the clashing innocence and seriousness in the little dragoness’ eyes as she held the foot and a half long blade reassured Bronze that she'd made the right choice. Visibly swallowing, nervousness apparent in the way her spines quivered, Barb gave her a little nod, struggling to offer a shaky smile. “I- I understand. I won’t let you down, Bronze.”

8:20pm, Fluttershy’s Cottage, Ponyville

Gently pulling the blanket up to Sweetie Belle’s shoulders, Fluttershy sat down on the edge of the couch beside the filly. She tenderly brushed her free hand through the filly’s hair, grinning a little before she turned to look over at the other the girls as they got comfortable in their cots. “Everypony settled in? Does anyone need a glass of water? You all remember where the bathroom is, right?”

Like a tired chorus, the four fillies offered Fluttershy reassurance with their mixed cries that amounted to: “Of course we do Fluttershy,” or “Sure, I remember.”

As the pegasus nodded at the fillies and stood up, it was Sweetie Belle’s soft-spoken request that stopped Fluttershy from joining Dusk on the porch swing. “Fluttershy? Could you sing us a song? I just can't sleep if I don't get a lullaby from Rarity.”

Smiling at the way the timid little foal half hid under her blanket when the other girls giggled, Fluttershy sat back down and gently stroked Sweetie’s head before clearing her throat. “Well, I suppose that I can try… but I'm nowhere near as good a singer as she is.”

With an enthusiastic nod and even brighter grin, Sweetie Belle tucked her blanket under her chin. Taking that as a sign to start, Fluttershy brushed her hair back over her shoulders and placed a hand on her throat, summoning the courage to perform under the watchful eyes of the four foals.

“Hush now, quiet now.

It's time to lay your sleepy head.

Hush now, quiet now.

It's time to go to bed...”

Her eyes only growing larger with glee as Fluttershy sang, Sweetie Belle suddenly jumped up from under her covers, standing on the couch and clapping her hands together and cheering for Fluttershy. Realizing what she'd done, Sweetie Belle dropped to her knees, blushed and grabbed Fluttershy’s hands. “Oh! I'm sorry, Fluttershy. But... I know! I know this song! Let me sing it with you, Fluttershy!” With a deep breath Sweetie Belle turned away from the other foals, letting her loose hair cover her face so she could hide her blush. Clasping her hands together, Sweetie Belle began singing with more enthusiasm and volume than artistic skill, projecting loud enough to make Fluttershy visibly wince.

“Hush now! Quiet now!

It's time to lay your sleepy head!

Said hush now! Quiet now!

It's time to go to bed!”

Fluttershy was shocked as Sweetie Belle began dancing on the couch with her eyes closed. The little filly was singing at the top of her lungs while swaying her hips side-to-side and swinging her arms in the opposite direction, all to her more energetic rhythm. Fluttershy winced, unsure of how to calm the enthusiastic filly down even as she reached out to softly touch the foal’s arm. “Okay Sweetie, that was-”

Lost in her own world, Sweetie Belle was totally unaware of Fluttershy’s attempt to get her attention. Sweetie Belle’s voice rose higher while her tail began to sweep back and forth over her hips, the heavy beat carrying her away.

“Driftin' (driftin') off to sleep!

Exciting day behind you!

Driftin' (driftin') off to sleep!

Let the joy of dreamland find you!”

Watching as the foal got more energetic and louder, Fluttershy attempted to cut the foal off once more. The other foals were all sitting up now, clapping along with Sweetie’s song. “Thank you Sweetie, um-”

“Hush now! Quiet now!

Lay your sleepy head!

Said hush now! Quiet now!

It's time to go to bed!”

Spinning around on one foot, Sweetie tried to strike a dramatic pose while throwing her hands high over her head, jumping onto the back of the couch. She was grinning wildly at the other girls, who were already starting to cheer her on. But Sweetie Belle found herself off balance, and quickly began to slide forward, tipping while her arms wildly swung over her head to try and desperately correct her balance. The filly landed hard, face first on the couch with a muffled cry of, “Ow!”

The noise of somepony singing their lungs out made Dusk sit up as the glass of the window near his seat on the porch swing began to rattle and shake. Slipping a bookmark into the tome he had been reading, his fingers traced the gilded title even as he turned to gaze into the cottage. ‘Legends of Equestrian Myth’. It had seemed like such a good-natured storybook for foals, yet so many of the stories resembled the monsters from his research for Shining Armor… except for the story his brother had mentioned about one named Tirek. Studious as he was, Dusk felt it worthwhile to hunt the novel for hidden references, but after months of on-and-off research, he had made so little progress in his brother's request that guilt was setting in.

Setting the tome aside, Dusk looked in the window, and could make out Fluttershy holding little Sweetie Belle in her lap on the couch, while the other foals rolled in their cots, kicking their legs and laughing excitedly. Wondering just what he had missed, Dusk rose, wandering to the door and knocking lightly before calling out for permission to enter.

Two hundred feet away, Henrietta had a very different opinion from Dusk about the noise. Stumbling from the hen house, still spooked from her confrontation with the foals hours ago, she peered around the empty and dark yard. Seeing nothing capable of stopping her, she rushed to the far side of the henhouse, pecking at promising patches of grass along the way. Her destination, a gap in the fencing, was too alluring to ignore forever, however.

On the Everfree Forest side of the cottage, it promised fresh grass, and all the fat lazy worms an adventurous hen like her could only dream of. Arriving at the slightly broken part of the fence, she eyed it for a long moment. With a determined cluck, she made a hop, and struggling valiantly, wiggled her way through the broken part of the wire fence. Then, walking around with purpose, she stretched her wings in the gentle breeze of newfound freedom, not minding the four or five feathers she had lost getting out. The promise of unsuspecting, juicy worms drew her towards the treeline. She was only able to maintain a casual pace because there were so many clumps of grass that had yet to be investigated by any of the other greedy hens in her flock.

With a weary sigh, Dusk dropped back onto the swaying porch swing, one hand tracing over the cover of the tome he had left there. Closing the door behind herself, Fluttershy leaned back against it, closing her eyes and hanging her head. As Dusk watched, her whole body seemed to droop, with even the tip of her wings lowering to brush down against the deck.

Sliding over to one end of the two-pony swing, Dusk put the old and weathered book on the window sill. Patting the empty half of the swing, Dusk smiled at the tired mare. “Come on, sit down, Fluttershy. You've earned a rest by this point.”

Lifting her weary head, Fluttershy gave him a little smile in return before nodding. Pushing off the door, she walked around the swing so she could slump down next to Dusk, leaning heavily against him as she rested her head on his shoulder. She pressed herself in close against his side, her long tail flicking up and over the far side of the swing. When she finally seemed comfortable, she let out a small yawn that made Dusk chuckle. “Mmm… thank you, Dusk.”

Tentatively slipping an arm across her back, he lay his open palm on the soft curve of her plush hip, squeezing her against him for a short moment. Fluttershy smiled, letting out a happy sigh. Dusk was surprised to feel her wing brush across his back and lay there, the feathers tickling his neck as they curled in against him. He was even more surprised to feel her reach out for his free hand, pulling it into her lap. Yawning again, she interlaced their fingers and began stroking his arm with her free hand. Dusk considered his next words carefully, unsure of how to deal with the normally shy mare being so… open with her affection towards him. He rather enjoyed it, and didn’t want to scare her off.

He kissed the top of her pink mane gently, and Fluttershy murmured at the gentle pressure before she nuzzled in against his neck. Hardly daring to breathe, Dusk’s voice was barely above a whisper when he finally spoke. “Are fillies always so quick to tease their friends like that? Shining Armor was always so serious after he joined the guard academy, except when we were talking about his hobbies. He got so excited when Barb took after his love of comics.”

Only as he finished talking about his brother did Dusk notice that Fluttershy’s breathing had smoothed out, and she had ceased stroking his arm. With her laying against his side, practically having claimed his arm as hers, the stallion realized belatedly that she had fallen asleep. He would have to either wake her up or carry her inside without waking her somehow, assuming she really had drifted off - and he found himself reluctant to do either, as comfortable as the mare’s weight against him was.

He settled himself in to wait, softly stroking his thumb along the back of her hand. He turned to look out at the sky, resting his chin on her head lightly, listening to her calm breathing. Every so often he chuckled a little to himself when she exhaled, her breath tickling his neck.

Dusk nearly jumped out of his seat when she suddenly spoke up, voice quiet and curious. “Just what do you think the foals were trying to make when they... ‘fixed’ the side table they broke this afternoon? It doesn’t even remotely look like a coffee table, but... er, I’m not really sure what it is anymore.”

Barely stifling a yawn after her unexpected question, Dusk turned his head to look where he had set down the table hours before. Sitting forlornly at the end of the deck, the mutilated remains of the Cutie Mark Crusaders Carpenters first and last project was a mystery. The fillies had managed to reconnect the legs of the end table, though one was on backwards and another upside down. They had then tried to reattach the top, but things had clearly gone wrong. Shaking his head slightly, Dusk said, “I really think they were trying their best to just fix it and got carried away again…”

Yawning broadly as she turned over to stare again at the remains of the table, she shook her head ruefully. Shifting herself, she nuzzled Dusk’s neck again, putting more of her weight against Dusk's side. She drew her other wing to rest across the front of them, sighing contentedly against the crook of his neck. With Fluttershy’s wing now covering his front, Dusk got a whiff of Fluttershy’s earthy, natural scent, and he inhaled deeply, a familiar tingle crawling down his horn and through his spine.

Voice a soft whisper, Fluttershy’s lips moved against his neck, just the barest brush against his skin as she spoke. “Maybe… but I still think I could convince them to make Angel a really good stepping stool, if they wanted to try again.”

Dusk’s mind only paid partial attention at Fluttershy’s words, most of his focus on the electrifyingly light contact of her lips against his neck. The mare gripped his arm tightly, and leaned forward, her heavy, distracting chest resting against Dusk. She let out a soft breath against his neck, before pressing her lips against his cutie mark softly. Dusk found himself lost for words for a few moments, but Fluttershy’s next act surprised him even more.

“Thank you for helping today, Dusk,” she whispered, before placing another kiss against his cutie mark. Sitting up taller, Dusk squeezed her hand and hip, head tilting away to give her more access to his neck.

Clearing his throat, Dusk tried to speak, cursing his voice when it cracked. “I-it was nothing, Fluttershy. Today was… very ni-ICE!” Dusk yelped when he felt Fluttershy nip his cutie mark, not having expected the reserved mare to bite him like that.

Fluttershy giggled against his neck, once more kissing the stars she found there. Nuzzling in against him, she suddenly froze, eyes going wide. Her wings snapped away from Dusk, gluing themselves back against her back as she tried to lean away from Dusk. “Oh! Oh, Dusk, I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to, to… Um, well, I just-” When she pulled away from him, Dusk saw that she was blushing brightly, trying to move to the other side of the swing.

Seeing and hearing that she was about to panic, Dusk gently gripped her hands. Trying to meet her gaze, he said, “Fluttershy, please, it’s fine.”

He smiled at her, trying to calm her down. The now-nervous mare shyly met his eyes, still blushing a bright scarlet. When she spoke, Dusk had to strain to hear her, despite how close the two were. “I-it’s just that, um, Dusk, I was so comfortable, an-and you were so warm, and I just, um, well…” She looked down again, to where he held her hands, and her bangs fell across her face, hiding her from him. “A-are you sure it was fine?”

Grinning widely now, Dusk leaned forward enough to kiss the top of her pink mane. “Yes, Fluttershy, and I was quite comfortable as well. If you’re feeling up for it, I’d like to do that again… your wings were very warm.” Dusk held a soft smile, waiting to see what her reaction was.

She was quiet for a few moments, though her thumbs were still running along the back of his hands. Dusk saw her wings ruffle before settling in once more against her back. When she finally looked up at him, her face was only slightly less scarlet, and her bangs still covered most of her eyes. “A-are you sure, Dusk?”

Dusk nodded once, and heard the mare give off a happy squeal before finding himself pressed against the back of the swing the next second. Fluttershy wasted no time in cuddling herself against him once more, her arms trapping one of his in her lap again. Her long tail flicked away from the edge of the bench, coming to land on their interlocked hands, acting as a sort of soft blanket.

As she nuzzled in against his neck, her wings seemed to twitch undecidedly. One second they would extend towards Dusk, before returning to her back. Finally, one wing hesitantly moved to cover his back, brushing over him lightly before resting on him.

When Fluttershy let out a content sigh, Dusk brushed her mane from her forehead to kiss it. “Thank you, Fluttershy.”

Smiling against his neck, and face still ablaze, her lips brushed against his cutie mark before she asked, “For?”

“Trusting me, and letting me help you today. It was certainly enlightening.” Dusk brought his free arm under her wings and around to her waist, pulling her in tight against him.

Still too giddy to stop herself from smiling widely, Fluttershy giggled before replying. “Oh, Dusk…” She kissed his neck again, before tucking her face in and breathing his scent in deep. She felt a delicious shiver go down her back and through her wings. She shuffled her wings before settling them back where they were, the one around Dusk’s back hugging him tight against her.

Yawning, Fluttershy said, “Dusk, would you mind waiting out here with me until Harry returns? He tends to get back late, but I always wait for him. I-I’d love the company, if yo-” She fell silent as she felt Dusk’s lips against her temple.

Dusk’s lips brushed against her hair as he spoke softly. “Of course, Fluttershy. It’s such a nice night out, as well, it would be a shame to not spend it with such a lovely mare.” He grinned when he felt Fluttershy tighten her hold on him for a moment. Dusk found himself once more thanking Princess Celestia for sending him to Ponyville in the first place. He’d never have met such amazing mares if it hadn’t been for her.

Interrupting his thoughts, Fluttershy’s voice sounded drowsy. “Oh, Dusk…” Yawning, she settled herself more comfortably against him before continuing. “I’m so lucky Rarity introduced you to me…” Her lips brushed his cutie mark again, before she fell silent.

Dusk waited for a time, but Fluttershy didn’t say anything else, or move beyond her level breathing. Her tail twitched from time to time where it covered their hands, tickling his arm slightly. Smiling, he squeezed her softly before gazing up at the sky once more, leaning his head back. Watching the moon in its course overhead, Dusk wondered how Bronze’s training session with the other girls had gone, and hoped that Rarity’s trip had been worth the effort.

Time unknown, Somewhere underground, outside Ponyville?

Still in the chain net, Rarity had no clue just how far the Diamond Dogs had carried her when the growling behemoth finally put her down on a pile of musky rags. They had clearly been used by someone with poor hygiene as a bed - and had gone without a good washing for far too long. Face down in the vile, reeking pile of rags, she fought for breath while wriggling around to at least lay on her back.

The next shock to the fastidious mare was how shoddy the chain net she’d been bound in had been made. The chains that had bound her legs together easily fell apart now that she was no longer being held over that brute’s shoulder. Free of the chains and no longer face down in the dirty rags, the reeking musk thinned, but she found no improvement in the quality of the air. Finally looking around, she saw that in the doorway, two of the bigger dogs stood chest to chest, growling under their breath and slapping each other's pecs in hard and ringing blows.

Unable to help herself, Rarity’s mind snapped into action. “These dogs act worse than some brutish filly, trying to impress a colt she's got a crush on. Don't tell me they've already forgot about kidnapping me? With chains this weak, I just need to wait for a moment to find a clearing and then… and then I'm still lost in the middle of their den. Damn... By the Light, I swear I'm not going to get lost in some dirty pig sty!”

As if the dogs heard her thoughts, they both turned, letting a smaller one pass between them, a metal chain and collar carried casually in his hands. With a mild shrug he barked something at the guards before pointing at Rarity. “Smart pony, right? Smart pony knows why she's here? Smart pony knows her magic finds shinies... So smart pony, use your magic. Find us shinies! Dig them up! Do a good job, find us many much shinies, and smart pony gets fed. But! Do a bad job, smart pony gets to join the digger dogs. And if she doesn't dig better than the digger dogs, digger dogs get pony for dinner!”

Staring wide-eyed at the tiny Diamond Dog, Rarity had to suppress a giggle. The dog was smaller than she was! He was half the size of the two playing guard. Remembering how fragile the chain net had been, Rarity turned her keen eye for quality on the chain and collar he carried, struggling to stifle a disdainful snort of laughter. “Is he serious!? I might be a dainty mare, but look at him! Apple Bloom or Scootaloo could handle this poor little puppy. He can't expect me to take him seriously. Still… It'll be even easier to escape from him if I can lull the poor fool into a false sense of security.”

Gasping dramatically, Rarity lifted her arms defensively, but only ineffectually batting at the dog as he collared her with the cheap and tacky black leather collar. She would never have embarrassed Fluttershy with such an awful looking thing. Still though, she put up a show for the dog, tearing up and whimpering. “You stole me from my home just to be some kind of laborer? But I'm a unicorn! I'm better at magic than brute labor!~” Pausing briefly to bat her eyes at him and play up the fragile mare, Rarity tried to push the dog into dismissing her as weak. “Surely you won't let my magic go to waste!” Curling her lip to deeply pout, Rarity waited, wanting to see how the dog would react.

The small dog swung at her face, catching her cheek with the leather lead that was attached to the collar. Though the blow was hardly that impressive, Rarity still had to bury her fury at being struck. Keeping up her act, she instead inched back, holding her hands up defensively in front of her face even as the dog waved the leather strap at her threateningly. When he spoke, it was with what she assumed he thought was authority. “Shut up pony! You get up. Use your magic and show us where the shiny stones are. Do it right, and maybe we can let fancy pony have dinner tonight!”

Apple Bloom woke to the sound of Sweetie Belle’s muffled cry of shock. Shooting up in bed, she looked around, ready to rush to the little filly’s aid. Instead of apple thieves or something from the Everfree Forest, she saw only Scootaloo whispering to the younger girl in an attempt to hush her as gently as she could. “Sorry, Sweetie, but I could have sworn I heard something going on out by the chicken coop after Dusk and Fluttershy fell asleep. And you got the best view of them through your window.”

Blushing brightly and stuffing her blanket into her mouth, Sweetie Belle nodded silently, eyes wide. After a short moment, though, she tried to ask the pegasus a question that was muffled by her attempt to stay silent, yet somehow still talk around the blanket.

Stretching a little to get a knot out of her back, Apple Bloom was unsurprised to find that Scootaloo was up to some sort of mischief, even in the middle of the night. She walked as silently as she could to avoid waking up Dinky. When she settled directly between her two friends, her voice was soft, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

“Just what’re y’all talking about? There ain't nothing interesting moving out there. Even over by our place, we almost never get things wandering out of the Everfree Forest. Just the occasional timber wolf or two.”

Turning away from the window to scowl at Apple Bloom, Scootaloo huffed her annoyance, flipping a hand through her wild hair. “Well I saw something! Swear to Celestia! It was right near the chicken house and I just wanted a better look.”

Rolling her eyes, Apple Bloom tapped her fingers on the window to emphasize her point that there was nopony moving out there. “Heck, all of Fluttershy’s critter friends have gone ta bed at this point. So, how about you go to bed too? Besides, it's a coop, not a chicken hou-”

Stiffening up with giddy excitement, Sweetie Belle’s blanket fell away from her face and she pushed closer to the window while grabbing Apple Bloom’s shoulder and shaking her. Her voice was an excited whisper, and her other hand pointed towards the treeline. “Apple Bloom! I just saw it too! It's all white and near the back of the chicken coop by the fence!”

As all three fillies crowded together at the window to try and make out what Sweetie Belle had seen, Dinky rolled over in her cot, rubbing her eyes with her balled fists before talking through a sleepy yawn. “So-?” Stopping to crack her jaw as she flopped back down on the bed, she continued speaking while pulling her pillow over her head. “So, why don't we just go look and find out what it is? I can do a light spell. That way if it's nothing, we can just go back to sleep, right?”

Delighted by Dinky’s suggestion, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom rushed away from the window, racing to their cots to start changing from their nightgowns back into their clothing from earlier today. Grinning wildly, Scootaloo called out to Apple Bloom, her voice gaining volume in her eagerness. “Oh! I bet it’s a hen that got kicked out of the chicken house for snoring!”

Sticking her tongue out at Scootaloo, Apple Bloom rushed to pull on her jeans, shooting back. “No way! First of all, it's a chicken coop, or a hen house. Not a chicken house! Besides, it's probably just some loose paper or something! There’s no way that chickens snore!”

Sticking her tongue out in return, Scootaloo blew a raspberry at the farm filly. “How do you know!? You live in Granny's place, right? Or do they make you sleep in the hen coop when you're caught breaking the rules?”

Jumping to her feet and pulling her jeans up over her nightgown, Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, and nearly shouted back, frustration clear in her voice. “Chicken coop!”

Curling her lip while pulling at her shoes, Scootaloo was quick to fire back with an open snark. “Hen hut!”

From under her blanket, Dinky groaned, pulling the sheet back just enough to look over at Sweetie Belle. “I guess this means we're going out now, aren't we? Cause if we don't, they're going to keep getting louder and fighting until Dusk and Fluttershy come to see what's making all the noise.”

Pausing as she straightened the hemline of her dress around her shoulders, Sweetie Belle jumped a little bit and turned to look at Dinky as she peered out of her covers. “You don't have to… I'm … I'm just fine with light spells too, and there's no reason to get both of us in trouble if Dusk or Fluttershy catch us outside this late.”

Throwing off her blanket and fishing around for her pants, Dinky shook her head before looking up again at the others and grinning. “Nuh, uh! I'm just as much a Cutie Mark Crusader as you are. All for one!”

Rushing to whisper back simultaneously, the other fillies punched a fist into the air. “And one for all until we all get our cutie marks!” Realizing they'd all answered the same way, the fillies fell into a giggling fit while Dinky caught up and started putting on her boots as well.

“Finally!” Scootaloo gave an exasperated sigh. “This is great! Come on, it's time for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to go on our mission to find that chicken!”

Apple Bloom noticed Dinky’s shoulders droop. Casually sauntering to her friend's side, she wrapped an arm around the unicorn’s back before offering the calmest member of their group an enthusiastic smile and shrug. “Let's just get this over with so Scootaloo will admit she's wrong and we can all go to sleep!”

Brightening up a little, Dinky whispered something under her breath and a burst of yellow-orange colored light formed into an orb on the tip of her horn nearly six inches in diameter.

The fillies slowly crept towards the front door. Apple Bloom pushed it open, wincing at the loud creaking noise it made. Thankfully, Dinky’s magic provided enough light through the open door to see that Dusk and Fluttershy were still asleep at the end of the patio.

Sweetie Belle barely muffled an “Awww!” even as Scootaloo made an exaggerated gagging motion. Scootaloo grabbed Sweetie Belle’s hand and rushed off across the lawn, never looking back until she reached the edge of the light. She stopped, looking back at Dinky and Apple Bloom before remembering herself enough to at least not blow their cover by shouting anything when Dusk and Fluttershy were a stone’s throw away.

Moving slowly and deliberately in Scootaloo’s footprints, Apple Bloom and Dinky followed behind. When Apple Bloom reached the chicken wire, she treated it like just another walk with Applejack or Big Mac, turning a critical eye to the fencing that protected the hen house. Occasionally, she reached out and tug at the wire on top to make sure the nails still held fast, and put her boot against the bottom edge for the same reason, gently adding pressure like Big Mac had shown her to find any give in the fence.

“What’cha think, Dinky? I'd say Fluttershy does a good job keeping her chicken friends safe.”

Shaking her head, Dinky gave Apple Bloom’s side a squeeze, pointing at Scootaloo. The excitable pegasus filly stood with Sweetie Belle behind the coop, waving a handful of white feathers over her head and dancing in place.

Apple Bloom’s jaw dropped at the sight of the recently-plucked feathers, looking everywhere for the chicken Scootaloo had somehow silently pulled them from. Forgetting herself, she expressed her shock out loud, voice carrying across the yard. “But there ain't a chicken up or nothing! You just found some they shed earlier, Scootaloo! That has to be it!”

Apple Bloom was so caught up in her excitement that she had nearly reached Scootaloo and her prized fisful of feathers when she heard the now-familiar noise of the big rooster shifting around inside the coop. She was grateful when she saw that Scootaloo had heard him too, the pegasus flinching and lowered her voice a little further. Her enthusiasm remained the same, however, as she held the feathers out for the earth pony to inspect. “Nuh, uh! See the hints of blood on the quill? That means these were plucked, not shed, and recently or it'd be all dried up!”

With far less understanding of feathers than Scootaloo, Apple Bloom let go of Dinky and turned to Sweetie Belle for help, but the unicorn was standing by herself at the edge of the light, watching the stars. With a huff, Apple Bloom called out quietly to the younger filly. “What you think, Sweetie Belle? You're the smart one. Think a chicken got out like Scootaloo says?”

As Sweetie began to turn to face them, she stopped suddenly, her face lighting up in joy and she gave an audible gasp, pointing towards the Everfree Forest behind Scootaloo’s back. “Look! Its Henrietta! That silly chicken, she's almost wandered all the way to the tree line! If we hurry, we can get her back quick, and then Dusk and Fluttershy will crown us ‘The Cutie Mark Crusaders Chicken Saviors!’”

Caught in trying to look where Sweetie Belle was pointing, the other girls got lost in her excitement and never took a moment to question her idea. Instead all four girls began dashing after the wandering hen, who had gotten distracted for the last few hours and was still picking at interesting tufts of grass by the treeline. It was the slightly muffled roar of “Cutie Mark Crusaders to the chicken rescue!” that spooked her, as the familiar foals that had chased her hours earlier came running that sent her slow brain into a frantic panic. Turning on her spurs, Henrietta plunged straight into the Everfree Forest, the fillies close behind her.

Despite Dusk and Fluttershy never waking up to the noise the fillies made, inside the chicken coop, there was a loud and frustrated cluck, and a certain large rooster rose and began inspecting his flock.

Rarity had tried her best to infuriate her captors the entire time they demanded she search for gems in as many subtle ways as she could think of, but the dogs had simply turned a blind eye to her behavior. From losing a shoe and stubbing her toe, to sitting on a flat rock and refusing to continue walking until they'd recovered the shoe that she had hidden in her backpack, the dogs had only muttered to each other and given her glares. And so it was that she lay propped on one of the guard dog's shoulders, half-heartedly projecting light on the walls of a tunnel, only pretending to use her magic for finding gemstones. As the large dog carried her, she accidentally illuminated a brilliant pink pearl. In a sudden and frenzied excitement, the little dog that held her leash rushed off, digging tooth and claw at the half-embedded gem, peeling it free of the stone so he could present it to the two weary alphas that had joined their walk.

“See!? She found a huge shiny stone! Biggest single stone we found in months, too! And in a room we dug out two months ago! And all because Spot found her!”

The two larger dogs stared at each other for a moment, then the pink gem, before the smaller of the two gave a shrug at the bigger dog. With a casual cuff to the back of Spot’s head, it stole away the pink gem before giving a lazy snort and turning to face Rarity. “So the pony might be of a little use. But this tunnel? We dig it out weeks ago, so why your nose not tell you that gem was here? Not like you to miss sniffing out a shiny, Spot. You losing your sniff? Nose not up to snuff? Maybe this pony replace you. After all, you not even tough enough to take down a pony, are you?”

Stamping his feet in anger and shifting from foot to foot while snarling at the larger dogs, Spot snatched up Rarity’s leash, nearly breaking its fragile chain while storming back over to the bigger dogs. Still carried by the guard dog, Rarity finally got a good look at the two big alphas. Face to face with the gray-blue furred giant nearly the size of Big Mac, Rarity’s confidence began to waver. But Spot’s response was what really shocked her. “Then me take three digger dogs and two guard dogs! We go to the new tunnels you found nothing in! Me show you all! In three hours, my little pony will find us more gems than you two could in a month!”

This time it was the giant dog that cuffed Spot across the ears, and unlike his companion, he didn't soften the blow. Knocked to the ground, Spot’s coughing made Rarity feel sorry for the little dog, despite how much he was taking responsibility for her kidnapping. But the big dog turned his eye to her, grumbling in his broken and poor Common. “No. Stupid dog. Bad Spot. She not just pony. She unicorn. Unicorn magic, remember? Unicorn trickiest of ponies. Nearly as bad for brain as Alee-corn princess, with her laws, and ‘tree-tees’. We come with you to new tunnels, pony too dangerous to trust to just three guards. Now get up, we walk.” The giant paused for a moment, breathing deeply, then reared back on his haunches to loom directly over Rarity, cupping her chin. “No tricks, pony. Spot might be quick with words, but Rover and Fido have dealt with ponies before. You pony not getting out from under our paws.”

To make his threat explicit, Fido reached down to the dirt under him, and scooped up a small stone in one mammoth paw. Holding it before Rarity's face, he closed his paw around the rock, crushing it in his palm to a dusty powder that stuck to his fingers. “Now find shinies, pony! Or your head next!”

Tunnel after tunnel passed around Rarity where she hung on the guard dog's shoulders. Proudly, Spot had moved to lead the group again, holding Rarity’s leash. Occasionally he stopped to sniff the air. When he did so, sometimes the little dog would grin and point at a wall before barking up at Rarity. “Pony! Shinies over there!” Each time he did, Rarity turned her gem finding magic to the wall, and revealing any gems inside for the three digger dogs that were with them the glowing aura. Rarity really had to credit the digger dogs for their enthusiasm. The moment they saw the glow of her magic they eagerly leapt to work, digging furiously at the rock to uncover the ‘shinies’ her magic revealed.

But when Rarity turned her magic to illuminate the next chamber, the glow of a massive gem vein that dominated the east wall made her sit up and pay attention. Only inches below the surface, the glow of emeralds responding to her magic washed the room in a pale green hue that set Rarity’s inspiration to work, and made her a little upset that she'd definitely have to leave the rocks behind when she made her escape. “It is such a shame though, Applejack would look so good dressed in green, her dress accented with emeralds...”

Set on her feet by the guard dog that had carried her, Rarity took a minute to admire the green glow that washed over the chamber as the dogs’ aggressive digging uncovered more of the emeralds. With more of the guards joining the digger dogs to peel away the stone, Rarity took a few steps back, trying to drift to the far side of the room. She was sure she'd seen sunlight just a few chambers ago, maybe-

Grabbing at her collar and tugging at her throat a little, Spot caught Rarity totally off guard. Somehow she'd overlooked the small dog and never noticed as he swaggered to her side. Face beaming proudly, Spot reached up as high as he could and attempted to pet Rarity’s mussed hair with his muddy claws. “There's a good pony! Now that you've earned your dinner, what about rest of the room? Let's both get dessert tonight, yes?”

Deciding it was better to keep the little prideful dog on her side, Rarity reached for her magic and cast her gem finding spell again, quickly highlighting the presence of a small separate clutch of deep purple and blue sapphires. The moment Spot caught sight of it, he rushed to the end of Rarity's leash, tugging at it in the hopes of dragging her over to the glowing stones. As ineffectual as his efforts were, Rarity followed him at the limit of the leash, resting her hands on her hips and standing as far back as she could.

Turning to glare up at her, never once noticing her reluctance, he barked a simple order while pulling her towards a simple pickaxe the dig dogs had dropped in their enthusiasm. “Dig, pony!”

Looking at the worn wooden pickaxe handle disdainfully, Rarity made the effort to lift it to her shoulder, offset by its weight and poor quality. Trying to keep from scowling and calling out the dog for his poor treatment of a real lady, she gave a dramatic grunt and halfheartedly delivered a wobbly blow to the hard ground inches from Spot’s feet. Thrown off balance by the awkward tool, she wobbled from the impact and staggered a few feet, dropping the axe and losing her temper. "Is this what you really want to make a unicorn do!? I am a lady; a dressmaker! Not some mindless grunt to sweat herself silly digging in the rock!”

It took a moment before the echoes of her flustered scream stopped rebounding off the wall of the chamber. Realizing that all the dogs were now staring at her, Rarity rushed to rebuild her meek appearance for the dogs. “Err… I mean… um... Oh! By the Light! The ground’s just SO hard!"

Waiting for the dogs to react, Rarity pointed her toes into the ground, wiggling her shoe against the dirt while hoping against hope that the dogs would overlook her outburst, even as her thoughts began to race. “They intimated that they've negotiated with Celestia herself… but by the Light, she's almost too kind-hearted. Just how much do they even know about ponies? If they're as ignorant as they've acted so far…”

Spot was the first of the dogs to recover from her outburst. Maybe it was his pride, his innocent mind, or just a moment of willful ignorance, she couldn't tell, but he grabbed the pickaxe from her, and threw it at a nearby digger dog, taking a small sack of the emeralds from its arms and shoving the bag in Rarity’s arms. “Lazy pony! FINE! Digger dog, dig for the shinies the pony found!”

Scratching behind his ear with a claw, Rover closed his hanging jaw and shook his head. Still a little caught in a moment of disbelief, he said, “Now wait, Spot. That pony just did bad pony things. We should punish her to remind her of pony’s place, right?”

With both dogs stuck in a disagreement, they turned to Fido, the slowest thinker of all three, and Rarity couldn't help but remember the way his massive clawed fist had crushed the rock right in her face. Staring past Rarity, she could see his brow was contorted in an effort to think. His expression only grew worse when Spot and Rover disagreed before the digger dogs and guards, who had all stopped their work to look at the biggest alpha for leadership… all except the one that was hard at work, sorting the gems Rarity had just found, polishing each in turn before dropping the dark purple sapphires one at a time into the heavy sack Rarity held.

Ever so slowly, Fido looked over the room. In a wise man, his expression might have been thoughtful, but the dog looked almost ready to panic.

The sudden roar of crashing footsteps from the tunnel where they’d entered the room from was a shocking intrusion, but both Rarity and Fido couldn't help but find relief in the distraction. Two breathless guard dogs rushed into the room. One weaponless mutt’s cheap copper helmet was caved in and visibly fit far better than it had been been intended to, while the other still held a broken staff in a wobbly hand, but the straps of his leather armor had been frayed to ribbons and he bled from several minor cuts. A panicked mess, the dogs burst into a confusing array of barks and whines that made the other dogs in the room explode into a riotous chorus.

Shocked by how chaos had overtaken the dogs so easily, Rarity felt her stomach beginning to churn at the sight of the near open melee before her. Covering her ears and ducking behind a large rock, Rarity tried to disappear again, a furious headache growing at the endless barking. Soon there were sounds of fighting, and slowly the noise of their barks died away. As the noise rose, Rarity had to pause, deciding to wait. Her only thought was to try and stay hidden from the angry dogs.

As the dust settled, she finally grew the courage to peer around her rock. Nervous as she looked around the mostly silent room, she worriedly rubbed her cold, bare arms. Near the entrance, one of the newly arrived guards lay in a heap by the door, legs twitching while his hands clawed at his throat, the sickly sound coming from under his hands reminding Rarity of air being sucked through a straw. Growing weaker and weaker, his hands fell away from his throat, while his body continued to spasmodically twitch. Looking closer, in horror Rarity realized that his throat had been ripped out by a much larger set of jaws. Staggering under the awful violence she had missed, Rarity was only able to stare at the crimson coating Fido’s maw as he marched out into the tunnels with nearly all the dogs, even most of the diggers, barking furious orders in their native language.

Near her side, one dog still dug, but he was shaking as he worked, and several times had to stop to pick up the rocks he dropped in his open panic. By the door was a single guard with a bleeding cheek that tried to act serious, but he too was worried, and constantly checked over his shoulder in the tunnel beyond.

Cowering at her feet, Rarity felt Spot’s shivering body pressing against her legs. Confused beyond belief, she gave the tiny dog a dainty push with a foot. “Just what was that?!”

Leaping to his feet and turning around in a moment of flustered embarrassment, Spot spun around in place. Shaking his head, he embarrassingly muttered an answer while staring at the rock at their feet. “Some ponies ambushed the guard dogs’ patrol… and when they came to report to Fido, they accidentally interrupted Fido while he was thinking. He-he gets mad when he is interrupted while thinking. N-now shut up, pony. Hold the bag for the digger dog and stay quiet. We both don't want to make Fido mad again… please?”

Feeling a little sorry for the tiny dog, Rarity gave him a short nod, and crouched down to make it easier on the digger dog as he deepened the hole up to his shoulders. Watching the dog at work in the hole, she couldn't help but give a devious smile. “Sorry Spot… but this is my chance. I just need to get the guard close enough. With this sack of gems as a bludgeon, you can lead me out of here.”