Login

The Diamond Dog's Guide to Engineering

by Tolerance

Chapter 13: March of Misplaced Mania

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

"Fascinating. This doesn't look like the pony architecture in town. Is this where you found the metal, Allee?"

"Yes sir, Arron. Metal for armor found in that room" The canine said as she pointed to a room set into the deteriorating corner wall. "Metal doors found in small cave there. Cave full of water. Turn metal red."

"I think that's a basement, or a dungeon, I guess. The whole thing must have been here for ages. I'm surprised you found anything that's still intact. Judging by the looks of things though, I suspect that this structure was built by humans."

"Not Pony?"

"Nope. It's hard to tell at first glance, but look in there" Aaron pointed inside what looked like the remains of a large kitchen. "See what's left of those heavy doors?"

"I see they covered in moss..."

"Yes, but other than that, they're still mostly in one piece. Think about the last time we were in town. What was different between this door and the ones you saw on the ponies' houses."

Allee's face scrunched up in thought. "Ponies doors are half-doors?"

"Exactly. Granted, they may have just switched to that style recently and maybe some old pony-styled buildings still use the full-sized doors and we just haven't seen them yet. The only real way to find out would be to excavate the whole site. Catalog everything here and piece together who lived here, and more importantly, where they went. We'll see about setting that up after we've taken care of the forge, but for now, let's head back to the den."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, this stuff's been here for a long time. I doubt it's going anywhere anytime soon."

~~~~~

Aaron had been preparing for an experiment to see if and how the various gemstones were growing back after mining. He'd had the dogs carve out some small bowls, a task that was far less demanding than the accuracy required of the crucible project. Eventually, every one of the bowls would be filled with dirt and a small gem shard, the gems themselves a random distribution of the types found in throughout the den. After they were filled, they would be placed somewhere they wouldn't be disturbed. Then the waiting would begin.

Or at least that was the plan until Aaron was interrupted by Chaser "What's the rush?"

"Aaron, sir. It magic pony, he-"

"He does not like to be kept waiting when the situation does not allow for it." Starswirl himself came into the room, carrying Watch Dog within his levitation magic. "I'm afraid that standard protocol will have to be placed aside."

"Starswirl? What's going on? I thought you were leaving."

"So did I, but things back in town have become, well, problematic. In short, some Pegasi mercenary group flew into town only a few hours ago, and some idiot who goes by Hayseed has been whipping the townsfolk into a frenzy. They're looking to remove a certain pack of Diamond Dogs from the area."

"What about Speara Mint? He's calmed them down before. And the Merchants, some of them have been more than willing to work with us. Why did that change all of a sudden?"

"I believe it has something to do with the relationship between the Pegasus commander and one of the former captives that was held by your pack, another pegasus, I believe. Other than that, I wasn't able to gather any more information. Once they'd placed your friend Mint under 'arrest' for lodging his protest, I came here immediately to warn you of the situation."

"We can't just let things sit like this. He's only in that position because of us. We have to go and rescue Mint."

"You will do no such thing, Sir Aaron. These are not just some rowdy locals you'll be dealing with. These are seasoned Pegasopolis warriors. You may be able hold them off for a while, but they don't have to fight you directly. No, they'll try and herd the pack into smaller groups and weaken whatever home field advantage you may have, whittling down your dogs into single digit groups. After that it's a simple matter of whittling your numbers down until the pack is forced to dissolve and scatter."

"What can we do then?"

"If you truly care about this project, this pack. Then you must get them to flee. Dig a tunnel out of here, maybe to the West or North, just far enough way until you're no longer considered a threat. If you can last two weeks or so, the Pegasi will lose interest."

"Are you sure about that? What about you? Won't they just lock you up like they did Mint?"

"I'm associated with a rival group. I also have connections in the Capitol. As long as I don't directly participate in confrontation, they can't do anything about me."

"It doesn't feel right leaving Mint like that."

"I know, but I think you know how these political games work. The Pegasi don't really have authority to lock him up either, they'll have to release him eventually. As soon as this is all over, I'll make sure of that."

"Thanks, Starswirl. I appreciate it." Aaron said, somewhat relieved for his friend, but growing somewhat concerned about how, exactly, he was supposed to evacuate the pack. "How long do we have?"

"Maybe an hour, two at most. As soon as the Pegasi's main force has rested, they'll be on their way here. They've probably already sent out scouts to survey the den's entrances as we speak."

"What will you do?" Aaron asked as he signaled for his second-in-commands to approach.

"I'll head back to the entrance I used to get here and wait. I'll try to buy you as much time as possible, but it won't be much. Once they realize that neither they nor I can fight each other, they'll just ignore me and press on. I urge you to be gone by then."

"Thanks again, Starswirl. I owe you one. Good luck out there."

"No, good luck to you, Sir Aaron. I believe you will need it more than I." And with that Starswirl had left the way he came.

"What is matter Aaron, sir?" Allee asked.

"Ponies cause trouble!" Chaser replied, having been near enough for the entire conversation to grasp the situation.

"Yes. They want to split up the pack, maybe even kill us, but we're not going to let that happen."

"We do what Aaron tell us. Yes?" Gruff answered simply. The other two nodded in agreement.

"Good. Here's what I want you to do. Chaser, run as fast as you can to the mines and bring the mining team up to the Northwest sections of level three. They can bring whatever gems they can carry, but nothing more. Can you do that?" Chaser nodded and Aaron sent the dog about his task. "Gruff, take some off-duty miners with you and send them to the Northwest section of level three and tell them to start digging a straight line out of here, then take two more diggers and meet me at the east section of level two. Got all of that?" Gruff didn't really need to respond, and just nodded his understanding as he left to dole out the work.

"What about me, Aaron?"

"You've got the most important job of all. Gather up the rest of the pack, and every cart that isn't down in the mine. Fill them up with whatever gems we've got left. After that, take the bowls for that gem growing experiment and take them to the garden. Carefully scoop up the plants and put them in the bowls. Try not to damage the roots if you can help it. The other dogs can help you, but when you're done, get the pack and the carts into the Northwest tunnel behind the diggers. Once the carts are through you can start packing the tunnel entrance back up, make it look like the other walls if you can."

"What about you, Aaron, sir?"

"I'm going to make sure those pegasi think twice before they try underestimating me again."

Next Chapter: Never Neglect Nature Estimated time remaining: 31 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch