“You took off your fancy, funny looking helmet,” Limestone said to Tarnish as they made their way into the abandoned ghost town. She darted from building to ruined building, slipping from shadow to long shadow, cast by a sun that drifted down in the west.

“I didn’t want to get blood on it,” Tarnish replied as he followed Limestone’s lead.

“But it makes you look so brainy and dapper.” Limestone gave Tarnish a grin.

Feeling worried, Tarnish was concerned that Limestone seemed to be enjoying herself a bit too much. He was afraid that she wasn’t taking this seriously enough. He glanced at Maud, who moved beside him. Maud of course, was unreadable, but he suspected that she was enjoying herself on some level.

As he passed by a wrecked building, he saw places were the wood had been broken off that still looked fresh. Something had been through here recently. Reaching out with his magic, he grabbed Limestone, and with a strong jerk, pulled her closer to him.

“Hey, what gives?” Limestone demanded.

“Stay closer,” Tarnish replied in a voice that made it clear he wasn’t in the mood to argue. He gestured at the broken wood with his hoof and watched as Limestone’s eyes widened when she saw the broken off bits. After a few seconds of processing what she saw, he watched as she gave him a nod.

“The old bell tower is still standing.” Maud pointed at the battered, weatherworn building with her hoof. “If we climb up there, we can get a better look at the lay of the land.”

“That’s a good idea.” Tarnish eyed the structure and wondered if it would crumble if they stepped inside of it. “Let’s go have a look in there and see if it’s safe inside.”

The trio, now moving all together in a tight group, made their way through town, with Limestone looking off to their left, Maud looking off to their right, and Tarnish keeping an eye in front of them and behind them. Maud and Limestone were also alert to any vibrations in the ground that might indicate a diamond dog burrowing up from beneath them.

The bell tower, which had a crumbling old well beside it, was in the center of town. On the other side, there was a ramshackle building that had fallen down and was now nothing more than a pile of firewood. There was no longer a door on the bell tower, nor was there a bell in the belfry.

Tarnish stuck his head inside and found a rusting wrought iron spiral staircase. He poked it with his hoof and the sound of metal rang out. He put a hoof down on one step, pressed, and felt relieved when he discovered that the stairs still felt pretty sturdy.

He began to make his way up the stairs with Maud right behind him, and Limestone behind her. Round and round the center column he went, climbing up. He would pause for a moment when there was a place where the wood had rotted away, which allowed him to see the outside. Dust motes filled the air and Tarnish pushed old cobwebs out of the way with his telekinesis as he passed.

The scent of old wood filled his nostrils, an old musty smell, and the smell of heat that had soaked into old wood. It made him feel sneezy and a bit light headed. The stairs creaked a bit, but the iron was still sturdy, even though it was rusted.

Halfway up, Tarnish realised that it was the stairs that held the bell tower up. The old wooden structure had sagged over a bit, and further up, it leaned over to one side, with the inside walls coming to rest against the iron stairs. He kept going.

After a long, arduous climb, he reached the top of the stairs and found a wrought iron landing. The wood wasn’t safe to stand on, and he was careful to keep his hooves on the metal. He scooted to one side as much as he could so the others could join him.

He pulled the binoculars from out of his saddlebags and held them up to his eyes. He began to scan the surrounding countryside, trying to take in everything with slow care. He studied the area at the base of the hills, which was now in darkness, making it very hard to see.

Squinting, straining his eyes, he struggling to make out details. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, nothing that resembled a camp, and no diamond dogs. Without warning, his binoculars were snatched away by Limestone, who gripped them in her fetlock.

Nothing was said by Tarnish when she began to peer through them. He waited, patient, curious about how sharp Limestone’s vision might be. Earth ponies tended to have sharp eyes and enhanced senses. They didn’t have wings to fly away or magic to protect themselves. All they had were the six known senses to keep them safe.

“I can sense something wrong,” Limestone muttered as she scanned the countryside, using her earth pony sense to point her in the right direction. “There’s a pony in trouble. It’s dark over there, the sun has gone down too far… wait!”

“What do you see?” Maud asked.

“A campfire,” Limestone replied. It’s behind some trees, so I can’t see it directly, but I can see the orange glow.”

“Anything else?” Tarnish asked. He waited, staring off in the direction where Limestone was looking.

“Wait… wait… I can see her,” Limestone said in a low voice. “She’s not moving. But I can see the blue of her pelt in the orange glow. Looks like she’s laying on the ground. I can see diamond dogs around her. I really hope they’re not about to cook her or something.”

“They usually take ponies as slaves.” Tarnish scowled. “I remember something about Rarity being captured by them. All of Ponyville talked about it.” He waited as Limestone continued to peep through his binoculars. “Can you give us a count? Can you see any sort of details?”

“There’s quite a few, I think.” A deep, muzzle wrinkling scowl appeared upon Limestone’s face as she concentrated upon her senses. Without saying anything, Limestone climbed up on top of Tarnish’s back, gripped his barrel with her hind legs, and then sat up as straight and tall as possible so she could have a better look.

Tarnish had other plans. He lifted Limestone in his telekinesis and was rather surprised when she didn’t respond with fear, even though he knew that most earth ponies didn’t like not having their hooves on the ground. He lifted her with slow caution, easing her up bit by bit.

“Stop!” Limestone said when she was about ten feet or so over Tarnish’s head. “I have a better viewing angle. Move me a little to the left and don’t drop me… we’re really high up.”

Concentrating, thinking about how much he loved Limestone, he moved her to the left, suspending her out in the open air with nothing beneath her but the ground far below. A fall from this height would kill her. He felt sweat rolling down his neck. Limestone didn’t look like it, but she was heavy for her size, just like Maud. But there was no way he could ever tell Maud that she was heavy—he liked living far too much and was fond of happy husband hugs when he could get them.

“Stop!” Limestone hung in the air, held in place by Tarnish’s magic. “I can’t see everything, but I can see enough… there’s about a dozen or so around the fire. I don’t know if there are more in other places. Now I need something beneath my hooves.”

When Limestone was set back down upon the landing on top of the stairs, she tossed the binoculars up into the air and Tarnish caught them in his magic as Limestone grabbed her sister. She took several deep, shuddering breaths, saying nothing as she clung to Maud for comfort and reassurance.

“There’s four of us with Flamingo.” Tarnish reached out and patted Limestone on the back. “If there are a dozen of them, I’m not sure I like those odds. I have magic, but not very much magic. They took out Trixie somehow.”

“She was probably asleep when they ambushed her,” Maud said as Limestone trembled. Maud reached up and stroked her sister’s neck. “It’s okay, Limestone. You were brave. You’ll have a story to tell when you go home. Daddy will be real proud.”

The wind gusted, which caused the old bell tower to sway. Limestone let out a gibbering cry and Maud’s eyes widened. Tarnish shifted on his hooves as he found his balance. The whole tower rocked beneath them.

“Let’s get down from here,” Maud said in a flat voice that showed no sign of fear or worry. “I want to be on the ground again. The sooner the better. I’d rather pick a fight with diamond dogs than spend another minute up here.”

“I wanna go home,” Limestone said, her voice almost a whimper.

“It’ll be okay, Limestone.” Maud gave her sister a tight hug as she sniffled. “You’ll be fine once you have the ground beneath you again.”

“I hate being scared,” Limestone confessed in a quavering voice, “it makes me feel weak and being weak is the worst.”

Keeping his thoughts to himself, Tarnish marveled how an earth pony could seem to be utterly fearless when it came to picking a fight with a pack of diamond dogs but be terrified of heights. He admired Limestone’s bravery. She had held herself together long enough to get a good look at the enemy, which showed remarkable courage.

The three ponies moved from the almost open ground into the treeline, then took cover, ducking behind trees, bushes, or anything large enough to hide them from view. They were close enough now to smell woodsmoke. The sun had crept closer to the horizon and the thin woods at the base of the foothills was now filled with long, distorted shadows.

This was a lot different than going into a spider cave. Tarnish wanted to avoid bloodshed and he didn’t want to have to kill anything. He was angry that the diamond dogs had taken Trixie, but not angry enough to hate the diamond dogs. He thought of Buttons—she was sweet, kind, and gentle. Tarnish believed that diamond dogs weren’t bad, but some of them chose to be less than good.

He didn’t know how this was going to play out. Limestone had recovered once her hooves had been planted on solid earth and she walked behind him with a terrible grimace that contorted her otherwise pleasant face into one of rage.

His muscles jerked and twitched beneath his chocolate brown pelt as every step brought him closer to danger. He was brought to a halt by Maud, who drew up beside him, lifted her front leg, and held him back. She stood with her lips pressed together and Tarnish remained silent.

“Ahead.” Maud’s voice was little more than a whispered breath. She made a gesture with her head and pointed with her muzzle.

Tarnish’s ears strained, but he heard nothing. He couldn’t detect anything. He thought about pulling out Flamingo, but then realised that she would be quite vocal about being drawn. He kept her in her sheath as his ears pivoted around upon his head, trying to hear whatever it was that had alerted Maud.

“Dance with me, Tarnish,” Maud said in a low voice and then she moved ahead.

He followed, and Limestone moved right behind him. Maud moved with very little sound, she avoided stepping on any twigs and her hooves made only a faint sound as she stepped on the pine needles and leaves strewn across the ground.

Nostrils crinkling, Tarnish caught a whiff of something awful. Piss. Something strong and terrible. He ducked behind a tree, following Maud’s lead, and then, he saw the source of the stench. Some ways ahead, a diamond dog was pissing against a tree and sighing with relief.

Using his magic, Tarnish pulled out a coil of rope from his saddlebags. He unfurled most of it, but kept a few coils at one end. He darted forwards, past Maud, moving with swift assurance, with the rope held up over his head with his magic.

He ducked behind a boulder and using his telekinesis, advanced his rope. He looped the end with several coils over the diamond dog’s head, and when the dog opened up his mouth to bark in alarm upon seeing the rope suddenly floating in front of him, Tarnish cinched the coils around its head, gagging him and filling up his mouth with rough, scratchy hemp. He jerked the diamond dog backwards, then, thinking better of it, and feeling just awful for doing it, he rammed the diamond dog’s head into the tree. There was a muffled yelp that slipped out around the makeshift gag.

The woozy creature staggered, his arms flailing, and then Tarnish bonked his head against the tree for the second time for good measure. It was a terrible thing to do, but Tarnish did it. Now, with the dangerous creature stunned, Tarnish tugged the gagged, dizzy creature back towards him, and made ready to tie him up.

Tarnish shoved him face down onto the soft earth, pulled the dog’s enormous arms behind him, and began to tie them with rope. Limestone darted forwards and grabbed the tall spear leaning against a nearby tree. She carried it in the crook of one of her forelegs and walked on her three other legs as she clutched her prize. Using his rope, Tarnish also tied up the creature’s legs, bending them, binding them to his arms, and cinched a very tight knot to hold everything together.

Not finished, he hefted the diamond dog in his telekinesis, flipped the remainder of the rope over a tree branch that was quite a ways up, and dangled the poor dog in the air. He made certain the knot was secured, then, seized with a terrible idea, he snatched the spear from Limestone, rammed the butt of it into the ground beneath the diamond dog, and then adjusted the barbed, leaf shaped spearhead until it was directly below the dangling dog.

Any attempt to untie himself would result in him falling and skewing himself on his own spear. Tarnish didn’t like it, he didn’t like that he was capable of this, but he knew that it had to be done. He glanced up at the dog and narrowed his eyes.

“You brought this on yourself,” Tarnish said in a low voice, “you don’t prey on my kind without consequences. The lot of you are raiders… slavers… and you’re lucky that I don’t use my terrible magic to kill you all… I can make you all die in horrible ways… I can turn you inside out, make you shrink, make you explode, or I could just set you all on fire.”

The gagged diamond dog whimpered through the rope in his maw, but stayed very still, not wanting to fall and be impaled upon his own spear. Looking up, Tarnish saw fear in the poor creature’s eyes and he felt a bit guilty for the threats he had made. His whole body shook and his muscles trembled as adrenaline coursed through his veins. His mouth was dry and he very much wanted a drink.

“I wouldn’t move if I was you.” Maud angled her head to look up. “We’re about to go and deal with your friends. You had better hope that Trixie is okay, otherwise, falling on your own spear will be the least of your problems. I’ll come back for you, and you won’t like it. Not at all. We earth ponies have an expression… justice is the weight of many rocks bearing down upon you.”

Maud’s deadpan threat was somehow terrifying, far more than Tarnish’s own warnings about his magic, which were mostly a bluff. He felt himself shiver from his wife’s words and then he glanced over at Limestone, who was staring upwards while contemplating outright murder, if the expression on her face was an honest indicator for her feelings.

“Let’s go, while we still have daylight.” Tarnish backed away from the suspended diamond dog. “Sorry, but you brought this on yourself. Best of luck getting down.”

With nothing else to say, Tarnish made good his retreat with Maud and Limestone following after him. He backed away, keeping an eye on the dog hanging from the tree. It felt wrong to leave him like this, Tarnish was certain that this was some turning point in his development, his growth, his journey into adulthood. He had done something that he was going to have trouble living with.

He would have to make up for it by being extra nice to Buttons…

Author's Notes:

This story is going to the dogs...