It started as a dust devil, a little swirling eddy of debris. The wind gusted however, and grew in strength almost right away. The dust devil became a dust demon, something with power, and it began knocking the diamond dogs around. Tarnish was still trying to recover all of his senses and though he wasn’t certain, it seemed to him that some of the diamond dogs were also affected by the dust bomb. Their eyes were wide with terror and they behaved in such a way that they didn’t even seem to notice the twister gaining strength among them.

He thought about fleeing, but as the wind gusted and gained strength, a part of his mind told him there would be no running from this. He had called down the storm. This wasn’t like unicorn magic that he knew about, where a unicorn had control over the wind, the strength, the direction, no, this was nothing like that. A controlled dust devil could be used for cleaning the floors and dumping all the dirt on the floor into the trash.

No, this storm was feral. This was a storm that pegasi would have trouble wrangling. This was not a tame gentle wind, but a primal force of nature, untouched by harmony. Little bolts of lightning flashed in the ever growing funnel and the air filled with static. Overhead, the sky turned a bright green. Little twisters sprang from the big twister.

As Tarnish watched the destruction he had unleashed, two diamond dogs were slammed into one another with terrific force. The impact was so terrible that one of them had a leg torn clean off. His mouth fell open and as he stood there, mouth agape, watching, the wind took him.

His hooves were lifted off of the ground and he felt the wind tearing at his pelt. The suction was amazing, but he didn’t have to marvel at it. Something grabbed him and he felt himself being pulled down. Forelegs grabbed him and he was piled upon. He was slammed into the ground and he felt his hooves being rooted to the ground with a strange, almost unpleasant force that made his frogs ache with pressure.

Vinyl was doing magic—he watched as a flurry of spells flew from her horn and he didn’t know what those spells were. A barrier sprang into existence around them, a sort of shield spell that formed a dome that glowed with rose coloured light, an illumination that matched Vinyl’s eyes. Terrified, he found himself clinging to both Maud and Octavia, and they clung to him.

Whole trees were ripped out of the ground. Rocks shattered and were lifted by the powerful vortex. Diamond dogs flew through the air, only to be crushed by the trees and rocks. Mouth still open, Tarnish watched what he had done with horror. A large jagged stone crashed into the glowing barrier and Vinyl’s body jerked. One eye went bloodshot, her left, and from her left nostril a little trickle of blood could be seen.

There was a gibbering cry from Tarnish when he realised that another impact like that one might kill one of his best friends. The blow had done something to Vinyl, straining her beyond what she was capable of. Somehow, the shield spell held, but she didn’t look well.

Grrrr, outside of the glowing dome, seemed to be just fine. He was rooted into the ground and appeared to be weathering the storm just fine. Tarnish wasn’t sure if Grrrr could be destroyed. More trees were ripped out of the ground and it seemed that the whole area was going to be destroyed.

In desperation, Tarnish opened up his saddlebags and pulled out the blue orb. He almost dropped it, his own magic felt wrong, off somehow, and he struggled to connect with the orb. Crying, he touched it to his horn. There was a brilliant flash of blue light and a magical tether shot from his horn to Vinyl’s. The shield around them went from a rose colour to a purple colour, with blue and pink magic mixing together to form a pleasant, pleasing shade. Vines sprouted from the earth and began growing over the shield, entwining around one another, looping, weaving, forming a powerful magical barrier.

In no time at all, the growing vines had formed a solid dome around the four ponies. It was now impossible to see outside. More rocks, trees, and diamond dogs slammed into the magical shelter, but Vinyl seemed to suffer no further consequences. The four ponies huddled together, with only Maud showing no signs of absolute terror.

Outside, the storm raged.

“Is it over?” Flamingo asked as the deafening sounds of silence prevailed. When nopony answered, the sword took a swipe at the vines that formed a dome around them. She made a few more slices and sunlight shone though.

Flamingo made short work of making a door and Tarnish followed her outside. He stopped right away, his knees shaking, and looked at the chaos and devastation all around him. Dead bodies everywhere, uprooted trees, and smashed rocks. The sun was now shining but no birds could be heard chirping. The world was silent—too silent. It was an unnatural silence.

Grrrr bounded over to stand beside him, and Tarnish was thankful to see that his supernatural protector seemed unharmed. He was shoved aside by Octavia, who came barreling out of the makeshift shelter to have a look around. Vinyl followed next, and then Maud came out. The four ponies stood blinking, all of them trying to take it all in.

Shaking his head, Tarnish put the blue orb away in his saddlebags. He stepped over a body, well, part of a body anyway, and in the back of his mind he knew that he would need to do something to make this right. When this was over, he would bury all of these bodies. He would recover their remains and he would bury them. He hoped that it would assuage the guilt he was now feeling.

But his work wasn’t finished. He eyed the crack in the rock ridge ahead. There was still the cave. He steeled his nerves and tried to get his knees to stop shaking. He had work to do and he hoped that he could finish this with no more killing. He had no idea what remained in the cave, but he suspected that he would meet with armed resistance.

“Commander?” Flamingo asked. “What are we doing?”

“I am no commander,” Tarnish replied.

“Funny, ‘cause you look like you are in charge, Commander.” Flamingo bobbed up and down near Tarnish’s head. “No more sticking me into diamond dogs. I can still taste the dog hair and blood. It’s super gross!”

“I’m sorry, Flamingo, I lost control of my senses for a time.” Tarnish looked at his sword and shook his head. “Please forgive me, you know that I try to be sensitive to your needs.”

“Well, when you lopped off the big one’s arms, you seemed to have your senses then,” Flamingo said, chiding Tarnish.

He cringed, knowing that Flamingo was right.

“It’s okay though, Commander. We’re at war. Stuff happens in a war. I know, because I’ve been in wars before. A few of them, I think. Like when Nightmare Moon showed up and killed Commander Luna.” Flamingo fell silent for a moment, then shuddered. “Don’t like wars. Add that to the list of things that Flamingo don’t like.”

“Well, Commander, what’s next?” Octavia asked.

“Don’t call me that,” Tarnish whined.

“Don’t whine!” Octavia kicked Tarnish in the leg while gritting her teeth together. “I wasn’t joking when I said it. You led us here to rescue some slaves. You were bold and daring in doing so. You are our commander, and we are your militia.”

Tarnish shied away from Octavia and shook his head. “I was just trying to do the right thing. Look, just don’t call me that. I don’t know what I’m doing and I almost got all of us killed. There is something wrong with Vinyl and I got my brain scrambled and I think I cut you open and I’m having a real hard time taking all of this in.” He paused for a moment, then asked, “How was it that the dust didn’t affect you three?”

“We resisted,” Maud replied, looking at Octavia and then at Vinyl. “It’s magical dust, obviously, with an alchemical base. For me, it was a matter of willpower.”

“So great, I lack willpower!” Tarnish snapped as he kicked at the ground.

“We all have our strengths.” Octavia turned her stern gaze upon Tarnish and stared at him. “We followed you because you were doing the right thing. We came out here to this alicorn forsaken wilderness because you were out here doing the right thing. And we will continue to follow you so long as you continue to do the right thing! Now stop being such a whiny foal!”

Ears drooping, Tarnish stood there, feeling quite petulant and foalish. More than anything, it felt as though his self esteem had taken a beating in the battle. Octavia’s words were sinking in though. He might make mistakes, but he was trying to do the right thing. He stood there, feeling uncertain, and not knowing what to say.

“I was trying to cheer you up,” Octavia confessed in a low voice. “Tarnish, you are my friend. If necessary, I would follow you anywhere. There are so few ponies that I feel such strong affection for. Now, head high and keep a stiff upper lip. No doubt, we still have much to do.”

Following Octavia’s advice, Tarnish lifted his head. He tried to ignore his self doubt and he focused on the task at hoof. He took a deep breath, turned, and looked over at the darkened crack in the rocks. He hefted his shield, took another deep breath, and gave a nod.

“Right then, stiff upper lip,” he mumbled as he took his first step towards the cave.

The crack made for an excellent defensive fortification, Tarnish realised. It had been excavated to be about two diamond dogs wide, or just one Dig Dag, which would have made invasion quite difficult. There was a long narrow passage ahead. Flamingo provided a great deal of pink light, allowing Tarnish to see. The long passage was empty. The sounds of water dripping could be heard in the distance.

The walls were rough hewn and uneven. They were made to be practical, not beautiful. He froze, seeing a slit in the wall. He understood its purpose right away. Murder holes, perfect for an archer to fire arrows though. He sent Grrrr ahead of him to see what would happen.

There were no arrows, no nothing. Not even the sounds of alarm.

He continued ahead, cautious, waiting for another attack. He was sweaty all over and he could feel it dripping down his sides, down his balls, and the hidden place beneath his dock felt itchy. At the end of the passage, which was now visible in the pink light provided by Flamingo, he saw an opened door. It was half open, as if somepony had gone through it, or, somedoggy in this instance.

He was so tense that he could feel his urethra clenching in fear, and it filled parts of him with an aching pain that he had trouble ignoring. He walked with his kite shield held in front of him, ready to let go with an enormous whoosh of steam, which he thought was a good idea, given the close quarters.

No guards appeared to attack him or his companions.

“‘Tis a bit unnerving,” Octavia whispered in a voice that made a faint echo in the passage.

Grrrr went through the door first, followed by Tarnish, who was ready to bludgeon something with his shield. Flamingo hovered above Grrrr and she trembled, causing her light to flicker and the shadows to dance, which did nothing to help the tension.

There was a rough wooden door in the wall so Tarnish jerked it open. Following Grrrr, he stepped inside, and froze. Inside, there were baskets filled with strange hair. There were spinning wheels in this room, and enormous skeins of yarn. Eyes darting around the room, it took Tarnish some time to put everything together.

This had to be bushwoolie hair. The diamond dogs kept bushwoolies and used them like sheep. There was no signs of slaughter in this room, no blood, just lots of hair. Bushwoolie wool? He spotted a pair of clippers and was relieved to see them, so relieved that he let out a gasp and his heaving sides eased up a little.

“Bushwoolie wool,” he said to Maud, who now stood beside him.

Maud said nothing, but trotted over to a loom. It was in poor repair, parts of it were crooked and a bit rusty, with the wood all cracked and grey. The whole thing looked as though it would fall apart if touched. No yarn was fed into it, leaving it empty and dusty. The loom itself appeared to be something from some ancient era, perhaps something pre-industrial.

“We should keep moving,” Maud said as she turned around and faced the door.

After a few more rooms, some hallways, a cavern, and what appeared to be mine shafts, Tarnish found himself in front of a fortified door made of heavy wood and iron. He didn’t have a key, nor did he need one. He grabbed Flamingo in his magic and stabbed her into the lock. There was a squeal of metal on metal as he carved the lock out of the door, and then Flamingo started giggling.

“Stop! That tickles! Stop! Stop or I shall say stop again!”

Of course, Tarnish did not stop, but finished carving the lock out of the door. Stepping forwards, he kicked the door open and stepped inside. Just inside the door, he halted, allowing his eyes some time to adjust to the flickering firelight.

The room was filled with diamond dogs, badgers, and little hairballs that Tarnish assumed were bushwoolies. He stood in the doorway, blinking, not moving, and not making any threatening gestures. The diamond dogs, he noticed, where all females or very young. Most of them were chained to posts sunk into the floor. Almost all of them bore signs of abuse. He saw legs swollen and straining against iron shackles. He could smell sickness, disease, and rot. The stench of urine and feces was in the air. Almost every face looking at him appeared to be terrified.

It took all of his willpower not to vomit.

“Is it over?” a diamond dog asked. She sat in the center of the room and a faded, ratty shawl was wrapped around her middle. She raised her head. “I am Minori. I would like to know what you plan to do with us.”

Shocked and surprised by how well spoken she was, Tarnish’s mouth moved but no words came out. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I have not come to harm you… I came to rescue some slaves.”

The wise old diamond dog bowed her head. “Then you are here to rescue us. Finally, it is over.”

“Who are you?” Tarnish asked, trying to overcome his astonishment. “I am Tarnish and I mean you no harm. I want to help you.”

“As I have said, I am Minori,” the diamond dog replied.

“No… no… I mean, the way you talk… what are you doing in this place? Who are you and why are you here? You seem out of place here.”

The old diamond dog smiled, revealing worn down and yellowed fangs. She clapped her front paws together, and her bright, curious eyes focused upon Tarnish. “I am Minori, from Inujima, a land far to the east.”

“But what are you doing here?” Tarnish asked.

“I came to this country to flee the troubles of my homeland,” she replied. “The diamond dogs here were brutal and savage… many were stupid from inbreeding.” The old dog let out a weary sigh. “I found a smart young pup named Dig Dag. I taught him letters and words, I tried to give him an appreciation for art, for culture, I tried to teach him the way of the bushido from the old world.”

“And this is how he repaid you?” Octavia shook her head and clucked her tongue.

“Oh, he did much worse.” Minori pulled away the shawl from around her middle and revealed two withered stumps. “I kept trying to escape, and he kept bringing me back. I became his property… as we all did.” As she spoke, she scooped up a young pup and cradled him in her arms. “I failed to teach him, but I still try to teach others.” She looked at Tarnish and nodded her head. “Perhaps you’ve come for a lesson. Would you care to learn?”

“Maybe I did,” Tarnish replied, “but that must come later. Where are the cubs of the badger kin and bushwoolies? I am told they were kept separate.”

Minori turned her head and looked at a solid looking fortified door in the back of the room. She then turned and faced Tarnish once more. “Sometimes I am allowed to go in there and look after them. Sometimes not. They are cared for well enough, for they are the next generation of workers. Dig Dag understood their value.”

Looking all around him, Tarnish saw bushwoolies, badger-kin, and diamond dogs all looking up at him with hopeful, but fearful eyes. He heard coughing, moaning, and laboured breathing. Some of them looked as though they were almost dead. Many of the diamond dog females were missing legs—perhaps from escaping, or perhaps from gangrene. Tarnish had no way of knowing. Minori was humming to the little pup she held, trying to comfort him and keep him from crying.

With a strangled cry, Octavia puked all over her front hooves, and Vinyl rushed to comfort her. Tarnish felt like doing the same. He was exhausted already, his whole body shook and trembled with fatigue, but it seemed that his work was just beginning.

“Excuse me ladies, but I have a door to go and chop open,” Tarnish said, trying to sound confident and failing. He could hear the misery and pain in his own voice. He saw Minori giving him a strange look and he had trouble meeting her eyes.

“Courage, benevolence, and armed with a sword,” Minori said in a low voice, “perhaps you already know the way…maybe later, Minori will read the scrolls of your heart to see what is written there…”

Author's Notes:

No, I haven't forgotten that there is an arrow lodged in Tarnish's withers.