The sun would soon set, ending an eventful day, and Tarnish watched as the diamond dogs gathered their dead. The former captives gathered up their captors with respect and reverence, which surprised Tarnish, given the circumstances. They had insisted on dealing with the dead and were shocked by his desire to bury them.

These Diamond Dogs believed in the Everflame and as such, their remains were burned away in the blazing fires of the forge. The cleansing fires would burn away their many misdeeds and their souls would be given a chance to live again as good dogs. Diamond dogs who were good dogs went on to become part of the Everflame, the spirit of the forge, and their essence would give strength to the weapons made in the forge, ensuring the survival of the diamond dogs. Tarnish had listened as it was explained to him and had tried to understand as much of it as he could.

Minori seemed impressed that Tarnish held interest, and he understood why. Most ponies wouldn’t care about the afterlife of diamond dogs. His muscles ached, his back hurt, and his mind felt slow. Twilight would be coming, and with her, a whole host of guards to help the pack move north. Minori seemed excited by Tarnish’s plan and he was grateful that she had agreed to it. Twilight was a little reserved by it, but agreed that something had to be done.

The gash in his back had stitches in it, curious stitches, and he meant to ask Minori what they were. He had never seen their like before, and much to his own curiousity, it seemed that the tear in his flesh was already healing. He suspected that there was some sort of magic at work, and he planned to investigate it when the opportunity presented itself.

Beside him, Maud sat, holding Boulder, and she looked down at her pet rock as he got a little sun, what was left of it. Vinyl and Octavia sat together, trying to comfort one another, and Vinyl fretted over Octavia's wound, which Tarnish still felt guilty about. Long Ears sat near them, watching as the remains of the dead were gathered, a solemn, serious look upon his face.

“Boulder tells me that there are lots of borers here,” Maud said.

“What’s that, Maud?” Tarnish’s head swiveled around to look at Maud again.

“Borers.” Maud looked up from Boulder and gave Tarnish her attention. “Borers are magical fish that swim in the rocks by phasing through it. They move through stone like it was water, eating certain minerals. The waste that these borers pass are gemstones, little borers make little flakes and big borers make large gems. Boulder tells me that when a borer passes through the stone, it tickles.”

Blinking, Tarnish tried to understand magical fish that swam through rocks and left behind gems. The world was a weird, weird place and there was so much that he just didn’t understand. He looked at the stones around him, then over at the mine, and he had a peculiar thought; a mountain might be an ocean. His realisation left him feeling unsettled, so much of the world came down to perspective.

Seeing the devastation all around him, Tarnish had trouble understanding the carnage he had wrought. Smashed and broken trees, cracked, shattered stones, tree branches impaled through bodies, it was almost too much to take in all at once. There had been no control, no means to reign it in.

The destruction had been beneficial though, there could be no doubting that. The old had been cleared away and now the new could blossom. These diamond dogs could be free, they had a chance to make a new life, a fresh start. And this had presented Twilight with a chance to make new friends, not just for herself, but for Equestria as well.

“Tarnish, you look thoughtful,” Maud said.

“I am,” Tarnish replied.

“We did a good thing today.” Maud slipped Boulder back into her pocket and then patted him, an affectionate gesture that few would ever see. She scooted closer to Tarnish, and balanced on her haunches, she wrapped her forelegs around him so that she could pull him close.

The pair shared a lover’s embrace, bringing comfort to one another. For a moment, the world around them faded away and it felt as though they were the only beings in existence. Leaning his head down, Tarnish buried his snoot into Maud’s mane and then inhaled, drawing in her scent. He didn’t care that she was sweaty, dirty, sooty, and reeked of smoke.

“I need some time alone with you,” Tarnish whispered into Maud’s mane.

“We’ll find some time alone,” Maud replied.

Hearing Maud’s words, Tarnish found some reassurance in them. He needed to be with Maud, he needed to be inside of her, he needed to feel her against him, he needed to hear her heavy breathing in his ears, but more than that, he needed her. Just some time with her, and only her. Maybe some time staring up at the stars, or bathing in a cool stream in the moonlight.

“Aw, love.”

Lifting his head, Tarnish saw a pup staring at him. A little girl pup, by the sounds of her voice. She was small, slight of build, and she was the blackest shade of black that he had ever seen, except for her face and ears, which were a filthy white, but he had no doubts that if she had a bath, it would be as white as snow. She had long ears and there was something familiar about her face.

“Kabuki!” Long Ears lept up and rushed over, his long ears flapping behind him.

“Brother!”

The two pups collided with a meaty smack and embraced one another. After a moment of exuberant affection, Long Ears pulled away, looking embarrassed. He stood there, with one arm still draped over his sister’s shoulders, and looked over at Tarnish, Maud, Vinyl, and Octavia, who were all looking.

“This is my sister, Kabuki. She is being trained to be a healer.”

“I don’t want to be healer, I want to be a warrior.”

“Don’t be a silly head, females can’t be warriors.”

“Says who?” Kabuki demanded.

“It is our way,” Long Ears replied.

“Our way brought us to this.” Kabuki gestured at everything around her. “It is time for a new way. Minori said so.”

“Females are smaller and weaker.” Long Ears drew himself up to his full height, and he was a few scant inches taller than his sibling. “I’m bigger than you. Minori said I am to protect those smaller than me.”

Rolling her eyes, Kabuki snatched up her brother, lifted him up over her head, and then body slammed him down onto the ground. Long Ears yelped, but Kabuki already had him in her grip again. She lifted him with ease, hefted him into the air once more, and then pointed him head first towards the ground with the intent to piledrive him into the dirt.

“Mercy!” Long Ears shouted.

With what appeared to be no effort, Kabuki flipped her brother around once more and then set him down on his hind paws. She dusted him off, brushing away the dirt, then she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

“I am also a better archer than you,” Kabuki said into her brother’s ear.

Unable to help himself, Tarnish burst out laughing.

Rather than be embarrassed, Long Ears looked angry. He stood there, flexing his paw-fingers, his tail twitching, and what could only be described as a murderous rage filled his eyes. Tarnish stopped laughing.

“Dig Dag beat you for touching the bow, and he kept beating you every time he found you with a weapon… I wanted to make him pay! I was going to beat him down and make him submit to me!” Tears were visible in Long Ears eyes, and his terrible rage made him tremble. “I was going to challenge him, take over this clan, and then lead them to glory.”

“And you will,” Kabuki said in a reassuring voice to her brother as she pulled him close. She wiped his eyes and then gave him a squeeze. “Don’t cry… I can’t stand to see you cry. Everything will be okay.”

Still holding Maud, Tarnish realised that both siblings had endured a great deal of trauma together. He tried not to think about what might have happened to Kabuki had she grown up with Dig Dag still as chief. All around him was evidence of abuse, of harm, vessels filled with broken spirits. Some of them hadn’t seen the sun for a dog’s age. He saw Kabuki look up at him.

“I don’t have a daddy anymore. I don’t know who he was, but he’s gone now.” Kabuki reached up and wiped her own eyes, then looked up at Tarnish. “You seem nice. Will you stay and be my daddy?”

It felt as though some invisible force punched him in the guts. Tarnish’s mouth fell open, but no words came out. He felt Maud react, he felt her muscles tense, which only further disintegrated his ability to respond. His mouth went dry and he found it difficult to breathe.

“My mother didn’t know who my daddy was, and I kinda understand why, seeing as what goes on around here.”

“Kabuki, dear, where is your mother?” Octavia asked in hushed voice.

“With the Everflame,” Kabuki replied. “One day, her spirit will give my brother’s sword a keen edge.”

“Dear, while I am positive that Tarnish would love to take you in, he has work to do. Important work. And so do you, by the looks of things. You need to stay with your tribe and help them rebuild. They will need you, as both a warrior and a healer, and Tarnish has work that will take him to places far and wide.”

“Kabuki, that’s Octavia, and that’s Vinyl, and these two are Tarnish and Maud.” Long Ears sprang up to his hind paws, freeing himself from his sister’s grasp, and then said, “I must resume my duties as a guard.”

“My brother is all I have,” Kabuki said, looking disappointed. “I’d like to have a family. Minori has told me stories about how things were when she was a pup. Things sounded better in those days, but there was still trouble.”

“Be patient, little one, and you will have a family. You have Minori looking after you.” Octavia’s ears leaned out over her eyes and she looked over at Vinyl for a moment before returning her attention to Kabuki. “We can be your friends. As for Tarnish and Maud, they live in Rock Haven, the place you will be going, so you will see them again, when they are home. Everything will work out.”

“Really?” Kabuki's dirty white face looked hopeful.

“Yeah,” Tarnish replied in a husky voice as he fought back some sniffles. “We go home because family is there.” At the moment, Tarnish wanted to go home. He wanted his mother, and he wanted his other mother, and he needed to hear Igneous’ reassuring voice, and feel Marble’s soft touch. He wanted to hear Limestone’s boisterous laughter.

“I want to leave this place,” Kabuki said as her tail made a sad little wag behind her. “Minori said I will carry the forge fire when we go and it will be my responsibility to feed the flame and keep it alive until we get to where we’re going. I’ll be carrying the spirits of our ancestors.”

“That sounds like a very important responsibility.” Octavia’s voice was the very model of warm sincerity. Beside her, Vinyl nodded and Octavia smiled, but it was a sad smile.

“Say, Kabuki,” Tarnish said, eager to change the subject to something else less depressing, “would you know why these stitches on my withers look so weird? I’m asking because I thought you might know, with you being trained as a healer and all.”

“Oh, that’s minotaurian stitch magic,” Kabuki replied as her sadness melted away and vanished. “Minori is teaching me the magic of the stitches. They’re complicated.”

“What?” Tarnish’s brows crinkled as he wracked his brain, trying to understand what was just said.

“The minotaurs learned how to make magic stitches using special knots and making intricate, magic focusing patterns. Normally, this is used to enchant clothing and blankets and stuff made out of fabric, but skin can be sewn up too.”

Whipping his head around, Tarnish tried to look at the stitches on his withers.

“Minori uses the self repair stitch on skin to make it heal faster. A gash that might take weeks to close up can heal in a day or three.” Kabuki fidgeted as she sat in the dirt and looked over to where her brother was standing. “I had to sew my brother’s ear back on after he made Dig Dag angry. I’m glad I did, because his name probably would have been changed to One Ear.”

Long Ears said nothing, but clutched the handle of his wooden sword.

“Can she teach me?” Tarnish asked.

“Why would a hornicorn want to learn stitch magic? Can’t you just set things on fire by thinking about it?” Kabuki looked up at Tarnish with an expression of utter confusion, her eyes wide and her mouth open.

“Hey, this hornicorn isn’t so great at magic—”

“You did this!” Kabuki cried, interrupting, and she waved her paws at everything around her. “Your magic did this! Look what you did! By just thinking about it!”

“It was an accident.” Tarnish’s gaze fell down to the ground and he stared at a rock. “Look, it’s complicated, okay? I don’t know how to explain it.” When he lifted his head, he found both Kabuki and Long Ears staring at him. He had trouble meeting their combined gaze, and after a moment, he looked away again.

“Tarnish likes learning about the magic of others,” Octavia said, coming to Tarnish’s rescue. “He’s taught himself zebra hoodoo, he studies alchemy, and he is learning how to make charms. Tarnish is a magical scholar of the highest order.”

“Oh.” Kabuki’s eyes went wide. “Ooooh… he studies magic as art!”

“I what?” Tarnish asked, bewildered.

“I gotta go and talk to Minori,” Kabuki said as she lept to her paws. She took off sprinting, her long ears flapping against her head. “Minori will be pleased that an artist wishes to learn her craft!”

“I don’t understand what is going on.” Tarnish looked around him and his gaze fell upon Octavia. “What did you just do?”

A smug grin appeared on Octavia’s face, and she offered no reply, leaving poor Tarnish bewildered.

Author's Notes:

Next chapter, Twilight, and a special guest.