Author's Notes:

A Broadsword
A Heater Shield

A Pike

Plate Armor

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yhhDbaah9DQ

Sam and Twilight hadn't talked for two days since they had argued. Over those two days Twilight continued performing her royal duties all with the fear that maybe, just maybe Sam was right about how to deal with the dogs in the back of her mind. It was hard for her to decide between following his advice and possibly starting a war but knowing that the enslavement of ponies would stop or not doing anything and letting the dogs get away with it without any consequences just to keep them out of a war. Now Sam had been taking his weekend slow and kept his mind off of Twilight's decision, he was certain that Twilight only wanted the best for her people but if they did nothing about the issue than it would only get worse. After all if you don't punch a bully back then they'll just step all over you and he knew that wasn't what he wanted to happen.

It was early morning when Sam woke up, five o'clock actually and because it was so early he decided he'd take a longer shower then usual. Without the a rush he took a shower, shaved and dressed himself. By the time he was done it was around six thirty, so he made his way out of the room and downstairs.

Walking into the entrance hall he had noticeable energy in his step,"Hey there Sammy!" A feminine voice called out to him.

It almost made him jump in surprise, ponies usually weren't waiting to see Twilight this early,"Good morning Pinkie." He came to a stop and turned to face her as she walked up to him.

Pinkie was a good friend of Sam's, when he first got here Pinkie had been the one of the earliest ponies in town to greet him and even invited him to a welcoming party. When they weren't working they would often sit together at Sugarcube corner drinking milkshakes and talking, everybody loved her cupcakes but he really liked her milkshakes much more. They often talked about what was going on in their lives and she would always ask if he remembered any baking recipes from back home. Though baking wasn't his forte he still remembered how to make most treats from back on Earth.

"Say do you know when Twilight will be up and ready to talk?" She asked with a smile but Sam couldn't help noticing something was off about her smile. It didn't look or feel like there was any happiness or cheerfulness in it like there was with her usual facade.

Sam raised an eyebrow,"Yeah in an about an hour, its Sunday and she usually sleeps in an extra hour on Sundays. Why do you need to see her?" He asked crossing his arms and tilting his head.

"Well," Pinkie's demeanor changed with his question, her smile vanished replaced with a worried frown and her eyes lost their usual shine,"The wonderbolts came by the other day and they were asking around for Rainbow."

"Really? Why?"

"They say that Rainbow was supposed to show up for a meet on Friday, she didn't appear then and for nearly two days she didn't show up. So they came by asking around for her." She swallowed thickly and grimaced,"Turns out the last time somepony saw her was two days ago and she was over the Everfree."

Sam lowered his hands into his pockets,"Is there a search being organized?"

"Yeah some of the townsponies were coming with the girls and I to go searching. I came by to know if Twilight wanted to join us." She looked away tears forming in her eyes,"I just hope that she isn't to busy being a princess, Rainbow might be hurt after all and if she's in the Everfree..."

Sam's expression softened at the sight of her teary eyes, he reached up with both arms and grabbed her shoulders,"How about I go talk to her for you, that way you can go start searching early hmm? In fact when I finish asking her, I'll join you in your search, okay?"

Looking him in his eyes she sniffled and gave him a small smile,"Thanks Sam."

"Don't mention it." He patted her shoulders and lowered his arms back to his sides.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug, resting her head on his shoulder she whispered into his ear,"I have to mention it, after all I know how Rainbow treats you and the fact that you can look past it and help find her speaks volumes about you." She let go of him then leaned in and kissed his cheek.

He blushed the red tone lighting up his pale cheeks,"I-I," Sam flubbered obviously not used to physical affection.

"Shh," she put a finger to his lips,"Go talk to Twilight and when all this is over I'll make you a milkshake on the house, okay?"

"Uh yeah, that sounds like a good deal Pinkie." He nodded his blush dissipating slowly.

He watched her turn then walk out and couldn't help but note just how affectionate Pinkie was,"Guess thats just how she is."

Taking a deep breath he turned to the stairs and once again traversed them, except upwards this time. Once he reached the top Sam made his way through the maze of hallways all the way to Twilight's room. He stood in front of the door, sighing he steeled himself for the talk he was about to have.

He knocked firmly on the door making sure to be loud enough to wake her up,"Twilight, I have to talk to you."

He listened for any movement or response but none came, while raising his hand to knock again the door swung open revealing Twilight. She had a white night gown on but must have just woke up because it was unbuttoned revealing her chest and upon further inspection he found she was bottomless,"What do you want?" She asked her voice groggy.

"Well I uh..." he trailed off and looked down.

"What?" She confused she followed his gaze,"Oh! Oh my!" Her cheeks blazed red and she slammed the door shut in a hurry. He could hear her running around the room,"I am so sorry about this, give me a second and I'll be ready."

"No problem, the fault is mine anyway, I woke you up." He took a breath and looked down, his hands clasped behind his back while he waited.

The door opened again and now she had pajama pants on, at least she was a bit more properly dressed.

"So uh, what did you want to talk about." She cleared her throat and leaned against the doorway.

He sighed,"It's Rainbow."

She cocked her head and looked him in the eye,"What about her?"

"She's gone missing I-"

"What?! How?! Where?! Give me the details!" She straightened her posture as she leaned away from the door and gave him her full attention.

"I will, I will just calm down and let me finish okay."

"Alright I'm sorry, ah you know what?" She looked into her room,"Let me get dressed into some more appropriate clothes, I'll meet you downstairs then you can tell me." Once again Twilight went back into her room leaving Sam in the hall.

Within five minutes Twilight was dressed and sitting in the throne room listening to Sam tell her about Rainbow's disappearance.

"In fact Pinkie tells me that there's a search going on right now, the girls are all there and the townsponies that could make it are too. She came by to ask if you would come and help." He stood in front of her, hands dipped halfway into his pockets.

She nodded,"Of course I'll help, anything for my friends." Her tone was enthusiastic,"Now let's get going, you said you'd search too, right?"

"Yeah."

Twilight stood up and stepped towards him,"Good," She smiled appreciatively,"I'm glad you can forgive her for behaving so badly to you since you got here, not many ponies can do that."

He grabbed her shoulder as she walked past him,"Twilight I appreciate the compliment but I don't think she's just missing, I think the diamond dogs might be behind this."

"What?" She stared at him for a moment,"Why? This doesn't fit their style." She shook her head looking at him with disapproving eyes,"Do you really want war this badly?"

"No I don't want a war, I want justice, so please just hear me out." He pleaded.

Pushing his hand off her shoulder she let out a breath that flared her nostrils,"Alright, why did they kidnap Rainbow Dash? An element of harmony, a national hero and friend of princess Celestia herself."

"For those reasons exactly. There's no proof of the fact that they are pony traffickers, just speculation on your and my part. So we couldn't ever go after them or even investigate them without backlash from the other dog packs and its improbable if not impossible we would ever find any proof of their actions, correct?"

She looked him in the eyes her expression hardening,"Your making sense so far and I don't like it."

Sam felt a bit of relief that she saw his logic,"Now you've told me Bone Claw has killed two other alphas for their packs. You know what that tells me?" She shook her head waiting for him to continue,"It tells me he's an ambitious leader who wants to expand his pack and profits as much as possible." He paused a moment to let Twilight process the information. Her expression grew more and more worried with every point he made,"Now think about it, pony trafficking diamond dogs with a particularly ambitious leader and dire consequences for attacking them without proof." He swallowed thickly,"Now tell me why they wouldn't kidnap the Rainbow Dash? All they need to do to get rich is hide away until the heat dies down, then leave the country and sell her to the highest bidder, whether that be Equestria or some perverted freak with a lot of money."

She thought about what he'd just said,"I... I'll go there with the girls and we'll investigate our selves!"

She tried to move but Sam grabbed her by the forearm,"And what? Let them get away? No if you want to make sure they don't have any special escape plans or keep them from using said plans then send in a battalion of guards."

She looked away eyes wide with the realization that he was right,"But that would take a week to organize getting a battalion of guards down here and what if Celestia doesn't listen to me? Oh my Celestia, what-what they might be doing to Dash right now I-I don't even want to think about it!" She fell to her knees, breathing heavily,"I-If only i had taken your advice I-I-"

"Hey." He squatted down at her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulder,"Calm down Twilight, it's just a theory on my part and you know what? You are right it isn't their style I'm just guessing on just how ambitious this guy is I really don't know." She looked into his face with teary eyes and hot erratic breath that washed over his cheek,"Tell you what lets just search the forest, she's probably hurt somewhere out there and if we don't find her then we can explore the diamond dog possibility, okay?" He gave her shoulder a squeeze in an attempt to reassure her.

"O-Okay," he stood up and reached down to help her up,"I-I want to thank you Sam you, you're a very kind stall- man." Once on her feet she dusted herself off,"I suppose I'll be off to join the search then." She walked out of the room wiping her tears away and composing herself.

He stood there and gave a small smile to himself,"I'm sorry I can't join the search like I said I would Pinkie, but I've got a couple of dogs I need to put down."

~

Zecora stood over a table with Applebloom by her side, on the table was an assortment of ingredients for potions. She was explaining the effect of each ingredient and how to use them in a potion.

Applebloom had come over early this morning and wanted to know if there was a way to scry on ponies using potions since it wasn't possible with magic. After Zecora told her it wasn't possible as far as she knew, she then asked why she wanted to scry. That's how she had learned Rainbow was missing. They had spent the rest of the morning looking for potions that could help in the search.

They both jumped with a start when the door of the hut swung open and slammed into the wooden wall. Turning around as quickly as they could they were both confronted with an odd sight.

Sam stood in the doorway with a grim expression, like he'd been told he was going to die. Stepping forward they oticed he had large pack on his back that clinked with every step he took. Sam looked at Zecora,"Do you uh, do you have a map?"

Applebloom stuck her head out from behind the zebra,"O' course she does."

Zecora placed a hand over Applebloom's mouth shushing her,"Yes I have a map... what might you want it for then?"

"I don't want it, I just need you to show me a certain location."

She nodded cautiously still perturbed by the look on his face, she quickly sidestepped to the easternmost wall and grabbed the rolled up map off the shelf. Placing it on the table she unrolled it.

It's edges were rough and torn showing obvious use and the fact that the material it was on had faded in a coffee stain brown meant it was old. Areas where buildings or locations had been discovered after the map was created were marked by Zecora,"What is the location you desire to know?"

He stepped over to the table, the clanking in his bag telling Zecora all she wanted to know about it's contents,"I want to know where the hideout that the diamond dogs use is."

She placed her finger on an eastern point just before where the map ended. It was northeast of Applejacks farm and just past the forests in a rocky area. He studied it for a moment memorizing a path to where he wanted, no needed to go.

"Thank you for helping me." He turned and walked to the door,"And thank you Applebloom for being a good friend." He opened the door and walked out without another word.

His words had left Applebloom thoroughly confused,"What did he mean by sayin' that? If I dint' know any better I'd say he was marching off ta die."

"I believe he is Applebloom."

"What?! Well if he is then we gotta stop him! He's my friend!"

"He is to me as well and I don't intend to let him die." She looked to Applebloom,"I think we should follow him don't you?"

Applebloom nodded,"I think that's a mighty fine idea miss Zecora."

~

Securing the last plate of the armor he cracked his neck savoring what might be the last little pops in his neck he'd ever hear. It was a bad idea certain death actually but he knew that but if he went through with it then it would lead to one of two things, he would kill them all or drive them out and because he's a lone man the other packs would laugh at Bone Claw's defeat instead of rallying behind Samuel's assault. Now the other more likely scenario was that he'd die in his attack, but that give Equestria a good reason to wipe this pack out and since they would have good reason the other packs would leave it well enough alone.

Grabbing his heater shield he strapped it to his left forearm and his broadsword he put in it's sheath which ran along his left side, sure historically men with plate armor didn't use shields because the armor was good enough but if he was going to take on a small army he needed all the protection he could get. They didn't use broadswords either but he personally liked them.

Picking his helmet up from the ground he placed it on his head and made sure it was in place. Pikes are between ten and fourteen feet, since he was going into such an enclosed space he made sure that when he picked it up he held it by the middle of its wooden spire. It had been awhile since he last wore armor for sparing and now it wasn't to spar but to actually kill. Admittedly it wasnt like he was killing nice people but still it was an odd thought.

He gave a short prayer to God, after all he was most likely going to die and even if God didn't exist at least the thought of it helped to alleviate some of his anxiety before going in. With a last sigh he began the walk over the rocky ground between him and the cave.

Outside of said cave there were two diamond dogs standing guard. Well one was asleep on the ground, the other stood leaning downwards, a badly made spear helping him keep balance and if his eyes were any indication he was dozing off. Sam couldn't help but notice how unnaturally lucky this was, maybe God was on his side?

He stopped only about six feet away from the guards, he was amazed at their stupidity, how do you not notice a man in full blown clinking armor? Maybe he would feel bad about killing them after all.

He stepped forward with his right foot and thrusted the weapon catching the dozing dog in the throat. The dog's eyes widened in surprise when he saw the tip of a pike come out of his thoat as he fell, he would have screamed had his vocal cords not been severed. Blood poured from the wound while he writhed on the ground, grasping at his throat he made the most dreadful sound, like someone who had to throw up but had nothing to throw up.

All the while his sleeping friend didn't even stir, Sam was disgusted by this dogs lack of care for anything, which is why he didn't feel bad when he lifted his sabaton (Armor that covers the foot, not the band) and brought it down hard against the dogs head. The crack was heard just as much as it was seen forming across his skull and the dog didn't even twitch as blood and brain matter seeped out onto the dirt below.

"At least it was in his sleep." Sam muttered under his breath. Looking forward he entered the cave, his pike and shield faced forward ready for action, he walked for a minute or two with no activity before coming to a carved out room where the hideout diverged in two places. A torch was mounted on the back wall of the room and two dogs stood at attention like statues in front of the right diverging passage.

They seemed like maybe they were a little more disciplined than the last two, makes sense after all you'd want you best men on the inside to protect you. They immediately noticed him sidestep in the room pike facing them, the one on the right reacted blindly charging forward with a knife drawn.

The dog attempted sidestepping the pike as Sam drove it forward, it rammed the dog in his chest, penetrating a crude breastplate that the dog had on and ripped into his right lung causing irreparable damage. The speed of the spear forced the dog into the wall of the passage.

Turning his attention to the other dog that was charging now, Sam attempted to pull the pike from his previous victim but it wouldn't budge,"Fuck!" Sam roared as the dog raised a club above its head. Letting the pike go he made a split second decision. Bringing his shield up and charging forward the shield slammed into the dog with a loud bang and it threw the beast back a couple feet.

It lay on the ground and yelped with every attempted breath telling Sam that he tore the air of of the dog and very probably broke multiple ribs. He gave the pike a last attempted tug, when it didn't move he knew it was stuck so he gave up on that endeavor and walked over to the downed dog.

Unsheathing his sword he angled it downward placing the sharp tip on the dogs throat,"I'll give you one chance at mercy, so get the hell out here, leave the country and I won't kill you." He pressed against the dogs throat drawing a small amount of blood,"Deal?"

The dog nodded mindful of the sword at his throat, Sam stepped back but kept his sword trained on the dog. The beast stood up slowly keeping its hands above its head,"Alright I go, no loyalty for Claw anyway." Then he left running down the hall that led to the entrance.

Sam smiled under his helmet, at least he got to show a little mercy today, he turned his attention back to the decision he had to make, left passage or right? The left side passage had a light at the end and the sound of ceaseless laughter pouring from it. The right side was dark and strangely quiet, he had a suspicion that this passage might be where they kept the prisoners.

He stopped for a second thought about it and changed his plan. Now instead of die for the greater good he could see if he can rescue any prisoners and help them escape. That would be the proof he needed to get Celestia's attention and good reason for wiping these bastards out.

He lifted his sword and shield up, then began his cautious march down the dark passage, as he went the laughter from before had died away leaving only silence. He had to admit it was creepy beyond belief, but that wasn't going to stop him, he kept his eyes to the wall as he went and finally when he reached the end of the passageway he saw a carved out doorway to the right of it.

Sheathing his sword he stepped in front of the door, it was wooden with metal hinges and a small portway in the upper middle section of the door. Flipping his helmets visor up he looked in the port,"Holy shit..."

What he saw horrified him, Inside were the four mares that had been taken over the past month. Each one was nude, badly beaten and covered in a layer of dirt, his horror died away quickly replaced instead with a deep anger and hatred of this Bone Claw.

Backing up he drew his sword out it's sheath, grabbed it by the base of the blade with his right hand and lifted it high. Swinging down he brought the guard of it down on the top hinge.

The first one broke with ease making a loud sound while doing it, this didn't go unnoticed either, he could hear the mares inside shuffling about. With another strike the second hinge broke just as easily as the first, then with a swift kick the door fell, making a bang as it hit the ground.

Stepping inside he was met with the four mares standing before him,"Are-Are you here to save us?" One closest made asked, her coat was a deep blue and her mane violet.

"Yes, my name is Samuel and I'm here to save you. Do you mind telling me your names?"

"No I don't," the blue mare from before stepped forward,"I'm Violet Skies, I'm sorry but I don't know the other mare's names, they won't talk," she gestured to the other mares who were looking down, shaking and trying to cover themselves up,"But they've been treated worse than I."

"What do you mean?"

"Well they uh, they rape us daily as part of the process to get us ready for slavery, when they rape me I just lay there and don't fight back so that they don't beat me..." she shivered and hugged her herself tightly for a moment,"Eventually they get bored and turn their attention to these three who... always try to fight back, because of that they're raped harder and more viciously than me, as well as beaten afterwards." She sighed and turned to her mouth forming a halfhearted smile,"But your here to save us."

His stomach was queasy after her tale,"Damn straight I am. But I also need to save the stallions and if possible Rainbow Dash."

"Dear Celestia they have Rainbow Dash?"

"Yes and I mean to save her just as I mean to save you and those stallions." He sighed looking at the ground for a moment before looking back up,"Do you know where the stallions are?"

"Oh, w-well since I don't fight back they never cover my eyes or restrain me... when they bring me to the main hall and back, because of that I've mapped this place out a bit. The stallions are in a cell you must have missed on your way here, I... I wouldn't blame you for missing it, it is dark without a torch."

"Alright then, I'll lead you out and then come back for the stallions."

"Wait, did you... did you already kill the guards on your way here?"

"Yeah." He cocked his head at her,"Why?"

"Well I uh, I know this place well enough to find my way out and you've k-killed the guards. So I propose that while you save the stallions I lead the girls out of here, Sunday is when their leader allows them to l-let loose in the main hall. S-So we could sneak out of here without any trouble."

He frowned unsure of her idea,"Your sure that your okay with making your way out on your own?" His tone one of concern.

"Yes we-we'll be fine, just continue saving ponies okay."

"Okay," he flipped his visor back down,"But be careful."

"We will, Celestia knows we will."

They left cautiously leaving Sam alone, readying his weapons he made his way back down the hallway. When found the Stallion's cell the first thing he did was look into the port to see what condition they were in.

They were asleep at the moment but had makeshift clothes unlike the mares, the stallions were dirtier and beaten just as hard if not harder then the mares were. He opened the door in the same manner as he did with the last door, it was quite the surprise to the sleeping ponies. They jumped up confused and unsure what to make of the metal man standing before them.

"What are your names?"unlike the mares they weren't as traumatized and could still speak for themselves

"I'm Rummage Digger." A short stallion unicorn with a bland blonde fur coat said.

Another one an earth pony taller and stronger then the last stepped forward,"I'm Coin Minter." His coat was a deep red, almost like velvet.

The third one was a mint green unicorn,"Candy Maker." He said his attitude seemed to be short. Not that Sam could blame him for it.

The last one was quiet and seemingly shy earth pony,"I'm uh, stone shaper."

"Nice to meet you all, now, I'm here to save you."

He explained what was going on, the mares were free, the guards dead and he could escort them out or they could leave themselves.

"But what if we want to help you kill the the bastards and save Rainbow Dash?" Coin Minter asked.

Stone Shaper cut in before Sam could respond,"We have no armor or weapons, we've been beaten and worked to near death and you want to help him? You'd be more of a hindrance than a help."

Coin sighed and looked down,"I just... I just need to do something! After what they did to us, I have to!"

"He's right," candy maker agreed,"You would just get in the way."

"Look the best thing you can do is go with the others here, make sure they get out okay." Sam stepped forward placing hand on His shoulder,"You need to get the word out about what they do here, use your wounds as proof. That way If I die this won't have been for nothing."

Looking Sam in the eyes coin nodded,"Alright, I'll go but if your still alive after this I'm buying you a drink."

"Deal."

The stallions left their cell moving quickly down the hallway and towards the entrance of the hideout. Now Sam had to go after Rainbow Dash and she was most likely in the main hall where all the dogs were right now.

~

He stood at the end of the right side passage way before a wooden door, Rainbow was behind it along with dozens of dogs that would try to kill him the second he opened it. Deciding he should take a look through the port before charging in he grabbed hold of it and lifted slowly, trying to keep the noise down.

Inside was about a hundred dogs all around a table, on the table was Dash and what they were doing to her was... He looked away eyes closed in disgust. Taking a deep breath he steeled himself for another look, past the crowd above everyone else was a throne of rock and on it a dog bigger than the others. He wasn't taking part in the "festivities", instead he watched his men drink and rape the poor pony.

Samuel hadn't realized how badly he was shaking until now, not out of fear but because the anger he pushed down had almost become rage. Taking a step back he readied his sword and charged.

The door bursted open and Sam came through giving a warcry, it probably wasn't a very good one but it didn't matter. The first dog in front of him was turning to see what was happening right as Sam swung his sword in a cross cut on the dog's unprotected back.

Blood spurted from the cut he'd just inflicted on the dog and the dog fell down screaming and grasping at his back. The laughter from before became yelling and shouting as Sam drove his sword into the side of another dog that was to his right by the door.

A dog charged him from the left side in an attempt to tackle him. Sam wrenched the sword out of his last kill, the body slumping to the floor and he simply swung his sword to the side in an arc. The sword cut across the dogs face and right over his eyes. The now blinded dog back pedaled and grabbed at his eyes blood coming through the spaces in his fingers.

Turning forward he saw one dog in front of him standing his ground while the others ran in a blind panic unsure of what was going on, the dog in front of him lowered into a fighting stance. Sam just smiled and stood up straight, then motioned with his right hand to take a swing. Which is what the dog did, the dog stepped forward wounded up and threw his punch.

Upon contact with the breastplate of his armor the dogs hand broke,"Grahh!" The dog stepped back cradling his hand. The armor wasn't even marked, with a shake of is head Sam put his left foot forward and thrusted his sword into the side of his neck, this knicked his cartoid artery. Blood sloshed out and onto the ground, the dog gurgled and fell face first into the floor.

A powerful blow to his back made Sam tumble forwards slightly, it was going to bruise later but he payed that no mind, spinning about he saw a dog with a hammer raised above his head. He took note at the stupidity of these dogs in the way they fought.

Shooting outwards, the edge of his shield hit the dog in the left arm, the dog howled and dropped his hammer. Sam then sliced his sword diagonally from below which ripped the dogs stomach open, guts flowed out of the wound along with copious amounts of blood.

The dog looked down at his own guts then back up to Sam his eyes wide and mouth agape. Letting out a last breath he fell backwards.

"Come back here you cowards!" Sam turned back towards the throne, only a few dogs remained the rest had run deeper into the hideout.The dog who had shouted was the one on the throne, Bone Claw.

Marching towards the six dogs that stood in front the the table Dash was on, he stopped just out of swinging distance,"Surrender now and I'll let you live."

"No! Do that and you won't make any money!" Bone stepped down the small stairway that led to his throne, he stopped behind the six dogs,"Who is this creature that thinks he can come in here and kill us all then steal our hostage?! Hmm? You filthy mutts are going to let this short piece of shit just take everything?!"

They looked at each other unsure of what to do,"So this is how you want to die?" Sam questioned,"In a dark and dingy little hideout at the hands of a single opponent?"

"Exactly he's alone, rush him!" Claw barked angrily.

One of the dogs in front of Claw raised an eyebrow,"One warrior kill many, we no fight him." The other dogs nodded and lowered their weapons,"You give word to not kill?" The dog from before asked Sam.

"I give you my word." He nodded.

Bone Claw's eyes widened in disbelief as the dogs in front of him ran past Sam and out of the hideout,"H-How," he shook his head,"No it doesn't matter I'll get them after I kill you."

Sam got into a combat stance. Claw brandished his little bone knives, placing them in between the spaces of his fingers like brass knuckles and lowering himself. Sam made the first move swinging his sword in a downward arc, Claw stepped back just barely missing the tip and in retaliation swung his hand. Grabbing the shield he he yanked on it and pulled himself right past Sam, he managed to get behind Sam totally and with a spin he threw his deadly fist towards Sam's back.

The only mistake he made was in underestimating Samuel's speed. Before he hit him, Sam swung his shield to the left and spun around at the same time, the shield rammed Claw right on his left side and threw him to the ground. It hadn't knocked the breath out of him like Sam hoped it would but he still got a hit in.

"Come on, why are you doing this?" Claw asked picking himself up and getting in a defensive posture,"Some conceived notion that you might help make the world a better place?" Samuel advanced and Claw backed up,"You think I'm evil don't you, taking ponies and selling them." Sam kept moving forwards and Claw kept moving backwards,"Well let me tell you the world is a cruel place and I'm not scared to admit that! I'm just doing what I have to! You though you're only doing this because your scared to face reality!" He backed into the wall.

"Really?" Sam asked smirking behind his helmet,"If I'm so scared then how come your the one who's running?"

Claw lashed out in an attempt to get at Sam's helmet, Sam simply brought his left arm higher, the claws hit his shield and at the same time Sam thrusted his sword forward from below his shield. The sword plunged into the big dog's left thigh, yelping Claw dropped his knives and slumped down grabbing at the sword in his leg.

"Your just a scumbag that tries to justify his actions by claiming that "that's the way of the world" well let me tell you something," he twisted the sword, Bone looked up at him with tear in his eyes,"The world has a way of taking care of people like you and I'm about to show you how it does that."

He wrenched out he sword, blood began spewing out of his thigh,"Oh I must have hit an artery, guess I don't have to kill you myself after all." He watched Claw do everything to stop the bleeding, he pinched, grabbed and even tried sticking his finger in the wound like a plug but in the end his breathing slowed and he visibly went pale.

"You... are a bastard." And with that he went limp, Sam smiled.

"Yeah I'm a bastard, but your a dead bastard." Turning away he looked to the table where Rainbow Dash was laid. He swiftly made his way over and looked her over, she was nude, covered in bruises and cuts. Her arms and legs were tied down to the sides of the table. She had a blindfold over her eyes and her ears were plugged, as of now she was breathing steadily.

He grabbed her blindfold and gently pulled it off, she blinked wildly looking around, when her eyes landed on him she screamed,"Get away from me!" She struggled in her bonds trying to fight back.

He pulled his helmet off and grabbed her shoulders, she looked at him in surprise,"It's me, it's Sam I'm here to help." He yelled so she could hear through the plugs.

Her breathing calmed down as she listened to him,"S-Sam? R-Really?"

He nodded and pulled the plugs out of her ears, moving to hers arms he used his sword to cut the ropes. She sat up quickly and tugged at the ropes around her feet,"We-We gotta get the hell out of here!" He grabbed her shoulder and she looked at him,"What?!"

He pointed towards the bodies around the room, her eyes widened at the sight,"Take it easy, I understand what's happened to you but we aren't in any immediate danger." He patted her back,"So please slow down, you could hurt yourself."

She sighed and nodded,"Okay I'll calm down, I just-just... did you kill them?"

He began helping to remove the ropes on her feet,"Yes, yes I did." He waited for a response.

"That's," she slipped her feet out of the bonds,"Pretty badass actually." He smiled, still the same Rainbow Dash.

helping her off the table she stumbled slightly, he wrapped an arm under her shoulder to hold her up,"Can you walk?"

"Yeah," she brushed him off and stood up straight with out support,"I'll be fine now let's get out of here, if you want to that is." She joked and he almost laughed.

"Yeah, I know the way out, follow me."

She followed him closely through the door and into the passage way. They quickly walked into the room where everything diverged, Rainbow smiled when she saw the impaled dog against the wall,"I see this guy gave you trouble huh?"

"Nah he was a terrible fighter." She laughed at his comment.

"Fucker got what he deserved."

He led her down the entrance passage and when Rainbow saw the light of the outside world she took off in a sprint. Sam followed her outside and he found her stretching her wings and floating in the air,"I-I'm outside I, ha, I never thought I'd see the sky again!"

He stood there outside the cave entrance smiling and watching her fly about. She flew down in front of him her smile going away some,"Sam I-I want to apolo-" she was cut off by a noise in the cave, turning around they were met with the sight of dozens of dogs charging at them from the cave.

Pushing her behind him he drew his sword and readied his shield,"Finish talking to me later, I'll fight them off just get back to town."

"What?!" She grabbed his shoulders from behind,"You can't do that, you'll die!"

"Maybe, but it's better then letting them kill us both." He remained facing the horde that was approaching.

"N-Not if you run and I fly!" Her tone was pleading and frantic.

"No they're quicker than I am and your not strong enough to carry me. Just go I'll be fine."

"Promise me you won't die!"

"What?" He looked to the side at her, she was crying.

"Promise me you won't die! You saved me and I haven't made it up to you yet!"

"I... okay, I promise to not die." He laughed under his breath at how stupid that sounded.

She let go of him,"Good... I'll see you later." Turning away she flew up and out of sight.

Making sure she was gone he turned back to the cave, which he noticed was cramped and from what he could see the dogs were all bunched up. The entrance was small it would force the dogs to come at him two at a time at most, this was a bottleneck position, maybe he had an actual advantage.

The dogs were here now and two lunged at him at once, he killed one with a sword thrust to the gut, the second one's head was cracked on Sam's shield.

Two more appeared right after and attacked the same way, slamming the shield into both of them they were thrown back, he took a step forward and in one swing slit both their bellies.

The next wave of them stopped for a second and the right one pointed at him,"You kill boss! You Take slaves! We kill!" And yet again charged. This was going to be a long fight.

~

Sam didn't know what time it was, the sun was dipping below the horizon so it must be evening. His arms felt like lead, his legs burned and everywhere he had been hit hurt beyond belief but none of the wounds were fatal, thanks to the armor. Drenched in other people's blood he stood there, the fighting had ceased a couple minutes ago and he couldn't tell whether they gave up or he had killed them all. He still couldn't understand it, all they did was charge him two at a time. It was like they wanted to die, he didn't want to think about it now.

Unsteadily walking over the bodies he finally came to a patch of ground that wasn't tainted with blood. Falling to his knees he took off his helmet and dropped it, his breathing was slow and heavy.

"Samuel!" He looked up slowly trying to see who called to him through the blood over his eyes.

Zecora ran towards him with Applebloom in tow,"Oh, hi Zecora." He responded.

They fell to their knees in front of him, Zecora grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eye,"Samuel I-I saw what happened are-are you wounded?!"

"Oh," he swallowed thickly and laughed,"Just fine, though I think I'm gonna pass out..." he slumped forward onto the ground bloody armor rattling loudly.

"Oh ma Celestia, we need ta get him to a doctor!" Applebloom yelled worriedly.