Cloudy Sunset was not a happy pony. She was a pegasus mare with a light yellow coat and a red curly mane. She had been born and raised in Trottingham, and she had wanted to become a Wonderbolt since before she got her cutie mark: a grey cloud covering a red sun. Cloudy had been an outstanding student, so she had earned a scholarship to study in Cloudsdale’s flight school. She finished flight school with the best grades of her promotion the same year that Rainbow Dash began her first year. This had earned her an invitation to attend the Wonderbolt Academy. This made her very happy, as she hoped that her performance in the Academy would result in her joining the Wonderbolts. Her hopes were crushed by the accident with the Dizzitron. The machine had malfunctioned when it was spinning her, releasing her head-first against the ground. The impact resulted in a skull fracture, and the medical staff from the Academy said that it was a miracle that she survived when they managed to stabilize her after several hours in critical condition. She had been comatose for nearly a week, and she needed a month before she recovered all her faculties, save for her keen vision. The doctors said that the impact had permanently damaged her eyes beyond what magic and science could repair, forcing her to wear eyeglasses for the rest of her life. As one of the requisites for joining the Wonderbolts was having perfect vision, she left the Academy and joined the Equestrian Guard, where she was allowed to fly with contact lenses under her flying goggles. The Equestrian Guards, unlike the Royal Guards, are a reserve force of citizens who have their own jobs and lives, but are always available to serve Equestria if they are needed. Cloudy Sunset returned to Trottingham, where she got a job in the city’s weather patrol and spent the next years fighting against clouds, monotony and a depression.

When she learned that she had been assigned to the Crystal Empire, she thought her work would be patrolling the skies of the city until they could raise a proper police force. The crystal ponies had neither wings nor horns, like earth ponies, so it made sense that Shining Armor would need some pegasi from the Equestrian military. She hoped that spending a few months in a city that had disappeared from the world for a millenium would be what she needed to feel happiness again. Due to this, she was surprised when Shining Armor sent all the pegasi he requested away from the city to explore Gem Fido, find a particular diamond dog settlement known as ‘Granite Back’ and give a letter to the leader, ‘Drogur the Arcane’. The task was supposedly easy, as the settlement had been built under a black granite mountain which, according to Shining Armor, stood out among the rest. The problem was that Shining didn’t know its exact location so they had to explore a huge section of Gem Fido that had many, many mountains.

And so, the pegasi flew over Gem Fido in groups of two, trying to find a black mountain. It was a dangerous job, as diamond dogs had nets that could catch a pegasus who flew too low and the occasional dragon could gobble up those who flew too high, with narrow chances of success. Cloudy’s wingpony, Silverwing, was a stallion younger than her. They had clashed since the moment Silverwing was given the wingpony’s position, as he considered himself better than ‘a half-blind old mare’ and she didn’t have the patience to deal with his arrogance. Due to all of it, Cloudy Sunset flew in silence, trying not to think about how much she hated her life.

Fate deemed that Cloudy Sunset would be the pony to find Granite Back.

“Silverwing! Can you see that?” she asked, pointing at the dark spot in the distance that could be seen now that the clouds had moved away. The stallion squinted and, after a few seconds, nodded.

“Yes, it could be our mountain!” he replied.

The closer they were to the mountain, the more certain they were that they had found Granite Back. The black mountain stood out among the green of the trees and grass and the brown of the dirt. The pegasi soon noticed two diamond dogs guarding an entrance to the mountain.

“Alright, I’m going to deliver the message,” said Cloudy. “You know the procedure. If I don’t come out in the next two hours, you will return and report what happened.”

“See you later, Cloudy,” Silverwing replied with as much confidence as he could muster.

The two diamond dog guards pointed their spears at Cloudy when the mare landed a few meters away from them.

“Halt!” ordered the one on the left. “Name and business!”

“My name is Cloudy Sunset, what is the name of this place?”

“This Granite Back. Why pony here?”

“I carry a message for your leader, Drogur the Arcane.”

“Follow me,” said the guard on the right, as he went into the mountain. She didn’t see the other guard blowing a whistle that ponies couldn’t hear when she crossed the entrance.

Cloudy felt uneasy and a bit scared as she followed the diamond dog. He was leading her through a labyrinth of corridors dug in the rock which were too small for her to fly. She would be unable to escape if things went awry, which was a possibility when dealing with a primitive race like diamond dogs.

‘At least I’m not claustrophobic’, she thought, trying to be optimistic for once.

Cloudy was surprised when she was led to the main cave, as she didn’t expect diamond dogs to be advanced enough to have buildings and private houses. She had always thought they were more similar, both in intelligence and lifestyle, to bears than to civilized species such as ponies. She noticed that the walls of the cave had many doors, and that the buildings were clearly divided in two districts: one with tents and the other with stone buildings. Most of the buildings were empty at the moment. The diamond dog stopped in front of a door that stood out because it was the only one with a guard protecting the entrance.

“Pony brings message for Alpha,” said one guard to the other, who nodded and opened the door.

“You meet Alpha now,” he said, motioning for Cloudy to go inside.

The Alpha, much like the warren itself, wasn’t like Cloudy expected at all. She found herself in a room with the biggest diamond dog she had ever seen sitting behind a desk and wearing a black suit, with a black shirt and a white tie.

“Welcome to Granite Back,” the diamond dog said. “Please take a seat.”

‘This is very weird’, Cloudy thought, raising an eyebrow, but she did as she was told.

“I am Drogur the Arcane, Alpha of Granite Back. What’s your name?”

“Cloudy Sunset.”

“Well, Cloudy. What brings you to my humble abode? I guess tourism isn’t the reason.”

“I am here to deliver you a message from Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance,” she explained as she took the sealed letter from the small saddlebag she carried.

Only when she gave it to Drogur did she realize that he might be illiterate. Luckily for her, he wasn’t. The diamond dog cleared his throat and read it aloud.

“Dear Lord Drogur,
A common acquaintance has told us about your desire for an alliance with Equestria. I can only think of one idiot I know that could end up talking with pony royalty. The Crystal Empire, as a principality of Equestria, is willing to negotiate the terms of said alliance with Granite Back. Oh, so that’s the name of the city that appeared in the middle of the Frozen Lands for no reason.
Our new subjects, the crystal ponies, have revealed us that they used to work together with diamond dogs before Sombra the Merciless rose to power, one thousand years ago. Hm... That’s interesting... This leads us to believe that cooperation between our nations will result in benefits for both.
However, for this cooperation to exist we have some requisites that are not negotiable. A bold one, this prince of yours. First: slavery is not allowed in Equestria, and we expect all the ponies who live in Granite Back to have the same rights and freedom as diamond dogs. Second: carnivore practices must be limited to non-intelligent species, eating ponies is illegal, no matter the circumstances. What is he expecting, that we’ll start digging up graves to have ponies for dinner? That’s... Hm... I’ll have to teach my dogs to stay out of cemeteries.
We believe that what we are asking is logical and right. We await your response.
Respectfully,
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor”, Drogur carefully folded the letter and put it inside a drawer of his desk. “I take it that you didn’t know the content of this letter,” he said, when he noticed Cloudy’s surprised face.

“Uh... No, I am only a messenger,” she explained.

“Well, messenger,” Drogur began as he rose from his armchair. “I’m sure you and your wingponies must be tired after flying all the way from the Crystal Empire. I will need some time to write your leaders a proper answer, so I think it is only right that I offer you a place to recover and something to eat before you leave.”

‘He wants to capture me and Silverwing! I have to find a way to escape!’, she thought as she opened her mouth to reply. “I... I have orders to return and report as soon as I give you the message. I’m afraid I can’t stay.”

“Is that so? Hm... Then you’ll take my ambassador with you.”

“Huh?”

“I’m sure you ponies are used to the reliability of mail, but having messengers flying over Gem Fido is dangerous. I don’t want our confidential messages being burned or eaten by dragons or, even worse, in the paws of other Alpha. You will accompany my ambassador and protect her from any harm. I’m sure there’s enough of you to defend yourself from a scouting pack of dogs.”

“... We’re only two...” Cloudy said, and Drogur facepalmed.

“OK, I give up. You and the other pony go back and tell your leaders that an ambassador will arrive at the Empire to discuss the details of our alliance. Be careful on the way back, you will fly over Azklur’s territory and his dogs are very good at catching pegasi and griffins. Dragons are rare in these lands, so fly high. Now, unless you really came for the touristic tour, I’ll take you to the exit.”

On the way back, Cloudy couldn’t help but wonder why did the cave look so empty.

“Where is everypony?” she asked.

“They are working. Gems don’t dig themselves up.” Drogur replied, without bothering to elaborate.

"Where are you from, miss Sunset?" he asked a few minutes later, as he led her through the labyrinth.

By the time they reached the outside, Drogur knew about Trottingham as much as anypony and more about Cloudy than some of her colleagues. When she took off to join Silverwing she couldn't help but wonder how had he managed to make her talk so much about herself. 'Maybe he calls himself the Arcane for a reason.'

“How did it go?” asked Silverwing when he joined her.

“They will send an ambassador. We have to return now.”

“So... Did you learn what we came here for?”

“Yes, the Alpha read the message aloud in front of me, it-”

“They can read?” he asked, interrupting her.

“Yes, at least the Alpha can. The message says that...” Cloudy told Silverwing about her meeting with Drogur as they flew back to the Crystal Empire.

"I can't believe that Shining Armor is considering an alliance with those monsters," said Silverwing when Cloudy was done talking. "He's gone nuts!"

"I don't know. I always thought diamond dogs were just a bit smarter than animals, but their leader was as intelligent as anypony."

"Dragons are intelligent, too. That doesn't mean they aren't monsters.”

"That’s true, but I trust Prince Shining Armor. He wouldn't side with evil creatures."

"I wouldn’t be so sure about that... You know what they say about him and changelings..." Silverwing sneered.

"I don't, and whatever 'they' say I don't want to hear it."

Silverwing snorted and they continued flying in silence.

A few hours later, both ponies were startled by a sudden "fwoop" noise. A large net skyrocketed from the ground, trapping both of them before they could dodge it. Fortunately for them, the military training they both undertook when they joined the Equestrian Guard had taught them what to do in such a situation. They hugged each other and opened their wings to their full span, which was easy due to how large the net was. This slowed their fall enough to land without being harmed. Three diamond dogs were already aiming at them with their spears when they touched the ground.

“Ponies now slaves of Sapphire Pit,” the biggest one said.

“You caught the wrong ponies, dog,” Silverwing replied, as he and Cloudy Sunset ripped to pieces the net with their wings.

The razorwing technique is something quite impressive. Pegasi using the razorwing channel the innate magic that allows them to fly into the tips of their feathers, momentarily turning them into razor-sharp blades. With enough training and talent, a pegasus can cut through steel and even dragonscales. However, it is a dangerous technique, as a pegasus may deplete his magic after a prolonged use of the razorwing. This often means the pegasus will find himself with a broken wing after he tries to cut something, or have the wing cut off when trying to parry a blow from a sword or another wing. A pegasus that has emptied his magic reserves will also need a few hours of rest before being able to fly again, which can also be a death sentence in certain situations. The razorwing of pegasi from elite groups such as the Royal Guard is strong enough to match steel, while the razorwing of the Equestrian Guard can cut through flesh, wood and bone, but is ineffective against most metals.

The diamond dog scouts, armed with spears and wearing just leather jackets at most, had no chance against the two ponies. Silverwing jumped towards the nearest dog and, with a swift slash of his wing, separated the dog’s head from its body. At the same time, Cloudy sliced another dog’s right arm off as he raised it in order to hit her in the head. The remaining dog tried to escape, but he didn’t run far, as the pegasi soon caught him and, doing a maneuver that they both had practiced uncountable times in the battle drill, cut his arms off at the same time.

The two ponies landed, breathing heavily. It was the first time any of them had killed. The two pegasi flew in silence, too shocked by what they had done to do anything but fly. Later, Cloudy would have trouble remembering what happened between the moment she and Silverwing were caught by the net, and when they arrived at the Crystal Empire. The sun had set by the time they crossed the Frozen Lands and reached the Crystal Empire. The ponies who received them quickly noticed that both ponies had blood stains all over their bodies and were clearly confused, so they were sent to the barracks to sleep right after Cloudy gave them the Alpha’s message.

Author's Notes:

So... yeah. Havoc has intermissions now. If Andrew Hussie can make them, then so can I. (I will probably die due to a brain explosion if I ever try to match Homestuck's complexity, but I think I can handle this).

I will try to avoid going crazy with them, maybe one every 2-5 chapters. The story's name is still Havoc, so it must have Havoc in it, right?

Tell me what you think about them. If they are utter trash I will dispose of them, and if you love them I will make more.

I was going to upload this on Monday, but it was April's Fools so I decided to wait so you people wouldn't think "ermahgerd, weeeman has made a serious chapter, it must be a joke!"