>>Twilight stormed into your house through the open door
>>“Anon?”
>>Morning has come, the light of Celestia in full force
>>Twilight was on the search, along with her friends, for the missing Apple Bloom
>>They split up an hour before
>>Twilight received a tip from a certain Mint Green pony that they were heading towards your house
>>Naturally, given the circumstances, she was worried out of her head
>>What she found there horrified her
>>A chrome knife encrusted with blood
>>And from it, a trail of dry red splotches on the ground
>>“Sweet Celestia!”
>>She reared, her lip curling with disgust as she gazed at the discarded tool
>>Assumptions filled her purple head
>>She trotted in place, swaying her head this way and that
>>“Oh, no!”
>>“Oh no no no!”
>>She galloped at best speed out of the house to get her friends
 
>>Light flooded your consciousness once more
>>And once again, it was dim
>>The hospital, again?
>>You could only be so lucky
>>You made very few sounds as you came to
>>Your face. It was... ow
>>I mean, really 'ow'
>>You got knocked for a loop by something
>>You lift a hand to your cheek and took stock of your situation
>>You were inside of a stone alcove, surrounded by loose dirt
>>A mine?
>>The only way out was a series of iron bars guarded by a humanoid figure
 
>>The only way out was a series of iron bars guarded by a humanoid figure
>>You shook your head and focused your thoughts
>>It was a rough-shod jail cell, and your guard was an average sized diamond dog
>>Other than that, you knew not where you were
>>You saw that the guard had a key ring
>>You got up on your knees, managing your breathing to make as little noise as possible
>>You moved only when the bored guard shifted his footing
>>A delicate operation, this was
>>You get within range, and he is none the wiser
>>Until you see his ears reflexively pivot to face you
>>Quickly your right hand rockets out to grab the guard by the collar
>>“Whua?!”
>>You shove him forward, pressing your body against the bars
>>He flings like a ragdoll
>>You hurl yourself back with all your might, going so far as to yank your arm back in addition
>>The The pull and torque creates adequate acceleration
>>He slams against the iron bars
>>His head whiplashes right into the hard surfaces
>>He falls over like a sack of potatoes
>>You quickly take the key chain and undo the lock to your cell and stumble out, making sure to afford a glance in all directions before moving forward
>>Sweet Celestia
>>You come to a junction, and it's a maze
>>Some sort of underground tunnel system
>>There were passages in the walls
>>In the floors
>>In the ceiling
>>So many possible directions
Sweet Celestia
>>You vocally repeat your thoughts
>>You pick a direction, and go
>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDPC7CFv5hA
 
>>How much time has passed? You don't know
>>You feel as if you are suffocating
>>It's so dry down here
>>You're so thirsty
>>Your throat is pinched with pain
>>Blood seeped from an open cut in your head a while ago right into your left eye, forcing you to shut it
>>You're tired
>>You're hungry
>>You're confused
>>Fatigue doesn't even begin to describe it
>>On top of that, you weren't planning thisshit
>>You've lost a lot of blood
>>You're woozy, and at any moment you feel like you could blow chunks
>>You round a corner, right into the backs of two Diamond Dog guards
>>You quickly stumble back and press against the corner
>>You cannot fight, now
>>Your only talent, and it would be suicide to use it here
>>Shit, where do you go, now?
>>“Hear about the diamonds?”
>>One spoke up
>>“What about em'?”
>>“We ain't gonna have to pull the wagons anymore. They got some ponies to do it for us”
>>“About time! I was getting sick of hauling that junk”
>>You hear everything
>>“Yeah, they're pretty small but they'll manage”
>>Should you care?
>>Really, should you?
>>No, you don't feel like you should
>>And, yet, there's a feeling of responsibility that overtakes you
>>Celestia, damnit
>>What are you going to do?
 
>>They were frustrating, pretentious, obnoxious
>>They're ponies, and you have no reason to feel any sympathy for them
>>But... they're kids
>>Celestia has removed memories of your childhood, effectively destroying yours
>>But they still have lives to live
>>Damnit, damnit, damnit
>>You can't believe that you're even considering this
>>The guards move off on their patrol, and you follow – being more cautious than you ever have been in your entire life
 
>>By Celestia – who you still recognize as your one and only God;
>>These tunnels are winding, and forever
>>They are eternity
>>More than once you have had to stop and sit, waiting for your patrol to get moving
>>And sometimes you have had to start following other patrols as a matter of circumstance
>>It gets really difficult when patrols overlap
>>You are going nowhere fast
>>This situation doesn't get any better
>>Until you happen to cross a wooden gate
>>You peer into it, and it looks like it's an armory
>>You look to the left, and then to the right
>>And you cannot afford to miss 'up,' here
>>Once the guard dogs are out of ear shot, you open the gate and then close it behind yourself
>>You find yourself in a richly equipped room with spare helmets, cuirasses, and spears
>>You inspect the workmanship of the armor and note that the Dogs are alarmingly intelligent
>>They employ hinges and have pauldrons on their armor
>>It indicates that they must come in contact with things capable of hitting them in the shoulder from the top
>>This tells you a lot about them
 
>>Their use of bolting and riveting weakens the armor, but it's probably done for a practical reason
>>Some of the spears use discarded diamonds for heads
>>Hard, but brittle
>>And therefor useless to you
>>Immediately, you go about dressing yourself in diamond dog armor plating
>>You grab a spear
>>Rough yourself up with some dirt
>>A lot of dirt, actually
>>While you prepare yourself, you hear the gate latch
>>A diamond dog workmaster walks into the room, and you look over your shoulder and freeze
>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQiDzSWLIm4
>>You start to sweat
>>Oh, Celestia
>>You aren't ready
>>Holy shit
>>The work master looks at you for a moment
>>The span of time is volitile
>>He analysis you
>>The armor is way too big for you
>>You don't have a tail
>>And some of your skin is still uncovered
>>Shit
>>“What are you doing?!”
>>He calls in a shrill voice
>>“Standing there like an idiot!”
>>He cracks the whip, lashing it out right at your feet
>>You skip back and rear up on one foot, raising your arms defensively
>>You don't want to get whipped! Fuck that noise
>>Even Fetishshy looks good by comparison
>>Oh, Celestia, what were you saying?
Uh
>>You are at a loss for words
>>“Get your butt to the deep quarry! The boss is about to execute the prisoner!”
Oh! Yar, that sounds good.
>>You get on your fists and feet, running as much like a gorilla as possible, like you've seen them sometimes do
>>The taskmaster crosses his arms and shakes his head
>>“Freakin' inbreeds...”
 
>>Oh, Celestia, what you wouldn't do for some water right now
>>It's been over an hour since you woke up
>>This goes beyond being thirsty
>>The discomfort is overwhelming
>>Your mouth feels like cotton
>>Your fists are all sorts of scratched up
>>The fatigue is bearing down worse and worse
>>You have been swept up by a group of miners who are rushing to the quarry where they were ordered by their masters
>>This place must be a network of SEVERAL quarries
>>This just keeps getting better and better
>>You finally get a break when you pass a hallway that is lined with prison cells
>>There is one guard posted there
>>And, as you enter the hall way, you find Sweetie Belle in one
>>You look at the next one
>>Scootaloo
>>And, in the final cell, there is Apple Bloom
>>They are crying. Now bawling, but they are sniffling and they are leaking tears
>>Upon their backs you can make out the impressions of a harness
>>These girls have already been used for manual labor
>>How long were you out?
>>You march up to the stationed guard
Shifts' over, bud. Get to the quarry
>>The guard dog, who is built like a brick but also a little smaller than you, scratches the side of his head with a nail
>>“That... doesn't seem right.”
Hm?
>>“...I just relieved a guy ten mi”
>>You clock him with a hard uppercut while he isn't looking, crouching down low and using your legs to further drive the punch up past his chin
>>His helmet flies off, and he falls
>>The girls all shreik
>>“AAAH!”
>>They're like a bad chorus
>>You hold out your hands, shaking them
Shh! Shh! Shut up!
>>They don't
 
>>Can they possibly be dumb enough to think you're a diamond dog?
>>You growl and then take your helmet off, whipping your shaven head free of sweat
Here, see?
>>They look at you in unison for a moment
>>Then, at the same time, they go back to wailing
>>You slouch, eyes half closed
>>You are not amused
It's Anon!
>>“We know!”
>>Apple Bloom says, which catches you by surprise
“You were so mean, and the knife...”
>>You cringe
I'm sorry
>>You repeat, feeling like you need to
I'm SORRY
>>They stop crying
We're getting out of here
>>“...But how?”
>>Sweetie Belle asks
>>You take the key ring and begin to unlock and open their cells one by one
I don't know.
But I promise you, we'll all see Celestia's light again.
 
>>This idea was retarded
>>You waddled back and forth, trying to maneuver down the hall
>>This armor was so big on you, you managed to tuck three fillies between it and your shirt
>>You looked down the collar every once in a while, making sure they were alright
>>“Move your arm!”
>>“It smells in here!”
>>You frown deeply
>>“How about you move your face?”
 
>>You knock a fist against the chest piece, rattling their heads
Hey! How about you all shut up!
>>“Sorry, Anon”
>>They all spoke in unison
>>The weight was terrible
>>You could no longer walk straight
>>At this rate, it was just a battle of attrition
>>Either you were going to get out, or fatigue was going to kill you
>>At least the dogs were all waiting stupidly in that quarry
>>Friggen idiots haven't realized that you escaped yet
>>It was just then that you are whizzed into the wall by guard dogs darting passed you
>>“The prisoner has escaped!”
>>FFFUUUU
>>The guards are in too big of a rush to notice that you are going in the opposite direction
>>“Anon? Is everything alright?”
Shut up
>>you quickly hiss
>>You stumble through the hall, hoping that moving in to the fire will yield a better result than moving away from it
>>Your breathing is heavy, and it bothers the three fillies nestled against your chest
>>Perspiration covers your face
>>You are pale. You don't have enough blood for this
>>You're starving
>>You're choking
>>You're thirsty
>>You're weighed down
>>You're stressed
>>But you made a promise
>>And you intend to keep it
>>Your eyes drift closed
>>You keep stumbling forward
>>When they open again, you find yourself spilled into a large room
>>A pit, carved out of multiple stepping layers of rock
>>It is illuminated by torches, and the brilliant glitter of exposed gemstones
>>Lining the various steps surrounding the pit are hundreds of Diamond Dogs
>>Oh, Celestia, you fumbled into a colosseum
>>“Hey! What're you doing here?!”
 
>>You turn to face a large Diamond Dog
>>It's huge
>>Maybe six and a half feet tall
>>Broad, muscular, wide. Easily three hundred pounds or more on you
>>It's the one who knocked you out
>>“You're supposed to be finding me that ape who killed my brother!”
>>Never have you been so intimidated since your first encounter with Celestia
>>Your mouth hangs open, you glare at this colossus of muscle and matter, densely packed cartilage and bad attitude
>>You take a step back
Oh, uh... let me just...
>>You shift away from him, put on a fake smile, and nudge a finger toward the way you came in
….get right on that, sir.
>>But the Crusaders... oh, those Crusaders
>>“MOVE YOUR ARM!”
>>“NO! YOU MOVE YOUR WING!”
>>The large diamond dog spread his arms out, palling his hands into fists
>>“What did you say to me?!”
>>His voice is bombastic and causes loosely packed soil to fall from the ceiling
>>You think fast
I, uh, I...
>>Suddenly the three fillies start fighting one another inside of your armor
>>You rock back and forth, trying to maintain your balance
>>Sweetie Belle falls out of the armor and heaps at your feet
>>Then Scootaloo
>>And then Apple Bloom
>>The huge Dog watches, eyes wide
>>Your breastplate falls apart and off of your body, and your helmet flips off just as you start to regain your balance
>>“Oops...”
>>Scootaloo says
>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O1ixMU2Plg
>>You touch your fingers together and look up to the Dog, who beams an evil glare at you
>>The crowd goes wild
>>Neither you nor the crusaders share their enthusiasm