//------------------------------//
// The Darkness Under the Hill 
// Story: King of Diamonds 
// by Midnightshadow 
//------------------------------//

          ♠♣♥♦King of
  Diamonds
                                                  The Ambassador's Son - Book 2
═══════════════════════════════════


Chapter 18
The Darkness Under the Hill
An MLP:FiM Fanfiction by Midnight Shadow





♠♣♥♦

    Chip hung his head as he sat on his haunches amid the silent circle of his friends. His eyes were closed, his back was straight. His wings were furled, though stray flecks of agitation stealing through his mind had his arcane muscles whirring madly. Hairpin had done as she had been asked, and had collected together the rest of his friends. They stood before him now, waiting for him to explain himself. Ruff, in a show of solidarity, stood next to him, one paw on his shoulder.
Missus Skychaser had an astute sense of when a pot of coffee was needed. The pink pegasus had briefly considered tea, but the camomile blend she preferred was better for calming down with at night before bed. Coffee was for planning and execution, and if ever there was a time for sharp minds to come together, this would be it. She walked out of the kitchen, through the confrontational group of youngsters, and placed the tray she was carrying on her back onto her sturdy oaken table.
"Now," she asked clearly, "would anybody like a biscuit?"
For a moment, the absurdly cheery question hung in the tense air before being dispersed by a brief chuckle from Hairpin. "I would! Do you have any hobnobs?"
"Oh, yes, dearie, with Indoneighsian chocolate no less!"
"Can... can Ruff have one too?"
"Of course, my love, but not the chocolate ones." Melody stared meaningfully at Ruff until he blushed. Then she tapped her hoof against her muzzle thoughtfully. "This calls for the emergency box, I believe. I won't be a moment." The pegasus trotted back through the group to the kitchen. "Do relax, make yourselves at home," she called as she passed through the doorway. "I think they're at the back of the pantry—" Mumbling to herself, Melody's voice faded away as she disappeared into the depths of her mystical lair of eateries.
Chip looked up, trying not to laugh, and met Carmine's gaze.
"Car—" Chip began.
"Chip—" said Carmine.
"You first," they both said.
"Oh good grief," said Bella. "Chip, you're a butt. Car, you've been a miserable sod. Both of you stop acting like freshly-shelled fledges, and kiss and make up."
"I, er, I'm sorry," said Chip, eyes searching Carmine's for forgiveness. "I was scared. I was angry. I didn't know what to do, so I did the only thing I could do."
"...And I understand that, Chip. I forgive you. It's been a crazy few days. Some of the diamond dogs – some from Tacksworn even – got... mind-wiped by that changeling-thing. They've been fighting, we've been... kept in at night. Today was the first day they've even let us out of the nest. Not hunting is driving me stir-crazy."
"Biff, Sparky, Dodger... they were all..." Beth spread her wings, gesticulating as she sought to find the words.
"They died," said Bella, slowly. "That changeling got inside their heads and... and... pulled their minds out. They weren't the same. When your trolls got back, Chip, they went for them."
There was silence again for a moment, before Mister Skychaser spoke up from his seat on the sofa. He patiently and neatly folded his copy of the Tacksworn Daily up before placing it down on an end-table. "It's been a rum year, lad, but what these fine fillies are trying to say is it's not your fault. It's a rot at the heart of things—"
"And I brought it here," said Chip, glaring.
"Not true, lad." Mister Skychaser stood up from his seat in front of the fire. "It followed you, but it's not your fault. I heard what you did, we all heard. Can't say as I understand it fully, and can't say I agree with it—"
"I don't either," said Chip, bitterly, his lip turning up in disgust at his own actions.
"Be that as it may, with that great lump of a hound outside our front door because of young Ruff here, I feel safe. If your trolls can be trusted—"
"Now at least," agreed Chip.
"Stop interrupting, lad! This is important." Bruin Skychaser poked a hoof at Chip, before stomping it on the floor for emphasis.
"Sorry." Chip dropped his gaze.
The elder stallion stared at the youngster until he was sure Chip wouldn't interrupt again, before continuing. "If your trolls can now be trusted, then we are better than we were. That changeling... I won't lie, it spooked me. I dare say, had I no other way to know the difference between friend and foe, I might just do as you did."
"I... agree," said Carmine, hesitantly. "That's what I've been wanting to say, that I understand. I hate it, I wish there were another way, but I understand."
"There is another way," said Chip, "but it's far harder to do. That's why I wanted to speak to you all, and why we don't have much time."
"Time?" Bella perked her ears up, sharing a puzzled look with Penny, who shrugged.
"Hairpin says Dad wants to see me. She says he told Celestia, that means she's coming here, and she's coming here to get me. I can't let her do that." Chip held up a hoof as Hairpin darted forwards, mouth opening to speak. "Let me finish, 'Pin, please? Celestia doesn't know about what's been going on here, not as much as we do, and she won't be able to act in time to fix it. If I'm right, the answer to everything is under a mine I own in Rein, Neighvada. We have to get there before a dragoness called Akhekhu can."
"Akhekhu?" asked Bella, rolling the unfamiliar word around in her mouth.
"Bless you," sniggered Penny.
"Knock it off," snapped Bethany, glaring at the younger pegasus. "Go on, Chip."
"She's some sort of... she kind of is the Sapphire Reaches somehow. When I... when I killed Swiftwing," Chip hesitated a moment, and Hairpin nuzzled him softly, expression soft and comforting, "...I became able to take the clan as my own, but I'm just... me." Chip shrugged his shouldeulders helplessly. "She's an ancient, powerful dragoness. If she wants this clan, she can take it, and I don't think I can stop her. Worse," Chip's gaze hardened, and his voice lowered, "she killed my parents. And she killed them because of what's under that mine."
"What, are you sure?" exclaimed Carmine, darting forwards.
Chip nodded, "I'm sure. It's all starting to make a twisted sort of sense. I've come to a few conclusions. Diamond dog society is very old, and it survived without books for centuries. They don't have maps or books from long ago. They have songs," he said, looking each of his friends in the eye, noting how Ruff nodded, "and tales."
Hairpin put two and two together. "Oh, Master... that staff and the book... it's the same thing, isn't it?"
Chip nodded again. "Written down by ponies, it talks about a key, a map and a staff... but they're the same thing, though the parts on the staff must be... simplified. We have the staff from Miskha, and I think it can open some sort of fortress which is buried under my mine. And I think it's got the diamond dog king's jewels in it. We have to get to them before Akhekhu does." Chip turned to his pegasus pet beseechingly. "That's all I'm asking, Hairpin. I could order you, but I already said I don't want to. No more orders, not unless I have to. I-if you say no, I'll... I'll go to Dad like you want."
Hairpin nodded, slowly. "I know dragons, master. They are trouble. If you need me—"
"I do."
"—Then I will help you." Hairpin bowed her head reverently, eyes closed.
"Are you all with me, then?" Chip looked around at his friends, feeling hope rising in his chest. "Together, we can end this. We get to Rein, find the castle, and we either make sure it can never be opened again, or we open it to get the king's jewels, and we give them to Celestia, or to anybody, anybody other than Akhekhu, because if she gets them, it will be war."
"And... after that?" asked Hairpin, meekly, eyes wide and searching.
"I... don't know. The only thing I do know is that I don't want to be like Akhekhu. I've done something wrong, something terrible, and I have to make up for it, no matter the cost. I will give myself up to Celestia. Dad says she'll be merciful. I have to hope he's right. If I can... if I can just get the jewels, I can show her why I did all this!" Chip stomped a hoof, flicking his armoured tail against his ever-present haunch-guard, causing a riotous clash of sound.
Carmine breathed out heavily. "I'm with you, Chip, and... I trust you to do the right thing in the end."
Chip whipped his head up, his heart beating double time. "You mean it?"
"What?" asked Carmine, blushing, her neck feathers ruffling up.
"You trust me?" Chip's voice was small as he moved to stand in front of her, eyes wide and searching.
"I do. You're a great, big... dumb... dufus. And..." Carmine's head-crest and neck-feathers fluffed up in a griffon-blush as her words slowed.
"Car," spluttered Beth, "spit it out. We all know you're practically married."
"Ugh!" Carmine's neck-feathers ruffled further. "My parents and their dumb ideas; it's just a promise that if things keep on... going okay..."
"And I hope they do," said Chip, grinning.
"—that one day, you and I might... you know. Start dating for real. But I'm not gonna do it because of my parents, whatever they think. I don't care if it's traditional!"
"Wait, aren't... you know, stallions supposed to ask?" muttered Chip.
Bethany rolled her eyes. "Boy, have you got a lot to learn about griffons."
"Before that, though, you've got to sort out who you are." Carmine fixed Chip with an unwavering gaze, and she pressed a talon into his chest. "You did what you felt you had to do, and it was wrong, and I hate it. For a while, I even hated you, but it's not that easy, is it? None of this is your fault, you've been forced into a corner."
"All of this, everything... you, me, dad... Hairpin," Chip looked at the pegasus, who smiled suddenly, hoofing Chip in the side.
"So much joy from sadness, so much that is right from what is wrong," she said. "It gives me hope that this will be resolved."
"I hope so," replied Carmine. "This whole mess... it's bad enough for us down here in Tacksworn. If this were to spread across Equestria... if somebody were to have control of all the diamond dogs..." Carmine shivered.
Melody chose that moment to trot back into the living room. "Here are the biscuits. Ruff, love, these are for you." She hoofed over a special bowl for Ruff. staring in appraisal at Chip, the mare addressed Carmine brightly. "If you ask me, Miss Wildfeather, with a few years on him, this boy will turn out fine. He just needs friends to show him the way, he shouldn't have to go it alone. You'll want to keep a wing over him, he's got a good heart."
"Does everyone have an opinion on me and Carmine?" exploded Chip. He facehoofed when just about everyone nodded, even Ruff who was muzzle-deep in a pile of diamond dog-safe snacks.
"Well," grouched Chip, nonplussed, "anyway. This is the plan: we get to Rein, get in, get out. And we do it together, and we do it now. So, once more, who's with me?"
Chip raised a hoof, extending it. Everybody joined a hoof, paw or a claw to the circle. Chip shared a grin with the rest of the gang. "Right then! Saddle up!"
"Right after you've finished your refreshments," cautioned Melody Skychaser. "Can't go rushing off half-cocked, can we?"
She fixed the group of friends with a stern expression until they answered with a solid "No, Missus Skychaser."


♠♣♥♦


The early morning sky was filled with wing-beats as a platoon of armoured pegasi followed unswervingly after their princess. Four of the strongest pegasi pulled her chariot, and an honor guard flew ahead. They were fast, they were precise, and their expressions were stoic.
None, however, were quite so stoic as Celestia herself. A brief – very brief – altercation outside of the little town of Tacksworn had resulted in a squadron of griffons escorting them in through an otherwise strongly-enforced no-fly zone. She briefly considered making it a none-flying-other-than-her-own-ponies zone, and flash-frying the buzzards that surrounded her – very briefly. Very, very briefly. She could probably get away with it, too, with some excuses about surprise attacks and grave mistakes. She entertained the idea only because it helped alleviate the stress of being defied in her own lands, then threw it summarily out. It wouldn't do to start being vengeful now. Besides, the dragon had promised his charge would be there to answer to his crimes.
The problem was that even with Celestia's phenomenally keen, magically enhanced eyesight, she could only spot one dragon in the remote town, and that one dragon seemed intent on scaring the innards out of what appeared to be a diamond dog, wearing a collar.
"Down." The order was given softly, barely audible above the rushing of wings, but it was effected immediately. The parade banked and dipped groundwards, with Celestia pulling up sharply yet smoothly a few feet behind a bristling Sharptooth.
"Ambassador, how wonderful to meet you again." Celestia's voice was prim and proper, and her gaze hard, either holding but a little mirth.
"I wish I could say the same, but I am having a small issue with the local, recently-drafted militia in the land." Sharptooth didn't look up from where he was looming over his prey.
"Oh?" Celestia circled around slowly, waving off her guards, who adopted strategic vantage points barely out of wing-range.
"Whilst my errant and notably absent son may own this worthless hunk of flesh, I own Tacksworn, and by extension command both him, and his pets." Sharptooth snarled, smoke rising from his nostrils as he held the troll out at claw's reach by his chest-fur, glaring intently as the creature's legs kicked in the air. Celestia watched as the hound in question wet himself. Sharptooth reacted with disgust and threw the creature into the puddle of his own wastes.
"I gather you are having obedience issues with your offspring, as well as these... pets of his?" chided Celestia, some of her humour returning despite her distaste of the situation. She was being defied, but it would do no good to appear more distraught than the ambassador, and in all truth it was Sharptooth who was currently bearing the brunt of the insult. Now she was here, the more dire aspects seemed almost comedic.
"I at least am at your command, Princess. That will have to suffice." Sharptooth raised himself up to his full height.
"So, that's a yes. What is the issue, exactly?" Celestia's eyes danced with a modicum of repressed amusement. It wasn't often that a... a hatchling – she rolled the word around in her mind to see how it fit – managed to vex either her or her acquaintances, yet the youngster Chip appeared to have become excessively resourceful.
"They have been ordered not to tell me exactly where my son is," replied Sharptooth, witheringly.
"Then mayhap they may tell where he was?" Celestia smiled sweetly. The diamond dog pointed up the road, whimpered, and ran. Celestia nodded to herself. "Come, Ambassador. We have much to discuss."
"Am I under arrest?"
Celestia paused thoughtfully then shook her head. "No. Do you wish to be?"
"If I am to properly chastise my son for his bad behaviour, no. So maybe I should be."
"Hmm..." Celestia walked onwards, slowly. Her guards followed at a respectful distance, glaring daggers at any troll, griffon or pony who wasn't scared completely incontinent at their supreme show of force. Unfortunately, having dealt with dragons and rogue diamond dogs, most townsfolk just turned out to gawk at the sight. One enterprising stallion even started selling snacks and balloons, much to the sergeants' dismay.
Sharptooth furled his wings, and swallowed his flame as he ambled slowly along next to the alicorn princess. "My son went out yesterday, and did not come back. I waited for him until sun-up, and then I decided to come find him."
"So long?"
"Truth be told," Sharptooth said sheepishly, "I was waiting mostly for you."
Celestia hid her laughter behind a demure cough, covering her muzzle with a single gold-clad hoof as her retinue came to a halt at an intersection. "Ask another troll where young Chiphoof was last seen, would you, Sharpie?"
"My pleasure, your highness," said Sharptooth acidly, smoke curling out of his nostrils as he rounded on another troll.
"Not too much pleasure, I hope, washing my armour off is such a chore."

The slow yet mostly dignified procession – minus the parts which included screaming diamond dogs and uncontrolled expulsion of bodily fluids – made its way through Tacksworn until the Princess and Sharptooth found themselves outside the groundfloor door of a nondescript pony dwelling complete with balcony on the first floor. There was a diamond dog guard standing outside it. For a fraction of a second, the troll began to lower the spear across the door.
Celestia was quicker than Sharptooth, lightly touching it and lifting it upwards. "I wouldn't," she said in a whisper, twitching an ear at the fuming dragon, "he's liable to make you eat it. Stand at attention and salute as we enter, and my own guards won't have to have a word with you about assaulting the royal personage, okay?"
There was an imperceptible nod, and the diamond dog – rattling like a tin of spoons in an earthquake – ushered the princess and the dragon inside. Sharptooth growled low as he passed, causing another bout of impromptu territory marking.

The door was small, too tight for his frame if truth be told, but he squeezed as much of himself in as he could anyhow. Once inside, most of the furniture proved both too near and too small to be used even if he could make it comfortable. Besides, the majority of his hips stayed out in the street, along with his tail.
Melody Skychaser fair exploded with pride as the princess sat down in her chaise longue and complimented her on the decor. The pink pegasus had disappeared into the kitchen almost immediately to make a pot of tea, which she eventually served in her finest china. Angry dragons and unamused princesses definitely called for tea.
Bruin Skychaser would have made his excuses and left for work, except that the front door was decidedly blocked. The first floor balcony wasn't much use either, filled as it was with armoured pegasi. Instead he settled for 'temporary house arrest', as he mentally put the situation, and decided to make the best of it. Assuming he wasn't gelded for crimes against the crown, it would be one heck of a story to tell the grandkids. Or grandpups, assuming the princess didn't turn Ruff into a rug when she inevitably caught him.
"I hear you've a new addition to your family, Mister and Missus Skychaser?" asked Celestia sweetly, taking a sip of the aromatic tea. She made soft exclamations of satisfaction and swallowed demurely.
"Hmm?" called the housewife from the kitchen as she hunted for cake. "You mean young Ruff? Yes, a lovely pup. Spot of bother with his original parents, but we don't let that sort of thing bother us."
"Has he been settling in well to his new home?"
"Oh yes, plenty of new friends; especially that nice young dragon, Chip."
"I hear they came for a visit yesterday," said Celestia smoothly. Melody almost dropped the cake tin.
Bruin turned dark eyes on the princess. "Now don't you go upsetting the wife, Your Highness. Young Chip and his friends have done us no wrong."
Celestia nodded, reaching her magic out to steady the tin and bring it into the living room, where she neatly deposited it on the table. She patted the sofa and gestured for Melody to join her on it. As Melody did so, Celestia lifted the teapot with her magic, raising one eyebrow in question. Melody nodded, shaking.
"Forgive me if this sudden, unexpected visit is stressful for you. It is a mere house-call, is all," said Celestia, gently, her musical voice soothing and friendly. She poured the worried pegasus mare a fresh cup and floated it over. Taking another small sip from her own cup, she exhaled with a happy sigh. "This is wonderful tea. Do you mix it yourself?"
"Oh, n-no," replied Melody, "I purchase it from Mwafu, a wandering zebra who comes through here every so often. It's her secret recipe. I find it calms me."
"Then I do urge you to have some. I am aware the situation in this town—"
"Then you should be aware," interrupted Bruin, bruskly, "that young Chip is not the cause, but may be the solution to it."
Celestia blinked. "I see. I would have... words with Chip of the Diamond Expanse. Pray tell me, where is he?"
"Right as I can tell, the young lad went East, though he spoke of needing something from some place called 'Ponyville'. I can say one thing more, your highness; the lad thinks the world of his dad, and is right scared of you. He does what he does for the good of Equestria, of that you can be sure. And your taking him to some dark fate in Canterlot rides contrary to that."
Sharptooth grumbled under his breath. "I feared this might be the situation. He has flown the coop, Celestia, and whilst I know where he has gone, I know not where it will lead him."
"I suggest we find him then, before whatever other forces he runs from catch him." Celestia sighed gently, and turned to face her old friend. "I assure you, Sharptooth, that I am the most conscientious of captors. You need not fear for his welfare or safety whilst under my control."
"Good, good. I was... rather sure it would be thus," replied the dragon, clasping his foreclaws together in agitation and worry. "Forgive me, he is a true child of my egg, however strange his manner of birth. I would have him safe, hale and hearty above all else, including my own life."
"Then, my dear friend, we should find him."
"Alas, I think that may be diff—" Sharptooth broke off his answer at a sudden scrabbling of hooves from the upstairs balcony. There was a series of loud exclamations and urgent hoofsteps, followed by a set of rhythmical thumps as something heavy bounced down the stairs. Moments later, a pegasus tumbled out of the hallway to land heavily on his back up against the far wall.
"Your highness!" cried the breathless messenger, wriggling ineffectually to right himself. The dragon blocking the door had kept him out of the main entrace, but it would not prevent him from fulfilling his duty. "Your highness! There is trouble in Neighvada!"
"Trouble?" Celestia stood tall above the prone pony, looking him straight in the eye.
With one wing, the stallion fished out a short missive, which he hoofed over to Celestia. "I think... I think you have to read this."


♠♣♥♦


The little chariot swept low over the outskirts of Neighvada City. Thunder rolled in the distance, pulled in by a cold, whistling wind. The bright lights of the big city called to them, illuminating the underside of the distant stormclouds, but that wasn't their destination. Penny and Hairpin, the latter huffing and puffing far more than she had a few months ago, banked south east at a shout of recognition from one of the figures in the chariot, and slowed. It was a short trip by air, and the late afternoon sun behind them was low in the West.
Greater Neighvada's countryside was much like Tacksworn: there wasn't much of anything other than scrubland and brush for miles, just a flat expanse of weather-beaten tundra. It wasn't until nearer Neighvada City that the monotony was broken by the outlying subsumed farms.
As the chariot descended, something else became visible. Marked by a shimmering heat-haze that radiated from its smooth surface, a monotonous streak of blacktop asphalt appeared, along which trawled a good many large wagons full of metals, precious gems, and roughly-hewn rock blocks. The disheveled yet hearty groups of teamsters looked up at the little chariot swooping overhead, though most just shrugged and moved on. There were deliveries to make and their loads weren't getting any lighter. Though the sun was going down, their shift wouldn't be over for many long hours. They didn't get paid to gawk at the scenery.

"I think I see it," Chip said, squinting and pointing with a hoof. "I've been here a few times; once or twice in the past few years for the company Hearth's Warming and Summer Sun celebrations. There's an abandoned stripmine out a bit further that way," Chip pointed in another direction, rotating his hoof in a generally Southerly direction. "Dad paid some pegasi to fill it with water. It's a brill place to cool off in summer, you can see all the way to the bottom. Dad says... said... it's the salt." Chip lowered his hoof, and huddled into the blanket that covered the three figures in the back of the flying chariot.
"Can't... drink it?" huffed Hairpin
"Not from there, no," Chip said, "but there's plenty to drink at the mine. Lugging those carts about and breaking the rocks is thirsty work, even when unicorns help. We've dug deep enough to find plenty of water."
"Good," groused Hairpin. "This is the last time in a while I'm dragging you lot and my one plus."
"Sorry Pin," apologized Chip. "Sorry, Pen. Last time, I promise."
"You said that," huffed Penny, "before."
Chip's eyes gleamed. "This time I mean it."

Penny and Hairpin came in for a long, slow landing outside the beaten-up mass of corrugated iron which stood for the foreman's hut. He was a pastel green earth pony with a brown mane, which stuck out wildly from beneath the brim of a bright yellow hard hat he wore which matched his cutie mark. At the commotion and shouts of surprise from the workers, he bustled out, still chewing on a cigar.
"Hey, hey, yo, what's up wid—" the stallion stopped as he spied two lovely pegasus fillies, two dangerous-looking (yet, he had to admit, also lovely) young griffon chicks, a fine unicorn filly, a diamond dog and a strange pony wearing the strangest set of saddle- and haunch-protection gear he'd ever seen... and there was something oddly familiar about the last one.
"Yo, you can't leave dat here, scram! What you think you'se doin'?"
"Hey, tough guy, who're you?" Hairpin puffed her chest out as she slipped free of the chariot.
"Me, I'm the forepony, Hardhat. Who the heck's you? Walkin' round like you own the place..."
Hairpin's grin widened, ever so slightly. Hardhat's tail swished. It was going to be one of those afternoons.
Clearing his throat and fully intending to get the interloping lollygaggers a piece of his mind, Hardhat stepped forwards. Only... something wasn't quite right. "'Ere, don't I know you, kid?"
"Kind of," Chip said as he stretched. "I haven't been around for a while. I never really did see much of the place, Dad didn't let me run around on my own, said it was too dangerous."
"Dad..?" Hardhat's muzzle fell open, the well-chewed cigar falling to the dirt. Empty muzzle chewing wordlessly on nothing for a few seconds, the forepony shook himself and galloped inside his little shack. He slammed the door and then, a few seconds later, pulled on the haynetian blinds with a hoof to stare at the group before moving to fetch something out of view.
Chip shared a glance with his friends, then headed for the door. It wasn't locked. Pulling it open, he called out, "Come on guys, we need to talk with him."
"Beth and I'll stay outside," said Carmine. "We'll keep watch."
"Not gonna be much room in there, Chip, I'll stay out here too," added Hairpin. Penny gestured with a hoof for Chip to just go, so he went in ahead, with only Bella and Ruff joining him.
Inside the cramped and busy shack, Chip found Hardhat looking incredulously at a picture of his father Rusty, mother Rose, and Hardhat himself. His mother held, in a baby-carrying pannier, a small beige foal with a blond mane.
"So, you know who I am, now?"
Hardhat nodded. "You've got your father's eyes and your mother's mane, lad." He put the picture down carefully then drew out a small crystal shot-glass. Pulling a drawer open with a hoof, he lifted out a decanter and poured a measure of something smelling faintly of apples and quite strongly of liquor. Seeing Chip's expression, he pointed a hoof. "Want some? No, I guess... bit too young, eh?"
"If you've got any gems?"
Hardhat snorted. "So, you're here to pillage the family legacy, huh?" He threw a small bag of gems disdainfully onto the rickety table, dislodging a few pieces of paper. Chip put a hoof on the bag and lipped the drawstring open. Taking a single gem in his teeth, he rolled it around in his mouth, chewed and swallowed, sighing happily.
The earth pony gaped, his mouth flapping uselessly like a fish out of water. Finally, he began to use words. "Did you just..? What did you..." His eyes narrowed suspiciously, "What are you?"
Chip's ears splayed out, "Ah, I guess I... umm..."
"It's a long story, Mister Hardhat," interjected Bella, "just believe me, this is Chip."
Hardhat swallowed. "They s-said you were dead... I mean the official line is you went with Celestia, but we all just figured... did you really just..?"
"Eat a gemstone. Yeah, I did. It's a dragon thing. Like she said, long story."
"A dragon thing?" Hardhat whistled. "You'd better spill the beans, kid."
"We don't have time, we've got to get moving. I'll tell you on the way, if I can."
"Time? Where are you going? What are you doing here?"
Chip levelled his gaze at the older stallion for a few moments, then looked over at Bella before looking back at Hardhat. "Bella, I'm going to need your help. Can you... lower your horn?"
"Sure, what're you—"
Chip stuck out his hoof and jabbed it against Bella's horn, not breaking eye-contact with the forepony. Wincing and drawing it back, he showed the bead of red blood to the stallion. "I'll need you to do the same, Hardhat."
Hardhat blinked, then emptied his shot-glass with a single tilt of his head. slamming the shot glass down, he asked, "What's this abo—"
"Now," Chip added, forcefully, his voice level. He glared, and Hardhat shrunk back as the kid's magi-mechanical wings rustled dangerously. There was a heat there, Hardhat noted, a steel, a resolve which spoke to him inside as few other voices could.
Nodding slowly, he got up out of his seat and pricked his hoof on the unicorn's horn. Showing it to the pair he looked from one to the other. "You two happy?"
Chip and Bella relaxed as they spied the tell-tale bead of red form. "Yeah, you're good."
Hardhat looked at his hoof, licking at the wound until the bleeding stopped. "What's this all about?"
Chip shared a look with Bella, then pulled out a piece of paper from his saddlebags. "We want to go here, and we had to know you weren't a changeling. Their blood is green."
Hardhat opened his mouth, then shut it again. "Changelings?" he finally spluttered, gazing from muzzle to muzzle at the two kids, and finally down at the piece of paper. He visibly whitened and poured himself another shot of whiskey, gulping it down in one. Hardhat winced for a moment, hoofing himself in the chest.
"Please?" asked Bella.
"I don't know what're you talkin' about, kiddo." Hardhat glared at his shot glass for a moment, before issuing yet another refill.
"Mister," said Bella, "we've flown all the way over here from Tacksworn to see where these stone markings come from, and if you don't take us to them, you're gonna regret it."
Chip pushed the piece of paper across the desk, turning it around. "I know it's here. If you don't take us there, and right now, I'll find somebody else who will, you got me?"
Hardhat harrumphed again, flicking his tail. He was silent for a few long moments before continuing. "Fine, fine. Don't hafta get shirty about it. Your sire told me ta keep it quiet—"
"And I'm glad you have, but that doesn't mean you keep it from me." Chip's wings spread, almost by themselves. "I own this mine, and I intend to continue owning this mine, and right now, I intend on making sure that not only do I keep owning it, but everything in it keeps on running smoothly." Chip stepped around the desk, lashing his tail and sending papers flying. "I need to see the stone that came from, and you will take us there."
Hardhat looked at the arcane-winged, probably mad non-pony and started to grin. "You wanna see if you can get in, don't ya?"


♠♣♥♦


The mine was shored up with great, grey, pre-stressed concrete beams. The ugly creations only got thicker and stronger as the shaft led down. There hadn't been much else to see on the interminable walk through cramped, musty tunnels. The mine proper was lit at regular intervals by shrouded gas lamps, but Hardhat had taken them off the main tunnels a good half hour ago. Water dripped from lichen-covered ceilings, and the dank, foul-smelling depths depressed everybody's mood. There wasn't much talking, Hardhat held a single covered lantern in his muzzle and could only grunt to indicate changes in direction. It swung to and fro, casting obscene, wild caricatures of shadows on the walls, floor and ceiling.
The route they'd taken had started off simply enough – down a lift, along a shaft, but quickly became more circuitous. Several turns later, and Chip realized they were effectively lost. Soon after that, they were beyond all hope of an unaided return.
"Hardhat," demanded Chip finally, "where are we going?"
Hardhat patiently put the lantern down. "Your mom and dad ordered this mess built, kid. If you want to see the dig site, you're going to have to trust us. We're almost there, the lower levels are up in a bit."
"'Us'?" asked Hairpin. She rustled her feathers, looking about fearfully. She'd protested about coming, but nobody else had been reliably able to translate draconic. Ruff had come, as had Bella, but Penny and Beth had stayed topside. Carmine was fast regretting her decision to follow; her wings were fouled, her fur stank and it was going to take a week of preening and grooming to sort her fur and feathers out.
"You think your folks were dumb enough to let any one pony know the full route to this place? Come on, it's not too far now, then the next guy takes over. There's a few of them what lives down here, won't leave it unguarded. They know the way."
"How do we trust him?" hissed Carmine, at Chip.
"We haven't got much choice," replied Chip in a similar whisper. Raising his voice, he laughed bitterly, "maybe Mom and Dad had the only map to this place."
"They did," replied Hardhat, tapping his temple, "in their heads. You're the first ones to come down here without being blindfolded. First ones I know about at any rate. Anyone else dumb enough to try it never came back. If it was anyone else..." The pony shook his head, picked up the lantern again and carried on through the maze. 
Eventually he stopped, circled something on the floor, and then nodded decisively to himself. Setting the lamp down, he tapped a hoof three times, paused, then tapped it another three times on what appeared to be a wooden panel in the floor. Chip stared at it; they would have walked right over it in the dark, and would never have seen it. The corridor they were in was the same as any other in this maze of twisting, turning passages; all alike.
Hardhat saw his expression, and answered as the distant sound of bolts being removed played out. "It goes on for miles, kid. Sure, a good diamond dog could dig down or up, or out, but there's something strange with the geography here. You'd never find what you're looking for."
"How did you find it?" Chip whispered.
"Luck, and some diamond dogs with a nose for rock. Said there was something down here. One day they found it. Let me tell you though, some things are best left buried. I wish you'd let it be."
"We can't," replied Bella. "There're powers that want what's down here, and they'll get it whether we want them to or not."
"Only thing we can do," said Ruff, speaking up suddenly, "is get it first."
"Then I hope you find what you're looking for," said Hardhat, settling down to wait. The hatch was lifted to reveal a diamond dog with a dim lantern, waiting at the bottom of some rickety wooden steps. The whole team filed down them carefully, one at a time. Finally, only Chip was left in the tunnels above. "Thank you, Hardhat. You have no idea how important this was."
The green stallion flopped onto his belly, stretching to get comfortable on a ratty blanket he pulled from his pannier bags, and placed the lantern down. "Just don't let me regret it. Come back safe, kid."
"I'll do my best," Chip replied, before he trotted down the steps.
Then the hatch was shut.

Chip found himself staring at a fully-grown diamond dog. This one looked different to the Tacksworn pack; bulkier, more feral, more like a bear than a dog.
"Who you?" the troll asked.
"Chip, Chip Irontail. I own this place."
The bear-hound snorted derisively. "You not own this place. You own the above. Down here... down here is diamond dog territory."
"You'll take us to the stone?" Ruff asked.
"Treasure hunters? How you get—"
"I told you," replied Chip, "I own the 'up there'. Hardhat said you'd take us."
The troll growled softly, unsure. Finally, Ruff spoke up. "If you not take them, take me. They just follow."
"Who you, pup?"
"I'm Ruff," replied Ruff, and he dug a paw into the ground, pulling up a small spire of rock. "I talk to stones."
The troll almost dropped his lantern. "That... that diff'rent! Come, Stonetalker! Come! Follow!" The troll took off like a shot, in his haste all but forgetting he had charges.
"Wait!" cried Chip, his calls echoing down the tunnels ineffectually as he and his friends scrambled to catch up. Only the light from Bella's horn prevented them from becoming irrevocably lost.
It was some time later when the troll actually paused, sniffing in investigation at scent-markings for the correct offshoot. The tunnels below the mine proper were rough, hewn straight from rock, though no less sturdy. Their maze-like twists and turns were even more confusing to contemplate, and far more deadly. Sudden, unmarked drops abounded, and treacherously sharp stalactites and stalagmites threatened death by impalement for the unwary and wary alike. Dim light came from lichen that glowed softly in the close darkness, and what floor there was, was uneven and strewn with detritus. Diamond dogs, even the bear-like trolls that guarded these secret passageways, didn't care much about which way was up or down. They just scaled the walls and hung onto the ceilings where needed.
Strange echoes whispered through the deeps; dripping water, scrabbling claws, far-off susurrations like some great beast breathing. Loudest was the confused pattering of claws, hooves and paws against rock as the group were led ever onwards, deeper and deeper under the ground. The weight of Equestria above them was palpable, producing an almost physical strain which sapped strength and further dampened their spirits.
It was a very solemn group which was finally called to halt at an ancient, partly-buried, broken stone tablet, guarded by two more diamond dogs. Breathing heavily in the musty, thick air, Chip walked up to the carvings. Reaching with his muzzle, he took out the piece of paper from his parents, and placed it almost reverently against the menhir, holding it there with a hoof and gesturing with his head for Bella to come closer.
"This is it," he whispered in awe, as the markings matched up. Ruff pushed him out the way, and shouldered forwards to see the marker properly. The pup ran his claws gently against the solid rock. Despite the weight of millennia that the rock had withstood, the carved, cursive runes were as clear as the day they were made.
"Show us the rest of it," demanded Chip, glaring and lashing his tail as the diamond dogs hesitated. "My friends and I can read this, we know who made it. We know what it means, and we're here to set right an ancient wrong."
"Chip speaks true," piped up Ruff. "We need to see castle. Please?" He gazed from troll to troll, yet still they hesitated.
"Wait, wait," said Chip, "I think I know what will convince them. Has anyone got some paper? And... some charcoal?" In short order, Chip was furnished with a still-glowing piece of charcoal, which he applied to a small piece of paper. He wrote a brief note, breathed in and out softly for a few moments, and then ejected a controlled flash of green fire. The note was consumed.
"Now what?" asked Bella.
"Now we wait," replied Hairpin, pulling at her feathers irritably. "You sure you sent it right?"
"Pretty sure," said Chip. He sat down on his haunches. "I... have no idea how late it is in Ponyville, but Twilight tends to pull all-nighters a lot, so Spike is probably—"
There was a sudden flash of green light under Chip's tail, followed by the clang of metal on armour. He stopped talking, muzzle frozen in what had originally been speech but was now a rictus of ill-understood pain.
"Was that..?"
"I think," squeaked Chip, "that he missed." The youngster stood up gingerly, tottered a few steps forwards and winced, bending his back legs out and lifting his tail up as he silently mouthed, "Oww!"
"Chip—?" began Hairpin, questioningly.
Chip waved a hoof. "No, no... just... never, ever speak of this again..."
Trying not to laugh, Carmine hid her beak with a wing as she glanced down at where the draconic stallion had been sitting. There on the ground was the staff they had been given, the very same one they had secreted away in Ponyville.
"Ruff, Squirt," whispered Bella, "you're up."
Ruff's ears pricked up, and almost reverently he put his paws around the staff. Heaving it upright, it towered above him. Then he turned to the other diamond dogs, and a new light was in his eyes, a new surety in his stance. "Stonetalker Ruff will ask one more time. Take us to castle."


♠♣♥♦