//------------------------------//
// Dig Yourself Deeper 
// Story: An Earthbound Journey 
// by ShadeJak 
//------------------------------//

	“Ugh, I can already smell those filthy mutts in this Celestia-forsaken cave!” Rarity said, crinkling her muzzle in disgust.

“Sooner we clear them out, the sooner we can get our reward and be on our way,” Rainbow replied, taking to the air while Twilight’s horn lit up so they could see better. The tunnels spanned further and further, with several wooden ramps leading to lower areas. Along the walls, a few traces of gems and precious metals could be seen.

“Oh my! Perhaps we could stand to be here a little longer!” Rarity said, admiring all the glistening. “But why don’t we open the entrance up and let some fresh air in?”

“The diamond dogs would probably hear it, and fill it right back up or block off any passages to them. We have to be careful if we’re gonna handle them!” Twilight whispered.

“As you wish, Twilight,” Rarity said, looking at the paths that lay before them. “So which way first? In my experience with diamond dogs, while they are foul-smelling brutes and can be rather talented at ambushes, but they also aren’t exceptionally bright and are rather greedy; I mean can you imagine all that trouble that could have been avoided had they been nicer about getting me to help them find gems?”

“What point are you getting to, Rarity?” Rainbow asked.

“My point is, Rainbow Dash, if you’d let me finish,” Rarity explained. “They’ve no doubt split up, to ensure they can keep everything they get the miners they captured to find for themselves and not have to worry about splitting the findings. They handled me and Spike easily by teaming up. While they’re separated they should be easier to take on.”

“And if we stick together and keep our eyes on one-another at all times, they can’t ambush us,” Twilight replied. “We’ll start with the left tunnel, I’m sure they connect sooner or later, it makes it easier for the miners to keep track of eachother.”

“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s get this taken care of!” Rainbow said, flying off ahead, her friends galloping after her.

“Wait, we need to keep the element of surpri-IEEEEEEEE!!” Twilight screamed as the floor collapsed out from under her and Rarity. Rainbow paused and turned, seeing Rarity clinging to the edge of the hole as best she could with her hooves while Twilight was holding onto her tightly, gazing down nervously at the dark pit beneath them. Rainbow immediately flew down to where Twilight was and pushed herself underneath her.

“C’mon, Rarity! Pull!” Rainbow said, pushing as hard as she could and Rarity, with some effort, pulled herself and Twilight up. Once all three were outside the pit, they shared a moment to catch their breath.

"You could have teleported us back up, you know," Rarity commented.

"Oh! Heh, right!" Twilight replied, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

“Looks like they’ve got traps set for anypony who tries to get in,” Rainbow said.

“Well, we should probably get moving," Twilight said. "I’ll stay ahead this time in case there’s any more. Rarity get behind me, Rainbow keep your eyes to the back to make sure nothing comes up behind us.”

“On it!” Rainbow said, flying to the back of the line while Twilight faintly lit the tip of her horn with her magic and proceeded with caution.

~

“BAAAAATS!!!!” Twilight screamed, running out of the tunnel they’d chosen in a panic. “Get them away get them away!” A swarm of bats, their eyes glowing green in the dark, flew after the three of them. Rarity ducked down and allowed them to fly past her, a look of fear on her face as she watched the chiropterans pass over her.

“Don’t worry! I got this!” Rainbow said, flying at them and then going in circles as fast as she could as Twilight and Rarity quickly took cover. As Rainbow flew around the bats, a tornado formed and the pegasus broke away; the tornado zipping off towards a wall and smashing into it, rendering the bats unconscious.

“Oh yeah, score one for the awesomeness of Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow said proudly, striking a pose in the air. As she did, however, a net shot out of the tunnel and engulfed her, sending her tumbling to the floor. Turning around, Twilight and Rarity had just enough time to see two more nets shoot out of the darkness and catch them. The sound of multiple feet were heard and the brawny figures of digger dogs loomed over them. Twilight’s horn began to glow as she prepared to teleport away but one of the dogs promptly smacked her, breaking her concentration.

“Enough!” a raspy voice said, and another figure approached and stepped into the dim light. It was a diamond dog; one of the same ones that had kidnapped Rarity some time ago. He was short, with a tan coat with several scales peeking through his dirty fur here and there. He wore a studded collar and a filthy gray vest with several gems in the pockets. His reptilian eyes glowed faintly in the dark as his sagging cheeks raised into a toothy grin. “Well, well! Look who it is! Those ponies from last time!” He said with a chuckle. “Know what this means?” He asked, looking at the armored digger dogs as they simply shrugged, causing the diamond dog to facepalm. “Means Spot’s squad gets gems faster!”

“Not a chance!” Rainbow protested, struggling to get out of the net she’d been trapped in, but could not untangle herself.

“I don’t wanna be heeeeeeeeeeeere!” Rarity whined, as loudly as she could. “Why do we have to woooorrrrrrrk?” The unicorn thrashed around indignantly and let out a loud, shrill cry of frustration, prompting the doglike creatures to cover their ears frantically.

“BE QUIET, PONY!” Spot yelled furiously. “Ugh! I forgot how annoying this unicorn is!” He pointed to one of the digger dogs. “You! Gag the annoying pony now!” he ordered.

“This isn’t faaaaaaaaaaaair!” Rarity whined, louder this time and knowing how well this had worked last time kept it up. “You can’t keep me heee—” Before she could finish, the net was cast off her and a pair of digger dogs held her down while another strapped a pink ball gag to her, muffling her speech and otherwise making it difficult to move her mouth.

As they began to release Rainbow Dash, however, the pegasus immediately bucked them in the face, knocking both of them over. Twilight’s horn glowed again and she teleported herself out of the net that held her, and fired a magic blast at Spot, who jumped out of the way just in time.

“Hehh, well this wasn’t expected!” Spot said nervously. “But try and catch me!” he shouted, running down to one of the mine trolleys and giving it a quick push before hopping in.

“Come back here!” Twilight shouted angrily, followed by Rainbow Dash and Rarity, the latter using her magic to remove the ball gag before catching up with her friends.

~

Following the tracks through several more tunnels, they found Spot had already parked the trolley, and two other familiar diamond dogs stood with him. One was very muscular with a shaggy blue coat and black vest, the other was tall and thin, with a red vest and gold, diamond-shaped tag on his collar. Nearby were several caged ponies, and a pile of gems and gold nuggets.

“Rover! The ponies! They’re here!” Spot said to the skinny one, Rover, as he pointed at the three ponies.

“Oh, look! Them again! Even got the whiny one, too!” Rover said with a scowl. “So, pesky ponies want to free the miners? You’ll have to catch us, first!” he declared, showing off the key in his paw before pocketing it. “Fido! Get us out of here!” he ordered, and the larger diamond dog saluted.

“No you don’t!” Rainbow yelled, flying at them but Fido got to her first, swatting her aside and sending her tumbling into her friends. The brutish diamond dog chuckled at them as Rover and Spot climbed into the mine trolly, and Fido gave it a mighty push before hopping in with them, and the three diamond dogs rode into the tunnels, blowing raspberries at the ponies as they sped off.

“Why those vile, lowly mutts!” Rarity hissed. “Twilight? Rainbow! Let's follow them at once! It. Is. ON!" she yelled, climbing into another trolley, followed by Twilight. After the two unicorns hopped in, Rainbow took to the air and rammed it with her hooves and pushed, giving it extra speed with her wings to catch up to the diamond dogs before hopping in.

“WOOOOOOO! This is just like that Daring Do book!” Rainbow cheered as the trolley sped down the tracks and deeper into the mines, catching up rapidly to the diamond dogs ahead of them. Spot turned and a panicked look came on his face, tugging Rover’s vest. “We’re catchin’ up to ya, buddy!” the pegasus said with a grin. Twilight’s horn began to glow as she fired a magic blast, but the dogs ducked their heads quickly.

“Not for long, ponies!” Rover shouted, reaching into the trolley and pulling out what appeared to be a small, crude dynamite stick and held the fuse along the side to light it with the sparks flying off the wheels on the tracks before flinging it at them.

“WHOA!” Twilight shouted, using her magic to freeze the flying dynamite stick and fling it aside, the explosive blowing up in a fiery burst seconds later. “They have bombs!” Twilight said in a panic. “They have BOMBS!”

“Noticed!” Rainbow shouted as the diamond dogs laughed and waved at the three ponies. At that moment, the rails the trolleys each rode on went on into a pair of tunnels separated by a wall for a few seconds. Emerging, the rail was now bridging over a gap that spanned a good distance down, the only light coming from magical torches and the many gems lining the walls. Rainbow’s eyes widened and she gestured to the side. “Look!” she yelled, seeing the diamond dogs now had another dynamite stick ready to throw.

“Twilight! A barrier!” Rarity yelled as the diamond dogs flung the dynamite stick at them. Twilight focused her magic and a shimmering pink barrier formed around the cart just in time, and the dynamite exploded harmlessly outside of it.

“I must say, there must be safer ways to lay out a mine then this,” Rarity mused, looking over the edge of the trolley as they suddenly began to move along the walls, gaining a distance between themselves and the diamond dogs.

“Rarity, can you steer? I don’t want us falling off the tracks when we turn. Rainbow, stay in the back in case you need to give us more speed. I’ll try to keep those diamond dogs off our flanks,” Twilight said, and shuffling around so Rarity could get in front of her. Twilight positioned herself in the middle, moving over to face the side of their trolley that faced the diamond dogs, who were now getting closer as the two rails began to draw towards one-another again and were soon side by side once more.

While Spot maneuvered the handle to keep their trolley on the tracks, Rover sneered and looked over at Fido while gesturing to the three ponies. The larger diamond dog grabbed some gems from his vest and flung them one after the other at the ponies, Twilight doing her best to slow and re-direct them away, a few landing in their trolley. Rainbow grabbed one up with her hoof and flung it back at them, hitting Fido in the face and dazing him enough to make him tumble backward, rocking the diamond dog’s trolley a little as they continued to speed down the tunnels. Spot struggled with the handle to keep them from falling while Rover glared angrily at the ponies in the other trolley. Up ahead, the tracks began to merge, and soon Rarity, Twilight, and Rainbow found their trolley being pursued by the one containing the diamond dogs.

Rover laughed and pointed at them while Spot grinned evilly. Fido sat back up and rubbed his head and grinned as well, gripping onto the edges of the trolley.

“Rainbow, speed us up!” Twilight said urgently. Rainbow nodded and climbed out of the trolley and flew behind it, her body pushing against it forward to give it more speed before climbing back in and narrowly avoiding several gems the diamond dogs flung at her.

“I-is tha-at re-eally necessary?!” Rarity asked as the ride became bumpier and making it harder to speak clearly. “Thi-is i-is getting ha-arder to ste-er!” She turned the handle sharply when they approached a sudden turn, sending them through  a narrow tunnel lined with gems that briefly made the unicorn seamstress momentarily forget about their predicament as she marveled at their splendor.

“Focus, Rarity!” Twilight shouted, turning to face the diamond dogs as they started closing in again.

“In a moment, darling!” Rarity said, grinning at all the glittering, multicolored gems and focusing her magic on them. In seconds, the gems began raining down on the diamond dogs, who cried out in pain and swatted their paws about trying to knock them away.

Growling, Rover reached back into the trolley and pulled out another dynamite stick and held it near the sparks flying from the trolley wheels, lighting it. “Catch, ponies!” he shouted with a sinister laugh as he flung it towards them. The dynamite landed right into the ponies’ trolley, the fuse close to burning away completely.

“Quick! Get rid of it!” Rarity shouted when she turned and saw it laying there in the trolley with them.

“On it!” Rainbow grabbed the dynamite stick with her teeth, hoping to Celestia she’d have enough time to toss it back before she lost everything above the shoulders and immediately flung it back as hard as she could towards the diamond dogs, whose eyes all widened in horror as the dynamite flew back at them and exploded right in front of their trolley, sending it and its riders into the air. The diamond dogs’ trolley slid on its side into one of the walls, and the dogs themselves tumbled along the tracks and eventually came to a stop, their faces full of dirt and looking more then a little bruised up.

Smirking, Rarity pulled back the handle and their trolley came to a stop, allowing the three ponies to climb out and confront the three canines.

“No! No, no, no!” Don’t hurt us, Miss Rarity!” Rover pleaded, now on all fours and looking up helplessly at the unicorn, Fido and Spot huddling next to him shivering.

“That all depends. Where’s that key? …Or are you… gonna make a lady cry agaaaaiinnnn?” Rarity asked, her lip trembling and her tone slowly slipping towards the grating, whining tone they’d come to dread from her.

“Heheh! The key? Right here, Miss Rarity!” Rover said with a nervous smile as he hurriedly reached into his vest and took it out for her. With a smile, Rarity floated the key from his paw and into her saddlebag.

“Well thank you very much, handsome. Now, as a small consolation for putting us through that dreadfully frightening trolley chase, you can give us whatever’s of the most worth down here!” she said, smiling down at the three diamond dogs.

Spot and Fido frowned, and Rover grimaced, and the three exchanged reluctant nods. “Uhhh… we might have something. We think maybe worth a million bits! We were gonna be so rich!!!” the diamond dog protested.

“Well, if it makes you feel better it will go to an excellent cause.” Rarity said, pacing back and forth in front of them.

“No! You can’t take it! Ours!” Fido protested angrily.

“Buuuuuuut I waaaaaaaaaaaant it!” Rarity whined as loudly as possible, causing the large diamond dog to cover his ears and kick his legs out in frustration. “If you won’t let me have it… I suppose I can stay down here with you until we find a better one. I’m sure my friends won’t mind.”

“No! No! You can have it! Take it! It’s back with the ponies we captured! It’s a big prism diamond we found in the mine! Worth more then lots of other gems and gold combined, big as a pony’s eye!” Rover said anxiously, and Rarity’s eyes got wide as she imagined it.

“A prism diamond? I’ve heard about those. They’re pretty rare, and always worth a lot of bits. It should have a decent appraisal value to get Vinyl out of debt,” Twilight said. “Well thank you very much for your generosity, you three!” she added with a smile, floating a nearby rope from a box of mining supplies and using it to tie the three up. “Now why don’t we take the shortcut back to those ponies you foalnapped?”

Before the diamond dogs could reply, Twilight and the others approached them, the unicorn’s horn glowed brightly, and all six of them vanished.

~

In a flash of light, the three ponies and their captives reappeared in front of the cages where the captured miners were.

“I still think that ride was pretty awesome, by the way,” Rainbow said, looking over at Rarity, who just rolled her eyes.

“Hey, everypony. We’re here to get you out now,” Twilight said as Rarity floated the key out and used it to unlock the cages.

“Thanks, so much!” an earth pony miner said as he stepped out and took in a deep breath. “Anything we can do for ya, anything at all just name it.”

“Well, we kinda need this prism diamond I assume they made you dig up. A friend got conned into a serious debt by Manehattan’s new management in the entertainment business and we think this’ll help fix that,” Rainbow explained. “Come on, that’s gotta be a fair trade, right?”

“Sure, go ahead and take it,” the miner said with a smile. “There’s plenty of gold and gems in here to handle the city renovations we’re doing this for anyway!” he gestured his hoof over to chest sitting near the small table by the cages. “They put it in there. It’s all yours, now. Thanks again for helping us out.”

“So what about these three ruffians?” Rarity asked, looking over at the three diamond dogs who were presently tied up; Spot having the pink ball gag he'd used on Rarity stuffed into his mouth.

“I’m sure we can keep ‘em under wraps till the guards get down here. Just let ‘em know they can come in now that the dogs’ leaders are rounded up and they’ll take it from there,” the miner said with a tip of his helmet.

“Well, thanks very much!” Twilight said with a smile, using her magic to open the chest and remove the shimmering diamond within.

“Oh MY!” Rarity said with a grin, admiring it as Twilight floated the gem into her saddlebag.

“Well, girls, we better go get the guards down here and head back to Manehattan. Vinyl’ll be glad to hear the good news!” she said.

“Good idea, Twilight. I honestly cannot stand being in this dank cave anymore,” Rarity replied with a sigh as she and Rainbow stood next to Twilight and the three immediately teleported away.

~

“Wow, that was like, so intense!” Rainbow said the next day as she flew about in circles and flips as the three ponies wandered the streets of Manehattan. “I swear, they gotta turn that into a roller coaster when they’re done in there!”

“Still got awhile until we’ll be able to meet up with Vinyl again,” Twilight said, staring up at a clock on the Manehattan library. They’d attempted to reach her at the Bridleway theater, but she had been busy with another show and would not be available for another hour.

“Well, I dunno about you, but all that action worked up an appetite!” Rainbow said. “Whaddya say we stop by the department store again before we meet up with her. We’ve got plenty to celebrate now!”

“Now that actually sounds like a good idea to me,” Rarity said, looking over at Twilight. “I think after that mess in the caves, checking out their spa would be the perfect way to pass time!”

“I suppose it would,” Twilight said with a smile.

“Just don’t expect me to get involved in that,” Rainbow said, folding her forelegs and turning her head to the side defiantly as she hovered in the air.

Within moments, the three found themselves back inside the massive Star Reacher department store and after a few flights of stairs, found themselves at the Manehattan Master Spa, which was plush beyond description compared to Ponyville’s. Time quickly passed as Rarity enjoyed a full hooficure and a dip in the hot tub, and a cleaning of her mane and tail. Twilight had decided to join in on the latter two, while Rainbow simply sat in a nearby chair and took a nap.

With fifteen minutes to spare, the three left the spa feeling better then ever. Twilight and Rainbow shared a cup of hay fries while Rarity smiled in absolute satisfaction.

“Well, I will say, I will always love the spa sisters back in Ponyville first and foremost, but whenever I visit this place I won’t ever pass it up!” Rarity said as she trotted along happily. “Now, why don’t we head on down to the Bridleway and give Vinyl the good news. She more then deserves it after all she’s been through here.”

“Yeah, she’ll probably be on her way to the Rock N’ Roadhouse by now,” Twilight said.

“Alright, last one there’s a rotten—” Before Rainbow could finish, however, Rarity suddenly collapsed to the floor. “Rarity? You alright?” the pegasus asked, flying over to her friend and putting her hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder.

“I… something… in my head…!” Rarity whimpered, her body shivering and suddenly purple patches on her coat formed, glowing briefly. The unicorn cried out in pain, startling every pony around them and causing them to look over in confusion.

“Rarity! Oh no… the Smooze infection must be coming back! But why now?! It doesn't make sense!” Twilight protested, and her horn started glowing. “Rarity, listen to me, focus, I’m gonna try to use a healing spell, but you HAVE to stay with me, okay?”

“I… I can’t! The... the Alicorn Statue! I... Twilight! Rainbow! PLEASE! HELP ME!” Rarity cried out, balling up as suddenly purple smoke began trailing from her eyes as they suddenly glowed green… then turned a bright blue with reptilian pupils.

“Rarity… what’s—” Rainbow asked, and suddenly Rarity fired a burst of black magical energy at her, sending her flying into the wall. Panicking, the other shoppers immediately fled out the door as fast as they could. Rarity stood up, engulfed in a black magical aura and a sinister grin spread on her face. The aura receded into her, turning her body into a black silhouette that began to grow taller and more slender to about Luna’s height, her mane and tail grew incredibly long and billowed around her as white streaks formed in them. The next thing that changed was her horn, which grew longer and sharper. The diamonds that her cutie mark consisted of then changed into a collection of stars, and her coat turned a dark gray.

“That’s Nightmare Rarity to you two foals!” the transformed Rarity sneered in a echoing, sinister tone as all the lighting in store suddenly went out. In the darkness, the demonic unicorn looked over her two friends, her glowing blue eyes and the light from her horn providing the sole illumination. “And as you may have just now noticed, even the so-called bearers of the elements are not immune to the mighty power of King Sombra! Enjoy the luxuries of your confinement… while you can!”

Nightmare Rarity reared back, her horn glowing as shadows crept off the walls and surrounded her as she let out a terrifying laugh, and she vanished in a burst of black fog.

“Great…what now? We can’t just sit here till we think of something!” Rainbow protested, still in shock over what had just happened.

“I… can’t argue with that last part, Rainbow,” Twilight said, gesturing around them. All around, glowing green eyes formed from the shadows, taking bizarre shapes; some resembling ponies, other various objects in the department store; all of them slowly advancing towards them…