In the small mountain range south of Ponyville, a sweet voice rang clearly through the skies.
“You've got to go dig those holes,
With broken hands and withered souls.
Emancipated from all you know,
You've got to go dig those holes.”
Two more voices joined in for the chorus, with varying degrees of ability.
“Dig it up, oh, oh. Dig it.
Dig it up, oh, oh. Ohh.
Dig it up, oh, oh. Dig it.
Dig it up, oh, oh. Ohh...”
A voice with a southern twang to it sang alone for a few moments.
“Take a bad boy, make him dig five feet,
The dirt in these shovels will give us ah beat.
Okay you gottah find suin' neva found before,
If not, we'll just have to dig some more...”
The others joined in once more for the chorus.
“Dig it up, oh, oh. Dig it.
Dig it up, oh, oh. Ohh.
Dig it up, oh, oh. Dig it.
Dig it up, oh, oh. Ohh...”
The third voice, with its pitch in the wrong octave and cracks showing through, sang alone this time.
“There is no lake, there is no shade,
There is no place to hide.
So just sit and wait to fry.”
Once more the three voices joined together.
“Dig it up, oh, oh. Dig it.
Dig it up, oh, oh. Ohh.
Dig it up, oh, oh. Dig it.
Dig it up, oh, oh. Ohh...”
The two voices continued this while the first voice rang clear through the open sky once more.
“Wake up in the mornin' before the sun,
Keep diggin' that hole till the day is done.
Wake up in the mornin' and before the sun,
Keep diggin' that hole till the day is done.”
The three Cutie Mark Crusaders continued to sing the chorus as they marched along in the mountains, on their way to try and earn their Cutie Marks in either mining or gem finding.
The trio of fillies were singing something the gray-white unicorn had thought of on the spot to go along with their plans for the day and while the orange peagasus' singing left much to be desired, her two friends were used to it and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
They marched single file, with their capes flaring in the light breeze and pickaxes held in their left hooves, resting the top on their left shoulders. They had their saddlebags on under their capes to hold all the gems they hoped to find that day.
However, there was another trio who did have a problem with the out of tune singing; their extremely sensitive hearing made the already bad singing torturous. They followed the fillies through tunnels under the ground, which both did and didn't help to hinder the singing. The ground for the most part muted the sound but whenever they came across a tunnel that led near the singing ponies it would echo straight to them before trailing off. The Diamond Dogs would have popped up early on if only to silence them except that they weren't sure what the girls were doing in their territory and didn't want to be any nearer to the singing unless they had to be.
The Crusaders had high hopes for the day; hoping to find their Cutie Marks for the most part, but if it didn't work out, they would at least have some gems to pay back Pinkie Pie. She had helped to pay for the replacement tools they had lost on a previous adventure and it only felt right to try and pay her back somehow. Though if they were lucky, they would find lots of gems and have some left over for themselves!
“It's not too far now guys! Rarity comes here all the time to collect gems and she never runs into trouble, it should be easy pickings.” Sweetie Belle called over her shoulder as she led them deeper into the mountain range.
“We better be able to find a lot of gems, we've been walking for hours!” Scootaloo whined from the end of the line, causing Apple Bloom to roll her eyes at the exaggeration.
“It hasn't been more than an hour and a half Scootaloo. Ah know 'cause of mah internal farm pony clock.” Apple Bloom huffed as she looked ahead.
“You don't have an internal clock.” Scootaloo argued, rolling her eyes as well.
“Yes Ah do.” Apple Bloom glared over her shoulder.
“No you don't.” Scootaloo countered with a frown.
“Yes, Ah do.” Apple Bloom start to slow down as Scootaloo also slowed.
“No, you don't.” Scootaloo came to a stop as the two stared daggers at each other before Sweetie Belle noticed that she had lost the rest of the line.
“Guys! It doesn't matter. This spot will work too.”Sweetie Belle tried to break up the fighting as she looked around herself to see if it had lots of gems to be found. The others imminently broke off their staring contest and hefted their axes into position.
“Sweetie Belle, can you use some sort of gem finding spell?” Scootaloo asked with a glance at the unicorn.
“Rarity tried to teach me her gem finding spell once... Let me see if... I can … Do it...” Sweetie Belle concentrated hard, trying to do what her sister made seem easy.
The gray-white unicorn tottered back and forth around the area, marking possible locations with X's using her pickax. After marking the ground, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo dug like crazy only to come up empty hoofed. After each attempt the fillies started to get depressed about their lack of findings. What they didn't realize was that not even a foot away from where they were digging were the gems that they sought. This went on for half an hour, being close but never finding anything.
It was by sheer accident that Sweetie Belle tripped and marked the wrong (but right) spot but before she could correct it or say anything the others dug with a frenzy. Soon they had made a decent sized hole and struck gold (or gems, as it were).
All three fillies' faces glowed as they looked down at their prize.
“Alright! We found some!” Scootaloo put her hooves into the air as she stood up in excitement, the others following along soon after. They hopped around the hole, cheering about their find, when they all stopped as one and checked their flanks.
Finding them still blank put a damper on their spirits, but only slightly. They still had something to show for their hard work this time. They each grabbed some gems and put them away in their saddlebags before resuming their search. They were so psyched about their finding some gems that they all burst into song again, even as Sweetie Belle tried to use the gem finding spell once more.
The Diamond Dogs may have left the girls alone, they weren't finding all that much, but as they burst into song once more the peagasus' voice grated on their ears and incited their wrath. They burst through the ground surrounding the fillies who went silent at once at the sudden movement.
As the dust settled the Diamond Dogs found the fillies back to back, one facing each Diamond Dog with axes at the ready and steel in their eyes. The Diamond Dog trio were a little surprised, even larger ponies were afraid of them yet these fillies seemed ready to fight back.
“Who are y'all? What cha want with us?” Apple Bloom asked as she looked at the creatures before them.
“Yeah, we haven't done anything to you.” Scootaloo stated as she also looked at the dogs before them.
“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle pitched in, though it was a little a little shrilly. This caused all three Diamond Dog to flinch and growl at the fillies.
“This one makes the whiny sounds too.” The medium-build Diamond Dog (Rover) said to his companions, then he looked down at the girls with anger in his eyes.
“You came onto Diamond Dog territory and you make horrible sounds even worse than the old mule!” he pointed to the orange peagasus.
The fillies shared a look of confusion as to what he was referring to.
“What noise y'all talkin' about?” Apple Bloom asked while Sweetie Belle posed her own question to the dogs.
“What 'old mule'?”
Meanwhile Scootaloo was trying to think of a moment that she would have made really annoying sounds. The dogs, however, glanced around themselves as Sweetie Belle asked about who they were talking about.
“Not so loud, we don't want to her to hear us.” The smallest of the dogs (Spot) demanded.
The girls grew suspicious and filed the information away for later use.
“And the pony with the wings made the noise when all three of you were making noises together!” Rover stated with another furious jab at the offending pony. Scootaloo looked scandalous, having realized what he meant, thought the others were slower to catch on.
“Wait, you mean I sing badly?!” Scootaloo floated up a little in anger as the others tried to think of how their friend sang.
“She ain't that bad; Ah've heard worse.” Apple Bloom commented with a shrug.
“Yeah, she just needs some practice, that's all.” Sweetie Belle added while Scootaloo looked at them.
“You guys think I don't sing very well?” Scootaloo asked a little saddened that after such a long time, they didn't tell her an important detail like that.
“Well, it's like Sweetie Belle said. Ya jus' need some practice. Maybe we could find someone tah teach us how tah sing better?” Apple Bloom pondered while the others nodded along, completely forgetting the situation around them as they tried to reassure the peagasus.
The Diamond Dogs shared a look of shock at how the fillies were ignoring them.
“Enooouuugghh! Give us everything you found and leave our lands!” Rover commanded as he reached out his paw to the girls.
The trio of ponies were shocked, they only just some and they walked a long way for them. Sweetie Belle began to tear up at the prospect, the others looked nervously at one another before looking back towards the unicorn.
“But, but, we just got here! And we worked really hard for those!” Sweetie Belle almost yelled, tears present even in her voice.
All three dogs winced and held their ears.
“That little one is almost as bad as Miss Rarity.” The heavy-set Diamond Dog (Fido) commented as he looked to the others.
The Crusaders all paused at the name and looked at one another, a plan of action already forming.
“You know my sister?” Sweetie Belle asked, with little trace remaining of her tears.
The trio of Diamond Dog looked wearily at each other. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo noticed and gave each other evil grins as they turned towards Sweetie Belle who looked confused for a moment longer before grinning back.
They all dropped their pickaxes as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo covered their ears and Sweetie Belle took a large breath before unleashing a new type of defense.
“Waaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!” Sweetie Belle scream-cried with torrents of tears running from her clenched eyes. She sounded as though she had a broken heart and had just been told that there were no more Cutie Mark Crusaders.
The Diamond Dogs weren't expecting such a move and fell to the ground with their paws over their ears, trying in vain to block out the sound.
“The crying, it hurts!” Spot practically whined himself as he covered on the ground.
“Enough! Please, stop with the crying!” Rover pleaded to the fillies from the ground.
Sweetie Belle tapered off to sniffles as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shared a triumphant look.
“Ah don' know. Ya did scare us real bad...” Apple Bloom rubber her chin as she glanced over to the peagasus who also rubber at her chin.
“... And you tried to take our hard earned gems...” Together they turned to the unicorn and half-queried half-commanded, “Sweetie Belle?”
The unicorn was faster at catching on this time and began to take another large breath.
“No, no, wait! Ah hah, uh, we're sorry my little ponies. Here, ah, take these as part of our apologies.” With that Rover pulled out a cart that was full of gems already and offered it to the Crusaders with a tense smile.
The other Diamond Dog nodded along, hoping that this would make the fillies leave faster.
The fillies' eyes sparkled at the sight of so many gems but they quickly hid it and and took on shrewd expressions.
“I don't know, what do you think girls? This look like a proper apology?” Scootaloo glanced at the other Crusaders.
“Ah dunno. Ah guess if this is the best they can do...” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo gathered their pickaxes and trotted over to the cart.
“Yeah; though I may tell my sister, Rarity, about your behavior.” Sweetie Belle stuck her noise into the air as she picked up her ax and joined her friends pushing the cart along.
“We'll be goin' now. Thanks fer these here gems. Maybe the next time we meet, ya'll be more civil tah us.” Apple Bloom commented as they finally got the cart rolling back towards Ponyville.
The three Diamond Dog watched and waved goodbye to the fillies with tense smiles until they were out of sight before heading back underground to make up for the loss of gems.
The Crusaders were pushing the cart with all their might, but it was slow goings. Soon they reached the top of the last hill between them and Ponyville. As they panted next to the heavy cart, Scootaloo began to get an idea for an easier way to travel. They had long since put their pickaxes into the cart for safe keeping, the sight of which gave Scootaloo the idea for the Crusaders to ride the cart back.
“Guys, what if we all sat in the cart and used this hill to roll all the way back to town?” Scootaloo tapped the wooden cart with her right hoof while looking at the others. They grinned in return, anything to make the trip easier.
Soon they were all precariously perched on the cart (it was rather full of gems) and they had their axes posed to push off the hill.
“Ready? One, two, three!”
With a great heave the girls pushed off and put their axes back on the cart while holding on tight to the sides. However, they used one ax to steer much like a rudder at the back of the cart.
The trip went well for all of five minutes. The trouble began when the shaft of the pickax started to wear away, making it so the fillies didn't have control of their direction.
Before Scootaloo could use another one to regain control, the cart hit a bump causing the trio to hold on for dear life and the cart to wobble from side to side. It knocked into a tree, making it change directions rapidly and veer off towards the lake that was in between the mountains and town.
The Crusaders saw the approaching danger and tried to move it to either side, but since all three were trying different directions at the same time the cart stayed right on its current path.
What stopped them from continuing their attempts was the sight of a large rock right in their pathway, and as one they made a quick decision to abandon cart.
As all three fillies jumped out, they knocked the remaining axes out as well which landed in front of the speeding cart, causing it to flip up and spill all of its contents. The girls watched from where they landed as the whole load of gems lifted as one and dropped into the lake while the cart finished its trip and landed upside down.
Scootaloo dragged her hoof along her face as she turned towards the others, hopeful that they could still salvage the situation.
“Maybe we could go scuba diving and get all of the gems that fell?” Apple Bloom sighed while Sweetie Belle shuddered at the suggestion.
“Ah don' think that's such ah good idea. Remember the last time we tried tah go divin' in the lake? That big ol' Octopus?” Apple Bloom asked as she sat next to the upside down cart, her two friends slowly joining her as they thought of the creature that lived in the lake.
“How did that get into there anyways?” Sweetie Belle asked curiously. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom shrugged their ignorance and they all just stared at the mess for a few moments.
“Alright, we might as well pick up all that we can and head back tah town.” Apple Bloom commented as the others nodded along and started to clean up the area.
They picked up what they could and put everything into the cart that they had set right side up once more. They held out the small hope that not everything fell into the lake, but were faced with an empty cart. They put the two remaining pickaxes into the cart (the third having been destroyed beyond use and lost on the way down) and put their saddlebags inside as well.
Remembering about and checking the gems they first found put them in a better mood, they weren't completely empty hoofed after all!
With this slightly cheerful mindset, they pulled the much lighter cart to town and beyond to their clubhouse. After putting away their new broken in cart and remaining pickaxes, they tried to think of what to do with the gems.
“Ah don' think it's a good idea tah go walkin' around with a bunch of gems.” Apple Bloom looked at the small pile in front of the three young ponies as they sat in their clubhouse, away from prying eyes.
“And Spike really likes to eat gems, he may think we got him a snack!” Sweetie Belle realized as she looked at her friends in concern, not wanting their hard work to go into the belly of a hungry dragon.
“Maybe there's someone in town that can exchange gems for bits? Then we can know for sure how much each of us get to keep.” Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin, trying to think of who would be willing to make such an exchange.
“Sounds like ah good idea. But who would be able tah do that?” Apple Bloom also rubbed her chin, thinking of all the ponies she and her family knew that might be able to help.
“What about Pinkie Pie? She knows everypony in town, maybe she knows who would buy the gems from us?” Sweetie Belle asked with a hopeful look to her eyes. The others put their hooves back onto the ground as they grinned back at the unicorn.
“Yeah! And we'd be able to pay her back for the tools we had to get for Big Mac!” Scootaloo stood up and grabbed her saddlebag to start packing the gems back into it.
The two other Crusaders also grabbed their saddlebags and together they got all the gems put away and filed out of the clubhouse, heading for town.
They had a feeling that the pink mare was just as likely to be found at the library as the bakery where she made her home, but to be safe (and grab a quick snack) the fillies went to Sugarcube Corner first.
They were lucky that afternoon, they found their pink benefactor just getting off her shift at the bakery.
“Hey Pinkie Pie! Can you help us with something?” Scootaloo asked as the trio walked inside, just to in time to see the party mare hop out of the way for Mrs Cake to take over.
“Oooh! Sure, what do you guys need help with this time? Trouble finding a pony that needs help with something? Ooh, ooh, do you need finding a certain type of equipment for your crusading?”
Pinkie trotted up to the fillies as they sat at a nearby table, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo paying attention to what she was saying while Sweetie Belle looked fondly at the baked goods; though as Apple Bloom began to respond, the unicorn focused once more at the task at hoof.
“Well, we got these here gems and now we need ah place to get them turned intah bits, so we're not carryin' around a bunch o' gems all th' time.” Apple Bloom looked up at the pink mare, hopeful that she would know somepony who could help.
“Oooh, I know just the pony! Follow me! Oh, wait, don't forget your cupcakes!” With that Pinkie Pie pulled over a dozen cupcakes for the girls to have, having noticed how the girls were staring at the baked goods when they first came inside.
The Crusaders grew even more excited and made quick work of the cupcakes, refueling their energy for more crusading later in the day. Once they polished off the snack, the girls stood up and followed the hyper mare outside, on the way to find the pony who can help them with their gems.
“Karat owns a jewelry store! He's always in need for some more gems and he can exchange them for bits for you!” Pinkie Pie hopped down the streets to a purple two storied building that had lots of windows to showcase the products for sale.
The girls exchanged quick looks of confusion and wonder, they haven't seen this store before and didn't know the pony that ran it, before following the pink mare inside.
The four ponies stepped through the door that had a large window in the center with a gem on it proclaiming what was for sale if you couldn't tell already. Inside were many glass cases with rings, necklaces and bracelets with different jewels on it, with a large range of pricing to fit the needs of many.
As a light purple earth pony with a light blue mane stepped out from the back room, the girls couldn't help but notice his mini-binocular glasses and all wondered how he could see anything in them.
“How can I help you today?” Karat asked while eying the fillies before him, unsure what such young ponies would want in a jewelry store.
Pinkie Pie also looked to the girls but with a grin, it was their gems that they were here for and she felt it was something the girls had to do for themselves.
After a quick glance between the three of them, Scootaloo stepped up and looked at the older stallion.
“Hi, we would like to exchange some gems we found for bits please.” Scootaloo tried to sound professional and stern, wanting to be sure they were taken seriously.
Karat raised a brow, unsure of the kind of gems such young girls would be able to find, but decided to humor them anyways.
“I can do exchanges, but the rate all depends on the quality of the gems being exchanged.” Karat adjusted his glasses and looked expectantly to the young fillies who grinned at one another before bringing their bags to the front.
They dumped their bags onto the glass counter, revealing the fifteen different jewels they had found in the mountains. Karat looked slightly impressed with the find, none of the gems were broken or fractured; and Pinkie Pie was proud of the Crusaders, since they found such a good haul by themselves.
After ten long minutes during which the older stallion looked at each gem before setting it into a pile on the side, they began the long process of bargaining of prices. The earth pony and unicorn knew that their friend was able to remain steadfast about getting the better deal, and left most of the discussion to her.
Pinkie Pie sat back, watching the whole thing with a large grin on her face as Scootaloo wagered with the jeweler.
They finally settled on the price of seven hundred and fifty bits and hooves were shaken to finalize the deal. While Karat went into the bag room to get the bits, the Crusaders shared a moment of joyful squeals and hopping up and down at the amount they got for their hard work.
After Karat came back with the bits, the Crusaders tried to contain their extreme joy to seem professional. They split the giant amount of bits into their saddlebags and left the store with the happy pink mare following behind them.
“Ah can't believe ya got us so much Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom smiled at the orange peagasus who waved a hoof bashfully back.
“Yeah! Now we can do lots more things!” Sweetie Belle added a little shrilly, excited at the chance for more adventuring.
“Aw, it was nothing you guys. Hey Pinkie Pie, where you going now?” Scootaloo looked at the older mare as she was just about to hop off.
“Well, unless you needed something else, I was going to head over to Twilight's. We're baking today!” Pinkie pie had a large grin on her face at the thought, the studious mare was slowly getting better at cooking and didn't burn most of what was being made nowadays.
The Crusaders shared a look of surprise; they didn't know that Twilight could cook, having assumed that the residential dragon took care of that part.
“Well, we wanted tah give ya back yer bits that ya used to help us pay fer the tools. Thanks fer always helping us, Pinkie Pie.” Apple Bloom stated as they pulled out a hundred and fifty bits from their bags; Big Mac's tools had cost a lot since he had pro-tools to keep up with the constant needs of a thriving but slightly run down farm.
Pinkie Pie was a little surprised, she didn't realized the girls were going to try and pay her back.
“Oh, well thanks! But are you sure you don't need the bits for something else? I make enough just fine, you didn't have to pay me back.” The pink mare was hesitant to take the bits from the young fillies, one never knew when they may need bits to cover something else that goes wrong.
“We'll be just fine, we still have a lot left and we can always go and earn more as well as our Cutie Marks!” Sweetie Belle reassured the party mare as they pushed the pile of bits her way.
Pinkie Pie raised a brow at the girls as she took a hold of the offered bits and put it into her mane. After trying to think if there was really a way to get out of them paying her back, she realized it just meant that they were growing up and standing on their own four hooves. She grinned and nodded rapidly at the fillies before her.
“Thanks girls! Good luck on any other adventuring you are planning for the day! You've got to tell me about how you beat the Diamond Dogs later, ok?” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked concerned while Sweetie Belle just shrugged.
“It's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.” Sweetie Belle stated as they all turned to head back to their clubhouse. They nodded resolutely and went to split up the remaining bits amongst themselves in a secured location.
Once they were in their clubhouse once more, they made another pile in the center of the room made of bits this time.
“Alright, we have six hundred bits left. We can split it evenly between us, it's perfect!” Scootaloo hoof pumped, excited at the prospect of not having to worry about bits for a few weeks.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom shared a look of concern for their last friend, and without speaking knew what the other had planned. They both scrambled to split the pile up rapidly before Scootaloo got a chance to touch anything.
Scootaloo sat back surprised at the sudden rush of movement and didn't notice how the two others put three hundred bits into Scootaloo's bags while giving themselves only a hundred fifty. They knew they didn't need the bits like the peagasus and had a more reliable way to get more if it came to it (by way of their sisters).
Once three sets of saddlebags were filled, the two friends sat back down and looked towards the other who raised a brow at their antics.
“Finished sorting? You know, I could have helped.” Scootaloo crossed her hooves as she looked at her friends, wondering what that whole thing was about.
“Oh, well, ah, we jus' wanted tah get it done fer ya, since it was yer idea and all.” Apple Bloom rubbed the back of her head as she looked sheepishly towards the unicorn who looked blankly back.
“Umm, yeah. What she said.” Scootaloo gave up trying to get a straight answer out of her friends and picked up her saddlebags, which were oddly heavy.
“Alright, well, whatever. Were we going to do anything else today?” Scootaloo asked as she stood and turned towards the door.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shook their heads 'no' rapidly and Scootaloo took her leave of the clubhouse and went to her secret hide-out.
Once the peagasus was out, the other two sighed in relief at how they had escaped further questioning. They decided to stash half of the remaining bits in case something else happened during their adventuring and dug near the base of the tree house.
After that task was done, they went their separate ways to hide the bits they had left at home.