The dogs removed the duffel bag from Hum Drum's head. He looked and saw that there was no light except from the torches hanging from the dirt wall. He could tell they were underground. Hum Drum looked around and saw an army of armored dogs surrounded a golden, jeweled throne. A skinny dog in a red jacket sat in the throne. The two dogs holding Hum Drum threw him in front of the leading dog. He tried to move, but his wrists and ankles were chained together.
"Do what you want with me," Hum Drum shouted. "You'll never torture me into giving you what you want!"
"Torture," the dog in the red jacket asked. "Kid, the only thing I want to torture is this foot fungus. It's one of the disadvantages of living underground." He got up from his throne and approached Hum Drum. "Spot, Fido, why is the dragon chained up? We don't want him as our prisoner! Release him!"
"Huh," the two dogs asked. The leading dog glared closer at them, so the two removed the chains off of Hum Drum.
As the dragon rubbed his wrists, he felt confused. "Uh... Thanks, I guess. Who are you guys?"
"Oh, forgive my brothers," the dog said. "They're not big on manners. We are an underground tribe of jewel-worshipping mutts called the Under Dogs. I'm the Alpha of the pack. The name's Rover, but everyone calls me the Under King."
"I guess you're in charge," Hum Drum said.
"You catch on fast, kid," the Under King said. "Now, I want you to do something: change."
"Change," Hum Drum asked.
"Yeah, change," the Under King said. "My brothers, Fido and Spot here, claim that you can change into diamond-hard skin. Can you?"
"Uh, sure," Hum Drum said. He closed his eyes and suddenly, his skin changed. The Under Dogs were astonished at the sight. Hum Drum changed back and saw the Under Dogs staring at him.
"Did I do something wrong," Hum Drum asked.
"On the contrary, kid," the Under King said, "You've done something legendary. Throw this dragon, Hum Drum, a feast!"
The Under Dogs cheered. The shout made Hum Drum smile a little.
"We've got to get to Hum Drum and quickly," the Masked Matterhorn said. "Who knows that the Under Dogs might do to him?"
"But how are we going to find them," Dusk asked. "I don't know if you noticed, but there's a lot of ground and even more dirt underneath. It'll take us forever to find them."
"Maybe not," the Shadow Blot said. "I have a plan, but Marevelous might not like it."
"What do you mean," Mistress Marevelous asked.
"I was thinking that since your sister is connected with the plants," the Shadow Blot said, "Maybe she can make a plant that's connected to where Hum Drum is."
"ARE YOU NUTS," Mistress Marevelous shouted. "I'm ticked off enough since I realized that my sister was using her powers to make a quick buck."
"Applejack, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please," Seedling begged. "Don't make me beg."
"You are begging," Mistress Marevelous said.
"Then please, make me stop," Seedling said.
"We just want to help," Nowhere Mare said.
"We promise we won't misuse our powers again," Turbo Girl said.
"I don't know how to believe," Mistress Marevelous said. She then held up her rope. "This rope responds to the responsibility I know I have. As long as I'm always true, this rope will always answer to me."
C.R.U.S.A.D.E. turned their eyes to the rope and felt strange. They saw it glow in a rainbow of colors. They felt the same glow coming from their eyes.
"You're right," Seedling said. "We shouldn't have sold our services."
"We were just too tempted," Nowhere Mare said. "It's so easy, but we just couldn't stop."
"But give us one last chance," Turbo Girl said, "And we will never lie again."
Mistress Marevelous, Radiance, and Zapp sighed.
"All right, fine," Mistress Marevelous said. "But I expect the truth in the future."
"No problem, sis," Seedling said. "In fact..." She pulled out a gold coin and gave it to her sister. "I got this from dishonest means. I'm giving this to you as a vow to always be honest like you."
"Thanks, I guess," Mistress Marevelous said accepting the bit.
Hum Drum looked in wonder at the table with plates full of gems in front of him.
"All of this... for me," Hum Drum said. "I don't understand."
"Like I told you, we Under Dogs worship gems," the Under King said. "That makes you a perfect guy to worship."
"You mean my powers," Hum Drum asked. "Sure, it's special, but I don't see what all the fuss is about."
"It's what you can turn into that matters," the Under King explained. "Haven't you wondered what kind of diamond you can turn into?"
Curious, Hum Drum changed into his diamond-form and observed himself. "Do you know?"
"Of course," the Under King answered. "That particular diamond is Tarastone, the rarest and most precious gem in all of Equestria."
"Really," Hum Drum asked. "Wow, talk about luck."
"So as soon as we heard you were coming," the Under King said, "We cleared our vaults and gave you a feast of gems big enough to satisfy 10 grown dragons. And if I may give you a suggestion, eat your gems while you're in your diamond-form. You'll get better resiliance while you're eating."
"You emptied your vaults just for me," Hum Drum asked. "Won't you guys go broke?"
"Oh, we can always mine for more," the Under King said. "And I have a feeling we'll hit the jackpot very soon. Just don't worry about us.
"You don't have to hold your tongue back
You're already worthy
We cleared our vaults
Without any halts
Because you're our celebrity
We can always get more gems
Guaranteed to be very soon
We'll all be alright
I swear by Luna's moon"
At that moment, Hum Drum changed into this diamond form and began to eat any gemstone on the table. The Under King kept watching and singing.
"Keep it up
Take in all the rich stuff
I want to make it all
Take it all
Go
Yeah, keep it up
Until there's no more
It's like your dad's a rock
Then, you're a chip off the old block"
As soon as the verse was done, Hum Drum was laying on his back with a belly full of gems.
"Oh, thanks, your majesty," Hum Drum said. "I don't know how I can repay you."
"Oh, you already are," the Under King said. "GRAB HIM, BOYS!"
"What," Hum Drum asked.
Suddenly, the Under Dogs jumped and grabbed Hum Drum. When he came to, he was tied up in ropes. He looked up and saw the Under King above him. Hum Drum tried to move, but he just couldn't and he also couldn't change back into his dragon form.
"Don't bother," the Under King said. "With the large buffet you scarfed down on, you're too lazy to succeed in changing back."
"Hey, what's the big idea," Hum Drum asked. "I thought you worshipped me."
"Well, everyone worships jewels," the Under King sang,
"So let me be crystal clear
What we're going to do
Is chip all of you
Until there's nothing here"
Meanwhile, just outside of the dancing crowd, the Power Ponies, the Mighty Machines, and C.R.U.S.A.D.E. entered the area and listened in.
"So, every dog, pick up an ax
Get ready for our greatest find
Pick it all
Have a ball
We've got a dragon to mine"
"Just as I thought," the Masked Matterhorn said. "Just one shard could set those dogs up for pony lives times dog years. They're going to pick off the diamonds until there's nothing left."
"Oh, that cur," Masque growled. "He gives dogs a bad name. I'll stuff him with his own pickaxes. I'll make him watch game shows. I'll..." He stopped growling and his shoulders were following the music. "Oh, for a bunch of dirty dogs, they make great musicians."
"We'll hire them for weddings later," the Masked Matterhorn said. "All right. We're going to make a distraction while Sweetie Belle..."
"Uh, hem," the little unicorn cleared her throat.
"Nowhere Mare... *sigh* ...will turn invisible and release Hum Drum. Is everyone celar on the plan?"
"Oh, yeah," Masque sighed carelessly. Everyone panicked when they saw him strolling down the hallway with each step going along with the music. "I'm gone."
"NOT YET, MASQUE," the Shadow Blot panicked.
The heroes tried to catch him, but they saw Under Dogs carrying Hum Drum closer to the end of the hallway. They hid and waited for their friend. The Masked Matterhorn reached out to him, but before she could catch him, the door slammed open in her face.
"HEY!"
The door slowly closed and the heroes saw a female Under Dog dance out of the doorway and scatting. They saw the robotic tail behind her, so they knew it was Masque in disguise. The tail turned into a dog's and Masque continued scatting. Fascinated, the Under King danced and scatted with Masque.
"Getting mad, baby," Masque said.
They continued scatting until every Under Dog went to the big finish.
"KEEP IT UP
TAKE IN ALL THE RICH STUFF
I WANT TO MAKE IT ALL
TAKE IT ALL
GO
YEAH, KEEP IT UP
UNTIL THERE'S NO MORE
LIKE YOUR DAD'S A ROCK
YOU'RE A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK"
"TAKE ME HOME, DADDY," Masque shouted.
"LIKE YOUR DAD'S A ROCK
YOU'RE A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK"
"ONE MORE TIME," the Under King shouted smacking Masque on the back.
Masque didn't notice that the hit messed up his disguise. Now, every Under Dog looked and stared as Masque was dancing not knowing he wasn't in disguise.
"YEAH," he sang alone,
"LIKE YOUR DAD'S A ROCK
YOU'RE A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOOOOOOOCK"
He continued scatting until he took a good look at his body. He stopped dancing when he saw that the jig was up.
"Man," Masque said.
"HEY," Spot shouted, "THAT GUY WAS WITH THE POWER PONIES!"
"GET HIM," the Under King shouted.
The Power Ponies and Mighty Machines jumped out of hiding. They grabbed Hum Drum and untied him. Suddenly, a loud, thunderous noise filled the room at the same time as the wall blew apart. The Under King growled and turned to the Power Ponies.
"YOU," the Under King said. "YOU DID THIS!"
"What," Zapp said. "No, we didn't."
"Wait," Hum Drum said. "If we didn't do it and you didn't do it... who did?"
When the smoke cleared from the wall, there was a unicorn standing in the hole. Darkmatter was standing tall. The Siren Sisters were behind him.
"Good evening, dogs from the deepest dumpsters," he said. "We are tonight's entertainment. I only have one question: where is the little monkey, Twilight Sparkle?"
"You've got to be kidding me," Shining Armor whispered.