//------------------------------// // Diamond Den // Story: Ponyville Tales // by Silverquill //------------------------------// “Fluttershy! Fluttershy dear, are you home?” Rarity creaked open the front door to her timid friend’s forest cottage. “It’s Friday, time for our weekly spa treatment!” Stepping further in, Rarity found Fluttershy reading a book in her living room, hoof moving across the page. “You know, darling, Twilight’s the one who’s supposed to be the bookworm.” Rarity grinned at her own joke as Fluttershy took her nose out of the book. “Oh… sorry… I didn’t forget, but I was just looking through my herb guidebook again.” She glanced back at the book, her eyes settling on one of the pictures. “Like this Manedril Weed… so very rare nowadays…” “Hmm… yes, you have talked about it before. Didn’t you say it’s nearly nonexistent in Equestria?” “Yes…” she sighed, closing the book. “A shame…I could make something lovely with it. I‘d love to have some.” Standing up, she moved to the door. “Sorry for keeping you waiting... I’m ready to go now. Oh, if you are, that is.” “Right behind you.” Rarity gestured towards the door and watched as her friend left. She quickly reached to the back of her head, shuffling through her mane. Yes, you’ve said you wish you had some…so that’s why I got some! she thought cheerfully. Finding some while out on that gem hunt with Spike was lucky. It’s the perfect gift! And yet, she couldn’t seem to find it. Fluttershy noticed Rarity wasn’t following and turned back. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t notice you were doing something. Oh, do you have an itch? I have a remedy for that.” “No, no, I’m fine, hehe... coming.“ She played off the hair searching as scratching her head and went to follow her friend. That’s odd, she thought. Now where did I put it… And then it hit her. Oh, dear. “Almost there…” Rarity huffed, the long climb to her favorite gem-hunting area taking its toll on the high-class pony. It would be worth it in the end, though; if she could complete Sapphire Shore’s order, she’d earn a very good reputation for designing outfits for the Pony of Pop. She wasn’t looking forward to a walk up here every day, though. “You look tired, Rarity,” Spike chimed in. “Sit here and rest for a minute, I’ll take the wagon up ahead.” “Oh, thank you Spike.” Rarity laid down slightly off the path, making sure to sweep away any dust first. “I’ll be with you momentarily.” “Take your time,” Spike replied. She watched as he pulled the wagon farther up the path, before resting her head on the ground for a quick five-minute rest. She ended up sticking her head in some grass, pausing to take a look at what dared to offend a lady’s rest. It was a few tufts of vibrant orange grass, a very unusual color. Rarity wracked her brain; surely she’d seen something like this before… “Ah-ha!” She HAD seen it before. Fluttershy had, more than once, gone on a tirade about her herb studies during their weekly get-togethers. She covered a large range of herbs, but the one she talked about most often sounded like it looked a lot like this. It would make a great gift for her yellow friend. She plucked the plant from the ground, admiring the fiery appearance of the little weed. A problem quickly arose, though: how would she carry it? Well, if her tail could be sacrificed to please a river serpent, a few blades of grass in her hair couldn’t do much harm. Her magic didn’t branch out into anything not a gem, garment, or accessory though, but maybe if she thought of the grass as some sort of hair braid… She smiled as her magic took effect, gripping the herb and levitating it up to her mane. It flew into the purple locks, entwining deep within them. Sure they were no longer visible, Rarity got up and began the trek to the top of the path. The thought of being able to give her friend something she wanted gave the unicorn new energy, allowing her to catch up to Spike quickly. “Sorry about that Spike, shall we begin?” “Bring the cart, Spike! There are more over here!” Her horn aglow, Rarity let it lead her across the plain. The pull was stronger than usual this time…surely there had to be large stash of gems nearby, the sparkling jewels that she needed to finish her latest work order. The pull got stronger and stronger as she walked, Spike following behind with his red wagon already filled with a decent amount of gems. Soon enough, the pull ceased and the ground in front of her illuminated, revealing a cache of emeralds and rubies just waiting to be dug up. “Spike, where are you?” she called, right before Spike arrived. “You know, it’s terrible to keep a lady waiting,” she teased. “Coming!” he responded, letting go of the wagon and moving to the glowing ground Rarity had marked for him. With claws outstretched, he quickly got to work digging for the prize. “I think we’re really going to hit gold this time…so to speak” Rarity said with a giggle, already imagining the marvelous work she could perform with all the gems they were finding. A rustle in the bushes nearby stole her focus for a moment, her ears picking up what sounded like whispering. She ignored it and looked back when Spike returned to the surface with a ‘Jackpot!’. And that’s what it was; a large pile of gems, more than enough to give her a good start on her order. Rarity smiled as Spike loaded up the wagon, now filled way past capacity. “Well, Spike, I think that’s all we can do for today…and these will certainly get me well on my way with Sapphire’s outfit,” Rarity told her helper. “Why don‘t we start to head ho-…” she began, before her horn burst to life, her magic pointing out a nearby load of gems. One more can’t hurt… she thought. “Ooo, on second thought, this way Spike!” Her magic didn’t lead her towards the ground, though, it seemed to want to drag her up into the trees. She was beginning to think it was malfunctioning when something sparkled within the branches. “Oh, strange…it‘s in the trees?” She leaned in closer for a better look. She let out an admiring gasp as a brilliant golden gem peered out at her. She was about to pluck the gem from its leafy resting place when it started to move closer, a head suddenly appearing over it… and a repulsive head at that. Rarity backed up, startled. “Uh…urm…good day, gentle…uhm…fellow I am Rarity, and this is my friend, Spike.” she blathered, Spike waving nervously on his cue. “And you are?” The creature leapt from its place in the branches, revealing a red-vested, gray-furred creature slowly prowling towards her on its hind legs. “A Diamond Dog!” it growled, pacing closer and closer. “Wait, stop! You’re getting dirt all over my coat! This is no way to treat a lady!” Rarity screamed as she was dragged farther and farther into the Diamond Dog’s den. Two more of the creatures had shown up, a burly bluish one and a short brown one. Rarity and Spike had fought back and tried to escape, but it was no use; Rarity had been captured. The one that seemed to be leader, the red-vested one they called Rover, was dragging her by her tail as the burly dog (Fido) and the shorter one (Spot) dug them a tunnel, taking them to who-knows-where. Her shouting was having no effect as the creatures ignored her, seemingly knowing exactly where they were going. Rarity squirmed and tried to find purchase in the ground, but hooves were not designed for holding onto flat surfaces. The dogs had slowed down, shouting to each other that they were almost to the main chamber. Sensing their slowing down, Rarity gave one last struggle, but to no avail; Rover clung tighter to her tail and yanked, the sudden flare of pain shutting her up. She was dragged deeper until they reached a chamber, where they would make their demands and Rarity would nearly drive them insane with her behavior, until her friends came to ‘rescue’ her. Meanwhile, the strands of grass had come undone and fluttered out of her mane during her last attempt at freedom. They remained where they fell, deep within the lair of the Diamond Dogs. “Rarity? Rarity, are you okay?” Rarity shook her head fast, clearing away her thoughts. “Er…yes, yes, I’m fine. But, uh…do you think we could postpone our spa-day for an hour or two? There’s something I forgot to take care of.” Fluttershy stared quizzically at her. “Well, it’s unusual…but, it’s okay, no, take your time.” Shooting her an apologetic smile, Rarity ran out the door and in the direction of her gem hunting ground. It wasn’t long before the white mare was standing over the entrance to the place she’d been (more or less) held captive in not long ago. There were a lot of freshly dug holes nearby, but most had been filled up. Rarity stared over the edge, hoping to gauge how deep it went. Kicking a pebble over the edge, she noted it didn’t take long for it to thump to the ground and roll away. It wasn’t a steep drop, but it’d be hard to get out. Not to mention all the loose dirt… I hope Fluttershy appreciates this… Throwing any doubts behind her, Rarity stepped forward and felt the earth fall away beneath her. For just a moment she was falling, before clumsily landing on a slope. She slid down it a little, all kinds of dirt coating her hooves already. Off to a great start… She stood up, noting that she was in a tunnel that branched off three ways. No guard dogs were around; as far as she could remember, they usually stuck to the main chambers. The real problem would be finding the herb and getting out unnoticed. But if she could just reuse that spell she’d used to magically grasp it the first time, thinking of it as an accessory, maybe she could… Aha! Her horn gave off a glow, which she diminished to make it less noticeable. It worked, her horn pulling towards the leftmost tunnel. With luck, it would lead her straight to the forlorn plant, and then she could get the hay out of here. With one last look towards the surface, Rarity started on her way down into the earth, the glow of numerous gems and dull red lanterns lighting the way. It didn’t take long to run into complications. She still had the tiniest grasp on the plant in her tracking spell, but the massive amount of gems surrounding her made it hard to focus. The farther in she went, the more her horn wanted to drag her off in another direction. It didn’t help that absolutely none of the passages looked familiar to her, not that she’d tried very hard to memorize the filthy place. She had just arrived in another large, dome-like cave, with another series of passages off to the side. Rarity groaned and flopped to the ground, her spell dying down, too exhausted to care about what the cave floor would do to her coat. Using the spell for such long periods of time was starting to wear her out. Her mission could wait five minutes… “Help…help me…” Rarity’s ears perked up, a sound softly echoing around the chamber. Curiosity beating out her exhaustion, Rarity got to her feet and went to the source of the sound, located behind a large boulder in the corner. “Oh my Celestia!” She found herself looking right into a dull-iron cage, a lump piled in the center of it. The lump stirred, raising its head; a gray-coated unicorn looked at her through unfocused yellow eyes, her fiery, orange hair dirty and unkempt. “Thank goodness…I was beginning to think you hadn’t heard me…” she mumbled, climbing unsteadily to her feet. “You poor thing, what have they done to you?” The captured pony coughed. “I’m a miner pony from the Ponyville Excavation Team, sent here to check for any nearby ore deposits. Not here, exactly…” she explained, gesturing towards the gloomy little cavern, “but up on the surface. I came alone…lazy foals thought it’d be a simple scouting job...but I was no match when those creatures teamed up on me and dragged me down here. It seems they’ve tightened security since their last prisoner though…they keep ranting about a white mare who sounded a lot…like…you?” The mare squinted closer at Rarity, who shrunk back a little. “Er…yes, that would probably be me. They caught me up on the surface about two days ago, though they couldn’t handle a real lady, I suppose. I had no idea they would replace me so fast though…I’m sorry I made this experience any worse, dear. But why’d they take you?” The mare turned, showing off her cutie mark: A rock-like, gray stone. “It’s iron ore, if you couldn’t guess. The dogs want gems, as I’m sure they showed you. I can’t say I’m specialized in finding any…but I’m a good miner and I have a decent grasp over finding ore…and maybe VERY nearby gems. They immediately put me to work, digging for any gems I managed to find, not feeding me very much at all.” As if on cue, her stomach roared. “Oh my. I don’t have any rations on me but…hmmm…I know, I’ll find a way to get you out of there! We’ll have you back to town by tonight.” A small smile crept over the unicorn’s face. “You’d do that? Thank you…thank you so much. I think the leader of these dogs has the key to this thing.” The mare weakly kicked the bar of the cage to make her point. “I’ll be quick, just hold in there!” Rarity turned and went back to the tunnels, before her original mission came to mind. “Oh, uh, miss…miner, would you happen to have seen some kind of orange plant down here?” She called to the enslaved pony, who was starting to nestle back into the bottom of the cage again. “Call me Quicksilver,” she called back, bursting into another small coughing fit. “Can’t say I saw anything of the sort…sorry.” Rarity huffed. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. But surely the herb had to be close to the main tunnel area, and that’s where she’d find Rover as well. She started up her spell again, which pointed out one of the rightmost pathways out of around five or so. Taking a quick mental note to start marking her paths so she could easily get back to the caged pony, Rarity started down the passage, now even more determined to finish her mission in the underground tunnel system. The bad news: The amount of gems around her had become too much for her to focus on the herb any longer. The good news: If the gem concentration was this high, she must be close. Entering another large chamber, Rarity ducked behind a boulder when she saw a pair of brown, brawny guards walking by. Yes, she was definitely close. When the guards had gone done another tunnel Rarity peeked from behind the rock, and was stunned by the steaming underground lake that lay in front of her. A hot spring? She tiptoed to the edge of the pool, dipping her front hoof in. The water swirled around it, definitely hot but not scalding. Rarity gave a contented sigh as all the grime from her traveling swirled away into the pool. Maybe she could make some time on her way back to fully enjoy this well-hidden treat. The arrival of several unwelcome voices broke that thought as Rarity dived back behind the boulder. “New Pony does work well!” Rarity gulped as the familiar voice came closer and closer. She peeked around the boulder and spotted the intruder; the red-vested Rover and his two head lackeys. “Much more digging, much less complaining.” “And the whining!” Spot agreed, comically tugging his ears down. “Not so noisy, either!” Rover gave a rasping laugh as he led them even closer to Rarity’s hiding spot. “Don’t forget, much less maintenance too. New one goes for days without eating, whiny marshmallow hag-pony would not even work without water.” HAG-PONY?! Rarity thought, snarling. Fido chuckled, the brawny dog’s shoulders rising and falling. “Speaking of new pony, let’s get break over with fast so she get more time to work.” Rover nodded at his companion before stopping short, his arms outstretched. “Oof! What is it, boss?” Rarity flinched as the trio froze near her location. Rover sniffed the air, stepping around in random directions. “Something smell funny. And frilly.” Not daring to peek again, Rarity listened in. “Is probably just Spot, boss.” Fido chuckled again as Spot growled at him. “Was probably good idea to choose bath for break time.” The sniffing ceased. “Maybe right. Let’s get this over with.” Their talking turned to idle banter as Rarity heard shuffling, followed by splashes. So much for my bath… She peered around the boulder, smirking at the sight of the three mutts splashing and doggy paddling in the springs. What really drew her attention was the shiny glint coming off from the pile of clothes they’d left behind on land. The key! Thanking her lucky stars that the key wasn’t just a bath toy to the Diamond Dogs, she reached out with her magic and took a hold of the pile of clothes. She scooted it closer and closer slowly, going unnoticed by the trio. Soon enough the pile lay at her feet, Rarity almost gagging on the stench. Uuuugh…their clothes need the bath more than they do. Holding her breath, Rarity held one of the pairs of pants up and shook it upside down, not willing to risk what horrible things she might find in their pockets. She stifled the urge to cough as a cloud of dirt and dust flew out of the pockets. That’s…just disgusting. Waving the cloud away, Rarity tried the second pair and smiled as the key fell to the ground with a clink, along with more dust. She grabbed the key in her teeth and made to sneak towards the way she came from. The dust would have none of that though; it swirled around her, making her nose itch unbearably. Don’t sneeze…no, don’t! ACHOO! Rarity sniffled. Well, maybe they were too busy splashing about to hear her. “IT’S THE WHINY ONE, BOSS!” Oh horseapples. She hadn’t had time to see which tunnel had her marks in them, the Diamond Dogs had called for guards as they scrambled to find their clothes. She picked the closest tunnel and ran as the sound of heavy paws had filled the chamber. Now she was lost; safe, but lost. “Check this way! We know tunnels better than Whiny One!” Okay, maybe not safe. She ducked into a tiny chamber off the path, crouching low to stay out of sight. The sound of charging Diamond Dogs eventually went past her, though she wasn’t sure if it was worth the scratchy grass sticking up into her face. Wait…grass? Underground? She looked down, the orange strands of the missing herb resting literally right underneath her nose. At last! Once again making the plant an accessory, Rarity weaved it back into her hair and made sure it was double knotted this time. Her goal was accomplished, but she was still lost. “You see noisy white pony, gray one?” “Bite…me…” “Don’t tempt us, Pony. Have you seen whiny pony or not?” Hearing sounds coming farther down the tunnel, Rarity put her hoof to her face. Of course they’d connect some of their tunnels. Quicksilver must have lied, since the sound of clanking armor grew more and more distant. Following where she’d heard the voices coming from, Rarity soon found herself back in Quicksilver’s prison. Rushing to the cage, she unlocked it and entered, shaking the lump on the floor. “Get up dear, we need to get out of here!” The gray mare blinked, exhaustion clearly written on her face. A bright smile lit up her face as she saw her rescuer wasn’t outside the bars, but inside. “I almost thought you weren’t going to make it.” “A real lady lets no challenge stand in her way. Now we’re running out of time, we need to escape!” Quicksilver shook her head, still wondering if she was just hallucinating the white unicorn in front of her. “Freedom? Really?” She warily rose to her feet, finally noticing that the jail door was unlocked. “Freedom!” “Shhhh! I may have…raised some alarms. Quick, do you know the way to the exit?” “I’ll do us one better! I think I have enough energy left…” Quicksilver wobbled out of the cage, stretching her legs. “The walls in my cell were too hard to work with…but if I try hard enough, maybe I can dig us right out of here…” Rarity watched as the pony weakly scratched at the wall. At first it looked like they were going nowhere, but soon enough Quicksilver’s talent kicked in and she was quickly burrowing through the rock, almost as if she was just shoving it out of the way. Reluctantly, Rarity followed her into the custom-made passage. Dirt and gravel rained down on her, but they were too close to freedom for her to mind. Soon enough, Quicksilver slowed, giving the rock wall ahead one last kick as it broke open and revealed Celestia’s sun smiling down on them. Quicksilver exited first, Rarity quickly following behind her. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief and shook herself, knocking off all kinds of dirt and grime. She needed that spa-day more than ever. Vowing not to come back to this ground for a LONG time, Rarity would definitely have the time for that. “Let’s get you back to town, miss…” Rarity looked around, until finding the mining unicorn passed out not far away. “Miss!” Rarity searched for the other mare’s magic with her own, barely being able to find it. She was just unconscious, but she needed medical attention, right now. Rarity very carefully lifted the knocked out miner onto her back, wobbling a little under the weight, before setting off down the path back to town. “Oh, you’re back Rarity. Didn’t think it’d be so long. And you brought a friend too, that’s…oh my goodness.” Fluttershy stepped aside to allow her friend to enter, who quickly walked to her couch and deposited another mare onto it. “Step aside,” Fluttershy commanded, her medical training kicking in. “What happened to the poor thing? It looks like has hasn’t eaten in days...” “I’ll tell you later, dear...” Rarity stood aside as her friend inspected the overworked mare. Suddenly remembering the herb, Rarity reached up and retrieved it. “Oh, Fluttershy, maybe this will help?” Her friend turned and her eyes widened as she saw the rare herb. “Oh, yes! Watch the patient please, if it’s no trouble…I’ll be back in no time!” Rarity smiled, happy that her gift could be of use so fast. She sat down near Quicksilver, gently nudging the pony back into consciousness. “Are you okay?” The miner opened her eyes halfway and nodded. “Thanks…if you hadn’t come, I don’t know if I would have made it…” “It was no trouble, dear. Get some rest, Fluttershy will be back in a minute to fix you up.” Quicksilver smiled, shutting her eyes again. “When I recover, remind me to take you two out for lunch sometime…” Making sure her friend was resting, Rarity waited patiently for her friend to return. She wondered what such a rare herb would do…instantly restore Quicksilver to full health? Repel all the grime that had accumulated on them? Oooooo, I hope it’s that one. A moment later, Fluttershy returned carrying one tray delicately balanced on her hoof. She settled it on the living room table, revealing a tea set ready to serve beverages. “Oh, I’m parched. Thank you dear,” Rarity said. “But forgive my curiosity, what are you going to do with that herb I found for you?” Fluttershy smiled at her. “Oh, I’ve already used it. It’s right there…” she replied, pointing towards the tea. Rarity’s expression slowly turned confused. “So the tea is medicine?” “Oh, no. That herb you brought was almost nonexistent because everyone always harvested it for their tea, with few bothering to replant it. It makes the finest tea brew ever recorded. I’m so thankful you brought me some, I can’t imagine the trouble you went through to get it…please, you and her have some while I go get my medical supplies, and we can let your new friend rest while we enjoy our spa day. Forgive me for saying so but…it looks like you could really need it.” Fluttershy floated off to the back room again. Rarity’s eye twitched, her anger slowly rising. All…that…effort…for TEA?! That foal is going to get a piece of my MIND! Rarity snarled, starting to rise to her feet. A hoof shot out from the couch, stopping her in her place. “Yes, friend, you definitely deserve some time to yourself…I’ll be okay here…I owe you my life. I’m going to rest for awhile…tell your friend I said thanks.” Quicksilver let her go and rolled over, her breathing gradually slowing down as she fell asleep. Rarity slowly let her rage simmer down. Oh, well…it may have been a foal’s errand, but I did someone a good favor today. And…I made a new friend. Fluttershy came back soon after, tending to any wounds Quicksilver had and giving her some remedies to help her return to strength. After all was fine, she and Rarity made ready to go; Rarity REALLY needed that spa day now, noting her dirty-encrusted coat. Fluttershy went on ahead, going to meet her outside. Before following after her, Rarity went to her sleeping miner friend and draped a blanket carefully over her. The mare sighed contentedly and rolled over, and Rarity quietly left. “Ready to go, Fluttershy,” Rarity called out. “Oh, and in a few weeks, maybe a new friend of mine could join us on our next spa-day.” A couple weeks had passed when Rarity found herself inside a humid little workshop somewhere on the edge of town. She passed by pony after pony, all hard at work moving large mining tools or working at stations, hammering the bits of geode and ore that they’d come across. Halfway through the shop, she paused behind the only unicorn in sight besides herself. This gray mare was working diligently, using her magic to levitate a hammer and some forceps, holding a glowing silver bar in place as she hammered the metal into a more useful shape. After turning the bar into an expertly crafted metal piece, the miner turned to levitate the object into a nearby bin. “What’s that you’re working on, dear?” Surprise quickly turned to remembrance as Quicksilver finally noticed the unicorn behind her. “Well, if it isn’t the hero of the day,” she said with a smirk. “It sure is, come to meet her friend, miss “Can’t-whine-to-save-her-life.” Quicksilver rolled her eyes, letting her magic fade as the part fell into the bin. “Har har. I still don’t believe you defeated those creatures just by being a pain. And it’s a door frame, if it’s not obvious. Anyway, what brings you here, Rarity?” “I seem to recall you offering to take me and your caring doctor Fluttershy out to lunch once you got better. As it so happens, Fluttershy and I were walking by, and we just happened to be peckish. Shall we go?” “You really should plan these things out first. But...” Quicksilver looked out a window and noted the sun’s position. “Yeah, it’s almost break time. I’ve got my bits up near the front; let’s get outta here.” After QuickSilver sealed the bin, the two made their way outside, grabbing Quicksilver’s money pouch along the way. Joining up with Fluttershy outside, the trio headed into town, keeping an eye out for an interesting restaurant and discussing their upcoming spa -day along the way.