Chapter 11 Basements
Quizzical Greystone and the Basements of Doom
Chapter 11 - Basements
“Shadow?”
“I’m not putting you down, Quizzie.”
“Yes, I do get that,” said Quiz, perhaps a bit sharply. “You have made your stubbornness on this issue quite clear. No, I wished to ask if you have noticed how the tunnels have changed since we crossed the gorge.”
“Well, yeah,” said Shadow. “But I wasn’t really paying attention. I was thinking more about how we’ve been going uphill. I was worried that we might be getting too close to the surface for you. But you’re right, the tunnels are getting straighter, aren’t they?”
“Exactly. We have left the diamond dogs’ normally chaotic, haphazard excavations behind, and entered an area of straight lines and right angles.”
“Oh, great!” spat Diamond Tiara. “Now she’s sightseeing! Well, I hope you are enjoying all the rocks all around you, Quiz-ik-al!”
“Diamond wait,” said Silver Spoon. “She notices things. Quiz, what is it?”
“It seems we are in a series of stonework rectangles. They do not appear to be the work of diamond dogs. The dogs have merely built tunnels connecting them. It all seems to follow a very organized grid pattern.”
“Terrific!” sneered Diamond. “Everything’s all neat and orderly. Between that and all the rocks you must be having a wonderful time, Quiz! I bet you want to get out your protractor to make sure all the side tunnels are at perfect right angles!”
“That is not actually necessary. You can easily see the tunnels are several degrees of deviation off of true. They were dug by diamond dogs, after all.”
Silver Spoon was pondering what Quiz described. “Rectangles… laid out in a grid… wait, do you mean like houses? In a city?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“And you don’t think the diamond dogs built it? Do you think it was ponies?!”
Quiz tried to nod, but couldn’t while lying on Shadow’s back. “Yes, I do.”
“We’re in a lost city?!” exclaimed Silver.
“‘Lost’ is not how I would describe it…”
“Like in a Daring Do adventure?” cried Shadow.
“Oh, dear, I hope not.”
They finally had Diamond Tiara’s attention. “With, like, golden idols, and treasure troves?!!”
“And secrets hidden away for centuries!” Shadow was totally caught up in the notion.
“Like King Solo-mane’s Mines!” Silver Spoon was now trembling with excitement.
“I said nothing of that,” said Quiz. “I would be surprised to find anything like that.”
“Yeah, but you’re easily surprised,” said Diamond.
“We’re in the Everfree Forest, Quizzie,” Shadow pointed out. “Everything you stumble across in the Everfree is a surprise.”
“Well… perhaps,” said Quiz. “The diamond dogs are certainly curious about this place.”
#
Stranger returned to the rest of the green team after scouting ahead.
Tracking the diamond dogs and the foals had been easy on the tunnels’ upper levels, where the floor was dirty and tracks were plentiful. But as they went deeper the tunnel floor became hard, bare stone, and it became difficult to find the traces of even that large party’s passing. At a fork where the tunnel branched three ways the team feared they had lost the trail.
“They went down the branch on the left,” said Stranger. “The dust has been disturbed the most that way. But I must warn my fellow unicorns, the magic in the air is rising. I believe we are coming to an opening.”
“Oh, now that is really just too much,” complained Rarity. “Am I going to have to hang that ridiculous copper wire from my horn again?”
“I thought the copper coil looked quite fetching,” commented the Professor. “Though the grounding wire dangling from it was a bit geeky, yes.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” grumbled Tim.
“Relax, Rarity, this is a good sign,” said Applejack. “If we are coming up on the cliff then we know we’re getting close.”
“Oh, I’ll be sooo good to be outside again, if just for a little while,” said Fern. She seemed to be forgetting that ‘outside’ was the dark, scary forest she’d been eager to get away from. “Nothing grows down here. Nothing’s green. There aren’t even any green rocks!”
They followed Stranger down the passage and soon came to the opening he’d predicted. The tunnel ended with a narrow ledge with a rope and plank bridge anchored to it.
“Is that thing safe?” asked Fern, fluttering her wings in agitation. She blushed, and added, “For you guys, I mean.”
“It certainly doesn’t look it,” said the Professor. “But on a positive note, the air does feel a bit fresher than it did the last time we were out. I believe the magic storm may be fading.”
“I agree,” said Stranger.
“I can’t tell,” said Rarity. “I only know that it still isn’t any good for my hair, and probably not for my complexion.”
Applejack stepped up to the bridge and tapped the first plank tentatively with a front hoof. “Tim, you’re the engineer, what’s you opinion… Tim?”
Tim had already casually walked out onto the bridge. He returned after what looked like a brief inspection. “It’s sound. It may be a little old, but it’s been well maintained.”
“A little old!” Applejack stared at him. “Tim, nopony has been here for hundreds of years!”
Tim snorted. “Oh, this wasn’t built by ponies. This looks more like diamond dog construction. It’s maybe thirty or forty years old, but a lot of it’s been repaired and replaced. This route must be important to the dogs.”
“Thirty or forty years?” mused Applejack. “Just how long have the diamond dogs been exploring the Everfree?”
#
“...oh, many generations. Many, many generations,” said Indy, answering Spike’s question.
“How many is ‘many, many’?”
“Indy does not know. That is as precise as diamond dog record keeping gets.”
Spike frowned. “You know all these tunnels under the Everfree are outside the borders you claimed in your treaty with the ponies.”
“True, but those borders are meant to prevent conflict between pony miners and diamond dogs. Since little ponies do not mine inside the Everfree Forest there is no conflict. It is a quibble.”
“Sure, but it’s a quibble you have with Princess Luna.”
Indy shuddered. “Yes, Indy expects to pay for this. To pay, and pay, and pay. It is a shame, really. The ponies demands had been so fair. Up until now, that is.”
“And telling the Princesses about this place never occurred to you guys?” Spike was getting agitated, and began waving his arms around wildly.
“Actually, Indy would have loved to share this with the Princesses, but Chief Bowser forbid it.” Indy shrugged. “Indy is not the Chief, merely the Chief’s appointed spokes-dog because the Chief cannot stand to talk to little ponies.”
“Oh, come on!” cried Spike, gesticulating madly. “It’s a lost city! A. Lost. City!”
“It had been empty for a very long time before the diamond dogs found it. The little ponies showed no sign of even remembering ever losing something in the Forest, let alone wanting it back. It seemed a harmless secret to keep.”
“You have got to be kidding!” shouted Spike, throwing his arms up. ‘Toven had to put a paw on Spike’s shoulder to steady him.
“Spike, please sit still,” rumbled the huge diamond dog. “I do not want to drop you.”
“Sorry,” said Spike, shifting to a more stable position. “So, what have you guys found out there?”
“Very little. Besides the city itself, of course,” said Indy. “Most dogs explore it out of curiosity. Indy has visited there. Indy’s father, Jones, and Indy’s grandfather, Doc, explored as well. We found some inscriptions, but most of them made no sense even to the few dogs who could read them. Now, other dogs explore obsessively, convinced they will find wondrous treasures if they just keep looking.”
“Do you think Bowser has found something?”
Indy shrugged. “There is no telling what Bowser is doing.”
#
“We halt here!” bellowed Chief Bowser. “The little ponies will have a brief rest - a very brief rest! Then they will be put back to work.”
The tunnel widened, and the foals were led into a huge cavern, filled with carts. Each cart was heavily laden with rectangular objects, all of which were covered with sheets or tarps.
“Oh, man!” whined Snips. “I hate pulling carts.”
“At least these have wheels,” Snails pointed out.
“The good news is that the little ponies’ work is almost finished,” said Bowser. “After a short haul Chief Bowser will be done with you.”
“The children are already exhausted,” protested Cheerilee. “How short is this ‘short haul.’”
Bowser chuckled. “The little ponies will probably think it is longer than Chief Bowser does. Now, remember this! The little ponies may not move the sheets. They may not look at the cargo. It is forbidden!”
Snips went to one of the carts and touched a tarp. “Hey, this isn’t a box, it’s like a cage or something. I feel bars. And I think I hear a chicken.”
Whatever was inside hissed. Snips jumped back so hard he went tumbling.
Bowser roared with laughter. “The little ponies may not look at any of the cargo. But they should take special care not to look at this particular cargo!”
#
“Seriously?” grumbled Rainbow Dash, glaring at the intersection in front of the blue team. The tunnel they had been following had blossomed into eight new passages. “Who designed this place, Discord?”
“These two seem to to be going in almost the right direction.” Autumn pointed a hoof at two of the tunnel mouths. “Kinda. Sorta.”
Navy snorted derisively. “Any path we pick is going to be pretty much random. Up in the sky my sense of direction is flawless, but down here? Down here I got nothing. This sucks.”
“Well, we could take one of the tunnels that go upward,” Mayor Mare suggested, tentatively. “We could easily find the castle ruins if we went back to the surface.”
“Back into the magic storm?” Stone Hoof cringed. “No thanks.”
“I must point out that the storm might place all us at risk, not only Stone and myself,” said Infernalo. “Unicorns feel it most profoundly, but all ponies are said to possess some sort of magic. There is no way to know how exposure to the storm effects all of you.”
“And there’s no way to know what the side effects could be,” added Professor Coal Heart. Then he laughed. “By the way, Madam Mayor, is your mane turning green?”
“Shut up, Professor!”
“Now, now… wait. Let me try something.” Professor Heart searched through his bag, and came up with a length of black cord between his teeth. Dangling from the end was a pointy shard of black rock. It spun slowly for a moment before coming to rest, pointing directly at one of the tunnels.
“What is that thing?” asked Rainbow.
Professor Heart shrugged. “It was a gift from the Con Committee. They said it was a piece broken from the base of the Castle, and sympathetic magic would make it always point the way back to the Castle. As if I would need such a thing! I certainly never imagined myself exploring the Everfree Forest. I actually assumed it was a fake, just a stone on a string. But apparently it works.”
“Okay, it’s as good a plan a we’ve got,” declared Rainbow. Without waiting for further discussion, she started down the tunnel the stone had indicated. Nopony had any better ideas, so they followed.
“Yes, if I am correct, then this tunnel should take us into the dungeon of the old Castle,” said Professor Heart. “That’s where you want to be, isn’t it?”
#
Quiz and her little party passed through a stone block archway, and entered a colossal opening. It was Silver Spoon’s turn to hold the torch, and she waved it about, trying to cast some light on the cavern’s features. She was able to reveal nothing. “I can’t find the walls. Or the ceiling! Like, how big is this place?”
“I have an idea,” said Quiz. “Silver, please douse the light.”
“What?!” demanded Diamond Tiara. “It’s dark enough with the torch. You may like that, Quiz-ik-al, but the rest of us are normal.”
“Are you sure, Quiz?” asked Silver.
When Quiz nodded, Silver put out the torch.
There was only a moment of darkness. Then the entire dome of the chamber’s ceiling came to life, glowing bright blue-white. It was almost as bright as daylight.
“Wow!” gasped Shadow. “Bioluminescence! But I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve seen some clumps of mushrooms that I thought were pretty big, but nothing like this! This is awesome!”
“It’s really pretty,” admitted Diamond.
“Quiz, how did you know?” asked Silver.
“I did not know, but I guessed,” answered Quiz. “I have read that the pre-Canterlot ponies knew how to cultivate lichens that glow in the dark, but they will only glow if there is complete darkness. It is a skill that has been lost over the ages. I thought this huge cavern would be a likely place to grow them.”
“Huge is right,” said Diamond. “Just look at this place.”
The light revealed a cavern much, much bigger than the ponies had imagined.
Half of downtown Ponyville could easily fit inside. Several square columns, as big around as most houses, held up the ceiling. The rest of the opening appeared to have been carved away. The whole thing was split by a wide canyon, with ramps cut into its sides. This was so deep that even in the light its bottom was lost in shadows. The canyon looked bottomless.
“What is this place?” asked Diamond. “A mine? Do you think it might be a mine? That would be so cool!”
“It is a quarry,” said Quiz.
“Aww, I wanted to find a lost mine,” whined Diamond. Quiz did not seem to notice her three companions’ disappointment.
“There is no record of where all the dark stone used to build the Royal Sister’s Castle came from. It must have come from here. The ponies who built it apparently did not think it was beautiful, and so they hid it underground. That is a pity.”
“Whatever,” grumbled Diamond.
“Hay, look what I found,” called Shadow. Near the canyon’s edge sat a row of eight little hopper cars, resting on steel rails. The tracks ahead of them entered the canyon and followed the ramps down. “These are definitely not a thousand years old. The diamond dogs must have rebuilt the old pony system for their own uses.”
Shadow gave the lead car a push, and seemed pleased with how well it rolled. He tested the huge brake lever. “Oh, yeah, these work just fine. Come on, Girls, let’s go for a ride.”
“Excellent!” cried Diamond, bouncing and clapping her hooves. “This is going to be fun. A whole lot of fun.”
“I’m happy enough not having to walk for a while,” said Silver. “I am so tired of just walking… oh. Oh, no.”
“What’s the matter, Silvy?” asked Shadow. “It really will be fun, and we won’t have to just walk… oh. Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes!” exclaimed Diamond.
All three turned to face Quiz. Silver and Shadow looked apologetic. Diamond was smirking.
“Bother,” muttered Quiz. “I should have been able to predict this. The way this night has gone I have no excuse for being surprised. Here, far underground, you have all managed to find a way to get me on a rollercoaster. Of course.”
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Yay! It updated!
... How did I not upvote this until now?!
That ending... lol...
LOL at the end
Interesting that Diamond Dogs have been going there so long...
I loved Indy's father being named Jones XD Nice touch!
And uh-oh, there's a cockatrice in that cage... Eep!
Can Diamond Tiara get any more jealous? lol She tries to save her and now complains she's not the one being carried by Shadow. Well, in her passive-aggressive way. ;P
1.bp.blogspot.com/-sefc-Zi0g8M/UCUqLJ2ZmcI/AAAAAAAAXJA/bPby-LFOSX8/s1600/10-Indiana-Jones-the-Last-Crusade-3.jpg
We need a Diamond Dog version of these two, stat!
Now I know why the Royal Pony Sister's Castle ended up missing so many blocks.
vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/minecraft/images/0/05/Enderman_normal.png/revision/latest?cb=20130724211158
xD
Damn it, Silver. Where's your characteristically lovable mischief loving self? It isn't cruel to smile at one's terrifying fear of riding one of those things! You sure have become a dull grey. :p
(deep down Silver is looking forward to seeing this)
At least Diamond gets to enjoy some harmless fun. ^^
You know, I hated roller-coasters too. You'd think I was riding a motorcycle with how low to the front I was riding that Superman ride the first time. xD The Batman was surprisingly short and a disappointment though. The bungee jump ride... now THAT was probably the most scary.
Loved the chapter. Hope the next rolls by sooner! <3
You are approaching maximum cheek.
How long have you been waiting to make this reference?
"Quizzical Greystone and the Basements of Doom."
If Quiz could title this story, it would probably be called, "Bugger This for a Game of Soldiers."
I'm not wholly sure I would be able to get in the minecart. Not without being drug.
6014614
Just wait till DT finds a strange green pearl on the ground around here.
Huzzah! The 'Basements' portion of the name works now!
Also and ultimatum to finish this thing!
Sorry if corrections bother you. Just say the word and they will be no more!
It is?
"a very 'brief' rest!"?
Ctrl+F is your friend.
Good to see some more quiz!
Only thing about Quiz is that I always get her mixed up with Nyx. I swear that I read the whole first two chapters of the new Past Sins side story with Nyx having a near mono tone before I caught myself!
6014439 Cockatrice? No, no, it's just a very large chicken, With a speach impediment. Yeah, that's it.
6014614
Readers are divided on the subject of Silver and Quiz becoming friends. Some think SIlver wouldn't be so bad if she just got away from DT for a while, others don't like to see meangirl Silver reform. I'm stuck with option one, I went ahead and wrote it into Pen and Paper Hearts. But I think Quiz does fill a need for Silver - to have a good girl as a friend (and she's certainly never going to befriend one of those losers in the CMC!)
DT will, of course, remain an unreconstructed bully. Tormenting Quiz is her hobby.
I hated the Ride Of Steel. There's that long...slow...climb, then they DROP YOU!!! I hate to be dropped, I prefer prositive Gs.
6014991
Since shortly after I named Indy. But this is not the first time I've used this. this is.
6015206 Please carry on offering corrections. I believe in the "many eyes" method of proofreading.
That's quite a compliment.
6017138 Well, one of the advantages of tell is it works when you want to be blunt. I thought Fluttershy's simple, honest statement had impact. Not every reader agrees, of course.
6021847
Honestly, I think without Tiara she'd a just ended up being sent to a different school. Become snobbier. Whatever attracts Silver to Diamond and Diamond to Silver is between them but darn if it isn't based on some mutual need or interest, whatever that is, beyond their families being rich or implied rich.
It can be sort of hard to balance Pros and Cons in fanfictions with Silver, but it just feels weird to see two good friends break up because one is seen as being too weak-willed to hold an opinion of their own or the other being so forceful and demanding she never lets the other have one. Either way, they usually end up with a pretty nasty breakup with Silver normally dropping the bomb on DT.
Not like Silver and Quiz couldn't be friends on the side anyways, just that her flaws get white-washed too often rather then being embraced to create a more rounded character. Silver could have cracked some nice mean jokes to distract a diamond dog, she's got a talent with that silver tongue of hers!
I can see her enjoying Quiz's company though, and vice-versa, but the two certainly come from different worlds with different tastes. If both just always enjoyed what each other liked without question or conflict that'd be a bit unnatural, I guess? Seeing Silver try and holster some of her slips just seems like a cute thing, trying not to offend a potential new friend and not betraying her bestie.
I just see Diamond as a more serious girly girl with lots of first world problems and Silver whose another girly girl who has first world problems but doesn't take everything so seriously, even tries to make DT laugh by making good jokes or funny faces.
I could certainly use a lot more adorable Silver Spoon stories that focus on more than just talking about bullies and having to pick sides. Ponyville Confidential proves these two have different tastes in activities and might even have off-screen friends when they don't get to hang out together.
It'd be interesting to see more playful moments, I know I used to love making my friend blush or get back at me, he was very Quizzical, he eventually got more and more out of his shell though and much like Diamond and Silver, they know not to push things too far. I really did love the nerd like he was family, we really played off each other's strengths well. I think even as bad as DT might come off towards Quiz, it'll all eventually do her good in the long run.
And hey, Quiz will always have that one moment to hang over DT's head. She genuinely tried to protect Quizzical from those Diamond Dogs when everypony else simply stood by acting helpless. ;3
---
Far as reformation goes? Yeah, we all act differently around different people. We're adaptive. If we choose to be. Some choose not to. But I don't see Silver or Diamond as villains who need to be reformed because they're still growing. They're still very much going to go through their selfish years causing trouble, but different friends can give new outlooks and sway opinions and curb or at least tone down certain habits.
We all have friends we like more than others. And to be truthful we won't all click with our friend's other friends all the time. But we can learn to tolerate them and test the limits of how far we can push others. Some people take even harmless jokes you'd do on yourself as super personal, we all have different tastes. I like that. That we're all different. I'd not want to see Silver just be a Quizzical clone. Gotta learn to love those like Silver Spoon flaws and all when you friend them, and just introduce boundaries as they come.
#Platonic#SilverSpoonxQuizzical
#Platonic#SilverSpoonxDiamondTiara
#Tolerance#QuizzicalxDiamondTiara
While it's not likely to happen since Quizzical is too proud and not into that stuff, and Diamond probably can't see herself genuinely being that affectionate with Quiz, I can still see Silver loving the dance and trying to get Quizzical and Diamond Tiara to do a variation of their Sugarlump hoofshake. I'd love to see the awkward faces of those two to Silver's happy face as all three dump rumps. xD
Schadenfreude and friendships go hoof and hoof I believe. At least, from experience, those tend to be the most fun friendships. ;3
Next Chapter: Diamond Tiara and Quiz in "Schadenfreude"
Long post is lo~ng! But, Silver Spoon and this story deserve it.
6022099
You can't just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!
Oooo, have they finally stumbled across actual basements?
Hahaha, I knew there was a Jones family connection.
It might be, means they know where they are at least.
An underground quarry, that's gotta be up Quiz's alley even if the mining carts aren't.
I have been waiting a long, long time for this joke...
...unless you already mentioned it in Quizzical and I forgot about it, but what are the odds of that happening.