>Ask Twilight to fetch your Lamp and Spool of Rope
>Ask Twilight to save your copy of Daring Do #16 from inside the schoolhouse; she saves all of the books from the dilapidated structure
>Tell Twilight you saw something inside the schoolhouse. She goes inside to investigate
>—Wait for Twilight to return—
>Teleported to surface, asked to accompany Twilight in researching the Boulder Snake samples
>—Lie to Twilight so that you and the CMC can stay in the area—
>Pretend to walk toward Whitetail Woods, but double back to re-enter the Underground Tunnels
>RANDOM ENCOUNTER: You spot a Griffon eating tree branches
>Raisin equips Fireworks and some other supplies
>xXx Deploy Raging Rooster firework extremely close to the schoolhouse xXx
>xXx Cannot light the firework; you forgot your Stompstater xXx
>Signal Scootaloo over to help you light it
>** Griffin has been chased off; currently on fire **
>xXx Schoolhouse is on fire xXx
>Get team into the tunnels before the Pegasi arrive to douse the schoolhouse
>xXx Jump directly into water with your current inventory; Sneezing Powder ruined xXx
>Rush passed the schoolhouse to avoid detection
>Set up Lamp and prepare to light it with the Stompstarter
>xXx Scootaloo accidentally injures herself in the darkness xXx (Random chance, 1/10)
>xXx Applebloom accidentally injures herself in the darkness xXx (Random chance, 1/10)
>Sweetie Belle successfully lights the Lamp; you carry the slightly injured fillies on your back
Spelunking through a dark, dank network of Underground Tunnels, Raisin and her 3 friends find themselves at an impasse. Having traversed a dry path along the tunnel wall, the fillies encounter a small expanse of water that will surely claim their oil Lamp’s flame if they get it waterlogged. Raisin and Scootaloo explored ahead a little ways to discover the path forks ahead… how will our heroes proceed through the tunnels? What lies in store for them?
Inventory check:
>6:30PM
As you drip dry in the dim light across the expanse of water from Sweetie Belle, you realize that it's nearly around dinner time. Though you don't feel hunger, you've always been considerate of your friends. In fact, you almost seem to think about it moreso than you would if you still possessed the urge to sate an appetite.
You look back at Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. "Hey… I know we're exploring right now… but are you guys hungry or anything? Your wounds are bothering you, are they?"
Sweetie Belle rubs her tummy. "Um… I don't really feel THAT hungry right now…"
Applebloom shakes her head. "Ah feel fine… hoof's hurtin' a bit, but Ah'm alright."
Scootaloo just drip dries from your back. "I just want to explore. I'm good."
With your back to the fork in the tunnel, you can hear rushing water behind you. You're not sure which tunnel it is coming from because of the reverberation. The low ceiling above the watery path here makes it impossible to see too far down the path you came from.
"Alright… let's get going then. I'm going to come back across with Scootaloo. Applebloom!"
She nods. "Yeah?"
"You jump on top of Scootaloo and carry the Lamp above the water. That way we can get it across without it getting wet."
"Roger, Raisin!" Applebloom takes the Lamp from Sweetie Belle's mouth.
"Uh.. what about me?" Sweetie Belle cinches up her saddlebags.
"You should be able to swim across just fine. The current doesn't look bad here…"
After you discuss the plan briefly, you dive back into the watery trail and make your way back over to Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. Scootaloo pulls in tight, holding her breath. You follow the Lamp light back across the small, watery path. It still feels amazing to 'breathe' while under the water… like this is all some sort of weird dream.
In a matter of moments, you make your way back up on dry land.
As you emerge from the water, Scootaloo draws in a deep gasp of air. "You think you could move a LITTLE faster next time? I almost ran out of air!"
"Oh… uh… sorry about that."
Applebloom carries the Lamp in her mouth and climbs up on top of Scootaloo, pancaking her between the two of you. She breathes a little more shallow, but she sounds okay. "Let's get across quickly this time…" Scootaloo draws in a few deep breaths of muggy cavern air.
You hear Sweetie gulp as she adjusts her saddlebags again. "Sweetie Belle, you follow close behind, alright?"
She simply nods. Your hooves go into the water as you descend to the murky, muddy bottom once again. Two deep breaths are drawn in from your friends as the water moves in around them. The Lamp is just barely above the water's surface…
You make sure to move a bit quicker this time, knowing that Scootaloo probably couldn't get as deep as a breath now that Applebloom's up on her back. Your hooves lift and trot with relative ease… much like they used to when you were still a normal pony. The light above you is incredibly helpful; this time, you're able to at least see the ground beneath your hooves.
A strained gasp is the first sound you hear as you exit the watery trespass. Scootaloo shakes her mane and coughs. "Let's not do that again, please…"
Applebloom hops down and sets the Lamp on dry ground. "Hey! We made it!"
You breathe a sigh of relief out of habit. Quickly, you turn around, hearing some splashing in the water.
"Uhh… Guys? GUYS?!" Sweetie Belle paddles as hard as she can towards your group, but she doesn't seem to be getting any closer. She's slowly drifting into the center of the tunnel. The water is clearly moving.
Watching the little white filly slowly drift into the deeper, darker water, you quickly roll Scootaloo off of your back. She plops down on the ground safely. "Applebloom! Hop on!" Without hesitation, she saddles up on your back, dumping her Saddlebags on the dry land.
You jump into the water to get nearer to Sweetie Belle. Applebloom stands up on your back, her head just barely poking above the water. Ahead, you nearly take a step into much deeper wate. Thankfully, Sweetie Belle is still within grabbing distance. Applebloom lunges a hoof forward and grabs onto her saddlebags.
"Sweetie Belle! Push yourself this way!" Applebloom shouts over the roar of the distance falling water.
You look up, watching Sweetie legs kick away from the deeper water and closer to the dry path. You back up and let Applebloom pull the little filly to the safety of dry land.
Gasping and shaking, Sweetie Belle lays on the ground, soaked and slightly drained. "I… can't believe… I almost…"
"It's alright. We're across now." You're not entirely sure that's a plus right now…
"So… now what?" Scootaloo looks down the fork in the tunnel paths. "There's two paths…"
Looking around, you see that the path continues ahead. There's a small bridge over the water that would allow you to reach the other tunnel. Water flowing down the center of the tunnel seems to go down both paths, but a lot more goes down the left tunnel.
Holding the Lamp up high with your hoof, you spot the wooden bridge ahead. "Look at that… you guys see that bridge?"
"Yeah… looks pretty new…" Scootaloo limps towards the bridge, leading the rest of the group on over. Sweetie Belle huffs and puffs a little distance behind, but she catches up as the Crusaders analyze it.
"Who do ya think built this? The construction workers?" Applebloom taps it a few times. "Feels really sturdy. Raisin, you try it quick." She moves to the side to let you in close.
You give the bridge two solid strikes. It doesn't budge or creak at all. "Huh… no kidding. That is sturdy."
Scootaloo hangs on to your back. "You sure? I mean… are we going to actually go across that thing?"
Looking below, you see the black waters eerily lurching down the right tunnel and flowing a bit faster down the left. The Lamp's light cannot see through to the bottom.
"Yeah… I think we should try this way first… you lead the way, Applebloom."
With slight uncertainty, Applebloom picks up the Lamp and heads across the bridge. Sweetie Belle follows her close behind. Scootaloo just hangs on tight to your back. "If it starts breaking or something, I'll bail…"
To your astonishment, the bridge holds your weight without so much as a single creak or moan from the wood. It's one of the first wood structures you've been able to stand on since you became a golem.
You stare down the tunnel. Slightly closer now, you can definitely see a glimmering orange glow from the end. It shimmers off of the gemstones along the dark tunnel walls.
"Whoa… Raisin, hold up… there's something down there…" Applebloom instinctively ducks down, looking at the dim light ahead. You cannot hear anything moving over the sound of the roaring waters. They get much louder in this direction.
QUICK ACTION
"Applebloom, do you see anything else? Something moving?"
She crouches, silently looking down the tunnel. Sweetie Belle crouches alongside her. With the roar of the water, sight seems to be the only reliable method of determining if there's something down this way.
"Ah… ah'm not sure… that glowy thing looks like it's movin'…" She remains in place.
Looking ahead, you see that the orange glimmer flickers and dances against the gemstones.
Inventory check:
Being ever cautious and wary of your friends' mortality, you decide not to take any chances. Reaching under Scootaloo's wrapped foreleg and into your saddlebags, you withdraw a sopping wet sack of Sneezing Powder.
"Wh- Raisin, what's that?" Sweetie Belle look at the dripping bag with confusion.
"Uh.. I think it used to be the Sneezing Powder…" You whisper back.
Reeling your foreleg back, you give the pouch a healthy toss. It goes flying, slapping into the distant cave wall with a loud, wet plop. You stand still, crouched beside Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and the slightly waning light of the oil Lamp.
There is nothing but the sound of the rushing water in the air.
"Hmm… what the hay is that thing?"
You steal a glance to the rear. Nothing seems to be lurching upon you or your companions at the moment. It's pitch back down the path behind you.
With a little uncertainty, you decide to take the lead. You grab the Lamp by the holding ring and approach very slowly. The Lamp's fire looks like it's running on fumes, sporadically gasping for life.
You approach a slight bend in the tunnel. "Be careful, Raisin!" Applebloom calls ahead.
"Don't worry, I'm right on top of you." Scootaloo drops her head close to the side of yours, trying to keep as low of a profile as possible. "Just go slow… there's no telling what that thing is…"
You stay silent as your eyes are affixed to the orange reflection dancing on the faces of the gemstones poking out of the walls. As you round the bend, you can see the glimmer much clearer.
Sneaking a little closer to the distant glimmer, you can finally make out what it is. Atop a tall post, you see a torch jammed into the end. The fire dances back and forth. Near it is what looks like a Grappling Hook jammed between a couple of rocks, but you're not entirely sure. A large oak barrel sits next to the rocks.
"Is this… what is that up there, Raisin?"
"I don't know…"
Seeing as your fire is beginning to die out, you backtrack a little ways to wave Sweetie Belle in a bit closer. "It's not a monster, at least." You keep your voice down all the same.
Sweetie Belle sneaks up close to you. "Y-you sure?"
"Positive. It's just a torch, see?" You point over to the dancing fire upon the cloth wrapped torch.
"Whew…" Sweetie sighs. "What did you need me up here for?"
"You still got that extra Lamp Oil, right?"
"Oh yeah! You want to refill the Lamp?" Sweetie withdraws the fluted bottle, hoofing it over to you. Setting the Lamp down carefully, you uncork the Lamp reservoir and the flask, carefully topping off the Lamp. The Oil Lamp Flask looks like it could refill the Lamp to full at least one more time…
Applebloom limps her way up to the rest of the group. "Whaddya find?"
"A torch and a barrel. No monsters yet, though." Scootaloo fills her in while you pick the Lamp up in your mouth again.
Your party stands still for a moment as the Lamp wick begins to soak up the new supply of oil. As the light brightens, you can see a little further down the path, but the distant torch is still too far off to properly investigate.
"Alright girls… follow my lead…"
You begin to tippy-toe down the path, though you're rather positive it's making much more noise than if you would walk normally. The sound of the rushing water grows more vociferous as you near the torch. You spot the little wet pouch you tossed earlier, giving it a kick into the water. It disappears from view almost instantly. "Can't leave a trail…"
As you near the torch, you finally see the area beyond it.
"Whoa…" Scootaloo whispers near your ear.
Beyond the torch is a rather large cavern. The ceiling is adorned with loose gemstones, some periodically falling down into the water below. You see that the water ends here, spilling off of a large drop and into an underground lake looking area. The entire area looks relatively fresh as if it were unearthed just recently.
When you near the torch, you hear something over the side of the cliff. A raspy voice 'Hmmm's and 'Haww's down passed the Grappling Hook. Your light seems to have caught the creature's attention.
"Ah! You're back! You got Waterproof Boom-Boom Stick, yes?"
Your party freezes.
Your friends' wide eyed panicked expressions work up your own anxiety. You motion for them to get behind you as you tap your chest.
"Ergh HMM! Ug-guh… Ummm… Boss said we out of Wetproof Boom-Booms."
He doesn't respond for a moment. "Barbs? Is that you? Where's Rex?"
"Uh.. Rex… he… fell into water. Got a cold."
The Diamond Dog laughs heartily. "Hah! What a pup!" He slides down the rope a little ways. "Do we have normal Boom-Boom Stick in Tool Barrel?"
Sweetie Belle peeks her head over the top of the barrel, standing upon Applebloom's back. She makes sure to make some noise as if she's actually searching for something. She looks at you, still panicking and shaking her head.
QUICK ACTION
You look up at Sweetie Belle, signaling her to jump into the barrel. She shakes her head, then picks up a jagged Pickaxe. She looks intent on not diving into the Tool Barrel.
"Uhhhhh… Still looking!"
"Should be in box! You know, on side?"
Looking to the side of the barrel, you see an almost perfectly contoured box nailed to the side. The door is swinging open, completely empty.
"Ohhh… It's empty! Go back to see if they fell out!"
"Pah, for goodness sake… Rex dropped them when he take them back to get no-wet dipped! Stupid dog!"
You see the rope start swinging back and forth. It sounds like he's climbing back up. The CMC freeze, looking to you.
"Go back find Boom-Boom Stick. I made dry hole for Boom-Boom. Hand me Drill!" Suddenly, a paw shoots up over the Grappling Hook. It flexes open and closed a few times.
You wave your hoof at Sweetie. She digs around the Tool Barrel and finds an exceptionally long hand crank Drill. You grab it by the drill end with your mouth and pass the smooth wooden handle to the paw. It disappears beneath the cliff.
"Good. Find Boom-Boom sticks! We make ramp!"
You hear the dog begin drilling into the rocky wall under the falling water. After about 30 seconds of waiting, it seems as though he's focused on his task once more.
"Whew…" Scootaloo sighs. "Let's get out of here…"
Before you leave, a curiosity overwhelms you. Looking at the incredible gemstone rich ceiling, you can't help but wonder why this dog is so concerned with the waterfall. You signal Sweetie over to you, then you get up close to her so that you can whisper.
"See if he's alone. Peek over the side fast?"
Sweetie looks wracked with anxiety. She shakes her head, then points down the tunnel. Scootaloo looks between the two of you silently arguing, then looks over the side. She stares for a few moments, then her head turns back up to you slowly. She's nodding slowly.
She gets up close to you to make minimal sound. "The entire lake bed is covered in gems! This place is a goldmine!" She sounds excited. You watch as another cluster of gems falls from the ceiling, plummeting into the lake.
"What about our friend there?"
"W… Oh! He's alone. He's really weird looking… I've never seen a Diamond Dog before. He's got a small vest on with a Hammer on his back. Really tall and skinny looking, kinda creepy."
Inventory check:
You look over your team, then start backing away from the cliffside. "Well, now we know why they're here… let's go back down the other tunnel and see what's that way." You reach up and acquire the jagged Pickaxe from Sweetie Belle.
You hear some stomach grumbling. "Ugh… okay, let's get out of here." Sweetie Belle follows your lead. Applebloom hops ahead, leading the way back down the tunnel.
"Just need one! Hole almost ready!" You hear the Diamond Dog call from over the cliff.
"Uhh.. Okay!" You answer back.
"We're not just going to leave all those gems down there for the dogs, are we?" Scootaloo seems a bit downtrodden by the missed prospect.
As you round the bend, you see the sturdy bridge once again. To your left, you actually see a solid path that would lead you down the tunnel without having to cross back over the bridge. You'd be on the opposite side, at least.
"Back across, right?" Scootaloo lays on your back, shivering slightly. The damp air along with your cold body seems to have chilled her a bit.
Noticing the path to your left, you decide to stay on it and head down into the other tunnel. You've at least discovered what the Diamond Dogs are here for…
"U-um.. wow, it's really dark down here…" Sweetie Belle stays close to Applebloom. AB carries the Lamp, leading the team further into the tunnel system.
"How long does this thing go on for? When did these tunnels appear? Have they always been under the school?" Scootaloo tries to reason her way through the sudden appearance of these gemstone rich passageways through the ground.
"I don't know…" Sweetie Belle nearly trips on a gemstone sitting in the middle of the path.
"Careful. Don't want to lose your footing…"
As you round the bend, you see that the water runs down a long, long slope into the ground. It's extremely dark down there as though it were a maw straight into the center of the Earth. Ahead, you see that the path expands dramatically. It's a little muddy, but it's not water logged land. The tunnel continues in this direction. It still looks relatively new.
Seeing the water drop off into a seemingly bottomless pit, you decide it best to stay on course and continue deeper into the tunnel system.
"Where do you think all that water's going?" Scootaloo looks into the menacing pit as a the dark vapors boil over the sides of the hole.
"I honestly have no idea… probably nowhere good."
Applebloom gives an excited hum as she stamps out some ground up above. It appears to be almost completely dry.
"Thank goodness… I was getting tired of all the muggy-ness down here." Sweetie Belle kicks her hoof into the dry ground a few times. Scootaloo doesn't say anything, keeping her eyes forward.
As you continue, you see suddenly come across a giant wooden palisade. It takes up the entire width of the tunnel. Along the face, it is completely covered with some menacing, sharp blue gemstones. They jut out from the surface, pointing straight at you. A set of gates seems to invalidate the security of the structure; the doors are wide open with the key still in the lock.
"Huh… this looks pretty new." Applebloom remarks after setting the Lamp down. "Why in Equestria would they build such a big ol' gate in the middle of this 'ere tunnel?"
"I… I don't know."
The sight is rather baffling. You have no doubt in your mind that the dogs must have built this thing not too long ago. Beyond the gates, you can see the walls are mostly fitted with torch holders, though no torches have been placed yet. A lot of construction tools and materials are strewn about near the gate.
"This place gives me the creeps…" Scootaloo looks onwards, rubbing her hoof.
Seeing as there's nothing menacing around the entrance, you tap Applebloom. "Alright… be really careful. There's no telling what lies ahead…"
You can nearly feel the tension in the air as your team passes through the open gate. The sound back here isn't that of the roaring waterfall, but of occasional rocks falling. They fall in a rhythmic pattern…
"Is this where those Diamond Dogs live?" Scootaloo asks.
"Could be… they definitely built all this."
As you get through the gate, you immediately see a Diamond Dog huddled up on the left with a small Hammer. Near him, there's a box of jagged looking nails. It looks like he was hanging up the torch holders. Right now, he's silently sleeping behind a few barrels. His breathing is like a whisper.
"Shhh…" You motion to your friends to continue along very silently. They tippy-toe passed the Dog, but your hooves seem to always make noise no matter what you do. You stop as your friends sneak passed successfully.
Your friends duck out of sight behind a big box, leaning around to get a clear line of sight to you. As you try to make a step further in, you see the dog tense up. He murmurs something, then gets back to dozing.
Carefully, you withdraw your Reinforced Boots from your inventory and equip them. You listen for the fall of the rocks, marching in place to time your hoofsteps. Your hooves make almost no sound as they gracefully flatten against the hard packed soil.
You march passed the Diamond Dog, not so much as disturbing his slumber. Your friends very carefully sneak out from behind the box, though one of their stomachs grumble. Applebloom puts a hoof over her belly as the team freezes and stares at the Diamond Dog.
He doesn't so much as flinch.
Your team head deeper into the area, looking at a ton of new construction in the surrounding area. You can hear dogs not too far off in the distance.
"Oh… Raisin, why are we down here again?" Sweetie Belle shivers as she stares down the dark tunnel.
"We've gotta find out where that Boulder Snake came from. I have a bad feeling about those things…" You look about, noticing that there are quite a few patches of wall that have been haphazardly dug out. Not a single gem remains on any of the walls through here.
"And you think the snakes came from down here?" Scootaloo looks about in confusion.
"Well, these are obviously new tunnels. They had to have come from somewhere down here, right?"
At the end of the tunnel, you think you see a T-Split that leads into a pathway. A glowing light is passing through it…