>Roll into the massive Boulder Snake chamber
>Take cover behind stalagmites along the way
>Skip passed the first room on the right, continue ahead
>Look into the second room, leading your party inside
>Investigate some of the surroundings, noticing that there’s a large collection of lava being held back by a single, massive boulder in this chamber
>Exit extremely hot chamber, continue forward
>Advance to the third doorway forward
>Enter the dark corridor
>**Remain in the darkness until farther into the hall**
>Give the Diamond Dogs your Can of ‘Grease’; They make a torch using your Twisted Iron Rod
>–Notice that the corridor is filled with a lot of snake imagery, specifically the Red Cobra–
>Encounter an incomplete bridge with a massive pit of red, sharp crystals beneath it
After weighing out her options, Raisin decides to try and move one of the massive marble slabs from the back of the room. To her and her friends’ amazement, she’s able to punch and push the slabs around with her incredible golem strength. With the help of the Diamond Dogs, she stacks two of the slabs on top of one another to test a risky bridge building theory of hers…
With a chewed on marble slab under a perfectly cut one, Raisin looks ahead to see how she’s going to push them onto some precariously spaced columns in order to make a bridge for her and her friends to cross the beautiful, crimson red chasm of crystals.
Inventory check:
Seeing by the sole flame dancing atop your Twisted Iron Rod jammed into the ground, you look under the partially stacked marble slabs to find a good position to stand under them.
"So.. now that ya got 'em stacked up like that… whatcha gonna do with em?" Applebloom taps the slabs with her hoof. "Anythin' we can do to help?" She yawns.
"Just stand back… I'm not even sure if I can move both of these at the same time…"
The Diamond Dogs back up a little as you tuck yourself under the top slab. Straining, your hooves push into the marble pathway, cracking the bricks under your burdened weight. You don't feel completely stessed by lifting the end of the slab, but it's also incredibly hard to shuffle your hooves. You feel like a set of table legs in mud.
"Woo hoo! Go Raisin!" Scootaloo flaps her wings in approval.
You cannot move very easily with the weight resting on your head like this.
You feel determined to make this work. With Scootaloo cheering you on, you press your forehead into the bottom slab and push with all of your might. Although you cannot lift your hooves, you slide them forward, cracking the bricks in the path ahead.
"Hey, dogs! Help me out here!"
The Diamond Dogs pick up their jaws and press their shoulders into the top slab. They growl as they shove it with every ounce of strength they can muster. Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all gather around you to help push the bottom slab.
"Hey! It's moving!" Sweetie Belle watches as the brick path underneath you is chewed up by your shuffling hooves. Every inch gained fills the room with a discordant grinding noise, but the slabs near the bridge.
"Oh! Ah see! We're gonna let the bottom one fall an make us a bridge!" Applebloom reasons.
"Wow… that's actually pretty smart." Scootaloo grunts as she jams her face into the slab. "Are we almost there?"
One of the dogs barks in response.
A thought crosses your mind as the giant slab grinds against the marble walkway. "Wait! Everyone, stop!"
"What's wrong?" Scootaloo is still pushing into the slab, though it refuses to budge.
"When this slab drops into place, where's the slab on my head going to go?"
Your friends look up quick, then hop out from under the slab.
You try to turn your head to face the Diamond Dogs, but it refuses to move. Your mane simply grinds against the heavy slab overhead. "Boys! We're going to fetch another slab. Hold this one for just a moment…"
They whimper quietly. You very slowly crouch a little. Moving slowly, you're just barely able to slide out from underneath the slab. The Dogs almost immediately drop it once you stop supporting it with your head.
A few minutes and a small break later, the next slab is in position. This time, your friends decide to help push on the third slab instead of directly underneath the top slab.
"Everyone ready? This is going to be really, really hard to push. On the count of 3…"
"1…"
"2…"
You grunt, then slam your forelegs into the third slab. The others pull away for a moment, then brace themselves against the monstrously sized slab. You feel your rearlegs bury themselves into the ground.
The slab moves at an agonizingly slow pace. It's hard to tell if it's even moving at all, but you think it's shifted at least a few inches in the last few minutes. The ground behind you is torn up all the way down to some dense rock.
Suddenly, you hear a crash out ahead of you. Your friends jump back. Looking up, you see that the bottom slab seems to have landed in place. The ring of the slab crashing into the column ahead bounces around the chamber for a few seconds.
"…I think we did it, guys…"
The top slab is laying at an angle on top of your slab. Nothing appears to be immediately shifting about, though you're not sure how the snakes didn't hear the boom dropping the slab produced.
"We just have to do this two more times…"
"…but…" Applebloom pants, "we only got 3 slabs left…"
Knowing that the slabs are going to be stacked kind of odd, you figure that you're going to need to move it in order to continue building the bridge.
Your Dig Dogs seem to be pretty exhausted. It looks like they haven't worked this hard in their entire lives. "Can one of you boys help me up?"
They all look at each other, then grunt back and forth. They start pounding their fists against an open paw and holding out fingers… you're not sure what kind of game this is, but one of them keeps his paw flat while another splays two of his fingers apart. He laughs as the other scoffs.
The 'loser' gestures you over. He places his paws on your shoulders and struggles to lift you. Straining as hard as he can, he miraculously lifts you off the ground a few inches. You can see his legs shaking as he tries to lift you onto the slab.
"Uh… hold on, I'll take it from here." You reach up with your forelegs, just barely able to grab the edge of the slab. Kicking your rearlegs, you're able to get a hoof up onto the slab. Ahead, you see that the top slab is lying at an angle, the other end safely resting on the newly formed bridge.
"I can't believe we moved THAT!" Scootaloo shakes her head in astonishment, standing by your side.
"I'm going to push the slab ahead a little. Hold on…"
With a mighty kick, the slab falls down on top of the other. The sound of the two stones smashing into one another is startling, to say the least. Looking about, you don't seem to immediately detect any movement.
As you turn around, you see that one of the dogs has his ears pivoting about. He turns around and looks down the corridor your team came in from. He turns around with a terrified look on his face, gesturing you down from the slab.
"Wh…? Raisin, what's he all worked up over?" Scootaloo starts trotting to the end of the slab with you. "Did the noise hurt his ears?"
Quickly, you realize that the Dig Dog has probably heard an approaching Boulder Snake.
"We gotta hide. Now." You point at the torch. "Quick, grab that and run behind the last slab over there. C'mon, guys, move!"
You jump down, treading behind the rest of the group. They all shuffle along the back of the massive slab, laying as low to the ground as they can. The Dig Dog with the torch is fiddling around with it. His arms shake as he looks back and forth to his buddies. In a last minute effort, he jams the fiery end into the ground. You notice that the ground on the end of the fiery rod glows orange… the flame doesn't seem to have died.
In a matter of moments, you hear a hiss come from the doorway. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all pull in close next to you. The Diamond Dogs curl up into little shivering balls.
Another hiss echoes into the room. "Who'sssssssssss here? Who'ssssssss working in the gardensssssss?" The voice calls out, but receives no reply. "Kessssssszeem will be most dissssspleasssssed that you're not working on the chamber inssssstead… come out!" The Diamond Dogs tremble behind the last slab alongside your friends.
You hear the snake over at the bridge. It sounds like he's moving the slabs, but you cannot be certain. The little orange spot on the ground by the end of your twisted metal torch seems to be gradually expanding.
Carefully, you reach over to the end of the makeshift torch and press it into the ground. The Diamond Dog lets go of his end, letting it sink a bit further. Suddenly, the orange glow dies out.
You can still hear the snake over near the bridge. It hisses a few times, then you hear the slabs moving again.
"What's he doing? He's not coming this way, is he?" Sweetie Belle whispers into Applebloom's mane.
Without saying a word, you very gently hold a hoof up to Sweetie's mouth. Her and Applebloom breathe a little slower.
Suddenly, you hear one of the slabs crash. The chamber fills with noise. Your team jumps a little, but settles back down. Again, you can hear the slab grinding over towards the bridge.
"Where are you? I know you're here… down in the crystalssssssss?" He hisses again. "W… what'ssssss thissssssss…. ssssssmell…" The snake sounds like he's moving back across the bridge.
You feel yourself pulled a little closer to one of the Diamond Dogs. He's very quietly whimpering.
Inventory check:
You very carefully get up on your rearlegs, just barely able to poke your eyes up above the slab of marble. The room is incredibly dark, but a pair of eyes stare back at you. You freeze, but notice that the snake hasn't seemed to spot you. You have a horrible feeling in your gut, but you remain statuesque.
He hisses again, searching around the room. He turns around, facing the bridge again. "What issssss thissss? Fire Greasssssssse? Diamond Dogsssssss?" He keeps poking at the air. A few moments go by, then his voice booms again. "Where are you, worker? Do not make me ssssssearch for you…."
His glowing eyes keep swinging back your way, but he doesn't seem to detect you.
"Sweetie Belle…" You keep your voice incredibly quiet. "…hoof me your Box of Nails…"
Shaking, the little filly brings the Box of Nails out of her saddlebag. Her shaking foreleg rattles it around a little bit, catching the snake's attention for a moment.
"Hmm?" His eyes look back your way for a moment. You're locked in position, ready to launch the box into the chasm. Again, even though you're in plain view, the Boulder Snake doesn't seem to notice you.
As his head turns just for a moment, you launch the box up out of your hooves, then duck down fast. You hear the box explode, scattering all the little pieces of iron about the glassy like crystals below. It sounds like you broke a crystal in the process.
The snake doesn't say a word. There's a nearly perfect silence in the air. As you begin to peek around the slab, you see that the snake has his head against the ground. The monstrous being slithers silently down one of the columns, heading into the crystals below.
"Can you dogs dig us a little spot under this slab while he's gone?"
One of the dogs bops your forehead twice. You hear them dig softly by your side for a few seconds, then pull on your leg. It's a tight fit, but they seem to have made a little crawlspace under the slab.
It's disturbingly quiet in the room, considering the Snake is no doubt still moving around. You cannot hear much of anything and certainly cannot see anything but the fearful eyes of your comrades shivering in the little hiding spot under the slab.
"N-n-now what?" Scootaloo whispers.
"Hey… you…"
You tap one of the Diamond Dogs. He taps you back.
"Can that greasy torch be relit?"
He taps you twice.
"Ugh.. okay, tap me twice if it can be relit."
He taps you twice.
"Also… really quick… can you guys put some more dirt in your coats? To keep your scent dow-"
You hear a loud hiss down in the chasm. "Nailssssss… what? Diamond Dog nailsssssss?" He seems to be talking to himself. He hisses again. "No… ssssssomething elsssssse… what issssss thisssssss sssssssmell…"
"…so he can't smell you as easily."
"But R-Raisin, ain't t-they already kinda… dirty?" Applebloom's voice trembles.
To your side, you can see the end of the torch sticking out of the ground. It's hard to see more than a few feet in front of you, but you can just barely make out the silhouette against the shadows. You cannot hear nor see the snake at the moment.
You decide to move out of the crawlspace so that you can help cover your team up a little better. Scootaloo immediately abjects.
"Raisin! You can't go out there! That thing'll eat you!" She whisper shouts from the safety of the crawlspace hole.
You simply move the pile of dirt from the Dig Dog's excavation over to the entrance and bury it carefully. "I'll be fine. You guys need to stay quiet and stay hidden."
Just as Scootaloo is about to retort, you pad the hole down, making sure to leave a breather hole for the dank cave air to pass through. They seem to be safe… for now…
You can see the Boulder Snake moving back toward the base of the bridge column. He's still moving completely silently. Watching such a massive creature move without making a single noise is absolutely frightening, though you maintain your composure. It's not as if it can fly or anything… not like a blue jay or a sparrow.
You remain partially hidden behind the slab, keeping an eye out on the Snake. It's still climbing up.
You quietly duck behind the corner of the marble slab, keeping an eye out for the gigantic Snake. You watch as he slinks up the bridge columns, then suddenly looks to be gliding in thin air. Judging by his position, he should be far out over the chasm.
"Sssssssstupid workersssssss…" He hisses. "I will find you…" His sliding on the ground has become much more apparent as he heads back towards the entrance of the chamber.
Suddenly, he doubles back, moving silently like he was before. You watch him climb up the wall a ways, up toward the stalactites. He slinks between a few of them, heading up higher towards the larger stalactites on the ceiling. His eyes peer down, scanning about the floor. You hear him quietly chuckle.
"Great…" You whisper.
It's hard to see, but the Snake's glowing eyes stand out fairly well against the darkness. Although he has a fairly good view of you, he doesn't seem to draw near your position.
You stand perfectly frozen in statuesque position. You've grown fairly good at doing this. Your golem body makes this incredibly easy, seeing as it tends to want to stay at rest without your input. Standing still, you only follow the snake with your eyes.
After a few minutes, you see him slink back down the wall a ways. He moves directly toward you and the last slab. He doesn't look toward you at all, but continues up along the wall closeby. A terrible feeling overwhelms you as he silently disappears into the the shadows behind you.
Turning your head ever so slightly, you see that the giant Snake is looking over top of your current position. He appears to be scanning the room back and forth, moving his massive head very slowly.
Your stomach feels like it's full of butterflies right now. The tension is overwhelming, but you manage to keep perfectly still.
You keep watching the massive snake as it perches up on the wall. After another few minutes, you see it glower. Slowly, but still silently, it slithers down the wall. He flicks his tongue while passing the marble slab, stopping almost instantly.
"Curiousssssss…" He hisses.
You continue to remain perfectly still. The Snake tastes the air right next to the slab. He looks back and forth, then down at the slab. In a lightning quick action, you see him strike the slab and pull back. The slab moves slightly, but your friends remain covered up.
"Mmmm…" He hums to himself, swallowing a chunk of the slab. He looks back and forth again, staying very close. You're not sure how your friends are dealing with this, but you're almost certain you heard Sweetie shriek from underneath for a moment. You hear a steaming noise coming from the snake as smoke rises from his nostrils. He doesn't seem bothered by it.
Looking about as though he knows he's doing wrong, the greedy snake strikes the marble slab again. You don't hear any noises from underneath. The snake relishes another chunk of the massive slab as it rolls down into his stomach.
Suddenly, you see another pair of eyes pop into the room. The tension in your stomach turns into complete despair as the viper fast serpent slithers into the room.
"Kelveret!" It hisses loudly. The snake next to you seizes up before being struck on his face.
"No! Pleassssssse… I jusssssst wanted a bite! Ssssssssomeone elssssssse had one… I thought it wasssss okay…"
"Do not lie to me! Get back into the chamber room, you missssssserable fool! You'll be cutting slabs for a month after Kesssssszeem is through with you!" Again, the bossy snake smashes his nose into Kelveret, effectively punching his gut. The snake spits out a glowing orange, nearly molten hunk of marble your way. The little area about you is lit up rather well, exposing you to both snakes. They don't seem to notice you as Kelveret is punched out of the room, back into the corridor.
You feel faint as the snakes exit the chamber.
You wait until you're absolutely certain they're both gone, then proceed to dig up your companions. They nearly leap out of the hole, embracing the warm light of the large, slightly molten chunk of marble. Scootaloo throws her hooves around you.
"How? How did you do that?" She asks. "Did you actually fight that thing?!"
"Uh… no. His boss came in and kicked him out."
Your friends nervously laugh to one another, breathing a few, deep sighs of relief. "I cannot believe that just happened… I thought we were goners…" Sweetie Belle looks down at the ground. Her mane is all roughed up from sitting still inside the crawlspace for so long.
You hold the greasy end of the torch up to the molten marble, letting it immediately catch fire. One of the trembling Diamond Dogs takes it, but points to his buddies. They're both still inside the hole, whimpering.
With the extra light, you see that the snake has haphazardly completed the bridge. The last slab seems to have fallen out of place, likely due to lazily pushing it out of his way. It's pinned between the last column and the wall, a couple feet down from the edge of the platform.
"What's wrong? Do they hear another one?"
Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle all duck down.
The Diamond Dog quivering with the torch in his paw shakes his head.
"…what's the matter, then?"
"Ah think they're scared…" Applebloom ducks her head down close to the hole, looking at the shaky dogs.
"The snakes are gone, though. They need to get up out of there so we can get out of this terrible place…"
"C'mon, you two. Are you really going to let a bunch of fillies show you up?"
The two cowering dogs look at one another, then out to you. They shake and slowly crawl out from under the partially eaten slab. It's startling to see how close that snake was to chewing through the top… one more bite may have been enough to reveal your crew.
Weighing out all of your options, you lead your group over to the makeshift bridge, keeping an eye out behind you for any sudden Boulder Snake appearances.
"Did… did that snake help us build the bridge we were working on?" Sweetie Belle asks, curled up in one of the Diamond Dog's arms.
"Ah think he did… or did ya'll build this while he was down in the crystal pit?" Applebloom looks over the side. The blood red crystals below look foreboding.
"Nah, this was all him. He was looking for a lost 'worker', apparently." You stop next to the unstable slab. "He found the Box of Nails, apparently."
"So.. this looks completely safe." Scootaloo taps the slab with her hoof. "How are we going to get across, again?"
"One at a time. We'll tie the rope to me. You guys keep one end between your teeth. If the slab gives, at least no-one is going to fall into the pit. You wanna go first, Scootaloo?"
"Uh… Applebloom wanted to go first, didn't you?" She passes one end of the rope over to her.
"Ah'll go first. Keep a good hold on the rope, alright?" Applebloom puts the rope in her mouth, then climbs up on your back to get onto the slab.
She begins to shimmy her way over to the other side…
Applebloom jumps up on the other side. "Whew… it's a little slippery. Watch yer step!"
"Alright, Sweetie Belle? You wanna go next?"
She gulps. "Alright…" She takes the rope end in her mouth. The Diamond Dog carrying her puts her up on the slab, then pets her mane. She draws in a deep breath, then marches across…
As Sweetie begins venturing across the slab, the thing seems to shift. Her little hoofsteps seemed to be just what it needed to give way. In an instant, the slab falls down into the crystal chasm below. The rope becomes taut as you manage to pull Sweetie up from the drop. Scootaloo helps her up onto the slab.
The crash resonates through the chamber.
"Ohmygosh… Are you alright?"
Sweetie Belle wraps her hooves around your neck. "Thank you for holding the rope…"
Applebloom waves. "Uh… now what?"
One of the Diamond Dogs taps your head. When he's got your attention, he picks up Scootaloo, then makes a throwing motion towards the other side. He tilts his head and shrugs his shoulders.
Inventory check:
"How good are you at climbing? Could you scale that wall if you were able to swing into it with a rope? Two taps yes one tap no."
The Dig Dog looks down at you, then simply nods. He cranks his head either way, then takes a few steps back. He squats a few times, stretching his legs. He nods again.
"Alright.. Let's try something here. We'll tie the rope to Scootaloo, then you can give her a toss acros-"
"What?! No, no, no… Raisin, you can't be serious?" Scootaloo looks a bit concerned.
"Hey, I trust these guys. Look at the arm on him! You'll clear the gap easy!"
"That's not the part I'm worried about…" She flares her wings up as you tie a quick loop around her. In an instant, the Diamond Dog launches Scootaloo over the chasm. She flutters her wings like mad, barely managing to slow her descent. She lands a little rough, but intact.
"Oww…" She rubs her head before untying the rope. "Did you think about how you're going to get across?"
"Already got it covered. You, jump across." You nod to the Diamond Dog. He nods, gets a running start, then leaps over the chasm. He digs into the other side, wielding the torch in one paw. In a matter of seconds, he's scaled the wall.
"Alright, Sweetie Belle, you're next."
The Diamond Dog holding Sweetie Belle gives you a stern look, then takes off his helmet. He puts her on top of his head, then puts his helmet on Sweetie Belle's head. The dog gets a running leap, then digs into the opposing wall. Sweetie Belle hangs onto his face for dear life, but ends up making it to the other side safely.
"Huh… well, I would've suggested that for Scootaloo if I'd have known they'd have such an easy time carrying us across… sorry, Scoots…"
She glowers back at you. "So, one more dog and you, then? What's the hold up?"
The other dog looks down at you, grabs your rope, then proceeds to leap the chasm. You notice that he's not using his left paw quite as much as the other… you suspect it's the dog who's paw you slapped back in the pitch black, light hating crystal room.
In a matter of moments, the rope comes flying your way…
Quickly, you tie the rope around your midsection, looping it a few times. When it's firmly taut around your stomach, you knot the end of the rope and throw it across the gap, back to your friends.
"Alright, I'm going to let myself down very gently. Get ready…"
"Roger, Raisin…"
As you start to lower yourself and let them get used to your weight, you hear some hissing in the distance.
"Oh man.. not now…"
The entire party struggles to lift you up the other side of the chasm very slowly. Looking back through the doorway, the entrance into the chamber, you see a pair of eyes hovering in the darkness.
"Guys… a little faster, if you could…"
"Geez, Raisin, what's the rush?" Scootaloo grunts.
Even up on the ledge, you keep your eyes back towards the doorway. The eyes don't seem to move, but they blink.
"I… I think we should get going here…"
Behind you rests a very entrance and a massive set of crystal doors. They're beautifully engraved… much like the hallway beyond them. This area looks amazingly beautiful, but leaves you feeling very small and weak.