Raisin Quest 4
Day 21

>Have Applebloom use your bag of Bits to distract Keszeem. Applebloom narrowly avoids being eaten.
>–Race in to attack the Heart of the Mountain; Keszeem smashes you into the wall—
>Pull self out of wall, watch as Applebloom and Scootaloo sneak around the room
>–Launch your Royal Medallion at Keszeem’s crystal, striking it with the little ornament—
>**Keszeem reveals her plans and the nature of the gem you were trying to destroy, confident that she’ll be able to kill you soon after**
>Keszeem goes in for a strike; you sidestep into a gentle flow of magma
>**Grab onto Keszeem’s necklace**
>–Bite the chain, inflicting no discernable damage–
>xXx Keszeem roughs you up by smashing you into the walls; begin noticing slight damage xXx
>Break a scale on Keszeem’s body closer to the True Soul Amulet. Keszeem continues battering you; damage is apparent
>**Kick Keszeem’s amulet, then drop off of her, catching a walkway**
>xXx Immediately climb back up onto walkway. Half of tail is clipped off by Keszeem’s thrashing about xXx
>In a last ditch effort, Keszeem attempts to start the eruption early by going after the Heart of the Mountain
>**Use an excellent one liner and stomp her tail; she coils up and burns under the sunlight, turning to stone**
>HUG HAYSEED, SAVE GAME
>Split up groups to quickly locate the True Soul Amulet before the Diamond Dogs arrive

Just as Raisin and her brave friends Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle begin to breathe a little easier after their momentous victory, Rover and his Diamond Dog crew enter into the artificial volcano to ensure Raisin lives up to her end of their deal. Not wanting to sacrifice the True Soul Amulet to Raisin, Rover claims that the disputed treasure is ‘too good’ to give to her.

…"Let's get them to the mines!" Rover bumps the bigger dog. "Grab our new prize pony. Make sure she gets put into a nice cage…"

The bigger dog gently sets the cage down on the ground and opens up the front door. The crystalline prison looks terribly cramped for a filly. His massive paw gently waves you toward the cage.

"Come?" The big dog asks you hesitantly.



Huffing, you kick up some rock from the path. Rover and his other lackey back up behind the burly dog, but then laugh as they realize your frustration.

"You see? There is no other way, pony!" Rover peeks around the arm of the burly dog before standing in view of you again.

"I'll submit, but only if you agree that my friends go free… and I don't have to ride out of here in that cage."

"No deal! You're my little pony and I say you go in the cage!" Rover points at the shiny crystal set of bars. The big dogs eyes are still set on you, unwavering.

"I can carry." The big dog rests his arm on the ground. "Can you hold on tight?"

"Wh… No! She goes in the cage!" Rover abjects.

"C'mon!" Scootaloo kicks in the paws of the dog restraining her. "Just let her ride up without a cage! What's the big deal?!"

You can hear some sputtering up from the beautiful, bright blue hole in the ceiling. A dog howls down, making Rover's ears twitch about. He doesn't immediately say anything.

"You look a little… worried, Rover."

You can hear some more mechanical sputtering echo down from the top of the mountain. Some more howls echo down from the dogs at the top. The piercing sounds seem to come from a mile away, as if from the sky itself.

"N-nothing. They're getting tired of waiting! Get in the cage!" Rover stamps his foot on the ground and points to the little cell.

"No Rover, I'll go up, I'll slave away in the mines, whatever you ask, but I won't be caged like some mindless animal."

He balls up his fists and shakes a little. "GET. IN. THE. CAGE!"

"No."

Applebloom laughs. "Show 'em who's boss!"

"Quiet!" Rover points a claw at her. "You three are going to be working right alongside her!"

"Not if she doesn't go in your dumb little cage." Scootaloo taunts.

"You! No rations for a week!" Rover grits his teeth, then looks back up to the hole in the ceiling. He doesn't seem to be calming down.

"Can't you just let us go?" Sweetie Belle asks, still slightly delirious.

"No! Nopony gets away!" Rover looks to the lackey on his left, then to the burly dog on his right. "Rocky! Pick her up and put her in the cage! Now!"

The burly dog looks back to Rover, then down to you. He looks confused. "She killed biggest snake…" His paw lifts up for a moment, opening up toward you. He quickly sets it back down, then pushes the cage to the side. "Can I carry you?"

The mechanical sputtering up near the top of the hole continues on. The dogs seem to be getting a bit noisier over time with most of the supply runners staying up top. The room is slowly becoming emptier.

You look over at Rover smugly, then back to Rocky. "Yes, you may. Thank you, Rocky."

Rover stomps, then growls. "Fine! Carry her!"

His massive arm looks like a tree… you only hope it isn't as frail as one. You give it a tap with your forehoof, noticing that it doesn't move at all. He slides it forward, making it easier to climb on to. "Can climb?"

"Yes… just making sure it's not going to break."

"Am strong. Climb." Rocky watches as you worm your way up his arm, climbing as carefully as you can. Amazingly, not only does his arm support your weight, but he has no problem moving it around.

"Hang on tight." He crouches over again, letting his arms support his massive upper body.

"Uh… you can still climb with me on your arm like this, right?"

"Lifted bigger things than pony before." He nods.

"…put her in the cage!" Rover yells once more.

"She fine." Rocky shakes his giant arm around, waving you through the with almost no effort. "Easier to climb."

Suddenly, a giant box falls down from the top of the volcano, flying passed you and smashing into the lava. Rover watches as some fiery, molten rock flies back up. Your friends shriek as the dogs use them as shields, though the spatters are nowhere near them.

"Diamond Dogs! Up!" Rover points to the hole in the ceiling, then runs at the wall. You see the dogs holding your friends move toward the wall, then begin to climb. Rocky sets out, his tremendous frame unimpeded by your weight.

As you ascend toward the hole, you see a few supply crates fall in. They fly passed your new party with incredible speed, smashing into the lava far below.

"W-what if one of those hits us?" Sweetie Belle asks.

"Then we die! Keep climbing!" Rover shouts.

Looking up Rocky's arm, you can't help but feel as though something is going to be falling your way very shortly. You try to think of a way to mitigate the threat as the dogs climb closer and closer to the sky…

As your group nears the midway point of the volcano's shaft, you crane your head back to see a supply crate bounce off of the wall and fall your way.

"CRATE!!"

The dogs ahead of you scramble off to the sides, narrowly dodging the projectile. It smashes into the wall just above Rocky, then bounces off into the chamber. As it flies down, it clips his helmet, taking it down into the fiery chasm with it. Rocky stops for a moment, his eyes staring straight forward.

Holding onto the wall with the arm you're on, he uses the other to pat his head, checking for injury. Amazingly, he seems to be completely fine. He simply nods, then keeps climbing.

"Always wear helmet." He shouts. The other dogs laugh as they continue the climb.

Looking back up, another poorly time crate rolls straight down from the lip of the volcano and heads straight for your team.

"CRATE!!"

Your warning sees most of the dogs squish your friends up against the crystal walls and their chestplates.

"Oww!! OW OW OW!!" Applebloom shouts as the crate passes.

Rocky seems to be a bit too big to completely miss the crate. Though he pulls up against the wall tight, the crate strikes the back of his chestplate.

"Umph!!" He grunts as the crate bounces off his back. You can hear the wall scrape up in his claws. Suddenly, you see the world flail for a moment as he tries to get his grip back. He feels as though he's just inches from being able to grab the wall again…

As the Dog struggles to regain his grip on the wall, you quickly unwrap yourself from his arms and smash your rearlegs into the crystalline walls. You reach down to bite onto a piece of his armor, but only manage to catch his chain. In a moment, he falls backwards into the grand chasm.

Seeing you embedded into a wall, he reaches out to grab the chain. As the length almost instantly becomes taut, you feel a great tug on your legs. With a crackling explosion of rock, you're pulled free from the wall.

You see Rocky use the little bit of swing he got from the chain to grab back onto the wall. He keeps one end of the chain in his paw as you fall passed him. Clenching onto the chunk of metal as hard as you can, you head face first into the cauldron of magma below.

The chain gives you a vicious snap as you suddenly orient back towards the sky, bouncing about at the very end of the links. You fly back up in spurts as Rocky pulls you back up. Another crate whizzes by you as he gets wraps the chain up around his shoulders.

"Always bring chains." Rocky says, setting you down on his arm. "Can still hold on?"

Suddenly, you realize that your back legs are missing. You've just become a two legged golem.

"Stop messing around! Get back up here!" Rover calls down.

"Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! Are you two alright!?"

"We're okay! We smell like dogs, but we're okay!" Scootaloo calls down.

"Smell like dogs? How's that bad?!" Rover bonks Scootaloo on the head from above with his foot.

"Oof! Hey, stop that!" Scoots quiets down as your team gets nearer to the top. As Rover climbs over the edge, you hear him start shouting.

"They're here! Keep the cannons firing! Don't let them near the gem!"

Looking up from around Rocky's arm, you can see some pegasi far off pushing a nasty looking storm cloud your way. The bolts of lightning stretching off of it look foreboding.

A pegasus wearing a full set of royal armor swoops in. The Diamond Dogs just barely evade him as he smashes another supply crate into the volcano.

"Uuuh, Rocky, can you, um, get my legs?"

He looks down at you on his arm, then looks back into the volcano. He looks about the outer edge of the opening, then down to you.

"I can't be a proper workhorse without legs, you know…"

"I get legs for you." He lays his arm down on the ground, then lets you off. A pegasus guard slams into his side, bouncing backwards and landing on the bit of land near you. His head spins. Rocky sneers at the guard, then walks back to the volcano's opening.

"Rocky! No! Bad!" Rover yells at him. Nearly descending, the Diamond Dog looks up at his leader.

"Sorry. Need workhorse legs." He begins climbing back down into the volcano.

"What? Workhorse leee…" Rover looks back to you. You sit on the ground as you would normally with your forelegs tucked under your chest, but he immediately sees your lack of rearlegs.

"What!? When did that happen?!" He jumps up and down. "You're useless without your legs!"

"Hey, relax. Rocky's going to get them back for me."

"They're not attached to your body anymore, idiot!" Rover ducks to avoid an incoming member of the royal guard. He races over to a man one of the gemstone cannons haphazardly setup on the mountain top.

"Pfff, it's fine. All we need is some concrete and I'll be good to go."

"Raisin! Your legs!" Applebloom calls from a small wooden cage. It seems as though the dogs have already caged them up.

The black storm cloud looms in the distance. Though the scene is chaotic, the view from up here is absolutely stunning. You can see a familiar windmill off in the distance… scanning the horizon, you see Ponyville a good distance away. You're closer to Canterlot now than Ponyville… probably all a part of Keszeem's plan.

Seeing the sun between a flurry of guard ponies flying far above, you realize that it's nearly high noon. It feels great to see the sun again… you can only hope you'll be able to feel it soon.

While Celestia's Royal Guards swarm about and keep the Diamond Dogs distracted, you head toward Applebloom's call, seeing a small collection of wooden cages and some crates.

"Don't worry about my legs… Rocky went back to get them for me."

"Ya'll actually got 'im ta do that for ya?" Applebloom shakes her head. "Ah bet yer special talent is charm or somethin'."

"Raisin! Get us out of here!" Scootaloo rattles the lock on her cage. "They're all made of wood, so a good kick would probab… oh." Scootaloo notices that you're missing your legs. "…well, uh… huh…."

"I can't believe we made it out of there…" Sweetie Belle's voice is nearly lost over the sound of the gemstone cannons firing up into the air. The Pegasus guard captain yells out some orders from high above as you watch them mostly fall back to the approaching storm cloud.

"Did you guys see where the True Soul Amulet went?"

Applebloom nods. "That dog that took it away from me still has it!"

"Where's he at?"

She shakes her head. "Ah… um.. Ah think he's at one of the cannons? Ah didn't see where he ran off to.."

"Applebloom! Raisin needs that to change back to normal! You're bad memory is going to spoil her dreams!" Scootaloo groans from the other cage.

"Ah really don't know… he ran around behind the cages when all the other dogs grabbed their spears…" She sighs.

You see two Diamond Dogs approaching you. They keep their spears pointed skywards to the fleeing pegasi guards.

As the dogs slowly wander your way, you crawl as fast as you can up to the cages.

"Stand back…"

Applebloom scoots as far back into her cage as she can. With a swift, blunt strike of your forelegs, you stomp on the front of the cage. Your strength still seems in perfect condition as the front of the cage bursts into pieces.

"Ah'm free!" Applebloom darts out. The Diamond Dogs look down, pointing their spears towards you and Applebloom. They simply growl.

"Uh… now what?" Applebloom backs away from the spear tip coming toward her throat…

>12:00PM

You hear the faint echo of an explosion far off in the distance, somewhere around Ponyville. It's faint, but your ears still seem to catch it. The dogs standing in front of you turn their heads to look where it came from.

You try to lay as still as possible while the dogs hold their spears up to your necks. They stare off toward Ponyville for a few moments longer, then redirect their attention to the two of you. You raise your hooves up in surrender, Applebloom quickly doing the same. The Diamond Dogs nudge the two of you back toward the cages.

"Looks like they still got us…" Applebloom says, keeping her hooves high up in the air. One of the Diamond Dogs taps his friend, then runs off to fight an injured pegasus guard. The other stays with his spear pointed your way.

"Just you wait until that storm cloud gets here!" Scootaloo boasts. "Cloudsdale lightning is the strongest there is! It'll zap you mutts down in one strike!"

The dog smacks the side of Scootaloo's cage with his spear, rattling it around a bit. He keeps the tip pointed at you and Applebloom.

You see Rocky climbing back out of the volcano top carrying what appears to be a massive crimson crystal boulder. He heads your way, then steps up next to the guard.

"Here you go." He drops the chunk of rock by the guard. "Legs in front, easy to pull out with little forelegs." He turns around and starts walking toward Rover, leaving you with the guard.

"W-wait! Raisin! Go call him back over!" Applebloom waves her hooves around in the air.

The storm cloud is nearly over the volcano. It's cool shadow looms slowly over to the mountainside. The dogs are firing everything they have up into the cloud, hoping to hit some of the pegasi pushing it.

As the Diamond Dog hovers the spear tip toward you and Applebloom, you nudge Applebloom.

"Shins."

She sits silent for a minute, then suddenly shakes her head. The Diamond Dog looks slightly confused. "A-are ya sure?"

Quickly, you reach out and grab for the spear. Pulling it toward the side of your head, you let it fall passed you and toward Scootaloo's cage. She immediately backs up into it to avoid the spear tip. "Hey! Watch it!"

Applebloom runs ahead and bucks the Diamond Dog in the shins, sending him toppling over. He lets go of the spear as he rubs his legs in pain. He yelps.

You pick up the Crystal Spear in your forelegs. The Diamond Dog guard looks like he's about to get back up.

The shadow of the storm cloud touches the mountain's base. The guards are trying to draw as much cannon fire as possible, flying over the volcano top and attempting to get the drop on the cannon operators. They don't seem to immediately notice you and your friends, focusing too hard on dodging the spears and rocks coming their way.

"Give him another kick, AB!"

"Uh.. roger!" She gives the Diamond Dog another kick, this time to the face. He tenses up for a moment, then lets out a sigh. A few stars swirl over his head as he lays still.

You take the spear up in your hooves, biting the end off. Though your stony teeth may not have been able to get through solid metal, they seem to glide through the oak shaft without a hitch. The Crystal Tip falls off onto the ground.

"Applebloom! We need to get out of here!"

"Ah'm with ya on that!" She looks about, running up to Sweetie Belle's cage and giving it a kick while you bust Scootaloo's.

The little orange pegasus immediately jumps out and gives you a hug. "Thank you thank you thank you…" She lets go, then watches as you bust open Sweetie's cage. The little white filly looks like she's barely got enough energy to walk. She looks pretty weak, probably from the malecite usage and a lack of sleep.

"C'mon, Sweetie… we gotta leave."

"Alright… I can make it…" She stumbles up to her hooves, then walks out of her cage.

"You three need to get to safety." You turn about, then pick up the Crystal Tip in your mouth, You slide it to one side. "I've gotta save my legs."

The CMC nod, then run away from the caged area. The cloud's shadow begins to crawl across the top of the volcano, the lightning booming up above. One arc touches down, turning one of the Diamond Dogs into a temporary lamp-post. His coat turns to soot as he collapses from the blast.

"Oh man… I've gotta move fast…"

Most of the guards have withdrawn from the area. They're mostly up in the clouds, though the Diamond Dogs stand their ground by the cannons. Rover and Rocky are backing away from the approaching storm.

You quickly crawl about the boulder, looking for the ends of your legs. Beneath the crimson crystals, you see a set of nearly symmetrical granite circles staring you in the face.

"There you are…"

You give the giant chunk of crystal and rock a hard punch. A lot of the crystals break away, but your legs seem to be embedded in the rock pretty deep. While you think of ways to compliment yourself on exerting such strength so quickly to save Rocky, you wind up another punch to try and break them free.

Another lightning bolt touches down, this time blowing up one of the cannons. Looking over to the cloud, you can see a veil of rain pouring down onto the dogs. It's the most torrential storm you've ever seen exit a single cloud…

Using the Crystal Tip, you poke about the rock to carve your legs out. Hitting a seam, the big boulder seems to bust away a bit, letting your polished legs slide out. Though free, you have no way of reattaching them at the moment. That doesn't matter, though, as you give them a kiss.

"We haven't been apart long, but boy did I miss you two…"

You see the CMC off a little ways, looking down the side of the mountain. They can't seem to find a safe way down.

"Raisin! Raisin! What are we gonna do!?" Scootaloo's voice is nearly drowned out by the storm cloud. It moves closer to the crater, almost completely blotting out the sun.

The Diamond Dogs are finally beginning to retreat. Rover is waving his arms about, pointing back into the volcano. You can't hear him from this distance over the storm cloud, but he looks intent on holding this position.

You love having your smooth, polished legs back. Seeing as they sheered off so evenly, a vague thought crawls into the back of your mind. You know that, given some time, you'll fully regenerate, but perhaps your legs will regenerate quickly if introduced to the parts that broke off.

Popping both legs onto their respective nubs, you balance on the recently sheered legs. Closing your eyes and saying a quick prayer, you lift one of your stubs. The loose leg beneath falls over.

"Drat. I was sure that'd do something…"

Watching as the pitch black storm cloud advances, you try shouting and waving up to the guards.

"HEY!!! THERE ARE PONIES DOWN HERE!! HELP US!!"

The CMC look to you, then back to the cloud, joining in.

"HELP!!! WE NEED YOUR HELP! STOP THE STORMCLOUD!!" Your friends shout and wave. Scootaloo takes the CMC cape off of her hoof and waves the golden side back and forth in the air.

To your surprise, two Royal Guards come flying from around the side of the cloud.

"We're saved!" Scootaloo shouts triumphantly.

The cloud covers a good portion of the entrance to the volcano, dropping a torrent of water inside. The lightning seems to strike at a few of the larger boulders about the top. A dark shadow looms overhead…

As the rain begins to come down over you, the Royal Guards swoop in. "What on Earth? Raisin?!" They look over to the CMC rushing your way. "…your friends? What are you fillies doing here?!!"

"Oh, you know, just saving the world… again…"

The guards look confused. "Saving the world? From Diamond Dogs?" The other guard begins ushering your friends over to him, spreading his wings out to protect them from the rain. "These dogs open fired on our patrol investigating an explosion… part of a series, considering the other we just heard back in Ponyville."

"No, not from the Diamond Dogs… I'll explain later. You've gotta get my friends to safety."

"Just your friends? We're not leaving you here; it's not safe with the stormcloud up above and the dogs below." He shakes his head. "You're going to have to come with us.

"No, you don't understand! There's a medallion those dogs have that'll turn me back to normal! I have to g-"

Suddenly, you notice a ton of drenched dogs scraping their way up out of the hole. They're barking and yelping, trying desperately to run away.

"Oh no… no no no…" You look on in horror.

A snake erupts out of the volcano, bashing several of the Diamond Dogs straight up into the air. They fly into the storm clouds as the other dogs simply sprint from the crater.

"Sweet Celestia! What in Equestria is that!?" The guard protecting your friends picks up Sweetie Belle and Applebloom in his hooves. "We've gotta get out of here! Now!"

The guard you were speaking with picks up Applebloom. "Run! Run! You can make it down the mountain! Do whatever you can!" He lifts off. "We'll come back for you!"

He flies away.

"No!! Come back! Move your cloud!" You kick the rocks. "Darn it!"

You see a Diamond Dog about 40 feet away trip and fall. One of the Boulder Snakes swallows him whole in one gulp, then slithers around the open top for more. Across the ways, you see Rocky swinging his chain around, trying to fend off the snakes. Rover is nowhere to be seen.

The guards above have pulled back from the cloud. They appear to be herding the Diamond Dogs as best as they can down the mountain.

Looking through the torrential rain, you see the supply box just a few feet in front of you. Crawling over, you carry yourself and your legs. Fortunately, it seems as though the top was left open.

You're unable to stand and look inside, so you simply climb in. Your weight nearly tears the side of the box off, loosening the nails securing the side on. You land in a small pile of crimson crystals.

"Those dogs sure worked fast…"

It's hard to see much inside the quickly flooding crate, but you see an assortment of crystals and some armor. The water obscures your view of most of the items in here.

Laying down on your back in the water, you try to remain as quiet as possible. You look about underwater, thankful that you don't need to draw any breath. The water is disturbingly peaceful as it dulls the storm overhead, the barking dogs, and the terrifying hisses of the boulder snakes.

Suddenly, you hear something thud up against the back of the box. Through the water, you can hear some whimpering.

The sudden thump is jarring. Curious, you very slowly pick your head up out of the water. Looking over the side of the box, you see a Diamond Dog shivering up against the back. He whimpers quietly as he hides.

You can still hear the snakes rampaging about under the storm. They take caution not to stray too far out from under the storm's shadow. The occasional lightning bolt lets you see shadows of where they are… thankfully, still a distance out.

Suddenly, you see an arc of lighting touch down near you, arcing to the metal helmet of the dog behind the box. He jumps, but is surrounded by a blue aura. He backs away from the box, unable to see you. Crouching, then laying down, he starts to crawl away. He sounds terrified.

You can't see anything beyond the nearby dog in the rain right now.

You tap on the side of the box to get his attention. "Hey… you… get back over here."

He curls up into a shaking ball.

"I'm not a snake. We have to stay hidden until the storm goes away. Ditch the armor."

He doesn't respond immediately, too scared to move. He's a few feet away from the box.

You give up on the big dog shivering in the rain and decide to get back down inside your box. You figure that you can't risk keeping yourself exposed for the Boulder Snakes to munch on you.

Laying back down in the water, you try to focus on getting through this. Amulet or not, you saved Equestria… your friends are safe and you're as alive as you have been. You hug your legs close, happy to know you're only a concrete patch job away from being whole again.

You see the lightning flash above. Surely, even a Cloudsdale storm can't last forever.

Suddenly, your box bursts apart. You're thrown a good distance through the rain, landing near the edge of the mountaintop. One of the snakes must have come over to investigate…

You cannot see anything for a few moments. A faint, blue light seems to wave through the air, followed by some yelping. It calms down after a few seconds, then turns to barking.

"What the…?"

You can see crystals scattered about in the rain. Your legs are tucked under your forelegs, still close by your side.

Realizing that you've seen that same blue aura around Keszeem, you begin to crawl toward the waving blue light. You're only able to use one foreleg, however, as the other holds onto your rearlegs.

As you draw close, you see the snake trying it's best to chomp the dog, but a blue glow resists the snake. The gorilla armed dog has resorted to punching the snake on the nose repeatedly.

"Hey! Down here!"

The Boulder Snake bashes the dog into the ground, but the blue aura intensifies as he's jammed into the ground. It looks like every bone in his body was broken, but he's fine as he's lifted back up into the storm.

You crawl up to the thrashing Boulder Snake, watching it vainly attempt to kill the dog trapped in it's jaws. With only one foreleg free to do anything, the crawl is slow, but the snake doesn't seem to be stopping.

The amulet is right there. The dog that stole it was right in your grasp… it burns you up inside that you didn't recognize the blue aura sooner than you did. With a one track mind, you approach the snake.

"Um… Mr. Snake? Can you stop hurting my friend there?"

The Snake stops thrashing about as wildly. You can see it's beaming eyes scanning about the ground, though it doesn't completely stop.

"Please, no more. Let him go…"

The Snake looks down at the dog. "Awh yoph 'eggin fph mephy?" At this point, the dog has stopped his assault on the Boulder Snake's nostrils. He too looks about curiously.

"Can you please let him go? He has something very dear to me… he doesn't deserve to be harmed…"

The Snake finally locates your soft voice. She spits out the Diamond Dog in her mouth, letting the soaking bundle of fur roll against the mountaintop. He stumbles for a moment, then takes off running toward the mountainside's edge.

"Issssss that… you're… you're the one that sssssssssssslayed mother…"

The Boulder Snake positions it's body around yours, then hisses menacingly. "It'ssssssss you… The Rock Pony… Raisssssssssin…"

In an instant, the massive Boulder Snake strikes. It's startling how fast the world turns black around you… you can hear the ground beneath your hooves lift up. As you're squeezed down the beast's mouth, a horrifying orange glow welcomes you.

Struggling to move your forelegs in the beast's thick esophagus, you desperately search for your beloved Hayseed. Tearing open the pocket she's in, you bring her and most of the pocket up to your chest, taking her in a tight embrace. You close your eyes, trying to spare yourself the thought of your impending doom. Perhaps, you figure, there is some way to get out off of this volcano alive…

Your mind wanders off as you suddenly feel freed. A blackness, cool and comforting, envelopes you. Instead of being in the nasty throat of some sun hating being, you feel as though you're drifting through the air, like a pegasus.

As you open your eyes, you see a fire, calm and controlled. You and your parents are roasting marshmallows at a camping trip you had when you were just a baby. Curled up in your mothers hooves, you can barely hold the stick over the little blazing fire. It's chilly out this night, but the fire seems to make everything feel alright. You can see Hayseed tucked into your blanket right beside you, her soft clean mane pressed into your cheek…

Suddenly, all of your sense vanish. Your eyes close once again, opening slowly as you pull Hayseed away from your chest.

You're back inside the sunlit Grand Chambers standing beside Keszeem's smoldering statue. You remember that you had given Hayseed a hug just before searching the a few places for the True Soul Amulet.

"Whoa… uh… thing's getting a little too hot for your doll there?" Scootaloo speaks up, slightly concerned.

Looking down, you can see Hayseed's mane smoldering slightly. A fine smoke trail lingers up from it. You pat her down quick, making sure no embers remain in her mane. Carefully, you place her back in your saddlebag pocket.

"Must be the molten rock all over the place. I knew it was a good idea to check her quick."