Digging a Holeby Night MusicChaptersDiggyDiggyHoleDiggingDiggyRumble "How long will this go on?" Celestia asked herself. The tremors from the mountain growing with intensity with each passing day. The city was in a state of ruin, buildings had collapsed and the cities walls had crumbled from their position around the city. The citizens had seeked answers from Celestia herself about the recovery of the buildings and the wall. The worry about an attack from one of the other nations was clear. But none of the questions were answered, because Celestia had none at all. Celestia had her top Unicorns working on figuring out what was causing the tremors, but they couldn't give her anything since the source kept moving. The one thing that the Unicorns had found were some resonant vibrations coming from the source. With no answers Celestia had hoped the tremors would just stop, but they had no intentions on stopping. Since the tremors continued and the city was becoming ever more demolished she had evacuated the city. Only her, Luna, and the teams of Unicorn, Earth, and Pegasi ponies were still in the city, trying to alleviate the punishment the city was taking. "Sister, how are you doing?" Luna asked as she stepped into the throne room, which, like the rest of the city, was also in shambles. Most of the windows were shattered to pieces, and the banners were tattered from the lack of care. "I'm fine Luna, I just have to watch as my city dies for an unknown reason!" Celestia shouted as she turned towards Luna. A moment of silence past before Celestia spoke up. "I'm sorry sister, I didn't mean to shout at you, It's just that... These quakes, there is nothing to explain them, nothing. It's not the earth, it's not magic, it's just... nothing." "Yes sister, we know, we are going to keep looking for an answer until something else happens. No matter what, we will never leave your side." Luna said as she nuzzled Celestia's neck. "Thank you Luna, I just hope we can find the answer somewhere." Celestia said as she looked at the last standing window in the hall, it was the window of Twilight Sparkles Coronation. "There has to be an answer somewhere!" Twilight said as she dashed around the library ripping books from the shelves and reading them for any clue to what was happening. She needed to know what was going on with the mountain on which Canterlot was placed on. "Spike! Come down here and help!" Twilight shouted to the stair way. "Alright! You do know you sent me up there to have me check your private collections of books don't you?" Spike said as he dashed down the set of stairs. As soon as he got to the bottom of the stairs, Spike clutched his gut and began to smoke from the mouth. Belch As soon as the letter materialized Twilight was there to snatch it out of the air with her magic. And she began to read it. Dear Twilight, We need you to come up to Canterlot right away, bring all of your friends also, there presence is needed along with your own. -Princess Celetia The scroll was wound back up and Twilight said, "Spike gather everypony else, we are heading to Cantlerot." After Arrival in Canterlot The Elements of Harmony had arrived and stepped off the train with their bags in tow. "This place ain't looking to good, what happened here?" AppleJack asked as she stepped off the train. "Apparently, there were earthquakes that had shook the city apart, but I didn't know it was this bad." Twilight said as she followed suit with Applejack as she looked back at the rest of their group. "I hope nopony got hurt, that would be horrible..." Fluttershy said to nopony in particular. "Me neither Fluttershy, hey, maybe after we get this place fixed and spruced up, maybe we can throw a party for rebuilding the city after it was nearly destroyed" Pinkie said as she hopped along with her normal cheerful manner. "Maybe the party can wait, I need you all to follow me." Celestia said as she stepped towards the group. "Wait Princess, what do you need us here for, your letter didn't really go into any detail, and I thought you already had ponies working on this...?" "The questions can wait also, just follow me, time is of the essence." Celestia said as she turned around and began to walk towards the castle. "Can we ask questions while we walk? If time is of the essence, we should start as soon as possible." Twilight stated. "Fine." Celestia said without stopping. "Okay, now for the rest of your questions." Celestia said as she closed the doors to the throne room. "Like I had asked before Princess... what do you exactly need us for?" Twilight asked as she looked back towards all her friends. "I have an idea on what to do about how to solve these earthquakes." "But Princess, you said that you had all of your top ponies working on this, what could we possibly do that they can't?" Rarity asked skeptical of what the Princess' plan was. "The idea, while only a theory, what if you six were to use the Elements to enhance all of your magical abilities, so you could found out what is causing the quakes that plague the city." Celestia said as she had been pacing in front of the main six. "Could we actually do that? Like make us even better than what we are now?" Rainbow Dash asked as the thought of being able to fly even faster shot through her mind. Rumble Rumble Rumble "Maybe, I don't honestly know. But it's the only chance we have to stop this city from falling off the side of the mountain." "Okay, we'll try, come on girls we can do this, Spike can you hand us the Elements?" Twilight asked when she turned to look at Spike. "Sure thing." Spike said as he began to rummage through a bag in his claws. "There we are, here you all go, the Elements of Harmony." Spike said as he handed each of the ponies in front of him their respective Element. "Okay... here goes nothing." Twilight said as she felt the Elements power course through her, not long after, she began to feel the vibrations coming from the source, there was definitely something to it though, it felt as though there was a pattern to the vibrations. DiggyAuthor's Note Bam, that was fast, I honestly really really wanted to make this. Time to sleep... maybe. If anyone sees any mistakes one my part, please correct me so I might be able to fix them. Diggy "Can you narrow it down to the location in the mountain?" Celestia asked Twilight as she watched her float in mid-air along with her friends. "It may take a day or two, but if we are given that much time we should be able to tell what it is, but whatever it is, it's heading this way." Twilight stated whilst looking at Celestia. "Also, whatever it is, it's basically just hollowing out the mountain, I can feel it, earth just shifting out of the way for it." Applejack said looking towards the wall past the throne room doors. "Is there anything else?" Celestia asked with a look of worry on her face. "It feels like a beat! Like music! But I can barely hear it..." Pinkie said as she wiggled in place at the unheard beat. At this, Celestia raised an eyebrow, the thing that was making it's way towards her castle, also destroying it, was making music? This was weird indeed, but these answers were better than none. "Okay, when whatever it is gets here, we need to be prepared, Spike send a message to Shining Armor and Cadance, we are going to need some help with this." "Okay, can I get some parchment than so I can send said message?" Spike asked as he looked up at Celestia. "Sure Spike, here you are." Celestia said as she conjured up a piece of paper and a quill. Dear Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, We need your help over here at Canterlot, if you could come with a few units of guards that would be most appreciated, all will be explained when you get here. -Princess Celestia "There that should do it." Spike said after he spat fire at the scroll in his hand. "Thank you Spike, all of you, in about a few days and with some hard work, we should be able to figure out what is going on in this city and what will happen to it." Twilight said. Luna "Night Wing, Iron Wing, you two take a message to the surrounding cities in the area and tell the leaders that they need to up the guard count. And tell them that if they cannot raise the number of guards, we will deliver our own to them, understood?" Luna said looking between the two brothers. "Yes Ma'am." They both said in unison. "Good, now move!" Luna yelled. At that the two Pegasi took to the air and began making their way to the other cities. "And time for us to get back to looking up whatever might cause this in our library." "Twilight, has anything changed since a couple hours ago?" Celestia asked with a worried tone to her voice. Rumble Rumble Rumble "Whatever it is, it either should be within a couple hours or another day, it's hard to estimate. And the beat that Pinkie had heard was confirmed, there is definitely a pattern to the vibrations, what if we were to dig towards it, maybe lessen the impact to Canterlot when it arrives..?" Twilight suggested. "That seems like a good idea, but we need to proceed with caution take a couple of guard units with you, okay?" Celestia looked at Twilight with pleading eyes. "Don't worry Princess, everything will be okay, we'll take the guards with us and we'll be watching and listening for anything weird." 400 Feet into the Wall towards Unknown Menace "Everypony wait! Stop!" Twilight shouted. Everypony stopped whatever they were doing and listened. "Does anypony else hear that?!" Twilight asked. At that moment all of the guards took position, forming a barrier between the source of the noise and the civilians. "Is that... Singing?" Rainbow Dash asked as her ears turned to the wall ahead of them. "Well, whatever it is, we should keep digging. We have to put as much distance between what ever it is and the castle." Shining said, he then nodded over towards the workers, who then continued to dig towards the singing. "So, what does everpony think we'll find when we do find out what is causing the castle to fall apart?" Rarity asked as she was trying her best to avoid any falling dirt or debris. "Whatever it is, it's making it's way towards us pretty fast, I can almost make out what it's singing." One of the workers said as he continued to swing his pickaxe into the stone wall ahead of him with his magic. At this time the beat was ever present, so much in fact, that even the ponies who were mining were following it. Rumble Rumble Rumble "Everypony get back!" Shining ordered. The quake had made the wall between what was a group of ponies and a group of Dwarves come tumbling down. Shining made a bubble shield around everypony to save them from falling debris. What Twilight saw before the rubble had encased the in Shining Armor's shield made her freeze in place and faint. The discovery of a new species, especially one that could survive in the earth, now that was something that nopony could find in anything about anywhere. As the last of the rubble was removed from atop the shield, and Twilight woke up but wouldn't tell anypony about what she saw, Shining Armor dispelled it and turned around. "Is everypony okay?" Shining asked as he looked around. As soon as he knew everything was fine the silence pierced his mind. As he looked toward where the wall had been, what he saw made his gut drop. What they thought was one giant creature turned out to be hundreds maybe even thousands of tiny looking minotaurs, all of them armed with various tools and armors that more advanced than their own. "Twilight, go and tell Celestia what we found, we'll see if we can buy you some time." Shining said as he kept his gaze locked on to the army of creatures. "I'm not going any-" "No time to argue, GO!" Shining yelled. Twilight was shocked at her brothers out burst but she listened to him and took the rest of the Elements with her to report to Celestia. As Twilight disappeared from sight Shining turned around and faced the army, and he began trotting towards them. "Which one of you is the leader?!" Shining yelled out. At the question one of them stepped out from the crowd and walked towards Shining. He was silent. The creature was short like the rest of them but he had orange hair and beard. Shining charged his horn and pointed it at the creature an said. "You are under arrest for the destruction of Canterlot City, come peacefully or I will have to use force!" The tiny minotaur looked at Shining with amusement and he began the chant again. Brothers of the mine rejoice! Swing, swing, swing with me Raise your pick and raise your voice! Sing, sing, sing with me Down and down into the deep Who knows what we'll find beneath? Diamonds, rubies, gold and more Hidden in the mountain store Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home Skin made of iron, steel in our bones To dig and dig makes us free Come on brothers sing with me! (During that time, all the Dwarves began to march towards the group of guards and Shining Armor) I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole The sunlight will not reach this low Deep, deep in the mine Never seen the blue moon glow Dwarves won't fly so high Fill a glass and down some mead! Stuff your bellies at the feast! Stumble home and fall asleep Dreaming in our mountain keep Born underground, grown inside a rocky womb The earth is our cradle; the mountain shall become our tomb Face us on the battlefield; you will meet your doom We do not fear what lies beneath We can never dig too deep ( The Dwarves began to push the ponies back with little resistance) I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home Skin made of iron, steel in our bones To dig and dig makes us free Come on brothers sing with me! (The guards and Shining Armor were pushed all the way back to the throne room) I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole The Dwarves began to throw rope out the broken windows as a number of them surrounded the group of ponies. The rest began to climb down and use their equipment to make it easier for the rest of the Dwarves. All the while the one with the orange hair and beard was still chanting out, leading the others with the song. The leader looked over to Shining and his soldiers and smiled as the last of the Dwarves had jumped out the window and were climbing down the rope. HoleAuthor's Note When I write like this, it means the chanting is heard from everyone in the scene. So you could just listen to the song over and over again if you want. Hole "What was that?!" Shining yelled out as he watched the leader leap out the window, the singing continuing to fade as the army of Dwarves traveled deeper into Canterlot city. As Shining Armor looked over to his soldiers there was an air of silence that hung over them. A strange look on all of their faces. A look of respect, as their heads hung low, pointed towards the floor. Them, the elite of the crystal guard had failed to stop an army of mini Minotaur 's. And now they were marching through Canterlot probably destroying the rest of the city. "Princess Celestia! We made contact!" Twilight shouted as she busted through the library doors. Celestia bolted upward at the sudden noise. "Twilight, what was it? What was in the tunnel?" Celestia asked grabbing Twilight with her magic and pulling closer. "They looked like an army of miniature Minotaurs, my brother and his soldiers decided to try and hold them off, but I don't think even they could do something like that." "Sister! We have found out what was causing the Earth shaking!" Luna shouted as she burst through the door also. She was holding a book in her magic. "Small Minotaurs? Where have I heard of that before?" Celestia asked herself as she put Twilight down. "Sister, because we have! Do you not remember the happenings after Discord was sealed away?" "Not really, what are you talking about Luna?" "Sister look here, there is a section in which it depicts a species just like the ones we have found and the ones we saw!" Luna said as she shoved the book into Celestia's face as she began reciting what it had said in the article. Humans, a guide to the species. Humans or Homo-Sapien, is a tall bipedal being with claws like a Griffon and the physicality's of a Minotaur, except the upper body and the legs are not are not defined with the same amount of muscle, they also seem to lack any horns or snout, instead they have a mostly flat face with a nose and two forward facing eyes with a mouth below those. Their ears are also on both sides of their heads. Created by Discord these creatures are extremely chaotic, with only a few cases of very well behaved. Ultimately, for being so different and hated they were pushed into the mountain caves near the new city called Ponyville, they have not been seen since. "The only part that doesn't sound like what I saw was the height part, they aren't tall at all, well, they were taller but not that tall." Twilight said as she look at Luna and Celestia. Knock Knock Knock "Come in" Celestia said towards the door. And Shining Armor poked his head into the room. "Celestia, the creatures got into the city, they made there way out from the throne room." Shining said as he walked into the room. "Are your guards okay? Was anypony hurt?" Celestia asked. "No Princess Celestia, but the Dwarves are in the city now." "WHAT?!" Celestia shouted as she shot upwards and ran towards the window. Indeed, there were thousands of them and they appeared to be building something in the town square. "We need to get down there and see what they are doing!" Celestia said as she opened the window and dove out. "Halt! What are you doing to my city!?" Celestia said as she floated feet above the army of Dwarves. They all looked at her has they continued to build what ever they were constructing, it looked like a shrine, but there was nothing on it. The leader jumped onto the shrine with something in his hands. He stared at Celestia with a smile on his face. Hep ut down what appeared to be an onyx block with white swirls on each side of it and he quickly jumped back down. Rumble Rumble Rumble A portal opened up on each side of the shrine and the leader began to chant again. Brothers of the mine rejoice! Swing, swing, swing with me Raise your pick and raise your voice! Sing, sing, sing with me Down and down into the deep Who knows what we'll find beneath? Diamonds, rubies, gold and more Hidden in the mountain store Dwarves began to march out from the portals, they began chanting with the others. Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home Skin made of iron, steel in our bones To dig and dig makes us free Come on brothers sing with me! I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole More and more flowed from the portals, hundreds becoming thousands The sunlight will not reach this low Deep, deep in the mine Never seen the blue moon glow Dwarves won't fly so high Fill a glass and down some mead! Stuff your bellies at the feast! Stumble home and fall asleep Dreaming in our mountain keep Born underground, grown inside a rocky womb The earth is our cradle; the mountain shall become our tomb Face us on the battlefield; you will meet your doom We do not fear what lies beneath We can never dig too deep I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole The army of Dwarves were still flowing out from the portal, but the others were marching away from Celestia. Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home Skin made of iron, steel in our bones To dig and dig makes us free Come on brothers sing with me! All of Dwarves that had come out of the portal were all holding devices that seemed buzz and whir with energy I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole With the chanting still continuing, the others that had marched away from Celestia began to fire their devices at the cities buildings, to her surprise the buildings began to rebuild themselves, the Dwarves continued to march to the exit of the city firing their weapons at any building that was in ruins. Celestia watched as the Dwarves were exiting her city, while a whole group of others began to wander the city still chanting. The orange haired one still leading them in the song, all from behind the massive army. The city shook from the vibrations of the chanting along with the pounding of their feet. Brothers of the mine rejoice! Swing, swing, swing with me Raise your pick and raise your voice! Sing, sing, sing with me Down and down into the deep Who knows what we'll find beneath? Diamonds, rubies, gold and more Hidden in the mountain store All the Dwarves that were left began to march towards the exit of the city, still chanting away. Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home Skin made of iron, steel in our bones To dig and dig makes us free Come on brothers sing with me! I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole The only one left was their leader as he sat at the exit of the city, looking at Celestia with a smirk on his face. He turned and began to march with his fellow Dwarves. The sunlight will not reach this low Deep, deep in the mine Never seen the blue moon glow Dwarves won't fly so high Fill a glass and down some mead! Stuff your bellies at the feast! Stumble home and fall asleep Dreaming in our mountain keep Born underground, grown inside a rocky womb The earth is our cradle; the mountain shall become our tomb Face us on the battlefield; you will meet your doom We do not fear what lies beneath We can never dig too deep I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole The music fading as the Dwarf army began to vanish behind the city doors. Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home Skin made of iron, steel in our bones To dig and dig makes us free Come on brothers sing with me! I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole Celestia sat there, with her mouth gaping open. Behind her were the Elements of harmony and the guards with Shining Armor, Luna and Cadence, all of them sharing the same face as Celestia. DiggingAuthor's Note I want to give a special thanks to Deep_Thought, he was the one who basically wrote this chapter. I honestly don't know how to say it, but if I could put it into terms I could actually express, thank you so much Deep_Thought, I really can't thank you enough for giving me a chance. Digging "They had no reason to rebuild the city!" Celestia shouted as she watched the dwarves from her tower, as they marched along the train tracks towards Ponyville. "Sister! You were so sad about the palace falling apart, but now you're mad at the creatures for rebuilding it? This is a time of rejoice and celebration, now we know that the creatures come in peace..." Luna said as she watched Celestia spy on the Dwarves. "I'm not mad at them for rebuilding it, I just want to know why. They were the ones who caused it but, they couldn't have known that... could they?" "The only way would be to ask them, but they seem bent on just chanting in our presence. It really is odd." Luna shrugged as she turned away from Celestia and began to walk towards the door. Celestia froze mid step, before turning to Luna and giving her a large grin. "Lulu, you're a genius! Let's just go and ask them!" Luna was about to object the idea, but was silenced as her sister's magic wrapped around her and lifted her into the air as they both exited the room. "Sister! Have you gone mad? There are thousands of them, all of them with what appears to be superior technology, and you want to trot up to them and make small talk?" Luna asked as she watched a grin spread across her sisters face. This was going to end horribly. Twilight and her friends sat in silence in Celestia's personal chambers. Twilight was pacing around while her friends explored the room. "What do you think is back in that cave they made?" Twilight asked nopony in particular as she looked at her friends. They all turned to look at her as they stopped whatever they were doing. "I have no clue dear, but what ever it might be, I don't think that it's worth going into that filth infested cave." Rarity said as she was examining one of her hooves. Twilight knew why all of her friends didn't want to go, but the yearn for new knowledge kept pulling at Twilight, drawing her towards the cave. "You're right, there's probably just some pieces of fashion from a long lost species of dwarf, never to be seen by anypony else ever again." At this, Rarity's eye twitched at the very thought of an undiscovered type of fashion from a ancient race that disappeared a thousand of years ago. "Count me out, I'm not going into a stuffy cave to find clothes." Rainbow Dash said. "What if they have traps in there? You could be just like Daring Do, making your way through unexplored locations to find long lost treasures." Twilight was going to do something. she couldn't just sit around while everypony else was off doing something. Rainbow Dash's ear flicked towards Twilight at the thought of the stupidly dangerous stunts she would be able to do. "Ooh me next!" Pinkie shouted from her seat. "There might be some form of ancient cupcake making in there." "Good one, but I would have gone either way." Pinkie Pie said giggling. Twilight thought of the way she would get Apple Jack to tag along, she had to make it a competition with Rainbow. But that should sort itself out. "Are you going to come along Fluttershy?" Twilight asked as she looked at her meek friend. "There might be some cute earthen creatures on the way you could say hi too." Fluttershy loved the idea of lovable critters but the thought of the cave itself counteracted the thought. But either way, if her friends were going, she would go to. "Adventure, right?" Fluttershy said from her position behind her hair. "Everypony, let's go exploring!" Twilight said as she turned her head towards the open door. "How much longer?" Rainbow Dash complained. "There haven't been any traps yet and I'm getting bored." "Just a little further and if we don't find anything, we'll turn back. Okay Dash?" Twilight said. The only light that filled the cave was the lights from both Twilight's and Rarity's horns. The light sources were enough to light the hole cave up from wall to wall, but the areas ahead of them and behind them were as dark as ever. "Dear, I don't think we'll find anythi-" "Wait! What is that!?" Twilight shouted as she saw paintings and carvings in the cave wall. It wasn't much but it was like a giant mural, it depicted the Dwarves they saw earlier and a group of ponies. Twilight flapped her wings and took herself up to take a closer look a the painting. "This is fascinating, it looks like a story book picture." Twilight said as her eyes flowed up the side of the wall, catching every detail of the picture. What her eyes stopped on shocked her. At the top of the mural it presented a group of Dwarves bowing down to another pony. "Rarity, can you put your magic up near the ceiling?" "Sure darling, but what ever for?" "The scene here at the top, it shows the creatures we saw before bowing down to somepony." At this Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew up next to Twilight and Rainbow Dash said. "I can't even tell who the pony is." "Wait, it kind of looks like Princess Luna. But why are the dwarves bowing to her?" Twilight looked at the mural for only a minute more before she decided that it was unimportant to anything they were looking for. But, even finding this was incredible on its own. The group of ponies turned back to head the way they came from and made the journey back to the castle. The whole walk back, Twilight had a nagging feeling in the back of her head, like she should have gone farther into the cave, but she shook her head to dispel the thought as they were already far enough in as it was. Content with what she found, she hadn't spoken ill about anything that wasn't found, as her and her friends hadn't talked the entire trip back. This was going to be an interesting time.
DiggyRumble "How long will this go on?" Celestia asked herself. The tremors from the mountain growing with intensity with each passing day. The city was in a state of ruin, buildings had collapsed and the cities walls had crumbled from their position around the city. The citizens had seeked answers from Celestia herself about the recovery of the buildings and the wall. The worry about an attack from one of the other nations was clear. But none of the questions were answered, because Celestia had none at all. Celestia had her top Unicorns working on figuring out what was causing the tremors, but they couldn't give her anything since the source kept moving. The one thing that the Unicorns had found were some resonant vibrations coming from the source. With no answers Celestia had hoped the tremors would just stop, but they had no intentions on stopping. Since the tremors continued and the city was becoming ever more demolished she had evacuated the city. Only her, Luna, and the teams of Unicorn, Earth, and Pegasi ponies were still in the city, trying to alleviate the punishment the city was taking. "Sister, how are you doing?" Luna asked as she stepped into the throne room, which, like the rest of the city, was also in shambles. Most of the windows were shattered to pieces, and the banners were tattered from the lack of care. "I'm fine Luna, I just have to watch as my city dies for an unknown reason!" Celestia shouted as she turned towards Luna. A moment of silence past before Celestia spoke up. "I'm sorry sister, I didn't mean to shout at you, It's just that... These quakes, there is nothing to explain them, nothing. It's not the earth, it's not magic, it's just... nothing." "Yes sister, we know, we are going to keep looking for an answer until something else happens. No matter what, we will never leave your side." Luna said as she nuzzled Celestia's neck. "Thank you Luna, I just hope we can find the answer somewhere." Celestia said as she looked at the last standing window in the hall, it was the window of Twilight Sparkles Coronation. "There has to be an answer somewhere!" Twilight said as she dashed around the library ripping books from the shelves and reading them for any clue to what was happening. She needed to know what was going on with the mountain on which Canterlot was placed on. "Spike! Come down here and help!" Twilight shouted to the stair way. "Alright! You do know you sent me up there to have me check your private collections of books don't you?" Spike said as he dashed down the set of stairs. As soon as he got to the bottom of the stairs, Spike clutched his gut and began to smoke from the mouth. Belch As soon as the letter materialized Twilight was there to snatch it out of the air with her magic. And she began to read it. Dear Twilight, We need you to come up to Canterlot right away, bring all of your friends also, there presence is needed along with your own. -Princess Celetia The scroll was wound back up and Twilight said, "Spike gather everypony else, we are heading to Cantlerot." After Arrival in Canterlot The Elements of Harmony had arrived and stepped off the train with their bags in tow. "This place ain't looking to good, what happened here?" AppleJack asked as she stepped off the train. "Apparently, there were earthquakes that had shook the city apart, but I didn't know it was this bad." Twilight said as she followed suit with Applejack as she looked back at the rest of their group. "I hope nopony got hurt, that would be horrible..." Fluttershy said to nopony in particular. "Me neither Fluttershy, hey, maybe after we get this place fixed and spruced up, maybe we can throw a party for rebuilding the city after it was nearly destroyed" Pinkie said as she hopped along with her normal cheerful manner. "Maybe the party can wait, I need you all to follow me." Celestia said as she stepped towards the group. "Wait Princess, what do you need us here for, your letter didn't really go into any detail, and I thought you already had ponies working on this...?" "The questions can wait also, just follow me, time is of the essence." Celestia said as she turned around and began to walk towards the castle. "Can we ask questions while we walk? If time is of the essence, we should start as soon as possible." Twilight stated. "Fine." Celestia said without stopping. "Okay, now for the rest of your questions." Celestia said as she closed the doors to the throne room. "Like I had asked before Princess... what do you exactly need us for?" Twilight asked as she looked back towards all her friends. "I have an idea on what to do about how to solve these earthquakes." "But Princess, you said that you had all of your top ponies working on this, what could we possibly do that they can't?" Rarity asked skeptical of what the Princess' plan was. "The idea, while only a theory, what if you six were to use the Elements to enhance all of your magical abilities, so you could found out what is causing the quakes that plague the city." Celestia said as she had been pacing in front of the main six. "Could we actually do that? Like make us even better than what we are now?" Rainbow Dash asked as the thought of being able to fly even faster shot through her mind. Rumble Rumble Rumble "Maybe, I don't honestly know. But it's the only chance we have to stop this city from falling off the side of the mountain." "Okay, we'll try, come on girls we can do this, Spike can you hand us the Elements?" Twilight asked when she turned to look at Spike. "Sure thing." Spike said as he began to rummage through a bag in his claws. "There we are, here you all go, the Elements of Harmony." Spike said as he handed each of the ponies in front of him their respective Element. "Okay... here goes nothing." Twilight said as she felt the Elements power course through her, not long after, she began to feel the vibrations coming from the source, there was definitely something to it though, it felt as though there was a pattern to the vibrations.
DiggyAuthor's Note Bam, that was fast, I honestly really really wanted to make this. Time to sleep... maybe. If anyone sees any mistakes one my part, please correct me so I might be able to fix them. Diggy "Can you narrow it down to the location in the mountain?" Celestia asked Twilight as she watched her float in mid-air along with her friends. "It may take a day or two, but if we are given that much time we should be able to tell what it is, but whatever it is, it's heading this way." Twilight stated whilst looking at Celestia. "Also, whatever it is, it's basically just hollowing out the mountain, I can feel it, earth just shifting out of the way for it." Applejack said looking towards the wall past the throne room doors. "Is there anything else?" Celestia asked with a look of worry on her face. "It feels like a beat! Like music! But I can barely hear it..." Pinkie said as she wiggled in place at the unheard beat. At this, Celestia raised an eyebrow, the thing that was making it's way towards her castle, also destroying it, was making music? This was weird indeed, but these answers were better than none. "Okay, when whatever it is gets here, we need to be prepared, Spike send a message to Shining Armor and Cadance, we are going to need some help with this." "Okay, can I get some parchment than so I can send said message?" Spike asked as he looked up at Celestia. "Sure Spike, here you are." Celestia said as she conjured up a piece of paper and a quill. Dear Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, We need your help over here at Canterlot, if you could come with a few units of guards that would be most appreciated, all will be explained when you get here. -Princess Celestia "There that should do it." Spike said after he spat fire at the scroll in his hand. "Thank you Spike, all of you, in about a few days and with some hard work, we should be able to figure out what is going on in this city and what will happen to it." Twilight said. Luna "Night Wing, Iron Wing, you two take a message to the surrounding cities in the area and tell the leaders that they need to up the guard count. And tell them that if they cannot raise the number of guards, we will deliver our own to them, understood?" Luna said looking between the two brothers. "Yes Ma'am." They both said in unison. "Good, now move!" Luna yelled. At that the two Pegasi took to the air and began making their way to the other cities. "And time for us to get back to looking up whatever might cause this in our library." "Twilight, has anything changed since a couple hours ago?" Celestia asked with a worried tone to her voice. Rumble Rumble Rumble "Whatever it is, it either should be within a couple hours or another day, it's hard to estimate. And the beat that Pinkie had heard was confirmed, there is definitely a pattern to the vibrations, what if we were to dig towards it, maybe lessen the impact to Canterlot when it arrives..?" Twilight suggested. "That seems like a good idea, but we need to proceed with caution take a couple of guard units with you, okay?" Celestia looked at Twilight with pleading eyes. "Don't worry Princess, everything will be okay, we'll take the guards with us and we'll be watching and listening for anything weird." 400 Feet into the Wall towards Unknown Menace "Everypony wait! Stop!" Twilight shouted. Everypony stopped whatever they were doing and listened. "Does anypony else hear that?!" Twilight asked. At that moment all of the guards took position, forming a barrier between the source of the noise and the civilians. "Is that... Singing?" Rainbow Dash asked as her ears turned to the wall ahead of them. "Well, whatever it is, we should keep digging. We have to put as much distance between what ever it is and the castle." Shining said, he then nodded over towards the workers, who then continued to dig towards the singing. "So, what does everpony think we'll find when we do find out what is causing the castle to fall apart?" Rarity asked as she was trying her best to avoid any falling dirt or debris. "Whatever it is, it's making it's way towards us pretty fast, I can almost make out what it's singing." One of the workers said as he continued to swing his pickaxe into the stone wall ahead of him with his magic. At this time the beat was ever present, so much in fact, that even the ponies who were mining were following it. Rumble Rumble Rumble "Everypony get back!" Shining ordered. The quake had made the wall between what was a group of ponies and a group of Dwarves come tumbling down. Shining made a bubble shield around everypony to save them from falling debris. What Twilight saw before the rubble had encased the in Shining Armor's shield made her freeze in place and faint. The discovery of a new species, especially one that could survive in the earth, now that was something that nopony could find in anything about anywhere. As the last of the rubble was removed from atop the shield, and Twilight woke up but wouldn't tell anypony about what she saw, Shining Armor dispelled it and turned around. "Is everypony okay?" Shining asked as he looked around. As soon as he knew everything was fine the silence pierced his mind. As he looked toward where the wall had been, what he saw made his gut drop. What they thought was one giant creature turned out to be hundreds maybe even thousands of tiny looking minotaurs, all of them armed with various tools and armors that more advanced than their own. "Twilight, go and tell Celestia what we found, we'll see if we can buy you some time." Shining said as he kept his gaze locked on to the army of creatures. "I'm not going any-" "No time to argue, GO!" Shining yelled. Twilight was shocked at her brothers out burst but she listened to him and took the rest of the Elements with her to report to Celestia. As Twilight disappeared from sight Shining turned around and faced the army, and he began trotting towards them. "Which one of you is the leader?!" Shining yelled out. At the question one of them stepped out from the crowd and walked towards Shining. He was silent. The creature was short like the rest of them but he had orange hair and beard. Shining charged his horn and pointed it at the creature an said. "You are under arrest for the destruction of Canterlot City, come peacefully or I will have to use force!" The tiny minotaur looked at Shining with amusement and he began the chant again. Brothers of the mine rejoice! Swing, swing, swing with me Raise your pick and raise your voice! Sing, sing, sing with me Down and down into the deep Who knows what we'll find beneath? Diamonds, rubies, gold and more Hidden in the mountain store Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home Skin made of iron, steel in our bones To dig and dig makes us free Come on brothers sing with me! (During that time, all the Dwarves began to march towards the group of guards and Shining Armor) I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole The sunlight will not reach this low Deep, deep in the mine Never seen the blue moon glow Dwarves won't fly so high Fill a glass and down some mead! Stuff your bellies at the feast! Stumble home and fall asleep Dreaming in our mountain keep Born underground, grown inside a rocky womb The earth is our cradle; the mountain shall become our tomb Face us on the battlefield; you will meet your doom We do not fear what lies beneath We can never dig too deep ( The Dwarves began to push the ponies back with little resistance) I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home Skin made of iron, steel in our bones To dig and dig makes us free Come on brothers sing with me! (The guards and Shining Armor were pushed all the way back to the throne room) I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole The Dwarves began to throw rope out the broken windows as a number of them surrounded the group of ponies. The rest began to climb down and use their equipment to make it easier for the rest of the Dwarves. All the while the one with the orange hair and beard was still chanting out, leading the others with the song. The leader looked over to Shining and his soldiers and smiled as the last of the Dwarves had jumped out the window and were climbing down the rope.
HoleAuthor's Note When I write like this, it means the chanting is heard from everyone in the scene. So you could just listen to the song over and over again if you want. Hole "What was that?!" Shining yelled out as he watched the leader leap out the window, the singing continuing to fade as the army of Dwarves traveled deeper into Canterlot city. As Shining Armor looked over to his soldiers there was an air of silence that hung over them. A strange look on all of their faces. A look of respect, as their heads hung low, pointed towards the floor. Them, the elite of the crystal guard had failed to stop an army of mini Minotaur 's. And now they were marching through Canterlot probably destroying the rest of the city. "Princess Celestia! We made contact!" Twilight shouted as she busted through the library doors. Celestia bolted upward at the sudden noise. "Twilight, what was it? What was in the tunnel?" Celestia asked grabbing Twilight with her magic and pulling closer. "They looked like an army of miniature Minotaurs, my brother and his soldiers decided to try and hold them off, but I don't think even they could do something like that." "Sister! We have found out what was causing the Earth shaking!" Luna shouted as she burst through the door also. She was holding a book in her magic. "Small Minotaurs? Where have I heard of that before?" Celestia asked herself as she put Twilight down. "Sister, because we have! Do you not remember the happenings after Discord was sealed away?" "Not really, what are you talking about Luna?" "Sister look here, there is a section in which it depicts a species just like the ones we have found and the ones we saw!" Luna said as she shoved the book into Celestia's face as she began reciting what it had said in the article. Humans, a guide to the species. Humans or Homo-Sapien, is a tall bipedal being with claws like a Griffon and the physicality's of a Minotaur, except the upper body and the legs are not are not defined with the same amount of muscle, they also seem to lack any horns or snout, instead they have a mostly flat face with a nose and two forward facing eyes with a mouth below those. Their ears are also on both sides of their heads. Created by Discord these creatures are extremely chaotic, with only a few cases of very well behaved. Ultimately, for being so different and hated they were pushed into the mountain caves near the new city called Ponyville, they have not been seen since. "The only part that doesn't sound like what I saw was the height part, they aren't tall at all, well, they were taller but not that tall." Twilight said as she look at Luna and Celestia. Knock Knock Knock "Come in" Celestia said towards the door. And Shining Armor poked his head into the room. "Celestia, the creatures got into the city, they made there way out from the throne room." Shining said as he walked into the room. "Are your guards okay? Was anypony hurt?" Celestia asked. "No Princess Celestia, but the Dwarves are in the city now." "WHAT?!" Celestia shouted as she shot upwards and ran towards the window. Indeed, there were thousands of them and they appeared to be building something in the town square. "We need to get down there and see what they are doing!" Celestia said as she opened the window and dove out. "Halt! What are you doing to my city!?" Celestia said as she floated feet above the army of Dwarves. They all looked at her has they continued to build what ever they were constructing, it looked like a shrine, but there was nothing on it. The leader jumped onto the shrine with something in his hands. He stared at Celestia with a smile on his face. Hep ut down what appeared to be an onyx block with white swirls on each side of it and he quickly jumped back down. Rumble Rumble Rumble A portal opened up on each side of the shrine and the leader began to chant again. Brothers of the mine rejoice! Swing, swing, swing with me Raise your pick and raise your voice! Sing, sing, sing with me Down and down into the deep Who knows what we'll find beneath? Diamonds, rubies, gold and more Hidden in the mountain store Dwarves began to march out from the portals, they began chanting with the others. Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home Skin made of iron, steel in our bones To dig and dig makes us free Come on brothers sing with me! I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole More and more flowed from the portals, hundreds becoming thousands The sunlight will not reach this low Deep, deep in the mine Never seen the blue moon glow Dwarves won't fly so high Fill a glass and down some mead! Stuff your bellies at the feast! Stumble home and fall asleep Dreaming in our mountain keep Born underground, grown inside a rocky womb The earth is our cradle; the mountain shall become our tomb Face us on the battlefield; you will meet your doom We do not fear what lies beneath We can never dig too deep I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole The army of Dwarves were still flowing out from the portal, but the others were marching away from Celestia. Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home Skin made of iron, steel in our bones To dig and dig makes us free Come on brothers sing with me! All of Dwarves that had come out of the portal were all holding devices that seemed buzz and whir with energy I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole With the chanting still continuing, the others that had marched away from Celestia began to fire their devices at the cities buildings, to her surprise the buildings began to rebuild themselves, the Dwarves continued to march to the exit of the city firing their weapons at any building that was in ruins. Celestia watched as the Dwarves were exiting her city, while a whole group of others began to wander the city still chanting. The orange haired one still leading them in the song, all from behind the massive army. The city shook from the vibrations of the chanting along with the pounding of their feet. Brothers of the mine rejoice! Swing, swing, swing with me Raise your pick and raise your voice! Sing, sing, sing with me Down and down into the deep Who knows what we'll find beneath? Diamonds, rubies, gold and more Hidden in the mountain store All the Dwarves that were left began to march towards the exit of the city, still chanting away. Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home Skin made of iron, steel in our bones To dig and dig makes us free Come on brothers sing with me! I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole The only one left was their leader as he sat at the exit of the city, looking at Celestia with a smirk on his face. He turned and began to march with his fellow Dwarves. The sunlight will not reach this low Deep, deep in the mine Never seen the blue moon glow Dwarves won't fly so high Fill a glass and down some mead! Stuff your bellies at the feast! Stumble home and fall asleep Dreaming in our mountain keep Born underground, grown inside a rocky womb The earth is our cradle; the mountain shall become our tomb Face us on the battlefield; you will meet your doom We do not fear what lies beneath We can never dig too deep I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole The music fading as the Dwarf army began to vanish behind the city doors. Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home Skin made of iron, steel in our bones To dig and dig makes us free Come on brothers sing with me! I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole Celestia sat there, with her mouth gaping open. Behind her were the Elements of harmony and the guards with Shining Armor, Luna and Cadence, all of them sharing the same face as Celestia.
DiggingAuthor's Note I want to give a special thanks to Deep_Thought, he was the one who basically wrote this chapter. I honestly don't know how to say it, but if I could put it into terms I could actually express, thank you so much Deep_Thought, I really can't thank you enough for giving me a chance. Digging "They had no reason to rebuild the city!" Celestia shouted as she watched the dwarves from her tower, as they marched along the train tracks towards Ponyville. "Sister! You were so sad about the palace falling apart, but now you're mad at the creatures for rebuilding it? This is a time of rejoice and celebration, now we know that the creatures come in peace..." Luna said as she watched Celestia spy on the Dwarves. "I'm not mad at them for rebuilding it, I just want to know why. They were the ones who caused it but, they couldn't have known that... could they?" "The only way would be to ask them, but they seem bent on just chanting in our presence. It really is odd." Luna shrugged as she turned away from Celestia and began to walk towards the door. Celestia froze mid step, before turning to Luna and giving her a large grin. "Lulu, you're a genius! Let's just go and ask them!" Luna was about to object the idea, but was silenced as her sister's magic wrapped around her and lifted her into the air as they both exited the room. "Sister! Have you gone mad? There are thousands of them, all of them with what appears to be superior technology, and you want to trot up to them and make small talk?" Luna asked as she watched a grin spread across her sisters face. This was going to end horribly. Twilight and her friends sat in silence in Celestia's personal chambers. Twilight was pacing around while her friends explored the room. "What do you think is back in that cave they made?" Twilight asked nopony in particular as she looked at her friends. They all turned to look at her as they stopped whatever they were doing. "I have no clue dear, but what ever it might be, I don't think that it's worth going into that filth infested cave." Rarity said as she was examining one of her hooves. Twilight knew why all of her friends didn't want to go, but the yearn for new knowledge kept pulling at Twilight, drawing her towards the cave. "You're right, there's probably just some pieces of fashion from a long lost species of dwarf, never to be seen by anypony else ever again." At this, Rarity's eye twitched at the very thought of an undiscovered type of fashion from a ancient race that disappeared a thousand of years ago. "Count me out, I'm not going into a stuffy cave to find clothes." Rainbow Dash said. "What if they have traps in there? You could be just like Daring Do, making your way through unexplored locations to find long lost treasures." Twilight was going to do something. she couldn't just sit around while everypony else was off doing something. Rainbow Dash's ear flicked towards Twilight at the thought of the stupidly dangerous stunts she would be able to do. "Ooh me next!" Pinkie shouted from her seat. "There might be some form of ancient cupcake making in there." "Good one, but I would have gone either way." Pinkie Pie said giggling. Twilight thought of the way she would get Apple Jack to tag along, she had to make it a competition with Rainbow. But that should sort itself out. "Are you going to come along Fluttershy?" Twilight asked as she looked at her meek friend. "There might be some cute earthen creatures on the way you could say hi too." Fluttershy loved the idea of lovable critters but the thought of the cave itself counteracted the thought. But either way, if her friends were going, she would go to. "Adventure, right?" Fluttershy said from her position behind her hair. "Everypony, let's go exploring!" Twilight said as she turned her head towards the open door. "How much longer?" Rainbow Dash complained. "There haven't been any traps yet and I'm getting bored." "Just a little further and if we don't find anything, we'll turn back. Okay Dash?" Twilight said. The only light that filled the cave was the lights from both Twilight's and Rarity's horns. The light sources were enough to light the hole cave up from wall to wall, but the areas ahead of them and behind them were as dark as ever. "Dear, I don't think we'll find anythi-" "Wait! What is that!?" Twilight shouted as she saw paintings and carvings in the cave wall. It wasn't much but it was like a giant mural, it depicted the Dwarves they saw earlier and a group of ponies. Twilight flapped her wings and took herself up to take a closer look a the painting. "This is fascinating, it looks like a story book picture." Twilight said as her eyes flowed up the side of the wall, catching every detail of the picture. What her eyes stopped on shocked her. At the top of the mural it presented a group of Dwarves bowing down to another pony. "Rarity, can you put your magic up near the ceiling?" "Sure darling, but what ever for?" "The scene here at the top, it shows the creatures we saw before bowing down to somepony." At this Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew up next to Twilight and Rainbow Dash said. "I can't even tell who the pony is." "Wait, it kind of looks like Princess Luna. But why are the dwarves bowing to her?" Twilight looked at the mural for only a minute more before she decided that it was unimportant to anything they were looking for. But, even finding this was incredible on its own. The group of ponies turned back to head the way they came from and made the journey back to the castle. The whole walk back, Twilight had a nagging feeling in the back of her head, like she should have gone farther into the cave, but she shook her head to dispel the thought as they were already far enough in as it was. Content with what she found, she hadn't spoken ill about anything that wasn't found, as her and her friends hadn't talked the entire trip back. This was going to be an interesting time.
