The chamber shook under Bardac's thunderous roar. The sound of cracking bones, tearing muscles and ripping flesh echoed through the chamber as Bardac's body morphed. The heavy straps of his leg armour snapped under the strain of his growing muscles and twisting joints while the fabric of his protective underclothing ripped but thankfully remained mostly in one piece. The transformation started painfully slow, but picked up pace quickly until barely a minute later, Bardac stood unrecognisable to what he was before.

“Um... Twilight?” asked Rainbow Dash, backing away from Bardac, something about the look in his eyes was giving her the creeps. “What's going on?”

“I'm... not sure. I've read about transformations, but none quite like this,” replied Twilight. Eyeing Bardac with a mixture of curiosity and concern. “I've never seen anything like this. There's no sign of any magic; I can't even tell what he's turned into!”

Atlas glanced up at Bardac, if the Nord was intimidating before it had nothing on what he'd just become. “Something canine. I think,” he said, taking a few wise steps back next to Rainbow Dash. “I don't think it's wise to get too close to him.”

As Bardac glanced slowly over his shoulder, it was clear to see the changes that had taken place. Standing half a foot taller and almost as wide as Rolph was, Bardac's new body was a terrifying sight to behold. From the thick, yellowing fangs hanging down out of his long upper and lower jaw to the curved black claws at the end of his fingers and toes. A coat of black fur had grown over his entire body and sticking out of his lower back, a long and bushy tail.

“Is... that you Bardac?” asked Pinkie Pie as she slowly approached, looking up into Bardac's piercing golden eyes. Her smile was wide, but she had hoped her voice would of stopped shaking by now. “Are you okay? That looked painful.”

Bardac snorted deeply, a massive paws waving itself dismissively towards Pinkie Pie. The change never got any less painful and always left him sore for a while, but he had more pressing matters to deal with than the ache in his joints. Rounding on Rolph, Bardac started to walk forward. Both the cragadiles and the diamond dogs parted, clearing a path directly towards Rolph as the two sized each other up.

“Why aren't they attacking him?” whispered Rainbow Dash to Atlas. The chamber had gone eerily silent except for the occasional growl from Bardac. “I mean... weren't they just trying to kill him a minute ago?”

Atlas scratched slightly at his ear in thought. “I... don't know. I can understand the other diamond dogs stepping back. But for the cragadiles to do it as well?” he said. “I've never known a cragadile to retreat before. The only one I've seen them submit to is Rolph. Maybe they can sense something we can't.”

Speaking of Rolph, an unsettling smirk had grown on the lips of the large diamond dog. Flexing his neck, Rolph growled, “Well now isn't this a surprise...” Cracking his knuckles, Rolph barked loudly at his pack, causing them to fall back behind him. “It seems I'll be having a worthy fight after all.”

Pinkie Pie scowled. “You think your so tough? Broken shoulder or not Bardac's going to kick your flank!” she shouted, though a second later she fell silent under Bardac's piercing gaze.

With a low rumble from his throat, Bardac pointed towards Twilight, then over to Rolph. He repeated this gesture several times over before eventually tapping himself on the forehead where a horn would have been, if he had one.

“What is he doing?” asked Twilight, tilting her head in confusion. “Wait... no no no!” she hissed. “I am NOT doing that!”

“Do what?” asked Atlas, looking between Bardac and Twilight.

Twilight huffed loudly, “I can only assume he wants me to heal Rolph's shoulder so it's a fair fight. As strong as he is, I would of expected him to take every chance he had.”

“You can't be serious!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she flew up and hovered just in front of Bardac. “Why would you want him healed? That has got to be the most stu-” But her final words were muffled by Bardac's massive paw pressing into her face. It took her a few seconds to wiggle free, but when she did, she huffed loudly, “Suit yourself. Don't come crying to me when you get your flank smacked all over the place.”

Bardac looked expectantly over to Twilight, his eyebrow raised and his arms crossed. He wasn't the most patient of beings while under the effects of this transformation, but at least over the years his patience had gone from non-existent to a few minutes at most.

“Canines are prideful, at best.” muttered Atlas as he leant over to Twilight. “If he's that confident in his own ability, then I think we would wound him more by refusing to heal Rolph.”

Twilight puffed out her cheeks, her wings rustling irritatedly. “Oh... fine! But don't you blame me if this goes wrong!” she stormed at Bardac.

Rolph snorted loudly. “That confident are we?” he asked. “Well, I can't say I'm one for stopping an idiot when they're making a mistake.” With a glance over to Twilight, Rolph smirked wide. “By all means princess. Get to work.”

“Oh I'll heal you alright...” hissed Twilight, her horn glowing brightly. “I'll heal you good.” Scowling at Rolph, a thin beam of golden light burst from the tip of Twilight's horn, as the end of the beam connected with Rolph's shoulder, the golden light started to pulse rapidly. Each pulse grew brighter and brighter and with a final blinding flash, the beam vanished. Leaving a rather pleased looking Twilight smirking down at Rolph.

“You'll pay for that...” snarled Rolph, grasping his shoulder as thin wisps of smoke danced around his claws. The bone may have been healed by Twilight's spell, but a rather unpleasant odour of singed fur wafted through the chamber.

Rainbow Dash winced at the sight of Rolph's smoking shoulder. She'd been on the receiving end of that healing spell many times in the past, especially when she'd been trying out new stunts. While the healing was quick and effective, it did have a rather nasty side effect. “It's healed isn't it?” Rainbow Dash finally said. “Stop being such a baby.”

Meanwhile Pinkie Pie, who had gotten over Bardac's new look rather quickly, was perched on top of his head, whispering something into his ear. The more she whispered, the larger and more toothy the grin on Bardac's lips got. Eventually, she hopped off and joined Twilight and the others, humming a delightful little tune to herself.

“What did you tell him?” asked Atlas, eyeing Bardac's grin warily. He looked a little too happy.

Pinkie Pie simply giggled lightly, “Nothing important.” Stretching her legs, she looked over at Bardac. “Just a little something between me and the big guy. But we might wanna stand back, just a little bit. This might get hairy.”

“Pinkie, are you sure that was a good idea?” muttered Rainbow Dash as she backed against the nearby chamber wall. “That grin is giving me the—” The rest of what she said was drowned out by a thunderous roar and the sound of two heavy bodies smashing together.

“Hey! Watch it!” cried out Twilight, taking to the air just in time to avoid a large chunk of rock. “Bardac! Rule ninety six! Aim!”

With a grunt, Rolph rolled to a stop, having just avoided the same chunk of rock. “Is that all you got?” Rolph taunted, smirking widely as he charged towards Bardac. “Rocks and a temper? That's not going to win you this fight!”

Bardac dug his claws deep into the ground, facing Rolph's charge head on. With a sickening crunch, their bodies collided, their heads grinding together. With an almighty grunt of effort, Bardac started to push back the massive diamond dog.

“This is the weirdest fight I've ever watched,” said Rainbow Dash, wincing as Rolph and Bardac smashed together once more. “It's like watching two... weird rams.”

“Diamond dogs need fairly thick skulls to survive cave-ins, or hitting a hard patch of earth as we're digging,” explained Atlas, dodging to the side to avoid Bardac's body after a particularly nasty charge from Rolph. “Besides arm-wresting. This is fairly classic test of strength. I've never seen any creature go toe to toe with Rolph like this.”

Twilight shook her head, groaning, “You have no idea how thick that Nord's skull is. I'm sure he could crush a diamond with it if he put his mind to it.”

Another sickening crunch echoed through the chamber, this time it was Rolph who was sent spinning towards the surrounding crowd of diamond dogs. As Rolph picked himself up, Bardac looked over and sneered, pounding at his chest with his claws.

“I admit, you're stronger than you look,” coughed Rolph, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip. “What do you say we stop toying with each other and get down to the real fight.”

Bardac snarled deeply in reply, his claws scraping the nearby wall. It had been a while since he'd had a foe that was a match for him in brute strength alone, even dragons were getting to the point of being a little too easy to slay. Needless to say, Bardac was excited.

“Wait, they were just toying with each other?” asked Pinkie, her eyes widening in shock. “But any one of those blows would have been enough to kill a bison!” For a moment, she suddenly felt worried for Bardac, but when she looked over, she swore she saw him grinning from ear to ear. “Um... does he look like he's enjoying himself?”

“Who in the right mind would enjoy doing this... sort... yeah. He's enjoying it,” sighed Twilight as she got a good look at Bardac's grin, which by now had turned into a unsettling smirk. “I'm just going to pretend that he knows what he's doing and leave it that that.”

Atlas nodded slowly in agreement. “Probably for the best,” he said quietly. “I'm usually a fair judge of character... but I cannot make heads or tails of Bardac.”

It had been several years since Bardac had fought in this form, his movements were rusty and his joints were stiff. He didn't have much time before he would revert back to normal, not without eating something, or someone. He needed to end this quickly and decisively to leave no doubt who the victor was. So steeling himself with an almighty roar, Bardac charged once more.

With a thunderous snarl of his own, Rolph met Bardac's charge. Their skulls met with a bone crunching crack. Instead of falling back to charge once more, Rolph continued to grind his skull against Bardac. “You don't stand a chance... when I'm through with you, the pink one's next,” Rolph hissed quietly. “Maybe I'll keep you alive, just long enough for you to w—” What ever he was going to say came out as a choking gasp as Rolph found his throat getting tighter and tighter, when he looked down, all he could see was the thick mass of Bardac's arm and claws clenched around his throat.

Strengthening his grip around Rolph's throat, Bardac uttered a throaty snarl and as the muscles in his arm tightened, he launched Rolph into the roof of the chamber. When Rolph came crashing down, Bardac picked him up by the scruff of the neck and once again threw the diamond dog as though he weighed nothing but air into the wall of the chamber.

Twilight shivered at the murderous stare in Bardac's eyes. “I wonder what Rolph did or said to make Bardac so angry. They were going hoof to hoof a second ago,” she muttered.

“I've never seen Rolph thrown around like that, are you sure Bardac isn't using magic?” asked Atlas, his eyes wide after witnessing this turn of events.

Rolph coughed violently, spitting out a glob of blood before looking up at Bardac bearing down on him. “That's more like it... show me more of that strength!” Rising to his feet, Rolph lashed out, connecting a powerful swipe of his claws to Bardac's jaw, sending him staggering to the side.

Volleys of powerful punches and slashes were exchanged between the mighty beasts, nether giving an inch to the other. As the blows became more and more savage, tearing the flesh and bending the bones of one another, something had to give. Then, something did.

With a vicious uppercut, Bardac's claws smashed into Rolph's chest, shattering the ribs underneath. But Bardac didn't let up. Blow after blow connected with the shattered ribs, driving the shards deep into Rolph's body before finally the diamond dog let out a deep, hacking wheeze. One of the shards had punctured a lung.

“What're you waiting for...” wheezed Rolph as he dropped to his knee. “Finish me already.” The pain in his chest was too much for him to bare and with his lung in tatters, he simply couldn't draw the breath needed to fight. However, when he watched Bardac turn and head back towards his group, Rolph snarled, “Get back here! Finish the job!”

“It's over Rolph,” said Atlas, looking at Rolph. “Please, no more diamond dogs need to die. Not even you.”

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie nodded in agreement. “Haven't you lost enough diamond dogs already?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Staggering to his feet, Rolph spat out a thick spurt of blood. “Coward... any real warrior would of finished the job.”

“It's over,” said Twilight, her wings rustling in irritation. “Just give up already Rolph, you've lost! By the rights of this fight, that makes Bardac the new Alpha of this pack.”

“It's not over until one of us is dead! Such is the rules of this challenge!” roared Rolph, his lungs searing with pain. “And if he won't finish me off! I'll finish him off! Then you're next!” Grasping a sharp shard of rock out of the wall, Rolph charged. “Starting with the pink one!”

“Pinkie! Watch out!” screamed Twilight, jumping in front of Pinkie Pie with Rainbow Dash and Atlas following close behind.

A terrifying howl echoed out of Bardac's lips before Rolph could even make it two steps. Out of the shadows, two monstrous creatures appeared, matching Bardac in both size and appearance. These two creatures smashed into Rolph, pinning his arms and legs to the ground and no matter how hard the diamond dog struggled, their grip never relented.

“Just how many more surprises are we going to get,” muttered Atlas, eyeing the two new creatures.

Twilight approached the restrained Rolph with Bardac following close behind. “How dare you!” she seethed, slapping Rolph around the face with the edge of her wing. “I promised myself I wouldn't interfere with this but when you threaten to kill one of my friends, you leave me no other choice.” Flaring her wings, Twilight's horn erupted in a powerful glow of purple light. Though, before she could do anything else, she found her self being lifted up by the scruff of her neck. “Hey! Let me go!” she hissed, flailing her limbs. “I'm not through with him yet!”

With a low growl, Bardac dropped Twilight next Pinkie Pie. Waggling a claw at Twilight, Bardac then turned to Rolph, still pinned underneath the two large creatures. He was debating what to do with the defeated diamond dog. It would be easier simply to kill him.

Rolph, meanwhile was still struggling to release himself from the grasp of these two creatures, he couldn't understand where these two beasts came from. “What magic is this, let go of me! This fight still isn't over. Not as long as there's breath in my lungs.”

“It is. The moment you decided to attack Pinkie Pie,” said Atlas, glaring down at Rolph. “You broke the rules. One on one.” Looking up at Bardac, Atlas sighed wearily, “Well... what do you want to do with him? Technically, since he broke the rules. You're the new alpha of this pack.”

Bardac grimaced, looking around at the expectant faces of the other diamond dogs. Even the cragadiles seemed curious about this new change of leadership. However, Bardac had slightly bigger issues than running a pack. But, while he still had a minute or two left in this body, Bardac went around and started removing the gems from the necks of the diamond dogs.

“Wait! No!” howled Rolph as he watched Bardac remove the gems. “Stop that this instance! You're ruining everything!”

Atlas approached Rolph, his stick cracking down near the edge of Rolph's nose. “You're a disgrace to the diamond dog's name. If I were alpha... I'd have you banished to the farthest depths of the Everfree Forest. I'm sure Niy'ka could do with some company.”

When Bardac returned from cutting off the last of the gems, the affects of his transformation finally started to wear off. Though the change back to Nord was still just as unpleasant as before. “Move, and die,” muttered Bardac to as he regained his speech. Who he was talking to became apparent as the group noticed the disappearance of the two other creatures holding Rolph down. “I am not in the mood for games, after that little stunt you pulled.”

“Bardac! Are you alright?” asked Twilight as the Nord staggered over to his belongings and started to reattach his leg armour. “What was that thing? What were you?”

“Lycanthropy,” replied Bardac as he tightened the straps on his boots. “I will explain later.” Looking over to Pinkie Pie, he asked, “Are you alright?”

Pinkie Pie nodded slowly, “I'll be fine. Thanks for stopping him,” she said with a weak smile. Her hair looked a little flatter than usual.

“I'll never accept you as alpha,” spat Rolph who by now had rolled over onto his back to relieve some of the pressure on his shattered ribs and punctured lungs. “As long as there's life in my body, I swear I'll kill you.”

“About that...” muttered Bardac as he walked over to Rolph. “Do you know what this is?” he asked, pulling out a small, black crystal from inside the pouch attached to the front of his belt. “This... is a black soul stone. If you become too much trouble, I will not hesitate to kill you. But know this. If you die, your soul will belong to me. No eternal rest, no afterlife. Your soul will be forever trapped.”

“You're bluffing,” said Rolph, eyeing the crystal as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his head. “Nothing in Equus has the power to capture a soul like that!”

Bardac sighed and knelt down besides Rolph. “I am not from Equus... am I,” he said quietly. “Now be a good boy and be quiet. Before I change my mind about using this on you right now.” Bardac placed the crystal back into his pouch and walked over to Atlas. “I do not have time to run a pack, nor do I plan on staying here for the rest of my life to do so. I do not know how this works, so I guess I pass the alpha status to you. Or something like that,” he said with a shrug.

“That'll do,” chuckled Atlas quietly before looking over at the rest of the diamond dogs. “But... what about them?”

“Strange creature won. Gave alpha to Atlas,” said one of the diamond dogs from the pack, clutching the side of his head as a painful headache set in. “Atlas alpha now.” The rest of the diamond dogs nodded slowly in agreement.

“You're just kidding about the black soul stone thing, aren't you Bardac?” asked Rainbow Dash with a nervous chuckle, though when she got no reply, Rainbow Dash shivered. “Please tell me you're joking.”

“It is a form of magic I am somewhat hesitant on using. But the stone comes in handy for intimidation purposes,” replied Bardac. “But make no doubt... I will use it, if the situation called for it.” He turned his attention to Rolph as he spoke, his voice as cold as the ground he stood on. “Do you understand?”

Rolph swallowed loudly as he replied, “What kind of monster are you? There's nothing natural about this...”

“He's not a monster!” shouted Pinkie Pie, “You take that back!”

A loud, unsettling laugh echoed through the chamber. “A monster?” laughed Bardac, wiping a tear from his eye. “Oh no my friend, I am what monsters tell their children stories about at night.” With a shake of his head, Bardac headed back towards the mouth of the tunnel that lead off towards the surface, though instead of following it to the surface, he stopped a few feet inside to lean against the wall, just out of sight.

“Well that was... creepy,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Remind me to ask him not to do that again,” added Twilight, her eyebrow raised.

Pinkie Pie, after a few seconds, followed Bardac into the tunnel. When she spotted him leaning against the wall, she gave his leg a gentle nudge. “You're not a monster, Bardac. You're not as bad as he says. I know it,” she said kindly.

Bardac slid down the wall until his backside hit the floor and with a small chuckle, replied, “I have been called far worse than monster, Pinkie Pie. But, it is fun to mess with their heads a little.” Slowly, he'd lean in until his nose was an inch away from Pinkie's. “Now... about that special drink you were on about.”

Meanwhile, Twilight was busy checking over the diamond dogs for any signs of injuries or ill-affects from such a long time exposed to the gem, besides the obvious headaches they were suffering from. While her healing magic was adept at best, she was confident that she'd be able to fix any damage those gems had caused. “We still need to find the other diamond dogs that are on patrol and get those gems off,” she said as she checked over the last of the diamond dogs in the main chamber.

“We do that,” said the diamond dog who Twilight had just finished checking. “Be quicker. Know the routes.” And with a nod of its head, it left with a few other diamond dogs in tow to find those who were still affected.

“What about the cragadiles?” asked Twilight. “I don't know much about their species, but I know for a fact they prefer living above ground.”

“Those won't survive above ground,” replied Atlas. “Those ones were reared by Rolph. Remember how I said he had a way with them? Turns out he's not too bad at raising them either.”

“Can't be plotting your death all the time...” hissed Rolph as he clutched at his chest, each breath burnt like the heat of the sun. “Got to have a hobby.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, groaning loudly. “Well that's reassuring. We're in a room with cragadiles that are effectively Rolph's babies. Can we have some good news for once?” Sitting down, Rainbow Dash crossed her front hooves over her chest with a huff.

Twilight smiled as reassuringly as she could and said. “Once Bardac gets back from where ever he's gone and we track down the source of these gems. We'll be able to get back to Ponyville and put this whole mess behind us.”

“Rolph, where exactly did you find these gems?” asked Atlas, looking down at the large diamond dog. The tip of his stick hovering over his shattered ribs. “Do not lie to me.”

“Tunnel three six,” replied Rolph with a grimace, he decided it would be easier to simply tell the truth or run the risk of being in even more pain. “The larger gem I couldn't bring back should still be there, just sitting in the middle of the old main chamber.”

Rainbow Dash blinked. “Well that was easy,” she said. “So let's head on down to this tunnel already, smash the source and get back in time for a bath and a nap!”

“It... won't be as easy as that,” muttered Atlas, his body shaking ever so slightly.

Twilight tilted her head and asked, “Why is that?”

“Tatzlwurms,” replied Atlas, shivering from head to toe. “A whole family of them invaded the tunnels and claimed them as their own. We had to move a good portion of the tunnels away from there, tunnel three six is the only one that's still connected to the old part of the system.”

“Once a tatzlwurm has found a territory it likes, the only way to get rid of it is by force,” sighed Twilight, rubbing her forehead with her hoof. “If the ground is as good for digging as you said earlier, Atlas. Then getting to this source is going to be problematic at best. Those tatzlwurms could of dug miles of new tunnels by now.”

“Even I wouldn't be foolish enough to tackle a tatzlwurm on my own,” coughed Rolph. “I don't think even your mighty Bardac is going to survive this one, princess.” Just then, a small rock cracked off Rolph's skull. With a snarl, he looked behind to see who threw it.

Stood at the mouth of the tunnel was Bardac, another small rock bouncing in his hand. “Will you ever shut up?” he groaned, stepping into the chamber with Pinkie Pie by his heels. “So, tunnel three six. Lead the way then Rolph.”

Rolph raised his eyebrow. “You're joking right? I can't even stand up. What're you going to do, drag me there?” But in that instant, his body started to shine with a bright orange light. “H-hey! What're you doing!” cried Rolph. Deep inside his chest, he could feel the shards of ribs reconnecting and with an almighty inhale, his punctured lung stitched itself back together. “Right... magic...” coughed Rolph as he slowly got to his feet.

“Do not make me regret healing you,” said Bardac before looking over at Atlas. “Atlas, I need you to stay behind and look after the pack. I am sure the cragadiles will not give you any trouble. You are smart enough to figure something out.” He then looked over at Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. “You two head back to Ponyville. There is not much else you two can do here. I appreciate you coming along, but there is not much else you can do now.”

“Bossy bossy bossy,” grumbled Rainbow Dash as she got to her hooves, giving her coat a shake to get rid of the dust. “Who died and made you leader?”

“Got any better ideas?” whispered Pinkie Pie. She was just happy that she could finally get out from underground.

“Well... no,” replied Rainbow Dash. Turning to Bardac, her eyes narrowed. “You better come back in one piece, otherwise there's going to be trouble.”

Bardac chuckled, “Why Rainbow Dash... I did not know you cared.”

With her ears burning red, Rainbow Dash scoffed and took off down the tunnel with Pinkie Pie and a diamond dog guide in tow.

“Now then,” Bardac said, looking over at Rolph. “Lead the way.”

“I don't like the looks of this,” muttered Twilight as she brushed aside a large root growing out of the abandoned tunnel. It had been several minutes since the trio had entered tunnel three six, though it only took ten minutes to find it in the first place. “If the tatzlwurm's have taken over so much of these tunnels. Why haven't they taken over the rest of the tunnels you've dug?”

“Beats me,” grumbled Rolph as he walked begrudgingly between Bardac and Twilight. “Nothing can stop a tatzlwurm once it decides to burrow. Maybe they like where they are.”

Bardac peered around curiously. Unlike the tunnels dug by the diamond dogs, the one he was stood in was completely cylindrical and was tall enough that Bardac could easily stretch out. “The only burrowing creatures I have had experience with are chaurus and ash hoppers. Though... nether of them get nearly large enough to create a tunnel of this size.”

“If they don't crush you first, the venom in their spit can cause a rather nasty disease,” said Rolph with an unnerving chuckle.

“Nice of you to tell us,” replied Twilight, eyeing Rolph distastefully. “But, it doesn't matter. I already know how to cure that disease.”

Rolph rolled his eyes. “Of course you do,” he muttered quietly. “You do, but I doubt your friend does.”

Bardac shrugged. “I am immune to diseases. Come to think of it, I cannot remember the last time I got sick.” he said. Chucking another orb of light from his hand against the tunnel wall to light the way.

“What are you babbling about?” asked Rolph, looking at Bardac with his eyebrow raised.

“Just a little benefit of that transformation you saw earlier,” replied Bardac. “Technically all it is, is a seriously dangerous disease that has a few... beneficial side effects.”

Rolph frowned and slowly inched away from Bardac. “Right...” he said. “And I'm guessing it's another 'disease' that stopped you from killing me when you had the chance? I still have no idea why I'm helping you...”

“That's because Bardac isn't a killer, unlike you,” answered Twilight, her voice cracking a little with anger. “He's had plenty of chances to and yet every time he held back. I think you should be showing a little more thanks.”

“For what?” scoffed Rolph. “Why should I be thankful to some creature who I'd rat-” Just then, the ground beneath their feet started to vibrate. The vibrations grew to a steady rumble. Something large was coming their way, but from where Rolph couldn't tell.

Several meters in front of the group, a colossal head burst out of the wall, followed by a thick, lengthy body before the entire creature disappearing through the other side of the tunnel. “So, that was a tatzlwurm,” said Bardac thoughtfully. “Bigger than I expected. What do they eat?”

“Anything and everything,” replied Rolph. “If it can fit in their mouth. It's on the menu...” With a growl, Rolph pressed on. “You two can rot here until your bones are sent into the pits of Tartarus for all I care, but the sooner I get you to the source, the sooner I can get out of here. Becoming worm food is not high on my list of things to do.”

“What makes you think you're getting out if we're not?” hissed Twilight, her horn flashing in a blinding purple light in the darkness of the tunnel. She'd had almost as much as she could take of Rolph's attitude. “I might not be as physically strong as Bardac. But I've got enough magic to keep you in line. If you're getting out, we're getting out.”

Rolph eyed Twilight's horn cautiously. “Didn't think you had the nerve, princess,” he said quietly. It was slowly dawning on Rolph that he was at a severe disadvantage.

“Remember, Twilight. We need him conscious for now,” said Bardac, a small grin flickering across his face. “Once we find the source, you are welcome to do what you please with him.”

“I know, I know,” muttered Twilight, the glow of her horn dying down. “It better not be that much further to where these gems were found.”

“Through the next two tunnels. Though the chances that those worms have eaten it by now are pretty high,” replied Rolph. “Better find it before they do...” He had no idea why he was being so helpful to these two, perhaps it was just instinctual self preservation.

About ten minutes later, Bardac held his arm out to stop Twilight and Rolph. “Do either of you smell something funny?” he asked, his nostrils twitching. “By the nine,” Bardac choked. “What is that?”

Twilight and Rolph had already stopped several feet back, their faces screwed up in absolute disgust. “Be thankful your sense of smell isn't as strong as ours,” coughed Twilight, her eyes burning from the force of the smell.

Rolph clamped his paws over his nose. “We're getting close,” he groaned.

“Bardac, get over here,” called Twilight, her horn glowing brightly and just as Bardac reached them, a large purple bubble surrounded the group. Inhaling deeply, Twilight gasped. “Oh thank Celestia...”

Coughing loudly, Rolph finally released his snout, inhaling the filtered air from the bubble. “Tatzlwurms have a unique scent,” said Rolph, still breathing deeply to rid his nostrils of that hideous smell. “Like three thousand corpses rotting in the sun...”

With a groan, Bardac leant against the walls of the tunnel, though immediately jumped forward when he felt the wall bow a little underneath his weight. “What the...” he muttered, giving the tunnel wall a few raps with his knuckle, listening to the sound it made. “The wall is hollow.” Carefully picking at the wall, so not to bring the whole thing down on top of them, Bardac managed to dig out a small five inch round hole, exposing that the side wall was only half a foot thick.

“Careful Bardac,” said Twilight, using her magic to support the surface around the hole until she was sure that it wasn't going to collapse. Looking at Rolph, she asked. “Are there any chambers you know of around here these tunnels could be connected to?”

“They could of completely changed the entire system by now,” answered Rolph, peering through the hole Bardac dug out into the unnatural darkness beyond it. “But... we should be above the old main chamber by now.” Even with his acute night vision, he couldn't see a thing. That is until something from the other side stuck a slimy, pink tendril through the hole and filled the hole with a mixture of mud and what ever was coating the tendril.

Rolph felt a shiver run through his spine. “That was unnerving,” he said quietly.

“There was something strange about that tendril,” muttered Bardac as he started to dig another hole out of the wall. “Let us see if that will draw it out again.”

Twilight was perplexed. “What are you doing?” she asked, watching the hole Bardac was digging out get larger and larger.

“I must of hit you harder than I thought. Have you lost your mind?” replied Rolph, taking a step back from the wall. He didn't want to get too close to what ever was on the other side. But on the other hand, he didn't want to leave the filtered air of Twilight's magical bubble.

“Years ago,” said Bardac as he finally dug through to the other side. The hole was a few inches wider than the first, giving Bardac a clear view into the darkness beyond. “Now, where are you.” Almost like clockwork, the same pink tendril appeared to repair the hole that Bardac made. “Got you!” said Bardac, grabbing the tendril. “Now, what is on the other-” Unfortunately, the moment he gave the tendril a tug, it tugged right back. “-Ah crap,” Bardac sighed just before disappearing through the wall.

“Bardac!” screeched Twilight, trying to grasp Bardac with her telekinetic spell. “Damn it! I knew something about that tendril looked familiar, it's the mouth part of a tatzlwurm!

“Everything is under control!” called out Bardac as he reappeared behind them, creating another sizeable hole in the wall. “Or not!” Disappearing once again, he let out a shout. “This was a mistake!”

“Then let go!” shouted Rolph, he couldn't believe the sheer stupidity of this creature. “Why did you grab it in the first place?”

“Seemed like a good idea at the time!” replied Bardac as he came flying past the hole, still holding onto the tatzlwurm's mouth part. “Hey! No biting!” A spine chilling screech echoed through the tunnel. “I said no biting!”

“What were you thinking?!” cried Twilight, her horn igniting with a bright, burning light, illuminating the remains of the old main chamber Bardac was being thrown around in, it only slight smaller than the current main chamber in size they had left earlier. “Why did you have to grab hold of that thing! Do you ever think before you act?!”

“Now is NOT the time, Twilight!” bellowed Bardac as he came flying past the hole again. “Get out of here! Before more come!”

In the chaos that Bardac had caused, the tunnel was starting to feel as though it was going to cave-in around them. “I can't just leave you here!” shouted Twilight. “The whole tunnel's coming down!”

“Well I'm going, you're more than welcome to follow, princess,” said Rolph, pointing down at the chamber floor a good fifteen feet below the hole in the wall. “I know an egg sac when I see one and if they think their young are in danger, every tatzlwurm in a square mile is going to be here soon. I'd rather not be around to be turned into soup for a hungry larva. The source isn't here either, there's no point staying.”

There was nothing Twilight could do, Bardac was being flung around too quickly for her to get a lock on with any sort of spell and if she fired anything at the tatzlwurm, she risked hitting Bardac. “Why do you have to make everything so difficult!” exclaimed Twilight in desperation. “Will you just let go? I can grab you and get you back into the tunnel!”

The tatzlwurm had other ideas and with a vicious flick of its body, it flung Bardac into the air and without wasting another second, snapped its three jaws closed round him, swallowing loudly.

“BARDAC!” screamed Twilight, but when the tatzlwurm turned on her, she had to back up to avoid being eaten herself.

Rolph meanwhile was having trouble of his own. Several baby tatzlwurms, each about four feet in length, had made their way through the hole in the tunnel and were keen on tasting their first piece of diamond dog flesh, regardless if it was fighting back or not. “Aren't you supposed to be an all powerful alicorn?” hissed Rolph, glaring over to Twilight as he severed the head of a baby tatzlwurm that lunged for his throat. “Can't you teleport us out of here or something?”

“We can't just leave Bardac! I know he's still alive in there!” argued Twilight. He was swallowed whole, so Twilight knew he had at least a slim chance of being alive in the belly of the tatzlwurm.

Rolph let out a roar, tying two of the baby tatzlwurms together by the tail before throwing them down into the chamber below. “Tatzlwurm stomach acid can eat through rocks. There's no way he's alive in there!”

Twilight wasn't listening, if she was going to get Bardac out, she'd have to take matters into her own hooves. With her horn erupting in a barrage of purple beams, she struck the body of the tatzlwurm over and over again, forcing it further and further away from the crumbled wall of the tunnel. “Spit him out this instance!” demanded Twilight, her horn starting to glow once again, readying another powerful barrage.

Before she could get another inch closer, the tatzlwurm in front of her started to thrash around violently. This went on for a good few seconds before without warning, the tatzlwurm exploded in a shower of blood, bones and organs. The danger wasn't over yet as an overwhelming heat started to rise from the chamber.

“What did you do?!” Rolph howled out in utter disgust, having just been showered in the horrendous cocktail of blood and organs. If the smell was strong before, the heat rising from the chamber was only making it worse.

“Nothing!” said Twilight defensively, shaking her wings hard after using them to protect herself from the tatzlwurm's bloody end. “The tatzlwurm just exploded. Why is it getting so warm in here?” It was then that Twilight looked down and gasped.

Standing in the middle of the chamber was an utterly saturated Bardac. His hands were ablaze with roaring flames that started to spread up the length of his arms, lighting up the chamber around him. “Ganog do daar draaf...” he hissed loudly as the remaining tatzlwurms hidden in the darkness started to close in around him.

“That doesn't look good...” said Rolph as he peered down, though as he looked at Twilight, he caught the horrified look on her face. “Oh what now?”

“We gotta get out of here. Now!” shouted Twilight. Without giving Rolph a chance to respond, she pulled him to her side with her wing and with a bright flash of light, teleported the two of them out of the tunnel.

“Atlas, last cragadile looked at. No hurt,” said a small diamond dog as it gazed up at Atlas.

Atlas smiled warmly, “Good work Jack,” he said. “I hope they didn't give you much trouble.”

With a tilt of his head, Jack replied, “Cragadile surprisingly helpful. When fed.”

“I think anything becomes more helpful when you feed them,” chuckled Atlas as he looked around at the group of diamond dogs that had remained above ground in the village had finally rejoined them, they were delighted to be back home.

Just then, the main chamber erupted in a bright flash as Twilight and Rolph appeared, their bodies saturated in thick purple blood from the dead tatzlwurm. Bits of entrails hung off Twilight's horn and Rolph's shoulders.

“Twilight! Rolph!” Atlas exclaimed as he ran towards them, though stopped dead in his tracks when the smell from the two radiated out through the chamber. “What happened to you two?”

Twilight wiped her lips with the edge of her wing, coughing loudly, “Bardac blew up a tatzlwurm from the inside out. Don't ask me what he was doing inside one... I need to bleach my body.”

Rolph coughed loudly, trying to clear the tatzlwurm blood out of his eyes. He wasn't concerned about the less than warm welcome, even if some of the other diamond dogs were pointing their spears at him. “It's a shame I won't have the pleasure of killing him myself, he doesn't stand a chance against those tatzlwurms,” choked Rolph, his snout burning from the smell of the acidic tatzlwurm blood.

Atlas snapped his fingers loudly. “Get some water! Wash that blood off!” he commanded. “The longer it says on, the harder it is to g—” The entire chamber shook violently, dust and rock cascaded from the ceiling and walls. In the direction of tunnel three six, an intense rolling wave of heat blasted through the tunnels and into the chamber, singing the whiskers of any nearby diamond dogs as the vibrations knocked many on the floor.

“Everypony okay?!” called out Twilight, helping a nearby diamond dog back to its feet. “What in Equestria was that?”

“There's no way...” muttered Rolph as he leant against a nearby support he used to keep his balance. To him, there was only one explanation for that blast. “There's absolutely no way.

“Gas explosion?” asked one of the diamond dogs who managed to stay on its feet. “Thought we plugged them.”

Twilight stared at the tunnel where the blast came from, her fur was standing on end and the tip of her horn was crackling with the residual magic in the air. “I... don't think the old main chamber exists anymore,” she said quietly. “Call it a hunch, but I think Bardac just lost his temper.”

Atlas blinked before letting out a chuckle, “Surely you're joking. No diamond dog can use magic and I doubt even Bardac, though he is full of surprises, is powerful enough to perform such a spell.”

“So...” said little Jack, peering around Atlas's legs. “Who is going to check?”

Every single diamond dog in the chamber looked towards Twilight.

Twilight, looking around and seeing she didn't really have much of a choice let out a long sigh. “Fine...” Looking down at the ground, Twilight whispered. “Please be alive, Bardac.”