Quizzical Greystone And The Basements Of Doom
Carried Away
"Nnnnnnnngh!" Quiz clenched her teeth so tightly the other ponies thought she might shatter her jaw.
"Quizzie!" Shadow moved toward her.
"No!" Quiz managed to wave him back. "Do…not…approach…me…"
"Stay back, Shadow. She'll explode all over you," sneer Diamond Tiara. Then what she had just said registered. "She turned away and whispered, "Oh, Sweet Celestia, she's actually going to explode."
"Quiz, you have to burn off the magic." Silver Spoon told her. "Cast something, anything. Quick"
Quiz shook her head. "Cannot…think. Cannot…focus…to cast…"
"Then just blow it off all at once," stated Shadow. "Blast it all back down the tunnel."
"What? No!" cried Diamond Tiara. "She'll give us all away! The diamond dogs were bad enough when they weren't mad about us following them."
"I…will…not…betray you," gasped Quiz. "I…will…be…fine!"
"You will not be fine," stated Shadow. "Just let it go, Quizzie. Please."
"Please, Quiz!" Silver Spoon had begun to cry. "It's hurting you!"
"No! Don't let her do it!" cried Diamond. "Those mutts will catch us and do something terrible."
"We'll cope, Quizzie," said Shadow. "Go ahead and let it go."
"You can't hold it, Quiz," said Silver.
"She has to hold it! She…oh, gosh," Diamond began to back away from Quiz. "She's burning up. I can feel the heat from here."
"I…can…hold…I…can…I…I…I…can…" Then Quiz lost control.
A beam of magic fired from Quiz's horn. Far away, at the first bend in the straight corridor, the magic gathered until it exploded.
It was brighter than noon day for as far up and down the tunnel as the ponies could see.
"Well," said Diamond, "I think the diamond dogs noticed that.
#
"What was that?!" exclaimed a diamond dog. He was answered by the yammering of his excited and frightened fellows.
"It is a unicorn, a very magical unicorn, made sick by the storm," said Bowser. "A very magical unicorn, to have so much magic to get rid of. Now, Chief Bowser wonders, who is the most magical student in the pretty little teacher pony's class? Could it be the Quizzical?"
"No!" cried Cheerilee, backing away from the chief. "I told you, she could come on the field trip…"
"Yes, that is what you told Chief Bowser. It was wrong of the pretty little teacher pony to lie like that." Bowser gave Cheerilee his most winning grin. Cheerilee backed further away. "The worthless pony has been following us, no doubt hoping for an opportunity to ruin Bowser's whole evening. If it weren't for the storm she would have called her little pony princess. So much trouble, you little lie could cause Chief Bowser. What should Chief Bowser do with the pretty little teacher pony?"
Cheerilee back into a wall. There was no escaping Bowser.
Snails stepped between Bowser and Cheerilee . Twist and Snips were soon at his side. Other students joined them.
"Children, no!" Cheerilee tried to push past them, but they wouldn't let her.
"Oh, ho!" laughed Bowser. "So the pretty little teacher pony's students like her after all. Does that mean if Chief Bowser does what he is thinking of doing to the pretty little teacher pony will he then have to do this to all the little ponies?"
"You betcha!" declared Twist.
"That might be fun," said Bowser, grinning. The student's resolve melted, and they were backed against the wall with Cheerilee. "But no, there is no time. Perhaps later. For now, the pretty little teacher pony must make her students march. Chief Bowser will be forgiving if the little ponies set a good pace. If there is foot dragging Chief Bowser may find the time for a bit of fun."
Bowser scratched his head thoughtfully. "But we cannot have the Quizzical following us. If the storm clears she will call her friends and her miserable little princess. Reader, go get her."
"What? Me?"
"What is the matter, Reader? The Quizzical is just one worthless little pony, and she is sick from the storm. Perhaps she has the two obnoxious ponies with her. Take Scud and Corso and bring the Quizzical back to me."
"Yes, Chief Bowser."
"Then what are you all still doing here?!" roared Bowser.
Reader and the other two dogs took off down the tunnel at a run.
#
Sweetie Belle decided this might be a good time to try a new spell she had studied. He horn glowing, she faced down the tunnel. Soft as a whisper, she sang two words.
#
"I am sorry. So very, very sorry," Quiz moaned.
"Now what?" demanded Diamond Tiara. "She can't even walk."
"Diamond Tiara is right, you will have to leave me," said Quiz.
"For a smart pony you sure say some stupid things, Quizzie." With one wing Shadow easily flipped Quiz onto his back. "Wow, girl you are even lighter than you look."
"Yeah, she's really scrawny," said Diamond.
Sweetie Belle's voice sang from the walls at deafening volume. "Quiz, run!
"Well, you heard her, we have to move," said Shadow. "The first rule of hide and seek is never stay the last place they saw you. There's a cross tunnel a few furlongs back, we take that, and a few more turns, and we lose 'em."
"Won't we lose our friends, too?" asked Silver. "That's why we were following them."
"We know where they are going," muttered Quiz.
"That's right, I think," said Shadow. "Do either of you think they aren't headed for the old Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters?"
The girls had no answer.
"Ok, we move out. Form a line and stay close enough to touch. We stay close to the wall, too. We won't have a light until we put some distance between us and the dogs chasing us."
#
"Reader?" asked Scud, when they were out of Bowser's earshot. "Does the Quizzical make you nervous?"
"Not at all," said Reader. "Actually, a clever pony like the Quizzical may be exactly what we need."
This is, of course, a partial chapter. Work, preparations for BronyCon, and 2 other projects that I see more clearly than "Basements of Doom" will all be delaying the next full chapter. But chapter 8 ended with a cliff hanger, and it seems unfair to you readers to make you wait for the resolution. Hence, this brief post. Expect the complete chapter next month.
