Chapter 10
Rarity
Rarity gaped at the Elements. How had they gotten here? Why weren't they at the palace like they usually were? This was even stranger than when they found them at Twilight's house when battling Discord. Did Celestia put them here? When would she have had the time to? Maybe she had used her magic?
"Miss Rarity?"
Rarity glanced over her shoulder. Rover was peering down into the hole Rarity had dug. It wasn't very deep. The Elements were sparkling and shining. She shifted so her body covered the bag.
"Miss Rarity, are you—"
Rover stopped. Rarity looked back at him. He had seen the Elements. Their jewels. Something in his eyes changed. He almost looked hungry.
"I.. I didn't know there were still gems down here.. in these tunnels.." he said, almost drooling.
Rarity straightened up. She closed the bag and put it on her back. She stared squarely at Rover.
"These aren't for you," she said darkly. Rarity climbed out of the shallow hole and put it between her and Rover. He took a step towards her, his eyes hungry. "Don't come any closer."
"Gems.. jewels.." Rover stumbled towards her. Rarity stepped back, her horn sparking, ready. Rover's eyes glazed over and he began to bark, foaming at the mouth. He charged at Rarity. Rarity telepathically threw a stone at him, stalling him for a moment, but it was all she needed. She ran.
Rarity ran as fast as she could. She knocked over stones and tried to make as many obstacles as she could behind her, anything to slow Rover down. She could hear him close on her trail, barking and charging towards her. There was something about the Elements that had changed him for the worse. Something about their magic, their feel. They were the ultimate jewels after all. Rarity briefly wondered if it was this hard for Spike to contain himself when he was around them.
The tunnels were more elaborate and confusing than she remembered. Holes were suddenly in all directions, up, down, left, right—she didn't know where to run. She ran in as many different directions as she could, trying to lose Rover in the tunnels.
Rarity slowed for a second—it was quiet behind her. Her heart was beating so fast she could barely catch her breath. Her hooves hurt. She was exhausted and dirty—but she didn't care. There were more important things, too many things to be alert for now. Not only did she have to worry about changelings and pods, but now Rover was on her case.
The tunnels around her were still bare. No gems could be detected. She wished she could find some to distract Rover with. It'd be ideal to leave a big pile of them somewhere, so as to deter him. But maybe he was off her trail. Maybe she had escaped.
Rarity slowed even further. All was quiet, except for the beating of her heart. She looked behind her. Nothing.
Just as she let out a sigh of relief, she was tackled to the ground.
Rarity screamed. She landed on her back, the Elements digging into it painfully from within the bag. She had used a closing-seam spell on the bag so that there was no way it would fly open under any circumstances. It was her duty, and her duty alone for now, to protect the Elements until she met up with her friends.
Rover pinned her to the ground, barking viciously at her. Spit flew into her face and she screamed. She thrashed, trying to throw him off as he swiped towards the bag. He missed and cut her shoulder. She screamed further. Tears streamed down her eyes. He made a move to bite at her, but she shuffled just in time. As hard as she tried, she couldn't throw him off of her. He was too heavy.
"Give me the gems pony!" he hissed at her.
He continued swiping at the bag. Rarity looked around her, screaming, searching for something to throw at him, but there was nothing in sight. She tried to throw him off using her magic, but she was too panicked to concentrate. How did Twilight always manage to use magic in dangerous situations without fail? Rarity was definitely going to be training with her after this. If she survived that was.
Is it really going to end like this?
Rover banged her head hard against the ground. It was evident that she wasn't going to let him get near the bag, so his next move was to get rid of the obstacle preventing him from the bag—her. He thrashed on her, her face becoming dirtier and dirtier as it dug further into the ground. Her head began to feel fuzzy. She wasn't sure how much longer she could stay conscious.
Suddenly, something flew out of the shadows and tackled Rover. Rover whimpered, but then barked back at it, and they began to brawl. Rarity took deep breathes, trying to regain some strength. She quickly checked to make sure the Elements were still all there—she was sure she must have blacked out for a second—and then turned to see what was going on. Just as she lit a small ball of light, a pair of bright green eyes reflected back at her. Changelings.
She stood too quickly, her vision spinning. She couldn't tell how many changelings there were all together, but she knew there were at least two. One was still wrestling with Rover, and another was coming towards her. Where had they come from? Had they been hiding down here the whole time? Rover had said that there were no changelings down here—maybe these two were lost? Came down and attacked the rest of the Diamond Dogs, and then got lost in the tunnels? She wouldn't be surprised.
Rarity steadied herself and stared the changeling in the face. It snickered and dove at her, but she moved to the side just in time. Ceasing the opportunity, she ran down the nearest tunnel. Rover kicked the changeling off of him and charged after her. The changelings followed.
Now, now it's not about going to Ponyville. Now it's about staying alive. If either of them catch up to you, and you're killed down here or harvested, nopony will ever find you. Or the Elements. And Equestria will stay like this forever. Just keep running Rarity.
Rarity didn't bother with obstacles this time. She needed to keep all her strength in order to keep ahead of Rover. In order to stay out of the changeling's grasp, all she had to do was be faster than him. And then she would have a slight advantage to safety while they took care of him.
She glanced behind her. Rover and five changelings. Just five. While that was too many to take on herself, she was glad it wasn't a swarm like they had encountered at the palace.
Rarity turned down another tunnel. This one felt different. It felt like there were still gems down here, near the end. The tunnel was low just before opening into a small cave. Get dirty. She didn't forget. She crawled through the small space. On the other side was a rock. She quickly moved it into place, blocking off the small entrance.
Trying to catch her breath again, she quickly scanned the cave. Its formations looked different than those of the Diamond Dogs. This wasn't their territory. The feeling was dim, but there were gems still inside. Three tunnels led off from the cave. She glanced behind her. The rock she had placed was rustling. They were trying to break through.
Picking at random, Rarity ran down the middle tunnel. The feeling of gems grew dimmer. Wherever she was going, it had been more thoroughly mined.
The tunnel led into a larger cave. There were no other tunnels leading from it.
"No, no, there must be another way to go," Rarity said, panicking to herself aloud. She could hear echoes of her pursuers in the tunnel. The changelings? Rover? Both?
"No no no no no."
She ran in a full circle, scanning the walls of the cave. There had to be a way out, there just had to be. But there was just the one tunnel and a few empty boxes of dynamite. She was trapped.
"No, no, it just can't end this way, not here, not underground," she cried to herself. She collapsed, breaking down in panic in the middle of the cave. It couldn't end like this, it just couldn't.
Suddenly, she felt something. A breeze of fresh air. She whipped her head up. She couldn't believe it.
It was hard to tell because it was still mostly dark out, but there was a hole in the cave above her. The sky was peering through. She could see the green glowing off of the clouds. How was she supposed to get up there? It was her only way out.
She scanned the cave again. The boxes. Quickly, she brought them to her using her magic. The echoes in the tunnel were getting louder, but she couldn't tell if they were coming closer. Damn caves and their echoes. She piled the boxes, not necessarily caring if they were steady, so long as they were high enough to get her out.
She scrambled up them, and cursed—something a lady never did. They were too short. Too short!
"No, no, please, there must be one more box..." she said. She scanned the room from up top. There were no more boxes. And the echoes were definitely coming closer, as they began to sound less like echoes.
What was she going to do? Could she jump up there? No, there was no way she'd make it. Could she levitate a box under her while she stayed on it? She wasn't sure. But it might be her only choice.
Just as she was about to try her tricky magic, she heard something different. It wasn't the charges of footsteps in the tunnel coming closer—it was something above. A voice. Someone was up there.
"Help!" Rarity screamed, "Please! If anypony can hear me, please help me! I'm down here! Help!"
Her cries began to turn hysterical. Rover burst into the cave. He was ragged and clearly injured, but still there, hungry for the Elements. Three changelings tumbled in after him. Rover moved towards Rarity, but the changelings were determined to get him and were tackling him to the ground over and over. Either way, it was just stalling time, which was exactly what Rarity needed.
"Please! Please help!" Rarity screamed.
"Hold on a second! We'll get you out!"
She ripped her eyes from the terror below and looked up. An unfamiliar pony was looking down at her. The pony turned away and talked to someone else. Then suddenly, another pony appeared, a familiar pony. Rarity's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe it.
She was saved.