//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: The Reception's Been Canceled // by sister_mike //------------------------------// Chapter 6 Rarity Get dirty. Well, that wouldn't be a hard thing to do here. Rarity knew where she was before she could even see. She could tell by the stench—a smell that would be forever tattooed in her brain, a reminder of that hellish day. Sure, she had easily escaped and didn't make it seem like such a big deal to her friends at the time, but it was something that haunted her dreams every night. She knew it would take a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the dark; it was darker down here than it was out there, even during the night. Why Celestia would send her to the Diamond Dogs' caves, she had no idea. But Celestia said it was somewhere she had to be, so Rarity would try and stick it out. Maybe she had to face her fears, face her nightmare, test her courage. But wouldn't fighting those changelings be enough? Whatever the reason, Celestia always had a bigger picture in mind. Rarity could only imagine where her friends had been sent. When her eyes finally adjusted to the pitch black, she lit the end of her horn to provide a little light. There was nothing down here. She could sense no gems, no diamonds or rubies; the place was wiped clean. When she had been here, it had been the most abundant place she had ever seen, gems and jewels everywhere; but now it was empty. Why send her here, if there were no gems to find? It was her special talent after all. Maybe this isn't about your talent—it's about your fears. Not sure what she was supposed to be doing, Rarity began to walk down the long, endless tunnel. At least it was quiet down here; no changelings, no pods, no green glow. Perhaps she was safe down here. She didn't want to think about it, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw Sweetie Belle, imprisoned, her arm stretched towards her. She was so furious that Twilight hadn't let her save her, but she knew Twilight was right. If they had stayed any longer to free any of the other ponies, they would have all been captured and put back into those pods—or worse. But she was so worried about Sweetie Belle. Rarity herself still felt drained from being inside the pod—and doing more complicated magic than usual to free the others—and she could only wonder how much strain a small filly could take while inside. She didn't want to think about how weak Sweetie Belle must be, but she just couldn't help but wonder. Twilight herself was so weak she couldn't free the others without Rarity's help. How much could a little filly bear? But they feed off of positive energy. Fillies, in the prime of their childhood, surely have more energy than their adult counterparts. Sweetie Belle is strong. She'll be fine. Ever since the Sisterhood Social, Rarity had been spending more and more time with Sweetie Belle, really trying to connect and have patience with her little sister. She knew it was hard sometimes for Sweetie Belle; they had such a big gap in age, and it was hard to really feel like sisters since Rarity didn't live at home any more. She knew that Sweetie Belle was sometimes envious of the bond that Applejack and Apple Bloom had. Rarity was doing her best to try and establish a bond like theirs. And lately, they had been. Day trips to the spa, coloring books, singing songs, playing dress up—and what had Rarity done now? Abandoned her young sister. What's important now is that you make your way to Ponyville. Be strong and meet up with the others. Find the Elements of Harmony, and rid Equestria of this evil. Then save Sweetie Belle. Rarity wasn't sure how long she had been walking. She had lost track of any sort of indication of time, her mind absorbed with Sweetie Belle. Her hooves were already filthy, a sign she had been walking a long time. Sometimes she cursed herself for having a beautiful white coat; it was so much harder to keep clean. How big is this place? I don't remember it being this large when I was down here; then again, I didn't get to see the whole place. They must have expanded though. A rock tumbled to her left. Rarity whipped her head in the direction, getting ready to telepathically throw the nearest rock at the sign of an attack. "M-Miss Rarity?" Rarity recognized the voice, and as the figure timidly stepped into her path of light, she recognized one of the Diamond Dogs. It was the leader of the group, she knew that, but she didn't know his name. "Miss Rarity—you survived?" he asked, clearly in disbelief. Rarity held her head high. "Well of course." "What are you doing down here?" he asked. Rarity made a face. Did she really have time to explain something she didn't know to one of these filthy dogs? The last thing she wanted was for him to tag along. "I was sent here by Princess Celestia," she said firmly. "Why?" he asked. "I don't know," she muttered under her breath. She turned away from him and began to continue walking down the tunnel. "Maybe, maybe I can come with you? I've been down here by myself for so long now..." he said, following her. "Why don't you just go up to the surface?" she asked drolly. "Every time I try, one of those black ponies attacks," he answered. "They're not ponies," Rarity snapped, "They're called changelings. They can disguise themselves as ponies and they feed off of energy." The dog went quiet. They continued to walk in a long silence. Finally Rarity couldn't bear it any more. "Why aren't there more of you? What happened to your friends?" she asked. "They were killed," he said quietly. Rarity stopped and looked at him. "They killed them? They didn't imprison them in pods?" "What pods?" he asked. Rarity took a minute to explain the situation to him. She explained the wedding, the changelings, the pods, the stream of energy leading back to Canterlot. She explained as much as she could—the details were still fuzzy. The last thing she remembered was getting dressed for the wedding, but the wedding itself she couldn't recall. The next thing she knew, Twilight was telling her not to panic and she saw Sweetie Belle imprisoned. Rarity shook her head, trying to get the image out. It haunted her. "Sweetie Belle?" the dog asked. Rarity hadn't realized she'd mentioned her name. "My little sister. She's trapped in Canterlot, in one of the cocoons." "I'm sorry," he said quietly. He hesitated a moment, then continued, "No, us dogs are not put into pods. They kill us with their magic. Instantly. They do not want our energy. I have seen the green stream you speak of, whenever I try to escape to the surface." "The changelings don't follow you down here?" Rarity asked. The dog shook his head. "And you're the last one down here?" "As far as I know," he said quietly. Rarity stopped walking. There was a wall of dirt in front of her. She sighed. "What is your name?" she asked softly. "Rover." "Well, Rover, since we can't escape up top, I guess our only answer is to keep traveling underground. Do you know your way down here? Could you take me to Ponyville?" she asked. Rover nodded. "Which way?" Rover pointed towards the wall. "A bit of the tunnel here collapsed a few weeks ago. This is the way to Ponyville though." Rarity looked at the wall. "Well then, you'd better start digging." The progress was slow, but eventually Rover dug through the collapsed part of the cave and they emerged back into the developed area. "How secure is this place?" Rarity asked. She didn't want to be buried down here. "None of our tunnels have ever collapsed like this before. I'm not sure what caused it," Rover said. That didn't answer her question. They were at a three way fork in the path. "Which one takes us to Ponyville?" Rarity asked. "This one," Rover said, pointing to the middle one. As they began to head over to the middle tunnel, Rarity stopped. She had a strange feeling—an itch if you will. She glanced towards the left tunnel. She had the strongest urge to go down it. She didn't doubt Rover's words—he still seemed slightly afraid of her, like she was about to start whining at any moment—but she had to go down the left. She turned to the left and began to walk down it. "No, Miss Rarity, Ponyville is this way," Rover said, gesturing towards the middle tunnel. "I know, but I sense something down here," she said, unsure of why her voice suddenly sounded so urgent. She felt panicky, a little shaky—excited? "But Miss Rarity!" Rover called. He started to follow, but Rarity was moving faster. There was something down this tunnel—something getting closer and closer—that she had to find. It was imperative. She couldn't quite put her hoof on what it was, but she had felt this feeling before. An odd tingle, one similar to the one she got when she sensed jewels, but it was slightly different. It was specific. But where had she felt it before? She was at a full gallop now. She could hear Rover running to catch up, too afraid to be left alone again, but she kept running. The feeling was growing stronger and stronger, like the beat of a heart growing louder. It was thumping, calling out towards her. Suddenly she stopped and looked down. Whatever it was, it was here, buried beneath her feet. Get dirty. This was it, this was why Celestia had sent her here. Without a moment's hesitation, Rarity began to dig. Dirty flew everywhere, into her mane, onto her coat, her hooves and legs becoming grey from the dirt. She pushed Rover away when he tried to help—she suddenly knew what was down here, and she couldn't chance him taking them. He was a Diamond Dog after all, just as attracted to jewels as dragons were. But he couldn't have these. These were for her. Finally, she hit something. Carefully, she pulled a dusty bag out from the earth. Her heart was thumping, beating so hard she was certain it was going to explode. Why... how did they get down here? With a shaking hoof, she slowly opened the bag. And sure enough, packed tightly inside, were the Elements of Harmony.