The residents of Ponyville were livid. Along with Apple Bloom, five other ponies had vanished: Mrs. Cup Cake, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Blossomforth, and Heart Strings. Why the dogs would be digging through a pony settlement wasn’t the only mystery.
Surely this was just the beginning? Were these abductions simply the beginning of a complete hostile takeover?
“The horror! THE HORROR!,” screamed a flower-peddling pink pony as panic began to overtake the streets. Doors and windows were being shut and terrified ponies sought sanctuary on elevated places like table tops and bookshelves.
Diamond dogs were known for their avarice of precious jewels and shiny objects but weren’t a huge problem, owing to their tendency to stay inside old mines and gem fields, both locations usually far from anypony. What had suddenly pushed them to forge ahead into a large community like this?
Mayor Mare, Judge Mint, and Honest Decree had summoned Twilight Sparkle and the other Element bearers to town hall to discuss the rash of sudden ponynappings and what might be done about it.
“What do we know about the victims?,” asked Twilight, scroll and quill gripped in her magic. “We need to get our facts straight before running into this head first.”
“Forgive me for being hasty, darling, but these… these… BRUTES, have my SISTER! Every second we spend here planning could have terrible repercussions for her and the others!” Rarity had mascara running down her porcelain features. She had been awoken from her afternoon beauty rest by shattering dishes and the tell-tale scream of her sister.
“Rarity’s right, Twi! We should just go down there, hooves swingin’!” Applejack’s distress and concern had slowly been peaking into anger and frustration. She and Big Macintosh spent half an hour trying to get to their little sister through the pit but found their progress blocked by unyielding black stones.
Rainbow Dash was next to put her hoof down. “Can’t we just flood the tunnels or something? I’m sure I can funnel enough rain clouds down there!”
“And probably drown the critters who have made their home down there? Or possibly even the hostages? Rainbow, girls, please – we have to do this Twilight’s way. It’s the only we thing we can do to keep this from getting worse!” Fluttershy rarely raised her voice, especially to her friends, but the situation was getting too tense. The other three mares were starting to become irrational. A firm stare down served to calm her friends, if only for a little while longer.
Even Pinkie Pie wasn’t her usual jovial self. She sat in one spot, kneading her temples, eyes closed in deep concentration. “Darling, are you alright? You haven’t said a peep since we got here,” asked Rarity, already regaining some of her poise after Fluttershy’s plea.
“Mmmhmm,” answered the party throwing mare. There was something missing, something Twilight and the Ponyville officials hadn’t asked…
Spike hung back, listening to his friends go back and forth over every minor detail in the incidents. The victims had all been in separate locations, performing nothing out of the ordinary. Heart Strings was reading on a park bench, Apple Bloom was helping move the harvested apples into the cellar, Sweetie Belle was trying to cook her sister some brunch inside the Boutique, Scootaloo was waiting for Rainbow Dash outside the latter’s cloud home to ask her to hang out, Blossomforth had been heading watering some of her flower patches along the outskirts of town, and Mrs. Cake was making some crepes inside the kitchen.
He had been asked extensively, first by Applejack, then Rarity, then Rainbow, then Twilight about what he had seen.
Apple Bloom – no Apple Bloom. Black dust.
His instincts told him something terrible was afoot, so Spike tried convincing Twilight to ask the princesses for the Elements of Harmony back. The monarchs agreed but informed them of a delay in their request. The Elements were Equestria’s greatest defense after all and great care had to be taken for their transit. Both Celestia and Luna made it clear that both of them would come to Ponyville once the necessary precautions were taken.
“Alright, I think I have it! We can do what Rainbow suggested, but we have to control the flow of water. Dash will provide the waterworks while Applejack, Rarity, and I use magic and some digging of our own to direct our offense. Fluttershy, we need you and your critters to help us map out the cave systems that were dug out from under us. Think you can handle that?” Twilight wore a steely look of determination. Her initial fact sheet had now tripled in length and quadrupled in number.
“I’ll see what I can do,” came the quiet, determined reply from Fluttershy.
“Pinkie Pie, I’ll need your help with crowd control. You’re the only pony who knows this village well enough to keep everypony under watch… Pinkie?” The purple unicorn was confused. Pinkie Pie usually had more gusto, especially if it required her to be all over the place.
Instead of a reply however, the mares were met with a loud gasp from their friend. “Oh my gosh, you guys! I figured it out! Heartstrings is Twilight, Sweetie and Apple Bloom are their sisters, Blossomforth is Fluttershy, and Mrs. Cake is me!”
“Pinkie, you’re makin’ about a much sense as a blizzard in July! What're you goin’ on about?”
Spike was genuinely curious about Pinkie’s theory. The mares taken were supposed to be his friends? Didn’t Diamond Dogs hunt by scent? No way they could have fumbled with their targets.
Before anypony could say anything, there was a terrible shaking.
Then a long fall into pitch blackness.