Author's Note

Re-written, chapter was drastically delayed when my garbage box PC destroyed my writing.

MIA

The Six of us (excluding Applejack, who tailed Elliot) stepped out of the cottage. The animals in the back yard were still going wild as before. It looked like a small farm, an exhibit almost. I didn't know for certain where I'd find a wild Elliot, but I had a decent idea.

"Alright, Twilight, you can stay with me. I'm confident I know where to search. The rest of you, could you all check around and come back here in.... About thirty?" I requested, turning to them.

"Thirty minutes? That's not very long to search Ponyville, you know." Rarity warned.

"Trust me, if Elliot's not inside a building, there's no way in hell you won't find him in his natural habitat." I replied.

"Natural habitat? What do you mean by that?" Her tone told me I had no idea what I was talking about.

"Wherever there is food, there is a wild Elliot waiting to devour. I'll check some local restaurants with Twilight's help, but if the rest of you split up and looked around it'd be much faster. In case he got lost." I answered blankly.

"You really think a restaurant is our best chance? There's plenty of nicer places he would run off to here, you know." She insisted.

"If a wolf could smell food, Elliot could. I'll have Twilight here show me where the nearest restaurant is, and from there I can sweep a few more and still be back here in a half hour's time." I explained.

"Oooooooo! Can I check Sugarcube Corner?! Pleeeeeeeease?!" Pinkie bounced excitedly, grinning widely.

"Sugarwhat? Actually; alright. If it helps us find him. So we split up, you all checking randomly, Twilight and I targeting local restaurants, and then we rendezvous back here in about thirty. Any questions?" I elaborate.

The crowd collectively shook their heads, and I nodded.

"The plan is that we split up, me and Twilight will try to find him wherever the food is, you all can organize yourselves to search elsewhere. Rendezvous in..." I looked at my watch, realizing its display had gone black and died. "Well, about thirty minutes."

"We what?" Rarity quickly interjected. "Could you repeat that?" She seemed suddenly hyper.

Rainbow groaned and slapped a hoof over her face.

"Please tell me that he didn't just do what I think he did..."

"Guess I won't tell you." Applejack interjected.

"How much French can you speak?" She continued the sentence in what sounded like gibberish to me.

"I have no clue what you just said, if that answers your question. I just know all the words that I can call someone. Usually Elliot. 'Cause he's there." I answered seriously.

"What words would you be calling him?" She turned her head slightly, gazing with innocence.

I listed off a few words that I can't directly translate, but use frequently regardless. Her face contorted into horror after only several, which turned to disgust. Whatever the words meant, were apparently just as harsh as I had hoped they were.

"Disgraceful." Was all she offered.

"For the record, he stole my MRE twice in field training."

"He stole what?" Rainbow asked.

"Nothing, we should get looking before he eats something he shouldn't. We all ready to go?"

The crowd nodded.

"Alright, out we go."

Large blue eyes stared into their leader, who returned a much more imposing gaze to her follower.

"They're guarded by the six, but if we can lead them-"

"If?" She snarled.

"WHEN~! When we separate the six from the specimen we could capture them. We only need one, and we can lure the other inward. Twilight will be the hardest to get away." He warned, his legs wobbled underneath him and threatened to collapse.

The leader was quiet, she looked at the ground and pondered the outcomes. This only made the follower more nervous.

"Get your group prepared for attack. No gear, and unarmed. I want squadrons Alpha, Beta, and Gamma as infiltration teams and Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta as fully armored and battle-ready assault teams. They will serve as a backup plan." She explained.

"What if they don't-"

"SILENCE! YOU QUESTION TOO MUCH!"

The follower wobbled and the world around him blackened. Just as he was about to fall, two arms secured him in mid-drop, the rough skin scratched him lightly.

"The contingency plan is to attack Ponyville. It will be a city much less guarded than Canterlot, and they would not be ready. Therefore, we must assault before they are transported to Canterlot. That will be the point of no return. Now go prepare the teams, Colonel." She explained.

He took a deep breath.

"It will be done, your highness."