The Lord of the Ponies: The Search for Harmony

Rainbow Dash soared above the thin cloud cover, the thundering wind almost deafening at her present altitude. But as she approached the black flood of retreating Dovakniik, the wind itself was encompassed by the racket of the march. Rainbow observed as the Dovakniik fled into a field of rocks. They suddenly stopped. Rainbow Dash braked and landed atop a cloud. Peering over its edge, she saw the Dovakniik leader, Rkane, raise his fist. His nostrils noticeably flared as he sucked in the surrounding air. Changelings.

From behind the rocks, Rainbow Dash observed a contingent of Changelings reveal themselves. Their leader, Grishnákh, with a voice soft and full of venom, addressed Rkane. "You're late. Our master grows impatient." Rkane turned to his lieutenant, Porag, with an amused smile, which revealed rows of serrated draconian teeth. "He wants the ponies now!" finished Grishnákh.

Ponies. Rainbow Dash frantically took in the bristling horde of darkness, her eyes darting wildly over the tide of black. Eventually, she found the kidnapped ponies, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Their hooves were bound with rope around the necks of a dedicated Dovakniik. Other than that and her mud-stained coat, Sweetie Belle appeared fine. However, it was Scootaloo's condition that Rainbow Dash had a hard time swallowing. The Pegasus' face was caked in dried blood from a gash on her forehead. With every errant twitch by the Dovakniik who carried her, her head lolled around. Her half opened eyes were devoid of consciousness, and her lips quivered as flakes of dry skin flaked away.

Rainbow Dash couldn't divert her gaze from Scootaloo or the Dovakniik who carried her . One needed to be rescued, the other to be dispatched. She huffed jets of steam, and her wings flared from her back. She scraped the cloud with a hoof, angling her body at Scootaloo's captor.

"I don't take orders from Changeling maggots." Rkane's retort surprised Rainbow Dash, so much that her anger was slowly forgotten. Arguing amongst the Changeling ranks? Well, that's new. She placed a hoof up to her eyes, rubbing the grime of sleeplessness from them, and watched the confrontation. Rkane imposed himself before the Changeling front. Rkane's titanic, draconian form overshadowed his minuscule opponents. The Changelings fell back; their jaws dropped, and their eyes widened. "Nightmare Moon will have her prize. We will deliver them," huffed Rkane before turning back to Porag.

The Dovakniik lieutenant sniffed the air. The sucking noise was distinct, even from Rainbow Dash's altitude. "What is it? What do you smell?" asked Rkane.

"Ponies," responded Porag. The battalion of Dovakniik and Changeling descended in a frenzy of searching. Their eyes scoured all angles in search of the approaching ponies. Damn, thought Rainbow Dash, fully retreating above the cloud. Porag glanced towards the sky. Above were few clouds. Thin clouds. Porag's finger pointed towards a Changeling. "Shoot up there," ordered Porag, his finger pointing to the cloud directly above the party. Double damn, thought Rainbow Dash.

The Changeling's horn swirled with green energy, which carried to the tip of its horn and leapt off. The bolt of energy shot through the air, whistling louder as it approached the cloud. Triple damn. The magical projectile impacted the cloud, disintegrating the thin tuft of water.

There was nopony there.

"They're not right behind us, but they've picked up our trail. Let's move," ordered Rkane. The combined horde of Changelings and Dovakniik thundered across the plain, trampling the ground flat.

Sweetie Belle, jostling as her carrier marched along with his brethren, turned to the unconscious Scootaloo. "Scootaloo?" The Pegasus' eyes slowly opened halfway, her pupils lolling around as she was shaken from the movements of the march. "Scootaloo! Wake up!"

Scootaloo jerked awake, her groggy eyes turning to her friend. "Hey, Sweetie Belle," she whispered, a smile slowly crawling across her face. But Sweetie Belle only registered horror as she peered toward her friend; the motion of her head had moved her mane from blocking the wound.

"You're hurt," Sweetie Belle said. Her eyes were glued to the scabbed-over gash on Scootaloo's forehead.

Scootaloo smile became uneasy. "Don't worry about me, Sweetie Belle. Just another painful sacrifice to get my Cutie Mark."

Sweetie Belle dissolved into a quiet laughing fit. "Yeah. Throwing rocks at these guys wasn't such a good plan."

"Yeah." Scootaloo's head briefly wobbled uncontrollably before she returned her gaze to Sweetie Belle. "You think we could get Cutie Marks doing this?"

"What? Being kidnapped?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Sure," answered Scootaloo.

"What would a kidnapping Cutie Mark even look like?" questioned Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo paused for a moment, all expression deserting her. But a smile returned to her face, and she once again looked her friend’s way. "Probably us."

Sweetie Belle chuckled. "No offense, but I really don't want a picture of both of us on my flank forever."

Scootaloo snorted and followed with a violent coughing fit. Her eyes fell on Sweetie Belle's cape and went wide. She winced and screwed them shut, groaning out, "Sweetie Belle, your cape."

Sweetie Belle craned her neck and saw one end of the cape's loop was held together by a single thread. Staring at it awhile, Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up. Idea. She bit into the ripped strap and tore it loose with her teeth. The cape dropped to the ground and was mashed underfoot by the Dovakniik.

"What'd you do that for?" asked Scootaloo.

"I'm making tracks," answered Sweetie Belle, keeping her sight on the cape until the horde had completely trampled it beneath the soil.

***

After many hours, Sauron's soldiers had cleared from the plain. A solitary cloud shifted. Rainbow Dash peered over the edge and found no sign of the Dovakniik. She leapt from the cloud. Her wings spread and caught her, suspending her in the air. She flapped to maintain altitude as she scanned beyond the field for any traces of the Dovakniik. After moments of searching, her eyes shifted downward, and her lips curled into a frown. Rainbow Dash turned around and proceeded back to her fellow hunters to convey her report.

***

Far-off from the Dovakniik, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rover followed the escaping army. The Diamond Dog stayed close to the ground, following the scent of chitin, and he slowly led the other two members of the party towards the Dovakniik.

Rarity followed closest to the Diamond Dog, huffing and nervously tapping her hooves as she paced after him. And as the sun began to retreat from the sky, her disposition only deteriorated. "Can you track any faster?"

Rover looked up and cracked his neck, glaring at the red-faced Unicorn. "Pony needs to learn patience. I will track the kidnappers."

"'Pony needs to learn patience'," mocked Rarity, her voice high-pitched. "Pony. Pony. Pony. Pony. It's Rarity to you, doggy." Rarity stopped Rover, thrusting a hoof into the Diamond Dog's chest. "And maybe if you tracked faster, I wouldn't need to learn patience."

Rover and Rarity collided head-to-head. Rover breathed heavily, baring his vicious canines. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Rarity recoiled in disgust, placing her hoof over her nose. "Good heavens. If you could track as well as you stunk, we'd have found my sister by now."

Rover's apish paws curled into fists, and he growled at Rarity. "Maybe if the pony could stop nagging me, I could get some tracking done. I've been working all day tracking your sister, and all I can hear is criticize, criticize, criticize. From now on, don't ask me for nothing."

"Fine!" The pair split. Rover stormed away from the Unicorn, barking curses in his native tongue while Rarity sat off to the side, roughly tugging at and fixing her hair. Pinkie Pie watched them both, her hair flat, and the vibrancy of her pink coat extinguished. She poked at the ground like a filly stuck watching her parents argue. She looked up at the brilliantly shining stars. Then she turned back to the ground and idly sketched an astronomer peering towards the heavens with a telescope.

Telescope?

Telescope!

As Pinkie's hair popped back into its deranged style, she bounded over to Rarity. The Unicorn's back was to her. "Rarity? Rarity? Rarity? Rarity?" she repeated. Past the ponies, Rover placed his paws over his ears. If he thought Rarity's criticism was annoying, he was in for a treat.

As Pinkie spouted off her name at an incredible rate, Rarity's temperament deteriorated. Her entire body turned hot, then cold, then hot again. Anger rose within her, so great it seared the breath from her lungs as she began to breathe more heavily. She pulled on her mane harder and harder, wrung-out strands of violet hair twisting off randomly. "WHAT?!" screamed Rarity, wheeling on Pinkie.

Pinkie stopped her incessant pestering, and her bounding fell to a standstill. "Rarity, your hair's all weird," she said, poking at the Unicorn's mane. Letting out a long-suffering sigh, Rarity gathered herself. She stroked her mane, reverting it back to its curled perfection. She turned her nose upward, striking an elegant pose in spite of the desolation and their brutish companion. "Thank you, Pinkie Pie. Now, what did you need?"

Pinkie Pie smiled, and, from a hoof behind her back, she produced a pair of binoculars. "I know it's not a telescope, but binoculars are better for tracking, don't you agree?"

Rarity stared at the binoculars, wide-eyed. Her mouth was agape; only a feeble whimper emanated from her throat.

"Give me those!" commanded Rover, snatching the binoculars from Pinkie's hoof. He grasped the dual scopes in his paws and set them against his eyes. "Maybe now prissy pony will stop nagging," mumbled Rover.

"You're holding them the wrong way," noted Pinkie. Rarity chuckled.

"Oops." Rover flipped the binoculars, his cheeks glowing red as blood rushed into them. With vision enhanced, he peered off into the distance. If the Dovakniik were in his line of sight, he could not tell. Nightmare Moon’s shadow provided cover for their retreat. "I can't see them." His head turned to the clouds, where he noticed a cyan bolt falling towards him.

Rainbow Dash landed before the trio, huffing.

Rarity quickly approached her exhausted friend. Her hooves knocked nervously against each other, and her brow was wrinkled. "Anything to report?"

Rainbow reached out for Rarity's shoulder. "Sweetie Belle's fine."

Rarity quietly sighed. "And what about Scootaloo?" Rarity noticed Rainbow's tired lips curl into a frown. The Pegasus' head dropped. "I see."

Rainbow Dash recovered, her eyes focused off to the west. "We're catching up on them. If we can follow through the night, we ought to catch them by next nightfall." Spreading her wings, she took to a low hover. With a toss of her mane, she motioned towards the Dovakniik then set off. Behind her, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rover followed.

***

A horde of grey clouds was approaching, and the open fields turned to a landscape of dotted rocks. Rainbow Dash flew overhead, her companions following close behind. However, passing through an especially disturbed portion, Rover stopped. His nose twitched in all directions then narrowed in on one thing in particular. He followed along an invisible scent trail until he found its origin. He squatted down, inquisitively peering at the odor's origin.

Rarity turned back when the sound of footsteps ceased behind her. She saw Rover squatting, staring at a patch of ground, and she stopped too. The other two followed in the same fashion until all equine eyes were on Rover. Rarity trotted over to Rover and peered over his shoulder. It was only a patch of dirt, just like all the othesr she had passed in the days of tracking.

Rover turned to find Rarity peering over his shoulder. "I don't know what's here." He poked at the flattened earth. "But it smells of Sweetie Belle."

Rarity gasped, "Well, what are you waiting for? Dig!"

Rover sighed. "That's the problem. If I dig it up, and its her corpse, I wouldn't want you to be here to see it."

"Oh. I see." Rarity backed off and turned around. She stood there in her usual elegance, but if one looked close enough, a slight shiver could've been noticed.

Rover slowly reached for the earth, his expression solemn. But once his claws touched the dirt, he began digging like a feral beast, looking away, and wincing with each thrown scoop. Seconds later, he pulled forth a ravaged Cutie Mark Crusader cape.

He choked, and tears rolled down his cheek. "Rainbow! Get over here."

Rarity almost turned as Rainbow Dash passed her but resisted the morbid temptation. She stayed with her back to Rover, and her trembling hooves clacked against each other. Pinkie came to her side, patting her shoulder. "It'll be okay."

Pinkie's knee was pinchy.

Rainbow Dash joined Rover. The Diamond Dog sniffled and turned, holding the shredded cape. "This is the only thing I could find," he whispered.

"The only thing?" asked Rainbow.

"Yes. No corpse, no meat, no bones." Rover paused. "You don't think—"

"No, I don't want to." The two of them fell silent, each of them looking toward Rarity and back at the other.

"You think we should tell her?' asked Rover.

Rainbow, in her peripherals, glanced at Rarity. She still sat facing away from them. Turning back to Rover, Rainbow's head was bowed, and she was frowning. She reverently took the cape from Rover, hugging it to her chest. "Applejack would have told her." Rainbow walked over to Rarity as thick grey clouds moved overhead beginning to drop fat raindrops on the ponies below.

"Rarity." The Unicorn turned toward Rainbow's subdued voice. There, in her hoof, was the tattered remains of Sweetie Belle's cape. She reached out for it with a shaking hoof and hugged it to herself, uncaring of the dirt and filth covering it. The rain hid her tears, but it did nothing to cover her gasping sobs as she choked out, "I... I failed her..."

Rainbow trotted up to Rarity and placed her hoof on her shoulder. "Come on. We don't have much time to waste. We gotta find Scootaloo," she whispered.

Turning back to the trail, Rainbow trotted away. Rover followed along with Pinkie Pie, her hair flat from the rain. All heads were bowed as they ventured forth for Scootaloo. But Rarity stayed behind, still rocking the cradled remnants of Sweetie Belle in her hooves. She snuggled the shredded cape.

I failed you.