~ 11~

Not-So Joyful Reunions

Applejack, Sweetie belle, Rainbow Dash and Applebloom all ran towards the explosive sound, fearful that their friends and family were in horrible danger. However, the Changelings were swarmed all around them, confusion blurring everything.

They flew all over the place – like a swarm of stunned bees.

"Where are they all going?!" Sweetie Belle shouted over the noise to Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

"I don't know!" Rainbow Dash shouted back, her hoof covering her face for some kind of protection from the stampede.

"Get down!" Applejack grabbed Applebloom, slamming her onto the ground to take cover from a staggering Changeling.

It crashed behind her, but before it tried to get back up, another crashed into it, accidentally jamming it's horn in the side of the Changeling. Crying out in agony, the crashed Changeling rebelled by attacking it's foe. Before anyone knew it, there was a dangerous fight and a beehive full of confused Changelings.

"This place is crazy! We have to get out of here before something really bad happens!" Rainbow Dash shouted, but Applejack already had Applebloom on her back, tossing Sweetie Belle in Rainbow Dash's direction.

"Waaay ahead of 'ya, RD!"

Rainbow had Sweetie Belle carefully onto her back, running to catch up with Applejack.

"But what about Twilight and the others?" Sweetie Belle exclaimed behind Rainbow.

"We'll just go back for them later! Right now, we need to get out!" Rainbow yelled back. "This place can collapse on top of us any second!"

As if Rainbow Dash suddenly predicted the future, the Changeling cave began shaking angrily. Applejack and Rainbow Dash stopped dead in their tracks, as well as the Changelings. The shape-shifting creatures screamed in horror, darting out of the cave to escape.

Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a petrified look.

"Move! Move! Move!" The rainbow-colored mare screamed at her friend. Almost too shocked to run, Applejack ran as fast as she could, dodging the falling rubble that tried to crash into them. Sweetie Belle clutched onto Rainbow's tightly – the young unicorn bit her lip from fear. Rainbow Dash was an expert at dodging the falling debris; as was Applejack, but the exit seemed so far away.

She could hardly see through the millions of Changelings zooming about.

"Applejack!" Applebloom suddenly barked, "Look out!"

The orange pony skidded to a stop, as a rock just barely missed them by the nose. Rainbow Dash managed to speed past it, leaving them separated. Changelings screeched in horror, as they were now trapped.

"APPLEJACK!"

Rainbow Dash veered back to the rock that split them apart.

The cyan's pony friend responded,

"We're fine, Rainbow. You two just get out of here! We'll find another way!"

Rainbow's eyebrows narrowed.

"If-if you don't come out in half an hour –"

"SHOOT'EN PINEAPPLES, JUST GO!" Applejack howled.

Unable to argue with the cowpony, Rainbow gave once last worried glance, and sped off, Sweetie Belle still intact on her back. Charging to the brightened exit, Rainbow managed to yell to Sweetie Belle,

"This is gonna be close –!"

Picking up an extra boost of speed, Rainbow Dash just barely dodged another falling boulder on its way to break her neck. Crashing on the ground below, Sweetie Belle jumped off of the former pegasus's back, landing not-so-neatly on the ground. Rainbow rolled on her side, panting from exhaustion. When she regained some energy back, she picked herself up, her magenta eyes darting all over the wreckage. Changelings scrambled everywhere, flying all over the place.

Sweetie Belle, too, was taking in the damage, until something caught her eye that she didn't notice before.

"Rainbow Dash... you have wings again!"

Rainbow, still processing the sentence, went to stare at her newly-found wings. A bright beam glimmered in her face. She flapped them to test that they were real.

They were.

She could've cried out in happiness, celebrate with everyone that she got her wings back!

However, Applejack was still trapped with Applebloom in the cave. The celebration can wait. She turned to Sweetie Belle.

"Okay, you stay here." She pointed at the ground firmly with her hoof.

"What?! You can't seriously expect me to sit here and do nothing?!"

Rainbow Dash's eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes, I do."

"But you can't! What if a Changeling kidnaps me again? And what if Rarity finds out that you left me alone in an unfamiliar place, where there are Changelings that can kill and eat me!"

Rainbow grimaced. The filly had a point. But she also didn't want to risk her getting in more danger where she was going.

Deciding that she would be able to protect her now that she had her awesome wings back, she smirked.

"Alright. I'll take you along. But hold on tight, kid. I'm gonna go fast." Sweetie Belle hopped on the pegasus again, and with a burst of completely intentional speed, Rainbow dashed off, loving the taste of the wind in her mane more than ever.

"I am NEVER gonna lose these babies AGAIN!"

Applejack whipped her head around, trying to find an escape. The Changelings were gone – except the ones that lie still on the cold ground.

Applebloom hopped off her sister's back, walking in one direction that had a deep hallway.

"Applebloom! Get back here!" The farmer pony demanded.

"It's alr'eight, Applejack! The Changelings are gone now!"

"Applebloom, I swear, if you do anything cra –"

She stopped herself, feeling much more lighter in the head, and more heavy in her hoofs.

Much like her old self, in fact.

She lifted her hoof up to her head – feeling no extra bone being poked out from it. Her spirits lifted instantaneously – until a thought struck her.

Why am I suddenly back to normal?

"Applejack?" Applebloom asked cautiously. "What is that?"

The joy and confusion of her being back to normal vanished when Applejack went over to see what her sister was referring to.

It was a gigantic, evil-looking pony – in resemblance to Chysalis. The titan roared fiercely – destroying everything in its path.

Applejack's eyes shrank. Scooping up Applebloom once again, she sped off deeper into the cave, her eyes darting all over the place in hopes she'd find a way out. There was no way she'd let Applebloom stay here. She had to find a way to get back to Ponyville, and fast.

Absolute fear blinded her, making everything around her blurry. Applebloom's voice broke out of her emotional stampede – "Incoming!"

She crashed right smack into Twilight and the others. Picking herself up, she let her vision identify her old friends.

True happiness poured into her heart.

"Twilight! You're –"

"I'm sorry, Applejack, but now is not the time for happy reunions. Chrysalis tricked me into giving magic into the Rose, and now she's gone completely insane, and could possibly destroy all of Equestria –!"

"Whoa, whoa, hold up, sugarcube. What's this about some rose–?"

Applejack questioned.

"We don't have time to explain! Now come on!"

"Twi'leight, that way's a dead end! We just came that way!" Applebloom reasoned with the exhausted purple unicorn.

Twilight groaned.

"We have to find a way out of here!"

"Wait a sec, why can't you just teleport us outta here?" Scootaloo asked. All five ponies stared at her. The orange pegasus flapped her tiny wings in annoyance.

"Seriously?! You all are back to normal! Fluttershy has wings again, and Applejack doesn't have a horn anymore, and well, you know, Twilight's still a unicorn! So what's the deal here?!"

Fluttershy glanced at her back, where her wings sat calmly on both sides of her light body. She blinked, then smiled.

"Oh, hey." She ruffled them lightly, glad to be a pegasus again.

Twilight face-hoofed herself.

"Right."

"Hold up –" Shining Armor stopped the enthusiasm from growing, "If they're all back to normal... then Pinkie Pie and Rarity should be back to normal by now, too."

Fluttershy, Twilight, and Scootaloo all inhaled sharply – last they saw them they were flying away high up in the sky.

"Okay, that's it! We have to go!"

Pinkie Pie and Rarity had fallen a great height, and were both panting for breath. Luckily for the both of them, they had landed safely in murky swamp water. Rarity shuddered out of disgust, as Pinkie Pie rolled in the mud with happiness.

"Pinkie! Stop that this instant!" Rarity shouted to the optimistic earth pony.

"What's wrong, Rarity? I thought you liked your horn!" Pinkie Pie questioned her white-furred friend.

Rarity cleared her throat. "Well, I- yes. I am very much relieved to have my horn back." She tapped her hoof against it, showing a subtle sign of gratitude. She tilted her head to the sky again. "But we haven't delivered our warning to the Princesses – who both undoubtedly have not a hint of what is to happen!"

"But Chrysalis is like, HUGE! How could they POSSIBLY miss her?!" Pinkie argued.

Before Rarity could respond, she saw a flash of rainbow streak across the sky. Rainbow Dash had finally found them. The cyan pegasus dug her hoofs into the ground to keep from falling flat on her face. It had been some time since she was airborne.

Rarity's expression lit up with absolute joy by seeing Sweetie Belle jump off Rainbow's back.

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity instantly galloped out of the mud to reach her little sister. They then engulfed each other by giving one another a hug. Rainbow only rolled her eyes for a second, until she asked,

"What are you guys doing in the mud?"

"We fell from the sky!" Pinkie Pie reported eagerly, "And it broke our fall!"

Rarity turned her head to Rainbow Dash.

"Normally, I'd give you a much more formal 'thank you' but we need you to quickly warn Princess Celestia and Luna of Chrysalis's attack."

Rainbow stretched her folded wings, accepting her task.

"You got it!"

She then flew up high into the sky, accelerating faster and faster as she tried to reach Equestria before Chrysalis did. As Rarity and Sweetie Belle watched the pony fly away, Pinkie helped herself out of the swamp water.

"Come on, you gotta admit, that was fun!" She exclaimed joyfully, shaking off the excess water.

Rarity shielded herself from the oncoming water driblets, then replying sarcastically,

"Yes, because falling from at least fifty feet into freezing water would make anypony want to as you say – 'do it again.'"

"Well, what now? Should we try to go and help Rainbow Dash?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"No, Sweetie Belle. If something absolutely awful happens, I don't want you to be in the line of fire. We're taking you home right this instant." Her older sister responded in a serious tone.

"What?!" Sweetie Belle was outraged. "But you can't just send me home now! Not like this!"

"Quiet, Sweetie Belle. You've done admirably on this little 'adventure', but I'm afraid that I can't let you continue. Who knows what might happen?"

"But – I –" Sweetie Belle stuttered, then turned to Pinkie.

"You're not seriously going through with this, are you, Pinkie?!"

Pinkie's blue eyes darted around, looking for some sort of answer to this question. Truthfully, she didn't want to be involved in this debate.

"I- uh... Oh, hey! A quail!" Taking the opportunity to scramble away from the bickering sisters, Pinkie ran towards the non-existent quail. The two unicorns stared after her – then faced each other once more.

Sweetie Belle opened her mouth ready for more squabbling, however Rarity glared at her with fiery hostility.

"Home. NOW." She growled, her horn's aura sparking.

Sweetie Belle glared.

"And whom do you think will be escorting me?" She said in her British accent, approaching Rarity accusingly.

Rarity paused.

Sweetie had her pegged.

"Gah..." The eldest sister whipped her head around to face Pinkie.

"Pinkie!"

Pinkie, making a chicken-esc sound, shot her head up to face her.

"You will take Sweetie Belle home!" Rarity paused, sheepishly adding, "... Please."

Before Pinkie could protest, another loud explosion was heard.

Chrysalis had become more powerful from the rose.

Jumping up, Pinkie dashed over to the scene, hoping to save whomever was in danger.

"Pinkie!" Rarity called after her, stomping her hoof on the ground.

"SERIOUSLY, RARE, WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Pinkie practically screeched at her unicorn ally.

Biting her lip, Rarity swallowed her worries, and chased after the hyperactive pony.

~Scribbleknots:

Hey, hey, hey! Told you I wasn't abandoning this! Sorry its not much in terms of cool-ness, but I tried to make it as interesting as I could. Its just a lead-up to the upcoming climax. I've been REAL busy with mak'en videos, art stuff for a different side-project fanfic, school (they have an obsession with posters, I swear), and my Me-Time needs to happen as well. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter!