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“You have got to be kidding me.”

Luna stared at the draconequus in disbelief, completely incapable of swallowing such an enormous and outright lie as he had been spouting for nearly the past ten minutes.
“I stand ready to back up my claim, however outrageous it might sound.” Discord replied readily.
“… Tia, you cannot... we shall not fall prey to thine trickery again!” the princess of the night spat, looking back and forth between the deity of disharmony and her sister. Celestia watched him intently, pondering his words.

After a while of silence, she spoke.
“Discord… if what you say is true…”
“Oh, come now, Celestia,” Discord said poutily, holding his head up with one talon while the rest of his body floated behind him, drifting haphazardly about in the breeze. “I might be shifty from time to time, but I don’t lie. I have standards.”
Celestia cocked an eyebrow, wearily watching her old ‘foe’. Indeed, he seemed even older than before, although she doubted anyone else would have noticed it. Discord seemed more… tame. Or at least, more focused than he was a thousand years ago.
“But why now?” Celestia asked suddenly. “Why would you tell me this, and expect me to simply believe it in good faith, Discord?”
“Technically, I go by ‘Q’ now, but Discord is still good.” He answered, drifting down from the air and settling on his mismatched serpentine and goat feet. “And I’ve told you all I can. Haven’t you ever heard of a fixed point in time?

“There are some things that I simply can’t do. I’ve done all I can thus far – I’ve positioned the pieces, I’ve readied the players, I’ve even colored in some of the squares on the board. It wouldn’t do any good to clue you in before it was too late, now would it?”
“Yes. Yes, it would have.” The sun goddess replied dryly, looking him in the eye. “I want no part in this madness, Discord.”
“Oh, Tia, Tia, Tia.” The draconequus sighed, patting her lightly on the shoulder. “You have even less say in the matter than I do.”
“What are you playing at, Discord?” she said wearily, backing away from his touch. He seemed a little hurt at the gesture, but his face quickly resumed his previous stoic expression.

“Again, I’ve already told you as much as I can. You and I can only do so much in this game.”
“Is that all this is to you?” Celestia shot back. “A game?”
“Everything is a game, princess.” Discord said, and a hint of melancholy hinted his voice. “The pieces must be moved eventually. You have an entire set before you; yours and mine, black and white. Intermingling perfectly.” He stated calmly, placing his bear’s claw and eagle’s talon together, interlocking his fingers. “But none of that matters. You can’t play a game if someone takes the board away.”

He cracked his knuckles, and an entire slew of chess pieces fell from his hands, clattering loudly to the floor. Every single one shattered as they hit, white and black pieces alike.
“That’s what he’s going to do. Very, very soon, chaos will reign once again.” Discord claimed, leaning on the balcony and watching the sunset. “I won’t ask for forgiveness; I wouldn’t ever be so brash. All I can ask of you is that you understand that there are some events that are beyond my control, and that when the time comes, you must make a terrible, terrible decision.”
“We shall do no such thing!” Luna shouted, and much to her displeasure, neither Discord or her sister barely registered her existence.

“Nopony asked you, Lulu.” Discord said with a bit of disdain, not even looking over his shoulder. If he had, she might have seen the smug grin he was hiding. She silently fumed, wishing she could simply turn him back to stone.
Or, rather, vaporize him. The stone Discord in the garden still stood; vaporization was looking more and more appealing.

After several minutes of watching Celestia lower the sun, Discord spoke once more.
“… I do not believe in such a thing as a ‘fixed point in time’, Celestia. The future is never set in stone.”
“I beg to differ.” She replied without turning to him. The serene mask she’d practiced for nearly a millennium was slowly beginning to slip, and she refused to let it do so. For both her sake, and her sister’s.
“You will do what must be done when the time comes.”
“Not if it involves harming one of my little ones. Especially-“
“Then allow me to rephrase myself.” Discord cut in. “You will do what must be done this time, lest the time not come at all.”

Luna was lost at Discord’s cryptic message, but Celestia gave a small shudder than rippled up from the base of her spine and made her wings shudder.
“… Is this it, then? Your own vague form of retribution, of vengeance?”
Discord turned from her, watching as the sun finally set. “… There’s a great difference between retribution and remorse, Celestia.” A pained expression crossed his face, and he slumped against the rail. “… There will be suffering. For all involved. Not because I wish it to be so, but because sacrifices must be made in order to advance to the next square.”
“And then? What happens when all the pieces are sacrificed, when there’s nothing left?”
“There will still be the board, Celestia. So long as there is a board, there shall be pawns. Worthy knights, advancing rooks, bishops gazing at the sky. There shall always be a queen, until the king falls.”
“And the king? The ‘most important’ piece?”
“Is nothing without the board.” Discord finished. “You must know the importance of what I ask you to do; he will take the board. He will not hesitate. I’ve done all I can to aid you in your game, Celestia. Now, it’s your turn to move.”

The silence took place once again as Discord vanished into the air, falling apart in a puff of smoke.
“… Er-hem.” Celestia coughed nonchalantly, indicating toward the place in the sky where the moon should be. Luna glared at her quietly for a full minute, refusing to move.
“This is nonsense, Celestia.” Luna said coldly, taking up her nightly duty of raising the moon. Her horn glowed brightly in a luminescent aura as the moon was roughly dragged across the sky. “He wishes only to cause suffering where none is needed; his repentance cannot be taken as truth.”
“Just as yours, Luna?” the white alicorn asked quietly, lowering a wing gently over her sister. To her surprise, Luna crudely pushed her away, the scowl on her face deepening.
“Perhaps my own suffering should have been less required than your own.”
“… It hurts me more than you know when you say that, sister.”

Luna blinked, realizing what she’d said. She hung her head in shame, fighting back the shame. “I-I am sorry. True meaning escapes me, and as such, I give only words filled with contempt. You were… not to blame for what transpired.”
“Perhaps not in entirety.” Celestia said with an unbecoming sigh. For a moment, she thought her resolve would finally fail her, but she remained silent. “… You know that if there is anything bothering you, you can always come to me, Lulu.”
Luna briefly opened her mouth, but closed it again quickly and shook her head. “… No. No, it is nothing.”
“I sincerely doubt as much, but I shall grant you the benefit of the doubt. I ask only that when you are ready to speak, we may finally resolve the matter.”

“WHAT MATTER?!” Luna suddenly screamed angrily, face violently contorting into a mask of bitterness and rage. It took Luna a full beat to even realize what she’d done, and her face flushed in horror.
“Shh,” Celestia hushed her as she drew her sister in close with her wings. “… Everything is going to be fine-“
“No. No, it isn’t.” Luna argued, weeping openly. “Angry – always, so angry. It’s in my head, Tia – it’s inside my head! The nightmares, the visions, they – they never leave, they never stop!” she sobbed, resting her forehead awkwardly on Celestia’s chest. “I don’t care – I don’t care what Discord claims, he is wrong – that – that – that thing is evil. Evil, Celestia!”
She could think of nothing to say, nothing to ease her sister’s fears. Celestia wished that there was something she could do, some way to help her; maybe, just maybe Discord had been lying.
I might be shifty from time to time, but I don’t lie. I have standards.

Celestia vowed that she would set the course straight. The time would come to pass, and eventually, she would be presented with an ultimatum – one that, apparently, she wasn’t supposed to ever make.
And yet, how can one be forced to choose between what should be, and what is right?

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Just a few, simple little words. It could all be over, just four little words – no. No, no no no. Just a little further… just a little further…
Ryan told himself that over and over again, limping wearily down the seemingly endless tunnels. The damp, heavy air and low ceilings were beginning to make him claustrophobic, nervous; his eyes darted over his shoulder now and again every few seconds to make sure he wasn’t being followed.

“… Fuck.” Ryan breathed, trying to catch his breath. He wasn’t going to find Twilight. He wasn’t going to save his friends. He wasn’t even going to save himself. He was going to die. He was going to die down in that god-awful filth pit, and –
“Ryan!” Twilight’s voice echoed from not far away.
“Kid!” he shouted suddenly, peeling himself off the floor. He hadn’t even noticed when he’d fallen, it had been so long since he’d rested.
Can’t pass out – gotta save the kids. Can’t pass out.
“Where are ya’, kid!?” he shouted, turning down another corridor just as he watched a very worn down Twilight desperately kicking at a pair of hissing changelings.

“Ryan, help!” Twilight called out, dim flashes of light occasionally blurring from her horn. She looked exhausted, and she had several cuts and scrapes along her sides.
“… Oh, nice fuckin’ try.” Ryan said suddenly, leaning against a thin wall. “Like I’m gonna fall for that again.”
“Ryan, please!” she screamed out to him as they dragged her away, and he quickly lost sight of them. It shook him slightly, to see just how accurately they could impersonate her. She really did look like she was on the verge of hyperventilation from fear.
“Not happenin’, assholes! I ain’t that stupid!”

“Ryan, I swear I will lock you in a room with Angel if you don’t SAVE MY FLANK!”
Ryan blinked, standing in place for a full beat.
“… AW, FUCK – I’M COMIN’, KID!”

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Can’t pass out – gotta save the kids. Can’t pass out – gotta save the kids.

“Purple?” Ryan cried out, cupping his hand around his mouth, keeping his other on his bad leg for support. “Twilight?”
It was no good; he’d lost them.

It all looked the same. Everything, it all looked alike. That feeling of despair began to overtake him again. Dim, dark, low, and bathed in a light green pallor, it all looked identical. Ryan had been close to giving up hope completely when he saw it – one of the halls had a brighter light coming from it. It wasn’t much to go on, but he plodded toward it desperately anyway.
“Kid?” he breathed, dragging himself forward and using the walls to pull. He felt so tired… his muscles insisted on rest, screaming for release. The wounds and cuts he’d gained burned collectively, and he took a moment to stop and tear off a strip from his filthy pants to make into a makeshift bandage. Once he’d gotten it wrapped tightly around the bite wound on his forearm, he wiped his sweaty brow and forced himself to his feet.

Poking his head around the corner of the light-spewing room, Ryan had to take in a breath.
Not from awe – he was trying to keep himself from vomiting again.
“… Ho-lee shit.” Ryan whispered, gazing about the much larger room. He entered it slowly, noting the ceiling was still low, forcing him to remain slouched. Several large, bulky cocoons had been weaved into the wall, each one filled to the brim with some kind of sickly glowing liquid. That wasn’t the part that disturbed him.
No, what scared him were its inhabitants.
He’d expected egg sacs of some kind, housing some of the changelings. It’s what the cocoons initially reminded him of.

Gently placing a tired hand up against one of the cocoons, he found it to be quite warm. A thin layer of transparent material was keeping the storage of liquid inside, and a thought occurred to him.
Perhaps if he could try the mind trick on one of them, find out exactly what the shadowy shapes floating within were…
But it didn’t work the last time. No matter how tightly he closed his eyes, he grabbed hungrily for the hidden spark, trying to force it to work.
… No. No, that’s not right. He struggled to calm himself, clearing his mind. There was too much bothering him, too much adrenalin – it only worked when he was calm, for some reason. Sure enough, as soon as he began gently coaxing the spark out, the familiar invisible barrier drew up close.
Or perhaps he drew close to it. It was difficult to tell.

Regardless, a small level of joy was brought to him at his success, and he pushed out against it as he had before. Curiously, exploring – and to some extent, it worked. With effort, he could feel the ever-so-slight throb of some kind of life, hiding within the cocoon. Unfortunately, that was all that happened, proving to be slightly more energy consuming and useless than simply looking through the transparent cover.
With a sigh, he dug out one of the hardened wall shards he’d carefully placed in his pocket, and tried to decide whether or not he should open the pod. However, his mental probing had apparently disturbed the inhabitant, because the shadowy form inside suddenly lurched forward, causing Ryan to leap back in shock.

It slammed against the barrier, again and again.
“H-hang on!” Ryan said quickly, plunging the shard into the transparent lining and ripping downward in one swift motion. A foul, burning stench met his nostrils as a wave of lime green liquid gushed forth, and Ryan once again fought the urge to vomit as a slime coated unicorn burst forth, dropping onto the filthy floor and gasping for air. He choked and coughed, and Ryan warily helped the thing to its feet.
The tan unicorn shook his head viciously, spewing out (disgustingly) large amounts of the liquid, gagging as he did so. A bright orange shock of mane stood on end, almost like a very tall buzz cut, which matched his short tail. The cutie mark on his thigh displayed a spinning saw blade wreathed in blue stood prominently against the green ick.

“… ‘Sup.” Ryan said simply, staring in shock down at the pony.
It took the unicorn several seconds to get his bearings, and he stared up at Ryan in equal surprise.
“… Wha’ in blue blazes are ya’, lad?” he had a melodic, rich voice. From the sound of it, Ryan would have guessed that he sounded a little Irish. That is, if ponies had an Ireland. Or maybe Scottish. Frankly, he couldn’t really tell the difference.
“Fuckin’ Superman, that’s what.” Ryan stated bluntly, jabbing a thumb at his chest. “You’re welcome.”
The unicorn gazed around the room for a bit, looking at the other pods, and shrugged. “I don’t get that reference. So long as yer not with th’ changelin’s, lad. Never thought anypony’d bother comin’ ta the desert to save lil’ old me.”
“… Desert?” Ryan asked, confused. “Naw, man. This is a forest.”
“… No, it’s a bleedin’ desert. Wha’, choo been in the sun a bit too long, lad?”

“It’s the fuckin’ Everfree, dude.” Ryan grumbled, looking about at the other pods. One of them seemed to have something floating up near the transparent cover, but he couldn’t quite make it out.
“Th’ Everfree Forest?!” the tan unicorn said in surprise. “Tha’… That’s impossible.”
“How so?” Ryan asked conversationally, ready to open up more of the pods. If he could manage to save enough of them, maybe he could begin gathering a small task force…
“Lad, changelin’s don’t go movin’ ther’ homes.” He looked a little shaken, but started toward one of the pods. “… We can figure out th’ details later – wha’ choo say we crack some o’ these babies open an’ help some o’ the others?”
“… ‘The fuck did you think I was doin’?” Ryan asked sarcastically. “Miller, by the way. Ryan Miller.”
The unicorn blinked, and tilted his head. “Tha’s an odd name if’n I’ve ever heard one. Th’ name’s Blade. Blade Ripper.”

Ryan regarded Blade with a measure of respect he usually reserved only for his reflection.
“… Dude, that has got to be the manliest fuckin’ name, ever.”
“Glad we’re of agreein’ on sommat, lad.” Blade said with a sly grin, and a small burst of blue magic sparked at the tip of his horn, slowly spinning until it had formed into a levitating disk of energy nearly a foot wide. He motioned for Ryan to back away with the shard, so that he could maneuver. Ryan quickly stepped away from the whirring blue saw as it picked up speed and flew around the room in a full circle, splitting open every pod and vanishing once it had finished.

The smell that greeted them was overwhelming.
Ryan gagged and covered his face with part of his ripped shirt, but Blade had no such comfort. At least a dozen dried up corpses fell ungraciously from the pods, landing with sickening splats! on the floor. One of which actually fell in half, from being encased within the liquid for so long.
“… Aw, fuck.” Ryan choked, eyes burning from the odors in the air.
“By th’ Titans!” Blade gasped in horror, watching the last of them fall from the cocoons as green slime flowed over the floor. His face paled, and he looked as if he were going to be ill.
“That’s… that’s just nasty, man.”
“… I was next.” His eyes widened in disgust, and he shook his head. “… The bastards were ta’ have me fer a meal next.”

A hollow screeching sound sounded behind them, and Ryan recognized it as the scream of one of the changelings. More and more of them sounded off like sirens, and Ryan fought to keep down his rising fear of winding up in one of the pods.
Just like the kids might be now…!
“Shit!” he yelped, dashing down the low halls in a random direction, away from the noise. Blade, slipping on the ichor. The unicorn galloped after him, following closely as they dashed away.
“Right-o, lad, wha’s th’ plan?”
“Plan?” Ryan huffed as he gasped for air. “What plan?”
“Lad, are ya’ no’ part of a rescue squad?”
“Aw, fuck no, dude. We thought this was – left!” he shouted, darting down a corridor as more of the changelings began pouring in from another hall ahead of them. “- just gonna be a few of ‘em. We wasn’t expectin’ a whole, uh… fuckin’ swarm of ‘em.”
“… We’re doomed.”

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Can’t pass out – gotta save the kids. Can’t pass out – gotta save the kids.

“Come – huh – on!” Ryan wheezed, pumping his legs as fast as he could, gradually losing themselves in the maze of tunnels. It turned out that the changelings didn’t like having their food storages plundered – especially not when the food was running away.
“Wha’ did you think I wos doin’, lad?” Blade breathed through clenched teeth, a bolt of green lightning striking the wall beside him as he dashed ever forward.
“Just go faster!” Ryan yelled, thrusting his fists through the air as if it would somehow make him more aerodynamic.

“Go’ an idea!” the unicorn said quickly, lowering his head. For a moment, Ryan considered stopping to fend off the oncoming horde, before he realized what Blade was doing. The bright blue rippling disk of energy was summoned to the tip of his horn, and with a frantic twist of his head, it was thrown forward-

-directly at the ceiling.
“Shit!” Ryan swore, hurtling himself forward along with Blade as a mass of shattered ceiling came crashing down behind them. He collapsed onto the ground, gasping for oxygen through the clouds of dust.
Blade rolled on the ground, laughing hysterically between great gulps of air.
“Did – did you see their faces, laddie?” he cackled, wiping a tear from his filth-caked muzzle. “Ah, I ‘ope I crushed the lot o’ them. Probably no’, but it’s a nice thought.”
“F-fuck.” Ryan said, a manic grin spreading onto his own face. They were alive. They were alive.

On the other side of the rubble pile, Ryan could hear the sound of scrabbling and shrieks of changelings, and the pile suddenly began shifting.
“We – we gotta get movin’.” Ryan stated, forcing himself to his feet. It might have bought them a temporary distraction, but it was still not enough to hold them all off. As they jogged further into the tunnels, Ryan noticed that they were beginning to grow both wider and taller, something that he was grateful for. His aching back couldn’t take much more of the stooping, and he cracked his neck with relief as he stood straighter.

Doing so instantly reminded him of the changeling he’d killed, and he felt like he was going to be sick.
Could have saved him…
It was him or me. I chose me.
You didn’t even try.

“All righ’ there, lad?” Blade asked him, craning his neck to look up at his face resignedly.
“… Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” Ryan lied, keeping at an even pace. The further they traveled, the more it became apparent that only the widest and largest tunnels were remaining; all of the smaller ones either starting showing up in unreachable places in higher enclaves along the walls, or disappeared altogether.

It was Blade Ripper who noticed it first.
“… We’re not bein’ followed, lad.”
Ryan’s eyes darted about in panic, realizing that the pony was right.
“… Shit. That ain’t a good sign, is it?”
“I doubt it, la-down!” he screamed suddenly, kicking Ryan’s legs from beneath him. He toppled over indignantly, just as a flying bolt of green lightning flew overhead, singing his nose as he dropped.

That was close…!
Blade rolled with the motion, flinging a whirling disc of flaming azure death at one of the higher enclaves. It bypassed the changeling altogether, which hissed at them with a wicked delight as its wings carried it impossibly quickly directly toward the unicorn. Time seemed to slow down, and for a split second, Ryan almost could have touched the alicorn-changeling’s horn as it passed.
It’s mouth open wide in a hungry scream, it lunged directly at the unmoving figure of Blade…

-And it was promptly split horizontally in half as the blue disc-o-death faithfully returned to its sender, much faster than the changeling was traveling.
One half of the changeling fell to the floor in a burst of ichor with a loud splat!, and it skidded several feet before coming to a stop. The other half continued sailing directly over a very satisfied Blade Ripper, who was partially covered in changeling blood.
Ryan was in a state of shock.

On the one hand, that had to be one of the most awesome things he’d ever seen a pony do.
On the other….
“Jesus Christ…” Ryan whispered, and for the umpteenth time that day, he felt as if he were going to be sick.
“Wha’?” Blade replied haughtily. “It was him, or me. Guess who I ‘appen to like more.”
“Fuck, man!” Ryan shouted at him as he struggled to get to his feet without slipping in changeling… ick. “You didn’t – I mean – he wasn’t – he had a horn!”
“Tha’ jus’ makes ‘em more dangerous, lad,” Blade said as he continued his trek, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“We coulda saved him!”

Blade actually stopped for a moment, and stared at Ryan as if he were stupid.
“Are ya’ outta your bleedin’ mind, boyo?” he spat. “How d’you propose goin’ ‘round, savin’ the ch-“
He never got to finish, as Ryan promptly grabbed his horn, simultaneously feeling for the spark to attempt the mind-trick-thing he’d done before. So that he would know, to make him understand-

He pushed against the familiar barrier, reaching out with his mind. He found not just resistance, however; it was as if the unicorn’s mind were surrounded by an entire field of barbed wire. Every time he attempted to get close, sharp pain greeted him and he was forced back. At least, the first couple of times he attempted it. Blade recovered from the shock of this freakish creature reaching out for his mind, and promptly surprised Ryan right back.
A violent burst of energy slammed into Ryan’s chest, knocking him against the wall. He let out a grunt of pain, knocked from his reverie. The strange feeling of his attempted mind-trick faded, only to be replaced with a throbbing pain between his eyes.

Which was only made worse by the sudden appearance of a spinning blue disk, bright and sharp edges dangerously close to Ryan’s throat.
“… Now, lad. You’re goin’ ta’ tell me jus’ where you learned tha’.”

Ryan tried very hard not to gulp, lest his throat movement inch the deadly blade any closer.
He shrugged, ever so slightly. “Some guy. Think his name was Discord.”
Ryan noticed that the whirling blue blade had been drawing closer and closer to his throat, and the sudden realization that the stallion really had meant to kill him was shocking enough; however, the moment he heard Discord’s name, the disc vanished. Blade breathed heavily for several moments, staring at Ryan.

“… You’re no’ quite right, lad.”
“I get that a lot.” He replied sourly, gingerly rubbing his throat. “I, uh…” he cleared his throat, shaking his greasy head as he stood. “… Sorry. I didn’t… that wasn’t the same as the last time I tried that trick.”
The unicorn regarded him with a mixture of loathing and anger, but it slowly faded and turned to pity. “… I don’ know why you’re throwin’ ‘round big names, or jus’ how you tried tha’ another time an’ lived, bu’ we’ve got to get out before more come.” He spit on his hoof suddenly, extending it to Ryan. “Temp’rary truce, lad. Judgment’s for when we’re all in less danger o’ dyin’.”

“… Judgment?” Ryan said cautiously, leaning down to take his hoof and shake it.
“… Ne’er hear o’ ‘innocence by ignorance’, bu’ I suppose th’ royal court migh’ hear ya’.” Blade said slowly as they walked. Well, the unicorn walked. Ryan limped.

It was then that the sound of battle reached their ears.
And screaming.
Fillies screaming.
Lots of screaming.

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A single droplet of blood slowly rolled down a thin cut on Rarity’s cheek.
“... Oh, it. Is. On.”

Her horn flashed brightly for a split second, and the changeling offender attempted to escape, but too late – a pair of stone slabs burst forth from the ground, slapping with an almighty boom! and crushing the changeling between them.
“Git behind me, Fluttershy!” Applejack yelled, kicking a charging changeling directly in the face. The yellow pegasus, who was badly wounded already, cowered behind her friend as Applejack stood over her defensively, desperately fending off the seemingly endless swarm of changelings.

They’d already taken down Pinkie Pie; she was one of the first to go down after the party cannon (no idea where she got it from) ran out of ammunition, and Rainbow Dash was encased in the foul ichor cocoon trying to protect her. The way she was being continuously assaulted, it looked like the same was going to happen to Applejack and Fluttershy.

The entire room they currently fought in was covered in changelings, with very few patches of bare land. Even the wall leading up the domed ceiling were crawling with them – hundreds of changelings, each and every one of them eager for a chance to take them alive.
Or dead.

Rarity fought harder, flinging rocks and pebbles and lethally high speeds with her magic. She desperately sought her companions, but Fluttershy and Applejack were eventually overwhelmed through sheer numbers. Only Twilight, through means of unbearably exhausting teleportation, had managed to reach the raised dais in the center of the room.
In a way, it almost reminded Rarity of a grim sort of circus – hundreds of screaming ponies (if you could call them that), so much excitement you could die, and of course, the ringleader.

It would have been so much less despair-inducing if Twilight hadn’t been lying on the ground at the changeling queen’s feet.

“Oh, you certainly do struggle, don’t you?” Chrysalis hummed satisfactorily as the Cutie Mark Crusaders desperately pounded against the transparent sealing on the cocoon imprisoning them. “Don’t worry, little ones…” she said as her warped horn began to glow in a sickly green light, and the cocoon opened silently. “It’ll all be over soon.”
Of course, Chrysalis certainly hadn’t been anticipating Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo to do what they always did best.
Make lots and lots of noise.

Chrysalis clapped her hooves over her ears, trying to keep out the most horrendous wailing that she’d ever heard.
“Aaaagh!” she shrieked, unable to even hear herself. Her horn glowed brightly again as the cocoon sealed itself over, locking the terrible noise inside. She glared at the fillies hatefully, thinking of the best way to choke the life out of them without wasting precious resources.

“Success, my queen.” A pegasus-like changeling crowed, dropping the unconscious Rarity on the ground, and the other changelings noted their queen’s smile.
“You’ve done well.” she purred. “Pod her. With the others.”
“This one?” the pegasus asked as it nosed Twilight carefully.
“No. No, this one challenged me,” Chrysalis said with a wicked grin. “and those that challenge the queen must… must… what is that noise?”

She listened closely, along with every other changeling in the room. All movement ceased, and every head of every changeling listened intently to the slowly growing noise, echoing from one of the higher passages off of the ground.
“…-et your filthy fuckin’ paws-“
“… What in the-?” Chrysalis muttered aloud, glancing upward.
“-[b]OFFA MY KIDS, YA’ DAMN DIRTY BUG!”

Of all the things that had ever surprised Queen Chrysalis, from the horrible harpy-fillies to her entire home suddenly being magically transported to the middle of a forest, she never would have expected a six and a half foot tall hairless gorilla to come flying out of the sky.
And punch her directly in the face.
In the FACE.

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