Library

The library was silent as the mares sat in front of the princesses. The three alicorns each held a stern expression as they looked over the mares. Pinkie and Pinkamean looked disappointed in their friends as they paced back and forth. Every few seconds one of the mares would look up before quickly averting their gaze away again. A heavy silence filled the room after Molestia gathered their attention. It was disturbing to see the once playful alicorn turn serious after hearing what the mares said about Chrysalis.

“What was all that about?” Molestia finally asked.

“What?” Twilight asked.

“What was all that about not wanting to go save Chrysalis?” Molestia pressed.

“We just don’t see a reason to save her. She ran away into the Everfree forest, and let’s not forget that she invaded Canterlot,” Rose said.

“She may have done that, but we have forgiven her for it,” Celestia said.

“She attacked your sister, and she even threatened to kill all of you,” Rainbow said.

“Did you girls really forget that she did that did all of that out of desperation? Her hive was dying, and she saw no other way to help them,” Pinkamena said.

“She could have contacted the princesses if she needed help. Instead of doing that though, she just attacked us,” Vinyl said.

“I actually spoke to her about that,” Luna stated.

“So, what was her excuse?” Octavia said.

“She did send us letters, but they never reached us. I spoke with Ditzy, and she said she delivered the mail that was addressed to us,” Luna explained.

“Then where could it have gone?” Trixie asked.

“That is what we’re not sure of. We don’t know who took the letters, but they were returned to us several days after the invasion,” Celestia said.

“So, she only attacked because she thought we were ignoring her?” Fluttershy asked with tears forming.

“She did. She believed we were deliberately ignoring her letters, and that we wanted to her hive to die off,” Celestia said as her features softened.

“Now do you see what you’ve done?” Pinkie asked as she looked at her friends with a trembling lip.

“We made it seem that we wanted Chrysalis dead, and now our coltfriends are angry with us,” Rarity said as she sagged in her chair.

“So, what do we do now?” Ditzy asked.

“The only thing we can do. We apologize to our coltfriends, then Chrysalis, and then we hope that we are forgiven in return,” Twilight said as her ears drooped.

“I wouldn’t worry about that too much. They can never stay mad at us. Everypony has their faults, and they love us even more for those,” Molestia said as she adopted a motherly smile.

“So, everything will be fine later after they get Chrysalis back?” Applejack asked.

“Our coltfriends will return safely with Chrysalis, and when they do, we can give our apologies,” Luna said as she gave a smile.

The mares were still down trodden after talking with the princesses as they looked at the ground. The princesses, Pinkie, and Pinkamena felt their hearts ache at the other mares. The five of them walked to the saddened mares, and pulled them into a warm embrace. The mares nuzzled into the embrace, enjoying the comfort that it brought them. They could feel their eyes were slightly wet as they fought back against their tears. They’ve made a few mistakes in their time, but this one hurt the most.

A few of the mares tried to play off their tears like they were sweating, but their friends knew better. Whooves watched as the mares comforted each other as they learned a valuable lesson. The stallion thought back the past few friendship reports that Twilight sent, and he thought this was another good one for her. He turned his attention turned away from the touching moment to a nearby window. Everything was peaceful outside, until he could see hints of smoke coming from the Everfree.

Seeing that all the mares were still comforting each other, Whooves walked to the window. He saw the smoke coming from far away, and he couldn’t help his growing worry. He had much faith in the human, but that smoke caused him to have some doubt. The stallion turned away from the window, and walked towards the mares. He was about to speak, but stopped himself. It wouldn’t do any good to act hysterical around the mare, and he took a few seconds to control his nerves.

Pinkie was the first to notice the nearby stallion, and she smiled at him. Her smile turned to a frown after seeing Whooves’ distraught face. The pink mare pulled away from the others, and this got their attention. All the mares were looking at Whooves with worried looks, who was still trying to find the words to speak to them. After taking a quick glance behind him, he looked back at the mares as he took a calming breath.

“I believe we have a problem,” Whooves said.

“What kind of problem?” Celestia asked.

“I saw a large plume of smoke coming from the Everfree froest. I think it’s coming from the direction of our mates,” Whooves said.

“Are you saying that they’re in trouble?” Rainbow asked as she got in front of the stallion.

“They might be, but I feel that I might be slightly overreacting. I have faith that they’re fine, but there might be something else going on,” Whooves said as he looked out the window.

“Then we need to go help them,” Spitfire said.

“We might be getting in their way if we go to help them,” Whooves said.

“You also said that something else is going on. I’m not one to doubt they can handle it, but if you’re worried about something, then we have to help them,” Blood said.

“I also said that I might be overreacting. We should just wait here and-” Whooves started before hearing a door open.

“I’m not going to sit around here and wait for them to come back. I’m done having near heart attacks when Marcus gets into a fight. I now the others feel the same, but I refuse to sit around. I’m also not the only one that’s going to sit around,” Rainbow said as Spitfire and Blood followed her.

“You’re jumping to rash conclusions. You might end up getting yourselves hurt, and then causing him to worry about getting you to safety,” Whooves said as the pegasi took to the air.

Whooves watched as the three pegasi flew into the forest, a frown present on his face. He turned to see the other mares look at him with worry. He released a heavy sigh as he took a seat on the couch. The mares looked at each, trying to decide what to do. Everything was quiet as the mares thought to themselves. Each mare took a quick glance out the window, and they decided what to do. They each held faith in the humans as they sat around the library, hoping for their safe return along with their friends.

Everfree

The sounds of rustling leaves and breaking twigs filled the ears of the humans and alicorn as they ran through the forest. They entered the forest thirty minutes ago, and they had no idea where to go. They all ran in the most sensible direction, but that was proving to be pointless. They each ran for a few more minutes before stopping to take a breather. Everyone was panting heavily, sweat dripping from their bodies as they tried to get their energy back. Luke kept watch around them since he didn’t need a break.

“This is taking too long. Is there any way we can find her?” Marcus said as he punched a nearby tree.

“I think I might have an idea,” Moon offered.

“We’re open to any suggestions at the moment,” Brandon said as he leaned against a tree.

“I placed a tracking spell on Chrysalis before we attacked Canterlot,” Moon said.

“Why did you do that?” Callie asked.

“It was insurance in case she tried to betray me,” Moon said.

“So, where is she?” Marcus asked.

“I need a few minutes to find her. Do you mind keeping an eye out while I find her?” Moon asked.

Moon sat down as she focused her magic. The alicorn’s horn glowed a dark purple, while the humans kept watch around her. Marcus was getting antsy as he stood watch, his heart beating against his chest as he hoped Chrysalis was alright. His nails dug into his skin, causing blood to fall to the forest floor. He was pulled from his watch when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He looked behind him to see Drak giving him a comforting smile.

“Relax, Marcus. Getting tense will only make this situation worse,” Drak said.

“I know, but she has been out here for a long time. I’m worried that something might have happened to her,” Marcus said.

“You really think that something in this forest could really hurt her?” Drak asked.

“Not everything, but there are a few things that could,” Marcus said.

“Yes, but she’s smart enough to avoid them. She’s somewhere safe at this moment, and we’ll all head home after we get her,” Drak said reassuringly.

“Do you have any idea why she might be out here?” Marcus asked.

“None that really come to mind,” Drak answered. He pursed his lips for a few seconds in deep thought, until he remembered something. “Didn’t she mention something about her family?”

“She did, but there’s no way that they would come out this far. The Everfree is dangerous enough, and they would have to risk coming near Ponyville,” Marcus said.

“But it seems like the only logical sense on why she would run,” Drak said.

The two human fell silent as they pondered on different reason why the changeling would run away. They looked back at Moon to see her still focusing on her tracking spell. Seeing that the alicorn was still busy, they went back to their thoughts. Marcus rubbed his temples as he tried to figure out anything to solve their problems. He pulled back the few conversations he had with Chrysalis, and the few books on changelings that he read. Most of the stuff he was remembering was useless at the moment, until he remembered a helpful tip.

“You might actually be right, Drak,” Marcus said.

“How so?” Drak asked.

“We forgot that changelings can communicate to each other through a hive mind. It probably works differently between drones and queens, but the concept might be the same,” Marcus explained.

“So, you’re saying that they could speak to Chrysalis through a certain communication that only they could hear?” Drak asked.

“Exactly like that. They would still need to be probably somewhat close, but maybe not if it’s her sisters communicating to her. They probably said something to her to cause her to run away, and now they might be heading back to the Badlands,” Marcus said.

“So, we’re now on a time scale to save her?” Andrew asked.

“Possibly,” Alex answered.

“God, how can I be so fucking stupid not to see this coming?” Marcus chastised himself.

“Dude, calm down. We were able to narrow down on a couple reasons why she ran away. Now, all we have to do is find her, and bring her back safely,” Jaeden said.

“We’re going to have to move fast, though,” Moon said.

“Why is that?” Marcus asked.

“I was able to find her position, but she seems to be in trouble. Her magic has flared a couple of times, but they were weak,” Moon said.

“Which way do we need to start running?” Alex asked.

“We just need to keep going forward,” Moon said.

Everyone gave each other a quick glance, before they all took off in a sprint. If Chrysalis was fighting back, then there was a chance they could find her. Everyone ran in the direction Moon had pointed out, and pushed themselves as fast as they could. A few stray branches would scratch or slap the humans, but they ignored it to get to Chrysalis faster. They ran for a few minutes, before a maniacal laughter filled their ears. Everyone pushed themselves harder to reach the source of the noise.

As they ran, they saw something leaning against a tree. They weren’t able to see much, but the sight of a dark cerulean mane allowed Marcus to make an easy guess. They looked past the tree to see another changeling standing in front of Chrysalis, and took notice of her orange mane. They saw her horn glowing a dark orange, sparks flying off of it as she prepared an attack. Moon didn’t wait for Luke to change the other changeling as her own horn glowed its dark blue. The dark alicorn focused as much of her magic before releasing it.

The changeling and alicorn released their spells at the same time. A loud boom resonated around the forest as everyone took cover. Everyone looked around the hiding places to see the area filled with smoke. They were ready to attack the changeling, and save Chrysalis, but stopped when they heard the changeling speak. Hearing the changeling speak, they held their place to see what else she had planned. The conversation neared the end, and Marcus felt his rage boil over.

Ambrosia

When the communication portal was closed off, Ambrosia turned towards the tree her sister was against. The changeling was certain that Chrysalis was dead, but it never hurt to make sure. She also didn’t want to face her mother’s ire if she didn’t finish her job. The smoke was starting to clear, and it seemed like there was no trace left of the younger sister. Ambrosia grinned to herself, proud that her work was finally finished.

Her grin soon turned into a frown when she saw her sister unharmed from the attack. She took notice of the dark blue shield that was in front of Chrysalis. Ambrosia walked up to the shield and placed a hand on it. The changeling focused her magic again, preparing a stronger spell.

“I don’t know who’s protecting you, but they will not-”

Ambrosia was cut off as a fist impacted with her face. She could feel herself sent back several feet as voices started to ring out. Her drones were quick to stop her from flying further back, and when she looked forward, she was angered by what she saw.

Marcus

Marcus saw his friends shaking their heads, trying to keep him from charging at the changeling. The fears came true when the human got to his feet and ran towards the changeling. The other humans and alicorn shook their heads as they chased after their friend. Marcus saw the orange changeling preparing another spell, and he was not going to let it happen. The human pulled back his right arm, and while the changeling was distracted, he put everything he could into the punch.

Marcus felt his fist connect with the changeling’s face as she was sent flying back. He saw several drones fly towards their fallen queen, and used this as a chance to check on Chrysalis. He turned towards the fallen changeling, and he swore his heart skipped a beat. Chrysalis was worse for wear, and she was barely breathing. The human kneeled next to her as he gently patted her cheek to wake her up. His friends joined him at his side as they tried to bring the changeling back to consciousness.

Moon’s horn flared to life as she used a basic first aid spell. Some of the cuts and bruises on the changeling started to heal, but the pieces of broken chitin were another story. Moon summoned a canteen, and Marcus ripped off the sleeves of his shirt. He knew Rarity was probably going to be pissed, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that. He doused his sleeves in the cold water, and went to pressing to the changeling’s forehead, and wiping away some of her blood. Marcus could feel a few tears starting to form, and he quickly wiped them away.

Marcus continued to speak softly to the changeling, until her eyes slowly fluttered open. The changeling was about to speak, before being abruptly cut off. The human looked at her with a serious glare that softened as he continued to wipe away her blood. He noticed the drones gathering around them, but they didn’t charge them. After wiping away a few more spots of blood, he spoke softly to the changeling.

“You’re safe now,” Marcus said in a reassuring tone.

“I’m sorry,” Chrysalis said as she held back her tears.

“I know you are. We’re going to get you out of here,” Marcus said as he hugged the changeling.

“Thank you for saving me,” Chrysalis said.

“Just remember that we’re going to have a long talk about this when you get better,” Marcus said.

“I understand,” Chrysalis said.

“Now, who are we dealing with?” Marcus asked as he turned to face the other changeling.

“The name’s Ambrosia. I’m the second youngest sister, and I’m going to enjoy ending your lives,” Ambrosia said as she stood on her feet.

“Chrysalis, which scar did she give you?” Marcus asked as he glanced over his shoulder.

“She gave me the one on my back, but I need to warn you about something,” Chrysalis said. She began to cough harshly into her hand.

“What do you need to warn me about?” Marcus asked as he glared at the other changeling.

“One thing that no pony knows is that not every changeling needs to feed off love. My clan is the only that needs to do that. Ambrosia feeds off of jealousy. Mynx feeds off of lust. Miasma feeds off of sorrow, and our mother, Lacera, feeds off of rage,” Chrysalis said.

“Thanks for the heads up,” Marcus said.

“So, what’s the plan?” Ryan asked.

“Drak, I need you to stay with me. Everyone else, I want you to make sure that Chrysalis and Moon make it back to the library,” Marcus said.

“Are you sure about that?” Drak asked.

“Once Chrysalis starts running, she’s going to send the drones after her. That’s going to leave Ambrosia by herself, but I don’t know how strong she is, and I’m not taking chances,” Marcus explained.

“Then why not take me instead?” Blake asked.

“I’m dealing with a changeling that is strong with her magic. We only have one person that can use defensive magic, and I need you to look after Andrew and Luke so they don’t get too damaged,” Marcus said.

“I understand,” Blake said.

“Now get going,” Marcus said.

All the friends nodded as Moon picked up Chrysalis and carried her on her back. The sounds of retreating footsteps filled Drak’s and Marcus’ ears as drones flew past them. Wanting to add a little insult to the changeling, Marcus pulled out his knife and stabbed at a passing changeling. The changeling fell to the ground, and before it could get away, the human stabbed it in its throat. Ambrosia’s eyes sparked with fury as the human looked back at her. He glared at the orange changeling for a few seconds before glancing at his friend.

“I’ll aim up top if you aim below,” Marcus said.

“I can do that,” Drak said.

“How well is your shield spell?” Marcus asked.

“It’s decent, but against her, I might be able to only do it twice,” Drak said with a slight frown.

“What about enhancing your weapons’ power?” Marcus asked.

“Already did that while we were running through this forest. This is also another reason why I can only put up two shields,” Drak replied.

“I guess we’ll have to make them count, then,” Marcus said as he faced the changeling again.

“Are you finished saying your last words?” Ambrosia taunted.

“I’m going to enjoy giving you the same scar you gave Chrysalis,” Marcus threatened as he pulled out his knife.

Ambrosia channeled her magic as Drak pulled out his Bo staff. The two humans and changeling stared each other down. A heavy breeze blew past as they prepared for an attack. The orange changeling didn’t have time to wait around, and she made the first move. A magic blast shot forth from her hands, and the humans easily dodged it. An explosion sounded behind them as a tree fell over. Marcus immediately charged the changeling, aiming for her chest with his knife. Ambrosia sidestepped the attack, and launched another attack against the human.

Marcus was too close to dodge the attack, and was sent flying. His back slammed against a hard branch, causing him to flip to his back. He fell to the ground, and landed with a hard thud. Drak took this chance, and aimed his Bo staff against her gut. Ambrosia was too slow to get out of the path of the attack, and took the blow. The sound of chitin cracking reached Drak’s ears, and he gave a small smirk at the damage. His smirk was short lived when the changeling grabbed his staff and threw him against a nearby tree. Ambrosia threw the human’s staff to the side as he gave a slight groan in pain.

“You both have made a grave mistake in attacking Ambrosia, Queen of the Changelings,” Ambrosia boasted.

“So, you’re another queen?” Marcus asked as he staggered to feet.

“You will do yourself good if you just stay down, creature,” Ambrosia said with a small scowl.

“First off, my name’s Marcus, and this is Drak. Second, we are humans. Finally, since you’re a queen, and then I guess the same can be said for your sisters. You’re just a bug slut,” Marcus said with a slight chuckle.

“How dare you say that you insolent worm. I’m stronger than Chrysalis, and you only insulted her as well since she held the same title once. I thought you were her friend?” Ambrosia said as she growled at them.

“Please, Chrysalis is twice the person you’ll ever be. You’re nothing compared to her, and the same can be said about your sisters and mother,” Marcus shot back.

This struck a nerve with the changeling as she launched another magic blast at the human. Marcus was about to dodge when a crimson wall appeared in front of him. The blast made contact with the wall, and another loud explosion filled the forest. Smoke filled everyone’s vison, but as soon as the wall went down, Marcus charged at the changeling. Ambrosia saw the human and delivered a punch straight at his gut. Specks of blood fell from the human’s mouth, but grabbed the changeling’s arm.

Drak got to his feet and ran towards the changeling as Marcus held her in place. Drak grabbed at his Sais, and held them in reverse. He jumped into the air, and impaled the changeling in the back. He missed her wings, but was able to bring her down to one knee. Marcus used this chance to let go of the changeling’s arm, and grabbed her head. He didn’t hold back as he brought the orange changeling’s head down fast, and his knee up. His knee made contact with her muzzle, the sound of more chitin breaking filling their ears.

The changeling shot a dark orange blast of magic at Marcus, sending him flying back. She grabbed Drak’s right wrist and pulled him in front of her. Ambrosia got to her feet, and kicked Drak towards Marcus. The changeling’s eyes glowed a dark orange along with her hands and horn. She whispered an ancient dialect, causing sparks to jump off her horn and hands. Drak quickly put up his last shield as the changeling gave a menacing chuckle.

“This is the end of you,” Ambrosia said.

She launched her magic at the downed humans, confident it would break through the shield. She knew it would because she could tell the human was still inexperienced with magic. The dark orange blast connected with the shield, causing it to crack. Marcus saw the cracking shield and willed himself to his feet. The cracks on the crimson shield started to expand, and he worried he wouldn’t make it. The shield broke, heading right for them. Marcus released a loud scream, refusing this to be their end.

Marcus grabbed Drak and threw him to the other side. His friend was out of danger, and looked back at the blast. Using his last bit of strength, he rolled to his side. The blast landed right next to him, a loud explosion filling the forest. Smoke filled the area the humans were at, and the changeling noticed Drak was unharmed. Scoffing at the pitiful human lying on the ground, she walked towards him. Drak looked up to see the changeling nearing him. He tried to get to his feet, but using his two shield spells and enhancing his weapons have left him drained.

Ambrosia sneered at the fallen human as she focused her magic for another attack. She laughed manically at how pathetic these humans were, and wondered how easily it must have been for her drones to take care of them. The changeling gave a malicious grin at the human as she prepared to strike. Drak gave a low growl as he glared at the changeling. Ambrosia was about to launch her final attack when a searing pain filled her back side. She looked back to see Marcus impaling her with his knife.

Ambrosia was about to scream, when Marcus pushed down on the knife. He followed down her back for four inches before pulling his knife out. The changeling jumped back as she placed pressure near her wound. She looked at her hand to see that she was bleeding profusely. Ambrosia glared back at the humans, before extending her wings and lifting into the air. Marcus prepared for another attack, until the orange changeling spoke to him.

“I guess I underestimated you two,” Ambrosia said.

“Make sure that your sisters know that they will get the exact scar they placed on Chrysalis. Make sure that your mother knows that if she comes after Chrysalis as well, I will stop her,” Marcus said as he panted heavily.

Ambrosia glared at the two humans before taking off deep into the forest. Waiting to see if the changeling was out of sight, Marcus collected Drak’s weapons. He walked over to his downed friend and helped him to his feet. Marcus handed Drak his Bo staff to use as a crutch, as he took his friend’s side. Marcus pocketed his knife as the two walked in the direction their friends ran. Both were panting heavily, and blood covered their bodies, but they needed to make it back to the library before they could rest.

Everfree

Moon ran in the middle of the eight humans as Chrysalis struggled to stay awake. They could hear Ambrosia’s drones following them, and picked up the pace. They were halfway from the outskirts when a hoard of changelings landed in front of them. The humans gathered around the alicorn and changeling as they kept their guard up. Soon, more changeling started to appear around them, effectively trapping them in a circle. The friends looked at each before giving a nod and charging at the changelings.

The drones didn’t hesitate to meet their challenge, charging in with their horns glowing. Luke activated his armor as two blasts headed his way. The blasts made contact, and sent him back a few inches. He deactivated his armor and used his speed to charge the two drones. He lifted his hands and slashed at the changeling’s throats with his reverse knives. Blood spurted forth, covering the human in their orange blood. He spit a few drops of blood that landed in his mouth as he charged another group.

Callie dodged a blast of magic and jumped into the air. She threw her one of her ring blades at the drone. The drone sidestepped her attack, and started to charge her as she fell. She smirked at the drone’s foolish behavior because everyone she fought always fell for this trap. She pulled back on a thin string, calling back her ring blade. The drone was too distracted with the human to see the blade coming from behind. The drone’s horn flared to life, but soon died out when the blade landed against the back of his neck.

Callie landed on the ground and ran towards the changeling. The drone was stunned from the attack, giving the human a perfect follow through. She wrapped her arm under the changeling head, crushing his wind pipe. The changeling thrashed about, fighting to get some air. Callie held the drone close for a few more seconds before giving the head a sharp twist. The sound of chitin and bone breaking filled the human’s ears, and she smiled. Her smile was short lived when a blast of magic hit her.

Andrew threw his knife straight into a changeling’s skull as he grabbed two more by their faces. His aced oozed from his hands, melting the drones’ faces. The two drones screeched loudly in pain, acid flowing into their mouth. Andrew laughed darkly as the drones thrashed about wildly, their bodies turning to mush as they melted. After a few more seconds, he released the two drones to finish melting. He walked up the changeling that he threw the knife at, and pulled it out of its skull.

Andrew cleaned the blood off the changeling and started running towards another group. A drone turned in his direction, and he threw acid in its face. The drone screeched in pain, alerting the other two with him. The two drones flared their horns, and started launching magic blasts at the human. Andrew was able to dodge their attacks, since fear caused them to go off aim. He reached the drone on the left, and he stabbed it in its neck. A magic blast flew past him, and he pulled out his trench knife.

The changeling prepared another attack, but it died off when the drone was punched in the gut. Andrew focused his acid around his hand, and when he punched the changeling in the gut, his hand went straight through. The drone couched up orange blood on his arm before falling limp. Andrew threw the dead drone to the side, and looked around for more. He was about to start heading for another group when he was attacked by two from behind.

Brandon and Blake worked together, until Blake was carried away by changelings. Brandon didn’t worry about him, as he knew his friend would be fine. Brandon turned his attention back to the two drones, and started slashing at them. The drones dodged his attacks, but were moving into one of his traps. He kept pushing them back, until they stepped on some ice. The two drones slipped on his ice, and he followed up with a fire spell. The changelings shrieked in pain as they slowly burned to a crisp.

The smell of burning flesh reminded the human of Earth, and he could only shake his head. He turned away from the burning changelings, heading back for his friends. A drone got the drop on him and kicked him against a tree. Brandon tried to get to his feet, but the drone grabbed him by his shirt collar, and threw him back at his friends.

Alex, Ryan, and Jaeden worked together to fight against the changelings. They couldn’t risk using the small amounts of magic that they learned, especially the few dark spells they learned. Alex grabbed a drone from behind, and Jaeden slashed across his throat using his sickle. Ryan threw his bowie knife at a changeling that tried to jump Jaeden, landing a hit against its chest. Alex pulled out his butterfly knives, stabbing the fallen changeling in the eyes and going straight for the brain.

The drone gave a few twitches before becoming stock still. The three of them gathered together, collecting their weapons. They saw their friends needing help, and started running towards them. As they ran, a few drones flew from above, striking each of them with a magic blast. The three friends were sent flying back to where their friends were. They groaned in pain as they looked at the advancing changelings.

Blake was being carried away by three drones, and he couldn’t fight back. He struggled in their grips, but couldn’t find a way to break free. He wasn’t sure where they were taking him, but he refused to let them win. He thrashed about, hoping to get one of them to let go. He soon felt his legs were free, and he saw Blood Rain carry away the changeling. Spitfire and Rainbow charged at the other two changelings, and freeing the human. He fell for a couple feet, until Blood grabbed him. She carried him back to the ground where they were joined by the other two pegasi.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Blaked asked.

“We came to help you guys,” Spitfire said.

“Do you realize the danger you’re putting yourselves in?” Blake asked.

“Do you not understand that we’re not going to let our coltfriend charge in here recklessly, much less his friends?” Blood shot back.

“You can see why he wouldn’t want you here,” Blake said as he gestured all around them.

“So, I’m not going to let him go and get himself killed. He shouldn’t be surprised either that we came. He knows that we’re as stubborn as he is, and we will help if we need to,” Rainbow said.

“No wonder you are all made for each other. You’re all insane,” Blake said exasperated.

“You have a problem with that?” Blood asked.

“Not really. It only means that I lost a bet,” Blake said as he shook his head.

Spitfire was about to ask him what the bet was about, when they saw the other humans, along with Moon and Chrysalis, being surrounded. Blake saw the drones’ horns flare to life and felt a sense of dread. It was a sense he hasn’t long since felt, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t even think as he charged at the changelings. He saw sparks coming off of their horns, and feared that he wouldn’t make it. He continued to run towards him friends, hope filling his mind that he would make it. As he ran, something inside of him unlocked.

Blake could feel something coming from his powers, but didn’t know what it meant. The back of his mind told him to relax and go with the flow. He wasn’t sure what compelled him to, but he trusted the inner voice. The human relaxed as he let the virus do its thing. Black tendrils wrapped around his arms as he continued to run. His paced increased slightly as he felt he was gliding against the ground. He continued his charging, until he felt the tendrils recede. He looked at his arm to see that he achieved his second power.

His entire right arm turned into a blade, allowing to also glide against the ground. The voice continued to speak to him. He did as instructed, and started to spin. He didn’t hold up in his spin as he reached the changelings. His blade made contact with the first one, cutting its head clean off. He didn’t stop as he traveled around the circle of changelings, cutting their heads off one by one. He continued the spin, until the voice told him to stop. Blake did as instructed, stopping in front of the first drone to fall by his blade arm.

The bodies did a few twitches before blood spurted from their necks. Orange blood rained down on the humans as they watched the decapitated changelings fall to the ground. Blake fell to his knees as his arm returned to normal. He was panting heavily as his friends, Moon and Chrysalis, Rainbow, Spitfire, and Blood joined him. Callie and Jaeden helped their fallen friend to their feet as they started walking for the outskirts.

“Where are you going?” Rainbow asked.

“Getting these two out of here,” Brandon replied.

“What about Marcus and Drak?” Spitfire asked.

“They’re busy fighting, but they should be on their way. We could really use your help,” Alex said.

“We came here to help Marcus,” Blood said.

“You can help him by making sure these two make it out of the forest,” Luke said.

“You also have nothing to worry about. Marcus may be bullheaded, but he knows when to back out of a fight,” Andrew reassured them.

The three pegasi looked at each other nervously before following the others. It felt wrong that they weren’t going to help Marcus, but they thought that they should give him a chance. They knew that he was a stubborn person when it came to a fight, but he knew what battles he would win. The three pegasi released a heavy sigh as they followed the humans outside of the Everfree forest.

Outskirts of Ponyville

The friends all panted heavily as they sat at the edge of the Everfree forest. It had been a long time since they fought like that, and they weren’t sure if they could fight another swarm of drones. They heard rustling from behind them, and looked back to see Marcus and Drak exit the forest. Rainbow, Spitfire, and Blood shot towards Marcus, and tackled him to the ground in a hug. The three mares held the human close as he gave a low groan of discomfort. Hearing his discomfort, the mares got off of him and helped him to his feet.

“What are you girls doing out here?” Marcus asked as everyone started walking for the library.

“We went to help you, but ended up running into your friends,” Blood said.

“You understand how crazy that is, right?” Marcus asked.

“Says the stallion that charged into a dangerous forest. I mean look out how you ended up,” Spitfire said as she gestured to his body.

“Yeah, but I think we established that I’m pretty crazy,” Marcus said as he gave a light chuckle.

“Then you understand how stubborn we are,” Rainbow said as she nudged the human.

“This is going to be a recurring thing, isn’t it?” Marcus said with a slight headshake.

“Hey, you wanted to be with us, so you should be able to handle it,” Rainbow teased.

“It’s also something I’ll never change. I love you, and I always will. Now, let’s get to the library,” Marcus said.

Library

The humans walked into the library, Moon and Chrysalis right behind them. Rainbow, Spitfire, and Blood joined the other mares as the humans sat around the room. Every mare stared at the humans with wide eyes, taking in their features. They were covered in different cuts and bruises, the only exception being Blake. Nothing was said in the quiet library as the humans took a few seconds to relax. Rarity was the first to find her voice, speaking to Ryan as she walked over to him.

“Oh Celestia, Ryan. Are you okay, darling?” Rarity asked as she pulled out a cloth, and started to wipe some of the blood off.

“Don’t worry, Rares, I’m fine,” Ryan assured.

“You’re one to talk. Drak looks like he went through Tartarus and back,” Trixie said as she grabbed a first aid kit.

“Yeah, I wasn’t ready for that fight at all,” Drak said as he gave a small wince in pain.

“What happened to all of you?” Octavia asked as she cleaned up Jaeden’s face.

“We ran into one of Chrysalis’ sisters,” Marcus answered.

“Are you insane? You could have gotten yourselves killed,” Lyra said as she glared at Marcus.

“We’re alive, aren’t we?” Luke asked as he gestured to everyone.

“Still, you took on another changeling queen. Which one did you end up fighting?” Molestia asked as she held Luke close to her.

“We took on Ambrosia,” Brandon answered.

“She won’t be the only one we’ll be dealing with, though,” Drak said.

“Are we in danger of another attack?” Luna asked.

“Possibly, but that depends on how Lacera takes the news,” Marcus answered.

Celetia and Luna gave each other worried looks before moving on to another topic. They were aware of that particular changeling, but that would be another time for them to share that information. At the moment, they had to get everyone’s wounds treated, and make sure they were okay. All the mares were feeling a range of emotions as they helped the humans patch themselves up.

Jaeden, Brandon, and surprisingly Callie were getting chastised by their mates. Luke, Ryan, and Andrew were getting smothered by their mates. Blake, Drak, and Alex were getting a wide variety of emotions from their mares that ranged from happy, to scare, to even angry. Marcus and his mares didn’t say anything, but the looks in their eyes gave away how they were feeling. They looked at the humans with worried looks, until Alex started to speak.

“We know that you want to apologize, so let’s skip that part, and we forgive you,” Alex said with a slight smile.

All the mares nodded their heads as they went back to hugging the humans. They made sure to be careful of their wounds, as they didn’t want to cause them any more discomfort than they already have. Cadance and Callie went about healing everyone’s wounds, while Blake focused on the other three evolved. The mare helped where they could as the princesses took Chrysalis to the hospital.

“I’ll visit you later, Chrysalis,” Marcus said as his mares looked him over.

“Don’t rush yourself. It’s not like I’m going anywhere soon,” Chrysalis joked, but soon regretted it after having a coughing fit.

“Yeah, but hospitals are so boring. You’ll end up going insane, and you could use the company,” Marcus said as he smiled at her.

The changeling smiled back before closing her eyes to get some rest. Marcus looked back at his mares to see them giving him worried looks. He gestured for the four of them to get closer, and as they did, he pulled them in for a hug. The mares tensed for a few seconds from the unexpected hug, but soon nuzzled the human’s side. He gently stroked their manes as he relaxed in their embrace. He looked at his friends, and wondered if they were even strong to keep everyone safe. He pushed that thought to the side as he wanted to relax and get some sleep.