Twilight Sparkle eased into her seat. The greasy old office of the factory the remaining Elements had taken as their base of operations was far from the oak-paneled conference rooms she was used to drawing up plans in, but desperate times called for desperate measures, as Luna would say.

Besides, they had an open bar. The strategy meetings in Canterlot never had one of those. Although based on the way Rainbow and Applejack were slouching in their seats, holding chunks of ice from the bar's cooler to their foreheads, that was hardly an advantage.

"Darlings, you simply must learn a thing or two about moderation," Rarity mused, a knowing smile on her face as she sipped at her appletini. "Or at least about handling your liquor."

"What're you talkin' about? I..." Rainbow sat up, then cringed and laid her head back down again. "...I'm just fine, I gotta...got an ice cream headache, is all."

"Yeah-huh, that's why yer eyes're more bloodshot than a college freshman at a party wit' Treehugger," Applejack snickered in between groans of pain.

"You wanna do...do round number eight...Apple-butt!?" Rainbow hissed, the effect of her threat somewhat lessened by her inability to lift her head off the table.

"Girls," Twilight hissed testily. All three immediately sealed their lips. None of them wished to test her anymore: Twilight's mane had started fraying, and her teeth had started to grind together in a way that reminded them of the infamous Smarty-Pants Incident, or "The Day We All Rioted Over a Doll Thanks To Purple-Smart."

Ponyvilleans weren't known for their creativity in naming things. Hence why they lived in a place called Ponyville.

"Now, I'd like to thank you all for taking time out of your schedules to attend," Twilight said, pulling out a couple clipboards (which were thankfully plentiful in an abandoned factory) and ticking off the first checkbox: 'Thank Attendees for Attending.’

"Well, yeah, of course we're gonna attend. We're all sitting in here all the time, what else are we gonna do?" Rainbow quickly pointed out, though Rarity was even quicker to shoot her a harsh glare.

"Now, I wanted to start off by going over some hopeful developments," Twilight beamed at her audience as she ticked off 'Go Over Best News.' "We successfully planted the bugging device in the Crystal Throne, and have been able to determine the well-being of our friends!"

Everypony bolted up at that, even Rainbow sat upright and leaned forward in her chair, forcing a loud creak from the rusting metal. She was so dumbfounded she even avoided the obvious joke about bugging a bunch of bugs. "Well!?" Rarity gasped.

"They're okay," Twilight said, and a collective sigh of relief made its rounds while she elaborated: "Fluttershy is being used as a food source for the changeling young, Pinkie is being forced to bake for the queen, and Luna is being held in the dungeons beneath the palace. I hear they take her out every night for...dinner..."

The group all shivered at the ominous implications of that. Twilight had to take a long, shaky breath before she could continue. "Best case scenario, I believe, is that Luna is being drained of her love nightly, being 'dinner' and all."

"That's the best case!?" Rainbow Dash gasped. "That would mean Chrysalis is probably supercharged on moon love right now!"

"It's the best case because it means Chrysalis has a reason for keeping her alive," Twilight said quietly.

That got the table to fall silent again. Eventually, Applejack leaned forward, cautiously extending a hoof. "Twi," she said carefully, her brow furrowed. "I noticed you didn't mention two other ponies in yer report."

Twilight bit her lip, her ears folding down. "Chrysalis is being very private about where my brother and Cadence are being held," she whispered. "I have no idea where they could be, or what their current state is, b-b-but given what I know about Chrsyalis, and considering the part they played in her defeat at Canterlot..."

The other three stood up from their chairs to surround the purple unicorn in a massive group hug, nuzzling her close. "You hush up and you don't even think 'bout that none," Applejack whispered in her ear. "Shining an' Cadence are just fine, ain't no use worryin' about it bein' otherwise 'til you know."

"Yeah egghead, she's a princess, and he's a badass super-soldier!" Rainbow enthused. "I bet they're running their own operation across town, worrying sick about you!"

"That would explain why Chrysalis doesn't talk about them!" Rarity offered hopefully. "She could be so frustrated about her inability to capture them that she won't even let them be mentioned in her presence!"

"Thanks girls," Twilight said quietly, squeezing her friends close. "Thank you so much."

The group remained as they were for a few minutes longer before returning to their seats, a quiet, gentle air filling the room. "Now," Applejack said, her hoof extended out until it touched Twilight's. "Why dontcha tell us everything else ya had planned?"

"Oh, of course!" The rest of the meeting!" Twilight gasped, thankfully distracted by her own focused nature as she reached under the table for a set of folders. "I know how they're holding Fluttershy and Pinkie. Both of them have their own personal guards, assigned to watch them and keep them contained 24/7."

"Just one?" Rainbow snorted, leaning back in her chair as she folded her forehooves across her chest. "I get them needing that for Flutters, but Pinkie? She shoulda busted out by now, with Fluttershy in tow."

"These are no ordinary guards, and that's where the good news ends," Twilight sighed, spreading out the contents of the manila folders over the table. "These changelings are two of the most effective infiltrators in Chrysalis's entire army: a pair as cruel as they are cunning and ruthless, battle-tested, hardy, and nearly-unstoppable in a close-quarters fight."

"These renderings are quite amazing," Rarity mused, holding up a pencil drawing of a massive changeling with a crippled wing and an ugly scar down the side of his face.

"Thanks!" Stu said, waving gleefully from the doorway before ducking back out again.

"We made those based on a few descriptions and guesses we were able to glean from listening to the Throne Room," Twilight explained. "The big one is Switch: the bruiser of the group. Despite his size, his agility is legendary within the Swarm, and he's reported to be able to break ponies' legs with his bare hooves. Currently, he's assigned to holding Fluttershy prisoner."

The mares all gawped at the picture. "My word," Rarity gasped.

"Flutters against that monster?" Rainbow Dash shook her head, a snarl twisting her muzzle. "He better not touch her. He better pray I don't find him if he's touched her."

"We gotta get 'er out, get her away from this thing," Applejack whispered.

"Not easy, this is the nursery she's being held in," Twilight explained. "It's where they're keeping a few of their young."

"Chrysalis brought young'uns to a warzone!?" Applejack gasped.

"Which is why the nursery is likely the most fortified point in the whole Empire," Twilight sighed. "Every window is sealed with Changeling goop, making it impervious to magical attack. And I know that that part of the Palace will have way more changeling patrols than anywhere else."

"Shoot," Rainbow muttered.

"On the plus side, I doubt Pinkie will be so hard," Twilight added, pointing to the other picture. "She's just being held in the kitchen area, and while it is a subterranean level, it's not nearly as well-guarded."

"Aww heck, this li'l guy?" Rainbow said, scoffing at the picture of the changeling in her hoof. "Like I said, Pinkie shoulda busted out with Flutters in tow by now."

"Careful, Rainbow: that's Bait," Twilight explained. "He might look like a runt, but he's the other half of the team, meaning whatever he looks like, he's just as ruthless as his partner and more than capable in a fight. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew a few martial arts to keep up in a team like this. Plus, the fact that Pinkie is still his captive speaks volumes on its own."

"My word," Rarity shivered. "I can only guess how Pinkie and Fluttershy are suffering at the hooves of these brutes!"

“We’ll get ‘em out,” Rainbow whispered. “We’ll get ‘em out, and we’ll make the bugs pay for whatever they’ve been doing to our friends.”

“The rest of those folders are filled with whatever I could gather on their exploits,” Twilight sighed. “The lists are a mile long: bank robberies, break-ins, all operations that pitted these changelings against overwhelming odds. All ended with Bait and Switch standing over a pile of beaten, bloody bodies. And not just pony bodies: there’s the kidnapping of a griffon noble, the subduing of a minotaur bandit camp on the outskirts of the Badlands, I even have here that they broke into the Canterlot Archives to steal the plans for the Empire’s sewer system on the eve of the invasion!”

“My word,” Rarity whispered again, her breath coming out in a hushed whimper. “This doesn’t sound like it will be easy.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Rainbow scoffed. “I don’t care what Chrysalis throws at us, we can’t let these assholes hold on to our friends! They could be getting tortured right now, just waiting for us to bust in an’ save them!”

“We’re all aware, Rainbow,” Twilight said, cutting the pegasus off as a few more strands of mane popped free. “But we have to do this quickly and stealthily. It’s a long shot, and we’re only gonna get one chance at this, but if we do it right, we might get the drop on Chrysalis and free the whole Empire!”

“I say the sooner the better,” Rarity sighed, casting a worried look out onto the factory floor. “In case you’ve all forgotten, our friends in captivity aren’t the only ticking time bomb we need to worry about.”

As she spoke, a dark pink dot appeared at the far end of the factory, visible through the grimy windows of the office. It trotted slowly away, heading towards the stairs for the rooftop, but even from where they sat, they could hear the partially made-up swears and curses echoing from the dot.

“That’s the third time just today,” Rarity groaned. “Heaven knows what that mare would do to that changeling if we didn’t have stallions constantly watching the door to her cell.”

“Petalgrown has turned out to be a bit of a liability…” Twilight said, biting her lip.

“A bit!?” Rainbow scoffed. “Twilight, if those stallions weren’t there, she’d probably have killed it by now, and then gone off to the roof to take potshots at the changeling patrols! She’s totally off her rocker!”

“She’s emotionally damaged by a secret her friend and crush was keeping from her for years,” Twilight sighed. “I mean, imagine if it was one of us who turned out to be a changeling, and the pony we’d known all these years was just a fabrication! Would you blame us for our reactions? And besides, what can we do? Tell her to buzz off to the nearest changeling base and turn herself in?”

“N-no, of course not,” Rainbow said, biting her lip as all her bravado faded away. “I’m just saying, we have to think of something to do with her.”

Twilight gazed out at the pink blotch as it disappeared up to the roof once again. “I don’t know what that could be,” she sighed. “Unless you all think we should tie her up like we did with the changeling, throw her into another basement cell.”

“Could we really do that? After everything she’s been through?” Rarity asked, sipping at her appletini.

Her only answer was silence. It was all the answer she needed.

“Let’s take a break,” Twilight said quickly, descending from her chair even as she spoke. “We can try and come up with ideas while we’re out, and then regroup.”

The other mares all nodded in agreement and broke off, heading to their separate corners: Rarity with the cardboard boxes she was using as a lawn chair, Applejack and Rainbow for the overturned garbage cans set up in front of the plank they were using as a bar, and Twilight for the little corner of the factory floor where she’d piled up the few books and papers they’d managed to scrounge up. Scooping up her clipboards, she headed out the door. As soon as she hopped into the stairwell, she heard a pony bang through, noisily clopping out onto the metal stairs. She turned as Applejack rounded a corner and gazed down at her.

“Applejack?” Twilight asked, cocking her head curiously. “What’s up?”

Applejack bit her lip, gazing over Twilight with her brow hunched in worry, all while visibly debating with herself on how to put what was on her mind into words as tactfully as possible. Eventually, one side simply won out. “It’s ‘bout Shinin’ and Cadence,” she spat out.

Twilight blinked, then sighed as her friend’s words processed. “It’s…okay,” she said. “There’s nothing we can do about it except win, so I’ll—“

“That’s horseapples Twi, and you’re smart enough t’know it,” Applejack spat, catching Twilight by surprise. Not letting up, she continued her onslaught: “Twilight, I know a thing or two ‘bout fearing fer kin. Celestia knows I darn near cuffed myself to Applebloom just t’avoid leavin’ her alone for a day or two.”

“I remember you talking about that!” Twilight giggled. “She wound up running out and fending off a chimera anyway!”

“Yeah, that’s Apple family stubbornness fer ya,” Applejack replied with a roll her eyes. “Anywho, I wantcha to know you ain’t alone in this. You got a lot of ponies here who get you’re goin’ through a rough time right now, and who’d be more than willin’ t’lend an ear. You’re not the only one that’s got ponies they care about who’s flanks’re on the line here.”

Twilight blinked again, and then nodded. “I get that,” she whispered, her gaze sinking.

“Then y’gotta talk t’us, okay?” Applejack said. “Y’gotta open that muzzle a’ yers and not try an’ bottle it all up or carry it alone. Celestia knows Dash an’ I have done plenty jawin’ these last few days about how scared we are fer Pinkie and Flutters. Even Rarity sits with us sometimes, when she can tear her hooves from Stu’s file.”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Stu?”

“Apparently, he’s got a talent fer handlin’ a mare’s hooves on top a’ sketching and Celestia-knows-what-else,” Applejack shrugged. “He’s a stallion a’ many talents. Either way, y’hear what I’m sayin’. We’re all worryin’ ourselves sick right now, so I know you gotta be hurtin’ twice as much with actual blood in trouble.”

Twilight just shook her head. “Talking isn’t gonna free our friends, or the Empire.”

“But it’ll keep ya from losin’ yer head!” Applejack snorted, stamping a hoof angrily. “I see that look in yer eyes! Yer fixin’ t’snap all over again.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Applejack shook her head sadly. “Y’all forced me t’do this,” she said, raising her head to meet Twilight’s eyes. “Shining’s prolly gettin’ done up the flank by Chrysalis herself, while she’s wearin’ a strap-on.”

At first, Twilight flushed a deep red. Then she snarled and leapt at Applejack, forgetting the fact that she was one of Equestria’s most powerful unicorns to throw her little purple body at the farmer. Of course, with Applejack being one of the strongest tree-buckers in all of Equestria, and Twilight being a purple nerd who spent all her time reading books, this was effective for only the few short moments it took Applejack to regain her balance, twist, and pin Twilight in a headlock, letting the unicorn snarl and lash out with her hooves until she simply went limp.

“Okay, maybe I’m feeling a bit emotional right now,” she finally relented.

“Naawwww, y’think!?” Applejack sighed as she released her grip. “Twi, no mare’s a castle, we all need help with our worries, even Dash is mare enough t’admit that. Why ain’t you?”

The tears started flowing, wetting the already rusted steel. “I’m an idiot sometimes, is all,” she sniffled.

“We know, Celestia knows we know,” Applejack chuckled, hoisting her friend up to her hooves with a powerful yank that Twilight managed to not cringe at, even as she made a mental note to check if her shoulder was dislocated or not later. “So, I take it I’ll catch ya at the bar?”

“Oh, but Applejack, I need to iron out the details in…”

“No buts,” the earth pony frowned as she gently shoved Twilight’s shoulder. “You said it yourself. You realize you’ve got a problem. Now, what’re you gonna do t’fix it?”

Twilight was quiet for a while, staying quiet even as the tears renewed themselves on her face and a few silent sobs hitched in her throat. “I’m so worried about them, AJ,” she whispered as the tears pattered onto the metal. “So, so worried. You saw those changelings. You saw what they’ve done. What if they…”

“Husshhhh,” Applejack pulled her in for a hug, patting the back of her head comfortingly. “It ain’t nothin’ they can’t handle. Whatever those bugs’re doing to those girls, we’ll make sure they pay fer it. Aight?”

Nodding, Twilight allowed herself to be led back up the steps, through the office door, and across the filthy tile to the bar. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and the barkeep’s loud chatter stopped as they approached and Twilight slid onto a barstool (really an overturned hazardous waste bucket) and offered a tiny smile to the others.

Rainbow returned the smile. “Hey egghead,” she said, holding up a glass of something that looked like Drano mixed with shaving cream. “Care for a drink?”

“So worried…” Twilight sniffled as she plopped down on an overturned garbage can.

“No worries darling, we’ll fix it,” Rarity cooed, fluttering her eyelashes even as an icy tone overtook her voice. “I care not for the number of changelings we must go through, whatever those ‘Bait and Switch’ brutes have done to our friends, we’ll fix it.”

Bait woke up with the taste of bubblegum on his tongue and the scent of cotton candy in his nose. He breathed more of it in. For some reason, it felt like one of the more pleasant smells he’d ever taken in, though he’d never liked bubblegum before. This morning, the scent of it filled his chest with a warming glow that spread all over his chitin.

And then, a pink hoof filled his vision, followed by a light little snore that was occasionally interrupted with a sound not too unlike a jackhammer breaking through the world’s stalest Rice Krispie treat. The last night came flooding back, and his eyes bolted wide open, the sleepiness flying away as quickly as it had come the night before. Warm, pink curls of mane greeted him. His heart raced. Oh no… “Pinkie?” He asked tentatively.

To his horror, the pink bundle of mane replied: “Yesss~?”

He winced, teeth clenching. Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. Of all the things a guard was not allowed to do with his charge, this had to be in the top five, somewhere around “street racing,” “going to the shooting range,” and “touring munitions factories.”

“Ahh!” He gasped, pushing himself off and backing away rapidly. Pinkie bolted awake in an instant, and as she sat up relief gushed through his mind at the sight of the small, green rock still secured between her shoulder blades. Finally, she turned over in bed, and while the sight of those gorgeous baby blues was some relief, it didn’t slow Bait’s breathing any.

“Baity?” She asked. “What’s up?”

“N-nothing!” He gasped. “I…oh sweet Chrysalis, do you have any idea what we’ve done!?”

“Of course I do!” She laughed with that adorable giggle-snort. “I am a grown mare, you know! It’s been years since I needed The Talk!”

“No! That’s not what I meant!” He pressed his hooves into his eyes. “Pinkie, don’t you understand how absolutely not-okay what we just did was!? We’re on opposite sides of a war! In what scenario would it be okay for us to have sex!?”

“Bait, you scrounged up a condom if you’re worried about…”

“I’m not worried about that!” He screamed, then backtracked, slamming himself in the face with his own hoof. “I mean, yeah, I am worried about…oh, why did you let me do this!? Why!?”

“Dude, calm down!” She insisted, pulling in close to him. All at once, her pink, fuzzy coat was pressed to his shell, which did nothing to calm his racing heart. “Listen, it was just one night, okay? It doesn’t hafta leave this room, and it doesn’t hafta mean more than that.”

While that did calm him down, Bait’s heart gave a slight twist. “J-just one night?”

“Mmh-hmm!” She bubbled, mistaking his sinking heart for growing calm. “That’s all! I, an adult, found you attractive. You, another adult, thought the same about me, and that’s all there is to it. It never has t’leave this room or anything! It was just a quick one-night thing between two mature, consenting adults, that’s all!”

Again, while that took the edge off his anxiety, Bait couldn’t help but feel a small barb twist in his heart with every word that passed from her muzzle. “Oh,” he whispered. “Oh, I thought…”

“Don’t worry about it, it was nothing!” She insisted, obliviously giving him one last nuzzle before rolling out of bed. “I’m gonna go start today’s batter, you’ll help as always, and that’s all! Business as usual!”

“Yeah,” he replied vacantly. “Business as usual…”

She looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow as she reached into the boudoir and pulled out her pink, frilly “Clop the Chef” apron. “Something wrong?”

“No, I…” he sighed. “I think I just need a little more time in bed, that’s all.”

“After the beating you took, no wonder!” She laughed, hopping up to the side of the bed with that wonderful little giggle. She peeked through the covers at him, her warm smile lighting up his tiny, little space within the blankets. He tried to return the smile, but for some reason it didn’t feel right on his face, though she didn’t seem to notice. “Hurry up, you big, sexy lovebug.~”

His smile finally gained just a trace of authenticity. “Sure thing, my bubbly little balloon butt.”

She giggled and skipped away, her pink mane bobbing around the corner and out of sight, obviously in search of the kitchen. Bait sighed and gazed up at the ceiling of the little room they’d commandeered for the night. “Just a one-night stand,” he moaned. “Sure Pinkie…whatever you want…”