****

The night before

Apple Family Farm, Ponyville, Equestria

Applejack

One summer there was a rat in the hen house. Winnoa knew it; I knew she knew something… She wasn’t the pick of the litter for nothing. But I still brushed it off as the foalish filly I was. We had barn cats I had defended as she persisted, barking her sweet puppy head off about the coop every time we stepped outside. But I never saw an egg missing. The hens never squawked in alarm. We had no reason to believe that it wasn’t just an over eager puppy smelling the rat Grannysmith had told us about as wee foals. Winnoa’s mother had gotten that egg sniffer years ago, but a good nose was common in her line. It wasn’t beyond reason that the smell could linger somewhere on the coop.

We truly figured that she smelled the old trail as clear as day, an honest mistake, and we had an upcoming harvest to worry about. Not unlike now, Cider season was fast approaching.

Still, her warnings didn’t lessen as the nights grew longer and longer, nor did or ignorance. Our trust in her was waning then. Gran was just about ready to call in a unicorn to de-scent the coop. And that was when it struck. The vermin mighta’ known that we were ignoring her alarm calls…Or, as my brother thought, it might have been sheer coincidence, but, we woke up before the crow of old Roo to a flurry a’ feathers and barking. The bulk of the flock was petrified and cowering in a corner, the unlucky ones were just remembered by the feathers they left behind.

And Winnoa?

That sweet pup was after that vermin faster than mud on a hog, tearing up the yard in pursuit. She was hurt when she returned with it’s limp body and we were awfully embarrassed and contrite as we realized she wasn’t bluffing.

It hadn’t felt real…

Now, I know better than to ignore my gut feeling, the words of others. To ignore what was staring me in the face…Well, I plum wanted to! That may have been why Winnoa’s rat catching came to mind as I sat around my kitchen table, surrounded by my equally resistant friends, even the speaker that had brought on the memory didn’t want to be sure. Yet, I knew an honest word when I heard it, no matter how strange it really sounded or from whom it came from.

I just feared we were all goin’ mad if my gut was right. Blueblood had-.

“Z-Zecora…S-she h-h-helped him get away.”

Pinkie Pie’s buzzing tail even seemed to quiet at Fluttershy’s breaking of the nervous air.

Twilight and Rarity were just as comatose as the first time Fluttershy had let her news slip out, almost afraid that breathing it made it so or incriminated her as she did nothing to stop them.

How could I blame her? One Pegasus, unicorn, or even earth pony wasn’t even close to what was needed to face a Alicorn, much less one with hostages and back up. It just wasn’t so, possible, it…

Why couldn’t my gut be wrong?

I couldn’t think clearly as my stomach flip flopped again. I didn’t want to believe my ears and strained them forward; hurting my head a little as I zeroed in on Fluttershy’s scrunched up face that was half hidden under poor Mac’s barrel. My brother looking not quite sure how to proceed as I moved closer as well, we all did.

“Pardon sugar?” I queried, trying to keep calm as our resident unicorns tittered in place and tensed. Rainbow wasn’t much better as she puffed up. And Pinkie Pie, she just looked perplexed at the news. I was as much the same inside. My senses felt confused.

Before Fluttershy could repeat herself under the scrutiny, attempt to even, Dash exclaimed and moved closer to the cowering mare, “What- I- You said-.”

Crash!

We all hopped in place and turned to look towards the sink, Granny Smith smiling slowly at us as she slowly reached for the kettle she had dropped, “Don’t mind me fillies, just a old mare losing her kettle.”

“Gran,” I questioned, suddenly a little uneasy as I saw her narrowing eyes cruise over my friends. My nervous friends that came bursting in with my assumption that our kitchen would be the best and nearest place to hold a meeting of this scale, “I really appreciate the use of tha’ kitchen, we were really frazzled as the blowha- Prince – gave his speech.” Rarity snorted as her fan reappeared.

Even Twilight was cluing in as Gran’s speed of grabbing the kettle increased, punctuated by a hesitant crow from our young rooster.

“Gran,” I started again. Fluttershy forgotten as my gut found a new focus. I vaguely remembered her stories of her meeting the princesses as a filly. I knew it couldn’t be easy to be unable to help, to-.

A slow exhale from her punctuated the empty air I left, water flowing a second later as she filled the kettle.

“The chickens need to be cooped up, they are all confused by this. Your sister and her friends need watching-,” A click as she put the kettle on the stove, “-And you can’t leave without packing a lunch in your saddlebags.” A pause echoed as Granny Smith kept her flank to us, “All of yuh, don’t need you collapsing halfway to getting the Princesses.”

Oh Gran.

“A-yup,” Mac intoned in agreement as he looked to me and nodded, agreeing to watch those fillies that I knew were somewhere by their clubhouse most likely…I hoped.

I blinked. Wait one cotton picking minute!

My brother had pressed back into Fluttershy within that seemingly long span of time.

Another time...

“Of course Gran, wouldn’t go after any varmints without preparing,” to my brother, “they should be by their clubhouse, but if you could…,” I trailed off as I indicted with my eyes.

“Yup,” Mac said as he rose, already knowing that they might have wandered off with all of the fanfare the army made with their arrival.

“Thank-you darling,” Rarity’s grateful call followed him as he exited the kitchen.

With that potential disaster averted I turned back to the mare of the hour, currently looking at the wall of red fur leaving, “I just hope we can get to the bottom of this mystery.”

Twilight took that as her cue, Spike letting a breath out as the scroll he had been wringing was brought up, and “She didn’t answer me!” Her maw paused mid thought, ears twitching as her brain comprehend something, “It didn’t even try to latch onto her magic, m-meaning,” Rarity started fanning herself harder as Rainbow leaned into Twilight, “T-there wasn’t any to-.”

“They were b-b-breathing w-when I saw…them.”

And we were back to where we started. Where was the ra- lie here? It wasn’t in Twilight’s words. Spike was too distraught, her magic didn’t feel off. And despite the prickling I felt at my friend persisting at the law enforced relationship in the moment I didn’t feel my magic sending any signals at her words.

Everypony and dragon seemed to turn at once as I spoke, “Zecora never had a bad feeling about her.” I licked the sudden dryness away as my mind tried to understand. Prince Blueblood’s lies made more sense, “But she knew about my ability to tell a lie,” it wasn’t leaving, “She didn’t smell like a changeling Twilight, never has.” Her mouth was moving to reply as I pressed on, a strange loyalty persisting as I thought back to the last interaction, “She was certainly specific with her strange way of speaking,” dear Faust, “And…She,” sweet sugar cubes, “Zecora truly helped him.” Fluttershy did truly see her leading him.

How was one pony so kind yet capable of helping a royal ponynapper?

I took a moment to let it sink in. All of it, this was wrong. My heart hurt as I considered poor Applebloom’s feelings. Big Mac had better not tell her. Zecora was her friend, had never treated my sister wrong once. She…Fluttershy was telling the truth. I scowled as the picture tried to come together. Blueblood claimed many things; that he would not stop till the princesses were found, implied that the stallion was a changeling, and that his actions would be temporary. Now I wasn’t the tallest haystack in the field but I knew a lie when I heard one and he spoke almost exclusively in lies.

“Applejack,” I started my hat out of place as Twilight spoke up, “What if Zecora was hypnotized? Brain controlled,” the frustration seemed to be mounting as Twilight couldn’t seem to get her mouth working. We all seemed to understand as even Rainbow started to nod.

“Right! Like Daring Doo and-,” she caught herself, “Well it’s not impossible if changelings are involved!”

Fluttershy uncurled herself somewhat, “oh.”

“That would make sense darling!”

My ears folded back as I considered it, it would make sense…Still, this ponynapping, betrayal, hubbub thing-a-jig smelled off to me. “Twilight,” I drawled slowly, “The,” better get this over with, “Prince lied,” Faust be with me, “A’ whole honking lot.” No pony said anything then, even Granny was watching me. “He only told the truth when he said that him and Soarin were attacked by Ari.”

“Darling,” Rarity started, grimacing as her fan lowered itself, “I think I know as much as the next mare that that colt isn’t capable of caring for anypony other than his own reflection.” I nodded as she took a deep breath, “But even he knows that there won’t be a him or an us if the princesses are captured by whatever Ari is, be it stallion, changeling, or even a demon from Tartarus.”

“That may be true but-,” I tried, feeling like they didn’t see the gaping hole that what he lied about presented.

He truly may be vapid enough to not want them back.

“Well,” Pinkie piped up, perking up Granny started dispensing tea, “If my tail is right,” cue vibrating tail, “then we had better move our hooves!”

That seemed to snap Twilight out of her frown.

“Right, Fluttershy can you be our guide?” The tip of her tongue peeked out from between her lips as she started to rise in thought. “We need to check Zecora’s hut, there has to be a clue there somewhere?”

Courage seemed to grip our yellow friend as she rose and nodded, “O-of course, I need to check on the animals before we g-go as well.” And it failed her, “I-if that is alright?”

“Of course,” a pop from in front of Rarity followed and had me squinting, “Ready Darlings!” Her purple saddlebags had arrived along with an equally purple helmet.

“Let’s go rescue some princesses,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flapping into a hover and clearly feeling the rise in energy as our first step in solving this mystery came into being.

Yet I couldn’t help but feel that something more was going on. Something more than Pinkie’s sense or Zecora’s potential capture… Rolling my withers of the tension I still couldn’t shake the sensation. I had missed something.

“Your lunch,” Granny Smith said as she plopped a basket apples in front of me, green eyes narrowed in a way I couldn’t hate.

Oh.

“Thanks granny,” I ended with hug, feeling a rush of gratitude. At least we wouldn’t go hungry during the search.

****

My home’s windows shone past the trees as they stared out at me. Familiar, warm, and honest in feeling; I don’t know how else to explain it. It called to me as I trailed behind my friends.

This doesn’t feel right…

Everfree Forest loomed before us, Dark under the lack of moon. With a squint of my eyes I could make out faint lights glowing along the edges near the north end as the other search parties entered. None appeared to have made their way yet, which could only help us. I didn’t trust the Prince overly much and my gut wouldn’t let me shake the feeling that something was a hoof.

Fluttershy took a second to take a deep breath and I think we all did. Trying to gain our bravdo back, yet, funnily enough, the silence from outside the forest didn’t help much.

And perhaps It was with those lights that the slumped canopy and uncared for bushes at Zecora’s usual entrance that had me envisioning pony spooks waiting for us. Foalish, I knew. The prince’s forces would have scared the spooks away long ago.

I certainly could do without them.

“O-Ok,” Our guide breathed out.

She was not ok.

Fluttershy was in the lead, walking with very restrained steps as she went past the wild looking shrubs, even taking care to avoid the plants on the dark forest floor that seemed to be leaning towards her, us, as we followed her in.

Likewise, my own hooves were being very mindful of where they went. She knew her forest, well; the animals in it, but Everfree forest liked her somewhat more than the average pony.

The tickle of a stray leaf on my flank almost froze me as my house disappeared from view.

Hwuu. I breathed out into the chilling air.

We had Fluttershy at least. The one small grace we had given where that stallion had ventured. After all, there were many good reasons why most ponies choose Ponyville over the free land of the forest, the least of them being the annual training exercises that interrupted the peace every spring.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash’s exclamation of pain had Fluttershy turning back, just missing the retreating form of the vines. One of the top reasons I avoided the forest, right below Timber wolves and Zap bees.

Muttering echoed with the soft fluttering of Rainbow’s hovering as the rest of our friends looked at sides of the path with splayed ears.

This wasn’t our first time in the forest.

I just frowned as Fluttershy looked to me in question. All I could really do was eye the branches overhead to maintain my silence, the snake like shlicking I could faintly hear above us clear on what had happened.

Vines, damned vines were always waiting. I couldn’t shake that feeling. They hadn’t attacked every other time she had flown into the forest…

“Rainbow,” Twilight started quietly, “Don’t touch the flora, researchers haven’t determined all of plants and their nature.” Another yelp from our hovering friend, “I do know that those kl-clo -vines are very sensitive to the currents in the air. That is why Fluttershy is walking so softly.” Spike didn’t look all too pleased as he hugged her neck tighter, tail curling up closer to her flank as if shrink his growing form.

Unfortunately, Twilight’s talk had brought more vines off of the trees, most hovering around Rainbow as she descended slowly.

“Thank you, they don’t mean anything by it,” Fluttershy whispered over the faraway din, some of it including equine squeals.

Rainbow just pouted and she nodded as she took pace beside me.

From then till we saw Zecora’s hut silence reigned. I wasn’t sure if it was the forest’s quick reaction to Rainbow’s flying, well, faster than usual if my memory served, or if it was the heavy weight that rested on all of our withers. Regardless of why, we remained silent and it worked. We didn’t get hassled anymore, no vines or search parties taking interest in us as we stewed along.

I still couldn’t wrap my hoof around this. I thought we were done with those parasprites!

Twilight may have been the bookworm in our group, but I knew animals, ponies, their behaviour was easier to predict than a rainstorm in the spring. And if they…Well, if it was changelings then why didn’t they retaliate sooner? Why wait four months? Why hadn’t they brought the whole force the first time? I had read enough of the paper to know that they were finding changeling pieces for nearly two months after Princess Cadence blew them away. See, now that didn’t plum make any sense. If they were trying to take over again why didn’t they just kill the princesses? Or better yet, try something sneaky like they should if their forces were depleted. And why did that pompous, blowhard of a prince look so darned happy up on stage? He can’t be that stupid!

A sneeze came from beside me as Rainbow stopped to smell the ground…Sweet cider why?

“Hey!”

And the vines rose to correct her once again. The peace between them was nice while lasted…

Still, I swear those plants had more personality than they had any right to have. It may not have been spooks but those plants trying to reach out to us and focusing on a certain member of our group was downright creepy!

My nose nearly ran into Rainbow’s flank as we stopped.

“Shh,” Fluttershy whispered as the dark outline of Zecora’s hut came into view.

Suddenly we were very small.

It was just as I remembered it though. The tree reaching up and out with it’s twisted branches. The plant’s ghostly grey trunk was still large and expanded along the length and width. Various bottles tall, stout, skinny, and wide hung from what I swore were living vines that draped off the branches. Dark green leaves stood still in the canopy above the zebra’s home as we broke the line of bushes and approached the dark hut.

Twilight gulped as I past her, my hooves already moving forward as I hoped against hope that…Well…

“Oh dear,” echoed as a whisper into the clearing. I wasn’t sure who said it my eyes locked on the dark planes of glass before us.

I couldn’t agree more though.

Fluttershy’s eyes met mine as I came to a stop to stand beside her, “Her lantern’s out,” I whispered. Hoping the others would catch on.

If there was one thing my sister told me it was that Zecora always left a light on for any lost travelers. It was a family heirloom of some such Applebloom had cheerfully told me, that being one of the few details she had pried from the Zebrican’s mouth on her previous home, her family, anything really. To her carrying a family heirloom all the way inland was a fascinating tidbit about our reclusive immigrant. I hadn’t cared overly much but was glad she was making progress and that Zecora wasn’t sharing some of the less than Equestrian practices I had heard rumor of.

My friends had understood loud and clear what I meant though.

No pony or dragon dared to move as our ears twitched in preparation. Silence rose over our breathing. No birds, insects…and…I inhaled deeply, trying to gather my courage…no, not even the stink of Timberwolves reached us.

After a long moment Rainbow gulped and stepped forward, quiet, but determined.

I followed soon after, grabbing a roll of rope from my bags just in case they were still in there.

The door was an addition to the tree’s expanded knoll, the hinges easily recognizable as they were a set from our old pig pen. Rust still coated them with the humid air. No door knob though, so Rainbow pushed on the door as she crouched down. I expected something like she did and readied the lasso in hoof and mouth.

Only thing is, the door didn’t budge.

Not to be deterred, Rainbow pushed again, slightly harder if the ruffling of muscles along her wings were anything to go on. Yet still no movement from the door.

If I was now suspicious then Twilight must have been plain flabbergasted seeing as she moved closer. Her wither almost touching my flank as we both watched the lockless door stand its ground.

What in tarnation? I looked to Twilight briefly. Could it be magic?

Rarity was the first to comment though, “Darling I believe you are supposed push it open,” A grin turned her muzzle up as she broke the tension, “It isn’t locked.”

Twilight’s horn glowed faintly as the buzz of her magic reached my ears.

Her step back was what had me tensing, “Whart?” I whispered around the rope. A million rolled through me as images of the Princesses would be attackers came from my memory.

Why would they leave Changelings behind in the hut? Was it to create a diversion…To infiltrate us in the time of confusion? And why hadn’t they shown themselves already if they were there?

Breath out…I hadn’t smelled any Changelings.

“It’s not locked…It is,” she slowed down almost imperceptibly as her eyes glowed purple, staring down the door with a look of concentration, “Blocked?”

My lasso dropped and my left eye twitched as her eyes lost their glow, “Twilight-.”

“Wheeeeee,” the happy squeal had us freezing as we looked back to Pinkie Pie being dragged back to the edge of the clearing by the vines, for all purposes hogtied.

Sweet cider what did that filly do now?!

“Oh dear…”

Before we could act she was gone, a rustle of the foliage was all we had as we tried to follow her progress. We didn’t have a hope against the forest itself. A glance our wilting yellow pegasus told me I couldn’t even count on her expertise in this situation.

“Omph,” came from the right as we followed the rustling, turning as a group to face whatever the forest had planned.

A crack of a branch had our attention and giggles followed the dark trunks upward to the canopy. We tracked her, a welcome distraction for me as I tried to file Twilight’s frequent visits in the last four weeks to the back of my consciousness, the very, very back forty.

We had princesses to return, a zebra to find, and now a Pinkie Pie to rescue.

I sighed, tightening my grip on my lasso as I picked it up from where I had let it slip and Rainbow crouched into a defensive stance beside me. Rarity and Twilight were soon taking positions behind us, some a little faster than others.

Time slowed to a crawl as the vines moved faster, the woods remained empty except for giggles. They grew louder, closer, behind us and the hut, until they grew muffled.

Nothing moved. The giggles gone.

Rainbow and I rushed forward, her galloping and my own hooves attempting a half decent trot with a rope trailing behind me. Around the darkened tree we rushed. Around, until we saw green and brown hurtling at our face like a wall.

My tail screamed in pain, the real cry muffled with the rope and tumble and I was blown back. I didn’t have a clue what direction Rainbow went as I soon was gazing at a worried triad of muzzles.

“Applejack,” came Rainbow’s call from somewhere.

Rarity’s muzzle scrunched up, “Ouch Darling, take a hanky.”

Slowly my breathe came back to me, a warm dribble down my nose telling I was still alive, filled with more confusion than before, but alive. I couldn’t say the same for poor, unsuspecting Pinkie Pi-.

“Heyo,” the dim light showed the bright pink mane a second before her giggling head faced us, “You have to see this!”

The green and brown thing stared back at me as I rolled onto my side.

A camouflaged trap door, of all the things…I guess she had to store her pantry somewhere. I didn’t exactly remember her having much more than a bed roll, cauldron, and chest to decorate the hut.

With a snort a blue hoof helped me up as Twilight, Spike, and Rarity tiptoed forward. Fluttershy was looking back and forth between us as if afraid I would be done from door to the muzzle. I waved a hoof at her, catching my breathing, trying to slow my heart.

Pinkie was going to be the death of me. I didn’t even care about how she got in there. It was Pinkie Pie and Everfree forest we were talking about.

“It almost got me,” Rainbow looked down to me, ending her unpunished hovering, “So,” I looked to her trying to not let my flip flopping gut show, “Ready to kick some changeling butt?!”

“Ya’ Dash,” rope in hoof I started forward, “I was born ready.”

We hadn’t even gotten to the top of the stairs when we heard Twilight gasp, “Great Starswirl!”

She wasn’t exaggerating much. I knew that may have let some explicit language lose. It wasn’t a pantry. It was a…The space certainly what I was expecting. No pony had known it existed…That…Oh Tartarus.

I didn’t know what I was going to tell Applebloom now.

****

Somewhere above Minotaria

Ari

Had I had more sense, more preparation than a little lay down after a not-so-quiet bath, and then I would have taken this all in stride, I think so anyway. As it were, I was a fucking mess. Mentally, I wanted to cry, to shout, to fucking kick somebeing in the nonexistent muzzle. As it were I was stuck in a stalemate with a corrupt diarchy, a personal hypocrisy, and had a ticking time bomb of bad decisions waiting in the next room.

Fucking glorious wasn’t it?

I didn’t think so.

Adding injury to mental fatigue I actually was in a lot of pain. My hooves ached and threatened to split my forelegs in two, shin splints had nothing on this. The tips of my wings trembled as I extended them with the few more instinctual thoughts coming through my head; somehow the muscles were not quite dead. I was certain that they were not far from it. And not just my wings either, my legs had been suppressing a quake at the thought of standing for a while, lot of good that thought did. I was fucking standing wasn’t I? With standing my back became a jumble of pinched nerves, all screaming at me to give them a break. A rhythmic pounding was starting in my temple the longer I looked at the fucking princesses that were hogtied before me…It was all a lot, a fucking lot if I may be so articulate.

I took a deep breath and tried to focus, knowing that I was still stuck with the fucking diarchy going through the five stages of grief in front of me.

Wait…

I cocked my head slightly as I noticed the absence of the younger sister.

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA,” came the scream seconds later to my already rebelling senses, only a moment later I saw her. Anger, raw anger, it didn’t take a fully functioning body or brain to interpret that.

Blue fur blurred as I blinked once and found narrowed lighter blue eyes coming at me. With the realization of what was about to happen my heart pumped quicker, cool adrenaline trying to help.

A hiss caught my ear as I felt them fold back; a low screech came from my left. All of the noise grew farther away as my eyes widened in a sickening slow motion.

Fuck.

Seconds passed by quicker than before as we collided, Princess Luna’s restraints only decreasing the power behind her truck, er, body, as it rammed into me.

“Fuck.” It slipped out of me, I couldn’t help it.

Wet warmth and the pricking of needles sprung from my neck next as I got a good grasp on what just happened.

One princess was frozen in an open mouthed comatose state in front of me, her yell of shock reverberating around the room slightly. My mares were on either side of my flank. The rest of the rag tag group I had were somewhere in the damned room, the Thestral was still hiding from his boss, and Bente was still missing.

Most importantly, the younger princess had my neck in her mouth like I was a chew toy and she was the dog.

Pain had me in motion not moments later.

Letting my mouth transform into the scowl from the pain deserved I craned my head down and found Luna’s snorting face as she grasped my flesh with more fervor.

“Let- aa-AH,” fuck her and words.

Grabbing the nearest pound of her flesh I could I bit down, hard. More pins stabbed into my neck as I tugged at what turned out to be a lightly curved ear.

Nothing, well pain, but…

“A-Ari,” some being hesitantly called, I couldn’t tell who. I only saw blue.

Harder than before, I gnashed on her ear, coming down with more speed as she wriggled against my barrel, and she still kept her hold on me. The message was quite clear on what I fucking wanted her to do!

Vibrations started on my right as the sensation of smooth scales and chitin disappeared from my body, till only wrung out nerves and nervous vibrations remained. Oh, and pain, she still hung on like a leech. A accurate description as something warm started beading on my skin then, indifferent to the cooler air of the high altitude.

I snapped inside.

Challenge…Somewhere inside my magic, my mind, it called. A snort escaped over the fur in my mouth as I surrendered my higher cognitive functions to the feeling it brought. The numbness I slowly recalled from a cave that was so very far away. Challenge…Challenge mare.

Rearing up on rebelling legs I gave a half flap with my extended wings. Two half hearted flaps up and my neck screamed, then quieted as something cracked in it in a most contradictingly satisfying way, and we fell. Air surged around us as my wings glued themselves to my barrel half a second later.

“No,” a mare shouted in the room, who it was I didn’t know.

“Omph,” followed the exclamation into the room as the air escaped the mare under my side. Her eyes widened for a second as they met mine before they slammed close beneath me.

Knowing exactly how she felt I grunted and rolled away from fallen form, her very close and open mouth.

Pain…Herd…Mares, my mind repeated as I slowed my heart, well, tried to. It came out as loud and inarticulate snorts. My heart still wouldn’t slow by the time I found my mares in the room, the one objective both the primitive calls to action and my logical sense could agree on.

A turquoise tail filled my vision.

Great, now where was Lyric?

“Well,” the deeper levels Chrissy’s voice hit had silence stretching across the space and interrupted my visual search. “No witty defence? Not a dig at my appearance? Another assassination attempt,” her voice was growing in volume and shrillness as I snorted behind her.

Where was she?

Cinnamon…Water lilies…Nutmeg…Flowers…Blueberries…

I breathed for all I was worth as failed to find her before me; even I understood that I was failing on many levels.

Hoofsteps behind me and a low, deep chitter behind me helped a second later. Water Lilies and the faint trace of unfamiliar flowers soothed me more than anyone knew.

A whimper from the floor beside me had brought me back to the scene before me.

Chrissy was turning her head to bare her fangs at Princess Luna, a clear warning if I ever saw one. No more whimpers sounded, only the hoof falls of my hybrid mare as Chrissy faced Celestia once more.

Silence grew in the room in time with my headache.

Chrissy wasn’t finished though.

As I found her eyes I knew this was not what she wanted to say, her eyes were too wet along the edges, her wing too blurry.

“Chr-Chrissy, calm,” a breath and shudder forced me to pause, “down.”

Only an ear flick to me and the fallen princess beside me before she pressed on. “I expected a bit more from a dabbler in the darker magics.”

“What,” I questioned. Dark magic? She…didn’t mention this before.

Her eyes flickered to me as my thought slipped out, the Princesses just as well found my gaze. A thousand questions half forming as I looked between everybeing. The zebras looked a little lost as well as they stood in front of the bunkroom, well, not Zecora.

We would have to talk later.

Strained squealing snapped our attention off of the mention of the great Celestia using something dark. Lyric was tugging Luna towards her sister, by her tail…Grinning.

Fuck me already.

A snort echoed as our gaze watched her prance over to my erratic rising and falling barrel.

Our eyes connected briefly as she shifted in place under my scrutiny, hers eyes suddenly far too wide for any chance of sleep in my near future.

The future wasn’t looking good at all.

A sniffle had me next. “N-n-,” Celestia didn’t seem to know what to say as she turned between watching Lyric and I with a myriad of emotions, most notably in my hazy state, glaring at my herd.

Challenge, whispered the sweet release at the lower depths of my mind. I snorted and shook my head at the thought. The correct thought should be sleep. That was not even touching the state of my emotionally unstable mares.

“W-,”talking proved hard as my throat grew dry, “We shmmph-,” a clump of tail whipped into my open mouth, effectively shutting me up.

Chrissy took the opportunity of me spitting out her hair to release her…thoughts in spades, her previous wishes to remain silent and watch the meeting at my side were lost to her memories evidently.

“Was that a no,” my emotionvore practically snapped out. Luna opened her mouth to get an angry word in then but Chrissy was on a roll. “I’m genuinely shocked. You created that pink cannon of love, molded her to your whims-.” I tuned her out then.

The ranting on what injustice they did her species was valid but not what I needed to see. Their emotion was crystal clear to me even as an omnivore turned herbivore, yet, it was also something I knew by heart then. It made the ache in my heart grow. So, I instead focused on the princesses’ expressions, the truth of the matter at hand, that is to say, the truth of their real state of empathy.

“He didn’t even bring weapons! But what does that mean, right,” my buzzing mare questioned, letting a shrill laugh escape at the end. It had me wincing and both sets of ears falling sideways before me. Like I said, Chrissy was far from finished, “We are jus emotionless insects trying to over throw Equestria, right?” I pushed out a wing to drape over Lyric as I felt her press close and held the other quivering aloft for the now shaking mare before me.

Celestia and Luna were both leaning back away from my mare now, her speech continuing without a reason now.

Anybeing with eyes could see the fear in the sister’s wide eyes.

“-And then ponies wonder how you managed to completely blow through their rights-.”

I wasn’t going to see anything better than this. More importantly, I needed a fucking nap. This was going horrible; horribly…I just couldn’t anymore.

“Chrissy.”

Said mare’s mouth froze at my utterance. Her slim fangs perched just so before closing with a snap, a snap that seemed to quell her subconscious round of shakes. “I think that isn’t the point of this meeting,” I used the term loosely of course, “And pushing up your…Reintroduction to the mare that forced your father’s fate was, perhaps,” I edged my protesting body closer to her buzzing wing, “A tad too early.”

“Ar-,” I stopped her with a shared breathe, trying to will the pain and exhaustion into an induced calm to transfer to her.

It might have worked; she stilled and breathed back to me for a few treasured seconds. That was until we heard the approach of our helpful zebra friends.

Lyric pawed the ground a second later, bringing us back to the struggling form of the lunar princess. Both sisters were struggling actually, but the aqua eyes of the younger found mine first.

And out, “Right, I expected as much,” pain, “So let’s get the evidence over with shall we?” Hell of a lot of pain.

Maybe I can get a nap in then…yet I didn’t hold much to that hope, it was always one more fucking thing.

****

Outskirts of Faden City, Crystal Kingdom

Officer Night Glider

Another stop? How many settlements were between the border and the castle?

Ever since I had boarded the train it had been a cycle of passing through an outpost’s pink barrier, unload, load, exit the barrier, snowy wasteland and repeat. A familiarity in that cycle grated on my frazzled nerves more and more.

The nobles, the day maids, they were all familiar, and yet…They weren’t what they seemed at all.

It had taken far too long already. Hours by my estimation, hours that the changelings could be advancing their invasion in, and I was out of service so to speak.

A pony couldn’t just fly through the snowy wastes, nor gallop fast enough in the snow and wind. The snowy wastes had a hazard rating that only a highly magical being could withstand a demi-god level, Alicorns, Windgos, Shadow ponies, and some lucky unicorns. Without the barriers it would be as desolate as the Changelings wastelands were to us, a dead, lifeless place.

So I stuck here, unable to stop my hooves from pacing the train cart as it passed through yet another pink barrier. Hopefully the last…Yet… I doubted that.

We had passed by many small towns and locations, mainly military outposts at this point. The exchange of goods and officers had been the only movement at the platform before we had left in a covering of steam. The tourism sector was still a work in progress, and, with such a hazy state of peace present, the train stations had been teaming with armed guards.

Crystal guards, safe guards at least.

Of course, they all had to watch the Thestral… Of course, they didn’t. I could understand why they did. Aside from some volunteer soldiers from the general Equestrian army it was strictly crystal ponies.

Would they be safe?

Releasing a sigh at the faint possibility I turned back to the train station sign that was approaching, just becoming visible out the window in front of me.

‘Faden city’, it read in large glittering characters. Like all of the cities, outposts, it was named after a jewel or gem. I didn’t care for the particulars. But all of the names supposedly held significance to the crystal ponies, the land itself.

Each place’s name was as unfamiliar as the Zebrican language was to me.

Gaspeite central, Fort Hematite, Lake Landite (which was really an ice rink with huts bordering it), and now we were pulling into Faden ‘city’. Canterlot’s noble district was bigger than this. But, breathe out; I had the key, a compartment inexplicably to myself, and no changelings’ operatives were nearby.

Well, none that I could see anyway.

Pausing my march at the rounded window, I frowned and tightened my wings to my body, the warm metal pressing further into my fur. The crystalline spires of the castle were still too far away. Twinkling in the still struggling sun, they were twin beacons to my instincts. Instincts that were honed from training and past experience, they demanded I keep moving.

I can do this, I am doing this.

A moving target was harder to track and apprehend.

With the train slowing to chug in place I circled the compartment again and again. Keep moving, keep those muscles ready and warm.

The sense of danger was not quite gone even if the locale had changed, was safer.

Why did I feel this way then?

No one had come to check on me still. Not odd, it would be common knowledge that I had to get to the castle. The doors were unlocked…I had checked them on every pass by, and the windows were enchanted to be magic resistant. No windigo could break in much less a changeling…Right…Then why did I feel like I was going to vomit the closer I got to the castle? Why was this growing to be more urgent than before?

Perhaps it was the possibility that the princesses might be on borrowed time? Or that little voice that said Princess Cadence couldn’t help, that I was walking into a hive in disguise.

No, no, remember the training.

‘How do you recognize a changeling?’

‘The eyes-,’ my thoughts halted as eyes flashed out at me, breathe, ‘-will be green or flash green from their magic in the light.’

And all I had seen was opal eyes as they whizzed by the window. Opal eyes, not green, no flash in the quivering sunlight. My heart found a normal rhythm again. They were innocent of the green shape shifting magic, filled with curiosity, and, and- no, it was all my paranoia. How would the changelings have enough resources to attack both of our kingdoms at once? If my heart could relax more it would as I remembered our new regulations; the few guards that were allowed to assist the Crystal kingdom were rigorously checked and monitored for changeling influence.

After their defeat four months ago…They wouldn’t. Breathe. They shouldn’t be able to. Our scouting parties were still finding their remains for weeks after the event. It was a pain staking mission that both the regular divisions of the Day guard and Night guard had shared, nerve-racking but necessary.

Unlike these supply runs, I turned an eye to the window again, the crystal ponies were coming out to work on the freight cars. Stopping to chat, look over who got what, and walk from cart to cart. There was not an ounce of urgency in their walk at all…Perhaps they didn’t know my urgency…Which was good, better.

Officer Kunzite actually took me seriously then.

However much that gave me relief; the urge to vomit was still there. And that most likely stemmed from all these bucking stops the conductor insisted on maintaining even with the knowledge that I was onboard with critical news for their princess.

Critical news…My mind spiraled away into the Crystal Castle’s ante chamber as I remembered it. The endless ceiling still very far away, the walls capturing a rainbow of colors on the decorations as I gazed at the many examples of crystal wear.

Yes, that was going to be nice to see again.

What would I say to them?

‘Good day your highnesses, I come to inform you that the changelings have taken the princesses and impersonated the honorary prince. Yes, yes. And I believe the Alicorn stallion is actually a changeling or seriously mad.’

My head pounded as I couldn’t imagine what their expressions would be. I was one pony after all. I only had the key and my words. They had the false news the fake prince had sent was already in their thoughts. At least the two runaways had a letter and Princess Luna’s confirmation.

Shkkk…

The icicles melted off the train and fell beyond the window, the only response to my inner commentary. The ponies were still making their way to the train, conversations muted as I considered how I break the ice to them.

‘I need your help.’

What could she do?

‘Please help rescue them.’

I shook my head and breathed out, banishing those thoughts. We needed to be taking action. I needed to move.

Metal on metal had my wings twitching.

Ponies were finishing up on the platform it appeared. The boxes were absent from my view finally. Just as before, when we would depart, warm air moved once more through the vent above me.

We will move on soon.

I wasn’t going to help anypony if I fretted so much that my heart stopped. The conductor knew I had important news, not necessarily from the prince I saw, but regarding the prince nonetheless.

Outside they were moving as fast as they could away from the train without losing pace in their conversations. Faust forbid they run out of breath, rush a sentence, or…Lose a princess or two.

Breathe Night Glider, Breathe…1…2…3…4…and out.

There weren’t hundreds of princesses, not even in the double digits…The train was simply too slow, safe, but slow.

Fwooh! I breathed out and resumed my march, watching the many shades of crystal ponies pass by with a frown.

My chance to fight the changelings would be soon enough and they would stand with me.

“You sure Quarty,” a colt’s voice had my ear for a second, a lower pitch than the lackadasilcal tone the other workers held. It reminded of my nervous days as a recruit, the tone was unsure and slightly muted behind the window to my right as a pale crystal pony passed by it, too quickly for my liking.

“Of course,” a mare affirmed in just as low in tone, determination clear to me. Her voice came from just ahead of the pale crystal pony, only her topaz flank and tail catching my eye before they blended into the crowd leaving the station.

I couldn’t see them anymore, and, against my better judgment, followed them down the cart till I was at the door.

Hoofsteps paused for a moment in front of the door before a quick, “Ok,” was heard from the colt.

No, you aren’t ok…Why though?

“Good, now come on-,” her cheery whisper was soon lost as a cluster of conversations washed over my ears.

“Hey did you hear-.”

“Cobalt Smash did what?!”

It had to be nothing. Guards were checked all the time…I was being paranoid. I am better than this. So, once again I passed by the other side of the compartment, marching and ignoring the shimmering buildings of Faden as I waited.

Any moment now…

Ten minutes later the buzz in the atmosphere grew nearly imperceptibly louder, a tickle at the tips of my ear fur. My heart quickened with the sound of magic. After a couple seconds and controlled steps forward the ground began moving once more.

Sweet moon!

Opal, Sapphire, and Topaz blended gradually into an almost lucent streak across the four windows I had to look from. The ponies impossible to tell from their infrastructure as a tension left my legs and traveled to my belly.

Nothing I could say to the remaining royalty sounded good or had any sort of direction besides ‘stop them’.

It didn’t grow any easier as we left the protective pink barrier of the ‘city’ and entered into the magically erratic northern plain, several tracks were blearily visible through the flying flakes in the distance from either side, all carrying other trains from other cities, and all leading to one destination: Alexandrite, the capital of the Crystal Kingdom.

I am so close; maybe another hour and I would taste the perfumed air of the antechamber. I would unmask the second changeling invasion!

The city of Faden faded to a dim glow before disappearing in the cold wasteland. The vents were closed overhead minutes later.

A fizzing of magic permeated the air as I felt the silence grow between the cities. The white noise worsened the butterflies in my stomach.

My eyes closed and my breathing evened out in my march.

The captain was now a prince, honorary, but a bucking better one than the Bloods had a history of being. He wasn’t made captain because of his family’s bits, he was a strategist! He would be able to form a plan.

Exactly! I let a small smile go across my muzzle.

Prince Shinning Armor would know what to do and Princess Cadence would have an idea on the changeling’s tactics after being held captive.

Thumps sounded down the train as my heart skipped a beat, growing cold as the sensation of the wood left my frogs.

My body was airbourne!

And soon after that thought the thumps I heard evolved into bangs that folded over ears. They rung with the eruption of raw magic in the air, the normally white noise of magic exploding in my ear canals as I was flooded with sensations.

I needed to see what the cause was, what monster could disrupt the train.

With a growing sinking feeling my eyes flashed open midair, all in time to see the compartment’s floor was gone. The floor was just a jagged edge of metal in my peripheral. Yet, I was midair, so I didn’t have long before I was looking down at the white window, a really close look.

What-.

Plush seating slammed into my stomach, proving harder than it looked as the suspension was broken, replaced by spinning.

What hit us to spin us like a top?

The answer didn’t hit me as spinning grew slower. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t understand what had happened. It all was a kaleidoscope of white, ringing white pain.

Screeching rent the air long and loud somewhere as I laid there. The sound of metal whipping by danced across my head. Metal coated my tongue. All at once yet separately my senses tried to coordinate and I was left breathless still.

Pain increased as I tried to breath.

The plush seats were hard, yet I felt almost numb to them. Oxygen…Work body, we don’t have time to rest!

“Hckk,” escaped my muzzle as I lay there, letting my barrel spasm in the growing cold until oxygen was thrust in by sheer will, or wind. I couldn’t make head or tails of it then.

With one desire fulfilled the world grew silent, contemplative, and I was still with it. Breathe. Darkness coated my eyelids with that breath.

I had to do more though. Luna, Echo, they needed me to breathe.

Yet, it was hard to want to see anything as my body felt like it was being torn apart, nothing responded to my demands.

I need to move. The princess is counting on me. I swore to protect…To…Protect…

Something cold drifted over my body.

“N-ooo-o,” was dragged out of me with my next breathe. The cold spread into me, understanding filling me as the warm iron spilled onto my tongue more and more. Snow was mushing its way upward through my fur as time passed on. My body was silent, my mind calling for a time out, help, a do over, anything to avoid the fate I saw in the wasteland.

Just a little help…Princess Luna…God…Anypony…Please save our country.