Upon entry into the hive...

This is the most confusing thing ever.

Holes are opening and closing everywhere, and each time they open, it leads to a new place.

"I can't locate a specific ki signature... They're all in a million different directions..." Gohan said.

Even he couldn't comprehend it.

"Okay. I am definitely glad you came." Trixie said.

"I don't think we'd be able to find our way without you." She added.

"You definitely wouldn't." Thorax said.

...Then the hole they came in through closed.

"...Where's the way out?" Trixie asked.

"It's a changeling hive. It shifts and changes like we do, and we're the only ones who can navigate it. It's total chaos to non-changelings." Thorax said.

Then, one of the holes opened up beside him, and he walked right through.

So, everyone followed him.

Discord had to bend himself to fit...

"Well, it's decent chaos." Discord said, pulling his tail out before it closed on it.

"I don't know if I'd call it 'total.'" He said.

---

Now, after going down upstairs, the group is just following Thorax.

"Are we sure that I'll get my magic back when we destroy this throne thingy?" Discord asked.

"If Thorax is right, then yes." Starlight said.

"Well, that's reassuring." Discord said.

"And how are we supposed to destroy the throne when we find it?" Trixie asked.

"You leave that to me." Gohan said.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Thorax asked.

"It's very dense material." He added.

"I'm confident." Gohan said.

"He downed like, seven changelings without breaking a sweat, so..." Starlight said.

"Wow. They have the strength of a regular earth pony." Thorax said.

"That's not very strong, now." Gohan said.

Going up the stairs...

It's just a cliff.

"It's a dead end." Gohan said.

"I think we're lost." Thorax said.

"Oh, perfect!" Discord said.

Trixie threw her luggage on the ground and sat beside it.

"Oh, great. We might as well just sit here and wait for the changelings to soak up all of our love or whatever gross thing it is that they do. How often do you all get hungry?" She asked Thorax.

"Actually, I haven't been since I met Spike. And changelings are always hungry. We can never get enough love." Thorax said.

"Love is what changelings eat, huh?" Gohan asked.

'This entire world could be the next best research paper.' He thought.

"Well, that's just super-" "-But you aren't hungry at all now?" Starlight interrupted.

"Huh. Once I made a few friends, I guess I just sort of forgot about the whole feeding thing." Thorax said.

"Is that about the same time your wings changed?" Starlight asked.

"I guess so." Thorax said.

Then, Discord yawned loudly.

"While I would love to sit around chitchatting about feeding and not feeding..." He said.

"I have a Fluttershy to save!"

That echoed all throughout the hive...

And all the changelings started rearing their disgusting bodies from the holes.

"You moron!" Gohan hissed.

"Can you please lower your voice!" Trixie sneered.

"You're gonna get us all captured!" She said.

"Oh, you keep saying that, but I haven't seen an actual changeling since we got into this hive." Discord said.

"They're all around us." Gohan said.

"What?" Starlight asked.

Then, there was some distant humming...

"...What's that?" Trixie asked.

"A lot of them are coming this way." Gohan said.

"A changeling patrol!" Thorax said.

Now he was hyperventilating.

The humming was getting closer from the now cave behind them.

The stairs just disappeared.

"This seems like one of those moments where we need a plan." Discord said.

"We fight!" Gohan said, clenching his fists.

"That's a terrible plan!" Trixie said.

"That'll just attract more of them! All of them will start ganging up on you eventually! And then they'll capture us if you're not careful!" She said.

"Do have have any other suggestions?" Gohan asked.

"Heck, no! We have no magic, and it's not like my illusions are gonna save us!" Trixie yelled.

Then, Starlight had a brilliant plan.

"Do you have any of your smoke bombs?" Starlight asked.

Then, Trixie smirked.

"Are you kidding?" She asked.

"...I have an addendum to that plan." Gohan said.

---

Well, the others kinda escaped.

Only Trixie and Gohan remained.

Then, three changelings arrived.

"Looking for somepony?" Trixie asked.

The changelings charged, but...

Trixie threw a smoke bomb and vanished!

The changelings flew right into the smoke.

A blue boot emerged from the side, and-

WHAM!

All three of them were kicked with a single attack!

They crash landed into some changeling rock...

They're out.

Then, Gohan himself vanished.

Trixie appeared somewhere else, on another cliff.

More changelings came her way, so...

"Is that the best you've got!?" Trixie yelled.

She threw another smoke bomb, and disappeared yet again.

The changelings flew right into the smoke.

They looked around, confused...

BAMBAMBAM!

Suddenly, three punches were thrown from behind, knocking the three down to the ground!

Gohan vanished yet again.

This pattern kept repeating often...

To the point where Trixie ran out of her smoke bombs.

So, she started running through a cave while five changelings flew after her.

Two of them decided to stray off and entered a short crevice while the others gave chase.

It immediately disappeared.

Starlight and Discord witnessed the running from a floor above.

Then...

Gohan ambushed the three!

He kicked one of the changelings into the other two!

Which sent them all to the wall!

They're out.

He flew after Trixie.

"Not exactly great and powerful, but effective." Discord said.

Then, from behind...

"I'll take it." Trixie said.

There were two Trixies?

So...

"Klutzy..." Starlight said.

But they both said-

"Draconequus!"

Thorax reverted back to his changeling form.

"Ugh. I really think we need a new code word!" Discord said.

"It was a pretty good plan to have a safeword." Thorax said.

"But we still don't know where we're going." Trixie said.

Then, a wild Gohan appeared from behind.

"Fellow rescuers!" He said.

"I found the way to Queen Chrysalis's throne!" He said.

"You did?" Starlight asked excitedly.

"Yeah! Come, fo-"

CRRRRACK!

Gohan broke his doppelgänger's jaw, sending him flying!

In midair, the changeling revealed his true form.

He was bashed to the wall, and slid down to the ground.

Unconscious.

"What the heck?" Trixie asked.

"We're lucky that they can't copy our powers." Gohan said, shaking his wrist.

"I gotta say, we were almost fooled..." Thorax said.

Gohan smiled.

"Since when do any of us know where we're going?" He asked.

"Yeah, where are we going?" Discord asked.

"We don't know." Trixie said.

"Actually, we might." Starlight said.

"Two of the changelings didn't go with the rest." She said.

"Oh!" Thorax realized.

"With an intruder in the hive, they went to protect the queen! Good thinking, Starlight!" He said.

Starlight chuckled nervously...

---

Now that they managed to go up a large staircase without getting spotted...

They hid behind the top of the stairs.

Armored guards were blocking the way in to the throne room.

The doors were two green boulders.

"Now what!?" Trixie asked.

"We... Go in." Starlight said.

"Even if I wanted to, there's no way past the guards. We'll be spotted for sure." Thorax said.

"If we have no other options..." Gohan said, holding some yellow ki in one hand.

"You'll blow our cover!" Discord said.

"Does there look like there's any other way in?" Gohan asked.

"...We could use a distraction." Starlight said.

"I'm fresh out of smoke bombs." Trixie said.

"Normally, I'm the most distracting thing I can think of, but without magic..." Discord said.

"You shouldn't underestimate yourself." Starlight said, smiling.

She pulled out a microphone from Trixie's bag.

"...No." Discord said.

"Come on!" Starlight said.

"Do you consider the fact that I will be captured almost immediately just so you all can pass?" Discord asked.

...

"...Right, right. That won't work..." Starlight said.

"So, my plan?" Gohan asked, still holding the ki.

"...Go for it." Trixie said.

Gohan jumped into sight, and landed gently.

The armored changelings noticed, and charged!

Gohan extended his palm out, and fired an immense blast!

It engulfed the horde, and...

BAKOOM!

The entrance was blown wide open!

The changelings were downed...

"Quick, come on!" Gohan said.

...But nobody emerged.

"Hello?" He asked.

...

"Why aren't you...!?" He asked, rushing back to the stairs.

There was a very tiny hole in the stairs.

Gohan looked inside from above, and-

"No!" He yelled.

A horde was taking his comrades away in a cave.

He flew right into the hole, chasing the changelings.

As soon as he did, it closed.

He landed and dashed incredibly fast!

In that moment, another hole appeared in the cave.

Then, the changelings all went through it.

It almost immediately closed as the last man went through.

Gohan arrived a little too late, sliding before stopping.

He noticed that there's just wall now.

He instinctively punched the wall, but...

It just made a different kind of hole in there.

It's just shattered rock.

"Damn it...!" He muttered, taking his fist out.

"I turn around for five seconds...!" He said, looking to where he first came from.

The hole there was closed for a while.

He looked to the other side, and saw a cliff.

That was the next best thing, so, he ran that way.

He reached the light, stopped towards the edge, and...

"...That's neat." He said.

The destroyed entrance was right there, a fair jump away, with no changelings guarding it.

It's time to face the big bad boss alone.

The weight of hope is now entirely on his shoulders now.

He leapt from the cliff, and softly landed on the ground in front of the entrance.

He dashed into the destroyed entrance!

Running in, there were various green lights everywhere...

In almost an instant, he found himself in a completely different room.

A room with green ooze on the ground and the ceiling...

The whole room had a green tint to it...

He stopped and slid on the strange stuff...

He gasped as he looked to the ceiling.

All sorts of important ponies...

Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and all the powerful/important ponies of Equestria.

All encased in green cocoons...

They weren't conscious, and clearly, their power was being absorbed...

Or something was feeding on it...

Very slowly...

And, somehow, Starlight and the others were already there.

Thorax, too.

It had only been so long...

And right underneath that monstrosity...

Was the wretched throne, filled with holes and spikes...

It emitted a green light, but was all black.

Then, all of a sudden...

"Mwahahahahahahah!"

Gohan could hear a certain maniacal laughter echo throughout the room.

"One little monkey, all by himself..."

Gohan looked back to the cocoons.

Between Celestia and Luna...

The Queen herself emerged, with triple joints.

She had her head twisted while upside freaking down.

She just stayed attached to her precious captives.

"Oh, how will I ever prevent this daring rescue?" She asked.

"You won't!" Gohan yelled.

"You best stay silent." Chrysalis said.

Then, out from almost every little hole in the room, emerged screeching and snarling hordes of changelings.

Gohan winded up his fist...

Air became visible, and twirled around it, and...

He threw a punch at the air!

An invisible pressure blast fired at one of the enclosing hordes, and...

Changelings flew everywhere!

The other hordes stopped in surprise.

A couple of them fell on top of each other...

Before anyone continued their assault, Gohan started throwing more pressurized attacks with punches and kicks.

Changelings flew everywhere, and...

The remaining changelings flew after Gohan and charged!

But each bunch of changelings were swiftly taken out by being knocked around everywhere.

One changeling left...

Gohan threw another punch at him!

Hit, and...

The changeling was sent flying, and landed softly.

Gohan looked to Chrysalis, who decided to fly down from her precious cocoons and to sit on her strange throne...

Gohan held a yellow ki blast, and hurled it at Chrysalis!

It managed to hit her face.

It exploded on contact, but it did absolutely no damage.

'I should've expected as much...' He thought.

"You're not from Equestria..." Chrysalis said, smiling.

"You're right about that." Gohan said.

"It's clear to me that what you use isn't magic. But it doesn't matter anyway." Chrysalis said.

"Those pitiful four couldn't help you. They only delay the inevitable." She said.

"You were able to watch us?" Gohan asked.

"Obviously. It's my castle. I didn't think you were worth replacing one of my drones, but you would make a great asset in world domination..." Chrysalis said.

"Do you honestly think I'd ever be on your side?" Gohan asked.

"The odds are not in your favor, boy." Chrysalis said.

"You may be right about that..." Gohan bluffed.

"But before we settle this... I just want to know why you did this." He said.

"Why should I?" Chrysalis asked.

"Well, it'll be the last satisfaction one can have before the end..." Gohan said, smirking.

"...Alright, then. Even with your rather embarrassing little rescue attempt, everything has gone according to my plan." Chrysalis said.

"What plan? Why do any of this?" Gohan asked.

"So I could feed, of course! By replacing the most beloved figures in Equestria, my drones will be able to store all the love meant for them and return it here to me. Everypony will do as I command, and my subjects and I will feed on their love for generations!" Chrysalis boasted.

"...Now, while it has been fun, it's time that you join them." She said, standing on her throne.

Her corroded horn emitted a green magic, and engulfed Gohan in it...

Gohan didn't really react...

...Other than making his yellow aura flare.

The magic was being pushed away...

And the weird liquid around him flew away.

There was a circle of dry ground around him.

"What...?" Chrysalis asked.

In an instant...

Gohan's chest bulged out even more.

His arms buffed up.

His legs also buffed up and cracked the ground beneath him.

His eyes turned green, and his hair was yellow...

He turned into a Super Saiyan!

And the changeling magic she had over him could not handle it and just broke.

Gohan's aura just kept going, and Chrysalis seemed not too fazed.

"You're stronger than I thought..." Chrysalis said.

Actually... smiling.

"That wasn't even close to your full power." Gohan said.

"Don't underestimate me." He said.

"Wise guy. I'm not taking any more chances with you." Chrysalis said.

Then, she slowly flew off her throne and floated in the air...

"Thanks to all the love of Equestria's most important ponies, I have reached a power beyond it's foolish princesses combined!" She boasted.

Then, she started cackling.

Gohan leapt towards her, cracking the ground beneath him.

The dry area was covered again.

Chrysalis's laugh was cut short when he was right in front of her, winding up his fist.

They were pretty much the same height...

Chrysalis flew back immediately to avoid the attack.

Gohan charged again.

"It's over, queen!" He yelled, winding up another fist.

Next Chapter: Gohan vs. Chrysalis! The Changelings... Change? Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 30 Minutes