Fluttershy

I sneak through the forest, hiding in bushes as I make my way towards the clearing the squirrels mentioned.
The changeling hive should be just ahead.
As I enter the clearing, I look up and my spirits sink.
It's so big! How am I ever going to find Twilight and the others in there?
Angel Bunny hopped down from my shoulder and pointed at a group of changelings, disguised as me and my friends, headed towards the hive. The one disguised as me was lagging behind the rest, obviously exhausted.
Now's my chance!
I crept towards the unsuspecting changeling, reaching into my bag and pulling out my whip as I did so.
For Twilight! For my friends! For Equestria!
I lashed out with the whip, the end of it wrapping around the changeling's left ankle, pulling it to the ground and into the bushes. I quickly jumped on top of it and covered its mouth and nose, cutting off its breathing. It struggled, thrashing back and forth as I kept a firm hold on its face. Eventually, the struggling stopped, and green fire spread up its body as it changed back into its true form. I bent down over its chest and listened for breathing. It was faint, but it was there.
Good. I didn't want to kill the poor thing...
I took some ivy from a nearby tree and tied the changeling's hands and feet behind its back. I then stuck its necklace in a large ball of mud.
I hope that'll stop it from using magic until the mud dries and it can break it off.
I put my whip back in my bag and hid my bag behind my back as I caught up with the others.

Trixie

As we finish tying the changeling to a table, Zecora peruses her herbs and reagents.
"What are you making?" I ask.
Zecora points to a recipe in one of her books. I look over at the recipe and see that it's for an honesty potion.
Zecora leans over to me and starts speaking in hushed tones so that the changeling won't hear.
"I did not tell you - only show - so that our guest would not know."
"Why? It doesn't matter if he knows what we're gonna do to him as long as we make him take the potion and spill his secrets."
"I aim to keep our friend in constant fear of what might possibly transpire here." she replies.
"Ah."
I turn back to the changeling, who'd woken up from his trip, and smile menacingly at him. He looks over at Zecora and his eyes widen.
"What're you making?" he asks. I slap him across the face.
"Listen here, bud!" I say. "The only people asking the questions here'll be us."
I give him an evil grin.
"And don't worry; when we're done with you you'll have told us everything."
I nod to Zecora's cauldron.
"Even if I wanted to tell you what was in there, I couldn't. not even I know what's brewing in that pot. I guess that's for her to know and for you to find out."
I turn to Zecora.
"Is it ready yet?"
She nods and pours an orange liquid into a bowl, walking towards the table.
"Now we can begin." I say, taking the bowl and standing over the changeling. "Open wide..."
The changeling jams his mouth shut, and I glare at him. I grab his nose and plug it, readying the bowl full of elixir.
"You might not want to drink this, but you'll have to breathe sometime." I say.
The changeling's necklace starts to glow, and I laugh at him.
"Did you honestly think we hadn't planned for that?" I say, pointing to a ring of jade fitted around the jewel in his necklace.
"That's an arcane inhibitor. It nullifies any and all magic it comes into contact with."
The changeling slumps back onto the table, and I grin expectantly.
"Any second now, you'll need to breathe. Can't you feel your lungs crying out for air? 'Help us!' they cry. 'Help us! We need to breathe!'".
I start to take deep, loud breaths, letting oxygen flood my lungs and then drain from them in the most ostentatious manner possible.
After about three seconds of this, the changeling's mouth opens, and as he breathes in, I stick the bowl in his mouth to prevent it closing again and tip the liquid down his throat.
"I've always wondered what one of Zecora's legendary brews tasted like." I say. "Tell me, what do you taste?"
"No-"
The changeling's voice is cut off, and his face turns red as he tries to say something. After a few seconds, a bewildered look crosses his face and he replies.
"Apples. It tastes like apples."
"Good, good. Now we know it's working."
"Now you know what-"
I slap him again.
"What did I say about questions?" I ask.
"You're the only one asking questions here." he replies, staring dumbfoundedly at his mouth, as if it had acted without consent, which, knowing changelings' reputation for deceit, it probably had.
"Good. You're learning." I say, smiling at him. "Now: How many changelings are there in Ponyville?"
"Two hundred." The changeling assumes a shocked look and covers his mouth. "How'd I say that? I didn't want to say..."
The changeling's eyes grow wide.
"A truth potion! You made me drink a truth potion, didn't you!?"
I move to slap him, and he flinches. I withdraw my hand, and a slight sigh of relief comes from the changeling.
I punch him in the face.
"What did I say about questions!?"
"You're the only one asking questions here! Gah!"
"Good! Now stop asking questions and I won't punch you again!"
I turned to Zecora.
"Got any questions for our guest here?"
She turns to the changeling and speaks in a deep, booming voice that makes me take a step back, even though I know it's coming.
"Your continued survival in this world now solely depends on whether or not you know the location of Twilight and her friends." she says.
"Do you?" I ask.
"N-"
The changeling starts to writhe in pain, and I step back, surprised. I grab the recipe book and read the effects of the honesty potion aloud.
"'When the pony who drinks this potion attempts to say anything untrue, they will experience pain and shortness of breath until they tell the truth. The pain and asphyxiation vary in strength depending on the magnitude of the attempted lie.' Wow."
Zecora nods.
"It'll be a lot easier on you from now on if you don't try to lie." I say to the changeling.
"YES!" he gasps. "I know where they are! They're in the Hive! The Hive east of here!"
He takes several deep breaths, tears running down his face.
"I wish it hadn't come to this." I say. "But you forfeited any right to pity or mercy the second you helped kidnap my friends. Now tell me how to get to them."
The changeling again starts writhing in agony, until finally shouting: "TAKE THE NORTH ENTRANCE! GO STRAIGHT, STRAIGHT, BACK, BACK, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, FIRST DOOR, SECOND DOOR, FIRST DOOR, SECOND DOOR! THEY'LL BE WEDGED AGAINST THE CEILING IN A ROW OF SMALL CELLS!"
"Thank you." I say. "Now if you'll be so kind as to show me the way there..."
The changeling starts laughing.
"Even if you manage to free your friends, there'll be just six of you against two hundred of us! Do you think you've won!? Do you think you even have a remote possibility of coming out of this alive!? You are a fool! A FOOL! I'll never lead you there! NEVER!"
The changeling starts to writhe again, choking on something invisible. We watch, horrified, until I grasp his plan.
"He's killing himself!"
We quickly unstrap him and force his mouth open, but it is too late. He slumps to the floor, dead.
"I guess he was telling the truth when he said he'd never lead us there." I say, shocked.

Later

I descend from the top of the tree that encompasses the hut.
"Ponyville's on red alert." I yell to Zecora. "They've discovered the missing changeling."
I start towards the door, but Zecora stops me, holding out a staff with two blades affixed to the ends.
"On your quest, something just might go amiss. It's dangerous to go alone. Take this."
"Thanks." I say. I leave the cottage, heading east towards the Hive.
Something that changeling said seemed... off.
I think back to what the frenzied thing had said.
"Even if you manage to free your friends, there'll be just six of you against two hundred of us!"
If I'm coming to rescue them, that'd make seven, not six. Unless...
I start running towards the Hive, pushing my way through the undergrowth.
I've gotta get there fast!

Fluttershy

Right, left, right, no, not left, I've gone that way, left, left, right, straight, right...
I run through the tunnels of the Hive, my feet making no noise on the soft earth, as I look for my friends.
Where are they?
I enter a door, and my hopes are answered by six cocoons hanging from the ceiling, separated by thin dirt walls that form small cells.
"I'm so glad I found you girls!" I say, taking my whip out of my pack, twisting the handle and extending the blades. I turn to cut my friends down from the ceiling, but a voice stops me in my tracks.
"Put down the whip and step away from the Bearers, changeling!"
I turn to see Trixie, of all people, standing behind me, brandishing some sort of stick with blades on each end.
We stare at each other for a minute or so until Trixie lowers the tip of her staff.
"Sorry, Fluttershy. I thought you were a changeling."
I keep my whip at the ready, though.
"How do you know I'm not? And for that matter, how do I know you aren't one of them? For all I know, you're going to help me "free" them, and then lead me into a trap!"
Trixie raises her staff again, though I can see trepidation on her face.
No! Don't let them trick you into lowering your guard! The second you hesitate, you're dead! I need to stay strong for my friends!
All of a sudden, the door bursts open to reveal three changelings holding sickles. They stop, eyes wide, when they see Trixie.
"Get back!" Trixie yells, swinging her staff and clocking one over the head, knocking it out cold.
Angel Bunny runs forward and jumps at the second changeling's face, scratching it as the thing runs away screaming.
Trixie moves towards the third one, a menacing grimace on her face.
The changeling turns and runs.
"We don't have long before they send for reinforcements." Trixie says, turning to me. "It doesn't matter if you trust me. We need to get the girls out now."
I wrap my whip around the stem holding one cocoon to the ceiling and start to pull on it, dragging the blades across the ropelike substance. The cocoon falls to the ground, a sleeping Applejack inside.
I hear a wet thud as Pinkie Pie's cocoon, cut free by the blades on Trixie's staff, falls to the ground. I cut Rainbow Dash's cocoon from the ceiling, but before Trixie can get to Twilight, her cocoon falls on its own. There is a slight hissing noise as a crack opens up, revealing the sleeping unicorn. As Trixie and I watch, stunned, Twilight stands up and opens her eyes, grinning evilly. We both gasp and take a step back.
Twilight's eyes are glazed over, as if she were dead.
"Hello, Fluttershy. Trixie."
"Twilight! What's happened?" I ask, stepping over to her.
"I'm free! That's what's happened! The Queen has shown me a new way! A way to redemption! A way to happiness!"
Twilight pauses, as if listening to something, then her grin spreads even wider as her eyes narrow.
"A way that does not involve you."
Changelings stream through the open door and surround us.
It's over... Chrysalis has gotten to Twilight somehow! There's no way we can win.
I lower my head and disengage my whip, my arms hanging uselessly by my sides.
Why, just this one time, couldn't everything have gone smoothly? I was so close to saving them! It's not fair!
My hands clench into fists, and tears build up in my eyes.
I could have saved Twilight, but I waited like a coward and now we're all doomed and IT'S NOT FAIR!
I raise my head and shout at the room, engaging my whip again, the blades sharp and ready.
"You can take me instead! You can torture me, put me under whatever illusions you want to; you can even turn me into a changeling!"
A white aura starts to swirl around me as I continue crying, all my fear and anger an nervousness packed into a tight ball.
"But you do not; I repeat, do NOT! HURT! MY! FRIENDS!"
The aura envelops me, and, rising into the air, I lash out at everything in sight, my whip striking hard and fast. I even see a few tendrils of light form and attack alongside the whip.
A minute or so later, the room is full of dead changelings. The aura dissipates as I sink slowly to the ground.
"You got that?"
Trixie and Twilight both uncover their eyes.
"Wow, Fluttershy." Trixie says. "I... didn't know you could do something like that."
"Neither did I." I reply. We both turn to Twilight.
"An admirable effort, to be sure, but not all of my forces are gone; you will soon die by my hand."
As if to prove her right, three more changelings enter the room, grinning.
A purple aura surrounds us, trapping our limbs. Twilight advances, a black sword gripped in her hands.
I close my eyes, waiting for the end...
"Gotcha." she says, grinning.
Three changeling heads lie on the floor, their owners lying slumped next to the ones I'd killed.
Twilight's eyes unglaze, and she picks up Rainbow Dash and Applejack's cocoons.
"What're you two waiting for? Let's get out of here before Chrysalis decides to pay us a visit and find out why exactly her little stunt didn't work."
I pick up Pinkie pie's cocoon, and Trixie picks up Rarity's. We start running through the Hive, taking turn after turn, following Twilight's lead.
"Why didn't her 'little stunt' work?" I ask as we run. "It looked like you were really under control."
"Oh, I was never under her control." Twilight says. "Even when we were all just under basic illusions, I wasn't fooled. You see, the illusions consisted of each of us being placed in a situation that defies our Element: Rainbow Dash betrayed us, Applejack was betrayed by us, Pinkie Pie had to watch her friends get killed, Rarity tried to help us all at once and failed at helping any of us, etc. However, I'd noticed something off about mine back when I was still under it."
"What was that?" Trixie asks.
"Well, with the other illusions, they looped in on themselves perfectly; with mine, one second I was turned into a changeling after joining Chrysalis, and the next I'm back at her throne room, about to join her. Naturally, I realized it was an illusion and broke out of it with a simple memory spell."
We continue running until Twilight stops us, her arm blocking the way forward.
"Something's wrong." she says. "We've been running for over ten minutes, and I know my way around this place."
"I don't see the problem." Trixie says. "We'll get out eventually."
"But that's the thing!" Twilight says. "According to what I've seen, it takes about three minutes to get out of here. However, we're only just past where we started. Look!"
She points to a nearby door, which is ajar. we look inside to see a mass of dead changelings and five small cells...
"We're under an illusion!" I say, realizing the truth.
"Don't worry, girls." Twilight says, grinning. "I've had tons of practice breaking Chrysalis's illusions. This'll be a snap."
She concentrates, and the world around us shimmers until a flash of light leaves us dazed and blinded.
When I open my eyes, everything is different. I'm surrounded by changeling guards, their blades pointed at my neck. My wrists are tied together behind my back, and Chrysalis herself stands over me, holding my whip.
"A lovely little thing: I might use it sometime." she says, grinning. "Take her away, men. I'll deal with her later."

Twilight

As I get to my feet, bleary-eyed, I take in my surroundings.
I seem to be standing in a large... thing.
Glass. it's glass, but what...
My eyes open wide as I realize where I am.
I'm in a glass box. Why am I in a glass bo-
"You're awake."
I look up and see a familiar face, smiling gleefully.
"Chrysalis."
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Twilight Sparkle. Don't get too comfortable; you won't be spending much more time here."
"What have you done with my friends?"
"Oh, don't worry. They've been... Taken care of."
At this, she lets out a laugh.
"I can't believe how easy it was to capture the sixth Element. All I needed to do was put you five in an obvious place and she came running in like a lamb to the slaughter. Granted, your little stunt back there was... unexpected, but I found a workaround."
She grimaces at me, her hand moving to a metal pillar I hadn't noticed before. Her fingers hover over a large red button.
"When I press this, water will start flooding that box."
She smiles at me, a smile that's a few inches too wide and that never reaches her eyes.
"I won't kill you yet, though; Changeling government states that all must have a proper trial."
She turns to a nearby guard.
"Bring in the jury!"
Seven changelings file in, taking seats around the box.
"Twilight Sparkle. You stand accused of treason against Chrysalis, High Queen of the Changelings and plotting to overthrow Her Majesty, as well as the cruel murders of several loyal soldiers. How do you plead?"
I look around the room for something, anything, that can help me escape. I am about to give up hope when I see something odd.
Why is that door stuck in a wall?
Sure enough, near the corner of the room there is a door built into a corner, half of it cut off by a wall.
Why would the changelings build a half-door? It doesn't make sense! Unless...
"I said: How do you plead, Twilight Sparkle?"
I look Queen Chrysalis dead in the eye and grin.
"Guilty."
She looks taken aback.
"It's true. I plotted to kill you. I killed several of your soldiers, and I lied to you about being under an illusion. Just fill the box with water already."
"That's it? No begging for mercy? No pleading for your life? No 'Oh please, Chrysalis, don't kill me!'?"
"Nope." I say. "I'm not going to give you the satisfaction. Just get on with it."
There is a pause.
"You're not gonna say anything bold or daring, like "Objection!"?
"Nope. Just press the button and I'll be out of your hair. It's not like I have any choice in the matter."
"All right then."
She presses the button.
As water starts to fill the box, I continue staring the changeling queen dead in the eye, giving her the creepiest grin I can muster. The water's up to my waist now. I continue smiling at her as the water envelops my chest, then my neck, then my head.
Holding my breath - and grinning all the while - I give Chrysalis a little wave and press my hands up against the glass.
As the box explodes, water sprays everywhere, drenching all in attendance.
I stand in the middle of what was a deadly trap, still grinning.
I snap my fingers, and wake up.

I am in a small globe of green light. I look around me, and concentrate, focusing on summoning a sword to my hand.
Nothing happens.
I guess I'm finally done with the illusions.
I look behind me to see a changeling guard standing with his arms outstretched and his eyes screwed shut in concentration, focused, no doubt, on maintaining the globe.
He must be the one that put me under.
Beside me, two other guards are doing the same for Fluttershy and Trixie.
The cocoons holding my friends are scattered around the floor.
I separate myself from my body and go exploring.
There is a large platoon of changelings headed towards the room where we're being held. I calculate the time it'll take to get here.
I've got about five minutes before they show up.
I return to my body, but as I do so, I notice something odd.
I don't have a shadow.
Making a mental note of this, I return to my body, turning with some effort - trapped as I am in the globe of light - to face my captor.
I punch him in the face.
As he staggers back, I tackle him, covering his mouth so he can't scream for aid. Scowling at him, I lift his head up to mine, then slam it down on the ground. I repeat this until he stops struggling.
Getting to my feet, I take the changeling's sword and stab him through the heart.
It never hurts to make sure...
The other two guards are easy to kill. Within thirty seconds, Trixie and Fluttershy have come to, rubbing their eyes.
I quickly explain the situation to them, and they each pick up a cocoon. I pick up the remaining two, but instead of leaving, I motion for them to set their cocoons down next to me.
"What're you planning?" Trixie asks.
"No time for questions." I reply. "I need your help with something."
"What?"
"A sigil ring."
Trixie's eyes widen, and she grins.
"That's your game, huh? Let's get started."
Trixie and I get to work drawing a complicated circle of runes on the ground. When we're done, I stand back and admire our handiwork, noting as I do so that my shadow has returned.
"It's not perfect, but it'll get the job done." I say. "Get the cocoons inside the circle. I need to work on something else."
As Fluttershy and Trixie gather the cocoons inside the sigil ring, I fire up my necklace and create a simple hologram.
My turn, Chrysalis.
I step into the circle, and Trixie and I channel magic into the circle of runes at our feet.
With a flash of light and a smell like smoke, we're gone.

Later

Chrysalis

As the changeling queen entered the small room, she reflected on the day's developments.
At last, all the Elements have been captured! Now the plan can move forward. I can only hope that Nightmare Moon manages to eliminate the new Bearers in time, or else...
She shuddered. She didn't even want to think about that right now. She turned to the three guards holding the captives.
"Good work. Remind me to reward you later. Take the two Bearers to cells, and separate them this time. The third is not needed; kill her."
The guards just stood there.
"Did you not hear me, peons? I said take them away!"
Still the guards just stood there, unresponsive.
That was when she noticed three things.
First: There was a charred circle of ground behind the guards.
Second: There were three corpses nearby, all three stabbed through the heart.
Third: The cocoons holding the other Bearers were gone.
Chrysalis stepped forwards, smacking one guard across the face in a backhanded slap that would have sent him sprawling, had he been there.
He wasn't.
As the illusion dissipated, Queen Chrysalis let out a scream of rage.

Author's Notes:

Yay, new chapter!
I can only hope it was worth the weight.