Bright, angry flames raged against the dark, indifferent night sky – a tower of crimson and orange visible in the inky blackness for miles around.

Even in that intangible period of time when it was too early to be considered morning but too late to still be considered night, the out-of-control blaze did not go unnoticed.

Shutters all across Ponyville were pried open by bleary-eyed inhabitants searching for the source of that unwelcome glare. More than a few were unhappy at being disturbed from their rests, and more than a few vows of hollow revenge were uttered against their nameless disturbers.

But such sentiments did not survive long – not when the cause of the bright, flickering light was spotted. Eyes went wide and hearts filled with unease as the townsfolk stared at the towering flames and thick column of acrid black smoke, and only one shocking conclusion was met unanimously.

Sweet Apple Acres was burning.

~~***~~

“Keep them back! Keep everypony back!”

Guards formed a line across the front fence of the apple orchard, creating a living barricade against the gathering of concerned ponies that was slowly amassing outside the property.

From there, they had an almost perfect view of the Apple family household, and the immense pyre that’d once been the family’s huge barn.

Flames shot nearly thirty feet into the air, defying any attempts to quell them. Nearby trees were starting to catch fire as the embers spread on the wind, and the household itself was in imminent danger of being swallowed by the swelling inferno.

Everypony watching in morbid fascination could see the fire engine parked like a barrier between the burning barn and the house, a group of unicorns and earth ponies working with powerful jets of pressurized water to stifle the flames.

Overhead, weather ponies formed an almost never-ending conveyor belt of clouds, bringing in ones laden with rain before cycling them out when they ran dry.

But the flames kept advancing, growing in spite of the water being poured into it.

“Something’s not right with this fire!” one of the fireponies shouted, spraying down the same immolating piece of barn for the tenth time in a row. “It’s not natural!”

Through the blinding wall of flames and blistering heat, he just thought he could make out something odd mixed in with the tongues of fire… something green…

He was distracted, however, by a bright flash of purple in his peripheral vision.

When he snapped his head around – expecting anything – he still found himself caught off guard by the young unicorn mare standing not ten feet from him, her eyes scrunched up and her horn flaring brighter than any unicorn horn he’d ever seen before.

Twilight Sparkle concentrated with all her might, summoning up every ounce of magical prowess she possessed. Lavender light crackled off her horn, magical sparks shooting forth like a firecracker.

The firepony looked on in confusion, but just as he opened his mouth to get the mare’s attention, something immense flew over his head, missing him by only a foot or two.

In the light of the fire – and the sheen of magic containing it – he caught sight of the thing, but could hardly believe what he was seeing in the first place.

There was just no explaining why there was a river flowing overhead.

Twilight grunted and continued to work her figurative magic over her more literal talents. Even though the spell wanted nothing more than to fly apart as violently as possible, she knew a thing or two about keeping a spell in check, and found herself exercising every bit of that experience.

Water was not the easiest thing to move – she knew that. It was too nebulous, too formless. Where lifting a solid object could be possible with a few weaknesses in the telekinetic grip here and there, Twilight was afforded no such luxury with something like liquid, and she needed every drop.

But to save a friend’s home, it was an exertion well spent.

At her behest, the contents of the nearest river formed an undulating halo over the barn, floating between the raging fire and everything around it.

Already the liquid was steaming and evaporating under the sheer heat of the blaze. Twilight knew she didn’t have long.

So, with one last grunt, she imploded her spell.

The entire wreath of water slammed together in the middle, crushing what little remained of the barn under the weight of tens of thousands of gallons of river water.

Ponies watching from the property fence wooed and awed as the collision of water sent a plume nearly a hundred feet straight up in the air before raining down on the rather stunned fireponies below.

Twilight panted as she surveyed the inundated barnyard and the smoking wreckage that’d once been her favorite barn. After a moment, she allowed a grin to spread on her lips… only to have it falter.

A loud, angry hissing and spitting sound reached her ears, and a moment later the blaze reignited itself. Violently.

Emerald fire exploded outward like a wounded beast, lashing out angrily as it vaporized every bit of moisture it touched in a sheet of boiling steam.

Twilight’s eyes got wide in shock, and with only a split second to spare, she ignited her horn again.

Half a beat later, she, the fireponies and their fire truck winked back into existence some hundred feet back.

Twilight staggered, panting. She’d never tried to teleport something as big as a fire engine before, not to mention its entire crew at the same time.

For one terrifying moment, her legs started to give out beneath her…

Only to have a steadying pair of hooves catch her.

“Twilight! Are you alright, darling?”

The unicorn blinked, shook her head, and refocused her vision to find a pair of sapphire eyes staring at her in concern.

“Rarity… yeah, I’m okay,” Twilight breathed, getting her hooves beneath her again.

Rarity let her friend stand back up, but her eyes didn’t lose their concerned glint. “Don’t push yourself. We still need to find Applejack and Rainbow Dash.”

“I know,” Twilight muttered, touching her forehead gingerly. She was going to have such a hornache in the morning. Casting too many big spells in a row did that to her.

As she stood there, gathering herself, her eyes stayed fixed on the reignited barn, a terrible sense of dread filling her.

The changeling fire shot up even higher than before, casting an eerie green glow over everything. Already she could hear panicked and scared voices from the ponies gathered along the fence.

None of this made sense to her. Why attack Sweet Apple Acres? Again and again she replayed the last thing she’d seen of her friends over and over in her head.

Even though it was so dark out, and they were so far away, Twilight hadn’t missed a few things, like the state of Rainbow’s coat or the bandages wrapped around Applejack’s legs. They’d been hurt, that much was clear. So… why did they run away? And why had they shouted “no” at her? She’d heard the Guard’s explanation – that they were under changeling influence.

But something wasn’t adding up…

As she thought, Twilight’s gaze drifted off of the enchanted flames and to her right – to the barricade the royal guards had erected at the front of the property.

More specifically, towards the vermillion stallion organizing a defensive perimeter around the property.

Something wasn’t adding up at all…

“Twilight?”

The unicorn blinked, distracted, and turned back to her friend. “Yes, Rarity?”

But Rarity paused, pursing her lips. Her eyes, too, were scrutinizing the barricade, but her thoughts were oddly imperceptible. “Are you thinking what I suspect you’re thinking?”

Twilight bit her lip, then followed her friend’s gaze. “I don’t know… maybe? Maybe I’m just being paranoid…”

To her surprise, Rarity let out a sigh. “You certainly can be innocent sometimes.”

Twilight turned back to her friend, blinking in surprise. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rarity was silent for a moment, the fire reflecting eerily in her eyes. “All I’m saying is that Applejack and Rainbow are out there, hurt and alone.”

She turned one eye towards her friend, her gaze meaningful. “If you ask me, this isn’t the time to be trusting blindly. After all, not everypony is who they appear to be.”

Twilight’s frown deepened, her eyes once more settling on the pyre of changeling fire.

“Think it over,” Rarity said, smiling. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Twilight blinked, turning around in surprise. “Where are you going?”

“I have a prior engagement, I’m afraid,” Rarity stated without turning around. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it.”

Twilight watched in disbelief as her friend trotted away without a backwards glance. Within moments, she’d lost track of her white coat as it vanished into the shadows of the trees. “That’s weird… What’s Rarity up to?”

“Beg pardon?”

Twilight yelped, jumping halfway to the moon in shock as she whipped around.

And there, to her utter astonishment, stood Rarity, a look of confusion not even beginning to match Twilight’s.

“I’m sorry, darling. Did I miss something?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Twilight could only stare in pure shock as the realization started to dawn on her. The fact that Rarity was suddenly wearing her purple velvet drawstring purse – the one she’d specifically made for holding her ID card – made the realization only the more shocking.

“Rarity… weren’t you right here a second ago?”

The white unicorn now had a look of concern on her face – a familiar one that clearly questioned her friend’s current mental state. “No… I just got out of questioning. Why? Is something wrong?”

Twilight turned very pale indeed as she whipped her head back around, eyes peering back the way her ‘friend’ had disappeared off to. But there was no sign of her at all.

Not everypony is who they appear to be…

For the first time that night, Twilight’s skin crawled. But more than that, her mind was reeling even more than before.

Just who was that?

~~***~~

Rainbow Dash tore through the sky at speeds that would normally bring a grin to her face and a chuckle to her lips.

That night, however, she could only scowl and grunt with the effort of working her wings.

Even with the chilly night air slapping her in the face, she could still feel the blistering heat of the fire on her coat and taste the acrid flavors of wood smoke on the roof of her mouth.

It was because she could still feel and taste and smell that barn that her mind kept betraying her, and again and again she was treated to a flash of a panicked green pair of eyes and a fearful cry.

She’d been so close…

No!

Rainbow gritted her teeth harder, snarling. You can feel sorry for yourself later! Right now, Applejack is counting on you, and you are NOT going to let her down!

Rainbow nodded to herself, and pressed herself to go still faster.

Sound started to bleed away from her ears as she sped up. The very air began to claw at her, desperately trying to find some surface to throw its weight behind to stop her.

Rainbow ignored it, and instead channeled her frustrations into pushing herself even faster. She counted every second she wasted in transit, each one feeling like the final ticks on a countdown.

She was running out of time…

~~***~~

Sergeant Carapace cracked open an eye to survey his surroundings, the dregs of consciousness hastening to answer his call.

A lesser changeling might’ve been broken by what he’d gone through. A lesser changeling might’ve been unable to so much as get their hooves beneath them after such an ordeal.

But Sergeant Carapace was no lesser changeling.

Those three or four stumbles were only to fool any watching adversary into thinking him weakened. Nothing more. With a stifled groan, he rose off the ground, lucidity already taking hold.

The fifth stumble was just for good measure.

As he surveyed his surroundings with a meticulous eye, he became aware of two things.

Firstly, the sounds of combat had faded. Pity…

Secondly, he found himself standing alone in that accursed field. Signs of quite the furious struggle marred the grass and dirt all around him; the stallion had put up quite the fight. Carapace expected nothing less from a stallion capable of besting him.

The fact that he’d been left behind did not bother him. He was more than capable of finding his way to shelter, and woe be to the one that got in his way. His peers had already dragged off the lesser drones, leaving only him and…

Sergeant Carapace hesitated, going still for but a moment in modest surprise.

It seemed that he wasn’t as alone as he first thought. Not a dozen feet from him lay a massive shape. A familiar, red shape.

And as he watched, the stallion let out a groan. Sergeant Carapace could almost see his nemesis’ eyes spinning in their sockets, undoubtedly still reeling from the blow Captain Vigil had struck him.

And now here he was, all by himself, stunned and disoriented.

Sergeant Carapace couldn’t help but grin to himself viciously. On this night, vengeance was hi—

Rainbow Dash chose that moment to land directly on top of him, crushing him under-hoof.

“Macintosh! Hey, Big Mac, are you alright?”

The big red stallion spasmed as if an electrical current had just shot through him. He groaned, righting himself, his eyes still bleary. “Ruh… Rainbow? That you?”

He blinked some more, shaking his head, and once his vision cleared, he found the rainbow-maned pegasus standing in front of him, looking deeply concerned.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

For a moment, Mac wanted to shoot that question right back at her. She looked like she’d gone ten rounds with a Timber Wolf. But before he could get his mouth more than halfway open, his head came back on straight, and everything hit him all at once, shooting his eyes open wide.

“Applejack. They got—”

“I know, Big Mac, I know,” Rainbow interrupted, putting a hoof against his chest. “I… I was there. I’m sorry, I couldn’t—”

“It’s alright, Rainbow. Neither could Ah.”

Rainbow’s ears picked up, her eyes focusing. “Wait, she was here?”

“Eeyup,” Mac grunted, rubbing the back of his head. “Saw her fer a second. Then it all went dark.”

Rainbow bit back a curse, turning away. She’d been too late. Again. “Dang it… She could be anywhere by now…”

“Couldn’ta gotten far,” Big Mac grunted.

Rainbow turned a curious eye towards him. “What makes you say that?”

A knowing glint entered Mac’s eye. “Cuz they got Applejack.”

~~***~~

With yelp, another changeling went flying across the room, striking the far brick wall with a nasty crunch.

“Yer gonna have ta try harder than that!” roared Applejack from her place on the floor.

A dozen changelings were piled on top of her, trying desperately to get the furious farmer under control. Quite a few were sporting black eyes and missing a fang or two.

Applejack just kept wriggling and squirming and every chance she got she threw a powerful buck without a moment’s hesitation.

From the sidelines, Vigil watched with increasing exasperation. “This is getting ridiculous… Will someone please restrain her already?”

“Trying… sir,” one of the drones grunted while simultaneously wrestling with a forelimb like it were attached to an Ursa Minor. Applejack just continued kicking and swinging, fighting for dear life.

The darkened room flashed brightest green as a spell was loosed.

Applejack felt something hot and slimy engulf her front hoof just as she swung it.

The changelings used her momentum against her, letting go of her other foreleg for an instant – just long enough for the two limbs to collide together as they met in the middle.

But they didn’t come apart again. Applejack stared in shock at the gooey green substance sticking to her hooves, gluing them together. In a matter of seconds, the substance hardened into a gleaming, glass-like shell, shackling her hooves together.

Before she could react, the same process bound her legs together, and no matter who or what she struck her bindings with, they didn’t so much as crack.

With another flash of changeling magic, both her hind and fore hooves were slammed together and promptly sealed in an even thicker emerald casing, hogtying her.

As the changelings finally backed away from her, she caught sight of one final flash of emerald from her captors, just as an iron hard binding clamped around her muzzle painfully.

The light from Vigil’s horn faded, but not his mildly irritated expression. “Now perhaps you’ll settle down. I would much rather keep you undamaged.”

Applejack glared back at him, struggling to speak around the binding on her muzzle. “Yer ernt gerna gert erwer werth thers.”

Vigil had to roll his eyes. “Please, spare me such a cliché. No pony knows where you are, and the only two ponies who know who has you are suspected of being under changeling control. Furthermore, the other ponies will be too busy with our diversion at your farm to even begin searching.”

Even in the large, dark room, Applejack could’ve sworn she saw the emerald gleam in the disguised changeling’s eyes.

“No one will know you’re gone until it’s too late. No one will even know where to start looking for you. Not your friends, not those idiotic royal guards, and most certainly not Rainbow Dash.”

Vigil advanced. In the quiet space, Applejack could hear each and every hoof fall like he were stomping. Out of nowhere, she found herself almost nose to nose with him, automatically making her cringe back before she could catch herself.

“You’ve cost me a lot of time, effort and resources, ‘Your Highness’,” he breathed in her face. “But once Queen Chrysalis gets done with you, it will all have been time and effort well spent.”

Applejack’s skin crawled. She tried not to shy away – to show any signs of weakness – but it was almost too much to bear.

“So,” Vigil went on softly, “for everyone’s sake, let’s try to be civil and not waste any more of my time.”

Applejack managed a bullheaded glare. “Merk mer.”

Vigil merely straightened up like he hadn’t heard her and turned away. “You misunderstand me again, Applejack. That wasn’t a question.”

The captive pony watched as her captor strode away indifferently, marching past the many, many gleaming sets of icy blue eyes that stood between her and everypony else.

“I look forward to working with you in the future,” Vigil stated, just as he kicked the heavy doors shut behind him.

He paused for a moment outside, letting the chilly night air ruffle uncomfortably through his mustard coat. He would only need to put up with it for a little while longer – just a few minutes.

Then, he would be on his way, Her Highness’s prize in tow. All that was left to do was wait.

He hadn’t been lying; nopony would be interrupting him this time, not even Rainbow Dash. After all, Ponyville was quite the big place. It would take hours to comb it over.

For a moment, he allowed his eyes to play over his surroundings, a feeling of satisfaction in his chest.

Tracks played out across the ground before him in a crazy latticework of metal. Train cars and engines were scattered here and there on the tracks, waiting their turn to be put back into service.

Amid over a dozen red brick warehouses, the one behind Vigil hardly stood out any more than the next. Vigil couldn’t help but grin to himself as he turned to walk deeper into the train depot.

All that was left was to wait…

“Sir.”

Vigil hesitated midstride, looking towards an awaiting pegasus. “Hyacinth. I was just on my way to speak with you.”

The lime green mare nodded, stepping forward out of the shadows to stand at attention.

“I came to report that the train you requisitioned will be arriving in a few minutes,” she stated. “All that remains is for you to finalize the paperwork.”

Vigil nodded, not at all surprised. It would be ironic, really; a train, commissioned especially for use by the Royal Guard, delivering him and his troops to safety. After all, who would question a request from the Guard in this day and age? Ponies truly were too naïve for their own good.

“Very good," he replied. "We’re almost finished here, then.”

“Yes sir,” Hyacinth agreed with a curt nod.

Vigil turned his gaze towards the thatched roof cottages just visible over the squat brick buildings in the train depot. He could still see the flickering green light from the spell he’d had arranged to distract the ponies for a time. Granted, Twilight would undoubtedly have it out before long, but it would take even her an hour or two to figure it out.

So, with her and her friends indisposed for the time being, Vigil was free to think on other matters, including one that was starting to bother him.

“Hyacinth… I would like to know where you were, prior to dealing with Applejack’s brother.”

The green mare hesitated for a moment, a look of confusion crossing her eyes. “I was scouting the orchards, like you instructed,” she stated. “When I heard the sounds of fighting, I made my way to the rendezvous and witnessed you fighting Applejack’s brother, and decided to intervene.”

Vigil cocked an eyebrow. “And what of the team I sent to aid you?”

This time Hyacinth was truly drawn up short. “…Team? I met with no team.”

Vigil paused to consider that. “hmm…”

“What is it, sir?” Hyacinth asked.

He turned to regard the horizon, a frown growing on his face. “Something doesn’t feel right,” he stated. “Perhaps Applejack and her friends came across the team. But that won’t explain why Twilight and her friend came to the farm tonight.”

He tapped the edge of one hoof lightly on the ground as he thought, drawing his subordinate’s attention.

“Sir?”

Vigil glanced towards Hyacinth for a moment, then away. “I want you to go guard our guest. Don’t let anypony near her unless they know my code. Understood?”

Hyacinth stood up straighter, giving a small salute. “Yes sir. I’ll keep her safe.”

“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Hyacinth threw her salute before trotting away into the darkness. Vigil watched her go for a moment, then proceeded on his own way once more.

He had a train to requisition.

~~***~~

“What’re we going to do, Mac,” whined Rainbow. She was doing the airborne equivalent of pacing back and forth before the big red stallion, who stood as still as a statue, watching her.

Rainbow floated back and forth with her hooves behind her back, her head bowed in thought as she tried with all her might to think of something – anything.

But she was coming up empty.

“Think… Think! Applejack could be gone any minute now! There’s gotta be someplace they took her.”

Big Mac glanced away in thought, his anxiety hidden remarkably well behind a stoic mask. “They coulda taken her through the Everfree,” he offered.

It seemed like the most logical conclusion to him – no guards patrolled the wild forest. With so many changelings, Vigil could move unimpeded through the woods without fear of being followed.

Rainbow’s frown deepened. “If they were gonna do that, why’d they bother with such a show earlier? They could’ve just come from the Everfree and pulled back.”

But then she hesitated. What if that’s what they’d been trying when they first attacked her and AJ? More and more, the Everfree seemed increasingly likely, but that posed another problem.

The Everfree Forest was massive, and most of it never saw sunlight under all the foliage that grew there. She’d have a better chance at finding a cup of cider post-season.

She groaned again, closing her eyes for a moment. “Ugh… Okay, okay, then where would they take her?”

Big Mac gave her a blank look. Honestly, he didn’t have a sure-fire answer for that; there were just too many possibilities. They could take her through Froggy Bottom Bog and into the deep south, or cut across the Macintosh Hills – for which he was named, and for good reason; the hills were massive, rivaling even the Canterhorn in size in some places.

Worse, the mountain range ran all the way into the Badlands, providing the perfect cover for anypony with the skill to navigate them.

Really, the changelings could go anywhere. They could even make a break up north for all he knew. After all, nopony knew where the changelings made their hives, and as turned around as they’d gotten after the wedding, there’d be virtually no way to track them with any certainty.

But Rainbow was expecting an answer of some sort, so he did what he did best and compressed it all into as short a statement as possible.

“Ah don’t know.”

Rainbow growled in frustration, dropping to the ground and picking up her pacing there. “That’s not good enough! There has to be some way to find her!”

But before she could wear a rut into the ground, a sound drew her up short.

Somepony was chuckling; somepony currently lying in a small crater behind Rainbow. She blinked, exchanging an unknowing look with Big Mac, before turning towards the source.

In the darkness, all she saw was a pair of glowing blue eyes and splayed out legs, a shadow darker than the night around it.

“You… you’ll never find her,” Sergeant Carapace cackled in an agonized baritone. “A-and even if you did… The captain will never let her go. Face it, pup. You’ve lost.”

He flipped over, still laughing wetly. “And once Her Highness gets her hooves on Applejack… heh… hehe… Oof!”

Carapace suddenly found his chest once more supporting the hooves of a rather furious pegasus.

He looked up as she lowered her head towards his, a glare on her face. “Okay, tough guy, we’re either gonna do this the easy way or the hard way. Start talking, or else.”

Carapace could only laugh mockingly. “You… you don’t scare me, little pony. I have seen things that’d make you molt all those pretty feathers of yours! I have endured tortures unlike anything you could ever dream of. You are… nothing!”

Rainbow blinked, raising her head.

“So… do your… worst, pony,” Carapace berated further, spitting out the last word like a curse.

Rainbow’s expression became blank for a second, a thought hitting her.

“Oh, so I guess you don’t know anything,” she stated plainly.

Carapace was taken aback. “W-what?”

Rainbow shrugged, indifferent. “Makes sense. I guess you’re just not important enough to know these things.”

Carapace’s jaw dropped in shock and outrage. Before he could react, Rainbow stepped off of him, turning her nose up. “I mean, it’d be totally awesome and impressive if you did, but since you don’t, what’s the point? I got better things to do than mess around with noponies.”

She hid her grin as best she could for all of the five steps she made before the changeling shouted after her.

“You think… I… am not… important?!”

Bingo.

She turned around, just as Carapace started to stagger to his hooves again, snarling savagely. “I am Sergeant Carapace! I led the attack that crippled the… the entirety of Canterlot’s militia! I answer to… to no one but Her Highness herself, and her generals!”

“And yet here you are, answering to Vigil,” Rainbow pointed out, purposefully sounding unimpressed.

“He… he outranks me, but only just,” Carapace spat. “Curse his royal pedigree… Were it not for that, I would be the one leading this… this operation!”

Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”

“Oh yes, pup,” Carapace hissed through a wicked grin. “No pony serves Her Highness with more dedication than I! I should be the one to deliver that brat Applejack to Queen… Queen Chrysalis!”

Rainbow tried not to snarl, like her instincts told her. She had to keep him talking, keep feeding into his ego. After all, if she understood one thing, it was a need to laud one’s accomplishments. AKA, boast their tails off.

“And what would you guys want with Applejack in the first place,” she asked. “Seems like kind of a lame target, if you ask me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, little girl,” Carapace cackled sinisterly. “Don’t tell me she never told you? Now who’s the pony out of the know!”

“I know plenty,” Rainbow stated defensively. “I know she’s a changeling!”

Carapace only snorted. “She never told you that she is a changeling queen, did she?”

Rainbow froze, eyes going wide. “Wait, what?”

Carapace’s laughter got louder. “No, she didn’t, did she? Yes, little girl, Applejack is a queen changeling, just like Her Highness Queen Chrysalis, and just like the members of her court.”

Rainbow tried not to show how much that information sent her reeling. The thought of there being more queens than the one they’d faced in Canterlot was… troubling.

But Rainbow managed to stow that away for the time being and give Carapace a condescending look. “And that has so much to do with it because…?”

For the first time, Carapace’s expression faltered. “The Hive… questions Her Highness’s ability to rule as Queen of Queens. If it was anyone but her own court speaking out against her, she’d have the revolutionaries executed. But… she can’t do that with her… her entire court. That would only make things worse.”

Then his grin came back full force, and this time it really did unsettle Rainbow.

“What… what Her Highness needs… is a figurehead; someone to rule for her. And that… that is where your friend comes in, little pony.”

Rainbow glared at him. “Applejack would never do something like that!”

Carapace let out a throaty laugh to the night air. “What… what makes you think she will have a choice, pup? Or did you forget that… Her Highness has a… a way with making others see things her way?”

Rainbow’s skin crawled. A flash of a white stallion – his eyes unfocused and glazed with changeling magic – shot across her mind, and suddenly she felt very uneasy indeed.

“Once Her Highness gets her hooves on little Applejack, she’ll be taught some… some manners. By the time she’s through with her, your little friend will be all-too happy to serve the Hive, just like she should.”

Rainbow snarled, her anger flaring like a fire. “No she won’t!”

Carapace only laughed in her face. “You’re too late, little girl! By now, Vigil will already be on his way to the Badlands! And there isn’t anything you or anyone can do about it!”

He stalked a step closer, grinning savagely. “Nothing can stop us now.”

~~***~~

Vigil strolled down the rows of warehouses, passing beneath pools of lamplight now and again as he made his way to the main office building in the train depot.

Compared to the bright and welcoming designs that plagued the town of Ponyville, the office building was almost jarringly ordinary. While the front was decorated and painted to fit in with the aesthetics of the town, the back was left plain and unadorned, with bare bricks and small, soundproofed windows looking out over the train yard behind it.

Vigil strolled up to the back door and knocked it open, much to the surprise of the earth pony on the other side.

“Oh my,” he yelped, almost falling over in surprise. “I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting – who are you?”

“Vigil, Royal Investigator,” he stated automatically. “Forgive me for not knocking, but I’m in something of a rush.”

“Oh! O-of course,” stammered the earth pony. “What can I do you for?”

“I require the requisition papers for a train that’s about to arrive,” he stated plainly. “Official Guard business.”

He’d used that line more than once in the past few days – official Guard business. It never failed in dissuading questions, and always got the relevant ponies jumping to action.

But for the first time ever, the pony before him hesitated, a frown growing on his face.

“Well, alright, but it’ll have to wait until morning,” he said.

Vigil tensed for a moment in surprise, his brow going up an inch or two. “What?”

The earth pony rubbed at his gray mane uncomfortably. “There ain't no trains coming tonight.”

Vigil became very still indeed. “That… can’t be right,” he stated through clenched teeth. “I had my associate sort it all out.”

The earth pony blinked, confused. “Son, you’re the first pony I’ve seen all night, so unless your associate’s been pulling your leg, I think you heard wrong.”

Vigil could only stare in shock, his mind going blank for the first time in a very long time, indeed.

The earth pony eyed him carefully, concern growing on his wizened old face. “Something wrong, son?”

Vigil’s lips parted for a moment, closed, and then he was running out the door as fast as equinely possible.

~~***~~

Applejack just laid on her side in the middle of the warehouse floor, gazing forlornly out the nearest window. She could just barely make out the stars through the grimy windows and the flicker of emerald light on the window frame.

She cast her thoughts towards her friends. She prayed that Macintosh was still alive. She prayed that Twilight and Rarity were alright. And she prayed that Rainbow had gotten out of that barn.

All she could do was pray, and she prayed with all her heart for some kind of miracle.

That was when the door creaked open.

Instantly every pair of eye in the place flashed towards the protesting metal door. Dozens of shadows broke away from the walls and pipes overhead, dozens of hisses and buzzes issuing a deadly warning to the intruder.

But the moment they saw who it was, the threat died.

“Lieutenant Hyacinth,” one hissed, dropping from his perch in order to stand in front of the lime green mare. “Why are you here?”

Hyacinth gave the drone a reserved glance before turning her blue eyes towards Applejack.

“Captain Vigil ordered me to guard the prisoner personally,” she said in a clipped tone. “We believe that there is a traitor amongst us.”

Immediately the whole room was a-buzz, eyes meeting others and chitters filling the air.

“For security reasons, I need everyone out,” Hyacinth stated. “If anyone approaches, kill them. Am I understood?”

The drone snapped to attention. “Yes, ma’am. By your order.”

“Good, now… out.”

Applejack watched in astonishment as the changelings filed from the room, momentary flashes of emerald marking one departure after another.

Once the last changeling had disappeared into the night, Applejack turned a wary eye towards the only other changeling in the room.

Hyacinth was already looking at her, her eyes gleaming in the diffused light of the warehouse. And then, very slowly, she started to approach. Applejack gave her a warning glare, trying to scoot away from her.

“Berk erff,” she growled warningly, but the changeling ignored her.

Hyacinth came to stand right next to her, her gaze weary, yet unfathomable.

And then, very gently, she placed a hoof underneath the earth pony’s sore shoulder and heaved her up into a sitting position.

Applejack blinked, taken aback, but not nearly as much as she was when the changeling before her wrapped her hooves around her sides and pulled Applejack against her shoulder.

And before Applejack could do more than gasp, the lime green mare erupted in a fireball.

Her coat disintegrated. Her legs filled with holes. These were things Applejack was expecting.

She was not expecting, however, when the flames exploded outward, and in its wake came a long, tattered cloak that enveloped her entirely.

The cloak was… off, somehow. Applejack could see crackles of emerald magic dancing across it as it materialized. It smelled of smoke and char, and yet not a single singe marked it.

“Hold on, Your Highness.”

Applejack’s breath seized in her throat as emerald flames burst into being all around her, and a moment later, the floor dropped out beneath her, throwing her into compressing darkness.

~~***~~

The doors to the warehouse exploded off of their hinges, sending them flying across the open space. But Vigil only caught the last flicker of changeling magic as the portal shut behind Applejack and Hyacinth.

He stared, his jaws clenched in pure, unbridled fury. Behind him, ten changelings lay in heaps, some groaning… some not.

“Find them,” he said in a deadly flat tone.

The nearest changelings cringed back out of fright. When no immediate response was forthcoming, Vigil turned a wrathful eye over one shoulder.

“Now.”

Every changeling scattered. They didn’t care where they went, so long as it was away from the furious stallion.

Vigil watched them go, focusing only on his breathing, his horn crackling with murderous fury.

~~***~~

Applejack let out a gasp as her head burst forth into open air once more. She registered for just one moment the fact that her hooves weren’t on solid ground, and instinctively braced herself.

But instead of plummeting Celestia-knows how far, a pair of strong hooves took hold of her, her ears filling with the sound of soft buzzing.

Instead of the harsh thump on her backside like she’d been bracing for, she found the cold floor gently come up to take her weight.

Only then did Applejack pry open one eye to investigate her surroundings.

A part of her feared yet another trap. She half expected to find more changelings waiting for her, somehow crueler and more wicked than the last batch. But no such mob awaited her. Nothing awaited her, in fact, save for a yawning darkness and the sensation of wood beneath her rump.

That, and the changeling still holding onto her.

“Are you alright, Applejack,” she asked quietly. “Are you hurt?”

Applejack blinked, still totally rigid and stiff as a board. “N-Ner.”

The changeling sighed in relief. “Good.”

Gingerly, she leaned away from Applejack, sitting back.

Now Applejack could see the soft blue glow to the changeling’s eyes, gleaming like lanterns in the dark. They just outlined the ragged hood she had wrapped around her head and the narrow taper of her snout.

“Please, don’t panic,” she said. “I swear I am not going to hurt you.”

Applejack only stared at her strange rescuer, not quite sure what to do or make of the situation. Already past experiences with changelings and their tricks were flashing through her head, especially her blunder with that Twilight imposter.

But the fact that the changeling before her had just rescued her was throwing her for a loop.

The changeling lit her horn, casting a vivid green pool of light around the two. “Hold still,” she instructed, and a moment later Applejack felt her muzzle growing hot.

The binding holding her mouth shut started to glow, and then dissolved into a molten goop that oozed off her face and onto the floor, hissing when it came into contact with the cold wood beneath her.

Applejack shook her head, shaking the liquefied binding from her muzzle as quickly as she could.

“Better?”

Applejack immediately refocused her gaze back on the changeling, the residue on her muzzle forgotten, becoming motionless. “Uh… yeah. Thanks.”

The changeling smiled.

That look took Applejack completely by surprise. In no way had she ever imagined a changeling could ever look so… relieved, and genuinely happy. It looked so odd, so alien, that for a moment she had to consider the real possibility that this changeling was trying to pull a fast one on her.

But, the sincerity in her expression was… difficult to cast aside. You just didn’t look that way without meaning it, even if only a little.

“Uh… Ah’m real grateful fer ya savin’ me, Ah really am,” said Applejack slowly, “but… Why did ya? Weren’t ya part of Vigil’s gang?”

The changeling gave her a patient look, waiting for her to finish before speaking. “Not quite.”

Applejack blinked, confusion really starting to set in. “Well, if yer not with Vigil, then who? Who are ya?”

The changeling’s smile faded almost entirely, replacing it instead with a careful expression.

“I… am Lieutenant Hyacinth, scout and intelligence agent for Queen Chrysalis,” she stated in a hollow tone.

Applejack’s nostril’s flared, her pulse rate spiking.

“But…”

AJ hesitated.

Hyacinth looked her dead in the eye, a small reassuring smile on her fanged lips.

“Formerly… I was known as Captain Hyacinth, personal bodyguard to Queen Carnation... to your mother.”

Applejack’s heart missed a beat, her breath catching in her chest.

“W-what?”

Hyacinth's smile grew still bigger. “It’s okay, dear. Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

Author's Notes:

Initially, I was going to continue on a lot further than this, but two things got in the way.
Firstly, I'm dog tired and honestly can't think straight long enough to put everything down.
Secondly, I just bought a cliffhanger sensor, and decided to put it to good use. Worked like a charm, in my opinion.
So, unfortunately, I won't be explaining some things I promised to go over in this chapter... next one, though. I promise.

Now, I know for sure one person called the twist in this chapter, and that honestly amazed me. I thought I was being sneaky!
Anyway, next chapter will be mostly backstory, and it ain't gonna be happy reminiscing, either. This is the point where I'm starting to consider whether I'll need a sad tag or not.

PS: you get a cookie if you know why I chose the name Carnation for Applejack's mother.