"Push it to the left!"

"To the left, to the left, to the left..."

"Stop singing that and just push!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it!"

"That's not left!"

"Well, it's not my fault we're facing completely different directions!"

Progress on the annoying puzzle was not going well. After some trying, we discovered that the blocks refused to budge even an inch if pushed by any of the ponies or Spike. So I had to do all the manual labour. Twilight trotted around, trying to help, but she was mainly just getting on my nerves. She kept giving wrong directions, and it got really tiring to push the same block back and forth.

Some careful observing revealed what we were supposed to do: push the blocks into a specific spot. There were six blocks, each one a different colour, and they were spread around a giant checkerboard indent in the ground. At one end of the checkerboard were six indents coloured to match the blocks. Common sense dictates that I would have to push the blocks into those spots and that it would be easy.

But as we all know, Equestria isn't exactly known for common sense.

Several of the squares on the ground reacted to the coloured blocks differently. If I pushed a block that was a certain colour onto one of the spaces, the space would either shove the block back (nearly crushing me in the process) or activate a weird teleporter, switching the block with a random other one.

Naturally, as Twilight and I were struggling with solving this puzzle, the others were having fun watching. Rainbow Dash and Spike were laughing their asses off, Pinkie Pie had pulled a bucket of popcorn out of nowhere and was chowing down, Rarity and Applejack were struggling to contain laughter, and Fluttershy was ignoring us in favour of talking with some of the non-demonic animals around the area.

"Rylan, don't push the red block there! That space pushed it back last time!" Twilight called to me, standing off the checkerboard to avoid getting crushed by the blocks that were easily four times her size.

"I suppose you have a photographic memory?" I shot back before pushing the block. It stayed. "See? Works fine!"

"Only now you've blocked the green space," Rainbow cackled. I looked and saw that, sure enough, I had pushed the red block onto the space right in front of the green square where the green block needed to go, making it impossible to put the green block there.

"I'll move it in a second," I sighed, sitting down against the block and wiping sweat from my forehead. We had been at this for over an hour, and I hadn't taken a single break in that time. Twilight levitated a water bottle over to me from our supplies, and I gulped down over half of its contents in one go. "Thanks."

"Rylan, could you come here for a second?" Rarity asked. I looked over and saw her examining the area. I stood up and walked over.

"What's up?"

"I think I'm seeing a pattern here," she explained. "The blocks you're pushing keep getting teleported as you get closer to the spaces they're supposed to go, right?" I nodded. "Well, I think this area was built to do just that. If you try to just push the block all the way there, it'll get swapped."

"Okay...?" I rotated my hand in a 'get on with it' motion.

"What if you stopped trying to avoid the teleporters and started using them?" the white unicorn suggested. "Figure out what block always gets switched with what block, and then try to activate a teleporter to get the block you want close to the end, then push it the rest of the way."

I blinked. How did I not think of that? "Perfect!" I gave her a thankful pat on the head (which seemed to annoy her, but at that moment I couldn't care less) and rushed off to try the plan.

After a little experimenting, I found the colours that seemed linked to each other and always swapped with each other when teleported. I put the plan into action by pushing the green block near the red space. Sure enough, it got switched with the red block right near the end, allowing me to push the red block into place.

"Yes!" I cheered, happy to finally have figured out what to do. Suddenly, the ground started rumbling, and the red block sunk into the ground. I looked around in confusion and saw the other five blocks slide themselves onto their spaces and sink into the ground as well. They sunk down until they vanished, covered up by regular grass, and the chekerboard disappeared as well.

"What just-" Twilight started, but was cut off when a Warp Acre appeared right where the checkerboard had been. Seeing what could be the finish, I practically pounced on the warp, diving into it. Just before I vanished, I saw the others rushing over as well.

"FREEDOM!" I yelled as I saw the exit to the forest after the teleportation finished. The others walked up to me, a little dazed.

"Well, that was quicker than I thought it would be," Twilight admitted. "Though that's probably just because of the Warp Acres."

"Who cares what it's because of? We're finally out of that damn forest!" I cheered. "Of course, we'll probably come back to it at some point in the future and have to solve more puzzles, but we'll burn that bridge when we come to it!"

"Um...don't you mean, cross that bridge?" Fluttershy interjected.

"Nope, I mean burn. C'mon, let's see if there's a town up ahead." I walked ahead, choosing to ignore the sighs coming from behind me. We walked in silence for a little while until I saw some buildings appear over the horizon.

"That's Fillydelphia!" Rainbow pointed out. "I recognize it, even from here!"

"Hold on." Twilight held up a hoof, and we all turned to her. "Doesn't something seem a little...off about it?"

We turned back and looked around. Of course, we were still at least half a mile away, so we couldn't really see much. I turned back to Twilight with a deadpanned stare.

"If you're wondering why it's so small, that's probably because we aren't there yet," I replied before turning around and continuing forward. However, as we got closer, I noticed that something did seem off.

"Where is everypony?" Fluttershy asked meekly as she looked around. Sure enough, we were the only ponies – well, creatures – in sight.

"Hello?" Rainbow called. An echo greeted her. "We're not gonna hurt you! Is anypony here?"

Creeeeak

I whipped my head and saw a young colt sticking his head out of a house door. He was either an earth pony or a pegasus, as he didn't have a horn, but I couldn't see the rest of his body. He was a very dark grey, which contrasted greatly with his bright orange mane. His magenta eyes looked at me in fear. It only took a second before the others noticed him.

"Hello there," Rarity greeted as she stepped towards the house. The colt's eyes darted between each of us and stopped at her, keeping that same fearful feeling the entire time. "Are you alright?"

The colt stayed silent, but he seemed to relax just the tiniest bit.

"Could you please tell us what's going on around here?" Rarity continued. The colt simply backed away and nudged the door open a bit more, motioning with his head for us to come inside. Now that his body was visible, I could tell he had no wings and was simply an earth pony.

I went in last, and as I started to enter, I noticed the colt looking at me with fear still evident in his eyes. I smiled gently and kneeled down.

"Don't worry, little guy," I assured him. "I'm not here to hurt anypony. I'm a human. I'm here to help."

My words seemed to brighten him up, and he allowed a faint smile before motioning me inside. I stepped in, and he closed the door with his mouth behind us. The house didn't seem too dull nor too fancy. It looked like a regular house, but something I noticed almost instantly was that aside from the colt (who had yet to say a word), nopony else appeared to be home.

"Is anypony else home with you?" Twilight asked. The colt shook his head. "You're all alone?" He nodded.

"What happened?" Rainbow asked. The colt stayed silent, instead continuing to lead us. He eventually took us to a bedroom and stepped inside. The room was nearly empty, and what little furniture was in it was spread around in a giant mess.

"Is the mess supposed to tell us something?" I asked, a little harshly. I was getting annoyed that he was being overly secretive and not saying anything. Twilight gave me a glare for my rude tone, but the colt didn't even react. This was getting less annoying and more creepy.

"So, what can you tell us about what's going on?" Twilight asked.

"He won't be telling you anything."

All of us whipped around and came face-to-face with...the hell is that?

Whatever it was, it looked like a pony, but all black and with holes in its legs like swiss cheese. It had buglike wings that buzzed annoyingly and a giant, curved horn. Its greenish-blueish-whatever hair hung over its face like a mop. And it grinned at us.

"You..." Twilight sputtered. I looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. "That's Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the Changelings!"

"...the what?" I asked. As if on cue, a bunch of weird creatures that looked basically like smaller, hairless versions of Queen Chrysalis popped out of the mess.

"Those things."

"Ah."

"I'm sorry..." a voice whispered behind us. I turned my head and saw that the voice had come from the young colt, who was trembling. "She forced me to bring you here..."

"I don't know why you are here, human," Chrysalis hissed at me. "However, I don't care either. My plan was to lure the Elements of Harmony here to Fillydelphia by kidnapping most of the population. That way, I could destroy the Elements without the princesses interfering!"

"How many ponies did you kidnap?!" Rarity gasped. "It doesn't seem like there's anypony left in this city, and the population is supposed to be huge!"

"Oh, I only kidnapped a hundred or so," Chrysalis replied, waving a hoof (it's still a hoof, even for whatever creature she is, right?) like it was no big deal. "Eventually, I got tired of that, so I just killed this colt's family in public, and now the rest of the city's population is hiding indoors."

My eye twitched.

"You...killed this colt's family?" I asked, slowly and darkly.

"I would have killed him too, but I needed him to lure you six in here," she responded. "I don't need him anymore, though, so..." She waved a hoof in the colt's direction, and three Changelings charged at him, horns prepared to stab.

I wish I could say they didn't reach him. I wish I could say I jumped in and blocked their horns with my shield. I wish I could say Twilight used her magic to pull the colt out of harm's way just in time. I wish I could say the Changelings were morons and crashed into each other halfway there.

But I don't lie.

The colt screamed as the black horns dug into his skin. I tried to look away, but I couldn't. I watched as the Changelings literally ripped the colt apart, splattering blood all over. After a few seconds that felt like hours, they finished, glaring up at us with bloodstains all over their horns and faces.

"Now that that's done," Chrysalis interrupted. "Let's get started on the rest of you, shall we?"

CLANG

Chrysalis stumbled over, not expecting my shield to smash her in the head like that. She glared up at me.

"If you're going to be so insistent," she hissed with a grin, "we'll start with you." She waved a hoof at me, and the Changelings all turned to me before charging and flying in my direction.

I heard the girls (and I think Spike as well) scream, but it sounded muffled, as though I was underwater. I was too focused on the black demons heading my way. I didn't move as they came at me.

Then, one of them reached me.

Instantly, I grabbed the poor sucker that got too close by the neck, held it up, and put it in between me and a flying Changeling, getting it stabbed through the chest by its own comrade. The other creature was startled and began to wobble, but I grabbed it and snapped its neck at lightning speed. I felt something dig into my leg, and I instinctively kicked, smacking another two Changelings in the jaw (if they have one) and sending them out the window.

The rest of the bug-like pony things had stopped when they saw what I had done, and looked at one another worriedly. While they were distracted with trying to find secret messages in each other's eyes, I pulled out my bow, drew five arrows, and shot them all at once. Five arrows flew, and five Changelings fell to the floor, dead.

The rest of the creatures tried to flee, but I didn't let them. Drawing Ihsoylr, I jumped and brought my blade down in an arc, severing the heads of three Changelings at once. Turning, I slashed horizantally, doing the same to another two. Hearing a small buzzing behind me, I didn't even bother turning, instead just twirling the blade and thrusting it over my shoulder, the blade stabbing one more in the face.

By this point, every Changeling in the room had either flown away while I was distracted, or was dead. The only exception to this rule was Queen Chrysalis, who just stared slack-jawed at me.

"You...you are..." she stuttered.

"A human," I stated simply. "And a rather angry one at that." I pointed the sword at her. "Get out, now, or you're next."

She didn't hesitate. She lit her horn and teleported away to who knows where. I stood there, staring at the spot she had been for a few more seconds before my vision began to blur, and I passed out.

So, why did I get mad like that? Did I discover a superpowered angry side of me? Did the dead colt's spirit come to me in a vision and loan me his power? Did Twilight use her magic to give me strength? Did I go up a level?

Nope. That's just what happens when I get mad.

So why did I pass out? A combination of blood loss from that one Changeling who got me in the leg, and use of energy. I was tired from the block puzzle, the walking, and the battle. My body eventually said to me, "Hey Rylan, screw you!" And shut off temporarily.

When I woke up, I was back outside. Fluttershy and Pinkie were watching over me, but I didn't see the rest of the group.

"He's awake!" Pinkie cried upon seeing my eyes flutter open. This caught Fluttershy's attention.

"Try to be careful," she warned me. "I tried to bandage you up, but I couldn't really do much more than that."

"Where are the others?" I asked, my voice cracking a bit.

"They're looking for the kidnapped ponies," Fluttershy answered. "You've been out for about an hour."

Not as long as I expected... I sat up, being careful as Fluttershy ordered. "No news from any of them?"

"Twilight said she had a hunch and walked off one way, but she hasn't come back," the pegasus answered. "Though that was only a few minutes ago."

I looked at Pinkie, who was sitting a short distance away from me. She was looking off in a different direction. Weird...Pinkie's usually a lot more talkative...

"Pinkie?" She turned her head slightly toward me. "Are you okay?"

Pinkie turned some more so the rest of her face was looking at me and nodded, but there was some sadness in her eyes. Probably from the colt dying...the colt...we didn't even get his name. He was just a pawn for Chrysalis and her plans...

"I hate to say I told you so," I sighed. "But I told you so. You were the ones who insisted on coming with me. You wouldn't have had to see any of this. No crazy monsters, no dying innocents, and no killing sprees...from me or our foes." I reached out and laid a hand on the pink earth pony's shoulder. "Remember, there's still a chance...sort of. You can always go back into the forest and use the Warp Acres to get back to Ponyville. Or you could just stay in Fillydelphia and let the rest of us pick you up on our return trip. Considering what we just saw, I doubt anyone's going to think any less of you for it."

"I don't care what ponies think of me, Rylan," Pinkie finally spoke. "Even after what I saw them do...what I saw you do...it just makes me want to keep going. Because I know that if we don't keep going, this will keep happening...again...and again...and again." She stood up. "I don't care how many deaths I see, hear of, or contribute to. It's for the good of Equestria. You can't bake a cake without burning your hooves a few times." She smiled lightly.

"That's the spirit," I replied. "Though the cake analogy is a bit...never mind."

"Girls! Rylan!"

Pinkie, Fluttershy and I looked in the direction of Twilight's voice. The purple unicorn was galloping up to us, several disheveled ponies behind her.

"I found them! I was right! They were in the basement of that house Chrysalis was in!" she exclaimed.

The chatter of the rescued ponies eventually caught the attention of the rest of Fillydelphia's citizens, who slowly but surely came out of their homes to see what was going on. I'd say I witnesses several heartwarming reunions, but in reality, I got bored and just went back to sleep.

We need some rest... I thought as I drifted off. We'll keep going tomorrow...but for now, I think we all need a break.

Author's Notes: I know, I know! REALLY late! I'm sorry...I'd say "next chapter won't take as long" but I think we've learned I can't keep scheduling promises, so I'll just shut up.