//------------------------------//
// CH. 11 Things Fall Apart 
// Story: The Last Changeling Queen 
// by Atuhor Name 
//------------------------------//


Things Fall Apart


        Rarity was ill at ease. She knew what the situation was out there: horrible orifice-covered abominations had flown past the Canterlot windows many times, leaving trails of unknowable powders and gases. Their faces giggled with madness, obvious even when pasted across whatever horrible arrangement of body parts they had been given.
        The only thing keeping her in Canterlot Castle was Celestia. Not any of Celestia’s orders, nor Celestia’s authority as ruler over the land and sun itself, but her almost pleading insistence that the Elements stay safe, in case Twilight swooped in and saved them with the Elements of Harmony.
        Not that Celestia would say that outright. Rarity only knew that because she had to read and know ponies for a living, and stitch down the tastes of a customer who didn’t entirely know what they wanted. To Rarity, Celestia was giving off all the signs of somepony ready to fall apart at a hair trigger. Not every kind of trigger though, but some very specific triggers involving Twilight Sparkle. Ponies like that could work for weeks before anything showed through to those not looking for the right signs. Sure, some ponies would notice something would be wrong beforehand, but they couldn’t grasp the full gravity of the situation until it crumbled apart.
        That’s why she cringed at every monstrosity that popped up. Every one of them represented a small chance that the entire situation could shatter Celestia and with the keystone of the guard broken it would merely be a matter of time before Canterlot collapsed along with her.
        Then Celestia fell. Without its regent, the sun itself began growing so dim in the sky as to become just another moon, before the blood moon eclipsed it fully.
        Everypony just stared, too shocked to move, to frightened to act.
        Rarity recovered first, her mind racing a thousand miles per hour.
        “All right, girls.” Nobody heard her. Rarity was half-convinced the words had caught in her throat. Gathering her courage, she spoke up again. “All right, girls. We need to run, and we need to find a place to hide, in that order.” 
        “But Celestia!” Rainbow Dash protested.
        “Told us we need to get the Elements of Harmony together, and I don’t see Twilight anywhere around here. We have to retreat until we can find Twilight.”
        “We have to do something! Y’all can’t tell me we should just run away?!” Applejack said.
        “Darling. You saw how easily that thing took down Celestia. What could we do, besides possibly delaying it for mere seconds? Can you honestly tell me that even the five of us together stand a chance without Twilight?”
        The other four ponies shook their heads.
        “Good.” Rarity turned and led them out of their Canterlot Castle rooms and into the hallways of Canterlot Castle.
        The hallways were empty. Empty of ponies, and eerily silent, as the hustle and bustle of servants, guards, cooks and politicians had ceased entirely. In the blood-red light of the moon the once bright hallways had taken on a more all encompassing creepy feel. Normal decorations that, in the light of Celestia’s sun, stood as reminders of a long and stable rule, turned sinister in the long shadows.
        “Hey!” came a voice from the side, making everypony jump.
        “What are you even still doing here? Celestia ordered everypony out half an hour ago.” It turned out to be Spike peeking his head out of one of the bedrooms.

"I assumed that you had already left.”
        “Celestia kinda told us to wait in Twilight’s old room, in the hopes that she might come back there first.”
        Everypony in the room, minus one oblivious dragon, clammed up at the mention of Celestia.
        “Oh, she still hasn’t come back yet, has she? Well, I’m sure Celestia will have everything under control!” Spike spoke the last statement with confidence, arms crossed.
        Rarity found herself in the spotlight, and for once, she desperately wanted to be anywhere else. Looking to the side, all of her friends had their heads hung low, leaving only her to break the news to Spike.
        “Umm, Spike… I don’t know how to break this to you but... Celestia just lost.”
        The phrase was like a punch to the gut to everybody in earshot. Everybody but Spike already knew, but it was still a major hit to their morale to hear it said aloud. It cemented in their heads something they had yet to fully acknowledge, much less accept.
        “But... but... how?”
        "Nightmare Moon returned. They fought, and Nightmare broke her back. I... I didn't see what happened next."
        "But she's ...Celestia! She raises the sun every day! She can't lose to anypony!"
        As much as it pained Rarity to say it, she forced the next words out.
        “We have to leave the castle now, Spike, and hope she’ll be OK. Do you know any more... secret ways out?”
        Spike didn’t seem to hear her.
        “Spikey Wikey?”
        “Yeah, one or two... follow me.” Spike trotted off, a noticeable sag in his step.

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        Luna buzzed her way through the air, her new/old wings at the same time both completely alien and familiar. She felt... odd. It wasn’t that there were two minds in her head, she knew what that was like from her experience as Nightmare Moon. It felt more like a constant feeling of deja vu, as memories she had forgotten but recognized flashed by, and they were triggered by the oddest things.
        The strangest part, by far, was her ability to suddenly tell changelings apart from one another, something she was certain she could not do when she woke up this morning. Walking by a changeling, with a casual glance, things about their appearance would stand out, things she’d ever noticed before. More, she’d understand her relationship with them. Usually something like “Daughter, 8th generation” along with their name and one or two notable accomplishments within the hive.
        As unimaginative as her new mental catalog was, it was organized, and that was something that Luna could appreciate, considering its breadth. However, after about the tenth changeling she identified, she began to notice a pattern emerging: nine tenths of the changelings she saw were female, and the ratio only got larger the more she saw.
        Around the time it reached forty to one, and Luna couldn't for the life of her remember why, in spite of all the rest she knew at a reflex, she decided it was time to buzz alongside a changeling and ask them.
        “Ummm.” Luna looked at the changeling in question, who was clearly trying not to explode into fan-girlish giggles from the mere presence of Luna. “Rajani is it?”
        “Yes, Queen Mother!” Rajani was doing her best not to squee.
        “I'm starting to remember... my children's...” Luna paused for a second, as deja vu washed over her, as saying such a thing was something she expected to say at one point but never regarding such a plurality. “My children's names, and such. I'm noticing an overwhelming majority of them are female.”
        Rajani paused for a second, reflecting on how odd it was that the Queen Mother didn't remember something so basic.
        “Is it not obvious?”
        Luna shook her head.
        “To be closer to you, of course! Other than the Queen, changelings don't actually have genders, but we adopt them to feel like we belong next to you.”
        Knowledge of this, like so many other things, popped into Luna’s head and sat there, defying any and all memories that it hadn’t already been there in her head for centuries. Luna paused for a second, torn between feeling creeped out that a complete stranger just told her that, and proud that one of her children loved her so strongly.
        The two opposing thoughts fought for control before motherly instincts won out, and she smiled before clarifying what she was asking for.
        “I noticed one or two changelings that were male, and I was wondering why there were so few.”
        “Ah... well, that's slightly more complicated...” Rajani waved her hoof around, as if searching for a word.
        “You ponies have cutie marks, yes?”
        “Of course.”
        “Changelings don't get cutie marks. However, we do have something very similar.” Rajani disappeared in green flames, to be replaced by a stocky thestral with a cutie mark of a keg. “Around the age of ten, changelings will create their first disguise. That first disguise is the one that defines them the most. For me, it was the guard ‘Powder Keg,' who is prone to rage whenever her friends are hurt.”
        Luna vaguely recalled the thestral guard being tried in court for something minor, but the memory was vague at best.
        “It’s this first disguise, and their experiences therein, that can strongly change and define a changeling. So, if you find a male changeling, chances are something happened with their first disguise that defined them.”
        Luna was about to ask another question, but then the sun went dim. Luna stared up at it, hardly noticing the increase in the wind rushing by her.
        Not until no less than five changelings pulled her out of her fall did she escape from her dread- filled stupor.
        “It looks like we're gonna have to make a change of plans.”

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        “EWWWW!” Shrieked Rarity, as she felt something not-entirely-liquid roll down her back.
        One could be forgiven at that moment, without context, for saying she was overreacting, that in the same situation other “stronger” ponies wouldn't be letting out the same shrieks. However, mere seconds later you would be proven altogether wrong.
        “SOMETHING IS ON MY BACK! SOMETHING IS ON MY BACK!” This time, shouted by a normally stoic Rainbow Dash.
        “Please tell me you know a spell to get this out of my hat, Rares.”
        Unfortunately for everypony involved, the Castle didn't have very many completely unknown secret exits. And this one was nowhere near unknown. It was simply unused. And not exactly unused: it was very much used, just not by ponies.
        Canterlot Castle was old, among the oldest still-used buildings in Equestria, and it wasn't cost-efficient to retrofit every part of the building with modern plumbing, when there were systems already in place that could be adapted. As such, the castle still used Garderobes on one side of the building.
        Suffice it to say that, due to a forward-thinking gong farmer hundreds of years ago who had pushed his weight around, the Mane 5 (plus Spike) were able to escape through the one exit of the castle that wasn't being watched. 
It also meant they were up Shit Creek without a paddle, or even a raft, for that matter.
        “Now be careful at the end up here, that's where it drops into the modern sewer system.” Spike said. “You'll have to jump.”
        “Spike, are you sure this was the only way out of the castle?”
        “Hey. Princess Celestia's underground garden was locked and magically reinforced, the secret door in the left hand side of the castle wall was dented shut by SOMEPONY.” Spike scowled at Applejack. “And the exit into the underground caverns underneath Canterlot was sealed up after the wedding by Celestia herself. So no, it wasn't the ONLY way out of the castle. ...But at the moment, it is.”
        “Ah said I was sorry.” Applejack mumbled, as she tried to hide her face with her hat before stopping because of the smell. “How are you holding up, Pinkie? You've been awfully quiet for a while now.”
        “Something bad is about to happen, I know it.” Pinkie said, her hair completely flat.
        “You get one of those twitchy-twitch things?”
        “None for the last hour, and that's what worries me. Not even the barest hint of a twitch.”
        Eventually, the ponies made it out of Shit Creek and, thanks to a spell by Rarity, started looking much better. Their coats shined and shimmered like fashion models, but they still smelled exactly the same.
        “Are ya sure you don't know a spell to get the smell out, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked.
        “I know no less than 10 shampoos that would work, 13 different types of conditioner, and at least 30 separate scented soaps that could help here. However, I don't have any of those with me. So, unfortunately, no, I cannot help you.” She seemed to be holding up remarkably well considering the circumstances.

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        Rarity stopped again in another hiding place, as did the rest of the group, and groaned. The alley they were in was stereotypical of all alleys in Rarity’s experience: Poorly lit, dumpster, metal door painted an off color of green. The only thing that distinguished it from your standard mail order movie alleyway was the hastily abandoned shipping trailer, and the mound of boxes they were currently hiding behind. The city itself had been remarkably free of nightmares during their trip, she was certain of that at this point. 
        However it had an overwhelming abundance of... Slime monsters?
        Rarity had a difficult time classifying them, because while they had the head of a changeling, various changeling limbs would occasionally float to the surface. Their bodies were made of horrible green and black slime, in which the two colors mixed as if somebody had melted down a changeling made of plastic.
        And they refused to stay dead no matter what she did to them.
        Stabbing, stomping, splattering, slicing, any number of spells and kung-fu moves, could only delay these new “corrupted changelings,” as Rarity had decided to call them. The only thing that could help was fire: concentrated, lasting fire. Rarity's repertoire of fire spells that fell into that category was slim. If you narrowed that down to “spells she could continuously cast and not experience fatigue,” well, it was down to only a tiny spark, good solely for lighting other things on fire.
        “Ah'm tellin you, it was their freaky emotion magic! These look like changelings, so that's how they keep findin’ us.” Applejack said.
        “And I'm telling you that it’s this Celestia-forsaken SMELL that they're tracking us by, and we need to wash it out as soon as possible!” Rainbow Dash insisted.
        Rarity performed a breathing exercise as the farmer and weather manager butted heads, once again, over the same issue.
        “As much as I would love to get this stench out of my lovely coat, staying in one place long enough to do so would only draw undue attention to us.  Moreover, finding shower facilities for six somewhere secluded would be near impossible.” Rarity paused for a second to watch Applejack look slightly smug at Rainbow's expense. “And, if they're tracking us by our emotions, they will certainly notice you two hotheads. That will draw them to us anyway. Also, you're stressing out Fluttershy and Spike, and they don't need that right now.”
        Rainbow and Applejack stared at Rarity, open mouthed. Spike and Fluttershy did not. Spike had gotten unnaturally quiet, especially quiet for being around Rarity, who had elected to let him ride on her back.
        Fluttershy... well, Fluttershy had come within inches of being engulfed by one of those corrupted changelings, and was now a nervous wreck. She followed along with the rest of the group only on adrenaline and sheer terror.
        “I don't know if we're gonna make it out of this one, girls...”
        Rarity turned to find that she had completely forgotten about Pinkie. And then a tiny, awful, horrible part of her deep inside her mind wished she never remembered. Pinkie looked the worst out of them all. Her mane was completely straight and her head hung low. But that didn't get anywhere with describing how utterly defeated she looked, how completely un-Pinkie Pie she looked.
        “I'm sorry, girls. I lied earlier about the twitches. I thought they would go away if I didn't say anything.”
        Then, from the roof, a corrupted changeling crashed down on her.
        She barely had enough time to surface her head and plead to her friends before she sank completely under the corrupted changeling's goo in a circle of green fire.
        “Help me.” was the last thing they heard her say as the circle of green fire closed in around her head.
        Applejack sprang into action, but it was too late. During the ponies’ moment of shock, more corrupted changelings appeared out of the alleyway they had come in through, blocking her from reaching the one that had gotten Pinkie, already slinking out of the alleyway as fast as it could.
        “Light me up, Rares! I can't do this on my own!” Applejack said, swinging two unlit torches she pulled off her back.
        Rarity barely had time to light the torches before Applejack began swinging them at the corrupted changelings, with fury Rarity almost found frightening.
        However, the corrupted changelings were already beginning to fill in that side of the alley and creep up the walls around her.
        “Applejack! We have to retreat, we can't take them all on!” Rarity said, pulling at Applejack's leg as the corrupted changelings crept up the wall out of Applejack's reach.
        “Not until we get Pinkie back!” Applejack shouted back, stubbornly jerking her leg out of Rarity's worn-out magic grip.
        Rarity turned to a still-stunned Rainbow Dash. “Help her!”
        That seemed to snap Rainbow out of her stupor, and she jumped in to try and forcibly pull Applejack back, as the changelings above began to close up any route upward that Rainbow could take Applejack.
        “Cmon, Applejack! We gotta go NOW!”
        “Not until we get Pinkie back from these monsters!”
        The changelings above them fell.
        Rainbow made an admirable effort to pull Applejack out from under the tide of corrupted changelings. Even with the aid of her wings, they fell short, as the slime smothered Applejack in a blast of green flames and left Rainbow sticking out halfway clawing at the ground with her hooves. Athlete that she was, she could make no progress as the corrupted changelings closed around her, slowly enveloping her in green flames.
        Rarity would never forget the final look that Rainbow Dash gave her.
        “RUN!”
        Rarity did.
With Spike on her back, and pulling Fluttershy along, she ran through the streets of Canterlot. Panicked and blind, not caring where she ended up as long as it was a long way from here.
        Rarity shrieked as she felt a hoof full of holes pull her into an alley, but she was quickly silenced with another changeling hoof in her mouth.
        “Quiet, or they'll hear you!” hissed a normal changeling in guard’s armor.