Changeling Quest Book 2 : Journey

by LoveEspeon

Chapter 4 : Imposter!!

Twilight, Flash and Umbra forced themselves to keep going. Flash had a broken wing and Umbra was limping on three feet. As for Twilight, she was fine. Only that she had two scratches and a power up that drained most of her energy. Finally the group reached a big clearing, sheltered by the trees and surrounded by bramble bushes.

"Looks like a good place," grunted Flash, his left wing hanging limply from his back. Umbra nodded. They both looked at Twilight. Taking a deep breath, she lit up her horn. Prepare for teleportation, she thought, thinking of her friends. Her horn began lighting up with a brilliant light. Twilight was sweating. Surely a teleportation spell wasn't that hard to accomplish, especially for an experienced alicorn like Twilight. She concentrated harder. Pop. The tents appeared. Then her friends. Lastly all their supplies. Twilight noticed, with alarm, that her magic was running out. How is this happening?!she thought desperately. Then she suddenly collapsed onto the ground. Whatisgoingonwhatisgoingonwhatisgoinon?!she repeated the question in her mind over and over again. Flash hurried over.

"Twi! You alright?" Flash sat down beside her. Twilight managed to lift her head up. Applejack and the rest came galloping over.

"What in da hay is goin' on in here?!" she yelled. "Twi, you alright?" Fluttershy put a hoof on Twilight's forehead. I wish I wasn't getting all this attention... thought Twilight bitterly.

"Well, you're fine," declared Fluttershy. Then she noticed the condition of Flash and Umbra. With a horrified gasp she began examining them. "What in Equestria happened to you?!" asked a now worried Fluttershy. Flash grunted.

"Changelings. I don't know what exactly happened, but Twilight went all.." he rolled his eyes around and made a funny face. Despite being drained of her energy Twilight managed to slap him on the hoof.

"I didn't go crazy!!! That was just a....power up, nothing crazy!!" snapped Twilight. The pain in her scratches was burning again. Fluttershy looked at Twilight.

"A...a power up? I don't know what that is, but it looked like it drained your energy Twi," said Fluttershy while wrapping a bandage around her hoof and sticking plasters on her scars. Twilight thought back to the battle. That could be it. Rainbow's voice broke her train of thought.

"Coooooooooooll!!!! What was your new power? What did it feel like? Wha-" she was cut off by Fluttershy.

"Not now Rainbow. Twilight, Flash and Umbra need to rest. Why don't you round up AJ and Pinkie for a patrol?"

Rainbow nodded and dashed off to find the two said ponies. Pinkie was dead serious.....for the first time. "Now, let's get you into the tent," said Fluttershy.

"Me and Umbra can walk. It's Twilight that could use a lift," insisted Flash. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"I'm not helpless, you know!" she said. Flash sighed.

"Fine. But don't make me remind you that you were drained of your energy, stripped of your power and therefore, unable to walk," he said mischievously. Twilight groaned. Fluttershy sighed.

"Let's go inside before the rain decides to drench us."

***
Twilight was back on her hooves after two days in the camp. Finally. She just found out from a helpful letter by Princess Celestia that it was a special power up. Apparently her power as an alicorn had evolved and now she could use it to fight off stronger enemies. But she needed to learn how to control it. Twilight was outside stretching her wings beside a puddle that had formed from last night's rain when something bumped into her side.

"AHHHHHH!!!!" she fell headfirst into the puddle. Mud got stuck in her mane and leaves were sticking out of her fur. She wiped her face and pushed strands of her fringe from her muzzle. She heard a stallion laugh somewhere and saw Flash Sentry grinning cheekily at her.

"FLASH!!!!!" she groaned. Twilight got up and shook the water off of her fur. Then she lit up her horn and plucked the leaves from her fur and mane. Twilight glared at Flash. "What the buck were you doing?!" she snapped at him. Somehow Flash was acting stranger than usual. She treaded over to her tent. Then she yanked out a towel and started to mop her mane. Somehow this mud was harder to wipe off. Flapping her wings momentarily she flung the mud on top of Flash. He screamed. Then Twilight went back to mopping the mud off her face. Finally she got all the mud off her face and fur. Instantly she got out a bucket of rainwater and washed the towel in it. Leaving the towel to dry, she stomped over to Flash.

"Okay, what is going on?! You're acting strange," she asked. He nodded.

"Come with me," he said, gesturing to a deep part of the forest. Twilight was worried. Why would he want to talk in secret? Reluctantly she followed. Instantly Flash was surrounded by a bright green light. When Twilight looked, there was a changeling in front of her.

"Wha-" without warning the changeling shot a fainting spell at her. Twilight coughed and the world went black. What happened to the real Flash??