Cotton Candy, Pop Rock, and Thorax were getting off the friendship express and onto the platform at Manehattan. Cotton had forgotten how amazing Manehattan was and was so glad to be in the city that she had called home before the circus. Pop Rock and Thorax who had never been to Manehattan saw the how special the city really was and were felt jealous that Cotton had had the chance to live there.
“Wow this place is amazing” Pop Rock said.
“I know, but remember we’re here to save the crusaders not gawp at the huge buildings and meet the ponies” Cotton said.
“I understand, and frankly I hate this disguise” Thorax said. “Let’s find them and fast.”
The trio walked along the streets of Manehattan with hundreds of other ponies in a crowd but they made sure that they stayed close to each other. They hastily mad their way to hotel where they each booked an individual room so that they had somewhere to stay and sleep. As Cotton sat in her room with a bag full of her stuff and bits and then remembered memories that were good and also bad.
It was Cotton’s idea to travel to Manehattan because she knew that it was easy to hide anything in the big city. Her life in Manehattan had been good but her parents disagreed and Cotton hadn’t gone to visit them since leaving she hadn’t even said goodbye when she left. Then, Pop Rock knocked on her door and he came in Cotton put her thoughts to the back of her minds as she remembered that the trip wasn’t personal and the they were there to save the crusaders.
“I was wondering if you had any ideas on where they may be?”, Pop Rock asked.
“Manehattan is massive it’s easy to hide stuff here but hard to find stuff that’s been hidden”, Cotton explained. “Shouldn’t Thorax join in with this conversation?”
“He’s excited to have a room of his own”, Pop Rock laughed. “I think changelings share rooms for their entire lives. So are you going to visit your family while you’re here?”
“No, the crusaders are my top priority at the moment. I have to save them and since the mane six is busy it’s down to us”, Cotton said.
“Let’s go get Thorax and start searching Manehattan for the fillies”, Pop Rock said.
They headed down to the lobby and then to the street to start pounding the pavement and start looking for the crusaders. They went to the park where the crusaders probably wouldn’t be but they had to start looking somewhere. They searched the park from one end to the other but the crusaders weren’t in the park and the trio sat down on the grass.
“Where to next Cotton?”, Thorax asked.
“I don’t think they’re here, it was a longshot to even think that they’d bring them here”, Cotton said beginning to give up hope.
“Thorax is there any changelings in Manehattan?”, Pop Rock suddenly asked.
“Yeah, there is at bridge street”, Thorax answered.
“If you knock on his door then transform into your changeling form he might invite you in and you can leave the door slightly ajar so we can sneak in to see if anything's there”, Cotton said beginning to have hope again.
“Good plan”, Pop Rock said.
They got up from the grass and made their way to Bridge Street as Cotton knew where it was and were ready to break in. They arrived at the apartment building where the changeling lived and Thorax buzzed in and was invited inside to visit the changeling. We followed Thorax inside the building as we took the steps to the third floor and then waited by the steps while Thorax went to the apartment and knocked on the door.
“Hey, are you really one of us?”, The changeling asked Thorax.
“Of course I am”, Thorax said as he transformed into his natural appearance.
The plan was going well and went ahead as the changeling invited Thorax into the apartment and he left the door slightly open. Pop Rock and Cotton silently trotted to the apartment door and they went inside to a nice hallway. Cotton looked around and realised that for a changeling he had a really nice taste in interior décor.
They quietly made their way into the bedroom of the changeling where they hoped that information would come to them. They rummaged around through the drawers but there was definitely no information in them and then they searched the rest of the room. There was nothing in the room that would help them and they couldn’t go anywhere else but then the changeling found them snooping around.
“Who are you?” He asked. “And what are you doing in my apartment.”
“Well we were…” Cotton began.
“Breaking into my home” He said.
“We know you’re a changeling so let us go” Pop Rock declared.
“But the cops won’t know that” He said, then he transformed into a stallion and then he phoned the police.
Thorax transformed back into the other form and Cotton transported them to the first place she thought of. Her parents apartment where she grew and nothing had changed since she left which was years ago. Cotton’s parents were inside and they discovered their daughter who they hadn’t seen in years with two stallions.
“Cotton?” Her mother said.
“Surprise, I’m back” Cotton said.
Cotton’s parents threw their hooves around her neck and were certainly happy that their daughter had returned to them. However Cotton thought that she’d made a mistake by coming to her parents place but it was the only place nearby that she could think of. She knew that her parents could help them though since they were probably walking targets now.
“Mom, dad we’re in a bit of trouble” Cotton revealed.
“How bad is it?”, Her mother asked.
“We’re on the run from the cops” Cotton said.
“What did you do?” Her dad asked.
Cotton sat down and told her parents everything that had happened over the last few days and that she was looking for the fillies. Pop Rock and Thorax awkwardly stood there as Cotton’s parents kept glaring at them as if they were the reason that Cotton was in trouble. Then when Cotton finished she sat and was surprised that so much had happened in just a few days.
“So these friends of yours need help” Her mother said.
“Yeah, and it’s down to us to save them” Cotton said.
“We can’t aid you three in your escape but we can send you to somepony that might” Her father said.
The trio were given the location of where the pony that might be able to help them leave Manehattan without being caught by the cops. They hastily made their way down the street avoiding contact with anypony so that they could get out of the city as they were sure the crusaders weren’t there. They reached the location which was a shop on Gait Road, it was a plain old antiquities shop which was strange.
“I can sense that you three are looking for help”The antiquities shop owner said as they walked through the door of the store.
“Yeah my mother said that you could help us we’ve got into some trouble and we need to get out of Manehattan” Cotton said.
“Well I’m Golden Antique and I think that I can help you if you do me a favour” Golden Antique said.
“Fine we’ll do you a favour” Pop Rock said.
“No, you and her you can’t transform but him he can do this favour for me” Golden Antique explained.
“We didn’t tell you that I was a changeling” Thorax said.
“You didn’t have to it was easy to tell” Golden Antique said.
“Regardless I’ll do the favour for you” Thorax replied.
“I basically just need you to go uptown to the mayor’s office and get a file on a pony named Jammy Jogs” Golden Antique said.
“So you want me to steal?” Thorax asked.
“I would call it borrowing” Golden Antique said.
Thorax sighed and then transformed into a random stallion and got Cotton to tell him the way to town hall. Thorax left the shop and made his way down the street alone and in a massive city, however the town hall was apparently close by. He walked and thought about his fellow changelings who he’d been a traitor to and felt sorry that they’d been turned evil by their fierce queen.
Thorax then thought about what was going to be next for him as he had no true ambition and never dreamed of having a free life. He had once dreamed about having a free life but he never thought that it would ever happen and now it was about to become true. He would love to have a normal life and would be able to live along everypony else in harmony have more friends like Cotton and Pop Rock.
Thorax arrived to town hall and then it was time for the hardest thing in his life so far, getting the file. He walked in through the front door but there was nopony in the hall so Thorax just went to find the door which said Mayor’s Office. He found the door knocked on it but there was no answer so he went inside the room to find the file. He searched the filing cabinet but the file was on the desk so Thorax grabbed it and then he ran.
Meanwhile at the antique store Pop Rock and Cotton were sitting in the back while Golden Antique managed the store. They began to talk as they were alone and were waiting for Thorax to come back with the file so that they could get out of the city. They hadn’t been alone and hanging around since Cotton had the chance to laugh at him when he had crazy hair.
“Your parents were nice” Pop Rock said.
“You can say the truth, they are stuck up and really annoying and I understand why I left for the circus” Cotton said truthfully.
“Well they were a bit” Pop Rock replied.
“We’re in so much trouble at the moment and it makes me think, why you ever believed me and why you agree to come with me?” Cotton asked.
“I wanted to save the fillies and I was about to let you run into danger”, Pop Rock said. “What are you going to do after we find them?”’
“I don…”, Cotton began but Thorax burst in.
“I’m back and we need to go” Thorax said.
“First I’ll transport back to the hotel to get our stuff”, Cotton said.
Cotton transported herself to the hotel grabbed her stuff and then went to the Pop Rock’s room and picked his stuff up but Thorax had no belongings. Cotton transported herself back into the antique shop but Pop Rock and Thorax weren’t there but Golden Antique was.
“They were taken away by the cops” Golden Antique said.
Cotton then transported herself to the police station right outside where the cells were and found her friends. She was really glad to find her friends safe and sound and that they had only just been incarcerated. Then she heard the cops coming and she desperately wanted to get out of the police station before she stuck in the cell.
“How did you know where we’d exactly be?”, Thorax asked.
“I used to get in trouble when I was a bit younger”, Cotton laughed. “I was late getting my cutie mark. Now use your wings to break down the door my magic needs a rest.”
Pop Rock used his wings to break down the door and they ran out the back door and fast. The trio hastily made their way to the antique store with a fleet of cops chasing them and then Pop Rock grabbed hold of Cotton and flew off with Thorax tailing them. They landed right next to the antique shop where Golden Antique was waiting for them and then he pushed aside a massive bookshelf and there was a tunnel.
“You go through that tunnel and you find yourself in Canterlot”, Golden Antique said.
“And I think there we’re going to find the mane six and tell them about everything that has happened.”, Cotton replied
“Agreed”, Pop Rock said.