As Cotton Candy, Pop Rock and Thorax walked through the tunnel that they’d entered at Golden Antique’s store in Manehattan. They had all agreed to tell the mane six what had happened since they couldn’t continue on the quest since they had been in so much danger already. The tunnel had been constructed over time and it was perfectly built whoever or whatever built the tunnel had obviously had years to build it.
“Are you sure you want to tell the mane six?” Pop Rock asked.
“Yeah, even though I really want to save the crusaders it’s the right thing to do” Cotton replied.
“What if we get there and we get arrested?” Thorax asked.
“Princess Celestia will find out and we’ll request an audience with her so that we can tell her what’s going on” Cotton said. “Then the mane six will find Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and will stop whatever the changelings have planned before they can do it.”
“You know you’ll still have found them just not the way that you wanted to find them” Pop Rock said.
The trio continued to walk through the tunnel to Canterlot which would take hours to get to. Cotton had to constantly use her magic to keep light going through the tunnel otherwise they wouldn’t be able to see through the darkness. The light was dying down and Cotton fell to the floor feeling weak because she had used so much magic during the past few days and unicorns shouldn’t use magic too much.
“What’s wrong Cotton?” Pop Rock said concerned.
“My magic it needs a rest, I’ve used too much” Cotton explained.
“We can barely see never mind walk on” Thorax said.
“We could all use a rest we’ve been walking nonstop for hours we’re half way from Manehattan to Cantelot” Pop Rock said.
They all leaned against the walls and one by one they fell asleep and woke up in the land of dreams. Cotton was in a dark room and then it lighted up in a few seconds and on the other side of the room there was something else. Changelings came out of each corner of the room and Cotton stood scared in the middle as the changelings came closer and closer until they were right next to her. A flash of purple light and the changelings came out of the corner and a pony with a purple mane and skin appeared in the room, it was Princess Luna.
“Cotton Candy you must come to Canterlot Palace right away you are greatly needed” Princess Luna said.
“Why what happened?” Cotton said but the princess then disappeared.
Cotton suddenly awoke from her slumber and gasped as she knew that the Princesses needed her. She woke the others up and explained that the princess needed her and that they had to get there as fast as they can. Thorax transformed back into a pony form and ran with the others as fast as they could until they reached the castle.
“What did the princess say when you saw her?” Thorax asked.
“Nothing just that we need to get there and Thorax Canterlot is full of love so keep that in mind” Cotton explained.
“I sure will and if I get tempted I’ll come back down here” Thorax said.
“Good, and whatever happens we’re a team” Pop Rock said.
“Yeah” Cotton said.
The trio continued to run down the tunnel with no light and every time there was a corner Pop Rock always bumped into a wall. They had been running for about an hour when they saw light and very tall steps that led right up to Canterlot. They let their breath catch up to them before they went up the steps and found themselves in the Canterlot Castle throne room. The Princesses Celestia and Luna along with Discord the Lord of Chaos were right in front of them as the trio walked out of the steps.
“So you’re Cotton Candy” Princess Celestia said as the three of them bowed down before the royalty in front of them.
“We received news from Manehattan that you were trouble and that you were coming through the tunnel” Princess Luna said.
“Not that trouble’s bad of course” Discord laughed.
“We were trying to track down my friends, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo” Cotton said. “But when things got hard we decided that the mane six would be able to find them easily.”
“We are sorry to inform you but the mane six aren’t here, not the real ones anyway” Princess Celestia said. “We recently realised that the mane six were swapped by changelings and Luna has been looking over the dreams of everypony in Equestria but the other day she saw your dream that involved changelings so she contacted you in the dream world.”
Cotton was sure that the mane six would be able to help but they weren’t there and know she was afraid what the princesses were going to ask of her. If the mane six couldn’t help Cotton was sure that the princesses were going to ask if she could not only help the crusaders but also some of the main heroes of Equestria. Pop Rock noticed the face that Cotton was wearing and knew that she wasn’t ok and that she was feeling weird.
“Princess all due respect but what are you asking of us?” Pop Rock asked.
“Only that you continue your quest to find the crusaders but that you be more careful we have no idea where there could be changeling spies” Princess Luna said.
“Fluttershy has been captured and you have to find her” Discord said. “I have to go have tea with the fake one.”
“We don’t know where they could be we’ve looked around Manehattan, Ponyville and the Everfree forest but they aren’t anywhere” Thorax said as Discord disappeared.
“As princesses we can’t look around Canterlot but we think that there might be some changelings here” Princess Celestia said,
“And you want us to look around” Pop Rock said.
“Yes and then you report everything back to us before you leave” Princess Celestia said.
Cotton had just enough magic to use the spell and Celestia and Luna and it showed Cotton that they weren’t lying. The trio marched out of the throne room and left the castle before the princess could question what Cotton had just done. They now had to find the crusaders before something else happened and it seemed like the changelings were trying to take over Equestria.
“Where in Canterlot would the crusaders be?” Cotton asked.
“They seem to like caves and there’s the crystal mines under Canterlot” Pop Rock said. “I suggest we look there first.”
“Well they have used it before there is a good chance that they’ll be there” Thorax said.
“Fine let’s check there” Cotton said.
The trio went down to the dark dungeon where there was a stairway to the crystal mines that were once used to earn lots of bits. The mine was unsafe and that’s why ponies stayed away from it these days but many moons ago it was full of miners. Although the mines were empty it had housed Princess Cadance not so long ago when she’d been captured by the changeling queen Chrysalis.
They looked all around the mines and nearly got hit by massive boulders plenty of times but there weren’t any changelings. Pop Rock and Cotton were together when there was a massive collapse which blocked them from the exit way and Thorax. They were now stuck and they couldn’t get out and find the ponies that need saving and they needed to be saved now.
“Thorax help” Cotton cried.
“I can’t do anything why don’t you use magic” Thorax replied.
“Her magic still needs some rest can you look around maybe you can find something that can help us” Pop Rock shouted.
Cotton and Pop Rock wanted to get out of the enclosed space badly and Cotton suddenly found herself right next to Pop Rock. They hugged onto each other for comfort and then their muzzles touched as they were so close. Thorax looked around the space where the other two had been trapped and found a gap where he knew that Pop Rock could use his wing to smash into it.
“Hey guys I’ve found a gap” Thorax said as the mouths of the other two unlocks. “Just follow my voice and Pop Rock smash one of your wings into it.
“Ok” Pop Rock replied quickly.
Pop Rock walked over to the gap and smashed it with his wings a couple of times before Cotton crawled out after him. Time had been wasted and the three walked their way back up to the dark dungeon of the castle and then to the streets of Canterlot. They then saw the fake mane six and that Applejack went the other way from the others and then the trio split up Thorax and Pop Rock went after the fake mane six and Cotton went after the fake Applejack.
Cotton followed Applejack into the royal gardens where she stopped and Cotton then hid behind the tree. Then out of nowhere the fake Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo appeared and went towards Applejack. They gathered together and then they all began to talk about changeling things that Cotton desperately needed to hear and they talked about the real versions of themselves.
“I heard that a swarm was sent to Appleoosa there was a problem with the captive” The fake Applejack said.
“What was going on?” The fake Sweetie Belle asked.
“I don’t know” The fake Applejack replied.
They hadn’t said much but that was all that Cotton she raced back to the centre and that’s where she found the others and she cast her spell on them and nothing happened to them. They then went to restaurant row where they grabbed a bite to eat at one of Canterlot’s finest restaurant. As they sat down they started to discuss what their next move would be and how they would find everypony.
“They said Appleoosa well they have mines there” Pop Rock said.
“No I doubt they would keep them in mines they’d have them somewhere” Thorax said.
“They said captive not captives do you think that maybe they’ve captured somepony else and hidden them there” Cotton said.
“It wouldn’t exactly be a surprise changelings are twisted” Pop Rock replied.
“Not me though” Thorax said and his voice wavered. “I feel a lot of love nearby, it’s so tempting.”
Both Cotton and Pop Rock blushed as Thorax said that knowing how they felt about each other and what happened in the cave. The trio walked towards the castle where they were met by the fake mane six who then wanted to talk to them. Feeling very bad they wanted to walk away but if they did that then they could be in danger and they wanted to find the others without having too much danger in their path.
“Oh, hello darlings how are you today?” The fake Rarity asked.
“Why are you all going to the palace?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“We have a friend that’s a guard and we’re going to visit him” Cotton said.
The fake mane six let them go into the palace accepting their fake story and went to walk around the streets. The trio made their way towards the throne room when Discord came out of nowhere and grabbed the three. He then teleported them to a different room it was the private study of Princess Celestia and inside were the Princesses.
“We have news that there’s something going on in Appleoosa” Pop Rock said.
“Good, we’re beginning to think that the fake ponies are growing suspicious of what’s going on” Princess Celestia said.
“Discord can transport you to Appleoosa but I shall look out for your dreams when you’re done there and Discord will take you to the next place that you need to go” Princess Luna explained.
“Now we’re off to Appleoosa” Discord said transporting them to Appleoosa and then he disappeared leaving the trio on their own.