//------------------------------//
// Chapter 144: S.O.S! 
// Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

Starlight knew she couldn't stay in the castle, but running (or even just sneaking) to the front door would be a fool's errand, a sure fire way to draw attention and alert the changelings. So she did the only thing she could think of in this situation, and made a desperate leap for it from her bedroom window. How very lucky that she had moved to her own room in the castle basement just the other day.

Already, Princess Luna's warning echoed in Starlight's mind. "Be careful who you trust." Thorax was on his way, but when he'd arrive and how much of a help he'd be, Starlight wasn't sure. She needed to at least try to find some friends, with any luck maybe she could form a small army. Where she'd go from there, the unicorn didn't know, but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

In her panic stricken state, Starlight didn't notice as she bumped straight into Sunburst. "Or a changeling 'pretending' to be Sunburst!" Starlight thought, and instantly she stepped back and fired up her horn. "Sunburst, I want to believe it's you, but I can't be sure!"

Sunburst was confused. "Starlight, what's this all about? You have a funny way of saying hello."

Starlight just glared at "Sunburst". It sure looked like him, they even had the goatee down to a t. But physical features were easy to mimic if you were a changeling, it was the personality that gave you away. "How do I know you aren't a changeling as well, sent here to trap me? What if all this time, you've secretly been a changeling?!"

"Starlight, you're not making a lick of sense! Are you feeling okay?" Sunburst anxiously asked.

"It all makes sense now!" Starlight protested, stepping back. "You didn't remember who I was, because you didn't bother to learn about the past of the pony you replaced! This whole time, you were feeding off of Flurry Heart's love while hiding right under Shining's Armor nose! Then, when you'd gained his trust and he lowered his guard after Thorax's arrival, you passed word along to Chrysalis! From there it was just a matter of 'conviently' leaving to be with me, and my invitation to the Sunset Festival was the opportunity you'd been waiting for! You let Chrysalis know how to get past the guards so she could steal Flurry Heart, and then kept me distracted long enough for all my friends to be captured and replaced! I should've known our reunion was too good to be true! The real Sunburst would've branded me a freak!"

Despite the accusations, Sunburst stepped forward and did his best to reassure Starlight. "Come on, Starlight, we've known each other since we were foals. You would know if I wasn't who I said I was," He began to rack his brain for some way to prove he wasn't a changeling. Then, suddenly, an idea came to him. "If I was a changeling, how would I have been able to keep up my disguise for so long? You saw how all the love for Flurry Heart drove Thorax crazy, it would've done the same to me."

"Everyone was so fixated on Thorax, they probably never would've noticed, and you probably kept it all under wraps!" Starlight protested. "The only way I'd know you're actually Sunburst, is if you knew something from our childhood! Something that only the real Sunburst would know!"

"You mean, like how we used to play Dragon Pit all the time? And how I'd knock the whole board over in excitement every time my dragon got trapped?" Sunburst asked with a giggle.

Starlight allowed her horn's magic surge to die down. It took everything she had not to tackle the stallion into a great big hug. "It is you!" She happily exclaimed! "Oh Sunburst, you don't know how glad I am to see a friendly face at a time like this!"

"What's going on, Starlight?" Sunburst asked. "I couldn't get a ticket back to the Crystal Empire, so it must still be under siege. And what's all this about changelings?"

"I'll explain on the way, but for now we need to get to Trixie!" Starlight instructed. "I think we're going to need all the help we can get on this one!"





As it turned out, Trixie had parked her wagon not far from the castle. Starlight trotted up to the front door and knocked on it. "Trixie? Trixie? Are you awake?"

From the other side of the door, Starlight heard a muffled voice mumble. "Why yes, Princess Celestia, I'd love to perform for peanut butter crackers. They're my absolute favorite food."

"Trixie! Come on, wake up!" Starlight demanded, knocking more frantically!

What followed was a series of mumbles, groans, and fireworks explosions, before Trixie stuck her head out of the wagon's side window. Smoke billowed out, prompting the magician to cough. "Starlight, what time is it?" She asked, yawning a bit. "Can't it wait until morning? The Great and Powerful Trixie needs her beauty sleep."

"There's no time for that, Trixie!" Starlight protested, as she helped pull the magician out from the window and set her on the ground. "Do you remember where we first met and became friends?"

Trixie yawned again. "Why are you asking Trixie this, Starlight? It's late, and you don't want to see how cranky the Great and Powerful Trixie can be if she doesn't get enough sleep."

"Trixie, please, don't do this to me!" Starlight angrily commented. "Answer my question, please! I need to know you're the real deal!"

"Fine, I'll play along with your little game," Trixie half yawned, half groaned. "We met at the Ponyville Spa, and we bonded over the fact that ponies judge us for our past. There, are you happy now?"

"Oh yes, more happy than you might think!" Starlight happily exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're not a changeling!"

"Changeling? Starlight, what in Equestria are you babbling about?" Trixie inquired.

Sunburst explained. "The changelings are back, and from the looks of things they've managed to ponynap Twilight, Shining Armor, and all of their friends. And the princesses and the royal guards are too busy fending off invasions in Canterlot and the Crystal Empire to come help."

"W-what?!" Trixie exclaimed, a bit too loudly! Starlight had to put a hoof to her mouth to keep the magician from screaming. "I-if that's true, I can't deal with this! I'm just a performer, an illusionist! Great and Powerful, yes! Invincible, not in a million years! This is... this is princess level stuff! If what you say is true, we're doomed!"

"Not entirely, Trixie, that's why I came to see you," Starlight reassured her friend. "Thorax is on his way here as we speak, and we've also got Sunburst to help us out. Between the four of us, maybe we could at least take back the castle."

"Thorax? Who's Thorax?" Trixie wondered aloud.

"I am." Said a voice. And then from the bushes emerged a changeling! Said changeling boasted shimmering wings, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Starlight and Sunburst. (Trixie was too busy freaking out to take any notice)

Starlight was hesitant to approach the changeling. "Wait a minute, what happened to your wings? They look so... shiny now."

Thorax buzzed them absent mindedly. "I guess they do, I thought they felt different."

"Alright then, now how about the four of us..." Starlight began, before a thought struck her. "Wait, hold on just a second here! I wasn't born yesterday! How do I know for sure you're actually Thorax and not some other changeling trying to pass themselves off as him?"

"Will this convince you?" Thorax asked, as he shape-shifted into Shining Armor. "I hope you won't mind, I'm bringing the rest of the guards along with me, as well as Spike, and my sister. I won't fall for any mind games this time," He spoke in perfect impersonation of the prince. "That's what Shining Armor said to me when we first met. You were there, right?"

Starlight nodded, breathing a much needed sigh of relief as Thorax changed back to normal. "Sorry, just had to be sure. Can never be too careful with changeling swarms on the loose."

"It's okay, I understand," Thorax replied and approached the trembling form of Trixie. "It's okay, I'm a friend of Starlight's. I'm Thorax, I'm a nice changeling, I promise."

Trixie just weakly answered. "If Starlight says you're on our side, I believe her. But if you wouldn't mind leaving me alone, that would be great. I'm just... not really into bugs and this is too much for me right now."

"I understand," Thorax agreed and stepped back as he turned to Starlight. "Flash Sentry sent me to find you, Starlight. He regrets that he can't come himself, but I'm sure Princess Luna already filled you in on the details."

"She did," Starlight confirmed with a nod. "But that's still only four of us against who knows how many changelings in that castle?"





"Four? You mean six!" A familiar male voice cried out. Its owner soon revealed itself as Spike, and walking next to him was Dragon Lord (or Dragon Lady to be precise) Ember.

"Spike! The changelings didn't get to you?!" Starlight asked, knowing that no changeling would've been able to fool Ember (let alone know who that was).

Spike shook his head. "I barely got out of there with my scales intact. By then it was too late to save anypony," He clenched a claw in anger. "I knew I couldn't take them on my own, so I sent a distress call to Ember. And now, those changelings are gonna pay for taking away my family AND my home! I don't care if I have to flame broil 'em to make 'em talk!"

"Anyone who messes with my friends and thinks they can get away with it answers to me!" Ember vowed. "So, Starlight, what's your game plan?"

"Yeah, Starlight, what are the six of us supposed to do?" Sunburst asked. "Surely, you have a plan, right?"

Starlight shook her head and sighed. "I haven't had time to think of one!"

Trixie gulped. "Then we're right back to square one! The changelings have all the most powerful ponies! What are we supposed to do now?"

But just then, a sinister voice called out. "You know, its funny. Whenever ponies talk about 'powerful magic' they always leave me out of it. If I weren't so evolved I might decide to take it personally."

Starlight and Spike spun around, they knew who that was! Sure enough, a familiar draconequus rested atop Trixie's wagon. "Discord!" Starlight and Spike both exclaimed!