As the four of them left the train, they saw Blueblood standing on the platform, looking nervous. He ran over when he spotted them, as Shrinky adjusted the saddlebag, making her it was tight around her middle.
“Are you alright?” asked Dane, pulling her helmet back on, obscuring her red eyes once again.
Blueblood shook his head. “No. I have news regarding our…” he looked around conspiratorially, as if to make sure no one was listening. “…infestation.”
Fizzy bristled slightly at that but made no comment. Blueblood didn’t notice, or if he did, paid it no mind as he continued. “Starlight was right,” he said. “The villains are indeed in the caverns beneath the castle, as are the changelings.”
Dane raised an eyebrow. “Did you go down and look?”
Blueblood scoffed. “Of course not. Do you really think I’d put myself in danger? I sent two guards down to investigate. They came back just a little while ago and confirmed it.”
“Wooow,” said Fizzy, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “That was quite brave of you.”
Blueblood straightened up. “I know,” he said, evidently pleased with himself. Dane facehoofed.
“Anyways…” said Shrinky, changing the subject for Dane throttled the narcissistic prince. “Since we know where they are, we should probably head down there as soon as possible.”
Dane nodded in agreement. “That would be prudent.”
Blueblood grinned. “Splendid! I’ve already gathered a squad of Royal Guards to accompany you!”
“Really?” asked Dane, surprised. “That’s surprisingly helpful of you.”
“Thank yo-,” began Blueblood, before stopping, seemingly processing Dane’s words. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Fizzy snickered. “Don’t worry about it,” said Shrinky. “Let’s just focus on getting the bad guys.”
Dane nodded. “Lead the way to the caverns, your highness.”
Blueblood smiled. “Right this way.”
As they strolled the Canterlot in the evening light, the streets were mostly empty, the high society having mostly turned in for the night. As they approached the castle, they saw the squad of guards Blueblood spoke of. As they approached, the leader of the group stepped forward.
“Prince Blueblood. We’ve barricaded the entrance to the caverns, so nopony is getting in or out, you and your associated notwithstanding.”
“Thank you, Sergeant,” said Blueblood. He opened his mouth to continue, but before he could say anything, a dark mass tackled him out of nowhere, scooping him up. The guards reacted quickly, readying their spears, as did Dane, drawing her sword for the first time since Shrinky had met her. As her story said, the blade was black as midnight. Yet somehow, it seemed to radiate light, but at the same time absorbed it, creating a disorienting effect. Fizzy too had entered a battle-ready stance, transparent insectoid wings flared.
The dark mass holding Blueblood was a changeling. It held Blueblood in such a way that he was pinned against its underside, with a hoof held over his mouth, silencing him. That didn’t stop Blueblood from attempting to break free and call out for help, which only resulted in very slight wiggling and muffled sounds. The changeling hissed at them, before flying away.
“After him!” cried Shrinky. The pegasi guards took flight, as did Fizzy, flying as fast as they could after the changeling and his captive. Everypony else ran behind them, hooves slamming into the cobblestone as they ran.
“It’s heading for the caverns!” cried the sergeant. They could see the changeling ahead, but it was quickly losing them, flying faster than even the pegasi. Fizzy beat her wings as fast as she could, slowly closing the gap between the two changelings as she left the royal guards in the dust.
It suddenly made a sharp left turn, vanishing down an alleyway. Fizzy swerved down the alley, grinding to a halt midair as she looked around. The changeling had vanished. Fizzy floated out of the alley as everypony else caught up.
“Where is he?” asked Dane, panicked.
Fizzy shrugged, looking defeated. “I don’t know! They just vanished.”
Shrinky turned towards the sergeant. “Where is the entrance to the caverns?”
“Right this way, miss,” he said. He led her through the alley to the street on the other side. He led her down the street, to where it ended at a wall, part of the elevated castle grounds. Sticking out of the wall was a tower that climbed all the way up to the castle grounds. The double doors leading into the tower were open. Broken planks of wood and stone littered the ground in front of the door. ‘Some barricade,’ she thought.
Dane and Fizzy came up behind her. Shrinky turned towards the guard. “You guys stay up here and keep looking for Blueblood. We’ll head down and take care of the villains.”
The sergeant nodded. “Shall I have a couple of guards accompany you?”
Shrinky looked back at her companions, both of whom nodded. She turned back to the sergeant. “Yes, please.”
“Day Ranger! Stalwart Shield!” At their names, two Pegasus guards stepped forward. “You two will accompany these three into the caverns!” ordered the sergeant. “Be on your guard. We don’t know what sort of powers these villains have, and there are changelings down there. Stay alert. That is all.” The pegasi saluted. “Yes, sir!” they chanted back.
One guard stood on either side of the three mares, spears lowered. “Alright then,” said Shrinky. “It’s go time.” And with that, they stepped through the doors and down into the caverns below.
The only light in the cavern came from Shrinky and Dane, using their magic to illuminate the cavern. The crystalline structures around them reflected and refracted the light with dancing shades of purple light, formed from Shrinky’s blue aura, and Dane’s red. As they walked, they kept silent, listening for sounds that could locate their enemies.
They suddenly heard a CLANK from behind them. Dane whirled around to see one of the guards had vanished, his spear on the ground. The other guard lowered into a battle stance. They heard a thud from the tunnel ahead, prompting them to turn forward again to find nothing.
“What’s happening?” asked Dane.
“I don’t know!” cried Shrinky. “It’s almost like this place is… haunted.” Chills of realization ran down her spine. “It’s that unicorn. The one from the train!”
“Ghost?!” asked Fizzy. Before Shrinky could confirm, the second guard vanished with a hrrk, and his spear clanking to the ground. Behind them, the ghostly unicorn from the train silently rose from the ground. Fizzy glanced back and saw her. “She’s behind us!” Fizzy ran off down the tunnel, with Shrinky and Dane following, Ghost in hot pursuit.
“Also,” said Shrinky as they ran. “You named them?”
“Yeah!” said Fizzy. “So we could differentiate between them better. So instead of saying “Watch out for that unicorn!” I can say, “WATCH OF FOR BULLDOZER!!!”
Shrinky was about to ask who Bulldozer was, when she got her answer via an armored Earth pony ramming into her side, sending her flying into the wall of the cavern. She felt herself get picked up in Dane’s magic, being brought alongside the mare in question as she ran.
“Are these *huff* the villains you fought?” she asked, panting heavily as she ran.
Shrinky nodded. “Yeah. They aren’t the only ones though. What Fizzy named them though is something you’d have to ask her.”
Dane didn’t get the chance, as when they turned a corner, it led to a dead-end, with the only possible escape route being the tunnel they had just come from.
“Oh shit,” said Shrinky.
They heard a sinister laugh from behind them. “‘Oh shit’ is right,” said a voice. They turned around to see somepony standing in the entrance to the dead end. The light emanating from their horn revealed their identity to be, of all ponies, Prince Blueblood.
“Prince Blueblood? Are you okay?” asked Dane, stepping forward.
“Oh, I’m fine. I’m afraid, however, you soon won’t be,” he said, sneering at them. Five other ponies stepped up next to him, the light of both Blueblood’s horn, as well as the horn of the ghost unicorn, revealing herself and the other villains, all sneering.
Dane stepped back. “W-what?”
“‘W-what?’” mimicked Blueblood mockingly. “Gods, you’re pathetic. Well, at least I won’t have to deal with you for much longer.”
Shrinky stepped forward shakily, Dane having dropped her in shock. “So you’re the one behind this?”
“Don’t sound so surprised. You’ll hurt my feelings,” said Blueblood, coolly.
“But why? Why are you doing this?” asked Dane, voice heavy with hurt.
“Because, you whimpering foal,” snapped Blueblood. “I was supposed to be the ruler of Equestria. I should be the one sitting on that throne, but instead that good-for-nothing bookworm is sitting there instead. I’ve been planning this for years, ever since my aunt gave that purple worrywart wings. Up until that pointed, I’d coasted by on my good looks, romancing ponies into getting what I want, but after that I realized two things. First, my aunt was grooming her prized pupil to take over, instead of me, her flesh and blood. That led me to my second realization. I had to get smart.
So, I started planning. I slowly bided my time, waiting for the perfect moment to eliminate that stupid purple bitch and her friends. But after Cozy Glow almost managed to eliminate all magic, I realized something. She was right in one aspect. You can’t take on the former Bearers of the Elements of Harmony by yourself. So, I sought out allies, ponies with a bone to pick with the new Princess and her friends.
“First I found Nosey Nose trying to sneak into Twilight’s coronation. She was trying to regain her reputation as a reporter after having it destroyed by Fluttershy and Applejack. I offered her a deal. Revenge on those who wronged her, in exchange for joining my cause,” he gestured to the hooded pony Fizzy had dubbed Ghost, who stamped her hoof. “C’mon,” she said. “We’re wasting time.”
Blueblood ignored her and continued.
“Then I found Lightning Dust here,” he gestured to pegasus with the skull mask, “and offered her the same deal. Vengeance on Rainbow Dash in exchange for joining my cause. Needless to say, she didn’t need much convincing.”
Lightning Dust snickered menacingly, drawing her sword. “Rainbow’s gonna pay,” she said.
“I offered the same deal to the rest of these fine ponies, who all accepted.”
The white stallion with the speaker collar stepped forward. “I used to be Countess Coloratura’s manager. But then that stupid Pinkie Pie and her apple friend turned Countess Coloratura against me, even though I made her somepony. They took everything from me, and I plan to do the same to them.”
The armored construction pony stepped forward. “I used to be a construction worker in Ponyville. But because of Princess Twilight and her friends, my job became ten times harder than it was before she moved there. I almost lost my life on multiple occasions! They’re too dangerous to be in charge.”
The stallion in the green armor stepped forward, and removed his helmet. However, before he could speak, Fizzy spoke up. “Wait! I know you! You’re Wind Rider, the disgraced Wonderbolt!”
“FORMER WONDERBOLT!” roared Wind Rider in rage. “The only reason I was ‘disgraced’ is because I tried to protect my record, but Little Miss Mystery had to do and reveal everything. That stupid unicorn shoulda kept her nose outta business that wasn’t hers.”
Blueblood nodded in agreement. “Save for Twilight, Rarity is probably the most vexing out of all of them.”
“Okay, so Twilight and her friends have all wronged you. That’s why you’re all here. But that doesn’t answer everything,” said Shrinky. “What about the changelings? Where’d you get your powers from?”
Blueblood grinned. “That’s the genius part. I didn’t plan on changelings coming into the mix, but when they abducted me to replace me, I realized I could use them to my advantage. They were… unorganized. Angry. They wanted revenge for their Queen being turned to stone. The deal I made with them is quite simple. I point, and they shoot. I gave them targets, and they’d destroy them, slowly causing chaos around Equestria until Princess Twilight was too frazzled to notice as I enacted the final piece of my plan.”
“Which was?” asked Fizzy.
“Getting my hooves on this,” he said. Floating from out behind him came Grogar’s Bewitching Bell. “With Twilight distracted, I was able to convince the guards to let me in, claiming I was doing the bi-daily Bell check for her. Once inside, I used the Bell on myself, giving myself just enough power to wipe the guards' memories of letting me in and seeing me leave with the Bell. Once I did that, I swiftly handed it off to Lightning Dust, who brought it down to these caverns for me. I met everypony down here that evening to hold up my end of the bargain.
Using what little power was left in the Bell, I distributed it amongst my five associates. I gave Lightning Dust the ability to mimic any physical movement or attack after seeing it once, to Nosey Nose, I gave her enough power to turn invisible and intangible. Wind Rider got the ability to move fast enough to generate whirlwinds, Ambrosia got her natural Earth pony strength, speed, and durability jacked up to eleven, and to Svengallop I gave the ability to get anyone to believe what he says just by hearing him say something. Now, I understand Fizzy Wings here came up with charming nicknames for us. Care to share?”
Fizzy gulped. “Well, Nosey Nose is Ghost, on account of being able to turn invisible and walk through walls. For Lightning Dust, I came up with Taskmaster. For Ambrosia, I came up with Bulldozer. For Wind Rider and Svengallop: Whirlwind and Voice.”
Blueblood frowned. “Well, those last two could use work. And what about me? Do I get a supervillain alias?”
Fizzy nodded. “Power Broker. Since you brokered deals with them and gave the powers as part of your end.”
Blueblood nodded. “Power Broker,” he said, almost like he was trying it on. “I like it. I think I’ll keep it.”
“I have one more question,” said Shrinky.
Blueblood rolled his eyes. “Ugh. What now? I can promise you there isn’t going to be a pop quiz on this.”
“Why are you telling us this?” she asked, tone dead serious.
Blueblood’s eyes sparkled. “Oh. Now that’s a question I’ll gladly answer. Because you asked. Well, that, and the fact that I was going to kill you either way.”
“WHAT?!”
“Don’t act surprised. I wouldn’t have said anything if I believed you had a chance of stopping this. My plan is already in effect. The changelings are in position, ready to strike at each of Twilight’s friends. They’re only waiting for my signal, which they will receive as soon as I leave here. Svengallop, or should I say, Voice, you know what to do.”
Svengallop stepped forward, the repaired speakers on his shoulders crackling to life. “Dane Whitmare. The only way to break your curse is to kill Shrinky Dink and Fizzy Wings.”
Fizzy gasped and backtrotted away from Dane, who was slowly standing up, drawing her sword in the process.
With a BAMF!, the saddlebag containing Shrinky and Fizzy’s shrinking suits vanished from Shrinky’s back, reappearing next to Blueblood in his magic. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to confiscate these. We can’t have you escaping, now can we?”
“BLUEBLOOD!!!!” screamed Shrinky in rage. She charged at him, but instead of running, he simply waved a hoof and said, “Ta-ta.” An earth-shattering THOOM rang throughout the cavern. Shrinky turned to see Ambrosia had rammed into the wall, sending cracks all way up to the top. Another headbutt from the Earth pony would cause a cave-in. Shrinky turned to instead charge at Ambrosia, but was too late. Ambrosia had already begun her second charge, colliding with the wall with another THOOM. Cracking sounds filled the air as the ceiling above the entrance came crashing down, cutting off Fizzy and Shrinky from the villains, trapping them with a brainwashed Dane.