"It's not... too bad," Rainbow Dash tried to calm me. She was doing a horrible job at it. I was having a huge breakdown ever since I saw my destroyed wings.
"Not too bad? NOT TOO BAD?" I screamed. I leaped up on all for hooves. A ring of green fire raged around me, causing the frightened ponies and dragon to back up. "How's about I burn off your wings, and we can see just how you feel!" I shouted as I pointed a hoof at her.
"Changeling, y'all need to simmer down before ya start giving us unwanted attention," Applejack spoke calmly. How could she stay calm in a catastrophic time like this? And who was she to tell me to calm down? She's still in one piece.
"I don't think you've noticed this, pony," I snarled. "But we're the only living things here within miles!" I added. Still, I found that the fire had burned down slightly.
"Quit acting as if it's our fault," Spike said. He sounded pretty agitated. "It's not like we burned your wings off." The flames roared up to new heights.
"No, but I didn't tie my wings together with a rope," I snapped.
"Oh, no you don't," Applejack snarled. "You ain't pinning this on me. Besides, you're the one on a mission to Appleloosa."
"I'm not... You're the one... I... They," I struggled to find someone to blame my dilemma on. It had to be Applejack's fault. She's the one who tied me up. But it was my spell that burned it and, therefore, my wings. If that stupid Diamond Dog hadn't attacked me, but I'm the one who attracted their attention. I never would have been stuck in this situation If 230 hadn't changed into Applejack before the train came. But how could she have known that Applejack was on the train? So it was Applejack's fault! No, she couldn't have known about the invasion. The invasion... If Chrysalis hadn't made those confounded Interlopers... No, the Queen was never to blame. It had to be my fault. It was my that 230 met Applejack. I could have told her to stay with the Interlopers. It was my fault that I had lost the fight with that Braeburn character. When that nymph was biting Spike, I could have easily finished the fight. It was my fault I ended up in this situation. Everything was all my fault.
The green fire died down to an ember, no longer fueled by my rage. I lay in the middle, clutching my head in my hooves in hopes of finding somebody else to blame. It was always my fault. No matter how hard I tried, I always made a mess of whatever I was doing. Why? It never made any sense!
I slammed my head into the dirt, hoping to override my pain with something more physical. It worked, for the most part. A gentle hoof tapped my shoulder.
"It's not the end of the world, changeling. I'm sure you can live without wings," Applejack said softly.
"You don't get it, do you?" I grumbled. "I'm practically dead to Chrysalis now that I can't fly. In fact, she'll kill me if I go back looking like this."
"But can't you just grow them back? You know, with your 'changeling magic' and all?" Rainbow asked.
"It doesn't work like that."
"Why not?"
I let out a sigh. "Because it just doesn't. A changeling can't fix itself by changing to its original self; the wound would still be there. It would be like a unicorn using a spell that did nothing but create a magic spell. It's pointless."
"Back it up a bit," Applejack interjected. "Y'all said something 'bout Chrysalis killing you, why would she do that?"
"Because without my wings, I'm no longer able to perform my job. I'd be nothing more than a waste of resources."
"What's your job suppose to be?" Spike asked.
"I don't have to tell you," I snapped.
"Well..." Applejack rubbed her chin. "Actually, you do."
"Excuse me?"
"Y'all said that you'd tell us, and I quote: 'The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.' So I guess you're stuck with us until we know what we want," she reasoned. "So quit your complaining and get up. We got a long day ahead of us if we want to make it to Appleloosa."
I reluctantly rose from my pitiful state. We cut a trail to parallel to the railroad. I was asked plenty of questions; all pertaining to the upcoming Appleloosan Invasion. I answered all of their questions and then some. They had a hard time digesting the whole "Interloper" part, but other than that the interrogation went well. Spike seemed a bit annoyed throughout the whole ordeal. He was probably just tired though.
"So let me see if I get this straight," Rainbow said while flying overhead. "You changelings are trying to slowly replace the entire Appleloosan population... with ten foals?"
"Nymphs," I corrected. "And yes, that sounds about right. Although, Chrysalis did mention something about the Interlopers being prototypes... So you can interpret that however you want."
"Aren't you guys supposed to not, you know, give away secret information?" Spike asked annoyed.
"Well, naturally, yes," I answered. "It's an extreme crime. But I suppose I can just say I was tortured with corny songs, crummy ghost stories, and bribed with s'mores to talk. Most changelings won't know what s'mores are and we all know how horrible you pony folk's songs are, so I might get off a little easy."
Spike was about to respond when Applejack cut him off. "Y'all hear that?"
We all paused and perked up our ears. It was faint, but I could definitely hear the sound of hooves pounding against the earth in the distance. I tilted my head to figure out where it was coming from. The sound was coming from behind us, and it was getting closer. A small cloud of smoke appeared over the horizon. Through my slightly enhanced Scout vision, I could make out the outlines of large beasts.
"Are they more Diamond Dogs?" Spike asked, squinting.
"No. Diamond Dogs don't have hooves," I replied. If there wasn't so much smoke I could probably figure it out.
"Hmm," Applejack pondered. "Ya know, they almost look like-"
"Hey, it's Little Strongheart!" Rainbow Dash interjected.
I didn't know who this "Little Strongheart" character was, but I did see a smaller figure diverge from the mass of shapes in our direction. It looked like a young buffalo. An honest to Chrysalis buffalo. It even had one of those feathered headdresses on that some of the changelings back at the hive described.
"Shouldn't you... You know," Applejack elbowed me.
"Huh? Oh, right." I changed into the yellow stallion from the train. As the buffalo drew nearer, I leaned into Applejack. "Anything I should know about this character?"
She gave me a quick look over. "Braeburn or Strongheart?"
"Either one, preferably the one I am."
"Well, for starters, your name's Braeburn. You're my cousin," she seemed to have a hard time saying that part, "and a farmer from Appleloosa. You're a bit overly enthusiastic at times and a glass-half-full kind of guy. It's been a while since we've last met. You, er, Braeburn needed us to help him with a problem at Appleloosa, but he said he would tell us when we got there. Also, you're gonna have to speak with an accent."
I pondered on the new information. It wasn't much to work with, but hopefully it would be enough to trick a buffalo.
"Hey, Strongheart," Rainbow called as the buffalo came within earshot.
"Hey guys!" Strongheart replied. "What brings you way out here?"
"Well, we were supposed to be in Appleloosa by now," Spike said. "But we ran into a problem on the way." He cast me a glare.
"It's not the Diamond Dogs again, is it?" Strongheart asked. I could see worry etched in her eyes.
Applejack tilted her head in confusion. "Beg pardon?"
"You haven't told them yet?" the buffalo asked me. Sweat dripped from my brow. I put on a smile that I hoped wouldn't betray my worried condition. I recalled everything Applejack had told me.
"Sorry, Lil' Strongheart," I said in my best Southern accent. "I reckoned it'd be best if I told them in Appleloosa. You should probably tell 'em."
Little Strongheart let out a sigh. "Well, it started a few months ago. Some Diamond Dogs found a large deposit of gems near the orchards. They started digging up path the settlers cut for us and fell a few trees to make the tunnels that lead to the mine. For the most part, they were peaceful, but recently they have been coming into Buffalo territory and stealing our valuables. We've had some missing tribe members, too. I think the dogs are responsible for that as well. Braeburn told me that Appleloosa is having the same problems, which is why he asked you to help. Did I miss anything?" The last part was obviously directed to me.
"Nope, I reckon that's it," I answered. I was going out on a limb with this conversation. Hopefully the topic would change.
"You know, two Diamond Dogs paid us a visit last night," Rainbow added. "You should have been there. I don't think I've ever seen Spike do anything like that before," she gave the dragon a pat on the back.
"It wasn't that cool," Spike humbly said.
"Now you and I both know that's a lie," Applejack through in. "I don't think I've ever seen a rodeo like that before in my life."
"Well now that we're all acquainted and all," I said while backing up, "we best be heading back to Appleloosa. See y'all later, Strongheart."
"Oh, well okay. You're always welcome to Buffalo territory if you need anything."
I was pushing the others in the direction of the settlement. "Thank you kindly, miss. I'll remember that," I called back. When we were a good distance away I stopped. I stole a glance behind me to check on Strongheart. She was already rejoining the stampede of buffalo.
"What in tarnation was that all about, changeling?" Applejack asked irritably.
"It's not good for changelings to stay in conversation for too long," I dropped the accent. "Especially if we know so little information about our character. Besides, if you guys want to get to Appleloosa anytime soon, we need to get going."
They couldn't argue with my reason. We carried on our trek through the desert, barely talking. As the sun came to its peak, we took a break to eat. The ponies substituted their meal with more s'mores. I was given some, but I knew that they wouldn't fill me as much as I needed. Normally, I would have stolen their emotions for food. But in my weakened state, I decided against angering my stronger captors. At the end of our meal, when we were all packing up, my stomach let out a beastly growl.
"Wow. You sure you got enough to eat, partner?" Applejack asked. "We could probably cook up some more of them s'mores if you'd like."
"Yeah, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," Rainbow Dash commented, still licking a mess of marshmallows off of her hooves.
"No, no. It's not that, it's just that we changelings have a different diet than ponies." I tried to pick my next words carefully. "I'm not trying to impose anything, but could any of you... you know..."
It took some time for the ponies and dragon to interpret what I was asking. As realization struck, Applejack and Rainbow Dash cast each other a worried look. Spike somehow managed to vanish from sight. Applejack nudged her head in my direction, not breaking eye contact with her friend. Rainbow mimicked the gesture with a quizzical look. Applejack repeated, only again to be copied by the pegasus. Their faces soon transformed into scowls. I watched on the sidelines as the telepathic argument raged between them. Each adversary's eyes squinted in concentration. Was it really that bad? I thought to myself.
They suddenly broke into motion as they each clasped one of their forelegs with each other on top of a nearby flat rock. They appeared strained, as if they were competing in an intense battle of the ages. A battle that would determine the fate of the very universe itself, whose winner would achieve the utmost glory for their hive sector. Applejack's hoof gained a height advantage over Rainbow Dash's. She bore a smug expression at the sight of the pegasus's worry. Rainbow Dash's hoof was almost touching the rock when suddenly
WHAM
Rainbow's hoof was firmly planted above Applejack's on top of the rock. She flew up into the air, shouting a loud "Woo hoo, still the champ!" before floating back down. Applejack hung her head low in defeat and moped up to me.
"Alright, changeling, let's get this over with," she sighed.
"Sheesh, talk about awkward," I said under my breath. My horn lit up in a green aura. A bolt of similarly colored lightning connected our foreheads together for a few seconds. I soaked in the nourishing emotions until I was satisfied. At the end of my spell Applejack seemed completely drained of energy. She could barely stand on her four legs. Rainbow Dash swooped in to the rescue and kept her from falling over. Maybe I took a bit too much.
"So, are you guys done with your little... thing?" Spike appeared behind a few rocks.
"I certainly hope so," Applejack moaned as she braced her head with a hoof. "Let's get moving. We're burning daylight."
Our uneventful journey continued once again. As dinner time came, Applejack went out of her way to sit as far away from me as possible. I wouldn't blame her. The spell must have been pretty painful for her to need Rainbow Dash's support for the majority of the walk. I was still filled from my last feeding to worry about eating anyway. After we packed our supplies, we walked until the moon began to rise. Through the thick veil of the night I could make out the silhouette of a structure slowly rising from the ground. A faint glow emanated from the same direction.
"Hey, I think I see Appleloosa!" I shouted in the night.
"How can you see anything through this darkness? I can barely see five feet in front of me," Applejack complained.
"Eh, I guess it's just one of the perks of being me," I answered. I broke out in a sprint towards the light. "Come on, it doesn't look like it's too far away."
"Changeling, wait!" Rainbow cried.
"What? It's right there," I shouted as I continued running. The full town came into view. It wasn't very large; I could tell by the dim illumination between the few buildings. Something was off about the sight though, it almost as if I was looking down upon it. It wasn't until I started falling that I realized I had run off of a cliff overlooking the settlement.
Normally I would have just flown to safety. But no, I managed to burn my wings off recently. That narrowed my options down to just screaming and falling; which, for the record, I successfully did both. As I was busy plummeting to my ultimate doom, I felt a sharp pain where my tattered tail met connected to my backside. Rainbow Dash had my tail between her teeth and carried us back to the top. Once the cliff's soil was beneath us she spat out my tail, causing my to slam into the ground headfirst,
"Do you even wash that thing?" Rainbow asked in disgust. She was still trying to spit the taste of my tail out of her mouth.
"Not regularly. It's not every day I get picked up by the tail," I replied. A shudder ran through the pegasus's body. She started rubbing her tongue with her hooves frantically. Could this have been another game?
"You can't go running around blindly like that, changeling," Applejack scolded. "If it weren't for Rainbow here, you would have been a paste."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can we get going now?" I asked impatiently.
"Actually," Spike yawned. "I think it would be a good time to call it a night."
"What?" I looked at him incredulously.
"I'm with Spike on this one," Rainbow chimed in. "I'm beat."
"But we're almost there!"
"Yes, but I reckon it'd be better if we made our way down in the daylight," Applejack reasoned.
"But, but, but," I sputtered. "Ah, what the heck." I knew it would be futile to reason with these ponies. I let out a deep yawn. "I guess a quick nap will do."
We made another makeshift campsite a small ways from the edge of the cliff. I was free to sleep with them this time; not that they really had a say in the matter without a rope to hold me to a cactus. We fell fast asleep next to the warm fires Spike had made. Before my fell into sleep's sweet embrace, I could hear an ever so faint, ever so familiar voice echo through the night.
The settlement is in sight. We will be rejoining you in the morning.
It was the hive mind. It appeared that one of my captors weren't who they were pretending to be...