Rainbow Dash groaned, flapping her wings at full force. For what felt like the millionth time, she lunged at the barrier. Rainbow flapped her wings with all her might, feeling the goop stretch under her hooves. She bounced off the iridescent slime, slamming into the ground.
“Ugh, this is hopeless!” Rainbow groaned, nearly tugging at her mane. She couldn’t tell how long they’d been there; it felt like days. Canterlot was swarming with changelings now; she was sure of it.
Rainbow Dash turned to her purple friend. “Twilight, can’t you do something?”
Twilight paced around their makeshift prison, kicking up dirt with each step. Her ears flicked with annoyance.
“I’ve been trying, but I can’t muster enough energy to teleport us out,” Twilight explained, tapping her horn. Rainbow Dash blinked in disbelief.
“What do you mean you can’t get us out? Magic is all you do!” Rainbow argued. Twilight rolled her eyes.
“Well, sorry that I was up all night making missing posters. I was worried about Rarity!” She huffed.
“Can you at least blast us out?” Applejack chimed in. Twilight rubbed her chin.
“I mean, I can try.” Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, her tongue poking from between her lips. Her horn began to spark and crackle. The light quickly died out with a weak spark and sputter. She stumbled, falling onto her flank. “Give me a minute.” She rasped, caressing her temple.
“Great, Twilight can’t use her magic. We’re done for!” Rainbow groaned, plopping to the ground. Her gaze veered to her remaining friends. Applejack sat idly, her hat draped over her eyes. Not much an earth pony could do in this situation, was there? Fluttershy was huddled in the corner, whispering to a mound of dirt.
“Fluttershy, what are you doing?” Rainbow asked, approaching her yellow friend.
“I’m asking Mr. Worm to go and get help,” Fluttershy whispered. Rainbow Dash peeked over her shoulder; sure enough, there was a worm. It seemed to stare at Fluttershy, listening intently to her every word.
The worm quickly burrowed into the dirt, now out of sight. Fluttershy sighed in relief, sitting on the ground.
“We’ll be out of here soon!” Fluttershy said with a gleeful flap of the wings. Rainbow Dash stared, dumbfounded.
“What do you expect a worm to do? Get the Royal Guard?”
“Mhm! He promised.” Fluttershy beamed. Rainbow Dash blinked, rubbing the bridge of her muzzle.
“Fluttershy, no one but you can understand animals but you. You’d be lucky if it even makes it out of the forest.” Rainbow informed. Fluttershy’s lip quivered.
“Does that mean we’re trapped?” She said with a dejected whimper. Rainbow Dash groaned.
“We’d be lucky if we could get out mid-invasion.” She huffed. Fluttershy slunk to the ground, burying her face in her mane. Twilight stood up with a grumble.
“This is ridiculous. I should be able to blast through the barrier with no problem!” Twilight exclaimed. “I can’t believe this. Rarity’s…Rarity’s just so…” She began to pace again, a vein forming at her head. Applejack shook her head, crossing her arms against her chest.
“It’s a real shame too. I’ve known Rarity since we were fillies.” Applejack commented. Rainbow Dash shot Applejack a suspecting look. She began to circle overhead like a hawk stalking its prey.
“If you’ve known her for so long, how can we be sure you’re not a changeling? They flock together, don’t they?” She suspected. Applejack pushed her hat upwards, shooting a glare at Rainbow Dash.
“Now, where do you get off accusing me?” Applejack stomped her hoof. She eyed Rainbow Dash, inching away. “And how do I know you’re not a changeling? Rainbow hair is awfully unusual for a pony.” She accused. Both mares stared at each other, looks of suspicion on their faces.
“If I were a changeling, why would I be in here with you?” Rainbow retorted, gesturing to their enclosure. Applejack opened her mouth to answer, only to get cut off by a loud ‘shhhh!’
“Quiet! I’m trying to concentrate!” Pinkie interrupted their bickering. She was stuffing her hooves in the dirt, shoving piles behind her. Rainbow hovered closer to Pinkie, inspecting what the pink mare was doing. There was a dent in the dirt large enough to fit a grown mare.
“What are you doing?” Rainbow tilted her head with a squint. Pinkie spared a glance at her rainbow-haired friend before continuing her task.
“I’m going to go get Rarity so we can be friends again and get rid of that mean old Queen Chrysalis,” Pinkie stated simply, continuing her digging.
“Why in Equestria would you want her back!?” Twilight asked in disbelief.
“Because she’s our friend! She’s always been our friend!” She defended.
“Rarity left us.” Applejack reminded. “It’s her own fault that we don’t trust her.” Rainbow Dash nodded.
“Yeah, she ratted us out!”
Pinkie shook her head.
“Rarity would never do that! Something has to be wrong.” Pinkie was firm with her answer.
“Pinkie Pie, she was spying on us for…for Celestia knows how long!” Twilight argued. Pinkie scoffed.
“If she was always a spy, she would’ve never made us our gala dresses!” She retorted. Twilight began to sputter over her words.
“That’s just one time. She was just warming us up.” Twilight insisted.
“Yeah, but that's not all she did.” Pinkie turned to the other earth pony. “Applejack, remember how she helped you during applebuck season?” She reminded.
“And Fluttershy, you two go on spa trips all the time.”
Fluttershy nodded.“Once a week.” She added.
“Exactly! A spy changeling wouldn’t take the time to do all that.” Pinkie said with a snort. She turned to Rainbow Dash.
“Or how she got wings to support Rainbow Dash during the Best Young Fliers competition.”
“She only did that to upstage me.” Rainbow Dash scoffed, rolling her eyes.
“My point is that Rarity has always been there for us!” Pinkie finished. “Besides, if she was really bad, my Pinkie Sense would’ve told me.” She reminded, pointing to her tail. Rainbow Dash puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms.
“Well…well, she still trapped us in here!” She argued.
“Well, duh. Chrysalis is just using Rarity to break us apart. I thought it was pretty obvious.” Pinkie said with an eye roll. “If Chrysalis didn’t want us to talk, she could’ve just put us in those pod-thingies.” She said, miming out the shape of a changeling pod. “Now, if you excuse me, I’m getting us out of here.”
Pinkie dove back to her hole, continuing her work. Her digging was rather pathetic, barely getting a hooffull of dirt with each scoop. Applejack shrugged, standing up.
“Alright, I’m sold.”
“What?!” Rainbow shrieked, jaw agape.
“I’ve never seen Pinkie Pie so sure of something,” Applejack smirked at Pinkie. “I’m not sure how her thoughts work, but if she’s so sure, I trust her.”
“Scooch over; you’re digging wrong.” Applejack pointed out, nudging Pinkie. She dug through the dirt. Fluttershy stood up, joining her friends.
“I want to believe in Rarity too. She’s helped me believe in myself.” Fluttershy smiled. Rainbow Dash stared in disbelief, her eye twitching. Had everypony lost their minds?
“Twilight, are you seeing this?” Rainbow asked, gesturing to her friends. Twilight only hummed, rubbing her chin.
“I suppose Pinkie could be right.” Twilight pondered. Rainbow looked at her purple friend with wide eyes.
“Are you kidding me?” Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief.
“Rarity is the Element of Generosity; she didn’t get that title for no reason.” Twilight reminded. “It wouldn’t hurt to give her another chance.” She joined her friends with a pep in her step.
Rainbow Dash stared at her friends. There was no way they were doing all of this for a changeling. Despite all of what happened, she could feel a slight tug at her heart. She was the element of loyalty, after all. She had to stick with her friends.
“What if you’re wrong? What if Rarity is the worst of the worst? Just a rotten changeling.” Rainbow asked. Pinkie paused, her ears flattening.
“If I’m wrong…” Pinkie trailed off, trying to find her words. “If I’m wrong, I’ll do whatever you want to Rarity. Banishment, imprisonment, anything.” She rose her hoof. “And that’s a Pinkie Promise.” She swore, doing the motions.
Rainbow Dash wanted to stay mad; she really did. But this was Rarity. As much as that mare got on her nerves, she couldn’t deny that she loved her. And Pinkie’s dedication was beginning to win her over. She groaned, throwing her head back.
“Fine, move over,” Rainbow instructed, shoving her hooves into the dirt. Pinkie squealed excitedly, bouncing in place.
Together, the mares dug. While it felt like hours, it was probably only a few minutes.
“Ow!” Fluttershy yelped, jerking her hoof back. She pouted, staring at her now cut hoof. “I scraped myself on a rock.” She whimpered.
“Don’t worry, I got this!” Pinkie proclaimed. She rummaged through her mane before pulling out a comically large drill. It hit the ground hard enough for it to shake. Her friends stared in disbelief.
“Have you had that this whole time?!” Rainbow questioned.
“Mhm!” Pinkie nodded.
“Why didn’t you bring it out sooner?” Fluttershy asked.
“Because you were all mad at Rarity. I want us to get out, and you all went crazy on her.” Pinkie said with a playful laugh. She pressed a button on the drill, the machine now whirring under her hooves. She shook from the sheer force.
“Now, let's get digging!”