The mass of ponies stormed up the small staircase leading from the underground storage of Sugarcube Corner. Trixie was being held down by several mares in the basement, while Twilight lead the assaulting group. The second door, leading into the kitchen of the bakery, was locked as well. This door, however, was much smaller than the previous door and the frame seemed to be quite weak. Using brute force, the mass began pounding on the door. One pound after another, the hinges finally gave in to the pressure and broke. After the door had been broken, Twilight felt a little sad about breaking the door, and thought about paying for damages, but her mind quickly returned to the situation at hoof. She had one goal by this point; find the minister and get her answers. The group quickly entered the streets and headed towards town hall. Apparently a couple of the mares had heard of the minister moving in and taking the mayor's position, so that was where the group was heading.
The streets were bare. Completely bare, as a matter of fact. Usually at dusk there were still a few ponies wandering around, looking for a last minute meal or heading to a party. But it was empty, dark, and quiet. Unnaturally quiet. It was as if the group marching towards town hall was the only remaining animals left on the planet. Tension filled the air, and there was not a single voice heard during the entire march. Each hoofstep echoed through the empty town, loud enough to be heard from one end of the town to another. The eerie feel of the quiet town was quite unnerving for Twilight, but she continued to press forward, leading the furious group behind her. Upon reaching the town hall, muttering began to spread throughout the group. Most of them consisted of asking what would happen if they just got captured again, and a few of the ponies began to slowly walk away. By the time Twilight had finally mustered up the courage to place her hoof on the door, there were only six ponies left behind her. Letting out a long sigh, she pressed onto the door which slowly creaked open, revealing the entrance hallway.
>---<
"Scootaloo?!" What are you doing here?!" Jack growled.
In response, Jack got a confused look. The filly looked although she was going to break out laughing, but the unfamiliar changeling in front of her prevented her from laughing. Rolling his eyes, Jack motioned for her to follow him, and without any second thoughts the filly quickly rose back up and began running alongside the pink changeling. While they ran, they encountered very little resistance, only a couple smaller changelings which didn't seem willing to stop the two. They continued running, weaving their path through the long tunnel until they finally came across a split path. Scootaloo, still barely able to see in the darkness, was following the only thing she could really see; a bright pink blur. When Jack abruptly stopped, Scootaloo crashed into him, sending the two into the middle of an intersection of tunnels. Before the two stood several tunnels of various heights and sizes, only one of which would lead their escape.
"Ummm... We may have a problem..." Jack stated, scanning each tunnel in hopes of finding some sort of exit.
"What? I can't see a thing!" Scootaloo exclaimed, her voice echoing through each of the tunnels
"How did you even get in here? How did you fi... Almost find me?" Jack asked.
"Well, I was wandering through the Everfree forest..."
"No, I mean, in these tunnels. There's so many of them, and you said you can't see a thing!"
"I followed the wall on the right, I guess. It's weird how it gets brighter in there, though, I can make out shapes."
Jack paused for a moment and thought about the situation. He could easily follow the wall to the left to get out of the maze, but he still had unanswered questions. If Scootaloo could see better deeper in the cave, there had to be something creating a light, despite the lighting being extremely dim. As for himself, he had already figured out his nocturnal capabilities. If he had the opportunity, he would explore the tunnels, but as fate would have it he was a wanted changeling. Having a filly by his side seemed to sway his decision as well, he didn't want to endanger Scootaloo. Snapping back to reality, caused by Scootaloo tugging at his leg, he heard hooves coming in a large mass. Scooping up Scootaloo and throwing her on his back, he darted towards the first tunnel on the left. After entering the tunnel, Jack noticed there was a rough balcony hewn into the rock just above, as if serving as a guard post. Turning his head back towards the direction he was running, he quickly ducked under a small tunnel in hopes not to knock Scootaloo off.
The ducking and weaving continued. The tunnels were not all perfect cylinders, although they were extremely well carved. Occasionally there would be a rock, stalagmite or stalactite that needed to be avoided, but the path itself was relatively clear. Turning around another corner, Jack was blinded by a ray of light just beyond the next corner. Excited with his freedom, he slowed down as he approached the daylight. Turning and looking towards the Everfree forest, however, he found himself staring down a large group of changelings.
"We were so close..." Jack mumbled.
"Yeah... But can't you just fly over them?" Scootaloo asked, tilting her head around Jack's neck and looking him right in the eyes.
'Oh yeah, changelings can fly... But... I'm terrible at it.' Jack thought.
"I... Can't really fly that well..." Jack whispered back.
"We have no choice! Just believe in yourself!"
"But..."
"No buts! The Cutie Mark Crusaders never give up! We may not have our cutie marks yet, but we believe that we will get them. We know that we will get them. Just believe in yourself, you know that eventually you'll be able to fly just fine! You have to do it!"
Scootaloo's words stirred something deep down within Jack. He felt his muscles pounding, his brain on high alert, and his wings were tingling. Prepared to take the worst, Jack charged at the changelings and jumped into the air.
>---<
The design of town hall seemed quite ominous. The standard receptionist desk had a couple small candles, as well as a small book, while the receptionist remained absent from her position. The only lighting in the room was emitted from the candles, the hallway to both the bathroom and the main room were pitched black. Unable to light her horn, Twilight stepped into the darkness and quickly looked behind her. The few mares that had entered the town hall with her began backing out one after another. The lavender mare, now without any support (including her own magic), began having second thoughts about the situation.
'Maybe they're right... Maybe this whole thing is a bad idea?'
'What if Celestia finds out that I've been harassing the minister?'
'Maybe I'll get a punishment WORSE than magic kindergarten! Oh... What do I do...'
She had no idea if Celestia would listen to her reasoning or the minister's. Whatever the result was, however, would definitely not be for the best. By this point, however, Twilight couldn't back out. She had already captured Trixie, broken her way out of the temporary prison, and rallied an entire group of ponies. Leaving as if nothing had happened was not an option. Twilight Sparkle, even without her magic, proceeded into the darkness.
Twilight had been in town hall a few times before, however she had not stayed for more than an hour. Most of the meetings were quite short, discussing anything to do with the library. Almost the day after she had arrived she had become the librarian, by no legal means. Apparently Ponyville hadn't had a librarian in several years, and the Tree-brary was maintained by anypony who had borrowed a book. Now, she was a criminal. She hadn't broken any Equestrian of Ponyville laws (although they were identical) when she was captured by the minister, but afterwards, after freeing herself and the others, she had broken multiple laws. What was odd was that Twilight didn't seem to mind. Of course she was the good student, always mailing letters to Celestia on time (with one exception), and she had never broken any laws before this point in time. But Twilight was doing what she believed in, she was certain what she was doing was 'right'.
'But to do what's right... 'Good'... Just outright defining what's wrong... Isn't it all in perspective?'
All kinds of different thoughts began to flood Twilight's mind. Thoughts about life, questions about life, things she had noticed about life. Was everything she was doing really going to be worth it in the end? For all she knew, she could accidently destroy the life of a completely innocent old stallion.
'Wait, why am I thinking of all this?'
Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. The minister had done something, not just foalnapping half the town, but he had protected himself in some sort of magical field, one that would drive a pony to insanity. Or at least something similar to insanity, Twilight's thoughts were quite clouded. Barely able to continue her march, Twilight pushed forward into the darkness.
>---<
"That entire time, you planned to save me?" Jack said sarcastically. "Not only that, but you planned to do it all alone?"
Scootaloo shuffled uncomfortably on the rocks. Looking around, she was surrounded by nothing but the blue sky, with a small cove in the mountain behind her.
"Y...Yeah, I guess. It was something I know Rainbow Dash would do for her friends..." Scootaloo replied quietly.
"Well, it may have been a mistake. You got have gotten yourself captured, and who knows what those changelings would have done to you! Those ones are loyal to the Hive, and they'll do whatever it takes to survive. Especially since the Queen is missing."
"What?!" Scootaloo yelled, somewhat surprised. "You mean Chrysalis is missing? You don't think she could have hidden in Ponyville... Do you?"
"Well, it seems like the most likely option. She told me to 'deal with' the rogue changelings. Then she suddenly disappears, and all the changelings wanted me to be the heir. Normally, there are changelings designated for that role, but not a single changeling had made the cut."
Jack paused for a moment, and leaned back against the cliffside.
"Uh huh. Now, when can we get down from here?"
"You're not interested in changelings? How they work, how they feed?"
"Well, I know enough about changelings. They have transparent wings that buzz when they fly, a crooked horn with basic magical capabilities, they're black..." Scootaloo giggled slightly, "Or at least most of the time anyways..."
"Hey! That was poison joke! You want to get a dose yourself and see what happens?"
Scootaloo snickered. "No, but seriously, can we get down soon?"
"Why? A pegasus that's afraid of heights? Never heard of one of those before..."
"No! I'm not scared; it's just that if I fall... I can't save myself, you know. These wings haven't grown enough quite yet. But when they do grow, I'm going to be the greatest flier in Equestria!"
"You would be, if Rainbow Dash didn't have that title already."
"Oh yeah, right... I'll be the second best then!"
Jack laughed at that comment. At least the filly had plans for her future, unlike him. When he returned to Ponyville, there would be almost no way of hiding his changeling form forever. A few ponies already knew of his identity, and some were already suspicious after the court incident. What would he do, after this series of events would conclude? Would he try to fit in, act normal? Or would he live as a changeling among ponies? Or...
'Or would I just return home...'
Home. The one place Jack was actually beginning to miss. Of course he didn't like it all that much, but there were still things he wanted to do in his life. Now, he may never get the chance.
"I'm still waiting to get down, you know." Scootaloo said, breaking Jack's train of thought.
"Oh yeah..."
With Scootaloo hopping on his back, Jack charged the cliff, his wings buzzing furiously. After one small hop, he took off into the brilliant blue sky.
>---<
"Wh...Which one is the REAL Bon Bon?!" Lyra shrieked.
Before her, stood two of the exact same mare bickering at each other over who was the real one and who was the fake one.
"I turned my head for five SECONDS and Trixie turns into me? What kind of lame trick is this anyways?" Bon Bon said.
"You mean I turned my head for five seconds, then you turn into me and try to fool my mare into thinking that you're the real me?!" The other Bon Bon said.
"STOP IT! STOP IT THE BOTH OF YOU!" Lyra screamed, shaking the very foundations of the bakery. "I will be the one to decide who is the REAL Bon Bon."
The tension in the small room grew further. It was as if watching Bon Bon fight with a mirror, how similar the two fought each other. The arguments quieted down, however, giving Lyra a chance to speak.
"I have something that only the REAL Bon Bon would know. Remember a while back? When we were just fillies, and we had just met? Well, on that ni-"
"This is ridiculous." The Bon Bon on the left growled. "I refuse to play your stupid game. I must say, this was quite entertaining at first, but now, this is just idiotic. I don't see the purpose in ruining all the fun, my dear"
The Bon Bon who had just spoken stared menacingly towards Lyra for several seconds before erupting into a pillar of green flame. In her place stood a changeling far larger than any other. Standing among the concrete floor, trapping both Lyra and Bon Bon with a powerful green aura, was Queen Chrysalis.