//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: The Reception's Back On // by sister_mike //------------------------------// Chapter 14 Fluttershy "What do you think the chances are that this is the same mountain where Canterlot is?" Fluttershy asked. She, Big Mac, and the Shadowbolt had been walking in a silence for the past ten minutes. It was starting to make her feel uncomfortable, especially since she couldn't see where she was going. Big Mac lead the group. He had brought a lantern along, one that had originally belonged to Granny Smith. Since it didn't create a lot of light though, he had suggested that they tie a rope to each other and walk in a chain, just in case anyone got lost. Fluttershy was in the middle, and the Shadowbolt was behind her. She, and she was sure Big Mac as well, assumed that the Shadowbolt could see fine in the dark. "Mmm... slim. It'd be awful convenient, but life just don't work out that way. Plus Twilight would have said something while we were on the train tracks, and I don't think this is an actual mountain; I think we're just in the side of a cliff," Big Mac said. "Oh." Fluttershy felt silly for asking. She knew it would be a long shot, but she wanted to make conversation and fill the silence. The dark cave was scary enough as it was—she didn't need the added fear of being alone. So far, they had had no problems since entering the cave. They'd been walking for a long time, in the dark, without any disturbances. She hoped there were no changelings in the cave. Her wing still ached, even though Big Mac had expertly bound it. "I hope we're not further away from Canterlot than we were with the group," Fluttershy said, trying to fill the silence again. "I think the current was heading towards Canterlot; hopefully we're heading in the right direction," Big Mac said. "The thing to remember is that we're safe and relatively unharmed." "That's true; you have such a positive outlook Big McIntosh," Fluttershy said. Big Mac was silent for a minute. In the dim light in front of him, she could see his expression harden for a minute. "You have to try and be positive in certain situations," he said quietly. Fluttershy fell silent. He was probably thinking of Granny Smith and all that had happened. Big Mac had gone through a lot. Not only had he been fighting off changelings for the past few months that this whole terrible thing had been going on, but he had no idea where either of his younger sisters were. And to think that one of them had been so close to him the whole time... And then there was Granny Smith's death... And here he was, separated from his sisters again, because he went to help Fluttershy. Fluttershy hung her head. She suddenly felt terrible. "I'm sorry that we got separated from Applejack at the others," she said quietly. Big Mac stopped and looked back at her. He looked surprised. "It's not your fault Fluttershy. It's not like you flew under the boulder on purpose, or caused the tracks to break. I went to help you because... well, because I wanted to," he said, faltering in his speech for a moment, "but it's not your fault we're separated from the others. It's just bad luck. For all we know, they're all separated again anyways." "I hope they're not separated," Fluttershy said. Big Mac started walking again. "It seems like something the changelings would try to do—separate the Elements—so I wouldn't be surprised if they were," he said. "I just hope everyone's alright." "Me too," Fluttershy said. The Shadowbolt suddenly stomped its hooves. Fluttershy jumped slightly—she kept forgetting he was back there, he was so quiet. Both she and Big Mac stopped walking again. "What is it Shadowbolt?" Fluttershy said. He stepped up beside her and began motioning towards something in front of him. "Is there—" "Shh," Big Mac said quickly, cutting her off. They stood in silence. Fluttershy tried to listen. She thought she heard whispers up ahead. Was that the flicker of light up ahead as well? "Do you think it's changelings?" Fluttershy whispered after a few minutes. Her heart was starting to pound fast and she couldn't help but break the silence again. What if there was a swarm of changelings up ahead and they were trapped in this cave with them? The Shadowbolt shook his head to Fluttershy's question. Big Mac nodded in agreement with him. "Changelings don't need light, do they?" he asked. The Shadowbolt confirmed his statement with a nod. "There must be somepony else in here." Big Mac started walking again, causing Fluttershy to follow because of their rope chain. Her legs shook as they approached the light. The voices became louder, but then they started to quiet down as they got closer. "Who's there?" a loud voice boomed. Fluttershy squeaked and closed her eyes. Big Mac cleared his throat. "My name is Big McIntosh; I'm from Ponyville. This here is Fluttershy and Shadowbolt," Big Mac said. "...You're not one of those witchings are you?" the voice asked. "Nope." Fluttershy opened her eyes when she felt Big Mac move forward again. They walked around a boulder and Fluttershy saw a small fire and two figures. She couldn't believe her eyes. It was two buffalo. They sat down once they saw the ponies were in fact real ponies and not changelings. "My name is Windstrong, and this is my brother BrightStar. We come from the area you ponies call, Appleloosa," Windstrong said. "Yes, Appleloosa; my cousin Braeburn lives there," Big Mac said. "Are we close to there?" Windstrong shook his head. "We left the area looking for help; those black witchings have entrapped many of our kind and are stealing their energy." "Yes, the same thing has happened all over Equestria," Fluttershy said quietly. Windstrong nodded. "We know this now. At first we thought it was just our land where the attack was happening. We tried to save many of our tribe, but failed. When we went to the ponies of Appleloosa for help, we saw that they too were under attack. We too tried to help them, but the witchings magic was too strong. With our chief imprisoned, my brother and I decided that we would try to go to your leaders for help; but once we made it to Canterlot, we saw that the witchings had taken over everywhere," Windstrong said. "They're called changelings; they take the form of a loved one and use your love for them to take your energy. But by once they had fully infiltrated Canterlot, they dropped their disguises and are just plain attacking. Since they have so much energy now, they do not need to hide," Big Mac said. "Yes. We did not know of their disguise tactics until one of the other buffalo attacked us. We call them witchings in our culture," BrightStar said. "So they're harvesting from buffalo too. There seems to only be certain kinds of creatures that they can take from. Rarity said that the Diamond Dogs were just being killed off, and Spike said in his letter that they can't take dragon energy," Fluttershy said. "Are we near Canterlot then?" Big Mac said. "Yes," Windstrong said. "We're trying to get there to defeat their queen and save Equestria," Big Mac said. "Fluttershy is one of the holders of the Elements of Harmony. We're hoping their power can defeat the queen." Windstrong and BrightStar looked at Fluttershy. "Yes, we have heard of the Elements and their power," BrightStar said, "We are honored to be in your presence, Element Holder." The two bowed their heads at Fluttershy. "This one... looks a bit like a changeling," Windstrong said suspiciously. He nodded towards the Shadowbolt. "Oh no, he's on our team," Fluttershy said. "He's a servant of Princess Luna." "The princess of the night," BrightStar said. "Yes. She sent him and two others with Twilight Sparkle to accompany her to Ponyville, but the other two got killed along the way. He can actually see through the changelings' disguises, and will always see them for what they truly are," Fluttershy explained. The two still eyed the Shadowbolt carefully. "Alright; we trust you Element holder," Windstrong said. "How close are we to Canterlot?" Big Mac asked. Neither of them answered. Windstrong turned to BrightStar and the two murmured quietly together. Big Mac and Fluttershy exchanged a glance. Fluttershy hoped that they were close to Canterlot; she just wanted this whole ordeal to be over. After a few moments, the two buffalo stopped talking and turned back to the ponies. "We will take you to Canterlot," Windstrong said, standing. "Oh, thank you," Fluttershy said, "We're supposed to be meeting our friends in Canterlot. We got separated along the way." "And once we get to Canterlot, we would like to join your group and help in the fight," Windstrong continued, "These monsters need to be stopped." "Any and all help is appreciated," Fluttershy said. "Come; we will show you the way to Canterlot."