Fluttershy
Fluttershy's host of woodland creatures parted from the Everfree and together they marched towards the mountains. It seemed that the air itself had changed, the wind bringing with it silence and a hollowness where once flew an impenetrable darkness. Her fear of capture, of torment, of awful things sat deep in her belly, crushed beneath the desire to free her friend from the very same fate. Always, her friends were her strength, and with the forest's might behind her and her friend laying in wait, there was nothing in the face of Equestria that could stop her from completing her task.
“I want you all to stay together,” she said, a motherly tenderness in her voice completely unbefitting its words. “Run away if you get hurt or scared, the vale is always safe. Don't hurt anypony or creature you don't have to. But if they try to stop us...” she drew a breath and paused at the edge of the changeling's forest. “Make sure they don't.”
The timber wolves threaded out into the trees, save for Birch, who walked beside her on the road, her nose to the air and ears rigid with focus. Though the rest of the wolves and many of the other animals chose the foliage over the open run, she could sense them in a broad circle around them. The lumbering bear and the manticore tread with steps so heavy that they made the earth shiver and so deliberate that they broke not even a single root or fern. The leaves shook a little at the movement of hawks and owls. A lone wolverine paced across the path before them now and again, vanishing just as quickly as it emerged. Only the most fierce and terrifying of beasts still slept in the Everfree, undisturbed. Fluttershy knew that even a flash of their wrath could immolate the mountainside and cause irreparable damage to the wild, and possibly her friends.
Besides, I would rather come here alone than go into a dragon cave...
Angel gave her mane a tug, seeming to sense her trepidation. She shook herself a little and assured him with a touch of her wing. “Don't worry, I'm not afraid,” she whispered. “I mean, not too afraid.”
The rabbit sighed against her and watched the forest move between her ears. She knew his frustration was just his way of channeling his fear. They were all a little afraid, but it was not enough to stop them.
But the forest was different this time. A stillness rolled through the branches and in the echoless sprawl of greenery. The wildlife was cautious but seemed bewildered and absent. It's less haunted and more... abandoned, thought Fluttershy. Maybe the changelings left? Oh, but if they did, what happened to Dash...?
Her heart began to race again as her thoughts took her to her worst fears. A sudden crack in the trees broke her focus, and she heard a flutter of wings and the cry of a falcon pierce the forest. The sound of something heavy crashing into the branches below followed soon after. Fluttershy stopped and turned to the fight that she could not see.
Moments later, the falcon and a great horned owl swept across the path, meeting her gaze for only a moment before they swept back across the way.
“I guess we're not alone after all,” murmured Fluttershy.
The pegasus hurried onwards, her progress counted by each sudden burst of violence in the forest and subsequent silence. She didn't want to think about what the beasts were doing to the changelings. Even if they are bad and mean and did horrible things to my friends...
“What are you doing here?”
A familiar voice drew her attention. She looked up to a small clearing where Spitfire stood, her head cocked. A handful of Wonderbolts paced the area and stopped when she stood on its perimeter.
“I said I was going to rescue Rainbow Dash,” said Fluttershy, lilting her wings up to try to show confidence. “And so I am. What are you doing here? I thought you said you weren't going to help her?”
Spitfire tossed her mane. “Well, things have changed. You'd have known that if you belonged with us. But you don't. So maybe you should just go back home with your pets and let the real pegasi handle this.”
“Oh.” Fluttershy's ears drooped and she hesitated. It'd be better if Spitfire performed the rescue, after all. They're better at fighting than I ever will be.
Even then though Fluttershy felt something amiss, and would not be deterred. She stood defiant as Birch Bite sniffed the air and stalked towards Spitfire. The mare took a nervous step backwards and the timber wolf moved closer. A brambly growl grew from the beast as Spitfire bumped back against a couple of her followers.
“Get this thing away from me,” she demanded.
Fluttershy stepped a little closer as she began to understand. “It's alright,” she said. “The old girl knows not to bite ponies.”
Spitfire looked up in panic. Birch dug her wooden fangs into the mare's flank. She screamed and the creature shed its disguise, the image of Spitfire dissolving into a changeling.
Every creature moved at once. Two changelings, still disguised, leapt at Fluttershy. The manticore crashed from the trees behind her and knocked them aside with one powerful swipe of its tail. Changelings poured from the trees and timber wolves raced after them, taking them to the ground. Fluttershy galloped towards Birch.
“Be careful, all of you!” she called, ducking and scrambling beneath another changeling. Angel smacked another away with a quick jab of his hind legs.
Their assault seem to catch the changelings off guard and their numbers rang only in the dozens. Many fell before they even saw the center of the skirmish and those that did found themselves quickly incapacitated by claw and fang, talon and tail. The once stoic wolverine hurled like a tempest between them, a flurry of strikes and muscle that would leave no enemy standing in its path.
Fluttershy worked her way towards the mountains and the beasts of the forest pushed with her. The changelings that had managed to evade their attackers took high to the air and zipped through the branches in a panic.
“You have made a grave mistake,” said one changeling, hovering before her and nursing a wounded leg. “When you meet the swarm, you will not be so lucky.”
For all of its bravado, the changeling seemed even more terrified than she was as it raced away from harm. It cried out in its own insect voice and struck its wings, and whatever changeling could find the freedom to reach the air took it. She could hear the forest empty of their presence as they retreated.
“Come on, we still have to find Rainbow Dash,” she said. Birch rejoined her and they navigated their way towards the mountains. The closer they got, the more the forest and the rock lay twisted by the changelings. They'd bent branches and burrowed trenches, shaping the foot of the mountain into a crude hive.
More than once Fluttershy had to use her wings to avoid falling into a sudden gap in the moss and stone beneath her. A dull green glow resonated from some of the slime as they grew closer to the caves.
Birch knew Rainbow's scent well enough and it seemed to be all over the place. They met the foot of the mountain and saw the scores of tunnels dotted along it. The holes were not too deep, though, and most were formed in already naturally occurring gaps.
The timber wolf led her into one and she flinched at the foulness of it. After a dip and turn she found herself with the light of day completely at her back. In front of her, strung between the crags of rocks, Rainbow Dash hung suspended, her hooves spread to each corner. Her eyes pried open, blackened with abuse and fatigue, pupils dimmed with the despair.
Fluttershy flung herself forward and wrapped her hooves around her friend, and her wings, encasing her in warmth. For all that she had gone through, all of the blue pegasus' doubt washed away in that gesture.
“Fluttershy?” muttered Rainbow Dash, looking at the trembling yellow pegasus with her muzzle buried against her shoulder. “It's really you...”
“Of course it is.” Fluttershy sniffed. “I'm sorry it took me so long to find you.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and laughed weakly. “Darn it, Fluttershy, don't cry. Because if you cry then I'll cry and...”
Her friend's warnings did little to stay the tears from her, flooded by her own emotions. Joy to see her alive and well. Guilt that she had let her suffer for so long. And to be together again, they couldn't help but cry and laugh and smile at each other long enough for Rainbow to remember her restraints. Birch and a couple timber wolves made quick work of them, gnashing through even the petrified goop with ease. In a matter of seconds, Rainbow Dash fell onto Fluttershy's waiting back. The pegasus didn't stay there long, though, eager to find her hooves on the ground and stretch her wings.
“We've got to get out of here,” said Fluttershy. “I think they're going to come back.”
Rainbow Dash shook her mane vigorously. “We have to get the others out, first. It won't take long.”
“Are you okay?” asked Fluttershy, trying to groom and coddle her friend. “Can you fly?”
“I'm alright,” said Rainbow Dash, flapping herself off the ground once just to show she could. “They thought they were starving me out, but I made do. Once I tried to eat my way out and I found out that gross stuff is actually kind of sweet...”
Fluttershy squicked and shivered. Rainbow Dash laughed, but kindly did not elaborate. With the aid of her animal friends, it did not take them long to liberate the remaining pegasi from the hive. Each was held in their own cell, some merely glued in place, others completely encased in a chrysalis, but none of these could stand under the jaw strength of mystic beasts. There were about twenty in number, mostly grown stallions and mares, with only a couple younger ponies among them.
Once they were certain that there were no more ponies held captive, they made haste from the forest. Finding the clearing empty and the skies vacant of any changelings, they took a moment to rest and soak in the sunlight, gorging themselves on grass and water from a nearby brook.
“I already feel brand new,” said Rainbow Dash, splashing her face with water. “It was pretty bleak, but I knew it would be okay.” She smiled up at Fluttershy. “You were very brave, you know. And not nearly as dumb as I was.” The pegasus paused and looked back at the water. “Try not to rub it in too much.”
Fluttershy laughed and shook her head. “I won't,” she said. She would probably be too shy to retell the tale, though the experience would probably give her nightmares for the rest of her life. Still, it was worth it. The freed pegasi were happy as could be, if a little nervous around all of the dangerous creatures.
“You could come back with me to the Everfree where it's safer,” said Fluttershy.
“I know,” said Rainbow Dash. “But I have to take these ponies back home. We should be able to make the flight with a good formation. They're tired, but most of them have flown with the Wonderbolts.” She stood back and turned her gaze eastward, towards the mountain over Canterlot. “Most of the changelings were gone when you got here, huh?”
“Yeah,” said Fluttershy. “It's really strange...”
“Then I can't waste any time here,” said Rainbow Dash, pointing her wings at the sky. “Their leader said they were going to attack Canterlot. They're going to need our help.”
Fluttershy squeaked. “Oh, no! We have to...”
Rainbow Dash put a hoof on her shoulder. “You took care of me,” she said. “Now I can take care of everypony else. You did a brave thing, Fluttershy, but I'm not going to ask you to go to war. Not you of all ponies. It's not right.”
“But...” said Fluttershy, protesting even though the very words made her shake.
“You've done enough,” said Rainbow Dash. “More than enough. And if nothing else, if something goes wrong, I need you in the forest as a second line of defense. I need you to back me up, even if it means letting me fly ahead. Can you do that for me?”
“I...” Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, if you want me to. I just don't want to leave you alone again.”
“I won't be alone,” said Rainbow Dash, looking around. “And apparently neither will you. When all this is over, I won't ever go away again. But for now... I think I'm starting to understand what needs to be done.”
Fluttershy hugged her again and Rainbow Dash hugged back, in spite of all their audience. “You better come back safely,” she said.
“You too,” said Rainbow Dash. “Pinkie Pie swear.”
They performed the series of gestures and then parted before their reluctance could conquer them. The pegasi formed a broad formation and turned against the mountain winds. Though their imprisonment had weakened them, they had the strength of hope and the lash of duty behind them. The weakest were held up by the strongest and together they cut their way to Cloudsdale, disappearing over the mountain beyond.
Fluttershy nudged Angel onto her back with a wing and started towards the Everfree Forest. “They might need us again,” she explained, “and if that happens again, we're going to be ready.”
Rainbow Dash
Cloudsdale received the missing pegasi with some reluctance, leading them under full guard to the headquarters at the apex of the mountain. Spitfire scanned the whole group before stepping forward and cuffing Rainbow Dash hard enough to knock her to the cloud floor.
“Ow, what the hay!?” The pegasus pried herself up. “I'm not a changeling, okay?”
“I just had to make sure,” she said. Then Spitfire hit her again, scowling. “That's for being stupid and getting yourself captured. I almost lost my best fliers because of their flights of bravado.”
Rainbow Dash rose to her feet again and hung her head. “I know,” she said. The bruise on her cheek stung, but not as badly as her mistakes. Still, there was a strange affection in the way Spitfire had struck her, the way she lectured her. The changelings would have never understood the fierce way that pegasi looked after one another and held each other accountable. The second punch was as much a forgiveness as it was a punishment.
“I don't want you to hit me again,” said Rainbow Dash, rubbing her cheek. “But where exactly was the rescue team? I had to wait around until Fluttershy of all ponies came in for the save.”
Spitfire tucked her hooves together and sighed. “Fluttershy was supposed to be the diversion,” she said. “But the situation shifted. Acting openly would have meant the plan failing before it started.”
“You were going to use Fluttershy?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“We had eyes on her the whole time,” explained Spitfire. “There was no chance of her getting hurt or captured. And I think she did a fine job.”
How could you...? thought Rainbow Dash. She looked around her at all of the freed pegasi. The results of Spitfire's actions were undeniable. Fluttershy was safe and the pegasi were free. The changelings no longer held the mountainside, at least for the time being. I could never make the decisions you have to make, she thought.
“I have a report to make,” said Rainbow Dash. Spitfire lifted a hoof and cut her off.
“Before we get into that,” she said, “I'm seeing a few familiar faces. I think it's time to put this whole changeling thing in the bag.”
The scouring of Cloudsdale was swift. The twenty or so pegasi that had been replaced were outed instantly and detained. The ranks of the Wonderbolts were put back in order and they searched every house and pony until they had every last one of the shapechangers in custody. With all this done, Spitfire led Rainbow Dash alone to the edge of the mountain that overlooked the valley.
“How much did they tell you?” asked Spitfire, her eyes unmoving from Canterlot.
Rainbow Dash tucked her wings against her sides. The time she'd spent with the changelings blurred as a whole, but she remembered the details that stuck out to her. “Their force is immense. Tens of thousands strong, but they're mostly brainless brutes. They have a few hives like this sprawled around Canterlot, but I couldn't find out where their main holdout was. They... they sent a changeling after Twilight.”
“One changeling going after Discord and a gifted unicorn?” Spitfire scoffed. “That's hardly worth worrying about.”
“She took my form.”
“Your friend will be fine,” Spitfire insisted, looking over. “Just as you are. What else? What do they have to say of Cloudsdale?”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “They have their eyes on the Canterlot throne,” she said. “And they think that Cloudsdale has gone into isolation. That we've abandoned Equestria.”
She turned and looked at Spitfire. She couldn't bring herself to ask the obvious. When the captain looked back, there was a strange mischief in her eyes. A break in the stoicism that she'd seen from Spitfire ever since Nightmare Moon had taken the throne. Rainbow Dash was beginning to understand.
“Then the time has come show these ponies that we have not abandoned them,” she said. “Cloudsdale is secure and the changelings are set on taking the throne in one fell swoop.”
Rainbow Dash's wings sprung out and she shivered in excitement. “Then we're going to help them?”
Spitfire smiled and gave Rainbow a playful smack on the back with her tail. “They won't know what hit them. Come on. We've got a lot of work to do.”
A strange giddiness took Dash as she flew after Spitfire. The idea of war was a terrible thing. Yet something in her blood ignited with a sense of duty. For every minute she spent locked in that cave, every pony that they had laid their filthy hooves on, for every threat made against her home... she would return it tenfold. The ponies of Cloudsdale would mobilize, and the changeling queen would regret ever setting herself in Equestria.
Fluttershy
If by chance or fate, Fluttershy found herself passing by the Everfree waterways. She paused at the rolling river and stared into it. One of the trials her friends had overcome in their search for the Elements of Harmony had taken place there.
“I wonder if that lovely serpent is still around?” she asked. Angel sighed and Birch yawned.
Then the waters foamed and churned and roared as the purple serpent rose from the waters and looked at Fluttershy.
“Oh, thank goodness somepony is here!” he cried, almost covering his eyes as he threw himself back. “It's just awful!”
“What is it?” asked Fluttershy, once she'd finished having a small panic and settled back onto her hooves.
“You just have to help her.” The serpent lifted its scales and revealed what he had been protecting in his coils. He pushed a winged pink pony to the shore. Fluttershy rushed to her side and stared in bewilderment.
Is she... a princess? Fluttershy carefully put a hoof on the mare. She was barely breathing, somehow, her body empty of all but a little warmth. With each breath she still coughed up bits of water. Her fur was stained crimson and two punctures marred her back, beneath her wings.
“I tried to take care of her,” said the serpent. “Poor thing wasn't even breathing! But there's only so much I can do, you know? I don't even know what's wrong with her.”
“Thank you,” said Fluttershy. She wished she could stay and dole more kindness upon the creature, but the stranger's life was hanging in the balance. Birch helped her drape the pink mare over her back and secure her before she flew over the river. She could barely fly with the weight of another pony upon her, but she had no other choice. Even though her muscles burned and strained she raced through the forest, letting her body remember the way.
I have to save her, whoever she is... we need help. We need Zecora.