//------------------------------// // Stage 6: Progression // Story: Hybrids // by Blarghalt //------------------------------// It took some time for Twilight and her friends to catch their breath, all too worn out from their recent rescue mission. They had moved off the rear platform that faced the forest and back into the main station, still wary of the eyes that watched them from the edge of the woods. Spike, in the meantime, had gone over every last horrifying detail of how they managed to capture him. He left out the part where he got outsmarted by a bug. "So I said to the changeling, 'Look here buddy, I don't care if there's a million of you! I'll—'" The dragon stopped when Twilight shot him an admonishing glare, and Peewee chirped in disagreement. Rarity still panted and jumped when Peewee flew up and pointed back towards the forest. Spike blinked. "Oh crud! We left the real conductor back in there!" Twilight gasped, "Where was he?" "He was stuck to a tree when I got jumped. He's probably still there." "Well, we can't just go back in there," Rarity said, "we'll be mobbed by changelings for sure!" Twilight was about to offer a solution when an earth pony walked up to them. "Excuse me ma'am, but did you say 'changeling'?" "Um, yes?" "I’m the engineer, ma’am. My job’s to know if there's a threat to this railroad. What's this about changelings?" "Peewee took off into the forest so I chased him there and they had the real conductor and the one's that's been hanging around here is a FAKE!" Spike blurted out in the timespan of two seconds. The conductor's eyes hardened. "Say what now?" "Sir, I don't want to scare you, but—" "Ma'am, if something's happened to Guard Rail you better spit it out." "I...think the changelings got him. They've been copying him." Twilight replied, keeping her voice low now that several ponies around them had heard the word of the feared creature and stared at them. The engineer looked off for a second before he responded. "How'd you find this out?" "They took him into the woods. The whole place is crawling with them." Spike whispered. The engineer nodded. "Don't worry. I'm an engineer; solving problems is literally the definition of my profession." "We're gonna bag us some changelings!" the engineer roared, lifting a torch in unison with the large crowd of ponies who brandished more torches and pitchforks, and also a shovel. "You're forming a posse!?" Twilight asked. "You gotta better idea?" the engineer shot back. "If those woods are full to the brim with changelings, then the only way to get them out is with fire. We'll smoke them out or my name isn't Smokestack!" "We can't just burn down the forest! Guard Rail's in there!" Smokestack shrugged. "Eh, he'll be fine. Now are you with us or not?" Rarity sighed. "I know that the opportunities to form an angry mob are few and far between, but we shouldn't get carried away here." "Like how they carried away the conductor!?" one of the ponies in the mob shouted in reply. "I'm just saying," Twilight explained, "that we should just run and rescue the conductor, and not destroy the ecosystem." Smokestack scratched his beard, considering her words. As he did, the pony carrying the shovel jumped above the crowd. "That's boring!" "Treasure Trove's right!" Smokestack agreed. He lifted his torch with renewed vigor. "We're gonna go in there and plug the bugs!" "Plug the bugs! Plug the bugs!" the crowd chanted, and began to move toward the forest; Twilight held out her hoof to make one last attempt to calm them. "Wait!" she called back, "Can you just think about this for one measly—" Twilight screamed when a fierce pain shot through her back and sent her down on her knees. It was sharp and sudden, but was over in just a moment. Some of the crowd had turned around when they heard Twilight's yelp, and she rose back up. That was one way of getting the crowd’s attention, she guessed. Something bothered her, though, since those stares were a little too dumbfounded; she ignored them and began a speech on a more calculated manner to deal with the changeling threat. She got about three words in when Spike interrupted her. "T-T-Twilight?" he stammered. "Yes, Spike?" He merely pointed to Twilight's back. She looked behind herself to see a fully-formed, vaguely purple changeling wing had sprouted from the section that had exploded with pain. She looked at the crowd; they looked back at her. "Now, there's a perfectly rational explanation for this." As if on cue, the linen on the backside of Rarity's eyepatch snapped to reveal her changed eye as the item floated to the floor. After what seemed like an eternity, the entire mob at once roared with anger and charged them. Spike pulled himself onto Twilight's back as she passed him with Peewee followed shortly behind as they ran from the crazed band of ponies looking squish them. The two dared not retreat back into the forest to avoid them, and escaped down the train tracks at full speed. After nearly an hour on the run, the crowd was still hot on their trail when Rarity noticed another batch of trees to their left that did not look like it was part of the forest the changelings lived in. "We can lose them in there!" she shouted, and ran toward the thicket with Twilight right behind her. The scrapes of pitchforks and crackling of torches followed right behind them. Twilight took the lead and created a complex path away from the mob; they put enough distance between themselves and the ponies to give them a temporary break. They could still hear the posse in the distance as Smokestack began giving orders. "Bonnie Team searches the right side of the woods; Sawyer Team's got the left!" "What if we don't find 'em?" "We burn this whole place down!" "But she said that burning down forests would be bad." "...No. There's no way you're that dumb, Treasure Trove. She's a changeling, remember?" As the two readied themselves to make a quick exit from the forest, the clap of thunder reverberated throughout the trees. "Huh?" Twilight sounded, looking enough. A large group of dark clouds had blown in over the forest as the insides of their fluffy bodies flashed with lightning. "They must have blown in from the Everfree." A second roll of thunder sounded, and the first droplets of rain began to fall upon Peewee's head. He shrilled in protest as they instantly evaporated. The clouds chose that moment to dump their entire contents and sent the quiet forest into a brutal thunderstorm. The mob's cheap torches were put out instantly and the ponies were plunged into the dark. As their sconces cooled, so did their tempers. "You know," Smokestack said to the crowd, "maybe we should just come back tomorrow." The crowd grumbled in agreement and they quickly dispersed. Twilight, Rarity, Spike and Peewee had chosen to hug a great redwood tree at the trunk in hopes that the limbs would provide them shelter, but they were still getting soaked as they waited for the mob to completely disband. The group could only hear the harsh wind and heavy rain when Twilight spoke. "I think they're gone." Rarity's attention was elsewhere, her vision fixed onto something in the distance. "Twilight, what's that?" Twilight squinted against the darkness. A lightning clash illuminated the forest for a brief time, and she saw what looked like a structure just a few hundred meters away. "It looks like a cabin." Spike said. Peewee would have affirmed his statement, if he wasn't busy covering himself up with his wings in an effort to keep himself dry. "It's stand out here or find shelter. Come on!" Twilight exclaimed, running toward their goal. The rain showed them no mercy and drenched their very bones as they came closer and closer to the building. It was suddenly upon them, and they burst through the door before they had a good opportunity to really get a good look at the place. Spike leaped off of Twilight and closed the door behind them, shutting out the storm with only the muffled plinks of rain on the roof and whistle of the wind outside audible. It was chillingly dark inside, on top of being frigid. Spike felt his way around the room before saying "Found It!" and the room became filled with green hues when Spike used his own breath to light a fire. The warm glow of the fireplace gave more insight to their new sanctuary for the moment. It was a small cabin; a small worn bed was placed in one corner of the room, with a bundle of blankets lumped in the middle. Various knick-knacks littered the place as well, but it still appeared to have been abandoned for quite some time. "Not my first choice, but it beats being caught by a bunch of crazed ponies." Rarity said, and snooped about the room to beautify it in any way she could. Twilight's attention had turned to her wing, and she stroked it gingerly. "There's no way I can hide this." She continued to nurse her new wing while Rarity looked about the room. She continued to look until her vision was obscured my something that had been thrown over her face. It was a sweater; a very old, grey, and ugly sweater. She pulled it from her face to see Rarity's smile. "You're already wearing a scarf, dear. This will just complete the ensemble." "Doesn't this color scarf clash though?" "Twilight. Even I know when function's better than form." She awkwardly put it on, taking care to make sure the sweater covered the entire wing. In return, Twilight crafted Rarity a makeshift eyepatch; she tore some sheets from the bed and tied them into a circle, and finally placed it over Rarity's eye. It wasn't perfect, but it would do the job until Twilight could reach another tree. "Thank you, Twilight." Another green flash filled the room and the fireplace became even warmer as the snap of the embers and coals became louder than the storm outside. Peewee had made himself comfortable inside the fireplace, on top of one of the red-hot coals. The sight of the little guy so tuckered out ushered an instinctive yawn from Twilight. "I think we should just wait out the storm for now." "Agreed. You can take the bed, Twilight; you need it a lot more than I." "Thanks." she said, and crawled onto the cold sheets. Sleep soon overtook her. Rarity opted to use one of the blankets as a pillow and curl up in front of the fire. Spike had already fallen asleep when she finally made herself comfortable; her eyelids grew heavy before they finally closed. As she slept, the tiniest of fractures spread along Rarity's skin, and across her entire body. Her snores were gradually replaced by cicada-like hisses as the night marched onward. Later that night, three knocks sounded on the door. Twilight lifted her head, almost ready to simply dismiss it as the wind. "Hello? Who's there?" Despite Applebloom doing everything within her power to impede their progress, Zecora managed to slog through the pony's ceaseless questions both about Canterlot and Gold Plum to gather the supplies needed for their journey. Still, they had until tomorrow to get ready, and spent the remainder of their time on the streets of the city to kill time. "Why does he want us to wait until tomorrow? Can't we go now?" "Applebloom, our friend made his request. We should respect it, as it was not in jest." "I know, but what could be doing that could take an entire day?" Gold Plum was a changeling. He'd been living with this fact for...well, he didn't know his exact age. Abandonment as soon as you were hatched made the early years a little fuzzy. The only pony that had ever seen past his disguise, with the exception of two annoying newcomers, was Princess Celestia herself, and he'd managed to keep it hidden from her for nearly two decades. He was on his way to see her. To just leave with Zecora and Applebloom would be dereliction of duty, not to mention it would also mean that a changeling would be on the loose in Equestria. If he was going to travel with them, he'd have to get permission from the highest authority possible. Audiences with the Princess were surprisingly easy to get for guards, actually. None of the royal staff dared bother the Princess unless it was something absolutely important, unlike many of the other ponies that came to complain about zoning or taxes. Audiences weren't even necessary for the guards, they just needed to find the princesses to deliver news to her. The giant double doors of the throne room stood before him, and he turned to the pegasus guard at watch. As he reached to open the massive door, the guard turned to him. "The Princess is not attending court." "It's news." "Unless the Crystal Empire has caught fire, neither Princess Celestia nor Princess Luna wish to hear it." "What?" "...My superior told me to say that if anyone asked." "Look, I'm your superior officer right now and I'm ordering you to tell me where the Princess is." A stoic face answered him. Gold Plum answered back when a more severe glare, and the guard began to sweat. "I don't know!" he answered as his voice cracked, "I just joined the guard!" "Hmph." Gold Plum replied, and walked off. The guard regained his ordered stance before whispering to the retreating Gold Plum. "Don't tell my boss I talked to you! I could get into trouble!" So Celestia wasn't at at court; that happened. The second most likely spot would be one of the great balconies of the castle since both princesses loved to drink tea and eat donuts smuggled from Donut Joe's. The first one he checked was completely empty. The tables had not been set, nor were there any maids or butlers cleaning them. The second proved to be the same. Third, fourth, and fifth were copies of the first, and as he checked the underside of the last table only to find gum underneath. Not at court, not on the balconies. Definitely not out of the city; if she had left, the entire guard would have known about it. Despite asking every guard he could find, none of them admitted seeing the royals recently. With every possibility covered, there remained only one other location that he hadn't bothered to check out of professional duty: Celestia's bedroom. Dare he? Even though Celestia had told him she'd have to deny she ever knew he was a changeling, she did also add that she would do everything in her power to give him a fresh start elsewhere if he were ever discovered. She certainly was a lot more loving than Chrysalis ever was. With no other choice, he reluctantly marched up the castle to Celestia's room. When he made it, he saw that it was being guarded by only one pony, a white unicorn mare in full golden armor. This was odd for two reasons. One, Celestia's room was always guarded by at least two ponies plus a guard that patrolled the hall. Two, the guard in question was Lieutenant Mirror Mirror, and Celestia's room was always guarded by Lancepesades. Two and a half, Mirror Mirror did not like Gold Plum. "What do you want, Lieutenant Gold Plum?" she asked rather rudely when he came close to the door. "I need to the see Celestia." "Lieutenant Gold Plum, you should know it's very disrespectful to address Her Majesty by anything but her full regal name, or at least by her title." "Noted. Now, I've looked high and low in the castle and she's not anywhere. This is the only place she could be." "Maybe Princess Celestia is investigating the areas you are supposed to be patrolling right now." "I had to arrest a couple of punks, and Celestia needs to know about 'em." "Then fill out a form. Her Majesty will read it in due time." "Don't give me that! I know something's going on here. Now are you going to let me through that door, or am I going to have to barge in?" A tense hush settled between them, before Mirror Mirror leaned in with her eyes narrowed. "You don't have the guts." He considered tackling her, but that would probably mean a court-martial. No, he simply walked over the door and bucked it open, eliciting a shocked "No!" from Mirror Mirror as he called her bluff and walked in. Celestia's room was a mess; her priceless bed was ripped open, paintings taken off walls and dismantled, and the fireplace fully cleaned out. Every corner of the room looked like had been at the epicenter of a tornado, and Gold Plum found himself the center of attention once he was in the room. Steel Sword, Cross, and Down Low. From the looks of it, the highest-ranking guards in the city had ripped Celestia's room inside-out and now looked as if they were ready to tear Gold Plum himself apart as Mirror Mirror slammed the door behind him. "Lieutenant Gold Plum!" the bat-winged guard of the night watch said, "What are you doing in here!?" "What are you doing, Down Low? You obliterated Celestia's room!" "Gold Plum," the burly white pegasus of the bunch said, "Just get out. Them's orders." "Why? What happened?" The lanky white unicorn wearing ill-fitting armor turned to the Acting Captain. "No point in hiding in now, Steel." The pegasus said nothing, and Cross turned to Gold Plum. "Look, we've got a reason." "And what's that?" "Well," he said and looked at the other two. Steel Sword rolled his eyes and Down Low shrugged. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are missing. They've been missing for days."