//------------------------------// // Ch 24. Storms Forcasted // Story: Shouldn't Be // by Lumadous //------------------------------//         “Contact right!” screamed the soldier to my right, falling backwards into the room to avoid the bullets streaking where he was just standing.         Grabbing him by the handle on the back of his armor, I hauled him back up onto his feet with a grunt. Peaking around the window I could see the dark shapes in the alley. Aiming down the scope of my rifle I could clearly see the weapons that they were carrying.         “Light them up!” I ordered to the surrounding soldiers, while also switching my rifle to semi and squeezing the trigger.         “Stop,stop,stop!” screeched a voice in my head, causing me to double over in pain, “We don’t want to eat this drivel, waiter, change the menu!”         The scene around me fuzzed around the edges as everything slowed to a stop, a few bullets hovered above me in a cluster. Reaching up I tapped one, only to watch it poof into dust. Confused, I stood up from behind the couch I was hiding behind and took a tentative step forward.         At the sound of my step, the floor rippled, and continued to ripple up everything in the room. Everything including my fellow soldiers, who stood like statues. When the ripple reached the edge of whatever object it was traveling on, whatever it was started disintegrating.         “No!” I yelled reaching towards the soldier I had just helped up as his face started to crumbled. As I grabbed him all I got was a handful of dust that slid out of my fingers into the quickly graying world.         “Give us something cheerful.” demanded the same voice, causing me even more anguish.         The mud hut I was in crumbled to dust, the other soldiers simply disappearing in plumes of ash. The ground underneath me rumbled and shook, knocking my feet out from under me. Covering my head with my arms as parts of the roof fell all around my head in clumps of debris.         When the last section fell, I slowly looked up to be greeted by an entirely different environment. I was lying on soft grass in the middle of an orchard. There was a thumping off in the distance. Standing up, I patted myself down, only to watch my gear fall off of me in clumps, and for a moment I thought I would end up stuck in the nude, but my clothing stayed intact where my armor had failed.         Surprised, I grabbed the pile I thought was my rifle only for it to slide through my hands just like that soldier had. Looking around I decided there was nothing else to do other than to go along with whatever was happening, I walked towards the thumping noise.         Making my way around a particularly thick tree I saw Applejack bucking a tree. Smiling, and hoping she would have answers, I stepped out of the shadows of the trees and called out.         “Yo! Applejack, what’s going on?”         “Gah! Who in tarnation are you?” she yelled as she turned around, eyes wide.         “It’s me Applejack, Cass. Did you hit your head or something?” I asked as I walked closer, reaching out to ruffle her hair.         Applejack, panicking, backed up quickly.         “Keep away from me! An’ while you’re at it, mind doin’ some explanin’ on why you’re on my farm and how you know my name?” she demanded.         “Well I don’t know, something about us being engaged suggests that we kinda know each other.” I joked, my smile faltering a little.         “Now just what are you sayin’? I’m a single pony, Ah’m flattered that you wanna marry me already, but Ah got no clue who you are!” she yelled, surprise written all over her face.         “Don’t you remember me at all, Applejack?” I asked, taking another step towards her.         Applejack, looking at me fearfully now, took another step backwards, only for her rump to bump into a tree. I took another step, holding out my hands in a non-threatening gesture.         “MAC!” she screamed.         “Oh, yeah, Big Mac, he’ll talk sense into yo—”         “Ugh, someone catch the license plate of that truck?” I muttered as I tried to roll over, only to be stopped by straps across my chest.         Opening my eyes, I glanced around the small cell I was in. The walls were a bare cinderblock and the window had thick, probably solid metal bars in it. The door was a simple metal door with a small slot at the floor and another at about eye level. I was strapped to a bed with thick leather straps that smelled strongly of the oils used in maintaining them.         “Hello?” I croaked out, my throat feeling dry.         The eye level slit slid open with barely a whisper. A pair of purple eyes looked at me for a moment before it snapped shut. After a few moments of what sounded like at least twenty locks unlocking, the door finally slowly swung inwards and Twilight Sparkle trotted in with two burly guards following her closely.         “Hello,Twilight, what’s going on?” I asked.         Twilight, blinking, hesitated with her hoof in the air, thinking for a moment before responding with, “Why do you think that’s my name?”         “‘Cause I’m one of your friends. Did you somehow lose your memory also?”         “We didn’t lose anything, you have created another illusion, Mr. Castle.”         “Illusion?”         “Yes, do you remember where you are?”         “Umm, no, first time that I’ve been here as far as I can tell.”         “No. It’s not your first time here, you’ve been here for the last three years, Mr. Castle.” Twilight said with a weary sigh.         “What, no, I haven’t even been in Equestria for all that long.” I said, struggling to get up.         “Easy now, Mr. Castle, I don’t want to sedate you again.”         “And stop calling me Mr. Castle, it’s Cass!” I yelled back at her.         “Oh, this one again.” she said a little more cheerily than she should have.         “What do you mean ‘this one’?” I demanded.         “Cass, would you look down at your hooves please.” she asked kindly.         “I don’t have hooves, I have hands and feet.”         “Please.” she asked, sighing again as if she’s had this fight far too many times already.         “Sigh” Looking down at my feet I nearly had a heart attack. Where my feet should have been there was a set of brown hooves poking out from underneath a light blue blanket.         “Bwa, wha, huh, how?” I sputtered.         “See Mr. Castle, your love with this Applejack is not real. That poor farmer pony you nearly assaulted was a Miss Jazz Apple, lucky for her, her father Macintosh was there to protect her.”         “But it was so real. How could I just imagine Applejack? Is this just some joke, Twilight?”         “No, it’s no joke, and I’m not Twilight. My name is Dr. Luna.”         “Luna, but she’s the goddess who raises the moon!”         Twilight, who had turned to leave the room, paused at the door way and laughed, “Raises the moon? Ha, with what? Magic? Don’t you know there is no such thing as magic?”         Sitting on her throne Chrysalis couldn’t help but smile. This one creature, this one failed experiment could feed her entire city for years! And with a little manipulation, he would never know he was the ultimate buffet. It was all too perfect.         Now if only she could coax another into this universe...         Sitting in her throne room, Celestia looked to the horizon, wishing her ‘sister’ could be here, she’s much easier to manipulate in pony than through the occasional letter, of which Celestia had not received any in return. But that was not to be, that fool human, Cass, had driven her ‘sister’ further from her than she thought previously possible.         How dare he twist her like that, did he not see what plans he was disrupting? Those carefully played plans took years of planning by her true queen, and yet took him less than a week to unravel.         His efficiency could be praised, if it could be used in another way, more useful way.         Standing from her throne she ignored her guards as they melted out of the shadows to follow her. Those foolish guards had no clue at all.         Trotting quickly to dungeons she froze the guards midstep. They would awaken in an hour or so, embarrassed that they lost the very pony they were assigned to protect. Perhaps one or two would commit suicide for their failure. That would be highly amusing.         Walking through the thick iron door, she snapped it shut with her magic, bolting the magical locks hidden within the frame.         Here in the last cell, the cell that was to always be empty by royal decree. The other prisoners in the the adjacent cells continued sleeping, or pretended to be so, knowing the princess’s recent wrath.         Stopping outside the cell, she spied a pegasus sleeping in the lone cot. Frowning she plucked him up with her magic and slammed it repeatedly against the wall with loud thuds. After it stopped screaming she cast away the body like a sack of potatoes.         Still scowling, she walked over to the wall and pressed a brick with her forehoof, causing a section of the wall to slide away revealing a hidden pathway. Stooping her head lower to prevent her horn from scraping against the slimey ceiling she ignored the new set of cells in this dark dank hole.         “My dear, are you here to entertain me once again?” asked a refined voice from one of the darker cells.         “Shut up, Discord, unless you want me to banish you to the darkest depths of space, where there would be nothing to entertain you.” she threatened, without even faltering.         “Oh, this is grand coming from you, I’m still surprised you can even contain me here! Or could it be just because I haven’t really tried?” he laughed as the bars of his cell rapidly changed colors.         Celestia only rolled her eyes, why hadn’t she disposed of that... thing, when she could have.         Reaching her final destination, she paused at the doorway, a smile gracing her lips for the first time in days. Letting the green flames whoosh up her large form, she peered at the frail form that was briefly lit up.         “Well hello Celestia, have you been eating well? No? Oh, I’m sorry, seems like I forgot to bring you anything.” The imposter said as her evil laughter echoed out of the depths, scaring the remaining prisoners who only could try to remain unseen as they listened to the pitiful whimpers of the poor prisoner who had gotten the wrong cell.         “And you didn’t come to me sooner?” demanded Rainbow Dash.         “Hey, that was my line!” yelled Pinkie Pie as she was neck deep in a bag too small for her to go that deep digging around.         “We’re a bit busy if you haven’t noticed.” said Granny Smith who was sitting out of the way in the corner.         “Where is Applejack?” asked Fluttershy, who was largely ignored in the loud room, guardsponies running around setting up maps of the local areas and organizing tripled patrols.         “Do we know how they got her? Is it really safe in here?” asked Rarity, who was eyeing the walls as if a changeling was going to burst through one of them at any moment and mess up her mane irreparably.         “She climbed down!” sobbed Sweetie Belle into her sister’s side, distraught over the thought that her friend had ‘abandoned’ her.         “Climbed down?” asked Rainbow Dash, “Why didn’t she just fly down?”         “Need Ah count the times you missed the lessons ya promised her?” asked Apple Bloom.         Rainbow Dash blushed and closed her mouth with a click, embarrassment evident all over her face.         “Umm, excuse me? Where is Applejack?” asked Fluttershy, who was ignored again.         “Girls, we need to focus, we need to find them, and soon! If they keep on taking ponies like this, soon it’ll be too late to stop them, they’ll be too strong for us to stop!” said Twilight.         “The problem is, they are like ghosts, they freely roam without us ever being able to detect them. They simply blend into the shadows too much!” exclaimed Rarity dramatically.         “Maybe we can contact Celestia and have her raise the sun early!” said Twilight, turning to Luna, who was sitting in Apple Bloom’s old high chair, idly swinging her hind legs, humming a simple little tune as she was writing something on a parchment with her hooves.         “Luna?” said Twilight, trying to get her attention.         “Yes, I know, already working on it.” she said without looking up from her letter. “But don’t expect much, she’s been acting....” Luna paused, lifting her pen from the parchment and tapping is against her head in deep thought, while also managing to leave multiple dots all over the side of her head.         “Different? OH! OH! Did she change her hairstyle?” asked Pinkie Pie, bouncing in place.         Luna raised one of her eyebrows, and opened her mouth as if to say something, but stopped herself.         “Umm, excuse me. Shouldn’t we find Applejack?” asked Fluttershy, who, despite her persistence, was ignored yet again.         “Ladies, ve should move you to town vhere it is safer.” Sasha said as he walked into the house, mud still clumped heavily in his fur.         “You mean that my house that has stood for all my life isn’t safe anymore?” demanded Granny Smith.         “Ja.” was his immediate answer.         “But what if Cass or Scootaloo show up here while we are gone?” asked Twilight.         “And shouldn’t we find Applejack before we leave, if that’s okay?” asked Fluttershy, yelling loudly, for her. So at about normal talking volume for anypony else, but the results were instantaneous.         “Yeah, where is Applejack, and Big Mac for that matter?” asked Rarity.         The door that Sasha had just entered, burst open, the guards in the room all grabbing weapons or erecting magical shields. And none of them relaxed when they saw it was Applejack herself.         “Found her!” said Fluttershy smiling, happy with her little victory.         “I’ve found Scootaloo’s trail, and she’s not alone.” was all Applejack had to say for the majority of the ponies in the room to sprint after her.         “Umm, I don’t know about this.” said Scootaloo as she kicked a pebble at the entrance, “Why would your sister come down here?”         “I don’t know why, I just saw her come down here, please you must help me find my sissy!” begged the little foal from deeper in the cave, its voice echoing eerily.         “If you say so.” she said skeptically as she stepped into the shadow that hung over the entrance, leaving the relative light of the orchard behind.         “Please hurry!” called the little foal from the shadows, causing Scootaloo to start walking quicker, squinting trying to peer through the darkness.         “Where are you, I can’t see a thi-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” she screamed, sliding down deeper into the cave on a steep slippery ramp.         Standing on the ceiling of the cave the foal simply grinned as green flames consumed the flesh of the young form it had assumed, leaving the black pony-like creature in its true form, basking in the emotions from the filly.         “I think I’ll name you dinner.” The changelings' laugh echoed evilly after Scootaloo as she continued to slide deeper and deeper still into the cave, tears streaming behind her as she struggled to stop or slow down.