Glimmer cursed as she turned another corner only to find yet more cold, stone passageways. How big is this place? Grinding her teeth, she kept moving. Her hooves had long since given up on telling her to stop and she was fairly sure that the exoskeleton on her underbelly was badly cracked. Her shoulder gave another protest as she forced a decrepit door open. The room inside was no different than the last dozen she had searched. Dust covered everything and bits of insect ridden cloth and wood littered the floor. A cursory search turned up nothing and she moved onto the next room. This one appeared to be an ancient servant’s quarters. Nothing remained of the bed except a pile of rags and the chest at its foot was filled with holes. Glimmer stumbled over lifted its lid. A horrid squeal and a dusty lungful of air were the first things to greet her. Coughing, she felt around the bottom until her hoof found a heavy object. Lifting it to her face, she found a rough stone sculpture of an alicorn. The dark blue stone was smooth to the touch and still felt sturdy. Glimmer stared at it for a while. Buzz would enjoy this. Hardening her gaze, she grabbed at the pile of rags and began to wrap the sculpture. Tying a knot, she took the bundle in her mouth and left the room. The added weight mad her neck ache, but she pushed on.
Room after room turned up nothing more than an old necklace and a set of navy shoulder pads. Glimmer soon found herself standing on a balcony above a long hallway. Massive windows decorated the walls below blocked only numerous bookshelves that bordered the centralized walkway. The movement of dust through beams of light was the closest thing to a sign of life. Cringing, she turned her head first left, then right. The only way down was a dubious stone stairway. Glimmer fluttered her wings then, finding no lift, she forced her hoofsteps towards the stairs. A tentative prod revealed the stairs to be fairly sturdy and she began the arduous descent. Inch by inch, minute by minute she took each step. Four steps from the bottom, she felt her hoof give way and gravity’s malicious grip upon her once more. This final straw proved too much and she lost her hold on consciousness.
---
“And you girls are sure that’s the last place you saw her?” asked CheerilieeCheeriliee.
The four fillies in front of her nodded their head fervently and she gave a sigh.
“Alright then. Come on everypony, we are going to have to go look for Diamond Tiara. Stay close to Twilight and I. We are going to search the Library first and we don’t need anypony else getting lost.”
With no short amount of disorder, the remainder of the class gathered around the two mares and they began to pick their way through the ruined castle. Fallen walls and ancient woodwork littered the castle grounds, but despite the best efforts to the contrary, no one got lost. The class was soon standing outside the ancient library. Whether by luck or magic, this building was the most intact of any here. The great stained glass windows stood proud along the tall stone walls. Twilight gave an experimental push to the large double doors.
“I don’t think it is locked. We should be able to walk right in.”
“Ok class, you know the drill. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for Diamond Tiara and don’t get separated from the group.”
After receiving a nod from Cheerilee, Twilight opened the towering door and led the way into the dusty chamber. Even the students were quiet as they gazed upon the preserved shelves. The books, furniture, and even the air felt ancient. Neatly stacked books lay at the ends of aisles like the mummified remains of great pharaohs. Cheeriliee, being the first to break out of her reverie, began to slowly walk down the central aisle. Each row of shelves was identical to the last. No sign of life, no sense of time. After what seemed like millennia, she found herself at the center of the room marked by four monumental stone pillars. The path continued an equal distance in every direction and she found herself once more boggling at the size of the library.
Giving a quick glance and a nod back to Twilight to communicate her course of action, she proceeded towards a nearby staircase that led to the balconies bordering the entire building. Her gaze remained trained upwards as she mounted the first step, only to find that it was no step at all. Looking down, she found the hard, shifting form of a pony with a jagged horn and insect wings. Carefully, quietly, she retreated back to the central crossing and hissed,
“Twilight! Twilight! Get over here! We’ve got a situation.”
With a worried look, Twilight began to walk towards Cheerilee, only to break out into a gallop at Cheerilee’s insistence.
---
“Come on little guy. We’ve got to get moving.”
The changeling currently wrapped around Diamond Tiara gave a sleepy chirp and snuggled in closer. Diamond Tiara huffed and scrunched up her face in concentration. After some thought she developed a devious expression and raised her hoof to the changelings back.
“If you won’t come willingly, I’ll have to tickle you into submission.”
Upon receiving a stubborn grumble, she began her onslaught. The sleepy foal began squirming and giggling uncontrollably. Finally, able to take it no more, he let go and curled up into a laughing ball.
“I warned you. Now come on. We need to find you a safe place to hide.”
Now wide awake, the black foal jumped up and ran ahead of Diamond Tiara.
“Hey! Wait up!”
The little colt kept running, always making sure that Diamond was in sight, diving behind walls, and generally playing around. Diamond Tiara, despite her difficulty keeping up, found herself enjoying the chase and the two were soon rocketing around the castle grounds. Because of the colt’s seemingly endless energy, Diamond Tiara found herself panting as she turned a corner to find the foal perched atop a pile of rocks and looking through a large window.
“Momma...”
Diamond Tiara perked her ears and quickly ascended the pile. Though the room inside was shadowed, she could clearly make out the prone form of an adult changeling and her teacher backing away from it. Another movement caught her eye and she saw Twilight running towards Cheerilee.
“Come on! The rest of the girls are unattended. We’ll get them to make a distraction so that we can get to your mother.”
Without waiting for a reply, Diamond Tiara grabbed the colt and took off towards the large doors. Thanking the princesses that the door was open, she stuck her head in and frantically whispered,
“Silver! Get the girls over here. Now!”
Silver spoon gave a quick nod before catching the attention of the other three. Quietly, the four fillies snuck out the main door. Silver Spoon was the first to speak up.
“What’s the problem Diamond? Aren’t you supposed to be hiding him?”
“The plan’s changed. Do you know what Cheerilee and Twilight are doing?”
“No, they just walked over and started freaking out.”
“This little guy’s mother is over there.”
“His mother?!?” cried Applebloom.
“Keep it down. We need to create a distraction so that they can reunite. You three are really good at calling attention to yourselves so I’m counting on you.”
“What should we do?” asked Sweetie Belle
“Think of something. I’m sure you can handle it. Silver, I need you to help me on my end. We’re going to sneak in through the side door and try to get close. You’ll have to be the backup distraction. Everyone got it?
The four other fillies nodded and they broke off. The Cutie Mark Crusaders went back through the main doors and Diamond Tiara led Silver Spoon and the changeling along the side.
---
Twilight came skidding to a halt next to a very distressed Cheerilee.
“What’s going on? Is there a timberwolf in here or something?”
Cheerilee said nothing, choosing instead to nervously glance at the stairway she had been about to climb. Twilight followed her gaze and froze as she spotted the stirring changeling. Before Twilight could react, its eyes opened and locked with hers. For a long moment, neither moved. Then, quick as a flash, the changeling rolled to its feet and gave a loud hiss. Cheerilee yelped and dove behind Twilight. Twilight lowered her horn and said,
“I won’t let you harm the foals.”
The changeling turned toward the distant class and let out a high chirp. Her head perked up and she started galloping in an entirely different direction. Twilight set off after her, shouting back at Cheerilee,
“Get back to the class and stay safe! I can handle this one!”
---
Of all the ponies to run into, why did it have to be her? Why couldn’t it have been the pink one? Glimmer galloped through the cluttered building, thankful that her ability to feel pain had not come back yet. Her purple aggressor was still in hot pursuit as she rocketed towards her foal. I can’t lead her to Buzz. I’m going to have to lose her somehow. Glimmer took an abrupt left turn and started to weave her way through the bookshelves. Left. Right. Left. Straight. Left. Straight. Right. Right. Straight. Right. Glimmer chanced a glance back to see that she had lost Twilight for the moment. Slowing, she attempted to find a way out. She was in the thick of the shelves so she could not see more than a nearby window. Silently, she crept towards it only for a bit of movement to catch her eye. Thinking it was Twilight, she got ready to run. What she saw, however, was most certainly not Twilight. A small, pink filly was frantically waving at her from an open door. Confused, she simply stared at the strange pony. When Glimmer did not respond, the filly ducked through the doorway and returned with another foal. Glimmer gave a start as she realized that it was Buzz who was wiggling excitedly. The pink filly again waved at her to come over and this time she complied.
---
“Ok girls, now’s the time. Twilight’s almost found her.” said Sweetie Belle.
“Ah’m still kinda hesitant on this, girls. We’re gonna get into a whole heap of trouble for this.” said Applebloom
“Puh-lease, we’ve gotten into worse trouble. How about the time we accidentally destroyed the school?” asked Scootaloo
“Fine, Fine. Let’s just get this over with.” said Applebloom.
The three fillies, perched atop a bookshelf, readied themselves and jumped onto a nearby table. As one, they struck the ancient wood causing it split in half with a deafening crack. This had the desired effect as Twilight came galloping over to investigate.
“What are you girls doing? It’s not safe here!”
“We were, uh, trying to get a better view?” offered Scootaloo
“Yeah, then we slipped and landed on this desk.” added Sweetie Belle
“Ah think it can be fixed pretty easily.” said Applebloom
“Well, I lost it now so I’ll bring you girls back to the class and we’ll get everybody home.”
Twilight picked the three fillies up in her magic and began to walk back to the class. Cheerilee turned to her, relief evident on her face.
“Oh, thank goodness you found them, Twilight. You girls should know better than to wander off. You could have been seriously hurt. I’ll be sending letters home with all of you.”
“I think we should get the class back home now. I lost the Changeling and I don’t know how many more there may be.”
“That sounds like an excellent plan. Everypony line up! The field trip is over!”
The class gave a collective groan. Twist raised her hand and asked,
“MIss Cheerilee? What about Diamond Tiara?”
“Shoot, I’d forgotten her. Twilight, can you find her? I’m going to take the class over by the bridge.”
“Sure thing, Cheerilee.”
---
Silver Spoon shut the door behind the adult changeling as the colt rushed up to his mother. The two shared a warm embrace that the two fillies watched with smiles before Diamond Tiara gave a polite cough.
“I hate to break up this wonderful moment, but we really need to get you two to safety”
“Yeah,” chimed in Silver Spoon, “you’re not looking to good. You’re colt should be fine, but you are in need of some serious medical attention.”
“They’re not going to search immediately, because they will want to get us to safety. After that, though, they’re going to scrub this place clean.”
“There’s a zebra in the forest that will probably help you. Wait until we leave and follow the same path for about 3 miles. Take a right after the river and you should find the path to her hut. Tell her Applebloom sent you. We’ll come meet you if we can.”
The changeling gave a silent nod before looking down anxiously at her foal. They stared at each other for a couple of minutes before she relaxed. Placing the bundle in her mouth on the ground, she turned towards the two fillies and began to speak in a voice like wind chimes.
“I cannot thank you enough for what you have done. Buzz and I are forever in you debt. I will follow your advice and perhaps we may meet again.”
The fillies nodded and turned back the way they had come. Not stopping to say goodbye, they began running back to the group.
---
Just as Twilight rounded the corner, she saw the missing fillies rushing towards her.
“There you two are! Where did you go running off too?”
“I’m sorry Miss Twilight.” said Diamond Tiara. “I got lost while we were exploring. I was starting to get really scared because this place is so big. Luckily, Silver spotted me while I was wandering around and came to find me.”
“Well that’s good, but you really should have stuck together in the first place. We’re leaving now so we need to go meet up with the group.”
“Yes Miss Twilight!” said the fillies in unison.
---
The three Cutie Mark Crusaders watched as Twilight Sparkle rejoined the group with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in tow.
“I found them not far from where we were. Apparently Silver Spoon saw Diamond Tiara and went to fetch her.”
“That’s good. Ok class, same drill as last time, we’ll cross the bridge and make our way home. I’m sorry we couldn’t stay longer. Maybe we can get some more help next time.”
The class once more lined up and began crossing. This time, however, the Cutie Mark Crusaders made sure to be next to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
“How’d it go?” whispered Applebloom.
“We got them together and told them to go find Zecora after we leave. They should be fine.”
“I hope so. We’re getting letters sent home for that stunt.” complained Scootaloo.
“We’ll treat you three at Sugarcube Corner.” said Silver Spoon.
“Can any of you make it to Zecora’s tonight?” asked Diamond Tiara.
“Ah doubt it” said Applebloom
“Same here. Rarity’s going to kill me.” added Sweetie Belle.
“I might be able to. My dad’s pretty lax.” said Scootaloo.
“We’ll meet you at your clubhouse at six.” said Silver Spoon.
“Got it.” replied Scootaloo.