Gdocs Version
Marks of Harmony
Part 17
Where the Everfree Forest was famed for its inability to be tamed, there now ran through it a terrible scar. A blight on its wild nature. A trench wider than some rivers and just as deep had been gouged from its edge through several hundred feet of greenery. Any shrubs or ferns that may have marked the forest floor before the ruinous damage were nowhere to be seen and what trees bordered the ripped earth were marred by twisted and broken limbs and on many, burn marks.
The magnitude of the Everfree’s defacement was matched only by the perpetrator. Nose half-buried in the ground that had ceased its forward momentum, the formerly imperious House of a Thousand Fangs now rested a wreck among leaves and vines. The wood planking of which it had been constructed was fractured both outward from the impact of the crash, and inward from punishing bolts of magic hurled by the forces of Celestia. Although lying haphazardly amongst the splintered support braces which had once held them in place, the vessel’s cannons had escaped irreparable damage. From a distance, the thick black smoke given off by the miniscule flames still licking at the edges of the thrust engines would give the impression of a far greater crash than had been the ship’s forced descent.
And in the presence of such fallen power, all was still. The wind was stayed, the birds and other animals of the Everfree were fled or hushed, and the earth had once again been given the ability to remain still. But in the wake of so grand a collapse, the waves had yet to pass before the true calm could be restored.
Breaking the silence with the unique bursting flare of magic, night blue light pierced through cracks in the wood of one of the ship’s sides. The light served only as a brief warning as the magic producing it blasted a hole in the wood with a thunderous boom, sending large hunks of wood into the underbrush which had barely escaped annihilation. From the gap emerged the regal Princess Luna, whose eyes cast in all directions before leaping to the ground. She was followed by Pinkie Pie, who at present carried Rarity on her back. “Lay her here,” the princess ordered once Pinkie had met Luna in the untarnished portion of the forest. “Now, Rarity, we regret to tell thee that our healing wilt pain thee greatly.”
“Just do it, Princess,” Rarity hissed as she shifted the burned tissue too quickly. With only a nod to Rarity to indicate she was about to start, Luna lowered her horn, ever so slightly brushing the tip against the seared and bleeding flesh. A minute spark of magic lanced between Luna’s horn and Rarity’s wound, rapidly doing so again and again until it appeared to be a constant bolt connecting the two. Now with the spell active, Luna gingerly pulled the precision beam over all of Rarity’s injury. She tried within the first few seconds to fight the pain: holding her breath, tensing her body, and squinting her eyes. But before the princess could even repair half the skin, Rarity loosed a writhing scream, burying her head in her forehooves and sobbing. Her cry echoed throughout the forest, seeming to linger in the leaves as though it grasped onto Rarity’s unheeded plea for mercy as its own scream of pain. Pinkie did what she could for her friend, grasping one of Rarity’s hooves in her own and patting her on the back with the other.
When Luna at last finished her task, she looked guiltily at the hiccuping Rarity. “We art terribly sorry thou had to endure such treatment,” she apologized. “But infection in this forest of all places is more likely than most, and numbing spells are not temporary.”
“It... could... have been worse... Princess,” Rarity shuddered, doing her best to regain control over herself.
“Can you walk again, Rarity?” Pinkie asked, her boundless energy translating into anxiousness.
“I’m a little sore,” she admitted, testing each of her limbs in turn as she stood. “But I can manage a trek.”
“Are you kidding!?” Pinkie shouted. “We have to go back and find everypony else! Who knows what happened to AJ and General Serious McSeriouserson!”
“But the Changelings...” Rarity trailed off.
“We believe we have done far too much for Chrysalis to turn against us now,” Luna said. “But if thy suspicions prove valid, do remember that her daughter resideth still in Twilight Sparkle’s library. She, if need be, provideth us with a hostage.”
“That’s horrid!” Rarity exclaimed. “And more to the point that is not what I was going to say.” Rarity eyed Luna’s single raised brow of expectation before continuing, “I meant to say they might not yet be free. We crashed before we really saw any evidence that Chrysalis controls them again.”
“And yet they are still no threat,” Luna replied. “The very fact of our less than graceful descent proveth Aurora lost control, and we therefore canst assume that her control over the Changelings wilt have dissipated long enough for Chrysalis and Rainbow Dash to have finished their task.”
“Sounds good to me,” Pinkie agreed with Luna. “But what are we going to do about all those poor Changelings meany pants Aurora locked in that closet?”
“We shalt find Chrysalis first,” Luna said, taking her first steps back into the House of a Thousand Fangs. “She shalt know best how to care for them.” The three companions, now settled in their course of action, re-entered the twisted and shattered halls of the downed vessel. After retrieving Pinkie Pie and Rarity, Luna had taken no bother of walls and the like, using her superior magical power to simply cut down any barriers that lay in her way. But now, with urgency not rising up within her and considerations of the ship’s structural integrity bearing down on her mind, Luna restrained herself and bore witness to all the damage done to the ship’s interior. Much of the cracked and split wood was a result of the crash, but in other areas, battle scars had combined with the severe impact to collapse entire corridors or block others with heaping piles of wood planks and brass piping and plating. In addition, a number of the Devices marked by the numerous ornaments adorning the walls had been ruined. A great deal of them spat rain-like streams of water onto everything within their reach while others sparked dangerously with former defensive magic. The passages of the ship had essentially become death traps to any not acquainted with their contents or those without sufficient power to defend themselves against a slight slip. As they traversed the broken floors, Luna was forced multiple times to erect a defensive barrier to shield her two allies from Devices bursting into flames of varying color or a singular blast from an unstable Device collapsing a portion of the wall.
She was beginning to worry more than she was normally wont about the safety of the others in such an unpredictable environment when two quite distinctive voices were heard around the corner. “Sweet Celestia! If we don’ find ‘em soon... I don’ really wanna think ‘bout it.”
“Your not giving the princess and that queen enough credit, filly. If you want to worry, worry about your friend, Miss Sparkle.”
“APPLEJACK!” Pinkie was the first to burst out, running ahead and nearly strangling her friend with a hug as she edged around the bend.
“General,” Luna greeted Spearhead formally as Rarity joined Pinkie and Applejack, celebrating being together after their harrowing tasks.
“Your Majesty,” Spearhead replied, dropping into a light bow.
“Thou hast done a more than commendable job with the mission assigned thee,” Luna said. “We are eternally grateful to thee.”
“It was a joint effort by every one of us,” Spearhead answered in his soldier’s humility. “I’m just glad to find you unhurt Your Majesty.”
“Likewise, Spearhead,” Luna replied. “We art not sure how we wouldst manage without thee.”
“Pretty darn well I’d imagine,” Spearhead said gruffly.
Their brief conversation was cut when Applejack bowed to Luna, saying, “Thank ya, Yer Majesty. Fer keepin’ Pinkie safe an’ healin’ Rarity like ya did.”
“We wouldst have done the same for thee, or any of our ponies,” Luna said. “But thou art most welcome.”
“So, I will venture to guess you two have yet to run across Twilight or the others,” Rarity asked, her head turning from Spearhead to Applejack and back again.”
“Nope, we haven’t,” Applejack confirmed for her. “An’ we ain’t seen no Changelin’s either. Spearhead here was thinkin’ it’d be good ta find one so they could lead us ta Chrysalis and Dash.”
“And consequently to Twilight and Aurora,” Luna finished. “That hope may not be so dead as thou thinkest. In our fight through the bowels of this ship, we stumbled across a makeshift prison in which Aurora had thrown all of Chrysalis’s commanders. From our understanding, they were immune to the methods employed to control the others.”
“But Princess,” Rarity said, “we can’t possibly ask them to walk, let alone lead us to their queen.”
“They had been tortured?” Spearhead supposed.
“Malnourished,” Luna corrected. “Some had already descended into a stasis of sorts.”
“We should find them anyway,” the general said. “If they aren’t able to reach Chrysalis, they’ll definitely be the first she finds in this mess.”
“Makes sense,” Applejack replied. “Y’all know where they are?”
“Of course, follow me,” Pinkie said without a moment’s hesitation; which baffled Luna, as she had not the slightest memory of the exact location, especially with how mangled the ship had become. Nevertheless, both Rarity and Applejack trusted their friend enough to follow her. Still struggling with the exact nature of the phenomenon that was Pinkie Pie, Luna fell in behind Rarity, Spearhead flanking her protectively.
______________________________________________________________________________
Chrysalis had taken many quiet moments in Twilight Sparkle’s library to contemplate exactly how the reunification with her hive would be like. Glorious. Satisfying. Joyful. All of these Chrysalis had anticipated, yet not one of them was hers. She had removed the final Device blocking her connection to the hive only seconds before the entire ship had smashed into the earth. Having been hovering at the time, she had been saved from being flung into this or that wall. But even as her Changelings began to reawaken to her presence, sing mental praise to being under her watchful mind once again, Chrysalis cut off the Hive Mind. The battle was over, and at present, she was burdened by two things which had, much against her will and better judgement, taken precedence. The body lying across her back and held in place by her wing joints, Rainbow Dash’s body, was one of those. Already Chrysalis was beginning to feel the pegasus’s wild panic, and if her experience with other assimilations was anything to judge by, Dash was handling the transformation quite well. With the gentlest of levitation, Chrysalis removed Rainbow from her back and laid her on the floor.
Physically, she was quite far along. The eye shields had already formed, and as Rainbow was effectively unconscious, there was no way to see if her eyes had also changed color. Her skin was not yet black chitin, but her feathers had already peeled away from her new membranous wings and the apertures in her mane, tail, and legs were beginning to take shape. Find my commanders, now! Chrysalis sent the order as a blasting wave to all her soldiers. Even without the Hive Mind, she still possessed broader telepathic abilities as queen. Be prepared to care for them. I sense many are already in stasis to hold off starvation. There was no distinct response, as that privileged connection to her was delegated to the very Changelings Chrysalis was ordering be found, but the general affirmation was enough. And those among you with the most stored love, Chrysalis continued, find me. We have a new member of the hive that will be very weak when the assimilation is complete. Again, collective acknowledgement was all Chrysalis received, but under the circumstances, she was satisfied.
She was still waiting for her Children to arrive and watching as Dash’s fur fell away to chitin, when her mind was intruded upon by a weak, but elated voice. Your Majesty, may you live for ever for all the power you have displayed in bringing down this monster of a ship! Captain Hept exclaimed.
I will not take full credit Captain, Chrysalis admitted. But justice has at least begun to be dealt, so we have that. Please tell me all my commanders live.
All with me are alive and being strengthened by love right this moment, Hept replied. But it pains me to say I cannot account for Chis and Polyora. They were taken from us before we were imprisoned. I do not want to imagine what that sick pony has done to them.
Aurora Streak will face her punishment on all fronts. I will make sure of it, Chrysalis assured him. For now, once you are well enough, take a small contingent and sweep the ship. The rest are to flee and camp in the deeper parts of the forest. I want these ponies, she flashed images of Luna, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Spearhead to Hept, found and healed if need be. Once you have found them, alert me and await further instructions.
I know three of them, Your Majesty, Hept answered to Chrysalis’s surprise. They would have rescued us if they could have.
Then go, Captain, Chrysalis ordered. Delay is not something we can afford at the moment. Not with ponies not as sympathetic to our kind sure to be marching to this place.
Your Majesty, Hept said submissively before sliding out of their mental conversation. Now without her captain’s thoughts occupying the majority of her connection with her other Children, Chrysalis became privy to an approaching group of twelve Changelings.
“Queen Chrysalis, may you live forever,” they all bowed upon entering the chamber proper. A single of their number spoke next, “Is that the one?”
“It is,” Chrysalis said. “Make her comfortable and be sure to educate her in the workings of our mental connectedness. My daughter adores her, and I will not see her reduced to a shambling wreck for having not been properly initiated.”
“Of course, of course,” a pre-occupied Changeling said, making his way to the front. “She is in the hooves of yours truly, Doctor Nemb.”
“See to it you do not fail,” Chrysalis reiterated, her horn lighting and leaping green flames surrounding her. The last she saw of her Changelings was Doctor Nemb barking at the others about a lack of proper conditions, then nothing. Light greeted her opened eyes once again as she slid up out of her portal of venom green fire, but it was not Device light as she had been expecting. Rather, the sun was doing its best to send its rays through a section of the wall whose wooden planks had been warped and cracked so badly, they were more like shutters than a wall. The penetrating light cast warmth into an otherwise undamaged room, but the odd serenity there was tainted by the shell-shocked sobs and tears of Twilight Sparkle. Her cries were suppressed, although she made no effort to wipe away her tears, letting them fall to the ground instead.
Chrysalis scanned Twilight’s back for a moment longer, checking if she were injured. She was scraped and bruised like Chrysalis herself, but nothing more. Assured of Twilight’s state, Chrysalis’s searching orbs found the limp, half-armored body of Aurora Streak. She was unconscious, of that much Chrysalis was certain, but by what means and for how long still escaped her. A subtle spell detected no magic holding her mind in the nether regions of thought, and as far as Chrysalis could see, she had suffered no injury so debilitating as to suck her life away. A vicious thought of exacting such a wound on Aurora flashed through Chrysalis’s mind, but a more calculating one quickly replaced it. What better punishment than to let Aurora live and be sentenced in the very system she so despised. That would be revenge sweeter than anything Chrysalis could enact.
So now sure Aurora truly was unconscious, Chrysalis carefully approached Twilight. “Is that you, Chrysalis?” Twilight asked, doing her best to keep her voice from shaking. “Did you get your Changelings back?”
“It is me, and yes, we are all one again,” she replied, coming and sitting beside Twilight. “You overpowered her then.”
“Yeah,” Twilight sniffed. “But just barely. And... and... Inky died.”
“At her own hooves?” Chrysalis asked, looking around for a pony corpse she had missed. “I wouldn’t have thought it in her, even if she—”
“No,” Twilight cut her off. “He... He was so stupid!” She was crying harder now as she ranted, “He took two grenade blasts meant for me even though I could have easily used a magic barrier to protect myself! And it’s not like he didn’t know I could do it! Why did he have to do it?!”
“Perhaps it was best for him of all of us to die,” Chrysalis said, treading ever so lightly. She had seen Twilight’s reaction in countless war victims. No matter how grated their companionship may have been in the past, survivors always suffered horrible guilt over what they could have done, why the other sacrificed themselves, which in hindsight was needless. It was a constant struggle for war leaders to calm these storming emotions, and Chrysalis had seen two recovery campaigns come and go with only varying degrees of success. It seemed there was no set solution to this singular problem of battle. It was the price paid for camaraderie in war. “Imagine his place in the aftermath of all this,” Chrysalis continued. “He would belong to neither of us, would not want to belong I don’t think, and would be forced to stay with us for lack of being able to return home.”
“Maybe... maybe...” Twilight was saying, but her voice faded into obscurity as a Changeling lieutenant intruded rather boldly upon her thoughts. Your Majesty, may you live forever.
Yes, Chrysalis very nearly snapped.
Apologies for the suddenness of my report, but my squad has found two ponies just outside your present location, the Changeling said.
Your point? Chrysalis replied, now becoming openly impatient.
One needs immediate medical attention and none of our doctors know anything about pony anatomy, the lieutenant finished rapidly. Internally Chrysalis swore, beginning to put the pieces together, and not particularly liking the image forming.
Hold your position, I am coming personally, she commanded.
“... been even listening to me?!” Twilight’s incredulous voice greeted Chrysalis’s ears as she allowed her senses to establish themselves.
“No, and for good reason,” she answered pointedly. “It seems Jay is not dead.”
“What?!” Twilight burst out.
“My Changelings tell me he is on the verge, but that he might be saved if swift action is taken,” Chrysalis said. “There will be military hospitals in Celestia’s camp. You must take him there if you want to return the favor.”
“Are you—” Twilight tried to question her, but Chrysalis rebutted her like she would a insubordinate soldier, if only to make Twilight realize the pertinence of the situation.
“I thought you did not want him dead!”
“No, I just—”
“Then come or I will take him myself, as inadvisable and unappealing as that is.” With a solid forehoof, Chrysalis rapped Twilight on the back, jolting her into action. Both of them cantered through the first door and into the hall, coming into the destroyed junction Twilight had presumed would be Inky Jay’s final resting place. Chrysalis gave a subtle, approving nod to the small formation of Changelings who had begun clearing the space of debris, holding in her surprise at the level of damage in the small space. Of course much of the ship had been marred, but the gaping blast hole in the wall and the number of exposed and twisted Devices was by far the worst she had seen in any one place.
So occupied had Chrysalis been with the impressive scale of the battle’s aftermath, that she nearly tripped over something in the hall, prompting a barely audible, “Oh dear,” from Fluttershy. Glancing down, Chrysalis at first assumed she had bumped into a mass of Device parts, but the truth was far worse. Only a few seconds more, and her guess gave way to recognition. There was chitin beneath the brass. Kneeling down on her stomach, Chrysalis gingerly rolled the body upright, unsure if she really did want to see the extent of the horror. That desire of a ruler to know the end fate of her soldiers kept Chrysalis’s eyes locked on the limp form beneath her hooves. Had she not been the presence of other of her subordinates, she would have cried out in anguish at the sight of the faces of the two of her commanders. Mutilated. Dishonored. Defiled. And worst of all, they had not fallen in battle. She could still feel their pulses; that life blood that would force them to live out the rest of their days as disabled warriors.
“Your Majesty,” one of the Changelings approached her, “we are all ashamed and desperately sorry for having not seen our brothers. Forgive our negligence.”
“For all that cold, ruthless abomination has done to them, I understand why you did not see them here,” Chrysalis accepted the apology, allowing twin tears to fall if only to maintain her composure in all else. “But now your duty is clear. Call anyling you require to take these two to a physician. If he reports an inability to remove the Devices, he has my higher permission to end their lives.”
“Chrysalis!” Twilight burst out. “You can’t just do that! There’s been enough dying already!”
“And there will be more,” Chrysalis replied, gently helping the Changelings grip their augmented brethren in magic, “especially with all of the injuries sustained by both sides. And death is better than life tainted by her.”
“Let it go, Twilight,” Fluttershy suggested. “We can help Inky Jay, but those Changelings are Queen Chrysalis’s responsibility.”
“It just doesn’t seem right...” Twilight trailed off.
“Neither does saving this insolent serving pony,” Chrysalis said. “But I understand the need to repay a debt. Try to understand our customs as well.”
“I... okay,” Twilight relented, so stricken both physically and emotionally she felt fighting the issue would be a waste of precious stamina.
Satisfied, Chrysalis took to inspecting Inky’s wood riddled and wingeless side. “You saved him by stopping the blood,” she assessed. “I’m frankly surprised he didn’t die from blood loss.”
“There was... so much...” Fluttershy agreed.
“We need to carry him in both our fields of magic for support,” Chrysalis instructed. “As many shards of wood and metal are in his body, a single change in the way he is lying could kill him.”
Your Majesty, it’s Captain Hept. We found the pony princess and her fellows. They are telling me they are unhurt, and I think they are being truthful, the soldier’s mental voice intruded.
Duly noted, captain, Chrysalis replied, Have one of your Changelings bring Princess Luna to us immediately. Inform her it is a literal matter of life and death if she is hesitant. Aloud, Chrysalis said to Twilight and Fluttershy, “Well, even if my Children must suffer, I suppose that is my fault in the end. One of my commanders found Luna and the rest. They survived.”
“Oh, goodness,” Fluttershy was the first to breathe in relief. “I am sure we’ll be hearing all about how the fighting went from Rainbow Dash. She can be so rash. I’m glad she’s alright.”
“Rainbow Dash,” Chrysalis started. A small ripple spasmed through her body as she realized the mistaken assumption Rainbow’s friends had made about her whereabouts. Chrysalis was about to open her mouth again; reveal the pegasus’s true fate, but a small voice—the one that told her how to care for her precious Lacewing—sealed her lips. Not now, it said. Not yet. For Rainbow’s sake and theirs. Instead, Chrysalis said with a forced chuckle that sounded genuine from years and years of practice, “I’m sure you both will. She is skilled even without proper training.”
“So... how do you want to lift Inky?” Twilight asked, her horn already lit in preparation.
“Luna will be here in just a moment to help you,” Chrysalis answered. “My warriors need to make an accurate count of the dead, bandage the injured for travel, and retreat into the Everfree before Celestia’s forces arrive. Don’t fool yourself. They’ll be coming.” As if on the queen’s command, a ring of luminous green fire formed on the floor, a Changeling and Princess Luna rising up from its void.
As Luna stepped out of the circle, Chrysalis walked in, prompting a reaching hoof from Twilight. “But Chrysalis! You can’t just leave; not after all you’ve done to help us. I... we... we’re...”
“This situation is complicated enough as it is without Chrysalis present,” Luna said, calm but affirmative.
“My point exactly,” the queen replied. “Don’t worry, Twilight. We are not leaving anytime soon. There will be plenty of time to sort out our part, but now is not the time.” Without giving any of them time to respond, Chrysalis and her small entourage disappeared into the floor. Twilight was, in a way, glad to have something so requiring of her attention as helping the Princess carry Inky. It distracted her from thinking about Chrysalis and Lacewing (goodness knew how she was going to get daughter back to mother unless Chrysalis teleported her out, which was highly likely, considering her restored power), Inky Jay himself, and Aurora and all that she had done, said, and caused. And not for the first time, she was glad to have friends like hers. All she wanted, needed, was somepony to cry with: somepony who understood everything she felt.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Luna knew something was not right. She had been a ruler of a many times divided land for far too long to not see when somepony else in authority had something to hide. Judging by Chrysalis’s reaction to her name, Rainbow Dash was injured or worse. Unfortunately, with Inky Jay in so needful a state and without any knowledge from whence Chrysalis had come, Luna had not the time to either search the ship or pursue Chrysalis for information. And telling the Bearers would not help; it would only make their current circumstances worse at best, disastrous at worst. A solution was present, but it was deceitful and rather unappealing to Luna. She had, however, no other option presenting itself at the moment. Turning to Fluttershy, she said, “Twilight and we art taking Inky Jay back to the encampment, but we hath no time to regroup with everypony else. Go to the top deck where we told thy friends we wouldst meet them, and inform them of our course.”
“I can do that, Princess,” Fluttershy replied, the relief at being asked to do something so simple rolling off her in waves. A twinge of guilt passed through Luna as the shy Bearer of Kindness began the trek toward her companions. It would not be long before they realized Rainbow was missing, and by then, Luna hoped against hope they would search for her in place of Luna herself.
“Art thou prepared, Twilight?” Luna asked, horn glinting with magic.
“I am,” she said, following Luna’s example with what little energy she had left.
“We know it rather dangerous to do with an injured pony, but we wilt teleport us a short distance just to get outside the vessel,” Luna explained.
“I trust you, Princess,” Twilight said, wiping away new, silent tears. With no more words, Luna cast a spell of rigidity on Inky’s body while Twilight lifted him into the air. The teleport would need to be near instantaneous, what with Inky’s inability to control his breathing and such, and while Luna was more than confident in her ability, she feared for the wound that had once been his wing. There was no determining what effect the warp would have on normally sealed flesh. Still, they needed an exit, and blasting her way through walls was riskier at this depth than when she had been reasonably close to the exterior. Luna cast the spell, but kept it focused and building power at the edge of her horn. It immediately began loosing comet-like sparks and screaming with energy, but Luna held it until she could no longer bear the pressure at the base of her horn. In a whirling flash, she, Twilight, and Inky were gone; leaving behind the House of a Thousand Fangs for the last time.
Luna’s eyes opened at the edge of the Everfree Forest. It was a farther warp than she had intended, but Inky was still breathing and his injuries had not worsened or begun bleeding afresh. “Princess,” Twilight asked as they began the walk toward the remains of Ponyville, “Why would anypony go to war willingly? What pony would want this?”
“We think thou misunderstandest war,” Luna replied slowly, cautious of how she ought to answer. No doubt her sister had a surefire answer ready for awkward questions when they arose, but Luna was neither public figure nor mentor. “At times, there art greater things. Things which mean more to ponies than their own lives and the lives of others, even their families. If threatened, they feel compelled to fight for the survival of those things.”
“Nothing is worth this,” Twilight disagreed with a note of finality.
“Thou only speak as such because thou hath been the recipient of the devastation of war first, and the hath yet to be the enactor,” Luna said. “Trust us, there art some things to which life must be given for its preservation.”
“There’s never only one way to do something,” Twilight said stalwartly.
“Thou share that view with not a few ponies,” Luna answered, “but the other roads art not always so clearly marked.”
Luna had expected Twilight to continue to push the issue, as Celestia had commented her student absolutely hated losing or even appearing to lose a debate, but instead, she completely dropped the subject in favor of casting her eyes over all of Ponyville’s deserted rubble. “Where is everypony?” she asked. “Where are the soldiers? Where are the survivors?”
“There may be very few of those,” Luna admitted with reserve. The skeleton of the town had been tinted red from all the blood, both fresh and drying, split in its streets and splattered on its walls. Unidentifiable bits of gore littered the streets, and those dead that had not been reduced to mere strewn pieces of flesh lay mangled in the very armor that had been intended to protect them. The smell that permeated everything was unique to death and blood: great amounts of death and blood. The more her mind was allowed to dwell on the brutal carnage lying about her, the more of its detail was opened to Luna’s eyes. Horrid memories of times lost from the knowledge of the mortals intruded, superimposing their gorey selves onto Ponyville’s scape. Luna shook her head vigorously, ridding herself of those thoughts and images, but unable to escape the destruction at present.
Concentrating on putting her hooves one in front of the other, Luna realized she had led Twilight back to the library. The lone tree was somehow still standing amongst craters and blasted buildings, and it seemed to have a ring of protection around it, for the dead and their shed blood did not so totally flood the area as the rest of the town. “We’re about halfway to the other side of town since that’s the library,” Twilight muttered, more likely to herself than Luna. But anything else Twilight may have said, Luna ear’s ignored. A small turn of her head, and she saw a white coat, partially obscured by golden armor. She had not felt elation like what now bloomed inside her for ages, and that euphoria opened her lips in an almost weeping cry, “SISTER!?”
______________________________________________________________________________
She marched with definitive hoofsteps through the ravaged battlefield that had once held the name Ponyville. An eerie silence had fallen over the remains, only magical fires and the cracking of the steps of her two guards providing any clear, ringing sounds. Already through the town’s center, and not a soul was to be seen. For all intents and purposes, Ponyville appeared dead, struck down by the clashing of two great forces. Her own forces she had ordered withdrawn, so their absence was not nearly so disconcerting as the absence of the enemy. Her hoof stepped on something markedly softer than the ashen and dislodged soil which now coated everything with blood as its glue. She stopped, allowing her eyes to turn to the earth despite her better judgement.
There, having somehow survived the havoc wreaked on its home, a small filly’s plush lay at the hooves of Celestia, Princess of the Sun. Two tears leaked from her eyes as she held it at her eye-level with a gentle golden levitation spell. Had she truly forgotten the consequences of war? Did her reminder have to be so forceful, so wrenching? Celestia nestled the dirty toy in the small saddle bags attached to her regal armor, not bothering about how Shining Armor and his hoof-picked second viewed the act.
She did, however, predict the coming question when her chosen path diverted from the curling smoke column rising from the warship’s crash site in the Everfree Forest. “Your Majesty?” Shining Armor inquired. “Do you have something else more important to see to other than the ship? I can send Archer for whatever you need.”
“Do not argue with my decisions, Captain,” Celestia snapped, only realizing afterwards how distressed her own voice sounded. More calmly, but also more subdued, she said, “Not today...” The pony, Archer, uttered something resembling a half syllable, but was cut himself short. Celestia assumed Shining had given him a commanding glare or a dissuading kick.
It took only a few more turns down paths further and further marred by the dead before Shining understood. He swore violently, and Celestia felt no reason to stop him. She even began walking to one side, giving her Captain ample opportunity to gallop ahead. Ever loyal to her, he controlled himself and did nothing. As it stood, Celestia could not be sure if she was encouraged or concerned by his behavior. When Celestia had entered the officially documented Ponyville Third Courtyard, she had expected it of all places to be utterly desolate. Instead, that place which ponies colloquially called Library Road, was all but untouched. Barring a few craters, collapsed buildings, and shattered walkways, it was an oasis in the world of destruction the town had become. Most significantly, the library itself still stood.
But where a deep sigh of released tension gave expression to Shining Armor’s relief, Celestia could only manage a glare. She was elated that Twilight had likely survived; and if their ability to stay together was any indication, the other Bearers had as well. No, the Sun Princess saw in the undamaged library mockery. Mockery of her own powerlessness. That even at so critical a moment, she had not had the ability to protect her faithful student. That duty had fallen, of all ponies, to her enemy.
Without her noticing at first, the door to the library was cracking open, tentative as to the nature of the world outside. “Princ...Princess Celestia?” came the bewildered, hopeful voice of none other than Spike. “Is that really you? Is it over?”
“It is really me, Spike,” Celestia replied in her most controlled tone. “But even though that vessel has crashed somewhere in Everfree, I cannot say whether it is over.”
“The ship crashed!” Spike exploded, throwing open the door and rushing out to look in the forest’s direction. “But Twilight! Was she still on it?! Do you know, Princess? Is she alright?”
“Slow down, Spike buddy,” Shining said, holding himself together better than Celestia at the moment, who was already lighting her horn in preparation for teleportation. “My sister was on board? How? Why?”
“It complicated,” Spike replied, jittery. “Can we just get a move on! Twilight’s might have been hurt or somethin’!”
“I agree, Captain,” Celestia commanded. “I will take Spike to the vessel directly. Take your subordinate back to the encampment and begin rounding up what soldiers are still able to fight. Bring them to the crash site personally. I want a full guard rotation and enough ponies to sweep the interior.”
“Understood, Your Majesty!” Shining and Archer saluted before whipping around and galloping back to the camp.
“Spike,” Celestia said, offering a wing out to the young dragon.
“Wait! You said you would come back! Please don’t leave!” a shrill, terrified voice filled Celestia’s ears. It was the voice of a filly, and Celestia could have no more ignored her than struck her sister. Her head jerked around, and instinct nearly warped her teleportation spell into a lethal incineration beam. Running frantically toward them, and nearly tripping over her own hooves in her desperation was a Changeling filly.
“Princess! Don’t kill her, seriously!” Spike said, bravely putting himself between the Changeling and Celestia’s power.
“Changeling she might be, Spike, but she is still a filly and to kill even adults pains me,” Celestia reassured him. “I am confident Twilight had a good reason for taking her in, even during the crisis.”
“Ummm...” Spike replied, nervously wringing his claws together. “Like I told Shining, it’s a lot more complicated than that.”
“Nevertheless,” Celestia said, now offering two wings for the much smaller creatures around her. Only when Spike grabbed onto Celestia’s leg did the filly do likewise.
“SISTER!?” exclaimed a voice of heavily mixed emotions, but one which Celestia knew better than any other. Her wings she folded back to her sides as her head twisted around, though the two younger creatures with her still clung to the safety she offered.
“SPIKE!?” the hoarser, more affected voice of Twilight Sparkle followed Luna’s own.
“Luna, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said, smiling radiantly at their having survived. Hope had begun to fail in her, but now it had been rekindled brighter than before. “You’re alive. When Spike told me you had gone on board the ship, I... well I thought the worst.”
“We art glad thou art unhurt as well, sister,” Luna said, the words rolling hurriedly off her tongue now that she was sure Celestia was no apparition of her distress. “But we art in desperate need of a physician for this one.” At her prompting, she and Twilight brought Inky’s maimed body before Celestia. “He aided us and has suffered these wounds saving the life of Twilight Sparkle.”
“I see,” Celestia said, her brow furrowing as she attempted to reorganize all of the new variables into a viable course of action. “Twilight, I assume you know this little Changeling filly,” she decided to address her student first.
“Yes,” Twilight said shortly, but Celestia could see in her pupil’s eyes there was something else, something Twilight was choosing to hide.
“And the other Bearers?” she asked her sister.
“They wilt be following in our hoofsteps without delay,” Luna replied. “They too all live, if that is what thou wast asking.”
“I had faith they were all still with us, Luna,” Celestia said. “Come, I will go back to the staging area with you. I’m sure your brother will be relieved to see you, and I assume my orders will need to be modified with whatever you know, dear sister.”
“And a doctor... You can get us the best doctor right Princess?” Twilight asked, even as they all began to march away, Spike struggling to keep his eyes averted from the extension of Inky Jay’s injuries and the Changeling filly falling between the two mares she trusted more than Celestia.
“I can, and I will,” Celestia said, bowing her head sadly as she continued. “They will be glad to have a pony they can actually save.”
______________________________________________________________________________
Even though it was the Everfree Forest and not the quiet, peaceful copses nearer Ponyville, Fluttershy felt blessed to take in a deep breath of clean, natural air. Coming into the smells of lush greenery and blooming flowers, Fluttershy wondered how she had been able to survive so long below decks. She supposed it was simply due to having become used to a latent scent of magic with the field having surrounded Ponyville for so long, but she could not believe she had failed to notice how putrid the air had become with the hundreds of Devices damaged and leaking.
And adding to her elation at being able to breathe fresh air again, Fluttershy only had to wait a few seconds before Rarity emerged from the ship’s interior, leading Pinkie and Applejack and Spearhead, the two of whom were discussing something with fierce and raised tones, though Fluttershy was sure they were not arguing. “AH! Everypony look! It’s Fluttershy!” Pinkie said, being the first to notice her. Though she was prepared somewhere in the back of her mind, Fluttershy was still caught unawares when Pinkie surged toward her and wrapped her in a tight hug.
“Um... can’t... breathe...” Fluttershy squeezed out.
“Oh, sorry,” Pinkie replied, pulling away, but still smiling happily. “I’m glad you’re okay. One of the Changelings told us what happened...” Pinkie struggled to continue to appear cheerful, but ended settling for a dejected sigh.
“It’ll be alright Pinkie,” Fluttershy did her best to keep her friend’s spirits up. “It was pretty scary when it happened, but Twilight and Princess Luna will take care of everything.”
“Yes dear,” Rarity added, having made it to the pair, “Except for Princess Celestia, Inky Jay is now in the hooves of two of the most powerful magic users in Equestria, which is more than he deserves when one thinks about it.”
“But... he saved Twilight,” Fluttershy ventured. Rarity grimaced at this, seeming to not want to admit Inky warranted any praise of any kind. In the interim of their conversation, Applejack’s voice cut in as she continued to talk with Spearhead.
“I still don’ think it smart to jus’ let ‘em go wanderin’ off like this,” she said.
“I get that they aren’t exactly a trustworthy species,” Spearhead replied, “but at the same time, Princess Luna offered them asylum for their assistance. I’d like to have them all camped nice and pretty with guards on all sides at all times, but I can’t. I’m sure it makes your skin crawl just like mine, filly, but this is war, and sometimes you do things you’d rather not and trust ponies you never normally would.”
“I’m just sayin’ it’d be smart for somepony ta stay with ‘em ta make sure they don’ get up ta no good,” Applejack said. “An’ I volunteer.”
“And if they did decide to do something?” Spearhead challenged her. “What then? There might have been some killed in the fighting, but there are still enough Changeling soldiers out there to kill you a hundred times over.”
“Just leave them be, darling,” Rarity said to Applejack. “We owe Chrysalis that much for all she did.”
“I don’t think they will cause much trouble anyway,” Fluttershy ventured, shrinking back when they all turned in her direction. “I... I... mean, they need to recover too. I don’t think they’ll, well, care very much about us... as long as we don’t bother them of course.”
“Well said, filly,” Spearhead nodded. “Now, let’s get our flanks off this bucking ship before the soldiers that will be coming arrive. I’d rather not have my own stallions try to arrest me again.”
“Um... wait... what about Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked. “Did she fly on ahead to catch the princess?”
“No, we thought she had gone ahead after meeting up with you,” Rarity replied. “Was she not with Chrysalis?”
“No...” Fluttershy said, “but Chrysalis didn’t seem to be worried about her, so she can’t have been hurt.”
“Maybe not at the time,” Spearhead said gruffly, “but let’s not forget this ship is a rat’s nest of traps and weapons. One wrong step after a crash like this and...” The old general slid his hoof across his neck and clicked his tongue.
“We have to go look for her!” Pinkie said. “We can’t just leave her here if she’s hurt!”
"We could ask for the Changelings’ help too,” Fluttershy agreed. “That would help it go by much faster.”
“Well, I ain’t leavin’ RD here. Everypony ready to go back down?” Appeljack asked, her disgruntled attitude about the Changelings pushing a greater than normal amount of resolve into her tone.
“Look for Changelings first,” Spearhead said, leading the group down. “They know where Chrysalis is, and she should know approximately where your friend is.”
______________________________________________________________________________
Clouds floated above her head in a lackadaisical drift, no cares, fears, or plans. Just floating along, moving wherever the wind would take them. The vibrant sky around them was its normal cerulean hue, but it seemed harsher on the eyes somehow. A brief gust of wind tugged at the clouds, breaking some apart, but simply moving most along. In the swaying wind, her eyes caught glimpses of her red, yellow, and orange bangs before they were caught and blown back again. She sighed with the contentment of a day spent with no pressing issues at hoof, intending to brush her mane back into place. She lifted her hoof, and her leg blocked the sun for but a second.
It was not whole. It was not the leg of a pony. There were hollows where flesh and fur should be.
Rainbow Dash screamed, limbs flailing as she struggled to awake from the nightmare in which she knew she now lay captive. Her eyes jerked open, a panicked scream still escaping her upon waking. The air was not clean and fresh, but heavy with the tainting smells of burning wood and unattended magic. The sky she could not even see, blocked as it was by the wooden planks of Aurora’s vessel. She groaned, flopping her head back to take a controlled breath. All the events just before the fight were such a blur. She needed a few moments to gather her thoughts, get her head back where it belonged, so to speak.
The ship was no longer moving, that much she could latch onto and there were no sounds of battle from outside. Whether that meant they had succeeded, or Celestia’s forces had managed to bring the vessel down, Rainbow could not yet tell. She blinked her eyes, something in the air irritating them, and she froze. Schick. It was barely audible a sound, but with nothing else filling her ears, she could not help but notice it. She grimaced, resisting the urge to check over her body, instead only blinking again, more slowly and purposefully. Schhhhick. The sound followed the movement of her eyelids perfectly. Real, not nightmare-induced, panic was crawling up her sides now, despite her greatest efforts to remain cool and collected.
“Oh, good, you are awake finally,” a genuinely pleased voice said from behind her. “You should be glad you had someling as experienced as myself on this cursed voyage. I’m not entirely sure how well my colleagues back home would have dealt with your situation.”
“I’m not turning around,” Rainbow said, her eyes beginning to water from refusing to blink.
"You do that,” the voice said, a mild amusement tainting the words. “But it won’t change anything.” The voice snickered before adding, “I’m sorry, that truly was an awful pun.”
“Yeah, I’m not laughing,” Rainbow replied, her teeth gritting as she tried to keep her mind from putting together the pieces in all the right ways.
“Listen,” the voice said, now more sympathetic, “I can’t understand what your head is probably telling you, and what your heart is saying in reply. I was born, not made. But that doesn’t change the fact that first, you are now my Sister and second, that as a doctor, it is my responsibility to care for anyling who is need.”
“I AM NOT A CHANGELING!” Rainbow roared, whirling around to shout in the face of the creature behind her. “AND... AND I... I... no...” He was indeed a Changeling, his grass green mane matching his eyes, and he appeared completely unaffected by Rainbow’s rage.
“Yes, you are,” the doctor replied, not uncaring but rather forceful. “Now, I’ve done what I could to make sure the physical changes were a smooth transition, but unless you let me help you with the next part, you will be worse than dead.” Rainbow tried staring back into his green orbs, now much harder than they had been a moment ago, but could not. Without meaning to, she looked down and saw her own hooves. Already having been flooded with denying panic in her dream, the sight of perforated black limbs was not so much a shock as confirmation of what her common sense had been trying to tell her.
Rainbow fell back onto her rump, unable to do any more than stare at one of her legs and struggle to keep the tears back.
“Here, we need to work on your magic as quickly as possible if the next part is going to be any kind of successful,” the doctor Changeling said, using his own arcane skill to withdraw a mirror from a bag resting on his back. “Take it in your magic.”
“I don’t... How am I supposed to know how!?” Rainbow snapped. “I’m a pegasus!” It was not true, but somehow, it helped.
“You are a Changeling,” the physician rebutted, “and you do too have magic. Levitation is a simple task even for Earth ponies who have transformed. Just think about taking the mirror but don’t move your hooves.”
Rainbow snorted, reaching out to grab the mirror in her new, chitin armored hoof. But it seemed the doctor had been anticipating her move, and the mirror was levitated well out of her reach before her hoof had been risen level with her body. Grunting under her breath, she bunched her muscles, preparing to leap into the air and use her superior flying skill. Her legs, though now black and filled with apertures, had not lost any of their old strength and her bound was impressive even by her standards. She flared her wings, and beat them, but felt no force behind the effort. Too late, Rainbow realized her mistake and crashed with graceless limb-flailing onto the floor.
“We can go over flying later,” the doctor said sternly, his voice cracking once in mild worry. “Now, if you don’t learn how to use magic, you can’t access the Hive Mind willingly, and if you don’t do that, when Her Majesty gives our full evacuation orders, it will be like an invasion into your thoughts rather than a normal conversation. Continue to be a stubborn griffon, and your mind will be destroyed from the contact.” Rainbow glared at the Changeling before her, the will to fight, to resist the truth still fresh, strong, and beating within her chest. It was a slow revelation that betrayed her. She was acting like a griffon: one particular griffon to be exact. She had been brought into the world of the Changelings—there was no denying it no matter how much she wished it otherwise—and while she persisted in fighting, the Changeling continued to offer his help to her. The longer Dash allowed herself to think about it, the more ashamed of her own blatant selfishness she became. After all they had gone through, she could not let her friends learn she was a mental vegetable. There was enough grief already without adding preventable sorrow as well.
“Would thinking of walking on clouds help?” Rainbow asked, subdued.
“It might,” the doctor replied, visibly pleased she was talking more civilly to him. “To be honest I’ve never dealt with a pegasus transformation before; only Earth ponies and unicorns. They seem to get along fine after one or two tries. None for the unicorns of course.” Dash nodded, lifting herself up and letting her eyes dwell on the mirror still held above her reach. It was one of the hardest things she had ever done; imagining walking while standing still. She was an impulsive pony by nature, and whatever her head told her to do, her body was fined tuned to obey instantly. To force them apart felt like she was flipping her stomach upside down. But it was not impossible, and after a few failed attempts and deep exhales (to which the Changeling doctor encouraged her to continue trying) she felt a dull throbbing around her temples. It was not painful, but a mere presence that acted to tell her she was doing something.
“Oh, brilliant!” the doctor exclaimed, and Rainbow felt a momentary tug of resistance before her eyes opened and the mirror hovered at her precise eye-level. She supposed the dream and seeing her legs in the waking world prevented her from losing control of the magic upon her new face being revealed to her. The contours of her old bone structure were still present as were the shapes and colors of her eyes and mane, so it was not entirely an alien facade. All the same, she could not look past the fact her whole body was covered in black chitin, and her fangs and horn had a particular altering effect that she could not easily describe. Subconsciously, she brought a hoof up and tapped the point of one of said fangs. Even at so slight a touch, she could feel its pointed sharpness.
“I have no doubt it will take some time for you to get used to your new, natural appearance,” the doctor said when Rainbow did not lower the mirror, “but it has been quite a while since Her Highness departed, and I don’t think it will be long before everyling is organized and ready.”
“Will I really become a mindless drone?” Rainbow asked, leery.
“Eh, not quite,” the doctor replied. “The soldiers will, because, you see, the Hive Mind is properly a weapon of coordination. For the rest of us, you and me included, it will just be like hearing one voice of authority all at once.”
“And I don’t have to obey?” Rainbow questioned.
“No, you don’t, but I wouldn’t advise that,” he said. “Ponies are social creatures, but Changelings more so. It’s the reason very few of us are chosen as infiltrators. It takes a considerable amount of fortitude to be alone as a Changeling.”
“I... but I... I need to let my friends know,” Rainbow said, lowering her head and the mirror settling gently onto the floor and the magic holding it fading. “I don’t want them thinking I’m dead or that Chrysalis did something to me.”
“Ah, I see,” the Changeling replied. “Well, in that case, I’ll go with you to keep you sane. But it won’t matter much if we don’t prepare your mind in the first place. The procedure is simple, but can be painful if you try to fight it.”
“I think I can manage,” Rainbow said, sure that her mind would rebel against whatever the doctor was about to do.
“Come closer then, and let me touch my horn to yours,” he said. Rainbow did as she was asked, her face contorting like she had swallowed lemon juice at how sensitive her new appendage was to touch. “I am going to copy some of the general magical conditions on my mind to yours. For that, I need you to open up your magic pool first.” Again, Rainbow obeyed, feeling the pulse, less acutely than before, but still distinctly present. “Good, now brace yourself.” The doctor’s eyes clenched, and his own horn lit with the Changelings’ unique green hue. For a time, Rainbow felt nothing save the pulsing in her head actually reaching deeper into her skull at double its original pace.
The moment the pain began, Rainbow screamed. She could do nothing more. It was the only reaction that seemed appropriate. Her head felt like it was being split open dozens and dozens of times, like fire, ice, and electricity were all pouring into that wound without end. And she could not pull away. She wanted nothing more than to yank herself away from the contact, to end the agony, but she was paralyzed, numb everywhere except where the pain dictated otherwise. For what time passed—seconds, minutes, it had no relevance— the pain defined her world, and before she could truly begin to reconcile that and perhaps escape, it ended.
The other Changeling’s contact disappeared, and he leaned back, eyes averted away from her in guilt. Rainbow could only bury her sobbing face in her black hooves as hiccuping breaths wracked her body. “I’m terribly sorry,” the physician said at last. “If it’s any consolation, it means you have more spirit than a good bunch of Changeling soldiers.”
“It’s... not,” Rainbow managed between two dying gasps.
“How about I see if I can find out where your friends are?” he asked.
“You’d... yeah... that’d be great,” Rainbow said, bringing her head up, sniffling and trying to rid her face of the feeling of tear streaks. The doctor’s face took on a pre-occupied, glazed look as he no doubt took advantage of the very aspect of Changelings Rainbow now possessed via her trial.
“No, Hept! Do you know where they are or not?!” the Changeling actually yelled aloud, his face wrinkling with clear anger. “Then inform Her Majesty to hold off on the retreat order until I can get this resolved! And don’t you dare... Yes, I am fully aware I’m doing both again!” He grumbled and muttered some words Rainbow was sure were Changeling curses before his attention shifted back to her. “My apologies, I tend to think and speak when I get upset.”
“It kept it from being wierd to be honest,” Rainbow replied.
“Well, it’s generally looked upon with a bit of, mirth I suppose you would say,” he said. “But regardless of my telepathic skill, you’ll be pleased to know that Her Majesty’s Captain has had your friends shadowed for some time and is currently having his operative stop your friends so we can make it there.”
“Um... do you think you could show me how to... change... before we go?” Rainbow asked, shuffling her hooves.
“I’m sorry, my girl,” the doctor said, “I really am. Under normal circumstances, I would happy to instruct you, but the captain is unsure how long he can convince Her Majesty to hold off the retreat order. We must hurry.”
“I just don’t want my friends to see my like... this,” Rainbow said, trying her best not to sound prejudiced and unsure of how successful she was in the endeavor.
“It’s understandable, but then again, I don’t think they would be true friends if they couldn’t accept you, no matter what you looked like,” the doctor replied pointedly. “Now come on, we’re keeping more than one group waiting and anxious the longer we stay here.” The doctor galloped off, and with her only inhibition having been rebuked, Rainbow joined his run through the halls. It provided a measure of relief, especially after the ordeal she had just endured, that all of her muscles and joints moved just the way they had when she was a pony. Though she knew she was still herself—considering her thoughts were still distinctly hers and her memories had not faded into oblivion—having it confirmed in her physique proved a more stable assurance.
Her guide was confident in all of his turns, even occasionally making use of collapsed walls to jaunt over to a parallel corridor. They crossed what seemed to be a good half of the ship and climbed three stairwells before he slowed to a light trot, head moving from side to side in search of Rainbow’s old fellows. They heard them before seeing them, and at that, it was only one voice. “I am not so convinced that Rainbow Dash is on her way!” Rarity’s offended tones echoed off the surviving walls. “Unless I hear it from the mouth of Queen Chrysalis herself standing right here in front of me, I will continue to search for her by own means!”
“Calm down, Rares,” Applejack’s more reasoned voice sounded next. “I’d like to go find ‘er myself too, but we was jus’ talkin’ ‘bout hopin’ to find some Changelin’ to help us out. Let ‘em do their thang.”
“Delaying us isn’t in Chrysalis’s best interests,” Spearhead said, just as Rainbow and the doctor rounded the corner behind them. “Just cool it, and give patience a try.”
“No need my good ponies!” Rainbow’s companion joyously burst out, and Rainbow could only wince and look away from her friends as they jerked around to see from whom the voice came. “I am here with her right now!”
“I didn’t think Changelings had a sense of humor,” Spearhead said, tone aggressively low. “Stop playing games or I will lose the patience I was just saying was a good idea.”
“He’s not playing games guys,” Rainbow said shakily but still unable to look at them. “It’s me. It’s really me.”
“Stop! It’s not funny!” Fluttershy tried to yell, which tore at Rainbow’s heart more than anything any of her other friends could have said. Her oldest, most loyal companion did not even see the truth.
“You creatures have some nerve, pulling a stunt like this!” Rarity rebuked them. “Why would you do something like this to us?”
“Well, maybe you should really ask yourselves that question,” the physician said, defensive of his patient. “Is there any logical reason for us doing something like this?” None of them said anything except Pinkie, who tentatively addressed Rainbow herself.
“Can I see your eyes, Dashie?” she asked, scared but hopeful. Rainbow did not want to look. That she was well and truly a Changeling and not a pegasus was hard enough to accept without having to see the look of revulsion in the eyes of her friends. But if anypony cared genuinely for others, it was Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow wanted nothing more than to find acceptance in the hooves of her friends. She lifted her head, finding Pinkie’s own brilliant blue orbs as easily as though she had known exactly where they would be. Their eyes had not met long before Pinkie’s began to tear. She cried out and rushed over to Rainbow, embracing her with tears not of sadness, but of pure joy. “You’re okay!” she said. “I didn’t want to think the worst, cause, you know, I never think the worst, but we couldn’t find you, and I was starting to wonder if we would, which made me start thinking something bad had happened, but now—!”
She inhaled deeply to continue babbling on, but Rainbow stopped her, hugging her back and saying, “I’m glad you’re okay too, Pinks.”
“Oh... Rainbow...” Fluttershy whispered, horror struck that she may have hurt Dash. With small butterfly beats of her wings, she joined Pinkie in hugging Rainbow Dash. “You... you feel... different...” she whispered in Rainbow’s ear.
“I guess I probably do,” Dash replied, finding a small chuckle with Pinkie and Fluttershy happy to see her again.
“And you two?” Rainbow heard Spearhead say expectantly. “You her friends or not?”
“You believe them?” Rarity asked.
“Even professional deceivers can’t mimic emotion like that,” Spearhead said. “She’s a Changeling now, fillies. It’s there whether you want it to be or not, and if she were one of my friends, I wouldn’t take the chance.” Rarity and Applejack joined the group, small tears leaking out of both mares’ eyes.
“Things ain’t gonna be the same, ya know Dash,” AJ said.
“They weren’t going to be anyway,” Rainbow replied. “Not after what Aurora did.”
“Doctor Nemb,” the Changeling who had been with other Bearers addressed the physician, “Captain Hept is requesting an update. Her Majesty is growing impatient.”
“Yes, yes,” Nemb answered, “let them know the order is ready to go out.” Tapping Rainbow awkwardly on the back, he said, “It’s time for us to go.”
“Whatever does he mean darling?” Rarity asked. “You’re coming back with us aren’t you?”
“No can do, Rarity,” Rainbow said, deflating a bit with the rest upon hearing the reality of her new life. “I’m part of Chrysalis’s Hive. The doc says I’d probably lose my marbles if I left with you guys.”
“I... don’t think we have to worry...” Fluttershy said. “Chrysalis said they weren’t going too far. We’ll still see Rainbow. Right, Dashie?”
“I’ll make sure of it,” Rainbow said, gaining a bit of her old swagger back in the presence of familiar faces.
The following is a Royal Decree for all of the Mesa Hive, Chrysalis’s voice seemed to flow into Dash’s own stream of thoughts and emotions, not overtaking them, but feeling as though it were a momentary covering. All Changelings are to abandon the House of a Thousand Fangs for safer ground deeper in the Everfree Forest. Find your leaders and follow them. They are informed of where to take you.
The layer of Dash’s mind faded, the rest of the world coming into it’s normal, sharp focus. “We are leaving now,” Nemb said, motioning for Rainbow to follow.
“Try to keep Twilight from freaking out,” Rainbow said to her friends, as she backpedaled after the doctor. “And I’ll try to get in touch soon.”
“Stay safe!” Fluttershy called out, and Rainbow was forced to turn around, losing sight of her companions and with them, everything about the world she thought she knew.