//------------------------------// // Rap Battle #28: Results and Aftermath (Pt. 2) // Story: Epic Rap Battles of MLP // by enigmaMystere //------------------------------// Out in the street, four ponies peeked around the corner. Vinyl groaned, seeing the street filled with changelings. “Great, our path’s blocked. Now what are we going to do?” She held up a hoof before the burgundy pegasus could say anything. “I don’t care if Town Hall’s two streets over, I don’t like our chances against that big a swarm.” “Regardless, we need to figure out an alternate.” Octavia turned to Rhino, the gears in her head turning. “Do you think you could teleport us over there?” The stallion looked thoughtful. “Assuming ‘there’ means Town Hall, no. My Blink has a distance limit so it wouldn’t just be in one fell swoop, it would be multiple jumps. The extra energy needed to transport all of us also complicates things because I wouldn’t be able to pull them off in quick succession. I could get us across the crowded streets if needed, but other than that...” He trailed off. “Guys?” Enigma pointed to a nearby road. “Why don’t we just go down the alleyway?” Rhino deadpanned, “The fact that they left it unguarded makes me think they are either very clever, or very stupid.” “Gotcha.” The feminine stallion leaned against a wall, a hoof on his chin. “...maybe what we need is a diversion?” Vinyl tapped him on the side of the head, frowning. “What are you, crazy? That’d be suicide!” Rhino raised a hoof. “Before that line of thought goes any further, might I make a suggestion?” The sophisticated mare stepped between the couple, nodding to the taller stallion. “Go ahead, Rhino. You have our full attention.” “Alright, two questions then: One, do you have one of those pellet bombs you used against me? And two, do you mind a small bit of property damage?” He pointed a hoof a little down the street at a billboard. Octavia smiled, pulling out a small blue sphere. “It’s not like we can’t fix it after all is said and done, Rhino.” He bowed and did a sweeping gesture with his hoof. “Well then milady, would you like to do the honors?” She frowned, staring down at the bomb. “I would, but I’m better at planting them directly. Throwing them is not my forte.” “Got it!” Enigma grabbed the sphere and threw it. He smirked, seeing it land exactly between the uprights. “There. Armed and placed. Now-” There’s a loud explosion, decimating the pillars holding the sign up and taking out a fair number of changelings at the same time. There’s a creaking noise, followed by a loud thud as the billboard crashed to the street, flattening another batch of changelings that didn’t flee with their kin. After that, things became eerily quiet. Octavia scratched her head, considering what just happened. “...I think that was one of my regular bombs.” Rhino stared at the debris. “Well... glad you didn’t use those during the fight... Let’s just move on, shall we?” Everyone else in the group nodded. They quickly made their way down the now-vacated street and toward town hall. Outside of the town limits, a brown stallion could be seeing sitting in a strange position, his legs crossed, his body relaxed as he stood there, unmoving. The only sound was of the birds calling out and of the soft breeze of the wind as it blew by. Relax...let all your frustration wash away. Cinnamon Shy, as this is who the stallion was, thought to himself. Let all your inner conflict boil down. He took a deep breath, letting the fresh scent of his surroundings invade his nostrils. Quiet... BOOOOOM! The sudden sound startled the stallion out of his meditation, making him fall to his back. “Just what the buck was THAT!” He screamed as he quickly stood up on all fours, looking in the general direction of where the blast came from. In the distance he could see a small trail of smoke rising into the air, followed by some black insect-like creatures as they fled the place where the smoke was coming from. Changelings, in Ponyville? How could this happen? He quickly dismissed the thought, having more urgent matters to attend to. “If those pests are here, they only mean trouble, better find somepony for help.” He suddenly felt a noticeable shift of weight on his back. Turning around, he saw a lone soldier, holding a black-hilted blade in its mouth. Its eyes narrowed at him, its muscles tensing as it prepared to strike. Cinnamon just had a look of bemusement as he looked at the insect. “Bad call, bug.” Quickly, dashed forward, punching the side of the face of the changeling, earning him a small cracking sound. Stunned, the soldier let go of the sword as it tried to recover from the attack. “What the hell!” It glared at the unicorn, wings flared. “Who strikes a lady?!” Taken aback by the statement, Cinnamon looked at the supposed female as it - she - rubbed her cracked cheek. “You’re a mare?! Well I certainly didn’t see that one coming.” She huffed, puffing her cheeks out in indignation. “Rude. Also, I’m technically a ‘nymph’.” She turned away, lifting her tail. “Drones don’t have these.” After seeing the exposed ‘region’, Cinnamon raised a hoof to his eyes, covering his view from the nymph and hopefully hiding his blush. “Oh by Faust...I didn’t mean to look there, I swe-” He was interrupted as he felt a pair of hooves hitting him straight in the chest. The soldier laughed, shaking her head. “I can’t believe you actually looked! You’re even blushing, you pervert!” She playfully pushed his shoulder. He mentally facehoofed himself, falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book, at least when facing a mare. Nice one, Cinnamon, now you look like a xenophile and a pervert. “You’re funny.” The nymph giggled, walking past him and brushing his cheek with her tail. “It’s too bad I’m not a lone changeling. The collective calls, after all.” She trotted towards the town, her flattened ears the only sign of hesitance. “I hope I won’t be late, again...the Queen will punish me if I am...” She stopped, turning towards the unicorn with a scowl on her face. “Make a joke about ‘a very important date’, and I’ll kick you again - this time, lower.” Her frown turned into a playful smirk. “It’d be a shame to break that toy, don’t you agree?” “You even try, and I’ll rip you in half, you hear me?” he said as he puffed some steam out of his nose. Just to realize what he just said. She stopped and shook her hips at him, giving him a sultry look over her shoulder. “That sounds so raunchy.” She grinned, resuming her departure. “I like it.~” Cinnamon wasn’t paying attention, as he was too busy smashing his head repeatedly on a nearby tree trunk. As she left, a small piece of parchment fell from under her wings. After he had physically assaulted his head enough, he looked in the direction of where the nymph left, noticing the out of place piece of paper on the ground. Calling forth his magic, he levitated the paper towards his face and examined it. Nymph 69 of Hive 63. Ponyville Train Station. Thirty minutes. Be there or you’ll be fired. From a cannon. “69? Well, it fits her perfectly.” He tossed the paper behind his shoulder, letting it get taken on the wind. “Whatever they’re planning can’t be good, maybe there is somepony that can help me there.” With a new goal set to his mind, Cinnamon levitated Mystic Darkness and sheathed back to his back before galloping off, heading towards the train station which was not far from where he was. A cerulean mare hid in the trees near the train station, holding her friend’s strange device to her chest. She gulped, peeking out at the insectoid forms on the platform. “...I didn’t think this would happen my first day as a volunteer nurse...what should I do?” There was a loud whistle, announcing the arrival of the train. The changelings grinned, getting ready to take the passengers as soon as the doors opened. The poor pony in the shadows panicked, wanting to help but unsure of what she could do. There was movement in the corner of her eye, and she turned, seeing a brown stallion running towards the platform. “Oni GIRI!” As those words came out, the stallion moved across the ground, taking out a few changelings on the way, crippling their wings and limbs to stop them from escaping or fighting back. The mare in the shadows gaped at this. Who the hay is this? She slowly shifted closer to the treeline, trying to get a better look. He’s obviously a hero, protecting the train like that. As the rest of the insect ponies took notice of the new arrival, they started to hiss and bare their fangs in disgust towards the stallion. A few of the changelings started to gather around the unicorn, closing any route of escape that he may have. She took a single step into the open, her eyes on the stallion. He’ll be fine. He took out a huge number of them easily, right? “Well now, thirty of you ugly bug faces versus one of me, seems hardly fair.” He sheathed two of his swords back into their respective sheatles, only leaving one out for use. “So I’ll make it easier for you.” Taking this as a challenge, three of the group members dashed towards the brown stallion. At the last second, Cinnamon grabbed the neck one of the soldiers before throwing him against another one, knocking them both to the ground. The third one had taken flight and was head bombing towards the stallion from one side. Raising his sword, Cinnamon stopped the incoming bug in its tracks, before slamming a hoof to his head and then kicking him towards the other two changelings who were recovering from the attack. But before they could even get the chance to attack again, the unicorn swung his sword in the air with enough force that the air in front of him was pushed forward into an air blade, hitting the trio of changelings and sending them back into the crowd, taking with them another five. Putting the sword to the ground and resting his weight on top of it, he looked into the faces of the insect ponies, who were looking at him with more hatred than before. “So who’s next?” he taunted as he flashed them a grin. A single changeling, possibly wanting to make a name for itself, launched right at the stallion. He received a flying hoof to the head for his efforts. The cerulean mare stared at the downed soldier at her hooves for a second before spinning around to Cinnamon, grinning brightly. “Did you see that? I just took that changeling down with one kick!” She pumped a hoof into the air. “That was so great!” The changelings leaped back at the new arrival, unsure of what to make of her strange behavior. They kept their distance, their gazes shifting between the two. “Hey uglies, you’re facing me not her, or am I gonna have to come and get you myself?” The brown stallion said as he took a step forward, bringing his sword to chest level. The mare turned to him, frowning slightly. “I have a name, you know. It’s Mel-SWEET CELESTIA!” She jumped, finally noticing the odd addition to the stallion’s body. “What the hoof is that?!” “Wha?” Following the line of sight of the mare, he came upon a cobra with dark brown scales and yellow eyes, which was coming out from the mess that was his own tail. “Tootsy! I didn’t tell you to come out.” The cobra looked into the brown stallion, hissing to him as if in response to what he had been told. “Well I don’t care if you are bored out of your mind, you can’t just pop out like that whenever you feel like it.” Melody stared at the two, stunned. “...that unicorn’s talking to a snake...attached to his tail...” She scratches her head, considering this for a moment. “...still not the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.” She turned to a nearby soldier, smiling kindly. “Don’t you agree?” It rolled its eyes (at least, it appeared to). “Tell me about it.” It turned, staring off into space for a moment. It then sighed, turning towards the others. “Come on, troops. The captain needs us at the hollowed-out tree.” With that, the squadron took to the air, heading over to the other side of town. The mare grinned, seeing them departing. “We won!” She hugged the stallion, giggling excitedly. “We saved the passengers!” Snapping out from his heated argument with his reptilian tail, Cinnamon turned to look around to see not a trace of the insect ponies, before frowning a bit. “Damn it, and I wanted to have some fun messing with them.” The cobra did a raspberry (at least I think it was) at the stallion. The cerulean pony looked at his face, doing her best to not notice the serpent. “They said something about the hollowed-out tree.” She glanced in the direction the soldiers left, thinking a bit. “Did they mean the library?” Cinnamon turned and Looked at the direction in which the group of changelings had left, a thinking look on his face. “The library? Now what would they want to read during and invasion?” He looked down to the mare, seeing as she was still holding him in a hug. “Hey, you can let go of me now.” She squeaked, letting go of him and moving to a comfortable distance. “Sorry!” She began to trot towards the library, thinking out loud. “Maybe they want the Elements of Harmony. I remember seeing them there the last time I checked out a book.” Upon hearing the words ‘Elements of Harmony’, Cinnamon started recalling past letters of her sister, telling him about her friends and how she had become a bearer of the Element of Kindness. Then, he realized what was going on; they were capturing the bearers to avoid any risks of stopping the invasion. Which meant they were after his baby sister. “We need to go, now!” Not even given the mare time to question his decision, he grabbed her with his magic and placed her on his back, galloping with determination of protecting his sister. She looked over her shoulder at him, eyes wide in panic. “Hey! We’re heading the wrong way!” “How do you know?” “Because you put me on here backwards and the library’s in front of me!” The stallion looked back, seeing the top of a tree in the middle of the town which was being guarded by changelings. “I-I knew that.” He said, stammering a bit as he was caught looking like an idiot. The mare tapped him on the side with a hoof, starting to breathe a little heavily. “Then why are we heading towards the Everfree?!” Cinnamon stayed silent, thinking of an excuse that may get him off the hook; which he didn’t. “Umm, taking the scenic route?” He gave a sheepish smile, while he turned around and changed direction towards the town’s library.. “That’s not a valid reason!” She gripped his body tightly, hyperventilating. “And can you please have your snake not stare at me?!” The cobra looked over the shoulder of the mare, hissing to its owner at the request. “I don’t care if you think she looks cute, just leave her alone and go back into the tail.” He commanded, which the tail simply ignored as it tried to get the mare to like it by licking her nose with its split tongue. Her hold on Cinnamon’s body immediately vanished, her legs dangling limply from his sides. Her soft breathing seemed to imply that she was merely asleep. Cinnamon stopped in his tracks, not wanting to risk having the mare fall off him as he galloped towards the library. “Great. Now I have to find something to hold her to my back.” He didn’t have to wait long, as the reptilian tail stretched long across and wrapped itself tightly around the shape of the sleeping mare. “Urrgh, it’ll have to do for now, we don’t have much time to waste.” He galloped off again, now with the mare secured on his back. Unnoticed to them, a white filly sneaks off the train, quietly yet swiftly following the duo. Vinyl skidded to a halt, looking up at the building in front of them. “Well, here we are.” They stood in the center of town square, which was just as empty as it was before the group started out. The only things visible were the buildings around them and the stage next to town hall. The burgundy pegasus glanced around, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “...something’s not right...shouldn’t there at least be some animals?” The green stallion looked around as well. “They probably knew something bad was happening and fled also... Still, the lack of noise here is disturbing...” Vinyl started to wander about, staring at the stage. “...something’s missing there...I just can’t put my hoof on it...” She turned to the sophisticated mare but paused, noticing that her eyes were closed. “...Tavi?” She didn’t answer, a foreleg slowly moving to the bows on her back. Suddenly, her eyes shot open and, in a blur, she slashed at the air next to her. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the air she just attacked distorted, a single changeling falling forward. Octavia turned to the others, a grave look on her face. “...I was wrong...they’re all around us...” It was as if the universe was waiting on those words. The air around them melted away, thousands of the insect-like warriors revealing themselves. A green flame engulfed the stage, dispersing to show the one behind the whole invasion. Chrysalis laughed, leering at the ponies. “Like flies into the spider’s web. Wouldn’t you agree?” She turned to a red-tinted soldier next to her. It - he - nodded, silently staring at the group before them. Rhino let out a large breath. “Well... buck. Now what?” Vinyl scoffed, pulling her bladed weapon out of her sheath. “Isn’t it obvious?” Enigma clapped his mythril-clad hooves together, small red sparks springing from the impact. “We fight.” Octavia placed a hoof on the green stallion’s shoulder, smiling softly. “I understand that this isn’t your universe. We’d appreciate it if you helped us out, though.” The stallion grimaced as he draws the black kunai from his bag. He looked around then grinned at the others as he looked back at them. “Well, you are my friends. What did you expect me to do after coming all this way with you?” Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “What a lovely but absolutely ridiculous sentiment.” She pointed at the group and the soldiers immediately blitzed them. Vinyl frowned, shaking her head. “...bucking zerg rush...” She braced herself, getting ready to take the swarm head-on. Hiding in an alleyway which overlooked the town’s library, Cinnamon looked about at everything that was happening. Checking the patrols and guards, plus having a small peek at the inside of the building, spotting dozens more of the creeps inside, plus a purple unicorn and dragon, who were being held hostage. Melody, having woken up a few minutes ago, peeked over his shoulder, curious. “So what can you see? Any way to get inside?” Turning to the mare, the stallion shook his head in response. “Place is tighter than Fort Trot. Four patrols walking around, guards positioned at the doors and windows, and the air space is covered. So we can’t do an air assault and I lack knowledge on teleportations spells.” He stomped the ground a bit as he finished in frustration, at not being able to do anything. “And if we try going head on, we would be overpowered, so I don’t know what to do.” “That can’t be, there’s always a way.” The mare looked around the corner, trying to spot anything that the stallion may had missed. Looking at the second level of the tree, she spotted a small window which was unguarded and was covered from the view of the flying changelings. “Hey, what about that window?” Looking back around the corner, Cinnamon spotted what the mare was referring to. “I saw it, but it’s too small for us to fit through. The only way we are getting through there is if we are flexible like rubber or if we are the size of a child.” “Could I be of any assistance? Is that the right way to say it? Darn it, that sounded so much cooler in my head...” a young voice said behind them. “I don’t know if you know me, but I know that you’re Cinnamon Shy, and I still have a grudge to settle with the changelings after they kidnapped a friend of mine.” The duo turn around to spot a small filly who seemed pump about getting a chance of helping out. “Oh no, I will not put a child in risk against these bugs.” Cinnamon said as turned around to look back at the tree library. “But you just said that you needed some way to get inside! And I’m the perfect size for the job.” The filly refuted to the stallion as she flew in front of him and pointed an accusing hoof at him. Melody shrugged. “I hate to say it, but she’s right. We need a way to get inside and she seems to be our only solution.” “Even if that’s true, I can’t allow the chance that she may get hurt on my behalf. I appreciate you wanting to help, girl, but we-” He stopped once he noticed that the filly wasn’t there anymore. “Hey, where did she go?” “Up there.” She pointed at the window they saw, the filly already halfway through it and turning around to wave at them. “Does she want to get herself killed? There are bound to be dozens of changelings inside, just how is she planning to get us inside?” He watched all the time towards the window until he spotted a white blur hitting the two guards that were guarding the balcony window. “Like that.” Melody giggled, looking up at the balcony. “Think you could help me get up there?” The stallion was just recovering from seeing the filly take on two changeling guards by herself. “I, what? Oh, right, if you don’t mind having Tootsie here wrapping you again.” The sentence was finished as the cobra went out from the stallion’s tail. Her eye twitched slightly but she nodded. “Sure, as long as he doesn’t lick me again.” “You heard the lady, and I expect you to behave this time.” The snake made a kind of frown but nodded to the request, wrapping itself around the mare but not too tight as it would normally do to a prey. “Ok, get ready, because this may be a bit fast.” Taking steps back down the alley, the stallion got ready before starting galloping down the alleyway. His horn started shining and his whole body and the mare’s started to get surrounded as well. Just when they started to get out, they glowed brighter and in a flash, they traveled so fast, that they nearly managed to break the sound barrier. But their aim was off, as they ended up smashing themselves into the branches of the tree and managed to shake the whole structure. “This is what..*Gasp* I hate *Gasp* about this spell *Gasp* can’t slow down *Gasp* enough afterwards” he wheezed as he got himself out of the trunk, moving slowly as to not make them obvious to the rest of the changelings. “You could have told me that you know?” Melody grumbled as she fell the few feet to the balcony, where the filly helped her up. “But I don’t see how would have been an inconvenience for us to get in before?” “The spell takes a lot out of me *Gasp* I would have needed a few minutes to *Gasp* get myself together, which is enough for them to get me and you.” He replied, now having recovered from the spell. She glanced over her shoulder at him, playfully smiling. “I think it happened, anyways.” “Catch your breath and c’mon, we’ve gotta get going. and kick some changeling flank!” the filly happily bounced up and landed in a fighting stance. “Oh, and the whole mysterious helper filly aside, my name is Broadway Bound.” “Very well, Broadway, but once all this is over, we are gonna have a talk about your behavior, but in the meantime.” Cinnamon reached back to his swords, taking hold of them in preparation for the battle. “Feel welcome to help us out.” “Okay!” she smiled. “How touching.” The three ponies turned to the voice, seeing a changeling with short, dark blue hair smiling at them. “Nice to see you again, handsome, but why are you here? And who are these two?” He facehooved when he noticed the changeling, who was the same one from before. “You again? And here I was expecting just a normal fight. And for why we are here, we are going to get the Elements free from you.” “Oh?” She put a hoof to her mouth, stifling a giggle. “And how are you going to do that?” “By taking you guys down and getting rid of the commanding officer in here, so I recommend you to step aside if you don’t want to get hurt.” He threatened as he lowered his stance to dash towards her. The nymph shook her head, laughing at this. “I don’t think I should!” Melody, who had watched this in silence, finally spoke up. “Why not?” The changeling frowned, her eyes narrowing. “Because I’m the one in charge, here.” With no hesitation, she leaped forward, using her knees to knock the brown stallion back into a wall. She then leapt a safe distance away, her horn glowing blue as she smartly saluted. “Gel, Colonel of Hive 42.” She sighed, running a hole-filled hoof through her mane. “Frankly, I’d prefer not to fight, but I’m in no position to argue with the Queen.” “Why? Think she isn’t going to let you play with her anymore?” He taunted, trying to annoy the nymph. Gel stared blankly at him. “...you’re serious.” She shook her head, groaning. “I’m not in a relationship with the Queen. That’d be the general.” She turned away, muttering something to herself, too quiet for the ponies to hear. “Fool,” Cinnamon said softly as he dashed forward, swords raised as he hit the nymph’s wings, rendering them useless. The nymph scowled at him, what appeared to be a blue fire forming around her body. “What the hoof? Who strikes an opponent who isn’t prepared?!” “Call it payback, from our last encounter.” He sheathed his swords and brought his hooves up. “But if you want a fair match, I’m more than willing to take the gloves off, figuratively speaking.” He then motioned with his head to the other two ponies to get moving, not realizing that one of them had already departed. “Let’s make it more even.” She reared back and spat, a glob of blue slime landing on his horn. “Better.” She turned and spat at the mare, barely missing her but making her stop in her tracks. “Don’t you two even think about it. After all...” She moved her gaze back to Cinnamon. “...we need someone to judge our fight. Or you could join. Either way, it’ll be interesting.” “Don’t worry guys, this will be fa-” He was interrupted as a hoof smack him across the face, sending him stumbling back a bit. “Eager are we?” She placed a hoof under his chin, smirking a bit. “Payback for payback’s painful, isn’t it?” Before he could respond, she slammed her hoof into her own elbow. The energy transferred along her foreleg and hit him in the jaw, launching him into the air. Flipping mid air, Cinnamon managed to put himself facing down as he reached the ceiling, and using it as propulsion, he launched down towards the nymph. Only to miss as she disappeared out of view, as he made a small crater on the wood work. “Glad I’m fast.” Her voice came from behind him. She landed a kick on the side of his hindleg’s knee, assuming that the swordspony didn’t strengthen those as much as his forelegs. She was rewarded with a wet ‘pop’, proving her right. “Dislocated knee, check.” She leaped back, regarding him for a few seconds, the gears visibly turning in her head. He clenched his teeth in pain, fighting the pain from his dislodged appendage. “You’re good, I’ll give you that.” He said through gritted teeth, before bringing a hoof to his mouth and the other one to his bad leg. Giving it a quick push, he was rewarded with the pop of his bones sliding back in place. “But you are gonna have to try harder than that.” He said as he brought his hooves up again, the one that was on his mouth now had a bleeding bite mark. Gel frowned, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t kill. I incapacitate. If I went all out, you’d already be dead.” She lowered her stance, smirking coyly. “I doubt you’d like that, stud.” She started to circle around him, waiting for an opening. What she didn’t expect was a red wave of energy enveloping the stallion. Off to the side, the mare stood, using the device she’d just received on Cinnamon. Cinnamon turned to look at Melody, giving her a smirk. “Thanks for the assist, sure is good to have a field medic.” “No problem!” She giggled, looking down at the ray in her hooves. She tilted her head, seeing a switch on it. “What does this do?” She flipped it, almost dropping the gun in her shock as both she and the stallion turned red. “What the!” He was shocked at the sudden change, but let it drop as soon as he noticed the power increase that he now felt, which made him smirk madly at Gel. “Well then, I guess this is a nice bonus, so you ready to go down?” She scowled at him, her horn glowing brightly. “You get help...” She grinned, a sword suddenly flying over to her. “...I get help, too.” She leaped forward, kicking him in the face and swiftly moving around him, peppering blows along his body. Her volley of attacks were stopped when a red-glowing hoof took hold of the blade, while another took hold of the nymphs neck. “Actually, you did say they could join the fight if they wished. And this was supposed to be a clean fight with no magic or weapons, which you broke so.” She blushed brightly, squirming in his grasp. “W-well she’s using a weapon, so she broke the rules first! I’m justified in-” She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes wide in shock. She looked down and saw the serpent attached to Cinnamon, fangs buried in her flank. “...I’d have prefered your other snake...” She gave a sultry smile before the venom took hold, causing her to faint against him. Cinnamon looked at the changeling, as she breathed into his soft fur. “You know, if she wasn’t trying to get us and wasn’t such a flirter, I’d say she was adorable.” He slowly set her body down on the floor, not wanting to harm her more than she already was. The cerulean mare walked up next to him, looking down at the changeling. “I feel a little bad for her, to be honest.” He looked at the mare with a puzzled look. “How so?” Melody turned to the stallion, a sad expression on her face. “She didn’t want to fight. She said so herself, and I choose to believe her.” She reached forward, gently stroking the nymph’s mane. “If she didn’t have to follow her Queen’s orders, I’d think she’d be a great friend.” At this, Cinnamon’s cobra tailed emerged once more and hissed at it’s master while it had some kind of smirk. “Hey, I would never! She may be cute for a changeling, but I told you, I don’t date anymore! At least for now.” The mare next to him tilted her head, confused. “...what are you talking about?” He gave a deep sigh as he regained his composure. “Tootsie, here, thinks I like her enough to consider dating, but I decided not to date again for personal reasons, so I told it to just-” THUMP! He was interrupted as a large rock smashed his whole body. “SNAKE!” There, at the top of the staircase, stood the lavender unicorn they had come here to free. Next to her stood the white filly, her forelegs still a little sticky from the slime in the capsule that she had to open that had kept the mare captive. Cinnamon struggled to get free from under the rock, just barely able to get his head out. “W-what happened?” “I think Twilight saw Tootsie and freaked out.” Melody put a hoof to her chin, thinking a bit. “I remember hearing that she got scared by a den of snakes one Winter Wrap-Up.” Pushing the boulder off of him, Cinnamon glared at the mare for her actions. “I’ll have you know, Tootsie is my chimera tail, and is part of me.” The unicorn stared at him, jaw agape. “Are you serious? Y-you didn’t have that at the engagement party, did you?!” He just stared at her, not really wanting to get into this conversation. “Yes, yes I did. I just ask it to remain hidden inside my pony tail when in public.” “Tootsie is sooooo cute!” Broadway cooed whilst running up the stairs and then patting its head. “Well, it’s good to know somepony appreciates it. You have no idea how many freak out when they see me with this tail. Not to mention the side effects from it.” He grumbled the last part, a frown on his face. “Side effects?” asked the filly, tilting her head. “I’d rather not talk about it.” He shook his head as he started to go down the stairs. “There are some things better left hidden.” Broadway looked at the snake again, then removed her hoof and rubbed it against the wall. Melody watched this exchange with an amused smile. “Oh, I doubt Tootsie is that bad.” She put a hoof to her chin, glancing at the serpent. “...that said, I’d rather not be licked by him again.” “Hey, if you are done chatting about me and Tootsie, can we get going? The rest of the Elements aren’t going to save themselves.” There was a moment of silence before Cinnamon spoke again. “Actually, that rainbow mare has a very good chance of freeing herself, so we still need to get the other four.” “Where could they be, though?” pondered the filly, placing a hoof under her chin. “And don’t think I forgot about you Broadway. We still need to have a talk about your behaviour.” “I don’t even know what I did wrong,” she grumbled as her head drooped. The group of ponies, now one member larger, exited the building, hurrying off to the next location. “This is almost too easy!” Vinyl butted the back of another changeling’s head, watching it crumple from the blow. “I don’t think any of us had to pull out our big guns, yet!” She leaped through a group of changelings, kicking each of them in the head as she passed. She glanced over at the other unicorn, grinning cheekily. “What about you, Rhy?” Rhino slammed two changeling’s heads together with a burst of telekinesis before quickly parrying a punch with the kunai also held in his magic. He looked to the DJ. “How are you enjoying this?!” He knocked another changeling unconscious, being sure not to land lethal blows on any of them. “We are probably fighting for our lives here!” “Hey, I’m trying to keep myself entertained!” She flipped over, knocking a changeling into the air, making it collide with two others. “If I didn’t, I’d have probably killed all of the ones I’d just knocked out!” She punched a changeling, her teeth gritted in anger. “They stole my love from me. I could never forget that, even if he is back.” The green stallion paused at this information. “Oh, that makes sense-Ow!” He turned to see a changeling clamped onto his back leg with its fangs. Rhino frowned and forcibly removed the insectoid pony before bringing it in front of himself. “You just got promoted to blunt instrument, congratulations.” The next few dozen changelings found themselves assaulted by the flailing body of one of their own held in the unicorn’s magic. “Thrilling as this is, I still don’t know about our odds!” “Trust me, I think E and Tavi are helping to lower their ranks quite a bit.” She motioned towards the ponies in question, an insectoid foe being held back by her hooves. “They always were a bit too serious about this sort of thing...” Octavia was in the same spot as when she began. Her forelegs were a blur, swinging her cello bows fast enough to cause a whistling noise. The changelings had grown smart, making sure to keep out of her range. This didn’t protect them from the pegasus. Enigma was almost impossible to follow, the only way to track his movement was the path of unconscious bodies left in his wake. He stopped next to Rhino and Vinyl, huffing softly. He glanced at the other stallion, his now-olive eyes barely registering him in the pegasus’s exhaustion. “Need to rest a bit. Too much theta’s bad for me.” He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them back up, his eyes their normal crimson. “This really is too easy, though. What was that foal thinking, trying to take over with subpar soldiers?” The other stallion Blinks behind another changeling as it tried to jump him. He cracks the chitinous soldier on the back of the head with the kunai before replying. “I guess she thinks quantity over quality.” Vinyl glanced over at the stage, frowning deeply. “...maybe...” The whole time, Chrysalis watched the scene unfold in front of her, her expression growing more and more angry with each passing moment. Eventually, she turned to the soldier next to her, growling angrily. “Mimic?” He saluted silently, his eyes on her. “Take them out.” He smirked, scarlet eyes narrowing as a deep voice rumbles out of his throat. “My pleasure.” He stepped forward, a dark red flame enveloping his body. When it subsided, he looked like a certain white mare. Vinyl stared at him, jaw agape. “...seriously? That bro’s a bucking poser!” She scowled, striding toward the stage. The burgundy stallion turned to the taller one, an eyebrow quirked. “Think she’ll win?” Rhino furrowed his brow, worried. “Officers aren’t promoted for no reason... I have a bad feeling about this.” At that moment, the same white mare flew right back at them, landing at their hooves. She looked up at the sky with spinning eyes, her leg twitching slightly. “...someone get the license on that carriage...” Enigma blinked in surprise, staring at the mare in front of him. “...what just happened?” The green unicorn muttered quickly. “Something bad.” He leans over the DJ. “Vinyl, anything broken?” She shook her head, rubbing her temple gently. “...not much...” Her lips curled up into a devious grin. “...just your face.” She suddenly flipped her lower body up, wrapping her legs around his neck and slamming him face-first into the ground. Enigma leaped away in shock. “What the buck?!” Rhino’s eyes swirl at the unexpected blow as he groaned while trying to stand up. “And here comes the main frustration of fighting changelings, being attacked by ponies that look like allies.” “That’s just the beginning.” She grinned, a scarlet flame enveloping her form. When the flames vanish, there’s nothing there. The burgundy stallion tilted his head in confusion. “...where did that thing go?” “The name is Mimic.” the pegasus turned only to get kicked across the face by a green hoof. “Do kindly remember it. Well, for the short amount of time left of your life.” Rhino looked on at his doppelganger as Enigma starts getting up. He tilts his head at the clone. “So, want to make me fight myself or a friend?” “No need.” The clone vanished. He whispered into the unicorn’s ear. “I’ll just attack your teammates. They’ll think you betrayed them and will attack you.” The original green stallion smirks. “Doubtful.” He quickly cements the false stallion to the ground with a reverse Res and thrusts the kunai point first at him. “Did you not realize?” He appeared behind Enigma, chuckling darkly. “I can copy your abilities.” His horn lit up, cementing Rhino to the ground before reappearing in front of him and punching him in the jaw. Rhino’s teeth smashed painfully together as he flew back before disappearing and reappearing in front of the copy to deliver a mirroring punch to its jaw. His words are forced from the previous hit, “Then this is going to be very repetitive until I start getting creative.” “Or until I change tactics.” The flame enveloped his form once more, but, this time, revealed a butter yellow pegasus. Despite his mind screaming at him to ignore it, Rhino hesitated. That hesitation is all the changeling needed. The teal eyes intensified, the pony’s gaze boring into his very soul. The stallion froze in place, the only sign of him fighting the look was one barely twitching eye. Another changeling soldier slammed Rhino square in the back, forcing him to the ground. As quick as possible, it spat a glob of green slime on each of his hooves. The green stallion was soon joined by the other three of his group, and they were each secured to the ground like Rhino. Mimic stood in front of them, in the form of the taller unicorn. He smirked down at them, shaking his head. “You didn’t stand a chance, foals.” His ear twitched, and he behind himself in the sky, eyes narrowing at a gray speck in the sky. “...what is that?” “Take this!” A pegasus colt slammed a hindhoof into the changeling’s face, stunning him momentarily. When the changeling tried to swipe at him, he just flew out of his reach, sticking his tongue out at him. As the imposter was distracted, a small purple filly showed up next to Rhino. She smiled softly at him, putting a hoof to her lips. The stallion’s eyes widened in surprise as he registered the purple shape. He immediately began shaking his head at her and motioning away from the group. She shook her head, her horn lighting up as she concentrated. She placed it against his jaw, her magic flowing into the wound. “I hope I’m not late!” The familiar voice caused Rhino’s head to jerk upwards while his eyes widen even more as he searches for its owner. A pink filly charged up the road, a determined look on her face. In her mouth was a blue kunai, and her hooves were glowing with light. Mimic turned, staring at the filly charging him. “...you’re kidding, right?” “Nope!” The filly leaped over the four ponies stuck to the ground. She brought a hoof down on top of the changeling’s head, slamming his face into the ground. “That’s for impersonating Rhino!” The clone got up, gritting his teeth angrily. “You’re about to get you dumb flank pummeled, you f-” “Hey, Buggy!” Mimic turned to the colt, a hoof raised to strike the impudent pony. “What the hell did you just call me?!” “You’re right. Maybe I should call you stupid?” He pointed a hoof at the changeling’s back. Before he could turn around, two hooves went at his face. He reflexively closed his eyes, but that didn’t stop the blow from being dealt. “GAAH!” He swung wildly, flinging the filly off his back. “I’ll have your hide for that!” “I’d believe that, if you weren’t currently blind.” Pinchy giggled, picking up her blue kunai. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to deal with it much longer.” She pointed it at the changeling, eyes narrowed dangerously. “This is for hurting my friends.” The cobalt-blue knife flew out of her magical aura, embedding itself in Mimic’s chest. He clawed at it with his hooves, trying to pull it out, but to no avail. He collapsed on the stage floor, unmoving. Pinchy sighed in relief, hugging her friend happily. “We did it, Rumble! We saved our friends!” She turned, seeing them all still pinned down by the green goo. “...well, almost, at least. C’mon, let’s get that stuff off them!” She tossed him a kunai, which he caught with his mouth. They then rushed over to the ponies, ready to free them. On the stage, an almost forgotten changeling queen pulled the knife out of Mimic’s form. “...I see. A magnetism spell to make this attract whoever it’s pointed at. Being lighter, it flies right at the target.” She glared at the retreating filly, raising the blade. “What happens if you hold onto it, though?” Pinchy stopped in her tracks, even though her hooves kept scraping at the ground underneath her. She glanced over her shoulder, eyes wide as she realized what was happening. She turned to the ponies in front of her, smiling softly. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine!” With that, she was lifted off the ground. The four trapped ponies watched in horror as the little filly flew through the air. Octavia turned away, closing her eyes to keep herself from seeing the results. A loud thud resounded through the square. Chrysalis smirked, staring at the filly stuck at the tip of her hoof. “There’s my answer.” She held her up to her face. “That was for interfering, you foal.” Pinchy stayed silent, her legs dangling limply. The changeling queen turned to the ponies on the ground, sneering. “Now to get rid of these other-” A pink hoof grabbed her horn, jerking her head to the side. The filly huffed softly, lines of light forming along her body. “...did I say...you could look away?” She grinned, looking over to her friends. “Dinky. Rumble. You know what to do.” The other young ponies nodded, quickly leaping in front of the unicorns, covering their eyes. Pinchy giggled, her whole body shining now. “Payback’s a-” FLASH. Chrysalis collapsed onto the stage floor, a grimace on her face. “...w-what...did that little brat do? W-where did she go?!” The purple filly in front of Rhino fell to the side, holding her stomach. “...I don’t feel vewy good...” Rhino’s eyes stayed locked onto the last place he saw the pink filly impaled by the queen. At a glance, one would think he was just as stunned as the changelings were. The sophisticated mare next to him noticed his comatose state. She frowned. “Rhino? Did you get caught in the flare?” A low growl answered her as a blood red bleeds through to replace the blue in his mane and tail. Enigma blinked at this, confused. “...what the hay? Is that even possible?” A tail smacked him in the back, catching his attention. The mare who owns it gives him an ‘are you serious’ look. “Your eyes change color. Are you sure you want to question this?” He lowered his head in response. “I thought so.” She turned her attention to where Rhino lay. He growled once more as his horn glowed and he tried to stand against the goo holding him down. The slime holding one of his hooves glows brightly before being ripped apart. A few changelings near him start coming to their senses and notice the captive escaping. Just as his last hoof is freed, two changelings charge the green stallion. *SNAP* *SCREECH* Both insectoid ponies shrieked in pain as their forelegs suddenly snapped at an unnatural angle, causing them to fall as the stallion marched purposefully past them. Most of the horde were still disoriented as he passes through it, but a few of the hardier specimens try to stop him. Crunches and snaps can be heard as the stallion is momentarily lost to sight, until he emerges again just as a final changeling is slammed into the ground with enough force to leave a small crater and a few cracks in its chitin. His eyes had never left the queen’s form on stage. He paused as he reached the stage and stared at her in silence. She stared back at him, a defiant gleam in her eyes. “What are you gonna do? Kill me? My subjects would starve without me.” She sneered, slowly standing up on wobbly legs. “You don’t have it in you to do that.” Rhino growled at her before smiling unpleasantly. “I can still hurt you. You deserve no less for what you have done.” Chrysalis laughed, shaking her head. “Such big words from a little pony!” She sauntered away, stopping in front of an empty glass case. “I have done nothing except find food for my subjects. You and your friends are the ones at fault here.” She pointed at the three ponies still stuck to the ground, frowning as she realized the two young ponies were attempting to free them. With a simple gesture, another few soldiers rushed the group on the ground. The colt grabbed one of the changelings in his forehooves and swung them at the other two approaching. They collided with a loud crunch, all three of them falling to the ground. He didn’t even bat an eye as he resumed cutting at the goo with his knife. The queen stood there, mouth agape. “...it seems as though I underestimated that foal.” She lifted the kunai, smirking darkly. “Best to stop him early.” A black blur shattered the glass case next to her, revealing itself to be Rhino’s black kunai. A number of shards of glass orient themselves to point at the queen as they move between her and the group as the green stallion appears before her. His eyes bored into hers. “Never again. I will not let you take them as you did Pinchy!” She blinked at his words, surprised. She chortled, leveling her gaze at him as her horn started to glow green. “Is that the filly from before? The one who had the misfortune of dying by her own blade?” Rhino’s eyes practically blazed with fury as he launched the shards at the queen. “Murderer!” Chrysalis shot the shards with a beam, disintegrating them. “Not murder. Justice.” She glanced at the form lying next to her. “She killed my Captain. I could not let that slide.” “The same could be said of me when you killed her!” He started applying force to a concentrated spot on one of the queen’s legs with magic hoping to recreate the effect it had on her soldiers. She quirked an eyebrow, blasting him away from her. “What did you hope to accomplish?” She smirked, slowly walking around him in a circle. “I’m the queen for a reason, you foal. And then there’s the two weeks I spent here, feeding off that foolish mare’s love for her stallion.” She glanced at the burgundy pegasus, who was watching them in stunned silence. “If only he hadn’t been turned into a mare, I would’ve spent even longer gathering more power.” She stopped behind him, charging up another blast, stronger than the previous ones. “No matter. I’m plenty powerful for my purposes.” As she unleashes the blast, Rhino Blinks out of the way and appears behind her. He casted a Res circle below her to make her lose her footing even as he picks up a piece of the wooden frame from the smashed case. He slammed the frame into one of her brittle looking wings as he muttered. "Power isn't everything." The membranous limb bent with the blow, lessening the damage. Even so, Chrysalis leapt away from him, scowling. “You may think power isn’t everything, but you’re wrong.” She flapped her wings - the one that was hit noticeably slower than the other - moving up to the catwalk above the stage, landing between a couple of changelings. “Power allows one to protect the ones they love.” She motioned to the soldiers next to her, smiling down at the green stallion. “Surely you, of all ponies, can understand that.” Rhino readied his magic even as he looked at her curiously. "What do you mean 'me of all ponies'?" She leaned over the safety rail. “You’re the one who’s attacking me for avenging my l-” She coughed, covering her mouth. “My second in command. Something in my throat.” The stallion's ear flicked at her slip as he smiled. "So that's what that one was to you... Pathetic, both of you. Him for being taken down by a group of foals after he had just beaten grown ponies, and you for just watching it happen. Truly, you are pitiable if that is how you treat those you supposedly care about." Chrysalis walked along the catwalk, her face unreadable. “You don’t know me. You don’t know Mimic.” She stared down at him. “If I had stepped in, he would see that as a sign of me not trusting him. He hates that thought.” She scoffed, turning to look at the red changeling. “I was respecting his wishes. He knows that I understand him that well.” Rhino goaded her further, trying to get her flustered. “I’m sure he’ll really appreciate that in his grave.” She grinned down at him. “Who said he’s dead?” Before Rhino could respond, a burgundy hoof slammed across his face. He went flying into one of the stage walls. There, standing in front of him, was a perfect copy of Enigma. He glared down at him with olive eyes, frowning deeply. “You dare attack my queen, peasant?” Rhino forced himself up as he regards his new target. “Yes, and you shall not stop me.” The false pegasus smirked, eyes narrowed. “We’ll see.” With that, he vanished from sight. The unicorn, recalling both his fight with Octavia along with Enigma’s earlier fighting, disappears as well and reappears upside down on the bottom of a catwalk. Mimic appeared underneath him, looking straight up. “What’s the matter, mage? Afraid to fight face-to-face?” Rhino shouted back. “You’ve got wings, use them! Come and face me yourself!” For the first time, the changeling hesitated, glancing at his surroundings. He flexed a hindleg for a second and smirked. “You’ll regret those words.” He almost appeared to teleport, suddenly in the air next to Rhino. He kicked him across the face as a nearby wall cracked. The green stallion flew away and down, but managed to right himself before he crashed so that he skidded along the floor on his hooves. He spit out a small bit of blood before watching the changeling come to a thump back onto the stage. His horn lit up as a giant circle appeared on the floor around him before he simply looked at his opponent and waited. Mimic stumbled for a moment, eyes wide in surprise. As his hooves scramble for purchase, a thought occurred to him. He flared the borrowed wings and flapped, sending himself sliding backwards. As soon as his hindhooves hit regular ground, he launched off and vanished from sight. Rhino frowned before flaring his horn again. The circle on the ground pulsed briefly, but remains. The stallion then begins disappearing and reappearing with startling speed at random points within the circle. “You think that will stop me?” A hoof struck him across the face, another two landing on his back. “I grow weary of your sad tricks, mage.” Despite the hit, Rhino smiled a bloody smile.. “I just needed you to hold still.” The giant circle instantly disappeared as small green auras appear around the bases of Mimic’s wings and legs before loud splintering sounds rend the air. The changeling screamed and fell off the stallion who approached his writhing form and placed a hoof on his throat. “As far as I’m concerned, you are just as guilty as your queen, and thus, shall pay.” He slowly started applying pressure. Mimic glanced up at Chrysalis, seeing the pain in her eyes. He smiled cheekily, his vision fading. “...it is an honor...to die for my queen...” He closed his eyes, returning to his normal form as the last ember of life escaped his unmoving form. The green stallion shows no response to the corpse below him as he turns and looks upward at the queen. Only to see her mere inches from his face. She grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the ground, growling angrily. “Bastard! How dare you kill him?!” She squeezed tighter, her body trembling in a mixture of anger and sadness. “I’ll never find another like him! I...” Her voice trailed off, even as she kept the pressure on Rhino’s neck. “...I never got to tell him my feelings...and now I’ll never get the chance...” The unicorn groaned out as the queen pauses. “You... deserve... to suffer... for taking her...” Her eyes hardened, glaring down at him. “What, that fucking filly? She made the mistake of getting in the way.” She raised a hoof above his head. “Maybe you’ll get to see her in the afterlife.” Rhino’s horn glowed suddenly. “You first.” The black blurred form of the kunai from earlier darted in and embedded itself hilt deep in the changeling queen’s eye. She lurched backwards off the stallion as a last breath rattled from her lungs. Her body seemed to freeze for a moment before she collapsed next to the corpse of Mimic, a look of surprise still on her face. A group of changelings approached, but didn’t attack the stallion. They gingerly, respectfully picked up their queen, taking to the air, careful not to drop her. Another group grabbed the deceased captain, and, when both bodies were secured, they left, heading out over the forest. There is only silence, the ponies on the ground focused on the stallion. Then Vinyl decided to break the silence. “Mind helping us out of this, Rhy?” Broadway Bound ran ahead of the group. “We need to find the rest of the Elements! Where could they be?” “If I was trying to take down a town’s main defence, I would go to where said defence is.” Cinnamon said as he ran along with the others, a sleeping Gel held on his magic. “Where is the main defense?” the filly asked, abandoning her legs and flying beside Cinnamon. “Think about it, who are the strongest ponies in town, that the ug queen would want them take care off?” He asked as he ran around a corner, going towards the outskirts of the town. Melody kept pace, thinking a bit. “...we’re heading towards the Everfree...” She turned to look at him, confused. “...do you mean that mare who lives in the cottage?” Cinnamon looked from the corner of his eye at the mare, before looking back ahead. “That’s my sister, and yes. She told me before that she and her friends are the Elements of Harmony, so you can guess why they would want them out of the picture first.” “Of course!” Twilight exclaimed, picking up her speed slightly. “We need to hurry! Fluttershy is super sweet and I don’t know how she would react if she was abducted by changelings!” Cinnamon now had a deep frown as he picked up the pace up. “If one of those bug face even scratch her, Celestia help me, I’m going to make them wish they never hatched!” Tootsie now coming out again when it felt the anger of it master rising. “I’m sure nothing bad happened to-” She stopped mid-sentence, screeching to a halt and staring at the cottage in front of her. It looked pristine, almost as if nothing had even happened. “I guess I don’t need to continue that sentence, huh?” “Don’t let your guard down, they may have heard about us and are ready take ambush us inside.” Cinnamon said as he went closer to the cottage, the others following behind. Surprisingly, nothing happened as they approached, and they arrived at the door without trouble. Curious, Melody pushed on the door, opening it to reveal a number of animals sprucing up the place, two pegasi helping them. “Shy’! Scoots! You’re ok.” The brown stallion rushed in, careful as to not step on any of the small animals. “I was so worried that you were hurt, did anything happen? Where are the changelings?” The orange filly beamed brightly at him. “You should have seen it! These changelings came and put us on the couch! They seemed so serious, but then, for some reason, they just left! We’ve been trying to clean up this mess since!” “Mind if I help? It would be nice to hang with you girls again,” the stallion said with a smile on his face, until he felt something nudging his tail. Looking back he took notice of a small white bunny with a small headset, poking the face of Tootsie. “Angel, could you stop doing that? Tootsie doesn’t like that and may want its dinner soon.” Angel looked at the stallion with his head tilted, confused. “‘It’? You know is a she right?” “Shussss.” Cinnamon covered the bunny’s mouth, dread on his face as he looked at the rest of the ponies with a forced smile. Melody blinked, registering what the bunny had just said. “Did he just say that your tail is a she?” She questioned, pointing at the serpent tail. “I would also like to know why you have a chimera tail. I mean, if you don’t mind me asking, that is.” Fluttershy asked, hiding behind her mane a bit. “I’m sorry, ‘Shy, but I’d rather keep some things to myself, and you can’t believe everything you hear right?” He tried to give a small smile to her sister, well, at least until he heard the new voice on the room. “Yo yo yo, this gizmo work or not blood? Angel, my man, I don’t think this is making the dough. Know what I’m saying dawg?” Came the voice of a girl, with a heavy Manehattan accent. Which belonged to the cobra tail, who now had Angel’s headset. “Yo, what up with ya’ll ponies?” “Tootsie! You can talk now! That is sooo cool!” Broadway exclaimed as she circled the snake. “Tootsie, shut up!” Cinnamon leaped at his own tail, in the hopes to take the headset off, away from the serpent. He was only rewarded by a constricted hold from said serpent. “Oh yeah boy, who’s in charge now sucker?” Tootsie then turned her head to face at the other ponies. “Sup girls, wanted to share a piece of secret with me?” Melody stared blankly at the snake. “...you sound like my cousin. And what do you mean, ‘a piece of secret’?” “That’s her way of saying to let secrets out, either ours or yours. And you better let me go, you worm!” He screamed furiously, struggling against the body of the snake. Tootsie tensed at the statement, then turned around and looked at its owners eyes, daggers on her eyes. “What you call me, blood? Ya know who you messing with? I’ll fry you, you hear me? Fry you!” Cinnamon just rolled his eyes, not in the least amused or scared at the snakes threat. “Oh like you would even try? You don’t have the guts!” He taunted, trying to make the snake to back down. Silence remained between the two for a few minutes. That is, until a jet of flames erupted out of the serpents mouth to hit the stallion on the face. Surprising everyone on the room. “...let’s just pretend that didn’t happen.” The cerulean mare giggled nervously, slowly backing away. She paused, glancing around the room before suddenly realizing something. “...Cinnamon? Where did Gel go?” Cinnamon shook his head clean of sooth, now watching the whole room in horror. “You gotta be kidding me! How did she recover from the venom that quickly?” “Weeeell,” came the long reply from a certain cobra tail, which brought the attention of everyone on the room. “I might have injected a softer version of the venom, he he he.” Everyone just stood silently after hearing that, until the brown unicorn broke it with his shouting. “Why in the name of all of Equestria, would you do that?!” “I was hoping for her to wake up as we were coming here, I think she would have loved to play with you again dawg, you know what I’m saying?” She gave a kind of quirk brow to the stallion, before going into giggles. Melody scratched the side of her head, confused. “...is anypony else confused by what she’s saying?” “...w-well...I am, too...” The canary yellow pegasus hid behind her mane, nervous. “...s-sorry...” Cinnamon just facehoofed, clearly understanding what the snake meant. “I don’t have the time to deal with this. Broadway, our talk may have to wait, I have a changeling to hunt right now.” He said as he walked off towards the door, Tootsie doing a wave as to saying goodbye. The ponies watched them leave, the white filly sighing in relief. Fluttershy turned to her, frowning softly. “You know he won’t drop the subject that easily, right?” “You have no idea!” she chuckled then looked around and sighed. “I need a pet companion too...” Fluttershy’s eyes lit up, and she picked up the filly eagerly. “Ooh, I have so many animal friends for you to choose from!” Before anything else could be said, she flew out the door, taking Broadway with her. “Yeah! Let’s go!” Off to the side, the earth pony stared out a window, watching Cinnamon leave. “...I wonder how he’s planning on finding a changeling in town...” She turned back towards the room, blinking in surprise at the empty room. “...oh. I should probably head home, then.” Later, the group of four that had beaten the changelings walked solemnly down the street, the younger ponies having left to check up on their families. Vinyl glanced over her shoulder at the green stallion. He didn't look at her, but instead appeared to look through her at nothing as they walk. His mane and tail stripe were still red. The disk jockey turned to Octavia, concerned. “...think we should say something?” The gray mare shook her head, frowning softly. “...it’s best to let him be until he’s ready to talk...” Vinyl sighed, pushing open the door to her house. “I guess you’ve got a p-” She stopped mid-sentence, staring into her house. Her best friend did the same, but she actually had the presence of mind to say something. “Well that’s interesting.” Rhino came out of his trance. "Is it more changelings?" He asked, paranoid. Vinyl snapped out of her trance, scoffing softly. “Doubtful. Changelings can’t enter this house without someone letting them in.” Enigma chuckled, gently pushing the mares into the house. “You should probably see for yourself, Rhino.” He grunted as he followed the group into the abode. “You’re back!” A pink filly hopped towards them, stopping in front of the green stallion. She smiled up at him. “Why did you dye your hair, Rhino? I liked it better before!” The stallion stared with his mouth slightly open. He looked over to the window and ensured the captured changeling was still there. Seeing it was, he rustled the filly's mane with a stunned look. "Pinchy...but..." She giggled, leaning into the hoof on her head. “You said not to leave the house, so I didn’t!” She turned to the squirrel on the coffee table, tilting her head. “Right, Specter?” Specter munched on a peanut as he answered. "I can safely say she has been here the whole time. Why? Did something happen?" Rhino continued looking stunned. "But..." Pinchy looked up at him, momentarily confused. Suddenly, realization hit her. “Oh! Was this about my light clone?” His hoof dropped as he sat down suddenly. "A clone... It was only a clone..." He muttered as his normal color returned to his stripes. The filly gently placed a hoof on his cheek, smiling softly at him. “I did tell you that everything would be okay, right?” She glanced out the still-open door, concern slowly spreading over her features. “...I hope he’s okay, though.” Rhino's face morphed into one of relief as he pulled the filly into a quick embrace. "I'm just glad you're okay..." He pulled away quickly as he coughed a small bit of blood into a hoof. Pinchy’s eyes widened in shock. “I wish I could say the same for you!” She concentrated, a soft white glow forming on her forehooves. She placed them on his body, frowning softly. “...I wish I studied more medical magic...” She closed her eyes, letting the magic gently go into her idol. He hummed as it washed over him. “You don’t have to do that, I’ll just sleep it off. The others could probably use it more.” “Not really.” Vinyl flexed a foreleg, grinning at him. “Dinky healed us up while you were up on the stage.” Rhino peered at the DJ. “I miss anything else?” “Other than Rumble protecting Dinky while she worked, not much.” The white mare put a hoof to her chin, thinking a bit. “...he did seem rather angry with his attacks, though.” The stallion nodded as he looked around. He pointed to a space next to the couch. “Mind if I collapse on your floor over there? I’m a bit worn out.” Vinyl nodded, giggling softly. “Go right ahead, dude.” He nodded and walked over to the spot. As soon as he reached it, his knees buckled and he fell onto his side as he breathes a sigh of relief. After a moment, he addressed the other without moving anything other than his eye to look at them. “So, what happens now?” Octavia stepped forward, motioning to the window. “We rebuild. We have no idea how long it’ll take, but it’s the best course of action at this moment...” Her voice trailed off, staring at the filly as she approached Rhino. She frowned softly, but didn’t say anything. Pinchy stopped in front of him, tilting her head to one side. “Can I join you?” He smiled and chuckled at her. “Of course, it’s been an eventful day, it’s good to sit down and absorb it all.” She settled down next to him, gently nuzzling his neck before she laid her head on her forehooves, falling asleep quickly. He simply looked down at her and smiled. “You know, I could get used to that.”