//------------------------------// // The Burnout // Story: Ponyville Paintball // by Wisher //------------------------------// The small group of foals trotted for a good while on the rocky path of the mountainside. It was making her feel very uneasy. Anyone would be in this setting: the land they were in was utterly devoid of any grass or plant life. There was but nothing but hard cold rock, and the steep slopes of mountains as far as the eye could see, under a permanently grey sky. However, this was not what caused her to worry. After all, she’d spent her whole life here. What was worrying was that they were getting further and further away from the colony with each passing step. She’d never gone this far before. One of the foals at the head of the moving pack seemed to have picked up on her unease. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, watching her look left and right intensely and grinned. “Getting cold hooves back there?” he said. She quickly turned to look at him and straightened up. “N-no, don’t be stupid!” she said, her voice betraying the nervousness she was trying to hide. “It’s just… you know I’m not supposed to be here.” “Yeah, well, that’s why we’re way out here in the middle of nowhere. Someone had to get you out of that big mountain anyway,” said the colt. “Come on… it’ll be fun,” he added with a wink. She said nothing and tried to straighten herself up even further, nearly tripping as she did. A few of the foals sniggered, but she ignored them. She had to show them the example. Eventually the head foal stopped walking and raised his hoof. The whole group halted without a word, which made her start a little. “We’re here,” he announced. They had arrived at an entrance carved into one of the mountains. It was very impressive, and revealed a sizeable cave only dimly lit by the pale outside light. The eerie place made her knees buckle, but she stepped in with the rest of the group anyway. She now stood at the center of the cave, examining its walls while the other foals stood in a circle around her. She turned to face them. “Very well,” she said with feigned composure. “What is it I’m supposed to see that’s so important?” The head colt grinned at her with excitement. “It’s a game. We call it ‘hide and seek’, and you’ve just gotta try it at least once in your life.” She rolled her eyes and sighed. “My father says games are for the uncouth, and that I am not to take part in them.” The colt turned to the rest of the group. “Did you all hear that? The princess says I’m uncouth,” he said in a mocking tone. The crowd went into a collective “ooooooh!” the way children do to signify that they are not impressed by another one’s antics, before erupting into jeering laughter. Her cheeks turned bright red and she glared at the cackling colt in front of her. “Shut up!” she said. “It’s not my fault I have higher standards!” “Alright, alright, slow down, miss Higher Standards,” he said, which infuriated her. “How about we just all play along here? It’ll be fun, I promise.” She wanted to call him an imbecile, but composed herself. “Fine,” she said in a cool voice. “How does this work?” The colt’s air of enthusiasm returned. “Alright, so basically, you gotta close your eyes and count to ten. Every one of us here then takes the shape of another one, except for one kid. You gotta find which kid is in the shape of their real self!” His expression told her he was expecting her reaction to reflect his enthusiasm. “... That’s it?” she said. “Come ooon,” he replied. “It’s great fun! Just try it! You can be part of the group later and someone else will count.” She sighed. She couldn’t grasp how a pastime so bland could possibly be amusing. Yet there was a longing for some form of amusement in her that was taking over, and that had led her here with this company in the first place. Besides, the rules of the game were somewhat intriguing her. “All right,” she said. “Close your eyes!” said the colt. She obeyed, and began silently mouthing the numbers up to ten. She could hear giggling that echoed on the cave walls, and through her closed eyelids she could only see darkness interrupted momentarily by faint flashes of electric green. When she opened her eyes the group stood before her exactly as it did previously. They might as well have switched places, but she understood that was not the point of the game. “What now?” she asked. “Now you find out which one of us hasn’t changed shape while you weren’t looking!” said the head colt, who stood more to her left than he did previously. “So… are you not Fanglet?” she asked him with a skeptical look. “Nope!” the foal replied, and in a flash of green changed back to its original form, revealing a filly before quickly turning back into Fanglet. The whole crowd erupted into laughter. She was stunned, but a shy smile quickly spread across her face. “C’mon, pick somebody else!” said someone else. She responded quickly, and sifted the group with an eager gaze for the foal that remained the same. The other foals all grinned back at her in anticipation. After a while she spoke. “... You! You’re still Jade!” “No!” replied the foal who had spoken, and he revealed his true form for an instant before putting his disguise back on like the foal before him. More cheerful laughing ensued, which to her surprise she found herself joining into. They played like this for a good hour. Eventually she had found the foal she was looking for, and several rounds played out in which she was both counter and spectator. She was positively thrilled about this game. She knew full well she wasn’t supposed to be out here, with these foals she wasn’t allowed to even speak to, but she didn’t care one bit. For once, she felt included and normal, and all her previous worrying about being far from home and ignoring her duties had vanished. But eventually, they had to come right back to her. “Commander Regallion! We’ve found her!” The voices came from two adult changelings at the entrance of the cave. The group of foals gasped in unison and fell deadly silent as a third changeling stepped into the mouth of the cave. He was much taller and imposing than the ones next to him, and peered into the cave with a cruel glare. “Come here,” he said in a low, booming voice. She knew the command was addressing her. She didn’t dare move, staring wide-eyed at his muscular black silhouette that stuck out against the nearly white sky outside. “Now!” he bellowed, which made all the foals jump and a few whimper. They all looked to their new friend, who advanced slowly and with trembling little hoofsteps towards the mouth of the cave, feeling his icy glare weighing down on her. She eventually reached him, and cowered in a ball while she stared at his hooves. “I believe I have told you many times before not to step out of the Mountain’s bounds.” He spoke slowly in a quiet yet grave voice that sent shivers down her spine. “I…” she said, barely above a whisper, “Forgive me, father, I--” “Do not talk back at me, you whelp!” he growled. She shut her eyes and cringed, expecting to be met with a strike of his large hoof like always. He raised his head and took a look around the cave with an air of disgust. He then looked back at his daughter with the same expression. “Is this what you do when I’m not looking?” he said in a cold whisper. “Hiding out in holes and making a fool of yourself? I believe we also spoke of games, and such utter nonsense.” There was a deadly silence during which none dared to move. “Explain yourself,” he said, detailing every harsh syllable. She tentatively raised her little head to look at him, trying to avoid his gaze as much as possible. “I… I just wanted to s-see if… if I could make some friends, I--” “Friends?!” he roared. The word ricocheted around the small cave like a bullet and the foals there fidgeted as if to avoid it. She barely had the time to cower back into a trembling ball of fear before she felt herself being grabbed by a foreleg and fiercely raised into the air, where her panicked gaze met with his cruel, empty eyes. “I punish and I punish, and still you spew that filthy word at me!” he shouted, shaking his daughter in the air and making her whimper in pain. “When will you learn?! You have no need for friends, you have no need for such imbecilities!” With a jerk he drew her closer, boring holes into her own tearing eyes. “You have but one destiny,” he gnarled in his low, terrifying voice, “and that is to succeed me as the leader of our fleet! There are no such things as friends or games for you, the only thing you need is training and discipline! What good will you be as a leader if your heart is made weak by this silliness?!” Tears were streaming down the poor filly’s face. He relaxed his grip and let her drop to the ground with a sound thud and a yelp. She tried to get up with difficulty, and could hardly breathe. Her father looked down at her and spread his scaly wings wide. “The guards will escort you back to the Mountain. Then I will teach you what you have forgotten,” he said with pure contempt before flying away. She cringed and sobbed silently. She knew exactly what he meant by that. The foals stood petrified at the back of the cave, staring wide-eyed at her pitiful state. She lay at the entrance of the cave, shaking from fear and from sobbing silently on the rocky floor. “Come with us, Your Highness,” said one the of guards flatly. She tried to get up as best she could without the guards helping her. Before she joined them she looked at the group of foals she’d been playing with earlier. Her eyes were wide and glistening with tears as she looked at the crowd she didn’t want to leave. She tried to speak, but was too shaken to say anything. Eventually it was Fanglet that spoke. “Bye... Chrysalis,” he said weakly. She looked back at him with a desperate look before sniffing up the tears that were once again welling up inside her. She turned around and slowly walked away towards the guards. She climbed up on one of the guards’ backs, as her wings were too small to let her fly, and with a resounding buzz the three of them took off into the gloomy grayness of the world outside the cave. Ponyville Paintball -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter IX It was one of the quieter parts of the forest here. There were no crooked or menacing trees gorged in dark magic, but thick and sturdy trees towering above. The ground was not covered in their thick roots, nor by the wilderness of growing weed, but with grass that grew low and scarcely brushed the hooves of those who tread it. On sunny summer days speckles of light would flicker and dance on the leaves and rain onto the ground. Today though the sky was draped in ever greying clouds. The dry, heavy air in the dense forest made it a silent, peaceful place; and as she was walking alone in this isolated patch of normality, she had a very set destination in mind. She could have flown there, but preferred to remain discreet. It wasn’t out of fear -- she wasn’t even wearing a gun, after all. She did not need it. Anypony seeing her would know who she was. But they wouldn’t shoot. They wouldn’t dare. She was Chrysalis, queen of the Changelings. She had travelled miles. Many, many miles, and much more than that in fact, just to be here. After the disastrous failure of her last attempt, she felt the need to have another go at victory again. That time the idea had been to infiltrate Equestria, and drain it of its energy to strike a long-term attack. But she should have known that it would fail. She should have known that the obvious strategy was to strike Equestria at the heart, overthrow Celestia and supplant herself as the new leader. When she had managed to crawl back to the far off mountains of Changeling’s Lair she had spent many hours cursing herself for being so rash and foolish, dishonoring her ancestors and the way of the Changelings as a great nation of tactical invaders. But the time for self-pity soon came to pass, and as it did so came a new bloodlust. She lost no time planning out a new strategy, one much more complex and subtle. She spent many months perfecting it and sharpening it like a mental knife. And now, she had found a new gateway into Equestria from which to begin invading it her invasion. It came in the shape of a new target. All she needed was a window of opportunity for her to begin advancing, slowly but surely, unseen until the last fateful moment. And what better opportunity should present itself to her but this one? A silly paintball game. Chrysalis could only scoff at the thought. Every pony gathered in one place -- what a ridiculously childish idea. It was too easy: she would arrive from the side, quieter than a whisper, and play the game herself, wouldn’t she? Who would notice an extra pony here? She would cut through the mass of imbeciles in her way, and through the crowd she would single out that one pony she was looking for… She would end her. Then she would come back to enslave the rest. The thought brought a chill to her reptilian skin and a thin smile to her lips. She was feeling giddy. It was a feeling that reminded her for a fleeting moment of her youth. Back then she would play a game with other little changelings where she would close her eyes and count to ten, and when she opened them she had to find the one changeling that had not taken the shape of another one in the crowd. It was one of her fondest memories to this day, and Celestia knows she didn’t have a lot of those. The feeling of scanning the crowd looking for the odd foal out, and the mounting adrenalin of when she felt her goal was close at hand, the options slowly cancelling themselves out… It was a truly wonderful feeling of her foalhood. It was a memory that cut through the bleakness of her young life like a blade of sunlight through a cloud. Something to hold onto when, back home, they would train them for real, uncamouflaged war as soon as they were foals. There was special treatment for those of the royal family destined to take up the head of the invasion fleet. Chrysalis had many holes in her legs to attest to those brutal years, as did her ancestors. It became tradition for changeling subjects to puncture their limbs as a mark of allegiance to their violent leaders. She was walking absently, her eyes staring into space and her mind deep in thought when she was alerted by a loud, sharp noise. She looked up and saw birds take flight from the top of a distant tree, their wings rustling in the quiet. Her eyes narrowed, and she walked on towards that place. * * * Several yards further, there was place no different from the one Chrysalis was in. Save for the fact that this part of the forest had clearly seen the wrath of the ongoing paintball war. All around, the bodies of ponies bearing wounds of different bright colours lay at the feet of its trees. They had fallen to exhaustion, their breath shallow and none truly conscious of their surroundings. All the trees had been covered in one domineering shade of grey over the speckles left by a few other shots. In this graveyard in the woods, one stallion named Fancy Pants galloped at full speed, trampling the earth beneath his hooves. His whole demeanor was a mess; his fur was ruffled and matted from sweat and dirt, his azure mane disheveled and his eyes showing true panic. His only destination was as far away as possible from the madness that was trying to pin him to the ground with one bullet. Eventually he slowed down and came to a halt before turning around to see if he was in the clear. Nopony was behind him, and it seemed calm had been restored. Fancy Pants give a small sigh and turned around, but then the breath was brutally knocked out of him by a pony smashing with full speed and intent into his side. He crashed hard into a tree, and fell with a series of coughs to the ground. Unable to see or think for a moment, he regained his senses in an instant when he heard the click of a gun being cocked right over his head. He instinctively lay on his back and raised his hoofs into the air. “Please! Have mercy!” he cried. The mare standing over him with the deadly weapon in hoof stared straight down onto her prey, her weapon expertly held over it with a steady hoof. Neither pony moved for a while. Then a voiced echoed amongst the trees. Mercy? Fancy cringed. The voice was deep and cold, and there was just a hint of cruel amusement to it. His eyes darted to all sides trying to find its source, but no such thing was to be found. You speak of mercy, my good friend, and yet you do not know what it is. You mistake it for something else, so while you beg for what it is you don’t know, let me clue you in on the current situation. Right now a certain puppet of mine is standing over you, ready to give you a fresh new look at a moment’s notice. “Oh sweet Celestia!” Fancy Pants whimpered. Relax, grey coats are very ‘in’ this season. Now, the natural consequence on your part is fear, fear of what comes after the blow. While it is quite understandable, the same can’t be said for your plea. You see, I am the menace, the unseen catalyst of your inner emotional clockwork going wild. I am the object of your terror, if you will. Mercy is the act of removing your fear, by which I relieve you of my presence and let you be on your way. But by doing this I lose my purpose as an object, I remove myself from the equation. So you see, it’s all quite illogical. The assailant pressed on the hoof she had to his chest, and drew her weapon closer to his forehead. Fancy Pants started sobbing loudly in fear, while the voice spoke again. It is the word of the lay person to the trade of intimidation. And why should it be so, when there is another solution to the math? It is not mercy, nor pity, nor forgiveness, all of which I assure you you do not want. It is something that you can embrace even in the face of death. The barrel gently tipped the head of the paralyzed stallion. His eyes were shut tightly and he gritted his teeth, as tears streamed down his shaking face. It's salvation. A resounding bang shook the gun as the mare pulled the trigger and brutally shot Fancy Pants at point-blank. Without a sound he jarred, before letting his legs finally slump to the ground in defeat. Over him, Fluttershy held the still-smoking barrel. She did not react and kept a look of pure determination on her grey face as from behind her came in the draconequus Discord. He walked towards her, slowly clapping as he did. “Very well done, Fluttershy,” he said calmly, “very nice work indeed. I think that’s the last one in this area.” But he was proven wrong as he spotted a presence in the corner of his eye. He looked at it and saw it was none other than Chrysalis, staring at him with no expression at all. “Crissy!” he said, beaming as he walked towards her with his arms outstretched in welcome. “What a delightful surprise!” He was interrupted by the sight of Fluttershy whooshing past him in a blur, flying at full speed towards Chrysalis. Discord realized that she was going to take a shot at the changeling, not being able to differentiate one target from another in her current state. He looked at Chrysalis, who did not move a muscle as Fluttershy flew straight towards her. “Ah, no no no!” he said calmly, but hardly trying to stop his puppet. “Not her, she’s--” Fluttershy ignored him and kept darting straight towards Chrysalis, expertly dodging trees in her path and with her gun outstretched and at the ready. She could have shot from afar, but now that she was trained for close-combat executions, she was taught to shoot, not to think. Chrysalis remained motionless while she stared into the rapidly widening barrel of a crazy gray assassin mare. Her expression was almost one of boredom, which surprised Discord at first. But then he understood why she was unafraid when something spectacular happened. Every tree within a circle of several feet of the changeling queen suddenly burst into bright green flames, making an explosive sound and blinding light that stopped Fluttershy in her tracks. The flames only lasted a second or two, and revealed in the place of the combusting trees an entire armada of changelings, all of which instantly formed a defensive wall in front of their queen, staring at Fluttershy and magically readying their horns for an attack, their insect wings flapping rapidly in an angry buzz. Fluttershy was stunned for only a moment before her new killer instinct took over. She tried to find an opening in the crowd through which she could get to its center, growling like an angry dog behind a fence. But she couldn’t find one, and hesitated to shoot the changelings themselves fearing she might feel the brunt of their magic. Her head was starting to hurt from being conflicted in this way when Discord called her back to his side. Chrysalis kept the same unfazed expression the whole time, while her minions kept their guard up even as Fluttershy stepped away from them. “Go,” she said in her low voice. Once more the changelings burst into flames. Laying on the grass still heavily in shock, Fancy Pants watched as out of the bonfire came stallions and mares of different colours and build by the dozen. Had he not seen this happen, he would have assumed they were regular ponies, which was a terrifying thought. He recognized some of them as grotesque copies of ponies he knew, some of them even copies of each other. They were all armed with an assorted gun, and spread out to disappear in between the trees. The geography of the forest was now completely changed. Chrysalis was now stood in the middle of a large clearing that had suddenly formed where there was a dense patch of forest just before, its fake trees completely unnoticeable from the surrounding real ones. Advancing into the clearing from the real forest, Discord clapped his paw and his claw together in slow applause. “Wow! Now that is impressive!” he chuckled. “Think you could teach me shapeshifting one of these days? It’s one of the few talents I’m afraid I lack.” Chrysalis said nothing. Her gaze shifted towards Fluttershy, hovering behind and huffing like a mad bull. “That’s a nice toy you have there,” she said. Discord flashed her a grin. “Check it out! It’s an honest-to-Celestia element of harmony turned against itself! This is Fluttershy, I don’t think you two ever got the chance to get acquainted at the wedding. Oh and by the way you really should have asked me for help with that beforehand, I’m afraid I wasn’t too impressed with your performance that day.” “Let us not bring up any unwanted skeletons, Discord,” said Chrysalis with contempt. “That’s not why I’m here.” “Yes, good point, Crissy, why are you here anyway?” She started pacing slowly from left to right. “You’ve probably gathered enough from what you’ve just seen. My changelings and I are leading an infiltration operation through this little game of Celestia’s. By creating more targets for ponies to shoot at I can distract their attention while I get to their leader.” Discord raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Sabotage, huh? I can get behind that. But it’s an age-old MO for changelings… you’d think you folks were more about… I don’t know, change?” Chrysalis scowled at him. “You’re one to talk. I assume you’re just here doing what you do for chaos? Perhaps it should be your turn to sing another song.” “Yes well at least I have the advantage of being original. I turn chaos into an art, and to do that I always try to set things off from a different angle. And upsetting the establishment while keeping on Celestia’s good side? It’s a first for me. I’d say it takes real audacity.” Chrysalis sneered. “I really don’t understand why you beat around the bush like this. You could have her removed and unleash all the chaos you want at a snap of your fingers. Why do you limit and submit yourself to her like this? Have you no dignity?” Discord gave a small chuckle and shook his head. “I don’t know if you’ll ever understand… but there’s a wide gap between you and me, Chrissy dear. I’m what you might call a white hat. Yes, I cause mischief at will, but never true harm like you do. Plotting to charge head-on towards your target with no discretion or subtlety in a single strike only makes you a burnout, and burnouts don’t last. But I teeter on the edge of Celestia’s forgiveness, dancing on the line that you’ve crossed since day one. That’s where I am truly immortal.” He paused for a moment, staring into space in wonder before his art. “You know, I actually have nothing against Celestia. We go way back. I just like teasing her, and I do tease rough, but she still has more quality that you would give her credit for. For example, I know for a fact she has the wisdom not to hate you as blindly as you do her.” “I couldn't care less about what she thinks of me. Those who cross my path get what’s coming to them.” “What I’m saying is that backstabbing is no means to an end here.” “Please. What possible consideration could she have for me?” Once more Discord shook his head. “All will be made clear eventually, I suppose. But really…” He looked at her straight in the eye. “She does feel sorry for you.” Chrysalis paused for a second. What Discord had said intrigued her, but she sneered some more to hide it. “That pathetic mare, ignoring the greatest threat to her kingdom and putting it in jeopardy like this… Her leadership is a farce. I swear this land would be better off with me at its head.” There was a long silence between the two of them during which the wind gently caressed them in their pondering. It was broken when Chrysalis spoke. “Well, I’d love to stay and chit-chat about how reckless and foolish I am and how you’re so vastly superior to me, but I must be on my way,” she said. “Unlike you, I get things done, and we can continue this discussion once your allegiance to the leader of Equestria has shifted to me. I’m sure it’ll have a much different teneur then. Good day, Discord.” She took a few steps towards the woods, Discord eyeing her silently as she walked. “Why are you here?” he asked again calmly. Chrysalis stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to Discord. “I should hope you know, otherwise I’d have to question my own dedication.” “No, no,” said Discord, walking slowly towards her. “Why you came back is clear enough. But it doesn’t explain why you’re here; right here, in this very spot.” Chrysalis gave him a puzzled look. “What do you mean?” she asked. Discord scoffed. “Well, you don’t seriously expect me to believe you just happened to stumble upon me here, of all places?” he said. “My guess is you were looking for me from the beginning.” Chrysalis tensed up unnoticeably. She had hoped to keep that part a secret. Discord, who was taller than her, squatted down so that his scanning gaze was level with her slitted pupils. “You were looking for me, which means you need something from me. I have nothing to give you here though, which means you need… information?” Chrysalis swore internally. Was there no fooling this draconequus? With any other creature she would have kept a steady silence. But she knew Discord well, and when he knew a bit, he knew everything. “I’m looking for a pony,” she said. She focused her gaze even more. “You know of whom I speak.” Discord’s eyes glinted with malice. “Aaah yes, of course… Our mutual friend. I see you’ve finally figured out she was a factor.” “Don’t gloat. I need her out of the way before I can proceed, and it can only benefit you. Give me what I want to know.” Discord give her a toothy grin and straightened himself. “Her name is Ditzy Hooves,” he said. Chrysalis could hardly keep a straight face as a jolt of excitement coursed through her. This was great progress for her. She grinned, thinking this would be even easier than she had thought possible. She knew which mare he was talking about, having previously sent minions in disguise to gather intel on all the inhabitants of Equestria. “I should warn you not to underestimate her,” said Discord. “Why?” chuckled Chrysalis. “Are you actually afraid of her?” “I am not, and that’s specifically because I don’t underestimate her. But otherwise, yes, I’d be concerned. She’s much more habile than you would think… which is why she always got to us in the past.” “But not this time,” Chrysalis growled. “That’s right,” said Discord. “This time we’re the ones who are hidden from her sight. Earlier in the game I pressured a unicorn into casting an anti-detection spell over Fluttershy and I. Anypony looking from above would only see an alcove of leaves.” He pointed to the sky, and Chrysalis looked up towards it. Against the pale sky she saw a barely visible shimmer of air, and wondered if indeed the portion of the forest that had just vanished where they were would have been seen from above. Suddenly, she heard the noise of a twig snapping not far from her. She turned around and peered in the distance. There she saw a purple mare in the woods. She seemed familiar somehow… “Is that one of yours?” asked Discord. Chrysalis stared at the pony, scanning it to check if it was a changeling or not. Her eyes narrowed. “No.” Discord grinned. “Then I’d say we’re starting to see the end of this game, aren’t we?” * * * Back up on the rocky bluff, Derpy carefully eyed every inch of the treetops below through the lens of her rifle. She was still looking for the one she knew was somewhere below these trees. She watched as carefully as she could for any possible sign of his presence, but her mind was on something else. Twilight Sparkle had not returned. She had left more than an hour ago to get some wood and she still hadn’t come back. Derpy was left cursing herself for not keeping a watch on the unicorn through her rifle. Now wherever she looked she could find no sign of the purple mare, and for the past hour she had tried to quell her worries with rational explanations. Maybe she’d gotten lost? Derpy worried about it, but she told herself that then again she had no idea if Twilight was able to defend herself. She was still in the game, and she had her gun. Derpy could only hope that Twilight knew how to take even a single effective shot. Amidst the worrying, one thought rang clear in her mind. It’s my fault. She felt terrible now for yelling at Twilight. She was exhausted and bored from not getting even a glimpse of her target, and she now realised she had unnecessarily vented the frustration that came with it on Twilight. The unicorn had accepted to keep her sniper identity a secret and to help her in her mission to boot, which she had absolutely no obligation to do, and Derpy now felt that she had treated Twilight very unfairly. Maybe she’d just used collecting wood as a pretense to stop helping her. Derpy actually hoped that she was still in the game, or that she had managed to get back to Ponyville unharmed, or else she would be responsible if something were to happen... Just as she was wondering about the whole thing with a heavy heart, she heard the sound of frantic galloping on stone behind her. “Ditzy!” cried a shrill voice. She spun round with a jolt and aimed the sniper at the pony approaching, only to see it was Twilight. She felt hugely relieved to see the unicorn, but the feeling was dampened when she saw the state in which her friend had returned. Twilight was a mess; her fur and mane were ruffled, and Derpy could see bags under the pony’s eyes that were not from exhaustion but from utter fear that was also reflected in her unfocused gaze. “What happened to you?” asked Derpy, alarmed. She would’ve greeted her or apologized first, but she was too surprised by what she was seeing. “I was… attacked…” said Twilight in a shaky voice. She was obviously in shock and out of breath. “Who?” asked Derpy, rushing to her side to check for wounds. “Who attacked you?” “I… I didn’t see… not at first,” she said. Derpy looked at Twilight in the eye. The unicorn was about to cry. Derpy couldn’t bring herself to ask the question, but Twilight answered it for her. “Changelings,” she sobbed. “They’re back… They’re here, in the forest! They’re back for more!” “Calm down,” said Derpy in a soothing voice. “Are you absolutely sure that--” “Yes!” cried Twilight. “They… one of them was my mom, and… I tried to get away, but they attacked me in the back.” “How did you escape?” asked Derpy. To Derpy’s surprise, Twilight suddenly stopped sobbing. She seemed to have thought of something. “They’re still out there,” she said with a somewhat regained composure. “What?” “The changelings!” she said. “When I awoke, I was lying on the ground… there were changelings there, they were talking among themselves! They could still be out there!” Derpy suddenly understood what Twilight was saying. “If we looked at the place you woke up in…” she said. “We could still find them and take them out!” cried Twilight. Derpy lost no time and rushed back to the edge of the bluff where her bag was. She started to frantically dig through it. “Come on, come on, where are they? Where-- aha!” From the bag she took a handful of shiny bullets of black chrome, dotted with a single emerald mark on the side. Quickly she unloaded all the bullets that were already in her rifle and replaced them with the chrome bullets, before pointing her rifle back to the woods and steadying herself. “Where was it you escaped from?” asked Derpy to Twilight who had come to her side. “Uh…” Twilight said, scanning the woods as well as she could. Derpy made a mental note not to push her on this one. “Over there!” cried Twilight, pointing towards a point in the forest. Derpy quickly locked in on the designated spot. Her heart gave a lurch when through her lens she spotted a group of four little black insect-like creatures, looking for something with expressions of both anger and panic. Derpy closed one eye, and tightened her grip on her weapon ever so slightly. After a small moment, she took a shot. Through her lens she saw one of the changelings jump with an inaudible squeak, before bursting into flames and disappearing into thin air. “Oh Celestia!” said Twilight. “What happened to it?” Derpy was surprised for a second that Twilight had managed to actually see that happen from where she was, but she lost no time on the thought. As one changeling disappeared the others watched it go in surprise before taking the shapes of three different ponies and running away in the woods. Derpy kept a mental track of two of the creatures while she followed the third one with her lens. Eventually she fired an effective shot that made the target vanish just like the first one. She then looked for the other two, which took little time after she had carefully visualized their progression, and took them out the same way. There was a moment of silence after the last crashing shot, during which Twilight stared in bewilderment at the smoke oozing from the barrel of the gun. Derpy did nothing, and after a while lifted her head from the lens and gave a long sigh. She turned to Twilight with a smirk. “They’re not dead, if that’s what you’re thinking,” said Derpy. “These are special bullets for changeling hunting that send the little suckers straight back to their home in the southern mountains using a built-in teleportation spell.” “You… you can do that?” asked Twilight. “I didn’t know you could capture magic in a bullet.” Derpy shrugged. “You can do a lot when you’re working for Celestia. I’d say you know that almost better tha--” She was interrupted when Twilight fell to the ground with a gasp. She put a hoof to her horn, shutting her eyes and clenching her teeth. “What’s wrong?” asked Derpy, fearing Twilight may have been wounded by her ordeal after all. “It’s my magic…” she groaned. “It’s like it’s telling me something…” Derpy wanted to ask what it was but she thought Twilight might not know herself. Suddenly the unicorn’s eyes flew open and she stood up. “Over there!” she said, pointing towards the trees. “There’s more!” Derpy got back to her rifle once more. Twilight was right; where she was pointing Derpy could see more changelings looking about in the woods presumably for Twilight. She understood that Twilight’s magic must have shifted focus, and she was now able to spot changelings. Derpy had already decided they would become their new target anyway. Over the next several minutes the duo found more on their plate than in the several days since they had met. Every other minute Twilight was spotting changelings here and there in the woods, and Derpy had no trouble taking them out. She was positively thrilled with this new change. “Aaaand bam! There goes another one!” she said gleefully. “Finally, something to do around here! Right, Twilight?” Twilight said nothing, and stared deep in thought at the horizon. Overhead, clouds grew darker and cast their shadow upon the game.