//------------------------------// // The Confrontation // Story: The Sneezing Changeling // by Lirg //------------------------------// The Confrontation Rainbow flew towards the farm as fast as she could. She had to find Applejack to bring her back to the library to be able to use the Elements against Chrysalis. “That’s weird, the door’s closed. If Applejack’s here, why she's not in the barn?” Rainbow landed and knocked at the door. No response. “There's something fishy here.” Rainbow took to the air again. “She must be at the orchard. What is she doing there though? This is not the time to be picking apples!” She flew through the entire orchard, inspecting the bottom of each tree rapidly, but there was no sign of the orange pony she was looking for. “Something's not right.” She took off towards the barn. She knocked again at the door. Still no response. “She has to be in town. But how could I have missed her?” As she took her stance to leave, she heard a small muffled sound from inside. Without a second thought, she smashed through the door and entered the barn. “I hope that Applejack won't be too mad at me for smashing her door.” She continued to follow the noise, leading her to the cellar. Every member of the Apple family stood there, trapped inside green cocoons. Rainbow quickly freed them from their prison. “Phew! Thanks Rainbow. Ah thought we were gonna be trapped here forever. Why didn't you come sooner?” “Sooner? But we saw each other like three hours ago!” Rainbow was surprised. “We've been trapped here fer days. If these things didn't feed us, we'd starved.” “Oh, this is bad. This is very bad.” The pegasus looked at the exit of the cellar. “Listen, there’s gonna be a changeling invasion soon.” “Ya don't say!” Applejack mocked. “It means that the Applejack we saw was a changeling. A changeling who knows where the Elements are and the purpose of our morning expedition!” Rainbow was flying from one side of the cellar to the other. “You've lost me, Rainbow.” “I'll explain you everything. We need to warn Twilight now, or the situation’s going to get ugly.” She flew out the room, followed by the perplexed Applejack. --|-|-- Everypony was shocked by Doppel's action. He was facing Celestia, or at least her appearance. The crowd which was cheering the Princess was now silent. Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy didn't even dare to move. Even the guards didn't move anymore. “How could I help you?” Celestia asked with a kind tone. “You're not Celestia!” the changeling blurted out, still disguised in a green mint unicorn. A shout came from the crowd. “Lyra, what are you doing there?” Bon-Bon appeared on the front row. “You can't stop the Princess like that and claim that she isn't the Princess!” The true Lyra popped behind her marefriend with a questioning look. “What are you talking about? I'm right here!” Bon-Bon successively looked her lover and the disguised changeling before fainting. Ponies close to them began to whisper louder and louder. Celestia was scanning the whole crowd which was beginning to panic. Taking advantage of her moment of inattention, Doppel hit her with a spell. A big green flash brightened the area before making appear the true form of the pony the mob acclaimed minutes ago, still a little groggy from the spell. The crowd moved away a little. Some ponies even fainted. “You idiot!” the Queen hissed. “How could you do this to your Queen and mess up the invasion?” “I'm an outlaw! I don't take orders from you!” he blurted out. Close to the library, Twilight and her friends watched the scene powerless. “So it was really the Queen,” Rarity noted. “What do we do now?” “We really need Rainbow and Applejack! And we need to find the Elements too!” Twilight paced up and down. “Where could they be?” “We're here Twilight!” Rainbow exclaimed, coming back from Sweet Apple Acres. “And with bad news. This is the real Applejack. The one we talked to was a changeling!” “Y'all been fooled by him and his friends.” “I guess that Lyra was mostly right about this.” Rarity said. “Let's just find the changeling who took the Elements and...” “Oh no!” Fluttershy wasn't paying attention to her friends anymore. She was only watching the argument between Chrysalis and Doppel. “He's gonna be unmasked!” “He?” Rainbow rose an eyebrow. “We're talking about Lyra, right?” She looked at her friends. Applejack and Rarity shrugged, Pinkie continued bouncing like nothing was happening and Twilight had some sort of forced smile. “What's this now with Lyra? Why does she have so much importance? We barely know her.” Before somepony had the time to respond to the questions, a loud shout cut them short. “I'm ready to fight to protect Ponyville!” Doppel now faced the Queen with his unicorn horn already glowing. “Is that not something?” Chrysalis giggled. “Here's come Ponyville's savior. What if you show us your real appearance?” She buried her hooves a little in the dirt before throwing it to Doppel, creating a dust cloud. “Achoo!” In one sneezing, Doppel lost his disguise of a mint green unicorn to his normal form. On the other side, the Queen laughed, enjoying the situation. “A changeling! Obviously!” Rainbow blurted out. “It could be only it!” “Twilight, can you explain?” Rarity asked. “It looks like I have no choice. His name is Doppel. He's not the changeling we're looking for. He's been helping us from the beginning. I learn the detection spell from him. So there, he's buying us some time to find the Elements and stop the Queen. We must not waste that!” “Twilight's right. We'll deal with him later.” Rainbow nodded. “Let's chase for the Elements!” She, Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity headed for the center of the town. Twilight was about to follow them but stopped when she saw that Fluttershy wasn't going to do the same. “You don't come with us Fluttershy?” “I can't...” she replied. “I can't leave Doppel like this.” “The only thing you can do for him now is to find the Elements. The faster we are, the higher the chance we find them!” “I know...” She couldn't even turn her eyes from Doppel. “But if I leave now, I'd feel like I abandoned him. I couldn't stand it if something happened to him.” “I'm sure that he was aware that he'd have to fight alone to give us time to find the Elements. To him, he's just a changeling who is ready to-” Fluttershy glared at Twilight, cutting her off. “I love him! I won't let him get sacrificed to buy us time.” Her hooves covered her mouth. “I'm sorry. I didn't want to say that. But, but...” “Did you think he didn't know?” Twilight sighed. “He knew the moment you fell for him. I'm even sure that it's for that reason that he's facing the Queen. He's afraid of her but he’s doing it for you.” The laughter of Chrysalis faded. The entire place was now silent. Fluttershy had her attention again attracted by the scene. Not only Fluttershy but the entire crowd was watching the altercation, breathless, ready to leave if something really bad happened. Even the guards behind the Queen was getting restless. “We're even now!” Chrysalis sneered. “Guards, we'll conquer this place by force if need be.” “I won't let you do that!” Doppel bravely blurted out. “And what are you going to do? Trying to use a spell on me?” She laughed again. “Your pathetic spell will do nothing on me and all you're going to do is frighten more these ponies!” As soon as Chrysalis ended her sentence, Doppel send a green magic ball in her direction. The ball stopped in midair, caught by the Queen. A few seconds later, it was send to a chimney, breaking it to pieces. “This is how you want to play.” Her eyes glowed greener and she was showing her teeth. “This is a real attack spell!” She casted the exact same spell but twice as large. It hit Doppel directly and made him fly a few meters behind. He landed on his flank, lifeless. Ponies near him stepped back, as if they were going to catch something from being too close. Chrysalis sighed, approaching the unconscious changeling. “Not able to take one hit. You wouldn't even make a good guard. How could you even defy me? You're an outlaw who doesn't know how to fight! The only thing you should do is stay hidden and far away from my sight!” Fluttershy leaped from their hiding place to help Doppel but was caught by Twilight's magic. She looked at her friend who was shaking her head. Chrysalis was now close to the unconscious changeling, her horn glowing a gruesome green. “So, outlaw. You know the sentence for having cross my path even though I banished you.” She rose her horn menacingly. Fluttershy, on her side, closed her eyes and Twilight turned her head. Two green energy balls flew from the top of a house. The Queen had just enough time to avoid them by jumping back. “Who has the nerve to stop me?” Two changelings appeared from the roof where the spells came from. “Mimic! Camouflage!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “What? Doppel's friends?” “They came to save Doppel!” The two changelings flew down from the house to land between Doppel and Chrysalis. “Are you sure that it's the right thing to do?” Mimic worried. “Shut up and be convincing!” Camouflage replied. They crouched a little and bore their teeth. As menacing as it could be, their legs was shaking. “I've lost enough time with outlaws. You don't even deserve to be punished by me.” Chrysalis turned around and made a sign to her soldiers. “Guards! Do whatever you want with them!” All the soldiers, still disguised as Celestia's guards, open their white wings. They took the air and flew towards the two trembling changelings. Suddenly, coming from above, one of the guard landed before Camouflage and Mimic. She lost his disguise and faced the army which was rushing her. She rose a magic shield as big as her. All the changelings, flying at full speed, crashed on it. With a bump of the shield, she expelled the entire army at the corners of Ponyville. “Soldier, what are you doing?” Chrysalis bellowed. The changeling placed herself besides the two others. “My name is not soldier. My name is Illusion!” “A name? None of my changelings has a name!” “I'm not one of your changelings anymore!” she blurted out defiantly. “I followed these three for months. They're happier than anypony in the Hive. They just blend in without any problems and no side effect is noticed. The life of ponies they tricked didn't even change, or if it changed, it's for the better for both parts.” She rose a hoof in the direction of Chrysalis. “So, yes, I vastly prefer living with them than with you and your tyrannical laws. That's why I...” “We want to protect this town,” cut Mimic, continuing Illusion's line. Chrysalis snorted, rolling her eyes. “So, if you want to be outlaw, you'll be punish as an outlaw.” She took a step forward and looked at Doppel's body on the ground. Instinctively, the three changeling placed themselves in front of their friend to protect him. Not able to see Doppel anymore, the Queen stared at Illusion. “It's a shame really. From what I saw, you were a very good guard.” On their side, Twilight had put back Fluttershy on her hooves who had decided that there was nothing she could do. The unicorn was now poking the shoulder of her friend to incite her to go looking for the Elements. “We should help the girls! Doppel's friends are giving us time!” --|-|-- “Where would a changeling who stole the Elements go?” blurted out Rainbow who was flying alongside Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie. “He could have disguised himself as anything!” “Hopefully, we have two magnificent detectors of changelings.” The fashionista looked all around her, searching after something. “Where is Twilight and Lyra?” “You mean Twilight and the so called nice changeling?” Rainbow retorted. “The changeling stayed to stall the Queen and Twilight stayed to watch.” “Great! Now, we've got no way to tell if the pony in front of us is a changeling or not?” complained Applejack. “Wait, I maybe have an idea on which disguise the changeling we look for is.” The pegasus landed near her friends. They place themselves into a circle. “Have you noticed how well the changeling who helps us mimicked Lyra? I mean the changelings we fought during the wedding hadn't mimicked us at all, except for the fact they looked like us.” “What do you want to prove?” Rarity asked. “It means that changelings need time to master their disguise and the disguise of the changeling on our side must be Lyra. Now, last week, I discovered that there was indeed a changeling in town, but it wasn't this one. The disguise of this one was Derpy.” “Are you tellin' that we have to chase Derpy all over Ponyville?” asked Applejack. “Applejack!” Rarity shouted, pointing something behind her friends. “No need to shout, Ah'm right next to you.” “No, I mean, there's another Applejack on the other side of the street!” The three others turned over and looked at what Rarity was pointing. There was indeed a pony who was looking like Applejack staring back at them. “The idiot... He disguised himself as Applejack!” Rainbow facehoofed. “He didn't know that you found her trapped in her cellar and that you freed her.” replied Rarity. The other Applejack ran towards the group and stopped in front of the original one, poking her with his hoof. “How can you trust something like her? Ah'm nothing like her. Don't ya see she had fooled you?” “What are ya sayin'? I'm the real one!” The changeling hit Applejack to cut the argument short. “Eh! What are ya doin'?” A second hit started the fight between them. They rolled on the ground, trying to hit each other. The others were looking at the scene helpless. “Just great... Now, I can't tell which one is the true one,” complained Rainbow. “I’ve followed Applejack since I freed her from the cocoon. I was sure that was her.” Pinkie admired the scene before her. “We can tell that the changeling did the right thing to disguise himself!” “It's true,” suddenly exclaimed the pegasus, “Pinkie, you're here! You and your senses can tell which one is the changeling!” She caught Pinkie's cheeks with her hooves and then turning her head towards the fighting ponies. “Tell us!” The two Applejacks immediately ceased their battle. Now, they looked sheepishly at Pinkie while she stared at them. Big sweat drops appeared on their faces, both of them having a forced smile. The pink pony put her hooves on their nose and finally declared, turning over, “I haven't got a clue on which one is the real Applejack.” Rainbow let a grunt of disappointment followed by Rarity's one. On the other side, one of the Applejacks sighed a little too loud. “The changeling is the one on the left!” promptly shouted Pinkie. “How can you tell?” he defended. “You were the only pony to be relieved that I didn't find the right one, silly!” she replied, in an amused tone. The changeling, still under the disguise of Applejack, suddenly ran. “Catch him!” Rainbow ordered. “We can't let him get away!” They rushed off at the pursuit of the false Applejack. It was only seconds before the pegasus caught the changeling and pinned him on the ground, his disguise dropped by the shock. “Okay, okay, I'll tell you where are the Elements. Promise!” he pleaded with her, his eyes closed. “Wow. I thought that it'd be harder to get answers from him,” Rainbow said surprised. “Apparently, there are also cowards among changelings.” --|-|-- “Now, what are you going to do?” snarled Chrysalis. “Even if in your wildest dreams you could fight at the same level as me, what are you going to do with the rest of the army waiting at Ponyville's door?” Illusion's horn shone green. “I see your decision is made.” The Queen shot another green ball of energy at the changelings. By instinct, Illusion raised a magic shield to protect them. At contact, the shield exploded, sending the three changelings to the ground. “Pathetic...” sighed Chrysalis. She looked to her audience, which hadn't moved since the beginning of the confrontation. “Somepony else want to interfere again, or I can finish what I began?” She stare at one particular blue unicorn mare in the crowd who shrieked in terror. The scream made everypony run away in a disorganized manner. Ponies were bumping in each other, flower pots were falling, doors were closing. A few seconds later, the place was free from the crowd except for the four changelings lying on the ground, the Queen, Fluttershy and Twilight. Chrysalis looked at the two ponies who were watching her. Before she could even do something, a green energy ball barely missed her. Illusion was now standing awkwardly on her hooves, her horn still smoking from the spell. “I can still fight!” “I can see that.” Her attention back on her aggressor. “It would've be better for you if you were still lying on the ground.” She sighed. “Here are my opponents. Four changelings, three of which aren’t even soldiers.” She came closer to Illusion to the point where their horns touched. “How much time do you think you will stand against me alone?” “Enough time I hope!” she replied back. Twilight had now stopped asking Fluttershy to search after the Elements. The pegasus was shielding her eyes to not see what will happen next. A shout came from behind. “We found the Elements!” exclaimed Pinkie, her Element already put on. The two remaining Elements being held on one hoof. “Four changelings now?” noticed Rainbow, as soon she was close enough to admire the “battlefield”. “Too long to explain!” urged Twilight. Grabbing her Element by telekinesis, putting it on her head. She did the same with Fluttershy's Element. “Illusion may not be able to take another hit and she's distracting the Queen now.” The six mares placed themselves. Twilight's eyes shone while a bright aura and enveloped the entire group. Finally, a huge rainbow hit Chrysalis. Illusion jumped backwards and fell on her flank. A big flash covered Ponyville while a scream was heard. The attack over, five changelings lay on the ground, indiscernible from an untrained eye. “Where is the Queen?” asked Twilight. “The Elements couldn't have...” Illusion got up. After shaking herself, she claimed, pointing with her hoof to the farthest changeling, “Chrysalis is still here. She's the one lying right there...” “But, she looks like a regular changeling,” exclaimed Rarity. “Yeah, I know. But, the power of your Elements is to neutralize the evil in the hearts of creatures. And the way to do it for the Queen is to reduce her power to the levels of a normal changeling.” After these words, Chrysalis stood up suddenly. She looked at her hooves before looking at the ponies that were the origin of her transformation. A few seconds later, she flew towards the exit of Ponyville. “We can't let her get away like that!” exclaimed Rainbow. “I doubt she'd be able to do anything harmful now. And the soldiers waiting outside won't take orders from a weakened queen.” As soon Illusion finished her sentence, Fluttershy rushed towards Doppel, still lying on the ground. Illusion had just the time to take a step aside to prevent crashing into the mare. “Yeah, he took a pretty bad hit,” she said, a hoof behind her neck. “We fared better since my shield had reduced the impact of the attack.” Fluttershy knelt before Doppel and poked his shoulders. “Please wake up Doppel.” The newfound silence following the aftermath of the battle intrigued the Ponyvillians hiding in their houses. They were coming out on the street and gathering around the battle scene. “He’s not waking up.” “Wouldn't it be better to have a doctor take care of him?” Mimic suggested. “Do you have doctors in the Hive?” Twilight asked. “No, but you have yours.” Fluttershy lifted her head and looked for a familiar pony in the crowd. After a fews seconds, her eyes stopped on a white mare with a pinkish mane. “Please Nurse Redheart, can you help him?” The pony in question flinched at the question, backtracking a little. “Please, he's not mean. He helped us against the Queen.” All the attention of the crowd was now turned on the nurse. “I guess we owe him that.” She looked around her. “I need two strong ponies to help me carrying him to the hospital.” Two brown well-built stallions grabbed Doppel and carried him to the hospital. A new silence reigned on the place. “I think ponies are watching us,” Mimic whispered to his two friends. After a short check followed by a loud gasp, the three changelings transformed themselves in their usual disguise or, in the case of Illusion, a guard of Celestia. “It's too late to try to hide. We already know your secret.” joked Twilight. Illusion laughed nervously. “It's rather difficult to explain.” “You have all the time you need. Besides, we'd like to have some explanations too,” Rainbow retorted. Fluttershy got up and looked at the direction of the hospital. After some hesitations, she turned to her friends. “I don't need any explications, I know already everything,” she stammered. “I'm going to look after Doppel!” On these words, she rushed over the hospital. The others stare at her leave, wondering why she left so quickly. Twilight was the first to talk. “Well, I think I'll be the one who will be giving explanations then.” She looked at her friends and the changelings disguised. “What do you want to know?” “Why Fluttershy is so keen to protect this changeling?” Rarity asked. The unicorn sheepishly put her hoof behind her head. “I think it should be easier to ask her why.” “I'd like to know how Doppel is doing.” Illusion had already begun to go towards the hospital. “I think it's the same case for Mimic and Camouflage,” she continued, pointing her two friends who were nodding. Rainbow flew up and landed before her, blocking her path. “Where do you think you're going?” “Rainbow!” Twilight was offended. “Illusion fought the Queen to buy us time!” Illusion gave a playful glare. “You know, you can follow me if you want. I'm able to talk and walk at the same time.” “Ah think we should all go to the hospital then,” Applejack concluded.