Lightning Dust flew over the trees as fast as she could. She was looking feverishly for Radiant Dawn.
"Come on, where could he be?!" she muttered, frantically. "He couldn't have already--"
WHAM!
A dark shape sped towards her, blindsided her, and knocked her out of the sky. She found herself spiraling out of control, but caught herself just before she could collide with a tree. But before she could turn to see what hit her, she heard a sound like a mix between a lion's roar and an eagle's screech. The attacker caught up to the pegasus, and knocked her down to the ground with ease.
As Lightning Dust down on the ground, she was attempting to straighten her senses. Everything seemed like a blur to her, but she was able to see a dark streak in the sky. She couldn't recognize it, but she could recognize the voice mocking her:
"You know what, Lightning Dust?" said the voice. "Your name really suits this situation: You fell like lightning, and then bit the dust!"
"Gilda?!" exclaimed Lightning, rubbing her eyes. "What the heck's your problem?!"
"I've got orders to eliminate you." said Gilda. "You're going down, you pathetic pony!"
"What? Why?" said Lightning Dust, getting back to her hooves. "What's going on? What the buck did I do wrong?! Tell me!"
"You blabbed, Lightning." snapped Gilda. "You blabbed about the Changelings!"
"Are you crazy?" asked Lightning. "I don't even know anything about Changelings!"
"You should've listened to me, and stayed in Fillydelphia." said Gilda. "Now I'm gonna kill you for this mistake."
"Come and get me!" said Lightning Dust in a sly manner.
Her wings began to flutter, and she hovered a few inches from the ground.
"Uh-uh!" said Gilda. "You ain't getting away from me!"
The gryphon's own wings fluttered, and she shot towards Lightning Dust. The bluish-green pegasus retaliated by somersaulting in mid-air, kicking Gilda back with her two hind legs. The kick had struck the gryphon in the face, and the purple-tinted feathers that hung over her brow were bent or broken. She responded by roaring like a lion and shot towards Lightning Dust with her claws stretched out.
Lightning Dust shot upwards just as Gilda was within claw's length of her, and the gryphon crashed into a tree. She was now struggling to get out of the trunk, as she was stuck in the middle, with the front of her body sticking out of the other end.
"You just wait till I...get out...of this mess!" grunted Gilda.
"Sorry, but I don't have time for this, G." said Lightning. "I've got a boyfriend to find."
Then Lightning Dust flew away, continuing to look for Radiant. Gilda screeched like an eagle, and broke her way through the rest of the tree. However, she was aching all over, and unable to take off in pursuit of her opponent.
"I'll get you, Lightning! Just you wait!" she said, her hawk-like eyes glowing green again.
Suddenly, two more dark shapes appeared in the distance, and subdued Lightning Dust in mid-flight.
"Yo' comin' with us, Lightning Dust!" said Sigma, whose front hooves were braced around the pegasus' neck.
"I'm not going anywhere!" shouted Lightning Dust. "You better let me go, or I swear that I'll--"
"Canopy, get 'er unda control!" demanded Sigma.
"Got it, Ziggy!" said Canopy, whose horn began to glow. "Sleeeeeep."
Lightning Dust stopped struggling, and her eyes began to close. Before she completely blacked out, she heard the buzzing of the Changelings' wings as they carried her body away.
Meanwhile, Ghost was sitting on a branch of the tree that the Golden Oaks Library was built within. Below him, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle were talking with each other.
"Oh, Twilight. I'm so worried that Lord Umbriel might escape from Canterlot." said Fluttershy.
"Don't worry, Shy." said Twilight. "They've got everypony and their uncle watching over him, making sure he doesn't get out of there." said Twilight.
"I still can't stop thinking about it, though. It gives me goosebumps. Very, very big goosebumps."
Ghost teleported to the far side of the tree, and shape-shifted into Crazy Graffiti. He went around to Twilight and Fluttershy.
"Howdy there, yer majesty!" said the pegasus in the ten-gallon hat. "I hear that you've been looking for a painter."
"Um...hi there, sir." said Twilight. "Who are you?"
"The name's Graffiti. I'm one of the finest artists in Equestria."
"Well, it's nice to meet you." said Twilight. "But I don't remember requesting any artists around here."
"Quick! I've got to come up with something!" Ghost thought. "Okay, who's one of Twilight's friends? Who could possibly have any interest in anything to do with artwork?"
"Applejack sent me!" said Graffiti, aloud.
"Really, Applejack sent you?" asked Fluttershy. "Hey, are you one of her cousins at all?"
"Um...sure. Let's go with that." said Graffiti. "I'm married to her...second...no, third cousin-in-law, whatever-number removed."
"Are you sure?" asked Twilight. "I don't remember seeing you at any of the Apple Family's reunions."
"Uh...Uhhh.., I recently became related?" said Graffiti, weakly. "You know what, I'm not here to talk about who I'm related to, how I'm related to them, or any of that nonsense."
"Then what are you here for?" questioned Twilight Sparkle.
"Well, I have an interest in making paintings of ancient relics." said Graffiti. "Take, for example, the Elements of Harmony."
"I'm sorry, but we no longer have the Elements in our possession." said Twilight.
"Really." said Graffiti.
"We gave them up a month ago." said Fluttershy. "They were brought back to the Tree of Harmony last month. I don't know if they can ever be found again."
"Well, that there's a might shame, huh?" Graffiti shifted uneasily in place. "Well, there's some other relic I've been awfully interested in."
"And what would that be, Mr. Graffiti?" asked Twilight.
"The uh...Alicorn Amulet." said Graffiti.
"Well, we don't have that, either." said Twilight. "We've given it to our friend, Zecora, for safe-keeping."
"And who the heck is Zecora?" asked Graffiti.
"She's a zebra that lives in the Everfree Forest." said Fluttershy. "I could show you where she lives, if you want."
"Nah, I don't need your sympathy, girly-girl." declined Graffiti. "I know exactly what I'm looking for."
"Come on, don't be rude!" said Twilight, narrowing her eyes. "Look, I don't trust you at all, Graffiti or whatever your name is."
"Then why'd you go and tell me where to find the Alicorn Amulet then?" countered Graffiti. "That thing's a pretty darn dangerous toy, ain't it?"
"Because we were planning to lead you there ourselves, to make sure you don't cause any trouble with it." said Twilight.
"Well, by all means: Lead me there!" said Graffiti.
Fluttershy turned towards Twilight.
"Are you sure about this?" the yellow pegasus asked her friend.
"Don't worry, we can handle anything this guy throws at us." said Twilight. "But just in case, I think I should go tell Spike to send a message to Princess Celestia. I think there's more that this guy wants than just a painting, and I think it might have something to do with this Lord Umbriel character."
"Ya know I can hear everything ya say, right?" asked Graffiti. "I ain't meanin' to hurt nobody. I just want a decent painting for the art show in Baltimare."
"What art show in Baltimare?" asked Twilight. "There's no--"
"Just shut up, and take me to the zebra!" snapped Graffiti.
"Fine, just give us a couple of minutes to get ready." said Twilight. "Wait out here, will you?"
"Well, that's fine by me, princess." said Graffiti in an insincere manner.
Meanwhile, Lightning Dust opened her eyes slowly. She found that she was stuck to a wall, and half of her body was covered in a goopy green substance. She struggled to break free, but her wings were covered in the same substance. She tried to look around, but it was too dark for her to make anything out.
"Hello?" she called out. "Is anypony out there?"
There was no answer.
"what is this stuff?" Lightning attempted to shake the substance off of her body. "Eeeewwww..."
Suddenly, there was a sucking noise in the darkness.
"I see that Gilda has failed in her mission." said a low voice. "You should never send a gryphon to do a Changeling's work. I just didn't realize it."
General Synthe emerged from the darkness, and cleared his throat.
"So you are Lightning Dust." he said. "We meet, at last!"
"Yeah, I'm Lightning Dust." said the cyan mare in response. "Big whoop. Like, do you want my autograph or something?"
"No." said Synthe. "I just want you out of the way."
"What for? I didn't do anything to you! Why are you holding me prisoner?"
"Remember those Changelings on the train? How about the ones that you bamboozled back in Fillydelphia?"
"Oh...right." shrugged Lightning. "You got me there. So what do ya want we me, slick?"
"I want you to join me." said General Synthe. "I could use a pegasus as skilled as you!"
"Um...why?" asked Lightning. "I know that you were the one that sent Ghost after us!"
"Wait, did Ghost try killing ponies again?" asked Synthe, surprised.
"Yep." said Lightning. "He teleported Radiant Dawn with the intent of having him fall to his death."
"Goodness, he tried to kill Sunset's brother?!" gasped General Synthe.
"And tried to kill Sunset, too." Lightning Dust narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, what am I going to do with that fool?" Synthe cursed under his breath. "First Hopper, and now this! Seriously, what does Umbriel see in him? He's a moronic and selfish brute!"
"Wait, you work for Umbriel?" asked Lightning. "Oh, yeah! I recognize you! You're that Changeling that held the mayor of my city hostage! General Synthe, right?"
"That is correct." confirmed Synthe.
"Yeah, I draw the line at associating myself with megalomaniacs that threaten the lives of unarmed politicians." said Lightning Dust. "It's totally bad for my karma."
"Oh, really?"
"Really, really." quipped Lightning. "You Changelings are a bunch of freaks, too. I'd never associate myself with you guys!"
"That's...totally fine." said Synthe in an uneasy manner, before turning away. "Sigma! Escort this pegasus to the holding cells!"
"Yes, sir!" said the voice of the Changeling from earlier. "Canopy! Use that spell on her again!"
"Coming right up!" said the voice of the female Changeling.
"Oh, give me a break!" scoffed Lightning Dust.
And then her eyes blacked out again, and everything went silent.