Pith Helmet, despite his quiet nature, was not dumb muscle. Dumb muscle didn't survive long these days. He was intelligent enough to know that fighting two opponents at once - with an option on three, but the one at the keys wasn't jumping up to help just yet - was a bad idea even when the ones he was going up against were normal ponies. Changelings were an even worse idea.
But leaving the changelings to do... whatever it was that was so important with the organ meant putting Compass, Tailspin, and Spike in danger. Probably. And that wasn't something that he could stomach.
Sometimes, you had to take the risk.
He ducked and rolled, moving left, trying to get into a position where he had a few seconds of one-on-one with an attacker while the other maneuvered into position. He came up fast and spun back to face the charging changelings, the shining branch held tightly between his forehooves like a club. As he had hoped, one of the two was now veering sharply to try and catch up, while the other was less than a leg's length away.
Okay, big guy, you got your face-off. Now what?
They had the advantage of speed and maneuverability. They could fly, he couldn't. His advantage was bulk. It had fewer opportunities for flashy tricks, but what it did have was a refreshingly simple and effective approach to things.
The changeling lunged. Pith swung, and was rewarded by a satisfying crunch as the improvised weapon caught the changeling in the side, and the feeling of the impact shock vibrating up his forelegs.
But that wasn't all. At the moment of impact, there was a flash of dazzling light from the crystal branch. For a brief moment, the entire organ room was illuminated in rays of brilliant blue and white. Despite its sudden harshness, though, the light didn't seem to hurt his eyes, or even to leave the familiar streaks across his vision that came with looking at something too bright.
The changelings, on the other hoof, hissed as if they were suddenly in pain, and the one that Pith had struck, rather than simply reeling for balance and leaving itself open for a second strike as the pony had intended, sprawled across the floor, unconscious.
There was a flare of noise from the organ as the changeling at the keys suddenly began to hammer on them desperately, a sudden swell of notes that filled the chamber with echoing, brassy melody. When it cleared, it was replaced by the sound of grinding stone and buzzing wings.
Backup, then. Pith wanted to stop and examine the branch, but there was no time. Instead, he leapt forward, swinging wildly at the changeling in front of him. It was obviously still dazed from the flash, and he caught it in the rib-equivalent with a powerful blow that sent it spinning away in another blast of blue and white. Without pausing, he turned and sprinted for the organ.
The changeling there obviously knew it was the next target. Before Pith was even halfway there, it had spread its wings and flown off towards the ceiling, chittering madly as it tried to keep out of reach. The stallion glared after it for a moment, then turned its attention to the keyboard.
There was a small, hoof-bound volume on a little stand above the keys. It depicted a series of mechanisms and tiny, hoofwritten descriptions of what they did. Each had an odd design scrawled under them: a series of five horizontal lines, then a collection of strange symbols laid out on them. Even Pith, who had never seen sheet music before, could tell that there was a pattern, and that it was probably instructions on how to activate each mechanism by playing the organ.
He didn't have time to try and figure out the controls. He could hear the buzzing of changeling wings getting louder now. It sounded like an army of them was converging on the organ room, and even with his apparently magical weapon, he didn't fancy taking on more than a few at a time. Too many chances to get unlucky.
Time to improvise.
He seized the book in his teeth, turned, and galloped headlong for the exit.
Spike felt as though his head was full of fluffy pink clouds. It was an odd sensation, but not an unpleasant one. It made him feel rather enjoyably light and warm, really. And with Twilight Sparkle sitting beside him, he felt content.
"...memory is still fuzzy," she was saying. Spike blinked and, with great effort, forced his eyes to focus on her again. "I don't really remember what happened before. I just know that I kept waking up in that cocoon, feeling weaker and weaker every time, and with Chrysalis laughing at me." She gave a small shudder, then smiled up at him. "I'm just glad that you turned up when you did. I don't think I would have lasted much longer."
Spike nodded. After a few seconds, he realized that he ought to say something as well, and he managed, "I'm glad you're all right." Another pause while he rooted around in the dimness of his brain, looking for more words to express himself. After almost five seconds, he gave up and let out a huff instead.
Twilight just laughed lightly. "I know, Spike." Her eyes seemed to shine with a light of their own, now. Spike wasn't sure he had ever seen anything that made him happier. "And I'm glad to see you looking so... strong. That necklace really suits you."
Spike blinked. Necklace? He lifted a claw and traced it down his neck until it clinked against something, then looked down. It was a piece of golden jewelry, set with a ruby the size of a pony's hoof. The ruby had been cut into the shape of a heart. It was far too small on someone his size, and, for some reason, seemed a long way off.
"Do you think I could see it?" Twilight asked. She was still smiling.
Spike scrunched up his face. Something was bobbing up and down in a corner of his mind, trying to get his attention. He made a grab for it. Something about... a unicorn with a white coat and blue eyes. The most beautiful eyes...
It took a long time for him to find the word he was looking for, and even longer to force himself to say it. His throat seemed to be fighting him. Every time he started to say it, it became something else, and he had to start over.
Finally, he rumbled, "No."
For a moment, Twilight Sparkle's expression went from a smile to a look of frustration, but it only lasted a moment. Then her horn began to shine, and Spike felt the pink clouds in his head growing thicker. The little thing bobbing in the back of his head was saying something about Twilight's magic not being acid green, but he couldn't place why. Of course it was Twilight's magic.
"Why not, Spike?" she asked quietly, horn still glowing.
Spike blinked once, twice, and looked back down to the necklace. An image floated through his memory. The white-coated unicorn mare was smiling up at him through the haze. He tried to focus on her, but she broke apart and drifted into the fog.
"It was hers," he managed, after a while. He shook his head, searching for her name. "Rarity's." Another long pause. "It's all I have of her."
"But she's gone, Spike," Twilight said softly. Her horn was glowing even more brightly now, and the dragon was finding it harder and harder to remember what the name "Rarity" meant. "She has been for a long time. Do you still care more about her than you do about me?"
Spike said nothing. He was drifting off into the pink clouds again, and words were failing him. All he could do was shake his head slowly.
"Then prove it," Twilight was saying. "Give me the necklace, Spike."
Something inside the dragon managed to get him to shake his head again. Everything seemed distant now. Even the glow from Twilight's horn was fading. He heard her sigh, as if from a great distance away. "Fine," she was saying. The words seemed to echo around the inside of his skull. "Then stay here for a bit. I'll be back soon."
Spike nodded, only partially understanding. Most of his mind was too clouded to really register anything that was happening, now. He just knew that he needed to stay where he was until Twilight asked him to do otherwise. He barely even recognized that Twilight had gotten to her feet and was striding away, towards one of the hallways.
He was already forgetting what it was that had made him say no to her. Without really thinking about the motion, he lifted one clawed hand again and placed it over the ruby, pressing it against his chest, and tried to figure out why there was an image of a white-coated unicorn floating through his mind.
"Tailspin! Tailspin! Wake up!"
Compass sighed. The pegasus wasn't moving. Compass had seen the changelings bite her again during one of the brief moments of lucidity following her capture. She would probably be asleep for a while yet - assuming that she would ever wake up. The changelings had placed her within one of the pulsating green cocoons, just a few feet away from the spot where Compass had been bound to the wall with resin.
She was more than a yard off the ground with her back pressed up against the cold surface behind her. Her forelegs and chest had been caked over with more solid resin, preventing any upper-body movement, while her back legs had been left to dangle free. When she had first woken up, she had tried kicking rapidly and searching for leverage with which to push herself away from the wall, but it was no use. She was exhausted, her limbs felt like they were asleep, and the resin was solid and offered no hoofholds. She was well and truly stuck.
The changelings had even poured the sickening black stuff over her horn. That was disgusting in and of itself, but it also seemed to interfere with her magic. Every time she tried to reach out and do something with it, she had an odd feeling, like extreme pressure was building up inside her skull. She had given up after the fifth try or so.
What the room they were in had been before the changelings had moved in, she couldn't tell. Everything was covered in resin now. There were two entrances, though, one across the room from her and one to her left. Other than that, it was bare, save for the spellbook, which lay on a slightly-raised section of resin, and the shining green cocoon that was currently occupied by the unconscious Tailspin.
Compass sighed. There was nothing for it; she either had to use magic or resign herself to being drained like the changelings' other victims. She screwed up her eyes, concentrated, and tried to force the magic out, fighting against the pressure of the resin.
"You may as well stop that," said a rather amused-sounding voice. "It won't work."
Compass let out a heavy gasp as the magic slipped away from her again, then spent a few moments choking for air. When she looked up, there was another pony in the room. She was tall and elegant, with a long, flowing mane that seemed to be full of stars and a lustrous violet coat. And she was an alicorn.
She seemed somehow familiar. It only took a moment to remember, and Compass said, "You're Twilight Sparkle."
"Mm, not quite." The alicorn smirked at her, and for a moment, her eyes flashed green. "You may call me Queen Chrysalis."
Little wheels were spinning with furious speed inside Compass' head. "Queen of the changelings?" It wasn't really a question.
Chrysalis smirked again. "Ah, so the little unicorn isn't quite as stupid as she looks. She does, in fact, have two brain cells to rub together, despite the fact that she was running about the hallways using a priceless piece of magical history as a bludgeon less than half an hour ago." Her horn began to shine with the same sickly green that emanated from Tailspin's cocoon, and the spellbook was lifted off of the dais to float towards her. "You know, I really should be thanking you. In all the years that we've lived outside, I was never able to find a way in. I was beginning to give up hope on ever seeing this book for myself."
The little wheels jammed. Compass Rose blinked. "What do you care about a book of unicorn magic?"
"Alicorn magic, you silly mare," Chrysalis said. She still sounded more amused than anything as she strode over to stand by Tailspin's cocoon, then sat down. The book opened in front of her, the pages riffling open, and the faux alicorn began to read. "Oh, there's unicorn magic in here as well, as well as some of Twilight Sparkle's personal dissertation on magical theory, but I never cared about those. One of my children was posing as part of her royal guard while she was writing it, and she never stopped rambling on about her thoughts on the subject, so I know most of that already."
A page turned itself delicately. "No," she went on, "this is valuable for the alicorn magic in it. Really, you unicorns always were such insufferable egotists. You may as well be stage magicians compared to us."
Compass felt her train of thought begin to move again, its temporary derailment dealt with. This "queen" seemed inclined to talk, which meant that she wasn't currently draining Compass. Or Tailspin. Her eyes flickered towards the pegasus again. She still wasn't moving, and a pang of fear washed over the unicorn as she considered the possibilities.
"So," she said, not looking away from Tailspin, "you're an alicorn?"
Chrysalis lifted her eyes, which had returned to their soft, violet state, and peered at Compass over the top of the book. "It took you that long to figure that out?" she said, a note of disdain leaking into her voice. "Really? I may have to rescind my previous statement about you not being an idiot. Why would I care about a spellbook that is full of magic that I could not possibly use?"
"But you're a changeling." Compass looked away from Tailspin and back to the queen, frowning. Most of her was just attempting to keep Chrysalis from thinking about hunger, but part of her was genuinely interested in what she was saying.
Chrysalis laughed in response and shut the spellbook with a snap. "Oh, don't tell me that after all this time, no one has worked out what we are," she said. She gave a dazzling smile. "I am an alicorn, you know. Just one that has been through some... changes." She stood and took a few steps closer to Compass, who attempted to shrink back into the wall. It remained stubbornly solid.
"I used to be a princess," Chrysalis said, stepping closer still. "Thousands of years ago, even before that bumbling dragon in the other room was born. I even knew Celestia and Luna when they were young. But then..." She sighed dramatically, but the smile never left her face. "I was an exceptional beauty, and as such, there were suitors visiting at all hours. One of them was a little more desperate than the rest. He mixed a potion of his own creation into our food."
She laughed. "A love potion, but incorrectly made. It drove the both of us mad with desire. For the rest of his life, we spent every waking moment in one another's embrace. But he was a unicorn, and I am immortal."
Compass stared in horror as the alicorn's face began to twist and change. The skin peeled back and fell away in flakes, only to be consumed by green flame before it reached the floor, revealing a chitinous, black, skull-like head with a long, lank mane and wicked, fanged teeth. "And now here I am," she said, a note of triumph in her voice. "He isn't here, but I still need sustenance. And it's just so much easier to take than it is to earn. I am always hungry."
Compass swallowed hard. "So why aren't you eating now?" Her voice was barely more than a squeak.
Chrysalis smiled again, and suddenly Twilight Sparkle's face was back. "Because," she purred, "I like to gloat. Things just get so boring and clinical otherwise. I have always preferred the more personal treatment. And besides, your friend should be here soon."
Compass blinked. "Pith? Where is he?"
"Oh, wandering about aimlessly in the corridors," Chrysalis said, turning away and waving one hoof dismissively. "He managed to steal the plans for operating the castle's secret doors, but he really doesn't know where he's going. He'll find us eventually, though, and when he does, I want a bit of leverage." She sat back down beside the cocoon that Tailspin was occupying and grinned at it. "He's apparently managed to lay his hooves on a rather powerful magical weapon, and I am never one to go into a situation like this without a plan."
She reached out and patted the outside of the cocoon gently with one hoof. Inside, Tailspin groaned and curled inward on herself. "So when he arrives," Chrysalis continued, "he'll get to watch as I feed on his partner, and then, if he still wants to fight, he'll have to do so knowing that you are the second course."