Applejack laughed as Rainbow Dash trudged into the room. "Good to see you again. I was getting worried that you went half-cocked through that secret tunnel of yours."
Rainbow smiled back. "I tried. They blocked it good." She sat at the table across from Shining Armor. Luna, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Nocto filled out the remaining places. "There you are! Nice to see you got through that scrape."
He snorted. "Surviving. Surprising how simple and hard it is at the same time."
"But you did survive," Shining Armor said. "Both of you survived and managed to keep others safe with you. That's why I need you right now. My memory of the last week is...nonexistent. No pony in Canterlot knows more about how our enemy fights than you."
Rainbow Dash was surprised. "What about Luna? Hasn't she fought them?"
"They were wary of our lighting," Luna explained. "They rarely showed themselves openly."
"They're strong," Nocto started, "But they have no real skill with their magic. I've never seen one even do a simple levitation."
"They overpower you," Rainbow added. "But they're slow and predictable. Keep 'em off balance and they fall apart."
"And they have no eye for decor." Rarity hmphed. "Can you believe I saw one place a bust of Lord Brownmane next to a still life? It was like they hadn't heard of his fabled patronage of romanticism at all."
The room was quiet for a moment. "Anyway," Shining Armor said slowly, "I'm thinking a frontal assault with our unicorns and one squad of pegasi. The rest of the pegasi troops will take over for the Cloudsdale group and maintain the blockade. I'll lead our main force to the throne room and attempt to capture the queen."
Rainbow Dash saw a problem. "What about Twilight? And Celestia? We can find them faster if we bring in everyone."
"Their safety is paramount," Luna agreed, "but they could be smuggled out in the confusion of an all-out attack. I will command the pegasi in the skies. I swear that nothing will get past us."
Applejack raised a hoof. "Begging your pardon, highness, but shouldn't you lead the attack? Uh, no offense Cap, but we all saw Chrysalis take down Celestia. What kinda shot do you have?"
"Chrysalis will be weaker now that she doesn't have me with her. I'm open to suggestions, though."
"The Elements of Harmony." Rainbow Dash smiled. "Twilight said they were hidden in the castle. If we can free her and get our hooves on those this thing is over. The hard part would be finding them."
"RARITY!" The unicorn jumped as Applejack shouted her name. "Your spell! Can't you find the gems in the Elements?!"
"I-I suppose. But...Applejack, it is a castle. Gems will be all over the place."
"And the power of the Elements is legendary," Luna told her. "Chrysalis isn't foolish enough to leave them lying about. Not with an army at her doorstep."
"I KNOW WHERE THEY ARE!" Pinkie Pie jumped around the table is ecstasy. "I know where they are! I know where they are! I knew this was coming!"
Applejack ducked to avoid Pinkie's hooves. "What in tarnation are you talking about?"
"I already FOUND them, silly! Right after we were caught I got out of my cell, used the tunnel you talked about, snuck back into the castle, and found the Elements. And then I went," she paused to take an exaggerated gasp, “because the changelings made such a big entrance that I just had to top them somehow! So I put the Elements in my PARTY CANNON!"
Rainbow Dash felt hollow inside. "You...what?"
"I put them in my party cannon! Then I could shoot them out! Twilight could catch them in midair and throw them on us at the same time! I mean, it's not like pose-as-a-rival-for-her-super-duper-special-day-and-use-it-as-a-way-to-launch-an-invasion-that-destroys-your-enemies'-home-and-possibly-lead-to-world-domination awesome, but it's still pretty awesome, right?"
Rainbow could only watch Pinkie bounce in place. "You...left Fluttershy alone. In a dungeon."
"Yep!"
"You...left her alone as you followed a way out."
"Yep yep!"
"You...found the most awesome things in Equestria. The things that could have stopped all of this days ago."
"Yep yep yep!"
"You...decided to use a cannon to get these things to us. A cannon. Instead of, oh I don't know, using your Element to try and get to the rest of us?"
"C'mon, Dashie, what was I gonna do? Laugh them all to death?"
Rainbow Dash felt a hoof on her shoulder. Applejack whispered in her ear. "Simmer down. We need her alive for the Elements to work." Louder, she asked, "do you know where the cannon is?"
"I always do! I can lead you right to it!"
"Well OK! Isn't that good?" She shook Rainbow's shoulder. Rainbow Dash let out a sigh through gritted teeth. "The five of us will go find our Elements, then meet up with the Royal Guard. We'll figure out where Twilight is and end this shindig."
"Actually," Shining Armor spoke up, "I already had a plan for Rainbow Dash. Do you think you have one more of those sonic rainbooms left in you?"
Rainbow's jaw dropped for a moment before she recovered herself. "Naturally. But what are you thinking? A blast like that could bring down the castle."
"I know. Believe me, I know. I'm still feeling that last one. But the changelings know we're coming. Like you said, we need to keep them off balance. So, I want you flying down their throats full speed from the word 'go.'"
"Are...are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"Applejack helped fill me in a little on what's happened. Twily put a lot of faith in you. I'd say you lived up to it. I can't think of any pony better to lead the charge."
Luna agreed. Every pony agreed. Nocto was chosen to go with the others in Rainbow's place with a few hoof picked soldiers. Applejack followed Rainbow Dash out as the meeting ended. "Look, I didn't want to question you in front of them all, but are sure about this? Fluttershy told me you were knocked out by that last trick you pulled. We saw you leaning on her earlier. You're still walking funny. I-"
"I got this, cowgirl. I'm feeling better. Where is Fluttershy, anyway? We need to fill her in about this."
"She is attending to Princess Cadance." Rarity fell in step, Pinkie Pie hopping beside her. "Now listen to me, Rainbow Dash. There is a matter of great importance we need to discuss. I saw that...effort you made at an outfit on Fluttershy earlier. It was a fair attempt, but it simply isn't good enough for this stage. Come with me to make a few alterations, and we can give you something to wear tomorrow that will be truly worthy of Hurricane's legend!"
She had to be joking. She knew Rainbow Dash hated dressing for her. "Not gonna happen."
"Oh come now. You heard the captain. You are the tip of our spear! You simply must look sharp when you go in."
She spotted Shining Armor heading down a side street. If Fluttershy was with Cadance, he could lead Rainbow to her. She parted from her friends with a final answer. "I've got my own legend to work on, remember? Hurricane was fun, but I'm fighting as Rainbow Dash tomorrow."
---
"-table."
Fluttershy started suddenly. "Huh? What?"
"I said you're falling asleep at the table." Princess Cadance set down a tea cup in front of her with a smile. Fluttershy sipped the hot liquid, watching ponies walk by the shattered windows of the cafe. She followed Cadance through the night as the princess helped many of them. The two of them applied bandages, attached slings, organized caravans to help those who couldn't walk, did whatever they could to help those ponies get to safety.
"It's...it's been a long day."
"Tell me about it. Really, please tell me about it. The changelings didn't keep capturing Hurricane a secret. And Aunt Luna told me you were the one who sent her the letter to prepare an attack at nightfall. So you managed to organize a coordinated rescue attempt across a force field in less than a day. You did all that." Cadance began to laugh. "Where did you even find the time to sleep?"
She didn't. "I wasn't really thinking about it. I just...had to help Rainbow Dash."
"I know what you mean. Half of my family is trapped with those monsters, and the other half will be fighting to save them. I can't just sit by."
"Is your leg feeling better?"
"Yes, this recipe of yours is perfect!" Fluttershy smiled as Cadance drained the rest of her cup. "I make it through imprisonment, an invasion, slavery, and a street fight, and then I trip over a pot hole. I guess we both needed some caffeine. Well, there's no more pain now. I'm fighting tomorrow."
"My hoof you are." Fluttershy jumped at the gruff voice behind her. Shining Armor walked into the cafe as Fluttershy looked nervously back and forth.
Cadance narrowed her eyes with a small smile. "Eavesdropping, dear? I thought you were better than that. Don't two ladies deserve their privacy?"
"Broken windows mean broken privacy. And don't try to dodge this."
"Um, sir?" Fluttershy kept her voice down. "Maybe you should listen to what-"
"Captain, I outrank you. You don't have much say in the matter."
Fluttershy quivered. "O-Oh, my. That isn't going to help any-"
"Cadance, we're risking enough as it is! If they capture you-"
"Don't even try playing that card! Do you know how many times I had to see you with her?"
Fluttershy began to back away. "I'll...I'll just see myself out." She slinked past the stares of the last few ponies walking by until the argument faded away. Now what to do? If Shining Armor was there, that meant the meeting was over. So where would her friends have gone?
"Get her!"
Fluttershy froze in the middle of the deserted street. Where did that voice-bam! She was knocked to the ground. Fluttershy threw her hooves in front of her face to shield herself from the thing sitting on her chest.
"Fluttershy, who's cooler? Rainbow Dash or Hurricane?"
Something about that voice struck her the second time she heard it. Slowly lowering her hooves, Fluttershy peaked at the source. "S-Scootaloo?"
The young pegasus answered her with a nod. "Yeah, Scootaloo. Now answer the question! Sweetie Belle says Hurricane is cooler, but you're with me, right?"
"You didn't have to tackle her!" The twang of her accent gave away Apple Bloom. She and Sweetie Belle ran out of an alley to push off Scootaloo.
The pegasus dusted herself off. "Well, we were following her anyway. You didn't break the tie, so why shouldn't she? And she still hasn't answered!"
Fluttershy pounced on them, ignorant of their kicks and gasps as she held them close. "Girls! Oh, girls! You're OK. You're all OK! Where have you been?!"
Sweetie Belle pushed herself far enough away to gasp an answer. "We stayed in a donut shop. Rarity told me about after the Gala."
"No!" Fluttershy squeezed them tighter in spite of their protests. "Don't tell me that! Rainbow Dash and I stayed there one day and didn't go back! We could have found you! I'm so, so sorry!"
"F-Fluttershy...can't...breathe..."
"Hey! What are you three doing here?!" Rainbow Dash rounded a corner and walked up to the group. Scootaloo let out a squeak, pried herself from Fluttershy's grasp, and threw herself around Rainbow's neck. Rainbow winced. "Not so tight! Not so tight, kid!"
Scootaloo ignored her. "I knew you'd make it out of there! I knew they couldn't hold back the Awesome of Rainbow Dash! Even though they tried to...to..."
Fluttershy smiled as Rainbow patted the filly's back and lowered herself to the ground. "Tried and failed, kid. I had some pony looking out for me."
"Yeah, Hurricane!" Sweetie Belle hopped in the air as she said the name. "Hurricane, who single hoofedly sent the bug boys crying back to the castle! Hurricane, whose mere presence inspired the ponies of Canterlot to aid an escape from an ambush! Hurricane, whose impeccable, inimitable fashion sense-” Apple Bloom cut her off by stuffing a hoof in her mouth.
Scootaloo turned on her friend with a passion. "Rainbow Dash was the one who brought down the force field! Rainbow Dash was the one who let Luna and the pegasi in! Hurricane was nowhere to be found!" The filly's hero looked at Fluttershy, smiling, shaking her head.
"And where was Rainbow Dash yesterday? And the day before that? And the day before that? And she still needed some pony brave and strong like Hurricane to save her tonight!" Fluttershy could only smile and blush at Sweetie Belle's defense of Hurricane.
Scootaloo turned back to Rainbow Dash. "That's...a good point. You know, until tonight I thought you were Hurricane. Whoever it is flies like you do."
Rainbow stood up with a smile. "Well, I-” Fluttershy frantically shook her head NO. "-ahhh, you could say that I taught Hurricane a trick or two."
"WHAT?!" The three fillies surrounded Rainbow Dash. Even Apple Bloom looked excited now. They bombarded Rainbow with questions. Who was Hurricane? A stallion? A mare? Was it a Wonderbolt?
Rainbow Dash looked pleadingly at Fluttershy. She shook her head no again. Rainbow sighed. "I don't know who Hurricane is. If she wanted every pony to know, she would tell you."
The crusaders all slouched, disappointed. Fluttershy changed the subject before the fillies picked up on Rainbow's use of "she." "Girls, why are you still here? You need to leave!"
The three shouted as one. "We are the CUTIE MARK CRUSADER CHANGELING OCCUPATION ELIMINATORS! We will not leave until the job is done!"
She should have expected that. "Is that why you were following me?"
Apple Bloom nodded. "The princess would've just made us leave. We thought you could tell us how to help."
Fluttershy smiled sweetly. "Thank you, girls, but there's nothing else to do now. All we can do is rest for tomorrow. Rainbow Dash and I won't mind if you sleep over with us tonight."
"What?" Sweetie Belled looked near tears. "But...but nothing like this has ever happened in Equestria! And we've never gotten out cutie marks! We thought for sure this was it!"
Scootaloo started walking away. "Come on, crusaders! There must be something we can find to help out."
Rainbow Dash put her hoof down. "You either come with us now, or you spend the night with Applejack and Rarity. Your choice." The fear on Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's faces was answer enough. "Follow us then."
---
Twilight Sparkle twitched her nose. The itch was aggravating. All four of her hooves were lashed down and spread to all four corners of the table she was lying on. It seemed excessive to her. Some rational level of her mind told her she should feel scared, being left exposed and helpless like this for what felt like hours. Truthfully, she didn't care. It wasn't so bad compared to the constant taunts and threats she endured from Chrysalis over the occupation.
What mattered to her was that she was still here. Even though she couldn't see or hear them, that meant the changelings were still here. And why would an army that could fly stay in one place that was clearly under threat of an attack? They were trapped. And her brother would be leading their enemy. He wouldn't take any needless chances.
The ponies would win. It was as good as done.
The door to her room opened. Queen Chrysalis stalked in. Unsurprisingly, her first act was to check the collar around Twilight's neck. Twilight still refused to tell her how she was able to launch any spells. Instead, the unicorn simply smiled up at her captor. "You know you're going to lose, right? You've lost my brother, so you've lost a lot of power."
Chrysalis didn't answer her. The crooked horn began to glow faintly.
"What, are you going to feed off my love? I've been turned against my friends before. I'll fight you every step of the way if you try that, with or without magic."
Again, the queen didn't answer her directly. When she spoke, it was in a language Twilight didn't recognize. The words were short, and they were repeated in the cadence of an incantation. A chill went down Twilight's spine as something...changed inside of her. She felt something push into her mind. The hopelessness of her situation suddenly sank in.
"There's...there's nothing you can do to help yourself. Equestria won't let you get away with what you've done."
"Is that fear in your voice, pet?"
"Don't call me that..." The words came out in a frightened whisper as the incantation resumed. She was afraid. Something was happening to her. This spell...it felt wrong. Her heart felt like ice, spreading cold through her veins. Every heartbeat spread it further. Twilight writhed in place. It was impossible to find any comfort. "What...what is this?"
"I told you that you were the only advantage I needed. You didn't really think I would pass up using you?" Chrysalis turned to leave. "Pleasant dreams."
Twilight Sparkle tried to stop herself from laughing. She could never find rest like this.