//------------------------------// // Hostage Crisis // Story: Growing Pains // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// Mist gaped in fear as she stepped back. "Who... are you?" She trembled. "Allow me to introduce myzzelf… I am Char." The Changeling sneered. "And I'll be your kidnapper for tonight." Char lunged for Mist. She leapt out of the way, but Char, showing great agility for his size, jumped up and grabbed her. "Let... me... go!" Mist struggled. "Zip it, hozztage." Char growled. Holding Mist tightly, Char, returning to his Unicorn disguise, exited Mist's room. He looked left and right, then pushed Mist along. "Here's how it's gonna be, girl: You and I are going to get outta Canterlot." Char whispered. "Scream or give any indication of who I am and I will break your neck." "You won't get away with this." Mist said, stifling a whimper. "Everypony here will know I'm gone." "True... but when I'm through with you, I plan to set things back the way they oughta be. With us Changelings on top." Char hissed. "Now move!" The two moved conspicuously through the halls. Mist was forced to keep up a happy face as a couple of guards passed by. They were close to the main doors. "Ah, there it is." Char smiled. "I was starting to get sick of this place." He and Mist were about to leave when... "Hold it right there!" Char and Mist froze. Char turned and saw Caboose walking towards them. "What exactly are you doing?" Caboose inquired. "And with Mist, no less?" "Not a word out of you." Char whispered to Mist. He then turned to Caboose. "I was escorting miss Mist to the train station." Caboose glanced at Char oddly, then at Mist, who was keeping quiet, out of fear, hoping that Caboose would notice. "Hmm... seems legit." He said finally. Mist despaired on the inside, while Char let out a sigh of relief. "Okay. Now, if you excuse us, we have to catch the train." Char made to take Mist away, but Caboose stopped him. "Say, are you new here?" Caboose asked. "I've never seen you before." "Ah... yeah." Char nodded. "Just transferred here." "Oh. okay." Caboose smiled. Char made to leave again. "From where, exactly?" Caboose asked. "Does it matter?" Char stifled a growl. "Well, yeah." Caboose declared. "I mean, in order to escort a royal, you have to have experience in the field. I mean, I had to come from Saddle Arabia to even be considered to be Blueblood's personal guard. And if you don't have said experience, I would have to take Mist off your hoof..." "Then I am from Saddle Arabia, just like you." Char lied. "We would like to go now..." "Are you sure? I never saw you there before." Caboose mused. "Oh for sh-YOU WEREN'T EVEN FROM SADDLE ARABIA!" Char's patience gave out. "YOU ARE JUST A LOSER WHO COMES FROM A STUPID MAFIA FAMILY WHO CAN'T EVEN SPEAK PROPER ENGLISH AT TIMES, AND YOU CAN'T EVEN HANDLE A SIMPLE CANNON FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW I KNOW?! LISTENING TO THOSE CONFORMING POOR EXCUSES FOR CHANGELINGS DRABBLE ON ABOUT THAT FAT FLANK VINNY!" Char panted heavily, leaving Mist and Caboose surprised. Char put his hooves over his mouth in shock. "...Wait, how do you know that we hire changelings?" Caboose asked. "Are you serious?" Char gaped in shock. "I just said all that and that's all you pick up on?!" "Wait... did you just call my brother Vinny fat?" Caboose gasped. Char's eye twitched. "You know what? To Tartarus with this." He changed back into a Changeling. "...Oh, so you're one of Chrysalis's guys... wait, why would you be disguised as one of our own guys..." Caboose noted. "Wait, I've never seen you with Chrysalis and Sleight's guards..." Char's eye twitched more, while Caboose put two and two together, gasping heavily. "Wait, you're not one of Chrysalis's pon-" Char slugged Caboose hard in the face. "Good-" He stifled a curse. "Thizz is why I hate poniezz! They are zzo zztupid! Completely moronic!" "What's going on here?!" "Oh buck." Char gulped. Char slowly looked behind him, as Shine stood there, with the other royals (plus Daring) coming in. They froze as they saw Char standing there with Mist in his clutch. "Ugh... thizz is not how I pictured thizz plan working out." Char groaned. "Brother, help!" Mist called. "Quiet, you!" Char growled. Shine stepped forth in anger, "Who are you?! And what are you doing with my sister?!" He demanded. "I've done nothing, not yet at leazzt..." Char snarled. "You don't know me, but I know you..." "What is he talking about?!" Shining asked. "Is he one of Chrysalis's minions?" "Hardly." Chrysalis stepped forward. "Queen." Char glared. "Colonel Char." Chrysalis glared harder. "What is the meaning of this?! Why are you here?! "Oh, you of anypony zzhould know why I am here!" Char roared. The royals glanced at each other... "Mind explaining it for us?" Flash requested. "I am here to rezztore my kind'zz zztrength and power!" Char declared. "Your zzo-called peace has reduced uzz to a fraction of what we once were! Our zzo-called Queen, agreeing to play nice with the poniezz that drove uzz to poverty and zztarvation. But even worse, zzhe actually married one of them! All of it zzpits in the face of what a Changeling truly izz! But I will get uzz back on the right path! With thizz brat azz hostage, I can get anything I want from you!" "This has gone on long enough!" Chrysalis hissed. "Put an end to this charade, Char, while you still can!" "I'm zzorry, queenie, but I don't take orderzz from you, ezzpecially since you zztarted mating with that filthy inferior Lazz Pegasuzz magician." Char sneered. "HEY!" Sleight yelled. "For your edification, I'm not from Las Pegasus, I'm from Baltimare!" "Zzame difference." Char shrugged. "You have grown weak, Chrysalizz... but with this girl, I plan to zzet thingzz back to the way they zzhould be!" "I don't think so!" Shine yelled. "Guards!" Guards appeared all around them, and Caboose, a little woozy, got to his hooves and picked up a spear. "Are you alright, dear?" Daring approached him. "Sure I am..." Caboose said, bleary-eyed. "Hey, you never told me you had sisters..." "Give me my sister." Shine growled at Char. "Then come along quietly." "Zzorry, but I do not... azz they zzay... come quietly." Char sneered. "And the girl zztays with me. Attack, and I might be tempted to use her as a zzhield..." "Okay, everypony, stand back!" Caboose shouted. "This is a hostage situation! No need to panic! You hear me?!" However, he himself began to panic, "NO NEED TO PANIC-!" Sleight slapped Caboose. "Get a hold of yourself, Lieutenant!" He reprimanded him. "You're helping the situation none!" Caboose glared at Sleight. "You get a hold of yourself!" He slapped Sleight back. "No, you!" Sleight slapped him again. "You!" Caboose slapped again. "Guys, that's enough!" Shine got in between them. "Aw, it was my turn!" Sleight groaned. "What's this guy's deal with you, Chrysalis?!" Flash enquired. "Char was one of my most loyal soldiers in the swarm." Chrysalis recalled. "Unfortunately, after we created peace with the ponies, Char was not happy..." "And when I came along... he went off the deep end." Sleight added. "How far off the deep end?" Shine asked. "Come any clozzer and I will snap her neck like a twig!" Char screeched. "Like off a cliff." Chrysalis deadpanned. "Joke all you want, my queen." Char spat. "But I will only zzurrender the girl if you bow to my demandzz." "Enough's enough!" Shine roared. "Guards, get that fiend, and retrieve my sister!" The guards charged, but Char, once again displaying an unfeasible level of agility, dodged them. He spat his slime at the hooves of several, pinning them to the floor. With his way to the front doors blocked, he turned in another direction. "Follow me, and the girl getzz it!" Char threatened. "Shine!" Mist yelled, as she struggled to escape her captor's grip. Char dragged Mist along as he tried to escape the castle, but guards were cutting off every passageway imaginable. Eventually, Char noticed an open balcony. "Bingo!" He smirked. "It'zz high time I blow thizz joint!" He charged for the balcony... but then, two familiar colts turned into the hall, Luxury and Blue Blazes, the two having entered through a side entrance (Not wanting to bother anypony with their intrusion). "Are you sure we should bother Mist at a time like this?" Luxury asked as they walked along the hallway. "I think we should give her a bit more time to herself." "Well, I think she could use the company, let her know that she's not in this alone..." Blue noted. "I guess that makes sense... but boy, I never thought I would be in a love triangle..." Luxury noted. "Me neither." Blue nodded. "I guess Mist has that kind of charm about her." Char stifled a curse. "Luxury! Blue!" Mist called. The two colts jolted up, and saw Mist in the grasps of the now angry changeling, who was glaring at Mist. "Hey! What are you doing with our girl?!" Blue yelled. "Un-hoof her at once!" Luxury demanded. The two colts charged Char. He growled as he turned around, but noticed the guards were coming at him from that direction. "Oh, horzzeapplezz..." He glanced at a nearby door, and quickly slipped in. Luxury and Blue followed. "Drat, drat, drat!" Char snarled as he kept running. "Zzo clozze... who are thozze two, anyway?!" "It's... complicated." Mist shrugged. "But suffice to say, they won't stop until I'm safe." "We'll zzee about that." Char hissed. As Char doubled back, he almost ran into the other royals. Making a swift turn, he dashed for the ballroom. He pushed the doors closed, but not before Luxury and Blue could jump through. "Well, well." Char sneered as he locked the doors. "Juzzt uzz, now." Char tossed Mist aside, and spat more goo on her hooves, trapping her. "You'll pay for ruining my ezzcape." He glared at Luxury and Blue. "You're the one who's going to pay!" Luxury growled. "Nopony messes with our Mist!" Blue roared. "Then come at me, you little punkzz…" Char taunted. Meanwhile, outside, a rather big statue was on it's side, as Shine, Gothic, Shining, Flash, Blueblood, and Sleight, with Caboose leading the charge, was using it as a battering ram to break the door. "Heave! Ho! Heave! Ho!" Caboose yelled with each ram of the statue. The women were watching from the sidelines. "This isn't working!" Twilight gasped. "The changeling must have barricaded the doors." "We just need something harder to break through the door!" Caboose declared. Iron Hooves came rushing to the scene. "Your majesties, I came as soon as I-" He started. "You'll do!" Caboose lifted Iron with his magic, much to the captain's shock, and began using him as a battering ram. "OW! CABOOSE! WHAT! ARE! YOU! DOING!" Iron Hooves screamed each time his head bashed against the wall. "Caboose! Don't use my cousin as a battering ram!" Flash yelled. "What?" Caboose dropped Iron. "Iron Hooves doesn't have an 'iron' head?" "...If I wasn't now suffering from my headache, I would kill you." Iron groaned, grasping his head. "It's obvious that Lieutenant Caboose's tactics aren't working." Shining declared. "It's about time I pulled rank!" "Why? You're no longer captain, Shining. I am!" Iron pointed out. "I'm the one who should be calling the shots!" "Yeah... but the readers like me more and my ideas is what's keeping them from hitting that 'Back' button!" Caboose smirked. "Caboose, can you stop talking sense for one chapter... oh, great, now I'm doing it!" Blueblood groaned. "Guys, enough!" Cadance yelled. "None of this is helping us get in." "Correct, Cadance." Celestia nodded. "Now is the time to put our heads together." "Well, does anypony have any bright ideas?" Shine asked. However, sounds of laser firing and changelings roars echoed through the doors. "What the-what's going on in there?!" Gothic asked. "Let me check." Caboose stepped up, as he put his ear to the door, "It's seem like… Luxury and Blue Blazes are fighting Char while Mist is being held in place by green goo." The other ponies glanced at him in shock. "How did you…what would Luxury and Blue Blazes be doing in there?!" Shine gasped. "You got me…" Caboose shrugged as he placed his ear against the door again. "But right now, it seems like Luxury is readying another magical blast while Blue is readying a dive-bomb, though he is rather slow on the dive…" Caboose was right for the most part. Inside the ballroom, Luxury and Blue were fighting Char. Luxury fired bolts of magic from his horn, while Blue divebombed the Changeling. "Not bad, little grubzz." Char winced. "But not good enough!" Char rammed into Luxury, knocking him to the ground, and fired a beam of energy at Blue, shooting him out of the air. The two laid on the ground, defeated, as Char gave a superior smirk. "No!" Mist cried. "You poniezz are complete moronzz!" Char shouted through the door. "Now I have Mizzt and these two bozozz!" The royals shared uncertain glances at this grave news. "What now?" Shine growled. "There's no way for us to get in there!" "Calm down, Shine." Gothic declared. "We need to think for a moment!" "We could try using Iron again." Caboose suggested. "Think harder!" Iron snapped. "Well, somepony think of something!" Flash yelled. "Excuse me." Sleight stepped up. "I think I might have an idea. Let me talk to Char." "You?" Shining snorted. "Do you even have experience in negotiating with bad guys?" "No." Sleight admitted. "But I am now the King of the Changelings, and I have an understanding with them." "Let him try, Shining." Shine insisted. "This is my sister in danger here!" Shining stepped back, as Sleight approached the door. "Mr. Char?" Sleight called. "Are you still there?" "Well, well, well, if it izzn't the wannabe Changeling King." Char growled. "You corrupted our queen! Made her weak!" "I had done nothing of the sort." Sleight countered. "But I am not here to argue. What are your demands?" "Demandzz?" Char asked. "Yes. Is there anything we could give you in return for Mist and the others' safety?" Sleight inquired. "Yer darn right there izz!" Char growled. "Firzzt off-" "Sorry, but I can barely hear you even when you're screaming." Sleight declared. "Could I give you a piece of paper to jot down your list of demands?" "How do I know thizz izzn't some trick?" Char asked. "Char, it's a piece of paper." Sleight said flatly. "Flimsy, easy to tear up, and no particular use besides writing. There is no card up anypony's sleeve." "...Good point." Char agreed. "Zzlip it under the door!" Sleight winked at the group, much to their confusion. He pulled out one of his playing cards and slipped it under the door. Char looked at it... and was confused. "Wait. What paper is thizz?! I can't write on-" In an instant, two hooves popped out of it and grabbed Char's head. "GAH! WHAT IZZ THIZZ?! On the other side, Sleight had his hooves buried inside a portal of one of his cards. "WHOA! What are you doing?" Shine gasped. "Taking care of the problem." Sleight smiled. Using his hooves, Sleight dragged Char's head through the portal. Char was screaming. "YOU MANIAC! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He yelped. "Taking care of the problem." Sleight wrapped one hoof around Char's head and began punching his face in. Sleight's eyes took on a devilish glint as he continued punching. "Taking care of the problem." The other royals looked on in shock. Char, becoming frightened, tore his head back. Sleight got dragged into the portal with him... but that was his plan. Mist, Luxury, and Blue looked on in shock as Sleight tackled Char, beating him senseless. Before long, Char was unconscious, and Sleight was wiping his brow. Once Sleight unlocked the doors, the royals burst into the room. "By gosh..." Shine gasped. "That was amazing!" Twilight declared. "I've never seen magic like that before!" "It's just me 'taking care of a problem'." Sleight smirked. "Shine!" Mist called. "Mist!" Shine rushed over to his sister. "I'm so glad you're alright." "More or less." Mist pointed out her hooves. "Allow me." Celestia zapped away the slime. "Thank you, Sleight." Shine nodded, "I owe you one." "Think nothing of it." Sleight shrugged. Moments later, most of the group was gathered outside the ballroom, discussing what to do with Char, while Mist was tending to Luxury and Blue Blazes, who were both slightly bruised. "I'm so sorry that you two got hurt because of me..." Mist sighed. "Don't be. I suffered more bruises from crashing than this." Blue smiled. "Besides, we couldn't let Char hurt you." Luxury added. "I guess we underestimated the blackguard's strength." "Either way, thank you both." Mist smiled... before frowning. "You're still having problems choosing?" Blue noticed. "I just don't know what's wrong with me... in front of me are the two most brave, handsome, wonderful stallions I had ever met that are so perfect in their own way..." Mist groaned. "I just can't choose." "And I suppose we can't help in any way?" Luxury asked. "No. And there's no way I can choose one of you without being unfair to the other... the only way I would be able to decide was if by fate, something was to happen..." Mist mused. Meanwhile, a familiar Changeling, along with the actual unicorn guard Char knocked out were looking over Char. "So this is the guy that tried to take my shape and take Mist?" The Unicorn asked. "Yezz... it'zz zzuch a zzhame, thizz guy wazz onzze a leading officer in our army." The Changeling sighed. "And now he's a criminal... why can't changelings ever stop doing bad things?" The Unicorn glanced at the changeling. "No offense." "None taken." The Changeling shrugged. "Zztill, I am pleased that King Zzleight managed to knock him out of commission. I can even touch him without conzzequencezz..." He reached out and tapped Char... when suddenly Char launched to his feet and roared. "GAH!" The Unicorn gasped. "Oh crud!" The Changeling gulped. Mist, Luxury, and Blue Blazes gasped as Char, in full fury, charged right at them. Shine and the others ran in to see Char begin his charge. "MIST!" Shine yelled. "Char, no!" Sleight called. Mist stood there, frozen in terror, as Char charged at her. On both sides of her, Luxury and Blue ran out of the way, before realizing Mist was scared in place. "Mist, over here!" Luxury reached out a hoof. "Come on, Mist, quickly!" Blue reached out too. Mist glanced at both Luxury and Blue Blazes, and in a split second, she dodged... In a instant, Char smashed through the window, and began falling down towards the ground. "NOOOOO!" He yelled. Suddenly, a beam of magic turned him into a card, which fluttered up to Sleight. "That's enough out of you, mister." Sleight smiled, slipping the card into his pocket. Mist opened her eyes, only to see fur of dark blue. She glanced up and saw the green eyes of Blue Blazes. "Are you alright, Mist?" Blue asked. Mist gave a small smile, "I'm fine…" "More than fine." Luxury stepped forward. "It seems you've made your choice." "I have?" Mist asked. "Say what?" Blue gasped. "You went to Blue, not me." Luxury pointed out. Mist realized she was still in Blue's hooves. "Oh, right..." She blushed. "When danger loomed, it was he you went to, rather than me." Luxury declared. "It's clear now that he is the one you care for most. Congratulations, Blue." "Thanks, Lux." Blue said passively. "No hard feelings, right?" "Of course." Luxury nodded. "Not for either of you. I wish you both the best of luck." "Thank you, Luxury." Mist smiled. "For everything…" Luxury gave a curt nod, then turned to depart. As he did so, he looked back at Mist, as she cuddled up to Blue Blazes, and gave a defeated sigh. As happy as he was for Mist…a part of him had wished… He was unable to finish that thought when he accidentally bumped into Constell. "My apologies, princess." He bowed. "No harm done." Constell smiled. "Nice work back there, by the way." "Well, thank you." Luxury blushed. Meanwhile, Blue turned to Mist. "So, guess this makes me the winner, right?" He smiled. "I'd say we're both winners." Mist chuckled, pulling Blue in for a long, sweet kiss. Caboose glanced at the kissing couple. "Ah, nerds!" He snapped his hoof.