Cadance’s eyes slowly fluttered open. her head was still pounding in pain and her body felt like it had been in place forever, even her arms and legs felt numb.
“W-what happened.” She said out loud. “w-where am I?” She didn’t know why she said this, for all she knew, she was alone. her eyes couldn’t make out anything, everything was a blur to her.
“Why didn’t you put a gag on her?”
“Because that would be mean, Carson. How would you like it if someone forced you not to talk?”
Cadance’s ears flicked, she had never heard those voices before, and she was sure they weren’t from a pony, this kicked her adrenalin as her eyes went wider. “W-who said that?” She said groggily.
“Noli- OW! What was that for?”
“Shut it! She’ll figure it out!”
“Will you two shut up! She’s gonna-”
Cadance tried getting up, but she still didn’t have any feeling in her arms. As for her legs, they felt like they couldn’t spread apart, as if they were forced together by something. “Wh-why can’t I move?” She asked louder than before.
“Because you can’t move.”
“TWIG! IF YOU TALK ONE MORE TIME-”
With all her strength, Cadance was able to sit up and finally get an eye for things, although everything still looked dark to her. She heard hoofsteps and a gasp while doing so.
“D-Did you see that, she got up while still tied up! I told you they were still strong like this!”
“But you didn’t say that in the last cha- OW! Do you have to do that!”
“Who’s talking? A-Answer me!” Cadance was getting tired of all of this, she had no idea where she was, who was here, and why she couldn’t move. She tried flaring up her horn, but that didn’t work either, she looked up to see what was wrong, but her vision refused to tell her.
“I-I think she’s figuring it out, guys.”
“Duh, Twig, of course she was gonna.”
“Maybe if SOMELING didn’t talk for five seconds.”
Cadance shook her head, hoping it would help. “S-someling?” She had never heard that word before, and these voices were starting to sound familiar.
“Oops.”
“Oops! Is that all you have to say for yourself, Twig!”
“Stop being so hard on him, Carson.”
Cadance’s eyes finally adjusted to the world as she took a look around. She could see some sources of green light, but besides that it was nothing but darkness. “I know somepony’s out there!” She yelled.
“But we aren't po- OOOWW!”
Cadance started getting more angry than tired at this point. “Will someone answer me!”
“But if we do that, then you’ll figure out someone’s here.”
“She already knows someone’s here!”
“Oh yeah, and how do you know that?”
“Cause she’s been talking to us this whole time.”
“Maybe she’s talking to herself.”
Cadance was beginning to think all of this was in her head. She was about to say something else, but then the inevitable happened.
“AHCHOO!”
Cadance looked to her left to see a flash of green in the distance, seconds later, a pair of all to familiar blue eyes started shining in the same spot.
“A SNEEZE! Are you kidding me! How unoriginal can you get!”
“I-I can’t help it, My allergies kick in when I’m scared.”
Cadance saw another flash of green, raising her heart rate.
“What the cave, Addison! Did you have to pick NOW to drop the camouflage!”
“Don’t look at me! You did it too!”
“That’s only because you did it first!”
Another flash of green fire erupted. At this point, Cadance was starting to find out just where she was and who was here with her.
“With the both of you stop yelling before she finds out!”
“She already found out, dumb-flank!”
Cadance started hyperventilating from all these voices and green fire erupting around her. “Wh-What’s going on!?” She yelled. “Where am I!?”
All three blue eyes turned to her. Cadance could almost see fangs under them. “You’re in a cave, silly princess.”
“C-Cave?”
“Why don’t you just tell her who we are, Twig!”
“Okay, we are cha-”
Another flash of green came up a few feet away from Cadance.
“I was joking!”
Cadance tried getting on all fours, but only her back legs seemed to work, even though they were held together, she looked behind her to see that her front arms were tied up, along with her wings. “I...I...I…” Cadance started to stutter. “T-This can’t be happening.”
“It kinda is, I mean, it looks like it is…”
Cadance looked forward and gasped, finally realizing where she was. “C-C-Ch-cha..chaaaayy-”
“Changelings?” Cadance turned around and went wide eyed. All her thoughts of who was around her were answered once she saw what was behind her. It was a big, black, monster, fanged, blue eyed, hole filled...Changeling.
The big bug put on a smile, showing it’s sharp fangs, and said. “Hello, my name is Twig.”
Cadance was speechless, she could only look in horror and have her jaw hung open in bewilderment. “Th-the...t-there’s...t-there’s no way…”
“TWIG!” Cadance turned around again to see another changeling approaching her, slightly smaller than the other one. “I swear if you talk one more time-”
“Uh...S-Shawn.”
The changeling turned to the darkness. “What!?” He barked.
“I-I don’t think code purple worked…”
Shawn facehoofed. “Maybe if SOMELING didn’t decide to say something while blending in with the darkness!”
“HEY! At least we were able to disguise as the walls better than last time!”
“She still found out!”
“Maybe because talking is something everyling should know NOT to do when blending in!”
“Yeah! Well if someling didn’t sneeze!”
“It’s allergy season!”
“What kinda excuse is that!”
Cadance flopped her ears, all the noises she was hearing were starting to hurt.
The changeling behind her noticed and did the same. “Um...guys.”
“Not now, Twig. Can't you see we’re having a meaningless conversation over here!”
“But all the yelling is starting to hurt her ears...m-mine too.”
“Wh-tuh-b-TWIG! Now’s not the time to worry about your ears, now's the time to worry about what’s gonna happen to us now that the princess is awake!”
Silence finally cast over the room once Shawn said that. More green flames appeared and some blue eyes were going farther away, and Shawn looked down at the princess to realize what he said. “Th-The princess...i-is..awake…” He repeated silently.
Cadance’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, seeing that there were even more pairs of eyes around her than she thought. “Y-You’re all changelings...a-aren’t you…”
Another changeling came into the open. “My queen! S-She knows! EVERYLING PA-”
Shawn grabbed the bug and pulled him in until their faces were inches away from each other. “Mike, Twig, everyling...just...just calm down, alright. She’s...she’s not gonna do anything yet.” Shawn let go of him and looked at the princess. “R-right?” He thought that at any moment she would undo the rope and blast every single one of them, but what she did next surprised all of them.
She screamed, she took a deep breath...and screamed, screamed so loud that all the changelings dropped their disguises as cave wall colors and pulled their ear stems down.
“Twig!” Shawn yelled. “Shut her up!”
“Okeydoke” Twig wrapped his hoof around her mouth, shutting her up instantly, though she still continued mumbling through the holes, making Twig wrap his second one around them.
Shawn sighed and slowly stepped forward. He looked at the quivering princess, hoping she wouldn’t do anything drastic. “Alright, listen, Twig’s gonna take his hoof off and you’re not gonna scream, o-okay...” He gulped.
Cadance slowly nodded, but continued looking at all of them in fear, thinking that at any moment they would do...something she wouldn’t like. She honestly had no idea what these changelings were capable of. If they needed just one to ponynap a princess, then who knows what else they could do.
Carson shook his head. “She’s gonna scream anyway. They always do.”
“Well, Carson, how do you think we should handle this. We have a princess in our possession and keeping her quiet won’t help at all.”
“Why don’t we just knock her out again?” Once changeling suggested.
That made Cadance struggle even more, enough to get the hooves off of her mouth. “P-Please, don’t hurt me! I-I’ll do anything.”
One changeling flew into the air. “Did you hear that! S-She’ll do anything. I told you alicorns could do anything!”
“They have magic, so of course they can! I told you we should’ve panicked!”
Shawn stomped his hoof on the ground. “We’re not panicking again!” He yelled. “We’re just gonna take this nice and slow. noling need to get hurt over this...o-okay.” He looked over at the princess, hoping for agreement.
Cadance started calming down, realizing this situation was probably not as bad as she thought. “If I’m in their cave.” She thought. “then where’s…” Her eyes shot open. “Where’s Chrysalis?”
Every changeling froze. “O-our queen?” Shawn started shaking, hoping he didn’t hear that right.
“Y-yes, where is she, w-why haven’t you taken me to her yet?” Cadance was starting to get some confidence in her. Tied up or not, she could still find a way out of this.
Shawn gulped and looked toward his brothers for help, all of them were either shaking or hiding behind tables and chairs, he looked up at the DJ booth to see both Disk jockeys hugging each other in fear. “Uh...yeah..a-about that...y-you see...C-Chrysalis is...w-well…”
Cadance adjusted herself, making others flinch. “Well what? Why did you capture me again anyway? What makes you think your plans will work a second time.”
“But we don’t have a plan.” Twig said. “Right guys?”
Shawn dropped his jaw. “Twig, stop talking about our situation!”
Twig scratched his head. “Then should I talk about how our Queen is currently unconscious and that we are defenseless against anything right now?”
Shawn was on the verge of ripping his ear stems off again. “Twig...you are REALLY starting to get on my nerves.”
Cadance raised an eye. “Your queen’s unconscious, is she in a coma or something?”
Another changeling flew into the air. “I told you alicorns are smarter than everything! She already figured it out! Our hopeless situation, our knocked out queen, our unplanned...plan, and our defenseless cave!”
Cadance tilted her head. “Actually, I just gue-”
“Shawn!” One changeling interrupted. “What do we do! She’s figured out everything, and those ropes won’t hold her forever!”
Cadance opened her mouth to object, but then an idea came to her mind. “These changelings seem pretty nervous about all of this…” She then grinned, forming a plan on how to get out of this. “Maybe they can’t function well without a leader.”
“Guys!” Shawn yelled. “Please, just calm down, she can’t even-”
“Oh, but I can!” Cadance yelled, making everyone turn to her. “Any moment now my alicorn magic will activate, and I will be free from this cute, little attempt at keeping me in place.”
All the changelings gasped, even Twig stepped away from her and stumbled into Shawn. “Y-you will?” Shawn trembled in fear.
Cadance checked to see if she actually could get out of this, but the ropes were very secure, and her horn refused to light up, but that didn’t stop her from talking. “In fact, you might as well untie me now, before I do something you’ll all regret.”
Twig held onto Shawn and started shaking. “W-wh-what do we do?” He asked.
“What she said.” Carson yelled, nudging another changeling forward. “You do it, Stan.”
“M-Me!?” Stan looked at the princess, her smile and eyesight was making him quiver in fear. He could almost see it, the red eyes, the sharp fangs, the rainbow flowing hair the white fur with some red on it.
“Well, go on little bug.”
Stan screamed and pushed Twig away from Shawn. “Y-You do it, Shawn...s-seeing as how y-y-you’re the l-leader and all...heheh…” Stan then slid under Twigs arm and held it like a hatchling.
Shawn adjusted his posture and gazed at the princess, his whole body shook with fright as he approached her.
“Go on…” Cadance was no longer fazed by these changelings, she could see the fear in their eyes. “Either these bugs are helpless without a leader, or they’re not as smart as I thought.”
Shawn continued stepping forward, each step harder than the last. “O-Okay...I-I’m gonna t-t-take of the r-r-restraints...j-just don’t do anything...b-bad…”
“I’m waiting.” Cadance smiled as the changeling walked up behind her. He took a deep breath and started undoing the knots.
“Shaaaaaawn!” Twig whined. “It took me forever to tie those.”
“Now’s not the time, Twig!” Shawn yelled as he undid a knot.
Cadance felt her arms getting looser and looser every seconds, after Shawn undid the final tie, she stretched her arms and wings in the air. Everyone yelped and ducked to the ground. Shawn only fell on his back and waited for the inevitable.
“Well, that was easy.” Cadance said as she started untying her legs. “I thought for sure you changelings wouldn’t buy it.”
“Buy what?” Twig asked. “We don’t have any of that currency stuff you ponies-”
“Y-you tricked us?” Shawn stood up and dropped his jaw.
Cadance unwrapped the rope around her legs and got up on all fours. “Maybe if your queen was around it would’ve gone better for you guys.”
Twig pointed at her. “W-well, what about your horn?”
Cadance looked up at her horn, seeing that it was still coated in green slime. “What? This?” She reached for it and started pulling. “I’m sure it’s...it’s...it’s just as...as..eeeasy...as the...rrrrope!” She continued tugging, but the green gunk wouldn’t let up, she even tried using both hooves, but the goo refused to get off. After minutes of grunting she took a breath and looked at her horn in frustration. “What is it with this gunk.”
Twig stepped forward. “Well, that stuff is pretty hard to get off. Even for us.” He then went cross eyed. “Wait a minute...doesn’t that mean you can’t use your magic?”
That statement made all eyes glare at Cadance. She could only look back and forth and smile nervously. “Uh...I-I can still use...s-some magic...heh...uh.” She gulped, realizing she didn’t think all of this through.
“Oh really?” Shawn stood up and walked up to her. “What kind of magic?”
Cadance shrugged. “Oh, you know, the kind of magic that makes it easier to RUN AWAY!”
Without warning Cadance flapped wings and took off in the air. All the changelings in the room gasped as she flew toward the room opening. “Don’t let her-”
*SMACK*
“...Escape?” Everyling watched in confusion as Cadance fell to the ground, she was only feet away from the entrance. “W-what just-”
“Nice hit Shift!” Everyling turned around to see the DJ’s high-hoofing one another.
“Ey...a mic can be used in more ways than one, Lift.”
Some changelings started crowding around Cadance. “Is she asleep again?” Twig asked.
“Mmmmmgghher?”
Everyone stepped back. “Twig!” Shawn yelled. “Code brown!”
“You got it, Shawny!”
Within seconds, Cadance felt an all too familiar feeling come over her as her vision went away again, and as her eyes came to a close, she could only think of one thing. “This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought.”