//------------------------------// // 2. Hey, you know what this calls for? // Story: Love Hungry // by helmet of salvation //------------------------------// Focusing intently on her task, Spinnerette failed to register the length of rope falling before her eyes until it was too late. She felt a lasso tighten around her, pinioning her forelegs and wings to the sides of her thorax, and jerk her violently to an unstable bipedal position. She wheeled around to see that the other end of the rope was between the teeth of an orange-coated, blonde-maned earth pony mare wearing a Stetson hat. Supporting her in mid-air, to keep her approach silent, were two pegasus pony mares, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The pair lowered Applejack to the floor and she began tugging forcefully at the changeling. Her eyes blazing with anger, Spinnerette prepared to fire a bolt of energy at Applejack when a length of dark fabric glided through the air towards Spinnerette's face. As if alive, it wrapped around her eyes, blinding her, and the ends tied up in a tight bow behind her crest. As she tried to shake off the blindfold, three more figures approached. Rarity, an elegant white unicorn mare with stylish purple mane and tail, had used her magic telekinesis to apply the improvised blindfold she had brought from her boutique and home. With her was Pinkie Pie, a pink earth pony who had the bright eyes, spun-sugar mane and playful temperament of a gifted entertainer. She threw herself with equal enthusiasm and determination into any kind of party, including a rescue party. Behind them, fearful yet unhesitant, waddled the short, pudgy figure of Spike. Twilight Sparkle's worries about her number one assistant and friend had turned out to be needless. For not even Spike could sleep through the fracas that Twilight and Spinnerette had created. Unnoticed by the two ferocious combatants, the baby dragon had scurried out of the castle and through the streets of Ponyville, bellowing for help and launching balls of flame high into the night sky like flares. Rousing themselves as quickly as they could from their slumber, Twilight's five pony friends rallied together to mount their rescue. Spinnerette could sense the love emanating from her attackers but the pheromonal clouds roiled around and mingled with each other, making an accurate shot on that basis nearly impossible. Lurching unsteadily on her narrow hind legs, Spinnerette pulled against the lasso and prepared to fire her beam towards the source of the resistance she felt. Before she could shoot, sleek, powerful Rainbow Dash lanced swiftly and soundlessly through the air and slammed forehooves first into Spinnerette's side, sending the already unbalanced queen toppling onto the hard marble floor. Even in her partially restrained state, Spinnerette was far too big and strong for Rainbow Dash to subdue on her own. Applejack worked to wind her rope around Spinnerette's viciously kicking hind legs, while Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike and Fluttershy launched themselves into the fray, emitting idiosyncratic battle cries as they did so: "Hai-yah!" "Wheeeee!" "Rahr!" "Oh my goodness oh my goodness!" Firing bolts of energy in all directions, Spinnerette violently arched and twisted her upper body, casting her assailants left and right. Spike tenaciously bit and clawed at the changeling's tough, chitinous exterior—he dared not use his fiery breath for fear of harming his friends or weakening Applejack's restraining rope—while the ponies trampled and kicked with all their might. Except for Fluttershy, who knelt to one side, cringing face averted, and frantically flailed her forelegs at the empty air in front of her. "Come on Fluttershy, this is an emergency," she sobbed, frustrated at her own lack of resolve. A loud cry of pain caught the primrose-coated pegasus' attention. Rarity had been thrown badly and was struggling to get to her hooves but her front leg appeared unable to support any weight. The unicorn groaned and wailed in piteous agony, tears flooding her long-lashed eyes. Incensed, Fluttershy bared her teeth and rocketed in unfettered fury toward Spinnerette, whaling upon her with as much power and ferocity as any of her comrades. Smiling with self-satisfaction, an apparently unharmed Rarity promptly re-joined the melee. As she continued her mighty struggle, Spinnerette ceased shooting wildly at her unseen adversaries and started using every split-second respite to scrape her crest against the floor, trying to loosen the blindfold enough for her to shake it from her eyes. Finally believing she had done so, she sat up, ready to show these pathetic ponies what real power could do. * * * A sudden, tremendous force, intangible yet all too real, slammed the shocked Spinnerette instantly back down to the floor. Grunting, she fought to raise herself again but the crushing pressure bearing down on her thorax was irresistible. A golden-shod hoof gently pushed Spinnerette's blindfold up over her eyes and she let out an involuntary cry of dismay. Princess Celestia—the real Princess Celestia—had arrived at the castle. Hovering beside her was another alicorn mare, smaller, with a midnight blue coat and billowing blue mane and tail studded with glittering, star-like points of light. Between them, the two princesses generated the magical holding beam that flattened the changeling. Spinnerette tried to conceal her fear with nonchalance. "Celestia, Luna, this is an unexpected honour. Shall I change into somepony more formal?" "That won't be necessary," replied Celestia coolly. "You need only tell us where the rest of the changelings are." A weary groan interrupted the questioning. Twilight Sparkle had regained consciousness and was groggily trying to stand up while taking in the unexpected scene before her. "Twilight!" Fluttershy rushed over and strained laboriously to help her friend to her hooves. "What did she do to you?" With a loud snort, Twilight shook off her lingering dizziness and checked herself over. A little weak and sore, a couple of flesh wounds, but she basically felt okay. "Not enough, it would seem," she replied triumphantly. She cast her eyes over her rescuers. "Thanks to all of you," she added warmly. "Yes, your precious princess cut quite a feeble figure before you all showed up," gloated Spinnerette. She adopted the head and voice of Twilight Sparkle and weakly bleated, "Help, helllp," in a slightly exaggerated impression of the young alicorn. "Enough." Celestia glowered at the prisoner. "Where are your changelings?" Her normal head restored, Spinnerette rolled her eyes around their sockets and gave the most evasive air she could. "Oh, they're ... around. I'm sure you'll know them when you see them." "Tell us," demanded Princess Luna. "Or what? You little ponies can't threaten me. I care for nothing but the survival and prosperity of my changelings." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "And how will your changelings survive without their queen?" Spinnerette flinched at the implied threat before quickly regaining her defiant demeanour. "There is enough love here in Ponyville to sustain them. Then, once they've sucked this quaint little town dry, the strongest shall take my place and lead them to new pastures." "We won't let that happen," declared Celestia emphatically, eliciting a chorus of agreement from the other ponies in the room. Spinnerette barked out a derisive laugh. "It took all nine of you just to contain me. What can you do against an entire swarm?" With a smile, Celestia turned towards her prized pupil. "Twilight, would you care to tell our visitor what we intend to do about her invasion?" Twilight's face lit up knowingly, then she smirked mischievously as an idea occurred to her. She walked towards the captive queen and spoke with the timbre of an impudent schoolfilly. "Tell my big brother on you!" For good measure, she blew a raspberry. "Amusing," Spinnerette deadpanned. "Oh, the last changeling queen didn't think so. You see, when Shining Armor and his bride, Princess Cadance, get together, they can generate a wave of love that not even an army of changelings can withstand. Blasted every last one of them and their queen clear out of Equestria. No disguise nor hiding place could protect them. Gone. And they'll do the same to you and yours." "No. You're lying. It cannot be tr—" A thought struck Spinnerette, arresting her mounting horror. "Did you say he's your brother? Interesting." "What of it?" "Close, are you? Do you have a tight bond of sibling love?" Spinnerette taunted. "None of your business," scoffed Twilight. "What do you know about love anyway? It's just food to you." "I know it can turn the wise foolish and the strong weak," she jeered. "And the weak strong," retorted Fluttershy. The skirmish in the castle was hardly the first time that the sight of her friends hurt had compelled her to draw on reserves of courage she usually forgot she had. "And I know it can cause more pain than any other force in the world." "It's gonna cause you pain, all right, sister," Rainbow Dash warned, hovering menacingly nearby. Spinnerette slowly cast her narrowed eyes across all the ponies in the room. "If you take this action against my changelings, be sure that you will suffer. You will remember that day with unimagined anguish for years to come!" "Why?" challenged Twilight. Spinnerette said nothing. "Come on, it's the only chance your precious changelings have. If there's any reason Shining Armor and Cadance wouldn't want to cast their spell, now's the time to tell us." Spinnerette's only response was a stony glare. "Hmph. As I thought." Twilight Sparkle turned to her mentor. "I have nothing else to say to her." Celestia changed the angle of her spiral horn and frowned with concentration. A rectangular portal opened in mid-air, revealing a huge, desolate chamber filled with narrow, winding rock platforms. At the end of each platform was a jagged mountain, the summit split open to reveal a crater. Several of these craters bore creatures of all shapes and sizes, roaring, wailing or simply brooding, either in barred cells or tethered by unbreakable chains to immovable stakes in the ground. These were the wretched inhabitants of Tartarus, the prison world of Equestria. With a nod from Celestia, Applejack loosed the rope binding Spinnerette. Celestia and Luna altered their magic to lift the writhing Spinnerette into the air, then unceremoniously cast her through the portal. As she was irresistibly flown to an empty crater, where her bonds latched onto her, she glared balefully back towards the ponies. "You'll be sorry. You'll aalll be sorryyyyy..." Her voice cut out as the portal to Tartarus closed. "Yer highnesses!" Applejack and her friends—including Princess Twilight Sparkle, who was getting used to her relatively recent ascendancy—dropped reverently to their knees. "Y'all came in the nick o'time. But how did you know?" "Please rise," replied Celestia. "I received an emergency communiqué from Spike." "Fastest quill in Equestria," Spike added as he smugly admired the four-digit appendage at the end of his right foreleg. Indeed, this peculiar anatomical feature enabled more efficient writing than any pony's mouth, or even unicorn magic telekinesis. Additionally, his fiery breath contained a magical enhancement that could transmit material to and from Celestia virtually instantaneously. As he had fled earlier that night, he snatched up some writing material—of which there was rarely any shortage wherever studious Twilight Sparkle lived—and literally fired off a request for urgent assistance. He knew how much power a changeling queen could wield, as did Celestia, which was why she brought her sister Luna with her. Twilight voiced the thoughts of her pony friends. "It goes without saying that we are very grateful you both came. And to you, Spike, for getting help." Luna looked with concern to her elder sister. "Speaking of urgent messages, we don't have much time. If the changelings are already in Ponyville, we need to send word to the Crystal Empire immediately." "Can you please take care of that, Luna? I'll stay here in Ponyville in case the changelings attack in the meantime." "No. I should stay behind. That way, if we need help from you as well, Spike can get in touch with you immediately." "Very well. Twilight Sparkle, it is up to you and your friends, with Luna's help, to protect Ponyville, and the rest of Equestria, from the changelings until Shining Armor and Cadance can arrive and defeat them." Twilight Sparkle looked at her friends, who all gave her reassuringly determined, dedicated smiles, then turned back to Princess Celestia. "We won't let you down."