The next day saw the group of foals in a much better mood than before. Reuniting with Diamond Tiara, Zippoorwhill and Sweetie Belle caused most of them to wake up with new energy and hopes.
“What now, smartass?” Ruby asked. “Three of them came back. Not one.”
“Yeah,” Featherweight said. “But have you noticed that? One pegasus, one unicorn, and one earth pony. There’s something in that.”
“Unfortunately, that something is not your brain,” Ruby muttered. “This thing is completely random.”
“Then why did it take all the colts?”
Ruby thought for a moment, staring at the rest of their companions getting ready to set off. “Too bad it didn’t take you,” she muttered. “But I don’t lose hope.”
Featherweight said nothing, staring blankly at the wall. Ruby shrugged and joined the rest of the group.
“Where are we going?” Dinky asked. She turned to Diamond Tiara. “I think we should choose the tunnel other than the one you came from.”
“Why?” Diamond Tiara asked. “It’s a safe tunnel.”
“Colts disappear in it,” Rumble said. “I wouldn’t call it safe.”
“Also, it leads back to that chamber when we parted.” Scootaloo shuddered. “Also, remember what happened to Tornado Bolt?”
“I don’t want to go back there,” Sweetie Belle whispered.
Zippoorwhill stood up. “There was another tunnel there,” she said. “We didn’t choose it, but something tells me that we should’ve gone there. It looked... different.”
“Then why didn’t you choose it then?” Ruby asked. “I prefer the right tunnel. We weren’t there yet.” She grinned. “Who knows what wonderful adventure awaits us there? Will we be skinned? Gutted? Chewed, swallowed, and thrown up?”
“I’d rather choose the road we know,” Silver Spoon said, hugging Diamond Tiara. “If the exit is there...”
“Exactly,” Diamond Tiara replied, clinging closer to Silver. “We can either choose the road we know or some place where we can all die. Your choice.”
“Are you sure you know it?” Scootaloo asked. “Because it seemed to me like you were completely lost at night.”
“Oh, come on!” Zippoorwhill exclaimed. “We can’t stay here all day, arguing over which way to choose!”
“Right,” Dinky said. “We need to vote. Boysenberry?”
Boysenberry shuddered, staring at Diamond Tiara. She gulped, panting heavily.
“It’s okay,” Dinky muttered, patting Boysenberry’s mane. “Everypony who wants to choose the left corridor, raise your hooves.”
Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Zippoorwhill, and Ruby raised their hooves. Dinky opened her mouth, but before she could say something, she saw that Sweetie Belle also joined them.
“A draw, then,” Ruby muttered, squinting. “What are we going to do now?”
“Sweetie, you really wanna go back there?” Scootaloo asked.
“It’s not as risky,” Sweetie replied. “We already lost a half of our group. Not to mention Apple Bloom...” A tear flowed down her face.
“Okay,” Scootaloo said. “I choose the left corridor too.”
Dinky groaned, but stood up and walked with the rest of the group. Boysenberry trotted by her side, her eye twitching. Dinky looked at her unsurely. “Are you okay?”
Boysenberry shook her head. “I’m not okay since we’re here,” she whispered.
“I know, but... worse than before, or...” Dinky shrugged.
“Something’s going on.” Boysenberry looked blankly into the darkness before them.
“What?” Dinky asked, but Boysenberry didn’t reply; she walked forward automatically, as if her mind drifted away.
The corridor was getting narrower, leading them deeper into the maze. The concrete walls disappeared, replaced by irregularly-shaped rocks. In fact, it now looked like a cave, twisting and turning like bowels of some ancient, long-dead creature.
“D-did you walk here?” Scootaloo asked, shuddering.
“No,” Sweetie Belle replied. “We left that corridor an hour ago.”
“Talk about taking less risky roads,” Scootaloo muttered, staring at the nearby stalactites. “What if this stuff collapses at us?”
“Don’t worry,” Zippoorwhill said. “We must be close.”
“Close to what?” Ruby asked. “Sudden death? Road to freedom leads through an ocean of shit, apparently.”
Diamond Tiara stopped and turned to look at Ruby. “Nopony asked you to come with us. In fact, it was you who wanted to come here!”
“Because you told us it’s safe!” Ruby exclaimed. “You didn’t mention anything about caves!”
“Ruby, chill out,” Featherweight said, wrapping his hoof around her. “So far, nothing dangerous happened. It’s just a cave...”
“Says the pony who asked if I’d help him with murder,” Ruby replied, pushing Featherweight away.
“What?” Silver Spoon asked.
“Yes!” Ruby exclaimed, standing in the middle of the group and smiling triumphantly. “He wanted to kill you!” She poked Silver Spoon and walked to Boysenberry. “And you! He thinks that only one of us can survive and decided to help fate a little bit...”
“No way,” Rumble said. “Featherweight would never do that...”
“And how do you think, why was he still talking to me?” Ruby asked, kicking Featherweight. “He was trying to convince me to help him. He said that you’ll soon realise that this is the only way and kill me...” She tried hit Featherweight once more, but Diamond Tiara grabbed her hoof.
“May I ask you something?” Diamond Tiara pulled Ruby away from Featherweight. “Are you retarded or what? How long did you think before you made that up?”
“Fuck off,” Ruby muttered.
Silver Spoon smirked. “Well, knowing your mother, Diamond may be right about you being retarded...”
Ruby’s horn glowed. She levitated a rock and hit Diamond Tiara with it, freeing herself from her grasp.
Silver Spoon screamed when she saw green acid spilling around. Diamond Tiara backpedalled. A halo surrounded her. She hissed, spraying acid on Ruby, who ran away.
“Changeling!” Dinky exclaimed, watching the wounded black creature shooting green goo at Silver Spoon. Suddenly, Zippoorwhill hissed, transforming into another changeling, who tackled Dinky.
“No!” Featherweight screamed, seeing that Silver was almost completely covered in slime. He ran to the changeling and tackled it, grabbing a rock. The changeling jerked, baring its fangs and sinking them in Featherweight’s hoof.
Rumble ran forward, tripping over Scootaloo, who was trying to get the changeling off Dinky. He stood up, pushing the screaming Boysenberry away, grabbed a rock and hit the changeling fighting with Featherweight. The drone twitched, its legs moving erratically. Rumble hit it once more and it went limp next to Featherweight and Silver Spoon, half-tangled in a cocoon.
“Featherweight!” Rumble exclaimed.
Featherweight moved weakly and looked at Silver Spoon. There was a large gash in his hoof, surrounded by acid burns. Rumble could see shards of broken bones protruding from it. Black, tainted blood was sipping from it slowly.
“I want to get out of here,” Featherweight said. “Save Silver Spoon and get out of here.”
“You just did, I’m afraid...” Rumble muttered.
Featherweight smiled weakly and looked around. He could see Ruby and Scootaloo beating someone and Dinky shielding Boysenberry with her own body. “Golden sphere...” he whispered.
“What?” Rumble asked, but Featherweight didn’t reply. He was still looking at the fight with a smile forming on his lips, but he wasn’t there anymore.
Dinky’s scream woke Rumble up. He turned and saw her, panting heavily and staring at the changeling with one eye. Her other eye was missing, along with her cheek and a part of her mane – blood was flowing down her face, on a broken hoof.
The changeling that used to be Zippoorwhill charged at her. Rumble could swear that Dinky smiled, standing between the drone and Boysenberry, who was lying on the ground, covering her eyes.
Like in slow motion, Rumble saw Dinky charging her horn and lowering her head. He opened his mouth to shout, but his voice drowned in Dinky’s yell when she darted forward. Rumble shuddered, thinking of the stalactites and that the whole cave could collapse on them.
Dinky didn’t seem to care. When the changeling jumped, trying to tackle her again, she raised her head, jamming her horn between the chitin plates of its shell. The changeling hissed, spilling acid on her fur, but Dinky didn’t feel pain anymore. She closed her eyes and released a spell.
The air was filled with a stench of burning meat. The changeling’s outer shell cracked in a few places. Large pieces of it fell out, revealing a greenish, pulsating flesh that was blackening rapidly.
The drone screeched, collapsing on Dinky. Large gash opened in its side, pieces of tissue spraying around. It twitched, rolling off the filly’s crushed body and went limp next to its companion.
Scootaloo’s vision was blurry. The world was spinning around her. She staggered away from Ruby and threw up on the ground, her body twitching violently. Rumble trotted to her and pulled her away from the dead changelings.
“Scootaloo!” Rumble exclaimed. “C’mon...”
Scootaloo stared blankly at him. Rumble hesitated for a moment, before shaking her as gently as he could, calling her name again.
“What?” Scootaloo whispered, her throat dry.
“I need help with Silver,” Rumble replied.
They rushed to Silver Spoon and together started to pull apart the cocoon covering her.
“She loved Diamond, that’s why they targeted her...” Rumble muttered. After a few pulls, the cocoon gave up. Silver Spoon was shivering, but she was alive and conscious.
“D-diamond...” she muttered, catching a deep breath. “What happened...” Silver looked around and saw Featherweight’s body. “Sweet Celestia...” She burst into spasmodic cry.
“It’s okay...” Rumble muttered, hugging Silver Spoon. “How’s the rest?”
“Boysenberry’s alive,” Scootaloo replied in an emotionless tone, staring at Boysenberry, who was sitting above Dinky’s dead body, trying to wipe blood off her face. “Sweetie... Where’s she?” She looked around and saw Ruby standing over a white, limp body with a rock in her hoof.
Scootaloo shivered. She darted forward and pushed Ruby away from Sweetie’s body. “You killed her!” she exclaimed, punching Ruby. “Why?”
“Stop it!” Ruby exclaimed. “She was a changeling too, remember?”
“No, she wasn’t!” Scootaloo tried to hit Ruby again, but the unicorn blocked it. “Do you see her body changing back? I don’t!”
“Hey, chill out!” Ruby exclaimed, dodging Scootaloo’s blow. “You started it!”
“What?” Scootaloo stopped, staring at Ruby with wide eyes. She noticed bald patches on her fur in places where acid drops had fallen on her. “I’d never...”
“You shouted ‘she’s a changeling too!’ and started to beat her, so I joined...” Ruby said. “When changelings rip your friends apart, it’s better not to stand like an idiot...”
“You’re lying!” Scootaloo shouted. “I didn’t say that! And I’d never hit Sweetie Belle!”
“Yeah, right,” Ruby muttered. “You broke all her bones, I think. I only finished what you started.”
Scootaloo froze, panting heavily and staring at Ruby.
“Look at your hooves,” Ruby said. “It’s her blood.”
Scootaloo slowly lowered her head. Her stomach twisted and turned when she saw her hooves. She threw up again, collapsing on the floor.
Ruby watched her for a while with a blank expression. When Scootaloo stopped vomiting, she trotted to her and helped her up. “I know you wouldn’t kill her,” she said. “They must’ve put some spell on you.”
“Yeah. They must’ve...” Scootaloo whispered.
“Or maybe that shit was right.” Ruby looked at Featherweight’s body. “They put some gas here, which made us more aggressive. That’s why you suddenly decided to beat your friend to death.”
“Yeah. Maybe gas.” Scootaloo nodded.
Suddenly, they heard a raspy chuckle. They looked around to see that the changeling which used to be Diamond Tiara moved. Its eyes opened, faint blue light still present in them.
“Gas... Bullshit...” the changeling whispered.
“Y-you can talk?” Ruby asked, staring at the changeling unsurely.
“Of course,” the changeling replied, panting heavily. “How else would we be able to impersonate you?” He coughed. “You, ponies, think we’re all bloodthirsty monsters...”
Ruby pointed at the corpses of Dinky and Featherweight. “Well, this kinda confirms it...”
The changeling chuckled, shuddering. Green blood dripped from his lips. “Says the filly who smacked me with a rock... Anyway... There were twenty of us... I’m the last...”
“Sounds familiar,” Rumble muttered, trying not to look at the wounded changeling. He retched when his eyes focused on Boysenberry, who was holding Dinky in her hooves and talking to her in some gibberish.
“Yeah...” the changeling whispered. “Same will happen... to you... But...” He coughed, wheezing. “Those two... They are... still alive...”
“Who?” Silver Spoon exclaimed, standing up and running to the changeling. “Who is still alive?”
“The pink one... The one with glasses...” The changeling lowered his head. “In cocoons... If you go deeper into that cave...” The light in the changeling’s eyes faded.
“It’s a trap,” Ruby muttered. “There’s more of them and they’re waiting for us to come there.”
“We need to try,” Rumble said. “I... I don’t want to leave them behind...”
“We have to save Diamond!” Silver Spoon cried hysterically and rushed down the cave. Scootaloo ran behind her and grabbed her. Silver shuddered when blood-stained hoof touched her fur.
“We can’t charge in there blindly,” Scootaloo said.
“Don’t touch me!” Silver shouted, pushing Scootaloo away.
“Seems that we’ll have to go there no matter what we want,” Ruby muttered to Rumble. “Tell the little lunatic to stop talking with her dead friend and go with us before Silver gets herself killed.”
Rumble nodded. He looked at Featherweight’s body for the last time and pulled Boysenberry away from Dinky. Boysenberry groaned, freeing herself from his grasp. She trotted to Dinky and closed her remaining eye. She then covered the wound on her face with her mane and joined Ruby, Rumble, and Scootaloo.
“Not creepy at all,” Ruby muttered, rushing forward to catch up with Silver Spoon. “Wait a minute, idiot! You won’t save your buddy by getting yourself killed!”
“Diamond Tiara can’t wait,” Silver Spoon replied.