The thumping increased as ponies ran inside their houses for cover.
"No! We have to protect-" Flash then looked around, seeing the streets bare. "Uh, guys? Where is everypony?"
"They must have went insi-" Soarin cut himself off as he looked up at the force field.
Trying to break in were black, pony-like bugs. They hovered with their transparent wings.
"C-Changelings!" Caramel stuttered, his eyes big. He then turned to Discord. "Do something!"
"I'll try!" Discord responded. Before he could snap his claws, the force field shattered, causing a huge breeze to blow. The changelings then bulleted into the small town, causing the six to take off as fast as they could.
The six soon found an underground shelter and jumped in it. They sat in silence for a moment as Soarin spoke up.
"We need to stop them. Everypony in Ponyville is counting on us."
Fancypants nodded. "Alright. What do you suggest we do?"
Soarin thought for a moment. "I got a plan."
"Which is...?"
"We each have to separate into groups to defeat them. I will pair each of us up."
"Alright. Let's do this!" Caramel remarked as Soarin stood up.
"Yep!" He then pointed at Fancypants. "Fancypants, you and Discord are working together. Caramel, you are working with Cheese Sandwich, which means I am working with Flash Sentry. Is this a good arrangement?"
Everyone nodded, though Fancypants looked a little unsure about the whole ordeal.
"Then let's do this!" Cheese Sandwich remarked, pulling out his party cannon. "Ready to go, Caramel?"
"Yeah!" Caramel responded as he followed the party pony outside.
"Looks like we're working together, Fancy-shorts," Discord remarked as Fancypants rolled his eyes.
"Just don't call me that, and everything will work out fine." Fancypants responded as he and Discord went above ground.
"Ready, Flash?" Soarin asked as Flash nodded.
"I'm always ready!" Flash responded as he and Soarin took off into the skies.
The six started knocking out the changelings. Fancypants used his magic to slam the bugs into the ground as Discord used his chaos magic to do more damage. Cheese Sandwich blasted his party cannon as Caramel used his legs to knock out the changelings. Flash Sentry and Soarin were using speed and force to knock them out.
They fought for a long time, and then found themselves all by each other. A horde of changelings were approaching them, snarling.
"Alright! Let's all take a shot!" Soarin exclaimed as the six got in a ready position.
"FIRE!" Cheese shouted as he fired his cannon into the huge crowd of changelings. The others attacked as well, putting all their might into it.
After another round of hardcore fighting, they all slouched to the ground. The six soon saw more changelings approaching them.
"More?! I thought we already defeated them all!" Caramel remarked, standing back up.
Suddenly, an explosion-like sound was heard in the distance. A pink aura soon filled the sky, pushing all the changelings out of Equestria. The six looked to find Queen Chrysalis being pushed away; becoming a star in the distance.
"Wow... that was an experience!" Fancypants remarked.
"Well, I wouldn't have gotten through it if you guys weren't here," Flash exclaimed as Caramel raised an eyebrow.
"Why? We just argued the whole time!" Caramel responded as Flash nodded.
"I know. But, we worked together to defeat the changelings. And I think we can all agree that Rainbow Dash has a right to be proud of Soarin!" Flash recalled as Soarin flushed.
"Well, thanks! I think the six have a right to be proud of all of us! Flash was right; we worked together to face-"
Soarin was cut off by Rainbow Dash tackling him in a hug.
"How are ya? Good? Yeah, same with me. I just defeated a whole empire's worth of changelings," Rainbow Dash remarked, fluttering her eyes a little at the stallion beneath her.
"I did, too! Well, with the help of them," Soarin gestured to the others. "So... why are you here so early?"
Rainbow hovered into the air. "They decided to take the train instead of teleporting here, and I wanted to fly. So, it will be a few hours before they come back."
Cheese Sandwich thought for a moment. "Well... while we're waiting..." Cheese pulled out a platter. "Cupcakes and cookies anyone?"
Everypony looked at each other and got a smile.
"Sure!" Flash responded as the others nodded their heads. Soarin took a cupcake and looked back to where he saw Rainbow still hovering in the air.
"You're not gonna eat one, Dashie?" Soarin asked as Dash shook her head.
"Well, no. I got some crystal candies in the Empire. Speaking of which, I saved some for you!" Rainbow Dash responded as she took out a small bag and gave it to Soarin.
"Well, thanks, but you didn't have to, Dash."
"Of course I did, silly! You know I love you!"
Soarin flushed. "That's the first time I heard that from you..."
"Probably not the last time you will!" A voice called. Everypony turned to find Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie standing together.
"Uh... yeah. Probably not the last time..." Rainbow exclaimed as she felt her face heat up.
"Hey! Did the train arrive early?" Caramel asked as he gave Applejack a small hug.
"No. We were just surrounded by ponies asking for autographs, so I teleported us here," Twilight responded as Flash flew over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Fancypants, Discord, and Cheese Sandwich walked up to their special mares, each greeting each other warmly.
"Ugh... what happened?" A tired voice asked from behind. Everypony turned to find Spike rubbing his eyes.
Twilight pulled apart from her current embrace with Flash. "Uh... I'll tell you later. You missed a lot."
"Alright. As long as I didn't miss seeing a superhero protect Ponyville, I'm good."
"Well, that's what ya missed out on," Applejack responded as Spike's face was filled with shock.
"WHAT?!" He questioned as everyone fell to the ground laughing. "It's not that funny!"
"Oh, Spike. You really need to cut down on your nap times," Twilight remarked before laughing again. She then looked to the sky and smiled. Ponyville was safe. Equestria was safe. And she had everypony around her to thank.
Except Spike.
She laughed again as she saw ponies leaving their homes, happy that the sky was clear of changelings.