The room was dark and silent, the only sound invading the space being the slight sound of breathing. Dirt fell from the ceilings through the crack in the planks. No sunlight made it through into the room. The only things that occupied the room, besides the bucketfuls of dust were three ponies; a stallion, a filly, and an old mare. They were silent for a while, but the filly finally broke into it.
"Granny," Applebloom spoke, her voice quivering, "how long are we gonna be in here?"
Granny Smith sat, staring at the floor, though it was unbeknownst to the other two occupying the room due to the blackness. "I aim't got a clue, Applebloom. I guess until Applejack settles this with them two brothers."
"How is she gonna settle this? Flim and Flam will only put her in here like us anyways." Applebloom blinked the dust out of her eye. She tried to move her hooves to scratch her muzzle, only to feel again the soft, prickly rope binding her legs together.
"Hopefully," Big Mac spoke finally, interrupting the conversation, "she won't even try to reason with them and will instead just chase 'em outta here."
"The less trouble she causes," Granny responded, "the better chance we have of getting out of here. She most likely don't even know where we are," Granny looked around only to see a constant black, "wherever we actually are."
"Do you think they found her in the room she was in?"
"Most likely. Knowing them brothers, they probably searched the entire farm already to see exactly what they were dealing with."
The group became overtaken in silence once more, allowing them to hear a clinking from above. It sounded like metal scraping against itself, along with a squeak. The three looked up to where the sound was coming from, finally seeing a smudge of light seeping through the cracks. As they stared, a section of the ceiling got lifted up, flooding the room with light. They also saw two faces that they really did not want to see.
"Well, hello there Granny and others!" Flim took off his hat and did a small greeting gesture, returning the hat to his head after he did so.
The three ponies didn't respond. That is, until Granny spoke up.
"Are you lettin' us go?"
Flim and Flam looked at each other, holding back a laugh. "Why," Flam said, "of course we aren't. Why would we do that?"
Big Mac responded first. "Probably because you don't have the right to keep us down here. You don't even have legal ownership of the property!"
Slim mocked Big Mac with his hoof, waving it up and down as if it were talking. "Don't have legal ownership." He set his hoof down as Flim and Flam broke out into laughter. "Screw legal ownership! It's not like anyone will find out anyways!"
"They will," Granny once again spoke against the two stallions, "once Applejack escapes and warns the princesses."
"Well," Flam spoke, "You seem to be out of luck with that one." Flam exited view for a few seconds, allowing the fluffy whiteness of the clouds to take his place. When he returned, he threw a limp, lifeless Applejack into the room, the body hitting the ground with a smack. The three stared in awe at the sibling who sat there, not even a twitch running through her eyelids.
"You murderer! You'll pay for this" Granny said, tears welling up in her eyes. Applejack didn't deserve to die, but those monsters had done the act anyways.
Flam shrugged, showing absolutely no remorse for what he had done to the poor mare. He walked away, leaving Flim to replace the section in the ceiling, just before using his hoof to kick Applejack's hat in, the last glimpses of the light catching on the soft, brown leather.
The three sat in silence once again, the only thought running through their heads being the hope that Applejack was, in fact, not dead in front of them. It had been at least three hours since the two stallions had visited, without a single stir from the orange mare. Applebloom was, yet again, the one to break the silence.
"Is she really dead?"
Granny contemplated what she had seen of her body when the light was there. "Most likely. The bullet wound was still bleeding fast, and from what I could tell, it had been dragged along the ground. If the blood loss doesn't kill her, then the disease will."
Minutes went by, still without a single sound from the limp body. Hope was not on their side anymore, faced with the reality that Granny had proposed.
Until, that is, a green light started to spark into existence in front of the three. It was small at first, but grew quick in it's infancy. The ball of light soon extended, turning into a small tube that dispensed a faint light into the room, once again illuminating the dusty walls. The tube continued to envelope the body that was now slightly visible. The light grew and grew, starting to spin, as the three others sat there, mouths agape. The light continued into a column, now moving the wind around fast enough for it to blow the threes' hair backwards.
The light started to fade, some wisps hanging into existence longer than others, but eventually dispersing. The three and the room were again plunged into darkness, the three wondering what they had just witnessed. Silence stood strong, but was interrupted by the sound of hoof against wood, as if somepony was dragging one of their legs. The three stood silent, waiting to, hopefully, hear a grunt from the pony in front of them. When they finally heard one, though, it was not the one they were expecting.
The voice was slightly raspy and vibrated intensely. It was not the voice of their dear Applejack. Though they did not know it yet, that was instead the grunt of Hux, the changeling that was barely clutching to his life.
As he opened his eyes, they stood out in the room, like a cat's eyes in the dark. They were a slight blue color, not bright enough to give off any light. He blinked a few times to get the dust out of his eyes. The eyes moved as he got up and turned to the three ponies. Changelings have impressive night vision, so he saw them bright and clear.
The three noticed the eyes staring at them, and Granny asked him a simple question. "Who are you?"
Hux looked at his hoof, noticing the holes in them and how they had returned to their black hue. He returned it to the ground and looked back at the three. He looked at them for a few moments, Granny prodding him for an answer.
"You're not Applejack, so who are you?"
"I... I'm, uh..." He couldn't work his mouth the way he needed to. He probably looked like a complete idiot to the three in front of him.
"Who. Are. You?"
Hux let out a deep breath. Though he truly wanted to prove himself to Twilight and all the others, he was sure they would understand. "I'm Hux, a changeling."
"And what are you doin' here, Hux?"
"That doesn't matter right now." Hux looked around the room, scanning the dusty wood walls to find anything that would let him know where he was. "Where are we?"
"We aren't too sure ourselves. All we have been able to figure out is that the only way out is through an opening in the ceiling."
Hux squinted, trying to make out any indication of an opening, when he spotted a metal rectangle attached to the ceiling. From what he thought, that part of the ceiling in the center of the rectangle pushed up to open. "Ah, got it." He flew up, his wings making an annoying buzzing sound that overtook the entire room. He lifted his way up to the rectangle, planting his hooves on the wooden planks. He pushed with all the strength of his forelegs and the force of his wings to no avail. He he stopped pushing, small particles of dirt fell through the cracks.
"Slow down there, changeling. Can you help us get out too?"
"I can hoist you up once I'm outta here-"
"I mean that our hooves are kinda tied together."
Hux looked at the three, a little embarrassed. "Whoops, sorry." He lowered himself down to the three and took a look at the rope that bound their hooves. It was thick, easily three inches, though a thicker one was tied to the hooves of Big Mac. Hux studied the knots, an intricate zig-zag of rope going in every which way to form a tight ball. "Jeez, they really go all out don't they?"
"You don't even know," Granny said, reminiscing over the other times the brothers had been trouble on the Apple family. "You have no idea."
"I kinda do," Hux said, working his hooves on the knot, "after all, I am the one they shot with a bullet just for trying to leave. After all, they gave me the option."
"Well, did you actually take the option?"
Hux thought it over. "Not really. I wasn't going to let them just take over this place."
Granny nodded. "And why is that?"
Hux tried to find the right answer. Knowing the history between the changelings and the ponies, his answer would probably not be trusted. He found a way to avoid the question as the first of the knots came undone. He quickly moved along to the other two, now getting them off with relative ease.
The three stood up with some trouble, their legs not being exactly awake after the long sit. They regained their balance quick, though. Hux, after making sure the others were okay, returned to trying to forcefully remove the panel from the ceiling, again to no results.
"Are there no locks on it," Applebloom asked.
"Not from what I can tell," Hux spoke, eager to get out of the musty room, "all I know is that this thing is either connected somehow or it is really heavy."
The three stood, thinking of what could be the problem, as Hux continued to push his weight against it. Granny's eyes grew wide as she thought about what she was able to make out. "Hux, knock on the panel real quick."
"Uh, okay," Hux smashed his hoof against the panel, nothing so much as shuddering as dirt fell from the cracks yet again.
"Hmm," Granny mustered, "so far, a lot of dirt has fallen from that opening."
"How does that help us?"
"Well," Granny said, recalling what her siblings had said long ago, "I do remember that, at one point in time, there was an underground storage area for storing some apples for winter. Over time, we have grown to not use it. Is there a possibility that-"
Hux caught on to what she was suggesting, "it got covered over by a layer of dirt? There is a possibility. How would those brothers know about it, though?"
"Beats me," Granny said, "though there is an extensive history about this farm in the Schoolhouse and such. They probably did research, considering I doubt they did all of this without planning."
"I guess that makes sense," Hux said. "That doesn't get us any closer to escaping, though. We know that there is probably a layer of dirt, yes, but what do we do with that knowledge in hand?"
Applebloom spoke up, "can't you just do some, like, magic and get us out of here?" She made a gesture with her hooves to imitate a spell.
"Changelings don't exactly work like that." He smiled at the young filly. "So, the question still stands."
Granny set her hoof to her muzzle in thought, lifting it in the air as she came up with an idea. "You have wings, particularly strong ones, correct?"
Hux lowered his eyes to half way, extending his wings openly, but put them away quickly as he remembered that they didn't have the sight to see at the moment. He cleared his throat in embarrassment and meekly said, "yeah, so?"
"So, can you blow the air in a way to clear away the dirt?"
Hux thought that over, nodding slightly. "I can try." He flew up to the panel and hooked his hooves into the planks in a way that held him suspended. He started his wings, slowly at first and then gaining speed. The buzz of his wings filled their ears as dirt got dislodged and fell to the floor. It seemed like forever, but Hux eventually blew away most of the dirt, making a sort of pocket above the hatch. "I think that should do." He unhooked his hooves and pushed again with all his might, moving the panel up slightly. It was still really heavy, too heavy to lift all the way. He stopped pushing, the panel returning to it's resting state.
He landed back on the ground, lowering himself to the ground with a bend of his knees. He quickly extended his legs, starting up his wings as he did, making him fly into the panel at incredible speed, lifting the panel just enough to rest it on the ground around it. Light once again entered the room, causing the three ponies to blink profusely to clear the spots from their eyes. "Aw yeah, freedom," Hux screamed in excitement.
"Keep it down, Hux. We don't want to alert them."
"Right," Hux conceded, bringing his hiss down to a whisper, "sorry."
Hux looked at the three ponies in the hole. He started to think in a way he didn't want to, thoughts of abandoning the defenseless ponies crossing his mind. With a shake of his head, he wiped the thoughts from his mind, returning his attention to finding a way to get them out of there. From what he could tell, he was one of the weakest changelings in the Hive. He would have trouble lifting Granny and Big Mac, and maybe even struggle to raise Applebloom off the ground. He quickly whispered to them, cautious of being noticed, "do you guys have a ladder or something here?"
"It should be leaning against the barn. A silver one, about ten feet tall."
Hux looked to the barn. The red paint was chipped away slightly, and the sun warmed it up. It was a beautiful building, but he couldn't just stand here and admire it. For once, somepony was counting on him, and he wasn't going to let them down. He scanned the wall they were closest to for a ladder, catching a glimpse of the sun bouncing off of it. It leaned in between two windows, one to the room he was in, the other being a room he had not seen. He walked his way towards it, afraid that flying would attract too much attention.
As he made his way to it, his hooves getting covered with a layer of dew. Once in a while, he would get a small pinch from the bullet wound on his side. It had mostly healed, though he didn't know why, and had stopped bleeding. From what he could tell, changelings didn't have an awesome regenerative ability, so he was at a loss for an explanation.
He finally reached the ladder looming above him. An average changeling was only about four feet tall, so it stood above him plenty intimidating. He extended a hoof to touch the ladder, eager to not make a single sound on this "mission." He propped himself up on his hind legs, both forelegs on the silver ladder. He pulled with his back to lift it up, to no avail. He looked at the ground, where the feet of the ladder were intertwined with grass. He yanked harder, only succeeding in pulling it too far as it came falling towards him.
He dodged it as it hit the ground, a sharp ring speeding through the open air. Hux clenched his teeth, hoping no one heard the sound. Unfortunately, someone had heard the sound, and had opened the window of the room Hux hadn't recognized to investigate.
"What's that," Flam asked, extending his neck out the window, his mustache catching in the wind. He scanned the ladder now laying on the ground and then the side of the barn, seeing nothing of interest. He let a quick grunt escape as he pulled his head back in and shut the window.
Hux tiptoed his way from the other side of the barn, happy he didn't get caught. The last thing he needed was to be seen by the pony who tried to capture him, though he probably would react differently to his true form. He tried to quickly untangle the grass from the foot of the ladder, finally releasing the black rubber feet. He lifted the ladder onto his back and walked his way towards the hole in the ground.
"Hey!" Hux turned to the source of the sound, seeing the mustached face yet again, now staring in his direction. "What are you doing there?!" He looked over Hux, spotting the uncovered hole in the patch of dirt that sported no grass. "Flim! Get me the gun! We've got an intruder!"
Hux made his way quickly to the three ponies still stuck in the ground, who had in fact heard the whole situation. "Nice goin' Hux," Granny said, slightly ticked, "getting yourself noticed was just what we needed."
"Hey," Hux said, laying the ladder in the hole and propping it up against the side of the opening, "I'm getting you guys out, aren't I?"
The three made their way up the ladder, the sound picking up in the air of hooves on metal. Hux looked back to the barn, where an angry Flam was making his way towards the group, a gun levitating in front of his eyes as he aimed. A splitting crack sounded as a bullet made it's way towards Hux's face. He ducked out of the way, the bullet colliding with a tree and sending splinters through the air.
"Get behind the trees," Hux leaded, "and hurry. Make your way deeper into the orchard to try and lose him."
The three ponies complied, racing into the orchard, sending leaves and sticks flying as they ran. Hux took one last look at the barn and followed the three, ducking behind every tree he could find. After they had ran for a few minutes, each of them stopped behind a tree, propping their back against the scratchy bark. The orchard was silent, the only sound being heard by each of the ponies was the rustling of the leaves and their own heavy breathing. They waited, and waited, and waited for what seemed like forever. For what could have been hours, each of them stood, back against the tree, deep in thought.
"Hey," Hux said after a while, lowering back onto four hooves, "where are you?"
The three stooped out of their hiding spots, each breathing a sigh. "Thanks for all the help back there," Big Mac said, speaking for the other two as well. "We woulda' been goners had you not come along."
Hux smiled, raising a hoof to his chest. "I try to do all that I can."
Granny looked towards Big Mac, waving her head in Hux's direction. The stallion advanced on Hux, backing him to a tree, where he moved Hux's legs around the tree and held them stiffly there. Hux winced in pain as his arms stretched around the bark. "Now," Granny spoke, "we have some unanswered questions."
"Please," Hux said, not nearly as intimidated as the first time he was cornered by ponies, "I need to go talk to some other ponies. It's very important-"
"Why are you here," Granny said, cutting Hux off.
"Look," Hux said, "if I tell you, you probably won't believe me anyways."
"Why are you here," Granny repeated, prodding him for an answer.
"I can't tell you."
Granny leaned in close, engaging in a staring contest with the changeling, the game being run by intimidation. She studied him closely, both his body and his eyes, which portrayed fear and determination. "Alright, next question. Who sent you here?"
"I can't tell you that either-"
Granny scooted closer to his face, her eyes almost staring into his very soul.
Hux conceded, spitting out the words, "Twilight Sparkle."
"Liar."
"It's the truth! I swear, I don't want any trouble. I just need to go talk to her and Applejack about what is going on."
Granny stood still momentarily, but then closed her eyes and nodded slightly. She backed away from him, giving him room to breath again.
"Anything else?"
Granny squinted, looking over him once more, but then said, "let him go, Mac."
Mac released Hux's black legs, walking back to the side of the green senior. Hux pulled his legs in front of him, rubbing where they had been impacted upon the tree. "Am I free to go now?"
"Yeah, get goin'." Hux started to stand as Granny then said, "Applejack won't be very pleased with this."
"I had a feeling."
Granny stared him in the eyes still. "She'll blame it on you, y'know. Just know that this wasn't your fault, no matter what points she makes."
Hux nodded and stood, still staring into her eyes. "Thanks. I hope you guys can run these guys out of town. They don't deserve to be here."
Granny nodded in return, motioning her head parallel to the line of the orchard's beginning area. "Y' better get goin'. Make haste, Hux. The sooner Applejack gets here, the better."
Hux nodded once more towards the pony, and then started to make his way towards the fence lining the orchard. Once he was clear out of view of the group, he willed his body to change, his black coat changing into the orange one of Applejack, when he realized that he had left the hat down in the hole. He was about to go back when he remembered what Granny Smith had said. Applejack would get it when she cleared all this up. He hoped she would clear this up, at least.
The crystal castle laid silent, no sound running through the halls. Twilight and all the rest were perched at their respective thrones surrounding the map. Each was doing something different, but all of them were thinking. Twilight had not yet told them how she had "tried to make the task easier for Hux," but she figured she would tackle that problem when it had arisen. The torches mounted on the wall cast an eerie glow throught the room, throwing dancing shadows around the room that seemed to move and claw at their own existence.
They had stayed silent for some time, being easily startled when Applejack walked in the door. Applejack stood in front of the group and removed the disguise in a fiery green vortex, Hux's coat becoming it's original black shade. His face held an expression of worry and anger, his eyes seething with things to say.
"You okay, Hux," Fluttershy asked, her voice carrying a wisp of worry.
"Not particularly. Look," Hux spoke spastically, "I need to talk to Applejack and Twilight real quick. It's really important."
"Slow down there, Hux," Starlight said, "we're all in this together, whatever this is at the moment. Just tell all of us."
Hux took a quick breath and then turned towards Applejack. "Some ponies are at your farm trying to basically take it over. Apparently you've had trouble with them in the past."
Applejack took a blank for a few moments, raising a hoof to her muzzle. When she took a hint of who Hux was talking about, she slammed her hoof on the table, the sound ringing through the halls like a wild fire. "The Flim Flam Brothers?!"
"I think so," Hux admitted, "I don't know why they're there, but they're saying that it's theirs because of some bet you made in the past-"
"And you just let 'em waltz into my barn?!"
"About that," Hux said, now turning to Twilight, "someone knocked me out, saying it would 'help the situation.'"
Applejack whipped her head around to face the purple alicorn, "why the hay would you do that?! This was a chance for Hux to prove his trustworthiness and you tried to help him succeed?!"
"Well, yeah. I think I speak for most of us here in the fact that we wanted to see Hux succeed," she looked around at the other faces, recieving many nods of approval, "so I thought that giving him an easier way to complete the task was a way to show our thoughts about him."
"So why did you knock him out?!"
"Applejack, darling, take it down a notch," Rarity spoke out, trying to make the situation a little more easy to handle, "no one n Yakyakistan needs to hear this argument."
Applejack complied, taking two breaths in. When she spoke, it was less angry but still held a twinge of hatred in the voice. "Why did you knock him out, Twilight? This whole feud did not require endangering my farm with this nonsense."
"Well how was I supposed to know that those two nut jobs would make their way back into town?!"
"Hold that thought, Twilight," Applejack said, now turning to Hux, "why didn't you try to stop them?"
"I did, Applejack. For god's sake, I broke one of their legs! It's not my fault I couldn't make it out of there before getting shot!"
"Oh goodness," Fluttershy gasped, "they shot you?"
Hux turned to reveal the wound. "I don't know why, but it healed real quick." He returned to his stance and looked at Applejack once again. "I really did try, Applejack."
"Uh huh, whatever. What about my family?"
"They're on the run in the orchard at the moment. Granny Smith told me to get you out there as soon as possible. There's no doubt that they're sending ponies out there to intercept them, so you better hurry."
"Did they see you like that?"
"Apparently, when I was unconcious after the whole shooting, I was still disguised like you. When I changed back, I was in front of your family,"
"Great, more ponies dragged into our dangerous schemes. I think we've anonymously decided that you've stayed here long enough."
The group murmured after what she had said, neither in acceptance or declination. "You guys didn't decide anything," Hux said, "you didn't even give the others a chance to talk!"
"I don't care, Hux. You might as well leave, seeing as you've caused enough trouble to both my family and my farm."
"Look, it's not my fault. Can't we just settle this in a democratic-"
"I don' have time for this!" Applejack pounded her hooves once more on the table for effect, then stormed out of the room, her walking ringing back into the room along with the squeak of the front door.
"Applejack! Get back here," Twilight screamed, her voice carrying no effect in the outside wind as it scattered among itself. "Oh god, what has this turned to?" She nestled her face in her hooves.
"Look, we can still fix this. Those two ponies can be run out, and I can help. The thing we have going on, that doesn't need to end just because of this."
"No matter what we think," Starlight said, stepping up to the lead plate, "one of our own will never accept you. Without that, our group could turn to turmoil, and we can't have that."
"So, are you just suggesting that I walk out of here with things still left undone? With Applejack still hating me and my kind?"
"It does seem like the best course of action, dear," Rarity spoke, not helping Hux's cause. "I don't adore the thought of you going back to your Hive untrusted, but it seems like Applejack thinks you've outstayed your welcome."
"Please," Hux said, "this is the first time I've ever been given a chance," Hux's eyes started to fill with tears, "don't take that chance away from me."
"I'm sorry, Hux, but it's the only option we have left."
Hux looked down, one tear leaving his his cheek.
He had a chance, and he lost it.
Hux knew when to give up, and now was the time.