//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 - At Long Last, The Truth // Story: Facing Consequences, Making Choices // by 1Bit //------------------------------// "B-But...why?" Rainbow's voice croaked in the darkness. Her knees felt weak at the sight of the insect before her and it felt like her heart had been wrenched from her chest and crushed slowly and horribly in front of her eyes. Her mouth opened and closed as soundless sentences escaped her lips. The changeling merely smirked at her. Every movement it made was paired with a crunching, disgusting sound as its joints cracked and creaked. But Rainbow just couldn't remove the image of its sickening smile from her brain. "Oh please, it's not that hard." It spoke in a gravelly voice. "It didn't take much to take Applejack's place. You know, for an element of harmony, she really is completely and utterly stupid." It chuckled, never taking its stare off Rainbow. The pegasus could feel the anger building up inside her. Fire in her soul heating up and overwhelming her thoughts. "Are you bucking kidding me?!" Rainbow yelled. "Applejack is not s-stupid! Don't you dare talk about her like that!" She made a swipe for the insect, launching herself into the air and aiming a hindleg directly for its face. The insect in question merely slid to the side before it connected, leaving Rainbow in a confused heap on the ground a few feet away. A thin layer of dirt was flung into the air as Rainbow crash-landed with a loud grunt escaping her lips. She coughed and spluttered when some of the putrid earth landed on her outstretched tongue. Yuck. "I can't believe Applejack would even dream of dating a pathetic pony like you." The changeling continued on. It began a slow waltz around the cave space, pausing at each cocoon to stare into the lifeless eyes of the pony trapped inside. "Who would have thought such a strong-willed and determined pony would want to settle for a, uh-" It cocked its head to the side and gave Rainbow the once over. "Such a weak and small pegasus. But I don't make up the rules of love, only bend and break them to please the queen." It added with a smirk. "I'm not...weak." Rainbow muttered. She sheepishly rubbed her hooves together, staring down at the rocky ground. "I'm just an awesome pegasus...the awesomest." The changeling laughed heartily. "A pegasus who couldn't even tell the pony she loved how much she loved her for two years? No, you're not awesome Miss Dash. Far from it. Which just made it easier to do my job." Its voice never seemed to change. Cold and monotone. As the conversation continued, Twilight grabbed Fluttershy and led them around a small crescent of rocks on the outskirts of the room. She cast a spell and in a blink, their hooves were deathly silent against the rock floor. The queen was too focused on the stand-off between Rainbow and the changeling commander to notice the two small shadows creeping against the wall. Fluttershy whimpered the closer they got to the cocoons and shut her eyes, only relying on Twilight to guide her through the darkness. The first they reached was Pinkie Pie's. The earth pony stared out into the void with glossy white eyes, a smile eternally plastered on her muzzle. Twilight encased the entire thing in magic but quickly dissipated it. No, Pinkie will be too loud. I'll get her last so we can make a run for it straight away, Twilight thought, trying to plan out an escape as she sneaked around. Despite having the spell cast, she still cringed every time she put her hoof down for fear of making a single sound. The second that she reached Applejack's cocoon she desperately wrapped it in her magical aura, tugging and pulling at it as quickly and quietly as possible. One tug. The queen's eyes did not leave Rainbow Dash. Two tugs. Still nothing. Three tugs and a loud snap echoed across the cavern. The queen knew. Twilight just stood there petrified, the cocoon shaking just as much as she was in that situation. It was fight or flight, and she chose the latter. Channelling every fibre of her being into her magical output, she hoisted the two cocoons and Fluttershy and turned tail towards the exit. Rainbow is a strong mare, She thought to herself, biting her lip. If I can just get the rest of our friends to safety...then...then we can face the queen. But just as the unicorn reached the exit into the outer tunnels, a thick layer of boulders and dust descended upon her and she narrowly missed getting crushed as the exit sealed before her. She twisted her neck around in fear as the queen stared at her with a sickening smile. "Oh, you're not going anywhere, little ponies." The queen giggled returning her gaze upon Rainbow. "You're going to miss the rest of the show if you leave now!" Rainbow Dash could barely speak, the fury and rage taking over every fibre of her being. "Well, you know what?" She uttered almost silently. "I don't give a buck if the mare in that cocoon loves me or not, because you know what? I love her! And that's all that really matters! And I don't care what you might say, because all I'm going to do now is buck your teeth in!" The pegasus swiftly soared into the air, spinning around incredibly fast and delivering a heavy blow with her hindleg to the face of the unprepared changeling. It's black body made a horrible crunch sound as it fell to the floor, barely moving. Rainbow was seething, her chest rising up and down in an aggressive manner. Before the creature even had a chance to move again, the lithe pegasus was already charging like a bull towards her target. She spread her wings to life her off the floor, twisting around to deliver a roundhouse kick directly in the side of the changeling. The small creature was like a ragdoll being flung across the enclosed space as if it was nothing; a victim to the fury of Rainbow Dash. After a consecutive series of bucks and kicks, the insect's breathing was more ragged and it's words remained imprisoned in it's throat. Nevertheless, it slowly twisted its ugly head head to face Rainbow. She growled at the changeling as a sickening smile spread across its black lips. A quiet giggle to her left snapped her attention away from the foe before her. The queen's head reared back as the giggle became a laugh and her crooked horn began to glow an ethereal green that filled the dark space. "What's so funny?" Rainbow yelled, lowering herself as if ready to pounce on the changeling queen and tear her apart with her own bare hooves. "Oh, you really don't understand do you?" The queen replied with a malicious grin. "You ponies have such simple minds. You're so fuelled by your desires and interests, that you throw all logic out the window as if you can possibly hope to achieve them. Take you for example." She raised an eyebrow smugly. "Attacking the perpetrator of your misery as if it will take back the fact that Applejack doesn't love you at all." She giggled once again. Rainbow's breathing slowed and her ears dropped. "I-I..." She bit her tongue, unable to find a comeback in the mess of her thoughts. Instead, her gaze simply fell to the cold stone floor beneath her as the sound of the queen laughing echoed in her mind over and over again.