Sparklefly didn’t like lying to the other prisoners, but she wished she felt as hopeful she’d been able to make them seem. Even if they could break free from their chains, there was still a large iron door in their way. Should they manage to get past that, there were no fewer than fifty changelings, not to mention twice as many timberwolves at any given moment. It was impossible to tell how long they had been down here. The stench of waste and timberwolf had become an accustomed smell, but it was still rather foul. It must have been an hour or more already, but still no sign of Scootaloo or Pibs. Had they even made it to the ursa’s cave? The pessimist inside suggested that they had been caught or killed. Sparklefly shook her head, banishing the thought. It wouldn’t do to build straw ponies to tear down, as her Momma Mare would have said. All she could focus on was what she had in front of her. That was iron shackles and very thick bars that made the door.
A commotion outside caught her attention. There was shouting, and it sounded like magical blasts and fighting in general. Some quiet talking began rippling through the other prisoners. Sparklefly glanced over at Lightning Dasher; he shrugged back at her before looking back to the only way out. While they could see through it, the angle where they were positioned didn’t give them a good view of the room beyond. An arrow shot through the bars, clattering into the wall near Silver Spoon’s head. Several of them shrieked in fear as it clattered harmlessly to the ground. There were several more shouts and battle cries outside. This went on for several minutes before it quieted down. A changeling ran into the door with a wild look of terror on his face as he fumbled with the lock. Somepony from behind snatched him back, and Sparklefly heard him shriek as a loud thud followed. Then there was silence.
“Did somepony order a rescue?” Scootaloo said, her face suddenly appearing in the doorway.
Relief flooded Sparklefly and the rest of the prisoners as well.
“All secure back there?” another voice called out; it sounded like Pibs.
“Yeah,” Scootaloo called back.
“We’re in here!” Lightning Dasher yelled.
“Duh,” Scootaloo said, looking at him through the bars. She suddenly looked disgusted, grabbing her nose, “What did you do back here; you guys stink!”
“Just open the door!” Sparklefly yelled back at her, hope spreading like a wild fire.
“Hang on, I’m trying to find the key,” the orange pegasus replied.
She disappeared from the door.
“This one?” Pibs asked.
Scootaloo was back and trying to work the lock. The mechanism turned with a sturdy-sounding click. The ponies pulled the door open, and Scootaloo stood inside rather heroically.
“No need to thank me,” she bragged. “It’s all in a day’s work. Pibs, try the keys on their chains.”
“Okay,” Pibs said.
“You guys alright?” Scootaloo asked.
“You guys made it!” Sparklefly exclaimed.
“Yeah. No way we’d leave you behind,” Scootaloo said.
“Scootaloo?” Silver Spoon seemed surprised.
“Whoa, what are you doing here?” Scootaloo asked, equally caught off guard.
“It seems like I’ve been replaced,” the silver mare replied.
“We probably all have,” Sparklefly began. “They saw right through our invisibility potions. How did you get in here?”
Scootaloo brandished her crossbow, “We fought our way passed them, of course. They made a big push for Ponyville, so there were hardly any left to guard.”
This seemed rather unlikely to Sparklefly. It was just enough to make her question what was unfolding. Pibs got to her and began trying keys on her manacles.
“So, we’ll head back to Zecora’s. It’s a lot safer than Ponyville right now,” Scootaloo said.
“Is it safe to go that far north?” Sparklefly asked, testing Scootaloo.
“What are you talking about?” Pibs said. “Zecora wasn’t to the north; not from here.”
Sparklefly wasn’t completely convinced. They knew that much, but there was only one way she could think of to be sure. Pibs got the lock undone on Sparklefly’s front restraints and moved to the back.
“Aren’t you going to use the call and response?” Sparklefly asked.
Scootaloo shrugged coolly, “Why would I?”
“There’s changelings about,” Sparklefly said. “How do you know we’re us?”
Scootaloo looked at her like she was stupid, “So you think they’d chain themselves up with the rest of the prisoners so I could rescue you?”
“What’s the call sign?” she asked.
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. Cloud Blazer appeared in the doorway.
“We have to go!” he said.
“Don’t go with them!” Sparklefly shouted, the thrill of the confirmation of her suspicion overpowering any other thoughts. “They are changelings; all three of them!”
It was as if the air had been sucked out of the room when she said this. The prisoners that had been loosed cowered against the walls. Sparklefly’s hind legs were still tied, so she stayed where she was positioned. She could have kicked her self as she realized that it might have been more prudent to let them free her and Lightning Dasher. Then they might make a fight of it. Of course, they had no weapons or armor, and the changelings had their magic. Also, they were still hopelessly outnumbered.
The impostors glowed magically in their bright green and transformed back into their natural form. No resistance was offered as they put chains back on each of the prisoners and left the room. The changelings seemed to take it in stride as if it were all part of the plan. This was somewhat unsettling. The incarcerated ponies sat in silence for quite a while, despair having returned. Sparklefly hoped that she hadn’t given away information more than that the fact that they had a call and response worked out. They had mentioned Zecora by name. That meant that they definitely knew which zebra lived in the forest, not that such information was a secret.
Lightning Dasher broke her thoughts, "There's just one thing I don't understand. If the changelings wanted to take over Equestria, why multiply timberwolves? Why not just replicate themselves in the mirror pond? Obviously they can fool us. Why not take over that way?”
This was something to which Sparklefly hadn’t given a great deal of thought, but it did seem to be worth considering.
Silver Spoon offered, “Maybe it doesn’t work on them?”
Sparklefly replied, “That doesn’t seem likely. But would you want a hundred copies of yourself running around?”
Lightning Dasher said, “But they must have tried that first.”
Sparklefly shrugged, “They might have. It is really beside the issue. Whatever their reason, they have created a disposable army out of timberwolves.”
Lighting Dasher added, “Then they infiltrated our forces to keep us from finding out what they’ve been up to."
“You have to admire the misdirection; tactically, it’s brilliant. In any case, the why is a small matter; we can only deal with one thing at a time. We get out of here, then we can figure out why they did what they did,” Sparklefly said.
Silver Spoon asked, “But how were they going to deal with the timberwolves? Were they just going to use them to cover all of Equestria? Then what?"
It was silent a moment before Sparklefly grimly offered, ”Revenge.”
The feeling in the dimly lit stone room seemed to go cold at this.
Lightning Dasher asked, "Revenge?"
"The last time changelings invaded, they nearly captured Canterlot before they were defeated," Sparklefly answered. "If that is their only motive, they’ll go to any length, pay any price for victory. It only makes them that much more dangerous."
“This time they have captured Canterlot,” Lightning Dasher added. “If you’re right, that would mean no bargaining, no peaceful resolution."
Sparklefly shuddered at the thought.
“All of this speculation is very interesting, but how is that supposed to help us get out of here?” Silver Spoon asked with a tone of superiority identical to the one the changeling version of her had used in Ponyville.
Precociousness aside, that statement brought them all back to the most immediate problem: getting free from their chains. Sparklefly’s thoughts drifted for a moment, but then she began pulling at the restraints, trying to work them free. She pulled one way and then the other, but it was no use. The manacles were digging into her legs as she tugged, but they were anchored quite securely in the the solid rock of the cave walls. After a few minutes, she stopped in defeat, having had made no progress other than bleeding a bit from rubbing her skin raw. The rest of the prisoners were very quiet. Many of them were sleeping, but Sparklefly worked her brain to come up with something before the rest began to realize that they didn’t actually have a plan to rescue everypony.
The iron door sprang open with an almost inaudible creak, and Ash Eater returned. He was followed by several other changelings that were dragging something else into the room. It was Princess Twilight. Sparklefly struggled to see with her one good eye, but the changelings were blocking her view. The princess was awake, but apparently didn’t have the strength to walk. They drug her across the ground and chained her to the wall across from Sparklefly. Queen Chrysalis spoke smugly as she entered the prison.
"Don't worry, your highness," the changeling queen said, "I'll take good care of Equestria during your absence."
With a flash of green magic that electrified the air, she transformed, becoming an exact replica of Princess Twilight.
The purple alicorn weakly raised her head and spoke defiantly, "You will fail! My friends will never fall for your tricks, Chrysalis.”
The changeling Twilight got face to face with the original, "They always do," she sneered at her. Then raising up, she kicked the princess in the face.
Twilight fell hard, her head striking the stone floor; she lay there unmoving. Another flash of changeling magic and there were now duplicates of Lightning Dasher and Sparklefly. They followed Queen Chrysalis, now a Princess Twilight impostor, as she exited the prison. There was no doubt that they would report back to Ponyville or Cloudsdale and give false information. There was no knowing what amount of damage they could cause. The other princesses might be in danger, to say nothing of the rest of Equestria. As the door clanged shut, only two changelings remained inside with the prisoners. Ash Eater laughed as he walked toward Sparklefly. An abnormally large changeling was with him. The big one was slightly lighter in color than the dark black that the rest of them wore in their coats; he had a dull stupid look about him. It didn’t require much guesswork to understand what his function would be. Sparklefly felt her heart pounding in her chest; she suddenly noticed that she was very thirsty.
“Now then,” Ash Eater began, “this is one of my friends. We call him Drob. He only likes to do one thing. Can you guess what that is?
Her limbs felt weak, but Sparklefly made her expression like steel. She knew what was coming.
“Drob, she seems to not want to talk to us,” Ash Eater teased. “Why don’t you show her what you like to do.”
The big one didn’t say a word, but a wide grin appeared on his face in the poorly lit room. One thing that was rather unexpected was how fast he could move. He struck Sparklefly’s hindquarters with a blow from a fore hoof. She slid hard into the wall as the pain from it shot through her. Lightning Dasher was yelling something, but she couldn’t make it out. When she looked up again, Lightning Dasher had pulled against his chains, but he couldn’t get very close to the others. Drob was standing back as if awaiting instructions as the room got quiet again.
“Now, this is how this works,” Ash Eater began. “I ask you questions; you answer truthfully. If you don’t, Drob gets to have some fun.”
“That’s your plan?” Sparklefly mocked through her facade of strength as she climbed back to her hooves. “And I thought you were a little more imaginative than that.”
The look he gave her after she said that was more than a little unnerving; it was as if he were devouring her with his eyes. It somehow made her feel incredibly vulnerable in a way that she never had before.
“All in good time, little mare,” he said.
“You coward! You are the worst kind of scum!” Lighting Dasher shouted, his restraints clanking as he pulled against them.
A look from Ash Eater and another blow came Sparklefly’s way from Drob, again aimed at her flank. It connected at nearly the same place, but with less force than the last one. She staggered into the wall but remained standing. Catching Lightning Dasher’s gaze, Sparklefly shook her head at him. He looked completely infuriated, but she saw him nod. He understood the situation. Any interference from him and she would be hurt for it.
“Now then, where were we?” Ash Eater said to Sparklefly. “Oh yes, questions.” His tone became completely dry now, lacking the humor he had come in with, “Where is the rest of your squad?”
She stood there without answering. There wasn’t going to be any defense against anything they did to her. The chains were too short to put up any kind of effective struggle. Maybe she could get a hit off if he got too close, but this didn’t seem likely. Drob struck her in the shoulder this time, sending her the short distance into the wall. It was almost like being hit from both sides.
“Not even a convincing lie?” Ash Eater mocked. “You’ve certainly been in here long enough to think of something.”
She still didn’t answer, Drob hit her again, this time in a downward motion that made her stance buckle as she dropped hard to her knees. He could hit hard.
“Where is the zebra, Zecora, that gave you the magic potion?”
Sparklefly wasn’t sure how much of this punishment she could take, but she was afraid that she was about to find out. On cue, Drob hit her again. She fell against the stone wall; this time she didn’t get back up. Breathing had become a chore, and she was aching from several bruises that were forming in addition to the wounds she had suffered previously. The bandage on her eye was burning again.
“We’re going to find her even if you don’t help us,” he said.
That gave Sparklefly a sliver of information. By use of the word, “her”, she surmised that they might not know about Sweetie Belle. this wasn’t necessarily useful, but it was noteworthy. Casting a glance at Lightning Dasher, it was a little surprising to see that he hadn’t moved. He stood like a statue, watching helplessly as she endured this. The look on his face betrayed a whirlwind of rage that was begging to be released.
“Where is your squad?” the changeling asked again.
She looked back at him, still laying against the rocky wall of the cave. She made no attempt to speak. Drob moved in and threw another hit; at the last second, Sparklefly ducked beneath his blow. He struck the wall hard as Sparklefly pushed against the floor with all of her strength. The chains were too short for anything other than what she had in mind. She brought her forehead down, catching Drob on his left side, right where the jaw connects to the skull. The was a loud cracking sound at the point of impact, and the next thing Sparklefly knew, she was on the ground and the room was spinning. Drob staggered backwards and lost his balance, falling to the floor. Silence filled the room for a moment. Ash Eater was stunned, his mouth hanging open rather stupidly. Sparklefly stood up again, a little dizzy and aching all over, but she felt very proud of herself. Drob was down, motionless for almost a minute. Then he managed to regain a standing position also, but he looked more than a little shaky.
“Drob, level two,” Ash Eater said almost blankly.
Drob grinned. His horn and eyes glowed green with a charge of magical energy. What happened next was the most pain Sparklefly had ever experienced in her life. Every inch of her body felt like it was on fire. A scream escaped her involuntarily as she collapsed and writhed on the ground. As suddenly as it began, it was over.
“Just a taste for now,” her interrogator said. “Where is the rest of your squad?”
It was all she could do to catch her breath at this point. Drob’s magic hit her again; this time it was like she were being pulled apart. The sensation of being ripped into pieces was almost as bad as the fiery one. She knew it was all in her mind, but that did nothing to diminish the sensation. She held her breath, trying to not scream again. She didn’t want to give them the satisfaction. After a minute, maybe more, it felt like an hour, Drob stopped. Sparklefly sank to a resting position again and tried to breathe. The putrid air was almost sweet now.
“Where is your squad?” Ash Eater asked again.
“I thought...” she began between breaths, “you knew... me better... than that... by now...”
He didn’t look amused. “Put her out,” he said simply.
Another blast of magic and Sparklefly could feel herself drowning. The panic that comes with that sensation was far worse that the feeling itself. She wanted to believe that it was just in her head, but there was just no way to be calm. The visceral drive to fight for life was too strong, and panic was the only available response. There was no reassurance that this was going to be okay; she realized she might be about to die. In only moments, everything went dark, and Sparklefly passed out.
...
Pibs was glad that Scootaloo was with her, but frightened seemed to be her normal state of being now. A light breeze tickled the tops of the trees in the light of early evening. If the changeling’s net hadn’t been above them, they might have tried to see where the sun actually stood in the sky. As things were, the had to suffice with guessing.
“Yeah, we have definitely waited longer than we should have,” Scootaloo said, still using their very quiet whisper. “I think we’ve only got a half-hour or so before sunset.”
Pibs felt herself shaking a little.
“Hey, I’m sure the others are fine,” Scootaloo reassured her, “but we need to move.”
Pibs nodded, and the pair slowly stood. They hadn’t had any sight or sound, not to mention scent, of timberwolves since they had arrived at the cave entrance. They were still cautious. Pibs stretched, which felt wonderful after sitting so still for a few hours. Nothing had fallen asleep, but her joints felt stiff and sore. The bruises and burns were bothering her, but it was manageable. The weirdest feeling was the loose tooth. It was rather tender. After a small sip of water, they performed a quick weapons check: two crossbows with five arrows between them, two combat knives, and two rolls of clean bandages that Sweetie Belle had given them to replace their exhausted medical supplies. They already had the tension pulled back on the crossbows, but a nod from Scootaloo and they each loaded an arrow. Pibs’ heart was beating rapidly as they slowly moved out of their little fern covered hiding place in the clump of trees that had been their shelter. The ursa’s cave opened before them. As they crept closer, the sheer size of it dwarfed everything around, nearly reaching to the top of the trees. The rock formation went higher still, but the changeling net effectively obscured the view much beyond that.
Feeling herself freeze in place there was something that Pibs had to say, “Scootaloo.”
The orange mare stopped, glancing back, “What is it? Did you see something?”
“No,” Pibs said nervously. “I just... I...” She took a breath. “If anything happens... If I don’t make it out of here, I need you to go tell Lighthoof...”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Scootaloo interrupted. “Nothing bad is happening to you today. You’re with me.” A confident smile spread across Scootaloo’s face. “We just have to take care of this so we can help Sparklefly and Lightning Dasher rescue the princess. It’s no big deal.”
“I’m with you,” Pibs said, feigning confidence and nodding.
Without another word, they made the entrance to the cave, passing into darkness. Inching quietly forward, the air felt cold but surprisingly wasn’t stale. They moved silently onward at a slow pace. It didn’t take long for their eyes to adjust. There was a luminescent moss that grew on the walls, which made the faintest blue outline on some of the faces of the cave. Pibs could hear her own breath in the stillness of this place. The entrance took the form of a large corridor—like formation. They followed it, Scootaloo in the lead until the last light from outside had faded away. But for the faint glow of the moss, Pibs wouldn’t have been able to see her own hoof in front of her face. Every subtle noise that she heard made her turn in that direction, but she couldn’t see anything moving. It must have been insects or small rodents. Surely an ursa would make much more noise than what she heard.
A low growl coming from somewhere in the darkness stole the very warmth of Pibs’ blood and sent a shiver up her spine. Frozen in place, her eyes searched the darkness, but she couldn’t see anything. The noise stopped; Pibs held her breath. They stayed motionless for a minute, waiting for something that might happen, but nothing did.
“Pibs,” Scootaloo whispered from ahead, “stay here. We’re close. I’m going ahead to see if I can get a look at what we’re dealing with. If you hear any loud noises, you come in there and save me. Don’t run off!”
She could almost see Scootaloo’s grin, but it did little to diffuse the tension that Pibs felt. Scootaloo padded away stealthily while Pibs stayed as ordered. Alone in the dark, it was impossible to tell how much time was passing. Each minute felt like an hour. She could hear her pulse surging through her ears. To call it unsettling would be an understatement. She’d have loved nothing more than to let her mind wander to a happier place, but now was not the time for any distractions. Her senses were heightened in the darkness. Nothing moved that she couldn’t hear. Her body shook slightly from the adrenaline that coursed through her. Pibs slowed her breathing because it seemed to be too loud to her. A noise caught her attention, and she stared into the darkness. It was hoof steps. Scootaloo returned at a fairly brisk pace.
“Okay, this is the situation,” she spoke softly. “We have two ursas in here, a major and a minor.”
Pibs swallowed, unsettled at the news. Just one celestial bear had been a thought that frightened her. Two was somehow ten times worse. She wasn’t sure how that math worked, but she had neither the time nor the presence of mind to worry about it.
“We’ll go in together; it’s not much farther up the bend,” Scootaloo continued. “I’ll get their attention, and then we run for the exit. Do you know your way back to the clearing from here, in case we get separated?”
Pibs thought quickly, “East-Southeast?”
“Right,” Scootaloo said. “Here’s the thing; we are a lot more maneuverable than they are, and running through the forest will slow them down a little, but we have to keep from moving in a straight line as much as possible. Anytime there are trees to dart around, do it.”
“Okay,” Pibs acknowledged.
“If they get too close to you, I’ll fly across and draw them off. I need you to do the same if they get too close to me.”
Pibs swallowed hard at this; she tried to put on her best brave voice, “Look, all this waiting is getting boring; let’s do this!”
Scootaloo grinned back at her, barely visible in the dim blue glow of the bioluminescent moss.
“Now you’re talking!” Scootaloo said in a normal tone. “Let’s go!”
They moved forward, abandoning stealth and proceeding swiftly. When they rounded the next bend, Pibs very much wished she were anyplace in the entire land of Equestria other than here. Scootaloo hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d said that the ursa minor was larger than a house. The great behemoths that lay in the gaping space before them were gigantic. They seemed to glow in the darkness, the smaller one blue, the larger one purple, and their coats twinkled in patterns that appeared to be in the form of constellations. It was no surprise why their species had been named for star formations.
“I’ll get them,” Scootaloo said. “Get ready to run.”
Without waiting for a response, Scootaloo went forward. Pibs turned around, orienting herself to flee as quickly as possible. Her mouth was dry, but there was no time to take a drink. Her heart wanted to leap out of her chest. Her legs all shook uncontrollably, and it was all she could do to remain standing. ‘Stop it!’ she thought to herself. ‘You’re doing this, and you’re not going to let anypony down!’ A loud noise behind caught her attention. Scootaloo had flown up into the air, kicked the ceiling of the cave and drove straight down at the belly of the ursa minor, the smaller blue one.
“Wake up!” the insane orange pegasus shouted.
A deafening roar filled the cave, and Pibs fell over from fright. She scrambled back to her hooves, by which time Scootaloo had grabbed her and was pulling toward the exit.
“Go, Pibs! Run, run, run!” she shouted.
The pair thundered as fast as legs would carry them to get out of the cave. It was a blur, and suddenly they were bathed in blinding evening light again. They had only been inside for minutes, as the sun still lit the forest. A roar, followed by another that was larger and more guttural followed. The ursas were right behind them. As they had previously discussed, Scootaloo and Pibs separated, putting just a couple of yards between them as they galloped south from the cave. They turned to their left, to the east, and the ursa minor burst through the trees, looking like a big blue blur to Pibs. A massive clawed paw swiped at Scootaloo, who dropped, rolling beneath the blow behind a small tree. The powerful hit bent the tree over as if it were a blade of grass; it crashed down noisily. Pibs stopped, assessing how she could help Scootaloo.
“What are you doing?” Scootaloo shouted. “Run!”
Pibs didn’t wait beyond that. Another roar, this one much louder than the first split the air. The ursa major was close. Scootaloo took flight, putting a little distance between herself and the ursa minor before landing and resuming her gallop. Pibs was keeping up, already breathing a little harder from the effort they were exerting. They came through a small clearing, the celestial bears in hot pursuit, and that’s when they stumbled upon their first pack of timberwolves.
“Air!” Scootaloo shouted.
Pibs understood the meaning, and the pair flew up as high as they could to get over the timberwolves, which snarled and also began chasing them. Dropping back to the ground, they darted through the forest, zig-zagging their way to the clearing where they would meet up with Sparklefly and Lightning Dasher. The ursa major, a massive purple beast that didn’t seem to belong in a forest so much as it seemed to dominate the place, burst through to Pibs’ right. How the giant beast had moved so quickly to get around that side was something that Pibs would have to worry about later. She ran as fast as she could, darting around trees, but the bear was close; she could hear it breathing. Out of nowhere, Scootaloo flew overhead and let out a battle cry. The ursa major swatted at her, but missed, striking a tree limb instead. Scootaloo circled back around and resumed her position to Pibs’ left as branches exploded, showering the forest below. Timberwolves began howling behind them.
At this rate, they wouldn’t get to the clearing very far, if at all, ahead of the ursas, to say nothing of the other beasts in the Everfree Forest. Pibs took flight again, increasing her speed. It was difficult to not hit any trees or hanging vines as she vaulted through the air. It took all of her focus to navigate this dangerous terrain, and she lost the ursas for a moment.
“That’s enough!” Scootaloo shouted from her left, also flying.
The pair landed and continued running. They had already arrived where the thick brambles had slowed them down before.
“Go!” Scootaloo yelled.
Pibs threw herself into the narrow path, the thorns and thistles scratching at her once again. She moved quickly through, with Scootaloo directly behind her. They made it into the clearing, and nopony was there. There were bodies of several dozen timberwolves, but no sign of anypony at all. Pibs and Scootaloo stood there a moment, not sure what to do. Sparklefly wasn’t here. A roar from behind them caused the pair to exchange a glance. No words were spoken, but it was as if they knew each other’s thoughts. They charged forward, across the clearing and into the forest beyond. It was not even a moment too soon, as the ursa minor crashed through the brush, growling angrily at them as it did so. The pair continued forward, and Pibs might have fallen into the gaping hole that opened in the ground if a pack of timberwolves hadn’t been coming out of it. She darted right, while Scootaloo went left.
The ursa major leapt out at Scootaloo, its massive paw coming straight down at the little pony. Scootaloo skidded in the dry vegetation of the forest floor, changing direction and darting left. The impact of the ursa major shook the ground, the noise of it echoing through the forest. It was then that Pibs realized Scootaloo was in trouble. She had gone left, back toward the ursa minor and the other pack of timberwolves. Without time to think, Pibs took flight, kicking off of a nearby tree to change direction faster. She didn’t know what she intended to do because it happened so fast. She was over the first pack of timberwolves, speeding toward Scootaloo and the two ursas. The ursa minor was about to strike Scootaloo out of the air as she took flight to avoid the stick-dogs. Pibs flew in hard, hooves down, and slammed into the ursa minor’s head, catching it on the left side of its face. The dazed creature fell backward awkwardly, crashing into the forest. There was a moment of unbridled glee, almost like a thrill that Pibs felt as she turned about.
Before everything went dark, the last thing Pibs saw was the great paw of the ursa major as it came at her with full force. Her next sensation was like falling. She crashed through what must have been tree limbs or branches, which snapped and slapped at her. Her vision went red as the wind was knocked out of her with a cracking sound. The roughness of tree bark on her face told her enough. She had been slapped out of the air by the ursa major and landed against a tree. She fell backward, landing in the crunchy dried leaves that covered the floor of the forest. Pibs writhed on the ground, trying desperately to breathe. Her sight returned, and that’s when she realized that she was on fire. It was on her back right side, where the fire potion had been stored. Time seemed frozen in that moment. The ursa major was burning, its right arm completely engulfed from the shattered potion; howling, it rampaged through the forest in a rage. Timberwolves were chasing it. Her breath returning, Pibs tried to use both forelegs to beat the fire out that was on her gear. Only one hoof responded, but she managed. Assessing damage proved difficult; Pibs couldn’t find her front left leg. It was bizarre sensation. It felt like it was right in front of her, but she couldn’t see it.
A shout drew her attention; the other firebomb flask was hurtling into a tree. It exploded on contact, flames leaping out and licking their way up the tree to the canopy above. The ground brush, with years of dried dead leaves also began to burn as the fiery liquid spread. Then she saw it. The ursa minor was above her, and brought down a paw to smash the mare. As its weight shifted, Pibs felt herself being pressed against and into the ground. She couldn’t move or breathe, the life was nearly crushed out of the little pony. Then there was relief. The ursa minor staggered backward and off of her. Scootaloo was overhead and fired an arrow, striking the ursa minor in the head. Timberwolves now were biting at it, and the enraged celestial bear began crushing them like an angry child destroys toy soldiers. It raised paws and brought them down again and again, smashing the beasts to splinters.
Scootaloo landed and drug Pibs into a somewhat concealed position behind some bushes and a tree, but there was no way to know if they would be safe.
“Pibs, your leg!” Scootaloo gasped.
Pibs looked down and could see her front left leg again. It was at an angle that made her feel sick at the sight of it. Her gut wrenched and heaved, but nothing came up.
“Don’t look!” Scootaloo said, pulling Pibs head up.
The medical knowledge, while rudimentary, came flooding through her mind, “Splint, I need a splint!”
“Hang, on.”
Scootaloo glanced behind them toward the battle and then darted away. The growing numbers of timberwolves combined with the roaring of both ursas signaled that the fight was very much still underway. The ground rumbled with the noise of the enraged beasts all fighting for their own survival. Scootaloo returned with a large stick. She felt up Pibs’ broken leg, checking for just how many breaks there were; she suddenly jammed a smaller stick into Pibs’ mouth.
“Bite this,” Scootaloo said.
Without waiting for a reply, Scootaloo grabbed her broken leg and pulled it straight. Pibs heard herself growl in reply, biting down hard on the stick Scootaloo had given her. A cold sweat hit her forehead as the pain like a stabbing fire shot through her. Things went numb for a moment, but then everything came back into focus. Scootaloo pulled out the bandage from Pibs’ kit and quickly tore it into several long strips, tying the larger stick to Pibs’ leg to immobilize it. Every bump and touch sent sharp pain shooting through the injured mare. The sounds of battle changed, and magical blasts now began to fill the air.
“Well, this is definitely the right place,” Scootaloo said as she glanced over their paltry concealment.
Changeling battle cries and shrieks of terror could be heard as they joined the fight. The ursas smashed their way around, but the magical bombardment increased, as did the snarling and yelping of timberwolves, whose numbers must have also surged.
“I don’t know,” Scootaloo said. “I don’t think we’ll get into there with your leg hurt.” She shook her head, “Just too many.”
Hardly a moment later a great crash shook the ground. One of the ursas bellowed.
“The major is down,” Scootaloo reported. “The other won’t last long at this rate.”
Pibs felt ill, “What do we do?”
Scootaloo shook her head, “You’re injured, and we are hopelessly outnumbered. I mean, if you think you can make it out of here, I might get inside, but even if I could... I’m not sure there’s anything we can do, not without reinforcements.”
It was a kind of despair, similar to heartbreak, that Pibs felt for the others. Something had happened to Sparklefly and Lightning Dasher, and she couldn’t help them or Princess Twilight. Another sound caught her attention. It was like the thundering of hooves and a pony battle cry. Timberwolves began howling and changelings shrieked, unleashing a massive flurry of their magic. A cacophony of shouting and blunt impacts filled the air along with the cries of the dying.
“Pibs,” Scootaloo said in complete awe, “you’re not going to believe this.”
In the quickly fading light of sunset, Scootaloo looked as though she’d seen a ghost.
...
The disgusting smell was the first sensation that Sparklefly noticed as she began to drift back to consciousness; pain was the second. Her body ached all over from injuries, but the dull hurt of the new bruises inflicted by Drob were the worst of it. She opened her eye slowly and was relieved to see that the changelings had gone for now. She let out a sigh of relief and got up onto her hooves, stretching a little. She felt horrible.
“You don’t look so good,” Lightning Dasher said.
Turning toward him, it was evident that he had been questioned in the same manner as she had.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Just a few bruises,” he shrugged. “I’ll live.”
In a dark and twisted way, Sparklefly almost found that statement amusing considering their situation.
“How long was I out?” she asked.
“I’m not sure, maybe an hour.”
“It was less than that,” Princess Twilight spoke.
“Your highness,” Sparklefly said, having actually forgotten that she’d been there.
“Just Twilight is fine,” the alicorn replied wearily.
“You weren’t here when we were brought in; we’d feared the worst.”
“No,” the princess replied, “they were introducing me to Drob.”
“Are you okay?” Lightning Dasher asked.
She nodded slowly. Just by looking at her physical status, Sparklefly wasn’t sure that they could depend on her if they managed to attempt an escape.
“The rest of the squad?” Twilight asked.
“Regal Masquerade and Nimba are dead; Cloud Blazer’s hurt,” Sparklefly replied. “You already know that Nitro was a changeling. His real name is Ash Eater, and he is still alive. I’m not sure about the others. I expected to rendezvous with them later, but I can’t even tell what time it is down here. If they followed orders, they may have left the forest by now.” It occurred to Sparklefly that some of the other prisoners could still be changelings; she decided it was best to only give vague information.
“So you lied,” Silver Spoon spoke up. “There is no rescue coming.”
Murmuring and a sinking feeling again flooded the room, Sparklefly was about to try to bolster everypony's spirits again before it gave way to panic when she heard a metal catch click. It sounded like a lock being opened. Turning to the sound, Lightning Dasher was removing the manacles on his front legs. He immediately went to work on the hind leg restraints. The room went silent again as he worked it free in a matter of seconds with another click.
“How did you?” Sparklefly asked.
Winking at her, he shrugged with a grin, "Family trade secret. My dad's a locksmith."
He approached Sparklefly and began working on her chains. She bent close to whisper in his ear.
“What’s the call and response?” she asked so only he could hear.
If he were a changeling, he wouldn’t know the call word, let alone the response.
“Applesauce,” he whispered into her ear.
“Starswirl,” she whispered back.
Relief washed over Sparklefly. She knew that there was at least one pony in the room she could trust without reservation. He had her chains removed very quickly, and then he freed Princess Twilight.
Twilight said, "Well done, Lightning Dasher," as her manacles fell away. "Can you get us past the door?"
Without even glancing at the door, he said, "Without a doubt."
He then began moving about the room to loose all of the prisoners from their bonds. Sparklefly paid close attention to this process. She had wondered whether any changelings among them might have been not actually chained, but no evidence of this was given. As Lightning Dasher finished his work, Sparklefly said, "Everypony, stay where you are for now. Put the manacles back on, but don’t lock them. That way, the changelings won't suspect anything is amiss.”
Princess Twilight hung her head, closing her eyes for a moment. "We have to get back to Ponyville. Then we'll return in strength to deal with these changelings."
Sparklefly said, "That's the plan, ma'am."
Silver Spoon asked, "Lightning Dasher, if you could pick the locks the whole time, why did you waste so much time just sitting here chained up?”
“Tactics,” he replied. “You’ve got to know when to move and when to keep your cards close to your chest.”
Sparklefly said, "In any case, well done, Lightning Dasher."
The yellow stallion strutted over to the iron door, cautiously looking through the bars to see if any changelings were about, and then he went for the lock.
Sparklefly watched intently as he worked. She asked, "Princes Twilight, did you find out anything useful since you’ve been down here?”
Twilight shook her head, "No, they've been interrogating me since I was captured."
Silver Spoon interrupted, "Why haven't they just killed us all?" Everypony turned to stare at her. Even Lightning Dasher left working on the door and looked at her. She was answered with silence initially.
"They can't," Twilight finally replied. "They can shape shift into us, but they can't take on the form of anypony that's dead."
Sparklefly said, “That follows, otherwise there’d be no reason to keep us around.” Another thought struck her with a certain amount of horror and she blurted out, “That means Nitro is alive, somewhere."
"Yes, somewhere," the princess gravely replied.
Lightning Dasher went back to work on the lock.
“Did you suspect changeling involvement from the beginning?” Sparklefly asked.
Twilight sighed, “No... I had no idea. In all of our discussions nopony, not even Hope’s Glimmer had even suggested the possibility.”
It was at that moment that Sparklefly remembered what Princess Hope’s Glimmer had said after the battle at Canterlot. ‘That forest is filled with death. Eight are true; only four walk out.’ There had been nine members in Twilight’s squad. Nitro was a changeling, which only left eight, the ‘true’. After that initial battle, Sparklefly, Pibs, Scootaloo, and Lightning Dasher were the only four left still standing. Cloud Blazer lived, but he had to be carried out, and Twilight didn’t make it out because she’d been captured. A shiver ran up Sparklefly’s spine.
A commotion in the room outside the cell caught everypony's attention. In a flash, Lightning Dasher had quietly spun around the rock face and away from the door where he could have been seen. There was shouting and the sound of hooves stamping and running. Silence returned moments later, and Lightning Dasher peered through the door again before resuming his work. Sparklefly looked to Twilight, who shrugged back at her. Sparklefly quietly removed her shackles and crossed the room to Lightning Dasher.
“This might be our chance,” she said.
“I know,” he replied tersely.
“You need to hurry.”
“I know!”
There was a rather noisy clicking sound as the lock on the door gave before Lightning Dasher’s efforts.
“Hah!” he exclaimed.
“Great work,” Twilight said.
Sparklefly ordered, “I need the rest of you to stay here for now. We’ll go assess the situation.”
Princess Twilight removed her chains and joined them at the door. Sparklefly nodded at the yellow stallion, and he swung the door open slowly. As soon as they were able to squeeze through, the three silently worked their way into the next room, which was empty. Four doors were in this room, two of which were opened on the far wall. The other two were cells, one of which they had just been inside. There were several cups of water and apple cider on several long tables, but several of them were only half-empty. There were also plates of unfinished oats. Whatever had caught the attention of their captors, it required immediate attention. Sparklefly felt herself smile. It would seem that Scootaloo and Pibs had arrived outside. A noise to the left, her blind side, impelled Sparklefly to drop to the ground. No sooner had she done this than a blast of magic impacted against the wall. The noise of rock splitting deafened her for a moment as a shower of rocks rained about the room. Sparklefly moved low around the table toward her right; Lightning Dasher went left. She found herself face to face with Drob. Sparklefly got her head covered just as he sent a blow into her. She spun, landing against the wall. Princess Twilight charged in between them to defend Sparklefly. Lightning Dasher came up from behind, but Twilight blasted him with a green magic that threw him crashing into one of the tables. It fell over, sending everything that had been on top scattering across the floor. The stallion flipped over it as it fell and landed on the far side. Then Twilight turned around, her eyes glowing green with changeling magic.
“Sorry, but I’m afraid we’ve tricked you again,” the changeling impersonating Princess Twilight said.
While stunned by his revelation, she wasn’t rendered unable to act. Sparklefly quickly swept the ground with a kick, knocking the changeling down. Drob came at her, and the mare rolled aside and charged to the other end of the room. He grabbed her from behind, tossing her like a rag doll. Sparklefly fell down against another table and rolled to the floor. She jumped back to her hooves to see Drob coming at her again. She grabbed a drink from the table and threw it into his face, then quickly darted beneath another table. Scrambling toward one of the doors, another blast of magic, this one from the changeling Twilight, zipped through the air. It burned metal as it struck the other prison cell door. Drob was coming around one side, and the changeling Twilight around the other. Sparklefly was trying to summon the strength to fight them, but she had already pushed herself to the breaking point throughout the day; each subsequent fight was getting harder. Since Drob was closer, Sparklefly flipped the nearest table, charging at him with it. He stopped her with seemingly little effort. Lightning Dasher leapt over the table with a battle cry and thundered across the room. The Twilight impersonator fired at him, but he rolled underneath the blast and came up with a hard uppercut that caught her squarely in the jaw. She wobbled and fell to the ground. Drob tossed Sparklefly, but quickly using her wing power, she was able to lessen her momentum before hitting the wall. Lightning Dasher spun and unleashed a two-hoof buck directly into Drob’s side. The massive changeling grunted and reared back, bringing down a powerful fore hoof that caught Lightning Dasher’s flank. The stallion collapsed beneath the blow. Sparklefly rushed toward him to buy a little time. She hit Drob repeatedly in the flank. The massive changeling simply turned and thew a hit across her face. She blocked, absorbing the impact in her fore-leg. It worked; Lightning Dasher was up. He took advantage of the distraction and leapt up, striking Drob with a right hook. It was the same place that Sparklefly had managed to head butt him earlier. The large changeling staggered backward and fell over. Lightning Dasher barely had time to grin before the other changeling shot him in the back. A powerful blast of fiery magic ripped through his body. Lightning Dasher’s expression quickly went from one of pride to surprise before going blank as his smoldering body collapsed to the ground. There was nothing Sparklefly could do; he was killed instantly.
“Now, back to your cell!” the changeling said, her magical horn smoking after that discharge.
A battle-cry surprised both of them, and another Princess Twilight flew out of the second prison cell at high speed, smashing into the changeling impostor. The two tumbled over, crashing into a table and falling to the floor. That’s when Drob got back up. He grabbed Sparklefly from behind and picked her up by the throat. She began throwing wild punches, several of which connected with his neck and head, but she just didn’t have the strength to do enough damage to him. With blood flow cut off, Sparklefly’s vision began fading. Lightning Dasher leapt into view and tackled the massive changeling. Sparklefly fell to the ground, gasping for air. She must have been hallucinating; that was the only explanation. She wasn’t. When she looked up, there were four Lightning Dashers all beating Drob, who was putting up quite a struggle. One of them managed to get onto his back and grab him in a head lock. The brutish changeling fell, but his attacker didn’t let go. Another Lightning Dasher helped Sparklefly up.
“You...” she couldn’t find words.
He winked at her with a grin, “According to plan, like you said.”
Turning to the Twilights, two more Lightning Dashers had put a stop to their fighting. They both looked as identical as one might expect, which was more than a little disconcerting.
“Sparklefly, I’m the real Twilight,” one of them said.
“No she isn’t, I am! I trained with you in Cloudsdale,” the other objected.
“Stop!” Sparklefly said. “We don’t have time to play this game right now.” To the Lightning Dashers she said, “Keep an eye on them. Knock them out of they try anything.”
“Okay,” both of them answered in unison.
It was difficult to tell which was more upsetting, multiple Lightning Dashers or a changeling Princess Twilight. Sparklefly walked over to the other door and discovered that it was a small armory that had several dozen sets of EUP armor. Her armor was not here; most of the pieces stored inside were damaged from magical burns. Likely, these had been taken from scouts that had ventured too close to the forest.
“Lightning Dasher, Dashers,” Sparklefly shook her head. “We’ve got a couple of dozen sets of armor in here; gear up.”
It was a very simple matter to find harnesses, as they were designed to be adjustable. Armor was a little more difficult to find a good fit, but they managed. Within moments, Sparklefly felt a little more like a soldier again. The group of Lightning Dashers and their Twilights went out into the main chamber of the cave. Flabbergasted might be the word Sparklefly would have chosen to describe how she felt when she saw the mirror pool. There were already several hundred Lightning Dashers inside this chamber, possibly more than a thousand crammed into the cave. They were guarding the exit and keeping watchful eye around the room. There were scores of dead timberwolves laying near the pond, as well as several of the Lightning Dasher duplicates. The entire cave shook as the ground rumbled, sending ripples across the mirror pond. Sparklefly looked up instinctively, but there was nothing to see. They would have to go outside.
“Listen up,” Sparklefly said. “It’s time to take care of the changelings here. The six of you, guard our Twilights down here until it’s safe. The rest of you, don’t forget that we’re trying to find Scootaloo and Pibs out there. Kill any changeling or timberwolf you come across.”
“Yes ma’am,” they all answered in perfect unison.
“Alright then,” Sparklefly replied. Her heart was pounding in anticipation. She then cried out the order as loudly as she was able, “Charge!”
Thousands of hooves thundered up the ramp and into the tunnel to join the fight that was going on outside.
...
Scootaloo simply stood there in complete shock at what she was witnessing. The forest was blazing, and burning bits of the changeling net were already falling like snow flurries all over, quickly becoming nothing more than ash. Smoke filled the air, but the clearing where the fighting was happening was relatively safe from the flames, which were moving away due to a light breeze in the failing daylight as dusk had overtaken the sky. All of this was being ignored by the pegasus as she stared ahead. Out of the ground, hundreds upon hundreds of duplicates of Lightning Dasher poured and charged directly into the changeling force that was killing the ursas. The larger of the two, the ursa major, had already fallen. The baby was badly wounded; it wouldn’t last long. The changelings, realizing that they were under attack turned around and unleashed a savage barrage of magic, quite literally blasting hundreds of the Lightning Dashers to bits. They kept coming. The changelings managed to set up a firing line with nearly military precision, but the incoming duplicates of the pegasus spread out, coming from both sides to turn the flanks. The fury of the magical fire increased. More copies of Lightning Dasher flew straight up into the air and charged down. One got through, crashing into the enemies before he was killed. The ursa minor dropped to the forest floor with fatal wounds as timberwolves jumped upon it, ripping at it with their sharp teeth. At the same time, the changeling reservoirs of magic began to fail. A few more Lightning Dashers got through and began a melee struggle against changelings and timberwolves alike before being killed and pushed back. The Lightning Dashers kept coming. Panic swept through the group of changelings, and a dozen or so fled different directions into the forest as the rest continued battling hoof to hoof. Scootaloo could plainly see that the changelings were outmatched. Barely a moment later, hundreds of Lightning Dashers surrounded them on all sides. The outnumbered enemy put up a fierce struggle, but only briefly. In a matter of minutes, every changeling and timberwolf in the area was lying dead on the ground.
“I never imagined...” Pibs said.
The injured pink mare had managed to stand, but she didn’t put any weight on her broken leg.
“Come on,” Scootaloo said.
For the moment, the fighting was over and all was quiet but for the sporadic sound of coughing as the wind rushed in to feed the flames that crackled and consumed the vegetation. The pair of ponies worked their way through the bushes and toward the Lightning Dashers. Several of them spoke at once.
“Stop.”
“Stop.”
“Stop.”
Looking to each other, the closest of them stepped forward, “Applesauce.”
“Starswirl,” Scootaloo and Pibs said together.
That closest Lightning Dasher grinned and turned around, “I found Scootaloo and Pibs!” Looking back, he noticed Pibs’ left fore leg. “What did you do?”
He darted to her, and three more of his copies also came.
“She broke her leg in the fighting,” Scootaloo said. “I straightened it and made a splint.”
“You idiot!” he said, smacking her upside the head.
“Hey!” Scootaloo yelled back, ready to fight.
Lightning Dasher undid the bandage that tied the splint on; Pibs whimpered from the pain.
“First of all, you didn’t set this properly,” he chastised Scootaloo. “Second, you tied this so tight that she had no circulation. Are you trying to make sure Pibs loses a leg?”
Scootaloo’s face flushed in embarrassment. The four Lightning Dashers quickly found some smaller and straighter sticks to use as splints.
“This is going to hurt,” the one said to Pibs.
Two of them held her down while the one that spoke repositioned her broken leg. Pibs let out a scream through gritted teeth that felt like a knife stabbing Scootaloo. The fourth came back and they worked quickly to immobilize the appendage with their new splints. Pibs went limp, apparently having passed out.
One of the Lightning Dashers that had been holding her down said, “Seriously, did you even pay attention in basic field medic training?”
Anger began burning inside Scootaloo, but her attention quickly was taken when she saw Princess Twilight emerge from the underground. Scootaloo trotted quickly ahead but stopped short when she saw another princess follow her out. With the two of them were six more Lightning Dashers and Sparklefly, whose bandaged eye was soaked red. As for the duplicates of Lightning Dasher, there had to be still more than two-hundred milling about, not counting the dead that lay strewn about the forest floor. There could have been a thousand bodies. The living copies were forming a perimeter, and the majority of them were unarmed. The six, not to mention a few others, wore damaged armor. Two Twilights was a problem. How could they tell which one was the real one? They looked identical. One of the princesses looked up and smiled. Scootaloo glanced upward to see open sky above that grew darker with each passing minute. The fire, which was burning toward the south, had cleared the netting away. This would make their escape back to Ponyville much easier. A magical discharge caught Scootaloo’s attention, and she dropped into a combat stance and raised her crossbow, which wasn’t loaded. One of the Twilights had shot the other with some kind of magic from her horn. The other staggered backwards in a daze as the Lightning Dashers forcibly restrained the attacker. The victim fell over, and her facade fell away to reveal that it was a changeling. Scootaloo wasted no time loading her crossbow and closing the distance between them. One of the Lightning Dasher’s got there first. The changeling shrieked and blasted him with a bolt of magic, nearly taking his head off. He ducked out of the way and Scootaloo fired. The arrow lodged in the changeling’s chest, and it slumped down unmoving.
“I wish you hadn’t done that,” Sparklefly said.
Scootaloo looked at her, puzzled.
“I know you had to, but we might have been able to get some information from her.”
The Lightning Dasher that she had nearly killed stood up, a nasty gash on his cheek running horizontally under his right eye was bleeding freely.
“You okay?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yeah,” he replied, applying pressure to the injury. “That figures. I did it to myself.”
“Well, considering you nearly lost your head,” Sparklefly began, “I’d say it’s a small price.”
“Scootaloo!” Princess Twilight said.
Her guards released her and she ran to the pegasus and gave her an embrace.
“You brought ursas?” she said, backing away; she looked impressed.
“Well, you know,” Scootaloo said, feeling very proud of herself. She knew she needed to give credit where it was due, “It was Sparklefly’s idea.”
Timberwolves began howling somewhere nearby, which put everypony on alert.
“We have to go,” Sparklefly said.
“Alright, let’s get into the air,” Princess Twilight said. “Get the rest of the prisoners and let’s head for Ponyville!”
Scootaloo was dumbfounded to see how many ponies the changelings had already captured, most notably Silver Spoon. The howling drew closer, punctuating the need for alacrity in their evacuation of the site. Scootaloo hooked Pibs, who was now awake, to her harness; the group took flight through the gaping hole that they had burned through the changeling’s net, leaving behind at least a thousand dead copies of Lightning Dasher that were piled on the forest floor. Princess Twilight let out a blast of magic toward the entrance to the cave. The ground rumbled and smoky dust shot out of the hole. The group, several hundred strong formed up and headed west just as the last hints of daylight were failing. Once in formation and moving fast over the forest, they turned slightly to the north toward Ponyville.
“I cannot commend you all enough,” Twilight said. “You’ve shown some real tenacity and creative thinking to get us out of this mess. What is our status; where are the others?”
Sparklefly looked to Scootaloo, who realized that she must again fulfill her role as sergeant of the squad.
“Nitro was a changeling,” Scootaloo began, “Nimba and Regal Masquerade are dead. Cloud Blazer is wounded,” she paused, again having to face the concern that threatened to overpower her ability to think straight. She took a breath and continued as they flew away from the taste of smoke and death, “We left him with Zecora and Sweetie Belle; they are treating his injuries.”
“You found them?”
“Yes, ma’am. They’re safe for now, but we’ll need to go pick them up once its light. Ghastly Gorge is no place to be flying in the dark. Besides that, I don’t think it would be safe to move Cloud Blazer.”
“I see,” Twilight said, a hint of sorrow on her face. “How long had Nitro been tricking us?”
“His actual name was Ash Eater,” Scootaloo began.
“Is Ash Eater,” one of the Lightning Dashers interrupted with a scowl on his face. “He fled into the forest before we overran their position. He lives.”
Sparklefly answered, “If we can believe what he said, he had replaced the real Nitro after he was chosen for your squad. They knew everything about our mission that we knew.”
Twilight’s expression became even more grave. "That can only mean that there are other changelings already in Cloudsdale, and probably throughout Equestria."
Scootaloo said, "That explains a lot."
"What do you mean?" Pibs asked.
Sparklefly answered, "Canterlot didn't fall from timberwolves. There were changelings on the inside that took down the shield. They must have been thwarting our efforts to defend the city all along."
Looking directly at her, Scootaloo said, "Thwarting? Really, Sparklefly? But you're right; that means we need to get back to Ponyville at once. If they're already under attack-"
Sparklefly finished, "They won't hold out long with barely two platoons and no shield."
“Then there’s no time to lose,” Princess Twilight said. “Let’s move, ponies! Don’t spare the horses!”
As they increased speed, Scootaloo asked, "What about the mirror pond? Did you destroy it?”
Twilight replied, ”No. I collapsed the entrance. That will slow them down, but there's nothing we can do about it right now. My magic isn't strong enough to undo it on my own. I’m going to need the others.”
This was a somewhat unsettling thought, but Scootaloo wasn’t concerned by it. The fact that they had unravelled the mystery concerning the changelings and how the timberwolves had multiplied was enough for now. She tried to not think about Cloud Blazer, Nimba, and Regal Masquerade, but it was difficult with nothing to occupy her mind as they sped toward Ponyville. It made her heart heavy, but the loss only hardened her resolve. If so much as a single changeling or timberwolf got in her way at Ponyville, she was determined, fueled by a slow-burning rage, to personally smash every last one of them.
...
Sparklefly urged everypony on as they hurtled back toward Ponyville as fast as their wings could carry them. It was a very unpleasant flight for everypony, especially when they first flew over the burning Everfree Forest. The air had been thick with smoke and ashes, blinding and choking all of them. Sparklefly had made a rough count of the Lightning Dashers. By her estimate, there were somewhere in the neighborhood of three-hundred of them left. Many had minor injuries, but they would have to deal with them after they landed. Ponyville came into view; the shield had already collapsed.
Princess Twilight ordered, "Give me one pass of Ponyville so we can assess their situation!"
"Copy that," a close Lightning Dasher acknowledged.
Scootaloo had just come up beside them again, "Twilight Squad, form up on us!"
The Lightning Dashers moved into formation, with Twilight leading the group with Silver Spoon and the rest of the rescued prisoners being carried by Lightning Dashers; this was cumbersome without harnesses. They were going to attempt to head to the castle, provided it was a safe place to land. They had to find the other Silver Spoon and expose her as a changeling. Undoubtedly, she would be the one responsible for the collapse of the magical defensive shield. A flare shot up into the night sky, brilliantly illuminating the town a pale blue-white. Fluttershy’s house on the eastern edge of town had already been overrun by timberwolves. The edge of the forest had been destroyed, the downed trees having taken a great number of timberwolves with them. Brax's forces were holding the the enemy at the river. There were only eighty-four of them total. Twelve Pegasi, eight unicorns, and sixty-four earth ponies was the total force that had been stationed at Ponyville. It seemed to Sparklefly as though their numbers had grown a bit. She saw many unarmored ponies with the defensive line. It looked as if some of Ponyville had come out to defend the town.
Probably three quarters of their earth ponies, and at least six unicorns were holding the river on the east side. The unicorns were spread out along the line, blasting the timberwolves with their magic. The river was slowing the beasts down, and the ones that were making it across weren't lasting very long. One squad of the Pegasus ponies were engaged on the north side of town, where a group of timberwolves was attempting to cross the railroad tracks to get around the river. More of the stick-dogs were heading that way, but their numbers hadn’t massed thick anywhere yet.
“We need twenty to go down and reinforce the chokepoint at those railroad tracks!" Sparklefly suggested.
Scootaloo looked down and then pointed at a group of unencumbered Lightning Dashers. "Consider yourselves under command of the ponies in charge at that position until we meet up again. Move out!"
"Yes ma'am!" they responded in unison, heading down for the battle.
Coming around left, they said goodbye to Princess Twilight’s group, which consisted of thirty Lightning Dashers and twenty-eight rescued prisoners. They were taking those they'd rescued to Twilight's castle, which was still safe. As Sparklefly and the rest of them came over Sweet Apple Acres, Sparklefly's heart sank. In the moonlight she could clearly see what had to be thousands upon thousands of timberwolves coming from the northwest. Where they had come from was baffling, but irrelevant; they were here. This side of Ponyville would be much less defensible, and they didn't have much time.
Sparklefly called out, "Alright, this is where we are going to have to join the battle. Sweet Apple Acres is where we'll make our stand." Pointing at one of the Lightning Dashers, she said, "I need you to fly to Cloudsdale, as fast as you can. Tell them that Ponyville is under heavy attack. The enemy force numbers in the thousands, and we need all available reinforcements immediately. Go!" He sped away. She pointed at another Lightning Dasher, "I need you to inform Brax of our situation. Let him know that we've got massive incoming from our flank off of Sweet Apple Acres; if he can spare a unicorn or two, we'd appreciate it. Afterwards, I want you to circle to all positions and keep us all advised as to how the other positions are fairing. Go!"
Scootaloo was beside Sparklefly, still carrying Pibs, she surveyed what was about to become a battlefield. "We're going to need high ground," she said.
"Yes, do you know any good spots?” Sparklefly asked.
Scootaloo gazed intently at the orchard. "It's all hills, nothing too steep. There is a sort of ridge that runs through the middle there, but the slopes are pretty gentle."
Sparklefly said, "That'll do. Listen up, Twilight Squad! We've got to protect Sweet Apple Acres from the timberwolves. Form up a fighting line on that ridge. We do not let them pass, understood?"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" two-hundred and forty-two Lightning Dashers answered in unison.
And so they flew down, landing in the middle of the orchard. The Lightning Dashers quickly spread out into position as Scootaloo unhooked Pibs.
“So we hold here?” Scootaloo said.
“Yes,” Sparklefly replied. “With any luck, they’ll get the shield back up and buy us some time.” Looking over at Pibs and her broken fore-leg, Sparklefly considered their options. “If they don’t get the shield back up, we’ll be in trouble. Pibs, I want you to round up all of the civilians in the city; get all of them into the castle. If we aren’t able to hold this, that’s were we’ll fall back.”
“Okay,” Pibs said, her voice a little shaky as she turned and flew away into town.
“Take a Lightning Dasher with you, and see if there’s anything in the armory we can use!” Scootaloo ordered.
Two of the copies that were nearby followed Pibs into town.
If Sparklefly hadn't seen the timberwolves heading in, it would be a very peaceful night to be in the orchard. A soft and cool breeze gently tickled the tops of the trees. Sparklefly had little time to appreciate such things; she was far too nervous in anticipation of what was about to happen.