Chapter One
Chapter One
Equestria
The Everfree Forest was…actually rather pleasant today, to be honest. While it did have the unfortunate tendency to take care of itself, rather then be taken care of by ponies, the forest seemed peaceful. There were no Timberwolves, cockatrices or other monsters lurking, as this seemed to fine a day to really do much pony munching. It was perhaps this cheery atmosphere that helped to make Apple Bloom feel a bit less apprehensive about coming to the forest. At least this time it was high noon, instead of the middle of the night. Still, she eyed the trees warily, just in case something popped out at them.
“Ya know, we really should be practicing fer the Equestria Games.” She pointed out, still trying to find a way to wiggle out of this adventure. Sure, she liked adventure as much as the next filly, but the thought of the Equestria Games…
“We’ve been practicing all week! It’s time we did a little Crusading! And I know just the place to go to get an explorer Cutie Mark!” Scootaloo said from her place in front of the pony line.
“Isn’t the old ruins dangerous though?”
“Oh how dangerous could it be! Rarity took Fluttershy there, of all ponies!”
“She does have the Stare, Scoots.” Sweetie Bell pointed out. “It’s not like she’s helpless.”
“I know, but she still scared of everything! If a shy pony like her can make it there and back with no trouble, we can do it to! Besides, they’re even cleaning the place up! How dangerous can it be?”
Apple Bloom shook her head. Once Scootaloo got an idea like this in her head she wouldn’t let go of it. And…to be honest after hearing all the stories that Applejack told about the place, Apple Bloom was a bit curious about it as well. Surely a little peek wouldn’t hurt? It wasn’t that far into the woods, Zecora was just a few gallops away in case they got into trouble, and if they didn’t linger they’d probably get home in time for Apple Bloom’s evening chores.
Apple Bloom perked up a bit when they trotted across the bridge to the other side, and caught the sight of the ancient ruined castle. Despite the recent efforts to clean it up, the place still was falling apart. Looking down Apple Bloom could glimpse a small root coming out of a cavern underneath the ruins.
“…how ‘bout we avoid the Tree of Harmony and just go into the castle, okay?” Apple Bloom said.
Scootaloo laughed. “Scared of a tree?”
“Ain’t you scared of a tree with evil tentacles?” Apple Bloom asked. “I’m just sayin’ we shouldn’t push our luck.”
“Oh come on! Twilight and the others took care of the tentacle thing!” Scootaloo huffed.
“Weren’t they roots though?” Sweetie Bell pondered.
“Oh who cares! Come on! Let’s find something the others haven’t seen before! Maybe we should check the back!” Scootaloo started across the bridge. “And watch out for the Pooony of Shaaddowwws!” She snickered.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell looked at each other and rolled their eyes. The two trotted after their hotheaded friend. It was a good thing at some point somepony had fixed the bridge. Big Mac probably could have easily trotted over it now, when before it had been rickety and crumbling. But now that the former Element Bearers were restoring it, the bridge had been rebuilt, courtesy of Applejack.
The palace didn’t look nearly as dark and terrible as Applejack had described it, at least not with the noonday sun sparkling through the cracks and gapes in the roof.
“Well…what do we do now?” Sweetie Bell gazed around at the huge tapestries of Celestia and Luna.
“We…poke at things.” Scootaloo said, marching over to a dark corner to ruffle through an ancient fallen chest of drawers. She emerged with an ancient frilly robe that crumbled into bits.
“Aww, this is borin’ Scootaloo…” Apple Bloom wandered back down to stairs to the outside. She breathed in the fresh air and shook her tail. “Borin’ ol ruins…”
Apple Bloom’s head jerked up as she…something, dart away in the corner of her eye. She turned towards it, just in time to see something dark and black skitter around the corner. She lifted her ears and, curiosity overtaking her, followed the specter.
“Apple Bloom, did’ja find something?” Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo peeked out of the castle at her.
“Ah think somepony’s here with us…follow me.” Apple Bloom marched around the corner. The three of them followed the wall around the to back of the ruins. They found themselves at what at first appeared to be an overgrown field. Branches and vines covered the place, overtaking what appeared to be sets of statues. Apple Bloom picked around a statue that looked a bit like Luna, especially with the moon carvings around the base. She blinked at what looked like an arch, overgrown with weeds.
“Hey…does that look familiar to ya two?” She titled her head. The other two walked up next to her and tilted their heads at it as well, in the same direction as Apple Bloom.
“…hey, it looks like the Canterlot Palace Gardens! You know, back when we took that fieldtrip before Discord got loose!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“Hey yeah! But why would they have a copy here?” Sweetie Bell asked.
“Maybe the one in Canterlot is the copy after they abandoned this one here! Come on, let’s check it out!” Apple Bloom, momentarily forgetting about the shadow she saw, galloped under the arch, ignoring or dodging the weeds.
“Wonder why no one’s ever explored this part.” Scootaloo followed at Apple Bloom’s heels.
“Maybe they thought it was just a part of the forest?” Sweetie Bell shrugged.
Apple Bloom grinned. This was finally getting fun! They were bolding exploring the unknown! Maybe this would be the day they got their Cutie Marks!
“Hey, if this is a maze…why isn’t it turning?” Sweetie Bell asked.
“Ummm….I don’t know. It’s…just a path with a bunch of bushes on either side…” Scootaloo paused a bit. “Weird…hey, look, there’s another arch up ahead!”
Scootaloo was right. Up ahead of them was another arch like arrangement of plants. Apple Bloom paused at the base of one of them and pulled at the vines with her teeth. She wanted to see what was under it. The vines tasted horrible, and clung stubbornly. However, eventually they gave. She blinked, realizing what was in front of her.
“Girls…I’m starting to think this wasn’t just a garden…” She said. “I think these arches were stone, all the way up…”
“Apple Bloom, look.” Scootaloo pointed with a hoof. Apple Bloom turned her head and her eyes widened.
Before them was another building, separate from the ruins of the castle. It was circular, but above the cylindrical base extended the broken ruins of a tower. A vine covered, upside down steeple lay on it’s right side. Clearly this had once been a tower, but it had been broken in half, and the trees surrounding it now covered it from sight, keeping it hidden. Two moss covered statues of what appeared to be Pegasus warriors flanked the gaping entrance to the tower.
“Let’s check it out! This is huge!” Scootaloo grinned wide and charged in, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell following, identical huge grins on their faces.
Due to the top of the ancient steeple being missing, the light flowed into the room they found themselves in very nicely. In the very center of the building was a raised dais, on which stood a crumbling stone table of some sort. On the walls were ancient carvings, moss covered just like the rest of the place. Still, it appeared that the moss had not totally taken over in here. Apple Bloom studied one. It showed three ponies, a unicorn, an Earth Pony and a Pegasus surrounded by what appeared to be ghostly, skeletal forms of horses. After squinting a bit, and knocking off some of the moss, Apple Bloom exclaimed.
“Hey! It’s Hearth’s Warming Eve!” She pointed. “Ya know the story! Those must be the Windigos!”
“They look a lot scarier…” Sweetie Bell said. Indeed the elongated fangs and icy breath on the carvings made the Windigos look much more horrifying then they did in the plays.
“It’s like the glass windows at the castle Applejack told me about! The ancient ponies musta carved their history on these walls!” Apple Bloom.
“So, its like a library?” Sweetie Bell asked.
“Hey, what’s that?” Scootaloo pointed to the other end of the room. “There’s more inside.” She started towards the archway in front of them, dodging past the crumbling stone table in the middle.
“She just can’t sit still and look at one thing at a time…” Apple Bloom sighed and followed her friend. “Wait up, Scootaloo!”
They entered a long hallway, lined with rusted suits of armor, some for each race of pony, and each clutching a spear or a lance in their left hooves.
“Wonder why they all are carryin’ weapons in their left hooves…” Apple Bloom wondered aloud.
“Maybe the Princesses had a thing for south hooves?” Scootaloo chuckled.
They came to the end of the hall, and Apple Bloom blinked. In front of them were two statues. Both of unicorns. But…the one on the right was odd. It was…fat. The pony statue was of a clearly overweight pony, with thick legs and huge muscles. The unicorn had fading blue paint on her mane, and on her flank was adorned with five flowers, of the same fading blue as her mane. The statue was rearing on its hind legs, extending a hoof towards the other Unicorn statue. The second unicorn was a more normal looking mare, though the stance was the same. Apple Bloom blinked and all of a sudden recognized the figure.
“The one on the left…Princess Platinum…but who’s this fat unicorn?”
Scootaloo wiped off some of the moss from the statue’s stand. “In honor of…Queen…Majesty the first. May the Rainbow always connect.”?
“I don’t remember a Queen Majesty…” Sweetie Bell shrugged. “And what’s that about rainbows?”
“Sonic Rainbooms!” Scootaloo jumped up, wings fluttering.
“Ah doubt it…” Apple snorted. She studied the door. Carved in the ancient wood was what looked like a rainbow, extending across the door. One the left side was what looked like a mirror, touching the rainbow as if the two had been connected. She followed the rainbow with her eyes, and noted that the other side of the door was a similar mirror touching the other end of the rainbow.
Taking a deep breath she pushed the door with her hood. It creaked open.
This room, unlike the others, was dark. A small circular room with columns, but in the center was a beautiful, shimmering mirror, covered with jewels and glittering all on its own. The surface seemed to shift and move like water.
“G-girls…is that…” Apple Bloom gapped.
“It is! It’s a portal mirror!” Scootaloo lifted higher into the air, and for a moment it seemed her wings would finally lift her into the air, but she dropped down a few seconds later. “A portal mirror! Oh this is so cool! Wait till Rainbow Dash hears about this!”
“Guys…I think we should go back now.” Apple Bloom said nervously. “Lets just go back ta Ponyville and tell Twilight. She’ll do a real study of this place. Besides, she’s the one that dealt with that other world before.”
“Yeah…I remember Rarity telling me what happened to Twilight over there and-“
“Just one peek! One peek! I heard those stories too! Canterlot High isn’t dangerous! We just have to make sure we don’t run into our huy-man doubles! Come on! Aren’t you guys a bit curious after hearing all those stories.”
Apple Bloom sighed heavily. Yes she was a little curious after listening to Twilight talk about her adventures in the huy-man world. Princess Celestia, although she didn’t want the others going to that other world, hadn’t told Twilight she could not tell her friends of her adventures. In fact, the tale was now one of the CMC’s favorites, if only because the human world of Canterlot High was so alien and strange. It was clear that now that they had found a second portal…of course Scootaloo wanted a peek.
And to be honest, so did Apple Bloom.
“Alright…one peek. Ya hear me, Scootaloo! One. Peek. Then we go back to the farm and tell my sister.”
“Yeah yeah, sure sure, sister! Let’s go! As one girls! Cutie Mark Crusader world explorers!”
Apple Bloom stepped up next to Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell took her other side. The filly trio, as one, stepped their hooves across the mirror’s surface, and Apple Bloom felt an odd tingle run up her body as he hoof vanished. Then, a pulling sensation as the three of them were pulled inside, as if there was something sucking them in. Apple Bloom screamed as the tingle ran all across her body. She suddenly wondered what would happen to them if the connection was damaged. Would they end up just going through the other side? Or would they be lost in some magical limbo? Why did she agree to this! Oh this was dumb! So dumb! She felt herself tumbling end over end, the prismatic colors of a rainbow flashing before her eyes. It felt like she was tumbling end over end over a rainbow. Up, up, then down, down down! She screamed, but no sound came out…
Until she felt her back connect with hard ground. Scootaloo ended up on top of her, and Sweetie Bell soon landed on Scootaloo.
“Ow! Get off!” Apple Bloom struggled. She managed to wiggle out from under her two friend and shook her head. “Ya guys need ta stop eatin’ at Sugar Cube corner all the time!”
“Girls…we’re still ponies…and this doesn’t look like a school. It…it’s a cave.” Sweetie Bell rolled off of Scootaloo and looked around. “It’s a very dark…cave.”
Apple Bloom looked around. “Okay…cave. And we are still ponies. We’ve had our peek. Let’s go back now.”
“And you call me a chicken.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes.
“I ain’t a chicken! Ah just have more good sense then ya do, Scootaloo!”
“Aw, you’re just a bucking coward an-“ Scootaloo kicked backwards, hitting what at first Apple Bloom had assumed was a rock.
Until it moved.
The rock moved and uncurled itself. Apple Bloom blinked at a strange, alligator like muzzle. The thing was about their size, with razor sharp teeth, huge claws, and sleepy eyes. It almost resembled an armadillo, but with a long snout. It yawned at them, licking its fangs. It snorted.
Apple Bloom shrieked and, instinctively, turned her back to the creature and bucked it square in the jaw. The creature reeled backwards, then shook its head. It roared at them, lifting up on its feet and snorting, clawing at the ground with a horrible grunting bellow.
“Run!” Apple Bloom charged into the cave, followed quickly by Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell. She heard the monster roaring behind them, following them.
“Faster!” She bellowed.
“Wait!” Sweetie Bell stopped. “We can’t just charge into a cave! Wait!” Her horn glowed, and a portion of the roof beginning to shine the same color as her horn.
“Are you crazy, you’re going to bring the whole cave on our heads!” Scootaloo bellowed.
“I’ve done this with Rarity before, don’t worry! We aren’t that far from the surface! I can feel it!”
“Well ya better hurry it’s coming!” Apple Bloom shouted.
“Just got…there!” Sweetie Bell grinned as a section of the roof separated and collapsed just as the beast was gaining on them. Apple Bloom wasn’t sure if the thing was buried or not. All she could see was open air. For a moment she wondered if the creature had really been hostile…but then it had bared its fangs at them. If it didn’t want to eat them it should have said so! Still, she hoped it was alive. Either way, she followed Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell out of the shallow cave to open air.
She looked around. It was a forest, similar to the Everfree but…it was not. Despite the Everfree’s chaotic nature, that forest had always seemed…alright. Dangerous in the past, but in this modern time it was almost…approachable. This place felt different. Even the trees felt different to her.
“Where are we?” Sweetie Bell asked.
“Well, we ain’t in Ponyville anymore…” Apple Bloom said with a gulp.
This was bad. Very bad.
The creature was called a Stoneback. He could not talk.
If he had, he could have told the strange fillies he meant them no harm, though he was very annoyed by the pain in his nose. That filly was strong! Most ponies were, though. Stronger then you would think. It was why Stonebacks liked ponies. Not like annoying Furbobs. Furbobs were…not as good friends as the Stonebacks thought they would be. Still, the Stonebacks would not attack a friend, no matter how annoying.
But ponies were better friends. He couldn’t understand why friends had kicked him.
The ponies needed to know. The ponies would help their rude fillies.
The tunnel would have to be fixed though.
The Stoneback turned and started to tunnel a new path. Flutter Valley. It was close. Very close, and the ponies would be there for the sun party thing of theirs. Like years ago, back when the Stonebacks made friends of them, and they celebrated the return of the Sun Stone together.
It would be good to be back.
As Celestia started to lower the sun in the sky, Applejack was just finishing pulling the last cart of apples into the barn for the night. The tough Earth Pony unhitched herself from the cart and exited the barn, kicking the door closed with her hind hoof. She looked around, a frown on her face.
“Where ta hay is that filly…” She snorted. She knew that Apple Bloom had left the farm earlier to play with her friends. Actually Applejack assumed that her sister was going to practice her routine for the Equestria Games. However, Apple Bloom had been gone way to long.
Big Mac trotted up from the other side of the fields, his own frown matching his sisters.
“No sign of her?” Applejack asked.
“Nnope.”
“Ya checked everywhere?”
“Eyup.”
“Even the clubhouse?”
“Eyup.”
“Not even the other two?”
“Nnope.”
Applejack stamped. “I’m gonna go talk ta Rarity, see if she knows anything, or if Sweetie Bell made it home. Ya hold up the farm here, okay Big Mac?”
“Eyup.” Big Mac nodded and paced around the barn, still frowning in worry for his little sister. Applejack picked up her lasso from its place on the fence and looped it around her saddlebag. She had a good idea of where her rambunctious sister might have gone to, and if she was right that little filly was going to be in for a world of hurt…
By the time she had galloped into Ponyville, Luna had already begun to raise the moon, and a few stars twinkled merrily the sky. As she crossed the bridge Applejack took a brief moment to admire the Princess of the Night’s work. After considering what happened last Nightmare Night, and thinking about the Nightmare Moon incident, Applejack found herself sympathizing with Princess Luna’s feelings of being unappreciated. After all, the Princesses both worked hard for ponykind, and it was sort of a shame that one of them had been slighted for so long. So Applejack felt that it was the least she could do as a friend to just admire the younger alicorn’s work. However, she only lingered for a second. The darker it got, the more worried she became.
As soon as she trotted close to Carousal Boutique, the door flung open with a burst of unicorn magic. Rarity practically leapt at Applejack.
“Where is she? Tell me she spent the day with you at the farm!” Rarity looked mildly frazzled, her usually perfectly maintained mane starting to fall in a mild state of disarray.
Applejack shook her head. “Apple Bloom hasn’t been back since noon, and ah ain’t seen hide nor hoof of ta other two, what about you?”
“Nothing since this morning! Oh Applejack I’m so worried about the three of them! Where do you think they might have gone?”
“Well, I know Apple Bloom likes visitin’ Zecora. Maybe they went there?”
“Let me get my saddle bags.” Rarity ducked back into her shop, and a few second later emerged with saddle bags full of…who knows with her? Applejack suspected it was beauty products, but then again it wouldn’t do much good arguing with the fussy unicorn. After all, even though Applejack found Rarity’s habits silly, the Element of Generosity was still a good ally when the chips were down, and while Applejack would have preferred someone like Rainbow Dash or Twilight, the fact was she wanted to find her sister fast. If only-
“Hey guys! You having a midnight party!?” Out of whatever subspace she seemed to inhabit when she popped out of nowhere like this, Pinky Pie was suddenly there, bouncing in front of them.
“Ack!” Applejack jerked a bit. “Pinkie! Have you seen Apple Bloom and her friends?”
Pinkie paused. “Hmmmm, nope! Not since this afternoon! They looked like they were heading for Zecora’s!”
“Well, they haven’t been back. Rarity and I are gonna go ask Zecora if she’s seen em. Can you go tell Twi and the others? Ask em to catch up with us at the hut.” Applejack asked.
“Okie dokie!” Pinkie bounced away towards the library. Applejack sighed and nodded to Rarity.
“Let’s get a head start. It’s still star spider season. They don’t come out durin’ the day, but at night…”
Rarity nodded, and the two of them galloped for the forest.
“I am afraid they are not here. Although I do think, something bad is near.”
“Whatja mean, Zecora?” Applejack asked.
“As I said, they didn’t pass this way, though in the ruins, something dark hold’s sway. A strange creature I have seen, with a odd magic, and translucent bug wings.” Zecora looked towards the castle ruins, frowning.
“Wait! Bug wings…odd magic…ya can’t mean Changelings, Zecora!”
“I am not sure, I have never seen such creatures. And they are careful to hide most of their features.”
Applejack stamped. “The ruins ya say? We gotta check it out!”
Rarity nodded. “Oh when I find that Sweetie Bell…thank you Zecora, we really appreciate this.”
“I will keep watch, my friends, just in case trouble comes around the bend.”
Applejack nodded. Secretly she wondered why the zebra kept up the whole rhyming scheme. It seemed like it would be a hassle to keep up that speech pattern all the time. Still, it seemed to work for Zecora. Giving one last thanks to Zecora, the two ponies turned down the path to the ruins.
“…ya think maybe we’ve taken this place fer granted…” Applejack said.
“Whatever do you mean, Applejack?” Rarity asked.
“I mean we’re always telling the girls about our adventures here, and we keep coming here over and over…I think maybe Apple Bloom and her friends have forgotten how dangerous it can be here…”
“…hmmm, familiarity breeds contempt…you might have a point, Applejack. I supposed I might…overdramatize the forest a bit…
“Ya overdramatize everything…” Applejack rolled her eyes.
“I do not overdramatize, I merely express myself without hesitation.”
“Oh really?” Applejack placed her hoof over her forehead and, with great drama and airy tones, gasped out “This is the WORST! POSSIBLE! THANG!”
Rarity huffed. “It’s not my fault that happened to be week I was asked to make the dress for Madam le Pompadour in the Ponyville Players production. I was merely trying to get into the mind of the character to construct the perfect outfit.”
“Of course, Rarity.” Applejack chucked.
The two of them approached the ruins, both of them falling silent as the great crumbling castle loomed before them in the darkness. Both them felt the strange sensation of being watched…
They were right.
The creature’s wings buzzed as it noticed two of the hated ponies entering the ruins. And what was worse, it recognized them. Two of the Elements of Harmony. Well, the Elements, from all accounts, were gone now. But the two of them…might still cause a problem, and an opportunity.
It looked two its two compatriots. “My my, the gate is getting a lot of visitors. First the fillies from our end, then the group from your end, witch, and now Element Bearers.” A black, holed hoof pointed at the biped. “You, keep watch.” He ignored the creature’s sneer. He didn’t like the hate filled being any more then it liked them. Still, they were necessary. He turned to his brother. “I think the one with the bow, yes? Just like before?”
His bother nodded. With a shimmer the second creature shifted, and before them where a horrible, inscetoid pony thing had been was a small copy of the missing Apple Bloom. The first creature, the Changeling, nodded and shimmered as well. It was not a hard change to do. All he had to do was change his body and wings. Before them now stood a slender, long limbed blue pony with a pair of glittering, butterfly wings, like the one he had seen before.
“This should turn them against Dream Valley.” The faux Flutter Pony grinned. “Be sure to scream nice and loud, brother.”
The other Changeling nodded as the first scooped him up in his jaws. The two of them fluttered to the back of the ruins. Creeping up, the faux Flutter peered around the side of the castle, noting the two Element Bearers talking about their missing foals. His brother wiggled a bit.
“You ready?” The fake Apple Bloom asked. The faux Flutter nodded.
“HEEEELP! BIG SISTER, HEEELP!”
The Changeling ducked away as he heard the clattering of hooves. He stood there, legs spread and defiant, as Applejack and Rarity turned the corner. The two gasped, and then glared at the thing before them.
To them a Flutter Pony was completely and utterly alien. The slender form, the butterfly wings, and the oddly pointy head made the creature before them seem like some sort of monster. A pretty monster, to be sure, for a Flutter Pony could never be described as ugly, like a Changeling could, but the two Equestrian ponies had learned long ago to not judge a book by its cover. Though this creature was pretty, it was clearly foal-napping Apple Bloom.
The Changeling turned Flutter Pony ran, heading for the ancient spire and its mirror portal. It worked to dodge the lasso tossed at him by the enraged Applejack, and just barely managed to zip out of the way. Under the arches, and into the main building, he could tell his pony pursers were barely noticing that they had never been to this particular place in the ruins before.
The Changeling leaped over the ruined stone table and charged down the hall, kicking a few suits of armor down as he ran, to slow the ponies down. He knew now there was nothing eh could do to stop them, and indeed he didn’t want to stop them, but he knew that he had to make it look like he was trying to escape them. He charged through the open doors and leaped through the mirror, Rarity and Applejack hot on his heels.
The Changeling kept his eyes closed, not willing to subject his eyes to the whirl of the rainbow path. As soon as he felt his tail hit the rocky surface of Dream Valley he spread his Flutter Pony wings and leapt into the air, almost colliding with the ceiling. He hesitated, as the Equestrians emerged from the portal.
“Ya monster! Ya let her go!” Applejack attempted to jump up and grab the Changeling by the hooves, but he ducked down and ran through the cavern. The cave entrance should be around here, and…yes! Bless those stupid Stonebacks and their incessant tunneling! They made the perfect escape route! He could see the moon’s light shining from the other end of the cave’s tunnel. Ducking past stalactites and stalagmites, the faux Flutter erupted from the cave and began to flutter his way to Flutter Valley. The captured foal in his mouth suddenly shifted forms, transforming into a small bird and dropping to the ground. The faux Flutter grinned, seeing that he was coming up on the main section of Flutter Valley, and he could see the Ponylanders. He couldn’t tell which Ponylander from which, but thanks to the witch, he could speak the Dream Valley Common tongue.
And he would bet his last bit of stolen love that the Element Bearers below him did not.
He landed and began to run, dragging his wings behind him. “Help! Help! They’re going to hurt me!” He tripped, hopefully not to overdramatically, over a rock, and tumbled.
As quick as a flash Applejack was on him, bucking him in the chest. “Where’s ma sister ya varmint! I-hey!”
“Leave her alone!” A white unicorn with a five maple leaves…Cutie Mark? The Changeling wasn’t sure. Either way the unicorn was charging at the Element of Honesty, ears back and teeth bared. A gust of wind picked up, throwing Applejack off the Changeling. The Ponyland Unicorn leaped over the Changeling, standing over him protectively. “Watch out, Morning Glory!”
Ah, so that was this bodies’ name. What was even better, Applejack was staring at the unicorn with surprise. “What ta hay did’ja just say?”
The unicorn blinked. “What the…Applejack?...no...you can’t be…Applejack wouldn’t attack our friends! What kinda monster are you!”
The Changeling suppressed a grin. As he thought. The Element of Honesty could only understand Equestrian, while the maple leaf unicorn could only speak Dream Valley Common. As long as neither discovered the truth…
The Changeling began to cry crocodile tears. “They took the others! They almost took me! Don’t let them hurt me!”
“We have you, Morning Glory! Don’t worry!” A pink Flutter Pony landed near him, giving him a brief nuzzle. She looked up and glared at Applejack. The Changeling could feel a distinct feeling of love coming from the pink Flutter Pony. Not bright sweet taste of romantic love, but the fierce tang of sibling love.
All around them Ponylanders were charging forwards. Two pegasi landed on either side of the maple unicorn, one of them a pink one with a compass Cutie Mark, the other a yellowish one with masks. The yellowish one charged Applejack, headbutting her. Applejack snarled and turned, bucking the yellow Pegasus in the flank. The Pegasus jumped back and went in for another shot.
“Applejack! What’s wrong with you!” The Pegasus shouted.
“Subdue her, Masquerade!” Another Pegasus, blue with a pink mane and a set of whistles for a Cutie Mark, landed near the Changeling and the pink Flutter Pony. “Whatever madness has overtaken them, they may yet be cured!”
He had to nip this in the bud. “It’s not Applejack! It’s some sort of monster! It...took her form!”
The blue Pegasus looked at him. “Whatever do you mean?”
“…I saw them! They killed Applejack and stole her body!” He wailed. “They’re going to do the same for the others! That’s why they look so strange!”
The Changeling suppressed a grin as he felt a wave of horror overtake the Ponylanders. This horror increased when Rarity charged up, grabbing up Masquerade with her telepathy and flinging her aside. She began to shriek at the Ponylanders, demanding the return of Sweetie Bell, but to the Ponylanders all they heard was some sort of shrieking odd gibberish. Already primed, the group of them charged. Even the pink Flutter Pony joined in. The maple leaf unicorn charged Applejack again, dodging the farm ponie’s flying hooves and giving her a harsh headbutt to the side, her horn scraping down Applejack’s side. Clearly the unicorn now meant business. Rarity turned and shrieked at the maple unicorn again, and attempted to grab the aggressive unicorn by the tail with her magic. The unicorn snorted and winked over to Rarity, who eeped at the sudden teleportation. The maple unicorn raised up on her hind hooves and slammed Rarity’s shoulders. The Element of Generosity staggered back, shocked and clearly not used to such aggression from a fellow unicorn.
For a moment the two Equestrians stood there, snorting defiance at the Ponylander mob. The two were bruised, battered and clearly outnumbered. Rarity turned and whispered something in Applejack’s ear. The other nodded and they turned and galloped away.
“Whizzer! Masquerade! North Star! Gingerbread! After them!” The maple unicorn bellowed. She turned and charged back to the Changeling and his two ‘protectors.’ “Morning Glory, what happened?”
“We found a…ah..oh come and see!” The Changeling jumped up. He knew that he couldn’t let the Ponylanders find the gate. Or, if they did, they must never come back from it. “I’ll show you all, but we have to hurry! There might still be time for the others!”
The pink Flutter Pony nodded. “I’ll go after the bobble heads. You’re safe now, Morning Glory.” The Flutter Pony…well fluttered, and headed after the group chasing after Applejack and Rarity. The Changeling sighed. Still, he had to work fast. He got to his hooves and started to trot back to the cave. The two remaining ponies whinnied at his sudden movement and followed.
“Morning Glory, do you not think we should alert your Queen?” The blue Pegasus asked.
“No time.”
“…Hey, there’s only three of us, how many are we going to have to fight?”
“There are only a few.”
“And yet they subdued Draggle, Fizzy and Surprise? I…have a hard time giving this credence. Fizzy may act silly, but she is more powerful then she knows, and she could easily escape from a small force, to say nothing of what the other two are capable of…Morning Glory are you…quite sure?” The blue Pegasus gave the Changeling a look. The Changeling speed up, hoping running would keep the noisy pony from cracking his scheme apart.
The unicorn snorted at him. She turned to her Pegasus companion and whispered in her ear. The Changeling started to gallop. He just had to lure them far enough to the cave…
Yes! Finally! The Changeling darted through the cave, not letting the two Ponylanders catch their breath and question him. He skidded to a stop next to the mirror and lay down as if exhausted.
“I…promise I’ll bring the others…but please! I know the two of you can help them, and we’re losing time!” She gave the blue one a desperate look. “Don’t you care at all about them?”
The blue one gave him a measured look, then she nodded. “Very well. But I am not done speaking with you, Morning Glory. You are acting most out of character.” The blue one gave a toss of her head, and stepped through the portal, followed by the maple marked unicorn.
The Changeling grinned as a small bird flapped next to him, then changed into his partner. “Time to move the mirror. Lets take to the Volcano. Right into the dungeons, I think.”
“Should have taken it there in the first place.” The second Changeling said.
“Eh, it worked out. Now both groups will be at war. They’ll be so busy fighting each other it will be to late!” The first Changeling removed a stone from the mirror and it powered down. If the two ponies were lucky they would be on the other side when it powered down.
If not…
To bad.
Applejack and Rarity slid to a halt and looked behind them. They had run for a bit, and ended up on the edge of a strange looking, Everfree like forest. Applejack had to leap a bit over a hole in the ground, almost breaking her leg. “I think we lost em.” Applejack said, looking over at the gouge the big unicorn had taken from her hide. “That mare was built like a guardpony!”
“The uncouth monsters!” Rarity gasped. “I didn’t see our sisters in that crowd. What could they have done with them?”
“I don’t know, but we need ta find out. We gotta be stealthy this time, though. They’ll be expectin’ us now.”
“Wait a minute! Look!” Rarity stood up and walked forwards. “Is this what I think it is, Applejack?”
“Lemmie look.” Applejack stood and walked to where Rarity was. “Tracks! Filly tracks!”
“Could it be them? Maybe they escaped!”
“Might be. Let’s follow em and see. Besides, not sure them aliens ain’t behind us…”
“Aliens?”
“Well, they don’t look like proper ponies, do they? With them pointy heads and them heavy bodies…almost looked like stallions, cept them necks of theirs. Freakish…” Applejack shook her head. “Wouldn’t mind, mean they can’t help what they are, but they’re also fillynappers!”
“Agreed, Applejack. Shall we go?” Rarity asked.
“Right, let’s get moving, sugarcube.”
The two of them followed the hoofprints, unaware of the hungry eyes watching them.
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Ah, some good old fashioned conflict between the two characters, interesting choice of Applejack and Rarity being the ones to make 'first contract' with the Dream Valley ponies. Also got a kick out of the Rarity and Applejack being called bobble heads, always figured that a conversation between Rainbow Dash and Gusty would go something like this: Rainbow: Why are you guys so fat? Gusty: We're not fat, you guys are just super skinny goat looking things with big ole bug eyes!
So yea, this was a very good chapter. Liked how the ponies kept their different physical appearances and commented on it, further highlights the differences between their worlds.
3962602
Oh make no mistake. I like Megan as well. I just really wanted to highlight more of the under appreciated G1 ponies in this. This is by no means an anti-Megan fic.
Both groups are going to be "at war" with each other, but the only way they can meet more than a hooffull is now going to be locked up in a dungeon and switched off. Just a distraction to get everyone's forces looking the wrong way? or is the answer covered under "SPOILERS"?
3963083
If I told you it wouldn't be spoilers now would it?
Hmm... gotta say, the CMC being the catalyst for this is... a bit worn for me. Sorry. Just old hat for me by now. Also, *Smacks Scootaloo HARD* Applebloom has more common sense in one hoof than you do in your whole BODY!
3965363
I actually don't read many fim fics. I really just watch the show. Well, shows. So I wasn't aware of their being overused. Hopefully the story itself will be good enough to make up for it.
3965422 Sorry. It's just... for me it got old. Otherwise it's a good chapter. I liked the language barrier!
That fight scene was confusing!