• Published 27th Jul 2014
  • 9,262 Views, 387 Comments

Chitin - Feo Takahari



Twilight just revealed every changeling in Ponyville. There are more of them than she expected. Way more.

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Things ain't always what they seem to be

To Applejack, the library basement looked creepier than usual--though that wasn’t saying much. Charts and figures lined every wall, meticulously tracking factors like heart rate and blood pressure. There were several new machines scattered across the room, and Applejack had no clue what any of them did.

She, Rarity, and Twilight were gathered around a large cage, just big enough to fit a pony inside. A large green cloth covered it, but she could tell there was light coming from inside. The alicorn was grinning a little too widely, while Rarity looked oddly intrigued. As for Applejack . . . well, she was used to stuff like this.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve invited you here today,” Twilight said.

“It has something to do with the cage, right?” Applejack guessed.

“Applejack, you must allow a mare her dramatics!” Rarity admonished. “No, Twilight, I have no idea why you’ve invited us here.”

“I’d better check first, just to be safe,” Twilight said.

Twilight’s horn glowed, and light played over Applejack and Rarity’s coats. For Applejack, it tickled slightly. If it felt like anything to Rarity, she didn’t show it.

“Neither of you have been replaced by changelings in the past thirty days,” Twilight continued, “so I can show you . . .” She yanked the cloth from the cage, revealing a curled-up changeling reading a Daring Do book by the light of a small lamp. “. . . her.”

The changeling gazed up at them, blinking as her eyes adjusted. “I was just getting to the good part,” she said, her voice sounding like two ponies talking slightly out of synch with each other.

Applejack was dumbfounded. “You’re keeping a changeling in the basement?”

“It’s in accordance with all laws and customs regarding prisoners of war!” Twilight announced, sounding oddly proud. “Queen Chrysalis never trades hostages, so after Delta Three here tried to abduct me--remember that, Rarity? It was about two months ago. She pretended to be Rainbow Dash, and she panicked when you said Rainbow Dash was in Cloudsdale. Anyway, I let her choose between staying here or in the Canterlot dungeons. Fluttershy feeds her, I give her books, and I get to study changeling magic. Princess Celestia approved it and everything!”

Rarity glared hard enough at the changeling that Applejack half expected her to catch on fire. “I remember you. I tore my dress while teaching you a lesson. I couldn’t fix it in time for the Winter Ball.”

“Just doing my job,” Delta Three said nonchalantly.

“So what do you need us for?” Applejack asked, still somewhat bewildered.

“I’ve been trying to make a better disguise-removing spell. If either of you was a changeling who’d been disguised for more than thirty days, that spell would have done nothing. It took a lot of studying, but I’ve made one now that combines crystal magic, griffon-style runes, and Delta Three’s own unique properties.”

“So . . . what do you need us for?” Applejack repeated.

“If the full spell works as intended, all changelings in Ponyville and the surrounding region will be unable to disguise themselves for up to three hours, depending on how close they are. For this test run, I’ll make it smaller--it shouldn’t go past the library walls. Still, I’m combining styles of magic that were never meant to be used together. This wouldn’t even work if I wasn’t a Princess, and since nopony’s ever done it before, I can’t be completely certain it won’t go wrong. I need you two as spotters.”

“Twi, I’m an earth pony . . .”

“Applejack!” Rarity snapped.

“It’s all right,” Twilight said. “I’ll be using a circle of standing crystals for the spell. If something goes wrong, just kick one over, and the magic will disperse. Just be sure to kick it so it lands outward, not inward--inward will magnify the magic.” She glanced over to Rarity. “And only kicking. It’s dangerous to add magic to magic.”

Applejack didn’t know much about magic, but she certainly knew how to kick things. “Makes sense. But why both of us? And shouldn’t Spike be helping, too?”

“Unfortunately, the spell isn’t meant for dragons,” Twilight admitted. “My first test made him throw up. And I need two of you in case, well . . . how should I put this . . . .” She tapped her hoof on the floor awkwardly. “In case one of you turns into a potted plant.”

Both Applejack and Rarity recoiled.

“That only happened once!” Twilight insisted.

“It was actually pretty fun,” Delta Three said.

Twilight looked back and forth between Applejack and Rarity, meeting both their eyes while keeping her tone even and steady. “Seriously, it’s going to be okay,” Twilight assured them. “I’ve done a lot of tests, and there’s a very low chance anything will go wrong. I mean, if I really thought this was dangerous, I’d be doing it miles away from Ponyville. I just want to be careful.” Her smile was less manic this time, more friendly. “I trust you both to keep an eye out.”

“I can certainly do that,” Rarity said, “so long as I don’t become Equestria’s most fashionable rose bush.”

“I’ll try to tell you if I turn into a tree instead of a tree bucker,” Applejack added.

“Then I’ll just need two minutes to get ready,” Twilight said. “Oh, and we might as well review, just in case . . .”

-- -- -- --

Bright blue crystals, carved into standing shapes half Applejack’s height, stood in a neat circle around the cage. Painted lines ran across the floor between them in a complicated pattern.

“It looks . . .” Applejack struggled for a word. “Heavy-duty.”

“Well, it is very complicated,” Twilight said. “Is everypony ready?”

“Quite ready,” Rarity assured her.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Applejack said.

“Ready to betray my fellow changelings by revealing their identities,” Delta Three said.

Applejack stared at her. It wasn’t the words that surprised her, but the complete lack of emotion in them.

“Well, they did leave me to rot here,” Delta Three explained.

“Three, two, one,” Twilight counted. “Now!”

A line of purple light ran from Twilight’s horn to Delta Three’s, then changed shades to a sickly green. Twilight rose up off the floor, floating without flapping her wings, seemingly lost in a trance. Green fire burned across the painted lines, filling the crystals with a tainted glow. A wall of green surged outwards--

Applejack screamed.

It was like she was dissolving from the inside out. She could feel her bones liquefying and vanishing, while muscles and organs turned into goop. She almost fell, but as her fur burned away, her skin warped into a hardened mass that kept her upright. Small patches on her legs turned into gaping holes, and she swore she could feel the warm air that rushed through them.

Her scream was continuous, endless. The pain prevented intelligible words. But it wasn’t her voice anymore--it sounded like two ponies at once, slightly out of synch with each other.

With tremendous effort, Applejack clamped her fanged jaw shut and bonelessly lurched towards the crystals. But she misjudged her current weight and smashed headlong into one of them, knocking it inwards.

Rarity, who had been staring in horror, rushed forward as well, hook-kicking one crystal after another to knock them outwards. But it was already too late. Pain exploded from Applejack’s forehead and back, and her hat flew off her head, propelled by something pushing outwards. Then the wave passed through her, and the flames went out.

Twilight landed on the floor in a heap. It took her a moment to get her wind back. “You pushed the crystal inward! It was supposed to . . .” She looked over and saw Applejack, and she coughed and sputtered, her mouth opening and closing without another full word.

Delta Three laughed, a hideous buzzing noise. “Looking sharp, Element of Honesty! It’s a nice look for you!”

“I think I’d rather be a potted plant,” Applejack said. Then she collapsed to the floor in a faint.

Author's Note:

Edited by Razalon the Lizardman and Rakni.