Friendship was always there

by Skyeheart

Gone in a flash

The trees continued to thicken as Nectar led the group on.

"Ooh, check that out. I don't think I've ever seen a plant like that before."

Another flash from Twinkleshine's camera caught the foliage on film...with Minuette doing a little pose next to it.

"That's a lot of pictures you've taken so far," Lyra pointed out.

"63 since we arrived in Ponyville, and an additional 15 starting from when we entered the forest," Moondancer recited.

"What can I say? Photobooking's a family pastime for me," Twinkleshine said. "My grandpa got this camera since he started field reporting for the Canterlot Sun. Can you imagine how many snapshots he took with it? There's at least a dozen full albums of his life's articles on my shelves."

"And triple as many scrapbooks of yours..." Lemon Hearts noted.

Twinkleshine just giggled. "When I see a moment I want to remember, it goes in the camera! You never know when there a chance to make a one of a kind memory in your life! That's why wherever I go, it goes!"

Twilight shushed the mares from behind her. "Quiet! Have you all forgotten Nightmare Moon is somewhere in this forest hunting for us? Along with any other beast that happens to like the taste of pony?"

"Actually, this part of the forest is always deserted," Nectar pointed out. "I've seen manticores and cragodiles avoid wandering through his particular area like it's plagued."

"That sounds oddly perturbing," Moondancer pondered. "Any reason why?"

A skittering noise too faint to be heard by them approached from above, then there was a silent twang.

"I dunno. This is the first I've been through here as well, but it is the shortest way to the castle. I know that much."

*twang* *twang*

"Maybe one of your books has a clue?" Lyra suggested. When she got no answer, she turned around to address the ponies in the rear. Except there were no ponies in the rear.

"Moondancer? Twinkleshine? Lemon Hearts? Uh, girls? Half our group just went splitsville..."

Everyone abruptly turned around to see the open emptiness behind them.

Twilight could only sputter in shock. "What?! But...that's..."

*twang* *twang*

"Alright bug, what's the big idea? This path was your idea so-" Lyra's voice trailed off as she now saw the front end of the group was gone too. "Uh...miss changeling? Minuette?"

Twilight turned back around to find that Lyra's fears were well founded. "O-okay Lyra. Let's just remain calm. Stick right by my side and don't leave my sight..."

*twang*

Twilight's hoof felt nothing but air beside her. Swiveling her head and body all around, she found she was completely alone in the darkened, untrodden path. And yet the feeling of loneliness was the furthest thing from her mind.

She could feel her breath start to quicken. Don't panic. Don't panic. Your guide and group have vanished one by one for some unknown reason, and what's happened to them is unknown as well. But panicking isn't going to help figure out their whereabouts. Calm down and look at all your options. There's been no disturbance of any kind from any of the directions you've looked around, so the only places left to look are-

*twang*
She suddenly felt something very sticky cover her entire back.
-above.

A feeling of vertigo overtook her as her body snapped upwards at a breakneck speed, ending abruptly as it started with a full body smack against a ceiling of webs.

"Hmmf! Urrrrgh!" Try as she might, she could only barely wiggle her limbs against the sticky mesh that entrapped her.

"Twilight!"

Twilight strained her neck up to see each of her companions splayed against the webbing near her in a similar fashion.

"I think it's safe to say we now know why everything else in this forest avoids this route," Moondancer stated.

Lyra craned her neck over her neighbor, the webbed up Nectar. "It was a trap! You did trick us!"

"If this was my trap, do you think I'd be stuck with you up here?" Nectar deadpanned.

Lyra expression softened. "...Good point. So whose trap is this?"

"Theirs I believe," Lemon Hearts said looking up.

They all looked up to see a band of eight legged creatures, each with different stripes and markings, varying in size, although every one of them was at least a pony and a half in girth. Their two front limbs seemed to be shorter and resemble pony hooves, and their heads and torso were also vaguely equine shaped. The similarities ended there though, as the rest of the anatomy was completely spider-like in appearance, including the eight eyes that locked onto them and the pincer jaws that seemed to drool venom.

Nectar's eyes bugged out as she quivered in fright. "A-a-a-arachne..." she squeaked.

"Arachne?" Twilight asked.

The others looked to Moondancer, who raised an eyebrow to that, then sighed. "A master weaver race, known as the queen of all spiders. Barely sentient, their bodies are evolved for hunting, not intelligence. Very few among the species can communicate with more developed races, although there have been rumors of a more elder branch with their own civilization, but no definite proof. Methods of catching prey vary between breed and nest, but all digest their catches the same way; they use their highly caustic venom to dissolve the insides of their victims in order to drink the nutrients down their needle thin throats."

"Too much information that time," Minuette said, suppressing a retch.

"Alright, hang on girls, I'm teleporting us out of here." Twilight's horn glowed, but the feeling of power soon seeped from her head down to her limbs and out her body. "Huh? What? I can't use my magic!"

"Mana webbing," Moondancer observed. "Arachne thread serves as an excellent conduit for magical energy. Many mages and alchemists use it to diffuse magical overcharges in experiments, the arachne themselves use it to disable any magical defenses their captured prey may have."

"Nectar seems particularly unnerved at them," Twinkleshine noticed.

"A-arachne eyes are completely immune to glamour, they're the one creature we can't hide from or sense," the changeling whimpered. "Our only defense against them is numbers, it's why we have a saying to our nymphs: Always swarm, never scatter, lest the lurkers of the web catch you alone."

She flinched as a particular drip of venomous drool fell near her. "When my hive fell, before I found Ponyville, it was always my greatest fear, any changeling's greatest fear, to remain alone. Because there's only one end for a changeling that's alone, at the jaws of the arachne. N-now it seems...my fear's finally come true."

A warm hoof wrapped around her's, and she looked to see Lemon Hearts straining over to reach her from the right.

"It's not come true yet, cause you're not alone."

Her smile caused the tiniest of ones to reciprocate from the changeling, which soon widened as a pale green stream of mist seemed to seep out of the unicorn's body and into hers.

"Everyone! Quick! There may be a chance! Right now, think about the ones you love the most, and don't stop!"

"Huh? What will that-" Twilight started.

"When I said a changeling's sole defense against arachne was numbers, it didn't have to be other changelings. Now hurry! They're closing in!"

Without any more hesitation, the mares closed their eyes and began to concentrate. Within seconds, six strong streams of energy started to flow out of them and into Nectar.

The arachne hissed, sensing something was up, and quickened their approach. But just as the lead one was a leg's reach away from the changeling, her horn erupted in a flare of green fire. The webbing around the six ponies burned in the green flames as the hunters fell back, screeching in pain.

The six mares and changeling fell to the ground, free of the webbing. Twilight shook her lightheadedness off as she clambered back onto her hooves.

"How...how did that work? I thought you said their mana webbing stops all magic from working."

Nectar caught her breath. "Changeling magic isn't just mana though..."

"It's emotion," Moondancer recalled. "Psychic energy collected from our thoughts. It wasn't a compatible form for the webbing to hold, that's why she was able to burn it up."

"Cool..." Minuette breathed. "So...we're safe now."

"Not yet. Now comes part two of the plan," Nectar explained.

"And that is?" asked Lyra.

With several soft thumps, a dozen eight legged predators loomed over them. One gave a very angry blood curdling scream at their escaped prey.

"Run."

A cacophony of screeches echoed through the grove as the mares hightailed it away from the hungry spiders.

"How...long...do we have...to...do this?" Lemon Hearts panted.

"They won't chase us beyond their territory," Nectar called back. "We'll be a wasted effort to them at that point."

Lyra ducked to avoid a spat webbing aimed at her. "They're chasing us from the trees too!"

"Any chance we have a plan B to this?" Twilight cried. "Slow them down perhaps?"

"Um...oh! The possum reflex!" Moondancer exclaimed.

"The what?" Minuette asked.

"All spiders have a nervous system where the ganglia are tied closely to their legs, it's what gives them the sensitive precision in handling their sticky threads, the arachne are no different. If a sharp enough stimuli is given to them, they'll seize up and cause the muscles to relax, effectively putting them in a sham-death position for a few moments."

"So, what? Bonk 'em in the right spot hard enough and they'll play dead? How are we going to do that to a whole group that all over the place?" Lyra asked.

"Gah!" Twilight took at unfortunate time to trip over a rock in the path and fall back.

The lead arachne seized the chance an gave a great pouncing leap at her, jaws wide open with venom foaming.

Twilight shut her eyes and braced for the end.

"Smile and say 'seizure' longlegs!"

Twinkleshine's camera flew right into the face of the pouncing spider, and with a quick bolt from her horn it exploded in a banging flash. With a sudden halting cry, every arachne closing in on them instantly flipped on their back and curled their legs inward.

By the time they could stand up again, their hunt was nowhere to be found.

---

"We should be well outside their range now," Nectar assured the group as they finally stopped to rest.

"Whew! Good thing I carried the model that uses flash powder!" Twinkleshine said.

Twilight approached her somberly. "I'm...I'm sorry. Because of me, you had to...had to..."

"What? The camera? I can always get another one."
"But...but it was your grandfather's..."
"And he bought it from the bit store on the discount aisle. In fact, they're still selling the same series there today at an even cheaper price!"
"All those photos you took, your precious memories..."

"Still got 'em in here." Twinkleshine knocked her noggin. "I can always make new ones if I want anyways. But I certainly can't make a new you."

"Well, thank you," Twilight admitted. "For doing that for me."

Twinkleshine just shrugged as their changeling guide began to lead the group again. "Hey, anything for a friend."

Comments

[Regreme]

Interesting. Though, I'm of the opinion that the Changelings' transformations are physical, not glamour. HOWEVER, I could still see them as a threat to Changelings with those mana draining webs. After all, takes mana to transform and maintain a transformation.

Hmm... Perhaps my concepts here for them will interest ya: http://regreme.deviantart.com/gallery/

[Proper Prose]

So heartwarming. I wonder who each of them thought of when giving Nectar energy.

[Skyeheart]

6484448

Technically, I believe it's both. Strong enough illusions can actually be physically manifested, and changelings I think on a biological level have the ability to manipulate their genetic makeup with their magic, it stacks to make it more convincing.

But they're both still a class of magic, and the point is, transformation or illusion, arachne eyes can see through all of it because they can see the magic.

[Regreme]

6484624 Makes sense.^^ I think that the transformation is physical, since the series has many examples of physical transformation being easier than mental. Buuut, wouldn't be surprised if young changelings practiced illusions till they learned to control enough of their magic to learn to transform without hurting themselves in the process.^_^

[Emperor]

So Lemon Hearts reaffirms being Kindness, and Twinkleshine is Generosity, eh?

Man, it's weird seeing Books Horse being upstaged, even if it is by Books Horse Recoloured. Still not too sure who'll be the real Element of Magic, if it'll be Twilight as usual or if we get a plot twist and it's actually Moondancer.

[fractalman]

This chapter was AWESOME

Especially the changeling-feeding scene.

[redmar]

This was a good chapter. There is another story about the canterlot 6 as element bearers by the way.
It's called sisters in all but blood.

[keaton-furman-prower]

So far, We've seen Lyra (Loyalty), Lemon Hearts (Kindness), and Twinkleshine (Generosity).

Three down, three to go. Let's see who's next!

[Persona22]

6484500 Pretty sure Lyra was thinking of Bon Bon and Twilight about Shining Armor.

[Frankie2]

Twinkleshine...Generosity. Which means Moon Dancer will more than likely be Honesty.