Chapter 11: Reunion
“You have a fancy helmet. That means you are in charge, right?”
Cephalon didn’t answer to Starlight, mostly because he was still helplessly stuck inside the block of crystal.
The changeling captain felt like an insect in a jar of a collector. His squad was scattered all around them, most knocked out and the rest groaning in pain, weakly twitching their limbs.
How was it possible that they didn’t know about this? None of their intelligence had suggested that Starlight Glimmer was this powerful.
“Darling, perhaps you should let the poor thing out before you ask questions from it?” Rarity said, standing next to the other unicorn. “It can hardly answer to you from inside that block of crystal.”
Starlight sighed and nodded, conceding to Rarity’s point.
There was a flash of magic and Cephalon fell to the ground, the block of crystal gone in an eyeblink.
The changeling captain weakly struggled to his feet, only to be met by Starlight’s horn, glowing with unreleased magic.
“You are going to tell us everything you know,” Starlight said, narrowing her eyes. “At least, if you know what’s good for you.”
Cephalon smiled, standing more straight. Yes, Starlight Glimmer’s prowess in magic was surprising. But, she was still a student of Twilight Sparkle. No matter who they were, there was always one weakness inherent in the pony culture. Their compassion.
“I’m not going to tell you anything,” Cephalon said, raising his hoof to silence Starlight before she could speak. “But, I will surrender.”
“Maybe you didn’t understand me.” Starlight said her tone ice cold.
There was another flash of magic, this time accompanied by searing heat. Cephalon turned to look at a tree next to him, now with a smoking hole going straight through its trunk.
“I don’t care that you surrender, I only care about what you know.” Starlight finished, her brow creased.
Cephalon snorted, turning back to look at the unicorns. “Spare me your bluffs. You will not hurt me with your magic, much less blow a hole through me.”
The changeling captain smirked as he saw the confusion on Starlight’s face. “There is no way ponies, cohorts of Princess of Friendship in particular, would ever use harmful magic on anypony unless it was in self-defense,” Cephalon said.
Ponies torturing prisoners for information? Laughable! There was no way a pony could...
“Oh boy, you really don’t know anything about Starlight,” Spike said with a smile as he walked to them.
The changeling captain blinked, lowering his gaze to look at the baby dragon. Cephalon had ignored Spike, deeming the pet lizard inconsequential.
“What do you mean?” Cephalon asked, trying not to feel nervous. He had a nasty feeling that another surprise about these three was on the way.
“When we first met her, she enslaved a village and used magic to steal away cutie marks,” Spike said in a casual voice, smiling to Cephalon like he was telling a particularly funny story. “Last week she cast a spell on like, all of Twilight’s friends to do her bidding for an afternoon.”
“I still can’t believe I ruined that beautiful tapestry above the door during all that.” Rarity said, sighing and shaking her head.
Cephalon stood there with his mouth open, completely dumbstruck. Before the changeling captain could really process any of that, Twilight’s student continued:
“In short,” Starlight said, giving Cephalon an innocent smile as she straightened her mane. “I was kind of evil. I also spent a good while researching on how to make somepony's life as miserable as possible with spells. Settled on time travel."
Cephalon blinked again. None of this made sense! Ponies weren’t supposed to act this way!
Before the changeling captain could take his line of thought any further, Starlight’s horn started to glow again.
“So, unless you want to spend the rest of your life as a toad in the next pond we come across, which technically isn’t harming you by the way, better tell us what you know. Okay?” Starlight said in a sweet tone.
“B..but..that..” Cephalon stuttered, feeling adrift. The changeling captain’s gaze moved from Starlight’s unnerving smile to Rarity who just nodded to him encouragingly before starting to pick dirt from her hooves, ending finally in Spike who gave him a wide grin and thumbs up.
“Besides,” Starlight said while pointing at the dozen half-conscious changelings groaning behind them. “If you don’t talk, I’m sure that one of your drones will. At least after they see you thrown into a pond.”
Cephalon looked at all three of them, his shoulders sagging.
“Well, it hardly matters at this point. It is too late for you to do anything.” He muttered, trying to stop his wings from buzzing nervously.
“Our orders were to guard the bridge and prevent anypony from crossing. Any moment now, Ponyville will...”
Fluttershy’s hooves clumsily landed on the mossy ground of the forest floor. She felt the shabby leaves and dead twigs cracking under her. The other changelings landed gracefully around her, still in their formation even after making their way through the thick canopy of trees above them.
The young changeling queen rose her head to look at the familiar entrance of the hive, breathing out a deep sigh. Her wings felt like they had turned to lead. She could already imagine Chrysalis sitting in her room with more tea and lectures about the natural order ready.
Fluttershy took a step forward.
Or at least, tried to do so.
Instead, she fell on her knees, barely managing to avoid collapsing completely.
The young changeling queen cursed in her mind. She had lost count on how many times she had collapsed today.
However, this time she couldn’t rise up. Her hooves refused to move, as did her wings. All she felt from them was steady, burning ache and soreness.
Fluttershy blinked and looked down at her treacherous limbs, willing them to obey her. Again, there was nothing.
Suddenly, other changelings appeared around her. They looked at Fluttery and each other, uncertain. Finally, the helmeted captain stepped forward.
“Are you alright?” The changeling captain asked, looking just as worried as every other changeling present.
Fluttershy heard the very genuine worry in the changeling’s voice, taking reassurance from it. However, the only thing that mattered now was Rainbow Dash.
“Take me to Rainbow Dash, now,” Fluttershy said, imbuing her voice with as much authority as she could muster.
The changeling captain frowned, taking a step back under the young queen’s gaze.
“Ah, um...” the helmeted changeling mumbled before finally straightening his back, regaining his composure.
“Take her to the hive, I will tell the guards at the entrance to inform Queen Chrysalis immediately.” The changeling captain said, avoiding Fluttershy’s furious gaze by turning around and leaving to do just that.
The other changelings stepped closer. Fluttershy didn’t resist when she felt their hooves moving to support her, gently lifting her up.
Together, they made their way to the hive’s entrance, only to find the changeling captain in an argument with one of the changelings standing guard there.
“What do you mean they left?!” The changeling captain practically shouted, his expression frantic.
The gate guard, in turn, looked awkward, only more so when he saw Fluttershy and others coming closer.
“Well, since there was no word and...”
“We sent a messenger the moment when we found out that Queen Fluttershy was in Cloudsdale!” The changeling captain interrupted, his voice rising another pitch in volume.
The gate guard blinked, scratching the side of his head. “I have been here all night. We never saw any messenger.”
The changeling captain blinked, looking like he was about to collapse too.
“What are we supposed to do now?” He said as he held his hooves on the sides of his head.
“I will take it from here.” A deep voice interrupted from inside the hive.
First Captain stepped out, not wearing his helmet of office, the other side of his head covered in a bandage instead.
Fluttershy allowed herself to smile at the sight of a familiar face and at the fact that he was alright after Zecora’s attack.
“You?” The other changeling captain blurted out, narrowing his eyes. “You are the failure who allowed her to escape in the first place!”
First Captain didn’t flinch, tapping his breastplate with a metallic clank. “I’m still the ranking officer in here, Tarsus. Queen Chrysalis was displeased with me, but she didn’t demote me.”
The other changeling captain opened his mouth to retort only for First Captain to interrupt him.
“You brought us a queen on verge of starvation. Do you really want to argue about hierarchy right now?” First Captain said in a flat tone that brooked no argument.
Tarsus seethed but nodded, stepping to the side and lowering his head.
First Captain gave a sigh of either annoyance or relief, gesturing to the changelings now practically carrying Fluttershy.
“Come, we must take her to the cocoons. She must feed before it is too late.”
Fluttershy’s first instinct was to flatly refuse, but Rainbow Dash was there, along with all the other unfortunate ponies changelings had ponynapped.
Also, even talking felt like an effort at this point. Fluttershy felt like a candle on verge of burning out or a flower that was about to wither away. She imagined herself losing all color and collapsing into dust like burnt wood, the mental image making her shudder.
They quickly moved through the hive, dark tunnels looking much the same as earlier in the day. Yet, Fluttershy could feel that the mood in the hive was different.
It felt somehow more… relaxed. Now, with Chrysalis gone, it was like a lid was off. For starters, a lot more changelings just sat here and there, engaged in hushed discussions.
However, whenever changelings saw Fluttershy and the way they carried her across the hive, they all fell silent. The young changeling queen was certain that within minutes every single drone in the whole hive knew that she was here.
After what felt like hours, they reached another door made of that same green slime. Or rather, hardened goo, cold and rubbery. Fluttershy weakly turned her head and saw that a series of identical doors filling the both sides of the corridor. It almost felt like a vault of some kind.
The door in front of them didn’t look any different from all the others, but apparently, it was special in some way, judging from the two changelings standing guard in front of it.
First Captain gestured for them and the two changelings stepped aside, a soft green glow emanating from their horns as they turned towards the door, leaning their heads forward to touch the slimy surface. In response, the door slid open, revealing a small space behind it.
First Captain turned to Fluttershy, his expression neutral.
“Can you stand? I assume you want some privacy.”
Fluttershy blinked, tilting her head as she looked at the changeling captain. He had to know that Fluttershy would never feed on a helpless pony, even if there was nopony to see her do it.
She sluggishly turned her head to look into the room. It was otherwise empty besides a single cocoon. It looked like they all did. Roughly cylindrical, emitting pale, green light. The shadowy figure inside was clearly a pegasus, judging from the winged silhouette. Even through the transparent green surface, her multicolored mane was...
Rainbow Dash!
Fluttershy’s eyes widened when she recognized the pegasus. It took all her willpower to not to shout Dash’s name aloud!
She turned to look at First Captain who stared back, lowering his head in a slight nod.
Fluttershy still didn’t know what the changeling captain was up to, but if it meant getting to Rainbow Dash, she was willing to go along with it.
With a strained effort, the young changeling queen stood up, brushing away the changelings supporting her. It was a constant struggle to stand, but the sight of Rainbow Dash being right over there gave her strength.
Once she had steadied herself, Fluttershy nodded, walking forward past the changeling captain and stepping into the room. Other changelings attempted to follow, but First Captain rose a hoof to stop them.
However, Fluttershy’s attention was entirely on her friend. She walked to the cocoon, half falling on her knees in front of it. She peered inside, desperate to make sure that her friend was alright.
Rainbow Dash looked asleep inside her prison. Her mane was disheveled and her wings missed a few feathers, but otherwise she looked uninjured. Knowing the pegasus, she had not allowed herself to be captured quietly.
Fluttershy heard the organic door close behind her, realizing that she was now alone in the room with First Captain.
“I expected you to protest when I mentioned feeding. You already knew about Rainbow Dash?” He asked, stopping next to Fluttershy.
“That other captain told me,” Fluttershy said as she turned to look at Rainbow Dash again. “I think he thought that it would make me more willing to come along without a fight.”
First Captain nodded. Before he could speak again, Fluttershy turned to look at him.
“She threatened to kill them if I didn’t come,” Fluttershy said, shaking her head. “How can you follow somepony like that?”
“Because she is the Queen.” First Captain said in a flat voice with no hesitation whatsoever. It sounded like something said a hundred times before, you could hear the capital letter at the start of the title.
“Right now that isn’t important,” The changeling captain said. “You need to feed. Drones only lose their magic and grow weak, queens can’t survive without love. There is no time to argue.”
“Never,” Fluttershy stated flatly.
It was hard to keep her head up by this point. She didn’t feel pain anymore, just numbness. It was difficult to stay focused. But, that didn’t change anything. Fluttershy could never hurt another living being just for her own sake, no matter what.
However, instead of arguing, First Captain nodded.
“I know. You will rather die than steal love.” The changeling captain said with an admirable lack of emotion in his voice. “Which is why I brought you here.”
Fluttershy blinked, not understanding. What could having Rainbow Dash here change?
First Captain saw her confusion and sighed wearily.
“Chrysalis could maybe persuade you to abandon your morals, using magic if nothing else worked,” the changeling captain explained. “But, we don’t have time to wait for her to return.”
Even as Fluttershy stared, First Captain lowered his head, the tip of his horn touching the cocoon.
“If you don’t take love, the only alternative is that somepony gives it to you voluntarily,” First Captain said, his horn glowing with sickly green light against the cocoon. “I hope we still have enough time to convince your friend before it is too late.”
Fluttershy opened her mouth in shock, struck speechless as she finally understood the changeling captain's intent.
The young changeling queen was too stunned to do anything besides stare as the room was illuminated by a bright green light, the cocoon imprisoning Rainbow Dash melting away like wax.
Soon, the pegasus laid on the floor, the last remains of her prison becoming dry dust.
Rainbow Dash groaned, trying to steady her swaying head with her hoof as she slowly rose to sit. As she rose her head, the pegasus looked straight at Fluttershy.
“F… Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash said groggily, her eyes half open.
“Rainbow Dash! Are you alright?!” Fluttershy almost shouted, words out of her mouth before she even realized it. If her limbs hadn’t felt like lead, she would have dashed forward to hug the pegasus.
The said pegasus used both of her hooves to steady her swaying head, closing her eyes.
“Not so loud!” Rainbow Dash groaned, not opening her eyes. “Gah, I feel like that one time when I challenged Applejack into a cider drinking contest.”
Her friend’s words made relief flood through Fluttershy and she gave out a sigh of relief.
“What is the last thing you remember?” Fluttershy said, glancing at First Captain who was standing on the side, silent and motionless.
“I...I was...” Rainbow Dash stuttered, her voice trailing off.
“I was...” The pegasus said again, opening her eyes and blinking rapidly as she looked at Fluttershy.
For an instant, Rainbow Dash only stared at Fluttershy, puzzled.
Then, her eyes went wide open, her expression twisting into a snarl.
“I was attacked by changelings!” Rainbow Dash shouted and lunged at Fluttershy.
Next chapter, we will get into a scene between Fluttershy and Dash that I have wanted to write...from the very start, really. 
Also, I'm looking again for someone willing to become an editor. Still a bit paranoid about writing coherent English every time I publish something. 
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Thank you all for sticking with me this long, it really makes me feel happy.
Now with my studies done and my wisdom teeth pulled, I can concentrate on the really important things, such as horse words.
8069229 Studies? Pfft...
Next thing you know, you'll be wanting to take breaks from writing in order to sleep.
8069229 You got some of yer smart teef pulled? 'Ow much were dey worf?
8069310
Very little, honored warboss, my pet termagant ate their worth before I even noticed.
8069229
I'm not seeing that much of a detriment from the fact that English isn't your first language. Honestly you're doing better than some native English speakers on this site.
8069229 ouch, wisdom teeth. I got mine pulled last year. No amount of local anaesthetic quite prevents that pain fully. But it's over, right?
This is probably the one cliffhanger that I'm most eager to see resolved yet.
8073815 Fair point, it could also be intent too. Chrysalis was clearly seeking dominance, while Fluttershy had no negative feelings to target.
8069275 What is this "wanting to sleep" you speak of? (I kid)
8081879
One day, I will publish something when it's not past midnight where I live.
8071341
Pulling them out wasn't that bad, eating meds for weeks to wait for mouth to heal was the more tricky part. But yes, it's now over too.
GAH, stupid cliffhangers
GUAH