Darkened Shores

by Silver Flare

06: Deception

“Twilight,” Celestia’s voice sounded faintly worried. “Your friends will be here in a moment. You must find Dash and leave this place as fast as possiOOF. . .” A kick to the ribs sent Celestia sprawling towards the center of the cavern.

“Princess!” Twilight gasped as Celestia flinched away from another kick, one aimed for her temple. It caught her across the muzzle instead and she dropped to the floor, rolling away from her unseen attacker. She swept her horn up in a dangerous arc as she regained her feet, but she caught nothing but empty air.

Twilight heard hooves in the tunnel next to her, and the staccato stride was immediately followed by Applejack in her cowboy hat, her features lit from behind by Spike’s flashlight. Twilight glanced back towards Celesta in time to see her disappear behind her own veil. Applejack cantered over to Twilight and stood over her protectively, just as Celestia had. “Oh Twi, please tell me you’re okay.” Applejack tried to watch the entire cavern at once. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy joined them, Spike’s flashlight sticking out of Pinkie Pie’s mouth. Just then a black shape emerged from the tunnel. Twilight blinked and rubbed at her eyes, but it didn’t change what she saw. Spike clung to the captured changeling’s back, his hands clasped around its neck and determination in his eyes. Rarity emerged last, both her horn and the thistle-colored diamond at her neck aglow with a steady blue light.

Twilight tried scanning what she could see of the cavern around her, but the fight between Celestia and Cinder had taken on another timbre altogether. Now their fight was one of stealth and detection rather than trading blows. Should one of them reveal themselves in any way, it would open them up to a nasty sucker-punch from their opponent. Twilight silently wished there was something she could do to help, but she felt so weak the very thought made her choke back a sob of exhaustion.

Rarity’s eyes were both clear and determined as she strode purposely into the group of companions. “Twilight, thank goodness. Can you walk?”

“Um,” She rasped. “I think so.” Twilight lurched to her feet, but all of her muscles shook and she nearly fell over. Fluttershy caught Twilight on her shoulder and helped support her weight.

“Oh my, this won’t do.” Rarity glanced around. “Pinkie, be a dear and pass the flashlight to Fluttershy and take Applejack’s bags? Applejack, can you carry Twilight for awhile?”

“Course I can.” Applejack eased herself underneath Twilight and lifted her off of her feet. “There you go sugar, now you just try an’ hold on and I’ll try an’ not jostle too much.”

Rarity turned and glared pointedly at the changeling. The creature gulped, and then turned and began following the wall, taking Spike with it. Everyone else followed. They walked in silence for a minute, before Twilight tapped Applejack on the shoulder. When their eyes met, Twilight shrugged and gestured ahead. Applejack nodded in comprehension and began explaining in a soft voice. “Oh, well Spike here is a little trooper. He leapt atop this here changeling’s back and threatened to burn the horn clean off its head if’n it didn’t give us a hoof finding Dash. Seemed to make our new friend all sorts of helpful.” Applejack grinned softly. “Once we figured something terrible had happened to you, Spike became a whole ‘nuther dragon. You’d have been mighty proud.”

“But, how did you all escape?” Twilight rasped.

Applejack’s smile melted away. “I ain’t rightly sure, Twi. All I know is that Rarity figured something out. You’ll have to ask her how she made that stone move.” Twilight glanced up towards Rarity walking just behind the changeling and considered her friend. Rarity walked with a calm assurance and confidence that Twilight couldn’t remember seeing before. She directed the group as though she expected to be followed, and she faced the unknown ahead as though she expected to be a match for it. It was a new side to Rarity, and Twilight felt a surge of pride for this fussy and fashionable unicorn who seemed to have found a core of strength within herself when it was most needed.

But that pride was tempered by a sharp sense of loss tinged with jealousy. Somewhere deep in her heart, Twilight had hoped that she could be the one to lead her friends through the darkness to safety. Of course, the jealousy was immediately followed by anger at her own selfishness. As the companions entered another twisty tunnel, Twilight found herself trying to pick through the tangle of emotions that her relative helplessness conjured out of the gloom.

The changeling led them through two branching tunnels into a modest room with seven exits, all of them almost identical to Twilight. Without slowing, the changeling led them to one of the tunnels and entered, this one angled downward. Another branching path later, and the companions soon entered a room the size of an average house, with a ceiling five or six pony-lengths high. The changeling stopped at the tunnel entrance and rarity walked around it, joined by Applejack carrying Twilight. Immediately to their right, Rainbow Dash shook her mane and looked up. “Oh, am I glad to see you guys! Help me get out of this stuff.” She nodded her head towards her legs, which were encased within a thick shell of green resin up to her thighs.

“Dash.” Applejack managed to express both recognition and relief with one word. “Now how did you go and get yourself all trussed up like this?”

Everyone else surged into the room as Rarity’s horn began to glow brighter. Rarity lowered her head to touch her horn to the resin when Fluttershy squeaked very softly, “Wait!” Rarity stopped and looked up. Fluttershy was scanning the room, her eyes wide with horror, and everyone else began looking around as well. Twilight closed her eyes to try to block out the sight, but it’s just about impossible to unsee something. There were several prisoners being held in this room, easily thirty, probably more. All of them were Rainbow Dash. Of course they are. Twilight thought. If I wanted to slow down a rescue mission, this is exactly what I’d set up. Why did I assume this would be easy? Every Rainbow Dash in the room began asking for help, demanding rescue, or trying to prove their validity at the same time. It was madness.

Rarity looked overwhelmed as she scanned the room. “Well. This is simply outrageous.” She declared to no one in particular. She turned to the changeling they had brought with them. “I thought we had been quite clear. No funny business. Spike, if you would please. . .”

Spike, still astride the changeling’s back, took a deep breath. “No!” The changeling flung itself to the ground. “Your friend is here! I swear it! I have done everything you asked!”

Spike held his breath, his mouth still agape, but he shifted a quizzical gaze to Rarity. Rarity in turn glared at the changeling. “Then reveal your companions to us. Where is our friend?”

The changeling glanced around the room, a look of genuine anxiety and fear on its face. “I. . . I cannot tell. Unless they choose to reveal themselves, I see only what you see.”

“Unacceptable.” Rarity sniffed. “Spike?”

Twilight rasped, “No!” Just as Applejack murmured, “Now hold on to your horseshoes. I think he’s telling the truth.” It was hard to hear her over the Rainbow Dash din, but Twilight heard something in her friend’s voice. Some hint of wonder or surprise.

Twilight slid down off of Applejack’s back and stood on her own. When she was sure her legs would support her, she looked Applejack in the eyes. “Why do you say that?” She rattled.

Applejack’s eyes seemed unfocused. “I don’t rightly know. He just sounds truthful to me, that’s all.” Twilight grimaced. If it were anyone but Applejack, she wouldn’t have given them any credit. Applejack refocused on Twilight and shrugged. “Guess I wouldn’t rightly know, would I?” She laughed sheepishly.

Pinkie Pie walked into Twilight’s field of view. “Hey, can’t you just use your magic and make the changelings all ugly again?”

Twilight carefully shook her head so as not to aggravate her bruised throat or her pounding headache. Pinkie Pie seemed to understand that option was out. Pinkie glanced at Rarity, who shook her head as well. “I’m sorry my dear, I haven’t gotten around to learning that spell.” Her voice rang clearly through the room.

Twilight cringed. Now every changeling within earshot knew they couldn’t just reveal them. Worse, so did the changeling still cowering on the floor. Pinkie Pie turned back to Twilight. “Oh. Drat. Twilight, can you teach her that spell right now?”

Twilight shook her head again, and Rarity added, “There isn’t time. We need another idea. Any suggestions?” Everyone seemed to consider that carefully, but while everyone else tried to think of a way to identify the real Rainbow Dash, Twilight eyed their captive worriedly. The changeling also seemed lost in thought. Twilight’s slip earlier, when she tried to stop Spike from using his dragonfire, was a fatal mistake. Twilight just hoped to the stars above the changeling wasn’t smart enough to put the pieces together. Twilight studied its eyes, and noticed the exact moment comprehension dawned across its features. Twilight threw herself forward saying “Spike don’t!” as the changeling dropped to the ground and rolled, trying to force Spike into belching flame. Spike had the breath squeezed harmlessly out of him as the changeling rolled over him, but his eyes became steely as he sucked in another breath to use on the creature. He seemed doubly surprised when Twilight’s arm wrapped around his neck as she tried to pull him off of the struggling creature.

Spike slid off of the changeling’s back and onto the floor, not so much due to Twilight’s strength as to the fact that she’d startled him. Pinkie Pie reacted first, pouncing towards the freed changeling, but her packs slowed her down. The changeling dodged and kicked her in the face, and then it turned and fled back up the tunnel before Rarity’s magic could trap it again.

Applejack ran to the edge of the light and stopped, snarling in frustration. “What in all of tarnation was that, Twi’?” Applejack sounded genuinely angry as she turned and stalked back to the group. She paced right up into Twilight’s personal space and glared threateningly. “Do you realize that creature was our only means to findin’ our way outta’ this snake pit? And that he’s probably bringing reinforcements as we speak?”

Twilight felt a stab of anger. She didn’t want to have to explain herself. They were running out of time, and they were no closer to rescuing Rainbow Dash then they were when they walked into this room. “If you can’t figure it out,” Twilight rasped, “At least get out of the way.”

“Oh yeah?” Applejack shot back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what it means!” Twilight nearly shouted. Twilight wished she had her magic again so she could shove Applejack out of her way. Or at least her voice! She couldn’t even shout properly. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so ineffectual.

Then there was a gasp from ground level, and everyone turned to look at Spike. In dawning comprehension, he said, “Of course. The Princess.” Twilight nodded in satisfaction.

Fluttershy stepped forward. “Anything Spike disintegrates will find Celestia, and maybe give her away, or distract her at a vital moment. We almost put her in serious danger!”

“Wow.” Pinkie Pie breathed. “That was a close call.” She stepped in between Twilight and Applejack and pushed them apart. “So can we please stop fighting here? We need to get out of this place!” Pinkie Pie winced and rubbed at her temple.

“Ok,” Applejack seemed a little chagrined. “I guess we hadn’t thought of that.” She turned toward the room full of Rainbow Dashes, most of who were still talking, squared her hat on her head and addressed them all at once. “All right now settle down you slimy, deceitful sacks of crazy. Which of you parasprites are fakes?” As one, every pony in the room stopped talking and waited in a hush. “Good.” Applejack nodded in satisfaction. “Now that I’ve got your attention, answer this. What is Winona?”

Several Rainbow Dash copies chorused, “A pet.” “Your pet.” and “Your dog.” with only three or four answers of “A friend.” Applejack tried to clarify, “No, I mean what kind of dog is she?” Uneasy silence followed as several dashes glanced at one another. Some of them shrugged. Applejack looked stunned. “Really, Rainbow Dash? You honestly have no idea what kind of dog I have?” A few muttered apologies drifted through the room. Applejack threw her hooves up in disgust and turned away.

Rarity took her place. “Ok then, would the real Dash please tell me what it is I do for a living?” Almost all of them replied “Seamstress.” or “Design clothing.” Rarity’s eyes went very wide. “Well. These imposters have certainly done their homework.”

Twilight stepped up next to Rarity and said quietly, “Not well enough. Dash would never use the word ‘seamstress,’ and only a few of them said ‘design clothing’ as if it were boring.” Twilight peered critically at a few of the prisoners around her. “I have an idea.” Pitching her voice louder, she said, “’Take this. Wave it at anything that slithers.’”

Without an ounce of hesitation, one Rainbow Dash near the back of the room shouted with a giant grin, “’Dear Celestia! This whole place is slithering!’”

Twilight smiled, feeling a surge of relief and joy as she nodded her head towards the Rainbow Dash who understood her Daring Do reference. “That’s her.” She said.

A moment later, the room flashed green as every changeling ditched their disguise at once and surged towards the companions. Clearly, none of them had really been trapped. Applejack kicked a pair of changelings away before being tackled by a third. Pinkie Pie swung her bags around, forcing another couple of changelings to keep their distance from her and Fluttershy. Rarity handled the brunt of the assault, using her light-blue magic to sweep changelings aside and fling them backwards into the walls, but there were just too many of them. Spike rolled away from a changeling that slipped past Pinkie Pie, and wide-eyed with panic, he tried to run away. There just wasn’t anyplace left in the chamber to run to.

Three changelings piled atop Pinkie Pie at the same time, one of them snatching her packs away and flinging them into a corner. Fluttershy gasped in shock, steeled her courage and leapt atop the nearest changeling’s back, forcing it to turn its attention onto her. Applejack twisted around in her changeling’s grasp and banged its head into the floor before rolling free. Another changeling lunged forward, managing to grab her by the mane. Applejack spun to bite her attacker’s arm as she kicked at another changeling, and even though the second changeling cringed away, she caught it in the shoulder and sent it spinning hoof over horn. The one she bit snarled, but didn’t let go. It managed to rear up and slam Applejack back to the floor, holding on grimly. It bit her back in retaliation, and she cried out in surprise and pain. Meanwhile, Twilight reached out for Spike as another creature snagged him from behind and lifted him into the air by his pack.

“Twilight!” He shouted in fear.

“Spike!” Twilight cried out. “The Element!”

Two things happened at once. A terribly loud scuttling/rustling noise swelled from the mouth of the tunnel just before the only entrance to the chamber erupted with a flood of changelings; a swarm of snarling fangs and black, oily bodies. They were mere pony-lengths away from Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. At the same time, Spike shrugged out of his pack and as he fell he reached behind himself and clawed the canvas open, spilling the contents out in a jumble right next to him. As the changeling wasted a moment tossing the empty pack aside, Spike snatched up the Element of Loyalty as it fell and he threw it at Twilight.

But as Twilight reached up to grab it, a heavy weight hit her high in the back and she collapsed to the ground, the breath driven from her lungs. Twilight watched in dismay as the Element arced through the air right towards the changeling standing on her back, the deep red jewel reflecting light around the cavern as it spun. Twilight imagined herself catching it with a simple levitation spell, and to her surprise the choker-style necklace halted in mid-flight, just out of the changeling’s reach.

As the horde of changelings poured over Applejack and swarmed around Pinkie Pie, Twilight noticed with a small pang of disappointment that she hadn’t used her magic after all. Rarity had turned from her efforts against the mass of changelings before her in time to target Rainbow Dash’s Element with a spell. Without hesitation, the changeling atop Twilight leapt into the air, grabbing the Element in its hooves. Twilight gasped in a breath, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of the Element of Loyalty. They absolutely had to trigger the Elements and unleash the flood of power these artifacts could channel. It was the only hope left to them. Twilight lifted herself up, grabbed the changeling’s rear hooves and pulled with all of her fading strength. The changeling’s eyes widened with surprise as Rarity yanked the Element out of its grasp and flung the necklace across the room towards the imprisoned Rainbow Dash.

Twilight didn’t get to see what happened next. Her entire world became a writhing sea of hooves and fangs and buzzing, angry wings. The sour-grain smell was overwhelming. Twilight twisted, kicked and struggled, and it didn’t make a difference. Fangs sank into her leg. Hooves kicked at her flank. She felt herself lifted into the air. Her mind detached, separated itself from the horror and the pain and the helplessness, and it focused on one coherent thought. She had to keep the changelings from separating her from the Element of Magic. Changelings grappled for it and pried at it, but the smallest of twitches somehow dislodged them. It seemed Celestia was right. There was no easy way for these creatures to divest her of her power. Unless they decided to knock her unconscious, of course. Of if she fainted. She decided that fainting probably wasn’t a good option. Twilight wondered briefly what would happen then, if the strange connection between herself and her Element would fade. For that matter, she wondered just what connection they shared, and if it was similar to the connection she shared with her friends. It was certainly difficult for anything to come between her and her friends. Apparently, it takes a room full of changelings to come between us. Twilight thought with a small touch of hysteria.

There are precious few moments in our lives which can truly be called magical. Most of these moments occur when we are quite young, and usually involve some sort of new concept or idea that our mind finally wraps around, comprehends fully, and fills us with a sense of wonder so acute it becomes joy. These personal revelations are almost impossible to share with those around you, are deeply transformative, and the sensation rarely lasts. Yet these moments come to define who we are. They can change us, remind us what is important in our lives. In fact, I suspect most of our existence is a daily quest to recreate and relive these moments, even if we only ever manage to feel a shadow, a ghost of what we were once lucky enough to discover.

Twilight felt the exact moment when all six of the Elements of Harmony aligned. It felt as though a door had opened somewhere within her mind, and all of her anxiety, fear, and pain washed away in a flood of genuine wonder. Her heart rate and breathing slowed down without transition. Even her fractured and desperate analysis stopped as her mind and her heart filled with light. Even though she had felt this sensation twice before, it still felt fresh and new, undulled by the repetition.

Once again, Twilight could sense the life and the energy around her, the gentle yet massive currents of magic that twined their way through the world around them. And she could sense her friends. She felt Applejack’s quiet wonder and Rarity’s surge of triumph. She felt Pinkie Pie’s giddy elation and Fluttershy’s deep, calm acceptance. And she sensed Rainbow Dash’s curiosity as though she had wondered aloud, What next? It was a valid question the friends shared amongst each other.

They pooled their thoughts, considering the possibility of turning the changelings to stone, rolling them all into a ball or blasting them all into pieces. Applejack suggested that last one, due mostly to how many were biting her at the moment. Twilight’s first, visceral reaction was to agree. She very nearly began to channel the forces needed before she remembered her dream. Her sudden nausea was acute enough to cut through the euphoria she’d been feeling. Within a fraction of a second her friends shared in the memory of her desire for violence, and they recoiled with her.

Fluttershy asked if they could try a sleep spell, and that went over well. Twilight agreed, relieved. As Twilight tapped into the power swirling around them, she helped show her friends how to channel only a small fraction of the power available to them. She shared with them which part of the spectrum to use in a sleep spell, and she guided them in releasing that power through the room. As she did, she wondered why her head didn’t hurt anymore. Maybe there was a difference between power taken and power freely given. Or maybe she just couldn’t feel it at the moment, and it would come back later. She filed it away with everything else she meant to ask the Princess once they were out of this mess.

All of this happened within a second or so. The changelings were still falling away from the power radiating from Twilight’s arched form, some of them conjuring up shields. And as the magic scaled into the visible spectrum, shedding every color of the rainbow until the changelings were forced to cover their eyes, the deep blues and violets condensed and released in a gentle pulse, washing over every nearby creature and bombarding them with images of rest and sensations of deep sleep. Changelings felt their limbs grow heavy. They blinked, and their eyelids had trouble opening. Changelings in the air dropped to the floor, most of them deeply asleep already, their eyes twitching beneath their lids.

When the last of them hit the dirt, the six friends tried to shut away the rest of their power. It was surprisingly difficult to do. So long as they all let the power flow through them it felt as easy as being a riverbank. Redirecting the river was work, sure, but that was nothing compared to stopping the river entirely. Twilight struggled mightily to close the door in her mind, and her headache came back with a vengeance. At the same time, she could feel her five friends trying to do the same thing. None of them could do it; none of them could break the connection on their own.

Twilight was the only one of the companions who had spent her entire life in the study of magic, sharpening her focus and strengthening her will power. She had to try harder. With a cry, she shoved with all of the grim determination she could dredge up, and she felt something start to give way. When the connection broke, it caught her by surprise and she dropped a few pony-lengths and landed atop a sleeping changeling. She was followed a moment later by her friends, all of them falling and landing in a rough circle around each other.

To Twilight’s left, Rainbow Dash lay collapsed atop a changeling’s sleeping head. She wasn’t gasping for breath, but she seemed pretty winded as she lifted her head to look around the room. Fluttershy squeaked and leapt to her feet, trying hard not to step on any of the changelings scattered about. A hatless Applejack put a hoof over her mouth in a futile attempt to stifle laughter. “Snkkkkt—Heheheheheh.” Rainbow Dash burst into big belly laughs, kneeing the changeling underneath her as she did so. Rarity’s giggle joined Pinkie Pie’s as everyone laughed in sheer relief. Twilight flung herself forward and put her arms around Rainbow Dash as everyone else joined her. As Twilight buried her face in her friend’s mane, something poked her in the eye. She leaned back and gently rubbed a hoof against the corner of her eye and pulled away a pine needle.

Twilight smiled, and then her eyes widened in shock. “Spike?” She grated.

Pinkie Pie’s head shot up with a gasp. “SPIKE!!!”

“Gah!” Rainbow Dash cringed. “That was right in my ear!”

They noticed a little movement from across the room, near the tunnel entrance, and they could make out muffled sounds. “Now, how in tarnation did we end up all the way over here?” Applejack muttered as she wended her way through the sleeping bodies. Twilight followed, even though her every muscle seemed to shake and her head felt worse than ever. The simple elation at having survived kept her on her hooves.

“I don’t know.” Rainbow Dash flew overhead, swooping down to land where Spike lay underneath a pair of changeling bodies. “Ask Twilight, she knows about this magic stuff.”

Pinkie Pie crossed the room by literally bouncing from one sleeping changeling to another. “Wow! That worked soooooo much better than I thought it would! How long do you think they’ll sleep for?”

Twilight shook her head. “I have no idea.” Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing to listen. The magic of the Elements of Harmony had done nothing for her voice. “But we should probably leave now. And we probably shouldn’t bounce all over them, Pinkie.”

“Oh, why not?” Pinkie Pie complained, “How often does anypony get to bounce around on sleeping changelings, huh? This is undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime chance! Don’t be such a Buzzkill Frettypants.”

Twilight opened her mouth, but she couldn’t think of any sane reply. So she just closed her mouth again and focused on making her way over to Spike. Rainbow Dash had already pulled Spike out from under the collapsed creatures, and he was dusting himself off. It seemed that everyone got to Spike first and gave him hugs, complements or reassuring pats on the back. Rarity in particular made a bit of a fuss over him, while Applejack turned away and found her hat beneath a pair of changelings. She dusted it off and tipped it back onto her head before looking for some gauze in the scattered pile of Spike’s gear. Twilight just smiled proudly at him, waiting for a chance to get closer. Before she got that chance, a thought occurred to her. “Hey, why isn’t Spike asleep?” She asked. “Shouldn’t he be as zonked as the rest of these critters? Maybe dragons are resistant to that kind of magic.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh no, I made especially sure to keep him from being touched by our spell.” Twilight just stared tiredly at her in numb confusion. Fluttershy continued nervously. “I mean, it wouldn’t do to have Spike be asleep and defenseless down here, would it?”

Rarity glared disapprovingly at Twilight, and then moved to console Fluttershy. “Of course not, dear. That was very considerate of you.”

“But,” Twilight stammered a bit. “But, but how did you do it?”

Fluttershy seemed to take Twilight’s incomprehension as an indication that she had somehow done something wrong. “I don’t know. . . I just sort of bent the, um, the magic away from him. Sort of. I guess.” Her voice grew softer and softer. “Why? Was that bad?” By that time the yellow pegasus was hiding behind her soft pink mane.

Twilight shook her head. “Doing something like that. . . it should have taken years of intense study to be able to redirect energy in motion. It’s incredibly difficult!”

Applejack also seemed to take Fluttershy’s side. “Naw, it wasn’t bad at all, sugarcube. It just seems somepony’s having trouble saying a simple ‘thank’s’.” She stopped bandaging her multiple bite wounds to glare at Twilight too.

Finally, Twilight’s tired brain seemed to catch up with Fluttershy’s emotional state, and she tried to correct herself. “No, I’m sorry Fluttershy. That was amazing. I’m trying to complement you, and it came out wrong. I’m just exhausted. Let’s grab our stuff and get out of here.” Everyone nodded. Pinkie Pie bounced away to find her bags while Applejack and Rarity tried to find some of Spike’s scattered gear to shove into their own packs.

Twilight walked over to Spike. She was so relieved to see him unharmed, she almost didn’t see how sullen he looked. In fact, he looked downright angry. She tried to give him a hug, but he pushed her away. “Let me guess.” He pitched his voice low. “You would have just knocked me out like you did to all these monsters, huh? Let me sleep like a baby through the rest of the trip, is that it? Or were you not even thinking about me?”

Twilight felt cut to the bone. “Spike, I didn’t. . .” But her voice trailed off, wondering if his accusations were somewhat true.

“Don’t worry about it.” Spike’s voice was an empty desert. “You didn’t want me along anyway.” He turned and walked away, leaving Twilight speechless. She loved him. There was no doubt about that. Spike was family to her. All she wanted to do was protect him, couldn’t he see that? But he was right about something. In the ordered chaos the Elements of Harmony generated, for that brief moment when they were struggling to end the conflict with the changelings, she had forgotten about Spike. She had forgotten him entirely. She stared at the floor stunned, unable to move or speak while her friends gathered their things, Spike found his flashlight, and they all looked ready to go.

Someone said something, but Twilight couldn’t tell what it was because the room was spinning too fast. Her vision narrowed to a small, blurry dot, and then it winked out.

When she came to, she was draped across Applejack’s back again, and they were cruising through changeling tunnels. Twilight blinked her eyes a couple of times, and she even tried rubbing them, but she couldn’t quite get them to focus. She could see that Pinkie Pie led them, coming to a fork and choosing a path without hesitation. A long stretch of tunnel later and they emerged back into the chamber where they had left Princess Celestia. Spike said from somewhere behind Twilight, “Way to go, Pinkie Pie!”

“I don’t know how in Equestria you managed, but that was some fine pathfinding, Ms. Pie.” Applejack tipped her hat.

“Oh, it was easy.” Pinkie Pie shrugged. “It was the same way we went, just backwards! I’m sure you could have done it if you led the way.”

Applejack smiled, “I ain’t too sure of that. All these creepy tunnels look exactly the same to me.”

Far away, small flashes of light could be seen, obscured by the occasional shadow of a scattered changeling. It was a very eerie effect, to visually see the scale of the entire cavern. The sense of vertigo was only compounded by the strange echoes that reached their ears; dull retorts, impacts, and chittering not at all in time with the flashes of light. The group immediately stretched into a canter with Rainbow Dash easily taking the lead. Changelings by ones and twos stood in their way or charged them from afar. Rainbow Dash plowed through some of them with kicks or head-butts, clearly venting her frustration at having been imprisoned. Rarity handled the rest, tumbling them away with her magic accompanied by snippets of “Oop! Excuse me!” or “Pardon us, please.” It took longer than it seemed like it should, but eventually they drew close enough to make out the two combatants.

Princess Celestia looked awful and ragged. Her mane and her tail were frayed, tangled and burned in places. She was covered in dirt and scuffed up as well. She also had blood caked across one shoulder. Cinder honestly looked little better, but both of them clearly had some fight left in them. Having obviously thrown caution and stealth to the winds, the two of them traded blows with abandon, interspersing swipes of their dangerous hooves with slashes of their horns and bursts of luminous magic.

Princess Celestia noticed them coming first, but she didn’t even glance their way, which just goes to show how well thousands of years of experience can help out in a jam. She didn’t want her opponent to have any warning at all. She rolled to Cinder’s far side, turning his attention away just as Rainbow Dash flexed her wings and shot forward at an incredible speed. At the last moment, Dash spun in midair, launching a kick at the changeling leader’s flank. She connected with his knee. Despite Rainbow Dash having less than one-third of the changeling-leader’s mass, her speed lent force to her blow. And he never saw it coming. He hit the ground, and Celestia pounced on top of him, leveling her horn to his throat.

“This fight is over, Cinder.” Celestia said, breathing heavily. “We have the Elements of Harmony. Now, your hive will let us leave.”

Cinder’s smug confidence was gone, replaced by what seemed to be a righteous anger. “And what will you do, Princess? Find another place to hide your power?” He spat.

Rainbow Dash leaned down and snarled in Cinder’s face. Surprisingly, she looked rather scary. Celestia responded. “We are going, and I urge you not to stop us.” Twilight glanced up at Celestia in confusion. We are going, as in leaving this hive? Or does she mean something else? Twilight wondered. She slid down from Applejack’s back and found she could stand again.

Cinder studied Celestia for a long minute before conceding with the smallest of nods. He said in a low voice, “You will not survive. There’s much you still don’t comprehend. . .”

“I comprehend enough.” Celestia didn’t shout, but there was steel enough in her voice to interrupt him. “And so long as my subjects remain unharmed, I will do what is necessary.” With each word, she moved her horn a little closer until it pushed into the base of the changeling leader’s throat and his eyes widened with shock.

Cinder blinked slowly and said, “Your Highness.” It sounded like a respectful dismissal. Twilight was confused. What in Equestria is going on here? Twilight felt sure she could make sense of this whole situation if only her brain didn’t feel so much like a slug stuck in molasses. Without moving an inch, Celestia used her magic to gently pull the earring out of his ear, eliciting a snarl of hate from Cinder indistinguishable from pain. But he said nothing. Celestia didn’t move her head away until the small diamond was safely out of his reach, then she backed away slowly. With a glance, she lifted the flap on one of Pinkie Pie’s packs and set the earring inside, tucking it away.

Cinder stood slowly, favoring one hindleg. He glanced around briefly before tilting his head toward Celestia. “Your kingdom is worth less than you believe.”

“We shall see.” Turning to address her companions, Celestia said, “We’re leaving. Let’s go.” She turned her back and walked away as though she had nothing left to fear, and apparently expecting everyone else to follow her. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Spike turned their backs on the changeling leader without hesitation and walked with Celestia, trusting her completely. Rainbow Dash glared threateningly at Cinder before turning to join the others. Twilight and Applejack turned away last, keeping an eye on the red-maned changeling until the darkness swallowed him up. The two friends glanced nervously at each other before picking up the pace and catching up with the others.

Twilight moved in close to Celestia and asked, “Princess, why would they. . .”

“Hush.” Celestia cut her off abruptly. “Not here.” Celestia glanced around smoothly and quickly, watching every angle of approach without looking outwardly nervous. Twilight nodded and dropped back a bit, letting everyone else take the lead. Eventually, Celestia’s steady trot took them to a tunnel that angled upward, which in turn led them to another small chamber. It was the oddly shaped one they had passed through on the way in. What few changelings they ran across hissed at them, but backed away, offering no challenge. And Celestia paid no attention to them.

They made their way up through the entrance without incident, emerging into a brisk, deep night. It seemed strange to Twilight. While they were underground it was so easy to lose track of time; but once she could see the sky again it felt like all of that lost time caught up to her at once, making her feel extremely tired. They had spent easily half of the night down there. Spike yawned hugely.

Celestia considered each of them in turn. “I know you must all be weary, but I urge you to come with me. It isn’t safe here.” Celestia took Fluttershy’s packs and draped them across her own back alongside Twilight’s, followed by a sleepy Spike. Applejack offered to take Pinkie Pie’s packs, but she declined, nodding towards Applejack’s bandages.

Twilight forced herself to look away from the black hive entrance looming behind them to walk up next to the Princess. Twilight said, “They let us go far too easily.” It came out as something of an accusation.

Celestia nodded, radiating understanding and sympathy. She gently placed a reassuring hoof on Twilight’s shoulder and said, “Of course I don’t mind being certain.” Celestia lowered herself to the ground, becoming as non-threatening as possible. “When you are ready, my student.” From Celestia’s back, Spike blinked his eyes and shook his head, trying to look more alert while Twilight verified the Princess’s identity.

Twilight reached for her magic and immediately cringed away. It still hurt so much she could barely focus. She must have done a terrible job hiding it, because Celestia’s eyes widened in sympathy and Fluttershy gasped as if she’d felt the same pain. The glow from Celestia’s horn brightened, and the pain in Twilight’s head receded somewhat. Twilight nodded her thanks, and summoned the spell that would peel back a glamour or any other type of veil. It still hurt, but it was no longer the burning agony that destroyed her concentration. As it came to her, she felt a surge of relief that she hadn’t permanently lost her ability to use magic. She gently touched her glowing horn to Celestia, who remained unchanged. With a sigh of relief, she let go of the spell. “Thank you, Princess.”

Celestia only smiled and rose to her feet. “Now, we must leave. Please everypony, follow me. I will lead us all somewhere we can rest.”

Comments

[Truthseeker]

They had the Elements and the enemy on the ropes and they did not end it. Foolish to let an enemy go, they will only come back and hurt others and it will be your own fault.