-Changeling^2

Chapter 8: Break it Down!

“Princesses!” the group of six mares shouted as they bowed deeply, unintentionally leaving their changeling friend standing up momentarily. It was Pinkie Pie who forced the changeling down with an extended hoof.

        “It’s great to see again, and so soon.” Twilight said, her voice shaking slightly with anticipation.

        “I agree, if only it weren’t because of political issues this moment would be ideal.” Celestia sighed at the end of her sentence.

        The girls rose to their hooves. Each of them nervously trying to say something but the words couldn’t find their way out. There was an extended period of silence. Count remained still closely encircled by the rest of her friends. Her eyes traced the outlines of the princesses, to afraid to meet them in the eye. She slightly nudged the pony to her immediate left, Applejack, who turned to her. The orange pony saw the worry in the changelings eye, so she moved slightly closer, giving Count a bit more confidence. That boost in confidence however was deflated.

        “Thank you for apprehending the prisoner, we’ll take it from here.” Cadence said as she approached the group nonchalantly.

        Rarity stopped her path by meeting her half way.

        “Is there a problem here?”

        “Uh no, I’m just collecting some trash.”

        Six mares all grew small tick marks. Princess Cadence tried to walk around the element of generosity, but said element broke the princesses stride by stepping in front of her again.

        “I’m sorry princess, I don’t mean to be a hinderance, but I’m curious as to what trash you are referring to.”

        “Oh don’t play coy Rarity, I’m referring to that changeling.”

        “Count over there? There must be some mistake. She is anything but trash.” Rarity’s voice dropped over the last sentence.

        “What’s gotten into you girls?” Cadence looked warily at the group.

        “We don’t mean to be rude, but we won’t let anything happen to our friend here.” Rainbow Dash said as she flew up next to Rarity.

The Unicorn and the Pegasus stared at the alicorn. Cadence’s snout crinkled more, the longer the two inhibited her progress. To the left and to the right, both ways were blocked of by the mares. Exasperated, Cadence lifted her to front hooves and dropped the back to the ground, resulting in a resounding thud. The ground under Rarity and Rainbow shook, as did their legs. Gingerly the retreated backwards to their friends.

        “Twilight could you explain to me this exercise in insubordination?” Celestia asked, irritation beginning to arise.

        “Princesses, please, we don’t mean to come across as foals. We can’t however let our friend get hurt!”

        “Twilight dear, we wouldn’t hurt the changeling.”

        “You wouldn’t?” The mares seemed to relax.

        “No, we would simply put her on trial for the crimes she has committed. Which would only most likely determine that she would be banished to the sun, then the moon, and finally ‘Soon’.”

“I knew it!” Count yelled burying herself into a nearby pony, who happened to be Fluttershy. The pegasus began consoling the overgrown bug..

“Princesses please reconsider. We know how it looks but if you would allow us to give testimony as to why this changeling deserves mercy, I believe you would find us our arguments convincing.” Twilight pleaded.

        “Twilight Sparkle. I owe you and your friends everything that I have today. But I cannot standby and watch as an enemy of Equestria roams around here freely. This ‘Count’ character was in the same group of changelings that nearly destroyed Canterlot, starved the princess of love nearly to death, and imprisoned my sister after attacking and nearly injuring her. We assure you our actions are not based on personal feelings, even though I feel low for not being able to aid in the struggle. We have to do this for all Equestrians who might suffer at the hooves of love stealers like that thing you harbor!” Luna exclaimed.

        The mane six subtly shuffled closer around the changeling.

        “Out of fairness though, please explain, why do you care so deeply for this changeling? You couldn’t of know it for more than a couple of days.” Celestia asked simultaneously calming her sister with a single hoof. Applejack was first to answer.

        “To answer your question princess, we all see exactly who Count is. She is a pony who loves to shoot off her smart mouth to other ponies.” Applejack turned to count who rubbed the back of her head. “She’s also a changeling who cares deeply for those around her. She’s already defied all expectations we had, being completely honest to us, and spilling her heart out to us when she just met us. And if she is so willing to be our friend, then dang nabbit will return her love.”

The princesses stared at the element of honesty. Their eyes unwavering from her own. Celestia and Luna sighed, resting their head in their hooves. Slight mumbles could be heard from behind the cover. Cadence though was a mixed bag of emotions. Her face spelling out emotions ranging from anger to betrayal. She lowered her head slightly thinking carefully about her next words.

        “So, your all in this together are you?” Cadence asked uncharacteristically quiet.

        Rainbow Dash and Applejack answered with a simple ‘yes’. Pinkie chanted it, over and over again. Fluttershy’s still holding Count was too busy to give a direct answer.Twilight and Rarity looked dead in the eyes of the pink alicorn and noded firmly.

It was an odd sight indeed. All of the elements of harmony stood in defiance against the rulers of the land they swore to protect. Their faces hard as stone, a look not of anger but of conviction. A small smirk appeared on Luna’s face.

“I must admit, your stance is admirable, plus standing against us is unheard of. You have my respect.”

        “There’s still no reason for them to defend a criminal!” Cadence emphasized.

        “She’s our friend.” not even a second of hesitation from all six mares.

        “That’s not an excuse for letting a criminal off the hook!”

        “Please Cadence, we know how this looks . . .” Twilight began.

        “Twilight, I love you dearly, but right now you need to stop talking. That changeling was part of the same group that imprisoned me, and tried sap your brother completely of love. There’s no way you're thinking correctly. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, I believe our elements have come under the control of the changelings magic. They need to be brought back to Canterlot to be purged of the virus.” Cadence stomped her hoof as she spat venom at the very mention of the changeling.

        “Wait, you're not listening to us!” Twilights yell fell on deaf ears.

        “While I don’t like how angry Princess Cadence is getting over the situation, I can’t see much fault in her words sister.” Luna whispered.

        “Neither do I. I hate to say it, but bringing the girls back to Canterlot just might be the only course of action we can take.” Celestia whispered back.

        Their words however didn’t fall on deaf ears. The six mares shouted their objections, but they were silenced when a pink magic aura surrounded Count. Slowly she was taken off the ground. Her friends didn’t just stand and watch though, the began a small dog pile on the changeling, to keep her still. Cadence struggled to lift the ‘prisoner’ without hurting the other ponies. She took a deep breath and expanded her magic to everypony in front of her.  As the group began their ascent, each mare grabbed onto the hoof of another. Desperately they held onto one another, the magic grew more intense as the seconds ticked away.

        “Stop being so stubborn!” Cadence grunted, her eyes forced shut do to strain.

        “Mi Amore Cadenza, stop this instant!” Celestia demanded, but now it was her time to be ignored.

“Don’t let go!” Applejack yelled while grinding her teeth.

“I’m so sorry everypony, I didn’t mean for this to happen!” Count cried.

“We can’t give in now!” Rainbow yelled.

“Hang on!” Rarity demanded.

“Stay strong, bear with it!” Twilight begged.

“It hurts!” Fluttershy wailed.

“I feel my hoof slipping!” Pinkie panicked.

“No!”

In a moment the group of seven ponies had they hold broken. But the magic that gripped them didn’t cease when they let go. It continued to pull, and in the blink of an eye the group was separated  to the far corners of Equestria. When they did escape the magical grip because of their distance, the pink alicorn finally opened her eyes. She scanned the area and noticed the distinct lack of ponies. She eventually met eyes with the two mares that remained, and she saw the deep annoyance in their eyes.

“Whoops.”