Chapter Two - Unwanted Destinations

"Not bad for a third draft," Twilight Sparkle thought, concluding another session of editing her addendum.  "I'll revise it when I return from the Crystal Empire."  She began to walk away, before turning back to the desk.  "I suppose I could bring it with me, and edit while I'm there."  She shook her head violently.

"No, no, no, I barely get to see Shining Armor and Cadence as it is, and I can't afford to bring along any distractions."  She began to walk away again, a determined look on her face, before spinning around and dashing back to the desk.  "But they are really busy," she said as she stuffed her papers into her saddlebag, "and I'm sure I'll have some time to myself at some point, might as well not let myself get bored!"

"Taking off?" Spike asked, descending the staircase.

"Mhm!" Twilight nodded with a smile.  "I'm meeting Applejack at the train station!"

"I'm sure the Crystal Ponies are still bummed about being gone for a thousand years," Spike said as he reached the first floor, "but I get the feeling they'll think it was worth it when they get a taste of those Zap Apples."

"I certainly hope so," Twilight said.  "I know you'll take good care of the library while I'm gone."

"You can count on me!" Spike replied, pressing his fist against his chest.

"Then I'll see you in a few days," Twilight said as she waved a hoof and exited the library.  As she began to trot towards the train station, she accidentally bumped into a small figure wearing a cape and hood.

"Watch it!" the creature hissed, stumbling backwards.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there!" Twilight replied, recoiling.

"S'alright," the figure responded before the two parted ways.  While Twilight continued towards the train station, the one she bumped in to made his way to the Carousel Boutique, the dress shop belonging to Rarity.  A large, grubby paw poked its way out from under the cloak and pounded on the door three times.

"We're open!" a voice shouted from inside.  The figure pushed the door open and entered the shop, removing his cloak in the process.  Rarity turned away from her work to inspect what she believed to be a potential customer, and was shocked to see a small bulldog standing before her.  She recognized him as one of the three Diamond Dogs who had once taken her hostage in order to utilize her gem-hunting abilities.

"You're..." she said, a strained look appearing on her face.

"Spot," the small bulldog replied.

"Right, Spot," she replied, nodding.  "Well, if you're here to kidnap me again, you picked a rather awkward time to do it, darling.  I'm swamped as it is, with the Grand Galloping Gala mere months away, and in broad daylight like this, assuming you manage to overpower me, somepony else would stop you."

"You misunderstand, Miss Rarity!" Spot replied.  "I did not come to kidnap you, we need your help!"

"Whatever do you mean?" Rarity asked, cocking her head to the side.

"It's the others," Spot explained, "all of my doggy friends!  They all got very sick from something in the tunnels, a horrible malady in the air, and I don't know how to help them!"

"Well that does sound terrible," Rarity replied, "but I'm not sure how I can help you."

"You're the nicest pony I know, and you know other nice ponies!"  He took a few steps towards her.  "You have a friend, yes?  Good with animals?"

"Fluttershy?" Rarity asked, turning away from her work.  "Well, she is a remarkable caretaker of all sorts of creatures, but if there's an airborne toxin in your diamond mines, the help of a professional might be better."

"Still, could she please try?" Spot protested.  "She's better than others, it's her special talent, I remember!  Please!?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," Rarity sighed.  "Very well, we'll go talk to Fluttershy and see if she knows anything about the illness that's plaguing your people.  I only hope you can give her a more detailed description of the symptoms than you gave me."

"Yes," Spot said, jumping up and down, "I will describe it all!"  And so they departed together for Fluttershy's cottage.

...

Twilight met up with Applejack at the train station.  "Howdy, Twilight," she said, her family extending similar greetings.

"Good morning, Applejack!" Twilight replied.  "Is everything ready?"

"Sure is," she replied, pointing towards one of the carts without windows.  "Got the Zap Apples all crated up and loaded into the cargo train, right Big Macintosh?"

"Eeyup!" the stallion said, nodding.

"Excellent," Twilight replied, "I just know Cadence is going to be thrilled to share them with her subjects!  You'll be gaining new customers from the Crystal Empire for sure."

"Darn tootin'," AJ agreed.  "I ain't met a pony yet who's tried a Zap Apple and didn't ask for another.  Have ya heard from Dash and Pinkie?"

"Not since they left yesterday," Twilight replied, shaking her head, "but I'm sure they made it to Las Pegasus without incident."

"All aboard for the Crystal Empire!" the conductor called out.

"Looks like it's time to hit the road," Applejack said, turning to Applebloom and Big Macintosh.  "Y'all look after Granny Smith while I'm gone, y'hear?  And try not to get into too much trouble, Applebloom."

"Trouble?  Me?  Perish the thought!" Applebloom replied, a wide grin spreading across her face. Applejack smiled and shook her head.  The two travelers proceeded to board the train.

...

Elsewhere, a pair of ponies were drinking in the sights and sounds of Las Pegasus.  "Look at all the tall buildings, Dashy!" Pinkie shouted, leaping up and down.

"And the bright lights!" Rainbow Dash replied, her head swiveling back and forth as she surveyed the city.  "Aw yeah, this is gonna be an awesome vacation!"

"Hey!" a voice called out, catching their attention.  Pinkie stopped jumping up and down and both mares' faces grew serious.  Gilda approached them.

"I'm a little surprised you two came," Gilda said, looking off to the side.

"Hey, your note said you wanted to work things out and make a fresh start, so we came.  Everypony deserves a second chance," Dash replied.

"Yeah," said Pinkie, nodding emphatically, "and if you give me a chance, I know this lame pony won't drive you buggy!"

"Well let's just get this out of the way then," Gilda replied, scratching the side of her left arm with her right claw, "I'm sor-"

"Look, G," Rainbow Dash cut her off, placing a hoof on her shoulder, "you already apologized for everything in that letter of yours.  You had a bad attitude, sure, and you said some things you wish you hadn't, but Pinkie and I both forgive you."

"...Just like that?" Gilda asked, her eyes wide.

"Just like that!"  Pinkie replied, hopping in place.  "Now let's go hit the casinos!"

"Huh," Gilda sighed, lowering her head, "now I really feel like a jerk."

"Whaddaya mean?" Pinkie asked.

"It's nothing," Gilda replied quickly.  "Anyway, yeah, let's go play some games.  First place we hit?  I'm buying us all in!"

...

"Um, Rarity?" Fluttershy asked, looking over her friend's shoulder at Spot, who's back was turned to them.  "Are you sure we can trust him?  He and his friends did kidnap you."

"And they also let me go," Rarity relied.  "I think I taught them enough of a lesson the last time that they wouldn't dare think to detain me again."

"As for this toxin that's making your friends sick," Fluttershy said, walking towards Spot, "of course I'll help you in any way that I can.  I'll bring along my medicine kit, and take a look at some of your infected.  Something I have might be able to help."

"Yes!"  Spot replied.  "I know it will!  I just know it will!  Thank you!"  The three of them set off in the direction of the lair of the Diamond Dogs.

...

"So what's with these fliers they were passin' out at the train station?" Applejack asked as she looked away from the passing country side aboard the speeding train towards the flier in her lap.

"Just a warning regarding Clarion Call," Twilight replied as she turned the page of the book she was reading.

"Sounds a might familiar, wasn't he some kinda crook?" Applejack asked as two passengers walked past them, giving them a strange look.

"Yes," Twilight replied, continuing to read.  "Clarion Call is a unicorn, and like all unicorns, the magic he can use is based upon his special talent."

"So what's his special talent?" Applejack asked, lowering her head closer to Twilight's eye level.

"Communication and transportation, apparently," Twilight replied, flipping to the next page.  "He has the ability to 'tag' places he's been to with one of two spells.  The first allows him to erect a 'window' of sorts through which anypony at another location that's been tagged can see and hear everything going on in the general area.  When he served in the royal guard, his technique made him an invaluable asset.  His other ability, the one he kept a secret for most of his military career, is the ability to mark specific locations for instant transportation to and from."

"And he was a thief, right?" Applejack asked, leaning back and relaxing.

"Correct," Twilight replied, "he would enter places like banks and museums during normal business hours, tag those locations, then teleport into them during nights and take whatever valuables he could carry."

"Sure seems like a waste of his talents," Applejack noted, her eyes scanning the rest of the cart, briefly making eye contact with several passengers who hurriedly looked away.

"Indeed.  Once he was caught, Princess Celestia had no choice but to seal his magical abilities away.  He was crafty, though, and managed to escape from prison about three years ago."

"So why start passin' out these fliers now?" Applejack asked, lifting the flier from her lap.

"Because he was recently sighted for the first time since his escape, and he was using his magic." Twilight responded, reaching the end of another page.

"After it was sealed away?"

"Yes, and nopony has any idea how he could have possibly circumvented the Princess' seal," Twilight said, looking up towards Applejack.  "In any case, these fliers are just a warning to anypony who may be travelling to keep an eye out for him."  She looked back down at her book.

"Creepy," Applejack said.  "And what's more creepy, have you noticed how everypony in this cart keeps lookin' at us funny?"

"Hmm?" Twilight asked, looking up from her book and around the cart.

"Guess you didn't notice," Applejack grinned.

"Doesn't look like anypony's looking at us now," Twilight replied before resuming her reading.

"Reckon I may have just imagined it, then."  The day went on, and the six friends continued their travels in pairs.

...

"We are getting close!" Spot said.

"I don't remember there being this much fog the last time I was here," Rarity replied as she peered through the thick clouds.

"Me neither," Fluttershy agreed.

"Yes," Spot said, "sometimes much fog rolls into our territory, but we see with our noses, so we don't mind."

"If memory serves, we should be getting close to your lair, correct?" Rarity asked, wrinkling her nose as the familiar stench of the Diamond Dogs' lair began to fill her nostrils.

"Yes, you have a good memory, Miss Rarity, we're almost there already!" Spot replied.

"And you already pulled your doggie friends out of the mine, right?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes, I pulled them all out!" Spot replied.  "You can give them medicine right here!"

"It doesn't look like anypony's here," Fluttershy said, looking around..

"There is no sickness," Spot replied, slowly looking towards them over his shoulder.

"Now see here," Rarity said, leering down at Spot, "you promised us that there would be no funny-business."

"I promised we wouldn't take you again," Spot said.  "We are not the ones who are going to take you."

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked, taking a step back and looking around.

"I didn't want to do it," Spot said.  "I didn't want to mess with you ever again, but it was the only way I could protect my pack!"

"I see," Rarity replied.  "So somepony else forced you to lure us here, then?"

"Is it too late to run away?  Are they here already?" Fluttershy asked, her eyes jolting in every direction.

"'Fraid so, ladies," a masculine voice replied.  A figure stepped through the fog, canine in appearance, and of average height when compared to other Diamond Dogs the girls had encountered, slender but muscular.  This one, however, aside from looking cleaner and standing up straight, also had much smoother facial features, resembling a husky, with a predominantly black coat that was gray around the snout and jaws.  His right eye was blue, and his left was green.  His claws were visibly long and sharp.

"Greyjaw!" Spot shouted.  "I brought them, just like you told me to!"

"Yeah, I can see that," Greyjaw replied.  His voice was much clearer than the Diamond Dogs the ponies had encountered before, and his tone was of a medium pitch, calm but authoritative.

"So you lied to us again, Spot?" Rarity asked.

"Nah, he told you the truth about not being involved," Greyjaw replied.  "The mutts out here were expelled from our ranks years ago.  Finally made themselves useful by bringing the two of you out here."  He pointed at Rarity.  "I'm guessing you're Rarity, the one with the irritating voice."  Rarity grunted indignantly and glared at Spot, identifying him as the source of that particular description.  "And the yellow one who seems to think I can't see her behind all that hair?  Hi there, Fluttershy," he waved, lowering his head to meet her gaze.  A grin revealed his gleaming, razor sharp fangs.  "Anyway, you girls are in my custody now, and I don't wanna be out here longer than I have to, so let's get going."

"And just who do you think you are to be ordering us around like this?" Rarity asked.  "You haven't captured us yet, Greyjaw, and my dear friend Fluttershy, here, can fly!"  Fluttershy gulped, then nodded, spreading her wings and preparing to grab Rarity and fly away.

"I figured you'd say something like that," Greyjaw replied.  Before the girls could react, he closed in on them with blinding speed.  With a single swipe of his arm, he ensnared Spot, lifting him up by the neck.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Fluttershy shouted.

"Much as I'd like to do this my way, I'm under direct orders not to harm either of you, so if you don't come with me, the little guy gets it."

"No, Greyjaw!  Please don't!" Spot protested, wriggling in the larger dog's grasp.

"Alright, we'll go with you, just don't hurt him, please!" Fluttershy shouted, taking a step towards Greyjaw.

"Fluttershy!" Rarity snapped.

"We can't let him hurt the poor thing!" Fluttershy protested.

"But he's the reason we're in this predicament!"

"He was forced to bring us here!" Fluttershy pointed out.

"Very well," Rarity sighed, "we will go with you, Greyjaw."

"I seriously can't believe that worked," Greyjaw replied, dropping Spot flat on his hindquarters, causing the small dog to yelp.  Greyjaw turned his back to them and began to walk away, gesturing for them to follow with a single finger.  He looked back over his shoulder to confirm that they had heeded his instructions, and the three of them began their journey.

"That you two would surrender your freedom for something as lowly as that mongrel... people like you make me sick, you know that?  Well anyway, I hope you got your fill of Equestria before now, 'cause you won't be coming back for a while."  Spot breathed a sigh of relief as Greyjaw departed.

"And hey," Greyjaw called out to Spot, "forget you saw us, or I'll come wipe out your entire pack."

"So where are you taking us, exactly?" Rarity asked as they followed him through the fog.

"Your voice really does grate on my nerves," Greyjaw said, his ears twitching.  "From now on, you go ahead and whisper your questions into your friend's ear and have her ask 'em."  Rarity scowled.  "And to answer your question, we're meeting our contact here."  Fluttershy and Rarity looked ahead to see a unicorn standing before them. His coat was bronze, and the strands of his silver mane seemed to stand up on their own.  His eyes were cobalt colored.

"Yep, that's them!" the unicorn said.

"Of course it is," Greyjaw replied.  "Mahugpin told me to get a specific pair of ponies, and that's what I did.  Go ahead and take us home, Rion."

"Gladly.  It reeks out here anyway," Clarion said.  Greyjaw led Rarity and Fluttershy to Clarion's side as they silently exchanged nervous glances, before all four of them were enveloped in a bright light.  They suddenly felt weightless, and their stomachs churned as they felt that they were moving at great speed.  Suddenly, they found themselves in a tunnel.

"What is this place?" Rarity asked.  The tunnel appeared to be carved from rock, and surprisingly well-lit, with lamps hanging from the ceiling and electrical wiring connecting them and spanning the length of the passageway.  She also noted the constant flow of cool air, keeping the climate at a comfortable equilibrium.  Both Rarity and Fluttershy, however, were overcome by a familiar sense of dread, reminding them of the paranoia they had both felt the day before.

"Welcome to the Big Deep," Greyjaw declared.

"The what?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's our little country.  I'm not surprised you've never heard of it." Greyjaw replied.  "The surface of this land is pure, uninhabitable swamp, but beneath the surface?  There's an entire world down here.  Very few outsiders ever get to see what you two are going to see, so consider yourselves lucky."

"Yeah, always nice to be here," Clarion replied, beginning to walk away, "but I've got some work to do, so I'm gonna jet."

"Whatever," Greyjaw replied, "see you around, I guess."

"As for you two," Clarion said, turning his attention to Rarity and Fluttershy, speaking directly to them for the first time, "don't go getting into any trouble while you're here.  I mean it, Greyjaw's an angry dude."  Greyjaw and his captives watched as Clarion Call turned a corner, and that was when Fluttershy noticed the shadow that was being projected against the wall, tall and thin, something about its shape catching her attention in a way that she could only describe as "wrong" if she had to put it in a word.  Another flash was seen, and both Clarion's shadow and the other one were gone, and Fluttershy and Rarity instantly felt more at ease.

"What was..." Fluttershy began, pointing in the direction where they had just been, "what was that thing he took with him?"

"Heck if I know," Greyjaw said, "the few times I've seen it with Rion, it's been kept out of sight.  Fine by me.  Whatever it is, it creeps me out."

"So, are we going to find out why you brought us here any time soon?" Rarity asked.

"The Alpha Dog will tell you everything you need to know tomorrow."  Greyjaw replied.  "For now, I'm gonna take you to your temporary quarters, where you'll be spending the night.  Locked in, of course."  He grinned as he motioned for Rarity and Fluttershy to follow him again.

...

"Uh, Twi?" Applejack said, nudging her friend.

"Hmm?" Twilight grunted, looking up from her book again.  "We can't be there yet, can we?"

"No," Applejack replied, "it's just... the other ponies in this cart are lookin' at us a lot more now, and a few seconds ago I saw a group of 'em walk out the front and back doors.  And I might be crazy, but it feels like we've been slowin' down since that happened."

"No, you're right!" Twilight said urgently, setting her book down quickly.  "The cart has been losing momentum."  She leaned her head toward the window.  "And it's because we've been completely detached from the rest of the train!"

"What in tarnation!?" Applejack exclaimed.  "Did y'all here that?"  She turned to the rest of the passengers, who were now all glaring at the two of them.  "Uh, was it somethin' I said?"

She saw one of the ponies across the aisle start to inhale deeply, as though preparing to sneeze.  Applejack was ready with a "gesundheit" when the pony exclaimed "achoo!".  What she wasn't ready for, however, was the accompanying burst of green light that left a surprised Changeling sitting in the passenger's place.  Twilight and Applejack stared at the Changeling, mouths hanging open.  The creature only stared back, shifting his eyes amongst the other passengers, and they sat silently for five seconds before Twilight and Applejack began to lower themselves from their seats, eyeing the exit closest to them.

"Grab 'em!" shouted another pony, also reverting to a Changeling.  The rest of the passengers followed suit.  They took to the air and began to close in on the two travelers.  The one at the front of the pack began to initiate some sort of magical attack.  He was struck down by a blast from Twilight Sparkle's horn.

Two more, similar blasts incapacitated two more Changelings.  However, a fourth attack made contact with her, trapping her in a green field of energy and sapping her strength.  She was immediately freed after Applejack's back hooves connected with the aggressor's face in a forceful buck that sent him flying backwards, knocking down several of his companions in the process.

"Thank you," Twilight gasped as she collapsed.

"You know I've always got your back!  Come on, now!" Applejack shouted, helping Twilight up.

"We have to jump out the back!" Twilight groaned, her face a paler shade of purple than usual.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Applejack replied as she helped Twilight over to the back exit of the cart, shoving the door open.  The resolve on her face died as she realized that the cart, now entrapped within a green aura of its own, was floating high above the ground, being carried by a swarm of Changelings circling the box from the outside.  While distracted, magic attacks hit her and Twilight from all sides, and they quickly lost consciousness.

...

"What a day," Rainbow Dash sighed as she flopped down on the her bed in the hotel room.

"I've never had so much fun before!" Pinkie Pie replied, jumping up and down on her own bed.

"Gotta admit, Pinks, you really surprised me," Gilda said, pulling on the foldout couch.  "I had no idea you were so good at poker."

"I didn't either!" Pinkie replied.  "But my back was itchy today, and when my back is itchy, it means it's my lucky day!"

"I'll assume that makes sense to you," Gilda said, glancing over at Rainbow Dash, who simply nodded.  "I don't know about you gals, but I'm not quite ready to hit the hay yet."

"Say no more, G," Rainbow Dash said.  "I know just how we'll pass the time."

"Not another one of your ghost stories, Dashie!" Pinkie protested.  "They're way too scary!"

"Aren't you the one who's always saying 'Giggle at the ghosties'?" Rainbow replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes!" Pinkie said, "That's how scary your stories are!"  Gilda laughed to herself, looking over at Pinkie and smiling softly.

"If anything, that just encouraged me to tell one!"

"Go for it, Dash!" Gilda said, a mischievous look on her face.  "Bust out the scariest one you can think of!"  Pinkie gulped and braced herself.

"Alright then," Rainbow Dash said, clicking off the table lamp between the beds and turning on a flashlight.

"Where did you get the flashlight?" Gilda asked.

"Not important!" Rainbow replied quickly.  "What is important, however, is that I've been told that across the entire span of Equestria, no creature is more fearsome than- pause for dramatic effect- the Sasquatch!"

"The Sasquatch?" Gilda replied.  "The big ape monster that lurks in wooded areas and kidnaps hatchlings who don't eat their vegetables?  Come on, Dash, that story's as old as the hills.  Give us some new material!"

"Oh, but it isn't just a story," Rainbow Dash continued, trying to make her voice sound as spooky as possible.  "For I have had a first-hand encounter with the beast!"

"Do tell," Gilda said, rolling her eyes.

"My friend, Twilight, was visited by her future self once, who predicted a great disaster, and so I sent my weather team all over Equestria to look stuff over and make sure everything was on the up and up," Rainbow Dash explained quickly.  "But one member of my team, Cloud Chaser, who was flying over this very city, witnessed the creature with her own eyes!"

"...That's second-hand," Gilda corrected her.

"What?"

"If it happened to someone else, and they told you about it, that's second-hand, not first-hand."

"Whatever, Gilda, this isn't a story about numbers!" Dash replied, throwing her arms into the air.  Gilda and Pinkie exchanged a smirk.  "Anyway," Rainbow continued, "Cloud Chaser saw the monster roaming the outskirts of the city, retreating into the forest."  She shined the flashlight upward from directly beneath her chin, illuminating her jaw and covering her eye sockets in shadow.

"Her curiosity getting the best of her," she continued,  repeatedly alternating her focus between Gilda and Pinkie Pie, "she ventured into the woods after it, hoping to get a better look at this thing she had never seen before.  As she made her way between the trees, she saw it.  Wearing a long, black coat, standing over seven feet tall, on its hind legs, with arms so long that its claws reached down to its knees, stood the Sasquatch.  It turned to face her, and she beheld its hideous, disfigured face.  Scrunched and wrinkled, hairless and pale, super gross, with eyes that glowed like light bulbs, and a toothy scowl that-"

"We get it, Dash," Gilda said, "it was freaky looking.  What did it do?"

"It didn't do anything, Gilda.  It just looked at her for a second, then ran off."

"Wow, spooky," Gilda said rolling her eyes again.

"I thought so!" Pinkie replied, sticking her head out from beneath her covers and quivering.

"But what really disturbed me," Rainbow said, bringing the flashlight in closer, "was the way Cloud Chaser said she felt.  When she neared this creature of myth, she said she felt as though an invisible force was pushing her away, and she got really scared.  But at the same time, she said she felt compelled to get closer to it.  And when it looked into her eyes, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, got super nauseous, and almost passed out."

"I guess that is a little creepy," Gilda replied, "if it actually happened."

"Oh, it happened!" Rainbow Dash assured them.  "Cloud Chaser never lies.  What's more, they say that the Sasquatch is still seen in this very city, from time to time, lurking in the dark and lonely places, waiting to strike!" Rainbow Dash shouted as a tall figure lunged towards them from behind her, causing both Pinkie and Gilda to scream in absolute terror.  Rainbow Dash proceeded to turn on the light, revealing the Sasquatch to be nothing more than a coat rack with a trench coat hanging from it that she had pulled towards them with her tail.

"Not funny!" Pinkie whimpered as Dash doubled over with uncontrollable laughter.

"Okay, fine.  I admit, you got me," Gilda conceded.  "So none of that story was true, then?"

"I dunno," Dash replied, calming down and wiping a tear from her eye, "Cloud Chaser really did tell me that story, but she lies all the time, so it's probably not true."

"Huh," Gilda said.  "Well anyway, I think that's about it for me tonight."

"Yeah, I could use some shuteye," Dash replied, stretching out on her bed.

"I'm never going to sleep again," Pinkie replied, a frown on her face.

"Before we turn in, there's one last thing I want us to do," Gilda said, reaching into a nearby drawer and pulling out a bottle.

"Las Pegasus Cider?" Rainbow said, reading the label.

"I've had that stuff before!" Pinkie Pie replied.  "It's super tasty!"

"I figured we could all share a cup," Gilda said.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Rainbow Dash replied as Gilda filled three cups with the liquid.

"To mended fences and emotional scarring!" Pinkie Pie declared as the three friends touched glasses.

"Bottoms up!" Gilda said as they downed their drinks.  Gilda lowered her glass as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie both dropped theirs, falling backwards onto their beds and beginning to snore loudly.  Gilda sat on her own foldout bed with her clasped claws in her lap.  "Please don't come," she whispered to herself.  "Please don't come, please don't come, please don't come!"  She winced as the hotel room door swung open, and two armored male Griffons entered the room.

"What did you do to them?" asked one.

"Skyberry juice in the cider," Gilda replied, avoiding eye contact.

"Skyberries?" the second Griffon asked as they approached the mares.

"Yeah, the berries might relax us Griffons, but they knock ponies right out.  They won't wake up for at least eight hours."  Gilda's face was expressionless.

"Then we'll have to fly fast if we want to reach the Griffon Kingdom by then," the first Griffon replied.

"You've done well, Special Agent Gilda."

"You promise you won't hurt them, right?" Gilda asked.

"What concern is that of yours?" the second Griffon asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"They're kind of my friends," Gilda replied, her eyes drifting to the right.

"That's the kind of thinking that got your family banished in the first place.  Few Griffons get a second chance, so you best learn to put the Pride first, as we all must.  But yes, our orders are that they must not be harmed," the first guard said as they lifted Dash and Pinkie over their shoulders and opened the window.  "Come, we must fly."

...

"Where are we?" Twilight slurred her words as she began to regain consciousness.  The events that had transpired earlier that day came rushing back to her, and she realized that she was in the clutches of a pair of Changelings.  She looked to her right and saw Applejack, who was also waking up, in the same predicament.

"Finally awake, Twilight Sparkle?" a familiar voice called out.  Twilight and Applejack direct their attention ahead and beheld the Queen of the Changelings sitting on a throne before them.

"Chrysalis!" Twilight hissed.  "What is this place!?"

"You're in my throne room, in the center of the Great Hive.  There's an ocean between you and your precious Equestria, now!"

"You won't get away with this!" Twilight replied, struggling in the grasp of her captors, a small burst of magical energy emitting from her horn before dying out.

"My spies were very careful in abducting the two of you, and they didn't leave a trace of their presence behind," Chrysalis replied.  "Nobody knows that it is I who have you now."

"I can only assume this is about revenge," Twilight replied.  "Let Applejack go, and I'll cooperate."

"Twilight!" Applejack barked, beginning to struggle as well.  "You don't get to make that decision!"

"Neither of you get to make that decision," Chrysalis corrected them.  "I can assure you, revenge, while being a fortunate bonus here, is not my motivation for holding you hostage."

"So what's the plan, then?" Applejack asked.  "Ya think you can just hide us away forever with nopony findin' out?  What would be the point of that?"

"The point?  Ah, you're implying that I mean to ransom you, is that it?" Chrysalis asked with a giggle.  "All you need to know is that you will be staying here for the foreseeable future.  This, of course, means that you will have to be made useful, but don't worry, that is a simple enough task."  As she said this, two streams of green energy shot from her horn and connected with Twilight and Applejack, putting them to sleep once again.  "Prepare two feeding pods and connect them to the Central Nervous System."