Creepy ponies

"Are you ready yet?" E.J asked Ben.

Ben was flipping through a book that he probably got from the library. "Yeah, almost, I just want to learn a few spells."

"What kind of spells?"

"I learned a tracking spell last night." Ben answered. "Now I'm trying to learn attacking spells."

"Well, can you hurry up?" E.J was sitting next to the door next to Toby, Brvr and Smile. Sally would've been with them, but they had agreed that she was too young to fight a hive of changelings. "We don't have all week."

"Just a few more minutes." Ben told them.

E.J sighed and facehoofed. "We've been waiting for almost two hours."

Ben ignored him and continued flipping through his book.

"How many do you need to know?" E.J asked after a few more seconds.

"At least ten." Ben answered.

"How many do you know already?"

"Only four."

"That's probably enough." E.J said, growing impatient.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ben asked. "I thought you were a patient person."

"I usually am, but it's kind of hard to be patient when there's a possibility that one of my best friends could be dying right now."

"You know Ben, he's kinda right." Smile said, sighing. "The longer you take the higher the chance of Jeff's death."

Ben sighed and closed the book. "Fine, I guess you're right."  He walked up to the others. "E.J, you lead the way."

E.J did as Ben asked and led them outside, hoping their large group wouldn't attract attention. "Maybe you should lead." E.J suggested to Ben after they were a few feet from the house.

Ben gave him a look of confusion. "Why?"

"You have a tracking spell." E.J pointed out. "We'll get to him faster if the person leading knows where to go."

Ben didn't argue and took the lead, stopping and firing up his horn. After a few seconds he started walking again.

"So, where are we going?" E.J asked.

"Somewhere." Ben answered. "I'm not quite sure exactly where, I'm just following the pull of my magic."

E.J nodded and continued following.

*****

They had been walking for over an hour, exiting Ponyville after a while.

"S-so, E.J, are you sure it's changelings?" Toby asked as they walked.

"Yes." E.J answered.

"Are you sure that it isn't t-the government?"

If E.J hadn't been walking he would've face-hoofed. Toby had asked that question at least fifteen times while they had been waiting on Ben. "Toby, how would the government even get to a place like this?"

"I-I don't know, they're the government, they have their ways."

E.J sighed. He couldn't take much more of this. They needed to get there faster. "Ben, can you walk any slower?"

"Sorry E.J, I'm not really the running type of person."

E.J spread his wings and flew in the air, landing in front of Ben.

Ben stopped just in time, barely stopping himself from walking into E.J.

"Ben, I've said this before, and I'll say it again." E.J got closer to Ben as he spoke, close enough for Ben's nose to touch his mask. "Speed is key!" E.J shouted at the top of his lungs, grabbing Ben with his front hooves as he got himself off the ground with his wings. He spun around a few times to gain speed. "Go, Benny, go!" He shouted as he threw Ben in the direction they had been walking in.

Ben flew several feet before landing face first in the dirt.

E.J flew after him, hovering over him as he spat dirt out of his mouth.

"I hate you sometimes." Ben said as he rubbed dirt out of his eyes.

E.J landed gently next to him. "At least I helped us make some progress."

"There is dirt in the curves of my horn." Ben said, glaring.

E.J put a wing around him. "Come on, I'm sure it's not that bad."

Ben didn't answer, but glared into E.J's empty sockets. "You're lucky that you threw me the right way."

"What would you have done if I'd thrown you the wrong way?"

"I would've ripped your wings off and shoved swords in your eye sockets." Ben answered.

E.J slowly stepped away. "Don't touch my eye sockets." He said in a low voice. "I don't know you like that."

Ben sighed. "Right, I forgot about what your eye sockets are." He cringed slightly, realizing exactly what he'd threatened to do.

E.J shrugged. "I wouldn't have really minded it." He said. "It would've been amazing, until the sword broke through the goo and hit my brain."

Ben gave him an odd look. "You would have liked it if I shoved a sword where your eye should be?"

E.J shrugged again. "I do it all the time with stuff that isn't deadly."

"Nobody needed to hear that." Toby said, interrupting the conversation.

"I think I'm gonna have nightmares about that." Brvr said as he sat on Smile's back.

"Me too." Toby agreed, backing away.

E.J sighed. "Come on, Toby, you're into even weirder stuff than I am."

"Waffles." Toby said. "I like waffles, a lot, but not to the point where I'd put them in one of my orifices."

"What about that one time when Masky bought those blueberry waffles and you went up to your room with them and-"

Ben was interrupted by Toby. "I was drunk, t-that doesn't count!" He said, blushing.

"They say that alcohol brings out your true emotions." E.J said, trying not to laugh.

"Okay then, w-what about that time you got drunk and made out with L.J?" Toby asked, smirking when E.J stayed silent.

After a few moments E.J spoke again, glad that his mask hid his red face. "I thought we agreed to never speak of that again."

Toby ignored him. "And then you guys went to his ro-"

"I said, shut up." E.J growled, stepping closer to Toby.

"What're you gonna d-do, hit me?" Toby taunted. "I'm sure it'll be sooo painful, I'll be crying in agony."

E.J had raised his hoof and was about to hit Toby in the goggles, hoping to break them, but as he swung his hoof, it was grabbed by a magical green aura.

"Calm down E.J." He said. "We won't make any progress if we just stand here fighting all day."

E.J sighed after a moment of thought and put his hoof back onto the ground. "You're right."

"And Toby, E.J isn't Masky, don't get on his bad side."

Toby nodded in agreement, deciding that Ben was right.

"Now, come on, we're close." Ben said to them as he began walking again.

The others followed him, Toby and E.J walking next to each other.

"So, are you really a waffle-sexual, or is that just a rumor?" E.J asked.

Toby sighed. "Just because it's hard for me to control myself when I'm around a waffle doesn't make me a waffle-sexual." He stepped closer, lowering his voice to a whisper. "But, to be honest, I'm a huge waffle-sexual. Blueberry's my favorite."

"Is that why you stare at my mask so often?"

Toby nodded.

"You should be glad that you're not a pegasus." E.J told him. "You'd have a really hard time explaining why your wings are fully erect every morning as you stare at your waffles dreamily."

"Wait, that's what it means when pegasus wings are sticking up like that?" Toby questioned, getting a nod from E.J. "That explains a lot.."

*****

They walked for a few more minutes, Ben having to quiet E.J and Toby more than once, before they stopped in an empty field.

"We should be close, my magic isn't leading me anywhere else." Ben said, looking around.

"Well, there's nothing here." E.J pointed out the obvious. "Maybe you did the spell wrong?"

"I studied that for hours last night, there's no way it could be wrong." Ben told him.

"Maybe we're in the right area, just not looking in the right places." Toby suggested, examining a blade of grass closely.

"Where do you suggest we look, then?" Ben asked.

Toby shrugged. "Around."

Ben sighed, his blue eyes turning slightly darker. "Thanks, that helps."

"Shhh." Toby shushed him, holding up a hoof and putting his ear to the ground.

The others examined him, wondering what he was listening for.

"Guys." He whispered. "The grass is tickling my ear."

Ben and E.J facehoofed at the same time, sighing.

"Also." Toby stood up slightly, pounding his hoof onto the ground. "This part of the ground sounds a bit hollow, like it's been dug out or something."

E.J sat next to Toby and put his ear to the ground, pounding it with his hoof. "He's right." He said, standing up. "It's definitely hollow."

"I say we dig a hole so we can look inside." Smile suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Ben agreed, using his magic to lift the dirt away until there was a hole small enough for one pony to look into.

Toby was the first too look in. "I don't see anything." He said, sounding disappointed as he stepped away from the hole.

E.J was going to be the next one to look into the hole, when a noise sounded from it.

"You, go to the most eastern hall, it needs more support beams, I heard the walls groaning as if it was going to collapse." A familiar British accented voice said from the hole.

Toby blinked in surprise. "Was that who I think it was?" He asked quietly.

"I think so." E.J said, just as surprised as Toby was.

"And you, the queen said that there are still worms getting into her chamber, fix that, would you?" The voice spokeagain, sounding louder this time.

Toby looked into the hole again, noticing that it was a hallway, rather than just a floor of dirt. He saw a group of changelings walking by, with two familiar figures walking with them.