Two Hundred Days

Day 66

Keen Eyes's Log

I... I can't remember what happened last night. A bit of cider, a bit of pie, a bit of "herbal medicine" from Sweet Tooth. Sweet Celestia, my head. I think I'm just going to lay down for the rest of... my life....

Day 66 part 2

Red Diamond's Log

hOLY SHIT yO thaT PARty was WIckeD! ThAt WitE h00f reaaally knowz HOW to HoLD his liquor, bUT SO do I!

Day 66 part 3

Gala Hat's Log

What are they thinking? I would expect Keen of all ponies to know Lavender's too young of a pony to have been exposed to such intense partying. Honestly, after the Changelings mobilized against the E.U.P forces that were on its way, the city became a playground for every pony. That is definitely no way to teach a growing filly like Lavender.

I was horrified when Red Diamond took her up to the roof for a toast to freedom. And then Crush and Triple B offered to take her through Canterlot for some "casual wreckage." I just had to stop them. This is Canterlot! It's nothing like surviving in the ruins of Ponyville, and we certainly don't need to make it look like it.

And don't even get me started on what Lilac and White Hoof were doing after the little drinking game with Red Diamond. Thank goodness Lavender was with me before that all started. Just, no, I'm not even going to touch that subject.

Gum Drop and Copper Tail were the only decent ones; they drank and ate all night, talking about their past as contemplating the meaning of life in the middle of their drunken stupor.

Even Keen and Mint Leaf fell victim to Sweet Tooth's experiments with whatever drugs were used by the Canterlot elite. I think the three of them's passed out in the bathroom upstairs.

As for me and Lavender, after I took her away from Red Diamond we had a fun, calm night of drawing, coloring, telling ghost stories, and trying to make origami. I swear, Lavender's talent has got to be in origami. I've never heard of a unicorn her age having so much dexterity with telekinesis. She began with a swan at the start of the night, and by morning she had finished a scale model of The Headless Horse, courtesy of my inspiring ghost stories. All I can do is a frog.

Day 67

Keen Eyes's Log

Now that they're gone - the Changelings - the city's so quiet. I stand here, on the roof of the mansion, and nothing, not a single beep, comes from the detector. We've let loose our frustrations and repressed urges of freedom, some more extreme than others, but our job's not here. Even if the Changeling military had left to take on the rescuing forces, the citizens should still be here. If they fled to the castle, such a large concentration of their magic should set off the ABCD from here. It's like they've vanished.

That's not possible, not even creatures as freakish and unnatural as the Changelings could move their entire population over night just like that. No, my suspicions will be confirmed once we determine the properties of the samples we retrieved from that wretched garden of theirs. Sweet Tooth and Mint Leaf are taking a look at the organic matter now, hoping to glean some information from chrysalis shells and Changeling fluid. Yuck. I leave you in their capable hooves, Journal.

Day 67 part 2

Mint Leaf's Log

I'm no chemist, that's Sweet Tooth's specialty, but I think my botany skills are as sharp as ever. I left the sappy fluid for Sweet to examine and took a look at the structure of the chrysalis samples myself. Hard and foul-smelling, they unlike anything I've ever seen. There's a clear merging of animal and plant cells in it - I found this out with a handy microscope crafted by Keen Eyes - not as if they were a mixture of the two, but a completely different type of cell with both plant and animal characteristics. I had to know how the Changelings had accomplished such a feat, but alas, I have yet to find anything as to what may have caused such a combination.

Day 67 part 3

Sweet Tooth's Experiments

Yes, my pretty, you secrets shall be mine. Mint Leaf has already informed me of your strange biology, and I too have confirmed it with my own eyes. Microscopes do not lie, Changeling Slime, and neither will you!

I have distilled much of your contents, alcohol being one of them, and yet the secrets of this bizarre slime is still hidden from me. Luckily, three fourths remain of the fluid, ripe for experimentation. I continued my tests with some hydrolysis, a small sample was mixed with a tablespoon of distilled water, and another sample mixed with enzymes of my own saliva. I shall leave these two to breakdown over the next few nights.

We are not done, no, not even close. Half remains now, and though I can feel the fear of the slime I can assure you it cannot feel the harm inflicted upon it. The next reasonable approach was magic! It had to be, how could something so close to the Changelings not have some magical influence surrounding it. It is weak in its magic, yes, but just as Keen had his stroke of brilliance, I had mine.

I created roughly an ounce of iron filings, and subjected them to a magnetic field generated from my own horn. Yes, this was not a normal field of magnetism, as magic was inherently flowing through the field as well. And for the sake of discovery, I took the next step in my experiment. With a makeshift pipette I doused my horn in with a sprinkle of the slime, and by the moon that bitch burned like hell! With a sudden crackle and a spark the magic fueling the magnetism spell had been sapped from my body, and the joy of the experience was flooded with a wave of first sorrow, then anger and hatred. Only the strongest logical reasoning stopped my sudden outburst from ruining the laboratory I had set up in one of the many bathrooms within the mansion.

This effect, however painful it may be, must be explored further with the other types of ponies. What is the full range of its draining capabilities? How are the emotions it inflicts effected by the state of the pony? Why must it consist of plant-animal hybrid cells? These are the essential questions in this investigation, and only by experimentation can we get this right. TO THE FIELD TESTING!

Day 68

Triple B

Triple B don't want none of that green shit!

Day 68 part 2

Lilac's Log

Um, no. I am not going anywhere near that disgusting slime, and I will literally flip shit if Sweet Tooth even looks at me with that thing.

Day 70

Keen Eyes's Log

Mint and Sweet have presented their findings to every pony by now, asking if any pony would like to test the "draining effects" of the Changeling slime. Honestly, I can't blame every pony for being freaked out over the stuff. As a general rule, anything related to Changelings were bad, but magic eating slime could be one of the worst things imaginable.

For all intents and purposes, I think our research is done. The chemical composition, its organic chemistry, these things should be left to actual laboratories, not makeshift burners and distilleries cobbled together from parts of a rich stallion's home. Besides, much worse news arrived from Manehattan radio this morning, and I think the slime has something to do with it.

... Telly Prompter, reporting live from news cloud hovering over what appears to be a savage three way conflict between Equestria's own military, the Changelings, and a new group of radical militants. We've been trying to land the crew and the cloud down to gather more from the situation, but there isn't a single landing zone not overtaken in this utterly relentless fighting. Against all reason, the pony militants marched into the Foal Mountains just two days ago and have savagely attacked Changelings and E.U.P alike. None of our sources have been able to identify the kind of spears the unknown force is carrying, but it's undoubtedly powerful, going head to head with the E.U.Ps very own Harmony Spear Formation - inaudible boom

Okay, um... what appears to have been the Wonderbolt's base camp has just been stuck by an immense green explosion - Cloud Steer, could you take us down closer? I- I can barely make out the troops down in some kind of, goo? They're still alive; Cloud! Get us closer, we have to pull them out before- sweet Celestia it's the Chang-- radio crackle

Again, more death on the pony side of this war. We've barely made any advance against the Changelings and they hit us with everything they got. Every pony must see, it's more than just our country, or our homeland. It's about Nurse; Ponyville was hit by the Wonderbolts when the main nest was stirred up. It's about Hammer Hoof; he died from an infection simply trying to make it to safety. It's about the Hay brothers who pulled through more suffering than any of us. It's about each and every stallion, mare, and foal who died because of this damn bloody war.

Day 70 part 2

Gala Hat's Log

It's all simply awful, what happened in the Foal Mountains. For a moment, I thought we had a change to get our homes back and put the Changelings behind us. Now I don't know what to do. I really don't.

Keen thinks he has it all figured out; he thinks the Changelings are making the slime as a weapon against Equestria's magic, and once they get it out into every theater of war they'll be nothing to stop them from completing their domination. He sure has a whole lot of confidence in his theory, which is good. Because I don't care for it.

He's jumping to conclusions, like what Nurse did the moment she heard about the Last Survivors. Plenty good that did us, getting us split apart, losing Ponyville to Wonderbolt bombings. If we just hadn't stirred up the Changeling horde, maybe Ponyville might still be standing.

Now we've gone full circle and we have nothing to show for it. So what if the Changelings do have an anti-magic slime, there's nothing we can do about it. Canterlot's their central hive now, or at least a central hive. There's bound to be lots of danger if we go investigating it, we could even get some pony killed. I won't let Lavender see another of her friends taken by these monster. I won't let Keen make the choice that's going to split us up again. I won't pursue this matter any further, and neither should Keen.

Day 70 part 3

Mint Leaf's Log

Abandon ship every pony, Gala Hat hates Keen now. Or at least she's upset with him. I can see why; he's come up with what can only be called a suicide mission. A mission into the Canterlot Castle to learn about the heart of the Changeling forces and expose any weaknesses. If nothing else, he wants to sabotage the production of the Changeling slime.

We don't even know how it's made, where the materials come from. Hell, we don't even know what's in the castle. From what his Changeling detector can tell us, it's something with a lot of magical power, and I don't like the thought of going near that kind of power if it's controlled by the Changelings.

But, now that I think about it, maybe that's why he's right. Whatever' in there could come out at any moment. It could even be unleashed right now, and we'd all fall to its might. That must be why he's dead set on this idea, on this suicide mission "to save Equestria." It's true that we might be the first and only ponies to get this close to the Changeling's command center. It's true that any danger to us may be worth it if it helps save Equestria. But all the same, I'm just to scared to go with the plant.

Like Gala Hat said to him, we're not soldiers. Me, I'm just a gardener from Ponyville.

Day 70 part 4

Sweet Tooth's Log

Incompetent imbeciles. To look into the heart of the enemy, and pull their secrets out against their will, what greater cause is there? I cannot believe how short sighted every pony is. Keen Eyes led us here from that disaster in Ponyville, I trust his judgement, especially if it means more chances to test on the Changelings' things.

I'm surprised Gala Hat's against this. I would expect that she of all ponies would want to get back at the Changelings, after all, it was their fault Nurse Toxin's no longer with us. Everything wrong around here is the fault of the Changelings. Lavender doesn't have a family because of the Changelings, how can we sit idly by and not deliver retribution for her mother.

Because of the Changelings, we all have to put up with Lotus and Lilac's incessant complaining. If that will not motive a pony to hate the Changelings, I cannot imagine what will.

Day 71

Keen Eyes's Log

Sweet Tooth, Mint Leaf, Crush, and me. We finally made out for Canterlot castle last night once every pony had gone to bed. We had intended to return before morning, but things never go as planned. I just don't know what went wrong.

The main Changeling army had returned from the front lines of the battlefield. We took cover in a mane salon as we watched them march into the castle. In the sky we could hear the reinforcements going out to take their place on the battlefield, buzzing away towards the Foal Mountains. We wasted roughly an hour waiting for the Changelings to pass us before we could move on into the gardens.

Of course, I had brought my amazingly beautiful Changeling detector, and of course, it went crazy as we entered the castle grounds. The electromagnets roared to life as it picked up all the Changeling soldiers that filled the castle. Their magic was just too much for the ABCD to handle. I had to shut it off for the remainder of the mission.

The plan was to enter the castle through the ballroom, which connected to the Gardens. However, that entrance was on the other side of the gardens and secured by three Changeling guards. We trotted quietly through the Gardens, making sure not to disturb the slime pods stuck to the trees; filled to the brim and leaking, they looked like the slightest disturbance would rupture their shell. The scenery was the worst part, for we witnessed the slow deaths of the fauna and flora alike. The pods were parasites to the tress they were stuck on, according to Mint. She said the trees looked as if they were debilitated by some form of blight. Meanwhile, those trapped within the pods - birds, rabbits, even a baboon - were either dead or dying, drowned by the thick slime of the pod. Like a pitcher plant, it broke down their flesh and incorporated it into more slime, likely fusing it with the plant matter it was draining from the trees. That was the source of the slime's biology; it was a cruel abomination of nature, and a fitting parasite for the heartless Changelings.

The guards were no problem for us. Mint and Sweet Tooth took some time before the mission to concoct some kind of sleeping powder, made from Mint's herbs and some drowsy medicine Sweet had a habit of using. I won't pretend that I understand how it works, I just hope I never get to experience its effects. The powder was delivered through a crude homemade grenade, created by yours truly, and quickly dispatched all three guards in half a minute.

Once inside the ball room we made our way toward the main entrance, skirting around the light of candles and staying out of sight. Thankfully, there were still many grand ornaments and statues of the princesses to where we could take cover. The quickest way to the entrance of the castle was therefore a path we could not take, for countless guards patrolled the hallways and even the cover of darkness would not be enough.

It was just our luck that none of us has ever actually been in the castle of Canterlot, and so we knew of no other way into the heart of the castle, the throne room. It was the most logical place for a command center, and from there we could find our way to wherever the slime was being stored.

At least, that was the plan.

Day 71 part 2

We are now hiding in what seems to be a meeting room. Day has come and it's far too easy to be spotted for us to be sneaking around. Having no sleep last night, we decided to take this opportunity to prepare to make the journey back to the group; we needed more knowledge of the castle grounds before we began to neutralize the Changelings, but this scout mission was a good insight as to how organized the enemy was, and given how long it took the Changelings to retreat from the war front and switch with another army in Canterlot, we had quite a few days left to sort out the slime before more reached the battlefield.

Day 71 part 3

Crush's Page

I can't believe this. We come out here to wreck shit and now he wants us to go back! No way, these freaks killed my friends, I'm not letting that go unpunished.

Day 71 part 4

Sweet Tooth's Log

I managed to collect many more samples last night in the Canterlot Gardens. Horrible place, yes, but it's simply so rich in opportunities for study I could stay there for days watching the slime, mixing the slime, feeding the slime, perhaps even touching the slime once again. But Keen's right, we must leave now before the Changelings find us and confiscate my samples. My work cannot be disturbed by such dull-minded creatures.

Night 71

Keen Eyes's Log

We started off the night checking out the path the guards would take, each of us covered a different zone and stuck to the shadows, to find a way out of castle without running into any trouble.

Ninety minutes after sun down we returned to the meeting room and combined the guards' paths onto a large map we drew on the chalk board. It was in no way a complete map, but we all agreed the safest course of action was to sneak along the business wing and loop around the back into the Canterlot Archives. The Starswirl the Bearded room cut through a section of the castle, making the escape quicker by cutting over a scenic garden path.

Once through the Canterlot Archives we were stopped by two Changelings taking a stroll around the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth was adjacent to where we had entered the Canterlot Gardens and it was the safest area possible. With no much space, so many hedges, and numerous statues, we had no problem sliding past what little security was put near the Labyrinth.

Of course, we had forgotten one crucial part of the Changelings. The can fly, and subsequently, they have patrols up above. We were spotted very quickly as we crossed over into the Canterlot Gardens, and though the exist was no more than a hundred meters away, the Changelings got to us before we got to our escape.

We were prepared to fight, Crush most of all, yet we did not. We were captured and sent deep down into the bowels of the castle, probably for whatever cruel experiments the Changelings had prepared for us. How we were captured, that's up to speculation, because I myself don't remember a thing, along with Mint and Sweet Tooth. Crush is no where to be seen in this forsaken dungeon, and the only sense of time is whenever the guards change shifts, signalling the setting or rising of the sun.