The Return of the Changelings

Inconspicuously moving through the back alleyways proved to be a tad bit difficult. The broad daylight illuminated the colors too dominantly and minimized the amount of shadows Moonshy could blend into. He did what he could to keep his shadow out of line-of-sight but, with so many pairs of eyes prying about, somepony was bound to see something. For the first time in his life, Moonshy found himself cursing Celestia’s vibrant days.

You should have waited for nightfall.

Quiet conscious! I realize that now. But there’s nothing I can do about it at this point.

Several times he had to stop, hide and wait as a pony or group of ponies passed; hugging the wall, making sure his shadow faded into that of the buildings’. A strategy he learned after several times avoiding suspicious characters in his past. It was steadily getting harder to hide though. It seemed to him like more and more “patrols” were being sent out. All seemed to be looking for something.

I haven’t been seen as of yet… perhaps the members of this town are aware of the looming threat… or perhaps… no. Oh Luna, why must your night take so long to rise?

That’s because you came here in the morning you idiot! Why don’t you find a nice barrel to hide in and wait out the day?

I can’t! I have to draw Chrysalis out!

Now? If she’s here, she’s not going to go anywhere, anytime soon.

Well… Moonshy’s sense of urgency was loosening its grip on his mind, but it didn’t entirely leave.

Fine, I’ll wait for a bit. But the second more shadows come along, I’m leaving regardless.

Don’t they come along… at night?

This statement was a slight bit inaccurate. Shadows also came when clouds covered the sapphire blue sky or the sun sank low enough that buildings casted rather lengthy ones. Fortune seemed to favor Moonshy for the moment as the other pegasi grouped together clouds; heavy with condensation and simply itching to precipitate. They were planning a storm, and a big one by the looks of it.

He felt a bit of remorse. He remembered from years past that this was the duty of all pegasi, a duty he was currently neglecting. He tried to spread his wings but then the piercing pain shocked his right side; reminding him of his rotten luck back in the forest. He looked down at the ace wrappings in disappointment, for possibility of him never flying again grew more and more apparent as time pressed on. He realized that if he waited much longer, infection could damage the joint permanently. Unfortunately, heading to the hospital right now would prove problematic for everypony. So, next to a dumpster trough he sat, watching the other pegasi go about their business… all, simultaneously?

As he observed their working habits, something struck him as… off. The way they did things seemed almost… single-minded. They were a bit too militant and organized. Uniformity far surpassing that which a group of small town ponies could ever hope to achieve without military training or… HIVE MINDEDNESS!

Oh great… and here I was hoping my assumption was wrong. The creatures have indeed infiltrated Ponyville! I have to be extra careful now.

Two pegasi flew overhead, seemingly making some patrol rounds, when they stopped suddenly. One of them moved his cyan colored head over to the opal colored one and whispered something into her ear. The opal one looked down at Moonshy, her yellow mane flicking down as she did. The cyan one’s purple tail flittered back and soon Moonshy could tell what they were doing. They were pursuing him. He got up off his rump and tried to walk away as casually as possible. That way he wouldn’t seem suspicious. It didn’t work, for when he reared a corner he heard a faint whoosh fallowed by a flicker of green light. The two pegasi (well… they weren’t really pegasi anymore) now buzzed behind him in hot pursuit.

Moonshy made a dash for it. He slipped through obstacles in hopes that it would throw his hunters for a loop. That didn’t work either. It didn’t help that his wing was making things much more painful as well.

You forget, they can still fly! Unlike you at the moment. Running an obstacle course is going to do nothing but slow you down.

No matter what he tried, The creatures still gained on him. Inches away they were, he could feel their cold breath on his neck, their bug-like wings thunderously attacking his ears. He knew it, they were about to grab him, they were about to sink their vicious fangs into his neck. He almost rammed into a dead end. He had nowhere to go now! The two creatures had Moonshy cornered and at their mercy. He had no choice now but to tremble, sweat, and stare death in the face. He turned around, breathing heavily. He backed up until he couldn’t anymore. Coming upon a wooden platform which elevated him only a few inches up.

“Ha hahaha! What’s the matter little Pegasus? Too much agony in your wing? Can’t fly away? Scared you’ll never fly again?” Those words affected Moonshy on a psychological level, dread filling his soul. The one that spoke had a voice which mimicked a chittering hiss. That voice, sent tremors down his spinal cord and forced the hairs along it to stand on end.

“No!” The other cried, the voice feminine and sounding like a buzz. “You aren’t even aware who this izz do you?”

Oh no! They recognize who I am!

“Does it matter? He’s got a lot of love coursing through his… juicy little veins. I can taste it from all the way over here.” The first creature’s mouth watered.

“This izz the one our mother’zz searching for! Eat him, and you’ll receive the same punishment greedy got!” The buzzy one shuttered.

“Oh come on! Just a little nibble wouldn’t hurt. I’m starving. I’ll leave enough for Mother, I promise I will.” The chittering one lunged at Moonshy, his eyes flooded with so much hunger that he should’ve been blind.

“No!” The buzzy one jumped in front of the chittering one, intercepting the attack and taking it herself.

“Don’t try to stop me you-!” Before Moonshy had a chance to gather what exactly was happening a fight broke loose between the two creatures. Soon, they were both on the ground, fighting like rabid dogs in a pit. They each made their share of sputters hisses and screeches as they tore into each other’s carapace. He panicked, for it looked like the brother was winning this battle. Soon, very soon, the sister will be knocked incapable and the brother’s purely white fangs will sink into Moonshy’s neck. He twisted his head left and right, looking for a way out of the alley, but the only foreseeable way out at this point… was up. Moonshy’s current handicap was going to be the death of him!

The sister screamed, her carapace was cracked and a tiny bit of greenish brown ooze leaked out from her crevices. She spread her wings and flew away awkwardly, as all sides of her stood broken.

“Now, where were we? Ah yes, I was just about to feast on you.” That creature tried to lunge at Moonshy once again. Now, all was lost. Moonshy was going to be some creature’s food. All he did, all he was able to do, was stand and brace himself for the pain which will undoubtedly come before the cold embrace of death. But then, the wood fell out from beneath is hooves and he found that he was falling; falling into darkness.

Thankfully, the fall wasn’t that far. The total distance barely crested ten feet. His fall was broken by something wet, something full of soil, and something smelling of dust. He hit it with a solid slap which knocked the wind out of him. The next thirty seconds were spent gathering all that lost air back up. Finally he looked up, what he reasoned to be a trap door, now closed up, the monster above not seeming to fallow.

Now his eyes were met with a long hallway… seemingly some sort of secret passage, for the hall moved on past his door, all the way through both in front and behind. The under passage was hardly lit, not even a candle to illuminate the path ahead. The only light came through little cracks and crevices Moonshy would not have noticed otherwise if not for the rays coming through them. There were certain floods of light coming through more trap doors like the one he fell through but he dared not go out, because he knew the changelings would no doubt be searching for him up there.

That’s weird though… That chittering one undoubtedly saw where I went. There was no way he couldn’t have. Why isn’t he chasing after me? Why aren’t any of them coming after me? Surely that one would have told others... unless he’s being greedy too. Well, if that’s the case, I guess I can call myself fortunate… even though one of those things hunting me is not much better than all of them. But again… why wouldn’t he have fallowed me down the tunnel?

Moonshy traveled cautiously through the tunnels, this all seemed too… convenient, for him. Not that that was a bad thing, it’s just, suspicious. He checked behind his shoulder every thirty or so seconds to make sure he remained untracked. Unfortunately, his hooves made deep grooves in the muddy ground beneath him. Deep enough that, if anything wanted to, they could easily track him.

Oh boy… I sincerely do hope nothing is fallowing me. If they are, they’ll find me sooner than I’d find them.

KABANG, rumble rumble! The first thunder clash boomed from up just mere feet above the tunnels, signaling that the pega… creatures, now unleashed their storm. The wet patters of raindrops above began seeping through the arched and cracked stone ceiling. As the water from above made the mud even wetter Moonshy found it harder to move. He was also having a tough time keeping his bandages dry.

Well… On the bright side, my tracks will get washed away. Really, that was the only silver lining in all this. You just got to keep pushing on. There will be a safe way out of here soon… at least… I hope there will.

Down one way was a great deal of light. That attracted his attention so he moved forward. A welcoming draft of fresh air, the beautiful sound of running water, and the magnificently simplistic sent of morning due on flowers, grass and leaves all drew him closer. For the first time in what seemed to him like ages, he gave a little simper as that sent reminded him of the one place he felt truly happy. Fluttershy’s cottage. He hurried over, against the draft so that he may come upon the exit.

Wait! What if it’s a trap?

Moonshy stopped just before the exit. A small opening covered with vines and hidden by an overgrowth of river grass. It seemed to be located under Fluttershy’s bridge, for something arced and made of stone rested overhead, stretching across a creek. Moonshy listened for anything suspicious, but the noise the rain made as it hit the creek made it extremely difficult to make anything else out but water.

Well, at least they won’t be able to hear me either… I’ll be careful.

He took a step. Looking around he saw nothing out of the ordinary but rain. That wasn’t the relief it was supposed to be, for the amount of moisture falling from above impaired his vison, keeping him from seeing more than a few meters away. One more step and he was exposed almost halfway. He looked around again, still seeing and hearing nothing of note. He examined the sky looking for shadows flying overhead but he saw none. He took a deep breath, building up the boldness needed to step out. He closed his eyes and prayed that there truly was nothing out there and finally he came out from under the bridge. He climbed up the small incline between the river and the ground nearly slipping on all the wet vegetation. Now he was up, he turned his head towards the general direction of Fluttershy’s cottage to get a good look at it. Though it was barely visible through all the precipitation, what he saw opened the floodgates for new invasion of worry to rush in.

Both halves (the top and the bottom) of Fluttershy’s door looked as though they were torn open, ripped partly off their hinges. The two windows he saw before the rest of the house faded into the mist were broken, and nothing lit up the interior of the structure. It appeared as though something… attacked her cottage. All of a sudden, he stopped thinking. All he knew was that something was wrong, and that Fluttershy could be in danger… or dead. He ran across the slippery bridge, not taking any care to silence the clopping of his hooves. He galloped until he was out of the rain and inside the cottage.

KABANG, rumble, rumble. Another crash of thunder sounded and a flash of lightning lit up the interior of the house. For the instant the lightning illuminated, the shadows of toppled tables, torn couch cushions, and broken pottery reached across the ground. The animal sized stairways and houses sat splintered. Scratches of some kind ruined the wallpaper around him. When the brief light of the lightning disappeared the door behind Moonshy slammed shut, barely fitting within its frame, seeing as the hinges were still broken. His breathing grew heavy and a cold chill ran down his spine once more. He felt thousands of tiny little bugs crawling under his skin, giving him goosebumps and making whatever hair they were attached to stand on end.

GET OUT OF HERE! His instinct screamed.

I can’t! My exit’s been blocked.

THAN FIND SOMETHING AND FIGHT!

I’m in no condition to do that now! His reminder to himself about his broken wing brought fourth more throbbing. He winced, but nothing more because the wound was, in a way, numbed. The wetness of his bandages made the living matter cold.

Another flash of lightning lit up the interior of the cottage and this time, something quickly moved across Moonshy’s line of sight. There was a thud and a muffled yelp as whatever it was flew through to a door just in front of the main stairway. Something, was in here with him! His heart racing faster than the Wonderbolts now. He felt as though his hooves were glued to the floor, as he was petrified to the spot.

You can’t just stand here! That thing will find you if you do!

Well, what should I do then!? I have no way out. Unless I wish to cause further harm to myself, jumping through the window would be a bad option! The glass would make too much noise for one, second off, the shards would cut through my coat. Bleeding out would be bad in this situation. The door is most likely jammed shut as well. So I can’t get out that way.

Well, the fact still stands, you can’t just stand here like a sitting duck! Find a way out! Do it quietly if you can.

How would I find a way out when I can’t see my own hoof in front of my face?

Close your eyes.

What?

Close your eyes, let them adjust to the dark lighting conditions. Come on Moonshy use your common sense!

The stress of fear began to fade away when he did this. He took a deep meditative breath and kept his eyes closed for several seconds. He noticed a quick jolt of light shine through his eyelids and moments later the thunder sounded. A change from the almost immediate thunder/lightning correlation before.

Good, that mean’s the storm is moving away now. Stress leaked away from him as he realized this. Moonshy opened his eyes again after five or so seconds. Now he could see everything a bit clearer. He noticed the torn up couch, the broken pottery, and the splintered animal stairways without help from the lightning. He scanned the area around him, noticing a doorway towards the back of the cottage. The only problem was… that was where the broken shards of the pottery lied. And though he could see things roughly, the details of the shards seemed to blend together. Now, because hooves are hard, it wasn’t cutting himself Moonshy was worried about. It was the noise he would make whilst stepping on them.

Oh, just my luck, a creature in one room and pottery shards blocking another! Well, neither choice seems good, but at least with one I have a chance of getting through undetected.

He moved towards the back doorway carefully and as quietly as he could. He felt for creaky floorboards, avoiding them when they came up. Every step he took was dexterous and quiet, touching tip to back (toe to heel). Once he came up to the shards, he took a second to examine the wreckage. The shards were highly concentrated in one location, but didn’t really spread beyond the doorway.

Maybe I could jump it?

No, that might make too much noise as well.

Might, that’s the keyword there. If I’m to jump, I must make sure it’s controlled. Remember that landing strategy you practiced a while back? Well, now might be a good time to use it. The modification shouldn’t be that difficult.

He tensed every muscle in his body for a brief moment, and then let them relax. If he was going to perform this stunt, he had to make sure everything was loose. He squatted down before pushing off the ground with his hind legs. He was up and over the shards, now to arrange his body just right. He landed, all four hooves touching the ground at almost the same time, he bent his legs with the force of his fall so that minimal inertia was transferred into the floorboards. His land was almost soundless, for a brief moment he felt like a cat landing behind its prey, keeping it oblivious to the fact that it’s there, right behind it. He looked around this new room and saw that it stored various kinds of pots and pans. With a small help from some more lightning, he noticed that these pots and pans were being held up by various hooks and crowded with some shelving and counters.

This must be her kitchen. Moonshy thought to himself. Here might be a good place to start.

There was another eerie thud in the room behind him, this time fallowed with a not-so-quiet “Ouch!” He heard hoof-steps moving closer to the kitchen. Moonshy searched around franticly for a place to hide but as the hoof-steps got even closer, he found that the only thing he could do was back up. Hopefully he would end up in the darker shadows.

CRASH, CLANGCLA CLANG! This sound, combined with the iron he felt on the back of his head made his heart skip several beats. He felt himself grow pale as he realized… he had backed into and knocked over several pieces of cookware.

Oh no! Oh no oh no oh no oh no! Moonshy you stupid idiot! You cheese headed fool! Now you’re about to get found out! You twit! You ninny! You can’t escape now! Everything from here to Fhillydelphia and the ever moving city of Cloudsdale knows you’re here now!

“M- Moonshy?” That voice… it was the voice he had been missing all this time. That was the voice of Fluttershy! Fluttershy was the creature he saw move through the cottage. She was trying to hide from the creatures just like he was. Moonshy couldn’t remember a time when he felt more relived.

“Uh… yes?” He replied in kind.

She rushed him in a way that expressed total sadness, and complete fear. She almost fell right onto him, but he slowed her flop by putting a hoof out front, making sure she didn’t further harm his wing.

“H- HEY! Watch my wing… I- I’m pretty sure it’s broken.” He stammered nervously. Fluttershy didn’t reply. She just fell right into his arms. He almost thought she fainted, but then he realized that there was warm moisture trickling down his shoulder. She let out a distressed squeak. It didn’t take him long to figure out that… she was crying. Her sadness was contagious, making him feel the same, but when it was on him, it came with a side effect of anger. Anger not towards Fluttershy at all, but towards whatever was her reason for crying.

He wrapped his outstretched hoof around her and began to stroke her silky mane as an attempt to comfort her, great concern filling his soul. Fluttershy squeaked and sobbed some more so he continued to stroke her. He wanted to know exactly what was causing her such dismay, even though he already had a pretty good idea. He let her weep a bit longer before finally saying something.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, annoyed at himself for his lack of a lead up.

“Oh, It was horrible… the- they…” She dropped her head and sniffled. Her voice fallowed by a depressed wail.

“They did what?”

“The Changelings… they- they killed them all. All those poor little…” She stopped again, unable to complete her sentence due to her depression and weeping. She needed to say no more than that. Now he knew what had happened. The changelings, which he guessed to be the creatures that have been causing so much toil these past few days, came through and… killed all the animals Flutter cared for. His anger reached a peak, his internal heat feeling like steam. That anger was rivaled only by her contagious sadness. He felt extremely bad for what had happened, guilty for not being there to protect her. His mind raced, remembering every way possible he knew to kill somepony… or in this case, changeling. At the same time, however, his eyes watered and he felt tears coming to the surface. He sunk his head so that it wrapped around Fluttershy’s neck and he let those tears fall out of his eyelids. Quietly, he bawled as well. For the next several minutes, they cried together.

“C- Come on, We should get out of here. I know a way out… I- I think.” Every house, from what he’s seen, has a back door. He almost face-hoofed himself for not realizing that sooner. At least he knew now that there was no creature waiting to eat him or something like that. He took several steps with Fluttershy at his side. He wrapped his one good wing around her so that he could continue to offer comfort. They moved into the other room, the one he didn’t try or enter before, and sure enough there was a back door there. It was wide open… suspicious, yet too convenient to pass up. Looking out he saw that the rain outside had calmed itself down to a drizzle, and bits and pieces of the sun’s rays now poked their beautiful light through. A sight he wanted to see forever, for it seemed a symbol of hope, but alas, the changelings still occupied the town, so they had to move through it discretely. Luckily, his discovery of the underground passageways would make things a right bit easier.

“Um… where, are, we going?” Fluttershy asked, still sniveling.

“There is a… A um, underground tunnel system. It runs all the way through Ponyville, from what I’ve seen. There’s an entrance to it right under your bridge. I- I’m,” His next few words tried to jump out of his throat, but were caught at the last second by the tip of his tongue. “Er, what I’m saying is, they’re safe. A good place to hide out until things… pass.”

“You’re- you’re sure they’ll pass?”

“They will once I’m done with them… hopefully. I’m going to draw queen Chrysalis out of hiding. I think she’s currently disguised as… Princess Twilight, your friend.”

Fluttershy’s eyes began to water again. He didn’t realize that the mention of a friend being an evil queen was hard for anypony to accept. He tried to change the subject before she cried again. He really felt bad when she cried. Social skills such as that however, were not his strong suit.

“Oh, no no no, I didn’t mean…” Before he realized what he was doing, he hugged her. Doing what he could to comfort her yet again. “I… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I jus—“ He sighed “Let’s go, Everything will be alright soon, I promise. I will not stop until I have Chrysalis banished from here for eternity.”

They moved through the tunnels unimpaired by anything except mud. The place was like a maze, thankfully, Moonshy had a good sense of direction. So did Fluttershy, it seemed. They came across a newly formed tunnel link which looked as though it stretched fourth towards Twilights castle.

Bingo! He thought as he noticed the stone bricks transition into purple crystal. He began trotting down the corridor when Fluttershy spoke up once more.

“M- Moonshy?”

“Mhm?” He replied turning around. Fluttershy’s head was down, her pink hair covering one of her eyes. She was looking up at him shyly and one of her hooves were rubbing up nervously against the other. She was about to say something, he could tell by her demeanor. But she was holding off on saying it out of shyness.

“Before we go and… stop Chrysalis,” She continued “I just wanted you to know that, I mean, I just wanted to say that. Oh, why must it be so hard to talk?”

“I- If you can’t talk… than maybe you should let your… actions? Speak for you. Un- un- unless, you don’t really have, anything to--” Fluttershy interrupted him with a peck on the lips. Moonshy reeled his head back, pleasantly surprised at what had happened. She starred her beautiful turquoise eyes into his mystical blue ones. Soon, Moonshy couldn’t help himself, He moved his head closer to hers and interlocked his mouth with hers. He closed his eyes simply to enjoy the moment. A moment that was too good to be true.

Moonshy felt his life drain from him again… and now he realized what was happening. Chrysalis wasn’t disguised as Twilight, like his original theory suggested, she was… Fluttershy! Her body morphed into a dark form and her wicked green eyes pierced deep into his soul. He felt used, stupid, and played. How could he have been so blind!?