Chapter 4

Switchback looked down at his breakfast uncomfortably. Everypony else was digging in to their eggs, hash browns, pancakes, and other breakfast foods happily. They may have been going on a super important mission, but that didn't mean that they couldn't eat well. They would need to for the hike that would surely come when they reached the crystal mountains.

"Something wrong?" Chaser asked the changeling looked down at the two eggs that formed the eyes of a smiley face on his plate.

"Oh, uh... no. Nothing wrong." Switchback levitated a fork onto his plate. "I was just thinking. That's all."

Chaser looked into Switchback's eyes and traced where they were leading. Upon doing so, he instantly realized what was making the changeling so uncomfortable. "You know," he began. "If I were you, I'd go and give the chef a piece of my mind."

"I'm sorry?" Switchback asked, acting as if he didn't understand exactly what Chaser was getting at.

Chaser motioned to Switchback's plate. "Eggs. You don't want to eat them, do you?"

Switchback looked down at the eggs in front of him and then back at Chaser, before looking back down and then up again. He then finally found his voice. "Um... no, not really?"

"How can you not like eggs?" one of the royal guards that was accompanying them asked. The group that would be escorting them was also eating breakfast. "They're like the best food ever."

"Especially with ketchup," another pointed out. He received a few strange looks from his fellow guards. "Oh screw off. I can have my own opinions."

"It's the texture isn't it?" Twilight asked from across the table. "When I was a filly, I didn't like eggs because I thought they were too squishy. Weird how that changes."

"No it's just that... you know... uh..."

"Changelings lay eggs," Chaser interrupted before Switchback was able to spit it out.

Twilight stopped chewing and looked down at her own plate and then at Switchback. She now felt really bad. "Oh right. I kinda forgot about that. Sorry."

"It's okay, Twilight," Switchback assured. "It just feels strange, that's all. I know that foods that I've already had, like bread and cake have eggs in them, but eating one that isn't mixed into something just... it's just weird. Especially when you've seen your own kind hatched from an egg before. You know?"

"Yeah, I think I understand how you feel." Twilight dropped her fork and pushed her plate forward. "I think I'm done eating as well."

"Same," one of the guards, a stallion named Talisman, said, mimicking the motions of Twilight as he too gave up on breakfast.

The pony who had made the comment about ketchup immediately began shoveling the left overs into his mouth. "I'm not letting it go to waste," he explained after getting an irritated look from Talisman.

Talisman rolled his eyes and rested his head on his hoof. It was a weird feeling for him to be eating a meal with VIPs instead of standing guard while they ate, but it was Rampart's orders. Something to do with cohesion between them, the princess, and the changeling whom he still found strange and somewhat unsettling. Talisman would follow Rampart into the deepest levels of Tartarus if he was asked to, but sometimes he questioned some of his senior officer's methods.

Forming personal bonds with other ponies was never really Talisman's strong suit, and he failed to see how it would help their mission, but if Rampart deemed it necessary, then he would follow without complaining. Besides, the princess had allowed it so there was no harm in any of it.

Talisman looked back over to his fellow guards ponies. There were four of them in total, including him. He didn't really know any of them all that well, but he knew their names, and they knew his.

First, there was Gunnery Sergeant Jackpot Jr. whom they all called JJ. He was an earth pony who was now sitting to his left, eating any leftovers that remained. He had been stationed in Canterlot longer than any of them, beating Talisman by only a few years. He served as a training supervisor. Across from the table and to the left, sitting on Agent Chaser's right was Staff Sergeant August Sky. He was part of one of the aerial patrols that found the first changeling bodies in the Crystal Mountains. The pony that sat next to him was a unicorn named Brisk. He was a little younger than the others and was only a Private First Class, but he was the only one among them to actually go to an academy. Finally, there was Sergeant Talisman himself. Like August, he too was a pegasus. He had been working alongside Rampart in Canterlot for most of his military career.

"So it works like a chicken? Right?" the mostly quiet Private Brisk asked Switchback, who was explaining the incubation periods of a changeling egg.

"Um, do chickens come from eggs?" Switchback asked, answering the question with one of his own.

Brisk simply nodded in response.

"Then yeah," Switchback confirmed. "It works a lot like chickens."

Before any other conversations about eggs, whether or not they tasted better with ketchup or without, and other things could take place, Captain Rampart walked into the room with a pair of rough, old, sage green saddle bags upon his back. Upon seeing this, Talisman stood from his chair.

"Officer on deck," he said loudly, but more casually than one would expect from a royal guard.

He was followed by his fellow guard ponies who also stood and gave solutes of their own. All were now standing, except for Twilight, Switchback, and of course Chaser, who gave a quick half solute without even standing.

"At ease," Rampart said. "Gentlecolts, it is nearly that time. Grab your gear and meet at the west court yard in five mikes." After finishing, all the guards began to grab saddle bags of their own, each more modern and in better condition than Ramparts old bags. They then began to file out the door. "Your highness, ambassador," Rampart continued, addressing both Twilight and Switchback. "A chariot is being prepared and should be ready in fifteen minutes. If you'd like, I can take you to it now."

"Yes, thank you," Twilight said as she got up and began to head toward the door, following Rampart with Switchback close behind.

"Have fun you crazy kids," Chaser called out from behind.

"Oh good," Rampart said. "You've decided that you aren't coming after all."

"Yep, I have other things to do today," Chaser explained. "Like here in a few minutes, Luna and I are going to replace all of Celestia's shampoo with whipped cream. It's going to be great. I even have this special stash that I've been saving hidden under one of the tiles in the grand hall. The stuff is like five years past its expiration date."

All three looked at Chaser with gaping mouths and shocked expressions.

"What?"

Meanwhile

It was early morning in Ponyville. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon and not a single pony was up yet, but there was a rabbit.

Angel panted heavily as he ran through the streets as fast as his little legs could carry him. His lungs burned and joints ached, begging for rest, but he couldn't stop running. Had to keep running. Couldn't stop, had to find help. It had taken him only fifteen minutes to get to town, but this was not where he would find the help that he so desperately needed. No, he did not have time to scour the small town in search of an early bird pony that he would barely be able to communicate with. There was only one place where he would find his help. Sweet Apple Acres.

Angel continued running, no matter how much it hurt, no matter how much his body protested. He kept going until he saw the entrance to the farm where the Apples had no doubt already gotten up and began their early morning chores for the day.

After running nonstop for miles, Angel stopped at the entrance of the apple orchard were he would find his salvation. He placed one of his little paws on the gateway post with his other against his chest as he desperately tried to catch his breath. When he could finally breath somewhat normally, he looked around to survey farm. There was nopony. From where he was, the fields appeared to be empty. There was nopony around the barn either. The must have still been in the house. They had to be in the house. They just had to be.

He ran down the path leading to the house as fast as he could, cutting corners and straying off into the grass to save time. When he was at the door, he began to pound on it as hard as he could with both paws clenched in an attempt to get somepony's attention.

The door flung open and Angel was flung from the porch and into the dirt below.

"Hello?" Apple Jack said as she answered the door, not even noticing the small white rabbit until he started hopping into the air as high as only a rabbit could and began flailing his arms. "Angel?"

Angel ran to AJ and grabbed her hoof and began yanking with one paw and pointing away with the other. As he did this, he made all manners of high pitched squeaks and rabbit noises at a rapid pace.

Apple Jack raised her hoof away from Angel and looked at him in confusion. "Slow down there little critter. I don't follow."

Angel frowned. He didn't have time for this. There would have to be a better way to breach the language barrier other than yelling and trying to play charades. He looked passed AJ and into the house. Then an idea struck him and he ran straight through the doorway.

He knew how to get AJ to follow him. He would need to find Winona. He always thought her to be somewhat of a stupid dog, but right at that moment she just might have been the thing that saved Fluttershy's life.

Sure enough, Winona was sitting right next to the breakfast table eating out of a small chrome dog dish. Angel ran to her and began jumping in front of her, but when she didn't notice him, he grabbed her by the ear and forced her to look at him. Once he had her attention, he relayed his message. "Changelings! Fluttershy is in trouble! Need help!"

Winona perked up at what Angel had just told her. "You're sure?" she asked with a little bit of doubt.

"Do I look like I'm joking?!?" Angel yelled desperately. "Grab AJ and Big Mac, we'll need them both, and get them to follow you to our place! Please!"

Winona could tell this wasn't a joke and quickly grabbed Angel and flipped him onto her back, before she began barking loudly at AJ and Big Mac.

"What is it girl?" Big Mac asked from his seat at the table. "What's going?"

Winona just kept barking and even gnawed on one of AJ's legs. She then rushed out the door and stood on the porch, looking back and continuing to bark loudly.

"What's that? Fluttershy's in trouble?"

Angel nodded at AJ and Big Mac who was also now standing in the doorway. He had no clue as to how AJ was able to sort of understand the dog, but she did and that was a good thing. The faster they got to Fluttershy's cottage, the better. Soon Angel, Winona, Apple Jack, and the stallion that Angel was sure would be able to fight off anything, Big Mac, took off in the direction of the farm entrance, and then to the edge of the Everfree forest.

Apple Jack knocked on Fluttershy's front door several times and waited only a moment before repeating this process. "Fluttershy, you in there? Angel came and got us." There was no reply AJ became more and more worried about what disaster could possibly be taking place. "We're coming in Fluttershy."

Before AJ even had a chance to reach for the door handle, the door slowly opened to reveal and entirely unscathed, not so in danger Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus stood there for a second, examining the two ponies, dog, and rabbit before her. Her eyes met those of Angel and she smile happily.

Angel responded to this smile with a loud, rabid hiss, characteristic of a vampony being burned by sunlight.

"Oh, Angel," Fluttershy began, "I'm so glad your safe. You must have had such terrible nightmare to have run off like that. I've been looking everywhere for you, but I never imagined that you'd actually run all the way to Sweet Apple Acres. Thank you so much for bringing him home, Apple Jack."

"Oh it's no trouble, really," Apple Jack said, "but, uh, is there... you know, something going on? Angel here seemed mighty shaken up when he got to the farm."

"Eeyup," Big Mac said, confirming what AJ had just stated.

"Nothing that I can think of," Fluttershy answered. "He must have had a nightmare. When he was very young, he used to have nightmares and I would have to sing him back to sleep with a lullaby."

Angel couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was this actually Fluttershy? Had he really imagined it all? He remembered those nightmares from all those years ago. He remembered those lullabies as well. Had could a changeling replacement possibly know all of that? There was one way of knowing if what had happened was really real or not.

Angel jumped off of Winona, who was now looking at him like he was mad, and darted passed Fluttershy and into the house. What he saw only confirmed everything. Nothing in the house was disturbed. The small birds that often sat in their cages, sung softly to each other. The green sticky substance that had held all of the others down in place was gone. The furniture, which he thought had been tossed and turned over during the attack, sat in its usual position. It was as if nothing had ever happened at all.

The small rabbit looked back at Fluttershy and then back at the room around him. This was his home, and nothing bad had happened to it. An instant and over powering sadness all of a sudden came over Angel all of a sudden. He began to realize just how much in his life he had taken for granted. He looked back at Fluttershy for a moment, before running up and hugging Fluttershy's hoof.

Fluttershy, who had been talking with Apple Jack and Big Mac while Angel was inspecting the house, leaned down and returned the loving gesture.

"Well, we best be getting back," Apple Jack said. "It was good talking to you Fluttershy. I'm glad that is was a false alarm and that you didn't fall down the stairs or something."

With that, the ponies said their goodbyes and Fluttershy gently closed the door. She then turned around and smiled at Angel as he sat in the middle of the floor. The smile was filled with sharp, jagged teeth and long menacing fangs.

Angel's eyes widened as he felt his heart drop into his stomach. How could he have actually believed that he was safe?

There were several bright green flashes as "Fluttershy" turned into a jet black creature, the likes of which would give any nightmare a bad dream. Reality shattered around the house like glass as an illusion spell was deactivated, revealing the ransacked state of the cottage and the green stringy webs that bound so many animals to the walls and ceiling. They were now all in large, mostly translucent pods.

Within seconds, Angel found himself pinned to a wall by a black claw. The creature that held him in place looked angry, angrier than when the house was first stormed. "You should have just stayed put," the monster said in his deathly voice.

The front door opened and two more monsters walked in. They each carried an unconscious pony on their backs. One was a large red stallion and the other was an orange mare who wore an old Stetson hat.

Author's Note

Wasn't planning on releasing another chapter anytime soon, but I got bored and didn't feel like working on any of my other projects. So here you go you beautiful people you. Hope you enjoyed it. I know I did.