Pony Dimension

Applejack sat leaning her back on a tree. Rainbow was standing with her foreleg crossed casually around the other. Spike paced in a circle nervously. It had been two hours and Dimension was still unconscious. It gave everyone a chance to recover though. They were just outside the changeling's castle walls, and were hidden by the brush. Applejack looked at Spike with concern in her eyes.

"You all right, sugarcube?"

Spike sighed. "No... Why am I even here?" he scolded himself.

"Now whatcha sayin' that for?"

"It's just..." he hesitated. Applejack brought him closer as she wrapped her foreleg around him.

"You can tell me, we're all friends here."

Spike looked over to Rainbow who clearly wasn't paying attention. She was poking Dimension the way foals poke dead animals. He shifted his attention back to Applejack, who smiled at him. Spike sighed again and looked down.

"It's just that this whole trip you guys have been fighting your hardest... I really wanted to do something but," he raised his head to look at Applejack, "I just end up hiding. What good am I when you guys are obviously more fit for this kind of thing?"

"Now wait a plum tuckin' minute there," Applejack reproached, "ya ain't sayin' you're worthless, are ya?"

"Well, yeah."

"Ya ain't worthless, Spike."

"Well if I can't fight together with you guys, what can I do?"

Applejack thought a moment.

"Well what if one of us was to get hurt real bad, what then? All you'd have to do is send one letter and help would come right away. Rainbow wouldn't even be able to get help that fast."

"I heard that," Rainbow cracked, taking it as an insult to her speed. They both chuckled as Rainbow woke Dimension up.

"Well, I guess you're right on that," Spike lit up.

"So, Spike," Applejack said with her face uncomfortably close to his, "don't say stuff like that." Spike felt his cheeks getting warmer. He quickly turned away, trying to hide his b!ush.

"Yeah, sure! Thanks!" 'Why am I blushing? I like Rarity!'

Dimension sat up, gazing at the sky. Based on the relative position of the sun, he guessed it was about 1:00 P.M.

"About time you woke up," Rainbow groaned.

"Sorry," he replied.

"How'd you get that sword anyway?" Rainbow changed the subject.

Dimension had momentarily forgotten he had a sword now. He subconsciously gripped the seafoam colored scabbard in his hoof.

"You wouldn't let go of it even though you were unconscious," Applejack added.

"Back at the bridge... at the bottom of the lake." he answered with ambiguity. He lifted it in front of his face. He extracted the blade from its resting place, letting the sun reflect off the edge. He had never held a sword before, but it somehow felt natural. He remembered when it called out to him. It wasn't an ordinary blade, of that he was certain.

Suijingiri, a blade capable of controlling and producing water by using its wielder's energy.

"Well," Dimension stood up, "we should get going."

Midnight walked toward his captain's quarters of the squad's barracks, still thinking of his battle with Dimension.

'That sudden increase in power... that was-' his thoughts were interrupted by an unexpected visitor.

"Will they give us any trouble?" he asked through his black mask. It wrapped around his face and continued around his chest and spiralled down his right foreleg, wrapping around his hoof at the end. His only holes (such as changelings have) were in his left hoof. They were such a shape that an x would fit perfectly inside. His black mane covered part of his right eye. His eyes were blood red; they pierced everything they looked at.

"No, they won't," he replied, "Blood Rain."

"You have a bad habit of underestimating ponies," Rain reminded. Midnight glared at Rain's sharp, hard wings. He knew well they were sharper than most blades.

"You have a bad habit of overestimating ponies," Midnight quipped, "and invading my quarters."

Dimension and the others had reached the gateway of the fortress. It was surprisingly unguarded and had nothing to keep them out. A door might have improved their security.

"All right! Time for a jailbreak!" Rainbow exclaimed, dashing upward, but was stopped by Applejack's grabbing her tail in her mouth.

"Hold on a minute, partner."

"Ugh, what?" Rainbow growled.

"We can't just go bustin' into a place we know nothing about. What if they're all as strong as the one at the bridge?"

"That was just a fluke," Rainbow shrugged off.

"Applejack's right, we need a plan," Dimension chimed in.

Dimension wanted to create a plan for a swift, complex, in and out procedure, but doubted he could get either to agree to something so mind-stressing.

"First we should..."

"Ah'll head in with Spike and you go in with Dimension."

"Carry the four..."

"Fair enough," Rainbow sighed.

"Hey, do you know what 2x squar- huh?"

"Great, I'm stuck with an egghead."

Inside the wall were arrays of multiple buildings with paths in between the groups. There were also many fields lacking vegetation. The paths diverged left and right. Applejack and Spike took the former, and the remaining followed the latter. Since Rainbow could fly, and Spike had his scroll-sending flames, they had methods of signalling each other if necessary, hence the grouping. Rainbow hovered, forelegs crossed, beside Dimension.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Rainbow asked after a few moments of silence.

"Nope," Dimension replied, "You could fly up there and give us a better idea though."

"On it." Rainbow Dash dashed into the sky, getting a bird's eye view. The castle and its courtyard were one of the few places in the Everfree  with a decent clearing. Her eyes grew in size as she beheld this grand structure they were in.

"Um..."

"What is it?"

"This place is huge!" she exclaimed. She couldn't see the other end of it. Many buildings rose to her altitude, some higher.

"I don't even know where to start..."

"Which one's the tallest?"

"What?"

"Let's just try this tallest tower," Dimension suggested. Rainbow hovered back toward the ground.

"Why?"

"Sonic Arrow!" Shouted a voice in the distance. Rainbow turned her head to reveal an arrow rocketing toward her head. Her eye caught it. She flapped her wings and bent backwards. The iron arrow crossed her face, barely missing her. Her eyes narrowed as it passed her. It was so close she could taste the wind from it. The iron's shooting through the air. It crashed into a tower to her right, creating an impact which tossed up a dust cloud.

The shooter let out a "Tch."

"Your aim needs some work, Bowman."

"I know that, Star Shooter!"

"What the-!" Rainbow began before two more shots were fired in her direction. She curled her wings in, then threw them outward, conjuring a wind that redirected the arrows off course.

"I'll leave them to you," Star said before launching upward, creating a star pattern from her position. Her blue hair flowed as she disappeared.

"How?" Rainbow questioned.

"Where?" Dimension added.

"I'm your opponent!" Bowman declared, pulling two more arrows back in his bow.

"Ya think she might be in here?" Spike questioned.

"Don't hurt to look," Applejack replied.

They had made their way into one of the larger buildings. A few lamps hung from the ceiling, illuminating the dark interior. They ascended a spiral staircase to a hallway, and entered a room on the left side of the hall after initially turning right. Above the doorframe was a large number "9." Upon entering, the smell of freshly-smithed steel entered their nostrils, and various assorted weapons rested on tables in front of them.

"Looks like an armory," Spike observed.

"A mighty big one at that," Applejack added observing a wall bannered with changeling armor displays. Something shiny caught Spike's eye. He strolled to the display table with a steel brace resting on it. He picked it up in his claws, and trotted giddily over to Applejack. He held it up so she could see well.

"Do you think Rarity would like it?" he beamed.

"It's shiny like everything else she has, but..." the Element of Honesty tried to reply.

"Too industrial?" Spike inferred. Applejack nodded.

Spike fit his arm through the bracelet.

"Too big for me," he acknowledged, "Maybe it'll fit you?"

Spike managed to fit the brace onto Applejack's foreleg.

"Fits just right! Thanks, Spike!" The farm pony said, rubbing Spike's head. At the same time, a normal-looking changeling in a labcoat came to the doorway. It didn't have full eyes or luscious hair like the ones seen before. It was a more normal, low-ranking changeling.

"Oh no!" he fretted, "you musn't toy with that! It still hasn't been tested y-"

"Hey, I thought I said not to-" another said whilst lowering the other on the ground with a knock to the head.

"What do we got here?" he said observing the intruders.