Cabin Fervor

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

“Thanks again for doing this.” Twilight Sparkle took the last bag of groceries out of the trunk of Cadance's red convertible. She fumbled with the heavy paper bag for a few moments, until Cadance neatly reached over to take it out of Twilight's arms. “And thanks for that.” The purple-haired girl added on.

“No problem!” Cadance smiled, and reached up to slam the trunk lid shut. Gravel crunched beneath her boots as she walked up the path to the lakeside cabin she and Twilight had driven to. “I'm really looking forward to the chance to meet your new friends!”

“Yeah, but when you said you wanted to meet them, I thought you meant, like 'let's go have lunch somewhere,' not 'invite everyone out to your dad's lakeside cabin.' You don't think it's too much, do you?”

“It'll be fine!” Cadance said. “Somebody needs to come through every few months, just to keep the cobwebs off. And it's a lot more fun to spend that time with you and your friends, rather than by yourself.”

“You're right.” Twilight said, and followed Cadance inside. Given the building's size, the term 'lodge' might have been more appropriate. The walls were rough stone, while the floors were of dark, polished hardwood. The main central room had all the requisite trappings: plush (if dated) furniture, shelves full of dusty bottles and forgotten vacation paperbacks, and even the occasional fishing trophy. The cabin's biggest nod to modernity was the kitchen, with its shining chrome countertops and a refrigerator large enough to store a whole deer, if necessary.

A large stone fireplace dominated one wall, complete with a multi-pointed set of antlers mounted above the mantlepiece. Opposite the fireplace, sliding glass doors revealed the mirror-smooth gleam of the lake beyond, complete with a short pier stretching out from the rear deck. A spiral staircase in the corner led upwards to the lodge's second level, where the guest bedrooms were.

Luxurious as the cabin was, it was still uncomfortably warm from the day's blazing sun, and slightly stuffy from months of disuse. The whole place smelled rustic: of wood, of dust, and a hint of old leather.

“Hey Twilight?” Cadance said. “Could you start opening up the windows to get this place all aired out? I'm gonna go down the basement and check the fusebox. Might be nice to get the AC running before your friends get here.”

“Will do!” Twilight said. Her shoes padded softly against the hardwood floors as she made a circuit of the room, unlatching windows and propping them open. She slid the glass door to the deck out last, and sighed pleasantly as she was greeted with a fresh breeze off the lake. Cadance had shown Twilight pictures of her father's 'fishing cabin' before, but it was something else to see it in person. She walked outside and leaned on the deck's railing, looking out over the lake and the pristine forest beyond. The setting sun cast a lovely orange glow over the water, bathing Twilight in her namesake.

“Hey you.” Cadance put her hands against the rail next to Twilight, and smiled. “Pretty great, isn't it?”

“It is, yeah.”

“Mind if I ask you a question?”

“Technically, you already have.”

“Well, I was just wondering. Have you … met anyone recently?”

“Oh sure, I've met lots of people, why do you--” Twilight trailed off as she saw the suggestive lift of Cadance's eyebrow. “Oh.” Twilight found herself gritting her teeth in an effort to fight down the blush rising from her cheeks. “Like that.”

“Like that.”

“That's a little personal, don't you think?”

“We're practically family, aren't we?”

“Well, yes.” Twilight stared fixedly out at the opposite shore of the lake.

“So who's the lucky guy?” Cadance said.

“Uh. About that.”

“Oh?” Cadance tilted her head to the side. “Who's the lucky girl, then? I won't judge.”

“Well. Um. She's not … I mean, uh, I'm not. We're not. Uh. It's … complicated. Really, really complicated.”

“Complicated can be good sometimes.” Cadance flicked her hair back, and laughed playfully.

“Yeah. Uh. I'll keep that in mind.”

“It's one of your friends who's coming up this weekend, isn't it?”

“It's--”

“Hey! Anybody home?” Rainbow Dash's voice echoed through the lodge.

“--not important.” Twilight said. She headed back inside, where Rainbow Dash was already poking curiously at a trophy trout.

“Hey Twilight!” The blue complexioned girl perked up. “Good to see you! I was starting to worry we'd barged into the wrong house.”

“This is the only house for miles.” Twilight noted.

“So it would've been really embarassing if we'd barged into the wrong house.” Rainbow Dash grinned, and then turned to yell at the still open front door. “C'mon in guys! Twilight's here!”

“This ain't a cabin.” Applejack walked in, hauling a battered duffel bag on one shoulder. “It's a palace.”

“Mmmm. Yes. I suppose it'll do.” Rarity followed close on Applejack's booted heels, wheeling a suitcase behind her. “Even if it's a tad rustic … for my personal tastes.” Rarity pulled out her phone, and squinted at the screen. “Not to mention isolated. I haven't got the barest trace of a signal! Ah well. I suppose I can … rough it, so long as I'm in good company.”

“I swear, Rarity, anythin' short of a royal castle is roughin' it to you.”

“Untrue! I'm more than willing to stay at a five-star hotel. Perhaps even a four, in a pinch.”

“It's really nice to be out in nature like this.” Fluttershy entered after Rarity. Her dreamy, nature-induced smile faltered once she saw the rack of antlers hanging above the mantle. “Uh. They … collected those from when the deer naturally shed his antlers, right?” Her voice quavered a little.

“I'm sure they did.” Sunset gently nudged Fluttershy away from the mantlepiece.

“Oh. Whew.” The tension drained from Fluttershy's shoulders.

“This place is great!” Pinkie Pie bounced in, as exuberant as to be expected. “Thanks for inviting us, Twilight!”

“Don't thank me. Thank Cadance.” Twilight said. “Or, well, technically, I guess we should thank Cadance's parents for letting all of us all stay here for the weekend.”

“Hi everybody!” Cadance waved. “It's a pleasure to meet you guys. Mind introducing me, Twilight?”

“Oh! Right!” As Twilight rattled off names, Cadance walked the gauntlet of hugs and handshakes (more of the latter than the former). Cadance smiled and nodded through it all as she tried to keep track of the new names and faces.

“--and this is Sunset Shimmer.” Twilight finished. “And now that w'ev got that out of the way, everybody make yourselves at home. The bedrooms are upstairs-- they've all got bunk beds, so we'll need to pair off. Cadance and I stocked the fridge, so help yourselves to whatever you like. Oh! And I checked the weather report before I left. The water level's up, so it's deep enough to actually dive off the rear dock if you wanna.”

“Woo! Lake party!” Pinkie Pie declared. She dropped her suitcase to the ground, and bolted for the glass door leading to the back. Pinkie Pie left a trail of cast-off clothing (and variously gaping and blushing friends) behind her. Her bra wound up dangling from the antlers above the fireplace.

“Ahem.” Rarity, having the most poise of all her friends, spoke first. “Don't you think you're … forgetting something, Pinkie?”

“Huh?” Pinkie blinked her big blue eyes at Rarity, and then glanced down at herself. “Oh! Right! Thanks for reminding me!”

“You're welcome, dear. A sense of propriety is--”

“I forgot to grab my towel!” Pinkie Pie zipped back to her suitcase, yanked out a striped beach towel, and then bolted back for the door, still in nothing but her omnipresent smile.

“Uh. Sorry.” Twilight turned to Cadance, mortified. “I'd say Pinkie's not always like that, but--”

“CANNONBALL! WOOO!” The ensuing splash sent water spattering all over the deck.

“--she's kind of always like that.” Twilight said with a wince.

“It's fine. Really!” Cadance patted Twilight on the shoulder. “There's nobody but us for miles and miles, and it really is hot enough for it. Heck, I'd be lying if I told you I haven't done a little bit of skinny dipping out here myself.”

Twilight blinked, mortified. “Wha … really?”

“Sure! And if she's that crazy now, I wonder what she'll be like after she hits the liquor cabinet.”

“Liquor cabinet?” Twilight's face went pale. “We'd never do that! That'd be illegal! And rude! And … and … we'd be bad guests!”

“Pssh. You're a bunch of teenagers with very little supervision. I'd be worried if you guys didn't start making trouble. What's important is that you do your experimenting in a safe, controlled environment. So here's the deal.” Cadance scanned the faces of Twilight and company. “You guys can do whatever you want, so long as you clean it up. My dad never keeps any of the really good stuff out here, so anything in the liquor cabinet is fair game. But! By the time we leave, everything's got to be just how we left it. Got it?”

“Uh. Sure.” Twilight murmured. “I, uh … just thought we'd play board games or roast s'mores or something.”

“You can do that too. Just, y'know, with booze.” Cadance snapped her fingers. “Oh! One more condition, though. Keys. Not gonna have anyone drunk driving on my watch.”

“We all carpooled with Fluttershy.” Sunset noted.

“I. Um. Have a van.” Fluttershy murmured.

“Cool. Now keys. Gimmie.” Cadance held out her hand, expectantly.

“I … I wasn't planning on drinking.” Fluttershy shrank back a step, hiding behind Sunset.

“Were you planning on going anywhere?” Cadance asked.

“Well, no, but, if there's an emergency … “

“We'll deal with it then.” Cadance said. “Trust me. Nothing bad's going to happen. I just want to remove the temptation for you doing something stupid.”

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash stepped forward. “If anyone's gonna do something stupid, it's gonna be me!”

Applejack elbowed Rainbow. “Not. Helpin'.”

“Okay, well. Um. If you insist.” Fluttershy pulled her keys, complete with its tiny teddy-bear keychain, and dropped it into Cadance's waiting palm.

“Alright!” Cadance said, and pocketed the keys. “Now, it's been a long drive, so I'm gonna go lay down for a bit. You guys have fun, and try not to burn the place down!”

“To be fair,” Sunset Shimmer noted, “that's kind of a valid concern with us sometimes.”

The sun set, and the moon rose, tinting lake and lodge with a pleasant silvery light. The summer heat still lingered, though with the evening breezes it had gone from oppressive to merely muggy.

“I'm just saying, Rarity, that if people didn't usually wear clothes, then whenever they did, it'd be like a super special occasion, and then you could make them fancier and charge more money!” After her dip in the lake, Pinkie Pie hadn't bothered with getting dressed again, though she was at least polite enough to bring her towel in to sit on.

“Actually,” Sunset Shimmer mused. “That's … kind of how things work back in my home dimension. Only, y'know, everyone's a pony.”

“Well.” Rarity huffed. “I'm sure your home dimension may be a lovely place, but I'm glad that's not how things work here.” She laid on one of the main room's couches, leafing through an aged fashion magazine she'd found in a random drawer. Even if the designs were terribly dated, the magazine at least served as a visual barrier between Rarity and impropriety.

“Don't knock it 'til you've tried it!” Pinkie Pie said.

“For the last time, Pinkie, we're not playing Strip Monopoly.” Rarity murmured.

“Aw, okay!” Pinkie Pie tapped at the side of her chin. “Monopoly takes forever to play anyway, and everyone argues about who gets to be the racecar.”

“Dibs on the racecar!” Rainbow Dash said from the kitchen.

“PLUS, if we were really gonna play Strip Monopoly, that means I'd have to get dressed again, and where's the fun in that?”

“You're not going to spend the whole weekend au naturale, are you?”

“I wasn't … until you gave me the idea! Thanks Rarity!” Pinkie Pie swept her friend up into a sudden, awkwardness-inducing hug. “Now I won't even have to do laundry when I get back!”

“Hey, could be worse.” Rainbow Dash returned to the main room, and dropped her load of graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars onto the coffee table. “Remember that time Pinkie Pie wore that clown suit for a week?”

“It was funny!” Pinkie Pie said.

“It was scary.” Fluttershy followed on Rainbow Dash's heels, carrying several long, extendable marshmallow forks.

“How was I supposed to know you were a coulorophobe?” Pinkie Pie said, only to be met with blank stares from her friends. “What?” Pinkie said. “Coulrophobia. Fear of clowns. I read books sometimes!”

“So where's Applejack, anyway? These s'mores aren't gonna roast themselves.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Quit yer complainin'.” Applejack entered via the front door, carrying a cord of wood. She dumped the split logs into a large metal bucket with a clatter, and then dusted her hands off. Applejack wiped sweat and sawdust from her forehead, and then crouched in front of the fireplace to start arranging the wood asneeded. “I'd like to see you split wood with a dull axe. Gonna have to scrounge up a file tomorrow n' sharpen it.” Applejack snapped some twigs into the appropriate length, and then found some old newspaper and long matches next to the wood bucket. The dry wood started crackling away moments after Applejack lit it up. She prodded the blazing twigs beneath the stack of logs with a wrought iron poker, and nodded her approval of a job well done. Fire good.

“Hey guys! Everybody having fun?” Twilight said. The stack of dusty board games in her arms tottered precariously in one direction, and then the other, as Twilight struggled to keep them from toppling on the floor. “I hope everyone's having fun! Because I'd hate to think I invited my best friends out here to meet my oldest friend who is like a sister to me only to just sit around and be bored and awkward and then someone gets into the liquor cabinet because Cadance told us too and then we'll all die of alcohol poisoning and then we'll all go to jail for underage drinking and it'd be all my fault!” Twilight's voice pitched higher and higher with each word and terrible (if chronologically jumbled) scenario.

“It's fine. We're fine.” Sunset Shimmer stood, and gently took the stack of games out of Twilight's hands. “Honestly, Twilight, after all this time we've spent together, this is what you're worried about?”

“Seriously.” Rainbow Dash skewered a marshmellow on her fork. Then another. And another still. “We even went to your big nerd convention thing a couple weeks ago. Hanging out at your friend's swanky cabin? That's totally normal.”

“Pssh. Normal's boring!” Pinkie Pie said. Having found a roll of duct-tape from … somewhere, she set about binding several of the roasting-forks together into a multi-pronged monstrosity.

Twilight forced a wan smile. “I just … um. I guess I wasn't expecting Cadance to be so … “

“Cool?” Rainbow Dash thrust her sugar-laden fork into the fireplace. “Seriously, she's all like 'do whatever!' How rad is that?”

“Not. Helpin'.” Applejack grumbled.

“Don't be such a spoilsport!” Rainbow Dash glared at her cowgirl friend. “I bet if we're nice to Cadance, she'll totally call up some boys or something.”

Twilight went even paler. “Boys?”

“Really. Not. Helpin'.” Applejack muttered.

“Besides,” Sunset noted, “Cadance is dating Twilight's brother--”

“Is he hot?” Rainbow Dash said, right before Applejack could deliver a much-earned elbow to the ribs. “Ow! That's a totally valid question!”

“We're trying to make this less weird, Rainbow.” Sunset said.

“It's not your fault.” Twilight pulled in a deep breath. “It's not any of your fault. It's just … it almost seems like Cadance is a completely different person.”

“Perhaps.” Rarity peeked over the top of her magazine. “It's a matter of perspective? I mean, she's always been a figure of authority to you-- whether as a babysitter, or in her employment at Crystal Prep. Now that she's free from all those pesky responsibilities, it only makes sense that she … cut loose a little. I can imagine how that could be a bit shocking.”

“Heck.” Applejack jerked a thumb in the direction of the master bedroom. “Ain't like Cadance is much of a party animal anyway. Gal's still sleepin'.”

“Maybe she had a long day.” Fluttershy noted.

“Huh.” Rainbow Dash scratched at her head. “Maybe she's just older and boringer than I thought.”

“See, Twilight?” Sunset patted her friend on the arm. “You can relax. We're all responsible--” Sunset cut herself off as Pinkie and Rainbow Dash began to fence with their flaming marshmallow skewers. “Some of us are responsible. Usually. You don't have to worry about it. Just relax, okay? Please?”

“Okay. I'll relax.” Twilight put her hand over Sunset's. “Thanks for reeling me in like that. I'm really glad you came.” Twilight trailed off, and then, realizing she'd held eye contact with Sunset perhaps a moment too long, quickly amended her statement. “I'm glad all of you came! Together! Right! So … who wants to play Risk?”

“Strip Risk?” Pinkie Pie perked up.

“No.” Rarity said.

“Aw.”

Over the next few hours, Twilight's stress melted away like the molten chocolate of the entirely-too-many s'mores she ate. The liquor cabinet went thankfully untouched, and the dusty Risk set had been opened up. Great battles were waged for the fate of the world, ultimately leading to the eventual (and surprising) coronation of Empress Fluttershy.

“I just picked Australia because I like marsupials.” She murmured.

One by one, the girls trailed off to whatever bunk bed or otherwise comfortable stretch of horizontal territory they could find as the sugar wore off.

And through some accidental contrivance, Twilight and Sunset wound up sharing the same bedroom.

“So. Uh. Having fun?” Twilight kept her eyes resolutely on her travel bag as she pulled out her pajamas.

“That's like the fourteenth time you've asked me that.” Sunset unbuckled her boots and tossed them carelessly into a corner with a heavy thump.

“I. Uh. Just like to be thorough.”

“And for the fourteenth time, everything's fine.” Sunset laughed a bit, and then gently turned Twilight around. Suddenly, Twilight realized, the two were very, very close. “Look, I know things between us are … complicated. But that doesn't mean … “ Sunset looked down, and then, realizing where she was, took a step back. “Honestly, I don't know what it means. But we've got time to figure it out. I don't want you to be uncomfortable, okay?”

“I'm comfortable!” Twilight blurted. “I mean. Uh. This bed!” She sat herself down on the bottom bunk. “It's comfortable! Er. Wait. Not that I was propositioning you or anything!” Her cheeks flushed beet-red, nearly glowing even in the moonlit dark of the cabin bedroom. “I just meant, like. It's comfortable for one. It'd be a really tight fit with two people in the one bed. Which is why there's two of them! Beds. That is. Which one do you want to sleep in completely by yourself in a completely platonic way?”

“Uh. Top?” Sunset Shimmer looked up. “I'm … I'm just gonna go brush my teeth. Go ahead and get to sleep.”

And before either of them could embarrass themselves any further, Sunset Shimmer left the room.

Twilight sighed, looking at herself in the reflection of the bedroom window. “Smooth.”

She took off her glasses and put on her pajamas, and settled herself on the bottom bunk. She pulled the bedsheet up to her chin, and stared at the wooden frame of the bunk bed above her. Slowly but surely enough, the day's excitement caught up with Twilight, and sleep started to overtake her.

Something loud and metal clattered in the kitchen. Twilight was reaching for her glasses to go investigate before she pulled herself back. “Relax.” She told herself, and laid back down. “Pinkie Pie probably went looking for more chocolate or something.” And, as worrisome as that particular thought could have been, Twilight was tired enough to ignore it as she dozed off to sleep.

Until someone got into her bed.

“Wha?” Twilight sat up as she felt the mattress shift beneath her. Even as dark as it was, Twilight could still make out the relevant details: the proud mane of hair, red turned black in the moonlight. The entrancing green eyes, alight with mischief. The delicate curve of a shoulder, leading down into--

“Sunset?” Twilight whispered, somehow finding the words despite her suddenly dry mouth. “Are you--“

“Pinkie Pie had the right idea.” Sunset cooed. The bed creaked again as Sunset slipped in. Twilight's earlier appraisal had been correct; it was a tight fit for two people. Sunset didn't seem to mind.

“Are you sure?” Twilight's heart hammered in her chest.

“Positive.” Sunset said. She dipped her head down and kissed Twilight. An unbearable, delightful sense of warmth flooded Twilight's body. She shivered at the sensation, and parted her lips further.

So distracted, neither Sunset nor Twilight saw the shadowed figure in the doorway.

Or the kitchen knife in her hand.

Chapter 2

Twilight reeled, her body going into instinctual overdrive. She only registered brief, intoxicating snippets. Soft, eager lips on hers. Warm, impossibly smooth skin beneath her hands. Sunlight's dextrous fingers beginning to unbutton her pajamas. In the abstract, she knew exactly what was (finally) happening, but in those dark, quiet moments, Twilight could do little more than lay back.

Sunset broke the kiss, and looked down at Twilight with fiery, hungry eyes. The look in her friend's (Girlfriend's? Lover's? Friend-with-benefits'?) gaze made Twilight's heart beat faster.

Sunset Shimmer made a surprised squeak as fingers closed in her hair and yanked her head back.

The knife plunged into her neck before she could make any more noise.

Twilight found herself frozen, though now out of a different kind of terror.

Sunset fell back onto the floor, clutching at her neck. Thick, warm arterial blood spattered across Twilight's face as the knife was yanked out of Sunset's neck and plunged in again. And again. And again.

Sunset made a final, terrible, choking wet sound, and fell to the floor with a heavy thump.

“Nononononono.” Twilight scrambled to the far corner of the bed, limbs tangling in the bedsheets. She searched around for help, for a weapon, for anything that could protect her. But, in the shadowed dark of the bedroom, all she could see was the dark silhouette of Sunset's killer. The lanky limbed figure loomed closer and closer. The knife was gone, left in Sunset's neck, but Twilight knew she was still helpless. She readied herself to scream, but a strong, sickeningly sticky hand clapped over her mouth.

“Quiet.” The killer said, and leaned in close to Twilight's face. “It's me.”

Twilight's flesh went cold as she recognized the shadowed figure's all-too-familiar features.

“Sunset?”

Her hair, her face, and her clothes (as she was somehow, impossibly dressed) were all spattered with the kind of dark, dripping fluids that Twilight didn't want to think too much about. But, sure enough, it was her. She met Twilight's panicked eyes, and then slowly lifted her hand from her mouth.

“But … but … that's impossible.” Twilight murmured, touching her lips.

“I know.” Sunset said, voice hushed. “But here. Look.” She climbed out of the bed, and nodded to the corpse on the floor. “I know it's hard but … trust me. Please.”

Trembling, Twilight looked out over the edge of the bed. There, at Sunset Shimmer's feet, was … Sunset Shimmer- though this time, with a long kitchen knife jutting obscenely from the side of her neck. Dark, coppery-smelling blood spread out against the hardwood floor in an obscene stain.

“What the--”

“Keep watching.” Sunset said.

The corpse on the floor wavered impossibly, like some sort of mirage. And then, with a sound like tearing paper, the illusion fell away. Delicate skin gave way to a hard carapace. The eyes that Twilight had stared rapturously into moments before were replaced by bulging, blank lenses. Twilight felt her stomach churn as she saw the very lips she'd kissed moments before transform into a set of wickedly curved mandibles. Even the blood was replaced, changing from a terrible red to a sickly green ichor, spread across the bedroom floor.

“I think I'm gonna be sick.” Twilight said.

“Here.” Sunset (the real Sunset-- or at least the one still standing, Twilight thought) handed Twilight a small metal trash can that had been left in the corner of the bedroom.

Twilight clutched the trashcan to her chest. The sudden feel of cold metal on her skin reminded her of the fact her pajama top was still half open. She awkwardly tried to make herself more decent with one hand, while balancing the trashcan with the other. “What's going on?”

“Changelings.” Sunset said. She braced one foot on the insectoid monster's shoulders, and leaned down to yank the knife out of its neck with a nausea inducing squelch. “More monsters from Equestria.”

“Great.” Twilight looked away from the insectoid creature on the floor. “Anything we should know?”

“They're shapeshifters. They change forms to get close to their prey, so they can feed … “ Sunset Shimmer tightened her fingers around the handle of her knife. “They feed on emotions. Straight out of your skull if they're hungry enough.”

Twilight fumbled her glasses onto her face. “You've fought them before?”

“Not personally, no. Twilight--” Sunset winced. “Princess Twilight did. The Changelings nearly conquered Canterlot. I don't know if these Changelings came through some kind of dimensional portal, or if they're a 'native' variety … all I know is we've got to stop them.”

“Them? There's more than one?”

“One tried to get me in the kitchen. Probably the same time this one went after you.” Sunset nudged the dead Changeling, but thankfully, it didn't stir.

“I, uh, I guess they can't shapeshift clothes, right?” Twilight scratched at the back of her neck. “Which, uh, is a completely rational reason why Changeling-you wasn't wearing any clothes and also I'm sure she was trying to suck out my brain through my sinus cavity which is totally why things looked like the way they did when you got here. And. Uh. Started stabbing.” Twilight chanced another look at the corpse. Her stomach twisted, but she didn't have to make use of the trash can just yet. “Thanks?”

“I know you're scared, Twilight. I am too. But I need you to keep it together. Changelings don't eat their own. That's how I know I can trust you. They don't kill their own, either. That's how you know you can trust me.”

“Because … you killed yourself.”

“I killed a Changeling that looked like me.” Sunset wiped a smear of gore off from her cheek. “Kind of therapeutic, actually.”

“What do we do now? If the Changelings are shapeshifters, they could look like anybody.”

“I know.”

“And … and there's just the two of us.”

“I know.”

“And we don't have any way of telling a changeling apart from a real person.”

“I know.”

“But … we've got to do something.” Twilight set her jaw, and clutched the trash can all the harder. “We're the only ones who can.”

Sunset Shimmer smiled. “I know.”

Chapter 3

Together, they stalked out into the hallway. The moonlight streaming through the windows cast long, deep shadows across the lodge, giving the once familiar place an eerie, otherworldly feel. All was silent; Twilight didn't know if this was good or bad. On the one hand, if nobody was screaming, that meant nobody was getting hurt. On the other hand, it could have meant the Changelings had gotten to her best friends already.

“Stay close.” Sunset laid her hand on the doorknob to the next bedroom in the hall. “And remember, for now, you and I are the only people we can trust.”

“But what if we hurt our friends?” Twilight whispered.

“We won't. Hopefully.” Sunset Shimmer said. “Just … keep an eye out for anything suspicious. The smallest clue might mean the difference between one of our friends and a Changeling.”

“Got it.” Twilight nodded. “I'm ready.”

“Good.” Sunset said. She opened up the first bedroom door and slipped inside, holding her kitchen knife low and against her leg.

The lower bunk was empty, but soft, rustling sounds came from the upper bunk in the guest room. Sunset held up a hand for Twilight to stay by the door, and padded closer. Still keeping her knife hidden, Sunset reached up, grabbed a fistful of sheet, and yanked it off.

Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion as the sheet was pulled away from her.

“Hey! What gives?” Rainbow Dash immediately set about pulling her old, oversized soccer jersey to a more decent state of coverage.

“Yeah! Li'l privacy here?” Said the second Rainbow Dash, poking her head up over the first's shoulder.

As one, the two Dashes realized their error.

“It's not what it looks like!” they said in unison.

“Um.” Twilight murmured. “Does this count as suspicious?” She leaned over for a moment, noting that both the Dashes were dressed in the same identical pink jersey. So much for that theory.

“Rainbow Dash.” Sunset stepped back from the bunk bed so she could keep her eyes on both the Dashes. “We need to talk.”

“Look,” the first one said, “I know it's a little freaky--”

“--but it's totally cool!” said the second.

“Because, like, it's not any different from when you look at yourself in the mirror after a shower, right?” Rainbow Dash went on.

“Only instead of a mirror, it's a version of you from another dimension.” The second Rainbow Dash nodded. “So it's not weird.”

“Yeah. Totally not weird.” Rainbow Dash #1 said.

“Rainbow.” Sunset said, very quietly. “You do know the portal to Equestria is several hours drive away, right?”

“So?” Both Rainbows said at the same time.

“So.” Sunset Shimmer took another step back, sure to keep both Rainbows in her field of vision. “How could Equestrian-you make it all the way out here?”

“I dunno.” The second Rainbow Dash said. “Can't she fly or something?”

“Not in this dimension.” Sunset said. “She'd be just as human as you and me.”

“Hey, maybe she hitchhiked or something?” The first Rainbow Dash said. “Not like she's a Changeling or anything.”

Rainbow Dash number two blinked. “Wait. What's a Changeling?”

The first Rainbow Dash's face fell. “Crap.”

With a wet sound of tearing flesh, a set of sickly shining insect wings sprouted out of the first Rainbow Dash's back. The rest of her illusion melted away, revealing the hissing, oily-carapaced insect monster.

“Holy shit!” the real Rainbow Dash said, “is that what magical ponies really look like?”

The Changeling's wings began to buzz with the whine of a power tool, and it launched itself off the top bunk in a flurry of claws and mandibles. Sunset Shimmer fell back, slashing wildly with her kitchen knife. The steel blade hacked shallow cuts into the Changeling, but it still had enough momentum to crash into Sunset and pin her to the floor.

With a hiss, the Changeling's mandibles unfolded like the petals of the world's pointiest flower. A long, barb-tipped proboscis extended from between the monster's fangs, obscenely jutting out. The changeling leaned down, and the wet spike lowered towards the center of Sunset's forehead.

“Get away from her!” Twilight said. Lacking any other weapon, she swung the small metal trash can at the Changeling. A hollow 'gong!' sound rung out as it hit home. Twilight hit the Changeling hard enough to dent the trashcan, but the monster kept hissing and thrashing.

Twilight upended the trashcan and stuffed it onto the Changeling's head like an impromptu, eyeless helmet. The monster's maddened hissing echoed within the can, but it still gave Sunset Shimmer time enough to bunch her feet beneath her and kick upward, sending the Changeling flying across the room.

It slammed into the far wall with a heavy thump, and kept flailing, finally bringing its first set of arms up to struggle with the metal can wrapped around its head. The Changeling staggered from side to side, crashing first into Rainbow Dash's bunk bed, and then into the bedroom's single window. Head first.

The Changeling plowed straight through the window, howling in pain as jagged shards of glass dug into its exoskeleton. It dropped past the windowsill, down towards the ground a story below-- though soon thereafter, the terrible buzz of its wings began to sound. Sunset Shimmer braced herself, bringing her knife up in what she hoped was a defensive stance.

She didn't have to test her theory, as the buzz soon began to recede. The three girls edged up to the broken window, and saw the shadowed form of the flying Changeling vanish into the treeline around the lake.

“What n' the hell is goin' on here?” Applejack barged through the open door to Rainbow Dash's bedroom. She skidded to a halt as she saw the broken glass on the floor, the greenish ooze splattered about, and the knife in Sunset's hand.

“Oh!” Rarity followed close on Applejack's heels. “Is everyone quite alright?”

“What's going on?” Fluttershy leaned around the edge of the doorway, “are you guys fighting? Please don't fight!”

“Oooooh, neat!” It was hard to tell if Pinkie Pie had gone to bed or not, as her hair was wild and unmanageable by default. “If you told me we were gonna play rock star and wreck up the place, I would've brought a top hat!”

“Okay,” Sunset Shimmer said, “if this looks bad, that's because it is. Now c'mon. We can't stay here.” She looked warily at the broken window, and then back to the quartet which she hoped were her friends.

“Why you got a knife, Sunset?” Applejack said, suspicious.

“Changelings.”

“Say what.”

“Shapechanging emotional parasites from another dimension.” Twilight supplied, helpfully.

“And, no offense, but … any of you might be a Changeling in disguise.” Sunset said. “Right now, Twilight, Rainbow, and I are the only ones who can be verified as human.”

“But you're a pony!” Pinkie Pie chimed in. “Just a pony that looks like a person! A pony person!” She scratched at her head for a moment. “You know, I never quite figured out how that works.”

“Well, I know I ain't a Changey critter.” Applejack said.

“To be fair, darling,” Rarity laid a hand on Applejack's arm. “That's exactly what a Changeling would say.”

“What? You think I'm some kinda fake?” Applejack pulled her arm away, as if she'd been scalded.

“Of course not! I'm just saying, that's what it sounds like to them, since we haven't been vetted.”

“Sounds like you know how them monsters think, Rarity.”

“What? No! I'm no monster! It's simple, logical extrapolation. The first thing an imposter would do would be to deny they're an impostor. Assuming, that is, that Sunset's telling the truth.”

“Why would she do that?” Fluttershy said, voice quavering more than usual.

“Why, to catch us off guard, of course. As perhaps SHE is the monster.” Rarity eyed Sunset. “No offense, dear, but you are the one holding a knife.”

Sunset Shimmer grit her teeth. “Y'know what? You're right. You don't have any reason to trust me. None of you do.”

“But--” Twilight began.

Sunset held up a hand. “No, don't argue. It's better if you stay on guard. But, here. A show of good faith.” With that, she neatly tossed the kitchen knife out the open window. “And now that I've thrown away the only weapon in the room, can we please continue this discussion somewhere else, before the Changeling we know is out there decides to fly back in through this open window?”

The power-saw buzz sounded far in the distance.

The seven girls piled out of Rainbow Dash's trashed bedroom, and closed the door behind them. Applejack pushed a sideboard table in front of the doorway. “Prolly won't slow anybody down much, but it'll make a hell of a racket. Give us a head's up.”

“A head's up for … what?” Fluttershy said.

“Ain't figured that part out yet.”

They padded down the steps to the main level of the lodge, and convened in central room, in front of the still-flickering embers in the fireplace.

“Okay, so. Everyone, just … calm down. Twilight, Rainbow, and I will sit on this side of the coffee table,” Sunset said, “and you guys sit on the other side. Just in case.”

The girls settled down in their assigned seating. A strange pall fell over the gathering as they sized each other up. Under normal circumstances, the opportunity to stay up late hanging around in their pajamas (or less, in Pinkie's case) would've been something to look forward to.

“Okay. So. Ground rules.” Sunset said. “Nobody goes anywhere alone. They could get grabbed and replaced. Same if only two people go out. If one of them's a Changeling … “ she trailed off, and shook her head. “So. Minimum of three.”

“Also,” Twilight added on, “Changelings feed on … strong emotions. So … if anyone starts making … moves on you, that might be a sign they're a Changeling.”

“Moves? Like, dance moves?” Pinkie Pie said.

“Not that. Like … you know. Moves.” Twilight's cheeks turned a deep, deep red, and she pulled her knees up to her chest.

“I don't get it.” Pinkie said.

“She means making out.” Rainbow Dash noted. “The Changelings, like, try to suck out your brain through your mouth or something.”

“How do you know?” Fluttershy said.

Rainbow Dash blinked, and then it was her turn to blush. “Uh. No reason.”

“Good thing I wasn't planning on kissing anybody!” Pinkie Pie said, cheery.

“You're sure about the makin'- out thing?” Applejack scooted a few inches away from Rarity.

“All three of the Changelings I've seen so far have tried it.” Sunset said.

“Wait. Three?” Twilight said. “There was the one in Rainbow's room, the one in my room, and … “

“The third one tried to get me when I was in the kitchen, looking for a glass of water.”

“Ooooh, who'd it look like?” Pinkie Pie said.

“Not important.” Sunset Shimmer clenched her hands into fists.

The gears clicked into place in Twilight's head. “It looked like me, didn't it?”

“It's dead now, so it doesn't matter.”

“Oh my god, you killed me?”

“I killed a Changeling that looked like you.”

“It's still scary!” Twilight squeaked.

“What's scary is that there's still at least one Changeling out there. Probably more.” Sunset said.

“Just how much makin' out does someone have to do 'fore they turn into a Changeling?” Applejack said.

“Oh no.” Fluttershy held a hand to her mouth. “It's not contagious like mono, is it?”

“That … that's no how it works.” Sunset said.

“Then how does it work?” Applejack said.

“I don't know!” Sunset Shimmer buried her face in her hands. “At least, I'm not one hundred percent certain. The changelings in this dimension could be different from the ones in Equestria. Or maybe these are Equestrian Changelings that have crossed through somehow. Either way, they're dangerous, and we have to stop them.”

“And just how're we 'sposed to do that?” Applejack leaned forward.

“I haven't figured that part out yet, either.” Sunset grit her teeth.

“It's alright.” Twilight pushed her glasses back into place. “I mean, practically speaking, we probably don't want to go over the big 'how to stop the Changelings' plan until we make sure everyone's, you know, not a Changeling.”

“Oooh, oooh, I know!” Pinkie Pie said, “everyone who's a Changeling, raise your hand!”

Nobody did.

“See! Everything's fine!” Pinkie said. “Now we can get on with the master plan!”

“Um.” Fluttershy murmured. “I think we're forgetting something.”

“What's that?” Pinkie Pie said.

“Where's Cadance?” asked Fluttershy.

The question hung in the air for a few moments.

“She … was staying in the master bedroom.” Twilight said. Immediately, seven pairs of eyes turned to eye the door in question.

“Just checking, has anyone made out with Cadance?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Rainbow!” Twilight gasped.

“Hey! This is a legit safety question here!” Rainbow Dash looked over the group.

“I think you can take that as a no.” Twilight noted.

“Okay, so does anyone want to make out with Cadance?”

“Rainbow!” Twilight glared at her friend.

The door to the master bedroom opened, and Cadance herself walked out. “Damn, you guys make a lot of noise.” She wore blue t-shirt that reached just above her knees, and had her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. “What's going on?” She rubbed at the corner of her eye, groggy.

“We might have been infiltrated by horrible shapeshifting insect monsters from another dimension.” Twilight said.

“Oooooo-kay.” Cadance said. “So you're on drugs.”

“I'm serious!” Twilight blurted, horrified at the prospect of illicit activity.

“Look. Like I said, so long as you clean everything up by the time we leave, you and your friends can do whatever you want.” Cadance shuffled towards the liquor cabinet and poured herself a tumbler full of rum. She held the amber liquid up to her nose and sniffed it a few times, thoughtful. “Needs a mixer.” She declared, and then crossed into the kitchen.

“Wait, no!” Sunset started to stand, but she was too late.

The seal around the refrigerator door made a suctiony sound as Cadance pulled it open. A small plume of frost billowed out of the large machine, followed closely by the limp corpse of a insect monster.

The body, still with the handle of a kitchen knife jutting from its chest, fell to the tile floor with a thud. Cadance's glass of rum hit the floor next, shattering with sharp clink. Sharper still was Cadance's scream, echoing through the fishing lodge.

Twilight found the time to glare at Sunset again. “You killed me and stuck me in the fridge?”

“For the last time, I killed a monster that looked like you.” Sunset said. “... and then I couldn't think of anywhere better to put it.”

“We are so having a talk about this later.” Twilight said, and then pushed off to guide the still-shaking Cadance out of the kitchen. “Uh. Look. I'm sorry. This … kind of thing happens to me sometimes now. It's a magic thing.”

Cadance stared blankly at Twilight.

“Usually it's not so messy, though.” Twilight added on. “Like, uh, remember that thing that happened during the Friendship games? With the plant monsters from another dimension? That was kind of my fault. I really only did it because Principal Cinch more or less blackmailed me into it, but I didn't know any better. I probably should have known better to use my etheric containment technology so recklessly, especially when I didn't fully understand the process. I mean, you'd think I've read enough science fiction novels to develop some sense of genre awareness. But, uh, this time the magic disaster isn't my fault! So … that's good, right?” Twilight babbled on, while Cadance just looked confused.

Sunset snapped her fingers. “That's it, Twilight!”

“What is?”

“Changelings may be able to look like us, but they don't have our memories! So all we have to do is just ask each other questions the Changelings wouldn't know the answers to. That's how we can verify everyone's identity!”

“Friendship test!” Pinkie Pie threw her hands up in the air, cheery. “Oooh, Rarity, why don't you go first!” She pointed to her friend. “Quick, what's Applejack's favorite color?”

“Oh, that's easy. Green.”

“She's a fake! Get 'er!” Applejack leapt onto the unsuspecting Rarity. She got behind the purple-haired girl and hooked an arm around her neck in a steely chokehold. “Everybody knows my favorite color's red!”

“But--” Rarity grabbed Applejack's arm with both her hands and pulled, keeping herself from getting her air supply cut off. “You look so good in green!”

“Not everythin's about fashion, dammit!”

“It should be! Now take your hands off me, this instant!”

“Funny ya say that, considerin' how handsy ya got earlier, li'l miss bugface!”

“I gave you a shoulder rub! As a thank you! For hauling my suitcases!”

“Likely story! Bet you loaded them things up with bricks just so I'd pull somethin' just so you'd get all touchy feely just so you could eat my brain!”

“I'll have you know, every single item I brought along was absolutely essential! I require a strict regimen of beauty care in order to maintain my general air of radiance. Not that you would care. You wouldn't know an exfoliating scrub from a moisturizing mask.”

“You're right. I don't know! I gots better things to do than worry 'bout smellin' fancy n' lookin' pretty.”

“Please stop!” Fluttershy wailed. “Can't you see you're both you?”

“Fluttershy's right! There's nobody else I know who can argue like that.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Or flirt.” Pinkie Pie noted.

Rarity and Applejack both stared at Pinkie Pie for a moment, then turned to stare at each other, and then pushed away from their grappling. The two of them sprang to opposite ends of their couch lightning-quick.

“Ain't got any idea what you're talkin' 'bout, Pinkie” Applejack crossed her arms across her chest.

“That, I dare say, is the first thing Applejack and I can agree on.” Rarity huffed.

“That's them alright.” Sunset Shimmer deadpanned.

“That just leaves me and Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie said. “This is fun!”

“I don't think that's the word I'd use.” Fluttershy murmured.

“We just need to think of something to ask Fluttershy that's really, really personal!” Pinkie said.

“Eep.” Fluttershy murmured.

“Let's, uh … let's take it easy, okay?” Twilight said. “Like … Fluttershy, what're the names of the animals you're taking care of right now?”

“Um.” Fluttershy scratched at the back of her neck. “Do you want them in alphabetical order, or should I divide them up by genus? Because, um. We could be here awhile.”

“Yep.” Rainbow Dash said. “Definitely Fluttershy.”

“Then it's just me!” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing in excitement. “I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm not a brain-eating bug monster, but it'll be good if we check, just to be sure! I guess the really hard part is gonna be figuring out just what kind of question to ask me because sometimes I forget stuff because I don't think it'd be very important but joke's on me because it turns out a lot of that little stuff is SUPER important because you never know when something so trivial is going to be the one little thing that keeps you from getting stabbed in the face and stuffed into a refrigerator! Like, I had waffles for breakfast yesterday morning, not that any of you guys would know that, because you weren't there. But I kind of wish you were because they were really good waffles and I dumped a bunch of powdered sugar on them which made them even better. Who doesn't love sugar and waffles?”

“Aaaaaand I'm pretty sure that's Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yay! I'm me!” Pinkie Pie pumped her fist in triumph.

“Which leaves Cadance.” Sunset Shimmer narrowed her eyes. “Who none of us know very well.”

“Except for me!” Twilight said, hasty. She patted Cadance on the shoulder and forced a smile. “I've known Cadance for longer than any of you guys. She and I know each other really, really well. So, it should be easy to prove that she's not a murderous emotion-vampire. Right?”

Cadance blinked a few times. “Right. Easy.” She said, and forced a smile.

“In fact, I know just the thing.” Twilight began to pat out a quick, clapping rythmn on her thighs. “Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hands and--”

Cadance stared blankly at Twilight.

“C'mon!” Twilight said desperately, “I know you know, Cadance.” She cycled through the patter again. “Clap your hands and … “

“This is embarrassing.” Cadance's bewildered expression hardened, shifting to something far more cool and calculating. “Undone by a stupid rhyme”

Suddenly, the room felt much colder.

Cadance's skin melted away as the Changeling dropped its illusion. It unfolded its spindly, barbed limbs, and spread its sickly-shining wings out proudly. Twilight and her friends stumbled over the furniture, and each other, in their scramble to get away.

“We could have done this the easy way!” The changeling hissed. Its venom-flecked mandibles somehow were able to approximate English. “You would've died happy, all of you! But now … “ The Changeling's too-long limbs moved with a marionette's jerkiness as it loomed over Twilight. “Now I'll have to eat you raw.”

Trembling, Twilight backpedaled until she felt the rough stone of the fireplace press into her back. Iron clattered on rock as she knocked over the fireplace tools. The Changeling kept its terrible, unblinking eyes on Twilight, and leaned in close. The mandibles parted, and its long, dripping proboscis oozed forth.

“Get away from her!” Sunset shouted. The Changeling whipped its head around at the noise, just in time for the thrown bottle of run to smash into its face. The thick glass didn't break, but it still hit hard enough to stagger the Changeling and cover it in sweet-smelling rum.

Seizing the opportunity, Rainbow Dash bounded over the coffee table and onto the Changeling. She wrapped her arms around its neck and pulled. The Changeling wasn't slowed in the slightest- a clawed hand grabbed at Rainbow's arm, and the young athlete gritted her teeth against the pain. Monstrous strength coursed through the Changeling's spindly frame as it flung Rainbow across the room-- right into Pinkie Pie. The two toppled over onto a wooden chair-- which soon shattered beneath their combined weight.

“Caught her!” Pinkie Pie said from the bottom of the pile.

“N' I'll get this'un!” Applejack grunted as she upended the heavy oak coffee table, scattering the soda cans, junk food wrappers, and magazines in every direction. Applejack's shoulders tensed with effort as she hoisted the heavy table up on her shoulder and charged forward, using the coffee table as a shield. She plowed straight into the Changeling and pinned it against the lodge's wall. The cellophane-like wings crumpled beneath the heavy table, but the Changeling still had more than enough strength to work its arms around the shield, clawing and flailing at Applejack. The cowgirl whipped her head back at the last moment, and a clawed swipe that would've blinded her merely drew a vivid red line across her cheek, instead.

“Dammit!” Applejack swore, and leaned her shoulder into the upended table. “Somebody do somethin'! I can't hold her like this forever!”

Twilight, still pressed against the side of the fireplace, splayed her hands to her sides as she started to stand up. Her fingers closed around something firm and metal, and she looked down. Sure enough, there was the fireplace poker: a long length of wrought iron with a barbed point at the end.

Acting on pure instinct, Twilight wrapped both hands around the haft of the fire tool, and lunged to her feet. Bracing the poker like a spear, she put her entire weight behind the thrust. Pinned as it was between the wall and the coffee table turned shield, the Changeling could do nothing to dodge. Twilight's mad blow struck true, and the poker sank deep into the insect monster's side.

The Changeling howled in rage and pain, and threw Applejack and the table aside. Twilight let go of the poker, leaving it lodged in the Changeling's exoskeleton. Stinking green fluid oozed down the length of the poker, dripping onto the wood floorboards.

Twilight stumbled away from the Changeling, and shrieked in fear as she saw it make a lunge for her. Slowed by its wound, the Changeling fell short. It thrashed on the floor, each wheezing breath coming slower than the last. Enraged thrashing devolved to feeble twitching. The Changeling's mandibles parted one last time, and vomited more foul-smelling green blood upon the floor.

With a wet, choking gasp, the Changeling died.

“Applejack! You're hurt!” Rarity materialized at the cowpony's side, and immediately started dabbing at her face with a silk handkerchief she'd produced from somewhere.

Applejack winced under the attention. “I'm fine.” She grumbled. “It's Rainbow y'all should be worried about.”

“Nah, I'm cool!” Rainbow Dash pushed herself back up to her feet. She raised both hands to give a double-thumbs up, only to find her left arm dangling at an unhealthy angle. “Oh. Crap. Uh. That … kinda looks broken. Also, I think I'm in shock, maybe?” Rainbow Dash staggered backwards, only to be caught by Pinkie Pie-- though thankfully far gentler the second time around. Pinkie Pie eased Rainbow onto a couch that hadn't been upended in the chaos, and soon Fluttershy was there as well, quickly and efficiently fashioning a splint from a broken table leg.

“What about you, Twilight?” Sunset Shimmer picked her way over the broken glass and furniture, sure to give the dead Changeling a wide berth. “Are you okay?”

“Physically? Yes.” Twilight fidgeted with her glasses. “It's just I've never, uh … killed anything before. Much less … “

“Your old babysitter?”

“A monster that looked like my old babysitter.” Twilight said.

Sunset entwined her fingers with Twilight's, and gently tugged her away from the Changeling's corpse. “You're learning quick.”

“Kinda wish I didn't have to.”

“Uh. Guys?” Pinkie Pie's hair bobbed as she suddenly perked her head up. “Does anyone else hear that?”

“Hear what?” Applejack gently pushed Rarity away.

Slowly, the buzz of enormous insect wings began to thrum in the distance. Another buzz sounded after that. Then another. Then another. Then several more still, building up into a wicked, angry swarm.

Twilight rushed to the sliding glass door, pressing up against the glass to peer at the shadowy forms flitting about in the distance.

“How many are there?” Sunset asked.

Twilight stepped back, and shrank into Sunset's arms.

“Too many.”

Chapter 4

“We don't have much time.” Sunset said. As much as she wanted to stay there with her arms wrapped protectively around Twilight, she knew there was more to be done. “Everybody, start looking for a weapon. Anything sharp, or heavy, or preferably both.” The girls nodded, and spread out to the corners of the main room.

“There's a buncha stuff we can use out in the tool shed.” Applejack started for the door.

“Wait!” Sunset Shimmer blurted. “Don't go outside. As long as we're in here, we have a slight defensive advantage. If you go outside, they'll just pick you off. Maybe even replace you.”

Applejack stopped with her hand on the doorknob. “So much for that idea, then.”

“Keep looking inside the cabin. If it looks useful, grab it.”

“Ooooh, found something!” Pinkie Pie said. She stood up, holding a can of bug spray.

“Pinkie.” Rarity said,“It's going to take considerably more than that to stop those … things.”

“Wait, lemme see that.” Twilight plucked the aerosol can out of Pinkie's hand. “If I get the right parts … “ Twilight ransacked a junk drawer with renewed vigor, until she stepped back with an. “A ha!”

She snatched a trigger-operated lighter and a roll of duct tape out of the drawer. It was a simple matter to tape the lighter to the can of bug spray, nozzle pointed outward. She lit the lighter, and then pushed the button on the spray can, sending a quick orange burst of flame out into the air. “There! Instant flamethrower!” Twilight beamed with the pride of a proper mad scientist.

“That looks dangerous.” Fluttershy said.

“Uh. Well. It is.” Twilight said. “But hopefully not as dangerous as those Changelings.”

“What if we call the police?” Fluttershy's voice cracked in desparation. “Can't they come help us?”

“I doubt the local sheriff’s equipped to deal with this.” Twilight said. She followed Sunset's lead, shuffling through a closet by the door. “That is, if they even believe us. 'Help, we're being attacked by giant bug monsters that look like our friends' is the kind of story that'd get us arrested.” Twilight pulled a battered but still sealed can of kerosene out of the back of the closet. She squinted at it for a moment, and then swished its contents around. She set the can aside, and then started looking.

“Don't worry, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash ducked into the main bedroom, Pinkie Pie close on her heels. “It's not like this is the first time we had to save the world!”

“I kinda wish it'd be the last. World saving is scary.” Fluttershy clutched her arms around herself, and shivered.

“Jackpot!” Rainbow Dash's voice echoed from within the main bedroom. She walked into the main hall a moment later, her good hand wrapped around the stock of a long, twin-barreled shotgun.

Applejack made a pained noise, and immediately reached over to grab the gun by its barrels, yanking them upwards. “What n' the hell do you think you're doin'?”

“Saving us all, duh!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Dammit Rainbow!” Applejack yanked the weapon from her friend. “Wavin' this thing around like that, y'all coulda killed us 'fore them bugs did! It could be loaded!”

“Hey, no fair! How come you get the gun?”

“'cuz I reckon I'm the only one here who's ever used one before.” Applejack took care to keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction as she split the breech open and checked it for shells. “Empty.” Her shoulders slumped in relief.

“Hey, I got a high score at that zombie game in the arcade. Does that count?”

“No.” Applejack said, flatly. “Not like it matters-- unless we got some shells, this thing's just a pricey club.”

“Oh, you mean these?” Pinkie Pie materialized next to Applejack, and held out a small cubical cardboard box.

“Now we're talkin'.” Applejack flipped the box open and peered inside. “Ain't as many as I'd like, but better n' nothin.” She took two shells out and slid them into the waiting breech of the gun, but didn't close the hinge just yet.

“Idea!” Rarity said. She took a pair of scissors from the junk drawer, and then used them to carve a strip of leather from the couch upholstery. She cut and tore at the cushion until she had a lengthy strap in her hands. She tied it into a loop, and then, after briefly examining one of the shotgun shells, set about cutting a series of parallel slits into the leather. She fit the extra shotgun shells into place in the loops, and then draped the makeshift bandoleer over Applejack's shoulder. “A tad crude, but these are extenuating circumstances. Either way, Applejack, you make quite the desperado.”

“Huh.” Applejack looked down at herself. “That's … actually a darn good idea.”

“Why, of course it is.” Rarity said. “It was my idea, after all.”

“Hey guys! Check this out!” In light of the impending disaster, Pinkie finally got dressed again. Though on top of her jeans and sweatshirt, she wore a cobbled together suit of pans and other kitchenware, topped off by an aluminum pot perched on her head. She rapped a knuckle against the baking sheet that hung over her chest. “Armor plating. Get it? Get it?”

“Technically, I think the term 'plate armor' would be a little more accurate.” Twilight noted.

Sunset Shimmer smiled, despite the situation. Each joke or pun (no matter how terrible) was a tiny step towards normalcy. At least, as normal as things could be for a girl who used to live in another dimension where everyone she knew was a magical equine.

Normal was relative, Sunset realized.

Fighting off strange and magical monsters was something Sunset and her friends were getting alarmingly good at. Sunset hefted a broken chair leg, and tested the point of some of the nails sticking out of one end with her finger. The feel of a weapon in her hand, however improvised, gave her a slight boost in confidence. The Changelings had held off for some reason, long enough to give Sunset and her friends a fighting chance. If they'd just swarmed, Sunset realized, the Changelings could've overwhelmed them easily. As it was, they could just barricade themselves inside, and then there'd be no way the Changelings could get to them without taking heavy casualties. Unless …

“Oh.” Sunset Shimmer said. “Shit.”

As one, her friends looked up from whatever they were doing.

“We have to go.” Sunset said, already moving for the door. “We have to go now.”

“And where can we go? Nobody's found the car keys yet.” Twilight said.

“You can hot wire a car, can't you, Twilight? You're smart.” Sunset already started moving for the door.

“Maybe? I mean, I could probably figure it out eventually, but it'd take time--”

“Then we'll cover you.” Sunset said.

“Hold up.” Applejack tightened her grip on the shotgun. “Didn't you just say we had a better chance iffin' we stayed put?”

“I did. But that was before I realized the Changelings want us here. That's why they're holding back!” She pointed to the glass door, with the lake beyond, and the faintly glowing eyes in the distance beyond that. “They want us to be scared, to stay put.”

“Why?” Applejack said.

“So they can sweep in and get us all at the same time. They're just stalling. I bet they've got another way in, like--”

“The basement!” Fluttershy squeaked. The basement door flew open, and a hissing, chittering wave of Changelings flowed out.

“DOWN!” Applejack shouted, and Fluttershy scampered out of the way. The cowgirl snapped the shotgun's action shut with a resoundingly loud click. Louder still was the roar of the twelve gauge. The head of the first Changeling through the door simply ceased to be. The second load of buckshot hit the second Changeling straight in the chest, tearing a hole in it so big that its body hit the floor with a splash.

Applejack broke the shotgun open, and the still-smoking casings sprung out and to the floor. The cowgirl immediately worked a second pair of shells into the gun, but those few precious seconds were all the endless tide of Changelings needed.

It was impossible to make out individual Changelings in the horde billowing out of the basement. They were almost like some kind of horrible, ravenous liquid, suddenly expanding to take shape of the vessel they were contained in. They scuttled over the furniture, up the walls, blotting out the fancy rustic décor with their ugly inky carapaces.

The girls fought back, and fought well. Chitin crunched and split beneath the kitchen knives and improvised clubs they wielded. Periodically, Applejack's shotgun boomed-- once, twice. Each shot ripped a terrible hole in the Changeling ranks, but there were always more of the horrid, screeching monsters to fill them.

Twilight snapped off quick little bursts with her bug-spray flamethrower, wincing as she felt the heat from each spray. The Changelings on the receiving end had it worse, and recoiled as the flaming poison stuck to their exoskeletons.

“Stay together!” Sunset said, and buried the nailed end of her chair leg into the skull of an approaching bug-monster. As the creature fell, Sunset wrenched her club free with the kind of wet sound she knew she wouldn't forget for the rest of her life (short as that may have been, given the circumstances).

“Working on it!” Rainbow Dash said. Even with her broken arm, she grappled with a Changeling, finally ducking down lower to grab it around the waist. Rainbow let out a primal cry as she hoisted the beast up and slammed it against the wall above the fireplace. By luck or by some natural fighting instinct, Rainbow smashed the flailing changeling against the trophy antlers so hard that one of them stabbed straight through the monster's chest.

Impaled like something out of an entomology collection, the Changeling could do little but flail and scream as great gouts of green lifeblood spouted out of its chest. Rainbow Dash sputtered as the gore rained down on her, but a second Changeling, and then a third, lunged at her in revenge for their comrade. Rainbow Dash went down beneath a pile of grasping, clawing limbs, but she gave twice as good as she got, throwing kicks and punches even as she was pushed to the floor.

“Hold on, Rainbow! I'm coming!” Pinkie Pie waded through the battle, lashing out left and right with a heavy oaken rolling pin. Claws and fangs skittered off her improvised armor. On multiple occasions, Pinkie Pie even headbutted unfortunate Changelings, putting the pot dangling over her head to deadly use.

Sunset Shimmer left the nails of her chair leg in the throat of one Changeling, kicked the next monster in the stomach, and then turned to scramble across the lodge. The idyllic cabin had been transformed to a hell of blood and gunsmoke, populated by an endless tide of ravenous monsters. One by one, Sunset saw her friends fall. They went down fighting, but they still fell. Applejack fired the last of her shells and then switched to using her shotgun like a club. Rarity sank a pair of long-bladed scissors into the eye of the Changeling that wrestled her to the floor, while Fluttershy could do little more than cower as more of the insect monsters bore down on her.

“Twilight!” Sunset grabbed the bespectacled girl by the back of her collar and started hauling her towards the door. “You have to get out of here!”

“What, me?” Twilight sputtered. Sunset ignored her protests, and dragged her towards the door. When a Changeling sprung in front of them, Sunset swung Twilight around like a weapon, who in turn whipped her aerosol flamethrower up to burn a path through.

“You're the only one who can hotwire a car! You've got to go get help!” Sunset said. “Get back to the school-- get Vice Principal Luna, or go through the portal and get Princess Twilight. She's faced Changelings before. She'll know what to do.”

“Wait!” Twilight yelped. “What about you?”

“I'll buy you time.”

Sunset grabbed a fistful of Twilight's shirt and pulled her in for a brief, though no less urgent kiss. She also took the opportunity to pluck the can of bug spray from Twilight's suddenly limp fingers.

“Guh.” Twilight said, heart pounding even harder than it had when something was trying to kill her.

“Consider that incentive to stay alive.” Sunset said, and shoved Twilight out the front door. “Now go!”

“But--”

“Move!” Sunset spun around, just in time to hose yet another Changeling down with flame. The last thing Twilight saw before the door closed was a dark, jagged shape pouncing upon Sunset from behind.

Twilight held a hand up to her mouth, staring in shock at the closed door. Muffled screams, hisses, and the crackle of open flame came from within. Twilight blinked back the tears she told herself weren't there, and then backed away from the cabin.

“Right.” Gravel jabbed into her bare feet. “Hot wire a car. Get help. Simple. Easy.”

Twilight turned around, and headed for Fluttershy's minivan. It was older than Cadance's convertible, and therefore easier to hot wire.

The Changeling perched on the roof of Fluttershy's minivan would make hotwiring a lot more difficult.

Where the Changelings inside had whipped themselves into a violent, nigh suicidal frenzy, the one atop Fluttershy's van was different. Its translucent wings flickered behind it as it slowly sighted in on Twilight, savoring the smell of her fear. Drool dripped from its fangs as it slid down over the windshield and onto the hood of Fluttershy's van.

Twilight froze, and forced herself to size up the situation as best she could. Alone. Barefoot. Unarmed. And, to judge by the pairs of glowing eyes flickering to life in the trees, terribly outnumbered.

The Changeling on Fluttershy's van sprung forward in a nightmare of claws and mandibles. The only reason Twilight didn't scream was because she'd already tired her voice out too much already. Instead, she could do little but whimper as she dove out of the Changeling's way. She staggered, and briefly scrabbled across the gravel driveway on all fours before she was able to get to her feet and run somewhere. Anywhere. The cabin was a death trap, the cars were Changeling perches, and the woods were too dark and unknown to brave-- but then, Twilight realized, there it was!

The tool shed.

Twilight sprinted for the pre-fabbed shed as fast as she could, kicking up bits of gravel as she did so. Maybe the Changeling that followed her was slow and lazy, or maybe it was just toying with her, but Twilight never felt the shar agaony of claws in her back. She made it to the tool shed and barged through its door, slamming it shut behind her. Twilight turned the bolt, just in time to feel the entire structure shake as an angry bug monster slammed into it.

“Think, Twilight.” She told herself, both to get her bearings, and also to hear something besides angry Changeling chitters. “It's not so bad! You're just alone. In a tiny wooden box. Surrounded by horrible monsters that want to eat your brain.” Twilight laughed, mostly so she wouldn't break down and cry. “But … that's it! Your brain! Your wonderful, brilliant, delicious brain. Surely you can think of something, can't you, Twilight?” She laughed again, and then another thump at the tool shed's wall jarred the shed hard enough to make the various tools hanging from the walls rattle. Twilight's eyes flicked to one tool in particular.

“Yes, Twilight.” She told herself with a more than half mad giggle. “You can think of something.”

She took the chainsaw off the wall.

Chapter 5

Twilight Sparkle prided herself on her planning and organizational skills. Even trapped as she was, with who knew how many Changelings scrabbling at the door to the tool shed, she quickly formulated a checklist to determine her next course of action.

Step 1: Acquire chainsaw.

Step 2: Ensure said chainsaw is in working condition.

Step 3: Kill everything.

Briefly, Twilight wondered if it was the adrenaline overdose or the gas fumes that were influencing her line of thought, but either way, she figured she'd just roll with it. Twilight yanked on her chainsaw's starter cord, and its motor roared to life. She tightened her grip on the handle, feeling the vibrations as they worked their way up her arms.

Not like she had anywhere else to go.

As soon as Twilight opened the door to the tool shed, the Changeling that'd been chasing her scrambled in.

Its mistake.

Twilight thrust the chainsaw straight ahead of her, straight into the Changeling's abdomen. More, stronger vibrations hammered up Twilight's arms, but she kept her fingers wrapped tightly on the chainsaw's handles. She grit her teeth, and then yanked the whirring blade of the chainsaw upward. Twilight ripped through the Changeling's torso, unevenly bisecting the Changeling where it stood. She kicked the gory remnants of the bug monster out of her way, and rushed out into the open night air.

The other Changelings lurking around the toolshed froze in their tracks as they caught sight of the gore-spattered, chainsaw-wielding girl. Twilight made them pay for their hesitation. She swung the chainsaw in wide, savage arcs, hacking through chitinous limbs like so much kindling.

By the time it was over, Twilight didn't know how many Changelings she'd killed. The mangled, dismembered remnants of the monsters surrounding her were too jumbled together for a proper count. Twilight stood in the center of it all, panting as she held the heavy chainsaw in front of her.

“Must've scared the rest away.” Twilight mused aloud. Apart from her own voice and the steady thrum of the idling chainsaw, the woods were silent. She spun around, saw at the ready, in case some particularly sneaky Changeling had managed to creep up on her, but she was, however temporarily, alone.

“Right. Get help.” Twilight nodded to herself, and headed for Fluttershy's battered minivan once more. The door was unlocked, unsurprisingly. Not like there was anyone around to break in, and not that the ancient van had anything worth stealing in it to begin with. Twilight peeked through the window, just to make sure there wasn't another Changeling lurking in the backseat, but the van was empty. Clear. She could figure out how to hot wire the thing easily enough, and then escape.

Leaving her friends behind.

Twilight looked back to the cabin. It had gone eerily, terribly quiet. The lights were still on, happily shining into the forest night. Apart from the occasional ichor spatter at the corner of a window, everything looked … fine. Idyllic, even.

Wrong.

Twilight nodded to herself, and headed back towards the cabin. The wooden planking of the porch was rough on her bare feet, but still a relief from the gravel driveway. Twilight leaned her back against the outside wall, and edged up to a window. She leaned over to peek inside. The inside of the cabin was trashed, a mess of broken furniture and Changeling bodies, but there was no sign of her friends-- or even of any of the surviving insect monsters.

Twilight braced herself with a deep breath, and opened the door. Slowly, she walked across the main room, keeping her chainsaw ready. She poked a few of the less-maimed corpses to make sure they were really dead, and made sure to check beneath couches, behind curtains, and into closets to make sure she didn't have any more horrid surprises. After a few minutes thorough search of the main room, Twilight realized she was alone-- if for the time being. The surviving Changelings must have already taken her friends-- down to the basement, Twilight assumed. Even over the din of a running chainsaw, she would've noticed a swarm breaking out of the cabin.

Her right foot hit something solid, and Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin before she realized she'd only knocked over the can of kerosene she dug out of the closet not all that long ago. Thankfully, the lid was still attached, so flammable fuel didn't spill all over the floor. Still, Twilight mused, the kerosene was something she could use. A quick survey of the main room yielded a few more useful items. She made her preparations as quickly as she could, and then pulled in a deep breath, knowing exactly where she had to go next.

The basement.

The steps creaked beneath Twilight's meager weight. As she made her descent, Twilight wished she'd thought to grab a flashlight, even though she knew she couldn't use the chainsaw and a flashlight at the same time. She ran one hand against the wall of the stairwell, searching for a light switch. Her fingertips traced over a few parallel grooves in the drywall-- claw marks from one of the Changelings going up, or the desperate scrabblings of one of her friends being dragged down?

Twilight finally found a light switch and flicked it upward. A single, naked light bulb flared to life, illuminating the large, dank basement. The big room was empty, save for a few decaying cardboard boxes pushed up against the bare concrete walls.

At the far end of the unfinished room, one of the walls was marred by an enormous crack, just a little wider than Twilight's shoulders. A sickeningly sweet smell wafted from the tunnel, strong enough to make itself felt even over the exhaust fumes of Twilight's idling chainsaw.

“There.” Twilight said.

Chainsaw held out in front of her, Twilight squeezed through the crevice. The rough concrete tore little rents Twilight's sleeves-- not that it mattered, she mused, since her pajamas were already ruined by Changeling blood anyway. She patted her left sleeve with her right hand, making sure it was hanging just right.

After only a few steps, rough stone of the foundation gave way to softer, warmer soil. Twilight tried not to think too hard about just what she was stepping in. One of the few benefits of not bringing a flashlight, she soon decided. The tunnel sloped gently downward, and wound this way and that in erratic, serpentine curves. Eventually, Twilight saw a sickly green glow coming from around one rounded corner. Bracing herself, she hefted her chainsaw and pressed on, emerging out into an underground chamber far larger than the cabin basement.

Jagged crystals set high on the walls cast an otherworldly light over the main chamber. The patterns daubed across the wall and ceilings reminded Twilight of a honeycomb, only if the neat geometric shapes had been partially melted into uglier, warped forms.

At the other end of the room, was … a thing.

What Twilight had first thought a part of the far wall unfolded in a tangle of spindly, chitinous limbs. She recognized the black carapace and soulless eyes of a Changeling, but this one was different. Taller. Leaner. Maybe even more feminine. Most intimidating, however, was the fact this Changeling had a human-looking mouth in place of twitching mandibles.

It was smiling.

“Twilight.” The Queen (for what else could it be) cooed. “I've been expecting you.”

“Uh. Good!” Twilight said, and revved her saw. “Then you'll know what's going to happen if you don't give me back my friends.”

“Ah. Yes.” The Queen languidly settled back onto a throne seemingly made of more, larger insectoid limbs. She crossed her legs and lounged back, as if posing for some deviant, insect-obsessed photographer. She waved a clawed, three-fingered hand. “Don't worry. Your friends are perfectly fine. For now.”

Something wet sounded from above, and soon, a sleeping-bag shaped mass lowered down from the ceiling in front of Twilight. The girl inside was wrapped up in some sort of gooey rope like a mummy, but Twilight recognized the flame-red hair instantly.

“Sunset!” Twilight reached for her, but stopped herself once she remembered The Queen was still there. “I swear, if you've hurt her … “ Twilight glared.

“Oh, she's perfectly fine, I assure you. All your friends are.” The Queen made another little gesture, and six more bundles descended from the ceiling, dangling on lines of wet silk. “And they'll continue to be just fine, as long as you cooperate.”

“Cooperate.” Twilight said.

“Of course. Wouldn't you like to set your friends free, without any more bloodshed?”

“I don't think that's possible.”

“Anything's possible, dear. Especially when you're a Changeling. Now, all you have to do is put down that saw and surrender, and we'll let your friends go.”

“You're going to have to do better than that.” Twilight said. “Giving up seven prisoners in exchange for one? It doesn't add up.”

“But it does. If you're a Changeling.” Those dark, too-perfect lips curled into a too-perfect smile. “That which is given willingly is much, much sweeter than what we have to … “ the blank eyes fell to Sunset's bundle. “Take.”

“And why shouldn't I just carve you up and rescue them myself?”

“Because, despite your best efforts, many of my drones are still alive. You might be able to hurt me, yes … but even with that saw, do you really think you can fight all of us without any of your friends getting hurt?”

Twilight looked up at the slowly shifting figures on the ceiling, did some quick math in her head, and scowled.

“Instead, my plan is a win-win. Your friends will go free, and as for you--” The Queen snapped her clawed fingers, and her form melted into that of Sunset Shimmer, lounging back in a lacy black negligee that was usually only seen in magazines delivered in unmarked brown wrapping. “It's not as if you'll be lacking for company.”

Twilight's eyes ran down the length of an impossibly clean black stocking before snapping back to Not-Sunset's eyes. “... are you really going to let them go?”

Not-Sunset nodded, and smiled. The eye color was slightly off, and the fake Sunset showed more teeth when she smiled than she should. Twilight felt her heart beat a little faster anyway. “Alright.” Twilight said. “As long as you let them all go.”

“I knew you'd come around to my way of seeing it. Now. Drop the saw.”

Twilight turned the chainsaw off, letting its motor sputter to a stop. As soon as she dropped the tool on the floor, the muscles of her arms twinged in relief, relieved of the heavy burden. “Drop my friends.” Twilight said. She paused. “Er, I mean. Gently lower my friends to the floor and then untie them. Please.”

“Mmm. In due time.” Not-Sunset crooked a come-hithery finger at Twilight. “I want to get a good look at you, first.”

Twilight balled her fingers into fists, but forced herself to comply. In other circumstances, that sort of look, that sort of gesture could have melted her to incoherent mush. But this time, she knew better. Still, she walked across the underground throne room, closer and closer to Not-Sunset.

The throne itself reached out for Twilight, drawing her in against the impostor Sunset Shimmer. Despite their closeness, the disguised Changeling felt … oddly cold. Not-Sunset's hand rose up, and toyed with the top button of Twilight's ragged pajamas. “Mmm. Look at this. Filthy. We'd best get you cleaned up.”

“My friends.” Twilight said, narrowing her eyes. “I'm not doing anything until you let my friends go.”

“Ah.” Not-Sunset's hand snapped to Twilight's throat. Her fingers squeezed, just enough to remind Twilight of the Changeling's terrible strength. “About that. I lied.”

Twilight gasped, and then another flex of the Changeling's fingers cut her off.

“You had it right the first time.” Not-Sunset said with a vicious, toothy smile. “There's no reason to trade seven meals for just one. Unless, of course, you can charm the last one by putting on a pretty face.” Not-Sunset's mouth opened up just a few degrees too wide, and an inhumanly lengthy tongue lolled out to drag a wet trail up Twilight's cheek, lingering at the corner of her eye to savor the tear forming there. “Delicious.” The Changeling Queen hissed. “Heroism is an acquired taste, I've found, but if you cut it with just the right amount of despair … “ She trailed off into a mad laugh.

Twilight started laughing too.

“Mmm?” The Changeling Queen's tongue retracted into her mouth like a retreating eel. “I haven't broken you already, have I? I thought you were stronger than that.”

“I am stronger.” Twilight rasped. “Smarter, too.”

“Do tell.”

“I knew something like this would happen. So I made a contingency plan.” Twilight forced a smile.

“What?” Not-Sunset blinked, and for the briefest of moments, the blank, multifaceted insect eyes could be seen.

Far above, something burst with an eardrum-threatening pop.

Twilight laughed again. “Aaaaaaand that is the sound a can of aerosol bug spray makes when you leave it in the microwave too long.”

“A child's prank.”

“Maybe.” Twilight said. “But if you dump a gallon and a half of kerosene around that microwave before it blows up … “ The faint, tangy smell of melting plastic and blazing fuel wafted down the tunnel.

“Fool!” Not-Sunset yanked Twilight closer to her. “You'll burn with us!” The Changelings clinging to the ceiling chattered and screeched in panic as they felt the heat of the burning cabin.

“I thought you'd say that.” Twilight said. “Which is why I brought the knife.”

Twilight's right hand disappeared into her left sleeve, and pulled out the long, slim kitchen knife she'd duct-taped to her forearm. The shining blade then disappeared into the Changeling Queen's chest, over and over and over again.

Not-Sunset choked out a surprised, anguished cough, spattering Twilight's glasses with greenish blood. Twilight leaned in, and gave the knife a final, thorough twist. The grasping insectoid limbs of the Changeling Queen's throne shuddered, and then released their grip on Twilight. The illusion faded away, and soon there was just a broken, lifeless Changeling in its place.

Twilight gritted her teeth and yanked the knife out of the Queen. She looked up for a moment, paranoid-- but the sudden heat of the blazing cabin and the sudden death of their Queen had worked them into a panicked, mindless scramble, ignoring Twilight.

Twilight prised herself out of the dead Changeling's arms, wincing as the limp, clawed limbs dragged over her flesh. “Can't waste time.” She told herself as she started hacking away at the closest cocoon-- which just coincidentally happened to be Sunset Shimmer's.

Solingen steel parted Changeling excretions easily enough. Sunset Shimmer (the real one, Twilight desperately hoped) coughed and sputtered as the sticky silk was pulled away from her mouth.

“Twilight?” She gasped. “I told you to--”

“Leave. I know.” Twilight yanked at a tougher stretch of binding and sawed away at it with her knife. “I didn't listen.”

“You should have--”

“Run away. I know. You would've died if I did.”

“Wait, did you--”

“Light the cabin on fire and kill a Changeling doppleganger that happened to look like you? Why yes, that's exactly what happened.” Twilight yanked the last of the silken rope away from Sunset's arm. “Now, if you don't mind, we've got to get everyone free and out of here before the fire starts sucking all the oxygen out of these tunnels and we all die of asphyxiation.”

“Twilight … are you okay?”

“Nope!” Twilight said, maddeningly cheery. “But I think I've kind of gone so far around the bend so I'm totally, completely, absolutely rational. Now here, take this knife. I'm gonna go grab the chainsaw.”

“The what?” Sunset said, but any further protests were drowned out by the sudden roar of the chainsaw motor. Carefully (at least as carefully as she could manage with a gas-powered logging tool), Twilight cut through the webbing that held her friends in place. After poking the tapered end of the cocoon to make sure there wasn't anything solid in the way, Twilight hacked off the caps and drug her friends out as if they had been in a sleeping bag. Within moments, all of Twilight's friends were free-- even if they were battered, dazed, and filthy.

“Everyone, get behind me!” Twilight said, “We need to get out of here before the cabin burns down and collapses!”

“Before what?” Sunset sputtered.

“Explanation later! Moving now!”

The tunnels were a little easier to navigate the second time. Twilight pushed through as fast as she could, out into the basement, and then up the stairs. Courtesy of an exploded microwave and a copious amount of kerosene, half the cabin was well on its way to a very literal interpretation of the term “Hell's Kitchen.” Twilight held her ragged pajama top up to her mouth, and pushed through the flames as quickly as she could, out into the main room and the cool dawn beyond. Her friends followed suit, running out onto the driveway, coughing and sputtering all the while.

Twilight did a quick head count of her friends, and then dropped her chainsaw as it sputtered through its last few drops of gasoline. “Okay.” She slumped against the hood of Fluttershy's minivan and watched the cabin burn. “So, uh. Your parents have insurance, right Cadance?”

After entirely too many brushes with death, the aftermath was surprisingly easy to deal with. They threw the dead Changelings in the driveway into the blazing cabin; Changeling chitin proved to be surprisingly flammable. Afterward, it was a simple matter of washing off in the lake, hot-wiring Fluttershy's van, and then heading back into town to report the house fire. “Someone must have knocked over a candle” proved enough explanation for the small town fire department. After that, it was a matter of getting a hotel room to take refuge in.

By the time the sun began to set once again, the ashes settled on the blackened ruin of what was once a luxury cabin. Thankfully, the flames had not spread to the forest beyond, leaving the rest of the lakefront looking properly idyllic.

A single claw burst from the ash-covered floor. An arm followed, and then the rest of a chitinous Changeling body. The creature coughed and hissed. It fluttered its wings, sending a shower of ash in all directions. The death of the Queen had released a wave of potent pheromones, signaling a chemical change in the drone. Its instincts changed, as if a switch had been flipped. It to find a new territory. A safer territory. A place where it could rest, and feed, and change … and soon enough, the humble drone would be the newest Queen, to give birth to a new brood of Changelings, ready to conquer the world. The Changeling chittered, and pulled its mandibles back in a sick approximation of a smile, lost in the thought of the delicious meals to come.

It didn't see the axe that swung into the back of its head.

The last Changeling's skull split with a wet crack, and the monster fell to the floor.

Twilight planted one foot on the Changeling's back and yanked the axe free with a wet splutch.

“See?” She said, and turned back to Sunset. “I told you there's always one more. It pays to be thorough.”

“You are getting way too good at this.”

“I learned from the best.”

“Flatterer.”

“One thing, though.” Twilight said, and rested the head of the axe in the ash.

“Hm?” Sunset tilted her head to the side.

“Back in the kitchen, when you found the first, uh … Not-Me. How'd you know it was a Changeling?”

“Oh. Uh. That.” Sunset Shimmer scratched at the back of her neck. “She looked like you. Smelled like you. But … it didn't add up. Felt wrong.”

“How?”

“She was a good kisser.” Sunset's cheeks threatened to tint the same shade as her hair.

“Hey!” Twilight sputtered.

“I'm sorry! It's just she was more, uh … aggressive. Than you. Handsy, even.” Sunset made a vague yet obscene gesture with her fingers. “It wasn't you. Too … aggressive. And not even in a 'pent up sexual frustration' sense.”

“So you stabbed me? Er, her? Whoever?”

“Actually, I didn't go for the knife until she-- until it tried to eat my brain.”

“Ah.” Twilight fiddled with her glasses. “That's good to know.” She took a step closer. “For future reference.”

“What're you--”

Twilight gently pulled Sunset to her by the lapels of her jacket, and leaned in for a brief, tentative kiss. She stood there for a few moments longer, and then smiled. A warm breeze rolled in off the lake, wafting through the charred ruin of the cabin.

“Don't think I'm a Changeling now, do you?” Twilight said with a smile.

“When you put it that way, maybe we should check again. Like you said, it pays to be thorough.”