Regroup *CMCs*

With the sun setting in the distant horizon, the beams of light that penetrated the thick mesh of branches and leaves began to fade. A boisterous cacophony echoed across the landscape as the dense forest's denizens awakened from their daily slumber. Clouds formed above the Everfree Forest while the Cutie Mark Crusaders trudged through the thick mud. The three fillies struggled with their precious cargo.

"Apple Bloom. Are you sure you know where we're going?" Sweetie Belle said. Sparks dripped from her horn while she propped up the human's feet, the light from her horn barely touching the darkness that surrounded the group. She yanked her hoof free from the mud then groaned as her other hoof became stuck. In a quiet voice, Sweetie Belle said, "I mean, we have to be back in Equestria, right? That was a changeling back there."

Apple Bloom remained silent. She adjusted the arm that was draped over her shoulder. Her nervous gaze glanced towards the human, and then faced the muddy pathway.

"Geez, this human is heavy." Scootaloo said.

"You're telling me." Sweetie Belle said.

"At least you have magic to lift him up." Scootaloo said.

"Hmph. There's more to it than that, Scootaloo. Besides, its flank isn't blocking your view." Sweetie Belle said.

The two fillies bantered back and forth. Their prattling began to overshadow the creatures of the forest.

Apple Bloom gritted her teeth. "Knock it off!"

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle ceased their bickering, and the two apologized.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders stopped. Apple Bloom squinted at the pathway ahead. In what light remained, she pointed a hoof towards a visible spot at the base of a nearby mountain. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo moved towards a small cave. Sweat poured from Sweetie Belle's head forehead as her magic enveloped the human. The magical aura disappeared, and the human went limp, propped up against the cave's back wall. Scootaloo crept along the cave's muddy floor until she stood near her fellow crusaders.

"Sorry. Ah didn't mean ta yell at ya'll like that back there," Apple Bloom rubbed a quivering right hoof against her left, "but Ah just feel so frazzled right know. Our friend is hurt, and Ah don't know what to do."

"Yea, that breathing doesn't sound right, either. " Scootaloo said.

"Not to mention that 'arm' looks banged up. What did the human do back there?" Sweetie Belle said. Her ears lowered. She sighed, along with her fellow crusaders. Quiet moments passed while rain trickled through the forest canopy, landing on the ground outside the cave. Sweetie Belle snapped several tree branches with her magic and tossed the pieces into a small pit, dug by Scootaloo. "Any idea how long we've been gone?"

"No clue." Scootaloo said.

"Ya got me." Apple Bloom said.

The cutie mark crusaders placed their friend on top of a soft pile of gathered leaves. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo gave each other slight, unnerved glances after the human let out a heavy cough. Light from the fire reflected off the beads of sweat that clung to the individual's arms and forehead.

Scootaloo extended her right wing. She shook her head, "We gotta find Ponyville. The human feels awfully hot."

"Uhh Scoots, your standin' near the fire there. Anythin' would be hot if -- geez, that's way too hot." Apple Bloom said. She pointed towards Sweetie Belle, "Go collect some of that rain water, quick. Ah read some stuff back in our friend's world that bad things happen if they get too hot."

"Got it. I'll find. A..." Sweetie Belle's voice went silent. Her eyes darted about. The hairs on her coat stood on end. She turned. A cold chill traveled down her spine. Sweetie Belle illuminated her horn. In a quiet voice she said, "We're not alone."

"Calm down. We can't set the woods on fire." Apple Bloom said after her unicorn friend grabbed a branch with her magic and set its end on fire. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness with the last bits of sunlight vanishing. Apple Bloom's right hoof crept along the ground till it latched onto a sturdy tree limb. "Ok, somethin' is definitely followin' us. Crusaders, we gotta protect our friend."

Bushes rustled. Scootaloo picked up her left hoof, planted it forward, and then moved it back. Though the makeshift torch in Sweetie Belle's magical grasp illuminated nothing but foliage, the Cutie Mark Crusaders backed up into a tight formation near the cave's entrance and stood their ground.

"C- C-Come out. Come out, or else I'll --" Sweetie Belle waved the torch towards a nearby bush.

"Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo said. Her wings twitched. She dropped the tree limb in her right hoof. "Run!"

Sweetie Belle froze.

Branch firm in hoof, Apple Bloom lunged towards Sweetie Belle's direction. The dark figure backed away. She lunged again and again. Two eyes pierced through the darkness of a figure's hooded cloak and caused the filly to back away. Her hooves quivered, and her withers twitched.

Sweetie Belle stood behind Apple Bloom. She said, "We gotta get outta here. Help me get the human. We'll drag them to safety."
Those words went unheeded.

"You ain't hurtin' our friend." Apple Bloom said at the top of her lungs as she snapped out of her stunned state, the filly's battle cry shaking her friends to their cores. Her fellow crusaders resumed their determined stances. Light from the torch, in front of Sweetie Belle, penetrated the cloaked figure's hood. Apple Bloom's grasp weakened. The solid piece of wood, clutched in her right hoof, fell to the ground. She lunged at the dark figure, and then wrapped her hooves around the neck of a friend. "Zecora!"

Though two kind eyes greeted the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the zebra backed up. She beckoned Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo towards her, and the group traveled down a darkened path towards two orange dots. Those tiny specks of light grew brighter and fuller with the group's progression.

Apple Bloom placed a hoof over her mouth, and an audible "no" escaped.

"Apple Bloom, wait up. We gotta stick together." Scootaloo said.

Apple Bloom bit down on her lip. She sighed. Her hooves stopped. The human's arm draped over the filly's side once more, the group continued forward, and, once inside, her curious eyes gravitated about single roomed structure.

"Looks like somepony ransacked the place." Sweetie Belle said. She gazed at the curtain shreds, clay pot pieces, and spilled alchemical reagents that were strewn about the area. "Did the changelings do this?"

Zecora surreptitiously moved passed the fillies after the closed the door to her hut. Two bottles were retrieved from a small pouch in her cloak. Brownish liquid poured into a small cup with two leaves and a bit of bark thrown into it. The liquid turned pale green.

"This isn't good. It looks like -- Gah! What is this?!" Sweetie Belle said.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders rubbed their eyes. Sweetie Belle grabbed a piece of tattered curtain and rubbed it against her face. Apple Bloom wiped the viscous liquid off her forehead. Scootaloo cleaned her wings. They turned to their friend and rubbed the substance off the human's forearms and cheeks.

The cup Zecora once held in her hoof shattered on the ground, breaking the zebra out of her trance. A tear crawled down her cheek, the zebra's gentle hoof brushing against the mane of a long lost friend. Her cheerful smile reflected off the three fillies' eyes. Despite the happy moment, she backed away. Zecora moved towards a small niche in her home. "Our reunion must be cut short. We have to make it to the makeshift fort."

"Please, we need help." Apple Bloom said. She pointed at the wounded individual on the ground.

"That is one thing I can believe. However, must make haste and leave." Zecora said. Her hoof latched onto a nearby staff. She took the staff and its pointed end into a hole near her bed.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders carried their friend down a small stretch of grey stone steps into a dark passage way, carved out of dirt and stone. Several torches lit up in green flames that revealed thick roots that traveled along the walls and ceiling.

Hoof steps ceased. A circular shaped, strong stone door came into view.

Zecora planted her staff into the ground, and the area went dark. Thin beams of green light traveled along lines etched into the face of the strong stone door. Dust and dirt rained down on top of the human, which caused it to groan. Another set of steps were revealed when the door separated in two, each half retreating into its respective recess.

Soon, the door slammed shut behind the group.

*** *** ***

Down a small set of stairs, beyond two more strong stone doors, a medium sized area greeted the Cutie Mark Crusader and their unconscious guest. Semi-brilliant flames, coming from clay pots held in wooden stands, lit up an underground refuge. Off to the right of the entrance, three mares rummaged through boxes. In a nearby corner, a stallion entertained two colts while a mare cradled her small foal. Two rooms existed on each side of the main area, sealed by wooden doors. The room's fresh air was supplied by several small holes that burrowed upwards, the surface holes hidden inside hollowed out trees.

As Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo glanced around the room, a mare trotted up then saluted Zecora. "Ma'am, we have a new report. It's as you feared. The changelings are scanning every inch of the Everfree Forest."

Zecora's rings jingled when she placed a gentle hoof on the Apple Bloom's side. She thanked the mare for the report. The zebra helped Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle move the human onto a table in the back of the underground area.

"What happened, Zecora?" Sweetie Belle said.

"Yea, why are there changelings all over the place?" Scootaloo said.

"What's going on?" Apple Bloom said.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders went silent after Zecora held out a hoof.

"Your families had a terrible fear, due to you three being missing for a year. One day, you three came back from nowhere. It was as if you appeared out of thin air. What we didn't realize is that when you came back, it was meant to shroud the Changeling Queen's vicious attack." Zecora said. Her hooves pressed against the human's soft skin. She raised an eyebrow, "This creature is unlike any I have seen. Where did you three go? Where have you been?"

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle pointed at their fellow crusader who exhaled a deep sigh. Apple Bloom cleared her throat.

Zecora's ears perked up. She hung on Apple Bloom's each word of the otherworldly tale while pressing on several spots of the strange patient's body. Her eyes honed in on the injured individual's right arm. Bits of dirt and mud were rubbed off by a clean cloth. The muk removed, two fine marks emitted a faint green glow. The zebra moved closer. Zecora pressed her hoof against the wound. She recoiled when the human groaned and arched its back.

Sweetie Belle nodded. She floated two vial towards Zecora who poured the green and brown liquids on top of a few strands of grass inside a mortar and pedestal.

Quiet words were muttered under a hushed breath.

The human screamed. Sweetie Belle pushed down on the individual with her magic while Scootaloo and Apple Bloom restrained their friend's arms. After several, frustrating moments, the room fell silent, and the human went still.

With the herbal salve rubbed onto the wound, Apple Bloom helped Zecora bandage the individual's right arm.

"The changelings use a powerful poison to incapacitate their prey, and then drag those poor souls to a place I dare not say. Though it may be harmless to ponykind, I'm not sure if the same can be said of its kind." Zecora said. She approached her patient and brushed her hoof against several muddied spots. Her eyes widened. The deep sigh she exhaled was followed by several words said in her native tongue. She cleaned her hooves. "We will have to wait and see, but I fear it has committed a terrible deed."

"Apple Bloom, you ok over there?" Sweetie Belle said.

"Yea, just tired. Ah meant to ask you and Scoots somethin'. Did ya'll understand what our friend said, back where we found ya?" Apple Bloom said. She raised an eyebrow at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle who shook their heads at her. "Ah guess Ah'm still the only one it can understand. All Ah remember is that awful sound. Next thing was seein' the human in the mud."

"What it did in that fight, it was something that isn't right. Before you ask, dear Apple Bloom, I do not know where the others have gone. I am sad to say that things have gone quite wrong." Zecora said. She traveled a short distance towards a nearby table with the Cutie Mark Crusaders in toe. Eyes scanned the map of Equestria dotted by several red X's, circles, and dots covered the map of Equestria. At the map's heart, a strange symbol was placed over Canterlot.

Many have sought out places to hide. Several of them coming from across Equestria, far and wide. What you see are dark times, my three ponies. Queen Chrysalis has returned and seeks vengeance against stallions, mares, colts, foals, and fillies. The changeling ruler has strengthened her group, now commanding a fearsome troop. She plans to drain all of Equestria's love and leave nothing but husks. I fear her plan may succeed at the coming of this month's final dusk.

"Huh?" Scootaloo said said.

"Reports suggest that Chrysalis is influencing your lunar princess. She hopes the alicorn's power will aid in her success." Zecora said.

"Draining Princess Luna's power?" Scootaloo said.

"Is it even possible for changelings to siphon a pony's power and use it against them?" Sweetie Belle said.

"Though it is hard to tell, we're certain she's using a powerful spell. She may be influencing Princess Luna to commit terrible acts, ones that leave us little time to prepare a counter-attack. The power to invade dreams and terrorize us all, I dare say such a thing will truly make this land fall." Zecora said.

"..."

Apple Bloom's ears perked up, and she placed a blanket over the human. Her heavy eyes crept open and closed several times. The filly laid her head on the human's hand.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo yawned as well. The duo moved towards Apple Bloom and laid near her.

Zecora lifted the top of a nearby box. "We must rest our bodies and minds, my little fillies. The same goes for your 'human' friend and these ponies. However, you should eat something first. Here, be sure to quench your thirst."

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle rubbed their eyes. The trio thanked Zecora before they nibbled on some pieces of fruit, collected from the forest. In the time that passed, the group shared more of their stories with their zebra friend, and the miraculous world they called a temporary home. Words were thrown around that once sounded foreign to them about "Computers" and "Polymers," however, the trio stopped when they thought about what happened one day when they watched the "TV" in the family room. The Cutie Mark Crusaders turned to one another. They looked at their friend on the table.

"You remember that 'incident,' Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle said.

"Yea. The human said they weren't like that other one on the TV, but..." Scootaloo said.

"Ah get ya, Scoots. What did our friend do back there with those two changelings?" Apple Bloom said.

Zecora grabbed some blankets and gave them to the sleepy fillies. "What has been done cannot be undone. Now please, get some rest and sleep well. Tomorrow, I have more of the story to tell. I will be awake at the rising of the sun."

"Ok," The Cutie Mark Crusaders yawned in unison. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo stretched. All of them rested on the ground near their friend.

After the fillies closed their eyes, Zecora smirked. She placed blankets over the fillies and smiled at them, however, her right hoof trembled when she gazed at the human that slumbered on the table. "What you three call a friend, it may be Equestria's true end."

Author's Note

Would have had this chapter out sooner, but RL has come into play. I won't have a lot of time to write stories. With that said, I will do my best to try and pump out some chapters to keep up my writing.