The bright autumn sun was slowly disappearing over the horizon, casting its last rays on the streets of Wildsberry. Founded when settlers first came to the area, it was made up of several streets lined with wooden buildings, broken up by the occasional stone structure or business. Of course, much has changed since then. Wooden wagons had given way to trucks, oil lamps to electric lights with energy-saving bulbs, and the snack machines and billboards that stood here and there made it clear that the days of the frontier were over, and civilization had come to this place.

But before the sun could disappear, a train whistle sounded somewhere in the distance, and a column of smoke emerged from behind the mountain. Soon a train emerged, heading at full throttle toward the city. As it approached, the tracks near the train station began to shake, and this startled a fly that was sitting nearby. It rose into the air and flew upward in a jagged trajectory toward the nearest telephone pole. However, its flight was not long. Suddenly it was blocked by a sticky, elastic barrier in the form of a spider web, which had been spun along one of the rungs by a large desert spider. Predatorily rubbing its paws, it began to approach its victim, ready to envelope it in its web and eat it. The eyes of the frightened fly stared at the ruthless predator that wanted to end its life. Its fate was sealed.

But then, because of the vibrations of the train, the pole, badly driven into the ground, tilted slightly, and the web snapped down, taking with it the spider and the fly. Swaying gently in the wind, they collapsed on the platform. The fly, feeling that some of its legs were free, tried to fly up. Spreading its wings, it jerked upward, trying desperately to escape. The spider, however, was not ready to give up so easily and, freed from its own web, again began to move toward it, menacingly clacking its deadly jaws.

The fly redoubled its efforts, but the spider was already close and, disregarding the rumble and noise of the stopping train, was approaching it. It took only a few seconds to reach its prey and in anticipation it lifted its legs up to grab the fly, as suddenly the hoof of a dark beige stallion that had emerged from the train car, with light stubble on its face, stepped on top of it. He glanced toward the train station and adjusted the mottled shirt with a pineapple pattern on his chest.

"Well, here we are," he said with satisfaction, and then, adjusting his buckskin cap on his horn and setting down a couple of bags down, he added, "Wildsberry is a beautiful olden town, home to brave adventurers who fight dangerous savages at dawn, and drink a double whiskey with a cube of salt at night. There's definitely something to see here."

"Yes, yes. But we didn't come here to see the view, dear wife," said the tall pink mare who followed him out, dressed in a sleeved jacket, a long skirt, and a wide-brimmed tourist hat.

"Shh! Not so loud. Someone might hear you," said the stallion warily, looking back at the ponies coming out of the other train cars, who were not much different in dress from this couple.

"Don't worry, I said it quietly. And besides, what if it's just a thing, and you really like dressing up as a mare? After all, no one knows what you and I do when we're alone in the bedroom," the mare answered him, putting a couple of handbags and a big suitcase down beside her.

"And that's for the best. They'd be horrified for sure," the unicorn grinned.

"Or burn with envy," his companion snorted. "By the way, I think you stepped on something."

"Did I? Where? Yuck, a spider!" The stallion looked down and stamped his leg mare-like, then walked over to the front desk, grabbing a couple of tourist brochures to wipe his hoof with.

"So, here we are," the pink mare said, glancing at the town ahead, where the first streetlights were already starting to come on. "It's been a long ride."

"Long, but, I hope, not useless," added the stallion, when all the other tourists had left and they were alone on the platform. "After all, this is where I had my appointment."

"Yes, and I really hope that the kidnappers come to see you. If they get suspicious, they might hurt our lovely husband."

"Don't worry, we did it right. So it's unlikely they were following us," the unicorn winked at her.

Yes, those two outwardly unremarkable tourists were in fact the disguised Cadence and Chrysalis, who had come undercover to town to meet with the ponies who'd stolen their Shiny. Or rather, it was only Chrysalis who was supposed to go to that meeting. That's why, in order not to get caught, the mares pulled off a whole diversion. The next morning several of the queen's children arrived at the mansion secretly, and she told them what had happened and ordered her two most nimble sons to assume her and Cadence's guise, then sent them on a walk through the city. While they diverted attention to themselves, the mares managed to disguise themselves and, after waiting several hours, left the house. After reaching the train station, they drove out to Wildsberry. Of course, they weren't sure if their plan would work, but there wasn't much choice. Cadence and Chrysalis didn't want to take the risk of getting Canterlot all up in arms, so they decided to do it themselves without the princesses or Twilight and her friends.

Once down from the platform, the mares headed in the direction of main street.

"Now let's try to be as quiet as possible and not draw unwanted attention," Chrysalis said as she held her and Cadence's things in her telekinesis. "Which won't be easy, considering our ridiculous clothes."

She cast a disapproving glance at her pineapple shirt, which was more appropriate for a walk on the beaches than a trip to the Wild West.

"Eh, we shouldn't have dressed like that after all, honey. Our outfits are too conspicuous," she complained.

"That's the thing, we look like common tourists, and it's the early tourist season in this part of Equestria. So we wouldn't stand out much, especially..." the alicorn said as she and the queen made their way to the main street of Wildsberry, "…among the throngs of other ponies out here."

She swung her leg, pointing forward.

"Whoa!" Chrysalis gasped as she looked in that direction.

Right in front of her was an impressive view of the brightly lit city street, which consisted of many souvenir stores, miniature museums, and cowcolt saloon-style restaurants. Between them walked countless crowds of tourists of all different races, dressed in summer shirts and translucent dresses. Each stranger had a camera around their neck, and relentlessly snapped pictures of everything they saw, whether it was an old building or a cowcolt's watering hole or an ordinary-looking rock that they thought was incredibly beautiful.

"What did I tell you?" Cadence smiled.

"Yes, I didn't expect that," the changeling told her as she glanced at the sign of the nearest bar, which, according to the advertisement, sold the world's strongest cactus cocktails. "This place didn't look much like the old spaghetti western town."

"Well, it may once have been, but with the advent of progress they decided to turn it into a tourist place," said the princess. "So we'll be completely unrecognizable here."

And, playfully nudging Chrysalis with her croup, she took her further down the street past the loudly talking guests and entertainers.

"Hey, friends! Would you like to take part in one of our creepiest excursions through a Haunted Cemetery?" The two of them were approached them by a stallion dressed in tattered cowcolt attire, whose face was smeared with white paint in a skeletal design, and a gallows noose hung around his neck.

"A Haunted Cemetery?" Repeated the alicorn.

"Yes, it's our main attraction; a cemetery that's haunted by actual ghosts. We give tours every few hours after sunset, and with Nightmare Night over, our tickets are at a discount," he explained eagerly.

"Well, thank you for the information. We'll certainly think about it," said Chrysalis.

"Of course. In that case, here's a pamphlet for you," he said, handing the queen a small glossy flyer that depicted stereotypical sheet-like ghosts, from which the foals ran away with cheerful muzzles. "And if you ever want to have an unforgettable adventure, come here. I'd love to sign you up and add you to one of the groups."

"Yeah, bye," the changeling waved at him. "Yes, this place really is a tourist attraction," she turned to Cadence. "I'm surprised the kidnappers would ask me to come here."

"Maybe that's what it's all about. The more ponies there are, the easier it would be for them to get lost in the crowd."

"I guess you're right. Well, let's go find an inn where we can leave our things."

After wandering for a while among the stores and themed eateries, which were swarming with crowds of tourists, they finally found a small wooden inn that looked like an old cavalry fort, where all the staff were dressed like Frontier Guards and local Natives. Once settled there, they left their suitcases in the room and then went for a walk around town.

"Well, now that we're settled, there's nothing stopping us from looking around a bit and finding that club the note said," said Chrysalis, who snapped a few photos to keep up the facade.

"Yeah, but we'll have to find it first. Damn it! This guide to the most interesting places doesn't mention the place," said Cadence, flipping through the program she'd picked up at the inn.

"Maybe it's only for locals. Let's go look for it ourselves. I'm sure it won't take long."

"Yes, it's quite a small town, so we'll find it quickly," the princess agreed.

***

"Another dead end," said Cadence grumpily after an hour, as they rounded the fourth street leading to a brick wall. "You gotta be kidding me."

"Tell me about it. Who would have known this Wildsberry would be so complicated?" Said Chrysalis, wearily, looking at the cluster of garbage cans they'd approached. There was nothing of interest beside them, or anywhere else, except a few stray cats and a couple lounging nearby, kissing surreptitiously in the corner.

"Yeah, we won't find that club in a hundred years," said the princess, leaning against the wall of one of the houses.

"In that case, I suggest we go to plan B," said the queen.

"And what is that plan B?" Alicorn asked.

"We'll go and look for someone local who can tell us the right direction."

"Yes, that's a good plan. Then we need one of the local workers," the princess nodded, and they returned to the main street, where they headed for the nearest summer café, decorated like a Tepee. A bison in traditional costume was standing near it, posing for a picture with the griffin tourists.

"Excuse me, could you..." said Cadence to him.

"Just a moment, ma'am. If you want a picture with me it's that way," he said without turning his head, pointing with his hoof to the long line of ponies to his right.

"No, thank you," snorted the princess, and, with a twist of her head, went on toward the saloon-restaurant, where an apron-clad cowcolt was leaning against a pole, smoking a cigarette in a relaxed manner.

"Excuse me, I'd like to..." she began.

"What?! Can't you see I'm on my break?" He looked at her briefly, and then snorted indignantly: "Oh, it's you again! In the name of Celestia, how much trouble can you get me into? I told you I'm not a cook and I'm not responsible for the quality of the food here," the cowcolt said angrily, obviously mistaking her for someone else. "And if your colt throws up from our cooking, take your complaints to him or to the manager, but not to me. I'm an ordinary waiter, and I'm not responsible for anything here, Discord be damned!" he added, stubbed out his cigarette with his hoof, and went back to the saloon.

"So rude!" The alicorn grumbled grudgingly, and approached another young unicorn stallion across the street, who was standing by the ice cream cart selling it to the colts.

"Hello, can you tell me where the..." she tried again to start a dialogue.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm too busy right now. I've got a whole bunch of little kids who don't have any small coins," said the teenager with a tormented look as he quickly scooped various kinds of ice cream from his refrigerator cart and placed them on the waffle cones. "Ouch, who's biting my leg?! Stop it!"

"But listen, I won't take up much of your time. All I have to do is find the Humpback Mount Club."

"Honey Mouth Cup? I'm sorry, but it's all gone," the salesman answered her indistinctly as he continued to serve the foals.

"It's no use. All these cowponies won't do us much good here," the princess said sadly, turning back to Chrysalis. "Maybe we should come back here tomorrow morning when it's not so noisy."

"No way! Tomorrow I have an appointment with the kidnappers and we won't have time to explore," the changeling shook her head.

"But what are we to do? Nopony listens to me."

"Ah, you're just on the wrong side of this case, that's all. Don't forget, Cady, these ponies are all cowcolts, and they need a special approach. Let me try," Chrysalis said as she handed her the camera, and then went behind the nearest house. A moment later there flashed a green flash, and after a second a cute mare dressed in a short shirt and tight jeans with a cowcolt hat on her head came out to the princess.

"There you go, partner," she said with a slight country accent. "Now I'm a real pussy, and I could easily hunt any stallion."

She pulled down her jeans and headed for the ice-cream vendor, swinging her croup gracefully. As she approached the young stallion, she gently nudged him sideways.

"Hey, kid, I'm not from around here, and I don't know the town at all," she said, pulling him away from the cooler and making innocent eyes. "Can you help me find a club?"

"What? Oh, y-yes, sure. Always happy to oblige, gorgeous beauty. What's it called? I could walk you to it later, if you like," he said, staring at her slender legs and oblivious of the foals, who were screaming and tugging at his apron.

"Humpback Mount Club. Have you ever been there before?"

"Of c-course. I mean, no! No way! I've never been there, but I pass it all the time when I go to work. By the way, I live not far away in a big, beautiful house," he said with a hint.

"Oh, how interesting. I'll keep that in mind. Now tell me, where is this club that's so close to your house?" The queen asked, rubbing her cheek against his cheekbone.

"It's only two blocks away. You have to walk to the end of this street, and then you have to turn right and walk along the cliff to the big stone building. That will be the Humpback Mount Club. You'll easily recognize it."

"Thanks, kid, I knew I could count on you," the queen giggled coquettishly.

"You're welcome. But I don't understand why you wanted this place, don't you? It's not like it's for ordinary mares. Unless..."

He snorted suddenly and backed away squeamishly.

"Oh, dear Celestia, are you one of those?" He asked.

"One of those?" Asking Chrysalis didn’t understand.

"You know, the ones who... ugh!" He grimaced as he stared at her croup. "I'm sorry, but I'm not one of those. You don't look so bad, though. Very realistic, I'd say. I'm sure you'll find a suitable suitor in no time. Well, I'm not interested. Bye."

And he immediately turned away and went to the refrigerator, still cursing quietly.

"Wow, what was that?" Asked the queen, not understanding, turning back to her spouse.

"Maybe he guessed you were a changeling?" Cadence suggested.

"I don't think so, I was pretty convincing. And besides, what's this club got to do with it?"

"Who cares? We know exactly where we're going now," said Cadence.

"Yes, you're right. In that case, let's go," Chrysalis agreed, and they both headed in the direction the stallion had pointed.

"What did the ice cream colt mean when he told me this club wasn't for ordinary mares?" The queen asked as they walked.

"Maybe it's a gathering place for drunken troublemakers, and regular ponies stay away from it? And since you're going there, you're probably from some gang that likes to cause fights yourself."

"You think so?"

"Of course. You've seen action movies, so you must know what it's like at a place like this, where the vacant mares and their leather-jacket-wearing stallions get into fights."

"Yeah, maybe," Chrysalis nodded. "Or maybe he thought I was a crumpet mare."

"I don't know. Anyway, if it really is a club, we might have a problem," the princess added.

"You don't have to worry about that, Cady. If any drunken bastards come at us, I can always turn into something big and kick them in the teeth," the changeling winked at her. "So we'll be alright."

"I don't doubt that, Chrissy," the princess smiled.

They reached the end of the street and turned the corner.

"There is, however, another problem. They might not let us in at all," said Cadence, "If the place has a dress code."

"I don't care if there is, any guard would let us in if he saw our pretty faces."

They walked along some of the houses that stood near the mountain and came to a big, brightly lit neon sign for a club.

"Though I could be wrong," the queen said suddenly, glaring at the club in amazement.

Princess Cadence looked at the building, too, and opened her mouth wide.

The Humpback Mount Club was not at all what they had expected. Instead of street gangs and rugged cowcolts standing by their trucks, to their surprise they saw many glamorous studs there, dressed in tight latex suits and dainty outfits like miniskirts and short tops. As they merrily conversed, they behaved just like mares, giggling and slapping each other on the rump every now and then. On top of that, there were two arrow rings connected together and a rainbow flag flying on the roof of the building near the neon sign with the name.

"In the name of Aunt Celestia, what is this?" Cadence said slowly.

"Stallions in lace underwear, flags, wigs. It's a gay club!" Said Chrysalis.

"Yes, what a surprise," said the princess, squinting. "And this is where you have an appointment? I don't understand."

"Maybe it's because I'm a changeling, and I can easily walk in disguised?" The queen suggested.

"Or maybe because they..."

They both looked at each other, frightened.

"No, it's because you're a changeling!" Cadence cut in hastily.

"Yes, that's it! Not that they're filthy pervs who put all sorts of... oh... in our Shiny."

"Please don't say that! I don't even want to think about what they might do to our beloved!"

"I agree, only you and I are allowed to put solid things in him."

"That's it! Enough of this! I'm going over there right now!" The alicorn said firmly.

"Oh, yeah? How do you plan to do that? I'm the only one of us who can change appearance, and you're far too obviously a mare to resemble any of the typical patrons."

"I agree, that complicates things. But what do we do? How do we get into this club without drawing attention to ourselves?"

"Well, what if we... Yeah, I got an idea!" Chrysalis said cheerfully.

"What?" said Cadence.

"Tell me, did you bring that S&M costume with you, in case you successfully rescued Shiny?"

"Yeah, it's in my suitcase. Why?"

"Quick, let's go get it! I have an idea!" The changeling said, pulling her along.

***

"Hey, baby, nice skirt. Welcome to our club," said a tight-lipped stallion in a mesh tank top and leather pants in a distinctive mannered voice as he stood in front of the entrance to the club and let the customers in. "I hope you like it here."

"Me too, handsome. Well, see you around," the young stud in the wig dressed as a filly winked at him playfully. He gave the guard an airy kiss and strode out the door, causing him to let out a rapturous sigh.

"Oh, what a pretty little thing," he said dreamily. "It's been a long time since we had candy like that. Then again, so are the rest of them. So many new faces, all in one night."

Tonight was indeed a very lively night. Many different guests from all over Equestria had arrived at their club, and it made the guard here very happy to be able to sneak a peek at their crooks, each one of which he was genuinely excited about. And whether they were skinny and dainty or lush and appetizing, they all turned him on and made him mentally undress their owners and lift their tails up.

Suddenly the pegasus' thoughts were interrupted when the visitors standing nearby suddenly began whistling enthusiastically and waving to someone in the road.

He looked in that direction, and his jaw dropped. Right toward him, wiggling his croup playfully, was the most beautiful and graceful stallion he'd ever seen, leading another cutie on a leash, dressed in a closed latex suit. They were both so beautiful they seemed to radiate divine beauty. The one in front was a tall, soft blue unicorn with a beautiful pink mane whose slender figure beckoned him to come closer and fall on his knees in front of him. He was dressed in tight denim shorts, a white T-shirt, and a policeman's cap, his back legs were covered by mesh stockings. As for the second colt, who was also a unicorn, though his face was not visible because of his tight mask, his body was so perfect that he almost resembled a real mare.

As he approached the guard closely, the blue unicorn mare-like arched up and looked at him with a look full of passion and seduction, and said:

"Hey, big boy, I'm told you have the best club for croup shakers here. Is that so?"

He spread his hind legs wide and wagged his tail playfully.

"Yes, baby, and our doors are always open to charmers like you," the pegasus replied, barely able to get out of his stupor, turning his gaze to his companion, who had a very large and seductive bump between his legs under the latex.

"Oh, you're so cute," said the unicorn in the cap, smiling widely at the guard with his sharkish smile. "Then maybe you'd like to let us in?"

"Sure, with pleasure. Um... can I get your name?" Pegasus asked, drooling.

"Cyanide," said the unicorn. "My name is Cyanide."

"Wow, what a spunky name you have!" The guard said enthusiastically.

"You mean it's very poisonous, did you?" Licking the top of his lip, the unicorn winked. "Yes, handsome, I have it that way."

"Tu charmes tout simplement," the pegasus whispered languidly. "And who is your friend?" He looked at the latex clad stallion.

"That? That's just my pet that I take for a walk. I call him Mr. Masochist, and he just loves it when I punish him for something. Right, Mr. Masochist?" The unicorn asked, slapping his companion hard.

"Uphuvum!" He mumbled through the zipper that covered his mouth, but even that couldn't conceal how soft and feminine his voice was.

"I see. Well, come in. Have fun," the guard said as he opened the door for them and ushered them inside.

"Thank you. Well, see you later, tough guy," Cyanide winked, taking Mr. Masochist with him. The pegasus whimpered as they entered the club, and slumped against the wall, leaning back against the croup.

"Real goddesses!" He whispered and closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, the unicorn in the cap stepped as far away from the entrance as possible and looked around in the half-darkened corridor:

"It's okay, Cady, we made it through. I told you my plan would work."

"Yeah," Cadence said as she unzipped her mouth. "Ugh, it's so hot in that suit, and you can barely see anything. How does Shiny get around in that?"

"Well, he only wears it during our games and we undress him really fast," chuckled Chrysalis. "Now come on, get into character, dear, and make sure the potato doesn't fall out from between your legs."

She bent down and carefully corrected the large potato that had slid inside the suit, playing the part of Cadence's penis.

"I'll try, though it's not easy for me to play the stallion. And my wings are a little sore," the princess complained, rubbing her sides.

"Don't worry, you're doing a good job," the queen encouraged her, taking the leash back into her hoof. "Come on, Mr. Masochist. It's time to have some fun!"

And after saying that, Chrysalis went further down the corridor, dragging Cadence behind her. When she reached the small velvet curtain, she pushed it aside and they were in a large, shaded hall with rhythmic music and colorful lights.

"Whoa! Now that's what I call a party!" The queen gasped as she looked at him with rapt attention.

Right in front of her, swaying at the poles and dancing on the tables, numerous athletic stallions were shaking their torsos. Many of them were almost naked or frankly in mare-like outfits that concealed almost nothing, including their large hosepipes. The customers sitting at the tables applauded them loudly and threw coins into the special tip jars. Not to mention the other guests dressed in crazy and very ambiguous costumes, from sailors and barbarians, to buckball cheerleaders and vampires, who danced on the wide dance floors around the edges of the room, near the big DJ booth.

"Yeah, there's a lot to see," Cadence agreed. "Wow, I didn't know gay clubs were this much fun."

"Neither did I. And where's that naughty tune?" The queen asked, listening to the music coming from the speakers on the walls. "You know, the one that played in the movie Canterlot Academy?"

"I think it's from the '80s, with the Magic Leap," Cadence joked. "Ah, that was a good show, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Well, let's go infiltrate this society," Chrysalis whispered, rubbing her hooves together in excitement.

"Come on, don't get too carried away, dear," said the princess, and added grumpily: "Especially in the presence of your wife. Don't forget, these studs aren't at all interested in the likes of us."

"What do you take me for, Cady? I'm an innocent. It's just that since we're here undercover, we should behave accordingly," chuckled Chrysalis, giving the passing dancer a naughty slap, and then went to a large round bar in the center of the club, behind which stood several young studs dressed in rabbit costumes.

"Hey, bartender, pour me and my baby a couple of tasty cocktails!" She said, jumping on a high chair, and, picking up her spouse with her telekinesis, seated her beside herself. "But not too alcoholic. We want to have fun sober tonight."

"Sure, sweetheart. I'll make you two a Breezie’s Kiss in a minute," the nearest stallion nodded to her and, swinging his croup playfully, quickly mixed several drinks and liquors in a shaker, which he then poured into spiral-shaped glasses with lime slices attached to them.

"Here you go," he said, placing them in front of the mares.

"Thank you, sweetheart," the changeling thanked, taking one with her hoof and taking a few sips through the straw.

Glancing around the bar and the club, she said:

"I see you're having a lot of fun tonight."

"It's true. It's been a long time since we've had this many customers in one night," the bartender told her.

"Yeah, you're in luck. So many pretty faces to talk to," said Chrysalis, smiling. "Especially with the stallions who live nearby and are ready for a longer relationship."

"Ha-ha, yes. We have a couple of regulars in the neighborhood who drop by occasionally to show me their incomparable cowcolt charm," the stallion chuckled.

"Is that so? Tell me, is there anyone unusual among them?" The queen asked.

"Unusual?" The barman asked again.

"I mean, someone passionate, wild. Someone who's so brutal that he doesn't look gay at all."

The stallion looked at her in surprise.

"See, the thing is, me and my slave really want to hang out with real rugged stallions who have stubble on their faces and a bold, manly look," the queen explained. "So I'm asking if any of them come in here."

"Heh, I see. Well, in that case, you boys are in luck. We've got a lot of stallions like that around here. And if you wait a little while, you'll meet them," the bartender winked understandingly.

"Oh, that's good. Thanks for your help, kid. Here's your tip," she handed him a couple of large coins.

"Thank you. Well, all right, have a good evening, friends," he said, and went to serve another customer who called him.

"Yeah, that's a bummer," the queen whispered when she and Cadence were alone.

"You don't say. So many ponies come in here, we'd hardly think we'd find the one who'd taken our Shiny," said Cadence, sipping her cocktail. "So, what shall we do?"

"I say we split up and look for them ourselves," said Chrysalis, taking a sip or two as well. "I'm sure they're around here somewhere."

"But it's supposed to be tomorrow. How do you know that?" The princess asked.

"You can call it flair," replied Chrysalis. "I've done a lot of covert infiltrations and diversions over the years. I'm a changeling, and I'm experienced at it. Ahem... especially when it comes to kidnapping," she finished with a loud cough.

"Chrissy!" The alicorn said indignantly.

"What? I haven't always been good. And the people I've kidnapped aren't always nice, either. Like Gardis, the Griffin Emperor who lived 300 years ago. He oppressed his citizens and threatened us with war. So to steal him was a boon, not just for the changelings, but for all of Griffonstone."

Noticing the princess looking at her, she added hastily:

"But nothing untoward happened to him! My children and I frightened him for a few hours and then sent him home in one piece... ahem... after ripping out a few claws and a dozen feathers, but it wasn't fatal. No gryphon was seriously hurt in that kidnapping, believe me or better yet, read about it in a history book."

She drank her cocktail in a gulp.

"Anyway, I've been to meetings like this before, and I know you always have to scout and look around thoroughly before you start."

"What if the kidnappers see us?"

"So what? You and I are disguised and won't talk about kidnapping directly. We just need to take a little walk and listen to what ponies are talking about. And even if we don't find out anything, we still have a whole day ahead of us, and we can come here tomorrow."

"I agree. Well, shall we go see the weirdos then?" Vivaciously, Cadence got to her hoofs. As she stood, the potato shifted position, getting stuck near her tail.

"Ouch!" the pony gasped, quickly putting it back in its place.

"Though, come to think of it, you just sit there, Cady," the queen said after noticing this. "You're too pretty, and your "stuff" keeps running away, and that's very suspicious."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Alicorn agreed, sitting carefully on the chair and shifting her legs so she wouldn't lose the potatoes again. "No flirting, though," she reminded her.

"Of course, darling," Chrysalis promised, smoothing out her shorts.

"Well, I'll just keep watch here. In case the kidnappers decide to drink, too," the princess mentally said to herself and waved to the bartender: "Hey, handsome, make me another Breezie’s Kiss!

Chrysalis slowly made her way to the center of the hall, where there were catwalks with dancers, looking at the guests hanging out there and discreetly listening to their conversations, hoping to hear from them something useful that might be related to tomorrow's meeting or the kidnapping. But she had no luck, and after half an hour of persistent eavesdropping and observation, she was unable to learn anything worthwhile. And everyone she talked to only asked her out or discussed various glamorous matters.

"If the kidnappers are really out there, it won't be easy to find them," Changeling thought. "It looks like talking alone isn't enough here. I have to get their attention and make them like me. But to do that, I'd have to distinguish myself somehow."

She wandered the hall for a few more minutes before stopping at a large, padded ride with a huge mechanical bull in the center of the room, mounted by a sturdy steed in a fireman's suit.

"Perfect! Winning the contest will make me popular in no time," said the queen as she motioned to the crowd of spectators who watched the fireman, who lost his balance a few seconds later and spun out of the saddle in a shriek.

"Oh, what a pity! Another contestant lying on the floor! Looks like El Toro is determined today and won't let anyone ride him!" Said the nearby unicorn dressed in a mareish cowcolt outfit, who was standing with a microphone in his telekinesis.

The fallen stallion was immediately approached by two guards who helped him out of the enclosure.

"So, who's next? Who is ready to challenge our Wild Bull?" Asked the leader, adjusting his skirt.

"I will," Chrysalis said loudly, stepping forward.

"Aha! We have a new contestant who decided to challenge old El Toro! What's your name? The host asked, pointing the microphone in the direction of the queen.

"Cyanide, and now I'm going to show you how to hold yourself in the saddle," said Chrysalis, determined in her voice.

"Alright then! Well, Cyanide, then climb up on El Toro, and we'll see if you can stay on him for longer than one minute!"

Chrysalis deftly jumped into the saddle and slipped her front leg into the special strap.

"So, get ready! And… start!" Shouted the stallion and pressed a button near him.

The bull immediately started bouncing and spinning in different directions, stopping and changing destination every now and then.

"Heh, it's no more trouble than taming my Cady during our morning fun," the queen grinned mentally, steadying herself in the saddle and not letting herself be thrown off.

***

While Chrysalis went exploring, Cadence continued to sit near the bar, quietly listening to the conversations of the guests who were lounging nearby. She really hoped that one of them would discuss Shiny's recent kidnapping sooner or later, but she heard nothing but crazy talk about sex and lace panties. In the end, all she could do was wait for her wife to return and enjoy the delicious fruit cocktails, of which she had drunk as many as five. Every now and then a few tipsy stallions would come up to her and offer her a good time, and Cadence refused them as best she could, speaking in a husky, low voice and trying not to let them touch her. She couldn't avoid a couple of insolent slaps, though, and at one point she gave one of them a savage punch in the jaw, sending him into the nearest ficus pot.

"Yeah, at this rate, I'm going to get burned. Where's Chrissy? I can't sit here alone for too long. And besides... ouch!" She squirmed painfully. "I shouldn't have had so many cocktails! Ugh! I need to go to the bathroom right now!"

She had tried the bathroom a couple of times before, but there was always someone there. Once, she heard a suspiciously loud moaning in one of the stalls and ran out of there like she was being shot at.

She sat on the stool for half an hour, one leg over the other, aching for a pee, until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Screw it! I'm going that way! I'd rather be thrown out of here than continue to endure it!" With a sigh of resignation Cadence got to her feet and quickly strode to the door of the only bathroom in the club.

She opened it and peered inside cautiously. The bathroom was very clean and tidy. Its walls and floor were covered with fine tiled marble decorated with decorative patterns, complemented by small kirin paintings and fluffy hoof mats.

Cadence stepped fully into it and saw that on the table near the sink, in addition to soap and hoof lotion, there was also a vase of... very large condoms.

"What a perverts," the princess snorted at them, remembering those strange moans, and then said loudly: "Hello, is anypony here? Hello?"

No one answered her.

"Phew, thank Aunt Tia, I'm the only one here. Now hurry to the white friend," Cadence said as she quickly unzipped and pulled out the potato.

As she ignored the row of tall urinals, she turned to the several toilet stalls, which had the oddest of small doors; so small that their edges literally reached down to the line of the toilet bowl. Also, the doors themselves had little heart-shaped windows cut into them.

"Damn these gays! Why would they do that?" Cadence grudgingly muttered as she stared at them. If a stranger came in here, they'd know there was a mare inside. But she had no choice, she was already shaky, and so she took her chances.

"All right, I'll make it quick," she said with determination, running into one of the stalls and closing the door behind her.

"Ah! That's it!" She exhaled relaxed as she spread her hind legs. "At last I am emptied! What bliss!"

She closed her eyes rapturously and began to hum a merry little song about a spider and a heavy rain, when suddenly the bathroom door swung open abruptly. Cadence realized this when the music playing in the club briefly became much louder.

Quickly stopping to pee, she jumped up from the toilet and, unable to think of anything better to do, jumped up, resting all four hoofs against the back wall and the stall door.

"Oh, just what I need!" She thought grudgingly, struggling to contain the urine that hadn't fully come out of her.

"Hey, check the toilets," said one of the men who came in, and, judging by the sound of hoofsteps, his buddy took his time strolling around the stalls to see if anyone was sitting in them.

"All right, we're alone in here," he said after a few seconds.

"I hope they didn't come here to get laid. I don't know how much more I can take," the princess thought to herself, squeezing her eyes shut with tension.

Meanwhile, the unknown studs walked over to the regular urinals and began to urinate in them.

"COME ON! HURRY UP!" She mentally bellowed, unable to bear the provocatively loud sound of falling liquid. "Okay, I need an urgent distraction! Think of the desert, Cadence! Think of the desert! Where it's dry and hot and there's no water."

"Oh, I hate coming here," said one of the strangers. "This place annoys the hell out of me. Everywhere you turn there are perverts."

"It can't be helped, brother, it's what we do. You have to be patient," said the other one.

"Ouch! Why? Why did you say that word?" Cadence thought, clenching her teeth hard.

"Yes, but why are we here today? After all, the Queen isn't due until tomorrow," the first stallion continued.

"The Queen? Do they really mean Chrysalis?" Flashed through the princess's mind and she listened carefully.

"We are on a recon mission. Have you forgotten who we're dealing with? She's a powerful demigoddess who can change her appearance."

"Ha, big deal!" His friend snorted.

"Never mind. Anyway, we'll have to take a look around and remember what the staff looks like. You know, just in case."

"Yeah, but so many tourists come here, how are we gonna find her? Besides, I don't think she's gonna want to cooperate with us."

"Don't worry about it. She'll have to play by our rules. Unless, of course, she wants her hubby to have an accident."

"Yes, they're definitely the kidnappers! I need to tell Chrissy about this right away before they… ouch!"

Cadence felt several large drops roll off her tail.

"No! Not now!" She pleaded, realizing what would follow.

Her bladder clenched painfully, and she unwillingly began to pee, dousing the seat of the toilet bowl below.

"Hey, what's that sound?" Said one of the kidnappers.

"Maybe a pipe burst somewhere?" The other suggested.

"No, it's coming from one of the stalls. Maybe there's somepony in there."

"Damn!" Thought alicorn, and then there was a crack. The toilet door, which she was resting against, snapped slightly and began to crunch loudly.

"Mommy!" Cadence screamed, tumbling forward with the door.

"Hey, who the hell are you? Why the fuck are you hiding in here?" Asked one of the stallions, staring at the princess sprawled on the floor.

"I... I..." said Cadence uncertainly, zipping up her shirt in a hurry.

"Another horrible pervert! Spying on us, huh?" The other snickered angrily, lifting her up and jamming her against the sink.

Cadence looked at the ponies who had grabbed her. They were two burly, leather-jacketed, chaps-over-jeans-clad unicorns who appeared to be disguised as local visitors. Except they didn't do a very good job of it; they had adorned their jackets with numerous advertising patches, like the emblem of a Carrot-Soda or Donut Joe's Coffee Shop.

"Actually, I'm not a pervert. Stallions like me are commonly referred to as gay, and I wasn't spying on anyone here," Alicorn tried to extricate herself from the predicament.

"Oh, yeah? What were you doing then? Taking a leak?" One of them remarked mockingly.

"Exactly, and how did you know?" Cadence remarked sarcastically.

"A wit, eh? Let's teach him a lesson, Bert," the other stallion said, rubbing his cracked hoof.

"I wouldn't advise you colts to do that," the princess said warningly. "I'm very tough, though you can't see it, and I could easily knock you out."

"Well, well, well. We'll see who knocks who out," Bert grinned menacingly, and tried to punch Cadence in the face, but she dodged it and the stallion punched the mirror hard, shattering it.

"Aah!" he yelled, yanking his injured hoof free.

"Yeah, bad luck, buddy," Alicorn grinned ironically as she saw the shards scattered everywhere. "You do seem slow."

"You son of a mule!" The other kidnapper swung at her with a curse, but Cadence tripped him, throwing him off balance and sending him crashing to the floor with his jaw slamming into the sink.

"Are we done here?" Cadence asked, looking down at her vanquished foe.

Bert, meanwhile, had stood up to her, about to attack her stealthily, but the alicorn was on her guard, throwing a handful of condoms at him and kicking him into the side of one of the stalls, which he knocked over with his back.

"I told you I would," said Cadence cheerfully, backing away from the unicorns and standing with her back to the door that led to the hall. "And now you two come with me to answer a few..." She paused.

There was a creaking sound behind her, and the music grew briefly louder again. The princess turned around and saw that another stout stud in a leather jacket, who was twice the size of his cronies, had entered the bathroom.

"Oh, hey! You were probably standing like that at the door and thinking: "Hey, what's going on in there?" Well, I assure you that I didn't..." Cadence said with a nervous smile before the big guy grabbed her by the neck and sent her sprawling toward the exit.

***

"Yes! Yes! Say hello to Cyanide – our new champion, who lasted a whole nine minutes on old El Toro! He's a real wild bull tamer!" The cowmare-dressed announcer shouted excitedly as Chrysalis jumped to the floor and waved her leg to loud applause.

Immediately a young stallion in country dress came up to her and, kissing her on the cheek, handed her a small gold cup with a picture of an enraged bull on it.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Thanked Chrysalis, lifting it up and smiling broadly.

"There, now I can probably get the kidnappers' attention," she said mentally, sending a few air kisses.

"And now, in honor of our champion, I invite you…" The host began, but there was a rumble behind him, and the bathroom door swung open abruptly. Cadence flew out, knocking some of the customers off their backs, and landed right in front of the queen.

"Cady?" Chrysalis said in surprise as she looked at her.

The crowd of onlookers cried out in fright and began to scatter in all directions.

"What is this? We're having a drunken brawl! Guards! Guards!!!" The host shouted and, dropping the microphone, raced for help.

"Honey, what happened to you?" Asked the changeling, walking over to the princess and helping her up.

"There he is! Hey, guys, come here! Let's teach this idiot a lesson!" The stallions exclaimed as they came out of the bathroom, heading straight for alicorn. But then Chrysalis got in their way.

"Who are you calling an idiot, shorty?" She said to the unicorn ahead of them.

"Get out of my way! It's none of your business!" He said menacingly, pushing her chest.

"And that's where you're wrong. If you want to hurt my baby, you'll have to deal with me," said the Queen.

"All right, everybody back off!" The announcer, who came running up at that moment, was followed by two Pegasus guards at his heels. "Fighting is forbidden in our club. And I demand that you immediately..."

There were footsteps behind him. He shuddered, and turned to see four more stallions dressed in leather jackets with stripes approaching them. They were all unicorns, with very strong, muscular legs.

"You demand?" One of them chuckled mockingly. "Who are you to make demands of us?"

And with these words he struck the presenter, throwing him a few steps forward.

"Heh, you clown," added the tall unicorn.

The guards tried to intervene, but the rest of the stallions jumped on them and threw them to the floor with a series of hard blows.

"That was great," said the unicorn with the beard, Bert, watching as his friends brought down the guards. He then turned back to Chrysalis. "Now get out of here, you little runt, before I do the same to you!"

"Ha, you'll never get it!" She said defiantly.

"What? You want to get punched in the face, too?" Bert hovered over her.

"No. Because it's going to be you," said Chrysalis, stealthily picking up a bottle of beer on a nearby table with her telekinesis.

"Honey, maybe you shouldn't," said Cadence, trying to stop her.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," the queen brushed her off.

"Yes, but they..."

"They messed with the wrong stallions, didn't they? Yes, I know," said Chrysalis defiantly, pushing the bottle back behind her neck. "Hold on, you stupid bastards, I'll show you! I have seen a lot of action movies and westerns, and I know how to behave in this situation."

Having said that, she hit Bert hard on the forehead with the bottle, intending to break it. Only the bottle remained intact and only made a muffled sound.

"Oops, that didn't work. I'll try again," the queen said cheerfully, and smacked the unicorn over the head again, with the same result.

"Come on! Smash, smash!" Chrysalis whispered, tapping him with the bottle.

"Are you all right, my dear?" The princess asked in a whisper.

"Yes, I'm all right, I just, uh ..." she noticed the fierce hatred in the stallion's eyes and added quietly: "...I'd forgotten that when I change my appearance my powers change, too. A trifle, of course, but enough to be annoying."

"I'll tear you to shreds!" The unicorn suddenly shrieked, grabbed the queen, and threw her into the enclosure with the mechanical bull.

"Bastard!" Cadence shouted, before he kicked her in after the changeling.

"Well, lads, I suggest we stretch our legs a bit," Bert said mockingly, rolling his shoulders and walking leisurely toward the already risen Chrysalis. "Let us teach these wretched..."

He swung at her, but the queen ducked his swing, kicking him in the air with both hooves, knocking him back onto the adjacent table.

"Yes, I may be weak, but I still have some experience," she said with a squint as he looked up.

"Go on, boys! Teach them a lesson!" Bert commanded, and the stallions galloped toward the enclosure.

"Brace yourself, Cady. They're coming," said Chrysalis as she helped her wife up. "You'll have to fight them."

"Yeah, but it's not going to be easy in this costume," the princess said, shrugging a couple of times.

The unicorns all jumped over the soft walls of the ride and attacked the mares.

The first three of them charged toward Cadence, trying to knock her down. However, she leapt over the top of them with practiced grace, grabbing the largest stallion with her telekinesis and launching him into his friends. The unicorns tumbled down like pins, collapsing into a pile.

"Strike!" The princess grinned, waving her leg merrily.

The one who threw Cadence out of the stood back up, and attacked again. He swung to punch her in the nose, but she swung back, effortlessly, and caught his hoof. There was a crunch, and the stallion gave a painful squeal.

"You call that a punch?" She squeezed him even tighter, looked the unicorn square in the eye, and immediately kicked him in the jaw with her other hoof, knocking him out of the enclosure. "Here's a punch."

At that moment the rest of the stallions attacked Chrysalis, grabbing everything in sight from the nearest tables and podiums. One of them, the most aggressive, lunged forward and attacked the queen with a nine-tailed whip that had been left by one of the visitors. He swung it several times and tried to whip the changeling in the face, but she dodged it without much trouble. Grabbing the tips of the whip, she threw the unicorn behind her back and then kicked him out of the attraction.

The other stallion attacked her with a large paddle dotted with rubber spikes. Chrysalis kicked it out with her foot and intercepted it with her telekinesis in midair, hitting the brat in the forehead, sending him back behind the enclosure.

"Fucking flankhole!" Bert cursed, suddenly grabbing her shoulder blade with a cowcolt whip.

Chrysalis stubbornly tried to wrench it away, but the unicorn didn't give up and continued pulling on her.

"What? You want it? Then take it!" After struggling a little more, the changeling said, and suddenly let her go abruptly, sending her straight into Bert's nose.

"Ouch!" He shrieked, tearfully falling to the floor.

While the queen deftly fended off attacks with her sex toys, Cadence struggled with her legs.

The stallions she had beaten tried to attack her several more times, for which they received painful blows and slaps, and one, the most insolent, the princess lured to the mechanical bull standing in the center, and when he tried to jump on him, she grabbed him by the leg and put him in a strap in the saddle, tying him tightly to it.

The unicorn tried to break free, but she kicked him in the teeth, and then she jumped to the controls and pressed a button.

"Hey, what are you doing? Stop it!" He yelled as the bull began to spin rapidly, making him hold on for dear life.

"My love, will you hand me your paddle?" Said the princess, laughing, as she watched the scene.

"Of course," said the queen, who had already put the paddle back and was now chasing her enemies with it.

She slapped one of her captors across the back with a sharp kick and then tossed it to Cadence who paddled the tied down stallion, chanting:

"Bad colt! Bad colt!"

"Are you idiots?! Stop giving in to them! Stop them!" Bert, who had regained consciousness, cried out, starting to grab bottles and mugs from the tables and throwing them at Chrysalis.

"Ah, there you are! You want to play hoofball with me?!" Dodging them, the queen grinned and shouted to the princess: "Hey, I need my paddle!"

"Here!" She gave Cadence one last painful smack at the stallion's red rump and sent it back to her queen.

"Thank you!" Chrysalis thanked her, catching the bottle with her telekinesis and knocking another one back into Bert's forehead. The stallion staggered back, collapsed to his side, looking dumbfounded.

"Bull's-eye!" Changeling chuckled as she and Cadence continued to hold off the charging stallions. They began to falter though, and after more than a dozen good whacks and a few black eyes, they collapsed on the floor unable to fight anymore.

"Well, we've taught them a lesson," said Chrysalis, rubbing her shoulders as the two of them climbed out of the enclosure.

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time," she grinned as she kicked one of the miscreants who had struggled to his hooves.

"What happened back there, anyway? Why did they attack you? The queen asked.

"Because they are kidnappers, Chrissy. I overheard them talking in the bathroom and found out they stole our Shiny," said Cadence.

"Oh, I see," the changeling said understandingly, pulling off her cap and smoothing her sweaty mane. "So my hunch was right, and they came here to investigate."

"And I found them," said the princess boastfully.

"Well done, my love. You would have made a good changeling with your talents at spying," Chrysalis praised her.

"No, thank you. I like being a pony better. Besides, there's only room in our family for one chitinous beauty."

She walked up to the queen and put the cap on her head and kissed her hard on the lips.

"Hee-hee, yeah," Chrysalis smiled.

"By the way, it suits you very well," alicorn added as she looked at the queen's stallion form. "We'll have to use it sometime during our games."

"Of course," the changeling said.

"Well, in the meantime..."

The princess turned and looked at the scoundrels lying on the floor.

"We need to take care of these bastards. Because now we have a whole bunch of witnesses, or should I say criminals, who stole our husband, and I suggest we interrogate one of them to find out where they're keeping him."

"Of course. Though they're all unconscious now, and I don't think they can tell us anything," said Chrysalis, lifting one of them with her hoof and peering into his bruised face.

"Yes, we overdid it a little," the princess nodded, pulling her mask off and smoothing her mane.

"It's all right, we can wait. And when one of them's awake, we can wait..."

"You!" Bert's voice suddenly interrupted her.

The mares turned to see a disturbed unicorn standing nearby, awake.

"You!" He said again, staring at Cadence. "You are the Princess of Love!"

"Oh no!" the pony gasped when she realized she had been found out.

"But if you are the Princess of Love, then he is..." He turned his gaze on the queen, "Chrysalis!"

"Damn!" Swore the changeling.

"You're here! This hasn't gone according to plan! I must warn the others!" The stallion shouted, and then sprang off, galloping toward the exit.

"No! He's getting away! Go get him!" She yelled, catching him with her telekinesis, but he escaped her grasp like a bar of soap, sliding under the tables and out the door.

"After him! We can't lose him!" Chrysalis exclaimed, running after Bert with her wife.

"Excuse me! Sorry!" They kept shoving ponies into the corridor until they came out into the street.

"Where is he? I don't see him!" Cadence said, glancing quickly around.

"There! Follow me, my love!" Chrysalis yelled, spotting a stallion pushing through the crowd in a leather jacket adorned with various patches.

"Out of the way, you perverts! Get out!" Cursed as Bert aggressively shoved the patrons out of his way.

"No, you don't! Stop right there!" The queen battered into the crowd, shoving everyone in her path as if she were a battering ram, along with Cadence, who was right behind her.

But Bert was quicker, and as he broke through the crowd, he began to move away from them, keeping to the darker parts of the street.

"Hurry! We mustn't..." Chrysalis wanted to shout, but then a tiny, balding unicorn, whose telekinesis held a banner with a crossed rainbow flag, appeared in her way.

"Homosexuality is a sin! Princesses do not approve of the likes of you!" He said loudly when he saw what the mares were wearing.

"Oh, that's all we need to see of your kind!" Cadence snorted impatiently, before glancing around quickly and shoving him into the nearest garbage can.

"Here, sit in the trash! Come on, Chrissy!" She shouted vigorously as she continued the chase.

"Whoa! You are cool!" Chrysalis said and ran after her, surprised to see the stallion's hoofs sticking out of the tank.

"Oh no, he's gone! Hurry, turn into yourself and take to the sky!" Said alicorn as they ran out into open ground.

"Okay," the queen nodded, and with a greenish flash she was a changeling again.

She whirled her wings and soared into the air, scanning the ground as Cadence swiftly stripped off her latex Shining suit.

"Bingo! I see him! He's running toward the cemetery!" Chrysalis yelled after a few seconds, landing beside the alicorn and pulling her down with her.

"Hurry! We have to get him before he gets to his cronies!" Said the queen, not letting her pull down her last pant leg.

"I agree. If he tipped them off, they'd get away for sure, and then our darling would be in trouble," said Cadence, finally throwing off her costume and joining the chase uninterrupted.

Deftly maneuvering around lonely cacti and low bushes, the mares made their way quickly to the cemetery before a decrepit wooden archway, beyond which lay old mausoleums and gnarled, dust-covered grave markers.

"Brr! Creepy place," said Cadence, shivering.

"What is it, Cady? Are you frightened?" Chrysalis grinned.

"No, I'm not!" Cady snorted indignantly at the princess. "It's just... uncomfortable."

"Yes it is," the queen said. "But it has several good places one could hide," she added, squinting her eyes as she and the princess entered the cemetery cautiously.

"Careful, that bastard could be anywhere," the changeling said, peering behind the nearest grave marker.

"Yeah. Just promise me there won't be any "let's split up". I hate that horror movie crap. How do you even survive walking around alone?"

"Don't be a scaredy cat, my love," smiled the queen. "I'll be around. And besides, it's just an abandoned cemetery where nothing bad can happen."

"Except a ghost attack," the princess chuckled nervously.

"Don't be silly, Cady. There are no such things as ghosts. They're just fiction, and I assure you we won't encounter any..."

Suddenly there was a low moaning sound not far from them. The mares stopped abruptly.

"W-what was that?" A little stammering came from the alicorn, whose mane stood on end. "And don't tell me it's the wind."

"Well, I won't," said Chrysalis, chuckling slightly, but then bracing herself quickly. "It must be our kidnapper trying to scare us."

She shouted loudly:

"Hey, you, dummy! Stop fooling around! You can't fool us that easily! You'd better show yourself!"

Instead of an answer, there were a few more groans coming from several directions around them.

"You think you can frighten the mighty changeling queen and the mighty pony princess with your pathetic moaning?" Chrysalis grinned, moving forward with Cadence at her side. "That's enough! I promise that if you tell us where you're keeping our husband, we won't do anything..."

But she could not finish. Suddenly a succession of terrifyingly loud moans erupted from beneath the ground, and from there began popping out vague silhouettes that quickly took shape and began to look like luminous ponies.

"Ghosts!" Cadence shrieked in fright as she clutched at her wife's neck and watched her spellbound as the horrible, corpse-like strangers, many of them missing body parts or eyes or bones sticking out of their skin, came toward them.

"Ghosts?" Pale slightly, the queen repeated, stepping back with her. "No, it can't be. There's no such thing as ghosts."

"T-tell them about that," the princess muttered, trembling with fear.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Suddenly the changeling spoke up briskly. "Well, this is the same cemetery, where they have excursions! Ha! I knew it!"

And, no longer shaking, she calmly approached one of the ghosts, which were noticeable protruding ribs.

"Okay, come on, guys, we didn't come here as tourists," she said loudly, addressing the ghosts around her. "We're hunting a dangerous criminal, and we need to find him as quickly as possible. Therefore, I would like you to..."

"Boo!" The ghost beside her howled.

"Yes, yes, I understand you have to stick to your role," said Chrysalis to him. "But we have an emergency. We must find the stallion who stole our..."

At that, the ghost slapped her in the face.

"Ouch! What do you think you're doing? Do you want me to complain to your superior?" The queen said angrily.

"I don't think he's an actor, my dear," said Cadence, trembling like a leaf.

"Oh, come now, who else could it be?" Chrysalis said confidently. "He's just an actor."

The ghost slapped her again.

"An actor who'd be out of a job if he kept punching me in the face!" The queen angrily, turning to him.

"B-but, Chrissy, what if it really is..." muttered the princess.

"A ghost? Don't be ridiculous. He's obviously a pony who's too much into his game," the changeling said with a look at her. "I'll prove it to you."

She turned to the wraith and grabbed his head with her telekinesis, then jerked it violently.

"You see? The usual mask," she said, approaching the princess with her head removed.

"Um... dear..." Cadence said, turning a few tones pale.

"What?"

Alicorn poked her hoof behind the queen's back.

Chrysalis turned around and saw the ghost's decapitated body tapping its hoof impatiently.

Her pupils dilated in fright.

"O-o-o-okay," she stretched out, turning slowly toward the head, which was staring at her balefully with its only eye.

"Boooooo!" The head moaned.

"Y-yes, I-I-I guess I was wrong, and it's..." she turned and gently placed her head back on the owner's neck, "...real ghosts. Ahem... well, then all we have to do is..."

"Run!" Cadence shouted for her as one of the wraiths circled her, trying to grab her with his hoofs.

The queen and the princess cried out in fright and flung themselves from their seats and ran through the cemetery, running from the crowd of spirits chasing them.

"Help! Help! Yuck!" the alicorn whispered, jumping up and down as half-transparent legs appeared, crawling out of the ground and trying to grab her.

"N-no, I don't believe... eek... my eyes... eek... we're being haunted!" Said Chrysalis, also dodging the many spirits whose creepy wails gave her a panic hiccup.

"So am I, but who is it if not them!" Said Cadence, jumping over a large gravestone and turning onto one of the gravel paths that ran the length of the cemetery.

After galloping along it a few dozen paces, the mares found themselves near several large mausoleums, from which more ghosts began to fly out by the dozens, taking them in a ring and preventing them from escaping.

"Ouch, we're trapped!" The queen shrieked.

"Quick, let's get up in the air!" Alicorn said, spreading her wings and ready to fly, but when she looked up she gave a startled hiccup. In the sky above they circled an army of evil spirits, moaning and swarming all around them.

"They are everywhere! What shall we do?" Cadence jumped onto the neck of the queen, who was crouched over the dry-rooted mausoleum, her hump against the stone wall.

"We can't escape," Chrysalis said, gasping for breath. "So we have no choice but to fight!"

"Fight? You must be kidding." The princess asked in bewilderment.

"I wish I were, but unfortunately we have no other choice. We must defeat them as quickly as possible, or the kidnapper will escape, and we'll never find our Shiny."

She put her spouse on shaky legs.

"Come on! Let's do it, for hubby's sake," she said in a frightened voice, and was the first to attack.

Turning, she bent her hind legs and kicked one of the ghosts sharply. Her hooves, however, went impotently through it, showering her with a cold wave. The changeling shuddered in fright and turned back to Cadence.

"Nice try, Chrissy," the pony said, snuggling up to her again. "But I'm afraid you can't kick ghosts."

"S-sounds like it, but they can touch us, and I've done it before when I used my telekinesis to pull the head off one of the..."

She stopped abruptly, and a revelation flashed across her face.

"Of course! Telekinesis!" She said.

"We can use our magic against them!" Cadence smiled slyly, and immediately she aimed her horn at one of the ghosts, unleashing a bright flash of lightning.

The ghost trembled finely and flew away with a shriek, glowing like a Christmas tree on Hearth's Warming Eve. The other ghosts stared at them in surprise, then turned again to the mares, who were already standing there with their horns ablaze.

"So, Cady, shall we rid this place of these evil things?" Chrysalis asked with a short chuckle.

"Of course, my love. And we’ll do it because we..." the princess began, taking a few steps forward.

"…ain't afraid of no ghosts," the queen finished for her. The two of them rushed toward the spirits, shooting colored magic beams at them and catching them with telekinesis to launch them as far away as possible.

The ghosts began to scatter in panic, trying to get away from the rampaging mares or hide from them behind monuments and individual trees that grew in the cemetery. But Cadence and Chrysalis seemed to get a taste for it and found them quickly, giving them no chance to get away unharmed. Soon the once quiet and inconspicuous cemetery in the middle of the desert began to resemble a lively amusement park, where someone had decided to launch a good hundred very bright fireworks into the sky. In the midst of all the endless lights and flashes, frightened ghosts flashed through the air, unable to resist the incantations that flew at them.

"Yes! Take that! And you! And you! Now let's cross our beams!" Alicorn shouted, scooping up the screaming ghosts and launching them upward in one mighty blast of magic with the queen.

"That's it! Go to the Moon!" She added.

Soon all the ghosts were completely scattered, and the princess and the queen walked out the gate, shaking off their fur.

"Whoo! Well, we showed them!" The princess exclaimed.

"And cleansed this cemetery of evil spirits once and for all," added Chrysalis, tapping her hoof along with her. But then her cheerful smile quickly slipped and she added: "Except we've lost our kidnapper and we're not likely to find him now."

"Yes," the princess nodded grimly.

Chrysalis snorted angrily, kicking the nearest stone a hundred paces away.

"I can't believe it! We're screwed! All because of some ghosts! While we were fighting them, the little bugger got away."

"Yeah, like they did it on purpose to distract us," alicorn said.

"Well, I guess we lost," the changeling sighed, closing her eyes.

Cadence wanted to say something to her, but as soon as she looked at the queen, she gave the queen the evil eye, squinted slightly, and walked around to the gate, where she bowed her head.

"What are you looking at?" Chrysalis asked her.

"Tracks," the pony answered her.

"Tracks? Whose? Our kidnapper?"

"Yes. He was here, and he was going north, see?"

The queen came to her and looked at the ground.

"Not really," she admitted. "I only see a few faint hoofprints here, but they could belong to anyone. It's a cemetery, and the locals must come here to mourn their relatives, and you and I have just made a pretty big mess of it."

"Yeah, you're right. These prints are still fresh, but not that fresh. Look, the ground on their rim is pretty soft and loose, but it's already starting to dry, which means they were left here just a few minutes ago. Also, they're all very small, which means that a pony of normal height and build walked through here, and their width suggests that it was a stallion, who in addition…" she leaned over and showed the queen some dried-up red droplets, "…was bleeding from his nose. And you, as I recall, broke Bert's nose."

"Wow, Cady, I'm amazed!" Chrysalis said. "How do you figure all this out?"

"Well, I've traveled a lot, remember? I've been to the wild tribes in the eastern part of the country, and a couple of seasoned hunters taught me the art of tracking."

"Then all is not lost! With your knowledge we shall find our captor in no time, won't we?"

"Yes," the princess nodded, and began to examine the ground beneath her hoof, scanning the ground with her nose, until after a few minutes she grinned. "He had run off toward the highway."

She pointed to a nearby stretch of road, lit by bright streetlights.

"In that case, hurry after him! The sooner we find him, the sooner we can save our hubby!" Said the queen cheerfully, and they both galloped off in that direction.

***

Griffico gas station, 1:54 a.m.

"Oh, what a bore! I'm so sick of being stuck here. It's the same thing every night: I fill the cars, sell the ponies chips, give them the key to the bathroom, and nothing, absolutely nothing happens," said the young unicorn behind the counter, who was idly drumming on soda cups with a souvenir pencil with the portrait of Princess Luna on it with a deep exhale.

He glanced out the window at the deserted lot and yawned widely.

"Yes, a dreary night. I wish a burglar had come to see me; it’d at least be exciting."

Suddenly there was loud cursing and thundering nearby.

"What was that? Were the biker griffins about to blow something up again?" The young pony perked up as the room he was in shook slightly.

He jumped from his chair and quickly ran to the window, where he saw a unicorn stallion in a leather jacket galloping down the road, powerful magical beams flying at him and occasionally coming within a hair's breadth of his head. Finally one struck the pavement before him, and the stallion froze in fright, turning back slightly.

Soon two aggressive mares came running up to him, and they threw the unicorn to the ground and started yelling at him furiously.

"No, they aren’t bikers. What a showdown!" The gas station attendant muttered with interest as he telekinesked the bag of chips and opened it. "Probably some loser's been messing around behind his wife's back again," he added, popping a few chips into his mouth. "Wait a minute, one of them has a horn and wings? And the other one is... a changeling? And a Queen?! Geez! Am I dreaming?"

He pinched his cheek quickly, and grinned grimly:

"No, this is definitely not a dream. Wow, a real Alicorn Princess and a Changeling Queen beating the crap out of some poor guy. And it's all outside my window. I wonder what he did so wrong."

Cadence and Chrysalis, meanwhile, were spouting harsh words and slapping the kidnapper, and he was clumsily trying to defend himself with his hooves.

"Now, we've had enough of your tricks. Where are you keeping our husband?" Cadence said. Her eyes flashing with lightning as she slapped him a few more times.

"I don't know," Bert said pitifully. "I was hired to meet her," he nodded toward the queen. "I'm just a grunt. Please let me go!"

"Liar!" Hissed the alicorn. "You're a liar, for crying out loud!"

"And a very brazen one at that!" The changeling added, cracking her neck menacingly. "It's not healthy."

The unicorn let out a startled sob.

"So, what shall we do with him?" The princess asked her spouse.

"We'll have to get our hoof dirty and beat the truth out of him. We need a lie detector," Chrysalis said.

"Yeah, but where are we going to get one?"

"We'll improvise," said the queen, and looking around, she saw a gas station nearby with a list of services displayed on a sign above the store.

"I have an idea," she said, and grabbed Bert by the scruff of the neck and dragging him along.

"What did you have in mind?" Cadence asked her.

"You'll see," said Chrysalis as she opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hello," the salescolt said, putting the potato chips aside and fixing his cap. "What can I get you?"

"Where is the photocopier?" Replied Chrysalis.

"Um... over there, by the stationery department. Would you like to make a copy of a document? It will cost you one bit for five sheets."

"Here, and don’t disturb us," said the queen, tossing him a fat pouch of coins and dragging the kidnapper to a big old photocopier, she opened the lid and unceremoniously stuck his head in the scanner.

"Now tell me, where are you hiding our husband?" She asked, starting up the photocopier.

"I told you I don't know!" The unicorn gasped.

"We'll see about that now," the queen grinned, pushing the seal button.

The photocopier squeaked and the scanner's hot beam raked across Bert's clamped cheek.

"Aah!" he yelled.

"Hold him, Cady," Chrysalis asked, handing the stallion to the princess and walking to the stationery tray.

"He's lying!" She said, looking at Bert's skewed face, which was imprinted on the sheet, and, putting it aside, she asked again: "Where is he?"

"I don't know!" The stallion exclaimed stubbornly.

Chrysalis pressed the button again, and once more the unicorn was burned by the hot beam.

"He's still lying," she said, taking another sheet.

She repeated the procedure several more times with the same result.

"I don't know, it doesn't seem to be working," said Cadence.

"Yes, you're right, our detector is too slow," the queen said, tapping her foot on her chin. "I think we should speed it up and put it on high speed scan."

She switched modes and the photocopier went very fast, producing a whole bunch of different variations of a croaking Bert, who screamed loudly during each scan.

"No stop! I talk! I'll tell you everything!" After the twentieth copy, Bert groaned, waving his hoof weakly.

"Well? I'm listening to you," Chrysalis said, pulling his flushed and slightly baked face out of the scanner.

"There's an old hangar about three miles from here, near Sweetheaven Mount. We keep him there!" He spoke quickly, glancing warily at the photocopier.

"You're still lying to me!" The changeling startled him.

"No! I swear! He's in there!" The unicorn shook his head.

"Okay, I believe you," Chrysalis said good-naturedly, before slapping him hard in the jaw and knocking him unconscious.

"Good work, my love," Cadence praised her. "Now we know exactly where our husband is."

"Yeah. Hey, kid! Where's Mt. Sweetheaven around here?" The queen asked the stallion who was watching them.

"It's not far," he said, pointing to the mountain outside the window. "There's an abandoned hangar, if I remember it, the one this fellow was talking about."

"Thank you," the changeling smiled. "Well, it all fits."

"Then we'll go there now. And what are we going to do about it? "The princess asked, nodding at the stunned kidnapper."

"Keep him here," said Chrysalis, and, taking a colt's lasso from one of the shelves, tying up Bert with it. "Hey, handsome," she turned to the salescolt, "would you please call the police and tell them to come and get him."

"Well, yes. Of course," he quickly agreed, heading for the telephone.

"Tell them that this pony is a dangerous criminal and that he's been detained on official princess business," Cadence added.

"Okay," the stallion nodded.

"Well, you and I should be on our way," the alicorn said as she and Chrysalis stepped outside and headed toward the nearby mountain.

"Wow! What a night! My friends will never believe me when I tell them!" The unicorn quickly dialed 911 and said enthusiastically. "Princess Cadence and the changeling queen herself were at my gas station, beating a suspect! That's crazy!"

***

"Over here!" Cadence said as she and Chrysalis crawled to the edge of one of the many dunes, studying the dilapidated hanger from a safe distance.

"Yes, that must be it," the changeling said, peering in that direction, hoping to see some movement or light in the window. "An abandoned hangar away from the city. Well, that makes sense. Taking shelter in a place like that is a good idea. Especially when you've kidnapped someone."

"Tell me about it. Ugh! This all reminds me of the plot from Mysterious Things!" Cadence whispered excitedly.

"Mysterious Things? Is that a serial?" Chrysalis asked.

"Oh yes, it's on weekends on Ponflix. I advise you to watch it, it's very interesting. Because there's..."

She was silent for a second when a coyote howled somewhere in the desert, and after waiting for a couple of minutes she continued:

"Anyway, in the show, these are the places where the secret laboratories of government organizations or the base of the evil ponies of Staliongrad are located."

"Yeah, and alien headquarters," Chrysalis grinned. "Except this isn't a serial, Cady."

"Maybe, but I doubt ordinary kidnappers would mess with a changeling queen who's also married to the captain of the Canterlot army and married to the Princess of Love."

"I agree. They must be suicidal or..."

"...or someone very powerful," Cadence finished for her. "So you and I have to be very careful if we're not going to..."

"Quiet!" the changeling interrupted her. "I see somepony!"

"Where?" the alicorn asked.

"There, by the cliff," said Chrysalis in a low whisper, pointing to the far side of the hangar where two sturdy unicorns with rifles on their backs, apparently guarding the place, were strolling leisurely.

"Yes, I see them now," the pony nodded. "Well, now we know there's somepony there, and that doesn't want visitors."

"But that won't do them much good once we're inside," the queen said, clenching her fangs angrily.

"But first we have to knock these two out somehow, so they don't call for help."

"No problem. I've got it all figured out. Play along, my dear. I have a plan."

"What a plan?"

"One of us sneaks up behind them while the other one distracts them. And this was you, because you're the best."

"Well, thank you for explaining," snorted the alicorn. "Distract. They have weapons. How do you expect me to do that?"

"By using your mare charms," Chrysalis winked.

***

"And I was like: Hey, pretty lady, if you want to ride in the wilderness, why not tame a mustang like me first", said one of the stallions strolling along the hangar, turning to his partner with a laugh.

"Huh, really? That's the most ridiculous trick I've ever heard in my life. No wonder you haven't had a mare in a long time," he said with a grin.

"I tell you. It always works!" Declared the first unicorn. "They just... ahem... don't work on the local girls. I need some big-city mare. An innocent lost sweetheart who will need the help of a strong and determined stallion."

"Yeah, well, good luck finding her. The chance of finding a mare like that out here is about one..."

"Hey, boys. I'm a lost big-city mare, can you help me?" A voice said from the side of the hill. Turning quickly, the two stallions saw a pink unicorn, with a stunning figure and graceful legs, heading towards them.

"...in a million," the stallion finished, his mouth open in surprise.

"Ha, what did I tell you?" Said his partner, and, quickly smoothing his mane on his head, gallantly bowed: "Hello, beautiful! Of course we'll help you. Me and my brother, Renny, are masters at this sort of thing. Especially me."

He winked at her playfully, wagging his tail as if to show off his pumped croup.

"Oh, brother," Renny said, squinting in embarrassment.

"So, where would you like to go? Did you come from a town near here?"

"Yes, from a town called Wildsberry. I went there with my sister and accidentally got separated from the group."

"Oh! In that case, let me walk you out. I know how to get there, and we can have a nice chat and get to know each other on the way," the stallion said with a smile.

"Well, that would be very..."

"Wait a minute," Renny interrupted her. "Do you have wings behind you?"

He looked at her back where she had two long wings.

"Um... yes, but they're not real, I bought them at the gift shop, and..." the pony tried to justify herself.

"Wildsberry?" Renny muttered. "Aren't you... Hey! You're a princess!"

They both drew their rifles out from behind their backs.

"That's right! She is the princess! She's come for our prisoner! Hold it right there! You may be a demigoddess, but our guns will take you down in a jiffy!" Renny shouted, taking her in his sights.

"Stop! You've got it all wrong!" The pony bucked, hoisting her front legs.

"Hey, what's going on?" The other stallion snorted in surprise when he saw two long-toed palms instead of her hooves.

"These? А! Well..." she said with a wiggle of her toes. "I have to tell you that I'm not well."

As the two of them watched, a large, colorful tail emerged from behind her, flaring out like a fan.

"Holy shit! What's that?! What the hell are you?!" Renny muttered, startled, his rifle trembling in his telekinesis.

"What do you mean? A common peacock's tail, which these birds use to attract partners and..."

"...distract their enemies," a mocking voice suddenly sounded behind them, and before the stallions could understand, a telekinesis cloud lifted them off the ground and banged their heads together violently.

"Sweet dreams, boys," said the real Cadence, who had emerged into the light, carelessly pushing them off their hooves and turning to her strange copy: "Well done, Chrissy."

"Thanks, we played them well," said the queen, scratching her nose with her finger. "Oh, that feels good! Minotaurs are lucky to have these strange things."

"Don't be silly, dear. Let's get down to business," said the alicorn, walking over to her and kissing her on the cheek.

"Okay," Chrysalis smiled, assuming her normal appearance. "After all, now that these two are out, we can safely go inside."

She walked over to the hangar door and saw that it was locked.

"It's locked! See if one of them has the keys," she said, turning to Cadence.

"One moment," the princess nodded, approaching the stunned enemies and shaking them one by one over the ground. Finally a small ring of keys fell out of Renny's pocket.

"Alright. Looks like you two have some other uses", Chrysalis said, grabbing the keys and taking the stallion's shape. "There," Chrysalis said, groping her new body. "Now it will be easier for us to get through their lair."

"That's good for you, but what about me?" Cadence asked. "But don't have the ability to change into somepony else, if you remember."

"It's all right, just put this jacket on," the queen said, taking Renny's clothes off and handing them to her spouse. "We don't plan on staying there too long. As soon as we find our Shiny, we'll stop hiding and show those wretched kidnappers what kind of trouble they’re in. If anypony shows up, I'll cover for you."

"Okay," said the princess as she put on her jacket with the patches. "Ugh! It smells like sweat!"

She looked at the stallion lying at her hooves.

"Once we save our husband, you'll pay for this," she said, giving him a kick.

"All right, let's go," Chrysalis nodded, opening the door with one of her keys and peering carefully inside.

"It seems quiet," she said, looking around.

"That's good. I was afraid there'd be guards on this side, too," Cadence said as she went inside with her, surveying the room.

Directly in front of them was a narrow, poorly lit corridor with rows of doors on either side.

Chrysalis crept up to one of them and opened it slightly.

"Well? What's inside?" Alicorn asked in a whisper.

"A few crates and a few chairs. It's all dusty," the queen said briefly as she closed it. Then she went to another one. "There's some junk in here, too". She opened a third, "and there. Damn, where do they keep our beloved?"

She moved on, opening all the doors one by one, with the princess following behind her.

"Hey, Renny!" Somepony in front of them said, and another unicorn guard came around the corner.

"Hey!" exclaimed Chrysalis, in tone with him, and immediately pulled herself to her feet and said quietly: "What do you want?"

"Why aren't you outside? And neither is Will," he glanced at Cadence, who was standing in the shadows.

"Oh, no, we just needed to come in real quick," said the queen without thinking.

"Really? And why is that?" the stallion asked suspiciously.

"Well, we really need to visit the toilet. So we thought that since it's pretty quiet outside, it wouldn't be a big deal if we..."

"Serious, guys? Couldn't you do this outside?" The unicorn said angrily, and then said with a sigh: "All right, go ahead, but if anyone gets in, I'll personally break your necks later."

And with a shake of his head he went about his business.

"Okay," nodded Chrysalis. "And don't worry. A fly won't get past us, a lizard won't get past us. Heh, not on our watch, eh… That was close."

"Yeah, he's kind of gullible," Cadence said in relief.

"Good. We don't need smart guards," the queen winked, then headed in the opposite direction with Cadence, continuing to check every room in her path. Soon they came to a large double doors with round windows at the top, beyond which the main room of the hangar began.

The mares cautiously approached them.

"Wow, that's a lot of them," the princess said quietly, peering through one of the windows.

"Too many," added Chrysalis.

On the other side, near the large metal crates and several loaders, there were numerous heavily armed unicorn stallions who were going about their business: loading, dragging, assembling and screwing something. In a word, behaving like typical goons from adventure movies.

"So, are these your Stallions from Staliongrad?" Asked the queen.

"Who knows," Cadence shrugged. "But they do look formidable, and they seem to be getting ready for something big."

"And it has something to do with me," the changeling said.

"So, how do we get around them?" Alicorn asked.

"It's easy. We'll just keep walking up and down the wall, pretending it's nothing..." said Chrysalis, but then she got a meaningful look from her spouse. "Oh, yes. That's right. I forgot you can't transform. Well, then we... um..."

She glanced around the corridor, looking for another solution, and when she looked up she noticed a lattice ventilator shaft in the ceiling.

"Of course! We'll use the old, tried-and-true way that all heroes love," she said with a smile as she pointed to it.

"Yeah, the roach-infested, rusty chimney," she sighed. "Well, since there's no other way... Let's go up there."

She spread her wings and shot upward, stripping the trapdoor with her telekinesis.

"That's the spirit," the queen encouraged her. "You go on up first, I'll follow," she added. She helped Cadence enter the vent before climbing up after her, and both mares crawled carefully into the airy, dusty shaft.

"Yeah, it's dirty in here," Cadence said as she shook off the cobwebs that had fallen into her hair.

"At least now we look like characters from a spy movie," the queen said with a wink.

"Mmm," she mumbled, and then she rolled over on her belly and into the tube.

"But we need headsets and a map tablets to complete the look," said Chrysalis, who was crawling after her.

"Why do we need a map? Just crawling ahead, hoping this mine will be over sooner or later and take us where we belong. And that... ouch!" Then the pipe bent sharply under her belly, and the princess froze in fright. "That it won’t break under our weight."

"Yes," the changeling said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "I'm not exactly sure where we are, but I wouldn't want to fall down."

After a short wait, they continued on their way. Soon the tube ended and began to climb sharply upward. With a disgruntled snort, the princess looked up into the dark depths above her head and began to climb up the walls of the pipe.

"Well, will you be there soon?" Suddenly a thin voice came from Chrysalis. The princess looked down in surprise and saw the queen flying between her legs, who had turned herself into a breezie. After making a few circles over the alicorn's head, she settled on her nose.

"Hey, that's not fair!" said Cadence.

"But it's comfortable," the changeling said. "And I can reconnoiter like this and see what lies ahead."

"Okay, just be careful," the pony said with a deep sigh (either from worry or from holding on to the tube walls).

"Of course, my love," Chrysalis agreed, and soared upward. When she reached the end of the shaft, which went horizontal again, the queen flew forward until she reached another lattice hatch, behind which was something like a dining room. Two stallions sat at a folding table, chatting casually and drinking coffee.

"Well, well. I wonder what they're talking about? I guess I'd better find out," the queen thought as she slid between the bars of the bars and stealthily flew into the cracked chandelier that hung over the table.

"Bert and the others are running late today," said one of them, taking a large glazed doughnut out of the box and taking a bite out of it.

"So? It's happened to him before. He likes to wander around the neighboring towns more than anypony else and get into that cowcolt atmosphere of theirs," his partner answered him, squeezing his front legs in quotation marks a few times.

"Yeah, but he went to a gay club. I don't think you can immerse yourself in anything there," his companion grimaced squeamishly.

"Well, you can, but I wouldn't advise it," the first stallion grinned.

"Neither would anypony else in the building," the other added, and they both laughed loudly.

"By the way, what's your assignment today?" The first unicorn asked, after he had finished laughing.

"It's a responsible one. I have to guard our white guest."

"Oh yes? So why aren't you with him now?"

"Why should I? He's safely locked in the fourth warehouse and to get out he has to unchain himself somehow and then get past our mercenaries. So you don't have to worry. He's not going to get away from us."

"I guess you're right, and I... hey! Where'd my doughnut go?" Exclaimed the kidnapper, staring in surprise at his empty hoof, as Chrysalis swiftly flew back to her spouse, biting the big doughnut she had snatched.

"So, how was the reconnaissance?" The princess asked, who had already climbed up and was now sitting on the edge of the shaft.

"It was quite successful. I found out where our beloved is," the changeling said cheerfully, returning to her natural size and swallowing her doughnut with a smirk.

"Then lead the way. It's time we put an end to this hide-and-seek and show these kidnappers what happens to those who mess with hotties like us."

"Well said, Cady. In that case, follow me."

They crawled forward, and after passing through a series of grates leading to various back rooms, they finally reached a large hatch, under which there was a common hallway. Kicking it out with her hoof, Chrysalis carefully slid down and, looking around, assumed the form of the stallion that was supposed to be guarding their husband.

"The coast is clear, you can come out now," she whispered to Cadence, who followed her down.

"So where are they keeping our Shiny? The princess asked.

"In warehouse four," the changeling told her. "And I sure hope they have those same warehouses numbered."

They approached the first metal door, which had a slightly faded number six painted on it.

"Yeah, you and me are lucky. So the fourth warehouse has to be around here somewhere," Chrysalis smiled as she kept walking forward, checking each door. They went the wrong way at first, which they guessed when they saw the big number eight on the massive double doors, so they turned around and headed in the opposite direction.

"Ah, there's our cherished door," Cadence said when she reached the right warehouse, walking to the rust-covered metal door. She jerked it open and realized the door was locked.

"Dammit! Cover me," she whispered to Chrysalis, and she put her front foot on the lock and pressed it hard.

The door crunched, then with a sharp clang, the lock flew in.

"Done," the alicorn said, quickly stepping into the warehouse with Chrysalis.

They found themselves in a small room that was lit by a dim light bulb. Though it was called a warehouse, there were no crates or boxes, only a couple of crooked shelves along the wall, and in the middle...

"Shiny!" The mares exclaimed as they saw the unicorn chained to the floor.

They rushed to him, stripped him of his chain, and helped him to his hooves.

"Hubby, how are you?" Chrysalis asked, assuming her normal appearance.

Shining raised his head and stared at them incomprehensibly.

"Don't be frightened, it's us," said Cadence tenderly, peering into his face. "We've come to free you."

"Yes, we know that now! But I'm afraid it's not going to work!" They heard a voice behind them; one that sounded painfully familiar.

The queen and the princess turned around to see, in the doorway, surrounded by a throng of mercenaries, the mare they had least expected to be there.

"You?! It can't be!" Cadence shrieked, pulling back. "How could you do this to us?"

"She had her reasons, my dear," Shining said at that moment, standing behind them, and the mouths of both mares were suddenly covered with rags with a pungent medical odor. "And very persuasive ones at that."

"What?" the princess said with difficulty, feeling her mind begin to swim.

"H-hubby?!" Chrysalis tearfully exhaled, trying unsuccessfully to break free.

"Believe me, we're doing this for you. And you'll see that soon enough," said Shining, who was holding the rags, turning to Cadence.

"Oh yes," the mare added as she approached the fainting princess and queen, "we want to keep you out of harm's way and prevent the irreparable from happening.

She leaned down.

"After all, you and I are best friends. You should trust me," said Twilight Sparkle, who met her gaze as Cadence fell into darkness.

Author's Note

Well, thanks to the help of my friends, I finally managed to finish the seventh chapter. There are two more to go, and I hope to translate them into English just as quickly. Enjoy reading everyone!!! ^_^