A change in Life

Her and her friend ran faster as the wing beats echoed through the hallway like a hurricane. The changelings were gaining ground and she knew it. “Swarm K3!,right left left!” Twilight heard one of the changelings order before the noise quieted slightly. She was curious why until the smaller swarm crashed into them from the left, originating from the hallway to their left. The mares were knocked over in a blink of an eye, the 6 of them screaming out in terror and shock as the changelings came upon them, raising their hooves up and slamming them down, attempting to beat the mares to death.

Rainbow knew they had only moments before the changelings began weakening them to the point of slowing them down, when that happened they had no hope to escape. Being pinned on her back by a changeling she did not have many options except for one. She brought her head back, closed her eyes and brought it forward in a powerful headbutt. A loud crunch sounded along with a limp body replacing the strong one pinning her. She opened her eyes to find the changeling unconscious. In a blink she kicked it off, sending its body into two other changelings, one being an officer wearing purple armor and the other being a normal drone.

Rainbow jumped to her hooves and without a second thought, she crashed into the changeling currently attacking Twi. The changeling, shocked at first from the unexpected assault came off Twilight easily. It stood up for a moment before seeing Dash and it hissed; however its reward for hissing at the fastest pegasus in Equestria was a hoof to the teeth, stunning it and knocking 3 of its teeth out.Twilight turned and angled her horn to the changelings on her friend before beginning to fire bullets of magic at them, blasting them from her friends with ease.

“Spike get on my back!” ordered Twilight to the baby dragon who had been knocked off from the collision. The rest of the changelings were now only 20 hooves away and rapidly approaching with a general wearing light green armor leading the swarm. The friends turned and began running with the changelings not far behind.

As they neared a spiral staircase Twilight’s horn glowed once again however she cast a manipulation spell this time, just as the 6 mares reached the staircase. The stairs transformed into a ramp, causing the 6 friends to begin to slide down the polished crystal. The second she came out of the stairs she stood and steadied herself with her friends before they all galloped across the giant crystal room and towards the wooden door leading down to the dungeon.

The sound of the changelings crashing down the stairs uncoordinated and sloppily could be heard as the six ponies were halfway to the dungeon. Unexpectedly however somepony came crashing down on top of Twilight, her legs collapsing beneath her as she gasped. On top of her stood the changeling general, her light green armor unscratched compared to her fellow soldiers still gathering themselves from their failure at going down the staircase all at once. She looked at the other 5 mares, challenging either of them to try to help their friend while she dug her hoof brutally into a pressure point in Twilights back, keeping her from forcing her off.

In a second the 5 mares charged forward, Applejack in the front and Rainbow right behind her in the air instead of the ground. The changeling general hissed and bared its razor sharp teeth to Applejack who leaped through the air towards it. The general was smart however and jumped off Twilight before forcing Applejack down to the ground by landing on top of the orange earth pony. What it did not expect was Rainbow Dash to smash her hoof into its face which knocked it off her friend and sent it sliding across the floor, its armor creating sparks on the crystal.

Twilight jumped to her hooves the moment the unbearable pain in her spine had faded and caught sight of the changeling recovering from its daze. The others were on their way across the room now too, fury and hunger in their evil eyes as they flew after them.

“Ok down to the dungeon!” Spike ordered as he flung the door open. Fluttershy hesitated but was forced down by Dash, obviously not going to deal with Fluttershy’s fear today. The changelings were only 30 hooves away now and rapidly gaining ground. The second Twilight entered the dungeon Spike slammed the door shut which Rarity locked by placing a large wooden plank over the bars on each side of the door. The 6 friends began to gallop down the dark stairs, no longer lit and lacking any sign of a pony anywhere. The crystal no longer shone beautifully and was instead dark and even blood stained once they got down into the bottom. Around the 6 friends were torture devices ranging in age from recent devices to those from Sombra’s reign which left the 6 ponies horrified from what they imagined they did.

The changeling general rose to her hooves and saw her fellow soldiers fly by her full speed, directly into a closed, locked door. “Imbeciles!!” the general screamed before the door shattered and fell into the dungeon behind it. “Genius’!!” declared the general before jumping over the currently stunned changelings and leading the way down the stairs with those who had recovered following closely behind.

The general stopped when she reached the bottom and barely noticed the trap door close in the corner, but unluckily for the 6 friends she did. Without a second thought the general ran across the room, reared back so she was on her back legs before bringing her front legs down as hard as she could, the trap door shattering after this.

“They're still coming!” Rainbow shouted at the sight of the changeling general entering the crystal cave and beginning to sprint down the length of the tunnel with her soldiers closely following.

“Which way do we go?!” Twilight questioned Spike at the sight of the 6 different tunnels.

“Ah hate caves” Applejack commented at their current problem. No kidding AJ Twilight thought to herself.

“This one!” Spike stated as he began running down the 2nd from the right and the 6 mares quickly followed without a second thought.

The second the changeling general exited the first cave and went to follow the 6 ponies she heard another voice in her head.

Rexa....

The voice of the queen echoed through her head as it called her by name.

Yes your majesty?

Go down the 4th with the majority of the soldiers, send the rest after the 6 ponies.

Yes your majesty

“You 10! after them!, everychangeling else with me!” commanded Rexa as she began running down the tunnel her queen had ordered.

“Where is the exit Spike?!” Rarity demanded as the friends wandered through the cave, the sound of the destruction in the empire no longer able to be heard.

“Somewhere around here, I’m sure of it” Spike lied. He truly had never found the exit, he himself had walked for hours and never saw the light of day till he returned from the dungeon. According to the maps he had looked at though it had said there was an escape tunnel just in case a cave collapse ever happened, this would allow the miners to escape, meaning King Sombra would not need to waste more slaves on mining crystals.

Applejack stopped walking and heard one extra hoof step behind her and froze. “Uh....gals” Applejack spoke, getting her friends attention.

“What is it Apple....” Twilight began but froze. No farther than 9 hooves behind her friend were 10 pairs of glowing eyes all looking at them with a familiar hunger of a changeling. An odd clicking noise echoed from the changelings before silent giggles broke the silence further. “RUN!!!” Twilight screamed before firing a flash of light from her horn at the changelings. They all screamed in rage as they were temporarily blinded by the alicorn before her and her friends began to run away.

The 6 friends galloped faster than before, avoiding fallen crystals and avoiding anything the changelings tried to fire at them. As they rounded the corner they froze once more at the sight of the 50 sets of eyes staring at them. One set ahead of them all, glaring at them in a way that they could tell was of satisfaction, sadistic joy and hunger. “Number one tip, you can NEVER beat a changeling at a cave” general Rexa explained proudly before the changelings behind her giggled happily. The element bearers just glared at her with anger. “Oh what’s wrong? you thought you would actually get away from us? that is pathetic!” snarled the changeling, her eyes narrowing into that of hatred.

“I will personally kill Chrysalis you monster” declared Twilight, further angering Rexa.

“How DARE you threaten the changeling queen!, I...” began Rexa but paused, her eyes becoming blank before she began mumbling something. A second later she returned the exact same way she was. “Yes my queen. ATTACK!!!” snarled Rexa before the changelings galloped forward and the 6 friends ran towards them, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy attacking the 10 changelings while Rarity, Twilight and Applejack charged to Rexa.

Twilight jumped through the air at Rexa but from the changelings mobility she forced Twilight to the ground and landed on top. Rexa closed her jaws on Twilight's shoulder, sinking her razor sharp teeth and fangs into the flesh of the alicorn. Twilight screamed before using her magic to pull a rock the size of her head across the room which crashed into Rexa’s side, her armor protecting her but still breaking 4 ribs. The changeling made a odd scream of agony and fell off Twilight before Twilight lifted the rock again and pulled it around in a circle, crashing into a changelings face which caved in and tore the front legs off of another. Twilight brought the rock up with her magic and cracked the currently suffering changeling’s head open before seeing another one leap through the air towards her. He received the rock in the jaw, coming up from below and snapping his head back so violently that he did not move when he hit the ground.

Rainbow Dash brought her hoof forward and smashed it directly in the middle of a female changelings eyes causing the chitin to shatter. She rose onto her front legs before bucking another 3 behind her. A changeling jumped at her but missed as she flew up into the air. She angled herself down and rocketed down like a missile as fast as she could before smashing into a changeling. She forced him down onto his back before focusing both her hooves on his chest. From her speed and strength the changelings chitin shattered and his rib cage imploded into his vital organs. He fell silent in a second before another changeling crashed into Dash. She rolled with him or her before ending out on top again. She brought her head back and smashed it as hard as she could into the forehead of the changeling under its horn. Its chitin cracked and it got a dazed confused look on its face before Dash jumped off and charged towards two more.

Spike threw a rock up at a changeling who dodged it with ease and then giggled. It was stopped by a boulder covered in changeling blood crashing into its face from the side unexpectedly. The changeling had its head explode against the crystal wall as the rock forced it up against it. The second this happened the cave echoed and the cave began collapsing, a way out visible by the stars through a hole immediately.

“A way out!!” exclaimed Twilight which got her friends attention. Twilight threw the rock with all her might once more which floored 3 more changelings before beginning to blast rays of purple magic at the changeling soldiers. Rarity crawled her way out of the cave, coming out of the incident with blood in her mane from the changelings and crystal dust and dirt covering her coat. She was followed by Applejack who had lost her hat followed by Pinkie pie who crawled out quickly and then Fluttershy who was carrying spike by one of his spikes through her clenched teeth. The 4 ponies found themselves in a very isolated location nothing in front of them and a mountain behind them.

Twilight and Dash both turned to follow their friends but before they could a giant boulder of crystal came crashing down from above and covered the opening leading to their escape. Both friends glared at it for a moment before facing the changelings. “Fly” Rainbow ordered before turning, jumping into the air and opening her wings. Twilight followed without a second thought and so did the changelings, hissing angrily before the cave truly began to collapse. The roof fell after the 2 friends at a deadly speed, the noise causing from it caused thought to be impossible and the friends ears to ring. The changeling soldiers one by one began falling as rocks fell from the ceilings and crushed them against the cave floor. The 2 friends kept flying faster and faster, Dash having to hang back due to her friends lack of speed. Her friend had improved greatly but she still was far from perfect.

Twilight looked desperately left and right for a way out before seeing it. It wasn’t much but it was a turnoff into another tunnel coming up ahead large enough for one pony but it would have to fit two. In a last ditch effort she flew towards the tunnel and her friend, grabbing her friend and forcing her wings close before the two spun through the air.

Twilight collided with the ground the second the cave in stopped and was followed by the echo of the collapsing ceiling now in the distance before silence as it stopped. The two friends coughed violently on the crystal dust floating in the air for a few moments before the two looked at each other and the tunnel ahead of them, nothing but a black void of mystery. “Good job (cough) Twi” Rainbow commented and her friend smiled.

“Thanks Dashie” Twilight thanked before releasing her friend and attempting to rise, getting stuck twice in the process but finally escaping the small confinement and walking down the small tunnel a little bit. It was uneven and was wide at some points and thin at others, the endless darkness ahead did not help either, it looked more like something out of a horror story she would read on friday nights. “Lets hope for a way out” Twilight said before the two began walking down the tunnel, Twilight with a slight pain in her front left hip from where she had landed.

Walking for what seemed like 20 minutes the cave had finally widened a little bit, able to fit 3 ponies now if it was needed. Rainbow sighed and stopped walking, Twilight noticed and turned around before walking up to her friend. “Dash we need to keep going, we can’t stop” Twilight explained before her friend looked up to her friend. The darkness of the cave made it hard for the two friends to see each others faces.

“I know that Twi, but what if there is no exit? what if we hit a dead end around that corner?” Dash asked before Twilight looked behind her to see nothing but darkness. “I can’t see anymore than you, it was a....n-never mind” Rainbow explained, before sighing and looking up to her friend.

“Dash we can’t think like that alright? we need to keep our heads up, there will be an exit, alright?” Twilight encouraged.

“If there isn’t Twi....I want to tell you something, I know you probably don’t feel the same way but I want to get it out...just in case” Rainbow explained before her friend sat down and waited for her to continue.

“I love you” Rainbow said, her friends face turning to one of shock slowly. Rainbow took one more breath before beginning to explain. “I always have, the night we defeated Nightmare Moon I came home and felt closer than when I had first met our other friends. As the days and weeks went on I realized I had developed a crush for you. It kept building to the point where I realized it was more than a crush. I kept it under control this entire time and hid it away because....I didn’t know if you were gay. If this sickens you or you don’t feel the same way....please... just tell me so I know” Rainbow requested, another weight being lifted from her as her deepest secrets had finally been told.

She kept her head down, expecting her friend to deny her but after a few seconds she felt the alicorn's hoof push her muzzle up. She allowed her friend to raise her head and then she opened her eyes the second before Twilight kissed her, she was shocked at that moment but slowly closed her eyes once more. She had gotten her answer.

When the two mares opened their eyes they were no longer in the caves. The two of them were both sitting on a polished crystal floor with the queen of the changelings in front of them. Hundreds of changelings filled the room and Chrysalis sat on the crystal throne, looking at the two mares with an amused expression on her features.

Twilight smiled to Dash who smiled back happily before the two turned to the changeling Queen to face their fate. They had obviously been teleported by the changeling queen and how she had gained their location was obvious by a wounded general Rexa seated beside the queen, her armor dented still and her breathing hoarse.

“Oh how lovely, 2 mares who are looked up to by so many are gay” Chrysalis taunted before the changelings in the room giggled.

“We’re here, beaten and defenseless, just kill us you psycho” Rainbow said bitterly before Chrysalis laughed.

“Kill you? why would I do that when I can watch you suffer and hear your screams for killing my subjects? Kill you, ha! I have much bigger plans for both of you, something you truly deserve” Chrysalis responded before Twilight gained a worried look on her features.

“What are you going to do?” Dash asked hesitantly and a sadistic smile crept onto Chrysalis’ face.

“Well we will have to just find out won’t we?, guards take them away. Oh and Twilight say hello to your brother for me” Chrysalis requested darkly before the changeling guards walked up and began to lead the two friends away from their queen, her smile never leaving her face till her, herself disappeared from Twilight's view.