Hivemind: Chapter 6: Where the Heart Is

The path out of Ponyville shook with a low hum as a colorful blur approached, reflecting the morning sunlight. As is sped past, the shape resolved itself into a certain three fillies riding in their usual makeshift vehicle. Scootaloo took the lead, fluttering along on her scooter and pulling Applebloom and Sweetie Belle behind her in the wagon.

“It was awfully nice of Fluttershy to invite us over to look after her new pets,” shouted Applebloom over the hum of Scootaloo's wings.

“I'll say,” said Sweetie Belle next to her. “I can't wait to see what kind of rare and unusual creature we'll get to take care of. I hope it's something really cute.”

Scootaloo grimaced. “Ugh. I hope it's something really cool, with fangs or claws.

“Maybe it's kittens,” suggested Sweetie. “They have claws, and they're cute.”

“Kittens ain't exactly 'rare and unusual,' though,” Applebloom reminded her.

“Oh yeah.”

“Well, whatever they are, we'll find out soon enough,” Applebloom said. “Hey, Scoots, are we almost there? We need to get back in time for Miss Cheerilee's class.”

Scootaloo turned her head and grinned at her two passengers. “Did somepony say they wanted to go faster? 'Cause that's what I heard.”

As they rounded the last corner, the pegasus filly put on an extra burst of speed. Her passengers gave a whoop as the scooter and wagon train launched off the top of the bridge in front of the cottage, remaining airborne for several seconds before landing and skidding to a halt next to Fluttershy's door.

Scootaloo removed her helmet and shook her mane out of her eyes. “Did you see that?” she shouted excitedly back to her friends. “That must have been like ten feet!”

“That was amazing, Scootaloo!” agreed Sweetie Belle.

“Let's do that again sometime!” said Applebloom, removing her own helmet.

Just then, Fluttershy's front door burst open, and a small stampede of animals rushed out, as if propelled from a cannon. They were swiftly followed by an irate yellow pegasus, who stopped short on the doorstep to vent her frustration.

“WHY WON'T YOU CREATURES LISTEN TO ME?” Fluttershy yelled, breathing heavily. One of the animals, a white rabbit, paused momentarily to stick his tongue out at her before continuing his escape.

Fluttershy huffed loudly for a few seconds before her eyes drifted over to her new guests, noticing their presence for the first time. Her demeanor changed entirely as she addressed the fillies, as though her previous outburst had never occurred. She pawed the ground abashedly.

“Oh, h-hello girls.”

“Hello, Fluttershy,” said Sweetie. “Is something the matter with your animals?”

“Oh, that?” Fluttershy said nervously. “That was nothing to worry about. I'm sure they'll come around in no time.”

“Are you sure you don't want us to round them up for you?” Scootaloo asked eagerly. “After all, we did come here to become...”

All three fillies took a deep breath.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ANIMAL CARETAKERS. YAY!”

Fluttershy winced at the volume of the fillies' enthusiasm, but she recovered momentarily.

“No, thank you, they'll come back on their own.”

“You did say you had some new critters for us to look after, though,” Applebloom reminded her.

“So I did,” Fluttershy said. “I have some very special creatures for you three to meet. Follow me.”

She led the fillies over to the far end of her yard, where a large collection of wooden crates were stacked neatly against the fence.

“Here we are, girls,” Fluttershy said, wrenching the side off of one of the crates with her hoof. “Meet your new friends.”

The three fillies peered eagerly into the dark enclosure. They were unprepared for what they saw. The three napping creatures inside looked more like insects than anything else, though they were much too big for that. Two spiky antennae stuck out like ears from each of their carapaced black heads. The rest of their body was wormlike, grey and slimy looking. The nearest creature batted a bright blue eye at the sun shining into it's home and yawned, standing up on four stubby grey legs in an unsettlingly ponylike posture. The fillies backed up instinctively.

“What are they?” asked Scootaloo, turning to Fluttershy.

A bright green flash diverted her attention back to the crate, upon which she froze in terror.

“What are they?” another Scootaloo parroted, a malicious grin on its face as it stepped out of the crate. Duplicates of Applebloom and Sweetie Belle appeared at its side, sporting the same look of cruel amusement.

“From this day forward,” Fluttershy said as the cloned fillies advanced on the originals, “they are you.”

She grinned as her eyes flashed an electric blue.

***

Smoke Stack snored softly as he slept, his rear hooves propped up against the ticket counter. The old stallion had been selling the train tickets at Ponyville Station for as long as he or anypony else cared to remember, morning 'til night, so he had learned to savor these moments of quiet. His trained ears picked up the sound of an approaching locomotive, and Smoke Stack awoke, cracking open his eyes as the train came to rest at the platform.

He swung his legs off the counter, wincing as his joints cracked, and trotted carefully out onto the platform, exchanging a brief word of greeting with the engineer as the younger pony leaned out the train window. The poor colt really needed to learn to get enough rest; his eyes were yellow with tiredness.

Smoke Stack smiled as the ponies began to exit the train. This was his favorite part of the job, getting to watch all the travelers as they passed through. This morning's fare consisted of a stallion sporting dark sunglasses and a colorful shirt, a few bleary-eyed mares, and, at the end of the platform, stepping down from the caboose... Smoke Stack had to blink a few times before he could believe what he was seeing.

“Miss... Sparkle?”

“Huh?” The lavender unicorn turned away from her companions to look in his direction. “Oh, hello there, Mr. Smoke Stack. How are you?” She waved at the others to keep moving.

“I can't say I expected to see you here again so soon, Miss Sparkle,” the ticket pony said, trotting over to her, “or any of your friends for that matter.”

“You don't say.”

Twilight glanced uneasily at the other ponies on the platform. “Well, here we are, back again,” she said, and let out a nervous laugh.

“It's just that I don't remember you leaving, is all.”

“We were at Canterlot a few days longer than expected, so we just got back,” Twilight said, again glancing past Smoke Stack at the other ponies. The stallion with the sunglasses was looking back at her. Twilight quickly moved so that the aging ticket pony stood between them.

“I must be getting old,” said Smoke Stack. “I could have sworn you were just here yesterday, returning from a different trip to Canterlot. Well, it's good to see you again, at any rate, Miss Sparkle.”

“Yeah.”

He turned to hobble back over to the ticket stand, and Twilight scampered over to where her curious friends were waiting.

“What was that about?” asked Applejack.

“I'm not sure,” Twilight answered truthfully, “but apparently, 'I' already arrived here yesterday.”

“Changelings,” hissed Rainbow Dash.

“That's likely,” said Twilight. “We should have known they would waste no time replacing us. Also,” she pointed at the stallion with sunglasses at the other end of the platform, who was now chatting conspiratorially to the engineer, “I think the hypnotized ponies might have noticed us, and it can't be long before they alert any changelings that are here already. We need to get to the library quickly.”

Her stomach interrupted by growling loudly.

“Heh, heh,” Twilight chuckled nervously.

“Maybe we ought to go to the library by way of Sugarcube Corner,” suggested Applejack.

“Now that you mention it,” said Rainbow Dash, “I'm starving.”

“Me too,” said Pinkie Pie, as Rarity and Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

“I guess it has been a while since we all ate anything,” admitted Twilight. “But I don't know. If there are changelings in Ponyville...”

“Come on, Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash. “You don't expect us to wield the Elements of Harmony and fight the forces of evil on an empty stomach, do you?”

“And what happens if we get to Sugarcube Corner and another Pinkie Pie is already there?”

“We show her that changelings aren't welcome here in Ponyville, that's what. In case you don't recall, we just defeated most of the changeling army three times in a row now; I think we can handle one measly changeling. Honestly, I'm not sure what this whole secrecy thing of yours is about. Don't we want ponies to know about the changelings?”

“Well, yes, but Queen Chrysalis still doesn't know we're here. If she got wind of where we are, I'm pretty sure she has enough power to just teleport here, and we are in no position to challenge her without the Elements. So, until we get ahold of them, we're going to have to be cautious about who knows we're here.”

“Oh, we should be fine going to Sugarcube Corner,” Pinkie said.

“How so?” asked Twilight.

“Because, today is Thursday!” Pinkie said.

“Uh...” said Applejack. “It is? How do you reckon? We were trapped in them cocoon things so long, I'd be happy if I knew what week it was, let alone the day.”

Pinkie sighed. “It has to be Thursday, because today is Sea Swirl's birthday, and I never miss anypony's birthday,” she said, as if this much was obvious. “But that doesn't matter. What does matter is that Thursday is my day off, so I spend the day saying hi to everypony in the marketplace.”

“And what makes you think a changeling you would be doing the same thing?” asked Rarity.

“Oh, Rarity,” Pinkie said, throwing a front leg around the mare's neck, “any changeling worth her salt would know a detail like that. In order to act like me, you have to be like me.”

“Ain't that the truth,” Applejack muttered.

“No, wait, that actually makes sense,” Twilight said. “The changelings will need to eat too, and what better food for changelings than all the friendship the town has for Pinkie?”

***

Surely there was better food out there, thought Number 4.

She was beginning to feel nauseous, surrounded as she was by all the happy thoughts directed at Pinkie Pie, more friendship than she could eat if she tried.

Junk food, all of it.

Friendship was filling, and in that sense she could consider herself lucky to be among the most blessed in this land of plenty, but there was more that a young changeling needed.

Love.

She could always go back to Sugarcube Corner, but she had outgrown the type of parental love the Cakes provided long ago. No, she was craving some good old-fashioned romantic love. And in this body, that was proving unusually hard to find.

“Hello, Pinkie!” said the umpteenth pony in a row.

“Hey, Sea Swirl,” Number 4 replied in a chipper voice. “Happy Birthday, by the way.”

“You remembered!” the surprised unicorn said happily. “I don't know how you always do that.”

“Neither do I!” said Number 4, entirely truthfully. She only knew of the fact because she had looked it up this morning from her Hive Orb. Knowing what Pinkie knew was a crucial part of the disguise after all, at least according to the Princess.

As Sea Swirl trotted away, a big grin plastered on her face, Number 4 caught the lively strains of somepony playing a saxophone down the street. Perhaps it was time to try some more drastic measures.

“Hiya, Noteworthy,” she said loudly into the blue stallion's ear. He sputtered in surprise at the pink mare who had popped out of nowhere next to him, causing the saxophone to emit an anguished yowl. He coughed a few times to clear his throat before replying.

“Hello, Pinkie.”

“That was some catchy music you were playing.”

“Uh, thanks,” said Noteworthy. He made to bring the saxophone back up to his mouth, but Number 4 pushed it down again.

“You must be thirsty after all that playing, though. Don't you want to come back to Sugarcube Corner and share a milkshake with me?”

“Thanks for offering, but I'm fine,” said Noteworthy, choosing to ignore the implications of that invitation. Number 4 could tell she was going to need to bring out the big guns.

“But don't you want to spend some time with me?” she asked, putting on her best pouting face.

“Uh...”

“Because I want to spend some time with you.”

Noteworthy began to back off. “No offense, Pinkie, but I don't actually know you that well.”

“Duh, silly,” said Number 4, grabbing him by the hoof and steering him in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. “That's why we should get to know each other better.”

Noteworthy glanced sadly back at his forgotten saxophone as he was being dragged away. “Why me?” he whimpered to himself, just loud enough for Number 4 to hear.

The disguised changeling spun around and looked him in the eyes with her most serious wide-eyed stare. “Because, Noteworthy, every time I see you and hear your music, I fell a spark inside of me, right here.”

She placed a hoof on his chest, over his heart.

“Do you feel it too, Noteworthy? Do you feel the spark?”

Apparently he did not, for he gave a frantic “I gotta go” before galloping off at full tilt, somehow remembering to grab his saxophone on the way. Number 4 was left blinking after him in the dust.

That could have gone better, she thought. At least he didn't scream like a filly like the others.

***

Twilight pushed open the door to Sugarcube Corner, the bell above it ringing to announce her presence.

“Hello, dearies. Be right with you,” Mrs. Cake called over the counter, watching as Twilight and the others filed in. As she turned back to the customer she was helping, the six companions seated themselves around a table near the window. Sugarcube Corner wasn't very busy today; apart from the customer at the counter, they seemed to be the only ones in the restaurant.

Mrs. Cake finished with her customer and cantered cheerily up to their table. “Now, what can I get for you six?”

“I think one of the big chocolate double-layer cakes will be good for a start,” said Pinkie Pie. “What do the rest of you girls want?”

Twilight rolled her eyes and gave her own order.

After Mrs. Cake had taken all their orders, she walked back into the kitchen, leaving them alone once more. As soon as she was out of earshot, Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“Do you think she's safe?” she asked, gesturing into the kitchen.

“I think so,” said Twilight. “All the hypnotized ponies I've seen, both the ones in the cave and the ones on the train, had a green glow in their eyes.”

“The sooner we get this over with, the better,” said Applejack. “I hate all this havin' to double-guess every pony we meet.”

“We'll get ahold of the Elements soon enough,” said Twilight. “Then we can defeat Queen Chrysalis and everything will go back to normal.”

They sat in silence until Mrs. Cake returned with their food. Pinkie immediately pounced on the cake, easily ingesting a third of it with one bite and splattering crumbs everywhere. Next to her, Rarity inched her chair over a few inches before biting daintily into her own violet and watercress sandwich.

“There you are, dears. Just let me know if you need anything else.”

Somewhere upstairs, a foal's voice let out a howl.

“Oh, dear,” said Mrs. Cake. “That'll be the twins waking up. If you'll excuse me...”

She rushed up the stairs, calling out “Mommy's coming!” as she went.

“Yep,” said Applejack, smiling after her, “definitely the real Mrs. Cake.”

She went to take a bite out of her sandwich, glancing absentmindedly out the window. Her eyes went wide. “Get down!” she cried, dropping the sandwich back onto her plate and pushing Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy under the table with her. The others quickly followed suit.

“What did you see?” asked Twilight.

“Look out the window,” Applejack said, “but carefully, so she doesn't see you.”

Six pairs of eyes peeked back up over the tabletop, eager to see for themselves what Applejack had spotted.

Outside, Spike and Rarity were walking along, the former holding an armful of boxes and bags. Rarity—no, not Rarity, Twilight reminded herself, glancing over at her real friend, who was also watching the scene in disbelief—the imposter Rarity leaned closer to the baby dragon waddling beside her. Through the window, they could just make out what she was saying.

“Thank you ever so much for helping me with my errands, Spike.”

“No—urk—problem at all,” Spike replied, shifting the precarious pile of packages in his arms to prevent them from falling.

The imposter turned away so that Spike wouldn't notice her flash a brief smirk. “You know, I've been thinking,” she continued sweetly. “You've been working so hard this morning. How about we take the afternoon off and have a picnic, just the two of us?”

Spike stopped in his tracks, the packages wobbling dangerously. “J-just the two of us?” he asked in disbelief.

“Just the two of us,” the imposter confirmed.

“Uh,” Spike said, his mind still struggling to comprehend what his ears had heard. “Wow. I mean, yes, of course! I mean, I'll have to ask Twilight if it's okay...”

“Oh, I don't think she'll mind,” said the imposter. “All the same,” she went on, now talking more to herself, and with a hint of annoyance that Spike didn't pick up on, “I guess we should get her approval.”

The two continued down the street, the baby dragon now with an extra spring in his step.

Applejack cautiously pulled herself back above the level of the table, peeking out at the retreating figures. “Well, now we definitely know that changelings made their way to Ponyville,” she said.

“This is bad,” Twilight breathed.

“I'll say,” said Rarity, stomping her hoof. “How dare that—that thing—make advances on our Spikey Wikey like that? The nerve!”

“It's six against one,” Rainbow said, springing into the air. “Seven if we count Spike. I say let's take her on now while we have the chance.”

She launched herself toward the door, but Applejack grabbed her by the tail, pulling her back to earth.

“Whoa there, Nelly. We can't just go charging around without knowing how many ponies they've replaced. Why, anypony could be a changeling in disguise. We already know they've replaced Twilight and Rarity. They've probably got doubles of all six of us, if not more.”

“Right,” said Twilight. “We can't rule out anypony. We don't even know if that was really Spike.”

“And we weren't the only Ponyville ponies in Canterlot this weekend,” Applejack continued grimly. Then she gasped in sudden realization. “Applebloom!”

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity echoed, looking at Applejack, her eyes wide.

“Do you think they're still locked up in Canterlot with the others?” Applejack said, struggling to keep her voice from trembling.

“Twilight, we have to do something!” Rarity pleaded. “I can't bear to think of poor Sweetie Belle trapped in one of those slimy disgusting pods all this time.”

“I wish we could have saved more ponies when we escaped, I really do,” Twilight said sadly. “But we barely got out ourselves. We never even found out where they were keeping the others, other than Princess Cele... Princ...” Her words caught in her throat as she again pictured her mentor trapped in a chrysalis right over her own throne.

“Spike could be back at Canterlot too,” she said at last. “Although on second thought, the changelings might be keeping him around, since they feed on lo--”

Pinkie Pie's angry face popped up from under the table in front of her own, cutting her off. “Forrreeever,” the pink pony said ominously. Twilight had a strong urge to plant her face in her hooves and explain to her once again that everypony already knew about Spike's crush on Rarity, but instead she merely sighed and continued as if nothing had happened.

“We need to get the Elements back more than ever, but we're going to have to be sneaky about it. Rainbow Dash, you can fly up and act as reconnaissance. Use the clouds for cover, and alert us if any of our doppelgangers are approaching.”

Rainbow Dash gave a salute. “I'm on it.”

“Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, when we get to the library I'll need you to distract the fake me long enough for the rest of us to grab the Elements.”

Pinkie, suddenly back to her cheerful self, clapped her hooves on top of one another. “You got it, sister. We'll give her a performance so splend-tacular, she'll be so distracted she won't even know she's you! Right, Fluttershy?”

“Um, if you say so.”

Twilight continued. “Applejack, Rarity, you and I will sneak in the back door while my doppelganger isn't looking. Are there any questions?”

The group of ponies shook their heads.

“Then let's do this.”

***

A few minutes later, a dejected-looking Number 4 plodded through the door and plopped her face down onto the counter.

“Pinkie Pie! Back so soon?”

“Hi, Mrs. Cake,” the changeling replied sadly.

“What's wrong, dearie? Did your friends leave you on your own?”

“No, but they might as well have.” She let out a loud sigh.

“Oh, dear,” said Mrs. Cake. “Sounds like something that needs to be talked about over ice cream.”

Moving with all the swiftness of years of experience, she whipped up a chocolate sundae and slid it in front of Number 4, who forced herself off the counter in a show of fake enthusiasm.

“Now, what is it that has you looking bluer than me?” Mrs. Cake asked gently. Number 4 paused, a spoon of ice cream halfway to her mouth, and came to a split-second decision.

“Colt troubles,” she answered truthfully.

Mrs. Cake's eyes glazed over for a moment. “Our Pinkie... colt troubles?” she mumbled at the point of incoherency.

Number 4 gave another sigh and stuck the spoon of tasteless ice cream into her mouth, enjoying the actual treat less than the thought behind it. Was the concept of her in a relationship really that unthinkable to everypony? It wasn't like Pinkie wasn't liked well enough.

“Um,” said Mrs. Cake, “have you talked to your friends about this? I mean, they were just with you a minute ago...”

“I don't think they'd really understand,” said Number 4. If anything, her fellow changelings would chew her out for being so picky, seeing as she was the best fed of them all.

Then the full implication of what Mrs. Cake had said hit her.

“Wait, when did you say you saw us?”

***

There was a loud knock on the library door. Papilia groaned, but she forced herself to put on a cheery face as she cantered over to answer it. “Coming!” she called.

When she opened the door, her smile melted into a look of confusion. “Uh, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, hello there.” She squinted inquisitively at the pair. “What brings you two here?”

“Oh, you know,” Pinkie Pie said, “we just wanted to see our good friend.” She smiled and blinked innocently at the Twilight look-alike.

“Right,” Papilia deadpanned. “In that case, why don't you come on in?”

“Uh, no,” said Fluttershy, perhaps a bit too quickly. “We can't.”

“Why not?”

“Because, uh...”

“Because we came to invite you to a party!” squealed Pinkie Pie. She grabbed Papilia by her front hooves and yanked her out onto the street, shutting the library door behind her.

“We did?” Fluttershy asked. Then she remembered her role. “I mean, yes, we did. We and the other girls are having a party over at the park, and it wouldn't be the same without you there.”

“The park?” asked a slightly dizzy Papilia as she extricated herself from Pinkie's grip.

“Um, it's more of a picnic than a party...”

“But that doesn't mean it won't be just as fun-tastic as a real Pinkie Pie party. I mean, what's a picnic without fun and games? Boorrring.”

“Uh huh.” Papilia had recovered from her surprise at being dragged from the library, and she leaned in close to Fluttershy, an inquisitive eyebrow raised. “Is this about the foals? Because if it is, I don't think this is the place to discuss--”

“Well then,” said Pinkie Pie, “let's stop talking and get walking!”

She started to half-drag Papilia down the street. The beleaguered changeling stretched out feebly in the direction of the library door, but was soon resigned to walking alongside Pinkie. Fluttershy, after glancing nervously up and down the street, followed them at a short distance.

Meanwhile, a Rainbow-maned head popped stealthily out of a nearby bush. Rainbow Dash gestured silently with her hoof toward the back of the library, and three figures snuck around the tree and into the back door.

***

“I don't understand it,” Twilight Sparkle said as she pulled a dozen books off the shelf at once, scanned their titles in dismay, and tossed them haphazardly onto the growing pile of rejects in the center of the room. “The Elements of Harmony, a Reference Guide, should have been right here somewhere.”

“Maybe it just got misshelved?” Applejack suggested.

“I hate to say it,” said Rarity, running her hoof along a shelf of books to keep track of which titles she had already read, “but we might have had better luck with Pinkie helping in here. She does seem to have a knack for finding books.”

“To be honest, Spike is the one who usually finds books for me,” Twilight admitted. “But I was positive it was around here somewhere...”

Rarity slammed her hoof into the shelf with a loud thump. “Ooh, that imposter of mine. Not only kidnapping Spikey-Wikey, but doing so at the most inopportune moment as well. When we find the Elements, I'm going to make sure to teach her a lesson.”

“When we find the Elements of Harmony, we're gonna teach all of them changelings a lesson,” said Applejack.

Suddenly, there was a crash as a rainbow-colored blur burst in through the window, scattering the pile of books as she landed in a heap in the middle of the room.

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight hissed. “Are you trying to get us caught?”

“I don't think that's an issue anymore,” Rainbow said, hurriedly picking herself up. “They know we're here. We have to go, now.”

She gestured toward the back door.

Twilight's eyes grew wide at the news, but she shook her head. “No. Not until we find the Elements of Harmony.”

Rainbow pranced in place anxiously as Twilight pulled another group of books from the shelf. The pegasus opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by a loud bang as the front door of the library slammed open.

Twilight's head turned at the sudden noise, and what she saw made her heart skip a beat: her double had returned, and she was not alone. Papilia walked into the middle of the room, flanked by copies of Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and not one but two Pinkie Pies. The last Pinkie to enter the room shut the door behind her and stood in front of it like she was standing guard. Similarly, the changeling impersonating Applejack took advantage of everypony's shock to slip around them to guard the back entrance. Papilia herself used her telekinesis to close and lock the shutters on the windows, leaving the reading room in half-light.

The changeling princess stopped in front of Twilight's stunned form and looked her over.

“It really is you,” she mused. “I half expected you to try to escape again, but to think you got this far...”

Twilight finally found her voice. “What have you done to our friends?” she asked. “Where are the real Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?”

“You mean you don't recognize them?” said Papilia. “Let me reintroduce you, then.”

She stomped her hoof twice in quick succession, and the ponies in question immediately sprang to her side, staring straight ahead into space. Now that they were closer, Twilight and the others could see the telltale green glow in Fluttershy and Pinkie's eyes.

“No,” Twilight mouthed.

“That's right,” said Papilia. “You may have somehow evaded my mother's grasp, but right now, I have the upper hoof.”

Wait, mother?

“Hang on, I remember you now,” Twilight said. “You're that changeling princess from before, in Canterlot Tower.”

“Who now?” asked Applejack.

“She's the one from the memory the changelings altered.” Twilight glared at Papilia. “The one that put us under that 'Hivemind' spell.”

“You actually remembered me this time,” Papilia said, impressed. “Yes, I am Princess Papilia, only royal daughter of Queen Chrysalis and heir to the changeling throne.” She gave a sarcastic curtsy.

Applejack snorted. “Hmph. I still don't rightly remember you, but do you remember who we are? We've taken on hundreds of you changelings before, and won. And now you've gone and invaded our home. Let's see who has the upper hoof here.”

Papilia stood absolutely still as the farmpony charged her, a smile on her face. Applejack planted her front hooves on the floor and spun around for one of her trademark applebucking kicks.

Before Applejack could deliver the hit, however, the hypnotized Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie sprang in front of Papilia, blocking her from attack. Applejack hesitated, balancing uneasily on her front legs, before losing her balance and toppling over sideways.

“Ah, ah, ah,” scolded Papilia. “I wouldn't do that if I were you. Not if you want your friends to remain unharmed.”

“That's cheating!” Applejack said, picking herself up off the floor.

“No,” said Papilia, “that's strategy. I knew you couldn't bring yourself to attack your friends, so I brought them along as insurance.”

“Why, you--” Applejack began, but Papilia ignored her. She let her eyes wander about the room, taking in the half-empty shelves and coming to rest on the books strewn about the floor.

“What were you doing in here, anyway?” she asked.

“What makes you think we'd tell you?” Twilight retorted.

“They were looking for the Elements of Harmony,” said Rainbow Dash.

Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity turned to stare at her in disbelief, but realization dawned at Papilia's next statement.

“Good work, Number 5. Although you should have alerted me immediately when you found out they were here.”

“I apologize, your highness.”

“You're a changeling too?” Twilight burst out.

Number five flashed her an apologetic grin and went to stand by the back door next to the changeling Applejack. Twilight quickly glanced at the other Rainbow Dash in the room, who was hovering over the front entrance. She had merely to notice the green glow in her eyes to convince herself that this was the real Rainbow Dash.

“So, the Elements of Harmony...” Papilia said, musing over the new information. “But those were back in Canterlot, weren't they? We were lying in wait at Canterlot Tower specifically because you were looking for them there. But then, why else would you have come all the way back here?”

As the changeling princess thought out loud, Twilight looked around the room for a way out of the situation. They could probably push their way past the changelings guarding the back door, but that would mean leaving half of the group behind, trapped in the changeling hypnosis, not to mention leaving the Elements of Harmony in the clutches of the changelings. There had to be some way to snap her friends out of it; she had no doubt the group could take on the changelings in a fair fight instead of this painful standoff.

“At any rate, I can't let you run around and ruin this mission for me. You've humiliated me enough already, Twilight Sparkle.”

With a wave of Papilia's horn, green flames erupted around Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity, congealing around their hooves into a now-familiar green gel, immobilizing them.

“Now,” said Papilia, “back into the Hivemind with--”

“Wait!”

The shout echoed in the silence that followed it. Everyone turned toward the source, which turned out to be Rarity.

“What do you mean, wait?” said Papilia, apparently shaken by this unexpected outburst.

“What do you mean, Twilight humiliated you?” countered Rarity.

“Are we really having this conversation? She knows what she did, and I'm not about to let her--”

“Actually,” Twilight interrupted, desperate to stall for any time she could. “I'm not sure I do know. Are you talking about how I escaped you long enough for Chrysalis to recapture me? Because that seems kind of petty...”

“That's Queen Chrysalis to you!” Papilia said, her voice rising. “And not only did you escape me, you escaped the Hivemind spell I wrote for you, twice now, and saw through my Glamour right in front of my mother. I had a perfect record with illusions before you came along, you know. If you still think that's petty--”

The changeling disguised as Applejack spoke up. “Temper, your highness.”

“Yes, thank you Number 2.” Papilia took a deep breath and sighed. “I don't need to get worked up over this. Soon they'll be out of our manes and back in the Hivemind, where they can't interfere with our mission.”

“Would that be the same Hivemind that you say Twilight keeps breaking out of?” asked Rarity. “You'll excuse me, dear, if I don't think that's the best strategy.”

Papilia deflated. One of her eyes developed an involuntary twitch.

“Now,” Rarity continued, the floor hers, “you could put us back in the Hivemind spell, and we'd just break out again, further humiliating you in front of your subordinates...”

“Or?” prompted Papilia.

“...Or, you could redeem yourself. I propose a duel between yourself and the real Twilight Sparkle.”

“What?” Twilight shouted.

“Interesting,” Papilia said, having regained some of her composure. “And I suppose you want me to let you all go if she wins?”

“Naturally,” answered Rarity.

“And when she loses? I don't see how I can possibly gain from this. I already have you at my mercy.”

“If she loses,” Rarity said, “Twilight will tell you how we were able to escape the Hivemind so easily. You will never have to worry about our freedom again.”

“Rarity, what are you doing?” Twilight whispered, leaning in close as Papilia silently considered the proposal.

“Trying to buy us some time. Just concentrate on defeating her for now.”

“Don't I get a say in this?”

“You're the only one who really stands a chance taking her on. Besides, her grudge against you is the only reason she's even considering it right now.”

“And what happens when she figures out I don't actually know why her spell didn't work right on Pinkie and I?”

“If you beat her, it hopefully won't come to that.”

“I've decided,” Papilia said suddenly, startling them. “I accept your duel.”

The bonds holding the ponies dissolved, and Rarity and Applejack were tossed unceremoniously across the room by the changeling's green aura, which coalesced into goo again when they hit the floor.

“Now, make your first move,” Papilia said to Twilight, who was still in shock from the sudden turn of events. “Too slow. I'll start then.”

A beam shot upward from her horn, causing a dark vapor to swirl outward and cover the ceiling. A low rumble sounded as the raincloud took form. Twilight stumbled back, away from her opponent. A bolt of lightning struck where she had just been standing, leaving a blackened scar on the floor.

Twilight stared at the burnt spot for a second before her mind finally kicked in. Before another bolt of lightning could strike, she shot a spell at the cloud which froze it into ice. The now solid cloud crashed to the floor between the combatants, shattering into pieces. Twilight immediately levitated as many shards as she could and flung them at Papilia, who charged her magic to protect herself.

The shards of ice vaporized upon touching Papilia's defensive spell, and when the mist touched the other pieces of ice on the floor they too became vapor, so that the whole room was soon shrouded in silvery fog.

Twilight lit her horn and peered into the whiteness, trying to regain her bearings. Papilia, and indeed the rest of the library, was nowhere to be seen, hidden behind thick sheets of mist.

“Not bad,” came the changeling's voice from behind her. “But you'll have to do better than that to beat me.”

Twilight spun around and shot a flare in the direction of the voice, only to be met with laughter from a completely different direction.

“You didn't honestly think I would give away my position so easily, did you? Thank you for giving away yours, though.”

Twilight jumped as a blob of goo flew past her, missing by inches. She grabbed a book off the ground and flung it in the direction she thought the attack had come from, clearing a temporary path through the cloud which revealed nothing but an irritated Rarity, rubbing her side with her one free hoof where the book had hit her.

“Ouch! Twilight, you're supposed to be aiming at her, not us.”

“Sorry,” said Twilight, “but I can't exactly see very well at the moment.”

She watched as the mist closed back around Rarity. The book may have been misaimed, but it had given her an idea. Quickly gathering up as many books as she could in her telekinesis, she began to spin them around herself, enclosing herself in a cylindrical shell of ink and paper. A green fireball hurtled towards her, but it merely hit one of the books, fizzling out into a green stain on the cover.

Twilight was pleased to see the fog in her immediate vicinity lifting. She widened the circle of books, blowing the fog to the edges of the room and revealing a surprised Papilia by the library entrance. The changeling princess had time for a mouthed “What the...?” before two dozen heavy books slammed into her, knocking her backwards through the door and out onto the dirt road beyond.

Twilight was quick to close the distance between them, running after her into the sunlight. Papilia recovered quickly, springing to her feet at the sight of the unicorn chasing after her.

“You really want to take this outside?” Papilia asked, trying to sound unimpressed but failing to hide the trembling in her voice.

“Of course I do!” said Twilight. “Those are my books in there. Who knows how much damage you've already done to them with all that moisture.”

“Fair enough,” said Papilia, turning her head nervously in all directions.

“Wait a minute,” said Twilight as she continued watching the changeling's antics. “You aren't afraid that somepony will see us and figure out you changelings are here, are you?”

“Of course not,” said Papilia, taking one last look down the road to convince herself nopony was there.

“Because that would bring an end to your evil plans pretty quickly, wouldn't it?”

“Evil? You don't even know what we're doing here.”

“Let's see,” said Twilight, holding a hoof up to her chin in mock concentration. “So far you've destroyed my home city, ruined my brother's wedding, kidnapped Princess Celestia, stole my identity, and brainwashed my friends. Yep, sounds pretty evil to me.”

“If it makes you feel better, sure, changelings are totally evil,” said Papilia. “It won't make a difference what you think once I defeat you.”

“And you're so sure you can do that how?”

“Please,” said Papilia. “I would have had you last time if my mother hadn't shown up. You may have found a trick for escaping the Hivemind, one which I will be hearing about in detail shortly, but you're still just a pony. You don't stand a chance against a royal changeling, just like your pathetic princess didn't.”

Twilight's anger burst out of her in the form of a searing red beam of energy, aimed directly at Papilia. The changeling moved so fast Twilight could barely follow her movements, but it was still barely fast enough. The beam of energy grazed by her cheek, singing her coat slightly.

“So that's how you want to play,” Papilia snarled, erasing the singed line with a spark of green fire. “Fine. Two can play at that game.”

Without warning, she loosed her own beam of green energy at Twilight. However, Twilight had anticipated the attack, and Papilia took longer to charge up than she did. She rolled to the side to dodge, ending up back on her hooves. Then she charged.

Papilia jerked her horn down, and Twilight found her front hooves pinned to the ground, her forward momentum attempting to flip her onto her back. Twilight grabbed herself with her own telekinesis and performed a graceful flip, landing on her hooves and narrowly missing Papilia' second energy beam.

“Heh,” Twilight said, panting. “Clever, trying to hit me in the air where it's harder to change direction.”

She jumped back as a third beam hit the ground where she had been standing.

I know about your little charge-then-teleport trick,” Papilia said, also breathing heavily. “I'm not about to fall for it. If you really think you can beat me, you shouldn't need to rely on cowardly tactics like that.”

“Big words, coming from a changeling,” Twilight replied heatedly.

“You think borrowing your ugly looks is the only thing we can do? Need I remind you my mother defeated Celestia, the strongest pony of them all? And that was with only one unicorn's love. For days, we've been feeding off hundreds.”

“Then you won't mind proving it. Your magic against mine, just like Chrysalis and Princess Celestia. Let's see who's really stronger, ponies or changelings.”

“Gladly.”

They squared off across from one another. Their eyes met, and they shot daggers across the intervening distance. On an unspoken signal, both combatants fired their attacks.

The beams met halfway between them, stray energy crackling at the interface between green and magenta. Both combatants braced themselves against the impact, their hooves digging up mounds of dirt as they pushed against the surface of the road. It was now a battle of wills. One which Papilia was astonished to find herself losing.

Papilia concentrated harder, but she could not prevent the magenta beam from inching its way toward her. It was like pushing back the ocean using a fire hose. Shouldn't she be at least as strong as Celestia? Hadn't Queen Chrysalis allowed her to take her fill of love from the citizens of Canterlot? Only one option presented itself to her: could this mare before her somehow be even more powerful than Celestia?

The beam was now within a few lengths of her. While she still had time, Papilia decided to change tactics.

Twilight grinned as Papilia's magic faltered. The changeling would have no time to dodge with the beam already at this range. Twilight was sure she had won. She felt a surge of pride for ponykind: changeling magic was clearly not as superior as Papilia had claimed. The unicorn put one last burst of energy into her attack, to repay the changelings for what their Queen had done to Princess Celestia, before falling back to recharge.

Just before the beam hit, however, a familiar-looking wall of light rose up in front of Papilia, expanding into a round shield and dissipating the magical energy as it passed through. Indeed, the bubble of energy shone all the brighter, as if absorbing the magic into itself.

“That's Shining Armor's shield spell!” Twilight shouted, her mouth agape.

“Yes,” said Papilia, her face distorted behind the wall of energy. “Brother taught me a few tricks before I left Canterlot.”

“What have you monsters done to him?”

Papilia opened her mouth to reply, then paused as she caught sight of something in her peripheral vision.

“Nothing, of course. He's my brother.”

“What are you talking about? He's my brother!” Twilight protested, initially confused by this sudden change of tactics. Then she spotted the small crowd their battle had attracted, and she realized this act was meant for them.

“That's exactly what an impostor like you would say,” said Papilia from inside the shield.

“I'll prove to everyone here that I'm the real Twilight Sparkle,” said Twilight. “If you were really me, you would know one glaring weakness of force fields like that.”

With a flash of light, she disappeared and reappeared on the other side, right in Papilia's face.

“If you don't pour enough magic into it, a practiced unicorn can teleport right inside.”

Twilight's forward momentum met Papilia's chest as the changeling reared up in surprise, and she ended up flat on her back with Twilight's hooves planted firmly on top of her. The spell dissipated as her breath was knocked out of her.

Papilia looked up at the stern face of the unicorn above her. Her eyes grew wide like saucers as she realized the helplessness of her situation, and she flinched when she saw Twilight's horn begin to glow again.

“Now we'll show these ponies what you really are,” Twilight said.

Tapping her horn against Papilia's forehead, she sent a wave of magic over the disguised changeling. However, when it had passed, the figure before her was still covered in lavender fur, and her eyes when they opened in confusion were a mirror to Twilight's own. The changeling princess looked down at her body, noting the lack of any change in its appearance.

“Huh. Nothing.”

“What?” cried Twilight. “No!”

She quickly performed the de-cloaking spell again, and then another time, but to no avail.

“Why isn't it working?” she said in a panic.

Papilia started chuckling softly. “After what happened last time, did you think I wouldn't take precautions against you breaking my Glamour, Twilight Sparkle?” she whispered to the dumbstruck unicorn.

The crowd started to murmur amongst themselves.

“You have to believe me, everypony,” Twilight called out desperately. “She's a changeling disguised as me, you have to help--”

Papilia interrupted her, putting on a terrified expression and calling out to the crowd as well.

“Don't believe her, she's the impostor! She overpowered me and now she's trying to replace me!”

“That's ridiculous!” Twilight said. “You're the one who's trying to replace me.”

“From down here?” Papilia said, trying to look as pitiful as possible. “Anypony can see I'm the victim here.”

Already a group of townsponies was approaching, anger in their eyes at the apparent mistreatment of their librarian. Papilia leaned in close to Twilight, sporting a grin of triumph.

“If I were you, I'd run.”

Twilight didn't need a second prompting. One of the first ponies to reach them swung a tennis racket at her head, missing by inches. Then the rest of the crowd charged. Twilight bolted down the street, not stopping to see what had become of Papilia, just barely keeping ahead of her pursuers.

If she had been less preoccupied with saving her skin from her fellow townsponies, Twilight might have groaned at the all-too-familiar nature of this scene. She also might have remembered not to turn blindly down the same dead-end alleyway these same ponies had cornered her in almost two years ago. Back then they had been trying to weasel a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala out of her; this time, they were not in so friendly a mood.

As she was backed up against the brick wall by the advancing crowd of irate ponies, Twilight felt the last dregs of her magic well up in a familiar instinctual urge to teleport to safety. Seeing no other way out, she let the magic wash over her, intending to lead the ponies back to the library, where they would find indisputable proof that her friends had been captured by changelings, and not the other way around.

However, something seemed off about the spell this time. Twilight felt a sudden tugging at her horn, as if some force was trying to rip it off. A great burst of magic poured out of her, far more than she had intended to use, or even suspected she had left, but she did not feel the wave of tiredness she usually associated with such a display. Neither was the aura her usual magenta color, but a pale silver, which formed a swirling ring around her as the teleportation spell took effect. Twilight had one last glimpse of the crowded alleyway before she winked out of existence and it was replaced by a grassy field with a border of trees.

It took Twilight a minute to realize that she had landed at the edge of the Everfree Forest.

Before she had time to wonder why the spell had taken her there instead of the library, she felt a tugging on her horn again, accompanied by the same silver aura as before. This time, she was unmistakably being dragged  in the direction of the dark row of trees in front of her. She gave a cry as she was pulled off-balance, and dug her hooves into the ground in an attempt to right herself and resist the pull, but the spell proved too strong for her. Her hooves skidded forward, leaving trails of upturned earth in their wake as she was dragged under the shadow of the trees and out of sight.