Previous >>3317177

After a mighty big scare and some dangerous events (check out the actual story for all the missing details; see the link above), the story continues.

Spitfire marched with Rainbow through the narrow passage and made a sharp turn in the direction where she last saw Thorax lead off. It wasn’t a long path she had to travel, but the narrow and winding path leading to an opening with two slender pillars of opaque ice on either side she had to pass by.

“Hey, Thorax? You didn't leave without us, did ya? I know things got a little scary back there, but—”

“Thorax?” Asked a new red-coated unicorn stallion standing around with six other ponies surrounding Thorax. “I thought you said your name was Blue Vase?”

Thorax turned to face Spitfire and Rainbow, an expression of warning in his eyes.

A tan pegasus mare with an all-pink mane and tail fluttered over Thorax, dropping down between him and the pair of Wonderbolts to size them up. She gave a cocky grin after a second or two of looking them over before turning away to flash them a brief glance of her cutie mark of an open bear trap.

“Hey, Thorax. I thought you said you were alone in here. You know these ponies?”

Ashamedly, Thorax lowered his head and spoke timidly.

“They’re… my friends.”

Together, the seven new ponies erupted in laughter. Some threw their heads back, and others lurched forward, gawking wide-eyed; the others doubled over. All of them openly mocked Thorax as their source of humiliation, and now Spitfire knew that he was among familiar company and started to back away with Rainbow close at her side under her mangled wing.

Two flashes of green light spun up behind her, along with a familiar sound she had heard once in the caves below.

She spun her head in time to see a black hoof flying in towards her line of sight.

Crack!

The punch came seemingly from out of nowhere but hadn’t taken her out. She landed with a thud on the frozen dirt and snow next to Rainbow, and a hoof pressed firmly into the back of her neck. She quickly looked back to see the two pillars of ice had been replaced with changelings.

One stood over her, staring down, grinning, his fangs bared, holding her down, one hoof on her back and the other down on her snout. There was another changeling to her right, shaking his hoof while holding an expression that he also felt the hit he just delivered.

“Oh, she’s a tough one.”

Next to Spitfire, Rainbow had scrambled her hooves over the icy dirt, never finding her footing enough to stand well properly without the support of the wall of ice she found herself pressed against. Not that it mattered; she was already surrounded.

“Spits! What’s happening?! Where are you?!”

As more of the new ponies approached Rainbow, ready to pounce, Thorax tried to take a step forward but was stopped by the red unicorn putting a foreleg around his neck, though that did not stop him from voicing his concern.

“Stop! They’re already hurt! Rainbow Dash can’t even see!”

The red unicorn’s laughing smile turned even wider, pulling Thorax closer into what looked to be a hug.

“Rainbow Dash?!” The unicorn asked aloud with amusement, though the question was more of a statement of shock directed toward Thorax. “Look at you! You stuck it to Pharynx, took down an Element of Harmony, a Wonderbolt, and made it all the way to the exit all on your own? Buddy… Were we ever wrong about you.”

Shocked, Thorax turned to this new stallion with a lowered guard.

“Buddy?”

The red stallion laughed a little but suddenly sighed as he turned his head around behind him, where he frowned.

“Yeah. Sure… And, well… You almost made it to an exit.”

Thorax turned his attention to where the exit should have been. Instead, a clean sheet of ice had been frozen over the threshold. 

“Yeah, our Queen really wanted to know why you up and ran off. But when she heard your brother was the big softy and you were the one taking charge and doing damage, she really wanted to welcome you back. And now that you brought us these two!”

Making a quick turn, the red unicorn was covered in a blur of green light that swirled from his hooves to his horn. After the light faded, his dark changeling form stood next to Thorax and pulled up a bag, reached in, and pulled out a familiar-looking scarab device.

“Urtica! Let's set these up! Our Queen will want to know how more productive Thorax has been than his incompetent brother. Maybe she'll even let us feed before returning to the hive. We're gonna be here for a while, after all.”

Next >>3317190

Who is who in the pic?
Bulky
Earth pony. Dark green fur, short black mane, neon green eyes.
Cutie Mark is a Sludge Hammer.

Urtica
Unicorn. Red fur, blond mane, golden eyes.
Cutie Makr is a Fedora Spy Hat tilted.

Arista
Pegasus. Tan fur, pink mane, orange eyes.
Cutie Mark is a Bear Trap.

Vertex
Pegasus. White mane, light blue colored fur, light blue eyes.
Cutie Mark is a Fleur de lis Scouting Emblem with holes in it.

Plumose
Earth Pony. Dark violet mane, dark blue eyes, light violet fur.
Cutie Mark is a Longhorned Bull Head.

Scutellum
Unicorn. Pink mane, grey fur, orange eyes.
Cutie Mark is a Pair of Pliers.

Malpighian
Unicorn. Blond mane, brown fur, yellow eyes.
Cutie Mark is a Telescope.

Note* Every pony in this picture is a changeling in disguise.