Cagey

The group landed in a heap, some of them upside-down. @Props ValRoa Magloria's saddlebags spilled open enough for a cookie to fall out and smack into Frostbite's mane. An orange hoof was stepping on his tail and a gray wing was in his face, though, so he didn't notice it, too busy pushing away from the pile and reorienting himself. They took a moment to adjust to the new location and the group of ponies standing in front of them.

@Props ValRoa And thus, Frostbite was left without an answer, embarrassed and frustrated by the emotions he'd worked so hard on never feeling, doomed to friendship for the foreseeable future. Friendship is magic, after all.

Uh. That was a lot to dump on the crowd; Magloria wasn't as put-together as she seemed. Frostbite was momentarily silenced by the unfolding drama, but once @Princess Silky turned away from @Props ValRoa Magloria, he pulled Silky aside again. "I don't care about you two's tragic backstory. You must've messed up the potion, because this -- fondness -- isn't normal! Tell me it'll wear off, at least!"

Frostbite chasing Silky, Magloria chasing Frostbite, Silky hiding behind Magloria, Gust lunging for Frostbite and missing, careening to the side, Silky shouting, ponies crying out, the foals scrambling to follow Silky's order to Reality -- everything was chaos. Frostbite yanked @Princess Silky out from behind Magloria @Props ValRoa with his magic, but he didn't get too close. "These... feelings," he spat, "aren't mine. You put them into my head with your magic potion. I don't want them, I don't want to feel--" He cut himself off, snarling. "You did this. Make them... go away."

"I don't know," Frostbite retorted, eyes darting to the side, still looking for Silky like he was desperate to fix whatever it was. He pulled away from Magloria, agitated and strangley jittery, though his fierce glare didn't abate. "She messed with my -- my head, and I hate it." Under the darkness, it was impossible to tell that his face was red. The other ponies were staring at him with a combination of apprehension and worry, which just angered him more. He fluffed his floof and growled at them. He and Magloria argued a bit, and were distracted enough that they didn't notice Cali @Sycofear13 scooting around Magloria's saddlebags. They were so distracted that until the group started moving back towards the door, Frostbite didn't notice @Princess Silky's reappearance. When an orange stallion @Totally Lyra approached, asking what was going on, Frostbite did take notice, though -- there was Silky's glowing necklace. Forgetting Gust's question, he bolted forward. "YOU!"

Frostbite wrenched away from @Props ValRoa Magloria's magic grip, at a delay. "Don't speak for me!" There was something cornered in his voice, harsh and wild but also not exactly angry. "Calm?" Frostbite echoed, blinking rapidly, as though struggling to focus on Silky. "Hey! Where are you going? What did you do to me, why can't I think normally, why is --" His tail lashed the air, ears flat against his mane, and he glanced at Magloria before turning sharply away -- only to see Silky disappear into the darkness. "GET BACK HERE!"

@Props ValRoa Everypony waited, tensely frozen, as the fumes dissipated. Frostbite's face had scrunched up in disgust, either at the smell or at the act of cowardice or a little of both, but then -- He blinked. Then he looked at Magloria, her face impassive, then at the wide-eyed Silky behind her. Then back at Magloria. Then he blinked again, and the disgust on his face was replaced for the briefest of moments with confusion, before it settled into a familiar snarl. "What did you -- you do to me?" he growled, but his voice sounded funny, and his eyes kept sliding away from the ponies, like he couldn't maintain eye contact.

"I have no need for the gems, but there'll be no freedom if that pony is leading us to our doom," Frostbite snapped back. The debate was momentarily waived by Magloria's words: The kirin nodded, striding up to @Princess Silky. "Prove it with your blood, too."

@Props ValRoa Frostbite blinked at being addressed by the suspiciously cheerful pony, then scowled. "We're the changelings? I could say the same about you! If I were a changeling, I'd at least pretend to get along with you weak ponies. Changelings are all about deception, like what you're trying to do now." He poked Sophie with a hoof. "We found the gems, so they're ours."

@Props ValRoa "Her argument is baseless," Frostbite grumbled, not taking his eyes off the cloaked pony. "The whole point of being a changeling is deception. She'd gain nothing from fighting us -- the entire fight could've been a ruse to make us trust her." They watched as the door glowed. If anything, Silky's words had made Frostbite even more suspicious. The worst part was that there was no way of making sure she was telling the truth. They couldn't ask her to say something only the real Silky would know; one of the changelings had known about a pony Frostbite had grown up with, back in the fight. The changeling had used it against him. There was no telling how much intel their enemies had. Not for the first time, Frostbite wondered: what was the evil changeling queen's goal?

Upon hearing @Princess Silky's announcement, Frostbite and Magloria @Props ValRoa exchanged a glance. "She could be a changeling," Frostbite said before Magloria could voice whatever was going on behind her icy eyes, "but I'm not waiting around, either way." He marched back, retreading their path until he reached a fork in the maze, where he took the path leading in the direction the cloaked pony had gone. In the clearing, the pony was staring at an intricately-engraved door embedded into the walls of roots, like it had been forgotten and overgrown for centuries rather than magically sprouted by an evil changeling. There were divots in the door, almost like pieces were meant to fit into it. There was a hoof-full of other ponies in the clearing, and the cloaked pink pony was chattering with some foals. Frostbite approached warily.

Frostbite eyed her, trying to see if she had an ulterior motive, but her eyes gave nothing away. He nodded sharply. "Obviously." He hated staying put, doing nothing, but she was right that they shouldn't play into the changelings' hooves. And it was as good of an excuse as any to avoid any double-edged conversation.

They walked as far as they could before reaching the far wall. It seemed like everything was entirely enclosed. Frostbite squinted at the wall of roots; he couldn't see or hear anything beyond from the rest of the ponies who had been at the gathering. If force wasn't going to work, and general magic had no noticeable effect, there had to be some other way out. Being confined made him restless, and all he wanted to do was fight the changeling queen who'd put him here. She'd said something earlier -- right before siccing her followers on them. He couldn't remember. It'd had something to do with the ponies arguing. He figured it didn't matter, instead prodding the ground. Digging their way out probably wouldn't work, and even if it would, he wasn't about to do something so degrading. Maybe there was a specific spell that could work?

"Magical Mystery Cure" for me. Not a problem with Twilight's ascension, but the pacing, lack of explanation, and sheer density of musical numbers did it.

He noticed her duck her head, but he didn't know what to make of it. A crack in her armor, perhaps. That relieved him, but he didn't want to contend with whatever emotions she was experiencing, especially when there was still bile in his throat. He'd grant her the dignity of sorting it out on her own. He moved past her, walking forward on the path. It felt like a tiny, uncomfortable victory in whatever game he'd been playing throughout his life.

Frostbite lifted his head, swishing his tail back and forth. He wasn't sure how to interpret the look on her face. "You can look at them all you want. I don't need them."

@Props ValRoa Frostbite paused, then collected the gems, only touching them through levitation. He made no move to rejoin the other ponies.

Frostbite stared down at the changeling under him. His axe was buried in its stomach -- it was still breathing, but it might not be soon. He continued to glare unblinkingly at the changeling, shaking with rage or adrenaline or something else -- he couldn't tell; he only knew he hated it. The feeling, and the changeling. Changelings didn't bleed red, he'd found out. Part of him wanted to bring a hoof down, delivering the final blow. Instead, he spat on the ground, leaving the axe in. Back away. He had to back away. Breathe. I hate changelings. He moved slowly, hoping to avoid throwing up. He wasn't weak, he told himself.

Frostbite yelled something and swung the axe, leaping clear over Magloria's head and slamming into the second changeling, axe embedding straight into its torso. It let out a wail, but he was already turning away, back toward the changeling that Magloria had blasted, disregarding the fact that she'd already taken care of it. He didn't care. He wanted blood.

Everything was a blur of color, ponies and changelings and magic and weapons clashing, leaving Frostbite stuck amidst the chaos. He heaved for breath -- how did that changeling know? -- unable to push away scenes as they wormed their way back into his mind, of failure, of jealousy, of rage -- No time. A unicorn (changeling?) leapt out of the scuffle, straight for Magloria, shouting something, and -- there was a spell -- Frostbite jolted to action, but he was too late. Magloria took the hit, falling back with a flash of light, dropping her sword. Frostbite couldn't think. All he knew was that he had an axe. So, with a sudden, wild look in his eyes, he tumbled forward, tackling the unicorn-changeling, and brought the axe down hard.

Frostbite's legs lock up. "How the HAY did you --" His mouth works, but words fail, and he barely manages to dodge, backing into somepony else -- or another changeling, he can't be sure -- yet the changeling advances, leaving no time for him to get his bearings. It looks so much like that pony, and he can remember -- A chain wraps around the creature, pulling it back. Frostbite gasps for breath. The changeling screams something and flies up. Frostbite needs to breathe, but there's no time.