It felt like… Ice. His whole body turned into a solid chunk of frost, petrified by the sound of the malicious voice. There was nothing else in his world other than the skin stretching sensation of the sharp object threatening to tear into his throat. The cool shade provided by the tall maze walls was illuminated slightly by a ghastly greenish glow.

“What’s the matter?” snickered the voice. “Cat got your tongue? You suddenly don’t feel like talking? Or is it just family you don’t want to speak to?”

Chip was too afraid to even gulp – not that his mouth contained anything to swallow at all. Nervously, thoughts ran through his head, each one more panicked than the last. Should he change? No, the blade would slit his throat before his natural armor would emerge. Should he use magic? No, he would need to uncover his horn, which would again be noticed. Buck? He wasn’t even sure the owner of the voice was behind him. What to do… What to do?!

“One could think you are a statue now,” sounded the voice in front of Chip. Slowly, as if a veil was sliding of its body, a changeling appeared. It was a lot shorter than the colt, but was definitely taller than a regular drone. The creature was slicker than the stallion, had a lot less thicker plate and a short, greasy teal mane on her head. It was a she, that was for sure. The changeling’s eyes were blue with hints of green around the edges. And they stared with pure delight at the panicked Chip.

“Oh, Chip… I heard a lot about you,” said the changeling, observing the colt. “I kind of have to thank you, you know? If it wasn’t for you, I would never get the chance I got. The Queen noticed me and helped me. But I’m no failure. I’m not like you”

The mare begun circling Chip, a victorious smirk making her face look even more wretched.

“I watched you for a very long time, you know? It took some time to track you down… But I’m good at what I do. It’s what Queen Chrysalis taught me. And with her guidance and power, here I am, with you. As it was meant to be.” She now whispered into the stallion’s ear: “I can feel it, you know? Everything inside you, it’s so delightful. You’re just like a pony. All these emotions, scents… Now I truly see why you were a failure. You’re tainted. You’re broken. Not like me.”

The changeling strolled into Chip’s view once again. The colt felt the object at his throat move upwards, scraping his skin, cutting down the fake coat that dissipated in green puffs of smoke as it fell. The thing was circling under his chin in big lazy circles, surprisingly not cutting.

“Mmmm, yeeesss… I can feel it all. You know what’s going to happen, don’t you? You still remember how… failed… changelings are treated, right? There is no room for weakness in the hive. You are something even more than a failure, you know? You are a traitor. A disgrace to your own kind.”

The mare approached Chip, almost touching his muzzle with hers.

“But you needn’t worry. I’m here to fix it all. Repair the damage you’ve done. I have a whole life ahead of me, contrary to you. It will all be alright – nopony will know of the changelings. Even if it means that each and every pony will be put to eternal sleep. I’ll start with that big Princess one. She should prove fun to play with. Then Her sister. Your friends. Some of them are already gone, you know? Remember that sweet little cottage near the border?-”

Time slowed down. Cottage? Border? Barracks. Down the road. A home. A filly with her family. No. Just… Impossible. Lies. Lies. No.

“NOOO!!” yelled Chip, butting his head with as much might as he could muster.

The changeling mare got knocked back and the colt felt the sharp object go along with her. A sharp pain followed – the knife cut his chin. But it didn’t matter now. Adrenaline, combined with the essence of fear and hate fueled Chip into action. The terrible images his head spawned blurred his vision out completely…

The enemy recovered just in time to see the colt reassume his original form. The bottom of his muzzle was covered in green ichor, spurting wildly to the ground. Chip lunged at the mare with a wild scream, disregarding the knife that blocked his path. He felt and heard the blade scrape against his plate as he mounted the downed changeling.

Helplessly, the assassin flailed the blade around, looking for an opening – that is, until the first head-butt dazed her. Another followed, causing a cracking noise. And another. And one more…

Almost unconscious, the mare could feel the blade sliding against thick armor. If she could only… A crack… Shove the… Just a bit deeper…

Chip was lying on his side, eyes reduced to but flickering candle lights. There was barely any blood dripping from his chin. The wound inflicted by the dagger stuck in his shoulder, where two plates didn’t quite meet, didn’t hurt anymore. It was getting cold, despite the sun being high up in the sky. It looked down at the scene where grass wasn’t the only green; lots of changeling blood sunk into the ground – some of it was still puddled around Chip, while the rest belonged to the headless carcass of the mare assassin. Her head was smashed to pieces, right into a small crater in the ground where a sticky pool still persisted.

Surprisingly, Chip didn’t have many thoughts. Most of them were just memories – of Chrysalis, of the mares, of his dearest friends and the Princesses. He tried to call out again, but his jaw wouldn’t even budge. He wasn’t sure he even had a mouth anymore. It was strange. He felt light as a feather. He could be swept away by the slightest breeze, should one ever visit the labyrinth which nopony ever ventured into.

The changeling wasn’t sure that he saw anything anymore. His whole world was that of images of the past. Those were warm, at least a little bit, so he tried to move closer to them. The ponies in the visions smiled at him, beckoning him towards them. They reached out for him, helping Chip get up. He felt safe, perhaps for the second time in his whole life. Secure, with his friends and all the smiling faces around. Nothing hurt him anymore. The ponies were talking to him, and he smiled. He could stay like that forever.

“Chip! Chip!” shouted a gray filly, running up to the changeling and snuggling up to him. “Do you think we can play now?”

“Yes, I think so.” replied the colt.

Together, along with Night Star, her husband, Gustav, Cadance and everypony else, they went towards the setting sun, which blinded them… But in a good way. Chip was happy.