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// Scything Wheat 
// Story: Once Bitten 
// by Damaged 
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Sky Soar's heart beat fast as the nymphs entered his class. Under his voice Sky couldn't stop himself saying, "I can't do this," but then all those little faces looked up at him and reminded him that teaching was his destiny. "Welcome class," confidence rose, and Sky flashed himself with his magic and took the form of what he thought he would look like as an adult pony, "and today we have a special topic: using your shapechanging for tactical gains."

Shining's interest perked up at the topic and she found herself paying close attention to the lesson. Seeing her teacher as a pony helped her relax a little more than usual, too.

"Since we have mostly dealt with adult pony shapes so far, you all noticed the drain on your reserves when you changed. Shapechanging only uses energy based off the differences between you and your assumed form. Does anyling have any conclusions to draw from that already?" Sky felt a little twinge of the panic set in, when his mind flashed a memory of dozens of other classes he had taught this to.

Raising her hoof, Sweetie Belle was eager to learn, and wanted to show that she was learning. "So as nymphs we use more energy up doing anything except foal-like forms?" She blushed a little at the end of her question, but immediately brightened when Sky Soar nodded.

Just seeing Sweetie so happy made Sky's heart… soar. "That's right. Now, the first important trick when shapechanging is conservation of injury. Put simply, you can repair any injuries at the cost of energy as easily as adding wings or a horn, but it uses energy. Can any of you suggest ways this could be used to your advantage?"

Scootaloo raised her hoof, but Sky winked at her and called on Golden Beat instead. 

"Uh," Golden tapped his forehooves together, "we could heal ourselves when fighting?"

"A very powerful tool, but you must prioritize wounds. A long graze would take far more energy to heal than a clean cut." Sky noticed Shining Armor's extremely interested look. "There is another aspect, and it has to do with lying. Vinyl?"

"You could make yourself look more injured so others leave you alone." Shining spoke his thoughts while his mind raced onward, realizing how much danger an army of such creatures could be.

"Absolutely. A well fed changeling is more than a match for several evenly skilled opponents, more so if they are not aware of them. Then there is the advantages that shifting can give you in combat in a more offensive role." Sky gestured to Shining and smiled. "Would you join me up here, please?"

Plans for the future all crashed in around Shining Armor, and she focused on the here and now. Looking as tiny as could be, she walked slowly up to the front of the class, shapechanging halfway there to look like a little unicorn, filly version of herself. "Hi!"

"A very good start." Sky Soar gestured at Shining. "To ponies, Vinyl would appear as a cute little filly, probably lost and wanting to find her parents…"

"Please? She is around here somewhere…" Shining turned her head left and right, and danced on her forehooves in mock anxiety.

"…But I am a changeling, and I know she is a changeling too." Sky charged magic in his horn and aimed at Shining, only to have the mild blast hit the ground where Shining had been. "Fast, but are you fast enough?"

Shining jumped a second time as another bolt of green fire lanced at her. While she dodged, her mind raced at what she could do to gain the upper hoof. Becoming faster was an idea, but speed was almost the same as luck in a fight. Going on the offensive was another, but she didn't know how to blast without hurting. Her mind raced for a shape that would give her something better, and when she got a chance she jumped on what came to mind.

"Well now I didn't expect you to go that far." Sky Soar froze as green fire unwrapped from Shining to reveal a young timber wolf. "Why did you choose that form?"

"I have fought timber wolves before. They are fast, tough, and have a unique advantage over magic users." Shining stepped up closer and took a blast in the shoulder.

Not having seen a timber wolf before, Sky froze as the branches ripped from Shining's shoulder at the blast, but then when they seemed to flow back into shape he was astounded. "That… I need to learn that one. Very, very good. You analyzed the situation and removed the benefit I had over you."

Shining grinned widely, but didn't shift back from the wolf form. "Was that everything?"

"I want you to come at me again, and stop at first blood." Sky saw shock register on every nymph's face, and doubly so on Shining's oddly expressive lupine one. "It is for the demonstration, please." He stepped back and once more gained a ready stance.

Serious duels had been part of tests in the Guard, and Shining Armor recognized the tone Sky Soar took as one of someling trying to make a point. She bared her teeth and leaped forward.

Sky called his flames, adjusted his pony form only a little, and grinned as Shining's fangs closed around his foreleg. "To 'first blood' is usually used to test well-trained combatants. I used the phrase to prove that sometimes out-thinking an opponent is almost always better than out-fighting them."

Pulling back, Shining looked at the leg she had bitten. Not only wasn't there any sign that she had even been mauling, but she was pretty sure that Sky's fur had actually pricked her mouth like quills. "That is really clever."

"Explain what I did to the class, please." Sky walked forward and made a gesture to call the nymphs forward to examine him.

"His skin is thick and tough, and a little loose." Shining continued to stare at Sky. "And his fur is all prickly, like a hedgehog's back!"

"It's like a bear's skin." Apple Bloom reached her hoof out to rub Sky's leg to feel for herself. "Ah know because Fluttershy let me meet Harry one time, and Ah got to pet him." She froze for a moment, and before anyling could say anything, she started to cry. "I wanna go home!"

To Tartarus with my energy. Shining called her fire and dashed forward, changed back into Vinyl's form, and wrapped both forelegs around Apple Bloom and pulled in for a tight hug. "It's okay, Apple Bloom. Shhh."

"But I want Applejack! I want to see my brother!" Apple Bloom thumped her little hooves on Shining's chest. "I want to go back to Ponyville! I want to go back to my farm!"

Sky Soar saw more faces cloud with tears, and knew he had lost them. In all his time teaching changelings, none had broken down quite like this, and what was worse he wanted to cry with them. "We all do." He didn't lie, he couldn't. 

"Sky?" Shining looked across at her teacher. "Why don't you go get Thorax, Glimmer, and try to find Scythe. I think all the nymphs need a break and a snuggle." She nodded her head towards the last four of their pail, Scythe's pledge.

Shaking his head, Sky Soar nodded and dashed for the wall. The door was about to open, and when it did Scythe, Sunset, and Thorax were all on the other side staring right at him. "I don't know what happened, one nymph started crying and now…" He stepped aside.

Thorax's heart nearly ripped in two, and she chirped her wings in shock and rushed in. "Hey, hey everybuggy. Calm down." Nearly every head in the room turned towards her. The four nymphs that weren't part of her little group did turn, once they realized everyling else was. "Why don't we all sit down and have a snuggle, and talk about our families?" She walked to the back end of the cave, all the nymphs following her.

"What… what the bug is going on? I've never seen nymphs like this!" Scythe glared at Sunset, then Sky. "Come on, tell me what it is." She almost snarled the last, not liking how everything with this pail seemed to be strange.

Sunset opened her mouth to reply, but Sky cut her off. 

"Why don't you ask Thorax. I got no clue why, but they all seem to fawn over her." Sky yawned. "My pledge wanted to sleep around her last night. Damn little nymphs, you get used to their warmth and then they buzz away to someling else."

"Don't yawn…" Scythe groaned and yawned too. "Ugh, now you have me doing it." Scythe stomped down to the gathering at the end of the room. All the nymphs were gathered around Thorax, and although one of them was talking about some farm, Scythe cut in. "What gives? You are meant to be learning!"

"They are nymphs, Scythe." Thorax glared at Scythe with the first hint of irritation she had experienced for a while. "Let them talk about their homes before they forget them like everybuggy does."

"What do you mean?" Scythe sneered. "They need to get over it and move on." She narrowed her eyes and glared at Thorax. "I think I need to get the Hivemaster, something stupid is going—" Scythe was shoved sideways by a great mass. She looked up from her fallen position, and saw Sky Soar. "Articulate? What the bug are you doing?"

"We are leaving, now." Sky turned and looked at Thorax. "I mean it, this is going too far. We can't keep Scythe restrained forever."

Thorax looked at the last four nymphs who hadn't spent enough time with her yet to fully free their minds. "You're right, but this really is too soon. I wanted to teach them all—"

Would you two mind telling me what you are talking about?" Scythe shoved her legs underneath her and stood back up. "Because from where I stand this sounds like treason!"

"Sky Soar," Thorax smiled to her friend, "please make sure that Scythe doesn't hurt anybuggy." She turned back to the nymphs gathered around her. "Let's get you home." The cheer that the nymphs gave lightened her heart.

"Just come with us calmly, Scythe. You don't need to fight for a queen who doesn't love you." Sky slid into his pony shape, plus his combat adaptions. "Or have you forgotten who taught you how to shapechange, and how to fight?"

The question stalled Scythe's attack, and she stared at Sky. "I… I can't be expected to remember that!" She didn't shift to a pony shape at all, adjusting her changeling form to have long spines and harder chitin.

"Remember who taught you to fight? Or who taught you magic?" Sky Soar dove forward and shoved his way between the sharp thorns on Scythe's chitin. "I remember an earth pony filly who was scared at what was going to come out of her new body." He twisted and shoved Scythe away from the procession of nymphs leaving the room. 

"Earth pony?" Scythe froze for a moment, but regained her guard when Sky came at her. "So what! I was young and stupid then!" She adjusted her stance at the last second and Sky yelped when a thorn bit into his hide.

"No poison this time Scythe? I thought I taught you better than that!" Sky flapped his wings and aimed all four legs at Scythe's back. Crashing into the other 'ling, he pinned her down. "I remember when that nymph laid her changeling egg out, and a little head poked free of it. I remember when you were born, Scythe."

"S-S-Sky?" Scythe's fight left her, and she stared at Sky with wide eyes. "But you are Articulate!"

"And you were known as Buttermilk back then. I don't care about you if you still want to fight me, but let us save these nymphs. What Queen Chrysalis is doing is wrong, she is clouding everyling's minds" Sky Soar stood up, and stepped off Scythe. "I am done, we are leaving."

"Sky!" Scythe flashed her fire and shed her combat form. "Sky I… Dammit why am I crying? This is all wrong and feels like I am being a bad bug, but you are right." She was rambling, and knew it. "Noling deserves this."