James sighed as he and his patrol were scanned. Unsurprisingly, the only one found to be a Changeling was the one they had captured, the one that acted strangely. He didn't know why, but he was intrigued by him... at least he thought it was a him.
"Sir, what do we do with the prisoner?" asked one of the unicorn regulars.
James looked at the moon. It was lower in the sky, but the time for the attack was still a while away. He hoped the other detachments were in position.
"Leave him here. I'll question him. Just get to your posts."
"Yes sir." The two unicorns left.
He looked at the Changeling, which was still sitting there, looking up into his face.
"What were you doing at that pond?" James asked.
This question was met by surprise, and not only by the Changeling, which looked astonished. "I-I-I thought you were going to ask me something important."
"I just did. What were you doing at the pond?"
The Changeling looked down, as if he were ashamed, but didn't answer. Shield looked like he was about to hit the creature, but James shook his head, and the Guard lowered his hoof, which he had raised to strike.
"..."
"You know, you act differently from the others. You didn't try to kill us, you didn't struggle, you just went along with what we told you." James sat down on a boulder nearby. "Why?"
The Changeling looked up at him, looking afraid. "Be..c-c-cause I'm... different." He said it so quietly James could barely hear him.
"Hmmm?"
"I-I-I w-w-was always different from the other drones." The words began to come, as if an avalanche was slowly starting. "I was a... a... a misfit." The creature looked sadder than ever. "I-I never had the connection the rest of the hive had with the queen. I was capable of independant thought from the moment I was developed enough for it." The Changeling stopped for a moment.
"And?"
"And so I.. was always having trouble. I could never feel the automatic loyalty the rest of the hive has for the ruling queen, and I could never escape the thought that I was insignificant."
"Why were you at the pond?"
"Because I... felt... lost." The Changeling's head fell, his eyes staring at the ground. "I wanted to fit in, for safety as well as for feeling like part of the group." He looked up. "Outcasts - those who are different and don't function as drones are supposed to - are... t-terminated."
"Terminated?" James asked. "As in, killed? Destroyed?"
"Yes, terminated. Only Changeling queens are allowed to have independant thought and functions."
"How are you still alive then?" James asked, curious.
"I managed to act like I was like all the rest; pretended to act normal. I worked and toiled for the good of the hive, being careful not to betray anything."
"And how do we know if we can trust you?" Shield butted in. "For all we know, you're a perfectly loyal Changeling warrior, and this is part of some plot by the queen."
The Changeling jerked away from the fierce Guard. "I... Please, I don't know what she wants, other than this, uh, human," replied the scared creature. "I don't even know if I want to go back."
Before the Guard could reply, James asked, "What is your name?"
"Whuh? My name?" The Changeling looked confused for a minute. "Oh. We... don't have names. If we're addressed, it's just 'you, you, or you', or by our numbers. I was 3,457th of my generation, so that's what I became. It's the only designation I've been given. To be honest, it's all I have to be proud of." Then he looked back at the ground. "What are you going to do with me?"
"We won't kill you, if that's what you're afraid of." James remembered something important. "Are you hungry?"
"Uh..." Obviously the Changeling hadn't expected to be treated so well. "We... don't need physical food that much, only if we don't get enough love to feed us."
"Hmmm." James looked at the horizon; a very faint light had lit up the east. It would be time for the attack soon. He stood up. "Drone 3457," he said in a loud voice. The black creature stood straight as well; apparently he was used to taking orders. "You're going to need a name; we can't just call you by a number all the time, can we?"
"Uh, er, no, ma - uh, I mean, sir," the Changeling replied, confused. "Whatever you think I deserve; I didn't expect to live this long anyway."
Does the poor bastard think we live like barbarians?, James thought. He realized that maybe he had; after all, the Changelings obviously lived under a brutal and oppressive society. Maybe they thought everyone else lived in a similar manner. He went on, "What would you like to be called?"
"I don't know, whatever you choose would be okay."
"Alright then." James pretended to think, although the name hadn't been in doubt in his mind since capturing the poor thing. "I'll call you... Rand. Is that acceptable?"
The Changeling, no longer nameless, looked up, still not sure what to make of the situation, but James could see a tiny hope spark in his eyes. "I guess so."
"Good." James looked at a soldier and said, "Take him behind the lines, but don't let Rand escape, and don't kill him. I want to speak to him again when the battle is won."
"Yes sir. Get moving, you", the soldier said, lifting a spear, but not prodding Rand, who looked scared, but didn't resist.
The soldier lead the Changeling away. James looked back at the forest, but heard some one call out behind him. He turned to see Rand looking back at him.
"Sir, be careful if you oppose the queen," the Changeling said. "She'll never give up, and no matter how many of her drones you kill, she'll keep fighting as long as she has the faintest hope of beating you."
"Thank you, I'll bear that in mind," James called back. This time the soldier took Rand away for real, and the human turned to stare at the black towers that had made their presence in the woods unmistakeable.
Shield turned to look at him. "Sir, with all due respect, I don't trust him."
"I know that, and I'm not taking what he says for granted. But i'd rather be a trusting fool than someone who's paranoid that their own friends are out to get them."
"Only proves you were never in the Royal Guard."
"As if my shape and size don't announce that to the entire world," James retorted. The ponies nearby, even Shield, chuckled at that.
James kept watching the woods, although he kept checking the light that kept creeping in from the east.
"Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light," he sang softly as the sun rose higher.
"Uh, sir?" Shield asked.
"Nothing."
A few minutes later, the artillery began to fire as the hour for the attack drew near. James heard trees crack and groan as shells smashed into them, and, occasionally, a faint screaming could be heard over the din of the barrage. Every so often something would make a breaking sound that sounded like something that wasn't wooden. At one point, one of the lesser towers fell over, and it made a deafening thud as it hit the ground.
"Please, God," James prayed quietly. "Please, let as many of my boys live through this as you can, and take those who are destined to die into your arms. Amen." He made the Sign of the Cross.
At last, the time for the ground attack came. James jumped out of the ditch. "Forward!" he cried, "forward, for liberty!" He ran forward, clutching his crossbow (as he had hardly any shots left for his revolver), and heard the soldiers as they followed him, screaming battle cries. They ran through the forest, yelling their anger and trying to hide their fear as the onward rush gained momentum.
The first Changelings James saw were two drones who were apparently scouts or pickets. They jumped, and made as if to run. James fired from the hip; his quarrel slammed into a tree near one of his targets. The Changeling he had shot at said something to it's companion, who ran off. The runner didn't get far; his body was riddled by quarrels before he got far. The other one, not knowing it's comrade was dead, charged the attackers, who mowed it down like they had it's companion.
The attacking ponies and their human leader came across a black wall; James knew it had to be part of the Changelings' defenses. A hole had been blown in one area of the wall, clearly by artillery.
Green beams began flying from the hole; the Changelings knew it was a weak spot in their defenses. Others began crawling over the walls, firing green energy at their foes. James could hear screams behind him as he continued on; they had to breach that wall, or at least hold the defenders in place while the flanking forces did their job.
He shot at one of the crawling Changelings on the wall; it screeched as it was hit and fell to the ground. He had to take cover behind a tree as three of it's comrades retaliated, and two of the energy bolts flew through the space he had been occupying a half-second before. He breathed heavily as he reloaded, knowing he had narrowly avoided death, then leaned over, aimed again, and shot another defender. He ducked behind the tree; green bolts hit the ground around the tree as he did so.
He looked around; the attack was threatening to stall. A number of ponies were lying ominously on the ground; he hoped they were merely wounded, and not badly so. He felt a jolt in his stomach as he realized someone would have to lead the charge into the breach.
Oh God, if only I were back home again, in Mom's arms. He felt like crying, but forced it down, though just barely. This was going to be the most dangerous thing he had done in the war so far.
"E-everyone," he said in a squeaky voice. He cleared his throat and yelled, "Everyone, get ready, we're gonna charge that hole. Crossbows and spears at the ready!" He was surprised to see so many of them hasten to obey, even though some of them were shaking in absolute terror.
Let's hope this works. If we can break through, we might have a chance.
"Chaaaarrrrgge!" James rushed at the broken area of the barrier; green beams tore through the air. He felt a tug as one passed within a hairsbreadth of his left shoulder. He found the courage to ignore it and kept going.
Several crossbow bolts hit the defending Changelings. A number of them dropped; others were hit by thrown spears and fell. James came up to the wall, jumped up over the broken piece of Changeling masonry (if it could be called that) and found himself inside the enemy's base at last.
Innumerable Changeling drones stood before him and the few Equestrian soldiers inside the camp. They rushed their attackers, dying to cold steel as the ponies and the human fought for their lives.
The enemy kept coming, in spite of their dead, with their fangs bared. They climbed over their dead, taking their losses, absorbing the damage done to them in order to inflict the smallest of losses on their foes. They would come forward, eager to kill, only to die, and yet others would stand behind them, eager to get into the fight. It wasn't long before James felt tired, his sword arm nearly spent from cutting down Changeling after Changeling.
Heh, I'll die like a hero, like I always wanted, he thought as he hacked another one down.
A sudden explosion came from the right side of the camp; pieces of the wall there blew inward.
Is that... He didn't even get the thought finished before a pony shoved his way through the new hole in the wall, followed by other blueclad soldiers. It is! He cut another Changeling down as it tried to shoot him. It's Shining Armor's flanking force!
He made his way to the top of a pile of dead Changelings. "Look!" he shouted, pointing to the right side of the camp. "General Armor's forces have arrived! We'll crush the Changelings!" He heard loud cheers and howls as the army regained it's morale. "Now charge, and remind these flea-bitten cowards why they should fear us!" He went forward himself, killing another Changeling drone as he did so. He didn't realize until after the battle that he had partly quoted Eldest, from the Inheritance trilogy, and to be honest, he didn't care even then. The army had it's chance to win now.
It proceeded to do so; trapped between two forces pressing them, and with loud shouts and the sounds of battle now coming from somewhere to the left of their base, the Changelings had to divide their attention between three forces, all coming inward, determined to defeat the invaders who had come so close to destroying their capital and killing them all.
The black, porous creatures kept fighting regardless. They fought to the last breath; James had a close encounter when a Changeling, cut in half and looking dead, suddenly tried to shoot him. He cut off it's head and kept going. He would later learn that others had similar engagements.
He had other things to deal with at the moment; he saw Big Mac, under assault from three Changelings at once. He was looking hard pressed.
James unholstered his revolver and fired twice; two of the Changelings fell, one dead instantly, the other mortally wounded and too badly hurt to continue fighting. Before he could arrive, Big Mac had taken care of the remaining one.
As the human approached, the red stallion turned. James thought he would be grateful; instead he looked a little cross. "Ah can handle mahself!" he yelled at the human.
I promised your sister I'd take care of you. James wanted to say it, but knew it would do more harm than good. Let him have his pride, as long as he's alive by the end of this. That was half prayer, half hope alone.
Prideful or not, the red stallion followed him as he made his way into the tower that was in the center of the camp; it was by far the tallest and the widest in diameter, and he was sure it held the queen.
It was a hard fight; the Changelings put up fierce resistance as the attackers made their way into the tower. Soldier and drone fell though the furious battle; in one case a soldier and a Changeling were bundled together and hitting and kicking each other with their hooves as they fell down the stairs. James had to jump out of the way quickly in order to avoid them.
At last, the Equestrians found themselves in the top room of the tower. James rounded the corner, pistol drawn...
And his luck ran out. A green jet of light slammed into his left shoulder. He fell backwards to the floor. He screamed as the pain caught up with the injury. He heard crossbow bolts fly across the room and hit his attacker, who sprawled over, dead.
"Aggghhhh..." James looked over at his left shoulder; the beam had cut through the upper edge of his shoulder and had gone all the way through. He knew blind chance had saved him from something worse.
What do I fuckin' care? My shoulder is on fire, dammit!
"Colonel!" He heard shouts as ponies rushed to his side.
"Get... the... blasted... queen," he ground out through the pain.
"Colonel, we've got to get you out of here!" said a white unicorn.
He wanted to argue, then wondered why. He wanted the pain to go away. He balked at the thought of being carried or dragged all the way back to camp. "Get someone back here to patch the wound. Don't argue," he added, as the unicorn looked like he was going to object.
The unicorn relented. "Fine sir, I'll get a medic." He galloped away.
James laid down, feeling the pain as he tried to rest himself. "Get me something to cover the hole in my arm... nnnnnowwww!" he said. Several ponies hastened to obey.
"Don't bother, I'm a medic!" came a new voice. A pegasus with light brown fur came trooting up; sure enough, his kepi had a red cross on it, and he had saddlebags strapped to his back. "Just relax, Colonel."
How the fuck am I supposed to relax when my shoulder is in puzzle pieces? Nevertheless, he tried to follow through with it. He hissed as something soft was laid against his neck, and the medic began to wrap him with white bandages.
A soldier came running in from another room, and began to whisper to another, who recoiled.
"Anything you have to say you can say to me", James said loudly.
"Colonel, it can wait..." James raised the pistol as the medic tried to talk him out of it. The medic took a step back. "As I was saying, urgent business..."
"Sorry about that, doc. Now what you're you two chatting about over there?"
The soldier who had run into the room came up to him. "Uh, Colonel, please don't kill me with your metal thunderstick... but... the queen's... gone."
James sighed, then growled as his shoulder rebelled. "Doc, you can keep bandaging me." The medic obeyed. As this was going on, he said quietly, "That's just like a dictator, to run away when in danger and leaving her people to die for her."
A purple-armored stallion came into view. Shining Armor stopped at the sight of James covered in his own blood.
"James!" Shining ran over to the human. "Are you alright?"
"You should see the other guy; he's a hedgehog now." Then seeing the unicorn general's face, he added, "I'm not gonna die, and with any luck I'll be walking out of here. How's the battle going?"
Shining removed his helmet. "It's mostly over. We've won."
"Not yet. The queen has escaped."
"Oh. Well, she'll be caught by the pegasi you sent to block them from the rear. We'll catch her, you'll see."
You're not one hundred percent sure if you're right, I can see the worry in your eyes. James didn't say it though.
At last the medic backed off. "I think you can stand now, sir," the pegasus said.
James sat up, though his shoulder pained him as he did so. With some help from the ponies, he was able to stand. He walked over to a window facing northward.
I hope they've caught her; the war here will be over if they have.