//------------------------------// // Winning the battle, losing the war // Story: Changeling No More // by Breaking News //------------------------------// KABOOM! Drone 9417 slammed into the Canterlot ground, leaving a crater in the middle of the sidewalk café he just nailed. All their preparations were being put to the test as they attacked the city. As half the changelings split off to pin down the Canterlot Royal Guard he took his place in the team determined to stop the Elements of Harmony before they ever got their jewelry and powers. The changelings gathered in a group as the six of them approached and surrounded them. “Looks like we’re going to have to do this the hard way,” Rainbow Dash said with a hoof clap, this was going to get fun. With their appearances down pat from the Ponyville research one changeling morphed into Rainbow Dash for a quick tease to the speedy pegasus before everything busted loose. Everyone took forms of Equestria’s six so-called heroes, 9417 used his knowledge from all those visits to Sugarcube Corner to turn into a very convincing Pinkie Pie with a simple flash of green. His transformation magic still working fine despite its extended layoff. “They’re changelings remember,” Twilight Sparkle said. “They’re changelings remember,” said a group of Twilight-disguised changelings trying to mess with the mares. Drone 9417 was ready for action. There was something strangely refreshing about charging into battle with a bizarre pink appearance, what would Serenity say now? Wait, why was he still thinking about Sunny and Serenity now? BANG! The fight began and his hesitation bit him as the real Rarity clocked him with a solid right hook. Wasn’t she supposed to be the wimpy, girly one? Drone 9417 was thrown back; she was tougher than she looked. He could use that, with a flash of green he switched to her form and charged back in only to get nailed by another changeling mistaking him for the real Rarity in the confusion. Perhaps a big fight like this wasn’t the best idea. With another transformation he swapped to Rainbow Dash and managed to get a hit in on the real Applejack before the real Dash got him with a diving attack. “Accept no substitutes,” Rainbow Dash said with a cocky smile as she flew off. He switched back to Pinkie then changed his mind and flipped to Fluttershy and then Twilight before being blasted with a shot of magic from the real purple unicorn deal, he whacked against a building with enough force to lose focus and drop his disguise. He was ready to transform again when another blast of pinkish light from all of the equines knocked him out of the battle. The Elements charged away and Drone 9417 could do nothing, did he literally only land one punch in that whole fight? He should have had Sunny draw up his battle…what? He tried to shack it off when a smile came to his insect-like face, the other changelings through sheer numbers captured the Elements before they made to their weapons. They won! By Chrysalis they pulled it off, those mares made mincemeat of Discord and they beat them. It was the happiest moment of the day as the changelings led their captured prey away. He wasn’t feeling 100 percent but he’d probably feel better in about an hour. He didn’t. As the other members of the swarm secured the capital most of the Changelings involved in the morphing fight were too tired for another battle and were left to just fly around as intimidating air support. Although one would spend the whole time smiling Drone 9417 put on a serious expression as he buzzed through Canterlot. He still didn’t feel good; maybe he got hit harder than he thought in that fight. He needed to land. “I need a break,” Drone 9417 said. “Take one,” Drone 7682 said. “We’ll pick you up again on the next pass.” “Thanks,” Drone 9417 said, unaware he’d never speak to another changeling again. He flew down and landed on the roof of the building. Something really wasn’t right and he thought he knew what. His transmogrification magic felt like it was ready to act up. He tried to transform and it worked as he flipped into the form of Rainbow Dash again. He switched back to his default form immediately as he started to feel sicker. Something was definitely wrong with his transmogrification magic but he wasn’t thinking straight to remember how he’d caused it. As the other changelings buzzed overhead not noticing his issues he tried in vain to figure out the obvious but elusive answer to what was wrong when suddenly he heard an explosion of some kind. He had only enough time to look up before a blast of pink magic hit him head-on. It felt like really powerful love, did the royal couple get loose and strike back? At the same time it was the most wonderful and most awful feeling he’d ever had. Whatever happened next, that’s where it got blurry. That spell threw him and all the other changelings out of Canterlot, he only remembered being the air as his insides started to hurt even more. His leg holes started to have a white glow coming out of them and then he blacked out. And that of course brought him back to the field. The new pegasus starred off in space for a moment with his now blue pony eyes. He botched it badly and his transmogrification magic had burst like he thought, it just took several steps to trigger it. Holding his form as ‘Cloud Breaker’ for three weeks left its way higher than it should have been and transforming back to his normal drone self only 12 hours before the attack didn’t give him enough time to reset it, he would have needed a day or two at least. He transformed six times within about 5 minutes during the fight then took a hard hit from Twilight’s magic that probably put him on the verge of disaster. His level was still too high when he tested it with that quick switch to Rainbow Dash on the rooftop and when that magic wave hit him the it finally overloaded and trigged an emergency transformation. Because he’d been Cloud Breaker for so long his body flipped to it as a default and the last of transmogrification magic redid him into the green pegasus from the inside out. He now sat with real feathered wings and solid hooves wondering where he would be after all this was over. It was mid-afternoon now, if he was to make Ponyville by dark he had to leave. Before Cloud Breaker left he walked back over to shattered pieces of his changeling exoskeleton. He took one final look at the large chunk of his face that fell off with his horn attached then smashed it with a stomp of his left-front hoof. The facial portion crumbled. He picked up the horn portion and tucked it under his wing where he could hold it while flying, it’d be a final token to remember Drone 9417 by. He took off and flew on. Three hours of flying later he reached his destination. Ponyville was oddly quiet as dusk fell over the city. Ponies were probably still caught up in the hype over the wedding and the attack. The story of how those heroic locals pulled it out at the wire would be big news for a while; you’d need to practically rediscover a lost city to top this. Cloud Breaker landed on Stirrup Street and quietly walked to Sunny and Serenity’s home. As much as had happened today he’d be lying he if wasn’t almost happy he’d get to see them again. He walked to the door and knocked with his hoof… then suddenly the contents of that letter started to come back to him. “Ut oh” was the only thing that went through his head but he only sent it yesterday, he probably beat it here and could cover when it arrived. Serenity answered and Cloud figured he wouldn’t be mad. “Hi Serenity,” Cloud Breaker said with his first lasting smile since the transformation. “I’m back.” The pink pegasus stallion punched his green counterpart right in the face. So much for not being mad, yup he got that letter. “You jerk,” Serenity practically yelled! “You better have a darn good reason for that little prank you decided to pull. Why the Tartarus aren’t you in Canterlot? Or was that all a lie too like your little letter?” “Ah, I can explain,” Cloud Breaker responded as he got back to his hooves. “You darn well better,” Serenity said as Cloud Breaker slowly walked inside to face two angry pegasi.