I awoke to the sound of frantic hooves travelling my current area. Judging by the fact the sun had mostly set, as suggested by the sudden darkness within the oak, I figured I must have been asleep for hours from exhaustion. I panicked at how close the hive must be to Canterlot by now. I Desperately rose to my hooves, my head feeling much clearer now with my newly healed horn. Tentatively, I listened for any movement that would give away any of my brethren currently looking for me. Once I was satisfied with my ability to peak out of the oak without being immediately spotted, I cautiously peered around the corner to the outside world.
Relief hit me like a wave of adrenalin-suppressing medicine when I realized I had not been asleep as long as I had originally thought, for the sun had only set enough for one side of the sky to still be bathed in that dazzling red glow. I cautiously took a step outside the oak, my ears still perked in case of determined patrols still skulking the area. Seeing none of my siblings in sight, I began a slow trot in the direction I knew Canterlot to be in from the speech Queen Chrysalis gave us.
*
For the next few hours I trotted at a brisk pace at an attempt to catch up to my hive on my path through the changeling lands. I swore within my renewed mind to stop at nothing until my message of warning was delivered to the ponies of Equestria.
In the meantime, I pondered my current thoughts that were nagging at the back of my mind. What was it that allowed ponies to live in harmony with other races so well? I knew friendship was most likely a major factor in harmony judging by the their ways, but could it be the only thing keeping them together?
The thought of friendship urged me to pick up my brisk pace. The thought of losing my only chance at a real friendship jumped me into a quicker pace, desperate to arrive before the army. Though another thought entered my mind. How was I going to pass the army unseen on the lush-less planes I now trotted on? I fiddled with the thought in my mind for the moment, knowing full well I would face the task eventually with the pace I was maintaining. Perhaps I could try casting an invisibility spell? It was not something strictly created for pony magic unlike my previous, straining teleportation attempt. We regularly used it to escape the other ponies' wrath when kidnapping the younger and weaker ones in the middle of the night for food, and due to it's changeling nature it should not interfere with my horn this time.
With my plan decided, I picked up my pace even more with a great determination burning from within my eyes. I began a full out trot in a desperate attempt to catch up to the hive.
*
A few hours later, the changeling army at last came into view. Though to my inconvenience, it was much larger than any size I had ever hoped for. Howling in frustration at the extensive difficulty increase at my task, I quickly cast the invisibility spell I had readied for the moment I spotted them and picked up my previously slowed pace with renewed determination.
I began my cautious rogue-worthy slip past the changeling army. It would be more trouble than I would have ever thought possible due to the army being so expansively large. It expanded outward in all directions, including vertically, as if they were daring somepony to try and escape their oncoming torment. With a sigh, I began the arduous task of surpassing the colossal army.
The slip began smoothly, as I had managed to reach the end of the gargantuan expanse without any troublesome guards. But just as I rounded the corner of the army, I noticed the corner guard's ears perk up in the direction of my galloping hooves.
Immediately he began trekking towards me, determined to find the source of the clop noise and surely confused as to why it was coming from an invisible spot upon the ground. Cursing to myself I began to slow down as slowly as I could in an attempt to divert his confused gaze and fool him into thinking he had just imagined the sound. surely enough, his gaze slowly fell behind my quieting gallop noise, and back towards the front of himself.
I decided to move further outwards from the army in an effort to quiet my galloping to the point of them being oblivious to my passing. Once again I began my arduous trot past them, this time with significantly more success. They hardly noticed the wind gusting into their faces as they focused on their marching. Their focus had an extent I had never seen before, though I had never paid attention in military training myself. I continued on my trot until I got significantly ahead of them, to the point where not even the slightest hint of the army was in view, and dropped my invisibility spell. It had drained my energy significantly, though I refused over anything else to take any more chances at being caught.
I sighed in relief at the sudden release in mental strain, thankful for the chance to once again focus all my energy into arriving at my goal with enough time to warn the only species I believed in.
I was going to make it.
*
A few hours later Canterlot capital at last came into view. I sighed in relief and slowed to a brisk canter in an attempt to conserve my remaining energy to form the words of my desperate warning. I tapped into my changeling magic for a disguise, though to my despair, found only green sparks fly out of my horn. I was still too drained from my power surge to perform any more sustained advanced magic after the invisibility spell. Sighing, I resorted to doing possibly the most bold thing I would do in my entire life.
I walked right in the direction of the Canterlot gate undisguised.
As I suspected the guards immediately, albeit violently pointed their spears into the direction of my throat. "You forgot your disguise, little changeling," one spat. "Or perhaps you are to weak to perform your shape shift and have come looking for the energy to do so."
The guards glared at me and I shrunk backwards for a moment, though straightened myself again when a new spark of determination hit me. "No, I have come with a warning. My queen and her army are about to lay siege to Canterlot, and I am determined to warn Celestia about this invasion. I only want to help..."
"Enough with you're lies!" the second guard yelled angrily. "You will refer to her highness as Princess Celestia, and will not be permitted access to view the set up of our army so long as we rule this city. Don't think I know your true intentions changeling. Now begone! Or I will see you thrown into the Canterlot dungeons myself."
But I stood firm, unwilling to see this town fall to ruin while I still draw breath. "I'm not helping them!" I yelled desperately. "I'm on your side! The only thing I have ever wished to do in my life is make real friends, and I won't be able to do so with all of you gone." I began sobbing at the idea of coming so far only to be stopped on my goal's doorstep. "Please! I just need to warn the Princesses!"
"If you will not comply with my warning, then under the order of section four under the security laws of Equestria, I hereby arrest you to be sentenced to life in the dungeons. I suppose Celestia will want to torture some information out of you as well."
With a great realization, I suddenly remembered the pony magic deep within myself. "Wait!" I pleaded. Perhaps my pony essence within me could prove my good intentions to these guards. "I can prove my good intentions! Just give me a few moments..."
The guards halted to watch my demonstration. I dug deep within me to find that wonderful magic I had found before, though to my utter despair, I only found the corridor within the expanse of my mind that contained the magic completely and utterly empty. Desperate, I continued deeper into the expanse of the chamber anyway, determined to find even the smallest spark that could help me. But when I reached the point that had thrown me away before, I had a sudden vision flash within my eyes. The image of a skull drifting ever closer to a picture of myself, followed by an arrow leading to a bright glow of what looked almost like a blue star, the same think my pony magic was withdrawn from.
Suddenly, the realization hit me.
I could only use my pony magic in absolutely dire situations, only when my life was in immediate danger. With a sigh of defeat, I began sobbing again. I opened my eyes and looked at the guards with a sadness that they probably wouldn't believe. "I can't prove it to you at this moment. Only when I am in immediate danger, more so than what I am in now, can I do so." I chocked out the words between sobs, doubting the guards would believe me. But it was the only last ditch effort I had.
And it failed.
"Seize him!" the first guard yelled. "Do not fall for his emotional tricks!"
I felt myself grabbed and restrained by the two guards, though I did not even try to resist. There was no hope left for me or the ponies, no hope for defence against the invasion. I sighed and accepted my fate as they dragged me towards the entrance to Canterlot castle, a duo of patrolling guards substituting their place at the gates. Immediately as we entered the castle we turned left towards a flight of stairs spiralling downwards. It looked as if the set up so close to the entrance to the castle was made to deny prisoners of any last hopes of beauty by seeing any part of the wondrous castle. I took one last look at the lustrous entrance hall before it left my sight, and I was violently thrown into one of the far ended jail cells.
To my surprise, the cells were very clean, no bones or bodies to be seen anywhere. 'Yet another thing to add to the glorious wonders of the ponies,' I mentally added. Their decent treatment towards the living quarters of prisoners was something I couldn't even dream of back within the hive.
"Do not move," the first guard said sadistically. "We will be back with Princess Celestia before you can even have a chance to think of escaping. And don't even think of trying to tell her you're innocent. We will be right behind her if you do."
And they were gone.
I slumped down against the back wall of the cell in defeat. It was over, I had failed. I closed my eyes and fell immediately into a deep, exhausted sleep.
*
I awoke after what couldn't have been more than minutes to the sound of hoof steps climbing down the stairs to my cell. Princess Celestia stood before me, a glare of anger within her eyes. I looked back in defeat, ready to accept any punishment or torture she would dish out at me, for I was already broken, and nothing more could hurt me.
Her horn enveloped me with telekinesis in preparation for forcing non-existent answers out of me.
"Why did you're queen send you here? Why you, a changeling who cannot even change shape, to get information from us over your brethren? Or perhaps she was wishing you to get caught in the first place?"
Celestia had a look of determination for her subjects upon her face, one that I could never hope to see within any of my race, even with Chrysalis' desire to help her children. Sighing, I gave the only answer I knew. "She didn't send me. Though I do not think she cares that I get caught. I have no hope lying for me in either of our races."
Celestia's expression softened slightly, though still had a large amount of doubt inside it. "If you do not care for your queen, then tell me what she has explained to you of the plans of this invasion."
I began the recap of what Queen Chrysalis had explained to us before setting off on this invasion. Throughout the explanation, Celestia's expression visibly calmed, almost to the point of a neutral expression. Once I had finished my speech, she asked me a question that confused me to no end.
"Where did Chrysalis find you?"
The expression shocked me, for I had thought she would assume my origins to be that of the rest of my hive. "On the front doorstep of the hive. How did you know I was not hatched like the rest of my hive?"
The words she spoke next would forever change my life.
"I had a feeling it was you. When that poor couple came to me all those years ago, I had thought there would be no hope for their child, for he was cursed with a spell not even I could cure. Though all magic has limits, and now I see that the spell your queen has cast on you was not effective enough to take your mind from them as well. Locust, I think it is time you learned of your true past."