“Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear.”
--Mahatma Gandhi
~*~*~
The fireworks roared in the skies. The wedding had ended, Canterlot was safe, the changelings were gone, and all was well…
For the ponies of Canterlot it was.
Deep within the dark reaches of the Everfree Forest, a lone changeling was left unconscious in the tall grass. A faint breeze blew by. The cool feeling of the wind flow across its face, causing the disoriented changeling to stir.
Slowly, the creature began to open its eyes. It blinked a couple of times before sluggishly getting up. As it stood the changeling then started scanning the unfamiliar surroundings of the forest.
Where was it?
How did it get here?
Like a punch to the face the realization dawned on the changeling, as the memories of their attack on Canterlot came back to it. All of which could be summed up in one simple word:
Failure…
Hours earlier over the skies of Canterlot, an army of mighty insects known as Changelings floated above the dome that shielded the city from their march. The dome was beginning to show signs of damage however. It wasn't going to last.
The lone changeling watched as his brothers and sisters ruthlessly bashed against the shield. Ordained in his royal armor, which consisted of a dark chest plate and helmet, the Commander watched with a cold emotionless look as his troops were getting closer and closer to breaking the shield. Then, something caught his eye.
Looking down he saw... them! What his kind referred to as, The Element Bearers.
Letting out a small chitter, he gestured his troops attention towards them. Many gave small grins of pleasure as they saw the clear fear in their eyes. This only strengthened their determination as they stepped up their attacks on the shield.
Finally with one… last… hit…! The dome shattered.
“GRRRRRAAAAAWWWWWCCCCCKKK!!!” The Commander released a loud shriek as his army descended upon the city. Gesturing his hoof towards the Element Bearers, he quickly ordered a group to go after them.
Following his command, they rocketed towards the ponies like comets falling from the sky. While they distracted the ponies he gestured another group to follow him. Giving a small nod they complied. Flying ahead toward the bridge that lead to where the Elements of Harmony were stored, the Commander and his troops touched ground. He gestured them to hold their position.
They obeyed, but were antsy. He could hear their low growls and snarls of anticipation. He couldn't blame them. The day they trained for was finally here. The day the changelings would claim a new land.
Along with it, a new future.
As predicted, the six Element Bearers appeared only to come to a halt as they spotted the Commander’s group. The six mares soon found themselves surrounded by changelings. Shock and fear gripped them, except for one of them. A rainbow colored one. She bashed her hooves together as she proclaimed, “Looks like we’re gonna have to do this the hard way!”
She came forward only to be blocked by... herself. In a manner of speaking.
The doppelganger soon started mimicking her every move until finally shoving the pegasus.
“How did he--?”
Soon green flames were going off everywhere as every changeling started changing into a one of the Element Bearers. The Commander joined in as well, taking the form of the orange pony with the funny looking hat. Their strategy was simple: Take the form of a loved one, and your opponent will hold back.
Looking toward the rainbow colored pegasus, the purple unicorn answered, “They're changelings remember?”
“THEY'RE CHANGELINGS, REMEMBER?!” the other changelings mimicked, mocking the purple unicorn.
Getting into a fighting stance, the unicorn shouted to the other ponies, “Don’t let them distract you! We have to get to the Elements of Harmony! They're our only hope!”
They all charged and a fight ensued. In the midst of all the dust and chaos, the Changeling Commander wore a menacing grin of pleasure and anticipation. Technically the orange pony he was mimicking was.
Finally… after all the years of training, his skills would be put to the test. Not only was the he in a battle, but also he was in a battle with The Element Bearers! He was fighting for something! Not for survival, but for the future. He would make his Queen, and his people proud.
He charged forth ready for anything, only to find himself at the business end of a… horn? Looking forward he found the pink pony holding onto the purple unicorn like she was some kind of tool. One that fired PROJECTILES OF PAIN!
Before he had time to react, the commander, along with three other changelings were struck and sent flying out of the fight and off the bridge. Acting quickly he shifted back to his original form and started buzzing his wings. His quick thinking proved resourceful as he safely landed to the ground.
"UGH!"
"OOF!"
"ARGH!"
The other three didn’t fare so well. Ending up in a pile on top one another. The commander shook his head in disapproval and shame at them. He focused his gaze back towards the bridge.
With a snarl of anger he took flight and flew up at high speeds back toward the fight.
"Forget shape shifting, I’m gonna--!" When he reached the top he found the beaten and unconscious bodies of his soldiers littered throughout the area. He missed the fight.
How did they--? He suddenly realized what was missing amongst the mess: THE ELEMENT BEARERS!
The armor-wearing changeling took off and flew as fast as his wings could manage toward the building, only to come to a halt. At the entrance to the hall were the six mares from before. Completely surrounded by a company of his warriors.
The commander gave a small growl of frustration for missing his chance. Giving his wings more strength, he flew high over the mob until he was right above them. Looking down he saw the six ponies, each one looking back and forth at themselves and the creatures that surrounded them. They wore expressions of confusion and worry. They were so close, yet so far.
“COMMANDER! Commander Dead Ringer!” a low shrill voice called.
The commander dubbed Dead Ringer turned his attention toward the source of the voice to find a small group of changelings flying towards him.
“What shall we do with them sir?” one changeling asked, gesturing towards the six ponies. Dead Ringer turned his focus back to the six mares to find their attention now focused on him, having heard every word. He merely stared back, narrowing his eyes menacingly at them.
“I have few IDEAS for them…” another changeling spoke. His voice was nasal high, but raspy. His tone however held mixes of anticipation and pleasure as he moistened his lips. Dead Ringer gave the following response:
WHACK!
By punching him in the horn.
“I’m in charge here, and I decide what we shall do! Got it Shadow?!” the Commander ordered, his voice raspy but strong and radiating with authority.
The changeling dubbed Shadow nodded in response while rubbing his hurting horn. "Oh bu-but of course sir!" he stuttered. "I-I wouldn't dream of disobeying you. I live to serve!"
“Good.” Dead Ringer then turned his gaze back to the six ponies. “Take them to the Queen!" he ordered. "She can decide their fate!”
The changelings below nodded as they converged on the six. The small swarm flew off towards the castle with the six ponies in tow. The purple unicorn was silent the rest of the way, but the other five were a different story.
“You bugs won’t get away with this!”
“Let go of me ya critters!”
“Unhoof me this instant you brutes!”
“Um... Can you please fly a little slow? Please…?”
“WHHHHHEEEEE!!!!!”
Dead Ringer’s expression faltered a little as he heard the five cries. Those were the Element Bearers? The ones who saved the land of Equestria twice? Besides the purple unicorn the rest seemed like jokes!
Suddenly feeling all eyes on him, he turned his attention to the remaining changelings that awaited his command. Quickly adjusting his helmet he faced his remaining troops.
“YOU ALL KNOW WHAT HAS TO BE DONE! NOW GO! FOR THE HIVE!”
His changelings below bowed to their leader before flying off in different directions, leaving Dead Ringer alone. Setting his sights toward the inner city, he flew off.
Chaos filled the streets as mixed shouts of ponies screaming and changelings shrieking filled the air. Guards were being captured, families were being cornered, and there was no Princess or Element Bearer to stop them.
Victory was assured.
Dead Ringer watched it all from above, perched on top of a roof of some fancy mansion. He soon started giving the air a sniff. Another thing was pervading the air, and it wasn’t just noise. No it was… emotions.
The changeling could smell mixed emotions of fear, worry, and uncertainty coming from the fleeing ponies down below. It gave him a slightly disgruntled look. Changelings fed off positive emotions, not negative emotions. Then again, it wasn’t becoming a very positive day. For anyone.
His gaze falling Dead Ringer breathed a sigh. He'd seen enough.
The soldier was about ready to fly off to the castle to join up with his Queen, when something caught his eye. A bright light was glowing in the castle where the wedding was being held. Covering his eyes, Dead Ringer tried to make out the source of it.
“What is that?”
Suddenly, what resembled of an explosion of some kind flung the unsuspecting changeling into the air with great force, then flying out of the city at intense speed. He struggled and tried to fight against the current, but whatever magic was propelling him was just too strong. Next thing he knew he felt the sharp pain of branches and twigs scraping him as he fell. Then the blunt trauma of impact, followed by…
Darkness…
Dead Ringer shook his head along with a shudder as he tried to make some sense over what happened. What went wrong? he wondered. Was that the power of the Elements? That couldn't be possible! His troops captured them before they got to them! So what happened?! What went wrong?!
His confusion and frustration building made the disgruntled soldier roar in anger. All this thinking was adding more stress to an already throbbing headache. He placed his hoof on his head to try and numb the pain when he realized something. He was touching his BARE head…
Placing both hooves to his head, he came to the startling realization:
“My helmet! It's gone!”
Another thought dawned on him as he examined his chest area. His chest plate was gone as well! He began looking around frantically to try and see where it could have landed. “If the Queen sees me like this, she’ll--”
He stopped dead sentence when he came to the biggest realization:
The Queen… THE SWARM!!!
Listening carefully, he tried to make out the distant sounds in the forest. All Dead Ringer could hear were the sounds of crickets chirping, owls hooting, frogs croaking, but not one sounded changeling.
In desperation, he let out a loud shriek into the forest, the loudest he could make. Hoping in vain one of his own would hear. He waited quietly, listening for anything. The animals of the forest were all quiet now. The call itself was enough to frighten the nearby creatures to go silent.
All that could be heard now was the echo of the screech and the flutter of birds escaping it. Dead Ringer tried listening again as he heard, to his displeasure, nothing. No growl, no shriek, no sound of wings buzzing, nothing… Which led the unsettled soldier to the depressing conclusion: He was alone.
Looking toward the ground he could make out an imprint in the dirt from where he landed, but it was only one imprint. Wherever he landed, he landed alone. The changeling’s expression slumped into a frown as everything dawned on him.
He’d failed to lead his kind to victory, he was lost in a foreign land with no clear distinction on how to get home, he was most likely a wanted fugitive in this land, he was alone, and he lost his armor, which was as good as declaring him a failure. Besides the fact he was unwanted in this land, how could he return to his homeland? He was the leader in this attack, so he rightfully shared the blame for its failure. Not only that but returning there alone, broken and naked without his armor, would only ruin what little honor he had left to his title.
“AH!” the changeling let out a groan of agony as he finally felt the pain his body was producing. Giving his body a thorough look, he could see cuts and bruises all over. He was bleeding, but not by much. He was in no condition to be invading anytime soon however.
“This day just keeps getting better and bett--” He shut himself up when he realized what he had been doing the entire time.
Panicking. Complaining. In other words, acting weak. And he was anything, but weak!
“What am I doing?!" he shouted to himself. “I’m Commander Dead Ringer! Commander of the Changeling Empire! I may be down, beaten, and naked! But I am NOT finished! I will return and find some way to restore my honor!" He may have failed in one of the biggest events in his people’s history, but he wouldn't let that ruin what he was! What made him commander!
“DO YOU HEAR ME EQUESTRIA?!” he shouted to the heavens. “YOU WON’T MAKE A FOOL OUTTA THIS SOLDIER!!!”
Feeling his point was made, the changeling took a step forward towards… he had no idea. However, it was better than just standing there doing nothing. The changeling was done embarrassing himself. He will return to his kind, he will return to his Queen, and he will find some way to make her and his kind proud. He held his head up high as he felt his confidence starting to return. Which is why he didn’t notice the hill he was about to tumble over
“WHA?!”
Rolling down the hill with incredible speed, the changeling fell to end of the hill and into a nearby mud swamp. Surfacing with a gasp for air Dead Ringer splashed against the water, desperately trying to stay afloat.
He might've drowned right then and there if it weren't for a long branch that hung over the muddy waters. Using what little energy he had left he was able to leap for it, taking hold of his savior with the sharp edges of his teeth.
Clinging to the branch for dear life, Dead Ringer started climbing. As he reached the top he made a blind jump and hit the ground. He was already too tired to worry about whatever pain it brought him.
Picking himself the hurt soldier wobbled as he tried to breath. A feat that proved difficult for some reason as Dead Ringer found himself gagging all of a sudden. Almost as if there was something lodged in his throat.
“RIBBIT!”
With one huge cough, the object lodged in his throat finally came out. To Dead Ringer’s disgust, it was a frog. The amphibian gave one last annoyed croak to the changeling, as if to voice its anger for almost being dinner, then started hopping away.
The changeling just waited there in silence as he watched the frog hop away. He was now wounded, soaking wet, and now a horrible taste polluted his mouth.
“Well,” he said to himself as the frog left his sight. “There goes what little honor I had left.” With one last groan, the changeling collapsed from exhaustion, and soon darkness took him again.