The Changeling King Part 2: Kings' Gambit

by th3l0stch1ld

A Night of Heavy Drinking

The days following were uneventful. Amor lost track of how many days they had been out in the woods, but knew it had been well over a week. Every so often, he would send his soldiers to Filly Delphia to feed and regain their strength, and while some got what they needed and returned, others weren’t so easy. Some had to literally be dragged from bars or wherever else they were, trying to drowned their sorrows and have a good time away from the camp. Amor remembered one event in particular where a changeling tried to disguise himself to get away. Amor had to personally pay him a visit and drag him by his tale, the whole time he was screaming that he was being kidnapped. Others would get drunk enough to forget where they were, end up wandering off, and wouldn’t show up back in camp for a day or two.

As sickening as the sights were, he knew it was necessary to keep his soldiers sane. It had been quiet for so long, the stress was getting to most of them. Always waiting for the order to attack, always waiting for the next attack, they were growing paranoid. So, every week, Amor would bring his team to town and let them do what they wanted, the whole time hoping that they wouldn’t do anything stupid, even though he knew they would.

It started with Escara and Avispa sitting at a table in a small bar, changelings scattered throughout the entire place. They knew how to get love, and when things were tight, they knew the easiest place to get it was the drunkest pony they could find. But they couldn’t let him drink by himself. No, every time a changeling found a new drinking buddy, they would both get plastered to the point where they couldn’t speak without slurring words into one odd sound, love flowing freely between them. Amor walked in and immediately was taken aback by the strong scent of alcohol. Scanning the bar, he saw changelings hunched over the bar, changelings chugging down as much as they could handle, and a changelings and pony hanging onto each other, laughing about who knows what. He then saw his two most trusted soldiers sitting at a table, feeding off of the loose love that filled the air. Taking his place in the open seat next to them, they both immediately took notice, much to Amor’s displeasure.

“King *hic* king Amor. Howz it going?”

“Not you too, Avispa.”

“Wattaya mean?”

Amor turned to Escara. “Please tell me…oh.” He cut himself off when he finally noticed the empty bottles scattered around the half armored changeling. His helmet sat on the table, while his breast plate and back plate were crooked. “Well, this is just great.”

“C’mon, Amor, have a drink.”

“You know I don’t drink.”

“No kidding? I coulda sworn I saw you drinkin somthin before.”

“Nope.”

“Why not?” Escara dragged his question out for what felt like hours due to the revolting stench on his breath, but it was actually seconds.

“Do I really need to answer that question?”

“Well…um…yez?”

Amor sighed. “Because I see what it does to you. Just look at yourself! You can barely speak, your sentences are a jumbled mess, and I’d bet that at this point, neither of you can stand.” Amor immediately saw the error in his words. “Oh no, here we go.”

Avispa swung his head up, trying to look Amor in the eyes, but ended up just letting it hang back. “I’ll take that bet.” Avispa slowly rose to his hooves. Putting his back two on the ground, he tried to swing his front two forward, but forgot there was a table in front of him, and ended up hitting his head hard.

Amor began rubbing his temples. “Are you done?” No response. Amor looked up to see Avispa with his head on the table passed out in his chair. One of his teeth that was knocked out on impact lied on the table next to him. Amor couldn’t help but facehoof. “Escara, anything else you want to add?” He looked up to see the other of the two guzzling down another drink, too preoccupied to answer. Amor was angry, saddened, but above all else, disappointed. These were the two changelings he trusted with just about everything except his life, and here they were, rotting their brains away with every drink. At least Avispa stopped, even if it was just because he was out cold. A changeling hopped down from the bar and stumbled his way over to Amor.

“Sir, Iz think I’lla head back to the camp now.”

Amor had both of his hooves on his head at this point. “Sure, yeah, whatever.” He picked his head up as the changeling stumbled out of the bar, tripping over his own hooves. When he finally reached the door, he checked to make sure no one was looking, and began to trot off.

Trot.

He was stone cold sober.

The changeling thought no one was watching him, but Amor’s eyes caught every motion.

“Something didn’t seem right about that one. I’m going to follow him, but I may need backup. Escara?”

The changeling slammed his now empty bottle on the table. “Sorry, sir, but uhh…I’m…busy. Yeah that’s it.” He opened the next bottle and began chugging it down. Amor turned to the other changeling, still passed out, a small puddle of spit forming near his mouth.

He nudged him with a hoof. “Avispa?” No response. “Useless, pathetic drones,” he mumbled under his breath. “Fine, I’ll do this myself.” Amor trotted over to the door and peaked his head out. Luckily, the changeling was still in sight, and hadn’t disguised himself either. Slowly and carefully, Amor followed him, staying close to the shadows. He followed him a good two blocks before the changeling turned down an alley. Amor was going to follow him, but stopped when he saw the figure of a second changeling waiting for the first. Without hesitation, Amor pulled himself around a corner and out of sight, picking an ear up to listen in on the conversation.

“So, did you learn anything?”

“Of course. I learned that you can get anything out of those idiots if you fill them with drinks. One of them told me just about everything. I know where that bastard Amor is, along with the queen who tried to kill us. He even told me where that bitch Purity is.”

“This is good. Hornet will want to hear this.”

“Yeah, and the best part is, that idiot that we used to call a king was none the wiser.”

At this point, Amor stepped out of his hiding spot and revealed himself, blocking the only way out of the alley. “Ahem.”

Both changelings looked up, fear in both their eyes. The one Amor had been following spoke up. “Oh, uh, where am I? This isn’t ze camp. Whoops, wrong way, better…keep…going.”

Amor looked on, unamused. “Are you done?” The changeling only cowered in fear. “That’s what I thought. Now, I’m already angry as it is. I should rip your throat out for what you said about Purity, but I’ll give you the choice here. Go quiet, and you live the rest of your days in a cell.” Both changelings looked at their former king with confused, if not amused looks on their faces. “I won’t hesitate to kill either of you.”

The larger of the two stepped forward. “You’re in no position to be negotiating our lives, seeing as you’re outnumbered.”

“Oh? Is that so? Well then,” Amor drew his sword. In the dark of the alley, it was hidden from the changelings view, and neither of them were armed. Their eyes grew wider with every second as they listened to the sound of the blade drag against its sheath. “Come at me then.” Both began to back away slowly as Amor advanced. Both shocked and in fear, they didn’t know what to do. Finally, they backed into a brick wall. Normally, flight was easy for a changeling. Unlike pegasi, they could fly straight up. But the alley was narrow, too narrow for a changeling to spread its wings. The two were huddled in the corner like foals about to take a beating from the playground bully. Finally, after seeing no other way out, the larger of the two stepped forward, his horn glowing a sickly green. He swung his head as a beam of pure energy shot out of his horn, narrowly missing Amor, who didn’t even have to move to avoid it. A green spot formed on the wall where it hit, eventually fading to a burn mark.

“Th-that was j-just a warning.”

“Really? I thought your aim was just that bad. Last chance, give up and I won’t kill you.”

Rejecting the king’s alternative, the changeling lit his horn again and let loose another blast. That was the biggest, and last mistake the changeling ever made. Amor was never going to kill the changelings, but the second blast grazed his shoulder, burning some of the hair and leaving the same green glow until it turned black.

“AHH! You little pest!” Amor spun around and gave the closer of the two changelings a massive kick to the head. He fell to the ground, and neither Amor, nor the other changeling knew whether or not he was dead. The second changeling’s eyes grew even wider with fear, looking as if they were about ready to jump out of his skull and leave him to deal with the consequences.

“Okay, okay! I’ll go willingly! Just please don’t kill me!” Amor turned slowly and looked at the changeling. He saw a strange twinkle of hope in his eyes that made him show his teeth. Amor swiftly brought his knee up, where it met with the changeling’s jaw. He fell beside his companion, unconscious.

“And that’s just for burning my fur.” Amor leaned in close to the changeling’s head. Both of them were still breathing, so that’s a good sign. Amor quickly went to work. He bound their magic and coated their hooves in wax, sticking the fronts together and the backs together so that they couldn’t run. He coated their wings too, making them too heavy to even try to fly. Amor quickly trotted back to the bar where he left half of his squad. Looking back and forth at the mess his changelings were in. Some were just the way he left them, that is, passed out over the bar or on tables. Others were still drinking the night away. “Anyone here still sober?”

“I am!” called a grey pony with a blue main in the back.

Amor put a hoof on the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes in frustration. “Anyone still sober who is a changeling?” The room fell silent for a few moments before three changelings stepped forward.

“Sir.”

Amor huddled them close into a circle and whispered his plans. “Alright, two blocks down there are two changelings out cold in an alley.”

“Too much to drink?” One of the changelings began to chuckle to himself.

“There from Hornet’s hive.” Suddenly all the changelings in the group fell silent. “Yeah, well, long story short, I need you to go get them, bring them to camp, and stick them to a tree.”

“Eh, what?”

“Cover them in wax and stick them to a tree. I don’t want to see anything below the head. From the neck down is to be completely coated. Understood?”

All the changelings nodded. They were about to leave, but Amor turned back to the room. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, until then, this goes out to all my soldiers: NO TALKING ABOUT OUR CAMPS OR STRATEGIES TO ANYONE!” Amor led them to the alley, where they picked up the changelings, unhappy that their night of binge drinking was ruined.
……….

Then next morning went like all others like it. Most of the changelings were still passed out from the night before, while the ones who were up were moaning and groaning about how much their heads hurt. Two changelings were just starting to stir, but couldn’t move a muscle. One looked down at his body and saw nothing but a blue-green blob on the side of a tree. He tried turning his head, but found it useless. He heard his companion moaning behind him.

“Hey, wake up.”

“Just let me sleep a little longer.”

“Wake up you idiot. You’re not in your bed.” The changeling wasn’t sure what he meant, until he tried to get up.

“Uh oh.”

“Yeah uh oh.”

“What do we do?”

“What do you mean what do we do? Does it look like we can do anything? All we can do is wait and see what they want with us.”

Nearby, Amor was just getting up from a night of rest. After a fresh fill of love and another night without drinking, he felt great. He looked out his door to see half of his team wandering around with massive headaches. “Yeah, that’s what you get.” Moments later, the stragglers began popping up throughout the woods. “Ahh, and here comes the rest of them.” Walking next door, Amor saw two changelings still asleep, one hanging in his pod, the other with his head buried in hay. “WAKE UP!” Amor shouted so loud that both changelings were wide awake, their heads pounding. Escara jumped so high he nearly broke his pod off the roof.

“Please sir, my head is killing me…where’s my tooth? Am I missing a tooth?”

“Yeah, it’s somewhere in a bar in Filly Delphia. Now get up.” Avispa groaned as he rolled over. Escara had his hooves over his eyes to block the sun. “Aww, I’m sorry, hungover? Let me help with that.” Amor’s horn began to hum as Avispa and Escara’s back plate hovered in front of him. He smashed them together, and the sound was similar to that of two frying pans hitting each other. The sound was ringing in both the changelings’ ears, making their headaches that much worse.

“Alright! Geez.” Avispa slowly got to his hooves as Escara cut his way out of his pod. Both had large bags under their eyes, which were a much paler shade of blue than usual.

“Now you see why I don’t drink? No matter how much fun you forget you had the night before, the pain you feel the next day is just as much. The only thing stopping me from shouting in your ears right now is…well, I’m tired. I took down two spies alone because you two were too busy drinking your selves under the table. Avispa in your case onto the table.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell you later, the point is, we have two changelings from Hornet’s hive captured, and I plan on getting what I can out of them before killing them.”

“Wait, wait, wait, we have prisoners?”

Amor rolled his eyes as he leaned in close to Avispa’s ear. “YES! THAT’S WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU! NOW GET UP, GET READY, AND STOP COMPLAINING!” All Avispa heard after that was a very loud ringing as his head felt like it was tearing itself apart.

“Ow.”

“I heard that from hear. Even my head is ringing.” Amor turned to see Escara lying on the ground under his pod, his hooves now covering his ears.

“You two are pathetic.”

“I’m never going to drink again.”

“Yeah, right. How many times have you told that to yourself?”

Escara stopped, thinking of a number that would fit the answer. “Too many to count.”

“Just get ready.” Amor threw the back plates at the changelings before walking out.

A few yards away, the changelings stuck to the tree were squirming, trying to break free from their binds, even though they knew it was useless. When the heard approaching hoof steps, they immediately stopped moving and looked up. Amor stood over the two, looking as menacing to them as he did last night.

“W-what are you going to do to us?”

Amor sat down in front of them. “That’s entirely up to you. If you cooperate, I’ll let you live.”

“And what makes you think I’ll tell you anything?” Amor stood and gave him one swift kick to the head. “Oh, right.”

“So what are you going to tell me?”

“Who said I’m going to tell you anything?” Amor drew his sword and held it broadside to the changeling’s neck.

“You’re testing my patience.”

The changeling swallowed heavy. “Where do you want to start?”

“Where is your hive?”

“In the Hayseed Swamps.”

“I’ve gotten that far, but where exactly? Hold on.” Amor walked away and returned moments later with a map. “Alright, where?”

The changeling looked at the map for a moment. “You see those three clearings to the south? The hive is in the center one.”

“Alright, any other camps we should know about?”

“One in the western part of the badlands, just under Macintosh Hill.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?”

“Excuse me?”

“I know that I am threatening you with your life, but this is too easy.”

“You kicked me in the head twice and you are currently holding a sword to my throat. Be glad I can remember any of this.”

Amor sighed. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, one more right there.” The changeling’s horn touched barely north of the camp in the swamps in a small patch of trees.

Amor looked at the map, puzzled. “Why so close?”

“Don’t ask me, I’m just a drone.”

“Fine.” Amor let the sword pull away from the changeling’s neck as he stood up. “But if anything happens, my soldiers have orders to kill you.” Amor walked to his tent, happy and somewhat irritated and confused about the answers he got.

One of the changelings whispered to the other. ”Do you think it will work?”

“Trust me, it will work.”

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