• Published 14th Jan 2014
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Tales Of The Cricket-Verse - Bucking Nonsense



A collection of short stories about Mole Cricket, and other changelings, attempting to fit in with pony society.

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The Five Paths

"Wow... you've got to teach me how you did that!"

As Lieutenant Mantis looked at her little prisoner, she reflected on how strange this entire situation was. It had taken her days to recover from her injuries after the Canterlot fiasco, and afterwards... she had been without direction. Like every changeling in the swarm at the time, she had sufficient love to sustain her for well over a year. However, she had no idea where they should rally if things went this bad, and she had no idea where she should go. Instead, she had wandered. She knew that the Obedience spell would have told most changelings to head for the queen... but the sudden exodus from Canterlot had left a few surprising side effects.

She had run across a couple of other changelings in the last year, and strangely, none of them had been very eager to seek out the queen. None of them had been in the Queen's Arrow, or had been in on the conspiracy, but they were all free from that accursed magic. The Obedience spell was broken, not just for a few, but for all. Changelingkind had changed that day... and was still changing.

After reading in a newspaper about how the commander had successfully applied for citizenship, Mantis had decided it was time to take a risk of her own. The commander had spent the last year in the Crystal Empire, the legendary birthplace of the changelings. While it was difficult to say if he had found anything regarding why changelings were still changelings, she felt it would be a good idea if she went in and did some investigation of her own. Travel to the kingdom had, until very recently, been restricted. A week ago, that restriction had lifted completely, due to the approach of the Equestrian games, and now anyone could go. She'd finally been able to buy a train ticket, and had just arrived this very day.

Rather than try to establish a permanent residence, and having to maintain a constant disguise, she decided to set herself up with something a little more... secretive. Not secretive enough, it turned out. She was certain that the locals thought this house to be haunted, and so nopony would dare wander it. Wrong.

Looking at the young intruder who had walked into the abandoned building she had chosen, she had to admit, he wasn't very impressive. A little Crystal Pony colt, not yet come into his cutie mark, was currently tied up in adhesive gel. Black coat, white mane and tail, golden eyes. Nothing special.

Her first order of business had been to lay a web of threads to catch any interlopers who might sneak into her new home. Less than five minutes later, she had felt a tremble in the line, letting her know somepony had come in. Rather than have him set off her traps, she had captured him herself.

She was getting much too old for this. She was past forty now, her shell was starting to go just ever so slightly gray, and while she was still in excellent shape, she was nowhere near as young as she used to be. She'd be feeling that little bit of acrobatics in the morning...

Considering the colt's question, she asked, "How to do what?"

The colt looked the changeling, confused, then said, "How you were able to catch me like that. I didn't see or hear anything. You must be a world champ at hide and seek."

In spite of herself, Mantis chuckled. Obviously, the colt didn't appreciate the seriousness of the situation. She ought to put a good scare into him, show him who was boss here. Then again, it might be better to keep things friendly, at least for now. The world was changing, after all.

"Well, I wouldn't like to brag," she said, with a bit of a grin. "I've had a lot of practice in that line of work. Ah, but if you're going to walk into somebuggy's home uninvited, you ought to introduce yourself. What is your name, little colt?"

The colt, all grins, said, "My name's Lance! What's yours?"

Lance's cheer was infectious, even if it was misplaced. "You stand in the presence of Flower Mantis, formerly of the changeling swarm. Now, mind explaining what you're doing here?"

Still smiling, Lance said, "I was exploring. I like peeking inside of places other ponies don't like to go. There's always cool stuff inside. Everypony thinks this house is haunted, so I thought I'd stay the night, and see if any ghosts came out." After a moment, he tilted his head to one side, seemed to think about something, and then asked, 'Your name's Flower? You don't look much like one."

Mantis grinned. She loved this trick. Striking a pose, she began shifting the color patterns of her carapace. Purple, Blue, Red, Green, Yellow, Orange, Cyan, she ran the entire spectrum through her shell, before settling on a design that made it look like she was covered with stylized flowers. "How about now?"

Lance's jaw dropped. "Woooooow...."

Chuckling a little bit, Mantis said, "I'm glad you like it. Now, let's talk business. You're intruding here, but I can't really say I own this place myself, so I suppose I can let you off with a warning. Next time, knock first." Lance nodded in agreement. "And I'd prefer it if you didn't tell anypony that I'm here. I like my privacy, and if word gets out that I'm here, I'm pretty certain that I'd get a lot more guests, and I doubt any of them will be as adorable as you are." At that, Lance laughed a little bit.

After a moment, Lance asked, "Um... could you show me how you caught me?"

He did seem genuinely interested, and if she didn't agree to, she'd probably end up getting pestered about it. After a moment's thought, she said, "I suppose I might be willing to give you some pointers. However, I can't give them to you for free." The colt seemed crestfallen. It seemed he didn't have anything he thought he could pay with. "I tell you what: if you'll bring something beautiful for me to look at, I'll teach you something. It doesn't even have to be something that I can keep: just show me something, and that'll be enough. Show me something beautiful enough, and I might give you the full course without any need for tuition. I'll even throw in your first lesson for free. Deal?"

Lance nodded vigorously. Certain now that the colt wasn't going to try and run off, she licked her hoof, then rubbed it over the adhesive gel. The gel dissolved almost instantly. The colt got up, stretched, and then, grinning, asked, "Where do we start?"

Mantis, grinning in return, said, "Well, first, we'll start with theory. Then practice. Have a seat."

Lance saluted (goodness, he was such an adorable little tyke, acting all serious like that), then sat down on the floor, fully attentive.

"Today," Lieutenant Flower "Invisible Striker" Mantis began, "You shall begin your initiation into the Way Of The Five Paths, the secret arts of the changeling. The Way is not something as crude as a fighting style. While there are moves, and tricks, that I can show you, the real purpose of the Way is not to make you memorize a set of rigid techniques, but something far more versatile. It is a set of five schools of thought, to allow one to respond with skill, courage, and confidence, to any threat that you may face. As water may change, under different circumstances, from solid, to liquid, to vapor, and back, so will you, at the completion of this course, be able to change, effortlessly, from hunted to hunter, from attacker to defender, and from untouchable to unstoppable. Are you ready?"

Lance, his expression serious, nodded.

"The first Path," Mantis said, now pacing in a circle around the colt, "is the one that I used to catch you today. The Path Of The Fox. The Fox Chases The Rabbit, And Is Chased By The Dog; The Fox Escapes The Dog, And Catches The Rabbit. You will learn how to think as both predator and prey. You will learn how to catch anything you need to chase, and how to escape capture. You will also learn how to turn both pursuit, and being pursued, into a weapon against those who mean you harm."

Lance's head turned to follow Mantis as she continued pacing around him. When she reached the end of that description, he whipped his head back to the other side, to continue following her path, only to see nothing: she had turned around, and was going the other way. When he finally turned back, she was sitting right in front of him, close enough to touch. He flinched visibly. Grinning, Mantis said, "Here's a free lesson for you: if your enemy expects you to go left, then there's no better time to go right." Colt, his eyes wide with surprise, nodded in understanding.

"The second Path," Mantis continued, "Is about patience and planning, rather than motion. The Path Of The Spider. The Spider Spins A Web, And Catches The Fly; No Web Can Catch A Spider. This Path is about creating, and evading, traps and ambushes. You can combine many of the techniques of the Fox Path with the Spider. Create traps to catch those who are chasing you, and chase others into the traps you create."

"The third Path is a bit harsher than the others: The Path Of The Mountain. The Mountain Cannot Be Broken; The Mountain Breaks All. This is a path for enduring fierce attacks, and for you to keep going in the face of adversity. It is not an easy Path, but it is a necessary one. You cannot go through life without enduring suffering: this Path is about coping with it and moving on. It is also about learning how to overcome the defenses of others. There is no such thing as a perfect guard, whether that be in combat, or anywhere else. There is always a way to break through."

Lance didn't seem to like that one very much. Well, the second part he did, but the first part was kind of a downer. Well, sorry to say, but that was life. He was lucky he wasn't a changeling, or he'd have learned a lot more about that before now. Well, then again, he was a crystal pony. He might know more than she thought.

"The fourth Path is The Path Of The Tiger. The Tiger Is Seen By None; The Tiger Sees All. The Path of the Fox teaches pursuit and evasion. The Tiger's Path is about remaining perfectly hidden until the moment you strike, and to spot that which is hidden from view. The tiger is among the fiercest predators in the world, and one of the hardest to see before it strikes. By the time you see the tiger, it is far too late."

Lance was grinning now. Mantis had to admit, that one did sound pretty cool. Well, the next one was even better... even if there was no way she would ever teach it to him.

"Finally," Mantis said, "There is The Path Of The Dragon. The Dragon Is Strong Above All Others; Before The Dragon, Strength Has No Meaning. Mastery of this path will teach you how to defeat any foe with a single blow, regardless of how powerful they may be, and to render any foe's strength meaningless. None may touch you, save those that you allow."

Lance's jaw dropped. Yeah, even Mantis had to admit, that was pretty awesome. However, she'd need to give him a dose of reality.

"In my life, I have only had two other students. The first one mastered all five paths, and became a monster: I was forced to turn my hoof against him, and strike him down, before he hurt anybuggy else. My second student mastered the first four, but I refused to teach the fifth, lest another monster be born. You will be my third. And unless you prove to be far more worthy than the other two, you will not learn anything beyond the fourth path. Can you accept that?"

Lance nodded, his expression solemn. "I can accept that."

Mantis grinned, then rubbed the little colt's head, ruffling his mane. "Good. Now, I'll show you a couple of tricks. And if you come back tomorrow with something nice for me to see, I'll teach you even more."

Lance jumped to his hooves, excited, and ready to begin.
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On a rooftop overlooking the abandoned house, Leiurus Quinquestriatus, the Deathstalker, watched the older changeling and the colt as they began to go through the first motions of the Path Of The Fox. So, she's taken on a new student. This could be the perfect opportunity, one that the Deathstalker had waited over a year for. Before Mantis knew it, she would have no choice but to part with the secrets of the fifth path...