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Then Play1,895 words
Running Errands1,386 words
Crystal Empire1,942 words
Death?1,902 words
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Responsibility1,142 words
Transformation1,613 words
Flight2,189 words
Revealed1,512 words
Regrets1,897 words
Manehattan1,691 words
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When the going gets tough...886 words
... the tough get going!1,052 words
Preparations2,928 words
Final Battle (Revised)3,498 words
Epilogue1,132 words
April Fools Chapter699 words

Transformation

Scootaloo walked swiftly and silently, secretly following the pony in front of her. She had just heard that pony hum a familiar tune, one that Rose had taught her only yesterday. Scootaloo had found a Changeling. Soon they were in a dark ally between slightly damaged houses, and Scootaloo made her move.

"Hello, Changeling." Scootaloo said. The pony in front of her stiffened in shock, before stopping and turning around. "I know what you are. I have learned the basics of Changelings, and wish to become one."

"Why?" the Changeling asked softly.

"Many reasons. I have a deformity in my wings that makes me unable to fly, which I could fix as a Changeling. I want to see what it is like to be an Earth Pony or a Unicorn, even if I don't want to be one all the time. I am an orphan adopted by Rainbow Dash, but before I was adopted I was starving on the streets. Everypony cares for orphans, if I was a Changeling I wouldn't ever have to starve again. I currently have a source of emotion from my friends, who would accept me even if I was a Changeling."

"Then I wish you luck. You will be the first pony to willingly become a Changeling. Follow me, and I will take you to a place where I will make you one of us."

"Thank you, but I was wondering... What is your name?"

The Changeling smiled, fangs flashing in the dim light of the morning. "My name is Silent Whisper, but my disguise is Tulip Bulb."

Queen Phantasma panted as she ran. She wasn't used to running, especially not long distances. Behind her was a Changeling that had once been her own, now chasing her down. Spells whizzed by her head, and Phantasma felt rage build up at the needless waste of energy that could have been used to save lives. The Changeling chasing her was the traitor, the one who stole love from the Hive. Thanks to the traitor, several Changelings died of starvation, and now the Queen herself would die. Running around the corner, Queen Phantasma stopped to catch her breath. She knew what she had to do. Closing her eyes, Phantasma sent out a message to the Hive.

The Traitor has struck again. I am about to die, the only thing I can do is relinquish the position as leader of the Hive to the next in line. Silent Whisper, you are now the King of the Changelings. The Hive has been lost, do not return.

That was all Phantasma had time for. The Traitor had caught up. Phantasma felt her form shrink as her power as Queen left her, and looked down to see claws tear her own body apart. She gave a last, shuddering breath, and died. A smile lay frozen on her face, she had protected the Hive to her last breath. The Traitor gave a snort, angry that he hadn't been able to kill the Queen before she gave her power away. He sucked the last emotional energy she had out of her body, the feelings of happiness and pride that she had impeded him, before turning and walking away.

Rose woke up to the sound of the Queen Phantasma talking over the Hive Mind, and shuddered. That love-sucking monster had stolen more love and killed the Queen! Listening to the rest of it, Rose shot up in bed. Silent Whisper was the new King? That was unexpected. Twilight walked into the room, smiling happily.

"I see you're already awake. Ready for today's magic lessons?"

Rose smiled back. "Yes! What do we have today?"

"Today I'm going to teach you how to make a basic shield, then go on to show you different types of shields that have different abilities. Come on, let's have breakfast."

Rose walked downstairs, already forgetting the bad news from earlier as she prepared to learn.

Silent Whisper smiled. This pony willingly agreed to become a Changeling! Her smile turned to a frown as he remembered the pony's words. 'I have learned the basics of Changelings' meant that one of the Changelings had shared important information with ponies! His frown deepened as he received the Queen's broadcast. This changed his priorities, he had to find a new location for a Changeling Hive. In addition, a new character change was in order. Now that he was King, the Changeling messengers would all report to him, he needed to be a pony everypony should know to not look suspicious when so many ponies visited him. For now, he decided to take a nap and wait for the pony to be fully transformed into a Changeling. With a chuckle, Silent Whisper realized he hadn't even gotten the pony's name.

Scootaloo woke up inside the green cocoon Silent Whisper had told her would turn her into a Changeling. She looked outside the translucent fibers and saw Silent Whisper himself, this time in Changeling form. It looked like he was waking. Scootaloo felt the fibers of the cocoon, and noticed that they seemed to break at her touch. She gave it a kick, and it burst open. Scootaloo looked down at herself, taking in the black carapace, noticing that the patterns of holes in her body were different than Silent Whisper's. Noticing that Whisper was fully awake, she decided to ask.

"Why do we have different patterns of holes in out bodies?"

"It's part of how Changelings tell each other apart. I guess your information about us wasn't complete. Who did you get it from?"

"Rose Bloom. She met us earlier."

Silent Whisper had a sudden shock when he remembered her. "You're Scootaloo, right?"

"Yeah. How did you know my name?"

"I was Petal Blossom. Rose's 'mother'. Why did she tell you about us?"

Scootaloo looked sheepish. "I accidentally hit her with my cart, her horn broke and her form reverted to a Changeling."

"You WHAT?!"

Scootaloo lowered her head and scuffed the dirt with one hoof. "It was an accident! I apologized anyway."

Silent Whisper sighed and shook her head. "It is what it is. We can't change that now. While you were in the cocoon, the old Queen of the Changelings died. Before she perished, she gave the last of her power to me. I am the Changeling King now."

Scootaloo's eyes widened. "What does the Changeling King do?"

"The ruler of the Changelings, whether it is a King or Queen, commands all of the Changelings. The King or Queen is more powerful than other Changelings, and can use the Hive Mind. If a King or Queen is killed by another Changeling, that Changeling becomes the new King or Queen. Alternately, a King or Queen can give their powers freely to another Changeling. The previous Queen didn't want the Changeling who killed her to become the new ruler so she gave me the power."

"Who killed the Queen?"

"A rogue Changeling who betrayed the Hive and stole love. The Hive is now destroyed, and there is no love left in the stores."

"Are you in danger, then? If the rogue Changeling wants to become the new ruler?"

Whisper frowned grimly. "I believe so. I cannot let my location be known."

"But then how can you rule if none of your subjects know where you are?"

Whisper's frown deepened. "Therein lies the problem. I need a way to remain hidden, yet still communicate with the rest of the Hive."

Scootaloo smiled enthusiastically. "Oh! I know! If you have a few trusted Changelings communicate with you, they can keep your secret hiding place secret while you rule through them!"

Whisper's eyes widened in surprise. "That's genius! How did you think of that?"

Scootaloo blushed modestly. "I thought of it a while ago, when me and my friends were doing Cutie Mark Crusaders Crime Lords! You see, we were running an underground smuggling ring, but then the Royal Guards were trying to find us so we had only our most trusted underlings communicate with us and the rest would obey them." Scootaloo frowned. "Then our most trusted underlings were captured and imprisoned by the guards, so we had to abandon the whole project." Scootaloo's frown morphed into a grin. "We still made tons of bits, even though we had to hide them so nopony would ask us about where we got them."

Whisper just stared at her. Becoming a Crime Lord as a filly? And getting away with it? I'm glad she's on the Changelings' side now. "Uh, anyway, thanks for the suggestion. I can't really take care of you for now though, so you should probably just stay as the pony you were before you became a Changeling. If you have any questions, ask Rose. She'll be able to answer some of your questions, and the ones she can't both of you can learn from Bugze. Bugze is the Changeling in charge of teaching Rose, he can teach you also. Just tell Rose next time you see her. Goodnight."

With that final word, Silent Whisper vanished to prepare for the upcoming Changeling War.

Author's Note:

The Cutie Mark Crusaders' crusading hasn't always been legal... I'm considering writing a story about the Cutie Mark Crusaders Crime Lords.

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