Tales of a Changeling Commander

by Grazy Polomare

Well this is embarrassing...

Authors Note: Sorry to those who started reading. Realized there was a last minute tweak to be fixed and so...I had to hastily get it done. Hope you enjoy and give feedback on any errors to be fixed.

The last thing he saw was a flash of light...

...and the next thing he saw was another flash of light.

The insect carapace of a changeling was usually more than enough protection to withstand the suicidal impacts they did on tribal sieges. However, for the first time in many years, the Commander felt an ache in his lower thigh, cratches over his shell, possibly a broken snout, and the feeling that he had been kicked in places no creature should be kicked in.

"Owwwwwwwwwwww...." he managed to moan, rubbing his head against a cold, rough metal surface. His head felt like it had been split open like a watermelon. As his blurred vision began to adjust to the current environment, he saw slender, cylindrical pillars and chains emanating a violet aura that seemed both tranquil and hostile. "What' going on here?"

He was in a cage. A magically strengthened cage to be exact, reserved for Equestria's "finest". Here and there, lights in distant houses and cottages were flickering on as the clamor of voices began to surge into an uproar. Two unicorn guards flanked each side, carrying the cage as their gold-plated metal danced with the moonlight. It wasn't too bad in his perspective- he had lived in more debatable establishments as a common legion drone and, in a way, found it amusing that he was being paraded around town by two buff guards like he was royalty.

To no one in particular, he found himself murmuring, "Well this is embarrassing..."

And embarrassing it was. Paraded around town, having tomatoes, carrots, and...well...even muffins thrown at him. The Commander was no longer hungry anymore though, as he casually munched on a blueberry muffin. Apparently, the grey pegasus that had been the source of the sweet projectile didn't take a liking to his behavior. But who cares, she looked weird anyway. In a way, if it wasn't for the bars, he would technically be a prince lavished with cakes and all sorts of pony cuisine.

Yet, he knew this wasn't the case. In his defense, he hadn't meant any intentional harm in conversing with the mare. In fact, he was sure he could technically charge both unicorns with assault, if it had not been that he had so foolishly disguised himself as an affluential aristocrat.

Idiot! He slammed his hoof directly onto the ebony metal of his helmet, causing him to gasp in pain. He held his hoof, gently rubbing the burning sensation where he had so forcefully impacted his favorite limb.

Outside, groups of ponies, mares with fillies clutched in their arms, and groups of colts eyeing him like he was some sort of ursa-major, gathered to shout and occasionally throw whatever they had in their hooves at him.

"Sickly nag!"

"Inconceivable piece of scat!"

"You scoundrel!"

"I believe the only scoundrel here is you miss, thank you" he raised his hoof and began to wave as if he was some sort of celebrity. In reality, he wanted to crawl back to the hive, cower in his "lavish" room reserved for the Commander, and cry himself to sleep. However, he had been in this situation before. Many times in fact, whenever he managed to mess up on a ploy or arouse suspicion among the general populace. It wasn't his fault that they didn't educate the new swarms on how to stay incognito! Why, sure they may have had a seminar, but really, the Commander could have spent his time doing far better things then listening to some old smartypants drone on and on about how to appear appealing in a situation where this colt hates this mare and blah blah blah.

Well I guess this is life's way of telling me that I should have listened in class. He thought grimly.

The procession continued on for several more minutes before ending in a square, near a large, colorful tower. A wooden stage had been set, and the Commander could make out the six multi-colored, flank-kicking, ponies that had interfered with his objective in Canterlot. Standing with them was a tall, regal alicorn accompanied by who he presumed was her sister. The sight literally took his breath away.

While the taller sister was as white as day with a flowing mane of light colors, her sister was a ravishing night, a celestial mane that shined like the stars he would watch on guard duty back at the hive. So of course he would sigh dreamily, only to be slapped by an apple pitched for his head by some small yellow earth pony.

"Take that ya' varmin!" Applebloom howled.

"You better watch yourself missy," the Commander threatened," or else I'm gonna show you..OOF!" Another apple had found its mark on his icy blue eyes.

"Ouch! Stop throwing that at me! It hurts!" He began to rub his eye as more laughter continued and another apple zipped through the bars and collided with his injured limb.

Finally, the guards dropped the cage with a thud in front of the two alicorns, who eyed the creature before him, determining what cruel fate could await this minion of evil confined to the insides of this cage. The crowds had by now quieted. The Commander stood straight up, trying to stare with the best poker face he could manage. After all, this wasn't his first trial that he had to escape from. It was common for some townsfolk to hold a trial ,which would then end with the verdict of guilty and him scramming off into the forest ahead, laughing at their foolishness.

However, this was a formal trial for war criminals, and he was being adjudicated by who he would guess was Princess Celestia herself. He had never seen her in person, but she definitely looked like the royal type. Not that it mattered though, for it was still going to be the same. He was still going to get punished. The Commander puffed his chest, and sealed his eyes.

And now the show was about to begin.

%%%%

She watched the scene play out, her face pale and her legs shaking uncontrollably. It was a changeling no doubt. Her "neighbors" had told her about it. This one had been caught in the act of trying to blend in, though rather poorly. This was the first time she had seen any of her brothers or sisters since the forcefield had flung them into the air.

She had been unconscious for an hour or so before waking up to the realization of what had happened, adopting a form that no pony would notice her as, settle into society as a newcomer, make new friends to feed love off of, and simply rinse and repeat. It had almost become ingrained in her mind, to the point where she was beginning to believe it herself. Almost though, before the news of the capture spread throughout the crowd and she could only helplessly watch what could have happened to her or any of her siblings had they been unfortunate enough to be caught.

Under the rule of the queen, the Swarm would leave no member behind, but the hive mind was broken, shattered and scattered across Equestria. It was no longer about conquest. It was about survival.

"You okay?" the concern in the colts voice was palpable, and she hungrily snatched the ounce of love it contained.

"Yes, just a little stunned at how this whole trial is going."

As if on que, a reassuring hoof gently planted itself over her back, as if it could shield whatever negative thoughts tried to penetrate it.

"Don't you worry, I heard they got themselves the leader of the bunch."

QUEEN CHRYSALIS! It was already bad enough that they had been defeated, but if the queen herself had been captured then that could only spell doom for the entire hive.

%%%%

The crowd grew into an eerie silence as Princess Celestia raised her hoof. The Commander didn't feel intimidated however. He was a professional after all. At least...in his mind.

"Fellow subjects of Ponyville," the dark alicorn proclaimed. the Commander just gazed up, and got up on his ghastly hooves, his eyes drawn to the radiant beauty before him. His mind blotted out whatever she was going to say next, instead concocting what in his opinion were very catching lines and phrases.

"...and so, all Changelings must be brought through a trial conducted by me and my sister, Princess Celestia. Are thou' have any objections?"

"Yeah," a caramel stallion raised his hoof, "What do we do if there are more of these evil minions?"

This apparently caused a great uproar among the congregation, and the sound of fear and panic rose like fog in the air.

"SILENCE!!" the dark alicorn bellowed in a voice that shook the earth and went the Commander flying to the back of his cage. The crowd once again settled into their obedient postion of peace and quiet.

"Now," Princess Celestia began," let us question this Changeling on his motives..."

%%%%%

She glared at the prisoner before her with fierce eyes. He wore the armor of a changeling of high regard. In fact, he could be the leader of the battalion, Second-in-Command to the Queen herself. This changeling had information that would allow her and her guards to go on a bug hunt and put the swarm out for good. A smile crossed her lips. There hasn't been a good battle since a thousand years ago...

%%%%%

"You are a changeling yes?" the Princess said in as controlled a voice as she could manage, though it did come out to be stern.

"I do believe there should be a Commander somewhere in there...", the Commander said nonchalantly. If he was to get out of this, he figured his wit may be the only thing to save him. Oh well, he heard the dungeons had great bean and cheese burritos on Tuesdays.

"So you are Second-in-Command then?" the other alicorn asked.

The Commander felt his whole body soar, and he blurted," That's right gorgeous...". Of course the whole audience went into a second uproar, to which both Princesses had to raise their hooves again.

"How dare you talk of my fellow sister Princess Luna as if she was a possession." The Celestia seemed just about read to grab his head and stick it in thick, searing lard. After taking a couple of deep breaths, they continued.

"What are you doing here?" Princess Luna asked, her cheeks turning a rosy red.

"Well, I sort of flew down here from that crazy force field you guys set up there," the Commander began, " which, by the way, may I ask who started that whole thing?"

"That was Twilight's brother ,Shining Armor, and his wife Princess Mia--" Princess Celestia began before the Changeling raised his hoof.

"Yaddya Yaddya, I know who your'e talking about now. That Mr. Charming and his bride, Princess Sing-A-Long. Believe me, as a changeling, I get to know ponies a lot based on looks. You creatures are soooooooo predictable. Of course, so is many of the creatures in the swarm, with the exception of yours truly, and my battalion. But maybe not you, Princess Luna, you look like you would make a good evil mistress. "

By this time, Princess Celestia stood straight, her purples eyes turning into a soft red, while the six ponies, who he now assumed were the Elements of Harmony-hey he didn't snooze around in the lecture all the time-just outright tried to say as many insults as they could come up with. The yellow one, however, just seemed to sniffle in a corner.

When everypony got a hold of themselves, the Princess decreed her verdict, which was guilty, nothing surprising there, and decided to outline the kind of punishment he would receive.

"Because of your... beastly nature..."

"Hey lady, I only go beast mode when the time is right," said the Commander in a matter-of-fact voice.

"As I was saying," Celestia began, agitation ringing through her every word, " you will spend the remaining years of your life here in Ponyville, with the Elements of Harmony teaching you how to be a more...civil being."

The last words were said as if she was talking to a snake. But it wasn't that that got the Commander to raise his eyes in shock. No, it was the fact that they weren't sending him to the dungeon. And apparently, he was going to spend the rest of his life with the very ponies that had defeated him.

"Hold on a second Princess!" he yelled out, "Let's try to work something out. I know I haven't been on the best of my behavior, but I think that with some negotiations, we may be able to both leave this square feeling happy. I'm sure you want that right??"

However, the Princess just turned and waltzed off, leaving him in the cage.

As the crowd dispersed, the Commander pictured himself in the near future. It would be a disaster! He could tell that the Elements were going to make sure he learned a lesson, except for the pink one, who just seemed excited as if he was going to sleep over.

She's the one I'm afraid of. He thought dreadfully. And so the Commander buried his head in his hooves, attempting to blot out whatever thoughts plagued him.

%%%%

She watched him from a distance, so as to not appear suspicious to her friends. To any other being, one could say she morphed right into the background. Just another pony in Ponyville. If only so.

The Commander had been caught. To say she was surprised would be to say changelings don't feed on love. The Commander had been an upstart since the beginning. However, unlike most of her fellow brothers and sisters, she actually knew him before she served under his command during the Canterlot conquest. That one year, when she was first sent out to feed for a week. She was being sent to a cottage.

The young changelings waited eagerly as they were given out their assignments. All but one changeling, that is. She had been given the hardest one, to live in solitude with a colt. Her other siblings would be able to feed off many sources.

She involuntarily heaved a sigh, to which several of her comrades gazed up with confused expressions. Even though they fed off it, few members of the swarm could ever read one's own emotions. It was a sad fact, almost an irony, that they could understand social behavior and feed off it, yet, know nothing about their own conscience.

The rough nudge of a hoof startled her. Looking up, she saw the "late bloomer" as they called him. Sure they all had names, but no one bothered to call the Late Bloomer by his name. His real name at least. Bloom, as she herself had adopted for him, was the worst in their batch. A horrible tactician, and even worse when it came to paying attention. She already knew what he had gotten. A garbage collector fro the town, and for some odd reason, her cottage. It was the only job that required next to no actual talking with the other ponies, but she could already guess that it was going to be his last. There was always one who never made it back. Usually they starved to death, or in some worst cases, killed.

"Looks like I get to do the same job I do here," he grinned. That smile: one that could be considered a special talent. Few ever had his kind of positive attitude, The Queen said it made them weak. To give compassion was to regurgitate one's own food. Well, Bloom certainly didn't look hungry.

His grin dissolved into a frown. "What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing," she hissed, "I'm just a bit nervous."

"Well don't be, its just for a week and you get to eat fresh love. I mean, that's like...the best thing that can ever happen!"

She had to laugh at his alien sense of humor. He never hissed like a normal changeling. His reasoning was to stay in character, which he was terrible at. The instructor showed each one their own pony to portray and in minutes, the sea of uniform changelings turned into a rainbow of mares, fillies, colts, and stallions.

At first, the assignment went well. She fed off the colt and was able to store some for the swarm. But she could see that he was slowly drawing suspicion.

When they visited the market, the colt left to and pick up some tea. The market was filled with an impressive array os goods ranging from bright red toys, to foaming barrels of cider, to freshly made popcorn. Munching on a snack of popcorn, as she could experiences taste, she continued her steady trot. As she gazed up at the shop windows, a pearl white pegasus landed her hoof on her.

"Welcome to Hoofing Tales!" she said in an overexasperated voice.

"Umm excuse me..." she began before being cut off.

"Don't worry darling, we have all the necessities you need right here." and with that she was hauled into the store that reeked of cheap perfume and white, milky walls.

"Please, I'm just trying to..."

"Oh allow me," she said as she took her to a desk that blended into the walls. Before she could utter another word, powder was doused over her until her nose was filled with the stuff.

"This looks good," and with another douse the mare felt herself coughing as more powder was thrown at her face,

She was sure she was going to pass out, or lose her concentration and appear in her true form. She was just about to heave another sneeze when the clerk gave a gasp of horror.

Arching her head, the changeling saw that a blue, burly stallion had entered the shop. His hooves were caked with dirt and a green gas permeated off his body.

But his stern and gruff posture erupted into a cheerful smile.

"Maple!" he squealed as he rushed towards the pair. The changeling felt herself hoisted into the air as she was squeezed into a tight hug. She was sure she was about to suffocate when at last, she was released.

"Why," the clerk said as she got out of her trance, " aren't you the garbage colt?"

"You betcha lady," the colt huffed his chest, "and may I say I have been looking everywhere for you."

Outside, the fervor of noise and ringing of bells muffled their voices.

"So, how's it been?" Bloom asked.

"We aren't supposed to be together," she hissed. If he continued to talk to her, they would both be dead soon.

Bloom looked appalled, "Well I'm sorry, I was just checking on an old friend who said she was nervous about her new job!" It was a good thing the noise drowned out his booming voice.

"Well let's just be glad I..." and before she continued, she sneezed.

"Looks like that powder got to your head missy," Bloom grinned.

"Yeah I..." another sneeze, but this time a ripple revealed the bug-like shell underneath.

Dodging carts and incoming shoppers, Bloom rushed her to an abandoned alleyway as she gave off another sneeze which shattered her adopted form, revealing the true insect-like creature underneath. It took another minute to get all the powder out. After a few deep breaths, the changeling regained her form from memorizing her character.

"What was in that stuff?" Bloom asked, puzzled.

"I don't know, but I'm certain powder doesn't do that."

***

In the alleyway of the fashion shop and spa, the colt and the Captain of the Guard stood idly by, as two guards rushed with a salute.

"Sir, no sign of her."

The Captain heaved a sigh and looked at the colt. "I was certain the powder would work."

"Me too, but then that cooky garbage stallion took her away. Sweet Celestia those ponies are weird." The colt looked into the horizon when he suddenly saw his wife walking across.

"There she is!"

The group tackled the mare to the ground as the captain's horn glowed an earthly brown. All eyes darted onto the scene. Waiting to see...nothing. The mare looked up at her husband, her eyes shooting daggers at everypony that had tried to attack her, their bodies slowly moving away.

"Monte? What's the meaning of this?"

"Why Maple, you're...you?" Monte took a step back, his face blushing.

"Of course it's me you idiot, I told you I was going away on a business trip."

***

The swarm returned with no casualties and all the prisoners were hypnotized with a plausible story to back each of them up. The celebration afterwards was magnificent. Food was shared among everyone and even the Queen allowed a day of rest from the constant buzz of activity.

She, however, sat alone on a table. If it hadn't been for Bloom's rash, and stupid, action, she would have been discovered. She was sure of it. As she got up to leave her nesting chamber, she heard the sound of raised voices. Curious, she followed the sound to the room of the instructor, who was barking harshly at some member fo the swarm.

"...and finally, you never ever ever interfere with another changeling's mission."

"But sir." the voice belonged to Bloom.

"But sir nothing, you run the risk of both of you being discovered."

"But the powder would have exposed her. She could have been killed."

"That is her responsibility then, not yours."

But deep down, she knew that she was trapped. There was no way to leave the shop without drawing attention to herself. But instead, Bloom had gotten her and now it was he who was being scolded instead of her.

The Commander was now the damsel in distress. Being condemned to endure a humiliating punishment. Except that he wasn't.

She and her siblings would make sure of that.

Comments

[The Pyropath]

I think I like this! Please post more soon!

[Lmaozorzz]

Damn straight! I love how your portraying the Commander!

[TeaPartyCannon]

A new chapter! I've been waiting for this to update!

I really do like the Commander, and who's this other changeling? Guess we'll find out later, huh?

Update soon, I want to see how this turns out!