• Published 16th Jan 2019
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To Be a Changeling - PlagueRat



A newly hatched changeling feels like the world around is more strange than it should be but can't understand why.

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Chapter 29 - Changeling Chase

The previous afternoon

Passing by Twilight’s castle, Private Coldsteel, Blaze and Spring watched as their fellow guards, Private Volley and Rhapsody assisted a group of reformed changelings.

“What do you think they’re building?” Sunlight Spring asked.

“Some kind of trap,” said Coldsteel, “anyway-“

“Excuse me,” a small rosy brown pegasus filly said, as she quickly trotted up to the trio. “I was told to come to you if I saw anything weird lately.”

“Yes, that’s right,” said Sunlight as she looked down at the filly. “Could you tell me your name please?”

“Oh, sorry, my name is Viola Strings,” answered the filly who then did a curtsey with her rear legs.

“Hello Voila,” said Sunlight, giving the younger pegasi a warm smile. “I’m Sunlight and these are my fellow guards, Luminous and Coldsteel. So what did you want to tell us?”

“Well, I’m not sure if it’s anything really,” the filly said, “and I kinda feel bad bringing this up to you because she’s never been mean or anything…”


“I think we should all have a safe word,” Private Ballista Strike said to the rest if her unit as they walked in the direction of Saddle Lake. “This way if one of us disappears and we suspect they might have been replaced by a changeling- why are you laughing?”

“I think you mean code word,” chuckled Private Havoc Spark before clearing his throat and returning his expression to neutral, “or a code phrase.”

“Safe word, code word, code phrase, what’s the difference?” Ballista grumbled at her fellow guard.

“About a pair of hoof cuffs and a ridding crop,” snickered Private Chase Tradewind as he glided past her.

“Wait, what?” asked the flummoxed earth pony mare.

Private Daybreak Dustoff landed instep next to Ballista, folded her wings against her sides and leaned over to whisper into the other mare’s ear. The earth pony’s tail tucked between her legs while her face turned bright red.

“That’s not what I meant!” she stammered. “I meant one pony would say a specific sentence to another pony and then that pony would have to say a specific sentence back.”

“That’s a code phrase Private Strike,” Sergeant Heather Shield said, looking back at the troops following her, “and it’s a good idea.”

“What phrase should we use sarge?” asked Havoc.

“Let’s see, how about ‘Did you catch that bug that’s going around?’ and ‘No, I’ve been vaccinated’ will be the correct response,” Sergeant Shield said. “Everypony remember that.”

“Yes ma’am,” the other five ponies said together.

“Alright, let’s start searching this side of the lake,” Shield said, pointing ahead, “and then we’ll work our way around clockwise.”


“So we’re looking for a pink unicorn?” asked Coldsteel.

“Flamingo pink unicorn filly with light purple pigtails,” Private Luminous Blaze said as he looked through his notepad. “Goes by the name Passion Tango.”

“This might be just another wild goose chase,” Coldsteel mumbled.

“Probably,” Luminous said, “but we still have to check up on it.”

The two watched as Sunlight talked with a group of students from the School of Friendship. After one of the coeds pointed back at the school with a hoof and shrugged, the pegasus guard trotted back over to them.

“Well?” asked Coldsteel, “Anypony seen her?”

“Yeah, back in the school on the second floor,” Sunlight answered.

“Alright, let’s go talk to her before she zooms off,” said Coldsteel, trotting toward the school.

The guards entered the facility and received many glances from passing students as their armored hooves clacked against the floor. Along the way they stopped to ask another student if she had seen the pink unicorn and they were directed to check a classroom in the eastern wing of the school. It was there they found the filly alone, looking out a window that faced Princess Twilight’s castle.

“Excuse me, are you Passion Tango?” Sunlight asked the filly.

When the unicorn looked from the window and back to the guards at the room’s entrance her eyes widened just slightly enough for Luminous to take notice. Both Sunlight and Coldsteel entered the room and walked up to the filly but Luminous decided to stay by the doorway.

“Yes, that’s me,” the filly said, giving a sweet smile. “How can I help you?”

“Well, I’m Sunlight and these are my fellow guards Luminous and Coldsteel,” the pegasus introduced them, probabily for the thirtieth time that day. “We were hoping you could answer a few questions for us.”

“Sure, but would you mind if I just opened this window?” asked the filly, fanning herself with a hoof. “I’m feeling a little flush and was just about to let a little air in before you all arrived.”

After getting a nod from Sunlight the unicorn filly’s horn lit up and a soft green glow unlatched the window and opened it wide to let a soft breeze in.

“Much better,” Passion said. “Now how can I help you?”

“Would you be able to tell us where you were when the changelings attacked the school yesterday?” questioned Sunlight.

“Oh it was dreadful!” the filly said. “I ended up hiding behind a stall door in the mare’s room.”

“The mare’s room?” Coldsteel asked.

“Yes that’s right,” confirmed Passion.

“Not the library?” Sunlight interjected.

“The library..?” the filly paused and her ears folded back. “Oh silly me! That’s right, I was in the library, but then I went to the mare’s room down the hall from it.”

“Passion, we have a witness that spotted you going into the library but never leaving it.” Sunlight informed the filly while taking a few steps closer.

“I’m sorry but somepony must be mistaken,” Passion said, while frowning with her eyes. “It was such a frightening event, they must have missed me leaving.”

Coldsteel looked over at Luminous and quirked an eyebrow and then winked. In silent response the unicorn stallion poked his bottom lip out and tilted his head a little.

“Passion, would you be willing to submit to a magical scan?” Coldsteel asked when he turned his attention back to the young pegasus.

“A magical scan?” the filly asked, placing a hoof on her chest. “Aren’t those for… wait, do you think I’m a changeling?”

“I’m sorry but after the attack on the school, we need to be extra careful,” began Coldsteel.

“No, its fine,” interrupted the filly, who then gave a dramatic sigh. “If it will prove I’m not a changeling, scan me.”

From the looks that Sunlight gave Luminous, it was obvious she was unsure about continuing. They hadn’t been authorized to use a scanning spell and so if the filly was a changeling she had called their bluff.

“Well, if we have your permission,” said Luminous as he trotted over to Passion, “I’ll get it over with so we can leave you be.”

Luminous was only planning to pretend to cast the spell and was completely taken by surprise when the filly spat a thick glob of green slime between his eyes. Visually disabled, he could only listen to the sounds of the room around him as it erupted into a grand chaos.


Weevil turned away from the temporally blinded unicorn and shifted her form into a light sea green pegasus. She leapt, hooves first, out of the open second story window and shot off before the other two guards could pick their jaws up off the floor. Grinding her teeth together and grumbling, the infiltrator was furious at having her cover blown. She didn’t have long to dwell on it however, as she could already hear the shouts behind her from the female pegasus guard telling her to stop and surrender. Knowing about a few places to lay low, the changeling headed east.


“What’s with the commotion?” Ballista asked, looking up into the western sky.

“Looks like two pegasi are racing each other…” said Havoc while squinting his eyes.

“It’s not a race… it’s a chase,” said Galewind Breeze who then pointed with a hoof at the trailing pegasus. “That’s Sunlight!”

“She’s yelling something,” Sergeant Shield said and after focusing her ears forward, her eyes widened. “It’s a changeling! Dustoff, Tradewind, Breeze, go help her!”


While passing over the nearby lake, Weevil could only curse her luck as three more pegasi guards joined in the aerial pursuit after hearing their compatriots calls for assistance. Outnumbered and having her eastward retreat cut off the changeling could only think of one other way, aside from capture, to escape from her hunters. She would have to fly faster than she ever had before if she wanted to make it to the Everfree Forest.


Sergeant Shield galloped alongside Ballista and Havoc. Even though the ground bound equines had no chance moving at an equal speed as the inflight pegasi, they could still manage to keep them in their sights.

“It’s heading south now,” panted Havoc, the unicorn having trouble keeping up with the two earth pony mares. “Toward the Everfree.”

“Sunlight is catching up to it,” Ballista said loudly over the thundering of her hooves against the soil beneath her.


“Surrender!” the guard shouted for the umpteenth time at her, “you’re not going to escape, don’t make this worse on yourself!”

The forest was rapidly approaching and despite the burning of her wing muscles, Weevil pressed on. As the trees began to pass beneath her she adjusted her altitude so she would be able to skim the air just two meters above the canopy leaves.

“I’ve got you!” triumphantly cried out the pegasus as her front hooves grasped at one of her rear legs.

Weevil turned her head just enough to look back at the guard to give the mare a crooked cocky grin. She suddenly angled herself into a steep dive, pulling the pegasus along with her, as green fire surrounded her form.


Despite knowing about changelings and their abilities, Sunlight unconsciously jerked her hooves away from the heatless fire and cried out in shock when the bright emerald flames erupted around the pegasus in front of her. A falcon with blueish grey feathers replaced her target and it dove through a small break in the canopy. Unfortunately for Sunlight, despite flaring out her wings in an attempt to correct her decent, she couldn’t stop herself from following behind.

Branches slapped, scraped and scratched against her, painfully slowing her down enough so that when she crashed into the forest floor, she only lost consciousness instead of her life.


“Aphid!” hissed out Weevil, just before the loud thud of a crashing pegasus caused the nearby birds in the trees to fly off.

After returning to her normal form and checking on the unmoving guard to make sure she was still breathing, Weevil turned to call out again for the scout. When she ended up face to face with Aphid and another changeling she leapt back in fright and placed a hoof against the pounding heart in her chest.

“What in the hive is going on?!” harshly whispered Aphid, looking from Weevil to the downed guard.

“I don’t have time to explain!” Weevil said. “There are three more pegasi after me and they will be here any second!”


Private Dustoff cringed when she witnessed Sunlight plow through the too small opening in the canopy. She thought it was a good thing that she brought along a first aid kit because the other pegasus was sure going to need it.

“Just up a head is a little clearing,” shouted out Tradewind over the rushing wind. “We can set down there and double back into the forest to where Sunlight went down!”

The three guards carefully banked around the break in the trees while slowing themselves down. One by one they descended and took a quick scan of the empty clearing.

“Sunlight?!” called out Breeze.

“In here,” Sunlight called out weakly from somewhere beyond the tree line.


Sergeant Shield, along with her two troops skidded to a stop just before the dark forest. Private Spark was drenched in sweat and the skinny unicorn braced himself against the trunk of a tree while he caught his breath. Ballista, while also sporting a sheen of perspiration, breathed much easier through her nostrils and looked as if she could still run all the way to Canterlot and back.

“How far in would you say they went down?” Shield asked the slowly recovering unicorn.

“About a kilometer,” breathed out Spark, “give or take a few meters.”

“Alright, keep your eyes open and stick close to me,” Shield instructed them before pushing through the underbrush and into the Everfree.


When Daybreak spotted Sunlight, laying on her side and half way out of a mangled bush, she immediately rushed over to the mare’s side. With practiced precision she removed the first aid kit from her saddle bag and started to pluck out the supplies that would most likely be needed.

“I lost the changeling,” Sunlight said.

“Shhh, don’t worry about it,” Daybreak consoled, “just stay still for now. Chase, Gale, help me clear the branches away from her, I don’t want her to move until I can see her injuries.”

The two stallions swiftly moved to opposite sides of Sunlight and began to use their hooves to trample down the bush.

“Did you see what way the changeling went?” Chase asked while pulling away the pile of debris he just created.

“I’m not sure,” hissed Sunlight who winced slightly in pain.

“It doesn’t look like anything’s broken,” Daybreak said, “but I need to take off your armor to make sure.”

Daybreak reached forward and carefully removed the other mare’s helmet, placing it off to the side. Freed of the enchanted barding, Sunlight’s natural vibrant daffodil fur color promptly returned and her wavy rusty orange mane fell over her face. Gently the medic reached a hoof forward to brush aside the prone mare’s mane.

Like a viper, Sunlight’s head shot forward and Daybreak silently cried out in pain as two fangs sunk into her leg, just below her knee joint. Chase and Galewind froze up at the sight, both unsure in that moment of what just happened; and for the two silhouettes that leapt down on them from above, it was all the time they needed.


“I got a good bite on mine,” said Featherwing, the other changeling that was with Aphid, “he’ll be out for a while.”

“Same here,” said Aphid.

“I hear more coming,” Weevil said to them, her ears focused northward.

“Strip them down quickly and get the other one,” Instructed Aphid, “we’ll take care of the next group just like we did these three.”


Dazed, disoriented and relieved of her armor, Daybreak was barely able to register her surroundings as one of the changelings dragged her off behind a rather large fern. It left her laying unceremoniously against the unconscious bodies of her fellow guards, and she could only watch helplessly as it took her form and dressed in her garb. The changeling then pulled out the motionless form of the real Sunlight Spring, from under a pile of fallen leaves, and left with her to join its cohorts.

When she heard the voices of her other three team members the medic tried to call out a warning but could only hiss through her clenched teeth.


“Is she alive?” asked Sergeant Shield as she came to a stop, along with Ballista, in front of Private Dustoff, Tradewind and Breeze.

“Yes, but we need to get her back to town quickly so I can do a more thorough examination of her injuries,” Dustoff said while she used her wings to wrap a bandage around one of Sunlight’s legs.

“Sergeant!” called out a winded Spark as he staggered into the tiny clearing. “Ask them.”

“Right,” grunted Sergeant Shield before turning back to the three pegasi, “Did you catch that bug that’s going around?”

Dustoff stood up and looked from Tradewind to Breeze, then back to Sergeant Shield. Breeze and Tradewind also exchanged blank glances with each other.

“Uh, if you mean the changeling, she got away,” Breeze said.


The sounds of snapping branches along with hissing and shouting filled Daybreak’s ears. The mare forced herself to her hooves despite her swimming vision and she tried her best to fight off the changeling’s venom. Her stomach lurched and the medic stumbled forward, losing her breakfast in the process. After wiping her muzzle clean with a fetlock and spitting the foul taste from her mouth, she peered around the fern.

Daybreak cringed when a changeling clung onto Spark’s back and sank its fangs into the poor unicorn’s neck. Ballista and Sergeant Shield were only fairing a little better, bucking and stomping around in an attempt to dislodge their own biting attackers; but in the end the effect of the changeling’s poison won out against the strong earth ponies.

With her adrenaline pumping from the terrible sights of the fight and tears of helplessness in her eyes, Daybreak ran away.

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