Chapter 3
The occasional sound of a page turn and the soft breathing of a pony made their way through the otherwise silent room. In the living room of the upstairs apartment in the Sweet Roast Cafe, there was no early afternoon rush of customers making a racket. No voices, no clinking coffee cups, nor any noise of coffee being brewed or milk being steamed resounded through the air. The scene was simply silent and peaceful as the sole occupant continued her reading.
Sweet leaf’s mind was neither silent nor peaceful.
Today was the day. Every newspaper had finally announced the wedding the day after her and Roast’s date two days prior, and it was all anypony could talk about. While she could neither do nor hear anything about the progress of the wedding, the amount at stake in the day was near unfathomable not only for her, but for all changelings. It just so happened to be held on a Sunday, the one day of the week that Sweet Leaf and Fine Roast, the cafe’s two sole employees, took off.
Pages kept turning and eyes kept scanning words, yet she comprehended nothing. What was happening up in Canterlot? Had they said the vows yet? Had her queen managed to keep up her disguise? More questions ran rampant through her muddled mind.
She looked up from her book to the clock for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. A breath forced its way into her chest as she saw it was finally one thirty in the afternoon.
Sweet Leaf pushed away the adventure novel, one of her favorites, and heedlessly closed it. She rose from her lying position on the couch and brought it over to its spot on the bookshelf. She and Fine Roast had decided today would be a friends day. Roast would be with his until the night and Sweet would be with hers.
Fine Roast had left earlier to play a few games of bowling before going out and doing whatever it was that Roast and his friends, some stallions and one mare, did come evening time. While friends weren’t really a thing in changeling culture, it was necessary to keep up appearances and avoid unnecessary attention. Most of the changelings in each town tended to congregate together as a group of friends, doing things that pony friends would do. Sweet Leaf, or rather Firefly, rather enjoyed the pony activities that she and her fellow changelings did together in public. Though, some of the others were fairly against such frivolous games when in the privacy of changeling-only company.
Regardless, it was a time collectors found important as, when amongst themselves in a private place, it allowed them to simply shed their disguises and be the changeling they were hatched as.
Sweet Leaf snorted as she made her way to the bedroom to get ready. Changeling culture, what little of it there was, was a far cry from that of ponies. For hundreds of years, far beyond the memory of any changeling, few of them had luxuries as what was available to ponies. While ponies were able to sleep in soft, warm beds, changelings often had to deal with small cubbies carved out in their hive. While it fit their hard, chitin shells well, there was little that could replace a good bed.
Firefly’s grabbed her saddlebags out of the closet, ones specifically designed with her fabricated cutie mark on them, and donned them. Changelings also didn’t get to have many possessions of their own. Love and food were so sometimes sparse enough that even bland, samey meals were appetizing. No changeling could justify spending much time on themselves or their interests when there was such a great deal of work to be done with never enough resources.
Any changeling would consider themselves lucky to have such circumstances as Firefly. If only it weren’t for the constant risk they would be taking to even be here, she imagined more might do it. At any given time, she could make a mistake, shift during the wrong time, or even during her sleep. She could say the wrong thing and arouse suspicion in her husband or even customers. She had to be someone else at all times, never allowing herself the opportunity to mix up her own self nor any of her past roles.
Today was hopeful, but it was also filled with anxiety and a little dread. If her queen could do what she said, no changeling would ever go hungry again. Never again would the caretakers have to tell the nymphs that there wasn’t enough love. The results of the wedding would provide the hive with such luxuries that any pony pleasure would seem trivial in comparison.
It’s for the good of the Hive, she thought as she trot down the stairs to the front door. We need the food. We won’t go hungry anymore.
All that had to happen was the enslavement of ponykind.
The walk to her fellow changeling’s house was no longer than ten minutes, but was rarely uneventful on any occasion. This time was turning out to be no different.
Sweet Leaf waved at the third pony who greeted her as they crossed paths. Being a barista at a rather popular cafe seemed to draw out the friendliness of ponies more than usual. It was a very interesting property of most ponies to live and breathe friendship. If Sweet Leaf was to be entirely honest with herself, she found it rather nice. If… a little exhausting sometimes.
“Oh! Sweet Leaf! Dear!” she heard to her right after she’d crossed an intersection. She stopped and looked, finding one of her frequent customers.
“Dusty!” Sweet Leaf said as she headed over to the outdoor restaurant. Dusty Pail, Sweet Leaf thought on her way. Every morning he orders a caramel mocha and a sugar cookie. “How are you?” she asked as she entered the patio area.
“I’m doing quite well,” Dusty replied. “How are you and Roast doing? I haven’t had the time to stop and chat in a couple weeks.”
“We’re doing great,” Sweet Leaf smiled. “Roast just got back from a coffee convention over in Baltimare and the cafe has been keeping us as busy as ever.”
“That’s great.” He smiled at her. “By the way, I wanted to ask you, my wife thinks she left her book at your cafe. You wouldn’t happen to have a lost-and-found would you?”
“We do.” Sweet Leaf said, tapping her chin in thought. “I think we might have picked up a book of sorts. Do you know the title or author?”
Dusty shrugged. “I have no idea other than it’s a fantasy novel about sparkly dragons or some-such.”
“I think that might have been your wife’s book! Why don’t you or her stop by later this week and we can take a look.”
“Sure, sounds good,” he replied.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sweet Leaf saw a mare with a familiar button and thread cutie mark walking down the street. “Ooh, sorry to cut it short, Dusty, but I just saw one of the friends I’m having lunch with. I’ll talk to you later!”
“Of course! Have a good day.”
Sweet rushed out of the cafe area, seeing the mare turn a corner. She trotted along and turned the corner. Getting close, she called out to her fellow changeling, “Bobby Pin!”
The light blue unicorn mare stopped and turned around, looking back and forth for the source. She spotted Sweet Leaf and brightened, waving at her. “Hi, Sweet Leaf! How are you?”
“I’m doing well, considering the circumstances.” Sweet Leaf caught up, the two of them walking side by side to their mutual destination. “How have you been settling in?”
“It’s been a huge change.” The unicorn made a large sweeping gesture with her hooves. “It’s not at all like I thought it would be.”
“Oh? You’ve been here four months, is that right?”
“Three months, actually,” Bobby Pin corrected as they turned down another street, “and it’s just so… different from back home. I know what they all said and what we were taught, but it’s such a shock when you actually get here.”
“It really is.” Sweet Leaf nodded. “I remember when I moved out of my parents’ house. I felt so lost,” she said, hoping Bobby would catch the metaphor. “Back then, I didn’t have anyone to turn to, it was just me and a brand new town.”
Bobby Pin gave Sweet Leaf a concerned look. “That must have been terrifying.”
“It definitely wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t as hard as it sounds.” She waved off her friend’s concerns with a hoof. “It took some quick thinking and some bit-pinching before I was able to get settled into the place.”
“Still, I can’t imagine what it would have been like all alone without anyone to guide you.”
“I think you’d have been just fine,” Sweet said.
They both seemed to decide that silence was to reign for a few moments.
Firefly only partially believed her own statement. She had no idea how Spindle, the ‘ling behind Bobby Pin, made it through collector training. The mare was far too timid for this life and she hadn’t yet mastered separating herself from her disguise. If she were to be discovered, Sweet figured the inexperienced changeling had a fifty-fifty chance of completely locking up.
Sweet Leaf broke the silence as they turned down the final street. “Looks like we’re here.”
Two houses down the two mares walked. Surrounding the property, unlike many houses on the street, was a just-under-pony-height, brown wooden fence. Bobby Pin opened the gate and allowed Sweet Leaf to go in first.
Sweet nodded and continued through. She trotted up to the door and gave it three quick knocks. Bobby Pin came up beside her as they both waited for their hostess.
They didn’t have to wait long. The door opened, revealing a tan colored stallion. “Sweet! Bobby! It’s so nice to see you again. Come on in,” the earth pony said and stepped back. He waved a hoof for the two to enter the house.
“Long Scroll. It’s been a while,” Bobby said, rubbing her hooves on the doormat as she entered.
“That it has and what a great time to have a nice, friendly get-together! The others are in the living room,” Long Scroll said and pointed a hoof to the first doorway on the right. “I’ll be there in a few after I get tea and cookies ready.”
“Thanks, Scroll,” Sweet Leaf said and she and Bobby headed into the living room. Inside, She saw a blue pony she didn’t recognize. As she took her seat in one of the two couches, she and the other stallion met eyes.
“Sweet Leaf! Good to see you’re still around.”
“Um, have we met?” Sweet raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, we have as a matter of fact.” A flash of green fire encompassed him and she immediately recognized his new orange pony form.
“Ah, Vibrant Brush.” Sweet looked around the room at the windows. “Has Scroll given the okay?”
Vibrant Brush rolled his eyes and gave a shrug. “It’s just us here. We’ve done this a thousand times. No one’s going to see.”
Sweet Leaf eyed him for a little longer. Before they changed into their normal forms or discussed anything changeling related, the host always gave their approval of the house first. Vibrant Brush, or Tarsus, was never much of a stickler for the rules.
“Anyway, I had a little incident with the coltfriend. He got a little too inquisitive and found some of my crystals.” Tarsus shifted back into his new pony form. “Currently my previous darling is unconscious and heading to the hive while the cleanup crew is taking our places. I believe they’re getting ready to ‘move’ to Manehattan” The blue pony made air quotes with his hooves.
“Ah.” Sweet Leaf gave him a sympathetic look. “Sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, it must be such a pain having to find a brand new host,” Bobby Pin added.
Sweet Leaf could feel the immediate tension as she saw Bobby receive a subtle glare from the newly minted earth pony. They were all aware of the new changeling’s inexperience. It was common knowledge amongst the five resident changelings of Hoofington that Tarsus was not quite so happy that he had to share a town with such a timid and ignorant changeling.
Everyling has to learn somewhere, Firefly thought, glancing at Bobby Pin.
“Mmmyes, well, I’m now Warm Plate, server at the High Crown restaurant.” He looked at Bobby. “And it’s source, not host. We’re not lowly parasites after all.”
“Oh. Sorry. I keep getting these terms mixed up.”
“Yes, we know,” Warm Plate deadpanned before clearing his throat. “So, Firefly, how have you been? Still getting plenty from Roast?”
Sweet Leaf glared at him and rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mister Plate, Roast is still plenty in love with me.”
Before anyone could say anything else, Long Scroll strolled into the room with two trays on his back. “Who wants tea and cookies?” the stallion singsonged. He happily walked over and set both trays on the coffee table. “Alright, everyone that’s going to be here is here.”
“What about Vexor?” Warm Plate asked.
“He, or rather his female disguise, is busy with her marefriend and couldn’t make it today.” Scroll poured himself a cup of tea. “As such, all the doors are locked and the blinds shut.”
“It’s about time, Skitter.” Tarsus gave an exasperated sigh at Long Scroll, changing into his black changeling form.
“Don’t you ‘Skitter’ me,” Long Scroll scolded, also shifting into her native gender and changeling form and pointed an accusing hoof at Tarsus. “I heard you changing earlier before I gave the okay. This is my house and that means my rules.”
“Yes, Skitter. Sssorry, Ssskitter,” Tarsus said with more than a little sarcasm.
She shot a glare Tarsus’ way. Skitter turned toward Bobby as green flames encompassed the newest of their group.
“So, Bobby, or rather Spindle, how are you settling in with Wavy Palette?” Skitter asked, reaching for her cup of tea.
“We’re doing pretty good. He’s started to get more commiss—”
“Are you really going to drink that?” Tarsus interrupted as he asked Skitter.
Skitter glared once again at Tarsus, tea cup held in front of her mouth. She held the gaze before taking a long draw from her tea, never once breaking eye contact.
“Why yes, I am,” she said. “I happen to like this aspect of pony culture.” Skitter turned back to Spindle. “Now as you were s—”
“Really?” Tarsus interrupted again. “We aren’t ponies and we aren’t here to be ponies. If I wanted to have a cup, I’d go over to Miss Guzzle’s cafe.” He gestured to Firefly.
“What is wrong with you today, Tarsus?” Firefly asked, tilting her head and raising an eyeridge.
“It’s like this every time.” Tarsus rolled his eyes. “I come here to be a changeling and to talk like a changeling, not to be some tea drinking pony, gossiping about our high school crushes,” he said rather angrily. “Or have you all forgotten what today is?”
Silence dominated the room as Tarsus looked at each of the other three changelings in the room.
“No, Tarsus, we haven’t forgotten,” Skitter said, “but not only do we have a few hours, it also helps to keep up with each other’s lives. You know, for our role’s sake?”
“Yeah, I get that,” Tarsus said, “but you all talk like ponies, gossip like them too. You’d almost think you all have become ponies!”
“Perhaps you’re right,” Firefly chimed in, reaching for a plate and placing a cookie on it. “We do talk and behave a bit like ponies. I think you’re exaggerating a bit much, but after being submerged in a culture for so long, one is bound to pick up some of their habits.”
“Maybe I could see that for you or Skitter—” Tarsus gestured to their host “—but Spindle just came from the hive, she should—”
“Oh come off it!” Firefly threw her hooves in the air. “She’s new and she just got into the real world. I’m sure you remember it being a lot different from training.” She stared right at the contentious changeling. “She’s learning how we behave at these meetings and is trying to be part of our group.”
“Okay, fine.” Tarsus huffed and crossed his forelegs over his chest as he looked away. “Let’s just get on with it.”
“Very well,” Skitter told Tarsus. “We can skip the pleasantries and ‘gossiping,’ as you like to call it, for later.” She turned to the other two changelings. “Please, help yourselves to some tea or cookies.”
Spindle got herself some tea and a plate of a couple cookies as Skitter refilled her cup.
“Now then,” their leader started, “today is a very special day, but unfortunately we won’t know the results of it for at least a couple of days, if not more.
“The wedding of our queen is today. From what I’ve been told, if everything goes well, we shouldn’t hear much of anything initially. Queen Chrysalis should have the Princesses of Equestria subdued by the end of the month. By then we should expect to have word about the future of Equestria.”
“I think this whole thing is stupid,” Tarsus commented, still without tea or cookies. “How does she expect to take over the entire country? We don’t have the numbers to enslave all ponies.”
Firefly kept a frustrated sigh to herself. “You know as much as we do, Tarsus. Keep in mind, we don’t have all of the information that the changelings do up at the capital or in the hive. We don’t even have part of the information.”
“It still seems unnecessarily risky.”
Though she defended her queen’s actions, Firefly had the same doubts he did, perhaps more so. Drinking a bit more tea, she wondered just what would happen to the ponies. Would they become cocooned or would they be put under the regime of Queen Chrysalis? She had no desire to see the ponies hurt, but changelings were starving every day back in the hive. Something had to happen.
“But, uh, what if things don’t go well?” Spindle asked tentatively.
The other three changelings looked at her for a moment, then looked at each other.
“I suppose we’ll have to deal with that when it comes,” Skitter replied. “We still have a duty to the hive regardless of what happens today. The important part is to act like we know nothing about it. Behave exactly like a pony would.”
The other changelings nodded in agreement.
Firefly spoke up, “I’m sure you all met Skirrax when he picked up your crystals, right? I asked that question as well. We should receive word from the hive shortly after on what to do should such events occur. So in short, sit tight and wait.”
“So that’s really it, huh?” Tarsus said, much more calmly.
“There’s not much more to do.” Skitter shrugged. She took a bite of her cookie and washed it down with some tea. “Our roles exist to provide love for the hive unless told otherwise. The Canterlot situation may impact us in the end, but we have no part in the act.
“Speaking of things we have no part in…” Skitter continued, leaning in and teasingly looking to each changeling for a moment, “I managed to squeeze a little juicy info out of our friend Skirrax.”
Spindle’s ears perked up. “Oh?”
“Mmhm. So, you all know that the queen replaced Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, right?” She received nods from everyling. “Apparently she’s mind controlling Princess Cadenza’s husband-to-be.”
“I can see that,” Firefly said. “With the infiltrators not even finding out about the wedding until around a month and a half ago, I can’t imagine Queen Chrysalis has had much time to impersonate Cadenza properly.”
Skitter nodded. “Right. Even she’s not perfect.”
“Do we know what she did with the princess?” Spindle asked.
“Nope. Didn’t think to ask.” Skitter shook her head. “Any of you?”
A ‘no’ came from Firefly and Tarsus.
“I didn’t particularly care,” Tarsus shrugged. “It wasn’t any of my business and it wouldn’t have helped with our situation anyway.”
“Well, yeah.” Firefly grabbed a cookie, “But it would have at least been a little fun to talk about.” She took a bite out of the unsurprisingly tasty cookie.
Tarsus narrowed his eyes at Firefly. “You know you can’t even digest sugar, right?”
Firefly raised her eyeridge as she chewed and swallowed. “Well, sure, but it still tastes good.”
Tarsus stared at the cookie, deep in thought. His stare pierced it, as though it could answer one of life’s many questions.
Firefly merely took another bite.
“Oh for Chrysalis’ sake!” Skitter shouted. She magicked a plate from the table, dropped a cookie on it, and thrust it at Tarsus. “Just have one!”
With a frown on his face, he took it and levitated up the cookie. He gave it a sniff before taking a nibble.
“See? Was that really so bad?”
Tarsus chewed his little bite and swallowed. “…No.”
“The ponies really have this figured out, huh?” Firefly asked and put another cookie on her plate. “Doing things simply because they feel good.”
The tension in the room broke and the conversation shifted to more mundane topics. Firefly couldn’t help but wonder if these things would be lost if her queen succeeded. Would there be cookies or spas if the ponies were enslaved?
She could only hope as she rejoined the conversation with her fellow changelings.
And here be some fan art, commissioned by Dogman15! It's the Hoofington changeling crew.
By StellarDusk
From left to right: Rose Petal (Vexor, not in chapter), Long Scroll (Skitter), Sweet Leaf (Firefly), Bobby Pin (Spindle), Warm Plate (Tarsus), and Vibrant Brush (Tarsus)
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I'm loving this story so far, but I've noticed a few grammar or phrasing/punctuation issues. Is there any way I can help you with that? I want this story to be its best.
Good chapter. I wonder what role these other changelings will play in the future.
Also somehow missed that this didn't take place in Canterlot until now >_>
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Common practice is to send a PM pointing out the problems.
This looks like two sentences collided and each lost a few words. I get the general meaning, but this might need a do-over.
Sparkly dragons, hah. I see what you did there.
Hee. Like a changeling Fluttershy.
pff. Plenty of lovin'.
What does Dusty Pail look like?
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Light brown coat, dark brown and slightly messy mane/tail, green eyes, mop and bucket cutie mark.
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i.imgur.com/lo9M23q.png
Poor changelings, they cannot hope to defeat plot armour.
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Rip hyperlink
Image broke
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Fixed, thank you!