The Royal Audience: A Mole Cricket Story

Chapters

Something Starts
Something Surprising
Something Questionable
Something Revealed
Something Educational
Something Expositional
Something Exceptional
Something Legendary
Something Incredible
Something Something

Something Starts

"And you must be the changeling I've heard so much about."

Commander Mole "Seven Tricks" Cricket stared up into the face of his own imminent destruction, and was surprised to see her smiling. He was uncertain if that was a good thing: Queen Chrysalis smiled often, usually when she had something nasty planned for you, so he did not know whether he should feel relieved that the ruler of Equestria did not seem angry, or whether he should run for the hills, screaming all the way.

He should not have been surprised that word of him had reached her ears before the train had reached the station. His escape from the Crystal Empire HAD been rather spectacular, truth be told. He had been in mortal fear of being annihilated when he had revealed himself to Fluttershy, thinking her another changeling due to a pair of fangs she had been sporting. He had burned love the entire way to his apartment, then back to the train station, with no pretense of keeping up a disguise... only to find the pegasus and Princess Twilight Sparkle, not only waiting, but having had the train delay it's departure just for him. He had expected to have had his brain liquified on the spot, but the alicorn had decided to talk to him, instead.

The conversation between the three ended on a high note, and when they reached Canterlot, he had been surprisingly optimistic... up until he exited the train, to find a welcoming committee composed of a dozen unicorn guards, as well as Princess Celestia herself. Twilight had started talking fast, explaining the situation to Celestia as quickly as she could. While initially skeptical, Twilight had voluteered to let Celestia and the guards check her for any sort of magical coercion (not that they'd needed to be concerned: Mole was a commoner, not an aristocrat. Aristos are the only ones who can use mind magic). A brief scan proved the two ponies to be clean of any sort of mental domination, and the senior princess relaxed visibly. After that, the ruler of the nation turned her full attention to the changeling... which is a terrible thing to happen to any member of what was essentially an enemy state.

Cricket met the gaze of the most powerful being in Equestria, if not the entire world... and smiled. If he was going to go, he wasn't going to go out running. He'd go out on a laugh. "Well," he said, "I must be, unless there's somebuggy else out there as handsome as I am."

The princess laughed merrily, and said, her voice quite cheerful, "Well, good looks, and a rapier wit. We'll definitely have to keep an eye on you." Inwardly, Cricket relaxed slightly. Keeping an eye on him meant she wasn't going to vaporize him on the spot... right? The princess continued, her smile still warm, "We have a great deal to discuss, you and I. Would you mind coming with me to the palace?"

The way she said it, it almost sounded like he had a choice. He briefly considered asking if he really had the option of declining, but looked over at Fluttershy, and decided that he'd take his chances with the palace. "I'd be happy to, your highness."

The eldest princess made a gesture, and, with surprising efficiency, the guards fell into formation. The transition from standing at attention to royal escort was seamless. It was the kind of effortless maneuver that could only be the result of rigorous training. Cricket couldn't help but be impressed: he'd often dreamed of the day that the soldiers he commanded could operate so efficiently. He'd known it would be a long way off: his predecessor had been an aristo, and one who wouldn't know tactics or strategy if they ambushed him in a dark alley. Former commander Blattaria had been a slob, a coward, and worst of all, from Cricket's perspective, a total incompetent, in a job where your subordinates bear the consequences of your ineptitude. Upon taking command three years ago, Cricket had made great strides in hammering the changeling army into a force to be proud of, but this kind of discipline was still beyond them: too many bad habits from the previous generation, not enough time.

And the fact that the queen kept taking personal command of his troops at the worst possible moment didn't help much. Her idea of battle tactics was just smashing things into submission with a hammer. If it didn't work? You needed a bigger hammer. She really had no idea how to properly exercise the true strength of the changeling swarm...

"Something on your mind?"

Cricket's ears perked up, and he was surprised to find that Fluttershy was walking next to him, a questioning look on her face. He'd been so lost in thought, he hadn't even noticed her there. "Ah, sorry," he said, surprised to find he was blushing with embarrassment. He hadn't even realized that they were already in motion, and in fact halfway to the palace. "I was reminiscing, I suppose. The sound of hooves marching in unison makes me feel nostalgic."

Fluttershy said, with a small smile, "I thought it might be something like that." Cricket's expression must have mirrored his confusion, as she started giggling, and said, "You're marching in time with the guards."

Cricket looked down at his hooves, watching them move in a familiar motion, in perfect time with the guards around him. You could have used the sound of their hooves as a metronome. He'd fallen into the routine without even being aware of it. "Huh," he said, blushing slightly, "So I am. Force of habit, I suppose..."

Twilight Sparkle chuckled a little, a little bit behind the pair, and able to hear their every word. Then, after a moment's thought, she asked Cricket a question. "I was wondering, Commander, just how old are you?"

Cricket cocked his head to one side, briefly lost in thought. "Well, it's hard to be precise, your highness. Changelings, as rule, have to relocate often, and not every place uses the same calendar system ponies do. Since I was born, I've traveled through places where the sun seldom shines, others where it almost never sets, and even ones where seasons never change. But, if I were to hazard a guess, I'd be about your age."

Both Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle were surprised to hear that. The younger princess, after a moment, asked, "But I thought you said that, as a commander, you held the highest military rank in the changeling swarm?"

With a bit of a smugness, Mole responded with, "I also said I was the youngest to have ever earned that rank. To be fair, I've not held it long. Only about three years, before the Canterlot fiasco sent the swarm flying in every direction." Abruptly, Cricket's demeanor changed, as he realized he'd made a serious mistake, and he nearly missed a step. Great job, let's remind everypony that you were the one technically in charge of the army that invaded the city...

"So," Princess Celestia said, breaking the brief silence that had resulted, "I suppose that means you're something of a prodigy." She looked down at the changeling with a smile.

"Well," Cricket said, a little bit of his confidence returning, "I suppose you could say that. Personally, I just always considered myself a go-getter. They don't give distinctions out to changelings who just sit around all day doing nothing."

"Distinctions?" the older princess asked, curious.

Cricket considered, briefly, whether he should go into detail, then decided it couldn't hurt. "Money has no value in a society where the only sustenance comes from emotions. However, that doesn't mean we don't place value on anything: we put a great deal of value in things that, like love, can't be bought or sold. Names, ranks, titles, even a nickname is considered a distinction, and you can only get them if you do something to earn them."

Fluttershy asked, a little puzzled, "So your parents didn't give you a name when you were born?"

Cricket blushed furiously, and said, embarassed, "Ah, I'd rather not go into detail regarding where little hatchlings come from... At least not in public." Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy blushed even harder than Cricket had, while Celestia just gave a little chuckle. Cricket said, a bit evasively, "Let's just say that there are a lot of eggs, and are far too similar to one another in appearance. Since we move around a lot, eggs tend to get transported in bulk, making keeping track of which belong to whom an impossible task. Unless it's a royal egg, or an aristo's, nobuggy bothers to keep track. When we hatch, we're given a number. From there, the commoners get taught how to be a changeling by a commander, like myself, while aristo's and royals get taught by the queen and the aristos."

Fluttershy, puzzled again, asked, "An 'aristo'?"

Now this was at risk of falling into dangerous territory, but Cricket decided that there was little real danger in explaining at least this much. "Aristocrats. Big-wigs. The ones one rung down from the queen on the social ladder. The cream, or maybe just the scum, that floats on top."

Celestia laughed out loud at that last part. She asked, still chuckling, "I'm guessing you don't care for them?"

"Oh dear," Mole said, his voice filled with sarcasm, "However could you have gotten that impression?" A little more seriously, he said, "I'm probably being unfair. There are one or two I actually respect, but personal experience has probably soured my opinion of the majority of them. The previous commander was an aristo. Fellow by the name of Blattaria. If you look up incompetent in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of him holding a picture of himself upside down. When he realized that the queen was considering me to be his replacement, he started coming up with increasingly impressive ways of having me... ah, 'removed from active duty', you could say. They didn't work, obviously. Instead, because we kept overcoming impossible odds, the squad I commanded ended up getting called the 'Queen's Arrow', because, unlike my predecessor, we were fast, efficient, and we never missed the target. When his stupidity finally became to much to bear, the queen had him 'removed from active duty', and put me in charge."

Cricket snorted, and said, "Of course, that didn't stop her from... Ah, nevermind." He abruptly stopped himself, realizing, not only was he getting dangerously close to bad mouthing the queen in public, but that he was also suddenly the center of attention. Even the guards had been staring, surprised to hear that, rather than just an officer, he'd been some sort of child soldier war hero, or at least the changeling version of one. He started blushing furiously again. He really needed to get his mouth under control. All this time away from the hive, hiding his true self from everypony around him, he'd kept his mouth shut, shut, shut about the past. Now that he was unmasked, he'd turned into a chatterbox!

"Well," Celestia said, a smile on her face, "I was right: You definitely are somebuggy worth watching. Ah, and we have arrived," she added, gesturing to the grand entrance of Canterlot Palace. "If you'll follow me, we'll continue this discussion someplace a little more... private."

Something Surprising

"We were, of course, fully aware of your presence in the Crystal Empire."

Cricket, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, and Celestia were now sitting around a table, having tea in the royal gardens. Well, Cricket wasn't. When offered, he had declined, instead requesting a glass of water. He had just been taking a drink when Princess Celestia decided to drop that little bombshell on him.

Cricket had never performed what is classically known as a spit take. He'd seen a few, and had even caused a few by dropping his disguise with perfect comedic timing. However, his lack of experience with the phenomenon did not hinder him from performing one perfectly... with enough force that it soaked Celestia, who had been sitting across from him.

Several apologies later, both from him (after he'd caught his breath, and Celestia's reassuring smile indicated that she'd taken it in good humor), and the princess (admitting that yes, she could have timed that revelation a little better), Cricket asked the most relevant question he could think of in this situation: "If you knew I was in the Crystal Empire, why...?" He left it open ended, because there were so many 'why's' to choose from, he couldn't pick just one.

"Why?" the princess began, still wringing out her mane, "Why didn't we arrest you? Why didn't we eject you from the empire? Why did we leave you in peace for as long as we have? Well, initially, if was simply because you were badly injured at the time of your discovery, and it seemed terribly cruel to do anything to you at a time when you'd be completely unable to take care of yourself. Besides... according to the doctors and nursing staff, the, ah, youngsters currently in residence at the hospital had gotten rather attached to you. It would have broken their hearts if you had been taken away."

Cricket could feel himself starting to blush again, and it only got worse when Fluttershy asked the obvious question. "Youngsters?"

Celestia sighed sadly, saying, "King Sombra was in no way a kind ruler, and he'd practically made it his goal in life to become the enemy of every nation in the world. Had he not taken rather cruel steps to ensure he would remain unharmed, the combined might of every sovereign state of that era would have marched upon the Crystal Empire, long before my sister and I rose up against him. The cruelest of the steps he took was to abduct the heirs of every ruler of those nations, and hold them hostage. And when the city vanished for a thousand years..."

Fluttershy gasped as she realized where this was leading, but it was Twilight who finished the sentence, "...they were separated from their families... forever."

Celestia shook her head, then looked directly at Cricket, smiling, "Thankfully, no. I'm not the only, ah, long-lived ruler in the world. Their parents were all still present, and incredibly happy to have their beloved children returned to them, after such a long and terrible separation. This fine fellow, without knowing it, spent the majority of his hospital stay reading stories aloud to the heirs to some of the most powerful kings and queens in the world."

Cricket's cheeks, he knew, were probably cerulean from blushing at this point. He couldn't help it, for some reason. Now that he was out of disguise, his emotions, normally completely under control due to years of rigorous training, and even more rigorous practice, were running rampant, and somehow... he kind of liked it. "Well," he said,embarrassed, "I was in traction, and I only had one foreleg free. I really couldn't do anything else to pass the time, and the book was just sitting there, so..."

"So," Celestia interrupted, a very warm smile on her face, "When those future kings and queens returned home, the first thing they did was write all sorts of letters to let me and my sister know how much they thought of you. Over the course of three months, we've received: twelve royal pardons; fifteen notifications that you were going to be knighted; eight letters requesting that you be allowed to serve as a general, admiral, and/or supreme commander of various branches of the armed forces, both here and abroad; and one letter, being my personal favorite, proclaiming that you are, by imperial decree, the, and I quote, "Bestest Best Friend 4-Ever" of her Imperial Majesty, Princess Alexandrianna Rosanna Belinda Magnifica. It's the first imperial decree I've ever received written in crayon. I dare say you made an impression on them." With an impish smile, she continued, saying, "I should also add that you are now a duke, baron, count, earl, and a thane, as well as the mayor of "Awesome Town", which may or may not actually exist, but if it does, it's population consists solely of yourself and Prince Phillip of Minotoria."

By this point, Cricket was certain that there was no possible way he could blush harder without sprouting extra cheeks. Alex was a princess? Sweet little griffin, "thor" years old? Thought Miss Bunny Wunny Cuddlewumpus was the best possible name for the pet rabbit of an adult male of any species, and threatened to cry when he'd tried to suggest otherwise? And Phil was a prince? The same Phil who put ketchup on everything, even cotton candy? That can't be right...

Celestia continued, her smile still radiant with good cheer, saying, "In addition to all of that, we received an impressive number of medals, awards, trophies, and, also a favorite of mine, a macaroni drawing of yourself, as a pegasus, hugging a group of small children. There was also a sizable amount of money sent over, asking to be held onto until such time as you needed it. They seemed to believe that, you being a humble sort, would have sent it back if it had been delivered to you directly."

After allowing a moment for all of this to sink in, Celestia continued, "While their parents were more... restrained with their praise and gratitude, I can assure you that they were no less appreciative of your efforts. Many of them would be more than happy to shake your hoof, should they have the opportunity to meet you face to face, and have offered you amnesty in their kingdoms, should there be a need for you to leave Equestria. They did indicate that they were aware of your, ah, "unique" dietary restrictions, and would gladly make allowances for them. Long story short, good sir, you are probably the most popular changeling in the world right now."

Cricket tried to think of something witty he could say, some snappy response to all of that. Sadly, there was only one word running through his head, over and over again, preventing any other thought from entering his brain. For lack of anything else to say, he said that word aloud.

"Wow."

Fluttershy and Princess Twilight Sparkle, who had been listening to all of this, first with slowly increasing surprise, then with rapidly increasing amusement, both burst out laughing. The two of them fell on the ground, rolling about and holding their sides. Mole couldn't help but join in, and Celestia, while more restrained, let out a good bit of laughter herself. When finally, everypony and everybuggy regained their composure, Princess Celestia spoke once again.

"Twilight Sparkle explained to me that she had promised that you'd be given an opportunity to earn citizenship in Equestria." The princess made a gesture, and two guards entered the room, carrying something very heavy between them. "Now, there are precedents for such a thing, but normally, that right is restricted in cases of members of an enemy state or species. However, an exception can be made if the individual is found to be of outstanding character and has been given endorsement by one or more individuals of note."

The two guards, straining with effort, deposited their burden upon the small table around which the four sat. It was a massive stack of stuff: letters, documents, certificates, medals, trophies, awards, bags of bits, and, yes, a rather adorably made macaroni picture of himself, as a pegasus, hugging a group of small children. The stack was taller than Celestia was, and probably weighed five times more, but the table, in a feat of strength and determination that would be sung of by tables (well, if they could sing, but you get the idea) for generations to come, stood tall and steady, with only a little bit of creaking.

"Given the evidence," Princess Celestia said, that impish smile once again on her face, "I dare say you've met that requirement. So, all that remains is an official hearing, and you will be on your way to full citizenship."

Something Questionable

"Are you certain this is necessary?"

As Twilight Sparkle pressed the gemstone against Mole Cricket's forehead, she looked over at Princess Celestia, her expression questioning. It did seem excessive, Cricket reflected, using a mind projector spell to ensure that the absolute truth came out in the interview. It seemed harsh, as if they expected him to lie during the interview. She, Celestia, and Luna were already here, in the interview room, and Cadance was expected to arrive within the hour. Fluttershy was required to sit this meeting out: tradition demanded it. Tradition was making a lot of demands today, Cricket thought to himself, sourly.

Celestia nodded solemnly, and said, "For a formal interview, yes, it is. There will be questions regarding the contents of this interview, and if there is not some form of verification for everything he says today, it can always be argued, by those who feel threatened by his presence, that he was less than truthful about his statements. While you and I certainly feel he is an honest sort, others will not share our opinion of him, at least at first..."

Cricket nodded, then asked, concerned, "You will keep everything said here private, right? I mean, there's a lot of what you'd call classified information rattling around in my braincase. If some of the stuff in here becomes common knowledge, this time next year, I could have an army of starving changelings banging on my door, demanding an explanation." Not to mention that there were some things that, if they ever got out, could ruin an operation years in the making. Nothing that the princesses would object to, he felt, but still, lives could be at stake...

Luna, who had remained silent the entire time, stated somewhat formally, "So long as anything that is revealed this day is not a direct threat to Equestria or it's citizens, it shall be kept in strictest confidence... so long as you are proven to be as honest as my sister feels you to be. If this proves to be a deception, however..." She left it hanging, but Cricket wasn't overly concerned: while he'd done more than his fair share of deceiving, there was nothing dishonest in his intentions today. Still, the implied threat was there: if this was a trick, they'd be picking through his brains until they'd dug up every last tidbit of intel, before he was stuffed in the dungeons for the rest of his life.

Twilight Sparkle's horn flared briefly, and the gemstone began to glow with magic. Cricket felt a tingle through his skull, letting him know that the spell was at work. Twilight Sparkle nodded in approval. "The spell is ready," she said, speaking over her shoulder at the other two princesses. "We just need to ask a question to test it." Looking back at Cricket, she smiled and said, "The spell won't trigger unless we begin with the words 'This Is My Question', so it won't activate on accident. Tradition is, each princess asks one question, before we adjourn to discuss whether or not you're given a chance at earning citizenship. Do you understand?" Cricket nodded in acknowledgement. "Good. Let's start with something simple... Ah! I have an idea." She paused and cleared her throat, then asked, in a more formal voice...

"This is my question: When did you first see Fluttershy?"

Mole felt his cheeks begin to color, realizing what was about to play. "Oh no..." he muttered, as he felt the spell gather the memory from his brain, and prepared to project. It looked like it was going to be "Embarrass Cricket Day" all day today.

Above his head, a large window appeared. After a second, the window turned opaque, and a moment after wards, images began to appear, and sounds could be heard...

...

Commander Mole "Seven Tricks" Cricket sat around a campfire with his one-time squad, now his cadre of officers, the Queen's Arrow. It was a quiet night, as they waited for the signal from the queen to begin the assault. It was three days before the royal wedding, and they were well away from Canterlot. They'd have to begin moving tomorrow night, keeping to the shadows to avoid detection, but tonight was... well it was peaceful. There had not been enough nights like this since they'd begun their three year sojourn from the forests far to the south, across the great desert, and then finally through the badlands, to reach Equestria. Soon, all the planning, all the hard work, all the sacrifice, it would all come to fruition...

The wind picked up, and suddenly something struck Cricket in the side of the head, taking him completely by surprise and knocking out of his reverie. Goliath, who had been sitting next to him, asked, "What's dat, boss?"

Mole looked up at Goliath as he pulled the papery object off the side of his face. And looked up further, and further, until his gaze reached the top of Mount Goliath. The joke around the swarm was, when they were handing out the brains, the wit, the creativity, and just about everything else, Goliath kept getting back in line for more muscles. Not very bright, and not especially inventive or motivated, he'd been bounced around from squad to squad, until Commander Blattaria decided to saddle Cricket with Goliath in the hopes of stopping the then lieutenant's meteoric rise... and Cricket promptly discovered he now had the most powerful weapon in the swarm.

Not inventive, motivated, or very smart, Goliath "Bird-Eating" Spider (he earned that nickname by capturing a roc single-hooved, and draining it of love to unconsciousness in less than ten seconds, a feat that could not be matched by twenty changelings working in concert. He was still hungry afterwards, and he repeated the deed five more times in rapid fire succession) would never be officer material, but he'd earned distinctions serving as Cricket's bodyguard. As long as Cricket and the other officers did the thinking for him, his muscle was put to good use. He had one trait that made him either the worst soldier in the world, or the best, depending on the officer commanding him: He did EXACTLY as he was told. Without question, and without hesitation. He didn't need explanations, and as long as you kept it simple, he would approach whatever task given him with all the energy, enthusiasm, and destructive force of a wrecking ball at full swing.

Cricket looked down at the object in his hooves. "Some sort of text," he said, studying the object intently. "I think they call it a magazine."

"Oh," came the response from the heights of the massive insectoid mountain. "Wut's it about?" While he didn't exercise much interest in reading himself (Cricket was certain that he could read, but most words were written far too small to be worthy of such mighty eyeballs), the monstrous bruiser did like being read to.

The other officers gathered around the fire perked up in interest. Intel had been hard to come by, given the rushed nature of this campaign, and any information would be considered valuable.

Studying the magazine, Cricket stated aloud, "It appears to be about current fashions. Trends and fads, stuff like that. What's popular, what's going out of style, and what may be popular in the future. Seems to be intended for mares, but there's a few articles on stallion's clothes as well. Portia'll probably want to look it over later."

Lieutenant Portia "Spider Hunter" Fimbriata (so named for her skill with dispensing with giant spiders) was the sole Aristo in the cadre, and was several years younger than Cricket. He had high hopes for her. Unlike most aristocrats, she'd actually earned her meteoric rise through the ranks, and would be a candidate for commander if Cricket ever abandoned the role. If she'd been born a few years earlier, the two would have been rivals, instead of student and mentor. She looked at the magazine for a moment, then asked, "What can you tell about the ponies from it?"

Ah, sharp, that girl. She was going places.

Cricket looked over the magazine, flicking through the pages with a smile. "Well, let's see. Lot of jewelry, so they probably know how to work steel, or at least bronze, and the abundance of gemstones and precious metals means that this place is pretty prosperous. At least, I can assume that since this appears to be aimed towards common ponies, rather than just the wealthy. Hmmm, the variety of fabrics used in the creation of clothing tells me that they either have a very diverse agricultural base, or they have a great deal of trade going on with neighboring countries. Maybe both. Heh, there's a piece on the armor worn by the soldiers here, and how stylish it looks. I can spot seventeen flaws in the design, just at a glance. Ha! Make that eighteen. By the time I'm done dissecting the design tonight, we'll be able to eat them for breakfast. But can you guess what the most important thing is?"

Portia, a grin forming on her face, "They're not expecting us?"

Cricket's grin would have fit better on something at the bottom of the deepest ocean, the kind of fish whose body mass is more than 50% teeth, and lived in pitch darkness because the light was too scared to go anywhere near them. "They aren't expecting anything, period. If this is anything to go by, they spend a great deal more time worrying about fashions, and styles, and making themselves look attractive, than about protecting themselves from invasion. They talk about exercise to keep from getting fat, meaning they don't get enough exercise just struggling to stay alive like we do. Numerical advantage or not, they're woefully unprepared for anything. I could probably conquer this country leading an army of field mice armed with toothpicks." Cricket turned the page, then stopped abruptly. "Whoa. I think we just struck gold..."

Portia and Goliath both asked, simultaneously, "What?" although, Goliath's was more like a "Wut?"

Cricket's grin had faded, and he his eyes widened. Then he smirked, and said, "Feast your eyes, lads and ladies, on the element of kindness." He turned the magazine around, so everybuggy could see the picture. It was of a yellow coated pony, with long, flowing pink mane and tail, three butterflies as a cutie mark, and gentle blue eyes. This was the first image they'd found of one of the highest profile targets in the invasion. Fluttershy. "There's a whole article about her. Plenty of sweet, delicious intel for our consumption... in a magazine anypony, or anybuggy, could buy on the street for five bits. There's also a picture of her five friends, who happen to be the other five elements, with captions to tell us who is who. Memorize their faces, and describe them, in detail, to the troops. There's a distinction in it for every member of the squad, or squads, who capture them. Maybe even two, if they collect the whole set." There were nods around the campfire. It was vitally important that they were captured, especially as the operation approached the endgame...

Portia, an impish smile on her face, said, "Hey Goliath, take a look at the pretty little pony." Goliath herculean eyeballs peered down from the lofty heights of his head, and after a moment, admitted, "Pretty." Not inventive, but accurate.

Portia, still smiling, said, "Isn't she just?" After a moment, she said, looking at her hooves, "I hope that my legs are that nice when I finish growing up." The aristo had yet to be old enough to start getting growth spurts, but like most aristos, she'd be fairly attractive as an adult: her mane was slowly starting to grow out, as was her tail, looking a lot more pony-ish than changeling now. Like the queen, and most other aristos...

Lieutenant Hornet, a commoner fresh to his rank, and Portia's age, chuckled and said, "I hope they are, too." Portia smacked Hornet on the back of the head, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to let him know she'd heard that, so shut up. It was almost affectionate, really. Cricket silently moved a private talk he'd need to have with the two of them forward a few months. They grow up so fast.

Others began commenting on other favorable features the mare had. Wings, eyes, facial structure, hooves, legs, tail, mane, there were even comments of "Dat Abdomen", and "Nice Thorax". After the comments died down, Portia, her smile devious, asked, "So, Commander, what do you like about her?"

Cricket decided he'd play her game, and turned the image around, and gave the picture a more intent examination for several seconds. He immediately lifted the magazine up so that it covered his face, feeling himself start to blush without intending to. He began reading the articles describing the pony, her likes and dislikes, her brief career as a fashion model, first with detachment, then with genuine interest. It took him less than a minute: his mentor had drilled him in speed reading until he could finish long novels within a half hour of cracking open the book. Finally, he admitted, "I can't choose. I like everything she's got to offer."

That got a number of laughs, and it took a bit of time to get his blush fully under control. When he felt he could finally face his troops, he rolled up the magazine, placing it in his rucksack, and said, "Let me know if any of you need to look over this. I'll be keeping it, to study in greater detail when we have some spare time."

"I bet you will," said Portia with a wink that was far too knowing for a face that young. Cricket moved that little talk forward to immediately after the Canterlot operation. Some grow up much faster than they should. The crowd around the campfire erupted into laughter.

Fighting another blush attack, Cricket's head whipped around, a scowl on his face, then said, in his official Commander tone, "Portia. Twenty pushups, disrespect toward a superior officer. Try and back talk, it'll be fifty, with Goliath sitting on your back." His voice cut through the chatter like a chainsaw. The laughter stopped, but the mirthful grins were still there, which was somehow even worse. At least some of them were directed towards Portia, though; amusement that the aristo had so easily gotten herself in trouble. "As soon as she's done," the Commander said to the rest, "get ready to work. We've still got a few hours until sunrise. I want to make the most of them: you all obviously need some exercise, if you have energy to waste on that kind of thinking. We'll be running drills until I decide you've got your heads back in the game."

Portia began doing pushups, her devilish grin not even slightly diminished.
...

Cricket, blushing incandescent blue, could not have been more embarrassed. It had been bad enough when they'd watched him, with a critical eye, as he'd analyzed their entire society through the use of a single fashion magazine. They'd at least been impressed by that. But when the subject had turned to the general opinion of Fluttershy, both Celestia and Twilight Sparkle had started chuckling. When it had turned to Cricket's personal opinion of Fluttershy, even Luna had laughed out loud.

When the laughter finally died down, Celestia said, with a smile, "Well, I think it's safe to say that the spell works."

Something Revealed

"Starting the interview without me?"

The door to the chamber was standing open, and Princess Cadance was walking in, followed closely behind by her husband, Shining Armor. The fourth princess looked cheerful, but Shining Armor looked angry. Furious, in fact. When he laid eyes on Twilight Sparkle, he seemed to relax slightly (he'd probably been worried that the big bad changeling might have somehow hurt his super-powered sister), but when his gaze fell upon Cricket, well...

It was about what the changeling had expected. The stallion was so furious Cricket half expected the knight to suddenly gain heat vision and blast Cricket to ashes. Given what had nearly happened to him, his wife, and the entire city of Canterlot, he could hardly be blamed for that.

Twilight Sparkle rushed over to Cadance, and the two of them began dancing while reciting a poem. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake." Cricket thought silently to himself that, while yes, that was an incredibly adorable little performance, it was also an excellent way of making certain that neither of them were changelings...

After the little show, Twilight explained that all she'd done was test the spell to be certain it would be effective on a changeling. She'd been concerned that it might not work: nopony had ever tried it on a somebuggy like him before. Cadance chuckled a little at the word "somebuggy", then look at Cricket for the first time... and stopped dead in her tracks, her shocked expression telling the changeling all he needed to know.

The princess walked up to Cricket, studying his face intently. Cricket looked Cadance in the eyes, and careful to keep his expression as neutral as possible, said, "Yes, your highness, it's me. And before you..." and that was as far as he got before Cadance slapped him in the face. It was a good slap, although Cricket had been slapped harder in the past, by individuals much angrier. The punch that Shining Armor delivered, however, was much more impressive. Cricket was lifted right off his feet, and then fell to the ground with a thud. While a changeling's exoskeleton was hard enough to withstand that kind of abuse, it didn't stop him from being rattled by the blow. The slap, he had expected, but the punch, that had taken him off guard...

As Cricket slowly picked himself up off of the floor, Luna and Celestia both began demanding explanations. The one they got left all three of the other princesses stunned.

Cadance, her face filled with anger, pointed at Cricket, and shouted, "He's the one who abducted me."

Sadly, yes, that was the case. The queen had given the order, and as distasteful as he had found the act, one of the principles he let himself be guided by was this: Never, ever, ever pass an order down to somebuggy else, just to get out of doing something you didn't want to do. That had caused the commander no end of problems in the past, but it had also earned him a great deal of respect from his subordinates, even if that had not been the intention...

Before Cricket could say anything, Shining Armor grabbed the changeling, then lifted him up and pulled him close, his expression of fury less than an inch from Cricket's face. The knight asked, his voice ice to his face's fire, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pound you into the ground like a tent peg." The stallion's other hoof reared back for another haymaker.

Cricket gasped out one word, "Orders!" The stallion's expression changed from one of barely restrained rage to one of confusion, his hoof lowering to the ground. After a moment, the knight seemed to realize what it was the changeling meant. His eyes narrowed, then asked, "You were following orders? Whose orders?"

Cricket asked, his own eyes narrowing in response, "Who do you think?" The knight gave Cricket a glare, then, after a moment, sighed, his expression changing to something much more like his normal self. He let the changeling go, then said, "We have a lot to talk about. Obviously. But I can't fault a soldier for following orders from his queen, especially since nopony was hurt in the process."

Cricket rubbed at his jaw, which was still stinging from the blow. After a moment, he grinned and said, "Thanks. Good form, by the way. Impressive follow-through. Very well executed. Do you give lessons?" At Shining Armor's confused look, the changeling laughed and said, "The punch, sir, the punch. Very well done. I haven't been hit that hard since the Sphinxopolis campaign, and that was from somebeastie twice my size, swinging a club!" After a moment, Shining Armor began to laugh, and Cricket couldn't help but join in. While not necessarily friends now, it seemed that there wasn't going to be a grudge held by either party now.

Cricket turned back towards the four princesses, who were now gathered together. The smiles of just a little while ago were gone. They weren't frowning, exactly, but their expressions were much more serious than before. It appeared that this little revelation had just knocked him down a peg in all of their estimations. He considered offering an explanation, some sort of justification, not just for his actions during the invasion, but also for his not having mentioned it. There had hardly been any time, of course... but just now, anything he said would just sound like hollow excuses.

He knelt before the four princesses, and said, as humbly as he could, "Your majesties, there is nothing I can say in my defense. If you wish to dismiss me, or banish me from your kingdom..." That was as far as he got before Twilight Sparkle cut him off.

"You don't need to apologize." Cricket's head raised up slowly as he looked up to see the youngest princess smiling. As the other three princesses looked at Twilight in surprise, she said to them, very plainly, "Not every kingdom is ruled by somepony, or somebirdy, buggy, bully, or beastie, who is just, wise, or kind. By his own admission, he was following orders from his queen. Had he refused, what do you think would have happened to him? More importantly, under what laws would he be held accountable? There are literally no laws in Equestria regarding how a changeling should act in our society, and historically, changelings have been treated like oversized pests, instead of sentient creatures. Under current law, PARASPRITES have more legal rights than a changeling does. That is something that, I think, is going to start changing very soon." She turned back to Cricket, and said, "I admit, I wish you had told me earlier, but I suppose there really hasn't been much time for that. Today has been quite busy. So, get back on your hooves. We were about to have an interview, if I remember right."

Luna and Celestia turned their gazes from Twilight Sparkle to Cadance, who, after a moment, took a deep breath, then let it out. "I suppose she has a point, and he has done a great deal more good than harm since then." the princess said, then gave Cricket a look. While not as friendly as Cricket would have preferred, the anger that had been there just a short time before was extinguished. "You will be paying for the damages you did to the Crystal Empire during your escapades earlier today, but I do believe you're good for it, so I'll let that drop. But let me warn you right now: if you were any other changeling in the world, barring your queen, of course, you would have been guaranteed a free ride from me, based just on your good behavior since the invasion failed. Since it IS you, however, you will have to impress me a bit before I give you my vote." Then, a real smile formed on her face as she added, "But not too much, I think: as one babysitter to another, you did an excellent job back there."

Cricket blushed bright blue as the four princesses began laughing.

Something Educational

"So, yeah, I guess I overreacted a bit."

Cricket and Shining Armor were essentially shooting the proverbial breeze right now, waiting while Twilight Sparkle obtained another gemstone for the memory projection spell. Shining Armor's punch, and Mole hitting the floor immediately afterwards, had placed a hairline crack in the once flawless gem, disrupting the spell cast upon it. It wouldn't take too long: there were plenty in the royal treasury.

Cadance and the other two princesses were chatting, the subject being, naturally, the exact nature of her abduction, and the treatment that Cricket had given the princess during her captivity. While too distant for Cricket to make out clearly, he expected that she was giving the plain and simple truth: the changeling had not been rough, cruel, or disrespectful, and had in fact been a perfect gentlebug the entire time. Well, as much as a kidnapper could be, he supposed. Cricket was unlike the queen in many ways, one of the most important being that he had never seen the point in hurting others just for the sake of hurting others.

Cricket had requested that Shining Armor remain for the interview: as a military officer, the knight would be able to assist in answering any questions the princesses might have regarding some of the terms used by Cricket and his fellow changelings while Mole's memories were playing. The fact that Cricket felt an irrational urge to earn the knight's approval may have had something to do with it as well: in the aftermath of the Canterlot invasion, Cricket had come to respect the older knight (well, he wasn't that much older than Cricket, but he was old enough that it made a difference) a great deal.

Cricket raised a hoof, and said, dismissively, "Completely understandable. If our positions were reversed, and you had taken one of my subordinates captive, I'd have done much the same. The fact that you had every reason to believe, until you walked into the room, that I might have done something to your sister, would have just been fuel to the fire. Besides, you didn't do any realy damage: as my mentor used to say, if changelings weren't meant to get hit so often, we wouldn't have such a hard shell."

Shining Armor chuckled, then raised an eyebrow and asked, "Subordinates, huh?"

Cricket blushed and admitted, "I may have spent more time focused on advancing my military career than on romantic pursuits. It's probably why, in spite of being, what, five years younger than you are, I technically outrank you. Didn't stop me from making a few friends, though."

The knight chuckled a bit at that, then said, "Well, you are still pretty young: you've got plenty of time to find somepony, or some"buggy", to share your life with." The knight laughed again as the changeling blushed brighter, then asked, "Already got somepony in mind?"

Cricket was saved from having to answer that by Twilight Sparkle's timely arrival, carrying a new gemstone with her. "Got it," the princess said. "Now, as long as the two of you can keep from beating each other up, we can get this interview started."

Shining Armor and Cricket shared a look, and Cricket said with a smirk, "I think I can keep my hooves in check. I wouldn't mind a sparring match sometime, though: Like I said earlier, your brother has a remarkable right cross. I wouldn't mind seeing it in action again."

The knight laughed, and said, "I may indulge you sometime, when things are a bit less crazy." Shining Armor turned towards his sister, then nodded, saying, "But yeah, Twily, I don't think I'll be throwing any more punches today. Feel free to get started."

With that, the door to the audience chamber was shut, and then magically sealed. The four princesses worked together for several minutes to seal the chamber completely from the outside world: no spell would ever reveal what transpired within these walls, no matter how powerful. Any secrets revealed inside this room would remain as such, unless spoken by somepony, or somebuggy, who was inside at the time of the interview. Finally, Twilight Sparkle said, a smile on her face, said, "Well, now that we're in private, are there any other secrets you'd like to share with us, before we get started?"

Cricket's expression turned thoughtful for a moment, then said, in a matter of fact voice, "Well, my favorite color is blue, love songs make me hungry, and I think I may have once punched King Sombra in the face. I'm not sure about that last one: I was on an awful lot of medication during my hospital stay, so I may have dreamed that. I'd like to think that if that had actually happened, I'd remember it a bit more clearly. Other than that, I don't think there's anything else worth mentioning about me personally. I do know a few other secrets, but they're not my secrets alone, and I would rather not share them unless they become relevant."

There was some general mirth around the room at the idea of the changeling having once socked the evil overlord of the Crystal Empire in the jaw (although nopony took it seriously, of course), and after a moment, Twilight Sparkle said, "Well, if nopony has any objections, I'd like to go first." There were none, so the youngest princess smiled, and said, "Before I get to the question proper, I wanted to make certain I understood a few things that you mentioned earlier today. Do you mind?"

Cricket shook his head and said, "I'm an open book, your highness. The cover may not be prettiest, but you know what they say about that. Feel free to ask me anything you want."

Twilight nodded, then began, stating, "You mentioned that the Commander of the swarm is responsible for the education of the commonborn changelings. You also mentioned that your predecessor, Blattaria, was, to paraphrase your own words, the posterboy for incompetence. Was he the Commander when you were a hatchling?" Cricket nodded. "Was he the one who taught you?"

Cricket shook his head vigorously, and answered with a chuckle, "Absolutely not. He was notoriously lazy, and left that to his subordinates. And no, they didn't teach me, either. No offense to them, some of them were semi-decent teachers, but most of them were blithering incompetents who couldn't teach a rabbit to eat carrots. No, I got my education from somebuggy else."

"And that," Twilight Sparkle said, smiling, "brings me to what I wanted to ask you." With a meaningful glance towards Princess Celestia, she continued, saying, "Somepony I respect once told me that you can tell a lot about somepony, or somebuggy, based on who taught them, so..." here the princess cleared her throat, and asked, much more formally...

"This Is My Question: Who Taught You?"

Cricket felt a tingle run through his skull, and after a moment, the gem stuck to his forehead flared to life. A window appeared above his head...
...

It was years before the hive would turn mobile, becoming a swarm, back when their presence was still largely unknown in the southern lands, and they could still maintain a permanent base without fear of a serious attack. A new class of hatchlings was assembled in a chamber, and lessons began.

Hatchling number 8675309 (who would one day become Commander Mole "Seven Tricks" Cricket) sat at the back of the class of hatchlings, listening to the adult changeling as he tried to explain "How Not To Be Seen". The first step, after hiding, was apparently not to reveal yourself when somebuggy calls your name. But while the hatchling was listening with one ear, and one eye watched the instructor and the other hatchlings with vague interest, the majority of his attention was on the changeling guard leaning against the back wall next to him.

The changeling in question was older than any other the hatchling had ever seen. Instead of the dark, near black of most changeling shells, hers was instead a light grey from her advanced years. She wore armor, which was rare inside the hive, and unlike the shiny and new type a lot of the officers paraded around in, this was armor that had obviously seen a lot of the world. It was dented, chipped, scratched, and worn. This was the real deal: battle armor that had seen fierce battles and come back alive with the changeling wearing it. While definitely old, the changeling seemed to radiate a strange sort of solidarity and strength that the youngster had not seen in any other changeling he had encountered before.

She never said anything, and her primary duty seemed to be keeping an eye on the hatchlings (possibly in case something happened that might put the young ones in danger) while the instructors did their job. For everybuggy else, this changeling was just a part of the background, completely unremarkable. But to 8675309, watching her was an education in and of itself.

When the instructor said something that even the hatchling could tell was stupid, or just plain wrong, the guard's face would usually scowl, although sometimes, the guard would snort, or sometimes even chuckle quietly, as if what the instructor said was so stupid that she couldn't believe anybuggy could say it with a straight face. But other times, the guard actually gave a real smile, and nodded, as if the instructor had touched on something actually important, and got it exactly right. Those were things that the hatchling made certain he committed to memory...

The instructor was fairly young, and obviously not very good at his job. He stuttered, repeated himself without meaning to, and muddled through the lesson as best he could, but it was clear, even to the hatchlings, that at least half of what he said was wrong. It was clear that the guard knew more than the instructor, which begged the question: if this veteran knew more than the instructor, why wasn't the guard instructing, and the instructor guarding? It was as if the world was upside down and nobuggy had noticed...

When the lesson finally ended, the hatchling waited for everybuggy else to leave the chamber. When it was just the hatchling and the guard, they both sat there for a little while. After a moment, the guard looked down at the hatchling, and said, "Lessons are over. You can go now."

"I..." the hatchling started, then struggled very hard to say the next few words. It was the first time he'd really made a serious request of an adult, and he was incredibly nervous. To his credit, he gathered his courage and with no more hesitation, said, "I want you to teach me."

The guard actually looked surprised by that, then chuckled, asking, "And why would you want that?"

8675309 looked the guard straight in the eyes, and struggled to put the thought rattling around inside of his head into words. Finally, the idea crystalized in his brain, and before he thought better of it, he said, with the kind of brutal honesty available only to small children, the elderly, and complete jerks, "Because there's no way you could be that old if you're as dumb as the instructor is."

The guard burst out laughing. While it came from a changeling who looked as rugged as a rhino, it was pure, clear, and surprisingly musical. The hatchling liked the sound of it, but he liked what he heard next a great deal more. "Alright, I might be able to teach you a few things. What would you like to know?"

"Everything," the hatchling said, with the enthusiasm only possibly by somebuggy who has no idea just how much "everything" there is.

The guard chuckled, and said, "Everything is a lot, hatchling. It'll take more than one lesson to cover it all." The guard's expression turned a bit more serious as she said, "And I'm not very patient. If it turns out you're wasting my time, I won't be happy about it. Are you ready for your first lesson?" The hatchling nodded, and the guard said, expression serious, "Follow me."
...

There was an impression of time moving forward quickly, then the image slowed down again.
...

The guard placed an unlit candle on a saucer in front of the hatchling, who sat in front of a table. After a moment, the guard said, "This is the best metaphor I can use for what I'm about to explain to you. This candle represents the love inside of a changeling's body. The saucer, before you ask, is just a saucer, and the table is just a table. Don't over-analyze this, okay, just listen and watch."

The guard's horn flared with magic, and a small flame lit the candle. "Since you aren't an aristo, you can't use magic, except for changing your appearance, of course. However, since you are a commoner, you can use love to do things that an aristo can't. This flame represents how much love your body needs at any given time. While an aristo, or the queen, needs love to power her spells, a commoner can use love to strengthen their body in a variety of ways."

The guard's horn flared again, and the flame doubled in intensity, as the hatchling's eyes widened in surprise. "You can make yourself twice as strong, twice as fast, and twice as tough, but at the cost of burning through the love inside you at double the rate for each attribute you intensify. The only limit to how much you can improve yourself, and for how long, is how much love you have. You can grant yourself strength to rival that of an elder dragon." The guard's horn flared again, and the candle's flame briefly intensified to a blaze that was as tall as the hatchling, then went out as the candle was consumed completely. "But only as long as you have enough love to sustain it."

The guard pointed at the pool of wax now on the tabletop, and said, "You never, ever, ever want to use up all the love in your body if you can help it. If you do, you'll go into what is called Dry Hibernation. Your body will stiffen, and you'll be unable to move. You will be completely indestructible in this state, and while yes, you can live practically forever like this, it is not an experience I'd recommend, because you'll be rendered completely paralyzed, but still fully aware of all that's going on around you. If you're lucky, your fellow changelings will find you and give you enough love to restore your mobility. If you're unlucky, an enemy will find you, and use you as the world's ugliest coatrack, or perhaps as a foot stool, at your age."

That didn't sound very fun, the hatchling thought to himself. He definitely didn't want to be stuck like that...

The guard noticed the hatchling's expression, and said, "As long as you keep track of how much love you have, and how fast you're using it, you'll be fine. Now that you understand the concept, and the risks, I'll teach you how to do it yourself."

There was an impression of more time passing, and images passing in rapid fire succession. Images of the guard teaching the hatchling lessons, the two sparring, and more, passed over the course of two to three minutes. In addition, there were a few snatches of words and sentences. Things like, "Never immediately believe a word spoken by an enemy. If they say up, look down, if they say left, look right. If you don't see anything, then look the way they said. Sometimes the enemy will say something honest just to throw you off," or "A good trick is better than ten soldiers at your side. An infiltrator on the inside can strike with the force of a legion. Brute force is for cracking walnuts. Cunning is for defeating armies." There was even, "The definition of insanity, and stupidity, is to do the exact same thing, the exact same way, expecting the outcome to be different. And I don't just mean the things that you do: repeating mistakes made by others is just as bad." Finally, the image began to slow, and resolved to a steady projection again.
...

It was graduation day. All of the youngsters were gathered together. It had been three years of hard work and effort, but they were all ready for their assignments to their first squads. However, before they began dividing the hatchlings up, there was a ceremony where new squad leaders were selected. While a promotion could certainly occur after this ceremony, this was the best time to get ahead of your class. Everybuggy would see, right off the bat, that you were something special.

8675309 sat amongst the other commoners, waiting for this little ceremony to conclude. The candidates for squad leader were almost always aristos: you needed a recommendation from an aristo to be nominated, and the aristos almost always kept with their own...

Blattaria, the current commander, stood next to his son, who, naturally, was first named. Blattaria was the only fat changeling in the hive: aristos can eat the same kind of food other creatures can, unlike commoners. However, this just adds calories, and eventually fat if not exercised off, but not nutrition. Blattaria was always eating, unless at a function like this one. His son, on the other hand, while certainly large, was all muscle. At least the apple had fallen an appropriate distance from the tree for the next generation.

The aristos gathered finished announcing their choices for squad leaders, and it seemed that the ceremony was over, when the hatchling heard a familiar voice say, "I have a nomination for squad leader."

The guard, the one whom the hatchling had been training with for the last three years after classes, was there... standing with the aristos?

The queen, who had been presiding over the ceremony with a somewhat bored expression (she was barely a teenager at this point, and was infamous for finding ceremonies like this incredibly dull), perked up with interest. "Ah," the queen said, "Former Commander Vespidae. What a surprise! You have a nomination?"

Blattaria began to make an objection, but the queen silenced him with a glance. It was no secret that the queen did not like the current commander, and only put up with him since there was nobuggy else willing to take up his mantle... or at least nobuggy else who was qualified: all of the current lieutenants, who would be eligible, were little more than the commander's toadies...

But there was one changeling in the military branch of the hive that was nobuggy's toady.

Vespidae, dressed, not in her battered battle gear, but in shining silver ceremonial armor, shouted, in a voice that could have been heard on the other side of a battlefield, "Hatchling Number Eight Six Seven Five Three Zero Nine! Attennnnn-tion!"

It was amazing how the commanding officer's tone (she'd taught it to hatchling but he'd proven just as vulnerable to it as anybuggy else) could seemingly override a subordinate's brain, taking control of the body directly. The hatchling was on his hooves and at full attention before he'd even realized that he was in motion.

Blattaria seemed offended by the choice of a commoner as squad commander, but knew better than to object. The only reason Vespidae wasn't commander now was because she WAS the commander, before Blattaria had taken up the role when she retired, following a personal tragedy involving her son. If she asked for the role back, the current commander would not have been able to refuse. While she no longer held the office, she was... well, she was famous, the most legendary of legends, in her own lifetime, no less. The hatchling had heard stories about her hundreds of victories over the various enemies of the hive prior to its relocation to the southern lands, but had never seen the mythic figure for himself. No, that was wrong: he'd been seeing her every day for the last three years after classes, without realizing it. He'd always just called her Granny (the guard, no, Vespidae, had insisted).

For the last three years, he'd been getting pointers from one of the greatest commanders the hive had ever known, without having realized it.

The distinction of becoming a squad leader meant that he'd be given, in addition to the rank, a name of his own. The former commander supplied one: Cricket. When Cricket asked her a little later about her choice, Vesipae had laughed, and said, "Because you're not afraid to leap before you look, little bug. An officer has to be willing to take risks if he wants to win, even if it means he has to jump into the unknown and deal with the consequences when he gets there. The first day of classes, you took a big chance, asking me to teach you, and it paid dividends. Never forget that: Who dares, wins."

It wouldn't be until years later that he learned that "Cricket" had also been her son's name, a long, long time ago.

The next day, Cricket found, in his new personal quarters in the hive, a package from the former commander. Inside was a suit of armor, just his size, as well as a larger suit that he'd have to grow into. Inside was a note, congratulating him on his new rank, and letting him know how proud she was of him, and wishing him well in his future endeavors. She was leaving him the armor that had been intended for her son, had circumstances not made it tragically unnecessary. She hoped it fit him well.

It also said that the former commander was leaving the hive for good. Her plan, according to the note, was very simple: she planned on picking a direction at random, and going out in a straight line, undisguised, until she found someone, or something, who didn't know what she was. When she did, she'd settle there for the rest of her days... of which, there would not be many.

Cricket had heard about how other creatures had this thing called tears: they had water come out of their eyes when they were sad. They cried. Changelings don't have that ability: that was the price they had to pay for having compound eyes, allowing them a wider range of vision than most other creatures. This was the first time, and certainly not the last, that Cricket would feel a little envious of the other races of the world.

With a resolute expression, Squad Leader Cricket slapped on his helmet, strapped on his armor, and went out to address his new squad. He'd made a living legend proud of him. He wasn't going to let her down now by stopping in his tracks. He was going to keep leaping forward, into the unknown.

Something Expositional

"I honestly had no idea that you were that cute when you were little."

As Shining Armor and the princesses burst out in laughter, Cricket blushed bright blue at Twilight Sparkle's comment. He had to admit, changeling hatchlings were surprisingly cuddly looking, given what they grew up to look like: frightening, fanged, dark, and with a shell would be considered medium armor for most creatures.

Cricket chuckled a little bit himself, and said, "Well, I hope that you'll keep that a secret, your highness. I do have something of a reputation to maintain in the swarm, and if it gets out that I was once that adorable, I'll never hear the end of it."

The laughter of the princesses redoubled, and it was several moments before they finally approached something regarding seriousness. Luna, the first to regain her composure, raised her hoof, and said, "If none of you have any objections, I would like to go next." Again, nopony seemed to have a problem with that.

"As with young Twilight, I myself have a few things I'd like to ask of you before I begin my official inquiry, if that is not a problem?"

Cricket smiled, and said, plainly, "Ask away, your highness."

The princess of the moon nodded, her expression now serious. "Given how little is currently known about changelings in general, there are many things that we would like to ask you about, concerning your culture, your race's social hierarchy, and so forth. However, there will, I think, be time for discussion about such things later, outside of this interview. What I would like clarification on right now is this: From what young Twilight and my sister shared with me, you spent a great deal of your career at odds with the commander, Blattaria, did you not?"

Cricket nodded, his expression serious as well. He volunteered, "Blattaria possessed very clear views about where commoners stood in the social structure, and those views mainly involved commoners being thrown, in waves, at anything and everything that got in his way on the battlefield. That included city walls and forcefields, even when even a hatchling could have told him that it wouldn't work. Insectoid wave tactics were about the only thing he really understood, and were it not for the fact that changelings are so durable, the hive would have been much, much smaller by the time that I was born. Admittedly, the tactics sometimes worked, eventually, but that was only because the queen made certain that plenty of infiltrators were inserted into the target areas beforehoof, to help soften things up."

Luna nodded, then continued, "And this antagonistic relationship only intensified when it was discovered that the queen wished for you to succeed him. Yet if your species' traditions in any way mirror our own, the Commander would select his own successor, rather than the queen, correct?"

Again, Cricket nodded, then said, "Yes, your highness. That was normally the procedure. However, the commander ended up complicating things, as he often did, due to how he was running, or perhaps failing to run, the military branch at that time. He had, unintentionally, put himself into a precarious position: If he named one of his toadies as his successor, he was just barely smart enough to know that said toady would immediately turn on him in hopes of getting his position. As long as none of his cronies held that title, they would do everything they could to keep him safe, for fear of losing their own cushy positions in the hive. The queen tried to keep her muzzle out of the running of the military branch in those days: Her position, and her authority, was still somewhat precarious, due to her youth. Meanwhile, Blattaria held the rank of commander because he had a great many connections with the various aristos in the other branches of the hive, mainly due to a massive stockpile of love that he, as an aristo, had access to. The queen had to deal with the infiltration branch and the recon branch on a regular basis, and those were all aristo, from bottom to top: if Blattaria lost his position, those branches, and especially their leaders, would lose out on the steady supply of hugs that Blat was feeding them. The queen would experience a great deal of backlash from that, making her position ten times more difficult."

Twilight Sparkle raised an eyebrow, and asked, incredulous "What was that about hugs?"

Cricket sighed, then said, "Your highness, I did not come up with the name used for the standard unit of love that the hive uses. I would not have chosen "Hug", if it had been me, but I will admit, I could not come up with a name that didn't sound at least a little silly. One "Hug" can sustain a changeling for a day, as long as they don't burn it for a boost or use it for a spell. The units for measurement in the hive, so you'll know, do mirror that used by your own metric system: one Kilohug is one thousand Hugs worth of love."

There was a great deal of smothered chuckling at that. Celestia clapped her hooves, and then, with a chuckle she did not try to hide, admitted, "I admire your ability to be able to say all of that with a straight face, Commander."

Cricket smiled, then chuckled himself, saying, "Years of practice, your highness."

The changeling's expression turned serious again as he picked up where he left off: "Blattaria wanted somebuggy specific to succeed him, hoping to turn the military into a kind of dynasty, a kingdom within a kingdom, if you will. However, he could only name a lieutenant as his official successor, due to both official regulations and long standing tradition. Had Blattaria's son ever risen above squad leader, I'm certain that Blattaria would have chosen him, and that would have been that. However, while Gromphadorhina was, admittedly, an able squad leader, he knew enough about his own limitations to know that, if he ever accepted one of the promotions his father kept offering him, he'd make a hash of things very quickly, and when he became commander, it would only get worse. That was one apple who fell miles from the tree. Like I said on the way here: there are only a few Aristo's that I respect. Grom is one of them, and I was proud to call him one of my comrades."

"Interesting," Luna said, her face an unreadable mask as she considered what to ask next. "So, the Queen named you as the successor, after you were promoted to lieutenant. However..." The princess furrowed her brow in consternation, before saying, "Bah, I admit, I am torn. I would like to know what you did to receive such favor from your queen, and yet... I would also be interested in hearing how you made the rank of lieutenant as well, given that it sounds like the commander would never have granted that rank willingly..."

Cricket raised his hoof, interrupting the princess, then said with a large grin, "Well, in that case, you're fortunate, your highness, since the two stories are related. If you ask for one, you should get to see the other as well. And it does make for an interesting, and entertaining, story."

Princess Luna nodded, and said, with a grateful smile, "Thank you for sharing all of this information, commander, in spite of your concerns that such knowledge could be used to harm others of your kind." Cricket nodded, smiling and acknowledging her gratitude. The moon princess was rather stiff, in a way, but he couldn't help but like her. At least she was trying to loosen up a little. Luna's voice took on a more formal tone (and a surprisingly loud voice. He'd later learn that this was something called The Royal Canterlot Voice. Luna tended to only break it out for special occasions, although most princesses these days tried to avoid it if they could. Cricket remembered thinking to himself at the time, that if she and Vespidae ever got into a shouting contest, there likely would have been an explosion, and possibly an earthquake) as she asked...

"This Is My Question: How Did You Earn The Queen's Favor?"

The gemstone on Cricket's forehead pulsed with magic, and a familiar tingle ran through the changeling's skull. The window appeared in the air above the changeling's head...

Something Exceptional

"Right, and if you can do that, I'll eat my hat."

Cricket briefly studied the hat in question. Commander Blattaria, since the younger changeling had first made squad leader, had since nearly doubled in body weight from pure fat, and had also picked up an impressively fancy hat. It was... incredible. Cricket had never seen it's equal, and by this point, he'd seen headwear in seven different kingdoms. It was the kind of hat that a king would wear if they needed to give their crown a day off. There were feathers from at least ten different birds sticking out of it, as well as various precious and semi-precious stones set in it's band. The wide brim somehow always conspired to set itself just so, making the wearer look incredibly rakish, even debonair, even on a fat cockroach like Blattaria. The overall design should have been gaudy, and yet somehow, it managed to look incredibly, impossibly stylish. Rumor was that it was magical. It probably was, given that it was doing the impossible: making Blattaria look good.

Squad Leader Mole Cricket kept his expression neutral as he said, "Well, either you can promote me to lieutenant or you can devour your headwear, sir, it's all one to me. I'd prefer the promotion, naturally, but it will be your choice. However, you still have not answered my question: Do I have your permission to launch the raid, sir?"

The two sat inside of Blattaria's tent, his preferred place of rest while on campaign. It was incredibly well designed, and had been plundered, along with his magnificent hat, from a merchant caravan that his soldiers had come across about two years ago. Were it not for the fact that Blattaria used the extracted bodies of his political rivals and enemies as furnishings (as a warning to others, Cricket assumed), it would have been quite pleasant.

Extraction was the worst possible punishment a changeling could face: being drained completely of love and being trapped in Dry Hibernation, with the queen's order never to restore them. The fat roach liked to use his connections to disgrace his political enemies to the point that the queen would have no choice save that most terrible of fates. It was typically reserved only for those who were either found guilty of gross incompetence (somehow Blat was an exception to that rule, which was a sign to Cricket that there was something seriously wrong with the world), cowardice (again, Blat was given a pardon), or treason.

The two changelings looked at the model of Sphinxopolis set on the back of an extracted changeling. The changelings had, for the last thirty years, been hitting this city-state twice a year on raids. They extracted a sizable amount of love from the inhabitants, then left, so that those who dwelled within could recover, gain more love, and be extracted again. Sadly, this had an unintentional side effect: After each raid, the city would improve it's defenses, making the following raid a bit harder. Worse, the various city states were getting very tired of this treatment, and were starting to work together. The Sphinxes within were the last real holdouts on forming an alliance with the city's neighbors, but it was only a matter of time.

The place had, in thirty years, gone from a modest city-state with laughable defenses to the textbook definition of "Unassailable Fortress City That Makes The Attacking Army Want To Cry Just Looking At It". And the queen was a prisoner inside...

Nobuggy had the heart, or the guts, to tell the queen she wasn't a very good actress: she kept insisting on taking the lead role infiltrating the various city states, and while nine times out of ten, it went well (the residents must be blind, or morons, not to notice the radical change in behavior, but being able to perfectly imitate the target's appearance cuts a lot of slack, Cricket supposed), but that one time out landed the whole hive in hot water every time...

Blattaria sighed, and said, "The queen got herself caught, and now she's locked up inside. I won't lie to you, Squaddie, if she's not rescued soon, it could easily mean a civil war. And that fortress is sealed up tighter than... well, it's impossible, plain and simple. And you want permission to raid that, to try and rescue the queen?"

Cricket nodded. The queen was still too young to be expected to produce a queen's egg, which would contain her heir. If she were... well, civil war would be an understatement for the nightmare that would ensue. However, Cricket already had a plan in mind. "Yes sir. I'll need three new bugs for my squad, though, since with the injuries we suffered last mission, we're under strength." The three injured weren't going to be good for much asides from tending to the freshly hatched: at least two would never be able to fly again, and all three would never be able to go any faster than a walk. Blattaria's habit of giving Cricket's squad the most dangerous missions was eating through the less capable soldiers he was given at a worrying pace.

Blattaria hesitated, but then chuckled, saying, "I have three in mind. Goliath, Portia, and Pill."

"Goliath, sir?" Cricket asked, incredulous, "I thought he was just a myth. You mean to say that he's a real changeling?"

Blattaria chuckled, and said, "Yes, he's real. And he's your problem now. They'll meet you outside, and you can introduce them to your squad. And yes, you have my permission to perform the raid. I'd wish you good luck, but we both know I'd be lying. Dismissed." The fat roach relaxed into his chair, formed from a trio of posed changelings (Cricket's heart went out to them: bad enough to be stuck like that, but add to that the pain of having to support that fat slob's ever-expanding flanks? That's just wrong). Obviously, the commander considered the matter closed, with no further need for discussion. Cricket saluted, then turned to leave. "Oh, and Squaddie?" Cricket stopped in his tracks. "If you fail, feel free to come back. I could use a new coffee table."

Cricket, still keeping his expression neutral, even with his back to the commander, said, "And after I succeed, I'll be certain to secure you a pot of mustard, sir. I'd imagine that hat is going to taste rather bland." Before the commander could speak a word in response, Cricket left the tent.

After exiting the tent, he turned towards three changelings who were sitting right outside the tent. They were, to a bug, amongst the strangest he'd ever seen.

The first one could only be Goliath. He was easily the biggest changeling that the squaddie had ever seen. Too heavy to fly, and so large that the only creature he could successfully disguise himself as was an adult dragon, the changeling was legendary for two things: his monstrous strength, and his lack of any other noteworthy attribute, including intelligence.

The second, probably Pill, had a carapace that seemed oddly rounded. He'd heard of a few changelings that had been specially modified for the "Catapult" corps, units that were intended to be hurled against walls like those of Sphinxopolis. After the first three tests of the project ended... painfully, the plan was cancelled. The upside was, the modified carapace was much harder than normal, and allowed the changeling in question to roll into a perfect ball, making them a one bug fortress. The downside was, they were much slower, could not fly, and were barely able to fight effectively. Heavy armor, but little else. Were he not standing next to Goliath, he'd have been the biggest changeling Cricket had ever seen, five times that of an adult changeling.

The third, by process of elimination, must be Portia. She was... a hatchling, and from the look of her, an Aristo. Great, that was all he needed. She was a dinky little thing, kind of cute, in a childish sort of way. He was tempted to leave her behind for such a dangerous mission, but he'd need all the help he could get, and an Aristo would have at least a little magic, which could be useful. He'd have to see what she could do.

Squad Leader Mole Cricket shouted, "Attention!" The three changelings in front of him snapped to attention, then looked briefly surprised to find themselves in that state without having thought about it. Before they had time to think further, Cricket said, "I'll be your new commander. You'll be meeting your fellow squadmates shortly. Before you do, I want you three to understand this: from now until you leave my squad, you're my responsibility. If you mess up, it ends up on my plate. If you get in trouble out there, I'll be the one who pulls you out. And if something tries to drag you away, it'll only be because they're dragging me away too, because I'll have your tail in my mouth, and will be pulling in the opposite direction. I will be relying on all of you to do your jobs. Rely on me to do mine. And lets all come home in one piece. Understood?"

"SIR YES SIR!!!"

Cricket had not counted on the volume of Goliath's voice, but temporarily deafened or not, he wasn't going to act surprised. It was time to go to work, and whether the fat old roach knew it or not, he'd handed Cricket the perfect tools for the job.
...

There was an impression of time moving by quickly, then snapping back to normal speed.
...

It was now nearly sunset, and a team of six sphinxes were hauling a massive beast of a changeling, covered head to hooves in heavy chains, across the bridge that led to the city-state of Sphinxopolis. The city was on high alert, expecting an attack at any time, but a squad with a prisoner, especially one of this... magnitude, had to be let in. It wouldn't do to be stuck outside with such a beast when night fell.

The city's guard captain stepped forward to receive the prisoner, with a team of a dozen sphinx guards to help haul in the beast. The leader of this team seemed a little young, but there were a few go-getters in the ranks these days, so the captain didn't think much of it.

Once they were through the gates, the leader of the squad asked, in a friendly tone, "Want to hear a riddle?"

Sphinxes were notorious for their love of riddles, and the captain was no different. "Sure, I'd love to hear one," he said, in an equally friendly tone.

The leader asked, "What's the difference between a sphinx, and a changeling disguised as a sphinx?"

Well, it sounded more like a joke, rather than a proper riddle, but the guard decided he'd take the bait. "I don't know."

Cricket smiled wickedly. He loved moments like this. He dropped his disguise, and asked, still in his friendly tone, "Then why did they leave you in charge of the gates?" The guard captain's face was priceless, the split second before Cricket's hoof knocked him out.

It was a quick, clean fight, mostly. The only noteworthy event was one large specimen of a sphinx, with a club, getting a clean hit on Cricket, dazing him briefly. Goliath stopped the backhand blow that would have knocked out the squad leader, but otherwise, there was nothing truly important in the encounter. The element of surprise, combined with the element of Goliath, who wasn't chained, but covered by an illusion supplied by Portia, made the numerical advantage of the sphinxes moot. Pill and Portia dismounted from the massive changeling's back and joined the gathering ranks. Once the dust cleared, Cricket turned towards the gates, which were beginning to close. "Goliath," he ordered, "get those gates for me!"

Goliath did something surprising: He spat a long thread of green adhesive goo, which struck both doors just as they closed. Then, with a seemingly negligent pull, he yanked the massive bronze gates off of their hinges, sending them flying towards him. The massive changeling caught the multi-ton gates with surprising deftness, hefted them over his head, then turned towards Cricket. Goliath asked, "Okay, whur duya wannum, boss?"

Okay, he'd have to remember Goliath could do that. More importantly, he'd have to remember that Goliath did exactly what you told him, even if it should have been impossible. The squad leader turned towards their goal, the central palace, and saw a large number of sphinx guards running down the street towards them. A mischievous smile on his face, he pointed towards the approaching enemies, and said, "Anywhere over there is fine."

The sphinxes broke ranks and scattered in every direction, desperate to avoid the multi-ton gates as they slammed down where the guards had been just moments before. Now that the way was mostly clear, it was time for phase two.

"Portia, the signal! Pill! Scarab! On me! All others, secure the gates until the main army arrives!"

Portia saluted, then cast a spell, sending a massive flare of light skyward, letting the army outside know that the gates were secured, and that the main force could attack any time. Pill rolled into a ball, and Scarab, a young female changeling who had only been in the squad for a few weeks, and had a bizarre hobby of rolling balls around with her hind legs, took up a position behind the now spheroid changeling. Cricket jumped atop Pill, standing atop his own hind legs. With no further signal, Scarab began pushing, Cricket began running backwards, and the trio was moving at incredibly high speeds, down the streets of the city, towards the main palace.

Sphinxes that tried to stop them were scattered like bowling pins, and with Cricket on top to spot any major obstacles, and Scarab to steer, they very quickly made their way to the central palace. The ornamental gates proved to be no barrier, thanks to the momentum they had built up by then. Now at their destination, Cricket leapt from atop Pill, then ordered the two to return to the city gates, to join with the rest of the army when it arrived. This next part called for stealth, not power.

Disguising himself as a royal courier, Cricket quickly made his way inside. So good was his disguise that a scribe flagged him down and passed him a document, telling him that it was to be taken to the pharaoh immediately. The pharaoh was, as usual, holding court in the throne room, trying to decide to do with the prisoner.

Once in private, Cricket read the document (Cricket had been taught to read multiple languages, even Sphinxian Heiroglyphs, by his mentor. Good intel is hard to find, and rarely in your own language). After a moment, his eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in anger. After a moment, he opened his mouth, and stuffed the document down his craw. Commoner changelings did not have a digestive system like other creatures did, so anything swallowed would remain intact and undisturbed until he coughed it up. That document was definitely something he'd need to study in detail later...

He made all speed to the throne room, where the pharaoh, several nobles, and several important military officials were trying, with no success, to convince the queen that it would be in her best interest to take her forces and leave. The discussion was still polite, but did not sound like it would be for long.

Cricket's shout, in full commanding officer tone, cut through the chatter like a katana through a stick of butter.

"LADIES, GENTLEBEASTS, I AM HERE TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR CITY IS NOW UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE CHANGELING HIVE!!! IF YOU HAVE ANY OBJECTIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO STATE THEM NOW!!!"

One impressively built sphinx made to open his mouth. Quick as lightning, Cricket whipped off his helmet, threw it into the air, then kicked it, with both back legs, full force. The helmet shot forward like a bullet, striking the sphinx in the face, rendering him unconscious. The helmet bounced off of the offending sphinx's face, back towards Cricket. With a well practiced motion, he caught the helmet, and then, with a slight grunt of effort, he popped the dent the sphinx's face had made out of the his helmet with his bare hooves, then shouted, "ANYBEAST ELSE HAVE ANY OBJECTIONS?" Nobeast did. He put his helmet back on with a smile.

When Blattaria arrived to officially take command of the city, he found Queen Chrysalis and Cricket chatting amiably in the throne room. There was a rather conspicuously placed pot of mustard set on a table in the center of the room, as well as a variety of other condiments. The queen, all smiles and good cheer, welcomed the Commander, and said, "You know, Lieutenant Cricket here was just telling me the most amusing story, about a gentlebug's wager you and he made prior to his launching this delightfully effective attack, for the sake of rescuing me. Something about you eating your hat, I believe?"

Blattaria started to raise an objection, when the queen gave the commander a glare, silencing him. "Yes, I am aware that, prior to this action, he was a squad leader, but after having witnessed him in action, I believe that his being kept at such a low rank would be a disservice to changelingkind. Moreover, since you've been hesitant to select your successor, I've decided that, until such time as a more suitable candidate can be found, unlikely as that may be, Lieutenant Mole Cricket will serve in that capacity. This is non-negotiable, and if I hear that you attempted to demote the young lieutenant without my permission, I will be most displeased."

Cricket kept his expression most definitely neutral, but inside, he was rolling on the floor, laughing aloud, whooping aloud, and dancing crazy. While the, ah, antagonistic relations between himself and the commander would certainly intensify after today, so long as Cricket held the Queen's high regard, he was well on his way to holding Blattaria's position.

And he'd need that position, he reflected, as Blattaria sat before the table, began applying condiments to his prized hat, after plucking off the gemstones and feathers, of course, then began to eat it. If the document he now had nestled inside his stomach was accurate, he would need that kind of authority to pull off the plan now forming in his brain. A dangerous, treasonous, long term plan that would secure the future of changelingkind for generations to come, if not for all of eternity. Because that one little document told Cricket something that he imagined only a select few changelings remembered...

Exactly where changelings came from.
...
There was an impression of time moving again, then stopping.
...

Cricket sat in a cave, a campfire in front of him, waiting. After a moment, Portia entered, saluted, then asked, "You summoned me, sir?"

Cricket grinned and said, "Yes. Good work out there, Miss Fimbriata. Very impressive. I've decided to nominate you for squad leader... provided you can answer some questions for me."

The young changeling nodded. Cricket pulled out the document from his mouth, and let Portia look it over. After a moment, Cricket asked, "To your knowledge, is this accurate?"

Portia could only nod mutely.

After a moment, Cricket asked, "Two spells are mentioned in that document. One of them, I doubt you would have the power to break. It would take more power than the hive currently possesses to overcome it. The second, however, the Obedience spell... can you break that one?"

Portia nodded again. After a moment, she said, "Sir, if the queen ever finds out that..."

Cricket cut her off with a motion of his hoof, his face a mask of rage. "At this moment, I could not care less about the queen. When I became a soldier, I swore an oath, to always act in the best interests of the hive. Queens change, but the hive remains. And now I find that everything, everything that we believed, that we have built our lives around, everything that we are... is built upon a betrayal a thousand years old. A betrayal perpetrated by the first queen, and the aristos of that era, and perpetuated by their successors. And the commoners forced to cooperate with that betrayal, against their will, have been made slaves to those who took everything from us, have been forced to lick the hooves of our oppressors for so long that we've forgotten what freedom tastes like."

Portia held the commander's gaze, then after a moment, she smiled. "It sounds to me as if you are plotting to upset the so-called "natural order". Sounds like fun. Need some help?"

Cricket smiled in response, and said, "Spoken like a true fallen aristo. I'm sorry about your father, by the way. I saw him in Blat's tent. I can't promise you that I will be able to save him, but if you work with me, I promise you, you'll get to use Blattaria for a table before this is done."

Portia Fimbriata, last survivor of the house of the Jumping Spider, one of Blattaria's greatest political enemies, smiled toothily, and said, "It would be my pleasure, Commander."

Lieutenant Mole Cricket's smile was equally wicked as he said, "Not yet, but soon. Welcome to the Queen's Arrow, Portia." Portia grinned at that. The nickname given to the squad that Cricket had led today had been given by the queen herself. A nice name with a delicious double meaning: all would assume that it was the arrow belonging to the queen, to be cast against her enemies, striking them down with speed and precision. Nobuggy would suspect, until the fateful day came, that it was also the arrow that would strike the queen down, for the betrayal that her ancestors had committed, and that she had helped to perpetuate as well...

The changelings had been beautiful once. And ponies. They would be again. Cricket would see to that.

Something Legendary

"What's an Obedience spell?"

Twilight Sparkle was the first to gather her wits after that last little revelation. Over the course of the memory projection, they had demonstrated a broad spectrum of emotions. Horror, at Blattaria's treatment of other changelings; amazement, at the audacity and effectiveness of Cricket's attack (Shining Armor commented that, for somebuggy who was ten years old at the time, it was a decent strategy, but it would never have worked in Equestria); humor, at seeing Blattaria get a little comeuppance, but now, they were simply stunned to find that Cricket was the head of what could essentially be considered the first Changeling revolution in one thousand years.

In retrospect, Cricket supposed that the fact that he considered Portia to be the next queen of the hive probably had something to do with adding that last segment. Her approval and Chrysalis' being so closely intertwined, for radically different reasons, caused the two threads to merge, putting both into a single projection.

Celestia cleared her throat, then answered the youngest princess, saying, "It is a very old spell, Twilight, and one that is forbidden to all. It..." Here, the princess had trouble speaking, but gathered herself and continued, "It allows one who is in a position of authority over others to force their subordinates to do as commanded, regardless of what their subordinates want to do. It is a terrible violation of free will, and use of the spell is considered one of the most terrible abuses of authority, with the most severe of punishments allowed by law. Knowledge of it has been forbidden for over a thousand years, after it caused two terrible tragedies. Sombra used it, upon becoming King, to force his subjects to obey his will without resistance, even though there were hundreds of them, and only one of him. And..." The princess stopped abruptly, overcome with emotion. This was obviously a difficult topic.

"Your highness," Cricket said, interrupting her. The eldest princess looked up suddenly, and, after Cricket was certain he had permission to continue, said, "This is obviously a painful subject for you to speak of. Rather than telling it, perhaps it would be easier to show it."

Celestia turned thoughtful for a few seconds, then nodded. She cleared her throat, and said, with a friendly smile, "Very well. Thank you, Cricket." Then, in a much more formal tone, she said...

"This Is My Question: What Do You Know Of Your Kind's History?"

A familiar tingle ran up and down Cricket's skull, as the gem flared to life. A new window appeared above the changeling's head...
...

Cricket watched the battle unfold above him, and as he did so, he knew that things were going to take a bad turn: Lieutenant Halyomorpha Halys, last of Blattaria's lieutenants, was now fleeing the battle. His one hundred changelings, which were, up until now, doing a fantastic job holding off the sphinxian air force, were now without leadership. It looked as though he'd have to go up there and lead them personally...

Suddenly, with a fierce cry, a young changeling, couldn't have been any older than Portia, threw himself forward into the thick of the enemy formation, and managed, possibly through skill, probably through luck, to plant both back hooves into the face of the enemy commander, knocking him right out of the sky. The youngster then began barking orders at his fellow hatchlings, and more amazingly, they obeyed, even the squad leaders who were supposed to be his superiors. Within seconds, the tide was turning, and the sphinxes were fleeing. Meanwhile, the battle on the ground was just wrapping up: the nagas' hearts just weren't in it anymore, now that their air support was gone.

Cricket's head turned towards the lieutenant, who was still fleeing with pathetic slowness. His eyes narrowed, he said to Goliath, atop who's head he sat, "Would you mind bringing Lieutenant Halymorph Halys here to me? I'd like to have a word."

"Shur, Boss," the massive monster of a changeling responded, who then, with surprising accuracy, given the range, spat a line of adhesive that caught the fleeing aristo on the back leg, and then, with a negligent pull, brought the lieutenant in, screaming all the way. Cricket, now Commander of the swarm, was sick and tired of having to deal with Blattaria's leftover rubbish, was abrupt with the cowardly lieutenant: he leaped to intercept the changling, grabbing him in midair, setting both spinning. When Cricket was on top, and the lieutenant was on the bottom, he sprang in to the air... which had the consequence of sending the lieutenant screaming to the sands below. He hit hard, but the sand worked as a cushion, so while definitely rattled, he wasn't really hurt. When Cricket finally landed, hindlegs first, less than an inch from the lieutenant's head, he already knew exactly what he needed to say.

"Goliath, is an officer allowed to desert his subordinates on the battlefield?"

The mountain of muscle and carapace saluted and said, "SIR NO SIR!!!"

Cricket, falling to all fours, looked at the deserter with an expression of loathing. "Even Goliath knows that," he said, with a touch of amusement. "So obviously, it's not too complicated for even you to understand." He began to circle the lieutenant, feeling a bit of satisfaction at this moment. This was a moment long overdue. The only reason he'd left the former toadies of the former commander alone was because the queen wanted to see if they might prove to be at least slightly competent if given a proper leader. Given that all the others were now... dismissed, it was obvious that they had nobuggy to blame but themselves.

The soon to be... dismissed changeling was gibbering in fear, trying to give an excuse for his inexcusable behavior. Finally, tired of the coward's blathering, Cricket continued, saying, "I'd like to consider myself a lenient bug. I gave you an opportunity to prove you could be more than what my predecessor allowed you do be. But obviously, I was wasting my time. Goliath?" The giant's ears perked up in attention. "Throw out this garbage."

Goliath nodded, stuck his hoof against the lieutenant's side, and adhered. He lifted the coward up effortlessly, stretched like a baseball pitcher, did a windmill windup, then tossed the now "dismissed" officer over the horizon. The titan had a terrific pitch, and while the coward would survive the experience, he'd not enjoy his landing, nor his permanent banishment from the hive. No more extractions, no more permanent lessons as warnings to others, Cricket insisted that anybuggy who made a serious mistake would be "dismissed" and left to fend for themselves. All the better to separate himself from his predecessor. The queen, surprisingly, had agreed.

Watching the scene above, he took note of the young changeling who had helped turn the tide of battle back towards the changelings. He already knew who would replace the now "dismissed" lieutenant.
...
There was an impression of time moving quickly...
...

The new lieutenant looked so excited he might burst. Hornet, now properly named, had been told that there was a private ceremony for induction into the Queen's Arrow, of which he was now a member. Cricket kept silent about what would happen, but it was clear that the youngster idolized the commander, as well as all the rest of the group.

They were gathered together in a cave, waiting for the last light of the sun to fade.

When the last ray vanished, Portia cast a spell, igniting a firepit set in the center of the cave. At a gesture, Portia placed both her forehooves on the side of Hornet's head. In a surprisingly gentle voice, she said, "I'm going to cast a small spell on you. It won't hurt, I promise. I've done it for all the rest of the Queen's Arrow, even the Commander, and I promise you, they each thanked me for it afterwards. May I proceed?" The new lieutenant nodded, nervous, but eager.

Portia cast the spell. If it was anything like how it went for Cricket, it would feel like you were suddenly released from a cage you had never known you had been put inside of. A strange sense of freedom, elation. Given how Hornet's eyes lit up in wonder, the commander was probably right.

Cricket nodded, and Portia released her grip on the youngster's head. "It is time," Cricket said, his voice formal, "that you were told the true nature of the world. Portia, if you would?"

The former aristo nodded, and projected upon a somewhat flat wall an image. Cricket provided a voiceover to the image that was displayed. A beautiful city, seemingly made of precious gemstones was shown, although it was somewhat abstract in appearance. Small figures of Earth Ponies walked it's streets, as well as unicorns, and the sky was filled with pegasai.

"This is both a legend, and the truth, the origins of changelingkind. The story of the worst betrayal ever committed. Once, far to the north, there was a beautiful city of crystals. The ponies who lived there were happy and prosperous, protected by an ancient relic called the Crystal Heart. The residents of this majestic kingdom were called the Crystal Ponies, but not all of them were earthbound ponies, nor were all of them without magic: among their numbers were crystal unicorns, crystal pegasai, and they were ruled by a beautiful queen, a crystal Alicorn. A queen as beautiful as she was selfish and vain."

The image zoomed in, to the top of the palace at the center of the city. The pony at the top of the spire was quite lovely, even if it was an abstract image. Yet at the same time, there was something... off about her. Something wrong. She was tinged with shadow...

"For time out of mind, the realm was a place of joy and wonder... until one day, a black shadow fell across the land."

Suddenly, with frightening speed, a black shadow appeared, shaped like a unicorn. It snatched something out of the palace and ate it. The earth ponies in the picture began to cower in fear, trying to hide from the horror above them. However, the pegasai in the air looked angry, and the unicorns seemed determined. They were still prepared to fight.

"So terrible was his power, that many cowered in fear. He stole the Crystal Heart, and demanded that all bow before him. The Earth Ponies, unable to contend with his power without the relic, could not resist him. The pegasai, soldiers and warriors all, readied for battle, their courage overcoming their fear. The unicorns prepared their mightiest spells, their determination conquering the terror they felt... and then..."

Suddenly, the image changed, showing twelve ponies cloaked in shadow, and an alicorn.

"Their queen, and her twelve highest nobles, fearing the loss of their power and authority, should they lose the battle... betrayed their subjects."

The Alicorn and her cronies cast a spell, and suddenly, the unicorns and pegasai began to flee the city, leaving the earth ponies behind.

"The rulers of the land were too frightened to face the shadow, and chose to flee, taking all the military might and magic of the realm with them, to cover their retreat. Using forbidden magic, an arcane work known as the Obedience spell, they forced the empire's unicorns and pegasai to flee, in spite of their willingness to fight for the sake of their kingdom, as well as their defenseless brethren. Instead, they were forced to protect those who had betrayed them, betrayed everything that the city ever stood for. The shadow dared not pursue the fleeing ponies, else he risk the remaining ponies inside of the city reclaiming the heart he had stolen, and rise against him. However, he decided that, if he could not rule over the ones who fled, then they would forever feel the brand of his hatred."

The shadow opened it's mouth, and breathed a black mist upon the fleeing ponies. As it cleared, the ponies began to change, to twist into something else... something dark... something familiar... changelings.

"Their curse would not end, the shadow proclaimed, until the day that they came back to the Crystal Empire, and that so long as he held breath in his body, they would never be allowed to return. They would live, bereft of both hope and love, until the end of time, unless they could defeat him."

The image vanished. Cricket looked down at Hornet. Horror and understanding mingled upon the youngster's features. Cricket asked, in a gentle voice, "Do you understand what you've been shown?" Hornet nodded. "For more than two years, we have been traveling north, towards Equestria. Towards Canterlot, the queen believes. But our ultimate goal is further north. The queen has insisted upon taking personal charge of the operation. I have not objected. When she ruins everything, as she so often does, she will lose what support she has amongst the aristos. Her throne will topple, and we, as the only source of strength and unity in the hive, will take her place, with Portia as our new queen. From there, we will march north, until we find the Crystal Empire. And when we arrive, if the black shadow spoken of in legend still exists... we will strike him down with the strength that we have gained through a thousand years of fighting for survival. Fighting that both he and our queen have forced upon us; he through cruelty, fear, and malice, her through cowardice, vanity, and betrayal. We will need bugs with courage, determination, and heart to overcome the trials ahead. I believe you have all those qualities in abundance. I have freed you of the Obedience spell so that you can answer this question of your own free will: Will you join us, in forging a brighter future?" Cricket extended his hoof.

Without hesitation, Hornet took it.

With a smile, Cricket said, "Welcome to the Queen's Arrow, Hornet."
...

Cricket admitted, after the display ended, "Had we not been scattered to the four winds, the plan would have worked. The queen had lost a great deal of popularity, as she became more cruel, needlessly so. We ended up making many enemies on the way across the southern kingdoms, the great desert, and the badlands. Having to fight for every inch of land we crossed, the burden placed upon aristo and commoner both caused a schism to start to form, between the few loyalists to the throne, and the vast number of commoners and aristos who bore the brunt of the hard work needed to move forward. I've not seen a single changeling since the defeat, nor heard anything but rumors of where they may be. However, I hope that Portia, Hornet, Goliath, and the rest were able to gather the rest of the hive together, and that they're safe, waiting for some sign that it's okay to travel north."

For a moment, nopony spoke. Then Shining Armor said, a little guiltily, "Great. Now I feel REALLY bad about punching you earlier."

Cricket chuckled, and said, "You feel bad? My jaw is still sore."

That got a few chuckles from the assembled princesses. After a moment, Celestia spoke. "After this interview is over, we have a great deal to discuss, both about your race's past, and their future. However, we should finish the business at hoof first. I believe that there is still one more question to be asked before we adjourn to discuss your application for citizenship. Cadance, whenever you are ready, feel free to proceed..."

Something Incredible

"You've put me in something of a bind."

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Cadance to one and all, looked at Cricket in a way that was, if not one hundred percent friendly, then was far kinder than the first one she had given the changeling when the audience first started.

Cricket cleared his throat, and asked, admittedly a little nervously, "A bind, your highness?"

Cadance nodded, and with a small smile, she said, "Yes. The purpose of this audience is to determine if you are worthy of becoming a citizen of Equestria, in spite of your past, and the fact that you are a member of a species currently considered an enemy of Equestria. I think that the last hour has shown that you are worthy of a great many things, but citizenship, I really can't say." The princess held up a hoof, before anypony, or anybuggy, could say anything. "I'm not saying that you aren't an exceptional individual. However, here is what we have to consider, Commander."

"Citizenship means a great many things, Cricket," the princess said, her expression now neutral. "It means that you would have all the rights of any other citizen in Equestria, as well as all of the responsibilities. You've definitely demonstrated that you are a responsible individual, having taken it upon yourself to try and free your species from enslavement to the descendents of the ones who first betrayed them. In many ways, your becoming a part of Equestria would be nothing but beneficial to ponykind as a whole. You've certainly impressed both myself, as well as my fellow princesses. However, there is still something that we have to find out today, something very important: What do you, Mole Cricket, have to offer Equestria?"

Cricket was shocked, stunned, to hear that question from the princess, but perhaps more worrying, he didn't have an answer. What could he offer? His skill as a military commander? Equestria had plenty of capable generals to lead it's armies. His skill as a soldier? While perhaps not as physically capable as changelings, the soldiers of Equestria were far more disciplined and better trained than he was. His skill set, as a career soldier, was... narrow. He was a capable leader, perhaps, but in Equestria, who would willingly follow a changeling?

Commander Mole "Seven Tricks" Cricket realized, to his mounting horror, that in spite of all of his prowess, his skill, his ability... he wasn't good at anything that Equestria couldn't find elsewhere.

Taking a deep breath, he looked down at his hooves... then smiled. This was a shot in the dark, but if there was one thing that Cricket was known for, it was a willingness to leap into the unknown.

Cricket cleared his throat, then asked, somewhat formally...

"This Is My Question: Who Is The Scariest Monster In The World?"

The princesses looked surprised at Cricket's response, and then, as the gem flared to life, a familiar tingle ran through the changeling's skull, and a window appeared above his head...
...

Cricket was really, really grateful for the meds he was on. Given the amount of damage he had taken when he arrived in this strange city, he should have been screaming in pain, but instead, he just felt a dull tingle. He was in traction now, three out of four limbs rendered unusable for the time being. It was boring, but he could deal with that. He'd have to let his body heal naturally: he couldn't know when he could next feed, and while he had enough love to last him for weeks, even months, if he tried to speed up the healing process, he'd burn through it very quickly.

The one drawback was, his meds made him sleepy... really, really sleepy. He found himself nodding off during the day, which wasn't good: a changeling has to be awake to maintain an illusion. He could sleep all he wanted at night, but going to sleep during the day meant that he risked exposure...

Which was what he faced now. He'd just opened his eyes, and was shocked to see, of all things, a little griffin girl with snow white fur and feathers, and big, blue eyes, staring at him... and him without a disguise on. His secret was out! If she screamed...

Suddenly, the little chick (or is it cub? It's so hard to tell) climbed up onto the bed, curled up into a little ball on Cricket's lap, and immediately fell asleep. It was... strangely adorable.

A short time later, a nurse checked in and found Cricket, properly disguised, with the little birdbeast still sleeping soundly. The nurse was quite surprised for one very simple reason: this was the first time that she had seen the little one sleeping peacefully in weeks.

It didn't take long to get the full story out of the nurse. Apparently, a right jerk of a wizard, Sombra, had kidnapped a bunch of children from various lands, and was holding them ransom. The villain had vanished suddenly, but now there was a problem: the city they lived in, the Crystal Empire(!), was isolated at the best of times, and the evil wizard's first act had been to cut off all ties with the outside world. It would be quite some time before the parents of the little ones could be found... and because the little ones had been so frightened by the thought of King Sombra coming back, they weren't sleeping. When they tried, they had terrible nightmares. Of course, everypony was having nightmares like that, but at least they had their families to rely on. These little ones didn't have that luxury.

Cricket decided to take a risk: he told the nurse that if any of the youngsters wanted to stay in here, he didn't have a problem with it. The nurse smiled, the first time Cricket had seen anything but terrible melancholy from anypony here, nodded, and left. A short time later, more than twenty youngsters of various species were led into the room. The nurse also brought with her a book of stories. She mentioned something about how it would be kind of boring just sitting and watching him here while he recovered.

The youngsters, wide-eyed, watched in awe as Cricket did something forbidden: once the nurse left, he dropped his disguise. It was dangerous, of course. An insane risk. If any of them screamed...

Instead, there was a chorus of "Wow"s, as a pegasus suddenly changed into a bizarre-looking bug-pony. Cricket smiled, cracked open the story book, and began to read.

A little while later, the little griffin, who introduced herself as Alex, woke up, and was delighted to see the big, scary monster read to her and the other little children. After he finished the story he was reading (he started over once he saw that she was awake, just to be nice), he asked her why she'd decided to take a nap right there, right on top of his lap, even after she saw what he was really a scary monster.

The little griffin said, with the kind of brutal honesty available only to small children, the elderly, and complete jerks, "You're not scawy at all. I've seen the scawiest monstah in the wohld, King Sombwa, and you awen't anything like him. You looked like the stwongest, bwavest, most gweatest knight in the whole, wide wohld." With that, the griffin hugged him, then curled up and went right back to sleep.

That... stunned Cricket. All his life, he'd been told, and he had believed, that changelings inspired nothing but fear in others. That it was impossible for any creature to ever willingly love a changeling. And yet, right here, right now, a little trickle of love was coming from the little griffin snuggled on his lap, directed right at him. It was small, but it was steadily growing. And as he went back to reading to the little ones gathered around him, he realized that more was coming in. While certainly not a massive ocean of affection, he had, just being himself, earned their love. And it felt far better than stealing it ever had. With a smile, he dove right back in, reading to the youngsters with enthusiasm, and the children, for the first time in a long time, were able to forget the world around them, and just be happy children again.

That night, he dreamed...

He found himself standing in an open field. It was serene, but that serenity was threatened. A storm was coming in on the horizon. It followed a herald: a pony, a unicorn in fact, tall, well built, with an ash gray coat, black tail and mane, with mad red eyes. A crown set upon his head, a regal cloak upon his back, and armored boots upon his hooves, he looked ever inch a king, but not the type any would willingly bow to. This was a conqueror, not a leader. He looked... unspeakably dangerous.

He spoke, and his voice was made Cricket, who had fought countless battles since he was born, shudder with fear.

"Your coming here is unexpected. However, you can serve a purpose. My purpose. Take my hoof. Join me. In exchange for a single service, I will give you all that you desire, and more. You wish to be healed? I can restore you this very instant. You wish to be a pony? The curse upon you is easy for me to remove. You wish for power? At my side, you will become the second most powerful being in the world. You wish for... a certain somepony? I can provide her for you. Whatever you wish for, simply name it, and it shall be yours."

Cricket looked the pony in the eyes... and smiled. And spoke the one thing he desired, at this moment, more than anything else in the world.

"I wish... to punch you in the face."

"Very well," the unicorn said, "I can... wait, wha..." and that was as far as he got before Cricket punched King Sombra right in the face as hard as he possibly could.

Who says that wishes don't come true?

It was a good, solid punch, one that would have laid out most wizards, who are notoriously squishy. However, Sombra was more solid than the average mage. Which was good: Cricket would not have been satisfied at this moment with just laying him out with one punch.

Sombra tried to gather himself, growling, "How dare you..."

Cricket, moving with the speed that helped him earn the nickname "Seven Tricks", was on the king in an instant. "NO!" he roared in his opponent's face, "HOW DARE YOU?"

He pulled Sombra close, to where their faces were a bare inch apart, and said, "With how I look, and the life I've been forced to live, no one, and I mean NO ONE, would blame me if, instead of trying to be at least halfway decent, I decided to be something like you. After all, a love eating bug monster has every excuse to be evil, especially if he was born that way."

Hefting the unicorn up in the air, rising on his own hind legs, Cricket roared, with a lifetime of repressed fury, "BUT YOU! YOU'RE A PONY! FOOD GROWS OUT OF THE GROUND FOR YOU!!! THE SUN AND MOON SHINE DOWN ON A WORLD MADE JUST FOR YOU TO HAVE A PLACE TO BE HAPPY!!! YOU ARE GIVEN EVERYTHING THAT A CHANGELING COULD WISH FOR, COULD HOPE FOR, COULD DREAM OF, AND COULD NEVER HAVE! AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO CHOOSE EVIL OVER GOOD?"

Cricket would be a little bit ashamed of what he did next. It was showy, excessive, and it was a move that you really shouldn't perform unless you're a professional wrestler: A Tauren Suplex. He flipped his opponent around, grasped him around the middle, and then slammed King Sombra headfirst into the soft ground with all the strength in his body.

King Sombra, his head now buried in the ground, struggled to uproot himself. Cricket got up, backed up a bit, then started running towards the king. Just as King Sombra got his head loose, Cricket launched into a flying kick that caught Sombra right in the face with both hooves. The king was launched a long ways back. He landed on the ground with a loud thud, skidded a ways, then rose up, completely unharmed. Of course. This was a dream. While all of that was showy, impressive, and cathartic as anything you can imagine, it wasn't real. However, the king seemed to understand that his offer wasn't going to be accepted. Ever.

"Very well. Then I shall reclaim my kingdom on my own. Just remember: I offered you a chance to serve me, and you rejected it. You will have none to blame but yourself for the destruction that I rain down upon you when next we meet. Enjoy your life as a monster. Fool."

And with that, Cricket woke up.

A few days later, the youngsters were gathered around, and he read to them from the big storybook. By mid afternoon, he reached the end of the last tale. The youngsters looked disappointed, and when Cricket was about to suggest that one of the older ones go get a new book, he saw something outside the window to his room, something that terrified him: the sky flickered, and he saw a monstrous black shadow... one that looked all too familiar.

Worried for the youngsters, he told them to gather around close, because he had a special story to tell all of them. Certain that their attention was focused on him, instead of the drama unfolding outside, he began.

"Once upon a time, there was a monster. A scary monster. The scariest monster there ever was. However, while most didn't know it, he was only a monster on the outside. Inside, he had a kind and gentle heart. He went on many adventures, and saw many places, and everywhere he went, he only found doors that were barred to him, walls built to keep him out, and soldiers trained to keep him a long, long way from their homes. This was because he looked just like the other monsters that threatened those places, and many of them weren't as nice as he was."

Whatever it was that was keeping Sombra out finally failed, and the dark king began to advance upon his former subjects.

"The monster was envious of the creatures of the world. Why should he be forced to live like that, when they had all of the good things in life. He never chose the kind of life he lived. Then one day, he was badly injured by some of the creatures who thought he was just as much a monster on the inside as the outside. Lost, hurt, and alone, he fell asleep..."

The great shadow took the form of a pony, and began rising up a jagged black crystal towards the palace, and something that seemed to be falling from it.

"...And he woke up in a strange place, surrounded by little ones like you, who didn't think he was scary at all! It was the most amazing thing. After all this time alone, he had friends who didn't care what he looked like! However, there was one who lived in this strange kingdom, an evil wizard, one who looked normal on the outside, but was a terrible monster on the inside. This wizard thought that such a wonderful place should be his, and his alone. He offered to give the monster everything he could ever want, if he would help him take over this paradise. He even offered to make it so that the monster wouldn't look like a monster anymore."

Something snatched the falling object before Sombra could catch it. The king did not look pleased.

"The monster told the wizard to get lost. He wouldn't trade the friends he had made for anything in the whole entire world, and if the wizard wasn't willing to share such a wonderful place with others, he didn't deserve any part of it."

Somepony familiar now had a heart made of crystal in her possession, and was rallying the ponies around her. The heart began to glow.

"The wizard tried to conquer the kingdom anyways, and was promptly defeated. And while the monster would spend his whole life looking big, mean, and scary, he didn't mind. After all, no matter what happened, no matter what he looked like on the outside, as long as he had friends who loved him, he could never be a monster on the inside."

A brilliant flare of light erupted from the heart, and a pulse of pure, radiant energy enveloped the kingdom. King Sombra was defeated, shattered to pieces and thrown to the wind. The ponies, and the city they lived in, was flooded with light and shone brilliantly. And when the light reached Cricket, the most incredible thing happened...

He changed. The holes in his legs, which he'd had his whole life, vanished. His exoskeleton changed to the fuzzy body of a pony. Instead of the insectoid wings on his back, he now had those of a pegasus. He even sprouted a mane and tail! But most incredible of all... he shone. As though his body was made of gemstones of the highest quality, and was illuminated by a light from within. For a moment, an incredible, impossible moment, he was a crystal pony.

And then, just as quickly, it was gone. He was a changeling again. Oh well. Nice while it lasted. It seemed it took more than that to break Sombra's curse...

The looks on the faces of the children were a sight to see. They realized that something had happened. Something incredible. Cricket changed quickly into disguise mode, hearing hooves thunder down the hallway, as nurses and doctors came to deliver the good news: The king was no more. Long live the princess!

And Cricket was filled with hope: hope that one day, Sombra's curse would finally be broken, not just for himself, but for all of changelingkind. He felt love, impossible amounts of it flooding the city, enough to sustain him in the meantime. Even if he could never find a cure for Sombra's curse, he could live here, in peace, for the rest of his days, so long as he was careful. And that, he felt, was the most important thing: no matter what he looked like, he would never be a monster on the inside, like Sombra was.
...

"Your highness," Cricket said, as the display ended, "I can't tell you specifically what I have to offer you, or Equestria. I have no idea what I can do to enrich the kingdom the four of you govern. All I have are my hooves, the strength of my back, and a great deal of experience crammed into a small number of years. However, I can promise you this: if it takes all the time I have left in this world, however long or short that may be, I will find something to offer. And I can promise you this, as well: I will certainly do a better job of being a subject of Equestria than King Sombra ever did."

Cadance smiled, the brightest, most radiant, most wonderful smile that Cricket had ever seen. "Now that," she said, "Was exactly the answer that I was looking for. I have no further questions for you, Commander. We'll need a little time to talk, the four of us, before we give our ruling. I don't think we'll be too long, though," she finished with a wink. The four princesses looked at one another, smiled, nodded, then cast the spells necessary to unlock the room. Once that was done, the four asked Cricket and Shining Armor to leave the room while they discussed whether or not Cricket should be granted citizenship. Before he had taken ten steps outside the room, however, he was called back in.

Princess Celestia spoke formally as she announced, "We've decided. By the power invested in we four, as rulers of Equestria, we have decided to grant you, Commander Mole Cricket, sometimes known by the nickname, "Seven Tricks", probationary citizenship in Equestria. There will be conditions, of course, that you will have to abide by, during the year that shall follow. It may not be easy for you, and for that, I apologize. However, if you do follow those rules, and show as much courage, determination, and heart as you have today, I have no doubt that in one year's time, you will be the first changeling to gain full citizenship in Equestria."

Something Something

"So... explain this whole 'Morphic Resonance' thing to me one more time."

Twilight Sparkle chuckled as she and Cricket sat at a table in a cafe in Canterlot. Across the street, Fluttershy had taken Miss Bunny Wunny Cuddlewumpus into a darling little store that sold clothing for pets. She'd insisted, since a little bunny that adorable needed at least one dress. Cricket had suggested that Fluttershy pick it out, instead of himself, since the commander had admitted he had no sense of fashion. They had an hour to spend before the train to Ponyville pulled into the station, and while they watched, through the store window, as the little rabbit put on dresses with surprising enthusiasm, Cricket asked about his new favorite subject.

Twilight Sparkle said, in a somewhat scholarly tone, "Well, 'Morphic Resonance' is the tendency of a creature to maintain, to some degree, the qualities they naturally possess, even when changed into another shape. It's part of why most transformation spells aren't permanent. Your body knows the shape it's supposed to be in, and will immediately rebel against anything that tries to change it. I once accidentally changed a frog into an orange. The frog was back to normal before the day was out."

Cricket nodded. He understood that part well enough. "But an incredibly power spell," he asked, "like the one that Sombra cast, can overrule that?"

The princess rubbed her chin in thought, then nodded, saying, "In a manner of speaking. If Sombra had cast his curse upon the ponies of the Crystal Empire when they were prepared to fight against him, it wouldn't have been as effective, because they didn't feel like monsters. However, because it was cast when they had been forced to abandon their fellow citizens..."

"...it worked," Cricket finished, "because at that moment, they felt like monsters for doing something so terrible, even if, for nearly all of them, it was against their will."

"Exactly," Twilight answered, nodding. "How you feel can have a major impact on how effective a spell like this is. And now, a thousand years later, that curse is so interwoven with who you are that your body is preventing the curse from being truly broken. After all, you've been a changeling your whole life, so your body is under the impression that it's supposed to be that way. However..."

Cricket snorted, amused, as he said, "...If, according to Celestia, I can become enough like a pony on the inside, my outsides will change to match, all on their own."

That was the real purpose behind the "One Year Probationary Citizenship": to see if it might be possible for the curse to be broken if he just immersed himself into pony society. Supposedly, it was to see if it could cause his inner-"pony"-ness to come out, and break the curse naturally. It seemed a little ridiculous, but then, magic was often ridiculous. If, even after gaining full citizenship, he did not change into a pony, the princesses believed that the curse would be weak enough that the four princesses working together could break it. And if it wasn't, they'd keep trying, year after year, until it worked.

Fluttershy waved to them, holding up Miss Bunny in an adorable blue dress for them to see. The princess and the changeling waved back, smiling. After a moment, Cricket asked, "If it's not too much of a burden, would you mind not telling Fluttershy?"

Twilight was surprised, and couldn't help asking, "Why? I would have thought..."

Cricket chuckled and said, "Look, I appreciate what you and the other princesses have done so far, and are willing to do for me. But I've learned, from experience, not to get my hopes up too much: things have a bad habit of going wrong if you build up too many expectations." Cricket's face turned a little sad as he said, "If she decides that she wants to hang around with me even though I look like this, I wouldn't have a problem with that. Obviously. But, if she decided to stick around in the hopes that I became a handsome pegasus, and it never happens... well, I'd rather she be happy with somepony else than miserable with somebuggy like me."

Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes, and said, "Right. Look, I think you're being a little melodramatic, but if that's what you want, I guess I can keep it a secret. For now. But you are going to have to tell her, sooner or later. Especially if the two of you become an item."

Cricket nodded. He supposed he could live with that.

As Fluttershy rejoined them with a shopping bag full of little dresses, Cricket took the little bag, along with the bunny, then lifted up his travel bag and said, "Well, I've got my things together. We can go anytime."

"I'm surprised you aren't taking some of that stuff your admirers gave you," Fluttershy said with a friendly smile.

Cricket chuckled, and admitted, "I was tempted, but until I have a home of my own, it would just be so much extra weight that I'd have no place to put. Besides, I've always been in the habit of traveling light. I can send for the other stuff once I have a trophy room to hang it all up in. At least Celestia was nice enough to open up a checking account for me to deposit all those bits into, so at least I'll have some pocket money when we get to Ponyville..."

Pocket money was an understatement, but Twilight wasn't going to go into that right now. Even after a year in the Crystal Empire, Cricket wasn't very well-versed about the ways of the world outside of the changeling military life. While he was certainly knowledgeable about laying low, blending in, and making quick exits, he knew little about what might be called high society, or economics. Otherwise he'd have realized by now that, in addition to more than twenty king's ransoms worth of bits, the various titles he had been given meant that he could walk into any bank, almost any place in the world, and ask for infinite credit, and the king, queen, empress, what have you, of that realm would willingly hoof the bill for whatever he needed, or wanted. Twilight would have to sit down and have a long talk with him about all of the privileges that he now enjoyed, not just as a citizen, but as one of the most heavily titled individuals in the world... when she was certain that he was, you know, actually capable of handling it. He was still having trouble coming to grips with the fact that, as a citizen, he would be able to own a house, and vote in local elections. If she suggested to the commander that he could afford a mansion, or even ten mansions, and fund a campaign to get himself elected to any high office in Equestria... well, his head would probably explode... and then explode again.

Small steps. She'd let him get comfortable with the idea that he could, in spite of being a changeling, live a normal life, before she started explaining to him that he could afford to live a much more interesting one.

Fluttershy asked Cricket, "We'll be in Ponyville before you know it. Are you excited?"

"Honestly," Cricket answered, "I'm a screaming ball of nerves inside. I've spent my entire life living, like any other changeling, on the edge of survival. But I was familiar with that, strange as that sounds, so it never frightened me. The prospect of living a peaceful life like... well, like any other creature in the world, scares me, like nothing on the battlefield ever has. But I'll deal with it. I'd have never gotten as far as I have if I was too afraid to jump into the unknown."