Deep in the darkest pits of the cave, through labyrinth like walls and the hordes of changelings, lay a very bizarre room, regal almost with furnishings of green, teal and black being prominent no light reached down here except for the eerie glow of green. upon the centre of the room lay a large table with a map stretched across it. at the table lay four seats each made from the blackest rock and the only variation was the single jewel that lay embedded into the top. An amethyst, a moonstone, a ruby and a seat that had no gem. In this room aside from the few changelings that stood like statues, hissing at one another occasionally to break the monotony. lay a what appeared to be a female Changeling, she looked a lot like a young pony that hasn't quite entered adolescence, she lay sideways in her chair laughing to herself throwing up a scrunched ball of a green banner.

"Aah~ how wonderful," she said "How splendidly marvellous that things went as I'd planned" she flew up to the ceiling resting on a ledge that made only her teal eyes and wings visible.

"Well mostly anyway, Aah~ there expressions as they tried to run to the surface, everypony for themselves!".

She cried out then began laughing. Her form was a teenage pony and her mannerisms disturbed a few of the changelings who were not used to her.

"Such deceptions are pointless and in the end you have failed us" A deep voice rumbled as a large stoic changeling strolled in, his melancholy face hiding any emotions he held towards the matter. His body covered in scars providing a stark contrast to his dark skin. his wings spread their full width, intimidating a few in the room. They were the wings of a trained killer, silent as they unfolded.

"Argh! why do you look like that!" she scoffed in disgust "covered in scars, no expression...your even wearing some armour on your legs that hide the holes".

He walked calmly to the table "I am not concealing them for aesthetic value, I am ensuring that during combat I can knock away a weapon without causing harm to myself, And you are one to criticise, that is your fifth body I've seen you in Marianna or have you changed that too" he retorted.

She scoffed again and jumped down from her perch and stood on the table looking him in his eyes.

"Hah! you're just jealous I've got curves you don't" she caressed her body seductively.

He knocked her away with his wing sending her across the room. "Do you forget I am a changeling. If I so wished I could take any form I desire, I simply choose not to" he said as he inspected the map.

"We're changelings we are meant! to change our form" she snapped standing up again "If I didn't change my appearance then I wouldn't have claimed a whole town of ponies that were dwelling in our own ca-".

"You failed," he said his words falling like marble slabs. "Do you have any idea why we let them go about their business" he leered angrily.

"Because you're clum-".

"Because we need them to have hope, we gain our life blood by absorbing elements from creatures among them are hope and love. These are very powerful and as such are harder to obtain, We extract this from them by using masterful deceptions and illusions and making them believe in a dream that isn't real which provides us with naturally replenishing love and hope," he shook his head "What you did was turn all that hope and joy into fear!, Fear is nearly useless to us!" he shouted. this made her shrivel backwards, she hadn't seen him this angry before.

"We had spent months, changing the patrols, putting out groups of ponies, attacking small settlements, having everything placed so they'd believe it to be their own strength that lead them to victory. Instead, you lead them all into the gauntlet and had them all abducted with fear permeating through their bodies...It will take more months for them to finally believe in a dream we create, they aren't even stable anymore".

He straightened himself and regained his composure.

"Your tactics have no elegance or honour to them, you just think obtaining more ponies is the way things work"

This statement seemed to set her off "I'm sorry what was that?, Honour? don't make me laugh! we're changelings we don't have honour" she said, putting her front half on the table.

"I'm sorry but maybe you didn't get the memo that, we, eat, ponies," she said "They don't care about our lives they only think one changeling gone one less to worry about".

"If you have such a mindset then you won't be able to see past your basic urges of reproduction and consuming food" he interjected he resumed examining the map to say that changelings had no honour, it was a sentiment he did not share.

"Reproducing and eating is how we live! we don't live for love, we don't live to help others out,...we live to eat and conquer, a job mind you which you are supposed to be doing! so why don't you crawl back to your battlefields and your soldiers and go do something productive with your time rather than criticising me about how to feed every changeling in existence okay".

He looked her in her smug face, in almost the blink of an eye a blade rested against her throat, several in fact. Changelings that were garbed in black armour surrounded her. As she noticed there were more and more of these black armoured changelings in the room, lurking in the shadows.

"My children and I have seen countless battles, your form is most suiting of you for you are still only a child it seems, I had hoped you were smarter by now, but it seems I am mistaken...yet again," he said her expression was one of fear.

He walked around the table slowly "You say we don't live to love or help others, but that would mean we cannot have emotions. but we both know that's nothing but a convenient lie. You're scared right now aren't you". His large form eclipsed hers and his wing began choking her "You seem to forget that I have been in war, my wings are as strong as my limbs my tail like a blade, If I so wished I could revolt and take full control of the changeling horde, I could help the other ponies as a new force that has come to help them. I have seen the Canterlot that is being built. Their power is nothing to be taken lightly, You will continue your playful politics here while I do the actual work" he threw her onto the ground. soon the changelings disappeared into the shadows and she began gasping for air. he turned as his tail swooped behind him.

She let out the last few words as he opened a large double door made of stone. "We are monsters, there is no room for chivalry and honour, we are what dwells in their most passionate dreams and their most dreaded nightmares, there will be no songs of our kind or tales of valour. we will never be remembered like that we will always be remembered as the shadow in the room and the things that lie under fillies beds, we are monsters".

As the doors opened he stared into the blackness that awaited him.

"Even monsters can have honour," he said as he left the room the slamming of the door behind him signalling his absence.

She yelled and started throwing a tantrum.

"That bastard! what does he think I am, I am a GENERAL!" she swiped a few furnishings onto the floor and angrily glared at a few changelings standing on the floor.

"I'll prove him wrong, I am strong, Lisea will still be alive. Her and her group. I can still have some fun with them," she walked back to the map "So if I were Lisea where would I run to" she began to laugh "I bet she's pretty upset that everyone's been captured" her gaze became fixated on one area. "And what better way to get her to come out than by helping a fellow pony".

A sick grin emerged on her face she began laughing and soon her laughter echoed from the deepest parts of the cave until finally silence remained.

Author's Note

Next chapter 12/20/2015