Hidden in Plain Sightby ShadowGearChaptersPrologue: CanterlotChapter 1: Still AliveChapter 3: A Magical ChangelingChapter 4: The Alliance Between HivesChapter 5: Sclerite's First JobChapter 6: RecoveryChapter 7: A Day in the HospitalChapter 2: A Visit to a BoutiquePrologue: CanterlotDeep in the Everfree forest was a battalion of Changelings. Every Changeling in Queen Chrysalis' Hive had spent their whole lives preparing for this day. This was the day everything would change. The leader of this battalion walked over to a very specific soldier who was staring at a scarab placed on the ground. "Corporal Sclerite! What are we waiting for?" asked Carapace. "We are waiting for a signal Colonel!" Sclerite answered. "What signal? Why did she give such an important job to somepony as low ranking as you?" Sclerite thought for a bit. He wasn't exactly sure why he got this responsibility. The only answer he could have thought of was his position as Queen Chrysalis' personal apprentice but even that wasn't a good reason. "Sir, with all due respect, Queen Chrysalis gave me a direct order. She never told me anything else other than I need to be ready for the signal," Sclerite answered. Suddenly the scarab Sclerite had been staring at began to glow. "That's the signal sir! Now is the time to attack!" Carapace flew up to a tree branch to speak to the army. "Comrades! Today is the day we change our lives for the better! Today is the day we end the starvation that has plagued us our whole lives! The ponies of Equestria have had a thousand years of peace! But that doesn't mean we should underestimate them! We will all be walking into battle against the ponies! And we will come out on top! Today we feast! Then from that point forward we will never starve again! Now onward to Canterlot!" The Changelings including Sclerite cheered at Carapace's speech as they all took off in the direction of Canterlot and its shield. Sclerite followed at the rear where he noticed a nervous looking Changeling. "Hey!" Sclerite said. "Huh? Oh hi," he responded. "Are you okay?" "Yeah I'm fine. It's just that, why do we have to fight the ponies? Why can't we just be friends and earn love instead?" "I can tell you from experience that friendship with the other races leads to sadness. I personally wouldn't want to feel that sadness again. Do you mind if I ask for your name?" "I'm Thorax, what's your name?" "I'm Sclerite." "The Queen's apprentice? Wow I didn't expect to meet you." "You know Thorax. You're quite different from most Changelings. Most either complain about my position or they make jokes about me being small and weak. After this battle is over we should meet up and talk some more. It'll be a nice change of pace from all the insults and jokes." Sclerite said as they arrived at the shield. The other Changelings were bashing against the shield and each bash made it crack a little more until the shield shattered. Immediately the Changelings began to dive bomb the city and Sclerite found two royal guards in the streets. He aimed himself at the guards and flew towards them, picking up speed until he was surrounded in green magic. He crashed into the ground sending both guards in opposite directions, knocking one of them unconscious. Sclerite turned to face the guard that survived. The earth pony guard stood up and took a defensive stance as if expecting a charge. Sclerite fired a magical bolt and turned to find two Unicorn guards rushing towards him. Sclerite rushed for cover in an alley way just as they began firing magical beams at him. Each time he poked his head out they fired a beam and he had to duck back in. Sclerite had to come up with a plan but then he remembered teleportation. He charged up his horn and teleported behind the guards and fired a bolt, hitting one of the unicorns. The other turned around and prepared to fire a beam but another Changeling dive bombed and hit the other one. He recognized his savior as Elytra and saluted to her before rushing down the street towards the castle. As he ran down the road, he could see all the destruction that had befallen on the once great city of Canterlot, there were Changelings everywhere chasing down the remaining ponies. They had done it. From that point forward they didn't need to worry about food anymore. No more rations, no more stockpiling. Just feasting. Nothing could possibly spoil this day. He then looked towards the castle where Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis were. A large pink bubble of love was growing rapidly with Changelings getting pushed by it and he turned to run away. Sclerite felt himself soaring through the sky uncontrollably towards some forest. He began to flap his wings hoping he could control himself but it was too late. He was plunged into the forest. A tree branch hit Sclerite on the way down, landed face first into a tree trunk and then landed on his back, knocking him unconscious when his head hit the ground. Chapter 1: Still AliveSclerite woke up and saw tree branches above him, he was back in the Everfree Forest. Was it all just a dream? Hopefully it was and the invasion hadn't happened yet. There was no way the Equestrians could have stopped them just like that. Sclerite stood up "Hey! What ha- argh!" he suddenly felt a sharp excruciating pain on his back and got up to a sitting position. Sclerite looked back to see his left wing had been deformed ripped apart but still in one piece. His right wing wasn't as bad but it had a large cut in the middle. There wasn't a Changeling in sight, it was no dream, he's been stranded. Sclerite decided it was best not to stay put and stood up. He hadn't spent any time feasting on love during the attack and there was no way he could last long enough for his wings to heal. If he could just find some love then this would all be over. The first order of business would be getting out of the forest. A few hours of walking passed before Sclerite finally exited the forest. In the distance he could see a settlement and based off of the buildings it looked to be a pony settlement. It was probably the best thing he was going to get, if he was ahead of the news of Canterlot this shouldn't be too hard. Now all he needed to do was blend in. Sclerite thought back on the lessons of Equestrian society Queen Chrysalis had taught him. The first and most important lesson was not to get caught. He knew that if he failed that they would no doubt beat him to death without pity or remorse. If he was a Unicorn he could use his magic, it's not like being a Pegasus would help much if he couldn't fly, and an Earth Pony had neither. It was a difficult decision but a Unicorn was the best choice out of all three. Sclerite engulfed himself in green flames and reappeared as a gray Unicorn with green eyes that matched his magic. His mane was dark blue and his cutie mark became a test tube with green liquid. Now all Sclerite needed was a name. He looked himself over, especially at the new cutie mark. It was green so acid... and it's opposite... base, Acid Base, it'll have to do. Time to put the plan into action. He stepped out of the woods towards the town. There weren't that many ponies on the streets and when there were, they mostly ignored him. It was a good start but he needed to do more. He could find two lovers and replace one of them, that would certainly be easier than- Sclerite was suddenly knocked down from behind, an attack! He quickly got up and looked around for his assailant but the only thing he saw was a crashed scooter with three dazed fillies. Consisting of a yellow Earth Pony, a white Unicorn and an orange Pegasus. The Unicorn filly was the first to recover. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay? We're so sorry!" "Huh? Yeah I'm fine. Just be careful," was all Sclerite could think of saying. He had a mission and this was just a minor inconvenience. No use dwelling on that. "Wait ya not from around here are ya?" stated the yellow Earth Pony. "Yeah," Sclerite responded, he wasn't exactly sure where here was. "Hey! Maybe we can earn our cutie marks in being tour guides!" suggested the orange Pegasus and the others nodded. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TOUR GUIDES! YAY!" they all shouted causing Sclerite to jump. "Welcome to Ponyville! I'm Sweetie Belle! That's Apple Bloom," she pointed at the yellow Earth Pony. "And that's Scootaloo," she then pointed at the orange Pegasus. "What's your name?" Now's the moment of truth. "I'm Acid Base," Sclerite answered. He immediately started thinking about what he would do if they didn't buy his name. He could run away, find a new town where he could adopt a new disguise. "Nice name," Apple Bloom said. Sclerite calmed himself and responded, "thanks," "Apple Bloom!" an orange Earth Pony came rushing towards them. "Applejack!" Apple Bloom called out. "Ah saw you and the girls crash and ah came here as fast as ah could," she looked at Sclerite. "Who's your friend?" "Oh yeah, that's Acid Base, he's new to Ponyville," Apple Bloom introduced. "Well then howdy Acid Base!" she immediately grabbed Sclerite's hoof and shook it violently. "Ahm Applejack! Ah run Sweet Apple Acres here in Ponyville! You should stop by some time if yah looking for some work!" she then let go of Sclerite's hoof and he continued to shake. It took a minute before he recovered. That was when he noticed something about this pony's name. "Applejack? Aren't you the element of Honesty?" Sclerite remembered her from the briefing. She was one of the six ponies to look out for because of their connections to the elements of harmony. "Yes ah am. How do you know me?" "Well... saving Equestria a few times tends to draw some attention," it wasn't a complete lie. He wouldn't have heard of her if the spies didn't reported the use of the elements of harmony a few months ago. Though on that day the night seemed to have lasted longer than it should have. "Alright then!" It would be best for him to get moving before he does anything that draws attention. If Applejack is here then no doubt the other elements would be here as well. "Anyway it was nice meeting you but I have to go. Hope to see you soon," Sclerite said and began to away. He might have better luck if there was somepony he could isolate and cocoon to drain instead. Chapter 3: A Magical ChangelingSclerite knew the royal guard presence in Ponyville would make his job a lot harder. Now trying to ponynap one of the residents would be too difficult. It would've been great to have already grabbed some love and leave immediately but it was already midday and he still hasn't made any real progress. If he was going to be stuck here for a bit then maybe he should get some place to stay. Unfortunately that would mean getting money which he didn't save any. Suddenly an idea popped into Sclerite's mind. Applejack had offered him a job earlier maybe that offer was still available if he went to Sweet Apple Acres. Sclerite looked around until he saw a farm in the distance. Perhaps that was Sweet Apple Acres. He began to walk in the direction of the farm. Meanwhile in Canterlot, most of the buildings were still in ruins. Some of the once wealthy ponies were now stuck on the streets living off of whatever bits they could get from Equestrian Ponytarian aid. The castle's throne room was packed with news ponies gathered around Celestia and Luna. Many of them had notebooks and were bombarding them with questions. "Princess! What are you going to do about the Changeling attack?" "Did the Changelings attack anywhere else?" "Are there more out there?" "Alright! Back up! Give the Princesses some room!" Captain Shining Armor said while the guards began to push the crowd away from the princesses. Shining Armor still had to fulfill his duty as captain of the Royal Guard even though he was now married to Princess Cadence. One Pegasus guard flew above the crowd towards Captain Shining Armor. Once he landed in front of his captain he saluted. "Sir! There is a pony just inside the walls. She claims to have information about the Changelings but she would only speak to the Princesses," he said. Princess Celestia heard the conversation between the guard and Shining Armor. "Let this pony in. I want to hear what she has to say," she ordered. The guard saluted and the crowd made a path for him as he rushed out the door. He returned a few minutes later with a teal unicorn with a red mane, she wore a saddlebag. The guards and crowd allowed the unicorn through and she stopped in front of Princess Celestia and respectfully kneeled. Celestia inaudibly grumbled to herself. She despised it when her ponies felt the need to kneel or bow as if they were lesser than her. "Who are you my little pony? And what were you going to tell me?" Princess Celestia said inquisitively. "I am Doctor Aurora Light, I work for the local hospital here in Canterlot," she respectfully said. "While the Changelings were attacking I noticed one of them had used magic against a guard." She then lit up her horn and a large image was projected. Aurora Light had spent an hour preparing this message for Princess Celestia. To her surprise it was easier than projecting an x-ray result at the local hospital. The image showed a Changeling dive bombing into a group of Royal Guards and then firing a magical bolt at one of them, killing the guard instantly before running off. The crowd of news ponies were either taking notes or trying to get photos of the image. "Are you sure you didn't imagine this?" asked Shining Armor. "I'm sure. When the rescue teams arrived we discovered that guard in particular had suffered a wound unlike most of the other guard casualties. This is no coincidence. There is a Changeling that has the ability to use magic at around the same level as a unicorn. I even have the autopsy results from the Canterlot hospital," she said while using her magic to pull a piece of paper out of her saddlebags. "According to the autopsy the guard had died of head trauma caused by a magical force so powerful, it caused his helmet to crush his head." "If there really is a Changeling that powerful then we're all doomed!" yelled one of the ponies. The entire crowd broke into panic. The guards had to plant themselves into the ground to keep the ponies from reaching the princesses. Any sense of order had been lost. Even the guards were beginning to lose ground until Princess Luna yelled in her ancient Canterlot voice, "BE STILL!" Immediately the ponies froze and cowered at the suddenness of the tone. Princess Luna reverted back to a more normal sounding voice, "There is nothing to fear. We have already sent the Royal Guard to the other settlements of Equestria. Any Changelings hoping to cause trouble anywhere else in Equestria will be caught. The court is now adjourned! Come back tomorrow for another hearing." The crowd of news ponies began to filter out of the room until eventually only Aurora Light, the princesses, and the guards were left. Princess Celestia came down from her throne and approached Aurora Light. "Do you know anything else about this Changeling?" Aurora Light brought back the projection of that Changeling. "No, that was all I was able to observe from my window." Princess Celestia and Luna watched as the Changeling shoot the guard over and over. "There is no doubt Chrysalis would've recognized this Changeling and possibly single it out," stated Princess Luna. The words flew past Celestia as she grew more frustrated at the Changeling each time she saw her guard getting killed. "This Changeling has a lot to answer for," was all she could say as she blasted the image of the Changeling with her horn. Chapter 4: The Alliance Between HivesChrysalis and her army laid scattered across the land. She had landed close enough to her Hive to be able to see it. Looking around, she could see Changelings picking themselves out of the craters caused by their ejection from Canterlot. "Drones! I want a damage report! See how many we've lost!" she ordered to some of the drones that had already recovered. Chrysalis then flew towards the Hive to find her throne room. Once she arrived, she began to use her magic to clean herself up and harvest some love from her private cocoons. It wasn't long before Carapace arrived. With him were two other Changelings Elytra and Fang. They bowed and allowed Carapace to speak. "My Queen! We went through the roster and there is only one Changeling unaccounted for," he said with a bit of fear from this somewhat bad news. Queen Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at the Colonel. "Which Changeling is it?" she asked. "Sc-Sclerite! My Queen!" Queen Chrysalis shifted in her seat. "Sclerite? My apprentice is the only one missing?" She said in disbelief but judging by the expressions of her drones she could tell they weren't joking. "Prepare a meeting through our communication scarabs. I want to speak to the other Queens about this," she ordered. The Changelings saluted and walked out through a hole that suddenly appeared in the wall. When she was alone she sighed, "Don't worry Sclerite. We'll find you and bring you home safely," she said to herself. "How can we be sure he's even alive? The Equestrians have probably already found and killed him by now," Fang stated. "As much as I hate him for all the privileges he doesn't deserve, I'm really worried about him. He could be starving to death, cold and alone." Elytra suggested. "Don't worry about him," said Carapace. "I've watched Sclerite grow from the day he began training as a larva. If any Changeling could survive out there long enough for a rescue it would be him." Thorax heard the conversation as the Changelings went by. Sclerite was missing? Maybe he had found a reason to leave the Hive, and what about those six ponies whose friendship had helped them defeat a few squads of Changelings? There must be something about ponies and friendship worth discovering. He would have to go out on his own to discover that meaning but if he did, he could never come back. Thorax thought for a bit before making up his mind. He was going to go out and discover the meaning of friendship despite any repercussions from Queen Chrysalis for desertion. Meanwhile Carapace, Elytra and Fang arrived at the Hive's storage. They grabbed out four little scarabs and proceeded back to Queen Chrysalis' throne room. When they had returned they placed the scarabs on the floor and arranged them in a square-like formation before leaving the room to allow Queen Chrysalis some privacy with the other Queens. The scarabs began to activate and soon an image of the other Queens appeared. They all looked similar to Chrysalis with only small color differences. Some would make the mistake of assuming they were all sisters based on the resemblance. The red Changeling Queen Formic was the first to speak. "Hey Chrysalis! I heard you attempted a preemptive strike on Canterlot. Care to explain how that went?" she said mockingly Queen Chrysalis rolled her eyes, "this is not a good time for that right now. Right now I need your help." those last few words drew all their attentions. The yellow Changeling Queen Siphon was the most surprised out of all the Queens. "That was relatively quick. Luckily for you I have an entire fleet of my newest ships ready to fight the Equestrians on my command." "That is not the kind of help I need!" Chrysalis yelled. "My apprentice Sclerite went missing after the battle. My Hive is in no condition to search Equestria for him. That is why I need you. If you help find him and return him to my Hive I will reward each of you with one cocooned pony." That was a generous offer. Only Chrysalis' hive was able to make cocoons. It was the most effective way at preserving and storing food and was not an offer that should be thrown away. "Alright, with that out of the way. Siphon, you said you had a new ship?" "Yeah! We call it a U-ship. We're finally got past prototyping and are mass producing these ships. It is a ship designed to go underwater and attack other ships from concealment. We've used it to great effect at disrupting Equestrian sea trade with the Griffin kingdom. It hasn't done that much against the Equestrians but the Griffin kingdom just had an economic collapse." Queen Siphon said. Queen Formic decided to pitch in. "Very impressive, but I would suggest using magic siphoning minerals if you haven't already. I've built F-tanks from that material and it has been able to absorb magic from the land and from the occasional pony. That is an incredibly reliable power source for any machine." The purple Changeling Queen Venom looked a little annoyed. "Shouldn't we be discussing how to find and get Sclerite rather than wasting time talking about new weapons of war?" "Hmm? Oh right! I have an idea on where to look first," said Queen Chrysalis. Chapter 5: Sclerite's First JobSclerite approached Sweet Apple Acres. He could see a barn, a farmhouse and many apple trees. Applejack bucked one of the trees causing all the apples to fall out and land into buckets. "Hey Applejack!" Sclerite called out. Applejack gave one last buck to the tree and turned to Sclerite as the apples fell. "Hey Acid Base! What brings ya to Sweet Apple Acres?" "I'm here for the job offering you gave me earlier today," he answered. Applejack smiled, "It's great to have some help. We rarely get other ponies to help out on the farm. Instead we work it by ourselves." She said as she led him to a tree that still had some apples on it. "Ah need you to buck these trees. Place a few buckets underneath a tree. The apples should just fall in. If they don't pick them up and place them in the bucket. Think ya can handle that?" "Yeah, sounds easy," Sclerite said confidently as he magically lifted a few buckets and placed them under a tree. Once he was ready, he turned around and bucked it as hard as he could. Not a single apple fell. He bucked again yielding the same results. After the fifth attempt he screamed and used his magic to violently shake the tree. "Come on! Fall!" he yelled. Applejack grabbed his shoulders. "Stop! Don't hurt the tree!" Sclerite stopped shaking the tree and began to calm himself down. Applejack waited for him to finish calming himself down before continuing. "Maybe we should try something else," she suggested. "I have a new idea." Sclerite said. This time he used his magic to pick the apples off the branches and placed them in the bucket. "Ah guess that works. Now that you have a bucket just dump it into that container over there. Right now we are getting set up before we make cider," Applejack instructed. Sclerite brought the buckets into a large container. "What's after that?" "Nothing just repeat that process until all the containers are full. Anyway I'll be back later to check on your progress." Applejack said as she walked down the road towards Ponyville. Sclerite saw ten large open barrels. "This was going to be a long day," he thought as he used his magic to pick off apples from five nearby trees at once and dumped them straight into one of the large barrels. An hour later he was still picking apples off of trees. It had actually went by faster than he thought it would. There was only one tree that still needed to be picked. When he approached it he heard some kind of snoring coming from one of them. He wasn't sure what to do about that. Trees don't usually make noises like that and he couldn't fly up to investigate even if he could risk changing back to his true form. He shrugged and picked the apples anyway. That was when he heard an "Ouch!" A cyan pony's head poked out of the tree. "Hey! What gives?" "Sorry about that," Sclerite said. "I just needed to take some apples from this tree-" "So you're stealing apples?" "What? No! I was just-" "Hahaha! The look... on your face! I was just joking! I'm Rainbow Dash." Sclerite took a deep breath. That was very fortunate for him. Even if he was a pony he wouldn't want to get arrested for larceny. "So what's your name?" she asked. "I'm Acid Base. Right now I'm helping Applejack on the apple farm. So what were you doing just now?" "I was busy training to become a Wonderbolt," she answered. "You sounded like you were sleeping," Sclerite mocked. "I was napping! There's a difference!" "Whatever, I would've been disciplined for napping like that," he mumbled to himself. "What was that?" "Nothing. I'm almost done with my work. When I'm finished do you need some help with that?" Sclerite asked. This may be his last chance at a get love quick scheme. "How about we do a hoof race?" "Sure just give me a sec," he said. Sclerite used his magic to drop the apples in the last container. "Alright, let's go." "We start at the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. Then we run around the farm following the dirt path. The first to make it to the edge of the Everfree Forest wins." "You're on!" The two contestants approached the starting line. Rainbow Dash prepared a countdown. "3... 2... 1... go!" Rainbow Dash charged ahead leaving Sclerite in the dust. He was already behind and had some catching up to do. Having to do laps around the Hive many times had prepared him for a race like this, yet he was somehow being beaten by a pony. Sclerite sprinted, trying to keep up. He could see Rainbow Dash slowing down and looking back. It was as if she was deliberately slowing down for him. The contestants stopped at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Sclerite had to catch his breath but Rainbow Dash wasn't even winded. "Well... that felt great," Sclerite said in between breaths. "You ever ran a race before?" Rainbow Dash jokingly mocked. "No... no I haven't," Sclerite answered not really paying attention to what she said. He then sniffed the air. "Hey do you smell something?" Rainbow Dash also sniffed the air and her expression turned to fear. "Timberwolf!" she yelled and flew off. Sclerite watched in confusion as she ran away from the forest. "Wait! What's a Timberwolf?" he asked as he heard a roar coming from the forest. He looked for the source of the roar and noticed three wolves made out of wood approaching him. He then saw that Rainbow Dash was already out of hearing distance. It looked as though he would have to take care of these creatures by himself. One of the Timberwolves pounced at Sclerite who immediately fired a bolt, causing the Timberwolf to explode into pieces. The other two wolves began to spread out and surround him. Sclerite stood in a defensive stance and prepared himself as more Timberwolves began to emerge from the forest. He fired at one of the Timberwolves that flanked him before it could get a chance to do anything else. The other seized the opportunity and pounced at Sclerite, scratching his back and pinning him to the ground. Just before the Timberwolf could bite off his neck and finish the job, it was kicked off of Sclerite by Rainbow Dash. She quickly grabbed and placed Sclerite on her back and flew off as fast as she could. "By Celestia you're heavy!" she complained. "Rainbow Dash? You came back! You saved me!" Sclerite said. "Well that's what friends are for," she responded. "Uh... friend?" Sclerite mumbled. Had he really made a friend? Was this friendship going to end up like his last one? "Hey? Are you alright?" she asked. Sclerite snapped back into reality and realized how tired he was becoming as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness. "Acid Base! Stay with me! We're going to get you to the hospital, don't worry!" she yelled trying to get him to wake up. She flew in the direction of the Ponyville hospital as quickly as she could. Chapter 6: RecoverySclerite heard the sound of a heart monitor. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed a white room. Did he die? Are these the first steps into Tartarus? Sclerite tried to get up but felt a sharp pain on his back. "Not again," he thought as he fell back into the bed. He noticed Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack on the other end of his medical bed. "Hey Acid Base," Applejack said. "Ya had me worried there for a sec." "You know, you have a lot of guts facing a pack of Timberwolves on your own," Rainbow Dash stated. "Well thanks," Sclerite said, feeling honored. "Don't worry about a thing darling, I took care of everything. Including the medical bill," Rarity said. "You didn't have to-" "Nonsense! Any friend of Sweetie Belle is a friend of mine!" Sclerite was surprised. It was one thing to have friends personally take him to the hospital. It was another to have them pay for his recovery. It would be wrong for him to take her generosity without giving back. "I don't know what to say. If you need help with anything, I would be happy to do it for you," he offered. "Oh! Why don't worry about it darling." Rainbow Dash grinned. "You know... I got injured once in the hospital, and you know what I did in my free time?" Sclerite gave a questioning look as she slowly pulled out a book. The cover read "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone," by A.K. Yearling. "It's about adventure, excitement. I think you're gonna like it." Sclerite used his magic to take the book from Rainbow Dash and placed it on the nightstand next to the bed. "I'll read it later, anyway I don't believe I ever thanked you for saving my life." "Don't sweat it! Like I said, 'that's what friends are for,'" Rainbow Dash replied. "Anyway ah have to get back to the farm." "And I need to finish my next dress." "Alright then, see you later," Sclerite said while he watched Applejack and Rarity leave. Silence had befallen the room. Neither Rainbow Dash nor Sclerite could think of anything to say. Eventually it was too much for Sclerite, he had to break the silence somehow. "So... I heard there was a Changeling attack in Canterlot," Sclerite said playing into his fake backstory. "Oh yeah! It was awesome! There were Changelings everywhere! They thought they were going to beat us but they were pushovers!". "I guess I was lucky to have gotten out when I did. I wouldn't survive that battle," Sclerite said. "Nonsense! You stood up to a bunch of Timberwolves and lived. Sure things could've turned out better for you, but if you could stand up to Timberwolves, you could face anything." A pony came in wearing a hospital uniform. She had a red cross as a cutiemark and was carrying a clipboard. She had a nametag that read "Nurse Redheart." "Excuse me, do you mind if I speak to the patient alone?" Nurse Redheart asked. "Alright, see you later Acid Base, and remember to read that book. I'm going to practice my flying," Rainbow Dash said as she left. Nurse Redheart waited until they were alone before speaking. "You know you don't have to hide from me." Sclerite was a little surprised by those words. "What do you mean?" Nurse Redheart approached him and whispered into his ear. "I know you're a Changeling." Chapter 7: A Day in the HospitalSclerite was stunned. It had only been a day and he was already caught. This was the end for him if he couldn't find a way to save himself. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said faking ignorance while scanning the room for an escape route. Nurse Redheart stood between him and the door so that option was out. There was also no way he could make it to the window with his injuries. All he could do was deny the fact that he was a Changeling. Nurse Redheart rolled her eyes and closed the shutters on the door. "Don't play stupid, I've been tending to ponies long enough to know something is off," Nurse Redheart looked down at her clipboard. "Let's see... a deep cut that has almost completely healed within an hour, no signs of any possible scars from the incident. There is nopony in this world that could recover as quickly as you could?" Sclerite gave up, she had the records and he was a fool to try to deny that. He took off his disguise. "Alright! You caught me! I surrender!" he said holding his fore hooves in the air. The pain in his back caused him to shut his eyes and bare his teeth. He was too injured to fight back, so he closed his eyes and braced for anything she might do. Nurse Redheart wasn't sure what to think. She had heard stories about Changelings being scary, cold, heartless evil doers but she didn't see that. Instead she saw a Changeling that wasn't aggressive nor hateful. In fact this one looked scared rather than evil. It was like a wounded animal caught in a corner. "Well? What are you waiting for?" Sclerite asked losing his patience. "Hmm?" "Aren't you going to get the guards? Have me arrested? Or do you plan to kill me right here, right now?" "What? No-" "No? What do you mean no?" "If I told everypony who you were, who knows what they might do to you." "But I'm your enemy! You-" Nurse Redheart quickly lunged at him and covered his mouth with a hoof. "As a nurse, I help everyone. I'm not going to treat you differently just because you're a Changeling fighting for your Hive," she said before releasing him. Sclerite was speechless. Is this all a dream? Why would a pony care about a Changeling? They've conquered many other nations to become the biggest superpower on the continent. It just didn't make any sense. There has to be some kind of ulterior motive. Nurse Redheart interrupted Sclerite's thoughts, "I was hoping to ask why your Hive had attacked?" "You mean you don't know?" Sclerite responded. "Well let me tell you. We are barely surviving. The love that we store for future use needs to be refilled once in a while. We were content with stealing love until the day Equestria began a massive conquest which eventually marked the Equestrian borders we see today. Ever since that event a thousand years ago, we have been preparing for the day you Equestrians would return. Now, we are ready, and the attack was supposed to be a warning against Equestria if they ever thought of expanding their territory again," he answered. "Thank you, and don't worry. Your secret is safe with me," Nurse Redheart said as she walked out the door. "Remember, if you need anything just use the buzzer next to your bed." Sclerite returned to his Acid Base disguise. It was unlikely she would keep her word, if anything he was expecting Royal Guards to be stationed outside so they can arrest him. He grabbed the book from the nightstand and began to read. Author's Note I'm back! It's been a while but I've decided to at least revive this story and see how it does compared to the other one. Chapter 2: A Visit to a BoutiqueSclerite set his eyes towards the large circular building. It was well decorated as if the pony who owned it cared deeply about the outward appearance of the store. The first order of business would be to scout it. At least he didn't have to worry about being seen entering until it's too late for the pony he was going to grab. Sclerite opened the front door and a bell rang. Not long after a white unicorn came down the stairs. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique," she said. "How may I help you?" "I'm mostly looking for a hat," he said looking around. "Well I do believe I have a hat that would suit such a handsome gentle colt such as yourself." Suddenly the door opened again and Sclerite saw Sweetie Belle at the door. "Hey Rarity! I'm just getting the book on fixing a scooter I borrowed from Twilight. Oh hey Acid Base!" Sweetie Belle said. "Hey Sweetie Belle!" Sclerite responded in a friendly fashion. He watched as the little filly went upstairs. "You know Sweetie Belle?" the unicorn apparently named Rarity asked. "Yeah, I met her earlier today," he said carefully leaving out the fact that he allowed himself to get run over by a scooter. "Okay," Rarity said a bit suspicious. "Anyway are you new here in Ponyville?" "Yeah, I just arrived today from... Canterlot," Sclerite responded. Hopefully he wasn't giving too much away. "I heard there was a Changeling attack there after I left," That ought to cover some of his tracks. "Well darling, I was actually there when it happened." "Really? Must have been scary, seeing all those Changelings up close." "It wasn't too bad, but their carapaces were some of the ugliest things I've ever seen." Sclerite had to hold himself back from those words. It was one thing to be insulted for being smaller and weaker than other Changelings. It was another to be insulted for having a carapace color that he couldn't change in his true form. "Thank you for your time miss Rarity but I should get going," Sclerite said trying to hide the fact that he felt offended by her. When Sclerite got out the door he noticed a few royal guards patrolling the street. This day was getting worse every second. Author's Note I'm finally back. I also edited the first chapter of this story because it just didn't feel right. Enjoy the story.
Prologue: CanterlotDeep in the Everfree forest was a battalion of Changelings. Every Changeling in Queen Chrysalis' Hive had spent their whole lives preparing for this day. This was the day everything would change. The leader of this battalion walked over to a very specific soldier who was staring at a scarab placed on the ground. "Corporal Sclerite! What are we waiting for?" asked Carapace. "We are waiting for a signal Colonel!" Sclerite answered. "What signal? Why did she give such an important job to somepony as low ranking as you?" Sclerite thought for a bit. He wasn't exactly sure why he got this responsibility. The only answer he could have thought of was his position as Queen Chrysalis' personal apprentice but even that wasn't a good reason. "Sir, with all due respect, Queen Chrysalis gave me a direct order. She never told me anything else other than I need to be ready for the signal," Sclerite answered. Suddenly the scarab Sclerite had been staring at began to glow. "That's the signal sir! Now is the time to attack!" Carapace flew up to a tree branch to speak to the army. "Comrades! Today is the day we change our lives for the better! Today is the day we end the starvation that has plagued us our whole lives! The ponies of Equestria have had a thousand years of peace! But that doesn't mean we should underestimate them! We will all be walking into battle against the ponies! And we will come out on top! Today we feast! Then from that point forward we will never starve again! Now onward to Canterlot!" The Changelings including Sclerite cheered at Carapace's speech as they all took off in the direction of Canterlot and its shield. Sclerite followed at the rear where he noticed a nervous looking Changeling. "Hey!" Sclerite said. "Huh? Oh hi," he responded. "Are you okay?" "Yeah I'm fine. It's just that, why do we have to fight the ponies? Why can't we just be friends and earn love instead?" "I can tell you from experience that friendship with the other races leads to sadness. I personally wouldn't want to feel that sadness again. Do you mind if I ask for your name?" "I'm Thorax, what's your name?" "I'm Sclerite." "The Queen's apprentice? Wow I didn't expect to meet you." "You know Thorax. You're quite different from most Changelings. Most either complain about my position or they make jokes about me being small and weak. After this battle is over we should meet up and talk some more. It'll be a nice change of pace from all the insults and jokes." Sclerite said as they arrived at the shield. The other Changelings were bashing against the shield and each bash made it crack a little more until the shield shattered. Immediately the Changelings began to dive bomb the city and Sclerite found two royal guards in the streets. He aimed himself at the guards and flew towards them, picking up speed until he was surrounded in green magic. He crashed into the ground sending both guards in opposite directions, knocking one of them unconscious. Sclerite turned to face the guard that survived. The earth pony guard stood up and took a defensive stance as if expecting a charge. Sclerite fired a magical bolt and turned to find two Unicorn guards rushing towards him. Sclerite rushed for cover in an alley way just as they began firing magical beams at him. Each time he poked his head out they fired a beam and he had to duck back in. Sclerite had to come up with a plan but then he remembered teleportation. He charged up his horn and teleported behind the guards and fired a bolt, hitting one of the unicorns. The other turned around and prepared to fire a beam but another Changeling dive bombed and hit the other one. He recognized his savior as Elytra and saluted to her before rushing down the street towards the castle. As he ran down the road, he could see all the destruction that had befallen on the once great city of Canterlot, there were Changelings everywhere chasing down the remaining ponies. They had done it. From that point forward they didn't need to worry about food anymore. No more rations, no more stockpiling. Just feasting. Nothing could possibly spoil this day. He then looked towards the castle where Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis were. A large pink bubble of love was growing rapidly with Changelings getting pushed by it and he turned to run away. Sclerite felt himself soaring through the sky uncontrollably towards some forest. He began to flap his wings hoping he could control himself but it was too late. He was plunged into the forest. A tree branch hit Sclerite on the way down, landed face first into a tree trunk and then landed on his back, knocking him unconscious when his head hit the ground.
Chapter 1: Still AliveSclerite woke up and saw tree branches above him, he was back in the Everfree Forest. Was it all just a dream? Hopefully it was and the invasion hadn't happened yet. There was no way the Equestrians could have stopped them just like that. Sclerite stood up "Hey! What ha- argh!" he suddenly felt a sharp excruciating pain on his back and got up to a sitting position. Sclerite looked back to see his left wing had been deformed ripped apart but still in one piece. His right wing wasn't as bad but it had a large cut in the middle. There wasn't a Changeling in sight, it was no dream, he's been stranded. Sclerite decided it was best not to stay put and stood up. He hadn't spent any time feasting on love during the attack and there was no way he could last long enough for his wings to heal. If he could just find some love then this would all be over. The first order of business would be getting out of the forest. A few hours of walking passed before Sclerite finally exited the forest. In the distance he could see a settlement and based off of the buildings it looked to be a pony settlement. It was probably the best thing he was going to get, if he was ahead of the news of Canterlot this shouldn't be too hard. Now all he needed to do was blend in. Sclerite thought back on the lessons of Equestrian society Queen Chrysalis had taught him. The first and most important lesson was not to get caught. He knew that if he failed that they would no doubt beat him to death without pity or remorse. If he was a Unicorn he could use his magic, it's not like being a Pegasus would help much if he couldn't fly, and an Earth Pony had neither. It was a difficult decision but a Unicorn was the best choice out of all three. Sclerite engulfed himself in green flames and reappeared as a gray Unicorn with green eyes that matched his magic. His mane was dark blue and his cutie mark became a test tube with green liquid. Now all Sclerite needed was a name. He looked himself over, especially at the new cutie mark. It was green so acid... and it's opposite... base, Acid Base, it'll have to do. Time to put the plan into action. He stepped out of the woods towards the town. There weren't that many ponies on the streets and when there were, they mostly ignored him. It was a good start but he needed to do more. He could find two lovers and replace one of them, that would certainly be easier than- Sclerite was suddenly knocked down from behind, an attack! He quickly got up and looked around for his assailant but the only thing he saw was a crashed scooter with three dazed fillies. Consisting of a yellow Earth Pony, a white Unicorn and an orange Pegasus. The Unicorn filly was the first to recover. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay? We're so sorry!" "Huh? Yeah I'm fine. Just be careful," was all Sclerite could think of saying. He had a mission and this was just a minor inconvenience. No use dwelling on that. "Wait ya not from around here are ya?" stated the yellow Earth Pony. "Yeah," Sclerite responded, he wasn't exactly sure where here was. "Hey! Maybe we can earn our cutie marks in being tour guides!" suggested the orange Pegasus and the others nodded. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TOUR GUIDES! YAY!" they all shouted causing Sclerite to jump. "Welcome to Ponyville! I'm Sweetie Belle! That's Apple Bloom," she pointed at the yellow Earth Pony. "And that's Scootaloo," she then pointed at the orange Pegasus. "What's your name?" Now's the moment of truth. "I'm Acid Base," Sclerite answered. He immediately started thinking about what he would do if they didn't buy his name. He could run away, find a new town where he could adopt a new disguise. "Nice name," Apple Bloom said. Sclerite calmed himself and responded, "thanks," "Apple Bloom!" an orange Earth Pony came rushing towards them. "Applejack!" Apple Bloom called out. "Ah saw you and the girls crash and ah came here as fast as ah could," she looked at Sclerite. "Who's your friend?" "Oh yeah, that's Acid Base, he's new to Ponyville," Apple Bloom introduced. "Well then howdy Acid Base!" she immediately grabbed Sclerite's hoof and shook it violently. "Ahm Applejack! Ah run Sweet Apple Acres here in Ponyville! You should stop by some time if yah looking for some work!" she then let go of Sclerite's hoof and he continued to shake. It took a minute before he recovered. That was when he noticed something about this pony's name. "Applejack? Aren't you the element of Honesty?" Sclerite remembered her from the briefing. She was one of the six ponies to look out for because of their connections to the elements of harmony. "Yes ah am. How do you know me?" "Well... saving Equestria a few times tends to draw some attention," it wasn't a complete lie. He wouldn't have heard of her if the spies didn't reported the use of the elements of harmony a few months ago. Though on that day the night seemed to have lasted longer than it should have. "Alright then!" It would be best for him to get moving before he does anything that draws attention. If Applejack is here then no doubt the other elements would be here as well. "Anyway it was nice meeting you but I have to go. Hope to see you soon," Sclerite said and began to away. He might have better luck if there was somepony he could isolate and cocoon to drain instead.
Chapter 3: A Magical ChangelingSclerite knew the royal guard presence in Ponyville would make his job a lot harder. Now trying to ponynap one of the residents would be too difficult. It would've been great to have already grabbed some love and leave immediately but it was already midday and he still hasn't made any real progress. If he was going to be stuck here for a bit then maybe he should get some place to stay. Unfortunately that would mean getting money which he didn't save any. Suddenly an idea popped into Sclerite's mind. Applejack had offered him a job earlier maybe that offer was still available if he went to Sweet Apple Acres. Sclerite looked around until he saw a farm in the distance. Perhaps that was Sweet Apple Acres. He began to walk in the direction of the farm. Meanwhile in Canterlot, most of the buildings were still in ruins. Some of the once wealthy ponies were now stuck on the streets living off of whatever bits they could get from Equestrian Ponytarian aid. The castle's throne room was packed with news ponies gathered around Celestia and Luna. Many of them had notebooks and were bombarding them with questions. "Princess! What are you going to do about the Changeling attack?" "Did the Changelings attack anywhere else?" "Are there more out there?" "Alright! Back up! Give the Princesses some room!" Captain Shining Armor said while the guards began to push the crowd away from the princesses. Shining Armor still had to fulfill his duty as captain of the Royal Guard even though he was now married to Princess Cadence. One Pegasus guard flew above the crowd towards Captain Shining Armor. Once he landed in front of his captain he saluted. "Sir! There is a pony just inside the walls. She claims to have information about the Changelings but she would only speak to the Princesses," he said. Princess Celestia heard the conversation between the guard and Shining Armor. "Let this pony in. I want to hear what she has to say," she ordered. The guard saluted and the crowd made a path for him as he rushed out the door. He returned a few minutes later with a teal unicorn with a red mane, she wore a saddlebag. The guards and crowd allowed the unicorn through and she stopped in front of Princess Celestia and respectfully kneeled. Celestia inaudibly grumbled to herself. She despised it when her ponies felt the need to kneel or bow as if they were lesser than her. "Who are you my little pony? And what were you going to tell me?" Princess Celestia said inquisitively. "I am Doctor Aurora Light, I work for the local hospital here in Canterlot," she respectfully said. "While the Changelings were attacking I noticed one of them had used magic against a guard." She then lit up her horn and a large image was projected. Aurora Light had spent an hour preparing this message for Princess Celestia. To her surprise it was easier than projecting an x-ray result at the local hospital. The image showed a Changeling dive bombing into a group of Royal Guards and then firing a magical bolt at one of them, killing the guard instantly before running off. The crowd of news ponies were either taking notes or trying to get photos of the image. "Are you sure you didn't imagine this?" asked Shining Armor. "I'm sure. When the rescue teams arrived we discovered that guard in particular had suffered a wound unlike most of the other guard casualties. This is no coincidence. There is a Changeling that has the ability to use magic at around the same level as a unicorn. I even have the autopsy results from the Canterlot hospital," she said while using her magic to pull a piece of paper out of her saddlebags. "According to the autopsy the guard had died of head trauma caused by a magical force so powerful, it caused his helmet to crush his head." "If there really is a Changeling that powerful then we're all doomed!" yelled one of the ponies. The entire crowd broke into panic. The guards had to plant themselves into the ground to keep the ponies from reaching the princesses. Any sense of order had been lost. Even the guards were beginning to lose ground until Princess Luna yelled in her ancient Canterlot voice, "BE STILL!" Immediately the ponies froze and cowered at the suddenness of the tone. Princess Luna reverted back to a more normal sounding voice, "There is nothing to fear. We have already sent the Royal Guard to the other settlements of Equestria. Any Changelings hoping to cause trouble anywhere else in Equestria will be caught. The court is now adjourned! Come back tomorrow for another hearing." The crowd of news ponies began to filter out of the room until eventually only Aurora Light, the princesses, and the guards were left. Princess Celestia came down from her throne and approached Aurora Light. "Do you know anything else about this Changeling?" Aurora Light brought back the projection of that Changeling. "No, that was all I was able to observe from my window." Princess Celestia and Luna watched as the Changeling shoot the guard over and over. "There is no doubt Chrysalis would've recognized this Changeling and possibly single it out," stated Princess Luna. The words flew past Celestia as she grew more frustrated at the Changeling each time she saw her guard getting killed. "This Changeling has a lot to answer for," was all she could say as she blasted the image of the Changeling with her horn.
Chapter 4: The Alliance Between HivesChrysalis and her army laid scattered across the land. She had landed close enough to her Hive to be able to see it. Looking around, she could see Changelings picking themselves out of the craters caused by their ejection from Canterlot. "Drones! I want a damage report! See how many we've lost!" she ordered to some of the drones that had already recovered. Chrysalis then flew towards the Hive to find her throne room. Once she arrived, she began to use her magic to clean herself up and harvest some love from her private cocoons. It wasn't long before Carapace arrived. With him were two other Changelings Elytra and Fang. They bowed and allowed Carapace to speak. "My Queen! We went through the roster and there is only one Changeling unaccounted for," he said with a bit of fear from this somewhat bad news. Queen Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at the Colonel. "Which Changeling is it?" she asked. "Sc-Sclerite! My Queen!" Queen Chrysalis shifted in her seat. "Sclerite? My apprentice is the only one missing?" She said in disbelief but judging by the expressions of her drones she could tell they weren't joking. "Prepare a meeting through our communication scarabs. I want to speak to the other Queens about this," she ordered. The Changelings saluted and walked out through a hole that suddenly appeared in the wall. When she was alone she sighed, "Don't worry Sclerite. We'll find you and bring you home safely," she said to herself. "How can we be sure he's even alive? The Equestrians have probably already found and killed him by now," Fang stated. "As much as I hate him for all the privileges he doesn't deserve, I'm really worried about him. He could be starving to death, cold and alone." Elytra suggested. "Don't worry about him," said Carapace. "I've watched Sclerite grow from the day he began training as a larva. If any Changeling could survive out there long enough for a rescue it would be him." Thorax heard the conversation as the Changelings went by. Sclerite was missing? Maybe he had found a reason to leave the Hive, and what about those six ponies whose friendship had helped them defeat a few squads of Changelings? There must be something about ponies and friendship worth discovering. He would have to go out on his own to discover that meaning but if he did, he could never come back. Thorax thought for a bit before making up his mind. He was going to go out and discover the meaning of friendship despite any repercussions from Queen Chrysalis for desertion. Meanwhile Carapace, Elytra and Fang arrived at the Hive's storage. They grabbed out four little scarabs and proceeded back to Queen Chrysalis' throne room. When they had returned they placed the scarabs on the floor and arranged them in a square-like formation before leaving the room to allow Queen Chrysalis some privacy with the other Queens. The scarabs began to activate and soon an image of the other Queens appeared. They all looked similar to Chrysalis with only small color differences. Some would make the mistake of assuming they were all sisters based on the resemblance. The red Changeling Queen Formic was the first to speak. "Hey Chrysalis! I heard you attempted a preemptive strike on Canterlot. Care to explain how that went?" she said mockingly Queen Chrysalis rolled her eyes, "this is not a good time for that right now. Right now I need your help." those last few words drew all their attentions. The yellow Changeling Queen Siphon was the most surprised out of all the Queens. "That was relatively quick. Luckily for you I have an entire fleet of my newest ships ready to fight the Equestrians on my command." "That is not the kind of help I need!" Chrysalis yelled. "My apprentice Sclerite went missing after the battle. My Hive is in no condition to search Equestria for him. That is why I need you. If you help find him and return him to my Hive I will reward each of you with one cocooned pony." That was a generous offer. Only Chrysalis' hive was able to make cocoons. It was the most effective way at preserving and storing food and was not an offer that should be thrown away. "Alright, with that out of the way. Siphon, you said you had a new ship?" "Yeah! We call it a U-ship. We're finally got past prototyping and are mass producing these ships. It is a ship designed to go underwater and attack other ships from concealment. We've used it to great effect at disrupting Equestrian sea trade with the Griffin kingdom. It hasn't done that much against the Equestrians but the Griffin kingdom just had an economic collapse." Queen Siphon said. Queen Formic decided to pitch in. "Very impressive, but I would suggest using magic siphoning minerals if you haven't already. I've built F-tanks from that material and it has been able to absorb magic from the land and from the occasional pony. That is an incredibly reliable power source for any machine." The purple Changeling Queen Venom looked a little annoyed. "Shouldn't we be discussing how to find and get Sclerite rather than wasting time talking about new weapons of war?" "Hmm? Oh right! I have an idea on where to look first," said Queen Chrysalis.
Chapter 5: Sclerite's First JobSclerite approached Sweet Apple Acres. He could see a barn, a farmhouse and many apple trees. Applejack bucked one of the trees causing all the apples to fall out and land into buckets. "Hey Applejack!" Sclerite called out. Applejack gave one last buck to the tree and turned to Sclerite as the apples fell. "Hey Acid Base! What brings ya to Sweet Apple Acres?" "I'm here for the job offering you gave me earlier today," he answered. Applejack smiled, "It's great to have some help. We rarely get other ponies to help out on the farm. Instead we work it by ourselves." She said as she led him to a tree that still had some apples on it. "Ah need you to buck these trees. Place a few buckets underneath a tree. The apples should just fall in. If they don't pick them up and place them in the bucket. Think ya can handle that?" "Yeah, sounds easy," Sclerite said confidently as he magically lifted a few buckets and placed them under a tree. Once he was ready, he turned around and bucked it as hard as he could. Not a single apple fell. He bucked again yielding the same results. After the fifth attempt he screamed and used his magic to violently shake the tree. "Come on! Fall!" he yelled. Applejack grabbed his shoulders. "Stop! Don't hurt the tree!" Sclerite stopped shaking the tree and began to calm himself down. Applejack waited for him to finish calming himself down before continuing. "Maybe we should try something else," she suggested. "I have a new idea." Sclerite said. This time he used his magic to pick the apples off the branches and placed them in the bucket. "Ah guess that works. Now that you have a bucket just dump it into that container over there. Right now we are getting set up before we make cider," Applejack instructed. Sclerite brought the buckets into a large container. "What's after that?" "Nothing just repeat that process until all the containers are full. Anyway I'll be back later to check on your progress." Applejack said as she walked down the road towards Ponyville. Sclerite saw ten large open barrels. "This was going to be a long day," he thought as he used his magic to pick off apples from five nearby trees at once and dumped them straight into one of the large barrels. An hour later he was still picking apples off of trees. It had actually went by faster than he thought it would. There was only one tree that still needed to be picked. When he approached it he heard some kind of snoring coming from one of them. He wasn't sure what to do about that. Trees don't usually make noises like that and he couldn't fly up to investigate even if he could risk changing back to his true form. He shrugged and picked the apples anyway. That was when he heard an "Ouch!" A cyan pony's head poked out of the tree. "Hey! What gives?" "Sorry about that," Sclerite said. "I just needed to take some apples from this tree-" "So you're stealing apples?" "What? No! I was just-" "Hahaha! The look... on your face! I was just joking! I'm Rainbow Dash." Sclerite took a deep breath. That was very fortunate for him. Even if he was a pony he wouldn't want to get arrested for larceny. "So what's your name?" she asked. "I'm Acid Base. Right now I'm helping Applejack on the apple farm. So what were you doing just now?" "I was busy training to become a Wonderbolt," she answered. "You sounded like you were sleeping," Sclerite mocked. "I was napping! There's a difference!" "Whatever, I would've been disciplined for napping like that," he mumbled to himself. "What was that?" "Nothing. I'm almost done with my work. When I'm finished do you need some help with that?" Sclerite asked. This may be his last chance at a get love quick scheme. "How about we do a hoof race?" "Sure just give me a sec," he said. Sclerite used his magic to drop the apples in the last container. "Alright, let's go." "We start at the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. Then we run around the farm following the dirt path. The first to make it to the edge of the Everfree Forest wins." "You're on!" The two contestants approached the starting line. Rainbow Dash prepared a countdown. "3... 2... 1... go!" Rainbow Dash charged ahead leaving Sclerite in the dust. He was already behind and had some catching up to do. Having to do laps around the Hive many times had prepared him for a race like this, yet he was somehow being beaten by a pony. Sclerite sprinted, trying to keep up. He could see Rainbow Dash slowing down and looking back. It was as if she was deliberately slowing down for him. The contestants stopped at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Sclerite had to catch his breath but Rainbow Dash wasn't even winded. "Well... that felt great," Sclerite said in between breaths. "You ever ran a race before?" Rainbow Dash jokingly mocked. "No... no I haven't," Sclerite answered not really paying attention to what she said. He then sniffed the air. "Hey do you smell something?" Rainbow Dash also sniffed the air and her expression turned to fear. "Timberwolf!" she yelled and flew off. Sclerite watched in confusion as she ran away from the forest. "Wait! What's a Timberwolf?" he asked as he heard a roar coming from the forest. He looked for the source of the roar and noticed three wolves made out of wood approaching him. He then saw that Rainbow Dash was already out of hearing distance. It looked as though he would have to take care of these creatures by himself. One of the Timberwolves pounced at Sclerite who immediately fired a bolt, causing the Timberwolf to explode into pieces. The other two wolves began to spread out and surround him. Sclerite stood in a defensive stance and prepared himself as more Timberwolves began to emerge from the forest. He fired at one of the Timberwolves that flanked him before it could get a chance to do anything else. The other seized the opportunity and pounced at Sclerite, scratching his back and pinning him to the ground. Just before the Timberwolf could bite off his neck and finish the job, it was kicked off of Sclerite by Rainbow Dash. She quickly grabbed and placed Sclerite on her back and flew off as fast as she could. "By Celestia you're heavy!" she complained. "Rainbow Dash? You came back! You saved me!" Sclerite said. "Well that's what friends are for," she responded. "Uh... friend?" Sclerite mumbled. Had he really made a friend? Was this friendship going to end up like his last one? "Hey? Are you alright?" she asked. Sclerite snapped back into reality and realized how tired he was becoming as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness. "Acid Base! Stay with me! We're going to get you to the hospital, don't worry!" she yelled trying to get him to wake up. She flew in the direction of the Ponyville hospital as quickly as she could.
Chapter 6: RecoverySclerite heard the sound of a heart monitor. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed a white room. Did he die? Are these the first steps into Tartarus? Sclerite tried to get up but felt a sharp pain on his back. "Not again," he thought as he fell back into the bed. He noticed Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack on the other end of his medical bed. "Hey Acid Base," Applejack said. "Ya had me worried there for a sec." "You know, you have a lot of guts facing a pack of Timberwolves on your own," Rainbow Dash stated. "Well thanks," Sclerite said, feeling honored. "Don't worry about a thing darling, I took care of everything. Including the medical bill," Rarity said. "You didn't have to-" "Nonsense! Any friend of Sweetie Belle is a friend of mine!" Sclerite was surprised. It was one thing to have friends personally take him to the hospital. It was another to have them pay for his recovery. It would be wrong for him to take her generosity without giving back. "I don't know what to say. If you need help with anything, I would be happy to do it for you," he offered. "Oh! Why don't worry about it darling." Rainbow Dash grinned. "You know... I got injured once in the hospital, and you know what I did in my free time?" Sclerite gave a questioning look as she slowly pulled out a book. The cover read "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone," by A.K. Yearling. "It's about adventure, excitement. I think you're gonna like it." Sclerite used his magic to take the book from Rainbow Dash and placed it on the nightstand next to the bed. "I'll read it later, anyway I don't believe I ever thanked you for saving my life." "Don't sweat it! Like I said, 'that's what friends are for,'" Rainbow Dash replied. "Anyway ah have to get back to the farm." "And I need to finish my next dress." "Alright then, see you later," Sclerite said while he watched Applejack and Rarity leave. Silence had befallen the room. Neither Rainbow Dash nor Sclerite could think of anything to say. Eventually it was too much for Sclerite, he had to break the silence somehow. "So... I heard there was a Changeling attack in Canterlot," Sclerite said playing into his fake backstory. "Oh yeah! It was awesome! There were Changelings everywhere! They thought they were going to beat us but they were pushovers!". "I guess I was lucky to have gotten out when I did. I wouldn't survive that battle," Sclerite said. "Nonsense! You stood up to a bunch of Timberwolves and lived. Sure things could've turned out better for you, but if you could stand up to Timberwolves, you could face anything." A pony came in wearing a hospital uniform. She had a red cross as a cutiemark and was carrying a clipboard. She had a nametag that read "Nurse Redheart." "Excuse me, do you mind if I speak to the patient alone?" Nurse Redheart asked. "Alright, see you later Acid Base, and remember to read that book. I'm going to practice my flying," Rainbow Dash said as she left. Nurse Redheart waited until they were alone before speaking. "You know you don't have to hide from me." Sclerite was a little surprised by those words. "What do you mean?" Nurse Redheart approached him and whispered into his ear. "I know you're a Changeling."
Chapter 7: A Day in the HospitalSclerite was stunned. It had only been a day and he was already caught. This was the end for him if he couldn't find a way to save himself. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said faking ignorance while scanning the room for an escape route. Nurse Redheart stood between him and the door so that option was out. There was also no way he could make it to the window with his injuries. All he could do was deny the fact that he was a Changeling. Nurse Redheart rolled her eyes and closed the shutters on the door. "Don't play stupid, I've been tending to ponies long enough to know something is off," Nurse Redheart looked down at her clipboard. "Let's see... a deep cut that has almost completely healed within an hour, no signs of any possible scars from the incident. There is nopony in this world that could recover as quickly as you could?" Sclerite gave up, she had the records and he was a fool to try to deny that. He took off his disguise. "Alright! You caught me! I surrender!" he said holding his fore hooves in the air. The pain in his back caused him to shut his eyes and bare his teeth. He was too injured to fight back, so he closed his eyes and braced for anything she might do. Nurse Redheart wasn't sure what to think. She had heard stories about Changelings being scary, cold, heartless evil doers but she didn't see that. Instead she saw a Changeling that wasn't aggressive nor hateful. In fact this one looked scared rather than evil. It was like a wounded animal caught in a corner. "Well? What are you waiting for?" Sclerite asked losing his patience. "Hmm?" "Aren't you going to get the guards? Have me arrested? Or do you plan to kill me right here, right now?" "What? No-" "No? What do you mean no?" "If I told everypony who you were, who knows what they might do to you." "But I'm your enemy! You-" Nurse Redheart quickly lunged at him and covered his mouth with a hoof. "As a nurse, I help everyone. I'm not going to treat you differently just because you're a Changeling fighting for your Hive," she said before releasing him. Sclerite was speechless. Is this all a dream? Why would a pony care about a Changeling? They've conquered many other nations to become the biggest superpower on the continent. It just didn't make any sense. There has to be some kind of ulterior motive. Nurse Redheart interrupted Sclerite's thoughts, "I was hoping to ask why your Hive had attacked?" "You mean you don't know?" Sclerite responded. "Well let me tell you. We are barely surviving. The love that we store for future use needs to be refilled once in a while. We were content with stealing love until the day Equestria began a massive conquest which eventually marked the Equestrian borders we see today. Ever since that event a thousand years ago, we have been preparing for the day you Equestrians would return. Now, we are ready, and the attack was supposed to be a warning against Equestria if they ever thought of expanding their territory again," he answered. "Thank you, and don't worry. Your secret is safe with me," Nurse Redheart said as she walked out the door. "Remember, if you need anything just use the buzzer next to your bed." Sclerite returned to his Acid Base disguise. It was unlikely she would keep her word, if anything he was expecting Royal Guards to be stationed outside so they can arrest him. He grabbed the book from the nightstand and began to read. Author's Note I'm back! It's been a while but I've decided to at least revive this story and see how it does compared to the other one.
Chapter 2: A Visit to a BoutiqueSclerite set his eyes towards the large circular building. It was well decorated as if the pony who owned it cared deeply about the outward appearance of the store. The first order of business would be to scout it. At least he didn't have to worry about being seen entering until it's too late for the pony he was going to grab. Sclerite opened the front door and a bell rang. Not long after a white unicorn came down the stairs. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique," she said. "How may I help you?" "I'm mostly looking for a hat," he said looking around. "Well I do believe I have a hat that would suit such a handsome gentle colt such as yourself." Suddenly the door opened again and Sclerite saw Sweetie Belle at the door. "Hey Rarity! I'm just getting the book on fixing a scooter I borrowed from Twilight. Oh hey Acid Base!" Sweetie Belle said. "Hey Sweetie Belle!" Sclerite responded in a friendly fashion. He watched as the little filly went upstairs. "You know Sweetie Belle?" the unicorn apparently named Rarity asked. "Yeah, I met her earlier today," he said carefully leaving out the fact that he allowed himself to get run over by a scooter. "Okay," Rarity said a bit suspicious. "Anyway are you new here in Ponyville?" "Yeah, I just arrived today from... Canterlot," Sclerite responded. Hopefully he wasn't giving too much away. "I heard there was a Changeling attack there after I left," That ought to cover some of his tracks. "Well darling, I was actually there when it happened." "Really? Must have been scary, seeing all those Changelings up close." "It wasn't too bad, but their carapaces were some of the ugliest things I've ever seen." Sclerite had to hold himself back from those words. It was one thing to be insulted for being smaller and weaker than other Changelings. It was another to be insulted for having a carapace color that he couldn't change in his true form. "Thank you for your time miss Rarity but I should get going," Sclerite said trying to hide the fact that he felt offended by her. When Sclerite got out the door he noticed a few royal guards patrolling the street. This day was getting worse every second. Author's Note I'm finally back. I also edited the first chapter of this story because it just didn't feel right. Enjoy the story.
