Meet The Change Gang

Soon enough, the Change Gang stood in front of Chrysalis in the throne room, as each sibling patiently waited with bated breath to hear what their Queen had to say to them. Just what had they done this time? Was she going to send them out to fend for themselves? Or was she going to send them to live with... them? The traitors who took everything away from them?

It was only a few moments of silence between them, and Cricket Cluster was already cowering behind Venom Stinger, shuddering. “I’m scared.”

Scorch only rolled his eyes at his brother’s rather childish reaction. “Oh, knock it off, Cricket. You’re always such a baby when it comes to moments like this. I don’t see what you find scary about... silence,” the red-schemed changeling mocked him playfully.

As if his shyness was nonexistent unlike his own snarky side, Cricket muttered under his breath, “I’d say you’re blind then.”

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Out of nowhere, Scorch flashed a glare at his Cricket. For a hot-headed changeling, he was perfectly capable of giving off a rather cold expression of threat. If looks could kill, indeed...

Caught off guard by Scorch’s harshly blunt reaction, Cricket was unable to find a comeback to this, so he could only stare back with his emerald green eyes wide in fear. To him, Scorch could be even scarier than Chrysalis.

“Enough, both of you!” Chrysalis banged her hoof on the side of her stone solid throne.

“Then get on with what you were gonna tell us already!” Flutterwings exclaimed in a pouty tone, trotting her own hole-filled forelegs. The fact that she was a changeling did not mean that she had just as low amount of patience as any other young child, pony or not.

“Okay, okay, fine,” Chrysalis calmed down the nymph, before standing up and towering over her five subjects. “So we remember the last time I used any of you in any attacks we have had on those pesky ponies, do we?”

“Er... You sent me and Scorch to impersonate the royal sisters, my Queen,” Spiny Spiracle said, “and you sent the other 3 to impersonate the Royal Family in the Crystal Empire.”

“And the time before that?”

“The Wedding in Canterlot?”

“WRONG!” The changeling queen pounded her hoof again, making the teal-schemed drone jump.

“Okay! Okay, then you only sent us out once!” he replied frantically.

“Correct.”

Spiny struggled to fix his goggles. Sure, he was intelligent enough to recall past events of the changelings no matter how long ago they occurred. He still remained a cowardly changeling like his brother Cricket, only to a lesser extent though.

“So, why are we here?” Venom folded his forelegs, getting just as impatient as his younger sister.

“This is for the sake of our species,” Chrysalis started. “For as long as we can remember, the swarm-“

“We went over that already.” Spiny raised a hoof, as if he had pressed a pause button that suddenly stopped the Queen’s incoming speech dead in its tracks. Scorch only let out an exaggerated yawn in agreement.

Chrysalis slapped a hoof against her forehead in exasperation. “Right,” she mumbled, before clearing her throat and starting to make her way around her young and eager subjects.

“So, you see, here’s what I want you guys to do...”

As she went over her plan to the five changelings, none of them were aware of Thistle Thorn getting all the information she had...

A group of male drones jumped when they heard a scream from the throne room of their Queen.

“Yow! What was that?!” A yellow drone exclaimed, paranoiacally glancing left and right for any shrieking drones in the area.

“That, Termite, is probably the sound of Venom freaking out over his precious leg holes,” Netwing smirked smugly.

“Seriously? Is the Change Gang even close to getting the role they were talking about?” A gray drone groaned.

“I highly doubt that Sawfly,” the orange-schemed changeling bitterly replied. “The Change Gang contributes to so little of our hive’s development, that it’s like they’re nonexistent.”

“That’s only because they lack a role. Now if they did have a role, they’d probably—“

“I know that, Pincer!” Netwing snapped back at the brown drone who said that. “What I’m saying is that they don’t, okay?!”

“Sheesh...” Pincer could only grumble at the orange-schemed changeling’s usual snippy attitude. Like Termite and Sawfly, he was used to Netwing being like this on a 24/7 basis. They too, had a rivalry with the Change Gang.

“Speak of Celestia,” Netwing smirked when the group of drones they were talking about practically walked up to them. “So, did ya get the job you wanted? Or are you gonna spend another ‘two dreadful hours’ cleaning up the nursery?” The orange droned teased smugly again.

It was at that moment when that insult was only met with a grin forming on the Change Gang’s faces, their eyes also widening with excitement. This greatly perplexed Netwing and his clique. What exactly did Chrysalis say to them back in the throne room?

It was Flutterwings’ turn to break the silence; by that, however, shatter the silence into pieces with a loud, energetic exclaim of pure joy:

“WE’RE BEING SENT AS SPIES!”

The Change Gang started cheering, with the exception of Venom Stinger, who smirked towards the now shocked-silent orange drone.

“Yep. We got a job to do.”

“Don’t get too worked up yet, my subjects,” Chrysalis said to the changelings, as their victorious moment died down for her to speak again. “I’m not giving you all the time we got in Equestria to bring back the information about the fate of King Thorax.”

“They get to spy on Thorax?!” Sawfly protested, even more flabbergasted.

Netwing smacked him with a foreleg. “Shut up.”

“I’m giving you lot at least three hundred and twelve hours to bring back important information,” Chrysalis continued.

“That’s... thirteen days, right?” Spiny calculated.

“Psh. We can do that in twelve days. Right, gang?”Venom Stinger bragged, just to get on Netwing’s nerves even more.

“Is that a challenge?” The changeling queen raised an eyebrow. “In that case, let’s turn that into twelve days instead, shall we? Are you happy now?”

“I’d prefer eleven,” the blue-schemed changeling replied.

The Queen’s irritated glare grew as this pointless little debate continued. “Ten.”

“Nine.”

“Eight!”

“Seven—“

It ended right at seven, however, when Spiny irritatedly slapped a hole-infested hoof over Venom’s bragging mouth. “Seven! Seven days. That’s a hundred and sixty eight hours. Perfect!” The goggle-wearing changeling sweated nervously as he withdrew his leg, trying to ignore Venom’s nasty glare afterwards.

“Fine! That gives you a week to gather information about those traitors. Once you’re not back here before that time ends... Things aren’t gonna be pretty,” Chrysalis turned away again.

The Change Gang looked down in a moment of thought... Where would they go if they failed this mission? What would she do with them? Would they be considered traitors just like the rest who have been long gone? They had so many questions.

There was one question they actually asked aloud, though:

“Can we get worked up now?” Flutterwings did her signature bounce.

“Yes.”

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!” The Change Gang continued their moment of victory and achievement, before they immediately headed to the hive entrance. Their jovial shouts of happiness echoed as they bounced off the hive walls as they ran. This immediately got Netwing on his last ounce of tranquility.

“Aw, come on, man,” Termite tried to reassure the orange drone. “They’re pretty much bound to fail anyway. Just give them a week.” He was expecting Netwing to punch him until the yellow drone had more holes than he currently did, but the orange-schemed drone only grumbled and stormed off, leaving the rest of his crew behind.

“Er... you wanna go get him?”

“I’m staying out of this one.”