Chapter 6 - The New Invasion

It was a long train ride home.  At least it seemed like it.  Rarity was still excited about being commissioned to make dresses for the princesses.  This was an even bigger deal than a wedding dress for the client's niece.

To Asouva however, it was just another day.  Not having lived with the Celestia as his princess, he didn't have the same feelings of reverence toward her.  As a result, he thought nothing of walking up to her and taking her measurements in front of her class.  To her credit, the princess didn't react in any way and kept her focus and attention on teaching.

The only nerve-wracking thing about it was being in the heart of a former enemy's territory, where the slightest mishap could spell an untimely demise.  Being tackled by the guard in front of said class didn't help smooth things over either.

“Rarity, are you sure this is a good idea?” Asouva asked.  “Even in the privacy of your own home?  Somepony is bound to see me, and when they do-”

“Don't be silly, Asouva,” Rarity interrupted him.  “No one will even know a likeness of the princess is present.”

“Okay...” Asouva wasn't confident in Rarity's assertion, but boss's orders... He found a dark spot in Carousel Boutique to hide in to make his shift into a perfect likeness of Princess Celestia.

Rarity hopped and squealed in delight.  “It's perfect!  I'll be able to make such wonderful dresses with your help!”

Asouva nervously shifted from one set of hooves to the other.  “Here are the princess's measurements,” he said, levitating a small note out of his bag and toward Rarity.  Asouva's voice even mimicked the princess's perfectly.

Rarity was awestruck by the performance.  It also gave Rarity the idea for a prank, but it was probably the same prank idea that EVERYPONY had upon finding a Changeling friend.  “Hey can you turn into this pony and show up at another pony's house and see their reaction?”  Rarity chuckled to herself and thought that was more Pinkie Pie's game.  A lady such as herself did not partake in such immaturity.

Princess Celestia's horn glowed a green color as she levitated a piece of parchment out of her saddlebag.  The parchment contained the measurements that Rarity sought so she could begin on the dress.

“Now, I need something dazzling, something truly befitting our fine matriarchs...”

-***-

Tumbler was done adventuring for the day and headed back into town.  Thoughts raced through his head regarding his encounter.  His “task” was simple, deliver a message.  Then, he is to come back to the castle and await further instructions.

Once arriving in Ponyville, he set out to find Asouva.  Last he heard, the “Exuvia” was working for Ponyville's fashionista, Rarity.  Tumbler picked up the pace and nearly galloped toward Carousel Boutique.  No one paid him any mind as he ran by, being just an Earth Pony gardener, nothing really stood out about him.  Tumbler knocked on the front door once he arrived at the boutique.  Hearing a crash come from inside, he knocked on the door more urgently.

-***-

Rarity and her employee heard a knocking on the door.  “I wonder who that could be...”  Forgetting he was in Celestia's shape, Asouva was about to go answer it.  Then he sensed something was wrong.

“Rarity... hide,” was all Asouva said.

“What is going-” Rarity began but got cut off.

“NOW!” Asouva yelled, firing a blast from his horn he knocked Rarity into a closet and shut the door.  The knocking on the door got louder and more insistent.  Asouva opened the door with his horn and saw his friend standing there.

“Hello,” was all Asouva said, a stern look across his face.  Well, across Princess Celestia's face.

“Hello my friend!  Care to come explore the forest with me today?” his friend asked.  Something was very off, and Asouva knew exactly what it was.

“You can cut the charade,” Asouva warned, “I know you're not Tumbler.”

“Aww, this could've gone much smoother.  Still, a Changeling usually can see through another Changeling's disguise...”

“Is that why you thought the real Rainbow Dash was a Changeling taking her shape?”

“Middle of combat, mistakes happen.”  Tumbler grinned.  “The general wants you to come back with us.  You're too much of a threat in pony hooves.”

“Verdant or Cobalt?” Asouva asked, changing the subject.

“I beg your parden?”  Tumbler didn't quite follow.

“Which of the queen's generals is here?  Verdant or Cobalt?” Asouva asked again, a little more smug this time, almost as if he was taunting the visitor.

“I don't see why it matters,” the visitor said, trying to dismiss Asouva's question.

“It matters because I want to know how much hurt you'll be in when they realize you're interrupting my reconnaissance mission.”  It was a long shot, but Asouva was going to avoid the other Changelings at all costs if he could.  Bluffing this one may be effective.

“No way!  They called you Exuvia, you're banished from the hive!”

“And yet they want me back.  Doesn't that seem odd to you?”

“Grr...”

“Why do you think I'm in the princess's form?”

“Because you were hired here at the dress shop and they figured the best way your shapeshifting could be put to use in a trusting manner would be as a clothes mannequin.  Don't think I haven't been watching you.”

“You would think that, but no.  This happens to be the home of the most popular fashionista in Ponyville who visits the spa regularly.  She's privy to all sorts of gossip as a result, so I'm spying on her.”

The visitor took a step back.  Something about Asouva's story didn't check out.  He knew that Changelings were supposed to be accomplished liars as it was a necessary skill for them to feed.  A Changeling didn't lie to another Changeling though.  They were a swarm.  They lived together, they fought together, and most importantly they ate together.

“Wait, you said she's the most popular fashionista in Ponyville.  Isn't she the only fashionista in Ponyville?”

“That just makes her much more important.  Don't you know anything about civilizations or have you been waiting back at the hive too long for the queen to come back with food?”

The visitor chuckled at the accusation, an obvious attempt to rile him up, make him lose his cool.  “Anyways, if what you're saying is true, we wouldn't have the Earth Pony I'm pretending to be held hostage.  I was told to tell you to get to the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters in the Everfree Forest.  General Cobalt wants you back in the swarm's custody.  You're too dangerous to leave alone in pony care.”

A groan was heard coming from the closet.  Asouva turned his head to look, which invited another chuckle from the Changeling visitor.  “You have our demands.  Tumbler is unharmed for now,” a smile formed on his lips, “but it'd be a shame if something were to happen to him should you fail to comply.”

With that, the visitor left, bidding Asouva a good night.  When no one else was within sight, 'Tumbler' assumed his true Changeling shape and flew off back toward the castle in Everfree.

Asouva simply stood in the doorway, shocked at what had just transpired.  If he did go with Tumbler that day into the forest, Tumbler still would've been safe, but he wouldn't have been able to help Rarity with her work in Canterlot.  He certainly wouldn't have had a chance to speak with the princess herself, and be so close to her physically that he could take her measurements for a dress that she commissioned on the spot in front of her class.

No.  Friendship before profit.  He would go to the castle.  He will see what Cobalt wanted, and see about freeing Tumbler somehow.  Maybe an exchange could be made.  He would need to seek help.  Or would it be too risky?  So many thoughts flooded his mind at that moment, but all of them were interrupted by a loud gasp.  At first from behind him (Rarity), but then also from several different ponies in front of him.  Then the love started flowing in, force-feeding him as he suddenly noticed several ponies in front of him, and he was still in Princess Celestia's shape.  He smiled and waved to all of them, then quickly shut the door.

Rarity was the first to speak.  “Enjoying the attention are we?”  A smile crept across her face.  “Who was at the door?  And why did you throw me in the closet?”

Asouva assumed his normal shape again, panting afterwards.  “It was another Changeling.  Apparently they've set up a small base in Everfree, at the old castle.  They want me to go with them to be their prisoner instead of staying here.”

“But why?” Rarity inquired, “You've done nothing wrong.”  Noticing his apparent fatigue, she asked a follow-up question, "Dear, you look exhausted, are you alright?"

"That happens when I try to take a shape beyond my mass and maintain it for too long," Asouva explained.  "But enough about me, they have Tumbler!”

"I shall notify Twilight," Rarity said and ran out the door toward the library.

"Have everyone meet me in the library, I have a plan."

-***-

The next evening, Asouva crossed the ancient bridge to the castle ruin. There seemed to be no one there, but Asouva knew better.

“I’m here!” He shouted, “Let me see Tumbler!”

A few heart beats passed, and then the Changeling Hunters emerged from the shadows of the castle, three of them, with more probably inside.  The front door opened, and General Cobalt stepped forth.  Clad in his blue armor, the general narrowed his multifaceted eyes at Asouva, the bitterness evident.

“So good of you to come, Exuvia!” Cobalt called, “Or should I say, Asouva?  Your surrender will make our job much easier!”

“I accept your deal,” Asouva said, taking a step forward.  “Take me in exchange for the Earth Pony.”

"Very well."  The general nodded, and one of the two Changelings accompanying him entered the doorway to go retrieve the Earth Pony.

-***-

Inside the castle's main hall, Tumbler lay tied up and unconscious, rendered so by Changeling magic.  He had two guards who stood to either side of him, alert and at the ready.  Despite their vigilance, they never heard a silent somepony creeping in through an adjacent hole in the structure.

The stealthy somepony picked up a small rock in one hoof and lobbed it high across the room.  It made a small clack when it hit the stone and the two Changelings whirled around to see the sound's origin.  That was all the shadowy assailant needed.

The first guard was felled by a blow to a weak point in the Changeling's carapace, right behind the left shoulder blade; the pressure point knocked the guard unconscious before he hit the ground.  The second guard turned back, but was too slow, a hoof colliding with the side of his face, followed by a rapid fire assault of blows to the torso.  The second guard crumpled to the ground.  The intruder stealthily hid the two bodies and waited in the shadows.

Some muffled talking could be heard from outside, then hoofsteps were heard approaching the door.  With the door already ajar, a hoof was able to just reach in and pull it open the whole way.

-***-

"I'm so glad you came to your senses, drone.  These ponies are not your friends, they just want to use you, and exploit you for their own personal gain."

"You're wrong!" Asouva retorted, taking a step forward.  "The ponies have shown nothing but kindness and understanding to me since showing up in Ponyville, starting with the one you captured."

"An act, to further their own ends, no doubt."  Cobalt snickered.

Just then, three Changelings descended from the sky, carrying with them the Earth Pony known as Tumbler still tied up.  The Changelings set him down on his feet and proceed to untie him.  One of the newly arrived Changelings quickly blinked his eyes twice at Asouva while Tumbler nodded toward the others.

Tumbler trotted down the stairs to join Asouva.  He grinned as he approached, turning the brisk trot into a galloping tackle!  Both landed on the ground, rolling a few yards before coming to a stop.

"You're not Tumbler!" Asouva said.

Tumbler quickly zapped Asouva with a green beam, dispelling the illusion and revealing the Changeling to be none other than Twilight Sparkle.  "Looks like you're not Asouva either," he chuckled.

"What is this!?" Cobalt asked incredulously.

"Elements!" Twilight called out as she kicked the Changeling off of her, "ATTACK!"

The two Earth Ponies and other Unicorn jumped out from behind the nearby trees, while the two Pegasi swooped down from above, getting into a combat stance.

Cobalt snarled and barked out the orders for his detachment to attack as well.  The four remaining soldiers got into attack formation, ready to strike, then one of them smiled then delivered a powerful kick to the adjacent Changeling.

"That's twice you fell for that trick!" the Changeling said.

Cobalt turned toward the kicker and snarled.  "Asouva!!!" he yelled, unable to contain his rage, he lunged toward the real Asouva.

The two groups charged each other, not unlike the Battle of Canterlot at the Royal Wedding.  The General wasn't kidding when he referred to Asouva as an elite fighter.  Asouva easily dodged to the side with such finesse and speed, using one leg to sweep Cobalt off his hooves, then putting both fore-hooves on his back, pushing him down to the ground.  Asouva followed up by placing his rear hooves on Cobalt's back, and using the general's body as a spring board to take to the air.

Cobalt gets up and charges Asouva, connecting with a strong kick to the side.  Asouva is knocked over and sent rolling a small distance.

Asouva stood up and charged Cobalt.  Cobalt grinned as he readied his counter attack, then suddenly POOF!  Asouva disappeared!  The general looked around, not believing his eyes.  "What!  Where did you..."

POW!  A green beam hit Cobalt from behind, forcing him into the ground face first again.  As he tried to get up, Asouva's hoof drove him back into the dirt again.  Looking around, he saw that his soldiers didn't fare much better.  It was four against six, not including himself or Asouva though.

Cobalt was furious.  How could he be tricked and his soldiers taken down so easily?  He was a General, one of only two Changelings to hold that rank in the Queen's armies.  General Verdant was going to have a field day with this one.  Worse yet, he may end up becoming an Exuvia himself for this disgrace.

Asouva looked down on the General, still on the floor.  The Elements of Harmony just looked upon Asouva is disbelief.  "Take your unit back to the Queen," Asouva said, "and report that you have failed."  The next statement came with a smile, "And you might also suggest that she send no further drones to this land, lest they share the same fate."

Cobalt raised his head from the ground, confused and frustrated.  "You could've come back with us, Asouva, and got your old rank back.  You could have been so much more, but instead you waste your energies with these... little ponies."  The last part was said in a disgusted tone, as if the words just tasted bad in his mouth.

"Nah, I find that having real friends and not to mention a steady limitless food supply is better than any rank or prestige I may have had in the hive," Asouva said.  "If your queen was smart, she would have come honestly and asked for help instead of trying to stage a hostile takeover."  Asouva looked over to Pinkie Pie and the rest of the elements of Harmony and smiled as he said, "You know, the whole thing about luring more flies with sugar and honey than with piss and vinegar."

Cobalt frowned at the analogy.  He got back up and dusted himself off.  "Drones!" he barked out, "We fly!"  He immediately took to the sky above the roofless castle rotunda where the elements of harmony were kept long ago.  The other four Changelings groggily stood up and looked around, confused.  Three more walked out, similarly dazed.

"NOW!" Cobalt yelled.  All seven of the Changelings took to the skies after their General as they departed, leaving the ponies alone at the castle.

It was a rough fight for everyone, all showing the signs of fatigue.  "Let's just... all go home now," Twilight said.

"Wait!" a voice called out from behind the door.

A tied up Earth Pony emerged from the door, hopping as best he could out of the castle where he met his worst foe, the stairs.  Tumbling down the stairs until he wound up on the ground, on his back, and in a world of hurt.

"Let's get him to the hospital," Applejack said.  Twilight and Pinkie Pie pick up Tumbler and put him on Applejack's back.  They all begin their trip back to Ponyville.

"Well Tumbler," Asouva began, "you've always wanted me to see the castle with you..."

"I wish it could've been in... ow.. better circumstances," Tumbler replied, still in pain from rolling down the stairs.

"If only I had-"

"No, don't you dare," Tumbler interrupted.  "You can't blame yourself for things you can't predict.  I'm just as much at fault for going alone into the forest to begin with."

Tumbler had a point, Asouva thought.

"So enough of this blame game, and just be glad we can go home and not to some Changeling hive, okay?"

"Alright," Asouva conceded.

-***-

"You really have a knack for ending up in here," Nurse Wintergreen said.  Asouva and the Elements of Harmony had just arrived at the hospital with Tumbler on Applejack's back.

"Yes, I'll need my frequent customer card punched again," Tumbler joked.

Once the necessary paperwork was filled, Tumbler was assigned a room.  As he lay on his back, he examined his surroundings.  There was little else but a curtain, an end table with a lamp on it, and a book cart.  On the other side of the drawn curtain, there was an identical bed with a similar end table, lamp, and book cart.  Tumbler chuckled to himself, thinking this must have been the same thing Asouva woke up to back when he was first here.

"Well, it seems the roles are reversed," Asouva said, walking in the door with a big grin on his face.

Tumbler sighed to himself, dreading his embarrassing circumstances.  Locked up away from his house, injured from the impact of tumbling down the stairs and now unable to do his job in the early mornings.

"Yes, I suppose," Tumbler said.

Asouva's smile got even bigger then assumed Tumbler's shape.  "Now, you're a fascinating creature, I've never seen anyone like you before, what are you?  Where do you come from?  What's your name?  How did you end up in the Everfree Forest?"

The questions just kept coming, and Tumbler knew what Asouva was doing.  It was payback time.  But more importantly, it was good to be back in Ponyville with his friend.