The Changeling race was always regarded with mistrust and suspicion. It never was easy on them, but they had earned their hostile reputation when Queen Chrysalis unified all the hives and nearly succeeded at invading Canterlot.

Since then, Contempt between the two races always existed, and the princesses of Equestria are running out of ways to achieve an amicable solution. Things had been relatively quiet in the continent of Equus. The Changelings mainly stay in their borders, and the ponies never cross over without a good reason. This tenuous peace has lasted for years now. The Equestrians live their life in solitude and tranquility, and the Changelings continue to grow and expand on the inside.

Yet as time passes, the Changelings grow more aggressive. They expand into neighboring territories. They seized natural resources, coveted by an existential drive of vengeance against Canterlot; against Equestria; against a world that had shunned them.

But this is not to be a documentary of the events that had occurred, both military and political. This is not a narrative that strives to find a sense in what had happened. This is not a grand, expositional retelling of a soldier's story through a conflict.

This is the life of a Changeling incognito, in a hostile world of ugliness.

This story is for the fourth annual Equestria at War Writing Contest.