Different

I shot out of bed, awoken by screaming once again. I looked up to see that a random pony had entered my room as I was sleeping. This pony was a mare unicorn with pink fur. She had a purple mane and tail with light blue highlights. She also had purple eyes to match.

She seemed to have her horn ready to attack, "What the fuck is a changeling doing here?"

I fell off the bed in a way that put the bed between me and her. "I live here, this is my temporary room until Twilight can convince the town not to kill me. I am reformed and mean no one any harm. Did Twilight not tell you about me?" I decided that it would be best if I kept it simple and to the point.

She made her way further into the room, pointing her horn at me. She looked both confused but still very much ready to fight. "No, she did not tell me about a changeling living in the castle."

"Well, we can wait for her. She said she was going to get me in the morning for breakfast." I said, getting ready to activate a magic shield for my protection in case she decided to start something.

She smirked, "You know what, fine. If that is the case, then we shall wait here and see."

We both waited there in a stalemate until Twilight arrived. This was interesting because this pony was willing to hear the entire story before jumping straight to trying to kill me. After what seemed to be a few long minutes, Twilight did eventually arrive. She entered the room to see both of us staring at each other in a defensive position.

Twilight walked into the room mainly to diffuse the situation. "Good morning, Starlight, I see you made it home a bit earlier than expected. I also see that you met Blue. Do not worry about him, he's a reformed changeling who is on our side of the war. I can explain more when we are eating, I just finished making breakfast." As she said this, she turned and walked away.

Starlight looked at Twilight as she was leaving with a sideways glance before looking back at me. "Huh... I guess you were right. I have never met a reformed changeling before, are you the first or something?"

I lowered my defenses, "Yes, or at least we think I am. I have not met another reformed changeling in the wild before, so I have no idea."

Starlight lowered her defenses also. "Interesting, I am also reformed myself technically. It's a long story, but to keep it short I was an evil dictator who essentially enslaved a town of ponies and brainwashed them with my own ideas and social constructs. I did this while forcing them to all be exactly the same, down to the cutie mark. That was... before Twilight showed me how powerful the magic of friendship really is. If Twilight says you're on our side, then that is more than enough for me. Now let's go get some breakfast, I'm starving." As she finished saying this, she turned to walk to the dining room.

I stood there for a few extra seconds simply trying to take in what this pony just told me. She essentially told me that she was a ruler of a town of brainwashed ponies, but in the most casual way possible. That was not something I was expecting to hear. I shook it off, transformed into my pony self, and started walking to the dining room.

After getting lost a couple times, I eventually made my way into the dining room. This place felt as though it was much bigger on the inside than it appeared to be on the outside. I found my way there by following the smell of food. Upon entering the room, I saw that Twilight, Starlight, and a small dragon were sitting at the table. The food had an array of waffles, juices, fruits, muffins, toast, and what smelt like coffee. I sat down at the table, looking at everyone else.

Twilight looked up at everyone, seeing that everypony was now at the table. "Everyone, this is Blue. He is going to be staying with us for the next few days or so. Let me be clear and say that he is a reformed changeling. That means he is not here to hurt us, but rather to help us fight against the hive. Also, before you ask, he is not the reason why I have a bandage wrapped around my side."

The dragon at the table spoke up. He was a small purple dragon with green scales, eyes, and chest. "Wait, this pony is a changeling!? Seems a bit dangerous having him live here, doesn't it?"

Twilight looked over at the dragon, "Spike, I know how it seems, but I can assure you that he is safe to be around. Now, enjoy the breakfast I made. We have a long day ahead of us."

As soon as Twilight said this, I started digging into the food placed at my spot at the table. While eating, Starlight looked up to Twilight. "What do you have going on today that will make today long?"

"We need to test all of the guards stationed here at Ponyville because Blue thinks that a good amount of them are undercover changelings." Twilight said, before taking a bite of her waffles.

"How do you plan on doing that? There are a lot of guards here." Starlight said, looking up at her.

"That is the part that I am not sure about. I am going to discuss it later with my friends. I was thinking we start by finding a building with enough space to fit all the guards in a way that prevents any of them from leaving." Twilight said, looking back at her.

I just sat there and listened to them going back and forward while enjoying the food. This food was honestly something I needed. The flavor of the coffee, tied with the stacks of waffles and toast, caused me to lose focus on the conversation. Eventually I noticed that they changed the subject to something along the lines of Starlight describing the Crystal Empire, but I was not paying enough attention to really be listening in.

After a little while of eating and various small conversation, we finished breakfast. I helped to clean everything up. I was not one who liked taking something from someone and not helping them in return. Luckily her kitchen was in the next room over, so we did not have to take the dishes that far away. As we were halfway through cleaning the dining room, Twilight's friends had arrived.

After we finished cleaning up the dining room, we all made our way collectively to the map room to begin planning. The only pony who did not attend this meeting was Starlight. Twilight had set up a chair for me right next to hers.

Pinkie Pie spoke first, "I can see the changeling is still alive. I can only assume that means that Celestia and Luna think he is on our side?"

Twilight looked at Pinkie, "Yes, and he has already given the higher commanding officers of the guard vital information. That is part of what we are here today for. Blue thinks that some of the guards here are actually undercover changelings who have been letting in other changelings while on post. We are going to have to find a way to test them and ensure they are really royal guards."

Fluttershy spoke up, "How are we going to test all the guards and prove they are who they say they are? Is there a way we could identify all these guards?"

Twilight glanced to me for a second before looking back up to respond. "Simple actually. All we need to do to see if they are a changeling or not is to poke them and make them bleed. Turns out that changelings cannot change the color of their blood. We need to figure out how to do it in a way that forces the guards to get tested one at a time. This is because we are going to tell the guards that this will be a general test of health and ensure they are doing good medically. This way if there are any changelings in the mist then they would not grow suspicious of what the test really is. We are going to take something small, like a needle or prick, and give them a blood test. When we come across a changeling, we are going to make sure they get taken away without any other changelings seeing. This needs to be organized so that it does not take too long."

Rainbow Dash barked in, "Wait, but if we have all the guards in one location then who is going to take their posts in the meantime? This will leave Ponyville temporarily unprotected."

Twilight paused to think, "I was hoping that you guys would stand their posts long enough for the first few guards to get tested and return to their posts."

Apple Jack cut in, "Ok, this sounds good an' all but what exactly is stoppin' the guards from gettin' replaced by more changelings in the meantime?"

"Simple, we will be implanting identification chips into their armor after they are tested to ensure that the pony behind the armor knows the personal information of the guard who is meant to have said armor. This is so that if a changeling does end up getting discovered posing as a guard again in the future, they would be found out due to not being able to answer personal information about the guard they are posing as." Twilight said, looking around the room at everyone.

Rarity spoke next, "Right, but do you have those chips now? If not, what will you be doing in the meantime?"

Twilight paused for a few seconds before realizing that she did not have the chips yet. "Oh... I suppose in all the planning we have been doing I forgot to actually ask for the chips. I am not sure what we could do in the meantime."

I spoke next, "Oh, I can answer that question. There is a data base built into those scanners you would use to scan the tags. All the scanning does is instantly look up the information of the guard. However, you can still go onto the device and type in their identification number. This does the same thing, just with a few added steps. You can do the same thing with someone's E.I.C. Instead of scanning the card you can type in the card number and get the same information. Scanning the cards simply goes over that step and takes the guard straight to their information. I only know this because there was one day that I forgot my E.I.C when trying to get into a music competition. I simply told them my card number and answered a few personal questions they had for me based on the information in the database. It is not the most secure way of doing things as anyone in a non-tagged armor set can use anyone's number if they find a way to get one. Once the armor gets tagged then it will be more secured because you have to know the specific number given to the armor instead of being able to throw out a random guards number."

Everyone looked at me after I said this. Twilight spoke out, "It is almost scary how much you know about how these things operate. I suppose that is a good idea for now. We just need to make sure that we get those tags as soon as possible. Anyways, does anyone have any idea on how we can do this?"

Rarity answered first, "I think it would be best if you do it in a fashion similar to an assembly line. All you would need to do is find a building with multiple rooms that connect to each other. The first room can be a generalized waiting room. Each guard will walk into the next room one at a time. This room will be locked so that no one changelings can escape after being found out. Next, they leave to a third room and wait. You can have the guards wait in this room so that they do not leave and tell anyone about what the test really is. This way when you do discover a changeling, you have a room filled with guards for them to get thrown into. I seriously doubt a changeling would be stupid enough to attempt fighting a room filled with royal guards."

I looked up to Rarity, "You'd be surprised actually. Changelings will try many things if they are desperate enough."

Twilight looked back to Rarity, "That actually seems like a good idea. We can also have cages placed in the final room so that the guards can have them placed under control. The next question would be where to do this at."

Fluttershy spoke out, "Why not just do it here in the castle? You have a lot of rooms so surely one of them is two rooms deep. If a changeling gets found out here, that just means you have less distance to travel to place them into the holding cells."

Twilight perked up, "I was thinking that too, but if a changeling did manage to escape somehow then there would be a lot of places they could hide. We need a building that is smaller and more confined in space."

Pinkie butted in, "Why not just do it in the town hall? I know they have a room in the building that you can get to when you go into one of the hallways. That room connects to another room via a storage closet shared by both rooms. That third room links up with a hallway on the other side of the building close to where Mayor Mare's office is."

Rainbow Dash looked at her, "How do you know that?"

Pinkie giggled, "I am in the town hall center way more than you think I am. I love helping Mayor Mare with small jobs from time to time. The only thing you would need to do is ensure that the back room is locked and that no one enters the second hallway because that hallway loops back into the main room. Also, if you need some needles, I have a bunch lying around at sugar cube corner. It would be best if we used multiple so that we do not cross contaminate."

Twilight looked happy at this, "I can't believe I didn't think about that. We will go ahead and make our way to the town hall and ask Mayor Mare if we can use these rooms. Let's go ahead and start walking over. We need to get this done before anyone has a chance to realize what's about to happen."

They all looked at each other and nodded in agreement. We left the map room and made our way through town. As we were walking through town, I could tell that ponies were looking at Twilight. It was strange seeing her with bandages and them not know what happened. I could also tell that they had not yet been told about me because they were all looking at Twilight instead.

After a few minutes of walking, we all managed to make our way into the town hall. Pinkie managed to go get the needles and meet back up with us. Luckily, we did not have to look for the mayor as she was on the center stage setting something up. Twilight approached, "Good morning, we have a question for you. We have to inspect the royal guards to see if any of them are imposters. Pinkie told us about some rooms in here that loop around which would be perfect for our test. Can we borrow those rooms for a few hours?"

Mayor Mare looked up from what she was doing. "Of course, those rooms aren't being used for anything other than storage right now anyways. I mostly use those rooms as a short cut to the other side of city hall."

Twilight was happy about this, "Alright girls, lets go ahead and set up. Apple Jack, you can go into the final room. If a changeling does try to escape, you would be able to lasso them. Rarity, you are going to help me in the testing room. I could use your unicorn magic to help the testing go by quicker. Pinkie Pie, you get with Mayor Mare and help keep them in line and ensure no one leaves until we are done with testing. You will also ensure that only one guard enters the testing room at a time. Keep them entertained while they wait or something. Rainbow Dash, you and Fluttershy go into town and collect all the guards. Rainbow Dash will stand the entry post until we get the first guards tested and sent back to post. Any questions?"

I raised my hoof, "What will I be doing in the meantime?"

Twilight stood in though before answering, "Honestly, I think it would be best if you and spike headed back into the castle. The last thing we need is you being found out in a building filled with royal guards before I have a chance to tell them. I am going to tell the guards about you once I know all the changelings have been found."

Everyone looked at each other in agreement and went to their assigned duties. While this testing started, Spike and I started our walk back to the castle. As we were walking back, I noticed that Spike was keeping his distance away from me. Pour thing was scared of me, and I couldn't blame him. As we were walking, I decided to try to talk with him. "So, Spike was it? What is a dragon like yourself doing in Ponyville?"

He heard me talking to him and skulked slightly further away from me. I could see that he was not comfortable being around a changeling. I spoke back to him in a gentler tone. "Listen, I am not here to harm you or anyone you know. I can tell you are scared of me, which is fine. Certain beings have different ways of over coming fears. If you want me to stay away from you, I will be happy to do so. I do not want you to feel uncomfortable just because I am in your proximity. We just need to be close enough to walk to the castle, then you can go to your room or something while I wait in mine."

Spike seemed to calm down slightly after me telling him this, though he still kept his distance. With this war approaching, I can see why he was so scared. I had a feeling as though if we met without the word of a war then maybe he would've been more open.

We spent the rest of the walk to the castle in silence. Once we entered, Spike appeared to make a run for his room. I saw this and decided to wait in my room. The more I walked around this big building, the better I got used to the layout. My room was slightly difficult to find, though I was taking note of various landmarks in the castle on my way. This way, I could follow the castle landmarks to my room.

I did not know how long these tests were going to take, but it was enough for me to try to relax. I found the mirror located in the room and used this time to look over the stitches. I had noticed that they had almost completely healed by this point. I looked at my ear, which was now a symbol of change. I went through a lot to get to where I was today.

I knew it would be best if I did not linger too much on the fact that I was missing a part of me. I needed to think more on the fact that I was alive and being used as a token of change. I looked at the room around me, thankful for being allowed to be given such an opportunity after proving myself to those around me. Made me wonder how different my life would have been had I been born a normal changeling. I shudder to think of all the things that would've been different, but for the worse.

I sighed and trotted over to the bed. I looked up at the ceiling and tried to clear my mind. I was in the middle of starting to relax when I heard a noise outside my room. I shot up off of the bed and took another defensive position. I stood there, listening to the sound of someone outside the door.

The door slowly creaked open to reveal that Spike had found his way to my room. He saw me standing there and flinched slightly, but then did something I was not expecting. He turned to face me and held up a picture of a young Twilight Sparkle standing next to what looked like a dragon egg. He was very cautious but slowly entered the room.

Spike spoke in a manner that showed that even though he was scared, he was willing to talk. "You... you asked earlier why I was here. I am here because of Twilight. Now, I do not know what your intentions are, but I just want to make sure that Twilight is safe. She was essentially my mother and has raised me since hatching me from my egg. She is the one who opened my egg and began a long journey that she was not expecting to take. Now, I am not going to lie to you. I am scared, but I know deep inside that you aren't going to hurt me or Twilight. That is enough for me to tell myself that I need to overcome this fear. I was always taught that the best way to over come fear is to face it head on. I know that you are willing to defend Twilight which makes you ok in my book."

I shifted my stance to one that was more relaxed. I wanted to show him that I did not have any aggression in the way I was presenting myself. "Oh, well I respect you for that. I know how curious you must be of this entire situation. The ponies of this town are under my protection, which might not mean a lot to you."

Spike seemed to calm down a bit more after I changed my stance to a more relaxed one. Though, he did not walk further into the room yet. He continued, "I have never seen a changeling that was not evil before. I was at the wedding when the events of that day took place. Seeing your kind kill innocent ponies that day leaves me terrified. You though, you act nothing like them. I am thankful that you are on our side."

I saw that he was starting to warm up. "I was not at the wedding, but I know how horrible it is to watch changelings kill in mass. I was trained to do just that and was part of a small raid in an old town. That was my first time ever leaving the hive to attack, but I could not bring myself to do it. Seeing ponies die in such horrible ways told me that I was born on the wrong side. I fled the hive, hopefully to never have to witness that ever again. Hearing about what my kind did to your capital was horrifying news to me. I did not let to get to me too much though as I knew there would still be a chance for me to make it right. This war that is coming up was my chance. I really do not mean harm to anyone, but I will fight my own hive if it means the ponies are safe."

Saying this made Spike relax more. "You are a rogue? I have never heard of such a thing. Where did you live for the past few years then?"

I let out a small smile, "I spent the past four years or so in Manehattan as a musician."

Spike was caught of guard by this. "A musician? What kind of changeling are you?"

I looked at him, answering in a soft tone. "I am a changeling who goes against all of the world. I am one who does not let him race weigh him down. I am one who wanted to become a normal pony and did my best to make it happen. I only got caught because I let something slip. I am the first reformed changeling."

Spike finally moved closer into the room. He was not nearly as scared as he was in the beginning. "Can... Can I see it?"

I looked at him with a semi-blank stare. "Are you sure? I do not want you to be more scared than you already are."

Spike looked up to me, "I am going to see it sooner or later, might as well get it out to the way now."

I shrugged and decided to show him. The room filled with a green flash as I transformed into my true blue bug self. I stood there, awaiting Spikes reaction. Spike did seem to back away a bit, but then he stood his ground and forced himself to walk closer to me. Curiosity over took his fear as he made his way up to me. He was taking note of all the various holes and such. "I can see why your name is Blue, I never seen a changeling with your complexion. Granted I have never had enough time to really look at a changeling. I could never get a good look at them as they were always moving or fighting someone."

I let out a small chuckle. "Well now you have the chance to look at changeling anatomy. I might be blue, but the rest of me is exactly the same as every other changeling." I lifted my arm so that he could get a better look."

Spike then asked something I was not expecting. "So, does it hurt? When you transform, I mean?"

"Not really, it is kind of like asking a unicorn if it hurts to perform magic. Going into a pony form is essentially just a magic spell. Sure, the longer I stay as a pony the more tiring it becomes, but it is just part of who I am." I said, letting him touch me. Spike poked one of his claws through a hole in my hoof. I could tell he was now more willing to use this chance to study. I was happy to see him lighten up to me so quickly. If only a regular pony could do the same.

After a few minutes, Spike had enough changeling exploration for one day. "You know, despite being naturally evil, changelings are actually quite pretty creatures. There is just something so spectacular about changelings that leaves the world in wonder. Who knows, maybe if things were different, you would have more butterfly-like wings or more beautiful colors. I could only hope that there are more changelings like you out there. If you weren't a naturally evil group, I feel as though you would be the prettiest."

I blushed slightly, "Thank you Spike, no one has ever called me pretty before. They usually just call me a monster or bug. Then they either try to run away or kill me. I have gotten used to the abuse by now. Though, I have never been closer to death then when Izzy found out."

"Izzy from the tea shop? What were you doing with her?" Spike said, climbing up onto the bed to sit.

I smiled gently, "I used to work there. I moved to Ponyville about ten days ago and got a job working there. We were good friends while it lasted. She found out I was a changeling one day when a knife fell on me and cut me open. She nearly killed me, but somehow found enough strength inside to spare me. Granted she figured that Twilight would finish me off, but we will cross that bridge in the future."

Spike looked back at me from the bed, "I have never heard of a changeling surviving Izzy, so she must think something of you. Whether or not she wants to admit it."

I sighed, "I hope so because she was the first friend I have had. I did not make friends when I was in Manehattan as everyone there either keeps to themselves or are very rude."

Spike looked back softly, "I'm sure you will find more friends. Some friends you just have to let go of."

I smiled at this, sitting next to him on the bed. He looked up to me. "So, what are we going to do until they finish the testing?"

I sat there wondering there wondering the same thing. "I have no idea to be honest. I don't imagine that these tests will take longer than an hour or so. We can just chill here for a little while until they are finished."

Spike nodded, "Well in that case, I'm going to go get something ready. Tonight is game night with my friend Big Mac. They come over every other Saturday night to play Ogres and Oubliettes."

I looked up to Spike, " Oh, did you not hear? Big Mac is in the hospital for a sustained injury to his leg."

Spike shot up, "He is? What happened?"

I looked down slightly, "A large wooden beam hit him in the leg. Nails ended up digging into his legs and tearing his muscles apart."

Spike went from happy to sad. "Oh, I should go check up on him! I'm going to run over there and see if he is ok. When Twilight gets back, tell her I went to check on him."

I smiled, knowing that he cares about his friend. "I will do that. Who knows, maybe you could play the game in the hospital."

Spike laughed a little bit. I was trying to lift his spirit a tad, and it seemed to work. He ran out of the room, leaving me alone in the castle. I decided to stay in changeling form for now as being in pony form does take energy. It would be best if I conserved as much energy as possible. I decided it would be best if I passed the time by taking a nap.

It was much easier for me to relax into a nap in comparison to when I first arrived here. The castle was very still and quiet. I left the bedroom door open so that when the front door opened, I could hear it. Hooves echo loudly in this grand location against the tall crystal walls.

The nap was something I needed also because sleep helps the healing process. I knew that I would eventually need my stitches taken out. When they got back, I would have to ask Fluttershy when that would be. She was the one to put them in so I figured she would know better than anypony else.

I closed my eyes and let the time fly by. Taking a nap always seemed to make time appear as though it is sped up. This worked perfectly too because it did not take too long after I closed my eyes for me to hear the front door open. In what seemed to be a few minutes, hours had passed. The entire group ended up coming back to the castle. I got up, transformed into pony form, and trotted down the hall to greet them. Turns out that they had a few royal guards with them. This group of ponies had covered cages with them. Seems as though my suggestion of the royal guards being infiltrated was correct.

I walked up to Twilight, "How many did you end up finding?"

Twilight looked up to me with a grin as the guards continued down the hallway with the cages. "Out of the forty guards stationed here, ten of them were changelings. You were right, Blue, this was a huge find. We plan on testing the rest of the town in a similar manner. I need to send a letter to Celestia to let her know our findings. Ponyville is now better protected thanks to your insight. Where is Spike?"

"Oh, I told Spike about what happened to Big Mac, and he went to go visit him in the hospital." I said, watching the guards as they took the cages down the hallway and vanished behind a corner.

Apple Jack spoke out, "Aww, well that's mighty nice of him. Big Mac could use someone with him, I visited him last night and he told me how boring it was there."

Twilight looked back, "Well, that's fine. Though, we are not done with today. We still have one more thing we need to do before it is too late to do it right. We still need to introduce you to the town as the first reformed changeling."

I gave a look of shock, "Oh... right... this is not going to end well for me."

Rarity looked up at me, "Don't you worry darling, you'll have us to help back up your story. I know that they will not like it in the beginning, but surely after a little bit of explaining they will warm up to you. We already told Mayor Mare about you. She didn't take it well at first but eventually came to the realization that you can't be evil if we are vouching for you."

I looked at the group. "I kind of feel as though this is something that would go better if we had Celestia and Luna here for support."

Twilight walked up, placing a hoof on my shoulder. "I know this is scary for you, but it is mandatory. If you want the ponies to trust you and your decisions, then we need to take such steps. You have already done so much to help, whether you realized it or not. Come on, lets go back to the town hall and let everyone know. This will be a hard punch but will lead to more allies in the end."

I sighed but agreed. We all walked back to the town center. It appeared as though Twilight and her friends already told everyone to meet up at the center because as soon as we walked through the town hall doors it was very crowded. I scanned the crowd as we were walking up to the stage. The last time I was in front of this group was to kill a changeling, now I was up there to be outed as a changeling. This was not the best feeling, but I understood why it was necessary. I just had to get ready for the wave of emotions that were going to come out of this.

We made our way into the stage. The ponies were all looking around in confusion as they had no idea what this meeting was about. They did not see any crazy contraptions on the stage, so they knew it wasn't another execution. The crown was silenced when Twilight stood up to the podium. This all happened so quickly, I admit that I was hyperventilating slightly when standing on the stage next to this group of important ponies.

Twilight cleared her throat and finally spoke out. "Good morning, everypony. We are gathered today so that I may give you some big news. This is not something that we talk about lightly. As you may all know, there is an upcoming war with the changelings. This is not new news to anyone, though I do have something that is. Recently, we have been gifted a unique individual that stands before us today. A unique individual who has already given us so much against the hive. A lot of you may remember that last weekend we had an execution. What I am about to say next will come as a surprise to you all. The pony I am talking about today is none other than Blue Shadow. This same pony who willingly killed a changeling, has also given the government a lot of useful information. This pony saved my life when we were ambushed on a train to Canterlot. This pony here is something that is brand new to all of us. Blue Shadow is a reformed changeling."

The ponies in the crowd immediately started talking among themselves. Faces of fear, distrust, and confusion covered the town. Twilight continued, "Now, I know what you all must be thinking, but listen. A reformed changeling is a new breed of changeling that is nothing like what we know. I am here to tell you that he is the first changeling who is willing to fight on our side. He is something new, a sign that even the most evil of creatures are willing to change for the better. Just today, we ran a test on all of our guards because Blue here told us there might be changeling hidden in the ranks. Thanks to his insight, we found that ten of the guards were changelings. Blue here also pointed out that Ponyville was going to be left defenseless. Thanks to him, Ponyville is now safer than ever. I know this is a lot to take in, but he is the first changeling I have ever said this about. He is a friend to all pony kind. Each of us on this stage has seen his true nature first hoof. Now, I am not asking you to become friends with him, but what I am saying is that this changeling is different. Even his natural skin color is different from a normal changeling. Now, I know that there are probably a few changelings in the crowd. Let me be the first to say that if you want friendship, we are willing to work with you. I know that there a lot of changelings who also do not agree with this war and want to change for the better. If you are also a reformed changeling, then I want you to know that you can come to my castle and speak to me in private. Though at the same time, if there are any regular changelings in this crowd just know that we will find you and make you suffer. This does not mean that you can lie and say you are a reformed changeling. If you enter my castle to tell me that you are reformed, we will know if you are lying or not. We have ways to make you tell the truth. We are giving you changelings one last chance. If you are reformed, then we would love to help you through the process. If you are here because of the hive, we will find you out and kill you. If you are a changeling who is loyal to the hive, then this is your last day living in Ponyville. If you do not leave this town, then come tomorrow afternoon we will find you. You no longer have the help of any changelings hidden as guards. Trust me when I say the guards watching over Ponyville are furious that their ranks have been infiltrated and will not stop until every last changeling is found. If you are a reformed changeling though, you will be required to help us in any way you can to fight against the hive."

The crowd erupted, they did not know how to handle this sudden brick of information hitting them all at once. One of the ponies in the crowd shouted, "So you expect us to just believe that there are changelings out there that want to change for the better? What has this world come to?"

Fluttershy spoke out against the crowd. "We know what you all must be thinking but change surrounds us all the time! Look at Discord for example. He is a creature born of pure chaos and disharmony. He now accepted friendship into his life and is good friends with a lot of you! Look a Trixie as well! Trixie came to town to fight Twilight. When she won, she became un-liked by everypony here because she thought she was better than everypony else. She took in friendship and is now better for it. Blue here was born a changeling, but he wants friendship. He is trying to show other changelings that they do not need to be afraid to let friendship into their lives. You should all know better than to turn down someone who wants to take in friendship."

Another pony in the crowd shouted out. "How do you know he is not just a really good liar?"

Twilight grinned and lifted her wing and showing the bandage. "Blue here saved my life. On our way to Canterlot our train had been ambushed by an upwards of fifteen changelings. He put my life above his and defended me. He, even after being injured, protected me against his own kind. He fought and killed nine of his own kind to prove that he has changed. He knows that there is a difference between a changeling and a reformed changeling. During that fight, a changeling managed to stab me. Blue saw this and ran to my side, even after he had just been blasted off of the train and into shards of glass. I know that you all may not accept him right away, but I know that he is on our side."

Another pony shouted, "Wait, but if you allow reformed changeling into Equestria, wouldn't that lead to a changeling civil war?"

Twilight paused, she never thought about this before. "I am not sure, though I do know one thing. If there was a war between the changelings and the reformed changelings, then I would gladly stand alongside the reformed changelings and help them defeat the hive."

Another random pony called out next, "So what would happen if we do accept these reformed changelings and they decide to switch back over halfway through the war?"

Twilight thought a bit and responded in a calm manner. "If they really were reformed then they wouldn't want to go back. If anything, they would create a new hive and form a secession into a new race. They would create their own ideals and government. Equestria would gladly help this new group of allies join the populous. We would help them fight against their old hive, which would now be their enemy."

I could notice that the crowd was starting to warm up to all of this new information. I scanned the crowd to see that a lot of them seemed to understand what they were being told. They seemed to like the idea of reformed changeling, because they knew how powerful of an ally they would be. Twilight looked to me and ushered me next to her. I gulped in slight fear but walked up next to her at the podium. I looked out at the crowd and looked at the various faces and mix of emotions. Twilight continued, "I will say this once and once only. He is an example of courage and bravery. He, despite what he is, proved that even changelings can change for the better. Blue here is under my protection, as long as he is working for us. Blue here is the first changeling citizen, meaning if you are caught trying to kill him then you will be tried for proper attempted murder. Just trust me when I say he is a friendly creature. He will continue living here in town. If you are a reformed changeling, please feel free to talk to him. If you are a normal changeling, trust me when I say you do not want him to find out. I saw him take on nine drones at the same time and win. Now, this is the end of the meeting. Feel free to talk to him and see for yourself what makes him unique."

With that, Twilight backed away from the podium while ushering me to follow her. I followed her off the stage. I watched as the citizens of Ponyville were walking out, talking to each other about this new discovery. I knew that they did not all like what they were just told, but I also knew ponies knew that friendship was a powerful thing. We all left the town center as a group. As I made my way through the exit, I could see the town staring at me. I felt a heavy stare to those who did not know what to think. I knew there was only one way out of this. I had to show these ponies that I was really here in peace. Sure, Twilight's speech did convince a lot of them to give me a chance, but I have always found that actions speak louder than words ever could.

I scanned the town as Twilight was leading us back to the castle. While I was scanning the area, I noticed something off. Not once during that entire meeting could I see Izzy in the crowd. Either she was well hidden, or she had not shown up at all. Poor Izzy, she wanted to tell everyone about me but was beaten to it by Twilight and her friends. I wanted to find Izzy but knew that she needed space.

The entire town was staring at me as I was following the princess into her castle. I feel if the town was not just told that I was under her protection and now classified as a citizen that a good number of them would try to attack me. This upcoming war is against my kind after all, so I could not blame them for thinking that being told a changeling was off limits was not right.

As we got close to the castle, Twilight looked down at me. "I am going to go interview the changelings we captured this morning. You can come with me and help me talk with them. We need your skills to figure out if any of them want to reform or not."

I looked up, still following her. "Sound good to me. I am always willing to help in any cases that I can. I'll stay by you the entire time.

We made our way into the castle. As we finally made our way into the castle, it was just me and Twilight. The rest of her friends ended up going back to their normal days. I stuck close to her as we made our way down a hidden entrance way into the castle holding cells. This led up down into a deep under ground section of the castle. Entering the room filled me up with bad memories. Last time I was in this room was behind the bars. Now I am entering the room as the interviewer.

Upon entering the room, I looked in to see ten beaten changelings. Each changeling had been placed in their own cage. Seems as though when they were placed into the final room upon being discovered that the guards made sure they were too messed up to be able to run away. I looked into the cages at the changelings. I could tell that they all knew who I was by this point.

One of the changelings barked out, "You traitor! I can't believe you would rat us out to help the ponies! You are a disgrace to the hive and what we stand for! You ruined our plan to take these ponies out from the inside! No wonder mother kicked you out all those years ago, you would've gotten a lot of changelings killed with your treachery. Some changeling you are."

I simply looked at them, not giving them what they wanted from me. Twilight responded to this outburst. "Well, we can see that you are one that needs to be dealt with the hard way. Listen up and listen good changelings. We are going to be interviewing each one of you one at a time. These tests will let us know about your intentions and true nature. If you do not want to cooperate, then we will execute you." With this, she walked up to the first cage and opened it carefully. There was a royal guard there to help her guide the changeling into a separate room. I followed Twilight as she took this changeling into a questioning room. The same room that I was placed into when I was here a few days ago.

Once we were in this separate room it was just this chained up changeling, Twilight, myself, and one guard standing ready with a weapon. The guards at this point have all been told of my identity and knew that I would not be one they needed to worry about.

Twilight looked at the changeling and began the questioning. "Ok, this room has been surrounded by a truth spell. You cannot lie in this room so do not try. What do you know about the other changelings we have in our command? Are you all part of one group, or are you separate from the others?"

The changeling sat there in silence. This changeling did not want to tell Twilight anything. I could tell that this changeling was going to be difficult to work with. They figured that if they did not want Twilight to know something then they would simply not say anything at all. The truth spell only forces people to tell the truth if they say something. Twilight looked over to the guard who then walked up to the changeling. This guard took out a small device and put it against the changeling. This device turned out to be a taser as the changeling shouted out in pain. Twilight leaned in close to this chained up changeling. "I'm going to tell you this one more time. If you do not want to cooperate with us, then we will kill you. Now, tell me what I want to know. Are you working as a group or are you here by yourself."

As she asked this, the guard tasered the changeling again. This changeling yelled out in pain. "Fuck you!"

Twilight sighed before looking up at the guard. "Take this one away and dispose of them. Send in the next one for questioning." I watched as this changeling was dragged away, most likely to be killed in a different room. I did not like this, but I knew that this changeling could not be saved or reformed. I just hoped that the next changeling would not be the same.

The next changeling was dragged in shortly after the previous one was taken away. The next changeling was placed in front of us for questioning. Twilight spoke up again, "Ok, listen up. Same thing I told the previous changeling. This room has been surrounded by a truth spell. You cannot lie in this room so do not try. Give us the information we need, and this will be easier for you. Are you all here as a group, or do you not know the other changelings we took in?"

This changeling was smarter than the last one. "I know that we are going to die no matter what we tell you. I am going to make your job easier and save you time. The less time I am in this hellhole, the better. We are here as a mass group. Our job was to infiltrate the guard and allow other changelings in and out of the town without being found. Your town is littered with changelings, though we do not know their intentions as they are part of a different team. We were going to eventually have the entire guard replaced by changelings and take you out in your sleep. This traitor just had to find us out and help you put us away! We do not care about you ponies and want to see you die! We are all a group of recon changelings who evidently failed their mission. I must admit, the test that you ran was a very smart way to discover us. I bet this was his idea, wasn't it? All ten of us did this because we want to see you fall!"

Twilight looked at the changeling, then back at me. "What do you think Blue?"

I glanced back at her after taking time to think about the situation. "They are right. You do not make it into the recon group unless you are completely loyal to the hive. Every changeling you have in those cages is not likely to reform and is not on our side."

Twilight grinned at this, then looked up at the guard. "You heard him, they are all to be put to death for their actions against Equestria."

The guard saluted and took this changeling back out and into a different killing room. While doing so, this guard told the other guards this new information. Each one of the changelings were seen being dragged away. I did not linger on this fact. Twilight watched as this happened and helped to ensure that none of the changelings got away or tried to fight the guards. We followed them all the way until they got to the room. It turned out that these changelings were being taken to the torture room. The guards were going to kill them but get out as much information from them as possible.

After seeing that they were all successfully transferred to this new room, and that there were more than enough guards to handle the situation, Twilight started leading us back through the castle. After a long walk, Twilight and I made our way back to the map room. We both sat down and looked at each other. Twilight spoke out, "Well, none of them were reformed so there is nothing left to do with them. I am not sure how many reformed changelings there would be, but I hope it is more than what's showing."

I looked up to her, "Twilight, we are doing what we need to. If I end up being the only reformed changeling there is, then so be it. Though, I do know that a lot of changeling do not like how the hive is ran. We are treated poorly and aren't allowed to be true individuals. We can only do what we are told when we are told. Chrysalis says she only wants the best for her hive, but she only takes what's best for her. A lot of changelings put up with her because they feel as though that is all they can do. That speech you gave would surely reach out to the changelings. Whether its from a changeling returning to the hive from a mission, or the ponies talking about a reformed changeling who was accepted by the ponies. I am willing to bet that there are more than a few reformed changelings out there. Now that they know they can be accepted they would be willing to reach out and talk about it. We started something that will only take a short time for us to see the results of."

Twilight looked back, smiling, "I hope you are right Blue. I feel if enough changelings end up wanting to reform, then that would mean we could end up winning the war by breaking the hive apart before they even get a chance to fight. Though, there is nothing we can do for now but wait and see."

As Twilight said this, the front door could be heard opening. Spike is seen walking into the map room a few seconds later. "I just got back from seeing Big Mac in the hospital, did I miss anything?"

Twilight looked at him, "Oh, hello Spike. The only thing you missed was me telling the town about Blue here and that he is on our side. We then investigated the changeling we found during the initial tests this morning. Turns out that none of them were good and thus had to be taken care of. How was Big Mac?"

Spike walked up next to Twilight, "He is doing a lot better, though the doctors do not know when it will be before he is able to walk again. I was not allowed to stay with him past visiting hours as I was not direct family. Also, there are a few ponies outside who said they wanted to talk to you for some reason."

Twilight and I shot up and looked at each other after hearing Spike say this. Twilight and I got up and ran towards the front doors. Spike was left confused but ended up following us. When we opened the door, we were met with a small group of five ponies. One of the ponies approached and spoke out for the group, "Hello Princess Twilight, can we please come in and talk?"

Twilight nodded, "Yes, of course. Please come in so we can talk." She opened the door and let this group of ponies in. There were a few guards who stood at the door. When the ponies were let in, one of the guards followed. They did this because if it turned out that this group of ponies were changelings who tried to attack Twilight then there would be a guard there to stop it.

We all followed Twilight as she led us into a different room. She ended up taking us to the dining room as it had more chairs to choose from. This group of ponies seemed extremely skittish and full of caution. It did not take long before we were all sitting down at the dining room table. As soon as everyone sat down, Twilight let out a powerful spell. This was the truth spell that she seemed to love using.

One of the ponies in this group spoke out, "Thank you for letting us in to talk to you. You must know what we are here for."

Twilight sat down, "I assume you are here because you are all changelings. I also assume you are all here because you want to come out as reformed?"

The ponies all looked at each other in agreement. The lead pony spoke out once again, "Yes Princess Twilight. We are a group of changeling who fled the hive years ago. We moved to Ponyville a long while ago to go into hiding. We did not think it would ever be possible that ponies would ever start accepting us into their lives. We understand that ponies are distrustful of us but figured that if Blue could do it then we could too. Though, we are not sure how to go about this whole reforming thing."

Twilight looked at this group, not thinking she would actually me it this far. "Well... the process to proving yourselves will be a long one. You could start by telling us what you know about the hive and helping us find ways to help us defend against the hive."

Another pony in the group spoke next, "So, we either have to help you fight the hive, or we are seen as enemies? We are a peaceful group and do not like all this fighting."

Twilight looked up, "Not necessarily. We are simply saying that this is a way you could help. This war is going to be a huge fight against our kinds. Though, I suppose if you do not want to fight at all then you could help in other ways. We are going to have to test you all as individuals though. Something you can do to help, because all the citizens of Equestria will have to pitch in, is go into volunteer groups. You can volunteer at Sweet Apple Acres with canning food for the soldiers. You could volunteer with the medical teams and learn how to save lives instead of taking them. You could volunteer at school and help teach young ponies about your species. There are a lot of things you can do. Everypony has to help fight against the hive, though this does have to mean fighting in battle. If you really are reformed changelings, then we will gladly give you a chance to show us who you really are. You just have to keep in mind that this is a new thing for us. The only thing we have to go off of is Blue here. He made it possible for us to start trusting reformed changelings in the first place."

The group looked around before saying almost in unison, "We will try our best."

Twilight looked up and smiled. She then stood up and went around to shake the hooves of everyone in this group. This was the start of something great. A now visible change that could help not only turn the sides of war but show the world that anything can happen. We can push aside all the racism and learn to help each other, no matter what our race or species is.

I stood up from the chair and looked around the room. I was the start of this new movement. I was the start of this group of reformed changelings. Maybe I could be something greater if I kept pushing myself. Who knows, maybe one day I could be a Celestial Royal Guard Officer. Maybe one day I could be the leader of this new hive of changelings.

Twilight, after greeting each pony individually, spoke out to the group again. "We can get with each of you tomorrow and figure out the next course of action. We are happy to see that you are willing to change for the better. This is the beginning of a new race, and you can all be happy to be a part of it. For now, you will have to return back to wherever you end up sleeping at night and join back up with us tomorrow morning."

The leader of this group spoke up one last time before leaving, "Thank you for this opportunity. We will do our very best to make sure we do not mess up this chance to have a better life. I thank you for showing us that we no longer need to hide in fear." With that, the group left to go back to their homes.

Once the group left, Twilight looked back up to me. "You should be proud of yourself. You should be happy knowing that you are the leader of a new age of changelings. Now, lets get something to eat and head to bed for the night. Something tells me that this was only the beginning. Something tells me that we still have a lot of work ahead of us."

I smiled with a sense of new found pride. "Sounds good to me. Something tells me that there are way more reformed changelings still to come. Now, what are we going to have to eat?"

"Just something small, I don't know about you, but I am still fairly full from that large breakfast we had." Twilight said, heading into the kitchen through the connecting door.

I let out a small laugh, "Yeah, I am still fairly full too. Your cooking was very good, and the food was quite filling."

Twilight also let out a small laugh as she went through the fridge. The fridge in the castle seemed to always be filled with plenty of choices. Twilight ended up finding some sandwich material. We all agreed on sandwiches because it was something small and easy to clean up. I ended up just getting a peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich. This was something that seemed strange to most ponies. I did not care though as it had a unique flavor.

After we ate, we all ended up separating for the night. I made my way back to my room. I was able to get there without getting lost for the first time as I followed the same castle landmarks that I took note of last time. Making my way into my room, I closed the door and shifted back into my true form. I made sure to lock the door this time so that I did not get awoken by yet another pony who did not know who I was or why I was there.

I placed my bag back down on its normal place on top of the dresser. I looked at the mirror in the room. I was now more unique than I had already been before. I was no longer looking at the reflection of a changeling rogue. I was now looking at the reflection of a future changeling leader. I smiled at this and made my way back to my bed. I laid down in this bed of mine, aware of the new changes still yet to come. I continued to smile as I drifted off to a well needed sleep. This was the start of the life I always wanted, but never thought possible. A world filled with reformed changelings. Maybe we could find a way to get them to also not need to rely on love like myself. I never figured out what made me this way, but now was the perfect chance to find out.