Different

I woke up to a knock at my door. My ears perked up as I heard someone calling my name from the other side. I got up, walking to the door to unlock and open it. Upon opening the door, I saw that Starlight was there. Next to her was a royal guard captain. I saw that this officer was holding a thick folder full of paperwork. Starlight looked up at me, "Morning Blue, this royal guard has some paperwork for you. They came here so that you can fill it out as soon as possible. When you finish the paperwork, they are going to walk with you to the town center so that you can give it to Mayor Mare for the first step of authorization."

I looked up towards the captain. This captain was a teal pegasus with blue and green hair. He has green eyes to match. "Morning sir. Where are we doing this at?"

The captain looked at me with a standard face. I was still in changeling form but they did not seem to care about this showing that they were debriefed on my situation, "Princess Twilight gave me permission to do this in the castle dining room as the table is large enough for the paperwork and gives us a chance to sit in front of each other for private conversation. The dining room will be closed off as we are in conversation."

"Very well sir, let's get this paperwork over with." I say this as I grab my things and follow this guard and Starlight to the dining room. Once we arrived at the dining room, Starlight closed to the door from the outside and left. Seemed as though she was just there to guide the officer through the confusing castle halls.

The captain sat down at the table, setting the paperwork in front of both of us. "I will be filling in a lot of this information for you to ensure that it is done correctly. You will have to sign a few things later on. This process is easy, but will take a little while. Before we get started, I shall introduce myself. My name is Captain Azura and I will be your Royal Guard Processing Officer, R.G.P.O for short. Now, since you are being automatically entered into the guard and skipping the training process, your process will be different from the standard one given to officer candidates. You are not a candidate as you have been war promoted by royal degree and therefore skip the entrance applications. I'll be asking you some questions and you must answer honestly. Are you ready to start?"

I sat down across from the captain. "Yes sir, let's get this over with."

Captain Azura flipped to the first page, "Basic questions first, are you a proper citizen of Equestria?"

I nodded, "Yes sir, I was given an official pony citizenship from the princesses. Plus, technically the hive still resides in Equestria."

Captain Azura starts writing, "Ok, next question. When were you born?"

I think for a second, "I am not fully sure when my hatch-day was. There are only a few things I know for sure. I am 25 and was born around the beginning of winter. I would estimate the beginning of December, but I am not sure of the day."

Captain Azura started writing, "Let's just call it even and put down Dec 8. Next question, do you have any previous medical history?"

I looked at him with interjection, "You could say that. Though, none of it was ever recorded in any medical paperwork. I have been stabbed, burnt, sliced, beaten, broken, and I'm missing half an ear from someone cutting it off."

Captain Azura continued writing, "Yeah, I just ask that question for formality reasons. I'm just going to put you down as fully medically capable as you seem to not be affected currently by your previous injuries. Next question, do you have a criminal history?"

I shook my head, "No, I have never been in trouble with the law, despite being a changeling."

Captain Azura continued writing, "Ok, we can move on to the next set of questions. What are you looking for in the service?"

I think for a moment, "Something that puts me in a position to protect the citizens of Equestria while also giving me the opportunity to lead guards into battle. I want to get a job as something that protects the town during major attacks, not something that has me doing paperwork or supply. I want to be able to teach the guards how to fight against the hive."

Captain Azura paused for a moment, "It sound to me like you want to mostly protect the town, rather than just the princesses. Where are you trying to do this at?"

"I would like to stay here in Ponyville as I know that this is the most likely target for the next big attack." I said, thinking about what it is I'm trying to do exactly.

Captain Azura looked up to me, "How do you know this?"

I simply looked at him, "I hold a lot of intel about how the hive runs. I was part of a specialized group of changeling fighters. I know what Chrysalis would most likely do."

Captain Azura continued writing, "Luckily, it sound like you are looking for the type of job Princess Celestia has chosen for you. Normally, officers would choose three options and their job would be randomly selected from those choices. Princess Celestia, in this case, has given you a specialized job. If your application gets approved and you are sworn in then you will be reporting to Princess Celestia as she will debrief you on what she needs you to do."

I smiled, "That is perfectly fine by me. I trust that Princess Celestia would know best what to do with me."

Captain Azura placed a bunch of paper directly in front of me. "Ok, the next few things will be for you to fill out. Please make sure you write legibly and do not lie." As he did this, he went through the stack of papers and started filling in a lot of information. I am assuming that since my job was already selected for me that this meant he was putting in specialized information specific to my situation.

I looked through this pile of papers and found that it goes into more information on the entrance process. I grabbed a quill and inkwell and started filling in the required information. Captain Azura was filling in most of the paperwork as he was told previously what to fill in. The paperwork I was currently working on went over things such as me accepting what would happen if I broke any laws, what would happen if I broke my contract, how I would present myself as an officer, and other strict legal documents.

The rest of the paperwork took just around an hour to complete. I did not have as much to fill out as everything was basically selected for me. I still got to select a few things, but most of it was from Princess Celestia. After finishing the paperwork Captain Azura and I headed to Mayor Mare's office. I stayed in changeling form as we went through town. I figured that the ponies of this town should get used to seeing reformed changelings around.

The walk to Mayor Mare's office was filled with stares of both hate and acceptance. The idea of a reformed changeling didn't sit well with everyone. Seeing one become an officer sat even worse.

We entered the town hall and found our way into the mayor's office. Mayor Mare was sitting at her desk. Standing next to her was Princess Celestia. It seemed as though they were expecting us. Captain Azura walked up to the table and placed the documents on the desk. "I finished the paperwork and basic entrance process for Blue here. He seems more than capable for the job and is already well-trained for this type of job."

Mayor Mare grabbed the folder and started looking through it to ensure everything was done correctly. As she did this, Celestia looked at the Captain. "So, in your expertise as an Royal Guard Processing Officer, what do you think about him?"

Captain Azura looked up, "I think he is already one of the smarter officer candidates I have come across. He knows what he wants and seems more than ready to take on this job. Blue here, despite being a changeling, shows the skills and traits that we look for in ponies during Officer Candidate School. He already has an aptitude for placing others above himself and shows steady leadership willingness. I can tell you that he is mentally and physically prepared for the role of a royal guard officer. Though, I do think he should have more specialized training for leading guards into combat."

Celestia smiled, "I figured he would be a good candidate. We shall take his paperwork and take a look for ourselves. In the meantime, Captain Azura, you and Blue shall go wait in the hallway. I will call Blue in when we finish reviewing the documentation."

Captain Azura saluted and turned around to guide me to the hallway. We sat there and waited for Celestia and Mayor Mare to discuss the next course of action. While I was sitting in the hallway, I thought about everything going on. This did seem to be moving very quickly. I thought about how I have always wanted to fight for the better and finally get to as a royal guard. I never would have imagined that I could ever get to this level. I was going to be the best I could be and help these ponies to the best of my ability.

About an hour of waiting later, I was finally called into the office to speak with them. Captain Azura waited out in the hallway as I was pulled in alone. Mayor Mare placed a piece of paper down in front of me. " Ok Blue, I need you to sign at the bottom of this page. This paper is the key to the next step in the process of getting you sworn in. You will be going past the officer selection process as the princess has already selected you for the role. However, you would still need some basic officer training. Please sign at the bottom."

I reviewed the paper before signing to ensure I wasn't signing something that I did not wish to. Everything looked fine so I took the quill and signed, pushing the paper back to Mayor Mare.

Princess Celestia smiled and looked to me, "Ok, now I shall let you know what it is that you will be doing. Your job is something unique to you and any other possible future reformed changelings who wish to join. You will be helping to guide the enlisted guards here in Ponyville. Your job will be to help protect the boarders. Any reformed changelings to join the enlisted corps will be under your rule, though you will also be in charge of regular guards. You, along side a senior lieutenant, will control a portion of the specialized guards who patrol the outside of Ponyville. You will ensure that these ponies are trained in ways to fight the hive. You will have forces trained with the new gear that we got from the other world. You will also be trained on how to handle a rifle."

"So I am simply helping to control the guards who are between Ponyville and any oncoming hive swarms?" I asked, curious about the details.

"Yes, the first lieutenant over you will give you more details on the situation. You will meet them tomorrow after you are sworn in." Celestia said, taking the folder from the table.

I looked up at her with surprise. "I am getting sworn in tomorrow? That seems so soon."

Celestia nodded, "I know that this process seems to be going very fast, but you do have to remember that we are in war time. Those guards protecting Ponyville need to be told what to do by someone who knows how to fight the hive. You are the only pony here that fits that qualification, which is why I expedited the process. You are the only one that we have who knows the hive in and out. You will be trained with on the job experience, while under the supervision of the first lieutenant assigned to you. We will get you suited for uniforms tomorrow after you have been sworn in."

I was worried about how fast things were moving, but understood that Celestia has been around long enough to know when someone is right for the job. Celestia continued, "For now, you are free to enjoy the rest of the day. You should go out and celebrate for this is a huge deal. I will return to Canterlot and get the generals to sign this form."

I took my bow and left the office one last time. Captain Azura then entered as the door was closing behind me. I shook all of this off and continued out into town. I knew that the other reformed changelings were due to return today so I headed back to the castle in hopes that they would meet back up there. When I got to the castle, I walked to the map room to see if anyone had entered yet. When I entered the map room, I could see Spike sitting and talking to the other reformed changelings. They arrived as I was out talking to Celestia.

I walked up to the table, "Oh hey. I see you guys came back already. What happened?"

Brock spoke up first, "We are waiting for Twilight to get here before we talk about the news we have. Spike here said that she would be here before long."

"Very well then." I said, sitting down in one of the empty chairs.

Not long after I got there, Twilight entered the room and sat down in the chair. "Hello all, sorry for the wait. I needed to finish something I was working on. So, what news do you have from the hive?"

Miles raised a hoof into the air, "We have a bit of good news and bad news actually. The good news is that we have around eighty changelings or so who wish to reform. They will be making their way as one group within the next day or so. They said they would talk to other changelings and try to convince them why they should leave the hive so there may end up being more in the days to come. Most of them surprisingly did not take any convincing as they mostly all really wanted to get away like we did. A few of them took a bit of convincing, but when we told them of all the great things this would for them they were able to change their perspective. We are not sure how many of them are genuine about the situation though."

Twilight gleamed, "That is awesome! What is the bad news?"

Miles changed his face from excited to serious. "The bad news is that enough changelings started talking about it that Chrysalis found out what we were doing. She is aware that a good number of changelings would rather live with ponies then follow her in the destruction and take over of Equestria. The hive talking about friendship and ponies angers her. We are hoping that this does not cause her to start the attacks earlier."

Twilight started looking worried, "That can't be good. Either way, I am excited about how many reformed changelings want to help us ponies. We shall just take these next few days with a grain of salt. As for the changelings headed here, we went out this morning and started teaching a bunch of unicorns my truth telling spell. With enough concentrated magic we will be able to get them all together outside of town and figure out each of their intentions. We will be able to find out individually what they want and if they are genuine or not."

Berry Bush spoke out, "I was thinking, if you do find that all of these changelings are really reformed, where will they live?"

Twilight stopped in thought, "I did not think about that part yet. We could probably set up some tents somewhere. We have more then enough tents in Equestria to fit all those changelings."

Emerald Cloud responded to this, "Surely that would just be a temporary fix, right?"

Twilight nodded, "Of course, we will eventually get everyone out of the tents and into some sort of living condition. We have to take this one day at a time though."

Emerald gave twilight an understanding glance. "Ok, if we are really taking this one day at a time, then do you have anything for us today?"

Twilight smiled, "Yes actually. We, in celebration of the new reformed changelings, are throwing all six of you a welcome party at the Sugar Cube Corner."

All of the reformed changelings gave happy looks. Brock spoke out, "That would be very nice. Our journey was long, so a party would be very welcoming. We can unwind a bit before all the chaos ensues. What time will it be?"

"It will be in the afternoon. It would be earlier, but Dew Drop works today. She needs time to get off work and clean up before arriving to the party." Twilight said, looking at the group.

"It makes me happy to see that ponies are willing to accept us and give us a welcome party." Emerald said, letting out a bright grin.

"In the mean time, you guys are good to go back to your normal daily routine. Everypony shall meet up at the Sugar Cube Corner later this afternoon." Twilight said, getting up from her chair.

I looked around the room smiling about all the news we heard today. Things were happening, and they were happening for the better. I just had to hope that the next few days would go as smooth as possible.

Everyone left the room, including myself. I headed back out into town. I still had a few hours to kill until the party so I figured I would use this time to start meeting new ponies. The streets were filled with ponies who were just walking around and enjoying the day.

As I was walking, I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see this beige earth pony. She had pigment blue hair with a rose pink streak going through the middle, cerulean eyes, and three candies for a cutie mark. She walked up to me, "Blue, correct? I have been looking for you."

I looked at her with a sideways glance as she walked up to me. "Hello there, how may I be of assistance?"

She let out a small chuckle. "Sorry, I heard that there was a changeling living here in Ponyville and I just had to investigate. My name is Secret Agent Sweetie Drop, cover name Bon Bon. My mission is to go out and hunt monsters. Changelings have always been something very interesting to me as they could be anyone or anything. I was wondering if I could ask you some questions."

I let out a small nod, "Sure, I have time."

She let out a smile, "Thank you so much. We can find a bench and sit down while we talk."

"You know what, that is a good idea." I said, walking with her to find a bench to sit on.

After only a short few minutes of walking, we come across a bench near the edge of town. This bench was sat right by the river that cuts around the town. She looked up to me after we sat. "Thank you again for letting me talk to you and ask questions. I like to try to understand all the different creatures of the world. First question, how can one tell a changeling apart from a normal pony?"

"Often times it will be something very subtle or small. Usually, a good indicator is by their smell. While the transformation process will do a good job in hiding the smell of the hive, magic can only do so much against natural odor. Something else you could do is ask them personal questions about the pony they are masquerading as. The most for sure way of finding out if someone is a changeling or not is by making them bleed. Changelings will always bleed green. Hell, that is how Izzy found me out. I wasn't being careful and had some knives fall on me." I said, being honest.

Bon Bon looked at me for a second before writing this down on a notebook that she pulled from her saddlebag. "Great stuff, next question. What percentage of the hive do you think would be willing to reform?"

This question took me back slightly. "Honestly, I am not sure how to answer that. Most changelings would rather die than accept friendship into their lives. Though, I do hope that I am wrong. It would be nice to see the changeling finally accepting change into their nasty hearts."

She nodded and wrote this down, "Fair enough, how well can the average changeling hold their own in a fight?"

"Well, the average changeling isn't trained on how to fight as well as others, but they are very good at it regardless. They use specified changelings, such as myself, for battles. This increases the likely hood of number increases in the hive. This way the hive can attack in larger numbers, use well-trained fighters that no one will care about, and still be able to increase the population." I said, awaiting the next question.

"Very well. Now, do all changelings have the ability to shapeshift, or is this a skill only given to some?" She said, taking more notes.

"All changelings are born with the ability to shapeshift, though some of them are way better than others. Some changelings never need to as they stay in the hive to help the queen with her needs." I said, intrigued by the questioning.

"Next question. There are only a few more to go. What do the changelings think about other non-pony creatures such as dragons or griffons?"

I stopped in though for a solid few seconds. This was not something I knew that much about. "Well, the changelings are mainly just against the ponies. I am sure that if a changeling really wanted to, they could make an alliance with the griffons to help take down the pony kind. I am really not too sure though as I have never leaned one way or the other about non-pony groups."

She seemed to think about this, "So, if the war was to start tomorrow then the changelings could have backup from other groups?"

"It would be possible, though Chrysalis tends to stay by herself as she likes to work alone. I am sure that there are plenty of changelings in the hive that have friends who are non-pony. Plus, if a changeling really wanted to, they could shapeshift into a dragon or griffon and convince the groups to help fight the pony kind. Though, with how quick friendship is going across Equestria, I doubt this could be done in time for the war."

"She took a look down at her notepad. "Ok, how does the hive mind of a changeling work, and how do they use it for communication?"

"The hive mind allows us to share information and work together, but we can also use it to communicate individually through telepathy and body language. The hive mind is more than just the queen telling us what to do. It is also a very powerful tool that we can use when we are out on missions."

She looked at me with a sideways glance. "Changelings have telepathy?"

I nodded my head in reply. "You see, changelings have very powerful magic abilities. We just do not use them the same way a unicorn would. Our magic is more honed in for our survival as a race. We can use our changeling magic to talk to other changelings without making noises to help us not get caught. If you really want to hurt a changeling, then you'll have to make sure you are bringing them in alone."

She smiled and looked back up to me. "Thank you for answering these questions. This will help us better our understanding of the changelings as a hive."

I smiled back, happy to be of assistance. I was also happy that she was confident enough to walk up to me, knowing that I was a changeling. We both got up and waved at each other. Once I saw that she was walking away, I started to do the same. I was not sure what I would do until the party tonight, so to pass the time I decided to for a bit of a walk.

While walking around, I had noticed that some of the guards seems to throw semi-nasty glances at me. I could not blame them as I knew that they knew I would soon be an officer. They were just salty over the fact that they were about to get out ranked by a changeling, good or not. In my defense though, I never would have seen myself as an Equestrian Officer before the events from earlier. Everything seemed to be happening so fast. I knew that these guards couldn't speak out against it as I would soon be in their chain of command.

After a few hours of walking around, and thinking to myself, I figured I would head over to the Sugar Cube Corner and wait for the party. I walked over to see Pinkie Pie outside. She saw me and waved me over. "Hello Blue! The party should be starting soon! Feel free to go inside and make yourself at home."

With this, I went inside. Upon entering, I saw that the other changelings were already there. They were sat at a table near the window. I trotted up to them and sat down in an empty chair.

"Hello! I see you all made it." As I said this, I looked towards Dew Drop. "They let you out early today I see?"

She nodded towards me. "Yeah, for some reason, ponies didn't really come in to the restaurant. I think somehow word got out that a changeling was working there and they didn't want to eat there. I still got paid for the day because the owner did feel bad for me."

"Don't worry, before long these ponies will realize that we are peaceful and do not represent the hive in the slightest. Once they see that we have genuinely accepted friendship, they will see that we are more alike to them than they realize." I said, looking around at the others.

Before long, other ponies started coming in for the party. Seems that not everyone in town was revolting against the new reformed changelings. Of course, Twilight and her friends showed up and invited some of their good friends to the party. I saw familiar faces and new faces alike. Eventually, Pinkie Pie walked inside happy with the amount of ponies who showed up to say hi to us.

Pinkie Pie stood up in front of everypony and shouted with a large voice of joy and excitement. "Hello everypony! Thank you all for coming to the reformed changeling welcoming party! I know what you all must be thinking, about them being changelings and all. Trust me, I was also thinking the same thought when I first met Blue. However, after all that Blue has done to prove that the new reformed changelings are friends to all, it came to me that they are really nice ponies. As for the rest of them, I actually knew them for a long while. Them being changelings came as a huge surprise to me as they did not seem evil in the slightest. These are really some strange times as we are at war with their home, but as long as they are on our side then we should be glad to have them as new friends. This is the start of something fantastic! Everypony, please enjoy the party and commune with our new friends!" Right after she said that, confetti seemed to blast from the walls. I have never seen a pony talk so much with such large amount of joy before. I didn't mind it though as it showed me that ponies are just unique individuals.

After she finished her speech, the room filled with ponies and reformed changelings all getting along and having genuine conversations. This was something beautiful and showed that times, and creature relationships, really were heading towards a better direction. It almost makes you forget that a war was about to start. Though, there was no telling how soon it would take place. I had hoped that it wouldn't be for a long while.

My thoughts were interrupted by a pony walking up to me to spark up a conversation. It was a mint colored unicorn female with sunglow eyes. She had a cyan colored mane and tail with a white streak along both. Her cutie mark was that of a musical instrument.

This pony seemed very excited to meet me. She didn't walk up to me, but rather bounced her way to me. "Hi, hi! My name is Lyra. You must be Blue, correct?"

I was slightly taken back from her introduction. "Yes, that would indeed be me. What's up?"

She beamed a large smile upon her face. "I didn't know that there were good changelings until my best friend told me about you. Her name is Bon Bon."

"Oh! I do believe that I have already met her. She was asking me about changelings and how to best find out ways to see through their disguises. She is the one with a certain line of work that I can't talk about due to the amount of people around."

Lyra giggled, "Yeah, that's her alright. Don't worry too much about her. She is a really nice mare once you get to truly meet her. Anyways, I have always seen you around but never could find the time to say hi. This party was a nice place for me to finally do so. Man, I can't believe I am talking to a changeling."

I paused, "Uh, what is that word you are using? Man?"

She just giggled a little bit before continuing. "Honestly, it would be less confusing if I just said not to worry about what it means. I study a subject that is a bit strange to other ponies."

"Very well then, it is not my place to pry into it." As a said this, Twilight walked up to us.

Twilight smiled, "Hello again, Blue. I see you are making friends already." She then turned to Lyra, "Hello Lyra! How is the day evening treating you?"

Lyra beamed as she saw her, "It is going fine, Princess Twilight. Just introducing myself to Blue here."

Twilight seemed very happy at the fact that I was making friends. "Fantastic! I'm going to check up on the other changelings and see how they are getting along. You guys have a great rest of the party."

Lyra and I both looked at her as she was walking away. Almost in unison we said, "You too! Bye!" Upon saying this, we laughed at this fact.

This laughter was quickly cut short. Outside we heard a lot of ponies running through the streets. In confusion we all looked outside. I was not sure how much time had passed but it was already dark outside. I quickly peeked outside and looked in the direction the ponies were running from.

To the horror of everypony, we could see a fire starting in the streets. Ponyville was under attack! I looked at the other reformed changelings who were still inside. "Ponyville is on fire! I need you to help these ponies get to a safe place and get ready. I think the hive sent some changelings to burn Ponyville to the ground!"

With that said, I quickly started running towards the fire that everyone was running away from. This was all happening so fast that I didn't have time to think. A lot of guards were guiding ponies to safety while a few others were running towards the fire to try to see who started it. As I was running, I could see what looked like a bottle with a rag sticking out of it fly at the buildings. That rag was on fire and headed towards another house. My mind went clouded with thought as I went and tried catching it so it didn't start another house fire.

As I went to catch it with my magic, another one was thrown, hitting a pony and lighting them on fire. I was in shock as to what was happening. Was this the start of the war? How did these changelings get past the snipers and guards surrounding the town? I had so many questions. Luckily, a royal guard was near the pony that was on fire. They were carrying a hose and quickly sprayed the pony, saving their life. That pony was quickly taken away by guards wearing medical crosses on their uniforms.

I then looked up and was horrified. One of the buildings that was on fire was Izzy's Tea Shop. I quickly ran up to the front door to see if it was opened. Once I got to the door I saw that it was still closed and locked. I knew that no one had seen her leave for a few days so I knew that she might have been inside. it was at this point that I let my anger about what was happening get the better of me. I quickly turned around and bucked the door down. The door splintered open, letting out a large heat wave. Luckily, there was no fire right next to the door so I was able to get in. Once I was in, I quickly looked to see that the fire was very bad towards the kitchen area. I needed to get through the fire in order to reach the stairs.

I thought quickly and surrounded myself with a magic bubble shield and ran into the blazing inferno. I didn't see her in the kitchen which meant that she was up in her room. It makes sense, seeing how upset she was about me being a changeling. I did not care about that right now. I turned to go upstairs and saw that her roof was already caved in. If she did not get out already, then I feared that she may have been trapped. As I made my way through the fallen debris, I was that her room was filled with smoke.

The heat was causing my magic shield to fade as this outside heat was stronger than my magic. I jumped over the debris into her room, shouting her name. "IZZY! WHERE ARE YOU?"

My magic then faded, sending smoke and heat straight at me. I was caught in a coughing fit, but knew that I had to fight through it. I closed my eyes so that they were barely open, allowing me to still see and not get too much smoke in my eyes. I called out again, "IZZY!"

There was a faint breathing noise coming from the smoke. She was there, and too weak to shout out. I would imagine her lunged filled with dangerous amount of smoke. I followed the sound of the faint breathing, which was already hard to hear through the rushing of the fire. It led me to the closet. The closet was on the other side of a large beam that had fallen from the roof. The only way to get to her was lifting this beam. My magic already faded as this heat was getting to be too much for me. Plus, magic takes energy. In a quick rush of what adrenaline I had, I got underneath this beam as much as I could and tried lifting. This was very heavy and hot. As soon as I was underneath, I started lifting as much as I could. I soon as I got it slightly out of the way, I could see that the smoke was starting to glow red. The fire was almost at us, putting me on a time limit. It was at that point that I said fuck it and flapped my wings as hard as I could. The force of me pushing against the floor, and me flapping my wings as hard as I could was working. I lifted the beam up and away from the closet door.

I quickly opened the door to see her laying in the corner. She was underneath a blanket to help prevent smoke inhalation, though it seemed as though it wasn't enough as she was found unconscious. I lifted the blanket and saw that she was hugging what looked to be a photo book. Feeling that this was very important to her, I placed it into my saddle bag. I didn't have time to question how it was still on my back. Though it was slightly charred, the inside was fine. I placed the book inside and closed it securely.

Feeling the flames creeping towards us, I did my best and lifted her onto my back. I then, knowing how limited time was, knew that I only had one option. I turned around and saw that there was a clear path to her window. I did the only thing I could think to do and and ran at the window, crashing through and landing hard on the hard road below. I did my best to land hooves first so that my body caught her fall. Some guards, who were in fire fighting equipment, saw this and ran to help. I was hurt from the fall, but saw that she was weakened even more from the fall. The guards, coming with a stretcher, quickly loaded her up and got her to safety. Some more guards, knowing who I was even in changeling form, quickly started getting me on a stretcher as well. Before they could however, I looked up to them.

"That stretcher is not for me, but for someone else who may be caught in one of these houses. It is my job to help protect and fight. I do not worry about how I am doing, just how those around me are doing. I will be fine to keep pushing." I was saying this with heavy breath, but a serious glare. My next mission was to find the changelings who started this fire and confront them. The guards looked at me for a moment before saluting and running towards another house fire.

I quickly got up, seeing that there were ponies getting attacked by a group of changelings. It would seem that everyone's fear was about us. This was the start of the war. I started running at them, ignoring my pain and inability to use magic. I reached quickly into my bag and grabbed my dagger, placing it in my mouth.

When I got up to this group, a couple guards were already there and fighting. I looked at the first changeling I saw and went in for the kill. In a huge case of anger, I came up from behind them and swiped their neck with the dagger, going in very deep. The changeling quickly fell to the ground. The sound of the blood pouring both onto the street and into his lungs as he died gasping for air. It was a haunting sound, but one that I was far too familiar with.

A changeling guard got the best of me and grabbed me from behind, sinking their teeth into my leg. I saw that they were playing dirty. Before I had a chance to knock the off of me, I heard an ear shattering bang. The changeling, to my surprise, quickly fell to the floor. A small hole in the front of their head, and a large gaping hole in the back. I looked up to see that one of the guards were holding one of the new rifles. I had not seen it before in action, but it was instantaneous. The rest of the guards fighting this group of changelings had already won and killed them all. One of the guards looked at me and grinned, "Sir, if you are going to join the guard and become our officer, then you really should get yourself a gun. It makes fighting way easier. You have less time to look into the white of their eyes."

I let out a small chuckle and placed my dagger back in my bag, "Thank you sergeant, I'll take that into consideration. Now, do we have any idea how many attackers there are?"

The guards looked at each other before looking back to me. That same sergeant looked back to me. "No exact number yet, though we estimate around thirty or so. It seems as though they were testing the waters. We have no idea how they were able to get past our defenses though."

"Very well, now tell me, are any of the other reformed changelings hurt?" I said, shifting the subject.

"No sir, we are very aware of who is reformed or not. We know this because, for whatever strange reason, as soon as these attacks started the group of reformed changelings seemed to change. It is hard to explain, but it is believed that the act of them protecting the ponies instead of attacking them made something magic happen. The wings of the reformed changelings all started to shine and fill with what appears to be glimmers and sparkles. Almost like crystals of light. It was actually quite beautiful. They are safe for now, along with most of the ponies in town. Though there were a few ponies that were not so lucky.' The sergeant said, changing the mood.

I knew instantly what this meant, "How many?"

The sergeant thought for a second, "Well, we would like to think it was just two, though we have not finished going through the burning buildings yet. Those two were just from the changeling attacks in the streets. Luckily we already got most of the attacking changelings. They didn't stand much of a chance against our new arsenal and well-trained elite guards. Now it is just a waiting game to see who we pull from the fires."

"Ok, where did they put the ponies pulled from fires? If there is no more fighting to be done, then I have someone to check up on." I said, hiding how worried I was for Izzy.

"Our medical officers set up an emergency medical facility in the town hall. If anyone was hurt, they are likely in there. Our medical staff was trained to be very quick in setting up an on-the-go medical area wherever needed. They even have quick-pitch tents for battlefield situations." As the sergeant finished saying this, him and his group started heading towards the fire.

I started running towards the town hall and saw that there were heavily armed guards protecting the building. I ran up to the front door to try to get in when they noticed me. "HALT! Even if you are on our side, and about to join the guards, no one is allowed in without being escorted in by medical staff. If you feel as though you need medical attention, then one of us can go in and get a medic. If not, them you are going to have to head towards Princess Twilight's castle and wait there. That is where the rest of the town headed to for safety. Sorry for the inconvenience."

I looked at them for a minute before realizing that this was for the best. I looked at my leg and noticed that the bite from earlier was not bleeding. I looked around to see if I had any other serious injuries and noticed that I seemed to be fine, other than being charred in some places. I decided that it would be best if I just headed towards the castle. While making my way through the streets, the only thing that filled my mind was the safety of Izzy. That, and the fact that her book was still safe in my saddlebag.

Once I got to the castle, Twilight was standing outside. She was also guarding the castle from intruders and protecting those who were inside. She saw me and smiled, "There you are. I got worried when you ran towards the danger. Then again, that's the reason Princess Celestia is having you join her guard. Never afraid to protect the pony kind from your own. Go ahead and get inside. You look very tired and worn down."

"Thank you, Princess." As I said this, I entered the castle. The hallways of the castle filled with ponies of all ages. They were all scared about what just happened. I could see that Twilight's friends helping them calm down. I walked down the hall, looking for the other reformed changelings.

After a bit of walking, I could see that they were walking around in their changeling form. I was shocked that they were doing so, seeing that it was changelings that were setting Ponyville on fire in the first place. Though, upon getting closer, I could see that the sergeant from earlier was right. Their wings were filled with a delightful sparkle, setting them apart from the attacking changelings. They were in a section of the hallway that was further away from the main group. I assumed to prevent scaring them anymore.

I walked up the group. "Why are you guys in changeling form?"

Brock responded first, "We don't know. For some strange reason our magic doesn't seem to be working. We tried using our magic to change into our pony forms, but instead our wings started glowing and became filled with sparkles and such. We have no idea what happened, but we think that us becoming reformed is changing us in a way that we cannot control."

I didn't understand it either. "Well, at least you guys are safe."

Brock looked up, "We did not care about our safety, we just wanted to help these ponies get to safety. We helped guide these ponies into the castle, ensuring that they were protected."

The rest of the group nodded in approval. I let out a smile, "Now that is what I like to see."

Dew Drop looked up, "Is Izzy ok? We saw you rush into her burning building and come out after a long time. The way you crashed through the window seemed to hurt you both a lot."

"I do not know. I found her unconscious from the smoke and heat. She is in the medical station right now getting looked at. She seemed weak, but she didn't look too hurt. I would like to think it was just smoke inhalation that got to her. I am also fine, that fall only hurt for a little while. Though, my magic did start failing me after a while." I said, sitting down against the castle wall.

Brock looked sideways, "You were able to use your magic?"

Miles looked towards Brock. "Look at him. Blue was essentially born reformed. His magic works different from ours."

"Huh, I suppose you are right." Brock said, also sitting down.

Before we could continue the conversation, Princess Twilight entered the hallways. "Listen up everypony. Our guards cleaned up the area from attacking changelings. We did a perimeter check and ensured that all the changelings were taken care of. It is safe for you to go back to your homes, though you must steer clear of the market district. The changelings seemed to pinpoint their attack on the stores. Though we will be without stores for a little while, we will make sure everyone gets taken care of. We will be doubling up on protecting the outside to prevent this from happening again. We will have guards escort everyone home safely. Luckily, the guards were able to prevent the fire from spreading towards the housing district. We ask everypony to take careful heed. This marks the time of total war. We must protect each other, both physically and mentally. If someone doesn't have food, please ask your neighbors. This is not the time to be greedy though as we still have the apple farm. With that said, please mind each other and keep an eye out for any non-reformed changelings. We understand that having changelings living with us may make many uncomfortable as we are at war with the hive, but keep in mind that the reformed changelings are here to help us. Times are confusing, but this is not the time to turn on anyone who is willing to help. Any extra word will be passed tomorrow at town hall." After Twilight said this, guards started taking ponies out of the building in small groups.

The ponies, all torn down from this attack, heading outside. The other reformed changelings left as well. The building was cleared after about half an hour of guards taking ponies in groups. After the halls had cleared, I went to look for Twilight. After a bit of a walk, I figured that I should look in the map room. I carefully entered and found her and her friends circled around the map. Twilight looked at me as I entered. "Blue, are you ok?"

I lifted my head, "Yes, I am fine. My leg was bitten and I am slightly burnt, but I have been through way worse before. I wanted to make sure that you and your friends were alright."

Twilight smiled, "Glad to see that you are ok. We are also fine, just some scrapes and cuts but nothing serious. Trust me, we are very capable mares. Though, I worry for my town. I know that two were killed. We are waiting for a final number from the medical staff." She let out a small sigh. "We need to start thinking about new ways to protect Ponyville. Thanks to you, we did a very good job protecting the town. Though, there is always something better we can do to prevent anyone from dying. You were right about the hive targeting Ponyville. You were also right about how to best protect from outside attacks. Thought, after some discussion and seeing that changelings are still getting through, the girls and I figured that these ponies might be safer if we moved them all to the protected walls of Canterlot."

I thought for a moment, "If we need to then we shall, though we cannot let any changelings see that. If the hive sees that we survived this attack and started moving the town to the better protected city, that may only expedite an even larger attack. Plus, we do not know yet if Canterlot is even safe. I might have been right about Ponyville being the first target, but them only sending this small fighting force might be part of her plan. She may know about our new gear and may be trying to force us all into one city to better her chances with a focused attack. We cannot let our fear guide our actions. Chrysalis may know that you would most likely send this town to live in Canterlot for now. But think about it, if she knows your next move then nowhere is safe. If she knows that you are likely to send these ponies to Canterlot, then I can guarantee you that the train tracks have been messed with. That small attack we had in the caves could be amplified to hundreds."

Twilight winced at the thought. "Well, I have no idea what to do next then. If we keep these ponies here, then we are likely to lose more the next time. If we send them to Canterlot then you may be right about the railways being tampered with. This place might be highly guarded, but I do not know if we can risk it."

Apple Jack spoke out, "Plus, as I was sayin', if we leave Ponyville for Canterlot then that will mean giving the hive the apple farm. That farm is our main source of food."

Pinkie Pie spoke out, "What about that giant bubble thing Trixie used to prevent Twilight from entering town after the battle?"

Fluttershy lifted her head up. "The changelings could just change into moles or something and dig their way under. This would make it easy for the changelings to enter, and make it hard for us to get away."

Pinkie looked down at the map, clearly out of other ideas. Twilight looked up, "What do you think we should do Blue?"

I shook my head, "Honestly, I have no idea what the best action would be from this point. As hard as it may be, you can only save so many ponies in war. The only thing I can think of is staying here. We just need to be on the constant lookout for another wave of attacks. We should set up a siren system, telling ponies to make their way to the castle for protection. This castle, being made of crystal, may be our best bet for protection. It is the only building in town that is almost fireproof. We should start canning apples for rations and teach these ponies to fight. We just need to hope that the changelings don't get another spy in the town to take us out from the inside. I think we need something that will drop a changelings disguise. If we know that the reformed changelings have glitter wings, then that'll tell us who is who. Maybe you could find someone who knows a way to drop a changelings pony form. If we catch a changeling in the town that isn't instantly trying to kill someone, then we can get them in for questioning on if they are here to reform or not."

Twilight seemed to like this answer. "That is the best we got for now. Tomorrow morning we will get with the mayor and set us up an alarm system. For now, it is best that you all get some rest. Blue, you especially need some rest after what you did. You used all your energy to save Izzy from that fire. Plus, you'll need your energy for your pinning tomorrow. Tomorrow you will become an officer in the royal guard. I will head back into the medical facility and see what the final death number is."

The rest of us all looked at each other before agreeing to get some rest. Though, before I could leave the room, I was stopped by Fluttershy. "Here, let me take a look at you. It has been a while since I looked at your injuries." While Fluttershy was saying this, she took off a saddlebag and started examining me. "You are just prone to injuries, aren't you? The old injuries that I first looked at have healed, but now you've gone and gotten yourself in more trouble."

I let her examine me and get to work. Her bag was filled with medical supplies, meaning she was ready to help as a field medic. I did not complain, and she took out old stitches and cleaned up any new wounds I had. I simply let her do whatever she needed to do. I was finally able to relax, knowing that she was confident in what she was doing. Most of my injuries had healed up enough for her to not worry too much, though she still cleaned them out as to prevent infections.

This medical examination took about an hour as she was very careful to make sure that I was in the best shape possible. Luckily, I didn't need to get any other stitches, just bandages that would be taken off after the wounds closed again.

She even guided me to the room I was staying in. I walked slow as the tiredness finally hit my muscles. Though, I still had enough energy to walk by myself. She helped me into my bed, setting my saddlebag on the table. She smiled, "You are very strong, but even I know that you should watch yourself. We do not have changeling blood for you if you bleed out more than we can help you with. You need to try to stay away from things that will cut, slash, or puncture you. You have already lost a good amount, and your body needs time to regenerate more. Now, I will see you later. Have a good night, Blue."

"Good night, and thank you." I said, watching her close the door behind her. I laid in bed, filled with emotion from what just happened. Everything happened so fast. It went from enjoying a party about the peace of kinds, to almost watching Izzy die in a fire. I was shocked that I made it out ok. I was not too worried about my self, though Fluttershy did make me see that I should. I have done too much to help reformed changelings get a chance during this time of war for me to die and not help others see the light of friendship. I was so tired from my actions that before long I just passed out. I fell asleep before I could process all the emotion from the day.