Report of a changeling soldier

Chapters

Day 1
Day 5
Day 15
Day 27
Day 7,020
Day 7,082

Day 1

My name is Cephalon and I’m a corporal in the changeling royal army. I lead the fifth division under the command of the leader of the third army General Pharynx. I am beginning an field diary for the purpose of providing an in depth report to high command of my squad's current mission. My squad has been tapped by high command to lead a full scale invasion of the pony city of Canterlot. Our queen infiltrated the city several weeks ago with the purpose of undermining a massive magical barrier the ponies erected to protect them from any potential attackers. Grand general Cadrodia gave word just this morning that the barrier had finally weakened to the point that a concerted use of brute force on it could bring it down. So we went to work on ramming into the barrier. Not at full force mind you, that would only turn us into bug guts shaped stains on the shield. However, with a steady and consistent hammering, we knew that we could shatter it. I remember when I first felt the vibration of the shield about the give. I saw General Pharynx grin as he flew out a bit further than the others to ram the barrier harder. My general was obviously trying to set a good example to the others in his squad. Naturally I followed his lead and mimicked his flight pattern. Three more strokes like that was all it took to completely shatter the barrier like glass.

My orders as a corporal in the changeling army are simple: follow any order given by General Pharynx. The details of our main battle strategy were generally doled out on a need to know basis and me and my squad didn’t need to know. I saw many changeling soldiers fly in the direction of a tower near the central castle. I joined this massive swarm until Pharynx called out to me and ordered me and my squad away from that swarm. I’m glad my general is there for us, the last thing I wanted was to risk a court marshal for going the wrong way. Nevertheless, General Pharynx ushered us due south into the city toward what looked like a large fortified, building. As we approached the building General Pharynx gave me our instructions.

“This is the main royal guard headquarters for this part of the city. Cadrodia want’s us to secure it.”

Pharynx lead the bulk of the squads himself against the front door but ordered my division and me to enter through a second story window. With my specific orders in hand, I led my squad to the left hoof side of the building. I figured our infiltration wouldn’t be noticed by the huge mass of guards at the front. As we flew towards the building, I told my right hoof soldier to shift himself into a rock to shatter one of the windows. The confusion he caused by breaking the window more than gave us the upper hand in defeating the small handful guards inside the room. It also kinda helped that by sheer coincidence my shifted squad mate accidentally smacked one of the guards square in the head. Regrettably, there were only three guards in the room and there were five of us. We needed to drain these creatures of their love energy. If we didn’t than we’d run out of changeling bile and that would severely hamper our ability to fight. I was offered up a guard and I drained him of his love. Not to the point of being lethal, though. The queen had given all of us strict orders to not gorge ourselves too much on our new meal tickets. I drained more than enough to replenish my bile reserves and have enough energy left over to keep me alive for close to a year. It’s pretty rare for a changeling to eat this good.

With those guards subdued, we burst out of the room and made our way through the building. We didn’t find many combatants on the second floor so we headed downstairs to join the main force. When we emerged from the second floor stairwell we ended up flanking the large mass of guards fighting with the rest of the general’s squads. I like to believe that my flanking maneuver distracted the guards enough for General Pharynx to finish subduing the guards in the station. But I find this thought absurd, these guards aren’t soldiers they’re nothing but lowly policemen. I could tell as I combated them that not a single one of these so called guards had seen a single day of war. They probably just sat around eating doughnuts all day; they were never any real match for our battle hardened changeling warriors.

Thankfully it didn’t take long for us to scour and rout the remaining resistance in the guard post. We cocooned the guards for a later feeding but not before my comrades replenished their bile reserves. Some of my squad mates wanted to wander out of the building to look around for stragglers but I put a stop to those ideas pretty quickly. We don’t move until General Pharynx ordered us to, I’ve gotta give my squad mates a lesson on the chain of command when the operation was over. That said I’ve gotta commend their proactive initiative. So we just stood there in the main hall of the HQ awaiting orders. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait too long as I saw General Pharynx going around issuing instructions to the various squad leaders. In due time the general got to us. I was quick to salute my general and thankfully my squad mates joined me. I informed him that we awaited his command to which he praised me for my diligence as a soldier and my spectacular work in flanking the enemy. Then he issued us our current orders:

“There’s an old crystal mine a few blocks south of here that opens up into a cave. I want you to go there and make sure that nopony escapes the city through those old tunnels.”

I knew about the tunnels he was talking about. Grand general Cadrodia had told us all about the tunnels as a means of infiltrating the city unnoticed. But now with us in control of the city it fell on my squad mates and me to prevent any of the enemy from ex-filtrating through those same tunnels. With an enthusiastic yes sir me and my squad departed for the crystal mine. When we got there ! found another changeling corporal guarding the cave entrance. Apparently another general had given this squad a similar instruction to ours. There was a bit of a squabble at first about who should guard the tunnel. In the end my squad agreed to head deeper into the caves to set up an ambush for ponies who manage to slip by them.

So me and my squad mates entered the tunnels to find a good spot to ambush any passing ponies. We've been searching through these tunnels all day without finding any good ambush spots. A few hours after we had entered the cave the guards above unleashed some kind of magical pulse from the surface. It propelled me and my squad quite violently into the wall of the cave. We didn’t sustain life threatening injuries but my right hoof man got himself knocked out from the force of the impact. It’s a good thing we’re made of sterner stuff than those soft ponies. There's no way any of them would be able to stand up to an impact that intense. I ordered my squad mates to pick up my right hoof man to carry him deeper into the tunnels. The guards had unleashed a powerful spell and I didn't want to risk capture by staying so close to the surface. Eventually I decided to rest for a bit to wait for my right hoof man to regain consciousness unless of course someling comes to relive us.

This is Corporal Cephalon, commander of the fifth battalion signing out.

Day 5

I haven’t thought to add anything into this field diary for a few days because until today not much of note happened. Fortunately for us my right hoof man regained consciousness pretty quickly after being knocked out. In terms of our mission General Pharynx had ordered us to guard the caves to prevent any of the ponies from escaping. With so much time having passed we only assumed that the changeling army had gained total control of the capital. I figured the best way for us to fulfill our orders was to set up a proper ambush for the fleeing ponies. Early on when we were planning our invasion we considered these caves as a means to infiltrate the city. Because of this several scouts went into this cave and mapped out a large. That said the scouts only scouted from points of cavern entry and were never able to figure out how some of the cave entrances connected. We needed to head in the direction of these exits. If ponies were going to attempt to escape we needed our ambush spot to be somewhere along that road. And if all else failed, if we reached a cave exit we could guard.

There are plenty of good ambush spots on the map, but I decided to ignore them and search deeper into uncharted parts of the cave. I figured that once the capital was fully locked down other squads will make their way to the charted parts of the caves. Even if we couldn’t find a good ambush spot, as long as we kept our compass bearings we’d probably find one of the known cave entrances. Sadly our search for a good alcove for an ambush in the uncharted areas was rather lacking at the time. After several hours of searching one of my squad-mates complained about our fruitless wandering. He promptly suggested that we could just shapeshift into crystals or set up a bile net to catch fleeing ponies.

My squad-mates sadly, have had little experience in serious warfare. I scolded him for the suggestion and explained the reason we needed a good ambush alcove but in my head I chuckled. I recall on one of my first tours of duty having a similar argument with my commander at the time. One day they’ll learn, though, I’ve just gotta keep coaxing them. We needed a good alcove with decent access to multiple tunnels and enough room to store captured prisoners for later feeding and interrogation.

It took us several hours, but we found our way to the end of the mineshaft and by extension the end of the map. There's nothing beyond that point but shimmering crystals. The second day and third day ended without us finding a good spot and I'm starting to wonder if there aren't any good spots in this direction at all. I know there’s a few cave exits to the east and I’m pretty sure that's the direction we're heading.

On the fourth day we finally came to a point where the crystals that illuminated our path gave way to what I assume was sandstone. We didn’t have to go too far into this part of the cave before it became so dark we couldn’t see normally. The darkness in this part of the cave is a blessing because we can more easily sneak up on unsuspecting ponies. I ordered us all to shape shift our eyes for low light so we could see better. At some point we came across a part of the cave that had completely collapsed. One of my squad mates suggested that it might be safer to go back the way we came. I scolded the changeling who said that, but I’m beginning to think he might have a point. Alas, General Pharynx's orders were abundantly clear, and I fully intend on carrying them out. What's more I figure we’re better off to press on. We’re more likely closer to an exit than the entrance we came from.

As we made our way through this part of the cavern, several small stones fell on us. In hindsight, I should have taken that as a sign that we were entering an extremely unstable area of the cave. I just assumed the fallen rocks were a result of the battle raging above us. A few hours after that a massive tremor rocked the cave and the ceiling started collapsing all around us. My squad mates froze up in fear at the cave in but my instincts wouldn’t allow me to do that. Most of my squad mates were well clear of the cave in but one of them sat motionless at the whole event. I shoved him out of the way of a large incoming rock before he could get flattened. Within moments though several tons of rocks fell between my squad mates and me. The last thing I heard them say before I lost them was my right hoof man calling after me. I had little time to think as I ran to dodge the falling boulders but the collapse was gaining on me. Just before I got squashed, I shifted into a rock as the tunnel’s ceiling at last fell on top of me.

I had survived the cave in, but I was trapped in rock form under several boulders. A situation as dire as this calls for me dipping into my bile reserves. I secreted a protective shell to keep the boulders in place and then secreted some more bile to seep through the cracks to find a way out. Fortunately, for me, my bile revealed I was extremely close to the edge of the cave in. Meaning I could safely shape shift my way out of the cave collapse without risking serious injury.

After doing so I came to the sobering realization that my squad mates were gone, trapped on the other side of the collapsed cavern. I feel absolutely horrible, General Pharynx has always taken such good care of me and my squad. And what do I go and do? Brazenly ignore obvious signs of danger and needlessly risk my comrades lives. I had no time to mourn their loss though I had to get out of that unstable part of the cave and carry on with the mission. As of this moment, I’m declaring my squad mates MIA. Hopefully, they survived and can go get reinforcements to rescue me but that’s hoping for too much. All that matters is the mission and if I find a way out of the cave all the better.

Fortunately, for me, I finally found not only a fairly stable area of the cave as it’s made of the hard crystal I’ve seen farther back in the cave. And fortunately for the mission this area is a perfect spot to set up an ambush hideout. There is a massive chamber for holding many prisoners. It’s isolated and cramped which means it’s off the beaten path not to mention the cave in has made the area harder to assail. But most importantly there’s several small tunnels stretching all over, small enough too not be easily noticed yet large enough that I can drag ponies through them. Presumably at least one leads to a probable escape route for any pony stragglers that I can catch off guard. For now though I’ll rest up and set up my base here tomorrow.

This is Corporal Cephalon, sole survivor of the fifth battalion signing out.

Day 15

It’s been several days since my previous entry into this journal and once again an event of interest has prompted me to make a report. But before any of that, an update on my ambush trap. Ever since the cave in claimed the lives of my squad mates I’ve gone to work setting up this small cavern to use as an ambush base. My first order of business naturally was to use my bile to create solid slime pillars to shore up the cave against any further cave ins. I've also created a bile lamp, so I could see better but made the light dim enough so ponies wouldn't detect my hideout. Indeed, After I illuminated the alcove I discovered several other narrow tunnels all over the place that I didn't notice initially. I certainly picked my ambush base well.

My next order of business was to scout out the various small passageways branching out of the cave. I made sure to only check the passages with enough room for me to drag through any prisoners I capture. Once I finished scouting, I concluded that there were only three tunnels ponies would likely use in their escape attempts: A straight tunnel with a level floor made of crystal, a winding tunnel composed of a brown stone, and an enormous cavern with a waterfall emptying out into the darkness.

I set up specially crafted bile strands to alert me to the presence of anypony inside any of these three caves. In all sincerity, these bile traps are some of my most inspired creations yet. I started by laying small interwoven bile meshes on the floors of these caverns. They're small and thin enough to be hard to see by anyone without a careful look. I then connected them back to a single easy to repair bile thread that I ran back to the base. Any movement on the meshes in the cavern would cause a vibration on the main thread that I could easily detect. As an added bonus I hooked the meshes into my bed, so I could be feel the vibrations even if I was asleep.

Once I knew somepony was there I’d go through the tunnel and ambush the offending parties. If they’re civilians, I'll simply intimidate them into doubling back through the caves to be captured by any changelings hunting them. We never leave our food unguarded and any escaped civilians are almost certainly being missed by very hungry changelings. Guards on the other hand are far more likely to be remnant resistance fighters rather than an escaped meal. Cadrodia has made it abundantly clear to us that prisoners of military value are to be captured for further interrogation and potential counterintelligence.

There’s something unusual about these caves. Ever since I set up my base in here, I can’t help but notice my love reserves are draining much faster than normal. I consumed more than enough love to last me years back on the surface. Yet despite this I found myself starving again within a day or two. I strongly suspect the crystals in these caves possess magical properties that are causing me to burn through my energy far quicker than usual. Even with this acceleration in play, I’ll probably have more than enough food to last for several months. Not to mention there’s enough subterranean wildlife passing through the waterfall cavern to top off my reserves. Not an ideal food source but I’ll make due.

Still no sign of any contact with my changeling brethren on the surface. I went missing fifteen days ago and there’s no indication they realize I’m trapped. This undoubtedly only leads me to one of two assumptions about why I haven’t had any contact with the others. One, they don’t know where I am and are frantically searching for me. Or two, they require me to continue the mission but haven't found the time to inform me of this fact. For now though I’ll stay here, I’m not gonna head back to the surface for further orders until a month goes by. If they take that long to get to me for even a report than it likely means that they want me to come back up.

Either way I said I had something to report so it’s time to report it. As of today I got my first hit. I was awoken in the morning by the bile thread leading to the winding cave vibrating. The only way I can easily move through these tiny chutes is to shape shift into a small spider about half my size. It also doesn't help that the bile threads are also being damaged by the weird properties of this cave. So I had to repair the thread as I went.

When I emerged in the tunnel, I was thrilled to see three pony civilians were sitting in one of the passageway's curves. They were laughing and drinking what I assume are some kind of pony alcoholic beverages around a lantern. It was immediately obvious to me that these ponies were runaways from the invasion. They talked extensively about escaping the Canterlot authorities and being thankful they found this cave to hide out in. Unfortunately, for them, it’s time for me to completely ruin their party. Since they’re civilians, I knew I had to scare them back the way they came but I didn’t know which way that was right away. Fortunately, I set up the bile mesh in such a way as to dent when triggered. Despite the damage to the fine bile, I quickly ascertained the direction they came from and positioned myself in the other end of the tunnel.

With an almighty roar and a flash of shape shifting, I turned myself into a massive bug. I had to be intimidating in the moment to get them running. With the combined work of the echo of the cave and my massive form, these ponies were quick to cry out in terror of me. They cried out that a monster had found them and quickly grabbed their lantern and fled back in the direction they came from. I find it a bit odd though that they didn’t realize I was a changeling. Surely they must have seen our massive bug forms many times before. Well, there’s no accounting for the stupidity of civilians.

With the information of where they came from in hand, I repaired my fine bile trap and set up a proper changeling web in the opposite end of the cavern they came from. So that’s three civilians stopped from escaping with a job well done, I’m closing this entry in my report.

This is Corporal Cephalon, Commander of the fifth battalion signing out.

Day 27

There’s been little to report on for the past few weeks. It’s getting pretty late into the month and still I’ve had absolutely no contact with anyling. I’m beginning to fear that perhaps they’ve forgotten about me all the way down here. NO! I’ll never believe it; General Pharynx would never let them leave a soldier behind. Although if the boy is correct… nah it’s too insane but I’m getting ahead of myself.

For some reason the wasting effect in this weird cave has only gotten worse since my last entry. I lose love energy more and more each day and my webs and traps are decaying more rapidly. It's requiring more and more bile to maintain them, and I'm rapidly running out. In terms of pure love energy though, I get plenty of energy from the frequent animals I catch in my traps. But the inflow of energy from those animals isn’t enough to keep ahead of how fast I’m burning through my bile. Damn, if only I hadn’t let that boy escape. My apologies I’m getting ahead of myself again.

It had been several days since my first positive hit with my trap. So imagine my shock when I woke up yesterday morning to discover a blinding light emanating from one of the tunnels. The seemed to be coming from the straight cavern with all of the crystals in it. I followed the light down through the chute to discover, once again the cave had damaged my bile thread. In fact, the thread was so badly damaged that the main thread had completely snapped halfway through.

When I got to the end of the tunnel, I discovered that somepony had strung up several crystalline lights on the walls. I have no idea how they were able to do this without me knowing. Then again, the bile line had been completely snapped. It had been at least two days since I had inspected that bile line in particular. I looked down both ways through the passage and saw the lights stretch out in both directions. While the how is a bit of a perplexing mystery, the why is patently obvious. These aren’t changeling lights they’re pony lights. My only guess is they’re laying the groundwork for a massive movement of ponies to escape through this tunnel.

They’re probably hoping that noling would notice what they were up but they’re unfortunately mistaken. The hive is always one step ahead of those who dare to go against it. I’ll stalk in the smaller tunnel tonight and wait for the mass movement to start, I can’t afford another bile failure. I must admit a degree of admiration for these ponies. These lights are very well built with deep moorings into the walls and the wires are all neat and tidy. It would probably take a changeling several weeks to do a similar job but these ponies got it done in a matter of days.

It took a while but eventually, my patience was at long last rewarded when a large group of ponies came into view. Like the first time a few days ago they were civilians but something was off about them. I would have expected them to be a bit more fearful of being caught, but they were comically carefree in their steps. In fact the lead pony was acting as if she were a tour guide for these caves and the ponies behind here were tourists. It was about time I showed them the error of their carefree attitude.

When they got close enough, I burst out of the hole to put myself between them and their exit. Like last time I shifted into my giant bug form. That form has always been good at intimidating small creatures and small minds. One of them cried out that I was the “bug monster of Canterlot cave.” They all shrieked and ran back the way they came; however, one filly stood right in front of me, pupils shrunken. Before I could take a swipe at her though she snapped a picture of me with her camera before fleeing. With that job well done, I returned to my alcove to wait for more ponies. There’s no way they’d go through all this trouble to set up this lighting system without expecting more ponies to come. I also made sure to spin a web up at the other end of the tunnel to make sure no stragglers could escape.

I waited up in the small tunnel entrance for several hours or what felt like several hours when at long last more ponies came. This time though I was greeted by a squad of guards. It was my first military hit in a month and I had too steel myself for a proper fight. They wouldn’t be as easily intimidated as those unarmed civilians had been. I waited carefully and when their back was turned I pounced on them. It took very little to subdue these guards. Once again the inferior quality of Canterlot's guards made it an easy fight; they’re nothing but common policemen who’ve never fought a war and these idiots were no exception. However, one guard was different. For some reason there was a blue gryphon guard among them and I could tell by combating him that the boy had seen war before.

Regrettably, I only succeeded in capturing the blue gryphon. He had stayed behind to cover the escape of his comrades, and that had sealed his fate. With the last bit of my bile, I incapacitated him and took him through the tunnel back to my hideout. After he had awoken, I started the interrogation. I quickly learned his name was Gallus, and he was investigating the monster spotted in the newly opened Canterlot caves tourist attraction. Or at least that’s what he claimed, he’s a good soldier and I suspect he’s lying to save his comrades. I interrogated him about his plans for the refugees and anything relevant to the resistance to our hive's invasion of Canterlot. What he said however convinced me beyond a shadow of a doubt he won't give up any information. He claimed the invasion of Canterlot failed on the first day. As much as I risk disciplinary action for saying this, I could believe that part of his story. It would at least explain why noling has come looking for me. But what he said next was completely insane. He claimed the invasion of Canterlot in fact had taken place close to twenty years ago. He also said that since then the changeling hive was reformed and friendly under the leadership of Thorax. He even claimed he married a changeling named Ocellus.

This just can’t be true, it’s only been a few weeks. If twenty years had gone by I’m confident I would have noticed. However, if his story is true that would certainly explain why my bile traps keep breaking down. No! I just can’t believe such a blatant lie. And then there’s that insane story he told me about Thorax being king. I knew Thorax well; there’s no way that he could dethrone our queen, he just doesn't have it in him. Also, he mentioned the hive “reforming”. What the buck does that even mean? Did this "king" redo how the hive rearranges itself. Come on man tell better lies. But what makes this whole thing just beyond parody is claiming he married my little sister Spiracle's nymph Ocellus. She's a sweet girl she’ll probably make a good spy someday. While the lies he's telling are fairly blatant the deep truth of who he is exists within those lies. He obviously knows changelings well otherwise he wouldn't know my niece and my general's brother. I strongly suspect he's part of a secret anti changeling task force that's been fighting our hive for a while. It would explain the war experience. I've fought off a few pony invaders skirmishing with the hive's forces in the past.

Unfortunately I can no longer report that I have this guard as a prisoner. I decided to keep him cocooned overnight too break his nerve but come the next morning I discovered he had escaped and was gone. I underestimated him and shouldn't have. That boy was the first guard that showed any war experience I’d seen and I didn’t secure him well enough. However, if he's been fighting the hive for a while in all likelihood, he's had training with breaking through bile. I won’t underestimate him again if I see him. Next time we meet boy I won’t let you slip through my hooves again.

This is Corporal Cephalon, leader of the fifth battalion signing out.

Day 7,020

Wow, a lot has happened since I last wrote in this field diary. So I might as well start at the beginning. I might release this journal to the world someday. I want my readers to understand my state of mind at the time. I was kicking myself pretty hard for losing my first real prisoner. I’m told what happened next happened close to a week after the incident with Gallus. But as far as I was concerned it was only a day or two.

I started wondering what to make of the guards and the illuminated tunnels. It was apparent that a refugee wave was still coming and that guards were likely to escort the next wave. I knew I had to be on high alert, especially if the boy was with the next wave. He’s just too dangerous to not take seriously. Honestly I was somewhat eager for a rematch with the only guard that had offered me any real resistance since this whole invasion started.

After returning to my hideout for a brief rest I worked back through the tunnel to wait for the next wave. However when I got there, I found all of the lights had been shut off. I assumed that the reason they killed the lights was to signal that this tunnel wasn’t safe to escape through. I felt a swelling of pride at having completed my mission in preventing anyone from escaping through these tunnels. The less safe routes out of Canterlot the better for the hive.

My bile was more or less depleted after that fight with the boy, I couldn’t risk using any on a trap. So I took to just patrolling through the tunnels the old fashioned way. A few hours by my reckoning passed before at long last I heard changeling chittering emanating from the straight tunnel. Military changelings have a special chittering language we use to communicate without alerting our enemies to what we're saying. Most of the creatures that might read this could probably hear it but I know it falls well outside the hearing range of dragons. We developed it specifically because of fighting with dragon raiders on the hive.

Whoever was chittering at me was telling me to come out of hiding and reveal myself. I quickly responded with my own chittering that I was coming out. When I emerged my heart soared as, I saw General Pharynx had come to rescue me personally. This wasn't the first time I'd been separated and then rescued by my hive mates. However, most of the time when that happened, my rescue came from other corporals under other generals. But this time here was General Pharynx coming in person to rescue his lost corporal.

I started off by saluting my general, it was protocol after all. After that General Pharynx demanded a report on the mission. I immediately launched into my status report on the mission, I reported the stragglers I had found including the guard that escaped from me the previous day. I motioned to the tunnel I had came from and told him we should set up a more permanent post up there. After I had finished, he chastised me for being out of contact for so long and demanded to know why I hadn’t reported back. I retorted that I was only out of contact for twenty eight days and that was well within protocol. He apologized for his mistake and said he wasn't aware of exactly how long I had been underground. With that out of the way at last General Pharynx praised me for my good work over the past several weeks and issued me new instructions. Apparently he was under orders from high command to personally escort me back to the surface to undertake a new mission. I acknowledged his orders, and he began to lead me out of the cavern.

On the way back we got to talking about how the invasion was going. He smiled and said everything was going well for the hive. He coaxed me into talking about the specifics of my encounters he said it was important. So I told him about the campers, the refugees, and the gryphon guard. I couldn't help but laugh as I told him the tall tale Gallus had told me about it being twenty years, he laughed along with the whole affair. Then he did something he rarely does with any of his corporals he allowed me to speak freely.

In hindsight I realize he was analyzing my state of mind when he gave me that privilege and too be fair it was entirely warranted given what had happened. He enticed me into to talking about our Queen and how loyal I was to her. A part of me feared this was a secret loyalty test but I trust Pharynx. So I told him I was loyal to the hive above all else. He applauded me for that and asked what I’d do if the queen betrayed the hive. To that I told him I'd happily banish her from the hive myself. I can’t abide traitors to the hive even our queen is not above punishment.

Then things got bizarre. He frequently asked me if I trusted him. Naturally I said yes because I'd trust him with my life. But when he got even more adamant about my loyalty and faith in him I started to wonder if something was wrong. His repeated desire to test my loyalty to him over our queen lead me to believe he was plotting a coup against our queen. In all likelihood that incompetent oaf Cadrodia had made a massive mistake and our Queen was refusing to dismiss him because of his loyalty to her. I likely would have supported him in this endeavor I've always hated Cadrodia. The son of a bug ordered me to ram head first into a maulwurf nine times times for no tactical gain.

Eventually I worked up the courage to ask him if he was asking for my support in a coup against the queen. He shook his head but appreciated the sentiment. My heart swelled at him praising me for being a great and loyal soldier before, at last telling me the truth.

“Everything that Gallus told you is true. You’ve been down here for twenty years.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Hearing those words come out of General Pharynx's mouth sent my mind into a total tailspin. I pleaded with him relentlessly, begging him to let up from this prank. However, deep down, hearing it from General Pharynx was more than enough to convince me. He was my commanding officer and a close friend who rescued me from that maulwurf I mentioned a bit earlier. I still can’t really fathom how I had somehow managed to stay down there for twenty years without knowing. I can only guess that the underground caves messed with my sense of time.

But one’s subconscious thoughts don’t really translate to conscious thoughts right away. So naturally I ran myself in circles refusing to accept the truth but eventually I came around to and admitted the truth. Of course accepting I had been trapped down in a cave for twenty years brought all kinds of dark thoughts. What would my sister think about all this? Would she even be able to accept that the sister she believed to be dead was still alive? General Pharynx told me that Spiracle was shocked but extremely happy to learn I was alive. But what about the new king? Gallus told me the hive was reformed and peaceful. Was there even a place for a changeling like me in the new hive? At that General Pharynx just chuckled and put a hoof on my shoulder. He promised me there was a place for me just like there's still a place for him. He then asked me if I was at long last ready to go home. With a yes he escorted me back up to the surface to be greeted by the guards I had fought a few weeks ago.

So there we have it twenty years late and at long last I’m relived of my duty. I was worried that the guard regiment and tourists I attacked would hold a grudge but they were surprisingly forgiving and understating. The guards understood I was just following orders, and many of them showered me with praise for showing a reliance most guards would never be capable of. Turns out ponies are fairly forgiving people and most of the tourists were fairly sympathetic. In fact the filly who took my picture was grateful for what happened. Apparently she managed to wow her friends by seeing the bug monster of Canterlot caves and having proof. That kid reminds of me when I was younger telling my sister tall tales about the big jungle beast I had seen the day before. Now I’m on a train back to the changeling hive in the personal care of my old commander.

This is Corporal Cephalon, lost soldier of the fifth battalion signing out.

Day 7,082

It’s been about two months since General Pharynx rescued me from the caves underneath Canterlot and I know what you’re thinking, have I reformed? The answer is obviously yes. It didn’t take that much prodding from Tymbal to get me to give love rather than drain it. I’ve always loved my squad mates, General Pharynx, and my sister of course. I find being a reformed changeling both rewarding and frustrating. It's nice to no longer be consumed by constant hunger. However, I've noticed that I can no longer produce changeling bile anymore. Thankfully it's not just me; none of us can make that stuff anymore. Apparently it's because we used our extra absorbed love to produce it.

I was a bit worried about how the other changelings would receive me when I got back home. I honestly expected a lot of distrust but in fact pretty much every changeling young and old is eager to hear my opinions about the hive. I'm told the reason for all the interest is because I never repressed our time in the old hive like they did. They were fairly curious if our hive was better off now than under the hoof of our former queen. On that question I can for sure say things are better than before. Sure without bile it's a bit harder to construct things and wage war. But now that we're not starving ourselves for no reason we don't need to constantly wage war. Also we use these things called bits to get ponies to build us things.

I also have a different perspective on General Pharynx than the other changelings. Apparently he was quite stubborn in giving up the old ways, and it took a lot of work to get him to reform. Many changelings are still a bit wary of him for being a menace in the past. However, hearing me talk about my wonderful time serving under him has allowed everyling that doubted him to see his caring side. He also got appointed to the post of grand general by King Thorax and honestly he couldn't have picked a better changeling for the job.

I should talk about my squad mates a bit because it turns out that they all survived the cave in. I could hardly believe my eyes when they greeted me and welcomed me back to the hive. It turns out when we got separated, they doubled back towards the surface where they were subsequently arrested by the Canterlot authorities. They were held as POWs for many years in a dark forgotten Canterlot dungeon before being released after the hive reformed. Seeing them alive, put much of the guilt and shame I had over the incident to rest but I still endangered them and shouldn't have. I’ve developed a bit of friendship with my former right hoof changeling. In the years after the hive reformed, he’s taken a liking to soup so much so they started calling him Soupling.

I was worried that my sister would freak out at having me back but just like Pharynx had said she’s just happy I’m alive and well. She’s honestly a lot happier now that everything’s been reformed, she used to be even more of a stick in the mud than I was back then. Buck even former grand general Cadrodia is better off with the way things are now. After the hive reformed, he quit the army and wrote a biography for Queen Chrysalis. He’s a much better biographer than he ever was a commander. I’ll never understand why Queen Chrysalis chose him to be grand general.

Ah our former queen. Apparently it’s a rite of passage for changelings to go to Canterlot to visit our queen. I just got back from a trip to Canterlot to partake in this tradition a few weeks ago. It was kinda somber really to see our former queen reduced to nothing but a terrifying statue. Even at the end of everything she went down fighting. Can’t say I liked her that much but she loved the hive and everyling in it. If only things could have turned out differently.

While I was in Canterlot I went to visit Gallus. I never realized at the time how instrumental Gallus was in my rescue from the caves. Turns out sticking a changeling underground for twenty years really messes with their head and I had forgotten a large part of the time he spent in my custody. He told me that while I was interrogating him I went off on long winded rambles about pretty much everything under the sun. Apparently in those long tangents I mentioned my adoration for my commander General Pharynx, and that's how the guards knew to get him in particular to rescue me. He also explained to me there was a secret plan in place to seal me in the tunnels if Pharynx didn’t think I would reform. Kinda cruel but I can understand why they did it. My hive what kind of madness would I have descended into if I hadn't reformed. Not to mention the pits of madness I descended into during those twenty years. My niece couldn’t have asked for a better husband in that boy, and I couldn’t have asked for a better nephew. He’s a good soldier through, and through. I can’t help but wonder if my respect for him is why I turned the same shade of blue as him when I reformed.

I also paid a visit to Ocellus in Ponyville. She was honestly thrilled to have a brand-new aunt in her life. I mentioned in this combat journal that she’s a sweet girl but I made a terrible error in judging her. I remarked she’d make a good spy one day but now I understand she’d make a better drill sergeant considering her current job. She also introduced me to her other friends and honestly we get along well.

But what about me you might wonder? Well, I never left the army. I never lost my zeal for protecting the hive and thanks to my quite frankly harrowing story I got a well deserved promotion to general. It’s nice to be back with changelings and commanding again. These new recruits are young, but I can drill them well enough to make them a squad worthy of defending the hive. My life couldn't be any happier. The hive is a much more fun place with the new reforms. This only steels my resolve to defend it and our changeling brethren from any danger lurking out there.

That said I’m writing this addendum in the face of a major crisis. There’s an evil alicorn calling herself Opaline Arcana ravaging Equestria. King Thorax has committed the hive's army to help combat this menace. Most of the other Generals have already shipped out to reinforce the defenses in horseshoe bay. I'm supposed to join them, but I broke off from the swarm half way there to go to the gryphon city of Buckbeak. Ocellus's friend Silverstream got me in touch with a friend of hers, a changeling queen who calls herself Queen Bivouac. I never knew there were other changeling queens but Queen Bivouac insists she’s the last royal aside from Thorax. She wants my help in attempting to bring back the first changeling queen to help fight Opaline. I know I'm going against orders by doing this but Grand general Pharynx ordered me to stop Opaline from harming Horseshoe bay. And if Opaline is defeated by the first changeling queen then horseshoe bay will be safe from her. So I don't think he'll mind if I go on this little side mission if it’ll help me accomplish that mission. Fortunately for me Queen Bivouac promised me she'd send her lieutenant Freya, a squad of parrot mercenaries, and four changebots to fill in for my squad at Horseshoe Bay. I have no idea what a changebot is but the queen assures me they're some of her best weapons. When I finish up with the Opaline campaign, I’m thinking about taking Soupling up on his offer to spend a day with him in Canterlot.

This is General Cephalon, leader of the third army signing out.