"Hey Lazybones, get up!"
Shade blearily opened his eyes as the cave swam into focus. For a moment he was confused. Why aren't we at the Hive? Then the hoof that had prodded him into awareness jabbed his side again, and with a groan he rolled over to stare up at his companion. It turned out to be none other than the king of stuck-ups himself, Rune. He glared down at Shade with bright green eyes, wings buzzing impatiently.
Shade covered his eyes with one hole-covered hoof - not that it did much good - and rolled back over, mumbling, "Go away."
A snort from behind him told the Changeling that his request was not going to be granted. "Come on newbie, it's two days 'til the battle and we have a lot of training to do. Or have you forgotten?"
Oh, that's right, the battle. Now I get it. Shade opened one eye and gazed mildly up at his companion. "Actually, yeah, I did.. Being rudely awoken from a really deep sleep can do that to a changeling. Is breakfast ready yet?"
Rune snorted again and replied, "In a couple of days you can feed to your heart's content. If you're too weak to make it 'til then, you shouldn't be here." He poked Shade again, then turned away and marched out of the small cave.
Shade closed his eyes again for a moment, then decided that a few more minutes of sleep wasn't worth Rune's wrath. He wished he could remember his dream though. With a small sigh, he reopened his violet-coloured eyes, and began his day.
Rather than excersizing his legs, and regaining the feeling in them, he unfurled his wings and flew - well, more like dragged himself through the air; hooves inches from the ground, head drooping with his eyes half closed - over to the entrance and- smacked face-first into the wall. He promptly fell onto his back,eyes now wide open.
"Well. I'm awake now." He said, to no one in particular. He got up, shaking his head to clear it, and trotted outside, being careful to avoid the other side of the cave. He winced at the sudden brightness of the sun, and almost walked into a tree. Ugh. I really need to be more careful. Either that or get some more sleep. That would work too.
Slowly regaining some feeling in his legs, Shade walked through their makeshift training camp, head swinging side to side. He was looking for- "Frostbite!" The female turned her head, her light blue eyes sweeping the area. "Hey Shade!" She grinned, the sun glinting off her unusually long fangs. "Did Rune hit you again? You've got a bruise on your face," Frostbite said, gently placing her hoof on her friend's shoulder.
Shade rolled his eyes. "Nah. I just walked into a wall." The two shared a laugh for a moment, then became serious. "We'd better get going. I was just heading on over to the 'arena,' wanna come?" The lighter coloured changeling asked. "Sure. I need all the practice I can get," Shade replied, and they took to the air.
The "Arena" was really just a small meadow they had found near the camp, which they now used for battle training. In the month they had been here, the once beautiful clearing had basically turned into a blood-splattered patch of dirt. The training sessions were brutal, and when Shade was there, his blood was spilled heavily and often.
When the two friends landed in the shadows of the trees just at the edge of the area, another battle was already taking place. Two large males were circling eachother, snapping and hissing. The darker one lunged at the other, sinking his fangs into the slightly smaller one's neck. He threw it to the ground, and the smaller one struggled for a moment before giving in with a small growl.
"Good." Another male stepped forward, who Shade recognized as the training instructor, Slash. His large yellow eyes swept over the changeling on the ground. "You're both improving. This time, I think Fang won by pure luck."
The one called Fang didn't seem to pleased with this; he narrowed his eyes and glared at the intructor. Slash glanced up at him. "You are both excellent fighters. The queen would agree, if she could were here now. But you could both be a little quicker. Go practice against others, and when you feel ready, come face eachother again. Now, who is next?"
Shade and Frostbite trotted forward into the center of the clearing. Frostbite hurried forward eagerly, while her companion dragged his hooves. "What's wrong with you?" Frostbite hissed to her friend. "Show a little enthusiasm!" Shade shrugged. "I'm just not good at fighting. Every time, I just get beaten up and yelled at." By now they were in front of the instructor, who surveyed them carefully.
"Hmm... Ah yes, Frostbite. A promising young warrior." (Frostbite beamed at this rare compliment. Shade rolled just rolled his eyes and looked at the ground.) "I don't think you are the best one to fight Shade," he continued. "I don't want you taking it easy on him. The sooner he learns to toughen up, the better. He won't last five minutes in Canterlot if he doesn't." Shade's head snapped up. "I'm tough!" He snarled, flaring her wings. Slash raised an eyebrow. "Then why have I never seen you win a battle, even with your best friend?" He replied coldly."I will fight you myself. Frostbite, head over there and meet Blaze."
After Frostbite had flown happily over to greet the male, Slash got into battle position.
-----------------------------------------
Shade groaned. His whole body hurt. Slash had shown him no mercy during their training session, and he was now covered with scratches, and even a deep crack in his shell where Slash had thrown him into a boulder. He was limping slowly along beside Frostbite, who was flying along quite happily. Apparently she had beaten Blaze easily, even though he had a reputation as a great fighter. "Stupid.. annoying..." Shade muttered, not even paying attention to his friend's words anymore. It probably didn't even apply to him anyway. She had been going on and on about the training session ever since they left the clearing.
"And then he said- "Oh, SHUT UP!" Shade snarled. "I don't care, okay? I just don't care how great you are at fighting, I don't care how easily you took down Blaze, and I don't care about whatever the hell he said! So just shut up!"
Frostbite froze, staring at Shade with wide eyes. She took a step toward her friend. "You know if you just tried harder, you could be great too." "Just leave me alone, okay?" Shade snapped. "Can't you see I'm trying as hard as I can? You think I like being told I'm worthless? That's why I don't 'try harder'? Well wake up, Frostbite, because I don't!" He yelled, and trotted quickly (and painfully) back to the small cave he was staying in. He flopped down on his nest and curled up, closing his eyes. Why am I so horrible at this? The thought echoed endlessly in his tired head.Slash is right. I'll probably die in the battle, and then they'll be free of me. I bet Frostbite won't even miss me. The thought hurt.
Two Days Later
Just shut up, okay?!
The words he had said to Frostbite echoed in Shade's head as he hovered over Canterlot. He hadn't been able to find her the day before, and had spent the time getting beaten by Rune and Blaze. It especially bugged him that the male Frostbite had been able to take down so easily had pinned him in ten seconds flat. But by now, as they were about to enter the fight, he regretted what he had said to his best friend; there was no guarantee that they would all come back. He and Frostbite were still pretty inexperienced, and he was worried that those were the last words he would ever say to her...
He shook his head. No. He would find her and apologize before the fight began. They would fight side by side and.... then what? He would get his flank kicked, that's what. If any one wasn't going to make it through this battle, it was Shade. With a small sigh, he began searching frantically through the crowd, calling to her.
~
"Frostbite!"
The albino female heard her name, being called from somewhere closeby, and recognized the voice instantly. Shade. She hissed quietly. If he thought finding her would be easy, hed better think again. She sure wasnt going to make it so. She weaved her way through the mass of changelings, speeding far away from the voice of her former friend.
~
"Hey, you! Get back into position!"
Shade whirled around, to find one of the higher ranked changelings - he didn't know his name - hovering a few feet away, and glaring at him.
"I'm just looking for my friend, sir." He replied, as calmly as he could manage; it had to be almost time to attack the forcefield. Once the fight began, there was no way he was going to find Frostbite.
The other narrowed his eyes. "Did I ask what you were doing? No. Now get back into position!" He snarled, baring his fangs.
"But-" Shade stopped mid-sentance as the battle cry sounded not far away. The changelings all began to slam themselves against the forcefield, cracks appearing here and there. Shade did the best he could, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to make any impact. He flew as fast as he could at the barrier, but simply bounced off. The others weren't making a lot of progress either. Shade stopped for a moment, panting slightly, and looked down into Canterlot. He could see six ponies charging out of the castle, looking fearfully up at the Changeling swarm.
"All together!" Rune's cry echoed across the area, and all of them flew straight up, then dived, crashing against the purple barrier. Cracks spread across the dome, and it shattered. They began to drop, green light blazing from their horns. Shade quickly dropped, landing carefully on the stone path. All around him, his companions were crashing into the earth, leaving small craters behind. It was complete chaos; everywhere he looked, ponies and changelings were locked in battle, blood and dirt flying. Shade spun around, searching frantically for Frostbite. He saw a large group chasing after the six ponies; a flash of white caught his eye, and he sprinted towards them.
~
Frostbite was terrified, happy, and furious all at the same time. All around her, her friends were getting hurt, even killed... but she wouldn't let herself think about that. This was what she had been training for. She was ready. She skidded to a stop, in front of the ponies they were chasing. Around her, the others were taking the forms of the horrible creatures. She took the hint, and transformed into the blue one, with the rainbow mane.
"Don't let them distract you," the purple one said, "We need to get the Elements of Harmony, they're our only hope!" She was obviously the leader, if such a thing existed among creatures like them. The ponies charged, and the Changelings surged forward to meet them.
~
Shade watched as they fought. He tried to keep sight of his friend, but with her looking exactly like so many of the others now, it was impossible. He joined the battle himself, dodging hooves and magic spells, ducking and rolling as he had never done before. An orange hoof swung by, inches in front of his face, and he let out a shriek of surprise and fear.
Okay. Focus, Shade. Just get to Frostbite, and then everything will be fine. You'll know she's okay, and- there!
He had spotted her. She was in changeling form ,standing in front of a pink pony with a frizzy mane, who for some reason was... smiling? Giggling even. Shade watched in amazement as Frostbite took several forms, each obviously terrifying, but for some reason the pink pony just continued to laugh.
"Do me! Do me!" Shade heard her squeal. Frostbite rolled her eyes, and took the form of the strange pony, arms spread wide with a smile on her face. If Shade hadn't known who was who, he wouldn't have been able to tell, but... now the pony was frowning.
"Meh. I've seen better." She said, then grabbed the purple unicorn and... what? Shade wasn't really sure what happened. Blasts of magic flew out of the unicorn's horn, sending Changelings flying every which way, including-
"Frostbi- OOF!" Two orange hooves had come out of nowhere and nailed him in the belly. He flew backwards a few feet, into the side of a partly destroyed building. He lay there for a moment, stunned at the strength of the pony, then got up, shaking his head frantically to clear it. He stumbled forward, and when his vision focused, he saw the ponies had been surrounded, and all the changelings were back in their normal forms. He trotted forward quickly, baring his fangs at the pony nearest to him. He had no idea where Frostbite was now, but Shade wanted to make sure these monsters were brought safely to the Queen.
When they reached the doors to the castle, he stopped just outside, and stood guard, just in case they tried to run. He had no doubt that they would be too afraid to try escaping again, though, now they were in the presence of the Queen. She was standing at the window, looking proudly out at what her army had accomplished.
Chrysalis turned to the Changelings still in the room. "Go! Feed!" She cried triumphantly. Most of the others left eagerly, but Shade lingered for a moment, making sure everything was okay. The Queen nodded at him, and he bowed quickly before trotting back outside.
There was no more fighting, only frightened ponies cowering as the Changelings surrounded them. Good, Shade thought, They deserve to suffer, after all they've done to my kind...
He joined a small group backing a small family into an alley. He smiled, showing his long, curved fangs to them. He glanced at the smallest one. It was no more than a filly, and it stared at him with wide, terrified eyes. It turned and buried it's face in it's mother's shoulder, shaking. A tear ran down the mother's cheek as she looked at the Changelings, and hugged her child tightly. Shade faltered a bit. He looked at the father, stared right into the male pony's eyes, and what he saw there confused him.
He saw anger, and fear, but most of all he saw love. The very thing that the Changelings needed to survive. The only reason love existed was to feed them.... wasn't it? He took another step towards the family, and the stallion stepped protectively in front of the other two. Shade continued to search his eyes. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and at that moment Shade felt as if he was truely staring into this ponies very being. He saw fire, burning rage, and the desire, no, the need to protect his family from anything that came at them. There was sorrow there too, because he knew that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't save his family this time.
Out of nowhere, there was an explosion behind them, coming from the castle. He heard the Queen's scream of pure horror, and as he turned, all he could see was a wall of magic speeding toward him. When it hit him, he was propelled backwards through the air, but even as he tumbled head over hooves through the sky, he watched the family of ponies. The magic had washed over them, completely harmless to their race, and they were hugging eachother, sobbing. Shade couldn't imagine why. They were safe now, weren't they? How unfair that they were still there, while Shade and his fellow changelings were being flung out across Equestria.
The thought terrified him. He stopped thinking of the family, stopped thinking about Frostbite for probably the first time in two days, stopped thinking altogether. The only thought left in his head was:
Where the hell am I going to land?
