Like Brother, Like Sister?by MazzeyleChaptersChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter OneMetamorpha Changelings are born on a massive scale. While a mare will only have one, or at the most, 2 foals at one time, a changeling queen can have hundreds of offspring at once. This is why sibling bonds are so unusual amongst changelings. But, my brother and I are twins. While all changelings have hundreds of brothers and sisters, two changelings born from one egg is a very, very rare occasion. Twins are treated slightly differently than regular changelings, for one they must graduate each rank together, if one is not doing well, their twin is held back too. This often, as expected, creates rifts between the twins; in fact that is the purpose of “the twin laws”. Bonds are dangerous; bonds put another changeling before the queen. But for Variation and I, these obscure rules only strengthened our connection, and because of the laws nature, even though some tried to separate us to break the bond, they failed. Variation and I were truly inseparable. When I snapped my right wing, he refused to participate in the big race at our hive’s flight school, purely because he knew I desired to compete. When he experienced a common but oh-so embarrassing issue of being stuck in a transformation temporarily (even more unluckily it happen when our class was practicing transforming into the opposite gender) I stood by him and defended him from the bullies, reminding them of their embarrassing moments. But that was then, and this is now. ~ Variation Chaos in the barracks, everyling stumbling out of their hammocks, desperately looking for their uniforms! Why had the queen summoned all us at such an odd time? And why hasn't anyling lit the candles! I few up to the chandelier, and cast one of the first spells I was taught, a simple spark spell. My horn shone emerald, just like every other changeling’s, then a small spark arched from my horn to the candle, igniting it. I glided back down to the slick black floor. I then went to the heap of uniforms, strewn from their customary places in various chests, and began searching for mine. When I found it, I tossed it over my shoulder and onto my back, before carefully securing the fastener with my teeth, making sure not to puncture the material. I momentarily paused at the polished stone we use as a mirror to make certain that everything was in order, and then joined the group galloping toward the throne room. ~ Metamorpha I trotted toward the throne room in the company of my barrack-mates. As we walked we speculated softy about why the queen summoned us. The guesses ranged from that she was ready for a new brood (something that has not happened in quite some time because, “we need to focus on training who we have now”) to another hive has trespassed on our territory. We had the leisure of not hurrying because our barracks are closest to the throne room. We entered the grand hallway, unlike the barracks; the light source in here is exclusively magic. It had a soft green glow that filtered through the translucent jade of Queen Chrysalis’s throne. Changelings funneled in through numerous entrances to stand before the queen. It seemed our slow pace had been a bit too slow, we were not as early as I imagined. I spotted Variation a few rows over. I made my way through the crowd toward him, disgruntling a few changelings in the process. Nonetheless we found a place to stand and turned our attention to the queen. ~ My children, I know you are confused and disorientated, as you are normally sleeping at this time. But I wished to inform you of the situation and the plan immediately. I simply could not wait until you awoke. We have lived here in the so called “badlands” for too long, for too long we have existed on scraps of love in an all but loveless land, when vast rivers of love flow through our neighbor’s lands. The time has come to take what is ours, we could be so powerful, so great, but we allow ourselves to be controlled by the Equestrians. Today is the day we begin our operation. We have positioned sleeper cells in the royal guard at key locations. When we attack, they will work from the inside to bring down Canterlot. Soon I must leave you, my children, to take my place in Canterlot. We still have some time before our attack, but we must begin preparing ourselves, polish your armor, sharpen your fangs, the time is soon. Now, be gone! ~ Metamorpha Small gasps and murmurs, that could not be heard over the queens booming voice could now be received in her silence. I turned to Variation. “Did I hear right? Is she really planning on attacking Canterlot?” I almost shouted, before catching myself. “It seems that way my sister.” Variation’s voice was calm, but his eyes were wide, he was just as shocked as everyling else. We walked back to our barracks as instructed. We didn't talk at all. When we reached my sleeping area, I gave a quick, stiff nod before entering my room. I was not sure what I thought. On one hand attacking Canterlot was practically a suicide mission. We have maintained a thin peace with Equestria, and they have left us alone for it. But on the other hand, it is what the queen wishes, and that is all that matters. I will give my life for the queen, and this is no exception. ~ Variation I did not wish my sister to see my distress, so I kept myself composed until I returned to my barrack, once there, I began the freak-out. “Panic Panic Panic! Oh my god, oh my god! Ok, ok. Calm yourself Variation, you’ll think of something.” I said silently to myself “What is the queen thinking? We are fine as we are, why is she trying to change that! She clearly has not thought this through. No! Stop it! You must never question the queen! This is the first thing you where thought! If we fail, we will be killed! Massacred in the streets! People will look for our “floaters”, changelings who have infiltrated ponies’ families, and kill them! They will be secret no more!” I mumbled inaudibly to myself. My barrack-mates were staring, but I didn't care. “Even if we succeed, we will fail! If our ultimate goal is to harvest the love in Equestria, it will not work! How could anyling possibly love in a world where they are suspicious of everypony they meet? Gah! We are doomed! I’m doomed! I either take part in this foolish mission or I will be executed for treason. I guess my chances are better helping the hive but still…” I groaned and flopped into my web-like hammock. I might as well get some sleep; there is nothing I can do about this now. Author's Note Originaly I used everypony, but I changed it to everyling, sorry if this is confusing, Chapter TwoChapter 2 Metamorpha It was really surprising how few ponies were out. Not that they could see us. We were under an enchantment that rendered us virtually invisible. Anypony that looked up may see a flock of birds, but would suspect nothing. As a changeling of moderate rank, I commanded a small group of 15. We were the backups. After the initial groups used all their strength to breach the wall, we would fly in to do whatever the queen wishes. We flew and flew, eventually the buzzing of everyone’s wings got to me; I was ready to be in Canterlot dammit! But from the look on my brother’s face, he was anything but eager to be there. Some ponies say that changelings are one hive mind with no individuals. While this is far from true for those of decent rank, something about everyling else’s excitement made it contagious. I was ready! We had hundreds of our kind, and Canterlot would be sooo busy with their cute little princess’s wedding that they would not have their guard up. We knew about the barrier, we knew they were expecting something, but surely they wouldn't be prepared for this? Hah! Who cares? We will be victorious! My doubts faded away to the hum of our wings working at full power. ~ Variation I was terrified. This is an emotion I had never felt before and never thought I would. Usually when I get worried, Metamorpha quells my fears, but now, I was quickly losing faith in her. In only a few hours her face morphed from grim fortitude to wild anticipation! What was she doing? She knew this was a bad idea; we had discussed it hours before and she agreed with me! I would have tried to talk her down, but we were flying so fast, I doubt that the sound would carry. With nothing better to do, I checked on our troops. Our 15 low-rank changelings buzzed right along, occasionally exchanging hisses of anticipation. These type of changelings are why ponies think we are a hive mind. Upper rank changeling call them, not so affectionately, “goons”, because, that is all they really are. Goons are so stupid; they are almost incapable of following more than a simple task. They even look dumb. Gender-less and hornless, they look more like insects than changelings. They give all changelings a bad name. I picked up my speed and slowly crept back to my place next to my sister, but not before I saw something odd, a flash of cobalt, rapidly growing in size. I paused a few too many moments before I realized what it was. I shouted as loudly as I possibly could “We are under attack!” The blue light, which was in fact, a magical attack, came dangerously close to my left wing, skyrocketed past with a loud hiss. Metamorpha quickly bore right; I shadowed leading the goons behind me. Who was attacking us? How did they see us? Another discharge of magic was unleashed, but not before we picked up speed. Unfortunately for them, two of our goons were not as fast as Metamorpha and I, and were hit with the blast. Their bodies drifted to the ground, lifeless. We lost two! No matter, we would manage without them. Our speed carried us swiftly away from the origin of the attack, but we did not decrease our speed until we were very, very far away. I was getting hungry, not a feeling you want to get on your way to the climactic battle. How would we manage to quickly drum up love in a single night? We had to feed quickly because we were only given two days and one night to reach our destination. Could we fight on unfilled stomachs? ~ Metamorpha Damn it! Two down, how many more to go? We would never have enough soldiers in Canterlot at this rate! “Variation! We need to apprise the nearby units of this! Slow your pace!” I shouted over the winds. Variation nodded before moving back toward the goons to tell them we would be decelerating. “Thank you, Brother.” I said at a more comfortable volume , “I need to conjure a message and attach it to one of the goons, I know we cannot truly spare another, but it is important that we let the others know.” “I agree” Variation simply replied. I concentrated on forming a note. First I formed the paper, then the words on it. Producing something from nothing was not an easy task; hard for even the simplest things, anything remotely complex would be next to impossible except for those greatly talented in magic. The document said simply: Blue magic, probably unicorn. Hit troops, two down. Attacker appears to be able to see through illusion. Be careful. Any more words than that would have been too exerting. I had Variation secure the note to the fastest goon’s flank and give it orders to fly to the commanders of as many legions as it could find. We were a good day’s fly away from Canterlot and fading fast, we needed rest and if possible, nourishment. Variation and I decided that we were ready to stop, and decided the nearby not quite a town of Dodge Junction was a good choice. We prepared our predetermined disguises- a family of lost, hungry and tired ponies looking for a place to stay for the night. While not as sweet as love, pity is a form of it, and would give us the energy that we would surely need in Canterlot. Honestly, I automatically hate any form that was not my own. Some changelings love transforming and the “rush” that it gives them. I have no such fondness. Since there are very few alicorns in this world, I have to choose, wings or horn; magic, or flight. And I hated it. My form was simple, a pegasus with a light purple coat; blue eyes, mane, and tail; and a purposely vague cutie mark of a pencil. Variations form was only slightly different. He donned a deep blue coat, teal mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a paintbrush, just as ambiguous as mine. The goons were replaced by bouncy foals and aloof teenager-ponies, looking bored. When we had sufficiently checked our appearances, we started the short walk toward Dodge Junction. Chapter ThreeChapter 3 Variation Dodge Junction, pretty much the smallest town in Equestria. To maintain the appearance of travel worn ponies, we had to scrape ourselves up a bit. I found a small cactus and broke a piece off; I then went around to the goons and scratched them with the needles. A few hissed at me and they all gave me dirty looks but none of them retaliated, as expected. Metamorpha pawed the ground, loosening some of the hard packed soil. In a minor break of her disguise, she levitated it above our group then released it on top of us. “A little warning next time?” I coughed. “Sorry about that”, Metamorpha chuckled After we were thoroughly dirtied and scuffed, we walked the rest of the trot. ~ Metamorpha A few ponies eyed us suspiciously, but when we asked where we could get some food, they smiled welcomingly and pointed us in the correct direction, as if we could get lost in such a dinky town. Little did they know that the pity emanating from them was the only food we required. Unfortunately, now that we had asked where the store was, we actually had to acquire some food there. Apparently, their specialty was cherries, meaning most of all of the food was in some was related to cherries. Cherry pie, cherry candy, etcetera. And it all looked disgusting. Eating pony food was a chore, which sadly had to be accomplished to maintain our guises. I pulled 3 bits out of my saddle bag and bought a bag of red cherries. I pulled one out of the bag and I chewed. Ugh. I loathe pony food. I still tried to feign enjoyment though by smiling and momentarily closing my eyes, but in reality, it tasted like filth. The hotel was only a few buildings away from the store, but we tried to make a show of how tired we were to harvest as much pity as we could. On the way there a unicorn mare with far too many things in her saddlebags and levitating around her, had a pouch of coins fall from her spell. Seeing my chance to get even more nourishment, grabbed the bag and ran after her. When she saw me racing after her, the gratitude started pouring from her in waves. It was instinctive. I pulled the energy flowing from her. I got greedy, I was hungry, and pity was like thin wafers, unable to give me the power my biology craved. As she thanked me for returning her bits, I sucked gallons of pure energy from her. The spell holding all of her items faltered, and they came crashing to the ground. “Oh, silly me”, she looked dazed, like she was not fully here. “Let me help you”, I offered “Oh, no, it’s fine, thank you for returning my money, but I’m fine now” she absent mindedly shoved objects into her already full bags while I trotted off, felling euphoric and satisfied. “You should not have done that”, Variation glared at me, slightly rupturing my bubble of bliss. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself”, I faked an apologetic pout, but in reality, I knew Variation was just jealous of my now full energy reserves. The hotel was now in sight. We walked through the front door and toward a desk with a very uptight looking pony behind it. “Do you have any open rooms?” I inquired. “Let me see.” The pony, whose name was apparently Gleaming Carpet according to the nameplate on the desk (I couldn’t help but giggle under my breath at that, who names a foal, “Gleaming Carpet”?). I knew looking through that register on the desk was purely for show, as there were many, many keys on the hooks behind him. “We have a few rooms but, um, will you be requiring two? We have a connected suite.” He asked looking over the brim of his spectacles. Looking behind me at our large entourage I replied, “Yes, a connected suite would be nice.” He turned to the wall of keys behind him and collected two sets in his mouth. “I need a 20 bit deposit and the room is 10 bits a night, how long will you be staying?” he said, pushing the keys across the counter while looking expectant, probably for his deposit. “Just the night” I replied fishing the bits out of my saddle bag. Ugh. No horn. The metallic tang of the metal spread around my mouth, threating to gag me. “Very well,” He pushed the coins I placed on the counter into a box, “you will get your deposit upon the return of your room key.” When we got to our rooms, I shoved the goons into the room adjacent to the suite, and then walked to the one Variation and I would share. Even though I had harvested my fill of power, I had been awake and flying for hours, and the one of the two giant beds called to me. “Variation, I need sleep, will you goon proof the other room?” Variation grumbled but trotted to and open the door that led to our other room anyway. I was dead to the world before my head even hit the hotel’s feather pillow. I dreamed of flying around Equestria in my true form. Free from the use of other ponies skins. I guess I got careless, I have been doing that a lot lately. I subconsciously (honestly, it may have been just a bit consciously), allowed my form to slip-away. As I said, I hate any form that is not my own. In my haste to get to bed, I had not shut the curtains in our first floor room, my mistake. Ponies don’t react well to seeing changelings in their own form. And in a settler town, they have weapons. I awoke to Variation’s shouts. “Metamorpha you fool! Wake up!” he bellowed. “Huh?”, I inquired before rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Shit. Black hooves, riddled with holes. Great, I was never going to hear the end of this. I sprang into action, and flew across the small room and through the flimsy door keeping me from my goons. While I do use the Equestrian language allot, “get up, loose your disguises, and run” is MUCH shorter in the changeling native tongue. . One of our goons didn't get the message. Dead asleep through it all, the ponies caught him. I wish I had time to save him, but we cannot risk losing any more soldiers. So much for that deposit, we barely had time to grab our saddlebags. We fled as fast as our wings could carry us, now minus yet another of our own. We flew slowly, partly because of our early start and partly because we needed to conserve energy, I was the only one who had managed to refill my reserves completely. We would reach Canterlot soon, and we needed to be ready. Author's Note I promise I will get to the Canterlot battle scene soon, I just have been having so much fun with the journey there! Chapter FourChapter 4 Variation What has happened to Metamorpha? She has become reckless, irresponsible, and bloodthirsty! What happened to my sister? Oh Metamorpha don’t believe the queens propaganda, never believe the propaganda. I looked at her. We have been flying for hours, Canterlot was now in sight, but it would take us another hour or so to get there. When the day began Metamorpha had looked pissed of but remorseful, now her remorse was gone and she just looked pissed. Her power reserves were so full she was latterly radiating energy, which the goons and I drew in hungrily. Dammit. I hate being hungry, and once the invasion begins it will be a while before the Equestrian’s love will be ready to harvest. The next hour passed swiftly. Canterlot was now very close. It was surrounded by a bubblegum pink bubble, the barrier that we had been warned about. I knew that already, the queen was weakening its caster, and our troops were chipping away at it. When we reached the city, we flew in circles until we found a commander and her group of mid-ranked legionaries like Metamorpha and I and their goons (I probably should call them their real name, drones, but I see no reason to.) We drifted down to the ground were the group was. We landed with a soft thump, well, all except one of our goons, who landed on their face, again. The Commander’s name was Transfigure. We gave a stiff bow before listening intently to her words. “Welcome to Canterlot, hope you enjoy your stay”, she said with snarky sarcasm. “The barrier will be breached shortly, you’re backups correct?” she asked, turning to my sister. “Yes sir.” “Alright then, backups need to report to the throne room once the wall is breached, were you will receive orders directly from The Queen. Personally, I do not understand why she wants legionnaires, but The Queens word it law.”, Transfigure glowered. Metamorpha and I took our places on top of the barrier, and waited. ~ Metamorpha Wow. That commander is not happy The Queen doesn’t want her by her side. I looked up to the sun to see the time. Alright! Anytime now the barrier will crumble and we will claim our prize. Variation had dozed off so I gave his side a little nudge. He awoke sputtering nonsense. “Variation, you need to get up now, it begins shortly.” Variation rubbed his eyes then stood by my side. We watched the room we would be heading toward. A pink alicorn in a white dress walked slowly down the aisle. “Chrysalis!” I exclaimed pointing toward the winged unicorn. The commander had told us what disguise The Queen had taken, but it still surprised me. Suddenly a violet unicorn burst through the doors followed by a ragged version of the bride. My heart skipped a beat. This is not part of the plan! Suddenly there was a green flash and The Queen took the place of the wife-to-be. What is going on in there!? I can’t hear what is being said. The white alicorn approached Chrysalis before flying into the air and casting a blinding bolt of white magic. At the same time, a green bolt erupted form Chrysalis horn reaching the princess and sending her flying! The now defeated alicorn said something to six ponies before they fled. Moments later the barrier cracked and shattered. “Move!” I screamed over the buzzing of hundreds of wings We flew faster than I thought possible, our queen may need urgent help. Already some members of the royal guard were casting spells toward her. We soared in through an open balcony door into the room filled with panicked ponies. Variation and I landed before Chrysalis and immediately kneeled. "My Queen, what do you wish of us" I said to the carpeted floors. "Arise my child." I returned to my four legs. I had never been this close to the queen, and I now knew why she did not need me to grovel, I was barely taller than her legs! "Secure the guards, their magic is annoying me." Chrysalis said with a smile, something changelings do not do very often, for a reason. With all of her fangs barred, she looked rabid. I quickly told my goons in our native tongue what to do before taking my place as a guard at the giant doors at the rear of the room. Beautiful chaos! Goons buzzed and hissed with excitement whilst encasing members of the royal guard and Celstia herself. I watched from my position in awe. Ponies worship this weakling as a goddess! Weak species weak deities I guess, I said to myself with a chuckle. Out of the massive windows I could see thousands of goons rocketing to the streets like meteors. The pink alicorn bride-to-be, who had be secured by her hooves to the floor was going on and on about how twilight and her friends will save them. At that moment, a group of goons escorting six mare burst through the doors we were guarding. Confident in her abilities, Chrysalis dismissed the goons in the room before turning to the pack of determined looking mares. I am sad to say I tuned what happened next out, too caught up in the moment. I wish I had not, maybe I could have stopped that damn pink alicorn, maybe. Before I knew it she was at her groom’s side with a shimmering pink aura around the two of them. I wish I had done something, lunged at them maybe, but I stood in shock, not knowing what to do. Suddenly their aura turned explosive and rapidly expanded! I went straight through a pink stained glass window and into the air! I tried to reach Variation but he was flying in the opposite direction! What was going on!? The last thing I remember before losing consciousness was why, why had we tried? ~ I awoke to pain. Pain in so many places it felt like I had had been dipped in acid, with every nerve screaming for my attention. I groaned and opened one of my eyes. I was injured but not badly. I had many slivers of glass embedded in my face and chest, as well as a massive headache I assumed was from landing. Nothing I couldn’t mostly heal from if I managed my energy reserves well. I looked around; I was in grassland, maybe a prairie. I could see something in the distance. I winced as I stood, another spark of pain running through me. I limped toward whatever I saw, hoping it wasn’t dangerous. What I found surprised me. To be continued…. Chapter FiveVariation Ugh. I still could not fully grasp what happened. It seemed like a dream. I was in denial or shock or something like that. I was low on energy and injured. I had been wandering for hours. This did give me some time to plan a disguise for when, if ever, I found a pony town. That is assuming I was still in Equestria, I hoped I was still in Equestria. I’m not even sure morphing griffons or dragons is even possible, especially on such low energy reserves. I would need a pony disguise that was not that different from my natural form because the fewer things I change, the less energy I use. I also had to like it, because I may not be able to morph again until I recover. I slowly changed my appearance piece by piece to get it perfect. I lightened my coat to a more pony-like grey. I also lengthened it to pony fur length. Then I sealed my leg cavities and absorbed my gossamer wings. I straitened my horn from its normal curvy shape. As for my mane, I only fixed its holes and tears, then changed its colour to a light blue-green, approximately that of my now absent wings. Now a full grown blank-flank, I adopted a simple star to complete my disguise. By now I was overcome with fatigue, having exhausted the entirety of my already low energy reserves. That rock looks like a good place to rest… ~ Metamorpha Dangerous is a relative term. At first I assumed they were ponies. I morphed quickly to the form I had been planning to assume after the changeling’s victory. Grey coat, blue-green hair and Pegasus form. I tried to change as little as possible. I despise pony form. Turns out morphing wasn’t a good idea. This flat land doesn’t allow for sneaky approaches so I just walked up to the cluster. They were deep in conversation, their backs turned away from me. I stepped on a twig. They all spun around, dammit! Changelings! They pounced on me right as I morphed back. “Stop! I’m no pony!” one of them was biting my neck. “Ow! Dimmit stop biting me!” He must have recognized my distinct gravely changeling accent, even though I spoke in Equestrian, because he immediately released my neck and removed himself from the pile. The others followed in suit. Once they were all off of me I straightened my crimped wing. “My name is Metamorpha, legionnaire”, I said to the group with a quick, informal bow. “Great of all the changelings we could have found, or found us”, recognizing the voice, I looked to its owner. I gasped “Commander Transfigure!” I gave a much more formal bow now. “hrumph” was her reply. The other three in the group introduced themselves. Sub-commander Exchange (female), legionnaire Tamper (male), and legionnaire Merge (female). Much to Transfigure’s dismay, they decided to allow me to travel with them. None of them knew where we were either, unfortunately. Our plan was to find a town to tell where we were, then travel back to the hive. While we trotted along Exchange and I talked about things of no consequence. She was really smart and even though she was higher technical rank than me (Legionnaires through Under-Queens are only different in official military power, not physiology) she listened intently to my stories. Transfigure led the group. When I asked her why we don’t just fly, she didn’t reply. With a sigh I returned to the group. We talked. Apparently, Tamper had found an injured and disorientated Merge, and then they were later found by Transfigure. Exchange spotted the group from the air, and had received a similar welcome as me, as she was in pony form. Tamper still profusely apologized for biting me; even though I had told him countless times that it was fine. These changelings were quite endearing, that is, except for Transfigure. ~ Variation After my quick nap I continued walking, and walking, and walking. Maybe the unicorn disguise wasn’t the best choice after all. Well, I sighed, there is nothing I can do about that now. I was headed toward what I hoped was a town. I was starving. My energy reserves where low hours ago, now they were empty. It was a town, “Ponyville” wow, how original. I rolled my blue-green pony eyes. I talked to the first pony I saw; a grey pegasus mare with a blonde mane, bubbles for a cutie mark, and eyes looking in two different directions. “Hello dear mare, what is your name?” I inquired politely. “OH! Hello! I’m Ditzy Doo! But ponies call me Derpy! You can call me Derpy I guess, everypony else does.” The strange mare said quizzically “Hello Derpy, do you know where I could get something to eat?” with this I had to bite back a snicker, I knew exactly where my next meal was coming from, and It was right in front of me. She was radiating giddiness which I sucked up hungrily. “You don’t need to go anywhere to eat; I have plenty of nourishment for you with me!” she said with a big smile “What do you mean?” I replied nervously. “MUFFINS!” with this she unclipped one of her saddle bags and dumped its contents on my head. It was full of muffins. Great, just great. The first pony I meet here is crazy. I took one of the muffins that had not landed in the soil. Timidly I took a small bite. It took quite some effort to keep from gaging. Normal pony food tastes bad, this was downright harmful. “Er, yum?” I faked a smile “Oh I am SOOOOOO glad you like them! What is your name?” “uh,” I thought of the first thing that came to my mind. We had been instructed in school on how to compose names. Fancy word for coat colour plus cutie mark shape, “I’m uh, Shadow Star!” “Well, hello Shadow! Welcome to Ponyville, se ya around?” “Yeah, maybe.” I said with another smile, this one genuine. This strange pony had filled my energy reserves completely. Now satisfied, I trotted off into “Ponyville”, heading toward nowhere in particular. ~ Metamorpha As we walked we entertained ourselves by morphing into pony royalty. This was all fun and good until Merge tried Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. I gasped and scuffled back. Seeing images of my fateful day in Canterlot. “Metamorpha, what is it?” Merge asked, concerned, while shifting back to her natural form. I stood up and composed myself. “I am sorry for that outburst. It’s just… Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was the form Chrysalis assumed during the invasion. And seeing you made me realize something. This is all her fault! She somehow managed to be free of her restraints, and she cast the spell that repelled us! She ruined everything! She unraveled our victory! *sigh* I’m sorry. When I saw her -you- it was like I was back there watching HER destroy us.” I collapsed to the ground and lost my pony form. “Oh Metamorpha, you have seen so much. Transfigure? May we rest for a bit?” Merge smoothed my stiff, hole-ridden mane. Transfigure rolled her eyes before replying with a sigh, “I’ll take first guard.” I settled down in the dust with Merge still stroking my mane. I knew something now I didn’t before, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza must pay. Author's Note please read the folowing link for more info on my rank system: http://imgur.com/nx6cH5f
Chapter OneMetamorpha Changelings are born on a massive scale. While a mare will only have one, or at the most, 2 foals at one time, a changeling queen can have hundreds of offspring at once. This is why sibling bonds are so unusual amongst changelings. But, my brother and I are twins. While all changelings have hundreds of brothers and sisters, two changelings born from one egg is a very, very rare occasion. Twins are treated slightly differently than regular changelings, for one they must graduate each rank together, if one is not doing well, their twin is held back too. This often, as expected, creates rifts between the twins; in fact that is the purpose of “the twin laws”. Bonds are dangerous; bonds put another changeling before the queen. But for Variation and I, these obscure rules only strengthened our connection, and because of the laws nature, even though some tried to separate us to break the bond, they failed. Variation and I were truly inseparable. When I snapped my right wing, he refused to participate in the big race at our hive’s flight school, purely because he knew I desired to compete. When he experienced a common but oh-so embarrassing issue of being stuck in a transformation temporarily (even more unluckily it happen when our class was practicing transforming into the opposite gender) I stood by him and defended him from the bullies, reminding them of their embarrassing moments. But that was then, and this is now. ~ Variation Chaos in the barracks, everyling stumbling out of their hammocks, desperately looking for their uniforms! Why had the queen summoned all us at such an odd time? And why hasn't anyling lit the candles! I few up to the chandelier, and cast one of the first spells I was taught, a simple spark spell. My horn shone emerald, just like every other changeling’s, then a small spark arched from my horn to the candle, igniting it. I glided back down to the slick black floor. I then went to the heap of uniforms, strewn from their customary places in various chests, and began searching for mine. When I found it, I tossed it over my shoulder and onto my back, before carefully securing the fastener with my teeth, making sure not to puncture the material. I momentarily paused at the polished stone we use as a mirror to make certain that everything was in order, and then joined the group galloping toward the throne room. ~ Metamorpha I trotted toward the throne room in the company of my barrack-mates. As we walked we speculated softy about why the queen summoned us. The guesses ranged from that she was ready for a new brood (something that has not happened in quite some time because, “we need to focus on training who we have now”) to another hive has trespassed on our territory. We had the leisure of not hurrying because our barracks are closest to the throne room. We entered the grand hallway, unlike the barracks; the light source in here is exclusively magic. It had a soft green glow that filtered through the translucent jade of Queen Chrysalis’s throne. Changelings funneled in through numerous entrances to stand before the queen. It seemed our slow pace had been a bit too slow, we were not as early as I imagined. I spotted Variation a few rows over. I made my way through the crowd toward him, disgruntling a few changelings in the process. Nonetheless we found a place to stand and turned our attention to the queen. ~ My children, I know you are confused and disorientated, as you are normally sleeping at this time. But I wished to inform you of the situation and the plan immediately. I simply could not wait until you awoke. We have lived here in the so called “badlands” for too long, for too long we have existed on scraps of love in an all but loveless land, when vast rivers of love flow through our neighbor’s lands. The time has come to take what is ours, we could be so powerful, so great, but we allow ourselves to be controlled by the Equestrians. Today is the day we begin our operation. We have positioned sleeper cells in the royal guard at key locations. When we attack, they will work from the inside to bring down Canterlot. Soon I must leave you, my children, to take my place in Canterlot. We still have some time before our attack, but we must begin preparing ourselves, polish your armor, sharpen your fangs, the time is soon. Now, be gone! ~ Metamorpha Small gasps and murmurs, that could not be heard over the queens booming voice could now be received in her silence. I turned to Variation. “Did I hear right? Is she really planning on attacking Canterlot?” I almost shouted, before catching myself. “It seems that way my sister.” Variation’s voice was calm, but his eyes were wide, he was just as shocked as everyling else. We walked back to our barracks as instructed. We didn't talk at all. When we reached my sleeping area, I gave a quick, stiff nod before entering my room. I was not sure what I thought. On one hand attacking Canterlot was practically a suicide mission. We have maintained a thin peace with Equestria, and they have left us alone for it. But on the other hand, it is what the queen wishes, and that is all that matters. I will give my life for the queen, and this is no exception. ~ Variation I did not wish my sister to see my distress, so I kept myself composed until I returned to my barrack, once there, I began the freak-out. “Panic Panic Panic! Oh my god, oh my god! Ok, ok. Calm yourself Variation, you’ll think of something.” I said silently to myself “What is the queen thinking? We are fine as we are, why is she trying to change that! She clearly has not thought this through. No! Stop it! You must never question the queen! This is the first thing you where thought! If we fail, we will be killed! Massacred in the streets! People will look for our “floaters”, changelings who have infiltrated ponies’ families, and kill them! They will be secret no more!” I mumbled inaudibly to myself. My barrack-mates were staring, but I didn't care. “Even if we succeed, we will fail! If our ultimate goal is to harvest the love in Equestria, it will not work! How could anyling possibly love in a world where they are suspicious of everypony they meet? Gah! We are doomed! I’m doomed! I either take part in this foolish mission or I will be executed for treason. I guess my chances are better helping the hive but still…” I groaned and flopped into my web-like hammock. I might as well get some sleep; there is nothing I can do about this now. Author's Note Originaly I used everypony, but I changed it to everyling, sorry if this is confusing,
Chapter TwoChapter 2 Metamorpha It was really surprising how few ponies were out. Not that they could see us. We were under an enchantment that rendered us virtually invisible. Anypony that looked up may see a flock of birds, but would suspect nothing. As a changeling of moderate rank, I commanded a small group of 15. We were the backups. After the initial groups used all their strength to breach the wall, we would fly in to do whatever the queen wishes. We flew and flew, eventually the buzzing of everyone’s wings got to me; I was ready to be in Canterlot dammit! But from the look on my brother’s face, he was anything but eager to be there. Some ponies say that changelings are one hive mind with no individuals. While this is far from true for those of decent rank, something about everyling else’s excitement made it contagious. I was ready! We had hundreds of our kind, and Canterlot would be sooo busy with their cute little princess’s wedding that they would not have their guard up. We knew about the barrier, we knew they were expecting something, but surely they wouldn't be prepared for this? Hah! Who cares? We will be victorious! My doubts faded away to the hum of our wings working at full power. ~ Variation I was terrified. This is an emotion I had never felt before and never thought I would. Usually when I get worried, Metamorpha quells my fears, but now, I was quickly losing faith in her. In only a few hours her face morphed from grim fortitude to wild anticipation! What was she doing? She knew this was a bad idea; we had discussed it hours before and she agreed with me! I would have tried to talk her down, but we were flying so fast, I doubt that the sound would carry. With nothing better to do, I checked on our troops. Our 15 low-rank changelings buzzed right along, occasionally exchanging hisses of anticipation. These type of changelings are why ponies think we are a hive mind. Upper rank changeling call them, not so affectionately, “goons”, because, that is all they really are. Goons are so stupid; they are almost incapable of following more than a simple task. They even look dumb. Gender-less and hornless, they look more like insects than changelings. They give all changelings a bad name. I picked up my speed and slowly crept back to my place next to my sister, but not before I saw something odd, a flash of cobalt, rapidly growing in size. I paused a few too many moments before I realized what it was. I shouted as loudly as I possibly could “We are under attack!” The blue light, which was in fact, a magical attack, came dangerously close to my left wing, skyrocketed past with a loud hiss. Metamorpha quickly bore right; I shadowed leading the goons behind me. Who was attacking us? How did they see us? Another discharge of magic was unleashed, but not before we picked up speed. Unfortunately for them, two of our goons were not as fast as Metamorpha and I, and were hit with the blast. Their bodies drifted to the ground, lifeless. We lost two! No matter, we would manage without them. Our speed carried us swiftly away from the origin of the attack, but we did not decrease our speed until we were very, very far away. I was getting hungry, not a feeling you want to get on your way to the climactic battle. How would we manage to quickly drum up love in a single night? We had to feed quickly because we were only given two days and one night to reach our destination. Could we fight on unfilled stomachs? ~ Metamorpha Damn it! Two down, how many more to go? We would never have enough soldiers in Canterlot at this rate! “Variation! We need to apprise the nearby units of this! Slow your pace!” I shouted over the winds. Variation nodded before moving back toward the goons to tell them we would be decelerating. “Thank you, Brother.” I said at a more comfortable volume , “I need to conjure a message and attach it to one of the goons, I know we cannot truly spare another, but it is important that we let the others know.” “I agree” Variation simply replied. I concentrated on forming a note. First I formed the paper, then the words on it. Producing something from nothing was not an easy task; hard for even the simplest things, anything remotely complex would be next to impossible except for those greatly talented in magic. The document said simply: Blue magic, probably unicorn. Hit troops, two down. Attacker appears to be able to see through illusion. Be careful. Any more words than that would have been too exerting. I had Variation secure the note to the fastest goon’s flank and give it orders to fly to the commanders of as many legions as it could find. We were a good day’s fly away from Canterlot and fading fast, we needed rest and if possible, nourishment. Variation and I decided that we were ready to stop, and decided the nearby not quite a town of Dodge Junction was a good choice. We prepared our predetermined disguises- a family of lost, hungry and tired ponies looking for a place to stay for the night. While not as sweet as love, pity is a form of it, and would give us the energy that we would surely need in Canterlot. Honestly, I automatically hate any form that was not my own. Some changelings love transforming and the “rush” that it gives them. I have no such fondness. Since there are very few alicorns in this world, I have to choose, wings or horn; magic, or flight. And I hated it. My form was simple, a pegasus with a light purple coat; blue eyes, mane, and tail; and a purposely vague cutie mark of a pencil. Variations form was only slightly different. He donned a deep blue coat, teal mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a paintbrush, just as ambiguous as mine. The goons were replaced by bouncy foals and aloof teenager-ponies, looking bored. When we had sufficiently checked our appearances, we started the short walk toward Dodge Junction.
Chapter ThreeChapter 3 Variation Dodge Junction, pretty much the smallest town in Equestria. To maintain the appearance of travel worn ponies, we had to scrape ourselves up a bit. I found a small cactus and broke a piece off; I then went around to the goons and scratched them with the needles. A few hissed at me and they all gave me dirty looks but none of them retaliated, as expected. Metamorpha pawed the ground, loosening some of the hard packed soil. In a minor break of her disguise, she levitated it above our group then released it on top of us. “A little warning next time?” I coughed. “Sorry about that”, Metamorpha chuckled After we were thoroughly dirtied and scuffed, we walked the rest of the trot. ~ Metamorpha A few ponies eyed us suspiciously, but when we asked where we could get some food, they smiled welcomingly and pointed us in the correct direction, as if we could get lost in such a dinky town. Little did they know that the pity emanating from them was the only food we required. Unfortunately, now that we had asked where the store was, we actually had to acquire some food there. Apparently, their specialty was cherries, meaning most of all of the food was in some was related to cherries. Cherry pie, cherry candy, etcetera. And it all looked disgusting. Eating pony food was a chore, which sadly had to be accomplished to maintain our guises. I pulled 3 bits out of my saddle bag and bought a bag of red cherries. I pulled one out of the bag and I chewed. Ugh. I loathe pony food. I still tried to feign enjoyment though by smiling and momentarily closing my eyes, but in reality, it tasted like filth. The hotel was only a few buildings away from the store, but we tried to make a show of how tired we were to harvest as much pity as we could. On the way there a unicorn mare with far too many things in her saddlebags and levitating around her, had a pouch of coins fall from her spell. Seeing my chance to get even more nourishment, grabbed the bag and ran after her. When she saw me racing after her, the gratitude started pouring from her in waves. It was instinctive. I pulled the energy flowing from her. I got greedy, I was hungry, and pity was like thin wafers, unable to give me the power my biology craved. As she thanked me for returning her bits, I sucked gallons of pure energy from her. The spell holding all of her items faltered, and they came crashing to the ground. “Oh, silly me”, she looked dazed, like she was not fully here. “Let me help you”, I offered “Oh, no, it’s fine, thank you for returning my money, but I’m fine now” she absent mindedly shoved objects into her already full bags while I trotted off, felling euphoric and satisfied. “You should not have done that”, Variation glared at me, slightly rupturing my bubble of bliss. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself”, I faked an apologetic pout, but in reality, I knew Variation was just jealous of my now full energy reserves. The hotel was now in sight. We walked through the front door and toward a desk with a very uptight looking pony behind it. “Do you have any open rooms?” I inquired. “Let me see.” The pony, whose name was apparently Gleaming Carpet according to the nameplate on the desk (I couldn’t help but giggle under my breath at that, who names a foal, “Gleaming Carpet”?). I knew looking through that register on the desk was purely for show, as there were many, many keys on the hooks behind him. “We have a few rooms but, um, will you be requiring two? We have a connected suite.” He asked looking over the brim of his spectacles. Looking behind me at our large entourage I replied, “Yes, a connected suite would be nice.” He turned to the wall of keys behind him and collected two sets in his mouth. “I need a 20 bit deposit and the room is 10 bits a night, how long will you be staying?” he said, pushing the keys across the counter while looking expectant, probably for his deposit. “Just the night” I replied fishing the bits out of my saddle bag. Ugh. No horn. The metallic tang of the metal spread around my mouth, threating to gag me. “Very well,” He pushed the coins I placed on the counter into a box, “you will get your deposit upon the return of your room key.” When we got to our rooms, I shoved the goons into the room adjacent to the suite, and then walked to the one Variation and I would share. Even though I had harvested my fill of power, I had been awake and flying for hours, and the one of the two giant beds called to me. “Variation, I need sleep, will you goon proof the other room?” Variation grumbled but trotted to and open the door that led to our other room anyway. I was dead to the world before my head even hit the hotel’s feather pillow. I dreamed of flying around Equestria in my true form. Free from the use of other ponies skins. I guess I got careless, I have been doing that a lot lately. I subconsciously (honestly, it may have been just a bit consciously), allowed my form to slip-away. As I said, I hate any form that is not my own. In my haste to get to bed, I had not shut the curtains in our first floor room, my mistake. Ponies don’t react well to seeing changelings in their own form. And in a settler town, they have weapons. I awoke to Variation’s shouts. “Metamorpha you fool! Wake up!” he bellowed. “Huh?”, I inquired before rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Shit. Black hooves, riddled with holes. Great, I was never going to hear the end of this. I sprang into action, and flew across the small room and through the flimsy door keeping me from my goons. While I do use the Equestrian language allot, “get up, loose your disguises, and run” is MUCH shorter in the changeling native tongue. . One of our goons didn't get the message. Dead asleep through it all, the ponies caught him. I wish I had time to save him, but we cannot risk losing any more soldiers. So much for that deposit, we barely had time to grab our saddlebags. We fled as fast as our wings could carry us, now minus yet another of our own. We flew slowly, partly because of our early start and partly because we needed to conserve energy, I was the only one who had managed to refill my reserves completely. We would reach Canterlot soon, and we needed to be ready. Author's Note I promise I will get to the Canterlot battle scene soon, I just have been having so much fun with the journey there!
Chapter FourChapter 4 Variation What has happened to Metamorpha? She has become reckless, irresponsible, and bloodthirsty! What happened to my sister? Oh Metamorpha don’t believe the queens propaganda, never believe the propaganda. I looked at her. We have been flying for hours, Canterlot was now in sight, but it would take us another hour or so to get there. When the day began Metamorpha had looked pissed of but remorseful, now her remorse was gone and she just looked pissed. Her power reserves were so full she was latterly radiating energy, which the goons and I drew in hungrily. Dammit. I hate being hungry, and once the invasion begins it will be a while before the Equestrian’s love will be ready to harvest. The next hour passed swiftly. Canterlot was now very close. It was surrounded by a bubblegum pink bubble, the barrier that we had been warned about. I knew that already, the queen was weakening its caster, and our troops were chipping away at it. When we reached the city, we flew in circles until we found a commander and her group of mid-ranked legionaries like Metamorpha and I and their goons (I probably should call them their real name, drones, but I see no reason to.) We drifted down to the ground were the group was. We landed with a soft thump, well, all except one of our goons, who landed on their face, again. The Commander’s name was Transfigure. We gave a stiff bow before listening intently to her words. “Welcome to Canterlot, hope you enjoy your stay”, she said with snarky sarcasm. “The barrier will be breached shortly, you’re backups correct?” she asked, turning to my sister. “Yes sir.” “Alright then, backups need to report to the throne room once the wall is breached, were you will receive orders directly from The Queen. Personally, I do not understand why she wants legionnaires, but The Queens word it law.”, Transfigure glowered. Metamorpha and I took our places on top of the barrier, and waited. ~ Metamorpha Wow. That commander is not happy The Queen doesn’t want her by her side. I looked up to the sun to see the time. Alright! Anytime now the barrier will crumble and we will claim our prize. Variation had dozed off so I gave his side a little nudge. He awoke sputtering nonsense. “Variation, you need to get up now, it begins shortly.” Variation rubbed his eyes then stood by my side. We watched the room we would be heading toward. A pink alicorn in a white dress walked slowly down the aisle. “Chrysalis!” I exclaimed pointing toward the winged unicorn. The commander had told us what disguise The Queen had taken, but it still surprised me. Suddenly a violet unicorn burst through the doors followed by a ragged version of the bride. My heart skipped a beat. This is not part of the plan! Suddenly there was a green flash and The Queen took the place of the wife-to-be. What is going on in there!? I can’t hear what is being said. The white alicorn approached Chrysalis before flying into the air and casting a blinding bolt of white magic. At the same time, a green bolt erupted form Chrysalis horn reaching the princess and sending her flying! The now defeated alicorn said something to six ponies before they fled. Moments later the barrier cracked and shattered. “Move!” I screamed over the buzzing of hundreds of wings We flew faster than I thought possible, our queen may need urgent help. Already some members of the royal guard were casting spells toward her. We soared in through an open balcony door into the room filled with panicked ponies. Variation and I landed before Chrysalis and immediately kneeled. "My Queen, what do you wish of us" I said to the carpeted floors. "Arise my child." I returned to my four legs. I had never been this close to the queen, and I now knew why she did not need me to grovel, I was barely taller than her legs! "Secure the guards, their magic is annoying me." Chrysalis said with a smile, something changelings do not do very often, for a reason. With all of her fangs barred, she looked rabid. I quickly told my goons in our native tongue what to do before taking my place as a guard at the giant doors at the rear of the room. Beautiful chaos! Goons buzzed and hissed with excitement whilst encasing members of the royal guard and Celstia herself. I watched from my position in awe. Ponies worship this weakling as a goddess! Weak species weak deities I guess, I said to myself with a chuckle. Out of the massive windows I could see thousands of goons rocketing to the streets like meteors. The pink alicorn bride-to-be, who had be secured by her hooves to the floor was going on and on about how twilight and her friends will save them. At that moment, a group of goons escorting six mare burst through the doors we were guarding. Confident in her abilities, Chrysalis dismissed the goons in the room before turning to the pack of determined looking mares. I am sad to say I tuned what happened next out, too caught up in the moment. I wish I had not, maybe I could have stopped that damn pink alicorn, maybe. Before I knew it she was at her groom’s side with a shimmering pink aura around the two of them. I wish I had done something, lunged at them maybe, but I stood in shock, not knowing what to do. Suddenly their aura turned explosive and rapidly expanded! I went straight through a pink stained glass window and into the air! I tried to reach Variation but he was flying in the opposite direction! What was going on!? The last thing I remember before losing consciousness was why, why had we tried? ~ I awoke to pain. Pain in so many places it felt like I had had been dipped in acid, with every nerve screaming for my attention. I groaned and opened one of my eyes. I was injured but not badly. I had many slivers of glass embedded in my face and chest, as well as a massive headache I assumed was from landing. Nothing I couldn’t mostly heal from if I managed my energy reserves well. I looked around; I was in grassland, maybe a prairie. I could see something in the distance. I winced as I stood, another spark of pain running through me. I limped toward whatever I saw, hoping it wasn’t dangerous. What I found surprised me. To be continued….
Chapter FiveVariation Ugh. I still could not fully grasp what happened. It seemed like a dream. I was in denial or shock or something like that. I was low on energy and injured. I had been wandering for hours. This did give me some time to plan a disguise for when, if ever, I found a pony town. That is assuming I was still in Equestria, I hoped I was still in Equestria. I’m not even sure morphing griffons or dragons is even possible, especially on such low energy reserves. I would need a pony disguise that was not that different from my natural form because the fewer things I change, the less energy I use. I also had to like it, because I may not be able to morph again until I recover. I slowly changed my appearance piece by piece to get it perfect. I lightened my coat to a more pony-like grey. I also lengthened it to pony fur length. Then I sealed my leg cavities and absorbed my gossamer wings. I straitened my horn from its normal curvy shape. As for my mane, I only fixed its holes and tears, then changed its colour to a light blue-green, approximately that of my now absent wings. Now a full grown blank-flank, I adopted a simple star to complete my disguise. By now I was overcome with fatigue, having exhausted the entirety of my already low energy reserves. That rock looks like a good place to rest… ~ Metamorpha Dangerous is a relative term. At first I assumed they were ponies. I morphed quickly to the form I had been planning to assume after the changeling’s victory. Grey coat, blue-green hair and Pegasus form. I tried to change as little as possible. I despise pony form. Turns out morphing wasn’t a good idea. This flat land doesn’t allow for sneaky approaches so I just walked up to the cluster. They were deep in conversation, their backs turned away from me. I stepped on a twig. They all spun around, dammit! Changelings! They pounced on me right as I morphed back. “Stop! I’m no pony!” one of them was biting my neck. “Ow! Dimmit stop biting me!” He must have recognized my distinct gravely changeling accent, even though I spoke in Equestrian, because he immediately released my neck and removed himself from the pile. The others followed in suit. Once they were all off of me I straightened my crimped wing. “My name is Metamorpha, legionnaire”, I said to the group with a quick, informal bow. “Great of all the changelings we could have found, or found us”, recognizing the voice, I looked to its owner. I gasped “Commander Transfigure!” I gave a much more formal bow now. “hrumph” was her reply. The other three in the group introduced themselves. Sub-commander Exchange (female), legionnaire Tamper (male), and legionnaire Merge (female). Much to Transfigure’s dismay, they decided to allow me to travel with them. None of them knew where we were either, unfortunately. Our plan was to find a town to tell where we were, then travel back to the hive. While we trotted along Exchange and I talked about things of no consequence. She was really smart and even though she was higher technical rank than me (Legionnaires through Under-Queens are only different in official military power, not physiology) she listened intently to my stories. Transfigure led the group. When I asked her why we don’t just fly, she didn’t reply. With a sigh I returned to the group. We talked. Apparently, Tamper had found an injured and disorientated Merge, and then they were later found by Transfigure. Exchange spotted the group from the air, and had received a similar welcome as me, as she was in pony form. Tamper still profusely apologized for biting me; even though I had told him countless times that it was fine. These changelings were quite endearing, that is, except for Transfigure. ~ Variation After my quick nap I continued walking, and walking, and walking. Maybe the unicorn disguise wasn’t the best choice after all. Well, I sighed, there is nothing I can do about that now. I was headed toward what I hoped was a town. I was starving. My energy reserves where low hours ago, now they were empty. It was a town, “Ponyville” wow, how original. I rolled my blue-green pony eyes. I talked to the first pony I saw; a grey pegasus mare with a blonde mane, bubbles for a cutie mark, and eyes looking in two different directions. “Hello dear mare, what is your name?” I inquired politely. “OH! Hello! I’m Ditzy Doo! But ponies call me Derpy! You can call me Derpy I guess, everypony else does.” The strange mare said quizzically “Hello Derpy, do you know where I could get something to eat?” with this I had to bite back a snicker, I knew exactly where my next meal was coming from, and It was right in front of me. She was radiating giddiness which I sucked up hungrily. “You don’t need to go anywhere to eat; I have plenty of nourishment for you with me!” she said with a big smile “What do you mean?” I replied nervously. “MUFFINS!” with this she unclipped one of her saddle bags and dumped its contents on my head. It was full of muffins. Great, just great. The first pony I meet here is crazy. I took one of the muffins that had not landed in the soil. Timidly I took a small bite. It took quite some effort to keep from gaging. Normal pony food tastes bad, this was downright harmful. “Er, yum?” I faked a smile “Oh I am SOOOOOO glad you like them! What is your name?” “uh,” I thought of the first thing that came to my mind. We had been instructed in school on how to compose names. Fancy word for coat colour plus cutie mark shape, “I’m uh, Shadow Star!” “Well, hello Shadow! Welcome to Ponyville, se ya around?” “Yeah, maybe.” I said with another smile, this one genuine. This strange pony had filled my energy reserves completely. Now satisfied, I trotted off into “Ponyville”, heading toward nowhere in particular. ~ Metamorpha As we walked we entertained ourselves by morphing into pony royalty. This was all fun and good until Merge tried Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. I gasped and scuffled back. Seeing images of my fateful day in Canterlot. “Metamorpha, what is it?” Merge asked, concerned, while shifting back to her natural form. I stood up and composed myself. “I am sorry for that outburst. It’s just… Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was the form Chrysalis assumed during the invasion. And seeing you made me realize something. This is all her fault! She somehow managed to be free of her restraints, and she cast the spell that repelled us! She ruined everything! She unraveled our victory! *sigh* I’m sorry. When I saw her -you- it was like I was back there watching HER destroy us.” I collapsed to the ground and lost my pony form. “Oh Metamorpha, you have seen so much. Transfigure? May we rest for a bit?” Merge smoothed my stiff, hole-ridden mane. Transfigure rolled her eyes before replying with a sigh, “I’ll take first guard.” I settled down in the dust with Merge still stroking my mane. I knew something now I didn’t before, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza must pay. Author's Note please read the folowing link for more info on my rank system: http://imgur.com/nx6cH5f
