Stragglerby ParravinChaptersPrologueChapter 1Chapter 2PrologueThere were no other changelings in the city of Canterlot. I, Vespur, a lone changeling general, made it in. The only other changeling within the vicinity was at the castle, in disguise. You can hardly call the Queen a changeling, though. Too regal. She had requested my presence in the city, and my job was to find all weak points in the large dome shield around the vicinity. I looked up to see a rather large pink surface, clearly my target. I saw some points there earlier with my rather keen eyes, current disguise, a grey unicorn with a brown mane that I had seen just outside the city, prevented me from reaching them, as he had a lack of wings. Damn unicorns are useless. Next time I'll be a pegasus instead. Clearly I wasn't paying enough attention to my surroundings, as I was caught off guard by one of those nasty pony creatures. "Are you okay sir? I saw you standing there and thought you looked out of it." After I finished being surprised (which was rather quickly, I would like to say,) I responded as politely as one could in such a predicament. "Well, I WAS just FINE, until somepony came and pestered me!" I turned to face the mare, who I realized was one of the so called "Elements of harmony." She seemed almost as annoyed as I was. This Lavender mare, whom I assumed was the notorious Twilight Sparkle, was taken aback by my outburst. "Geez! Everypony here is either ignorant, rude, or evil! I can't even catch a break now!" She fumed. I wondered what made her so angry. It's not like SHE was just snuck up on by some scoundrel! “I mean, Cadance is acting strange, and nopony even believes me! And now some RANDOM unicorn decides to yell at me for 'sneaking up' on him!” She glared at me, steam coming from her nostrils. Well, I guess that makes since. Still, The Queen has a foolproof disguise. How did she notice? I looked up from my contemplation to see that she had moved on; probably because I wasn't paying any attention to her. I realized that in all my pointless pondering I had forgotten to work more on my mission. Alright,Vespur,To the barrier! Ah. Finally. Some peace and quiet so I can do my work. After maybe an hour of walking I had arrived at the edge of the city, and upon reaching the end of the large buildings, I discovered a familiar pink surface directly ahead of me. I decided that since I was away from any signs of equine life, I could use my magic. As a changeling, magic often uses a sort of green-ish fire, like the ones that come from those magic baby dragons. Anyway, I ran over to the edge of the barrier and closely examined the massive wall using a magnifying spell. It looked solid at first, but upon closer inspection, I discovered a series of cracks all round the barrier about the size of a wagon. I peered at the structure, then levitated a few logs in the shape of an X, as to mark the spot. I looked down at the detailed map of the city, given to me by Chrysalis. I soon found the part of the map I was at and marked it with an X as well. As soon as I had made sure everything was in order, I quickly ran over to the station of Queen Chrysalis. Canterlot Castle is majestic. Even somepony as brilliantly hateful as me has to admit that. Beautiful as it may be, the possibility of getting in undetected without some sort of plan is rather low. Since the beginning of this whole "wedding" craze, the guard has increased in number by at least tenfold. Fortunately, they chose quantity, not quality. I had just finished writing my status report, including several convenient locations to use during the invasion, and walked up to the front gate, where two royal guards in gold armor were standing. Clearly, it was my lucky day, as these guards were fairly stupid. Now don't judge me for saying that! They were actually too busy looking at a butterfly with dumb grins stretched across there faces to notice me when I approached. "Afternoon, gentlemen!" I said cheerfully. "Good morning, sir!" This was going to be too easy; the guards can't even tell afternoon and morning apart! The pony in front of me realized he made a complete violation of his orders, and quickly tried to recover as I grinned at him. "I-I mean halt! State your business!" The guard sputtered. "Easy! Easy!" I said, grinning. "I'm Princess Cadance's courier. I need to deliver a letter." I pulled out the letter. "It has the royal seal and everything." I held it up and showed them the gold stamp with a sun and moon circling each other. "Very well, you may proceed." These guards are dumber than I thought! a royal courier bringing a message into the palace? I mean, wow! Anyway, I made my way to the throne room. Almost as soon as I made it in, I heard a voice behind me whisper, "I thought you were going to be here earlier! Were is your report?" I turned towards the location of the voice, mainly to avoid suspicion. She was a bright pink alicorn with with a heart made of crystal for a cutie mark. Though small for said race, she was still rather large for a regular pony. It was Princess Cadance. Or rather, it was Queen Chrysalis in disguise. "I have my report here, my queen. And I did a more thorough search of the barrier than originally planned." I held up the letter, and she took it with her perfectly disguised magic. "Very good, general. Stay in the castle and await orders. I will send for you soon." She turned away before I could give my reply. While I was here, I decided to go and feed. Most ponies think changelings only feed on love, but they feed on any emotions; love is just the sweetest. Anyway, I found the perfect target. A royal guard near the barracks was on break and napping on the grass outside. More importantly, he was radiating waves of happiness. Ah, dreams, the number one source of changeling food. The way a changeling eats isn't like what ponies think. We don't bite into, or even cast a spell on you (well, Chrysalis does cast a spell). Emotions sort of hang in the air around each pony and a form of vapor. All we do is walk by and breath it in. We don't really need it often. In fact, one nibble of emotion can last 6 months! No, we feed because it gives us more power. Sort of like an energy reserve beyond our natural power that grows with practice. Also, it tastes good. After I finished eating (mmm, happiness!) I decided to see the palace library. I may be a spiteful monster, but I'm not uneducated, and have a hunger for knowledge. As soon as I entered the library wing, I was simply astonished. So many books! There were volumes from floor to ceiling spanning the entire length of the massive room. Glancing from aisle to aisle, I murmured, "I'm in heaven!" After maybe an hour of reading a very interesting book about manticore anatomy, I decided to get up and explore some of the bookshelves on the far wall. As soon as I got there, I noticed a door with a padlock, labeled simply, "FORBIDDEN." I knew I could risk blowing my cover, and kept trying to resist my urge to open the door. There could be some amazing secrets in this room! No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep my curiosity at bay. Just one peek. You might learn some new things! Maybe find some spells to use! Come on, just open the door! I couldn't help myself. "I guess I can just take a peek. No harm there, right?" The padlock was easy to unlock, and I decided that it was a rather poor security measure. When I stepped through the door, however, the tile I stepped on sank roughly a foot, and I heard a click. "Well, that can't be good." I grimaced, too annoyed at myself to be worried, or to notice the crystal powder floating onto my back and face. "...Because it's not your wedding!" I opened my eyes slowly, hearing the voice of Cadance yelling in the throne room. It took me a minute to realize that I had been put to sleep by some sort of trap. After I realized this, I scrambled out of small confines of the dark room, and into the main part of the library. I looked out the window to see that the changelings were at their stations around the barrier in swarms. "Well, I guess I'm late!" I said to nopony in particular. Scrambling to the throne room, I saw Chrysalis and Cadance. Wait, Chrysalis is in her regular form? This is odd! Well, the changeling army is in position, so I guess I should plan something brilliant. My thoughts were interrupted by celestia's voice. Changelings, when in pony form, have very acute hearing. “You must get to the elements!” When those words left her mouth, I had an idea. I had written in my report about the chamber that the elements of harmony are kept in, and knew the building very well. I decided to make use of one of my spells as general: Psychic Communication. Most regular changelings can only speak pony when in said form, so I can't actually tell you what I said word for word, but the main plan was to send about an eighth of the swarm onto the streets to tire out the elements, and then send the rest of the army to the building that houses the elements. I looked out on the balcony, waiting to hear the lovely crack of the barrier. Clearly they had gotten the message of where the weak points were, as it shattered with ease. Soon after, six familiar mares were dragged back in, defeated. I love my planning. I decided to enjoy the chaos the invasion was bringing, and let Chrysalis deal with the mares. I was gazing lovingly over the mayhem I had helped cause, when I heard a slight tingling sound, and the gasp of Queen Chrysalis. Princess Cadance had gotten free and was standing over Shining Armor, and had clearly just cast some sort of spell. It appeared as though he was regaining consciousness. Crap. This can't be good. “What...Happened? Is the wedding over?” I didn't listen to the rest of what was said. There was really no point, anyway. I was edging my way towards the door, when all of a sudden, Cadance and Shining Armor started glowing and levitating. Now, I'm a pretty experienced general. One thing I have learned from my experience with ponies is that it is NOT normal for them to glow brightly in midair, and you should probably get the heck outta there when you see it. I followed my own advice and gathered all my magic to teleport. As soon as I was finshed getting ready, a huge wall of white flew out from the blasted ponies and knocked the Queen out of the building. Just as the wall reached me, my vision was obscured by green flames as I finished my teleportation. Teleporting is another one of those things that work differently for changelings. We can teleport, of course. But the difference is that when ponies teleport, they picture the location they are going, whereas a changeling just thinks the name of a destination and hope they don't go splat. We don't have refined direction senses like those lucky unicorns. So imagine what happened when I thought: take me somewhere safe! When I landed, which was on my head, by the way, I appeared to be in a cave made of crystals. I was only at the mouth of the cave and could see canterlot buildings in the distance, but what shocked me wasn't where I was, but when. When A changeling teleports, they almost never go where they want, and usually it takes a really long time for them to appear at their destination. Where when I teleported the birds were singing and everything was green, the treetops outside the cave were white. Snow? How long was I gone??? Author's Note Thank you for clicking on this story! I will admit, this would be the first story I have published, and it's not edited, but please enjoy. Also, feel free to leave your criticism in the comments. I can't guarantee I will use them 100%, but I will certainly try! Chapter 1I looked at my surroundings, bewildered. They had not changed since I reappeared. Just like every previous time I glanced around, there was a layer of pure white snow where spring grass should be. I hate to admit it, but when I teleported, the landing hit my little "panic" button. Mostly, though I did eventually sit down, I ran around hissing. It took me a minute to get my bearings. I knew teleportations could send you a bit forward in time, but it was never this far! When I finally regained composure, I reviewed everything that happened previously. I was stationed in Canterlot, I looked out to the horizon, seeing the majestic buildings in the distance. And we were invading.... So why am I.... Suddenly, realization hit me as I remembered the previous events. We... We lost? Great. The panic button was hit again. I remembered the Queens policy back at the hive. "If an invasion is unsuccessful, all Changelings that are left behind lose ties with the hive." I whispered. I had once said those words myself to a few poor changelings who came seeking re-entry to the hive. After a few minutes of just sitting at the mouth of the cave, I realized something. "I need to get moving." It was a long way to the city of Canterlot. I had been walking for a while now, but my destination still seemed as far away as when I started. "Stupid ponies." I grumbled. I had decided to try and go back to the hive, even though I already knew the rule. I thought maybe, if I can bring useful information on ponies, like how they did that strange glowing explosion, I would be let back in. Somewhere along the way, I decided to shed my old form and take a new one. I also decided to form a completely new identity, since I was likely to be in Canterlot for a while. When I transformed, I took a look into a nearby frozen puddle. I was a pegasus, that much I made sure of. My coat was stark white accompanied by a pair of amber eyes. I craned my neck so I could see my cutie mark. See, when a changeling transforms, they take on every physical aspect of the pony they are currently imitating. When they make a completely new pony to become, their identity, cutie mark included, is what said changeling would have been, were he born a pony. Of course, I was shocked when I saw my cutie mark. On my flank was a golden circle with the Sun and Moon. The royal seal itself! After my initial shock, I leapt into the air and shouted. "Yes! This couldn't have gotten any easier!" I had just been handed an opportunity. The royal guard would have to accept a pony who had a royal cutie mark! I sped off towards the massive mountainside city with renewed energy. When I finally arrived in Canterlot, I found that it was very much the same city as when I was last there. The difference being, of course, a very present lack of shielding and a sheet of white snow covering everything in sight. I soon realized that since there is no longer a threat to Equestria, the princesses might not need any guards. "Hello! Excuse me, sir!" I trotted over to a nearby stallion. He turned over and looked at me with a smile. I found him a bit peculiar, as he was only wearing a suit and monocle. This odd pony took a breath and said. "Oh, hello! Did you happen to need something, perchance?" I glanced up at the castle and said, "Yes, sir. I was wondering if the royal guards were still recruiting. You seem like you might know quite a bit about this town." I hadn't realized it when I was speaking, but I had suddenly adopted a perfect dialect. The Canterlonian accent is hard to mimic. Well, hard to correctly mimic anyway. I had to assume it was my pony form still working out the kinks. "Why, yes! I do believe the guards are still recruiting. I must say that I haven't met anypony actively seeking to join them in quite some time, though! What did you say your name was?" I hadn't thought of that. I walked into a pony capital without even thinking of a name. I knew my actual name would be no good, seeing how I would be caught instantly using a changeling name. I looked around me, hoping to come up with something. "Snow....fall. My name is snowfall." Shut up. It was the best I could find. The pony looked at me quizzically for a moment, then grinned again. "I am very pleased to meet you, snowfall. My name is Fancy Pants." I instantly recognized him. Fancy Pants! One of the most popular ponies in Canterlot, I believe. If I have his influence, then I would be set for anything! I decided to say goodbye. I could "befriend" him later. Right then, I had a mission. "Well, I'm afraid I must go. If I make it into the guard, maybe I'll see you around!" He nodded his head, and simply said, "Best of luck to you!" I soon arrived at the palace gates. Still just as majestic as they always were. Yet again, I noticed that there was a lack of heavy security and said gates were open. I knew the layout of the castle fairly well, as I had technically been there just hours ago. I looked to my right, and spotted the barracks, a large square building that was decidedly out of place in the city. I trotted closer to see a small desk and a royal guard right behind it. I trotted over to the pegasus and said, "Good morning! Is this the recruitment area?" The guard quickly looked up, and his eyes widened. I had to assume it was because nobody, or pony, was signing up. Ponies are rather strange. All the time I have spent on undercover assignments indicates that ponies would rather play, bake, or sing and dance than fight. I found this to be ridiculous, but such is the way of life. "Yes. This is the recruitment center! Why? Are you wanting to join the royal guard?" He still seemed genuinely surprised. "Yes. Is that so odd?" I wrinkled my brow, wondering why this was a such a shock. As I just explained, I knew ponies didn't like to fight, but I didn't think it would be this bad. The guard handed me a form. "Fill this out please. And yes, it is odd for somepony to join the guard after the recruitment test was issued. It's very difficult to pass, and most just give up." Now I was curious. What could be so difficult that seeing one single pony trying to join is a surprise? I guess I was about to find out. Almost as if on cue, the guard spoke again. "Well, you'll have to enter the basement to the barracks and take the test. Follow me." His tone was extremely serious. I followed him into the cube in front of me, past the cardboard cutout of every military installment in existence, and towards a small hatch labeled "Training room." He paused and turned around. "Are you sure you want to go through with this? I'm not sure you'll make it through." He stood on top of the door, making it impossible to enter. "I would know I was ready if you told me what I was going to be doing, but I said I would face the test and I meant it." I planted my hooves solidly on the ground and waited for him to reply. "Well," the guard said, "Your test is to face one of the strongest ponies on our force. It won't be easy, but if you want to face the challenge, then so be it." He stepped backwards and opened the door. A familiar voice called out. A bit too familiar for my liking. The voice called to the guard, "What is it, lieutenant stormcaller? You know not to interrupt me when I'm training." "Yes sir, we have a potential recruit! You told me to tell you-" "I know what I told you, lieutenant. Send him in!" After realizing who the voice belonged to, I didn't want to enter the room. I would've ran off, had I not been so stubborn about entering. I have manners, after all. I slowly walked down the stair, legs trembling, to find myself face to face with Shining Armor, the captain of the royal guard, and newly crowned prince of Equestria. Chapter 2I struggled to breathe. I could barely think, and here I was, face to face with with the enemy! I mean, sure. During the invasion he was a useless pile of meat, but seeing what he could do first hand! And here I was face to face with a pony who could eradicate me with ease! I slowly calmed down, careful not to alert Shining Armor or the guard behind me of my fear. I soon found a white hoof in front of me. "I assume you are the recruit Stormcaller mentioned!" It was more of a statement than a question. "It's good to meet you. My name is-" "Captain Shining Armor!" I almost whispered. My throat seemed really dry suddenly. I remembered I was supposed to be in character. Clearing my throat, I shook his outstretched hoof saying, "I don't think anypony doesn't know you." He smiled, and in an attempt to be modest, said, "I can't be that well known. I mean, the whole Canterlot thing died down after the wedding." He paused, and then backed up a few paces. "Well, you came here for the recruitment test. If you can last one minute against me, you will be accepted into the canterlot royal guard." His horn glowed and a spear floated into view. I began thinking of ways I could win. Weapons were basically useless, as I would need to hold the in my mouth, so I decided to do something a bit different. I just hoped it would work. Shining Armor nodded to the gray pegasus guard, stormcaller, and he began to count. "Three... Two... One... Begin!" As soon as the final word was uttered, something flew by my face. Seconds later, a chunk of my mane fell off. Nearby, Shining Armor was standing in a battle position I had rarely seen, concentrating on the spear that had nearly cut my head off. Time to act, Vespur! I leaped up and flew straight towards my opponent. He saw my attack and spun around to block it, all while keeping the spear raised so I couldn't get to his right side. I quickly spun around and whipped my tail against the floor, pulling up as much dust as was possible. Obviously he had not anticipated this, but he was recovering quickly. I flew to his left and, knowing that a direct approach would not be in my favor began stirring the air around me, still gathering dust. Soon, a small dust vortex was spinning around me, and I decided it would be a good Idea to use my natural improved vision to see through the wall. It was, in all honesty, not much better than pony eyes. Even so, it gave me just enough of an outline to attack from behind the spinning wall of dust. I lunged forward, only to be hit in the face with the butt of a spear. How could he track me? That was an advanced maneuver! I got back up and brushed myself off, then decided to wear him down. Focus on dodging his attacks. Every slash, jab, or swipe was narrowly avoided, but avoided nonetheless. I kept finding ways to keep from being hit, until he took a quick second to rest. I seized the opportunity and flew at him with all of my strength, closing my eyes and bracing myself for impact, when...... Nothing. I opened my eyes to see myself floating above the floor, inches away from Shining Armor's smiling face. "and, time!" My eyes widened. Had all of that happened in just one minute? I slowly floated to the ground as the field of levitation was released. I looked up to see Shining Armor's hoof. Taking it, I shakily got back on all fours. "Wow! That was amazing! Where in equestria did you learn to do all that?" The unicorn was grinning madly, with excitement in his eyes. "I haven't been in anything that fun in... Ever! And you even lasted a full minute! Well, welcome to the royal guard!" I looked at him like he was crazy for a moment, then realized exactly what had just transpired. Now, before you laugh about my lack of awareness, think about the rush of adrenaline that had begun flowing as he had first attacked. You would have been even more stupid than I was. But all complaining aside, as his last few words finally registered, a huge grin broke out across my face! I ,Vesp- wait, no. Snowfall! Had made it into the royal guard! I opened my mouth to speak. "I guess I need to call you, captain, or maybe prince, right?" Shining Armor smirked. "Well, I do tend to go by "Captain" since it is my position, so I'm afraid so." He finally looked down at the form I had filled out earlier, mumbling a few comments that I couldn't hear every now and then. Soon, he looked up and said, "Alright.... Snowfall! Stormcaller here will show you around and introduce you to the other guards. I have to get back to the castle." He nodded his farewells and then trotted out of the basement. Soon, we heard a door open and close. Soon afterwards Stormcaller turned around and smiled. It was the first time I had seen anything other than a serious, guarded expression. He opened his mouth. "Well, let's get you settled!" I nearly jumped back! Where his voice was earlier deep and rumbling, it was high pitched now! He sounded like a teenage stallion! Not much younger than I was, and he was a whole lot more enthusiastic. "Alright! Follow me! The barracks are just for the members during a crisis. We actually get our own wing of the castle. Separate rooms and everything! First I'll give you a tour of the grounds! I'll go ahead and start with......" After maybe an hour of me being dragged around and introduced to random ponies, we stopped at a large hallway in the castle. "Well, here are the rooms. Currently there is only one available. The rest are under maintenance after the last "Experiment" that slim did." I was confused at his explanation. "I thought I met all the guards. Who is Slim?" He smiled nervously and looked behind him. "Well, Slim is the only guard you haven't met. He's not a bad pony, but he likes messing with chemicals. It usually ends in disaster, so he doesn't have many friends around here." He led me to the end of the hallway and stopped in front of a wooden door. Well, this is my room. Yours is the one right across the hall. It's getting late, so I suggest you get settled in. Well, goodnight!" He stepped behind the door and closed it. "Goodnight, I guess." I stepped across the hall and over to the door. It was the same oak, inlaid with gold patterns like every door in the castle. I slowly opened it to find a simple room. It housed a plain white bed, a dark wooden desk with a candle, and a small chest. I had an idea! I trotted over to the desk, spotted a small inkwell and some parchment, and plucked a feather from my wing. I then sat in front of the desk and began writing. Queen chrysalis, I am reporting from Canterlot Castle. I somehow ended up here after a teleportation...mishap. I have infiltrated the royal guard and will begin gathering intelligence, in the hopes that you will accept me back into the hive. I have learned about an outcast guard by the name of Slim. I plan on investigating this matter further, in addition to finding the cause of that blast that ended the invasion. I truly hope this will earn me my place back amongst the hive, and more importantly, your royal army. -General Vespur Author's Note Alright! So I decided to start this whole "Letter to the queen!" Thing. I really hope it works!
PrologueThere were no other changelings in the city of Canterlot. I, Vespur, a lone changeling general, made it in. The only other changeling within the vicinity was at the castle, in disguise. You can hardly call the Queen a changeling, though. Too regal. She had requested my presence in the city, and my job was to find all weak points in the large dome shield around the vicinity. I looked up to see a rather large pink surface, clearly my target. I saw some points there earlier with my rather keen eyes, current disguise, a grey unicorn with a brown mane that I had seen just outside the city, prevented me from reaching them, as he had a lack of wings. Damn unicorns are useless. Next time I'll be a pegasus instead. Clearly I wasn't paying enough attention to my surroundings, as I was caught off guard by one of those nasty pony creatures. "Are you okay sir? I saw you standing there and thought you looked out of it." After I finished being surprised (which was rather quickly, I would like to say,) I responded as politely as one could in such a predicament. "Well, I WAS just FINE, until somepony came and pestered me!" I turned to face the mare, who I realized was one of the so called "Elements of harmony." She seemed almost as annoyed as I was. This Lavender mare, whom I assumed was the notorious Twilight Sparkle, was taken aback by my outburst. "Geez! Everypony here is either ignorant, rude, or evil! I can't even catch a break now!" She fumed. I wondered what made her so angry. It's not like SHE was just snuck up on by some scoundrel! “I mean, Cadance is acting strange, and nopony even believes me! And now some RANDOM unicorn decides to yell at me for 'sneaking up' on him!” She glared at me, steam coming from her nostrils. Well, I guess that makes since. Still, The Queen has a foolproof disguise. How did she notice? I looked up from my contemplation to see that she had moved on; probably because I wasn't paying any attention to her. I realized that in all my pointless pondering I had forgotten to work more on my mission. Alright,Vespur,To the barrier! Ah. Finally. Some peace and quiet so I can do my work. After maybe an hour of walking I had arrived at the edge of the city, and upon reaching the end of the large buildings, I discovered a familiar pink surface directly ahead of me. I decided that since I was away from any signs of equine life, I could use my magic. As a changeling, magic often uses a sort of green-ish fire, like the ones that come from those magic baby dragons. Anyway, I ran over to the edge of the barrier and closely examined the massive wall using a magnifying spell. It looked solid at first, but upon closer inspection, I discovered a series of cracks all round the barrier about the size of a wagon. I peered at the structure, then levitated a few logs in the shape of an X, as to mark the spot. I looked down at the detailed map of the city, given to me by Chrysalis. I soon found the part of the map I was at and marked it with an X as well. As soon as I had made sure everything was in order, I quickly ran over to the station of Queen Chrysalis. Canterlot Castle is majestic. Even somepony as brilliantly hateful as me has to admit that. Beautiful as it may be, the possibility of getting in undetected without some sort of plan is rather low. Since the beginning of this whole "wedding" craze, the guard has increased in number by at least tenfold. Fortunately, they chose quantity, not quality. I had just finished writing my status report, including several convenient locations to use during the invasion, and walked up to the front gate, where two royal guards in gold armor were standing. Clearly, it was my lucky day, as these guards were fairly stupid. Now don't judge me for saying that! They were actually too busy looking at a butterfly with dumb grins stretched across there faces to notice me when I approached. "Afternoon, gentlemen!" I said cheerfully. "Good morning, sir!" This was going to be too easy; the guards can't even tell afternoon and morning apart! The pony in front of me realized he made a complete violation of his orders, and quickly tried to recover as I grinned at him. "I-I mean halt! State your business!" The guard sputtered. "Easy! Easy!" I said, grinning. "I'm Princess Cadance's courier. I need to deliver a letter." I pulled out the letter. "It has the royal seal and everything." I held it up and showed them the gold stamp with a sun and moon circling each other. "Very well, you may proceed." These guards are dumber than I thought! a royal courier bringing a message into the palace? I mean, wow! Anyway, I made my way to the throne room. Almost as soon as I made it in, I heard a voice behind me whisper, "I thought you were going to be here earlier! Were is your report?" I turned towards the location of the voice, mainly to avoid suspicion. She was a bright pink alicorn with with a heart made of crystal for a cutie mark. Though small for said race, she was still rather large for a regular pony. It was Princess Cadance. Or rather, it was Queen Chrysalis in disguise. "I have my report here, my queen. And I did a more thorough search of the barrier than originally planned." I held up the letter, and she took it with her perfectly disguised magic. "Very good, general. Stay in the castle and await orders. I will send for you soon." She turned away before I could give my reply. While I was here, I decided to go and feed. Most ponies think changelings only feed on love, but they feed on any emotions; love is just the sweetest. Anyway, I found the perfect target. A royal guard near the barracks was on break and napping on the grass outside. More importantly, he was radiating waves of happiness. Ah, dreams, the number one source of changeling food. The way a changeling eats isn't like what ponies think. We don't bite into, or even cast a spell on you (well, Chrysalis does cast a spell). Emotions sort of hang in the air around each pony and a form of vapor. All we do is walk by and breath it in. We don't really need it often. In fact, one nibble of emotion can last 6 months! No, we feed because it gives us more power. Sort of like an energy reserve beyond our natural power that grows with practice. Also, it tastes good. After I finished eating (mmm, happiness!) I decided to see the palace library. I may be a spiteful monster, but I'm not uneducated, and have a hunger for knowledge. As soon as I entered the library wing, I was simply astonished. So many books! There were volumes from floor to ceiling spanning the entire length of the massive room. Glancing from aisle to aisle, I murmured, "I'm in heaven!" After maybe an hour of reading a very interesting book about manticore anatomy, I decided to get up and explore some of the bookshelves on the far wall. As soon as I got there, I noticed a door with a padlock, labeled simply, "FORBIDDEN." I knew I could risk blowing my cover, and kept trying to resist my urge to open the door. There could be some amazing secrets in this room! No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep my curiosity at bay. Just one peek. You might learn some new things! Maybe find some spells to use! Come on, just open the door! I couldn't help myself. "I guess I can just take a peek. No harm there, right?" The padlock was easy to unlock, and I decided that it was a rather poor security measure. When I stepped through the door, however, the tile I stepped on sank roughly a foot, and I heard a click. "Well, that can't be good." I grimaced, too annoyed at myself to be worried, or to notice the crystal powder floating onto my back and face. "...Because it's not your wedding!" I opened my eyes slowly, hearing the voice of Cadance yelling in the throne room. It took me a minute to realize that I had been put to sleep by some sort of trap. After I realized this, I scrambled out of small confines of the dark room, and into the main part of the library. I looked out the window to see that the changelings were at their stations around the barrier in swarms. "Well, I guess I'm late!" I said to nopony in particular. Scrambling to the throne room, I saw Chrysalis and Cadance. Wait, Chrysalis is in her regular form? This is odd! Well, the changeling army is in position, so I guess I should plan something brilliant. My thoughts were interrupted by celestia's voice. Changelings, when in pony form, have very acute hearing. “You must get to the elements!” When those words left her mouth, I had an idea. I had written in my report about the chamber that the elements of harmony are kept in, and knew the building very well. I decided to make use of one of my spells as general: Psychic Communication. Most regular changelings can only speak pony when in said form, so I can't actually tell you what I said word for word, but the main plan was to send about an eighth of the swarm onto the streets to tire out the elements, and then send the rest of the army to the building that houses the elements. I looked out on the balcony, waiting to hear the lovely crack of the barrier. Clearly they had gotten the message of where the weak points were, as it shattered with ease. Soon after, six familiar mares were dragged back in, defeated. I love my planning. I decided to enjoy the chaos the invasion was bringing, and let Chrysalis deal with the mares. I was gazing lovingly over the mayhem I had helped cause, when I heard a slight tingling sound, and the gasp of Queen Chrysalis. Princess Cadance had gotten free and was standing over Shining Armor, and had clearly just cast some sort of spell. It appeared as though he was regaining consciousness. Crap. This can't be good. “What...Happened? Is the wedding over?” I didn't listen to the rest of what was said. There was really no point, anyway. I was edging my way towards the door, when all of a sudden, Cadance and Shining Armor started glowing and levitating. Now, I'm a pretty experienced general. One thing I have learned from my experience with ponies is that it is NOT normal for them to glow brightly in midair, and you should probably get the heck outta there when you see it. I followed my own advice and gathered all my magic to teleport. As soon as I was finshed getting ready, a huge wall of white flew out from the blasted ponies and knocked the Queen out of the building. Just as the wall reached me, my vision was obscured by green flames as I finished my teleportation. Teleporting is another one of those things that work differently for changelings. We can teleport, of course. But the difference is that when ponies teleport, they picture the location they are going, whereas a changeling just thinks the name of a destination and hope they don't go splat. We don't have refined direction senses like those lucky unicorns. So imagine what happened when I thought: take me somewhere safe! When I landed, which was on my head, by the way, I appeared to be in a cave made of crystals. I was only at the mouth of the cave and could see canterlot buildings in the distance, but what shocked me wasn't where I was, but when. When A changeling teleports, they almost never go where they want, and usually it takes a really long time for them to appear at their destination. Where when I teleported the birds were singing and everything was green, the treetops outside the cave were white. Snow? How long was I gone??? Author's Note Thank you for clicking on this story! I will admit, this would be the first story I have published, and it's not edited, but please enjoy. Also, feel free to leave your criticism in the comments. I can't guarantee I will use them 100%, but I will certainly try!
Chapter 1I looked at my surroundings, bewildered. They had not changed since I reappeared. Just like every previous time I glanced around, there was a layer of pure white snow where spring grass should be. I hate to admit it, but when I teleported, the landing hit my little "panic" button. Mostly, though I did eventually sit down, I ran around hissing. It took me a minute to get my bearings. I knew teleportations could send you a bit forward in time, but it was never this far! When I finally regained composure, I reviewed everything that happened previously. I was stationed in Canterlot, I looked out to the horizon, seeing the majestic buildings in the distance. And we were invading.... So why am I.... Suddenly, realization hit me as I remembered the previous events. We... We lost? Great. The panic button was hit again. I remembered the Queens policy back at the hive. "If an invasion is unsuccessful, all Changelings that are left behind lose ties with the hive." I whispered. I had once said those words myself to a few poor changelings who came seeking re-entry to the hive. After a few minutes of just sitting at the mouth of the cave, I realized something. "I need to get moving." It was a long way to the city of Canterlot. I had been walking for a while now, but my destination still seemed as far away as when I started. "Stupid ponies." I grumbled. I had decided to try and go back to the hive, even though I already knew the rule. I thought maybe, if I can bring useful information on ponies, like how they did that strange glowing explosion, I would be let back in. Somewhere along the way, I decided to shed my old form and take a new one. I also decided to form a completely new identity, since I was likely to be in Canterlot for a while. When I transformed, I took a look into a nearby frozen puddle. I was a pegasus, that much I made sure of. My coat was stark white accompanied by a pair of amber eyes. I craned my neck so I could see my cutie mark. See, when a changeling transforms, they take on every physical aspect of the pony they are currently imitating. When they make a completely new pony to become, their identity, cutie mark included, is what said changeling would have been, were he born a pony. Of course, I was shocked when I saw my cutie mark. On my flank was a golden circle with the Sun and Moon. The royal seal itself! After my initial shock, I leapt into the air and shouted. "Yes! This couldn't have gotten any easier!" I had just been handed an opportunity. The royal guard would have to accept a pony who had a royal cutie mark! I sped off towards the massive mountainside city with renewed energy. When I finally arrived in Canterlot, I found that it was very much the same city as when I was last there. The difference being, of course, a very present lack of shielding and a sheet of white snow covering everything in sight. I soon realized that since there is no longer a threat to Equestria, the princesses might not need any guards. "Hello! Excuse me, sir!" I trotted over to a nearby stallion. He turned over and looked at me with a smile. I found him a bit peculiar, as he was only wearing a suit and monocle. This odd pony took a breath and said. "Oh, hello! Did you happen to need something, perchance?" I glanced up at the castle and said, "Yes, sir. I was wondering if the royal guards were still recruiting. You seem like you might know quite a bit about this town." I hadn't realized it when I was speaking, but I had suddenly adopted a perfect dialect. The Canterlonian accent is hard to mimic. Well, hard to correctly mimic anyway. I had to assume it was my pony form still working out the kinks. "Why, yes! I do believe the guards are still recruiting. I must say that I haven't met anypony actively seeking to join them in quite some time, though! What did you say your name was?" I hadn't thought of that. I walked into a pony capital without even thinking of a name. I knew my actual name would be no good, seeing how I would be caught instantly using a changeling name. I looked around me, hoping to come up with something. "Snow....fall. My name is snowfall." Shut up. It was the best I could find. The pony looked at me quizzically for a moment, then grinned again. "I am very pleased to meet you, snowfall. My name is Fancy Pants." I instantly recognized him. Fancy Pants! One of the most popular ponies in Canterlot, I believe. If I have his influence, then I would be set for anything! I decided to say goodbye. I could "befriend" him later. Right then, I had a mission. "Well, I'm afraid I must go. If I make it into the guard, maybe I'll see you around!" He nodded his head, and simply said, "Best of luck to you!" I soon arrived at the palace gates. Still just as majestic as they always were. Yet again, I noticed that there was a lack of heavy security and said gates were open. I knew the layout of the castle fairly well, as I had technically been there just hours ago. I looked to my right, and spotted the barracks, a large square building that was decidedly out of place in the city. I trotted closer to see a small desk and a royal guard right behind it. I trotted over to the pegasus and said, "Good morning! Is this the recruitment area?" The guard quickly looked up, and his eyes widened. I had to assume it was because nobody, or pony, was signing up. Ponies are rather strange. All the time I have spent on undercover assignments indicates that ponies would rather play, bake, or sing and dance than fight. I found this to be ridiculous, but such is the way of life. "Yes. This is the recruitment center! Why? Are you wanting to join the royal guard?" He still seemed genuinely surprised. "Yes. Is that so odd?" I wrinkled my brow, wondering why this was a such a shock. As I just explained, I knew ponies didn't like to fight, but I didn't think it would be this bad. The guard handed me a form. "Fill this out please. And yes, it is odd for somepony to join the guard after the recruitment test was issued. It's very difficult to pass, and most just give up." Now I was curious. What could be so difficult that seeing one single pony trying to join is a surprise? I guess I was about to find out. Almost as if on cue, the guard spoke again. "Well, you'll have to enter the basement to the barracks and take the test. Follow me." His tone was extremely serious. I followed him into the cube in front of me, past the cardboard cutout of every military installment in existence, and towards a small hatch labeled "Training room." He paused and turned around. "Are you sure you want to go through with this? I'm not sure you'll make it through." He stood on top of the door, making it impossible to enter. "I would know I was ready if you told me what I was going to be doing, but I said I would face the test and I meant it." I planted my hooves solidly on the ground and waited for him to reply. "Well," the guard said, "Your test is to face one of the strongest ponies on our force. It won't be easy, but if you want to face the challenge, then so be it." He stepped backwards and opened the door. A familiar voice called out. A bit too familiar for my liking. The voice called to the guard, "What is it, lieutenant stormcaller? You know not to interrupt me when I'm training." "Yes sir, we have a potential recruit! You told me to tell you-" "I know what I told you, lieutenant. Send him in!" After realizing who the voice belonged to, I didn't want to enter the room. I would've ran off, had I not been so stubborn about entering. I have manners, after all. I slowly walked down the stair, legs trembling, to find myself face to face with Shining Armor, the captain of the royal guard, and newly crowned prince of Equestria.
Chapter 2I struggled to breathe. I could barely think, and here I was, face to face with with the enemy! I mean, sure. During the invasion he was a useless pile of meat, but seeing what he could do first hand! And here I was face to face with a pony who could eradicate me with ease! I slowly calmed down, careful not to alert Shining Armor or the guard behind me of my fear. I soon found a white hoof in front of me. "I assume you are the recruit Stormcaller mentioned!" It was more of a statement than a question. "It's good to meet you. My name is-" "Captain Shining Armor!" I almost whispered. My throat seemed really dry suddenly. I remembered I was supposed to be in character. Clearing my throat, I shook his outstretched hoof saying, "I don't think anypony doesn't know you." He smiled, and in an attempt to be modest, said, "I can't be that well known. I mean, the whole Canterlot thing died down after the wedding." He paused, and then backed up a few paces. "Well, you came here for the recruitment test. If you can last one minute against me, you will be accepted into the canterlot royal guard." His horn glowed and a spear floated into view. I began thinking of ways I could win. Weapons were basically useless, as I would need to hold the in my mouth, so I decided to do something a bit different. I just hoped it would work. Shining Armor nodded to the gray pegasus guard, stormcaller, and he began to count. "Three... Two... One... Begin!" As soon as the final word was uttered, something flew by my face. Seconds later, a chunk of my mane fell off. Nearby, Shining Armor was standing in a battle position I had rarely seen, concentrating on the spear that had nearly cut my head off. Time to act, Vespur! I leaped up and flew straight towards my opponent. He saw my attack and spun around to block it, all while keeping the spear raised so I couldn't get to his right side. I quickly spun around and whipped my tail against the floor, pulling up as much dust as was possible. Obviously he had not anticipated this, but he was recovering quickly. I flew to his left and, knowing that a direct approach would not be in my favor began stirring the air around me, still gathering dust. Soon, a small dust vortex was spinning around me, and I decided it would be a good Idea to use my natural improved vision to see through the wall. It was, in all honesty, not much better than pony eyes. Even so, it gave me just enough of an outline to attack from behind the spinning wall of dust. I lunged forward, only to be hit in the face with the butt of a spear. How could he track me? That was an advanced maneuver! I got back up and brushed myself off, then decided to wear him down. Focus on dodging his attacks. Every slash, jab, or swipe was narrowly avoided, but avoided nonetheless. I kept finding ways to keep from being hit, until he took a quick second to rest. I seized the opportunity and flew at him with all of my strength, closing my eyes and bracing myself for impact, when...... Nothing. I opened my eyes to see myself floating above the floor, inches away from Shining Armor's smiling face. "and, time!" My eyes widened. Had all of that happened in just one minute? I slowly floated to the ground as the field of levitation was released. I looked up to see Shining Armor's hoof. Taking it, I shakily got back on all fours. "Wow! That was amazing! Where in equestria did you learn to do all that?" The unicorn was grinning madly, with excitement in his eyes. "I haven't been in anything that fun in... Ever! And you even lasted a full minute! Well, welcome to the royal guard!" I looked at him like he was crazy for a moment, then realized exactly what had just transpired. Now, before you laugh about my lack of awareness, think about the rush of adrenaline that had begun flowing as he had first attacked. You would have been even more stupid than I was. But all complaining aside, as his last few words finally registered, a huge grin broke out across my face! I ,Vesp- wait, no. Snowfall! Had made it into the royal guard! I opened my mouth to speak. "I guess I need to call you, captain, or maybe prince, right?" Shining Armor smirked. "Well, I do tend to go by "Captain" since it is my position, so I'm afraid so." He finally looked down at the form I had filled out earlier, mumbling a few comments that I couldn't hear every now and then. Soon, he looked up and said, "Alright.... Snowfall! Stormcaller here will show you around and introduce you to the other guards. I have to get back to the castle." He nodded his farewells and then trotted out of the basement. Soon, we heard a door open and close. Soon afterwards Stormcaller turned around and smiled. It was the first time I had seen anything other than a serious, guarded expression. He opened his mouth. "Well, let's get you settled!" I nearly jumped back! Where his voice was earlier deep and rumbling, it was high pitched now! He sounded like a teenage stallion! Not much younger than I was, and he was a whole lot more enthusiastic. "Alright! Follow me! The barracks are just for the members during a crisis. We actually get our own wing of the castle. Separate rooms and everything! First I'll give you a tour of the grounds! I'll go ahead and start with......" After maybe an hour of me being dragged around and introduced to random ponies, we stopped at a large hallway in the castle. "Well, here are the rooms. Currently there is only one available. The rest are under maintenance after the last "Experiment" that slim did." I was confused at his explanation. "I thought I met all the guards. Who is Slim?" He smiled nervously and looked behind him. "Well, Slim is the only guard you haven't met. He's not a bad pony, but he likes messing with chemicals. It usually ends in disaster, so he doesn't have many friends around here." He led me to the end of the hallway and stopped in front of a wooden door. Well, this is my room. Yours is the one right across the hall. It's getting late, so I suggest you get settled in. Well, goodnight!" He stepped behind the door and closed it. "Goodnight, I guess." I stepped across the hall and over to the door. It was the same oak, inlaid with gold patterns like every door in the castle. I slowly opened it to find a simple room. It housed a plain white bed, a dark wooden desk with a candle, and a small chest. I had an idea! I trotted over to the desk, spotted a small inkwell and some parchment, and plucked a feather from my wing. I then sat in front of the desk and began writing. Queen chrysalis, I am reporting from Canterlot Castle. I somehow ended up here after a teleportation...mishap. I have infiltrated the royal guard and will begin gathering intelligence, in the hopes that you will accept me back into the hive. I have learned about an outcast guard by the name of Slim. I plan on investigating this matter further, in addition to finding the cause of that blast that ended the invasion. I truly hope this will earn me my place back amongst the hive, and more importantly, your royal army. -General Vespur Author's Note Alright! So I decided to start this whole "Letter to the queen!" Thing. I really hope it works!
