Changelings in Equestria: A Comrade

Life for creatures who lived within the walls of the Canterlot Castle got odd and busy since yesterday. Even though he wasn’t a part of the guard yet, the presence of Queen Vespa had affected Summer Solo’s day all the same. Sure, he didn’t necessarily have to do anything, so he could take breaks or just not do anything. But it felt wrong to not lend a helping hoof where he could.

But it was also hard for him to concentrate. At times, it was even straight-up detrimental to have him around. He excused himself from the group he was currently helping when he realized he didn’t even know what he was doing for the past fifteen or so minutes. They didn’t seem to mind him leaving.

A walk around the gardens would be nice, he decides. The air was crisp and burned at his nostrils a little bit, but it was fresh. He stared at his hooves and the ground as he walked, letting the thoughts he pushed aside come rushing in. 

What was bothering him the most, he wondered. An image of Pas D’arms standing defiantly in before him, backlit intimidatingly by the moon and bonfire. Summer Solo frowned. How was he supposed to be a guard if he let one pony intimidate him like that? Why did he even care about being a guard? He wanted to be a guard at some point, he knew that. He wouldn’t have jumped around in excitement when he got his cutie mark if he didn’t. At what point did it become a burden?

Along his walk, he notices some of the guards looked off emotionally. They appeared lonely, a little afraid and they were sticking close to each other. He made note these groups were always all changelings or all ponies. None of the changelings in the guard looked particularly comfortable. He felt his mind begin to clear a little bit. 

“Are you okay?” Summer Solo stops a pale pink changeling guard. They looked a little green under their carapace. “You look sick.”

“Oh, yes, I’m fine. Um, do you remember me?” they asked, quickly flashing into the form of a pegasus Summer Solo vaguely remembered before changing back.

“I remember your face, but not your name.” Summer Solo answers with a nod and suddenly remembers why it felt a little off to see this guard alone. “Oh, you’re a trainee. You’re usually sticking around a four-creature platoon as you learn together. Where are the rest of them?”

“It’s Honey Blossom. They’re off doing something else. I’m just running off to get something.”

“Summer Solo.” he introduces, deciding once again to cut the crap on the family names. “But are you sick? You shouldn’t be working if you feel ill.”

“N-no, I’m good, I promise. Thanks for asking.” Honey Blossom’s words were short and hurried like she desperately wanted to get out of the conversation now. Having been raised with two sisters and his mother, Summer Solo knew how to read the body language of mares to know when he was making them uncomfortable. So he simply dipped his head and walked away so Honey Blossom didn’t feel trapped in the conversation.

But even still, the situation felt off. He remembered talking in passing with Honey Blossom before. While it could have just been that particular circumstance, the encounter didn’t match up to any other he had with her. Maybe he should check in with the rest of her friend group and make sure she’s actually okay. It’s not like he was doing anything else.

It wasn’t hard to identify a group of trainees. It was too expensive to create custom armor for every pony who might drop out. It was also too uncomfortable for creatures to wear the armor created for the non-existing average pony. The privilege of metal armor came to an aspiring Canterlot Guard only when they finished training. But the Guard didn’t want to leave the training ponies unarmored, so instead, they were given gambeson that they could wear around their bodies and use belts to strap down the loose ends. There were flaps built into the sides of all of them that could be buttoned down for earth ponies and pegasus that allowed for the wings of pegasus and bat ponies to poke through. It also offered a little area of coverage for their wings.

“Hey, you three. Is everything all right? I saw Honey Blossom and she didn’t look too good.” Summer Solo approached the three other friends. He noticed that they were like the others, huddled up together and without a changeling in their group.

“I don’t know.” one of them, a greyish pegasus, answered with a shrug. The hostile undertone wasn’t lost on Summer Solo.

“Did she do something?”

“She’s a changeling!” he snipped, not even trying to mask his anger.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Summer Solo barely managed to keep his own anger out of his voice.

“Do I need to remind you what changelings did to Princess Cadance all those years ago?” the pegasus shouted, his wings unfolded and the feathers fluffed.

“Need I remind you that it was changelings that changed the tide of war when three of the worst villains Equestria had ever seen attacked?” Summer Solo defended, raising his head high for the first time in what felt like weeks.

“Who’s to say these changelings aren’t here to attack Canterlot? To assault our princess and take us all prisoner?”

“How dare you? Honey Blossom was born within these walls!” Summer Solo could no longer contain his rage at the audacity of this pegasus’ words. “If she and the other changelings wanted to hurt us, they would have done it already!”

“You don’t know that. They’re conniving and underhooved! They’re tactical geniuses.” the pegasus, caught in the heat of the argument reared onto his back legs.

“Well, they made a real tactically stupid decision deciding to reveal themselves to us like this.” Summer Solo shouted back, feeling his own body respond against his will to the pegasus’ shift in posture. “Honey Blossom is your friend! She needs your support right now and you abandoned her!”

“Stop it!” one of the friends begged, grabbing the pegasus from behind to put him back on four hooves.

“What do you know about friendship?” the pegasus snarked, shaking off his friend. 

“Hey, come on, dude. You’re both going too far.” The other friend tried to mediate, slinking back to avoid getting hit.

The pegasus got out of the grip of his friends and charged Summer Solo. Unarmed, Summer Solo instinctually whipped his head so that his horn could act as a blade. He backstepped to disallow the pegasus from accidentally impaling himself against the oddly sharp horn that he had. But that wasn’t even an issue as the two ponies were lifted off of their feet.

“That’s enough!” bellowed a commanding voice. It came from an older earth pony who’s been with the guard for well over fifty years. They weren’t born with all of their back legs formed. They had a specially made device that allowed them to use their fully formed front legs to pull themselves around on wheels while the back legs rested comfortably in a sling. Beside them were two ponies, a unicorn and a changeling from the squad he led, who were responsible for levitating the two aggressive ponies. 

“What’s the meaning of this? Attacking your own comra-”

“He isn’t in the guar-” the pegasus began to protest, but was suddenly not making any noise despite their mouth moving. The squad leader glared him down for a moment before the unicorn responsible dispelled the effect.

“Now listen here, colt.” the earth pony’s voice dropped to a low rumble. “I know all of these good creatures here that work in the guard love our princess. It doesn’t matter if they’re a pony, changeling, or even a dragon. I trust them all with my life and the life of the princess. And you outta do the same. 

Now I see you pulling this nonsense separating yourself from the changelings, I will personally report you straight to True Heart. And trust me, you don’t want True Heart to find out your name from a demerit. You hear me?”

“Y-yes, ser.” the pegasus whimpered.

“I said do you hear me!?”

“Yes, ser! Sorry, ser!”

“Now you all three git before I change my mind. You, Summer Solo. A word.”

“Yes, ser.” Summer Solo clearly said, as much as he wanted to mumble. He knew he was going to get a harsh lecture about his temper. 

The pegasus made long and deliberate eye contact with Summer Solo before he departed. 

“Of course you’d get off easy.” he barely heard the pegasus mumble under his breath before he took off. It was so quiet, Summer Solo began to doubt he even heard it.

“You have a good heart, colt.” the earth pony finally said when they were away from the crowds. “But you need to get a handle on that temper of yours. Hey, don’t get that look. I honestly would have lost my ‘tude under the same circumstances.

“I can’t discipline you. You’re not with the Canterlot Guard. Instead, I’ll encourage you. I think with some good discipline and training, you honestly would make a good guard pony. You’re a good friend, colt. Keep that heart protected at all costs.”

The squad leader rustled the unicorn’s bangs and felt to attend to their duties.

Despite the kind words, Summer Solo found sadness welling deep into his soul. If he was such a good friend then why did he mistrust Brave Storm so much? How could he stand there and tell other ponies how their friend needs support when he himself abandoned his own friend? He wasn’t a good friend, not at all. He lost the war against his volatile emotions and bawled until his head pounded.