Hey everyone. So I'm really sorry it's been taking me so long to finish this chapter. The problem is I wanted to have three major events from Fletcher's life in the Flash back arc and I wanted each event to stand as one chapter. This one is going to be pretty big, and because it's so big it's been taking me a long time to write it and also been giving me a lot of writer's block. It doesn't help that I'm busy with other things too. To be honest, it's been killing me to not be able to get something to you guys for so long, so I decided to cut it up and at least give you this part. Now... I know everyone is eagerly waiting to get back to Fletcher and the cute little unnamed sandy filly. I promise we'll get there, but these arc chapters are important so please bear with me. Anyways here we go, Part One of chapter six. I hope you enjoy :)

“Commander Fletcher Sir, her Majesty has requested your presence,” came a frantic voice.

Fletcher looked up at the changeling standing in the entryway to his quarters.

“Thank you, Kelt. Tell her Majesty that This one will be there swiftly,” he replied.

“Sir!” the changeling said with a firm salute, then he ran off towards the throne room.

Fletcher turned to his armor cabinet and began to dress himself. Ever since the trauma of his first and only mission, Fletcher had sworn off gathering love. Instead he dedicated himself to studying combat, and defending the hive. He didn’t want to lose anyone else. Never again.

Since he specialized, and never went on any gathering missions, Fletcher rose in military rank to Elite Guard by the time he was a stallion, and eventually became one of the leading authorities on military defence manoeuvres.

Fletcher slipped on his dark blue helmet and sighed. If the Queen was summoning him while he was off duty, it was likely that something was very wrong. With that thought, he hastily made his way to the throne room.

--------------------------------------------

Fletcher nodded to the door guards as he approached.

“Sir!” they saluted.

Fletcher returned a stout salute. “As you were, my friends,” he said.

The guards smiled and sent a brief flow of love and appreciation to him as they opened the doors.

Fletcher had received many comments from various subordinates, saying they respected him the most out of all of their commanding officers, because he never let rank get in the way of what was really important: the fact that every changeling in the hive was family. Every Ba-tem a father, every Bo-nem a son.

Fletcher smiled and sent love right back to them in response. As far as Fletcher was concerned, rank just determined who listened to whom. As long as orders were carried out, he didn’t really care if he was the one following or giving them, because orders were everything. The hive either thrived, or crumbled based on how well it followed orders.

Fletcher walked into the throne room and stood before the Queen. Her throne was flanked on either side by two of his Elite Guard brethren, while two more were posted on either side of the throne room. One of which was Mizer, who had been appointed to the Elite a few years after Fletcher. Various hoof maidens and attendants, including Kelt, were either fluttering around the room fulfilling various tasks, or waiting to be called upon.

The room was black like the rest of the hive, the walls made up of the same chitinous, wonder material they used in all their construction and crafting, plasma. Plasma was a bright green fluid that was full of strong protein strands. Strands which, when properly arranged with the assistance of magic, could either be stretchy as a rubber band, or as strong and solid as mahogany, depending on how the strands were arranged. It also made a great fuel, thus the room was lit by two rows of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, each one holding several glass dishes of plasma, fueling bright green flames. The room therefore, was fairly dimly lit, but for creatures that could see in the dark, this worked just fine.

“Your Majesty, you summoned This one?” Fletcher said as he knelt before the Queen.

The Queen glanced around the room. “I wish for everyone who is not a guard to leave the throne room,” she said.

Fletcher sighed as he listened to the sound of all the hoof maidens and attendants clearing the room. Yep, something’s wrong alright.

The Queen waited for the doors to close before she looked down and addressed him.

“I have just received word, Commander Fletcher. The Ark have declared war on the hive, and scouts have confirmed sightings of their armies mobilizing from the south. They estimate their arrival to be sometime after dawn, three days from now,” she said.

Fletcher stiffened up. That was bad. The Ark was an alliance of creatures from the southern desert, consisting of ahuizotls, jackals, and the not-so-distant relatives of the gryphons, called harpies.

The ahuizotls were panther-like creatures with elongated heads, beefy gorilla arms, and an extra palm at the end of their tail. They were talented blacksmiths who forged very sturdy armor and weaponry. They were also rather hardy fighters who excelled at taking hits... as well as dishing them out.

The jackals were dog-like creatures with long ears, hands, and wide, flat chests. They had very keen senses, and unlike the ahuizotl they could walk or stand solely on their powerful hind legs, which allowed them to be rather swift and agile weapons users. As well, they often had a few among them that were very proficient with fire based magic. If the ahuizotls were the muscle, the jackals were definitely the brains of the outfit.

The harpies were mangy bird creatures that had upright spines, large taloned hindlegs, leathery wings, and falcon heads at the end of their gangly vulture necks. They were a terror in the air. Their talons had enough strength to crush rocks and their screech could not only render you deaf for weeks, if not permanently, but it actually had enough sonic pressure to blow you away.

With the three of these races working together, it truly was a triple-threat of terror.

“Orders your Majesty?” Fletcher asked.

“I’d like to know what you would advise, Commander. Do you believe we can defeat them?”

Fletcher bowed his head. “Your Highness, This one believes the Ark are not to be underestimated in the least, and humbly suggests that all changeling gatherers out in the field be summoned back to the hive as soon as possible. This one believes the hive will need as many that are able to be defenders, and anyone who is not, needs to be here providing the defenders with the love energy they’ll need to fight,” he said. “Did the scouts give an estimate of the Ark’s numbers?”

The Queen’s expression turned just a little grimmer. “Ten thousand strong,” she said.

Fletcher’s eyes widened. Even with every member of the hive gathered, it stood less than four thousand strong. The Ark weren’t just sending an invasion force, they were sending the exterminators.

The Queen was silent for a moment, until she finally looked up and said, “Be honest with me Commander Fletcher… can we survive this?”

After a long pause, Fletcher shook his head. “This one knows not, your Highness... but This one will put everything it has into protecting this hive,” he said resolutely.

“Then let it be so,” the Queen replied. With her magic aura, she brought forth a chest from behind the throne. She opened the chest and presented it to him. “Commander Fletcher, because of your tactical expertise in defence, I hereby appoint you to the rank of Alpha General for the duration of this conflict, so that you may leave my personal guard and lead the military forces on the front lines.”

Fletcher blinked. The chest displayed a magnificent set of black armor plates with bright blue accents.

Alpha General? Me?!

He felt the emotional equivalent of a proud smirk coming from Mizer.

Fletcher coughed. “Your Highness, surely someone with more experience, like Commander Latch or Commander Shal would be a more logical choice?”

The Queen nodded. “You would probably be right, however they are both on missions at the moment which place each of them too far away to make it back in time. Even so, I believe you will serve as more than an adequate replacement,” she said.

The Queen nodded to Mizer and the other guard. They stepped forward to replace their comrade’s armor.

“As you no doubt are aware, the Alpha General has command over the entire hive, even me, in order to ensure our safety. It goes without saying, that by giving you this authority I am placing a great deal of trust in you Commander, and I trust that you will not abuse it. Is that clear?” she asked sternly, just as Mizer and the other guard finished their work.

Fletcher gave a firm salute. “Yes, My Lady!”

“Good. Now then, what are your orders, Alpha?” she asked.

Fletcher looked down and stared at the floor in thought. He began to pace. The Queen and all the guards watched him quietly, but the longer he took, the more worried their expressions became. They began to wonder if the Queen had made the right decision. Everyone except for Mizer, that is. He knew Fletcher better than anyone, and if there was one thing Fletcher was good at after all this time, it was strategy.

Mizer was proven right when Fletcher suddenly stopped cold, turned to faced the throne, and began calling out a list of orders.

“Priority one is to regather our numbers. Send out one non-defender for every team in the field and recall them back to the hive as soon as possible.

“Priority two is love energy. As of this moment, a love rationing order is in effect. The love that everyone brings back should help to top off the cells in the storage caves, but we have to conserve until D-day. No one is to feed on the love in storage unless authorized, exchanges only.

“Priority three is the protection of the Queen. When the war begins, the Queen, the Elite Guard, and the non-defenders will take refuge in stronghold four and focus love towards the defenders.

“The throne room will hereby serve as the base of operations. All personnel with military rank higher than captain, her Highness included, are summoned to meet here in exactly two hours time for a war council. This one wants all preparations and adjustments to be made to the room by then. Immediately following the war council, the hive will be addressed.

“Is all of that clear?” he asked.

The Queen and guards blinked. He barely took a breath during that whole spiel. Mizer couldn’t help but smile.

The Queen finally found her words and nodded. “Yes, Sir. Crystal clear,” she said with a smirk. She chose well after all.

“Very good,” Fletcher said as he turned around. “This one will retire to its quarters to prepare our plan of defence. This one does not wish to be disturbed unless there is a serious problem that requires Its immediate attention,” he said as he headed for the doors. He heard a chorus of ‘Sir!’ from his fellow guards as he pushed the door open and left the throne room.

He looked up and saw all the hoof maidens and attendants waiting outside. The surprise on their faces was evident when they looked up and saw his armor. Only a select few understood what it meant, and Fletcher felt their concern begin to bubble to the surface. After all, the Queen only appointed an Alpha General during times of war.

Fletcher quickly sent them feelings of peace and reassurance. He couldn't let fear spread to the rest of the hive.

“Please return to the throne room, her Highness has orders for you,” he said.

Their spirits noticeably brightened as they nodded and ran inside. Fletcher smirked. Orders not only helped things to run smoothly, but to many changelings, they were the best source of comfort during times of stress. Orders let them focus on a task without having to think much, which was important because thinking too much only gave fear and anxiety a chance to fester.

As the doors closed behind him, Fletcher sauntered off to his quarters, already lost in his thoughts.

--------------------------------------------------

He entered his quarters and cleared his desk save for his drafting pad and charcoals as well as a few sheets of his previous defencive plans. None of them were designed for full scale war, but technically, war was simply made up of several smaller scale fights, so he could refer to them for inspiration.

“Okay,” he muttered to himself. At the very least we have three days advanced warning.

The one good thing about the Ark was that they were at least somewhat diplomatic about their slaughters, giving the hive a chance to organise itself rather than suddenly launching a siege out of nowhere.

But then again, by sending the declaration the Ark were basically showing just how confident they were that the hive didn’t stand a chance. They would be expecting the hive to be ready for them, and be leery of any traps…

…didn’t mean they wouldn’t be setting any, though. They had the advantage of fighting on home soil, and Fletcher was going to make use of every advantage they had. Then he would take the Ark’s advantages and turn them against them.

So for the next two hours he listed the advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses, of both sides, and thought of as many strategies as he could to turn the tides in their favor.

But there was one major weakness of the hive’s that kept coming up, and Fletcher couldn’t think of anything that could turn it around. The hive was emotionally networked. Everyone knew everyone else, and where they were, just by their emotional presence alone… and everyone in the hive would literally feel every casualty it took.

Fletcher’s thoughts turned to the others. He knew every single one of them, and well. He couldn’t imagine losing even one of them.

His head sank to the desk. It wouldn’t matter how brilliant his tactics were, in three days time he was going to lose someone, if not thousands of precious brothers and sisters.

…

Fletcher’s head shot up and he slammed his hooves on the desk. No! Not only could he not allow himself to feel despair for the sake of those around him who would sense it, but it was his job to reduce that number from thousands, to tens.

Like he said before, he would give this everything he had.

--------------------------------------------------------

Fletcher walked into the throne room, pleased to see that several changes had been made. The throne itself had been removed, and the massive round wartable had been set up in the center of the room. The table was surrounded by a ring of chairs, two of which sat at opposite ends of the table and were greater in stature and craft than all the others. These two seats were for the Queen and the Alpha General. Behind the first ring of chairs was a second ring, raised up on bleachers to see over the backs of the first ring. Except, there were no chairs behind the two grand seats. The Queen and the Alpha were to have a full and complete view of everyone present.

The chandeliers were rearranged from the two lines that had lead up to the throne, to a ring centered around a central chandelier, hanging directly over the war table.

As Fletcher walked in, he was noticed first by Mizer.

“Alpha General in the war room!” he called out.

In unison, every officer in the room stamped their hooves at attention with an echoing clap!

“Salute!”

Again with perfect unison, every officer gave a firm salute and a stout, “Hah!”

Fletcher blinked. He suddenly became aware that he had subconsciously followed the orders along with them, and was now standing in the same rigid pose as everyone else. As a blush rose to his cheeks, he released the salute and cleared his throat.

“Ahem, yes um… thank you. Please take your seats,” he said awkwardly.

He heard Mizer and Woolly chuckling in the corner as everyone took their seats. Woolly was currently a few ranks below Commander, but he was above the rank of Captain so he had been summoned to the war council. He shot Fletcher a wink before taking his seat.

Fletcher made his way around the table to the far end and sat down in the grand seat. Seeing that everyone was seated and settled, Fletcher nodded to the attendant by the door, signalling them to fetch the Queen. The Alpha General was the one in charge now, but the hive still showed respect and protocol for their Royalty. The Queen would not enter the room until all participants were seated quietly.

The attendant soon returned and called out, “All rise for her Highness, Queen Atlas.”

Everyone seated around the table stood at attention as the Queen entered the room and took her place opposite of Fletcher.

“You may be seated,” she said. Once everyone was settled again, she continued, “As I’m sure most of you are aware by now, I have appointed Commander Fletcher as Alpha General of the hive for the purposes of leading us in our defence against the Ark alliance, who have declared war on us. Alpha General Fletcher has ordered this war council and you have been summoned because you are either ranked Captain or higher. I will now turn the proceedings over to him. Alpha General, Sir, the floor is yours,” she said with a slight head bow.

Fletcher bowed in kind. It felt really odd to have the Queen regard him that way, and to be honest, it made him a little uncomfortable. It just felt… wrong somehow. Regardless, he shook it off and cleared his throat.

“Thank you, your Majesty. As she said, you have been called here because you are ranked Captain or higher and you will be playing a large role in leading our defence. This one will now proceed to appoint Its Beta generals.

“Her Majesty, Queen Atlas will serve as This one’s Beta General ‘Mother Swan’. She will take refuge in strong hold four, and will be in command of the Elite Guard and the non-defenders. This group will be called Cygnet squadron. Cygnet will be in charge of--”

Fletcher paused when he noticed several confused looking faces around the room. He sighed.

“For those who are wondering, a Cygnet is a baby swan,” he muttered.

The looks of confusion were replaced by nods of understanding. Even the Queen herself seemed to have learned something. Fletcher had to remind himself that since he never left the hive to go on love gathering missions, he had significantly more opportunity than the others to read the precious few books that the hive had collected over the decades, and therefore had somewhat more knowledge and vocabulary than his brethren.

“As This one was saying, Cygnet will be in charge of channeling love to the defenders and attending the wounded. This one chose stronghold four for its size as well as its proximity to the storage caves. The current entries to the caves will be sealed, and a new channel shall be burrowed and reinforced to connect them to stronghold four. Members of Cygnet will make runs to the caves to either absorb love and channel it to the defenders, or use it for treating the wounded.

“Which bring us to our next squadron. Remly,” he called.

A young mare sitting in the outer circle responded. “Yes, Alpha, Sir?”

“This one has selected you and your current squadron to serve as its Beta General ‘Life Line’ and Red Heart squadron. We will be depending on your squadron’s speed and robustness to retrieve the injured and deliver them to Cygnet, while still keeping the way into stronghold four secure. Always work in twos, threes if you can. One or two to carry the injured, and one to escort them,” he directed.

Remly saluted. “Understood, Sir!”

Remly was the commander of the hive’s usual scout team, which were not only some of the hive’s fastest, but they could also handle themselves quite well in a fight. Perfect for Fletcher’s Red Heart squadron.

Fletcher then proceeded to call four more Beta Generals and organized five more squadrons: Blue Moon squadron lead by a commander dubbed ‘Eclipse’, Dark Night squadron lead by ‘Shadow’, Storm Cloud squadron lead by Woolly, or ‘Thunder’, Ghost squadron lead by ‘Mirage’ and Fletcher’s own squadron: Hammer Fall.

Next, the Beta Generals chose two commanders a piece to serve as their seconds in command, and then the rest of the room’s military rank was rearranged accordingly. With the chain of command set, Fletcher moved on to the defence plans.

“Here’s the landscape. In three days time, the Ark will be knocking on our doorstep. Before then, we will be making several fortifications and adjustments to the hive structure and surrounding area.

“This one will be going around to each squadron and giving its respective set of drills to run. This one wants every member of your squads to know these drills inside and out. The Ark Alliance severely outnumbers us, ten thousand to our less than four thousand, of which only about three thousand are actual fighters. If we wish to have any hope of defeating them, we must be smarter than them and use our troops in more effective ways,” he said. Fletcher then proceeded to outline the roles each squadron would play and their various missions.

The Queen watched in awe struck silence, listening to the various plans and tactics. She would never tell anyone, but with both her go-to Commanders Latch and Shal out of the picture, she was... scared. Not that Fletcher wasn't a good guard or anything, he was one of her smartest. She just didn’t think anyone other than Latch or Shal could handle it.

But Fletcher was proving to be rather capable. In fact, she wondered if Latch or Shal could even come up with some of the strategies that Fletcher had, and in two hours no less! She admitted that while Fletcher had been one of her Elite guards for quite a while, she never really bothered to get know him at all. Latch had recommended him to the Elites for his defensive expertise, which certainly was quite solid, but other than that she didn’t know much about him.

Of course she never did with any individual changeling, save a few. She never shared love with anyone, and forbade them to share any emotion but love with her. She was the Queen. The good of the entire hive rested on her shoulders. She couldn’t be bothered with any one’s baggage. The individual was not important.

This individual however... she had underestimated, and his inherent abilities seemed quite promising. Perhaps they did have a sliver of hope.

“...we will exploit their two major weaknesses,” Fletcher continued. “The Ark relies on the sun as the source for it’s only magic, and they rely on light to be able to see. My friends, if we can last until nightfall, This one believes we may have a good chance.”

--------------------------------------------------------

The hive was assembled in the massive cavern of stronghold one, the only room large enough to hold the entire hive at one time. The walls were made up of several risers, all occupied by changelings, and centered around a large platform. Although it was built as a stronghold, this room was used most often as an auditorium of sorts whenever the Queen wished to address the entire hive.

The Queen stood on the platform, surrounded by the remainder of her Elite guards. Fletcher stood a few feet off to her left, and the rest of his Beta Generals stood shoulder to shoulder behind them.

The Queen looked up and cast a loud, authoritative voice into the crowd. “My people, a dark day has come upon us. The Ark Alliance from the southern deserts have declared war on our hive and even now their armies march toward us,” she began.

The hive broke out into frightened murmuring at the news.

“But,” the Queen continued, “there is a beacon of hope, for I have selected a capable Alpha General, to lead us in our darkest hour. Until this war reaches its end, his orders are yours as well as mine. Follow them, and we shall overcome. I present before you, Alpha General Fetcher. Hear his words,” she finished resolutely.

Fletcher tried his hardest not to gulp. No pressure or anything. Remembering his plans, he steeled himself and stepped forward to addressed the hive. He could do this.

“This one wouldn’t need to see the looks on your faces...” he called out to them, “...to feel how frightened you are. Indeed, the Ark is a terrifying gathering of races, each of which, could easily stand alone as a force to be reckoned with.

“We however, are not to be trifled with either!” he shouted. His confidence elicited some cheers.

“The Ark gave us a handicap by sending an advanced warning because they don’t think we’re even a match for them!”

A few cries of outrage broke out.

“They underestimate us. They believe we are nothing but mindless drones, controlled by some ‘hive mind’ and therefore incapable of outsmarting them. But their ignorance will be their undoing, for we will do exactly that!”

The entire hive erupted into cheers. After a moment, Fletcher held up a hoof to settle them again.

“Before Queen Atlas appointed This one to be your Alpha General, This one promised her that It would do everything in Its power to protect this hive. This one now makes that same promise to all of you. It has chosen formidable Beta generals that will extend Its directions to you. This one will also come around to each squadron to personally train, and observe your progress.

“The number one thing we must prepare is love. As you all should know at this point, a love rationing order is in effect. No one feeds on the love in the caves without Alpha or Beta General orders, and of the love that we generate, only use what you must. The rest should be stored. We only have so much non-changeling love stored away, and the love we give one another has only a fraction of the potency. Therefore it is important to generate as much of it as possible.

“This one wants to see exchanges of Lo Men Vai, clusters as large as possible during sleep shifts, massage circles at every chance opportunity, and any manner of kindness you can give to your brothers and sisters. Resolve any grievances you have with one another… you will soon be relying on them to watch your back. And above all, This one wants to hear the Fire at all times. From this moment, until the dawn of D-day, do not let it go out,” he finished.

The hive responded with salutes and a voluminous shout. “HAH!”

“Mizer… light the Fire,” Fletcher ordered.

Mizer stepped forward. He lifted a hoof and began to stomp.

Stomp.

Stomp.

The hive began to settle into silence as the sound echoed in the stronghold. Mizer was joined by a few others.

Stomp.

Stomp.

Another guard stepped forward and began to tap a rhythm, like a standing march.

Prrrrr Rap tap tap tap ta’ta’tap tap tap, Pr’rap tap tap tap ta’ta’tap tap tap…

On every downbeat, a few more guards and generals joined in, until the entire platform, save for Fletcher and the Queen, were either stomping or marching.

A slight tingle surged throughout the room. The kind that made the hair of your mane stand on end. This is what it felt like when the entire hive felt excited at once... and they were getting pumped.

The generals began to build up a chant as the rest of the hive joined the march. The chanting grew and grew until it finally gave way to a vigorous chorus of changeling chirping. Not the kind of chirping that lulled foalings to sleep. Oh no. It was a chorus of chirping the likes of which no changeling could hear, without their resolve igniting like a furious flame. A flame that called for the blood of anyone foolish enough to inflict harm on the hive.

Fletcher looked out into the crowd. The chorus and marching filled the massive cavern. There was no more fear now. Good. Fletcher stepped forward and took in a deep breath.

“DISMISSED!”

“HAH!” came the response amongst the chirping, followed by the loud buzz of nearly every wing in the room kicking to life. Fletcher smiled as he watched everyone take flight above him, everyone heading in different directions and practically occupying the same space, but there wasn’t a single collision. It was things like this that gave other creatures the impression that changelings had a ‘hive mind’. To be fair, they could do this blindfolded, but not because their brains were connected. They could fly like that because everyone could sense where everyone else was by their emotional presence, and consequently, and what direction they were going.

Not a hive mind, but a hive heart.

Fletcher smirked. Oh yes, let them come. We will not go down so easily.

Author's Notes:

So there's part one. I apologize for being OCD, I probably should have split this up much sooner. Be sure to let me know what you all thought.
Like, Fav, yatta, yatta, I'm going to bed now. Okay? Okay.