Perspiration dripped down the Commander's forehead as he stared down his two opponents. All of them had their bodies tense and their eyes focused, waiting for the first idiot to make an attempt at besting them. Houses were no longer collapsing and the sky was clear. The entire city was quiet... almost as if time itself had paused to observe this ancient code of combat. Finally, it was Captain Rosemary who broke the peace.

"I ought to just shoot both of you and be done with it."

The other changeling laughed. "You wouldn't make it past two centimeters if you tried that stunt. We'd both fire at you, while you fire just at us."

"Well I don't see why we're all in this stupid standoff in the first place," Rosemary yelled, "you two are with the enemy, just finish me already!"

"We aren't allies," the changeling guard replied, "this general here is being charged with treason and it is my duty to bring him to justice no matter what."

The changeling Commader gave a loud, exasperated moan, "For the last time, I'm not General Carbon!" He stomped his hoof in defiance, causing the two equines to back up and focus their aura's upon him. Putting his hooves up, the Commander stepped back.

"Easy now," he said slowly, "we don't need any last-minute horn-slingers to buck the bucket."

They relaxed, resuming their aims on each other, glaring with the malice and hate of centuries worth of battles. The Commander felt his stomach growl. The adrenaline from earlier today had covered the fact that he hadn't eaten since yesterday.

"It's no use trying to plead your innocence Carbon," the changeling guard finally said, "just admit it and we may give you a lighter sentence."

"I am not General Carbon."

"You are. Stop lying."

"Tis' not a lie!" the Commander cried, his voice taking on a louder, more authoritative tone.

"Tis' so."

"Tis' not!"

"Tis' so."

"Tis' not!"

As the two bickered, Captain Rosemary face-hoofed himself. Honestly, his day had started off with a mess. First, he got head-butted by a mare. Then there came the invasion. Then he got punched into submission by an old stallion. And now here he was with two changelings who have him at a standoff while they yell obscenities and pointless statements at each other.

---------

The block was only a few yards away as Star Wing rushed with a spurt of his wings. A guard was too busy uppercutting a drone to see the changeling behind him. With a thrust of speed, Star Wing slammed head-first into the drone, knocking it into the fray. The guard turned his head. He was a green colt by the looks of it.

"Thanks partner," he said, "name's Leafy."

"Star Wing," he replied, his hoof sweeping into the direction of a changeling's snout.

The two soldiers went back to back, their hooves and hind-hooves kicking, shoving, and knocking out any changeling that came within their circle of destruction. Suddenly, a changeling two yards down fired a green bolt of magical energy that sliced into Leafy's armor, causing him to collapse, the wind knocked out of him.

"Leafy!" Star Wing cried, kicking a changeling behind him in it's weak spot. The drone gave out a tiny whimper before it fell head first into a puddle of mud.

Suddenly, another beam grazed Star Wing's back, causing the pegasus to trip over his temporary partner. Looking back up, he could see the source of the blast buzzing up ahead.

"Incompetent foal," he hissed, "let me show you what true power really-"

But at that exact second in time, a brown stallion brought his rear into the changeling's side, knocking it out of the sky and into a group of drones being kicked into submission. Helping the pegasus up with a strong hoof, Star Wing gave a quick smile.

"Thanks."

"Anytime..."the stallion froze, ", Sweet Celestia, it's you!"

Star Wing gaped in surprise as he realized the brown stallion was his superior warden. "Clyde! I thought you were at Zecora's."

Clyde gave a smug smirk, "Had to leave early, but why aren't you at the-" Suddenly he was cut off as a blast whizzed past him.

"Look out!" Star Wing heaved himself over Clyde so that he was in mid-air. Then, his hind-right hoof extended outwards, he kicked the changeling flying right at them. The impact sent the would-be ambusher back into a pair of bushes. Landing back down, he saw Clyde with his jaw stretched to the floor.

"Where did you learn that move...errr..."

"Star Wing. My name is Star Wing. I've told you this since I came for that internship at your jailhouse." Then Star Wing used Clyde once again as a pole to swivel upon, his back hooves knocking two, three, now four changelings out of the air.

Clyde could only stare after him, his eyes shining with awe at the junior warden's skills. Noticing how much of a scene he was causing, Star Wing blushed. "Yeah, sorry about that. Took martial arts when I was studying in Canterlot."

"Well I'll be sent to the moon," Clyde said to nopony in particular, "they ought to make this stuff mandatory in training-."

But at that moment, Clyde shoved Star Wing away as he sucker-punched a changeling rushing from behind. The force sent the said drone back to a pair of guards, who then proceeded to beat the snot out of him. Now it was Star Wing's turn to glare at the warden. "You just sent that changeling back by a few good yards...with a single punch!"

Clyde merely blushed. "Yeah well...just remember strength isn't everything. But it pays to work in a rock farm for most of your life."

The two guffawed before resuming their stern gazes. Turning back to back, the two jail guards began using their respective moves to clear a path for the other troops. Soon, changelings were being flung here and there as the entire army moved simultaneously. They were pushing the invaders back when a purple barrier suddenly shook the ground they were standing on. Turning their heads, everypony in the unit groaned as the sky began to rain changelings upon them.

---------

The blast had caused all three equines to jump back in fright. Seeing a familiar purple barrier rush towards them, the Commander gaped wide-eyed. "No, not again! Please Celestia no! Oh please no! No Nooooooo-"

But as he yelled, the barrier stopped, as if his words had performed a counter barrier to keep it at bay. Eventually, the purple forcefield dissolved into thin air, leaving the changelings it had tossed back plummeting towards the ground below.

Seeing as they had nothing more to fear, the three adversaries resumed their agonizing standoff. The Commander was sweating profusely, his carapace excreting more fluids then ever before. His legs grew weak, mere adrenaline providing the energy to keep them up.

"Listen," the Commander said, "let's all just fire our horns on the count of three. But first, to avoid all of us getting knocked out, let's take three steps back. Ok, on the count of-"

"Hold it right there!" Rosemary had his horn pointing at the other guard, who had just started moving his hoof.

"What?"

"He's trying to gain advantage by one inch!" Rosemary sneered, "He's cheating and he shall face the wrath of my-"

"For goodness sakes SHUT UP! Or I'll shoot you myself!" The Commander glared at the captain, who shuttered under his stare. "Now, mister guard sir-"

"Haze."

"Haze," the Commander elicited slowly, "don't move until I count to three. Okay three...two..."

Captain Rosemary took a step back, causing the other changeling known as Haze to shout in protest. "Cheater! You shall pay for this crime!"

"I backed up exactly when he was saying one!" Rosemary protested, "or do you have a problem with that?"

Haze pawed the ground, his scowl revealing two sharpened fangs. "Why don't you come and try me...cupcake." This, of course, triggered a heated response from Rosemary. "How dare you! I'll have you know I could shoot both of you in under ten seconds with my eyes closed!"

"Oh for the love of Discord, can you two just follow the RULES!" The pair grew silent as the Commander glared at both of them. "Now for the last time, it's when I say one. not before, not after. Is that understood?"

Haze stared at the floor, embarrassment flooding his face. "Yes General Carbon."

"Grrrrrrrrr...It's BUCKING COMMANDER FOR YOU! How many times must I say it! You know what? Forget it? We don't deserve to back up three steps. We'll settle this here and now on the count of three! I don't care anymore!"

The group was silent for the next minute or so, their eyes once again locked with each other. Taking in a deep breath, the Commander slowly began his countdown.

"1..."

"2..."

Rosemary readied his horn, provoking another angry outcry from Haze. His eyes red and his ears venting out smoke like a heated tea pot, the Commander glowered at both of them before yelling in a thunderous voice. "ENOUGH! For crying out loud, it's after I count to 1!"

"Well you weren't specific," Rosemary offered in a relatively calm demeanor, "and the spell I'm performing takes more time. So I need to prep it before I can actually fire it."

The Commander face-hoofed himself. "Honestly, do you think you could do another spell that won't take as long?"

Rosemary pondered at this thought for a second, rubbing a hoof against his chin. "I suppose I could, but then how do I know you won't try something funny as well?"

"You have my word." the Commander said with a bow.

"I'll need more then your word vile changeling," Rosemary hissed, "tell me what each of you are going to do and I'll ready a simple stun spell."

The Commander drooped his head down in pure agony. With a groan, he lifted his head and stated his spell in an irritated tone. "I will use the common changeling impact spell-"

"No fair!" Rosemary cried, "you can't use that! I only have a stun spell. Yours is more powerful!"

The Commander screamed in pure fury. "Then BUCKING choose something else! Choose my spell for all I care." He was at the edge of just shooting both of them at this point.

"Alright, but then it'll take more time for me to set up an impact spell so I should start at the count of two-"

"No way!" Haze interjected, "if he get's to start at the count of two, then I can too!"

"But that's cheating!" Rosemary argued, "You can use the Commander's spell at the same time as I ready my spell. Then it would be pointless for me to start at two. You would have the advantage."

"Then we'll both start at two!" the Commander cried.

Rosemary took a moment to think about this, causing both changelings to sigh simultaneously. After about a minute of thought, Rosemary looked up, a smug smile plastered over the unicorn's face.

"Then I get to start at the count of 1."

"BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK!!" Both changelings howled in utter rage as they fired beams of energy at a stunned Rosemary. Before the unicorn could react, he was sent flying into a wall, where he rebounded with a crack. His body now laid at the floor, having received a double dosage of changeling impact spells.

Taking in a moment to breath, the two changelings were silent for a moment or two. Settling themselves back once more, the Commander saw the limp form of Rosemary spread over the road. "Chyrsalis's beard, that guy was annoying!"

Haze nodded in agreement, "I swear, if you didn't fire that beam at the last second, I would have personally gutted that smug face of his right out of his snout."

"Well, it looks like we've been reduced to two." The Commander steadied himself, his horn tense as the two adversaries prepared themselves for the upcoming battle. "On the count of three."

Haze gave a nod. Both changelings gave sly smiles at how well this countdown had worked for them before. For a good second, they were silent. Then, with a deep breath, they counted together.

"1..."

"Commander." a voice in the distant called out.

"2..."

"Commander, it's me Forge! I'm really sorry about betraying you and all!"

"Oh for the love of Celestia hold on." the Commander said before flying up to the roof of the cottage. Sure enough, Forge was buzzing around like a red target. Calling out, he yelled. "Forge I'm in the middle of something! Come back when I'm done!"

The changeling gaped at the armored officer before giving a nod and hovering in place. With a sigh, the Commander floated back down, and restarted his count.

"1..."

"Commander..." Forge called out again.

"2..."

"Commander there's something going on over there. It doesn't look good-"

"Forge, please, I'm trying to-"

But at that moment a thunderous boom sent the two combatants to the ground. Gazing up, they saw a green ring soar across the sky, followed by a volley of large fireballs as bright as the sun itself.

"That isn't her is it?" Haze called out, his eyes wide as the fire balls descended upon them.

The Commander stared in complete fear. He'd only read about this move in her file, but to see it was something else. And to have it barreling towards you was another matter in its own regard. "It is."

"What do we do now?"

"Just...RUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNN!!!"

The Commander dashed down the street jostling the shell-shocked Haze to follow. Instantly, the changelings were placing stress on their hooves as the first fireball descended upon a house two blocks away. The blast reduced the building to splinters, sending the shattered remains towards them.

"Haze," a voice called out, "the perimeter is secured, I just had to throw a few hooves around when-"

"Shift!" Haze called out, dodging a flying door as it collided with a dumpster, "Shift, get out of here! She's use the Starlight Rain move on the whole neighborhood. Run for it!"

But the changeling was silent, unresponsive to his partner's pleas to flee. His skin turning a light shade of grey, Haze turned back to the Commander. "He's not answering! Shift always answers! He's not answering! He's not-"

The Commander shoved a hoof into the guard's mouth, muffling whatever followed the sentence (although it was probably something like "answering").

"I'll get him, just keep running."

With that, the armored changeling rushed back down the street where they had had their duel. Glancing at the road, he noticed Rosemary's body was nowhere to be found.

Probably ran for it. Ash was beginning to cast a ghostly fog over the streets, blotting out the sky. He wouldn't be able to spot the fireballs if they landed on him. Trudging swiftly past the street, he called out the guard's name.

"Shift!"

There, a changeling silhouette, covered by some rubble. Dashing for it, he collided into Shift's traumatized form. The poor drone had been caught dumbstruck by the scene, unable to fathom the severity of his situation until the debris from a nearby building nearly crushed him. Laying his hooves over Shift's shoulders he began to shake the changeling with great vigor.

"Shift! Snap out of it!"

The changeling's trance-like state vanished with a shake of his head. Staring at the Commander in bewilderment, he posed the question on his mind. "Who are you?"

"Come with me if you want to live."

And with that the Commander heaved the injured changeling over his carapace. The extra weight was slowing the Commander down, but he never stopped to breathe. There was a near supersonic boom and a kaleidoscope of colors zoomed over head, leaving a rainbow trail in its wake. Evidently, this cleared the smoke above, revealing a fiery red fireball heading directly towards him.

"Oh my Swarm!" Shift called out, his voice panicky.

The Commander knew outrunning it would be stupid. A fireball could take out a whole block in less then a second. No, he would have to teleport himself out of here. But the problem with teleportation was that he was unskilled in the spell. In fact, it was so out of control that he ended up miles away from his destination.

Then I better keep my mind off where I wan to go. He thought with a sullen expression. Closing his eyes, he muted Shift's cries for him to move. He was meditating, calming his mind before the storm of thoughts tore his brain apart. When it was silent, he began to count. The fireball was already reaching the rooftop of the cottage.

3...

Shift closed his eyes, unable to look at what would come next. The fireball singed the balcony off the wall.

2...

It was now only a couple of centimeters above him. The heat was searing his helmet, boiling the very skin underneath.

1...

With a flash fo green, the explosion shook the ground and for a moment, the Commander was free-falling. And then, with a loud pop, the heat disappeared. He was now hovering above the crater that the fireball had made. The entire block below had been reduced to cinders, the buildings stripped to blackened skeletons. But at least they were lucky to not be part of that mess.

The fact that he had just narrowly escaped a flaming rock of molten doom made the Commander laugh. In fact, it made him laugh so hard, that he felt he could continue this all day.

"Did you see that?" he asked Shift, who was now silently saying a prayer thanking Chrysalis that he had survived this ordeal.

"Take that High-General Double," he said, punching a hoof into the air, "it's going to take a lot more then your fireballs to kill off the Commander in-"

BANG!

The colorful bolt of light collided with his armor, causing the two changelings to loose their stability. In a matter of seconds, they were both plummeting towards the ground below.

Using his wings, the Commander tried to gain altitude, but his wings had been crushed by the collision with the rainbow-trailed comet. He was useless, and now he and Shift were both going back to where they started.

"Well this sucks..." he uttered.

---------

Below, Forge was sifting through rubble when he saw Haze a block out. "Hey you!" he called out. The changeling guard recognized the bounty hunter instantly and raised a broken pole in defense.

"Don't come any closer."

Forge raised his hooves, his eyes wide in shock. "Relax, thats the past. I'm trying to look for the Commander."

Haze dropped the stick, his eyes looking down at the ground below, "They didn't make it."

It was as if Forge had been hit by a freight train. The Commander that he had captured, betrayed, and used was now...dead. He fell back on his rump, his mind still in denial. But as he gazed at the smoking crater, he knew it could only be true. The pain was immense. He hadn't even gotten a chance to apologize. And now, he would never get the change again.

"I'm so...so...sorry Commander," he whispered, tears flowing down his cheeks.

Suddenly, a faint cry could be heard from the distance. Looking up, both changelings could see two black dots falling towards the ground below. Standing up in disbelief, Haze shouted. "That's Shift! And that must be the Commander. I don't believe it. I don't buckin' believe it!"

"But look," Forge said, pointing his hoof at the equine-shaped figures, "they're falling towards their deaths!"

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

The Commander watched as the ground rushed towards him, expanding and growing larger. As he gazed downwards, he saw his entire life flash before his eyes.

He was a hatchling, opening up to the green light that was the swarms' birthing chambers. Another little changeling next to him was carried up by a stern looking overseer. With a nod the overseer said something he didn't understand. Only later on would he know the word as "amnesia". The Commander had been placed under the care of a Big Brother. For the time being, he learned how to be a changeling and eventually, went to class to study. He was shy, but as time grew on, and as the teasing continued, he became troublesome. He laid traps, and pulled pranks upon unsuspecting classmates. As he grew older, he was assigned to guard duty for the Royal Conversion Chambers, where his reputation as a prankster only grew. Then came the day the Queen called him to her throne. And with the power vested in her, she dubbed him Commander in Chief of the Changeling Armada.

Well it had been a good life to say the least. Sure, he had his regrets every now and then, but all in all, it was totally worth it. No matter what they said, he was happy to have lived this long. Closing his eyes, he awaited his fate.

After several seconds, he noticed that the wind was now blowing against his side rather then under him. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was no longer moving down, but rather to the side.

"Hey," he cried, "who broke the laws of physics?"

"I did," said a sarcastic voice. Looking up, the Commander gaped as a familiar face smiled down upon him.

"You really are a queer aren't you?"

-----------

The Commander was deposited with a small oof as he landed in front of Forge and Haze, Shift in tow. Instantly, Haze locked Shift in a bear hug, promising the partner that he would never leave him like that again. Forge took down his hat and trotted towards the group, relief flooding his face.

"I'm glad to see you hadn't buck the bucket yet Commander sir."

The Commander merely chuckled. "Well, I'm glad to hear that those two guards over there didn't finish you off like I thought they would." The two changelings snickered for a brief moment. Then, Forge's face grew serious.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I would have come, but then again I had the wind knocked out of me."

The Commander laid a hoof over the bounty hunter's shoulder. By his appearance, Forge was about his age, probably even from the same batch. "How's your boss doing?"

"He's still in the zebra's cottage. Zecora agreed to help them and for me, it was just some bed-rest and herbal stew to get me running." Forge seemed to pause for a second, his eyes drifting up to the Commander's rescuers. "Though I do have to say that these three changelings saved my shell too. If it wasn't for these guys, I would still be lying in that road."

The Commander turned to the three changelings hovering above him. "Reflect Fury, how nice of you to drop in on such short notice."

Reflect merely grinned, and nudged the Commander on the helmet. "Well I told you that I needed to find my mates first." The changelings beside Reflect came down and shook the Commander's hoof with a strong grip.

"I'm Zeth, and that's Vapor. Look's like you four have been in quite the pickle recently."

"Like you wouldn't believe." Haze called out, "General Carbon here-"

The Commander thrashed his head to glare at Haze, "I'm not General Carbon! How many times must I SAY THIS!"

The guards halted, a bit taken aback at his words. Looking at each other, the two guards slowly approached him, finally taking in the doubt that they may be chasing the wrong changeling. "Well if you're not the general, then who are you?"

"I'm the Commander in Chief you numbskull! Geez, we're practically from the same story!"

"Excuse me," Shift said.

"Oh," The Commander whispered, "right, sorry about that. Must be the combat seeping into my brain."

"Right," Haze said slowly. Turning back to his associate, he made a shrug. "I guess we've been out of it for too long Shift. First we miss out on the Canterlot Invasion-."

"Wait a second," the Commander interrupted, "you weren't present at the Canterlot Invasion?"

The two changelings looked at each other nervously before blushing. "Well, we kinda missed out on that for various reasons. Ummmmmm, anyhow, we weren't present at your promotion. Sorry about that Commander sir."

The Commander waved a hoof. "Hey, that's all in the past. I mean, look at us right now. At one point or another, I've been enemies with all of you have I not?"

One by one, each changeling nodded. Forge had tried to bring the Commander back as a bounty prize. Haze and Shift had tried to do the same when they finished their battle with Forge. And Reflect just downright hated him.

"Well, I was about to say you couldn't be General Carbon," Vapor offered. The changelings turned their attention to him, quizzical expressions plastered over their faces.

"Well I suppose since you were under my command..." the Commander began.

"Wouldn't you have been able to tell, General Fury?" Zeth asked Reflect. Suddenly, the whole group turned silent. All eyes shifted to the Commander, who finally broke the silence.

"What-what are you talking about?"

"Didn't you know?" Zeth said, "Reflect Fury here is a general. And not just any general. He's head of the intelligence organization. All that secret stuff no one else knows about. You can't tell me you two shared a cell and he never told you-"

Reflect shoved a hoof into Zeth's mouth, silencing whatever words were going to come out. However, the damage had already been dealt. His frown now apparent to everyone present, the Commander stepped out of the rubble pile and towards an open candy shop.

When Reflect finally took his hoof off of him, Zeth spat a wad of saliva, which emitted a torrent of "Ewwwwws" and "Gross!". Zeth shrugged the comments off, his eyes focused on Reflect's.

"What the buck man?"

"He never knew I was a general, Zeth. I told him I was just another drone under his command."

"I never knew you were a general," Haze stepped forward, his eyes riveted on Reflect's figure. "And I have to know all the generals."

Reflect sighed as if he was explaining something so obvious it was stupid. "I'm the General of Intelligence. No changeling knows who I am except for the ones I work with and the ones in command. Sure, a stray word gets out every now and then, but we don't publicize it. We run the risk of exposing vital information if every member in the swarm knew who had it. Why, they could just point in my general direction!"

The group was silent, causing Reflect to give a groan as he ran towards the shop. This left Zeth and Vapor to handle the three remaining drones. "I guess this is pretty embarrassing at the moment."

"Like you couldn't imagine."

"You've got some nerve to show up here."

"This isn't going to end well."

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

"Commander!"

The Commander was walking up the stairs, tears dripping from his eyes as he did so.

"Commander!"

He slammed the door shut, only for it to open two seconds later.

"Commander just please listen to me for a second-"

The Commander turned and slapped Reflect right in the cheek, sending the general crashing into a bookcase. Getting up, his wound still stinging from where he had been hit, the general rushed to catch up with the officer. Eventually, he found the changeling sitting over the railing of a balcony, his eyes focused on the Everfree Forest ahead.

"Commander I-"

"Will you look at the forest Reflect, and tell me what you see?"

Reflect sighed and looked at the forest. All he could see was a cottage in the distance, followed by the variety of fauna that made up the forest boundary. "I see a cottage, I see trees."

"I see my home."

Reflect coughed, choking on his saliva at the Commander's words. "What are you talking about? Our home is back in the Badlands! You know this!"

"You know for an intelligence officer you really have trouble understanding the meaning behind my statement."

Reflect merely grew silent. Taking up a railing near the Commander, the two officers watched the battle rage on across Ponyville. Here and there, mares and stallions fought with drones and captains. It was no use, there was no victor in any of them.

"Reflect, why were you under my command as a simple drone? I don't think the queen would place you in such a vulnerable spot."

"You wouldn't want to know the truth Commander."

"Try me."

Reflect heaved another breath before he continued.

"When the queen assigned you as Commander in Chief, she already expected you to die. All Commanders do eventually towards the end of the wars, when they've lived their purpose. You ever wonder what the hive does to changelings who are perfectly healthy on the outside, but completely messed up on the inside?"

The Commander was silent, unfazed by the question.

"They kill you. They find a way to get rid of you in public execution, except the hive would question us if we just executed perfectly healthy changelings for no apparent reason other then pranks. So we do the opposite, we make them heroes and send them to the front lines to be dealt with. At the time, many of the generals were questioning the Queen on Double's sanity. She was...quirky to say the least. But she was loyal and brilliant when it came to preparing a war. Still, they wanted a second opinion. They were power hungry, and we knew of their plans behind the Queen's back. A being known as the Matriarch, a synthetic changeling derived of a dragon, had poisoned their minds with grandeur. However, the Queen let her live because she knew the Matriarch would never dare try to oppose her without the hive's backing. You know your friend Forge down there."

Reflect gestured his hoof towards the changeling with the top hat.

"Forge was a colonist who went with the others to set up outposts in pony settlements. He's one of the younger batches who just transferred to that recent settlement in Appleloosa. But he is exactly what the Matriarch is trying to use against us."

The Commander was still as quiet as before, not reacting to anything the general said.

"Well, anyway, let me go back on track here. The Queen promoted you because you were the worst changeling in the hive who just happened to be perfect in all physical facets. Unlike Ditto, who proved her worth by surviving, you just proved how much of a blessing it would be if we executed you. The Queen decided that with the invasion in Canterlot, she could kill two birds with one stone. However, she needed a guarantee that you would die in the field. So, she told me to go undercover and watch you."

The Commander turned to stare at him, the sadness in his eyes almost becoming palpable. "You watched me the entire time?"

"Yes. In fact, the armor your'e wearing right now is technically mine. She let you have your fun for the week before the invasion as a going-away present. Then, when the invasion began, I kept a close eye on you. Finally, I saw, well noticed really, you getting beaten to a pulp where you should have been killed."

The Commander stared at him skeptically. "I was just knocked out when that pink pony shot me with a party cannon."

Reflect pondered on this thought before answering him. "You must have developed temporary amnesia. Anyhow, you did get up after getting hit by the cannon. You then proceeded to attack a group of guards, who, well, owned you and left your body back where you got hit by the cannon.

The Commander absently rubbed his head, wondering if he had indeed played a bigger part in the conquest. But what did it matter anyhow? He was supposed to be dead. Reflect continued after the long pause.

"Truth be told, I was sure you had perished in the fight. Afterwards, I gave my report to the Queen, and then the forcefield came up shortly afterwards. In the resulting blast, I was cut off from the hive. And then I got captured, imprisoned with you. I was shocked to my very nerve when I saw your form. But of course, I had to hide it."

"So you've known about this since we first met." the Commander hissed.

"Yes."

"I suppose I should feel over-joyed that my most distasteful facets were the sole reason for my elevation up the hive hierarchy."

"Please Commander, I-"

"Do you know why I want to live in the Everfree Forest?"

Reflect was speechless. He still didn't know how to answer the question pressed upon him by the changeling officer.

"Because at least they'll let you know when they want to kill you."

"Commander-"

"Don't call me that name," he hissed, "It's not my title. It never was. You all knew it too. It was just another way to get rid of a rotten egg. I accept that. But I didn't expect it to come from you, Reflect."

Reflect slammed his hoof, "Listen, times have changed-"

"Have they?"

Reflect glared at him. "Of course they have! Look at what's happened in the last few hours. Insubordination, rebellion, attempted assassinations, and unauthorized incursions on enemy territory!"

He sighed before continuing, "We need you right now is all I can say. I know it's hard to hear the truth, but-"

"No," the former Commander interjected, "I'm grateful to finally hear the truth. I don't want any more lies. But the point is, I'm not a leader. I was a compromise formed to settle disputes and get rid of undesirable characters."

"But Commander I-"

The former Commander in Chief slowly reached over his ebony helmet. Then, he carefully slid it across his horn. As the helmet came off, he unfastened the metal strap that held his chest plate, which fell with a sickening clang.

"I believe this is yours, General Reflect Fury," he uttered in a calm tone.

"Commander don't-"

CLANG!...clang!

The helmet fell at the general's hooves. Gazing down, he picked it up and tried to hand it back, but the Commander had already flew off the railing, landing below to a startled group of changelings. They stood by, motionless as the now 'naked' officer trotted in the general direction of the forest. Forge, finally shaking off his initial shock, tried to call out.

"Commander, what do you think your-"

"I'm not your Commander. I never was."

The group gasped, their eyes wide at the changeling's statement. Finally, Haze ran up to him. "Please Commander. I'm sorry I called you general, but I promise to address you with your real title from now on."

"I have no title, Haze. Don't you get it? I'm...nothing. I never was."

Stepping aside, the guard watched the changeling he had been chasing trot off towards the crater ahead. Reflect landed with a loud thump, his hooves still holding his former armor. "Please, Commander-"

"My name is Morpheus. Morpheus Bloom."

Reflect paused. He had never heard the Commander use his real name before. It was odd, and it made as much sense as his own. It was one that seemed to belong to an aristocrat, but at the same time, the ending had a sweet, hopeful tinge to it. It was as if it spoke of future seasons, and of future changes to come. But as he thought about this, the Commander had already made it up a hill. Reflect tried to chase him, but fell back on his hooves, caught in a knelt-down position.

"Don't..." Reflect choked, his words unable to form as he stifled back a whimper, "...don't..."

But as they looked on, the changeling known as Morpheus, former Commander in Chief of her Royal Highness Queen Chrysalis the First, and one of the most interesting changelings they had ever met,...now vanished into the cloud of debris.