The room buzzed with activity, Changelings having come from every corner of the Hive to witness the even unfolding before their eyes. Imago, commander of the Changeling army, stood before Queen Chrysalis, awaiting her judgment on his actions. Changelings whispered from one to another on what they thought was going to happen, and what had transpired.

“There’s no way that the commander was hiding out and abandoning us!”

“But they said he confessed!”

“What do you think that the Queen will do?”

“Oh, execution for sure! She’s made it clear that even at the best of times, for the Swarm, you know?”

“Did you hear he was staying with a pony?”

“And he DIDN’T drain them? Unbelievable!”

"That's banishment for sure!"

"Don't be stupid, Imago has done so much for the Swarm, Her Majesty wouldn't strike that from the records." For the Swarm, banishment was the worst punishment available. You were considered to worthless to even be put to death, and worse than simply dying, your name would be struck from any record it appeared on. Being exiled was worse than just being sent away from home, to the changelings, an exile didn’t exist, and never had.

All this chatter was silenced by a single stamp from Chrysalis, demanding the attention of everyling in the room. Letting the silence hang in the air for a moment, the Changeling queen surveyed her people, her eyes coming around the circular room, before falling on Imago. As the leader of her military, the only Changeling who could preside over this was herself. Imago stood, his legs bound by goo, hardened to form leg cuffs of sorts. His head was bowed respectfully, masking his face, however, she could feel his emotions. Fear, yes, but respect, as well as a feeling not unfamiliar to her forces. A determination to keep his emotions in check, and to meet his goal. Taking a breath, she began.

“Imago, son of Tarsus. You stand before me accused of abandoning your post in a time of need, choosing instead to stay and live a pony life alongside one of the Elements of Harmony. You put yourself, your own selfish wants over the needs of the Swarm, assuring the continued starvation of our people. According to the reports from your own father, you chose to stay with the bearer of kindness, and rose your hoof against him, your own father, in defense of a pony. In addition, you had fed, but not kept enough to bring back and feed the others. Is this all true, Imago? Or do you deny these?” The silence was deafening, noling wishing to even breath in the fear that they’d miss something.

“I…do not, my Queen.” He said slowly, carefully picking his words, even as his nose nearly touched the floor. “I have only explanations for my actions, if you’d hear them.” Chrysalis rose a single brow. No denials? Interesting.

“Raise your eyes, Imago, and explain yourself. Perhaps your tongue can save your life. However,” she paused, eyeing the soldier below her. “I will tell you now, Imago. There is nothing you can say that can save your rank. Consider yourself stripped of your title now, and hope that is the least of your worries.” Dipping his head once more in a nod, Imago looked up, his eyes never daring to meet his queen’s, before he began to recount what had happened.

“Fluttershy, darling, you seem positively miserable! You must relax! The Changelings are gone, and all is well!” Rarity spoke with a smile, letting her body sink further into the hot mud that she was bathing in. Fluttershy had agreed to come out with her once more, Rarity telling her she needed to relax after that giant Changeling had almost hit her. However, Rarity could see her friends sorrow in her eyes, her resistance to relaxing.

“Y-yes, I know.” She spoke slowly, her eyes focusing intently on the mud that she was submerged in, her long pink mane touching the mud, obscuring as much of her face as she could manage. Rarity knew the truth, knew why her friend seemed so down. Making her way over to the butter Pegasus, she placed a hoof on her shoulders, smiling softly.

“You’re worried about that Changeling that you took care of, aren’t you? That…Imago, was it?” Fluttershy nodded once, confirming Rarity’s thoughts. “Well, don’t be. He’ll be back, sooner or later, he’ll come see you.” Fluttershy blinked, looking up to her friend, a touch of mud on her nose only enhancing her adorable factor.

“He will? How do you know?” She asked, confused even as Rarity gave a soft chuckle, seeming confident in her awnser.

“Simple dear,” She rose a single hoof, her smile never faltering. “He promised. And I don’t know about Changelings, darling, but a stallion in his mindset never breaks a promise to the mare he made it with.”

“His mindset?”

“Simple. A stallion in love…”

“…And yes, Queen Chrysalis, I didn’t stock any love to bring back, but as I mentioned, I could not change effectively and merely draining a cat would’ve brought to much suspicion onto myself.” Imago ended, hoping his reasoning were enough. Chrysalis looked down on the young male, feeling his emotions. He was afraid, worried, but what about, she couldn’t place her hoof on. However, she snorted, keeping her appearance as a harsh queen up.

“You expect me to believe you? You were found due to changing into your pony disguise, Chrome Quill. It wouldn’t be very hard to have changed to somepony else, and gathered enough love to grow strong and come back, or at least gathered love and waited to be found. The truth is, you didn’t want to be found, did you?” Chrysalis snorted, fairly angered about being lied to. Imago was silent for a moment, before breathing out.

“In truth, my queen, I don’t know.” He confessed with a shake of his head. He didn’t know? Chrysalis didn’t know what to think of this. Keeping silent, she motioned for him to continue. “The mare, the bearer of kindness, offered me such hospitality, she took me in, took care of me and asked nothing in return. I had never felt anything like that. I…admit to not gathering love, but I left as soon as I could. I was on my way to return to the badlands when the scouting party arrived.”

“I see…If that’s true…then you need to tell me now. And depending on what your answer is, I will decide your sentence.”

“I will answer to the best of my ability, your grace.” Imago responded, dipping his head again.

“Do you love her?”

Author's Notes:

I'm aware I ended it on a sudden note, and it's short, even for this story. I already have the next and last chapter(?) done, and waiting to be posted. I swear, this story will be finished within the week. I just want to leave you guys on a cliffhanger.
Ain't I a stinker?

Next chapter will be up soon, let me just wallow in your hate! XD

Edit: Added a small section to the Changeling whispers, detailing some more of the Changeling culture. I wasn't going to, since I'm deeming this story more or less non-canon of my future stories due to updates in my head-canon on how Changelings work (I.E. Changelings now can't shift if the exoskeleton is broken), but it's such a cool little detail.