//------------------------------// // Finding a Freind // Story: The Princess is Gone // by EnderRain //------------------------------// I woke up in the slimy green sack that hung from the ceiling. It smelled putrid, but it was surprisingly comfortable and dry. The thing was totally enclosed except for a few breathing holes near the top. It took me a good four minutes to find where the opening was supposed to be, using only the faint glowing green light the bed cast off. When I got out my door was open I heard a raspy voice “She’s up” It must have been one of the guards on post. “Should we bring her out?” a second voice asked. “Excuse me, but, what are you talking about?” I called out the door. “Come on.” The first guard beckoned. I was lead out to the now somewhat familiar corridor, though I’ve picked up that most of them look somewhat the same; they’re all covered in green slime and holes, with the occasional homeless changeling lurking on the floor. I could smell the room before I saw it. It wasn’t the same room we were in before, where I ate food… however long ago it was. Come to think of it I didn’t remember ever leaving that room. They must have drugged me or something. Or I went into that ‘Princess Mode’ thing again, but I don’t think so. “SO MY FRIENDS, MY FAMILY, ARE WE EXCITED?” A loud voice boomed, they must be planning something. My Changeling guides suddenly got really excited scooping me up into the air, “Come one we’re gonna miss it!” “Miss what?” I asked. Unsure of what was going on. “You’ll see,” The other guard squealed; they were clearly excited. The rowdy crowed that I heard screaming earlier was getting louder, we were getting close. “SHE’LL BE HERE SOON! ARE YOU READY?” The Crowed screamed in response. “THEN, MAY I PRESENT QUEEN CHYSALIS OF THE CHANGELINGS!” Was all I heard before the massive cavern that now surrounded me exploded with noise and movement. It was getting hard to breathe, I’m terribly claustrophobic, and the chaos of unfamiliar bodies changing shape and color and race was too much for me. I had to get out of this moshpit. “WELL HELLO MY SUBJECTS!” Another round of loud screaming came up from those around me. I was still on the verge of passing out. The bodies were surrounding me on all sides and the loud buzzing of the wings above me finally pushed me over. Somewhere to my left I heard a voice “Someone catch her!” And then it went black yet again. Somehow I could feel hooves lifting me up, passing me up to the stage… My eye’s snapped open, standing there right above me was Queen Chrysalis, “Are you alright child?” She asked. I got into a sitting position, “I think so, what happened?” I said, my eyes adjusting to the sudden light coming off of the faded brown and green walls accompanying thousands of pairs of glowing blue eyes. “Oh child, I’m sorry, no one warned you how…excited we get here at the pit. You passed out; do you think you can stand? I’m truly sorry for this.” “Yes, thank you…” I got up, and I saw the entire magnitude of the whole crowd, millions of them, flying in the air, sitting on top of each other on the ground, some clearly higher ranking changelings even had fancy balconies sticking out of walls, like at fancy plays. The changeling population was much greater than anyone had imagined, up to this point. “Oh yes, there are many of us. “ The queen said, somehow reading my thoughts. “This is my family, my friends, advisors, equals to me. We are a great species aren’t we? Do you want to go back in the crowd for the duration of the…presentation?” “I guess…It does seem like a great opportunity to see what you all do here…” I tentatively reached out my hoof to get off the expansive stage I was standing on…With hundreds of other changelings too. “YOU HEARD HER! BRING HER DOWN!” I heard from the mob below. Suddenly I was wrenched up into the air looking skyward, thousands of hooves with holes supporting my back. I soon ended up on one of balconies, there was one other changeling there, a female it looked like. I was about to introduce myself when my ears nearly ruptured with the sound of squeals and the loud voice of the queen in front of me. “WHO’S READY?” Boomed the queen; accompanied by another loud racket from the mob below, all the voices chiming in, all except for the changeling on the rising sitting next to me. “ALRIGHT THEN! I NEED A PONY, A CUTIEMARK, AND AN OCCUPATION!” Oh dear Celestia, she’s going to do improve…I hope this doesn’t turn out as bad as I think it will. “SUNBUTT, A BUTT SUN, AND A STUPID PRINCESS” Piped up a voice from the crazed changelings under me. “A MOST FAMOUS ONE TO DO, ALRIGHT HERE I GO!” Suddenly, a flash, a scream from some ponies in the mob, and there was Princess Celestia standing onstage, she talked. “What? Where am I? What is this…Why is there a dominate race of changelings here?” A great thunderous laugh from the crowd, accompanied by some whistles and screams. So this is what they do for fun…they all gather around and spend time like this, just hanging out and making fun of ponies. Whatever this meeting was, it lasted for a long while, Chrysalis and other ponies doing impressions of famous ponies they knew about, they ended up doing all the princesses twice and my friends at least once each. They would pop up on stage and scream about how changelings rule and ponies suck and being confused about where they were. As slanderous as it was, it was somewhat beautiful in its own way; that these little things that I call monsters come together like this who knows how much and just spend time with each other. It finally quieted down, the changeling mob started to disperse, getting thinner, some younger ones still onstage trying their best to change their appearance. “Do you need a lift?” Asked the voice to my right, I was so startled I nearly fell off the rising we were sitting on. “Oh! Yes please, that would be great…uh…Twilight Sparkle, you?” I asked, unsure of the introductory customs of changelings. She sort of laughed. Clearly she was female, she didn’t sound like a lot of the others; her voice wasn’t as raspy and guttural as others I’ve heard. “I’m Ava, and I know who you are, everyone does. You’re a pretty big topic here you know, not all the time we get an ex-alicorn-pony-princess in the halls of the changeling palace.” “I figured I might have been, not every day an ex-alicorn-pony-princess is exiled and flown off to the changeling palace you know.” I’m trying to keep it light conversation, maybe make a friend here, I’m failing I know. “Well come on.” She rose into the air and picked me up, by then the crowd was totally gone so she just flew me down to the floor of the pit. “Thank you, so, um, thanks….” Oh dear, awkward Twilight alert! Awkward Twilight alert! “It’s cool. Here I’ll walk you to your room. Trust me, I know how you feel, I don’t really fit in here either. ..” “I kinda picked that up, why weren’t you yelling with all the others?” I asked as we started walking. “I don’t quite like it when they do that whole making-fun-of-ponies thing. It’s just not my style.” “Oh, Hey, how old are you? I don't mean to pry, I just haven’t had much social interaction for the past weeks.” I wasn’t lying; my voice was getting raspy because of lack of use. “I’m 19, your age.” We arrived at my door, it was still open, but clearly recognizable as mine, I had seen some of the other rooms walking up here and they were all dirty, with personal thing of their own in them. “I assumed you would be staying in one of these rooms, they reserve the nice ones for ponies. Mine is right over there.” She pointed down and across the wide hallway. “For ponies?” I asked, getting slightly confused now. “Oh yes, you aren’t the first pony who wandered here.” And with that Ava walked off.