The Changeling Hives by Written Word

by josh_the_changeling

Introduction and Hive Chrysalis

Introduction.
The Changeling race has always been a mystery and even today, even with massive scientific undertaking and risky observation of the species there is still massive parts of a changeling hive we simply do not understand. I do believe however that what we do know has helped us understand that the “monsters under the bed” are in fact just animals like you and me but keeping that in mind, Changelings are the most diverse and simply fascinating creatures I have ever seen. This book will teach you, prepare you and help you understand the insect race that still walk amongst us every day without so much as a notice.

There are dozens if not hundreds of different Changeling hives most separated into minor and major hives. Major hives are the minority but can have up to a hundred times more changelings then some minor hives. They often defines the majority both culturally and biologically since most minor hives are either offshoots or formed from mixed breeds between two different hives. For the most part minor hives are not really worth going into detail with but you should be aware that just because you live far away from these major hive locations does not mean tunnels aren’t being dug right under your feet. Now all hives tend to differ on levels just as different species of ponies were before unification. They differ biologically, politically, socially and all the same ways we were, but just like us, there were some key features that each and every one of them shares.

First is that most of them have a queen. Now this is true for almost all Changeling hives but there are a few Hives that go with an elected or just plain tyrannical drone leader but these have always put the queen species in some kind of high political position, often as spiritual leaders. This has always interested me as it goes against my next point. All hives have a weak hive mind that bonds every Changeling to each other.

Now the Changeling Hive mind is very simple compared to ants and bees. Instead of controlling them like machines or the limbs of a body it simply compels a Changeling to do as it is told by the queen. This means all of the Changelings do indeed have free will but one must understand when they are given an order it is not like in cartoons where their bodies fight against them. They do it instinctively, without a second thought and tend to never even question wh, resulting in most Changelings going their whole life without even knowing that need is there. Another effect of the Hive mind is to be able to know the location of other Changelings, though it is not like radar were they know the exact location. Free Changelings whom I have interviewed have described it as feeling the warmth of another but from a distance, giving them a beacon to follow if isolated. This also gives the Changeling a feeling of never being alone.

Now as I just mentioned it is possible for Changelings to become “free”, to break apart from the hive mind. Now while it hasn’t been proven the most accepted theory is that the Hive mind works like a radio channel sending out a signal that all changelings of that Hive follow, which is why two hives can intermingle without sharing the same mind. Changelings pick up this signal though their horn and send out a weaker signal to give a general idea of their location. Now, when a Changelings horn is broken or just snapped off changelings are suddenly cut off from the Hive mind. Changeling horns do grow back but it seems to not affect their freedom and it’s thought that once a new horn is grown it’s “set to a different frequency”.

Also, another way they achieve freedom is through, in simple term, giving themselves a bang on the head. It’s a bit confusing how this works the same way as snapping the horn but it has be theorized that it’s like how if you drop a radio it may still work but the frequency would be changed. Now it should be pointed out that simply removing a horn is far safer than, let’s say, banging a Changelings head against a rock. This gives them freedom to do as they please and most choose to leave the Hive. Now not all leave because they hate their hive but because many hives arrest and even execute these free Changelings so they have no choice. Often many Changelings don’t even get to this point, breaking free of the Hive mind not only gives the Changeling freedom but also removes the ability to sense other Changelings. As such it has the same effect as being alone for the first time in your life and if combined with, let’s say, a cave in insanity is a nasty side effect. Even those who get through it often have nightmares about the experience.

The only Changelings to not be directly connected to the hive mind are those who give ideas and opinions to the queen. After all, advisors cannot give advice if they are forced to always agree with the queen! Still, these Changelings are often under heavy guard not just to protect them but also to make sure they don’t use their freedom to damage the Hive. Now it was quite hard to choose which hive to start with, as the shear amount and variety is incredible, so I decided to simply start with the infamous, the most known the largest hive in all of Equestria. Hive Chrysalis.

Hive Chrysalis

Hive Chrysalis name to fame in the Pony world is their failed invasion of Canterlot during the “Royal wedding incident” but their name to fame in the changeling world is that they have the highest number of changelings, the purest genes and the longest written history. Hive Chrysalis might not be as biologically interesting like Hive Honeycomb or as religiously dictated as Hive Ice Fang but despite having the purest Changeling genes or being “vanilla” Changelings they do have some features that make them unique amongst the Hives. First is that they are allegedly the first hive. Now this is believed to be true due to the fact they have the longest written history out of all of them and the purest genes but considering Hives such as Honeycomb and Ash Raiders use cave and wood paintings to tell their history and a lot of other hives use oral instead of written, it cannot truly be proven although most changelings regardless of Hive believe it to be fact. They also have the highest population thanks to living in a safe location, having a breeding program to acquire soldiers for their conquest while not actually engaging in any form of combat. Finally, thanks to their aggression against the huge and well informed nation of Equestria they are the most well-known Hive of Changelings in the world. Mention the word “Changeling” and it is those of Hive Chrysalis that they think of.

Now you might notice it’s named after its current queen, Chrysalis. While other Hives have named themselves after their biological uniqueness, such as Hive Honeycomb and the honey like substance their bodies produce, to inspire fear such as Hive Ash Raiders or due to their religious ideals such as Hive Ice Fang, Hive Chrysalis has always been named after their current queen. There is no real major reason for this only that it is theorized that their first queen named it after herself, her daughter named it after herself and so on and so forth.

Out of all the hives Hive Chrysalis is the most open minded. They do not believe in a single religion or in singular ideology. They do not worship strength or power and they do not believe in any great being watching over them but they do have a strong sense of purity. While relationships with other species have happened on rare occasion they are banned from ever having any children under punishment of death. This is sadly due to vanity. They are the purist hive and wear that as a badge of honour, they don’t want a single Changeling to mess up the gene pool for them. Many hives see this as a weakness but it seems mutated changeling hives have more powers related to their Changeling origin fade, giving purity an actual value.

While this is the attitude of most changelings in the hive, there has been some minor religious propping up as there are in every culture. Church of the queen believe that the Hive mind itself is formed from the minds of pasts queens and so worship previous rulers as saints, celebrating when a queen passes as opposed to weeping. The church of taint, a slightly darker faith, believe all changelings were once ponies who were part of a kingdom that tried to conquer Equestria and almost succeeded until they insulted the god of darkness (said god has no name or description) and were turned into Changelings as punishment. They believe that they must convince every changeling to lament in order to be turned back. This makes them the most vocal but also the most hated, mainly because they are seen as unrealistic and just annoying in their attempts to convert people. Finally there is the church of change. Inspired by other hives, they believe that mutation is good. They have spies all over the hive keeping an eye out for Changeling foals born with biological differences but are tolerated because if they do find one they send them out with follows to start a hive someplace with this foal hopefully becoming a queen. Not only is this harmless, it also removes the impure from the Hive.

Now it is unknown whether queens are drones who have changed in a lapse of power or if they are born that way, even to the changelings it’s a closely guarded secret of the queens and for good reason. If drones do become queens then many factions would try and steal a few to have their own little pet Hives. If they are born that way then any raiding party would know what to look for and what to kill.

Location wise they live Northwest of the Crystal Mountains in a place most ponies only call the Dead Lands. The Dead Lands are a unique bio as there is almost no life beyond poison mushrooms and large insects underground. There is also no sources of water above ground, add the fact it is surrounded by mountains and despite being massively below freezing no snow drops there and you can understand where it gets the name Dead Lands. Its unsure how this Dead Lands formed but it’s believed the Changelings evolved here explaining why they had to resort to love instead of food for energy. The area itself does not actually comprise of dirt until deep underground. Instead a crystal like mineral called Blackrock comprises most of the landscape which was used to build the hive. The Mineral itself is very hard but also fragile like diamond but not to that degree. This makes tunneling slower but also far sturdier and much less likely to cave in. While tunnels further down need constant upkeep those higher up practically need no upkeep and as such Hive Chrysalis is the largest and most well build out of all the Hives.

Biologically they have blue insect eyes, insect wings, black to grey skin and curved horns finishing with fangs. They can transform into a range of creatures and can mimic their abilities but cannot mimic magical power. They can also cocoon prey up by vomiting green sludge which is theorized to be made using food they eat while disguised. Magically they can use simple beams, shields and levitation, rather weak but act as a good defense mechanism and can overpower in number. Overall these are the Changelings we all know about but as we go into the more diverse Changelings you will find out that with evolution and mutations there is always a tic for tac reaction, new abilities added at the cost of having other abilities removed.

Now their government created the bases that most Hives follow with the queen on top with no representatives. There have been rumors of a large scorpion creature involved somehow but this sounds silly and is probably an old wives tale. Their relationships with the other Hives range from being good friends to heated rivals but there are no strong foes or strong allies as it’s believed that having either could bring the Hive into a local conflict and Hive Chrysalis would rather worry about problems at home. They do however have a much heated relationship with the diamond dogs. For a very long time the Changelings were the only intelligent life in the Dead Lands but a lost diamond dog clan discovered the high density of the blackrock meant diamonds were very common underground and this began a diamond rush, Diamond Dog clans and guilds rushing north and fighting amongst themselves over who would get the right to mine.

At first the Changelings in the area didn’t really care as these clans were smart enough to stay away from the hive but as the area was split between four of the most successful clans and guilds diamond mining began to reach deeper and deeper. It was not long before the Diamond Dog mines and the changeling hive tunnel network started to run into each other, skirmishes to all out brawls breaking out as soon as the tunnels walls crumbled in. Over the next two centuries both races have developed a deep hatred for each other with some incidents ending in military operations and even small wars. It’s common for a dozen miners and drones to run into each other and fight, and while uncommon, it’s not rare for a couple hundred diamond dog brawlers and changeling soldiers to engage over important tunnel networks. While diamond dogs also have nasty relationships with other hives (Especially Hive Trapdoor) most Diamond Dogs know to “Go for da ones with da blue eyes!”

Now as we all know Hive Chrysalis is ultimately out to take over Equestria, but why? This can be lead back to Queen Pupa who ruled about four hundred years ago. Pupa was interested in the isolative Hive FrostFang and their self-sustainability. It was a closely guarded secret however and in the end she guessed they had domesticated another race to act as a love source. The reason Changelings don’t normally do this is a resource issue. It takes time for love to regenerate and it does so much faster when engaging in social activities, something one cannot do chained to a cave wall. Pupa was not deterred however and came up with what is known as the Barnyard Plan. Based on the act of animal domestication she wrote up a plan to domesticate an intelligent race as one would a pig or chicken. The idea was that they could go out and live their lives but under extreme control and observation by the Changeling hive. Considering the Griffins aggression, the low breeding rate of Diamond Dogs and that non intelligent animals gave far less love than intelligent ones she decided that the Ponies were the best race for this.

Considering the huge amount of ponies needed for this idea to become practical the first step in the Barnyard Plan is surprisingly simple. “Take over a Pony nation” It was just luck that Equestria was the closest and not obscured by oceans or deserts of ice. Although Pupa passed away before her plan could be realized a number of queens after had taken it upon themselves to see the Barnyard Plan put into effect, the most recent Chrysalis. Most other hives see this plan as unrealistic and those who do believe it is possible see it as a nice dream but is just too full of problems. As such no other hive has given them assistance in their take over. Their threat to Equestria is massive, though that’s all they want…Equestria. They show little threat to Saddle Arabia or the Griffin Empire. They both have their own hives to worry about, but that’s for later.

Comments

[Leafall]

Wow, that's some great world-building.
I liked this so far. It's written very clearly and has spiked up my inerest.

[Diamond Sparkle]

You just got your first follower. I look forward to more.

[ALIENwolve]

The frequent grammar mistakes make this a disruptive read. Many words that are meant to be other words, or are plural or singular when they should be the other. It makes entire sentences difficult to comprehend, and for the moment, I'm already stopping here.