I watched the changeling before me, it’s horn glowing as it drained emotions from me. I could feel it, I knew that feeling so well.
“Hungry?” I asked as I looked down at the blue drone. It’s funny, I could see differences between this drone and those from Chrysalis' Hive. Just small ones, shape of the horn mostly.
He glanced up at me, “Food don’t talk.”
“This food does,” I said, “What’s your name?”
He ignored me and kept pooling the congealed blue emotion into a resin jar, strands of his magic moving around me.
“Tell me your name and you’ll get some love. Freely given.”
His wings buzzed slightly before he looked up at me, “...Obsidian.”
Closing my eyes, I focused on my Luna, on Sunset. The way the sun shone through Sunset's mane in the morning.
I felt my emotions drain away and I opened my eyes again, looking down at the drone, “How was that?”
Obsidian shifted a bit, “....Good.”
“Good. It's been a while since you had something like that, hasn’t it? Or have you ever? You have only ever ever eaten from the vats, haven’t you?”
He shook his head, “I’m not an infiltrator.”
“Never then. Like it?”
“...Yes...”
“That other hive gets it all the time,” I said, “Too bad you guys follow Pincer. Say you win… somehow… what then? More of this? More emotion gel.”
“Food don’t talk,” he said and closed the jar, sealing the lid with some spit resin. Putting it down, he then picked up a second bowl, lifting it up to my lips, “Drink.”
Sniffing it revealed nothing but water and I drank deeply. Soon it was replaced by an apple, “Eat.”
I did as he told me to.
As soon as I was done, he gathered his things and left the chamber, leaving me alone with Blue Dawn.
She started to stir awake, slowly blinking as I turned to her before she jerked awake and tugged at the resin keeping her in place as she let out a scream.
“Blue Dawn!” I yelled, “Calm down!”
“Lord Page!” she yelled and tugged at the resin, “Where are we!? What happened?”
“Poison in the tea,” I explained, “We’re in another changeling hive. Another swarm.”
“What?”
Blue Dawn looked confused, “What are you talking about, how can you be so calm!?”
“Easy,” I continued, “I know changelings. Different hive, still changelings. I’ll get us out of here, I promise.”
She clenched her eyes shut, seemingly trying not to hyperventilate, “This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening…”
“Dawn,” I said, “Deep, slow breaths. You’re fine. We’ll be out of here soon enough. I need you to stay calm and stay alive. Can you do that for me?”
“...Y-yes, sir.”
I nodded, “Good. Please, just keep calm and cooperate with them. Trust me.”
Blue Dawn swallows, “...Yes sir. I can do that. I… I hope you know what you are doing.”
“So do I. So do I…” I agreed, “Try to get some rest, preserve your strength.”
Blue Dawn looked around before she closed her eyes, seeming to shudder, “...I’ll try.”
Nodding, I settled down and relaxed against the resin holding me.
Now I just needed to wait.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Are you sure of this, My Page?” Luna asked softly, standing next to me in the dream realm, stars sparkling all around.
“No. But I think it’s the best possible option,” I said and moved to touch the tip of my horn against the dream portal of Obsidian.
The trickiest part of this was that I had to do it without entering the dream. As Chrysalis had shown, there was a chance he would be able to sense me if I did.
Dream was… normal changeling. Dreaming of… tunnels. Dark. Comfortable. Safe.
Exactly what I was expecting. No matter the Hive, Changelings gonna Changeling. Okay then. Slowly, slowly.
Gently, more insinuating than forcing, I introduced a feeling of hunger. Hungry. Dark tunnels, no food. Little food.
Hungry.
Obsidian’s dream changed to worse times. I couldn’t see it clearly, not from outside. It was more… feelings than anything else. But he had been hungry. Everyone had been.
Now… Pincer. Pincer. Hungry. Hungry with Pincer. Danger.
Pincer danger ponies. Hungry. Hurt.
The silvery green portal started to quickly ripple and darken as it turned into a nightmare. Pictures of ponies fighting changelings flashed through my mind, Pincer laying broken on the ground, the ponies defeating the changelings.
Stop.
Putting a bit more force into it this time before it got too far, I shifted his dream. Pony friend. Pony feed Changeling. No fear. No force. No danger. Willing.
The dream shifted.
Obsidian and a pony. Pony he seen once. Pink mane and coat. Hugging him, feeding him love. Safe. No Pincer. Pony friend food, not food.
Pony friend food happy to see Obsidian.
Pulling my horn back, I blinked my eyes and shook my head. Damn, touching a Changeling like that really wasn't good for your head.
I like them, but damn if their thought patterns weren't completely Alien at times.
Stepping back, I watched the portal ripple in silvery green, pink and blue. Okay then, let’s see if this works.
“Did it work?” Luna asked and moved up next to me.
“...Not sure. This is a slow process,” I admitted and leaned against her side, “Honestly, I don’t know if this will work, but… if you try to free me, Changelings and Ponies will die. I don’t want that.”
“How’s Blue Dawn?”
“Holding it together,“ I answered and sighed, “and Amber is in the hive. Unconscious, not sleeping. But alive.”
Luna nodded and held me closer with her wing, “Your impostor arrived in Canterlot today.”
“How are you and Sunset doing?”
“...Princess Skitter has been giving us lessons on how not to give anything away,” Luna admitted and nuzzled at my ears, “But it’s… difficult.”
“I know, My Sky,” I said and looked up at her, “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Obsidians dream portal blinked out next to us and I gave her a kiss, “Need to go now.”
“I know. Be careful.”
“I promise.”
Opening my eyes, I relaxed against the resin and waited. It was a couple of hours before a Changeling entered with a resin jar and a bowl of fruit.
Not Obsidian. Which made sense, there were hundreds of them in the hive, why would the same done come to harvest our emotions every time?
“Hello, what’s your name?” I asked with a smile.
The Changeling blinked and buzzed her wings in surprise, “...Food does not speak.”
“Isn’t is nicer when I speak instead of the normal begging?” I asked, “Hungry?”
She seemed to hesitate, looking around for a second before she nodded, “Yes.”
“Goody, I have some food for you. My name is Blank Page, this is Blue Dawn. What’s yours?”
The drone seemed really confused as she carefully approached, “...Ambrosia.”
“That’s a beautiful name,” I told her, “Got your jar ready?”
At her nod, I closed my eyes and focused on my Sunny and my Sky. It didn’t take long before I could feel my emotions being drained. It was a feeling I could easily identify.
When it stopped, I opened my eyes and relaxed against the resin holding me, “...How’s that?”
Ambrosia stared down into the jar filled with glowing green gel, “...It’s love. Not mixed or tainted. It’s actual love.”
I nodded, “Yeah. Nice isn’t it when you have somebody that wants you to eat well. Did you get any of that for yourself or does it go into storage?”
“...I got some yesterday.”
“Well, that’s not hardly enough,” I said and closed my eyes and focused on my friends. On the way Sunset looked sleeping next to me.
There was a slight draining feeling and when I opened my eyes again, Ambrosia stared up at me.
“...Why? Food beg and scream, not volunteer.”
“Not all food,” I sighed, “When you have put that into storage, why don’t you go find the Changeling from the other hive, Amber? She could tell you what it’s like not being hungry all the time.”
Viva la revolución!!!
Something tells me none of those channelings ever true imagined an alternative. Not even their queen.
Good ol' Page is a master of psychological warfare.
Slowly, but surely, he is planting seeds of dissent in the hive.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47E2tfK5QAg
Carrot and stick. Carrot sticks. Those can be hard enough to be mildly uncomfortable to be struck with, right?
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Changelings obviously not, because they generally are Lawful Neutral and don't ask "needless" questions. But if Pincer also didn't ever thought about this, then she is, similary to Chrysalis before her, pseudo-victim of ancient changeling tradition and may be even possible to be saved, as Chrysalis.
It's hard to simply discard sacred customs, that your peoples followed for thousands years and that ACTUALLY was always making them safe in some way, especially in such disciplined and organized society, as changeling's ones. So they may be Tragic Villains in some way.
Prisons and Fortresses are interchangeable in times of war.
It's all about who side the guards are on.
Revolution via inception. Nice
-Thump- Thump- Luna steps up in a power loader. “Get away from him you BITCH!”
All this social engineering will make the wedding amazing I can already tell.
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That was a daughter, not a husband. (Saving a husband like that would have been cooler, for the reversal of how things normally work in fiction)
Oh goody, personality manipulation via dreams. Why are we on Mr Destroyer-of-redemption-arcs side again?I
EDIT: yeah, because they've invaded, but other than that, the sanitation, the roads, the wine and the story, what has he ever done for us?
Well, that's an interesting way of subverting an enemy power structure...
You messed up Pincer, you have introduced poison into your hive
Congrats! It's a reverse infiltration.
Page really should come with a warning label at this point.
"Do not keep within reach of changelings, may cause revolutions"
Like always, doin' great work for us all Hiver. Im looking forward to every update. Page is one of the most well constructed characters I've read, and he sticks to it too. He's consistent in his choices and i think that's sometimes a rare trait to see in fanfiction characters. You put effort and heart into this, and it shows.
Honestly this is hilariously simple to do, and the same can be said for any tyrannical leadership. All it takes is the supposed "enemies" or falsified "bad guys" to come in and be all nice, and suddenly your loyal but intimidated soldiers begin to doubt and become less and less loyal.
Then they start to ask questions, and doubt begins to spread, so on and so forth. And all it takes is for the tyrannical leader's enemy to show empathy.
It's the exact reason why the rules of being an overlord, forget the name, says that you gotta treat your underlings right and get proper loyalty, not intimidated loyalty or anything of the like, and treat them right, so that if the good guys do come and act all nice trying to start a revolution, your underlings will be having none of it 'cause they're already being treated well :3
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That’s kind of the problem with being an evil overlord, isn’t it? The better you treat your minions and the more you otherwise behave in an actually intelligent fashion, the more you risk sliding over to the side of actual decency before you even know it...
(Come to the light side. We’ve got cookies and cream. )
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But the thing is, you can still be evil but be kind.
Evil is relative, to both law and what people perceive to be “bad”.
9831762
too which pup are you referring too?
9831768
Perhaps his Timber Wolf pup? Or is this the wrong fic?
9831859
No i think you got the right one...
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Well, you can certainly break the law and still be kind (cue Robin Hood theme of your choice for the obvious example). I’d kind of question whether the same would really hold true for actually, genuinely evil individuals, at least if “evil” is supposed to mean something more than just “unfortunately wearing the wrong team’s colors”...but that might risk derailing things and getting in the way of folk just wanting to comment on the actual story. (Yes, I’ve frequented enough D&D boards to know what an alignment flamewar looks like. )
Ah, creating unrest and distrust of the leadership behind enemy lines while captured. A beautifully wonderful tactic, classic. As well as manipulating feelings through dreams like MK ultra, devious and kind of amoral, but this one is for a good cause to the recipients.
I wonder if we'll get the whole hive on board before the queen notices.
Genius. Show em a peaceful and plentyful way... Not lying and simply stating the truth... Clever
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Harvest the Harvesters to the cause, M'lord Page. Lest all come to burn in the fires of combat. LONG LIVE THE CHANGERS!
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*fan squee* Amazing mental image
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Oh God, the pain, pian in my sides when I read that, I agree with you, that's funny
It's a small thing, but it bothers me that there was a different changeling, also named Obsidian, back in chapter two. I wouldn't have noticed, had I not been binge re-reading the entire series.
9943552
But then again, how many people have names that are shared? A lot of ponies have shared names Twilight Sparkle and and Twilight Velvet for example?
Making moles on the spot, I like it. Slow, but will work. =) Queeny will have no pull, when the thing unravels. X))
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Take out one piece, her control over them, and it all comes crashing down.
Page: "You guys are changelings. You guys are parasites. But you are changelings. You can evolve. Why be parasites when you can be symbiotes? Or even better: go beyond even a simple mutualistic relationship where you're merely gaining benefits from ponies without causing harm to them to actually creating an essential mutualistic existence where both you AND the ponies benefit! "
Re-reading this. I wonder how his Medallion works since I’d imagine his imposter is either not wearing it or the Medallion can’t tell that the imposter is not the real Page. As mentioned when he got it, the medallion turns red if worn by anyone else other than him. (Or I guess the imposter could be wearing a fake one)
Lastly… Shouldn’t page have been able to tell that the servant was a changeling? It’s already been established that he can see through disguises.
10720521
i mean they kidnapped a dream walker and him seeing through changlings is a recent thing he can only do close up and next to them im guessing he wasent paying attention.
Just watched the Alien franchise Alien movies... Hope Page get a epic enemy Queen smackdown eventually with another Hive.
Ones defeated, snuggeling her into submission...
Congratulations Queen Pincer. Figured you captured a fly when instead got a tarantula hawk. That laid the seed of doubt within your hive that is slowly eating you from the inside out
Human‘s have experience when it comes to twisting other species into a symbiotic relationship…
What about:
"Now shit"
Unless it's a movie reference, regular a, not capital A
A Changeling loyalty go through their stomach ♡
Clever Page!
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camo.fimfiction.net/Bttd1XvReKtnIR-ASGhLqxmAff_20W_P1a60_PHy1Y0?url=https%3A%2F%2Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AANd9GcTzPKgH3gGziUs0rdoDUdT1jTGaaw76qYFLcA%26usqp%3DCAU