> Why Me?! > by Kori Kitsune > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Why Me? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- She never asked for this but she found it hard to say no to that which the others were saying. How could she be the queen she had just come into existence hatching as the rest do and they were already calling her a queen. She knew not what it entailed as she agreed to be the queen and they set her in her spot and yelled for food. “What do you hunger for?” She cried out not knowing herself what she craved for. “Love! We want love!” Came the cry of the changelings all wanting to be feed. “Then go and find it! Feed as you see fit!” She replied not seeing the problem. “Where do we feed!? Where!?” “I don’t know! Why are you asking me?!” She cried in fear as the screams came louder and louder. “I don’t know! Put someone else up here!” “No! You must be queen! You must feed us! Feed us!” The called out as hunger took hold of them. “Find the food and take it! I don’t care just do it! Why are you asking me!?” She could not understand why it was her that they chose to rule them yet she had been chosen and there was no getting out of it. “Where?!” “Wherever you find it I don’t care just leave me be!” She screamed and as she did her body took on a much more fiendish look and the onlookers copied. “Do as you must just take it!” “How do we!? How!” The cries came as the hunger ensued. She knew not what to do as they begged her for help and food. She was scared and as the fear took effect she felt her body begin to change to a much more subtle form. “Feed us! Show us how to hide among the food! Help us!” “I don’t know how just leave me be! I don’t know.” She cried unknowing of why or how just that she was not going to be left alone yet finding that they did not want to leave her be. “Leave me be!” She was furious at them for asking her for that which she did not understand she did not know what she did merely that she did without hesitation as she shot a spell her way. Her body changed quickly and painfully as it took not the form of her but the form of a large stallion that wanted nothing more than to leave the place. “How!? How!?” They cried as the form became more and more adjudicated with their shouting. “How!? Tell us so that we may feed!” “I don’t know! I just did it without a thought as to why! I don’t want this! I don’t” She cried and began to walk away only become surrounded by hungry faces. “Just must teach us! Teach us!” They cried as one not giving her a moment to breath as they asked her for that which she could not provide. She could not take it so she ran from them she did not know where she could go as she ran but she did not care for she did not want to be there. She ran as she left the caves the shouts of the hungry ones behind her she did not care for their hunger. She ran till she felt sick and then she continued to run until she could no longer feel herself beneath her. She saw a set of structures and she looked in to see that it was populated by similar creatures. “How did I do that before?” She pondered as attempted to cast the mysterious spell again yet could not find the strength to do so. “Come on. Why me? Why do I have to deal with this? I don’t even know my own name so why me?” As sadness ran through her mind she felt a surge of strength and the feeling of pain shot through her again as her body twisted and contorted to leave her in the form of a broken and hungry green mare. She found it hard to move as the pain receded and she limped her way into the town hoping for some form of help. “Hello? Can anypony help me?” She knew not where the knowledge came from as she asked for help yet she did not care. “Oh my. Are you okay?” Came the response of a bright blue and red mare that noticed her. “Can you tell who you are?” “I don’t know. I don’t know what I am supposed to be doing or anything.” “Well here let me help you out if I can. Do you need some food or such?” She said not thinking of how she would get the food only thinking of the condition of the mare before her. She was about to ask for some form of food yet as she felt the love and caring of the mare she felt her hunger subside. “I am not hungry?” “Well do you have a place to stay?” “No but I should be fine.” “But I insist.” The feeling went through her again as she heard the words. “I could not sleep with the thought that I could have helped you.” “I guess that I could stay for one night.” “Well follow me and I will be sure that you have a room.” “Thank you. I can’t thank you enough.” “There is no need to. I am glad to have helped out a pony in need. Here we are welcome to my inn.” She said as they reached a large building. The inside had a very warm homey feel to it that left her feeling safe for the first time that day. The ponies who were inside called a greeting to them as they entered to building which left her feeling as though she had just been filled with a feast of unknown food. “So now you feel free to pick a room and I will be sure to get you anything you need. By the way I am HeartFelt do you have a name or anything that you would like to be called?” “I guess that you could call me.... GreenRose?” “Well then Rose. You feel free to ask me for anything you desire.” “Thank you so much Heartfelt.” “Please call me Heart. Everypony does after all and I want you to feel welcome.” “Okay Heart.” “No try and get some rest Rose. You look like you could sleep for a week.” “We see you and we hunger!” Came the cry that awoke her as Rose as she slept. “You must feed us!” “No! Please just leave me be!” “You try to hide from us but we can follow! You feed without us! We will come!” “No!” “Rose are you okay in there?” Came the call as Heart walked in to see Rose crying in fear. “Rose what happened?” “I don’t want to. I don’t know how. Please don’t let them take me. Please.” “Don’t worry rose. Nothing is going to get you if I can help it. Now go back to sleep.” “I can’t. I’m scared.” “Rose look at me.” Heart said lifting Rose’s face so that she was looking into her very eyes. “I will stay here all night if that is what it takes to help you but I will not let you lay here in fear. Okay?” Rose looked into her eyes and saw hope and joy and all of these wondrous emotions that were not made to hurt but used to heal. “I’m sorry for waking you.” “You did not wake me Rose. I was having trouble sleeping when I heard you cry out. It was nothing.” Came the caring response and the feeling that came with each and every word that Heart said. “Thank you so much Heart. I don’t know what to say.” “Then don’t. Just go to sleep. I will make sure that nothing hurts you.” “Rose! Wake up! Please get up! We have to go!” Came the panicked call from Heart as she shook Rose awake. “What is going on?” “Something is attacking us we have to go now!” “What is attacking?” “No time we have to run now!” Heart said and the two rushed out of the room to be stopped by five of the small bug like creatures all of them looking straight into rose each of them looking through heart at the one they wanted. “Run Rose. Don’t look back!” Rose did not give the words a second thought as she ran from the sound of a fight. She looked back as she left the building to see Heart kick one of the black pests in the face with a sick crunch. “No! Leave me be!” Came the pleads from Rose as the bugs sprouted wings and flew after her. “I don’t want to be the queen!” “But you must! You were made to be queen! Feed us!” “I can’t feed you! Leave me be! Please!” “Feed us or Heart dies! We hunger and she can feed us!” “Leave her be! Don’t you dare touch her!” As the anger rolled across Rose she felt her skin begin to burn and saw her entire being lose its ability to stay still as her skin became a liquid in appearance. “You will feed us or she dies!” Came the reply as a few began to turn to go and retrieve Heart. “Feed us!” “I can’t! I don’t know how!” “Then teach us how! Show us how to be as you are!” “I don’t know how! I just did this! Please just let me and heart go!” “Heart.” Came the taunt as a few carried a blue and red figure and held it above Rose. “The Heart can be stopped unless you teach us!” “But I don’t know how! Please just put her down and I will try!” “No!” Came the attack as one of the many bugs took its horn and slid it along Heart’s arm leaving a deep cut in it that dripped blood onto Rose. “You will teach us or she dies!” “Fine! I will do whatever you want just let her live! Please don’t do it.” “Do it?” “No. Please No! Don’t! Please I beg of you!” “You beg us to do it?” Came the malicious reply as one of the bugs readied its horn behind Heart. “Rose? What do they mean? What is wrong with you?” “Heart!? I will explain just hang in.....” Rose shouted up only to stop as she saw a horn protrude from Hearts chest and the bugs released her so that she fell in front of Rose. “No! How dare you! How dare you defy your queen.” “There you are Queen! We were wondering when you would show up!” “You dare to defy me!? I should kill every last one of.... You?” Rose bellowed and looked down at the what was body of Heart to see that it had changed into the form of one of the many bugs above her. “Where is she!? Bring her to me or perish!” “If you feed us we will bring her to you! Not until we are feed! Each and every one of us!” “Why me? Why.” “Because you are Chrysalis and you will feed us if you want Heat to live! She can wait as long as it takes we will not let her age or even see until we are feed!” “I will do what you ask. Just let her live.” Came the submissive reply from Chrysalis as she thought of Heart being trapped however she would be trapped for who knew how long. “What do you want to know?” “Everything! Our Queen Chrysalis!” “Then I shall teach you as well as I can!” Chrysalis called out and in her anger she dropped the spell and revealed herself to be the same as the rest though taller and much more noble. “And then when you all die. I shall be able to be at peace once more!” “We are the Changelings we do not simply die! There will always be more of us and for every that falls another three will take its place!” “I can wait. I just hope that heart can to.” > I'm Trying! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Queen Chrysalis awoke in an unknown location that felt to be somewhere near northern Equestria. She did not see a single living thing around her and had to say that she was glad for that. If she could get back before the rest of the Changelings maybe she could find and save her. “Which way?” Came the realization as she turned circles not knowing which way to go. “Umm lets see home is north so the moon should show me?” The moon was held almost tauntingly directly above her not moving in the night as she wished it to. Not a single sing to help her find her way home and not a single subject to help her find her way. That is what she thought as she headed out to find her home before one of the “Loyal Subjects” got there first. “Hello Queen!” Came the call as a hurt and broken changeling approached its head cracked and one of its legs missing. “You are heading home?” “Yes I am. And you shall lead me there!” “Of course my Queen. This way.” The changeling must have been so young as to not know of the true intent of its Queen. “Are you hurt?” “I shall be fine.” She replied and looked down at the young naive hatchling before her not noticing its own condition and felt a shine of compassion. “You on the other hand could use some help. Which way is home?” “It is right that way my Queen. Thanks for your concern but I am fine.” “I know that.” Chrysalis said as she hugged the innocent hatchling before her. “I am going to make the pain stop now. Don’t move.” A sickly snap resided in the air as she broke its neck killing it and putting it out of its painful lose. She did not care for the lose of one of the many who were heading home as she set the body of the changeling down and set off to get home before the rest of the her subjects could get home or worse yet find her. She watched as the plains and grassy hills gave way to stone and mountains. The mountains became torn as she neared the home of her kind. She was so close that she could smell the green slime that they used as a glue like material. “Queen! I have found you!” Came the fiendish call as she entered the cave that she knew was to hold Heart and saw a hurt subject standing waiting by the entrance. “You almost beat me here you know!?” “Get outta my way subject! let me in!” “Oh now you know how this works.” Came the evil remark. “You feed us and then you can see her. Feed us all and we release her.” “It is just me and you! I am sure of my ability to take a hurt runt as you!” “How do you know it is just me?! I have been sure to put as many as have returned home to watch the room and make sure that you do not get in!” “Why! You defy your Queen!” “Oh you know as well as I do why you call yourself that! I was there when we killed the innocent to get you to be Queen.” “You will let me pass or I will be sure to kill you myself!” “Kill me and watch as the walls turn to fighters and we force you back onto your throne. You can not win this Chrysalis.” “Don’t call me that! I hate that name!” “But it is your name! And you will bare it with honor.” “It is not my name! My name is GreenRose! I don’t want to be the queen.” Chrysalis called out and her body slowly shifted to that of the green earth pony that she had first turned to in a moment of fear. “I don’t want to.” “But you will! If you want HeartFelt to live then you will feed us all.” “I just did my best! You did not exactly rush into help me!” “You must feed us! We can not be the one to feed us you must do it!” “I did my best but you did not do as I asked but you did not! If you had come with you could have stopped that pest from stopping us! Then you thought that it would be a good idea to attack the city during the wedding!” “We made sure that you would not betray us yet you failed! You feasted without us and when we came you revealed yourself!” “I had no choice! I had been discovered and if I would not have revealed myself then I would not have been able to defend myself!” “Wrong! You let them reunite the two! You watched as they used the thing which we feed on to stop us!” “I did no such thing! I did all that I could you're the one responsible for the failure! No let me through!” “Never! We will kill Heart if you ever try something like that again! You know that we will we could just let her go without you knowing and watch her wither away!” “You wouldn’t. Please just let her live and I promise that I will get you something to feast on. I’m sure that I can find some way to get you some love.” “You had better! If something happens though I will not hesitate to run her through myself!” “I said to leave her be!” Chrysalis bellowed and in her fury she took the changeling skull and broke it open against the wall and watched as the body fell to the floor dead as the stone around it. “Queen? Why did you do that?” Came the horrific call of hundreds of hatchlings as they revealed themselves and converged upon their queen. “Why did you kill him? You are supposed to protect us! You are supposed to feed us!” “I’m trying. I really am. Please let me go and find you a meal. I’m sure that I can find something for you to eat.” “You will not leave! We will go and find our own food! We must until you can find us a feast! If you do not find us one! She dies!” “No! You leave her alive and I find you food and she lives! That was the deal!” “You can’t stop us! Not all of us!” They said and pushed the queen out of the cave. “You will feed us!” She flew as fast as she could to find any source of food for the monsters that she ruled over. She had to if she ever wanted to hear the sweet voice of Heart again. She did not want to know what her subjects were willing to do to feed. “Why do I have to do this? You can all feed yourself so why me?” Chrysalis wailed as she flew past a small town and saw a loving couple on their porch. She could have told her subjects but she knew how they went about getting their food and she did not want to see anypony lose a loved one to be replaced by one of her changelings. “I will stay here all night if that is what it takes to get you to sleep but I will not let you lay here in fear.” The words rang through her head as she flew from her home. She clinged to those words everyday as she tried to do that which she hated. She had to save her somehow but the changelings never stopped growing in numbers and they never seemed to agree with her. “How do you feed something that never gets enough? When all they ever try to do is stop you from feeding them?” She whimpered and looked up at the moon as if hoping for Luna to come down and tell her but no such thing happened. “Why don’t you help me! You sit up there and watch me suffer! I know that you do! Just help me.” “They will never help you!” Came the reply as a changeling landed beside her position in a tree outside of a small pony village. “Why would they? You just lead the attack on their very city! They will hate you until the day that they see you die!” “I did not lead an attack! I was just trying to feed you so that you would let her leave!” “They do not know that! All they know is that you rule those who just attacked their very home! You are the one that they will blame for their pain if a loved one goes missing! Whether or not we were involved in it!” “Why me? I don’t understand.” “You are the Queen because you are! Stop whining and feed us!” “Leave me!” She called and dropped her hooves onto its head caving it in killing it. “You can help yourself now! Because I never wanted to.” She looked down at the body of the fiend she ruled below her and in a fit of rage she checked to see if any more were nearby and screamed all of her pain at the body. “I did all that I could to feed you I went in and offered to bring others in with me! When none came I warned them of the attack so that you could not enter! But I was discovered! I offered to let some in to assist me but none came! The wedding came and I decided to let it go as planned and let the shield stay! But you attacked! I let the shield break in hopes that you would all be killed in the battle but you fought well! So I let them put the shield back up and was thrown out myself in the process! I gave up everything to try and feed you!” She did not care as to if any ponies in town heard her they would not know who had screamed the hateful words. She looked down at the body of the one she had been responsible and wished that she could find some way to make them all like the corpse below her. If only something was able to fight the very ones who controlled her.