I trotted nervously after Luna, my mind buzzing with the thought of my first possible true friends. Years of living as a changeling has engraved the ponies' hate towards our kind into the deepest pinnacle of my mind. I was overjoyed at the thought of this moment being the turn of events I needed to avoid such prejudice towards myself, and yet, I shuddered to think of how I could continue if such events failed to come to pass. The closer we got to the carriage, the more clouded my mind became with thoughts of the later. I began to shake as I walked, nervousness turning into fright, before exploding into outright fear.
By the time we reached the carriage, I was visibly quaking with fear, barely able to stand upright. Dark thoughts flowed through my mind like fire through a hay field as I began to lose track of my surroundings. Without realizing it, I was soon trapped in my own world of despair.
*
I awoke to find myself trapped in a dark mist. The absence of solid ground was obvious, yet it did not feel as if I was floating. Panic began to set in again, and I gently but firmly raised my hooves and horn to keep my guard up as best I could in my current position.
After a seeming eternity, the mist parted to reveal myself laying gently on the outskirts of Ponyville late at night. I weakly raised my head, cautiously observing every detail of my unknown surroundings as if my life depended on it. I heard my hooves begin clop on the packed dirt as I thoughtlessly and aimlessly began to wander. My thoughts suddenly snapped to the thought of the carriage. Had we crashed? Where were the guards? Or Princess Luna for that matter? "She wouldn't leave me," I muttered. My heart dropped into my gut as I thought something must have happened to her.
As I began to contemplate what could have possibly caused me to end up in a seemingly impossible situation, the voice I dreaded more than any other pierced my consciousness.
"Nothing has happened to her Locust, at least not yet. She has left you, as have all the ponies. You were mine the moment your father decided to lead the charge against my hive all those years ago. He was ruthless, I'll admit, much more so than Shining Armor is. But he was even more careless. Every strategist knows to take care of the leader when performing a genocide."
Chrysalis' voice was cold, booming with more and more anger as she finished her rant. I cowered as I saw her swoop and land not a dozen feet away. "No. They wouldn't," I muttered. "They said I was different, that I had a pure heart."
I began to weep as chrysalis continued, "They lie!" she hissed. "They only care for themselves, and you are no longer one of them."
I was bawling now. Tears flowed without restraint through my bug-like eyes, pooling beneath me in an unending waterfall. I screamed as chrysalis laughed, taking pleasure in my sorrow. Then, suddenly, a telekinetic force clamped my muzzle shut.
Chrysalis glared at me, scorn in her voice. "Cry while you can Locust, for when I get my grasp on you, I swear I will twist you into the most elite and loyal of my drones."
With that, she resumed her cackling. I resumed bawling on the ground, awaiting the fate she promised me.
After screaming until I had no voice left, I found my gaze grasped by a force coming from the sky. A brilliant light pierced through the clouds, searing Chrysalis into oblivion. A blue, ethereal-maned pony boomed towards Chrysalis. Not with scorn like she had, but with a more disappointing tone towards the queen. "A shame you must treat your subjects so poorly chrysalis. Have you forgotten? You may have a hive link with Locust here, but his dreams are still MY domain."
With that, chrysalis' screams faded into silence. Luna flew down to my still-trembling form on the ground. "It's ok Locust, she cannot reach your dreams again. You must wake soon, we still have a long flight ahead of us." She grasped me in a gentle embrace, washing a soothing magic over myself. I found myself calming, before sleep finally reclaimed me.
*
I awoke in Luna's arms once again, this time in front of the carriage where I had lost myself in my own dark thoughts. I glanced up at her, tears in my eyes. Yet this time, they were not only tears of trauma and worry, but tears of thanks from a grateful changeling. She gently lifted me onto the chariot, the guards also smiling up at us. I knew at that point that the chrysalis in my dream was the one lying. I chuckled, reassured that I could make friends after all.
*
The ride was long, but presented a time for some much needed sleep. I came to to find Luna embracing me while I slept. I flushed with embarrassment as I turned to look at her. She smiled down at me as she began to speak, "we are almost there, Locust. Let me introduce you initially so they do not get the wrong idea." She waved me off as my ears drooped, "I am sure they will see you as very different from the ones they have come to dislike, even more so as a great friend."
I turned away and smiled. The princesses had yet to fail me, so I knew I could always trust their judgement.
We departed shortly after the conversation, my nervousness returning slightly with the initial glares I received. But they dwindled quickly when the ponies relaxed. Whether it was because I was with the princess, or because of my obvious physical differences from other changelings, I could not know.
We arrived at a tree that had been formed and carved expertly into what looked like a sophisticated public building. Luna gestured for me to enter, with one last comment.
"Every pony should already be waiting for us in the library here," she coaxed. "I'll follow your lead."
I cautiously opened the door and stepped inside. What I saw made me balk.
Six ponies gathered around a table in the middle of the room, all at once turning towards me. Two of them scowled for a moment, one cyan and one orange, before Luna reassured them with a wave. The white one looked shocked, before simply accepting a changeling in the vicinity as if it was nothing new. The yellow one looked nervous, hiding behind her mane before scooting further backwards onto her seat. The purple one looked, strangely, curious. As if she had witnessed an entirely new discovery. The pink one, to me, had the strangest expression. She looked overjoyed to see a new face, even if it was a supposed enemy.
Luna spoke up, "Thank you all for coming, I know Celestia and I gave short notice, especially so soon after receiving the wedding invitation. I wanted to introduce a very special guest of ours. This is Locust," she gestured, "who will be staying with you in Canterlot during the wedding. I can assure you, he is not like the changelings you may have read about." She glanced at Twilight in particular. "I would appreciate it if you could all give him a fair chance."
The pink pony was the first to come up to me, "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie. Do you like parties? I always throw a party for newcomers to Ponyville and I was hoping maybe you could stay here after the wedding so I could throw one for you..."
I tuned her out after that point due to her excitable nature making keeping up like trying to understand the fastest auctioneer. It wasn't until I saw her grinning inches from my face that I blinked and managed a very feeble reply, "Uh, sure."
I don't think I've ever seen an earth pony defy physics more, flight or otherwise.
Twilight was the second to greet me. She looked nervous herself, rubbing a hoof gently on the back of her neck. "Hi, I'm Twilight Sparkle. Please, just call me twilight. I would love to hear about you in detail sometime, if you are willing. I would love to teach you something in return too, if you would like."
I stood there dumbstruck. No one has ever offered to teach me something, or been so willing to learn about me. I smiled at her, "I would love to after the wedding, though it might need to wait after pinkie's party. She seemed a little eager to throw it," I grinned.
She laughed, "yeah, that's pinkie for you." With that, she turned away to allow room for the others' greetings.
The next to greet me was Rarity. It was obvious to me she was the fashionista of the village, excitable about the idea of making clothing for someone so unique. She seemed very nice though, and I supposed I should get some proper attire for the wedding anyways.
Fourth was Fluttershy, and her name said it all. She seemed more open to me after being introduce by Luna, but I could tell it would be a long road to a trusting friendship.
Fifth was the orange pony. She looked nervous as she walked up to me, a hoof being rubbed much in the same matter of Twilight. "Listen, Ah'm sorry for the first impression I gave you. Ah've heard of what your ki... er... changelings have done in the past, and I guess I let that judge my first impression of you. Can we start over?"
I glanced to the floor for a moment, contemplating what she had said. I lost some confidence the moment she and the cyan-rainbow colored one glared at me. Yet, I did not want to guarantee the lack of a friendship with her. I glanced back up with her, not smiling, but holding out a hoof none-the-less. "Just keep in mind I didn't ask to be this way. I'm Locust."
She smiled and shook my hoof, firmly but surprisingly gently considering her build and likely personality. "Ah'm Applejack. nice to meet ya!"
The cyan colored pony was the most difficult. She never looked at me the whole time she walked up. Then, taking a quick glance, and gesturing to Applejack muttered "what she said. I'm Rainbow dash," before turning away to the others. Her friends glared at her as she took on a sad look. I was dumbfounded-I had now Idea what to make of it. I doubted it was her normal reaction considering her group of friends. I would have to convince her the hard way.
I glanced at Luna, who nodded her approval. She seemed to expect such a reaction from Rainbow Dash.
"Alright every pony, the wedding starts in three days so we should all be heading to Canterlot as soon as possible. I will be waiting for you all at the train station. I will explain any more detail you must know after we board."
With that, Luna left with a graceful trot and wingbeat. I turned to look at the other six, who were still staring at me blankly. After a few moments, I grit my teeth in annoyance and muttered, "shouldn't you all be packing?"
They snapped out of their stupor and scrambled to head home for their things. I panicked over being left alone for a few moments before I noticed Twilight instead heading upstairs.
I followed her, curious as to why she was heading upstairs instead of home herself when I saw her enter a living quarters. She gently nudged a baby dragon sleeping in a basket next to her own bed before whispering, "spike, nap time is over. We need to leave now."
The baby dragon, Spike, groaned before turning over, and falling back asleep. Such a protest did not last long before Twilight unceremoniously dumped Spike onto the hardwood floor beneath her. He yelped and complained, "aw, what was that for Twi..." before noticing me.
We fixed each other a stare for a few seconds before he shrugged and turned back to Twilight to resume his complaining.
I chuckled, figuring he didn't know much about changelings.
It did not take them long to pack, and we set off shortly afterwards. I glanced back at the tree-made-home, smiling at the thought of possibly living in a home here in the near future.