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// Chapter 3: The changeling trio’s story: 
// Story: The Cutie Mark Crusaders and the Change Brothers 
// by Nikolas 
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Chapter 3: The changeling trio’s story:

The three ponies and the zebra watched in silence as the three young colt began to pull themselves together.

The brown changeling slowly sat up, one hoof pressed on his head, apparently in the hope that it relieves his headache. This method seemed not very effective.

The colt covered with green chitin was somewhat more confident to sitting up, but his posture and trembling showed, that he trying to suppress the pain from his injuries only with his willpower.

The black colt had not sat up, his eyes tried to focus, but probably he still not regained full control over his senses.

A few minutes later all of the three was able to sit up, and then with a mixture of caution and curiosity looked around in the hut. It did not took too long for them to notice the three curiously staring fillys and the calm and collected zebra.

When noticed that they were not alone, they noticeably strained and uncertainly began examining the others in the hut present.

A few silent minutes passed, while the two groups looked at each other, none of them knowing that, how they should start the conversation or what the other group’s intentions may be.

Finally Scootaloo was the one who broke the awkward and tense silence: "Hmm, hello...?" she said awkwardly.

From this all eyes in the room focused on her, which soon made her began to squirm.

The three changeling seemed to calm down a bit, thenthe brown colt slowly opened his mouth and spoke, "Hey... " he said weakly with a little wawe of his hoof.

For a few moments he examined the bandages what covered him and his two companions, then slightly more confidently than before he spoke: "Thank you for all you've done for me and my brothers. "Then, as far as his injuries allowed bowed his head.

To his words the now identified two brothers began to examine themselves, apparently just now noticed the bandages what covered them. Slowly the changelings’ body relaxed and now with curiosity watched the ponys, who apparently to saved their lives.

Sweetie Belle, a little embarrassed quickli said: "Come on, anypony else would have done the same thing."

While nopony had answered, they all suspected that this statement was not likely to be correct.

Then once again, the room sank into awkward silence, nopony knew what they're supposed to say.

Soon, the green changeling, glancing through the room asked: "Can you tell that, where we are?"

Now Zecora replied: "You little changelings are safe in my home, thanks to this three who are not left you alone." Then she gestured to the three fillys with her hoof.

"Thank you for your help, without you we could’ve not get away!" Said the colt who previously was disguised as a pegasus, he looked in the direction of the fillys and showed a smile. From this the three ponies was embarrassed, while tried to (quite humorously) come up with a coherent answer. When that did not worked they just sat there.

Apple Bloom quietly watched the three changeling brothers, wondering on how to ask the questions, what she wanted to know, since they decided to bring the three into the zebra’s hut.

But Zecora preceded her, before she could’ve speak: "Thank to this three filly i was able to treat your injuries, but this situation prove some issues, what to clear would be good for us."

"The thing is that we just once met with changelings and the experience was not very good. We need to know that you don’t pose any threat to our loved ones. Therefore, we need to know what brought you here... " Asked Apple Bloom.

The three colts from this silenced and looked at each other quietly, apparently the three continued a mute dialogue about what to do. After a few minutes the three changeling turned back to the fillys and nodded simultaneously.

"What do you want to know?" Asked finally the brown colt.

"I think it would be best to start with an introduction." Said Sweetie Belle.

"I am Sweetie Belle."

"My name is Apple Bloom." Said the yellow filly.

"I'm Scootaloo." Said the pegasus.

"Zecora is my name, you all are welcome." Rhymed the zebra.

The three colts for a moment or twolooked at each other again and then the colt who previously was disguised as an earth pony said:"Call me Ynop Thrae."

"Call me Asus Peg." Gave the green changeling."He is Uni Corn." He added, pointing at his black chitined brother. He only nodded in response.

"Are you serious?!" Exclaimed Scootaloo a little angrily, she could not decide that they meant it or they was just joking.

"Right." Said the green brother.

"I don’t want to sound mean, but these names are... a bit unimaginative." Stated Sweetie Belle.

"Where did you get these names?" Asked now Apple Bloom.

The brown colt soon replied: "We have found out the names to make it easier to fit in Equestria.I do not understand what’s wrong with them."He finished slightly annoyed." I think these pretty good names, we had no problem with them since we are in Equestria."

Now the three fillys looked at each other uncertainly. How is it possible that nopony began to suspect about these ridiculous names.After a few minutes of deliberation, they concluded that they will find out that later. Meanwhile Zecora silently watched the events unfolding before her.

Finally Apple Bloom said: "But why not you use your real names?"

The three colts at this seemed sad.Soon the cyan maned colt responded:"Because we dont have names." He said.

"What do you mean, that you have no names?" Asked the white unicorn confusedly.

At this the blonde changeling explained: "The changelings are not given a name at birth as at the ponies. Thanks to the hive mind everypony knows their place and what to do and who is who."

"When we came here we needed names, because we know, that when ponys begin to talk with a foreignerthey will ask their name and vice versa. To keep up our disguises we came up with some names, we tought,that the namesinspired by the names of the pony tribes will cause not suspicion." He finished slightly lamely.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders while trying to process the new information sat in silence, then Scootaloo began: "I understand that you have no experience with names, but seriously! A unicorn, whose name are Uni Corn is like having a target painted on yourselves with the inscription: "Look at here, this pony is very suspicious." "If you want to spend extended time in Equestria without being caught you will need new names."

To this the three brothers had no answer. Then Sweetie Belle put up the question, what they from the beginning wished to know: "Why had you come in Equestria at the first place?" Then, the CMC and Zecora expectantly watched the three changelings.

From this question the three colts saddened again, the green covered colt apparently with great sadness replied: "Because there is no other place where
we could’ve go."

For this the fillys also saddened, and Apple Bloom asked:"But what about your family?" But she almost immediately regretted the question, when the black colt seemt to fought back his tears, while drew closer to his brothers, who hugged him in return, trying to comfort their brother.

"I'm sorry if I said something wrong!" Gave Apple Bloom apologetically.

A few minutes later the three brothers slowly calme down and the blonde said: "It’s not your fault. The thing is that the family is not a very pleasant topic for us. It's a long story."

"We want to hear your story" said Scootaloo, then quickly added: "But we understand if you dont want to tell us everything, we just want to know more about you."

"When I'm sad, sometimes it helps to talking it with a friend. Maybe it will be easier for you if you talk about it, but we don’t force you to anything." Added Sweetie Belle her opinion to the conversation.

The changelings sat in silence for a while, probably once again a mute dialogue going on between them about what they should do. Finally the brown changeling began: "This is a very personal thing and not easy to talk about it.We got used to feel each other's feelings and we don’t need words to communicate with each other. However, you saved our lives, while you had no reason to trust in us, therefore we believe you have right to know."

After a few moments of thinking he took a deep breath and began: "To explain what brought us here you have to understand the working of the hives and the determining factors of our race."

After a series of nods he went on: "The changelings, are a race similar to the insects, as you have obviously noticed. The hives are essentially like your towns, each hive give home to a colony. The leader of our race is the so-called High Queen... "

"Chrysalis... " gasped Scootaloo, remembering the changeling queen, who at the wedding almost conquered Equestria.

"Indeed, he is currently the supreme ruler of the changelings." Stated the brown colt, then continued: "But her’s is not the only hive, although she owns the biggest and the strongest among the hives, although her defeat in Canterlot certainly weakened her hive a lot."

"But not Chrysalis is the only queen, each changeling hive has a queen. They are the so called „Vice Queens”, who controls the different hives. In the case of the current queen’s death, if she don’t have a heir, the strongest vice queen will reign as the supreme leader of our race."

While paused Scootaloo whispered to Sweetie, "You can follow this?"

"Mostly, yes." She whispered back. Then they directed their attention back to the speaker.

"A hive’s queen, opposed to your beliefs are not necessarily is the mother of the whole hive. Although a queen can give birth to many children, not all of them are the current queen's childrens, but at the same time the majority of the members of a hive are connected by blood. We can say, that the different hives are made up of large families. Although it sometimes happens that two queens of different hives take in the others subjects for some kind of advantage in exchange for something else, like ssome of their own subjects."

"There are such large families?" Apple Bloom asked, slightly shocked. Shepersonally experienced on the latest Apple Family Reunion, that how many relatives can a pony have,but an entire city with ponies, who are all relatives. It was shocking even to her.

"But if you have such large families, why you have not names?" Scootaloo speak up now.

"The reason is that." Began to say now the green colt. "Because every changeling is connected to the others."

"Oh, you mean like the ants?" Asked curiously Sweetie Belle.

"Yes." He said, a little annoyed for the interruption, but not showed it.

"The hive mind connects our kind, the queens serves as the maintainers of this link. Thank to this mental connection everypony can recognize the others, making the names needless. In the colonies all changelings knows their job and their place in the hive. Only just those members of our race have a name, who have a specifical role in the hive. However they need names, because it sthrengten their self-awareness and their ability to think independently."

"But why only a few changelings have names?" Asked Sweetie.

"The queens falls in this „special” category?" Put up her own question Apple Bloom.

"A changeling can get a cutie mark?" Spoke now Scootaloo, and at her friends glances, she exclaimed: "What! I am curios!" Then sullenly watched her friends.

The cyan maned colt cleared his throat and, when all of them watched him again continued: "In response to your questions, yes, the queens are the most self-aware persons in the hives. No, changelings by their nature could very well adjust to accomplish various tasks. There are changelings who specialize themselves in some way, but that’s all. While we can use shapeshifting to mimic cutie marks, those will be only just part of our disguises. As to the third question, the most of changelings don’t get names, because their place had been defined since a very young age, to them the individuality strange and frightening experience, because the self-awareness weakens the bond with the hive mind."

"Besides a few exceptions, only the queens have significant self-awareness and the changelings whose tasks requires that."

"If this is the case, then why you're so self-aware?" Asked Sweetie Belle.

Now the brown colt took back the role of the speaker.

"It's one of the reasons that eventually forced us to leave our hive." From this they saddened again, and then he said slowly, his words filled with sadness.

"We always had a strong self-awareness, as our mother is the hive’s queen. With the questions wait until i finish!" He shouted angrily, a bit frightening the fillys, who decided to keep their questions restrained and just quietly watched.

"I'm sorry, but it would be difficult to explain this, if you keep interrupting. Back to the subject, yes, our mother is a queen."

He took a deep breath and started again: "Our sisters, since their birth were prepared, so one of them one day take over the leadership of the hive.The females are the dominant in our society."

"Since we were the childrens of a queen, we had to fulfill important positions. We have to point out, that the queens not too caring mothers, from our birth we had to go trough a set of serious training, so one day we could serve the hive properly."

Here, he took a deep breath and, while the black brother at this point visibly foght with his tears quickly started: "However, we were from those rare cases, whom have developed their own personalities and resulting many problems. Our duty would have been to obey without questions, without hesitation."

"But we don’t wanted to give up our personality, but our mother not liked that... "

Here his voice trembled, so quickly the green took over: "In our race, even the changelings with personality only have so much self-awareness as much necessary to their tasks.We however were different, but it meant not much good to us. In our species those who don’t serve the hive properly, as the queen commands, they are redundant and these changelings will not live for too long."

At this point, the three brothers started to shed tears, while their audience also holded back their own tears. Then the blonde continued: "We knew what would happen to us, so we made a decision, what changeling had never did before. We fled from the hive and broke our connection to the hive mind forever, we are now only connected to each other."

"Then we escaped into Equestria. After creating some names what looked to be acceptable, moving from town to town, while the occasional kindness of the ponies could give enough love us to survive."

"However, we must be careful, because we know that the hives’ agents will look for us and if they find us we would be dead. But meanwhile we had to look out, so the ponies not discover us, because we suspected that they would not take our presence very positively. In addition, if they discover us, our pursuers would easily find our tracks. Finally, we tried to go through the forest, to avoid the attention."

"From here, you know the rest." Finished he with a monotone voice.

The three colts at this point openly cried, while the three fillys and one zebra in the room, not knowing what else to do,themselves also tearfully embraced the sobbing changeling colts, silently trying to comfort them.