Other Notable Individuals of the Changeling Courts Pt 1
Princess Imago Avalon
Court Affiliation: Winter (Technically Spring/Autumn)
“HEEEY, EARWIG! WHAT’S UP, YOU FAT OLD C**K SUCKER!” -- Imago to Viceroy Earwig, demonstrating her basic level of respect for others.
“Imago’s a bucking psycho, but she's our big sis, you know... so what can you do?” -- Vordul, on his sister, telling the true events of the pool game incident.
When they say “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”, this is the rotten, worm-infested crabapple they’re talking about.
Every-pony known an Imago Avalon once or twice at some point in their lives. The resident psycho of the group. They’re frightening not just because they’re violent, but because they're extremely unpredictable too. Someone whose brain seems hardwired to explode at any moment, at anypony, for any reason it no reason. One wrong word or glance their way and there will be consequences.
They don't need to do drugs or alcohol. They get off just doing people. Their own sensory addiction. Like when their playing pool and they say you put them off by looking at ‘em (even though you didn’t so much as cast them a glance), so they crack their cue over your head. Then they’ll finish regaling their version of the story to their mates and carelessly fling their pint glass backward off the pub balcony they’re sitting on. Then after the stray glass smashes some mare on the head, they march down the stairs, demand to know who did it and kick some guy in the groin with a warrior cry after they (quite rightly) yell at them, “WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!”
This is who Imago Avalon, the eldest of Chrysalis Avalon, the Great Renegade’s three most well-known nymphs (amidst a sizeable swarm of other lesser known spawns), always has been and will be, going back to the very beginning. Queen Chryssie knew from the start that this one was going to be trouble, she said so herself, after having spent hours struggling excruciatingly to lay her egg, her ovipositor receiving a ghastly gash in the process.
Changeling hatchlings are naturally vicious and have to be handled with care, but Imago proved something else all together. She’d bite, scratch and headbutted a hatchling, any changeling who came within five hooves of her and has been document as the first in generations to outright kill her nursemaid. It was during an ambrosia feeding, some young, inexperienced worker took her eyes off her for one minute and she left the room in a body bag with her jugular torn open. The Praetorian Guard in the room at the time, Echo Echo, successfully intervened and restrained the feral grub in the firm embrace of her foreleg. Imago soon calmed down and fell asleep in the guard’s grip.
Prompted by the incident, Chrysalis eventually came to a rather unorthodox decision regarding her daughter’s upbringing: the young Princess was placed under the charge of the praetorian guard, who had been proven themselves more capable in handling her where the traditional nursemaids failed.
These formative years under the Guards’ care have had the most fundamental impact on the changeling Imago was to become. Nicknaming her ‘Little Chomper’, they succeeded in constructively channeling Imago’s more monstrous urges. Echo Echo, her primary guardian, personally trained her in the arts of shape-shifting and combat from as early as she sprouted legs, not shying away from teaching her the most effective methods to ice a pony. On top of being raised on an intense high-love and high-calorie Praetorian diet for about a decade, she’s over-sized and incredibly strong for any nymph her age.
It’s a shame the Guard couldn’t instill within Imago anything close to resembling discipline. Then again, given who they were dealing with and how this elite military is packed with some of the most violent whack jobs in the Hive, what chance did that ever stand of happening? If anything, they just gave Imago her tools
So now let’s say you're a bulky, pugnacious mini-psycho more than twice the size of your cohorts, and bonus, what do you know? You've got a crown on top of your head. How'd you pass the time whenever the Praetorian let you off the leash of the barracks?
You roam around the Hive with your pack of cronies, stirring up crap and terrorizing and beating the living tar out of the peons, of course. And if they or any grownup try saying anything about it, flash them that clown and they'll quickly shut their traps. The sight of the one or two guards always loitering nearby also does the trick. Even to those with some authority she makes sure to demonstrate her full disrespect.
It's borderline impulsive for Imago. Just look at her relationship with her family. Slug, her brother, she couldn't give two steaming piles of dung about, yet at same point she just up and decided to make her little sister, Pupa, her favourite punching bag. Anytime Pupa says or does something that annoys Imago in the slightest, BAM. Or sometimes she’ll just be sitting there, reading. POW. It’s nigh pointless to ask why Imago targets her so much. Best one can gather is that a weak nerdling like Pupa is just too easy a target to ignore. Even Imago herself doesn’t really know, and more importantly, doesn’t care.
Her relationship with her mother is distant, there’s definitely a wall there between them, most likely due to her upbringing. There’s most likely a part of her that somewhat resents Chrysalis, but for the most part, she doesn’t have much regard for the old mare. Even the crown and the throne she viewed as a means of screwing people over more directly, except this way she could take her issues out onto the world stage as well.
In the ongoing Great Reconciliation and after Chrysalis’ toppling from power, Imago now lives with her family in exile in Mount Ignis as part of the Winter Court, the volcano in which her mother was banished to centuries ago, now converted into a makeshift sub-hive from which her mother’s Royal Government in Exile operates (even though only her mother was officially banished). If anything, amongst the vermin of the Winter Court, Imago is more at home than she’s ever been. Now veering closer to the full-fledged adolescence, here she’s free to exercise every monstrous urge in her body without the royal harness (if only slightly) restraining her. And at least here in this Court, she can pick fights with those who won’t just take her abuse and will give her a worthy fight. So far, under a year since their exile, she’s directly caused at least ten public brawls in several Winter Hives in which there have been fatalities.
Don’t take Imago for some thick-headed brute who only thinks with her hooves, though. She’s got a damn sharp mind and knows how to play some fool. Hell, she’s got an ever-growing list of creatively brutal insults logged in her brain. It’s just that isn’t gonna do much good when you surrender yourself to the ultra-violence and see red as frequently as Imago does.
She’s got a few hobbies too. She plays a black and fuschia guitar, its type magically changing at the turn of a dial, and nopony can deny she’s got chops. Just don’t interrupt her while she’s trying to play; she’s had to have her guitar repaired dozens of times because she keeps using it as her weapon of choice to break over people’s heads. Another pastime of hers is Hoofball, the one thing imported from Equestria into her people’s culture she does like. Changeling Hoofball is dominated by the taller, stronger females of their species and there are virtually no regulations compared to its Equestrian equivalent, so Imago naturally fits right in. She regained her nickname ‘Little Chomper’ after three incidents of her biting off a rival player’s ear.
If she’s never going to be a Queen, and it’s increasingly looking like she never will, then she already has a few potential career paths. However, as Imago can only ever be herself, that’s not what she’s interested in. She doesn’t care about becoming a musician or pro athlete. Becoming head of a criminal syndicate doesn’t appeal to her in the slightest. In all honesty, she never cared all that much about becoming Queen. All Imago cares about is feeding her addiction. To fight, to shove around, and to kill.
You could call Imago the one changeling for whom being banished to the Winter Court was the best thing that could have ever happened to her.
Prince/Captain Polistes Lyonesse / “The Gentlecolt Corsair” / “The Pirate Prince”
Court Affiliation: Autumn
"When you buy a new parachute, tell them the Prince sent you!"
Polistes was born to a Pegasus tinkerer whom Changeling Emperor Blackthorn laid with on a whim. Freewheeling and jovial, and holding to a somewhat noble set of ethics, Polistes is the antithesis of everything a Royal Changeling Spawn of Blackthorn often are -- save for his love of loot and a good fight.
Polistes' previous life as a Pegasus instilled a fascination with all forms of flight: anything from his form's own natural abilities to machine-borne aviation thrilled him, and his mother gleefully encouraged this obsession. Polistes would spend hours sketching out blueprints for revolutionary designs decades ahead of their time, from aircraft concepts to prosthetic wings.
This attracted much ire from Pegasi in the mountain town he and his mother lived in: the mere IDEA of a flying machine was considered deviant, or even outright blasphemy, by many Pegasi at the time. (An absentee father didn’t help their reputations, either.) Despite increasingly dark mumblings around the town, they simply ignored the naysayers and kept on tinkering and experimenting...until things came to a head one night, when a mob of fanatical Pegasi attacked the family workshop.
In the ensuing melee, Polistes’ True Nature manifested itself as he defended his now-aged mother from the angry mob. Taking advantage of the attackers’ fear, the pair managed to escape in their masterpiece: a dirigible airship, cobbled together from scrap and jury-rigged parts. Ramshackle though it was, the revolutionary creation left the hateful town in the dust; hiding in clouds and fog banks to throw off any straggling pursuers, who were desperate to find the “demon” who had escaped their grasp. Not wanting to subject his dear mother to life as a fugitive, Polistes soon helped her find a new, more enlightened settlement to start anew in; taking the airship with him after a tearful goodbye from his beloved mother.
It wasn’t long before Polistes finished his Errance and Blackthorn revealed himself and Polistes’ true origins, promising power and revenge on his zealous pursuers. Polistes accepted the offer immediately... or rather, he seemed to.
His interests hadn’t been solely those of aviation. Polistes had heard old fables and legends of the Unseelie Fae, and knew of their cruelty. Vengeful though he was, he wasn’t going to let his father wipe an entire town off the map - whether to avenge his son's treatment or any other motive. He agreed to let a platoon of Changeling warriors to raid his former home village -- after he “scouted” the place in his airship.
Under cover of night, he quietly returned to the town, warning those who hadn’t been among the mob of what was coming. All he deemed innocent of his exile were ferried out of the town on board the airship to safety, away from the ravenous raiders. When Blackthorn’s promised raiders descended on the town at first light lead by Polistes and his ship, they found the place deserted... save for the members of the mob of fanatics, tied to posts and blindfolded.
They were drained dry and provided a good meal, but it was clear to all what had happened. Blackthorn, though disappointed at his spawn’s defiance and show of mercy to mortals (All of whom he had considered a liability, knowing Polistes' existence, as the Masquerade was still in force at that time), he was nonetheless impressed at his duplicity and quick thinking. He forbade Polistes from joining the Changeling Summer Court, but let him leave in peace, taking a few drones with him.
With a small crew of misfit Changelings, a cobbled-together airship, and an unfamiliar world in front of him, Polistes became one of the first air-pirates. The covert evacuation had stirred something within him: the mob and his TRUE family both saw beings unlike them as lesser, be it heretics and abominations, or food and liabilities. His new form might let him take a few louts who thought that way down...and heck; why not get rich, while he's at it?
Today he is known as 'The Gentlecolt Cosair' or 'The Pirate Prince', hunting the skies for loot and riches with his subjects/gang, “The Wild Cards”... but rarely stealing from those who wouldn’t recover from some lost cargo, and NEVER showing more brutality than is needed. Stories abound of his crew performing medical aid on the passengers and crew of zeppelins they’ve boarded and raided; Polistes has even shot down some of his own pilots for trying to strafe parachuting enemies or bystanders on the ground. He has guided stricken hospital ships to safe ports, once even sending some crew to help deliver a foal on board a luxury liner he had been raiding. (The grateful parents reportedly shook his hoof and thanked him, and were exempted from hoofing over their valuables).
His most daring feat to date, however, has been a stunning raid on a film studio in Applewood. After learning that famed Griffon actress Helga Greywing, star of the classic The Trotese Falcon, was languishing under the brutish director Colton Marentino--barred from quitting by her contract, confined to her trailer most of the day; Polistes and his crew decided to snatch the starlet. Sending in crew disguised as camera-ponies to tip the actress off, the 'Stolen Starlet Caper' was launched.
With their zeppelin and flyers providing a spectacular, heavily-armed distraction, the fake camera crew sneaked onto the set and spirited Miss Greywing out of her trailer. This lead to a harrowing chase throughout the studio--oftentimes in an armored steam-car -- with the apoplectic director leading the charge, throwing a screaming fit as the pirates escaped with his leading lady by ramping their steam-car off a stunt ramp and into a net carried by a team of Changelings. Freed from her contract, Helga lived the pirate high life for a few days, signing autographs for the jubilant crew and even dancing with Polistes in his private quarters late in the evening.
Ever the actress, she even staged an “escape” from the Changeling pirate, which they rehearsed, dramatically leaping through the Ransom's hangar doors and flying back to Applewood...where she then revealed Colton Marentino’s horrid treatment of her, quipping “It’s truly a sad state when getting kidnapped by pirates is a relief!” With the lead actress now a hero for escaping pirates AND the director now disgraced as a brute, it wasn’t a surprise when Helga Greywing herself soon took over the project.
The film, Bitalian Holiday, would become a beloved classic.
Polistes is something of a drifter, and thus doesn’t have much contact with the other Royal Changelings. His brothers in the Summer Court hate him with a demonic passion -- he is undoubtedly a black sheep among Blackthorn’s spawn -- but a steady stream of cash, loot, and treasure acquired in his adventures has placated the Progenitor enough to hold his sons back from going after their prodigal brother. Plus, Blackthorn secretly finds Polistes’ antics amusing: a “dashing rogue” Changeling Prince is quite the novelty, if nothing else.
His theft of an experimental Neighponese plane hasn’t endeared him to Changeling Queen Supia (To say nothing of her sisters or his brothers there), but it’s unlikely she’d eat him alive out of hoof for such a stunt. Polistes isn’t taking any chances, though, and avoids Neighponese airspace whenever possible.
Polistes’ two closest allies/rivals, however, are Overseer Crazy Ant and the pirate princess Captain Mimetidae. Crazy Ant’s isolated island fiefdom and large industrial base make the perfect spot for repairs and refueling, when Polistes doesn’t feel like heading to the many pirate havens and secret airfields he knows of. Crazy is often happy to help out--ever the pragmatist, if he can bargain for a stolen blueprint of some wonderful gadget or shipment of fuel, he’ll let the “Pirate Prince” dock in his airfields. He keeps the pirates at a foreleg’s length, though; not wanting his realm to be seen as a rogue state.
Mimetidae, a fellow pirate--though strictly a seaborne one--approves of her counterpart’s often outlandish adventures and strict code of ethics, but is wary of his love of money and riches. She’ll grit her fangs whenever she reads of him going after someone who ISN’T really all that evil, regardless of his merciful conduct and relatively bloodless methods. She will still join him on a raid on a particularly malicious, and lucrative, target though.
=== Every Captain needs a vessel ===
Polistes’ entire Hive/crew operates out of his flagship, the King’s Ransom -- a massive, ten-engined zeppelin bristling with mounted weapons, armor, and even a launch bay for its compliment of aircraft; two full squadrons of souped-up armed aeroflyers - 'Flighters' - that act as escorts and quick-strike raiders alongside the “natural” flyers like Pegasi, Griffons, and Changelings among his crew.
Polistes himself pilots an experimental plane* he stole in a daring raid on a testing facility in Neighpon. Dubbed the “Problem Child”, the rocket-boosted semi-ornithopter strike-craft can reach speeds only outmatched by exceptionally gifted flyers, and its hydraulic-catapult auto-cannons can shred most targets. (Polistes knows, though doesn’t admit, that he’d likely get destroyed with ease if he engaged exceptionally dangerous flyers like Rainbow Dash in a one-on-one dogfight -- he has no illusions on the limitations of his machine--it WAS only experimental when he stole it, after all.)
The Ransom herself is a relatively recent acquisition. Formally a freighter under Equestria’s Royal Airship Company, until Polistes, disguised as a Griffon high-roller, won her from a high-ranking company executive years ago in a blackjack game in Las Neighgas. (Getting the large and very expensive cargo zep to be offered as gambling collateral in the first place was achieved with a barrage of heavy drinks and smooth-talking.)
A true marvel of magi-tech engineering, the King's Ransom's fire-suppression runes and reinforced gasbags severely reduce the danger of fire, even when the airship must fill up with hydrogen. Many a foe has found a barrage of incendiary rounds, fireballs and even--if the rumors are to be believed--a burst of dragonfire have failed to make the airship burst into flames as expected. Even when severely burned and singed she has managed to limp away and put in for repairs in a friendly port. A slew of minor gravity-nullifying enhancements allow her to carry a larger payload than most lighter-than-air craft her size--including the “Royal Treatment”: a large naval cannon mounted on her underside, capable of blowing fortified walls and hangar doors to smithereens; and discouraging pursuit by naval ships and even airborne monsters. Rumors even persist of an infamous sea serpent near the Taurus Peninsula receiving a nasty wound due to catching an armor-piercing round near the eye.
* (www.aviastar.org/pictures/japa…)
Prince Slug Avalon aka ‘Vordul’
Court Affiliation: Winter (Technically Spring/Autumn)
“YOU EMBARRASSED ME IN FRONT OF HER!” -- Vordul, during the Lake Incident.
After another arduous ordeal popping out her second, larger egg, Chrysalis’ immediate reaction was one of bitter disappointed when, upon hatching, a male grub rolled out from the mess of shell fragments and slime. On top of being a racial supremacist, Chrysalis is shameless in her misandry. In her eyes, males are only worthy as disposable mooks and walking sperm banks.
She may have straight-up devoured the default “worthless” grub then and there, but when she scooped him up in her hooves, mulling over whether or not to pop the little morsel down her gullet like a piece of popcorn chicken, something unfathomable happened. He was adorable. The pudgy mewed for his mother, begging her to care and feed him, and Chrysalis’ withered heart melted like a stick of butter. She ordered the nursemaids to fetch a gallon of ambrosia for him; he lapped up every last drop.
Chrysalis would go on that evening to name the hatchling ‘Slug’. A most unroyal name for royalty, but the Queen’s word was final. She said it was because he reminded her so much of a fat garden slug slowly writhing in her hooves.
Next to his two sisters, Prince Slug has experienced a much more unorthodox of upbringings in the Hive, if not the most sedentary. His gender alone excluded him from a spot in line to the throne and any of the pressures that came with that position. His inherent pudginess was a flimsy excuse for Chrysalis to exempt from military training and service (nopony was going to defy her on this). Academics weren’t his strong suit either, being barely literate and only able to count using his hooves. He could list you all his favourite celebrities and sportsponies without missing a beat.
What sets him apart most from his sisters is how his mother has had the most direct involvement in his upbringing. Slug has spent entire days since hatchlinghood curled half-asleep against his mother in her chambers like some pampered pet, both of them splayed out on her royal rug to indulge in every royal decadence in the book. She drinks wine and smokes from a giant shisha pipe. Slug mindlessly plays on his GameColt as he guzzles all kinds of delights; cakes, live creepy-crawlies and enough love to feed the hive’s entire nymph population. Unsurprisingly, his weight ballooned.
Slug has never been very popular amongst his sisters or his peers. In a society where each member is expected to play their part and contribute to the embetterment of the Hive in some way, shape or form, you’re not going to be that well-like when you’re a massively useless blob of blubber with all the charm and wit of, well, a garden slug. Not that Slug cares. And why would he? All things considered, up until his mother’s dethronement, his life so far has been sweet: Queen Mommy’s favourite, all the love any nymph could want or need and not a damn thing anyling else can do about it. Who would complain?
He even has the audacity to shape an identity for himself as an ‘Original Gangsta’, donning a thick blue Neighke hoodie, a purple beanie, a pair of sports shades and a gold chain necklace. The kind of crap that would earn any other wannabe poser their teeth getting knocked down their throat.
But even before the Great Reconciliation, the Hive Life wasn’t all peaches and cream for the corpulent Prince. In fact, one of the key moments of Slug’s life occurred during this time, taking place approximately one year before the Canterlot Invasion. It was brought about, of course, by the one thing which vexes the males of every species: Girls.
Slug had reached that point in his young life where females no longer seemed ‘icky’ to him. In fact, apart from eating, they became all he could think about. There was one nymph in particular whom he’d become fascinated with: Mimick, the gorgeous daughter of one of the Hive’s Matriarchs. Being the sheltered colt he was, Slug had no experience with the ladies, nor did he exactly have the physique of a Praetorian guard, leaving him to drool over Mimick from afar. His mother assured him none of that mattered:
“You’re royalty, sweetheart. She can’t exactly say ‘no’. Any nymph would be a fool not to throw themselves on you.”
Then ‘the Lake Incident’ happened.
One autumn morning by the green glow of the Hive’s lake, Slug, with all his lil’ gangsta swagger, sauntered up to Mimick and her friends to try and ask her out. Yep, it was as cringe worthy as you’d expect, but Mimick could do only stand there and smile and giggle. His plan was to invite her out on a date on the hive peeks that evening, and Mimick may have awkwardly accepted if, at the moment, Chirps hadn’t intervened. Chirps, a scrawny male nymph of the high-caste and dim-witted miniature brute, also had his eyes on Mimick and he didn’t appreciate Slug trying to move in on his “girl”.
A... ‘scuffle’ (yeah, let’s call it that) broke out between the tub of goo and the shrimpy pissant, which resulted in the former being shoved into the lake in front of the gathering crowd. Now it could’ve ended then and there with the soaked Prince walking off with whatever dignity he had left. But nothing could have prepared anyling for what happened next.
Imago was there when it happened, having been watching the fight out of some detached amusement with her friends on top a nearby slab of rock. Then she heard a nymph shriek, followed by a chorus of screams of horror. She looked back down and this is what she later described to her mother:
“He ate him. Yeah, Slug, uh... he ate Chirps. He just grabbed him, shoved him in his mouth and then he buckin’ swallowed him! ... yeah, I know, it was unreal! I think I saw his jaw unhinge or somthin’, like watching a buckin’ snake eat a gerbil! ...I know! Slug was totally out of his mind!”
Chrysalis kept Slug inside the royal castle/chambers and out of public view for a while after his little ‘incident’. He was pretty shaken up; he tucked himself into his cocoon ‘sleeping bag’ and didn’t leave his mother’s side for days. He swore again and again to his mother that he didn’t mean to do it and Chrysalis promised she believed him, though in actuality, she didn’t really care. She was just taken back by the absurdity of the situation. All she had to contend with was Chirps’ indignant mother demanding justice for her poor baby buggy; she just laughed in her face and told her to buzz off.
The whole affair would work out in Slug’s favour. He got over his guilt pretty quickly after a couple trips to the bathroom. His image as a self-proclaimed savage gangsta finally had some credit, which he could tell by the flash of fear in their eyes every time he bared his teeth. Mimick began to tail him like a pilot fish wherever he went (he soon got tired of her: he gets a new GF every six months or so). One day, Slug appeared walking about the hive with new gang, sporting a new golden chain that read the word, ‘VORDUL’. That was his new street name: Vordul, the Voracious.
These days, in the wake of his mother's fall from power, Vordul resides with his family in the sub-hive/redoubt of Mount Ignis in exile. He’s still the same wannabe gangsta he always was, complete with his interchangeable Moll and posse of fellow wannabes, but he at least now lives in a Court where he can pursue his chosen career without any royal shackles holding him down.
His life goal is now to rise through the ranks of the Winter Court’s criminal hierarchy, become the head of his own syndicates, crush the rival syndicates and become undisputed ruler of the whole, entire court. So yeah, perfectly reasonable expectations.
Queens Mara and Bunta/Queen Marabunta Avalon
Court Affiliation: Spring
"We are..."
"...one and the same..."
Queens Mara and Bunta are unique among queens by virtue of being identical twin sisters, born from the exact same egg. As such the two are physically identical in every way except for magic color (Mara's is red and Bunta's is blue). Personality wise, the two are relative opposites, with Mara being more hotblooded and energetic while her sister is more stoic and composed. Also relatively unique is they rule a single hive rather than two separate hives.
Their primary feeding style is symbiotic, with their drones often joining in sibling-like relationships with ponies, pretending to be twin siblings of theirs. Prior to the breaking of the Masquerade, this was often done simply by replacing a twin sibling that had died of natural causes to continue living on, often with the sibling's blessing. Now a days, it's done in a far more mutually accepting 'as close as siblings' fashion, and many previous 'sibling' sets have fully accepted each other as 'blood brothers/sisters'.
The hive also has a small peculiarity of having a rather high number of twin births.
The two have several unique qualities as a result of their nature as twin sisters. The first of which is telepathy, the two being able to speak and communicate with one another mentally at any time no matter how far they are apart. However, the strangest ability their twin nature grants them is a quirk involving their transformation ability. Namely, they can merge together via transformation into a single gestalt queen known as Queen Marabunta. This merged queen is both stronger than her components by a huge margin, but twice their size and able to assume forms larger than would otherwise be possible for a Changeling Queen to (though loses access to smaller forms), and has larger love reserves. Marabunta is a gestalt of her two component's personality, being a composed, well rounded being.
This ability is expanded into their hive, who are all capable of this merging ability, though more limited than their queens are. These gestalts have a fusion of their components personalities, and is often seen as being a deep personal connection between the components, but can be exceptionally unstable. EXTREMELY close bonds may result in a 'permafusion' of the two that remains merged permanently. However, they can also perform this fusion with their Queens at their command, forming larger and more powerful Queens. The largest, formed from the entire hive merged with their queens being the same size and relative power as Queen Supia, but also rather mentally unstable and having a slightly slower reaction time due to all the merged minds composing it.
Queen Ithomiini Avalon/Movie Bug
Court Affiliation: Spring
"Ponies love the films, darling."
Queen Ithomiini is one of the younger Queens and one of the most 'modern' in her methods. Her father was a buff for the budding film industry, and passed the love on to his daughter. From a young age, the Queen gained a very large appreciation for the arts, and so when she established her hive, she decided to make it a little different.
Hive Ithomiini is better known to the outside world as Movie Bug Studios, a rather famous and influential film company. Her subjects serve primarily as special effects artists and actors, though some are directors and writers and Ithomiini is the theater's head, in her guise of Movie Bug. Normal pony actors, directors, writers, and so on are also hired. Using Changeling Shape-shifting and abilities, they've managed to make very well received films, which also plays into Queen Ithomiini's plan for her people to feed. They feed off the admiration and love of the fans of their movies and performances as their primary source of nourishment, which thus far has been working extremely well for them.
Ithomiini is somewhat egotistical, but generally nice and a good boss to her subordinates, as she has too much respect for the craft to be cruel to those working hard on it. She can be a bit of a perfectionist due to this same mentality, which has been good for her movies thus far. She occasionally acts herself just for fun and is very involved with her hive/studio's operations.
Following the breaking of the Masquerade, things haven't really changed all that much for the hive. They still make films and to some degree they've become even more popular, due to them being made by something so interesting. Funnily enough, some of the actors working as Movie Bug Studios claim they weren't surprised, as some of the effects seemed almost too good to have been made by ponies - Because they weren't.
Daguva Lyonesse, the Bloody King
Court Affiliation: Winter
"Survival of the fittest is nature's game! And we're all players!"
One of the very few Summer Court Changelings to be 'Condemned to Winter', Daguva Lyonesse is particularly infamous for several reasons. The first is being a Deviant, namely an albino, which caused many of his siblings to mock him. This continued until one day until Daguva, with a serene smile on his face, tore one of his brother's horn off and impaled him with it. Few underestimated Daguva after that. This is the second reason for his infamy: Daguva is psychopathic even by the Summer Court's standards.
The exact circumstances of Daguva's birth are unknown, except he's one of the older Kings, if not one of the 'First Spawns' (records are hazy). What is known is he is never without a smile on his face, and rarely without blood on his hooves. Violent and sadistic, Daguva has a very social darwinist worldview, with some noting he and King Brachion likely would've gotten along well. Daguva, however, sees nature in a different way: namely that survival of the fittest is a game. The weak only exist to be 'points' for the strong to claim by destroying them.
This is reflected in how his hive functions: each member of the hive has a ranking, with an annual 'game' being played to decide who gets to move up in rank, with enhancements freely given to those who progress in rank. The top rank then gets to challenge him, with the reward for victory being devouring him and taking his place. This game, however, is one of the reasons he was banished. Namely, it was seeing how many 'prey' species (IE, anything with love in their heart) could be drained of love and killed in the allotted time in a variety of twisted ways. In essence, King Daguva conditioned his hive to be an entire hive of serial killers. This eventually got him banished, as it soon became clear Daguva didn't care at all about the Masquerade, or even the continued existence of the species the Changelings fed on. Daguva managed to escape death by surviving his father's attempted execution without his smile ever leaving his face, an act which impressed his father enough to let him live, albeit on the hit list of his siblings.
However, Daguva's reign of terror did eventually end when an unknown, and quite powerful Autumn Court Changeling (some legends suggesting the Amber Royal themself) managed to best him, resulting in the Bloody King and his hive being sealed away in stasis where they supposedly remain to this day.
Daguva's appearance is unmistakable and a stark contrast to most Changelings. Being an albino, his exoskeleton is stark white in color, and his most commonly worn regalia being gold. He resembles a stag beetle in his appearance and constantly has a smile on his face. Even his pony disguises are known for possessing snow white coats. Daguva, being an older Changeling King, is also incredibly powerful, and is well known for having the ability of Pyrokinesis. His physical durability, or at least force of will, was sufficient enough to survive an execution attempt by his father, though badly injured.
Daguva's current whereabouts are unknown, but it is believed he still remains dormant in his prison, waiting the day he can be released upon the world and continue his twisted game.
Xestobium Lyonesse
Court Affiliation: Winter
"When vengeance is all that remains, nothing else matters."
Xestobium was one of the notable members of the Summer Court who was not driven by deceit and more nefarious ends, but that did not make him by any means benevolent. Quite the opposite.
Xestobium was born to a knight of a now-destroyed kingdom. His early life was uneventful until his awakening to his True Nature, but unlike most Changeling Kings, he genuinely loved his people...that all changed when a Dragon attacked and leveled his kingdom, killing his family and costing him a front leg. Despite this, his Awakening gave him the power needed to prevail, and he slew the dragon before he underwent his Errance, which ended with his True Father escorting him into the ranks of the Summer Court, where he managed to create a magical prosthetic to replace his lost limb.
Xestobium at first appeared more noble, seeking out malignant dragons and slaying them, with he and his hive feeding off the love of those he saved. While most Changelings are no fans of Dragons, Xestobium was even more so and far more fanatical in his hatred, which would inevitably increase upon learning of the historical enmity between the two species. However, his hatred only grew until it festered into something... maniacally obsessive.
When he declared he would not rest until Dragonkind were extinct, most of his siblings laughed or mocked him; after all, if that were something the Summer Court was capable of, it would've been done. It's not like they hadn’t attempted this before - The Time of Broken Scales was the closest they had come to achieving that end - but even then, it had taken the resources of the entire Court, with their sire/grand-sire directing their schemes and efforts. How could Xestobium possibly hope to succeed by himself, where all their other attempts had not (or yet to) bore fruit?
Unfortunately, unaware of the grief, loss and rage that had consumed his heart, they had no clue how utterly insane their brother had become beneath his easy going and generally composed surface. And to one devoid of reason, no goal would seem hopeless or impossible to accomplish.
It would soon come to light when Xestobium stole massive amounts of explosives and unstable magical artifacts and blew up an entire island with them. This was at first believed to be due to the dragons living there, but Queen Dazzleglow soon approached Emperor Blackthorn with news that caused Blackthorn to take a personal interest in seeing Xestobium's plan thwarted: the island was the first of several major mana focuses along the continent of Draconia, Leyline convergence points or ‘nexuses’. If all were detonated and a proper ritual casted, then the entire 'Ring of Fire' (a highly volcanically active zone formed from plate boundaries which made the area inhospitable to most species but paradise to the dragons) would be set off all at once in a cataclysmic event that would likely destroy the Dragon Lands.
However, due to the nature of the Ring of Fire, many territories the Hives of the Summer Court either inhabited, conquered or had stake in would also be destroyed. It was eventually revealed that the mad King had come to view his own kind to be as much blights on the world as the Dragons and desired their destruction as well. After all, they would destroy kingdoms to advance their power - how different were they from the dragons, who would destroy kingdoms out of greed?
Things were even worse than that, as Dazzleglow would reveal: if such a detonation was to occur, it would essentially trigger a mass extinction event via a volcanic ice age. It's unknown if Xestobium was aware of this fact, or would even care if he knew, but one thing was certain: the survival of the Changeling race is now threatened, as is everyone else, and survival is a cornerstone of the Changeling Creed.
While the exact details of their communication were unknown, what is is Blackthorn agreed to some pre-agreed alliance with his Spring Court counterpart - presumably through the Throne Accords - and descended on Xestobium's position with both Courts in tow, with all but one of the leyline points having been prepared for his ‘Final Reset'.
However, by this point Xestobium had already run afoul with both Captain Mimetidae Avalon and Captain Polistes Lyonesse. After a series of fights that saw the two realize both were outmatched by Xestobium individually, the two joined forces and engaged him in a final battle, with the rest of his hive fighting their crews until the courts arrived and swiftly overwhelmed the now Winter Court hive alongside them, with Dazzleglow pointing out how three of the four Courts were, however briefly, aligned. After a fierce showdown in the caldera of a volcano, Mimetidae and Poliste managed to bring down Xestobium and sabotage his ritual before it could set off the detonation.
Xestobium found himself confronted with his father, along with Empress Blackrose Titania Avalon and many Kings AND Queens. Blackthorn admitted he was impressed, and to some degree proud when Xestobium refused to go quietly and flung himself against odds he couldn't hope to win against both Changeling Progenitors, but after a brief, one-sided struggle, the two obliterated the King.
Xestobium was noted as having a rather affably attitude, being rather sane by his Court's standards on the outside, inside he was consumed by utter hatred and rage, both for Dragons and ultimately his own kind to a genocidal degree. Blackthorn also admitted Xestobium was one of his more cunning and intelligent children, having managed to deceive the majority of his family as to what his true goals are. Dazzleglow has admitted she's uncertain if that included Blackthorn or if Blackthorn knew of them but used it as a means to force Blackrose to join forces with him at least once. Regardless, the fact his endgame came so close to success despite the forces assembled against him shows how intelligent he was. Above all else, Xestobium does not know the meaning of quit, even when confronted by odds he had no way of winning. In fact, Blackthorn even notes his self-destructive charge may have been a last ditch attempt to set off his endgame by using his Primordial Quintessence released by his death to set it off, but Blackthorn countered this with a prepared spell.
In terms of combat ability, Xestobium was raised from birth to be a warrior, and was a trained knight by the time his awakening happened. Afterwards, he continued to train and grow in skill to the point of being able to overwhelm Captain Mimetidae Avalon and Captain Polistes Lyonesse individually, and push them united. This was aided by his prosthetic limb, which was enchanted and imbued with countless artifacts and a powerful weapon as a result. Even with it shattered in the final fight, he had a normal prosthetic hidden beneath it to continue the battle.
While defeated, Xestobium proved himself to be a dangerous foe that proved a threat to the world at large. And owing that his Hive was loyal to him even to the end, there may be some surviving subjects who might wish to carry on where he had failed...
Princess Apterus, the Accursed Child
Court Affiliation: Formally Uncatagorized, as she was never officially accepted into any/Spring
“I will have what’s mine returned!”
Many wonder given the hatred between the species if Prince/King Thorax, the Sanctified One and Dragon Lord Ember are indeed the first of the two to ever bury the hatchet and form any kind of relationship, be it platonic or otherwise. They are simply the first ACCEPTED case.
For the first case, one need look no further to the Tragedy of Princess Apterus, product of the forbidden love of a Changeling Queen and a Dragon Lord, which now stood as proof of why meddling in affairs of the heart can have disastrous consequences.
Apterus's mother Queen Acherontia was born via a member of the Crystal Empire royal family, and always noted for being 'selfish', even by herself. This did not mean she didn't love her family and hive, but it did mean that she put her own personal desires above what anyone else thought of her. This included her pursuit of Dark Magic, becoming one of the most adapt in either Court at its mastery, but despite what many of her sisters would say, she did not become corrupted by it, even if she did experience concealed physical deformities from its constant use. This made her very powerful among her siblings, but also feared and disliked. Her lack of concern for other's feelings towards her became most apparent when she began a secret love with a Dragon Lord named Vulcan, who loved her with all his heart. From their forbidden love was born Apterus, to this date the first known Dragon/Changeling hybrid. Her very existence, once it was made known, quickly became a point of fear and loathing.
The racial conflict between her parents' species was naturally a chief reason for this, but the other reason was her potential. Like her mother she would possess the magical strength and cunning of a Royal Changeling, like her father she would possess the sheer strength and power of a Dragon. Like her mother love could make her stronger, like her father greed could spark incredible growth. The sheer destructive potential of the child made both Courts and Dragon Queen Tiamat see her as a threat.
Due to the hatred between the races, neither would permit the other to decide the fate of the child, for fear the other would somehow use them as a weapon against their side. The end result was...catastrophic. For her part, Changeling Empress Blackrose admitted it was one of the events that had ultimately fully broken her bitterness and tempered her hatred towards those who wronged her.
Not long after her existence is exposed, Dragons and Changelings of both Courts descended upon Hive Acherontia, all three having their own intentions and fighting both one another and the might of the two rulers of the hive. In the end, Blackrose and Dragon King Bahamut both ordered their side enough was enough and sealed their star crossed children away, as much as punishment for what they'd done... and to protect them from those more wrathful than them. To their credit, they imprisoned the two lovers together, sharing the terrible burden and any subsequent regrets.
As for Apterus, she was nowhere to be found, and was believed to be killed in the crossfire. What no one knew was that she had been taken by a member of the Summer Court, one King Sanguinea, would kidnap her and raise her to be his weapon. To say Sanguinea was a poor father is a gigantic understatement, as even his own brothers considered him more fit for the Winter Court than their own with his treatment of his subjects and offspring, earning him the title of 'The Slaver King'. Apterus throughout her entire childhood likely never heard the word love directed her way, much less freely given, rather it had to be taken by draining if she was to live at all. Sanguinea treated the child as a weapon, not a living being.
This resulted in Apterus's mental state being incredibly unstable, having never matured mentally, emotionally, or morally from childhood despite the facade of her father's stoic personal slave driver she played in the hive. But for over hundreds of years, Apterus was used by her father for this role and as an assassin, unaware of her true nature or actual power and concealed as a Common Changeling. Sanguinea's end goal was let loose the beast he'd caged beneath the surface when it best suited him... but that was not what happened.
After the breaking of the Masquerade, Apterus saw several of the Queens who'd attacked her mother's hive when she was an infant...causing strange memories to begin surfacing. For the first time in her life, she began to search and look for answers...and found them in the form of her own room as a child, left abandoned in Hive Acherontia after its surviving population was assimilated into another Queen's hive, complete with a picture of her in her loving parents' arms, love she had never experienced in her entire life. As a result, she finally confronted her 'father'...and he had the arrogance to say she should've thanked him, as he was the only being to ever have a use for her. Apterus snapped, her true hybrid form unleashed for the first time since childhood with a roar that shook the entire hive. By the time Sanguinea's subjects arrived, they found their King nothing but a drained dry husk of exoskeleton on the throne room floor and a huge hole in the wall. When she next appeared, she'd undergone molt into her winged, imago stage.
What would follow would be a destructive rampage towards her Aunt that currently ruled her mother's subjects and the Dragon Lord currently in possession of her father's Flight, leaving ash and love drained shells in her wake until finally Blackrose and Bahamut released her parents in hopes they could talk her down...who sadly had to put down their mad daughter in the end, but Blackrose, in recompense, had several fellow deities take the hybrid's soul and reincarnate her as their child once again. Where they are, no one knows. They merely want to be left alone, though Acherontia did forgive her mother and officially rejoin the Spring Court.
Apterus was a sweet child in her mother's words, but after the abuse suffered by Sanguinea, she became a psychotic, rampaging berserker, filled with wrath and hatred...but also little more than an abused child in a body with far too much power. Notably, when her parents came to stop her, she nearly was talked down and acted like any child reunited with her parents would...until stopping her warpath was brought up, at which point she resumed it, forcing her parents to stop her...to which she reacted as a child who can't comprehend her beloved parents harming her. Upon recovering her knowledge of her true nature, she became obsessed with reclaiming her mother and father's thrones...even if it meant destroying their hive and flight in the process.
Apterus, being a hybrid, has the shapeshifting, magical abilities, and love consuming abilities of her mother and the fire breathing, sheer strength and durability, and greed growth of her father. This makes her incredibly dangerous and powerful, enough that she made short work of her adopted father and was described as a 'one mare army' in her rampage. It is believed she could reduce kingdoms to rubble by herself. She is also inclined to the love draining ability Changelings possess, but due to her unhinged nature and sheer power, is far more liberal in its application. Her singleminded, all consuming desire for her mother's throne and revenge also caused her to rapidly undergo greed growth, turning her into full grown size very rapidly. While lacking in skill and anything resembling grace, her sheer power and unhinged nature alone made her a powerful and dangerous force and major threat.
Apterus and Xestobium were recently sighted in a speech by Dazzleglow imploring both sides of the Dragon/Changeling conflict to finally try and move past their hatred...as it is beginning to breed monsters, as it seems hatred nearly always does.
One can only hope that the reincarnated Apterus may be a vanguard of a future where the old grudge between her parents' peoples is finally laid to rest.
Diversus Lyonesse/Demon King Dynastinae
“We will crush and conquer all beneath our hooves! That is our right, as king and titan both!”
Court Affiliation: Winter
Changeling Emperor Blackthorn has on several occasions been 'inspired' by his counterpart Changeling Empress Blackrose's children and attempted to replicate them. Diversus is one such example; however, he was one that Blackthorn would ultimately deem a colossal failure, quite literally so.
Born not long after Queen Supia grew to her full size, Diversus's mother was an infamous Neighponese witch named Dākusutā, a master of dark magic who recruited the aid of a Daiyokai for similar reasons to Supia's father (Presumably manipulated to do so by Emperor Blackthorn), and likewise rapidly grew to kaiju size, developing traits on his person similar to Marauder Ants found in the region which mirrored Supia's hornet ones.
This, however, is where Diversus began showing qualities that ultimately got him branded a failure and Condemned to Winter. Diversus's mother had a pronounced influence on him, and she was a follower of the ideology known as the Hydianism, and was member of one of many witch groups following the beliefs of First Age with Hydia and her family. This lead to her desiring overt conquest and destructive evil than the more underhanded and manipulative ways of the Summer Court, which Diversus inherited and pursued against his own father's advice. As such, he instead began amassing his Hive as a conquering army with intent of conquering and ravaging Neighpon outright rather than do something his kin may have done.
Since like Supia, he was mistaken for a Yokai and thus his doing so likely would not fracture the Masquerade, Blackthorn permitted this... until Diversus dared assert that he would attempt to conquer the entire world likewise, including the Spring Court, crushing all and any who would stand in his way. Blackthorn responded by Condemning Diversus to Winter, as such open warfare with his kin would more likely shatter the Masquerade, and thus was undesirable (The implicit threat to Blackthorn’s Beloved is speculated to be an additional motive in the Changeling Emperor's decision). As a result, when Diversus and Supia came to blows, the latter standing in the way of his conquest of Neighpon, and the more experienced Queen defeated and sealed Diversus away along with his hive, Blackthorn figuratively shrugged and told his Scions to let Diversus have the fate he made for himself.
However, in the present day, when the Sixth Demon King, an insectoid dragon with the ability to spawn armies of lesser Yokai, awoke and went on the rampage, it accidentally broke Diversus's seal and set him free. Later on, during a battle between the Demon King and Gamarea, he ambushed the Demon King from behind while it grappled with Gamarea and used magics learned from his mother to cast a dark spell. The Changeling King and Fallen-Spawn Demon merged into one, with Diversus's consciousness at least at first in control, renaming himself Demon King Dynastinae, and likewise merging his hive with the Demon's Yokai into a new army. Already weakened from his fight with the Sixth Demon King, Gamarea was beaten and seemingly killed by the newly born fusion.
Dynastinae's next act was brazen even by Summer Court Standards: he gave a challenge to Blackthorn himself, believing he was now powerful enough to defeat the Emperor one on one and seize control of the Summer Court. However, Blackthorn merely chuckled and sent a reply: you couldn't beat a mere Queen, why should the Emperor take such a challenge seriously?
Enraged, Dynastinae made a warpath towards Supia's hive for a rematch, where the two would face off in battle. While Supia fought valiantly, it soon became apparent the merged King had the upper-hoof. At the same time, it began to show that Orochi's malevolent influence was beginning to seep into Dynastinae's mind like a virus, slowly driving him more and more mad as things continued until he was like a rabid beast. Thankfully, before Dynastinae could defeat Supia, a revived Gamarea soared in and pounded him with a barrage of fireballs, forcing him back. As the two battled, Dynastinae attempted to send his army into the fray...only for them to be wiped out by the Neighponese military in a tactical use of a specialized mana lure and heavy artillery. This enraged Dynastinae and distracted him long enough for Gamarea to snap off his horn, only to be met with chaotic magic bursts. Thankfully, at this point, Mothryu and Battryu arrived and began bombarding Dynastinae. The four kaiju eventually managed to overcome and obliterate the fusion beast.
It should be noted that after his death, no sign of Diversus's demi-god soul could be located, leading many to conclude it has been swallowed up by Orochi's malevolent spirit. This caused Supia to have a moment of sympathy for him, as even someone as vile as him didn't deserve that.
Despite his warmongering and aggressive ways, and largely following the tenets of his mother's ideology, it should be said Diversus did genuinely care for his hive and those in it and even in his power maddened state, he was enraged by their destruction. Some had wondered the reasons for this, but with Diversus's destruction, the truth of his sentiment for them may never be known.
Queen Theraphosa Avalon
"We must fight for those who cannot fight for themselves."
Court Affiliation: Spring
While in general an average Changeling King is larger and stronger than the average Queen but are counterbalanced by their numbers and better ability to work together, there are exceptions. Queen Theraphosa is one of those.
Theraphosa's father was a member of the Cloudsdale Royal Legion. Growing up, she was heavily influenced by her father and the warrior culture he was part of, and grew up a 'Warrior Princess' heavily idolizing the Rose Guard and her father's illustrious company. This left her a warrior through and through, but with a heroic heart, which she often associates with Flash Magnus, the Legionnaire of Bravery and member of the Pillars of Equestria, as she had met him and in some ways considered him in a guise and gotten to know him well. This makes her probably one of the best combatants among the Changeling Queens and as adapt in combat as any King, a rarity among her sisters.
Theraphosa also grew up in another way: namely she inherited her father's body type, who was a very large stallion. This makes her huge even by Changeling Royal standards, about a head or two taller than the average Queen and even taller than a fair number of Kings, and all muscle. Puck has joked that where the Changelings help inspired the modern Fae, she inspired the Amarezons, and that is not far off of her appearance, as even with chitin for skin she is a tall, muscular, but still beautiful Queen. Among her sisters, only Supia is larger, but that is the case with nearly every Changeling alive.
The Amarezon comparison is also present in Theraphosa's personality, as she is while heroic and protective in nature, still loves a good fight and is incredibly well versed in the art. She travels the world, hunting down monsters that prey on the innocent and she and her hive feed off the resulting admiration and love. This does make some comparisons to Xestobium, but unlike them she is driven by the love of those she protects, not hatred of those she fights. She actually was among those furious with the treatment of Acherontia. However, sometimes she has 'chronic hero syndrome' and her fight loving nature can sometimes get her in trouble.
Notably, Theraphosa despises the Scions of Hurricane and other Pegasi Tribalist groups for tarnishing the Pegasi of the era she was born from.
In addition to the normal abilities of a Queen, Theraphosa is very physically strong and agile for her size compared to many of her sisters due to her warrior life style. She is skilled with many weapons used by the Rose Guard and Royal Legions, with her preferred melee weapon being a Romane Gladius paired with a round shield as compliment. She is skilled in crossbows of many types, as well as more conventional bows, and has gotten into other modern weapons as well. Her skill is such that she is now among the Rose Guard's trainers and trains many of her sisters who seek combat training as well. Including Mimetidae, who loves her big sister for being 'bad flank'.
Theraphosa's hive also inherited her large height, all being exceptionally tall and the warriors held to their leader's high standards for combat. In the ongoing Post-Masquerade Crisis and during the Storm King Crisis, Theraphosa and her warrior Changelings had been on the front-lines of many wars and battles in defense of Changeling Hives, the allies of the Spring Court and the wider world together with other Changelings and even Non-Changelings, quickly earning themselves a renown reputation for both martial skills and noble character.
With Flash Magnus's return, Theraphosa has gotten in contact with him and the two get along well.
