//------------------------------// // Recap // Story: To Be a Changeling // by PlagueRat //------------------------------// Once upon a time, hidden within a lush forest, there lived a group of creatures known as changelings. Within their kingdom, in their comfortable hive, they worked and played happily together while under the protection of their beautiful and caring queen. Thanks to the plentiful love from the ponies and the land surrounding them, every changeling went to bed contented with full bellies. Because of this, their numbers began to increase. To compensate for the multiplying population new sections had been added to the hive until it eventually towered high above the forest canopy; but, as the changeling’s kingdom grew, the flora and fauna around their home diminished. The bountiful forest withered away, the soil turned barren, and the ponies that nourished the changelings disappeared. To compensate for their loss, groups would venture out vast distances to forage and return with whatever meager sustenance they could find. Nevertheless, this soon proved not to be enough and the changelings increasingly went to bed with rumbling stomachs. For a very long time this went on and the gnawing unrelenting hunger began to take its toll on the changelings. Distraught at her subjects plight the caring queen searched far and wide, seeking a means to ease their aching bellies. She found it in the neighboring kingdom of Equestria. Now, even though Equestria overflowed with love, the ponies that lived there didn’t want to share any of it with the changelings. No, the ponies thought the changelings were monsters. So much so that if one dared to reveal their true form, at best the ponies would flee in terror and at worst they would attack the poor changeling. Asking their ruler, the Alicorn Princess of the Sun, for help would have been pointless as well. She was so cruel that she had banished her own sister to the moon for one thousand years.    Left with little choice and a starving nation, the changeling queen had to take drastic measures. If the ponies wouldn’t share their love, they would have to steal it. When the scouts had returned with word of a grand royal wedding the perfect opportunity had presented itself. A covert mission was planned. With little concern for her own safety, the queen alone infiltrated the capital city of Canterlot located at the very heart of Equestria. Once there she captured the Sun Alicorn’s adopted niece, the Alicorn Princess of Love, and carefully secreted the pony away. Deep under the city she was hidden so that the queen could take on her form and prepare the way for her subjects. Even the Alicorn’s own fiancé was fooled. Everything was going according to plan, until the groom’s possessive younger sister arrived. A minor inconsistency in the disguised queens’ mannerisms caused the purple unicorn to grow suspicious and she would go on to cause a great deal of trouble for the changeling queen over the next few days. Fearful of an eminent discovery, the queen was left with little choice but to seal the unicorn away to protect her identity. Unfortunately the unicorn was more fanatical than anyling could have predicted. The purple menace returned after freeing the Alicorn of Love and together the ponies exposed the poor queen as a changeling. Angered at being so easily deceived, the Alicorn of the Sun attacked with her immeasurable power and the queen was forced to defend herself. The two rulers clashed horn to horn, magic against magic. However in the end it was the Sun Alicorn who lay defeated, thanks to all the love the queen had been gathering throughout her mission. At their ruler’s triumphant call, the changelings swarmed and quickly overpowered the city’s remaining defenses. But the selfishness of the ponies can not be understated.  When the queen had unintentionally lowered her guard, happy at finally being able to witness her subject’s sate their hunger again, they used the distraction to their advantage. Creeping over to her groom to be, the Alicorn of Love weaved a terrible spell by using a combination of her love magic and his proficiency for magical shields. A vile barrier that only affected changelings suddenly exploded outward, rapidly expanded and sent everyling violently flying away in all directions. Many were never seen again… Broken hearted, the queen along with her remaining changelings regrouped and limped home to their hive. What love they did manage to harvest was divided up, given mostly to the hungry nymphs and the wounded. Blaming herself for the failure, the queen became withdrawn and spent much of her time dwelling on the cruel ponies. Bitter thoughts slowly wormed their way into her mind and interlaced with her plans at finding a way to feed her subjects. A new stratagem was developed, one that wouldn’t involve just replacing a single pony royal. Infiltrators and scouts permeated the villages, towns and cities of Equestria in greater numbers than ever before; all waiting patiently for the perfect time to strike. When that moment arrived, they pounced and this time not just one alicorn was captured, but all the most powerful ponies of Equestria. Then, not leaving anything to chance, the eleven ponies in total had been quickly cocooned and transported back to the hive. Still, a group came to rescue the ponies; two unicorns, a changeling traitor and a creature that embodied the very essence of chaos. The traitor used his knowledge of the hive to help the group sneak inside and for a short time they went undetected. However, vigilant changelings soon spotted the intruders and the creature of chaos was the first to be subdued. Next followed the apprehension of the weaker of the unicorns, cornered while trying to create a distraction. Then the traitor tried to disguise himself to buy more time for the last interloper; the queen saw right through his chicanery. A few moments later the final trespasser was discovered. But despite everything going perfectly it seems fate had an enmity toward the changelings. Performing a forbidden secret ritual while under the direction of the unicorn, the traitor transformed himself into something alien. The unicorn then ensorcelled many of the other changelings around her, corrupting them too, and the resulting toxic magic it created caused an explosion that destroyed the throne room. Battered and bruised, the queen beheld a horrifying sight once she freed herself from the rubble. Her seat of power had been obliterated and the captives had been freed; but it was what became of her cherished subjects that pained her the greatest. They had been warped just like the traitor and now stood against her, at the command of the ponies. The patronizing unicorn tried to manipulate the forlorn queen as well; and thinking she was the last of her kind, that there was nothing left for her, the queen almost gave in. But then a great rebellious fire roared to life within her and she rejected the unicorn’s attempt to dominate her will. Knocking away the unicorn’s encroaching hoof and retreating, the queen vanished into the wilderness as fast as her wings could take her. Alone, she traveled aimlessly across the lands of Equestria, harvesting what love she could gather along the way. Eventually she reached the boundaries of the Everfree Forest and knowing the local ponies feared those woods, took refuge within them. It was here the queen reached the lowest point of her long eventful life, standing on the brink of plummeting into a well of depression and paranoia. Then a voice called out to her. It was a changeling. An uncorrupted changeling. The shocked queen inquired where she came from and how she found her. She was told a tale about how the changeling had been away, collecting love for the hive and returned to find it inhabited by mutated versions of her former hivemates. They surrounded her and tried to convince her to join them, even calling upon their bizarre looking king to help covert her. Terrified, she tried to flee but they pursued, repeatedly spouting about how much better her life would be alongside them. Mercifully their king had called them off after it became apparent she would not give in. Once free, she detected the queen’s pheromone trail and decided to follow it. Overjoyed, the queen embraced her fellow changeling; and soon more began to arrive, each with their own stories about why they rejected the traitor’s invitations. All in all almost three dozen returned to her and together they started a new home under the ruins of an ancient castle lost to the forest centuries ago. Before long, the Everfree Hive had been established. With a roof over their heads and infiltrators harvesting nourishment once more the queen decided it was necessary for her to bare a new brood; her first in a very long time. She brought thirteen little eggs into the world, each dutifully tended to over the next few months by herself and two devoted caretakers. Little did they know, one of those eggs harbored a larva that was very different from the rest. Normally a newly hatched changeling would start its life hissing loudly to be fed; the first one that hatched this time did not. Instead it acted afraid of its surroundings and refused to eat. This greatly confused the caretakers and so they asked the queen for aid. She too was bewildered by the little larva; but after spending time with the hatchling, she became intrigued at how quickly it learned and adapted. Taking a special interest in the little larva, the queen personally fed it a special diet and called for engrossing toys to be collected to keep it entertained. For most of the day she would carry it along with her so it could observe her and learn; and so by the time it was ready to spin its cocoon, the larva and its mother had formed a deep bond. Everything was going wonderfully for the hive and it appeared as if better times were on the horizon... But then a new evil slithered from the shadows, primed to unleash a contemptible plot to sow discord. As the queen slumbered in her chamber and the larva were safely going through their metamorphosis, a detestable fiend crept into the nursery. He attacked the unfortunate caretakers, leaving them incapacitated and helpless to watch as he advanced on the unaware cocoons. He took one and absconded into the night. What he did to the rest, well, it was something only a true monster could do… It didn’t take long for the crime to be discovered and when the queen was alerted, the news sent her into an anguish fueled rage. Meanwhile, not far from the forest, the fiend had abandoned the last cocoon to the elements, hanging it from a tree outside of a nearby pony settlement. A group of young creatures happened upon it and, knowing not what it was, brought it back to their school where it hatched under their curious observation. What emerged from the cocoon surprised the creatures because it was not just a normal nymph, but a little changeling queen; and a very confused one at that. Shocked at the sight of her unknown voyeurs, and with no other changelings present, the little queen did her best to scare away the strange creatures. They took flight at her display of hissing and rapidly buzzing wings, only to return with an alicorn to help. But the nymph had been warned by her mother about the alicorns and did her best to keep the purple wretch at bay. However alicorn’s are deceitful and this one quickly came up with a plan. She summoned a corrupted changeling and instructed her to try and trick the little nymph into thinking they were all friendly. They brought her food and distracted her with playful animals. If it wasn’t for the arrival of the worried queen and her guard, the purple alicorn’s plot might have worked. Her mother swiftly overpowered the pony while her aids assisted by protecting her back; together they rescued the nymph. Sadly they could not risk returning to the Everfree Hive after being attacked from within. Instead everyling would move to a refuge within Rambling Rock Ridge. Still the ponies tracked them unrelentingly. Canterlot sent forth soldiers and a campaign to hunt down any changeling left began. One group had uncovered a scout and they rabidly chased her down. In their eagerness though they forgot that changelings are clever. Foolishly they fell into an ambush and it was they who ended up captured. Back within the temporary hive, the little nymph learned to hone her magic under the guidance of her mother; but having no other changeling around her own age left the nymph feeling lonely. She yearned for a playmate, so, as a remedy, she released a captured pony colt. At first the colt was nervous to be around changelings so the nymph had to come up with an idea on how to help him. She decided to have him dress up like a changeling to better fit in. His fur was dyed black and he was crafted a lovely set of wings along with a fine horn. The queen wasn’t too happy about it when she saw him; still, she was kind and allowed the pony to play with her daughter. Until the purple alicorn found where the changelings were hiding… Under duress the queen parlayed with the alicorn and used her cunning to forge a compromise. The changelings could go free as long as they released any creature they had captured. This would include the nymph’s playmate and that saddened her greatly. She tried to tell the alicorn that her playmate had been treated like family and would want to stay but the alicorn only scoffed. She told the nymph that no pony would willingly stay with a changeling. The nymph refused to believe that and challenged the alicorn, asking her playmate what he wanted. He chose to leave… and the nymph learned an important lesson about ponies that day. In the end, the changelings moved on to start a new hive and under the wise queens guidance it developed quickly into a magnificent home. Infiltrators returned to harvesting love and the queen’s daughter assisted in the nursery, helping the caretakers in keeping the next generation of larva happy and healthy. Despite any setbacks, the changelings would continue on. ----------- “That’s what I have so far,” Pupa said, looking up from her hoof made book to a changeling larva. “What do you think?” A tilt of the head and a gurgling nose was all the answer she received from the grub. The rest of the larva apparently lost interest and were sleeping in little clusters or wandering around the cavern. “Well it’s still a work in progress…” she frowned.