Ocellus made sure to keep her hooves very close to the Changeling in front of her as she flew through the blizzard. She had tried to hold his back hooves, her nose was still throbbing.
It was impossible to see anything in front of her, but she thought for a second that she could see the Crystal Empire up ahead. As long as everychangeling stayed in formation, she wouldn't have to worry about getting lost.
She hated this. She hated being an invader, she hated hurting and scaring other creatures...but she hated being hungry all the time even more.
She hated being away from home, she hated not knowing when she'd see her family again...not that she was allowed to spend much time with them in the first place. Queen Chrysalis had the impression that love and affection made Changelings weak, that they were weaknesses to be exploited and nothing more, and those who felt such emotions deserved to be enslaved and harvested.
With how bad we treat them, I can't blame the Ponies for treating us like monsters.As soon as she thought that, the swarm erupted into chaos. Changelings flew every which way with most firing bright green beams of magic at the ground below.
"Huh!? W-what's going on!? Are we under attack!!?" Ocellus asked anychangeling in earshot.
She flew closer to a nearby Changeling, only to see him lurch back before going limp and plummet to the snow below. She hadn't seen what happened, but she heard it. The tell-tale sound of a magical beam striking chiten.
Ocellus followed the swarm down to engage the enemy, or at least take cover.
Her hooves crushed the snow beneath her with a soft crunch as she tried to understand what was happening. Dozens of other Changeling soldiers surveyed the area, some were searching for something, others were blasting bright green magic at any direction they could.
Screams rang out, the swarm would converge on the latest causality. Another scream in the other direction kept the Changelings running around in circles.
We're surrounded! Ocellus thought to herself, trying to catch even a glimpse of what was happening. In her frantic flight, she tripped over a log...or so she thought.
Ocellus turned to see what tripped her up, and found herself staring into the lifeless eyes of Queen Chrysalis herself.
"KYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" Ocellus shrieked, backpedaling away from the corpse. She tried to find her hooves in order to run, but another Changeling fell dead right on top of her.
Panic overtook her as she struggled to right herself, struggled to run, struggled to make it home alive and never come back...then she noticed.
It was silent. No more Changelings were trying to fight the unseen enemy, and the only ones Ocellus could see were corpses being buried in the snow... buried in the snow... buried in the snow...the thought replayed in her head over and over as she watched the nearest corpse disappear. Her eyes then turned to her hooves, disappearing at the elbow to become part of the endless white plain.
She saw herself and the others being consumed. None would mourn their deaths. And if anychangeling came searching for them, they would be swallowed by the snow as well.
The ice would preserve them. Her tears were already freezing onto her face, forcing her to close her eyes as she pictured Pony archeologists finding her body thousands of years from now, laughing at the evil Changeling invader who died cowering under a corpse...so far from home.
"Mama...P-papa..." Ocellus cried to herself, once more disagreeing with Chrysalis' view on love.
Ocellus always disagreed with that, and once, she even dared to theorize that Chrysalis wanted everychangeling to love only her so that she could feed on her own subjects and that that is why everychangeling is always hungry...not that she ever had courage to tell someone.
She kept her head down, she did everything she was told, and followed every rule and law that she had been taught... now she was going to die alone and hated and eaten by the snow.
"... I'm sorry hic... I'm so sorry..." She cried to herself, burying her head deeper in the snow that was now up to her shoulders.
She didn't know who specifically she was apologizing to. Her parents, who would never see her again. Her Queen and race, who she had disappointed with her weakness. The Ponies she was going to hurt and terrify. The ones she had already hurt during the attack on Canterlot. The Pony Princess she had been guarding disguised as a flower mare.
She didn't want to hurt them, she never wanted to hurt any creature, but..."I was just so hungry."
"...Go home." Ocellus froze. Her eyes shot open, she stopped trembling, and she stayed stock still for two seconds before daring to look up at where voice had come from.
She could barely see him. A silhouette of white amidst the blizzard. His coat, his mane, even his eyes and the magical sheen on his horn. Ocellus could only make out the black pupils that were staring right at her. "Go home... and don't come back."
Ocellus stared at the white Unicorn, processing the situation. There was no disgust or hatred in his voice, only a sternness that left no room for debate.
"...W...Why?" Ocellus whimpered, her tremble returning.
The Unicorn made a subtle movement, likely arching his eyebrow at her. "Because if you don't, I'll kill you." He said matter of factly.
"...I-I mean, why are you letting me go?...W-why are..." Ocellus repeated the question over and over in her mind. It didn't make sense. The strong ruled the weak, they took what they wanted and destroyed the rest. If the white Unicorn wasn't going to make Ocellus his slave, why was she still alive?
The white Unicorn looked over at a mound of snow where Queen Chrysalis' organic crown and horn protruded. Not even the snow around his white face could hide the sneer of disgust. "She really led you to ruin. Her own people, for her own gain." The Unicorn spat at the buried corpse before turning back to Ocellus.
"I don't know if you can live without harvesting love, but I do know one of the stories I heard about the Canterlot raid was that you weren't just rounding up Ponies to feed on, but their pets too. Is there any truth to that?" The Unicorn asked.
Ocellus looked away. "Y..yeah... I'm sorry."
"Don't be. For better or worse, it's in your nature...I know a thing or two about having a dark nature." As he spoke, the Unicorn turned to his side.
Ocellus knew what this meant. She finally found the will to pull herself out from under the body that had her pinned and hesitantly walked close enough to the Unicorn's flank to make out his Cutie Mark.
It wasn't as white as the rest of him, but it was an off white, so still hard to see. Her head shot back with a shocked once she realized what she was actually looking at: a Pony's skull.
"Heh, that's the usual reaction. The point I was making earlier is if your people can feed on animals, then you have no reason to hunt Ponies." The Unicorn stated with a slight chuckle.
Ocellus had to do a double take for how well that made sense. "...She really was just using us, wasn't she."
"The next one won't...and if they do, let me know." And without another word, the Unicorn turned to the Crystal Empire and disappeared in the Blizzard.
It was only after she lost sight of him that something occurred to Ocellus. "Wait! Who are you!?"
By sheer fortune alone, Ocellus was able to make out his pupils as he turned back. "My mother named me Frosty Snowfall, but everypony just calls me White Death."