The following is a collection of memories in written form made by me, Woog, also known as !vrhssgk! the changeling. Same location names and tactics were altered to maintain Hive Security, so please, do not refer to this account for the purpose of making war upon changeling-kind.
The first moments of wakefulness I experienced without Queen Chrysalis were terrifying beyond any nightmare I could conjure up. Lying on my back in enemy territory, eyes shut, trying not to scream as pain filled every corner of my mind once occupied by the hum of my friends and family. Intellectually, I knew that I only broke a wing, but without an expanded mind to crush the feelings, I flailed on the ground, overwhelmed. Stories of outcast changelings going mad from loneliness swam up to the surface of the ocean of pain, and I shut my eyes tighter still, willing my mind to stop. Other, stranger memories came. A single changeling is as good as dead, a single changeling is useless, a single changeling is stupid, lost, crippled…
I do not know how long I lay there, in my own personal Tartarus. When I came to, my wing had repaired itself, and the ground felt cold against my shell. I was still alone, but I was not crazy, at least. I sniffed at the air. Moss, bark, lichen, the scent of only one pony, a pegasus. I breathed a sigh of relief. If this was a forest or a secluded spot in the Canterlot gardens, I could escape. I risked opening my eyes, and was greeted by a narrow hole in the branches above. The bizarre way the trees seemed to flow together betrayed this place as the Everfree Forest. Nowhere else had so much blessed natural chaos.
This is good, I decided. The Everfree Forest is far too dangerous to search at night, much less for a single changeling. But, being a single changeling was itself dangerous. What if I ran across somepony? What if I couldn’t find my Queen Chrysalis? What if the Hive died?
If the Hive is dead, then you must create another Hive, I told myself, building a wall against the panic. I repeated the mantra before getting up and again as I followed the scent of the lone pegasus. First things first, I would need food and shelter. Ponyville would do for both, and chances are, the pony would lead me there.
The Everfree Forest, I knew, contained everything the ponies could not tame or control. Queen Chrysalis briefly considered building the Hive’s newest home there, before settling on taking over Canterlot. As I trotted along, I realized why. The natural chaos, though far more comforting than the pony-kind’s towns, had a hint of menace to it. Vines curled too tightly around tree trunks, grasses choked flowers, and fallen logs blocked passage. Patches of ground smelled like blood and fear, and when the wind picked up, leaves rustled, whispering of a time when the whole world was a wild place. I walked among trees as tall as any Hive home, and several times, had to hide in the bushes to avoid something that smelled like a cross between bark and wet fur. This was no place for a changeling.
The first glimpse of the moon among the trees made me pause. What would I do when I found the pegasus? I doubted any of my previous disguises in Canterlot would work. Pretending to be a royal guard in the Everfree Forest would raise suspicion. The librarian pony would also cause trouble. Trying to be the rainbow pegasus would risk exposure if it turned out that this pegasus knew her. I decided to improvise. After half-an-hour of trying out different shapes I settled on the image of a brown unicorn pony with blue eyes and a purple crescent cutie-mark. The disguise was nowhere near being as complex and seamless as an existing pony’s form, but I hoped no one would notice as I walked out of the forest.
The moon shone brightly across the soft grass, and in spite of my hatred for Luna, I had to admit, she was an artist. If only she could include some green and light blue in her lighting, she would be as talented as my Queen Chrysalis. The moon itself needed some more craters and a couple elegant spires, to make it look perfect, but then, I suppose a thousand years on its surface was perhaps too little time to complete any major construction. I smiled, letting my eyes see my Queen’s face in the moon. Perhaps, if I could capture the image well enough, I could inspire her, and Queen Chrysalis would reward me. Just then, I walked right into a fence, tripped, and fell on my face.
“Are you alright? I’m sorry! I should have made the chicken coop shine a little in the dark.” Whoever said that sounded familiar. Too familiar.
“I’m alright. And you should.” I used a royal guard’s voice as I quickly rose and jumped over the fence. By the time Fluttershy, one of the wielders of the elements of Harmony flew over to me, I stood on my own four hooves and looked as displeased as possible. What little I knew from my fellow changelings told me she would probably crumble before a stronger personality.“Somepony could have died, you know.”
“I’m sorry, thank you, sorry…eeep” I smiled watching her backpedal away from me. Pleasant as it was to have a small bit of revenge on one of Queen Chrysalis’ worst enemies it would not do for her to be frightened. Terrified, she would be useless.
“Please, don’t be scared.” I suppressed a snort. “I’m just a traveler from Canterlot, passing through. Could you point me to the nearest inn?”
“Um, sure…it’s only a little ways…that way.” She pointed with her hoof.
“Thank you, miss….?”
“…fluttershy…” if she were speaking softly before, this was but a whisper on the wind.
“Fluttershy.” I mentally cursed. Ponies did not have my hearing.
She seemed a bit surprised, and I was glad when she dove back into her dwelling instead of questioning me. I smirked, but left as quickly as possible in the direction she indicated. I could not stay at an inn, of course, because of the ponies’ obsession with gold coins, but I could at least begin my assimilation into pony-kind. A stroll through Ponyville would show me where I can find information about the Hive, allow me to feed on the positive feelings of the place, and hopefully solidify my disguise.