Unchangeling
A Kira story
"Come on, you can do it! Just try a little harder!" persisted Shade. Her son Crunch had yet to learn how to change forms, and she was beginning to worry. The doctors said it was uncommon, but that it would be fine. She wasn't so sure.
"I'm... I'm trying, mom!" Crunch said. He focused intently on the photo of a pony and tried to imagine becoming that pony. He had followed all of the steps he was taught from day one of school, the FIC guidelines (Focus, Imagine, Create), but it never worked. He grunted as he strained his mind and his body and tried to change.
Crunch felt something build up inside him, and he got excited. It got stronger, and suddenly... *BURP*
"Wow. That was disappointing." he said, but simply brushed it off. He was used to failing at this.
"I can't see how you don't care enough about this to do it!" Shade said. "The queen requires that all of us be willing and ABLE to help the hive. You can't fly to save your life, so that's out, and now you won't even change?"
"I told you, I CAN'T DO IT." Crunch replied.
"The doctors were right. You truly can't change." Shade said, disdainfully. She had no love for her son, and could care less what happened to him. She merely cared for the hive, just as she was raised.
"I have to do it." She said. "I'm reporting you to the Scouts."
Crunch felt true fear creep into him for the first time in his life. The Scouts were changelings who went door to door every three months and checked the worth of every changeling in the hive. There hadn't been a worthless changeling for about a century or so, so they had gotten pretty lax about checking and hadn't found out about him, but if he was reported they were sure to do what was simply dubbed "The Punishment". Nopony knew what it was, as nopony had ever returned after it.
Rumors had arisen over the century of monsters stronger than Chrysalis, of demons sent from Tartarus's ruler himself. Chrysalis had never bothered to put them as true or false, so everypony just assumed the former.
"I can't believe this. I'm your own son, for Pete's sake!" Crunch exclaimed.
"That's just one more thing wrong with you." Shade said. "Changelings aren't supposed to feel love. We feed on it."
"But why? Why must we feed on something like that?" Crunch asked. "It seems much simpler to feed on, I don't know, FOOD?"
Shade looked at him. "Emotions are food for us. You keep trying to eat 'normal' food, but you don't know anything about the changeling body."
She walked out the front door, lifting him with her magic and forcing him to follow along. The pair went along, all of the changelings in the street staring at Crunch. They all knew that it was bound to happen someday.
"Ah! There's one now!" Shade said. She trotted on over to the Scout (distinguished by a medal around his neck).
"Hello, sir. I have come to report a failure to the hive." She said.
"And where is this 'failure'?" The scout said lazily.
"He's, uh, floating. Right next to me. And glowing." she said, confused at his stupidity.
"Wait, you're serious?" he said, straightening up. "Well, I'll have to take him from you and report this to the queen."
"You could tell me that." Crunch said, irritated. "I'm the him you're referring to, and I'm right here."
Shade just nodded, dropped him on the ground, and trotted off. As she walked, a squirrel ran and jumped through one of the holes in her legs.
Ugh... Crunch thought, shuddering. That was nasty.
"Alright, follow me or I'll have to force you to follow." the Scout said, beginning to walk up towards the ominous castle at the top a huge staircase. Crunch sighed and followed along. He wasn't even afraid at this point; he just wanted to get it over with.
The climb was long and hard, and as they neared the top Crunch could have sworn it had gotten noticeably colder.
"Man, it's been a long time since anypony's had to come up here." the Scout said, indifferently.
"Don't talk. Just kill me or whatever." Crunch said. Suddenly, the two were enveloped in a bright light and as it died down, they saw that they were in the throne room of Queen Chrysalis.
"I felt you approaching. What is it?" She said. "Hurry up. I'm busy."
"Uh, your highness, we, uh , have a failure." the Scout said meekly. The queen stared at Crunch, then shot a large green beam at him from her horn.
"It seems you're right. He has no ability to change, an his wings are weak. It would be too much trouble to train him." she said. "Exile him."
"Wha- exile? Did I hear you correctly, your highness?" the Scout stuttered.
"Yes, you fool. Send him out of the hive." she said. "You do remember where the exile chamber is, correct?"
"Uh, yeah. But that seems a little harsh. Are you sure he can't do anything to help?" the Scout said. This surprised Crunch. Nopony had ever shown any sign of helping him at all.
"I mean, just sending him out there with all of those horrible, evil ponies?" the Scout continued, shuddering. "Sure glad i'm not a worthless piece of trash like you, little guy."
"Wait, you mean that I'm going to- I have to be... with ponies? I- I can't do that." Crunch said, hyperventilating. Every changeling knew, as was taught in school, that ponies were horrible creatures, intent on stopping the changelings from prospering. Contact with them was forbidden at most times.
"Yes, I suppose so." the Scout said, without the slightest hint of pity in his eyes. "Follow me, sir."
The walk to the exile chamber seemed longer than the one up the thousands of stairs. It was really only a couple hundred yards, but it was like a walk towards you own hanging. It lasted for a lifetime, as if to make up for the fact that you were losing the rest of yours. They approached the large stone double doors and the Scout pulled a lever. The doors swung open with a painful grinding sound. They stopped halfway open.
"Goodbye, sir. Have a nice exile, you little freak." the Scout said, throwing Crunch out the door with his magic. Crunch turned around to see the doors shutting with a loud thud. From here, the doors simply looked like the side of a mountain. In fact all of the hive looked like a mountain.
Crunch turned to face his new world. As he looked around and realized something: there was nothing but trees for as far as the eye could see except for a small village in the far distance. He stared off at this world solemnly and started the long trek towards the evils of a pony village.