----------- A Changeling Queen by Any Other Name -------------
Chapter 1 -- What's Love Got to Do With It?
I found myself screaming at the top of my lungs when I checked my reflection in the mirror. A hideously contorted expression seemed to mock my terror as I could not believe what I saw -- a long jagged horn adorned the top of my head, my body completely black except for a green chitin shell which ran the length of my back and wrapped around my mid-section. A small crown rested behind my horn, the one item that I almost instinctively knew marked me as the Queen. The long stringy teal-colored hair didn't help my mood either. Almost as unnerving as my appearance was the fact that I had these holes in my legs, wings, mane, and tail as well. Worse still was the fact that those creepy green eyes staring back at me seemed to be drawing myself into another universe -- I was forced to quickly look away, lest I hypnotize myself.
If I may back up for a moment here, I didn't look like this when I laid down to sleep last night -- I was actually a male human by the name of Michael Walker. At some point during the night, this radical change had occurred; my wife had requested a glass of water at some point, but when she saw what I had become, she ran out of the room screaming. I had almost chuckled at this event, but now it didn't seem so funny as I inspected my body to see just how radical those changes had been. I calmed down a little, considering that screaming my head off wasn't going to improve my condition -- I think I might have also freaked out my step-daughter and her children with the noise I was making.
I was starting to believe I was making a little progress as I began testing out my new body, trying to determine its limits and abilities until a loud cacophony of voices started buzzing in my head. I tried to shut it out, the noise absolutely deafening in scale -- but each time I tried to force those voices into submission, they returned with even greater intensity, making my head throb with pain.
Don't fight against the hive mind, my Queen, one of the voices said loud enough over the others to catch my attention.
"How many of you are there?" I asked aloud, oblivious to how the hive mind actually functioned.
There are five thousand of us, my Queen, one answered.
"Where are you? I cannot sense anything other than your voices," I said, addressing the ceiling.
We are where you need us to be, my Queen -- we are everywhere.
Just great, I thought to myself. I had five thousand new voices in my head, all trying to communicate simultaneously. "Can I try to convince all of you to keep the noise down? You're all so loud I can't even hear myself think," I stated aloud, still unaware of the hive mind's greater functionality.
It IS great, my Queen, and we will try to keep our voices down for you -- but it has been so long since we last talked to you, we wanted to welcome you back to the living, another one said. You don't need to address us with your voice -- we can read your thoughts, my Queen.
My jaw dropped when I heard that -- the thought of five thousand entities eavesdropping on my most private thoughts was something that deeply dismayed me. This realization must have been sensed by the others in the hive mind as they all started buzzing again, trying to convince me that they would respect my privacy as best they could, but another thought ran through my mind, one that expressed some disbelief at such a claim. This was then rebuffed by another loud buzzing, this one mostly being promises to respect my private thoughts. This exchange went on for about fifteen minutes, a back and forth of my cynical thoughts and reassurance from the hive mind before I gave up trying to fight against it.
Might as well get used to it now, there doesn't appear to be any turning back, I thought. I must have sensed a collective sigh of relief from them as the buzzing died down to a low murmur, causing me to chuckle in irony. I trotted around the house in an attempt to locate Brenda, Xaviera, and her children. My attempts proved to be futile as I was unable to find them -- my calls to them went unanswered and the doors to all the rooms were open. I even checked the laundry room to see if they might have been so scared as to seek refuge there, but again, no trace. I had the house to myself, which initially satisfied me until I realized that being alone might not be so comforting. Another buzzing from the hive mind seemed to sense my discomfort and tried once again to reassure me that they were there for me should I need them.
What am I supposed to do now? I asked myself. I should have known better than to ask such an open question as the five thousand voices of the hive mind cranked into overdrive, the throbbing in my head so painful that I held my forehooves against it. Aaah! Shut up! I commanded. The voices died down immediately, which elicited another chuckle from me. Thanks, I offered, which resulted in a collective, You're welcome.
I decided to turn on my computer and find out some information regarding Chrysalis -- I figured I'd be better off if I knew more about myself, or what I was supposed to be -- but there was another thought nagging at me, one which almost made me laugh at the prospect. There was a part of me that wanted to teleport to Ponyville, to meet with Twilight Sparkle and see if she could enlighten me on the subject of Changelings, should the internet prove to be an unreliable source of information. I quickly recalled the events of the Royal Wedding, reminding myself that the lavender unicorn -- or was she an alicorn now -- would be less than thrilled to see me in my current form.
I scoured the internet for as much information as I could find, the search taking a few hours. There were some very interesting things I learned, but communicating with the hive mind proved that most of the information I was finding proved to be somewhat inaccurate, though there was enough there that matched up closely enough. I now had to decide on a course of action -- but my hunger started to make itself known, causing me to question if what I needed was food intake or actual love energy.
One aspect of being a changeling was that I could change my appearance to match whatever I could imagine -- and with my imagination being quite vivid, I could picture myself as a very attractive human female. Focusing my concentration on the form in question, I closed my eyes and allowed the change to take place. Upon opening my eyes, I regarded my new form with a bit of a smile before going into the laundry room to check my work in the full length mirror against the wall. I went upstairs to fetch some clothes from Brenda's dresser so I could look somewhat presentable, then fished out the car key and wallet from my pants. I wasn't going to drive the car, I just needed the house key to get back in -- I figured if Brenda returned, she could wait until I returned, but not knowing where she was caused me to check my phone for messages or missed calls. None showed, which puzzled me.
My stomach growled at this point, letting me know I needed something, so I decided to tentatively venture out of the house; perhaps I needed to test my appearance or try to find a source of love energy, but even so, I felt a sense of trepidation. I no longer looked like my former human self and my self-consciousness was causing me to glance around nervously in an attempt to ascertain whether or not anyone was staring at me. I hadn't put a great deal of forethought into my new female human appearance, but I had figured that by taking the appearance I had, I would be able to find sustenance of some sort or other a little easier to obtain. I wasn't sure which direction to start walking -- I considered my options for a few moments, then started walking towards the nearest convenience store.
I hadn't traveled more than half a mile before I was approached by a dark-skinned male human -- I was never good with names and faces, and was certain that this guy was no one I knew. He invited me to his house and escorted me to his car -- he was even kind enough to open the passenger door for me, but took a moment to cop a feel on my buttocks as I tried to sit down.
"Watch where you put those hands unless you want to lose them," I growled at him, glaring angrily. My eyes flashed a menacing green, causing him to back off a little.
"Whoa, sorry there, ma'am, but I couldn't resist! You're a very pretty lady," he offered, grinning a little.
"Get me something to eat and I'll forgive your little excess," I responded, trying to disguise my ulterior motive.
"What do you want?" he asked, perhaps a little annoyed by my attempt to get some free food out of him.
"Some fish, if you don't mind," I replied almost cheerfully. I found I was able to sense the amount of love I could extract from him without arousing his suspicion, causing me to grin a little too widely.
"You sure seem happy today -- what's your name?"
"You may call me Felicia," I replied flatly. I noticed a smile cross his lips for a moment as he spent a few moments ogling my body. "I didn't know I was that attractive," I added. I should have taken that into consideration before changing my appearance, I silently thought.
We are pleased you might be able to feed us with the love you collect, my Queen, added the hive mind. This distraction was noticed by the guy, who gave me a quizzical look.
"Ah, sorry about that. What did you say your name was?" I asked, flashing a smile.
"Lamont, Lamont Jenkins," he replied, his grin widening. "Should only be a little bit longer. How many ya want?"
"Two would be fine, Lamont," I replied nonchalantly.
"You want something to drink with that?"
"A Sprite would be good, I think. Thanks, Lamont," I replied cheerfully.
We pulled into the drive thru of the local Long John's and got some fish and chicken. I waited a little before opening the box with my food in it, causing him to glance at me.
"Don't want to get your car dirty," I offered.
"You can eat in my car if you like," he stated. He turned the car down a different street as he drove towards his house, eating a chicken strip with one hand, the other holding his drink. He steered using the hand he was holding his food in. I glowered at his bad manners, but considered that taking all his love energy would be sufficient punishment for his egregious transgressions. I received a message from the hive mind suggesting I add him to the hive, but responded by entertaining the thought that he wasn't smart enough to become a changeling. I received buzzes of approving laughter at this thought, one which forced me to stifle a giggle or two.
"Something funny, Felicia?" he asked as he pulled the car into his driveway.
"A stray thought popped into my head, one which I found particularly amusing," I replied cryptically.
"Maybe you could tell me what it was when we go inside," he stated as he turned off his car and pocketed the key. He exited then went around to my side of the car and opened the door for me. He motioned for me to follow him, which resulted in me rolling my eyes at his chauvinism. I followed him anyway, relishing the thought of extracting all his love energy. A wicked smile crossed my lips for a split second as I mulled this possibility before entering his house. My nostrils were assailed by the stench inside his home, causing me to stifle my gag reflex and grimace in disgust.
"Something wrong with my home, Felicia? Perhaps you could clean it up for me! I haven't had a good house-keeper around here since my last girlfriend left me," he guffawed.
"Perhaps your mother should have trained you better," I scoffed. "But I believe it's a little too late for that now."
"What do you mean by that? You'd better explain yourself, Felicia," he stated almost angrily.
I walked right up to him and pushed him back into a chair with both hands. "I never was very good at explaining things," I began as I allowed my disguise to melt away. My transformation had the desired effect of shocking him into a state of immobility, his fear and terror causing him to freeze up.
"W-what are you g-going t-to d-do?" he asked fearfully as he stared at me in disbelief.
"Perhaps you don't know who or what I am -- that's immaterial now -- but you are going to provide me with some love," I replied, flashing my canines menacingly at him. He grinned for a moment, thinking lustful thoughts -- thoughts I decided to shatter immediately. "I know what you're thinking -- that I would be willing to take your love in the physical sense by letting you have sex with me," I chuckled. "But that's not how I operate. I will drain you using my magic, sapping your love from you without giving you any physical gratification. Sorry, Lamont."
While I was talking to him, I had been hypnotizing him with my gaze. He seemed to nod dumbly at my statement as I lit my horn with a green glow. I sensed his love energy and began taking it slowly, allowing the sensation of it to permeate my body. The taste was somewhat sweet, but Lamont didn't seem to have much in the way of love energy -- it ran out quite quickly, causing me to glare at him.
"Is this all you have? You are pathetic," I said, voicing my contempt as best I could. I sensed his life force at this point and was sorely tempted to take it as well, but I didn't have it within me to kill him. Doing so would make an already delicate situation far worse, so I left him drained of his love, still sitting in his chair. His mouth was open, an expression of surprise appearing to be a permanent reminder of my visit. I fished his car key out of his pocket and drove back toward my house after resuming my previous female human appearance. I stopped the car and parked it in the parking lot of the convenience store, locking the key inside it. I then walked back towards my house feeling somewhat sated by my first taste of human love energy. I decided to figure out how to obtain more without raising the suspicion of those whose love I was absorbing as I walked back home. I needed a plan, but wasn't sure where to start.