//------------------------------//
// Re-Gression 
// Story: Re:Changeling 
// by Robomac 
//------------------------------//

A thin, near tasteless fluid flowed into my mouth from Formica's mouth. 'I can't believe how easily I got used to this.' It wasn't too hard when starvation was the alternative.

We had been traveling for five days, and the signs of exhaustion were painfully clear on Formica's and Chrysalis' disguised forms. My heart was torn asunder between not wanting to slowly starve and knowing that finding food will ultimately necessitate in hurting somepony. I knew that there were alternatives. They had to exist. Unfortunately, I was not in a position to look for those alternatives, let alone act on them.

After feeding me what she could, Formica took to the sky so she could scan the horizon like she does every other time she's fed me since Chrysalis presented the idea. I understood the reasoning, but I could not understand how they hadn't found anything yet: not even any animals. I knew they could feed off them if Chrysalis' story was any indication.

'I'm hungry and bored. How in Equestria does Chrysalis or Formica not know were to find anypony here? You would think that they'd place their hives close to valuable resources. So why?'

I was pulled from my internal thoughts by seeing Formica diving faster than ever before. She tried to halt just in time for a clean landing, but her inertia and exhaustion compounded into a soft crash at best. Chrysalis walked over to Formica with a regal poise in spite of her bedraggled appearance. "What did you find?"

Formica beamed up at her Queen without any sign of the hesitation that gripped her a week ago. "I think I saw houses a little bit north of where the sun will set."

Chrysalis furrowed her brow and audibly hummed in displeasure. Rather than be scared, Formica took a stance of cautious curiosity. "Is something wrong, Your Majesty?" I found it a pleasant surprise three days ago when I realized that they were able to reconcile without me.

"Yes. I deliberately guided us away from any major towns that any spies would search for us at. If what you say is true, then your Pathfinders have failed in their most important purpose."

My mind latched onto the first half of her comment, sparking another deep scowl at the foresight impaired Queen. 'Congratulations, your paranoia has saved us from the possibility of misfortune! Now we're going to die of hunger! First will be Formica! Next will be you, because far be it for you to deny your daughter the opportunity to watch buzzards pick you apart before becoming bird food herself! Ironic considering I'm already what many birds would consider a Pinkie sized serving of breakfast.' I can get sarcastic when I'm stressed.

Formica returned me to her back then took to Chrysalis' side. "Should we take a look?"

"Can we afford not to? I will enter first. A pair of ponies caring for a changeling larva will raise far more questions than I will be able to lie about."

Chrysalis trotted in the direction Formica pointed out while the smaller changeling followed at a more leisurely pace. I tried to occupy myself with looking at the scenery, but there wasn't any more to see than in the last five days. I once again entertained the notion of opening communication with Formica, but without the need to reconcile the conflict between her and Chrysalis, I decided it would be better for both of us if I continued to play the part of an innocent infant that happened to have an obvious tell for when she needed to do her business. I had no idea how Chrysalis would take her daughter not being who she thought she was.

It wasn't that I was scared that Chrysalis would try to kill me if she found out who I truly was. It was that I knew that she would be devastated should she find out. 'I can't imagine what it will be like for her when she finds out who I am beneath her daughter's skin. She had me killed to protect the daughter that I would take from her regardless.' I chuckled with my cute and squeaky baby voice. 'It's funny. I've already taken the perfect revenge on her without knowing how it happened. Whether I survive or not, Chrysalis will never know who her daughter should've been.'

I repressed a remorseful sigh over the life I denied an innocent baby, but I didn't keep myself from sinking further into Formica's back. This didn't go unnoticed if her turning to look me in the eyes were any indication. "It's okay, Princess. We'll find food, I know we will."

'Other ponies are food. I'll never be able to get used to that idea; I'll never let myself get used to it…Maybe it would be better if I didn't survive. I'd never want to chose between starving or hurting somepony.' The worst was realizing that I may not have a choice.

My musings were broken by spotting Chrysalis approaching from the town's perimeter. "The town is abandoned!" she shouted from well within earshot.

Formica sagged for a second before perking up. "Your Majesty, ummm…what is that?" she asked while pointing at a white bundle carried in Chrysalis' magic.

A quick flick revealed a large, white, and slightly dusty cloth. I could tell from her expression that she considered it a good find. "We will use this to hide my daughter from prying eyes." She sure was optimistic about encountering any prying eyes. "We shall rest in town tonight. It should save us from wasting some energy."

"Your Majesty, how much do we have left?"

She closed her eyes with a meditative humming before heading back to the town. "It will be a week before we risk effects from our hunger. We should encounter a traveler by then. We can only hope they are with a large group or alone."

'Please be a large group.' I had no delusions on what would happen to anypony that she found alone. 'She'd suck them dry; or put them in a pod, then suck them dry; or she'd stick them in a pod, suck them dry, then leave them to die.' My lack of knowledge on how changelings feed left plenty to my imagination, and having somepony suffer for my sake was not how I wanted to learn.

Chrysalis stopped at a building halfway into town along one of the main roads. A quick look at the sign with a crescent moon symbol made me sure that it used to be an inn. I also suspect it's where Chrysalis found my new blanket.

The inside was exactly what I expected; tall ceiling, rounded dinning area with a stage, and a front desk right next to the stairs. The place had clearly seen better days though. The stairs and tables had decayed into debris, and if the rubble behind the manager's door was any indication, the second floor was in a worse condition. I had to wonder where anypony could've found an intact blanket.

"Stay with my daughter, I will collect some bedding."

Formica followed Chrysalis up until the Queen went through the manager's door. I could hear Chrysalis rummaging through the debris as my Caretaker searched the hidden shelves. There were only old dusty bottles there, most containing a noxious looking slime. Still, she toyed with them with an unusual degree of interest, even humming in thought a few times.

"Formica."

"Ah!" she yelped out with a flinch that accidentally knocked over a bottle she had a hoof on, causing it to shatter.

"Were you thinking of using those to feed my daughter indirectly?"

"N-n-no' Your Majesty. I-I just thought they were interesting."

Chrysalis nodded, the two mattresses on her back shifting as a result. "Good. Even the little energy wasted on the bottles' sides would be more than we should spare."

'Not to mention that having to kiss to eat is such a pleasant experience.'

"Of course, Your Majesty." Chrysalis moved towards the stage, but Formica took a moment to look back at the counter before following. They quickly set the two mattresses a short distance from one another with Chrysalis instantly claiming the one closer to the entrance.

That left Formica and I sleeping together once again. As darkness began over the interior, I focused on my breathing so no stray thoughts could keep me from my slumber.





I woke to a lack of warmth. I shifted to the side until finding a warmer spot to lay. The chill returned regardless. I rubbed against my sheets. The friction worked, but the effort woke me fully.

It was dawn. I looked around and found myself alone, not counting Chrysalis. My scan of the room revealed an equine figure next to a dozen bottles glowing different shades of blue and green. She was bent over another bottle and filling it with more fluid. 'What…why's she doing that?'

I crawled from my bed and inched towards her. She filled two bottles upon me reaching the stage's drop-off. She wobbled halfway into the next bottle then collapsed.

My heart clenched and eyes widened. Realization made ice crawl across my skin. 'FORMICA!' I had to get to her. The stairs were too far. I crawled off the drop-off without hesitation. It hurt. I didn't care.

I could hear somepony rise sharply behind me: I forget who. I inched further and heard a panicked shout: I cared not what she said. A tan mare leapt from the stage and crashed into a rotted table as if she'd forgotten her lack of wings. She scrambled from the debris then ran to the white mare.

I pushed through the sharp wooden obstacles with abandon. I had to know, had to see that she'd be okay.

As I reached the edge of the decaying minefield, I brushed against a table that collapsed over me. Dust clouded my vision. The wood pressed against me from all sides. 'No, no! I have to be there!"

The dust cleared just as I returned to my senses. I could see Chrysalis panicking over Formica's prone form. She looked between the bottles and my Caretaker with wild indecision. She brought her hooves to the side of her head just like I would when trying to block excess information. Her scream rattled the building and dropped a lump of wood over half my field of view.

"Why?! We had time! Why sacrifice yourself?!" I could see Formica speaking, but it was too faint to hear. "I did not order this from you! Take-take-take…RRRAAAAGGH!"

Chrysalis fell to her knees and tried to squeeze her tears back into her eyes. "How dare you take this decision from me?"

Formica took a deep breath. "No…buggy should make…that kind…of decision."

Chrysalis grit her teeth then yelled out once again. My blood ran cold. 'No. You have to save her. Force her to drink, put energy into her, just-just don't let her starve. Save her! Chrysalis, somepony, anypony: Please save her!'

"Wow, such drama."

The tension shattered at the random stallion's voice. 'Huh?'

Chrysalis slowly looked up towards a direction beyond my vision. The rest of her was a statue. "I know this is serious and all, but just look at this. Two friends traveling together, one is the leader, the provider. The other, she is the foundation, the emotional support. Soon the dynamic reaches its eventual conclusion: The supporter forgets her value, seeing herself as no more than a burden, so she seeks to remove herself. Truly a tragedy."

'Huh?'

Chrysalis blinked twice then shot up with a sneer. "Who are you and what inane nonsense are you prattling on about?!" The stallion trotted into view but stopped at a stomp of Chrysalis hoof. "Answer me!"

The eggshell coated stallion tilted his head, causing his golden mane to bounce with the movement. "Ah, yes. I am known by many as Wordsmith, and I'm in the habit of telling stories whenever inspiration strikes. I am not the important one here though. We should see to your friend before she meets her final fate."

He trotted past the dumbfounded Chrysalis and sat at Formica's side. He used one hoof to raise her head and appraised her carefully. "It's strange how malnourished you are." He then used his free forelimb to pull a small stack of crackers that he held close to her mouth. "Here, eat this. They have strong medical properties."

She gave him a good pensive look before taking a small bite. "Good. No need to rush."

His calm gentle tones helped me relax. Chrysalis too looked like her confidence was overriding her confusion. She half glanced at the stallion with a small smirk and dangerous eyes. 'Oh no.'

"Tell me Wordsmith," she said with a sultry tone, "how did you come across us?"

"I spent my night in a place just a few homes away from here. It's good that I was nearby, or you'd be alone on this." 

"Yes, it is," she said with a hissing tone that made her intent clear to me. "Tell me, would you happen to be alone here?"

"Why yes." Chrysalis crouched into a predatory stance as I drew my warning breath. I didn't care about the coincidences, I couldn't let it happen. "And no."

'Huh?'

Chrysalis froze mid-pounce just in time to play it off as a stretch. "Well, which is it?"

"Which is what?"

"Are you alone or not?!" The punctuating stomp of her hoof buried me deeper into the debris.

"Well," he started with a tone not unlike my friend Rarity, "there's no need to lose your temper. The answer is both."

I swore I could feel Chrysalis' eye twitching until I realized it was my own. I wished I could argue against him, but Chrysalis was already on it. "It cannot be both. You are either alone or you are not!"

The stallion slowly rose and fixed Chrysalis with an indescribably serious yet serene expression. "Full of absolutes, this world is. Up, down; white, black; in, out: But for every absolute, thousands of maybes there are. Between dark and light, the brightest path often exists."

"What nonsense are you spouting, and why are you talking like that?!"

"Upon your question's intent, the answer depends. If asking if I'm completely alone, no; asking if alone with you, yes. For how far alone remains alone, you must also ask."

While I understood what Wordsmith was doing, Chrysalis clearly didn't. Her falling to her haunches, the twitching of her ears, and the steam over her head that I mentally swore couldn't be real, were all signs of Chrysalis' utter bafflement. This made a perfect opening for the coup de grâce.

"As for my speech: Connects me to the essence of a wise hermit, this pattern does."

"Wait, you're a hermit?"

In response, he laughed gaily and waved a dismissive hoof. "Oh heavens no. I'm with a group holed up just three buildings from here. I'd have to be alone to be a hermit."

'He's doomed. There is nothing I can do to help you Wordsmith. May Harmony bless you in the hereafter.'

Chrysalis stood slowly with the beginnings of a spell tinting her horn green "  Wordsmith, did you find what all that racket was all about?!  " then quickly canceled the spell at the mare's voice.

"Just some mare trying to off herself to save supplies for her friend, nothing to worry about!"

I heard hooves entering but couldn't see who it was. Chrysalis and Wordsmith turned towards where I assumed the mare was. "Yesh, Wordsmith, are you sure your talent isn't for finding strange ponies in strange places?"

"Life is a story, and what story would be complete without colorful characters. So without further ado, allow me to introduce you to Scorched Sands and Maternity Wing. Ladies, this gruff mare is Precious."

'Wait, what?! When did Chrysalis come up with those names?! When did she share them with him?!' I would've suspected it to be a subtle manipulation spell if not for me noticing Chrysalis' flabbergasted expression.

"That's it! I give up! Call me whatever the buck you want!" I heard her take a deep cleansing breath. "Name's Stacked Bits. What's your real names?"

'Wow. This stallion is quirky…and I know quirky.' As confused as I was about their interaction, I had little doubt that Chrysalis was nowhere near being in her element.

Chrysalis remained stunned for three seconds before Stacked chimed back in. "What's wrong with you? Ya' drank some of that glowy gunk too? What is that stuff?"

Wordsmith stood up on his back legs and slowly raised his forelimbs reverently. "It's the…"

"Nope! No! No! None of that! Just get rid of the stuff so no fool-pony stumbles on it an' gets ta' thinking that it might be tasty."

"Aye aye Sargent Facet!" he said with a sharp salute. The sound of hooves transitioning from wood to dirt followed Wordsmith's declaration. He took a few steps from Formica and stopped in a perfect spot for me to see his mark: a globe with a quill writing upon it. I looked up at his eyes and froze at seeing his pupils perfectly in line with mine.

That lasted an instant before he trotted off. "I'll head back and make sure that they don't leave without you ladies. I'm sure you won't need me to deal with those bottles."

With that, he left. 'Whew, that was close. I can't believe that didn't take a turn for the worst.'

Chrysalis literally shook herself from her stupor, growled with menacing annoyance, then went off to gather together the bottles of liquid emotion. "I hate ponies. Why do they all have to be so crazy?"

'Hey, most of us are perfectly normal.'

She set them down by Formica and appeared to be glaring her down if the white pegasus finding interest in the wooden floors was any indication. "Drink." Chrysalis turned and took three steps towards the stage before pausing for a glance back. "Restore what energy you can, I'll prepare us for departure."

Formica began drinking from the bottles as Chrysalis stepped past my field of view. A bottle fell from Formica's grasp due to Chrysalis' shriek. "Where's my daughter?!"

'Oops, that's my cue.' I began grunting and moaning in my effort to escape the debris holding me in place.

It only took seconds for her to find me and clear away my prison. Without missing a beat, she pulled me right into an unwanted nuzzling session. "Oh my poor daughter. How'd you get over here?" I struggled against her barely before she pulled me away and looked at me in sorrow.

I wasn't directly hostile to her anymore, but I knew she didn't see it that way and I felt no need to correct her. She levitated me to Formica just as she downed half the bottles. "Feed her the rest."

Once I was in Formica's hooves, Chrysalis began to cast a spell that made the glowing liquids begin to look like oat-milk even as I was drinking one. She then turned her horn to me and casted something that distorted my vision just like any illusion spell would when cast over somepony. I was no doubt made to look like a pony foal, but it wouldn't hold under close scrutiny.

I felt Formica tense up and looked up at Chrysalis' hardened eyes that quickly softened with a wet sheen. "Did you really have so little faith in me?"

That hurt. It was not my pain I felt, but I could easily sympathise. If Celestia said something like that in this same context, it would break me. Imagining it only hurt.

Once all the bottles were gathered up and wrapped around another blanket, we went outside and stopped abruptly. While I couldn't make them all out through the illusion, I could still see nine ponies, five of whom had various shades of gray on each of their coats and manes. The other four were red, turquoise, green, and white for Wordsmith.

The red pony rose from the ground and hovered towards us, marking him as a pegasus. "Well would you look at this. That motormouth actually did something useful for a change. What brings a pair of lovely mares like you to these parts."

Formica tensed up like an iron rod, and I couldn't blame her. He sounded exactly like the type of stallion my friends and I would go out of our way to avoid. Chrysalis shared my opinion if her growling was any indication.

Before anything could escalate, a white figure interposed himself between them. "Hello ladies, glad you could join us." He near instantly went over to the group of gray ponies. "These fine Zebras are Faraji, Akua, Zamir, Zamora, and Banana: spelled like banana and pronounced in the way a child or rich snob would say it." There were a few chuckles coming from the zebra. "These three are Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady," he said pointing to the red pegasus, the turquoise pony, and the green one attached to a cart.

The flying stallion turned sharply and hovered in place. "You know what, I actually like that one." I could guess he meant the name.

"Glad you like it. Those two are Scorched Sands and Maternity Wing."

Chrysalis looked at Wordsmith with what I suspected to be false confusion. "How did you guess our names?"

"I simply have a fantastic naming sense. What you see as coincidence, I see as proof of my amazing abilities. Isn't that right Swords Dance."

"My name is Sky Cutter! Give me one more stupid name and I'll show you why!"

"Give it up Cutter, I know I have," said the turquoise mare. "It never even bothered Surehoof." He only gave a stiff confirmation.

"Well, now that introductions are done, it's time for this story to progress." Wordsmith began marching off while the others followed, though Cutter made sure to grumble out some form of complaint.

Chrysalis followed from a distance with Formica sticking close by. "It is not as large a group as I hoped, but they'll do. Given a few weeks, we'll be able to maximize our energy storage. Once we are full, we will capture one and make our escape. I know you are not an Infiltrator, but it should not be hard to remain quiet. If they ask a question you're not sure on how to answer, tell them you'd rather not talk about it."

"O-o-okay."

"Good. They've yet to take notice of my daughter, so I will refine the illusion around her and make sure you know all you need to know for proper infiltration."

I was not fond of two parts of her plan. The first part was obvious. The second part was that I knew that a more advanced illusion would obscure my vision further. Only knowing that our survival depended on it kept me silent.

Thanks to the illusion, I had no idea that anypony was approaching until a pair of gray blurs came into focus. "Hello friends, we are Zamora and Zamir," said the male zebra.
"We are curious on how you came to be here," finished the female. "Not often that through these lands, ponies roam."
"We know this is where we Zebra feel more at home."

'Rhyming. They must be shaman like Zecora.'

"I don't want to talk about it," Chrysalis responded, already putting the advice she gave Formica to use.

"Very well, but if we may be so bold," the stallion started.
"Is it safe to say you have quite the story to be told?" finished the mare.

"One I won't be sharing."

'Yesh, rude much?'

The Zebra seemed to look us over for a second before the mare gasped. "Brother, is that a foal I see?"
"It is dear sister, a foal most assuredly. Are one of you the mother?"
"Or perhaps she belongs to another."

"Another," Chrysalis growled out.

"To be abandoned by her mother is a grand shame," Wordsmith said from beyond my vision. "I know that I'd have strong words with whoever's to blame."

'And now he's doing it.'

"Will you leave us alone. Your constant rhyming is grating on my nerves."

"Alright then. I can stop any time, but for any zebra shaman, it's only natural that they rhyme...oops."

"We know now that we are unwanted Misses Sands and Wing."
"But you may find joining us far less depressing."

And with that, the two zebra went to join the group. Time passed with a silent monotony that left me with nothing to do but think until I fell asleep. I wondered where we were going, what we'd do once we got there, and how I'd keep Chrysalis from ponynapping one of our companions.

I eventually woke from my slumber to Formica nudging me on the side. Night had come and the illusion around me had been lifted. Once I felt lips against my mandibles, I opened up so the sweet liquid emotion could sate my hunger.

"As much as it pains me to say this, we can't distance ourselves from them for long. It limits how much energy we get and will make them suspicious over time. I've told you all I can about getting close to ponies. Tomorrow, you'll have to put that knowledge to use."

If how tense Formica felt during Chrysalis' explanation was any indication, she wasn't looking forward to the experience.