There is a world far away from our own. Filled with magic, friendship and the purest hearts of any living creatures known to the world. But even in a place that holds thousands of souls bent on making the world a peaceful place filled with the light of good, all it takes is one darkened heart to cause the light to give way to shadow.
This is such a tale where the balance of right and wrong is tipped too far.
And who sets it right is a shock to everyone.
Let us start in a place where we will find a bright, loving heart among misguided souls. She might not know any of what is about to transpire, but she knows what is right and wrong. And sometimes, that is all it takes to make a hero. And so we begin.
In the badlands of Equestria, there lived a race feared and hated by almost every other creature. A race that was known to show no mercy. A race that fed on something so near and dear to them, yet they wouldn't even know if that was happening to them. These were the most notorious creatures known to pony kind.
One of these creators was a kid panicking about what? Her terrifying mom.
Crystal Cocoon stared at the blank wall, her mind racing. Her mother had requested a formal meeting with her. While this wasn't exactly uncommon, it was the subject matter that brought her discomfort. Her mother wanted to speak to her about going on her first feeding. She gulped again. Why did changelings have to be born without being able to fall in love but still be able to fear?!
She thought back on the lessons her mother had taught her, specifically her telling the story of how their race had come to be.
'Long ago before the reign of the cursed alicorn sisters, a unicorn had been stricken with an illness that medicine could never cure, a broken heart.'
Crystal felt herself involuntarily gag at the thought that their species had come from those dreaded, love hoarding ponies. She thought about the stories some of her brothers and sisters had told her. About how the ponies had taken some of them prisoner and locked them away after they had tried to make a feeding ground out of one of their capitals. It was only one city! They had the rest of their country for Faust's sake!
Crystal tried to make herself calm down. She couldn't face her mother like this. She breathed in and out, trying to rid herself of the horror stories that they had told her. But they still lived on in her mind. She gave up and flopped down onto the cobwebs that had been used as her nest from the time she was born.
Crystal found it funny that even though everyone in the hive had their own families that everyone called each other brother and sister, sometimes referring to one another as 'sister so and so', or 'brother this and that' if they were close. Crystal had never had anyone do that to her.
She tried to think about the story of how her race had come to be, that story she didn't mind as much compared to thinking about the horror stories. Both the one that the other lings had told her and the one called her life. Crystal rolled onto her back, heeding her delicate wings. She stared at the ceiling as she started painting the picture in her mind.
'The unicorn whose heart had been broken tried everything they had ever known to rid themselves from the tragedy of losing their beloved. But nothing ever worked. She soon caught word of a griffon mage who could perform the blackest of magics and realized that it was her only option.
'The unicorn raced to the mage, begging and screaming at her doorstep by the time she got there. The mage took pity on her and invited her inside. When the mare told the griffon of what she sought the griffon refused to help her, saying that she would be releasing something upon the world that no one could control.'
Crystal had always liked that. That they were something of which the ponies couldn't control. They had life too easy. They had control of everything. The weather, the land, magic, they had control over the celestial bodies for the mother! She relished in the fact that they were something they could not be swayed by the ponies.
Crystal tried to focus back on the story. She finally thought of what happened next.
'When the mage was asleep, her ancestor snuck into a room. The room where the griffon practiced her witchcraft. She had looked high and low until she found it, the book of spells. After gathering the ingredients, all the mare had to do was drink the solution she had made. And she did.
'She felt her sadness from her love's death instantly fade away, leaving her feeling perfectly content. But in the days afterward, she noticed the changes. She needed to constantly be around ponies who were deeply and madly in love. Not only that but her coat was falling off of her body, leaving an exoskeleton of the same color behind. Her teeth became sharper. Other changes occurred until she was the beginning of their glorious race! A changeling!'
Crystal let out a sigh, a smile slipping onto her lips. She had always loved that story. A story that reminded her that love, while it was their food, it was dangerous. And no other race had so much love as the ponies.
Yet it was the ponies driving them to starvation. You would think for such a peaceful race they would be a bit more sharing. If changelings were fed properly, they had no holes in their bodies, and they had all the variety of the ponies when it came to mane and coat colors, they would fit right in. Now they were black as night, a testament to their hunger. And a testament to the lengths they were willing to go for food now.
"Princess Cocoon?" A guard said from the other side of the door. Crystal's head popped up as she fluttered to the door and opened it up. The changeling standing outside was one of the ones that had been out for a feeding recently, his exoskeleton had a slight blue tone to it. It was almost unnoticeable. But Crystal noticed.
"Did you have a nice feeding, sir?" Crystal asked, trying to use the voice her mother taught her. Sweet enough to give character, but with enough power to insert fear. His eyes light up and he opened his mouth as if to ask a question, but Crystal silenced him by bringing up her hoof. "Your coat has a slight blue sheen to it."
"Really?" He asked, looking at his hoof for the blue hue.
Crystal chuckled as she stepped out of her room slightly in front of him to show that she was leading, another trick from her mother. She looked back to the soldier, she was roughly about the same height as him, even though she was far from being a grown up. "Yes, soldier. I will have to show Queen Chrysalis, she will be pleased."
"Thank you, princess," He said as he bowed. Crystal flinched at the action. She liked that people respected her enough to bow, but at the same time it felt. . . Wrong. She hadn't done anything to deserve the action. She was only hatched to be great, she hadn't done anything great yet.
"Now, what have you come to request from me?" She asked, trying to keep a bored look on her face. It was either bored or terrified.
"Your mother has said she is ready to speak with you," He said as he took to his wings. Crystal couldn't help but gulp. Her mother may have been lenient towards her, but she was still rather terrifying.
"Very well," Crystal said as she unfurled her wings, trying to get them in a comfortable position for take off. The changeling just gawked at her wings, trying to contain his awe, Crystal's wings were something to behold. They were unlike any other wings in the hive, even though she was starving her wings were in their full glory. They looked more like oversized butterfly wings than something you would find on a changeling as well making them stand out even more. Crystal glanced back at her room, knowing that it could be the last time she saw it. "Let us be off."
The chamber was dark, the air thick with the smell of wood rotting and leaves decaying. In its center stood a tall throne, made of black wax and dried twigs. To the average pony, it looked like something that should have been burned along with the end of the Discordian era, but it was one of the few things that could be called beautiful by the changelings of the hive.
On the throne a tall, dark figure laid herself across it, her cold eyes searching the room. As if she was looking for someone to condemn. Her eyes settled on the changeling to the left of her chair who was fidgetting uncontrollably.
"Private," The figure spoke, her gaze still fixed on the entrance in front of her. The changeling that she had addressed let out an audible yelp of surprise and fear as she looked at her queen with big eyes.
"Yes, oh beautiful queen whom all should fear?" She asked her voice several octaves higher than normal from fear.
"Where is the princess?"
"I. . . I am not sure your highness."
The figure looked at the private, her green eyes virtually radiating malice. She sat up right bringing herself to her full height rising a good three feet above the private, with some help from the chair. The private stared at the sight, her throat caught in her throat.
The dark figure unfurled her wings making her already impressive appearance absolutely terrifying. Her translucent hair cascaded down her back, stopping just at the base of her wings.
She stared at the soldier, opening her mouth to say something when movement from the door caught her attention. Her stern look melted away to reveal a genuine smile. The terrifying queen had been replaced with the joyful mother.
"Crystal," Chrysalis cooed as her daughter flew into her lap, hugging her mother with all of the strength stored in her relatively small body. The queen smiled as she lovingly squeezed her daughter back. "Whatever took you so long?"
"I was nervous," Crystal admitted, hanging her head in defeat before snuggling closer to her mother. Chrysalis looked at her daughter, a warm smile gracing her lips. She nudged the warm little princess closer to her bringing her hooves to her daughter's wings and lovingly stroking them.
Chrysalis wished that a changeling's love for another changeling could feed her people, but it had to be from a different species in order to work. Aside from that, the price would be far too high for her people if they could remember every heartbreak. Chrysalis sometimes wished she could remember the love she had held for some of her past husbands, but she knew that it would have been too painful. Far, far too painful.
Crystal pulled away from her mother and looked her in the eyes before nodding her head. Chrysalis was confused before she realized what Crystal was trying to convey to her.
"Are you sure you're ready, Crystal?" Chrysalis asked, worry evident in her voice. A part of her had been hoping that Crystal would have said no again so she could still have her baby girl. For Crystal to always be under her watchful eye, but Chrysalis knew if Crystal wanted to go she had to allow it. If she didn't, Crystal would never learn what she needed to rule the hive. But Chrysalis still wanted to be sure. "It is a dangerous realm out there, especially now that the ponies know of us. I wish. . . If only my love for you would suffice. . . . Then you would never have to leave."
"Mother," Crystal started, doing her best to choke back the whimpers that wanted to escape from her throat. "I'm sure. If I don't go now, I never will. And I wish that we could feed each other too. . . You still haven't told me why we can't."
"I know, it's just-"
"Mother, if I am leaving I need to know," Crystal said as she fluttered out of her seat and took her place in the, albeit slightly smaller, throne next to her mother's, turning her head to stare into her eyes.
Chrysalis stared into her daughter's eyes. Chrysalis had always loved her daughter's eyes. They were a green the spoke of spring instead of eyes telling of a dying summer. Chrysalis realized just how beautiful her daughter was right then. She had grown up so fast. She could barely bring herself to part with her baby girl.
"I'll tell you.
"The first Changeling realized something when one of her first family members found out about her. It was her brother and he told her that she was a monster who had tampered with things out of her control. He had told her that she was to never see him again.
"But the thing was she couldn't bring herself to care. She still remembered being fond of him, but she could never bring herself to love him. That is when she realized that she wouldn't have the ability to love anyone who broke her heart. This brought her great joy, but also great sadness. This meant when one of the ponies that she loved died that she wouldn't love them anymore. Such is the affliction of the changelings. Our greatest gift is our greatest curse."
"Wha-what?!" Crystal shrieked. Of all the things she had been expecting, that had not been one of them.
"You see, Crystal," Chrysalis started as she got off her throne to get eye level with her daughter. "Only creatures who are able to love without forgetting, their love can give us nutrition. Changelings are not capable of constant love."
"But. . ." Crystal tried to choke out as she flung her hooves around her mother's shoulders. "But I'll always love you!"
"I will always love you too," Chrysalis whispered as she hugged her daughter's neck. A tear slipped down her cheek as she tried to contain herself, knowing that there were other guards in the room. But Chrysalis knew the truth of what was going to happen once she died.
Because she had said the same thing to her own mother.
"Sir!" A stallion's voice called out from the trees as he raced back to his commander. He was stumbling over himself as he tried to get back to his commanding officer.
Quick Clash turned towards the sound. Just as he did a grown stallion came bursting from the bushes panting and sweating as he tried to get out the important news he had brought with him.
Quick just stared at the soldier who was under his command as his mind tried to wrap around what he had just seen. His mind suddenly caught up to the current moment. "What has happened, soldier?"
"A. . . ! And it. . . ! Just. . . Look!" He screamed as he pointed to bushes. Quick turned his head just in time to see a changeling step out of the bushes, a bewildered look taped to his face.
Quick felt himself take in a breath of air as he accidentally choked on it as he stared at the changeling. Quick instantly summoned a mana sword as he recovered from his coughing fit and pointed it at the changeling. "What are you doing here, monster?!"
"I've come to turn myself in."
Quick stared at the creature, unable to comprehend what is had just said.
"What."