Prince of the Changelings

by Kustom95

The Swarm and a first taste of Love

The group continued through the tunnel, the Barding disappearing into the darkest shadows they passed, until they reached the mouth of the tunnel which connected in a cavern so large, only Chrysalis could see the ceiling. And what she saw there was the start of a new day, technically a new night, as the Changelings were nocturnal.

“My subjects, Arise!” the Queen called with a magically amplified voice, startling Mandible, and causing a ripple to spread amongst the cocoons that covered the cavern ceiling. The Swarm woke to the sound of the Queens voice, deathly silent, aside from the occasional grumbles of a changeling who was crashed into by another who was too drowsy to fly straight.

As the multitude of changelings gently hovered and flew about the cavern, several approached the pods in the walls, injecting them with a bioluminescent fluid to reignite them. With the soft glow permeating the air once more, Mandible could vaguely see the cocoons hanging from the ceiling, and dozens of tunnels, ramps and alcoves set into the walls of the cavern. As the Changelings gradually came to full awareness, a low hum gave the cavern a sense of being filled, and in addition to the changelings hovering in the air, Mandible noticed several large, smooth, and oblong shapes moving across the cavern floor from tunnels and dugouts situated on the ground level.

A muddled cloud of thoughts entered Mandible’s mind as he watched the large forms, easily twice and three times the size of the Barding who flanked the Queen. Sensing this, Chrysalis spoke “Just as the Barding are specialized for their duties, so are several others. Those in front of you are Tunnelers, and as the name suggests, they are organic machines that dig tunnels for the hive; however, they also process minerals into gems, which provides wealth for the swarm. We use that wealth to feed the hive, though it’s not as nutritious as Love.”

The last word rolled off of her tongue like morning dew on a blade of grass.Love. The word vibrated within Mandible’s mind, he didn’t know what it was, but he knew that it was something important, something powerful, and hearing how his mother had spoken that name, that word, it was something delicious. Before he could gather his thoughts to ask his mother, she had started across the caver towards a ramp set into the wall. She would have flown, but Mandible was just large enough to pin her wings against her body. “I shall teach him to walk later tonight, but for now, he must get accustomed with the hive.” Chrysalis thought, and to Mandible she said, “I shall show you what it is”. Chrysalis neared the base of a ramp and began to climb, sending a thought to dismiss the two Barding still following her. They stopped abruptly and bowed until their Queen had moved several meters above them.

Mandible continued to observe the Hive while his mother ascended, taking note of what he saw throughout the caves and tunnels they passed. Towards the floor, many changelings were gathered into groups, rings, around a smaller group of three or four. They were igniting into green flame at sporadic intervals, and when the flames faded, they had been replaced by a mix of creatures which proceeded to charge at each other. In multiple pockets in the walls, wooden contraptions held multiple objects which seemed to intrigue smaller groups of changelings, while a single, or sometimes two changelings would demand something for the objects.

Deciding it would be best to use the connection to find answers to his questions, he focused in on one of changelings in the group at the floor. His mind was immediately overwhelmed by a buzz of excitement. The changelings in front of him were participating in a shift match, a challenge for four changelings.

In a standard shift match, each changeling had only a second to think of a creature to shift into, and then use that form to dominate his opponents. There were certain restrictions, such as no Dragons or creatures greater than a set size. Most changelings could manage a large bear or teen Dragon with little effort, but this was to discourage the few that could hold larger forms.

Watching with interest, Mandible watched as a giant dragonfly ducked around a bear’s swipes, latched onto its leg, and moved it with ease, lifting it up and dropping it onto its back, stunning the changeling and forcing it to shift back into its normal body. Two changelings jumped forward and dragged their companion out of the clearing, just before a second dragonfly tackled the first in mid-air, which sent it careening out of bounds before it could recover. Looking around for its last opponent, the dragonfly turned to face a ten foot long centipede, which reared up while it waved its many legs. Quickly darting around the centipede, it tried to latch onto its head. This was foiled by the centipede’s slick shell, which allowed no grip, and set the dragonfly off balance for a brief moment. With a sudden movement, faster than what any of the gathered changelings expected, the centipede whipped its head backward and slammed into the dragonfly, dropping the entirety of its weight to pin it to the floor. The dragonfly struggled for several moments, but a lack of breath caused it to faint.

Some of the gathered changelings began to cheer for the winner as he shifted back to his own body, others talking and exchanging small tokens with one another. Mandible gathered thoughts which informed him that this was currency in the hive, specifically crafted silver coins with various markings.

Mandible ended the connection to the other changeling. Opening his eyes, he saw that they were near the top of the ramp, and by extension, the cavern ceiling. There was a solitary tunnel leading from the main cavern that led into darkness. There was a constant stream of changelings moving in the same direction as Chrysalis proceeded down the tunnel. Mandible watched the changelings around him, looking for the variety amongst the black and blue bodies moving about. Here and there, he spotted red and brown eyes, the occasional mane instead of the crest that ran down the back, and a different shade or color on the back.

The tunnel opened into another massive cavern, this one with only two entrances, one at the bottom, and the other near the top. They were currently at the bottom of the cavern, and as Mandible looked up, his little jaw went slack. Standing in the middle of the cavern was a dark black monolith, stretching from the floor to just below the ceiling.

Chrysalis looked back at her child, a small grin on her face. “It’s time to feed” She said, now with a twinkle in her eye. The walls of the chamber were filled with small holes, big enough for a single changeling to crawl into, and they were filling up fast, changelings shoving each other out of the way in a race to find a seat. Chrysalis began her stride towards the monolith, to a small entrance that Mandible had failed to notice before. Inside the alcove was a bed, and Chrysalis levitated Mandible to the ground just before lying down, and prompted him to totter over to where she lay. Wrapping him in an embrace with one leg, her horn lit up with magic. The monolith began to glow in a blue light, dull at first but quickly growing brighter. Just as the light became too bright to bear, it was suddenly cut off, leaving everything pitch black.

Mandible looked all around in the darkness, unaware of the ethereal substance that began to fill every bit of available space in the cavern. Chrysalis whispered to her child “Breath in. Breath deeply and taste Love”.

He did as he was told. He inhaled deeply, taking in…Something. it was Pink, no, it was Magenta, no, Violet. He couldn’t say which color it was. It was… a color? No, it was an emotion, no, a physical thing. He felt Happy and Sad, Passionate and Distraught. He felt every Emotion and none at the same time, he could taste, hear, smell and feel colors and thoughts. He didn’t have a body; he wasn’t him, not himself. He was one with the world, an omnipotent presence, but he was also just one being in the caves beneath Equestria.

The experience was too much for him, and he began to drift into the dream world. His last coherent thought was that he would hunt for this substance for the rest of his life.

Author's Note:

Please leave a comment to let me know if I'm doing this right

Comments

[flutterpunk]

Its going good

[Ozark]

I'll be keeping my eye on this, It's really good so far.

[Kustom95]

3776412 uh, thanks. I really gotta get my butt in gear and write the next chapter, though

[Husster72]

Keep up the good work