Dual Natured Change

by Ritsuku

Chapter 4 - A Familiar Face

Here I was again, in The place of empty perfection that I had grown so fond of. The world I had made in my mind was the only place I could ever feel completely at peace, and yet- subtle changes that, at first, had gone unnoticed, were beginning to make themselves known. Soft but steady wind cut through my mane and brushed against my fur. The once brown barren land was now green, or rather, it was covered in grass. And the once dead sky was a bright shade of blue. It made me feel content, and at the same time I loathed it all. It ruined my beautiful perfection. I wanted my old world back, yet I couldn't bring myself to get rid of the new one. I was still very much comforted by this dream yet I felt torn by it. A part of it was missing, like a painting that was only half finished and then abandoned. I never seemed to have enough time in my realm though, as I was yanked from it abruptly.

"Inquis?" A strange voice called out directly to my right. I was awake but still out of it and couldn't comprehend what was happening, until he grabbed me by my arm and violently shook me out of my confusion. "Iniquis! What are you doing here?"

My eyes darted to the right and were met by the eyes of another changeling. I recognized these eyes. Whenever I copy someone I have their image stuck in my head for a long time. It was the assistant I had trapped in my room! I rolled over to my stomach and stared at him blankly for a few moments as all the questions I wanted to ask fought for dominance in my head.

"You're my mother's assistant. What was your name again?" As soon as the words left my mouth I was shocked back into confusion. Wait- why did I care what his name was? By the look on his face, he was equally confused by my words, but he answered before I could retract them.

"My name is Aidel..." he said with a touch of concern in his voice, "...are you ok?"

"I haven't fed." I said looking down at the grass in front of me. I found myself wishing I was talking to someone else but I couldn't say I was unhappy to see him. "How did you find me out here?"

"Queen Chrysalis sent me to watch over you, but before I even got there you were gone and the town was buzzing about a changeling running into the Everfree Forest after attacking someone."

If my head was any lower it would have been touching the ground. I was a failure already and it had only been a few- "Wait! How long did it take you to find me?"

"Two days after I reached the town. I was afraid this is what happened so I brought a parasprite with me," he said reaching his mouth into his pack and pulling out a small cage with a tiny blue creature inside. It had wings similar to my own and was so perfectly round I could have easily mistaken it for a ball at a glance. It's giant eyes were both adorable and creepy.

"A para-" As soon as it's eyes met me I could feel it again. This creature had barely seen me and was already showing affection.

"We carry these when we are training on how to hunt," he said after setting the cage on the ground in front of me. "Feed it and it will multiply. If you feed off of it too much before you make a new one the creature will lose its ability. And keep it in this cage! If you let it out it will multiply beyond control."

I poked a hoof at the cage and it immediately began to rub its soft body against me letting out a sweet sounding purr.

"This is no substitute for a pony. But it will keep you strong enough." He took a few steps back and turned to walk away. "I'll be around but don't rely on me. You wouldn't want to disappoint Queen Chrysalis again."

"Who are you to tell me what disappoints her!" I yelled standing to my feet, feeling my cheeks burn red with anger. But he was already gone, the buzz of his wings dying in the distance.

I looked down at the small creature in front of me and smiled. I have another chance.

I waited for dark and snuck back into town, the cage hanging from my mouth. The once blue creature inside was now a brand new bright red one. I had changed my form back to the Pegasus in case someone saw me but I really wanted to get back without someone seeing me. I had some time to think about what I was going to do on my long walk back so I had it all planed out. I kept to the ground and slowly made my way into the heart of the town. Using all the back ways I knew about from the last time I crept around at night.

After an hour had passed I had reached my destination. I had recalled what Rusted said about the old library being abandoned so it would be the perfect place to stay. The dead tree looked more sinister at night. Its long bare branches reached through the night sky like someone reaching out for help in their last moments of life. There was something wrong about this place, but I had made up my mind and flew to one of the broken windows, pushed it open, and flew inside.

The inside of the tree was way different than the outside. Aside from the random spider here and there, it was much more welcoming. I was inside what looked like the main room that took up the entire diameter of the tree. A staircase along the back edge followed the wall around to an upper room. Bookshelves of various sizes lined the walls with a handful of dusty books scattered inside them. I made my way up the staircase to the second floor. This room was obviously not part of the library but looked to be a living area. It was another round room, smaller than the previous one with a balcony built into the far wall; a broken ladder leading up to it. A chest sat open and empty next to an old countertop with a mirror that had seen better days.

I set the caged parasprite on the counter, which began making funny faces at itself in the mirror, and I flew up to the loft. An old bed frame sat neatly in the corner which concluded that this was indeed a bedroom at one time. The only other point of interest was a small window that overlooked the town. I sat down beside it and gazed upon the small village that was soon to be my own and sighed.

"I guess I'm home"

The parasprite purred sweetly below me in agreement.

-------------------------

The next month went by fairly quickly. I had become accustomed to my life in Ponyville. The parasprites were more than enough to keep me sane, but I was relying on them less as other ponies started warming up to me. There was a time, however, about a week ago, that I thought I was busted when someone walked in to the library and found me inside. But I convinced them that I was a magical flora inspector, testing the effects of residual magic left over from extended use on plant life. I don't know how I thought that up, but it worked. The fact that I had a tree for a cutie mark may have helped. When others in the town found out about it, they actually came in and helped me clean up the place. It was an interesting gesture I had never seen before and it made me feel welcomed for the first time in my entire life.

Visits to Rusted Shell's place were becoming more and more frequent. At first it was to check up on the injuries I had given him which soon turned into daily visits. A part of me felt guilty for hurting him, but a bigger part of me wanted to study him to find out why I continually failed at feeding off of him. He made his emotions so clear. They were there. I could feel them. However, something was keeping me from tapping into them.

I didn't have this problem with anyone else, and I had slowly started to work on anyone who showed any sort of affection toward me. I was getting good at it. I was starting to learn how to feed off of emotions without having to focus as hard. I had also learned how to feed on emotions that weren't directly involving me. I knew it was possible but I had never quite figured it out in the hive. It didn't take me long to find one emotion that stood out among the rest: love.

It was like a drug and I soon became an addict to it. The first time I fed off of love, when I felt it between two ponies enjoying a stroll down the road, I was hooked. It was intoxicating. I soon found myself searching it out. I even let Rusted treat me to dinner a few times so that I could get closer to couples without standing out. He said it was payback for helping him after the attack but I know he is lying. So much emotion inside of him that I just couldn't get- but it didn't matter either way because I had started enjoying eating pony food, although it did take a little getting used to.

Each day passed by like the last and I knew if I kept up this pace eventually one of the ponies would start to turn. The beautiful thing about changelings is that when they start to turn, their loved ones and friends can't notice the subtle changes, and before long the turned ponies begin feeding on them. Soon every pony in Ponyville would be loyal to me. Me, Iniquis, the new Queen...

...My ears perked as a quick loud rap at the front door sent my parasprite into a chirping frenzy.

"Hush Miss Missy!" I had not fed off of this parasprite at all and it had been over a week so I decided to name her and keep her as a pet. The others I had released in the forest whenever they started getting weak. I jumped down from my balcony and hurried down the stairs.

I knew who was at the door. Rusted had promised he would take me to the Everfree forest to show me where he collected his material for metal work. I hadn't been out of town since I was chased out so I was glad I'd be getting some time away from it. I ran up to the door and swung it open, but the pony in front of me wasn't Rusted. Instead a white unicorn, with almost unnaturally bright yellow eyes and a mane to match, stood in front of me.

"You don't blend in very well." I said matter of factly, shooting him a glare.

Comments

[Ritsuku]

All of it has been updated so be sure to reread it if you like the story ^-^

[hive vs machine]

hello 4199548 question the queen is the mother of all workers in the hive?

[Ritsuku]

7513874 sorry for the late response I am reworking this story... again... and I hope to answer some of the plot holes and rework it into the cannon of the show, as well as actually finish it. The first reworked chapter will be coming out this weekend. If you would like I can send you a message to the new reworked version when it is posted as these chapters will be removed.

[hive vs machine]

7545147 ok

[hive vs machine]

7545147 I would love to see this new chapter