Magnificent Changes for the Changelings

by LOL3evee

Deal or No Deal?

Soon enough, the changeling armada had reached the boundaries of the royal city of Canterlot. The queen and her children weaved their way around the city limits, taking great care to stay out of sight. They casually steered themselves around the grand city until the weary queen finally perched her children upon the cliff below the majestic structure of the palace. Queen Chrysalis stood tall before her changeling subjects, her heart filling with motherly pride as she gazed upon the mass of exhausted changelings that stood before her.

"We have arrived, my sweet babies," the queen said from her place before the crowd. " We have arrived at Canterlot castle, and I couldn't be prouder. It warms my heart to know that you have endured the long journey to Canterlot for me, and that you have remained strong throughout these most difficult times. It is now time for us to make the deal between changelings and ponies. The pact that will forever change how we live, for better or for worst."

The changelings before her jabbered excitedly amongst each other, eager to have found a new home. Before her children could get too loud, Queen Chrysalis hushed them with a light stamping of her hollow hooves. It would be a shame if the royal guards somehow managed to catch on at this point, and the queen didn't want to risk being caught by equine fools before she had a chance to seal the deal with the Princess of Equestria.

"Now before you all get too excited, I must say that many of you will wait here until I return with the outcome of our little deal," the queen said in a firm motherly tone. "However, I will be taking two of you into the palace to accompany me during my meeting with the princess."

Chrysalis smiled as she scanned the crowd of changeling-ponies before her. She wanted to show Celestia a ripe example of starving changelings to prove her point and (hopefully) make it easier for the queen to get what she wanted. The changeling queen turned her attention towards two particularly thin changelings near the front of the crowd. One of them was slightly taller than the rest, and in the shape of a large brown stallion with a shortened black mane. The other was in the shape of a mint green mare with violet eyes and a snow white mane. The two changelings noticed that their mother was looking right at them. They glanced nervously at each other and cocked their heads to one side as if to say, 'who, me?'

Chrysalis chuckled lightly and beckoned them forward as the other changelings snickered at how their two chosen siblings reacted to being chosen to follow their mother inside. The changelings shuffled forward to the front of the crowd until they were next to their mother. The mare stared down at her hooves as she poked at the dirt on the ground before her.

"As for the rest of you, I would like for you to hide within the foliage," the queen ordered as she pointed towards some over sized plant life. "The wild bushes around here would make good cover for your equine disguises."

As soon as the queen had given the word, dozens of changelings scrambled for the bushes, hiding within the foliage just as mother had ordered. When all of her children had hidden, the queen nudged her chosen two to catch their attention, and the three of them headed for the palace to make an appointment with Princess Celestia.

-----

"May I help you?"

The changeling queen's attention was directed towards the large door that lay before her. On each side stood a single guard. A cerulean mare wearing that familiar golden armor set with that familiar metallic blue crest was standing on the left, while a red stallion with a lavender mane stood on the right standing guard near the alicorn Princess' throne room. The mare on the left raised an eyebrow at the three outsiders that stood in the middle of the hallway. Queen Chrysalis froze for a split second, unsure of what to say to the guard. For a moment, she began to doubt her own plot. Before she had the chance to raise suspicion, the queen snapped out of her fear-stricken paralysis, saddled up her pride and walked towards the door, stepping forth with a formal stride.

"I would like to make an appointment with Princess Celestia," the disguised queen said with a posh, dignified Canterlot accent.

"Name?"

Queen Chrysalis froze for another half of a second, somehow managing to prevent herself from panicking in front of the pony guard. She wracked her brain for random words until she decided that she had found the perfect name.

"Uh, Regal Bone, ma'am."

The female guard eyed the strange pony with a quizzical look spread upon her face. It was a strange name, but who was she to judge a pony based on names?

"Alright. I have your name, but not theirs." The guard pointed a hoof towards the queen's accomplices, who shrunk down upon being addressed by a stranger.

"Oh, yes! Their names are Hack Saw and Frozen Day."

The guarding mare stopped for a few moments, staring the queen down with doubt sprinkled within her eyes. She eyed the strange pony in front of her, who was grinning from ear to ear. This was the strangest bunch of ponies that she had ever met, not counting the stallion who had come in three days prior during her shift, saying that his daughter was a holy moon banana and asking of her whereabouts. The situation at hoof was slightly suspicious considering names (and the behavior of the widely grinning pony before her), but the guarding mare decided to let it slide.

"Alright, you can go on in. Just allow me to check in with her majesty to make sure that she has no appointments scheduled around this hour."

The mare guard cantered inside and shut the door behind her, leaving the changeling queen and her subjects behind with the remaining stallion. The queen let out a small sigh of relief. Her cover would not be blown right before the moment of truth. The green stallion's eyes bore into Chrysalis' soul as she stood on the plush carpet leading to the royal room. Queen Chrysalis noticed this, and lifted her gaze to awkwardly look right back at him. The longer the two stared at each other, the more nervous the changeling queen felt. The maroon stallion let out a near inaudible grunt after a time. An awkward smile spread across the changeling queen's face as she raised a hoof to wave in greeting.

"Um... Hi?"

The guarding stallion gave no response and never lowered his gaze; staring at the three ponies in the hall with unblinking eyes. As the seconds ticked by, Queen Chrysalis realized that she was hungrier than she had ever been before. Her body ached all over from the lack of nourishment. After what felt like an eternity, the large door finally opened, and the mare that had questioned the changelings earlier had returned to her post. She beckoned for the bystanders to enter the room.

"Go right on in," the mare said in a polite tone.

"Thank you."

Thus, the queen and her two servants trotted into the room to speak with the alicorn princess of the daylight. The plush carpet felt soft beneath the changeling queen's hooves, and it cushioned each and every step with a soft pomf. The daylight entering through the large arched windows flooded the room with warm light that filled every crevice of Chrysalis's body with warmth, as if she was actually standing outside in the sunlight and absorbing the calm rays. Soon enough, the three changelings had found themselves in front of Princess Celestia. Out of courtesy, the three disguised ponies bowed before the Canterlot royalty.

"Hello, my little ponies," the princess said with a gentle tone, which was unexpectedly soothing for Chrysalis to hear. It was as if she was being spoken to by her own mother. "What brings you here on this fine day?"

"Well, we have come to speak of a terrible issue plaguing our ponies," Queen Chrysalis replied. "You see, we have been starving as of late, and we have not been nourished properly in three months."

The ponies in the room suddenly looked concerned. What part of Celesta and Luna's kingdom could be facing famine, and why hadn't they come sooner?

"Is that so? I thought that this time of year was supposed to be filled with countless healthy crops. The spring sun is shining as bright as ever and the weather ponies have scheduled bountiful showers for the season, so your fruit should have no trouble growing. What is your name, my little pony?"

"You should already know my name by now Celestia," the changeling queen said with a dark laugh. "After all, it was you who deprived us of food three months back."

"What do you mean?" The princess's face fell into a suspicious frown. "Who are you?"

"It's a shame you don't remember me, Celestia. It seemed like only yesterday that you prevented my children from feeding."

Before any ponies could react, the three changeling 'guests' were enveloped in fierce lime hued flames. Their plush pony fur was ripped from their bodies as dark grey skin crawled over the barren patches, replacing the technicolor fur in favor of much darker shades. The changelings' feathery pegasus wings disintegrated, leaving disfigured papery wings behind and not a feather to be found.

The queen's gnarled horn sprouted from her skull like a hole-filled rose as her razor sharp fangs shot forth from behind her lips, ready for use and on display for every pony to see. Her perfect pony legs melted away to be replaces by the legs of a changeling, riddled with holes just as her ratty mane was, which had taken shape just as her blond pony mane went up in smoke. Those rounded pony ears soon shifted back into the thin ears of a changeling, twitching about as the queen readjusted to having such refined features.

Before long, three thin, frail looking changeling stood before the mighty alicorn princess. The guard ponies standing by the door leaped up to charge the intruders, but were stopped by Princess Celestia herself. Her horn lit up with a golden glow, enabling her to grab the two unicorns by their tails before they could get themselves hurt before having actually been threatened by the insect-like creatures. Celestia wanted to know why the changelings were here rather than to just charge in and kill them with minimal provocation.

Queen Chrysalis teetered on her hole-ridden legs for a second before collapsing to the ground, exhausted from the massive use of magic that had taken place during her transformation and famished due to the lack of love in her system. She wheezed heavily as she tried to lift herself off of the ground, almost falling back over as she did so. Her once powerful legs were as useful as jelly now that she was beginning to feel the true effects of starvation. Her children rushed to her side, nuzzling their mother in an attempt to reassure the queen. Princess Celestia scowled sternly as the memories of Queen Chrysalis's past deeds flooded into her mind like blood spilling forth from an open wound, but settled as soon as she saw how weak the queen truly was. However, due to the possibility of this weakness being a facade, the princess didn't let her guard down for a second.

"Queen Chrysalis, why are you here?" The Princess's voice boomed throughout the castle as she demanded this of the changeling queen.

"Oof... I shouldn't have morphed so quickly," the groggy queen grumbled. "That really hurt."

"I expect you to answer me, Chrysalis," the princess of the sun growled. Just seeing the queen of the changeling hive before her throne flooded the alicorn's body with stress.

"Alright, alright," the changeling queen griped before going into a fit of heavy coughing. "Faust almighty, Celestia. I've been wandering aimlessly for months on end with no nourishment and a hundred children to feed, what do you want from me?"

"That would be exactly what I have just asked you, Chrysalis. What are you doing in Equestria?"

The changeling queen sighed as her shoulders slumped forward. Her eyelids drooped, and she just wanted to lay on the floor and sleep. However, the queen remained resilient and refused to give up on her goals. The queen didn't have time for this stalling now that her children were waiting outside, expecting their mother to come out with positive news. Her brood was starving, and the queen refused to wait any longer to feed them.

"My children and I came here to ask you to make a deal," she said. "We are all weak and thin, and since I used so much magic at once with such an empty stomach, I can barely stand."

"I can see that," the alicorn princess responded with an unamused look playing on her face. "What is it that you are attempting to get out of me when you're clearly not welcome here, Chrysalis?"

The changeling queen fell into another coughing fit, this time more violent than the last. As soon as the shaken queen settled her lungs, she looked back at her children with a sorrowful look in her eyes. The children were so thin, yet they still mustered the strength to stand by their mother.

"Well, we came to ask if we could... live side-by-side with your ponies so that we could at least nourish ourselves," Queen Chrysalis grumbled as she stared at her hooves. She hated having to come to Equestria to seek help from her arch nemesis, but it had to be done for the good of the hive.

Princess Celestia's face reflected a look full of disgust. "Are you seriously telling me that you came to kill my little ponies for your selfish deeds?"

Chrysalis huffed in frustration. "We're not going to kill the ponies, or even use them to gather strength. There are more feeding methods than the one that I showed you back during the wedding, Celestia. There's using love to grow stronger, then there's just using love to fill our uniquely crafted stomachs. We only gain extra strength when we feed with full stomachs. Besides, there's a different procedure involved in feeding for extra strength."

"Why should I let you feed off of my subjects after what you pulled during the wedding three months ago?"

"I've already said that my children need to eat to survive, Celestia..." the changeling growled as her eye twitched.

"Judging by your actions towards my subjects from three months ago, you have proven that you cannot be trusted here. I am afraid that you are going to have to leave before I am forced to rid this land of you and your drones myself." Princess Celestia puffed out her chest and rose from her throne, taking a single step forward and pawing at the ground with her forehoof. The great alicorn's horn was lit by a golden aura, which enveloped the stiff organ and glowed with radiance similar to the glorious sunlit rays of her daytime.

The changeling queen's eyes swelled, filling with tears as she dropped to the floor in exhaustion. Her two accompanying children shrieked with concern and gathered around the queen, nearly stumbling over due to their own empty stomachs. The changeling queen's body shook violently as she sobbed, filling the whole room with her miserable emotions as the changeling children outside felt for their queen. Princess Celestia lowered her horn, and the brilliant light emitting from the organ dissipated. The solar princess's chest felt heavy, and she felt a pang of guilt building in her gut.

"Why don't you see that these children need to be fed?" The queen cried. "These changelings are my children, and as their mother, I have failed them by not providing them with the food that they need to grow and thrive. Without me here to feed them, my children will shrivel up and die, as several of them already have along the way."

The broken queen shivered as a rough hiccup forced its way through her throat, shaking her weakened and weathered body.

"I can't live to see my babies suffer! Just seeing their frail little bodies and feeling their sadness as they shield their poor empty tummies hurts far too much for me to wander further, only to see them suffer more and more the longer we go without food. If we had stayed out there any longer, we would have died! As a mother, I have no choice but to seek the aid of the Equestrian civilization, as you have plenty of what we require to live. Please, let us stay! I need to feed my children!"

The solar princess's gaze fell upon the two changelings who accompanied the queen. One was nestled next to its mother, placing a hoof upon her back in a feeble attempt to comfort the queen. The other scowled at the princess with its glazed eyes as it stood guard near its mother, attempting to show that it could still fight with a battered body, and that it would protect the queen at all costs. Princess Celestia's stomach felt as if it were rolled up into tight knots as she took notice of how frail the changelings were.

The standing drone was teetering from side to side as it stood upon shaky legs, which looked like their skin would peel off if Celestia so much as poked the poor thing. The latter snuggled its mother with droopy eyelids, which threatened to rest completely if the child stayed in place for much longer. Queen Chrysalis laid upon the ground, her body quivering as deep sobs rang throughout the throne room. Her teal mane was ratty and tangled, the split ends clearly visible as her hair spread across the palace floor like a hole-ridden pool of teal liquid.

Princess Celestia's eyes softened as a painful feeling rippled throughout her body. It began in her heart and ripped through her veins, reaching her hooves and her spine and filling them with an ache that she couldn't simply shake off. She realized what she had to do. The princess felt this same way when she had banished her own sister to the moon one thousand years ago. A mixture of guilt for her deeds and the need to preserve the integrity and safety of the ponies that she had sworn to protect... just as the changeling queen had promised to love and protect her own children. Not only did the queen genuinely love her brood, but she had thrown her pride into the trash by coming to Celestia's palace to plead for amnesty. No matter what the cost, it needed to be done. Princess Celestia sighed.

"If that is what you truly need, then I must allow you to stay," the princess said in a calm and gentle tone.

The ponies of the royal court gasped, reeling back with astonishment. Princess Celestia was aiding a tyrant. The same tyrant who vowed to drain the ponies of Equestria of their love three months back was now being granted permission to settle in the very lands she had tried to take by force! The princess walked towards the crestfallen queen and put a hoof on her shoulder in comfort. The changeling queen's wracking sobs slowly died down to quiet sniffles as the alicorn princess helped her to her hooves and dried the weary queen's tears.

"I will allow you to stay so long as you abide by the laws of Equestria," Celestia said. "You may rule over your changelings, but you do not have legal permission to directly harm any of my subjects. You and your children may feed as long as you don't try to kill any of my ponies."

The changeling queen gave the princess a small smile and sniffed quietly, her tear-stained cheeks glistening in the bright daylight that flooded into the room through the magnificent windows.

"Thank you for understanding my case, Celestia. Though I do have one question."

"Anything that you ask of me, I shall swiftly answer my little changeling."

Queen Chrysalis looked Celestia dead in the eyes, concern shrouding her face and leaving Celestia to cultivate the dread the filled her body. "Where am I supposed to keep one hundred and eighty five changeling drones?"

As soon as the queen said that, the ground began to shake. The armor of the ponies posted around the glorious room began to rattle, letting out loud clanging and scraping sounds due to the clashing and shifting of metal armor plates. The air outside was filled with countless pony-like shapes... which were headed straight for the throne room! All at once, Queen Chrysalis's children excitedly crashed through the large arched windows of the throne room, falling in a nosedive towards their mother.

Queen Chrysalis stared wide eyed at the tidal wave of changeling drones like a deer in the headlights before being dog piled upon by her elated children, who were happy to finally have a home. A particularly small changeling gasped for air after coming up from the sea of children, climbing out and rushing to lick the white alicorn princess's face as a sort of 'thanks.' Celestia grimaced the second she felt the cold, slimy changeling saliva coating her left cheek, but soon pulled her cheeks back into a grin. In a bizarre and culturally confusing way, changeling grubs were just like equine foals.

Joyful squealing emitted from the large pile of changelings in the center of the room as the countless children embraced their mother in the heat of the moment. As soon as the queen resurfaced from the blanket of changelings, light peals of laughter echoed from her throat, bringing her children even more joy knowing that their mother was more than happy to accept their excited gesture.

The stallions guarding the door just stared at the pile of changelings in the center of the room. Wide eyed and confused, they glanced over at each other, not knowing what to say or do. The two guards bathed in the silence that they shared for a few moments, taking in the scene that lay before them and listening to the cacophony of laughter and cheering that came from the joyful changelings. Did changelings do this every day, or what? It was difficult to tell, but it didn't really matter to them in the end. The silence between the two stallions was finally broken when the stallion on the left leaned over to whisper to his comrade.

"Holey cornstalks," he said in a low gravelly voice.

The other guard looked at his punny comrade with a look of disapproval.

"You're punning wit is going to end up giving me a heart attack one of these days," he growled. "Won't be very punny then, will it?"

The two guards continued to wade in their own sea of silence until the stallion on the left snickered.

"Yes. Yes it will."

Comments

[zalla661]

Aww that's so cute! A wave of changelings! I imagined the cutest chibi changeling times a million licking Celestia. What a glorious story friend!

[ForeverLunar]

Please tell me that there will be another chapter sooooooonn?!!!

[LOL3evee]

5567093 Thank you! ^^

[LOL3evee]

5568088 I am working on a new chapter as of now, so there's no need to fret.

[ForeverLunar]

5571912
Yaaaay thank youu