King Of The Changelings

by Bluecatcinema

The Ballad Of Sazh

Things were going swimmingly at the hive. Chrysalis had laid far more eggs in this year's breeding season than she had before (no doubt a result of how much better things were going for the Changelings; her mind being at ease allowed her to relax more, and focus on laying as many eggs as she could), and the construction Changelings had finished repairing all the damage caused by Red Eclipse's attack.

Sleight was taking a walk through the hive, surveying everything. The hive was peaceful, well-populated, and his subjects wanted for nothing. It was a good feeling, knowing everything was okay.

As Sleight continued his tour of the hive, he saw Sazh talking to some other Changelings.

"...So anyway, that's how I found out Hydras do not like being tickled." Sazh declared.

The other Changelings laughed out loud.

"Such a wit!" One Changeling, a tall member of the construction crew, chuckled.

"I never knew you were so funny." A lithe female admitted.

"There's a lot you guys don't know about me." Sazh pointed out.

"Mostly our fault." A short male admitted. "We should have recognised your potential a lot sooner, instead of shunning you all those years."

"Hey, Sazh." Sleight grinned, as he walked over.

"Good morning, Sleight." Sazh nodded.

The other Changelings bowed before their King.

"Been entertaining, have we?" Sleight chuckled. "'Fraid I'm going to have to borrow Mr. personality for a while, folks. That okay with you?"

"As you wish, my king." One of the Changelings declared.

"Thanks." Sleight smiled. "Come on, pal."

Sleight and Sazh walked down the street together.

"Well, look at you." Sleight chuckled. "From outcast to Mr. popularity in just a few weeks."

"With a little help from you." Sazh declared.

"Actually, it was you who helped me." Sleight replied. "But who's counting?"

"Either way, life for me has never been better." Sazh smiled. "Before, my follow Changelings wouldn't even give me the time of day. Now, they're practically lining up to spend time with me. It feels pretty good, considering everything I've been through..."

"Which is what, exactly?" Sleight asked.

"Oh, I don't want to bore you with the details of my torturous formative years." Sazh declared.

"Why not?" Sleight asked. "You're my best pal, remember? You can tell me."

"I guess I could..." Sazh admitted. "Okay, here goes. It all began, as you may remember, when I was but an egg, with a highly obvious deformity..."

Flashback...

Sazh's egg, having been laid mere hours before, was being held by one of the Changeling nurses, a shrewd uncompromising female none as Rash. Rash took notice of Sazh's small size and unformed horn.

"Oh dear." She tutted. "Another reject. Ah well, such is life. Time to put this little one out of its misery..."

Rash walked over to the ice-cold pool of water used to drown 'defective' eggs, and lowered Sazh's egg into it.

"Stop." A voice called out from the entrance.

Rash lifted the egg out of the water and turned to see Wizel before her. He was slightly less haggard than in the present day. However, he was emotionally wounded.

Wizel was in mourning for his deceased mate, Hazel. The two had enjoyed a long and happy relationship, which was tragically cut short when Hazel passed on from this world, twenty years ago. Utterly distraught by his beloved's passing, Wizel had often come to the nursery around that time every year, in hopes that seeing all the new life might help him forget about his loss. Seeing the egg and the little thing within, about to be exterminated before it even started living, for too much for him to take in his current emotional state. A powerful need to protect the egg and the larva within raced into his heart, and he had intention of refusing it.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Wizel asked venomously.

"My job, Sir Wizel." Rash said respectfully, Wizel's relation to Chrysalis engendering a show of fealty. "I am drowning this defective egg."

"Oh, really?" Wizel frowned. "And what makes you think this egg is defective?"

"The larva's horn is severely underdeveloped, sir." Rash declared. "Clearly, it will be unable to harness its magic. Therefore, it can be of little use to the hive."

"Well, there's no need to be so hasty." Wizel declared. "Perhaps this one is simply a late bloomer. Maybe we could wait and see how he turns out."

"With respect sir, that's not our way." Rash countered. "If this one doesn't turn out to be a 'late bloomer' as you say, then we will end up with a Changeling who cannot serve the hive adequately. Not only is its horn underdeveloped, it is a runt, also, smaller than most changelings. It will be nothing but a drain on our resources. It's best to simply dispose of it now."

Rash made to return the egg to the water, but Wizel had other ideas.

"Step away from the water." He growled. "Now."

"But sir-" Rash started.

"But nothing." Wizel said fiercely. "To be perfectly honest, I have never fully agreed with this practice of drowning so-called 'defective' larva. I only stood by before because of the severity of their physical deformities, knowing that a Changeling with a unformed leg or underdeveloped limbs would be unable to be as active as its fellows. But to drown a larva whose only real drawback is a smaller horn? Are we really those kind of purists that kill over something so damn trivial?"

"It is our way, Wizel." Rash frowned. "Decreed by the first Queen herself. Please, let me do what must be done."

"You see here, Rash." Wizel snarled, "I am already having a bad week, and it's not going to get better for a while, and since you are adamant on killing the larva...I will be taking custody of it."

"You're... what?!" Rash spluttered. "But... but Queen Chrysalis... she won't allow..."

"She doesn't have to know, and I am sure she won't question my actions." Wizel declared, his own horn lighting up. "Now are you going to give me the egg? Or do we have to do this the hard way?"

"...Very well." Rash gulped.

"Good." Wizel smiled. "Now, give me the egg."

"As you wish." Rash gave him the egg. "Just remember, this decision is on your head. Don't think the larva will thank you for allowing to live a life of misery."

"We'll see." Wizel declared.

Wizel took the egg to his private quarters. He kept it warm with moss and hay, and waited patiently for it to hatch. Soon enough, the time came; The egg broke open, and Sazh's pale, slimy form emerged.

"Hello there, little one." Wizel smiled. "Welcome to the hive. And know that whatever happens, the gift of life is yours. As is the gift of a name. Henceforth, your name shall be... Sazh."

The larva stared up at Wizel uncomprehendingly. But the confusion faded into a smile. The young larva felt... safe with him.

The present...

"So it was Wizel who gave you your name?" Sleight asked.

"Yes." Sazh nodded. "In the ancient Changeling tongue, Sazh means 'small wonder'...that, and he met this one pony who kept a chick in his afro."

"Fitting." Sleight nodded. "I remember you said Wizel saved you from drowning, but I didn't he actually took you in like that."

"Well, he did." Sazh smiled. "He practically raised me. When I was old enough, he had me act as his assistant for a while. At least, that's how he passed it off to the others when they asked."

"Good ol' Wizel." Sleight grinned. "Old guy's got a real big heart."

"But as well as Wizel treated me, it didn't help the reality of my situation elsewhere in the hive." Sazh sighed. "As soon as I was old enough to walk, I was relentlessly teased by my fellow younglings. Though my horn did grow out over time, I was unable to use my magic, as you well know. The others would call me names like 'runt' and 'powerless weakling'. While they never imagined I was actually considered a 'reject', they would often taunt me that I was somehow overlooked for it."

"Sounds awful." Sleight frowned.

"It was." Sazh nodded. "And one of my tormentors was far worse than the others..."

Flashback...

The young Sazh, having recently developed his shell, was walking across the Changeling hive. He could feel he judgmental looks of his fellow Changelings upon him. Though Wizel had encouraged him to not let the differences between them affect him, he was having a hard time following through on his advice. He didn't even want to be outside, but Wizel had got him a menial position as a courier, spreading information to each of the Changeling groups; the builders, the nurses, and more. Currently, he was bringing over a message to the builders about expanding the nursery.

Sazh was hoping he could reach the builders' headquarters without incident. Alas, he was wrong.

"Well, well." A familiar voice sneered. "Look who it izzz."

"Oh no." Sazh froze. He turned around to see a young Char standing before him.

"Where are you going, runt?" Char smirked.

"I have a message to deliver, Char." Sazh declared. "S-so if you'll just step aside please..."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Char growled. "The day I let a powerlezzz runt give me orders is the day I give up my shell!"

"Please Char, not this again." Sazh cringed. "J-just leave me alone."

"There you go again, telling me what to do." Char snorted. "Pretty high and mighty for a undergrown reject."

"I-I'm not a reject." Sazh shuddered, hating that term.

"Of courzzze you are." Char sneered. "Zzzomehow, you were overlooked for dispozzzal, and we've all had to zzzuffer for it ever zzzince."

"L-look, I have to go." Sazh said timidly. "The message is kind of... urgent."

"You think you're pretty big now, don't you?" Char snarled. "Well, I've got newzzz for you. You only got thizzz job becauzzze you're good for nothing elzzze!"

"Th-that's not true!" Sazh retorted.

"But it izzz." Char sneered. "You're no zzzoldier, like I'm training to be. You're no builder. Heh, you're not even a nurzzze. Zzzince you're zzzo uzzzelezzzzzz at anything requiring actual effort, Wizel took pity on you and gave you thizzz joke of a job."

"St-stop it." Sazh quivered.

"You're juzzzt a wazzzte of a Changeling." Char sneered. "Thizzz hive would be better off without you. But go on, deliver your little mezzzzzzage. Azzz it long azzz it keepzzz you out of the way of the real Changelingzzz."

Char walked away, leaving Sazh distraught.

The present...

"Aw, that guy again..." Sleight scowled.

"Yes, him again." Sazh growled. "Char went out of his way to mock me, bully me, and convince me of my own inferiority. He fervently believed in the perfection of the hive. And as far as he was concerned, I was making a mockery of that perfection simply by existing. And he wasn't the only one. So many Changelings hated the sight of me. I couldn't get any of those my age to be friends with me. And as for romance, well..."

Flashback...

Sazh was carefully making his way over to a pretty female Changeling known as Scale. He had nursed a crush on her for quite some time. Though they hadn't talked much, she didn't appear to share the same disdain most other Changelings had for him. After recently mastering the power of flight, he felt confident enough to actually ask her out (albeit he waited until she had separated from her friends, not wanting an audience).

"Um, excuse me?" He said timidly. "Scale?"

"Oh, it's you, Sazh." Scale noted. "What is it?"

"Well, I... I was wondering..." Sazh cleared his throat awkwardly. "If maybe you'd like to look at the stars with me sometime? Or possibly... share some berry juice."

"Oh..." Scale nodded, comprehension dawning. "I'm sorry, Sazh, but I'm afraid that's not possible."

"What?" Sazh gasped, crushed. "Why not?"

"Don't get me wrong." Scale declared. "You're a nice guy, and everything, but... you're not really the kind of Changeling I should be seen associating with."

"I... I'm not?" Sazh gaped.

"Yeah." Scale nodded. "No offense, but I can't be seen dating a guy like you. My reputation would be ruined. My friends would stop talking to me, every Changeling here would laugh at me..."

"Oh... I see." Sazh sighed.

"I'm sorry." Scale apologised. "Maybe if you were a little taller, with actual magic, things would be different."

"Yeah, maybe." Sazh scowled.

"Glad you understand." Scale patted him on the back. "See you around."

Scale departed, leaving Sazh to deal with the aftermath of her rejection.

The present...

"Even when Changelings were trying to be nice to me, they still made me feel bad." Sazh growled.

"That's rough, buddy." Sleigh said sympathetically. "Nothing stings quite like being rejected by a cute mare, believe me..."

"It was still better than what the others gave me." Sazh sighed. "Before long, I asked Wizel to get me out of being a messenger. I just couldn't take the constant stares. Wizel pulled some strings, had me train as a scout. That at least I could work with. It meant spending some time away from the hive that despised me."

"I can understand that." Sleight said grimly. "When I was young, I wanted to run away from my problems too."

"Of course, there was some peril involved." Sazh recalled. "Being a scout meant coming close to the ponies we thought of as our enemies at the time. I had heard the stories about other scouts being discovered and exterminated, so I tried to stay as far from the larger settlements as possible, sticking to smaller places, like villages and farmland. But then came our attack on Canterlot, with Chrysalis calling us all to take up the battle. I wasn't much of a fighter, as you can imagine, so I was ordered to bring up the rear. That didn't save me from being flung away by the wave of love that repelled the rest of us."

"Yeah, that must have hurt." Sleight remarked.

"Not as much as you'd think." Sazh sighed. "I landed in a mudhole, earning a filthy shell on top of everything else."

"Ooh, insult to injury." Sleight noted.

"Once I cleaned myself up, I realised I was completely alone, the wave having sent me far from the others." Sazh continued. "As much as I resented the hive for rejecting me, I knew I stood little chance all by myself, so I did everything I could to find them. For days, I made my way across the lands. As I neared a cherry tree grove, something happened. Something that changed my views on ponies forever..."

Flashback...

Sazh was flying through the sky, still ardently searching for some sign of his hivemates.

'Still no hint of the others.' He thought. 'I should have picked up some kind of trace by now, shouldn't I? The wave can't have sent me that far from them, could it? Unless they're... no, don't even think that! They have to be alive! Most of them despise me, but they're still my hive. And then there's Wizel. Please, don't be dead, old friend. Despite everything, I never wanted to be alone...' Mentally, he shook himself. 'No, stop that. They're alive, they've got to be. I survived, and I'm just a weak runt. So it stands to reason that they're all okay. Just stay positive, Sazh. The worst is behind you...'

Suddenly, Sazh was struck in the face by a round rubber object.

"Ugh!" He yelped, as he dropped out of the sky.

Sazh dropped down into a bush below, which was filled with thorny vines.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" He struggled to break free, only tangling himself up worse. "What else can go wrong today?"

There was a rustling in the nearby bushes. Sazh froze up, worried that some unseen predator was about to make a meal of him. From out of the bushes emerged a white-coated Pegasus colt with a black mane.

'Oh no.' Sazh thought. 'This is it, isn't it? I'm at the mercy of ponies. This one will call others, and they'll crack my shell like an egg...'

The colt slowly advanced on Sazh, seemingly intrigued by his predicament. Sazh was too terrified to speak, but thoughts were still running through his head.

'Well, what are you waiting for?' Sazh thought. 'Just get it over with, already!'

The colt came closer. Sleight closed his eyes, expecting the end... but felt his hooves being freed. The colt was untangling the thorn vines.

'What the...?' Sazh asked.

"There you go, little guy." The colt smiled. "You're free."

'What is this, some kind of trick?' Sazh asked, as he appraised his rescuer. 'Ponies hate us! They don't save us! At least, that's what I've been told...' He looked down, and saw the round object that had hit him. Tentatively, he picked it up, and offered it to the colt.

"My ball!" The colt smiled. As he grabbed the ball, he suddenly flinched. "Ah!"

Sazh glanced at the colt's hooves. They were covered in cuts and scratches from the horns.

'He got hurt helping me...' Sazh noted. 'Guess I should return the favor...'

Pulling some leaves from another bush, Sazh wrapped them around around the colt's hooves, using them as makeshift bandages. The sap in those particular leaves acted as a salve, easing the colt's pain.

"Thanks." The colt smiled. "Guess this makes us even, huh?"

Giving the colt a small smile, Sazh flew up into the sky, returning to his search for the others. As he flew, his gaze turned to the colt, who was smiling up at him.

"What just happened back there?" Sazh asked. "Good thing I'm on my own. Don't except the others would think much of that..."

Sazh's kept flying on and on, until he finally found a group of Changelings. It was a rather large group, Chrysalis and Wizel among them. It seemed as though they had found most of their lost brethren, and were waiting for latecomers, like him.

"At last!" He smiled. "I made it!"

Sazh landed on the edge of the gathering.

"My Queen! Wizel!" He announced. "I've found you!"

"Ah, another of my lost children returns." Chrysalis smiled.

"Good to see you, Sazh." Wizel declared.

"You too, Wizel." Sazh smiled.

"Oh, great." Char snorted. "It'zzz the runt. Zzzo glad you zzzurvived."

"You don't have to sound so surprised, Char." Sazh snarled.

"Actually, I'm dizzzappointed." Char spat. "Of all the Changelingzzz who could have zzzurvived, I didn't think it'd be you."

"That's enough, Char." Wizel admonished him. "We should be grateful for all survivors, regardless of their physical state."

"Yes." Chrysalis nodded. "Most of us have survived. And together, we shall rebuild, and one day make those ponies pay for what they did to us! Glory to the hive!"

"Glory to the hive!" The Changelings cheered.

Sazh, still confused by his encounter with the colt, joined in halfheartedly, while Wizel didn't join in at all, instead looking on with disapproval.

The Present...

"After that, the hive was so focused on rebuilding that they didn't pay me much attention for a while." Sazh declared. "Which was just as well, because I was worried that they might somehow get the details of my encounter with the colt out of me..."

"You never told anypony about it?" Sleight asked.

"Not even Wizel." Sazh admitted. "I was afraid that if they all found out a pony had me at his mercy and actually spared me, I'd be an even bigger outcast than I already was."

"Understandable." Sleight shrugged.

"I just couldn't stop thinking about it, though." Sazh recalled. "The more I thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion that not all ponies were as bad as I'd heard they were. That some were willing to be nice to us. Of course, that way of thinking wasn't very popular after what happened to us in Canterlot, so I kept that to myself, too."

"But what about that prophecy Wizel made up?" Sleight asked. "About a wizard with the blood of Star Swirl saving the hive."

"Wizel told me of it, a few years after our attempted invasion." Sazh recalled. "When I heard it, I became more convinced than ever that ponies weren't the scourge of our race. But apart from Wizel, no others believed that."

"Yeah, I remember the air of skepticism when Wizel brought it up to the court." Sleight frowned.

"Over the years, we managed to build our strength back up." Sazh continued. "Char was promoted to Captain, and I remained a scout. I was still looked down on and ignored by my peers."

"Back to same old, same old, huh?" Sleight asked.

"Oh, yeah." Sazh nodded. "Day in, day out, the same old slog. Then the Queen announced we were going to attack the Crystal Empire. Wizel didn't like that one bit..."

Flashback...

Wizel, having just failed to talk Chrysalis out of her attack, was telling Sazh of his woes.

"This will not end well, my boy." Wizel declared. "You mark my words. You remember what happened the last time we attacked a city of that size, don't you?"

"How could I forget?" Sazh shuddered. "But it's not like we can go against the Queen's orders."

"I know..." Wizel sighed. "And alas, the Queen is determined to avenge what happened to us all those years ago..."

"And how many will be hurt along the way?" Sazh asked, thinking of both pony and Changeling casualties.

"We can only hope that number is few." Wizel frowned. "We can only hope..."

The present...

"Of course, you know how well that turned out." Sazh said sourly.

"Oh, I heard." Sleight noted.

"Chrysalis wasn't happy about a second defeat." Sazh recalled. "And neither was the rest of us. Morale was at an all-time low. Most Changelings couldn't even bring themselves to insult me any more. Except for Char, of course... Thankfully, the peace treaty came about not long after. As I had long suspected, most ponies were a decent sort. Finally, the hostilities had ended. Or so we thought..."

"Red Eclipse, huh?" Sleight frowned.

"Red Eclipse." Sazh nodded. "Slowly but surely, we received word of our scouts being attacked by him and his hate group. We had no idea what to do. Ponies had never come after us with such savagery before. We were completely ill-equipped to deal with them..."

Flashback...

Wizel emerged into his chamber, fresh from a talk with Chrysalis over what to do about their new problem.

"Well?" Sazh asked.

"I suggested to Chrysalis that we should ask the Canterlot ponies for help." Wizel declared. "But she refused."

"She did?" Sazh frowned. "Why?"

"We may be at peace now, but Chrysalis still has her pride." Wizel frowned. "She would never ask ponies for help."

"But doesn't she know about the prophecy?" Sazh asked. "A pony is fated to be our great saviour!"

"She does not believe the prophecy." Wizel told him. "Few Changelings do, in fact."

"If only that descendant of Star Swirl could come to us now." Sazh sighed. "He would teach Red Eclipse a lesson, no doubt about it!"

"Yes, he would..." Wizel said shiftily. "But for now, we must try to hold on."

"Yeah, I've got scouting duties to get to, over at the swamp." Sazh sighed. "Just another fun day out..."

The present...

"Let me guess: This is where I came in?" Sleight smirked.

"That's right." Sazh smiled."I was so glad when you told me you were Star Swirl's descendant. I thought our hive's troubles were finally over. And they were. Things just didn't turn out exactly the way I thought they would."

"Yeah, fate's a funny thing." Sleight chuckled.

"Even if the prophecy was fake,you still fulfilled it." Sazh declared. "You saved us all from Red Eclipse, and became a fair and noble King. One whom I'm proud to call my friend. Thanks to you, I finally have a measure of respect around here."

"It wasn't all me, you know." Sleight chuckled. "Don't forget, you were the one who blasted Char for a loop."

"Yes, my magic finally emerged." Sazh grinned. "But that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you."

"But you did save me from Char, so let's call it even, pal." Sleight offered.

"If you insist." Sazh chuckled.

"And for the record, I'm proud to call you my friend too." Sleight beamed.

"Hey, Sazh!" A pretty female Changeling called from across the street. She was joined by two others. "Wanna join us for some waterweed juice?"

"You heard 'em." Sleight grinned. "Don't want to keep the ladies waiting..."

"I sure don't." Sazh chuckled. "See you later, Sleight."

"Have fun, buddy." Sleight declared.

As Sazh walked away, Sleight looked fondly at the first Changeling he had called "friend". Sazh's life was so much better than it once was, and Sleight was happy for him. If any Changeling deserved happiness, it was his little buddy. Sleight whistled merry as he headed for the tower, sure that Sleight was going to have a fun afternoon...

Comments

[nioniosbbbb]

my follow

fellow you mean?

Who is the Red Eclipse? Now Sazh is King right? What about Chrysalis?

[Bluecatcinema]

6668888 You really should read "Sleight the Mystifying and Extraordinary". It has all the answers.

[nioniosbbbb]

6669040 I'll try. the short version? Why is this not marked as a sequel?

[Razzy]

D'awwww.

[LunaJack]

"Yes." Sazh nodded. "In the ancient Changeling tongue, Sazh means 'small wonder'...that, and he met this one pony who kept a chick in his afro."

Ummmmmm....Huh?

[Bluecatcinema]

10482443
It's a Final Fantasy XIII reference.