The Element of Kindness

by BlueHeartTattoo

20 Years

The sun began to rise over the mountains bordering the badlands. As it climbs higher and higher into the sky, the light eventually shined onto the dark stone walls of a castle that stood tall on the desert plains.

The castle is a sight to be awed and feared simultaneously. As it is built from stone, most of it covered with green substances that were made to hold the bricks together. Its designs were as grand and majestic as any castle that has been displayed all over Equestria, but this one shone a sinister presence that any traveler couldn’t help but feel threatened.

It didn’t help either that the habitats that lived there had made a great deal to the land for centuries.

Down below directly at the castle ground was a cave with stone-carved steps leading further into it. If traveled far down enough, one would discover a whole colony filled with mucus-covered huts and cocoon-like lanterns giving light to their surroundings. But whether it be from the shelters or hovering all over the castle, one would know that this is the land of the changelings.

The changelings had been known all in Equestria to be the most heartless and evil creatures than all they had ever encountered. Their ability to change their appearance into a pony’s loved one and to drain their love for them to gain power had them known to be the master of disguises and deception. For centuries, they had invaded almost all of the parts of the land to feed on the love from all ponykind and expand on their power.

But all that changed when the Elements of Harmony came.

The princesses, who were the first bearers of the strangely powerful gems, used the magic from them to defeat them without any resistance from the changeling army. It became worse for them when the princesses gave way to the first six bearers to bear the elements merely a hundred years later. Ever since their first defeat, their attempts to conquer Canterlot had long been delayed and it had started the downfall of the changelings as a threat to Equestria.

It was until centuries later when the changeling queen decided to take matters into her hooves. It was because of her involvement that the chain of harmony was steadying breaking and her subjects were free to roam the land without fearing the elements’ power. Though they weren’t as reckless as they would like, for suspicion was rising over any potential dangers and they needed to be cautious at their journey. Nevertheless, everything is all right for the changeling race and their queen, and they will do whatever they can to make it stay that way at any cost possible.

While the sun was rising over the kingdom, a ray of light seeped through the barred windows at the bottom of the castle, which led to a small cell. Each cell from the castle dungeon was empty and held a collection of wet moss and puddles, a side effect from the green substance that would occasionally slide down the walls made their way down. None of the cells had shown any signs of life.

Except for one.

The ray of light that leak through the cell bars gradually reached up higher on the walls and onto the wooden plank structured as a bed. On the bed as a young Pegasus mare, her skin bearing a pale-yellow color and her hair long and light pink. The light woke the mare, revealing her blue teal eyes. She eventually sat up from her bed and stretched her aching body while letting out a small yawn.

Another dawn, she thought to herself, and another day.

She slides off the plank and walks over to the small corner of the cell where she lifts a stone block from the floor to reveal a small hole. There she grabs a small wooden chest that she carved by herself as a filly and opened it to search within the small collection of knick-knacks and small items inside of the chest. There were a few toys, also made of wood that she made, a small piece of paper and other things that are mainly used to help the mare get ready for the day. She immediately took out what she was looking for: a wooden comb, a few pins, a bar of soap and two rags. She combed out all the tangles in her hair then reached out to the walls to grab a fresh pair of moss. She then squeezed it so that whatever amount of water that it contained would drip onto one of her rags and a bar of soap to wash off the oil and dirt off her face. As soon as she dried off her face, she started twisting her pink mane into a bun resting on the back of her head, using the pins to secure it until she feels it’s good enough to have it last the entire day.

At another corner, almost closer to her bed, lays her uniform: an old, brown dress with patched of fabrics of unusual colors stitched into it and an apron whose color looked like it hasn’t been washed in centuries to tie around her waist. She picked it up and got dressed into it, at the same time as a loud knock pounded on the cell’s wooden door.

“Nameless!” cried a deep voice, “It’s time to go!”

As she heard the keys unlocking the door, the mare quickly grabbed the wooden chest and hid it away in the hole before the door could open it. A changeling guard, one to be ranked in a higher standard, gestured coldly to the hall to lead the mare out of the cell and walk into the exit of the dungeon.

They eventually went into a closet near the artillery room where the changeling grabs a bucket, rags and a bar of soap and harshly pushed them towards the mare, “you will start where you left off: at the castle foyer.”

“But... But I’ll have to go to the well at the village,” She spoke out weakly, “You threw out the water out when it was dark.”

“Then you go fetch more water,” he scowled with a cold glare, “And then you can start the stair all over again.”

Defeated, the mare bowed her head and walked away to the other way of the hallway.

The changeling then turned to the sharp corner to a great hall. He walked down the dark, velvet-covered walls to what seems like forever until he reached to a set of giant, richly decorated green and silver doors.

He opened the doors to reveal the throne room. The room was dark and had no windows; the only source of light was a green glowing coming from the small cocoons up from the ceiling. At the end of the long-trailed green carpet that the changeling walked upon held a great, dark throne, where the mighty Queen of the Changeling, Queen Chrysalis, was residing.

The queen was a beauty and yet menacing. The lanterns from above had shown every single detail of her in a more frightening sight. From her black coat that came along her beetle back and circular holes around her legs and horn, transparent bug-like wings to her teal cobwebbed hair and tail that also had holes on them; it is enough for her subject to adore her for her cleverness and leadership or fear her for being ruthless and demanding.

“Your Highness,” The guard said, “Your daughter is now doing day’s work.”

The Changeling Queen smirked proudly, almost showing off her small fangs. “Good. Where is she now?”

“She’s heading for a well inside the colony. She will be finishing her washing at the foyer.”

“How long will it take her?”

“Almost half the day.”

“Excellent.”

She then stood up from her throne and descended toward a dark corner at the side of her throne, where more velvet curtains covered it. She pushed the curtains to reveal a crystal ball, floating into midair with a dim lime-green glow. She held her hooves close to the glass surface as she used her magic from her horn to activate the ball, making it glow much brighter than before.

“Show me Nameless,” she called to it, making the ball changes the image from a series of green smoke swirling inside it to the image of Nameless holding an empty bucket in her mouth, walking towards the village below.

---

Nameless walked down the stair to the underground colony. The past queens structured the whole kingdom to show the difference of status as well as showing the power of intimidation of their ruler. The young mare found this fact a little bit unfair, seeing how all changelings are the queen's children and that everyone should be known as equals. But what does it matter if she decided to state her thoughts; it's not like anyone would listen to her anyway.

She made it to the bottom of the stairs where she can see the many huts ahead of her. The whole cave was already swarming with changelings as they were carrying on with their daily duties. They can survive in the daylight, as there is some patrolling around the castle, but they feel content being in a dark dome that acted almost like a hive. Everywhere, to the floors and the walls was little cocoons that were homes for them. There were also parts of the cave that used as a means of training young changelings about controlling their magic and abilities, learning their way of life and eventually become a part of the changeling society. Right nearby the training grounds was a well which the changeling made them for themselves to provide water for those who need it.

As before, it seems like this every day with the changeling literally buzzing around the cave with duties needing to be complete. But soon as Nameless took the step on the stairs, every single one of them stopped whatever they were doing and immediately took notice of the mare that just entered their world. She can see them giving her a cold glare while they slowly returned to their task, never taking their glances off her all the way.

She always hated coming here. This is the only place where she gets the most amount of attention, more than the castle guards and even her own mother. The never-ending glares from not only the older changelings but from the foals, the loud silence of the cave, the inaudible whisperings, and the occasional abuse from the subjects and even the fear of it; it’s just enough to have her frozen into place.

Stay calm, Nameless, she thought to herself. The well is just right a short distance away. All I need to do is grab a bucket of water and go back to the castle without causing any accidents. Unless they come back at me again… No! Focus, Nameless. You can do this.

With a deep breath, she started walking forward into the colony. She kept on going, only focusing on the well that stood at the other side of the cave. She would often look away and caught the changeling’s glares and even some retreating into their hut, but she quickly reverts her focus to the well until she reached to it.

Grabbing the rope from the bar and putting its hook into the handle of the bucket, she guides it down the abyss of water. She then stopped when she felt the bucket become lighter, indicating that she reached to where the water level is.
“Good morning, your highness.”

Oh, no. She moaned in thought.

She turned around to see a full-grown changeling stallion standing close to her with a stern look on his face. She can tell from the armor on his shins and upper body that he must be one of the village guards, whose role was to ensure the safety and order of its citizens inside the cave. They were also known to be a firmer type of leaders and are very loyal to the Queen and her laws, even though he doesn’t contain the amount of power that she or the changeling general had.

“Good morning, officer,” she said very quietly.

“Strange to see you out here again.” The changeling officer stated.

“I’m just here to get some water. For my duties back in the castle. I’m only going to be out of here as soon as possible.”
“No trouble at all, miss. Proceed.”

She silently thanked him before pulling the well’s rope up.

“It’s probably good that you won’t be able to stay that long. Can’t have that mistake again, won’t we?”

She slightly cringed at his remark, already feeling the smirk that was behind his voice. “O-of course not, officer. I would never do that,” She assured her peer nervously.

“Well, I’m glad to hear it. I’m sure everyone here will be glad of that as well.”

She doesn’t know how he does it, but he always managed to get every word across to her in a way that intimated her. At times when she isn’t noticed at all, she remembered how helpful he was to every changeling around him. It’s not much as a surprise of why he is acting this way towards her.

She heard more buzzing and noticed that more changeling officers were heading her way.

“Hey, Magna. What is she doing here?” One of the officers asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing. She’s just getting some water. She’ll be out of here after that.”

“Oh, well, that’s good. I was wondering how long I have to look at her.” said the other changeling, emphasizing the last word with disgust.

As she continued to hold in her anger and tears, Nameless pulls the bucket of water out of the well. But when she turned around with the bucket in her mouth, she didn’t notice one of the officers holding out his hoof on the ground, causing her to trip and spill the content all over the ground.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, princess. Let me give your bucket.” The changeling apologized, his voice dripped with fake sympathy.
Nameless looked at the mess she made along with hearing the small snickering from the officers. As she tried to stand up, she slipped and fell to the ground.

“What’s the matter, my princess? A little too weak on the knee as usual?”

Nameless stand up steadily and swipe the water off her coat and apron as much as she can.

“Better leave her alone, boys,” Magna called out,” We’re only keeping her here longer. I'll take care of her while you return to your duties.”

The changeling officer sighed in annoyance before looking to Nameless, “Very well. Here you are, Princess.”

“Please don’t call me that,” Nameless said, “It makes me uncomfortable.” She took the bucket from him with silence and put the bucket back to the rope and lowering it.

Magna watched the other officers flying away from the well, and he remained here, keeping a close eye on her.

“Why can't he call you that?" Magna called out to her, "You are indeed the princess of changelings and the daughter of the Queen.”

“If I’m a princess like you said, then why aren’t you a prince?” Nameless replied, with her back facing the officer.
Magna scoffed, “We changeling don’t get to decide our fate or birth for that matter. It’s funny really. Out of all of us in this kingdom, you are the only one who doesn’t deserve the role you have now.”

There it is. The moment that Nameless has been dreading the whole trip. The reason why she hated being here the most. She had endured in this kind of situation countless times, and she’s just going to have to go through this again.

“And do you know why you don’t deserve to be a princess?” Magna asked, leaning a little closer to the mare.

She hesitated as her throat started to grow tight, but she replied nonetheless, “Because I’m not a changeling.”

“Well, that would make a good point,” Magna stated, “But since you were taken in by the queen when you were no more than a day old, I’m afraid that’s not the reason.”

He then inched himself closer to her ear, “I’ll ask you again—Do you know exactly why you don’t deserve to be a princess?”

After a long pause that builds the tension between them, she replied more quietly, “Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Of course, you do. Princess are supposed to be like a replica of their mother. Strong, resourceful and holds a massive amount of power over her magic and her subjects.”

Nameless gasped as she felt a strong grip on her shoulder and being pulled away from the well and her bucket. She was suddenly facing the changeling officer, who held a dark expression his face.

He then continued, “YOU, on the other hand, are not. You are weak, utterly useless, and a great disappointment to us. You are nothing like us regardless of who and what you are. Because of all of this, because of what you caused, you know just as well as the rest of us that you won’t love like us. Or even be loved in return for that matter.”

Nameless stared at Magna’s eyes with fear and shame. She squealed as he brings her closer to his face to whisper to her ear.

“And that is why nopony will even remember you after you’re gone.”

He let go of his hold of her, causing her to fall back against the walls of the well. She took notice of the presence of other changelings that watched the scene nearby. Each one of them shares the same look as they held many times before, filling her up with more shame and self-hate towards herself.

“You got your water. Now get out of here before I force you out.” Magna said coldly.

With that, she grabbed the bucket in her mouth and galloped away from the well and towards the cave’s opening; all while holding back the tears that dared to shed on her face.

---

It is now dusk and Nameless returned to her cell, exhausted from the day’s work and the humiliation she faced.

She rested her head and her body slides down against the door. She was completely out of breath, her body ached and drenched with sweat. She sat there until she completely felt calm and rested. She then got up and walked towards the hidden hole where her chest is. She brought it over to her plank where she took all her pins out of her hair and grabbed the comb to brush it through the pink strands. There weren’t many tangles as she expected, but she was able to brush it through with any restraints.

Her body suddenly froze in fear when she heard the door clicked. She saw that a small frame at the bottom of the door opened and then closed right before a tray of food came sliding through the door. Nameless looked from her bed what is on the plate: a large piece of bread, a small bowl of oats and a glass of water. She always had the same meal every day. Every occasionally, they would change it up for a bit, but this is pretty much most of it. She was never surprised by that, but she wouldn’t deny that it was better to stay that way, in hopes of avoiding another scene and being humiliated again. Besides, it’s better to eat something rather than nothing at all.

She grabbed the plate from the floor and sat it on her bed. As she got back up there to eat, she grabbed a piece of old paper from the chest and unfolded it.

The piece of paper is something she had for a very long time from when she was a filly. It is beautifully illustrated, though the colors hold a dull but vivid color and the edges of the page started becoming frail. The illustration shows a handsome stallion prince kneeling to the beautiful mare who was sleeping on what appeared to be a golden coffin. Under it was a poem to illustrate the prince's love for the sleeping princess:
One Song

I have but one song

One Song, Only for you

One Love tenderly beating

Ever entreating

Constant and True

One Love that has process me

One Love only be true

One Song

My heart keeps singing

Of one love

Only for you
No matter how many times she looked at this page, with the poem, the beautiful colors and the image of a prince giving a princess an admiring glance, she will always feel enchanted by the sheer look at it, as it first did years ago.

When she was a young filly, she accidentally found a trap door that leads to an unknown basement. There she found selves of books, lining on the walls and throughout the entire room. She wondered why so many books were locked away in the basement, collecting countless of cobwebs and piles of dust. But she had lost that thought when she stumbled upon a large, brown book that reads: Stories of Equestria: Fairy Tails Edition.

That book made her very curious, from the stylized fonts that made it look enchanting to the golden symbol of the castle and two stars above it. In a moment of hesitation, she opened the book to see what was inside of it.

What she'd gotten was far more than what she expected.

The pages were old yet hold the brilliance of its colors, the drawings were mesmerizing to look at, not to mention very beautiful, and the stories made her feel like she has been transported into an entirely different world. Stories about princesses, magic spells, dark, mysterious woods, and the happy endings; it was all something that she had never seen before.

And it made her feel happy.

And it is from reading those stories that she felt very different. Not in a way she already was compared to her peers. Instead, it was from the inside that she felt different in a good way. No more was she a deformed, disgraced princess of the changelings who had been used and abused; she was now many things. An explorer, a wanderer, an observer, a dreamer… a normal pony.

It was then that she noticed her chest was glowing in a pink light!

This had never happened to her before; she was starting to freak out! Blinded by her fear and panic, she didn’t hear the hoofsteps of the changeling general coming in behind her.

He was furious of what he had discovered that he reported it to the Queen. Days later, the queen ordered the entire rank burn all the books founded in that basement that was deemed as “foolish foal’s tales.”

It was dark outside and the bonfire that took place outside the castle took over the sky with its blazing orange-red colors and heavy black smoke. Looking through her cell bars, she saw the guards ripping off the pages, piece by piece while throwing them and the cover over the mountain of flames and smoke. She then saw the book that she’d loved being torn apart and destroyed over the blaze.

For a single moment, she felt her heart breaking. And the moments of happiness and hope were gone into the fire.
She kept on watching until the guards finished and the fire was put out. She had cried the whole night, not once had she gotten any sleep.

That book had once made her feel like a different pony. Now without it, she'd felt empty.

She was ordered the next day along with the other servants to brush the ashes into a deep trench. It was heart-breaking to see the ashes up close, but she kept her tears in so that she can make it through the day without any changeling noticing her.

But while she was sweeping, she saw something stuck on a barren tree that was right next to her. She went closer to it to see there, trapped within the weak branches, was a piece of paper--A page that must’ve flown away from the bonfire undetected.

She couldn’t believe her eyes; she had sworn that she was dreaming. She took the paper to find that it didn’t get burned at all.

The illustration of that page was a scene from one of the stories she read, where the prince knelled down the sleeping princess. She didn’t read the ending since she was interrupted with the sudden glow she experienced. She realized then this was the last page she ever looked on.

Fearing that the servants would find it and burn it, she hid the page under her wing so that she can go back to her duties. When night came and she was returned to her cell, she took the paper out of her wing and hid it again into her chest.

Ever since then, she kept it hidden, and it had become the only treasure she ever cherished.

Whenever she feels sad, scared and lonely, she would always look back to the page to cheer up and to assure herself never to give up hope, for she knows that someday like that sleeping princess, she would get her happy ending. She doesn’t know when or how she will get it, but it will come.

Then her chest started to glow.

It’s always been that way since she took the page into her cell, even though it was weak at first. As years went by it became a little brighter, almost bright enough to over-shine the burning candle that lay right next to her. It was a little startling at first and can be a bit too blinding at times, but she had grown to get used to it, for it never hurt to have a little light in here.

She didn’t notice a pair of purple eyes staring at her with horror through the rectangle frame at her door.

---

The changeling general came into the queen’s chambers along with two of his guards, one of which had the purple eyes that had peeked through a certain cell.

The general called out to Chrysalis, “My queen, Gypsum was checking on the bearer and she saw her chest glowing! It lighted almost the whole cell— “

“Don’t you think I already know that?!” Chrysalis yelled frustrated. She took a few breathes before she spoke again, only calmer than before, “I’ve been feeling it since sundown.”

The general blinked with confusion, “Feel what, my queen?”

“The element’s power,” Chrysalis said quietly. “It’s growing.”

The changelings were stunned with silence until Gypsum was the first one to speaking out, “Is it true, my queen?”

“Yes.” She said slowly. “The magic I’m sensing is the same coming from those Elements of Harmony. If I weren't affected by its magic for so many times, I wouldn’t know.”

“But-- that’s impossible. We kept her away from her element, from all of Equestria! We even burn those books she read as a filly! How could this be?!”

“We didn’t burn all of it,” Chrysalis gritted her teeth in fury.

She used the magic in her crystal ball to show the image of Nameless looking at the page in her cell. The image vanished with Nameless smiling to herself while she talked through it, “She must’ve kept that page hidden for all those years. And now, her magic is even stronger than ever.” She sighs heavily as she carefully thinks through the predicament she's now facing. “We need to do something about the element. We cannot let her use that power against us. It would ruin our chance to be finally free from the elements of Harmony and rule Equestria!”

“Well, we should’ve crystallized her when we had the chance” Nabis, a stubby male changeling who accompanied the general, muttered to himself under his breath.

The changelings next to him overheard him and slightly panicked when the Queen threw a small item towards Nabis.
“I heard that!”

She then zoomed into the changeling’s face and exclaimed in anger, “And never doubt my tactics! We kept her this long is that we are trying to make her weak--miserable enough to have her become depressed and hopeless! If she ever displays the kindness the element has given her or even come close to that gem, we’ll be blasted out into oblivion! And as long as she doesn’t know about it, we still have the chance to conceal that power for good--”

Her eyes then widened when she rethought what she just said earlier. Then a wicked smile curls on her lips and she made a deep chuckle in her throat.

“My queen?” Nabis asked as he was getting uncomfortable with the way Chrysalis’s face was making, especially when she was a breath away from his face.

“Since we can’t conceal the element’s power now, then maybe we should end it,” she moved away from the soldier and made her way towards the vanity table.

Nabis along with the General and Gypsum shared a puzzled expression, “Huh?”

“It seems I have forgotten the law that the past queens made centuries ago; one that states that we can only perform the death penalty if they are at the age of adulthood. That law applies to everyone here in this kingdom…. Even the royalty,” Chrysalis explained while fixing the crown on the top of her head in front of a cracked mirror, focusing on the three changelings behind her.

Gypsum was the first to speak out of her companions, “You—you’re not suggesting we should—kill the bearer of kindness?”
“Why yes, my dear,” Chrysalis said with confidence, “And when that’s done, we should sneak into the castle and steal that necklace containing that specific gem. We’ll make sure that a chance for a new bearer shouldn’t happen again,” she demonstrated as she picked up a small jewelry box made of gold and rhinestones threw it up into the air and blasted it into tiny pieces using her magic. She laughed wickedly as the pieces fall to her hooves.

The changelings who realized her intentions grinned in delight, as they are happy to finally be free of not only the nameless, little nobody but the magic that she held inside of her and the future bearers of harmony.

“That is an excellent plan, my queen. But in what way should we execute her?” The general asked.

“I glad that you brought that up because you three are going to help me,” Chrysalis said as she turned to the group. “At dawn tomorrow, I need you to take her far away from here; I don't care where you take her.”

The changelings nodded in response before the general gave out a suggestion, “As you wish, your majesty. If you would like, I think I know a spell that would choose a location to our liking.”

“You may do whatever you wish with it,” Chrysalis replied before continuing laying out her plan, “As soon as you arrive there, you can do whatever you want with her as long as you kill her at the end. Once it is done, we can plan our mission to Canterlot to retrieve the element. The security has enhanced since our last visit, and I want to take extreme precaution if we need to do this right. But now I can assure you that no matter what happens, we will destroy all harmony on this land once and for all!”

She laughed evilly as she exclaimed her last sentence and the changelings joined along with her. This time, she is sure that her plan will not fail and that in the morning, the element of kindness will be gone.

Author's Note:

Some of the changeling names I gave them are actually genus name of bugs. Do some research to see what they mean.

EDITED-5/3/19

Comments

[Featherclaw]

Silly Chrissy, you know that wont work!

[DisneyFanatic23]

Okay, I like the concept, but the changing tenses are even more confusing with the flashbacks. You're talking about what happened in the past but using the present tense.