My Little Changeling -- "I" is Magic

by Wing Dancer

A "Dark" Secret

Chip spread his wings and flapped them lazily, the wind blowing delightfully in his face. Despite the rainclouds gathered under his skull, he still found pleasure in flying. He tried hard not to look back north, towards his former home he knew he would never come back to.

What little contact with the hive he had was severed – the Queen wanted to make sure he "wasn’t distracted in the slightest". Or so she claimed. Most likely she was afraid he could hijack some of her minions and do…something. He doesn’t even know what went wrong. He was working his brain over every day he spent with his Queen, his teacher and…mother. If there was a fault to him, he was too blind to see it. Or maybe there was a fault. A grave one, one that he kept secret. Could she have known? Was it possible she somehow found out?

Chip remembered the first day when he was supposed to mimic other ponies...

* * *

The mare that was dragged into the Queen’s lair was screaming like crazy, her whole being wafted with fear, regret and pity. He didn’t know what to think of that creature – the hive mind told him to loathe and hate the pony. But his spark was more…curious of it. It was, after all, another living and sentient being, just like him. Or at least similar in a reasonable way – they both had roughly the same outlines, both had hooves, eyes, ears. He read a lot about ponies – their habits, history, how they looked and acted. The Queen always spoke with such hate and bile about the ponies from the south that Chip was sure they were evil, twisted beings. Yet, the mare before him, almost dying of fright, could not in the slightest be the horrible enemy Chrysalis spoke of.

Trying not to betray his thoughts, he did as he was told and mimicked the pony. The fear on her face intensified as a failed copy of herself appeared – the mane seemed like it was one fleshy lump, hooves were riddled with holes exposing pink muscles, and from the sides there sprung ugly insectoid wings.

“Now, Chip”, snickered the Queen, approaching her student, “as I promised, changing into a pony isn’t that easy…”

Chrysalis looked at the mare. Moments later, a green flame engulfed the queen and a perfect copy of the victim emerged before Chip – every single detail, starting from the mangled yellow mane, through bloodshot eyes and undernourished look ending on the recent scratches and bruises was copied perfectly.

“At least, for you.”

Chip gasped, losing his concentration. The captive mare fainted as Chip’s violent transformation back to himself tore apart his disguise. Pieces of a yellowish coat flew all over the place, dissolving in mid-air.

“It isn’t as easy as walking or talking, now is it?” spoke Chrysalis, her voice now sweet and missing the reverb he liked so much. “You will try again and again, until you do it right. This ability is the most crucial part of your training, and I will make sure you’ll give your best, or DIE trying.”

* * *

It took Chip two days to finally get the hang of it – Chrysalis wasn’t allowing him much rest and pushed him more than ever. The hostage was in terrible shape – her eyes were blank and she stopped screaming after she understood that each sound she made would end up in a ruffing up. Her whole body was shaking, and the fur around her eyes was constantly saturated with tears.

Chip found it amusing at first, as it was a challenge to copy the new details as they appeared – new scratches, missing hair, the depressed look...but seeing the prisoner being treated in such a harsh way stroke a discordant chord somewhere within himself. He wasn’t being treated with too much kindness, but he had a thick carapace and strong body used to taking punishment. The watering eyes of the mare, the pain on her face and muffled hisses of agony brought up an emotion he didn’t know existed within the changeling race – something referred to in books as “compassion”. The feeling definitely didn’t stem from the hive mind. As far as guessing went, he thought it was “his own”. It was his choice to feel that way in the face of such unjust treatment. And he knew better not to let those thoughts slip - something told him his Mother would be displeased

* * *

“Well done, Chip” said the Queen with a smile, looking over the two identical mares standing before her.

One of them started prancing about, the mask of horror replaced by that of joy – Chip finally did it, he conjured up a disguise that pleased his teacher.

“But do not celebrate just yet my young pupil,” snickered Chrysalis, stopping the altered changeling in mid-air with magic. “This is just one pony. You took your time to master her appearance – but one creature is not enough. You need to be able to mimic ANYpony you come across, blend into ANY environment you will be sent to,” spoke the Queen, accenting her words with stomping her hooves. She narrowed her eyes and grinned as an idea struck her. “You will also need to learn how to…dispose of the pony whose skin you wear. First lesson starts now…”

The captive mare’s eyes widened in horror as the transformed Chip approached. A shriek of terror erupted from her mouth and she began to struggle in the goo her hooves were wrapped in.

“My dear Chip. Take this pony to your lair…and do with her as your instincts tell you.”

At this moment, the changeling colt felt a pressing sensation from the hive part of his mind – images of pain, torture and feasting drilled his skull. He approached his victim and grasped a mouthful of her mane. As he pulled, the goo let go and the mare started flailing about, screaming inaudible words. Chip pulled and tugged, eventually dragging the victim out of Chrysalis’s lair and in the direction of his cave.

The victim stopped resisting and gave up at the entrance to Chip’s lair. It wasn’t large, and what space it had was full of books, parchment and strange trinkets he got from the Queen. The changeling let go of his victim, allowing her to slump to the floor. She didn’t move, but her fast breathing told Chip she didn’t pass out. He looked around his den and allowed himself to transform back into a changeling.

His horn glowed an acid green as he cast a spell Chrysalis didn’t yet teach him – a sound muffling spell. Oh yes, he knew that and many other spells. He learned them on his own, swallowing magic books one by one and training in solitude instead of sleeping. He didn’t know how or why it was so easy for him – again, the only explanation he had was that his “spark” was different from all the other changelings. And now, come to think of it, ponies had a great affinity for magic as well. He read a lot about wizards and magicians of ponykind that could achieve great feats in matters of years. And since changelings lived a lot faster than ponies, wouldn’t it make sense for him to learn proportionally faster? Did that make his special “spark” of…pony origin?

Chip’s train of thought crashed when he heard a whimper from below. Snapping back to reality, he looked down to see the poor mare at his feet, now shaking violently. She had her ears facing down and eyes closed tightly shut. The changeling didn’t know what he should do with her. On one side, it was obvious – the hive mind supplied him with a whole manual’s worth of torturing techniques. On the other side, the Queen said “do with her as your instincts tell you”. She didn’t specify which instincts. Slowly, Chip sat down. He nudged the pony with a hoof. She screamed, turning into a ball of shivering fur. The sound crashed against the sound muffling spell and dissolved, just as Chip expected it to. Nothing was heard from the outside.

“You,” started Chip, causing another shriek. The changeling sighted. “Shut up,” he intoned.

The mare whimpered, tears running down her unhealthy looking face. Yes, it was going to be a “great” and “fun” experience, talking to this mare.

* * *

Some time passed in silence as Chip tried to find a way to rid the mare of her numbing fright of him. Finally, an idea brightened up his mind, and he darted towards a stack of random items he had been hoarding. Amongst them was a pair of bags, each decorated with a blue star. The same symbol was visible on the mare’s flank – it was a Cutie Mark, according to the books. Inside he found a few items that he recognised from pictures – a brush, sunglasses, something called a sandwich and books which he already had before. He threw the bags over to where the mare was, sat down and waited.

The bumping sound startled the pony, and she hesitantly opened one eye. Her belongings were right in front of her, and the monster in the corner was watching her intensely. He was unique, she could tell that much – much taller than the rest, more bulky and with eyes that spoke of something more than just cruel instinct. The mare’s numb, aching body didn’t allow her to move, so she just looked at the bags. One of them was open, and…a sandwich. Food. She hadn’t eaten in... She couldn’t remember how long. The revelation somehow managed to beat the strain her body went through and she reached with a hoof towards the food.

Chip observed as the pony clumsily shuffled on the floor. She was reaching out towards one of the bags. She grabbed the sandwich which was the closest and started dragging it towards her mouth – on the way, the thing broke apart on the uneven surface of the cave, and only a mangled piece of bread made it to her mouth. A new wave of the feeling of “compassion”, tinted with something else that he couldn’t yet name, hit him and Chip stood up. The mare froze as he approached and scooped up the scattered bread, daises and salad, putting them back together with magic. Slowly, he put the sandwich near the mare’s mouth. Tears ran down her face.

Comments

[Little Voice]

Woah. Wasn't expecting that. I thought that....wow. I am definitely liking this story.

[The ZP]

Great keep going!

[Gigamunch]

GAAH! FEELS! THEY'RE ALL OVER ME! GET THEM OFF OF ME!!! i DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR FEELS GODDAMMIT!!

[Divine Path]

Re-reading this chapter because epic.
Excellence is present in this fiction.

[lunassexslave]

I feel weird

[558]

[Magical Trevor]

i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/308/031/880.gif

[Andy Grey]

that is all.

[Morphile]

After 2 years, I still remember the plot:pinkie happy: I reread it anyways to get more ideas

[Pickleless]

Chip's a good guy. My favorite type of changeling.

[ImpossibleReflection]

4948667
Charitable Changeling Chip

[AppleTank]

4948667
I thought your favorite changeling was a doll.

[Truthseeker]

Okay, starting to look better...

[tsaukpaetra]

Rebelling already? Well then...