Changing What Can't Be Changed

by PonyThunder

Chapter One - Return

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The moonlit skies dimly lit the barren landscape below Thorax as he flew through the air to the place he once called home. Near the beginning of his journey back from the Crystal Kingdom, he felt his heart filled to the brim with the love and energy he had shared with everyone in his experiences. He had never felt so full and completely satisfied in his whole life, and it was exhilarating. He hadn't had his hunger satisfied to such a point in so long, or ever upon closer contemplation.

But it wasn't the kind of hunger that ponies or other creatures felt when they needed physical nourishment. It was something different, but still in many ways much the same. It was a hunger for love. For compassion. For affection. From the time of his birth to the current day, Thorax had always felt that hunger, as did all other changelings. Even the queen. They all did, and that's why they had to resort to violence and trickery to get what they wanted. Unable to produce them love themselves, they would seek it out elsewhere and desperately try to take it for themselves. Their leader, Queen Chrysalis, was the closest thing to love that any changeling had. Each and every changeling, no matter how small or how large, was in harsh competition to be good enough to receive admiration from their queen.

That was how their society grew and progressed. The weak would die off, and the strong would survive. They lived to serve her, in hopes for a feeling that they belonged.

One way they satisfied their hunger was through looting items of affection from other creatures throughout the lands. Stuffed dolls, blankets, books, flowers, awards, medals -- anything a pony loved and cared for. To changelings, they were called 'tokens'. Tokens of affection, that is. Changelings were capable of one magic trick, and one magic trick only. That "trick" was feeding off the energy of anything, alive or inanimate, in order to satisfy their own hunger. The items would last for varying amounts of time before any of the love left in them was sucked dry. They would use these tokens to get by, as their numbers increased and their collective strength grew. But, as one would expect, these tokens were also a source of violence and conflict among them as changelings fought each other over their ownership. It was a pitiful reality, but it was what was reality.

And then there were the bad times. Times when love was scarce and they were weak, when the tokens weren't enough to sustain them and they were forced to go out and seek more. Their weak, feeble bodies made it so that they were forced to go in larger numbers, but that just meant the spoils of their thievery were spread even thinner. And so, in such times they were forced to go even further. Sneaking into the homes of ponies and other creatures near the unguarded outskirts, and committing an act that even they were condemned for doing to each other: draining the energy from living, breathing creatures for their own benefit. But never anything other than pets or wild animals, at least not yet.

Thorax felt lucky and unfathomably thankful for what Spike had done for him by believing he could be more than the monster he appeared as. He showed him that there was another way -- a way that didn't punish the weak by making them weaker, or a way that required them to hurt others in horrible, permanent ways. And the princesses showed him that they truly cared about him and his kind. It seemed impossible at first, after what they had already done. What he had done, even if just by standing idly as others committed horrible acts. They made him believe that there was hope for the changelings, and that what seemed impossible might actually be possible.

He had stayed at the Crystal Kingdom for a short time, but it soon became apparent that he had a moral obligation to leave and return to his hive. He was the very first changeling to be accepted by ponies, and the very first changeling to successfully befriend anyone. He felt a deep need to spread the idea of love and friendship with his own kind, no matter how hard or impossible the task seemed. Thorax was determined to find a way, to blaze a path, for changelings to change their ways for the better. If there was anyone to find a peaceful way to change the changelings, it was going to start with him.

The moon glowed in the skies high above, casting a cool glow on his translucent wings as he flew closer to the hive of changelings. The journey was long, and already he had begun to feel the satiation of his hunger beginning to dwindle. Again, he felt the horrible biological urges to drain the energy of anything that came across him. The urges that caused him to lash out earlier to Spike and his friends, despite how much he cared for them. A twinge of doubt came across Thorax's mind as he tiredly set hoof onto the cold, dank floors of the hive he once called home. It was dark and cold, and the memories of his past life began to flood into this thoughts. He wondered if it were actually possible for changelings and ponies to coexist, despite the positive outlook he harbored just hours earlier.

But that was then, and this was now. He was hungry, and felt the body begin to control the mind as his stomach rumbled. He needed love and satiation, and there was nopony around to provide it to him. Changelings buzzed above him every which direction, milling about from ledge to ledge, hole to hole, crevice to crevice. The air smelled cold and moist, and the memories began to flood back to him. The memories of hardship, violence and a disgust for everything they had become. Thorax found his small area, an alcove and small crevice in the walls of their hive just like any other. Inside wasn't much, aside from a couple tokens of affection that had likely been drained of use by whoever happened to come across them first upon his departure long ago. Before being befriended by Spike, this was the only small space he could call home.

Suddenly, the familiar sound of the queen could be heard echoing down the endless caves and caverns of the hive. Hordes of changelings dropped what they were doing, coming out of the walls in a buzz of flapping wings, heading towards the central meeting area on the floor in the center of a large open area. Thorax instinctively did the same, as he had done hundreds of times before. It meant Chrysalis was about to make an announcement. He landed amidst the mass of changelings, blending into the crowd like any other. All the same, obedient changelings who were willing to do anything for the admiration of their queen.

But not Thorax. He sat in contemplation as the crowd began to amass more changelings. It quickly became apparent that their numbers had grown significantly since his departure. He began to worry as more and more of them kept piling around Chrysalis, who stood in the center atop a raised area covered in moss. He also started to wonder how there were so many. When he left, they were barely scraping by on the tokens of affection. Thorax surveyed the crowd, and the answer became apparent. They were in terrible shape, beaten and bruised, feeble and tired. Most of them anyways. Queen Chrysalis always made sure to use the strong ones as examples to follow.

She began to speak, her voice vibrant and powerful.

"We have grown strong, and our strength is in our numbers," she shouted over the crowd. "The time has come for us to make our move."

The ominous sounds of changeling cheers and buzzing wings echoed from every direction.

"It is time for us to strike," Chrysalis continued emphatically, playing off the energy of the crowd. As their leader, she knew exactly how to manipulate the emotions of her followers.

Thorax wondered what he was even doing back at the hive, as the crowd around him began to move with excitement. He began to doubt that he would be able to spread any sort of message that went against the queen's. Based upon the sheer emotion displayed in the crowd and Chrysalis continued her speech, it quickly became apparent to Thorax that changing the changelings wasn't going to be easy in the slightest. The chances of his initial plan of being passive, trying to befriend others and showing them a better way, were beginning to dwindle.

"The others will fail and fall, as we rise towards victory!"

As the queen continued her speech, detailing the plans of their offensive, he began to think of another way. A way that was much more aggressive and intricate. The only way to change the minds of many is to eliminate the source of their mindset. For the changelings, it was the misery brought upon by the the lack of love. Changing them one at a time might work in the long run, but judging by the excitement and emotions of the crowd, time was quickly running out.

"We will take the newborn princess and make our demands!"

A surge of terror washed over him. Suddenly, he felt the imminent urge to return to the Crystal Empire to warn them immediately, but there was no way he could leave the crowd at this moment. Or at any moment, really. It was likely that the queen had already planned out their invasion, and this was simply the announcement of its beginning. He couldn't have cut it any closer.

"And if they don't comply," she continued. The crowd went silent, "then I will show them the true power that only a changeling can posses."

She summoned an aura of green energy in her jagged horn. It sparked and swirled around her for several moments until finding its way towards a small bat that happened to be flying in the immediate vicinity. Immediately, it fell to the ground, its painful squeaks crying out as it hit the cold, rocky floor. The aura of magic created several small tendrils between her and the creature, emanating from it and into her horn. It let out a silent gasp as it slumped to the ground, turning a dark grey color.

The crowd erupted with cheers and buzzing, and the queen ended her speech with a simple, haunting line.

"And we won't stop until all have fallen."

Comments

[Putainnn]

OMG YASSS!

[gagiotter]

Took me a while to get back to this story, but OMG it's looking promising!

[tsaukpaetra]

Ah, was wondering why this was cancelled, it's a redux?