Chapter 1: The Fickle Fates
Allan laughed into the speaker of his phone, his girlfriends perfect voice laughing with him. The shared mirth had come from Allan’s description of his father’s reaction to the news that his son had found someone that he cared about. Allan had enjoyed watching his father go through a range of emotions, ranging from disbelief to sheer joy. The boy had long proclaimed that he would one day find, ‘the one’, and that he would know her when he met her. But had never made any mention of this girl in the way that his parents had assumed he would once he had found ‘the one’, so they had assumed that he hadn’t and probably wouldn’t, find the girl of his dreams.
Allan had revealed to his parents that his childhood friend Anna was the one that he had been waiting for, and that he had only realized when she herself mustered up the courage to tell him that she fancied him. That had been months before he told them.
“So he straight up fell out of his chair?” Anna laughed, trying to make sure that her boyfriend could hear her through her convulsive laughter. “Really? Just from hearing about us?”
“Yeah, no lie.” Allan grinned as the snow of early-winter British Columbia tumbled down around him. Life in the suburbs of Vancouver usually wasn’t so cold, but this month had seen more snow than usual across the country. As Allan continued to laugh and talk, the snow drifting down from above became a thin carpet for the cold concrete. “Dad just fell off his chair and was completely out of it for the next few minutes as he tried to imagine us being in a relationship.”
"That’s funny.” Anna managed to reign in her laughter, and blinked tears out of her eyes on the other end of the line. “How’d your mom take it?”
“She took it better than he did. She told me she thought we were great for each other.”
“That’s good. I wouldn’t want for your mom to dislike us.” Anna shivered, despite being at home in her warm apartment.
“Why would she?” Allan smirked. “She loves you like a daughter already! Who better to be the girl I fall for?”
“You mushy prat, you.” Anna laughed, imitating his accent ad using English phrases. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? You know how much our date night means to me.”
Allan gave a chuckle, a sincere tone entering his voice as he gave a heartfelt response. “It means so much to me as well. Don’t forget how much I love you in the time it takes for tomorrow to get here, okay?”
“Alright, now get going! You don’t want to stay out in the cold for too long. Get home, babe, I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“Okay, love you.” Allan made a blowing kiss noise and made the matching motion with his arm.
Turning the cell phone off, he pocketed it and moved on, heading home. Normally, he would have been using his car but it had run into some mechanical trouble earlier on, meaning that it had to be fixed. And he didn’t want to use a public bus, because he simply didn’t trust them. Especially on icy and slippery roads.
Taking a shortcut through a park he knew, Allan was making good time. He would be home in half an hour or so, which meant he could probably expect Anna to call up again about that time. She was so loving and affectionate towards him, always making sure he was okay, no matter how short a distance he had to go. It could border on annoying for most others, but it was that same kind worrying for anyone but herself that helped him realize how much he’d fallen in love with her.
Smiling happily, Allan walked past a carved fountain, and, on impulse, decided to toss a coin in.
However, even as he tossed the little penny up in the air, he felt something shove him from behind, sending him tumbling face first into the pool, which, for such an old and unassuming fountain, was lit with underwater lights, if the glow coming from the water was any indication.
His hands saved him from plunging in, gripping the rim of stone tightly as he braced himself against it, flipping himself over to face his attacker.
What he saw was shocking enough to render him speechless, and make his hands go limp.
The thing he had presumed was a human mugger, was, in actual fact, some bizarre and terrifying combination of what appeared to be Equine and insect, complete with furiously buzzing wings, dark grey, almost black carapace, and holes shot through it’s legs, mane, and tail.
The thing laughed at his expression, and then opened it’s mouth wide, impossibly so, exposing a great many sharp fangs that gleamed in the late night ambience. A sharp pain erupted from his chest, as though his heart was being torn from it’s protective rib cage, piece by piece, and in his head, he could feel a horrid, sickly feeling of emptiness when his mind started flashing memories of his family before his eyes. Whatever it was doing to him, it was as though it was stealing the feelings of affection he had for them.
He had to escape. He had to break free before it stole everything. Desperately, Allan remembered how it had tried to push him into the water, and hoped against hope that that action had been something other than an attempt to drown him. The creature, a horn on it’s head glowing in the same colour of the force that surrounded him, went wide eyed as it saw it’s prey manage to stand up, and, with a look of defiance, throw himself backwards, too hard for it’s strange powers to compensate. Allan fell back into the water, and felt as though he was falling through a void, as the feeling of both the stone and the water vanished, the only remaining sensation being one of what could only be described as freefall.
********
Chrysalis stared at the dark waters the boy had vanished into, her gaze betraying her torn thoughts on the matter. She had decided to find someone to disguise as, but had needed to absorb all their love and memories to make it seem genuine, otherwise she risked being found out. Her target had just managed to escape into Equestria, where King Thorax now waited on the other side, and leaving her with only about half of what she needed to make a good and genuine disguise.
She knew his family, where he lived, where he worked, but he had managed to sever the connection before she learned all of the important details. Perhaps she could fake an accident and pretend to have suffered from amnesia? That could work, for a while.
Still, the boy’s ability to resist her had been more than she had expected, or perhaps she was weaker than she thought. Overthinking about the boy, who was no longer a problem, was a futile and meaningless pursuit, one she cast aside before she tested her physical replication of his appearance.
A flare of green flame later, and one ordinary looking human male stepped out of the park, and, with a look of determination, set about causing an accident that would leave him bereft of his memories.
Chrysalis chuckled at the simplicity of the plan. When you can’t get a disguise, make one.
*********
Thorax and his changelings had searched the room with detection spells, graciously taught to them by Twilight Sparkle before her departure, top to bottom, and found no sign of the had-been Queen. She had vanished, and Thorax just knew that it had something to do with the pool in the middle of the floor.
“Your majesty, we found no sign of Chrysalis here. What shall we do now?” One of the guards asked, uncertainly. While the Changelings had taken an immediate liking to their new King, they still found it hard to chase after their own mother like this, and it showed.
“We take a look around. Look among the pages scattered about the room. Perhaps they can tell us more about this place, and perhaps tell us where the Queen has gone.” Thorax felt uncomfortable in command, though it was getting easier already. “Don’t worry. I doubt that she will hurt any of you should we find her.” His words were meant to comfort, but he could tell they did little to persuade his companions.
The guards started to pick up and examine each of the scattered pages, one by one, trying to understand what they all meant. Under Chrysalis, and having spent so long in hiding, Changelings like these, who had most likely only rarely left the hive, were not as capable of reading as others who frequented the outside world, and as such, were having a much harder time of it than their King, who had taken time during his stay at the Crystal Empire to learn as much as he could.
Despite that, they were able to locate the torn and dirtied pages of what had once been a small journal. The guard who found it presented it to the new King, who thanked the drone with a smile, before starting to read.
“Your majesty!!” One of the guard’s alarmed cry ripped Thorax’s attention from the loose pages, which dropped to the ground as the King turned his attention to where his guard were facing.
The pool in the middle of the room had started bubbling, and the water itself was glowing brighter and brighter. The center of the pool began to rise as the King watched, his deep purple eyes going wide as he felt the sudden magical surge building just beneath the veil of water.
“Get back!” He commanded, and his fellow Changelings fell back behind the King, their weapons and magic ready for whatever was coming.
The water’s glow began to change, at first a familiar putrid green, but then shifting to a brilliant, vibrant violet that was also incredibly familiar. Thorax’s eyes were fixed on the boiling water, the light reflecting off of his eyes, giving them a strange and wondrous, almost ethereal glow. His tail and wings were buffeted back and forth by a whipping wind, which grew stronger as the light grew brighter.
Then, the light was retracted in, plummeting the cave into pitch blackness, just for a second, just before a great explosion of light, blinding all of them.
Thorax rubbed his eyes, the glow and the hum of the shield he had made for himself and his guards vanished, but the blurriness of his vision did not go away for several long, and very tense seconds, during which he considered the possibility of Chrysalis having returned for revenge.
A presence had indeed entered the room, all the changelings felt it. It was similar to the Queen’s, but, unlike the harsh and often cruel air that hung about the Queen, this was softer, kinder.
“H-hello?” Thorax stammered a hello, wincing at how similar he sounded to his older, more cowardly self, especially in front of the guards, for whom he was supposed to represent power. “Who is there?”
Thorax’s vision cleared, and he saw only a dark depression where the watery portal had been, meaning that this gateway between worlds was, for now, sealed shut. He shook his head to clear the spots that danced in front of his befuddled face, before casting his gaze about the room. His eyes did not waste any time finding the stranger. A new changeling, with an unmarked, metallic brown carapace with blue highlights, a set of unique, dragonfly-like wings and a straight, unicorn style horn that most Changelings did not possess lay on the cold, grey floor.
The stranger was also unconscious, his breathing regular and soft.
Deciding that caution was best, Thorax quickly cast the detection/revealing spell from Princess Sparkle on the slumbering Changeling, and was gladdened to see that the Changeling was really a stranger and not the disguised Chrysalis.
The Changeling was larger than a drone, but smaller than both Thorax and Chrysalis. There were the traces of tears on his muzzle, and like all male changelings who had gained this new form, three pale jewels were set into his neck, in a small row. A lingering presence of a magical aura clung to the poor guy, who seemed to be experiencing a nightmare, starting to toss and turn, whimpering all the while.
Thorax was about to ask his guards to make a litter to carry their new friend on, but before he could, the bronze shelled Changeling sat bolt upright, crying out loud in alarm at something in his dream, and almost impaling Thorax with his horn in the process.
Thorax silently motioned for his guards to lower their spears. They did so reluctantly, not sure they should trust the new Changeling.
Thorax cleared his throat as the stranger managed to collect his wits and get his bearings back. “Hello. What’s your name?”
*********
Allan looked up in confusion at the creature before him, not quite sure where the bug thing that had been chasing him earlier had gone… unless that had just been a nightmare. Whatever it was, there was another strange creature before him now. Like the dark, creepy one, this creature seemed to be a mix of equine and insect, only, unlike the monstrous looking beast from before, this one seemed much nicer, and was definitely easier on the eyes. It’s pale green, shell-like skin, and it’s inquisitive purple eyes were much less frightening than tall dark and creepy from before. On it’s head, two large, orange horns, reminiscent of either antlers or pincers, (Allan wasn’t sure which.), stood behind another, small green one, flanked by web like ears. Three pearls were fixed into the creature's neck, and a pair of beautiful, translucent beetle wings were outstretched behind it. A third wing-like structure seemed to serve as tail, though Allan couldn’t see much of a point for that.
The most amazing thing was the fact that, it had just spoken. Actual words. Intelligent. Sapient. Sentient!
“Um… hello.” Allan said, unsure of himself. His throat felt raw, as if he had been asleep for centuries, but he was able to produce intelligible speech of his own quite easily. His mouth and teeth felt weird though. Running his tongue over his teeth, his mind suddenly came to a stark realization. His teeth were all sharp. Like fangs. And his tongue was much longer than it should be. And his nose was far too bright and big. Allan looked down at himself, and saw the body of a weird, equine-bug thing, like the others in the room. Allan took a moment to take in the six others in the room before he let himself panic over the fact that everything, from his legs to his hands, and even his face, was alien. Not his at all. He started hyperventilating, going into panic.
A sudden compression around his middle made him stop before he could devolve into a ball of tears.
Allan removed his… hooves, from his eyes, and saw the room behind the big bug-pony thing, but he could also see the side of the creature’s head and looking down showed Allan the friendly thing’s back, including a good view of it’s wings. The creature had it’s legs wrapped comfortingly around his waist.
“I’m sorry this happened to you.” The creature whispered. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault.”
Allan clumsily managed to extract himself from the comforting hug. “No. No it isn’t.”
The green creature smiled sadly. “Yes it is. I wasn’t quick enough to stop her.”
“Her?” Allan’s mind made the link. These things… they were the same as the thing from before, only nicer. “That freaky bug thing?”
The green one chuckled. “Freaky bug thing. Be glad Chrysalis can’t hear you say that, or you’d be in trouble.” He stood up, showing off his impressive height. Allan felt quite small all of a sudden, and he stood up too, his four, strange legs wobbling with the effort. The green one decided that this was a good time to introduce himself. “My name, is Thorax, and I am King of the Changelings. What is your name?”
Allan felt his mind go blank. Royalty? ‘Oh, jees.’ Allan thought. ‘I’ve just gotten turned into one of these things, and now I’m meeting their bloody King? This has got to be some kind of dream.’ Allan cleared his throat, and after a bit of coughing, stammered out a reply.
“My name is A-Allan, y-your Majesty.” Figuring being polite would be best, Allan tried to bow, only to realize that he had no idea how to do it on all fours, and promptly fell flat on his face, squashing his new muzzle. Looking up, he could see the King shift uncomfortably at the use of his title.
“Allan. Strange for these parts, but, you aren’t from around here, so I’ll just guess that that is a fine name where you come from.” Thorax rubbed a hoof under his chin, considering what to do. “Um… so, this isn’t going to be very fun for you…”
Allan went white, or would have done, if his new physiology allowed for it. “Um… why not…?”
“I must inform you of what we ourselves have learned not too long ago. You see, what you came through, the portal…. It changed you into this, obviously.”
Allan rubbed a hoof on the back of his head, and realized he no longer had any hair, which was a bit of a downer. Allan liked his hair. “Well, I kinda figured that was the case.”
“There is more, Allan. The change is irreversible. If you were to go back through, right now, which you can’t, you would not change back to your…” Thorax trailed off, quickly brought up a journal page to remind himself, and continued, though he found a small delight in the look of fascinated wonder in Allan’s eyes at seeing magic for the first time. “Human form. You would emerge as you are now. One of us….” Allan’s face slowly slipped from curious to devastated as he understood what the King was telling him. His old life… gone. He wasn’t human anymore. Not even remotely. He was one of these… changeling things. “I…. I’m sorry. There is nothing we can do….”
Allan felt tears well up. Just as his life had been going so well, the universe had just forced him to give it up by making the choice to jump in that damn fountain!!
“...I’m so sorry, Anna….” Allan choked on fresh tears. “I won’t be making it to our date night…”
***********
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Couldn't he just learn to shapeshift?
wonder if there is a way to set a default form?
...also, if a changeling can turn into a small rock, surely body modifications are possible?
I think you're forgetting that he is only human. He hasn't got a clue about magic. Any magic.
So first off, where did Chrysalis learn this new 'mind-copy' spell. That would have been really useful during the Canterlot wedding, considering it was the queen's acting out of character that made Twilight suspicious in the first place, serving as the catalyst for Chrysalis' defeat.
Also, It would be funny seeing Chrysalis fail at trying to take over a single town, much less our entire world. Humans are nothing like ponies, and trying to do her whole "haha im evil but you don't know because im change bug" shtick would be infinitely harder on Earth than in Equestria. And if she fell into a country where firearms are allowed, its easy to see her fate at the wrong end of a shotgun after doing something really stupid.
Otherwise, I'm interested in the whole human-becomes-changeling plot so you can bet on me sticking around.
Wait a minute...
Shouldn't he be a close copy of Chrysalis? Or at least some varient of old style changeling?
Or were the notes read in the last paragraph only guesswork, or intended that a human would be transformed into close match, rather than exact same species?
9391125
You've answered your own question there, friend.
Well, I mean. He's still alive so that's nice. But he's also permanently a bug now. RIP his life, basically.
Thing is, doctors (or rather psychologists) would be able to tell if you were faking the amnesia. And without the internet to tell you how to do it correctly, you'd be found out VERY fast as a faker.
But this is fiction so I'll let Trope #232933 slide... FOR NOW.
Wait so did Thorax mind-trick his way into knowing or did what's his name explain off-screen between sentences or did Thorax's brief glance at the pages somehow grant him the full knowledge...? I am confused, did I miss a sentence???
Okay so you said he started to read, then immediately had him interrupted... so I assumed he didn't have time to read it all. But apparently he did?
RIP Date Night
Please have someone check your work beyond spelling and grammar. A number of sentences could be reworded, there are bits that need to be clarified, and there are parts that go far too slow and others that go far too fast. This could be very good, but right now it's just okay. Hopefully it improves with each chapter.
9057702
Okay.....let's examine what we know. Chrysalis is a schemer. She's proven to be intelligent, else she wouldn't have come the closest our of all the villains to winning through pure cunning and guile. Twice. Not even Discord had such a good run, and his powers outstrip hers. When she acts out of character for Cadence, is it not possible that she was doing it deliberately, to get Twilight to hate her, in order to get her into those caves? Notice that, had she successfully managed to trick Twilight into killing Cadence down there- which she very nearly did, by the way- she'd have won. So that begs the question..... how could she have known how to act out of character, without first knowing the character? She used the spell- at least in my version of things.
And your second point....whoo boy, that's a really....really dumb statement. It wouldn't be as easy to take over Earth as a changeling? Uh....how wouldn't it be easy for her to take over a town, or the world? It's super simple for someone who can be LITERALLY ANYTHING THEY WANT. Changeling's are the ultimate spies, dude. They can sneak in anywhere, hide as anything they like, learn any secret they want, and are perfectly capable of neutralizing targets and hiding them in places humans wouldn't think to check. And if they're ever discovered? They can break line of sight and hide anywhere they like. You wouldn't know if they were that piece of paper, the annoying stone in your shoe, or the fly on the wall. Not to mention their most obvious advantage. Magic. We've seen how powerful it is in Equestria. You think a shield that can protect a city from an army's direct assault for two minutes after being held up for weeks is gonna be broken by a few measly bullets? Even a small, personal shield would be more than enough to stop that, and simple teleport spells or telekinesis would relieve soldiers and policemen of their weapons in a literal flash. There is no advantage that humans have, that a Changeling's abilities couldn't mitigate, or outright destroy.
The only thing that keeps saving the heroes from the villains in this show is the bad writing and weekly deus ex machina's. If the mane six didn't keep pulling new artifacts and magical friendship lazers out of their asses, Chrysalis and the other villains would have curb-stomped them into paste by now.
You're barking mad if you think she couldn't own this world if she wanted to.
9397196
9397260
As far as why Queen Chrysalis didn't do a full mind drain of Princess Cadence, my pet theory is that she was the bloody Alicorn of Love. Kind of attuned to what Chryssi would need to rip out, and likely more competent on mental defense than your average magic nul human. Just my two bits though.