Chitin clad hooves clicked against grey stone, bright rays of sunshine burning the open-air throne room, sorry, speaking platform. A tidal wave of eye-melting colours surrounding me.
My black visage a burn mark among a blinding tapestry. Eyes of all different colours quickly glanced away when my orange compound eyes, they skitter away from my presence like frightened mice in the presence of a cat. I keep my head held high as I approach a large being with the horns of elk but the colours of an insect.
I refuse to bow nor pay respect as I stop before his raised platform. What has he done but tore apart my home? destroyed my hive?
King Thorax speaks gently "Tsetse, I would appreciate it if you could consider sharing love with the hive and reforming, I'm sure you will find it better then you think it is"
I look him dead in his unnatural eyes "Considering..." I hold back a resentful smirk "Considered. No. And it is General Tsetse"
King Thorax shakes his head, disappointment clear "Another day, another flat no from you Tsetse. We do not need generals anymore, and if you would accept friendship, you would be able to see why"
I can't hold back my sneer "Friendship isn't the problem, Thorax. And because you were an outcast in the hive, you wouldn't know what friendships among changelings are" the blatant disrespect by calling him by his name and not his title would get me punished with manual labour for a month for disregard of royal authority.
If he thinks gentle words and uninformed 'logic' will bend my will, then he must be more insane then Queen Chrysalis.
But he seems strangely pleased by being called just his name, but he meekly points out "and that was the problem in the old hive, it was far to easy to be cast out"
I would roll my eyes, but I can't really "No, you just made exceedingly easy" I shake my head, creatures like him will never understand "I'm done here. You like to pretend you are the ruler of this farce of a hive, but you are nothing more than a pretender, ironic, considering what you were"
Before he can answer I turn around and walk away at a casual rate, daring him to follow me and further out himself as a weakling. He doesn't.
The creatures of bright colours split around me like water around oil. 'Creatures' does sound harsh, but what do you call something with no name? The brightly coloured being around me are not changelings.
Changeling means more than just a generation or a Queen. It is a millennium of history, it is a proud culture nurtured through the ages. But the creatures have no history, not because it does not exist, but because they have discarded it, thrown it away, casted it to the side like yesterday's trash.
I delve deeper underground, into what remains of the true hive. It is there, in the comforting dark that I am greeted by the last of the Changelings.
A figure with purple compound eyes and a blood-red sail steps from the shadows, his voice echoing through the inky halls "What did Thorax want from you? Has there been an attack and wishes for our aid?" He sounds almost hopeful, my fellow general had taken his duty of protecting the hive into his core, letting it become a part of him.
I shake my head "No, It was once more an attempt to make me into those creatures" He narrows his eyes slightly, though, at my choice of wording, or his brothers attempts, I can't tell.
Pharynx sighs and turns back into the depths. I walk beside him as we pass through the tunnels, the walls no longer shifting and changing to match our natures. As we walk in silence, we pass a few changelings doing menial duties. He breaks the heavy silence first "Three more of my legion have shifted. At this rate, I am afraid it can no longer be called a legion with only 35 remaining"
I grit my teeth before carefully speaking "You are fortunate, only 5 of my legion remain"
He turns his head to me in what could be considered concern but cleverly disguised as surprise "Surely not. Your legion was filled with the best and brightest. Was the infamous loyalty among you not enough?"
I scowl at the floor, letting him lead our path "Apparently not. We would have died for each other, but when it comes to civil disquiet? They took the easy path, all but my absolute best"
Pharynx leads us to a large chamber, the measurements being 100 meters wide and 300 meters long, I should know, I helped design it. We stop at the edge of the platform, overlooking the now mostly empty Soundaim. The once lively shops and restaurants now mostly empty or filled with dust.
Pharynx asks with the authority granted to a general who has fought many battles "Who of your legion remains?"
I try to answer with the same militaristic tone, but it is difficult to stop emotion from leaking through "Anopheles, my lead poison expert, she always has at least 3 vials of highly lethal poison with her.
Lonomia, my lead infiltration expert, she has extreme skill in disguises and being able to create and hold an original personage for years if needed.
HawkWasp, commonly known as Hawk, my lead of the warrior division, she is known for her unusually excruciating bite and power.
Bullhorn, my lead spy-craft expert, he often works with Lonomia in infiltration but for shorter periods. Especially known for being able to create convincing backstories and temporary safe houses in short periods.
Honey, my lead gatherer, she and those under her would provide love for the legion with all excess going to the hive. She is less of a fighter but can be extremely intimidating."
The only ones who remain of my legion are those who were closest to me. I was handpicked by the previous Queen, Queen Atlas, and it was due to my experience that I was allowed to continue my position as high general by Queen Chrysalis. And as such, my admirals were hoof-picked by me alone.
Pharynx has idly locked his eyes on a group of workers who are reinforcing the ceiling "Good, at least you have your Admirals. At moon high, tomorrow night, gather your Admirals and meet me at the lower hatchery. We have much to discuss about the future of the hive"
If I could raise an eyebrow, I would "The hatchery? You think it is wise to let HawkWasp around fragile nymphs?"
He chuffs "No, but there is something you need to see"
I nod "I will take my leave. Continue your efforts to convince your... brother" Without bothering to witness his reaction, I spread my wings and buzz down multiple layers of the Soundaim. I fly to the 4 lowest levels, where the living quarters have been moved.
I push open a thick stone slab called a door and enter what has become a small but cozy little home. An apartment would be closer, but I prefer the word house. I walk through the bare kitchen and into the single room at the end of the small hall. The minimalistic bed taking up a quarter of the room, with my weapons, armour and polishing kit taking up the rest of the small room.
I sigh as I climb onto the bed, tucking my wings into their hardcovers. I rest my head down as I can't help but remember my previous home. A luxurious apartment in the upper hive with a spacious kitchen, plenty of rooms for my multitude of weapons and knickknacks, and a large room with a plush bed. No point in fantasizing about it, but it is nice to remember now and then, to remind myself of just one other thing I am striving for.
I still feel the carved images of centuries of history and stories engraved in the walls underneath my hooves. The sheer amount of information about us that would suck me in and refuse to let me go until I learned ever more about our culture. How proud we were! We had so many truly great Queens who had led us into multiple golden ages, where food was overflowing and wars non-existent. How we would have a test for all young changelings to help them determine their roles in society. Before Queen Chrysalis, young lings could choose what they wanted to be, but she had twisted even that by just forcing young lings into a position based on their body types. (Except drones, they are bred practically mindless but make up the bulk of the army)
I close my eyes and begin to drift off. I can see why King Thorax wants to be rid of the mad Queen Chrysalis, but he has taken it too far by changing who we very are, just to escape the reputation of ONE Queen. He is young, he does not remember the reign of Queen Wasp, nor was he subject to the rich culture of the changeling seeing as he was cast out before he could access the hivemind and outcasted as a nymph by his other hatchmates.
Too far... He went too far...
Ok, I see where this is going... You have my intrigue.
This is an interesting alternate universe I wish to see more of.
I wonder what impact on Equestrian-Changeling relations their secession would have. After all, ponies might still harbor a distrust against changelings, if there are still some "bad ones" running about. And that by itself is an interesting view: Are all black changelings automatically "bad", by pony standards? Probably not. But it'd take some more convincing.
Instant conflict/drama to spice up the narrative.
Let's see where this goes.
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Thank you! And I couldn't think of a better way to introduce Tsetse while still keeping peoples attention.
A common story plot that bothers me a bit is that one side if right, one side is wrong, the wrong ones lose or get reformed. I honestly like stories that are a little more difficult and unique. I am all for reused plots like idk, civil war or secretly evil than good type of stuff, but as long as it has some unique aspect to it, which is what I am trying to strive for in this story espically.
9911967
Yeah! And who's to say "all black changelings are bad"? Even canonically, this would have included Thorax before his metamorphosis.
Also, I highly question the logic of "just share love and you'll instantly transform, there's nothing else to it". Wouldn't this have already happened before, numerous times? If I remember correctly, Thorax wasn't technically exiled by Chrysalis, but ran away from the hive after the invasion on Canterlot, having moral concerns. What about other changelings who thought similarly, and chose to carve out a life hiding in pony-society, making friends and loved ones and all?
The explanation the episode gave would mean, that literally every single changeling protagonist of every "changeling living among ponies" story would instantly have transformed - and that would just break those stories.
So, I propose an alternative explanation: Thorax' transformation was triggered by a unique, irreproducible set of circumstances[1] - but his transformation was "contagious", for lack of a better word. Meaning, a black changeling needs to be in proximity to a color-bug for "sharing their love" to have an effect on their biology. Thorax' strong bond with Pharynx was what affected Pharynx' "final form" in canon, hence the similar stature.
[1] Chrysalis' throne was absorbing the magic of no less than five alicorns (including the alicorn of love's!), the bearers of harmony, and the spirit of chaos. Then Thorax walks into that room oversaturated with magic, and shoots a beam of pure love at Chrysalis, and the throne explodes, releasing centuries of stored magic all at once. All these factors interacting was what allowed Thorax to ascend, and "spread" the change to others.
Also, remember this scene from s7e01?
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It may have only been Twilight's fantasy, but I am utterly baffled that this shapeshifting trouble maker wasn't adopted by the fandom.
It'd have shown that, even after reformation, some changelings could still be jerks. That their reformation didn't automatically mean "perfect moral character".
Imagine the following scenario: A black changeling has been living among ponies in secret for years, though they did eventually come out to their closest friend(s), denouncing Queen Chrysalis and swearing they mean no harm. Heck, imaging them falling in love and sharing their secret.
Then the newspaper says "all good changelings look like this, all bad changelings look like that, all it takes is for a changeling to give love, it's so easy!" Instant drama.
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Careful, or I might shamelessly use some of your points because they are fabulous.
But I completely agree! Almost every time I get into conversations like these I accidentally give out spoilers, BUT, a lot of stuff that should have happened WILL happen.
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I know the feeling myself.
You are fully welcome to do so. I wasn't planning on using them myself anyway, and would love to see these explored.
Heck, when the s6 finale aired, I even made a comic with headcanon fixes and suggestions to inspire people:
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[image link]
...but I guess I just muddled the message too much, since it didn't seem like anyone took me up on it.
I do wonder if your story will bring up the possibility of other changeling hives. (Besides the one splitting off right there, I mean. You know, with its own queen.) 'Cause, in the last three years, I have literally only seen four stories set after the season 6 finale that even brought up the possibility of multiple hives!
Four! In three years! One of which was posted yesterday, and out of the other three only one even took the concept seriously, the other two played it for laughs (an entire hive getting by by disguising themselves as super-comfy chairs) or it was just "humans in Equestria turned into various species, including changelings".
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It's like, after season 6, people just dropped the idea of multiple hives existing altogether, with the exception of Chrysalis maybe founding a new hive of her own.
What ever happened to this scenario?
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