• Published 19th Oct 2021
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Accepting Change - drFraud



Well... it seems I'm a changeling... Decades before the first episode of FiM.

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CH 26 (preparation)

Mantis

We watched as the hybrid left with his pony lover, off to who knows where. Turning towards my sister I looked at her with a clear mind I barely possessed two weeks ago.

Gone were the holes I remember her having and in its place was a powerful, healthy carapace. No scaring, no weakness in plates.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth to say something only to be interrupted by the pony Princess.

“Do you honestly believe that this could work? That he could ascend?” She asked while studying that notebook my sister brought.

Dicty shifted in place, making herself more comfortable, “I don’t see why not, he’s already partway there. I mean did you see him?”

“He’s a hybrid,” I shrugged my shoulders, “For all we know that’s how they all look.”

“There is more to it than just his looks, idiot. Sweet Celestia…” Said princess raised an eyebrow, “it’s been years and you still didn’t learn to see things beyond your muzzle.”

“Hey! I did learn.” I huffed indignantly, “It's why I became one of the top infiltrators in the first place.”

“Which tells me exactly how low the mad Queen has fallen.” Dicty snickered and I felt my blood starting to boil. I worked hard to be where I was. Especially since she left all those years ago.

“Excuse me,” the Princess approached us, “but I would like my query answered straight. What makes you think that he will ascend?”

Dicty went quiet for a few moments, and I took the time to calm down.

“It’s like this, Princess” Dicty started, and I perked my ears to hear this, “unlike ponies we changelings have a very specific growth path. Other than a few differences here and there, most of us are more or less the same. Black carapace, green eyes, fins.” She pointed at each mentioned bit with her hoof. “However, us changelings have senses that can help tell us apart more easily, and it’s those senses that are useful in this case. Patchwork, to me, stands apart not just in looks but in the way he feels. He essentially feels like Chrysalis; royal, powerful, above us… Kind of like yourself.”

Then it clicked for me, “So that’s what that was!”

“Now you get it!?” My sister teased. She turned to Celestia, “Anyway like I said, he already feels like a royal, which tells me that he is partway there. All he needs is a push.”

“I would have felt it easier if I had more practice at it,” I muttered.

“So why didn’t you,” Dicty teased again.

“Cause Chrysalis goes mad whenever someling tries to get a feel for her,” I shrugged and my sister frowned.

“It seems to me that she is more paranoid than I gave her credit for,” Muttered Celestia, and I silently agreed with her. “So, what do we need to for this ritual, other than large quantities of love?”

“Well, my working theory always was that it has something to do with our ability to molt.” Dicty explained, “It has always been a known fact that large amounts of love can allow our kind to force a molt. Molting in such a way always resulted in a stronger changeling.”

“How so?” The Princess asked. I decided to take a cookie. It was delicious.

“It has something to do with our bodies. The more love we get the more energy our body can use to strengthen itself during molts. Especially if we survived an ordeal.” Dicty rolled her hoof, “There is a limit to how strong we can get, especially as a normal changeling, but for a royal things are different. Tell me, Princess, if you would” My sister shot a pointed look, “Has he ever gone through a molt or a change where he completely changed the way he looked?”

“His very first cocooning,” It didn’t take long for her to answer. “He came out looking like he does now, but he was shorter.”

“So, if my sister is correct,” I approached the two of them with a cookie in my hoof, “a forced molt with a massive amount of love could result in actual royal growth. Maybe if we cocoon him in with a love infusion it might work even better.”

“You may be onto something, brother.” My sister agreed and I about purred at the praise given.

“So, it seems that we have a bit of preparation to make. Let’s get to it.” All three nodded to us and plans were made.



Patchwork

“I can’t believe you’re a prince.” Velvet exclaimed. We were in the privacy of her room. She was lying on her back on one of her pillows and kicking her legs up with glee.

“I’m not a prince,” I muttered out with distaste. I was rather peeved at the whole thing. I mean, in one claw being a prince would be cool, but on the other, the level of responsibility is not something one can just jump in without a care. It would also be annoying. Red tape always made me gag.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Vel flipped on her stomach with a worried look on her face.

“I said I’m not a prince,” I said out loud with more conviction. “I may look like one from their perspective but I’m not.”

“But it looks like they need you to be one.” She got off her pillow and approached me. She put a hoof on my chest and looked me in the eyes which got me to immediately calm down somewhat.

“Well, I don’t want to be one. I want to help them, sure, but being a prince? Fixing their whole messed-up situation? I’d rather not. I am perfectly content in having an easy life rather than needing to tell at least five people that I need to use the toilet.” I huffed indignantly.

“OK, so don’t.” Velvet giggled as she started messing with my tuft of fluff on my chest, “Just go to the toilet like a normal pony.”

“You know what I meant,” I snorted but I still ran a claw through her mane. “You know, you seem to be awfully happy that I have to become a royal changeling. If I didn’t know better I would think that you are with me because of my status.” That got me a scowl and a light shove.

“I loved you even before I knew how messed up your life actually is.” She crossed her forelegs and turned with a huff. She was adorable like that. “Besides, it is a dream of every mare and filly to one day marry her Prince Charming.” Velvet swooned cupping her hooves together.

I growled at that thinking of that snot-nosed bastard. Celestia managed to keep me well away from her descendants that visited the castle on occasion, but I still sometimes saw him strut around. I am almost one hundred percent sure that Prince Blueblood would be his son in the near future. Okay, fine the guy isn’t a total moron; he married a ‘commoner’ filly at a young age, and he gave me a happy wave when I spotted him a while ago, but his attitude is something I’m not sure I would tolerate. But now every filly and mare dream to be swept off their hooves by another member of the royal family.

A peck on my lips shook me out of my dark cloud and I looked down at Velvet.

“I now remembered that you wanted to talk to me about something today. What has been bothering you lately? Especially over the last week.” Sensing her emotions, I only got love and concern out of her, but it still got my mind to immediately jump to some unfounded fears.

Sighing I ran a claw through my mane, getting it stuck on the band holding it together.

Shaking my head, I pulled up one of Vel’s pillows with my magic and laid myself down on top of it.

I decided to talk about her constant asking to walk around as a changeling.

“Look, one of the reasons why I’ve been… angsty, is also one of the reasons why I don’t want to be a prince. It’s also why I can’t just walk around undisguised at the moment.”

“That’s a lot of reasons for one thing.” She lightly shoved me to the side with her nose and took her place next to me on the same pillow. It was cramped, but it made me happy all the same that she was so comfortable with me.

“It is,” I nodded. “The problem is Vel, that at the moment there is a silent war being led between ponies and changelings.” There, one more thing out in the open.

“A war?” Her eyes were wide and there was an undercurrent of fear slowly rising from her.

“Wrong choice of words on my side,” I backpedaled. “Look, the way things are, the changelings are currently being led by an egomaniac of a ruler that thinks of herself as Faust’s gift to this world.” I swallowed thickly as I decided to take the plunge, “They are taking ponies Vel. They are foalnapping everyone they can and forcibly feeding off of their emotions.”

That got a reaction. Velvet was now on her hooves and looking at me with wide eyes full of fear.

“Is that what today was about?” She asked in a quivering voice, “You want to stop this?”

“I do… but it’s not so simple,” I shook my head.

“How so, if they are taking ponies against their will that it should be simple: she needs to be stopped!” Vel all but shouted. The quiver in her voice made her look very vulnerable and I immediately got up and hugged her holding her tight.

“That’s what we want to stop, love. But they are starving. You haven’t seen it, but they can barely survive off of what they get.” I lowered my head and nuzzled the top of hers, being very careful with her horn.

“Why not look for alternatives?” She returned the nuzzle and wiggled trying to get as much of herself into the hug.

“Because she doesn’t let them, or some of them don’t want to?” I questioned it. Who knows how many of them see their current way of feeding as the only possibility. Who knows how many of them see themselves as superior. Tartarus there are some ponies even today that do that, so why not changelings.

Velvet sniffed, “So, how does this factor into you not wanting to be the prince.”

“Because I don’t know what to do, Velvet. I may be a decently smart individual, but I am no prince, or noble.” I sighed, “How am I supposed to get a race from the brink of starvation? What do I do when some of them refuse cooperation? If we return all the captured ponies, how will provide them food to compensate?” Now I sniffled.

“That’s a lot of big questions.” Velvet said with a quiet voice.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, just hugging each other and thinking. Fear was slowly ebbing away from her and was being replaced with rising confidence.

“Do you think that Princess Celestia has some plan to help?” She asked me while raising her head to kiss my chin.

“She probably does.” I nuzzled her again while stroking her mane with my claws, “Tartarus she was probably making plans since we decided to help them.”

“So maybe you should talk to her. She probably has an idea on how to help everypony.” There was a small smile on her face. I raised my head in thought.

“Probably, but I have some other reasons why I don’t want to be a prince.”

“Yea, you told me, lazybones.” She giggled at me, and I huffed in annoyance. Vel raised her hoof and gently turned my head to face her, “They need you Patch. You know that, right?” She asked softly.

“I know.” I nodded rubbing our noses together. They need someone to challenge Chrysalis and I am the only one at the moment that could do it without involving the ponies. I already wanted to do something about it, except now I’ll be saddled with more than just fighting Chrysalis.

Celestia

Shield was asleep, taking a nap and snoring the day away. Her snores weren’t bad, but they were constant. A perpetual reminder that she is alive.

Me on the other hoof, my mind was abuzz. I held Dicty’s notebook in front of me, open at a specific section, the last bits of Chrysalis’s diary entry.

“The parallels are there, how did I miss it,” I whispered trying not to wake my wife. Tears were slowly pooling in my eyes as the memories rushed back, as they did every time the subject is brought up.

Chrysalis was slowly losing the battle with the spirit she took in, and her journal entries were more and more frantic, with the last being a simple ‘goodbye’.

‘It couldn’t be…’ I always wondered what happened to my sister, what drove her to madness. Reading this entry and Endo’s heavy tears began to fall as I put the pieces together.

“She was possessed,” I tried to dab at the tears with a napkin but it was a losing battle. I heard shuffling from the couch causing me to try and stifle my hiccups.

I moved to my study, notebook in tow.

Putting the notebook down on my desk I took a deep shaky breath. This spirit… This Nightmare, had centuries to cause issues for everypony. It now became even more important that she is stopped.

It also gave me an idea of what happened to Luna. I needed the elements, maybe if we…

“No, first Chrysalis then we plan for Luna,” a hollow laugh escaped me. “To think, if he wasn’t here...” I failed once; I won’t let it happen again.



Patchwork

“You’ve been experimenting on other changelings?” I asked shocked. I was following behind White Light as we made our way to the dungeon level of Canterlot Castle. Velvet was slightly behind me munching on a breakfast donut.

“I didn’t ‘experiment’ on anypony. We examined those willing to go through with it and made comparisons.” He stated.

“Where did you even find more changelings? How… I mean how many are there anyway?” I was honestly surprised they found more in the first place. Right now, the amount of changelings I know outside of the hive is two, Dicty and her brother.

“Easy there, son. There are fewer of them than you think. We have only four that were willing to work with us, and ten of them altogether.” White Light confirmed as we followed him.

Finally reaching the cell we were looking for, Velvet looked green in her face as we watched Dicty, and Mantis prepare the cocoon I was supposed to be placed in. It only took them four days to finish it up and one day to fill it to the brim.

Celestia was to the side of the cocoon examining the love bottles that were left over as White Light approached the green mass to study it. Looking at the mountain of empty bottles, I wasn’t sure about my chances.

“You are going into that thing?” Velvet asked all the while looking like she would lose the donut she had just eaten.

“Think of it as a deep mud bath. Like that one you took a few months ago.” I examined the thing from afar. I honestly did not know if this would work, and I wasn’t looking forward to finding out. I have never tried absorbing the amount of love I would consume today.

“That’s completely different,” She swallowed heavily but her voice was indignant.

“It is not as different as you may think, my dear.” Confirmed Celestia as she was approaching the two of us. She gave me a nuzzle that I eagerly returned as Velvet shied back, but with a happy smile on her muzzle. “Are you ready, Patch? They are almost finished.”

I watched for a moment as Dicty and Mantis finished the cocoon. It was now or never.

“Yeah, let’s do this before I lose my nerve.”

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