Thirty-ish Minute Pony Stories

by Abecedarian

The Little Changeling: A Rejected Children's Story (Prompt #276)

TMP Prompt #276 - “Old Habits Die Hard, Holding On”

Prompt: I need to change, but I don’t think that I can.

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The Little Changeling: A Rejected Children’s Story

The little changeling’s wings were too small to carry her for more than a couple of seconds.

The little changeling’s eyes could barely see in dim light, let alone pitch darkness.

The little changeling’s pheremones and magic were too weak to do more than make a weird smell and a flash of green.

The little changeling’s fangs could barely pierce the skin, and the paralytic venom they pumped only made her victims a bit dizzy.

But worst of all?

Worst of all, the little changeling couldn’t shapeshift!

Try as she might, she was always getting something wrong. Who would be tricked by a pony without any skin, or a minotaur with no fur and a monkey’s face?

All the other, bigger, changelings could transform into anything they wanted, and see in the dark, and fly as long as they wished, and lure other ponies into their web of deceit.

What kind of changeling was she if she couldn’t do any of that? She was a terrible changeling! An awful changeling! She didn’t count as a changeling at all!

It was enough to make her cry and cry, kicking the hive‘s wall in a fit of jealous anger.

When all of a sudden, who should appear but the Changeling Queen herself!

“Hello, my little one,” she said softly. “Why are you so sad?”

“It’s not fair!“ she sobbed. “I’ll never be as good as them! I’ll never be a big changeling!”

“Now, now.” The queen put an arm around the little changeling’s shoulders and pulled her close. “It wasn’t so long ago that I was a little changeling, just like you.”

“Really?”

“I promise.”

And then she began to sing:

One day your wings will shine bright

One day your eyes will see night.

One day they’ll follow your scent

One day their minds will be bent.

One day you’ll change your form and see

That you’re a changeling like me.

The little changeling snuggled close to the queen and sighed.

“Yes, dear.” the queen nuzzled her. “You’ll be a big changeling, and then you can seduce ponies and drag them back to the hive where we can all drain their emotions and motivation, leaving them mindless husks fit for nothing but to provide the genetic material I need to make more changelings, until they starve to death.”

“You mean it?” The little changeling gasped gleefully. “Oh, I can’t wait!”

“Neither could I, child.” The queen gave a nostalgic smile. “Neither could I.”

“Um, Queen?” The little changeling blushed. “Do-do you think one day I could be queen someday?”

“Oh, sweetheart, of course you can.” The queen kissed her cheek. “First, though, you’ll have to defeat me in mortal combat, then devour my internal organs in order to obtain the hormones and proteins necessary to change your form into one like mine.” She winked. “I’m not gonna make it easy.”

“I…I can do it!”

“And if you lose, I’ll rip you apart and use you as an example for the others.” She poked the little changeling. “Rip!” Poke. “Tear!” Poke. “Slash!”

The changeling giggled as the queen tickled her.

Even if things were hard now, she knew everything was going to be okay.

***

And one day she grew up to be, you guessed it, Queen Chrysalis!

So, little colts and fillies, if you work hard, have faith in yourself, and devour your parents’ internal organs in a frenzy of battle-rage, you can make all your dreams come true!