The storms blew strongly through the wastes. With no pegasi to regulate the weather, violent temperature and precipitation were always a possibility. Barely a plant grew anywhere in these wastes due to the harsh conditions. The scorching heat of the sun shone for days before powerful storms swept through drowning out any possibility of topsoil forming. It's in this environment a giant gnarled spire grew out of the ground; a constantly pulsating hive filled with angry hungry creatures known as changelings. Their dark insect-like appearance striking fear into any creature that came near. These twisted beasts did not eat any sort of normal food, but fed on the love and emotions of other "normal" creatures within the world of Equus.
Looking out from her post atop the hive, Queen Chrysalis' vision scans the storms approaching her home as she curses her failures. If she had taken over Equestria as she deserved, as the rightful ruler of all within her grasp, she would have a slave army of pegasi to clear the ominous storm clouds. She could give her subjects good weather and an infinite supply of pony love to feed off of. She licked her lips and her eyes glowed at the thought. Shining Armor had been such a feast, both for her eyes and for her belly. All she could think of now was her empty gnawing hunger. One she had known most of her life. Now was not the time to think of that though. There would be time for that later. For now she had to oversee her hive's emergency storm planning.
As the storms grew stronger and closed in, she had to order a general retreat into the deeper areas of the hive. Lightning strikes were common on the huge spire that made up the hive during violent stormy conditions. They endangered her soldiers, as well as the eggs and brood within the hive. The eggs and young must be hand-moved underground for their protection. Eggs and grubs were quickly moved and counted and cataloged among the chaos. However, there was a conspicuous absence. Egg 101725 was missing. Commander Pharynx tried to personally go back to retrieve the egg, but with the wind battering the walls of the fortress and lightning strikes hitting their home, going back to get it was not an option.
The storm raged and the walls opened up with a crash followed by a lighting strike. The poor missing egg was unfortunately along the bolt’s path to the ground. Heat surged through the egg and caused several cracks to form. The egg glowed with a charge field before that dissipated into smoke and steam. The now cracked and damaged egg and its contents were left battered by the elements for over an hour before the storm passed.
Commander Pharynx sounded the all clear and the first repair crews began to remove the debris caused by the storm from the labyrinthine nest. As the repair crew entered into a room exposed to the western winds through a new gaping hole, the crews were horrified to find a small brood trying to escape its charred shell. “Go inform the Queen, she will decide its fate!” yelled the team three officer of the day. Commander Pharynx then appeared with a look of sad disdain knowing his Queen's likely reply.
“What have We been summoned for? This better be important!” yelled an obviously annoyed changeling Queen. Didn't they know that her schemes were of much more importance than the life of some random brood? If Pharynx hadn't been such an important piece of her invasion she would have been rid of his annoying presence long ago.
“Ma’am we have discovered the missing egg number 101725. It has been damaged by the storm and the brood barely survives, what shall we do?” asked a slightly distraught Pharynx. He could see the disdain she had in her eyes for such a "small issue" as the life of a single grub. However, he pushed the disappointed anger deep down inside, as duty to his Queen and hive must always come first.
“Give the brood to the broodmothers in the lower levels. Order them not to feed this one for 24 hours. No need to waste love honey on a brood that will not survive the night,” she said coldly. She had no time for the issues of a single brood. There was scheming to be done. With a huff she left the room, her cold presence lifting immediately after her departure.
Pharynx carried the poor grub down to the neo grub ward. The smell of burned egg innards and hemolymph on the newly hatched changeling was deeply disconcerting. Finally arriving at the ward the broodmother examined the small creature. Upon examination she saw what she feared most. The lightning bolt had heated him so much it caused his exoskeleton to crack. “Pharynx, oftentimes when this occurs infection sets in and death becomes certain. I can dress the wound but I give him less than a 25 percent chance of survival.”
“Do what you will, broodmother Coxa. Try to ensure his survival," said Pharynx. His heart not allowing him to relay the second part of his orders. His job was to ensure the safety of all those in the hive, his team had failed to do this for this small brood and that meant its life was his responsibility.
The broodmother applied a special love honey to the wound that was usually reserved for royalty. This had worked in desperate situations in the past and she hoped it would again. The small brood tried to choke out a small insect-like cry but couldn’t. This brought a tear to the eye of Coxa as she could see his suffering. She had seen so much suffering in her time.
Coxa had raised so many, and she had seen just as many come back from war disabled or dead. ‘One day I hope the love we feed on in this hive is what rules us,' she hoped silently in her heart. She had seen how the physically weakest were treated and just wanted that to end. Her favorite brood, Thorax, had been maliciously assaulted all his life for his gentle nature. Thank goodness he had been allowed to get a job working with the brood or else he may have been cast out onto the wastes like so many other “failures”.
Coxa stayed up all night with the brood. Making sure to feed it at 2 hour increments and keep its wound salved. The wound on his left side looked so much like the very lightning bolt that had damaged his egg. Days went by like this and the brood began to show greater signs of life. Pharynx even popped in to check after every shift. The brood grew up and was named Electroplaque.
The Best Laid Plans Of Changelings and Ponies
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“WAKE UP YOU USELESS GRUBS!” The authoritative voice of Pharynx rang out. Changeling battle drills always started for all young changelings at the Changeling Academy before the sun even rose. “EARTH PONY!” was the order yelled out first. In a flash of light several young changelings changed shapes. Next to him Pronotum changed into a cute young mare that was known to the hive through the changeling intelligence network as Apple Bloom.
‘These pony names have taken a great deal of learning to understand properly’ thought Electroplaque to himself ‘Changeling names make so much more sense.’
Several others imitated ponys such as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Struggling Electroplaque attempted to take the form of Babs Seed but as the changing field reached his scar the terrible familiar pain he knew rang out again.
His change field collapsed and in the room were several decent representations of young fillies, a very angry hive commander and a small black changeling that bore a lightning bolt scar on his left side.
“IN MY OFFICE NOW” yelled the voice of a very angry Pharynx. Laughter erupted from a group of young pony imitations as well as a few choice words better not repeated. Timidly Electroplaque began the slow walk to the commander's office. A ritual he knew quite well. He was already playing through his head all of the possible responses he could give Commander Pharynx. All of them he knew would be wrong.
Quietly closing the door quietly, Electroplaque sat slowly down on his flank with his tail tucked between his legs, knowing what was coming.”You know Queen Chrysalis’s Royal Inspection is coming up in just 3 days right? I’ve already held you back for 2 years and the Queen is growing impatient with your progress. I’ve actually known her to expel changelings she finds to be useless in her battle plans from the hive entirely. She's considered doing it with Thorax for years and only Coxa and my begging for his useless carapace has stopped her from doing so.”
“I’m sorry sir, I've practiced several hours every day. It's just the pain…” said a very pensive Electroplaque.
“PAIN! HAVE YOU SEEN ONE OF YOUR CHANGELING BROTHERS HAVE HIS WINGS RIPPED OFF IN FRONT OF YOU WHILE INVADING THE DRAGON LANDS. HAVE YOU SMELT BURNING HEMOLYMPH BEFORE ELECTROPLAQUE? GET OUT OF MY OFFICE AND PRACTICE UP”
With those final words Electroplaque ran out of the office. Tail tucked between his legs and wings held close to his body. He could barely keep the tears from streaming from his eyes. He ran back to his bunk. Sadly even in such familiar surroundings, was not a place of refuge for the beaten down bug pony.
“How about you change into a loser. Oh wait, you already are one.” Said a sneering Pronotum. Pronotum was top of his class at the Changeling Academy with top marks in disguise, infiltration and sabotage. He was not a classmate to be taken lightly, and he had bullied Electroplaque since Changeling Kindergarten.
In a giant flash of light Pronotum changed once again into Apple Bloom. With a sneer on her face a surprisingly high pitched voice mockingly said “Maybe you would be better as a pony, you could even date me sugar darling.” In a second bright flash and a cascade of laughter Pronotum changed back into his familiar angry self.
“You should have seen the look on your dumb face, I’d bet you’re actually attracted to ponys too.” Pronotum screeched. He was barely able to get through the gasps of laughter. Not being able to take it, Electroplaque left the room with his dignity in shambles. He left the confines of his shared room into the wider hive. The shape of all the corridors changed but with an almost instinctual sense he navigated each twist and turn.
What he couldn't bring to understand instinctually was how rejected he was from the other members of the hive just by being different. The stares and the whispered speech anytime he was around told him that. So he kept his head down and headed for the gap in the outer wall of the nest only a select few knew about.
This small gap existed between the guard officer of the day’s office and the triage department for wounded changelings. By squeezing through a small gap between the ceiling of one and the floor of the other he could gain access to the ventilation shafts. Things like ventilation shafts generally had to exist in most of the same places even if the hallways changed inside the hive to prevent accurate maps being made and falling into enemy hands.
After squeezing through and out an air duct, Electroplaque ran away to his normal hiding place. It was merely a small rocky outcropping just outside the nest, but it was the closest place to a home he felt he had. Whenever things would get hard he’d come here as a respite from the mocking and stares of others. He also used this area to practice without the dissuasion of his classmates.
“Change, damn it” he yelled at himself from within a bright flash of light. Finally completing the change he had tried earlier, he let out a sigh of relief. Without the pressures of his peers looking over him he could usually pull off a full transformation save for a single issue. His scar.
Ever since his egg was hit by that lightning strike, his exoskeleton had bore a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt. This scar also shows through any disguise. Hopefully this could be something he could hide during the Royal Inspection.
The flaw of his scar was something he had already planned for though. It came through as bright yellow in any one of his disguises, but all he had to do was disguise himself as Apple Bloom when he transformed. Her coat matched the shade of his scar perfectly. He even kept a picture of her above his cot for the purposes of study. He had to be able to match her features perfectly so he needed to study her. That's all, no other reason, not at all.
As his cheeks grew hot he decided to get back to practice. Only 3 days left until the Royal Inspection. He could not fail to transform in front of the Queen.
Little did he know that other plans were in motion. “Frons, Scutum get over here” said a sneering Pronotum. “We have to show up that loser Electroplaque so we don’t get stuck in a platoon with him the rest of our lives.”
“Yeah, he’s such a puny gnat, I can’t stand the look of him,” said Frons
“Plus all the Ow, Ow, my scarrrr hurtssss, stuff gets so old and grating,” said Scutum.
“Wait, heh heh heh, you just gave me the best idea Scutum.” Said Pronotum. “This is going to be so much fun. We are going to embarrass poor hurt Electroplaque.”
With that the three set to scheming. Foolproofing their plan to take their target down. Growing more proud of their plan by the second. After all, scheming and subterfuge were what changelings did best.
