Falling For a Star: Heroes

Lorin's POV:

Cracking your eyes open slightly, you're greeted with a blurry image along with some kind of blue tint. What the heck happened to me? You ask to yourself as you sit up on top of the table that you lay upon. The last thing I remember I was trying to escape the changeling hive. Then... then they put me in some sort of pod, after that I fell asleep.

Your vision starts to focus as you rub the back of your head with your hand. "Anyone out there?!" You yell out. The blurry images start to take shape, however you realize that the blue tint stays. What is this? You state as you attempt to get off the table only to find your right hand chained in place.

Panic starts to fill your mind as you look around the darkened room. The only light that existed came from a pulsating green pod attached to the wall. The pod was accompanied by a changeling, Who, from what you could see was examining the contents that lay within it.

You have awaken. A voice whispers in your mind. It was definitely not yours, you know what your own voice sounds like and that was not it. I sssshale get the queen. The voice stated again as the changeling in front of the pod turns around and exits the room, leaving you alone.

As soon as the changeling leaves the room the green glow from the pod dissipates and you're left there in the darkness. Like hell I'm going to sit here! You shout to yourself as you tug at the chains holding you down. They felt weak and old -no doubt rusted- so you put all of your strength together and pulled.

The creaking and rustling of the chains could be heard throughout the room as it echoed off of every wall it came across. A noise that made you ponder the possibilities of escaping this place alive. Not only that, but once you did there would be a giant desert waiting for you. We will deal with that when we get there. You say in your mind as you tug once more.

There was a clear snap and then your arms were free. The shackles were still attached but they were no longer connected to the table by chains. With a smirk you jolt up off of the cold table and onto the even colder ground. Everything around seemed to be the same way, no heat whatsoever was given off. Enough thinking, more escaping! You lecture yourself as you bolted towards the door that the changeling had gone through.

Sadly your idea of escaping was cut short when Chrysalis herself emerged from the same door. "Trying to escape again are we?" She asked in a suggestive tone that tempted you to try and escape. "By all means human, leave if you desire so. I doubt however that you will make it to the front door." And with a sly smile she stepped aside granting you full access to the hallway.

"Well then I guess I'll be off." You reply to the queen, the sentence drenched in confidence. With that statement being said you run passed Chrysalis and through the corridor. Is she really going to let me go like this? You ask yourself as you try and navigate through the maze of tunnels.

I guess she had a - Is all you're allowed to think before a high pitched noise is pushed through your mind. Falling down to your knees you press your hands against your ears to stop the noise. Sadly the noise doesn't stop, in fact it gets louder, and louder. At one point you swear you could hear millions of little conversations most of which were yelling in pain.

What fresh hell is this! You scream in your mind. As the voices progressively get louder, your vision starts to once again go fuzzy. Finally it came to a point where you would assumed that if it continued you'd go deaf. "MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE!!! JUST MAKE IT STOP!" You shout out, but you could not hear yourself as the constant screaming muffled it to bellow a whisper.

Tears started to form and fall. The voices finally dying down to a bearable level, then after a few minutes stopped all at once. "Thank god! THANK THE HEAVENS!" You yell out stumbling back up to a standing position. Now what the fuck was that!? You question turning around deeming it to be Chrysalis's doing.

Sure enough there she was standing in the hallway behind you with the other changeling at her side, her smirk still ever present. "I'm surprised you lasted that long." She claims with a innocent voice. "The longest any being has withstand the hive mind was ten seconds. You will make a great asset to my hive." You could feel the rage inside you boiling up as she spoke.

"What did you do to me?" You ask in a dangerously calm tone, your right eye twitching. If she said anything you didn't like then you were going to let her have it. You didn't like people messing with your mind let alone a big bug creature.

The queen smiled showing her pure white fangs. "Why I thought you would of noticed by now." She replies with a royal voice, but it did nothing to calm your nerves. "You know with that blue tint and your improved night vision, I thought for sure that you would of figured it out."

Your facial expression drops as soon as you realize that what she said was true. You remember back when you first came to the hive it was almost pitch black and the only reason you could see was because of those pod things. Now that you're in a hallway devoid of any light you realize that you can still see. A feat that would have proven to be impossible when you first came here. "What did you do to me!?" You repeat this time you let your anger clearly show.

"Humans, you're so boring you know that." Chrysalis states with a saddened expression, her mouth slightly frowning. "Well I guess you deserve the truth since you can't really do anything about it now, and you're bound to find out eventually. What we have done was change you into a changeling!" She answers with a happy tone, one that did not fit her.

"What!" You yell as you look to your hands, but yet there're still hands. You were still human as far as you knew. She's trying to trick us! You state to yourself. "You're lying I'm still human! See!" You counter holding up your hands as physical proof.

Chrysalis seems to ponder your argument for a while before speaking up again. "Yes, you're still a human. I had no desire on changing that aspect, as you're taller and stronger than the normal changeling. So what I did was simply add to you. Now that I think about it you should be thanking me for going through with such a procedure."

Standing still you try to absorbed all of the information Chrysalis is giving you. You can't really be mad at her for adding to you. The only thing that you saw was a downside was that constant yelling and screaming coming from what Chrysalis said was the 'hive mind'. "So what did you add to me specifically?" You ask less angry and more intrigued, however if she once again states something you don't like you're going to tear this entire hive down with your own two hands.

A smile appears on Chrysalis face. "I always knew that you were a power hungry human the moment I laid eyes on you. Since we put you through the 'pod' process, you have gained every ability a normal changeling has. I'm quite excited to see if the powers are stronger when you wield them, seeing as you're already stronger physically than the rest."

You're speechless, you always wanted to have some kind of superpower and now you got one. "So what are these abilities?" You ask once again, this time you make sure to ask about the side effects of using the powers as well.

"Well for starters you will able to change your appearance. It's not that hard to use, it requires a little dose of magic to convince the creatures around you that you're in fact said creature. Nevertheless the power does not mean your true identity is concealed. You will have no memories of the creature you choose to mimic, and you have to of seen the creature beforehoof to change into them." Chrysalis lectures, she is about to continue before you ask another question.

"Do I have to see the creature directly before I turn into it or could I have a mental picture of what it looks like? Also can I replicate non biological objects?" You ask hoping that the answer for both questions is yes.

Chrysalis's expression turns into a confused one and then a curious one. "I suppose if you know how the creature looks like exactly then you could in turn change into it. Why you would want to do that is beyond my knowledge. For your second question I have no Idea, I for one have never attempted to change into a object." She continues to think about the new possibilities.

"What about strength. Say if I turn into a changeling that is stronger than me would I gain his or her strength?" You state, because if that was the case then this might be the best gift anyone has ever given you. It would also mean that you most likely possess the strongest superpower other than time travel.

"Sadly if you wish to copy the strength it requires more magic. Which in turn means that you would have to start training almost immediately. I doubt however that you would use it in combat seeing as you're already pretty strong physically." She claims walking down the hallway. "Follow me we can walk and talk."

Following Chrysalis you continue to ask questions. "But I assume that if I say copy you, I would not be able to transfer the magical abilities you possess." You say that because copying someone's physical appearance is much easier than copying someone's mental state.

"Yes that is correct, you cannot copy anything nonphysical like I said before you can't copy memories. I must say that this power comes with a down fall Lorin, it is something you should take into account before using any spells." Chrysalis lectures once again but this time you can see that she's not joking around.

"And what may that be?" You ask curious, there must be a limit somewhere. For if this power had only positives you could consider yourself a god. Heh me as a god, I can hardly picture it. You state to yourself with a chuckle.

You both turn a corner in the hallway leading you both into another one. However at the end of this hallway you can see a bright green light. Chrysalis stops and looks straight into your eyes. "You're power's are only as strong as the love you feed off of." She states making you put on a confused expression.

What the fuck? Love you feed off of? What kind of shit is this? You state in your mind. Chrysalis seems to get your confusion as she goes on and tells you about what she meant. "We changelings feed off love. It's the only thing that keeps us alive. We can sustain our own lives here with the love we give one and another but our powers are weak. If we were to say walk into a another town we could feed off others. It won't do anything to the creature we feed off of, but it will enable us to use more powerful magic."

This gets your attention, ever since high school you always looked for a loop hole. If you found one here then you would be able to become a god. A smile creeps onto your face, that is until you remember the yelling and screaming you heard before. "So what happened to cause all those screams and yells I heard. You called it the 'hive mind' but why does it happen?" You ask pondering the question yourself.

The both of you continue to walk towards the glowing green glow. "That is just so I know you won't use your powers against me if or when you become stronger than any of us in the hive. I have high hopes for you Lorin and I just wanted to make sure you were on my side." She states looking down towards you with a smile.

Bitch I never said I wanted to join you! It's cool in all that you gave me these powers but I don't work for no... bug. You think to yourself, you were always the rebellious type of person. Nevertheless you kept your mouth shut, you will follow her orders till you know you can take her on. "So this 'hive mind' activates when I'm about to attack you?" You state curiously.

"No it only activates when I want it to. I control the hive mind, so it is wise that you don't disappoint me." She states in a very sturdy tone. One that would give off the impression that she would know exactly what you're thinking. So if she doesn't know she's going to die she’ll never activate it... hehehehe, mwahahah You claim laughing a bit to yourself at the end.

Chrysalis gives you an un-amused expression. "Nevertheless here we are." She states pointing her hoof out into the open when you both pass through another door that the green glow was coming from.

The place you now stand in was huge. The ceiling went for miles and all around changelings zipped around. It looked like a real hive however when you looked closer you realized that this place was in fact a city. Many homes were dug into the walls and even little shops lay scattered around.

"Welcome Lorin to the heart of the hive. This is where you will be living if you so choose to stay here. We have all the shops that a person like you should ever need." She lectures proudly. It seems like she really takes her job seriously.

"So I can just get up and leave the hive whenever I want to and roam the planet? What's there to stop me if I say turn against you?" You ask with a confused expression once again. Stepping into this hive is like stepping into a new world -which technically it is-.

Chrysalis smiles down towards you. "Well first there’s the hive mind. It will activate immediately if you were to start causing damage to the hive. Secondly I really don't think you want to tear this place down seeing as it's your only hope of getting proper training for your abilities." She makes a good point one that you find hard to go against.

Nevertheless you still rather live somewhere else. The houses look top notch but the gloomy atmosphere is not where you belong. You like to think of yourself as an adventure rather than a person that stays in one spot. "I appreciate the home offering but I think I'm going to pass." You state making Chrysalis's mood drop.

"I see, what is your plan then? You're a changeling now and your blue eyes give it away. If you wander into any town you will be engaged." She states making you look towards her once again in confusion.

"Blue eyes! When did this happen!" You yell to the queen who does not even flinch. It seems like she must be used to this type of reaction. "Is this why my vision is tinted blue! Is there any way I can get rid of it?" You ask hoping that it's not permanent.

Chrysalis sighs as her horn glows green. "It's not as bad as you think it is." She states and a mirror pops out of nowhere. Staring into the mirror you’re greeted by the same person, however your iris is colored a dark blue and you can see a bit of blue smoke emanating from them.

"What's with this smoke!" You yell out, it looked cool but you didn't want to have it forever. However on the other hand you did look good with dark blue eyes, it almost suits you.

"That only happens when you're angry. To tell the truth it surprises me, usually it only happens when a changeling is really mad. This is because the magical output spikes and the body can no longer hold onto the magic. I take it you're not really that mad right now, so the only other reason is that you produce a lot of magic on your own. Either that or you have very little space to store magic." Chrysalis lectures.

"So this will only happen when I'm slightly angry?" You state, it sounds pretty cool. You don't mind it that much if it's a side-effect. Chrysalis doesn't answer you but instead holds up the mirror again. When you look into it you see that the smoke is gone cementing your thoughts and her words in place.

Chrysalis looks at you with a neutral expression. "Well then Lorin it looks like I shall lead you out of here. I only ask that you do one thing for me in return." She states with a tone that suggest that she's planning something and you’re just another pawn in her game of chess.

"And what may that be?" You ask wondering what it is that she's going to ask. It must be something really important if she was willing to give you these powers. "If I have to kill something sentient you can count me out." You state with stern eyes.

The look on her face shows that she really doesn't believe what you said. "You killed over thirty of my changelings last time you were awake what makes killing anything else different?" She asks with a pout once again her actions do not suit her as she's supposed to be a queen and all serious.

"Well for starters they tried to kill me!" You state in a loud tone. "secondly I was just dumped here, confused, and scared. What else am I supposed to do, it was my instincts kicking in that got them killed." You claim telling the truth, you really weren't thinking back then due to lack of water and food.

"That is true, however this task does not involve killing. All I want you to do is visit a town called Ponyville and get to know a pony there called Twilight Sparkle. After that you're free to go where ever you please." She states in normal tone.

"Well that's actually not a bad deal." You reply and her only response is a smile. "Before we go you wouldn't by chance have a shop that sells some sunglasses here would you?" You ask, this only makes the queen chuckle and nod in understanding.

"I don't know for sure. What the changelings sell here is none of my business. I'm only here to make sure they don't start a riot or anything. Although I don't doubt that there will be one around here somewhere. I assume you're trying to cover up your eyes so you will be able to enter villages?" You nod in response to her question.

Also it wouldn't hurt having some new shades. Only one problem I have no money to pay for such a commodity. "You suppose you can lend me some money to purchase the shades?" You ask feeling a bit guilty for asking someone for money.

Chrysalis's horn glows and she materializes a scroll before you. "Give this to any changelings and they will give you what you want." She states in a monotone voice, it looks like she is getting a bit bored from your conversation. "When you wish to leave just ask any of the changelings and they will lead you out." She claims turning around and walking away however before she's out of view she states one last thing. "Remember Lorin we feed off love, make sure to find some someplace." She lectures with a wink and then walks out of view.

You nearly vomit in your own mouth, you don't think you will ever love a changelings. You can hardly tell what gender one is. Shoving the thoughts aside you shove the scroll into your pilot coveralls and walk along the edge of the cylindrical city. Eyes peeled for any sort of shops that might sell some shades. Why changelings would sell shades is far beyond your comprehension.

Hours pass by and you find yourself in some sort of market square where multiple booths are setup. The way they made everything out of this black material was weird. Another thing is that you have yet to get hungry or thirsty. You remember that ever since you came here you were parched, but now that you’re a changeling all desire to eat or drink is gone.

Searching wasn't easy as well, there were no signs anywhere which could lead you to a shop. Not only that but everywhere you went these changelings would be looking at you with wide eyes. Since you're the only human changeling you understood why.

Now that you stood in the middle of some sort of market square you began perusing the wares. Some were confusing, like balls of green goo and others where normal, like a quill and ink. You thought you saw a sunglasses stand however when you walked up to the stand you realized that they sold gadgets, such as night vision goggles. Which to you seemed useless since all changelings were basically born with it.

Nevertheless you walk up to the stand. "Hello do you know where a changeling would sell some sunglasses?" You ask the changeling.

"Why would you want ordinary sssunglasssesss, you don't look like the ordinary changeling." She states doing the same weird 's' thing like the other changeling when you first woke up. It kinda suits them anyway, being a bug and what not.

Sparking your interest you continue the conversation. "Why you ask? You have something better than 'normal' sunglasses?" You ask leaning in close to the table. The changeling leans back a bit and picks up a box that was under the counter.

"Yesss." Is all the changeling says before she opens up the box. Looking inside you take note of some rather modern looking aviators. Talk about jackpot! I fucking love aviators. You state to yourself as you ponder what she said before.

"So what makes this better than any other pair of sunglasses? hmm?" You ask trying to see if the changeling was cheating you out for more money. "Because I have seen these before, and there nothing but normal sunglasses."

The changeling starts to smile. "Why don't you put them on and sssee what makes them sssso sssspecial" Following the changelings orders you grab the aviators out of the box and put them on. To your amazement they were a perfect fit, surprising because you thought that they would of catered their wares to them then to a human.

"See nothings special about them they're just normal sunglasses." You claim about to take them off, that is until the changeling speaks up.

"How about now?" She claims and you can clearly see the sound waves that the changeling produces. Having seen that you turn around and see that you can see every sound wave in existence. It's really cool but you rather not have your vision filled with multiple sound waves while you're walking. You can see how it could get annoying very fast.

"I will say that it's pretty sweet, but it's too distracting." You claim taking off the glasses and putting them back in the box. However when you go to place the glasses down she moves the box away from you.

She then looks at you with a smirk. "You know you can change the frequenciesss you can sssee." She states making you look at her dumbfounded. "All you have to do isss focusss on the sssoundss you want to hear, and if you don't want to sssee any then don't focussss on any."

Putting the glasses back on you look around the room once more. All the sound waves bouncing around the room start to give you a headache. But you're not the one to give up so you just focus on the view and not the waves. Much to your liking the waves slowly disperse.

Turning back to the desk you place the glasses back in the box. "I still don't want the product." You say in a serious tone however the changeling still has its smirk on. It's like she knows you're going to buy it eventually.

"Sssorry but you wore them ssso now you have to buy them." She states, her tone ever so innocent.  "That will be 95 bitssss." She states making your anger start to boil up. The blue tint gets harder to see through and you slam your fist onto the table.

"What kind of fucked up deal is that!" Your voice booms out causing the changeling to look at you with fear. "I demand that you take these back or let me keep them for free, you know since you're so keen on giving them away."

The changeling gulps and hides behind the counter, no doubt cowering from your sudden outburst. When she fails to come back up you walk away from the stand, the changelings that watched the event happen stepped aside as you passed them. None of them willing to stand up to you, they all knew that the changeling was trying to rip you off.

You walked till you couldn't see the market square anymore, and it's at that time that you realized you still had the glasses on. Well it looks like I'm keeping these. You state to yourself as you look around for a changeling to show you the way out of the hive.

As you look around you notice that all the changelings are keeping a small distance away from you now. They all most likely heard about your argument with the gadget changeling. How they all know in such a small amount of time is amazing but you don't doubt that these changelings gossip.

Nevertheless you still are determined to get out of this gloomy hive and into the hot sun that is the desert. You don't know how you're going to get out but you would be dammed if you didn't try. So you do what the queen said and walked up to one of the changelings roaming the hive city.

Coming across one proved to be a task as every time you tried to talk to one they just simply walked away. It wasn't long before you started to get a bit ticked, you know that you're a human and they're all afraid of you, but you thought that the queen would of stated your presents.

Finally after trying to talk to multiple changelings you come across one that doesn't bolt it. "Could you please show me the way out of the hive?" You ask, practically begging. You tried other ways of asking but they just seemed to make the changelings run faster.

"Sure but it won't be free." The changeling speaks and for the first time it doesn't have that annoying 's' thing going on. "I would say 10 bits would be a fair price for exit of the hive." He states with a sly smile on his face. He is no doubt taking advantage of your situation.

"Fine, I don't got bits but I got this letter from Chrysalis." You state passing him the letter. The changeling gladly takes the note and opens it up breaking the wax seal. He takes some time to look it over and after a couple minutes he smiles up at you.

"Follow me sir and I will show you the way out." He claims vaporizing the letter with his magic. At first you thought that he just destroyed your letter, but then you realize that Chrysalis made the same letter reappear out of thin air. So it was probably just a spell that stored the object, really convenient now that you think about it. You have a slight feeling that all this magic stuff is going to take a while to get used to.

Time passes as you follow the changeling through the black stone streets. He takes a lot of turns and entered many doors, making you wonder how long he had to live here before he memorized all of this. To you, you were completely lost, if he dumped you here he could just flea and probably get away.

Thankfully that was not the case and you both found yourselves standing in front of two large double doors that were already open, revealing the blinding light of the sun. Just outside of the doors was a ledge and then an almost 90 degree drop.

"How the hell am I supposed to get out of here?" You ask the changeling. He only responds with a shrug and then casually walks away as he held his part of the deal. Not wasting any time you walk up to the opening to see that the hive lays inside a large cavern.

Looking down you can see that the cavern itself goes down for many miles and stretches even further. On each side of the entrance stood two changeling guards decked out in armor. Each of them stood at attention, their spears held in front of them poised to attack and a one handed sword sheath to their side.

From this display you think it's safe to assume that they will help you get out. The entrance was not that far from the top of the cavern and all you would need is for one of them to help you up. That is unless they had a way of getting you out another way.

Moving into position you walk up to the first guard. "Hey. You mind helping me get out of here, I don't have wings like you guys do." You state in your normal tone. You don't think that being aggressive with these guys is going to work out to well.

Without warning his horn glows a bright green like the queens and he shoots you with a green beam. Begin caught off guard at his sudden act of violence you have no chance to dodge, enabling the beam to hit you square in the chest.

Soon the light fades and the pain dies down. Looking around you find yourself at the top of the cavern. Right, fucking magic. is all you say before you look around some more. As expected the only thing you can see from horizon to horizon is sand. The burning sun high in the sky telling you that this is the hottest it's going to get.

However you realize that you're not hot at all, in fact you feel like you're at the perfect temperature. Pushing that thought aside you look out into the open desert. I really should of asked one of them for directions as well. You state as you start your long journey into a random direction, relishing the fact that you don't need food nor water to survive.

Days pass as you walk tirelessly through the desert. The trails you leave behind are instantly covered as the wind blows more sand into their spot. When you look in front of you, you can see nothing. Right now you're walking right through a sandstorm. An event that you never thought you would be able to live through, but it seems that being a changeling also makes you resistant to such things. You have no sense of direction, you could be traveling in circles for the past two days and you would of never of known.

But on the other hand you have never been so determined in your life. All you wanted to do was get out of this godforsaken desert and find that town Chrysalis mentioned. For when you're done visiting the town and meeting this Twilight Sparkle you can go off and explore the rest of the world, since you doubt that you're still on earth.

You also need to figure out how this feeding of love stuff works. From the way Chrysalis talked it should just come naturally and should not harm or alert the source of the love. Lastly you still need to see if the powers Chrysalis stated you have actually work.

That would be an easy one to test. Just enter a town in a disguise and ask someone what you look like and that's another thing. You have no idea what race this Twilight Sparkle is? The only life forms you have seen on this planet is the wooden wolfs and the changelings. Maybe there're some more humans on this planet! You think to yourself only for it to be shoved out again.

The way Chrysalis spoke about you made you think that she had yet to see a human. However you never know, maybe she just didn't explore that much and meet all of the races that inhabit this planet. It was a long shot but it was the only glimmer of hope in your unique situation.

Sighing you lift your head up from the sand to look in front of you. The sandstorm that you were in is starting to die down, and every minute more and more comes into view. With your hopes to see something other than sand you continue forwards in hopes to get out of the desert.

Hours or days pass, you can't really tell anymore and the sandstorm is completely gone. You nearly screamed in joy when you saw on the horizon a thin line of green. With the new destination in sight you start to run towards it, your energy never faltering for one second. You were just so happy to now see a way out.

The desert had done a number on your body but it was still in working order. You just hope that somewhere in that thin line of green was a village that had working water. Not to drink but rinse yourself in and relax, not to mention the love that you get to feed on while you're there.

I wonder what feeding off love feels like? Is it just like eating, or does it just give you more power then you already had? You ask yourself as you keep up your pace. The energy that you had stored up was like a never-ending well and since it showed no signs of drying up you used it to its fullest.

The smile on your face growing bigger and bigger the larger the thin line became. Hours passed by and you were still running not feeling the effects at all. The only thing that you wanted to do was to get out of this desert. You know you keep saying that but it really is going you be amazing to not walk on sand but instead walk on nice solid ground. Ground that would not move, ground that would not get stuck in your boots. Soon the desert sand turned into cracked mud and soon that too started to show signs of life. The rare bush here and there.

Finally after miles upon miles of running you come upon what you wanted most, the edge of the desert. Unable to contain your joy you step off the cracked mud and onto the lush green grass. "Now to find that village!" You yell out slowing down to a walk.

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."~Abraham Lincoln