My head is pounding. There's an ache in my back and along my spine. What happened? I can't remember. Where's the hive? The queen? I can't hear them!
Alarmed, I stand up quickly. Bad idea. With my vision swimming and feeling light-headed, I sit down heavily, looking around for anything familiar. There isn't a single thing around me that looks familiar, not even the leaves of the trees above me. And I can't ask the hive where I am, not like I used to whenever I got lost as a hatchling. This time, there isn't somepony I can ask. It's just me.
I wait for my light-headedness to pass, then stand, slower this time. This forest is far too quiet. Glancing up, I spot a rather ragged opening in the branches. It looks like something fell through pretty hard. My back twinges with pain, and I look back up. Maybe the thing that made that hole in the tree branches was me? Flapping my wings, I fly through and out above the trees. Hovering there, I look around for any idea as to where I am. On the horizon in the west, I can see several trails of smoke. Maybe a town? Ponies to impersonate and something to eat?
My stomach rumbles in anticipation of a meal, but I don't know what I'm going to do without the hive behind me, telling me the safest and most efficient way to harvest the love of the ponies I encounter. Shaking my head, I recall tales of other changelings that left behind their hive, and still lived a full life, eating up love and all. If they could do it, so can I!
Taking a deep breath through my nose, I head off for the edge of the woods closer to the edge of the town, to watch, observe, and impersonate.
There aren't many buildings here, but just the right amount of ponies to make this a rightful town. Quite a few ponies seem to be brimming with love. It feels like this place had never seen a changeling before, much less any hardships. A lucky find, for me. My hunger is getting close to dangerous, and I'm pretty sure the last time I ate, which was at Canterlot, was a few weeks ago. Which means Queen Chrysalis and the other changelings have been gone for just as long.
My stomach demands my attention once again, and I hiss at it quietly. The two passing ponies startle, but just coin off the sound to their imaginations and keep walking. The love radiating from them makes my stomach protest against my stealth. It's starting to make my stomach hurt, this lack of a meal....
Sneaking along the path, I try to leech off the love hanging around in the air, licking my teeth, watching the ponies as they walk along, chatting happily. Watching them, I can't help but notice something other than my stomach complaining. In my chest, somewhere near my ribs, I feel a sort of ache. It isn't normal, so I just ignore it for now. All I need is some love.
"I still don't understand why you had me come with you, Midday Glow. You can find a changeling all on your own!"
Startled, I back away from the bushes that mark the edge of the forest and the path around the town. An orange unicorn is walking towards me, a blue and gray dappled pegasus next to him. Once I see them, I instantly know that they will fill my belly today. It's an ignored love between the two, but it's potent enough for me to much on.
"It's because that was what you did under---"
"Midday! Shush! What if somepony can hear us?!"
The words are slightly muted to me as I siphon off the excess love, but it's already made me curious. Under who? Did he work for someone who hunted down changelings? Wait, these are all my thoughts? Oooooh, I like this! Wait, what did he say?
"--and they'll have already found one. That's why I need you here. If anyone wants to pick a fight with you now that they know about your 'secret', we can tell them what Celestia told us to. Okay?" The unicorn stops and looks at the station next to him. "Dapple? What is it?"
The Pegasus is staring at my hiding spot. "I feel like there's a changeling nearby feeding on somepony's love somewhere...."
I snap out of the feeding haze and start backing up. The hive never told me what to do when you get caught by somepony! Back off or hide in some other pony's skin? Fly or hide and hope he'll go away? My legs are shaking a little as I instinctively back into the woods.
"Hmm.... Never mind. It's gone now. Let's keep an ear out over here, though, okay?"
"You know best when it comes to changelings, Dapple. I'll put a warning spell on the area. Let's check the other places now."
Shaking even more, now, I turn and flee into the concealing woods.
Author's Note
So this is the first time I've written a little fan fiction, so bear with me, yeah? I'd appreciate any and all support you readers have to offer, so go ahead and tell me what you think! And if you give me some suggestions I decide I like, I might use them and be a nice person to you because I can!
It's the second day alone, and I'm ready to try changing into a pony. Ransacking my memory for a pony I can become, I settle on a gray pegasus stallion with a black mane. I close my eyes, and feel the changeling magic do its thing. When I open them again, I can tell I'm still my regular size- shorter than most ponies- but no longer have the traditional makings of a changeling. The town is just a short flight away from this one cave I located in the dense forest. Flying out into the sunrise, I turn toward the town, hoping that those two ponies aren't still looking for changelings in town.
Setting down just outside of town, I try not to look too anxious and worried. The orange unicorn is in the central square, talking with a few of the locals. Taking a deep breath, I inch into the town, looking around warily. So far, I can't see the other stallion. Maybe he hasn't women up yet?
Who are you and where are you?<
Startled by the sudden changeling in my head, I scoot back under the cover of the trees. Another look around, and I see the pegasus walking around, searching for something. I'm trying not to think anything that would give me away, since he might be able to hear it. It was him that's the changeling, right? The other one didn't move, so I'm guessing it was him?
What are you doing here?? You can't be here!<
It's definitely the pegasus. I open my wings and fly to the other side of town, hopefully unnoticed. With another cautious look around, I walk into town, looking around as I walk along. Just being in this town soaks you in the love floating around. It's a little hard not to drool at all of the delicious love I'm soaking up....
"Hiya! I haven't seen you around town before! Are you new here?"
Startled, I look down at the young pony standing in front of my legs. Her eyes are large and looking up at new with curiosity. "O-oh, yes, I suppose I am?"
"Why are you so nervous? I know you aren't a changeling because you look different than the ponies here."
"Uh, hehe, I-i suppose you would know here. I heard that there's.... Um.... Changelings? in the area." I hope she doesn't call my bluff right out in front of the small group of ponies that have started to gather around us, listening intently. One of the ponies to join the group is that unicorn from before. He's staring at me I intently.
Many of the older ponies seem to see through my bluff. How come the hive never taught us how to effectively lie when we're alone?
There's a whoosh of air behind me, and I feel the presence of a pony behind me. Most likely a pegasus.The pegasus?
"Maybe you should drop the act and come with us, changeling."
I freeze. Without turning around, I know that it's the pegasus I tried to avoid.
Author's Note
Okay, I'm sorry but I have a school life and I have to occasionally stop in the middle of something I am sorry.
The ponies gathered around me seem to be shocked by the pegasus's sudden accusation. I turn around to look at him as he walks closer to me. On his flank is a heart the same color as changeling magic, a chain wrapped around it and padlocked shut. What does that even mean?
"You've forgotten one thing, changeling..." he says, nodding at my own flank. "That guy had a cutie mark. You don't."
I take a couple steps back, nearly tripping over my hooves as I do. Murmurs pick up as the crowd starts looking at my flank, searching for any sign of a cutie mark. I already know that they won't find one. I'd messed up. I've messed up so bad. These ponies are going to kill me, like the stories Chrysalis tells all of us about the deserters that never came back.
"Midday Glow!"
Some kind of orange magical aura envelopes me, and it burns as it settles around my body. The pain is immense, but the few ponies near me seem to not be effected, but Dapple has backed off, eyeing the aura that's eating through my resolve, through the changeling magic that lets us hide among the general public. Patches are being eaten away, a ringing sound filling my head, ponies backing away from me in horror as my magic fails me, leaving me exposed and alone.
An unearthly shriek sounds above the ringing, and the edges of my vision begin to go dark....
When I come to, I'm in a barred cage of some sort, made of a glowing rock I've never seen before. Pulling my legs under my body, I attempt to stand, but something stops me from doing so.
"Hey, boss, it's awake!"
It takes a quite a bit of effort for me to turn my head, much less lift it from the cage floor. The orange unicorn, Midday Glow? trots up to look through the cage bars at me. The pegasus Dapple is still with him. "Yes, he is. Dapple, do you want to fill him in while I scout ahead?"
"Sure thing, Midday," Dapple says, his eyes glowing green like changeling magic. As I watch, he transforms into an executor-class scout changeling. "Now, let's start with your name and rank. Nothing too hard, right?"
The change isn't what makes me eager to get away, but the rank. All executor-class changelings are trained to kill all deserters on sight. Every. Single. One. "M-my name is Slider, I was a sneak-class drone. I just got separated from the hive some time ago, and I haven't done anything, I swear! "
"I'm not going to kill you. I have no hive allegiance and no desire to ever go back to one. All I'm doing is trying to round up any changelings I can find. Up in the Crystal Empire, Princess Cadence is setting up something to protect her subjects from any attacks. Midday Glow and I are working with her."
"But, what about our hunger? I mean, if I can have somepony telling me what to do, I'll be okay, but....
Dapple chuckles and points at Midday Glow with a hoof. "She'll give you a partner pony you can feed off of. It's part of the deal you'll make. Serve her and the Crystal Empire, and you'll never be hungry again."
Now I have to make another decision? My head is starting to hurt from all of this.... What did Chrysalis call it, again? Free will? Well, whatever it is, it hurts my brain. "Are there other changelings there already? "
"No, you're actually the first Midday Glow and I have found. If you're worried about anything, you don't have to be. I was probably as confused as you are when Cadence found me. She found Midday Glow as he was passing through, and she got him to help me through the whole new free will and everything."
The cart my cage is on jerks to a sudden stop at a sign off some sort. "Boss, there's a toll bridge up ahead."
Dapple changes back into a pony and trots up to the front with Midday Glow. All three of them have a whispered conversation, then break up. Dapple comes and stands on my left, and Midday Glow on my left. I hear a faint jingle from the front, and assume the stallion up front, that I can't see, has pulled out some currency. Bits, maybe? Is that what they were called?
"Don't do anything, Slider," Dapple whispers to me as the cart starts moving again. "We have to get you over this bridge without any problems."
I huddle on the bottom of my cage, feeling confused and a slight bit conflicted. Leave the hives forever and never be hungry again, or go back, always know what to do, but be hungry a lot? It's so hard to choose without anypony telling me what to do....
A voice ahead calls out, and the cart rolls to a stop. "What've you got in that big glowing cage back there?"
"A delivery for Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire. I got credentials right here."
Silence for a moment. "The toll's ten bits for a stallion on a royal mission. Thirty for three. Maybe an extra ten if you got a pony in that there cage."
Dapple leans over and nudges the cage a bit. The light flickers a little, and I can move again. "Change into something else, hurry! We don't have enough bits for that!"
I do what he tells me to, taking the form of a dog, probably large enough the cage is explainable, but not so large it's ridiculous. A large, intimidating stallion approaches me, and I scoot away a little bit. He examines me with a glare, then walks back to the front of the cart. "Three bits. Pay and move on."
With several clicks and a little bit of grumbling, 33 bits exchange hooves and the cart jerks into motion as I'm pulled across the bridge. The stallion glares again as we pass, and I instinctively flinch away from the hostility practically gushing out of him. Even Midday Glow flinches as we pass him.
A while later, well out of the sight of the angry stallion, Dapple taps the cage again, and I wordlessly revert to my carapaced form. "Have you thought it through enough yet, Slider?"
I can't open my mouth. I feel like, if I say it out loud, I'll be forced to stay wherever I'm taken. So I just nod stiffly. Dapple smiles, and the rest of our time together is silent.
Author's Note
Okay, so I think that I should probably tell you about how I think the hive is all separated or whatever it is I wanted to say here. Sorry that it's a bit long, but Slider and Dapple aren't ever gonna talk about stuff like this.
Hive-Classes
The Queen is in charge of everything, making sure the hive gets fed and has shelter.
Below her are guard-class changelings. These are bulkier and more muscular than the other changelings, and they protect the Queen.
Executer-class is a smallish group of changelings hand-picked by the Queen when she first starts her hive. Their descendants are also executer-class, meaning it's possible for the executer-class to become quite large. They are nearly the same as others, just leaner and more heartless when in a hive.
Sneak-class are changelings chosen to lead invasions. This is also hereditary, but it doesn't always mean a sneak-class will ever lead an invasion. (Slider is a good example of a sneak-class that never has and never will lead an invasion.)
Scout-class are chosen by the sneak-class changelings, and is not a hereditary position, since these changelings can be switched constantly, and whenever the sneak-class feel like it.
Sub-classes
Drones are the main workforce of the hive. Drones of any class do the menial tasks that nopony else is very fond of, such as cleaning the nests and caring for the hatchlings. Slider is a sub-class drone.
Scout-class is also kind of a sub-class. Sub-class scouts are always there, just not always doing something useful. Dapple is a sub-class scout.
Hunters track down disobedient changelings in their hive class. Hunters inflict different punishments based on hive and sub-classes. (Drones are usually just killed, no matter the hive class. All Executor-class drones are tortured violently then put straight back to work, as are the scouts. Sneak-class scouts are grounded, forced to stay in the hive whilst everypony else goes and invades someplace. Guard-class can actually get away with pretty much anything, except for their drones, since they're so intimidating
)
And I think that's about it for now. Unless I go and change my mind about a bajillion different things.
~~and um I'm sorry if there's like more than one note I'm a newbie here so bear with me I'm still working on it~~