Author's Note
Play this while reading this story
Second Chance
A lone changeling is lying prone and unresponsive to the world is at the bottom of a large cliff. One of it's wings was severely damaged and the other one was broken and there were several cracks and sections missing in its chitin. No one knows which hive it is from and no one cares for it at all. As it lays there, it is in a dream that is more like a memory of what happened just a few hours ago.
It is running away from the ponies that are chasing it. When they saw the changeling enter town they panicked and immediately formed a mob and drove it out of town. The ponies are armed with pitchforks and torches. Once it was out of town, they continued to chase it until they cornered it on a cliff. When it was cornered it asked, "Why are you doing this to me?"
One of the ponies in the mob replied, "You are an evil vile creature. You are nothing but a parasite and a disease to this land. We will rid all of Equestria of any changelings still within our borders. You and your kind attacked our capital and tried to take over our fair country. Your queen was defeated by the very thing she sought. You creatures are pathetic and you deserve to DIE!"
As he said the last word he lunged toward the lone changeling. The changeling instinctively took a step and fell off the cliff with a high pitch scream that only changelings could make. As it fell, it made contact with the face of the cliff and broke a wing, cracked its chitin, broke it's back left leg, and tore a hole in its other insectoid wing. When it finally impacted the base of the cliff, it lost a few pieces of it carapace and damaged it's already broken wing further. Then it all went black.
It woke up to then sounds of hoof steps near by. It panicked, got to its hooves, and instantly ran into the near by trees. Once inside the cover of the trees, it fell to the ground in pain from it's sudden run. As it lay there it thought, "What have I done to do deserve this? Why are these ponies so fearful of me? Why was I called a disease and a parasite?"
As it lay there in the small group of trees, broken and all alone, it started to cry. It cried because this is the first time it was truly ever alone, sad, broken, and scared. For the first time ever it realized there was no one it could lean and cry on, no one to hear her crying, no one to comfort her, and no one to help her.
Slowly she stopped crying and just listened to her surroundings. The bird in the trees, the wind rustling the leaves on the trees, and the buzzing of insects near by on flowers. She sat there and listened for a few minutes before realizing something important was missing and when she realized it, she started to sob uncontrollably.
She could no longer hear the hive in her mind. The hivemind was quiet inside her head. No sound, no other ling chittering, no queen issuing commands, and no one could hear her cries for help in the hive. She was truly alone. She sat there alone, broken, scared, and crying for three hours.
The sun is now setting over the little grove of trees and the changeling is now silent just waiting for it's life to end. In it's mind thoughts mean nothing but a constant reminder of its failure to do anything in life.
"Why me of all changelings, why me? Why am I the one to be called a disease and a parasite? Why not someling else? Why am I the one who was drove out of town? Why me to be pushed off a cliff? WHY ME!?" She screams out into the night sky, and starts to cry again. "I-I'm worthless. *sniffle* I-I c-can't do any t-thing right. *sniffle* M-My own m-mother would be y-yelling at m-me *sniffle* and t-telling me h-how much of a f-failure I-I am right n-now. *sniffle* I-I should j-just give u-up on l-life. *sniffle*"
"Now why would you want to do that?" A new voice asks from outside her range of sight, causing her to scream. "Shush, child." The new voice is soothing and calm. It has a small amount of worry and concern behind it also. It also sounds feminine.
The broken changeling slowly calms down from it's recent scare and wonders, "Who is this pony?"
"Now tell me, what is your name, little one? Be honest with me, why do you want to die?" The mysterious mare asks.
"I have no name. In the hive we don't get names unless you are either royalty or a very high ranking soldier or worker. I'm all alone, I can't call for help from my hive because I'm cut off from the hivemind, the ponies hate me and my kind, I'm already going to die because I fell off a cliff, and nobody could ever care for a changeling. "She says, crying after finishing her little rant.
"What if you did not give up? What if you did head to a town to get medical attention, food, and someone to care for you? Would you still try to live your life to the fullest and not let life slip out of your grasp?" The mare asks.
"W-well, I might live if I get to a hospital, but I desperately need love in order to survive and nopony loves changelings. So how would I get food if nobody loved changelings and why would anypony love a changeling?"
"If I could get you to a town and find somepony who would let you into their heart, would you let me do that? Would you also like to let them name you?"
"I would like to have a name, but what about those who don't like changelings? Won't they kill me or attempt to capture me?" The changeling asked.
"Only if you provoke or injure one of them. Besides I know you want to live a peaceful life along side a pony. So will you take this chance to live a better life or will you let your depression get to you and let go of your precious life? Also know that I will NOT be able to heal you, but the pony you will get to know can and will help you get better." The unknown mare told the changeling.
"I'll do it. What will this pony be like, if you don't mind me asking? All I want is what will the pony act like, what race is the pony, and will I like this pony?"
"You will like this pony. He is a Pegasus stallion who is in his junior year of high school. He is calm most of the time and will try to talk others out of fighting if possible, and I'm certain you will like this young stallion. Now, are you ready to begin your new life? I will teleport you near him, don't worry he will find you and take good care of you. Have you ever been teleported before?"The mare asks.
"No, I have never in my life teleported before. Is that important?"
"Yes, because you have never teleported before it will make you pass out, not from the teleport itself, but from your injuries. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, please send me to my new life." The changeling replied and then took a large breath of fresh air and waited to begin it's new life.
With a single nod the mare charged her horn, tapped the back of the changeling's neck, and teleported her to her new life. Once the changeling was gone, the mare looked to the night sky and said, "Take care my little changeling, for the life you now live will bring you joy, peace and happiness as well as terror, hatred, and loneliness." With that the mare disappeared in a flash of light and the clearing was silent like the night before the changeling had come.
