Before 1,000 AB, the Changeling race was not an international concern that worried multiple kingdoms, only local small tribes. In fact, while they were very united, the changelings were still trapped. Even though they had access to coast, land between Equestria and the Land of Dragons, and even access to the rain forest, they still didn't have the tools, the resources, or the will to develop an empire, or even a nation, of their own. Even under Queen Chrysalis, who was a tactical genius, the changelings didn't have any power to conquer, since they had limited space to live. Other nations like themselves were more than over and separated, so their union did make them fearful in the past. past, especially before Princess Luna’s Banishment to the Moon. However, they were still mostly forgotten by the other kingdoms and nation states; this is including the multiple kingdoms of the Dragons and the Empire of Equestria.
The changeling race themselves have the ability to change into a variety of creatures that aren't changelings, such as Ponies, Zebras, and other species. They also feed off of love instead of normal food, which fits in perfectly with their parasitic nature. They can't transform into creatures significantly bigger than themselves, like dragons. Their appearance is also very insect-like. Changelings are very different from a variety of other races.
The first channeling empire lasted from 50 BB to 1 AB, and was only a local threat. Since they had land that included 10 big towns, the first changeling empire was considered to be one of the smallest in history. While they were very manipulative, their previous tiny land was already a blunder to their economic, political, and even militaristic systems, even though their food surplus was one of the best in history. As a result, they were immediately disbanded after the Decade of Chaos (10 BB to 1 AB). However, their state of being a singular nation was still very apparent. Ever since Luna’s banishment, the first Changeling empire was never replicated, since even that was too hard for the race.
Queen Chrysalis, who was the ruler of the Changelings, didn't rule during the first changeling empire; she actually came into power in 200 AB, unlike the misconceptions. This is similar to how Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria became rulers in 1,000 BB instead of ruling eternally. Before Queen Chrysalis came into power, the Changeling race were all in a tiny Kingdom, known as the Kingdom of Cicama, which existed since after the Decade of Chaos. She declared that the city of Cicama (which was one of three cities there) would be the capital of the empire, and began establishing herself as the new leader by building fortresses, homes, and even coliseums. This gave the poor people homes, protection, and happiness, which they didn't have before when only a dynasty ruled. She also hired scholars from around the kingdom to begin studying any subject that was to be thought up of; they barely found anything.
While the kingdom of Cicama didn’t have much food before Chrysalis ruled, during her rule was a completely different story. By building underground formation and improving the espionage of her people, she was able to capture nearby unsuspecting creatures and put them into underground chambers. This was where her people ate the love from the captured citizens of the nearby rain forest.
An underground chamber was a room which contained multiple cocoons, each one holding a captive or more. From these cocoons, a changeling would digest the love from the captive to get energy and food. Inside of the cocoons, the captives were usually kept alive, with multiple exceptions. One of the biggest problems with the cocoons was that it wasn't useful in the long term; the captive inside usually died from hunger, and if not then of old age. The cocoons were also biologically made, so most changelings didn't knew how to use the cocoon. Chrysalis used the disadvantages to her advantage, allowing for separate farms for the captives and breeding rooms to create more love and more victims. She was also able to include creating a cocoon as part of the minimal education. Queen Chrysalis’ design of the food chambers was so good that she kept every single one of her citizens fed starting at 230 AB, with a large variety of food as well starting the next year.
Even though her new kingdom was doing better relating to the quality of life for all of the citizens, other assets of the empire weren't doing well at all. For example, 75% of the empire was unemployed, and 99% of jobs weren't well paying. The people didn't mind this, however, since the homes were almost free. The small kingdom was also very cramped, since homes were built vertically on top of one another. However, the coliseums allowed the citizens to be on the stage part of it when there wasn't a show, and this doubled as a center of communication, ideas, social activities, and even commerce. The coliseum was one of the few places where a changeling could have a job, even if it didn't take much time. Despite (and including) all of this, satisfaction of life was very high for the Changelings.
IN 600 AB, Queen Chrysalis started to realize the cramped space of the empire, and decided to begin expanding west, slightly north, and slightly south. This period of expansion ended in 800 AB, with the westward expansions being the most troublesome. Now, with 20 more towns and 30 more villages being created, people from the main cities began moving to the new territories. 5 of the towns eventually (over the course of 100 years) became cities, not as grand as those in Cicama, but definitely ones that helped the kingdom become a lot more stable. In her autobiography, Queen Chrysalis considered this first expansion to be “one of the easiest, but one of the most necessary, conquests I have ever lead.”
By the year 910 AB, the citizens had a lot more economic opportunities, schools, and even space. Because of an increase of resources (including silver and platinum), money was more plentiful. Satisfaction of life since skyrocketed even more than it already was, and the suicide rate resulted in 0%. While it wasn't good news for the nearby inhabitants, it was news that was more than welcome by the citizens of Cicama. On March 10, 940 AB, Queen Chrysalis installed a new career for the people of the kingdom of Cicama: military. While she was able to expand the kingdom without this being openly available for the changelings, it was a major addiction that allowed a military that was 50,000 soldiers strong (the empire had 1 million people in it, for comparison).
