To think, just an hour ago, the streets of Canterlot were so bright and happy, but now, screams echoed through the streets of the city as the Changelings' grasp spread farther and farther. Terrorized civilians ran away in hope that they could be safe from the Changeling invasion. However, a cream-colored unicorn knew that this struggle for survival would bring the losses of many.
The unicorn followed her family, trying to avoid sight of the Changelings. "Abelle! Hurry up! We don't want to get caught by those repulsive creatures!" Her brother called after her. Abelle quickened her pace to a gallop, and caught up with her older brother in no time. Their mother was just up ahead, carrying their yearling brother, Quicksilver.
Abelle could hear chittering and hissing noises from behind them. She nervously glanced over her shoulder to be met by the sight of a swarm of Changelings. She gasped, and tried to run faster. Her brother looked down for a moment, and made his horn glow with a pale cerulean aura. "You help Mom and Quicksilver get out of here. I'll hold off the Changelings."
"B-But, you'll get hurt, Icy Storm! What if they-" Icy Storm silenced her with a glare. "This is my choice, not your's. Now go!" Icy Storm spun around and shot a ray of magic at one of the Changelings. Where the Changeling was shot at grew ice crystals. The Changeling plummeted to the ground. Abelle whipped her head back, blinking hot tears from her eyes.
Abelle soon caught up with her mother. For an older mare, she sure was fast. For a moment, Abelle was hopeful that she and her family would survive this disaster, but that little glimmer was put out when a trio of Changelings charged for them from the front. Abelle's mother took a sudden turn into a narrow alley, and Abelle had no choice but to follow.
The alley turned out to be a dead end, to Abelle's horror. The Changelings landed on the ground, and slowly stalked up to them. Their long white fangs glistened in the low light as they smirked. Two of the Changelings went after her mother and Quicksilver, while the third one stayed to confront her. Abelle's horn glowed with a bright magenta aura as she prepared to blast the Changeling.
She shot a ray from her horn, but her mother's sudden scream startled her, and she missed. One of the Changelings had Quicksilver by the tail. The little colt lashed put with his short hind legs, though it wasn't very effective. The other Changeling had pinned down her mother, but it clearly wasn't easy because she was thrashing around so much.
Abelle's stomach tightened, and her gaze darted from her family to the Changelings over and over before she made her decision. "Wait! I'll join you, just don't hurt them!" The Changelings exchanged cold glances with each other before grinning sadistically. One Changeling left the alley, and the other two lifted Abelle into the air.
Abelle looked at her mother before being carried away. Her eyes were filled with tears as she clutched Quicksilver tightly. Abelle forced an assuring smile, as if everything would be okay. But she knew that just wasn't so when the Changelings started carrying her away. They took her to a lamppost just outside of the alleyway. There was an ugly green colored chrysalis dangling from it.
Abelle started kicking with her back legs purely out of instinct as they carried her closer and closer to it. They hovered over the chrysalis, and dropped her into it. One Changeling spit out disgusting green goop onto her horn, then sealed her into the chrysalis. Abelle tried using her magic in an attempt to escape, but the green slime seemed to have properties that blocked her from using magic
Slime started pooling at the bottom of the space. When it touched Abelle's hoof, it burned like boiling oil on her skin. She tried climbing up the side to escape the fluid for as long as she could, but her hooves slipped on the side, and she fell right in. Abelle screamed as her lower back touched the fluid, slowly filling up above her stomach. Before it filled over her head, she took a deep breath, which was almost pointless because she screamed again right after some of it got into her eyes.
Her eyes opened involuntarily, and couldn't see anything through the haze of her pain. Her back was the worst of it though. It felt as if someone was stabbing her from the inside, trying to get back to the outside. When she accidentally breathed some in, the pain of it all almost made her pass out. Her teeth felt like they were being tugged on by braces, and her scalp felt like it was on fire.
But a small tremor ended this agony. The tremor knocked the chrysalis from the lamppost, and exploded open on impact with the hard, cold pavement. The fluid got out of her lungs and eyes, but everything looked hazy at first. When she regained her full vision, the Changelings were standing over her with large smirks on their faces. Abelle almost cried when she saw herself in the reflection of their eyes.
Her coat was almost pitch black, and there were holes and crevices all over her body. Her horn was curved upward like a dagger, but it didn't look nearly as sharp as the fangs jutting from her mouth. Her mane was knarled and matted with holes scattered about in it. But her eyes is what really got her. Her light pink eyes were darkened to magenta, and they were horrifyingly dragon-like.
The earth suddenly shook beneath her hooves, and a wall of light rapidly moved towards her. It didn't affect ponies, but the Changelings were repelled by it. When it got near Abelle, she expected to pass through it, but she was deeply mistaken. The wall hit her with such force that she was flung into the air. She was being forced away. Away from her family, her friends, her home. But what really brought tears to her eyes is who lied in a pool of blood in the middle of the street. Her brother that she never even got to say goodbye to.
Changelings. I hate Changelings. I dipped my hoof into the small pond of water that lay before me to create ripples in the still water. I hated seeing my reflection. My hoof was a deep black when I took it out of the water. I forced myself to drink some of the dusty water. Though I was a Changeling now, I still needed it. The Changelings only fed on love, but I always needed something more. I still had to eat food, but when I'd come across berries and edible flowers, they never looked appetizing to me.
I lied at the edge of the pond, stirring the water with my hoof. I flapped my wings occasionally to keep them from going stiff on me. Some other Changelings would have to remind me how to get them unstuck, then they'd mock me afterwards. I never liked returning to the underground nest at night so I could sleep. The other Changelings would always beat me to a comfortable spot, so that would leave me with a dumpy spot at the edge where the ground was hard and cold.
I had only one friend; a young Changeling called Buzz. He was the weakest of the other Changelings his age, so they would constantly reject him. In this cruel place, all we have is each other. I got to my hooves to fly back to the nest. Buzz and the other juvenile Changelings would be done practicing how to transform by now. I flew as far as I could with my undersized wings. I walked the rest of the way. It didn't take long for me to know I was nearby.
The little Changelings were having fun playing a variant of Hide and Go Seek, where they disguised themselves as things they'd find in the enviroment. Buzz was obviously on the sidelines not participating. His arctic blue eyes lit up when he saw me. "Abelle!" The other juvenile Changelings sneered when he flew towards me. "Yeah, go play with Freaky Dragon-Eyes! We don't want you here!" One of them shouted. Another one started to play along. "If you hang out with her, you'll never be as good as us!"
Buzz looked a little discouraged but he continued to make his way to me. "Don't listen to them." I comforted him. Buzz looked up at me with a neutral expression. "Let's just go." I made no complaint about that. Buzz flew up onto a large rock. I followed him up, but I almost fell back down onto the ground because my wings were still sore from the partial flight back. "So, what did you learn today?" I started a conversation. Buzz just grinned. "Watch this!"
A green aura quickly swept over him, and when it was gone, there was just a little lizard in his place. "Hehe, I can't transform into big things just yet.." Buzz chuckled. "Well, you'll learn eventually." It warmed my heart to see him truly happy. He reminded me of my brother, Quicksilver. He would be turning eight in around a week. I would give anything to be back in Canterlot with my family again, but I knew that was never going to happen. I would just have to make do with what I had, which wasn't much.
"What's the biggest thing you can turn into?" Curiousity suddenly swept over me. Buzz squinted his eyes and looked up to the sky. The green aura swept over him again, but this time, he was a boulder. I quirked my brow and smiled. "And you choose to be a rock." I chuckled. Buzz went back to his Changeling state to talk. "Well, I can only transform into things I've seen before at my age. When I'm older, you can give me a description of something, and I'll turn into that!" He spoke excitedly.
I had never tried to transform before. I wonder what it's like... "Hey, show me how to do that." I said as I got to my hooves. "It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. You just think about what you want to be, then you use the magic stored in your horn. It's like unicorn magic, I think." I thought for a moment about what I looked like when I was a pony.
I stood still, and let the magic from my horn sweep across me. I looked down at my hooves after I was sure the transformation was over. They were cream-colored, just like they used to be. I swept my tongue around my mouth for a moment to notice I didn't have any fangs. I even had my Cutie Mark; a golden honeycomb with a few magenta streaks coming off of it.
"H-How did you do that?" Buzz asked, his voice full of wonder. "Do what?" I was surprised that it seemed like I actually did something amazing. "Changelings can't transform into ponies unless they see who they want to transform into, and on top of that, they have to be receiving romantic love from another pony! That love is what keeps the illusion going!" Buzz explained rather in-depth.
"What does it mean?" I asked him. An unfamiliar voice came into the conversation unwelcomed. "It means it ain't natural for this to be happenin'. You're going to have to come with me to see the Queen." A Changeling flew down and picked me up by my tail like he was lifting a small bag of groceries. When I could see the entrance to the hive, I made myself turn back into a Changeling so I wouldn't attract more attention than I already would be.
The Changeling set me down when we were right in front of the entrance. "Now, if you try anything funny, I'll pick you up again." He hissed quietly. I gulped, then nodded. I followed him into the hive. There were only about two-hundred Changelings inside. The rest were probably out looking for anything they could eat. I followed the Changeling deeper into the hive. We went down a large spiraling tunnel, where a slab of rock was blocking Queen Chrysalis's room.
The Changeling knocked on the rock. "Your Highness, I must speak with you." He then proceeded to push the flat stone aside. Queen Chrysalis was lying in a bed above the ground woven with the repulsive slime Changelings spewed. Her dark green eyes had a quality that could strike fear into nearly anything she looked at.
"What is it, Windsor? I have a lot of thinking to do for the plan." She scoffed. Windsor just looked at me, then back at the Queen. "I think there's someone fit to be our Missionary."
