Frigid, merciless wind.
It slices through one’s carapace as they soar through the sky, away from the prison of the collective, searching for oneself. It gives one the identity of a unique experience as they land on a mountaintop, their hooves softly crunching the packed snow that rests on the surface, the white powder softly burning one’s outer shell. They take a breath and…
I become me.
I stroll to the edge of the flat surface I landed on and look upon the entirety of Equestria from on high. I had studied pony culture, and not just the bare bones needed for infiltration—every changeling knew at least that much. I, however, needed more. I read about arcane pony rituals such as procreation, which is apparently done for pleasure as well as perpetuation of their species. I couldn’t imagine anything pleasurable about being eaten by That Witch and vomited up as eggs, but the text showed me a new way.
As I trot along the sharp drop, my hooves feel the painful tickles of frost and I smile. I am almost certain that no changeling could describe this. I begin to ponder the question of what my ‘cutie mark’, my mark of destiny, would be. I sit down and press my hooves into my face. I hadn’t decided on what my cutie mark would be yet. It is an important decision, after all. It would define me. It would guide me along life. More importantly, it would make me unique.
And being unique is my ultimate desire. Maybe in time, I could lure other changelings away from the hive, and we could live in a new era of—
Soft hooffalls graced the snow. I turn my head and snarl immediately. There stood Quee—no, just Chrysalis, wearing that most poisonous smile and adorned in furs. In her hoof she held another, smaller, patch of fur. I know not for what purpose, though.
“I thought one might be cold on their journey,” she softly cooed, “and I thought they might want to stay warm.”
I bare my teeth and growl. “Stay out of my head.”
The demon beast softly giggled and approached me, fur still in hoof. “One’s head is my head. All of them are.” She reached out to touch my head and I smack away her leg.
“You can’t touch me.”
Chrysalis sighed. “Fine, I’ll let this one live in delusion a while longer.” She sat down in the icy snow and smiled at me, dangling the fur. “How about one sits with me and enjoys the view?”
I eye her down and attempt to spot any deception on her part, but can find none. Her face is honest and her body open. Maybe I could—
“Don’t even consider it,” she continued, “or one will become a stain on the mountain.”
So much for that. I slowly sit down parallel to her and gaze upon Equestria. The view is rather breathtaking.
“It is, isn’t it?” she said in a most cloying tone which causes my muzzle to scrunch. “Tell me, where would a renegade changeling move to? We’re not exactly welcome in their lands.”
I exhale, the wind whipping around me and causing a slight shiver to possess my body. “Well, I was considering a large city, like Manehattan or Baltimare. Easy to blend in, find a… uh..”
“Job,” Chrysalis said.
I glare at her, then gaze back over the landscape. “Yes, a job, where I can make my own money and live in my own quarters. Alone.” I inject that last sentence with a touch of venom.
Chrysalis proffered the fur. “This fur will help protect one from the elements.”
“I’ve taken enough charity from you. I don’t want your protection.” I grunt and wrap my forelegs around me, desperate for warmth.
“Fine. So be it.” Chrysalis drew her foreleg back, surveyed the vista, and exhaled. “Of course, to have a job, one would need a cutie mark and for a cutie mark one would need to have a special talent.” She turned to face me, that disgusting grin still plastered on her muzzle. “And to have a special talent, one would need to know who they are.”
Her grin turned into a vicious scowl. “Who are you?”
My heart jumps in my chest. I didn’t expect this. My mind cycles through my thoughts…
…we’ve got to stop bumping into each other like this!
“Flash Sentry,” I say with a decisive grin.
She stood up and stomped her hoof, her scowl turning ever more sinister. “Wrong. Flash Sentry is a part someone played, and I’m not even sure it was you.” But… I’m sure I’m Flash Sentry. In that exact moment I was Flash Sentry.
She leaned into me and leered. “Who are you?
My body visibly twitches. I’m not so sure of myself now. I am…
…just my luck!
“…T-Trouble Shoes?”
Chrysalis growled. “Do you look like Trouble Shoes?”
I look down at myself, then look back up and shake my head. “N-no, Chrysalis. I don’t look like Trouble Shoes at—”
“Who are you?”
Right now I’m riding a fine line between terror and resolve. I dig into my brain one last time…
…I just don’t know what went wrong!
I look back up. “Um, Ditzy?” Chrysalis glared at me and I look back down. “No, I got this! Derpy… no, Bright Eyes!”
She caressed my cheek. “We decided on Muffins, dearie, remember?” Her expression didn’t move from that scowl. She then pulled away and walked around. “Clearly, this one is not fit to associate with pony society if they can’t even decide who they are.”
Shaken, but not broken, I stand up and puff out my chest. “W-well, I hadn’t decided on my identity yet.” I take a deep breath. “That is in fact the exact subject I was mulling over before you accosted me.”
“You mean,” Chrysalis said as she turned to face me, her head tilted to the side, “provide a necessity which one so easily looked over?” She shook the fur.
I stare her in the eyes. “Well, I’ll get around to remembering to dress for the weather.”
Chrysalis bowed her head down and growled out a chuckle. “You don’t even realize how helpless you are, do you?”
I raise an eyebrow. “What are you—”
Suddenly I’m on my side, blood rushing to the left side of my face as if I was wounded. My left shoulder is possessed with an electrical burning sensation. I look up to see Chrysalis standing there, smiling menacingly.
I move to stand up, my left foreleg collapsing from the pain. “W-what happened? Where did that come from?” Chrysalis just stood there as she barely stifled a giggle.
“That,” she said between fits of laughter, “was me.”
I shake my head. “T-that’s impossible! There’s no way you could move that fast!”
She circled around me, her mirth barely contained as chortles and giggles escaped from her throat. “And therein lies the issue. By asserting individuality as a common changeling, it requires one to use up processes like reasoning and a proper perception of time to do so.” Chrysalis tittered. “This entire time, you’ve been two whole seconds behind me and I’ve just been humoring you.”
Icy claws grasp at my chest. I honestly do not want to believe her. I am sure that I am capable of assimilating into pony society and that she was just playing tricks on me. But I need confirmation.
I stare at her resolutely. “Show me proof.”
“Very well, then,” Chrysalis said, “but one will have to look into my mind to see the scene from my perspective.” She snickered. “Are you willing to do that?”
A breath escapes from my lungs, our gazes locked for what appears to be eternity.
“…I am willing to do so just to prove you wrong.”
She nodded. “Go ahead.”
I grit my teeth and gaze into her mind.
My hooffalls grace the snow. After a pause, the changeling turns its head and snarls. Here stands Her Majesty, Queen Chrysalis, wearing an inviting smile and adorned in furs. In my hoof I hold another, smaller, patch of fur as a peace offering to prevent this one from making a mistake they will live to regret.
“I thought one might be cold on their journey,” I softly coo, “and I thought they might want to stay warm.”
The wind whips around us. That one bares their teeth and growls. “Stay out of my head.”
I, in my eternal wisdom, softly giggle and approach them, fur still in hoof. “One’s head is my head. All of them are.” I reach out to touch their head, my hoof hovering and waiting for them to react. They smack away my leg.
“You can’t touch me.”
I sigh, ever concerned. “Fine, I’ll let this one live in delusion a while longer.” I sit down in the icy snow and smile at them, dangling the fur. “How about one sits with me and enjoys the view?”
They stare me down, seemingly looking for an opening to assault me. I admit it would be amusing to break their worldview now, but I have to let him come to the realization.
“Don’t even consider it,” I offer helpfully, “or one will become a stain on the mountain.”
After a few moments, they slowly sit down next to me, both of us taking in the awe-inspiring view of Equestria from the precipice. It impresses me every time I see the wonders that those ponies have constructed.
“It is, isn’t it?” I utter in dulcet tones designed to assuage. Eventually, his muzzle scrunches.
They say you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, but some flies still prefer vinegar. “Tell me, where would a renegade changeling move to? We’re not exactly welcome in their lands.”
I wait for them to process that I spoke, after which point they exhale—
“—Enough!” I say as my body collapses from the frigid weather. “I… one has seen enough.”
The Mighty Queen Chrysalis drapes the fur over the changeling, who grasps the edges and pulls it tightly around them. She strokes their head, to which they move into the Inexorable Queen Chrysalis and nuzzles her beautiful haunch, soaking in the warmth.
“Now,” the Indefatigable Queen Chrysalis softly whispers, “what has one learned today?”
One shivers, then the guiding warmth of knowing the Inspiring Queen Chrysalis seeps into them and drives out the cold. “N-never question the immutable knowledge of the Unstoppable Queen.”
The Impressive Queen Chrysalis musically hums. “That’s right.” She looks warmly into this one’s eyes. “Would one like a ride home? I imagine the weather here would seep into the bones.”
One nods against the Peerless Queen Chrysalis’s haunches. “Yes, one would have to be a fool to refuse the charity of the Inevitable Queen Chrysalis.”
The Perfect Queen Chrysalis pulls away, one’s heart falling from losing contact with her. This one then lifts into the air and is placed on the back of the Holy Queen Chrysalis, the renewed contact reinvigorating the lonesome changeling. “Let’s go home, then. I’m sure the other changelings feel the loss of one of their kin.” With that, she takes off into the sky.
One has learned a great many things today from the Glorious Queen Chrysalis. First of all, one has no place separate from the hive. The hive is all there is. Secondly, if one attempts to break away from the hive, it will portend ill for them, as the Deceptive Queen Chrysalis demonstrated. This one was never fit to be an individual, and she followed her little darling so that they would remain safe. She cares about all of us, and this changeling was a fool to not recognize that. Lastly, the most important thing of all that was learned—which would have been anathema before the revelation granted upon me by the Righteous Queen Chrysalis, but now one realizes is the only solace a changeling is offered in this harsh unforgiving world:
One does not escape from the Everlasting Queen Chrysalis’ changeling hive.
