Pocket Change

Segment Music

Aria

Unbeknownst to no one, the sewers smell like shit. It got so bad, I had to cover my mouth and nose for most of the duration of the search. I also took to wrapping my hands with some spare bandages I usually keep on me, in case I have to fight. I've tempered my body to the pinnacle of what's humanly possible, but you never know what you're hitting. I've been walking for thirty minutes now, the trail still apparent using the light of my phone.

At this point, I had already lost cell signal so if I wanted back up, I would have to turn back. I had no intention of doing so. The further I went, the hotter my conviction burned in contrast to the falling temperature. Eventually, I reached a clearing in the sewer systems, a brick wall was clearly broken down, leading to Faust knows where. I almost blindly progressed into the opening until I noticed the black roots lining the interior of the hole.

Trees? Why would there be trees in the sewers?

After a few moments of staring into the darkness, I felt the hairs on my body stand up as a gust of air hit me. I jumped to the side, a black mass rushing past me toward the direction I had come from. I shined my flashlight in the direction of the figure, but it was already too far for the light to reach it. Whatever it was, it was large, but I wouldn't let that stop me.

I progressed further into the darkness, my light barely illuminated the path in front of me. Those roots seemed to stretch into the darkness to no end. The only sounds present were those of my footsteps, my own breath, a faint dripping sound, and the ambiance of moving air.

Change

I sat in the window seat toward the back of the bus, staring out the window, taking in the sight of the large attraction rides peering over the rest of the amusement park. So we finally made it; I've always wanted to go to Equestria Land. Wish I could have gone with mom too, not that I don't appreciate this.

"Next stop, Equestria Land," the bus driver announced as a bunch of people stood up, my friends and I included.

Making sure to thank the bus driver before stepping off, I was elated to see the rest of our friend group waiting just outside the front gates.

"Well, it took you, slowpokes, long enough!" Rainbow Dash called out to us as we made out way over.

I brushed the comment aside, remembering that I had completely forgotten about the trip up until a few hours ago. Sunset nudged Dash in the side before brandishing three bracelets for the three of us that had just arrived. "Everyone ready for a night on the town?"

Do you even have to ask? Let's do this.

That may have been the most fun I've ever had. Although, most of my time was spent laughing at the expense of my friends who couldn't stand the thrills and utterly destroying the fair games scattered throughout the park.

"You went overboard," Trixie mumbled from beneath a pile of stuffed animals across the seat from me in the Ferris wheel carriage.

"Huh, you think so?" I said, turning my attention away from the rising view.

I mean, when Trixie's telling you that you went overboard, you must have.

It was night by now, meaning our outing would have to come to an end soon. It was sad though; I couldn't remember the last time I did something like this.

A sudden shift in the weight of the carriage pulled me out of my thoughts as Trixie and I lurched forward. I peered over the edge of the carriage searching for whatever had caused the sudden disturbance. That when I noticed it; the industrial-grade mechanisms that had held the contraptions in place had all come loose. There were at least eighteen different carriages on the wheel threatening to fall off their hinges at any given moment.

It didn't help the situation that a crowd of onlookers had gathered around the giant metal deathtrap out of morbid curiosity. Not good; at this rate, people are gonna end up dead.

My attention was brought back to a freaked-out Trixie who seemed glued to her seat. "What was that?!"

"Uh, nothing Trix, just stay put for a bit." I hopped out of the carriage, sprouting wings to maneuver around it shooting sticky silk from my hands at the loose parts of the ride. I repeated this process for every carriage before attempting to safely evacuate everyone who was close enough to the ground.

Unfortunately, I overestimated the strength of my silk and one of the carts came loose, barreling toward the crowd of onlookers. I shot my webs at it again, grabbing the ends with augmented muscle, as I flew against the force of gravity, forcing me to grab onto another carriage that was a bit higher up. I was losing the fight.

Slowly, but surely, I could hear and feel my strands tearing, so I settled for a last-ditch effort. It was a skill I had been refining, something that would knock the socks off my family members. As the webbing tore away, I began building up a dangerous amount of pressure on the arm holding the webs, contracting it into itself.

Just as the last strand gave way. I released my hold on the web as well as the pressure in my arm, shooting it out like an elastic rubber band, sharpening my fingertips into sharp pincers, and grabbing the cart. My claw successfully dug into the metal frame, stopping its descent, to which I then slowly extended my arm further until it reached the ground.

I was dead tired after the whole fiasco, but a new fear had suddenly taken hold of me. I was suddenly blind-sighted by flashing lights. In the momentary glimpses I was given, I could see that the crowd had pulled out the camera's snapping shots of me.

Crap, I moved without thinking. I'm not supposed to show my powers in public. Changelings live in secrecy. Sorry, everyone, I have to go. It was fun while it lasted.

With that, I gathered one last burst of energy and flew home as fast as possible.

Segment Music

Well, that was an...eventful day. I thought to myself as I opened the front door.

"Chimera, dear, is that you!?" My mother called out.

"Yeah, it's me, mom!" I responded, making sure to take my shoes off before following her voice into the kitchen.

My family was seated in a circle in the living room, mother's arms wrapping around everyone, a blatantly open spot in the center beckoning me. It's dinner time.

I walked over and took my place in the circle, mother warmly pulling us in. The longer the embrace went on, the fuller I felt, yet felt myself growing tired in contrast. Eventually, I felt myself drifting off into a peaceful sleep, comfortable darkness clouding my vision. The days became months, and the months became years as we lived our lives peacefully. Birthdays and all manner of celebrations passed.

Where...this is...Canterlot. Although I'm overlooking the entire city from atop a building, I couldn't see our home anywhere. What's happening? My body's not listening to me and I feel practically weightless. With what little control I had, I looked over my body examining it closely. It was undoubtedly my body, but it felt so alien. Also, I was butt naked and dripping wet, so that was a thing.

Without warning, my legs carried me off the building, diving toward a closed manhole. Despite the otherwise horrifying sensation of not being in control of your body, I didn't feel like I was in any danger. I threw both of my arms out shooting green webs from my palms, attaching them to the manhole, and pulling the cover off, diving headfirst through the opening.

I landed in the sewers with a moderate thud. Somehow, my body wasn't even phased by the sudden impact. I began moving toward. First, I was moving at a slow walking pace which quickly progressed into a light job, run, and finally an inhumanly fast sprint. As time went on, I slowly regained control over my body, yet I didn't feel the need to stop myself.

I knew where I needed to go, I knew who I was going to. Mom's calling me, I could feel it. Why is everything so different? Where are my brothers? Mom will have answers, she always has the answers.
Huh, I didn't know the sewers were fully illuminated. I can see just fine.

Chrysalis

Finally, I've done it. The child is mine. I've overwritten his human identity. Even if he does remember who he is, with the memories and experiences I've implanted, what reason would he have to go back?

My little prince is on his way, reading to take his place within the coming kingdom. With the recent accomplishment, a massive burden on my mind has been lifted. I can finally rest. The final stretch really took a toll on my mind, the hyper dilations in time pushed the hivemind to its utter limit, but it worked out just fine.

There are still the issues of those who were close to him before his rebirth, but I'll figure out what to do with them later.

I released myself from my cocoon, returning my attention to my guests. To my delight, the girls were still here and in one piece; they hadn't done anything stupid. It's a shame though, I would have loved to invite all three of the dazzlings, however, one's missing. I sent a scout out to find her, but I suppose nothing's come up.

"I'm starving, where's Kevin? Alpha, please go check on him," I said as I waved a dismissive hand toward him.

"Sorry girls, it appears the food's taking a bit longer than expected."

"That's okay," the blue-haired one placated, "sometimes, we go days without eating."

I'm...not sure what to say to that.

"That's...unfortunate."

Aria

This is crazy. This literally looks like a scene out of those cheesy sci-fi horror movies Sonata loves to watch. Only, it's real. I just need to find my sisters and get out of this place.

The first thing I saw was an almost endless sea of some kind of pods connected to the black roots consuming the entire area. Surprisingly, the places' lights were still on, although dim. As I progressed further, I slowed down a bit, my attention being drawn to the rows of pods I was walking past.

I-I just had to know.

I inched closer to a pod a few meters away from me, taking note of the clouded over the aperture. I wiped the mist away, stumbling back a bit at the sight that greeted me.

There was a person inside, was this what Change meant? Should I help them? No, I'm not here to play hero, I just need to find my sisters and get out of here. What if they ended up like this though?

Pushing myself away from the pod, I found myself face to face with something. To my shock and horror, it was one of the monsters that Petal illustrated, a changeling-like thing.

Its eyes bore right into me, a prominent scar across its right eye. It huffed mere inches away from my face, probably as an intimidation tactic, which sort of worked. But it didn't look so tough; how strong can an overgrown bug be?

Segment Music

Sensing imminent danger, I leaned back just as one of the creature's spidery legs from the right made a horizontal swipe for my neck. A subsequent slash came from the left which I managed to easily avoid, counterattacking with a swift blow to its jaw.

The creature stumbled back in disorientation, shaking the attack off before screeching at me in rage. At that moment, I took note of how numb my hand felt.

Okay, maybe it's a little stronger than I thought. What's this guy made out of anyway?

It rushed me this time, swinging its blade-like legs at me far faster, forcing me on the defensive. Every slash caused me to back up further, a few of those slashes tore open some of the pods like butter.

If I get hit, I'm done for.

Suddenly, the creature stopped its assault. If I wasn't mistaken, it seemed to be smiling its body heaving as it let out a high pitch clicking sound.

Was it...laughing? At what?

As I stared at the creature, I noticed strands of a moderate purple and aquamarine drifting through the air.

Wait, that's... my hair. I forgot to tie it up. This asshole's laughing at me. Alright, fine.

I slipped between the creature's legs, maneuvering under and behind it. It spun on a dime, charging at me with its jaws wide open, I waited until it was in range to deliver a flawless sweep quick to three of its legs, causing it to fly over me into one of the pods. Taking the opportunity, I deliver a barrage of attacks to the changeling, accurately targeting its vitals and finishing it off with an ax kick to the head.

The creature went limp, causing me to check if it was still alive. It was still breathing, but I wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

There's more of these things and they took my sisters, then this one tried to kill me... I might as well return the favor.

Positioning myself over the creature, I pinned it down by the back of the neck using my left and balled my right hand up into a fist.

A swift blow to the cervical nerve should do it. I took a deep breath. It's been a while since I've killed anything.

Just as I was about to bring my fist down for the killing blow, something forcefully threw me back. It wasn't a damaging push, but it did knock me a few meters away. I spun around in the air, landing on my hands and feet until I skidded to a halt.

What the hell!?

Regaining my equilibrium, I returned my attention to the downed creature. There was someone standing defensively in front of it, someone I knew. It was Change.

"Aria, what are doing?!" He yelled at me, sounding hurt and confused.

"That's what I should be asking you? Where did you even come from, and why are you naked!? Last time I checked, you were a cocoon!" I screamed back.

He looked at me even more confused "What are you talking about?" He said looking over his body, "Oh, I am naked."

Just like that, in a matter of seconds, Change was clothed, but he wasn't wearing his usual casual clothes. Instead, he wore some kind of sleek black spandex suit with hints of luminescent green running through it. The lines of the suit gravitated toward the center where a triangle was present on his chest. The only part of him still visible was everything above the neck.

No way, it can't be. He's...a changeling?

"That's better," he muttered before turning his attention back to me, "why are you attacking a changeling, Aria?"

What does he mean, why?

"Uh, because it tried to kill me and they kidnapped my sisters!?" I screamed sarcastically.

He looked down at the ground, shaking his head in hopeless confusion. "No, no," he muttered, "my mom wouldn't do that. I'm sure she has an explanation for it."

His mom? What did she have to do with any of this? He should already know that people are being taken, why is he in denial?

"Change, what in the world is wrong with you?"

"Change? Who's that?"

What?

"That's you," I pointed at him, "isn't it?"

"No, my name's Chimera. You should know this, Aria. We've known each other for years."

Okay, no. What the hell is this? I'm done with this dude.

I began walking toward him slowly. "Get out of my way," I warned.

Chimera/Change

What's wrong with Aria? Why was she about to kill a changeling? Humans and changelings have had a symbiotic relationship for decades, this doesn't make any sense.

Aria stalked closer to me, no longer looking like she was willing to talk. "Aria, please, just calm down," I pleaded, raising my hands up defensively.

"Don't make me do this."

"Ari-"

Before I could finish talking, a lightning-fast fist whipped past my face cutting my cheek open, myself narrowly avoiding a direct hit. Two more consecutive strikes followed, which I managed to avoid before picking up my kin and jumping back a few meters and setting them aside.

"So," Aria's eyes narrowed, " you really are a changeling."

I whipped the cut on my face, sealing it closed, green blood staining my hand.

Damnit, I don't want to do this, but if I have to, I will.

Aria and I approached each other.