Some Feelings Never Change-ling

You pushed against the soft yet solid walls that surrounded your body, utilizing a combination of your head and forelegs to weaken the now-far-smaller space you occupied. After a few attempts, you finally broke free-the top half of your miniature cell popping off like a cork and landing on the ground. You opened your eyes and looked around.

The room was large...very large. Small green oval-shaped objects littered the floor, with some of them even suspended from the ceiling by globs of green slime; eggs. Several of them had hatched and revealed small, white larvae with tiny horns, stubby forelegs, and big pupil-less eyes of a single color. Looking down, you noticed that you had also hatched from an egg.

You got out and began to crawl along the ground, taking notice that some of the larvae were hissing angrily at each other while some actually smiled and chirped happily at seeing one another. Soon several large changelings could be seen entering the room, which prompted a good number of larvae to crawl towards them and greet their new parents.

One changeling however stood out from the rest, which peaked your interest.

She was very tall, with long legs and a long neck. Her body was slim and beautiful, and her turquoise mane complimented her bright green eyes. You didn't know who this was, but you had to admit she looked magnificent.

At last, your curiosity got the better of you and you decided to get a closer look at her.

Apparently some of the other larvae had the same idea as you, since they were also crawling in the big changeling's direction; some of them had even made it to her and proceeded to crawl up her legs and through the massive holes in them like a chitin-covered jungle gym.

Eventually, you reached your target, which was far more massive than you anticipated. As you approached one of her legs you suddenly felt your body get lifted off the ground, and raised up into the air. Higher and higher you climbed, passing up her forelegs, thorax, and neck before you slowed down at stopped at her head, where you found yourself face to face with the giant changeling.

For a few seconds she just stared at you-her crooked horn glowing green while her eyes locked on to your own blue ones. She then proceeded to lift up her left foreleg and gently petted your head with it, smiling a devious toothy grin as she did so.

As you stared at her, you felt a strange feeling of warmth in your body-in particular your heart. And you also felt happy when you saw her smile, almost as if you share some kind of special...bond with her. You let out a cheerful chirp as she continued to pet her.

While the rest of the larvae continued to play around in the legs of the giant changeling or even the legs of the smaller changeling, you embraced the radiant beauty of the creature holding you, wishing it'd never end.

You awoke to find yourself lying underneath the shade of a birch tree, with cool air brushing against your body that made you shiver a little. Yawning, you stood up, stretched your joints, and sighed.

Ever since you first saw the queen, you've been hooked on her. The way she looked in her normal form, the way she talked, the way she acted around her enemies and especially her allies, it was all too perfect in your opinion. You've done everything you could to get on her good side and have her notice you; aside from the occasional nod or smile in your direction, her majesty barely noticed you. It was probably due to the fact that she saw you as one of her children, despite the fact she did not technically lay your egg.

Your heart began to thump against your thorax again as you reminisced about the queen, your loyalty to her, and how much you wanted that special bond you felt all those years ago become even stronger...and maybe into something more.

The feeling of something brushing against the bottom of your abdomen snapped you out of your trance. You looked down between your legs and blushed at the sight of your malehood standing as firm and stiff as a hive guard.

Stupid sexy queen.

You took a deep breath and sighed, waiting for your erection to die down. After a few minutes it began to turn limp and started to slowly recede back in your crotch. With your awkward moment over, you grabbed the crown and proceeded on your journey.

Whitetail Woods wasn't as massive or wild as other forests in Equestria, but at the same time one must not take it lightly. Although it didn't have many large predators, it was home to a variety of small pests-most of which were of the arthropod variety-that didn't take kindly to strangers.

Fortunately for you, the insects and arachnids of this world knew better than to mess with a changeling not only because you were bigger and more menacing than them, but because you could also communicate with them even while undisguised (you learned this trait by accident when you were just a nymph).

It was rather quiet during your walk, with only the sounds of your hooves crunching against the grass filling your ears. On your head sat the crown which you put there in order to conserve your magic; in hindsight, you were glad that nobody else was around to see you wearing it.

Good thing the queen didn't put a curse on her crown, You thought. The last thing I need is to be turned into a duplicate of her every time I put it on.

Suddenly you heard laughter in the distance, causing you to stop dead in your tracks. Spying a bush big enough to hide your body, you slowly tip-toed forward and crawled inside, squinting your eyes through the leaves to get a better look at what was beyond it.

Beyond the bush was a small clearing where a campsite had been set up. Three ponies could be seen setting up the tents: one was an orange earth pony with blonde hair and a light brown stetson, another was a white unicorn with a dark purple mane and tail that were elegantly curled, and the last one was a blue pegasus with messy rainbow-colored hair.

Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

Three of the element bearers that you had captured...and then promptly escaped.

You gritted your teeth angrily at the sight of the trio; the same trio who kicked your ass during the royal wedding; the same trio who escaped and converted your race into a kingdom of pony-like abominations. The very thought of that last one simply disgusted you.

You moved out of the bush and snarled, your face was now red with pent-up rage. You weren't going to let these horse-faced bitches get away with such a heinous crime to the queen, you had to pay them out...but how?

Looking up, you saw a large web in one of the trees with a small winged arachnid resting on it. Then a wide evil smile formed on your face as you suddenly got an idea.

Chuckling darkly to yourself, you let your body be consumed in a flash of green flames, which soon dissipated and revealed a small, blue-eyed flyder in your place. You quickly crawled up the trunk of the tree and traversed the web to where the other flyder was. His four red eyes looked upon you in surprise, but you held out a leg to stop him before he decided to attack you.

You then explained your plan to him in the flyder's native tongue, doing your best to lay down as many details as you could. The flyder squinted his eyes for a moment before nodding in agreement, spreading out his wings, and flying off. Crawling towards the edge of the web, you chuckled once more and waited.

You got a good view of the camp from up here, and you saw that the three mares had now set up a red checkered picnic cloth and we're having lunch. They were also accompanied by a trio of fillies: A yellow earth pony with red hair and a pink bow, a white unicorn with a pink and purple curly mane, and an orange pegasus with purple hair and wings that were as small as a newly-metamorphosed nymph.

Perfect. I get to avenge my queen and scare some children-two birds slain with one stone.

At that moment, Rarity levitated what appeared to be a carrot inside a hotdog bun (pony food is weird) toward her mouth. Just then the flyder from before flew down and landed right in the middle of the orange vegetable, catching the unicorn by surprise. He then proceeded to launch a stream of silk right at her face.

Dropping the carrot-dog, Rarity screamed in fright which got everypony else's attention. That was the signal. Suddenly, a large swarm of flyders swooped down from the trees and descended upon the small campsite.

"FLYDERS!" One of the mares shouted, and that's when all hell broke loose.

The flyders began to fly sporadically around the area, causing the three fillies to scream and run around in fright. The adults on the other hand were attempting to swat away the pests with whatever they could get their hooves on, from their own tails to sticks meant for roasting marshmallows, but this only angered the flyders even more as some of them swooped down and began to bite the ponies.

Meanwhile you had flown down from the web to the arachnids' battlefield, but it wasn't because you wanted to aid them in the carnage. No, you were focused on one pony in particular; she was currently hovering in the air and swatting away flyders with her front hooves.

You had developed a personal grudge against Rainbow Dash ever since she kicked your buggy ass during the queen's invasion of Canterlot; she had hurt you and dozens of your friends and siblings that day, and although your wounds eventually healed the pain you felt inside was incurable. But now that's gonna change.

While she was distracted, you dove down and flew in front of her face. You then proceeded to bite her right on the nose.

"EEEEEE!" She shrieked, violently shaking her head in an attempt to get you off, but your grip was far stronger. Eventually you did let yourself go, and Rainbow flew off towards a small cave near the edge of the clearing where Applejack and Rarity were escorting the fillies to safety. She was so busy looking at the flyder swarm that she didn't watch where she was going.

WHAM!

She hit the top of the cave mouth with her face, causing her to recoil a bit and get dizzy. When she recovered she heard a rumbling sound and quickly ducked into the cave. No sooner than she went in when suddenly a landslide came down and kicked up a huge cloud of dust, knocking you out of the sky and onto the ground-the impact causing your disguise to wear off.

When the dust settled and you sat up, you saw that the entrance to the cave was now completely sealed off; not a single hole could be seen in the rocks. You looked back and saw that the flyders had all returned to their homes. Looking back at the blocked cave, you smiled.

Your plan had worked.

Feeling pleased with your victory, you stood up on your hind legs and pounded your chest vigorously. With three of the element bearers now cut off from the rest, nothing would stop your queen's plans of taking over Equestria. Not wanting to let your excitement go to waste, you decided to contact Pharynx to tell him the good news.

"Ponyville Infiltrator 5 to Swarmleader Pharynx. I have successfully ambushed three of the element bearers and trapped them in a cave in Whitetail Woods. Wait until you hear how I did it."

You waited a bit, but there was no response.

"Swarmleader, come in. Do you read me?"

Still no answer.

"Swarmleader if you're there please respond."

Once again, no response.

This was odd. Why wasn't he answering you?

You decided that perhaps he was busy dealing with his squad to respond to any calls, so you instead went to inspect the now abandoned campsite.

The picnic cloth was now crooked, the carrot had fallen out of the hotdog bun, and various hoofprints could be seen scattered in the dirt. The tents however were still standing and in-tact.

As you looked around, a low growl began to emanate from your stomach. It had been a while since you consumed any love and now you just realized that you've been cut off from some potential food sources. Groaning, you decided to inspect what remained of their lunch.

Maybe Applejack brought some more of that cider you like.

A picnic basket sat on one corner of the checkered cloth, which was slightly open. Lighting up your horn, you opened the basket all the way and looked inside: sadly, all you saw were more carrots and buns, along with some cucumber sandwiches and a bottle of ketchup.

Just then, you caught the sweet scent of something apple-flavored.

Buzzing over to one of the tents, you discovered that the smell was coming from a plastic container sitting next to a dark blue cooler. You eagerly popped open the lid and inspected the contents: there were six hoof-sized pastries in a golden brown crust with cinnamon on top.

Apple fritters.

This sparked some curiosity. Since they were made of the same ingredients as cider, and were most likely also made by Applejack, would they share the same taste? There was only one way to find out.

You levitated one of the fritters out of the container-its sweet scent overwhelmed your nostrils, making you drool a bit like a dog. You broke off a small piece and tasted it.

Once again your eyes went wide as a familiar feeling washed over your body.

The apples felt like they were picked at the peak of their ripeness with extra care, the crust had the feeling of joy and compassion kneaded into the dough that created it. You could even sense that relatives-both young and old-had pitched in with making sure each part of the recipe was done with as much pure, unfiltered love as possible.

"Oh sweet honeypot ant, this is delicious!" You exclaimed.

You proceeded to eat the rest of the fritter, taking in the sweet love that radiated off it in every bite. Once you were done you licked your lips with satisfaction; now you knew of two pony foods your kind could actually taste.

Looking around the campsite, you decided that the next course of action was to gather some supplies. After all, it wasn't like those ponies were going to find a way out of that cave for quite some time.

First, you went into one of the tents to look for something to put the crown in. You settled on a pair of dark green saddlebags that almost blended in with your carapace. Opening one of the flaps, you carefully set the crown into it then carried the bags back outside. The next thing you did was grab three of the apple fritters and placed them in the second open bag, as you didn't want the crown to get dirty-the last thing you wanted was to give the queen a crown that was covered in crumbs.

You opened up the cooler and looked inside, spying a few bottles of soda and some large water bottles sitting in a pool of ice cubes. You decided to grab a water bottle since it was one of the few liquids changelings could actually taste (the other being Applejack's cider). The bottle was placed in the same bag as the fritters, although you had to do some levitation to make sure that they didn't get crushed.

Next, you trotted over to the picnic basket and levitated a couple of sandwiches into your saddlebags. Although you didn't get any energy from normal pony food, there was a unique property among your kind that required consuming it: you could convert it into slime, a biological material that was practical in many applications.

You walked into the next tent and found a medium-sized matchbox on the ground, which would be useful for starting campfires, so you added that to your collection as well. The last thing you needed was something to sleep in during the night, since you woke up feeling a bit chilly this morning. You looked around and saw a light-blue blanket neatly folded in a corner of the tent.

Funny. You thought, as you levitated it into the bag with the crown in it. This blanket is the same color as the pony I disguised as back in Ponyville...and then trapped in that cave.

With all the necessary supplies gathered, you closed the flaps and placed the saddlebags on your back, before exiting the tent. You walked out of the campsite and into the thick of the woods beyond.

It was dusk by the time you left Whitetail Woods, and the air was already beginning to grow cold again which made you shiver. You decided it would be best to stop and set up camp somewhere for the night (how ironic).

You gathered some branches and small stones and arranged them into a neat pile, with the stones forming a circle around the branches. Then you pulled out the matchbox, lit a match, and threw it into the branches. An faint orange glow began to form at the center of the pile before you heard the crackling of some small flames.

With the fire built, you took off your saddlebags and levitated the blanket out of them. By the time you unfolded it the fire was already beginning to burn, casting an orange glow around the small area. You lied down nearby and draped the blanket over your body, covering up everything except your head.

You rested your head on your front legs and stared at the fire in front of you, letting its warmth (along with the blanket's) spread across yourself. It made you feel comfortable...and also a little drowsy. Your eyelids began to grow heavy and everything quickly became blurry until, eventually, you drifted off to sleep.

You found yourself walking down one of the many streets of Canterlot, with its magnificent houses, shops, and other buildings flanking either side. On your walk, you noticed that you weren't the only one out today: ponies were also traveling through the streets, while some were either in the buildings, walking out of them, or chatting among themselves.

Ponies weren't the only creatures that were in the massive mountainside city: You also saw gryphons, dragons, yaks, buffalo, hippogryffs, and even a few diamond dogs. However, one species caught your attention:

It was those brightly colored bugs.

They were also present, and were not only interacting with ponies, but the other species too. You groaned and stuck your tongue out in disgust; those posers didn't deserve to be in this world.

You passed up a store with a reflective window, which revealed that you were currently disguised as a donkey. Despite being a equine species, nobody seemed to acknowledge you, which was a good thing.

Eventually the busy shopping area ended and you came to the entrance of a large park, with a white brick wall and a ornate iron gate serving as the barrier. A sign engraved on an arch just above the gate read the name of the place: Canterlot Gardens. As the gates were open, you stepped inside.

Green grass surrounded the area, with a concrete walkway in the middle decorated with lamps, benches, and the occasional trash can. You saw that there were more of those diverse creatures you saw earlier: fillys and colts were playing with gryphons and nymphs at the playground, hippogryffs were having a friendly chat with some yaks on a bench, you even saw a group of dragons having a barbecue with what looked like a cross between a unicorn and a lion.

You turned your attention away from them and focused on the path. Soon you came to a fork: the left side went to a flower garden, while the right entered an area marked by two ceramic vases filled with flowers. You decided to go down the path on your right.

Beyond the vases was a large circular area with a giant hedge maze at the end of it. In front of the maze were several life-size statues all made of white marble, each one depicted a different pony in unique poses.

One statue, however, immediately caught your attention.

Like all the others, it was made of marble and was life-sized. It sat in the center of the circle on a large, round, white podium. However, unlike the other statues, this one had three figures which were all in different positions:

There was a scrawny-looking centaur who was shielding his face and had his eyes closed.

There was a pegasus filly hovering in the air who had a frightened look on her face.

But it was the last figure that made your eyes widen-a large changeling that was diving down with her front hooves stretched out and sporting an angry expression. That couldn't be who you think it is...could it?

You trotted closer to the statue to get a better look at it, scanning the stone changeling up and down and examining all the small details. You gulped. There was no denying it-you knew exactly who that was.

Queen Chrysalis.

You sat down on your plot and dropped your disguise, never letting your gaze on the queen wander off. You were speechless. How was this even possible? When did this statue get made and who decided to add the queen on it? As you sat there, you suddenly noticed something shiny at the base of the statue: a small brass plaque. Leaning in, you read the message engraved on it.

This statue houses the petrified entities of the Legion of Doom, who attempted to conquer Equestria but were subsequently stopped by the forces of Princess Twilight Sparkle and were turned to stone by Princess Celestia at the request of Discord. With their defeat, Equestria will finally be at peace.

It was at this moment you felt your heart shatter into tiny pieces, tears beginning to form in your eyes. You had heard about how Discord-the draconequis who aided Starlight Glimmer in breaching the hive-was turned to stone by the Elements of Harmony twice; first by the princesses Celestia and Luna, and the second time by Twilight Sparkle and her friends. And now your queen had suffered a similar fate, making you the last true changeling in Equestria.

You lowered your head and started to cry.

You couldn't save your queen; you were too late.

"...Save me..."

You nearly jumped. Where did that voice come from?

"Why didn't you save me?"

At first, you thought it was coming from the hivemind, but it didn't quite sound like it. You looked around, wondering if someone had followed you.

"Please, speak to me."

There was no one else in the area except for you. Just then, the voice spoke again, but this time it was louder and more stern.

"Your queen commands you to speak to me!"

You swung around and looked back at the stone figure of Chrysalis, whose menacing face seemed to be staring right at you. Your blood ran cold as you looked at the statue in stunned silence, with your lower jaw quivering in sadness.

"For-f-f-forgive me, your majesty," you stuttered, bowing your head. "I have failed you. Please...please have mercy on me."

"Why didn't you save me?"

"I...I got lost. I've been unable to track you down, and now...now I'm too late. I'm the last changeling...I'm the last of our kind. I'm too late."

Once again you started to cry, unable to hold back your emotions.

"It's not too late, little one."

You sniffed and looked back up at the queen. "Wh...what did you say?"

"It's not too late," she repeated. "You still have time."

"How? What do you mean?"

"You must find me; I'm still alive, but I need your help. We are both the last true changelings and we must stand strong against those retched ponies. Please, save our species...save our kingdom...save me!"

Your eyes shot open immediately and you gasped.

Looking around, you realized that you were no longer in Canterlot, but were back at you little campsite. It was morning now and the fire you built had long gone out, leaving a smoldering pile of ashes in its place. Like yesterday morning the air was chilly, but fortunately your blanket kept you warm all through the night.

Yawning, you sat up and thought about what happened last: you didn't know what exactly your dream meant, but one thing you did know was that you needed to find the queen as soon as possible-otherwise your nightmare just might become a reality.