"Hurry up, Littlest!" A hushed voice whispered. "We'll be late for the Gathering!"
I jolted upright immediately, shaking off my stupor like water from my carapace. Worker Stone-27 was right. If I didn't get out of my stone nest soon, we would miss tonight's Gathering. The High Queen Chrysalis herself would be speaking, instead of the usual Councilors. That wasn't something that happened every day. I could only imagine how furious Overseer Flint-3 would be if we showed up late or not all.
"Thanks," I murmured as we clattered down the claustrophobic tunnel towards the Gathering Chamber.
"I'm not doing it for you," he retorted. "I just don't want our nesting group to get into trouble again. I'm sick of getting stuck with rock-gathering duty."
I gulped. The last three times really had been my fault. The first time, I'd had a concussion from dropping a support beam on my head, and I'd been in the infirmary. The second time, three bullies had glued me to the ceiling of the hatchling nursery with leftover cocoon mixture. The third time... the third time, I had been out flying. I lost track of time and I had stayed out an hour too late. A furious overseer had been waiting on my return, and I only just managed to come up with the excuse that I had gotten lost looking for rocks. She believed it too, as doing something like that is rather natural for me.
Stone and I managed to patter into the very back row of the Gathering Chamber. A changeling in the row in front of me glanced back and glared momentarily when I let out a breath I had been holding.
The lights dimmed and the fanfare of stone horns rang out, signifying the entrance of the High Queen Chrysalis. A wave of quiet swept over the assembled changelings. And then, she appeared.
She was every bit as beautiful as they said she was. Her legs were long and slender, her carapace a deep obsidian that every female in the crowd envied. Her mane- she actually had a mane!- was a shade of turquoise that was only found in the incredibly rare mineral veins the bravest of miners found. Her eyes were a multitude of shades of green- from leaf green to jade.
"Good evening, my precious subjects," she crooned. "You're so cute, I could just eat you up."
A cheer arose from the changeling audience. High Queen Chrysalis waited until it died down before continuing.
"As some of your Overseers know, you have a very interesting few months ahead of you. Soon, all of you, my little changelings, will have food aplenty! But first, all of you must work together, each an incredibly important piece in a machine. You must work you hardest-" here, her gaze swept the crowd, and for a horrifying moment, she locked eyes with me. "-in order to achieve a goal that has been long awaiting us."
There was more cheering. I couldn't deny that Chrysalis was a good queen, putting the needs of her people ahead of her own.
"Production in the weapons facility is up by 26 percent! Good job, Overseer Spear-5! Great job, especially, to Medical Team 2 for the increased production of healing ambrosia!"
High Queen Chrysalis spent the next few minutes congratulating various groups or individuals on their contributions to the Hive. It was stunning that she knew the name of every changeling. I couldn't help but marvel that she cared enough about us to learn our names, to be able to recognize our faces, a task near-impossible for anyone who wasn't a changeling.
Finally, we were dismissed. Many were burbling happily as they clicked through the tunnel, either back to their nests to sleep or to their jobs for the night shift. Technically, I was supposed to get some rest for tomorrow, but that wasn't what I had in mind.
I waited until the sounds of soft breathing and gentle snores surrounded me. I really didn't want to think about how much trouble I'd get in if I got caught sneaking outside during rest time. A lifetime of gathering rocks, for sure, if not much worse.
I silently slipped out of my stony nest and tiptoed through the unmoving stone bowls that held the rest of my nesting group. I stepped into a shaft of moonlight that poured in from a chink in the wall that I had discovered two months ago. I scrambled out, willing myself to make no sound.
Now I stood upon a narrow ledge, washed in the light of the silver orb that hung in the night sky. The stars above shone down silently, watching me from above. I was thankful for my shell, thin as it might be, as it blocked out some of the chilly night air.
I bent my legs and launched myself into the sky. With a buzz, my wings engaged and I hovered next to an outcropping of the Hive. I leaned downwards and swooped away, keeping close to the rocky structure of the Hive. A changeling's memory has to be something extraordinary in order to deal with all of the disguises and facades, but mine was woefully sub-par. I'd managed to get lost more times in the Hive than I cared to count, and I was still afraid that if I lost sight of the Hive, I might never get back. At least there were changelings there to help me, albeit unwillingly, inside of my home.
The Hive was built onto the top of a steep plateau. Imagine a mountain with its peak sawed off. Now you have what it looked like before the structure I live in today looked like. Legend had it the High Queen Chrysalis herself was the one who formed the plateau, using her magic to flatten an entire mountain. The first changelings used gigantic stones to form the foundation of the unshakeable fortress. The spires rose up as high as we dared to fly, and they grew higher every year. Our miners dug down into the mountain, searching for valuable minerals that we needed to improve the living standard of the Hive.
Oh jeez, now I sound like one of my teachers...
Anyways, the Hive is far more advanced than the other races, like ponies and griffons, gave us credit for. One scout actually brought back a foal's textbook describing how "simple and primitive" we changelings were. It spoke of the inability to advance any further than basic stone weapons and tools. The scout barely managed to get through half a page of the reading before completely bursting out laughing. It's still a really big joke in the hive. Just the mere mention of simpleness is enough to make almost anypony laugh hysterically.
I frowned as I spotted something in the wasteland below me, the wasteland that surrounded the Hive. It looked like the entrance to a big cave. A really big cave. I zipped closer to get a better look, warnings about dragons and Ursa Majors screaming in my ears.
The cave was devoid of life, except for a few tiny bugs that skittered away when I got close. When I walked into deeper shadows, I blinked a few times, waiting for my natural night vision to kick in.
The cave was spectacular. The walls were covered with murals of ponies in brilliant, eye-popping color that I could almost taste. There were two ponies in particular that were a pattern in almost all pictures: the Royal Sisters, Celestia and Luna. This entire cavern seemed to be dedicated to them. Paintings and pictures adorned the walls, and offerings like flowers and jewels were scattered on the floor. A thick layer of dust told me that this sacred cave had not been visited in quite some time.
I walked down a corridor which whose murals seemed to tell a picture:
In the first, two tiny alicorns were visible, the white one with the pink mane surrounded by the emblem of the sun, the blue alicorn foal curled up on a crescent moon. All around them swirled darkness and nothingness.
In the second, two slightly bigger alicorns stood on a newly-formed Equestria, the ground green and verdant with abundant life.
In the third picture, two alicorn fillies proudly displayed their cutie marks, the sun hovering over Celestia's head, and the moon hovering over Luna's.
In the fourth, a familiar draconequus loomed above the Sisters, laughing an evil laugh I could almost hear.
In the fifth image, Discord was gone, encased in stone. The two sisters were now much older, nearing adulthood. Celestia wore a golden crown and Luna wielded a dark blue one.
The story continued with the rise of Nightmare Moon, her eyes filled with cold malice. I saw Celestia banish her own sister to the moon. I saw the thousand-year wait, the return of the greatest evil Equestria has ever known. I gazed upon Nightmare Moon's defeat at the hooves of the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony. But most of all, I saw the redemption of a sister lost to darkness.
The final chamber held two massive statues of the Sisters. Celestia gazed down upon me regally with unblinking eyes while Luna smiled at me from her side. The pedestal that held the statues was littered with all sorts of gifts and offerings. There were circles of candles unlit but melted surrounding the forehooves of the Royal Sisters. On closer inspection, I observed tiny scraps of paper with prayers and wishes.
I sat before the massive statues and lowered my head until my stubby horn almost touched the cold stone.
"Celestia," I whispered. "I want to be loved. Please, I want to be loved..."
I turned to Luna. "Please. Give me somepony who will love me...."
There was no response, no great omen or sign. Just more silence. A beetle crawled across my leg. Perhaps they only answered their own subjects?
I swallowed and uttered in a miniscule whisper, "I want to be a pony..."
More silence was my answer. I rose and retreated from the room. "I... I'm sorry."
Defeated, I made my way back to the Hive. Maybe they didn't want to answer me; after all, I was a huge threat to the safety of the inhabitants of Equestria. But still, it really wasn't my fault. I didn't decide to be born to a parasitic race that drained the emotions from ponies.
My entire nesting group was still sound asleep. Good; they didn't need to know about my nighttime journey and my foolhardy wish. I could only imagine how long they'd torment me about it. I doubted some of them would ever stop.
I curled up in my stone nest, cushioned by the gel I had produced myself. It was a bit on the thin side, so rocks and pebbles poked me occasionally, but still, it was my own creation, and I was proud of it. I closed myself and drifted off. Tomorrow was sure to be a rough day.
