Along the Road to Chaos

“Mmm, home sweet home. Can’t you just smell that evening freshness?”

Last Breath casually hopped down from the charred remnants of the Friendship Express, the changeling’s hooves striking softly against the cobblestones of the Canterlot train station. Grinning broadly, he glanced back at the burnt-out train. Really, he was surprised that it had managed to carry him and Innocent Sin all the way to Canterlot. Whoever had designed it had been good. Pity it had been all pink and frilly. Were they trying to appeal to young fillies or something? he mused. A sun motif would have been way better.

Not that it would have really mattered. A look at the roof of the train showed him a tiny emerald flame, still merrily flickering away as it continued to consume whatever fuel it could. The flame had resisted all of the two changelings’ attempts to fight it, instead growing hotter and brighter in cheerful defiance of their best attempts. Dragonflame was scary stuff, even when it came from a baby. Last Breath shuddered at the idea of meeting that dragon when it was fully grown.

“Smells like pony,” a grumbling voice echoed of from the dark recesses of the train. “I still can’t believe you convinced me to let them go.” Innocent Sin climbed out of the train behind Last Breath. Since they had returned to Canterlot, the larger changeling’s orders of being the smaller one’s advisor/bodyguard/superior officer was now over. Innocent Sin was technically only supposed to be Last Breath’s guard, but he was the one with the higher rank, and they were a little unsure how to interpret their Queen’s orders. “We could have held those foals hostage, or used them to lure the Bearers into a trap, or-”

“We wouldn’t have been able to hold them,” Last Breath interrupted. “As soon as that dragon showed up, there was nothing we could have done.” He gestured at the side of the train, charred black from the flames that had been roaring across it not long ago. “You know that.”

Innocent Sin grunted, conceding the point as they began walking towards the castle. Dragons were one of the few species higher on the food chain than changelings, and even a baby could be dangerous if provoked. With scales like steel, flames hotter than any natural fire, and a body shape that changelings couldn’t hope to replicate, they were virtually the changeling’s natural enemy.

The city had changed greatly since the changeling occupation had begun. The streets, which once had been filled with ponies of all walks of life from all over Equestria, were now nearly barren and empty. The few ponies that still walked the cobbled paths stumbled around drunkenly, either smelling heavily of alcohol and salt, or stared blankly into space, apparently unaware of the world around them as they retreated into the recesses of their minds.

Most of the citizens had locked themselves away within their own homes, only letting their closest friends and families inside. Others had chosen to open their doors to the ponies from outside Canterlot, who were left without a place to stay since Queen Chrysalis had decided that no one was allowed to leave the city.

In the back of their minds, there was one thing that every pony feared. No matter whether they allowed strangers into their homes of tried to keep the world at bay, anypony could be a changeling in disguise. From the youngest foal to the eldest mare, anypony could be a spy for the new regime. No one was safe, not even somepony they had known for years could be trusted anymore.

Heightening the tensions, changelings were openly posted on every street corner, their cold unblinking eyes staring down on the streets from the roofs of nearby buildings. They stood untransformed in the broad daylight, letting themselves be seen and serving as a continuous reminder of the changes the city had experienced.

Canterlot was a city gripped by paranoia and fear.

Smiling half-heartedly to himself, Last Breath looked up at one of the houses at the outskirts of the plaza. The entire second story of the building had been demolished, vaporised by a redirected attack of Queen Chrysalis’ from when she had fought that Prince. Such power the Queen had obtained. It was truly… Magnificent.

Distracted as he was, he failed to notice when a shadow detached itself from a nearby dark alleyway, charging at him. Hearing a battle cry of “For the Princess!” he leapt to the side, barely managing to dodge the tip of a swiping sword that nearly took his head off. His wings buzzing as he flew out of range of the creature that had just tried to kill him, he smiled sarcastically as he got a good look at it.

A white unicorn stallion, decked in the golden colours of Celestia’s royal guard, or the Solar Guard, glared up at the changeling past the sword clutched in his teeth. The stallion’s coat and armour were scratched and covered in dirt and grime, and he had clearly seen better days. Impressive, considering the occupation had begun only a day or so ago. Even from where Last Breath buzzed above the stallion’s head, he could easily smell the alcohol that seemed to roll off the stallion in waves.

“Git down here,” the stallion slurred, spraying spittle everywhere. Despite the difficulty the stallion was having talking, his voice still had a hint of an accent to it. His eyes were having a hard time focusing on the changeling, and one pupil was slightly larger than the other. “I’ll… I’ll kill you. You monsters! Yer a blight on Celestia’s own land! I’ll-” Exactly what he was going to do was left unsaid as tripped over a cobblestone and landed squarely on his face, luckily avoiding impaling himself.

Last Breath remained motionless in the air, watching the stallion with a slightly bemused expression on his face. He wasn’t sure if he should finish the mysterious pony off, go and get him some help, or just laugh at him. Instead, he only watched as the stallion uneasily got back to his hooves. The stallion cast his eyes around on the ground, looking for his sword. Finding it, he bent down and picked it up in his teeth, possibly forgetting that he could grab it with magic. “Mmph mumble mmph mmph mmph!” he said past the sword hilt in his mouth.

“Pardon? You’ll have to repeat that.” Deciding to have fun with the poor ex-soldier, Last Breath cupped one of his forehooves to his ear. “I don’t speak mumblese.”

The stallion spat out the sword, gripping it between his hooves. “I said I’m going to tear dem shtupid wings of yer back, then I’m ripping dem off yer back and shoving dem down yer filt’y throat.”

“Not my wings!” Last Breath gasped mockingly, clutching his chest in fake horror. “They’re my best feature. How will I attract mares without them?” After a moment’s thought, he shrugged as if it didn’t really matter. “Well, at least I’ll have better luck than you.”

The stallion gave a cruel twisted smile, one unbefitting a member of the Solar Guard. “Keep laughing. When I be done wit’ you, you’ll have more troubles then just yer wings.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“After I rip out yer wings, I’m tearing out yer teeth.” The stallion seemed to be sobering up as he talked, slurring his words less and his eyes focusing squarely on the changeling flitting above him. “Then I’m gonna peel away that black coating yer so proud of before breaking in front of you. I’ll rub salt in every wound and shove a rusty pole up yer arse, twisting until yer inside are mush. I’ll rip off yer legs and make you wear them like a necklace. Finally, after makin’ you watch everything I done, I’ll carve out yer eyeballs and leave you to die.”

Cocking an eyebrow, Last Breath let out a whistle, impressed despite himself. By the Great Queen’s fangs, that was certainly vivid. “Wow, you’ve got issues. Weren’t you ponies about love, friendship, and all that? How did someone like you become a royal guard?”

“Issues? Ya might say that.” The stallion looked down, gazing at his reflected image in the sword. “Ya might say I’ve got issues with you monsters.” Spitting on the ground, he glared back up at Last Breath. “But I say ya all need ta be killed! The entire reason I joined the royal guard in the first place was to slaughter ever last one of yous. Now stop making things hard fer me and get down here so I can kill you.”

A small frown started to appear on Last Breath’s face. There was something… something about the stallion’s accent was starting to tickle at the back of his mind. It was itching at his skull, like a forgotten dream begging to be remembered. “Where did you say you were from, again?”

The stallion blinked, befuddled by the unexpected question. “I didn’t, but I’m from the Shades. Now stop being pesky ‘nd get down here so I can squish you like a bug.”

The Shades? Why does that sound familiar? “You’ve certainly got a one-track mind. But if it’s a fight you want, I’ll give you one.” His wings ceasing their buzzing, Last Breath dropped to the ground. A smirk spread across his face as he locked eyes with the sword-wielding stallion, shoving his uneasy thoughts aside. I’ll worry about it later.

The pair were nearly perfectly still as they stared each other down, neither so much as blinking. The stallion’s ear twitched wildly as he gritted the hilt of his sword in his mouth. His eyes blazing blood red in the evening sunlight, the stallion stepped forwards… and vanished in a cloud of dust.

Last Breath remained still as the dust settled, revealed what had happened. The stallion lay prone on the street, buried under a pile of blank-eyed changelings. A small trail of drool oozed from the stallion’s partially opened mouth, cutting a trail of slime through the grime on his chin. One changeling stepped free of the pile and stepped in front of Last Breath.

“SSzzaw you were in trouble, sszzir,” it buzzed, bowing low before him. Last Breath blinked in amazement, his annoyance at the interruption to the fight completely forgotten. If a simple drone like this was already starting to recover speech, then the changelings were incorporating the ambient love far faster than even the Queen had hoped for.

Changelings, once they ran out of love energy, became what was collectively known as “Lost Ones”. Their pupils would vanish behind a soulless sea of crystalline blue, any defining features would disappear, and they would even lose their ability to think. They were lost to the swarm, mere monsters of instinct and emotion. Only the presence of their King or Queen would prevent them from lashing out indiscriminately at the living creatures around them for love and life energy. If they were not near the ruler, they would vanish into the curse.

To be lost to the swarm was to have one hoof in the grave.

Last Breath dispelled his dark thoughts. With Canterlot firmly under changeling control, it was only a matter of time before every changeling was restored from all the ambient love in the air. Nearly every changeling had been lost to the swarm during the escape from the Gryphon territories, including Last Breath. While the gryphons might not formally have a country, they had still nearly found out about the existence of the changelings living among them. The changelings had been forced to flee to Equestria, and every changeling except the Queen had become lost to the swarm because of a lack of areas to obtain more love.

It was only by the narrowest of margins that any of them had managed to survive at all.

Many of them hadn’t.

“Pleasszze take care, sszzir,” the drone changeling said, cutting into Last Breath’s thoughts. Turning, the nameless changeling assisted the others with carrying the unknown stallion away. He would be incarcerated in the dungeons underneath Canterlot Castle, like all the others who had opposed the Queen. Wonder how many of the cells are full already?

After watching the group vanish around a corner, Last Breath turned his gaze up into the sky. His eyes closed as he inhaled the crisp evening air, he felt the weak warmth of the faded sunlight against his exoskeleton. This was what he wanted, right? This was what was best for the changelings, and that was all that mattered. Of course it was! He was a changeling! He consumed emotions, he wasn’t ruled by them!

So why couldn’t he convince himself of that?

_______________________________________

Innocent Sin strode confidently through the glorious hallways of Canterlot Castle. The sound of his hooves striking the smooth stone floors echoed mournfully through the empty hallway. It was a satisfying reminder of the brief moment of solitude. Just for now he could enjoy the peace and quiet emptiness without the presence of that insubordinate creature.

A growl seemed to emanate from the walls as Innocent Sin thought about his former travelling companion, and it took him a moment to realise it was coming from his own throat. The way Last Breath acted was just an insult to everything that was right. Every living being had its own proper place in the world. That was just the way things were. Neat. Clean. Organized.

Drones were the lowest rank of changelings, the builders and repairers. Above them were collectors like Last Breath; changelings who went out into the world to collect love and bring it back for the hive. Then there were the soldier, those who defended the hive and kept order within it. A collector had no place acting like an equal to a soldier, especially not a high-ranked soldier like Innocent Sin. It was as preposterous as Innocent Sin thinking himself equal to Queen Chrysalis, or a pony thinking themselves equal to a changeling.

And yet, despite the ponies being obviously inferior, they still chose to fight against the changeling occupation. Why could they not accept their proper place either? What were they fighting for? Peace? Freedom? What nonsense. Nothing was free. To live was to be shackled. Whether it was by others or through your own actions didn’t matter in the end.

The brooding changeling’s steps gradually led him to his destination; the throne room. He would need to report his failure in Ponyville. Reaching the large ornate doors leading into the throne room, he was greeted by a welcome sight. Instead of the pair of garish white-and-yellow stallions that had been so prevalent under former Princess Celestia, a single intelligent-eyed changeling sat before the grand archway. The changeling was leaning against the wall beside the doorway, bouncing a rubber ball against the opposite wall with a bored expression on her face. The changeling looked up as Innocent Sin approached it, cheerfully abandoning the little toy as she greeted the latest distraction.

“Hey Innocence,” it said in a sultry feminine voice. There was only a faint hint of a buzz in her voice, so faint that one would have to focus to hear it. Her body was polished and shiny, brilliantly reflecting the weak sunlight off of her smooth carapace. Her wings and belly were a pale lime green, and her wings were a little smaller than those belonging to the average changeling. Finally, her curving horn bent right at the end, twisted so that the tip pointed directly at the floor in front of her.

“Hello Fallen Roses,” he greeted her in return with a smile. He had long since given up trying to correct her on the pronunciation of his name. At least she wasn’t calling him “Inno” anymore. The smile widened as she wrapped her forelegs around his neck, her simpering face only inches away from his own.

“Aw, Innocence,” she cooed, large compound eyes gazing into his as she fluttered her eyelids flirtatiously. “Don’t be so cold. When we’re alone, you call me Rose, mkay?” Fallen Roses belonged to the nurturer class of changelings; a rank outside of the hierarchy of the other ranks. They answered only to the Queen herself, and were in charge in raising the young changeling grubs. Her unusual rank made her one of the few beings that Innocent Sin felt free to look upon as an equal.

“Alright then, Rose,” he said, putting special emphasis on her name as he fondly patted her head. He might not be able to give her any love, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care for her anyway. Changelings were thankfully unable to feed off of one another, which prevented them from attacking each other even when they were lost to the hive. Only the Queen was able to give love energy energy to other changelings. The collectors would give the energy they collected directly to her, and she would the distribute it among the hive.

“Ooh, you know what I like,” she teased, reaching up to nibble his ear. “Maybe we can even have a little… fun.” She breathed the last word as she nibbled his ear with her fangs, careful not to puncture the tender skin.

Innocent Sin chuckled at the nurturer’s antics as he enwrapped her hooves from around his neck and let her drop gracefully to the floor. “Sorry Rose, not today.” Pointing with his nose, he gestured at the large double doors leading to the throne room. “Is Her Majesty in? I have something I need to report to her.”

Rolling her eyes, she walked directly in front of the giant door. Gesturing for him to be quiet, she cautiously cracked opened one of the doors. A wall of sound seemed to explode out of the crack, throwing the male changeling back against the wall.

“Wha-what was that?” he asked frantically after she had shut the door and silence filled the hallway once more. The doors must have been enchanted to prevent any sound from passing through them. He rubbed his hooves against the side of his head as he tried to still the ringing in his skull.

Fallen Roses giggled, obviously amused by his distress. “Pony nobles. Her Majesty’s holding court, like Celestia used to. If the nobles aren’t at least pretending to follow orders, holding Canterlot is going to become a lot harder.”

“I don’t see why we can’t just force them into line,” Innocent Sin grumbled.

“Oh, you soldier types,” Fallen Roses teased, “always thinking with your muscles. The country depends on the nobles, and would probably grind to a halt without them.” She snickered, raising one hoof to cover her mouth. “Bet that’s the only reason Celestia kept them around.”

“What do pony problems matter to us?” he asked her, his wings starting to buzz with his aggravation. “They are powerless. They don’t matter.”

“Aww,” she cooed at him, poking his cheek affectionately. “Your naiveté is just so adorable. Makes me want to gobble you up. Oh!” she exclaimed in excitement, spotting something black coming down the hallway towards them. “Hold that thought. I spy with my little eye, something yummy.”

“Innocent Sin!”  the newcomer, instantly recognizable as Last Breath, shouted. “You curséd roach! You ditched me!”

“I figured you could handle one crazy stallion,” Innocent Sin said flatly to the wall without turning around. “If you hadn’t, well, I’m sure it would have been a very nice funeral.”

“Breathy!” Fallen Roses squealed, pouncing on the new arrival and knocking him to the ground. Pinning him on his back, she straddled him and licked at the side of his face in greeting. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Hey Rose,” Last Breath smiled up at her, unaffected by the sudden invasion of his personal space. “Innocent turned you down again, huh?”

The female-identified changeling pouted down at him, fluttering her eyelids playfully. “Don’t be like that, sweetie. I’m over him. He’s far too grumpy for me. You’re the only one for me.”

“I’m right here, you know,” a dry voice interjected from behind the both of them, but it was promptly ignored.

“I’m sorry, my dear,” Last Breath said, deciding to play along. Reaching up with a hoof, he gently caressed the side of her face. “But the boundaries of rank must ever keep us apart, for someone such as you could do far better than a mere collector. Also,” he added, dropping the dramatic tone but keeping his voice playful, “since you raised me, I’m afraid that you’re just too old for my tastes.”

With a malevolent grin revealing her sharp fangs, she crouched down until her mouth was next to his neck, pressing her chest against her own. “Well, if that’s your only issue…” With those ominous words, she vanished in a blaze of bright green, the light forcing Last Breath to cover his eyes.

When he could see again, he opened his eyes to see a large pair of emerald eyes staring into his own. Instead of the amorous female changeling, a tiny magenta filly rested on his chest. Her miniscule pegasus wings were pressed firmly against her sides, doing nothing to hide her youthful flanks. Her sapphire mane was swept forwards, partially covering half of her face. “…that can be easily… remedied,” she said, practically purring out the last word.

“Hoookay,” Last Breath said, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the hacking laughter coming from Innocent Sin. “That’s enough of that. Up. Up!” Rolling to his stomach, he dislodged the filly, knocking her to the ground. She only smiled at him before reverting back to her original form. “What are you doing here, anyway?” he asked her. “Shouldn’t you be guarding the Princess?”

Fallen Roses rolled her eyes as she pointed at the large double doorway before them. “She’s in there. Honestly, I don’t know what Her Majesty was thinking. First it’s all ‘Guard Princess Cadence for me, don’t let her escape’ and then she won’t let the little Princess out of her sight. I’m booooooooredout here.”

“Life for the Princess isn’t as glamorous as she’s used to?” Last Breath cut himself off, cocking his head and his ears twitching as muffled shouting leaked through the large doorway to the throne room. “What’s that?”

Before any of the changelings could react, the large doorways were thrown open, a well dressed pony flying through them and hitting the far wall with a meaty thud. As the trio of changelings watched, the pony staggered to his hooves and stumbled away down the hallway, giving the doorway one final terrified look before disappearing around a corner. A slight tremor in the ground was all the warning the changelings had before the doors burst open again, disgorging a literal stampede of well-dressed ponies into the hallway.

Instinctively taking to the air, the three were able to avoid being trampled under the hooves of the fleeing ponies. Giving the hint to what they were fleeing from, Queen Chrysalis’ voice pursued them from the throne room. “Out! All of you! Out of my sight!”

As the last pony vanished around the corner, the three changelings slowly descended to the smooth marble floor. The large doorway stood open, the fancy ornate door swinging unchecked. “Well,” Fallen Roses said at last, licking her lips, “I believe Her Majesty is ready to see us now.”