Every Prince Deserves a Princess

Moss and I trekked down the gentle path in silence, headed for the unknown forest below. Tiny pebbles scattered beneath my worn, bloody hooves, and my eyes chased the rolling fragments of rock as they tumbled haphazardly down the mountain. To slip or stumble would have been a death sentence, as lines of jagged rock akin to shattered glass rose up from parts below, painting a picture of stony teeth around the various protrusions of the gigantic earth. Moss weaved skillfully through the sparse foliage and loose collections of boulders, while I squeezed clumsily through the more questionable parts of the path and found myself unable to keep up. After a decent period of my captor being forced to slow down for me time and again, she turned and regarded me with a harsh glare.

"What the hell's your problem? Too used to plush carpet to walk on a few rocks?"

I huffed while wiping a bead of sweat from my dirty, bloodstained mane. The filth and grime was likely never to come out... assuming I'd live to my next shower. "Perhaps, or maybe I'm simply too stressed and preoccupied by the disgusting bug who captured and threatened me to focus. Whatever your plan for me is, I doubt it involves keeping me alive for long. You expect me to willingly cooperate under such circumstances?"

Moss rolled his eyes and reached into the duffel bag. The dark blue fabric twisted and warped as he pulled his signature vest from the luggage, and my heartstrings tugged the faintest bit. I looked away, mentally berating myself for so foolishly becoming attached to him. He wasn't real. My only love was the mare who'd spurned me time and again, and the mare whom I would never get to see one last time...

"You're stressed and preoccupied? Shining Armor leaving the cave fucked up everything, thanks to my mother's incompetence. Don't give me that judgmental, accusatory look, you pompous ass. If it wasn't for her, if I had been in charge all those years ago, there would've been no need for any of this. There could've been a peaceful, yet tense, negotiation, and everyone would live. It's too late for that, now."

"Peaceful negotiation?" I asked, my tone dripping with incredulity. "You sincerely expect me to believe that anything even remotely resembling peace has been on your mind at any point in life?"

Moss approached, a predatory glint in her eye. I watched in horror as she strutted forth, her upper lip curling into a snarl and revealing mismatched fangs. The scent of carrion reached my nostrils, and I saw Moss for the beast she truly was- the very changeling princess who delighted in my suffering... and who had presently backed me into a rock. I cowered against the stone, hoping and praying that it would shield me from the princess as she began to speak in a harsh, low tone.

"Chrysalis is the reason that my people are the way they are. She set the standard for our bloodthirsty nature, and she alone ordered the infiltration of Shining Armor's wedding. Don't you think a changeling of a different color would have been noticed among the crowd? Did you hear any reports of an orange mane and violet eyes?"

I looked up at Moss, her eyes flashing to Instar's threatening purple hue as she spoke. Upon wracking my brain, I came to the conclusion that no such mention had been made, and I had read all of the documents and eyewitness reports regarding the wedding, at Shining Armor's request.

"...no. There's no such record, and I of all ponies would know. In fact, there's no record at all of changelings with differentiated manes, eyes, or carapaces."

"That's because no others exist. I'm unique, in this era." Moss backed off and withdrew a cigarette from her jacket. A violet flash erupted from her forehead, where a horn would be had she been a unicorn, and lit the small stick with a controlled burst. "I wasn't there, because I spoke out against her stupid ass idea. Look where it got us. Look where we are, where you are now."

I blinked in confusion, trying to keep up with her words and unravel her meaning. So many questions swam through my mind, not the least of which was how I mattered in her grand scheme and laundry list of complaints about her mother. Upon thinking better of focusing the conversation on myself, I decided to show interest in a bid to gain her favor, at least temporarily.

"In this era? What do you mean?"

"I mean, in this era. All other changelings alive share my mother's color scheme. At the rate we're going, there will never be another shift, unless I act now. Hopefully, her useless, aging carcass can deal with whatever straggling royal guards enter the cave from the lake. Come on, we've got work to do." Moss reached down and gripped my collar before pulling harshly. My bow tie almost snapped, but I reached my hoof down and clasped her own firmly. She stopped pulling, and our eyes met- both sets hardened and determined.

"That was a gift from my Auntie. Don't you dare."

"You think I give a shit? Get moving, and your precious little tie can live," Moss snarled through grit teeth. She shoved the silk, tattered accent into my chest and whirled, taking off at a decent clip. I struggled to keep up, and keep our conversation going for the sake of my sanity, and gathering information in case I somehow made it out alive.

"How many other cave entrances are there? What if the guard comes through the back, or side?"

"There are several. At least six, by my count, and I don't care if they find a way in and ambush her. She can die down there, as long as she stalls them. We'll be long gone by then." Moss skillfully hopped over a small crevasse in the rocks as she wound her way down to the treeline, and I soon stumbled over the small gap to a round of sarcastic applause. I paused to catch my breath while Moss leaned upon a tree and looked back up at the mountain. I turned to look as well, noting that, despite the situation and imposing edges, the sight had a rare, natural beauty to it. If only I had known what was inside earlier...

"Alright. We're down the mountain, and into a forest. Where are we going?" I began.

"To meet up with my brothers." Moss snuffed the spent cigarette against a tree trunk, showing little concern for the safety of the forest. Such an action didn't surprise me, though it did raise a few questions.

"What, no sisters? How ever will I get laid tonight?"

"Tch. Very funny, asshole. As for that second part, behave yourself, and you just might. I've got a lot on my mind."

I blinked, balked, and felt the urge to retch. Why would this creature offer such a thing, after I already knew her secret, and had been declared her enemy? To what benefit did indulging such base urges with me would she be searching...?

"You're not serious."

"I don't often joke. Hurry it up, Blueballs. I wanna hit the village by nightfall." Moss smoothed out her mane and took off at a run, leaving me to weave through the trees alone in the coming twilight. I briefly wondered if I'd be able to flee without getting caught, but the prospect that some of her 'brothers' were watching seemed quite likely, and so I followed to the best of my ability. The sound of leaves being kicked up soon became my only clue of my regretful companion's whereabouts as the sun began to set, casting long, dark shadows between the trees and painting the sky a mournful purple. I may or may not have ran into the odd tree or two as I watched the moon rise slowly into the sky, drawing unwelcome thoughts upward within my mind.

Auntie Luna. I had been so very, very wrong, and in her own, frigid way, she had cared for me. Would I ever get the chance to apologize? Since when had apologies become such a priority? Perhaps it had been when I'd realized that for all of my money and what little 'real' experience I had garnered, Instar had so harshly reminded me that immortality couldn't be bought or won...

"Just up ahead! Look for a fire pit!"

I craned my neck to find Moss' location, but came up with nothing as I brushed aside a few small plants. A glint of orange met my vision as I continued to push through the foliage, collecting twigs and leaves in my coat and mane. It wasn't long before I arrived at a primitive looking camp site, situated in front of yet another filthy cave. Instar stood with two other, far shorter changelings, both male and sporting a coloration that echoed Chrysalis. The twins merely smiled at me as Instar twirled her blazing mane around one of her notched hooves, while gesturing toward the cave entrance with her head.

"Took you long enough. Follow us inside, and we'll settle in for the night. Tomorrow, we move to a more... permanent network of caves."

"I simply cannot wait," I sighed. Instar didn't reply, only turning to sashay into the mouth of the cave, her cohorts trailing behind her. The cheeky succubus had her strut down to an art. Her tail of wispy orange strands swished back and forth with each careful, graceful movement, showing just enough of her backside to be enticing. I found myself thinking impure thoughts, followed by thoughts of absolute disgust with myself at her display... but then again, who was I kidding? I had never been the most wholesome individual. In any case, Instar was a master of her craft of seduction, and I could slowly begin to feel the threads of her complicated web ensnaring me. She lead, and I followed, time and time again, with the abuse and masochism reaching new heights at each interval.

Down, down, and farther down we walked, the cave turning subterranean quite quickly. The narrow tunnel that the four of us occupied slowly began to get wider as we traveled, and eventually opened to a large chamber with a sizable drop off several feet from the entrance. A deafening roar of buzzing echoed from below us, and I shuddered while thinking of the possibilities as to the source. It didn't take long for me to get my answer as I peered over the edge of the precipice, only to see what must have been around three hundred changeling drones, all gathered upon the cave floor and buzzing away. Instar took her place at my side, glaring down at her subjects, all of which sported a coloration akin to that of Chrysalis. Upon seeing their princess, every bug in the room went silent, and I didn't dare speak.

"...brothers," she began. "There's been a... situation. Our mother, the vile, incompetent witch, has put us in yet another bind."

I watched the throng of changelings below to get a feel for their feelings on the supposed news, and it took only seconds to see that their feelings were unanimous. Various drones gnashed their teeth, buzzed their wings, stomped, or hissed, and Instar allowed it... for a time. As she drew her hoof across her neck in a slow, deliberate motion, the room once again fell to absolute silence. It was very clear whom the drones respected...

"That being said, my plan is still in motion. Despite her every attempt to spite us, we can move forward. By next week, we will have the Princess Mi Amore Cadenza within our grasp, and this unicorn is going to help us acquire her... or he will serve as food."

Several changelings jumped toward the ledge that we stood upon, and the two at Instar's side glanced at me with looks betraying insatiable hunger. I swallowed hard and looked away. Instar backed away from the ledge with a dismissing hoof motion, and her drones stirred into a frenzy once again. I spared one last glance over the side of the small cliff before tucking my tail between my legs and following her, the alternative apparently being my consumption.

Instar retreated back into the tunnel we had come through originally, and took a different path off to the side. I pursued, doing my best to strike some sort of conversation to get my mind off the maddening din of clicking and buzzing.

"Your brothers... they wouldn't move without your command, would they...?"

"They wouldn't dare," she replied, the last word spoken harshly. I offered her a slow nod, looking a bit relieved as Instar sat down upon the rocky floor of a new, smaller chamber. Only she and I occupied the space, and her expression of anger was cast downward at the rock, instead of me. I searched her eyes for anything other than the emotions I had seen to that point, and came away only with a sense that she was frustrated. Despite myself, I wanted to know what she was thinking. I wanted to know what could cause her to be upset after claiming the prize that was me, and escaping the royal guard for the night. Once again, I perused my observations from earlier that night, and something finally clicked. Chrysalis had said that there were only 300 or so changelings left worldwide, and Instar had said that they were all 'here'. I hadn't seen a single mane among the lot of them.

"...the comment that I made earlier. You have no sisters, do you?"

Instar looked up at me, after having transitioned to laying upon the cold floor. There was a new sort of emotion within her strange, violet hues as she spoke, the harshness in her voice replaced by an odd determination. "Perceptive, aren't we? That's correct. Bar Chrysalis, I am the only female changeling left alive. What you've seen here is all that's left, and it's up to me to save them, using your precious little princess."