The clatter of bones echoes throughout the darkening valley. The sun, just over the horizon, sinks slowly into to ground, as if drowning. Dark shapes move about on the dusty red rock below, whining in hunger and thirst.
My home.
The home we were cursed to retreat to after defeats in Equestria, Ceffyl, Merlod, and countless other countries. The unwanted land. The rejected place. The outsiders' home.
We have suffered so many deaths and humiliations...All because of those merciless ponies.
Celestia and Luna, rulers of Equestria, wiped out the majority of us when we tried to take their land ages ago. The princesses combined their powers and practically slaughtered our entire species.
And they're the ones who complain about us being heartless.
The sisters shattered us, breaking us apart like a bone, and killed so many we were forced to limp home with fewer numbers than we had ever had before.
Our experiences in Ceffyl were not so bad, but still just as unsettling. Terriod, lone ruler of his land, was an alicorn greatly skilled in the earth element. It served a rather useless purpose against us, as we can fly, but we were still defeated.
Our pride, maimed again.
It has been blown apart and pieced together roughly so many times I'm not sure it's even there anymore.
Our stubborn, unending pride...
The famed pride of the changelings.
We were once a proud species. We were feared. Respected. Held in the same esteem as the rulers of the sun and the moon themselves.
But something changed. Whatever happened, our popularity suddenly vanished, replaced by awful stories similar to those of the BoogeyPony and vampires.
We were terribly resentful of that. We lived among other ponies for countless ages, but all of a sudden, they began to hate us? They shunned us and drove us into the unwanted lands.
When that went too far, we retaliated.
Strongly. We fought bitterly, spreading a trail of blood wherever we went.
Until one day...One of my subjects acquired a taste for pony flesh. Meager and scant supplies of rabbit were not enough. Their enemies where being killed anyway. So why not eat while they're at it?
I allowed my subjects to feast on whoever they killed. Our fame once again rose, but this time, we were famous for being murderers. And yet they were the ones who shunned us in the first place.
I even got a taste for it, myself. Immortal blood is the best. I hope, one day, I can watch the light fade from Celestia's eyes as I dig my jagged horn into her chest...snarling taunting names and insulting her as her golden blood drains from her body.
Oh, how I lust for that.
"My lord!" A shout echoing through the tunnel brings me back to the present. I shift around, my hole-filled hooves clacking against the red rock. My most trusted changeling commander, Silph, trots up the path and enters the dimming sunlight. Silver armor curves around his form, creating a sleek look to complete our bug characteristics.
Silph is not the only changeling who can speak. Other commanders and changelings higher up the ranks-including myself-can talk, but your regular run of the mill changelings can only speak in a series of hisses and clicks. I understand both languages perfectly, though.
"Yes?" I hiss quietly, fixing my gleaming eyes on the changeling.
"I have news from our men posted near the city of Alicorn's Bay, in Merlod. They have reported that the city's inhabitants are going to be having the Summer Sun Celebration soon. We can launch an attack when they celebrate."
Ah...Alicorn's Bay. The home of King Rijeka and the lovely Queen Coquille. We may have been defeated once, but we have grown stronger. We can beat them.
I feel it.
"Perfect," I respond evenly, gazing out across my measly territory. "Tell those posted there to remain where they are until further notice. We'll be paying Alicorn's Bay's citizens...a visit."
Though I'm looking away, I can hear the delighted smirk in Silph's voice. "I'll head off at once. I look forward to it, King Metamorphosis."
I wait for his hoofsteps to fade away. My tattered mane whips about as the wind flies by, bringing with it the putrid stench of rotten meat. I curl my lip in disgust, showing fangs as sharp as knives. We may eat ponies, but it doesn't mean that we enjoy eating rancid meat. I'd rather not be sharing my meal with a horde of flies, thank you very much.
Vengeance will soon be dealt upon the ponies in Alicorn's Bay. King Rijeka will regret ever crossing me. He will pay for his life. Queen Coquille, on the other hoof, I will spare. But only for my own good.
Selfish Rijeka does not deserve such a beautiful and delicate creation. I will take her, and make her mine. I will make her a true queen.
I will make her my changeling queen.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The stench of blood fouls the air, the tension making the air seem thick, like molasses. Time seems to move in slow-motion as we unleash our wrath upon the ponies of Alicorn's Bay.
War cries echo through the air, the bloodthirsty screeches of my subjects searching for their next victim. Stallions, mares, and foals alike shriek with horror as the pony-bug abominations close in on them, sinking their rotting teeth into their annoyingly brightly colored flesh. Pegasi try to hover above the chaos, but my flying changelings take them down and knock them into the ground, tearing into their skin with eagerness. Unicorns cast protective spells, but the changelings gang up and slam against the shield, over and over again until it shatters like an egg. Splatters of blood shooting into the air and desperate screams weave themselves into the haunting melody of death soon afterwards.
And throughout it all, I trot leisurely through the shrieks of terror and arches of blood and God-knows-what. My horn gleams with anticipation as I head for the castle, the tip dripping slightly with blood. My changelings are taking care of the common ponyfolk.
But I get to play with royalty.
My ears suddenly twitch with annoyance as I feel something slam into my side. I glance backwards, unamused. A little chocolate brown pegasus colt attacks my flank furiously but uselessly. Tears shine in his eyes, reflecting the midnight firelight spreading throughout the city. Two larger bodies lay nearby, both with similar coloring.
How amusing, I think with glee. The pipsqueak is trying to avenge his parents' death.
I unceremoniously kick the colt away from me, leaving him sobbing in the dirt for some of my subjects to take care of. I won't waste my time meddling with ridiculous ponies like that.
A shrill scream piercing through the night tells me my changelings have struck home.
I reach the marble stairs of the castle with no more distractions, gliding up them with ease, my see-through wings hardly visible as they flap furiously but effortlessly. With my armor on and curving smoothly around my body, and my sharpened horn ahead of me like a beacon in the night, I feel as if victory has already been achieved.
But how foolish I was.
As I near the massive entrance to the castle, a gray unicorn guard launches himself at me, screaming bloody murder. He jabs his horn at my chest, but my armor snaps and crackles as his horn touches it. He draws away, gasping at his smoking horn.
I smirk and drive my hole-filled horn into his skull, kicking him away after a few seconds to leave him to die on the steps of the building he failed to protect.
I continue to eagerly travel up the steps, looking forward to the moment when I finally destroy the king and queen's lives, at last making us a feared foe...
Easily destroying the lock inside, I push through the elaborate doors, sliding through the crack with ease and shutting them behind me, causing a loud boom to resonate through the seemingly empty castle.
The lights have been shut off, leaving it in darkness, except for the sickly green glow shining from my horn. With every hollow hoofstep, the sound echoes through the castle. My light casts shadows along the walls, looking all the more creepy to the common ponyfolk when you hear the muffled screams coming from outside.
I mount the stairs at the edge of the room, licking my lips in eagerness at the thought of digging my horn into the hearts of King Rijeka and Queen Coquille...
Crack!
An arch of light snaps through the air, just barely missing my head. I snarl in annoyance and intensify my own horn's light, bathing the room and the creature who launched that attack in an unearthly green glow.
A teal-colored alicorn stands at the start of the winding staircase I'm about to glide up, holding his lengthy horn out in front of him, snapping and crackling with energy. Anger lights up his deep navy blue eyes. A short icy mane ruffled from sleep droops into his eyes, a silver crown with a single jewel in the middle of it behind his horn. A pair of wings sit poised for action on his shoulders, the feathers bleeding into a darker shade of blue as the feathers extend outward. A cutie mark of a series of waves rests on his flank, with a crown much like his own overlapping the water.
King Rijeka.
"I've been waiting so long for this moment, King," I drawl, fixing my green-blue eyes on him. My horn begins to glow with an emerald fire. "The moment when the changelings are finally famed for something other than their weakness...Tonight, your city will die at the hooves of my people."
"Never!" he snarls, his own horn flaring up in its sky blue aura. "You are nothing but monsters to be eliminated. We will drive you out and destroy you, so you will never bother another civilization again."
"Ha!" I let out a harsh bark of laughter, rearing up a little. "Monsters, eh? Well, that may very well be true." This catches Rijeka off guard. "But it doesn't mean we won't fight fair. King Rijeka! If you win our duel, we will leave your city. But if I win, then we will take over Alicorn's Bay and claim it for our own. Do we have a deal?"
The alicorn blinks in surprise for a moment, digesting what I've just said. "Fine. A duel it is, then."
"Perfect!" I laugh, shooting into the air immediately and sending my charged attack directly at his heart. He nimbly dodges it, joining me in the air and driving his horn at my skull, which I avoid. We attack each other fluidly in the air, almost like a dance, with not one attack hitting the opponent.
Until.
Suddenly, as I charge up another attack--a blinding pain injects itself into my side. Dark spots dance before my vision, my magic falters, my wings slow down. Dark black blood drips down my thighs and onto the floor. My blood.
A wave of nausea hits me, and I plummet to the floor, landing with a thud in the puddle of my own thick blood. King Rijeka sets himself on the floor, panting, his teal horn dripping with a dark liquid. So that king was the one to cause this horrible fire in my side.
A low hiss rattles in my throat as I force myself up, dragging myself toward the alicorn on hollow, hole-filled hooves. He watches me warily, wings poised to take flight.
"You sicken me," he suddenly snarls. "You cause such horrible pain to my ponies, but once I subject you to it, you act like a whining foal. You twisted, monstrous beast."
"Say that again," I growl, slowly rising up. "I dare you."
The king remains silent, staring me down. I follow suit. The echo of horrified screams bounce harmlessly against the walls of the castle, begging for their rulers to do something, anything to help them.
Instead, they stay in here, safe.
Or so they think.
"Rijeka?" A heavenly voice suddenly floats down the staircase, causing the said royalty to stiffen. "Is everything all--" She comes into view.
A gasp is ripped from my throat. Standing before me is perhaps the most beautiful, delicate, magnificent creature I have ever been able to rest my eyes upon. Her slender form easily supports a pair of pure white wings, slowly blending into an icy blue coloring, much like her husband's wings. The rest of her body is a pure, brilliant white, seemingly immune to any imperfections. Her gentle misty gray eyes watch me with cautiousness. A sharpened, elegant horn rests before a shining silver crown on her head. On her flank there is a swirling seashell colored like a rainbow, the same jewel on her crown shining in front of the shell. A flowing ice-blue mane curls around her chin and waves about in the air, as if beckoning me to her.
The beautiful Queen Coquille.
"Everything is fine," her husband responds, glaring at me. "I'm only sending the changeling scum on his way."
"Never!" I roar, forcing myself up and staggering toward the pair. "I will rip you apart, and we will see who acts all high and mighty around our species when your city has been demolished. We will be feared once again!"
A magical aura matching the queen's eyes sparks to life around her horn, twisting and turning in aggressiveness. "I will never let my kingdom succumb to your kind, King Metamorphosis."
I give a little chuckle, but the loss of so much blood quickly cuts it off into a ragged gasping.
"You stubborn mule," whispers the king. "You will regret ever being born!" He suddenly leaps for my throat and drives his sharpened horn at it--
"Rijeka!" Queen Coquille snaps her horn in front of his, just barely stopping it from slicing through my armor and piercing my vulnerable throat. Her husband stares in shock at her. A small trail of smoke twirls upward from the spot where their horns collided. "We don't have to kill him." She turns to face me, her wings flaring aggressively. "Only warn him off."
I grind my fangs in anger. They think they're so much better than me! Just because they have a noble kingdom to take care of...Just because of that, they think they're higher up than me.
Or, rather, just King Rijeka does.
Coquille is merciful, beautiful, kind...
I need her for myself.
But now is not the time. I must make my escape. If I wait much longer, I'll lose too much blood and perish at the hooves of the king. What a miserable fate.
"This isn't the last you'll see of me," I growl, clutching at my side to staunch the blood flow. "I will return. And that time, we will win."
With that, I limp furiously away before they can even speak. Hot shame shimmers on my cheeks, humiliation in my eyes. I let out a loud cry as I enter the outside world full of thick tension and blood, so different from the echoing, silent, cold halls of the palace.
My changelings wander the streets, fewer in number than before. They're all covered with blood; whether it's their own or somepony else's, I don't know. The ponies who aren't scattered across the cobblestone, dead, are cowering in their homes, protecting they doorways with powerful magical spells.
"Retreat!" I announce in the air, trying to make my voice as dignified as possible. My subjects snap to attention, alarmed. "You heard me," I snarl softly. I want to speak of this as little as possible. "Retreat!"
Confused, they chase after me as I shoot down the street, not knowing that I am so desperate to get away from Queen Coquille's burning yet beautiful gaze.
Another defeat.
Another promise for revenge.
But this time, the promise is kept.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
"...My lord?"
My gleaming blue-green eyes snap open at the voice of Silph. I shrug away sleep, its tendrils struggling to cling to my body, eager to pull me under again. I fight against it and rise up, my wings whispering as they brush against each other.
The changeling commander bows as I train my eyes on him. "The Summer Sun Celebration of the ponies in Alicorn's Bay will be occurring tonight. You wanted to launch an attack while they are distracted, yes?"
My lips curl in glee, exposing a pair of gleaming fangs begging for the taste of blood. "Correct. Send a party ahead to alert our spies posted there of our attack. The rest of us will depart at noon."
He nods, his shining icy eyes narrowing in amusement. "Right away, sir." He shoots off the ledge, tearing through the air towards the other changelings.
My eyes follow him, the slight, dusty, hot wind clawing at my ragged mane.
Our battle tonight will taste of victory.
And of blood.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Clicks and hisses resonate through the air, echoing off the high, red cliffs looming around our cursed home. Hundreds of changelings wander about in a tight, secluded group, still uncertain of their strength after so many defeats. I stand before them, my eyes eagerly watching them. The noon sun beats mercilessly down on us, baking the already-hardened soil and threatening to shrivel up my troops.
"My army!" I cry. "My subjects, my minions, my changelings! We have tasted the awful poison of defeat too many times. We have been forced to limp home, our ranks blown apart by those cursed ponies."
"But tonight, tonight our pride will be reestablished! We will be feared once again! We will not be famous for our diet or our losses, but instead, our pride of victory!" Loud, victorious cries rise up in a wave from my army. Most of them can only let out a loud series of intense clicks and snarls, but they raise their voices to be heard nonetheless.
"But!" I suddenly shout fiercely over the war cries, calling for silence. "You may feast upon the citizens of Alicorn's Bay. You may even have a taste of the king once I'm done with him. But the queen..."
"...You leave to me." Not one of my changelings, not even Silph, knows about my plans for Queen Coquille. It will be a surprise when my subjects discover they have a queen when the time comes...
Shouts of agreement rise up again from the crowd, promises that are determined to be kept.
I've made sure that they've been trained to obey me.
I exchange one last glance with each of my commanders, my insect wings snapping out into the air. My horn looms over me, casting a menacing and hole-filled shadow over my eyes and mane. As they each give their approving nod, I turn back to the mass of excited insect-ponies.
"Onward, my changelings!"
As they roar in excitement and begin to rush forward as a massive black, heaving wave, and I turn and race toward Alicorn's Bay with the changelings hot on my ragged tail, I ponder over how long King Rijeka will take when I start torturing him to start screaming like a little foal.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The elegant city of Alicorn's Bay rests before us, shining like a beacon on the shore. The night taken over, stretching across the land and driving away the sun's warmth. Lights flicker throughout the city, the only sign of life in the still darkness.
"I suppose they haven't started their celebration yet," muses Silph, his eyes scanning the buildings. "Do you want to wait until then?"
I consider his offer, watching faint shapes move about behind the supposed safety of a simple pane of glass. "...No, I'd hate to crash their party. Let's start this celebration a little early." My lips curl back, grinning evilly.
Several of my changelings, joined by the spies already posted at the city, jostle around and cackle softly. Excitement practically soaks the air, except the citizens of Alicorn's Bay won't be so thrilled when they find that an army has invaded their city.
"As you wish." Silph draws back, signaling to my troops to head forward. I stay behind, watching the writhing black shapes slip among the shadows, blending in easily until the only thing visible is their piercing icy eyes.
I am soon alone on my tiny cliff overlooking the city. The gentle rush of water tries to climb up the shore, then fails and slides back down the turf, only to try again, and again, and hundreds of times more. I wait until the city looks like nothing has disturbed it, that this is like any other night. Total silence smothers the air.
I tilt my head up, closing my eyes. My horn lets out a powerful blast of green magic, arching into the air and spreading out across the city harmlessly. The same silence remains for several more moments.
Chaos erupts.
I wait.
I wait until I can hear the desperate screams of foals.
I wait until I can smell blood hot in the air.
I wait until firelight dances before my closed eyelids.
Now.
My eyes snap open, my wings following suit. With an easy step, I glide over the burning city, so different from how it was only moments before. Blood splatters the walls, lines the cobblestones, bathes streetlights so they cast a ghostly red glow. My changelings tear through the city, mercilessly striking out at any pony in their way.
This is what I dreamed of.
This is going to be perfect.
Cries echo off of the buildings, creating a horrifying yet beautiful symphony of terror and torture. Shadows twist through the gleam of fire.
My wings slice through the air easily, my mane flowing in the wind as I stare down at the chaotic city gleefully. The scent of blood draws me closer to the dying bodies, but I force myself to stay on course.
I'm not here for measly common folk.
I'm here to keep a promise.
And to take what's mine.
This time around, I reach the castle with no distractions. We have trained so much harder for this. So much more brutally. We are ready. If the citizens of Alicorn's Bay have not discovered that yet, they will soon.
I easily glide up the marble stairs, casting away doubts of the moment that was so similar to this so long ago.
I promised you, Rijeka. I promised I would return.
I never break a promise.
Click.
The doors glide open with relative ease as I smash the lock, once again. They should really get that checked out. The doors creak open, rusted with age. The castle is the same. Silent. Marble. Looming. Forbidding. Seemingly empty.
My hollow hooves clack on the floor as I pass by burning torches mounting the walls. I'll put them to good use later on. I scan the walls for any sign of life. None.
I come to the same set of stairs as before. Where I was humiliated by the cursed King Rijeka. Where a promise was made. My dark, thick blood has been scrubbed from the floor. Not that it would do any good. It is corrosive, melting any mortal flesh or stone that touches it. The king and queen must have hired some pretty powerful unicorns to clean up that mess.
"Rijeka!" My voice suddenly booms through the castle, filling every nook and cranny, traveling up the staircase and stirring the lovers awake. "I have kept my promise! Now get down here and 'send me off', like you claimed you were doing last time I was here!"
Silence.
"Come down here, you coward! How can you call yourself a king if you don't even care for your subjects! Even I'm better than that!"
There we go. The clattering of hoofsteps racing down the stairs echoes through the castle. I laugh in glee, ready for any attack Rijeka might through at me.
And I am attacked.
But not by that coward.
A guard throws himself at me, horn glowing with a brilliant shade of green. I roll my eyes, tossing him aside like a rag doll, hardly noticing the sharp, sickening crack that resonates throughout the castle as his body slams against a wall. "Come on, King! You can't be cowardly enough to send down one of your guards and stay up there cowering, can you? Should I come to you, Rijeka?"
Finally. At last. A response.
"Fine, changeling! I accept your challenge."
Crack!!
Same old, same old. That king just can't grow out of the past. I easily avoid his attack, the same one that nearly cleaved my head clean off so many years ago.
"Learn something new," I drawl, raising my eyebrows as the alicorn comes rocketing down the stairs. "Don't you know any other spells?"
He lets out something similar to a growl and launches another attack at me, the sky blue lightning flashing through the air. I meet it with my bright green aura, pushing it back. His attack persists, his eyes narrowing in agitation, until he finally lets go of the spell, ducking to avoid mine and charging at me, his horn heading straight for my chest.
"Not so fast, King." I leap into the air, turn my nose to face the ground once again, and spiral downward to meet the charging king.
The sound is like a glass cup flying into a wall and shattering into a million pieces. My horn, tearing through his hide, drips golden blood, the sign of immortality. He freezes in his attack, his body jerking in pain. I remove my horn, flying backwards and examining my work with glee. He gasps for something to say, but with a pierced backbone, I don't think he'll be moving very easily anytime soon.
I watch his pain with happiness, chuckling at his expression. Blood leaks from his torn back, dripping down his side and falling to the floor. "You didn't think I'd be defeated so easily, did you?" I hiss into his ear. He can hardly turn his terrified gaze to meet mine.
"Rijeka?!" A horrid gasp echoes throughout the room. Queen Coquille stands at the top of the stairs, much like that moment during our last battle here. She stares at his frozen, paralyzed figure, and then turns to me, her eyes and horn blazing. "What have you done to him?!" She charges.
I wait until she nears to clutch her in my grasp with magic, bringing her to the side of the room and securing her with magical bright green bonds. "I'll deal with you later, my sweet," I whisper in her ear, causing a visible shudder to pass through the queen.
"King Rijeka!" I turn back to the frozen king. "What happened? Why aren't you the magnificent figure that your citizens once believed in?" I circle around him, clicking my tongue in disapproval. "You have failed them once again, fool. Now there won't be a second chance. Your life ends here."
"Riiiiiijjjjeeeekkkaa!!!" Coquille's mournful cry tears through the air. I don't pay her any mind.
"How does this feel?" I tauntingly ask him, stabbing my horn into his side. "Doesn't feel so good now, does it?! Or how about this?" Stab. "Or this?" Stab. "What makes it right for you to be able to do it to me but I cannot do it to you?!" Stab.
"Ri-Rijekaaa...." moans his wife from her prison on the side of the room. "P-please...stop...stop..."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, my dear. It's too late." I'm not lying. Golden blood pours from every injury on his body, gathering in a gleaming pool underneath his frozen hooves. I stare at him for a moment, watching the life drain from his body. "One more touch."
Clatter.
With a swift kick, my hoof connects with the silver crown on top of his head, sending it spiraling into the air and falling to the floor, sliding a few feet from the force of the attack. I come to the front of him, since he can't exactly move himself.
I look him in the eyes. King to king. I lean in close, my lips curling backwards, exposing my fangs. I raise a taunting eyebrow at him. I whisper four simple words. Words that will haunt him for the rest of his afterlife.
Four.
Simple.
Words.
"Long live the king."
Screams suddenly fill the palace as the front doors swing open. I step aside, waiting for the flood of changelings to pour into the castle. It doesn't take long for them to appear. They bring wisps of flames along with them, knocking things over and setting them on fire. They all pause when they see me, fangs drenched with the blood of ponies, eyes waiting eagerly for my command.
I glance back at the terrified Coquille. Back at Rijeka.
A smile splits my face. "He's all yours."
I turn before they rush forward, but I can hear it all.
The crunch of bone. The splattering of blood. The horrified screams that somehow are heard above the eager tearing into flesh and excited chattering.
Queen Coquille is struck speechless. Tears run down her matted cheeks, her pupils hardly visible in her eyes as she stares at her mangled husband.
It doesn't take long for my subjects to finish their meal. They turn to the queen, but, remembering my orders, they stay still.
"Do you see?" I suddenly ask the alicorn. "Do you see how I've trained them?" I near her. She struggles to escape, but my magic stops her. "They're good soldiers. But only because of me. But things get boring easily...I need somepony else..."
Her face falls. She suspects. Total panic takes over her, and her attempts to escape increase tenfold. I stop them with a simple flick of my horn.
Firelight twists and turns in the room behind me, devouring what is left of the king's corpse. My changelings stand by, unaffected. I take Coquille by the shoulders and turn her to face the window, making sure she's still kept safely within my magical grasp.
"Watch him burn," I hiss in her ear. "Watch them all burn."
Queen Coquille glares in hatred at me, tears pricking in her crystal teal eyes. "Why must you slaughter him? Or all of them? Why not kill me, too?"
A chuckle escapes my lips, my mane shifting colors in the firelight. "You may not understand now, my dear, but soon. Soon, you shall."
"You will be my queen."
With that, I lightly tap her on the head, liquid green fire dancing along my jet-black horn. She gasps in agony as the fire crawls onto her, covering her entire body so her shadow shifts like fire itself. Her shoulders tense up against mine. I can feel her need to scream. To reveal her pain to anypony who will listen. But there is nopony.
Finally, I pull away from her, lifting my spell so she is free to move. But the fire remains.
She shudders before us all, eyes conveying panic. She can't take it anymore.
She runs.
Past the changelings, out the door, into the burning city.
Silph slides up next to me, watching the escaping queen. "Should we chase after her?" he asks in that rasping voice.
I shake my head knowingly. "No. She won't get far." My fangs slide into a grin. "It won't be long now."
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Fire.
Agony.
Pain.
Torture.
Changeling.
Queen.
Oh gods, what did that monster do to me?! Fire burns in every part of my body, halting my movements. I'm forced to duck into an alleyway, shuddering with pain.
What did he do?!
Away from those horrible, heartless creatures, I can finally cry. I shake with sob, screaming out my pain to the blood-red sky.
Why did Rijeka have to die?
Oh gods...
The pain is impossible to bear. It's too much.
What did he do?!
I collapse in a puddle of God-knows-what. I try to douse the flames, but they keep on burning.
My crown is the first to go.
Staring at my reflection in the puddle, I watch my crown dissolve from a magnificent silver piece of jewelry to a tiny black thing on top of my head, lined with four teal beads.
My hooves go next.
To my utter shock, they dissolve before my eyes, leaving gaping holes in my once-perfect hooves. The horseshoes fall to the ground with a clatter. My mane straightens to an ugly, greasy, ragged dead-looking thing that droops down around my face and my hooves.
Parts of my horn rip away, leaving a jagged, hole-filled thing resting right before the crown.
My teal eyes transform into a mixture of green and blue, resting in the middle of a light blue coloring where the white should have been.
My ears droop, my wings shatter into paper-thin insect-wings, my fur...
...Oh, my fur slowly turns from a brilliant white to an awful, shiny...
...Black.
Oh dear Celestia high above.
That monster has turned me into...
A changeling.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
My army and I trot through the burning city, in no rush at all. They scout out the place, looking for my new queen.
It doesn't take long. The reek of fear leads us to her.
We come to the start of the narrow alleyway. I trot slowly down it, my horn igniting so it lights up the dim spot between two buildings.
There she is.
Her beautiful slender form. The dark cerulean mane just like mine. A magnificent jagged horn. Delicate wings. My new queen.
She has passed out, most likely by pain or shock.
But that won't matter.
When she wakes up, she won't even remember she was ever a pony. She will follow me faithfully, and we will rule side by side.
"Welcome to our world..."
"...Queen Chrysalis."
Author's Note
Hello, everypony. I present to you my second fanfiction on FIMFiction: Corruption!
I don't own the original King Metamorphosis, I only used him since it made the story make more sense.
So, yeah, this is before Luna's banishment in the moon and all. That's why you don't hear about Rijeka or Coquille in the show.
Also, obviously changelings in the show don't feast on pony flesh...most likely. So this was a dark twist on those shape-shifting guys. Hope you enjoyed this, fellow bronies!
Fun Facts:
Ceffyl = Derived from horse in Welsh
Merlod = Pony in Welsh
Rijeka = River in Croatian
Coquille = Cocoon in a language I forgot...
