Being eyeballed by every changeling that he passed along the way was extremely unnerving for Sandbar. The darkness of the tunnels and the slowly drying slime that clung to his fur also wasn’t helping him feel any better at all.
“Um, any chance I could take a quick bath?” he asked the changeling, Tsetse, who was walking so awkwardly close to him that their barrels often touched.
“No,” she said. “Besides, you smell better this way.”
Thinking he currently smelled like fruit that was just starting to go bad, Sandbar disagreed.
“The room with the games is over there,” Pupa said, pointing to a dark opening in the stone just up ahead.
Another pair of changelings came trotting around the corner and paused at the small precession. As Sandbar passed them they hissed softly and flickered their long forked tongues at him, thus causing the colt to flinch to the side and bump up against Tsetse.
“Watch it,” the changeling grunted at him.
“Why are you acting so scared?” the changeling nymph stopped to ask him and seemed a little mad at him for it too.
“Um, well,” he started to stammer, trying to think up the best way to explain how unpleasant he felt without angering his chaperone.
“Princess, it’s because he’s a pony among changelings,” Tsetse said. “It’s like he’s a mouse among snakes. Also, most ponies tend to be frightened of any creature different from them.”
“Well, it’s uncomfortable to be stared at by every pony, er everyling, that walks by,” muttered Sandbar.
“Yeah, I don’t like getting stared at either,” Pupa admitted and nodded her head down the tunnel. “Let’s hurry up and get the games so we can go back to my room.”
The trio entered the darkened chamber and Sandbar immediately stumbled over something he couldn’t see. Ether out of pity or irritation, Tsetse lit up her horn, bathing the room with a soft green glow and revealing piles of haphazardly placed junk. Pots and pans mingled with mishandled books. Wrinkled clothing lay draped over bottles that were both empty and filled with unknown liquids. Even some unopened boxes of snack foods had been left among a pile of stuffed toys.
“Are these the games princess?” the changeling asked Pupa.
“Yes, but look at this,” the nymph replied, pointing her hoof at a few pink boxes.
Tsetse nudged Sandbar along as she trotted over to Pupa.
“Princess, why would you need that?” the changeling asked, tilting her head slightly.
“Not for me, for Sandbar,” explained the nymph, who began to whisper the rest of her sentence.
Using the slight distraction, Sandbar took a box of animal crackers and stuffed his mouth with them as quickly as he could. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he was captured and he was rather hungry. Once he finished the first box he began eating from another until he heard the rasping chuckles from Tsetse and paused in his impromptu meal.
“Yes your highness,” the changeling said, looking over to Sandbar with an ominous grin, “that might work and make our ‘guest’ feel more at home among us.”
Tsetse used her magic to levitate both the boxes of board games and a couple of pink boxes into the air.
“Looks like you’re going to get a bath after all,” she chuckled darkly.
After being ushered out of the changeling’s storage room, Sandbar was steered back up the tunnel and into a different chamber. Here a strange bio-luminescent fungus grew along the walls, their light reflected off the surface of a small pool of water and faintly cast the room in a pale blue light. Two changelings had been playfully splashing each other but stopped the moment they noticed his presence.
“Hi Katydid, Hi Lacewing!” Pupa chirped to the duo as she trotted around Sandbar’s legs.
“Princess Pupa?” one of them asked, with a sweet girlish voice, before hopping from the water.
“Oh, it’s so nice to finally see you!” said the other, her voice also feminine, who followed the first one from the pool.
“You look so much like her highness,” said the first, inspecting the little nymph. “I wish we could have been there for your emergence…”
“We’re so sorry about…” the second changeling began but trailed off, appearing a little upset.
The four changelings went quiet for a moment and Sandbar nervously shuffled on his hooves, unintentionally attracting their attention back on him.
“Why do you have a pony with you?” the first one asked, studying him predatorily.
“The princess wishes to have a play-date with this one,” Tsetse said with mirth and placed a hole ridden hoof on Sandbar’s withers, “and since he is oh so very ‘shy’ to be around our kind, she had an idea to help make him fit in.”
“Oh?” said the first changeling with a grin growing on her muzzle.
“How so?” said the second and it was almost as if she was finishing the first ones sentences.
Tsetse motioned for the two changelings to come closer and then whispered conspiratorially to them once they had. The poor colt looked over at Pupa for any clues about the discussion but the nymph only smiled reassuringly; or that’s what he at least hopped her fang filled grin meant.
“Well if that’s the plan, we have to clean him first,” the second changeling said.
“Into the bath with you!” giggled the first as she scooped up Sandbar by his barrel and dropped him unceremoniously into the pool. “Hand me that brush Katydid.”
The second changeling, Katydid, tossed the mentioned brush to the first, who now loomed over the sputtering pony.
“Make sure you scrub behind his ears now Lacewing,” Katydid tittered.
Lacewing caught the brush in her magic and went right to work on the colt, vigorously scrubbing his coat and mane clean of any hint of his time in the slimy changeling pod. He was then pulled from the makeshift tub and doused repeatedly with clean water. Once they finished, the changelings minus Pupa, who was opening one of the pink boxes, all used their buzzing wings to speed along the drying of his fur.
“Ready for your makeover sweetie?” Katydid purred to him as she levitated the bottle filled with a black liquid that the nymph had removed from the package.
“Don’t worry,” Lacewing breathed into his ear, making him squirm, “we’ll be gentle.”
The changeling mares gingerly appraised the fidgeting Sandbar. Where once stood a pale spring green colt now stood one with ash black fur. His messy light cyan mane had been re-colored a dark grey, and was now styled reminiscently of a changeling’s crest. Lastly one of the changelings fashioned a false horn, from Celestia knows what, and had stuck it to the center of his forehead.
“See? Now you’re a changeling too,” Pupa said, her little voice squeaking with excitement as she trotted in place.
“He makes a cute little drone doesn’t he?” Lacewing chuckled while she prowled around him.
“I still think we should trim his ears,” said Tsetse, causing the colt to lower his ears and back away.
“Oh stop saying that,” Katydid nudged Tsetse and giggled. “You’ll give him a heart attack.”
“Fine, fine, we’ll leave his ears alone,” Tsetse said.
“We’ll have to find him a pair of wings if we want to finish the look.” Katydid pointed out.
“But we have to get going,” said Lacewing, “it’s almost time for us to get back to the nursery.”
“You’re welcome to visit there whenever you wish your highness,” Katydid said to the nymph.
“Yes, and the larva will be hatching any time now,” Lacewing said, “so please stop by.”
“Okay,” Pupa said and lifted up slightly into the air on her buzzing wings.
Lacewing and Katydid said their goodbyes to Tsetse and Pupa, then started to walk toward the chambers exit. As they sauntered by Sandbar, each on an opposite side of the colt, they purposely pressed him between them as they brushed past and used their tails to lightly bop him on the sides of his muzzle.
“Bye sweetie,” they both purred in unison to the flustered colt.
“Well Princess,” said Tsetse, “let’s introduce the newest member of the hive to the Queen.”
Well... I wasn't expecting that. I honestly can't even begin to guess how Chrysalis is going to react to Sandbar and his dye job. It is a clever little stunt though. With the dye job, any ponies that do find the cave and are spying on the changelings probably won't immediately recognize him as Sandbar from a distance and in the lower light.
Kinda wish we could have gotten more from Sandbar's perspective this chapter. It focused more on what was going on around/to him rather than his own perspective on things.
Still, I enjoyed it. Thank you very much for the update. This continues to be a favorite.
Oh, no...
well least they didn't dye and dress him "girly" I wonder if the wings shall be made from green resin? all in all, not the worst look to get and everyone having a little honest fun at sandbar looking forward to the babies~!
I know pupa got memory from one person life but it would be really cool if it turns out to have a collective of memories from different people would add a bit of variety and lessons
Did you say... Makeover?
Snrk. Admittedly we thought of a different bathing method at first.
What is Pupa up to...?
Keep going! ;)
9580710
You see, that would work except that a couple people got in a big huff about it not all being from Pupa's perspective and raised a massive stink over it, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the author shies away from that perfectly valid writing method to try and appease those few people. And I’ll give you a hint as to whom one of those people was; they picked a fight with you in the comments of the last chapter.
Or PlagueRat could have just come to the decision not to do that on his own. Who knows
9580801
Yeah, but kinda rude to assume that there was an 'inspiring story'. Sure, "Human gets turned into changeling" isn't new persay, not even "Changeling queen". But to assume that a specific story inspired this one makes it sound like you're just adding a spin to a different story.
Oh this is going to be good.
Then Tsetse doesn’t know Sandbar, or his friends, very well.
9580904
That's just one case.
If I was a changeling guard I say this to Sandbar.
“If you Run away and make the princess cry, I’ll drain you dry.”
9581025
My mind added this to the end of that sentence “-and not in the fun way.”
9581036
I mean like dry a pony of their love energy, NOT a sexual way! Given that the rating is E.
9581037
I was talking about running laps! head in the gutter much?
9581043
Sorry, sorry. Some people make perverted jokes on almost anything in public or online. Forgive for my misunderstanding 😔
9581046
Tis good, under normal circumstances my comment would have been a sexual innuendo...but now people will thing it is about jogging, muhahahahaha
This was unexpected and hilariously cute
This is just too cute!
Thanks for the update!
Still mostly a cute story. And a favorite.
9580963
My point is that Tsetse is saying that to explain Sandbar's fear and I think we both know that isn't the correct explanation. In other words, while this is one case it also happens to be the case that Tsetse is referring to.
9581761
I can see sandbars fear anyway because,
1)he's been kidnapped.
2)these aren't the "nice" type of changeling he's used to seeing.
3)he doesn't know how long he's been in the chrysalis for.
4)the only reason everything is treating him decently is because of their princess's wishes to play a children's card game with him.
9581761
I think that Tsetse is talking more from experience. While there is weight to your argument you have to keep in mind that ponies are not always the most welcome bunch. Prime example is zecora before twilights interface
9581832
All of your reasons are good and I must add another reason (which, admittedly, overlaps with #2 and #4 on your list) Sandbar knows that this group of Changelings does not get along with Ponies.
9581832
are they going to do it while on motorbikes?
HAH!
Poor sandbar, getting teased like that. His blush must be bright enough to guide santa's sleigh.
9583312
Yes, but not just any bikes... hoverbikes!
9580963
Oh? How about the good relations they have with... how many groups at this point? Tsetse is straight up wrong, and I kind of wish he would have called her out on it, to be honest.
Yeah, the ponies don't seem to think to highly of this particular group of changelings, and they're 100% right considering everything they've done up to this point. If anything, they were being downright generous up to the point where Chrysalis decided to attack a school and kidnap children.
9581840
Eh, I'd say Zecora doesn't count. They were worried about Zecora because the only thing they knew about her was that she lived in the everfree forest (the completely unnatural, untamed place filled with dangerous monsters and magic) and that she would show up in town from time to time with an incredibly ominous cloak hiding her face entirely except for glowing eyes.
This whole idea of ponies being xenophobic bigots who are full of themselves has never made sense to me. It goes against the basic premise of the show and has been shown wrong in canon countless times. And yet people still bring it up.
9584309
Fair point about zecora. But then there is neighsay who is a idiot yes but he was a idiot in charge of teachering foals.
9584282
Every story has two sides and Chysalis may of still attacked the school in the future it was more of a desperate move to get her only air back.
9584316
He would very much be an exception to the norm. The guy was clearly pretty good at his job and when his bigotry came out it was met by disgust and disagreement. It was made abundantly clear that his views were not tolerated by ponies, and by the end even he realizes how wrong he was.
9584328
Only because cozy glow was a happening. I doubt he would of changed his tune in to many other circumstances
9584324
I see what you mean, but I guess my main issue is the tone of the story when it comes to her and changelings in general. No matter how you look at things Chrysalis was wrong in her actions, to the point that it was clear they were going to let her go and then she goes and kidnaps a student anyway.
That's kind of why this story is frustrating me so much. Chrysalis wants her changelings to survive and not have to be afraid (apparently), and yet literally everything she does is so counterproductive to that desire that I can only come to the conclusion that she's a complete moron. She doesn't go to the ponies or any of their many, many allies for assistance, she doesn't take any olive branches or help, she constantly escalates pointlessly instead of doing anything at all to deescalate the situation (such as letting Sandbar go once they leave the school).
To me at least, it feels like she deserves having the entire hive wiped out, because at this point she'd have no one to blame but herself. So it feels like the story is trying to portray her as being a caring mother who wants to protect the changelings, yet literally everything she is doing is going against that. I just don't get it, you know?
9584331
Fair enough, but that's why I clarified how others reacted when his bigotry came to light. It seems like the only reason he was tolerated is because he was hiding his feelings on the matter, and it was everything going on with Cozy Glow that brought that bigotry into the light. And once they learned how bigoted he was, it was made abundantly clear that he was alone in that resentment.
9584339
Chysalis could actually have a mental disability that causes her to self sabotage her own goals. That would explain quite a bit actually
9584343
That... actually would explain quite a bit. Now that you mention it, I could easily see her having some form of paranoia or some other disability making her see enemies at all times, to the point where she acts in a self-destructive manner.
Huh, thanks for pointing that out. It's an interesting idea for sure.
9584341
Or at least in the minority. Keep in mind where there I one there are bound to be others. They may be ponies like canterlot nobles who just look down on everything that's not a noble/royalty
9584347
Happy to of helped you think in a new light
9584349
Oh for sure. I suppose the point I'm trying to get across is that, as you said, it would be a clear minority feeling that way. So Chrysalis or anyone making choices based on the assumption that all ponies fit that clear minority when it comes to bigotry isn't exactly sensible.
Edit:
Anyway, thanks for the fun conversation, and sorry for the multiple tangents it kind of devolved into.
9584357
Glad we reached a agreement
9584347
I kinda hope the author gets ideas from this
9584410
Another thing is that it has been made very obvious that sharing love is far more beneficial for Changelings than stealing love yet Chrysalis still stubbornly refuses to share love or let her subjects do it, I think whatever mental disorder she has causes her to see sharing love as weakness and also causes her to detest such " weakness ".
Also this idea makes the image of Chrysalis wearing a straightjacket and a magic inhibitor inside a padded room to come into my mind, as well as the image of Chrysalis talking to a psychiatrist.
9584565
Very true
9584590
To be clear I also agree that her mental disorder causes her to see enemies everywhere and not trust anyone outside her hive.
9584565
It's probably a result of her own upbringing I guess? Wasn't it said that she slept the hive alive in a hostile environment for a long time? So maybe her being this hostile was a necessity back then? But she just can't get it out of her head that this is a completely different situation and thus requires a different approach.
**sighs** Like really? Ya guys really have to go and write your opinion and discuss it at length and ruin my day with it?
9584343
.... Almost a "No comment" situation. Ex-lings WRONGED Chrysalis and Ponies are enemies that now help them. Talking or even considering any peacefull cooperation or integration at this point is outright unthinkable an any terms ex-lings or ponies would suggest. Some uneasy truce maybe, unlikely anything more.
9584410
I surely hope not. Would be a pity to lose one of the VERY FEW good stories with Chrysalis after the clusterf*** that is season 6 ending.
As to the Ponies bigotry vs acceptance discussion - well, (mediocre plot development of the latest seasons aside, if we take all canon at face value) there's a reason why Celestia wanted for the Friendship school to exist in the first place. And the implied fear of the unknown for ponies in general can't be ignored (or stated to not exist) just because of the young 6 relationship, or some other extraordinary circumstances displayed in the show. Even if Zecora's situation is likely to be on the extreme end of the spectrum, we do not have enough info to state our assumption as proven fact.
In the end it's up to an author as long as it doesn't contradict the canon directly (AU tag would come into play in such case, but that's a different story) and the range on the scale to choose from is quite big.
NO, NO GOD PLEASE NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
At least pupa enjoys herself
9584646
Not really a mental disorder after everything she Had to go though
9584343
Actualy i see a lot of logic behind all her actions
Chrysalis lived for many centuries and thanks to her action her hive survived . She didnt do so well in the last years but centuries of success can't be simply ignored