ChangeAnon, Chapter 9 - Survival

>Sillis. You knew you were going to confront her at some point in time, but why did it have to be now?

“You. What are you doing here?!”

>She gave out a shrill laugh. “Oh, many reasons. I suppose the simplest one would be revenge for being thrust out into the badlands. Thousands of our people died out there, starvation and sickness taking them..but we have survived. And have returned.”

>It was hard not to feel pity for them. The changelings corrupted by something they couldn’t control, and then banished and left to die because of it.

>But they were threatening your home. Your new home. And if their plan of revenge played out like you thought it would, everyp0ny you knew would be dead.

>Sillis grew a cruel smile on her face. “And now we will return the favor to the ponies you love and care for so much, Anonymous. The ones left alive after this, anyways.”

>Damnit! Why did it have to be like this? You didn’t want to hurt any of them, even if they had ill intentions in store for you and your friends.

>Luna abruptly entered the room, quietly focusing on the situation as her own personal guards following behind her hooves.

“Sillis, please!  It doesn’t have to be like this anymore, changelings and ponies at each others throats. We can work something out, have things go back to the way they used to be!”

>The queen stared at you for a moment, the smile quickly changing to that of a sad frown. “..No. It is far too late for that now. A long time ago I might have accepted your offer, but millenniums in those forsaken badlands have changed us. The time for peace is over.”

“Then at least leave! I..I don’t want to have to fight you. Any of you..”

>Sillis chuckled at you. “Even if we did leave, we would be hunted down and executed for what I’ve done to the ponies’ precious princess.”

>She looked you over with a questioning glance. “And fight us? You are STILL foolish enough to side with these ponies? They tried to kill you, Anonymous. If it were not for my intervening, you would not be standing here right now.”

“That…That isn’t true! I was never in any true danger! My friends would have saved me.”

>Sillis raised an eyebrow at that. “Really now? Don’t be so delusional, your so called ‘friends’ are just using you.  They were saving you for the wrong reasons, unlike me.”

>”They might have been able to reach you in time, but have you ever stopped to think Anonymous, what if they hadn’t?”

>You knew Sillis was just trying to play you, make you doubt yourself and your friends..but it was stating to work, the littlest bit of doubt was starting to edge its way into your mind.

“Then…I’m sure Celestia would have stepped in and-“

>”HA! You think Celestia would have saved you? The sun goddess isn’t exactly known for her sympathy of changelings, even a half one such as yourself. She would have let you hang and be happy about it, too. Here, I’ll even let you ask her yourself..”

>Sillis leaned down, talking directly into Celestia’s ear as she pushed around her head, trying to wake her up. “Oh Celestia! Your audience awaits you, and it would be so rude as to make them wait. Such a sleepy head.”

>Luna let out a growl as Sillis took a hoof away from the princess’ head, letting it splash back into the small puddle of blood oozing around her. Rainbow and her friends remained silent, but you could see the looks of anger spread across their faces.

>”How uncouth. You really have to improve your manner’s Celestia, and I think I know just the thing that will do it.”

>Sillis shot a bolt of magic into her side, making Celestia’s head bolt up, face contorted in pain as she screamed out.

>”There we are! Finally awake, Celestia. I thought we had lost you for a moment there. We can’t have that, now can we?”

>She chuckled to he8rself as Celestia glared. “And don’t try any funny stuff, or I’ll break that pretty little horn of yours off.”

>As if to put emphasis on it, Sillis moved a hoof over to Celestia’s horn, putting a bit of pressure on it which caused her to wince. “Hmm. What were we talking about? ..Oh, yes. Anon’s execution.”

>The changeling queen pushed Celestia’s face over to you, a look of surprise played out across her face. “Go on Anonymous, I’ll give you the honor.”

>The air in the room was thick as you stared back into Celestia’s eyes, trying to think of the right words to say. Everyone was staring at you; even the guards in the room threw a couple glances your way.

“..Is..is she telling the truth? If they hadn’t come to my rescue, and if Sillis hadn’t shown up..would you really have let me die?”

>Dead silence. Nop0ny dared to talk while Celestia tried to find the right words to say to you.

>After a few long minutes of silence, she started to open her mouth to speak.

>“I will not lie to you, Anonymous.” Her eyes focused on yours as she spoke, never breaking contact. Not once.

>Despite the circumstances, Celestia was talking to you like she had done this a million times over, as if you were just a guest over for dinner.

>”Yes. If Sillis hadn’t shown up, and if the elements had failed to rescue you, I would have let you hang.”

>Sillis’ mouth formed into a smug smile, while you and the elements stared at Celestia with shock and disbelief. All you could do was mutter out the only word that came to mind.

“..Why?”

>”Why? You are a changeling, Anonymous. That should be enough reason in itself.”

>That..That was her reason? Because you were a stupid CHANGELING?

>Your felt your face flush, contorting into one of pure anger. For several moments you stayed like that, unmoving, doing your best to hold back yourself.

>Twilight was the first to break the silence. “But princess..I’ve spent time with Anonymous. He’s not..he isn’t evil! Even if he IS part changeling..”

>To Twilight’s surprise, her mentor gave out a short laugh at what she had said. “You do not understand the true nature of the changelings, Twilight. They do not feel. Not like us. They love and care for no one, not even each other. They-“

>Sillis covered Celestia’s mouth with a hoof. “Don’t you see, Anonymous? This is the princess all these ponies look up to, who leads them!”

>”I will give you another chance to come back to us. Come, be by my side and we will rule over these ponies! We will have retribution for the injustices the ponies have done to us!”

>She smiled at you, holding out a hoof towards your direction. You felt your head start to tighten, and suddenly the proposition become more alluring than it should have been to you.

>It was almost as if your hooves started to move on their own, as you suddenly found yourself slowly inching your way over towards her.

>You came to a stop in front of Celestia as Sillis gave you a warm smile. “And you will be the first to have your retribution, Anon. Kill the sun goddess, and you will truly become one of us!”

>A hot, stinging pain hit you, filling your mind. It was as if the anger you had for the princess had suddenly just amplified.

>Deep down, you knew you wanted this. She had wronged you, tried to take you away from your new life and friends. If given another chance, she’d try and kill you again!

>Now Celestia wouldn’t have that chance. You could see the sadness in her eyes as you brang a hoof above her head, but also some anger.

>She hated you, you could feel it. It wasn’t for anything you had done, it was just for being. Existing. You dropped the hoof you had in the air down towards the sun goddesses head.

>”Anon, wait!” It was Rainbow. You felt your whole body stiffen and you stopped, hoof merely centimeters from connecting with Celestia’s head.

>”Just think for a minute about what she’s saying! You’re better than this, Anon. I know you’re better than this! This..this isn’t the Anon I know.”

>Her voice broke through your hazy mind, moving through all thoughts of anger. It was as if your thoughts had suddenly become clearer and you could think straight again.

 >You shook your head to try and your clear thoughts more while remembering what Luna had told you about Sillis having a ‘hold’ of sorts on her minions. For whatever reason, it must work on you too.

>The changeling queen frowned as you took a step back from her, dropping your hoof to the floor. “What are you doing, Anonymous? You heard what Celestia had said. She nearly killed you, for just being what you are!”

“Don’t you think I know that? I don’t like her, and what she did was cruel and evil, but I don’t want to kill her.”

>Sillis scowled as you took another step backwards. “Then why?! Why side with those ponies after what they did to you? Tell me!”

“My friends, Sillis. They’re not using me, and even they were, I don’t care. I’ve only been in this world for a small time, but they’ve already made it feel like home.”

“I feel sorry for you, for everything that has happened to you and your changelings, for all the misdeeds done against your race. I am truly sorry, but I can’t let you do this. These ponies..my friends. I can’t let you hurt them.”

>You stood tall at the end of your little speech, trying to look brave as you stared into Sillis’ deep, hateful eyes. You could practically feel the anger pouring out of her from where you were.

>”Even he wishes your defeat, changeling queen! There is no way you ca-“

>The entire room is filled with a loud crack as Sillis buries her back hooves into Celestia’s head, knocking it against the already blood-stained floor.

>Her chest heaved in and out. Good. Celestia wasn’t dead, but she was definitely not getting up again in that shape.

>Your gaze fell back onto Sillis, noticing the green fire practically pouring out of her presence. “No! You WILL listen to my demands Anonymous; No one defies the changeling queen! I will make you kill your friends, and then the princesses will be next!”

>As soon as she finished her sentence, you felt your body stiffen and lock up, that familiar hazy feeling flooding back into you mind, but it seemed so much more worse now than it ever had been.

>You tried to move, do anything, but it was no use. Your body was now no longer your own.

“What the hell..are you doing to me?”

>”What I should have done from the very beginning.”

>You felt your body twist on its own, turning around to meet the faces of your startled friends. Even with you using every bit of strength and willpower you had, it only slowed you down. All you were now was just Sillis’ puppet.

 >It was agony fighting against the changeling queen’s grip, like your head was in a vice grip and every time you tried to break free of her control, it only squeezed harder.

>Rainbow took a step back from you, but you took another towards. “A..Anon?”

>The strain of fighting against Sillis was starting to get to you, clenching your teeth in pain. She was strong – stronger than you.

“I can’t..fight her..too strong..just..run!”

>Dash froze in place, wide-eyed as you rose up a hoof and slammed it into her jaw. She careened backwards, falling onto her side, and you moved onto her just as fast, dropping another hoof into the side of her head.

>You could practically hear the pops and cracks as you did so. “W-..wait! Anon, please! You can fight he-“

>Rainbow didn’t have enough time to finish her pleading as you shoved a strong hoof into her gut. She coughed up blood, most of it spraying over your face.

>Horrid. That was one word to describe what you were doing. No matter how much you begged, no matter how much you fought, it was useless. Sillis was pulling all the strings.

>And now she was going to make you kill the first friend you ever had in this world. Flashbacks of memories washed over you, remembering all those flights you and Rainbow had together, all those dances, the late nights you two spent together alone.

>You felt yourself start to tear up as you brought your hoof up again. This was different than it was with Celestia. Dash actually cared about you and you her. You practically spent all of your time in Equestria with this mare.

>The sound echoed throughout the main hall as you brought down the final blow. The marble floor cracked beneath the force of your hoof.

 

>”That was a might bit close, Twi!”

>Rainbow let out a gasp, still alive, as Twilight had moved her to the side with her magic, just before your blow had connected.

>Twilight and the others stood in front of you, blocking you from reaching Rainbow. Why? Why didn’t they just run?

>”Sillis is just controlling you, Anon! You have to fight her, get control back over your body!”

>You shook your head. Sillis had you in her grasp, and you were too weak to break way from it.

“I tried, Twilight. She’s too strong. Just..just run, go somewhere safe! Get everyp0ny out of Ponyville and leave!”

>Despite your words, they continued to get closer to you. “No Anonymous, this is our fight too. It doesn’t matter that Sillis is stronger than you; you have friends to help you. Remember?”

>The five circled around you, drawing close to you. Rainbow soon joined them, standing up shakily, but made her way over to you. “Don’t leave me out of this!”

“What are you..?”

>The six mares drew into you, their bodies connecting with yours. They were so..warm.

>It was a strange feeling, but it was as if something was flowing into you from them, once again clearing your mind.

>Whatever they were doing, it was definitely working. You felt your body start to loosen as you gained control of it, having blown away any influences Sillis had over you.

>They all drew back from you, smiles on their faces. You tried to return it, but ended up giving a sad frown after seeing what you had fully done to Dash.

“I’m so sorry, Rainbow. I didn’t..I wasn’t-“

>She brought her body into yours once more, giving you a hug. “Don’t be. That wasn’t you, it wasn’t your fault..now let’s return the favor to the pony it was!”

>You broke apart, each of you staring down Sillis. She met all of your gazes, unflinching.

>“You are weak, relying on each other to overcome obstacles. I will show you true power; the power only changelings can posses! This castle will be mine, and then your precious Ponyville!”

>Luna stepped forward while all the guards started to encircle her. “No, that is where you are wrong, changeling. We ponies might rely on each other, but that only makes us stronger. This allows us to live in harmony together, and defend it from anyone who seeks to destroy that harmony!”

>She stomped her hoof to emphasize the point, but it only made the changeling queen chuckle, smug grin resting on her face.

>“And that is why the white one is laying on the floor, and I am not. You are all fools, but do not worry, it will all end soon enough. I might even let one or two of you live to work in the mines.”

>The grin she was holding only grew bigger as the guards drew closer. Her horn flashed green, but it only lasted for a second. What the hell was she..?

>Nearly more than half of the guards turned on the others. Most of the guards were able to jump back and get away, but a few already had fangs buried deep in their necks.

>The changeling guards drew back, flashing a brilliant green flame as they changed back to their usual forms.

>This was bad. The real fighting hadn’t even started and you were already outnumbered.

>Sillis’ laughed pierced through the hall, echoing through the castle. “Now don’t you see? This will be a one-sided fight, with all the advantages in my hooves. For such a long time I have been preparing for this day.”

>Her eyes settled on you, making a shiver run down your back. “And I owe it all to you, Anonymous. If not for you, this plan would have never worked. Even if you are against me, you are still working with us, in a way.”

>”At least you weren’t completely useless. I knew letting you roam around Ponyville would be a good idea. I can practically feel it from here, all those emotions you’ve absorbed during your time here..”

>Sillis seemed to breathe in; drinking in the emotions you’ve collected during your time in Equestria. It didn’t hurt, but it felt definitely felt wrong, as if a piece from you was being taken away. When it was over, you couldn’t help but feel as if your emotions were now a bit more..dull.

>”Mmm. My magic was starting to get a little bland. Truly, Anonymous, you are my greatest creation. Changelings cannot take emotions from one another, but you are the exception to that.”

>”Even though you are against me, in the end, you still helped bring about the destruction and death of your friends. Perhaps you will find some penance in knowing that.”

>You knew she was just trying to push your buttons, get you angry, but it was definitely working. You were fuming.

>Sillis leaned down, hissing into Celestia’s ear. “Don’t worry princess, I haven’t forgotten about you. Now what shall I do to you..Ah, yes! I know just the thing!”

>She grabbed a hold onto Celestia with a hoof as her jaws popped, allowing her mouth to open wider than they should have been able to. She spinned the sun goddess, encasing her in a dark green webbing as the sickly green thread shot out of her mouth, much like a spider would have.

>When she was finished, Sillis lifted the sac up, sticking it onto the ceiling so it would not get in the way, and then turned to look at you and the elements.

>”Oh, and don’t even think about going for those horrid elements.” She stomped a hoof, and with a wave of her horn, the main hall door was blocked by a wall of green fire. “I am not dull; many of my changelings are blocking them off as I speak. I have put nearly everything into consideration for this battle.”

>Twilight cursed. It seems that had been your last chance to avoid a huge fight. You were more worried about the girls than anything else.

>Had they killed before? They had fought the changelings before, but it sounded more like a joke than an actual fight, with Pinkie blasting changelings with a party cannon.

>No. You would handle it. You, Luna and the guards would get your hooves dirty. There was no need for them to do that, even if the things you were fighting were essentially just feeling less drones.

>It seemed like ages, both sides staring each other in anticipation for the incoming battle. Each side waiting on the other to make the first move.

>One of the royal guards was the first to act, charging ahead with other guards behind him to meet the changelings dead-on.

>You and the elements brang up the rear, while Sillis and Luna took to the air. At first it seemed like you would win, the changelings didn’t seem that skilled in combat, but as their numbers started to dwindle more burst through the windows, quickly surrounding you.

>Whatever skill they lacked in combat, they definitely made up for in numbers. This was going to take longer than you had hoped it would.

 

 

>Foolish. You were foolish to believe you even had a chance to win. You’d all be lucky if you were even alive after this.

>The fighting turned to hell quickly, changelings and ponies biting and kicking at each other, some shooting off bolts of magic at each other while others took to the air.

>At first it seemed like you would have won, but the changelings quickly threw away any hope you had left.

>Sillis must have brought every single changeling she had at her disposal. It certainly seemed that way.

>You hardly dented their numbers. The only thing you were accomplishing was wearing yourselves down. The fighting had taken a toll on yourself, deep scratches and scorch marks from magic littering your body.

>Only you and Luna where left standing, but she looked even worse for wear than you had. Sillis looked practically unscathed, but the fight with Luna had taken a lot of stamina from her.

>Not that it mattered, you and the moon goddess were back to back, staring at the encircling wave of changelings as you tried to catch your breath.

>The changelings fought dirty, aiming a blow whenever the opportunity presented itself, whether it was a scratch, a bite here and there, or a jab.

>The elements had lasted longer than you had thought they would have, but they couldn’t have kept fighting forever. Exhaustion wore them down, slowly, just like it was doing to you.

>At least they weren’t dead. The changelings seemed content with them being unconscious, focusing on anyone still up and fighting instead, which would be you and Luna.

>A path parted through the wave of changelings in front of you. Luna never saw it coming, the bolt fired from Sillis’ horn striking her in the back of her head.

>She dropped next to you, a loud thump echoing throughout the room. You slumped to the ground as the changelings made their advances towards you.

>Failure. It hurt, not that you were going to die once again, but that these ponies that you had come to love would be. Sure, they had flaws, but humanity had much worse ones.

>You knew you were going to die and then, at that moment, you felt it. A whisper. Not from someone around you, but it was..inside of you.

>It was faint, but you heard it. It told you of power, power that you so very much needed to protect these ponies you loved.

>Luna’s warning danced around in your mind, but you threw it aside. If it meant saving them, then you would gladly take any consequence for it thrown your way.

>You breathed in, taking any and all emotions around you. They were faint at first, but you could feel them, and you kept tugging, bringing more into you.

>It was strange, as if you could..’taste’ the emotions going into you. Most of them came from the mane six, but you felt something coming from Luna too. Odd.

>Now you concentrated your mind again, thinking of yourself as a unicorn. It was the only plan you had, the last shot at survival.

>This time it was different. You don’t know if it was because of your exhaustion and injuries, but the horn piercing through your skull seemed more painful than any other time before.

>A green light shined around your horn, the light growing and magnifying as your horn finished. But you didn’t stop there, you continued to grasp at any emotions, doing anything to just make your magic that much stronger.

>All the magic in the air and room from the previous fighting seemed to spark something inside of you, igniting the dormant magic power lying within you.

>It practically tripled the glowing around your horn, startling the changelings around you. They started to double back away from you as sparks started to shoot off from your horn.

>You had little to no control over the magic rising off of you, but that didn’t matter. All you had to do was point at something and shoot, that much you could do thanks to Twilight’s teachings.

>The changelings parted, making a path for you as you made your way over to Sillis, who was watching you with an amused expression. “You really think you can beat ME? Queen of changelings? An alicorn? Fool. You might be able to do a bit of magic, but it cannot compare to the real thing.”

>”Now minions, finish him! End his pathetic life!”

>For whatever reason, they didn’t attack you. It was as if they were scared of you, or more so of the magic sparking off of you. The only thing they did was back away from you more.

>”..Useless. All of you! Useless! Fine then, I will finish this myself!”

>A dull green light encased her horn. It didn’t look as strong as when the fighting had first started, like she was finally starting to wear down.

>You could see her strain, but she was able to pull off the spell nonetheless. A green spout of flamed washed over you. The magic seemed to make it cling to your body, burning at your skin and hair.

>It hurt, flesh bubbling and boiling, the flame eating away at your skin, but you didn’t dare stop. You continued to feed emotions into yourself, even the negative ones, anything that could make your spell just a bit stronger.

>It had to be strong enough, you had to be sure that no matter what, Sillis did not walk away from this. That could not happen.

>A hint of fear flashed across Sillis’ eyes as you dragged your hoofs across the marble floor, the fire so intense that it burned you hooves, leaving behind blackened goo from every step you took.

>She backed into a wall as you drew closer. She was too tired to use any more magic, or be able to fly away. Pure terror and panic light up her face. “What the buck..are you?”

>You felt a small smile spread across your face, even as your body screamed at you in agony, telling you to stop. You didn’t listen.

>Aiming the horn at Sillis’ cowering form, you readied all of your magic to fire off at once.

>A voice echoed out behind you, making you hesitate for a moment. You knew it was one of the elements, but your ears were so burnt that you couldn’t hear properly, and even if you wanted to see who it was, your eyes were practically bubbling in their sockets.

>No, instead you focused on the changeling in front of you. This had to end. If she escaped, then everything would repeat itself over and over, until one side fell.

>This way, you were making sure that side wasn’t yours.

 

>You dropped to a knee, capping the spell off. Your body was giving out, life leaving you, but you pushed forwards anyways, forcing yourself with pure will to drive on. Not even death would stop you from saving your friends.

>The spell shot off and out of your horn, colliding into Sillis’ chest. Besides her eyes bulging, nothing happened for a moment. The spell seemed to have wrapped around her, and then was absorbed into her.

>You dropped to another knee. You had..failed. But how? What went wrong?

>It was subtle at first, and hard to tell because you could barely see, but Sillis was..burning. At least on the inside.

>It started from her hooves up, body slowly disintegrating into something that resembled ash. She gave you one last glance, and it was hard to tell what the look on her face was, but it seemed like..peace?

>The ash fell into itself, scattering around the floor. Now that was all that was left of her.

>You fell forward, body dropping onto the ground. Finished. It was over.

>The dull thudding in your chest started to slow down as you closed your eyes. It hurt to leave these ponies you called friends, but your time, as short as it may be, was over. You were never meant to be here anyway.

>Maybe it was a magical experiment gone wrong, maybe when you were dead someone had pulled your soul away and put it in this body, or maybe someone had just seen fit to give you a second chance at life again.

>Whatever the case, did it truly matter? At least you’d be leaving this world a better place. Maybe it was better that way, that you were dieing anyway.

>The thudding in your chest stopped. The changelings in the room, with their queen gone and no real objective in sight, fly out and away from the castle, returning to their homes in the badlands.