I stood on shaking hooves. It was all around me - the blackness. Those were my people. My race, being thrown carelessly into the ground. Half were dead. The other half were wounded. They formed a blackness around me, one I could never escape. I had failed. My blood dripped from wounds all over my body. My head was filled with delirium and dizziness. I just… I had never meant any of this… Why had this happened?

I tried to take a step and failed. My hoof slipped against the rocky ground as I tried to take a step. I fell back into the crater my body had formed, into the pool of my own blood. There was so much pain in my body… It hurt, so very much. Not a physical hurt. At least, not one I thought of as a physical pain. My wounds burned, yes, but not as much as my heart and my head. My head throbbed as I thought of my hive. My heart yearned for their trust which I had lost. How… How had I lost it?

I opened my eyes. The sun was setting in the Badlands. Changelings fell around me in a cloudless rain of bodies. Most were dead before they hit the ground. I watched as the sun gracefully set. It was Celestia that set it, wasn’t it? I had never really realized that before. The sunset I had watched as a child had always been hers. I watched as she set the sun as she always had, and stars began to flicker to life in the night sky.

My eyes began to shut as I watched the stars come out. They look so beautiful… If I died, here and now, I would never have to go back again. I would never have to see my race, my people, see their broken hearted faces again. I wouldn’t have to see them starving. Dying. Hating me for being so inept.

Blackness filled my eyesight. Tears rolled down my face. In my delirium, I heard but a single thought.

If I were a pony, would things be different?

My eyes snapped open. If I were a pony? Why would I think such a thing?...

And yet…

I groaned as I stood once again. My eyes had hardened into a glare, my mouth into a grimace from the pain. This was my last chance, wasn’t it? If I did this, I might be able to get enough love to feed those few who remain. If it failed, who cares? They’d kill me anyways.

I struggled to walk. It’d be hell to try and get back to Ponyville. I didn’t even think of attempting Canterlot yet. Maybe I wouldn't even touch it. I was just looking to survive, now, even if it meant blasphemy.

My footing faltered after but a few steps. I nearly fell, but as I heard another collision beside me of some of the final changelings, I felt a surge of strength. Like I just had a… meal.

I stood taller, more tears rolling down my face as I realized what was going on. I took a deep breath and kept walking as, slowly, my subjects died. They died, and in their dying breaths, they gave me what little they can: their love.

I struggled, certainly. I teleported some along the way, using what little magic remained in me. The more I passed by those dying, the more strength came my way. One changeling helped me walk at one point. He collapsed after an hour. I tried to help him, but… As his heart gave way, I felt a larger surge than ever. He had loved me to the point of a subject, always and completely loyal to his queen.

I continued to ignore the tears as I walked away from his harvested corpse.

I walked so very far. I feasted on the love of birds as they flew by, and of the plants. Plants can love as well. There was so little to feed on. The holes in my body widened, and my ribs began to show. I coughed up blood more than once. But still, for days, I continued.

Until I finally found grass. My body was so worn and mind so lost to my singular goal, I almost didn’t believe it when I saw it. I kept walking. The grass was sparse, but the lands were growing more fertile. I fed off the plants more, utterly malnourished. But, one day, I neared a settlement. I knew as I felt it - another surge of love. I stole it as I had all other along the way. So one household had an argument one day. I was starving…

I finally grew strong enough, after a week of stealing, to change. I had longed for this development for days now… In a burst of flame, I shifted to my most basic form - a white earth filly with green hair, exactly like my own. I knew I had stunning green eyes, but they would be dull now, matching my hair. I looked at my flank to see a lackluster heart gem, mirroring the last image I had copied. I also noticed my ribs were showing badly, as though I had not eaten in months. I groaned in pain as I began to walk into the village.

Ponies began to see me. They began to whisper amongst themselves. I realized I couldn’t see very well. They all seemed to blend in with one another.

I coughed. There was blood on my hoof when I wiped away the saliva. I looked up to see a pony galloping towards me. I knew it was a pony. That was all I knew as I blacked out.

*~*~*~

I coughed weakly as I opened my eyes. I was in… a rather comfortable bed… My chest was bandaged, and there was a warm bowl of soup beside me. Where was I?

I listened closely. There was someone outside the dim room, speaking. Two ponies, it sounded like. A male and female. “We can’t jus’ let her starve,” the male was saying.

“I don’ care, Braeburn! She wandered outta’ the Badland territory. We can’t keep her here! Ponies’ll be talking...”

“I ain’t sayin’ we keep her here forever, Fritter! Applejack’s a day’s out. I’m sure she’s got room at the farm…”

“Alrigh’... She up yet?”

I quickly tried to duck beneath the covers. The stallion peeked in. I must not have hidden well enough. “Miss? Y’awake?”

I sat up a bit, groaning as I did. My body ached. “I… Yes.” My voice sounded far different. Sweeter. It sounded… foreign.

“Here, y’need some help?...” He trotted over and sat next to me. I shied away from him, until he held up the bowl of soup. I sniffed at it - it smelled delicious. I might not need food, but it certainly wasn’t unwelcome… “Here y’all are… We’ll be movin’ you to a place where there’s a real doctor an’ all. My cuz’ lives there. Y’all will be in good hooves.”

I sipped the soup tenderly, feeling it warm me up. I got a small surge of love from the meal; ‘cooked with love’, I suppose. I smiled gratefully. “T-Thank you…”

He smiled, but it quickly faded as surprise overtook his expression. "Why, I haven't introduced myself yet. Pardon my manners, Miss. I'm Braeburn. What’s your name?”

“M-My name?...” I thought. He said his cousin was that pony, Applejack, earlier… She knew me. I needed a name, and fast… “I’m… Call me Crystal… Crystal Flower.”

He didn’t seem to suspect anything from my slight hesitation. Foal. “Alrigh’, Crystal. Get some rest, now, and jus’ call if y’need anythin’.” I nodded, feeling another bit of love. This stallion was very kind, even though I was a stranger. I smiled. How… nice. It’s a new feeling, niceness. But it didn’t matter much. He trotted out.

I shut my eyes, sighing. I fell asleep quickly, my exhaustion overtaking me. For some reason, I dreamt of blue feathers. That was all; just a few, deep blue feathers. In the morning, the dream faded. It was of no matter, however; there was more soup to eat.

Author's Notes:

Wow, churned that out surprisingly quickly. I got a message on 'I Am Your Servant' requesting a new fanfiction. I just had to oblige, after watching the source of the request!
So, here it is, after just an hour of working xD Enjoy!

Edit: This chapter has now been edited by yours truly so that the tenses match.