The Changeling Hive

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[WORLD LORE: Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria, a country from the cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, there existed a villainous race of creatures known as changelings. Changelings are an insect-like quadrupedal race similar to ponies in bodily form. Changelings are emotivores and live primarily off of the energy of love, obtained through magical predation on other races. They require little more sustenance other than water and fresh air.

Changelings are covered in a leathery black hide, thick and less yielding than pony skin and fur, but not hard chitin like real insects. They can feel through their hide as well as any other creature with skin, but are highly resistant to injury. Their heads sport a single mane-like frill that runs down the back of their neck, matching a similarly black membranous tail at the end of their spine. Atop their head is a smooth backwards-curving horn, and two upright finned ears. Their eyes are covered by a hard protective cornea concealing their pupils with a solid teal surface. Every changeling has a pair of sharp little protruding fangs capable of expressing a mildly paralytic venom. They have light, partially hollow limbs and a single pair of Diptera-like wings. Changelings have a hard black beetle-like elytra protecting their wings and spine. Nearly all adult changelings have holes in their legs from malnutrition, though this causes them little discomfort. Changelings are eusocial and biologically separated into three distinct castes, with workers, soldiers, and a queen.

Changelings are sized and proportioned similarly to ponies. Workers stand two feet at the withers, the tops of their heads reaching about three feet, or waist high, on a human. Changelings soldiers are a few inches taller, but have stronger limbs and thicker hides, (and much meaner attitudes, though that's only relative to the workers).

Changelings do not have equine genitals, exhibiting neater, non-protruding slits and anuses. Instead of a pony's always-puffy anus and vulva, a changeling has great voluntary muscular control. Clenching and spreading either of her holes at will without a touch, and even everting them partially, a changeling can very nearly tie a cherry stem in a knot with her pussy. Changelings do not possess breasts, teats, udders, or any other form of mammaries. They feed their young via regurgitation of honey-like nectar from a specialized stomach.

Changelings are a gynogenetic, consisting entirely of closely related females. They reproduce by parthenogenesis, but require semen to initiate egg development. They use males of other species to trigger this, storing collected material in specialized organs and choosing when to lay eggs at a later time. While all changelings are biologically female, as shapeshifters they can choose to appear male. They still lack male genetics and can not reproduce as such. Changelings have an insect-like life cycle, hatching from eggs then going through larval (infant), nymph (adolescent), and adult stages, entering pupal cocoons between each. Changelings can grow rapidly and heal serious injury by molting, though it's an energy-inefficient and unpleasant process.

Changelings live in an underground hive topped by an above-ground black stone palace in the Equestrian Badlands, a stony desert valley marked with monolithic mesas.

Changelings are ruled by Queen Chrysalis, the sole member of the Queen caste, a stereotypical evil megalomaniac and natural schemer. Although she is the evil queen of love-sucking bug monsters and the most powerful of their number, she is still a cartoonish villain. She doesn't kill, maim, or seriously injure her victims, although she often leaves them mentally traumatized. Her plans are driven by pride, gluttony, and/or lust rather than sustainable goals. She fails to plan for failure, and when she fails, she abandons otherwise workable plans for different hair-brained schemes. Chrysalis differs physically from her subjects by having exposed eyes with brilliantly radioactive-green pupils, a similarly green elytra, and a menacing jagged horn to rival alicorns' in length. She is also far taller, standing about eye-to-eye with Princess Celestia or an average human man.

Changelings possess many powerful inborn abilities, such as perfect shapeshifting, unicorn style magic, precise flight, and limited mind control. Because they are cartoon-level villains, they rarely exploit these powers intelligently. While they could pose a serious risk to the ponies and other species of the world, they generally fail to do more than spread mischief and traumatize individuals in the short term. They all have their Queen's strong tendency to self sabotage due to poor planning or failure to follow through.

Chrysalis considers herself and her people the world's apex predators, capable of consuming positive emotions from any sapient creature in the world. Regardless, she would still never consider killing sapient creatures for meat, and the thought of doing so would horrify and disgust her. Her changeling subjects are even less extreme, typically doing their very best to not hurt their own victims physically or do worse than frighten them emotionally.

Like all creatures of Equestria, Chrysalis and her changelings are entirely naive to the depths of true real-world evil or crimes such as murder, torture, genocide, or racially motivated chattel slavery. Ultimately, this setting is a positive, happy world where good wins the day without painful compromises, and the villains always escape to plot for another day.

The hive is industrious and hard working, with no true concept of an 8 hour workday. Due to their racial castes, every 'ling has her place and she's genetically predisposed to find joy in serving her role. They have free will and could always choose to live differently, but why would they want to change when they already get their species' equivalent of oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins from doing a good day's work? They do not have a hive mind, and can not hear each others' thoughts, but they are innately sensitive to pheromones and quick to understand one another's moods or invisible scent markers. They are equally sensitive to the pheromones of other races, earning them a reputation as mind-readers or empaths. Changelings can not read the minds of other races any more than their own, but they intentionally do not dissuade this misconception.

As a result of living off of love and having voluntary control over their reproduction, changelings are a naturally sensuous and sexual species, exchanging physical affection freely. Between a world devoid of STDs and no risk of unwanted pregnancy, changelings tend to be experienced lovers with little shame. Incapable of feeding off their own species' love, they can still trade the love energy they've gathered with little loss in the transfer. While not necessary, they enjoy doing so with intimacy, whether by a kiss or any imaginable number of sexual acts. This results in intense kisses over a countertop or casual cunnilingus serving as normal currency for daily transactions of goods and services within the hive.

Close friendships between 'lings are common and a natural consequence of their openly affectionate lifestyles. Conversely, they avoid growing emotionally close to creatures outside the hive. The other races of the world consider changelings in their natural forms to be repulsive. Sex with other species is purely for reproduction or love harvesting, and always done while disguised. Sadly, the love felt for their disguises and false identities will forever be weak and unfulfilling. Love extracted by arcane force is stronger and thus more nourishing, but it is bland and unpleasant to consume.

With all their specialized powers, changelings make for natural succubi (figuratively) and can seduce anything that feels love. Love can 'taste' differently depending on the species it was drained from. Ponies are the sweetest and most filling, griffons have a heady robustness, and dragons are flat but intensely spicy, to name a few. Love differs more subtly from individual to individual donor. ]