Give A Like - Feed A Changeling

by Lise

Rating: everyone
Tags: Changelings, Equestria Girls, Slice of Life
Length: 3478

Being in Canterlot High isn't easy if you are a changeling. In order to survive you have to rethink everything!

It isn't easy being the only changeling in Canterlot High — fitting in is difficult, starvation is a real issue, and the fear of getting caught is always present. To make matters worse, Bug Bee has more to worry about than just himself.

Winner of the EFNW Scribblefest 2016 "Pinkie" Award

Special thanks to Malefactory and m1ntf4n for editing.

Published 2016-02-18 00:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-02-18 00:20:01 UTC

Like Me!

"Here it is again!" Sunset shouted in the hallway. Glancing from behind the corner, I could almost imagine her throwing her phone at the wall. "If I find out who..." She closed her eyes, stomping on the ground. To the untrained eye, she seemed furious. Of course, I knew better.

"Umm, what's wrong, Sunset?" A shy voice asked. I didn't have to see who was talking to guess who that was. The voice, the temperament, the sweet aroma of kindness... only Fluttershy fit the bill. I liked her. She had been the first to help me in Canterlot High. If she wasn't part of the 'Magic Seven', I would have asked her out in a heartbeat. Sadly that time has passed.

"That's the fourth time today!" Sunset shouted, furious. "It's this stupid tumblr script that keeps spamming me! I give one silly like and now it won't stop!"

I grinned. It was always amusing to watch her react to my tumblr notifications. We had developed quite the love-hate relationship. More specifically Sunset loved and hated me. Good thing she had no idea who I was. I enjoyed her love, but don't think I'd survive her hate, if she ever figured things out.

"Let's see what GAL is spamming about today!" There was annoyance in her voice, but it was fake. It was clear she was going to click on the link. Come on, Sunset. We both know you'll do it. You always do.

"Gal?" Fluttershy asked, moving beside her. Oops! I pulled back out of sight. I didn't want her to see me. Actually, I didn't want to look at her.

"Give A Like." I heard Sunset, along the unmistakable click of opening a page. "The tumblr page?"

"Umm, I switched back to a dumb-phone," Fluttershy said apologetically. "The beeps disturbed the animals too much."

"Oh." I heard Sunset place the phone inside her jacket pocket. No, don't put the phone away! At least look at the picture! "It's this crazy tumblr that appeared way back. Give A Like — Feed A Changeling. At first that's all it said. No pictures, no text, no nothing. Well, I got curious and gave it a like. A minute later the first post appeared — 'thank you. i was starving'. I found it funny, so I followed."

"I remember that!" Oh, the sweet enthusiasm in Fluttershy's voice. I was so tempted to walk out there now and tell her everything! "I used to follow it as well. Each time it got a like there would be a post about food. 'i feel like a kitten in a bowl of milk', 'sweet like carrots', 'smells like apple pie'."

"Yeah! And 'muffin sweetness'! Do you remember—"

This was my cue to get lost. Quickly, I grabbed my backpack and rushed to class. I could still feel the sound of sweet laughter behind me, bittersweet laughter, to be exact. Most memories of the old days were bittersweet. When I started my tumblr, I barely got five likes per week. So pathetic, it was outright painful. Still, that stupid webpage had literally saved my life.

First period was Astrology — one of my still not so favourite classes. Maybe it was because I found the concept to be utterly boring, or maybe because vice-principal Luna still gave me the shivers. It's not that she wasn't nice or anything, she was just too... different, and coming from me, that meant a lot.

"Hey, man, practice after class?" Flash whispered as I sat down. Again with the band thing. He was absolutely obsessed, almost as much as he was with Twilight. At times I really regretted filling in for his drummer.

"Sorry, Flash." I took out my books — two encyclopedias and a star atlas. Vice-principal Luna really liked it when her students displayed interest in her class, and I liked it when I was liked. "Maybe tomorrow. Just don't feel it today."

He shrugged, as he always did, then went back to jotting down lyrics to his next song. I could smell that the chorus was full of Twilight. Pity for him it was the wrong Twilight.

"Muffin?" Derpy whispered behind me. Our signal. Without looking I moved my hand under her desk. As expected, a muffin was placed there. It was freshly baked, as always, still warm and tasty. I could feel the love with which it was made. Also I sensed there was a surprise involved.

"Tulip Mondays," Derpy added, only to get a cough and a stern look from vice-principal Luna. Luckily for Derpy, she had become a straight A student. Luckily for me, Derpy liked me. Actually, it was more than liked, and I was more than lucky. Of all the people at Canterlot High, she was the one who knew my secret.

So lucky it was you, Tasty, I thought. Fluttershy might have been the first to help me after I arrived, but Derpy brought me back to my feet. The tumblr idea was half hers... as well as all of the execution, the phone I carried, and a whole lot of other stuff... including my first set of clothes. Boy, those had been dark times.

Class tasted bland… and boring. Usually, I would spend it searching for cool pics to post on my page. Not here, though. Luna didn't like students playing with phones in her class, and I didn't want to disappoint her. We went through the zodiac again, then went on to the other major constellations. I made a note which ones might get me a high number of likes. After class, I was going to post them on my tumblr to see how things go. Libra was a given — that was Lyra's sign, and she had become quite popular in school lately.

The screen of my phone suddenly flashed on. Someone had sent me a private message.

"You like likes far too much. Have anything to share?

I froze. That was not a question I wanted asked, ever. Worse, it was coming from the one person who had an idea what it really meant — Sunset Shimmer.

No! My body shivered despite my effort. I didn't want things to go back to the way they were when I first arrived! I had been through Tartarus twice to get where I was now, and I wasn't going to lose it! My fingers twitched as memories of the first day flooded my mind. It had started innocent enough. A simple mission — infiltrate the Crystal Empire. With four princesses there, I thought it might be difficult. It wasn't. Take the form of a royal guard and you could go anywhere. I had access to all the rooms, all the vaults, all the secrets — everything necessary to give my queen the revenge she wanted. Ironically, it was Sunset that messed everything up. When she came to steal Twilight's element, she caught me by surprise. The only thing I could think of was to feint incompetence and pretend I didn't notice her sneaking about. Anybug in my place would have done the same. I should have stopped at that, fled the palace and reported back to the hive, yet I had had ambition.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I said under my breath.

"Is there anything, you wish to share with the class, Mister Bee?" The vice-principal asked. Dammit!

"Just that I'm stupid?" I forced a smile. Luna eyed me, but didn't say anything. "Actually, can I go to the principal's office?" Total silence filled the room. "The nurse! I meant the nurse!"

Snickering. I liked snickering. It was very much like potato chips — not filling, yet incredibly tasty. Pity I couldn't enjoy it right now.

"Go." Luna said. "And this better not be another of your stunts."

It wasn't, but I couldn't blame her for thinking that. I had pulled quite a lot of those throughout the years. Muttering something acceptable, I grabbed my phone and hurried out. I had to think fast. If Sunset was onto me, I was pretty much doomed. Sure, I could avoid her for a week or two, but in the end she was going to find out what she wanted — ponies like her always did. My best bet was to get out of here and change schools. With luck I might enter Crystal Prep, although the idea didn't fill me with enthusiasm. Crystal Prep was a cold place.

"I knew it!" a voice said behind me. "You are running away, aren't you?"

What? Why didn't I sense you?!

"I'm just going to the nurse's office!" I said defensively, taking a step back. "And shouldn't you be in class—"

"You are feeling ill?" Fluttershy quickly approached and put her palm on my forehead. "You poor thing. Let us help you."

No! Damn it, Fluttershy! Why did you have to be here?! If it were only Sunset I could have run. With you around, though... your kindness is intoxicating — as strong as Rarity's perfume, as tasty as Applejack's cider. There was no way I could run off now.

"Let's go!" Sunset quickly grabbed my arm. I bet she could sense my hesitation. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

Nurse's office. There was a time when I spent half my mornings here. Back in the hungry days, this was my main source of food. Not many liked staying there, it reminded them of pain. Me — I loved it! Nurse Redheart always cared greatly for her patients — more than anyone knew. Her care tasted like nectar mixed with flower, almost as sweet as motherly love.

"Talk," Sunset said, as she sat me on the bed. "You're from back home, aren't you."

Hesitantly, I nodded.

"And a changeling?"

I nodded again. Fluttershy covered her mouth with both hands. I could feel her surprise mixed with disappointment. That made me slightly sad.

"I entered this world shortly after you stole the crown," I sighed. "I thought that if I could get the Element of Magic from you and give it to my queen, she'd be happy. It was horrible! Being torn away from the hive's presence... One moment I am thought-telling how I am onto something big, then next thing I know I'm deaf. Not just the thoughts, but the background hum as well. And the magic! This world has none of it! No magic, no love to feed on... I had to use what little power I had and change into the first creature that came to mind." There was a long pause as the girls looked at me expectantly. "A grey hedgehog," I sighed. "Not the best—"

"You're Hedgy!" Fluttershy's aromatic voice filled the room. So much like caramel-mint. "Oh, I was so worried! When you vanished from my backpack I thought something horrible had happened to you!"

Before I could get in a word, she gave me a hug so nutritious that it made my hair turn blond. Talk about embarrassing. I ventured an innocent smile to attempt to appease Sunset's glare. It wasn't my fault! Instincts take over when I'm caught off guard. It's natural for me to change into the hugger’s preferred partner.

"You should have told me you were doing okay." Fluttershy let go, allowing me to change back to my usual form. I felt like burping. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You... err that was years before she destroyed the school." I glanced at Sunset. "Might have been difficult to explain." Heck, it was difficult to explain even now! Werewolf? Shapeshifter? Glittering love-eating vampire? Those were the popular memes here, and all could be used to describe me to a degree. "Besides, Sunset would have plucked my wings if she had found out. Or Twilight would have." I shivered. Princess Twilight still gave me the creeps.

"He has a point there." Sunset looked at me critically. "I've only read about changelings, but they are a nasty piece of work. Tend to invade kingdoms and harvest the love of all the inhabitants there."

"That's largely exaggerated!" I protested. Well, maybe it was a bit like that in the old days... and the Queen did get a bit over-enthusiastic during the last raid. "And we wouldn't be so bad if we weren't starving all the time! I nearly died of hunger in the school’s basement!" That too was an exaggeration, but I knew Sunset liked the dramatic with a touch of tragic. Apart from bikes, guitars and Equestria, she had a thing for tearjerkers. And kittens, of course.

Yes! It worked! The faint aroma of roasted oats filled my nostrils. She wasn't going to kill me, at least.

"That's why I made my tumblr," I quickly continued, maintaining the momentum. "I literally was starving."

"Give a like — feed a changeling?" Sunset gasped. "You were begging for food?"

"We all beg for something on the net." I shrugged. Sunset also liked tough guys. "In my case it's food, not popularity. Popularity helps, though. The first likes were so good! My very first taste of this world's food. I felt so happy back then that I replied."

"’Tastes like salty caramel’?" Sunset narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, I write them as I taste them. Besides, it's not like you had anything against it. You're in my top five likers list."

Ooops. I shouldn't have said that. Despite everything, Sunset remained as competitive as she had been years ago. I opened my mouth to change the subject, but it was already too late. She was giving me the who-is-number-one look.

"Who is number one!" she asked darkly, causing even Fluttershy to move aside. I should have known.

"Hey it's, not like I keep track of..." Yikes. Maybe stalling wasn't a good idea. "Rarity is number four. Give her a few dress designs, especially her own, and she's all over the place. For every picture she likes she gives two more likes for support. Then, there's Rainbow Dash at three."

Both girls gave me a surprised look.

"She's all into girly stuff." I shrugged. "She just likes it using an anonymous account. And she absolutely adores plushies."

"Really?" Sunset smiled menacingly. Oh, boy. There was going to be Tartarus to pay if this ever got out.

"I'm not judging." I shuffled. "Then there's Trixie and principal Celestia, both tied in first."

Confusion filled Sunset's stare. I could understand that. To be honest, I still had no idea why both the principal and Trixie liked my tumblr, or how they managed to maintain a hundred percent like rate of all my content. There was no way anyone could find all the things I put there amusing. That's the reason I had branched out, creating personal feeds for specific people. Everyone who subscribed was guaranteed to receive things they enjoyed.

"Umm, so what do you do with all the food?" Fluttershy asked all of a sudden.

"Err?" My turn to be surprised.

"If every like is a snack, and you get thousands, what do you do with the food?" Such an innocent question from such an innocent girl. If only the answer wasn't so difficult. If Sunset wasn't here, I could explain it away with some mystical magical nonsense. There was no way she knew anything about changeling feeding habits. Sunset, however, might... and even if she didn't, she could use her book to ask Princess Twilight and then I'd really be in trouble.

"Waiting!" Sunset urged. She could feel something was wrong.

"It's not all for me." I looked down. No way was I proud of admitting this. Even Fluttershy's lemon-sweet sympathy wasn't able to make me feel any better. "I ship it back home... to Equestria."

"What?" I didn't even feel how Sunset grabbed me. One moment I was sitting on a bed in the nurse's office, the next, I was one foot in the air, hanging by the collar of my shirt.

"They're starving, okay?" I tried to struggle, but it was no use. She was far too strong, and changing to Flash would only infuriate her more. "We didn't get much last raid! Do you have any idea what it's been like? Three quarters of the hive are in sleep pods—"

"If you are lying about this!" Oh, boy. Quite the anger there. Despite everything, Sunset still liked to rage, only difference was that she now did it for the right reasons. Yet what was "right" for her could very much hurt me.

"I'm not!" My hope was that her rage wouldn't blind her completely. That, or that Fluttershy would step in... which she did. A hand on Sunset's shoulder, a shake of her head, and I was allowed to touch the floor once more. "I really want to make a difference. As long as changelings are starving, they'll continue to do things out of desperation. Even the last attack was barely planned. Usually things are over before the victims know it." I felt Sunset's deadly glare. "Which I'm glad didn't happen, in that case."

Close call. She was still mad, but understanding. Fluttershy, though, was all emotions. I could see tears forming in her eyes. Please not a hug, Flutters! I'll have to spend all evening running laps to burn off these calories. Too late! Her warm embrace filled me with the equivalent of a five course meal. This was the reason I stayed away from her — no moderation whatsoever! Thankfully, Sunset noticed and managed to get Fluttershy to step away. Sometimes it's really tough being the only changeling.

"So every like goes to your changeling hive in Equestria?" Sunset arched a brow.

"Most." My stomach was aching. "I took a page from your book, so I’m sending nearly everything directly through the portal. I just sample some of the likes now and again."

"Oh. Well I'm glad—"

"I literally took a page from your book," I clarified. "Love doesn't just leak through dimensions." Technically that wasn't exactly true, but there was no need to go into details. "So now you know."

I hesitated whether to add the unspoken question. The expression on Sunset's face told me she was already considering it. Despite everything, I remained a changeling. Whether I was regarded as harmless or not was open to interpretation. The fact that I was spamming people to feed the hive back home and had torn a page of Sunset's book to do so was a huge minus. If it were Fluttershy, I wouldn't have a thing to worry about. An Equestrian pony, however...

"Sunset, he hasn't done anything wrong," Fluttershy began, sending me more food with every word. Orange berries? Well, maybe just a few. "And think of all the starving little changelings. The poor things."

"Even so, I—"

"Bug!" The door to the nurse's office swung open, and Derpy rushed in. "You forgot your muffin!" She shouted before noticing the situation. Oh, boy. Worst possible time! How am I going to explain this? An uncomfortable silence followed. We kept looking tensely at one another for over a minute, no one daring to say the first word.

"You told them, right?" Derpy spoke, making me wish the silence had continued. "I knew they'd understand!" She smiled widely. I facepalmed.

"Wait! You knew?" Sunset asked, shocked.

"From day one!" Derpy announced proudly, giving me a one arm hug as one did to a reluctant boyfriend... which I was. "Bug's cool. Plus I have a thing for long blue hair. Muffin?" She offered my muffin to Sunset, who could only accept it, utterly confused. "Now I must take him to class before vice-principal Luna gets upset." She dragged me out of the room, leaving the girls utterly speechless. "See you later, girls! And don't forget to follow the tumblr! Remember: Give a like — feed a changeling!"

No one said a word as we walked along the corridor. They probably were still recovering from the Derpy effect. I was too, to be honest. A minute ago I thought I was done for, and now I was worrying how to get rid of all the calories I had consumed. And it wasn't even mid morning!

"Antacid?" Derpy offered.

"Thanks." I took it. The pill itself had no effect on me. The thought, however, did. It remained a mystery whether Derpy knew that, or was just her weird self. In any event, I didn't want to break the illusion. "I'll take it during break," I lied. This was one crazy morning.

"Told you all would go well," she said, as we rushed towards class. "How did they react when you said you were a prince?"

"Muffins," I said, avoiding the subject. Some things were better left unsaid.

Author's Note

Only YOU can save innocent changelings from starvation!

Give A Like - Feed A Changeling
(Now on tumblr near you!)

Do you part for changeling preservation!