Chapters In this version of Equestria the three pony races never got over their racism towards each other.
Pegasi do nothing to help anyone but themselves, the Unicorns think of themselves as a higher form of pony thus better than all but the princesses and finally the Earth ponies are far more technologically advanced than either Pegasi or Unicorn. However Unicorns are much more powerful and the Earth ponies know this so they avoid war; the Unicorns would easily exterminate the Earth ponies but they enjoy the technology they create so they are spared for the time being.
The princes of the sun and the princes of the moon haven’t lifted a finger in centuries, apart from raising the sun and moon every day. They still care for their subjects but they don't use traditional means to take care of them. They act like monarchs, superiors and they use the Royal Investigation Burrow to do their dirty work. Lets just say not all their methods are legal.
Cadence, after losing Shining Armour went to Pendleton Dreadful to bring him back. He came back as an evil lusty undead known as a Deadite and Pendleton was forced to kill him again. This drove Cadence mad with hate and depression, she is now known as the broken Princess.
As for the Elements of Harmony, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Flutershy and Pinkiepie? They don’t exist.
With nothing standing in her way Queen Chrysalis set up a hive closer to ponies and began setting up operations; at first in secret but now most everyone knows the changelings run things. The changelings quickly spread among pony kind become something resembling a crime family and a powerful one at that. If you need something done you go to them. From fake IDs, to drug dealing they control it all while feeding off of the emotion that their tasks give off.
This is where we meet Pendleton Dreadful. A chocolate brown stallion with an intense hatred for Unicorns and cursed by an evil book with great power over the undead and chaos. It isn't something you want to mess with. He’s engaged to be married to a beautiful Pegasus mare named Snow Storm. He is from a far from normal family, his mother being a unicorn and his father being the previous chosen one for the book. He hates his mother and his father gave up his life to the book so that Pendleton could have life as he was a still birth.
Snow Storm is from a different dimension. In her world Discord beat the Elements and took over. When he got bored he gathered a select few ponies and drained them of their colour and feeling. He gave them immortality so that they may document the changes he had made to the world. She is from a rich family and her siblings are rather snooty Pegasi.
Pendleton Dreadful met a young wolf girl by the name of Nayomi on one of his latest travels to her world. A world filled with hate lead by an immortal dictator and on the brink of social and political collapse. Pendleton allowed Nayomi to return to his world with him and stay there instead of that hell hole she called a home.
Now Nayomi is a beautiful black and white Earth pony mare and is invited to the wedding of Pendleton and Snow Storm which is in a few short weeks. She has enough bits to last her a few weeks after that she’ll go back to being a thief like she was on her world. From Pendleton’s hotel she trotted off to her new home in Winters End. A lovely little hotel with friendly Earth pony staff. The rooms were a little touch and go but she’d done worse.
"Man this place is a dump" She said pondering to herself. She set down her bag and started unpacking it. Her gold sword went on the table, her Glavek 19 pistols went in the draw and what other weapons she had brought with her went into hiding around the room. She walked around town for a bit to get to know the lay of the town and where the stores were. She stoped at a local watering hole and decided it was about time to drink away her sorrow again. She slipped in without drawing much attention to herself and sat at the bar.
"What'll it be?" the bar tender asked with a rough tired voice.
"Eh, scotch thanks" Nayomi sounded tired.
"You got it... So new around here? I haven't seen you around" The bar tender asked preparing her drink.
"Yeah, just got into town figured a drink was the best way to feel at home so here I am" Nayomi said sounding more depressed.
The bar tender stoped the conversation. He just gave her, her drink and left her with a warning "Stay away from the bugs" He sounded much more serious this time. She ignored him however and instantly went for her drink.
"Hey what's a pretty pony like you doing in a place like this?" A voice said from behind her.
"And why are you boring me with your flirting?" Nayomi snapped back.
"Hey! Don't use that tone with me bitch" He screamed in her ear.
Calling Nayomi a bitch was a fools mistake. What he did next was almost a death sentence. He grabbed her from behind quickly finding a hoof between his teeth; he tasted blood and couldn't feel his front teeth. She was fast, very fast. She removed her hoof and put one on the back of his head pulling it down onto the bar counter. A loud crack followed likely his muzzle or jaw but he was out cold. She finished her drink, paid and left like nothing had happened.
Upon returning to her hotel room she threw herself onto her bed and relaxed. It was a busy day and she was tired. She would sleep for now and hopefully wake up without a hang over so she could go make friends with somepony. A new concept to her. She also had to get her fake ID which she was lucky the bar tender didn't ask for. She could think of a million other things to do with her time but sleeping was the only thing on her mind right now.
Nayomi was shocked awake early in the morning by her intense nightmare. She had them before but never like this; this time she could still feel the burning of that white fire on her skin.
She didn't feel hung-over from her trip to the bar except for a splitting headache, on worse than anything she'd ever felt. Then it hit her. What if she was sick, what if she brought an illness from her world over to this new one. The results could be catastrophic. The more she thought about it the more the headache grew. She tried to ignore it getting her gear on. Today she was bringing weapons as she was going to visit the changelings at the store Pendleton recommended to her and get her ID done.
On her way out one of the female Earth pony maids asked if she had been hit in the head or anything. Nayomi was confused and responded with a quite tone "no, no I don't recall being hit in the head at all. I'm sorry I have business to take care of I'll have to talk to you later" She said it like she meant it but she didn't have any intention of talking to her again.
Everypony she walked past looked at her oddly with distrust in their eyes. She didn't understand why, maybe because she was new in town? She didn't really care at this point she had work to do and working was made hard enough by her headache which didn't seem to want to go away.
She saw the store name written on a sign and slipped inside as it started to rain outside. She walked up to the counter. "Hello?" she asked at the empty counter.
A pony started to walk out from the back of the store. She couldn't put her finger on it but something felt... off about her. She was a beautiful white mare with a chocolate brown mane and similarly coloured eyes. "Yes ma'am welcome. How may I help you?"
Nayomi slide the mare the note Pendleton had given her "Pendleton sent me" she said with a hushed voice trying to be herd by the regular shoppers... come to think of it not all of them felt right either, like something was off about them.
The clerk nodded "follow me then ma'am" she said in a servitor tone.
Nayomi followed her and she led her to a room with white sheet and a camera set up. It looked very professional in the way it was set up.
"Just take your place up there and I'll take your picture so we can start" She said with a more casual tone this time.
She stood up in front of the camera and waited for the all clear to move. Three pictures and a short walk to the next room later and the mare was working on details for the ID.
"Y-you're not a pony are you?" Nayomi blurted out with a very nervous tone.
"What do you mean? Of course I am look at me" She answered confidently without stoping her work.
"You're a changeling aren't you?" Nayomi said with a low tone. She almost sounded worried.
The mare stoped typing and turned to Nayomi. "W-what did you say?" The mare sounded very wary of Nayomi now and her tone was almost afraid.
"You're a changeling" She repeated slightly more confident this time.
"H-how di-" She didn't get to finish before Nayomi cut her off.
"You don't feel the same as other ponies, you just have a different.... Aura for lack of better words" She explained almost like she had practiced it.
The mare remained silent and just turned back to the computer and her work.
"Can I see?" Nayomi said in an attempt to continue conversation.
"C-can you see what?" The mare responded with a nervous tone.
"You know.... you. I want to see you" She stated with a large amount of optimism in her voice.
"No" She said that a left no room for any further conversation.
* * *
After another half hour Nayomi's fake ID was done and she was sent on her way with nothing more than a goodbye. Nayomi did the only thing someone in her position would do. She went and bought a keg of beers and drank herself stupid. That was the idea anyway.
When she ended up getting to the bottle store it had just been robbed by a gang of marauders. If she had been there half an hour earlier she would have been caught up in the middle of it, which would have ended badly. She helped the middle-aged Earthpony clean up the mess of a few dropped bottles and she left as the store was now closed. She wandered around for about an hour before she saw something very shady going on down an ally way. She went to investigate and found a green Earthpony with a light blue mane counting bits as a few crazy looking ponies waked away.
"What are you looking at?" The pony asked looking up from his profit.
"A changeling in a very smart business" Nayomi said with a sly grin.
"H-how?" The pony said standing up and looked like he was ready to fight.
"Relax. I don't particularly like what your doing but I do plenty of illegal things myself. As for how I know, its just a sense I have apparently" Nayomi explained. She was prepared for anypony to ask how she knew what they were.
The changeling sat down and went back to his counting, ignoring any further attempts at conversation. Apparently changelings didn't like being found out for what they were so Nayomi decided to drop it an go home. Her pas slowed by her headache that shed been ignoring all day. As soon as she left the changeling it grew even more painful than before.
When Nayomi got home she splashed her face with water and shook her head, which ended up being a huge mistake as shaking her head made the pain stand out way more. She looked in the mirror and almost fell backwards when she saw her reflection. She rose to her hooves gain and looked closely. There was a lump on her fore head. It didn't hurt it was just... there. Like something was growing. It worried her but the more she thought the more pain she felt in her head. Bed seemed like a wonderful option at this point.
Nayomi hadn’t gotten out of bed for three days, the migraines still persisted but were getting better as the lump on her head grew. She had plenty of time to think while she was laying there. This was no illness from her world but she wanted to make sure.
She picked up the phone that Pendleton had given her. On it was a single contact with the simple name ‘Pen’.
She needed to see a doctor but needed a local to get her an appointment. She sent Pen a message that read, “Pen, I think I’m sick. Could you get me an appointment with a doctor or something along those lines?” She groaned, hitting send dropping the smart phone to the floor. She was to tired to stay awake any longer.
Her eyes closed and refused to open. Her mind slowly slipped into unconsciousness … Everything went black. Another full day went by.
After sixteen hours, she finally opened her eyes. She felt a damp cloth on her head. She was running a mild fever and someone was nursing her.
When she looked around she saw that her room door was wide open. The maid that spoke to her days ago was sitting asleep on a chair next to her bed.
The green Earthpony mare stired in the chair. “H-huh? W-hat?” She yawned and stretched. “Oh you're awake! Good,” the mare smiled warmly. “I tried to get you to answer the door. When I didn’t hear from you for a few days I got worried. I borrowed the front desk master key. When I came in and found you in a bad way.” The odd mare stood, walking over to the bed “My name is Eclipse. Mrs Nayomi, may I ask why a unicorn would want to stay in a place like this?” Eclipse asked, a curious smile on her face.
“U-ni…” a hoof reached up to her forehead and her eyes went wide. A sharp, full sized horn sat dead in the middle of her head. She didn’t answer the mare out of shock and confusion. What was she supposed to say?
Eclipse sighed, “Sorry you’re still sick so I shouldn’t be questioning. Just call if you need something,” Eclipse said as she exited the room.
Nayomi picked up her phone, which Eclipse must have put up on the table for her. Pen had sent a concerned reply. He gave her a time and an address for an appointment with… with a Changeling doctor?! She was just warned about them a few days ago.
Her appointment was today, in a few hours. She had to get up and get ready…
Easier said than done.
Even getting out of her bed was a challenge.
She rolled on her side, the damp cloth slipping onto the bed. She used her left hind hoof to push herself up. That’s when she heard an almighty crack. Her leg didn’t break but it did hurt right down in the bone. Whenever she moved her legs or neck, her bones would crack and ache severely.
She eventually made it onto her shaky hooves.
She grabbed her pistols and her jacket. She flipped the hood over her head and painfully made her way out of the hotel. Every step she took, every move of her head made her wince with crippling pain. She had been through worse before. She wasn’t about to give into her physical pain now.
The address that Pen gave her led her to an abandoned warehouse at the edge of town.
She entered cautiously through a side door.
She was surprised at what she found inside. There were at least two dozen or more Changeling nurses inside rushing around to the five pony doctors. Most of the nurses were changed but some were in their natural form. Nayomi looked around, still wincing as she did so.
A Changeling nurse in her natural state landed in front of her. Nayomi admired the bug pony’s form. She found it rather… comforting.
“Hello Mrs. How may I be of assistance?” the nurse smiled. Nayomi couldn’t pick it out but there was something was strange about the way the nurse approached her.
“I, uh, I had an appointment for Hataki,” Nayomi said with a frown. “It&s not for another half hour though,” she said sadly.
The nurse smiled. “Oh I think we can fit you in right now!” the nurse said as she trotted away, signaling Nayomi to follow her.
Nayomi shrugged but smiled a little as she walked behind the Changeling. She was lead to a doctor’s station inside of many of one of the many white tents inside the warehouse.
The changeling whispered to the doctor a moment and he nodded. “Take a seat Miss Nayomi,” the doctor said, pointing to the bed at the back of the room. “What can we help you with, dear?” the stalion asked with a smile.
"Well, I’ve been having these headaches lately and… well, I was an Earthpony when I came here. That, and I got out of bed with horrid cracking noises frome my bones and pain in my legs and neck,” Nayomi explained. As she did, the doctor and especially the nurse listened intently.
The stallion took down a few notes before turning back to her. “I’m going to need you to consent to a blood test to help determine whats wrong,” the doctor said, pulling needle out of packet on his desk. He attached a small vial to it and looked at her.
Nayomi just nodded and rolled up her sleeve. It only took a second or so and he was done. The Changeling used her magic to heal the small wound.
The doctor put the vial of blood on his desk. “We’ll get this examined and contact you with the results in about a week. I’ll give you something for the pain and send you on your way,” the stalion said. His printer started making a grinding sound and burnt out. “Cel’ damn it! Wait here I have to go find a printer somewhere else!” the stallion said as he slipped out of the tent.
The nurse jumped off the crate she was sitting on and walked over. “I have something better than any drugs he can give you.” She smiled handing Nayomi a large green bowl that looked to be made of some kind of resin. Inside the bowl was a gelatinous lime green liquid that sparked under the surface for a second.
Nayomi raised a brow at the gesture. “Eat up! Its Changeling royal jelly. It’ll kill the pain and give you energy!” the nurse smiled in an almost motherly way.
Nayomi took a hoof full and sucked it up. Her face lit up and she started to drink it down straight from the bowl. It was so sweet that she couldn’t get enough. When she finished, her headache had faded somewhat. She felt so energitic. She jumped off the bed a did a giddy little hop in place. “That stuff really works a treat!” she said, with a big smile on her face.
The Changeling only smiled and walked out of the tent. Nayomi peeked out just in time to see the nurse fly outside and into the distance. Right at that moment the doctor showed up, trotting fast. “Here, take these twice a day, every day for a week,” the out of breath stallion said.
“Thanks, Doc,” Nayomi said. She ran out of the tent and out of the warehouse.
She had enough energy to run all the way back to her hotel.
Nayomi jumped out of her bed early in the morning, it was a new day and she had plans to go meet some more Changelings. She then noticed a pestering itch on her back she couldn't quite reach with her hooves.
She went to the mirror and looked at her back in horror; two long thin boils had popped up either side of her back. The boils had grown over night some how and looked painful but instead they just itched and burned. She started trying to find something to scratch her back as the itching became worse and a rash spread from around the formations on her back painfully slow.
When she found a toilet brush she could use to scratch her back she jumped at the chance grabbing it and started to rub it against her back franticly. After the initial sensation of relief wore off she noticed something strange about the boils, they weren't fleshy they were solid and full of a grey liquid. What exactly was happening to her? Did this have something to do with the Changelings? So many questions she didn't have answers to, and that bothered her.
She decided it was best not to ignore this and immediately started getting ready to go out again. She found a grey trench coat in the room wardrobe and put it on over a belt of throwing knives and her pistols just in case. This was also to hide her growing symptoms.
She excited the hotel and started making her way back to the store where she got her fake ID, she needed to see that doctor again and needed to now.
***
As soon as she entered the store she was stopped by a white Earthpony. She seemed concerned as she asked "Are you alright miss?"
"I'm fine, why?" She asked as if she was annoyed but in actual fact she was worried about what she was talking about.
"Your mane is falling out..." She said picking up a few strands of grey and white hair.
Nayomi's eyes were focussed on the hair as she reached into her mane and tried to tug at it. To here shock a large section of it came out without much effort this caused her to fall back in shock "W-what...?" She got up shakily and quickly made her way to the front desk. "I need to talk to the manager now..."
"I'm sorry but we can't do that for just anyone" The clerk said bluntly.
"I'm going to explain this so you understand. You are a Changeling, your boss is a Changeling. I need to see a Changeling doctor about what's happening to me and only a Changeling can get me there. Now let me see the manager" She said in a low, annoyed tone.
"We are under strict orders not to let you go anywhere before the DNA test comes back next week. Now I'm going to ask nicely. Please leave" She said leaning over the counter giving her and angry stare.
Orders? Why would their 'mother' or whatever have any interest in her for? She didn't want to piss off the leader of the Changelings so she begrudgingly complied and left the store without any more conflict.
What was happening to her and why were the changeling so interested?
