Changeling Life Cycle

I stared at the Earth pony from my vantage point in a tree as she distributed flowers among her costumers. It seemed that her name was Rose, and she sold flowers for a living. That must suck. She had a cream coat and a raspberry mane, and on her flank was the image of a rose. Wow. Her name was Rose, she sold roses and her cutie mark - apparently that's what it was called. I learned it from a few fillies that had run by earlier - was a rose. It almost pained me to watch the life in 'Ponyville'. The entire town was so saturated with love that I almost lost my appetite. Almost. I could still feel their love. It was everywhere, pressing down in hot waves that made me feel like a scuba diver in a volcano. The hot sun didn't help. I followed my target's every move, learning how she acted, spoke, and moved.

"Hiya, Cheerilee, looking for some flowers to spruce up the classroom?" asked Rose. A dark pink pony trotted over.

"Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea, Rose! Let's see, I'll take a few daisies, maybe some buttercups, and a few of those lovely purple ones," said the mare happily.

"Ooh, the Veronicas! Good choice!" Rose finished the bouquet and handed it to Cherilee. "That'll cost ya six bits."

Ugh, these ponies were revoltingly sweet. The mares exchanged goods, and Cherilee went on her way. Off in the distance, I saw Minuet waving at me. She had been a changeling for a long time. Or rather, he had been a changeling for a long time. There was a mental connection between all the changelings, which my Queen used to control us. I acknowledged 'Minuet's wave mentally. Rose waved back to him/her physically, thinking his greeting was for her. I smirked. All these ponies were clueless.

A dark gray pegasus stallion approached the flower stand. He had a light blue mane that stuck straight up. He glanced around himself nervously and finally made eye contact with my target.

"Hi, Rose, I'd like to buy some flowers for my girlfriend.."

"Which one?" inquired the mare skeptically, an eyebrow raised.

"This time it's Blossomforth. I- Hey!" the stallion whined. "Come on, it's just Blossomforth, nopony else."

Oh really? I'd seen him making out with a purple and blue pegasus not moments before.

"Yeah right, Thunderlane," retorted Rose for me. "Everyone knows what went on between ya and  Flitter last night," she added with a wink.

"I- I- Shhhh!" he stammered. "Look, just give me some roses. Everyone likes them. It's my favorite flower, personally."

"Oh, is that so?" mentioned Rose as she started arranging a bouquet. "Interesting. Well, that'll be ten bits for ya. Roses ain't cheap.."

Thunderlane leaned in real close. Ew. "I know. I promise I'll work for it. It'll pay off."

Rose giggled, a loud, squeaky sound. "Just go already, and take your flowers, ya big lazy lump!"

He dumped some bits on her counter and took the flowers in his mouth, flying up into the clouds. Rose smiled, shook her head, and sprinkled some water on her flowers. I watched her all day until my legs felt sore. I looked down at them. Still no holes. No injuries yet. I was still new, still just a hatchling. I sighed mentally.

Focus on your job! snapped the changeling who had taken over Mr. Cake. He was the section leader for this particular swarm location. Technically, since he was just a glorified drone, I didn't have to listen to him. My breed outranked his, but I knew he was right. I settled down and watched the last of my victim's customers walk away with a few daffodils wrapped in her golden magic.

"See ya tomorrow, Lyra!" called Rose, before she began packing up for the day. I checked my surroundings one more time. The streets were dark and empty. Perfect.

Taking on the form of Thunderlane, I swooped down behind her on my new feathered wings.

"Hey Rose," I said, surprised at the difference in my voice. I realized that this was my first ever transformation. It felt so natural.

"Eeep! Hi, Thunder. Ya scared me." She exhaled loudly and grinned. "Have you decided which mare ya want? Oops, that sounds like a shopping mart ad."

"Yes. I want you." The Earth pony's eyes widened in excitement. "I broke up with Blossomforth this afternoon, then told Clouchaser and Flitter that I was done," I lied.

My target stepped close to me and nuzzled me softly. I relaxed. Wow, she'd had a crush on this guy for a long time! I drank in the love earnestly. I bent Thunderlane's head down to her ear.

"Let's go somewhere... private," I whispered. The Queen would be so pleased. I tried reaching out to her to tell her of my success so far, but she was too far away. At this point, it was a one way connection from Queen Chrysalis to me.

Clearing my head, I led the pony deep into the surrounding forest until we were out of sight and earshot. I pushed her up against a tree.

"Calm down, boy," she cooed. I winked at her. She smiled. It would probably be her last. In a flare of green flame, I assumed her figure and proceeded to bind her to the tree with my magic. Her smile quickly turned into a look of horror.

"Thunder..? Ya've been a changeling for all these years?"

Uh, no. Just today.

"I fell in love with an evil insect... I've had a crush on ya for such a long time!" Yeah, I know. "Was it all a lie?"

This was getting annoying. I changed into the first pony I thought of, to try to remind her that I could have been any pony I'd wanted to at any point in time.

"Raindrops, ya too? For five years... I thought we were friends! You could have killed me at any time... Wait, yeah. Why wait?" The mare broke into tears and started sobbing. What an idiot. I slapped a magical gag over her big fat mouth and knocked her out with a blow to the head. Then we waited for sunrise.

I spent the hours practicing to make sure I was a flawless Rose. It wasn't that big of a deal, because I would be gone the next day, but I wanted to make a good first impression. I moved my hooves quickly and deftly, and tried to think about good arrangements. I figured I'd just duplicate Rose's from yesterday. I blinked a lot. Their vision was weird. So much color. Changeling eyes were more heat-receptive than pony eyes. The worst part was that stupid red mane of hers. It kept getting in my eyes. And no fangs...

Oh yeah. Fangs.

I walked over to Rose, changing my form back for just a second to inject a small amount of poison in her.

That should keep her asleep, I thought.

Once more disguised as the flower pony, I waited for the sun to rise above the horizon.

The transformation process was fairly quick. Using our magic, changeling bodies replicate intelligent beings on the inside and out. The only real difference was our source of energy, our mental condition, and our ability to communicate with other changelings mentally. It was entirely painless. The only problem with it was that we couldn't gain or lose mass, so replicating small or large ponies would only be believable with changelings of approximately the same size. And, since changelings are born fully grown, any body mass we lose through injury takes the form of a gaping hole, usually in our limbs.

Sunlight shined in my eyes, so bright that I had to squint. I reinforced the pony's binding, then took off for Ponyville. I quizzed by trees until I was stopped by the sight of the clearing. Alright.

I smirked, and slowed down to a walk. Finding my cart where my victim had left it, I wheeled it over to yesterday's spot. Then I sold flowers.

"Hiya, Cherilee, how are those flowers workin' for ya?"

There was so much emotion in this town. I absorbed just a fraction of the love that Ponyville had to offer. It tasted great. I could hardly hold any more when I heard a drone's voice in my head.

Miss, I have come to replace you permanently and relieve you of your duties. We are to meet at Sugarcube Corner, on orders of the Queen.

Okay then. I will be there shortly, worm. It's important to assert your authority in the hive. I finished up my business, then excused myself on 'lunch break'.

I met with the drone (he was posing as Grape Soda, a random female pegasus who wasn't known very well) and told him mentally about everything he needed to know about Rose. Then I went through the back door, ran to the forest, grabbed the real Rose, and flew back to reach my Queen.