Survival

The sun had long since sat on the city of Canterlot. It was a mere two and a half weeks after the Changeling invasion; much of the damage had been repaired, but the city itself was still gripped by fear, as rumors of hidden changelings continued to circulate.

"Halt! In the name of the Princesses!"

Hearing this voice only inspired Dim Outline to run faster. For him, the 'rumors' of changelings were far more than that: He was a changeling, trapped in the city after the end of the invasion. He and two friends of his, both mere unnamed drones, had thought to hide in the sewer and await help from the Hive.

But it was not to be. A guard sweep had found them some hours ago and, weak on energy, all he and his friends could do was run.

"Don't stop running!" The drone to his left said.

"I know! Just give me a minute to think of something!" Outline hissed.

"We don't have a minute!" The one to his right replied as they ran. "They kill any of us they find! Either we get away, or we die!"

"Follow me!" Outside said, taking a sudden turn down a back alley. He could hear the two drones following close behind him, and hazarded a look back. He couldn't see the guards, but that did not mean that they weren't coming.

The back alley quickly gave way to another, smaller street, this one far more narrow than the previous one. It wound its' way up an incline, towards the castle on the hill. Outline took a left, going downhill, and the two drones followed.

"Stop now, or you will be hunted down!" A voice shouted behind them.

In response, Outline grabbed a cart on the side of the path with his magic, throwing it behind them in just the right way so that it would land in the center of the road. A series of loud cursing cued the changeling in to the fact that it had worked.

"Right." Outline hissed, ducking into another, smaller side street, before running to a random door and trying it. Surprisingly, it was unlocked, and he ushered the two drones in and quickly got in himself, closing the door behind him.

Seconds later, the sound of rapidly moving guards came from outside their door, and then faded away.

Outline slowly let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding in.

"We're safe, for now." He whispered. "Let's just hold out in here until-"

"Hello?"

Outline froze as soon as he heard the female voice, before quickly scrambling behind a nearby cabinet. The other two drones did the same, moving off to the side to hide behind objects. Now that he looked around, this didn't seem like the house of any noble. The furnishings were of mediocre quality, and the entire place had a hand-built, but sturdy feel about it.

The one thing that did catch his attention, however, was the wooden spiral staircase at the end of the short hall, a staircase that a pony was now descending.

If it was even possible at this point, Dim Outline tried to sink further behind the cabinet. His mind was scrambling for ideas.

"Is anypony down here?" The mare standing at the end of the hallway asked, halfway through what sounded like a yawn. Outline stood perfectly still as slow hoofsteps started coming down the hall.

He had only one chance at this. If he failed, he might as well be dead. Summoning up some of his remaining energy, he put it into one of the few spells he knew; A knockout spell.

Dim Outline sprang into view, and had time to notice the brief look of shock on the mare's face before his spell launched and hit. The pony dropped to the ground, out cold.

"It's safe to come out." Outline softly said. The two drones slowly walked out of their hiding place, apprehension on their faces. "It's not a good time to hesitate. Pick the mare up and follow me upstairs. We'll see if anypony else is here, and try to figure out what to do."

One of the two drones carefully picked the mare up in his magic, setting the unconscious pony on his back. The other snickered, but Outline was already on his way up the stairs, picking his steps carefully, so as not to make noise. With the house as dark as it was, he didn't want to trip over an obvious object.

The second floor consisted of a hallway with three doors. The first led to an ordinary bathroom, the second to what he guessed was a guest room, and the third and final one was the bedroom. His own check of the latter assured him that they were completely alone.

"Let's set up inside the bedroom." Dim Outline stated, leading the trio - plus the unconscious mare - inside. The changeling quickly closed the curtains and drapes and lit a candle with his magic, drawing down on his ever-decreasing reserves of energy.

"Set the mare at the foot of the bed. Bind her with gel." Outline ordered. Every changeling was capable of regurgitating a gel which quickly hardened to a density equal to that of stone. However, it was also easy to remove: A quick burst of Changeling magic could absorb the nutrients that had been used in it.

Both of the drones quickly acquired a blob, which they used to bind the pony's forelegs and hind legs to the floor, rending her incapable of moving if - when - she woke up.

This being done, Outline took a deep breath, reached out with his magic, and entered.

Changelings had the unique ability to siphon positive emotions, most prominently love, from other sapient beings. Over many millennia, they had grown absolutely dependent on it for their very existence, their souls needing an occasional influx of emotions to stay alive.

A changeling generally had two ways of gathering this love: Forcing it from whomever they were feeding on, which often irreversibly damaged or even killed the being they fed on, if done for long enough. The second method was by inducing sleep or unconsciousness on their chosen victim, and then slowly bringing the relevant emotions to the surface. The amount of love gained from this was practically a trickle in comparison, but the mind of the being they fed on would remain whole.

Dim Outline chose the second method.

As a changeling feeds via the second method, they tend to experience the memories associated with what they are draining. In this case, Outline bore witness to dozens of likely private moments, and gleamed quite a bit from what he could see. Once done, he disconnected his mind from the mare, but as long as she slept, he would continue his passive feeding in the background.

Outline returned to reality and let out a long, drawn-out sigh. The aches and sores in his body had seemingly faded away, and he had enough leftover energy to give the drones quite a bit, too. The two other changelings also let out long, contented sighs as energy - life - flooded into them.

With that done, Dim Outline quickly cast a 'silence' spell over the area, ensuring that no sound made in the room would escape the room for as long as the spell lasted. Which, at his current energy reserves, could be for days.

"Get some rest, everypony." Outline ordered. "Tomorrow, we're going to need it. We're changelings, and we will find a way out of this city, I swear it."

Outline quickly made his way over to the bed, collapsing on it and pulling some of the blanket over himself. It was far more comfortable than it possibly had to be, and the tired changeling felt himself drift off to sleep.