The Changeling

The Changeling
Chapter 1

I awoke with a start as I heard a rustling in the bushes below the cloud I was sleeping on. I dropped my head down to listen for what it was.
“Shh. You’ll wake them you foal,” said a raspy voice of an old pony.
“Sorry boss, I didn’t mean to and I ‘aint see no rustling from ‘em. So it didn’t cause too much noise then,” said a younger obviously less intelligent voice.

Two figures then crawled out from the bushes, an old unicorn stallion and a young pegasus colt. I swooped down and landed behind a tree my insectile wings fluttering silently. They failed to notice as I peered from my hiding place. As I saw them approach the other pony I was traveling with I then produced a dagger from my bag of holding (an almost infinite bag tied around my waist) and jumped at the old unicorn. I felt the blade pierce the throat of the dirty pony his scream silenced by my blade as it dug into him. I waited and watched as he suffocated on and drowned on his blood his gurgling bringing a smile to my face. He died with his white fur stained dark crimson.The pegasus reacted by jumping up and falling his rump hitting the ground with a loud thump causing the unicorn mage to stir.
“You killed ‘im, he ain't done nothin’ to you what you kill him fer?” he asked his face contorted trying to hold back tears.
“I can’t let you steal from my partner,” I said adding dislike to the last word. I hate ponies and griffins and minitours, frankly anything that’s not a changeling. So to call a unicorn my partner left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I then jumped at the colt and drove my blade through his heart my blade sticking into a tree. I, not wanting to touch the blood of the dirty pony decided to leave the blade in the corpse. His face was stuck forever now in a face of pain, sadness, and shock.

Let me explain to you how I ended up here with a dirty unicorn as my guide. If you are a pony and you are reading this I will find that you die as slowly and as painfully as physically possible. This is how I broke free from the control of my beloved queen and mother Chrysalis.

The changeling race is a noble race with the ability to become any pony we wanted on whim. We are commanded by our mother, Queen Chrysalis by a network of mental telepathy connecting each changelings thoughts together. We feed on the most plentiful and powerful energy, love. This is achieved through dispatching and replacing a pony who has others who love them and feeding off of the emotion that come from the other. We changeling have bodies that are pony like with holes all over our legs, insectile wings, and curved horns. We are all black except for a blue part running down our backs from the base of our necks to the start of our tale, we have pupiless eyes that are completely blue we also have no manes or tails while in our natural form.

It was a normal day in the hive I awoke on the command of mother as I saw my fellow changelings rise I headed to the chamber in which the queen stayed. Today I was to be given a pony to become and would start my infiltration.
“I want you to be a unicorn thief named Ransen, the Blackhoof. He is only stealing to feed his wife and two children who by my studies love him allot enough to feed you my child for a long time. He usually shows up in the Canterlot shopping district around noon every day for food. He has yet to be noticed by the guards so he is well trained in using sleight of hand. Go my child, feed,” the command from my queen was stated the target locked and I was off.

I arrived in Canterlot at 10 in the morning that day. The flight was draining seeing as I had to keep our races existence hidden, until mother reveals us in the next year during the royal wedding. She has planned for it to be set into motion with the third seemingly well concealed princess, Cadence. I saw the target arrive at noon as mother said. I took a coin purse with 7 gold bits in it, I threw it on the ground and waited for him to notice and pick it up. When I saw him approach I ambushed him producing a dagger from a pouch I had around my waist and plunging it into the throat of this Rasen, the Blackhoof. He tried to scream but was silenced when I covered his mouth with my hoof. I removed my blade when I was sure he was thoroughly dead. My body was then engulfed in green flame as I changed into the unicorn, my body grew a coat of mint green fur with a mane and tail of a cyan blue color I striped him of his brown tunic which had a hidden bag of holding inside. I used my magic to make him appear to anypony who happened to pass by as a stray dog who was killed in a fight with another dog. I paid particular attention to detail with this showing the open neck with savage tears the blood running down the matted light brown fur and the pool of dark blood on the ground. I then picked up my coin purse and looked as though I was ecstatic to happen by it. I purchased a loaf of bread, 3 apples, and a bottle of whiskey.

I went to the “home” of this damn dirty pony I was disgusted by the disheveled look of the shack. It had a tin roof covered in spots of rust and holes, the wooden boards that made the walls were thrown together and badly nailed. It had a hole cut in the boards with a dirty tarp hanging as a door. I walked up to the “door” and pushed my way past through the tarp.
“I’m home I have bread and apples for you.” I called as I entered the shack

The inside was more horrifying than the outside. There were four dirty and very dusty blankets on the floor and the holes in the ceiling now were more prominent the light showing through the ceiling made the dirt floor look even more disgusting I wanted to leave this dirty pony shack and never come back. My hooves touching the ground that these dirty ponies have walked. The children ran out one earth pony colt who looked like Rasen and a unicorn filly who had a pink mane and tail with a coat of dark green. The earth pony wife followed she had a pink mane and tail with black fur. Her blue eyes looking faded and older than they should be her only being of twenty years she looked to be sixty.
“Mother I have made it I’m in,” I thought sending the message to Chrysalis.
“Good my child feed,” I heard the quiet response as I was tackled by the filly.

I watched as the children scarfed down the apples they were given and chuckled lightly to myself as they looked saddened when they had finished their own apples respectfully.
“Now, now children what do you say to daddy? He has been working hard to get food for this family,” The wife said in a slightly high pitched voice.
“Thank you daddy,” the children said in unison.
“Good,” the wife replied while she nibbled on her apple.

I used my magic to cut the bread into four pieces and gave them out to the foals and the wife. I “ate” the bread not feeling any sustenance from the food though. I then drank the whiskey. The ponies may be dirty and almost useless but they had two major uses, food and earth pony made alcohol. I then decided to go walk around Canterlot (anything to get me out of that shack). I ran into a noble while on my walk as I passed I slid out my hoof and grabbed his coin purse I then nodded to him as to not raise suspicion. I opened the bag and found 67 gold bits inside. I went into a store and bought myself a new dagger for 50 bits, it had a leather bound handle for better grip and a small crystal on the end making it possible to be wielded by magic as well as hooves.

I stopped at the Canterlot Library looking for some books on how to help me combat unicorns in case I should be chased by any royal guards. As I looked through a history book I discovered a curious item it was used in the last war with the changelings 900 years ago. The passage read “In the war that was believed to have killed the changelings there was one thing that let the ponies under the rule of Celestia win, the horn-lock. This as history tells us stopped any use of magic by the pony it was used on. The changeling’s needed magic to communicate and to transform…” the rest had been torn out or lost in the last 900 years.
“Hmm. I wonder if I can learn more about these horn-lock things? Maybe I can learn how to use them to support my mother in her plans.” I said thinking out loud.
“I think I have found one I will find it’s food source and eliminate it.” said a shady figure standing behind a nearby bookshelf.

I stopped by a store as I neared the shack I was to call home, I got two more loaves of bread to feed the livestock and two bottles of “Strong Apple Family Cider” as the salemare said. The orange earth pony mare who sold it to me was horrifyingly cheery for not getting any other business Applesmack or some stupid name like that. I put on a fake smile and thanked her as I walked off with my drinks and bread. I got a gift for each of the young livestock as I passed a toy shop. I came out with a book on pranks and tricks for the colt and a Luna doll for the filly.
“I’m back and I have some gifts for you kids.” I announced as I walked through the tarp.
“DADDY! DADDY!” the children exclaimed as soon as they heard me announce my arrival