Chapters The Changeling
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Chapter 2
I awoke at first light on my second day of infiltration, Celestia’s sun rising over the castle. I pulled of the dirty, hole covered rag that was around me and shuddered with disgust at the thought that I had to sleep under that nasty cloth and that I was unable to bathe. I looked in the coin purse I had and found only 6 bits.
Whimsy then burst into tears her sobbing hurting my ears but I felt a good amount of nourishment from it. The love from this pony was delicious as good as the aged wine I had in my last form. The sobbing was so loud it woke the children. I comforted the now sobbing family by telling them I would talk to the pony I wasn’t getting along with and sent the kids back to bed. The mare stopped sobbing but continued to sniffle as she laid back down and fell asleep a big smile on her face.
As the day approached 11:30 I set out to the marketplace in town square. I found near a trash bin a hat it was a black top hat with a pair of goggles with a blue strap and a rim of the same blue around the lenses. I picked up the hat with my magic and cast a spell to decontaminate it of the dirty pony germs and then put it on my head. I decided to wander a road that lead to a town called Ponyville traders travel that road in order to reach Canterlot so it should be easy pickings for some food and bits. As I passed the gates of Canterlot I nodded to the guards and trotted down the road I reached a wooded area by the road I jumped in making sure I was fully concealed I turned into a forest green pegasus mare with a mane and tail of a slightly lighter green color with spots of brown in it. The green flames dissipating and my new form blending in well with the forest cover. As I heard a cart approach I pulled out my blade and readied myself for attack. The cart passed and I flew silently behind it looking inside I saw eight crates of peaches, two crates of ponchos, a rifle and a half empty bottle of cheap whiskey next to a napping guard pony. I landed softly in the cart and used my knife to cut the throat of the guard making as little noise as possible so as to not alert the driver.
As the day progressed I robbed two more carts and have a larger one hidden and loaded with the stolen goods. As another cart approached I heard the sound of the cart of the road was different it sounded more full than the last ones yet it looked smaller.
I was bored of this conversation now and so I grabbed my rifle and pressed the barrel to his forehead in just such a way I could hit both targets with my next shot. I had magically enhanced my bullets to add more power to the shots while I waited for carts to come. I just thought of how close we were getting to Canterlot and knew I need to finish this now.
The guard started first he got into a bowing position like I was a princess who was judging his petition. He removed his hat and started “Please I’m beggin’ you, if you have any compassion let ol’ Dusty go he has two kids and a wife in the hospital. I ‘aint got no one so if I live I’ll be as bad as you. I want him to live and see his children grow. Kill me,” by the end he was practically sobbing over the thought of me killing this Dusty fellow. I felt the love of a brother in his tears and decided.
The pony decided not to pursue the matter further probably writing me off as just a crazy pony who escaped from a mental hospital. The trip through Canterlot on the way to my current residence went well but as the cart drew close to the shack smoke began to become visible from the area near the shack's location.
As the sight of the burning shack came into view I accepted the deaths of those three. The thought of my "gift" to Dusty's wife helped, I used some special jewels I got off a wagon guard it has the magical ability to absorb love energy and send it to my medallion I had attached to the inside of my hat. This meant as long as a creature capable of love had possession of the pendant and I had my hat, I can still feed. I stood there laughing as the smell of burning wood and flesh filled the air.
Chapter 3
As I stood there, the fire long out, I pondered if I should inform mother yet.
Dark Shot sat there glaring at me as I continued to ponder where I was to go. I thought of finding a new family to infiltrate maybe in that Ponyville town I heard about a small town would be a nice change.
“Yep to Ponyville. Charge Darky!” I announced hopping into the cart’s riders chair and pointing my hoof heroically into the air.
As we approached the trees I would hide in earlier I saw a shadow bounce between the trees. I didn’t think much of it until Dark Shot screamed and we veered into the brush.
“THE HELL!” I yelled my voice cracking slightly
I started to use my transformation but as the green flames started to engulf me a blast of red magic hit my left foreleg.
“Now now. We can’t let you transform now can we? I want this to be as easy as possible, I don’t want to deal with magic and wings,”
I had now caught on to the pattern the tree pony was using to jump around and sprung on her as she jumped. She was a blood red unicorn with a black mane and tail and dark green eyes. She was taller than my current form and was very lean. She also had a black gas mask on her head and was covered in soot and dark spots on her fur that I could only assume as blood from killing my last food source. As I looked over her I felt like I’ve seen this mare somewhere before.
“Have we met before pony?” I asked
At that her horn emitted a blinding white light and she rolled over. This caused me to fall to the ground my hoof over my eyes. “FUCK, MY EYES!” I screamed.
My vision cleared just in time to move out of the way of a hoof as it came down towards my face. The unicorn had dawned back on her mask and now looked like she was ready to kill. Her horn began glowing as she charged at me, I dodged out of the way and grabbed her tail in my teeth and pulled her to the ground. I climbed back on top of her and started to transform she tried to struggle free so she could stop me but when she had managed to get out I had already changed. I was now a deep blue unicorn with a white mane and tail that had a teal streak going through both.
“Now we’re on even ground, magic against magic,” I said smiling darkly at the thought of this unicorn’s dead body her blood dripping from my knife.
My mind started to go hazy and my body started to lose balance, I fell to the ground looking at the unicorn. I felt a pressure around my horn and my mind went silent, I tried to reach mother and felt nothing. I couldn’t feel the hive at all.
