Prologue: Every Journey Begins With A Single Step
Changelings are a very unique race in the world of Equus. They are Emotivores, beings that feed by siphoning emotional energy from other creatures. The range of effects caused by such a diet range greatly depending on the Subject and what emotion is taken.
The insectoid race has Eight different subspecies of changeling within. Each of these very different groups gains more or less 'food' from a certain type of Emotion.
First, you have the Bluelings. They gain the most energy from Discovery. Commonly hiding amongst scholars, explorers, librarians, and various other intellectual roles they can be considered the intellectuals of Changeling society. Being cautious, studious, calculating, and descriptive are just some qualities that a Blueling might have.
Then there are the Yellows. These bright 'lings feed strongly off of Positivity. Happiness, if you will. Caring, kind, and very energetic they can be found in any number of roles dealing with foals or cheering others up.
Next in Changeling society are the Greens. Greenlings feed from creativity. Artists, Musicians and even Inventors are some roles a Greenling may be found in. Yearning to create, to build, and to inspire are the ways of a Greenling and in many ways they are some of the most interesting types of Changelings. Creativity, Patience, and even the ability to think outside the box are all qualities found in Greenlings.
In addition, there are the Purples. These lings are the most common, and can be found nearly anywhere. Simple Love and Affection are all they require to maintain a healthy diet. Anypony could be a Purple but not anyling may pose as a Purple. Purple changelings differ the most in personality. Due to their very staggered population, Purple lings are never easy to spot. They can be literally anypony you know.
Next are the Whites. Whitelings feed best from Honesty. Loyalty is another strong part of their emotional diet and as such, Whites can be found mostly in law enforcement, as well as in courts. Many whites take the places of lawyers in Equestria to feed on the oh-so common innocent's Honesty. Whitelings are nearly always truthful, and rarely betray others aside from their guises.
Then there Pinks. Pink changelings take great pleasure in pleasure itself. Lust and Pleasure are their two main meals, and they can be commonly found working in clubs, or in the seedier parts of town. Pinks are known to be very outgoing with their sexuality, and as a result are willing to lay with most ponies simply to fill themselves. Pinklings are very flirtatious, and will reel their subject in with their charm and beauty.
Now we have the Reds. Redlings thrive when there is an abundance of Passion in an area. Red changelings can commonly be found as Apprentices, working under skilled masters. They learn, slowly thriving on the passion of their mentors, and then continue on as teachers for the passionate. They are hard workers, and some of the greatest in their craft whatever it may be.
These Eight types of Changeling make up the largest, most common element of Changeling society. Hybrids between colors are rare, but do happen. For example, a Green and a Blue can have an Offspring that will thrive on both knowledge and creativity. Colors that are Vastly different, such as Pleasure and Honesty are much rarer. Their magical energies are much too different to often produce a child.
Changeling politics is much like the Griffin kingdom's, honestly. Each color brood is lead by a member of the Noble bloodline, those who descended directly from the blood of the First Mother. They guide their colors collectively, leading all together much like a Republic. They are known as the Elder Council Of Seven. They dwell in what is known as the Hive, located deep in the Badlands, and almost bordering the northernmost border of the Forbidden Jungle. Few have ever been that deep into the badlands, and few stay there for good reason. It is a cruel and dangerous place, littered with terrible monsters and wild Buffalo. The settlers of Appleloosa chose to remain outside of the Badlands for good reason, after all.
Our story picks up in the City of Baltimare, situated on the eastern seaboard of equestria. This historic city is home to many events in Equestrian history, like the first contact with New Griffonstone, and the Signing of the Three Cities treaty oh so many centuries ago. It is one of the oldest cities in the world due to it having been a village since the time before the sisters. Nowadays it is one of two major ports to Equestria, and is where nearly all imports from New Griffonstone come in. Meats, Spices, and Materials all flow through the docks, being processed and delivered to their owners. It is truly an industrious city, one with rich history and amazing views.
One living in Baltimare would be honored and proud. Horseshoe Bay was known for it's amazing Seafood according to local Griffins and Minotaurs and was widely considered equal, or even better than Manehattan in terms of sophistication, yet the proud city had it's downfalls however. Due to the cities status as not only a shipping center, but also a Production Center is is ripe with crime. Ponies living here are quite used to leaving the streets a few bits short of when they arrived. The local guard is quite heavily taxed by the heavier amounts of crime and as such are usually stuck picking between which crimes to tackle at a time.
A young unicorn stallion glanced up from his book, his hefty saddlebags swinging by his side slightly. His eyes were of a rare coloration, with a deep-blue centering his pupil before fading outwards to a viridian. His gaze was fixated on the city in the distance as it's buildings towered over all others. The city was known for it's impressive, modern architecture and it showed in this view.
The train buckled, shaking him slightly before he righted his balance. He glanced back down at the unnamed tome with it's blueish hue. He shut it, floating it into his saddlebag as he observed those within his car. He stood, glancing at the nearby passengers before silently creeping between his car and the one beside. He stopped next to a Strawberry mare, his eyes flicking over her face for a moment before speaking.
“How do you like the vacation, Scarlet Shield?” The stallion asked, glancing outside and towards their destination.
“My first time outside of… Home has been eventful, Practiced Prose. It's almost like it was planned somehow.” The smaller Mare replied, smiling at him slightly. Her mane was Vermillion, clashing with her eyes which took a color on very close to what Prose had.
“Well, you have an important job, my friend. It will be tedious and long, but we'll certainly find our way.” He replied, smiling down at her.
“My lord, I do wish to ask why you chose Baltimare? Would Canterlot, or even Los Pegasus be better for this? They're both less… unsavory, and would provide Ample-”
“Canterlot would have been much too close to the Princess, my child.” He cut her off. “And Los Pegasus is much farther from Home. Would you not like to remain near your kin?” He questioned, sharing an amused grin with his smaller companion.
“I see, my lord. Thank you for at least giving me the reason as to why you chose such an… interesting home.” His companion replied, before getting up.
The train lurched one more time, coming to a stop at what appeared to be a refueling station. Prose took a look around the cabin to ensure there was nopony watching before he began opening his bag.
Shield looked over to her lifetime friend, smiling as he pulled out the very same tome he'd had for his entire life. She smiled cruelly, before suddenly snatching it out of his grip. She was unprepared however for the sudden tackle from her friend, sending her sprawling onto the floor. His book was quickly returned to it's rightful place in his grip.
He glared down at his now-captive friend, smiling at her as he pinned her to the floor.
“You won't catch me off-guard anymore, Scarlet. I learned the hard way you know” He laughed, before hopping off her.
“You're worse than your sister, you know.” She laughed, slowly sitting up. “You're much bigger too, so I can never knock you down. It's no fair!” She cried.
The two bickered on, completely missing the train beginning to continue on its long journey to Baltimare. They laughed at each other, made jokes, and reminisced about the homeland before they fell asleep. They knew it would be a long ride, but they knew they could handle it. The only unknown from then on, would be what they'd do as they arrived at Baltimare.
Author's Note
How was the little preview so far guys? I want your honest opinion, and I want you to really let me know what you think. A lot of my inspiration for the way I divided Changelings up came from an AMAZING story currently being written by Thadius0 called “Shifting Melodies”
Please check it out, and read his story. It's an amazing one, and is partially what inspired me to get back into writing.
Chapter 1: Roomie Reactions
The heavy locomotive slowed to a stop, brakes screeching and squealing. The cars buckled, shaking heavily as the old machine finally pulled to a stop at the busy station. Ponies wandered to and fro, some to shops and others to the exit.
It was here that our Practiced Prose and his companion sauntered off the train. Their light luggage was no hindrance as they made their way to the entrance of the extensive structure. They blended in perfectly with the crowd as just another few ponies merely making their way to whatever adventure awaited them in Charm City.
Both of their eyes wandered around at various ponies going about the motions of their day. From Unicorns, to Pegasi, to Earth Ponies, nopony was spared from their curious glance. To the untrained eye they were nothing more than newcomers, eager to see every sight and sound that this new city could deliver upon them.
To those who were raised to spot such interesting characters however, they would notice the glimmer in their eyes when spotting certain ponies. The stallion for example, who seemed to smile lightly at every pony who walked past him, saddlebags filled with books. His eyes glimmered with such an interest that one would believe that the mere thought of learning would feed him. Their guess wouldn't be that far off.
Then there was the other one. The younger mare, with her wings shuffled against her side. A quick glance at her would reveal nothing but an ecstatic mare, excited at the idea of exploring her new home. One trained in the art of deception however would recognize the same thing on her person as well. She seemed excited at each pony who trotted past the two. Her eyes kept flicking between ponies that she saw were walking in pairs. Be they friends, Lovers, or just strangers was unknown to her, but the very idea seemed to encourage her.
The two began their trip, trotting towards the paved roads of the city. The Pegasus mare seemed to know not where she was going, and it was quite obvious that she was simply following her Stallion counterpart.
“Where are we staying anyway, Prose?” She asked, trotting up to his side on the edge of the road.
“Very good question, Scar.” He replied. “The pamphlet said that the local Library has an apartment available.” He answered, glancing at the hastily written directions on the back of a delivery-menu.
“The library? What kind of Library has rooms available” The mare questioned, quite confusedly
Prose shrugged, before whistling. A bright yellow and black carriage rolled up to the side of the road, the driver already gesturing for them to get on. Both ponies hastily made their way onto the carriage, before Prose nodded to the stallion.
“Take us to library please.” He told him, tossing a single bit into the tip jar.
“Sure thing. Looking into the new rooms, I assume?” The lead asked, before quickly getting into gear. He was quick on his hooves, immediately getting them back into traffic and onto the journey to their destination. The group was awkwardly silent as they progressed in the direction of their destination.
“So Shield, what do you plan to do upon our arrival?” Prose grinned at her.
“Well Prose, I plan on tidying the place up a bit. A library's dormitories can only be dirty, am I right?” She chuckled, searching through her memory for something interesting to do.
The taxi continued onward towards it's destination. The ride was uninteresting for the most part and they arrived at the grand structure quite quickly.
Dropping a pile of bits into the jar without hesitation Prose disembarked the vehicle, pulling his companion out as well.
He smiled at her, before gesturing to their new home.
“I guess this is it, eh Scar?” He looked at the structure, barely able to contain himself.
“You're such a nerd, Prose. Go ahead without me, I have the rest of the luggage to lug up there anyway” She moaned, glancing back at the bags.
“Oh sweet, Thanks Shield!” He ran off, eager to explore all the delicious knowledge contained within the library unexplored to him.
Practiced Prose leapt up the stairs three at a time in his eagerness to explore the new library. He all but sprinted throughout the structure, grabbing every book he could find that wasn't in use of he'd read before.
He'd checked them out and was already halfway up the second set of stairs by the time Shield had entered the magnificent glass doors of the main lobby.
“Hurry up you old slowpoke!” He yelled to the dismay of the entire Library population. He sprinted up the last remaining steps before whipping out the notes he'd created. Grasping the knob with his magic he twisted and pulled. To his surprise, the door didn't budge, completely resisting his efforts. He struggled for a moment, before he shoved his body towards the door in an effort to force it open.
WHAM!
He slammed onto the floor of the apartment, his chin parallel to the floor.
“Uuuugh.” he moaned, rubbing his head with his hooves, before rolling over at the sound of hoofsteps.
“What, can't you open a door without my help my lord?” She chirped, chuckling at his misfortune. She continued past him with their bags grinning like a the Cheshire cat.
“You know I still can't quite understand just how you're a noble with your childish ways Prose.” She chuckled, closing the door.
The stallion opened his mouth to reply before wincing. As he ensured the door was closed and locked, he released the faint tendrils of magic that covered his body under the assumption that Shield had checked the room.
Dark green flames washed his body, stripping away his disguise and revealing a chitinous insectoid body. He was primarily black and gray, with a dark blue-green mixture highlighting, and his body was much larger than that of the average stallion. His plated back slid upwards slightly, letting a large pair of wings slide out. They looked very similar to a Fly's, if they were scaled upwards and thicker. He stood completely, relishing in the ability to stretch himself out. His skeleton popped frequently as it took its place. Scarlet merely glanced backwards at her companion, smiling.
“You know you should probably have made sure I checked the place, but oh well.” She stretched herself out, as similar flames floated around her form. Her transformation was much faster, washing over her in no less than a second. Her body was smaller and she was barely eye-level to his chin. He smiled down at her, his wings buzzing.
“Oh, I'm sorry for wanting to get out of that disguise. It's nice to finally be back to my normal size, you know?” He replied, immediately trotting over towards the couch in the center of the room.
“I swear, one of these days you're going to get us killed. You're too damn relaxed for someling of your stance” His companion buzzed as she sauntered her way into the kitchen.
Relaxing on the couch, the larger changeling buzzed comfortably.
Prose's relaxation was cut short when a scream shattered the silence. It was filled to the brim with terror and shock. He'd never moved faster in his life than in those next five seconds. It took two to leap the over the couch, one to get to the kitchen, and one more to tackle whatever was currently blowing their cover. That last second? That was reserved for finally realizing that he'd just slam-dunked some poor mare straight onto the tile floor. She was out cold, unsurprisingly.
“Who the buck is this?!” Prose's eyes were wide with surprise.
“Uh… I believe the Librarian said that we had a roommate… I think” Shield scavenged her memories for the answer.
They both looked to their completely-out roommate before they heard heavy knocking on the door.
“That was a lot of screaming, Honey Blossom! Are you alright?” Somepony slammed their hooves on the door again.
Coughing a few times to get back into his voice, Prose replied. “Sorry about that! We might have surprised her, and she fainted! We're her new Roomies!” He yelled through the thick oak door.
“Ah. No hard feelings then dude, it's just Honey's a good friend of mine. I thought something happened to her” The voice was quieter now yet still distinctly male.
“It's fine, she's just out cold for now. Thanks for being worried though.” Prose answered.
Hoofsteps sounded through the door, before the sound of a door being shut was heard.
“Well buck, this is going to be hard to explain” Shield answered the unspoken question. How exactly were they going to explain why Honey Blossom would awake with the clear memory of not one, but two giant insect-ponies in her vision?
One thing was certain however. These two were certainly in for an interesting stay in this city. It seemed that nothing should be able to surprise them anymore, at least not to the level of this.
Author's Note
How's the new chapter? Please, write your honest opinions on the comments below and inform me of any grammatical errors you may encounter. I'd like to once again thank Thadius0 and his amazing fiction "Shifting Melodies" for the inspiration.
