A Change of Sceneryby CrowRChapters A Strange GuestFirst MeetingInformationInvestigationsThoughts A Strange GuestA Strange Guest A figure rushed through the bushes, causing a small rustle. More rustling occurred, followed by three additional figures rushing past. Darkness permeated the forest, the few seams of moonlight cutting through the shade of trees. There was no path, only soil and wild plants within the large clearing. Quick panting could be heard as the rustling grew louder. A flash illuminated the area briefly, followed by a grunt. A shadow fell out of the vegetation, followed by three more that charged through. The first figure got up quickly, glowing blue eyes looking at the others with rage. It’s opponents stepped forward threateningly, one sporting a horn which glowed a firm yellow. It didn’t provide much illumination, but it caused the blue eyes to narrow slightly, a curved horn atop it’s head glowing a malefic green. The other figures grew closer, causing the first to let out a fierce hiss. The yellow horn’s glow intensified before shooting a beam towards the first figure! The green horn sent a blast as well, causing both to collide and cause a blinding light. "ZAM" POV I sighed as I closed SFM on my laptop. Another day of animating 3D stuff for entertainment- which is a pretty cool job coupled with a certain website called YouTube. Although, it does take a long time for me to do it-even with the tutorial videos as a guide. In fact, I never really thought I'd be able to use YouTube as a source of income. Sure, when I was a teenager I had high aspirations of becoming a Youtuber, but I didn't know if I'd use it full-time. Luckily I took a job at a supermarket-mostly day shift, the pay's pretty decent so I can't bark about it. I jumped when I heard something thud outside. Strange, it was the middle of the night and it was clear out. It could be a tree, or maybe something else? Why am I dragging my thoughts on! I gotta go see what that was. I got up with my jacket on and walked outside. Everything looked normal, the street lamps cast their glow upon the sidewalk and road, my car was still in the driveway. I was about to go back in when I saw something off to the side. I hurried over and saw...a horse? Or was it a bug? It's kind of hard to tell. It definitely looked like a horse, with four legs and hooves. Other than that, though, not much. For one, it's legs had holes in them. It was like it was in one of those sci-fi shows with weird lasers that go right through things. Another was that it didn't have fur, but what felt like smooth skin! It's ears were sort of like it's legs, only they had what looked like part of a hole in them, leaving them a bit jagged at the end. On it's back were what looked like wings- transparent and light grey, which was strange. It didn't have a mane, which automatically destroyed the horse theory. Instead it had a curved horn, like it could use magic. It's tail was short, a small tuft of fur. Also,there were fangs sticking out of it's muzzle, which scared me a little. What was this thing? What should I do? Do I call the police-but what would they do?! They'd probably call the CIA or something, then what? Would it be dissected? Studied? Taken prisoner? I noticed the bug...thing was twitching a little, signaling that it was alive. Ok, maybe I could help it. I always had a crazy imagination, and sometimes dreamed of traveling to new worlds. That imagination did come in handy a lot, but that didn't matter right now! A cool breeze made its way through, causing the creature to shudder slightly. To be honest it actually looked kind of cute- even though it was a possible alien. Looking around and finding nobody else, I gingerly picked it up, finding it a little heavy. I quickly got inside and put it on the couch, putting a blanket over it in case it got cold. Right, I'm now harboring an unknown creature in my house- that could be an alien or something else. It must've fallen from the sky, judging by the thud I heard earlier. I put a hand on it's head, feeling it's warm skin. It felt so weird, but I couldn't help but pet it a little. I know it's not a dog, but I just felt an urge to do it. I jolted a bit when it's head booped my hand and turned over a little. I simply sat there for a few seconds before smiling. It was completely insane, yet at the same time I felt so fascinated! The question was...is it good or evil? First MeetingThe creature's eyes fluttered open drowsily, it's mind clouded and foggy. It placed a hoof to it's head in exhaustion, freezing when it saw a blanket around its form. The more it looked around, the more frightened it got. It was sitting in a room of some sort, a few of the objects around familiar to it. In front of the couch it slept on was a dark brown table, nothing much upon it except a few cups. The walls were blue with a horizontal white stripe. To the right was a large window with beige curtains covering them up. It was about to get up when it heard footsteps from the next room. Through a wall opening a little ways from the table another being walked in. This one was bipedal,sporting long legs and upper appendages. It wore strange clothes, the garment on it's upper body the first creature had seen small glimpses of in the past. Examining the biped more, it had what looked to be tan skin and stark black hair on it's head. When it looked at it's grey eyes, they both locked gazes for a moment. The silence was rather agonizing, as if something was lingering between the two. Both pairs of eyes held slight curiosity with a small hint of fear. The latter was far more prominent in the smaller being, seeing as it was in the presence of something so intimidating. Luckily the silence was broken,but in a surprising way. "Uh...are you ok?", the biped asked in a slightly deep voice. The first creature blinked for a second before answering, it's voice rather echoed, "Y-yeah". A silence consumed the room again, the two not sure of what to say at the moment. It was understandable, of course, as each of them are in the presence of something they've never seen before. Though, as they were both in somewhat the same situation, they each had different ways of going about it. While the biped was rather relaxed, the quadruped was scared and lost. Without a warning, it shot up and sent a green blast from its horn! The tall creature was able to dodge it, luckily, the blast bounding off into the other room and causing a small crash. "Whoa,whoa!It's okay.I'm not gonna hurt you.", he said gently, putting his appendages up in defense. The quadruped narrowed its eyes, the horn atop its head glowing idly. It looked around, as if anticipating something before letting out a snort and sitting down on it's hind legs. The biped chuckled slightly, finding the smaller creature's behavior amusing. It simply kept a blank expression, the glow on its horn fading out. More silence came until the taller of the two decided to try and strike up conversation. "Do you have a name?", he asked. The creature hesitated for a second before answering, "Laivon". The taller of the two smiled gently, "I'm Zeke,but my friends call me ZAM." Laivon nodded in response before asking a question, "What are you?" "I'm a human.What about you?" "I'm a changeling." "Hm...not to be rude or anything,but are you a boy or a girl?It's kind of hard to tell by your voice." The changeling blinked in slight surprise,"I'm male." ZAM chuckled slightly before speaking, "Well at least we've got introductions down." InformationAfter the rather awkward introduction, Lavion and ZAM told each other about their respective homes. ZAM mostly told about basic facts about humans and how their ingenuity shaped their advancements, while Lavion told about the different pony races and how they lived in harmony. Needless to say, they were both fascinated by this information! It was like reading a book on a culture long since forgotten. Things went well until the human decided to ask a question. “So,what are changelings like?”, he asked out of curiosity,”You didn’t really say much about them when talking about the pony races.” The smaller being hesitated for a moment, considering his options before answering, ”Changelings are...different from ponies-in more ways than one.” The human raised an eyebrow, ”I’m guessing they don’t have the best reputation.” “Yeah...in fact,you could say we’re the complete opposite of normal ponies.”, he sighed before continuing, ”While they have different special talents,changelings are born with the goal of serving our queen,Chrysalis.We all live to serve her,she provides for us.We feed upon love and use it to strengthen ourselves.We take the form of other ponies to drain it from the ones who care about them.I used to be that way,but I broke away from the hive to find a better way of living.” ZAM didn’t know what to say. So much information was just thrown at him in that moment, and it made him think more about changelings. It was obvious that they were evil, as feeding on love would be questionable. Adding to that was Lavion’s affirmation of his species having a bad reputation. What made him think the most was the mentality that was described: all changelings were born to serve their queen. A way to describe it would be a civilization of people praying to a god for guidance. While not exactly a good analogy, it was good enough for the information given to him. “Wow…”, the human said after gathering his thoughts, “that’s...a lot to take in.What happened before you ended up here?” “I managed to get to a town called Ponyville,it’s close to the capital of Equestria.Unfortunately,I was spotted by a few guards and they attacked me.The last thing I remember is defending myself against a magic blast and blacking out.” The human nodded in understanding, “Well,I don’t think there’s a way for you to get back to Equestria from here.Humans only know so much about the world,and dimensional travel isn’t in that book.” “It’s alright.The chances of a changeling fitting in with pony society were rather slim to begin with, seeing as we invaded a royal wedding.”, Lavion said chuckling slightly. ZAM chuckled as well, “You’re welcome to stay here if you’d like.Humans aren’t the friendliest of creatures.They tend to go with the mentality of ‘take things apart and find out what makes them tick’-and it sometimes applies to living things as well.” The changeling shuddered involuntarily at that, knowing firsthand that some beings aren’t as friendly as others. At least ponies were lenient and would most likely take him prisoner, but even so he didn’t like that idea. With ZAM’s statement, though, he briefly thought about staying back and letting himself get caught in Equestria. It would be preferred as opposed to being most-definitely killed and studied. His thoughts were broken by a very audible growl from his midsection, making him look away out of embarrassment. ZAM just smiled, “You said changelings feed on love, but do you eat anything else?” “Not that I know of...love is a really strong magic in Equestria,so it’s a primary food source for changelings.” The human nodded with a thoughtful expression, ”Since you’re an insect,I’d assume you have a wide range of foods.Then again,you mostly feed on love based on what you told me.Hmm…how about a salad?” “Sure.” Moonlight glowed through the windows of the large room, the only other source of light being small candles burning at the throne. Three equine figures bowed at the bottom of it, a pair of blue eyes scanning a parchment floating in a dark blue glow. After a while, the parchment was set aside and the eyes looked to the three in slight disappointment. “You say it disappeared when you tried attacking?”, an authoritative voice inquired. “Yes, when it tried deflecting my blast, it disappeared in a flash of light.”,a voice answered. “I see...we will have to launch an investigation. We cannot let it be loose around ponies.” InvestigationsDarkness surrounded Lavion’s body. It was nothing new to him, the changeling was trained to hide within it and use the identities of others to his advantage. However, the darkness around him now had an eerie aura to it- like it was conscious. He looked around, finding a small light far from him. Curiosity took over as he strode towards it, not noticing the shadow slowly crawling behind him. “Live to serve.” He froze at that voice, a voice he knew all too well. He heard that voice before, only the last time he did it was angry. He quickened his pace towards the light, wanting to get as far from the voice as possible. As he drew closer, however, he found the darkness creeping upon him and gaining intensity. The light grew nearer, but so was the darkness. “You’re a fool!You’ll perish without me!”, the voice bellowed. Even if I do, Lavion thought as he leaped towards the light, I’d prefer it than starvation. He gasped as he opened his eyes, sweat drawing down his muzzle. He looked around, finding himself on a couch and remembering the events that happened previously. He broke away from the hive and found his way to Ponyville, only to be attacked and end up in another world. He was at least lucky enough to meet someone friendly, whom he understandably felt indebted to. Might as well get up since I’m awake, he thought with a sigh. “Your highness, I believe we’ve found something.” The sun was shining through the trees of the forest, though it didn’t do much for the lingering aura in it. Standing near a scorched spot in the ground stood a blue alicorn, adorning shining shoes on her hooves and a black crown atop her head. Around her neck was a necklace with a crescent upon it. On her flank was a black splotch with a white crescent mark on it. Her mane and tail flowed eternally, sparkling as if representing the stars themselves. Her blue eyes focused to a shorter pony in a lab coat. “What have you found?”, the mare asked in an authoritative voice. “There are lingering traces of magic around here.”, the coated pony said with his horn glowing faintly, ”It feels like remnants of a teleportation spell, but I can’t pinpoint the location it leads.” “I see...we may need help from Twilight Sparkle. Her magical skills are quite advanced thanks to lessons from my sister. Although,I believe my sister may have an idea what has happened here.” “You actually do this as a job?” “Yup,though it’s sort of an 'on again-of again' sort of thing…” After getting some breakfast, ZAM decided to show Lavion some of the things humans created. Currently he was explaining the concept of Youtube and his skills in animation. The changeling showed fascination when shown how humans could do so much with such a small device! The tall male explained that he also worked at a supermarket, as animation was a very long and time consuming process. “Did you have a job while in Equestria?”, ZAM asked curiously, “You said you lived to serve your queen, but I’m sure you had a specific duty.” Lavion pondered for a moment before answering, “Well, I was mostly a spy. I was sent to different parts of Equestria to find large sources of love and report back. Only a few of us did this, as others didn’t have the endurance or skill to take on the tasks.” “Huh...the more you explain, the changelings seem more like a...scattered group, I guess. Based on what you said, it seems like only those with special skills can leave the hive. I’m guessing those that don’t usually train, right?” “Mostly. There are some special changelings that are born with unique abilities, but they’re only sent when danger is imminent. I’m surprised Chrysalis didn’t send them during the Canterlot invasion…” The human simply nodded in understanding. The sheer fact that only a select few changelings could leave to explore Equestria brought interesting theories to mind. This was only further supported by Lavion’s mention of special changelings! It fascinated him so much and he wanted to know more! Although, he knew it was best not to prod too deeply into things he didn’t understand. If there was something that would strike a nerve within Lavion, he had to be careful in what he asked. For now, he thought, I guess I should keep the questions to myself. ? POV That traitor was still out there, I could feel it. I could only get a small fix on his mind, hinting that he could be as far as the north! The least I could do was telepathically connect with him, though only in his dreams. No matter, in a way this would give me an advantage. Whenever he sleeps, that is when I’ll strike. I will make sure he learns the consequences of his betrayal! When I’m done, he’ll know better than to betray who gave him life. ThoughtsLavion lay on the couch lazily as he watched the moving picture box in front of him- a television, he heard ZAM call it. He found the things humans created to be immensely fascinating, especially the fact that they can visually record themselves acting out written scripts for others to see. In essence they were basically plays, but different somehow. Maybe it was the fact that they could be rewatched over and over without the actors themselves having to do it. Whatever the case, he was too fascinated to even care. The current program he was watching seemed to involve a group of humans accompanied by what looked like a dog. The dog itself seemed to actually talk, though it seemed to use the “R” sound abundantly. It wasn’t exactly annoying, but just a small quirk that the changeling was able to catch onto quickly. It was like the gag with the red-haired female losing her glasses or the messy-haired male saying “Zoinks!” a lot.. It made him laugh a little- not always, but occasionally. His thoughts began to shift, going from the program to what ZAM said about humans and eventually stopping at his nightmare. If he were to be completely honest, it terrified him.He very much wanted to talk to his new friend about it, but he feared that it would only be met with paranoia. The changeling neglected to tell ZAM about the hive-mind connection his species have. He deduced that Chrysalis must still have that connection to him, which would explain the dream. However, what would she want with him? There are other changelings like him, but that number was small and not many had the skill to enter that league. Could she be planning something?, he thought worriedly, And if so, what does it have to do with me? He let out a small sigh, as he knew nothing could be done if he keeps stressing to himself. The question was whether he should tell his human friend about it… ZAM POV My mind was stumbling as I stacked boxes in the storage area. Sure it was dull and stagnant, but it helped keep a steady flow of income. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing animations, but they take a long time to make. That’s at least one reason why I’m not too keen on making YouTube a full-time job, that and the craziness that happens. As much as I enjoy creating stuff for people to watch, I feel like the time in between animations wouldn’t work for me. The subject of Lavion was fresh in my head, along with what the subject of changelings. I felt strange with the knowledge of a completely different world with possibly no humans whatsoever. From what he said, changelings aren’t exactly free to roam in Equestria, so going off of Lavion’s account isn’t exactly rational. Also, I never truly assessed my situation until now. I thought about it briefly the night I found him, but not as thoroughly as expected. I mean, in the most realistic sense possible, I’m harboring a creature the world has never seen before- from a world that could only be described as a little girl’s fantasy. Could there be some secret society dedicated to this stuff, like Area 51? Am I breaking some secret law that could get me or Larion killed? What about the changeling queen, Chrysalis? Could she be planning something? Does she even know one of her children is in a new world under the care of some unknown creature?! There are so many questions in my head that need answers and I don’t know where to start! “ZAM?” I froze at that, looking over to see my friend Jordan. He was wearing the usual red apron that every employee has to wear, with a green shirt and some jeans underneath. His brown hair was brushed back finely, giving off a fancy vibe. His blue eyes were worriedly trained on me. If I truly could, I'd confess the situation to him, but the current ramifications suppressed that. “You alright?”, he asked with an eyebrow raised, “You’ve been staring at those boxes for a few minutes now.” It took a second for me to blink and come back to Earth, “Uh, yeah. I’m just thinking about some stuff.” “Is it about your channel?” “Kind of.”, I lied, “Just thinking about what the next animation will be.” It’s a good thing Jordan knows about my YouTube channel, as it makes for some good alibis for unwanted situations. He also knows a thing or two about computers, but didn’t want to go all out with it. We’re a pretty good pair, just get a computer between us and magic will happen. He looked at me for a second before smirking. “Well, if you want, I could give you some ideas!”, he said cheerfully, “Always up for something to do.” I just returned it halfheartedly, “Sure. Worth a shot.” Author's Note I've been on and off working on this chapter, so I don't know when the next one will be done.
A Strange GuestA Strange Guest A figure rushed through the bushes, causing a small rustle. More rustling occurred, followed by three additional figures rushing past. Darkness permeated the forest, the few seams of moonlight cutting through the shade of trees. There was no path, only soil and wild plants within the large clearing. Quick panting could be heard as the rustling grew louder. A flash illuminated the area briefly, followed by a grunt. A shadow fell out of the vegetation, followed by three more that charged through. The first figure got up quickly, glowing blue eyes looking at the others with rage. It’s opponents stepped forward threateningly, one sporting a horn which glowed a firm yellow. It didn’t provide much illumination, but it caused the blue eyes to narrow slightly, a curved horn atop it’s head glowing a malefic green. The other figures grew closer, causing the first to let out a fierce hiss. The yellow horn’s glow intensified before shooting a beam towards the first figure! The green horn sent a blast as well, causing both to collide and cause a blinding light. "ZAM" POV I sighed as I closed SFM on my laptop. Another day of animating 3D stuff for entertainment- which is a pretty cool job coupled with a certain website called YouTube. Although, it does take a long time for me to do it-even with the tutorial videos as a guide. In fact, I never really thought I'd be able to use YouTube as a source of income. Sure, when I was a teenager I had high aspirations of becoming a Youtuber, but I didn't know if I'd use it full-time. Luckily I took a job at a supermarket-mostly day shift, the pay's pretty decent so I can't bark about it. I jumped when I heard something thud outside. Strange, it was the middle of the night and it was clear out. It could be a tree, or maybe something else? Why am I dragging my thoughts on! I gotta go see what that was. I got up with my jacket on and walked outside. Everything looked normal, the street lamps cast their glow upon the sidewalk and road, my car was still in the driveway. I was about to go back in when I saw something off to the side. I hurried over and saw...a horse? Or was it a bug? It's kind of hard to tell. It definitely looked like a horse, with four legs and hooves. Other than that, though, not much. For one, it's legs had holes in them. It was like it was in one of those sci-fi shows with weird lasers that go right through things. Another was that it didn't have fur, but what felt like smooth skin! It's ears were sort of like it's legs, only they had what looked like part of a hole in them, leaving them a bit jagged at the end. On it's back were what looked like wings- transparent and light grey, which was strange. It didn't have a mane, which automatically destroyed the horse theory. Instead it had a curved horn, like it could use magic. It's tail was short, a small tuft of fur. Also,there were fangs sticking out of it's muzzle, which scared me a little. What was this thing? What should I do? Do I call the police-but what would they do?! They'd probably call the CIA or something, then what? Would it be dissected? Studied? Taken prisoner? I noticed the bug...thing was twitching a little, signaling that it was alive. Ok, maybe I could help it. I always had a crazy imagination, and sometimes dreamed of traveling to new worlds. That imagination did come in handy a lot, but that didn't matter right now! A cool breeze made its way through, causing the creature to shudder slightly. To be honest it actually looked kind of cute- even though it was a possible alien. Looking around and finding nobody else, I gingerly picked it up, finding it a little heavy. I quickly got inside and put it on the couch, putting a blanket over it in case it got cold. Right, I'm now harboring an unknown creature in my house- that could be an alien or something else. It must've fallen from the sky, judging by the thud I heard earlier. I put a hand on it's head, feeling it's warm skin. It felt so weird, but I couldn't help but pet it a little. I know it's not a dog, but I just felt an urge to do it. I jolted a bit when it's head booped my hand and turned over a little. I simply sat there for a few seconds before smiling. It was completely insane, yet at the same time I felt so fascinated! The question was...is it good or evil?
First MeetingThe creature's eyes fluttered open drowsily, it's mind clouded and foggy. It placed a hoof to it's head in exhaustion, freezing when it saw a blanket around its form. The more it looked around, the more frightened it got. It was sitting in a room of some sort, a few of the objects around familiar to it. In front of the couch it slept on was a dark brown table, nothing much upon it except a few cups. The walls were blue with a horizontal white stripe. To the right was a large window with beige curtains covering them up. It was about to get up when it heard footsteps from the next room. Through a wall opening a little ways from the table another being walked in. This one was bipedal,sporting long legs and upper appendages. It wore strange clothes, the garment on it's upper body the first creature had seen small glimpses of in the past. Examining the biped more, it had what looked to be tan skin and stark black hair on it's head. When it looked at it's grey eyes, they both locked gazes for a moment. The silence was rather agonizing, as if something was lingering between the two. Both pairs of eyes held slight curiosity with a small hint of fear. The latter was far more prominent in the smaller being, seeing as it was in the presence of something so intimidating. Luckily the silence was broken,but in a surprising way. "Uh...are you ok?", the biped asked in a slightly deep voice. The first creature blinked for a second before answering, it's voice rather echoed, "Y-yeah". A silence consumed the room again, the two not sure of what to say at the moment. It was understandable, of course, as each of them are in the presence of something they've never seen before. Though, as they were both in somewhat the same situation, they each had different ways of going about it. While the biped was rather relaxed, the quadruped was scared and lost. Without a warning, it shot up and sent a green blast from its horn! The tall creature was able to dodge it, luckily, the blast bounding off into the other room and causing a small crash. "Whoa,whoa!It's okay.I'm not gonna hurt you.", he said gently, putting his appendages up in defense. The quadruped narrowed its eyes, the horn atop its head glowing idly. It looked around, as if anticipating something before letting out a snort and sitting down on it's hind legs. The biped chuckled slightly, finding the smaller creature's behavior amusing. It simply kept a blank expression, the glow on its horn fading out. More silence came until the taller of the two decided to try and strike up conversation. "Do you have a name?", he asked. The creature hesitated for a second before answering, "Laivon". The taller of the two smiled gently, "I'm Zeke,but my friends call me ZAM." Laivon nodded in response before asking a question, "What are you?" "I'm a human.What about you?" "I'm a changeling." "Hm...not to be rude or anything,but are you a boy or a girl?It's kind of hard to tell by your voice." The changeling blinked in slight surprise,"I'm male." ZAM chuckled slightly before speaking, "Well at least we've got introductions down."
InformationAfter the rather awkward introduction, Lavion and ZAM told each other about their respective homes. ZAM mostly told about basic facts about humans and how their ingenuity shaped their advancements, while Lavion told about the different pony races and how they lived in harmony. Needless to say, they were both fascinated by this information! It was like reading a book on a culture long since forgotten. Things went well until the human decided to ask a question. “So,what are changelings like?”, he asked out of curiosity,”You didn’t really say much about them when talking about the pony races.” The smaller being hesitated for a moment, considering his options before answering, ”Changelings are...different from ponies-in more ways than one.” The human raised an eyebrow, ”I’m guessing they don’t have the best reputation.” “Yeah...in fact,you could say we’re the complete opposite of normal ponies.”, he sighed before continuing, ”While they have different special talents,changelings are born with the goal of serving our queen,Chrysalis.We all live to serve her,she provides for us.We feed upon love and use it to strengthen ourselves.We take the form of other ponies to drain it from the ones who care about them.I used to be that way,but I broke away from the hive to find a better way of living.” ZAM didn’t know what to say. So much information was just thrown at him in that moment, and it made him think more about changelings. It was obvious that they were evil, as feeding on love would be questionable. Adding to that was Lavion’s affirmation of his species having a bad reputation. What made him think the most was the mentality that was described: all changelings were born to serve their queen. A way to describe it would be a civilization of people praying to a god for guidance. While not exactly a good analogy, it was good enough for the information given to him. “Wow…”, the human said after gathering his thoughts, “that’s...a lot to take in.What happened before you ended up here?” “I managed to get to a town called Ponyville,it’s close to the capital of Equestria.Unfortunately,I was spotted by a few guards and they attacked me.The last thing I remember is defending myself against a magic blast and blacking out.” The human nodded in understanding, “Well,I don’t think there’s a way for you to get back to Equestria from here.Humans only know so much about the world,and dimensional travel isn’t in that book.” “It’s alright.The chances of a changeling fitting in with pony society were rather slim to begin with, seeing as we invaded a royal wedding.”, Lavion said chuckling slightly. ZAM chuckled as well, “You’re welcome to stay here if you’d like.Humans aren’t the friendliest of creatures.They tend to go with the mentality of ‘take things apart and find out what makes them tick’-and it sometimes applies to living things as well.” The changeling shuddered involuntarily at that, knowing firsthand that some beings aren’t as friendly as others. At least ponies were lenient and would most likely take him prisoner, but even so he didn’t like that idea. With ZAM’s statement, though, he briefly thought about staying back and letting himself get caught in Equestria. It would be preferred as opposed to being most-definitely killed and studied. His thoughts were broken by a very audible growl from his midsection, making him look away out of embarrassment. ZAM just smiled, “You said changelings feed on love, but do you eat anything else?” “Not that I know of...love is a really strong magic in Equestria,so it’s a primary food source for changelings.” The human nodded with a thoughtful expression, ”Since you’re an insect,I’d assume you have a wide range of foods.Then again,you mostly feed on love based on what you told me.Hmm…how about a salad?” “Sure.” Moonlight glowed through the windows of the large room, the only other source of light being small candles burning at the throne. Three equine figures bowed at the bottom of it, a pair of blue eyes scanning a parchment floating in a dark blue glow. After a while, the parchment was set aside and the eyes looked to the three in slight disappointment. “You say it disappeared when you tried attacking?”, an authoritative voice inquired. “Yes, when it tried deflecting my blast, it disappeared in a flash of light.”,a voice answered. “I see...we will have to launch an investigation. We cannot let it be loose around ponies.”
InvestigationsDarkness surrounded Lavion’s body. It was nothing new to him, the changeling was trained to hide within it and use the identities of others to his advantage. However, the darkness around him now had an eerie aura to it- like it was conscious. He looked around, finding a small light far from him. Curiosity took over as he strode towards it, not noticing the shadow slowly crawling behind him. “Live to serve.” He froze at that voice, a voice he knew all too well. He heard that voice before, only the last time he did it was angry. He quickened his pace towards the light, wanting to get as far from the voice as possible. As he drew closer, however, he found the darkness creeping upon him and gaining intensity. The light grew nearer, but so was the darkness. “You’re a fool!You’ll perish without me!”, the voice bellowed. Even if I do, Lavion thought as he leaped towards the light, I’d prefer it than starvation. He gasped as he opened his eyes, sweat drawing down his muzzle. He looked around, finding himself on a couch and remembering the events that happened previously. He broke away from the hive and found his way to Ponyville, only to be attacked and end up in another world. He was at least lucky enough to meet someone friendly, whom he understandably felt indebted to. Might as well get up since I’m awake, he thought with a sigh. “Your highness, I believe we’ve found something.” The sun was shining through the trees of the forest, though it didn’t do much for the lingering aura in it. Standing near a scorched spot in the ground stood a blue alicorn, adorning shining shoes on her hooves and a black crown atop her head. Around her neck was a necklace with a crescent upon it. On her flank was a black splotch with a white crescent mark on it. Her mane and tail flowed eternally, sparkling as if representing the stars themselves. Her blue eyes focused to a shorter pony in a lab coat. “What have you found?”, the mare asked in an authoritative voice. “There are lingering traces of magic around here.”, the coated pony said with his horn glowing faintly, ”It feels like remnants of a teleportation spell, but I can’t pinpoint the location it leads.” “I see...we may need help from Twilight Sparkle. Her magical skills are quite advanced thanks to lessons from my sister. Although,I believe my sister may have an idea what has happened here.” “You actually do this as a job?” “Yup,though it’s sort of an 'on again-of again' sort of thing…” After getting some breakfast, ZAM decided to show Lavion some of the things humans created. Currently he was explaining the concept of Youtube and his skills in animation. The changeling showed fascination when shown how humans could do so much with such a small device! The tall male explained that he also worked at a supermarket, as animation was a very long and time consuming process. “Did you have a job while in Equestria?”, ZAM asked curiously, “You said you lived to serve your queen, but I’m sure you had a specific duty.” Lavion pondered for a moment before answering, “Well, I was mostly a spy. I was sent to different parts of Equestria to find large sources of love and report back. Only a few of us did this, as others didn’t have the endurance or skill to take on the tasks.” “Huh...the more you explain, the changelings seem more like a...scattered group, I guess. Based on what you said, it seems like only those with special skills can leave the hive. I’m guessing those that don’t usually train, right?” “Mostly. There are some special changelings that are born with unique abilities, but they’re only sent when danger is imminent. I’m surprised Chrysalis didn’t send them during the Canterlot invasion…” The human simply nodded in understanding. The sheer fact that only a select few changelings could leave to explore Equestria brought interesting theories to mind. This was only further supported by Lavion’s mention of special changelings! It fascinated him so much and he wanted to know more! Although, he knew it was best not to prod too deeply into things he didn’t understand. If there was something that would strike a nerve within Lavion, he had to be careful in what he asked. For now, he thought, I guess I should keep the questions to myself. ? POV That traitor was still out there, I could feel it. I could only get a small fix on his mind, hinting that he could be as far as the north! The least I could do was telepathically connect with him, though only in his dreams. No matter, in a way this would give me an advantage. Whenever he sleeps, that is when I’ll strike. I will make sure he learns the consequences of his betrayal! When I’m done, he’ll know better than to betray who gave him life.
ThoughtsLavion lay on the couch lazily as he watched the moving picture box in front of him- a television, he heard ZAM call it. He found the things humans created to be immensely fascinating, especially the fact that they can visually record themselves acting out written scripts for others to see. In essence they were basically plays, but different somehow. Maybe it was the fact that they could be rewatched over and over without the actors themselves having to do it. Whatever the case, he was too fascinated to even care. The current program he was watching seemed to involve a group of humans accompanied by what looked like a dog. The dog itself seemed to actually talk, though it seemed to use the “R” sound abundantly. It wasn’t exactly annoying, but just a small quirk that the changeling was able to catch onto quickly. It was like the gag with the red-haired female losing her glasses or the messy-haired male saying “Zoinks!” a lot.. It made him laugh a little- not always, but occasionally. His thoughts began to shift, going from the program to what ZAM said about humans and eventually stopping at his nightmare. If he were to be completely honest, it terrified him.He very much wanted to talk to his new friend about it, but he feared that it would only be met with paranoia. The changeling neglected to tell ZAM about the hive-mind connection his species have. He deduced that Chrysalis must still have that connection to him, which would explain the dream. However, what would she want with him? There are other changelings like him, but that number was small and not many had the skill to enter that league. Could she be planning something?, he thought worriedly, And if so, what does it have to do with me? He let out a small sigh, as he knew nothing could be done if he keeps stressing to himself. The question was whether he should tell his human friend about it… ZAM POV My mind was stumbling as I stacked boxes in the storage area. Sure it was dull and stagnant, but it helped keep a steady flow of income. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing animations, but they take a long time to make. That’s at least one reason why I’m not too keen on making YouTube a full-time job, that and the craziness that happens. As much as I enjoy creating stuff for people to watch, I feel like the time in between animations wouldn’t work for me. The subject of Lavion was fresh in my head, along with what the subject of changelings. I felt strange with the knowledge of a completely different world with possibly no humans whatsoever. From what he said, changelings aren’t exactly free to roam in Equestria, so going off of Lavion’s account isn’t exactly rational. Also, I never truly assessed my situation until now. I thought about it briefly the night I found him, but not as thoroughly as expected. I mean, in the most realistic sense possible, I’m harboring a creature the world has never seen before- from a world that could only be described as a little girl’s fantasy. Could there be some secret society dedicated to this stuff, like Area 51? Am I breaking some secret law that could get me or Larion killed? What about the changeling queen, Chrysalis? Could she be planning something? Does she even know one of her children is in a new world under the care of some unknown creature?! There are so many questions in my head that need answers and I don’t know where to start! “ZAM?” I froze at that, looking over to see my friend Jordan. He was wearing the usual red apron that every employee has to wear, with a green shirt and some jeans underneath. His brown hair was brushed back finely, giving off a fancy vibe. His blue eyes were worriedly trained on me. If I truly could, I'd confess the situation to him, but the current ramifications suppressed that. “You alright?”, he asked with an eyebrow raised, “You’ve been staring at those boxes for a few minutes now.” It took a second for me to blink and come back to Earth, “Uh, yeah. I’m just thinking about some stuff.” “Is it about your channel?” “Kind of.”, I lied, “Just thinking about what the next animation will be.” It’s a good thing Jordan knows about my YouTube channel, as it makes for some good alibis for unwanted situations. He also knows a thing or two about computers, but didn’t want to go all out with it. We’re a pretty good pair, just get a computer between us and magic will happen. He looked at me for a second before smirking. “Well, if you want, I could give you some ideas!”, he said cheerfully, “Always up for something to do.” I just returned it halfheartedly, “Sure. Worth a shot.” Author's Note I've been on and off working on this chapter, so I don't know when the next one will be done.
