Prologue (information, background, and setting)
Millions of years before the creation of Equestria in, what it will eventually become known as, the Frozen North, an ancient changeling hive was born. From it, a benevolent king and queen gave birth to an ancient civilization of mysterious tech and powers. One early day in the hive's history, their seemingly infinite supply of love that they received from the not so recently formed Crystal Empire had all but vanished, sending them into a drought. Originally, their source of love and energy, the energy being other emotions besides love, came from the crystals buried under their hive. Crystals, many of which contained plentiful emotions, not just love. These emotions that they didn't use as food, they were used as fuel to create a flame that ancient hive developed for ages that never burns out. This blue flame was the staple source of light and warmth they had. While said hive had several furnaces which kept the flames lit, the hive was much expanding and the need for more of the infinite flame increased. This is the start of the thousand year emotion drought, leaving to the hive's king and queen to enforce some extremely strict laws. With a heavy punishment, followed by banishment to the cold death that was the Frozen North, the punishments varied based on how heinous the crime committed is.
During the hive's nearly thousandth year of the drought, supplies were quickly diminishing and hope had all but vanished for the hive's survival. To save the ancient hive's legacy, the king and queen decided to mate and give birth to the successor to the hive's throne. His name? Unknown, for many years that is, lost to time. But the ling; however, was male.
Seven years later, the troublesome changeling was lurking around in places he shouldn't have been in. One of those, was the ancient hive's armory. This was a banned location to be in, and he should have known better than to be rummaging around in those parts. inside the armory; however, were spells, armor, weapons, everything. What really caught his eye were the spells, especially a very specific spell in the back. This was hidden in the back for a reason, one he did not know, and one he wasn't going to find out soon. He was going to take a quick peak at what this spell had to offer. However, as his awful luck entailed, such things would not happen. The second he placed his hoof on the parchment that was the spell, it grew bright. Eventually, it disappeared from sight, triggered an alarm, and ended with him getting caught. The little ling was yelled at, and with the many furious faces of the counsel of magic, they asked him where he hid the spell. He couldn't say, since the spell had just vanished. Outside of the king and queen's wish, they blindly, due to their anger, gave him the worst punishment that could ever be given. He would be tossed into an ice bath, before the banishment that came after. Dunked into the ice bath the ling cried out for his parents, but neither showed up to save him, they were away at the time and would not be back until later. The guards pulled him out just before he drowned in the ice bath, and didn't bother to dry him at all as the hive's citizens watched in a pure blinding rage. This spell was a very important spell to the hive's history. Within an inch of his life he was tossed out into the cold, with nothing more than the chitinous skin on his back, the holes in his legs, his rapidly depleting love supply, and a face full of chilling snow. This ling would surely parish, and would not survive the harsh conditions of the Frozen North.
When the king and queen returned, and did not find their offspring around, they questioned where he had gone off to, when they were told the grimly and albeit fake story about how their son had been taken and robbed, and was taken deeper into the snowy plains of the north by a suicidal enemy ling from a rival hive, saying their son was surely dead. The royals questioned them, but all they got, was that they took him during the night, and nobody knew it had happened, and many of the guards were knocked out as well. The king and queen were heartbroken, and their hope in saving the hive had died, they entered their bed chambers and never left again, they were not heard from for weeks and months till one day a maid decided to check on them. She screamed to the heavens as guards quickly gathered, just to find behind the door, the king and queen, dead on the floor with bottles of poison on the ground, their bodies locked in a perpetual hug of love and death, an emotional way to pass on with love. The hive was in shambles, they panicked, their rulers had killed themselves, and they knew why, the death of their son must have been too grief for them to handle, leaving the hive in a shell of it's former glory. The once proud benevolent hive became empty and saddened, leaving corrupt, and powerful lings to take their place. Thus the hive's tale turned to legend, and from legend to myth.
(But this wouldn't be a good story if it just ended here, oh no there is still more to this story, much much more. This is only the beginning.)
Ten years ago.
Deep in the cold of the north on the same fateful day the little ling was thrown out, a dark figure marched through the snow bathed tundra. It was but a small figure, one not made for the cold, their body only being covered by a chitinous like skin and no fur whatsoever. It's head hung low to reduce the amount of cold air blowing into it's face, shivering as it trudged along. This was that very same ling, how'd he survive the ice bath? The banishing? The cold north? Surely he should have died from the frozen temperatures, right? Yes, if anything, he never should have made it past the ice bath, and the cold winds and several degrees below freezing temperatures would have killed anyone, the how did this little ling survive?
Little did the changelings back at his hive know, in order to keep the legacy of their intelligence, the king and queen infused the power of the light blue flame they developed, binding his soul to the very flame that burned forever. His very being became the product of the work, sweat, and love the millions of years old hive had produced. This flame was what saved the ling from turning into an icicle, and kept him alive as he marched along the frozen plains that made up the Frozen North. How long would he be out here? Did he really deserve this as a punishment? Was living out here in the cold his future, or was there more to it? These questions swam around in the mind of the little ling, as time passed on as he passed through the snow. Seconds formed into minutes, then melted into hours, then solidified into days, he had counted the time, as they passed, before his little body gave out, falling onto the... the soft wet grass? There was grass where he laid, he knew what grass was, but never saw it in person. How'd he know it was grass? Well it certainly wasn't snow.
Lifting his head up to look at the ground underneath him, the snow ended around here, and small patches of water were scattered around. Finally after a week and three days, since he'd counted, he found warmer lands. A smile crossed his face as he laid in the grass for who knows how long, the sun began to set as he regained what little strength he could to continue on. On into Equestria. A new life ahead of him.
Chapter 1 - Hiding in plain sight
Present Day
Sunday - 10:05 am
Split had been thinking to himself of all the possibilities where living with ponies would have been an awful idea, but of course he'd have to do it. If he didn't then what was the point in being alive. He'd survived this long, might as well settle down in a nice calm homely town, or at least that's what he had hoped. Of course living with ponies as a disguised changeling might not leave much room for peacefulness.
He, however didn't have anymore time to think, as the train stopped, and he arrived at his new home, Ponyville. With just his glasses, his wits, and his courier bag full of page after page of disguises, he stepped off the train. He was himself, but as a pony. His fur was grey, matching his eyes, while also being grey, they were a lighter shade. His mane and tail were charcoal black fading into light grey at the tips. And his cutie mark was a simple diagonal white mask, split at the middle. It was like a masquerade mask, though not as fancy as one. His bag was light brown and had a patch on the front of it that was a darker brown. The sewing done to fix it was mediocre at best. The only thing he didn't have was any clothing on his back, but he was fine with that. As long as no one knew who he was under his disguise, then it would all be perfect. He trotted down the path hoping not to run into anypony and just head straight to his home without any interference... however the universe had other plans. Just as he turned the corner down a different path, he bumped into somepony and they both ended up falling to the floor with a hard thud.
"Yah!" both Split and the pony he walked into shouted, before they fell to the floor.
"Sorry, I... uh, didn't mean to walk into you," Split said, getting up, using a hoof to help up the very pink mare he had just crashed into.
"It's alright... I wasn't really looking eith-" she was about to finish her sentence as she got up, but when she saw him, she gasped, jumped up into the air, and sped off to who knows where.
"..." he stayed silent for a good couple of seconds, probably rethinking his life choices. 'What kind of weird ass town is this...? More over... I don't think ponies... EARTH ponies... are supposed to do that...' he thought to himself. He shook his head, sighed, and continued back to heading towards his house. Looking in the distance, his home was right there. The surrounding area was about as bland as one could make: more houses were next to it, there was a singular tallish tree to the left of it, ponies were passing by him smiling, going on about their day. Though... he did catch a few mares looking at him... okay maybe a lot more than a few... okay- ALL the mares were looking at him. Every mare he passed by gave him the look of interest. 'I haven't even talked to them yet and they are already looking at me...' he thought to himself. He wondered what that was all about, he wasn't that good looking was he? He shook his head from the thought of it, and walked up to his front door. Pulling out the key from his bag, he unlocked the lock with a clink, and opened the door into his new home. The inside of his home was normal; he had a couch, an empty bookshelf, a coffee table, and a recliner. The kitchen was empty, save for a table to eat at, counters, a stove, fridge, sink, and cabinets. 'Is everything here going to be bland and normal... I'm pretty sure that normal has been said more than five times...' he thought to himself. On the table was a cupcake, a simple decorated cupcake with a note in front of it. The note read, 'Welcome to Ponyville! Hope you enjoy living here like the rest of us!
He picked up the cupcake in his magic, and held it up in front of him, tilting his head as he smelt and licked it. Finding nothing wrong with it, he took a bite out of it. It tasted amazing! Whoever baked this must have been really talented. The texture, the flavor, everything combining together to make an amazing treat. Voicing his opinion, he said, "Sweet Celestia... this a damn good cupcake..mn... well this is an interesting way to introduce somepony.. mnh ah.. new to town..." he finished swallowing the sweet treat, as he set his stuff down, and walked over to the couch, "maybe... I'll just take a quick nap... this was an interesting day I've had..." with that, he laid down on the couch, falling asleep from the tiring day he had, even though it was still morning and he was just being lazy.
Sunday - 6:52 pm
Split slowly woke to the orange sunlight piercing through the window, from the color alone he knew it was already sunset. As he sat up though, a pop was heard from his back, letting him know he needed to rest in an actual bed. This wasn't old news since he was so used to sleeping on the ground, and not a soft bed or couch. In all honesty, couches were way, WAY comfier than the solid ground.
"Sunset already, it might be a good time to walk around to get some fresh air," he said, stretching his arms, "and when I get back I'll actually sleep on the actual bed and not this, my back 'll thank me." He realized his lights were completely off, and only one curtain had been opened to let in the sunlight to wake him up. He was sure that he'd left all the curtains open before he went to sleep, and he knew he at least left the kitchen light on.
"What the... I thought I left at least some lights stay on..." he muttered, stretching a bit more, and standing up, "I'll think about it more when I get back from walking around, need to take in my surroundings." He headed to the door opening it, and breathing the fresh air, stepping out into the new town he had just moved into, closing the door behind him. The town quickly turned from a nice yellow-orange of the sunset, to a dark-ish blue and white from the moon and small house lights that hung from different houses. He walked around, not many being out at this time since... it was night time, who would be around here at this time.
"I hope I can find somepony soon, maybe there's somepony around here..." he muttered to himself. Looking around, mostly everypony he saw was walking around in a group. Though he did notice several others walking alone... especially one drunk mare...
"H-Hey theeere y-yo- hic -y-young man... hozzzabout y-youuu and mee gooo have soomme... fuuunnn at mmmmmy p-pla- hic -place..." she slurred as she stumbled up to Split, obviously drunk and still drinking. He took a step back as the mare smelled of alcohol, the smell radiating off her and her body. He quickly took the bottle away from her, just to make sure she did not hurt herself, and/or anypony else she would encounter.
"Ma'am... you're drunk... go home, do you want me to take you home? Where do you live?" He questioned her, as he picked up her weak, drunk body. The mare had mumbled something, and gave a loud, rather impressive, belch into the air before responding with, "HEEEY! Th-Thhhhhaatssss... thaaats mmmyy-myy... driiiink... Y-Y'heeearrr?! Buut siiinnnce.. youuuu are preeeeetyyy cuuuuteee i-i'll leeet iiit.. sl-slide.. nooow ta-mn... taaake mmmee hoooomee annnnd... mnh..." her voice lowered and she mumbled more things, he did manage to hear, "21ssssst... streeeeet... thee.. whiiite home wiiith the cuuute purple.. purple... pur...purple som...somethings..."
The disguised ling sighed internally, and hung his head as he idly took some love from her slowly, as he carried the drunk passed out mare to her home. The fact she called him cute filled his head, unsure what to think of it... perhaps it had something to do with the stares he got that morning. He wasn't that good looking was he? He was just like his ling form, except, in the form of a unicorn. Shaking his head, he saved the thought for later, and walked on, heading to the house of the drunk mare... wherever it was.
Sunday - 8:19 pm
It took him well over an hour to find the house, since 21st street, was at the edge of town, but the ling finally discovered the house after remembering the mare had said something purple colored. And low and behold, a simple white home with purple flowers in front of the house in a flower bed. Walking up to the front door of the house, seeing the lights on, he rang the door bell, hoping somepony would take so he wouldn't have to leave her there on the front door step. Split had thrown away the bottle into a near by trash bin, just to be safe. A filly's voice called from inside, saying she was on her way to the door. The lights above him turned on as the filly opened the door.
"Hello-? Oh! Hello mister. What can I do for you today?" The filly sounded oddly calm about seeing a stallion at her doorstep. Even then, he also remained calm, and asked her, "Well you see, I found her walking around lost and she said lived here.. Does she live here," before as he lifted the mare off her and set her down on the ground softly.
"Oh its my mom..." She let out a soft sigh before dragging her inside and saying, "Thank you mister, for bringing my mom back home from one of her crazy nights she likes to have, this is normal..." she finished in a somber tone, as she walked back to the door to close it.
"Wow... I'm sorry this happens to you... But at least she's safe, right?" he replied with a question. The fact this filly knew her mother was a drunkard is saddening, but she seems to manage on her own.
"No it's fine mister, I know it's not good for her, but she can't help it... she says she needs it. So... Thank you, once again for bringing back my mom, mister...?" she said in a questioning tone, looking up and down at him, not recognizing him.
"Oh right, I'm new to town, my name is Split, Split Mask, nice to meet you," He replied as nodded at her. This town might not be so bad after all with nice ponies like this one.
"Well good night Mr. Mask! I'll maybe see you on another day," She said as she began to close the door, with him replying with, "You too, take care, your mother too." With that, the little filly closed the door behind her as the lights turned off, leaving Split in the dark with the moon shining down upon him. Looking up, it was nearing midnight in a few hours, he should return home now, since his business here was finished. Turning around he made his way back to his home, while still ending up lost along the way.
Sunday - 10:52 pm
Sighing to himself, wiping the sweat off his brow, he finally made it home, and it still wasn't quite midnight just yet. Pulling out the keys to his home, he unlocked the door, and opened it, having it swing open with relative ease. Walking into his dark home he set down his keys, and sighed, looking at the clock on his wall... or would if he could find it. He looked around to find the clock, the time being 10:52, slowly moving closer to 10:53, "Damn, is it that late already... sweet Celestia I should get some rest..." he mumbled to himself, as he flicked the lights on to get a better look at the room, before heading up to his room, but... boy did he not expect what he saw after the lights flashed on...
"SURPRISE!!!!!
He quickly jumped up in the air and fell down, clearly terrified out of his life from the sudden surprise he got from the loud sound of the many ponies that screamed into the room. He laid on the ground breathing in and out, the room getting hazier, and hazier... Pure terror filled his eyes as he struggled to breath. The sheer panic in his body sent his mind on overload, unable to think at the moment. The his fading field of vision was filled with fuzzy colorful figures, all of them surrounding him... hazy... lot's and lot's of colors... their.. their voices were drowned out... the movement was hazier... his breathing becoming sluggish... the foggy sounds filled his mind... getting louder and louder... his breath... getting shallow... eyes... closing... light... fading...
And then, everything, went dark and silent for the disguised changeling. No sound. No Light. Nothing.
Author's Note
Surprise surprise, 'nother story idea, and boy is it interesting. This was an interesting story to make and honestly has been sitting around my mind for quite a while.
If you have concerns for about all the oc's used for disguises, they are all mine and not stolen from anyone. If you have an oc that is strikingly similar to a disguise then I apologize for any and all coincidences. They were all made out of pure thinking and were named but not designed in one day, some took longer than others, many were scrapped due to their redundancy and absolute stupidity for them to exist.
But, I'm keeping you here longer than you should be so, this is Honist, signing off.
