Acrimony of the Eldroblyter

It was a bright new day in Equestria, as a certain dragon was awakening from his slumber.

Spike the Dragon, #1 Assistant and younger brother to Twilight Sparkle, had just gotten out of bed and prepared breakfast for Twilight.

"Twilight, breakfast is ready," Spike called.

"I'll be done in just a sec," Twilight called back. Twilight Sparkle, former protege of Princess Celestia, the Princess of Friendship, was brushing her mane before she came downstairs. Once finished, she set down the brush, brushed and flossed her teeth, and then she walked out of the restroom to go eat the wonderful breakfast Spike had prepared for her.

"Morning Twi," Spike said with a happy grin.

"Hey, Spike," Twilight said with a warm smile, approaching Spike with a nuzzle on the forehead. "Hey did you sleep?"

"I slept good, but I had a very strange dream."

"Oh? Pray tell," Twilight said as she sat down and levitated a fork with a piece of pancake on it to her mouth.

"Well, first it started all black, you know? And then everything zoomed out and showed a large fish tank with this strange slime in a glass chamber big enough for about 6 teenage dragons. Then an egg inside hatched with a very strange... uh... dragon that the slime seemed to be taking care of, and then there were some scientists testing and experimenting on it very harshly and punished it if it didn't cooperate. Then everything zoomed out to show a lab that exploded and everypony died, except for the hybrid. And... that was it," Spike explained.

"Hm, that's an interesting dream, Spike."

"Yeah, I felt kind of bad for the dragon though, being abused, being neglected and forgotten by everypony... The only thing that took care of him was that weird slime," Spike said a little somberly.

"Well, I wouldn't dwell too much on it, just remember that the little dragon was being taken care of by what he was raised in," Twilight said.

"Okay. Oh! Uh, isn't there a new student coming to the School of Friendship?" Spike asked.

"Oh, that's right, there is a new student coming to the school. Thank you for reminding me."

"So, what kind of creature's coming to the school?" Spike asked, not bothering to try and guess.

"He’s another changeling, although his coloration is a little different from the coloration of other changelings," Twilight explained.

"Does that mean he's a love-eating changeling?" Spike asked worriedly.

Twilight only giggled. "No Spike, he's not a love-eating changeling like Chrysalis. But he does have Chrysalis' holey legs and insect carapace, but that doesn't mean that he feeds on the love of others," Twilight explained.

"Oh okay, that's good to know," Spike said in relief.

“Anyways, I’m sure that some of the students will be very welcoming to him.”

“Well, let’s hope so, you know that every school has at least two or three more bullies,” Spike stated.

“Well, I’m confident that there won’t be any problems him.”

2 Hours Later...

The students at the School of Friendship were doing their own things in their individual dorm rooms.

The Young Six were wondering what kind creature that this new student would be, not saying a word.

All was silent, until someone decided to break the silence.

“So... Does anybody know what this new guy could be?” Smolder asked.

"I'm not sure honestly," Said Silverstream.

"My guess is that he would be another pony," Said Sandbar.

"I think he's going to be another dragon, not be confused with dragoness," Gallus said.

"Yona thinks new friend will be a little Storm Creature," Yona said, earning a couple confused stares. "Yona think it's possible."

"Maybe he's another griffon," Said Ocellus.

"I honestly think he might be another hippogryph," Smolder said.

"Well, whatever he is, Princess Twilight expects everyone to make him feel welcome and safe here," Sandbar stated.

"And let's hope Chancellor Neighsayer won't be to harsh on him, no matter what he is," Smolder said.

Suddenly, a holographic image of Twilight Sparkle herself came out of thin air.

"May I please ask Sandbar, Smolder, Gallus, Yona, Silverstream and Ocellus to come to the front entrance of the foyer, please? Thank you," Twilight said with a smile before she vanished.

"All right, let's go," Said Gallus.

School of Friendship - Foyer...

The Young Six were standing tall and concentrated.

"All right, now as you all know, a new student is transferring here to learn about the attributes of Friendship, and we've been informed that he has some disabilities that could make it a little difficult for him to feel safe and cared for here. So, you all know the drill: Give him a smile, let him know that he's safe here, and please be sure to be careful about how you talk to him, especially if he does something by accident that makes you all get upset with him," Twilight explains.

"Yes, ma'am," The Young Six said simultaneously.

"Thank you. Spike, would you please get the doors?" Twilight asked her #1 Assistant.

"Sure thing Twi," Spike said as he walked to the doors and opened them up.

Once the doors opened, all heads turned to see... nothing?

Everypony except for Twilight looked at each other with looks of confusion. Twilight walked up to the entrance and called out to the new student.

"Come on! Come on out, it's alright, nopony's going to hurt you," Twilight said warmly and gently.

Then, two hooves came from the top of the entrance, and a head poked out.

"It's alright, they're not gonna hurt you," Twilight says again.

After the reassurance, the new student came down and fluttered with his wings to the ground slowly, revealing his full demeanor.

The Young Six looked at the new student in astonishment, especially Ocellus. He was a love-starved changeling.

His eyes were blood-red and his mane and tail were black with silver-grey stripes, and his face was shadow-grey with ruby-red speckles around his eyes.

His carapace was sangria-red with ash-grey straps under his stomach and on his sides, attached to obsidian-black armor plating on his back, his lower legs had holes and darkened to an obsidian-black color with two ash-grey streaks running up the black. He wings were much more elongated than a regular changeling drone's, and they were pebble-grey with black veins and tattered holes. His mouth was also wider and had four exposed fangs, and his horn was a little longer and was jagged at the bottom, along with larger horns on the sides of his head. However, his body was a little skeletal, showing the shapes of ribs, eye sockets and upper leg bones.

He was just 2 inches taller than Ocellus.

The Young Six stared in awe as the new student fluttered down slowly to the ground, his head lowered and a step taken back, his breathing a little rapid and uncertain about these strangers and a look of anxiety in his blood red eyes.

"It's alright, come on in," Twilight said with a warm and encouraging look and smile. The new student slowly took a step forward, and then a couple more at Twilight's side.

"Everypony and everyone, I would like you all to meet Scarab," Twilight said.

"Hi," Said Sandbar and Silverstream with a wave.

"Hey," Gallus and Smolder said with casual smiles.

"Hello!" Yona said with a wave.

Ocellus all the while, simply stared at the changeling known as Scarab in astonishment and concern. He seemed only a year older than herself and he had coloration that she had never seen on a changeling before. However, he looked very skeletal and devoid of fat and muscle, not an ounce of fiber in his body.

"Hello," Ocellus said a little sheepishly.

Scarab looked away and down from the strangers.

"It's okay, Scarab, they're just saying hello. Why don't you say hello back," Twilight encouraged.

Scarab inhaled and exhaled through his nostrils, turning his gaze to everyone. "H-Hello," He said with a weak wave. His voice was a little higher than Thorax's and was a little nervous, and the entire inside of his mouth was metallic black.

"As you can all tell, he's very shy and he doesn't talk very much, so let's make sure he feels safe and welcome to our school, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am," The Young Six responded.

Twilight looked at Scarab and gave an approving nod. Scarab turned his gaze to the Young Six and slowly approached them.

"So, do you know where your dorm room is?" Gallus asked. Scarab simply shook his head. "Uh, Ms. Sparkle?"

"Scarab is actually assigned to you six," Twilight said.

"Oh, in that case... Come on, we'll show you where our dorm room," Gallus said as he flew to the room with his friends close behind. Scarab slowly followed.

"So, are you sure that he'll be fine with them? You know how rowdy Gallus and Smolder can get," Spike said.

"Don't worry, Spike, I'm sure Scarab will learn to cope with them," Twilight said with a smile.

Young Six Dorm Room...

Gallus opened the doors and flew inside, he and his friends showing Scarab the interior.

"So, what do you think?" Gallus asked.

"It's not much, but we have art supplies, books to read, comfy chairs and bean bag cushions, and you can get a nice view of Princess Twilight's castle from over there," Silverstream said as she pointed at the window to her far left.

Scarab looked around and slowly analyzed his surroundings, taking all the colors in and making out every object and shape.

"... It... I-It's... fine... I guess..." Scarab said slowly.

"So, Scarab, where're you from?" Smolder asked.

"I'm pretty sure he's from the Changeling Hive," Gallus said bluntly.

"No," Scarab corrected.

Everyone looked at Scarab in confusion. "You're not?" Silverstream asked. Scarab shook his head.

"Oh, so then, where are you from?" Gallus asked.

"Hollow Shades," Scarab answered.

"The Hollow Shades!?" The Young Six asked in shock. Scarab was taken aback by the sudden reaction and took a few steps back with his ears down.

"Is... I-Is that... bad?" Scarab asked a little worriedly.

"No, no! Of course not," Sandbar recovered.

"It's just that usually nopony and no-one lives there because of the Pony of Shadows," Silverstream states.

"I've... actually seen scarier... so... I thought living in a secluded area would draw off predators and aggressors," Scarab explained.

"I... guess that would be a smart thing to do when you're living all by yourself," Gallus complimented.

"But what about the Pony of Shadows?" Smolder asked with concern.

"Yo-You don't... have to worry. I-I waited until Stygian was freed and the Pony was banished to Limbo," Scarab explained.

"Oh, well that's good to know," Sandbar said with relief.

"So, how did Scarab find way here?" Yona asked.

"Well, sometimes when you're living alone, you have to be an expert adventurer to stay safe and survive, and sometimes... you just have to take a risk hiding in the shadows of your surroundings, or even in plain sight, no matter how scared or anxious you get," Scarab explains a little more calmly.

"Wow... That's... really brave of you to do that, Scarab," Ocellus compliments.

"T-Thanks," Scarab says a little shyly. Ocellus' cheeks turn to a very light pink.

"So, just so we're all on the same page, you don't eat the love from others?" Gallus asked a little suspicion.

"I-If you have suspicions of that, and i-if you think my nervousness is giving the answer away, I-I don't want you to get the wrong impression. I don't feed on love because it can create lust for more, in a way. I just don't eat love like most changelings used to. the truth is, I'm not really related to changelings at all," Scarab explained.

"But you have the structure of one, albeit the colors, mouth and wings," Sandbar points out.

"Yeah, most of the creatures that see me often get confused between the changelings and my kind. I'm actually a relative of Changeling called a Morphoca," Scarab stated.

"A what?" Gallus asked.

"A Morphoca is a distant cousin of changelings that have the same abilities as they do, but we often starve much worse than they do and resort feeding off of negative things, like hatred, mistrust and violent thoughts. And feeding on those things are what take our "fuller" selves away, if you will," Scarab explains. "Again, most creatures mistake Morphocas as Changelings."

"That's a lot of negativity to feed on... Wait a minute, if you feed on negativity, won't that turn you evil?" Silverstream asked with dread.

"No! No no no, of course not! I might feed on negativity, but that doesn't mean that my personality will change," Scarab reassured.

"You sure?" Gallus questioned.

"If-If you guys need me to prove it to you, I can do that. D-Do you need proof?" Scarab asked worriedly.

"Well... If you promise the negativity won't change you, I guess I can try to believe you," Gallus said.

"If you want to put your full trust in me, you're free to watch how the negativity affects me if I get the chance to devour it," Scarab said more sincerely.

"I trust you, so you don't to worry too much about it," Silverstream reassures the youthful Morphoca.

"Oh... O-Okay," Scarab says nervously.

"So... What do you eat physically?" Sandbar asks.

"Well, it's hard to explain, but I'm more of a piscivore than a carnivore."

"A what?" Gallus asks.

"A piscivore is an animal that mostly eats fish," Ocellus states.

"Oh, gotcha," Gallus says.

"Not Sea Ponies, though, the queen has magic and could curse me if I even tried once," Scarab said as he looked at Silverstream.

"Oh, whew! Tha-That's a relief to know," Silverstream said.

"I know," Scarab said with a weak smile. "I'm sorry if that scared you," Scarab said with a guilty look.

"It's okay, it's good to know a fish predator that doesn't just eat all the fish in sight."

"Yeah, it is... Uh, so... When does class start?" Scarab asked.

"Actually it's early out today, so uh... You can just hang out here or find another place to hang out if you want," Smolder said.

"Oh, that's wonderful, that should give me enough time to get the supplies I'd need for Monday. Well, it was nice meeting you all," Scarab said as he turned to leave.

"Sure thing!" Silverstream said.

"Anytime, man," Gallus said.

"See you Monday!" Yona called as Scarab exited the room.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Gallus said happily.

"Yeah, he seemed pretty nice," Smolder said.

"It's kind of interesting that he came over his nervousness very quickly," Sandbar said with intrigue.

"I like that he's smart, he knows exactly what to say and he knows how to recover the wrong impressions that he doesn't mean to give out," Said Ocellus.

"I actually like that, too," Said Sandbar.

"Not to mention kind of attractive, in a way," Ocellus thought to herself.