Vlogs of an Ancient Insect

I stared down at the smartphone resting atop my hoof. It still struck me as odd that these ponies ended up using touch-screen technology. Still, seemed like everyone had one, so of course it was one of the first purchases I made in order to fit in, as well as one of those harness pouches a lot of ponies wore to carry them. "You really think this'll work?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at the pale fuchsia pegasus sitting across the table from me. Even now, I wondered how she could fly with feathers that looked more like down than flight feathers. "Just talk about myself on a video blog and everyone will see that I'm not scary just because I'm black?"

That got a cringe from Princess Pipp Petals—Ugh, God knows how long I've been asleep and these horses still do alliteration—and she quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard us. At that moment, it wasn't even like the comment was particularly true; I was currently wearing an appearance I still tended to wear when I just wanted to blend in. As far as anyone on the outside saw, I was just a bespectacled, green earth pony mare, sitting there getting social media advice from a local celebrity.

We were situated at an outdoor table beside a smoothie cart operated by her friend, Sunny Starscout. "You know it's not like that," she said, not at all sounding convinced herself. "It's just... you didn't exactly make a good first impression."

I nodded, smiling fondly at the memory. Even if I did cause a huge panic and alienate myself like a huge fuckin' moron, the reactions on everyone's faces were priceless. Like, what would they have done if I'd actually been a super-villain? These ponies could barely control the new and improved magic. They were nowhere near ready to protect themselves.

"That smile doesn't really help, you know," admonished Sunny, approaching with a tray of smoothies. She was radiating a particularly spicy flavour of aggravation. "It's like you don't even feel bad about the scare."

"Oh, come on!" I faux-whined, grabbing the smoothie set down in front of me. "You seriously wouldn't try and prank a bunch of people after being asleep for thousands of years?" Sipping at the chocolate-strawberry smoothie under their withering glares, I sighed. That's good shit. "Fine, I'll even apologise. Until ponies don't think I'm some bug monster here to conquer them all, I probably shouldn't transform outside. Know a spot I can do the first vlog?"

The two young mares seemed to think it over. I knew that Pipp's salon, the Mane Melody, had some private spaces, although I didn't want ponies avoiding her business if they thought I might be lurking around. Similarly, the Crystal Brighthouse was their home. Not just Pipp and Sunny, but also Sheriff Hitch, Zipp Storm, and that zany unicorn, Izzy Moonbow. I didn't want ponies avoiding the place thinking I was living there with the others.

As it stood, I didn't really have my own place yet. Sure, I'd gotten a good trade for some old Equestrian Bits I kept on me, but since I couldn't exactly flood the market, it wasn't like I was rolling in it. I just stayed in a motel I'd gotten a good deal on for an extended stay. Still, if I filmed there, someone might recognise the place.

The other fear I had was the potential of a lynch mob. I hadn't been around for the reunion of Twilight's Unity Crystals, but I'd heard the story of how the former deputy went crazy, formed a lynch mob, and destroyed Sunny's place when he found out there were unicorns and pegasi there. The fear wasn't for me though; I could handle myself. It was them I worried about; especially if I ended up scaring them more.

Tapping her chin, Sunny began to look over in the direction of the beach. "There's a sea-cave over on the far side of the beach," she offered. "Nopony really goes there much during the day because it can be hard to get out when the tide comes in. The cliff up above is a popular ocean-gazing spot though."

I nodded, slurping down the smoothie with gusto. Pretty sure I remember the spot. I think I grilled and ate some mackerel in there the other day. Still can't believe today's pegasi don't eat fish. "I know the place," I said. Setting down the empty shake container and phone on the table, I gave the two an apologetic look. "I take it you want to look over the video before I post it?"

When they nodded, I glanced around. Once I was certain no body was looking, I reverted the last segment of my right foreleg to chitin beneath the table. In a quick flash of blue, the runic spell formula to a useful bag-of-holding type spell appeared etched in my shell. Pressing my left hoof against it, I pumped magic through it into the formula, and then reached that same hoof out into the space beside me. The pair looked on in interest and partial horror as my leg disappeared up to the elbow into seemingly nothing. When it next came out, I held a five bit note out to Pipp.

Before Pipp could protest reimbursement for the drink—she was way too nice about trying to help me fit in, and reminded me a lot of Rarity in that regard— I slid the note across the table. Sure, she's a princess and probably had bits to spare, but paying ponies back will keep me honest. I had already transformed a pair of wings onto my body as I slipped my phone into the harness strapped across my barrel. "I'll stop by your place sometime after dusk."

Sunny perked up immediately at that. "Oh! Can you answer more questions about what Equestria was like back then?" We both said the exact same thing, in the exact same intonation, and the exact same voice, much to Sunny's chagrin. "Hey, no fair!"

There was a giggle-snort from the actual pegasus of the group as she tried to hide the fact that she'd definitely just caught that on camera. Only known them all a short while, but I swear that phone of hers almost never leaves her hooves. "You got it," I cackled, taking off. "I can tell you about the first time I met Mom."

The view of the city from above was quite a sight. It reminded me of an ocean-side town I'd seen in my first life, before being reborn as a pony and then a changeling. What had it been called? For the life of me, I couldn't tell, to be honest. It'd been more than fifteen years since the first change, and years here were longer than they were back in the old life. A thousand days multiplied by fifteen, divided by three sixty-five... That's forty-one years back in the old life. Little wonder I can't remember the name.

It really was beautiful, though. I had no idea how they powered anything, but there was no pollution to be seen. A tram ran around the city on a regular schedule, and if you didn't need to rush, you could walk just about anywhere you needed to go, thus eliminating the need for cars. There were plenty of green spaces, too. Nothing quite like a community garden, but I'm sure one would look good near the Crystal Brighthouse.

The beach was especially nice. Several mares lay on towels in the sands below, soaking up the afternoon sun while they kept an eye on the foals in or around the water. Ponies of all ages frolicked and played, constructing sandcastles or tossing beach balls. It was all rather idyllic. There was no hatred or strife here. Not at all like the world I left behind, thousands of years ago.

Touching down on the sands not far from the cliffs, I found myself yearning for the day when I could bask in the sun in my natural form. The hot sands and sun would feel so nice against my shell. Instead, I casually made my way around to the cave. It was quite a large space, but I found myself wondering if it was really all that stable. Once I was at the back of the cave, I dismissed the wings of my transformation. There was even a good stone outcropping to set my phone out on.

Opening the camera app, I saw myself reflected on the screen. A tap of my hoof later, a blinking red dot indicated it was recording. "Hi there, Maretime Bay," I greeted, stepping back so my full body could be seen. "You don't know me, but my name is Anonymous Flicker."

Dismissing my transformation, I watched as my light green coat disappeared in a wave of blue magical flame, replaced by hard black chitin—exquisitely glossy from good health and proper polishing. My mane, on the other hand, transitioned from a charcoal black to a green a few shades lighter than my disguise's coat. Without any more need for them, I clipped my glasses to my harness, and I gave a gentle smile. Extra care was taken not to show off my teeth too much, especially with the slit-pupils often seen in cats and reptiles, but there was no hiding how pointy they were when in my natural state.

"I am what is known as a changeling," I explained. "Although I don't know if there are any still around in this era, Changelings are shape-shifters that feed on love and the energy emitted by positive emotions." I waved a hoof dismissively. "I know what you're probably thinking, but no, I'm not gonna pretend to be your loved-ones and suck you dry like those vampony myths that were old back when I was a foal."

To emphasise that point, I shrank myself down to the size I was when I was eight. Then I transformed into the earth pony filly I used to be before this transformation. "Believe it or not, I was raised by ponies, and didn't even become a changeling until I was eight." Transforming myself back to normal, I shrugged. "I've found that love and positive emotions are more filling when they're directed at me, but I'll never actively feed on others if I can help it. Just being around super positive, friendly ponies who care is more than enough to passively feed.

"No, I don't eat ponies," I said with a chuckle. "Other than emotions, I eat the same kinds of food as all of you." I caught the sound of voices other than my own reflecting off the cave walls. I transformed back into an earth pony and looked back at the camera. "I've started this vlog so that you can all get to know me better. To show you that I can be a friend of Maretime Bay, Bridlewood, and Zephyr Heights—that I'm not some menace like that prank upon my release made me seem. I wanna share my experiences with you all, and if you have any questions you might like to ask about changelings or the world as it was thousands of years ago, feel free to shoot me a message. I'm more than happy to talk."

Making my way over to the rock my phone was sitting on, I leaned in close, "This is your local ancient insect queen, signing off."