A heart to thouby The PsychopathChaptersGaze upon my formAnd fear its prescenceI am the beginningI am the endGaze upon my formA tall form raised itself upon the horizon, its holed hooves standing firmly about the green grass of the hilltop, and its body resisting effortlessly against the stormy winds. The skies had turned dark, and this was announcing an impending rainstorm. Several ponies in Canterlot were already closing up their shops in haste hoping to flee from the storm in time. Some had been preparng umbrells and such for their restaurants. After all, there were many clients who appreciated to eat outside when it was raining. A best way to gain money is to cater to everyone's needs. Observing the fear in some of the ponies and griffins, the figure tilted its head in confusion. It did not understand this concept and these expessions. Many times over has this being encountered this...this 'emotion', but it did not understand it. It caused prisoners to stutter, tremble uncontrollably, sweat profusively, and, in extreme cases, urinate themselves. What was causing these form of changes to their physique and their train of thought? Was it a source of untapped power? There was most certainly an opposite to the current elements of harmony that the figure had learned about, but it had yet to find them. Its first train of thought came from a basis that emotions all had opposites, and that learning negative emotions would give a favor over positive. He had failed to find these opposites. The only loss in his travels, though, were the lives he erased from existence. Nopony would remember, nor will they. The subjects of deceit were insignificant to life. To anybody else, these actions would have dire consequences on their psyche, but not with the white changeling. Oh no. Looking about, he observed every creature he could before he leapt from his ledge. There was a couple arguing about their offspring. The male denied his want for it, supplementing his own argument about monetary needs while the female countered with her own, stating that a child would make them happier. The white changeling did not understand, as his hive had thousands of 'children'. Another group, seemingly soaked up with alcohol, were chanting some obscene musical. This was faulty to their health, yet they seemed happy and continued drinking despite it, even when others around them tried to help them stand up and take away their beverages. "These creatures are strange beings." the changeling clutched its chest, "But if I am to understand these pains in my body when images of that vile changeling queen come about in my mind, I must learn from them. I sense the decay of this body due to these things. There are hundreds of other hives. Why this one in particular? Hm? My knowledge will not aid me in these things. I should proceed as quickly as possible." Ignoring the strikes of thunder announcing the impending doom, the changeling creature hopped off of its ledge and landing gently on a roof, barely making more than simple tapping noises. It hurried along each roof, performing acrobatic feats uncommon for the common changeling. However, its new body, fir for a king, eased these actions and produced less train compared to its previous, basic changeling build. Finally, after skipping along a few buildings, the rain began to fall down like sharp icicles. Many of the more sensitive ponies still in the streets yiped in minor pain as the freezing shards pricked their skin through their fur. The white changeling ignored every moment of the ice hitting its shell, preferring to concentrate on more important things than pain. The castle had come into view, illuminated by the occasional lightning bolt. Its gigantic doors and stone walls towered over everything that even dared to approach its existance. All these were supplemented by a massive amount of guards patrolling the walls. Knowing that the princess would most certainly be hidden from him if he came in and alerted everypony, the changeling morphed its hooves to take the shape of two spikes each. Carefully, it jumped off another roof, used its wings to glide quickly in the shadows, then latched itself onto the wall with silence. Despite the small noises being created with each hoof being pulled off the wall, the white changeling managed to sneak up onto the ledge to jump on the other side of the wall. However, it stopped quickly and looked to the right. Two guards were talking about his hive. "Hey, did you hear?" "About what?" "There's supposedly a new hive in the rain forest near here. They say that it's a giant white changeling that controls it." "So...an albino queen?" "No! That's just it! We don't know what it is. Some ponies have been saying that its always been like that, and that it's actually a male." "What? Nonsense. How could it create a hive?" "I've heardr from the few explorers that have gone to capture it that that thing created a new form of changeling to accomodate that...aspect of things." "Oh? Really?" the guard asked with skepticism."And did these explorers tell you diretly?" "Well...no...but...It was more of mouth to ear..." "Ah. That's what I thought." "Hey! What was that?!" "What?" One of the guards jumped behind his friend to catch...Nothing. There was nothing, leaving the guard perplexed. "Huh?" "It's probably just the lightning reflecting off the water." "Yeah. You're probably right. I could've sworn I saw something white, though." He had done it. The most important portion of his infiltration had succeeded. Now all that was left was to get into the castle of the two princesses and find Cadance. With any luck, they would most certainly not try and defy him. In the worst case scenario, knowing the erratic behavior of these creatures, Cadance would never teach him anything if he wounded any 'close' to her. This was a tricky situation. Looking about and hiding behind one of th trimmed bushes lining the path directed linked to the entrance of the castle grounds, the changeling looked around for a possible entrance. The doors were out of the question, and the windows seemed closed as well. Being a changeling, the creature could take the shape of a guard, but that would most certainly cause some problems. He would change into one once he reached the chamber of Cadance. Hope was starting to seem out of reach, until a strong gust of wind blasted one of the windows open, to which the white changeling saw as an opportunity. Using this, he quickly flew up to the window, slipped through, then turned into one of Celestia's guards, ignoring all the water dripping from his body. He preferred to close the door and look around this rather narrow corridor. It looked like a hallway that lead to sleeping chambers. Judging by the doors on each side of the walls, and the carpet on the ground, the changeling figured he still had some work to do. This was a small bit of the castle, but knowing how to overhear things, the changeling went about the area to leave this cramped space, and leave it he did. This new portion of the castle was the main appearance of the castle, what with the whitened tiles on the ground and mant decorations along the walls, such as armor and sculptures. Ignoring the passing guards, the white changeling continued along its path to find someething to indicate the emplacement of that princess. Many of the grouped guards simply talked alot, mainly of things of great disinterest. The white changeling grew more tired of these searches until he found a guard with a particular appearance. He was not morphed by his armor. In fact, his sleek blue mane and tail remained the same. The changeling listened in on his conversation, but got into a more direct communication: "You!" the pony yelled. "Yes?" the changeling answered with a very calm demeanor, his face utterly devoid of emotion. "That's 'yes, sir'." "Yes, sir?" "Better. Go upstairs and guard my wife, Princess Cadance. I don't want anything to happen to her while I'm gone." "Of course. Just a word for knowledge. I'm a new recruit here, so some directional indications would be highly appreciated." "Really? Well, welcome to the royal guards." "Thank you." "Her chambers are up the stairs, as I told you. Take a left, then go straight. When you reach the end of the corridor, there should be another one to your right leading to a reception hall. Her room is right in front of it." "Okay. Thank you, sir." The stallion nodded and continued his path along with his guards, although one seems sceptical of this 'newcomer', but kept the thoughts to himself. The white changeling, on the other hoof, continued forward and found some stairs, following his instructions to the letter. Sure enough, there was one guard waiting in front of the door, said door having a large heart carved into it, and painted in pink. "Ah. There you are. I was waiting for you. We're the new shift. Good. Let's--" The guard started to choke as it found itself high in the air, a hoof wrapped around its neck. "I have no need for you, but erasing you would not be contructive. I will, therefore, simply knock you out." he spoke coldly as he tossed the guard over his shoulder. Said projectile smashed through the locked doors and into the hall, skidding gently to a halt as he touched the ground. "What was that?" a voice asked from behind te door. The changeling passed through, its disguise still intact, and met the pony he was looking for. Her pink coat and bizarrely colored mane and tail estranged him completely. This room, in itself, was awfully painful to look at. It was almost entirely pink, but with correct decorations to accomodate her mate. A rather large bed with a bright blue color to it, enormous windows leading outside, a wardrobe with clothes for both, this was a simple room. The Princess had been working on some paperwork for the Crystal Kingdom despite her visit in Canterlot. "Guard, what happened? Is everything alright?" "Yes. Nothing to concern yourself with. Somepony simply tripping over one of the decorative armors." She gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I was worried for a moment. That pony isn't hirt, are they?" "Not at all." "Captain Shining Armor?" the sceptical guard asked. "Yes?" "I checked through my notes. We haven't had a new recruit for two months." "So? It's not like that's...enough...ALERT ALL GUARDS! Get to Cadance! Hurry! I'll go first!" "YES, SIR!" An alarm suddenly burst into screams as the whole castle was put on high alert, startling Cadance right away. "What's going on? An intruder? Oh no!" The changeling closed the door behind him and slowly began to breathe more heavily. Having enough experience, and paying close attention to that excessive staring and emotionless eyes, the princess figured out everything rather quickly after the alarm. "You aren't a pony, are you?" The guard shook his head. "A changeling from Chrysalis?" He shook his head again. "What are you, then?" The form of te stallion suddenly took a much taller proportion, easily reaching Celestia's height. His body had a more elongated appearance than a normal changeling, giving it a rather royal appearance. His fangs didn't seem to show. Rather, they bent into his mouth like a snake's. His red wings and neck fins seemed to flutter with the purpose of simply extending their strained positions. Even his holed tail was red. "I want you to teach me what emotions are." Cadence's mind suddenly cracked. This wasn't what she was expecting. She had rather expected something along the lines of 'I'll kill you, then, with your body, I'll conquer the whole of Equestria'. "What?" she asked with a heightened crack in her voice. "CADANCE!" a stallion yelled. "Hey! You! Get away from my wife!" The changeling did not react as the stallion pounced towards him. And fear its prescenceShining Armor, with all his strength, jumped towards the white changeling in a bid to pin it to the ground and kill it in place. His last encounter with the species gave him a bitter aftertaste of the black insects. His rage was seething at not only the prescence of this changeling near his wife, but that it was simply a changeling that dared to show itself to him. Expecting to slam violently into the beast, the captain braced himself, only to feel his body begin flying backwards, letting him slam powerfully against the wall. He could not move at all, no matter the snarling and forcing he administered to the changeling magic. Several more guards came by, stressing Cadence even more. The princess was at a loss to what was happening, especially with the view of the spears thrown at the changeling simply vanishing in the air. Each and every guard who entered was forced upon the ground and rendered immobile. After certainty was acquired, the white changeling moved slowly towards the prisoners and placed itself face-to-face with Shining, who continued to glare at the creature. "You have all proved to be irritating nuisances. To amplify success of the princess' teachings, I will erase you a--" "NO!" Cadence shouted as she jumped in front of the guards and her husband, preventing the strange orb around the white changeling to expand. "Remove yourself. I only do this to learn from you without hindrance." This changeling's coldness was distraughting to even Shining. He had learned that even changelings felt emotions, such as fear. Chrysalis was an example of this when she protested against the shield of love expanding from Cadence and Shining, expelling her and her kind into several different parts of Equestria. Her hive had barely survived that encounter, and the remaining changelings either died or, unknown to the rest of the world, become integrated into the white one's new hive. "No! If you kill them, I'll never forgive you, and I'll never help you learn emotions." the princess stared firmly into the changeling's empty eyes. This staredown lasted a very long time as the changeling tried to understand what would push a creature to protect another without any logical conclusion to serve their master or a higher cause. After all, the white changeling had only ever known billions of years worth of servitude to its master, The Nothing; a being that existed before existance itself, and hellbent on destroying it. Being separated from it after the last incident rendered it helpless and confused as it awaited the Nothing's return, as improbable as that may be. "Why do you defend these creatures? They are like you: manifestations that oppose the will of the Nothing. Erasing them is a great honor to it." "The Nothing? I don't know what that is. I protect them because it is what is right. I also protect Shining Armor, the one you have pinned to the wall, because I love him." The changeling's head tilted slightly in confusion. "Love? What is 'love'? A manifestation of power? A weapon of some sorts?" "No! It is what you feel for that special somepony. The one you have the 'zing' with, as we used to call it. You never feel that with anypony else." "...I do not understand." "You don't? Do you know what happiness is? Joy? Sadness? Compassion?" To each of these questions, a dead silence was met with the tilting head of the changeling. Cadance was flabbergasted at this turn of events. However, it seemed calculating and understanding enough. She would use these to manipulate it atleast and teach it that it can change...hopefully. "If you release my husband and the guards, and not harm anypony or anything else, then I will teach you everything. How long are you going to stay here?" "Time is irrelevant. I stay as long as it pleases me." "Oookayyy..." Cadence looked to the sides nervously."Could you release them now?" "Yes." Everypony gasped for air, followed by Shining flopping oto the ground and getting up with anger. He was about to stomp towards the creature, who did not react to sound effect, but the princess got in front of him and pushed him back towards the wall. They were arguing about something, but the white changeling could not hear. The guards simply stared at the creature from the sides with hidden fear and stress, loudly jolting and yiping when the creature's eyes turned towards them. "Okay. Everypony get out! Our guest has alot to learn from here. I know this is sudden, but get out and do what Shining tells you." The guards each scratched their heads in confusion only to be roughed up and out of the room by a smiling Captain. Cadence had told her husband to have a team constantly survey the changeling, to increase defensive measures, and to upgrade the alert system for a quicker reaction time. While these were all good measures, Cadence had an inkling in her heart that this creature wasn't as emotionless as it proclaimed. She would break it out of its cocoon. Before starting, though, she decided to lie down on her bed and give a smile to the creature who did nothing but follow her with its eyes. "Okay then. What emotion do you want to learn about first?" "There are multiple emotions? I believed that the existant had a universal set of mind." "Wh...We all have many emotions. Some are great while others can hurt." "Emotions cause physical harm?" Cadence chuckled, confusing the creature even more."No. This is called laughter. You laugh when you find something funny; something that makes you happy." The changeling remained immobile. "Our emotions are from our mind. Any pain caused by them is psychological. I can teach you what happens when ponies like us grow up without them, or only with negative emotions, but I think that is a bad idea seeing that you don't have any yourself. It could set a bad example." Cadence rolled on her back and began to hit the air. Hmmm. What should I show you now? Oh! Cuteness! Something that makes you melt. Something...I can't explain it. You have to see it for yourself. Let's take this kitten plushie, for example. Look how cute it is! It's all fluffy with gray fur and adorable eyes. It's also all tiny." Cadance hugged it powerfully and pressed the abomination against her face. The stuffed animal was gray, as told, with big gray eyes and a small shape. It looked like it was forcing an adorable smile of innocence. The white changeling made no reaction and just looked at it longly. "See? Just hold it and pet it gently.A real cat would love that." the changeling grabbed it with its 'magic' and lifted the doll to its face while Cadence began to pout." I want a cat, but Shining Armor has been saying that 'They're too smelly' and 'They destroy everything'. Hmph. I don't thi..." As the princess began to trail off in her ranting, the white creature pat the stuffed cat once on the head, before patting another time with such strength that, despite it not showing any signs of forced effort, the doll pierced through the floors of the castle, causing a large portion of it to shake uncontrollably as the plushie slammed violently into the deep grounds below like a meteor. A huge hole was now in the floor, and several ponies were seen looking down, before looking up and coming face-to-face with the white changeling. They all screamed shortly afterwards. "Wow. You need to get that strength under control. Since when are changelings that powerful?"Cadance asked as she stood next to the creature. "I have always possessed this power no matter the physique of my host." "...Do you have a name?" "Names are associated with emotions, which are against the demnds of the Nothing. They are parasites to be erased." "Yet here you are trying to learn emotions." Cadence smirked. She knew that the changeling would not harm her, which is why she told all the guards to leave and ordered Shining to do all told previously. While this huge creature seemed harmless, one portion of its true powers, atleast, were shown. She had to learn the rest to know what Equestria was dealing with, and she had to do this before Celestia and Luna returned. "In the millions of worlds I have gone to, I have been called 'The withering', 'Bonessence', 'Zig' hyari Hal'rash', and 'The unknown'. The last one has been more common and I have come to use that name." Cadence was confused at what the changeling meant, but she followed up anyways. "Okay. We'll call you 'Unknown'. Would you like that?" "Like?" "Oh...right." the princess facehoofed. "Okay. It's late, and although I want to teach you more things, I need my slumber, as do we all." "What is slumber?" "Don't you sleep?" "Slumber is unknown. I have always remained awake and vigilant. It has greatly helped my hive prosper and grow in the rainforest." "So that was your hive? This changes quite alot. I'll have to be extra cautious around him. Right. Then you can wait wherever you want. Oh! Before I prepare to sleep, why DO you want to learn about emotions?" "My chest hurts when I see pictures or images of the changling queen. These unknown feelings have been causing my body to decay. I will die if I do not comprehend these emotions." "WHAT?!" "Your body is decaying as well? You seem in pain." "No. It's not that. Just...just leave. Please." "As you will." Unknown somehow phased through the walls linking outside, attracting Cadence's once more, but that wasn't what shocked her the most. A changeling that had fallen in love with a queen? In the whole history of Equestria since discovering the existence of changelings, there had never been such a thing. At best, breeders were used, but no form of love was ever had in the hives. Perhaps this was a sign that their race was evolving? Then again, it struck Cadence as strange to why a changeling like that would feel no emotions, and kept referring to this 'Nothing'. She had neever heard of it, but there was a possibility that the source could be found in the royal library. Until then, the white changeling was staying at Canterlot castle and the city itself. It'd be best if it didn't leave the grounds, however. So much things to accomplish, so many dangers. Before taking one last glimpse at the hole in the floor, the princess left her room to get dinner and talk with her husband a bit longer. She may have lied about what she was really going to do, but that was only for a bit more detailed conversations. This was very important, and everything had to be correctly prepared for the future. I am the beginningCadence and Shining were comfortably snuggled into their bed, smiles etched on their faces. Even though they knew they would have to get up, the sun still shone uncomfortably in their faces, urging them to attend to their duties. With a groan, the two wriggled underneath their covers. "Shining...mrmgl...get the baby..." Cadence mumbled in her semi-conciousness. "WHAT BABY?!" Shining screamed as he fell out of the bed in surprise. Cadence reacted in a similar manner. "Oh! I'm sorry, Shining. I was having a dream where we had a cute little foal." she squeed as she put her forelegs together with a smile. Shining rubbed his head in pain while he forced himself back up. "I...I don't know what to say about that." "What? You don't want a foal?" Cadence snapped back. "Uhhh. Well...I..." "It is morning. You have awoken. I require further teachings in the domain of emotions." Unknown spoke, scaring Shining Armor again. "Bwah! Where did you come from?!" he yelled. "Through the floor." "THROUGH THE FLOOR?!" the two shouted in unison. "Yes. I overheard the other armored ponies questioning your prescence." "Oh! Oh crap. Um...well, see you later, honey. I have to hurry up." "Okay. Careful!" Shining slammed into the giant changeling again, this time, with his armor partially on. Even with it, he could feel the sturdiness and strength of this creature and the emptiness of its stare onto him. Yet, he had no time to think about that. Duty called. Now the two were alone in the room again, leaving Cadence's nervousness and bed hair to float about in the room. The only sounds heard were the princess' breathing. Noticing this, she held her breath discreetly and noticed that the changeling was not breathing either. "Okayyyy...Could you wait until I brush my mane? AH! What are you--" Unknown had lift Cadence from her bed and struck her head with a red bolt of something, then dropped her gently in front of the mirror, letting her gawk in the speed that her mane was recombed. "Wowwww. You're really good." Any normal pony would have blushed, but the creature did no such thing. Rather, it seemed to be getting impatient. "Productivity is stammered. Speed would be appreciated." "Oh! Okay then...uhh...What would you like to learn today then? There are so many emotions--" "Happiness. Then anger. Then this thing called 'love'. They seem to be the basic pathogenes of emotion." "Basic pathogenes? But there are so many emotions! Those are only three. Surely, you want to--" "Anger, happiness, and love. The only I need. The others will stem from those. Of that, I am sure." "Okay...Then...This is probably a bad idea, but we could have you meet the other ponies here...Maybe those in the kitchen could show you a basic form of joy. A joy for taste?" "Yet I do not require sustenance. This logic is flawed." "Can't you just appreciate the flavors?" "...I will attempt to do so." "Great!" the princess hurried over to the door, only to stop right away and turn around with gritted teeth."Wouldn't it be possible to...you know...Morph into a pony form?" "For how long?" "As long as possible. If you're going to fit in here, then you must look like us. Like that, you'll learn things better and everypony will feel more comfortable around you." "An undetermined amount of time in an uncomfortable form, but it will enhance productivity. I shall do so." Before the foalsitter's eyes, the body of a changeling contorted and morphed without any sort of magic covering the process. It was a gruesome sight as flesh tore and stitched itself at the same time while bone brittled and broke at the same time. Blood boiled and ste in place as the changeling now had the shape of an armored guard, his skin having compensated for the lack of armor by morphing into two layers. "That was...Ew. No." "No?" "Try something original. This won't work at all. We need something that let's you blend in, and will make ponies think that you are my new apprentice." "Okay." His voice seemed to be morphing into a younger variant than what he looked like. His body did the same twisting a tchurning, just differently. His body became slightly larger and more muscular than it should have been, and his coat took a reddish color near the hooves while his mane and tail remained red like before, although, they were still finned in shape. He had taken the shape of a unicorn; The horn seemingly curving slightly backwards at the tip. "Oh my." "What?" "Nothing. I just wasn't expecting you to take on an athletic build." "Would you prefer a mare?" "NO!" Cadence shouted as the disturbing came rushing in. "No?" "Stay as you are. Wait...Maybe you should try and give yourself eyes? I mean, the blank thing is pretty creepy." "Is this better? It is only flesh." His eyes had now become a deep crimson red, reflecting the same aura of strength and fear coming from the rest of his body. "Hmmm." Cadence eyed him up and down and walked around the new stallion just to be sure."Yes. You're good." "Then shall we depart for the sustenance area?" "Kitchen." "Affirmative." "Yes! C'mon!" Letting the stallion out first, the princess locked the door behind her afterwards, letting the new pony simply stare at her on the side of the hall. The mare began to hum a tune to herself as the two began to walk through the castle, bringing attention to themselves, and the seemingly emotionless stallion behind her. The hallways weren't very bright either, as the outside was still dark and cloudy, an unfortunate side-effect of the previous day. While nearing the first set of stairs, however, two guards grabbed the unicorn by the forelegs, thinking he was doing something he shouldn't near the princess. "Alright there-a buddy. You-a are gonna just-a step-er away from -er-a the princess." a scrawny guard asked. Cadence heard the commotion after putting a hoof on the passage to turn around and continue downwards. She gasped in shock and hurried to settle the dispute. "Unhoof me." "Not until she gets further away from you, creep." the other spoke. "Wait! It's okay. He's with--" Even though the guards were paying attention to what they were being told, they were violently thrown aside and across opposite sides of the long hallways; Landing violently almost against the walls. Cadence could do nothing but stare a this feat of strength for a moment while she looked down both corridors. After regaining her composture, she gently slammed a hoof down and frowned at the stallion, staring him directly in the eyes. "I was going to explain the situation. Why did you do that? You said you wouldn't hurt anypony." "I did not. They were obstructing my current task, therefore, I cast them aside non-violently." "You threw them several feet across this floor!" she outraged with a hoof extended towards the left corridor. "They are unharmed. That is what you demanded. Shall we continue?" "...Yes. Fine. But no more acts of violence whatsoever." The stallion gave a long pause for thought, exhasperating Cadence as each second passed. "Fine. I shall only perform those acts in self-defence." "Hmmm. That seems about right." Finally, the two started to go to the kitchen unhindered, yet the changeling had one more thing to say: "I'll have you know that what I did was self-defence." "Gnagna...Did you just use humor?" "No. Pure logic and analysis." The princess had stopped and let the changeling pass as a little smile formed on the side of her face. I am the endFinally down the stairs, the two walked through the widened corridors of the irst floor and bathed in the now-present sunlight. Everypony still seemed to babble about this stallion's sudden appearance and his accompanying of Cadence. The changeling's lack of emotion somewhat impeded whatever conversation others were trying to have with him, as he nimbly curved around each who tried to block him, leaving the would-be questioner flabbergasted. Most of these were the ponies who worked at the castle, but the occasional griffin came in on the fun as well. Cadence was struggling to keep up with the creature's pace. No changeling could walk this fast without tiring themselves out incredibly, even with their morphing. It was always relevant to the creature they turned into, yet this...thing seemed so emotionless that it had no concept of fatigue or basic needs. Such an interesting concept. Reaching the large entrance, the staircase presented a direct path to the kitchen. However, one problem had arised. A large body of atleast twenty stallions marched along through the hall, intent on reaching the waiting quarters. For what purpose? These gray stallions wearing fur hats and furred jackets were from Stalliongrad, a place that formed fearless and frightening soldiers. They were only escorts, however, and the one being protected was hidden within the center of this mass. Their frowning faces and gruff exterior seemed to intimidate everypony around. Even Cadence was shaking a bit, yet Unknown did not care. His body stood firm and his face remained emotionless. The changeling's "teacher" preferred to wait for them to pass, but said creature had another plan. "I shall not wait for my teachings. These ponies are hindering progress to the desired destination. We must advance." he said ever so calmly. "Wait...what are you doing? No. Unnknown, wait!" Cadence whisperedas she tried to discreetly grab the white stallion's hindlegs. The event wasn't what the visitors were expecting. After all, it was wellknown throughout most of the discovered world that soldiers from Stalliongrad were not to be trifled with. Even the toughest of guards would not dare to pick a fight with them, yet the idea that a common pony would dare to oppose them was impossible, Laughable even. This is exactly what happened, but this 'common pony" wasn't something they were aware of. Unnknown walked through the group, pushing them away and carving a stright path through the crowd, making these troops grab the intruder and look at him with disgust and confusion. "Who arre you to pass thrrough Stallionfrrads grrrreatest soldierrs? Huh? Who do you tink you arre?" one of the soldiers shouted. Said soldier was so close to the changeling's face that it could smell his alcohol-imbued breath. While the others seemed rather tame in their drinking habits, this particular one was a full drunkard. "Release me, pony. I have matters to attend to." The stallions laughed while te drunkard turned around to look at them with a smile on his face. "Rreally? Then hy did you push thrrough us?" "You are impeding my progress. I have no time to spare waiting for colts wearing fluffy coats to block my progress." "You even insult us. Aha! I like dis guy." the drunkard closened the distance between their faces."Listen herre. We don't like ponies like you. We'll teach you a lesson that you will not forget." The stallions around began to chuckled and crack their coronets. If nothing was done, the poor stallion would be massacred. "Hold up!" Cadence interjected. "It's not his fault. When he gets into...uhhh...When he wants to do something, he has to finish it, no matter the consequences." "Huh?" a soldier wondered. While Cadance and the stallions began to talk, the changeling slowly turned its head to observe the situation. What emotion was she showing? Compassion? Pity? What was it? It did not affect him, but he had to know. Unfortunately, these soldiers were not going to listen to some alicorn who was not one of the royal sisters. "Sorry, mare, but we must uphold our honor." one sneered. "I advize you to treat her with more respect, and to release me immediately. I prefer continuing to my intended objective." "Too bad." Before the spectators hiding behind their cover could even react, Unknown had broken from his clutches and, with a centralized strike into the attacker's chest, hit him far away against the wall. The yelp of pain was enough to enrage the fallen one's comrades. They immediately took out their knives and began to bash the changeling using combinations to confuse him as to where the next attack would come from, yet, with every strike, the stallion did not react, and his face remained the same, destabilizing his attackers. Performing yet another bizarre body twist that tossed him into the air, the unicorn let his horn shine a trasparent hue, enamoring the stallions before a huge portion of them were struck by an invisible force and melded into the floor. Seeing the horror that just occurred, one of the soldiers equipped his spear and charged towards the pony, intent on impaling him. Perhaps it was his powers. Perhaps it was his experience dealing with another wielding that name, but Unknown slid slightly to the right and smashed the spear in two before jumping up and round-house kicking the stallion into the stairs. The remaining simply looked at the carnage and began to shake as the victor stared at them with no care. "ENOUGH!" yelled a deep voice. The one this group had been guarding came forwards with rage in his blue eyes. He was just as gray as the rest, but had a thick, black mustache and a sickle cutie mark. He walked straight into the unicorn's face and growled at him, then burst into laughter, catching the changeling off-guard. "Hm?" Unnkown hummed. "I like you. You defeated some of my best bodyguards. Aha!" the stallion slammed the changeling on the back quite a bit."They stemmed off a manticore invasion and a killed off a Pourpros. Those giant creatures aren't easy to get rid of. Ha. Now, if you could unmeld my soldiers from the floor, we'll be on our way." the pony smiled. Unknown looked back at Cadence who simply looked back with irritation. Another movement, and the troops were free, allowing them to skit along the floor, up the stairs, and past the doors. Before this mustachioed stallion could leave, however, Unknown spoke: "I believe that power is essential to survival." To this, the stallion nodded with a smile. "They must learn...humility...to be proper combattants." "Yes. That is a fine piece of advice. A strict training regime is the best way to teach them that they are not invincible. I thank you for this, sirrrrr...?" "Unknown." Cadence cringed. They had forgotten to get him a real name. "Unknown?...I like it. Very mysterious. Have a good day." The alicorn sighed in relief, and quickly grabbed the changeling to hurry towards the kitchen. The door to this was, like the rest, made of a fine wood, although this one had carvings of all sorts of fruits and vegetables on it. The details were so perfect that it seemed like the food would jump out at any moment from their sculpted prison. Cadance, although still disturbed by what happened earlier, smiled to Unknown as she opened the door slowly. Every single odor and spice immediately rushed through the air and hit the unicorn directly in the muzzle, causing him to caugh and shake his head as he held said muzzle in pain. "What is that?!" he screamed. "It's a smell. How does it make you feel?" "Nauseous." "Huh. That wasn't the answer I was expecting. It might be because you aren't used to these sort of things. I'll let you meet the chef. He can most certainly help you develop a taste for food." As the door opened a bit more, a griffin could be seen directly throwing olives and peppers into the air and slicing them with his claws, allowing the fresh slices to fall into the large, bronze pot with little splashes. The entire kitchen itself was enormous and apparently had an enormous staff, judging by the amount of ponies and minotaurs, as well as all the apparatus and ruckus going on. Said griffin, however, had managed to twist his head feathers into dreadlocks and seemed to have lit his stereo up all the way to hear his music blasting through the whole room and through the now open door. "Green Pepper? I have somepony that I would like you to meet. He needs to learn about flavors, and I'm pretty sure you could teach him." "Really now? Well dats a great ting now! I'll teach ya how ta appreciate all da flavahs of da world!" the griffin shouted as he turned around. Unknown felt something within him that caused his whole body to feel cold. He felt some form of chill in his spine, his muscles began to contract, and he even started to sweat. He didn't like this emotion. He didn't like it at all. A new emotion came into play for his reaction: Hatred.
Gaze upon my formA tall form raised itself upon the horizon, its holed hooves standing firmly about the green grass of the hilltop, and its body resisting effortlessly against the stormy winds. The skies had turned dark, and this was announcing an impending rainstorm. Several ponies in Canterlot were already closing up their shops in haste hoping to flee from the storm in time. Some had been preparng umbrells and such for their restaurants. After all, there were many clients who appreciated to eat outside when it was raining. A best way to gain money is to cater to everyone's needs. Observing the fear in some of the ponies and griffins, the figure tilted its head in confusion. It did not understand this concept and these expessions. Many times over has this being encountered this...this 'emotion', but it did not understand it. It caused prisoners to stutter, tremble uncontrollably, sweat profusively, and, in extreme cases, urinate themselves. What was causing these form of changes to their physique and their train of thought? Was it a source of untapped power? There was most certainly an opposite to the current elements of harmony that the figure had learned about, but it had yet to find them. Its first train of thought came from a basis that emotions all had opposites, and that learning negative emotions would give a favor over positive. He had failed to find these opposites. The only loss in his travels, though, were the lives he erased from existence. Nopony would remember, nor will they. The subjects of deceit were insignificant to life. To anybody else, these actions would have dire consequences on their psyche, but not with the white changeling. Oh no. Looking about, he observed every creature he could before he leapt from his ledge. There was a couple arguing about their offspring. The male denied his want for it, supplementing his own argument about monetary needs while the female countered with her own, stating that a child would make them happier. The white changeling did not understand, as his hive had thousands of 'children'. Another group, seemingly soaked up with alcohol, were chanting some obscene musical. This was faulty to their health, yet they seemed happy and continued drinking despite it, even when others around them tried to help them stand up and take away their beverages. "These creatures are strange beings." the changeling clutched its chest, "But if I am to understand these pains in my body when images of that vile changeling queen come about in my mind, I must learn from them. I sense the decay of this body due to these things. There are hundreds of other hives. Why this one in particular? Hm? My knowledge will not aid me in these things. I should proceed as quickly as possible." Ignoring the strikes of thunder announcing the impending doom, the changeling creature hopped off of its ledge and landing gently on a roof, barely making more than simple tapping noises. It hurried along each roof, performing acrobatic feats uncommon for the common changeling. However, its new body, fir for a king, eased these actions and produced less train compared to its previous, basic changeling build. Finally, after skipping along a few buildings, the rain began to fall down like sharp icicles. Many of the more sensitive ponies still in the streets yiped in minor pain as the freezing shards pricked their skin through their fur. The white changeling ignored every moment of the ice hitting its shell, preferring to concentrate on more important things than pain. The castle had come into view, illuminated by the occasional lightning bolt. Its gigantic doors and stone walls towered over everything that even dared to approach its existance. All these were supplemented by a massive amount of guards patrolling the walls. Knowing that the princess would most certainly be hidden from him if he came in and alerted everypony, the changeling morphed its hooves to take the shape of two spikes each. Carefully, it jumped off another roof, used its wings to glide quickly in the shadows, then latched itself onto the wall with silence. Despite the small noises being created with each hoof being pulled off the wall, the white changeling managed to sneak up onto the ledge to jump on the other side of the wall. However, it stopped quickly and looked to the right. Two guards were talking about his hive. "Hey, did you hear?" "About what?" "There's supposedly a new hive in the rain forest near here. They say that it's a giant white changeling that controls it." "So...an albino queen?" "No! That's just it! We don't know what it is. Some ponies have been saying that its always been like that, and that it's actually a male." "What? Nonsense. How could it create a hive?" "I've heardr from the few explorers that have gone to capture it that that thing created a new form of changeling to accomodate that...aspect of things." "Oh? Really?" the guard asked with skepticism."And did these explorers tell you diretly?" "Well...no...but...It was more of mouth to ear..." "Ah. That's what I thought." "Hey! What was that?!" "What?" One of the guards jumped behind his friend to catch...Nothing. There was nothing, leaving the guard perplexed. "Huh?" "It's probably just the lightning reflecting off the water." "Yeah. You're probably right. I could've sworn I saw something white, though." He had done it. The most important portion of his infiltration had succeeded. Now all that was left was to get into the castle of the two princesses and find Cadance. With any luck, they would most certainly not try and defy him. In the worst case scenario, knowing the erratic behavior of these creatures, Cadance would never teach him anything if he wounded any 'close' to her. This was a tricky situation. Looking about and hiding behind one of th trimmed bushes lining the path directed linked to the entrance of the castle grounds, the changeling looked around for a possible entrance. The doors were out of the question, and the windows seemed closed as well. Being a changeling, the creature could take the shape of a guard, but that would most certainly cause some problems. He would change into one once he reached the chamber of Cadance. Hope was starting to seem out of reach, until a strong gust of wind blasted one of the windows open, to which the white changeling saw as an opportunity. Using this, he quickly flew up to the window, slipped through, then turned into one of Celestia's guards, ignoring all the water dripping from his body. He preferred to close the door and look around this rather narrow corridor. It looked like a hallway that lead to sleeping chambers. Judging by the doors on each side of the walls, and the carpet on the ground, the changeling figured he still had some work to do. This was a small bit of the castle, but knowing how to overhear things, the changeling went about the area to leave this cramped space, and leave it he did. This new portion of the castle was the main appearance of the castle, what with the whitened tiles on the ground and mant decorations along the walls, such as armor and sculptures. Ignoring the passing guards, the white changeling continued along its path to find someething to indicate the emplacement of that princess. Many of the grouped guards simply talked alot, mainly of things of great disinterest. The white changeling grew more tired of these searches until he found a guard with a particular appearance. He was not morphed by his armor. In fact, his sleek blue mane and tail remained the same. The changeling listened in on his conversation, but got into a more direct communication: "You!" the pony yelled. "Yes?" the changeling answered with a very calm demeanor, his face utterly devoid of emotion. "That's 'yes, sir'." "Yes, sir?" "Better. Go upstairs and guard my wife, Princess Cadance. I don't want anything to happen to her while I'm gone." "Of course. Just a word for knowledge. I'm a new recruit here, so some directional indications would be highly appreciated." "Really? Well, welcome to the royal guards." "Thank you." "Her chambers are up the stairs, as I told you. Take a left, then go straight. When you reach the end of the corridor, there should be another one to your right leading to a reception hall. Her room is right in front of it." "Okay. Thank you, sir." The stallion nodded and continued his path along with his guards, although one seems sceptical of this 'newcomer', but kept the thoughts to himself. The white changeling, on the other hoof, continued forward and found some stairs, following his instructions to the letter. Sure enough, there was one guard waiting in front of the door, said door having a large heart carved into it, and painted in pink. "Ah. There you are. I was waiting for you. We're the new shift. Good. Let's--" The guard started to choke as it found itself high in the air, a hoof wrapped around its neck. "I have no need for you, but erasing you would not be contructive. I will, therefore, simply knock you out." he spoke coldly as he tossed the guard over his shoulder. Said projectile smashed through the locked doors and into the hall, skidding gently to a halt as he touched the ground. "What was that?" a voice asked from behind te door. The changeling passed through, its disguise still intact, and met the pony he was looking for. Her pink coat and bizarrely colored mane and tail estranged him completely. This room, in itself, was awfully painful to look at. It was almost entirely pink, but with correct decorations to accomodate her mate. A rather large bed with a bright blue color to it, enormous windows leading outside, a wardrobe with clothes for both, this was a simple room. The Princess had been working on some paperwork for the Crystal Kingdom despite her visit in Canterlot. "Guard, what happened? Is everything alright?" "Yes. Nothing to concern yourself with. Somepony simply tripping over one of the decorative armors." She gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I was worried for a moment. That pony isn't hirt, are they?" "Not at all." "Captain Shining Armor?" the sceptical guard asked. "Yes?" "I checked through my notes. We haven't had a new recruit for two months." "So? It's not like that's...enough...ALERT ALL GUARDS! Get to Cadance! Hurry! I'll go first!" "YES, SIR!" An alarm suddenly burst into screams as the whole castle was put on high alert, startling Cadance right away. "What's going on? An intruder? Oh no!" The changeling closed the door behind him and slowly began to breathe more heavily. Having enough experience, and paying close attention to that excessive staring and emotionless eyes, the princess figured out everything rather quickly after the alarm. "You aren't a pony, are you?" The guard shook his head. "A changeling from Chrysalis?" He shook his head again. "What are you, then?" The form of te stallion suddenly took a much taller proportion, easily reaching Celestia's height. His body had a more elongated appearance than a normal changeling, giving it a rather royal appearance. His fangs didn't seem to show. Rather, they bent into his mouth like a snake's. His red wings and neck fins seemed to flutter with the purpose of simply extending their strained positions. Even his holed tail was red. "I want you to teach me what emotions are." Cadence's mind suddenly cracked. This wasn't what she was expecting. She had rather expected something along the lines of 'I'll kill you, then, with your body, I'll conquer the whole of Equestria'. "What?" she asked with a heightened crack in her voice. "CADANCE!" a stallion yelled. "Hey! You! Get away from my wife!" The changeling did not react as the stallion pounced towards him.
And fear its prescenceShining Armor, with all his strength, jumped towards the white changeling in a bid to pin it to the ground and kill it in place. His last encounter with the species gave him a bitter aftertaste of the black insects. His rage was seething at not only the prescence of this changeling near his wife, but that it was simply a changeling that dared to show itself to him. Expecting to slam violently into the beast, the captain braced himself, only to feel his body begin flying backwards, letting him slam powerfully against the wall. He could not move at all, no matter the snarling and forcing he administered to the changeling magic. Several more guards came by, stressing Cadence even more. The princess was at a loss to what was happening, especially with the view of the spears thrown at the changeling simply vanishing in the air. Each and every guard who entered was forced upon the ground and rendered immobile. After certainty was acquired, the white changeling moved slowly towards the prisoners and placed itself face-to-face with Shining, who continued to glare at the creature. "You have all proved to be irritating nuisances. To amplify success of the princess' teachings, I will erase you a--" "NO!" Cadence shouted as she jumped in front of the guards and her husband, preventing the strange orb around the white changeling to expand. "Remove yourself. I only do this to learn from you without hindrance." This changeling's coldness was distraughting to even Shining. He had learned that even changelings felt emotions, such as fear. Chrysalis was an example of this when she protested against the shield of love expanding from Cadence and Shining, expelling her and her kind into several different parts of Equestria. Her hive had barely survived that encounter, and the remaining changelings either died or, unknown to the rest of the world, become integrated into the white one's new hive. "No! If you kill them, I'll never forgive you, and I'll never help you learn emotions." the princess stared firmly into the changeling's empty eyes. This staredown lasted a very long time as the changeling tried to understand what would push a creature to protect another without any logical conclusion to serve their master or a higher cause. After all, the white changeling had only ever known billions of years worth of servitude to its master, The Nothing; a being that existed before existance itself, and hellbent on destroying it. Being separated from it after the last incident rendered it helpless and confused as it awaited the Nothing's return, as improbable as that may be. "Why do you defend these creatures? They are like you: manifestations that oppose the will of the Nothing. Erasing them is a great honor to it." "The Nothing? I don't know what that is. I protect them because it is what is right. I also protect Shining Armor, the one you have pinned to the wall, because I love him." The changeling's head tilted slightly in confusion. "Love? What is 'love'? A manifestation of power? A weapon of some sorts?" "No! It is what you feel for that special somepony. The one you have the 'zing' with, as we used to call it. You never feel that with anypony else." "...I do not understand." "You don't? Do you know what happiness is? Joy? Sadness? Compassion?" To each of these questions, a dead silence was met with the tilting head of the changeling. Cadance was flabbergasted at this turn of events. However, it seemed calculating and understanding enough. She would use these to manipulate it atleast and teach it that it can change...hopefully. "If you release my husband and the guards, and not harm anypony or anything else, then I will teach you everything. How long are you going to stay here?" "Time is irrelevant. I stay as long as it pleases me." "Oookayyy..." Cadence looked to the sides nervously."Could you release them now?" "Yes." Everypony gasped for air, followed by Shining flopping oto the ground and getting up with anger. He was about to stomp towards the creature, who did not react to sound effect, but the princess got in front of him and pushed him back towards the wall. They were arguing about something, but the white changeling could not hear. The guards simply stared at the creature from the sides with hidden fear and stress, loudly jolting and yiping when the creature's eyes turned towards them. "Okay. Everypony get out! Our guest has alot to learn from here. I know this is sudden, but get out and do what Shining tells you." The guards each scratched their heads in confusion only to be roughed up and out of the room by a smiling Captain. Cadence had told her husband to have a team constantly survey the changeling, to increase defensive measures, and to upgrade the alert system for a quicker reaction time. While these were all good measures, Cadence had an inkling in her heart that this creature wasn't as emotionless as it proclaimed. She would break it out of its cocoon. Before starting, though, she decided to lie down on her bed and give a smile to the creature who did nothing but follow her with its eyes. "Okay then. What emotion do you want to learn about first?" "There are multiple emotions? I believed that the existant had a universal set of mind." "Wh...We all have many emotions. Some are great while others can hurt." "Emotions cause physical harm?" Cadence chuckled, confusing the creature even more."No. This is called laughter. You laugh when you find something funny; something that makes you happy." The changeling remained immobile. "Our emotions are from our mind. Any pain caused by them is psychological. I can teach you what happens when ponies like us grow up without them, or only with negative emotions, but I think that is a bad idea seeing that you don't have any yourself. It could set a bad example." Cadence rolled on her back and began to hit the air. Hmmm. What should I show you now? Oh! Cuteness! Something that makes you melt. Something...I can't explain it. You have to see it for yourself. Let's take this kitten plushie, for example. Look how cute it is! It's all fluffy with gray fur and adorable eyes. It's also all tiny." Cadance hugged it powerfully and pressed the abomination against her face. The stuffed animal was gray, as told, with big gray eyes and a small shape. It looked like it was forcing an adorable smile of innocence. The white changeling made no reaction and just looked at it longly. "See? Just hold it and pet it gently.A real cat would love that." the changeling grabbed it with its 'magic' and lifted the doll to its face while Cadence began to pout." I want a cat, but Shining Armor has been saying that 'They're too smelly' and 'They destroy everything'. Hmph. I don't thi..." As the princess began to trail off in her ranting, the white creature pat the stuffed cat once on the head, before patting another time with such strength that, despite it not showing any signs of forced effort, the doll pierced through the floors of the castle, causing a large portion of it to shake uncontrollably as the plushie slammed violently into the deep grounds below like a meteor. A huge hole was now in the floor, and several ponies were seen looking down, before looking up and coming face-to-face with the white changeling. They all screamed shortly afterwards. "Wow. You need to get that strength under control. Since when are changelings that powerful?"Cadance asked as she stood next to the creature. "I have always possessed this power no matter the physique of my host." "...Do you have a name?" "Names are associated with emotions, which are against the demnds of the Nothing. They are parasites to be erased." "Yet here you are trying to learn emotions." Cadence smirked. She knew that the changeling would not harm her, which is why she told all the guards to leave and ordered Shining to do all told previously. While this huge creature seemed harmless, one portion of its true powers, atleast, were shown. She had to learn the rest to know what Equestria was dealing with, and she had to do this before Celestia and Luna returned. "In the millions of worlds I have gone to, I have been called 'The withering', 'Bonessence', 'Zig' hyari Hal'rash', and 'The unknown'. The last one has been more common and I have come to use that name." Cadence was confused at what the changeling meant, but she followed up anyways. "Okay. We'll call you 'Unknown'. Would you like that?" "Like?" "Oh...right." the princess facehoofed. "Okay. It's late, and although I want to teach you more things, I need my slumber, as do we all." "What is slumber?" "Don't you sleep?" "Slumber is unknown. I have always remained awake and vigilant. It has greatly helped my hive prosper and grow in the rainforest." "So that was your hive? This changes quite alot. I'll have to be extra cautious around him. Right. Then you can wait wherever you want. Oh! Before I prepare to sleep, why DO you want to learn about emotions?" "My chest hurts when I see pictures or images of the changling queen. These unknown feelings have been causing my body to decay. I will die if I do not comprehend these emotions." "WHAT?!" "Your body is decaying as well? You seem in pain." "No. It's not that. Just...just leave. Please." "As you will." Unknown somehow phased through the walls linking outside, attracting Cadence's once more, but that wasn't what shocked her the most. A changeling that had fallen in love with a queen? In the whole history of Equestria since discovering the existence of changelings, there had never been such a thing. At best, breeders were used, but no form of love was ever had in the hives. Perhaps this was a sign that their race was evolving? Then again, it struck Cadence as strange to why a changeling like that would feel no emotions, and kept referring to this 'Nothing'. She had neever heard of it, but there was a possibility that the source could be found in the royal library. Until then, the white changeling was staying at Canterlot castle and the city itself. It'd be best if it didn't leave the grounds, however. So much things to accomplish, so many dangers. Before taking one last glimpse at the hole in the floor, the princess left her room to get dinner and talk with her husband a bit longer. She may have lied about what she was really going to do, but that was only for a bit more detailed conversations. This was very important, and everything had to be correctly prepared for the future.
I am the beginningCadence and Shining were comfortably snuggled into their bed, smiles etched on their faces. Even though they knew they would have to get up, the sun still shone uncomfortably in their faces, urging them to attend to their duties. With a groan, the two wriggled underneath their covers. "Shining...mrmgl...get the baby..." Cadence mumbled in her semi-conciousness. "WHAT BABY?!" Shining screamed as he fell out of the bed in surprise. Cadence reacted in a similar manner. "Oh! I'm sorry, Shining. I was having a dream where we had a cute little foal." she squeed as she put her forelegs together with a smile. Shining rubbed his head in pain while he forced himself back up. "I...I don't know what to say about that." "What? You don't want a foal?" Cadence snapped back. "Uhhh. Well...I..." "It is morning. You have awoken. I require further teachings in the domain of emotions." Unknown spoke, scaring Shining Armor again. "Bwah! Where did you come from?!" he yelled. "Through the floor." "THROUGH THE FLOOR?!" the two shouted in unison. "Yes. I overheard the other armored ponies questioning your prescence." "Oh! Oh crap. Um...well, see you later, honey. I have to hurry up." "Okay. Careful!" Shining slammed into the giant changeling again, this time, with his armor partially on. Even with it, he could feel the sturdiness and strength of this creature and the emptiness of its stare onto him. Yet, he had no time to think about that. Duty called. Now the two were alone in the room again, leaving Cadence's nervousness and bed hair to float about in the room. The only sounds heard were the princess' breathing. Noticing this, she held her breath discreetly and noticed that the changeling was not breathing either. "Okayyyy...Could you wait until I brush my mane? AH! What are you--" Unknown had lift Cadence from her bed and struck her head with a red bolt of something, then dropped her gently in front of the mirror, letting her gawk in the speed that her mane was recombed. "Wowwww. You're really good." Any normal pony would have blushed, but the creature did no such thing. Rather, it seemed to be getting impatient. "Productivity is stammered. Speed would be appreciated." "Oh! Okay then...uhh...What would you like to learn today then? There are so many emotions--" "Happiness. Then anger. Then this thing called 'love'. They seem to be the basic pathogenes of emotion." "Basic pathogenes? But there are so many emotions! Those are only three. Surely, you want to--" "Anger, happiness, and love. The only I need. The others will stem from those. Of that, I am sure." "Okay...Then...This is probably a bad idea, but we could have you meet the other ponies here...Maybe those in the kitchen could show you a basic form of joy. A joy for taste?" "Yet I do not require sustenance. This logic is flawed." "Can't you just appreciate the flavors?" "...I will attempt to do so." "Great!" the princess hurried over to the door, only to stop right away and turn around with gritted teeth."Wouldn't it be possible to...you know...Morph into a pony form?" "For how long?" "As long as possible. If you're going to fit in here, then you must look like us. Like that, you'll learn things better and everypony will feel more comfortable around you." "An undetermined amount of time in an uncomfortable form, but it will enhance productivity. I shall do so." Before the foalsitter's eyes, the body of a changeling contorted and morphed without any sort of magic covering the process. It was a gruesome sight as flesh tore and stitched itself at the same time while bone brittled and broke at the same time. Blood boiled and ste in place as the changeling now had the shape of an armored guard, his skin having compensated for the lack of armor by morphing into two layers. "That was...Ew. No." "No?" "Try something original. This won't work at all. We need something that let's you blend in, and will make ponies think that you are my new apprentice." "Okay." His voice seemed to be morphing into a younger variant than what he looked like. His body did the same twisting a tchurning, just differently. His body became slightly larger and more muscular than it should have been, and his coat took a reddish color near the hooves while his mane and tail remained red like before, although, they were still finned in shape. He had taken the shape of a unicorn; The horn seemingly curving slightly backwards at the tip. "Oh my." "What?" "Nothing. I just wasn't expecting you to take on an athletic build." "Would you prefer a mare?" "NO!" Cadence shouted as the disturbing came rushing in. "No?" "Stay as you are. Wait...Maybe you should try and give yourself eyes? I mean, the blank thing is pretty creepy." "Is this better? It is only flesh." His eyes had now become a deep crimson red, reflecting the same aura of strength and fear coming from the rest of his body. "Hmmm." Cadence eyed him up and down and walked around the new stallion just to be sure."Yes. You're good." "Then shall we depart for the sustenance area?" "Kitchen." "Affirmative." "Yes! C'mon!" Letting the stallion out first, the princess locked the door behind her afterwards, letting the new pony simply stare at her on the side of the hall. The mare began to hum a tune to herself as the two began to walk through the castle, bringing attention to themselves, and the seemingly emotionless stallion behind her. The hallways weren't very bright either, as the outside was still dark and cloudy, an unfortunate side-effect of the previous day. While nearing the first set of stairs, however, two guards grabbed the unicorn by the forelegs, thinking he was doing something he shouldn't near the princess. "Alright there-a buddy. You-a are gonna just-a step-er away from -er-a the princess." a scrawny guard asked. Cadence heard the commotion after putting a hoof on the passage to turn around and continue downwards. She gasped in shock and hurried to settle the dispute. "Unhoof me." "Not until she gets further away from you, creep." the other spoke. "Wait! It's okay. He's with--" Even though the guards were paying attention to what they were being told, they were violently thrown aside and across opposite sides of the long hallways; Landing violently almost against the walls. Cadence could do nothing but stare a this feat of strength for a moment while she looked down both corridors. After regaining her composture, she gently slammed a hoof down and frowned at the stallion, staring him directly in the eyes. "I was going to explain the situation. Why did you do that? You said you wouldn't hurt anypony." "I did not. They were obstructing my current task, therefore, I cast them aside non-violently." "You threw them several feet across this floor!" she outraged with a hoof extended towards the left corridor. "They are unharmed. That is what you demanded. Shall we continue?" "...Yes. Fine. But no more acts of violence whatsoever." The stallion gave a long pause for thought, exhasperating Cadence as each second passed. "Fine. I shall only perform those acts in self-defence." "Hmmm. That seems about right." Finally, the two started to go to the kitchen unhindered, yet the changeling had one more thing to say: "I'll have you know that what I did was self-defence." "Gnagna...Did you just use humor?" "No. Pure logic and analysis." The princess had stopped and let the changeling pass as a little smile formed on the side of her face.
I am the endFinally down the stairs, the two walked through the widened corridors of the irst floor and bathed in the now-present sunlight. Everypony still seemed to babble about this stallion's sudden appearance and his accompanying of Cadence. The changeling's lack of emotion somewhat impeded whatever conversation others were trying to have with him, as he nimbly curved around each who tried to block him, leaving the would-be questioner flabbergasted. Most of these were the ponies who worked at the castle, but the occasional griffin came in on the fun as well. Cadence was struggling to keep up with the creature's pace. No changeling could walk this fast without tiring themselves out incredibly, even with their morphing. It was always relevant to the creature they turned into, yet this...thing seemed so emotionless that it had no concept of fatigue or basic needs. Such an interesting concept. Reaching the large entrance, the staircase presented a direct path to the kitchen. However, one problem had arised. A large body of atleast twenty stallions marched along through the hall, intent on reaching the waiting quarters. For what purpose? These gray stallions wearing fur hats and furred jackets were from Stalliongrad, a place that formed fearless and frightening soldiers. They were only escorts, however, and the one being protected was hidden within the center of this mass. Their frowning faces and gruff exterior seemed to intimidate everypony around. Even Cadence was shaking a bit, yet Unknown did not care. His body stood firm and his face remained emotionless. The changeling's "teacher" preferred to wait for them to pass, but said creature had another plan. "I shall not wait for my teachings. These ponies are hindering progress to the desired destination. We must advance." he said ever so calmly. "Wait...what are you doing? No. Unnknown, wait!" Cadence whisperedas she tried to discreetly grab the white stallion's hindlegs. The event wasn't what the visitors were expecting. After all, it was wellknown throughout most of the discovered world that soldiers from Stalliongrad were not to be trifled with. Even the toughest of guards would not dare to pick a fight with them, yet the idea that a common pony would dare to oppose them was impossible, Laughable even. This is exactly what happened, but this 'common pony" wasn't something they were aware of. Unnknown walked through the group, pushing them away and carving a stright path through the crowd, making these troops grab the intruder and look at him with disgust and confusion. "Who arre you to pass thrrough Stallionfrrads grrrreatest soldierrs? Huh? Who do you tink you arre?" one of the soldiers shouted. Said soldier was so close to the changeling's face that it could smell his alcohol-imbued breath. While the others seemed rather tame in their drinking habits, this particular one was a full drunkard. "Release me, pony. I have matters to attend to." The stallions laughed while te drunkard turned around to look at them with a smile on his face. "Rreally? Then hy did you push thrrough us?" "You are impeding my progress. I have no time to spare waiting for colts wearing fluffy coats to block my progress." "You even insult us. Aha! I like dis guy." the drunkard closened the distance between their faces."Listen herre. We don't like ponies like you. We'll teach you a lesson that you will not forget." The stallions around began to chuckled and crack their coronets. If nothing was done, the poor stallion would be massacred. "Hold up!" Cadence interjected. "It's not his fault. When he gets into...uhhh...When he wants to do something, he has to finish it, no matter the consequences." "Huh?" a soldier wondered. While Cadance and the stallions began to talk, the changeling slowly turned its head to observe the situation. What emotion was she showing? Compassion? Pity? What was it? It did not affect him, but he had to know. Unfortunately, these soldiers were not going to listen to some alicorn who was not one of the royal sisters. "Sorry, mare, but we must uphold our honor." one sneered. "I advize you to treat her with more respect, and to release me immediately. I prefer continuing to my intended objective." "Too bad." Before the spectators hiding behind their cover could even react, Unknown had broken from his clutches and, with a centralized strike into the attacker's chest, hit him far away against the wall. The yelp of pain was enough to enrage the fallen one's comrades. They immediately took out their knives and began to bash the changeling using combinations to confuse him as to where the next attack would come from, yet, with every strike, the stallion did not react, and his face remained the same, destabilizing his attackers. Performing yet another bizarre body twist that tossed him into the air, the unicorn let his horn shine a trasparent hue, enamoring the stallions before a huge portion of them were struck by an invisible force and melded into the floor. Seeing the horror that just occurred, one of the soldiers equipped his spear and charged towards the pony, intent on impaling him. Perhaps it was his powers. Perhaps it was his experience dealing with another wielding that name, but Unknown slid slightly to the right and smashed the spear in two before jumping up and round-house kicking the stallion into the stairs. The remaining simply looked at the carnage and began to shake as the victor stared at them with no care. "ENOUGH!" yelled a deep voice. The one this group had been guarding came forwards with rage in his blue eyes. He was just as gray as the rest, but had a thick, black mustache and a sickle cutie mark. He walked straight into the unicorn's face and growled at him, then burst into laughter, catching the changeling off-guard. "Hm?" Unnkown hummed. "I like you. You defeated some of my best bodyguards. Aha!" the stallion slammed the changeling on the back quite a bit."They stemmed off a manticore invasion and a killed off a Pourpros. Those giant creatures aren't easy to get rid of. Ha. Now, if you could unmeld my soldiers from the floor, we'll be on our way." the pony smiled. Unknown looked back at Cadence who simply looked back with irritation. Another movement, and the troops were free, allowing them to skit along the floor, up the stairs, and past the doors. Before this mustachioed stallion could leave, however, Unknown spoke: "I believe that power is essential to survival." To this, the stallion nodded with a smile. "They must learn...humility...to be proper combattants." "Yes. That is a fine piece of advice. A strict training regime is the best way to teach them that they are not invincible. I thank you for this, sirrrrr...?" "Unknown." Cadence cringed. They had forgotten to get him a real name. "Unknown?...I like it. Very mysterious. Have a good day." The alicorn sighed in relief, and quickly grabbed the changeling to hurry towards the kitchen. The door to this was, like the rest, made of a fine wood, although this one had carvings of all sorts of fruits and vegetables on it. The details were so perfect that it seemed like the food would jump out at any moment from their sculpted prison. Cadance, although still disturbed by what happened earlier, smiled to Unknown as she opened the door slowly. Every single odor and spice immediately rushed through the air and hit the unicorn directly in the muzzle, causing him to caugh and shake his head as he held said muzzle in pain. "What is that?!" he screamed. "It's a smell. How does it make you feel?" "Nauseous." "Huh. That wasn't the answer I was expecting. It might be because you aren't used to these sort of things. I'll let you meet the chef. He can most certainly help you develop a taste for food." As the door opened a bit more, a griffin could be seen directly throwing olives and peppers into the air and slicing them with his claws, allowing the fresh slices to fall into the large, bronze pot with little splashes. The entire kitchen itself was enormous and apparently had an enormous staff, judging by the amount of ponies and minotaurs, as well as all the apparatus and ruckus going on. Said griffin, however, had managed to twist his head feathers into dreadlocks and seemed to have lit his stereo up all the way to hear his music blasting through the whole room and through the now open door. "Green Pepper? I have somepony that I would like you to meet. He needs to learn about flavors, and I'm pretty sure you could teach him." "Really now? Well dats a great ting now! I'll teach ya how ta appreciate all da flavahs of da world!" the griffin shouted as he turned around. Unknown felt something within him that caused his whole body to feel cold. He felt some form of chill in his spine, his muscles began to contract, and he even started to sweat. He didn't like this emotion. He didn't like it at all. A new emotion came into play for his reaction: Hatred.
