//------------------------------//
// Discovering Love 
// Story: Family Love 
// by Amethyst-ACE 
//------------------------------//

	The lone changeling steadily walked along through the endless twisted trees of the Everfree Forrest.  His mane and tail mirrored that of the queens, and barely moved as a stale wind blew through the several holes that permeated them.  His horn arched back slightly, only to curve back around giving it the appearance of a dark colored sickle.  His porous legs made no noise at all as he stepped along the seemingly worn yet lifeless path.  Occasionally he'd hear something snarl, or hear a twig snap.  His eyes would dart to the direction of the noise, and his eyes would flash with bright green energy, but nothing would emerge; as though the very forest itself was afraid of him.
“Such a ridiculous notion.”  The creature told himself.  “A symbiotic relationship between a pony and a changeling.”  The more he pondered the concept the more it bugged him.  
For as long as he could remember changelings took the form of ponies in order to safely feed off the love of others.  This was necessary as the changelings appeared as monsters right down to their very cores.  Yet his brother had done the impossible; he had fallen in love with a pony, and the pony loved his brother back.  He was convinced that his brother's philosophy was madness, and yet his brother himself was a living proof of concept.
“Is it really possible?” The changeling found himself talking to on one once again.  “Could the ponies truly accept us just the way we are?”  He thought of his brother again, and how happy the fool's partner made him.  Was he jealous of his brother?  Was he envious?  He didn't think so.
He came to the entrance of the forest, and found a path leading to Ponyville.  “I wonder...”
A green aura washed over the pony, when the energy faded all that remained was a chestnut pony with brown hair and an hourglass cutie mark.  Satisfied with the form he had taken he nodded and trotted his way into Ponyville.
“Hello Time Turner, how are you?” The changeling looked up to see a white and red pony waving at him.  He said nothing he simply smiled and waved before trotting away faster than he had come.
“It's times like these I wish I was as talented as our dear queen.” He mumbled to himself.  To his  misfortune while he could take the form of any pony of his choosing, he did not inherit the talent of disguising his voice.
“Hello Doctor!”
The changeling looked up; a blue pegasus with squirly looking eyes was hovering just inches above him; wearing what was quite possibly the silliest looking grin he had ever seen.  He cursed his terrible luck, seems he picked a pony that everybody knew.
“Sorry...can't talk...gotta...busy!” 'Turner' took off saying as few words as he could in the process.  The pegasus stayed behind watching confused as he ran away.
“He didn't sound so good...” A comedic thought floated into the young mares mind causing her to giggle.  “I guess The Doctor needs a doctor!”

	~~~

The fake pony made his way past the center of town and into a nearby alley.  While staying hidden his eyes darted around searching for the perfect ponies to run his little test on.
“Maybe those two?”  He spied a couple making their way into Sugar Cube Corner, but spotted something that made him change his mind.  “No they have kids...twins no less...wait...a unicorn and pegasus born from two earth ponies? How does that work?”
He dismissed the thought, and continued the search.  “Maybe the two ponies sitting together on that bench.”  Again he shook his head.  “Wait the green one is also a mare...”
The changeling cursed incoherently again, but just as he was about to give up he spotted a couple approaching the alley from down the street.  The unicorn colt was slightly larger than the mare, and had a dark gray coat with a slightly bluish tint that was complimented by a lighter gray mane.  The smaller earth pony female was almost completely violet.  Save for streaks of light blue in her hair, and her eyes and flowery cutie mark of the same color.  “This is as good a chance as any.” The insect told himself.  He shut his eyes and concentrated hard.
“Hey what's that?” Wisteria asked her larger colt friend.  The bright violet pony pointed to a green light flashing from the alley where the changeling had taken shelter.
“I'm not sure, come on lets check.”  Her gray lover made a dash for the corner with her not far behind.
The alley was strangely dark, contrasting the rest of the town.  As the colt made his way inside he could hear his wife calling to him.  “Be careful Iron Lance! We don't know what caused that light!”
“I'm aware Hun thank you!” He reassured her.  “I love that girl to death, but by Celestia she is overprotective.”
As Iron Lance approached the end of the alley he heard the sounds of crying coming from behind some nearby bags.  Lance approached and inspected the source, discovering an abandoned infant colt.  “Huh? Now what are you doing here little one?  Did you get lost?”
Wisteria joined her husband in the alley.  “What did you find?” She pondered.
“I found him.”  Iron Lance revealed the small child to Wisteria.
“An abandoned filly?  I don't believe it.”  Wisteria sat back and took the child in her hooves.  He was cold to the touch, almost unpleasantly so.  Wisteria snuggled the child in an attempt to warm him, and that's when she noticed his hooves. “Lance! Look here! His hooves!”  
Lance looked down and spotted several small holes.  “I don't believe it!  This child is a changeling!”
The creature had long since stopped crying and was now asleep in Wisteria's arms.
“What do we do?” She asked Iron Lance.  “Should we report this to the princess?”
Lance shook his head.  “There's no need to get her or her friends involved.  Let's just try and get back to the house unnoticed.  It isn't far.”
Wisteria wasn't sure how she felt about the decision, but she trusted Iron Lance completely.  She got up on three legs and held the child as close to her as she could.  Together the two of them snuck out of the alley, and made a mad dash to their home.

	Foolish Unicorns.  The changeling thought to himself.  They struggle on such rudimentary magics like altering age and appearance.  Changelings spend their whole lives in hiding, these kinds of spells are child’s play.