//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: A Changeling to Remember 
// by Blueheartpegasus 
//------------------------------//

By morning, Ditto had decided on one thing.

She was going to die.

She found that she didn't have a bit of power left, she was almost completely starved, she couldn't even move more than a twitch, and her wounds were starting to look infected. She frowned at the wounds when the thought came to her. That was the problem with magical beings- without magic, they become very weak. 'Not just that in comparison to their normal magical self that they looked weak, but their body was born with magic. And without magic, it's like losing its immune system. Now that she had no magic to fight the infection, it was growing rapidly and would probably kill her before hunger did.

She thought of her childhood again. When Changelings were larvae (or children), they were cared for by others. But when they started to grow and become more adult-like, they were sent to a school within the swarm. This school taught the Changelings how to use their magic, how to think like the rest of the swarm, how to transform, and how to tell where there are buildups of love they could feed on.

They called this school, "Changeling Class", if only to give it a name. On graduation day, Queen Chrysalis would check out every Changeling and choose who would be part of the swarm and who would stay in the hive and care for newborns. Everyone expected Ditto to be told to stay back and care for the larvae, but Queen Chrysalis had chosen her to be part of the swarm.  

She had found it hard to be part of the swarm, as she couldn't fly with them. Most of the time, a few older members would hold her up and carry her about. The swarm 'missions' she was sent on were usually to find an excess of love (or loved ponies who were leaving town for a bit), then was left back at the hive while the others did the hard work. 

As Ditto thought this, she wondered, Why is there no love in the hive? We feed off the love of others, but why can't we feel love for ourselves?

Her thinking was interrupted by a growling from her belly. She cringed, and for a moment wished that she was a pony. Ponies could eat anything they wanted and it would fill their bellies and keep their strength up. But when Changelings ate normal food, it didn't do anything. The only food that they actually could eat was love.

I should at least try to eat something. She thought, struggling to move. It might fool myself into thinking my belly is full until I can find some love.

After struggling with her pain and her twisted and broken hind legs, she finally found her way off the ledge that the bed was on and into a room that seemed to be like the kitchen. There was a white case that hummed quietly, and it had a smooth, curvy handle. She limped up to the case, wrapped a hoof around the handle, and pulled. A gust of cold air came, and she saw wonderful, yummy-looking foods.

"I love the taste of carrots." she said out loud, grabbing a few carrots off of a shelf and closing the white case. She limped her way back into the room and sat in the middle, eating her carrots and pondering how she would get back up onto the ledge and into the bed. The carrots tasted good, but they didn't fill her belly.

Something on the shelves of books caught her eye. She limped painfully across the room too look at a big red book entitled, "Changelings, Insects of Evil" She pulled the book out and flipped it open with her hooves. "We're not that evil." she muttered as she read the title page. "We just try to feed ourselves."

She scanned the table of contents. The first chapter was called, "Basic Knowledge of Changelings" She flipped to that page and started reading.

Changelings are bug-like creatures that resemble alicorns. The typical changeling has small, flimsy, translucent wings that have small holes in them, a small and slightly curved horn, oval-shaped blue eyes, hooves with holes in them, a fish-like tail, and a dark blue patch on their backs. They have the ability to transform into somepony you love and feed off your love for them, often kidnapping or exiling the real pony.  

Ditto rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on! Queen Chrysalis locked one princess in a cave and suddenly we're vicious kidnappers!"

Not much is known about the everyday lives of Changelings, but we do know that they live in swarms, gathering in hives and caring for their young at its center. Like ants and bees, the queen of the swarm is the mother of all. It is not certain what happens when the queens dies, but if they are like bees in any way, when another female is born she grows strong then kills the old queen, taking her place.

"Now that is wrong!" Ditto rolled her eyes once more. She finally decided that this book was upsetting her more, and tried to find another book. She left that volume on the floor and limped over to another shelf. She scanned the alphabetized books, and soon found one that interested her. She pulled it out and flicked it open. It was a blue book entitled, "A History of Equestria".

Equestria, it is home to many ponies; Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi alike. But do you ever wonder how the great land of Equestria came to be?

It was back in a time when unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies all kept to themselves. They were in their own tribes and often fought. It was a terrible time of disharmony. Pegasi changed the weather, bringing rain and sunshine for the Earth Ponies' crops. In exchange, they wanted food. The Unicorns also wanted food, in exchange for bringing forth day and night. This system seemingly worked well until a terrible blizzard came and ruined the ponies' way of life.  

Ditto continued reading for hours. She lay there, injuries forgotten, as she soaked up knowledge. when she finished that book, she grabbed another book, and another. This is so interesting! Ditto thought. Back at the swarm, there were no books. Knowledge was kept in the brain, and no one cared in the slightest about history.

Ditto didn't even notice the front door open and voices drift in from below. She was so absorbed in the book she was reading- "Phoenixes and Other Great Birds"- that she didn't notice anything bad was about to happen until she heard hoofsteps behind her. She flipped around in just enough time to see the door behind her fling open.





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