Doppel Ganger is an outlaw changeling who has been living in the Everfree Forest for more than a year. Far from all the ruckus his Queen caused with the invasion, he spends a quiet life stealing love from Ponyvillians with his two friends, Camouflage and Mimic. But an encounter with a manticore will give him the worst thing he could catch, a cold.
This seemingly mild illness has terrible effects on changeling's physiology. At each sneeze, the changeling will either lose his disguise, or get a new one without any control over it. Now, it's harder to feed on ponies’ love unnoticed.
Doppel will have to feed on love in Ponyville during the duration of his sickness.
Chapters (18)
Same day, 2 story about same thing huh?
Chrysalis Catches cold
Poor Changeling.
Despite some confusing spelling errors this is really good.
This would actually be a very intresting concept to see if the changelings poped up again.
2094405
Just my luck. Just when I decide to put the story on the site, someone else put the kinda the same idea in the same time. All the same, I'm going to read his story to see the differences between both stories. I'm kinda curious now.
2095477
Please tell me where I made some errors. I try to proofread as much as I can, but I was sure that I left some mistakes. I won't see them until someone show them.
2096479 Okay grammar nazi time.
Was should were.
The sentence would flow better with "And then there were the outlaws"
It should be "He argued that despite invading various towns and using force they could live better without violence."
Change it to "This idea meant that the other changelings didn't like him."
The comma isn't needed and it should be him.
Just take out the second "to".
Just add an ed to the end of outlaw.
Change that to "Once the three of them moved to the Everfree Forest Doppel's life got better. The three of them would go into Ponyville from time to time to feed on the love from various ponies."
remove the commas and the period after "it", also remove "in turn".
Change "take" to "feed off of the".
Were should be was, the commas should be removed, and peacefulness should be peaceful lives.
2097081
Okay, I really need a prereader more than I thought. I've already corrected the mistakes you pointed out to me.
Busted.
D'aww, adorable.
Interestingly enough, I had a similar idea to this: When a changeling catches cutie pox, the sickness mutates so that it is different for each changeling (one sprouts purple feathers, another changes shape with each sneeze, etc...) it is fatal after 48 hours.
Well so much for that plan. Good luck trying to get Rainbow Dash to keep quiet.
2224758 na everyone will just tell her she was dreaming.After all she only saw was fluttershy transforming into daring do^^
2227490 Or will they?
Oooh, suspense-y! Can't wait for more intrigue and errors! XD
Okay... Twilight easily dismisses Rainbow's claims that she have seen changeling, and tried to tell her that it's just a dream. Is this subtle revenge on her friend for not believing her during the wedding, or is it just Twilight being OOC?
2511451
You hold some valid points.
Twilight didn't totally dismiss Rainbow's claims. She only brought the point that she could have dreamed it. After that, Twilight checked if someone else had seen it and looked for books to have a solution if a changeling appeared again. She also asked to Rainbow to bring it if she found it again.
But it's true that even for me, this scene makes Twilight a little OOC. I'd have imagine her more vindictive about the subject. I tried as hard as I can to do something about it (my first draft was worse than that) but didn't want to put the entire town into a panic. So I put her in a situation where she couldn't do anything. All she knows it's that there's a changeling in town somewhere and besides attacking everyone in sight, she can't do much.
I feel sorry for this poor sneezing changeling. I wonder what happens to changelings living in a Hive who catch a cold? Do the Hives have a hospital within them?
2511609
I don't mind Twilight actually being rather rational, and not going on full town chase with torches after changeling. If she just said something like "I'll look at it, but keep it quiet for now until we'll sure." it would be OK to me. I just find it rather improbable that after getting betrayed by everypony on wedding, where she only saw green eyes not transformation like RD, her first thought would be to suggest to Rainbow that it was just a dream. It's like she lacks some basics of empathy.
2511638
The changeling's cold, besides the fact it obliges them to transform everytime they sneeze, isn't worse than ours. I mean, it doesn't hamper them much and all the things they can do against it is slightly diminish the symptoms.
So, as long as the changeling remains in the Hive, he has the available food (while stocks last). He just has to wait until his cold passes. So, there is no need to an hospital for that. However, if the job of the sick changeling requires to mingle among ponies, they are obliged to stay inside and Chrysalis doesn't like useless changelings.
Now, if the changeling is among ponies during his cold, he's in the same situation as Doppel. He can hide and hope than his cold doesn't last too long or take the risk of being discovered.
2511687
I completely understand your point.
In fact, I even wonder if the short passage about the dream has its place here. In fact this passage has an other purpose than to dismiss Rainbow's claims. But it isn't a necessity that this passage exists.
However, I don't like delete a short part of something people already read.
This chapter needs some severe editing... other then that good so far
Hm intresting and I don't see a romance tag yet.
2511451
Yea, I think it is subtle revenge, Twilight know that after they beat like 100 changelings on they own, 1 changeling is not a threat, especially if he did not even attacked RainbowDash, whats more, since RainbowDash did not captured him when she had a chance, searching for him now would be huge waste of time, so she just made small subtle revenge on RainbowDash form not believing her and then went to read books about changeling's in case this event repeat.
2511935
it would use some editing, agree.
2511935
2516351
Now, the chapter four is correctly edited. I've put an unedited version by mistake.
Ah il nuovo capitolo e la presenza del nostro amico è stato rivelato all'elemento della magia, non so come andà a finire ma se le due non si sbigrano ad aiutarlo il nostro amico lascerà questa valle di lacrime per un mondo migliore.
And here comes the shitstorm of our time.
Chrysalis save Doppel.
Uh oh XD
2536062
Sorry, but I don't speak Italian. The only languages I understand are English and French.
2536905
Seeing that she doesn't want to meet him anymore, I'm not sure that could help him. Only Fluttershy can save him from his fate now. Maybe Doppel's friends, only if they can find him.
2536373
2537087
She had to tell the truth before Twilight meet him. If Twilight meets him, expecting to find a pony, she won't think twice and will shoot him directly. Now, Fluttershy can temper her down and hope the better
2537212 Yeah but all the same this isn't going to end well. Remember Twilight saw first hand what changelings could do to the ones you love, it'll be hard for her to put aside her past feelings.
2537212
Sorry but I don't good speak English and to write and use a translator.
However, I have said that if the ponies do not hurry to help the changeling that ends in the ground.
2537432
It's clear that Doppel won't get through this alone. However, it's not like he has a cardiac arrest either, so Fluttershy has the time to explain why Twilight should help Doppel (or at least convince her to not blast him directly).
NOOOOOO, CLIFHANGER.
The good thinks about short chapters is that clifhangers do not last long, the bad think about short chapters is that there are a lot of clifhangers we need to handle.
But seriously, how could you stop writing chapter in so important moment ?
2548617
This cliffhanger was there because at the moment I wrote this chapter, each chapter I had written was approximately 2000-2500 words. (Yeah, I know chapter 3 is longer, but in my first draft, some scenes didn't exist)
So when I saw that this chapter began to be longer than usual, I decided to cut it in half and write the other half as the sixth chapter.
Don't worry, the next chapter won't have that kind of cliffhanger.
The situation is complicated! But I think eventually it will end badly, also instill the shapeshifters are caught between a rock, ponies who want to kill them, and the hammer, the queen and her soldiers, who takes them if I do not think he let them go and live integers.
Hm so how I wonder how this Rainbow Dash thing at the end will play out. Or is it just filler material?
Not the sister of the groom?
2595464
Clearly, for the moment, apart from Fluttershy, they aren't accepted neither by ponies, neither by their own race (or at least the Queen). Luckily for Doppel, his Queen and her people are far away from him. And from the ponies' side, only Fluttershy and Twilight know who he are really, and Rainbow who met him briefly.
2595847
It depends on what you call a filler. In fact, I wanted to show that Rainbow doesn't sit idly and actively searchs after the changeling she saw.
2598519
Now corrected ^^
Actually about your Author note its pretty ease to distinguish them, they have pretty different characters.
Ah so Chrysalis is planning another invasion and could potentially bump into Doppel. Well that won't be good for Doppel. I wonder what happens to outlaws if the queen deems them a threat?
2711699
Ok, thanks. It's for the fact that in the beginning, I created Doppel's friends to say that Doppel doesn't wander alone in the Everfree. But, as my story progress, I noticed that they had a bigger place that I initially thought. So I try to give them a little more personality to distinguish them.
2711970
Well, Chrysalis is not nice to outlaws at first. They must get away from her sight, voluntary or not. That's the purpose of Illusion, warning them if the queen is nearby.
Now, is the three of them can be a threat to Chrysalis? (Illusion, despite she's playing double agent for the queen, is still at her orders)
Well, when you see at the episode of the wedding that Chrysalis is able to defeat Celestia and that in the contrary, Twilight and her friends can defeat an army of changelings, I'm not sure that three changelings can do anything against Chrysalis, even with her having less power. Above all when these changelings are far from being soldiers.
“Yes. But don't try to look for them,” the changeling warned. “Or you're going to meet your Princess riding a big dragon.”
Is not having ability to change size as well as shape a bit OP for changelings ( especially drones ), I mean, changelings would just turn into giant dragons and every creature will be to afraid to fight them.
I think that ability to change into giant dragon or alicorn princess is a bit to useful ( even if it does not give fighting bonus ), but it is just my personal opinion.
2717757
It's a valid point. But in my headcannon (and the one I use for this story), when the changeling transform, they don't gain any power, they keep the same abilities. I explain :
Changelings (drones as you call them) have the ability to fly and use magic, but in a very limited way. Their flight is nearer to fluttershy's than rainbow dash's and in magic, besides attack spells, they are limited to the telekinesis and the detection. So, if they transform into Celestia or dragon, really they are very weak.
For me, their transformation is just a disguise. You can disguise yourself into superman, you still won't be able to fly or have superpowers.
2720296
Yes, but this leave a question, if Changelings stayed out of the picture for so long that no one know anything about them, why they just not took form of big powerful beats, imagine 1000 giant dragons flying about Canterlot, demanding they surrender.
Sure, they would not have power of dragons, but enemy would not know it, and Celestia would rather surrender then let her ponies burn.
I think it would be more fair if changelings while able to transform, would be unable to change size to much ( sure, Chrysalis became a bit smaller when taking shape of princess Cadance, but it was small size difference ).
Just my opinion.
2720492
You're perfectly right. Chrysalis could've done that. Most ponies didn't know changelings from what we can gather after the wedding.
But, I think Celestia should've known what changelings are (after more than 1000 years of living, that would be a shame she never met one).
Now, when I see the wedding, I think that Chrysalis could really have done a better plan. I mean, changelings can be the stealthiest creatures that exist and she invade by attacking full force undisguised. I mean, she entered Canterlot despite the shield. She could've made enter her changelings and slowly invade the place by disguising them into ponies and take the important places to let ponies defenseless.
Dragons on the other hand, even if they are sentient creatures, are for me not the type of creature who make ponies surrender to take over a place. They'd just sit where they want to be and if only someone disturbs them, then they rampage the entire place. And apart from the dragon migration, they don't seem to travel in large group. But let assume that dragons can gather and invade someplace. Now that Chrysalis and her army of fake dragons have taken the place, what do they do?
They must stay close to the ponies to steal their love (Even by my story, Chrysalis prefer using what I call the method 1). They can't transform back, if they do, what was the point of doing that.They are big, so they won't fit in houses. So changelings will need to send ponies somewhere else to have the space and the thing necessary for the ponies to live. It's not interesting for the changeling that their preys perish for starvation or something else.
And that without counting that some brave (or idiot) ponies try to attack one of the changelings and notice the trickery.
It's just my view on that subject. We can say also that Chrysalis' plan in the episode of the wedding could've work if she hadn't sent Twilight in the same prison than Cadence. (Her friends didn't believe her anyway and without Cadence, Shining Armor couldn't have enough power to use the shield back, or even wake up from his hypnosis)
But it's interesting to see how a simple sentence can expand into an explanation of how transformation of changelings works and why they use it or not. Especially as I didn't give a lot of thought about this sentence before.
2720635
Well, I suspect that many changelings infiltrated the guards and probably make them be somewhere else during wedding, that is why there were almost no guards defending Canterlot when they invaded.
And that they somehow convince Luna to leave canterlot before the attack.
But if anything else, the fact that instead of huge number of drones guarding Cadance and Twilight in caves, all she did was send 3 brainwashed unicorns to stop alicorn of love and most powerful unicorn in Equestria seems stupid to me.
And the fact that as a creature what feed on love, used love to defeat Celestia, the fact that she ignore love as a tool of mass destruction seems very odd ( making villain arrogant just so they lose is overused for my taste, why not make Chrysalis smarter and in exchange make Celestia and Luna help so they can distract her until Cadance and Shining cast they spell, after all mane 6 beat 100 changelings, and all Celestia got was 15 second defeat and Luna got a line 'did I miss anything' ).
I still fell that villains would be better if they would lose they arrogance and instead give Luna and Celestia a better role in helping mane 6 save the day.
As for Dragons, it was just an example, Chrysalis would make some of her changelings turn into Dragons and then she would demand that unless Canterlot surrender and let her changelings feed on ponies, they would send Dragons to destroy it.
As for Celestia not knowing what changeling is, you got a point, Cadance knew about changelings so maybe Celestia knew too, but it would be a gamble do Dragons were changelings in disguise or were they real.
I'm glad I found this changeling story. I will be following this to see where it goes.
Well Doppel's recovering slowly.
Yay more Doppel antics!
Poor Rainbow and her mean coach nightmares
Doppel entertaining Fluttershy was adorable!
2870212
Well, Doppel was not going to stay in Fluttershy's bed forever
(4 chapters or one week in story time is enough)
2871145
2870264
Yeah, Doppel is using his powers to entertain Fluttershy instead of using it like normal changelings would do (hiding or deceiving).
And in this chapter I give an example of how Doppel and particularly his friends do to scare their opponents away.