Patreon Blog Takeover: Skittering In The Shadows: a glimpse into changeling hives (S.) · 2:29am February 1st
So as it's been a while, let's go over how this works. I have a Patreon page. People who go in at a certain tier (or who leave a Suitably Large Tip in my Ko-Fi jar and tell me that's the reason) will occasionally be offered the chance to suggest blog topics. (Another such opening may be coming up in March or April.) I have the right to reject topics if they're potentially too spoiler-heavy, personal (or personally offensive), intensive, or would need a story with a six-digit word count just to get the basics in: should that happen, I'll tell the sponsor/tipper and ask them to pick something else. Otherwise, I work my way through the list.
Some subjects require more effort than others.
How does changeling society normally function- and to what extent is Chrysalis’ behavior either normal or abnormal by changeling standards?
...
...ho-boy.
Right on the border, people. Right on the border...
Okay. We are not going all the way down here, because the hives are deep and uncovering the darkest layers is a subject best tackled outside of a blog post. Additionally, anything I write here obviously only applies to the such-as-it-is 'verse, because there was an RPG sourcebook released recently and I didn't write it. I don't do that sort of thing. Except by accident, because there's apparently a couple of people using 'verse stuff for their homebrews.
...those must be the most depressed gaming parties ever.
So I'm going to talk about some of what the larger world has learned about the local changelings, and a little of what they haven't.
Right this way. Don't be too scared. Yes, it's dark in there and the smells are horrible, with so many of those sickly glows running across the walls in trails of liquid light -- but really, what could go wrong?
Other than 'rather a lot'.
They've been around for a long time. (They're not sure how long.) Long enough to become established. To set up patterns of behavior. The rules of the hive, and the code of survival.
But this is the time of upheaval. The rules may have to change. Some of them might break.
Guess whose fault that is.
What are their origins? When was the first hive established? Who spoke the first words of survival while channeling the t'fin'zi necessary to make them into rules? They couldn't tell you. Changelings appear to date back to the end of the Discordian Era, and if you try to search beyond that -- nothing. Their history is an oral one. They understand the concept of writing, and some have learned to read -- but when it comes to their own activities, none of them recognize how it could ever be a necessity. Written words are just -- there. Yes, it's possible to put a small symbol in the hive walls and add some t'fin'zi: certain ranks do not go past this point -- but it's the t'fin'zi which does it. The symbol is just there to provide a container, and the shape of it... was dictated by the lessons. If there's just cold words in dry ink -- then what was the writer thinking? What was the intent behind the words? Everything becomes subject to interpretation, and that creates the chance to get it wrong. T'fin'zi leaves no doubts. You just know, and that's how it's meant to be.
How do you trust words without t'fin'zi?
How you trust those who exist without ever feeling it?
Perhaps you can't.
With the exception of the knowledge which rises from the blood, all lessons in changeling society are passed on by voice. It keeps thing pure. But written records might survive when the writer does not. And in the Discordian era, the spoken word was the least of what could be distorted.
As with just about every species on Menajeria, changelings have lost their own deepest history. For most of them, it's not particularly worrisome. (A number aren't capable of feeling worry, or much of anything else.) They've gotten this far. The hives continue. The few scholars would like to know, but -- with an oral history, the hopes of finding fragments become that much more unlikely. Still, perhaps the words are out there.
The lyrics.
That's the first thing you need to know.
Changelings don't really talk.
They sing.
How long has the world been aware of them? The answer comes in halves: 'almost since the start' and 'only for a couple of years'.
There have always been reasons for changelings to leave the hive. They enter other nations, do what their orders dictate, return when they can. Others are asked to bring back resources from the forest. (It's usually going to be a forest. Changelings fare poorly in the cold, feel chitin become brittle as joints refuse to respond. They also need a certain amount of moisture, and so both desert and tundra can feel like a death sentence.) So they move in and out of the hive. And those who are out... unless the area is completely secure (and a sapient changeling outside a hive is just about always going to be a little bit paranoid) or they're completely incapable of the act, they'll prefer to be in disguise. This doesn't have to mean looking like someone from another sapient species: any mobile animal or monster of about the right size will do. Just so long as no one can see that there's changelings in the area.
Hives, with just about no exceptions, are established in wild zones. It's possible to create a small one in controlled territory, but it drastically increases the chances that someone notices and in particular, earth ponies are going to wonder what the buck is going on beneath the soil. Changelings pick a spot which no one else wants: ideally, this should be within a few days' travel of one which others have claimed. You need to keep your other resources nearby. And once the hive gets going, the colony will begin to exert subtle tactics against the immediate area. Just to make it more comfortable. Safe. Like other species, they'll do their best to clear out monsters, deal with environmental threats, and make sure the colony is secure. Creating their own version of a settled zone, all while making sure that in every possible exposed moment, they appear to be something else entirely. After all, when it comes to those who think, the best defense a hive can have is through no one knowing it's there.
Always in disguise, for those who can manage the feat at all.
A magical disguise.
There is nowhere in the world which can be counted as fully safe. Settled zone defenses are tested. The wild lashes out. And any changeling who becomes critically injured will always try to reach the hive, because that's where the medicine is. Along with protection, the comfort of the hive because anyone who's dying will feel the need to go back, to reach the safety of half-artificial caverns because --
-- the isolated haven't always made it in time. Monsters have gone after groups, with the survivors unable to recover the bodies.
And when the changeling dies... the magic ends.
For centuries, this was what the world knew of the changelings: that every so often, they would find a corpse. Something insectile and roughly pony-sized. There wouldn't always be a lot left: chitin is hardly a perfect defense, and there are monsters who know how to get at the meat inside. But the outer layer... most of that would be left behind.
It told the sapients that there was a species out there: one which had yet to be spotted in a living state, and just about every discovery was of a single body. And as magic and science both advanced, studies of the braincase began to suggest something which could think -- but without a living example, it was impossible to make that determination with any certainty. And there was absolutely no way to backtrack what the creature's magic had been -- if that was anything at all.
The assumption was that they were dealing with something rare: after all, the bodies were so scant. A species with an extremely low population. Reclusive, remaining in the shadows. And there were searches, because biologists will always want to know -- but they didn't find anything. Hunts become a little harder when your local guide is wrapped in a shell of dream and showing you exactly where not to look.
Prior to the assault against Canterlot, changelings didn't even have that name. Griffon scientists labeled the species as culexequus duratesta and hoped for the day when they might meet a living one. The global population, for those who cared enough to make an estimate, was figured to be no more than five thousand. Enough to continue, but not to truly spread or thrive.
And then a queen decided to try something...
This is some of what the nations of the world now believe themselves to know. They've been comparing notes, in open desperation. Even those who prefer to keep all information to themselves as a form of both power and currency have been trading a few of the less precious datums, because it's the only way to get anything coming back. To be safe, when you aren't sure just who you can trust any more.
Changelings operate under a biological caste system.
You're born to your role. And for the rest of your life, that's who and what you are -- but you may not be aware of that identity. Or much of anything else, because not all changelings are sapient. The hives operate under rules which resemble those of beehives and anthills, right down to the level of a born worker class.
The smallest (dim-eyed, with holes all the way up the legs) are called ree'krigs and at best, they might operate on the level of a small dog with a perpetual concussion. They're the builders: secreting the membranes which serve as doors in the hive, producing those trails of liquid light, and naturally secreting the slow-burn acids which allow the hive to work ever-deeper -- but most of what they do is on instinct. It takes the proper t'fin'zi to give them orders, and it's still best to check up on them occasionally. Ree'krigs don't appear to have the capacity for disguise generation, and they're barely capable of even short-range flight. However, unlike their larger siblings, they have the ability to walk up walls and adhere to ceilings. It's the only way to manage the job.
Ree'krigs appear to make up roughly half the population of the average hive.
(Ree'krigs will do the majority of the work in burrowing, but it's a slow process. The changeling ideal is to find a natural cave system and then expand it as necessary. Unfortunately for the species, that's the same tactic employed by Diamond Dogs -- which creates the chance of intersecting underground, and a changeling who tries to disguise as a Dog is going to have some problems. As a general rule, a hive will not try to establish itself too close to a warren. Changelings have enough issues with the non-thinking problems which live under the earth, and it's been easier to tame the giant millipedes known as army alletoms than to actually get rid of the things. Ammsnogs are worse.)
P'til'ni are sapient, but they're not very good at it. This group possesses some capacity for disguising, but lacks the imagination and intelligence which would allow them to be effective. A p'til'ni who's trying to hide will look for whatever everyone else is doing and if there's any disguise active in the group, then it's time to look like that -- but their skill is low, and they're generally doing well to fool one sense. Typically, this will be vision, and they have just enough brains to know that talking would give the game away. And since they frequently all take inspiration from the same source, this gives you a few dozen copies of the pony who made the mistake of standing still long enough for someone to get a good look.
Typically, they'll be harvesters, normal laborers, and shock troops. It's possible to question one, but their information is limited, the loyalty is intense, and they generally only know what they've heard sung. Tricking one into talking won't get much. Most of what they do when caught is try to escape, ideally hoping to find someone of higher rank and get orders. With just about no exceptions, they're dull-witted and on the slow side, with very few interests outside of their role. About 35% of a typical hive will consist of this group. They're usually smaller than pony size, with tattered-seeming wings.
If you're living in a settled zone, you're most likely to encounter a s'nar'ra: the question is whether you'll ever figure it out. Intelligence for this caste seems to run across the full spectrum which might be seen in a normal sapient. Their control over the disguise ability is considerably more advanced -- if they care to practice, and those who don't leave the hive may never see the true need. These are the scientists, spies, infiltrators, field commanders, and researchers -- but it's unknown if a given individual is born to the exact role, whether they have the option of choice, or if they take up the position given by order. They make up about 12% of a normal colony, and their natural appearance serves as the default for what the other species know: as skilled, thinking individuals, they're the most likely to get caught outside and accordingly, to get into the kind of trouble which prevents them from reaching the hive again. Just about every corpse found prior to the invasion was a s'nar'ra, with a scattering of p'til'ni.
S'nar'ra found outside the hive are usually capable of managing the issues which come from living among other sapients. The capacity for true thought usually leaves them thinking about the hive's best interests: thinking about what they want is often seen as dangerous. However, as the infiltrators get the most exposure to different patterns of thought, they're the ones most likely to consider transferring allegiance (see below) to another party. It's probably not going to happen, but they might think about it.
R'bin'dra make up a special category. They are loremasters, bards, and teachers. Some will leave the hive for a time, and they often serve as ambassadors to the other hives because knowledge always has to be passed along. They possess the smallest gaps in their limbs, but can't really fly: their wings offer short-range gliding, and just about nothing else. Some observers have reported r'bin'dra as being capable of generating coronas -- but this seems to be limited to basic, extremely low-weight telekinetic effects. In body, they're the second-largest among the castes, with many rivaling the dimensions of a medium-build earth pony. If they go into the world, it's often because they intend to learn something and bring that information back to where it can be of use. They comprise the remainder of a hive's population -- with one exception.
Q'dl'nu are the queens.
The queen is in charge.
There is one queen in a hive.
Always.
Biologically, changelings have insect and mammal aspects, with the insect being dominant.
All changelings are capable of sexual reproduction: ree'krigs have a mating season (and changelings frantically trying to keep those little minds on the work during it), while the others appear to mate based on other factors -- or if they've been told to. It's possible for regular mating pairs to develop, but the hives really don't have a concept of marriage: it's just 'I prefer to be with this individual' and if all goes well, they will be.
They're known to be egg-layers. Hatching time is unknown, but appears to vary by caste. Ree'krigs will only produce other ree'krigs, while the other castes could potentially produce any level of sapient offspring -- with one exception: queens are only born to queens or, on rare occasion, r'bin'dra. They will know which caste any egg contains before the offspring hatches: the shells have different shades and textures. With the exception of queens, sapient larvae are raised communally until the metamorphosis stage: once they take on a hardshelled form (as opposed to the wriggly white ten-eyed log), they'll be separated for caste-specific training -- but the hive as a whole continues to watch after them, and there's no moment too quiet for a learning tune not to break out. A youngling may know who their parents are, but doesn't necessarily care. The truest family unit is the hive -- although it's certainly possible to have favorites within it, along with those you'd rather avoid.
A sapient changeling will identify as male, female, or be described as y'nl'lo: the last is the term for larvae who have yet to metamorphose and thus display no gender. Once they take a youngling form, this aspect of their being is biologically locked and will usually be whether the hive was shorter on at the time. The exception is queens, who are always female.
(It's worth noting that changelings possess the basic anatomy required for sexual interaction with a mammal: however, those organs may not have exactly the same purpose. And they will typically avoid having sex with non-changelings at all costs. See below.)
They molt: younglings will do this several times as they grow, while adults might go through it twice a year. It's possible to hold this off for a while with an act of willpower, but the delay is for a couple of weeks at most. A molting changeling within a hive will use the eco'nl'in ch'sm pit to store their shed shell and then take some personal time until the new layer hardens: those who've been ordered into the world will either do their best to reach the hive or arrange for total privacy. The hardest part is getting rid of the fresh evidence. Chitin doesn't burn well.
Changeling vision does best in low light. They can take normal Sun radiance at full strength, but prefer to avoid it. A camera may send them scurrying: not only do their disguises not appear on film, but the flash can be painful. Their hearing range appears to start a little below the lowest tones a pony can hear. They have reduced sensitivity to air pressure changes -- the chitin again -- and very little sense of touch: they can certainly tell when something is in contact with their body, but fine gradients escape the adults. A changeling crafter may ask a larvae to wriggle across a surface to check for imperfections.
'Feeding on love' isn't quite right.
This is how it works.
A changeling's survival requires two factors: the usual support systems for a living entity -- food, water, air -- and an emotional support matrix.
They're omnivores. A changeling is capable of eating meat, and will often go for things which a scavenger might find just a little bit rancid. Their environment means they can't afford to be choosy, and most of their farming consists of either raising what will grow (or naturally lives) underground, or taking the resources from the environment around the hive. 'Normal' eating is required to add and maintain body mass: a changeling without food can live on emotional absorption alone for a while, but it won't take long before the flesh starts to recede from the attachment points within the shell.
(Dehydration and suffocation are normal, and they have their own illnesses. Total lifespan for all of the castes is currently unknown -- but ree'krigs supposedly last about twelve years. The sapients appear to put a decent multiplier on that.)
A changeling can eat normally, and in fact has to -- but there's a key difference between a changeling and every other known sapient species.
A changeling cannot convert the calories gained from food into thaums. They transform acquired emotional power into magical energy. Nothing else works.
And that's where they can get into trouble.
There's no issues within the hive, for exactly as long as the hive exists. Changelings can feed on love -- but it's closer to say that the emotion they absorb is dedication. If you're dedicated to your work... if you truly enjoy what you do and look forward to it every day... then a changeling can use that. Love is dedicating yourself to someone else and, on a related level, so is friendship -- but a changeling has real trouble getting at that strength.
Within the hive? There's love there. Love of the community and the hive itself. Absolute dedication to keeping it all going, added to the total commitment involved in serving a queen.
A properly-established hive is self-sufficient, as long as everyone stays within the hive.
Changelings can take emotional energy from each other. (Not from themselves. A changeling can truly love something -- but their own love will never be a source of power. It always has to come from another.) And because one of the side effects of repeatedly 'feeding' on the same source is the development of connections -- the hive becomes that much closer.
They need each other. Or rather, they need someone. A changeling who's completely isolated, even with proper physical nutrition, will eventually die. It's fastest for the young.
They're fine as long as they stick together. They can recharge, and their magic will remain available at just about all times. (This does have exceptions: a changeling who's just been through an extended effort will need some time to pull fresh energy in and as with most sapients, it's possible to cast themselves into unconsciousness.) In terms of raw survival, there's no need to seek the energy of p'th'gst elsewhere -- and that is most of why the hives were able to stay hidden for so long. They genuinely don't need anyone else. Not for mere survival. They can depend on each other for just about everything.
But there's more out there than just surviving. And those who leave the hive will have separated themselves from the support network. They'll need to find some kind of replacement. Something which will allow them to remain hidden, and thus stay alive.
They don't talk. They sing.
Or rather, the truest communication comes from singing.
The changeling language is almost the same for every hive: those which have been isolated may develop a few musical stingers. But it's a language which is meant to be expressed by the full body. Chitin plates tap against each other to create clicks, wings buzz, legs go up and down. As with bees, movement patterns turn into a language. A changeling sings and through that song, knows exactly who they are.
They're taught through songs. Changeling songs: those who enter the greater world will often develop a fascination with the local music -- but bringing any back to the hive generally isn't advised. Changeling identity is connected to the hive's music, and introducing the songs of another -- no one's sure what that might do, and few are willing to risk finding out.
(What they can bring back is magical energy. A changeling who's absorbed power has the option to not use it. They can return to the hive and radiate strength to whoever needs it. This appears to be the function of what was previously believed to be a vestigial organ, and power dedicated to storage this way can't be personally used by the changeling.)
Music given to the youngest teaches them of who they will be, resonating within a newborn soul. That sung by adults, to adults -- that reinforces identity. In many ways, a changeling is their song. And that makes adding new bars into the pursuit of a maniac.
It's possible for them to master other languages: some of the r'bin'dra and s'nar'ra will have to. But they'll never feel as if it has the same refinement. It's just about impossible for any other species to truly speak the changeling language: you can learn enough to understand what's being said, but truly repeating it back is going to require hard plates over the limbs, a click-surface around the jaw and, if possible, wings.
An infiltrator who's truly nervous will tend to pace a lot while they talk, because it allows them an outlet for that need to move. And disguised changelings who congregate in private... well, let's just say that there is a species in the world which is the most likely to spontaneously break into something approaching a musical number, and it ain't ponies.
Changelings don't really need a lot from the outside world.
For the typical hive, information is most of it. As said above, your average sapient changeling is going to be on the paranoid side, and just about every queen would prefer to have her hive operate in the peaceful silence which comes from never having been discovered. Unfortunately, the best way to learn whether anyone's looking for you is to go into town and see if there's any search parties forming -- and that gives changelings the majority of their motivation for entering larger society. The rest tends to come from bringing back trinkets and goods which the hive can't produce.
What does a hive create for itself? Just about everything. Based on what samples have been brought back from abandoned hives, the other species are starting to believe that changelings may be the world's current masters of organic chemistry. They use their environment to create compounds which clean, polish, disinfect, sicken, strengthen... the works, and at least some of it is simply secreted by the ree'krigs. They fully understand their own biology and unless something new hits, have no need for outside medicine. Nearly all worked goods can be produced within a hive. They're not great with hammering metal (and dislike the required levels of heat), but they're fantastic with etching it: the right acids do the trick. And their songs are just that: theirs.
They don't make paper. There's very little need.
Disguises are illusions projected directly into the minds of the observers.
Let's think about how this works.
Under normal circumstances, a changeling has to know what they're trying to look like. This can require spying on a target, because flesh just doesn't move in the same ways -- and the advent of photography has had a lot of hives turning small caverns into darkrooms, because a picture reference guide is precious indeed. And a changeling doesn't tap into the visual memories of a target. You can't just tell someone that you are now their Uncle Delicious and hope their mind will do all the heavy hauling.
Energy burn partially depends on how many senses are being fooled, and tricking multiple senses takes skill, practice, and sapience. P'til'ni are usually stuck with tricking eyes alone. The higher castes can manage more, but it still takes practice and the more you're doing, the more power you're burning through.
Incidentally, we're talking about potentially fooling all the senses. A truly skilled changeling can make themselves feel like flesh. If you stick your snout into the fur they don't have, strands of the intangible will tickle nostrils. They'll smell like a pony should, and they'll be warm to the touch. If you come into contact with a section of anatomy which they're not supposed to have right now -- say, folded wings -- then your mind simply tells you that no such contact took place. However, hitting an unseen horn tends to put a break into movement flow: that's a lot harder to explain away, and it's a reason why changelings often prefer to be unicorns. Others will go for pegasi and earth pony disguises, then wear a lot of hats.
No disguise can be maintained indefinitely. Even if a changeling has lucked into an environment where they effectively have a constant supply of power, creating a disguise is like tensing a muscle: eventually, you have to rest. Some changelings are capable of maintaining in their sleep -- for a while. An infiltrator of lesser skill has much to fear from the kind of exhaustion which sends them into a short nap.
The more people you have to trick, the more energy you're burning. A changeling in a large crowd may bring it down to sight and touch alone, then try to move fast and keep their mouth tightly shut. You won't find them in attendance at many sporting events: dedication to and love for a team is something they might be able to use, but the body can only process energy so quickly. Also, there is a maximum absorption limit: anything over that goes to the storage organ, and anything over that is lost.
A changeling can cover their own body. It's possible to create the illusion of clothing, but then they have to potentially project the feel of that too. (Hiding something being carried is generally a matter of creating a disguise shell that's larger than the changeling: covering something which isn't part of their body is an extremely advanced stunt.) It's generally advised to take on forms of roughly the changeling's size and overall body shape. A changeling can look like a Diamond Dog -- but unless they're somehow balancing on their hind legs for an extended period, there won't be anything present above a given height. Projecting a disguise which is smaller than the changeling creates the opposite problem: sapients keep contacting surfaces which aren't there and while they may not feel the impact, something stopped them short. The minimum size for a disguise seems to be about that of a primary school student.
It's possible to take on the semblance of the inanimate. A changeling can curl up into a tight spot and pretend to be an end table. If they're skilled enough, then anyone who touches them will think they've contacted wood --
-- and if they set their drink on the tabletop, it'll fall through and skid off chitin plates.
A changeling disguise does not fool the environment. If they contact a surface which is softer than their shell, they may leave a scratch. The bucket test exists because if you fling water at a changeling's legs, some of it will go through the holes and leave a distinctive splash pattern on the other side. A changeling won't become a minotaur for long because any wrestling situation has the opponent trying to get a grip on air. There's all sorts of ways to reveal a changeling, and those who embed themselves in other societies tend to move very carefully.
(Research is being done into detecting the energy of the disguise itself, and the absorption process. It's slow going.)
Changeling disguise projections can fool other changelings -- except for one sense. (See below.)
In terms of simulating the magic of other species: a changeling who looks like a pegasus and flies for a while will not radiate the signature of a normal pony. They don't have to, because 'feel' is a sense and anypony who's paying that level of attention will pick up on exactly the right residue. Similarly, earth ponies who pass a simulated version will note a low-key instrument, and so on down the line.
An infiltrator may form relationships in a community: in fact, if they want to keep the disguise up, they'll have to. And they'll need several of them. Outside of the hive, repeatedly feeding on a single target will eventually produce weakness and a sort of emotional deadening. You can't keep going back to the same individual forever: burnout becomes inevitable. A healthy changeling is going to need to be around at least six people who experience love/dedication on a regular basis, regardless of what that emotion is directed towards. The more distant the connection, the more people they'll need.
(It's just barely possible to subsist on animal affection -- in large quantities. How well do you know the crazy cat mare? And really, would it matter if she was?)
But they will not have sex.
The anatomy is there, or at least something which looks like it.
It's still chitin.
Flesh moving against chitin...
...some environmental effects are almost impossible to explain away. The same can be said for the resulting injuries.
T'fin'zi is everything.
The songs tell a changeling who they are. T'fin'zi tells everyone else.
Researchers are still trying to figure out exactly how this actually works. Currently, the closest they can come is to describe it as an aura. The changeling's caste, role, and authority projects as they live and move and sing. It can add subtle layer of meanings to statements -- or explicit ones.
T'fin'zi is how a changeling truly gives orders. Those who are superior in the role tell others what to do, and they are obeyed. And a queen's t'fin'zi ranks above all others -- within her own hive. None can give true orders to someone who comes from another.
T'fin'zi also serves as the surest way to identify a changeling -- to another changeling. Each hive seems to have its own variant, and that's how changelings can tell where someone else came from -- or, if the aura is fully unfamiliar, at least identify them as not being another member of their own colony. However, in the days since the invasion, some changelings have a great need to hide from each other -- and t'fin'zi can be muted. It's possible to appear as someone of a lower caste, or shut down the aura entirely. The changeling doesn't exactly enjoy the process: they're going against themselves to do so, and the least side effect is to put them on immediate, paranoid edge: it gets worse from there. But unless the act is performed, any changeling who gets within a certain radius (currently unknown) can recognize any other.
Sing your t'fin'zi. Show the world who you are. Those without it -- who are they? Are such sapients truly real? Walking disguise shells with nothing truly within.
Radiate your authority. Feel the warmth of the hive. The acceptance and the love.
Without t'fin'zi...
The singer has it.
Words alone do not. So what good is writing?
Sing.
The truest loyalty is to the hive -- until it isn't.
It's rare, but -- press a changeling too far, give them orders which hurt or twist or don't make sense...
A changeling can't betray a hive. The hive is so much of who they are. What they can do is decide that there's another hive out there, and now they're going to be loyal to it.
This is an extremely rare event -- when it takes place singly. You have to push a changeling past the limits before they'll even consider taking this level of action. But it is possible. It has been done. A changeling with no other way out may perform a transfer of allegiance. They'll pick another hive, swear themselves to it -- and if the decision is a true one, their very t'fin'zi will change. They'll become subject to the new queen and, if their caste is high enough, be able to give orders to others in the new colony. It's also worth noting that any changeling can do this: in fact, it could be argued that those most likely to transfer are the ree'krigs. Don't kick your workers: if another hive is close enough, they'll seek a new master.
In theory, a changeling is fully capable of transferring allegiance to something other than another hive. No one knows if they can swear loyalty to themselves alone. A changeling needs a group. One who was truly on their own... what would they even be?
Changelings have a one-word answer to that question: 'Dead.'
What happens when a new queen is born?
She's personally given full training by the queen of her hive. Once she reaches adulthood, a decision will be reached.
Should the queen of her birth hive be healthy (or another young queen is being raised), then scouts will be sent out to find a place where she can establish a new hive. After the location is found, the entire hive will be gathered for the most common reason to transfer allegiance: k'ni'li. No new queen should ever be expected to do it all on her own. And so she goes into the world accompanied by volunteers: those who gave their loyalty to her willingly, as many as the hive can spare. To be a part of k'ni'li is considered to be among the greatest honors in changeling society. The two hives will try to help each other until the new one is fully established, and then each is on their own -- although alliances tend to persist.
If the queen of that birth hive is nearing the end of her life, the youngling will remain. Power and true authority transfer at the moment of death.
The hive must have a queen. Always.
Why do changelings infiltrate?
For the most part, they don't. Just about any hive's ideal is to be left alone, undiscovered and unknown. They exist in a world where everyone else lacks something fundamental. The hive has songs and t'fin'zi. The rest of the planet --- it's music which can't be fully trusted, and a vacuum where the aura should be. The hive needs to keep to itself. Everything else is just too strange.
However, there are things which the hive doesn't make. And if nothing else, it can help to send someone out shopping.
Prior to the invasion, the typical changeling infiltrator? Was usually in town to pick up a few things.
It could be a complicated process. The typical hive doesn't have much in the way of economics: things are created and distributed at need. There's usually no cost attached, and discovering the concept of 'salary' and 'pay for this' came as rude shocks to just about every queen. This meant having to additionally learn about 'temporary jobs' and, once the bureaucracy was in place, 'identity documents'. Theft is easier, but it can also draw a lot of attention. And a changeling who gets caught, who has to sit in a cell alone...
So before Chrysalis made her move, most changelings who moved through the civilized portions of the other nations were working odd jobs. Trading a few things from the hive, as long as the goods didn't look too unusual. They'd earn a few bits, buy what was desired, and then come back.
Others would be there long-term. They would settle into an area and if they were there long enough to establish a true occupation, they'd also make sure they had the papers required for paying taxes on the salary. (Disguises can get you into so many places.) They would find a mid-level position somewhere, they'd work with those who loved their job, they would live alone, and they would have two purposes. The first was to make it that much easier for the hive to acquire certain things, and the other was to guarantee that no one ever found the hive. Such infiltrators tended to wind up in positions with law enforcement, explorers, cartography, and general bureaucratic shenanigans. They would often be twitchy, and they would always go back to the hive eventually. Reporting in. But their truest purpose was to keep the hive safe.
It went on that way for centuries. There was the occasional corpse, because things happen. But all the others suspected was a species. Not a civilization.
And then the moron tried something.
How is Chrysalis regarded by changeling society?
Like Gavrilo Princip: she got all of the hives into this mess, and it may take a global conflict to get them out again.
Bluntly: she is now seen as a lunatic. A renegade. Whoever sang her learning songs obviously left out half the lyrics and every last major key. And yet, the only way out of this may be through listening to her -- if someone doesn't just decide to kill her first.
The hives didn't want to get involved in the world, not any more than they already were. Each hive was its own stable, near-eternal hub of life. They avoided the other species, they stayed safe, they absorbed the love around them, and they were content. They didn't want the world to know they existed. And then Chrysalis effectively told the entire planet that the species for which they'd been finding occasional evidence across thirteen centuries was still out there. In bulk. They could be everywhere and, potentially, anyone.
And once the world truly knew about the changelings -- they started to look.
The queens believe that wide-scale discovery may turn into the surest path to extermination.
They've had to send out more infiltrators than ever. (To some degree, this is emulating what Chrysalis did: full sapience means the irony hasn't been lost.) And they're doing so at a time when everyone is searching for those false members of their own species. Want to get hired by the local government? Please allow us to whip water at your legs. And yet they need to have those spies in place, because it's the best hope for staying hidden. Maybe if they can remain undetected long enough, a nation will decide there's no hive in that area, and the colony can relax.
Or maybe those who lack t'fin'zi will search forever.
Chrysalis started this, and she is loathed. The last two years have seen more independent transfers of allegiance than ever, and it's just about all from those who were part of her hive and finally realized exactly how much they messed up: those who remain are the most fanatical of loyalists. For Chrysalis to enter another hive in search of aid just might see her killed, because everyone knows exactly who's to blame for this and frankly, the kicking is overdue.
Or she might find an ally.
Because the species are looking for all of the hives. Including the one she just stepped into. They may look forever, they might kill whatever they find and -- there may be no way out of this other than to keep moving forward with the original idiot plan. This started with an attempt to conquer? Then maybe that's the way it has to end: through finishing the job. Put the changelings in charge, and it's over.
The queens are weighing their options. They're also keeping close watch on each other, because now they don't know if there's another moron in the ranks and someone else might make a stupider move. If that's even possible. Keeping that watch means sending out r'bin'dra over and over, they're risking their singers and sometimes queens might have to meet in person and changelings are being caught, if a queen is caught the hive could be lost --
-- maybe it's time to speak with the nations. Try to -- formally acquire territory. Open trade...
...the others don't have t'fin'zi. That's the first problem.
They also think that Chrysalis is the example of what to expect from changelings. That's just about all of the rest.
Step into the light, and --
-- try to be accepted? After so many centuries in hiding?
-- ask to be left alone?
-- try to get away before the fatal blow lands...
There's something of the insect about them. They're fully aware of that. And the first impression has been made. Perhaps they could have tried to approach on their own at any time, but -- the hives are the hives. Everything else is outside them. And perhaps there is now no choice but to infiltrate and take over and fight. The lunatic may get her dearest wish in the end, as the insanity spreads to cover the world.
Perhaps there could have been peace once. There's something of the mammal in a changeling. But there's rather more of the insect. And a bug which steps into the light gets swatted.
Again, If you want to dictate a future blog topic, the requirements are to either back me on Patreon at the $7 level and wait for the next session to open -- or drop a sufficiently-impressive tip on Ko-Fi and tell me that it's for a blog. Just be warned: the current one represents the absolute limit of how far I'll go in one of these sponsored postings.
If you want an actual sourcebook, then you're gonna pay for the formatting.
And the lawsuit.
Especially the lawsuit.
For those looking for more on the way I've shown changelings, I recommend reading this older blog, along with Pinkie Pie Has Infiltrated The Changelings' Secret Base!, Jury Duty III: Summoned With A Vengeance, and Aftercrud.
I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but can't a changeling project the image of a normal pattern of water under its legs? Or would the water be too complicated?
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They're basically limited to wrapping the disguise around their own bodies. Trying to extend onto the floor is a problem. And even if it could be managed, you can put a long piece of cloth between sets of legs and feel the fabric to see where it's wet.
In other words: yes, the sisters thought of that.
As usual, your world-building is absolutely top notch. There's some great stuff here, which I'm going to break down...
First, this is one of the few iterations of changelings which truly, genuinely, do not actually want to interact with other society. The impression I get is that they'd be a little hampered, but ultimately perfectly happy breeding, tunneling, and spreading until they reached their population limit, and never having to deal with any other sapient species.
The 'verse... tends to take *very* different takes on the species, and run with them. Ponies as the neurotic control freaks. Griffons and Minotaurs as the dark and light mirrors of democracy. And so on. This is... very similar. There's something truly unique here, and I rather envy your ability to see those original angles before they are brought to text.
...a clever reference to the crowd shots of S1-S2, I assume. I chuckled.
The nature of queens also raises a question in my mind: What happens should a queen die, without a successor being trained? A slow slide into annihilation, except for those who might figure out how to transfer allegiance? Tiding themselves over until another spawns?
Which brings me, I suppose, to my final question - one that looms rather large in my head after reading DELWMG.
How many changelings were involved with the tribalists?
Not out of malicious desire to sabotage Equestrian society, no. The tribalists are just... convenient. Passionate, passionate in a way that could be fed on - but usually meeting in small groups, and so not overwhelming. Willing to share suspicions that might provide warning, but also focusing their suspicions inward on pony society rather than outward towards the monsters in the unknown (and, since we know they exist in the 'verse post-Canterlot Wedding, determined enough in their beliefs to even ignore that revelation). Willing to bring news from distant lands. Willing to accept why someone might vanish for a few days (hiding, of course, from the others).
If all else fails and a member of your cell catches on, employ the intrinsic paranoia and cast suspicion on them.
A tribalist cell is possibly one of the most ideal disguise environments for a 'verse-changeling, something that has no doubt been figured out by smarter ponies as well - and so the feedback loop of paranoia grows.
Honestly, I'd have been disappointed if you'd avoided the reference.
Fascinating stuff all around. And the current state of things is a most unenviable affair. Another species may have to extend the olive branch first for the hives to believe it's even possible... and even then, how can they truly trust the hollow shells? Diplomacy does not come naturally to a species who's needed so little from the outside world until the idiot came along.
Hey, Miranda? Do you ever think about Sergeant Baton? Lives alone, never married, never dates? Stood off to the side during the Smartie Pants incident with a weird look on their face? Regularly heads into the Everfree alone? Always takes off the two weeks after Hearths Warming, and leaves town? Flinches anytime somepony is carrying a bucket? Often gets mesmerised by Lyra’s singing?
Ever get the urge to throw water at their legs?
Don’t want to upset your best beat-cop?
A really interesting take on the Changelings ....
Aww, no sparkle bugs?
Yet?My Protoceran isn't the best, but I think this means something along the lines of "Hard-headed bugpony"...
this reminds me of...an "Adult" comic, where Chrysalis had an "ovipositor", that she used to stick eggs into...the rear ends of two ponies.
your "lore" is VERY different from most stories on this site.
one of my favorite stories is "shifting melodies", where Changeling came in different COLORS, (ok, only their eyes and their wing-covers looked different) and also had different favorite emotions.
This is a refreshing take on things. Changeling hives aren't perpetually starving, and Chrysalis isn't a tyrant, though she's made some very poor choices.
They should probably make peace or settle things soon... video surveillance cameras could be the end of their infiltrations. Or magical detection devices with no mind to influence, probably sooner than that.
I wonder if these changelings could "turn invisible" for a short time by projecting a disguise of empty air, and erasing the sound of wings or hoofsteps.
You say that despite knowing about the World of Darkness.
Something every movie director that will ever exist in the setting bemoans, no doubt.
The fun part of this is it can mesh with canon, where Starswirl discovered/unlocked the first changelings with Chrysalis, and they come buzzing out into the world every few centuries to raid places like Trot, only to be defeated by Celestia and Luna (then only Celestia for a time) and sent back to their hive. Every century or two, all the sensible hives who have been living in quiet anonymity have one of their infiltrators (S'nar'ra) come flying back into the hive with a newspaper, and the local queen goes downstairs to bang her head against the wall for a few hours while she considers just how difficult it would be *this* time to get a number of her peers together to go beat the stuffing out of the perpetual nut, and if they should invite Celestia to watch. (provided they have enough cake) I'm supposing that Celestia is fully aware of the changelings and their situation, which is why she doesn't do anything about it since they are stable, generally non-hostile, and productive Equestrians (although without a seat in the Parliment and their own politicians, which is a bonus that makes up for it). In fact, she may appreciate the excitement since she has so many years of bureaucracy and stuffy royals to contend with. The general rule of dealing with problems is "Don't poke small problems or they become big problems." After the wedding, she may be reconsidering her options, and writing a few letters to queens with sore foreheads.
I probably have a rough parallel with this interpretation of the infiltrator class with Officer Rose Petal, who has worked with the Canterlot police department for several decades, raised several adopted foals with her husband, and has a very comfortable life inside the system. I *still* haven't written the short story where Officer Grace finds out and goes a little sparse in the process, but I have it mentally roughed out.
As relative masters of organic chemistry is there a reason the don't just gunk up their leg holes ?
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More like 'Hard-headed gnat-horse.'
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What canon would that be?
The callbacks to the captcha blog make me giggle.
5766126 Comic-book canon. I love the art in that issue. They made Starswirl look like such a crank, and Chrissy delightfully evil.
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Same reason you don't cover your ears in wax. The rims of the gaps are sense organs.
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The bereft hive has a coasting period before everything starts to fall apart, but it's not a long one. In the best case -- illness spotted early, good geographic proximity -- the queenless hive will dispatch r'bin'dra in advance: the worst sees this being done in a giant rush. The goal is to find a hive with a young, not-yet-in-charge queen. If one is available, they'll be sent to the leaderless hive and effectively transfer their allegiance to it. This can create situations where someone who isn't quite up to the job is the only person who can fill it, and also sets up the only time where changelings can use some version of 'Princess' as a local term: theirs represents a leader who wasn't ready yet.
Hives will do their best to help each other in this situation. To a large degree, each queen is just that: in control of their own territory, with very little in the way of connections to other regions -- but hives have almost never gone to war. (There's been a few exceptions, and they were ugly ones.) It's far better to send a queen out than to allow a hive to be lost.
If no queen is available, the members of the lost hive will disperse to other colonies and change allegiance. Should no other hive be in range, the lost colony will likely begin to collapse.
Only a few, and it stopped after the reveal. Supremacy groups have a tendency to cull while moving inward: 'no true Scotsman' very much applies when the fanaticism rises -- and then they found out that there were things in the world which could pretend to be a Scot. That didn't exactly go over well, and as soon as they started to do their own testing, the changelings fled.
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While I know the real reason is the leg holes are iconic and cool looking , I would totally block my ears if it beat the best way of uncovering my stealth powers.
Perhaps they tried it and the magic just doesn't cover the plugs so you get a pony with wired looking leg patches.
Also sence organ leg holes , nature is gross.
Fascinating! Thanks. :)
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Ironically, this could turn Chrysalis from the idiotic madwoman who spoiled everything into a bloodthirsty idiot savant who predicted the issue before bugs started being spotted on CCTV. At least to future debaters on the topic. Others would probably continue to insist she was just plain stupid and happened to get lucky with the timing.
Either way, the other hives have time to work out how to respond, and hopefully it won't end in trenches and more senseless slaughter.
What about The Secret! Do they know? Do they care?