Deep within the walls of the hidden changeling hive lay the figure of the green changeling Arch-Queen, Queen Chrysalis. Her holed hooves dangled from her ebony throne as she rests her head on its arm, her mind aching from the loud complaints of hunger from her subjects over the hivemind, her grumbling stomach the only thing louder than their squabbles.
A loud knock on the door disturbed her rest, adding more strength to her headache. With a pained groan, she announced, trying to regain some sort of regal pose. Her children couldn’t see her weakened like she was. “You can come in, warrior.”
The doors immediately opened to reveal a bruised warrior, he sported a nasty crack on his back’s carapace and had a limp to his left back leg. He walked meekly toward his queen, keeping his head to the floor the whole time. “M-my Queen, I’m here to report that one of our secondary hatcheries have been-”
“I know. I’ve seen it over the hivemind,” Chrysalis interrupted, raising a hoof to silence the warrior. Her slitted emerald eyes pierced his mind like the sharpest dagger, making her displeasement known. “What about the eggs?”
Dropping to his knees in a low bow, the warrior gulped before answering, “The caretakers managed to secure the eggs… except one. He stuck himself in a wall, trying to fool the invader who managed to defeat me and steal the egg…”
The queen’s annoyance was almost palpable, the air was filled with green static as Chrysalis lit her horn with magic. She got up from her throne and walked slowly toward the whimpering warrior with a nasty hiss. The warrior was about to beg for mercy when Chrysalis released her magic into the hivemind, severing the lost eggs’ connection to it.
Chrysalis raised the warrior’s head with a hoof to look deeply into his eyes. “Tell the caretakers to release the suppressing spells, I need those hatchlings into my army as soon as possible, understood?” she barked. Getting a frantic nod as an answer, her eyes shone with a sickly green magic as she chased away the cowering warrior. “Now leave!”
She walked back to her throne, massaging her temples with a hoof. An unfortunate loss, it’s hard to keep the hive fed as it is, the hatchling will starve to death in the hooves of those damned ponies…
The moon was almost at its peak, its silver light illuminating Morning Rays’ empty room. The crickets were singing to the sound of silence on such a peaceful night. The starry canvas that was Luna’s beloved night sky reaching the mysterious gemstone resting on his chair. Its light green light danced to the night’s beauty.
Suddenly, there was a flash. The air was filled with a soft light green static as the gemstone flashed again, and again. Faster and faster each time it expelled its magical aura. Finally, with one last blinding flash, there was a crack. A stream of dark green, translucent goo seeped from the small fissure as another crack has formed beside it, then a third one. More and more ooze poured out of the weird gem as a fourth crack sent a small piece of it falling apart, revealing a small dark grey spike in its place. The impact made the gemstone roll and fall to the floor, shattering it and spilling the dark green goo all over. From beneath a large fragment of the gemstone squirmed a black and white little larva.
The tiny creature gave a little yawn, teeny tiny fangs showing out of its mouth, its eyes still shut. Tired after all the work, it stretched its little front legs and abdomen. Fully waking up for the first time, the newborn’s senses were bombarded with an array of senses.
It could feel a cold breeze brushing against its frail, soaked body, causing it to seek protection at a deeper puddle of the comfortable, thermic goo it was used to.
Now back under the big fragment from which it merged, it could feel the pleasant scent of grass and flowers being carried over by the previously assaulting breeze, the little larva took a deep breath, filling its lungs with those pleasant scents, feeling its body relax even more.
As it yawned once again, a small drop of goo fell into its mouth, surprising it. Its sour and weird taste made the little baby’s face scrunch up in disgust, quickly spitting the terrible substance.
The baby’s actions were interrupted by the melodic crinkling of crickets and hooting of owls outside, night’s most beautiful melody. The baby was hypnotized by it, its song compelling it to come out of its shell.
Opening its big, reflectionless, emerald eyes for the first time. The baby was taken by the gorgeous sight that was the white full moon and the constellations that illuminated the navy blue night sky in their humble glory.
The newborn’s wonder was interrupted by a new, strong, sudden sensation. Hunger. It was a consuming feeling in its chest, it left its body trembling, and the baby couldn’t focus on anything else. The little larva looked around, everything was so big! Nothing attracted its hunger, and it was all by itself.
A sudden sense of loneliness passed through the baby’s mind as it searched for something, anything that would make that horrible feeling of hunger go away. Its instincts finally found interest in a particular item, Morning Rays’ family photo on top of his bedside table.
The baby looked eyes on its target, searching for a way to reach it. Looking around, the baby found out that there was a bed sheet dangling from the bed. With determination in its eyes, the little larva’s journey began.
The baby wiggled across the cold floor, leaving a small trail of goo in its wake. Reaching the sheets, the baby tried to scale them with its tiny legs but it proved to be impossible. Pondering for a few seconds, the baby sank its teeth into the cloth for extra support while it gripped the slippery fabric with its hooves.
Slowly but surely the baby climbed the sheets, eventually getting on top of the bed. Up there the cold breeze was even stronger, causing the baby to shake. Seeking shelter from the unrelenting cold, the baby dug under the remaining sheets and, like a caterpillar, wiggled beneath it toward the bedside table.
With no more sheets to protect it from the cold, the only obstacle left was the gap between the bed and the table. The baby went to the bed’s edge to see if it could reach the table but instead, it was faced with a really big drop. If it fell, it would be in big trouble.
Backing up, the baby retreated into a pillow. Curious, the baby stepped onto it, testing its resistance. It was, in fact, a relatively hard pillow, maybe it could use it to reach the other side! Using its tiny horn as a hook, the baby pushed the pillow out of the bed and on top of the table.
Quickly crawling to the other side, afraid it would fall under its full weight, the baby finally reached its destination, but like it feared, the pillow gave up and fell as soon as its chubby abdomen left it, leaving the baby stuck at the table. As it approached the photo, the little larva felt a weird aura in it. It was sweet and calming, but more importantly satisfying.
The baby stood as close as it could to the photo. But being directly in front of the window, the chilling breeze cut right through the baby’s soft fragile skin, freezing it. The larva desperately tried to find some cover. Grabbing Glory’s feather, the baby quickly covered itself with it, feeling an even stronger aura than it did with the photo.
With nowhere else to go, the baby curled into a tiny ball under the comforting aura’s feeling held against the merciless breeze.
Feeling a bit tipsier than he should, Morning Rays decided to land at his front door instead of trying to aim through his open bedroom window. He still remembered the last time he drank with his team and hit a wall on his flight home, a broken rib was not worth a couple of minutes he would save having to walk into his room.
Once inside, Morning went to the kitchen, grabbing some oats to eat and returning to the living room. Sitting on his red couch, Morning began eating his oats as he thought about the recent events, his assignment as a “changeling hunter”, his weird encounter in the changeling hive, the involvement of the Night Guard…
Now that he thought about it, those changelings at the hive were acting really strange. Changelings were known for having some really tricky magic spells that complemented their natural shapeshifting abilities, but none of them cast a single spell. In fact, he was completely outnumbered but instead of overpowering and capturing him, the changelings fled. Even the warrior he faced seemed to be holding off against him…
His thoughts were interrupted by a strong, cold breeze that came through the kitchen windows. Damn, I know Ms. Cherry told me it gets chilly here during the night, but I didn’t expect it to be this chilly…
Remembering that he left his bedroom window opened, Morning got up and went up the stairs to close it. Better close that window before it blows Glory’s feather away.
Opening his bedroom’s door, Morning almost slipped as he stepped into a weird, slippery ooze on the floor. What the hell? Morning inspected the puddle, recognizing the light green tone of the fragments in it. Was that the soothing stone? He noticed a small trail of goo, following it, he noticed his pillow on the floor beside his bedside table and a strange grey spotted white ball under Glory’s feather.
Getting closer, he noticed the strange ball was weakly breathing!
“What the hell is that?” he thought aloud, looking back at the puddle of ooze in the middle of the room.
“Wait…” he continued. A nervous look rushed to his face as he put the pieces together. “Is that a newborn changeling!?”
Morning froze as this new realization settled in. There was a newborn changeling in his room! A million questions flooded his head as he tried to think what to do. Is it dangerous? What is it doing on his table? How did it manage to get there? Is it okay?
Settling on the last question, Morning cautiously approached the baby changeling, no reaction. Maybe it’s sleeping? he thought, poking at the baby with the tip of his hoof. Surprise and worry dominated his mind. It’s freezing!
Throwing all caution to the wind, Morning’s fraternal instincts kicked in in full force. He quickly enveloped the baby tightly in his bedsheets and hurried downstairs. He gently set the baby on the couch and proceeded to shut all the windows. With the windows closed, Morning quickly threw some wood on the chimney and started a fire. It would take a few minutes to heat up, but it had to do.
Getting back to the changeling, his mind was set in a state of panic and dread, the baby stopped breathing! Morning quickly got the baby in his hooves, getting it closer to the fire, laying it in the warming carpet, he began applying a simple cardiac massage in hopes of jumpstarting the baby’s heart back.
Again and again, he would press the baby’s chest and wait a few seconds, no results. Things were getting dire. Heavens, please, don’t let it die on me! he thought, again, and again. He knew it was a changeling, and some ponies, like Dusk Wing, thought of them only as monsters, a threat. But it was a life, a new life! He won’t give up on it!
Minutes felt like hours as Morning alternated between the hearth massage and attempts to warm it by rubbing the sheets around it. His legs were getting sore to the point of hurting, but he kept going. Finally, he felt the most amazing thing he ever felt in the past years. He felt the baby’s lungs filling with air as the baby began breathing again.
Morning slumped to the floor with the larva tightly held against his chest, letting out a long sigh of relief and a silent prayer to Celestia. He did it, he saved the changeling!
The baby woke up in a bit of a haze, confused and weak. It felt Morning’s warmth and clung to it, glad that the cold was gone. Then it noticed Morning himself. Its young mind filled with glee, it wasn’t alone anymore! But deep down its instincts warned it, Morning wasn’t its species… was he a threat?
That thought was completely buried when the baby felt that same soothing aura. This time it was coming from the creature in front of it. In his desperate attempts to bring the baby back, Morning’s empathy and care fed the changeling, relieving its agonizing hunger.
The changeling larva quickly knew that it could trust Morning, happy for not being cold or alone anymore. It left a soft yawn and went to sleep.
Hearing the little yawn, Morning suddenly felt all the stress and work hit him in the face like a punch, feeling completely tired. His body demanded him to sleep, but his mind wouldn’t be able to rest. He just managed to resurrect the baby changeling, but he didn’t know if he was really okay. He needed to stay awake all night to make sure the baby was fine.
With a sigh, Morning thought aloud, “There really won’t be any sleep tonight…”
The first rays of sunshine reached Morning Rays’ face through his closed bedroom window, gently caressing his fur with their inviting warmth. Like he suspected, last night was indeed a restless night, his bloodshot red eyes serving as proof to that. He spent the whole night checking on the little changeling as it slept soundly on his pillow.
Such a tiny thing… Morning thought. Stretching his back, he got up from the chair that served as his resting place, doing some little jumps to shake off the sleepiness and unlock his stuck joints. Feeling a little better, Morning proceeded to the bathroom to start his daily routine.
After brushing his teeth, taking a quick bath and preening his wings, Morning went down to the kitchen, his grumbling stomach demanding to be fed pancakes and apple tarts. Checking his fridge, Morning got the last remains of his stock to prepare his breakfast. Gotta stop at the market later.
The morning birds sang their beautiful serenade, perched at Ms. Cherry’s trees outside Morning’s kitchen window, but he paid them no mind, his brain so numb from the lack of sleep that it didn’t register a single sound. That is, until that particular noise that every parent is trained to detect even a mile away. The sound of a crying child.
Morning ears shot up in attention, pinpointing the source of the alarming sound. Indeed it came from upstairs. Throwing all the ingredients on the kitchen balcony, Morning flew up the stairs to check up on the baby.
The baby was still rolled into his bed sheets, lying on his pillow. With a sigh of relief, Morning sat next to his bed and took the baby in his hooves, slowly rocking it up and down, cradling it.
Try as he did, the baby refused to calm down. It must be hungry, Morning thought. Hurrying down the stairs, Morning swiftly cut some apple slices and returned to his room, offering it to the baby. The little changeling larva sniffed at the apple slices for a bit but then slapped them away and, it resumed its crying.
“It’s all I have!” Morning explained, trying to convince the baby to eat the apples but to no avail.
Gotta stop at the market right away! Morning corrected his previous thought. He secured the baby on his back between his wings and walked up the stairs back to his room. Where should I put it…? Morning wondered, scanning the room for the safest place to put the baby in. Maybe on the bed? No, it could fall… So, the floor? Might be too cold… Morning thought back and forth for a couple of seconds. In the past, his parenting instincts were always on overdrive making him kind of a overprotective dad, and part of being an elite soldier of the royal guard was thinking about all the possible paths ahead of him so it didn’t help either.
Settling between the two options, Morning dropped his mattress on the floor, where he made a makeshift cradle of pillows to keep the baby secured. Satisfied, Morning gave one final overall look to make sure the windows were closed enough to keep the cold breeze away but not enough make the room too warm. Happy with the result, Morning gave one last instruction before leaving, “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”
During his short flight toward the center of the town, Morning’s mind was bursting with thoughts to the point of overheating. What should I do? Should I report it to my superior? But it’s so tiny and frail, it won’t survive a cell with other changelings! But I can’t keep it in secret, it would be treason! Maybe the other changelings would take care of it? But the princesses are having trouble feeding all of them, would the changelings even be able to care for it?
His train of thought was put back on the rails as he approached his destination, Dodge Junction’s market street. The street was as busy as the last time he walked by, thousands of ponies walking through and fro, buying and selling goods to their neighbors. The street was the blood and life of the entire town, it kept the bits and goods flowing. If there was any place he could find something to eat in this town, it was there.
Landing in the middle of the street, another troubling thought crossed his mind. A thought that he neglected to think about this whole time; What do changelings eat? Panic took over Morning’s expressions as more and more questions followed behind. Do changelings even eat food? If they do, what do they need love for? Do they only eat love? All his doubts and questions converged on a single conclusion. “Oh, boy…”
Was it so complicated back when he was a father? He wasn’t sure. The only thing Morning was sure at the moment was that he needed to buy food, and fast! Taking a deep breath, Morning tried to calm down, seeing as his feathers were beginning to stand on end. Focus soldier! You can do this. First some vegetables.
Reaching one end of the street, Morning quickly located multiple vegetable stands displaying their products. All the food seemed fresh and delicious, surely there was something the changeling might like…
He walked to the closest stand, Maggy’s greenery. Behind the counter stood a young light green earth pony mare with light red mane, wearing a dark brown cowgirl hat. She gave him a big bright smile when he approached.
“Howdy friend! What can I getcha?”
“Hello miss, how much do you want for some lettuce and broccoli?” Morning inquired, feeling his bits pouch weight with a wing to see if he had enough money.
“It would be five bits, sir!” the mare announced in a sing-song tone. Happy with the price, Morning gave her the bits and put his newly acquired greens in his saddlebags.
Back in the main street, Morning proceeded to the fruit stands. There a brown and yellow earth pony stallion got his attention, he was walking down the streets, carrying a bunch of bananas and pots of honey on a tray on his back. “Bananas and honey, sweet and yummy! Four bits a bunch or two bits a pot!” The stallion announced his products. Felling on the mood of eating some bananas himself, Morning approached the stallion and bought a few.
Satisfied, Morning began his walk back home but was interrupted by a familiar voice calling his name.
“Captain Rays, so good seeing you around these parts!” the voice called. Turning around, Morning was greeted by a gleeful Cherry trotting toward him, two saddlebags strapped to her sides.
“Miss Cherry, it’s good to see you.” Morning bowed his greetings. “But please, Captain is just a title, you can call me by my name if you’d like,” he offered with a smile.
With a mischievous grin, Cherry feigned surprise and quickly replied, “Oh I’m sorry Mister Rays.”
That got a chuckle out of Morning, recognizing it was the same thing he did yesterday. An uncomfortable silence fell between them as their eyes were still locked between one another. Cleaning his throat, Morning was the first to break the silence.
“Well, what brings you here, Miss Cherry?” he asked, mentally facehoofing because of the lame question.
Blushing, Cherry averted her eyes. “Oh, A’ah was bringing some cherries to supply my store over there,” she explained, pointing a hoof to an elegant yellow and red painted shop, its wooden walls and style resembling a saloon. “Would you like to have some? Freshly harvested, grown with care and love!” Cherry offered him a pouch filled with cherries from her saddlebags.
Thinking it would be a good idea for the changeling, Morning checked his bits before asking, “I’d love to, how much you’d like for them?”
“Oh, no Ah’m not charging you anything, you can have them.” Cherry politely declined, hoofing him the pouch of cherries. Still, Morning wouldn’t have any of it.
“No, please, I want to pay for them, I also like to earn my things the right way, you know?” Morning insisted, remembering how Miss Cherry prided the hard work on her farm.
“Ohh, okay then. It would be ten bits.” Cherry gave in with a chuckle.
A bit expensive, but Morning was sure the quality would make it worth it.
Landing her the bits, Morning waved his goodbye and was about to leave before she interrupted him again, “Oh, Mister Rays, I almost forgot!” She went inside her shop for few seconds, leaving a confused Morning waiting at the door. She returned with a letter in her mouth, the royal guard seal dangling from it.
“Ah got this letter in the mail, it had my address in it so Ah thought it was okay. It’s for you.” She hoofed him the letter.
Opening it with his wings, Morning took a quick read through its contents.
‘Captain Morning Rays,
due to the recent (and unexpected) arrival of the Night Guard, all today’s activities have been postponed while a more precise schedule is organized between the Dawn and Night Guard.
I expect to see you early tomorrow.
-General Iron Hoof’
She must be really pissed off… Morning thought before realization hit him. That’s perfect! Now I have more time to make sure the changeling is okay!
Saying his thanks, Morning began his walk back home before he was interrupted for a third time. “S-say, would you like to drink some coffee with me? M-maybe tea?” Cherry asked, trying to hide a light blush forming on her cheeks.
It was a tempting offer, but Morning had to take care of the baby…
“I’m sorry Miss Cherry, I can’t right now. Maybe another day?” he offered with an apologetic smile.
Visibly deflating, Cherry nodded, her ears at the back of her head. “Oh, sure, you’re busy… bye, Mister Rays.”
“Bye, Miss Cherry.” Morning bowed again and left.
Feeling lonelier by the minute, the baby changeling wiggled around the room, trying to find something to sate its hunger. Its attention was, again, drawn toward Glory’s feather. The baby didn’t know why, but that feather had such a comforting aura, the same aura it felt when the big creature took care of it. What could it be?
Getting closer to the bedside table, the baby tried to think of a way to get to the feather. Still, a bit traumatized by last night's events, it refused to try and scale the bed again so it looked around in search for another, safer, way.
It noticed that the feather was dangling halfway out the table. It felt so light and soft to the touch last night, maybe it could be shaken off? With a new plan in mind, the baby began its attack.
Resting its front legs on the table, the baby used its soft, but surprisingly muscular abdomen to lightly push against the table, adding more and more force as it felt necessary. After a few dangerous swings from the table, the feather guided through the air, softly landing on the baby’s snout, causing it to backpedal in a sneezing fit.
Calming down, the baby got the feather with its tiny fangs and carried it to its cradle. Now that its senses were a bit more sharper, the baby could feel an entire array of feelings emanating from the strange aura. It had a purplish pink hue, it was so pretty and soothing. It made the baby feel warm inside, like its magic was feeding it. It smell was so alluring, even more so than the smell the breeze carried last night. And it was sweet, so much sweet, better than that weird thing the big creature tried to feed it.
With the feather in hooves, the baby patiently waited for the giant’s return, but as time went on, the soothing aura seemed to get weaker and weaker, fading into nothingness.
The baby could hear noises coming from below, the big creature has returned! Quickly losing interest in the now, aura-less feather, the baby wiggled itself towards the door, leaving the feather behind.
Morning Quickly left his groceries on the kitchen balcony, grabbed a clean plate and put a tiny slice of banana, broccoli, and lettuce alongside some cherries and a bit of honey. Flying upstairs he was about to open the door when an old habit kicked in. A long time ago, when Glory was just a filly, she had the habit of taking naps behind closed doors. After both him and his wife accidentally hit her multiple times when opening the door, they acquired the habit of searching for any shadow behind it, and indeed there it was, the moving shadow of the changeling larva trying to climb the door.
Chuckling to himself, Morning gently opened the door so the baby had time to get out of the way. Almost like a puppy greeting its owner, the baby spun around and backpedaled, trying to maintain eye contact with him.
“Sorry for the wait. Here we go…” Morning said, trying to calm the baby as he lowered the plate.
As soon as the baby had its eyes on the food, it instantly felt the alluring smell of sugar. It dove in, devouring the fruits and honey like a parasprite while tossing the greenery out of the way. It especially ate all the cherries first, as it felt the most appealing to it.
That voracity earned a chuckle out of Morning, who remembered how Glory used to dive in her morning cereal during breakfast as a child. But he also noticed that the baby managed to leave all the broccoli and lettuce without giving it a single bite, almost like it knew it didn’t like it.
Hmm… Interesting… Morning went back to the kitchen and brought all his groceries back up, it was time for a little experiment.
He offered the baby a banana slice. Sure enough, the baby ate it. Then he tried to envelop a smaller banana slice inside a lettuce leaf. Without missing a beat, the baby swiftly unraveled the horrible leaf to reach the banana. It was like it was drawn toward sweet food. Next, he put a slice of banana, honey, and cherries in front of the baby. To his surprise the baby instantly went for the cherries, consuming them in a single gulp, then it ate the honey and lastly the banana.
Morning scratched his head in confusion, if it was only a matter of sweetness, the honey should be consumed first. Why did it prefer the cherries?
While Morning was absorbed in thought, the baby stealthily went for the honey pot, since it was the closest target. The baby tipped the pot, smearing honey everywhere and wiggled itself inside, to it, the honey pot felt like a sweet version of its comforting pod.
Still trying to find an explanation for the mystery, Morning eventually spotted Glory’s feather lying inside the baby’s cradle. Curious as for how it got there, he picked it up and inspected it. Everything was normal. Strange, the baby was also holding it last night… Then it all seemed to click as a memory of the encounter with Cherry revealed itself in Mornings mind.
“Would you like to have some? Freshly harvested, grown with care and love!”
Morning embraced Glory’s feather as he thought aloud, “Maybe it can detect remaining love in objects?” Still, there was a piece missing. What about the honey and the banana? Maybe love taste sweet like it?
His voice got the baby’s attention. Looking at the gentle giant in front of him, the baby was confused. There it was, the feather that just a couple of minutes ago had lost all its magic was once again full of energy… maybe the creature was the source of this energy? Looking at some remaining cherry juices on the plate, they were charged with that weird aura as well, and the creature was the one who brought them. Maybe the baby was right.
Finally spotting the baby tucked inside the honey pot, Morning chuckled. Feeling a bit tired from his walk back, he lay on his bed, some previous thoughts running through his head once again. What should I do with it? I can’t turn it in, can I?
Morning lifted his head so he could look at the baby, the cute sight of the baby sucking at its tiny, honey coated legs almost giving him a heart attack.
Buck it…
“I guess I can’t keep calling you “It” can I?” Morning asked the baby, getting up from his bed and sitting in front of it.
The baby could feel a pretty small stream of that magical aura coming out from the creature and going directly to her. It wasn’t as strong as it felt from the feather, but it was there.
“But what should I call you? Are you a boy or a girl?” Morning continued, rather asking himself than the baby. Thinking back to the baby beside his family photo, something inside him, you can call it a father’s instinct, told him that she was a filly. But what to call her?
Looking at the babe again, splashing and playing with the honey, he had his answer. “Hello there, Honeydew,” he called her. “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Morning Rays.”
Honey’s gaze looked into his, and somehow, someway, she understood.
Morning...