//------------------------------// // Journal Entry Three & Four // Story: Journal of a Lost Changeling // by IMR1fley //------------------------------// Entry Three It's been two days since my last entry. Nothing has happened since. No new finds. No source of food. No sign of the hive. No food. No hope. I don't think I'm in Equestria anymore. Entry Four It's been a week since I've received proper nourishment. I've lost all hope in salvation. I'm not in Equestria, or anywhere on Equis for that matter. I should have felt something, either love, or the hive, or anything familiar. I have only felt nothing. There is nothing in this world. No sentient life, no feelings, no emotion. During the small amount of time I've occupied this world, my life has become nothing but routine. Wake up after Noon, search for love or the hive, dig burrow before sunset, rinse, repeat. Yet, for nearly a full week, I haven't found a scrap of affection, love, or kindness. Nothing to live off of. I never expected it to take so long to find food. If this were Equestria, I should have been able to feel something. Had I not encountered that odd cow, I would not come to this conclusion. However, due to the odd sights, and the lack of emotions, I can come to no other conclusion. Does it matter? I'm dying anyway. I can feel the weakness, draining my strength and life force from my very being. I write this journal right now as I watch what I believe to be my final sunset. At least my last sight will be something of beauty. Oh, hey the sun looks weird too. Who am I kidding? The sun probably looks normal. I'm just losing my eyesight as well probably. Dammit, I missed the setting because I too busy writing! Fu The end of my life sucks. Oh look, there's the moon. Several minutes have passed since the sun set... Why haven't I died yet? Is my body and the world trying to screw me over one last time by delaying my death as long as possible? What did I do to deserve this? Why is there no form of emotion?! Is there not a single being anywhere? Why i- ---*Inkblot on page*--- Entry 4.5 Me and my Celestia Damned mouth. Good news! I'm not stranded and alone! I can feed! Bad news. The beings I found all seem to want me dead. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good? I don't have to starve after all. Bad? I'm feeding off the negative emotions being thrown at me. While they will keep me from dying, feeding on these emotions have negative repercussions. The main one being, I can't fly, use magic, or shift to any other form. This goes against my very being. Negative emotions have a toxic or poisonous effect upon us. The strength of the poison is dependent upon the saturation of the hate, and direction towards me. The stronger the hate, closer the proximity, and more directed towards us, the more potent the poison. Too strong and too direct, and I'll die. Now in order for that to happen, the hate has to be personal. I won't die if someone with the strongest hate for all changelings in the world in near, or even looking right at me. The level of hate needed needs to be on some form of personal pain and anguish. While this has never happened with a pony, it has upon occasion happened a few times with a couple griffins and one Minotaur. Ponies are incapable of such levels of hate, but the few instances it has happened in our recorded history, it involved some cause of revenge from the "Hater." One example where a changeling took the place of a wealthy Minotaur, stealing his identity, spending his money, and leeching love from his...."Friends." The Minotaur found the changeling (An easy feat, since the changeling was all over the media at the time, still living the Minotaur's life as a multi-millionare) and interrupted him in the middle of a fancy party of some sort. The changeling tried to run, but was immediately hit by the effects of the "love poisoning." Poor guy was dead before the Minotaur even reached him. That's one of the reasons we like to keep it to ponies, and keep it on the down low. Why did I just write this entire section on something I already know, and in all likelihood, is known by the changeling that I hope finds this? Simple. I'm scared and bored out of my mind right now. Perhaps I should start from the beginning? After the moon set, I just sat there for a moment thinking of the cruelty of life. As a result, life decided to show me just how cruel it can get. In the middle of my personal reflection, I was startled by an arrow landing directly next to me. At this point, I was still delirious, so the danger I was in didn't quite register at the time. It wasn't until the second arrow grazed my face that my mind kicked in and said "run you idiot." And run I did. Or at least, as good a run as I could manage at the time. Due to my hunger, all I could manage was a pitiful hobbling trot. My coordination and balance were being thrown off due to the negative emotions I was receiving from whatever it was shooting at me. I didn't get a good look at my assailant, but since I don't have any (extra) holes in me, I think it's safe to say that it was a pony. Probably a civilian, since the guards have some training with crossbows. Judging by the number of arrows that were shot at me, and the speed they came at me, it couldn't have been a crossbow. More than likely, it was a nearby resident with their own bow. Probably the first time it was used. Thankfully, the bad vibes I got from my pursuer was enough to keep me from dying of starvation. That's another reason I think it was a pony. Not a very strong hate, just a general hate. In the week I've been searching word has no doubt gotten around of the changeling presence. After an exhilarating chase, I found my little hidey hole again. I didn't do much travel today. I was too busy being depressed and delirious. In any case, it means that I have a chance of survival. I would go out right now to find a suitable, were it not for three little problems. One, I'm sure by now there is a search party out for me. Going out now would be near suicidal. Two, I'm still under the effects of the poison. I can't shift or fly just yet. Reason number three, however, is much more foreboding. I keep hearing feral growls, and moans of pain. I don't know what it is that I'm hearing, but I certainly don't want to go out and see it. At least not now. I keep hearing some kind of hollow clank, like hollow wood being smacked and rubbed together. I don't even have a clue what it could be. These noises are driving me insane with fear. Ok, perhaps not truly, but I can't sleep because of them. Though I can't sleep, I know I have to save as much space in this journal as I can. I don't know how long I'll be here. I'll wait till morning, and record my findings then.