Changeling, monster, love-sucker, abomination, and my new favorite… brat. I was called all this by the ponies, but nothing they called me was my name. My name was Baclox, or in their language, ‘mistake’. My mother hated me and thought I was nothing but a mistake since the moment I was born. Her hate was not returned though. All I cared about was making her proud and giving her a reason to love me half as much as she loved my dead brother. I never knew him but from what I heard, he was a prodigy. The stories about how he could shapeshift into any pony perfectly just by looking at a picture were awe inspiring. Other changelings in the hive told me he could even mimic their voice without ever hearing it.
His name was Morph and he was all my mother ever talked about. ‘Why can’t you be more like Morph?’ ‘If Morph was here he could teach you what it means to be truly great.’ ‘You’ll never amount to what Morph was.’ She said his name more than mine and he died seven years ago, before I was even born. All that was left was his stone body that stayed in the hives inner gardens. He had stumbled into a nest of cockatrice and when he was found there was no way to get him back. The thing that stood out to me whenever I saw him though was that he was smiling peacefully… he looked almost happy to be a statue.
Whenever I was upset about something, I went to see him and talk about whatever was making me feel sad, or angry, or… lonely. I don’t think he could hear me, but it was nice just to pretend he could. Changelings aren’t supposed to make friends. Friends make you soft and easy to take advantage of, but I didn’t see anything wrong with making friends with my brother. He couldn’t be used for a hostage if he’s stone. I may have been looked at as a mistake by my mother, but at least I still had him.
The changeling way was to do anything for the good of all other changelings in the hive. Even though we didn’t socialize like the ponies, we were supposed to be completely selfless. We never ran away from a threat, we never questioned orders, and we never thought of doing something that would only benefit ourselves… or at least the others didn’t. I was caught time and time again wanting more for myself. A room of my own, a bed to myself, a toy to play with. To the rest of the changelings I was a freak for wanting those things. I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere, not with ponies nor with my own kind. I was alone, forced to be an outcast.
About a year and a half ago, almost the whole hive went to try to take over Canterlot since we were running low on ponies to drain love from. As far as I could tell, we were getting close to starvation through our normal method of sneaking around, so we had to abandon our strength in stealth to conquer the capital by force. It was a bad idea though, we aren’t any good at attacking directly… we are too slow and weak to hurt ponies like that. The only thing we had going for us was how many of us there were.
A week after mother and the other changelings left, we got news that they were blasted out to the badlands and were most likely dead. The few other changelings that were too old or ill to join in the fight were the only other changelings besides me that were still alive. The elderly changelings broke down and accepted that we were just going to die off. I had other plans though, so when I was sure none of the others were awake, I left. I went from town to town posing as a little homeless filly as I drained the love of mares stupid enough to buy into my whole ‘helpless child’ story. I was doing really good until a pony that was in a hurry to get somewhere ran into me and made me lose my disguise. I wasn’t used to flying yet but I did my best in order to get away. By the time they stopped following me I was completely lost. I wandered around aimlessly for days and soon enough collapsed from hunger.
When I woke up I found myself in a barred cart that looked like a cage (probably because it was). I was being hauled into Canterlot by at least five guard ponies. I shifted into a guard myself in an attempt to make them think that I escaped and put a different guard in my place. It didn’t help at all… they actually laughed and made jokes about how I changed in front of them. This was why I hated ponies… they say they are all kind and tolerant, but then they make jokes at your expense. On the bright side though I could see a young couple just a few feet away from the cage as they wheeled me along. I got as close as I could and opened my mouth, then inhaled their love aura. Ponies couldn’t see it, but it could tell a lot about what they were feeling and it was more intense when they were with the ones they loved.
I only got a little taste of their love before the guards noticed and hit me on the nose. They looked at me with disgust. Most muttered names under their breath. I was being punished for trying to live… I might as well have been in Tartarus.
We soon entered the famous Canterlot Castle. I didn’t know if it was my hunger or the fact that I was in the same place where my mother had given her life, but my stomach was soon in knots. Shortly after the main doors closed behind us, the guards opened the cage and quickly put me in shackles, chains, locks, and everything else possible to keep me from making any real movement. They then escorted me to what had to be the throne room. The alicorn sisters and co-rulers of Equestria were seated in front of me. The guards forced me to kneel and I took that time to change into the blue alicorn.
“Would you look at that Luna? It seems to prefer you over me.” The white alicorn said, turning to the one she called ‘Luna’.
Luna smiled and replied. “That it does sister.”
This was my chance. “Sister, don't listen! I am being falsely accused! Help me!”
The white one simply laughed at my efforts. “Watch out Luna, this one is looking to replace you.”
“That shall be the day. What I wouldn’t give for a replacement so I may take a few days off.” Luna replied with a chuckle of her own. “Sir Jason’s nightmares have become so frequent and vivid that I have considered a vacation. Perhaps the beach?”
The two princesses continued to chat idly as I stayed kneeled in fear of what would happen if I tried to stand back up. The guards were even more impatient than I was, although I was happy to wait since it delayed my punishment. As they sat there talking I was trying to think of some way to get myself out of my metal bindings. I quickly came up with a clever solution to my dilemma that surprised even myself. Since I was too big to slip out... I would just make myself smaller.
After coming up with my brilliant plan, it didn’t take long for the guards to convince the princesses to send me to the dungeon. We started to head to the throne room doors. I patiently waited for the perfect moment. They had no idea who they were dealing with. I wasn’t going to let it end here! I refused to die in this den of pony filth! The moment they opened the doors, I made my move. Changing into the filly form that I used to fool so many ponies in the past year on my own, the restraints fell off me. I was free!
Flying up out of reach I turned in mid-air to face my ex-captors for one last taunt. “See you later suckers! I’m ditching this place and theres nothing you can do about it!” I shouted, sticking out my tongue and blowing a raspberry to further their humiliation. I thought I was so clever… until the white alicorn ‘whats-her-face’ trapped me in a magic bubble! That was when I learned that you flee, then gloat when you are out of harms way.
“LET ME OUT!” I shouted as I floated closer to my captor. “This isn’t fair! Magic is cheating!”
She cocked her head back slightly in surprise and I expected fear to follow shortly after… but again I was wrong. All I got was a laugh in response. That stupid laugh. By the Hive I hated that laugh. I disliked most laughter from ponies, but this one was enough to drive me insane. It was the kind that sounded like she was amused… like I was some cute innocent little foal. I wasn’t going to sit around and give her the privilege of mocking me so I changed into the mare I saw earlier. You know, the one I tried to snack on because I was starving?
Anyways, nothing I did phased her as she guided me to a cell. The princess named Luna told me that it was for my safety. She actually stayed with me for a long time after her sister, who I later found out was named Celestia, left us alone. Luna would talk, or do her best, while I remained silent. She spoke of many things and kept asking me questions as if I would answer. I didn’t know why she was talking to me. She never asked me anything important, just if I knew what ‘cake’ was, if I could eat ‘normal pony food’, how old I was, what I did for fun… weird things like that.
I don’t know what she was trying to do since I was only waiting to die. When ponies capture changelings, that is the end of the road for them… they are either starved or killed. That’s why my mother was dead… she went into pony territory to take over with the others and they weren’t able to. Seeing as how the city was still thriving with so many ponies and no other changelings it must have been bad. The thought of that alone made my past year look so pointless. If I stayed with the hive I was dead, going out alone led to death… no matter what I chose, I was going to die. For the first time in a long time I felt my throat tighten and my eyes water with tears. ‘Why am I forced to die just because I was born a changeling?’ I thought as Luna kept talking away. ‘Why does everyone hate me for being what I am?’
As I felt a few tears roll down my face, Luna finally shut her mouth. I half expect her to tell me that her work is done, but she doesn’t say another word. No… instead she opens the cell door with magic, walks inside… and wraps her hooves around me. I had been hugged before, but only by ponies that I had tricked. Ponies were never nice when they found out what you were, or at least that’s what I was always told… yet here was this princess, hugging me. It was strangely comforting, even without feeding off her love. That was another thing I noticed while she held me. She had the smallest boost of love to her aura. The only time that happened was when a pony really cared for another near them, but I was the only other one there.
We sat like that for a while and when I felt brave enough to try, I snacked on her love. She either didn’t notice or didn’t care when I did, but she left soon after. She said she had to work but she would ‘return’ later. She sounded a little like my mother but kinder. I spent the time she was away sleeping. My energy was drained from so many transformations in one day. It wasn’t hard to keep up a disguise, but going from one to another was way different. I heard it was the same sort of feeling that unicorns get from overusing magic. Since I liked to be a pegasus more than a unicorn I never really used magic so I wouldn’t know. Lots of changelings avoided being unicorns because our magical ability depends on how much love we’ve eaten. Not being able to use magic as a unicorn because you’re hungry is suspicious, and suspicion is dangerous.
The next day I woke up to see Luna already sitting outside my little slice of paradise. She looked tired and my first thought was that I drained more love than I thought, but that wasn’t it. Her love aura was stronger than ever. Something else must have been bothering her, but what it was I didn’t know. She started off by floating a plate of food over to me before she went on talking like the day before. She opened the door only long enough to get the plate through then shut it. It was a typical Equestrian breakfast with eggs, hay bacon, and toast covered in some sort of jam. This wasn’t jail food… this was a caring meal. A meal for a changeling.
Cutting her off in her endless babble, I quietly asked, “Why are you doing this?”
She looked at me almost as if she was shocked that I could speak, “You said something?! Oh my that is great news! I was starting to believe I was talking to one who was mute! The way you glare made me think I was offending you by thinking you could talk back.”
“I asked you why you’re doing this.” I growled at her, in no mood for idle chit-chat.
She smiled in a way I wasn’t familiar with and replied, “I am just trying to give you what you need and make you as comfortable as possible given the conditions of your stay. I’m sorry to say we know next to nothing about changelings so what you can and can’t eat is up in the air. If you tell me what you would like I can fetch it for you.”
I squinted at her trying to figure out the angle in all of this. She couldn’t have possibly just wanted to be nice to me. She was still a pony after all. Our kind don’t mix… they are natural enemies just like the minotaurs and the griffons that were always at constant war with each other. There was always some squabble over land, food, money, or even just some stupid bet that lead them to fight it out. Ponies and changelings were only different in that we were more than happy to sneak our way in to get what was needed. We were thieves, but for a very good reason. We stole to live and that’s it. It wasn’t for mischief or conquest, it was for the simple fact of needing food.
Looking down at the plate before me, I flipped it over, spilling everything onto the dirty dungeon floor. I looked back up at Luna angrily. She had no idea how easy she had it. None of them knew what it was like to hunt for food like I had to.
Unable to control myself anymore, I shouted, “This isn’t going to help! I need love! You’re lucky you can eat this and get something out of it! It won’t do anything but leave a taste in my mouth! You can give me anything you want, but until I can steal some love off some oblivious pony, I’M AS GOOD AS DEAD!”
Without even flinching, Luna responded, “Do you have to steal love? Is it really crucial to take it without the pony knowing you are feeding off them?”
“Of course! How else would I get love?! Ask for it?!”
“Why not?” She asked, flipping the conversation back on me.
“Because they would hate me and try to kill me!”
“How is that any different from what you experience as of now? Have you ever had anything taken from you without permission? It isn’t something you just let happen. It can make you mad especially if its something personal and dear to you.”
Yeah sure, the only reason why I was hunted like a vicious monster was because I didn’t go, ‘hey do you mind if I eat some of your love?’. That was the reason behind it all, not that I was a hideous changeling. I don’t know how much cider this princess has been drinking, but it must have been a lot for her to say something so stupid.
Well back to the matter at hoof… she was a lot less talkative from then on. A few days went by and we did have something similar to conversations every so often. I was informed that I was going to have a chance to leave the cell if they could find some ponies that would want to take me in. They had two couples in mind, one I had never heard of, and the other… the other were supposedly the ones that killed the rest of the swarm sent to invade. They were the ones that killed my mother along with everyone else I knew, and I was going to make sure I didn’t end up with them. The others I wasn’t too sure of but they couldn’t be worse than the changeling slayers.
I spent the day (or maybe night since I had no way of knowing the time) preparing myself for whatever could come my way. My heart was beating out of control, telling me that I was scared. I knew I had to hide how I felt just like I had hidden what I looked like during my time in the dungeon. I didn’t want them to think less of me because of my age. Pony fillies are dumb compared to changelings. We learn a lot faster and are a lot more perceptive. We can see the smallest facial twitch and figure out things that ponies don’t even realize themselves. Not to mention we learn how to read before we can talk and are forced to learn enough words to compare with an adult pony with an above average vocabulary. The last thing I needed was to have them talk down to me like a baby.
When I heard the sound of hoofsteps getting close, I did my best to clear my mind. They couldn’t know I was afraid… I had to play them out; misguide them to trip them up. I would have the upper hoof in this, not them. The first pony I saw was Celestia as she passed by the bars in front of me, then Luna, and finally some white stallion who I was going to guess was this ‘Shining Armor’ I had been hearing about. He was known to changelings as simply ‘the male slayer’, for apparent reasons. He didn’t look all that bad from what I heard of him… but appearances can be deceiving and I wasn’t chancing it. I started what I had planned by turning into him.
He reacted to my transformation by jumping in shock and saying, “Wow, I was not expecting that.”
“I don’t see why not. You were told that it was a changeling we were dealing with.” Luna retorted, laughing at him, and now that I knew his voice I could laugh along too.
“I don’t sound like that, do I?” He asked, put off by me mimicking him.
“No, not at all… you sound much dumber.” I replied with a malicious smile.
He turned to the princesses by him in disbelief. It was obvious I was already getting under his skin. He didn’t make any effort to hide his emotions at all. His name might as well have been ‘book’ since I could read him like one. I was going to have a lot of fun with him.