As A Star (Translated by Prof. Page Sheaf)

by Farseer

Translator's Introduction

Changelings. Enigmatic creatures that originate from the southern regions, well past the tropical regions that are populate by the Zebras. There are several links between changelings and the Equestrian legends, including the legends of Vaporia, a land populated by ponies who relied on their love to keep the island afloat, and the previously thought legend of the Crystal Empire, whose ponies protect themselves through their positive emotions. But what eschews these theories are the sheer distance- if changelings are from the lost realm of Vaporia, then they must possess extraordinary physical endurance to be able to fly the several hundred miles from the ruins to the nearest landmass.

So, then, they will remain a mystery. But, several years ago, a ruined hive was discovered, according with several cultural facts that we were unaware of- for example, a changeling queen will feed upon the love of her underlings, while the underlings feed off of their queen's love. While this will work for a time, the hive will need to have regular intakings of love. Naturally, and in the past, this was done by befriending new countries, but it this was the case, only Hive Grey Monarch maintains their traditions- Hive Chrysalis has responded violently within the past two years, and not one changeling from Chitinus has been spotted for over two centuries. It is thought that they have died out, or their interactions are with the southern tribes.

Most of what we know about changelings is from Hive Grey Monarch. For eample, the average changeling- a worker- is instinctively loyal to the 'royalty' of the hive, which, in turn, is loyal to a King or Queen, who rule a single hive, which is then ruled by an Emperor. Changelings work in threes- for example, one emperor rules over three hives, one king rules over three to nine princes, the princes rules over three to nine generals, which each commands about nine officers, each with 100- 300 changeling warriors. The workers are commmanded directly by the King or Queen through use of a semi-conscious link- known as, for a lack of a better term, a 'hive mind'.

It was originally thought that this hive mind meant that the leader controlled every aspect of the hive. As it is revealed in these manuscripts, this was not the case, for every changeling has a free will. The link is merely a way for the Queen of King to deal with several problems at once, for when dealing with a mainly free form society that the changeling have, this is a necessity.

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In order to understand this story, we must look into one deity in particular- the Hive Spinner. The Hive Spinner is a powerful being that is credited with creating the first changelings and teaching them about themselves- their ability to build structures out of natural materials, as well as the founder of the first changeling nations. Upon examining more of these stories, the Hive Spinner takes up an almost religious founding in comparison to the other deities of their pantheon. We could liken the relationship to Celestia and Luna- most ponies (falsely) worship Celestia, yet only give Luna a modicum of respect.

In the story, it is ultimately the Hive Spinner that convinces Novo that she is not a star of the sky, but a changeling that has caused her people great harm. He does this by describing the great powers of the star and commanding her to perform them herself if she is able. He then goes on to explain that her hatred for her own race of changelings was hypocritical, considering that she herself is one. In these ways, he proves himself to be wise. Indeed, the personality is quite identical to the one that is attributed to Star Swirl the Bearded. Perhaps there is a connection, as changelings were first found about the time when Starswirl published his first books of magic. But if there is, it has been lost, and there is no known way to retrieve it.

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Novo's story is a prime example of the corruption that can result of pride, and that the redeemed are something to truly celebrate over.

Enjoy reading, my friends.

Professor Page T. Sheaf
Canterlot Royal Library, C.D. 1004