The Counterfeit Octavia

by Diamond Sparkle

Chapter 2-Give Me A Chance

The not-Octavia let out a deep sigh. "You're right, I'm not your beloved Octavia although I want to be. I'm a changeling...a shape changer. I can take the shape of pretty much any pony, griffin, diamond dog, even timber-wolf that I want to. I have been undercover for a long time, and I saw you two together in happier times. We changelings, although we do consume solid food as well, need a lot of love to keep us healthy and at our best. The love of a pony tastes like the sweetest chocolate to us, without any of chocolate's bad effect on teeth." Vinyl stared wide-eyed at the changeling.

"You eat love? How can feelings be food for you? And why did you want to replace Octavia?" Vinyl asked, not sure if this changeling was her friend and a way back to happier times or her foe and a menace to Equestria and everypony that she knew.

"We ourselves are unaware of just how and why we eat love, we just know that it is good to eat. As for replacing Octavia I wanted to feast on your sweet love and make you happy again at the same time. Please, give me a chance. I know I don't have Octavia's skills yet, but I can learn them. Given enough time, we could both benefit...you get your perfect Octavia back again and I get as much of your sweet love as I can eat. I'd need access to everything of Octavia's that you still have, and you would need to help me at first, so that I can be as Octaviaish as possible."

Vinyl thought for a while. "I would love you to become a new Octavia for me, but...how can I trust you? What if this is a plot to rob or murder me or to undermine Equestria in some way? And how can you possibly take the place of the love of my life? You may look and even sound just like her, but you quite clearly have none of her musical skills and none of her...Octaviaisms, all the little things about her that I knew so well and loved so much. At the moment, you are just a pale imitation of Octavia. You surely have no idea what she meant to me. She was my world. I'm not turning you down...you are my best chance of being happy again, but I want to know more about you and what you do. Tell me about changelings. Otherwise I will have to reject your offer and deny you my love."

"I can't tell you a lot of things, because it's classified and I could get executed for treason if my Queen found out, or at the very least sentenced to years of cleaning out the latrines. But I'll give you the basics. We live in Hives, each under a Queen. We live partly on fungus and the like, and partly on the love that we gather whilst in disguise. Without the love of other races, a changeling will fall sick, and as we are feared and hated by those whose love we need, we take other shapes to get it. I can't tell you what Hive I'm from or which Queen I serve-but I can say that my Queen means as much to us as Princess Celestia does to you. That's pretty much all I can say. Please don't tell anyone that I'm a changeling, the Royal Guards would come after me. We are not a popular race-they see us as vampires and worse. Some of the most ignorant ponies even think that we put the blood of kidnapped and murdered pony foals in our bread. All utter nonsense of course."

"So what do you look like when you are not borrowing another shape?" Vinyl asked. "And what is your real name?"

"I'd rather not let you know. I want you to think of me as Octavia, and one day I want you to love me as much as you loved her. And if you knew my true shape, how could you ever see me as your true love?"

"You do have a point," Vinyl agreed. "I'll give you everything you need-all of Octavia's records, and you have two weeks to make progress to being her for me...or you'll have to leave. If you can really *be* Octavia for me...if you can fill that hole in my heart, I'll give you all the love you would ever want. But if you can't, or if I even think you are plotting against me or Equestria, then you'll have to go."
And she hugged the faux Octavia and managed a weak smile when she felt soft, warm kisses on her forehead. Think of Octy, this is Octy that is kissing you, and all will be right in time. Her mind is just a bit rusty, that's all. She just has to relearn the old ways, that's all, and things will be happy again.

The faux-Octavia smiled as she felt the love begin to flow. It was warm love, sweet, chocolate-like love, far better then the weakened down love that was brought in to feed the Hive. This must be the quality of love that my Queen enjoys every day in her private royal quarters she thought. Do all Infiltrators enjoy love of this quality or is it just me? This must be unique, she knows that I'm a changeling and that her true love lies in a grave, and yet she is still giving me a chance to be Octavia Philharmonica for her. I must be the luckiest Changeling in the entire Hive. What if other Changelings could do the same thing that I did and it worked for them too?

Vinyl pulled away and let go. "There is a big complication in that you are officially dead and buried. If you walked into town in Octavia-shape, ponies would panic and think you were undead. And then the Royal Guards would descend on both of us. So our romantic walks will have to be in the dead of night only, whilst most ponies are sleeping or out clubbing. And given that I work late at night, how am I going to find time to fit you in? Tomorrow I'll start teaching you the basics of what I call Taviness, being Octavia. But for now I need to go to work. "

Comments

[Gdenofa]

This is pretty interesting. I am curious how this plays out.

[GIGA-XISBASS]

Interesting Concept. Can't wait to see more. ^^

[deli73]

Seems kind of rushed and a little off. The concept was okay, but the execution wasn't that great. Not quite bad enough to warrant a downvote, but it definitely needs some editing.

[Diamond Sparkle]

4268047 My ideas are better then my stories in some cases. I wonder what you would write if you had got that idea instead of me?

[deli73]

4268663 I'm not blaming you or anything. Writing is hard. I just think you probably need an editor or proofreader. I'd offer to do it, but I don't really have the time.

[Transivity]

4268663
4268668
There are a few editors groups you could find.