Changeling Father

by rainbowtiger00

You were lost and hurt...

The harsh beating rays of the sun was the first thing to awake him. The changeling blinked his eyes several times in order to get himself aware of his surroundings. He was deep in the wastelands, Canterlot only a hazy spot in the distance. Near the mountain, was the sun, setting into the burning sand. The sky did not have a single cloud in it, and bore a bronze-like color.

Every part of his body hurt. He quickly looked over his body. There were no injuries, just the wind was knocked out. Thankfully his wings were not broken. That could have been life-threatening.

A grounded changeling was code red to the changeling ways. If a changeling was grounded, it could not fly to its hive. It could not fly away from danger. It could not feed. If some pony were cut off its wings, it would be the ultimate wrongdoing to a changeling.

Had he been in his disguise he would have not worried. Any injury made to a changeling was felt fully by the hive mother, and if it was serious, she would come running. With the love that they had stolen, they could easily reach and heal their injured. Not to mention have a satisfying meal.

As if to punctuate his thoughts, his stomach gave an unhappy growl. Suddenly remembering little Magenta Glimmer, he quickly glanced at his hooves. The filly lay on his chest, her hair spread out. As far as he could see, there seemed to be no injury. But from personal experience, he knew that an injury could be hiding itself inside her body.

He checked Magenta Glimmer's limp body for anything, but found nothing. Confusion welled inside him. When a changeling was injured outside their body, they went into hibernation mode. Until their bodies healed whatever injury that was there, they slept without a care to the world. But no visible injury was to be seen.

Maybe ponies were different in this case as well. There was the possibility that she was dead. The thought brought heaviness to his heart. Ponies were quite fragile, one cut and their liquid of life would spill out. He stroked her with a hoof.

She seemed to be more asleep, a smile even gracing her lips. He placed his insect-appendage upon her chest. As a changeling fed upon a pony, they could sense a pony's heart. Every changeling would know what heartbeat would be a healthy sound. A heart beat within the chest, strong and slow.

The changeling's brow creased. If Magenta Glimmer was hurt, then the fault would lay with him. A sigh escaped his lips. Just like it was back when they lived in a gigantic cave in the jungle. Back when everything in the world seemed okay.

Back when he had…His thoughts were broken by the lone cry of a vulture circling ahead. He frowned at the vulture. It was waiting for them to succumb to their wounds and die. He sat up, cradling the small filly with his hooves.

No vulture was going to eat the filly on his watch. Tenderly he placed the filly onto his back. His wings cuddled Magenta Glimmer gently. Slowly, painfully he climbed to his hooves. A quick scanning showed that there was an overhanging of rocks some distance away.

One painful hoof-step after another took him closer to the overhanging. The sun had almost completely disappeared, leaving only a few rays against a quickly fading sky. It now was a deep blue edged with purple. Only where the last rays shone did one see the colors of lavender, pink, orange, red, and finally burning golden yellow. Where the deep blue was, were many pinpoints of light twinkling down.

Ponies called them stars. Although the hive mother called them the souls of those who passed, watching down below. The temperature was rather getting from very hot to rather cold. Good thing he had the foresight to place Magenta Glimmer on his back. Therefore he could wrap his wings around her like a blanket.

Finally, he reached the overhanging. Crouching down low, he searched for the small hole that should be beneath the place where the top of the rock met the sky. The wind would of come and blown at this rock until it formed a hole where the rock had crumbled due to erosion. A small animal would of made a home there, then maybe moved on. His hoof fell into the hole.

Slowly, he crawled inside. He covered the top with small rocks, and sand, leaving only a little space for air and light to come through. In this shelter, he took the filly from his back. The changeling nuzzled the pony child. Even though it was the young of his enemy, changelings did not ever hurt the young of others.

One of the reasons was, all hive mother's larave were very rare. Only once every hundred years was one born. And then, if it died there wouldn't be another till a hundred years had passed again. Changeling larave were already rather uncommon as they often took decades to grow out of the stage were they trusted everything and everyone.

A strength and a weakness all of their own. Changeling parents had to watch carefully, had to make sure that their little ones didn't go to an enemy with open arms. Almost always it would end badly for either the larave or the parents. One could die. At that thought, tears fell unbidden onto the coat of the filly.

He shook his head, and wiped them with a hoof. Magenta Glimmer seemed to also trust quickly, despite how it seemed that the ponies around her didn't care for her as they should. Now in the soft light of the night, he could finally notice that she could have been fed more. Kept a little cleaner. Did the ponies in that house even spare time to play with her?

Teach her how to survive? Tell her stories of how the world came to be? Sing to her the songs of her ancestors? Taught her how to thank them properly? Slowly, she breathed in and out as she slept.

He gazed at her sadly. He would try with all his might to keep her alive until they reached Canterlot. Then he would find her a proper home, one that would take care of her correctly. He laid his head onto her little belly. The sweet smell of the filly sent him to the dreams of those he had lost…

Author's Note:

So the second chapter is up! Hopefully, Magenta Glimmer will be okay. Thank you Blackdust for giving my story such a good rating! Your support made my day! Also thanks to all those to took the time to look at my story. I'll be sure to update frequently.

Comments

[Blackdust]

Dude... That is awesome!

[rainbowtiger00]

7048340 Thank you! This is a first try at a story, and to see someone enjoy it makes me happy.

[Blackdust]

7048439 No problems mate! But... Can you help me with mine...? I like stories that are hook and sinker in the first few lines. I hate prologues, but ever once in awhile, like yours for example, I find one that is slow that I like.