I Am a Pet Changeling

by Queen Sanguine Dreams

A Place to Call Home

"So where are we gonna keep it?" Rough asked. The three of us had wandered downstairs into the very large kitchen, and Rough was digging around inside of the metal box that dominated the room. Soft was in the living room packing papers and other things into a bag. I assumed it was for the school that was mentioned last night by Mom, but Rough didn't seem to have a bag of their own.

"Well we can't just stick 'em in the shed or some hole. There's gotta be somewhere we can keep the Changeling." Soft called back, stuffing more items into their bag.

"We seriously gonna keep callin' this thing 'changeling'? That'd be like if it just called us 'human' all the time. Sure, its accurate, but it ain't personal." Rough answered, producing an apple from the metal box.

"Oh, you wanna get personal with the alien now, huh?" Soft teased.

"All I'm sayin' is that it gets old quick. I'd even call it Bugs or something, like Loony Toons." Rough then bit into the apple, confirming to me that they could eat fruits at least. Why keep it in a metal box though?

"I don't think we can call it Bugs, Ricky." Soft sighed, lifting their bag onto their back with a grunt. "Darn thing gets heavier every semester."

"What, it's not like they can strike us with a copyright claim over an alien." Rough snorted, taking another bite.

"I just think it should be somethin' more personal, you know?"

"How 'bout Crater? It must'a landed here somehow, and judgin' from that crack that used to be on its chest, I'd say that's personal enough."

Soft paused for a moment, about to shoot down the idea but hesitating. "Well, It doesn't seem that bad, but isn't it a little fatalistic?"

"What, you want me to call it something pretty? How 'bout Fireball?" Rough scoffed.

"We ain't naming it after alchohol, Ricky."

"Hey, fire's pretty!" Rough shot back defensively. They then looked at me. "On second thought, I don't know if you can shoot fire from your eyes or your horn or whatever, so I ain't riskin' that."

"I've never tried a fire spell, but I can shapeshift." I provided helpfully. They then both stared at me.

"You can what?" Soft asked hesitantly.

I decided it was better to simply show them than try and explain it with words. My body was engulfed entirely in green flames from my hooves, crawling up to my horn in a second. My disguise of a grey pegasus mare with a white mane and a singular blue stripe along the side was in place, a cutie mark of clouds. It was generic enough to avoid suspicion in Ponyville, and none of the Infiltrators had complained about it, so I assumed it was good enough. I looked down and noticed a slight scorch mark on the tile flooring. "Oh. That doesn't usually happen." I said apologetically with my new voice; one that didn't chitter and waver with every word. It was also lighter than my regular voice, more soothing in case I was caught by the Royal Guard that sometimes patrol around Equestria.

"Yer a girl!?" Rough shouted, backing away from me and using the door of the metal box as cover between us.

"You can shapeshift!?" Soft also exclaimed, though they instead moved closer to me. "You're even more adorable! How is this possible!?"

"I am a changeling?" I offered. "Well, I mean I'm a changeling disguised as a pegasus mare."

Soft then smacked themself in the forehead. "So wait, let me get this straight. You know what a mare is, but not a girl?"

"Why were you askin' it about girls?" Rough inquired, still hiding behind the door.

"I wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl, but it didn't understand what I was saying." Soft then looked at me, "Okay, you know what a mare and a stallion are, right?"

I nodded.

"Okay, so Ricky over there is a stallion, and I'm a mare. Got it?"

Ooooh. That would explain why their voices were so different.

"That is the most adorable 'oh' face I've ever seen. I ain't even ashamed to admit it." Rough replied, chuckling warmly.

"Hey, I just got an idea!" Soft blurted before lightly grabbing onto my sides. "Hey, you can shapeshift, right?"

I blinked. Wasn't that obvious?

"So here's my plan," Soft smiled, looking between Rough and myself. "I know a little girl-- mare... Filly? A little Filly whose birthday is comin' up real soon. You shapeshift out of them wings, and we can prolly let you stay at her place, right?"

"Maria, that's a stupid plan. She ain't even got enough to take care of herself, let alone an alien shape-shifter from space. No way she's gonna take care of no pegasus, pony, unicorn, whatever else the heck this thing can change into." Rough countered skeptically, reaching over the door to take a metal can of some kind from it.

"Okay, so maybe not a pony. How 'bout a dog? Can you copy one of them?" Soft asked me eagerly.

Dogs are scary, but... Winona wasn't that terrifying. I wouldn't have to worry about being spotted by Applejack, or the real Winona either. "I know of a Winona I could turn into?"

"A Winona?" Soft asked, looking at me curiously. "Sure, whatever, let's see it!"

Soft then stood back, and Rough took cover again behind the metal door. A loud pop followed by a fizzing noise and muffled cursing was heard soon after before they poked their head up again.

"I've never done this before, so tell me if you think it looks strange?" I asked, looking between them nervously.

"Okay seriously, do it quick. That pegasus form of yours is gonna give me diabetes at this rate." Rough complained good naturedly. "Let alone the fact that you can become a mythical creature and whatnot."

Mythical? They were everywhere in Equestria! Nevermind, I have a Winona to become. The green flames wicked across my body again, my eyes closing as my view shrank down a few hooves in length. I was now up to their kneecaps in height.

"Oh! You mean a Collie dog!" Soft exclaimed happily. "Those are so cute!" The affection I was receiving from Soft and... surprisingly Rough as well made my tail involuntarily wag. I guess it was similar to how my wings behaved?

"Well, if you go around lookin' like a Collie dog, then I don't think we even need a place to hide you, do we?" Rough smiled.

"What about when Rust and Nellie get back with Mom?" Soft worried, "We don't know how they're gonna react to... erm." Soft paused, looking at me again. "Wow, your eyes are really blue."

"Like... Blue Sun blue." Rough commented in agreement.

Soft looked up hopefully to Rough. "Hey, maybe we could name it that? Blue Sun? Then when they're a dog, we can just call 'em Blue, and it won't even sound strange 'cause of its eyes!"

Rough nodded eagerly in agreement. "That works perfectly!" They both looked down at me again. "Now... we just gotta find out if you're a... mare or stallion, was it?"

"We could just ask." Soft replied, holding my face between their hands. "So, small Collie dog that's really a changeling. What are you? Mare or Stallion?"

Did that really even apply? I could become both, or exist as neither. It all depended on the needs of the hive, or in the case of the Ponyville staging area, necessity.

"Both? Neither?" I replied uncertainly.

"Oh, right. Shapeshifter and everything. We probably should'a guessed that, huh?" Rough commented, taking another sip from the strange metal can with 'Coca-Cola' on the side.

"Well, for the sake of consistency, how 'bout you be female for us? That way there won't be confusion and everything later on when we talk about you, or have to make up stories on the spot." Soft asked.

"Why's it gotta be female? Why not male?" Rough countered.

"You want to answer questions 'bout why Blue has Balls?"

Rough paused for a moment, blinked, and then held a hand over his mouth, brownish fizzy liquid spraying from it as they swiveled towards the sink. "Dangit Maria!" Rough coughed, "That went up my nose!"

I waited patiently while Soft and Rough laughed at their circumstances, looking between the two and basking in the joy they shared. It was a joy that was improved by familial love as well, which made it all the better. I was hungry.

"Well! That settles that, don't it? Little girly Blue can stay here with us, can't she?" Rough chuckled, kneeling down and scratching behind my ears. Surprisingly, It felt pretty nice. I guess it just doesn't feel the same with chitin.

"Wait, does this mean I am named 'Blue' now?" I asked, my ears perking. "I've never had a name before; am I supposed to do something with it?"

"You just be you, Blue." Soft smiled, kneeling down to scratch my other ear. Soft then looked at their watch. "Oh crap! I'm gonna be late for college!"

"Hey! Swear jar!" Rough called after Soft, whom was already half way to the door.

"Crap don't count, Ricky!" Soft called, opening and then shutting the door behind themself.

"Oh sure, Crap don't count when she says it." Rough grumbled. I just looked up at the not-minotaur expectantly, not sure of what to do now that Soft had left. Rough looked down at myself, and my wagging tail. "So. What say you come along with me for a look around town, huh?"

"Is that safe?" I asked.

"Long as you don't talk, we should be fine. I don't know about dogs where you're from, but here, we're the only things that can talk." Rough then looked at me strangely, raising their eyebrow. "Actually, how the heck are you talkin'? Your mouth isn't even moving when you speak.

I shrugged as well as I could in my form. "It's a disguise. It doesn't change my physical form, only my appearance. Well, I mean it does change my form, as far as what I'm made up of, but it won't prevent me from speaking if I were to turn into a rock or anything. I don't become what I shift into, I just take their form."

Rough raised both of their eyebrows now. "You can turn into a rock?" They asked incredulously.

"Yes? I said that aloud, right?"

Rough suddenly chuckled. "I'm gonna skip you across a lake one of these days. Callin' it right now."

"Not if I fly away from you." I countered. "Or dug away from you faster than you could dig towards me."

Rough then clamped my mouth with their hand. "Can you still talk?"

"Yes?" I replied. My mouth was completely shut, but that didn't impede my ability to speak. That wasn't how I spoke in the first place. Rough would have to clamp down on my wings to do that. This was mostly the reason for why new words were so difficult. If I didn't chitter or buzz in the exact right way or frequency, it wouldn't mean anything to whom I was trying to speak.

"You're freaky weird, you know that Blue?"

Author's Note:

Character Development! Story progression! Things happening! Yay!

Jeez this story is exploding with popularity! I would write more often, but I have work!

I'll write when I'm able, or at least once every day or so at the least

Comments

[Sharp77]

............THAT IS SO COOL, HE TALKS LIKE A CICADA!!!!!

[Asaebwyn]

This story is really fun and cute. Please keep the chapters coming!

[Razzy]

Lel. So adorable. All she needs to do is transform into a unicorn and walk into a daycare.

Ooooh, nice method of speech.

[Earthpatriot117]

Love blue!!!

[fractalman]

I'm loving the update frequency; here's to hoping you don't burn out!

[Shadow_Quill]

I like it,
Also, MoonLovingChangeling, I suspect you like changeling stories.

[Prismmirror]

I can't believe you managed to make those accents endearing. Seriously, that is masterful. It's easy to like a clueless changeling. But liking the two humans who regularly interact with it? That's something special.

Also:

My mouth was completely shut, but that didn't impede my ability to speak. That wasn't how I spoke in the first place. Rough would have to clamp down on my wings to do that. This was mostly the reason for why new words were so difficult. If I didn't chitter or buzz in the exact right way or frequency, it wouldn't mean anything to whom I was trying to speak.

I love this idea. It begs a few questions, though. Such as if Blue functions as a normal pony when she turns into the pegasus mare. It would explain the change in voice, which I assume doesn't happen with 'Winona'.

P.S. A dog named Blue? Now you made me think of the anime Wolf's Rain...
images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32700000/Blue-wolfs-rain-32716136-342-369.jpg
...And also Mass Effect (Blue Sun)...

[N4rwh41]

That "talking through wing vibrations" thing is something I haven't really seen begore on this site. It explains why `lings are omniglots (at peast in my head cannon)

[The almighty bread god]

"What, it's not like they can strike us with a copyright claim over an alien."

they're damn well gonna try though.

[Toobert]

Moar!

[thatguy45]

7625556 what the heck is you profile pic

[NecromanCREEEEEE]

7628222 Adhere to your own profile pic.

[Flutterbrony539]

7628222
*Your. And try to be a little more polite next time.

[jack the blu-jay]

7626581 vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/youtubepoop/images/a/aa/Moar_Krabs.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130104115328

[Cursed Quill]

Loony Toons

Looney

alchohol

alcohol

[Marker]

I don't get it. We have two college students coming across a talking, sapient, alien creature and even themselves openly acknowledged the possibility of this being a first contact scenario. But instead of acting like rational adults and oh I don't know, contact the authorities, they instead decided that the best course of action is to conceal said alien from everyone and keep it around like a freak mutant puppy, which is more akine to what you'd expect from a naive kid protagonists from a children's story or something.

In short, the characters here doesn't behave remotely like normal human beings, and I find it immensely frustrating.

[Sweetblue]

7996308
They are silly American teens who have been spoon-fed movies where government is always the bad guys and conspiring to keep them aliens secret. Being rational would be out of character for them me thinks.

[Umbra Animo]

8113082 also they could just be worried what would happen even with out the whole think government is bad

[Starlight Breeze]

Is it okay if I mention a tiny mistake I found?

I'd even call it Bugs or something, like Loony Toons.

Looney Tunes

Loving the story so far. It's really well written and I can't wait to read more.

[ThatBadGuy]

Another male fell to the femdom!
But don't worry Blue! We will remember you!