An Unlikely Encounter | Parts 1 - 18A
Leaves and other debris crunch underneath your boots as you trudge through the undergrowth. You are out on a cool autumn afternoon on one of your routine trips into the Everfree Forest, where you earn a living by harvesting the many rare and magical ingredients that grow deep in that wild forest, something that the average pony would never dare to do.
There is definite danger lurking out here, and you have had more than your share of close encounters, but you are capable of defending yourself, and the pay is good.
After collecting a small patch of Snapcap Mushrooms, you continue on your way into a section of the Everfree that you haven't visited in several months.
You pause as you hear an unusual sound in the distance, a sort of... buzzing noise, you determine.
You listen carefully as the buzzing sounds out for a few seconds, only to stop for several more before repeating. It does not sound like the source of the noise is moving...
You decide to attempt investigating the source of the buzzing noise. Any time you hear something out of the ordinary in this magical forest, you feel both a sense of curiosity and a sense of fear.
You navigate your way through the forest for a few minutes until you finally spot the source of the buzzing, which causes you to pause.
Some distance ahead of you is a strange creature that you recognize as a changeling. You remember reading of them from the books about the various races that inhabit the world along with Equestrian history that Twilight Sparkle loaned you shortly after you first arrived in this world.
This changeling has gotten itself caught in a Tanglehoof Vine. You watch as it struggles in vain to escape, its wings periodically buzzing as it tries to use them in an effort to free itself from the vine, confirming the source of the noise you heard.
You have no idea how long it has been there, but the Tanglehoof is very effective at catching prey and it seems to be just as effective at keeping its prey trapped as well. The changeling's struggles have clearly only managed to entrap it further.
You silently watch as you find yourself faced with a dilemma...
You can't remember all the details about the changeling race from your studies in the books, but you do specifically remember that ponies consider them as vile, evil creatures.
Logically it would be best just to leave it. However, you feel bad knowing the fate that awaits the changeling, either having to suffer starving to death or falling victim to a predator of the forest.
The other part of you feels a little curious about the changeling. You don't know anything about them beyond what was written in the books, so you wonder if this is an opportunity to learn first hand about them. Are they truly as evil as the ponies make them out to be?
You are torn between wanting to save it and not wanting anything to do with it.
You think about the nature of Tanglehoof Vines:
Tanglehoof Vines are a type of magical plant that grows within the Everfree Forest.
Tanglehoof Vines react suddenly when something comes in contact with them, quickly wrapping around and ensnaring whatever disturbed the vine. Attempting to struggle only makes things worse.
The vines are strong and durable, though they can be easily destroyed by fire, magic, or cut with a sharp object.
Becoming ensnared by Tanglehoof Vines is frequently fatal for those who are either not strong enough to break free by force, use magic, or use a sharp object. Causes of death can include asphyxiation, starvation, exposure to the elements, and attacks by wild animals.
You decide to attempt speaking with the changeling. As you cautiously draw close to it, the changeling notices you with wide blue eyes full of fear as it redoubles its efforts to try and struggle free from the vines.
You notice that the changeling must have been here for awhile, as it's terribly caught within the vines. You watch as the vines react to its renewed struggles as more vines wrap around it, further reducing its ability to move.
Suddenly, the changeling ceases its struggles as it gasps for breath, clearly exhausted.
"Please... Help... D-Don't hurt me, please..." the changeling struggles to say as it looks up at you with a pleading look in its eyes.
You find yourself staring at the changeling in surprise; you didn't expect it to speak to you, let alone beg so pathetically for your help. You feel yourself being somewhat compelled to help it, but...
You feel your empathy tugging at your heart as you cannot bear to see the poor thing suffer any longer like this. You decide to take action as you kneel down next to the mass of vines that ensnare the changeling.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." You say as you unsheathe your knife and begin cutting away at the Tanglehoof Vines.
You watch the vines immediately become limp like wet noodles after you sever each one, making them easy to remove. The changeling silently watches you with wide blue eyes the entire time with no discernible expression.
Finally, you cut the last of the vines as the changeling appears to visibly relax slightly as it takes longer, deeper breaths. You place your knife back in its sheath before reaching out and unwrapping the vines from around the poor creature.
As you do, however, you are quickly taken aback by what you see, as the more you uncover the changelings body, the more you see how it appears to be severely anorexic.
The changelings smooth black body appears largely sunken in, clearly exposing the contours of its ribs and other bones. Its legs have many pronounced holes in them, noticeably more than what you remember the illustrations in the books depicting them as. While its face is still mostly the same, you can see that its eyes are sunken in and its cheeks are severely hollowed, giving it a gaunt expression.
You can't help but wonder again just how long this changeling was caught in the Tanglehoof, or if it was already starving prior to that happening.
Regardless, you can tell that it must have been using the last of its strength in an attempt to escape, as its now struggling to rise to its hooves.
"Woah there, slow down for a moment. I don't think you're ready to get up quite yet." You say as you attempt to reach out and support the changeling.
"N-No! I'm... fine!" It unconvincingly says as it finally makes it up onto all fours. You watch as it begins to move away from you, only to end up stumbling along several feet before bumping into a tree and falling to the ground again.
"Alright, you need to stop doing that." You say as you kneel down next to the changeling and gently rest your hand on its side in an effort to keep it down.
"I... I can do this myself... I-I'm not a burden... I'm still useful!" It weakly protests as its blue eyes begin to well up with tears.
"Look, you really need some help right now. You're not going to make it out here in your current condition. Just tell me what you need." You say reassuringly to the changeling.
The changeling pauses for a moment as it looks at you. You can see it struggling with something internally before it speaks again.
"I... I'm hungry..." It says as its head droops down in defeat.
"I'm sure you are." You say as you pause to try and recollect more of the information that you read about the changeling race in the books. You remember it being noted that they primarily fed from the emotion of love to fuel their unique magic, but you can't remember if that sustained them physically or not.
"Do you eat and drink normal food?" You ask the changeling.
"Yes... I'm hungry..." It says as it turns its head away from you.
"Alright, alright. Don't worry, I'll get you something to eat. Just tell me what you like." You say, attempting to reassure the creature.
"I like fruit..." It eventually responds.
"Fruit? Okay... I'm afraid I don't have any food with me, but you can have this." You say as you remove a container of water from one of your bags before opening it and holding it out to the changelings mouth.
The creature stares at it for a moment before its mouth slowly opens and lets you feed it the water. It eagerly swallows the water as you let more dribble into its mouth.
"Thirsty... Thank you." It says as it finishes drinking.
You smile as you put the container back in your bag.
"Now then. I'm going to carry you out of here now. I don't want you to worry about anything, okay? Just relax." You say.
"O... Okay..." The changeling says before you use your arms to pick it up.
You begin walking back through the forest with the changeling in your arms for a while. It's surprisingly light despite its approximately waist high size, no doubt missing a lot of weight from its apparent starvation. It also occurs to you that you're not entirely sure what this creatures gender is yet, or if it even has a name. Though you suppose such things can wait until later, as there are more pressing issues at hand.
After walking a good distance while carrying the changeling, you decide to take a moment to rest and collect your thoughts.
"We're taking a moment so I can catch my breath. Just lay down here and don't strain yourself." You say as you kneel down and gently rest the changeling on the ground. You then stand back up straight and lean backwards to stretch your muscles.
"Thank you... for saving me. I'm sorry that I'm causing you trouble." The changeling says.
You give the changeling a light nod. "Don't worry about it." You say as you idly scan the surrounding forest while you think about what to do next.
It occurs to you that if what you read in the books were true and that ponies view changelings in a strongly negative light, there may be trouble if it's seen while you're carrying it back to your home. You've seen how the ponies can be rather... zealous in what they believe in.
Granted, your home was built on the outskirts of Ponyville where there is little foot traffic, so that lessens the risk somewhat. You figure that you could also cover the changeling with one of your outer layers of clothing in the final stretch of walking to your home.
In addition, you would guess that it is around mid-afternoon now. Most ponies are likely going to be at the market purchasing their food and other goods for the evening anyway.
Your mind also turns to Zecora as a possibility...
It would be quite a trek to reach her home deep in the Everfree from your current position. You estimate it would take roughly 45 minutes to walk to her home, versus about 13 for the remaining distance to your own home.
Another thought strikes your mind as you turn your attention back to the changeling for a moment to stare at it. What if other races besides ponies hate changelings too? There's no guarantee that a zebra like Zecora would be accepting of it.
You let out a deep sigh as you prepare to get moving again. One thing is for certain, however, and that is you're definitely going to be borrowing those books from Twilight again. You want to know more about this changeling race. This one that you've rescued is seemingly not evil... Yet.
You decide that returning to your home is the only plan that makes sense.
You kneel back down and wrap your arms around the changeling. "Up we go." You say as you rise back to your feet and continue on your way.
Walking the remaining distance is uneventful as you leave behind the Everfree and move into the normal vegetation as you near your home. You decided to take a slightly roundabout way so that the final distance between tree and underbrush cover and the relatively open field between your home is minimal.
Upon seeing your home in the distance, you set the changeling back down on the ground as you proceed to remove a backpack of sorts that contains your forages and other things, followed by your coat that you wear in colder weather.
The changeling notices this and looks up at you with curiosity. "What are you doing?" It asks.
"My home, which is just outside of Ponyville, is up ahead. I've heard that ponies don't think too highly of changelings, to say the least. So I'm going to hide you with this coat." You explain.
The changeling seems to cringe slightly at your mention of Ponyville and the ponies.
"P-Ponyville...? Oh..." It mutters as it begins to look worried.
"Relax, it'll be fine. Most of the ponies should be at the marketplace or somewhere else right now, not around here." You say in an attempt to reassure the changeling as you lay your coat over it before putting your backpack on once again.
"Let's get this over with." You say as you pick up the changeling with your coat draped over it. It definitely will obscure what you're holding from a distance, but you hope that you're not going to meet any ponies in the next short distance.
You step out into the open and begin to walk as quickly as possible without looking suspicious. As you walk, you look around and can see a few ponies off in the far distance, along with some pegasi flying over the main part of town. Thankfully, there doesn't appear to be any close by.
You hear some shouting and look over to see a group of three young fillies running around and playing with each other. You sigh in relief when you see that they aren't paying any attention to you.
You feel the changeling press itself against your body as it hears the voices of the fillies in the distance. "We're almost there." You reassuringly say.
Soon enough, you make it to your front door, and quickly unlock it and head inside, locking it again behind you.
You let out a sigh of relief as you walk over to a simple sofa and gently rest the changeling on it, removing your coat from it as you do so.
"Here we are. Home sweet home. It's not much, but it's mine." You say.
The changeling looks around nervously as it rests on the sofa.
"Listen, I'm going to head into town now to sell what I collected today, and to buy some food for both of us." You begin saying as the changeling stares at you with its full attention.
You then proceed to take a few minutes to explain the layout of your home and approximately where everything it might need is.
"...and if anyone comes up to the door and knocks, don't answer it, okay?" You conclude.
The changeling nods its head in understanding.
"Okay..." It quietly says, still looking a bit nervous.
"Good, that should be about it. Let's see now..." You trail off as you walk over to your small kitchen.
The changeling watches you with interest as you rummage around before returning to the sofa with a small tray.
"Here you go, something to get you started." You say as you set the tray down on a small table in front of the sofa. The tray has a few apples, a glass of water, and a pitcher to refill the glass.
The changeling stares at it for a moment before repeatedly looking back and forth between you and the tray a few times.
"This... This is all for me?" It asks, almost sounding unsure of the gesture.
"Of course. Is this fine? You said you liked fruit." You ask it.
"Y-Yes! Thank you!" The changeling happily replies as you watch its horn briefly glow with green magic as it levitates an apple over to itself before grabbing it with its hooves and eagerly eating it.
You smile as you walk over to a different part of the room and grab a blanket, which you lay over the changelings body to help keep it warm.
"I'll be back as soon as I can. Remember, don't answer the door if there's a knock. I doubt anyone will stop by here, but it's a possibility." You say.
The changeling nods as it continues to eat its apple.
You head back outside, and after locking the door once again, begin your walk on the dirt roads towards the main part of Ponyville.
Along the way, you begin to meditate on the nature of your new guest. You wonder just what exactly you're going to do from this point forward.
Before too long, however, you find yourself arriving in the heart of Ponyville. Several ponies happily wave at you as they trot by.
Now then, you have things to do...
You immediately get to work visiting your regular customers who buy your goods harvested from the Everfree Forest. The walk to each house doesn't take too long and you begin to sell the items you have on hand. In relatively little time you successfully sell everything and feel a satisfying weight from the bit bag hanging off your belt.
You take a moment to consider what to do next. You begin to wonder if it would be a good idea to try and confide in one of the ponies you know about the changeling.
There are a few ponies who you consider to be your friend, but you're not confident in those friendships being strong enough to just drop it on them. You need to feel this out somehow...
After some forethought, you decide to hopefully accomplish two things at once and visit Ponyville's library. You've been meaning to visit it again for a while now.
After a few minutes of walking through the streets, you arrive at the Golden Oak Library.
You walk up to the door of the library and knock a few times before entering.
"Anon! Is that you?" you hear a voice shout from upstairs.
"Yeah, Twilight. It's me," you reply. You enter and see her quickly trotting down the stairs.
"Anon! How are you? What have you been up to?" The purple unicorn mare happily says to you with a beaming smile.
"I've been doing quite well. Just returned from another trip to the Everfree." You say with a smile.
"Another one? You're always going off to that strange forest. Did you encounter any new plants or herbs? If you did, you can always bring them here and we can try and look them up in the botany books!" Twilight eagerly says.
You chuckle at the bookworms enthusiasm. "I'm afraid not. But when I do I'll know where to go." You say.
A small awkward silence falls between the two of you until you hear some noise coming from upstairs before you hear the voice of Spike. "Hey Twilight! Are you coming back up here? How did you want these things sorted?" You hear the young dragon call out.
"O-Oh! Just a minute, Spike!" Twilight responds before turning her attention back to you with a sheepish look on her face.
"Sorry Anon, I'm really busy organizing some things and Spike is helping me out. I should get back to that... Did you need something?" She asks.
"Oh, um... Yeah, do you remember that book on the different races that I read before? Are there any more like that?" You ask.
"Yes, of course! Let me just..." The young unicorn mare trails off as she trots over to some of the bookshelves, pulling three of them away with her magic before returning to you.
"If that's what you're interested in, here you go!" Twilight says as she hands the books over to you with her magic, which you in turn grab with your hands.
"Thanks, Twilight. I appreciate it." You say as you carefully put the books in your backpack.
"No problem, Anon. So... What made you want to learn more about this?" She asks.
"Well it's, uh..." You stumble over your words as you suddenly feel slightly nervous. You wonder if this is really the best time for this. Should you confide right now in Twilight?
"I... I was ju-" You begin before being interrupted by the impatient voice of Spike from up above "Twilight! Alphabetical, or chronological?" The young dragon calls out.
Twilight immediately snaps to attention with a worried look on her face. "Be right there, Spike!" She yells back as she turns around and begins to trot back up the stairs.
You watch as the purple bookworm stops for a moment to look back at you. "Sorry Anon! Let's talk about this more later, okay? I really want to hear what you have to say!" She says before hurrying up the rest of the stairs.
You say nothing in response as you feel a sense of relief wash over you. Yes, maybe another time would be better...
You head back outside of the library and stop to look up at the sky. You guess that there's around two hours left until sunset. You feel like you should hurry and buy your goods from the market before it closes.
You go ahead to the market and do business with the various ponies that are still set up there. You acquire a few pounds of dried oats, several apples, a jar of honey, a jar of blueberry jam, and a fresh loaf of bread.
You also decide to purchase a small vial of what you can only describe as a vitamin potion. You're still not entirely sure what they're made from or how they are produced, but they are often given to sick ponies. They're not cheap, but you don't have much in the way of expenses compared to the income you gain.
You feel it's worth it, as you have a suspicion that the changeling in your care has been in poor health for longer than you care to imagine, given its appearance.
Satisfied with everything you've done in Ponyville for today, you begin your short journey back home on the well worn dirt roads.
Along the way, you look around you and appreciate the autumn beauty surrounding you. The leaves are in full display with vibrant hues of orange, red, and yellow as they rustle in the breeze. The grass is a lush green. The sun is shining brightly overhead, though the chill reminds you that winter is drawing near.
Though you had similar sights and sounds on Earth, you always end up marveling at how pure and untainted this world is, a quality that you deeply appreciate.
As you begin approaching your home, you are suddenly reminded of the changeling you rescued and wonder about what you should do with it.
Assuming you successfully nurse it back to health and it turns out to truly be friendly... Then what? Send it on its way? Try and introduce it to the ponies, who may very well have a real hatred of them?
The thought frustrates you, but you know that attempting to keep it hidden forever is a pointless endeavor. But how do you approach any other option?
You set those thoughts aside for now as you arrive at your front door.
You quietly unlock and open the door, unsure of what exactly is going to await you on the other side. After seeing or hearing nothing inside, you enter and shut the door behind you, locking it again in the process.
"It's me, I'm back." You say as you look around the entrance to your home. You hear no response.
You quietly walk over to the living area with your sofa where you see the changeling laying with the blanket still covering it.
A slight panic grips you as you wonder if the changeling died while you were gone, but with close observation you see the slow rise and fall of its breath.
You smile when you realize that it's just sleeping. You look and see that it ate all of the apples you left for it, and drank nearly the full pitcher of water.
Thinking about the apples brings your thoughts to your own hunger. It's time to make some dinner.
You leave the sleeping changeling to its rest as you walk over to your small kitchen area. You begin bringing some water to a boil while you set out the things you bought from the market, in addition to the books that Twilight loaned you.
While you wait on the water to boil, you take the apples and chop them into bite sized chunks. You then take the loaf of fresh bread and cut off a few slices to toast in a few minutes.
The water eventually comes to a boil, to which you add some of the oats along with the chopped apples, which you proceed to stir together at a simmer.
Soon enough, the hot oatmeal is ready and divided into two bowls. You finish it off by drizzling some honey on top along with a light dusting of cinnamon. You also quickly toast the slices of bread and spread some of the blueberry jam onto them.
A simple meal that is perhaps more suited for breakfast than dinner, or at least how it would be considered back on Earth, but it's easy to eat. You hope the changeling likes it.
Speaking of which, you look across the room and notice that the changeling is once again awake and watching you intently from the couch.
"Hey there." You say as you begin bringing the food over to the small table in front of the couch. The changeling silently watches you as you do so.
You refill the pitcher of water and bring it back along with your own glass, which you promptly fill along with the changelings.
Finally, you pull up a chair to the opposite side of the table and sit down, making yourself comfortable.
The changeling with its curious blue eyes continues to stare at you, in which you do the same.
"I imagine that you're still hungry, right? This is what I made for dinner... Or at least what I hope you can eat." You say as you gesture towards the steaming hot bowl of oatmeal with one of your hands. The changelings eyes appear to go slightly wider in surprise as it looks down at the bowl of oatmeal in front of it, before alternating between you and the bowl several times.
"This... This is all for... me?" It quietly says, almost sounding in disbelief.
"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't it be? Dig in." You say as you pick up your own bowl and begin eating.
You watch as a big, happy smile suddenly forms on the changelings face. "I-I... Thank you! Thank you!" It happily exclaims as it begins eating its own bowl of oatmeal.
"It's delicious!" It says as it eagerly eats the food. You don't think it's that great, but it makes you happy that it's acceptable for the changeling. Though you suppose anything must taste wonderful to someone who is starving...
You pick up and begin eating a piece of toast with blueberry jam on it. The bread, however... Nothing beats fresh bread that was baked that day, the jam is simply a bonus.
You eat together in silence for awhile, until you notice that the changeling has stopped about halfway through its bowl. It appears to be looking down at it deep in thought.
"Is something wrong?" You ask it.
"Why are you doing all of this for me?" The changeling asks as it looks up at you.
You find yourself caught slightly off guard by its question. Does it think you have an ulterior motive? In your mind, you shouldn't need a reason to help someone in need, it's just the right thing to do.
"Well... Shouldn't that be obvious? Where I am from, it's just normal to help others in need, and from what I've seen of the ponies that is true in this land too." You say.
"The ponies would have left me there." The changeling abruptly replies with a frown on its face.
"What? Why do you say that?" You ask the changeling. You've read that the ponies dislike changelings, but even then you find it hard to imagine the loving ponies leaving another sentient being to die.
"Because they hate us... Most races do." The changeling says as it looks away from you, confirming what you've read.
"Why? Just because you're a changeling?" You ask.
The changeling gives you no response, however. You let out a sigh as you think about this reality.
"Thankfully I'm not most races then, huh? You're the first of your kind that I've ever met, and I know next to nothing about you. I have no reason to hate you, and every reason to help." You say.
The changeling turns to look at you once again. It gives no response, but seems to be thinking about what you've said.
"How did you end up in that situation anyway? What were you doing out there in the Everfree?" You ask the changeling.
Immediately the changeling looks like you pained it with your question, looking very unhappy.
"I... I wasn't useful anymore. I had become a... burden." It says in a sad voice as it looks down between its forelegs.
You feel really bad for bringing this subject up now. Silence fills the room as you wonder what to say, but the changeling begins speaking again...
"The hive is... struggling. We have been struggling for many years now, but then things got worse, and... and then there wasn't enough love to support all of us anymore." It says.
"First there were volunteers to leave, but it wasn't enough. Then the weak and undesirables had to leave, w-which included... me..." The changeling continues as you hear its voice begin to become strained. It sounds like it wants to cry.
"M-Males like me aren't as important o-or valuable as the females of my kind in the hive... I-I was left to fend for myself, but I was too starved to transform anymore, so I ran into the forests to hide from the ponies, when... when I..." The changeling trails off for several seconds, before speaking again.
"I w-was sure that I was going to die like that, b-but... But! I-I wanted to live! I c-can still be useful to somepony! I'm n-not u-useless!!" He cries out, finally giving way to tears.
You suddenly feel awful for the poor changeling quietly sobbing into his hooves in front of you. You sit in a stunned silence, your mind racing as it struggles to imagine wherever this changeling came from being in such dire circumstances that ones like him had to be forced away.
You don't understand yet why any of that had to be necessary, though you know that you're dealing with a unique race that you still know next to nothing about. You hope that your books and this changeling, who you now know is apparently male, will be able to explain more to you.
However, as you look at the crying changeling, you know that's not what's important right now...
You set your bowl of oatmeal down and rise up, moving over to the other side of the table before kneeling in front of the changeling on the sofa.
You lean forward and gently wrap your arms around the changeling in a comforting embrace. The changeling tenses up for a moment before breaking into his sobbing once more and hugging back tightly, his body quivering.
"There, there... It's okay. You're safe now." You say softly.
You hold the changeling for a few minutes as he cries into you. In response, you occasionally give his withers a gentle, comforting pat with your hand.
Eventually the changeling begins to calm down as he nuzzles into your neck.
You tense up at the sudden sensation of the changelings fangs pressing against your skin, but you persist in your attempt at comforting him.
"Shhhhh... It's okay..." You whisper.
The changeling seems to relax and begins to hug you less tightly.
"I'm sorry." He says, a hint of embarrassment in his voice.
"It's okay. You sound like you've been through a lot... We all need a shoulder to cry on sometimes." You reassure him.
"I suppose so..." He says, his quivering beginning to subside.
You sit like that for a while before the changeling pulls away from you, wiping his eyes before looking at you with a warm smile.
"Thank you... All the kindness you have showed means a lot to me." He says.
"You're welcome. Now then... Let's not let our dinner get cold." You say with a smile as you get up and move back to your own seat.
You both continue to eat in relative silence, broken only by the changeling commenting on how delicious it finds the toast with blueberry jam.
Now finished with both of your meals, you take a sip of your glass of water as you stare at the changeling. There's many things you want to ask him, but where do you begin?
"So, uh... Do you have a name?" You ask the changeling, breaking the silence between you.
"Oh! Yes, I haven't introduced myself have I? My name is Notaulix." He answers.
"Notaulix, huh? My name is Anonymous. You can just call me Anon though, most ponies do." You say.
"Anon? That's an interesting name, but... What exactly are you? I have never seen another like you before." Notaulix says.
"Human. The one and only in this world as far as I know." You answer.
The changeling's eyes widen in surprise at your statement. "R-Really? You're the only one of your kind? Where... Where did you come from?" Notaulix asks.
"That's... A long story." You begin as you pause to glance at a clock, noting that it will be nighttime soon. "Do you mind if we save that for another time? I actually had a few questions that I was hoping to ask you before it gets too late." You ask.
Notaulix nods in response. "Of course, I understand."
"Well, where to begin... The simple truth is that I know hardly anything about your kind. Not long after I arrived in this world I was provided a book that gave a brief overview on the difference races, which included changelings." You say.
"What did the book say about us?" Notaulix asks.
"It didn't exactly present changelings in a positive light..." You admit.
"O-Oh..." Notaulix says with a frown.
"When I was in Ponyville earlier I borrowed a few more books that are supposed to have more information... Of course all of these books were written by ponies, so I'm expecting the tone of the books to be the same. Don't worry about that though, I don't hold any preconceived ideas about you or your kind. I want to find the truth myself, so I'm hoping you can help me find that." You say.
"Of course. I will answer all of your questions to the best of my abilities." Notaulix happily says with a smile.
"Great! First thing's first; what exactly is love to a changeling? Do you actually feed off an emotion somehow? You mentioned that your... hive, didn't have enough love to support everyone. Do you need it in order to live or what?" You ask.
"Love is what fuels our magic. Yes, we do feed from the actual emotion itself. We do not need love in order to live, but... it is still essential. A changeling without love cannot transform, and a changeling that cannot transform has great difficulty gathering love, which makes them require support from the hive, which makes them a... burden.... Like me." Notaulix answers with a frown.
"It sounds like it's very hard for you to gather love even when transformed." You say.
"Not at all! In fact, you've been feeding me with love since you rescued me!" Notaulix says in a cheery tone.
Your mind grinds to an immediate halt as you try to process what the changeling just said.
"W-What?! What do you mean? I-I'm pretty sure that I don't... you know, love you! We've only known each other for a couple hours at best!" You stammer as you feel your cheeks flushing out of embarrassment from the implications of what Notaulix just said.
You watch as Notaulix's eyes go slightly wide before breaking into a brief fit of laughter.
"Hehehe! I'm sorry, Anon. Let me explain... Love comes in different forms. Yes, there is the love that exists between two special someponies, which is the strongest type of love. I didn't mean that you were feeding me with THAT type of love!" Notaulix begins with a smile.
"There is love between family and friends, and then there is love given through simple acts of kindness, generosity and empathy. That last form is the most common for us to feed from, and is what you have been providing me. It's the weakest source, but it's plentiful." Notaulix continues.
You chuckle as you feel yourself calming down. "I see. That makes a lot more sense." You say.
"So love just basically powers your magic? Is that all?" You ask.
"Well... That magical power is also responsible for holding our bodies together." Notaulix answers.
"Huh? What do you mean?" You inquire further.
Notaulix stares at you in silence for several seconds before responding.
"Being a race that transforms into others, our bodies are more magical than a pony or a griffin. Even being in our natural form is a drain on our magic... A very small one of course, but..." Notaulix pauses as he lifts up one of his forelegs.
"This is what begins to happen to us when we are starved of love. Our hooves, legs, wings, horn, ears... Holes start forming in them. We can't control it, it's a survival reaction to lessen the drain on what little love we have left." Notaulix says as he lowers his foreleg back down.
"That's... That's awful. Does that just keep getting worse the more starved you become?" You ask, fearing the answer.
You feel your heart sink as the changeling only slowly nods his head with a sad look in his eyes. You don't want to know about what ultimately happens to a completely starved changeling.
"I... I see... Thanks for explaining that to me Notaulix, I appreciate it." You say as you let out a small sigh, eager to steer the conversation somewhere hopefully less depressing.
"Hmm... It's going to be nighttime soon, I think that's enough for now." You begin as you stand up and stretch. "Do you mind sleeping here on the couch tonight? To be honest, I never expected to have anyone stay the night with me here, so the only bed here is mine." You continue.
"I don't mind at all." Notaulix responds.
"Perfect, I'm going to go shower in a moment and get ready for bed then." You say as you collect the dishes and bring them back to the kitchen.
"Do you need anything else?" You ask the changeling as you walk across the room, activating magical lanterns that hang from the ceiling in anticipation for the sudden transition to nighttime.
"No, I'm fine, thank you." He responds.
You nod as you walk into the hallway leading to your room and the bathroom. You first stop in your bedroom to grab a change of clothes before heading in to the bathroom.
As you do so, you hear both the clock in your bedroom and the living room play their little chime which announces that moonrise will be in 15 minutes. It took you awhile to accept the absurdity of the sun and moon being controlled by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, with the abrupt transition that occurs when they raise and lower their respective celestial bodies. You quickly learned to appreciate the ubiquitous clocks of this land that play a simple tune 15 minutes before each transition.
With fresh clothes in hand, you head into the bathroom and lock the door behind you.
After activating the magic lantern in the bathroom, you undress as you step into the shower. You let out a content sigh as you enjoy the feeling of the hot water washing away the sweat and dirt of the day.
As you clean yourself, your mind wanders as you meditate on the events of the day. Where do you go from here?
You wonder what you're going to do with Notaulix. You want to continue helping him, but you're not quite sure how.
What if the ponies reject him and turn hostile? What if he betrays your trust once he regains his strength? What if...
Your train of thought is broken as the light coming through the windows quickly begins to change. Soon enough you are left with the pale bluish glow of the magic lantern illuminating the room. You quickly finish washing and turn off the water.
You step out of the shower and dry yourself off with a nearby towel. You then proceed to get dressed in your clean clothes.
You exit the bathroom and return to the living room, where you find that Notaulix has already made himself comfortable on the sofa with a pillow under his head.
"Everything good over here?" You ask him with a gentle smile.
"Yes... I'm sorry for being such a burden to you, Anon." Notaulix says as he looks up at you.
"You're not a burden at all. In fact, I've enjoyed your company... Haven't had any in awhile." You respond.
Notaulix smiles as he continues staring up at you.
"Well... Good night. Tomorrow's another day." You say as you begin turning off the magic lanterns.
"Good night." You hear him say.
You arrive in your bedroom and close the door behind you. However, a thought crosses your mind that fills you with unease...
As you stare at your bedroom door, you realize that doesn't have any sort of lock on it.
You trust the changeling for the most part, but is it a good idea to leave yourself so vulnerable while sleeping?
Looking around your bedroom, you see that you could use a chair to prop against the door, or you could just leave it be and go to bed.
In the end, you decide to trust the changeling and not bother with blocking off your bedroom door.
Besides, your squeaky door hinge would likely wake you up if he does try to sneak into the room.
Placing a magic lantern on the nightstand, you remove your shirt and pants before climbing into your bed.
After making yourself comfortable under the covers, you reach over and turn off the magic lantern, immediately plunging the bedroom into darkness.
You let out a sigh as you stare up into the darkness, your mind mulling over the events of the day as you await sleep to overtake you.
Sleep does not come easy, however, as you cannot shake the lingering sense of danger in your mind.
After tossing and turning for an unknown amount of time, you eventually drift off to sleep...
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Hey nice story! It’s comment driven right? In that case I propose asking twilight about changing defectors if the canterlot invasion has happened or if not then if there is any precedent for friendly changlings. If she gets suspicious use her element against her and say you were curious about it and so asked the most knowledgeable person on friendship you knew.
10915964
It's comment driven, but this CYOA has already been running for a while now. The writer is current in the process is adapting the existing parts for Fimfic.
10915964
Hey there, I appreciate the enthusiasm! Marker is correct, there is a large amount of preexisting content for this story, which I am working on getting reformatted and added to here in chapters.
Once everything is up to date, reader participation will resume. There will be more information regarding that when it's time.
10916000
Sounds great can’t wait to see it!
I would honestly expect the changeling to end up coming into his room to sleep with him cause of a nighqre or something XD. But I'd say ya, he could go to twilight and call her a hypocrite if she has animosity towards the changeling. Other than that I'd say have anon ask notaulix about how changeling society works more in depth.
#changelinglivesmatter
I have never really considered the common life effects of having the sun just say "Well, I'm tired!" and everything going dark instantly.
Notaulix: A longitudinal furrow in the anterior part of the mesonotum of various insects.
I like what you did there continuing idea of Changelings being named after types of insects or the parts of insects!
10918512
he shall be renamed Amongus