Chibi Changeling

by Yukito

Meeting Berry Punch

Berry Pinch gasped and released her spell as she saw Rumble charging towards her. She yelped as he grabbed her by her shoulders and pushed her down to the ground, pinning her forelegs to the floor to make sure she couldn’t run away. “R-Rumble…”

“What did you do?! Is my brother okay?! What are you, and what was that spell you used on my brother?!”

Rumble shook the frightened filly back-and-forth as he demanded answers from her, and Berry Pinch weeped as the back of her head hit the floor, sending waves of pain through her and sending chills through her body. “P-Please, stop…”

“Fix my brother! Make him better, right now! Or I’ll tell everypony what you are… CHANGELING!”

Berry Pinch gasped, and started to struggle against Rumble’s hold. ‘No! Not that! Anything but that! If the ponies find out what I really am…’ Images of changelings hanging from gallows passed through her mind.

“Pinchy, dear, you must listen to me. This is very important. You must not, under any circumstances, let anypony know what you really are. Do you understand? Ponies and changelings can never co-exist. If it was discovered that we are changelings, we would be forced to leave. Our home would be burned to the ground, and we would be hunted down like animals.

“So no matter what happens, you must keep your true identity a secret. Even from your best friends.”

Berry Pinch stopped struggling, and chocked back a few sobs as she looked up into Rumble’s enraged face. ‘If he tells everypony what I really am, then mommy and I will have to leave! I don’t want to leave! I like it here! I have friends, and so does mum!’

“Well?! Say something!”

“PLEASE, MOMMY! PLEASE SAVE ME! ERASE HIS MEMORY, HURRY! HE’S GOING TO TELL EVERYPONY WHAT WE ARE, AND THEN WE’LL HAVE TO LEAVE! I DON’T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN! PLEASE… Please…”

The two remained silent for a bit, and for a while, nothing seemed to happen. However, before Rumble could continue his interrogation, he felt a hoof on his shoulder, and quickly spun around to find a light-purple mare behind him.

“Sleep,” she said, her own eyes glowing with green flames as she stared down into the colt’s. Rumble tried to say something, but soon felt his consciousness slipping away, and soon began to fall forward, eventually landing in the mare’s forehooves.

“Mommy… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Berry Punch shook her head, and reached over to pull her daughter into a comforting hug. “It’s okay, Berry Pinch. It’s all okay, now. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. You know that.” After a brief mother-daughter moment, Berry Punch pulled away and looked over at Thunderlane. “Now to deal with him…” She looked down at the colt lying in her forehooves. “… And this one, too.”

---

Rumble let out a groan as he slowly opened his eyes. “Ngh… What happened? I remember going to the library, and then…” The colt let out a gasp as he suddenly remembered the incident with his brother, and his eyes shot open completely. He saw the face of the mare from earlier looking down at him, and he soon realised that she was pinning him down onto a couch.

Berry Punch simply smiled at the frightened colt. “Pinchy dear, it seems our guest is awake now! Could you fetch a glass of water please?”

Rumble heard hoofsteps behind him, and tried to say something, but the words caught in his throat as the mare above him leaned her head down, touching her forehead to his own, their muzzles mere inches apart from each other.

“Good. You don’t seem to have a fever. I was afraid, since I’m not very good at using the sleep spell.”

Rumble, not quite sure what else he could possibly do in this situation, quickly extended his forelegs forward, pushing the mare off of him and sending her crashing down onto the floor beneath them. He then jumped off of the couch, and quickly began looking around for an exit. Instead, he found a startled Unicorn filly, holding a glass of water in her magic.

“YOU!” he shouted, stumbling backwards a few steps as the mare picked herself up off of the floor.

“Ow… It’s good that you’re energetic, but did you have to be so rough?” The mare moved over to the couch that Rumble had previously been resting on, and lay down onto her stomach. “Pinchy dear, could you give your dear old mother a massage?” she asked in a whine.

Berry Pinch sighed, and lay the glass of water down onto a nearby table. “Are you going to explain why we brought him here now? I thought we were supposed to erase the memories of those who found out what we are.”

“Yes, well, naturally, that was my original intention when he first saw you feeding.” Berry Pinch began to press her hooves into her mother’s back. “Ooh, that’s good. Anyway, this colt intrigued me. He saw you feeding, and yet, he told nopony. Well, he questioned that farmer pony, Applejack, about you, but never directly told her that you cast some kind of spell on her.

“Not to mention, despite the fact that he was researching you, he still kept his suspicions about you a secret.” Berry Punch looked up at Rumble, who was eyeing them both cautiously. “Tell me… Rumble, was it?” Rumble nodded. “My name is Berry Punch. It’s nice to meet you finally. Tell me, what were your intentions if you had discovered that my daughter was a changeling?”

“… I… I don’t know.”

“Why were you so curious, then? Where you hoping you could sell her out to the Royal Guard? Or perhaps, you were hoping you could blackmail her with that information?”

“Of course not! I wouldn’t do that to somepony! I was just… Well, you changelings feed off of love, right?” Berry Punch nodded. “I… just wanted to make sure that those you fed off of… weren’t being harmed in any way.” Rumble gasped as he remembered his brother. “My brother! Is he okay?! Berry Pinch cast some kind of spell on him! Was she feeding off of his love?!”

“Settle down,” Berry Punch said in a gentle tone, which seemed to have the desired effect on the young colt. “First, to answer your question, ponies that changelings feed off of can either be harmed, or not. It depends on the changeling. Myself, I only ever take what I need, and never too much from any one pony. And Pinchy here is new to feeding, but so far, she’s done a great job at making sure nopony is harmed.” She gave her daughter a proud smile, and Berry Pinch simply blushed and averted her gaze in response.

“So… Thunderlane’s okay?” Berry Punch nodded. “But, what about his love? He loves Blossomforth, and was going to ask her out next week! Does he no longer love her, now that she’s fed off of it?”

“Ordinarily, ponies that changelings feed off of temporarily feel less love. That’s why, as a rule of thumb, I personally only feed off of ponies that have so much love, that the change wouldn’t be a threat to the pony’s relationship.” Rumble looked confused, so Berry Punch decided to elaborate. “Well, you’ve probably seen it before, where couples that were so lovey-dovey one moment, suddenly have fights over seemingly unnecessary things? Or maybe, they even start to hate each other’s guts, only to make up and be back together in a few days?

“When that happens, for the most part, it’s because a changeling is involved. A changeling has sucked away some of the love from the relationship, but that love will inevitably return. However, after experiencing life without that love, it is entirely possible that one of the two ponies in the relationship will decide that they’re better off apart. Do you understand?”

“Kinda…” Rumble looked over at Berry Pinch, who was doing her best not to meet his gaze.

“However, Berry Pinch is different.” Rumble turned his attention back to the mare on the couch. “Rather than feeding off of love, Pinchy gives love to ponies that have hatred in their hearts. It seems that she is naturally able to harvest all of the love she needs in small doses from everything around her, but as a result, the excess love starts to pollute her system, and eventually, she must dispose of it.”

“Then… my brother was-”

“Yes. It seemed that he had some hatred towards somepony running through his mind. Do you have any ideas as to who that may be?”

Rumble looked down at the floor. Actually, he did have an idea. The past few days, he had been completely ignoring his brother, and refusing to leave his room whenever he was at home. He was sure that he was making Thunderlane very angry with him. “… I do…”

“… Well, if Berry Pinch managed to ‘feed’ off of him enough, you should notice a very big change in his attitude towards that certain somepony over the coming days. After that, the love will leave his system, and it will be up to him to decide which way he will go.”

“So then… it’s only temporary?”

“That is right.” Rumble breathed a sigh of relief, and Berry Punch motioned for Berry Pinch to move aside so that she could get up. “Now then… Tell me, Rumble: what do you intend to do now” Rumble looked up at the mare, and felt his blood freeze when he met her gaze. Her eyes were glowing green, and her cheery smile from before was gone, instead replaced by a hard glare that shot fear into the colt’s very being. “Depending on your answer, I may have to take drastic measures.”

“M-Mum?” Berry Pinch asked, taking a cautious step towards her mother.

“Unfortunately, I made the decision not to erase your mind earlier. If I were to do so now, because of how much time has passed, I’m afraid your brain will completely shut down as a result…” A green flame appeared on Berry Punch’s head, and a long, curved, black horn soon replaced it. She raised a hoof and placed it to just under the colt’s chin, against his neck. Rumble couldn’t move, nor could he avert his gaze form her eyes. “Well? Are you going to keep our secret?”

Rumble gulped, and tried to find the strength to run away from the frightening mare – no, changeling – before him. But he couldn’t. His body was frozen. All he could do, was simply tell her the truth. “… I-If you’re not here to e-endanger anypony… then I w-won’t tell a-anyp-pony about you…”

Berry Punch narrowed her eyes as she examined the colt. Soon, she moved her hoof away, and concealed her horn once more. “I see…” Her smile suddenly returned to her face, and she quickly leaped forward and pulled the startled colt into a hug. “You’re such a dear! Thank you so much for agreeing to keep our secret!”

Rumble, completely dazed and confused as the strange changeling continued to hug and nuzzle him, tried to pull away. “I-It’s nothing, really! I mean, there’s no reason you two should be chased out of town, if you’re not hurting anypony.”

“Thank you…” Rumble turned his attention towards Berry Pinch, who was looking back at him with a nervous smile on her face, and tears flowing down her eyes. It must have meant a lot to her that they didn’t have to move, he realised.

“Um… don’t mention it…” The two maintained eye contact for a bit, until they both couldn’t take it anymore, and averted their gazes from each other, their faces both incredibly flushed. “You, um… You aren’t feeling sick anymore?”

“Huh? O-Oh… you’re right…” Berry Pinch herself was also amazed. She was sure that Rumble was the cause of her feeling unwell so much recently, so why was she okay now?

“It’s because your hatred is gone,” Berry Punch said, releasing Rumble and moving back to her couch. She sat down, and motioned for the colt to join her. Rumble decided to simply stay where he was, for now. “You see, changelings are adapted to being able to find sources of great love, and when they do, their bodies respond by making them ready to harvest it. Unfortunately, younglings that have just entered maturity are rather sensitive to this, and the result is high-pitched fevers, and their bodies craving more love than they actually need.

“Berry Pinch is essentially the opposite; she reacts to ponies that have feelings of hatred towards another pony, and suddenly feels the irresistible urge to deposit as much love as she can into them.”

Both Rumble and Berry Pinch blushed furiously at the explanation, causing Berry Punch to laugh upon realising herself how that may have sounded.

“But, I don’t get it,” Rumble said suddenly, looking over to Berry Pinch. “I investigated her all day, and I was sure that she was just an ordinary – if not kinda weird – pony.”

Berry Pinch looked offended at being called weird, but Berry Punch said spoke up before she could. “Oh? Why’s that?”

“Well… for example, aren’t changelings afraid of water?”

“Not really, but changelings naturally lack the ability to swim, so, yeah, I guess if it were a large body of water. But we do drink the stuff, y’know?”

Rumble tried to remember what else the book had taught him. “What about having no feelings?”

“Until a year ago, it was believed that Nightmare Moon was just an old ponytale.”

“Uh, I guess… Then, I guess onions and garlic aren’t poisonous to you guys, either?”

Berry Punch laughed at that one. “Oh man, you ponies really have no idea, huh? No, you see, changelings have a heightened sense of smell compared to ponies. So naturally, we don’t like stuff like that, that have strong scents.”

Rumble looked at Berry Pinch curiously. “Then, how did-”

Berry Pinch anticipated what he was going to ask, and spoke up. “Um, actually… I have a blocked nose today…” She sniffled, as if to emphasise her point.

Rumble facehooved. “Okay, that’s just ridiculous!”

“Anyway, it’s getting pretty late,” Berry Punch said, looking up at the clock above her fireplace. “Thunderlane will be waking up soon. When he does, he won’t remember what happened. Naturally, we would appreciate it if you don’t tell him.”

Rumble nodded. “Okay… And, I’m sorry for all the trouble that I caused…”

“No, I’m sorry!” Berry Pinch said quickly. “I-I just… I couldn’t control myself… Please forgive me.”

“It’s fine. As long as there’s no harm done.”

“Well then, now that that’s all settled!” Berry Punch rose to her hooves, and walked over to Rumble again. This time, the colt didn’t feel the same icy fear gripping his throat, but he did hear his mind telling him to run again. “I’d like to ask a favour of you, Rumble. It’s the reason I didn’t erase your memories before.”

Rumble took a cautious step back, but Berry Punch simply took a step forward in response. “W-What kind of favour?”

Berry Punch grinned. “I’d like you to take good care of my daughter!”

The entire room feel silent. Both Rumble and Berry Pinch were once again blushing, and all it took was a moment of brief eye contact for them to both run to opposite sides of the room.

“W-What do you mean by that?!”

“M-Mum?! What are you saying?!”

“I-I’m way too young to be thinking about stuff like that!”

“Why are you always trying to embarrass me?!”

Berry Punch sighed, and placed a hoof to her forehead. “Not like that,” she said, though she certainly intended for it to sound like that. And she was quite pleased with the reactions that she got. “You see, I simply want you to help her out in my stead. Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee that I’ll always be there for her, and there aren’t any other changelings that I can trust.”

Berry Punch approached Rumble once more, and then lowered herself to her knees. “I’ve been watching you, ever since you saw Pinchy feeding off of that pony at the farm. And… I feel I can trust you. Please, will you help me and my daughter out, so that we can continue to live here in peace?”

Comments

[SouthernCross]

I quite enjoyed the manga this fic is based on and I'm enjoying this as well.

[Xinrick]

well this is still great man keep up the good work and cant wait for the next one

[Magatsu Orpheus]

What Manga is this based on?

[Clemerl]

2025073 "Chibi Vampire" or the English name of it's anime,"Karin" is what it's called.

[Magical Trevor]

XD Ahhhhh, Good ol' Berry, trying to set up her daughter on a date... XD

[Dementia Ravenmane]

Great, so far everypony and everyling is happy, but when is Twilight going to find out?

[PPS]

“Unfortunately, I made the decision not to erase your mind earlier. If I were to do so now, because of how much time has passed, I’m afraid your brain will completely shut down as a result…” A green flame appeared on Berry Punch’s head, and a long, curved, black horn soon replaced it. She raised a hoof and placed it to just under the colt’s chin, against his neck. Rumble couldn’t move, nor could he avert his gaze form her eyes. “Well? Are you going to keep our secret?”

She must be new at this. Who busts out death threats and then asks for promises? And then going on to talk about trusting him and trying to live in peace? She's coming off as either incompetent or unstable, and her approach is unlikely to get better results than if she'd portrayed herself as wholly peaceful.

[Karna]

Changelings can't swim? Now why would that be-

Oooooooooh, the holes! Of course you couldn't swim when your legs are filled with holes. Horses have enough trouble swimming already, I can't imagine how difficult it would be for a horse with holes bored through the legs.

[Greatazuredragon]

When I saw the title I wondered if that was the case, but now I'm certain of what inspired this.
Good work, nice story.
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