01 - Ways Long-Since Changed

Changelings.

Once a story-book legend to put foals to bed at night, turned a feared rival of pony-kind. These creatures are descendants of insects, their robust bodies constructed of hard chitinous shells, pointy fangs, glowing eyes, membrane wings, and a horn perfected for killing. They were designed by the rigorous time tested method of evolution to be perfect pony killing machines, lead by their great and powerful Queens all across Equestria.

It happened almost exactly one year ago. One of these many hives, the Changeling hive of Queen Chrysalis, attempted an invasion of Canterlot. It was the closest Equestria had ever gotten to a total governmental collapse. Ponies screams rang through the streets of Canterlot as swarms upon swarms of these creatures attacked ruthlessly. It was a dark day in history, no doubt to be remembered for generations upon generations. The attack of the royal wedding, the day the sky turned black, and the closest a Princess, nay, an Alicorn had gotten to death in eons.

Changelings had become feared creatures, even if ponies had eventually won out in the end.

Well, almost all of them were feared.

“Huh.” The chitinous creature was disguised with a cream coat. A newspaper had just been freshly delivered on his front doorstep. In curiosity, he lit up his horn with his archaic magic and pulled the newspaper inches away from his muzzle as his eyes drifted across the headline story. A huge image that took up the majority of the page was what appeared to be his undisguised self, flapping it’s wings in the air and snarling directly at the camera, venom dripping from it’s fangs.

He took a sip of his freshly brewed coffee, his eyes unbreaking from the headline title. “So that’s what I am.”

Changelings Attack Equestria!

“That’s not… good.”

The Changeling, The Filly, and The Library

A Changeling’s biology was incomprehensible to pony-kind. Not even the great and powerful Princesses of Equestria knew what made a Changeling tick behind their disguises. It was a new and unidentified type of magic that pulsated through their leylines. Even the tiniest of peeks into their biology could provide Equestria forwards hundreds of years in technological innovations.

Imagine if a pony could get their hooves on a Changeling. One that wasn’t loyal to any hive. A Changeling that was their own pony.

“Yes, Staples.” Radius said. “I would like some more tea.”

Or, they would accidentally stumble upon Radius, who was the furthest thing possible from a normal Changeling. Sure, he didn’t have any loyalty to any hives what so ever, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he was cooperative. Radius was what a Queen would call a wanderer. A wanderer between hives. A more apt description, however, would be that of a Lost One. A rogue Changeling. Who was quite content being as such.

“Thyself is not-” Staples simply just sighed. “I concur. Take this.” Staples used it’s fuzzy and blurry hooves to tilt the teapot forwards and into Radius’s cup awaiting in his holey and black hooves. Unfortunately it was not meant to be, as instead of pouring tea, it simply began to melt through it’s spout, disintegrating into a slime that messily slopped into Radius’s cup.

“Thank you, Radius.” Radius drank the liquid thankfully.

It tasted like pennies.

“Hey, is it just me, or does the sun look weird?” Radius looked up at the bubble-gum pink sky, the sun a blood red. “And… why does everything look weird?”

“We do not know. This palace is merely a figment of your inner machinations.” The blurry thing known as Staples said. “As we were discussing, if thyself was granted citizenship-”

“You don’t really have a mouth.”He looked back at where it once resided. “Actually- are you feeling all right?”

“What doth thine imply?” Staples asked, apparently annoyed at being interrupted.

“It’s just-” Radius squinted his orange eyes. “Your head is an… alarm clock.”

“An alarm clock?” It snickered. “Outrageous! Why would-”

*Brring!*

The surreal discordian-like landscape was suddenly dissolved as Radius became aware of the fact that his head was sunk into a pillow, a thin stream of drool billowing out of his open mouth and soaking the fresh surface. He grumbled, pulling his hoof closer to himself and covering more of his body with the comfy white blanket.

There was a single window in his bedroom that streamed in the morning sun’s golden halo through the half open blinds. The light stretched across the lower half of his blanket, a vivid sight almost unreal. Radius groggily lifted his head a few centimeters off of his pillow, looking around at the empty room being filled with the noise of an annoying ringing.

Sitting by itself on a drawer-less nightstand was a single alarm clock of silver complexion, buzzing loud enough to vibrate itself silly on the small table.

He sighed, letting his head hit the pillow again. Like a light switch was flipped, a headache began to form from the top of his noggin.

“You can do this, Radius.” He whispered in his chittery voice. “I am the bringer of darkness.” He mumbled, half asleep. “My kind has killed countless ponies across history. I was forged in the pits of Tartarus, created as a predator to a prey species in a land without any natural enemies.” He looked at the alarm clock, still ringing loudly. “And I’m being defeated by an alarm clock.”

He sighed yet again, his lower lip quivering as a sudden bout of dizziness threatened him. Perhaps he could just lay here forever. Nopony was looking for him, after all.

“Shut up.” Radius extracted his hoof from the blanket, swinging wildly at the alarm clock. Eventually, one of his many swings made contact with the annoying silver object. Unfortunately, however, this only served to relocate it’s position to the floor instead of his nightstand. It made a loud clatter, but yet it still didn’t turn off, instead only bending the lever designed to turn it off.

He leaned his head off of the bed, looking down at the alarm clock on the floor. It was still ringing loudly.If he wasn’t careful, the little thing had the potential to awake half the neighborhood if he wasn’t careful. But it still kept ringing nonetheless.

He forced back the urge to scream, finally sliding his body out of bed forcefully. The blanket draped across him like a cape for a moment, before succumbing to the forces of gravity and slipping off of him.

Radius caught his eye in the mirror by the wall.

He was a monster. His chitin was blacker than the darkest of nights, his eyes piercing a bright and vibrant orange that pierced even himself. His unused orange membrane wings fluttered dangerously at his back in agitation with his own reflection. He scoffed at himself.

And he had a terrible headache.

He stormed over to the alarm clock, leaving the blanket in a heap on the ground. It was still ringing unnecessarily, even as he was already up and moving. It infuriated him, igniting something deep in his chest. His headache only worsened as he stared down at the offending object. He frowned deeply, raising his holey hoof with an intent to smash it to bits.

He took a deep breath.

“Stop it.” He clicked the top of the alarm clock.

It kept ringing.

“I said stop it.” He clicked it again.

It didn’t stop.

“I said-” He sighed, pain across his forehead, resisting the urge to stomp the annoying object into a fine mist of broken bits. “A pony wouldn’t take their anger out on a clock. Nopony would.” Radius said to himself. “A pony would simply-” His hoof swung down, batting the top of the alarm clock like a cat would.

It kept ringing.

He growled dangerously. It wouldn’t turn off, even after his berating of the stupid little thing. His horn lit up with a terrible orange color as the alarm clock was engulfed in the same hue. Changeling magic was inherently different from any and all forms of pony magic. It was unknown, unstudied, and dangerous. A funny thing about magic, however, was the fact that almost all forms of magic had some kind of sentience behind it. A will of the user, if you will. Unicorn magic tended to follow direct instruction, while chaos magic had the tendency to- well, be chaotic.

The thing about Changeling magic, however, was the fact it was inherently angry.

The alarm clock was lifted into the air, and with a shout, he chucked it as hard as he could. The silver glinted in the sun momentarily before hitting it’s target, that being the mirror he had seen himself mere moments before. It shattered completely, raining down little shards of glass all over his completely clean floor.

Radius watched it for a moment as everything settled, the alarm clock no longer ringing, and the air being filled with the notable taste of regret.

“Good.” He congratulated himself. “Good job, Radius. Not only did you shatter another alarm clock, but you managed to break the mirror, too.” He let out a frustrated shout from deep within his throat. “Good bucking job you two-faced twat.” His headache had only managed to develop as he meandered his way out of the destroyed room.

The main room of the home was almost completely deserted. It was hollow and unfurnished. There wasn’t even a couch in the living area. The only thing in any of his kitchen cabinets was the local spider living there rent-free, and even then, that spider probably hadn’t found any food from this place in years.Although, it was doing a rather good job of keeping the place clean of any insects.

“Like me.” He added bitterly.

The only thing that could give a hint that somepony lived within these walls was the dining table. Instead of being used for it’s purpose of eating food off of, it had been converted into what appeared to be a desk of sorts. A lamp that was always left on shone it’s orange light down onto the papers below, which were almost overflowing from the table they laid on.

Radius barely paused to take a glance. A glance full of revolt and hatred, at that.

Papers, newspapers, books open to random pages, and notes were spread across. Notes on Changeling anatomy, biology, culture… any and all information ponies had on Changelings. Which was surprisingly little. Ponies knew that Changelings lived in hives, fed on love, had a queen, and could disguise. Outside of that, there was even bickering between authors whether or not his kind could even speak.

But it was the newspapers that always gave him a grim reminder of why he hid. Why he stayed in isolation when undisguised. Why he put up his ponysona whenever he went outside.

‘BEWARE! Changeling Threat Rocking Equestria!’

‘Changeling Death Penalty Passed in Congress, Vetoed by Princess Celestia.’

‘Eight Changelings Captured Last Night.’

‘Why YOU Should Be Afraid of Changelings.’

He gave the newspapers one last look before trotting forwards and towards the front door of his home. He shouldn’t have even been giving those journalists his bits. It was out of desperation, really, to learn more about his own species, but instead of finding valuable information, he only found lies. Lies that made up entire articles.

Changelings could suck blood, they said. Changelings couldn’t see glass like a Pegasus, they said. Changelings could see through walls. Hear your thoughts. Steal your memories. Listen to everything you said. Once a newspaper said that Changelings could even turn into mice and hide within your walls. That was untrue, of course. He found that out the hard way through a sick week. The smaller the disguise, the more energy it took, like an exponential curve. The smallest he could get to was a filly or a colt.

The newspapers were playing a game of one-upping each other. Each week it was a competition of who could come up with the most ridiculous lie. And it was getting tiring having to physically fact check everything they said.

He paused at the door. The physical gateway to everything beyond. It was the only thing stopping him from being revealed to the outside world, and the only thing between him and an angry mob with pitchforks, demanding that he leave Ponyville forever. He used his holey black hooves to grab an orange cloth dangling from the doorknob. It was used and worn, yet special to him.

He also grabbed a thick pair of glasses that were resting on a shelf next to the door, usually used for things like hats and coats, but instead laid bare and dusty.

“Okay, Radius.” He said to himself, looking at the two things in his hooves. “Time for today. Nopony knows my secret, and we’re gonna keep it that way.” He took a deep breath, reaching down and pushing against the handle. “Keep it together.”

The house ignited into orange flames.

And the pony who walked out was no longer Radius.

At first, it was a complete overstimulation of his senses. The sun was amazingly bright, blinding him completely. He felt it warm his cream colored coat- yes, coat, as he took his first few steps outside. The air was warm, and he could feel his orange mane whipping in the open sky. He smiled, feeling the weight of being a Changeling melt off of his shoulders like he never was one in the first place.

His ears twitched as he heard the sound of wings flapping nearby. He focused his eyes as he noticed a purplish-teal Pegasus swoop low, flapping a good few heads above him. She wore a pink bow in her teal mane, stylized smoothly down her neck.

“Hey, Staples!” She said, waving erradically. “Did you see the clear sky?”

“Clear sky?” Staples looked up at the endless blue. “You know what? I did, actually. It looks great from down here!”

“Aw, thanks!” She said, dropping a few feet closer to the ground. “I don’t mean to brag, but me and my sister got this place cleaned up quicker than Rainbow Dash would. I mean- it was kind of a breeze, actually-”

“Define ‘breeze.’” A second voice said, floating next to her. “I appreciate the help, Flitter, but trying to bounce on a block of compressed clouds isn’t a breeze. It’s hell.”

“But Cloud Chaser!” Flitter whined. “They just looked so fluffy!”

“And what happened when you tried to bounce on one?”

“It hurt…”

“Exactly.” Chaser shook her head. “Next time, remember that compressed clouds are like concrete.” Chaser looked down to the orange-maned Unicorn, still looking up at the two twins bickering. “Sorry about that, Staples.” She landed. “My airheaded sister here was fishing for-”

“Validation!” Flitter suddenly landed in between both of them. “Validating… if you’d like to- or, if you were able... to grade... my work!” She laughed as an annoyed Chaser behind her gave a glare at the back of her head.

“Oh, geez.” Staples ran a hoof through his mane. “I have to… run... incredibly busy schedule.” He began his own awkward laugh. “You know- I gotta get going to my job, so… if you’d let me through…”

“Of course!” Flitter moved out of the way, followed by a Cloud Chaser who was too busy scowling at her sister to notice, moving out of the way only when the awkward silence began to drag on. “Bye, Staples!” She waved as he began disappearing down the road with a short wave back.

“What was that all about?” Chaser asked, annoyed.

“What was that- what were you doing?” Flitter hissed. “I'm just saying, I'm the better cloud clearer than you! If you'd let me prove it!”

“No!” Chaser shook her head aggressively. “No-no-no! I was trying to make you look bad, and then he'd give you a higher score out of sympathy!”

“You-” Flitter rubbed her eyes. “I can’t- I hate you.”

Staples found himself lulling out to the sounds of Ponyville. This place simply just radiated a specific kind of aura that was near indescribable to anypony who wasn’t physically present in the village. But he sure could try.

The thatch rooves and outdated, ancinet housing gave this place a historic vibe. It was like opening a time portal and going back hundreds of years, maybe even before Discord. The dirt and cobble roads gave a distinctly earthy smell, one that combined beautifully with the flowers present on every window sill, street corner, and vendor stall. Everything was overpowering, and everypony looked very happy. The place was just happy.

Also, one major factor had to be the fact that Ponyville was overflowing with love.

Well- it wasn’t exactly love, per sey, but rather emotional magic that Changelings used as their food source that was almost always mistakenly referred to as love. Affection was the strongest out of all of the emotions, and therefore the most nutricious, but emotional magic was so much morethan just love.

Every town he had fled to during his adolescent years were always so cruel. They seemed cut throat in their approach to living. It was your ponies first or nothing. That was where the usual Changeling tactics came in. Replace somepony. Steal their significant other’s love. If you left the couple in ruins, that was fine. At least you could survive for another week, it didn’t really matter.

But Ponyville was different. Everypony knew everypony, friendly waves all around. There was no slitted eyes in suspicion, there was no frowns, and there was no violence. It made a Changeling forever well fed, and if he really wanted to, the ability to disguise forever.

Unfortunately, Changelings undisguise in their sleep. So he couldn’t keep it up forever.

Speaking of which, one of his favorite locations in all of Ponyville was the delectable, delicious, and borderline soul-warming Sugarcube Corner. The entire building radiated enough emotional magic to power an entire hive. It even looked edible, constructed out of materials that gave the look of a gigantic life sized gingerbread house.

Changelings fed on emotions. They didn’t need physical food.

But darn it, if he wasn’t going to enjoy the savory and delicious confectionery treats that were produced from the holy kitchen, then his name wasn’t Radius.

And his eating habits were also dependent on being disguised. If the Guards came knocking to investigate Ponyville, who would be the one outed as a Changeling first? How about the loner Unicorn with zero friends, who is never seen eating, nopony has ever been to his house, and has denied hanging out every single time?

Okay. Let’s be fair. It’s just because the food is delicious.

The bell above the door rang melodically as he pushed it open to the interior. The early morning rush that fulled the small bakery to it’s limit had long since passed, only leaving a few ponies talking with each other, dotted around randomly. There was a couple in a booth, others standing by a window and talking to each other to pass the time.

Staples hesitated as he saw the interior. Although he knew he was just fine, and realistically there wasn’t even that many ponies, there was still a piece of hard coded instinct that told him to get away from the crowd as soon as possible. It was part of his Changeling DNA.

But those donuts just smelled so good…

He washed his worries away as he focused on the smell. The smell of chocolate and dough that almost lifted him off of the ground, carrying him towards the counter where a stallion was mareing the counter, head down and reading a newspaper.

Mister Cake wasn’t exactly a tough pony, but his demeanor was still overbearing as he was one of, if not the tallest pony in all of Ponyville. He was only beaten by height whenever Princess Celestia came to visit- he even beat out Princess Luna.

Staples found himself staring blankly through the glass counter, unable to look away from the delicious doughnuts that sat mere inches away, locked in it’s glass cage. His glasses began to slide down his face as he stared harder and harder.

Mister Cake put down the newspaper, raising an eyebrow curiously. This was not the first time he had seen a customer do something like this, and it certainly wasn’t the last. With a joyful roll of the eyes, he reached forwards and tapped the tip of his hoof against the glass nosily. Staples snapped out of his trance with a jump, a thin line of drool slipping past his chin and hitting the ground below him. He quickly wiped away the drool, clearing his throat.

“Oh- um- I’m sorry about that.” Staples quickly apologized, embarrassed by his daze and pushing his glasses back to their proper resting place.

“Good morning, Staples.” Mister Cake greeted. “What can I get for you?”

“Oh, gosh…” Staples tapped his chin, once again meeting the gaze of the doughnuts that sat alluringly on the shelf. If he had the ability to feel physical hunger, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he would be aching in pain right now. “I- I think I’ll take…” He bit his lip, forcing himself to be rational with his ordering. After all, a real pony would leave some for the others. He finally sighed. “I’ll just take one chocolate, please.”

“Once chocolate coming right up!” Mister Cake chirped. From behind the counter, he produced a brown bag. The door to the display cabinet opened up, and Staples watched as his orange hoof grabbed the exact doughnut he was staring at. It was like a match made in heaven.

“Alrighty!” Mister Cake placed the producer of the amazing aroma onto the counter, fit up in it’s brown paper bag. “That’ll be one silver bit, please.” Staples still stared deeply at the bag, but mindlessly reached to the inside of his neck tie, producing one small coin with a picture of Princess Luna on the front of it. It landed onto the counter a little harder than he would probably want it to, but due to his dazed stare, he didn’t seem to really care. “Thank you. Now, you have a good day, Staples!” He waved with a smile.

Staples forgot to respond politely, instead just levitating the bag in his orange aura and walking with it, staring directly at the bag as he found himself a table by the counter, but also by a window.

The second his flank hit the booth, he found himself ferally ripping out the perfect doughnut inside, it’s frosting impossibly preserved, despite having been shoved ruthlessly into it’s bag. Without another thought drifting through his head, he sunk his teeth directly into the doughnut.

So was the life of the disguised Changeling. He was supposed to be the nopony in town. His entire point in life should’ve been to be the background character of somepony else’s story. A dull, unimportant, and borderline boring pony. He shouldn’t say anything that would attract attention to himself. He was supposed to be the blank canvas.

“Oh, look.” A nearby pony said. “Staples is doing the thing again.”

“What thing?”

“The- you know- the thing whenever he eats a doughnut.”

“Again, what thing?”

“The- look at his eyes! They’re rolling back in his head!”

“Looks like he’s enjoying that doughnut… a little too much, actually.”

He had failed spectacularly at being the blank canvas.

Everypony knew who Staples was. The eccentric accountant. The stallion who couldn’t stop reading books. The guy who enjoyed the simplest things in life too much, like eating a doughnut, for instance. He was friendly, which meant everypony was friendly back to him.

Although Radius could tell himself he was just putting on a performance, it was all too easy for himself to get lost in his second face. It wasn’t just coming naturally to him anymore- it was like it was him. Which, on a certain level, was entirely true.

Life hadn’t always been so smooth sailing, though. Before Ponyville was a blur of memories, places, and faces. He could only remember the guilt of being kicked out of a town for his ghastly appearance. All too often a pony would go to throw something away, and Radius would be there, elbows deep in a bin. Some screaming, a broom stick, and onto the next town he went. That was even before he discovered the ability to disguise.

Well… most of life was smooth sailing now, at least.

“You’re making that face again.” A feminine voice said. “What is it?”

“It’s those bugs again.” A slightly deeper feminine voice said, more raspy than the first. Staples stopped his eating of his doughnut, the thing half-gone in his hooves. His eyes reverted back to normal as he listened intently, leaning against the booth to better hear the ponies sitting on the other side. “D’you remember how Princess Celestia vetoed the death penalty last month?” There was a shuffle. “Look at this. Now they think it’s a good idea to start a Changeling Research Group.” He could practically hear the snarl in her voice.

“Research group?” The first one asked.

“A research group.” She grumbled. “Right here. Headed by Princess Luna herself… ‘In an attempt to better understand-’ What is there to understand? They’re pests!”

Staples felt his face scrunch in… a feeling. One he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Staples held absolutely no alliance to any Changeling hive. Although he was once, in all of his life, he had never came across a scenario where being a Changeling would’ve made life easier for him. His own species has never done him any good. He simply didn’t owe them anything.

Yet… yet hearing these ponies bicker about what he was, what his own flesh and blood was made up of made a small burning feeling rise in his throat like acid reflux. He looked longingly at his own doughnut, a silent whimper escaping from him.

“Those bugs have done nothing but cause Equestria problems. I almost wonder whether the Princesses are Changeling sympathizers, with the way they’re vetoing these new laws like they actually give a damn. I say kill ‘em. Kill ‘em all. They don’t provide us anything. If a Changeling is arrested, then off to the chopping block!”

“Nah.”

…

There was a moment of stressful silence as Staples slowly mulled over what he had just done. There was a shuffling sound, and then finally, a mare with a pink face peered around the edge of the booth, staring directly at staples.

“Did you say that?” She asked. It was the one with a raspy voice.

“Say what?” Staples asked, feigning ignorance.

“Did you say… ‘nah?’”

“I might’ve.” He admitted, redirecting his attention to the pink mare peering around the edge of the booth. “I mean- that seemd a bit harsh, doesn’t it? I mean- killing all Changelings? Really? Just like that? An entire species?” The mare lowered her eyebrows dangerously, turning her mouth into a frown as she stepped out of the booth, now revealing her whole self to Staples.

“Is there a problem with that?” She asked. “Changelings invaded Canterlot. They’ve been causing Equestria countless problems-”

“What about the ones who didn’t participate in the invasion?” He interrupted, tapping his hoof on the table impatiently. “I mean- there has to be a few, right? Do the innocent bystanders deserve the same fate as the ones who did invade Canterlot? That’s not really fair, is it?” He saw the shadow of the other pony sitting in the booth dart behind the pink mare at the booth.

“Not fair?” She asked. “Do you know what else isn’t fair? Waking up every day wondering whether your foal was replaced with a Changeling. That’s not fair.”

“Well- I mean- that’s still not very fair to the Changeling.”

“I know it isn’t. That’s what-” It looked like her brain caught up to her. “Wait- what?”

“Changelings can’t disguise into foals. They just- physically can’t get that small. It’s a little bit like an exponential use of energy. The smaller a Changeling disguises, the more energy it takes. The most a Changeling could disguise would be a school colt or filly, but even that takes a lot of energy.” He took a breath. “Trust me when I say: your foalis fine.”

The pink mare blinked, opening and closing her mouth in confusion as she tried to find the words to talk. Another nearby customer merely rolled their eyes.

“T-They tried to kill our Princess. And they almost did, too! They are-”

“If you could please stop saying ‘they.’” Staples held up a hoof. “That’s generalizing. Just say ‘Queen Chrysalis,’ please. Like- ‘Queen Chrysalis tried to kill our Princess.’ See how much better that works? Now, you aren’t lumping them in a group-”

“Sir?” Suddenly, a blue and quite plump mare approached the table, flanked by the same shadow he had seen earlier. Staples blinked, looking up at the new figure, being the wife of Mister Cake, Missus Cake. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave. You’re causing a disturbance.”

“I’m-” Staple raised his eyebrows. “I’m just correcting the good mare here. I’m not trying to cause a disturbance, really, it’s she who is-”

“It doesn’t matter.” She cut him off with a polite, customer service derivative smile. “I’m asking you to leave.”

“But-” He looked down longingly, gesturing at his doughnut. “I just wanted a doughnut!”

“Okay, okay! I’m leaving!” Staple had found himself being ushered out of the Sugarcube Corner by one very adamant orange stallion. The bell above the door that had given him delight minutes prior now gave him a sense of dread as he was given a nudge on the flank, scrambling his hooves to stabilize himself.

“You’re not welcome back.” One of the cakes said. Which one didn’t really matter, as the message crossed his threshold of understanding all the same. “You’re disturbing our customers.”

“Fine! That’s fine.” He shouted back as the door closed on the confectionery. “I’ll just go to Bon-bon’s treat shop for my doughnuts!” He waited for a response. “Hear me? I don’t want to come back!” And he waited again.

Finally, he let out a sigh, realizing his predicament. It wasn’t like he needed the food to survive anyways. The door wasn’t talking back, and the ponies out front of the Sugarcube Corner merely gave him a strange look. He laughed awkwardly at the surplus of eyes on him, adjusting his necktie awkwardly.

“I’ll just… be going, then.” He told the small crowd that had developed. Staple laughed one more time before beginning his trek once more, away from the delicious looking structure.

So was the life of a Changeling. Getting yelled at. To be fair, he was disguised, and his predicament was entirely avoidable if he had just kept his mouth shut, but… he still felt slightly disappointed at the prospect of never being able to return to get another tasty doughnut.

“Are you alright, mister frowny face?” A voice said, right next to his eardrum. He flinched away, his ear twitching once or twice, as he turned to look at the pony bouncing next to him.

“Fine. I’m fine.” He said. “Hello, Pinkie Pie.”

“What’s got you all frowny?” She asked, stopping her bouncing and meeting his pace.

“Oh- just bickering.” He grumbled. “And the fact that I’m never allowed back into Sugarcube Corner again.”

“Oh, wow.” Pinkie said, surprised. “You must’ve done something really, really bad to get Mister and Missus Cake mad enough to ban you!”

“Um- excuse me.”

“I just-” Staple stopped walking, turning to look at the pink pony. “You were there during the Changeling invasion, right?”

“Uh-huh.” Pinkie copied him, stopping in her tracks and turning to face him.

“If somepony- If- If there was a Changeling who was willing to be friendly… how would you react?”

“Excuse me...”

“Hm.” Pinkie tapped her chin. “That’s a tricky one. All of the Changelings I met at Canterlot were meany-pants.” Staple visibly deflated. “But- if there was a nice Changeling? And he wanted to be friends? Everypony deserves a second chance- even if he isn’t a pony.” Pinkie smiled as Staple visibly reinflated again.

“Thanks, Pinkie.” He paused. “For- for confirming my viewpoint, I mean.” He looked up into the sky, his frown returning with the position of the sun. “Well, I’d better get going. Those papers aren’t going to do themselves at the office.”

“Okay, then.” Pinkie waved as he began trotting again. “Byee! And if you ever need some Sugarcube doughnuts under the table, you know who to talk to!”

“I’ll keep that in mind!” Staple began trotting again, leaving his worries in the bakery behind him.

“Pardon me?”

Staples stopped walking, his ear twitching to a sound he hadn’t noticed before. It was meek, quiet, and out of the way. For a moment he considered the idea that a bug flew by his ear, but when he took a good long look at his surroundings, he met the eyes of a pony he hadn't even noticed standing there, apparently directly next to Pinkie Pie. She was a Pegasus with a butter yellow coat and a long flowing pink mane that almost touched the ground.

"Oh, hello." He greeted her. "Sorry about the commotion inside. I just got... a little too riled up, apparently."

"That's okay." She said with a soft smile. "I hope those ponies didn't hurt you?"

"No. Of course not." He shook his head softly. "Those guys couldn't pluck a hair from my locks if they wanted to. But- uh- nice talking to you?"

"I just wanted to make sure you're okay." She said. "Have a good day!"

"Yeah, yeah..." His eyes narrowed as he looked at the pony once more. "Do I... know you from somewhere? I can't help but get the feeling I've seen you somewhere before." He tapped his chin in thought.

"Well... I am the Element of Kindness."

"Oh, that must be it!" He stomped his hoof on the ground. "Of course. Silly me, how could I forget?" He chuckled, although he still felt strangely hollow with that answer. "Take care... Fluttershy, was it?" She nodded. "Right. Take care!" He turned around and began trotting.

And Fluttershy followed him with her eyes in content.

The Ponyville town hall was, by far, the tallest and most imposing structure in the entirety of Ponyville. Although the ponies that ran the inside were friendly and well-meaning, the place always brought back bad memories for the pink Pegasus. An extra-long night full of uncertainty and dread as the ruler a thousand years ago returned from her lunar prison.

There were ponies, dashing from side to side, getting some kind of celebration ready. What it was didn’t really matter to her. All that mattered was her information, and one pony stood out of the crowd like a sore thumb.

“Mayor!” She greeted. The mayor gave a small jump, turning around and meeting the mare face to face.

“Oh, why hello there, Firefly.” She greeted. “I’m quite sorry, this year’s celebration plans have run me around the ringer. What is it that you needed?”

“I was just here to file a complaint.” Firefly said sheepishly. Mayor Mare raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but didn’t say anything further. “There’s this pony- his name is Staples, and I believe he is a Changeling sympathizer.”

“Oh?” She asked, one eyebrow falling to give herself an inquisitive look. “Although many ponies beliefs do not align, I fail to see the problem with that.”

“Well…” Firefly adjusted her hooves uneasily on the ground. “He knows things about Changelings that are… very strange to know.” She leaned forwards. “I don’t just think he’s a sympathizer, I think he’s harboring a fugitive.”

Mayor Mare tried her hardest to resist rolling her eyes.

“This is a very serious accusation.” She strained with a fake smile. “Are you certain?”

“Well- it’s better to be safe than sorry, right?” Firefly said. “I would like you to send guards out to check his home, make sure he’s clean.”

“Send guards-” She physically bit her tongue. “Send guards… to check on… a hunch you have.”

“Yes.”

“Are you officially accusing Mister Staple of harboring a Changeling?” She said. “Because if so, I’ll have to file the paperwork, and then this becomes a legal matter out of my hooves. A legal matter I don’t have time for right now…” She whispered to herself.

“Yes, I am officially accusing Mister Staple on the suspicion of harboring Changelings in his home.” She paused. “Or- coming into contact with a Changeling.”

Mayor Mare let out a small whine. “Of course. I will have to send out the proper documentation right away. The closest guard outpost is a day away, so it could take up to a few days for the proper guards to arrive. Until then, I ask you to keep limited contact with Staple.”

“Okay.” Firefly nodded. “Thank you for your time, Mayor Mare.” She politely smiled, turning and walking away. Mayor Mare let out a grunt of frustration once he was out of earshot, outside and blending into the rest of the ponies walking.

“I don’t have time to deal with ponies thinking their neighbor is a Changeling!” She said outloud, rubbing a hoof against her forehead. “Everyday, it seems like those ridiculous newspapers are putting ideas into our citizen’s heads!”

“Are you talking to me?” Her assistant asked, pushing a cart full of party streamers and chairs across the main stage. Mayor Mare turned around, looking up.

“I suppose I am.” She mused. “Another pony has reported another pony being a Changeling. Again. Could I have you file the necessary paperwork and get two guards down here?”

“Again?” She sighed. “This is the second time this week…”

“Yeah, I know…” Mayor Mare said. “Just… try and hold out until the anniversary of the Canterlot Invasion is over, okay? It’s the only reason why Changelings are back in the news recently. I’m sure this is nothing, but it’s protocol.”

Her assistant nodded, pushing the cart further along.

Mayor Mare put back on her best smile, pretending everything was just fine.

02 - Take a Letter

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It was a dark and stormy night.

The sun had set a long time ago, leaving him in near complete darkness. It didn’t help that the sudden and unexpected storm was pouring rain harder than he ever thought possible. It was obvious that he was too far out of pony jurisdiction for this to be a Pegasus-created rainstorm. No. This was a wild storm.

His legs ached with every waking step he took. The wound on his side had split back open, and it had begun stinging from the rain water seeping in. He must’ve been going for miles and miles by now, only really moving due to the need for sustenance to sustain him. But his internal supplies were running low, and he was cold. So, so cold.

Follow the footpath, find a village, disguise as a pony his age, feed for a while, and then vanish once ponies started getting suspicious. He was found out over three days ago now, and he usually would’ve found another village by now. But this blasted path kept stretching on and on into infinity. He was in pain, and he was so cold.

This forest was huge and deadly. When he first entered this place, he was chippy and happy, bouncing from rock to rock with a chest full of hope. Maybe he would’ve found a village in a forest. That would’ve been great for him. Plenty of hiding spots in a village in the forest instead of the usual village on a grassy knoll that seemed ever-so abundant in his path. But now, hours later, he was struggling to even keep his eyes open.

His holey hooves were coated in a thick layer of mud, and although he tried his hardest, his head kept dipping down, like if he was at a school desk trying to pay attention to the boring, monotonous teacher. His center of balance was completely off, and more often than not, he found himself tripping on a mired of potholes that made up this path. But he kept getting up. He wouldn’t let this stupid path ruin him.

All he could think about was how unbearably cold it was. Despite being late summer, the rain was chilling his chitin to his very core. His wings might’ve even been frosted over, if he could see through the dark, dark night. He couldn’t stop shaking. He just… couldn’t stop.

Finally, he collapsed. He hit the ground with a small thump as his body soaked in the coldness of the ground. It was just so cold.

Yet the thunderstorm didn’t stop for a weakling like him.

The sound of the down pouring was immense. He had become covered in mud from head to hoof now. The pain in his side only redoubled as his wings were no longer protecting it from the majority of the downpour.

And he didn’t know what to do. This forest was the biggest forest he had ever seen. It seemed unreal with how long the path kept going. He tried deviating, thinking he was going in one big circle, but that only got him even more turned around and confused. Ever since the Manticore tried to attack him two days ago, leaving the gash open on his left side, he hadn’t even heard another creature in this forest.

He was alone. Truly, completely, and utterly alone.

He looked through the thick forest canopy. Right above him was a small opening. Just big enough so he could see the very distant moon. On that moon, as a sick reminder, was the visage of a pony. The mare in the moon. She was laughing at him. He wasn’t welcome here. He wasn’t welcome anywhere. He was living in a pony world, and he wasn’t invited.

He closed his eyes, and did the only rational thing he could think of.

He cried.

Even his tears were cold. They began streaming out of his closed eyes, joining the mass that was the pounding rain around him. His sniffles grew into loud, retching sobs as he laid in the puddle of mud. Soon, he would join the wildlife around him, and his story would be over. The cover closed on a pathetic giving up.

It was impressive he had lived this long. He had gone years without help. He was a survivor, up until he wasn’t. But all it took was taking a left turn when he should’ve taken a right, and it was over. He was going to die.

That was until he heard a stick snap.

He didn’t even feel like opening his eyes this time. But, with all the will in his body, he barely creaked them open, forcing his head a few inches off of the ground and looking down the pitch black trail.

There was a pony. Their face was obscured entirely by the down pouring rain, just being a black void where there should have been eyes. One of their wings were extended out, an old rusty oil lamp looped around one of their primary feathers. The orange glow was hard to look at, and it only illuminated a little bit of the path in front of them. Certainly not enough to show their face, but enough so he felt the light creeping onto his chitin. They could see him.

He felt a strange welling sensation in his chest. A mix between anger and grief. This pony had come here, in his final moments, to do… what? Laugh at him? Laugh at him for getting so close, yet not making it? He found himself angry.

“W-Well?!” He croaked out. The pony made a small startled step back. By the look of them, they seemed younger, lanky and tall, but not exactly a foal or an adult. “H-Here I-I am!” He wasn’t even sure if they could hear him over the down pouring rain, but the way they were reacting told him they at least knew he was talking to them. “A-Are you h-here to k-kill m-me? G-Get it o-over with!” He tried standing up, but even as he put all of his effort into it, he merely collapsed once more. “I-I’m d-done running! I-It’s o-over! I-I’m j-just- I’m just done! I’m just done!”

He pushed his face into his hooves, a sudden tidal wave of dizziness and coldness swallowing him.

“I-I’m just done! I’m done! It’s over, and I’m done!” He sobbed, his voice getting quieter. “I-I’m done!” He heard the sound of hoofsteps slowly approaching, even over the sound of the rain. Tears streamed down faster now, and he felt so cold. So dizzy. So sleepy.

Sleep came for him quickly.

Drip.

The numbers on the typewriter had begun to blur together. Everypony in Equestria had a special talent. A Cutiemark that sat firmly on their flank. A coming of age mark, the symbol of beginning a new era, and a source of pride. It was to tell the world that ‘Hey, I’m not a foal anymore!’

Drip.

Cutiemarks also had a double meaning. Not only were they the distinguishing mark between foal and adult, but they also served the role of telling their wearer exactly what they were good at, and more importantly, what they enjoyed doing. It removed the guessing from life. It was no longer a long-winded and sometimes annoying game of guessing what ponies were good at, it instead became a game of what to do with that talent. How to apply yourself.

Drip.

And that meant that other species were jealous of how seemingly straight-forward a pony’s life was. Including Staples.

Although he didn’t remember his hive days, (he wasn’t even sure if he had a hive to begin with,) he knew from his studying that there were many, many different types of Changelings. There were drones, warriors, chefs, maintenance, cleaners, royals, queens, caretakers, and many, many more. Just by themselves, the different types of Changelings could fulfill an entire army worth of creatures.

But a big difference between getting a Cutiemark and getting a role was the fact that Changelings didn’t really have a choice. As unfortunate as it sounded, if Changeling’s didn’t like what role they were born into, then it was either leave the hive or simply die.Their physical biology reflected what they were created for, and although all Changelings needed love to survive, it was still a kill or be killed world.

Drip.

It was also an issue that Staples didn’t exactly know what type of Changeling he really was. He could transform, so he could probably safely cross off most roles involving hive upkeep. But he hadn’t grown to be ten feet tall yet, nor start laying eggs, so he could also cross off anything involving the upper class of the hive structure. He wasn’t a drone due to his unusual orange coloration, although that might just be the fact he could be part of a different hive, he still wasn’t exactly sure.

The most likely type he could be was that of a deep infiltrator. They were known for laying low, blending in, and having a mostly permanent disguise that could only be removed by the queen, themselves, or maybe a Unicorn with a very crooked moral compass. But, unfortunately, it didn’t quite fit, either. He undisguised in his sleep, which was what deep infiltrators were known for not doing.

Not knowing his own type was a problem. Changeling life spans drifted wildly from type to type. Queens were functionally immortal while drones had only been recorded for living twenty to twenty five years. Either the healthcare in the hive was simply that bad, or drones just don’t live that long. So either Staples was going to live forever, or he would collapse and turn to dust in the next five to six years.

Staples kind of wished he was a deep infiltrator. He wouldn’t have to worry about being outed as a freak, or a monster. He wouldn’t have to worry about trying to stay low-key and fly under the radar of anypony even remotely important. He wouldn’t have to worry about a single mistake, like accidentally writing the wrong birth date on a tax form, and getting an investigation launched, eventually leading to the discovery that Staples isn’t a real pony.

Drip.

In the end, Staples chose an office job. He spent his working days clicking away finances on a type writer in an office that was a little too small for him. It wasn’t exactly a bad fit, per se, but more just the same thing over again. But Filthy Rich was a nice pony. He paid decently, had great insurance benefits, (most of which he would never use,) and was quite great to talk to. He was good at crunching numbers, as his days in school had taught him. Although he spent most of his early days bouncing between towns and schools, he still paid rapt attention in class.

He knew what he would rather be doing. He loved researching. Not only his own kind, but pretty much anything and everything. Biology, the media, and neuroscience. It was all extremely fascinating, and in an alternate universe, he might’ve been the librarian at the Ponyville library if there already wasn’t one there. He might not have even stopped there. Perhaps he would go above and beyond, becoming a valued published. After all, his wall was looking a little bleak with the absence of any awards.

That would’ve been perfect for him. He could see it now. A valued publisher.

...in another life.

It was too high-profile. Somepony somewhere would get too curious, look into his birth records, and realize he was never born. It didn’t matter how careful he was in his entire life, how many paper trails he picked up after himself. All it took was one little pony deciding that they should investigate the pony with no birth record, and it would all come crumbling down. He was careful.

Almost always careful. The outburst earlier at Sugarcube Corner didn’t count.

Nor did the one at the market last week.

Neither was the bowling alley outburst last month. He still wasn’t allowed in the bowling alley after that one.

How he had managed to survive for so long was a complete mystery. Maybe it was because he tried to be the most default stallion the world had ever seen. He was simply just friendly and agreeable, and it always seemed to pay off for him. Even if around town, he was kind of known as the pony that was always slightly… off.

He was so entranced by the numbers on the paper that he didn’t realize it when a stallion stopped by his door, knocking twice on it’s frame.

“Staples?” The stallion asked. Staples snorted in surprise, looking up with crooked glasses at his boss. “I have some files for you here…” In his hooves was a vanilla folder, chalked full of crispy looking papers. “I was wondering if you could file these under cooked books for me.”

“Oh- uh, yeah. Sure.” He pushed his glasses back against his face with his hoof, pushing his chair forwards and closer to the desk, reaching over it and exchanging with Filthy Rich. Crispy pages were no joke, as the papers inside were, quite literally, burnt. Staples raised his eyebrow, opening the folder and giving the first paper a quick once-over with his eyes. “I’ll- uh- get right on that, sir.”

“Thank you.” Filthy Rich said, looking up at the ceiling. He made sour face as he watched a tiny drop of water drip from the ceiling, down, and land onto a soggy piece of paper. His sour face down turned into a straight frown as he realized exactly what it had dripped onto.

What can you do against Changelings? If you want to help stomp out the bug problem plaguing Equestria, you should vote yes to proposal six at next week’s election. If Princess Celestia doesn’t want our elected congressponies to pass fundamental laws, then we will do it ourselves! Proposal six will reintroduce the Changeling death penalty. If she won’t do it, then we will for her!

“Reading this?” Filthy rich asked, making a broad gesture at the newspaper. “All that junk, I tell you. All it’s doing is scaring ponies.” Staples looked up at him, a raised eyebrow and a glint of curiosity in his eye. “You know- when I was a kid, it was all about Dragons. How Dragons were going to ruin Equestria forever. A good few decades later, even the local librarian has a Dragon, and nopony bats an eye.”

“You think this is junk?” Staples asked, for the first time, clocking the dripping ceiling above him. He bore a similar frown as he looked up, the ceiling bowing slightly.

“Well… it’s not all junk.” He said warily. “Changelings are a big threat, tell you what. But there just ain’t no telling what’s true and what’s not nowadays. All of this gossip gives me a headache.” He rubbed his head. “Tell you h-what. Finish filing those and you can leave early today.”

“Thank you, Mister Rich.” He nodded, turning around in his swivel chair and beginning to scan the filing cabinets towering over him for an appropriately labeled drawer.

“And- uh-” Filthy rich quickly glanced up one last time. “I’ll have that fixed by tomorrow.” He nodded, ducking out of the room.

Staples blinked warily as he craned his neck upwards, reading the vaguely illuminated clock on the wall. Five-thirty, it read. A good half hour before sunset was scheduled today. He didn’t like working until sunset, but if Princess Celestia decides the schedule for sundown today was six, then it was six.

He sighed, feeling his withers slunch in defeat. He pushed the file into the drawer, and slid it shut.

There was a certain danger to living in Ponyville.

During the summer sun celebration close to two years ago, six ponies rose and became national heroes, protectors of Equestria. They had proven themselves time and time again to be the greatest heroes Equestria had seen in centuries, easily vanquishing Nightmare Moon, defeated Discord, and more recently, squashed Queen Chrysalis into next decade.

That last one had caused Radius quite a bit of trouble.

But, at the end of the day, the Elements (as they called themselves) were as fallible as any other pony. Except for Applejack. She was the element of honesty, which quite literally directly countered Radius in every single way. He liked living, and he would rather avoid somepony who was described as a living lie detector.

He tried to steer as far away from them as possible. It wasn’t like running and ducking behind a bush every time he saw them, but more of cross the street quickly, or just generally avoid the areas they were known for being.

But, unfortunately, as the high rise tree of the Golden Oaks library came into view, sometimes it was simply unavoidable. He needed books for his Changeling research, and unfortunately, the Golden Oaks was usually the only place to find them.

He nudged the door open to the library, the small golden bell above him ringing melodically, similar to the one at Sugarcube Corner, signaling his arrival to anypony who was in earshot. If it wasn’t for the Unicorn and the dragon that lived here, he might’ve actually liked being in here. If not for the constant, antagonizing fear he felt while trotting out in public, he would’ve spent almost all of his free time within these oak-colored walls.

There was something about the oil lamps that licked the interior in a beautiful orange glow that seemed inherently homely. Rows upon rows of books gave a colorful impression, and the musty air of old pages filled his lungs. It was an extremely peaceful place to be.

“Staples? Ohmygosh, Staples!”

It would’ve been peaceful, if not for the fact that the librarian was bonkers.

“I didn’t think you were going to show up!” The purple Unicorn shouted from the top of the staircase in the room. Quickly, she gallivanted down the staircase, skipping one or two steps at the bottom. “Not that I thought you were going to show up or anything- Or, I mean- D-Did you figure anything out? Do you need more books? Because I can-!”

Twilight Sparkle wasn’t an average pony. As a matter of fact, she was probably the least average pony in the entirety of Ponyville. She was the closeted book worm who spent most days indoors, researching about, quite literally, anything. She was a student of Princess Celestia herself, an element of harmony, and she was there the day of the Changeling invasion, slaughtering his kind without a second thought.

She was the kind of pony to enchant a doll to make the town go crazy. She hatched an unfertilized dragon egg, turned her parents into plants, coo an Ursa-Minor to sleep, crashed a multi-million bit party, and even stone the literal god of chaos. She was, for lack of a better word, a complete psychopath.One that Staplesreally didn’t want to talk to right now.

“Uh- Twi, I don’t think he’s listening.” A previously unfertilized dragon egg said from the top step of the staircase. Staples blinked in confusion, realizing he had been simply unfocusing his eyes as she ranted.

“O-Oh.” Twilight shook her head as Staples smiled, both trying their hardest to mask their embarrassment. “Sorry, it’s just- I’m really invested into your research, Staples.”

“No problem.” Staples responded coolly. He looked up to the dragon on the railing, who simply shot him a strange, almost dirty look before scrambling away from the railings, upwards, and perhaps to go find a good place for a nap. He looked back at Twilight. “I know you already said the library was emptied out of any books about Changelings, but… I was wondering if… you know…” He rolled his hoof with a bashful smile.

“If I had any more?” Twilight mused. “I wasn’t lying. You really did clear out the library.” Staples’ bashful smile slowly faded away. “But… I did happen to order a shipment earlier this week…”

“You did?” He asked, his eyes shimmering with excitement as his smiled broadened. “Where is it? Can I see it?” Twilight gave a smile as her horn ignited, using her magic to pull out a small, book-sized package hiding under a dusty corner of the staircase. It was wrapped in brown paper, a thin string pulled taught, and a note hanging by a thread.

“I had to pull a few strings.” She explained as she levitated it closer to Staples. “I asked Princess Celestia directly for the most detailed book on Changelings she had. But, because she isn’t in charge of the Changeling Research Group, she asked Princess Luna, who was. She then asked the royal archivist, who then asked Professor Trottingway, who then asked Princess Celestia again, and long story short, this is an early copy!”

“An early copy?” He asked highly. His own horn lit up with his orange magic, and he lightly prodded Twilight’s magic with his own.

The reaction was… unexpected.

He felt it for a fraction of a second. Sometimes, when horned creatures are too trigger happy with their horns, a little bit of their magic can mix with another pony’s magic. While mostly harmless, sometimes there can be some blow back. For half a second, he felt Twilight’s magic aura build in the tip of his horn. If he had to give a flavor to Twilight’s magic, it tasted a little bit like strawberries.

As soon as it had came, it went. It was a usual occurrence between horned creatures, not even enough to be brought up when it happens, besides letting out a small ‘oops!’ when it does.

Twilight, however, froze in shock, a gasp coming from her mouth, and accidentally letting the book hit the floor with a thump. Staples took a step back, looking at the book, and looking back at her. Twilight quickly regained composure.

“I-I’m sorry.” Twilight apologized. Staples lit up his horn once more, lifting the package up for himself. “Y-You just- um- surprised me, that’s all.” She cleared her throat. “L-Like I was saying, um- this is an early copy. Of a textbook! Yes, that’s it! It’s going to be taught in Science, Biology, Species Study, Creature Study, and even Equestrian Magic!”

Staples let the package hit his hooves, his orange aura evaporating as he resorted to ripping it open with his hooves. The pristine cover shone back at him, never before touched by another pony besides the author. It’s background was completely white, reflecting and glittering in the way new college textbooks did. There was a sketched picture on the front of a Changeling, it’s face turned into a frown as it buffed it’s chest out. Half of it was split in half, a skeleton glowering right back at him.

“Changeling Anatomy 101: The Pony Nemesis.” He sighed, looking at Twilight through the top of his glasses. “They couldn’t choose a better name?”

“Well… you know…?” She laughed nervously, clearing her throat. “But Professor Trottingway told me all about it. It’s really interesting! All information ever discovered about Changelings! Ever!” He set the book down on the floor, carefully flipping through the first few chapters, casually glancing at the pages as he went. It was surprisingly detailed, a lot of words, and quite a few pictures detailing parts of the Changeling. “It should all be right here in this very textbook! Every peer-reviewed paper, every official publication, every biopsy, everything! Isn’t that exciting?”

“That’s wrong.”

“Huh?”

“That.” The book was splayed open to a section about hooves, towards the beginning of the book. “It is theorized that Changelings loose mass on their hooves in order to conserve energy. This is why, during the Changeling Invasion of 1001, the Changelings had holes in their hooves. It has been speculated, and observed in the wild, that a well-fed Changeling would not have holes in their hooves, instead having a full, normal hoof structure, similar to that of a pony.” He tapped the picture. “That’s wrong.”

“Why?” Twilight asked, already levitating a stack of blank papers out and an already inked quill.

“Well… it just isn’t. It’s wrong.” He began to explain. “A well-fed Changeling wouldn’t have full hooves. They would simply just have… you know, holey hooves. They’re there to help with being stealthy, stalking, and sneaking around. Getting closer to the prey, that kind of thing. The holes help dampen the sound. And help with long falls.”

“Interesting!” Twilight had begun scribbling down with her magic, writing already half a page of just notes. “I’ll have to send this to Professor Trottingway immediately! Is there anything else?” She looked back up to Staples, leaning forwards intently.

“Well… it’s a big book, and I’ll have to read it over later tonight.” He looked out one of the many windows, a cringe adorning his muzzle. “Jeez, it’s already sunset. I should really get going.”

“B-But before you do, can you- um-” She levitated up the discarded wrapper from the book, reading the small cream stamp. “Princess Luna wanted me to ask you to flip to page 133.”

“Page 133?” He asked, pushing his glasses higher on the bridge of his muzzle and looking back down at the paper, flipping forwards rapidly. “Err- ah.” He let out a dejected sigh. “Hiveminds. Of course.” He took the physical effort to move his glasses away from his muzzle, simply so he could face-hoof as hard as he liked.

“Well?” Twilight asked.

“Ridiculous.” He finished simply, putting his glasses back on his muzzle. “There have been zero evidence of hiveminds ever existing in Changeling society.”

“But the invasion!” Twilight quickly interrupted. “We saw the Changelings choreograph the invasion! There is no way they could’ve all been in sync like that without a hive mind!”

“There has to be a chain of command. Much like a normal army would do.” He guessed. “Drones, captains, leaders, queens. Trust me, if there was a Changeling hive mind I would know.” He said with a slight edge to his voice. He let out a sigh. “I should get going. I don’t want to walk home in the dark.”

“One more thing!” Twilight suddenly springed up. Staples watched intently as she quickly trotted away and into one of the many side rooms of the library. The door swung open when she barged through it, and by the time she came back through, the door almost clicked against the frame.

In her aura was a vanilla folder. All across it, like the victim of a crime scene, was hundreds of little stamps that read some variation of ‘Top Secret!’ There was black and yellow tape, locks, perhaps some archaic runes to ward off the average Unicorn, and the thing that really piped Staples’s interest was a little stamp in the bottom right that read ‘Changeling Research Group.’

“Princess Luna sent me this the other day.” She said, setting it down on the floor in front of Staples. She sat down, using her hooves to carefully maneuver out the… photographs? “This is huge! If Professor Trottingway wasn’t almost ready to publish his textbook, he would’ve had to rewrite it!”

“What is it?” He asked warily. The photographs had been blown up from it’s normal card-sized papers to full sized printer paper. They were laminated in sheets, protected, and had plenty of red marker dancing across it’s surface.

“You know what a Changeling looks like, right?” She asked, already knowing the answer. “They’re mostly black, with the exception of blue highlights.” She slid forwards the photograph. “But look at this!”

The photographer was hiding in a bush, quite obvious by the branches in the way of the camera around the edges. The trees surrounding the photographer were anything unlike Ponyville or it’s surrounding areas had ever seen. They were incredibly tall, going off frame, and very bushy, with many legs of vines falling around. It was obvious that the photograph was taken far, far away from Ponyville.

There, sitting in the middle of a clearing, was a Changeling.

But not quite any Changeling Staples- or, Radius was quite used to ever seeing.

Instead of being black, it’s chitin was completely white. It’s wings weren’t shredded, nor was it’s horn curvy and spiked. Instead of the blue that Radius had become completely accustomed to, it’s highlights were a light pink, giving the usual fierce creature a kind of soft and plushy look.

Staples couldn’t help himself, and without realizing it, had his jaw open completely wide, his eyes growing to the size of saucers as he stared at the photo.

“This photo was taken by Miss Fluttersnap.” Twilight explained. “She was positioned as a wildlife photographer, far down south with a tribe of Zebra’s. She said she heard birds singing, followed the sound and… found… it.”

The Changeling’s hooves were still holey, just like his. One of it’s hooves were extended forwards, and perched in between two holes, was a songbird, parroting away.

“Miss Fluttersnap said it was trying to replicate the sounds of a songbird, and that’s what lead her to it.” Twilight leaned closer to Staples, trying to get a better view of his expression. “Anything to say?”

“I should… go.” Staples let the photo drop from his grasp, fluttering to the floor harmlessly. “I-I’ve really overstayed my welcome, and I think I should-” He quickly stood up, trotting to the door as Twilight watched. “Thank you for the textbook, Twilight- Oh-” He realized the textbook was not with him. He quickly levitated it towards himself, letting it sit on the crook of his back. “Yeah- I’ll see you- um- later!” He ducked out of the library without another word.

Twilight kept staring as the door slowly latched shut on it’s hinges.

There was a few seconds of silence.

And then…

“Spike!” She turned her head upwards, shouting. “I need to take a letter!”

There was a faint grumble heard somewhere upstairs, followed closely by claws scraping against wooden floorboards, and then a small purple dragon leaning over the guard rails, just like he had earlier.

“You’re not drained, are you?” He asked.

“Of course not, silly. Come down here so I can take a letter.” She asked. Spike grumbled something faintly, but descended down the stairs all the same. Twilight levitated over one of the many leftover scrolls she had after trying to squeeze Staples out of anything he had. Spike snatched it from the air, along with a quill Twilight levitated over.

“You know I don’t like that… thing being around here.” Spike grumbled.

“Oh, hush.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Princess Luna assures me he isn’t mean. And besides, Rainbow Dash is on observation duty for today. She wouldn’t let him do anything to me. I’m sure she probably had her ear against a window the entire time.”

“If she hadn’t fallen asleep already…” Spike grumbled.

“She wouldn’t.” Twilight sighed. “On the bright side, I managed to get a good sample of Staples’s magic signature when we exchanged auras. It was accidental, but enough for me to deduce that he is not part of Queen Chrysalis’s hive, nor is he even from Queen Chrysalis’s hive.”

“Or he could just be disguising.” Spike suggested. “You know. The thing Changeling’s are known to do.”

“Just take a letter, Spike.” She interrupted. He rolled his eyes, but still complied, hiking up the paper and putting a quill to parchment. She cleared her throat. “Dear Princess Luna.”

03 - The Distant Cry

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Offices were rarely grand. Take Radius’s, for instance. It was small, cramped, had a leaking pipe, and was generally a terrible place to reside in, much less for doing work. The only purpose of having a grand office was to be foreboding for any potential business customers. They would design the office to be scary and large if they thought it might strike a pang of fear through ponies souls. And sometimes, it would work.

But his office wasn’t grand like any businessmare. It wasn’t cramped like any accountants, and it certainly wasn’t a repurposed dining table for the sake of researching Changelings. The room was mostly wooden with two windows streaming late light into his office.

There was a gray earth-pony, wearing in years, sitting on his chair and carefully reading and writing through his teeny glasses. His brown mane was buzz-cut and straight, his eyes weary and golden, his hoof dancing across small boxes.

Then, unceremoniously, a letter was slid directly onto the pencil he was currently holding.

Slowly, he looked up, peeking over the top of his glasses as he met the gaze of a dark-green Earth-pony, standing expectantly, his chest pushed out with pride. This Earth-pony was wearing silver armor, although not shiny and incredibly dented from years of abuse. Not because the pony currently wearing it had waged through battles and come out victorious. Actually, quite the opposite. It was training armor, and the Earth-pony wearing it had failed. Many times. His name was Chloride.

Chloride slowly blinked as the silence between the two ponies stretched on uncomfortably.

“Oh- uh- Another letter from Ponyville, sir!” He said with a thick and slow accent. The general sighed, rubbing his head and sliding the letter to the edge of the table. He maneuvered his hooves underneath the ledge of his desk so when it eventually fell down, it fell directly onto his awaiting hoof. He then bit down on the edge, ripping it open, and reading the contents.

When he was done, he let the letter flutter to the table, sighing out slowly.

“Problem, sir?”

The general gave a quick start, looking up at the new recruit still standing at his desk in an infuriating manner. The general waved his hoof as he fought to find the correct words to describe the letter- especially to somepony as… slow as the stallion standing in front of him.

“It’s a letter from Mayor Mare.” He finally settled on. “A request to dispatch a guard for a standard Changeling procedure.” The general took half a second, reading Chloride in front of him for a good few seconds. Finally, he nodded. “Actually, I’m going to keep this short, squirt.” He leaned back in his chair. “You’ve missed regiment training a good three times this week, managed to burn down half the kitchen, and I think accidentally committed a war crime last month.”

“Wha-”

“You are to ask Pepper from the Air Force to accompany you down-”

“Pepper?” He almost shrieked, making the very patient general stop mid-sentence. “I can’t take her! She’s a Pegasus who almost always has a broken wing! I can’t take her with me! She’ll slow me down.” The general waited an extra second to make sure the recruit finished.

“You haven’t heard the mission yet.” The recruit blinked, moving his head back in a questioning gesture. “You two are going down- not to Ponyville, but down to the National Equestrian Archive and search for a pony named…” He glanced down to the letter. “Staples. Unicorn with a cream coat, orange mane, and a paper and paperclip Cutiemark.”

“Oh.” He let out a sigh. “That’s not so bad, then. Thank you, captain-”

“And if Staples doesn’t have a record.” He kept going. “You and Pepper are going to go down to Ponyville and pay Staples a visit, make sure he isn’t a Changeling.”

“But neither of us are Unicorns!” He objected. “How’ll we undisguise the Changeling?”

“Celestia bless it, Chloride! Do I have to spell everything out for you?” He asked, genuinely finding himself slightly annoyed. Chloride clamped his mouth shut, shaking his head furiously. The general took one deep breath, stabilizing himself. “Take a standard jail cart, throw some supplies in there to last you the journey, and take a Changeling Kit with you.”

There was a pause as Chloride seemingly chewed the air in thought.

“So… If we can’t find Paperclip’s record, we can’t take the train?”

The general face-hoofed.

“No. You can’t take the train. Since both you and Pepper skipped this week’s march, you’ll take the cart, and you’ll take the journey on hoof.”

Chloride chewed the air again, his eyes darting to the side in deep thought as he watched the setting sun.

“Can Pepper pull the cart?”

“She has a broken wing, Chloride.” He said, exasperated, uncovering his face. “That, and you’re an Earth-pony. Did you miss- not even basic training, did you miss pre-school, too?”

Chloride decided not to answer that, instead just offering a hasty salute and turning around to leave.

“Just- please take the letter.” The general hastily added. “You’re gonna forget who you’re looking for.”

Chloride frowned, turning around and hastily transferring the piece of parchement.

“This is dumb.”

The general frowned back.

Radius couldn’t remember the last time he had ran. It must’ve been years, really. Since he had moved to Ponyville, he didn’t really have an excuse to pick up the pace at anything more than leisurely. Everything in this small town was close together. The stalls, his work, his home. That being said, however, as Radius found himself trotting at a brisk trot in an attempt to outpace the setting sun, he couldn’t help but feel his joints rapidly weakening.

Although his eyes were focused on the ground, the textbook weighing heavily on his back, he couldn’t help but feel like that damned picture was burned into his brain. He could still see it. The white Changeling. White and pink, found down south, where as far as Radius knew, the only living creatures were bugs and a few Zebra tribes. What would Queen Chrysalis be doing down there?

Of course, the obvious answer was obvious. It was staring him right in the fact. There was a reason why Queen Chrysalis’s hive was called just that. A hive.For there to be her hive implies the existence of multiple hives. Of course, Radius had the notion that he might not be from Queen Chrysalis’s hive due to his orange coloration, but with a lack of evidence, he had swept that theory under the rug and forgotten about it.

But now, that white and pink Changeling told him one thing: Other hives had to exist. And there was an outstanding chance that he wasn’t ever a part of Queen Chrysalis’s hive.

It was comforting to know that not only did he not participate in the invasion, he wasn’t even cut from the same branch of Queen Chrysalis and her hive. But, it was unfortunately less comforting to know that all of the research about himself could be practically thrown out.

There was a good chance that nothing he had read could be applied to him. Perhaps other Changelings were actually mindless drones, just like the newspapers had said. Maybe because he was a part of this now mysterious orange hive, his being was gifted with the intelligence of a pony.

He was so deep in thought that he didn’t realize the heavy text book had begun it’s slide down his back, and it accidentally fell down, landing on the dirt with a thump. He finally stopped trotting, turning around, and looking at the now dusty tomb.

He wasn’t going to make it back before dark. That was just a fact. He decided to rest, and although he mentally wanted to get home as soon as possible, he physically relaxed at the respite of relief as he found a nearby tree and sat down next to it.

The forest path he had found himself on was thick with trees, just on the outside of the Everfree. Through the canopy of trees that covered the majority of the skyline, he could faintly see the swirling orange and purple lights of the setting sun. Whether it was a blunder on Princess Celestia’s part or whatever council set time and dates for the sun to rise and set, six was the time today. Which was incredibly early. Almost laughably early.

The sky, though, did give Radius a brief respite from his thoughts. It’s beautiful colors were mesmerizing to watch stretch further and further across the sky. Little stars pricked through the canvas, although it wasn’t quite dark enough to poke all the way through and shine brightly. No doubt, Princess Luna’s moon would pop over the horizon any moment now.

Radius let out one last big sigh, closing his eyes, and leaning his head far enough back that it made contact with the tree he rest his back on.

He was… ‘safe’ out here. This path was well out of the way, the only civilization this far out being the nearby cottage that belonged to a Pegasus, although his memories of the place were fuzzy at best and gone at worst.

In town, trotting was dangerous. Ponyville was a dangerous place. All it took was a Pegasus loosing control of a stunt, smashing into him at high speeds, and accidentally undisguising himself. An uncontrolled cart smacking him too hard, he would be outed. A dropped beam from a new construction, rambunctious fillies on their scooter, a misfired spell- all it took was a blunder and he would be done.

And unlike the last times he had undisguised in front of towns before, it was now dangerous to do so. No longer were ponies content with running him out of towns, the newspapers demanded his blood.

Out here was… safer was the word. Not safe, but safer then being out in the middle of the town square. The worst thing that could happen out here was an overly territorial squirrel.

He listened to the gushing wind with his eyes closed. The creaking of sticks, the brushing of leaves, and the howling.

It was really, really peaceful.

But alas, all good things must come to an end.

He caught it. Heard it.

It started off soft, and for a second, he didn’t really mentally registered that he was hearing anything out of the ordinary. But then, the wind picked up again, and for a second time, louder, her heard it.

His eyes creaked open, his brow furrowed, and he leaned forwards intently. His ears worked to twitch back and forth as he strained to hear. He could’ve sworn there was something being carried by the wind. A murmuring, perhaps? Another pony out this far?

The wind picked up once more, and his heart thoroughly dropped through the ground.

He heard crying. It had to be crying. It definitely had to be crying. It was coming from deeper, from the forest behind him, and away from the path he had defined as safer. His chest began to painfully tighten with fear as he looked deeper into the deep vicious black, and he made yet another startling observation.

It wasn’t just normal crying. It was crying coming from a filly.

He began to feel his head turn light and fuzzy as the situation began to dawn on him. There was a filly crying in the Everfree. To be fair, it wasn’t particularly deep into the Everfree, but it was still deeper than the path he walked on.

He was on a path that nopony ever really traveled, and he had only heard it when he took a moment to rest. Nopony else was ever going to hear her. He had accidentally taken the responsibility to figure out whatever was causing this filly grief.

This filly was in danger.

Visions popped up in his own. Visions of a filly being attacked- no, ripped apart by a beast. A Timberwolf, or an Ursa-Major, Cock-a-trice, or any other manner of creatures.

He was a Changeling, the bringer of darkness. His kind had killed countless ponies across history. He was forged in the pits of Tartarus, created as a predator to an uncontested prey species in a land without any natural enemies.

And he was being defeated by a clump of trees.

Radius quickly glanced to the textbook that had fallen off of his book. His own anatomy stared back at him. He took two deep consecutive breaths as he stared blindly straight ahead, closing his eyes once more.

“Aw, man.”

Then, he stood up, and began carefully trotting towards the source of the sound, being careful to dodge any particularly pointy plants.

Yet, as he disappeared deeper and deeper into the forest, a particular cyan Pegasus poked her head over a nearby cloud, watching as this Changeling dot far below began to traverse the forest. He looked like a bull in a china shop, barreling his way through the trees at an impressive speed.

The mare put a hoof on her chin, leaning forwards intently. She let out a deep sigh.

“Where ya goin’, Staples?” She whispered to herself, yawning. She spread out her wings and began lightly flapping them, the cloud just barely following the speck on the ground.

04 - Go Under

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He wasn’t going to say that this forest was particularly… Homely. Because, in all honesty, it wasn’t. It was big, scary, and dark. But despite himself, he couldn’t help but feel that little bit more at ease the deeper he went in. From the outside, these towering trees were scary, but he knew them like the back of his hoof. He knew how to be careful with his steps around here. Which paths to take, which plants to avoid, and which trees housed angry squirrels. He wasn’t joking about the territorial squirrels. That was a genuine fear.

In his younger days, he had spent a significant amount of time in this forest. After he had fled his last town- named something with a spire in it, he wasn’t exactly sure, but this was the forest he had ended up, for better or for worse. And that in itself must’ve been five or six years ago, maybe even more.When he had arrived, he was nothing more than a foal-hatchling-thing, and although Ponyville had supplied him with an infinite supply of love, he was forced to live in these woods until he could maintain an adult disguise for prolonged periods of time, and therefore able to work and afford his house.

But, even after leaving this forest for such a long time, there was still a faint memory that stood out to him. It was one, tiny, annoying and painful detail that refused to leave his brain, and unfortunately, his recollection of that detail was reignited ten-fold when he stepped foot back in here.

The thorns. The damn thorns. Out here, they were everywhere. He would barely even brush a plant, and end up looking like a pin-cushion on the other side. Soon enough, his entire body was covered in tiny little needles, pricking into his skin, and turning his disguise, Staples, into a porcupine. They weren’t dangerous, per say, but he would much rather go without them than with. They were just painful and annoying. Annoyingly painful. Painfully annoying. Whichever one was worse.

But, past the tiny little devils that turned his hooves into swiss cheese (not that they weren’t already,) the crying he had heard from the trail had become crystal clear now, despite the filly going from racking sobs to pitiful sniffles. Not only was she easily heard now, but Radius could distinctly hear a strange ruffling sound. It was like a thousand bed linens were flapping in the wind all at once. He couldn’t pinpoint what was causing the sound, but it sounded natural in nature, and not at all like the ruthless monster he was imagining in his head.

The sky had turned black now, and Radius could feel his Changeling instincts take over as the darkness surrounded him. If he wasn’t disguised, he would’ve perfectly blended in, just like how he was designed. He automatically lowered his body to the ground, and like a panther, began stalking his prey.

He winced as a thorn dislodged, poking into the crook of his leg. He paused for a moment, distastefully looking down at his armpit where the thorn resided. A sly grin peeped it’s way onto his muzzle as he looked around at the surrounding area, looking for any potential witnesses. Then, carefully, he loosened his orange tie and slipped it around his neck, tossing it a good distance away. His horn ignited, and his glasses were levitated away from his face.

The Changeling ignited into orange flames, but instead of changing into a new disguise, when the flames faded, it was still good ol’ Staples. Only the hundreds of little thorns had turned into ash, falling away and drifting in the wind. He slipped the tie back around his neck, tightening it, and plopping his glasses back onto his muzzle.

That, ladies and gentle-stallions, was one of the perks of being a Changeling.

Such a shame he relied on others emotions to live. Fortunately, Ponyville was set in that department.

Slowly, he began creeping forwards once more. He came to a large tree, and like the previously mentioned panther, his head barely creeped around the tree, one of his orange eyes peeping around the massive trunk and towards the crying.

For a second, he didn’t even see the filly, nor the scene around her. Instead, he flinched back, his muzzle turning up in disgust as he was hit with a wave of sadness. Imagine standing outside and letting the sun burn your skin brightly, no sunscreen, and no clothes. Just burning, singing heat. It was a little bit like that, but instead of the heat of the sun, it was the taste of bitterness.

Radius quickly ducked his head back behind the tree, gagging slightly as he momentarily forgot the taste of love. Similarly to holding their breath, Changelings could hold their emotion receptors, momentarily pausing their emotional intake. Of course, just like breathing, he would have to turn it back on. But, unlike breathing, he only had to turn them back on when he began starving.

He peeked his head back around the tree trunk, unobscured by the gallons of sadness pouring out of the filly. He could still barely taste it in the air, but compared to before, it was… manageable.

It was a tiny opening, splitting of the trees, and not really big enough to see from the sky unless a Pegasus knew to look for it. The noise he had heard earlier- the sounds of bed linens- they had actually turned out to be the sound of a rushing river. It was foamy, the water rippling and sputtering around big jagged rocks. It wasn’t a small river, neither. It was wider than a small building, going both ways, and down farther than his eye could see.

Not ten feet in front of him was the filly he had heard, laying down with her back facing him, and staring down into the water. She was shaking slightly, her body wracking with little sniffles as she fought back tears. He couldn’t see her face from his position, but he could definitely tell that the filly had been crying for a good long while.

Her head was laid down onto her hooves, and she let out a momentous sigh, her hoof pushing into the water and watching as the current moved around it.

He could feel the tension break from his shoulders, but instead of being replace with relief, Radius was filled with disappointment. Horribly so. Nopony was being mauled by a Timberwolf, Ursa-Major, Cock-a-trice, or anything of the sort. Not even by another Changeling. It was just a young filly and her own problems.

Radius felt his face fall into a deep frown, adjusting his spectacles and turning around with a huff, beginning to make his way back the way he came. He let his very little daylight burn completely out, leaving the world masked in a dank darkness for a little filly.

Or…

Radius stopped in his tracks.

Or the filly was lost, and couldn’t find her way home.

He chewed his lip thoughtfully as he looked up at the bright moon, illuminating his face with ghostly light. He chewed a little harder as he pondered the possibility. It… would make sense as to why she was crying. Being lost out here by herself in the great big Everfree. All alone. It would make anypony cry, not just a little filly.

Okay- maybe she wasn’t being attacked by a Timberwolf or what-nots, but still, he had the chance to save a filly, even if Ponyville was only a little more than a mile out.

He turned around once more, and began trudging back towards the filly, going further than the tree’s trunk he had hidden behind earlier.

How long has it been since he was in that spot? How long ago was it when he wanted somepony to tell him everything was going to be okay? Truth be told, he had never had that kind of comfort. Of course, he was a Changeling, and had fooled ponies into giving him sympathy before. Well- ‘fooled’ was a strong word. It felt fooled due to his disguise. He would’ve felt much better if they had just… accepted him for being a bug monster.

There was a reason why he didn’t make close friends. Not anymore, at least.

The filly had a cream coat, similar to his own. Her mane was curly, like his, but a deeper red instead of Staples’s orange. Her Cutiemark was that of two candy canes crossing each other. Maybe some kind of treat-maker? Just really loved candy?

Radius paused, now standing directly behind her. Which, in all honesty, was a little creepy. Here he was, a full grown stallion, towering over a filly. At night. And although he didn’t mean to be, his hoof steps were completely silent, the sounds of rushing water completely masking any sound he made.

He took one last breath, and suddenly had the feeling that he was immensely under qualified to deal with… this. He looked to the moon for any help. All that it responded with was something blue dash away. Maybe a shooting star?

He looked back down, and lightly, cleared his throat.

Nothing. The filly didn’t hear him, and she didn’t react. So, like a normal pony and definitely not a creepy Changeling, he tried again, clearing his throat louder.

She kept sniffling, her hoof still dipped in the water, playing with the current.

“Hello?” He asked quietly.

Not a twitch. Finally, he had enough.

“Hey!” He yelled.

“Gah!” Unfortunately, it seemed his yelling had worked a little bit too well.

He saw her face for a quarter of a second.Through that teeny-tiny glance, he saw her bright fuscia eyes that looked extremely startled. In front of those eyes were purple glasses that looked identical to his, only instead of his square and boxy frames were smooth and curvy.

That was all he managed to glimpse of her, however, as the next moment were full of pain, stars, and the sudden introduction of two hooves connecting directly into his muzzle.

Pow!

She, in her startledness, had accidentally and completely reflexively bucked him in the muzzle. There was a cracking sound as either his jaw or his glasses were shattered where they sat, his neck snapping backwards as he collapsed on the ground like a paper bag full of air. The sounds of glass littering the ground told him that the shattering sound was not his jaw, and instead the glasses that he always wore turning into a fine glass mist.

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly as he grasped his muzzle, sending silent curses out as he withered in pain.

“Oww! Ow-ow-ow-ow!” He hissed on the ground, his legs kicking up dirt as he withered around. “Celestia above, kid, you really know how to kick!” He not only silently cursed the pain away, but also silently cursed himself. He hadn’t just startled a filly, but also startled an Earth-Pony, the ones who were known for shaking apples loose from trees by sheer force. He was lucky he didn’t loose any teeth, and that the only casualty seemed to be his glasses, a billion bits on the ground next to him.

He slowly pushed himself back up lethargically, rubbing his muzzle in pain as he did so. Truth be told, he didn’t need the glasses to see, because of course he didn’t. But, when the guards come knocking, are they going to expect a Changeling to be wearing glasses? No. Well- maybe. That’s besides the point.

Finally, he met the eyes of the filly. They seemed to be glowing under the moonlight, illuminating her face as she breathed quickly. Her eyes were wider than saucepans as she stared directly at the Changeling in front of her, her legs quivering with fear.

Wait. Fear?

She wasn’t just scared, but she was horrified. Her jaw was flexed tight as her lip quivered, her stance telling Radius she was in a fight or flight response.

“Kid, are you okay?” He asked in his best polite tone. “I know I scared you, but-” He pushed his tie up with his hoof, showing the filly the orange fabric as a means to make her feel less stressed. “I’m just a lowly office worker. I’m not here to hurt…” But something was off about his tie. It crunched as he moved it, and when he looked down at his tie, he quite quickly realized it was burnt. Crunchy and crispy. The fabric looked like it had gone through a fire, leaving behind a charred corpse.

He looked farther down.

Radius wasn’t cream anymore, like his coat.

He was black. And holey.

Slowly, he looked back up. The fear in her eyes suddenly make much more sense. She wasn’t startled by a pony. She was startled by a Changeling. The kick to the teeth must’ve accidentially made him undisguise, and he hadn’t even realized it until just now.

The Changeling. The blood-sucking parasite that plagued Equestria. The species that tried to overthrow Princess Celestia herself.

That species was currently staring down a defenseless filly.

“Uh…” He swallowed heavily, suddenly aware of what this filly was capable of. Outing him to the town. Had she even seen his disguise? She could probably put two-and-two together, with the burnt orange tie and the shattered glasses, and link straight back to Staples. It was best to approach this carefully. “I know what it looks like-”

“Changeling!” She suddenly shouted, the volume surprising him. He winced at her words, suddenly and quickly standing up as the filly began backing up. “Changeling! Help me! Changeling!” She screamed. Adrenaline began pumping through his veins as visions of a Changeling-hunt began swimming through his head.

“I’m not going to hurt you!” He tried to reason. The filly just kept shaking her head viciously. Radius gasped as he looked behind her. “No-no- wait!”

But it was too late. Her hoof suddenly slipped off of the rocks she had been resting on moments before.

She slipped.

Right

into

the

river.

It happened in less than the blink of an eye. She was there one moment, and then like a failed rock skip, she vanished below the surface of the rushing water, the only semblance that anypony ever being there was the echoing of her screams in the forest around him.

A second passed.

He could leave. Turn around right now, and pretend nothing had ever happened. Nopony would have to know he was here. To Tartarus with it, he wasn’t even sure if anypony knew that filly was this far out.

And then another second.

He was a Changeling. A fierce species, known for having no heart. No emotions of their own. Only the skills of a psychopath that only cared for themselves. Yet- as he watched the rushing water, he knew that bit of his research was false. Untrue. He wasn’t a psychopath. He had a heart, the same as any other pony. And that filly needed his help. (Even if he had caused the situation she had found herself in.)

And another second.

Time, if it had slowed down, he wasn’t even sure. But it had resumed, and without a second thought, he was galloping quicker than he had ever galloped in his entire life.

The moonlight barely illuminated the path in front of him, but it was more than enough to see where he was going. He was going the direction of the water, desperate to outpace the filly and get to a point where he could potentially grab her out of the water.

His foreleg suddenly tripped on a loose stick, and although he caught himself, he quickly remembered he had a horn. It ignited, lighting the path in front of him an extra few feet. He dodged and weaved, looking to his side and catching glimpses of the river. Those rocks looked sharp.

He didn’t know what he was doing. Really, at the end of the day, he was a simple office worker. Not this… jumping, weaving, and dodging Changeling desperately chasing the river in the hopes to outrun her drowning. He was a Changeling, damn it! He wasn’t supposed to feel emotions! Panic, fear, and guilt! He felt these things!

But Radius wasn’t a normal Changeling. At least, he didn’t think he was. He sure as hay wasn’t a part of Queen Chrysalis’s hive. So did that give him the excuse to feel these emotions? Sure. Sure it did.

His hooves dug into the ground, not even feeling tired from galloping. This was far enough, right? Surely he outran the filly, right?

He quickly surveyed the area and found a long stick. It looked like a thick tree branch that had snapped off a long time ago, sturdy in construction. Now, as he began wrapping his magic around this branch, it was time to show up Twilight Sparkle.

The branch heaved into the air, and for a moment, his magic faltered, not ready for it to be so heavy. But he forced it to stabilize, and without a second thought, dunked it halfway into the river.

And waited. He watched, the rippling, the current. The jagged rocks under the surface. How fast it was moving. He was looking for a quick moving blob that resembled a filly.

And the seconds ticked by. They ticked by so, painfully slowly. Had he not run far enough down? Was it too late? Was she already halfway to the nearest ocean?

It was so painful. So, so painful. He began to feel his adrenaline wear off, his shoulders slump as he began to slowly realize exactly what had happened. He had practically just murdered a filly. And, although he had tried to save her, what good would it be?

Thunk!

Suddenly, her head burst from the surface of the water. Her chest heaved as she tried to breathe, her hooves wrapped around the log, pulling herself up as far as she could. Radius redoubled his magic, holding on as tight as he could, gritting his teeth.

The filly looked unharmed, although her purple glasses had been long since lost in the current. Her red mane clung to her scalp, water dripping down, blinking harshly to clear her vision.

Radius leapt forwards, his magic shaking for half a second as he laid down, reaching as far off the river bank he could.

“Give me your hoof!” He shouted. “Kid, give me your hoof!” He added quickly.

The filly blinked again, and although she was halfway in a river, on the verge of drowning, she still hesitated. Just for a moment. Her eyes flickered up in a small internal debate, and although Radius held his hoof out, she just held onto the log tighter.

“Kid, please!” He begged. “Give me your hoof! I’m not dangerous! I promise!”

The filly still just stared.

“I’m not like them!” He shouted, suddenly finding himself on the verge of tears. “I’m not the same! Please!”

She tried to hang onto the branch tighter, readjusting her grip. Unfortunately, the moment she moved her hoof, the current took her away once more. All he heard was a little gasp as she went under the water again.

“Damn it!” He screamed, dropping the branch into the water, discarded, and began galloping again.

Why was he crying? He wasn’t the one drowning. But, for some reason, his eyes were full of tears, burning in the wind as he galloped further down. Why. Why wouldn’t she just listen? Would she rather die than be helped by a Changeling? What would she loose either way? It was dumb. Just simply put- dumb.

Through the moonlight, he saw the structure of a fallen tree. It had collapsed over the river, a portion of it even dipping below the surface, and the top flattened as many animals had used it as a bridge, across the terrible rapids.

Without thinking, he lept onto the tree.

But, unlike last time, he had barely ran at all before stopping. Compared to last time, he had zero time to prepare for the filly approaching. Before even completely stopping on the log, he saw the black blob of a filly, moving quickly under water, approach him.

Radius was a compulsive Changeling. He did things without thinking. He says things without thinking, which usually lands him in sticky situations, like earlier today at Sugarcube Corner. Maybe he was compulsive because of the way he was raised, out in the Everfree and skipping town to town. Or, maybe he was always destined to be like that.

Truth be told, it was just his modus operandi.

And compulsive he was. Without a second thought, he leapt into the river.

The water was cold. Ice cold. Almost instantly, he felt himself tense up almost painfully as the water bit him. The thorns felt like nothing compared to this. He began to feel the intense current throwing him as hard as it could in the opposite direction.

He quickly flailed his hoof, and through the dark and cold water, it made contact with the filly. Quickly, he pulled her tight against his chest, and reached one hoof out of the water.

Another pro of being a Changeling were his hooves. They were holey, which upon first glance, might be revolting. It looked as if he had went through a war zone, or maybe just some intensely gross birth defect. But they were strong, and in some cases like stalking or falling, actually quite useful.

The log he was standing on not four seconds earlier made contact with his hoof. He felt his shoulder pull, and suddenly, he was locked in place just underneath the log, the current still trying desperately to pull him under.

A branch of the log had went through a hole in his hoof. He was locked in place, the filly still held close to his chest.

This was ridiculous. He was an office worker! Not some kind of super hero! And now, with his head below water, the blackness everywhere and the coldness seeping into his skin, he suddenly realized why office workers weren’t cut out for super hero activities.

He was getting tired. All of that running, all of that leaping and prolonged magic use had weakened him, and now, as he wiggled and wormed against the current, he felt his lungs begin to burn, desperate for air.

He was an adult and he was running out of air already. The filly that he held close to his chest was just a foal. Had she already run out of air?

That thought scared him, and somehow, gave him a little bit of extra energy. That little dosage of adrenaline that he needed. He twisted himself underwater, pulled his legs forwards, and revenge-bucked the filly.

There was a splashing noise, and the filly was gone.

Just like that. No huge saving scene as the hero poses dramatically like in the movies, no confetti, and no pony thanking him. The filly was gone, and now he was stuck under water.

His lungs really began to burn now. It was like they were trying to turn themselves inside out, and he could distinctly imagine them turning into a raisin. He cringed, his eyes squeezing tightly, and he was desperate to pull in a breath.

Although his eyes were already closed, he begun to see darkness seep into the corners of his vision. He was starting to black out from a lack of oxygen, and although he was fighting it as long as he could, he couldn’t help it. He even tried to take a deep breath in, but exactly what he thought would happen happened.

And he slipped.

Further.

And further.

“You know I forgive you, right? I forgive you, because you never did anything wrong, Radie.”

Suddenly, he was yanked from the water. Two strong hooves wrapped around the only limb out of water, and with herculean strength, his entire body was chucked to the shore like a rag doll. He hit the ground and rolled a few extra feet, coming to a complete stop.

The first thing he did after being saved, of course, was cough.

Cough non-stop like a mad-pony. His coughs went from normal coughs to racking, sounding almost like he was trying to throw up.

His head was light, his limbs were in pain, and he was cold. So, very cold. The coldness seeped through every vein, every bone, and every muscle. His chitin felt like it was frosted over, his eye almost glued completely shut. But, painfully, he looked up from his position on the ground. Slowly, he saw a silhouette standing over him in the darkness. It wasn’t the filly, as this pony was much taller, and a Pegasus.

“Sup.” He weakly croaked out. And then finally, the world went blank as his head hit the ground.

05 - The Mind Ecstatic

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Was it just him, or was it suddenly really hot in here?

He didn’t know exactly how he had ended up here, in a stuffy court room absent of any windows and dimly lit by flickering light bulbs in the ceiling, but he was here. He also didn’t really care how he ended up here. The last thing he remembered before apparating was… he was chasing something. Somepony? Yes, that was it. There was a river involved, definitely. And he could remember getting wet.

The chair he sat in was stiff and uncomfortable. His lawyer- bless him, but Radius couldn’t remember his face nor his name for the life of him, but his lawyer gave him this suit to wear. It didn’t mix well with his Changeling anatomy at all. It felt like any uncomfortable movement would tear a hole through it with his spiky holes. On his horn was a small ring, barely larger than a bit, that stopped him from changing. Being disconnected from his magic supply was, strangely, very uncomfortable. Like a floor he’d always expect to land on suddenly becoming absent.

Carefully, to avoid damaging his suit, he turned around in his chair, creaking and groaning with his weight and age. Behind him was a court room packed in like sardines. There were twenty, maybe even thirty ponies, all of which he recognized from Ponyville. Although he couldn’t put a name to half of them, they were all definitely ponies he had seen before while commuting through the markets and the like. Every single one, without fail, were glaring at Radius with spite. Despite their scowl, however, not a single one moved. Not one breathed, talked, swayed in spot, or even breathed. It was uncanny. And if he didn’t know any better, he would’ve assumed they were all cardboard cut outs. It sent shivers down his spine, and he quickly turned back around.

Just in time, too. One of the many doors to the court room swung open. A tall stallion walked in with one of the longest, most royal cloaks he had ever seen a pony wear before. It completely covered his body below his neck and dragged on the floor wherever he went. The tall stallion climbed onto the middle podium, sitting down, and flicking open some kind of binder in front of him. Just like every other pony behind him, the stallion also glared at the Changeling, who suddenly began feeling very small in his presence.

The stallion leaned over, not breaking eye contact, and grabbed a white, powdery wig. With a straight face, still full of malice, he put it on.

Okay… Radius couldn’t help it. He cracked a small, even tiny smile at that.

“Resident Staples!” The stallion boomed, completely wiping the smile from Radius’s face. Radius quickly fumbled with his hooves, eventually settling putting them on the table in front of him. The judge’s scowl only deepened as he began rearranging a few papers on the podium, still not breaking eye contact with the now terrified Changeling. “Before we begin your sentencing, we will go through every detail we know about you, bug.” The last bit was added with a small amount of venom. Radius felt as if something was… off. Almost like some part of him knew that this wasn’t how court’s were supposed to go. But he still nodded with understanding, scared to interrupt the towering stallion. “You will plead your case to the jury. If they sympathize, then your sentence will be lessened. Do I make myself clear?”

“I- uhm- Mhmm!” He nodded frantically, turning his head to look at the jury he hadn’t even realized was there to begin with.

He then choked on the air he was breathing.

On the stands was every single Element of Harmony.

Every single one.

Twilight was leaning forwards in her seat intently, her eyes full of scholarly intent. It didn’t take a scientist to figure out Twilight was simply here for the research. Applejack was next to her, leaning back into her chair with her stetson off, with a large scowl clearly evident. Fluttershy seemed to be the one already with the most sympathy right from the get go, a hurt expression clearly present on her muzzle. Pinkie was somehow a double of Twilight, leaning forwards with intent to study, and Rainbow Dash was… also looking strangely hurt?

Rarity was… raising her hoof? This… was how court was supposed to go, right?

“Yes, Miss Belle?” The judge asked with a sigh, turning his glare to the purple-maned Unicorn.

“Dear Judge, if I may!” She sang in a high voice, lowering her hoof back down. “If this Changeling’s sentence is light, might I ask permission for his help in my dress-making business? A shape-shifter would be ever-so useful in my line of work, you know.”

“No.” He replied without hesitation. Rarity slumped back into her chair, defeated, and pouting. The judge sighed again, looking back down at Radius. “If everypony is done asking questions, we may begin.”

For a full two minutes, the judge was completely silent. His eyes glossed wordlessly over the papers in front of him. Without a word, a nudge, or a glance, he digested the entire paper. Radius, however, was far from still. He was constantly shifting in his seat, and constantly taking glances up at the jury. It really seemed like the only pony he had to be worried about was Applejack.

In the end, she was the only pony he was really worried about. The Element of Honesty, versus a species whose entire purpose is to lie and deceive. It was never going to work out. Fluttershy was probably already on his side, Twilight would be more than happy to keep him hostage to study him, Rarity already made her proposition very clear, and Rainbow…?

Rainbow was confusing. Why would Rainbow look that way? Wasn’t she photographed kicking Changeling’s jaws in during the Canterlot invasion? Maybe she was hurt because… she couldn’t do that to Radius right away?

Pinkie was probably wondering how to turn him into a cupcake.

“The Changeling known as Staples!” The judge boomed, beginning the questioning. “Many scholars, including some in the jury,” Didn’t take a genius to wonder who. “would like to know where you hail from.” He asked. Radius was slightly surprised at the question. But he suddenly found himself leaning forwards in his chair, speaking with truth.

“I don’t know where I came from.” His mouth began moving automatically as his brain went blank. Twilight blinked in surprise, leaning away from the jury railing.

“Hm.” The judge’s scowl deepened. “Staples, what is your earliest memory?”

“Being chased away from a garbage can in a back alley of Manehattan. That’s all I can say about that.” He couldn’t stop himself from talking. Why was he talking? Why wasn’t he hesitating?

Whatever he said, however, seemed to break through to Applejack. Her scowl momentarily faded away, and she awkwardly shuffled her stetson in her hooves in thought. Her scowl never fully returned, even though she did keep up her frown, if slightly lessened.

If the judge even believed him, it was hard to tell, with his unchanging wrinkled lip. “Were you, or were you not, involved in the invasion of Canterlot?” He asked.

“I think I’m supposed to have a lawyer.” He craned his neck backwards, looking back at the jury. Did they somehow seem… darker and less defined? Almost like he was looking at the crowd through a foggy door. “Do you guys know where my lawyer-”

“Answer the question, Staples!” The judge boomed, snapping the Changeling back to attention at a moment’s notice.

“Right. Err- no. I did not participate in the invasion. I was here, in Ponyville. I didn’t even hear about the Canterlot invasion until word spread through the newspaper and it landed on my front doorstep.”

Whatever he said, Rainbow suddenly leaned even further into her chair, the wood making an audible squeak as she did so. She rubbed a hoof over her eye, making her look tired and almost… defeated. The fastest Equestrian flier and greatest daredevil looked defeated, over a simple court case.

“Hmm…” The judge’s eyes narrowed. With the way he acted, with extreme bias, Radius began getting the impression that he wasn’t even a real judge. If he was, he sure as hay was an extremely biased and unprofessional one. “And what about your Queen? Do you take orders from Queen Chrysalis?”

“With all due respect, sir, I don’t have a queen.” He quickly shot a glance at Twilight, who was leaning forwards even more now, leaning over the railing. “I don’t even think I’m a part of Queen Chrysalis’s hive. I’m orange.” He waved a hoof at his mane, showing the judge and jury. “Why would I pledge allegiance to a Queen whose only made my life infinitely worse?”

“Can we start asking questions?” Twilight asked. She looked as if she was ready to burst, vibrating in her chair like it was the greatest scientific opportunity that had ever presented itself to her. The judge briefly flickered his eyes to the opportunistic scholar.

“No.” He flipped the page. “Next question. Do you, or do you not-”

“B-but sir!” Twilight called out again from the stands. “This could be-”

“This is my court room, and the answer is no!” He shouted. Twilight shrank back into her seat. “Next question! Do you, or do you not, support the rulings of Princess Celestia.”

“Wha?” Radius cocked his head to the side. “What does that even mean?”

“Do you follow Equestrian law?” Twilight coughed under her breath.

“Oh. Uh- yeah. I do my taxes.” Radius nodded. “Always done my taxes since I knew what they were.”

“Uh-huh.” The judge scowled. “Last question. Following the events that occurred yesterday evening, how do you plea for the murder of an eight year old filly?”

Woah.

Woah-woah-woah.

There was a cacophony of gasps from the audience in the benches behind him. The jury barely reacted, as if they had known all along. Not even the snarl of disgust from the judge’s face could make it to Radius as his world darkened. The river. The filly. He fell in. He could remember how suffocatingly cold it was. He could remember grabbing the filly, holding her tight, and then kicking her out of the water. Somehow, he survived, and she did not.

“I-” His mouth went completely dry as he focused on a single spot on the floor. He could feel the hundreds, if not thousands of eyes boring a hole through the back of his skull. He tried to swallow, but the dryness in his mouth was overwhelming. “I-I- d-didn’t-”

“I’ll ask you again.” The judge’s voice cut through, ignoring the silence. “How do you plea for the murder of a filly?”

He felt the room spin in an odd fashion. The jury, one by one, leaned forwards, each of them eagerly awaiting his response. He struggled to stay upright in his chair as nausea overwhelmed him.

“I-I didn’t mean to…” He said quietly. The judge barely changed his emotion. “It was just… I scared her by- by accident, and, uh…” He finally managed to swallow his spit. “It was just… I tried to save her. I didn’t mean to- I-I must’ve…”

…

He could remember, his eyes drooping heavily as he laid wet on the shore. There, a few feet away, was the filly, shivering with her mane clinging to her fur as she was drenched head-to-hoof. But she was alive.

“No…” He looked up at the judge. “No. I did save her. I… I kicked her to the shore. I remember…” His brows furrowed as he turned to the jury. “No- she was… I remember…” His eyes locked with Rainbow Dash’s own conflicted eyes. Suddenly, it began to make sense. “W-What is going on here? Where is my lawyer?” He quickly stood up from his chair, knocking it over in the process. He swooned as his head became lighter than a balloon. He quickly realized that the crowd in the benches had completely vanished, and the lights in the back had dimmed to the point of pitch blackness. “Where is the… the…” He looked up at the judge. Instead of a judge, however, there was a dark blue Alicorn, with the mane of the night sky looking down at him. “...the…” His knees suddenly gave out, collapsing to the floor.

“Do we trust him, girls?” Twilight asked, turning to the rest of the jury.

“I feel… weird, Twi.” Rainbow shuffled in her seat. “I feel… kind of guilty?”

“Growin’ up without a family isn’t somethin’ anypony should go through… even a Changeling.” Applejack said, planting her stetson back onto her head and adjusting it politely. “He gets my sympathy, that’s for dang sure, but… ah’m still conflicted, Twi.”

“I still feel as if he could become a great model, girls.” Rarity said, her eyes sparkling with creativity as she gazed upon the Changeling, now looking up and listening to them.

“I- um, if it’s okay, I believe him.” Fluttershy mumbled.

“I always believed him!” Pinkie chirped, wrapping a hoof around Fluttershy. She let out a silent squeak as Pinkie gave a squeeze. “I knew he wasn’t like the other meanie Changelings!”

“The question is…” Luna spoke, turning away from the shaking Changeling. “What shall we do with him now? It would be unwise to let him wake up on his own.”

“What the buck is going on?!” Radius shouted. It appeared, in their own talking, all of the ponies present had completely forgotten about the Changeling, despite talking about said Changeling. The ponies looked warily at one another, each with varying degrees of uncertainty.

“I-I think I’ll take this one, girls.” Twilight said. She stood up from her jury chair, and like it wasn’t even an issue, she trotted forwards, through the railings, and down what appeared to be an invisible ramp down to where Radius resided on the floor. Luna, along with the other element bearers, watched with interest as Radius slowly backed away, fear evident in his eyes.

“Where am I? Is that actually Princess Luna, or did I finally go insane?”

“You’re in a dream.” Twilight explained. Radius didn’t let up, however, only backing further away from the Unicorn and getting lower to the ground. “For the past… little while, I’ve- or, we’ve all been… testing you.”

“O-Oh my…” Radius swallowed heavily. The other ponies watched with keen interest as Radius looked… scared. His hooves were quivering unsteadily as his eyes were wide, darting around the court room. “A-Are you part of my dream, too?”

Twilight looked down upon him sadly, a chord in her heart tearing. It was usually the other way around, wasn’t it? A big, bad Changeling terrorizing a defenseless pony. But this time, it was unusual. Somewhat broken. If Twilight was going to come away from this with one thing, it was that Radius was not a normal Changeling.

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but Princess Luna, still peering over the edge of her towering podium, spoke first.

“These are figments of your imagination, Sir Staples.” She boomed. “Talk to Twilight as if you were talking to me.” Radius swallowed nervously, looking down and not meeting the eyes of the purple Unicorn. Twilight let out a sigh.

“We need to know whether you’re a danger to the ponies around you, Staples.”

He was silent for a while, still shaking heavily, his eyes still glued to the ground. Rainbow Dash, in the jury, felt her bottom lip quiver upon looking at the scene. It was like watching a puppy who didn’t deserve it get yelled at, and after witnessing the events of last night with the river, she was sure he didn’t deserve it.

“Twilight…” He finally said. “I-I’m sorry, Twilight. I-I’m sorry for…” He sighed. “I’m sorry for not telling you the truth sooner! I-I’m just so… I’m just so scared!” He shouted.

The room was quiet once more. Princess Luna leaned back in her chair, a genuine expression of surprise crossing her features. Twilight looked as if she was hit the worst, backing up and tripping, landing on her flank.

Slowly, Fluttershy stood up from her seat in the jury. Unlike Twilight, she took to the air and flew over the railing politely, landing next to Twilight and putting a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. Twilight returned the gesture with a smile and a tap to Fluttershy’s hoof. But Fluttershy wasn’t done. Instead, she kept trotting forwards.

Radius flinched physically as Fluttershy put a hoof on his back. Gently, she sat down next to him, slowly caressing his mane- or, rather, his carapace.

“Why are you scared, Radius?” She asked. He took a moment, shivering lightly, before responding.

“I’m scared of dying.” He said through a worked up sigh. “I’m scared of being carted away. I’ve read the newspapers. I know what happens to Changelings up in Canterlot. I know what they’re gonna do to me.” He was silent for a few more seconds. “If I get caught, then I’m dead.”

Princess Luna sat as if she had been hit by a cart. She slumped in an un-princess-like manner in her chair, her hoof rubbing her own mane in contemplation.

“We wouldn’t let that happen, Radius.” Fluttershy said. “Do you think we’d give you up?”

Radius snorted.

“Of course I think you guys would give me up. If you guys weren’t just my imagination, I’m sure Rainbow Dash and Applejack would be trying to kick my teeth in.” Both of the mentioned ponies gawked, Applejack pulling her hat over her head to hide more of her face in shame. “I saw the newspapers. I know how many they… killed.”

Rainbow put her head into her hooves, hiding her face.

Fluttershy was simply wordless.

“I…” Princess Luna cleared her throat. “I… think I’ve seen enough. I… I think it’s time you woke up, Staples…” Her horn ignited her royal blue, and for Radius, everything went black.

06 - Suidar

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He wasn’t sure if he was dead yet. At least, not yet.

He wasn’t quite dead, and he wasn’t quite awake, either. He was no longer soaked to the core, his chitin being completely bone dry. But, despite this, he was still extremely cold, shaking to his core as the tips of his hooves became awake and he pulled the blanket he found closer to himself.

When he was there, laying on the ground, soaked to the bone, and watching a Pegasus tower over him, he was confident it was the end of the road. That he wouldn’t wake up again. That would be it for the Changeling. The end of the line, closing of the book, and life would go on without even noticing that he had ever existed in the first place.

But instead, Radius creaked his eyes open, his mouth dry and parched and eyelids heavy with sleep.

There was a bright orange blurry glow somewhere in front of him. For a moment, that was his entire world. Something that looked like it should be warm, but was instead seemingly hesitant to give out any warmth to the freezing foal. He pulled the blanked tighter to his chin, suddenly aware that he was shivering.

He flinched when there was a sudden voice nearby. He quickly shut his eyes, and although he was still shivering, tried his hardest to stay as still as ponily possible. There was two voices, and from the sounds of it, they were arguing.

“You can’t keep the thing!” There was a flutter of wings, hooves hitting the floorboards, and through his eyelids, he watched the glow dim as a pony crossed in front of the flames.

“He’s only a baby!” A soft voice said, quiet, and desperate. “I-I couldn’t leave him out there, all by himself!”

“It’s some kind of bug-monster-thing!” The first voice shouted. “What if it tries to hurt you in your sleep, huh? It’ll try and rip your eyes out!”

“You can’t know that! He was covered in mud, crying, and bleeding. A monster wouldn’t cry like that. He’s harmless.”

“Crying? It was crying? How do you know it wasn’t faking it? It could’ve been faking it!” She stomped her hoof on the floorboards, making Radius involuntarily flinch from his sofa. There was a moment of silence as he felt eyes cross over him, but a second later, they went back to talking like they hadn’t even noticed him.

“He has a wound on his side. It’s… really bad. Why would he cut himself and then try and trick me?”

“I don’t know!” She shouted. “Why do you think it’s a baby, huh? I’ve never seen a baby with… with fangs!”

“So what?” There was a sigh, and more clicking of floorboards as one of the ponies approached the couch Radius laid on. Gently, a hoof caressed his head. This time, he didn’t flinch, instead tensing up at the touch. “Plenty of babies of species have fangs.” She said softly. “These fangs aren’t full grown. If I had to guess, he would only be… maybe a little older than Applebloom, or Sweetie-belle.”

“Look- I get it’s small, but just because it’s small doesn’t mean it’s-”

“Would you leave Applebloom outside in the rain?” She cut her off sharply. “If you saw her crying, out in the rain, would you turn away?”

“That’s not fair, and you know it.” She grumbled. “Plus, Applebloom can’t even talk. If you say this… thing was talking, then it’s like- a good few years older than Applebloom, at least.”

There was a silence in the room as the pony next to Radius kept caressing his head softly.

“Maybe they just age differently.” She eventually responded. The second pony just simply sighed, and not two seconds later, the two began to bicker once more.

Suddenly, without any warning or any time for preparation, sleep washed over him once more. His head became all of a thousand bricks as he felt his muscles let go, his head resting deeply onto the plushy surface. The world fell away, and he fell asleep.

Radius blinked back to the waking world.

The coldness was gone. Completely evaporated like it was never there to begin with. The bright orange flare turned into a silver alarm clock sitting innocently on his nightstand, ticking away without a care in the world. There was no ponies discussing his fangs, or his age, and he was instead alone, in his own bed, and comfy.

Radius blinked slowly, filling his lungs with fresh morning air. He mumbled something that sounded vaguely like a threat to the sun as he pulled a random pillow closer to his chin, burrowing his face deeper into it.

And then he waited.

And waited…

Something was… missing.A crucial component to his morning routine that usually ended in a burst of rage, and sometimes something being smashed. Yesterday it was the mirror, in a thousand pieces still yet to be cleaned on the floor. Usually it was the alarm clock, however.

Oh, right.

The alarm clock.

Radius grumbled once more, barely opening his eyes as he glared angrily at his bare nightstand. It was right where he had left it the previous day, still badly abused from it’s detour with his mirror. But it was still clicking. But… no, that wasn’t right. Somehow, the arms of the clock weren’t where they were supposed to be. They had long passed where his alarm should’ve been set, and-

Oh.

He had missed his alarm.

A disapproving frown formed on his face as he looked deeper into the alarm clock’s face. The glass of the clock was scratched and forming deep cracks all along it’s fragile surface from yesterday’s outburst. Yet it was still whole enough so he could see himself reflected. He shot his own Changeling body a glare. He reached his holey hoof out of the blanket and tilted the alarm in such a way so it wasn’t facing him anymore, and he could no longer see his own reflection.

He felt better now. Of course, he had missed work. That was a given. But, for some reason, he just didn’t care.So what if he had missed his work? He had never missed it before- that was sure to give him some leeway, right? He turned on his bed to face the ceiling, pulling the blanket up once more and fluttering his eyes closed.

Why didn’t he care? He wasn’t exactly sure. But that’s okay, right? All he needed was one long night’s sleep, and he would be set for the next century and a half. That was, of course, assuming that he lived that long. But he didn’t know. He was an unidentified Changeling who could live for half a millennium, or just long enough to pop round to the shop and back.

He began drifting back to sleep, into that surreal landscape. He could even hear voices, as faint as they might be. Maybe if he slept hard enough, he could finally figure out who those two ponies were.

*Knock knock knock knock!*

“Hello? Anypony home?”

Radius flinched like he had been electrocuted, his blankets flying off in random and erratic directions as his hooves scrambled to get himself off of his bed. He was in danger.

Somepony was at the door. Nopony knew where he lived, unless they stalked him on the way home. And he sure as hay wasn’t the type of pony to willy-nilly give out his address to complete strangers. His address was his and his alone, and if somepony had his address, that meant they had to get it through completely official means. Official means governing body. Government meant the guards. Guards were outside his domicile. That was the only way.

Staples finally hit the floorboards with a dramatic thump.

*Knock knock knock knock!*

“Gah! I’m coming!” He shouted, looking down at his hooves. The fact that they were holey in some areas were quite annoying, even though that was how every Changeling was. Blankets seemed to seep into these holes, tangling, and restricting his movements at they tied tighter than the strongest filly-scout’s knot. With an annoying huff of hot air, and a burst of common rage for his early-morning routines, the blanket completely dissolved under the intense heat, leaving behind a pile of ashes on the ground around him, and a very familiar looking Unicorn.

The entire world had turned blurry around him. His glasses were… somewhere. Guards being at the door meant one thing: somepony needed to make sure he was a real pony. He wasn’t even sure how he had messed up along the line to let it slip. It could’ve been his outburst at Sugarcube corner, or the fact that the owners of the bowling alley had finally reported him for the disaster he had caused. Whatever it was, his brain was now shifting into full panic mode.

He trotted to the kitchen table, where he had last left his glasses. He smartly put them onto his muzzle, adjusting them until he could properly read the text on last week’s newspaper.

‘Changeling Death Penalty Passed in Congress, Vetoed by Princess Celestia.’

It was only a matter of time. And if he was caught, then he would be one of the first Changeling’s on the chopping block. His face formed into a frown as his eyes re-read the title. The title had been printed by the printing presses up in Canterlot, waiting for an excuse to gossip and sell papers.

How? How had he been found out?

Could it be…

“Twilight Sparkle?” He whispered to himself, his eyes glossing over. “She figured me out… she… she did it.” He could almost see the visions appearing in front of him. The smart psychopath. She had probably been poking and prodding him during his visits to the library, making up her mind whether or not he was a threat. The photograph of the white and pink Changeling must’ve been the breaking point.

“Stupid… bitch!” He seethed, reaching his hoof up and knocking the newspapers loose. They floated to the ground in a heap, along with a few other loose photographs. He stared at the headline angrily, covered by multiple papers and photographs, until it was only reading ‘vetoed by Princess Celestia.’ His sneer deepened as he turned towards the door.

It had been a number of years since he had last fled town. He wasn’t even sure if he’d ever find another town like Ponyville. He supposed he could return to an old town he had visited, but by now, security must’ve tripled since his last visit. Plus, he would have to come face-to-face with the ponies he had once wronged in the past.

Ponyville was supposed to be his perfect home. It’s documentation, centuries out of date, had let him slip in easily. Other towns weren’t so easy. Life would easily return to hell for him.

It was over. It was over, and he was done.

He had his cake, he had eaten it, and now his luck had run out. Changeling checkpoints littered Equestria. Ponies in Canterlot were trying for the death penalty, and it would soon be over.

*Knock knock!*

The door to the outside seemed much more imposing and intimidating than it had ever been in his entire life. He was already disguised, already had his glasses on, and although his hair was uncombed and slightly messy, when wasn’t it messy? He took a deep, calming breath.

If he was going down, he wasn’t going down without a fight. He was going to at least try.

He slowly creaked open the front door, just wide enough for his eye to peek through the slot. At first, he was confused, as the pathway leading up to his house was completely desolate. Was this some kind of ambush? Were ten Pegasi guards flying above his house, ready to pounce? Who could’ve been knocking?

And then, he looked down.

Two fuscia eyes stared back at him, magnified by the thick purple glasses that sat upon her snout. One of her lenses were cracked, splitting her eye in half. Her hair was a bright orange, very similar to Radius’s own disguised, if only a little more on the pink side. Her fur was a tan, and she suddenly began to look very familiar.

The filly took a step back, away from the door. She observed him through the crack closely, as Radius did right back at her. He slowly pushed the door open more and more, only to get a better look at the filly on his front doorstep.

“So…” The filly slowly said, adjusting her glasses nervously. “You’re the… Changeling…”

A metaphorical stake of alarm pierced through Radius’s heart. He stumbled backwards, back into his own home, and landing onto his flank. The filly merely watched him with morbid curiosity.

“To be honestht, I thought you would be scharier.” She said. Radius’s breath had significantly picked up the pace, his eyes wide. “Why do you wear glathsess? Can’t you justht… wisth away your bad eyesight?”

“H-How did you figure it out?” He said quickly. “P-Please don’t tell anypony!” He quickly scampered onto the floorboards, leaning low to the ground and practically begging the little filly. “I’ll do anything!” He hadn’t ever sounded this desperate in his entire life. But, fortunately, the filly no longer seemed to be scared of him, taking a few hesitant steps forwards.

“You saved me, shilly!” The filly said, rolling her eyes. “Remember? I’m shorry for… kicking you in the face.” She laughed nervously. “And I’m shorry for… stumbling… into the river. That whas my bad.”

“What are you talking about?” Radius raised his head from the floor in confusion. As far as he could tell, the only river he visited was the one that ran through town, and even that was only in passing. “What river? I saved you from what?”

“Don’t you remember?” She asked with genuine confusion. “The river. I fell into the river, and you pulled me out. I… kinda passhed out afterwards. B-But I’m really thankful!”

“What river?” He said once more, standing up. “Kid, I’ve never met you before in my…”

The filly had a cream coat, similar to his own. Her mane was curly, like his, but a deeper red instead of Staple’s orange. Her Cutiemark was that of two candy canes crossing each other.

Her hoof suddenly slipped off of the rocks she had been resting on moments before. She slipped. Right into the river.

“I-I didn’t mean to… It was just… I scared her by- by accident, and, uh-”

“Princess Luna.” Radius said out loud. He looked up blankly into the sky, which for him was the ceiling, and sighed out slowly and heavily. The filly watched with curiosity. “Princess Luna… knows… I’m a…”

And then he promptly passed out.

He hit the floor with a thunk, and burst into orange flames as his consciousness slipped away. Now, instead of Staples, was Radius, the terrible black Changeling.

The filly stared, awkwardly stepping into the house and closing the door behind her.

She poked the Changeling with a hoof.

His skin felt weirdly… crinkly. Like an ultra-durable cookie sheet.

The Changeling, The Filly, and The Library

by Cxcd

00 - Prologue

01 - Ways Long-Since Changed

02 - Take a Letter

03 - The Distant Cry

04 - Go Under

05 - The Mind Ecstatic

06 - Suidar