A Changeling in Manehattan

by ChangelingOblivia

The Manehattan Orphanage

Oblivia wanders towards the large city of Manehattan. As she expected, it's huge compared to where she used to live. It's not much, but there's definately a bigger chance of me surviving here than in those caves. The Changeling surrounds herself in yellow flames and, when they fade, she's taken the guise of a pegasus filly named Starcatcher, her "cutie mark" being a shooting star.
Upon arrival she's quickly being pushed aside by a brown stallion with a cyan mane.

"Out of my way, brat!" he snarls as he trots off.

The Changeling sighs disappointed and mumbles "This is going to be harder than I thought."

She continues walking for a few hours, avoiding direct contact with anypony she comes across. Suddenly, she notices a group of royal guards, patrolling the town.

Strange, these guys usually don't leave Canterlot. Guess the princesses ordered every town to be checked for Changelings since that crazy maniac attacked. Stay calm, Oblivia. As long as you don't do anything suspicious, they won't suspect you. No one suspects the filly.

"Good day, sirs!" she says as the guards walk past.

One of them looks down to the young Changeling-in-disguise and asks "Where are your parents, young filly?"

Oblivia manages to stay calm and tells them bluntly "I have none."

Surprised, the guards discuss this situation and, after a minute or two, turn back to Oblivia and tell her that they'll take her to the nearest orphanage.

"A filly like you shouldn't be all by herself in a city like this."

After a few hours of walking, Oblivia is brought into the orphanage and she notices she's not the only one. There are lots of fillies and colts in here. The most notable was a red unicorn with a mane that looks like it's on fire.

Alright, Oblivia. Stay calm. This is perfect. Free love without having to do anything for it.

Oblivia smiles as she walks up to a mare behind a desk. "Oh dear, you look like you've crawled out of the Everfree forest!"

You're not far off...

"N-no, I've been treated pretty roughly since I came here." Oblivia replies. This wasn't a total lie, as she was indeed pushed aside several times and even landed face-first on the ground.

Rather quickly, Oblivia find herself among the other orphans, trying to quickly make friends with them. She notices the fire-maned colt is named Asteroid Strike and that he lost his family and home because of his magical outbursts taking the shape of fire spraying from his horn, forcing him to take a magic-blocking potion on a daily basis.

"Say, what would happen, in theory, if a Changeling were to drink such a potion?" Oblivia asks out of curiosity and a slight hint of fear.

Asteroid replies saying that he's got no idea. "The potion blocks out all type of magic and it also blocks out a pegasus' ability to fly. I suppose a Changeling won't be able to disguise or feed on love until it wears off."

Great. Oblivia thinks It's a good thing I've taken the shape of a pegasus and not a unicorn. If I take that potion, I'd lose my disguise.

After a few days, Oblivia's fed on enough love to regain her strength. She's become great friends with Asteroid Strike, who she's started to just call Strike. But despite her great friendship with Strike, something's bothering her, or rather, somepony. An earth pony filly named Anemone has been bullying Strike and Oblivia ever since Oblivia's arrival.

"You're so blind, Asteroid Strike! Haven't you seen the look in her eyes whenever she's being complimented for good behavior? Her eyes glow, I tell you!"

Oblivia shakes her head. "You're mistaken. You're just jealous because mr. and mrs. Trottington like me more than you."

It doesn't take long, or Anemone charges at Oblivia, knocking her off her hooves. Of course, being a Changeling doesn't mean much when you're still a child and Oblivia's not only knocked off, but even hurt. A tiny drop of blood drips from under her mane as she puts up a cry to get mister Trottington's attention.

"What happened here?!"

Oblivia cries pathetically, "Anemone hit me!"

Mister Trottington gives Anemone a look similar to Fluttershy's Stare.

"Is this true? You know we've got rules here, don't you? Starcatcher's barely here for a few days and you're already hurting her! How are we supposed to make a good impression when you keep hurting other ponies?"

Anemone is quickly sent to her room as Oblivia's wound is being treated.

I hate that pony. But I can't use my magic or they'll figure out what I am!

Time passes. Days become weeks, weeks become months. Many ponies have come and gone. Yet nopony seems slighly interested in the filly named Starcatcher.

Oblivia sighs sadly, "I'm too generic. Nopony wants the stereotypical pegasus filly."

Mr. and Mrs. Trottington overhear her sobs and comfort her. "It's alright, Starcatcher. You'll find somepony to adopt you. Don't worry."

Oblivia sobs, hugging the two ponies.

What is this feeling? Sadness is nothing new. But this is. I'm feeling stronger because of it. But I'm not feeding on any love at the moment. Am I actually experiencing it?

"What if nopony ever takes me?" Oblivia asks "What if they treat me like I'm a Changeling?"

The Trottingtons give a deep sigh and then look down at the filly. "Even if you were a Changeling, we'd still treat you the way you are."

Oblivia gives a short, sarcastic laugh. "Ha! Yeah right! If I were a Changeling, you'd call the guards and have me dragged away to the dungeons in Canterlot!"

The Trottingtons reply saying they'd never do such a thing, to which Oblivia tells them to prove it, as she reverts back to her Changeling form. Oddly, Mrs. Trottington is surprised, but not scared. And Mr. Trottington is actually intrigued.

"I knew there was something different about you, Starcatcher-"

"That's not my real name. It's Oblivia."

Mr. Trottington smiles as he pets the little Changeling. "In my eyes, you're a filly without a home. And I'd be happy to have an unusual child in the family. So, what do you say, Rosebud? Should we take this little Changeling as our own?"

Mrs. Trottington nods calmly as she walks up to Oblivia and inspects the Changeling closely. Her yellow, pupilless eyes give her a hint of innocence that is nearly impossible to find in most Changelings.

Author's Note:

It's not impossible for Changelings to feel love. They just rarely have the chance to feel it, as they see it more as food instead of an actual emotion. This first chapter shows how a young Changeling, alone and without a queen or hive, slowly learns to experience love through friendship. My original plan was to have Oblivia stumbling into Ponyville instead, but since so many stories take place in Ponyville or somewhere near Ponyville, I've decided to go with something different.

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[Nealj7772]

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