First thing I did was close off my emotions from emanating outwards; second thing I did was remind myself not to panic. That wasn’t going to do me any good, and I was pretty sure they were expecting it.

Remember the basics, I thought. Assess the situation, know the layout, calculate risk of fighting and running, then decide.

I was surrounded by eight battle-ready changelings, all from the same Hive. If I had to guess, they were the guards of this cluster. I couldn’t get too much of a read from them as they hid their emotions pretty well. I didn’t even know if they were running hot as I was.

In the end, I felt the smart move was to be as neutral as possible. I dropped the pegasus disguise, returning to my Primary form, before slowly walking away from the sleeping Brad.

“I am protected by your Hive’s Word,” I stated. “I was allowed to feed from your asset for one night, this was promised to us.”

“You lost that right when you entertained the thought of stealing from us,” one of the changelings said.

“Your emotions and thoughts betray you, Chrysalis-liege,” another declared.

I growled. “It was a stray thought. Nothing more.”

“Be that as it may, Luminous Firefly,” the third changeling said, “we do not take kindly to such conjecture.”

The fourth spoke up. “Brad is one of our long term assets. We took pity to your starving, mewling Cluster—”

“—and this is how you repay us?” finished the fifth.

The three other changelings hissed, showing off their sharp fangs. I narrowed my eyes at that. Their Cluster territory or not, I did not allow myself to be threatened, especially not by some overprotective chitin-rots. I was running hot, full of energy; I could take them on.

However, a calmer part of me had me taking a deep breath. I was surrounded, fighting against eight to one odds. And even if I overpowered them, it would just be a waste of energy—valuable energy that I needed to feed my Cluster.

In the end, I decided to give them a conceding nod. “My apologies,” I said softly.

Their stance changed, turning less aggressive. Five of them began to surround Brad, with three of them nuzzling him before all five horns glowed. They slowly, gently, lifted him up to the air, before moving out of the living room. I heard a flutter of wings, telling me they were moving him towards the bedroom.

“Why are you still here?” one of the three changelings left in the living room asked. I gave her a quick glare before walking towards the hallway, and made my way towards the exit.

Halfway there, I saw the reflection of my Primary body in the mirror on my right. I paused for a moment, staring at the changeling image in front of me. My mane and tail, dominantly green with shades of light blue, looked like it needed a good brush. The coat of ebony mixed with shades of jade around my wings and near my hooves hid the chitin underneath, as well as the holes at the bottom of my legs. My horn, I had been told, was unique as it was almost as straight as a unicorn’s.

A feature of being a spawn of one, I’m guessing.

I heard a few steps coming from right behind me, then a soft hiss. I rolled my eyes. As defiance, I took another look in the mirror and lifted my foreleg to my chin, as if pondering over something. Then, very slowly, I nodded before sitting on my haunches, picturing my usual cover image.

My ebony horn was the first to change, transforming bone-white before taking a bright yellow tinge, which slowly darkened to a more tasteful shade. My coat followed. My mane and tail fluffed slightly, the green parts transforming a bit brighter, while the blue highlights took a darker shade. My wings receded from view before five stars, arranged into an oval shape, appeared on my flanks.

Satisfied, I gave the the three changelings one last look before making my way towards the door and exiting the house. I slammed it shut once I was out, just to make sure they knew exactly what I thought of them.

Stars shimmered in the velvet sky, darkening the area. It wasn’t really a problem for me; changelings could see clearly in the dark. That allowed me to notice a figure standing under a streetlamp after leaving the gate. It was a leaf-green earth pony with curly bright brown mane and tail. I looked at him for a moment, finding his presence odd, when his eyes glowed bright green for just a second. I glared at him as I approached, to which he replied with a loose smile.

“Hopper?” I asked.

The disguised changeling nodded.

“Your Cluster has a good way of showing welcome,” I muttered, just loudly enough for him to hear.

“Peace, Luminous,” he replied, raising a hoof. “They are just being protective. After all, Brad is one of our most precious assets.”

“And I said it was a stray thought,” I said.

He turned his head slightly. “You must have realized why they acted that way, right? Being a Cluster-leader yourself, how would you react when a changeling infiltrator from another Hive seemingly formed an idea to steal a valuable asset from you?”

I took a breath, then released it with a loud huff. He was right. I was thinking of stealing Brad away. It didn’t matter if I was going to actually do it. I mean, feeling that energy I had fed off from him today, a substantial amount from just one night, I could fully understand why they were very protective of him. If my Cluster had an asset like Brad, I, too, would take somewhat extreme precautions in keeping him safe and where he belonged. In harsh times like now, we would do everything we could to stomp out any risks.

Sighing, I gave him a nod. “Just so we understand each other, Hopper, I had no real intention of stealing your asset.”

“Risk was too great?” Hopper guessed. I nodded, and he pursued his lips thoughtfully. “Surprising, considering who your Queen is.”

I felt my lips narrow as I gave him a glare. He wasn’t fazed.

“That was a long time ago,” I muttered.

“And we are all still paying the price,” Hopper replied unemotionally. He shifted slightly. “Do not take offense, but we weren’t too sure if we were going to give you our aid, especially when we realized where you were from. The reputation of Chrysalis’ Hive isn’t exactly stellar.”

“Then why did you still allow me to feed from one of your assets?” I asked.

“Gypsy Fly has vouched for you,” Hopper replied. “She says you are not your mother. And I am quite glad that has proven to be true.”

I didn’t know if I should have taken that as a compliment or not. Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, I went for the former. He seemed friendly enough, even going out of his way to see me off. I’d never have done that. Then again, he probably had more practise in that regard. No other changeling would be caught dead visiting my Cluster.

So, I just gave him a nod. “Thank you for allowing me to feed on your valuable asset, then.”

He smiled. “You are welcome. And between us Cluster-leaders, know that when times are desperate once more, you are quite welcome here to feed. It has been a pleasure meeting you, Luminous Firefly.”

I felt a little wrench from my heart as I gave him a smile. Hopper paused.

“Have I upset you?” he asked.

I shook my head, trying to discipline my emotions once more. “No. It’s nothing,” I muttered, half-turning. I was about to walk off before curiosity struck me. “Were all those eight changelings sharing Brad?” I asked.

Hopper gave me an unreadable smile. “That would be telling.”

“Bet they were,” I muttered before I took off, towards one of the main roads. I was already a ways away when I thought back on his statement. “When, eh?” I asked softly to myself. While I was very sure he worded it by accident, it was an accurate summation of my Cluster’s current position.

I then felt a bit happier, realizing I was bringing something my Cluster has been desperately needing since a week ago. I didn’t even want to waste it. With the energy I had, I could have flown back to Fillydelphia. Instead, I decided to walk towards the train station.

Late at night, there weren't a lot of ponies around. The few that were present were, I guessed, more changelings, judging by the way they were keeping watch as I bought my ticket and rode the first train bound to Fillydelphia. I didn’t even glance back at them, not even when I took a window seat.

A few minutes later, there was a soft whistle, followed by an earth pony barking out that the train was about to leave—really unnecessarily, in my opinion. No one else seemed interested in boarding the train and after a slight chug, the coach began to move forward, slowly. After a while, it built up speed until it was traveling onward at a fixed pace.

I wasn’t in the mood for talking to either the unicorn guards that patrolled the hallways, or even the trolley mare that was selling organic sweets and food. Once I had the conductor stamp on my ticket, I closed my eyes and feigned sleep.

It was a good two hour ride, passing through Ponyville and underneath Canterlot Mountain, hitting a wide stretch towards Fillydelphia. Three-fourths of the way, I overheard a few unicorn guards announcing that they might have seen some diamond dog movement, but it later turned out to be a false alarm.

“Five minutes to Fillydelphia!” the earth pony, the same one in Star Tracks, barked. My eyes flew open and I checked out the window.

The city was brighter than Star Tracks, seemingly glowing in warm yellow light. Two white shining towers pointed up high towards sky, surrounded by smaller square structures of varying shades of black and brown. Houses of various designs hopscotched between the buildings, which if under daylight would have displayed their bright warm yellow walls supporting brick-red rooftops.

Slowly, the scent of the air changed, from the earthy tones of the woodland area giving way to the salty sea air. I took a deep breath.

I was home.

The train stopped exactly six minutes after the earth pony barked his warning, and I got off on the almost-empty platform. A picture of the city’s symbol, a big brass bell, was displayed on a brick wall beside the doorway that led towards the station. The station itself was barely lit and was only occupied by the few fellow-passengers I had. I also spotted a unicorn magically mopping the floor, dragging a yellow bucket beside her. The smell of citrus clashed a bit badly with the salty air, which thankfully disappeared by the time I exited the the building.

The fellow passengers I didn’t interact with began to climb on a pony-pulled wagon. Giving it one last look, I turned to the left and walked towards the one of the side-streets, turning towards a darkened alleyway. Making sure no one was around, I dropped my disguise, returning to my Primary form once more.

A little energy-saving always went a long way, Gypsy Fly once taught me.

There was barely any light, but that didn’t really stop me from dashing from one alley to another, crossing the narrow streets while avoiding the main ones. Any visitor would have been lost with so many ways to cross the tight city spaces, but this has been my home for years. In no time, I found the way towards my Cluster, passing through a playground, then stopping in front of a broken street-lamp.

For many years, the local government of Fillydelphia had somepony fix it. For many years, it remained broken. Smiling, I placed my hoof into the cold metallic surface, and let out a little energy that glowed purple with a tinge of green.

A green circular light formed on the concrete floor in front of the broken street-lamp. Stepping into the circle, I took a deep breath before the whole energy surrounded me in a second flat and whisked me underground.

The cold night air was gone, replaced with the warmth of the cavern walls of my Cluster. Croach, a green-glowing and pulsing material that kept the caverns well-lit and warm, had been well-spread along the walls, indicating the drones have been busy. They placed a good thick layer covering any rock or plants that were naturally occurring in an underground cavern. I had to say, at least the putrid smell of effluent—caused by a drone accidentally puncturing a sewer pipe last week—was gone, replaced with the scent that reminded me of dark chocolate and mint.

Walking forward, I spotted a changeling guard, eyelids half-closed. When he saw me approach, it took him a moment before he could respond.

“Milady?” he asked.

Nodding, I replied, “Come. I have brought Love for all of us.”

“Thank the Stars,” he muttered weakly. He took a step forward before shaking his head. “No, I’m sorry, milady, but I have to guard the entrance.”

“Come with me. That’s an order.”

He shifted uncomfortably before nodding. “Y-yes, milady.”

Going deeper into the cavern, I felt as if a claw had taken ahold of my heart. Thin, hungry bodies that looked even more sickly against the green light laid around as far as my eyes could see. Most of them didn’t even maintain a coat anymore, shedding it to reveal chitin that was slowly peeling off, revealing pinkish skin. Their legs were so thin that the holes near their hooves looked even larger than usual.

As I walked forward, a few began to point towards my direction.

“Milady?” some asked.

“Come!” I called. “I have Love for all of us! Follow me to the Feeding Chamber!”

I called out repeatedly, waiting for them to respond. Slowly, everyone began to stand up and stumble after me as I led them towards the the innermost chambers of the cavern. We reached a semi-transparent green bubble, which slowly spread open, revealing an older changeling, a little healthier-looking than the rest. She broke into a smile once she saw me.

“Lumi!” she exclaimed, slowly approaching me. Our necks touched in greeting for a moment before she pulled back. “You are filled! I am guessing Hopper came through.”

I nodded. “Yes he did, Gypsy. Hit a small snag, but he was willing to help us out more.”

She wanted to say something, but paused and shook her head.

“What?” I asked.

“We can talk later,” she said. “Right now, we need that Love spread. Go ahead, Lumi.”

Gypsy moved out of the way, revealing a large blue orb in the middle of the chamber, and began to arrange the changelings in a circle. I took a breath and moved towards the center, circling the orb for a moment, admiring the reflective glossy finish of its surface. I looked back at Gypsy and she gave me a nod.

I placed my forelegs on the orb, lowering my head until my horn touched the surface. Energy came forth from inside, channeled through my horn and spilled towards the orb. Brad’s Love, the life of his emotions, and the memories associated with it, played through my head. His taste, his warmth, and the joy of partaking of what he had offered overtook my senses that had me recalling the moments almost perfectly.

I separated myself from the orb, leaving only some energy to spare for myself, and carefully backed away as it slowly began to spin. When its surface split, like petals of a blooming flower, changelings around breathed in anticipation. Once the orb fully opened, it slowly released sparkling white dust. Heads held high, the horns of hungry changelings began to glow, willing the dust to fly towards them to be absorbed.

Changelings groaned and shuddered as the energy flowed through them, filling them up. As they hungrily absorbed more and more, their bodies began to respond: chitins thickened, taking a much healthier look as their legs bulked up to a more stable size.

They also began to smile more, which warmed me. It didn’t last, as Gypsy tapped on the central orb, causing it to close.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Gypsy muttered.

An ugly mewl spread into the air as a few changelings got back on all fours.

“Gypsy, please,” one of the changelings protested.

“A little more, please, for my youngling!” another begged.

“Not enough… not enough,” a third mumbled.

Gypsy’s eyes took a dangerous glare, which was enough for most of the changelings to sit back on their haunches. It didn’t stop the whimper of protest, though, until she shouted, “Quiet!”

Everyone obeyed, no one protested. I’d like to think it was because they respected Gypsy and her position as the Den Mother. She was the one that ensured well-being of everyone in the Cluster, especially when I was away. And no one was stupid enough to openly defy her.

“I know you are all still hungry,” Gypsy began, her voice soft yet strong enough to be heard. She walked among the sitting changelings. “We just had the worst week ever since Queen Chrysalis needed our infiltrators. And that is why we have to save as much Love as we can. With this, we can survive three days, maybe four if we are smart about this.”

The changelings turned their eyes towards me, waiting to see if I would agree. I looked at Gypsy, who was giving me a neutral look. I didn’t know what to say, really. She was right. We needed to conserve as much Love as we could. It was a logical decision.

However, looking around, I reminded myself that we had a hard week. Add to the fact that a few of them had younglings of their own to take care of. Would a little more hurt?

I sighed. Like I said, no one would protest against the Den Mother. Except the Cluster-leader. “Give them a bit more, Gypsy,” I ordered.

The Den Mother frowned, but nodded. She looked at the rest of the changelings and said, “A little more, then.” She tapped the orb once more and let it bloom. A small cheer broke from the crowd as the white sparkling dust danced in the air, and I wondered if I made the right decision.

Gypsy allowed the Cluster to feed for another ten minutes before closing the orb for good. There were fewer protests this time, with most of them feeling much better and fuller. A few of them even approached me, thanking me for gathering enough Love for all of them. I smiled, and talked with those present before Gypsy began to order them out of the Feeding Room.

“Good job,” she commented once the doors of the chamber was closed.

I blinked. “For getting Love? That was actually pretty routine,” I replied. “Not really any different from feeding from a mare or stallion.”

Gypsy chuckled. “No. For ordering me to give them a bit more.”

“Really?” I asked. I frowned. “I was actually wondering if I did the right thing.”

“Yes, you did.”

That was surprising. “I… wow. I thought you were against it, saying how we need to save energy and all.”

Gypsy gave me a small smile. “A good leader knows what her followers need. And her followers needed a bit more Love. They also needed to know that they had a leader who would fight to take care of them.” She looked outside. “There have been a few murmurs wondering if you were a worthy Cluster-leader. Tonight, you silenced them.”

I blinked once more, a few thoughts coming to my mind. When I saw Gypsy smile, I realized something.

“You played us,” I muttered. “You wanted them against you, and on my side.”

“A simple gambit, I must admit,” Gypsy replied with a nod. “Easy enough to play. But I wonder if you have caught on to my other gambit.”

What other gambit, I wondered, thinking back on on Gypsy’s reaction and expression. It took me a moment to realize what she meant.

“You were also testing me.”

Gypsy’s smile widened. “And I am glad to see my teachings have not gone to waste. Lumi, dear, you make a fine leader.”

I sighed, shaking my head. “I… don’t know about that, Gypsy. Honestly, I think you’re the reason why this Cluster is still surviving.” She looked towards the semi-transparent green barrier. “I met Hopper. He told me the only reason why he considered allowing me to feed on his Cluster’s asset is because you vouched for me.”

“Ah, well, he always had a good heart, even when he was a youngling,” Gypsy replied. “Even without my influence, you would have convinced him to help.”

“He said we could ask him if we needed more,” I continued.

That had Gypsy shaking her head. “As your advisor, I’m against it. We must never show that we have become dependent on him, or any other Hive or Cluster, for our needs. It won’t bode well to depend on others for charity.”

I nodded. “I know. It’ll make us look weak, and therefore easy to subterfuge.” I sighed again. “But what can we do, Gypsy? Queen Chrysalis took our infiltrators.”

“We can obtain human assets of our own,” Gypsy said. “With what you obtained tonight, it is logical to start investing more into developing them.”

I shook my head, walking around her. “That was an invested asset. And even if good fortune shines down on us and gives us a human tomorrow, I am just one changeling.”

Gypsy’s eyes narrowed. “We can put the human in a pod.”

I shuddered. “No. We’re doing this right, like you taught me.”

“Tradition can be excused in face of need,” Gypsy countered.

“Except if we do that, we may make the same mistakes Queen Chrysalis did,” I replied. “Our methods of replacing taken ponies are something Equestrians watch for, and we’ve seen how they reacted. I don’t even want to know what humans will do if we took one of theirs. No, taking one by force will just bring down a lot of attention that we don’t need.”

“Fair enough,” Gypsy conceded. “Then maybe its time to have more infiltrators.”

I stopped on my tracks and looked at her. “You have someone in mind?”

“Silverfly.”

“What?” I scoffed. “Silverfly’s a youngling.”

Gypsy raised her foreleg. “She just finished her final metamorphosis. She is an adult.”

I frowned, pondering over that for a moment. “Is she familiar with the city?”

It was Gypsy’s turn to scoff. “She spends more time there than at the Cluster. She still disguises herself as a filly.”

“Can she even live a life of an infiltrator?” I asked. “Does she know what she’ll have to do? The double-life, the secrets?”

“You can be the judge of that, Lumi,” Gypsy replied. “All I know is that she came to me and said she wanted to be an infiltrator.”

I found myself sitting on my haunches, moving my forelegs over my face and hair. Part of me didn’t want to train someone still so young as an infiltrator, but another part, the practical one, told me that my Cluster wasn’t going to survive if I was the only one who kept them fed.

“A little goes a long way,” I muttered, looking at the Den Mother.

“A teaching you got from me, I believe,” Gypsy replied, smiling.

“Your teaching always seems to be a variant of something little going big,” I countered, with a smile of my own. After a moment, I nodded. “Tell her to meet me at my apartment in the morning. Let’s get her a job with potential assets, and see if we can teach her to be an infiltrator.”

Gypsy nodded. As I made towards the barrier, she cleared her throat, which got me looking back at her. “Lumi?”

“Yeah?”

“I meant what I said earlier,” Gypsy said. “Good job.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

The trip back to my apartment was a little slower. Unlike my Cluster’s entrance, which was placed at the back-alleys, my little second home was near the center of the city. Halfway there, I had to transform back to my unicorn form, even when there didn’t seem to be anypony around.

I’d rather not take unnecessary risks.

I passed the the townhall, a building with a white-washed finish and dark red tones, literally the center of the city. It held the historical bronze bell that rang the warning of the incoming Gryphon invasion a little more than a thousand years ago. The building was newer, though, as the old one had been burned down during the war. Most of the day, it remained open and filled with ponies, but at this time of night, it was a tall, ominous structure that scared little colts and fillies. For me, it reminded me that I was just a few blocks away from my destination.

My apartment complex was not something to scoff at. It was a rather tall, well-maintained building with two working lifts. Taking one towards the tenth level, I made my way towards my apartment door, unlocked it, and went inside.

First thing that greeted me was the sweet scent of dry lavender. Closing the door behind me, I walked down the short hall towards the living room and kitchenette area. I inspected the placement of my throw pillows, then towards the closets situated near the western wall. I checked to see if the strands of hair I placed between the openings were still there and intact before moving towards the kitchenette.

Nothing seemed out of place. The box of flour that I accidentally spilled hadn’t been touched, nor were there any marks on the spilt powder on the marble counter surface. I checked the plate placement lastly before moving towards my bedroom.

I didn’t have a guest room, just one bedroom with a barely used bathroom inside it. I placed my foreleg on the door and pushed a little of my magic inside it. The energy passed through the wooden panelling that disguised the metallic core and immediately worked on the lock. In a second, it clicked, and all it took was a slight push to get it to open.

My bed, king-sized with lots of pillows on top, looked inviting. Now that I was in the privacy of my room, I just jumped on it, bouncing a few times before finally going to sleep.

I wish.

A little more work to be done, Lumi, I thought as I went towards my study desk, which was filled with various of documents. One of them, I magically grabbed, as well as one of those human ballpoint pens, and began to write on the smooth surface of the parchment.

It was an hour later before I finally accepted my bed’s soft embrace. I didn’t even get to bounce much.

Night wasted, I thought before finally going to sleep.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to my pre-readers and editors: shira, coandco, Permanent Temporary, Ponyboy245, TownCrier, Jack-Pony, and Denim_Blue.

Additional thanks to Starman Ghost for giving the time to give this a look.

Well, there you go. First stab to Changeling stories. How do you guys like it?