Changelings.

Not much is know about this strange, elusive species. Outside of legends and myths of old few know what they are, and even fewer recognize the name of these creatures of legend at all.

From what one can gather from the various myths and legends that surround these strange creatures it paints a rather unpleasant picture.

While they may have the shape of your average pony, they were more like insects trying to mimic one in an attempt to fit in. That insect comparison is not too far off from what one would use to describe a Changeling.

Instead of being covered with fur with a soft tail and mane they had rough, smooth black carapace like skin with webbed manes and tails. Twisted horns in mockery of a unicorn’s with bug-like wings replacing the elegance of feathered pegasus wings. A sharp fang pokes out of their muzzles, ready to sink it into innocent flesh. Their legs are covered with holes like swiss cheese, some so big that one could look through them and see out the other side with no trouble.

However it is their eyes, eyes that lack no soul or empathy for anypony but themselves, that is what is truly the most horrifying thing about them. They are merely blue reflectionless eyes that stare into their preys souls, enticing them into their clutches so that they may feed off their naivete.

With a description such as this, it is no wonder these creatures are considered true terrors that stalk the night by those who know their legends. Yet their description truly holds no justice to what makes them truly terrifying.

These creatures, these monsters, do not feed like you or me. While we may dine on hay and greens, and while others beyond our borders ravish red meat, these creatures do not.

Changelings do not eat regular food, nor do they eat meat despite their fangs. No, these terrors can eat and strive for only one thing.

Emotions.

Happiness, Sadness, Regret, Fear. It matters not what feeling it is, so long as it is an emotion meant for another the Changeling will feast to its heart’s content.

But of course, there is one emotion above all that the legends say was divine to them, that was so delicious they would do everything in their power no matter how twisted it may be to taste it. For a Changeling, love was nothing less than blessed nectar from Celestia herself.

The legends that surround the Changelings tell of how their species has a special magic, one only capable by those shrouded in deception, that allows them to disguise themselves as anypony. They would sneak into the homes of innocent creatures and whisk off loved ones and friends into the night, never to be seen again.

Yet the next day these supposedly missing creatures are still at home, going about their business as if nothing had happened the night before. But do not be fooled, though they may act and talk the same the creature before you is not your friend. It is not your mother, not your marefriend, not your wife, and not your mailmare.

It is the Changeling, replacing a precious member of a community and slithering around at night. It feeds off the emotions of gratitude and friendship that is not theirs to have until there is nothing left for those it prays on. No emotions, no feelings, no drive, just an empty husk trotting through the motions of life.

Did the Changeling care? Did it show sympathy for its victims as it drained them of their very selves while pretending to be one they hold dear?

No...no it did not.

All a Changeling cares about is its next meal. It does not worry about those it leaves behind, and it does not feel regret for the pain it causes in its wake. It simply continues to feed day after day, never to be satisfied even after whole towns fall to emptiness.

Or at least, that is how the legends go.

Nopony has ever heard or seen a Changeling outside of these legends and they are considered nothing more than scary pony tales to keep restless foals and fillies in line. Yet one can't help but wonder, if somepony close to you suddenly started acting strangely one day, could they simply be having an off day?

Or could it be a Changeling ready to drain your emotions dry?

This, I do not know. But if there is one thing, my little ponies, that I do know, it is this.

A Changeling can never be trusted, for they are a deceitful and cunning monster to the end. They only act on selfish whims, and will never go out of their way to help another if it means revealing their true selves to others. They are nothing more than emotional parasites, feeding off the love and care meant for somepony else without so much as a hint of regret for doing so.

While I may never know if they existed, I hope to Celestia herself that they are merely a simple ponies tale. For if one of these horrendous creatures were to exist today, I fear what kind of damage they may cause.

Never trust a Changeling, my little ponies, lest you end up another vessel void of life rotting away without a care in the world...

"You are a disgrace to this entire Hive!"

"You are nothing more than a defective grub wasting resources!"

"This is all your fault! How could you have let this happen!?"

"You're a freak! You don't have any place here in the Hive!"

"By order of Queen Chrysalis, you are hereby banished from the Hive! Your magic will be nullified and your connection to the Hive severed!"

"Serves you right you freak!"

"DEFECTIVE GRUB!"

"FREAK OF NATURE!"

"TRAITOR!"

"MONSTER!"

"KIN KILLER!"

The lone changeling's eyes snapped open, his pupilless eyes darting everywhere around him as he sat up from the stone ground beneath him in a panic. His breathing was rapid and deep as he scanned the stone walls surrounding him.

After a few moments his breathing calms down as the environment he found himself in was the same scenery he had grown accustomed to over the last year.

Same old ruined walls, same old broken stone, same old broken windows. I'm still at the castle, not...not the Hive... The drone's thoughts, while reassuring at first, grew despondent at the end at the reminder of his old home.

Staring at the ruined castle walls for a few more moments, seemingly in some deep trance, the drone eventually gave a deep sigh as he removed himself from his makeshift bed. While the mattress had lost any sense of comfortableness from however long it had been abandoned at the ancient castle, it was still a better option than sleeping on the cold stone floor.

Stretching slightly the drone made his way towards one of the many ruined windows, his earlier fright seemingly forgotten as the sight of the slowly rising sun in the distance caught his attention.

Figures, the changeling thought bitterly as he glared at the rising sun, Of course, my nightmares just had to wake me up so Celestia-damn early in the morning. Couldn't let me sleep in just a bit could ya?

Grumbling some petty insults the drone, figuring there was no point in trying to go back to sleep, went about his daily morning tasks. Tasks that just boil down to doing some basic exercises to keep in moderate shape and doing everything in his power to forget or drown out the previous images and sounds his nightmares provided him.

He was getting eerily good at that with how many times he had those blasted nightmares, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

He made his choice and now he had to suffer through the consequences that choice brought.

It was as he was nearing the end of his exercises that his mind started to wander against his better judgment and control. His thoughts began to linger on past, of comfortable beds and sacks, of a vast desert full of never-ending discovery. On ex-friends, former family, of the kindness of the Que-

"You are nothing but a defective runt, with no place in this Swarm. You were a mistake I should have cleaned my hooves of long ago."

The chilled, haunting tone of a former leader suddenly assaulted his mind, bringing with it pain and sadness the drone did not want to feel again. With a quick shake of the head and a few smacks to his muzzle he banished the haunting voice back to the darkest corners of his mind.

Guess today’s not going to be a good one huh? He thought bitterly, angry at himself for letting that memory slip to the front of his mind.

With a disgruntled sigh and a firm belief that the rest of the day was just going to get worst from here on out, the drone made his way to exit the destroyed bedroom he had called home for the past year. While he would have liked nothing more to just stay in and sleep on a crummy day like this, the hunger pains in his stomach had other ideas for him.

If I had known hunger could get this bad I would never ha-No! The drone shook his head fiercely, ridding himself of the traitorous thought as he glared at the air with determination. No regret, never regret. The choice I made was the right one, there is nothing to regret!

With that mantra playing in his mind to once again drown out his doubtful thoughts he made his way out of the bedroom, though not before stopping before a surprisingly ornate mirror that had survived the years of neglect inside the castle unlike most of the furniture there.

The drone seemed captivated with his reflection...or at least at something at the top of his head.

"...Your magic will be nullified..."

His hole covered hoof subconsciously lifted to touch a strange stump that rested at the top of his head. The second it came into contact, however, the drone let out a hiss of pain as he quickly pulled his hoof back. Pain pulses from the stump for a few seconds before eventually fading away like it was never there in the first place.

The drone stared at the stump on his head for a few moments before a dry chuckle escaped him as words from his past made themselves know once more.

"More pony than a changeling now huh?" He said aloud with a humorless, dry tone the words seemingly echoing throughout the ruined room.

With a shake of his head and the dull pains from his stomach as motivation, the changeling eventually left the room and the castle itself. His destination, a simple shack in the woods...

Like all society's there was a hierarchy that separated the weak from the strong, the rich from the weak, and so on. The Changeling Hives were no different. While their classes were determined on a more genetic level than other hierarchies, it did not change the fact that they did have one.

Much like an ant colony once a changeling was born they were assigned a job the minute they could benefit the Hive in any way, shape, or fashion. Once assigned you would never get to leave that class, as it was your destiny to serve the Hive no matter what you do.

If you were lucky you would be born with the genes to be a royal concubine for the queen, or perhaps with the necessary skills to be an infiltrator or scout for town raids. At the lower end of the spectrum were the Drones meant to act as the bulk of the Changeling militia and the Workers tasked with repairing and constructing the Hive at all hours of the day.

It didn't matter what you were assigned at the end of the day, after all, it was determined at birth what your worth was. Plus all would hold pride no matter where they were slotted in life, for they brought glory to the Hive with every day of work they gave.

Even if it ends with the death of one from starvation to do so.

When drones are born, they are born as blank slates. No emotions, no cries of want for a mother, no need to move or wiggle around. They were simply empty husks, seemingly dead to the world, waiting to carry out orders from the royals above. Unlike all other classes of Changelings who would have the barest hint of a personality to match their class, drones would forever remain lifeless. Standing at attention and never moving or feeding without a direct order from the Queen or her generals.

Drone Designation 626 was...special.

When he hatched from his egg, he cried for the warmth of another. He giggled at the confused looks of those in charge of the nests. He was an anomaly among the drones, something that shouldn't exist. He was an error in the system, a defect of the otherwise perfect Changeling genetic pool.

He was destined to be terminated...but the Queen saw potential in this strange, emotive drone. She bypassed the order to have him decommissioned and took the drone under her wings. She raised him, watched him grow, watched him perform his best for the Hive.

Watched him become an individual, a free-thinker. Watched as he developed a personality that should have been impossible for drones to have. But then again, he was the impossible anomaly. The drone who could think and feel for himself, who wasn't a mindless blank slate!

But for one to develop their own self, to gain their own individuality, then one is bound to develop their own beliefs. To develop from their experiences and exposure to others their own set of ideals that they believe in. To form an need to express those ideals, to share them with others, and find those who share the same ideals as them.

But when one expresses their ideals to others, there is bound to be those who think against those ideals. Who believe in the opposite of those ideals for various reasons. And when two opposing ideals meet...

...there is bound to be conflict. A conflict that ends with one standing victorious...and the other fallen to the floor in defeat.

That day eventually came for 626, and the special thing the queen saw in him vanished. And with it...the need to keep the defect around was no longer needed.

626 found himself standing outside of a rather strange looking tree, a cloak concealing his changeling appearance from those around him. Yet strangely enough, the hood was kept down, failing to conceal his changeling face.

This did not seem to bother 626, for the drone calmly knocked onto the door imbedded into the rather creepy looking tree. Months before 626 was rather intimidated by strange masks and decorations hanging around the tree, but by now he had grown used to seeing them.

The strange decorations gave a mysterious vibe to the tree, which 626 supposed did match the owner of it if only slightly.

I probably should have thought if she was even up this early before knocking. 626 thought to himself with an embarrassed tone, only now realizing that knocking on somelings door this early in the morning probably wasn't the best idea.

The drone started to turn to leave, figuring he could deal with the hunger pain for a few more hours to not disturb the occupant of the tree hut. Before he could however a familiar scent hit his nose, the identity behind them immediately popping into his mind thanks to years of instructions and lessons hammered into his skull.

Curiosity. Annoyance.

Oh no...

Recognizing what those emotions mean, or rather what it meant for who they were coming from, 626 tried to escape before it was too late. But before he could even take a step away from the door it slowly opened up, revealing a rather tired looking zebra who was directing a rather exhausted looking glare at the now frozen changeling.

"It is far too early in the morning for knocking on my door! If not an emergency, then prepare for a rather angry accord!"

626 couldn't help but flinch slightly at the tired zebra's tone as a nervous chuckle escaped his lips.

"H-hey Zecora. Sorry for waking you up so early."

The tiredness in the zebra's eyes vanished at the sight of the changeling before her, but not in fear or shock, as one would expect. Instead, her eyes were simply filled with surprise before a warm smile crossed her lips.

"I suppose its no big deal if it’s you 626! I suppose you require another fix?"

The drone chuckled sheepishly at the obvious reason for his arrival at the zebra's home.

"If it isn't too much trouble Zecora, I can wait a few more hours if you need me to."

Zecora simply shook her head before moving aside and gesturing for the changeling to come in. With a small smile, the drone entered the home of another with no disguise or deceit used. It was simply a changeling in his natural form being invited into another's home as if they were old friends.

Truly a strange sight to behold for those outside the mold, but for two fellow outcasts it was simply business as usual. It was just another day for the two Everfree Forest dwellers if only starting a little earlier then usual.

But what the two didn't know was that today would mark a change in their lives. For one changeling, today was the day his normal routine of life after his banishment ended.

Today was the day of great change for ponies, changelings, and Equestria as a whole. For today would be the day...

...that a changeling would appear out of the legends, and prove every last one wrong!

Author's Notes:

And thus the tale begins! How things turn out and what risks the changeling drone known only as 626 is all up into the air! Tune in the next ep as a whole new version of the MLP you know is brought to life, with exciting and hopefully hilarious results!

Also yes that is a cliché way to end a prologue, but who doesn't need a good old cliché every now and then huh?

Hey all, DWC here!

I hope all you curious readers enjoyed the start of this fic! I admit I'm pretty excited about starting this one up, if only because a certain virus has made getting bored far, far too easy to achieve lately.

I mean seriously people, being stuck in a dorm room 24/7 while doing classes online is pure torture, and this is coming from the guy who prefers staying indoors all day to read fanfiction!

Truly these are dark times....

Anyway! As any of you guys who've read or are reading one of my previous works you're probably aware that my publishing schedule is pretty random. This story is no exception to it, as I still have other stories to write and college to deal with.

However, I am happy to say that the first episode of this fic is done and ready to be posted! I just need to look it over one last time and write up the AN for it, but since I'm dying to get some feedback on this fic I'm going to hold back on posting it till tomorrow. So look forward to that, and let me tell ya its a long one!

But yeah, I'm really curious on what you all think about this fic? The premise behind it, what you got out of the prologue, so on and so forth. I'm not expecting this to be some new hit fic on the site or anything like that, but I still appreciate getting feedback so I can continue to improve it as time goes on!

So feel free to leave a comment with any of your thoughts, theories, opinions, and all that below! Every bit helps make this story better, and I always appreciate new ideas to improve the fic!

But I think I went on a spiel long enough! I hope you all have a pleasent day, and see you all tomorrow in the next chapter!

Just a Reminder: Next chap will be published tomorrow!

This has been DWC, signing off!