mylittlejamjar | Neurosis 01 [Visual]

[The week was nearly over, and the air was starting to clear significantly... the town wasn't quite as blue as it was Monday morning. Literally or figuratively. Yet, trueberry-induced awkwardess hung in the air even still, liable to last a few more days yet. Now seemed like the perfect time to strike.

He'd spent most of the week watching from a vantage point nopony would question - after all, they were so worried about blurting out their deepest secrets that nopony paid the suspiciously new potted plant near Town Hall any mind, even though it was blatantly wearing a ratty toupee. And with that, he learned of the situation... including what was going in in town, and how he had gotten to a place like Ponyville anyway, when normally changelings still couldn't get within miles of Canterlot.

Making sure he's not seen, the changeling reverts back to his normal form, unrolling the nearby scroll and working its magic.]

Greetings, my little ponies. I see that I have arrived in your world during a bit of a... crisis. Something in the air compels you to speak truths uncontrollably, yes? I notice a large number of you are highly uncomfortable with the idea, and yet it is highly liberating, is it not? Being able to vent what is truly hidden deep in your minds. Perhaps it would help you to seek a neutral third party in this situation, to allow that truth to flow without fear of judgement.

I would like to introduce myself. I go by the name "Hain" amongst ponies, and yes, I am fully aware that I am a changeling. However, I have nothing to hide. I shall not pretend to be some random pony whom you have never met simply to garner love from you - I will do that, instead, with honesty and promise.

You see, I am a deserter of my changeling hive, and as of such have to subside on whatever love I can gather from ponies directly. To that end, I have taken up profession as a therapist. I help ponies with their problems, and in lieu of coin, they provide me sustenance. It is actually truly a remarkable deal, yes?

And it sounds to me like many of you need the assistance. While I do not have a place of residence as of yet, my non-existent doors are quite open for any and all of you.

However, do bear in mind that I do not work pro-bono. As I said, I ask only for my next meal, but that is payment I am unwilling to negotiate at this present time, as a sheer matter of self-preservation. I also do not take kindly to being short-changed.

Regardless, my offer is on the table. Allow me a meal, and I will listen to your problems, even help you through them.

And I assure you; despite the teeth, I will not bite.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"And what kind of creature would that have been?" Handy's interest is piqued, both because this could mean an explanation of why Hain isn't living like an ordinary changeling and because Hain's not enjoying talking about it. Serve him right.

The response out of Hain is obvious - disgust and a bit of anger. He would rather NOT speak of this, and yet his own moral code insists he gets the last word in; this is just a pony, after all.

"I don't have the words in my vocabulary to properly describe the wretchedness. You'd better settle for pictoral evidence."

And then, against his better interests, the changeling starts to sketch out a shape in the dirt before turning the scroll to show it.

In a single burst of truth, all of that former advantage Hain had is gone. A pony knows that he's technically a byproduct of his former queen's attack on "Wuvy Dovey Smoochy Land".

Ugh.

The more angry and disgusted Hain gets, the more smug Handy feels in having found a way to needle back at him. By the end of this, he knows, both will have more dirt on the other than is really healthy, but he's absolutely not going to let himself stay at a disadvantage if he can help it.

He watches expectantly, not sure what he expects -- something monstrous, perhaps, if it's really all that different from a pony. Maybe Hain spawned from a dragon; they seem like they'd have strong emotions.

He's surprised, therefor, when he sees what the changeling's drawn. A long snort emerges from the blue pony; while he doesn't know what that creature is, it's obvious enough that it's about as impressive as one of Fluttershy's bunnies. "That's adorable," he laughs. "What is it?"

Handy might be biting off more than he can chew, there; after all, the creature might be adorable, but the method of his creation certainly was not. "I'm not entirely certain of what they were called. My former queen drove them to extinction around the time I was spawned - or near extinction, I doubt a single changeling hive can commit complete genocide that quickly."

If it helps Handy, it doesn't look like Hain is any more comfortable discussing this. "One of the benefits of being the queen of a hive is that the queen can overconsume love, using the excess to spawn a new changeling asexually. These creatures had enough of the stuff to completely repopulate a decimated hive."

Edited 2013-09-16 00:29 (UTC)

Smile gone. Really, did Hain wonder why Handy would want to ~~exterminate~~ strike back against the changelings, if they went about causing genocide to replenish their ranks? "And what, that killed them?" he asks, serious as death. "So much for feeding without causing harm."

He didn't wonder in the slightest; at the same time, he had to act the part to be relatable. In addition... "My former queen deserves all the scorn you want to throw at me. Yes, I can tell. Answer me this, though. If I shared her beliefs, would she be former? I went through a lot of trouble to sever myself from the hive, from the hivemind, so that I would not be lumped in the same group as her."

Hain snarls, his ire raised considerably; the only other person to get this kind of reaction out of him was Chrysalis herself. "Even if I look down upon those I feed from, is that not miles better than slaughtering them?"

Neurosis 01 [Visual]

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