Changeling Abilities.

[Falsey 44]

Hello all! I was wondering some things on the subject of changelings and would like input on the matter. Changelings can fly, take on the appearances of others, and use magic to some extent, and this is where I am looking for info. To what extent in comparison to an average unicorn can the average changeling use magic? Are they equal to the average unicorn in terms of power? Or are they weaker? What abilities do you think they have?

[duidamasterXD 9,626]

, just letting you know that I've moved your thread to Show Discussion, since it's speculating on something in-universe . I'd say that Changelings are probably greater than the average unicorn at using magic offensively, considering how they need to hunt and subdue their food a lot of the time. They probably lose out on some versatility as a trade off, considering how we've seen unicorns master a wide variety of spells to suit their occupations and hobbies.

 

Though there's always the fact that we haven't seen any changelings in more mundane situations. Maybe they specialize in various types of magic too.

[Solid 1,326]

Well in my opinion changelings can enter two modes, they either have the capability to shift into other ponies with minimal magic attack ability or sacrifice their shifting ability to significantly boosts their magic attack. Probably depends on how much Love they fed on.

 

Well in my AU they are all fueled with their own Hate (as oppose to feeding of others' Love) so they could no longer shift into other ponies/beings but they have insane magic attack capability.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Solid Scorpion

[Falsey 44]

Hmm... this is somewhat as I thought, thanks for the input though! Oh, and yeah, sorry about the topic location, I have a habit of confusing where things should go, heh. I suppose I can just go with having unicorn level magic with a greater focus on offense and deception, that would suit my new OC quite well.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Feather Wind

[MuffinQueenDerpy 131]

They're like a bunch of little underpowered alicorns right? I feel really bad, since they feed on love and all, but no pony will give them love to eat. I guess stealing a fiancé, crashing a wedding, and trying to take over Canterlot isn't the best way to handle thing, regardless every pony needs to eat. 

 

Edit: Cupcake now yay!

Edited October 30, 2014 by MuffinQueenDerpy

[IJoinedForPonies 124]

From what I gathered, Changeling power levels are based on how much love they feed on. In the show, they were in a meager state and didn't compare to the average Unicorn. Supposedly if they fed on enough love, they can surpass any Unicorn power level in Equestria. In general changelings are not disciplined well in the use of magic compared to most Unicorns, but their raw power from feeding on love allows them to overpower them by sheer volume. If they are in a Queen state like Chrysalis, their raw power can easily exceed that of an Alicorn as seen in the show.

 

There is a catch though, the more love they intake, the faster the power diminishes, meaning, they can't hold that power level for too long. Their appearance in the show was the result of malnutrition of love. If they don't feed, they will supposedly deteriorate into a Swiss cheese husk and eventually die. Using magic also hastens this process causing them the need to feed more.

 

As mentioned above, when they use their shape shift ability their magic level is not as high due to it being channeled to maintain their desired appearance. But when they are not using that, they are much stronger. In order to feed on love from other creatures, they channel their magic as a draining spell through their horns and feed on the essence of love. They like to use deception and mind tricks to lure their pray into a trap. Once they have fallen into the trap, they will subdue them and knock them out and drag them back to the colony to cocoon them. This allows the entire colony to freely feed on their victim's love until they are rendered as a mindless vegetable and eventually die from the willpower being sucked dry from them. However, the cocoon process isn't necessary to feed on their pray, but the less magic they use, the more they can conserve and live longer. 

 

Hope this helps. :-)

[Falsey 44]

Hmm.... well, thank you all very much for your input. It does raise an interesting question for me though. What would happen to a Changeling that happens to fall in love with somepony? Can they themselves feel love? And if so, what happens if they themselves begin to express it?

[IJoinedForPonies 124]

Yes they can, generally that isn't on their mindset, but it can happen. Them feeling love wouldn't be any different than any other creature in Equestria. They feed off of the essence of love from anything, they can even feed off of another changeling. They generally do not feed off of each other because it is considered cannibalism to them, but they would if it was an emergency situation. A changeling being with a Pony would be a difficult relationship for obvious reasons. Feeding off of their loved one's essence of love would get tiresome, so unless their significant other doesn't mind be a 3 square meal every day, then the Changeling wouldn't need to worry about sustenance.

[Falsey 44]

Makes sense. Oh, and I suppose I should have mentioned, I'm gathering all this input so I can put together a sort of base for an OC I am currently working on, so I really appreciate the answers!

[IJoinedForPonies 124]

No problem, glad I could help. ^^

 

I finished my OC recently, still fighting with the cutie mark though. >.<

[Falsey 44]

Hehe, I actually went to the link in your signature, and I must say, I like your OC.

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

I've a blog entry about everything i theorize about the changelings. Here it is... thoughts? http://mlpforums.com/blog/2091/entry-13569-changeling-theorycrafting-lore-worldbuilding/

[IronPonyApplejack 318]

There's a lot of great headcanons out there for changelings! My own personal one is that when unfed, changelings are less powerful than your average unicorn. While unicorn magic is limited to basic telekinesis and spells relating to their talent, changeling magic is based upon the talent they all share: shapeshifting, hunting, and feeding. As stated by others earlier, that translates to their magic being more offensive in nature. And of course, the changeling grows stronger the more they feed.

[Falsey 44]

Lots of info here now. @IridscentNionios Very interesting page you got there, tons of potential stuff to work with! Now, of course, given how little we know about Changelings in official canon, I suppose all of the info from everypony is based on personal headcanons and such, but I love it! It'll take me a while to incorporate all this stuff into my own Changeling concept.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Feather Wind

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

@,I could help you... i can adapt and stuff. Whatever you wish. 

[Falsey 44]

Well thanks! At the moment I have started work on the backstory for the character, and have been using the info from you and the others to base her abilities on. This is why I love this forum, thanks everypony!

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

@,Anytime! I'd love to see that character once you complete it!