An Unusual Specimen (Tiktaalik, PM for invite)

[Tiktaalik]

Nougat sat, slumped over and unconscious, in his odd little windmill home on the edges of Germaney, skimming through piles and piles of books in no particular order--nothing out of the usual. His mind never had only one train of thought buzzing through it, and it showed by how how much of a chaotic mess the inside of his workshop was; half-read books with random objects shoved in them as bookmarks and completely unrelated projects going at the same time. Well...it was a chaotic mess to anyone else. It all made sense to him. He lived by himself anyhow, so he'd keep things as cluttered as he pleased.

His main focus right this moment, though--or rather, before he'd fallen asleep due to exhaustion and used it as a pillow. He'd checked it out from a completely different city, and brought it all the way back here. Which was probably the cause of his more-tired-than-usual state. Maybe when he woke up he'd work on a way to keep himself energized... Or just buy some more coffee,

[Pretzelparty]

Approaching the windmill was a Unicorn mare, her long red mane rustling in the wind that gave the windmill before her it's power. Aria had heard of this eccentric earth pony and thought he might be able to help her learn about something... You see while Aria had in a way forced herself to believe she was as much a pony as anypony else in Equestria this was false, Aria was born and always has been a changeling although a changeling born and raised in Dodge Junction to the point she was in disguise to fit in most of her life by mirroring her sister.

"This should be the place..." she said before taking a deep breath in preparation and trotting over to the door. Knocking her hoof a few times against the door she stood before the peephole. If nougat took the time to look (if he woke up) he would see a pretty looking mare with a white coat, a lively red mane and bright green eyes.

"Howdy there! Ah'm Aria and ah heard you were uh... studyin' changelings. Would ya mind if Ah worked as an assistant or somethin'?"

[Tiktaalik]

One of Nougat's ears twitched slightly at the sound of knocking, which fortunately(for her) managed to wake him up. He mumbled groggily for a moment, fidgeting. He wondered just who that could possibly be. It wasn't like he got visitors all that often... And he'd just recently got yet another box of candy from his family. He wouldn't know until he checked. Rubbing his eyes, he tiredly heaved himself over onto his hooves, slowly making his way towards the door, and tempting to at least wake himself up mentally. He didn't care if anyone thought about the way he looked, but he wouldn't want anyone to doubt his intellect.

As he approached the door, he already heard a voice through it, and paused in confusion. He definitely hadn't been expecting that. Nougat opened the door to get a look at the stranger...and to confirm if they looked like as much of a yokel as they sounded. Rather than greet her right away, he eyed her a moment, as if sizing her up. Well, she was a unicorn...that could be useful. "That's an odd request...and reasoning. Also, I can't pay you in bits... Just who are you?"

[Pretzelparty]

"Oh, that's fine, you can pay me in experience." she said with a smile. "My parents were doctors so.. if you get hurt at some point and Ah can heal you with either magic or Curative salves if that's your thing. But yeah uh... about the Changeling research. Ah heard that you were interested and were trying ta find information on 'em and well my parents were in Canterlot during the invasion... so they got a few pictures and stuff and wrote down notes that I brought with me. The mare gestured to her saddlebag and smiled. She may be abit odd... but at the least she was sincere.

"Besides... Ah'm uh... kinda interested in the changelings, Mahself" she chuckled slightly nervously.

[Tiktaalik]

Nougat listened to her intently, though...still looking at her as though she was merely an asset he could get use out of. Medical expertise could be useful...considering how often he experienced explosions. And whatnot. What really caught his attention was her mention of changeling information. "That sounds more useful than any book I've found on them... Hrm..alright, come in. Try not to step on anything.", he said, standing aside and revealing the cluttered mess that was his home. He quirked an eyebrow at her lest statement.

"Really? And why is that? So you can root them out easier..?", he asked a bit defensively. "Also, you might know this, bu I'm Nougat. You never told me your name..."

[Pretzelparty]

Aria nodded and smiled slightly awkwardly at the eye staring at her through the peephole,"Yeah, Ah was hopin' you'd like it!" she said with her slight drawl, typical of ponies from Dodge Junction. With a smile she casually trotted inside, mindful of the clutter and careful not to give Nougat a reason to want her gone. This eccentric earth pony seemed to be a bit disheveled and the tiniest bit tired as if just recently awoken. His question gave her pause for a moment before she took a breath and thought of her answer.

"Well... for one...Yes Ah did at the door. It's Aurel-- Aria Elixir and While Ah do want to find some o' them it's for a reason probably different than what your thinkin' of"

[Tiktaalik]

Nougat blinked and shook his head lightly when she mentioned this was the second time she'd given her name. "Oh...yes, right. I was...distracted when you knocked.", he claimed, his eyes shifting to one side for a moment. Her response intrigued him further, though...even if her most certainly not local accent was causing him to give her an odd look, rather than one of interest. "Really? That could get you arrested in most places. Or questioned, at least. What could you possibly want them for?" He wasn't used to other ponies speaking of changeling as if they weren't terrified or disgusted by them. He really had nothing personal against them--he wanted to learn about them, no matter how 'evil' they were.

"Whether you want to answer me on not..." He trotted back over to the book he'd been sleeping on. "Maybe this book would interest you; 'The Physicalities of Changelings'. I doubt they actually studied one up close, though. It reads mostly like speculation and eye-witness accounts...", he rambled.

[Pretzelparty]

The unicorn paused a moment and blushed slightly as she spoke,"Well... Ah kinda have a reason to believe they can... change, no pun er whatever intended." she said with a bit of an embarassed grin spreading over her face as she finished her statement." The mare coughs a moment, this was a bit more unnerving than she thought. After a few moments she took off her saddlebag and opened it up soon finding what she sought. The "unicorn's" horn lit up and soon she levitated a small book over to Nougat, opening it up it did indeed contain the information she told him about. There were several photographs of changelings mid flight and a few others of them supposedly "feeding" along with a detailed series of notes about the experience.

"Whether you want to answer me on not..." He trotted back over to the book he'd been sleeping on. "Maybe this book would interest you; 'The Physicalities of Changelings'. I doubt they actually studied one up close, though. It reads mostly like speculation and eye-witness accounts...", he rambled.

Her eyes lit up a bit at the sight of the book, while it may have just been speculation, it could also be an excellent chance to confirm some of these theories within. "Ahm sure we can uncover a few secrets together, Professor Nougat!"

[Tiktaalik]

Nougat quirked an eyebrow. "Change? How so? Aside from the obvious." Not only was it an odd notion, but seemed a bit anxious... Maybe her country pony mind was overloaded from all of the science in the environment. He was immediately distracted by her booklet, quickly opening it and skimming through, his purple eyes darting around the pages energetically. "Well, now... This is...this is interesting. I'd only seen drawings before." He kept flipping thorough, pausing to stare at one of the pictures. "Hm...so, they definitely have a horn and wings...", he said to no one in particular...sounding maybe a little bit envious.

His attention once again shifted when he heard her call him 'Professor'. His straight-face and stoic exterior finally cracked a bit--he could help but smiles a bit bashfully. "Well...I'm not technically a professor...but I don't mind of you call me one.", he said, trying his best to keep from beaming and embarrassing himself further.

[Pretzelparty]

"Well... Ah think they could actually feed on love without actually taking it forcefully... y'know kinda earn their own love from ponies." The mare said with a strange hint of hopefulness to her voice as if she genuinely wanted the supposedly "Evil" changelings to turn over a new leaf. Hearing the stallion speaking of how the had both wings and horns she chuckled a bit,"They sure do... despite all the holes in the wings they can fly perfectly well too... er-- at least that's what mah folks told me."

It was nice to see a smile on the stallion's face. Aria much prefered smiles to stoic looks on the ponies she knew,"Well...then tell me what shall we do first Professor Nougat!" the mare said cheerfully before setting down the book she brought with her beside the one on Nougat's table.

[Tiktaalik]

Nougat glanced up from her book for a moment, giving her another odd look. "Well, I don't see why they couldn't, in theory... But, er...what pony--or any creature, for that matter--would let itself be leeched off like that? Of course, first, that would imply that a pony would even have affection towards on of them in the first place. It's not hard to see why they rely on deception if you think a little about it..." He nodded at her confirmation that they could fly. Not surprising. "I wonder how they fly compared to a pegasus...", he pondered aloud.

And then came a question he was hesitant to answer. This whole changeling fascination he had would probably be fleeting; he wasn't sure how long his attention span would last. And, this unicorn only seemed interesting in them. It was nice to have company, and he was a bit worried she might leave if he got bored like usual. However, aside from all of that, where did they go from here? "...I'm not sure. Short of trapping one for study or something, I don't know what we could do. It doesn't matter much. There was only one thing I was really curious about...but...it's something personal."

[Pretzelparty]

The mare's face showed a twinge of sadness as she heard him state that it was unlikely that a pony would willingly let a changeling feed from them, even if it was passively done like this specimen had done her entire life. When she heard Nougat bring up the issue of flight she remembered how she had been as a filly. When nopony else was at home she would close all the windows and drapes and drop her illusion to test out her wings. "Ah'd say ah can fly as well as any pegasus dependin' on how fit one of 'em is, however their wings tend ta buzz because they move very fast and almost like a bee." The way she spoke it didn't sound like speculation but as if it were cold hard fact... and seemed a bit oddly worded as it seemed she spoke of herself.

"...I'm not sure. Short of trapping one for study or something, I don't know what we could do. It doesn't matter much. There was only one thing I was really curious about...but...it's something personal."

The mare froze up a moment at the mention of trapping one of them, if she was caught what kind of experiments would she have to endure? she decided she may as well pry a bit into her new friend's thoughts... she could already feel a tiny hint of affection from him so she thought maybe chatting a bit might both get her a bit more. She had been traveling a long time on the road and she had been feeling a tiny hint of that strange hunger for the emotion of love, but she also did find this stallion a bit intriguing.

"Well maybe Ah could answer your question perhaps... since well Ah've read all o' this book already."

[Tiktaalik]

Nougat once again found something odd with this pony--the way she talked made it sound like she'd seen some changelings in the flesh, herself. Which he didn't recall her mentioning before. Not that he minded too much. Her info was interesting. "...So...you've seem them in person too..?", he inquired. "Well. I guess I could have met some, too. Not that I'd ever know."

Not too long after he'd mused aloud about his true reason for looking into changelings, he regretted it. It wasn't exactly something he felt comfortable blurting out. She'd probably think he was crazy if she didn't already, and possibly go tell others. Now he was the one freezing up and hesitating. "Like I said...it's personal..." He was also impressed that she'd gotten through the book so fast, and it was a good enough excuse to change the subject. "Already? Well, I might have some notes...somewhere, you could compare...", he answered, beginning to rummage around one of his tables, making an even worse mess of the papers and trinkets and whatnot.

One thing in particular got pushed over on the desk--a box. Which, upon tipping over, spilled a vibrant blue flower. Nougat didn't seem to notice, though...

[Pretzelparty]

The mare went wide eyed a moment after realizing what she just said.

"W-well what Ah meant ta say was that mah parents told me what they were like while they were flyin' is all!"

She almost sighed with relief as the stallion decided to not make a big deal out of it,"Thank, Celestia..." With a smile she turned to nougat and nodded a faintly nervous smile on her face,"Yeah... they're supposed ta be really good at blendin' in, so you probably wouldn't have noticed." As Nougat expressed a hint of shame she didn't understand she tilted her head a second before deciding it probably wasn't the best choice to pry any further of her host. Upon his suggestion of comparing notes she smiled and followed along behind him, watching patiently as he dug through the mess of papers, trinkets and other things. When the flower fell on the floor she lowered her head down and inspected it. Where had she seen this flower from before? maybe in a book somewhere? THe unicorn gave a shrug and picked up the flower,"Uh, ya dropped this, Professor!"

If Nougat turned around he would have been treated to what appeared to be a mix and matched creature, on one side of her body she looked like her typical pony self but the other was her changeling form. Her horn now appeared longer and curved backward. Her mane on her pony side looked almost like wet vegetation and her eye on the pony side was that of a changeling while on the other side her changeling side her eye looked normal. On the pony side she seemed to have at least one wing exposed that buzzed occasionally seemingly of it's own accord.

[Tiktaalik]

Her tone was getting more and more nervous. And suspicious. Though, maybe she was just aware of how suspect she sounded, and that was the reason for her nervousness. He figured it was probably nothing, continuing to dig through papers wand whatnot. Just when he thought he'd found it, he heard her telling him he'd dropped something. He turned his head around, and his eyes widened in a moment of panic as he saw what she was referring to. "Wait, that's-..." He was too slow, though. "...poison joke. Er. Don't worry...it shouldn't hurt you..."

Despite his reassuring works, his expression quickly went to stunned, his mouth gaping slightly at what it had done to her. Was this the flower playing its prank? Or was she actually a changeling? Well...there was always the direct approach. Though he'd nearly taken a step away from her on instinct, he stood his ground...there was an air of apprehension around him, though. Would he be cocooned for this? Or drained dry? Kidnapped? All of which would teach him more about changelings, but he'd rather not experience them personally.

"Now...don't to anything...rash, but...is that real..?", he asked as calmly as he could manage, gesturing to her changeling half.

[Pretzelparty]

The mare blinked a few times once the stallion turned to her,"Poison...joke?" Her eyes widened when she realized where she had encountered this flower before. It was when an exchange student brought in for an elaborate prank where everypony in the classroom got to touch a sample of the plant. Her "joke" was the same as the current one that befell her now. Seeing as the stallion before her was smart and now had a lot of data on the changelings she figured lying would be rather pointless.

"Now...don't to anything...rash, but...is that real..?", he asked as calmly as he could manage, gesturing to her changeling half.

Aria sighed and took a deep breath,"Okay, Professor Nougat, Ah'll level with ya. It is real...Ah am a changeling." the mare took a few steps towards nougat seeming genuinely saddened by the sudden air of apprehension, she thought this would be easier than it was going."Ah I just wanna ask that ya don't yell er nothin'" It seemed despite having her "cover" blown the changeling still wasn't losing her accent.

[Tiktaalik]

Well. This was the moment of truth. She was moving closer, and he'd find out her intentions soon enough. It wasn't like he he knew how to fight back. She didn't look aggressive, though. He'd spent all this time reading up and theorizing about changelings, but now that he was face to face with one, he was handling it a lot less professionally than he would have expected or liked. As she kept speaking, though, he regained more and more of his composure. She didn't even sound any different. Or maybe it was some kind of trick. Either way, he figured it was in both their best interests to play along.

"Of course I won't...provided you don't harm me in any way. Not that it really matters." It wasn't as if there were any guards nearby. She could replace him and no one would even know. He tried to focus on the fact that she was acting reasonably, though...inching a bit closer, examining every changeling inch of her as if she were something in a petri dish. "...I mean. Why would I want you in trouble? I've always wanted to work with a real changeling subject."

[Pretzelparty]

"Of course I won't...provided you don't harm me in any way. Not that it really matters."

The changeling gave pause and remembered there were barely any guards in this area,"Huh... Ah guess yer right..." the changeling casually trotted towards nougat and... walked past him to shuffle through the various things in the mess that was his table,"Ya wouldn't happen ta have any of the cure fer Poison Joke, would ya? if Ah'm gonna be exposed Ah may as well at least look consistent." the changeling said with a chuckle, her white fangs glinting a bit as the sunlight hit them. From Nougat's point of view he might notice her fangs(while noticeable and prominent) Were not as long as the changelings in the photographs... perhaps from a lack of use?

"...I mean. Why would I want you in trouble? I've always wanted to work with a real changeling subject."

"Well then, Ah guess this works out for the both of us... so long as yer experiments don' get too weird."The changeling said with a slightly accusing glare at the stallion. "Anyway, That poison joke antidote?"

[Tiktaalik]

Nougat's eyes didn't leave her for a moment as she walked passed him, eyeballing her strange features. Any anxiety he'd had seemed mostly gone already, instead replaced by curiosity. He was so distracted, nearly missed her request. "...Huh? Oh. Of course. But...wouldn't that fall under your job?" She'd mentioned something about healing. "Either way...I have something. It's experimental, but it should work. In theory.", he said, trotting to another part of his home and opening up a cabinet. Surprisingly, the bottles and jar's actually had labels...they weren't really organized, though. Not in any way any pony bu him could make sense of, anyhow.

He quickly retrieved it and promptly went back to examining Aria...if that was even her real name. As he put the bottle on the table near her, he caught her mild glare. It seemed as if he was over being wary of her though, and he scoffed. "It's not like I'm going to dissect you or anything. You'll most likely get better treatment from me than any other random pony. Also, take one gulp of that, roughly." Nougat realized that he had...plenty of questions for this changeling. But, he at least had the tact to allow her cure herself first. And, maybe even get to know her a bit more.

[Pretzelparty]

"...Huh? Oh. Of course. But...wouldn't that fall under your job?".

"W-well... Poison joke is kinda different from a cut er a scrape, Professor" Despite that glare that followed. the changeling really seemed to be no different in personality or disposition as the persona she arrived in.

As the bottle was set on the table she smiled and sighed in relief before levitating the bottle to her lips and drinking the recommended amount. Soon the pony side of her seemed to dissolve from her visage, replaced by the full changeling form. Her mane was long and flowing although it looked more like a single, membranous fin rather than a series of hair like a normal pony's mane.Her legs still bore the characteristic holes that most changelings in the pictures but she seemed to have both less of them and the ones she did have were smaller. Her wings were shiny looking and pristine, looking like they could fly perfectly well considering the lack of holes in them.

"Well Ah'm glad yer not gonna dissect... or vivisect me either hopefully... so what kinda tests do you have in mind?"

[Tiktaalik]

"True enough... Poison joke is a magical ailment... Regardless-", he started, pausing until he observed the effect of the antidote. "...it worked. So, no harm done. It would've worn off eventually anyways." With that out of the way, Nougat went straight back to gawking at her--in a very scientific manner, of course, trotting around her slowly, even. At least he didn't seem repulsed by her, like many other ponies might have. He seemed entirely captivated--she was probably the most exotic species he'd ever seen up close. Once again, he almost missed it when she spoke to him.

"Hm..? Oh... Don't worry,", he waved a hoof dismissively. "I'm no mad scientist. Despite what some ponies might tell you... Even if I was a cruel pony...you're too rare of a specimen to damage." And with that, he unceremoniously invaded her personal bubble as if he was unaware of such a thing existed, first getting a very close look at her wings, taking one in his hooves. Gently, though. They certainly looked more delicate than pegasus wings. He gingerly moved it around a bit, observing how it operated, and some small part in the back of his mind hoping she wouldn't zap him for it. Despite that, though, there was a visible smile on his muzzle, and a look of excitement in his eyes.

[Pretzelparty]

"Hm..? Oh... Don't worry,", he waved a hoof dismissively. "I'm no mad scientist. Despite what some ponies might tell you... Even if I was a cruel pony...you're too rare of a specimen to damage."

Aria blushed a bit, "uh... thanks Ah guess." the stallion invading her personal space was not too big a price to pay for the chance to learn about her kind. She did have to admit though that this was rather embarassing to have him staring at her and now inspecting her wings. once he let go she moved them around a bit, the wings seemed to have a series of very thin veins inside them, While her were primarily completely pristine looking, they did have a few noticeable holes in them. On her end the feeling of them being moved an touched felt similar in the way that a pony would notice mane being moved around.

"Want me ta demonstrate my flying, Professor?"

[Tiktaalik]

Nougat took mental notes on how similar her wings actually were to an insect's, even though he'd speculated as much before. Before she even had a chance to say anything else, he ducked down, peering through the holes in her legs inquisitively. "Strange...though, I suppose these perforations would make you lighter..." He stood up straight again, perking up at her question. "Yes! ...if you'd like. Er. Mind the ceiling, though..." He fidgeted in an anticipation and giddiness.

"I hope you don't mind if this is just the beginning. I have so many questions..!" Apparently the situation was just now really starting to sink in for him. "It's just that...I can hardly believe I have a real live changeling to study..!" The once stoic and dignified Nougat looked like he might start prancing around in excitement and glee because of her presence... Despite how much work it appeared he did here, her very rarely got a change to do anything truly exciting, due to his lack of magic. He did, however, gush a bit more. "You're even friendly. You're fascinating. But, er...right. Flying..."

[Pretzelparty]

Aria gave a simple chuckle and lifted her legs up a bit to let nougat get a better look,"Well when Ah do use mah wings, sometimes if the wind hits 'em just right, mah hooves can start whistling although Ah gotta be goin' pretty fast too though ." she said with a chuckle. Soon she began to flap her wings, slowly at first but soon they became to flap so fast as to become a blur and were followed by a faint buzzing noise. The wind she began to kick up rustled some of the loose papers on the floor nearby. Soon the changeling was hovering a few hoof lengths above the floor and as Nougat had said minding the ceiling.

The now not-so-stoic stallion's smile was getting to her and helping her loosen up a bit,"Also... Ah didn' lie about mah name... sorta... Aria is a sorta shortened version of the first name mah folks gave me; Aurelia" The changeling circled over Nougat a few times and then turned over so she looked like she was floating on the air with her hooves relaxed and cradling her head,"Ah'm willin' ta admit that can be a mouthful though..."

[Tiktaalik]

Nougat finally managed to compose himself enough to take some actual physical notes, observing carefully as she hovered around. "I'll bet you're even more maneuverable than an average pegasus..!", he commented, impressed. However, as she continued speaking, he became more and more confused.

"So...you use your real name. It sounds exactly like a pony name. And..." He had to pause a moment to think about if he'd heard her right. "...Your 'folks'? I thought that you all had one 'parent'--Queen Chrysalis. Or...is that not how it works..?" He he felt slightly awkward essentially questioning how changelings reproduce, but it was important information. Plus, from the sound of it, most theories had been all wrong... He had a feeling there was something else going on here, though.