Changelings

Development and Deisgn:

Changelings are largely equine in appearance but possess insect-like characteristics. They have black, carapace-like, furless exteriors, webbed manes and tails, blue non-reflective eyes (unlike their queen's), fangs, bent horns, jagged ears, insect-like wings, and holes in their legs. Unlike ponies, changelings do not have cutie marks. Following their metamorphosis in To Where and Back Again - Part 2, changelings have varied coat colors and insect characteristics, such as Thorax and Pharynx's horns, and they no longer have fangs or holes in their bodies. They also have more physical differences among them: some possess longer, more jagged horns, and others no longer have horns at all. Others still no longer have tails. Some also have a trio of gemstone-like objects in their chests. Like Queen Chrysalis, the changelings were designed by Rebecca Dart.[1] The changelings' nature and desire to feed on love are similar to changelings in folklore, who would take advantage of the love given to them by their unwitting caretakers. When asked if the metamorphosed changelings can still fly, supervising director Jim Miller answered "Some don't fly now that they've changed".[2] He further explained that "It was a design choice more than anything. We wanted a quick visual way to sell that they were no longer beholden to their previous hive-mind ways. Hence the brighter colours and different body shapes and configurations. Helps to denote “individuality” in a visual way."[3]

Depiction in the Series:

Changelings first appear in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, the second part of the season two finale. They are able to change their appearance to match that of ponies; in particular, Queen Chrysalis shape-shifts into Princess Cadance, and several changelings take the form of Twilight Sparkle and her friends. In the episode, Chrysalis explains her desire to take over Equestria, saying, "Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered. My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!" The changelings soon break the magical protective sphere around Canterlot and terrorize the city and its inhabitants. When Princess Celestia orders the Mane Six to recover the Elements of Harmony from a nearby tower, the changelings take the form of the six ponies and fight them, preventing them from reaching the Elements. They subsequently take the ponies and Princess Celestia captive. The changelings and their queen are defeated when Shining Armor and Princess Cadance's combined magic throws them out of Canterlot at the end of the episode. According to merchandise, Kevin appears within a crowd during at least the beginning of Let the Rainbow Remind You in the season four episode Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2. In the season five episode Slice of Life, Kevin appears in the audience at Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda's wedding, unintentionally frightening some foals. Chrysalis "I promise to leave the others alone" S5E26 Queen Chrysalis and her changeling swarm in an alternate timeline. In Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?, several changelings appear in Rainbow Dash's dream. A changeling costume is worn by Diamond Mint for Nightmare Night in Scare Master. In The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2, due to both Starlight Glimmer and Twilight Sparkle's changes to the past, the changelings are shown to have successfully taken over Equestria, leaving only Zecora and a small tribe of ponies to resist them.

Depiction in the Series 2:

A friendly changeling named Thorax appears flying in the background over the Crystal Empire at the end of The Crystalling - Part 2 and is befriended by Spike in The Times They Are A Changeling. The latter episode also depicts how new changelings are born, in that they are hatched from eggs in the form of larvae, similar to insects, and shows that changelings can assume the forms of non-pony creatures, such as Spike, and inanimate objects, such as rocks. Changeling guards snarling at Discord S6E26 Changelings in To Where and Back Again - Part 2. In the season six finale To Where and Back Again - Part 1, the changelings silently invade Ponyville, taking the Mane Six's places and seizing control of the Castle of Friendship. In Part 2, the changelings serve as Chrysalis' primary means of defense in the Changeling Kingdom. They pursue Thorax - disguised as Trixie - as he distracts them with smoke bombs, capture Discord by disguising themselves as Fluttershy, and ambush Starlight Glimmer in the changeling castle throne room. Through Starlight's guidance and Thorax's example, the changelings learn to share love with one another instead of taking it by force. This results in a drastic metamorphosis in which they become colorful, love-filled creatures with the holes in their bodies healed, resulting in Chrysalis' throne being destroyed, and her hostages freed from their cocoons. With Queen Chrysalis dethroned, Thorax becomes the new leader of the changelings. In Celestial Advice, multiple changelings appear in attendance of Starlight, Discord, Trixie, and Thorax's medal-awarding ceremony, and they appear in one of Twilight's magic simulations, with one of them giving his name as Cornicle. In Triple Threat, Thorax tells Spike that there is a renegade group of changelings in the Changeling Kingdom that is still clinging to the hive's previous ways of stealing love.

Depiction in the Series 3:

In To Change a Changeling, the Changeling Kingdom has started growing plants again following Chrysalis' dethronement. Thorax has convinced most of the renegade group of changelings to accept the hive's new ways, with the brief exception of Thorax's older brother Pharynx. The changelings as a whole have also embraced new kingdom activities such as theatre, dancing, arts and crafts, and therapy meetings called the "feelings forum". In School Daze - Part 1, a shy changeling named Ocellus enrolls as a student at the School of Friendship. In The Hearth's Warming Club, changelings appear celebrating the Hearth's Warming holiday for the first time, but they take Twilight Sparkle's celebration instructions very literally, including "hanging" a tree from a rope, "diving" into a pool of punch, and "building" a fire out of wood and nails. In What Lies Beneath, illusory unreformed changelings appear when Ocellus is forced to face her fears by the Tree of Harmony. In My Little Pony Best Gift Ever, several Changelings are seen celebrating Hearth's Warming. In The Beginning of the End - Part 1, Chrysalis carves the faces of unreformed changelings into logs to speak to them. In Uprooted, Ocellus' parents and siblings are briefly seen signing her permission slip. In Between Dark and Dawn, a couple of changelings appear during the song Lotta Little Things. In A Horse Shoe-In, Ocellus' parents appear at a parent-teacher conference talking to Octavia Melody. In The Ending of the End - Part 2, the changelings are rallied by Ocellus to help the ponies in the final battle against Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, and Cozy Glow. During the battle, they transform into the Mane Six to throw the villains off. In The Last Problem, some changelings appear in future Canterlot and at Twilight's coronation in flashback. Flashback footage of Canterlot Wedding - Part 2 with the old-style Changelings bringing the captured Mane Six to Chrysalis in the wedding hall reappears in Harvesting Memories.

Behaviour:

While all of them are scary, some are actually quite chill.