Concept art II: try again
I didn’t like the style for my earlier attempts, so I redid the whole concept art, trying to make it cleaner. And the colours are off, especially the wings. But I guess that’s what happens with software you’ve never used before. I’m also uncertain whether to go for the short or the long mane..?
The two horns have no actual meaning or use, it’s something left over from my planning stages when I tried to decide on a shape and size, and happened to have two different looks on the same head. For whatever reason the double horns just stuck with me through the entire process and into the final work…

Chíren *
Changeling
Avarage hight (for a changeling)
Young adult

Short history:
He was the exchanged baby of a singleparent unicorn. Though he learned several tricks with magic, he never learned to fly. Now, knowing what he is, he wants to meet other changelings, but is perfectly happy as a trickster hidden among the ponies.

Poison Joke effect + outfits#

Full history:

In folklore, some fairy folk tended to snatch human babies from their cribs, and replace them with their own offspring. That is the beginning of Chíren’s story. He was the replacement for the stolen baby of a single parent unicorn.[1] As a foal, Chíren had a difficult time mastering magic. Anything beyond simple levitation seemed impossible. The reason revealed itself one evening when, rather accidentally, the enchantment that kept Chíren in the form of the stolen pony was broken. The unicorn was horrified to find out the truth, but they couldn’t bring themselves to blame the child they had raised. Instead, they decided to help Chíren master his natural talents, such as shape-shifting and keeping the form by his own willpower. However, the unicorn’s paranoia for what might happen if anyone learned the truth about their son lead to Chíren never learning how to fly, leaving the muscles too underdeveloped to pick up the talent as an adult.[2]

During his youth, Chíren hoped to discover his roots and homeland. He spent a decent time travelling about, but never found where the changelings lived.

Having grown up feeding on the love and energy of ponies, Chíren underwent slight mutation while still maturing. Despite being a pure changeling, he has developed some pony-like characteristics in his appearance and attitude. Chíren himself has never met another one of his kind, and to this day remains unaware of the differences. 3

This changeling is a bit of a mischief maker. His tricks range from harmless pranks, such as misplacing other ponies properties, to more dangerous deeds, such as luring other ponies deep into forests, often in the shape of a beautiful mare or a handsome stallion. 4 Despite this, he’s not cruel. It can be a bit debatable whether he simply acts naïve, or actually has no idea of the danger he puts others in. Other talents of his include small, temporary blessings and/or curses 5, and the ability to turn into mist 6. Unfortunately, Chíren cannot travel while disguised as mist, and a strong gust of wind will force him to retake his own form.

Chíren loves all things shiny, and has decorated his lair with coloured glass, crystals and gems, of which all were not obtained by legal means. His one visit to the crystal empire had him walking about like a living dead, gaping, drooling, talking vegetable. He hopes to one day meet another changeling, but for now, he’s perfectly happy as the trickster no one knows even exists.

Notes:
*: a bit of a play with words, pronounced [tʃi:ren], almost like siren, which are said to symbolise temptation and transformation. I also got a bit inspired by the idea of changelings having an Asiatic society, first brought to my attention by Jowybean ‘s art. So I went ahead and butchered some Japanese. Chíren (little love) means nothing by itself, but it’s fantasy, it doesn’t need to actually be a correct language.
1: during my planning stage, I already knew I wanted Chíren to be based on mythology, the difficulty lay in deciding exactly what talents I wanted him to have. No matter who I chose as the parent, some obvious talent of the changelings had to be removed. Eventually magic, a very central part of the fair folks arsenal, won, so a unicorn it was. Why single parent, I haven’t a clue; it just happened.
2: originally fairies in my country didn’t have wings. They showed up later when similar tales began to merge between countries
3: genetic mutation can happen to anyone at any time for several reasons, even in the real world. Heck, the pigment in my eyes mutated during my teen years, causing streaks of actual yellow that hadn’t been there before
4: Folklore: the forest maiden and the river elf. These stories tended to warn people not to trust strangers, but differed quite a bit between countries
5: Folklore: tales to tell people to be polite and helpful, fairies were known to grant gold or luck to those they liked, while offending a fairy would cause them to curse you with disease. Chíren’s powers aren’t quite that vast, though
6: Folklore: fairies were known to disappear from sight, and some were described as becoming mist or mist-like