//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: How to NOT Become a Changeling 
// by WolfTheWyvern 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 1



“No, I swear to Celestia that I’m not a changeling!” I shouted to the very angry group of changelings that surrounded me in the Canterlot Castle dungeon that I had just been thrown into. “Well, I mean I am,” I grinned sheepishly with the one fang I had left, blood, or whatever it is caking half of my mouth, “But two days ago I was a pegasus, and a week before that I was a librarian!” I pleaded to the group that was getting closer, but they barely looked convinced. I closed my eyes and prepared for the fourth beat down of the day.
“Hey, everypony wait,” said a voice. “He’s far too bad a liar to be a changeling.”
I opened an eye to see that the mob had stopped.
“What, you believe him?” asked the changeling that was twice my size, and in front of the group that wanted to give my new body another beating. “He has to be one of those loved out drones of Chyrsalis.” He had pink eyes and matching wings with a ruby red carapace.
“And they got blasted out of the city by…” the voice in the back paused, “well whatever it was. Look around, Valex, do you see any of the her drones here?”
The huge changeling looked around and backed down, and the rest of the mob dispersed without their leader, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Most of them, however, still gave me a suspicious glance. Another red and pink changeling approached me. I started to huddle against the bars again, but he stopped.
“Woah, calm down little bud. I am not going to hurt you.” I recognized him as the voice of reason. You know, for being such terrifyingly awful looking creatures, I found at least a few that are as nice as ponies, and some that aren’t. “I’m Lonax, by the way. Sorry for Valex earlier. Today has not been easy on any of us.”
“I hear you,” I tried to smile at my sorry state, “The name is Steady Scrolls.” I held out a holed hoof for a hoofshake.
“A pleasure to meet you under unpleasant circumstances,” Lonax replied as he returned the hoofshake. I resisted the uneasy urge to look through myself again.
A door outside the cell opened and my heart leapt. This had to be Keeneye to come and get me out of here; however, my heart sank when it was just one of the guards making a round. 
“Waiting for someone?” Lonax asked.
“Yeah,” I said, “A friend in the Guard. He’ll be here.”
“You know ponies in the guard?” Lonax looked surprised and exited.
“You get to know a few when you spend at least eight hours a day in the Canterlot Castle. I’ve even helped the Princesses with some research on occasion,” I said offhoofedly.
Lonax grabbed my head with two hooves. “I would kiss you if you weren’t covered in blood!” he exclaimed. “You can get us out of here!” He made a large gesture to the whole cell. A couple other changelings perked up and started listening in.
I pulled out of his grasp, sending a shock of pain to my broken fang. I hissed, “I don’t know about all that. I need to get out of here first, and get my body back after that, but even after that, I don’t know if I can do anything.”
Lonax looked at the floor, crestfallen. The other changelings looked no less saddened.
“But I’ll try,” I said consolingly to them all. Lonax gave a half smile.
We sat in silence for a long moment.
“So…” Lonax began, “What is your story?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, you said that you weren’t a changeling, but you are. How did you become a changeling?”
“Ahh…” I replied, “This began eight days ago. I am, or was, a pegasus. I had my father’s light grey coat and burgundy mane and tail, but my mother’s violet eyes. I had the mark of a royal scroll on my flank…”
“Why don’t you just show me?” Lonax asked.
“I don’t know how?” 
“How do you not know how?” Lonax was flabbergasted. “You’re a changeling! It’s what you do!” I swore I heard a snicker coming from somewhere in the cell.
I replied defensively, “I just got this body less than a day ago!”
Lonax facehoofed; I decided to continue. “Anyway, it was a relatively normal day in the library…”



I groaned in frustration again. Transcribing a Middle Pony manuscript to New Griffon was not my idea of a good day. Trying to make the complex runes with your mouth is enough to drive any pony up the wall. I spat out my quill and leaned back in my chair. It was only half done, but that was all that I could take for one day. I was ahead in my work anyway.
One could think that being a librarian is a simple job, but it’s not. At least it isn’t for the librarian of the Royal Canterlot Library. It is always keeping up with new texts, transcribing old ones, and translating texts to ship out around the known world: it is the most significant thing that anypony could do. I literally have my hooves around Equestria’s history daily. Frankly, it’s all fun and games until you have to use New Griffon. I mean, it’s pretty to look at and all, but really hard to duplicate with your mouth. On days like this, I wish I had a unicorn’s magic, but wings make it easier any other time.
I slid my glasses back up my face, and went to go do the noontime reshelving. It was less than normal: I blamed it on most of the city being on edge over the anonymous threats that had been thrown about lately. It had me nervous the first time I saw the protective bubble thrown over Canterlot, but now it made me feel safe. Nothing could ever get through Shining Armor’s protection spell.
In the middle of flying the new Daring Do novel back into place, Keeneye trotted in. Keeneye is one of my closest friends, and one of the best unicorn snipers in the Equestrian Guard. He was in the standard golden armor with the grey and white illusion spell on it. 
“Heya Steady!” He called. “Did that new book come in yet?”
“Yes it did,” I flew over to my desk and took the book out top drawer. He grabbed it magically and started looking it over with great intent. “General Stone’s Five principals of Magical Accuracy; That was a tough little book to find.” I went back to reshelving. “I sent letters to all of the greatest libraries in Equestria: Fillydelphia, Trottingham, even Manehattan. All of them came back negative. I even looked in Cloudsdale when I was last there, but the answer was the same. Anyway, the librarian there told me to check the Ponyville library. I thought immediately that there is no way that the book could be there, but I took the Saturday train and I was proven wrong. Quaint little place.”
“I bet it is,” Keeneye said from a million miles away. I turned around to see his eyes glued to the page. I thought about saying something, but he was more excited to read the book than I was to find it. I could never get between a pony and a good book. I went back to work.
It was around two hours later that Keeneye walked over to me with the biggest grin on his face. I had learned to regret that grin.
“No, I will not be your target. I still have an odd patch of fur from the last time, you know.”
“Well, that’s just fine, I just need you to stand beside the target.”
“Beside?” I sighed. I could already tell that this wasn’t going to end well. “Why?”
“In the first chapter, Stone suggests that a target can be hit even what the shooter cannot see it. All he needs is the right motivation,” He tapped me on the chest, and I became very uncomfortable. “To not miss, and a decent understanding of the target, but that is beside the point, because I’m not gonna miss because I don’t want to hit my best bud, who is totally awesome and never lets me down.” He then proceeded to give me the stupidest looking grin that I could never say no to.
“All right.” I  said, in mock defeat.


Only minutes later, I found myself standing next to a large bag of flour around a makeshift corner in the Guard training grounds. I eyed the flour nervously and waited for Keeneye’s call.
“Ready!” called Keeneye.
“Yeah…” I yelled back uncomfortably.
“Firing in 3…2…1!” A split second after he said one a yellow bolt rounded the corner and flew straight towards me, and the flour sack. I threw a hoof over my face and waited for it to hit me, but then I heard the sweet sound of the flour sack exploding. I opened my eyed to find I was covered in flour. Keeneye ran around the corner, He had gotten out of his armor and was his natural pale green and yellow, with a clean cut mane and tail and a bullseye on his rump.
He gave a joyous  laugh at seeing the demolished flour sack, and a second one seeing me covered in flour. I laughed too, more in relief that I didn’t get hit. “I have to try again!”
I was crestfallen, “Isn’t once enough?”
“Oh, come on! Just one more!” Keeneye said as he levitated another sack into place. He then raced around the corner.
“Ready?” He called.
“Yeah,” I called with more confidence.
“Firing,” He called. I saw the yellow bolt of magic fly around the corner again and seemingly come straight at me again. I summoned enough confidence to watch the bolt this time. Watch it as it flew straight into me. I did a full spin before I landed flat on my back. My glasses went flying. The world was a spinney blur around me.
“Are you okay?” I saw a green and yellow blur run towards me. “I’m so sorry I didn’t think about the flour on you throwing off the shot,” Keeneye was talking rapidly. He levitated me back onto my hooves and put my glasses back on. The world finally decided to stay in one place.
“I knew that was going to happen,” I looked at Keeneye, who looked to almost be in tears. “Keeneye, I’m fine, stop looking like you shot Philomena again.” I laughed. “I never knew that flour could be dangerous!”
I helped Keeneye for the last couple hours before heading home for the day. I was trotting through a bad neighborhood. I usually tried to avoid that area of town, but I was tired and achey, and I was willing to roll the dice and cut ten minutes off my commute. Suddenly, I was stopped by a frantic mare.
“Oh please help me, my baby!” She grabbed my and started shoving me into a dark alley.
I put on the brakes, “Hold up lady,” I said, my heart was racing. I knew this could be bad, but I didn’t want to leave a screaming mother on the sidewalk either. “What’s the problem?”
“My colt, he’s got his hoof caught in a drain, and he cannot get out! I need help! Please!” She wailed between sobs. I was convinced that she needed help. I started down the alleyway.
The last thing that I saw was a shadow moving in the corner of my eye.