The Process of shapeshifting comes naturally to a changeling as climbing does to a goat.
It's an instinctive part of their being, yet just like climbing, practice always makes it better.
Normally, a Changeling could only transform into creatures that it sees, making a partial transformation nearly impossible for the untrained.
Changelings being unable to create an original form without years of practice makes it so that when a Changeling goes undercover outside of the hive, they must first pick a pony to masquerade as and kidnap the original so that none will know that the one walking beside them is a Changeling.
However, the few that manage to create a transformation that does not copy the appearance of an existing creature are considered too important for the hive to let them out into Pony society.
Even though the process of creating an original pony is as simple as changing the colors on the fur and drawing the most basic of illustrations as a Cutie Mark, Changelings are simply unable to do so without training and practice.
When Looper came to, he found himself inside a large tent, a bandage wrapped around his midsection, and a pillow beneath his head.
When he tried moving his wings, he found them to also be wrapped in bandages.
It would seem that whoever found him after his fall from the sky wanted to make sure he wouldn't injure himself too much.
Taking another quick look at himself, he was relieved to see that his form remained that of a Pegasus.
Which means also means that he has until the ones who rescued him return to check up on him to think of a believable backstory.
Pegasus, Sun with shades, close to the desert.
In less than a minute, Looper came up with the history and backstory of one Blaze Glass, A Pegasus that doesn't handle the sun very well.
While taking one of his midnight flights to stretch his wings, he flew too far away from his hometown, and when the sun returned in a flash, it blinded him and he fell from the sky, losing his sunglasses in the fall.
He was 17 and lived with his father who worked as a fitness instructor, He knew that he takes long flights during the night because of his issues with the sun, and knows that sometimes he leaves the house for weeks at a time.
If he doesn't hear from him in a month his father will become worried and start searching for him, and in order to make sure he doesn't worry, He will need to contact him. Giving himself a believable time-frame for how long he would be able to stay without causing trouble.
And after another two minutes of memorizing the story he came up with, Looper leaned back into the pile of pillows he was lying on.
And now he waits for someone to come and check on him.
And he waited.
And he continued to wait.
Until he waited enough,
Lifting himself from the pillows lying on the floor of the tent, Looper took a few steps towards the flap, wincing slightly as the bandages around his midsection squeezed tightly.
Standing right in front of the tent flap, Looper closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
And when he opened his eyes, gone was the cold and methodical stare of a changeling, replaced by the bright and energetic eyes of Blaze Glass, the Pegasus who was unable to fulfill his dream of traveling the world thanks to his troublesome reaction to sunlight.
A soft jump, a wiggle of his feathers, and a small excited smirk on his lips.
And Blaze Glass exited the tent.
Chief Thunderhooves was in the process of tasting the wind in order to figure out whether there will be rain next week when a young buffalo ran up to him and started talking excitedly.
"Chief, Chief! The Pony is awake, You need to see him!" The child yelled before he ran back in the direction of the tents, likely to watch the Pegasus his daughter found yesterday morning.
With a snort, Chief Thunderhooves turned away from the cliff he was looking upon and started walking towards the tent.
A fire was already started, a large cauldron filled with broth and vegetables sitting atop it. Some of the Buffalo that helped locate the Pegasus were in the process of skinning some cacti they picked up by the cliffs, a delicacy for the tribe.
And most notably, talking excitedly with Little Strongheart, his dearest treasure, was a young Pegasus, roughly her age, with an orange coat and a yellow mane. Bandages were wrapped around his torso and wings, work of one of the elders no doubt, making the Pegasus wince slightly whenever he made too sudden or sharp a movement.
"-And this is a Spike Pear, they're very juicy and tasty to eat," He could hear his daughter explain to the boy as she dragged him around the campsite, The Pegasus's eyes shining with excitement as he followed her.
"And this is my father, Chief Thunderhooves," Little Strongheart said as she placed her hoof on his shoulder, earning a smile from the large Buffalo.
"Oh, It's a pleasure to meet you, sir, Thank you for saving me," The boy said as he bowed his head to Chief Thunderhooves, earning a small giggle from Strongheart in the process.
Something that he'll have to look into, but there are more important things to worry about right now. One of them being getting this young man back to his family.
"Please, There is no need to call me sir, I was just doing the right thing." Thunderhooves began, "And it wasn't I that saved you, but Little Strongheart over here," He said, pulling his daughter into a hug.
"Dad, Stooop, you're embarrassing me," He heard her whisper to him, trying to get out of the hug. He smiled, Being a father is such a lovely thing.
"She did?" The pony asked before turning to look at his daughter once more, his eyes widening as if he was seeing her for the first time. The Pegasus turned his body to her and bowed even deeper than before, his head almost touching the ground.
"Thank you for saving my life!" He yelled, face still pointed to the ground. Pulling his head up, he got a sheepish look on his face before asking, "Umm, I know I shouldn't ask for much, seeing as how I'm supposed to be thankful to you and all, but did you perhaps find a pair of sunglasses next to where you found me?" He rubbed the back of his neck, averting his eyes from Thunderhooves and Strongheart.
"Sunglasses?" Thunderhooves answered, "No, We didn't find anything other than you. Are those glasses important to you?" He asked.
Now the Pegasus made an uncomfortable face, before pulling his leg to his mouth and coughing into his hoof, "Umm," He started, "You see, I-" He paused for a short moment before continuing, "I can't really fly during the day without my sunglasses."
'That's going to be a problem,' Thunderhooves thought, without sunglasses, the boy can't fly home, and it will still take a week or so until his wings are healed up enough to fly comfortably.
"Really? Is that why you're cutie mark looks like that?" He heard Strongheart ask and he winced, "Little, Cutie Marks are a personal thing for ponies, try not to make him uncomfortable about it," He told her before turning back to the teenager, "And you, I hope it's not too bothersome but would you mind staying here with the tribe for another week or so? Just to make sure you're healthy and all, Once the Elders deem you fine we'll take you to the nearest Pony settlement. That won't be too much of a problem, will it?"
"A week?" The Pegasus asked and Thunderhooves sighed, "Yes, It would take a week for your body to fix itself, give or take a few days."
"No no no, I'm not complaining at all, I actually thought the injuries were worse and I had to stay longer," The Pegasus said, quickly shaking his head, his mane of yellow whipping around, showing a lock of black hair hiding in its midst.
Sighing in relief that there doesn't seem to be any problem as of this moment, Thunderhooves turns and walks to help make the dinner for the camp.
"I never got your name, As my dad said, I'm Little Strongheart, what's yours?" He heard his daughter ask the Pegasus, almost kicking himself for not asking the pony's name earlier.
"My name is Glass, Blaze Glass," The Pony introduced himself, and he heard his daughter giggle a bit at the accent he used when introducing himself, likely referencing a show or story.
It's nice to see his daughter get along with people outside of the Tribe, but with this pony being as friendly as he seems.
"He better not get any funny ideas about her," He whispered to himself as he continued making his way to the campfire.
"Did you say something, dad?" Strongheart called out to him.
"Nothing!"