//------------------------------// // Changing // Story: Changed // by Dream Seeker //------------------------------// Star Watcher was just an ordinary unicorn, studying the stars. His cutie mark was a telescope. When the Changeling Invasion happened, he was safely hidden away at home, away from the danger. He had been stargazing that night, and he had seen the first Changelings gather outside the shield. Instead of alerting the guards, he ran cowardly. He survived the Invasion without a single scratch, apart from the splinter he got from the wooden door when he crashed into it by mistake. He always hated wood anyway. That night he slept on a pile of damp hay in his stone basement, wondering what was going on above him as he heard muffled cries and one, final, explosive sound like a powerful spell going off. It sounded like the kind of spell that could have saved the entire city... or doomed it. He slept roughly that night, and awoke shivering, terrified that he would open up the door and find Canterlot overrun. As he worried and wondered what he was going to do, he heard a crash at his door, and a voice. "Royal Guard! Open up!" "Of course, sir! Did you beat the black things off?" Star Watcher responded eagerly. "The Changelings? Yes. A few are in hiding around the city, and we need to check every possible location for them." Star watcher hesitantly opened the door, and sighed in relief when he saw the patrol of Royal Guards around him. As he moved to leave, a guard stopped him. "Sir, I'm afraid we must first check to be sure you are not a Changeling." "Isn't it obvious?" Star Watcher chuckled nervously. "I'm not a black bug thingy." "Don't you know?" the guard asked, suspicious. "Changelings can transform into anypony they want." "They can?" Star Watcher asked, tapping a hoof to his chin. "Then how do I know you're not a Changeling?" The guard shifted uncomfortably. "The spell to reveal Changelings... Which I guess you have no proof exists..." Star Watcher screamed and bolted past the guards to the castle. A moment later, the guards followed. As Star Watcher ran, he barely avoided strange craters in the earth, presumably caused by the Changelings' invasion. He saw ponies sobbing over destroyed houses, smashed goods and injured family members. He was the only one who was truly unscathed. While he was busy looking at these ponies, he stumbled and fell into one of the craters. Unfortunately, this one was deep enough to get stuck in. As the guards caught up, he sobbed and curled into a little ball, afraid that they would turn into Changelings and eat him. A moment later, he fainted and everything went dark. Changelings gathered around a well-lit wooden table, their black carapaces glossy and clean. "Well?" one of them asked. "How is your little project going?" "We've found a few good candidates, one of which we're sending a party out to capture soon, for Phase 2." replied another. "Good. No relations of importance who the candidate could talk to?" asked the first one. "No. He'll have no choice but to accept." smirked the second. "We cannot risk being discovered. Our entire species is at stake here. I suggest caution," responded a third. "The benefits outweigh the risks. The project should continue to Phase 2. Should we succeed, we will not only survive but prosper," a fourth suggested. "Let us take a vote: All who support advancing the project say Aye!" "AYE!" shouted the vast majority of the Changelings present. "Then it is settled. Phase 2 is go." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Star Watcher awoke, shivering. He was lying on his bed, still worrying about what had just happened. He then had a thought, it was all a dream! I'm saved! As he stumbled out the wooden door, he saw destroyed buildings and a pockmarked road... "Maybe it wasn't a dream!" he gasped as he reentered his house, slamming the door behind him. He sat there, blocking the door and panting for a moment before he risked peeking out again. He closed the door more carefully this time, and retreated to his bedroom. When he got there, he thought he saw an extra shadow flicker as he entered. Just a trick of the light, he thought to himself. I'm really stressed, I need some sleep. Silent Whisper dodged out of the way, just in time. He was almost seen by his target! As he watched, his target seemed disoriented and paranoid. When his target's breathing began to slow as he entered sleep, Whisper snuck into position. He charged his horn with a neon green glow. When he released, the target tensed up for a moment before relaxing. "Candidate 1, it's your turn!" Silent Whisper whispered silently. He carried Star Watcher, his target, over his shoulder. This was the primary candidate for saving his entire species, the Changelings. His horn lit again, and he vanished in a flash of green fire. In a moment, he was in a nearby cavern. A green but empty chrysalis hung nearby. He levitated Star Watcher into an opening in the chrysalis, then sealed it. Star Watcher began glowing slightly green. Star Watcher awoke groggily. For a moment, he could only see green. He blinked a couple of times, and saw where he was through the translucent shell of the chrysalis he was trapped inside. He fainted instantly. A few minutes later, he awoke again. He felt rather calm all of the sudden. What he didn't know was that the cocoon was full of a liquid that would pacify him slightly, so he wouldn't panic too much. He began kicking at the inside of the cocoon, trying to break it open. He looked down at his hoof, and thought it looked a little darker than usual. And was that a hole in his leg? He shook his head to clear what was obviously a hallucination. He kicked harder and harder, before hearing a slight crack. He fluttered his wings in anticipa- wait, since when did I have wings? he thought for a moment, scared. Am I going insane? he wondered. With just a few more kicks, his leg broke through. Glowing green liquid began leaking through the crack, and he continued kicking. In just a few minutes, he had broken a hole large enough to escape out of. By this time, enough liquid had drained from the cocoon to see his body for real. He stared for a moment at the black, chitinous leg with holes in it. His screams made Silent Whisper, who was waiting concealed inside the cave, wince in pain. A dull thud came next as Star Watcher fell out of the broken cocoon. Silent Whisper sighed as he examined the once again fainted Star Watcher. It might take a while for him to adjust to this, thought Silent Whisper. I just hope we can make him understand. Star Watcher felt water slosh over his body. He shuddered as the liquid passed through the holes in his body. His eyes remained closed for a few seconds before blinking open. Whatever I see, I will not faint or scream. Whatever I see, I will not faint or scream. he repeated in his mind a few times. He saw a black pony-shaped bug before him, and was about to scream, when he remembered his mantra. I will not faint or scream. I will not. "Hello there." said the Changeling. "H-h-hello." said Star Watcher shakily. "What do you want? What happened? Why-" his questions were stopped by the Changeling's well-placed hoof to his mouth. "Let's take this slowly, there's a lot for you to take in. My name is Silent Whisper. What do I want? The survival of the Changeling species. What happened? You were turned into a Changeling. Why? Because you are the one who is most likely going to save us. We live off emotions. Our usual source is ponies. Now, about 90% of our Infiltrators, who gather emotions for the rest of us to live off of, died in Canterlot. You could help save us, because you already know how to infiltrate, because it's what you've been doing all your life." "W-w-why would I save you?" asked Star Watcher. "Why shouldn't I just go and report you to the guard?" Silent Whisper grinned eerily. "You're a Changeling now. Who would believe your story? How would you get off without being caught?" "My fam..." Star Watcher began, his voice trailing off. "I'm sorry, but... that's actually one of the reasons you were picked," Whisper said sorrowfully. "With no living family, and nopony to run to that you can truly trust, you're left with us. As much as you wouldn't like to admit it, we're your best hope at learning how to live your life from now on. You need our help as much as we need yours. A former pony, like you, is very experienced at being... well... a pony. You can teach some of us about the finer points of a pony's life. In addition, some of the energy you gather is expected to go to our Hive. In exchange, you'll be taught how to be a Changeling. You will live as an Infiltrator, which will allow you to remain among ponies most of the time. As an Infiltrator, you would gather energy by essentially living a good life. Your energy would allow you to cast magic. Changelings have magic that can't be used by other pony races, and one of the benefits to being a Changeling is that there is no maximum amount of magic energy you can have. In other words, all you need to cast any spell you want is to save up energy. In fact, another reason we picked you is that you often wished for the ability to perform higher magic. As a Changeling, you now have this opportunity!" "I..." Star Watcher's voice trailed off. "I guess that's not so bad... I just have a few questions about Changelings." "I'm sure they will be covered in the whole orientation we have planned out for you, and if not just ask me afterwords," Whisper smiled, and held out a hoof. "Welcome to the Changelings." Star Watcher bumped the offered hoof, smiling. "I might actually enjoy this." Star Watcher replied with a grin.