//------------------------------// // Orientation // Story: Changed // by Dream Seeker //------------------------------// Star Watcher grinned happily as he walked along behind Silent Whisper. For some reason, he just felt... good. Everything was going to be fine. They exited the cave through a fairly small entrance hole, and he saw Canterlot illuminated beautifully by the sun. "You should watch this for a while. If all goes well, you'll be back here in a couple of days. However, if anything bad happens you might not be able to see a sight like this for months." Silent Whisper commented, stopping. "Thanks. I may be a Changeling now, but I was a Canterlot pony first. I'd like to stay for a few minutes. It's beautiful." Star Watcher and Silent Whisper watched the glorious sunrise for a few minutes, then resumed their trek. To Star Watcher's surprise, they angled close to Canterlot. They followed what appeared to be a deer trail, taking seemingly random turns. Soon, they were at the waterfall. Silent Whisper immediately plunged through, as quickly as he could. Star Watcher recoiled in fear. "Are you all right?" he asked nervously. "Perfectly fine. Come through, there's a cave on the other side!" called Silent Whisper. "Ok, here I come!" shouted Star Watcher as he plunged through. He was greeted by a smiling Silent Whisper, accompanied by two other Changelings. "Ready for your orientation?" asked one of the accompanying Changelings. "Ready as ever!" replied Star Watcher. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Star Watcher was slightly nervous, but he didn't show it. He knew that it was important to make a good first impression, especially if he would be living with them for a long time. He followed as they showed him first to the Changeling barracks. He gazed around at the green, almost glassy substance that the bunks were made out of. He couldn't help but ask, "What are the bunks made out of?" "Good question." replied one of his guides, giggling slightly. "Excrement." Star Watcher recoiled in disgust. "Excrement? Isn't that unsanitary?" "Maybe pony excrement, but for Changelings it's a valuable resource. It's actually an antibiotic, so it is quite sanitary. We can use it to clot and clean wounds, as it not only clots well and is an antibiotic, it also acts as a light antidepressant. If we dry it with sunlight or a spell it makes a good building material, because it's fairly soft on our hard carapaces, and we even make cocoons out of-" his guide's mouth was suddenly clogged by Silent Whisper's hoof, but too late. "You mean... I was buried in excrement?!" shouted Star Watcher in horror. "And that excrement made me feel better?!" "Yes... Anyway, we should continue the orientation." said Silent Whisper, trying to change the topic. "Of course. Next, we should go see the Queen, she'll be waiting for us. Think of her life you thought of your Princesses." "T-t-the Queen? She's here? Oh, I'm so nervous... What will she be like?" All of the Changelings within earshot winced noticeably. "Uh, she'll probably be just as nervous as you, maybe more. She's new, our old Queen didn't make it through the Invasion." said Silent Whisper. "Please be nice, she's really nervous that you'll hate her, because she agreed to the plan to turn you into a Changeling." Star Watcher grinned. "I'm ready. Take me to your leader." The group walked along, the Changeling nervous about how the upcoming encounter would go, and Star Watcher grinning and waiting to see their reactions to his plan. Soon, they passed through the last eerily lit hallway and reached the throne room. When they reached the appropriate distance, they all bowed, including Star Watcher. "Rise, my little Changelings. Rise, Star Watcher." the Queen said, sounding a little uncertain. "Hello, my Queen. I just wanted to say, thank you. I might not have agreed to this, and I probably wouldn't have beforehoof, but I actually look forward to being one of your Changelings." Star Watcher said, smiling. "T-thank you." said the Queen, slightly shocked. "I am Queen Phantasma. Come back here once you have completed learning about how to be an Infiltrator for your first assignment. I will see you then." "Thank you again, Queen Phantasma. I'll be back when I am ready." They bowed once more before leaving the throne room. As soon as they passed back through the entrance, Silent Whisper gave a sigh of relief. "Well, that went surprisingly well." he said, smiling. He stopped smiling when the Changeling on his right whispered to him, "You owe me 10 Bits." Silent Whisper coughed, blushing before stammering, "Y-yes, now, let's go on to the training grounds." They walked for a little while until they came into a large cavern filled with Changelings practicing hoof-to-hoof combat. "Why are none of them practicing magic?" asked Star Watcher, confused. "Well, we need love energy to perform magic, so because there's not enough love to go around, we can't afford to waste it. Think of it like taking extra bathes during a drought so severe that not everypony can even drink every day." The Commander of the Changelings walked over to meet them. "So this is the Star Watcher we transformed?" he asked bluntly. Star Watcher smiled. "Yep. I can't wait to not only serve Queen Phantasma, but the Changeling species as a whole." "You'll do very nicely." the Commander smiled. "I'll introduce you to my army. EVERYBODY, WELCOME STAR WATCHER!" he yelled. "WELCOME STAR WATCHER!" his army yelled back. "As you probably know, he was a pony who we turned into a Changeling. He'll be joining a few classes, and teaching a few once he learns how to write our language. Treat him like any other Changeling, don't go too easy or too hard on him. Now get back to work." "YES SIR!" his army yelled. "I look forward to seeing you later, Star Watcher. Goodbye." said the Commander as he walked away. "Now, time to get back to the bunks and get some sleep. You'll be woken up in the morning by Silent Whisper, he'll be the one to ask if you have any questions. He has a copy of your schedule as well." They walked along the dimly lit corridors in silence, and when they reached the barracks they parted ways. Silent Whisper stayed with Star Watcher, getting into the bunk above him. Star Watcher was staring at him, amazed. In a moment Silent Whisper realized why. "Oh, yeah, we can climb on walls and the ceiling. So, goodnight, see you in the morning. Gook luck tomorrow." "Good night!" said Star Watcher, smiling. His glassy, green bed was comfortable, and he drifted off within seconds.