The Special Observation

by RebelliousKuno

Let there be light

There wasn't much to see. It was completely dark. And not your ordinary dark, but as in pitch black can't-see-anything dark. There was the occasional small creak that came from the void, and sometimes you could even hear the wind blowing outside if you listened hard enough.

Then there came a loud bang.

Within seconds, the whole room was filled with light. The windows brought in the sun-rays from the afternoon gleam that had been trapped behind the curtains for what seemed to be hours. Or to the certain changeling that was strapped to the table. He squinted his bug-crossed eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden appearance of light as it blinded him. He tried to move a hoof, but it proved no use. Casually looking over, he saw that his hole-filled hooves have been strapped down by some chains. This had also been the case for his back hooves and neck, all carried down to the wooden table that he rested upon. Looking around him, he could find that he was in some sort of library, mostly due to the books that surrounded him on the shelves. But more disturbingly was some of the things he found on the tables next to him. Upon these metal tables, there were vials filled with strange liquids, along with empty tubes that were used for who knows what. Strange contraptions had occupied the space on the table and maybe even a few papers with some words on it. This was a very strange situation to wake up on. There was, however, a small aura that could be seen in the darkness.

Off into the shadows, Twilight had been writing down every single move that the changeling had made. With the quill magically floating in front of her, it heavily jotted down all of her findings on a clipboard bounded with papers. She was observing. After a few more scribbles that were made, she gently placed the clipboard on a nearby stand. Turning her head off to the side, she nodded towards a small creature that had also been sitting in the darkness.

"Spike. Take a letter please," Twilight said. And just like that, the baby dragon had grabbed a scroll and quill from behind him. He placed the tip of the quill on the paper, awaiting the words that would come out of the unicorn's mouth.

Twilight said thus:

"Dear Princess Celestia.

The observations have been going smoothly, and it has seemed like the changeling has woken up for the first time. I am not sure if it does understand Equestrian, despite Queen Chrysalis' knowing it. And when I mean by 'it', I mean I'm not even sure if it's a stallion or mare. Are they called that anyways? Nevermind. No Spike, don't write nevermind! Don't write everything I say that's not part of the situation! I was just saying that so you wouldn't-... Forget it. As I was saying, I need to go further into this study. Perhaps even ask a few questions after it has gotten used to the environment. I will inform you if anything else has erupted.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

With a bright flash, Spike had 'blown' the letter into thin air. Twilight nodded to Spike, giving him the order that he may leave, so the dragon scuttled upstairs without another word. The unicorn gave a large smile before looking back over towards her objective, which was the changeling. She was given this task to figure out most of their lifestyles and habits. It was going to be tricky to try and make him talk, if he did at all. Not to mention she didn't even know if they spoke the same language. For all she knew, they probably speak in some code that only Changelings would know. Maybe he'd call a cry for help! She had to stop worrying so much and just get this over with.

"So uhm... Welcome to my treehouse?" Twilight had said in the darkness, her voice sounding very unsure. Stepping a hoof into the light, her lavender hooves could be clearly seen without much focus. It was quite a big stand out compared to the white lab coat she had been wearing. On top of that, she had a pair of purple goggles just resting above her horn so that her purple eyes could be seen. They shimmered with wonder, and a little bit of uneasiness.

She focused on the changeling strapped to the table, still feeling a little bit bad for the over excessive safety standards. But she couldn't let anything happen that might harm the citizens of Ponyville! This changeling could still be a danger to everyone!

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I will look after you for the duration of your stay here in Pony-." She stopped herself right after that. She couldn't give away where he was! He could tell other changelings to come to this position and terrorize the town! "Ponytown! Welcome to Ponytown! Yep! That's where you are! Good ol'... Ponytown!" Twilight gave a nervous chuckle, hoping that had saved her from this.

Silence.

The Changeling had said nothing. Nada. Zip. He just stared at her with his bugged eyes, not even blinking. It was rather unsettling if she said so herself. Twilight tried to think of something to say, hoping that he would understand. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. Twi-light." This was stupid! She wasn't going to get anywhere with this guy! Girl! Thing! Whatever it was! She gave an awkward smile, slowly trotting up towards the table that held the prisoner. Well, prisoner wasn't a really good word to use.

With her horn lighting up, the clipboard and quill that had been set down earlier had floated over towards in front of Twilight. She began writing more scribbles on it, taking note of the eyes and other appearance related observations that she couldn't have seen before in the dark. This wasn't her first time seeing a changeling, but it was her first to see one so up close without it fighting back or giving any sign of struggle. In all honesty, it was starting to frighten her.

The Changeling had been staring at her for the entire time, blinking very few times during the whole thing. It has not said one word, and the only sound it made was the occasional flutter of the wings that were probably instinctual. Twilight wrote this down. It was starting to get too quiet, but Twilight spoke up to break the silence. "So... If you don't mind I'm going to ask a few questions. Just a few! I know you're probably as confused as I am, but if we just work together, then everything will go by much faster." She gave a small smile, which was still unsure, as she stared down upon the bug-like pony.

Silence.

"Perfect!" Twilight exclaimed, "I'll take that as a 'no' that you don't mind! Okay... First question: We know Changelings feed on love, but do you have other sources of food? Surely you must have some other type of food source other than love. Living out in a place without said love would starve you... Which led to the reason of Chrysalis coming to Canterlot... You know what? Just forget about that question." She took the quill and scratched it against the paper on the clipboard, marking off that question. "Okay, next one. What do you do on your spare time?"

What did she think this was? An interview on the school newspaper? These questions were ridiculous! This was ridiculous!

Giving a loud groan, she slowly levitated the clipboard and quill on the table behind her, putting a hoof to her face. This changeling couldn't possibly know what she was saying! It hasn't said one thing yet! This was pointless! For all she knew, this changeling didn't even know what she was saying!

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Twilight remarked under her breath. "Why would the princess give me this task? She couldn't find somepony in her highly trained scientist labs to figure out what this thing is?" She turned her back away from her subject, slowly trotting away. "This stupid thing will never get me anywhere."

Just as she was about to enter the shadows, there was a loud growl from behind her. Stopping in her tracks, her pupils shrank to the size of a needle, and she slowly turned around towards the Changeling. Its eyes were narrowed. Fierce looking. It looked directly in her eyes, and she swore she saw some sort of flame inside of it. Oh Celestia, it does speak Equestrian. It heard every word. It just didn't say anything. It heard her remark.

Twilight tried to force a chuckle, but it came out as a very rough and frightened cough. "I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't know that you.. I-I..." Her ears lowered to her head, instantly feeling regret for her actions. She had to remember: all beings are sentient, no matter how strong they hided it. Surprisingly, she noticed that the growling had stopped, and the changeling's eyes had fixed back to its normal sized stare. Did it just... accept her apology? You know... This might not be as bad as she thought. This might actually work.

Twilight regained her posture, clearing her throat before speaking. "Okay... I'm going to let you rest.. Tomorrow is going to be a long day." And with that said, her horn lit up one more time in the magical aura, before the loud slam had been heard again and the room was thrown into darkness.

Complete and utter darkness.

Author's Note:

Hello there! Welcome to my new story! I'm sure this was written many times, but I decided to add my own version into it! If you have anything to say about my story or writing in general, make sure you tell me! Constructive Criticism is welcome here! It helps me develop more into my story-telling abilities and could help me in the future if needed! Thanks for reading the first chapter, and the second one will come soon! If I don't get lazy. Until then!

~RebelliousBrony

Comments

[macoman1]

Complete and udder darkness.

Utter* Although I like to imagine the room was filled with shadow cows now XD

[RebelliousKuno]

5693648 We all know that shadow cows are the best cows!

[wkblack]

Switching between Twilight and the changeling's perspective is a bit disorienting for me... There are also some things that we don't need explained. "He tried to move a hoof, but it proved no use. Casually looking over, he saw that his hole-filled hooves have been strapped down by some chains." Those sentences are a bit awkward—I'd rephrase it to something like: "As he tried to get up, he felt a tug on his legs. Chains were looped through his leg-holes, securing him down to the table." "it proved no use" sounds awkward—I don't think you's say that in real life...
I'm interested to see where this goes.