A Force of Change

A Force of Change

Chapter One - Pleasantries and Blood

I await a visitor in Celestia's study. I would be incredibly nervous, but the Princess prepared tea. Today is a day to be nervous though. Today is the day I meet my handler for my probation.

A guard knocks on the door, "Lady Twilight Sparkle is here Princess, would you like me to send her in?"

Celestia takes a deep breath to gather her composure, "Yes guard, bring in our visitor."

After a moment, a lavender unicorn with a pink starburst on her flanks enters the room, "Princess, I got here as soon as I could."

Celestia lets out a small smile, "I am glad you could arrive on such short notice, I have a task for you, but first, I have somepony I would like you to meet."

I slowly walk out from behind the bookcase, "Hello, I am Shadow Shifter."

Twilight immediately blasts me into the wall with a bolt of magic, "Look out Princess, changeling!"

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE! STOP ATTACKING SHADOW SHIFTER!", most ponies have heard about the Royal Canterlot Voice that Princess Luna occasionally uses, I have heard it several times over my stay, and I can say, when Celestia uses it, it is much more powerful.

Twilight stops attacking me in shock, "But Princess, he is a changeling."

Celestia lets out a small sigh, "I know he is a changeling, but not like the others. He is going to tell you his story, so just sit there and listen."

I take this as my cue to start. With a sip of tea, I begin my story, "I was born in the changeling hive twenty-two years ago, when I turned ten, I joined the changeling military as it is required from all male changelings. Not long before I turned twelve, Queen Chrysalis had me put in a new force she was assembling, one made entirely of royal breed changelings. We trained for six months before Chrysalis told us that she would be moving us to the next stage of our work. She put us all in a room, hit us with a sleep spell, and then forced all kinds of changes to our bodies. See these glyphs carved all over me? They are supposed to enhance different traits, but because of these 'enhancements' we lost our ability to transform. After about a month of getting used to the changes, I fled the hive. In changeling society, forcing a physical change on a fellow changeling is the equivalent to your crime of rape. I wandered around Equestria for a year before settling down in Vanhoover. I lived there in peace for nine years before Chrysalis attacked Canterlot, and being unable to change, everypony finally knew what I was. My home was burned down and I was chased away by a mob. I was on the run for three months before the Royal Guard finally caught me."

I look at Twilight, who looks absolutely shocked about my story, and I can see the gears turning in her head as she contemplates the implications, "I am so sorry Shadow Shifter, is there anything I can do to make up for attacking you?"

I look to Celestia, who nods, "Princess Celestia had sentenced me to a probationary period until the crown can determine that I am not a threat to Equestria, and she told me that she was assigning you as my handler. All I want you to do is treat me as you would any other pony, and you will be forgiven."

Celestia adds in as well, "Twilight, you will be taking Shadow Shifter to Ponyville, where he will live with you for one month, before moving into a house near the library. You will send weekly reports of Shifter's progress through the probationary period."

After Celestia finished explaining what Twilight's task entails, Twilight and I headed out to the royal gardens to talk about our experiences with Celestia.

"Lucky, she never shared that blend of tea with me, she always said it was for princesses only."

"To be honest, the only reason why I think she used that specific blend was to help keep everything calm, not to mention it is a good way to enter a conversation."

"Well either way, I still wish she would have shared that blend with me."

I lick my lips and put on a thoughtful face, "Hmm, Twilight, did you know your jealousy tastes like pistachios?"

"Waitwaitwait what? You better not be feeding on me."

"Relax Twilight, I was just sampling, and everyone knows that"- I put on a Trotsylvanian accent -"'I vant to suck your love'." Twilight just freezes.

I wave my hoof in front of her face, no response…

"Great, I broke Twilight…" The absurdity of the situation catches up to me and I am on the ground cackling like a madpony.

After about a minute I finally stop laughing, she hasn't moved yet, "Are you okay Twilight? I am starting to worry a bit…"

I decide to ask a nearby guard to fetch the princess, as Twilight isn't responding, "Hello there, can you help me with something? I seem to have accidentally broke Twilight, and I need to ask the princess how to fix her, do you think you can take me to her or bring her here?"

The guard stands there unmoving, failing to answer my question…

Okay, the guard is still just standing there, it is kinda creeping me out…

I guess it is time for drastic measures, I get up right next to the guard's face, then lick his nose.

"Augh! What kind of sicko licks another stallion's nose?!"

"Sorry, but you didn't answer my question."

"I was ordered to not interact with you, under any circumstances."

"Well Princess Celestia's star pupil is just standing in the middle of the path, completely unresponsive. I just want to fix her before somepony decided to banish me to the moon or something."

"I cannot help you sir, I am sorry."

"GAH!"

I walk back over to Twilight, to see if I can fix her myself, "Hmm, if licking the guard stallion's nose shattered his composure, would it unfreeze Twilight?"

After a few moments of deliberation, I decide to try it, little did I know that Prince Blueblood was approaching.

I move in to try and lick Twilight's nose, only to be startled by a yell, "STOP YOU BEAST!"

I turn around to see Prince Blueblood charging at me with his horn lowered. I jump to the side as he barrels passed me, "I do not know why you aren't in a cell right now, but I will not allow you to suck the love out of anypony!"

"Whoawhoawhoa, I wasn't sucking the love out of anypony! It doesn't even work like that."

"Like I would believe a changeling. En Guarde!" Blueblood charges his horn and sends a bolt of magic my way, I dodge, then counter with a beam of my own.

He conjures up a barrier and deflects my bolt skyward, where it hits a cloud and causes a lightning bolt to strike Blueblood. He spins around a few times in a daze then collapses, scorch mark on his flanks.

At this point, Twilight recovers her senses, "What just happened? You said my jealousy tasted like pistachios, and then you said something in a weird accent, after that it is just a blank…"

"Welcome back to the land of the not-broken, you froze up there for about twenty-five minutes. I was about to try something I did to get one of the guards to answer my questions then Blueballs over there freaked out and attacked me."

"Blueballs… what… wait, you mean Blueblood?"

"Yes Twilight, I mean Blueblood. I am just going to call him Blueballs from now on because he is a total prick. We should probably tell somepony what happened though, don't want anypony to get the wrong idea, or stars forbid Blueballs wakes up and forms a mob."

"Go to your quarters, I can handle this."

"Are you sure you don't want me to help? I am kinda the one who zapped him… Well, I mean he deflected my magic bolt into that cloud up there, which struck him in the flanks with lighting." I chuckle at this…

"Wait, you mean Blueblood was hurt because lightning struck him in the flanks? That is hilarious!" at this point, both Twilight and I are holding our sides in laughter.

The laughter dies down, but we are unable to breathe. Twilight recovers first, "Shadow, just go to your quarters, I will ask the princess to come by later to find out what happened."

"Okay… I will talk to you later I guess. And if Blueballs wakes up, give him my regards."

"I can't make any promises, but I will be sure to inform him that he was struck in the flanks by lighting."

Twilight picks up Blueballs in her levitation, and trots to the castle infirmary. I take a deep breath then start towards my quarters.