Death's Invitationby Crimson_NightChaptersDiscovering where I am. And what I am?A Friendly DiscoveryWhere to now?A flicker of hopeFirst encountersThe travel too (and arrival in) CanterlotFinnaly getting to the princessesDining with royaltyTour of the cityJust a normal dayDiscovering where I am. And what I am?I quickly closed my eyes due to the sudden lighting change but quickly opened then back up. It looked like morning daylight and it looked like I was in the middle of a forest too. “Ugh, great!” “Not only am I somehow alive from that catastrophe, but I’m stuck in the middle of a forest!” I go to take a look at myself, but I jumped back a little at first notice of my hands, or actually... my hooves? I quickly turn my head backwards to see myself, as of which it appears my neck is more flexible than normal. Then with sudden shock, but with a little bit of glee, I find out what I am. “I’m a pony!?” Yep, and by the looks of it, a pony quite like an oc of mine, Crimson Night, a bat pony with a dark grey coat and a crimson red mane. “So, not only am I somehow alive, I’ve also become my own oc, wait... so I must also be in equestria?” It seems my rambling has attracted a creature in a nearby bush. I notice its glowing green eyes as it comes closer. Then I get a good look at what it actually is... a timberwolf! Yep! I’m definitely in equestria! I leap backwards due to the sudden shock of what it is. But, to my surprise... so did it. But then a major fact hit me, it’s breath. Usually you’d be able to smell a Timberwolves breath from miles away, but I couldn’t smell anything. So, doing the most stupidest thing ever, I approached it. “Hello?” If it could also understand me that could be another fact that it isn’t a real timberwolf. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, and I don’t want to hurt you.” It then suddenly looked straight into my eyes like it realised something important. It then slowly approached me, but the most surprising thing was... it speaked!? “Um... hello, sorry if I scared you too, do I know you? You sound familiar to me” Hmm, I don’t know if we know each other but this could mean only one thing, “Are you a changeling?” It tilted its head, “Ch- changeling? Ummm, I... I don’t know” “Oh? Ok then, how did you get here?” “Well, I was in a bad accident a few days ago, but, then I just woke up here unharmed somehow, I was so scared, I didn’t know what I was. Then last night a pack of those wooden wolves-” “Timberwolves” I informed it. “Timberwolves, ok, well those timberwolves showed up and I didn’t know where to go, so I tried to hide in some nearby bushes and then I just couldn’t get their details out of my head.” “I kept thinking of them, their wooden body, their sharp fangs, their glowing green eyes, then I just... became one.” “I suppose it was kind of good I changed into one to keep them away from me, but I don’t know how to change back, now I’m here.” “Ok then, so from what I can tell you must be a cha-” “Wait!” Then it hit me. A Friendly Discovery"What is it?" It sat there in confusion at my sudden expression. "James?!?" It then shared my expression "Wait! How do you know my name?" It hit me when he said 'bad accident' and 'a few days ago', he must've been sent to equestria after his accident too, why though? I sort of figured with my love for equestria why I'm here, but why him? Who cares, I'm here now and I can help him learn equestria. "Its... it's me James, its Matthew" His expression became even more surprised than mine. He came closer, "Matthew?! Is- is that really you?" "The one and only" He then immediately jumped onto me and gave me a hug. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe it's really you!" "I thought I was all alone out here, then of all the people to show up, it was the only one who knows about this place!" "Its called equestria, right? I figured that when I saw a pony, then it turns out it was my best buddy!" He hugged tighter as he was filled with joy and relief. "Hey, not so tight! You still got claws you know" I laughed a bit as I was getting just the slightest bit strangled by James. "Oh! Sorry" He quickly got up on his paws. As I got up on my hooves, I wrapped one around his neck and gave him a quick little hug back. "Its good to see you again James" As I let go of him. "Me too, soooo. Anyways, what was that thing you said I was again?" Oh, right, "A Changeling, a creature that can change their form to almost any other creature they desire" "Ok, cool. But, how do I change back?" Oh... right "Hmm, I'm not entirely sure about that, but from what you said earlier, it seems you've got to focus on a creature's looks and details, why don't you try it on me" He was a bit sceptical at first but he just nodded "Um, ok then" He looked at me for a bit then he closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he was surrounded in a quick flash of green light and then he looked just like me! I let out a quick gasp which also helped him know he'd done something and opened his eyes. "You did it James!" He looked back at himself, then back to me. I also noticed I must also have purple eyes. "Wow, I... I actually did it, amazing!" His face lit up with excitement. "I know right, now I have an idea..." "Yes?" "Try to go through the same thought process, but instead of thinking of me or another creature, try to make it all blank, I feel like that might be able to change you to your original changeling form or we'll just have to find some help elsewhere" "I suppose I'll give it a shot" He closed his eyes once again. I didn't know if my long shot of an idea would work, but then... another surrounding flash of green light. "It worked James!" It worked, he was a changeling, a cyan, yellow eyed changeling. "Oh and I also forgot to mention, a changeling's normal form have wings too" He looked back at himself again. "Wow! I cant believe it worked!" I sat down as James continued to look at his true, colourful form. Then I remembered my own wings. I stood up as I had a good look at them, I tried to move them thinking I couldn't, being new to this body. But to my surprise, I could, it just felt like a second pair of arms on my back, just a bit lighter and a completely different shape. James looked over at me and noticed me examining my now open wings. "Wow, your wings are nice" He stood in awe at my wings, I gently closed them back up. "So are a changeling's, but I'm pretty sure changeling wings are a bit different from Pony wings, they're more bug like and I don't know if they flap just like a pony's." "More like, flutter I guess, take a ladybug for example. You also have a bit of a protective shell over your wings that shift out of the way a bit when you open them, so yeah, kind of like a ladybug I suppose." Where to now?Author's Note Note about Cyax's/Changeling's gender; It was in my mind to make one of the character's transformation make them change into the opposite gender, but I didnt want to be to mean, so I decided to make it a thing in the story that Changelings are hermaphrodites. To be honest it would kinda make sense to me that creatures that can morph into any gender of any other creature would also be able to be/have either gender normally. Where to now? "Ok then, that's cool and all and I would probably like to learn more about my species, but maybe later, because I think we'd probably want to get out of this forest first, any ideas?" Huh, the one thing I haven't thought about yet, where to go now? "Honestly, I'm just as clueless as you are, just pick a random direction and we'll go from there" As he pointed, "How about that way, it looks a bit more clear of trees than the other directions." I suppose that's a good point, "Sounds good" As we were about to set off, I heard a little wince come from James, "Are you ok Ja- oh." I noticed the back of his front left hoof was heavily scratched, it seems it bled a little, but it was all dried up now. "Yeah, I kind of forgot to mention those Timberwolves did get me a little bit and I didn't really jump into a bunch of bushes, I fell into them" Who cares how he got into a bunch of bushes, he didn't get eaten and that's the most important part. "It's fine, just come to my side and wrap your hoof around my neck" He did just that, we then set off in the direction James pointed. It was quiet as we were traveling through the forest, apart from the usual chirping of birds now and then and the rustling of trees, I quite enjoyed the peaceful sounds, it's a nice change from the loud city noises. James then interrupted such peaceful sounds, "Sooo, what's the plan if we find a way out of this forest?" Luckily I was thinking of that during the silence "I was actually thinking about that. I was wondering, if we weren't the first humans to come here that is" "Oh?" "Yea, and if we aren't, then I think I know the perfect ponies to tell our little story too" James gave me a concerned look "Wait, you actually think there's someone we can tell our story to without us seeming crazy?" "I suppose that is a valid point, but if we aren't the only humans to have passed through equestria then somepony must've known" "I see, and who are these ponies you're thinking of?" "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna" "What?! Aren't those the rulers of equestria or something?" "Indeed, and that's why I think somepony of their importance are bound to have knowledge of humans, because I don’t think humans are common knowledge among normal pony folk, and I think it's better to trust somepony than nopony" James was still concerned, but he trusted my knowledge of equestria and just gave a quick nod. Then James came to a stop, I looked at him and his face only seemed embarrassed, "What is it?" His face only burning more red when I asked "I, uh, I need to go" It took me a quick second to realise what he meant, "Oh, ok. Heh, now that you mention it, I kinda do too" As I quickly pointed "You can go behind that tree and I'll go behind these bushes over here" I helped him over behind the tree, I heard a quiet "thanks" as I left to the bushes. Taking a pee as a pony wasn't to much different, 'just let it go' I gave a quick mental giggle at that. After I was done, I did notice a pony's thing doesn't hang out as much as a humans, it kinda returns back into a seth of some sort, but I didn't really give it much of a thought. But then I heard a surprised yelp from James, "Uh, you ok James?" He looked back at me with his face burning like crazy "Oh nothing, it's just I’m, uhhh, I'm a girl" Oh, right, the one thing I forgot to say about changelings. "Oh yeah, I didn't mention that thing about changelings yet, I think there's some kind of special word for it, but in a nutshell, changelings actually have both genders" "Wait, what?" "Yeah your Male gender is on the inside to protect it from outside elements and that kind of thing, it usually comes out for mating and that kind of stuff, changelings separate their gender by mentality, not physicality" He blushed a little at the mention of mating. I giggled a little at his expression. "I suppose you'll have to get used to having and using a female part most of the time, or at least until you find yourself a very special somepony" I gave a quick laugh and James giggled a little too. "Until I find a mate, in other words" "Yeah" "Well then, I suppose it's not everyday you become a double gendered bug that can change its form to any other. Anyways, should we continue?" We shared a laugh and I nodded, James got out from behind the tree and then he wrapped his hoof around my neck again and we continued through the forest. It was getting closer to sundown, but it wasn't to long before I stopped to a sudden new sound I could hear in the distance. James looked at me and must've noticed my ears twitching to look for where the sound was coming from. "What is it Matthew?" My eyes widened from realization and in a quick whisper to myself, "water..." I immediately went into a gallop almost causing James to trip, but he was able to keep up on just his three hooves. "Wait, what- did you-- say?" He tried to ask while trying to catch his breath from the sudden change of pace. "You'll see when we get there" A flicker of hopeWe soon arrived at where the sound was emanating from and our eyes widened in excitement. "Water! So that's what you were hearing, wasn't it?" "Yep, now we can check if it's good enough to use." I slowly trotted myself and James to the river to take a closer look. It was the most pristine water I've ever seen, so clear you could see even the tiniest pebbles at the bottom of the river. "Wow, this looks even more clear then my water back home" James said as he continued admiring how clear the river was. "Well then, shall we?" He nodded happily. I helped guide him on to his knees first, then we both leaned in and took a large gulp from the river. "Damn, even tastes better too" "I guess so, not only was I excited when I heard the river so we can drink, but so we can have something to follow that could lead us to somewhere helpful" James then immediately looked up at me and smiled, "Oh yeah, right!" "Shall we follow down the river then?" "Sure, but could we maybe take a little break?" "Of course, we've got plenty of daylight to spare" I helped James a bit to lay down. Then we just sat by the riverside for a bit before James decided he wanted a little nap. After a little bit, I felt a sudden rumble in my stomach and remembered that hunger is still a thing no matter what or where you are. I got up while trying not to wake James and have a little look back our way for something that we might be able to eat. I didn't go to far before my rummaging found a nice little berry bush hidden behind a small group of trees and other assorted bushes. I decided to have a snack before I broke off a branch and went back to give it to James. James was still asleep when I got back. I sat back down next to James and gently tried to wake him up. I gave him a few pokes, "Hey, hey James, get up." Still out cold. Well, since he isn't going to wake up the simple way... I guess I'll give him a little splash. But literally just as I got my hoof in the water ready, he decided to slowly wake up, "W-huh?" "Awww, and I was just about to splash you too" "Oh you son of a-" Blam! A nice cold splash straight to his face. "Ah ah, we can't have any of that or no berries, but, here you go anyways" I grabbed the berries from beside me and put them out in front of him. "Oh, cool, thanks" "Now have some of those and then I guess we should start moving" "Sure, want any?" "I already had some before I woke you up" "Sweet, more for me" He gladly ate most of them and I ended up having the extra. We had another drink from the river and slowly got up while James had a bit of a stretch. "Alright, you ready to get going?" "Yep, nothing to lose, right" We then began to follow the river downstream, and I started to wonder. I suppose he might not have anything to lose, but I sure did. I didn't really want to admit it, but a possible lifetime in equestria isn't something I wanted to give up on so easily. I even feared it would be over so quickly when I saw James as a timberwolf, but at least it's turned out fine so far. Now all we have to do is find a way to Canterlot and hope the princesses have had experiences with humans before and can help us with our situation. Let's just hope we can find something soon, it's slowly becoming dark. First encountersWe had travelled a good hour and a half maybe, as the sun had just finished it's leave, something caught our eyes, "Is that a building over there?" As James pointed, there wasn't any sunlight left, but there was the little bit of moonlight to outline the building, and James saw it at first due to the fact I was looking at the sky as time was passing by. "I think so" But I noticed a little something to the sides of the single small building, train tracks?... "Wait, I think it's a train station" "Really? Do you think it can take us wherever it was we needed to go?" "Canterlot, and let's hope so" We picked up the pace towards the station. But James slowed down a little and asked, "What are we even going to say if we meet someone there?" A little worry showing on his face. "I think I have a little story I could tell" James gave me a quick glance with narrowed eyes "A story or a lie?" "Well, fifty fifty, most is true, but it's just how we got into the forest in the first place I might have to lie about obviously" "Well then, what are we waiting for?" "You to pick up the pace again, that's what" I gave a little laugh then we picked up the pace, soon reaching the station, and also confirming it is a station too. We came around the side and hopped onto the platform, where we were approached by the looks of it, a station pony. James gave me a fearful look, but I reassured him it'll be alright. "And where are you two ponies o- oh, sorry about that, pony and changeling, off too tonight?" "That's alright, uhm, Canterlot?" "Very well. Do you have bits for your tickets?" James gave me a confused look, probably wondering what bits are, but I just continued to talk to the station pony. "Uhh, no actually." "Well then, I see you two seem like you really need to get to Canterlot, so I suppose you could convince me why you need to go" "Are you serious? If you are, then thank you so much" He nodded "Well then?" "Well, we were on our way to the station yesterday afternoon and we did have bits for our tickets, but on our way to the station we were had to encounter a couple of bandits-" "Oh, I see" "And we were chased into the middle of this here forest behind the station, but lost our bits in the meantime too, and if you couldn't tell by the word 'yesterday', we had to spend an entire night in that forest." "But not only did we have to deal with bandits, we also had to deal with timberwolves that night and my friend got a little scratched up too." I motioned for James to show his hoof and he obliged. "Oh sweet Celestia! Well, I have a first aid kit and can help get that bandaged up for you, and also, why is it that you were planning on going to Canterlot?" "To speak to the princesses" "Oh, well then, that does seem worthy of my help, but you won't be able to speak to them at this time since the princess's public day court is over for the day" "I can lend you the ticket booth to stay in for the night, it'll be a bit cramped but it'll be better than sleeping out on the benches in the cold." "Then I'll have you on a train to Canterlot that'll arrive just in time for the princess's day court to begin" "Thank you so much" "No problem, it's the least I could do for your troubles, now I'll go get that first aid kit." He went to go do just that, "I- I cant believe that actually worked Matthew" "I wasn't to surprised actually" "Really?" "Yea, from how much I know, I'm quite certain ponies are a bit more helping than what you would expect humans to be most of the time" "Well then, I suppose our plan is set right? Sleep the night, get a train to Canterlot, and then speak to the princesses" "Pretty much, also, I do have a pony name you should probably use when around other ponies, sorry I can't think of a name that you could use right now." "That’s alright, and it is?" "Crimson, Crimson Night" "Well then Crimson, let's hope we have a smooth ride tomorrow." We gave a quick chuckle and a hug. Then the station pony returned. "Here you go, all nice and cozy I hope" as he put the bandage around James' hoof "Its fine, thank you" "Well then, there's only one more train scheduled fifteen minutes from now to pass through here, then I'm done for the night" "So you two can head over to the booth now if you want, and don't worry, I'll be back first thing in the morning." "Ok, and thank you for everything" "Don’t worry about it, it's the least I can do" We then went over to the ticket booth and entered it, while the station pony waited on the benches for the last train to come through. James let out a sigh of relief mixed with a little yawn, it was actually kind of cute. "Tired are ya James?" "Yea, a little I suppose" We gave a quick chuckle. "Well, I guess we should try to lie down, oh and don't worry if we have to cuddle a little or something like that to fit on the floor, I'm perfectly fine with it, it'll at least keep us warm." "Sure, it can't be any weirder than being a double gendered bug, can it?" "Heh, I suppose not." Eventually I did have to cuddle James a little to fit, but it was fine. "Just don’t fall asleep too soon or you'll end up being quite annoyed at the last train coming through in a few minutes" I joked "I think I can last, anyways, damn, I didn't know how soft a pony's fur is" "At least we're warm are we not?" I giggled a little "Just shut it and let me wait for the train to come through so I can sleep" I gladly shut my mouth to enjoy the silence, heck, I swore I even heard James gently coo in my soft, warm embrace, I've never heard anything cuter, I'm probably going to make fun of that in the morning. The train had now passed through, but I still felt wide awake, there was a clock on one of the walls, it was hard to make out the time from my angle, but I think it said something around quarter to one. Typical, it seems I probably still have my horrible sleep schedule from my human self. I eventually let the time pass by and I fell asleep eventually, probably around half past two or closer to three like I normally do. But still, the night passed like any other, with a rough and tiresome sleep as usual. The travel too (and arrival in) CanterlotThe travel to: The morning had arrived and it greeted us with a nock on the door. "Rise and shine sleepyheads!" We got up from our cramped sleep and exited the booth "Not the worst sleep I've ever had, how about you Ma- uhh, Crimson?" He said as we were leaving the booth "I've always been a rough sleeper, though I’m pretty sure you had a better sleep than me, I still remember that little coo of yours from my warm embrace" "What! I did no such thing!" His face fuming "Well, weren't you the one who complimented my fur?" "Yea, but-" He just looked away and let out a large huff of embarrassment from his muzzle. "Don't worry about it, it was actually kind of cute" "What!!" We then turned our heads to notice the station pony giggling a little to our conversation. "Oh, uh, sorry about that, I packed some extra daisy sandwiches in my saddlebags for you two too have, here" "Thanks for that. Oh, and when will we be leaving to Canterlot?" "Around a little more than an hour from now, one train will be passing through soon, then you'll be on the next, it'll arrive in Canterlot just in time for the princess's day court" "Ok, well then, shall we go sit down and eat then?" "Sure, I'm starving" While holding the sandwiches in our mouths, we went and sat down on the station benches. "So, what kind of sandwiches did he say these were again?" James questioned as he looked at his sandwich and tried to get a hold of it with his hooves. "Daisy sandwiches." "Wait, what?" "Well, what did you expect? Were in different bodies anyways, so just try it" I was the first to take a bite, and... it actually wasn't that bad. James was watching my expressions to look for any disgust, but saw none, so he tried a bite too. Its seems he quite enjoys daisy sandwiches even more than I did. "I guess I'll write that down as one of your favourites I see" All I heard was a joyful moan in reply as he continued to eat his sandwich. We soon finished our sandwiches afterwards. "Heh, yeah I guess so. Anyways, what are you planning on saying when we meet the princesses?" "The actual story." "Really?" "Yeah, well, first I was going to mention the subject 'humans' and see if they either do, or do not know of them, hoping it's the former we can then tell them what's happened so far and hopefully they can help us" "Sure, I guess that will work, but after all of that, where will we stay?" "That's one thing I'm hoping they can help us with" "Ok, I suppose that's all I've got to ask for now, anything we can do to pass the time?" "Well, I know I can sit back and enjoy the peaceful sounds while we wait, how about you?" "Sure, I guess" The first train had already passed through, it was probably about half an hour until the next train we leave on. We saw a few ponies leaving and arriving on the first train, none that I knew from what I saw. But it was still nice and peaceful most of the time. Then I wondered if James had any other questions he might've thought of. "Any other questions about equestria?" He was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "Anything else you could tell me about changelings?" "Sure, you already know a few of the basics, what you look like, and what a changeling's unique magical ability is." "The leader of the changelings is King Thorax and-- oh..." "Oh?" "Uhh, the changelings, they uhhh, used to be..." "What?" "Evil..." "oh." "Yeah, the changelings used to be ruled by the tyrant Queen Chrysalis. They used to change into the form of other ponies to impersonate them and live by feeding off of the love and joyful emotions from that pony's loved ones." "Oh..." "Then a single changeling decided he didn't want to fight or feed off of another's love." "He was then kicked from the changeling hive for his ill will to fight or steal love, but soon after, he simply made a friend, and discovered changelings don't need to feed off of other's love if the changelings were to embrace love rather than take it." "Then with the help of his new friend and a few other ponies, he stood up to Queen Chrysalis, defeated her and taught the changelings how to embrace love between one another, then it all turned out great and the changelings have become grear allies with ponies" "Wow, what was the name of that single changeling?" "Thorax" "Really, not only did he do all that, he even became the new changeling ruler?" "Yep, oh, and will you look at that, it seems my little story has taken up almost all the time until our train" James then looked up at a clock by the booth, "Well then, it seems so" It was only five minutes until our train, we waited about half of it or so on the bench then got up to stand and stretch our legs throughout the last bit. Then the station pony came to wish us farewell to Canterlot, "Now don't go causing a ruckus on the train" "Don’t worry, we won't" "And thank you for everything you've done" "It's alright, and I've sent a message to the ponies on the train of a bat with a Crimson mane and a changeling travelling to Canterlot on urgent business." "So in other words you two aren't going to be bothered for tickets on your ride and all you have to do Is hop on and hop off" "Thank you" "Well then, it looks like your ride is here" The train came to a stop and we entered with all the other ponies traveling on this train. We found a spot in one of the back passenger carts, I let James sit next to the window so he could have a nice view on the way to Canterlot. Then we were off. As we were on our way I noticed James taking in the sights, mostly just a bunch of small towns and farms, but it was all new and beautiful to him, and, beautiful to me too I suppose. "Enjoying the view ey?" "Yeah" "Well just wait until we get to Canterlot" "What's Canterlot like?" "Big fancy city, Capitol of Equestria, all kinds of ponies, but usually it's home to all the fancy, sophisticated unicorns generally, and also home to the two rulers of equestria of course" "Ok then, do you know where we'll be going?" "Canterlot castle, pretty hard to miss it so I think we can find our way" As we exited the tunnel we were currently just in, something new entered our sight, well, new to James sight to be precise. "Wait, is Canterlot on the side of a mountain?" "Yep, and if you can see, the largest building you see right now is Canterlot castle" "Wow, I can't believe a place that large is on a mountain like that!" I almost began to laugh too early before I could even say the joke, "Damn, I feel like a tour guide right now" We both had a good laugh at that one. Then we arrived at Canterlot's train stop. The arrival: We had just stepped out the train, as expected, James was in awe of the sight of such a magnificent city. "Geez, it's only a train stop, we haven't even got to the castle yet" "Yeah I know, but it's much better then my home anyways" We were just about to head off towards the castle, but a guard pony decided to cross our path. "Hello there you two, I've never seen anyone like you two here before, is this your first time in Canterlot?" "Why yes, it is" "Well then, what brings you to our fine city?" "We're actually here to see the princesses" "Oh, well then, you're just in time for the princess's day court to begin, do you need help getting to the castle?" "Wonderful, and I think we can manage on our own thanks" "Well, I'll let you two be on your way then" The guard did as he said and let us pass, we carried on towards the castle and I heard a little sigh of relief from James. "Thought we were in trouble didn't ya?" "Yeah" "Well, I suppose he is in his right to ask what we're doing in Canterlot, I'm pretty sure changelings don't often come to Canterlot, and usually the only bat ponies here are Luna's royal guard" "I guess that makes sense." "Anyways, where to tour guide?" "To Canterlot castle!" We let out a laugh and continued on our way. There wasn't too much we passed by, a few restaurants, some boutiques, plenty of house's, and Canterlot library. There was also the public castle gardens next to the castle's front entrance. We then stood right out front the castle entrance, "It's even bigger up close" "Of course it is, anyways, shall we?" James gave a shy nod, I gave him a quick hug around the neck and reassured him, we then approached the front entrance. As expected the guards at the entrance stopped us before the entrance and asked what our business is, "We're here to see the princesses in the day court" "Very well, you may enter" "Speak with the receptionist after you enter and tell her you are here for the day court, she may ask a few questions, but you two should be fine" We did just that, it was only one question asked too, but it was a tough one for James, "What are your names?" "Mine is Crimson Night and uh, well you see, my friend is quite shy when talking to other ponies or telling them his name" "I'm presuming our names are for when we're announced to the princesses when we enter, so uh, could something like 'Crimson Night and his partner' work?" "Hmm, unusual, but very well. You will be announced to the princesses as 'Crimson Night and his partner' when you enter, now take a seat and I'll call for you when it's your turn" "Thank you" We then went to take a seat, James seemed to have wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead as he asked, "Did you only just come up with that line now?" "Yeah, at least it worked" "Let's hope it was worth it then" He was right, this was either all worth it, or the total opposite, and if it was the total opposite, then I'd have almost no clue where to go next, also the fact of confusing the princesses of a mythical creature that even they don't know of. There was a few other ponies here before us, so there was a bit of a wait. Then the receptionist called out my name and told us it was our turn. We approached the entry to the princess's throne room and heard the guards on the inside introduced our names before we entered. 'Crimson Night and his partner'. The princesses gave each other an intrigued look, wondering why somepony has kept their name unknown for the time being. We entered. Finnaly getting to the princessesThe guards closed the door as we came through, I gave the princesses a bow and James followed. "Good morning your highnesses." "Greetings" Celestia replied, then asked, "What brings you here today, and which one of you is Crimson Night if you don't mind me asking?" "I am, and sorry for answering with a question but there is something of extreme importance I must ask you" "And that is?" "Do either of you two know of.. humans?" The princess's eyes widened suddenly, making their response obvious, and giving me a bit of relief that all this was worth it. Celestia signalled to her guards. "Guards, leave us be immediately" They acknowledged her order and left the throne room, she continued. "Why Yes, me and my sister know of humans, but how do you? Not many ponies know of them" "I'll have to get to that soon, but, have you ever encountered them too?" They both nodded. "Well, the thing is, we are humans, WERE humans to be exact" "We, do not understand" Luna finally spoke "To make it simple, me and my friend are actually from the human world, but one day, my friend was in a terrible accident that caused his demise, then I too was faced with a similar fate, but during mine and when I thought it was all gone, I just simply awoke in a cave unharmed, walked outside into a forest and discovered I was a pony." "I soon encountered my friend just outside the cave, not knowing who he was at the time, he was appearing as a timberwolf during that time, but I put some facts together and figured he wasn't a real timberwolf, turned out he could speak, then I found out it was my friend and discovered he was sent to equestria too." "He also needed some help on how to change to his changeling form, I was surprisingly able to help, then we went on a little bit of an adventure to get to the two of you" "So, you two just lost your lives as humans and was then sent to equestria in new body's?" Luna asked "That pretty much sums it up, yeah" "Well then, this is a little bit new to us too" Celestia said "How so?" "You're the first humans to come to equestria as ponies" "I see, I suppose we can't be sent here dead, now can we?" "I guess not, anyways, do the two of you have anywhere to stay?" "No" "Well then, you can live here in the castle for as long as you may need, we have plenty of guest bedrooms to spare" "Much appreciated" "May I ask why your friend has not spoken during our encounter?" Luna questioned "He's just letting me do most of the talking, mostly due to me knowing a lot more about ponies and equestria than he does" "Understandable, may we know his name?" James gave me a concerned look but I just continued. "James, I've thought of a new name for my new pony form, but not for him, I'm not that good at changeling names... Y'know what?" "I think I just got an idea, how about Cyax?" James looked back to the princesses, "Does that sound like a changeling name?" "We may not know a lot about changeling naming customs, but it does sound similar to some others we know" Celestia responded with Luna agreeing. "Well then, I suppose my new name is Cyax" "Now that I say it, I kind of like it" He gave a bit of a giggle and then Luna asked, "Well, it appears it is just about time for our midday break, would you two like to join us? We can also take you past your rooms on the way" "Sounds good" We then followed the Princesses out of the throne room, down a hallway, up a set of stairs and then we came to a quick stop, "These two rooms here will be yours" Luna informed "Neat, conveniently not to far from the throne room if we ever require you, or vice versa" "Indeed, now we shall continue to the nearest dinning room" We did just that, Celestia did also point out a nearby bathroom for us on the way past and we were soon at the dinning room. Dining with royaltyMe and James took our seats next to each other and the princesses took theirs on the opposite side to us "Will this be your first meal in equestria?" Celestia wondered "Our second actually, we did have some daisy sandwiches from a generous pony this morning, and Cyax enjoyed them even more than I did" "Well, that'll solve one problem" Said Celestia. I tilted my head a little in confusion. "Oh, where are my manners, on one hoof, our chefs here are equipped to serve the dietary needs of bat ponies, but not so much Changelings on the other, so it's good to know you've had simple pony food that you enjoy" "Oh, well I suppose he could eat any pony food as far as I know, at least he didn't throw up when he had that daisy sandwich" "Shall we eat then?" James intervened. Celestia nodded, gave a clap of her hooves and a chef came through a nearby door. "What shall it be today your highnesses?" "The usual for me and my sister, a daisy sandwich for the Changeling and-" "Surprise me" Celestia looked back at me, "What?" "Exactly what I said, surprise me" "Very well, and a surprise meal for the bat" "Understood, I will return with your meals shortly" After the chef left, Luna decided to ask, "So, what was that about Crimson Night?" "Just Crimson will be fine, and I just thought, I pretty much know none of the kinds of meals bat ponies eat, so I was like, why not be surprised with one" "Huh, I like the way you think" Luna complimented. "Thanks" We waited a bit more until Luna decided to speak again "Quick inquiry, Crimson..." "Yes Luna?" "Since you're in a new body, do you know how to fly?" "No actually, neither of us do" "Well, since most of my royal guards are Thestrals, I'm inclined to know about their body's and needs, that also includes flying." "So I can help you get started on your flying skills and me and my sister can find a Changeling to help Cyax with his flying and magical abilities if he'd like" James gave a confident smirk, "Well, if Crimson is going to learn how to fly, I might as well too, and magic seems pretty cool too" "Excellent, it also seems our food is ready" The chef entered with a few other ponies behind him holding our food, "Here are your meals, an every-veggie salad for the princesses, a daisy sandwich for the changeling, and for the bat, a strawberry jam, bug filled pie" The chef and the rest of the ponies left us to eat our food, "Oh that's right, I almost forgot bugs were a general part of a bat ponies diet, anyways, let's eat." We then all began to eat our food, I picked up my pie, it didn't smell all that bad, I took a bite, and it actually tasted quite nice. We all finished relatively at a similar time, then I had an idea pass through my mind for my possible flying lessons with Luna "Hey Luna?" "Yes?" "I just had a sudden idea, is it possible for you to teach me how to fly while in the dream realm?" "Mostly in case I mess up my flying, so I can't actually get hurt, and I'm still teaching my mind to fly, Right?" Luna pondered on that for a few seconds. "That's actually a great idea, then we can get started whenever you feel like your up for it" Then I had a snap of realization, "Oh my gosh, how could I forget, Cyax got one of his hooves a little banged up from Timberwolves during his first night in equestria, I can't believe I forgot" "I'm the one who got hurt and I forgot too, that sandwich must've been that good" James gave a quick laugh, then in a flash, Celestia came over to our side of the table to take a look at his hoof. "If it isn't to bad I can heal it myself right now" James slowly gave his hoof towards Celestia, she unwrapped the bandage and had a look "Just a mild scratch, I'll have that all healed up in a second" James' hoof was then enveloped in her magic, golden glow, and within a few seconds, all the scratches were gone. "Wow, that felt... interesting, like my hoof was being wrapped in your warmth or something" as he was examining his now healed hoof, Celestia giggled little, "Well, it is a healing spell, what else would it feel like, freezing cold ice?" "Anyways, as much as I would love to continue to chat, I thinks it's time me and my sister returned to the throne room to continue our day court" Luna intervened. "Oh right, well you two are free to go sightseeing around Canterlot if you wish, I'll be sure to inform the front guards that you are free to enter the castle for whenever you return, also, here, take this" Then in a flash, it appears Celestia had given me some saddlebags and then she put a little pouch of (presuming by the jingle) some bits in one side of the bags, "Just in case you decide to get a little snack or something on your tour, I suggest you might like the donuts from Pony Joe's" "Much appreciated, shall we take a look around then, Cyax?" He nodded, then we all left the dinning room, went back down the stairs and the princesses continued to the throne room as we left the castle. Tour of the cityAs we left the castle James asked "So, where do you want to go first?" "Well, I was probably thinking of taking a little stroll through those public castle gardens right next to us, maybe go to the library next and see if we can get you a book on changling biology and history if you would like, have a look around and see what else might be interesting, and then grab a donut I guess" "Sounds great!" We then proceeded to enter the gardens. It was pretty much empty apart from a family of tourists, there was only three of them, a mare, stallion and their little colt, I let James take the lead so I can just follow him and enjoy the peaceful sounds and smells of the garden. But after a little bit of trotting around James came to a stop at a certain interesting statue, "Uh, what's this kind of statue doing here?" He then turned to me wondering if I knew what a statue of these two strange creatures and a little pony was doing here. "Ah, I would recognize this anywhere, you see Cyax, this isn't just a normal statue, its actually three beings imprisoned in stone." "Queen Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow" His eyes widened in surprise, "What!?" He then looked at the statue and then back to me, "Indeed, I suppose it is better than being hung or something like that for their crimes" "And those crimes are?" I gave a little smirk knowing how much of a story this was going to become and how many story's there were to be told of this "Oh I don’t know, maybe each of them trying to take over equestria on multiple occasions for example" "Oh please do go on" "Gladly" Then I proceeded to tell him all the stories of these three foes, all the way from the great canterlot wedding, to the final stand against all three of them empowered with the strength of Grogar's ancient bell. As I finished my stories I noticed more than one creature had given a 'wow' when I was done. I then noticed the family of tourists had been listening to my tales, "Oh, uh... hi" The family then realised I was done with the stories, "Oh, sorry for listening on you like that, but those where amazing" the stallion said "Yeah, they are quite the tales aren't they." I replied "Did that all really happen mister?" The cute little colt asked in his young squeaky voice. "Why indeed little one" and I gave him a little nudge on his head, (His mane was sooooooo soft). "Enjoying Canterlot you three?" I asked the family "Indeed we are" said the mare "We came all the way from Manehattan to visit!" the stallion stated. "Ah, the big city I see, I used to live in a place like that, but recently I've learned to enjoy the peaceful sounds of the world like this garden or a forest for example, quite relaxing" "Agreed, well I suppose we should be off then, shall we honey?" "Sure, so much to see!" Then the family went to leave the gardens, then the colt stopped just in front of me, "Thanks for the stories mister!" "No problem, now you better catch up to your parents before they leave" The colt nodded and sped off to his parents, then they were gone. "That's it, you're killing me Crimson, to much cuuute!" James said, bursting out in laughter. "Ha! You're dying from cuteness? Did you feel how soft that little colt's mane was?" After James was able to catch his breath from all his laughing "Okay okay, I guess you win." "Well, shall we head to the library and find you a few books for you to learn more about Changelings?" "Sure, cant wait for a donut later too" We then headed out the garden and down the road to the Canterlot library we saw on our first walk through Canterlot. We soon arrived at the library and went straight in. "Wow, this has to be one of the biggest library's I've ever seen" James said in a slightly lowered voice, heh, even though all that we've been through, he still remembers to be quiet in a library. I then proceeded to the nearest reception desk with James following closely behind, "Good evening, im Speed Reader, is there a certain book you may be looking for?" "Because I'm the best and quickest in this library at finding any subject of book anypony may need, or are you returning some books instead?" She said "Looking for books, Changeling biology or history please" "Yep, we definitely do have some books for that somewhere, if you'll just follow me" Then she hopped out from her desk and we followed her through a few aisles of books. She soon grabbed one down and handed it over, 'The body and biology; Changelings, the 6th edition from the B&B series'. "Actually quite reliable that series, now, onto the history" A few more rows later she handed over another book, 'The history of changelings' 'After King Thorax updated edition'. "There we go, will you be reading here or loaning the books?" "Loaning please" "Well then I'll take you back to my desk, write down some details and then you can have 'em" We then went back to her desk and all she asked was ours names and where we're currently living, as expected, she was a bit surprised at the answer to the latter. "Oh, you two are staying in the castle? For how long?" "Long enough to return the books when we're done with them that's for sure" "Well then I'll just do this aaand-- done! You can now take those books with you wherever you please" I then use my wing to open the saddlebags and chuck the books in, which felt a bit more easier and natural than what I would think, Its still only day two in equestria for me. "Thank you. Oh, and do you know the way to pony Joe's? Me and my friend were going to go grab a snack" "Just down the other end of the street, back past the castle" "Ok, thanks again" We then waved goodbye as we left the library and headed down the street. "You seem to be a natural with those, never thought you could do something so practical like that with them so soon" James said as he pointed at my wings "I was kind of thinking the same thing actually, anyways let's go get a donut and then go see what our rooms are like back at the castle, we actually haven't seen them yet" "Oh, yeah!" The rest of our travels went smoothly, we got to Pony Joe's, both got a chocolate donut, used my wings again to bring out and put back the pouch of bits and was complimented yet again by James for my practical use of them. I then told him after we sat down at a table that he could also conduct a bit of magic from the horn he had too, magical laser beams or levitation for example, he gave a pass on the lasers but said he'd love to learn the levitation. Then we returned to the castle with no trouble from the guards. It was about 4 o'clock and it seems the princesses had just finished their day court as it looks like they were just leaving the throne room, "Ah, good evening you two. How was your stroll around Canterlot?" Celestia asked, James was actually the first to answer, "Great! We met this tourist couple in the gardens with their cute little colt, while Crimson was telling me the tales of Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis when I asked what a certain 'weird statue' in the garden was.” “We then went to the library and got out a couple of books to help me learn a little bit more about myself and changelings, and then we went and got a donut from pony Joe's." "Well, it seems you two had a fun time" said Luna. "Indeed, and who knows, maybe Cyax might learn a little magic trick or how to fly from one of those books" I gave him a quick nudge and a chuckle. "Well, I suppose you'll be wanting to head to your room's and talk about the days events and have a look over those books you got, won't you?" Celestia suggested. "Indeed" I replied. "Well then, we will get a guard to alert you when it is time for dinner" "Ok." We then went to our room's as the princesses went somewhere else in the castle. It seems James had decided who's room is who's, since he just went straight into one without a single word or even opening the door to look at the other one. "So I guess you choose this room then?" "Yea, I just want to plop onto a bed right now" He did just that, ran to the bed and chucked himself onto it. "Hey, it's almost as soft as you" He tried to say through his chuckling. "Thanks I guess" "Well I'm going to go into my room and put my saddlebags somewhere- Oh wait, here's your books" I then take the books out of my saddlebags and put them on top of James' bedside table. "Oh yeah, I guess I might give those a little look through before dinner, or maybe a nap instead" I then left James to himself as I went over to my room. It was pretty much the same as James' room, a bed with a small table to the side, a cabinet, bookshelf, all the general stuff you'd find in a average bedroom. I took off the saddlebags and placed them next to the beside table and hopped onto the bed, and I immediately laid flat out and spread my body over the bed as a felt how soft it was. "He wasn't kidding" I said to myself. I just continued to lay on the bed and think about the days events, but surprisingly, Luna kept popping into my head a few times, probably just excited for the flying lessons. Just a normal daySo it was just a normal day. Finish work, hop in my car, drive home, goof off or re-watch some episodes of my little Pony until I go to sleep and then do it all over again. Just a casual day. Well, I suppose we haven’t counted the fact my bestest friend passed on recently in a faint accident yesterday. But it was just going to be a normal day today as always, right? I sighed as I went down the elevator to the underground car lot, my co-worker in the elevator with me put a empathetic hand on my shoulder, “Thanks” as I sighed again. “No worry’s. I know what your going through, I too had a friend pass away a while ago.” “Oh, sorry to hear about that.” “Don’t be, it was a long time ago and I’ve moved on from it, but I’ll never forget him, I hope you don’t forget about your buddy either.” “Trust me, I won’t.” I put on a little smile to make him feel like his attempt to cheer me up wasn’t in vain. Then just like that, the elevator trip was over. We stepped out and waved as we split off to our cars. As I entered mine, I sat there for about ten minutes letting my thoughts and emotions run wild. Then I snapped out of my quick trance, put my key in the ignition, and drove off. As I continued to think about my friend while I was on the highway, I joked to myself, “Heh, at least if something happened to me now I’d at least have someone to meet up with.” I let out another small giggle mixed with a sigh. But little did I know something would happen, and the way I meet up with my friend, lets just say, isn’t the way I would most expect. The weather wasn’t quite the best and it was raining quite heavily. Soon, a logging truck in front of me spun out of control, I tried to stop but some of the logs the truck was carrying fell off and smashed right into me. I then spun out too, my car decided to roll, I blacked out as it started to all slip away, but I didn’t feel too worried during it all, because I could see what was about to happen and I remembered what I had just said earlier. But as it all went away, it all came back, and it hit me in the head like a ton of bricks! I groaned as I opened my eyes and with what little lighting there was, it looked like I was somehow in a cave. Besides the massive pain in my head, I... I felt ok and unharmed!? I tried to stand up but my feet felt extremely weird and also numb and I fell back down. So I tried to get up on all four. It worked, and it... felt... somehow natural? And my hands did feel a little weird too, but Besides that, I saw a way to get out of the cave and made it.
Discovering where I am. And what I am?I quickly closed my eyes due to the sudden lighting change but quickly opened then back up. It looked like morning daylight and it looked like I was in the middle of a forest too. “Ugh, great!” “Not only am I somehow alive from that catastrophe, but I’m stuck in the middle of a forest!” I go to take a look at myself, but I jumped back a little at first notice of my hands, or actually... my hooves? I quickly turn my head backwards to see myself, as of which it appears my neck is more flexible than normal. Then with sudden shock, but with a little bit of glee, I find out what I am. “I’m a pony!?” Yep, and by the looks of it, a pony quite like an oc of mine, Crimson Night, a bat pony with a dark grey coat and a crimson red mane. “So, not only am I somehow alive, I’ve also become my own oc, wait... so I must also be in equestria?” It seems my rambling has attracted a creature in a nearby bush. I notice its glowing green eyes as it comes closer. Then I get a good look at what it actually is... a timberwolf! Yep! I’m definitely in equestria! I leap backwards due to the sudden shock of what it is. But, to my surprise... so did it. But then a major fact hit me, it’s breath. Usually you’d be able to smell a Timberwolves breath from miles away, but I couldn’t smell anything. So, doing the most stupidest thing ever, I approached it. “Hello?” If it could also understand me that could be another fact that it isn’t a real timberwolf. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, and I don’t want to hurt you.” It then suddenly looked straight into my eyes like it realised something important. It then slowly approached me, but the most surprising thing was... it speaked!? “Um... hello, sorry if I scared you too, do I know you? You sound familiar to me” Hmm, I don’t know if we know each other but this could mean only one thing, “Are you a changeling?” It tilted its head, “Ch- changeling? Ummm, I... I don’t know” “Oh? Ok then, how did you get here?” “Well, I was in a bad accident a few days ago, but, then I just woke up here unharmed somehow, I was so scared, I didn’t know what I was. Then last night a pack of those wooden wolves-” “Timberwolves” I informed it. “Timberwolves, ok, well those timberwolves showed up and I didn’t know where to go, so I tried to hide in some nearby bushes and then I just couldn’t get their details out of my head.” “I kept thinking of them, their wooden body, their sharp fangs, their glowing green eyes, then I just... became one.” “I suppose it was kind of good I changed into one to keep them away from me, but I don’t know how to change back, now I’m here.” “Ok then, so from what I can tell you must be a cha-” “Wait!” Then it hit me.
A Friendly Discovery"What is it?" It sat there in confusion at my sudden expression. "James?!?" It then shared my expression "Wait! How do you know my name?" It hit me when he said 'bad accident' and 'a few days ago', he must've been sent to equestria after his accident too, why though? I sort of figured with my love for equestria why I'm here, but why him? Who cares, I'm here now and I can help him learn equestria. "Its... it's me James, its Matthew" His expression became even more surprised than mine. He came closer, "Matthew?! Is- is that really you?" "The one and only" He then immediately jumped onto me and gave me a hug. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe it's really you!" "I thought I was all alone out here, then of all the people to show up, it was the only one who knows about this place!" "Its called equestria, right? I figured that when I saw a pony, then it turns out it was my best buddy!" He hugged tighter as he was filled with joy and relief. "Hey, not so tight! You still got claws you know" I laughed a bit as I was getting just the slightest bit strangled by James. "Oh! Sorry" He quickly got up on his paws. As I got up on my hooves, I wrapped one around his neck and gave him a quick little hug back. "Its good to see you again James" As I let go of him. "Me too, soooo. Anyways, what was that thing you said I was again?" Oh, right, "A Changeling, a creature that can change their form to almost any other creature they desire" "Ok, cool. But, how do I change back?" Oh... right "Hmm, I'm not entirely sure about that, but from what you said earlier, it seems you've got to focus on a creature's looks and details, why don't you try it on me" He was a bit sceptical at first but he just nodded "Um, ok then" He looked at me for a bit then he closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he was surrounded in a quick flash of green light and then he looked just like me! I let out a quick gasp which also helped him know he'd done something and opened his eyes. "You did it James!" He looked back at himself, then back to me. I also noticed I must also have purple eyes. "Wow, I... I actually did it, amazing!" His face lit up with excitement. "I know right, now I have an idea..." "Yes?" "Try to go through the same thought process, but instead of thinking of me or another creature, try to make it all blank, I feel like that might be able to change you to your original changeling form or we'll just have to find some help elsewhere" "I suppose I'll give it a shot" He closed his eyes once again. I didn't know if my long shot of an idea would work, but then... another surrounding flash of green light. "It worked James!" It worked, he was a changeling, a cyan, yellow eyed changeling. "Oh and I also forgot to mention, a changeling's normal form have wings too" He looked back at himself again. "Wow! I cant believe it worked!" I sat down as James continued to look at his true, colourful form. Then I remembered my own wings. I stood up as I had a good look at them, I tried to move them thinking I couldn't, being new to this body. But to my surprise, I could, it just felt like a second pair of arms on my back, just a bit lighter and a completely different shape. James looked over at me and noticed me examining my now open wings. "Wow, your wings are nice" He stood in awe at my wings, I gently closed them back up. "So are a changeling's, but I'm pretty sure changeling wings are a bit different from Pony wings, they're more bug like and I don't know if they flap just like a pony's." "More like, flutter I guess, take a ladybug for example. You also have a bit of a protective shell over your wings that shift out of the way a bit when you open them, so yeah, kind of like a ladybug I suppose."
Where to now?Author's Note Note about Cyax's/Changeling's gender; It was in my mind to make one of the character's transformation make them change into the opposite gender, but I didnt want to be to mean, so I decided to make it a thing in the story that Changelings are hermaphrodites. To be honest it would kinda make sense to me that creatures that can morph into any gender of any other creature would also be able to be/have either gender normally. Where to now? "Ok then, that's cool and all and I would probably like to learn more about my species, but maybe later, because I think we'd probably want to get out of this forest first, any ideas?" Huh, the one thing I haven't thought about yet, where to go now? "Honestly, I'm just as clueless as you are, just pick a random direction and we'll go from there" As he pointed, "How about that way, it looks a bit more clear of trees than the other directions." I suppose that's a good point, "Sounds good" As we were about to set off, I heard a little wince come from James, "Are you ok Ja- oh." I noticed the back of his front left hoof was heavily scratched, it seems it bled a little, but it was all dried up now. "Yeah, I kind of forgot to mention those Timberwolves did get me a little bit and I didn't really jump into a bunch of bushes, I fell into them" Who cares how he got into a bunch of bushes, he didn't get eaten and that's the most important part. "It's fine, just come to my side and wrap your hoof around my neck" He did just that, we then set off in the direction James pointed. It was quiet as we were traveling through the forest, apart from the usual chirping of birds now and then and the rustling of trees, I quite enjoyed the peaceful sounds, it's a nice change from the loud city noises. James then interrupted such peaceful sounds, "Sooo, what's the plan if we find a way out of this forest?" Luckily I was thinking of that during the silence "I was actually thinking about that. I was wondering, if we weren't the first humans to come here that is" "Oh?" "Yea, and if we aren't, then I think I know the perfect ponies to tell our little story too" James gave me a concerned look "Wait, you actually think there's someone we can tell our story to without us seeming crazy?" "I suppose that is a valid point, but if we aren't the only humans to have passed through equestria then somepony must've known" "I see, and who are these ponies you're thinking of?" "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna" "What?! Aren't those the rulers of equestria or something?" "Indeed, and that's why I think somepony of their importance are bound to have knowledge of humans, because I don’t think humans are common knowledge among normal pony folk, and I think it's better to trust somepony than nopony" James was still concerned, but he trusted my knowledge of equestria and just gave a quick nod. Then James came to a stop, I looked at him and his face only seemed embarrassed, "What is it?" His face only burning more red when I asked "I, uh, I need to go" It took me a quick second to realise what he meant, "Oh, ok. Heh, now that you mention it, I kinda do too" As I quickly pointed "You can go behind that tree and I'll go behind these bushes over here" I helped him over behind the tree, I heard a quiet "thanks" as I left to the bushes. Taking a pee as a pony wasn't to much different, 'just let it go' I gave a quick mental giggle at that. After I was done, I did notice a pony's thing doesn't hang out as much as a humans, it kinda returns back into a seth of some sort, but I didn't really give it much of a thought. But then I heard a surprised yelp from James, "Uh, you ok James?" He looked back at me with his face burning like crazy "Oh nothing, it's just I’m, uhhh, I'm a girl" Oh, right, the one thing I forgot to say about changelings. "Oh yeah, I didn't mention that thing about changelings yet, I think there's some kind of special word for it, but in a nutshell, changelings actually have both genders" "Wait, what?" "Yeah your Male gender is on the inside to protect it from outside elements and that kind of thing, it usually comes out for mating and that kind of stuff, changelings separate their gender by mentality, not physicality" He blushed a little at the mention of mating. I giggled a little at his expression. "I suppose you'll have to get used to having and using a female part most of the time, or at least until you find yourself a very special somepony" I gave a quick laugh and James giggled a little too. "Until I find a mate, in other words" "Yeah" "Well then, I suppose it's not everyday you become a double gendered bug that can change its form to any other. Anyways, should we continue?" We shared a laugh and I nodded, James got out from behind the tree and then he wrapped his hoof around my neck again and we continued through the forest. It was getting closer to sundown, but it wasn't to long before I stopped to a sudden new sound I could hear in the distance. James looked at me and must've noticed my ears twitching to look for where the sound was coming from. "What is it Matthew?" My eyes widened from realization and in a quick whisper to myself, "water..." I immediately went into a gallop almost causing James to trip, but he was able to keep up on just his three hooves. "Wait, what- did you-- say?" He tried to ask while trying to catch his breath from the sudden change of pace. "You'll see when we get there"
A flicker of hopeWe soon arrived at where the sound was emanating from and our eyes widened in excitement. "Water! So that's what you were hearing, wasn't it?" "Yep, now we can check if it's good enough to use." I slowly trotted myself and James to the river to take a closer look. It was the most pristine water I've ever seen, so clear you could see even the tiniest pebbles at the bottom of the river. "Wow, this looks even more clear then my water back home" James said as he continued admiring how clear the river was. "Well then, shall we?" He nodded happily. I helped guide him on to his knees first, then we both leaned in and took a large gulp from the river. "Damn, even tastes better too" "I guess so, not only was I excited when I heard the river so we can drink, but so we can have something to follow that could lead us to somewhere helpful" James then immediately looked up at me and smiled, "Oh yeah, right!" "Shall we follow down the river then?" "Sure, but could we maybe take a little break?" "Of course, we've got plenty of daylight to spare" I helped James a bit to lay down. Then we just sat by the riverside for a bit before James decided he wanted a little nap. After a little bit, I felt a sudden rumble in my stomach and remembered that hunger is still a thing no matter what or where you are. I got up while trying not to wake James and have a little look back our way for something that we might be able to eat. I didn't go to far before my rummaging found a nice little berry bush hidden behind a small group of trees and other assorted bushes. I decided to have a snack before I broke off a branch and went back to give it to James. James was still asleep when I got back. I sat back down next to James and gently tried to wake him up. I gave him a few pokes, "Hey, hey James, get up." Still out cold. Well, since he isn't going to wake up the simple way... I guess I'll give him a little splash. But literally just as I got my hoof in the water ready, he decided to slowly wake up, "W-huh?" "Awww, and I was just about to splash you too" "Oh you son of a-" Blam! A nice cold splash straight to his face. "Ah ah, we can't have any of that or no berries, but, here you go anyways" I grabbed the berries from beside me and put them out in front of him. "Oh, cool, thanks" "Now have some of those and then I guess we should start moving" "Sure, want any?" "I already had some before I woke you up" "Sweet, more for me" He gladly ate most of them and I ended up having the extra. We had another drink from the river and slowly got up while James had a bit of a stretch. "Alright, you ready to get going?" "Yep, nothing to lose, right" We then began to follow the river downstream, and I started to wonder. I suppose he might not have anything to lose, but I sure did. I didn't really want to admit it, but a possible lifetime in equestria isn't something I wanted to give up on so easily. I even feared it would be over so quickly when I saw James as a timberwolf, but at least it's turned out fine so far. Now all we have to do is find a way to Canterlot and hope the princesses have had experiences with humans before and can help us with our situation. Let's just hope we can find something soon, it's slowly becoming dark.
First encountersWe had travelled a good hour and a half maybe, as the sun had just finished it's leave, something caught our eyes, "Is that a building over there?" As James pointed, there wasn't any sunlight left, but there was the little bit of moonlight to outline the building, and James saw it at first due to the fact I was looking at the sky as time was passing by. "I think so" But I noticed a little something to the sides of the single small building, train tracks?... "Wait, I think it's a train station" "Really? Do you think it can take us wherever it was we needed to go?" "Canterlot, and let's hope so" We picked up the pace towards the station. But James slowed down a little and asked, "What are we even going to say if we meet someone there?" A little worry showing on his face. "I think I have a little story I could tell" James gave me a quick glance with narrowed eyes "A story or a lie?" "Well, fifty fifty, most is true, but it's just how we got into the forest in the first place I might have to lie about obviously" "Well then, what are we waiting for?" "You to pick up the pace again, that's what" I gave a little laugh then we picked up the pace, soon reaching the station, and also confirming it is a station too. We came around the side and hopped onto the platform, where we were approached by the looks of it, a station pony. James gave me a fearful look, but I reassured him it'll be alright. "And where are you two ponies o- oh, sorry about that, pony and changeling, off too tonight?" "That's alright, uhm, Canterlot?" "Very well. Do you have bits for your tickets?" James gave me a confused look, probably wondering what bits are, but I just continued to talk to the station pony. "Uhh, no actually." "Well then, I see you two seem like you really need to get to Canterlot, so I suppose you could convince me why you need to go" "Are you serious? If you are, then thank you so much" He nodded "Well then?" "Well, we were on our way to the station yesterday afternoon and we did have bits for our tickets, but on our way to the station we were had to encounter a couple of bandits-" "Oh, I see" "And we were chased into the middle of this here forest behind the station, but lost our bits in the meantime too, and if you couldn't tell by the word 'yesterday', we had to spend an entire night in that forest." "But not only did we have to deal with bandits, we also had to deal with timberwolves that night and my friend got a little scratched up too." I motioned for James to show his hoof and he obliged. "Oh sweet Celestia! Well, I have a first aid kit and can help get that bandaged up for you, and also, why is it that you were planning on going to Canterlot?" "To speak to the princesses" "Oh, well then, that does seem worthy of my help, but you won't be able to speak to them at this time since the princess's public day court is over for the day" "I can lend you the ticket booth to stay in for the night, it'll be a bit cramped but it'll be better than sleeping out on the benches in the cold." "Then I'll have you on a train to Canterlot that'll arrive just in time for the princess's day court to begin" "Thank you so much" "No problem, it's the least I could do for your troubles, now I'll go get that first aid kit." He went to go do just that, "I- I cant believe that actually worked Matthew" "I wasn't to surprised actually" "Really?" "Yea, from how much I know, I'm quite certain ponies are a bit more helping than what you would expect humans to be most of the time" "Well then, I suppose our plan is set right? Sleep the night, get a train to Canterlot, and then speak to the princesses" "Pretty much, also, I do have a pony name you should probably use when around other ponies, sorry I can't think of a name that you could use right now." "That’s alright, and it is?" "Crimson, Crimson Night" "Well then Crimson, let's hope we have a smooth ride tomorrow." We gave a quick chuckle and a hug. Then the station pony returned. "Here you go, all nice and cozy I hope" as he put the bandage around James' hoof "Its fine, thank you" "Well then, there's only one more train scheduled fifteen minutes from now to pass through here, then I'm done for the night" "So you two can head over to the booth now if you want, and don't worry, I'll be back first thing in the morning." "Ok, and thank you for everything" "Don’t worry about it, it's the least I can do" We then went over to the ticket booth and entered it, while the station pony waited on the benches for the last train to come through. James let out a sigh of relief mixed with a little yawn, it was actually kind of cute. "Tired are ya James?" "Yea, a little I suppose" We gave a quick chuckle. "Well, I guess we should try to lie down, oh and don't worry if we have to cuddle a little or something like that to fit on the floor, I'm perfectly fine with it, it'll at least keep us warm." "Sure, it can't be any weirder than being a double gendered bug, can it?" "Heh, I suppose not." Eventually I did have to cuddle James a little to fit, but it was fine. "Just don’t fall asleep too soon or you'll end up being quite annoyed at the last train coming through in a few minutes" I joked "I think I can last, anyways, damn, I didn't know how soft a pony's fur is" "At least we're warm are we not?" I giggled a little "Just shut it and let me wait for the train to come through so I can sleep" I gladly shut my mouth to enjoy the silence, heck, I swore I even heard James gently coo in my soft, warm embrace, I've never heard anything cuter, I'm probably going to make fun of that in the morning. The train had now passed through, but I still felt wide awake, there was a clock on one of the walls, it was hard to make out the time from my angle, but I think it said something around quarter to one. Typical, it seems I probably still have my horrible sleep schedule from my human self. I eventually let the time pass by and I fell asleep eventually, probably around half past two or closer to three like I normally do. But still, the night passed like any other, with a rough and tiresome sleep as usual.
The travel too (and arrival in) CanterlotThe travel to: The morning had arrived and it greeted us with a nock on the door. "Rise and shine sleepyheads!" We got up from our cramped sleep and exited the booth "Not the worst sleep I've ever had, how about you Ma- uhh, Crimson?" He said as we were leaving the booth "I've always been a rough sleeper, though I’m pretty sure you had a better sleep than me, I still remember that little coo of yours from my warm embrace" "What! I did no such thing!" His face fuming "Well, weren't you the one who complimented my fur?" "Yea, but-" He just looked away and let out a large huff of embarrassment from his muzzle. "Don't worry about it, it was actually kind of cute" "What!!" We then turned our heads to notice the station pony giggling a little to our conversation. "Oh, uh, sorry about that, I packed some extra daisy sandwiches in my saddlebags for you two too have, here" "Thanks for that. Oh, and when will we be leaving to Canterlot?" "Around a little more than an hour from now, one train will be passing through soon, then you'll be on the next, it'll arrive in Canterlot just in time for the princess's day court" "Ok, well then, shall we go sit down and eat then?" "Sure, I'm starving" While holding the sandwiches in our mouths, we went and sat down on the station benches. "So, what kind of sandwiches did he say these were again?" James questioned as he looked at his sandwich and tried to get a hold of it with his hooves. "Daisy sandwiches." "Wait, what?" "Well, what did you expect? Were in different bodies anyways, so just try it" I was the first to take a bite, and... it actually wasn't that bad. James was watching my expressions to look for any disgust, but saw none, so he tried a bite too. Its seems he quite enjoys daisy sandwiches even more than I did. "I guess I'll write that down as one of your favourites I see" All I heard was a joyful moan in reply as he continued to eat his sandwich. We soon finished our sandwiches afterwards. "Heh, yeah I guess so. Anyways, what are you planning on saying when we meet the princesses?" "The actual story." "Really?" "Yeah, well, first I was going to mention the subject 'humans' and see if they either do, or do not know of them, hoping it's the former we can then tell them what's happened so far and hopefully they can help us" "Sure, I guess that will work, but after all of that, where will we stay?" "That's one thing I'm hoping they can help us with" "Ok, I suppose that's all I've got to ask for now, anything we can do to pass the time?" "Well, I know I can sit back and enjoy the peaceful sounds while we wait, how about you?" "Sure, I guess" The first train had already passed through, it was probably about half an hour until the next train we leave on. We saw a few ponies leaving and arriving on the first train, none that I knew from what I saw. But it was still nice and peaceful most of the time. Then I wondered if James had any other questions he might've thought of. "Any other questions about equestria?" He was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "Anything else you could tell me about changelings?" "Sure, you already know a few of the basics, what you look like, and what a changeling's unique magical ability is." "The leader of the changelings is King Thorax and-- oh..." "Oh?" "Uhh, the changelings, they uhhh, used to be..." "What?" "Evil..." "oh." "Yeah, the changelings used to be ruled by the tyrant Queen Chrysalis. They used to change into the form of other ponies to impersonate them and live by feeding off of the love and joyful emotions from that pony's loved ones." "Oh..." "Then a single changeling decided he didn't want to fight or feed off of another's love." "He was then kicked from the changeling hive for his ill will to fight or steal love, but soon after, he simply made a friend, and discovered changelings don't need to feed off of other's love if the changelings were to embrace love rather than take it." "Then with the help of his new friend and a few other ponies, he stood up to Queen Chrysalis, defeated her and taught the changelings how to embrace love between one another, then it all turned out great and the changelings have become grear allies with ponies" "Wow, what was the name of that single changeling?" "Thorax" "Really, not only did he do all that, he even became the new changeling ruler?" "Yep, oh, and will you look at that, it seems my little story has taken up almost all the time until our train" James then looked up at a clock by the booth, "Well then, it seems so" It was only five minutes until our train, we waited about half of it or so on the bench then got up to stand and stretch our legs throughout the last bit. Then the station pony came to wish us farewell to Canterlot, "Now don't go causing a ruckus on the train" "Don’t worry, we won't" "And thank you for everything you've done" "It's alright, and I've sent a message to the ponies on the train of a bat with a Crimson mane and a changeling travelling to Canterlot on urgent business." "So in other words you two aren't going to be bothered for tickets on your ride and all you have to do Is hop on and hop off" "Thank you" "Well then, it looks like your ride is here" The train came to a stop and we entered with all the other ponies traveling on this train. We found a spot in one of the back passenger carts, I let James sit next to the window so he could have a nice view on the way to Canterlot. Then we were off. As we were on our way I noticed James taking in the sights, mostly just a bunch of small towns and farms, but it was all new and beautiful to him, and, beautiful to me too I suppose. "Enjoying the view ey?" "Yeah" "Well just wait until we get to Canterlot" "What's Canterlot like?" "Big fancy city, Capitol of Equestria, all kinds of ponies, but usually it's home to all the fancy, sophisticated unicorns generally, and also home to the two rulers of equestria of course" "Ok then, do you know where we'll be going?" "Canterlot castle, pretty hard to miss it so I think we can find our way" As we exited the tunnel we were currently just in, something new entered our sight, well, new to James sight to be precise. "Wait, is Canterlot on the side of a mountain?" "Yep, and if you can see, the largest building you see right now is Canterlot castle" "Wow, I can't believe a place that large is on a mountain like that!" I almost began to laugh too early before I could even say the joke, "Damn, I feel like a tour guide right now" We both had a good laugh at that one. Then we arrived at Canterlot's train stop. The arrival: We had just stepped out the train, as expected, James was in awe of the sight of such a magnificent city. "Geez, it's only a train stop, we haven't even got to the castle yet" "Yeah I know, but it's much better then my home anyways" We were just about to head off towards the castle, but a guard pony decided to cross our path. "Hello there you two, I've never seen anyone like you two here before, is this your first time in Canterlot?" "Why yes, it is" "Well then, what brings you to our fine city?" "We're actually here to see the princesses" "Oh, well then, you're just in time for the princess's day court to begin, do you need help getting to the castle?" "Wonderful, and I think we can manage on our own thanks" "Well, I'll let you two be on your way then" The guard did as he said and let us pass, we carried on towards the castle and I heard a little sigh of relief from James. "Thought we were in trouble didn't ya?" "Yeah" "Well, I suppose he is in his right to ask what we're doing in Canterlot, I'm pretty sure changelings don't often come to Canterlot, and usually the only bat ponies here are Luna's royal guard" "I guess that makes sense." "Anyways, where to tour guide?" "To Canterlot castle!" We let out a laugh and continued on our way. There wasn't too much we passed by, a few restaurants, some boutiques, plenty of house's, and Canterlot library. There was also the public castle gardens next to the castle's front entrance. We then stood right out front the castle entrance, "It's even bigger up close" "Of course it is, anyways, shall we?" James gave a shy nod, I gave him a quick hug around the neck and reassured him, we then approached the front entrance. As expected the guards at the entrance stopped us before the entrance and asked what our business is, "We're here to see the princesses in the day court" "Very well, you may enter" "Speak with the receptionist after you enter and tell her you are here for the day court, she may ask a few questions, but you two should be fine" We did just that, it was only one question asked too, but it was a tough one for James, "What are your names?" "Mine is Crimson Night and uh, well you see, my friend is quite shy when talking to other ponies or telling them his name" "I'm presuming our names are for when we're announced to the princesses when we enter, so uh, could something like 'Crimson Night and his partner' work?" "Hmm, unusual, but very well. You will be announced to the princesses as 'Crimson Night and his partner' when you enter, now take a seat and I'll call for you when it's your turn" "Thank you" We then went to take a seat, James seemed to have wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead as he asked, "Did you only just come up with that line now?" "Yeah, at least it worked" "Let's hope it was worth it then" He was right, this was either all worth it, or the total opposite, and if it was the total opposite, then I'd have almost no clue where to go next, also the fact of confusing the princesses of a mythical creature that even they don't know of. There was a few other ponies here before us, so there was a bit of a wait. Then the receptionist called out my name and told us it was our turn. We approached the entry to the princess's throne room and heard the guards on the inside introduced our names before we entered. 'Crimson Night and his partner'. The princesses gave each other an intrigued look, wondering why somepony has kept their name unknown for the time being. We entered.
Finnaly getting to the princessesThe guards closed the door as we came through, I gave the princesses a bow and James followed. "Good morning your highnesses." "Greetings" Celestia replied, then asked, "What brings you here today, and which one of you is Crimson Night if you don't mind me asking?" "I am, and sorry for answering with a question but there is something of extreme importance I must ask you" "And that is?" "Do either of you two know of.. humans?" The princess's eyes widened suddenly, making their response obvious, and giving me a bit of relief that all this was worth it. Celestia signalled to her guards. "Guards, leave us be immediately" They acknowledged her order and left the throne room, she continued. "Why Yes, me and my sister know of humans, but how do you? Not many ponies know of them" "I'll have to get to that soon, but, have you ever encountered them too?" They both nodded. "Well, the thing is, we are humans, WERE humans to be exact" "We, do not understand" Luna finally spoke "To make it simple, me and my friend are actually from the human world, but one day, my friend was in a terrible accident that caused his demise, then I too was faced with a similar fate, but during mine and when I thought it was all gone, I just simply awoke in a cave unharmed, walked outside into a forest and discovered I was a pony." "I soon encountered my friend just outside the cave, not knowing who he was at the time, he was appearing as a timberwolf during that time, but I put some facts together and figured he wasn't a real timberwolf, turned out he could speak, then I found out it was my friend and discovered he was sent to equestria too." "He also needed some help on how to change to his changeling form, I was surprisingly able to help, then we went on a little bit of an adventure to get to the two of you" "So, you two just lost your lives as humans and was then sent to equestria in new body's?" Luna asked "That pretty much sums it up, yeah" "Well then, this is a little bit new to us too" Celestia said "How so?" "You're the first humans to come to equestria as ponies" "I see, I suppose we can't be sent here dead, now can we?" "I guess not, anyways, do the two of you have anywhere to stay?" "No" "Well then, you can live here in the castle for as long as you may need, we have plenty of guest bedrooms to spare" "Much appreciated" "May I ask why your friend has not spoken during our encounter?" Luna questioned "He's just letting me do most of the talking, mostly due to me knowing a lot more about ponies and equestria than he does" "Understandable, may we know his name?" James gave me a concerned look but I just continued. "James, I've thought of a new name for my new pony form, but not for him, I'm not that good at changeling names... Y'know what?" "I think I just got an idea, how about Cyax?" James looked back to the princesses, "Does that sound like a changeling name?" "We may not know a lot about changeling naming customs, but it does sound similar to some others we know" Celestia responded with Luna agreeing. "Well then, I suppose my new name is Cyax" "Now that I say it, I kind of like it" He gave a bit of a giggle and then Luna asked, "Well, it appears it is just about time for our midday break, would you two like to join us? We can also take you past your rooms on the way" "Sounds good" We then followed the Princesses out of the throne room, down a hallway, up a set of stairs and then we came to a quick stop, "These two rooms here will be yours" Luna informed "Neat, conveniently not to far from the throne room if we ever require you, or vice versa" "Indeed, now we shall continue to the nearest dinning room" We did just that, Celestia did also point out a nearby bathroom for us on the way past and we were soon at the dinning room.
Dining with royaltyMe and James took our seats next to each other and the princesses took theirs on the opposite side to us "Will this be your first meal in equestria?" Celestia wondered "Our second actually, we did have some daisy sandwiches from a generous pony this morning, and Cyax enjoyed them even more than I did" "Well, that'll solve one problem" Said Celestia. I tilted my head a little in confusion. "Oh, where are my manners, on one hoof, our chefs here are equipped to serve the dietary needs of bat ponies, but not so much Changelings on the other, so it's good to know you've had simple pony food that you enjoy" "Oh, well I suppose he could eat any pony food as far as I know, at least he didn't throw up when he had that daisy sandwich" "Shall we eat then?" James intervened. Celestia nodded, gave a clap of her hooves and a chef came through a nearby door. "What shall it be today your highnesses?" "The usual for me and my sister, a daisy sandwich for the Changeling and-" "Surprise me" Celestia looked back at me, "What?" "Exactly what I said, surprise me" "Very well, and a surprise meal for the bat" "Understood, I will return with your meals shortly" After the chef left, Luna decided to ask, "So, what was that about Crimson Night?" "Just Crimson will be fine, and I just thought, I pretty much know none of the kinds of meals bat ponies eat, so I was like, why not be surprised with one" "Huh, I like the way you think" Luna complimented. "Thanks" We waited a bit more until Luna decided to speak again "Quick inquiry, Crimson..." "Yes Luna?" "Since you're in a new body, do you know how to fly?" "No actually, neither of us do" "Well, since most of my royal guards are Thestrals, I'm inclined to know about their body's and needs, that also includes flying." "So I can help you get started on your flying skills and me and my sister can find a Changeling to help Cyax with his flying and magical abilities if he'd like" James gave a confident smirk, "Well, if Crimson is going to learn how to fly, I might as well too, and magic seems pretty cool too" "Excellent, it also seems our food is ready" The chef entered with a few other ponies behind him holding our food, "Here are your meals, an every-veggie salad for the princesses, a daisy sandwich for the changeling, and for the bat, a strawberry jam, bug filled pie" The chef and the rest of the ponies left us to eat our food, "Oh that's right, I almost forgot bugs were a general part of a bat ponies diet, anyways, let's eat." We then all began to eat our food, I picked up my pie, it didn't smell all that bad, I took a bite, and it actually tasted quite nice. We all finished relatively at a similar time, then I had an idea pass through my mind for my possible flying lessons with Luna "Hey Luna?" "Yes?" "I just had a sudden idea, is it possible for you to teach me how to fly while in the dream realm?" "Mostly in case I mess up my flying, so I can't actually get hurt, and I'm still teaching my mind to fly, Right?" Luna pondered on that for a few seconds. "That's actually a great idea, then we can get started whenever you feel like your up for it" Then I had a snap of realization, "Oh my gosh, how could I forget, Cyax got one of his hooves a little banged up from Timberwolves during his first night in equestria, I can't believe I forgot" "I'm the one who got hurt and I forgot too, that sandwich must've been that good" James gave a quick laugh, then in a flash, Celestia came over to our side of the table to take a look at his hoof. "If it isn't to bad I can heal it myself right now" James slowly gave his hoof towards Celestia, she unwrapped the bandage and had a look "Just a mild scratch, I'll have that all healed up in a second" James' hoof was then enveloped in her magic, golden glow, and within a few seconds, all the scratches were gone. "Wow, that felt... interesting, like my hoof was being wrapped in your warmth or something" as he was examining his now healed hoof, Celestia giggled little, "Well, it is a healing spell, what else would it feel like, freezing cold ice?" "Anyways, as much as I would love to continue to chat, I thinks it's time me and my sister returned to the throne room to continue our day court" Luna intervened. "Oh right, well you two are free to go sightseeing around Canterlot if you wish, I'll be sure to inform the front guards that you are free to enter the castle for whenever you return, also, here, take this" Then in a flash, it appears Celestia had given me some saddlebags and then she put a little pouch of (presuming by the jingle) some bits in one side of the bags, "Just in case you decide to get a little snack or something on your tour, I suggest you might like the donuts from Pony Joe's" "Much appreciated, shall we take a look around then, Cyax?" He nodded, then we all left the dinning room, went back down the stairs and the princesses continued to the throne room as we left the castle.
Tour of the cityAs we left the castle James asked "So, where do you want to go first?" "Well, I was probably thinking of taking a little stroll through those public castle gardens right next to us, maybe go to the library next and see if we can get you a book on changling biology and history if you would like, have a look around and see what else might be interesting, and then grab a donut I guess" "Sounds great!" We then proceeded to enter the gardens. It was pretty much empty apart from a family of tourists, there was only three of them, a mare, stallion and their little colt, I let James take the lead so I can just follow him and enjoy the peaceful sounds and smells of the garden. But after a little bit of trotting around James came to a stop at a certain interesting statue, "Uh, what's this kind of statue doing here?" He then turned to me wondering if I knew what a statue of these two strange creatures and a little pony was doing here. "Ah, I would recognize this anywhere, you see Cyax, this isn't just a normal statue, its actually three beings imprisoned in stone." "Queen Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow" His eyes widened in surprise, "What!?" He then looked at the statue and then back to me, "Indeed, I suppose it is better than being hung or something like that for their crimes" "And those crimes are?" I gave a little smirk knowing how much of a story this was going to become and how many story's there were to be told of this "Oh I don’t know, maybe each of them trying to take over equestria on multiple occasions for example" "Oh please do go on" "Gladly" Then I proceeded to tell him all the stories of these three foes, all the way from the great canterlot wedding, to the final stand against all three of them empowered with the strength of Grogar's ancient bell. As I finished my stories I noticed more than one creature had given a 'wow' when I was done. I then noticed the family of tourists had been listening to my tales, "Oh, uh... hi" The family then realised I was done with the stories, "Oh, sorry for listening on you like that, but those where amazing" the stallion said "Yeah, they are quite the tales aren't they." I replied "Did that all really happen mister?" The cute little colt asked in his young squeaky voice. "Why indeed little one" and I gave him a little nudge on his head, (His mane was sooooooo soft). "Enjoying Canterlot you three?" I asked the family "Indeed we are" said the mare "We came all the way from Manehattan to visit!" the stallion stated. "Ah, the big city I see, I used to live in a place like that, but recently I've learned to enjoy the peaceful sounds of the world like this garden or a forest for example, quite relaxing" "Agreed, well I suppose we should be off then, shall we honey?" "Sure, so much to see!" Then the family went to leave the gardens, then the colt stopped just in front of me, "Thanks for the stories mister!" "No problem, now you better catch up to your parents before they leave" The colt nodded and sped off to his parents, then they were gone. "That's it, you're killing me Crimson, to much cuuute!" James said, bursting out in laughter. "Ha! You're dying from cuteness? Did you feel how soft that little colt's mane was?" After James was able to catch his breath from all his laughing "Okay okay, I guess you win." "Well, shall we head to the library and find you a few books for you to learn more about Changelings?" "Sure, cant wait for a donut later too" We then headed out the garden and down the road to the Canterlot library we saw on our first walk through Canterlot. We soon arrived at the library and went straight in. "Wow, this has to be one of the biggest library's I've ever seen" James said in a slightly lowered voice, heh, even though all that we've been through, he still remembers to be quiet in a library. I then proceeded to the nearest reception desk with James following closely behind, "Good evening, im Speed Reader, is there a certain book you may be looking for?" "Because I'm the best and quickest in this library at finding any subject of book anypony may need, or are you returning some books instead?" She said "Looking for books, Changeling biology or history please" "Yep, we definitely do have some books for that somewhere, if you'll just follow me" Then she hopped out from her desk and we followed her through a few aisles of books. She soon grabbed one down and handed it over, 'The body and biology; Changelings, the 6th edition from the B&B series'. "Actually quite reliable that series, now, onto the history" A few more rows later she handed over another book, 'The history of changelings' 'After King Thorax updated edition'. "There we go, will you be reading here or loaning the books?" "Loaning please" "Well then I'll take you back to my desk, write down some details and then you can have 'em" We then went back to her desk and all she asked was ours names and where we're currently living, as expected, she was a bit surprised at the answer to the latter. "Oh, you two are staying in the castle? For how long?" "Long enough to return the books when we're done with them that's for sure" "Well then I'll just do this aaand-- done! You can now take those books with you wherever you please" I then use my wing to open the saddlebags and chuck the books in, which felt a bit more easier and natural than what I would think, Its still only day two in equestria for me. "Thank you. Oh, and do you know the way to pony Joe's? Me and my friend were going to go grab a snack" "Just down the other end of the street, back past the castle" "Ok, thanks again" We then waved goodbye as we left the library and headed down the street. "You seem to be a natural with those, never thought you could do something so practical like that with them so soon" James said as he pointed at my wings "I was kind of thinking the same thing actually, anyways let's go get a donut and then go see what our rooms are like back at the castle, we actually haven't seen them yet" "Oh, yeah!" The rest of our travels went smoothly, we got to Pony Joe's, both got a chocolate donut, used my wings again to bring out and put back the pouch of bits and was complimented yet again by James for my practical use of them. I then told him after we sat down at a table that he could also conduct a bit of magic from the horn he had too, magical laser beams or levitation for example, he gave a pass on the lasers but said he'd love to learn the levitation. Then we returned to the castle with no trouble from the guards. It was about 4 o'clock and it seems the princesses had just finished their day court as it looks like they were just leaving the throne room, "Ah, good evening you two. How was your stroll around Canterlot?" Celestia asked, James was actually the first to answer, "Great! We met this tourist couple in the gardens with their cute little colt, while Crimson was telling me the tales of Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis when I asked what a certain 'weird statue' in the garden was.” “We then went to the library and got out a couple of books to help me learn a little bit more about myself and changelings, and then we went and got a donut from pony Joe's." "Well, it seems you two had a fun time" said Luna. "Indeed, and who knows, maybe Cyax might learn a little magic trick or how to fly from one of those books" I gave him a quick nudge and a chuckle. "Well, I suppose you'll be wanting to head to your room's and talk about the days events and have a look over those books you got, won't you?" Celestia suggested. "Indeed" I replied. "Well then, we will get a guard to alert you when it is time for dinner" "Ok." We then went to our room's as the princesses went somewhere else in the castle. It seems James had decided who's room is who's, since he just went straight into one without a single word or even opening the door to look at the other one. "So I guess you choose this room then?" "Yea, I just want to plop onto a bed right now" He did just that, ran to the bed and chucked himself onto it. "Hey, it's almost as soft as you" He tried to say through his chuckling. "Thanks I guess" "Well I'm going to go into my room and put my saddlebags somewhere- Oh wait, here's your books" I then take the books out of my saddlebags and put them on top of James' bedside table. "Oh yeah, I guess I might give those a little look through before dinner, or maybe a nap instead" I then left James to himself as I went over to my room. It was pretty much the same as James' room, a bed with a small table to the side, a cabinet, bookshelf, all the general stuff you'd find in a average bedroom. I took off the saddlebags and placed them next to the beside table and hopped onto the bed, and I immediately laid flat out and spread my body over the bed as a felt how soft it was. "He wasn't kidding" I said to myself. I just continued to lay on the bed and think about the days events, but surprisingly, Luna kept popping into my head a few times, probably just excited for the flying lessons.
Just a normal daySo it was just a normal day. Finish work, hop in my car, drive home, goof off or re-watch some episodes of my little Pony until I go to sleep and then do it all over again. Just a casual day. Well, I suppose we haven’t counted the fact my bestest friend passed on recently in a faint accident yesterday. But it was just going to be a normal day today as always, right? I sighed as I went down the elevator to the underground car lot, my co-worker in the elevator with me put a empathetic hand on my shoulder, “Thanks” as I sighed again. “No worry’s. I know what your going through, I too had a friend pass away a while ago.” “Oh, sorry to hear about that.” “Don’t be, it was a long time ago and I’ve moved on from it, but I’ll never forget him, I hope you don’t forget about your buddy either.” “Trust me, I won’t.” I put on a little smile to make him feel like his attempt to cheer me up wasn’t in vain. Then just like that, the elevator trip was over. We stepped out and waved as we split off to our cars. As I entered mine, I sat there for about ten minutes letting my thoughts and emotions run wild. Then I snapped out of my quick trance, put my key in the ignition, and drove off. As I continued to think about my friend while I was on the highway, I joked to myself, “Heh, at least if something happened to me now I’d at least have someone to meet up with.” I let out another small giggle mixed with a sigh. But little did I know something would happen, and the way I meet up with my friend, lets just say, isn’t the way I would most expect. The weather wasn’t quite the best and it was raining quite heavily. Soon, a logging truck in front of me spun out of control, I tried to stop but some of the logs the truck was carrying fell off and smashed right into me. I then spun out too, my car decided to roll, I blacked out as it started to all slip away, but I didn’t feel too worried during it all, because I could see what was about to happen and I remembered what I had just said earlier. But as it all went away, it all came back, and it hit me in the head like a ton of bricks! I groaned as I opened my eyes and with what little lighting there was, it looked like I was somehow in a cave. Besides the massive pain in my head, I... I felt ok and unharmed!? I tried to stand up but my feet felt extremely weird and also numb and I fell back down. So I tried to get up on all four. It worked, and it... felt... somehow natural? And my hands did feel a little weird too, but Besides that, I saw a way to get out of the cave and made it.
