June 7, 2159
“Only take the photos that will lead to the best outcome. Never follow the hoofprints that cover those photos.”
-Mom
Mom said that when I was only six. I never knew what it meant until I asked a couple of my friends. They’re kind of older than me even though they’ve lived the same amount of time. Somehow, how Mom said what she said came from the time that she lived in. I was told there was a place called Equestria during her time, and it fell because of an earthshake.
For over fourteen and a half years, I was raised in a world of changelings. After I got a mention for the artwork I did on the radio, I got very excited. I’ve loved to draw since I was only four, so it’s practically a dream come true that I’m now on the radio through my art. The only thing is, how did I get on the radio?
I asked Mom how it happened, and that’s when I knew she was hiding something.
“How should I know? It’s your art.”
Definitely a lie. And that was coming from the same pony that said never to follow hoofprints that will get you down or something like that. Plus, who would take someone’s belonging and call it their own? That’s just plain wrong. Okay, true it’s my art, but I swear something seems off about “how should I know”.
So, today, I walk up to my old street from back (what?) ten, eleven years ago. When we left, we had to buy every last thing to replace all the items lost on the old house. We lost a lot of money. Past the crosswalk, the sign simply says, “No trespassing.” What should I do, go to Mom and ask her to get inside the old house? As far as Mom’s concerned, we don’t own the house anymore, Changico does.
After reading the sign, I walk home to ask Mom if I can get permission to check out our old home.
“Yeah. Point of advice though, ask Queen Shell.”
Wait WHAT?!? Queen Shell owns the house now?!? She must be really lucky to own more than her castle, or home, or whatever anypony calls it! It might just be that much easier to get to my old house.
So, Mom and I take a trip over to Queen Shell’s home, and holy joy is it huge! It might as well be a castle!
“I’ll just be out in front. I’m sure she won’t mind.”
So, I’m doing this on my own. If it were any other changeling, I’d be as nervous as any of them would be! But this is Queen Shell, somepony who raises the sun and the moon every day! That alone is amazing! I’m getting even more hyped now that I’m doing it on my own! My excitement is no holds bar now! But I have to focus. I don’t want to go all fangirl on her now, would I?
“Hello subject. What can I do for you?”
“Hey Queen Shell. Who owns the house my mom and I lived in before her last move-in to where I live now?”
“And what is your name?”
“Air Vent.”
“Ah, yes. Daughter of Air Wiff. As far as I remember, you two were not the only ones to move out at the time. We pulled a move similar to what Yakyakistan did up to twenty years ago.”
“And what’s that?”
“Reserve an area for urban exploration.”
“Urban exploration?”
“When you learn about houses no other changeling or pony ever dares to go. No one lives in your old home (really, no one’s supposed to), but the government of Changico does own it. And as queen, I grant you permission to visit this house to learn more about building such a structure you wish to visit with a better knowledge of what to do.”
I thank Queen Shell and we hug. In the inside, I’m dancing with glee. On the outside, I choose to savor the moment. This is the only time I’ve gotten to see Queen Shell, so I better make it last.
Suddenly, I barely hear yelling coming from outside, who sounds like Mom. I gasp in realization that Mom might be in trouble. After telling Queen Shell my goodbyes and that I have to get outside, I zoom to the front of the “house” to see two changelings in what I think is a police force uniform, cuffing Mom’s wings together.
“What are you doing!!!”
“Air Wiff is under arrest for public loitering.”
“NO!!! You can’t do that!!! She’s my Mom!!! She was waiting as I was getting permission from the queen to visit our old house!!!”
“Your old house? If you were granted clearance to visit a place that is filled with asbestos…”
“If Queen Shell gave me permission to visit my old house, which she did, then I’m sure she’ll be fine with ponies waiting for others.”
“Good point. The only thing is Air Wiff could’ve waited at home.”
“Sirs, Air Vent still doesn’t have the mobility to cross any streets, so how is she supposed to get around without me?”
“If that’s the case, then she’ll be off, living in foster care.”
Seconds after Mom and I shout “no” from the top of our lungs, Queen Shell zips out here.
“What is going on?!? (Gasp) Officers!! What are you doing with Air Wiff?!?”
“We are only doing our jobs, ma’am.”
“That is not the right way to do it!! It is unconstitutional to arrest someone in the country who has done no wrong!! What has she done?!?”
“All I was doing was waiting for Air Vent! Was that too much to ask for?”
“Public loitering is against Changican law, and given your location, you were doing just that.”
“You never read the Changican Constitution, did you? ‘It is considered to wrongly arrest for the following crimes and they will be limited to a lone fine, whose weight depends on the frequency of said crimes: jaywalking, littering, public loitering and any publicly shunned daily activity.’ I know Air WIff. She attempted to clean an entire city while I escorted Hut to her. She’s free to go.”
Queen Shell takes the cuffs away from Mom’s wings.
“Take these back to where they belong until you find any criminal doing worse than waiting for their child.”
The two changeling officers walk away in shame with the cuffs levitating between them.
“Thank you Queen Shell. You’re a real lifesaver,” Mom says.
“Police force these days, I tell you. They might as well be illiterate. And parents tell us to trust them.”
So, after that, Queen Shell gives me a map before escorting Mom home. She even went as far as to poke holes on the map in three places, Queen Shell’s home, my home, and my old home. The only problem is, I don’t have a horn, so I can’t just have it in front of me like Queen Shell and Mom can. Suddenly, Queen Shell puts a hoof on the top of my head, in which, feels more magical than it did before. In fact, I feel like a horn was added to my forehead.
I have no idea whether or not I have a horn, but when I feel like grabbing the map, I suddenly see it float, losing its previous green glow. Instead, now the map has a golden glow to it.
When I used to live in the northern part of Changico City, the house was beautiful. It was filled with nice, clean walls and windows. The door was perfectly closeable. And all of our belongings were in great shape. But when I finally got here for the first time in ten years, things have changed.
No longer are the walls completely white, but they’re chipped with paint in some areas, and in others, it’s filled with that stuff younger changelings like to look at on the walls of restaurants. Whole drawings are there as if it were from a professional who did this for a project before the grand opening of said restaurant. But it’s not a restaurant. It’s my old home.
The second thing I notice is that it looks as if there are no windows and that the door went missing. Did somepony take them out? I don’t know.
I start hovering over the ground to safely explore the house. As I start getting closer, more of the details come in with parts of the windows still there and the door fallen inside.
When I finally get inside, it’s a true mess. The ceiling is barely present in some parts. It smells very funny inside as well. I have no idea where the smell is coming from but I know it’s one I’ve never smelled before. Every single door is out of each frame. Finally, all of the belongings Mom and I had over here are completely destroyed, on the floor and where they had belonged had fallen onto the floor.
After a couple of puffs coughed, I hover upstairs, where it gets even worse. First of all, the sun is blinding from the position that I hover. I don’t really know what the term is for this kind of thing, but some parts of the floor have sunken. The frames that once contained photos are now naked of that and have also fallen to the floor.
Then, it hits the hardest in my room. Not only did the floor sink beyond belief, not only is there no ceiling, but everything else in the room was exactly how I left it. It was a given it was covered with the ceiling.
But then, something catches my eye. On the middle of the sunken floor is a Smarty Pants doll. Aura Draft had once given it to me. She said it was the last one ever sold in Equestria.
I still can’t believe it. My belongings still look (sort of) good for being left alone for ten years. They were left exactly as they were when Mom and I left. The only thing that’s not covered in fallen ceiling is a watch though, the kind I’ve never seen before.
I suddenly get the idea to take the watch and the doll with me as I head out. Thankfully, my room has lost its window from the looks of it, so I plan on leaving through that. But when I prepare to move to the non-window, I start to cough harder and harder. I move back to the hall and set down the doll and watch. Suddenly, looking at the watch, I see a lid on its main side.
I float the watch, flip the lid and shove it into my lips. Breathing in, I lose the next few puffs of cough, the rest weakening. The coughing lightens up afterwards as I figure out that I’m going to need this watch. The only problem now is, I’m getting too tired to fly off the dirty, weak floor.