Chip was comfortably wrapped up in a sea of fluff – curled up in a ball, the changeling could feel every inch of his body clothed in the most delicate and warm fabric he had ever experienced. It was a whole new level, even compared to the bed at Canterlot castle. All around, rainbow colored lights lazily swam, piercing even the colt’s closed eyelids. He felt…

Happy.

Yes, pure joy of being here, in this harmonious of places, overpowered Chip. He felt like cheering, laughing, prancing around – but there was no need to. It was bliss as it was – curled up in a ball of happy thoughts, underneath a sea of rainbow fluff. He felt…

Comfortable.

Not a single place was getting too much or too little pressure. Perfection in even the slightest details. He would snuggle up to this fabric, inhale deeply the scent it probably had, rub his whole body against it… But there was no need! Why bother perfection? In this tight embrace, he felt…

Secure.

Like in the hands of a mother, a loving, caring mother. The silky fabric lulled him gently, taking away all his cares and grime that was probably just his imagination. He could just open his eyes and smile at the motherly face above him, touch it, pet its mane… But not just yet, just a little bit longer… He felt so…

Loved.

It was the same kind of emotion, the connection that he shared with his friends. He loved ponies, especially those that appeared in front of him now! Night Star, the first pony he even met. Silver Heart, the filly he treasured so much. The regal sisters, Luna and Celestia, who took his as if he were their own. Cadance, Gustav, Dawn… Twilight… All these faces, he loved them so much! He wanted to hug them, feel their embrace! They were quite some distance away, so he would need to fly over to them… This is where he started feeling…

Pride.

He was a great flyer. Each time he flew, he felt proud to have such great wings. Strong, agile, capable of carrying him all over the world – his wings were the most awesome thing on the planet! The refreshingly chilly wind that cuddled him for so long now felt great; the light that flickered under his eyelids, as if he was looking at sunlight from the bottom of a lake, reminded him of something. Yes, those were his…

Hopes.

He had great aspirations. He wanted to be one with ponies. He dreamt about it, studied for it. It was his purpose. He knew he would eventually realize his dream – it felt like it was just a hoof away, somewhere in the darkness around.

Yes, the pitch black around was fascinating. Not a sound was heard, not an image was seen. He huddled his body into a tighter ball, feeling the pleasurable cold of what was probably an autumn night. This bliss was interrupted by some heat that was somehow present in his chest – it stung, felt out of place. It disturbed the emptiness that was always in his mind, in his heart, in his whole body. He let it go. It was never there to begin with.

Silence. Emptiness. It lulled Chip into nothingness. His mind shut down, descending into the void, closing in on itself. He didn’t feel a body, not that it was supposed to be there anyway. He was a pure thought. An abstract construct that didn’t have its place in time and space. Null. Nothing. It did not exist…

Twilight Sparkle woke up on the floor, curled up in a ball. She yawned, stretching her body, unleashing delightful chills that scattered around her body. The mare never felt so refreshed, so alive. It was like being born anew, with a fresh mind, new pair of eyes, straight-out-of-the-box muscles and skin. Each color was vibrant and bright – the sounds she hear, she could listen to them forever…

“Mmmmm… Aahhh… This feels wonderful,” gasped the librarian, preparing to leave the room. Unfortunately, something lay under her feet and she tripped.

“Ouch… Oh, what is that… Thing… Doing…. Here?”

Twilight saw the most odd of things at her hooves – it was a ball of fur, roughly her size. It had a purple color, the dark variety, with a mane and tail… And a horn…

The hit of memories from last night sent the mare into a spin. Chip. They mind melded. The corridors. The gates. An eye. The switch of bodies. The horrible, painful hunger. Loneliness, sadness, terror… Then hope. A faint smile. And a green light.

The librarian looked at the shape which was Chip, in the body of Twilight Sparkle. Unmoving. Cold to the touch.

“Chip,” gasped the mare through a tightened throat. Memories kept coming back, gnawing at her, spoon-feeding her the images of her… Of her doing it to Chip. She was eating him. She didn’t know how, or why, but it felt good. She craved it so much and she got it. The pleasure she then had was the polar opposite of the dread she felt now.

“Chip?” repeated Twilight, gently pushing the body, as if trying to prod it to life.

“Chip.” She shoved harder.

“Chip…” She shook the body. Nothing.

“Chip…!” gasped Twilight in a hoarse voice, hugging the lifeless shell. She looked into his eyes – they were blank. Nothing behind the purple irises.

“What have I done…” she sobbed, still trying to shake Chip awake. Mane got into his open eyes, and he didn’t even blink. She swiftly took it away, checking his forehead. It was cold. Stone cold.

“Please, just stop it… Wake up… I didn’t mean to… Why did you let me… Why?!”

No response.

“I can’t… What have I done… Why, Chip, why?! Answer me, you hear me?! Please, I beg of you…”

Not even a sigh.

“Chip…” All she could do was embrace him. Close to her. His cold body against her warm skin. She wanted to give it all back. Give back the things she took away. She wanted it so very badly. She didn’t mean to. It wasn’t her!

Twilight rocked Chip back and forth, wetting his mane with hear tear-filled eyes. No words would come out of her throat now. She felt sick. Her head hurt, she was dizzy. This cannot be undone. He was gone. Not coming back. And it was her fault. She did this.

Her eyes were too wet to see the rhythmically moving nostrils on Chip’s muzzle.

At some point, Twilight must have passed out, exhausted, still wrapped around Chip. Her body warmed his. He couldn’t feel that though. He was nowhere. In limbo. Non-existent…

If he was nothing, then why was there something? It was sound. He remembered what sound was. It was pestering him, filling up the space that wasn’t there. How was that even possible? Nothingness is the opposite of Somethingness. These two could not exist at the same place, even if calling it a place meant nothing. And yet…

The sound was a word. A single, short word. It managed to expand the nothingness, causing it to stretch and bend with the volume that it brought. Volume was an alien concept in this world of nothing. It didn’t feel right, and it was ignored for as long as it could.

Like that wasn’t enough, a second thing – something more physical – joined the fray. It was temperature. Warmth. Great, now the world that was empty contained a warm word. No, wait. These things weren’t together. Then where did the other come from? Asking that question turned out to be a bad idea – another volume, this one colossal compared to the word, jumped into the world of nothing.

A body. The warmth was connected with the body. Also, the word did something too – it moved. It moved to the top of the body, sinking inside it.

Chip was scared. All this felt so wrong, so alien. Nothingness was secure, it was good, it was predictable. This body, this warmth, this sound, it all came out of nowhere – uninvited and without a reason.

But this would not be the end of it. More things followed, literally bombarding the peaceful dimension of nothing with otherworldly somethings – sensations of touch, smell, thoughts that did not belong. It all zipped around, almost hitting Chip. He dodged as best as he could, avoiding images and noises like wildfire. Some of them hit him though. It felt like drowning in honey for an eternity – colors or sounds that were blurry reached out for him. He didn’t want them. Nothingness was where he belonged.

In this whole confusion, the colt didn’t notice he was coming closer and closer to the top of the body. He was so focused on escaping that he finally tripped into the head of the body. That’s where he saw the word. He heard it.

Chip.

Feebly, a purple leg budged. An eyelid tried to close, only managing to move a little in the end. A grape-colored tail moved an inch or so.

Twilight felt the motions and in her sleep adjusted herself, tightening the embrace she had on Chip.

“Chip…” she murmured, causing a purple ear to twitch.