//------------------------------// // The Changeling Research IV // Story: My Little Changeling -- "I" is Magic // by Wing Dancer //------------------------------// Chip woke up quite early that day. He risked a short trip upstairs to make sure Twilight was still asleep and would not disturb him while he read his latest story from Celestia’s collection. The cover was quite pleasant to look at – a rose garden with two colts looking at each other in a friendly way. As the changeling suspected, it was about two pairs of colts and mares, each having their own lives. There was some complaining involved, fights and bitter words…then a very teary break up that Chip did not understand…followed by the two colts meeting for the very first time, hanging out together… And it was then and there, around a quarter into the book that things started getting confusing. The writer must have clearly made some mistakes, as it was impossible for a colt to… Oh wait… Did he just? What?! “Ponies do that?” said Chip to himself, eyeing his hind suspiciously. This was certainly a new way to look at things. Half-way into the book, the colts seemed to have established an emotional relationship, spending lots of time together, having fun, caring for each other and performing fun facts 31 and 60 without a mare involved. Some of the descriptions were too much for Chip’s taste, but he was determined to force himself through the lecture – research was research after all. And he had a feeling that if he asked Twilight about it, the sturdiness of the walls around him would be unnecessarily put to the test. Near the end of the book another conflict rose – a third colt engaged in a romance with one of the main heroes. There was some confusion and talk of priorities and cheating…Chip liked that part more. Deceit was his thing, and there seemed to be a lot of it in this love thing he only knew as a tasty snack. The descriptions of emotions were very informative and the changeling was all in all happy he picked up the book. As he closed it, his head was filled with strange images he wasn’t sure what to think of. This colt-colt relation possibility gave love a whole new dimension – he had to explore the possibility of mare-mare relationships at some point. * * * Twilight arrived right on time, knocking on the door and obediently going through the question/answer ritual Chip so liked. She was smiling from ear to ear, chatting the changeling up with mundane questions such as “How do you feel today?” or “Had any nice dreams?” Eventually her good mood made its way to the changeling who by now came to terms with what he read about earlier in the morning – come to think of it, it was exciting. Maybe colts weren’t as touchy about the subject and asking one about love would not end up with him sprawled on the floor, wall or ceiling? “What should be focus on today, Chip?” asked Twilight, sipping a coffee Spike brought her from upstairs. “Well, we already know one way of downing a changeling. But it obviously doesn’t work on me when I’m my normal self. I suspect our bodies are too well prepared for such tricks – so it is the mind we have to focus on.” “Hmm, interesting idea…but that won’t benefit earth ponies or Pegasus.” “We have to start with something,” shrugged Chip. “Alright, fair enough. Developing a magically charged trinket later on should be a piece of cake. I’ve done literally hundreds of those before…oh, never mind. You were saying?” “Changeling mentality. I can only guess you never shared your eyes or ears with anypony else, did you?” “Well, no, not exactly…I mean,” reflected Twilight, thinking back to the days she fought Discord, “There was that time that I used a spell to make my friends remember our friendship…but I’m not sure that counts…” “Show it to me. Let’s see what it does,” said Chip, changing into his changeling self. Twilight was thankful he did it normally, instead of doing that awkward slow changing that made his… “Are you alright Twilight? Your face is all red,” commented the changeling, cocking his head. “O-Oh, no, it’s nothing! Um, the spell, yes…but we don’t have any memories we can share. I think. I mean, I guess we can try remembering the things we did yesterday. That should work! At least, if this spell will work at all on you…” “Let’s try it. What do I have to do?” “Just stand still…” * * * Twilight jumped back, as if struck by lightning; Chip did the same. They both panted heavily, looking at each other confused. “What just happened?!” they asked in unison. “That was…weird” said the librarian, shaking her head violently. “You…you can say that again,” replied Chip, rubbing his forehead. Together they had the strangest experience yet. Twilight Sparkle cast her spell and tried to look for a memory in Chip’s mind – what she got instead was a mental image of a crossroad. Well, it wasn’t exactly that; it was hard to describe something as metaphysical as being in somepony else’s mind. Because that is what the purple mare was certain what happened. Instead of recalling a memory, she found herself in Chip’s head. There were two paths she could follow – one was dark, damp and scary, while the other felt empty, kind of lonely and…similar to her own. She obviously took the more desirable road. Twilight didn’t know if she was moving, floating or whatever – after a short while that could have been an eternity, she felt it. She felt the presence of another…it wasn’t inside her head. She wasn’t inside her body anymore. It was a limbo, a space without volume or time, no dimensions at all. The other presence was all there was for her, and she knew it was Chip. At the same time, she felt her own existence – the recognizable memories, thoughts, opinions…it smelled and felt like her. So there were two beings in the same place that didn’t have a single dimension. Science wasn’t even near the place where she got herself to. Neither could it explain the feeling she had, a rising pain that encompassed everything she ever was and will be. It wasn’t a hurting ankle or strained muscle – the radiating feeling was all around, in a place she could not find. Twilight could also feel the agony of Chip – he experienced it too, the pain. It was scary, in a primal way. Mortifying. She felt that her whole existence was threatened, that her soul was being crushed and warped by forces unknown… “We shouldn’t try this again,” whispered the purple mare, trying to calm her breath. “We…we should,” said Chip with a stern face. “What?! Are you crazy!? We could get hurt…in ways we can’t even understand!” “That’s the point, right?” growled Chip, limping closer to the mare. “It is our duty to understand what just happened. Maybe we can use it, maybe not. That feeling, it was terrifying, I know…but maybe this way we could cause a backlash in the hive mind. Disable a drone or something. We have to try again.” “Really?...” whimpered Twilight. “I’m scared.” The colt was a bit lost – they both knew they were scared out of their sane minds and instinct told them not to meddle with forces that they just experienced. Under the spur of the moment, he did the only thing that came to mind – he embraced Twilight, pressing her softly against his hard plate. “It’s going to be alright. This time we’ll know. We’ll be careful. Okay? Just try to understand something. I swear I saw some images, heard something, maybe even felt, but I was too panicked to pay attention to that. Please, can we try again? We’ll break off as soon as thing become too frightening.” Twilight Sparkle was very silent. She didn’t struggle or try to hit him – no, she was shaking in his hooves. She wafted of fear, the kind he knew back from his den. She was afraid for her life. Afraid for her life… Changeling’s lives were all expendable. One drone could easily replace another, so there was no need for preserving any of them. Part of that doctrine still remained in the colt’s mind – he didn’t fear death as much as he should, he felt. Maybe because he never understood what passing away meant?... “Okay,” whispered Twilight. “Let’s…just, please, be careful. I-” “It’ll be alright, Twilight Sparkle. Trust me, okay?” Chip gave the pony one last hug before backing away and bracing for the spell. * * * There were lights and sounds. Twilight didn’t know where she began and where Chip ended. They were one entity, merged in the dimensionless place that wasn’t a place at all. The images were blurry and looked pretty much like two slides of a film being projected at the same time, one over the other. Were those their memories, combined into one inconsistent mish-mash? Could they separate them and make sense of those? None of them knew which one invented the idea. Unison was their whole world – a world that started hurting, instilling that primal fear they barely recovered from. Just a little bit longer. There was some space. It wasn’t space, more like a point that didn’t have volume or mass – it felt similar to the thing they had here…maybe one of them could use it? Was it possible to shift just a little bit to… * * * The two woke up on the floor, stiff and aching. Their heads were pounding with a dull pain. “Are you alright?” they asked in unison, trying to stand up. “It felt better than the last try…ugh…” Chip groaned, helping the weaker Twilight to her feet. “Yeah. All we need is…some more control. This time it…not bad…” managed the mare. Their bodies noticed their masters came back from wherever they were and assaulted them with messages that were delayed for far too long … Stomach ache, we need food! Pressure between the legs, it’s time to go! Muscle cramps, you were lying there for too long, time to move! Weakly, they smiled at each other – bolting up the stairs immediately afterwards; Twilight locked herself in the toilet while Chip flung the fridge doors open and started consuming random things. Tomatoes, carrots, wasabi sauce, it didn’t matter, he was hungry…hold on? What was that prickling? On his tongue? It felt like… * * * Twilight gave out a sigh of relief, closing the door behind her. She strode into the kitchen only to see Chip in his Wub costume drowning in the kitchen sink. “What the hay?!” she cried, swiftly pulling the colt’s head back. The changeling fought for breath, his face soaking wet, mouth wide open and panting. “What were you thinking?! What’s going on!?” “I don’t know.” feebly whispered Chip, waving a hoof in front of his mouth. “Alright, calm down. Tell me what happened.” “I-I…” Chip couldn’t stop coughing, his tongue still burning like the fires of hell. “I came to eat…and ate…and then my tongue caught fire!” “What?! How?! Did you eat something warm again? Wait, there can’t be anything hot in the fri-” She stopped. A half-empty wasabi paste tube lay on the ground, a bit of the green stuff dripping from the end. “Did you eat this?” asked Twilight, levitating the paste to Chip’s eyes. “Yes.” “And you felt burning after eating it?” “Uhum,” nodded the changeling, still trying to wipe his tongue against his hooves. “This is wasabi, Wub. It’s the spiciest thing in the world. But…I thought that changelings didn’t feel…taste.” They looked at each other in confusion. “Taste? No I shouldn’t…wait. G-Give me that…that salad…” Cautiously, Twilight picked a leaf from the vegetable lying on the counter and levitated it over to the open mouth. Slowly, Chip’s teeth sunk into it. The changeling’s eyes got really large and he let go of the salad. Because it was juicy and delicious.