//------------------------------// // Idling Around II // Story: My Little Changeling -- "I" is Magic // by Wing Dancer //------------------------------// Chip flipped a page with his hoof. The book that lay in front of him was something he learned to call an album. It was mostly pictures, just like Dawn had way back in his cave. The colt could not believe that Celestia and Luna ever were so…small. At the beginning of the book there were mostly images of black and white. Two alicorn fillies playing, eating, smiling. Yes, smiling a lot. They looked happy, and the changeling faintly felt joy coming from the delicate and aged photos. The further he went, the more grown the fillies were. One strange thing the stallion noticed by now was lack of any adult ponies in the frames. Dawn usually had a few pictures of her parents, her husband, little Silver Heart. These were absent in this album. Only pictures of Luna and Celestia. Smiling. Eating porridge. The small sun-goddess looking away innocently as her sister cried with a mane full of oatmeal. By the time the pictures became full color, the mares were already roughly their current size. Wearing royal regalia, their images were less and less cheerful. Their features were smiling, yes, but for some reason those smiles seemed tired. They had a different flavor from the foalish grins at the beginning of the book. Did growing up change a pony that much? Or was it just an alicorn thing? Three quarters into the book, Luna suddenly vanished from the frame. There was only Celestia, striking majestic poses, looking over her land from a balcony, sitting on the throne. Yes, she looked tired. And sad. Could that be the time that her sister was banished to the moon? If so, the burden of losing a sibling and managing the whole kingdom single hoofedly was visible on the royal face. The last batch of photos looked more recent. The colors were vivid and the pictures themselves were printed on some shiny kind of paper. Again, only Luna and Celestia, together or apart. The night-princess usually had her photos taken during the night, with an aura of mystery and secrets. She looked at the stars in most of them. Her sister, go figure, was shot during the day, the sunset always somewhere in the background. The views reminded Chip of his very first trip outside the hive. It was a curious habit, to collect memories in such a form. The changeling could definitely feel emotions weaved into the tome. They were barely edible, but as with most things pony, Chip chose not to consume this treat. It felt precious. It probably was. “Maybe I should make my own album?” hummed the changeling, looking out the window. The great orb in the sky was already setting, heralding the long anticipated night. “Maybe after I’m done. Yes. Definitely. I’ll ask Twilight to take pictures of me,” he smiled. It hurt his tender face, but it just felt so right to grin right now. * * * Twilight Sparkle finally managed to scrub her thoughts of the terrible images that haunted her all day long. It was ridiculous. Whenever she tried to focus on something else, a random image or word would pop into her head and ruin her concentration. Research on friendship? Why not. Friendship was important. Everypony should have a friend. A special friend that could comfort, that would ease the pain. One that could just reach out and touch… NOPE. Cleaning the library? Okay, that should be simple. Spike finally got rid of that green goo Chip spat out. He complained about it whenever he caught sight of Twilight, mourning the loss of his trusty cleaning rag. That thing was really disgusting. It looked so sticky and gross. Almost like somepony just sprayed… NOPE. Ummm, maybe just sleeping? You know, lying around, doing nothing, just breathing. Deep breaths, closed eyes, mouth slightly open… … It was at that moment, when the mare was ready to bang her head against the nearest bookshelf, that she remembered she was a unicorn. And that unicorns could do magic. That’s right! There had to be a memory spell that could help her! It took only half an hour of frantic book juggling to find the right spell, and yet another hour to learn the incantation. The spell would seal away a part of her memory, locking it with a specific word or gesture. It was mainly used to treat patients who lived through traumatic events. So yeah, it fit. "Spike, I need you to find a word that you will never use in public. Or in private. Just invent a word that I could use to make me forget.” “Huh? What for Twi? Something wrong?” asked the dragon, worry slowly creeping onto his face. Spike didn’t know about the book, and thank Celestia he didn’t go down there yet. Not only would his developing mind be spoiled by such indecencies…he would probably think less of Twilight for even having a book like this! “Never mind, just say a word, fast. Whatever, it can be gibberish for all I care,” ordered Twilight, preparing the incantation in her mind. She gathered the dreadful memories that made her stomach flop and stuffed them into a figment of her imagination representing a closet. She then locked it with a key and zoomed in on it. Its surface was shining with an eerie, golden light. “Alright, whatever…abugulygrabulyg! There, happy?” As the dragon said his strange word, the letters engraved themselves onto the mental key, each one burning out a silver shape that shone brightly. That would be the phrase that needed to be said in order to access the memory. The spell was finished and Twilight felt her imaginary closet retreat into the part of her mind that she could not willingly access. Whatever was in there, she could not remember a single thing. For some reason she felt good with that. “Thank you Spike,” nodded the mare, trotting towards the kitchen, humming a tune. “Huh?” grunted the dragon, scratching his head. * * * There was only one way for sound to move faster than light, and that was through gossip. Especially the one that plagued Canterlot castle. As one could imagine, the story of a guard that wished to remain anonymous caused quite a stir within the castle staff environment. The tale of Celestia’s doings behind closed doors spread like wildfire and grew in size as each mouth added their own suspicions and imagination. By the end of the day, each group of servants had their own story. The maids were certain the Princess liked to torture her subjects, each day selecting a random colt to ride mercilessly. Those that had husbands felt uneasy about the rumor. The guards believed that Celestia finally came out of the closet and would be available for those that had the guts. Drinking games ensued and one ‘lucky’ stallion would be sent to her quarters after the Princess retreated to rest for the night. Cooks and servants were one of the few that managed to pull the story in a more sensible direction. They believed that the sun-goddess was merely helping a poor sod out, and that the guard who eavesdropped was full of rubbish. Needless to say, the two groups always waged war against each other. Where one would cook, the other would devour, leaving nothing but dirty dishes and filthy mugs in their wake. How the Princess herself or any of the higher born aristocracy didn’t hear the rumor, nopony could tell. There always was a thick barrier of communication between those that had the money and those that needed it. * * * The Princess entered her bedroom. The room was just like she left it. Clothes everywhere, a messy bed, open closets. No Chip. The alicorn furrowed a brow, casting the spell that could reveal that which was hidden. Nothing. Did he go out against her will? Before the mare could become seriously worried, one of the closets opened and a large stallion showed himself, throwing away some garments that didn’t want to let go. “You got me worried there for a moment,” she sighed, allowing herself to slump onto her bed. It was so comfortable. So warm and soft. She hadn’t slept well in those past days. “Srrly,” slurred Chip, standing at the base of the bed. His face was still a horrible mess, but then again it was a miracle in itself that the changeling got away with just a malformed muzzle. “No matter. I’ll just catch my breath and we’ll get down. There is a lot I have to show you. I hope you can make head-” THUMP Both Celestia’s and Chip’s heads shot towards the doors. They recoiled from the forceful closing, silently opening on the well-oiled hinges. The alicorn and stallion rushed outside, catching a glimpse of a tail turning a corner. They dashed through the corridor, their minds and bodies flooded by adrenaline and fright. The royal mare flared up her horn as she made the turn, blindly firing a white beam. It flew for what seemed like an agonizing eternity before dissipating, turning into a net weaved of light. Inside, there was somepony struggling, albeit weakly. Celestia let out a sigh, trotting over to Chip who was already inspecting the eavesdropper. It looked like it was one of the guards. He reeked of alcohol so strongly the princess had to cover her muzzle. “I’m shory! I zidn’t shee anyshing!” moaned the guard, rolling around in the net. “It-it wasssh thir idea! Zhey made me shoo it!” “What shall we do with him, Princess?” asked Chip in a cold voice. He knew very well what would happen to the stallion, but he wanted to hear it from her. Yes, it has been quite some time since the changeling had a proper feeding. And he felt no pity over somepony who wished the Princess ill. “Take him to my quarters. We will deal with him there.” “With pleasure,” snickered Chip, heaving the flailing pony onto his back and lightly following his Princess. * * * Lucky Draw was terrified. He knew he shouldn’t have participated in that stupid drink game. His head was the weakest! Stupid ‘friends’ calling him chicken! Why did he think it was a good idea to show he had a pair of rock solid balls? As soon as the sun set, nearly half the guard crew stalked Celestia, waiting for her to enter her room. When the mare disappeared behind the bedroom doors, the ‘lucky’ colt got shoved into the corridor. He felt something being forced into his hoof, a bright red ball with two straps on its sides. “Ssssrly? Guys?” slurred Draw, balancing his body on three hooves. “Go you git! Go and have the time of yer life!” chuckled the others, egging him on and subtly poking him in the direction of the room. Lucky smiled and made his way towards the heavy doors. They were huge. And he had a bad feeling about even touching them. Unluckily, the amount of alcohol he consumed prior to his moment of truth drowned all sorts of safety breakers and let loose the tides of stupid bravado. With a last grin towards the crowd behind him, he put the gag in his mouth and silently opened the doors, poking his head inside… Damn that stallion was ugly! How could Celestia beat the poor sod so badly? Was it a good idea to interrupt? The sun goddess was lying in front of him, pure delight on her face. There were clothes everywhere, and from the corner of his eye the guard saw a strange mark on the ceiling. What the… “I’ll just catch my breath and we’ll get down. There is a lot I have to show you. I hope you can make head-” said the alicorn, pure lust in her voice. Lucky Draw felt wrong about being there. And they were obviously busy. So why linger around? Before the Princess could finish, the guard retreated. Unfortunately, he lost balance and instead of silently closing the doors he smashed them against the frame. Panic kicked in. His friends were already gone, only puffs of smoke left in their wake. Lucky heard shuffling in the room – they heard him! What should he do? Stay? Beg for forgiveness? No. RUN!