//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14 
// Story: Beginning Anew 
// by Goldfur 
//------------------------------//

Something jostled Willow, interrupting her sleep.  Opening her eyes, she saw Caleb frowning at her.

“What are you doing in my bed?  Again!?” the man asked in an annoyed tone.

Still half asleep and completely flustered, she said, “But I told ... you said ... I asked...”  Then Willow noticed him smirking.  The earth mare huffed, expanding her nostrils.  “You're just messing with me, aren't you?”

“Yep.  I thought it had become traditional by now for me to ask that question.”

“You couldn’t have just let me sleep in?”

“Nope.  You’re lying on my arm and you kept resisting my attempts to get it free without disturbing you.”

“Oh!”  She rolled away from him and freed his appendage.

Caleb shook his arm.  “Bleah! It’s gone to sleep.”

“Sorry about that,” the mare said as she got out of bed.

“Don’t worry about it – this is not the first time it’s happened.  Probably not the last.  Anyway, I better have my shower.  I want to leave plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast before heading to Canterlot.”

Willow checked the clock.  “I think we’ve missed breakfast here at the castle.”

“Maybe.  It’s the weekend, so I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone is a late starter.  However, I plan to avoid Twilight and grab something from Sugarcube Corner.”

“Good idea.  If you’re prepared to wait a few minutes, I’ll join you.  I’ll settle for freshening up for now.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Caleb agreed as he headed for the bathroom with his clothes in his arms.

About half an hour later, the human and the mare exited the castle and made a beeline for Sugarcube Corner.  The business had lots of customers but they were still able to score a table for two. They both ordered pancakes but while Caleb added only maple syrup, Willow heaped hers with berry compote. They each had coffee to wash it down but the man also had a glass of orange juice.

“Gotta have the vitamin C,” he explained.  “Anyway, what are your plans for the morning?”

“I intend to go back to my place after breakfast to do some chores.  I’ll meet you at the Canterlot portal room when you get back.  How long do you think you’ll be?”

“I’m not sure.  I intend to get several pairs of shoes, some more clothes, and a few knick-knacks, depending on what my hosts are willing to spend on me.  I’ll probably have lunch there too.  Let’s say I’ll be back between one and two o’clock.”

“Okay, I can work with that.”

After they finished their meals, they parted ways.  Caleb hustled to the portal room in Twilight’s castle.  The Royal Guards posted there greeted him.

“Good morning, sir.  You’re expected – go right ahead.”

“Thank you.”  He stepped through to the Canterlot portal room and found himself nearly face-to-face with a human.

And not just any human but a very attractive woman.  She stood almost as tall as him, had a medium build, wide hips, and a fairly large bust.  Her skin was similar in shade to Caleb’s and her black hair hung straight below her shoulder blades.  She wore a low-cut, fitted silk blouse that revealed a little bit of cleavage and a skirt that stopped just above the knees, showing off her legs.  Her ensemble was completed by a tasteful silver necklace bearing an emerald and a pair of glossy black flat shoes.  Her blue eyes twinkled as she smiled at him.

“You’re a little early, Mister Awad.”

“I’d rather be early than late.  I was expecting to meet my pal, Vectrix, and Prince Mark’s friend, Phil Martine – are you his assistant or acquaintance?”

“I have yet to meet Mister Martine.  My name is Victoria Channing, but you can call me Vicky.  I will be accompanying you.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Channing, although I don’t know why you would be coming with me to do some shopping for myself.”

“I take an interest in everything you do, Caleb.”

“Why is that, Vicky…”  The man’s eyes widened.  “Vicky Channing?  Vectrix Changeling?!”

The woman grinned and held up her arms to spin around to show off her form.  “In the human flesh!  Like it?”

“But… you’re a guy!”

The changeling tutted and shook a finger at him.  “I already told you that my gender is what I want or need it to be. When choosing a suitable human form to accompany you, this is the one that felt right.  Besides, every changeling makes use of their abilities as the need arises.”

“But as a female?”

“Caleb – all Companion Class changelings are bisexual.  That way, they can adapt best to their future life partner if they are fortunate enough to find them.  I had all but given up on that dream until I met you, but now that I have, I’m getting to understand what you need and desire.  In this case, a female human form is optimal.”

“So – you’re changing to suit me? But what about you and your desires?”

“Firstly – change is in our nature.  We expect to make some adjustments to best fit in with our Companions for the greatest happiness of both.  This is quite normal for whenever a Companion Class first meets their future partner.  Secondly, only when we make those changes do we discover aspects of ourselves that have been dormant.  After spending a couple of days with you, I am starting to understand the complexity of your needs.  Caleb, for you, I would be delighted to be your male changeling drinking buddy, your mare when we go out for dinner at a fancy restaurant, your stallion pal when we’re cheering on our team at a hoofball match, and your woman when you need human companionship.  All of them are aspects of me.”

Caleb was gobsmacked by this revelation.  All he could think to say was, “Well, you sure have good taste in female forms.”

“Thank you.  And a marefriend shopping with you isn’t so unusual, is it?”

“That’s girlfriend, and no, it’s not weird.”

“Pardon my slip-up.  I only received my Earth indoctrination last night and haven’t quite got every part of it down pat yet.”

“I find it amazing that you can do it at all.”

“That’s the advantage of being able to access the hive memory.  I can simply fetch the knowledge that I need for the task from the experiences of others from my hive.  It does take a while before some of it becomes automatic though. Agents normally take a few days to settle into their roles; I’ve only had a few hours.”

“If you weren’t so out of place and throwing hints at me, I would never have realized that you weren’t human.”

“I wouldn’t be a very competent changeling if it had been easy to tell.”

“Don’t you think that there might be some very perceptive humans that could spot your mistakes?”

“I’m informed that you humans have a very broad range of idiosyncrasies – I doubt that I’ll be too conspicuous.”

“Wanna bet?” Caleb asked with a smirk.

The changeling turned human arched her eyebrow.  “Oh?  You’re challenging my professional abilities?”

“Yep.  Once you’re on my turf, you’re going to make at least one huge blunder.”

“Ha! I can handle anything that you throw at me.”

Caleb replied, “Without the knowledge of all the social mores gained by living in my culture, you'll stick out like a sore thumb.”

Vicky rolled her eyes.  “Changelings are masters of blending in, so that’s not going to happen.  What are your stakes?”

“Loser buys the drinks for everyone next time we’re at the bar.”

“You’re on!”

“Am I invited?” came a new voice.

Unnoticed, a unicorn stallion had stepped through the mirror portal just moments earlier.  He gave the human woman an appraising look.

“Vectrix, I’m guessing?”

The changeling nodded.  “And you’re Phil Martine, I presume.  You can call me Vicky.  I suppose Prince Mark informed you that I’d be accompanying Caleb?”

“He did, although I got the impression that you were male.”

“She was up until yesterday,” Caleb said with a roll of his eyes.

Phil glanced between the two and grinned.  He had a good idea of what changelings would do and why, and the fact that Vectrix had chosen a female alter ego was very telling.  That ought to make the trip interesting.  “Well, if you’re ready, let’s go.”  The stallion stepped back through the mirror.

Knowing what to expect, Caleb followed without hesitation and Vectrix was hot on his heels.  He found an average size man with Latino features waiting, fortunately fully dressed. “Neat trick with the clothes.”

“Enchanted garments,” Phil explained.  “They disappear on the Equestrian side and reappear on this side. It saves a lot of time and effort when going back and forth.  Anyway, follow me.”

They exited the room and headed downstairs.

“Rosa!  Our guests are here!  Are you ready?” Phil called.

“Be there in a second, mi amor!” 

Moments later, a short Latina woman emerged from the kitchen followed by two teenage girls.  One was obviously the couple’s daughter while the other was African-American.  All three looked at the newcomers with curiosity.

Phil said, “Caleb, this is my wife, Rosa, and the girls are our daughter, Yolanda, and her best friend, Latisha.  Everyone, this is Caleb Awad and his companion, Vicky.”

Caleb reached out his hand to shake Rosa’s, though he paused for a moment at hearing the word ‘companion’.  He recovered to say, “Pleased to meet you.”

“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Vectrix said with a big smile.

Yolanda looked the woman up and down before turning to her friend.  “I’m thinking she’s a changeling.  What about you?”

Latisha nodded.  “Gotta be,” she agreed.

Vectrix looked stunned.  “How did you know?  I thought I had the human form down pat!”

Yolanda giggled.  “Simple – you look too relaxed for somepony who has come to our world for the first time. Most ponies are too befuddled by their new form for a while.”

“I see.  Still, I should do better out in public where the humans don’t know better.”

The two girls looked at each other and snickered.  Then Yolanda said, “We’re going to Ponyville now, Dad.  Catch you at dinner.”

“Have fun,” Phil replied as the two headed past him.

Caleb watched them sprint upstairs before turning back to his hosts.  “Do they just come and go as they please to Equestria?”

Rosa replied, “Our daughter has spent a large part of her life growing up there since she was a baby.  She’s old enough and sufficiently responsible to go there by herself within reasonable limits.  Latisha earned our trust and often goes with her.”

Caleb grimaced.  “There’s something to be said for Equestrian society when those two can go there as they please while I’ve got to be careful coming to this version of Earth.”

Phil said, “Yeah, you’re not wrong.  However, we’ll make sure that you don’t have any problems.  Anyway, have you got your shopping list?  Time’s wasting!”

“I’ve got a lot of essentials and several things on my wish list.  How much of a budget have I got?”

“Don’t worry about that – I’ve made arrangements with Mark to cover whatever you need within reason.  What did you have in mind?”

“A laptop computer among other things.  I’ll need it for my school.”

“That makes sense.  You will probably need a printer to go with it.  Those can easily be counted as business expenses.”

Rosa said, “You two can discuss what else Caleb wants on the way.  Right now, I believe his most urgent requirement is shoes.”  She looked at Vectrix.  “And Vicky and I can have a chat too.”

The changeling tasted some very strong emotions from the woman – primarily curiosity and shrewd appraisal.  Somehow, Vectrix didn’t think this human became a pony on the other side of the portal.

“Follow me,” Phil said, grabbing a set of keys along the way.

A door let into a double garage and Phil opened the rear door of a Ford SUV for his guests.  However, Rosa decided to sit in the back with Vectrix after encouraging the changeling to get into the unfamiliar vehicle and fasten the seat belt.  Caleb snickered before taking the front passenger seat. Moments later, they were on their way.

Phil drove them to a nearby mall and their first stop was a shoe store where Caleb bought a couple of pairs of sneakers, sandals, and dress shoes. Meanwhile, an eager sales lady managed to draw Vectrix aside and had her try on some high heels.  After nearly falling flat on her face, the changeling decided that they were an instrument of torture rather than footwear.  Rosa stepped in to help and soon had Vicky outfitted with a comfortable pair of flats.  Caleb chuckled as they left the store with the pouting changeling.  He shifted the bag containing his shoes to his left hand and put his right arm around Vectrix’s waist.

“No fashionable high heels?  I thought you said you were good at blending in, Vicky?” he said.

She poked her tongue out at him but, although annoyed at the jab, she was feeling not a little pleasure at his familiarity.

The next stop was a clothing store.  While Caleb was more than happy with the apparel that Rarity had provided for him, he still wanted some proper pajama shorts, some casual shorts, a pair of jeans, and a selection of shirts.  More socks and underwear wouldn’t go astray also.  While he was preoccupied in the men’s section, Vicky was indulging her curiosity in the women’s department with Rosa keeping an eye on the changeling. Phil’s wife had to stop her from stripping off her top in the middle of the store to try on an article of clothing and instruct her on the existence of changing rooms.

With apparel taken care of, the next destination was Best Buy to pick up a laptop and printer.  Phil suggested a few other items for the office as well as a carton of paper.  By then, it was well into lunchtime and everyone was feeling hungry.

“You’re our guests,” Phil said, “so you get the choice of eatery.  There’s a good variety of sit-down places in this area.”

Vicky said, “Oh!  I’m intrigued by the kind of foods that humans eat that we don’t have back in Equestria.”

Caleb smirked.  “I know!  Is there a barbecue restaurant around here?”

“Sure is,” Phil replied.  “It’s just down the road a mile.”

When they got there, Caleb realized that many others had the same idea and it was crowded.  When they finally got to the front of the line, Vicky had already read the menu and placed her order confidently.  Caleb was more than a bit surprised that Vicky was smiling in anticipation of a half-rack of baby-back pork ribs.

“Are you sure you know what you’re ordering?” he asked quietly.

“I know that sapient livestock doesn't exist on Earth and changelings are omnivores too,” she reassured him before adding spicy sauce, okra, and fried green tomatoes to the order.

Caleb shrugged and ordered a full rack of beef ribs with sides of BBQ beans and coleslaw.

Once seated with their food, Vicky asked, “Could I taste those beans?”  Given permission, she leaned over to sample them, ignoring the sauce that dripped onto her blouse.  Perhaps coincidentally, this gave the man a better view of her cleavage.  Vicky sat back and gave a little shimmy.  “I love this place.”  Her eyes practically shined.  “Everything is so tasty!”

Caleb poured Memphis-style sweet sauce on a rib, a bit disheartened that his attempt to prank the changeling hadn't worked.  A loud crunching noise soon changed his mood though.  He watched as Vicky held the rack to her mouth and bit off another large chunk, bone and all.  She chewed noisily as Caleb tried to refrain from grinning.

Rosa said, “Vicky, dear, we don't eat the bones, we just bite the meat off of them.”

Vicky paused and noticed the stares and the stunned silence of the people in her vicinity.  She gave them a strained smile before resuming her eating, this time with much more restrained nibbles.  However, the sauce quickly spread on her face and she used her sleeve to wipe it away before resuming her meal.  Vicky felt the negative emotions of the other customers but ignored their stares as she worked at finishing her ribs.  Soon, a small pile of bones (a third less than she had started with) lay on her plate and a very happy changeling eyed Caleb's half-finished meal.

Caleb smirked and asked, “You still hungry?”

Vicky held out a hand.  She smiled and said loudly, “Bone me, Caleb.”

All talk in the restaurant stopped.  Vicky noticed and looked around, biting her lip.

Phil face-palmed and Caleb tried to suppress his laughter... unsuccessfully. “Here... here you go.”  He handed her a beef rib and conversation slowly started up again around them.

Vicky sat immobile with the rib still in her hand, looking at Caleb with a worried frown.

Caleb took mercy on her.  He leaned closer and lowered his voice.  “I’m afraid you’ve made a bit of a spectacle of yourself.  You have barbeque sauce all over your clothes, and what you just said was a… rather blatant sexual innuendo.”

Vicky blushed furiously and looked down at her plate.  Caleb laughed even more.

“Masters of blending in... I see.”  When she didn't try to eat the rib, Caleb took pity on her and got up.  “Come on.  I'm getting a take-out box.  Why don't you stop by the ladies' room and wash your hands and face?  We'll take care of your clothes later.”

“I'm sure you will,” quipped a man from a neighboring table, eliciting a round of chuckles from the diners all around them.

Vicky blushed even more.  After Rosa ensured that the changeling knew which of the restrooms to use, Vicky practically fled the table.  By the time she returned, Phil and his wife had finished their meals and everyone’s extras were packed in take-out boxes.  Once they were outside the restaurant, Vicky ducked into an alley and put her hand to the emerald on her necklace.  Caleb saw the ghostly outline of her horn appear long enough to cast a cleaning spell. 

“Wow.  Neat trick,” he said when she returned.

Vicky was still too embarrassed by her mistakes to say anything.

Caleb wrapped her in a hug as she tried to brush past.  She struggled for a moment before sighing and leaning into him.  “I've never been that humiliated.”

“Wasn't my intention.  Still, I hope you've learned something today.”

She looked up and narrowed her eyes.  “Never trust a smart-alec human.”

Caleb laughed.  “Yep. That's it.”

They shared a smile, both realizing how close they were.  Then the moment passed and they broke apart.

Phil said, “If you two are quite ready, let’s finish shopping and head home.”





“Thanks for all your help today, Phil and Rosa,” Caleb said as they stood next to the portal mirror.

“Not a problem, Caleb.  I’ll make sure that your laptop and other equipment get delivered to your office.”

“I’d like to thank you too,” Vicky said.  “Despite some… mishaps, I enjoyed this excursion.  It was certainly a learning experience.”

Rosa said, “Don’t let it bother you, dear.  I made my share of mistakes as a newly changed griffon in Equestria.  We all learned a lot, did we not, husband?”

Phil chuckled.  “We did indeed.  Anyway, I’ve turned off the adaptation spell, so you’re free to go through.”

“Thanks again.  See you soon, I hope,” Caleb replied, picking up bags containing his clothes in his right hand.

Vicky took the remaining bag containing the shoes in her left hand and grabbed Caleb’s free hand.  “Come on – I want to see what you look like in those,” she said as she tugged him toward the mirror.

“Alright!  Alright!” he said with a laugh as she pulled him through.

They emerged into the portal room, still hand in hand, only to be confronted by a startled mare.  Willow looked Vicky up and down and asked, “Who’s this?”

Caleb answered, “This is Vectrix.  She was going to accompany me, remember?  So, she needed to take human form.”

“A female form?” she asked with a frown.

“It was the optimum gender,” the changeling replied.  She sensed that the mare was upset though and resumed his normal form.  The clothes that Vicky had been wearing slumped to hang loosely on him.  “I’ll talk to you about it later.  I believe you are here to meet Caleb?”

Willow gave Vectrix a flat look before sighing and nodding.  She turned to the human and said, “I’ve arranged for your new accommodation and gotten Prince Mark’s approval.  We can head there right now if you’d like?”

“Sure!  Where is it?” Caleb asked, intrigued.

“My place!  I spent the morning cleaning it up in preparation.”  She blushed a little.  “I’m afraid I let things go for a long time.  All my motivation to maintain the place had gone until now.  There’s some maintenance needed.”

Caleb smirked.  “So, you wanted to keep up the cuddling in bed?”

Willow blushed even harder.  “I might. You liked it too!” she accused.

The man laughed.  “You got me. Okay, let’s see how this works. Lead us there!”





Willow’s home was a small cottage on the south side of Ponyville about ten minutes’ walk from Caleb’s trade school.  The garden was a disaster due to being left untended since the war with Grogar. Nothing that couldn’t be remedied with a bit of hard work, Caleb figured.  Vectrix made a note to himself to learn more about horticulture and human dietary requirements.  Thankfully, the insides were much better.  The smell of bleach gave evidence to the recent cleaning efforts.  The only thing that immediately stood out as being a problem were the furnishings.

“I’m going to have to get some custom furniture, aren’t I?” Caleb asked rhetorically.

Everything was sized for ponies.  Unlike at the castles which catered for a variety of species, this home had been made and furnished for the equine quadrupeds alone.  The table was so low that the man barely had to lift his bags to put them on it. The chairs were worse – he’d have to squat to use them. The kitchen benches would give him a backache trying to work at them.  However, the bed, while still a little lower than a human one, was just as big as the one he had been sleeping in at Twilight’s place.

“This bed is huge!  Why did you and Blazing Shield need something this big?” Caleb asked Willow.

The mare gave him a puzzled look.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about; it’s a standard herd-size bed.”

The man blinked.  “You mean – it’s made for several adults?”

“Of course.  If we took in any more mares, they would need a place to sleep.  Also good for overnight guests.”

“Guests?!”

Vectrix nudged him and said, “Ponies like to sleep together.  It makes them feel secure, remember?”

Caleb didn’t realize that it extended to the bedroom too.  “I hope you don’t mind if we pander to my human sensibilities and not have guests in our bed.”

Willow’s eyes widened a little.  “Oh! Of course.  That won’t be a problem.  So – do you like?”

The human looked around, taking in the cottage as a whole, and he smiled.  “Yeah, I like.”

The mare’s smile grew large.  “Then, welcome home, Caleb!”


# # # # # # # # #