//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: To Be Free // by OverthoughtName //------------------------------// My name is Dust Vibe. I’ve been living in the quiet town of Ponyville for almost two years now. My life has been the same for me since I moved here, never changing. I had been in rut for months as my work had slowed down quite a bit since the local librarian, Twilight Sparkle, became a new princess. I often just sat in my house, attempting many different items of interest ranging from cooking, to painting, to plotting to take over Equestria, but I digress. Little did I know how much everything would change for me the day that mysterious box arrived…. I was sitting at home, relaxing and lounging about, just a normal day for me. It was around then when I heard a knock on my door. Breaking out of the stupor I was in, I decided to open the door. As I slowly opened it, I was not greeted by a pony, but by a slightly oversized box with a note attached. The note is what caught my attention as I read it “Congratulations! You’ve received your very own changeling slave! She can cook, clean, do yard work, anything you wish! You even get to name her!” ‘Is this a joke?’ was all I could think. Nonetheless, I decided to take the box into my house to see what exactly this was about. “Changeling? I thought they were all extinct since the attack on Canterlot.” I said to myself. “And why a slave? I am in no need for a slave, a friend would be nice, but not a slave.” I continued. “Well, let’s just see what’s in the box, probably some prank those school foals put together.” I said as I opened the box. And how wrong I was. What I was greeted with was no prank. In fact, what greeted me was a small, female changeling. She looked quite different from the ones I saw in pictures and books. She had a teal green mane and eyes. Her horn was short, but misshapen, and her wings were bug-like and holed. She looked to be about 9 or 10 years old. Seeing the light, she opened her eyes and swiftly climbed out of the box, and bowed to me, the look of fear and anguish on her face. “H-hello m-master…” Is all she said in a weak voice. Dumbfounded, I stand there speechless. No words came from my mouth, just as no thoughts were coming to my mind. I must have been staring for a while though, as the changeling in front of me began to tremble with a fearful look upon her face. As I finally came to, I could now form a proper sentence. “Hello there. My name is Dust. What is your name?” I offered a hoof to her in greeting. She looked down, trying to avoid my gaze, speaking softly she said, “I-I am to b-be called whatever m-master wishes to call me…” She looked so hurt; I didn’t know what to do. I was no good with children, being only eighteen myself. But I sucked it up and spoke to her. “You don’t have to be scared of me, and you don’t have to call me master. But if I may ask, did you have a name prior to this? If so, I will gladly call you by your given name”, I say as I smile at her. She slowly nods, trying to think for a moment before answering. After a few moments to collect her thoughts, she speaks, “I-I did…my name is, or was, o-or at some point…” She fumbles over her words, trying to discern whether to use past or present as she violently shakes her head. “…N-Nirvana…” Now that I knew her name, I could continue with the pleasantries. “Nirvana, what a lovely name that is. Nice to meet you Nirvana.” I say as I offer my hoof to her once again, as she backs away. “Please, you don’t have to be hesitant around me or anypony. I want you to feel secured around me. Also, since you’re here, would you like anything?” I ask to Nirvana as she slowly creeps back up towards me. She blinks a few times, still avoiding my eyes, trying to process what I had just said to her. She walks up to me and slowly shakes my hoof. Shakily and unstable, she quickly pulls it back. “I-I…I don’t…”, she mumbles, “…I don’t understand…” She stood there with a confused look that I quickly mirrored, as I had no idea what she meant. So, I decided to ask, “What don’t you understand? Maybe I can clarify? Whatever it is, you can trust me.” Now, I knew she probably wouldn’t trust me, but maybe I could get her to open up to me for me to understand her problem. It’s far fetched, but it might work. Oddly enough, she did answer, much to my delight. “T-this…I-I don’t…”, she said as she looked into my eyes with a look of fear and confusion, “…I-I don’t understand…you…” she said, much to my confusion. I understand what she meant, we just met and didn’t know much about me, but maybe it was something more than that. “Don’t understand…me?” I asked. “Y-you don’t treat me like my other m-masters did…you treat me like…like I’m something.” She replied in a weak voice as she averted her gaze once more. ‘Other masters, they must have been terrible to her if she is so fearful of me’ I thought. “You had other masters, Nirvana?” I asked. “How could they treat you like nothing? You are a living, breathing being with emotion and feelings. Believe me when I say that I wish to treat you as an equal.” I reasoned with her. Hopefully I could get through to her, instead of scaring her more. Nirvana gave me a questioning look before speaking once again, “B-but…I-I’m not equal…am I? I-I am just a slave…”. She had a slight realization that she was not my slave, but lost it as she questioned where she stood in the world. She just needed a push for her to understand what I was getting at. “Nirvana, to me, you will never be a slave. You are much more than that.” I said, reassuring her, but she gave me that questioning look again, possibly out of nonbelief. She lightly shook her head as she asked, “W-why…?”. She didn’t know how to take it, and to defend what she knew, she questioned my reasoning, blocking out the free world, at least, until now. “Because, nopony should be a slave to anypony. You are no different. You are a free changeling, and never let others tell you otherwise.”, I once again reasoned with her. Her ears perked up upon hearing the word ‘free’. She gawked and stared in disbelief, as if some unknown force was going to take away that moment when she finally realized that she was free. “F-free…? Y-you mean, I can do what I want?” She had no idea how to react to that, but that was expected. She looked at me for an answer, which I was joyous to give “Of course you can, nopony is saying that you can’t.” She didn’t smile to that, but I could sense a different air about her than before. It wasn’t an overjoyed one, but the depressed mood in the room was definitely lifted. She asked me gingerly, “M-mister Dust…? Can I have something to eat?"