Chapter 12 - Completely Different, But Still The Same
Personalities, and many other things, change when given enough time. You earn new likes, dislikes, fears, etc. You could like something now, but learn to dislike it in about a year.
Have you ever looked at a picture of yourself from about three years ago? You don't look the same as you do now, do you? Your face looks different as it did back then.
These two things, personalities and looks, change. That's something that happens to everyone, whether we like it or not. But, these are not the only things that will change. Sometimes, it's something around you.
Not all of them are noticeable unless you decide to look away for some time and then look at them again. Those changes can be slow, but they surely sore changing, even if it isn't noticeable right away.
But the change doesn't have to happen after a long time. Sometimes, the change will be nearly instantaneous. Like whenever you play a game on a Wii for a long time. You start getting used to those controls for the game.
But when you start playing another game, the controls will be different. You have to get used to the new controls before being able to play that game properly.
But that's not exactly what I'm trying to get at here. What I'm trying to say is that some things that are different can still be the same. You look different, but you are still the same person. Just different looks. The same goes for personalities.
But a game isn't exactly the same as another game. Because of that, I'm not going to try and make a comparison. Instead, I'm going to compare places.
Say you go to one school for a long time. Normal for all of us. But then comes the day when you have to move out of your house, or go to a different school that can teach you new things that you have to learn. You have to move to a new school eventually.
But a school is still a school regardless. It's a new school, but its still a school. So, in a way, the school is different, but still the same thing.
That's enough out of me for now. So, you won't be hearing any more of this unless its in a blog post, or on the next chapter. But, it's time for the question that no one likes but I still put it in anyway!
What has changed about you, but hasn't... changed you, change you?
Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns February 19th 985
How did I end up here? I continuously asked myself over and over. I sighed in frustration at what the teacher in front of me was saying. I didn't understand half of it, and the rest was stuff I knew already.
That wasn't the only thing that bothered me this day. For starters, this morning was just plain weird. I certainly didn't want to look like Sunset Shimmer all day... That much was certain. I'm glad I got that out of my way.
What made my question even more pointless was the fact that I already knew the answer. The answer is: all the things that have happened to me since I came to Equestria. And you know what? I didn't like any of them.
Completely bored out of my mind, I recalled the events that had happened just about five hours earlier.
About Five Hours Earlier (Said in a SpongeBob's Narrator Voice)
Before I left my room, I made my mane look like Sunset Shimmer's did. It had been messed up with the bed head I had after waking up. I would have made my mane look like how it used to with my own face, but it just... didn't feel right. Also, it was a lot longer than mine.
Shadow was very cautious too. He said that he couldn't change into his own disguise because he wasn't strong enough. I mentally made a note to myself then. Note to Self: Find a way to help energize Shadow. So instead of an inverted version of me, he just changed into me instead.
After all, if I was looking like Sunset Shimmer, than who would notice there being two if me?
I still didn't like being a girl... Or... mare for this matter. But that was even more reason to find Princess Celestia and try to get her help change me back!
How? I had no idea!
So the two of us left the room in search of the princess. We passed a few guards on the way, but nothing crossed their minds about us. After all, we both looked like ponies. And to make it even weirder, neither of us looked like ourselves!
Time to make a long story shorter.
We found Princess Celestia in the halls while we were walking for who knows how long.
"Ah, my faithful student," she said to me, making it feel even weirder for me. "I see that you've been walking with Blue. It's nice to see theta you two are getting along. Tell me, are you ready for today's lesson?"
"Princess!" I said excitedly, forgetting to bow. "I need your help!"
"Why?" she asked me. "Did you find my assignment yesterday challenging?"
"No!" I objected. "You don't understand! I'm not-"
"I'm ready for today's lesson, Princess!" said a voice that was strangely familiar, and nerve wrecking at the same time. I turned, and so did everypony around me, to the sound of the new voice. Sunset Shimmer The real one walked down the hallway toward us. She froze when she saw me.
"W- What's going on?" she asked, obviously confused.
Princess Celestia, however, had a completely different action. Instead of a calm, quiet talk, she slammed me against the wall, her magic gripping my throat. I desperately moved my hooves to my neck, trying to remove the source of the choking around me. I felt nothing, but that was to be expected with magic.
"Blue," she called, turning over to Shadow, who was still disguised as me, with an angry gaze plastered on her face. "Would you care to explain why the changeling you're supposed to be looking after is disguised as my student?"
"Uh... Sorry to make you angry Princess," he began, using my voice perfectly, "but we need your help."
"And why is it looking like my student?!" she demanded.
"That's not the changeling!" he shouted back, making Celestia step back a bit at the tone of his voice. At that moment, he dropped his disguise and revealed himself to all that were there. "I am."
Celestia stood there, frozen with shock. She looked back between me, her student, and Shadow. She slowly let me down onto the floor, releasing her magic grip on me. I coughed many times while Celestia turned back to Shadow. "Where's Blue?" she asked. "He's supposed to be looking after you!"
Shadow pointed a hoof at me. To which, Celestia turned and looked at me. "We need your help, Princess," Shadow continued. "Do you know of any spells that can lift a disguise?"
Celestia looked horrified at what she realized she did. Sunset Shimmer looked the same, only not at me or Celestia. She looked horrified at Shadow, obviously because she has never seen a changeling before.
Celestia turned back to me, now with a worried face. Her horn glowed again, and came down on top of me. In an instant, it ended, and I could see my normal gray hooves again.
Back To The Present
And that's basically how I ended up here. After probably an hour of apologizing, she asked how I did that. I told her the same thing I told Shadow: I didn't know. I just woke up like that.
She eventually put two and two together. All the times I've used magic, it was mostly very strong magic, or foreign magic. Other than that, it was just levitation. So, she sent me off to her school for gifted and talented unicorns, figuring that I had a specialty in magic. I met my teacher, who also happened to be the guard I met some time ago.
You remember him, right? A couple of chapters ago, before I introduced Shadow into the story. Did I mention his name? No? Well, I'm going to mention it now.
His name was Secure Room. I know, it's not the best name, but I wasn't going to be one to argue about it. After all, names were names.
I was completely against the idea of me going to this school. I mean, school? Who'd actually want to go there? Well, besides my sister, who loved school, and Twilight, who was an egghead to the very end.
But now that I'm sitting here thinking about this subject while Secure Room blabbed on about some magic stuff that I didn't get at all, I'm starting to think that it was a good idea to send me here. I mean, the first time I used magic, I hurt Princess Celestia. And that was just basic levitation magic!
After that, I was able to teleport for some reason that was unknown for me. I haven't done it since, but still! I did that!
That was also the time I got my cutie mark. After the second time I teleported, I saw the flash behind me that I recognized as the same flash in Cutie Mark Chronicles when the mane 6 got all their cutie marks.
Four orange bubbles. Just four. Why four? I wondered. I mean, there was no reason for me to have it at all! Well, to me, anyway. After all, if everything happens for a reason, that proves that fate was real!
*SIGH*
And yes, I had to put that last word in size 12 font. Why? Well, it's pretty simple actually. I personally hate fate and destiny. The reason is because they make it so that we have no real choices in life.
Now, before you all freak out in the comments and disagree, let me explain. Fate/Destiny both have the same meaning: that something has to happen. Now, both of them are always implying to our lives. In other words, they are constant, never changing.
And if something has to happen, then we have no say in that matter. It has to happen. Period. So, even if we do make a choice in life, the future from that choice is set out, and unchangeable. So we can make choices, but the future is already planned out.
Another good description of this is in a Doctor Who episode called 'Turn Left', and can be found at the link provided. WARNING: The episode is Season 4 Episode 11. If you have not watched the ones before that, then do so before watching that one to get a better understanding of the characters.
Also, I'm a Doctor Who fan! Fancy that!
*Ahem* Back on topic.
Anyway, that's also one of two reasons I didn't like my cutie mark. Cutie marks are the marks of our destiny. And, for clearer reference, in the episode: Magical Mystery Cure, there are ten songs that play in the twenty minutes. I know, that's nothing compared for what's coming up in EG2. Anyway, in the song: What My Cutie Mark Is Telling Me, they say 'It's got to be my destiny... And it's what my cutie mark is telling me'.
By those words alone, they say that a cutie mark represents one's destiny as a pony. When the mane 6's cutie marks changed, their destinies changed. So when I say that I don't like my cutie mark because of two reasons, I meant that I didn't like any destiny planned out for me because I couldn't choose it.
That was the first reason. The second was because I didn't even know what it was.
Although, I had to agree with me being sent here, even though I didn't say anything for or against it. I mean, Princess Celestia sent me here to learn how to control my magic. When I earned my cutie mark, I had used magic. Even if I can't do it again for some reason, I still earned it from doing magic. So, my cutie mark must have had something to do with magic as far as I was concerned at the moment.
But I still hated my position here. All around me, there were other colts and fillies. All of them were some sort of noble. When I first walked into Secure Room's class, I could see most of them glaring at me. Some chuckled silently to themselves, even though I could still hear them, and the others just looked away as if saying: 'Ha! I'm already better than him in every way!'
Blech... Nobles.
To say the least, I hated it here, even though I think I've mentioned that many times. I was sitting in a classroom, waiting for the day to be over, and I had to listen to the teacher throughout the entire day while waiting.
Not that he was a bad teacher.
Listening wasn't really a problem for me either. I have a really good way of zoning out completely. I just stare at a random spot in the room and just let myself go. There. Simple as that.
Although, when I stop zoning out, I start listening to the teacher again. At least he wasn't a noble... That was always good.
"Alright class," Secure spoke. "Let's pull out our notebooks. Come on, we haven't got all day now."
At once, all the ponies in the room used their magic and picked up a small notebook in their magic. I swaer(not really), if they were any more in-sinc, they would have to be considered robots. They set that down on the desk while their pencils were also lifted in their magic and began writing on the notebook.
Unfortunately for me, I had figured out a while ago that my writing didn't translate. The spell that Sunset Shimmer cast on me only affected my speech and ability to read, and not any writing. I wrote in English while all of them wrote in Equestrian. I could read their words, and they couldn't read mine.
That, and I had no notebook.
So, in response to my absence of a notebook, I lifted my pencil in my magic to bounce it on the table I was sitting at. One thing caught my eye.
The pencil wrapped in my magic? It was wrapped in a green aura... not blue.
After Class
A bell rang through the halls of the school, making me jump slightly in my chair. All the other ponies seemed to look as if they were expecting it. That seemed really normal, considering I should have been doing that too.
But the time here just confused me. There wasn't a clock in the room, and I couldn't tell time by the sun's position.
The rest of the students left the room, listening to Secure give them a lecture about some sort of homework. I didn't listen. I sat in my chair, waiting for all the other students to leave the room.
Once they did, Secure noticed me and came to where I sat. "Something wrong Blue?" he asked me. I nodded. He sat down in the chair desk next to mine. "What's on your mind?"
"Well," I began, "it- it's just a small question..."
"I'm all ears."
I inhaled, and then exhaled. "Have... Have you ever heard of any unicorns changing their magical aura?"
He looked at me strangely. "Where'd this question come up? Have you been reading in the Canterlot Library again?"
I chuckled at his statement. Out of my free time that I had all last week, I spent some of it reading in the library. I would sometimes ask questions about statements I didn't understand, or something that was weird. "No," I answered. "I just thought of it during your class."
"Hmm," he replied. "Well, I've never heard of any unicorns having the aura of their magic changed. What made you think of this?"
I looked at the ground, not wanting to meet his gaze. "This is the reason," I said to him before lifting up my pencil once again in my magic. The familiar green aura engulfed it and lifted it into the air.
I noticed his gaze as he looked at the pencil- Or more accurately, the aura it was engulfed in.
"And... When was this?" he asked me.
"I only noticed today, during your class."
"And... Has this happened before?"
I nodded. "Earlier today."
"I know about earlier today," he said. "The princess already told me about it. But has it happened at any other time?"
I shook my head. "No... it only happened today."
He nodded, and began to stand up. "Well, I don't know anything about this Blue. But I do suggest one thing to you."
"What?"
"Don't tell Princess Celestia about this... She has enough about you to worry about."
I chuckled a bit. "I guess I can manage that."
He nodded once more. "Good. Now get going. Don't you have a changeling to look after?"
I nodded my head in response and began to exit the room. On the way, I bumped into somepony wearing a black cloak. I backed away from him slowly.
"I'm sorry sir," I said quietly. "Please excuse me." I turned and began to leave, not waiting for an answer. Although, I did hear him say something... Something... odd.
It wasn't clearly heard because it was very quiet, but I heard: "There you are, Mimic..."
I turned to ask if he said anything, but found no one there. He had just vanished, as if he wasn't there.
I turned back down the hall after looking for another five minutes. That stallion was strange, but I was not going to let him bother me any more than I was bugged.