//------------------------------// // 1: Why are my legs so full of holes? // Story: Help! I'm not a changeling! // by Ashardu //------------------------------// Help! I'm not a changeling! Story written by Ashardu Chapter 1: "Why are my legs full of holes?" *BEEP*, *BEEP*, *BEEP*, *BEEP*, *BEEP*, *BEEP*, *BE-*..... "Ugh, good god, shut up," I managed to mumble as the alarm clock went off. Extending my hand to the edge of the wooden nightstand, I used the gravity's favor to balance myself while approaching the right side of bed. It would all have gone smoothly if it weren't for the lack of friction the polished nightstand had. "WOAH!" *THUD*. Letting out an unsatisfied sigh, I rested my face on the wooden floor, "It's going to be one of days, isn't it? .... I hate working on Sundays..." Well, I guess it's another day for my usual routine. Oh, by the way, I lied. It's not another day in my routine. It's a day where some prick thinks that making people work during a free day it's A-Okay. It's not. Never. Anyways, after my short monologue, I gently placed my hands on the floor and pushed myself into a sitting position. Groaning, I rubbed my groggy eyes, erasing any trace of sleep while doing so. I opened my eyes and saw my darkened room echo with the morning crickets. Yup. It's another beautiful day. To rest. Unbelievable... Long story short, I did what I had to do. After carefully making my bed and putting on my carbon-metal glasses, I checked the time on my clock. '6:30? Well, work opens in one hour, so I have time to do some unfinished business,' I thought. Removing my night clothes, I changed into my biege suit and formal pants matching the color, wearing a red tie and a white shirt under it. I walked towards the kitchen and grabbed both a cardbox full of milk and a box of Fruit Loops. Nowdays, a few friends tell me that such cereal is meant for kids. Even if that was true, I just can't ignore such simple, yet sugar filled cereal. After all, sweets are life. And so is sleep. Undoubtably, sleep and sweets are life. And they both rhyme. I mixed them together and sat down on the chair, using the table as support and turning on the T.V. to check out the news. "....It has been reported that most students have a likely tendency to stick their tongues on metal poles just for the fun of it. On other news, a temperature of 5 degrees Celsius is going to surround the city and it's expected to go lower. It's recommended not to forget your scarfs today gentlemen. Meanwhile, on Irak-" I pushed the big red button from the remote controller and turned off the T.V. I only wanted to know if anything was up today, but apparently, we are still fighting for God-knows-what reasons. Stupid war and their pointless plot. Before I knew it, I finished my breakfast and decided to head directly to the bathroom. Looking at the mirror, I gently ran a hand through my short hair and said, "Go get 'em, buddy". One needs to have a self-boast mechanism, and mine turns out to be talking to myself at a mirror. Don't judge me. But that thought was interrupted after I checked my silver watch on my wrist and realized I had half an hour before work. Not wasting any time, I did what I had to do in the bathroom. I promptly headed back to my bedroom and grabbed the suitcase next to my neatly folded bed, speeding to the main door. I looked back and made a mental record of the things I had to bring along, making sure I didn't forget anything. Nope, I had everything with me. "Well," I said to myself, "looks like I have everything. Time to go!" And so, I inserted the keys on the door and opened it. As I began to open it, I regretted how wide the door was getting. Why? Because my brain decided to ignore our health and forget to remind me of the cold it was forecasted for today. Not that I complain about cold; not at all. It's not wearing a warm sweater that I regretted. And just like that, the ice, merciless wind hit me with all its might and I just stood there like a moron, shivering and allowing the cold wind to enter my small apartment. After finally snapping out of my inner speech, I closed the door, adjusted my slipping glasses and laughed. "Haha, I forgot my sweater... great," I allowed myself back into my bedroom, knowing this day was gonna be just great.... After what finally seemed to be an eternity-- which were actually just 10 minutes-- I arrived at the main building, with a pair of glass doors keeping me from work. But alas, I tried my best, but the glass door was too much for me. I couldn't beat it, therefore, I couldn't go to work today. Tis a shame- "Hey partner!" --That my workmate decided to arrive early. Why, of all days, did you have to arrive early!? I'll guess I just have to stick to it, then. Sighing, I turned to the proximate voice and encountered Max, one of my working neighbors. He works a few offices next to me and likes to talk with everyone. Apparently, he comes from the rural area of the city, and managed to find a decent job on a jewerly company, as a salaryman. I don't know how did he got the job, but that doesn't concern me at all nor I should care. The guy itself wasn't bad; in fact, he was a great guy! The huge downside was his lack of comprehension. When a situation is given, he just can't grasp the subtle messages we try to give him. Although it's funny how he is so clueless of some things everynow and then, it can be dangerous from time to time. Boy, we were mad at him at that report day! Anyways, I was brought back to reality as he approached me with that familiar smile he always carries around. How does he manages to keep smiling? Who knows. But it's contagious, I tell you. Looking at his rather catchy smile, I decided to flow with the positive aura and smiled back at him, waving a hand amid, "Morning, Max," "Ready for today?" I sighed a little, "Honestly? Not really," "Aw c'mon!" he whined, pouting a little, "Everyday is great! I'm sure today is gonna be as well! You just have to look at the bright side of it!" "Whatever you say, man," "No, really. You just have to. It's not that hard." "Yeah, yeah," I replied, dismissing a hand in front of him, "I'll try," "Okay then!" he took off, heading to the door and opening it. Once inside, he held the door out open and stared at me, "So! Are you coming in?" Giving up at any chance to take the day off, I slowly dragged myself to the door, hoping that the day turns out for the better. And so, the day went by before I knew it. Max, as usual, was rambling some positive issues with me after he finished his chores. I, on the other hand, was half-way through my paperwork. I'm still shocked to how fast does Max work. Does he know exactly what's coming or what? Also, I had to deal with the crap of Bart. Who is Bart? Oh, just some self-proclaimed jerk who thinks that just because his uncle owns the company, he believes that treating his subordinates like the order of the company is required. So full of himself and arrogant, I wonder if his uncle Rob is just like him. Let's hope not, but chances are that I'm wrong. But hey, if I don't have to deal with two Barts, I'm just fine. It's a good thing that Max was there, otherwise, a fight might have been foreseen. It appears that Bart seems to dislike Max less than me, and probably thought I wasn't worth his time. I don't care if I'm worth his time or not. If I can keep him off my back, I'm more than satisfied. Thanks, Max! Anyhow, I finally ended my extra non-paying shift and was heading home. In the end, work was just like I suspected, Great. Sometimes, I suspect the company is actually low of budget and can't afford our services. But it's not like I'll ever know such thing. Finally returning home, I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out a pair of keys, which I used to open the lock on the door. Opening the door, I walked inside and threw my suitcase on the sofa, laying on the living room. Sprinting a little, I toured myself into the bedroom and jumped onto it, bouncing after finally colliding with the sweet embrace of softness that left me this morning. That, or the fact that I got used too much to my bed. Eh, it doesn't matter anyway. "Finally!" I said to no one, "Home, I missed you. Did you miss me? I know you did," The house remained silent. "Aww, you are so sweet," I pulled myself together and sat up, pulling a rectangular shaped device and placing it on my lap, "Well, it's time to have my weekly chat with my brah," Lifting the cover of my laptop, I carefully pushed the power of my computer and watched it spring back to life as a bunch of colorful lights shone my face. The brightness didn't affect me that much as others would thanks to my glasses. Which reminds me, I need to clean them. The usual blue screen pops up, followed by a very popular logo shows up in the middle of it. "Windows... I still can't believe how many people they had to betray to get where they are nowdays," Ignoring the past, I focused on the desktop screen that my laptop loaded. Searching through a variety of programs, I managed to find the program I was looking for. Skype. Double-clicking on the icon, I waited a few seconds before a small blue window appeared with the title 'SKYPE' on top of it. Smiling at the advantages technology offers nowdays, I scrolled down the list of contacts and found the person I was looking for. My older brother, and it appeared that he was online. Lucky me. Sebastian... ah, what a bro. I don't know where I would be if it wasn't for him. We used to be together almost all the time due to our parent's constant dates as a happy couple. We grew together and bonded pretty well in comparison to other sibling relations. Sure, we had an event or two everynow and then, but that bonded us even more. Especially after... hm, well, those two are in a better place now. I watched his back, he watched mine; siblings against the world, what else could you ask for? But now that we grew up and became adults, we took separate ways. It was hard, but it was unevitable. Still, I knew I could still see him through technology. Skype, to be precise. Without further ado, I selected his profile and decided to make a videocall since my computer possessed an integrated camera. The profile image of him grew larger as it was attempting to reach its destiny. I waited a bit of time for the call to reach him, hoping that he wasn't that busy. MISSED CALL "Huh. That's weird," I thought to myself, scratching my chin and adjusting my glasses, "He never misses a call. Maybe it didn't reach him?" I attempted to call him again, hoping I could call him for once. MISSED CALL(2) "Hm, he is probably busy" I thought again, "What is he doing right now? ... Meh, doesn't matter. I'll try again later. Time for some beer! Hoping from the bed, I sprang to my feet and headed to kitchen, singing a popular home song chorus about beers as I proactively stared at the fridge from the other side of the room. I approached the fridge, not before performing a small dance move from that same song chorus. Once I was in front of it, I pulled the door and looked inside the fridge. It was just like I left it before. A mess. But it was my mess. And I love my things. Seeking out for a beer, I suddenly heard a ringing in a room nearby. Judging by the tone, it wasn't my smartphone. That must mean... "Hm, debe ser Sebastian." ('Hm, must be Sebastian.') Slamming my fridge shut, I ran back to my bedroom, where, indeed, a call from my computer was being recieved. Taking some time, I adjusted myself comfortable on my bed and accepted the call. Before I knew it, a familiar face showed up. "Brah." "Brah." A manly face appeared on my screen as I locked eyes with him using the camera. He was actually wearing his old glasses, as he started adjusting his chestnut hair with a free hand. His eyes were brown like mine, but held a lighter tone. Just like my situation, he had a ebony color skin giving away the impression of Mexico everywhere I looked. I lost that touch with the years spanning however. Showing a genuine smile, he chuckled at our greeting with a nostalgic laugh. If I had to say something about his looks, it would be he could probably hook up with a pretty girl if he plays his cards right. Of course, I had almost the same impression as him, but I lacked in the robust department. He, on the other hand, lacked in gentle touch, as he was clumsy from time to time. Most people would mistake us as twins and that was annoying in a beginning, but as time went on, I accepted that fact. It was useless to deny something so obvious, even if it took us a long time to really find out we were really alike. Like twins materials. Just like other people would usually point out. I laughed back at his chuckle and readjusted my bed ever so slightly. "Sup, man? How you doing?" "Good, good. If you count good as hearing annoying voices that is," I grabbed my temples and rubbed them, closing my eyes and letting out a desperate sigh, "This again? C'mon, you know it's just your mind screwing up with you," Sebastian raised his hands and shook 'em like no tomorrow, promptly smashing them on his desk, "I'm serious! These voices won't shut up! I mean, they-- HEY, LUNA! WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!" "Sebastian," I replied, extending a hand in front with a half lifted index finger pointing him, "It's your mind, I tell you," "You say that because it's not happening to you. Anyways, how was your day?" "Ah... que será, que será..." 'Ah, what will it be, what will it be...' Sebastian released a sigh, shrugging amid, "Un dia bastante malo, eh? Me imagino que los papeleos fueron un desastre de otro mundo," 'A pretty bad day, eh? I imagine that paperwork was a disaster from out of this world.' I stared dumbfolded at him, "...What?" "Oh right," he said, placing a side-fist on his lips, "You are starting to lose some of your spanish, right?" "Kinda..." I admitted, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly. "Hm. That's what happens when you move to another country- Yes, Luna, we have countries. Don't be so ignorant..." "...... Aja." I said, trying to ignore my brother's sudden dialogues with whoever he is talking to, "But, hey, I didn't decide this location. It was work who said so." "Actually, you did have a chance to choose a location," he said. All I could do was to watch him and contemplate how messed my situation was in the heat of the moment. "...Really?" he nodded, leaving me more confused, "You mean, I could have easily transferred to any location I wanted to?" "Yeah, I mean, I didn't tell you because I thought you knew," he explained, causing me to place both extended hands on my face and groan, making sure my glasses weren't damaged at my display of annoyance, "Well, it looks like you are stuck there," "Ugh... yay me..." "But hey, look at the bright side!" He said, shrugging. Sebastian kept the silence going, almost as if he wanted to give suspense of something. ...... ...... ....... Ok, that's enough. "And what is the bright side?" "I get to keep the Xbox! .... Why yes Luna, you can play.... No, just watch me play and help me out, kay?..... I said just watch..... No. Stop it! Wait, what are you doing? NO!" Hmmm. You know what? In the beginning, I was mad about the console ownership; now it's just amusing to see my bro talk to himself like a psycho.... which should rise some concern to why he is doing that. Not my problem though. He is a big boy. He can handle it. "Okay then... Keep the console. I don't want it anyways." "SHUT UP! No! You don't have fingers!" he said, moving his arms from side to side, making me worry. "Just because you are a princess, that doesn't give you the right to control my life! NOW GENTLY AND SMOOTHLY WITH SUGAR ON TOP OF IT, GO. AWAY!" I don't think he even listened to me. At all. Well, he is known for his anger so it's best for me not to meddle. Let's just hope things don't get out of hand. After a few more seconds, he finally lets his anger subside, sighing with his eyes closed. Those same eyes opened again and looked at me, full of... regret? "Sorry, I got... busy with something," "Yeah..." I said, my head backing out at bit from the screen, "I see..." "Look," Sebastian said, waving a hand at himself, "I'm not crazy. Really. You know everyone knows me for not lying as much as everyone else does. So, trust me, really, I'm not crazy." I placed a hand under my chin and hummed a slight groan, "It's not that I don't believe you; I do, but it looks like you really have problems." Rolling my eyes for him to see, I gestured a circling hand movement at my own pace, "I would recommend seeing a doctor, but I'm afraid you'll starting yelling at me for some God-forsaken reason by the looks of it." "Well I can't blame you. If you had the same problem, I would either, A. Help you out, B. Ignore your unhealthy reactions, or C. I would call a doctor and have you in a strap jacket for the next ten years of your life,". Words couldn't express the incredule feeling my brother gave me when he said all that. 'Should I be concerned or laughing my ass off about this?', "What? It's true! ..... Most of it," Well, time to change subject! "So, how has your writing project been going?", if my brother had long ears, they would be perked up right now. With a cheerful glee upon his face, I began to regret bringing this certain topic. If there is one thing that Sebastian loves to talk about, is discussing ideas for his stories, whether they have been published or not. And I happen to be his main partner in crime when it came down to this. "Oh, it has been great! Despite the constant annoyance in my head, I have-- Oh, shush Luna-- , I have been capable of developing more of a decent story for the hero and his adventures!" "Let me guess, another adventure genre?" "...... Yes." I placed one of my free hands on my face and sighed, "You know, you should try expanding your horizons instead of writing adventure only stories. It's bad for your reputation-- do you even have a writing reputation?-- and for your income. Just saying," "Shut up, you kknonknkonioewwjgg-- KRRGGGGG--" "ERROR, LOCATION UNKNOWN, MISLEADING PROCESS, INITIATING COU-- NEW LOCATION, STARTING PROCESS. RAINBOW ROCKS, POWER BOOM, GEKEKEK," "Huh!? What's going on!? Bro!" and out of nowhere, my brother's screen suddenly began to twist and corrupt more and more until it became a black screen. Never has this happened before nor I wanted it to happen. Must have a critical failure of some sort. Shame I'm not a mechanic, otherwise I wouldn't be so concerned about this. "C'mon you piece of trash, work!", I said, holding on to the attached screen, rocking it back and forth expecting some kind of change. Nothing. Just great. "Carajo," I cursed under my breath, allowing a bit of my spanish self to release some steam, "Why did it had to happen now, out of all these days?" My mind was complaining about how life was so unfair with me when all of the sudden, I heard a loud thunk behind me. The power went out. Everything in my room was pitch-black, except for my laptop and there was nothing I could do to fix it. "Perfect...." I checked on the laptop's battery meter and squinted my eyes to adjust the new found darkness. "54%, it's not too much, but it'll do. Still, the internet is out just like the power.... hmm...." Just when I was out of ideas, a familiar memory showed up just when I needed the most. Fortunately for me and my memory, I had a back-up generator next to my closet, hidden just in case I needed to light my way back to life or whatever it was that I needed. Now is the time when I actually use that machine for something other than keeping the door from closing with the wind. Getting up from my bed, I placed the laptop facing the direction of my destination, hoping to give me enough light to see my way through. Unfortunately, the laptop's light settings were adjusted so that everytime the charger was unplugged, the light would be dimished to lowest light. Even though I didn't have enough visibility of the path ahead of me, I knew the house like the back of my hand. There was no need to see if my knowledge could help me out as a guide. Yet, somehow, I knew something bad was gonna happen. Something terrible was about to occur and there was nothing to stop it. Perhaps I was just hungry or the return of the why boner, but who knows. So, ignoring any kind of safety precaution inside the house, I walked forward. Wished I didn't ignore my inner guts... Inmediately after I walked a few steps, my right foot went through a hole. And not just any kind of hole, a hole so big that my whole body went through it. I didn't how it was made, or when, but I knew for sure that I was gonna die. I was beginning to question why and when did this hole showed up, taking into account that several of the floors from the building had the same hole that lead me to my doom. It seemed like it was almost planned when during my fall, I looked down and saw pitch black spot moving along with me, screaming out the words 'Unnatural' to my mind. It was then at that moment that things got compicated to me, wondering what was going on, but it was shaken off the thought as I remembered the situation I was in. Falling down like a rock, I spinned several times during my fall, completely unprepared of my sudden time limit before I hit the ground and I was 'No mas vivo' -No longer alive- . I screamed, with all the oxygen of my lungs, witnessing my inevitable doom. I don't know how far did I fell, but the crash was gonna be painful. After all, falling from far more than a 20-stories building can't be an instant death, right? I just hope that magazine was wrong about how painful it is to die from either a fall or a bullet to the head. In either case, as I fell to my death, I couldn't help it but to feel like someone was calling out for me.... someone I knew.... Could it be.... Sebastian? ".....Maurice! .....Bro! NO!" Wait... it is him! He calling out for me! .... But what cause would it be to answer back? After all, in any moment, I might slip into death's embrace. All I could do was hear my brother's voice for one last time before I long gone. Alone... If I die, he would be all alone in the world... No brothers... No parents... No family to support him... Man... Why does bad things happen to good people? Now I'm going away forever and there is nothing I can do to avoid my death... Poor Sebastian... Why did it had to end like this? "Sebastian.... Perdoname mucho hermano..." ('Sebastian... Forgive me brother...') One thing lead to another, and before I knew it, I closed my eyes and moved to my back during the fall. I finally accepted that this was my time to part. Perhaps.... perhaps I might see my folks again. And maybe.... just maybe... I might watch over Sebastian, just like mother wanted us to. Back to back, facing whatever challenge or threat life gave us, making sure to kick their faces twice as hard. Now, it's him against the world. But that doesn't mean I'll give up just like that. I'll watch over him, protect him, guide him if that is possible. Maybe with my parents as well. That would be very nice. I just hope the afterworld is something like that... Well, I'm about to find out... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... I gotta say, this has been, by far, the longest fall I've ever- *THUD* ......... ......... Ow... Slipping consciousness..... curse you life.... Ugh.... what the.... my head.... it hurts... A LOT! Ow, owowowowowowow! Geez! Stop with the pounding! Ow..... oh, okay.... that is certainly better than before.... and it also woke me up. Wait a second, 'woke me up?' "Huh?" I said, prying my eyes open with might and speed. Once open, I noticed I was in a cave of some sorts.... a rather shiny one if you ask me, "Just where am I?" After processing things a little bit, I thought that this place was indeed, the afterworld. I spinned around my head, keeping my body in the same position and taking a good look at my surroundings. Well, it is like a cave. Could it be...? "Is this the afterworld? I certainly didn't expect it to look like this," I said. I really didn't expect to look like this. I thought of it more of a gateway with lights everywhere and an angelic chorus in the background. Also, I would have been standing on a cloud and admire the gold and pretty gates in front of me. That is what I thought it would be. .... I need to stop watching so many religious movies. But I've had enough about admiring the view. I needed to find out if this place was the afterworld. I guess I have to-OW! Jesus covered in salt! That hurt! What the heck was... that... Okay... I'm looking at my arm, right? Let's move it a little.... yup, it's my arm. My arm is a leg. Huh, funny. I swore I had a hand instead of a plain, flat extension. Yup, this is not an issue where I freak out. Not at all. Bad news is, I'm a terrible liar. "AGGGGGH! QUE CARAJOS! ('What the hell!') MY HAND! IT'S GONE! IT'S A LEG! THE HORROR! JESUS, HELP ME!" I yelled, shaking my 'leg' everywhere. No matter what I did, it still remained being a leg, despite the amount of hits I gave it. Oh, right. My other arm is a leg too. Great. Freak out time~! "ARGH! WHAT THE HECK!? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ARMS! AND MY VOICE! WHY DOES IT SOUND A BIT RASPY!? WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL GLORIOUS THINGS HAPPENED!?" "I would like to ask you the same thing," a unknown voice came from behind. I froze on the spot, preparing my fight-or-flight instincts for anything that comes to me. Taking a deep breath, I braced myself for whoever was behind. So, I turned. THIS IS NOTHING I EXPECTED! I saw a kind of black colored monster with blue colored eyes with no pupils looking at me. The voice sounded a little high-pitched despite the raspy issue, so I assumed it's a female. A small fang could be seen from her mouth, which was currently the upside-down version of a smile. Her ears were perking up, apparently in a surprised state if I had to guess. What surprised me the most were four things. The horn, the wings, her hair and the oddly pierced holes in her legs. The horn had a slight misanthropic, yet abstract form all the way to the top. The wings, on the other hand, looked like a type of wings only bugs would be carrying. Perhaps they are a kind of bug? No, no, bugs can't talk. That would be crazy. Then again, I was looking at a crazy thing, so it may seem more plausible than anything else. The hair on her head was... unique, to say the least. It was on top of her head as expected, but it had weird development, almost as if it was meant to curve everywhere it ended. Also, it was white. And last but not least, the legs and its glorious holes. Looking at them remind me of swiss cheese somehow... Talking about reminding, I forgot to freak out. "WHOA! HOLY COW! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU!?" I yelped walking backwards, only to fall flat to my back in my attempt to get away form her. Perhaps I couldn't see her, but it was clear that she was looking at me with confusion and a lifted eyebrow. Who would blame her? "What do you mean by that? I'm just like you," she replied. Just like me? What does that mean? "Huh!? I'm like you!? Me!?" I said, using my neck and taking a good look at her from my lay-down position. Also, I noticed that every extension, save for my head, of my body was a black leg with holes on the perimeter. What am I, a chopped horse? This is just great... "Well, duh. You're a changeling, aren't you?" she said, walking slowly towards me. Scratch that, being a horse sounds much more likeable. If I weren't so intrigued about this whole changeling thing, I would have run as far as possible from her. Well, as far as I could go. Having now four legs isn't such easy task after all. "I'm a what now?" Scrambling back to my fee-- er, I mean, legs, I drunkenly dragged myself towards a small pool of some sort of liquid that was lying nearby. I almost tripped several times during my trip to the pool, but I finally made it to the reflection. Well, I certainly didn't expect this. While I expected seeing a complete changeling like she said and was, I still saw a similar creature with fangs and everything. However, I managed to spot that my eyes weren't blue like hers, but instead green, emerald-colored to be precise, rather than my dark-brown color eyes. My hair was no longer brown, but cyan instead and it looked like it came out of an anime. Not that I complain about it, but it is weird nevertheless. Another feature of my new figure is the scar located on my chest, in the form of a X. It looked just like the scar I had..... back home... Right.... I had forgotten about it. The day Sebastian and me went to that party and then.... well, the past will always be the past. Other than those features, everything else remained the same. Including the swiss holes in my legs. Seriously, how can I walk with so many holes in my legs? Why are my legs so full of holes anyways? Are animals supposed to jump across the gaps of my extensions? Oh, right. I had wings; bug wings. And a horn. Do I use that to impale my enemies or what? Well, with that said and done, I just stared at my reflection, trying to process if this was either reality or a really bad lucid dream, "Wha.... how.... when.... why..... Huh?" "Why do you look so surprised?" I heard, figuring it came from the girl. Do they use the same terms? Hold on a minute.... WHAT!? "AGH! YOU ARE SPEAKING ENGLISH!?" I yelled from the bottom of my lungs, looking back at her. The female simply closed an eye and placed a leg on top of her ears. Long ears by the way. "Would you tone it down!? You don't need to yell! Ow..." I would have answered back, but everything was beginning to be too much for me to handle. New body, new place, new discoveries, new freak-outs, new almost everything. I remained silent, watching the girl rub her ears and look at me with annoyance. "What? Do I have something on my face?" 'Wow, she isn't the most educated female I've encountered,' I thought, still trying to find any kind of logic that matched my own. Sadly, it was starting to look futile as nothing began to make sense. What is this place? What is going on? Why am I here? What is she? How come I came across her? Why do I look like this? Are there more of them? What is a changeling? How can I walk? Do I use my newly formed horn for justice, or do I use it to strike my enemies that I find annoying? ¿Porque estoy babeando? ('Why am I drooling?') Just what the heck is going on!? "Hey, pretty face, somepony in there?" I snapped back to reality as I realized how close the female got to my face. Just like before, I tried to back away only to fall back to back again. 'Esto se esta poniendo viejo...' ('This is getting old') Wait, did she just say.... somePONY? How is a pony involved wih this? Why did she... you know what? I don't care anymore. She can say the most unexplainable thing in the entire universe and I wouldn't care. Even if she said the meaning of life. "I'll take that as a yes," she answered, moving to my side and lifting an eyebrow once again. While she walked-- I have to learn how to do that-- towards me, I slowly began to feel the pressure of too much information for my brain. Consciousness began to slip away while my eyes began to close, watching the girl talk to me. I couldn't comprehend nor hear anything she said to me. Her mouth kept moving, but nothing came along. Just when I was about to fall unconscious, a rather small, yet powerful pressure pressed against my belly, causing me to recoil at the touch and bring me back to my senses. Turns out the female punched my belly, unaware of my status quo. Her angry stare was all I needed to realize she was getting upset, "Hey, don't you dare to sleep at a time like this! Especially when I'm talking to you!" Thinking of a comeback, I said the most proximate thought that came along, ".....Wha?" Perfect. "Great," she said, placing a leg on her forehead, carefully dodging the horn, "I've encountered another weirdo," "Hey.... I'm no weirdo," I replied, trying to pull myself together and sit up. After succesfully falling back to my back a few times, I managed to sit up, staring at the girl in front of me. Sure, the girl looked at me like if I was homeless person-- pony she said?-- and annoyed me, but my mind is blown, so I didn't care. "W-what?" "Nothing, nothing..." I said, closing my eyes mid-way, "Just... just looking," Nothing was said for a couple of minutes, as we both continued to have our stare-down contest. Eventually, I gave up. "All right, I give up," I said, lifting my arms and shrugging, "I just don't what is real and what is not," "Huh? What are you talking about?" "I meant what I said," I pointed a front leg directly to her face, "I just lost any kind of logic that inhabits this body," Giving me a confused stare, she leaned back, "....Oooookayyyyy....". The girl kept her look until she finally shook her head. Sighing, she spoke, "It looks like you hit your head hard, since you seem to have a slight concussion. But it's okay, I'm here and I'll help you out," I wanted to protest that I didn't have such thing, but right now, I knew anything was possible in this place. I closed my eyes and inhaled, feeling the air fill my lungs. Exhaling, I pried my eyes open and nodded. She smiled and a beautiful sight invaded my view. Wow, what a smile. It's so... captative, so genuine, beautiful and mature... if you ignore the fangs, that is. She may look like a horse of some sort, but that smile is enough to make men drool over her. "Well then, let's ignore all of this and get to the infirmary, shall we?" I nodded again and got the same answer. I don't know why, but I could never get enough of that smile, "Good! Follow me then," Without putting any kind of fight, I dumbfoldly obeyed and followed her.... with my face falling to the floor once more. Four legs, you are such a curse. Cursing my lack of movement, I tried to get up once more, only to feel the floor move away from me. 'Huh, weird. I don't remember flying as a superpower that I had,' I thought, still with my eyes closed. Opening them was perhaps the best, yet worst feeling I've ever had in a long time. I was flying. "WOAH! WHY AM I FLYING?" I yelped, flailing my legs everywhere. My constant freak-out was short-lived as I spotted the same girl from before looking at me with an unamused stare. "Well, it seems you REALLY hit your head. Like, way too much. This can't be good," she muttered, loud enough for me to hear, "Well, can't do anything here," The moment she turned around, I saw something shining from her horn. Then I looked around me and spotted a similar shining. Then it hit me. 'MAGIC!?' I thought with a panicked mindset. My limit was reaching it's final level. My sanity levels were slowly-- scratch that, rapidly-- decreasing and I was afraid of seeing things that weren't supposed to be there. My mind couldn't take much more of this and if something new happened to show up, I was sure to faint. Let's just hope nothing comes along. "Hey," she called, causing me to return to wherever I was, "You got a name, don't you?" "Huh? What kind of question is that?" I asked, using my sane portion of my current mind, "Of course I've got a name. Why wouldn't I?" "Well, it's just that you aren't one of our hive, so I didn't know if your queen gave you a name," "What? A queen? A hive? What are talking about?" "Oh my, that concussion must have hurt like Tartarus," she whispered, still looking ahead of her field of vision. Wow, she doesn't keep anything to herself, does she? "Anyways, my name is Ivy. What's yours?" she asked, turning her head just enough for me to see her face. 'Ivy? What kind of name is Ivy?' Shaking my head to clear any thoughts, I gulped, "I... uh, my name is Maurice, Maurice Bonofire". 'Ivy' looked at me like if she just found a ball of spit cathair. "Maurice? What kind of name is Maurice?" 'I could ask you the same thing,' "Anyways, pleased to meet you... Maurice," "Likewise," "Sure... well, it shouldn't take long to reach the infirmary. We just have to--" "Heeeeey, Beauty!" "-- come across one of the most annoying changelings that has ever existed," "Who?" my answer was answered just like that when another changeling with a group of them following behind showed up from a corner. 'Bueno, mi suplica fue respondida. Gracias Dios!' ('Well, my prayer has been answered. Thanks God!') As my mind just had enough, I could see everything turning black, leaving me with nothing than a blurry vision of them and Ivy. Like before, their mouths were moving, but nothing came out of them. Just when I was about to pass out, I managed to notice the leader of gang looking at me with a frown. Then, darkness surrounded me.