Silver strode through the school with Night at his side. They moved quietly until they reached the library, where Silver began to look around with darting eyes. "What are you looking for?" asked Night. "I can't help search if I don't know what to look for."
Silver pulled another book free to scan its cover and set it back, "There has to be some kind of enhancement that guards the magic of the target."
"Does there?" asked Night, though she started looking. She pulled books free with her talented wings and quickly looked over each before setting them back, "Are you sure magic works that way? Did that Tirek person ever fail to suck the magic out of a pony?"
"No," confessed Silver in a small voice, sinking to the ground, "No he didn't. Even earth ponies and pegasi were victims."
Night Watch shook her head lightly, "And you want to put up a spell, which is magic, to protect another magic spell from being gobbled up?" She put the book she had been looking through back on the shelf, "I don't think this approach is going to work."
Silver hung his head a little, "What do you suggest? Should we run? Maybe if we get far enough away from Equestria before it happens?"
Night tilted her head, "Maybe, or maybe Celine would pop like a bubble if you took her too far away from Luna." She leaned in, "And maybe you're the squire of the court and not suppose to be running away from Canterlot." She tapped the ground with a hoof, "And maybe..."
Silver sighed as he pushed up to his hooves, "Do you have an idea?"
Night nodded, "I do. First step, we should talk to Celine. She should know her limits, then we're making plans with a clue instead of guessing. That will raise the odds of our success considerably."
Silver smiled gently at Night, "You're right, of course. Sorry, this all feels so sudden, and it hasn't even happened yet. Before Celine, I just figured it would be a while of laying around feeling like crap, but now..."
Night tilted her head, "Now a pony all you care about is in danger." She raised a hoof, "Before it was just ponies you didn't know."
Silver frowned, "Nopony was hurt that I saw."
Night rolled her eyes behind her glasses, "That you saw. Just imagine a hospital without magic? Sure, for most ponies it will be uncomfortable, but for some, much worse. A unicorn visiting Cloudsdale at the time is going to feel a lot worse than tired. You've described a disaster." She took a moment to adjust those glasses, "I'm not blaming you. I don't understand how you saw what you saw, but if Luna already knows about it, you've done your part."
Silver shook himself out from head to tail, "Let's... find Celine. I can't save everypony, hell, I'm not even sure if I can save myself." He trotted from the library with Night following behind, but Celine was nowhere to be found. They eventually returned to the dorms.
Night sat by the door, "She'll probably be back tomorrow."
"What are the odds?" asked Silver, perking an ear at her.
Night seemed to consider that, "Forty percent."
Silver blinked, "That's... alarmingly low."
Night shrugged, "I call them as I see them. There is a twenty percent chance she doesn't return at all."
Silver cringed, "God, why? Why would she just up and leave like that?"
Night pointed at Silver, "To spare you doing what you're doing right now. If she has decided there just isn't a way out, leaving may be the next best option."
Silver's ears fell, "I hope that isn't what she did... Damn, there's a way out. There's always something we can do, if we can figure it out."
"You could sleep," came a tired voice before a male earth pony sat up in Fast Change's bed, rubbing sleep out of his eyes with a fetlock, "Oh hey Silver, Night. What are you two even talking about?"
"Nothing..." said Silver, looking away before hopping onto his own bed. It was so large and empty without Celine's presence.
Fast Change slipped from bed and moved towards Silver, changing smoothly to a facsimile of Celine along the way. Night scowled at her, but Fast stuck out her tongue in return before slipping up beside Silver and wrapping a wing around him.
Silver went rigid at the familiar sensation of Celine's wing. He craned his neck to see Celine beside him and smiled radiantly for a moment before it fell into a deep frown, "Hey."
Fast tilted her head, "'Hey'? Is that how you greet me?"
Silver softly batted at Fast's still-dangling heart crystal with a hoof, "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, but I need the real Celine, not a copy."
Fast snorted a little, "It was nice while it lasted. You really love her, huh?"
Silver perked an ear sharply, "Fast."
"That's the name," said Fast, bobbing her head.
Silver moved in place, turning to face Fast, "Did you feel that? My love?"
Fast blinked softly, "Sort of? When you looked at me at first, it was all warm and tingly, but it faded away when you realized your mistake."
Silver reached and poked the fake Celine in the chest, "You're falling. You're going to become a changeling if you keep this up."
Fast snorted softly, "What? No! I'm fine."
Silver shook his head, "I'm very serious. Show me what you really look like."
Fast squirmed in place, "I don't want to..."
Silver flashed a gentle smile, "Go on. Whatever you look like normally, it's still you. You're forgetting what it even means to be you."
Night, watching the conversation, added, "Like you have?"
Fast glanced at Night, then Silver, "You first. Let's see what you look like, then I'll show you mine."
Silver flipped his ears back, "I literally can't do that. I wasn't a pony at all. Luna changed that, and I've barely learned two spells so far! Come on, this isn't a contest."
Fast squirmed a little again before she nodded, "If you promise not to laugh or make fun?" When Silver nodded, she looked to Night, who soon nodded as well. "Fine, just this once. This doesn't get you the bonus!" Magic released away from Fast as she shrank rapidly, becoming a young mare with a stringy red mane, pale crimson fur, and bleached blue eyes. Her legs sat oddly under her, almost limp. "There, happy?"
Silver looked her over a moment, "I don't see much wrong with it, except you're a little slumped?"
Fast shrank a bit, "I can't help that... And what do you mean not much wrong?"
Silver tilted his head one way and the other, "I mean you're a pony. Nothing wrong with that. I've seen worse unicorns in my life. It's nice to meet you, for real, Fast Change."
Fast Change gave a half-smile as she wriggled in place, still slumped.
Night adjusted her glasses as she peered at Fast, "Your legs don't work."
Fast shrank as the words were said, "No... they don't. But I can have working legs when I'm somepony else."
Silver leaned forward and nuzzled Fast's cheek on a whim, "You're fine. Why not focus on an enhancement to fix that, instead of hiding yourself all the time?"
Fast flushed warm under her already red fur, "I... don't like being ugly. I like ponies looking at me and seeing a pretty pony, or mighty minotaur, or fierce dragon." She tilted her head at Silver, "Isn't this prettier?" She rapidly became a larger female unicorn with a delicately spiraled horn. Her fur was a lustrous purple and her mane a deep blue. As ponies went, she was putting off every signal of being a healthy and attractive unicorn. Even her eyes were dazzling as she looked at Silver hopefully.
Silver shuffled a little, "You do look pretty, both ways." He reached up and gently bopped her nose, "Go back to normal." She deflated under his hoof, returning to her less-glamorous self. "I'm going to give you what I wanted for most of my life."
Fast blinked, "What's that?"
Silver suddenly surged forward, tackling Fast to the bed and wrapping his hooves around her. She could do little to resist him, and was soon being embraced gently. "You are fine. You are a lovely person, and you deserve to be loved just as you are."
Fast's breath caught and Silver could feel her heart hasten, "You're just saying that..."
Silver shook his head, "It's true and I'm sticking to it." He squeezed her gently once more before sliding back in a shuffle, "Please don't forget it." He raised a brow, "That... reminds me though. Why a stallion half the time?"
Fast rolled upright with some effort, gently flushed, "Well, stallions are a bit more rare... It always felt nice when the mares would stare."
Night blinked owlishly, "Have you...?"
Fast smirked then, "Of course. Wouldn't you, if you could?"
Night flushed through her grey fur, "Maybe... Not if it meant becoming a changeling."
Silver pointed with a hoof to Fast's legs, "Have you tried becoming, you know, yourself, with working legs?"
Fast gave a slow blink, "That's so obvious that I feel like a complete idiot!" She changed subtly, then slipped from the bed, standing on her own legs and looking down at the formerly-betraying limbs, "I owe you one. A big one."
Silver waved a hoof, "Go back to bed, as yourself. I think everyone needs some sleep."
"Not even going to ask?" said Fast as she trotted back to her own bed and quickly slipped under the covers.
Silver tilted his head a little, "Ask what?"
"How I do it," replied Fast. "Just as well, I wasn't going to say."
Soon everypony had settled for the night, and sleep came gently. When Silver awoke, Fast was gone, Night was at the foot of his bed watching him, and Celine was nowhere in sight. Silver sighed deeply even as he frowned, "Don't suppose she stopped by while I was asleep?"
Night shook her head, "No such luck."
Silver slid to the floor and trotted for the shower, starting to prepare for a new day, "I can't really focus on much. Will I get in trouble if I skip class?"
Night shook her head, "Your friendship with Lyra has a seventy-five percent chance of negating that if you're only gone a day or two. You really should go anyway."
Silver emerged from the shower, toweling off with his magic, "I should... I guess I won't get much done laying around and feeling bad. Please, if you see Celine, tell her I love her so much and that we'll work through this, somehow, and to not run away again." He was soon gone to class, mind abuzz with much that had nothing to do with schoolwork.
Unseen by Silver, Night Watch slipped out of the room as soon as he had trotted far enough away. She headed towards the exit of the academy. Silver was far from the only pony with loved ones that needed to be warned about this.