Reprogramming

by sunnypack

2 - Quod Erat Demonstrandum

I swear I had only closed my eyes for a brief moment, but the next thing I saw was a blurred mass of cream.

“Pinkie… that’s too much cream…” I heard someone say. It took me a while to register that it was me.

“She’s awake! Fetch the doctor!”

Was that Sergeant Wheeler? I struggled to get up. The cream resolved itself into a set of wide eyes and a shock of hair surrounding a concerned face.

“Puff?” I mumbled.

“You’re all right!” Two hooves wrapped around my head and hugged for all it was worth. I felt a smile work its way to my lips.

“Thank you, Puff,” I said, my voice muffled through her mane. I used a free hoof to stroke the filly as a smile broke out across my face.

“Wheelie—” Puff began.

“W-Wheelie?!” I heard him splutter. The sound came off somewhere to the right.

“—Wheelie came back with a whole bunch of pegasi. When he saw you, he got all the pegasi to carry you and the changeling back to the hospital! We had to run all the way back. He even carried me— oops, I wasn’t supposed to say that part. He told me never to mention it to anypony.”

I peeked over Puff’s mane and gave Sergeant Wheeler a grateful smile. An added bonus was seeing Sergeant Wheeler blush and look away. Hah, stallions. I glanced at the clock, but it was occluded by a stray curtain.

“A few hours,” he said, answering my unspoken question. “Nothing to worry about, just a slight case of mage’s malaise.”

“Thank you, Sergeant Wheeler, I guess I was wrong about being able to take care of myself,” I said meekly. “Sometimes I do need a helping hoof.”

Sergeant Wheeler snapped a rather formal salute, though the sides of his mouth quirked upwards in a slight smile. “Happy to help, Princess.” He moved towards the bed and tugged on the fuzzy mass at my chest. “Come on now,” he urged. “I’m sure the Princess wouldn’t want a permanent necklace.”

I gave Puff a pat on her head. She nodded at Sergeant Wheeler and then clambered off my bed, joining him at the side.

Then some of Puff’s earlier words sunk in. I sat up.

“The changeling? The changeling! How is it?!” I made to get out of the bed, but I was checked by the sergeant’s hoof.

“It’s fine,” he assured me. “The hospital staff told me that, although they couldn’t be sure, the changeling looked like it would be fine.”

I sank back into my bed, breathing a sigh of relief.

“I wouldn’t know what to do if it—” I shook my head “—in any case, please see that it is well taken care of, but under guard. We’ll have to prepare to relocate it. I’ll need to notify the Princesses and see if they know of the location of any hives. It’s a slim chance, but I’m willing to bet—”

“Princess,” Sergeant Wheeler interrupted quietly. “I know it’s not my place, but you’ve been through a lot. I think it’s best if you take some time to rest yourself and tackle most of this tomorrow.”

Protests died in my throat when I saw Puff’s pleading eyes added amongst the Sergeant’s.

“Okay,” I said, slowly sinking back into my sheets with a rueful grin. “It would be unproductive to overexert myself.”

The sergeant gave me a grateful smile. Puff grinned.

A knock on the door startled all of us. A curious head framed with a wild red mane peeked in.

“You called for a doctor?” the mare said, coming into the room.

“I guess that’s our cue to leave. Thank you, Princess,” Sergeant Wheeler said. He tapped Puff smartly on the shoulder. “Time to leave.” Puff gave a pout, but complied reluctantly.

I tracked them as they left the room, closing the door with an almost inaudible click. Puff sent me back a wide-eyed stare and it was all I could do to wave at her as she dragged her hooves out of the room. She was a precious foal. Meanwhile, the doctor was fairly quick with her assessment and I let her walk me through her diagnosis. She muttered a few things about the cautions of mage’s malaise and I found myself nodding and drifting off, not really catching what she was saying.

“Princess Twilight?”

“Mmm?” I blinked and refocused on the doctor. I shook my head. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

The doctor’s mouth creased into a slight frown, but she went forward with what she was saying while I sat there feeling a little guilty that I had ignored her.

“I was just letting you know that you’re free to leave, however I recommend you staying here for another few days under observation. Just in case.”

I nodded in acquiescence and the doctor surprisingly let go a sigh of relief.

“Sorry,” she said in answer to my querying look. “We haven’t treated an alicorn before. It’s a little daunting.”

I smiled at her. “I’m not an expert, but I think you’re doing great.” I paused, giving an awkward shrug of my shoulders. “I’m just like any other pony, just with horns and wings.”

I liked to think that set her at ease, because she straightened slightly and smiled, then asked me to sign a few forms with a more confident gesture. After sorting out most of the bureaucratic side of hospital life, I yawned as the doctor gave me a sympathetic smile.

“You need to rest,” she advised and I could only nod wearily. The doctor scribbled a few more items on my chart and gave me a cross between a nod and a bow. She swung around, and as abruptly as she came, she left the room, flicking the door closed behind her.

I sat in my bed hearing the constant tick of the clock. I shivered. The room felt empty and hollow and I was left with only the sound of my own thoughts to keep me company.

——————

Tick, tick, tick.

I didn’t want them to. I really didn’t. I recited all of Star Swirl’s spells, from amniomorphic to zyganstry. I tried to read. I tried to sleep. I tried everything I could think of and still I couldn’t banish the niggling thoughts. No matter how I drew away from it, it always came back to that moment of inception, as I lay there with my head bent close to the changeling’s chest.

My Queen. 

What did that mean?

I shivered, instinctively drawing the thin linen blankets around me. I tapped my hoof on one of the railings on the side of the bed, hearing the metallic sound echo in the room. There wasn’t anypony else around here. The adjacent bed was kept empty and even the normal sounds one would frequently associate with a hospital, like the pulse of an electrocardiogram or the shuffle of hospital staff, were absent. The silence was eerie.

For a split second, everything felt muted, like I was underwater and sensations felt distant and hollow.

Was it just me or was the clock no longer ticking?

Then suddenly as it came, the feeling was gone. I blinked in surprise.

Was it just my imagination?

Tick, tick, tick.

It was frustrating to hear the sound of the clock, but not actually see it. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes that have passed since Sergeant Wheeler and Puff had left… it felt like hours.

I licked my lips. My throat was feeling dry. On the bedside table was a glass and a pitcher of water. Habitually, my horn sparked as I reached for my magic, but I reigned it in. Magic had become a big part of my life and I found it difficult to resist performing the simplest of spells. I berated myself for not having more self-control. I had read about mage’s malaise before.

Instead of simple magic exhaustion, mage’s malaise resulted from supplying too much of your own internal magic in a spell. It was common to see in novice doctors and ponies performing medical procedures out of their depth, but I thought I could handle it. Too many confounding variables, I think, and a touch of overconfidence. Grimacing, I hoofed over the glass of water and poured myself a couple of gulps to slake my thirst.

Gulping down the water, I felt a little better about myself. Everypony makes mistakes. I had to learn from them, that’s all. I chuckled to myself. There was probably a friendship lesson in this too. The window caught my eye. I was past the point of friendship lessons, wasn’t I?

A yawn caught me by surprise, my body letting me know that its exertions were catching up to me. It had only been a few hours since I had found the changeling, but it felt like days. My eyes fluttered. A little nap would be nice.

——————

With a start, I awoke. I panicked, not knowing where I was until I realised I was at the hospital. Las Pegasus, White Tail Woods, right.

My ears pricked, swivelling around the room to the odd sound that had roused me from sleep. There were muffled exclamations coming from the other side of the hospital door.

“Oof— will— I can’t— right— call—”

The door burst open and I almost bolted out of my bed in fright. Through the door tumbled in something I wasn’t ready to meet, as well as what looked like half the hospital staff and the whole contingent of the local guard.

“Keep it still! Somepony get the tranquiliser!”

At the words, I jolted into action.

“Hold it!”

Everypony froze.

From underneath the bodies, the changeling from the woods struggled from beneath the pile and clambered to its hooves. A guard’s hoof shot out to restrain it, but I cautiously waved it away. Reluctantly, the guard retracted his hoof as the changeling approached me slowly, nonchalant, despite the many pairs of eyes trained warily on it.

“Yes?” I asked it gently. My outer facade was a lie, I could feel my heart was racing faster than a minotaur with its fur on fire. Despite that, I was getting good at channelling my inner Celestia and projecting that outwards. They wouldn’t know I was about to launch myself out the window.

It looked at me with unsettling blank eyes. Despite my efforts, I swallowed a little too thickly for posterity’s sake.

“I am here, my Queen,” it reported to me. It had a tone that reminded me of a pony who was just talking about the colour of the sky. The tail end of the sentence bothered me. I shot a look back at the hospital staff. The guards had sorted themselves out from the tangled mess from afore. They stared at me, openly curious at the unfolding proceedings, but ready with a word from my lips. I couldn’t see Puff or the sergeant and I was surprised to feel somewhat at a loss without them.

“Would you mind excusing us for a moment?” I asked the onlookers.

“Princess—” one of the guards started to say but I nodded at him.

“Don’t worry,” I said in what I hoped was a reassuring tone. “I’ll be fine, I think.”

“All the same—”

“Would you please close the door behind you on the way out?” I knew I was being a little rude, but what the changeling was saying had made me twitchy. I flicked an ear as the door shut and I strained to hear the reluctantly retreating hoof steps. After I was reasonably sure they were gone, I turned back to the changeling that stood there stoically by my bedside.

“Are you alright? Are you sure you should be out of bed?” I didn’t know what the creature’s agenda was, but logically it hadn’t done anything wrong… well apart from forcing its way into my room. It didn’t look like it wanted to hurt anypony.

“I am healthy, my Queen,” it droned.

I carefully smoothed my expression.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked tentatively, feeling a prickling sensation in my hooves and in the tips of my mane. That feeling never bore well.

“Please be more specific, my Queen.”

“I mean ‘Queen’,” I said tentatively. “I’m not a Queen, and I’m not your Queen. Who is your real Queen?”

The changeling looked perplexed. Its wings fluttered a bit and it took a step towards my bed.

“You are my Queen,” it said.

I straightened out the blankets beneath my hooves, trying to think of a nice way to put it.

“I’m not your Queen,” I repeated patiently. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. You can just call me Twilight.”

“Yes, my Queen.”

My eye twitched. I didn’t know whether the changeling was doing it deliberately or if it truly believed I was its queen. I glanced at the changeling suspiciously and then shook my head. Something told me that this issue wasn’t going to go away, but maybe I could talk some sense into it? I tried another tack.

“Surely you must have a hive close by? Do you have a hive?” I asked.

“Hive…?” The changeling’s eyes blinked a couple of times. “Yes, my Queen.”

I stiffened, then sat up straighter. “Great! Maybe you could show me where it is?”

The changeling raised its hoof. It started slowly from the bottom of my bed, raised it past the railing, and past the sheets... to stop at my chest.

I looked at its hoof, and then to its face.

“That’s not funny,” I said crossly. “Where’s your hive?”

The changeling didn’t move an inch. The hoof stayed where it was. I felt my face pull into a frown. Was this changeling serious? It stood there, its gaze trained on me… like a dog awaiting a mistress’ orders. No… that was crazy. I took a deep breath, trying not to give in the sense of dread that lurked in the back of my mind. Maybe it hit its head before we got to it? Yes, that could be it. No, that was it. It was just playing with me.

It still had its hoof pointed at me.

“You can put your hoof down now.”

“Yes, my Queen,” it said… and kept its hoof in the air.

My mouth quirked. It was definitely messing with me.

“Put your hoof down,” I commanded. To my surprise, the changeling put down its hoof.

“As you wish, my Queen.”

What? Was it…? Some tests were needed.

“Look up,” I instructed.

“As you wish, my Queen,” it stated.

The changeling looked up.

“Look at me.” It looked at me.

“Can you turn around?”

“Yes, my Queen.” It continued to look at me.

Comprehension finally dawned on me. It wasn’t being recalcitrant, it was just interpreting my questions literally. The changeling simply replied ‘yes’ or ‘no’ when I asked if it could perform an action. Fascinating… I opened my mouth to discover more, but I suddenly remembered where I was. This wasn’t the time or place to conduct tests or perform an investigation.

“Okay, start from the beginning. Do you know where we are?”

“We are here, my Queen.”

My eye twitched. Literal indeed.

“We’re at Las Pegasus General. Can you— I mean, tell me why you’re here.”

“To serve the Queen, my Queen.”

“Would you— I mean stop that. Stop calling me Queen. Call me Twilight or Ms. Sparkle or Hey You or even Princess!”

“As you wish… my Princess.”

Well it was a small step up. I wanted to say more but a knock on the door interrupted me.

“Princess?” A muffled voice reverberated through. Oh, Sergeant Wheeler.

“Come in,” I said as the door opened to admit the stallion. I cast my gaze around, hoping to see the shock of hair that was Puff, but I couldn’t spot her.

“Gone back home,” Sergeant Wheeler stated. I flinched with his uncanny habit of reading minds.

“Comes with the job,” the sergeant chuckled. I had to school my features, lest surprise break through.

I smiled at him anyway, grateful for his presence, but I could see the lines scored beneath his eyes. “You should go home and get some rest too, Sergeant, you look dead on your hooves,” I commented wryly. Sergeant Wheeler cracked a grin, but shook of my concerns with a flick of his tail. He lifted his chin stubbornly.

“Nothing too serious, I’m in fit condition. If I may direct the question back to you, Princess, you seem to be up and about, despite medical advice to get some rest.” He eyed the changeling. “Though maybe your visitors are keeping you up.”

I glanced at the changeling.

“You can go back to— Please go back to your room.”

“As you wish, my Princess,” the changeling said, then it stayed rooted to its spot.

Sergeant Wheeler looked at me curiously. I sighed.

“To your room,” I groaned, pointing to the door. “Do you know where your room is?”

“Yes, my Princess.”

It stood in the same spot.

Sergeant Wheeler looked from the changeling to me. I tried one more time.

“Where is your room?” I asked it. Blue-hued eyes regarded me. It pointed a hoof to the floor. In the centre of my room.

“This is our room, my Princess,” it said, while I rolled my eyes.

Sergeant Wheeler glanced at me with a look that conveyed sympathy.

“I think this changeling is a bit touched in the head.”

I sighed. “That’s what I thought too. We just don’t know enough about these changelings.” I stopped and scowled at the changeling. “Please put your hoof down.” I waited for the changeling to comply before continuing. “For some reason it thinks I’m its Queen, don’t ask me why.”

“Do you think it had something to do with the magic you cast in the forest?” Sergeant Wheeler proffered.

I pursed my lips. It made sense, but that wasn’t consistent with the way magic worked.

“Nothing like that has ever happened before,” I said slowly, trying to put the facts together. I cast my mind back to the moment I shared some of my magic with it. What happened was non-standard to put it lightly, but magic is very structural. There’s simple input and simple output. You get out what you put in. Known quantities. Most of the time. If you messed up it was because you put too much power, or you weren’t channeling the right energies, or you got the spell wrong. I didn’t get the spell wrong and as for the power draw… it would just get more of my magic.

“I don’t see how this could have panned out,” I said honestly. I shrugged. “Maybe it lost its connection with the hive and it latched onto me?”

“I didn’t know that was possible…” Sergeant Wheeler muttered, then he shook his head. “I’ll get the changeling back to its room. How about you get some rest?”

I nodded. I was going to write a report to the Princess, but Sergeant Wheeler would probably worry if I suddenly started working in front of him.

“Can you follow Sergeant Wheeler to your room and stay there?”

“Yes, my Princess.”

Sergeant Wheeler made for the door, opening it and looking back. The changeling hadn’t moved from its spot by my side.

“Uhh Princess—“

“Please follow Sergeant Wheeler to your room and stay there,” I growled. “Your room will be the one that Sergeant Wheeler points out for you.”

The changeling looked at me for a moment. It didn’t move.

“You will be here, my Princess,” it said. It sounds like something in between a question and a statement. It was hard to tell, its voice was so monotonous.

“Yes?” I replied.

“Then I must stay here, my Princess,” it stated.

“W-Why?” I demanded.

“Because you ordered me to,” it said.

Sergeant Wheeler stepped forward. “Princess, shall I?” But I raised my hoof stopping him.

“No, no,” I said, turning back to the changeling. “What? When?”

“In the forest,” the changeling stated. “You said, ‘Don’t die on me. Stay with me’.”

Memories of that moment flooded my mind. Dear Celestia, I thought that… did this changeling hear me back then?

“T-That’s impossible, I was only thinking that, I was desperate.”

The changeling locked unnerving eyes with me.

“I heard,” it said. “And I obeyed.”