"Okay, now try to get angry." Twilight was adjusting the sensitivity of the machine as she spoke. I nodded and tried to focus into how I felt about the changelings that had attacked me. Fear prickled first, then a bit of anger.
"Uh, hold on…" I reached out to my pack and pulled out my poor phone. The thing was turned off at the moment but I had charged it to full before we had left Canterlot. Manipulating it with magic was surprisingly easy and I had it on and suddenly everypony's ears swiveled first to it then tucked back.
"What on Equestria is that sound, they… what are they singing?" Twilight's wings had gone up in alarm and Stick didn't seem to be into thrash metal either.
"Give me a moment…" I turned the volume down but brought it closer to my own ears. The anger I had from the foalnapping was stoked quickly, the music playing to just the right harmony to bring it to full potential. Just then I opened up to the middle of my horn and let loose.
Stick shied a little. "I can't eat that."
"It worked!" Twilight was tearing off paper and bringing it to me. "See, here, it is a slightly different vibration." I nodded, particularly when she brought out one of the less negatively-focused emotion graphs. "The reason you seem to be feeding Stick so much is that you keep thinking of her." Twilight nodded at this, poking a hoof at her notes. "This spike in the vibration, that was when you looked back to her, just now. See how it drops back to almost the same as the baseline?"
Deep interest was of course my main emotion now and I moved the two graphs, lining the start up just so. "It ramps up faster too, the anger." I jabbed at the amplitude overlay.
"That could be the introduction of that… can you please stop it?" Twilight's ears were folded back hard and I giggled and stopped the player. "Is that what all human music was like?"
"Not really. I liked music that focused on all emotions. This was music to have when anger was felt but couldn't be expressed. It works me up, but burns it out at the same time." My explanation seemed to not be taken at face value.
"Maybe later then. For now I need another emotion…" Twilight was not to be distracted and so I turned the phone back off, folded it in the protective cover and put it back in my bag. Moving things was still a bit of strain, but the more I did it the better I got.
Without windows down here, it was hard to work out what the time was, and with science keeping us both focused it was full steam ahead. Naps were had, sometimes with me still hooked up to the machine.
At last though even Princess Twilight Sparkle could think of nothing more to test and we, on legs a little wobbly, made our way upstairs. It was her belly that grumbled first, then mine and we both blushed. "When was the last time we ate?" My question got a shrug and mutually we made for the dining room.
"There you are!" Stick was standing, a pot hovering beside her with a spoon stirring it. "Both of you sit down, dinner is done." Plates hovered and made their way out, each laden with roasted vegetables and accompanied by what I thought was a chicken schnitzel. It had me confused until I was seated, cutlery and food at the ready. I cut it carefully and noted it wasn't the right color inside. Biting down I had a blush of delight run through me. Eggplant.
Chewing it and swallowing, it felt like the food seemed to dissolve right into magic potential. Was I that drained? "Like it?"
I gulped down the second just in time to join Twilight in praise. "This is amazing!" I looked at Twilight, she at me. We giggled and kept eating.
"Good. Now don't get greedy for seconds, I have a dessert to come." I didn't need to channel any magic for Stick to know what her cooking for me meant to me. She stepped over, still stirring the pot she had started with. A nibble at one ear-tuft was quite welcomed, even as I kept eating.
"There is a book you are going to need." Twilight said between mouthfulls and, with a flick of her magic it appeared before me.
You are a unicorn!
The title of it was clearly meant for foals. "I know it looks childish, but that is mostly because it is a good companion book to start a foal on when they are just learning to use their magic, right through to teaching the basics of spells." I blinked with a little bit more assurance.
As she flicked the book open with her magic I noticed something. There was scribble in the borders of most pages, notes. Even a list. I looked to Twilight. "This was yours?" I blushed a bit. "Well, it still is, but you learned from this?" She gave a nod and a grin.
"It was a special gift." Pages flicked and I read the note at the front, it was a gift from her mother. "Your parents aren't here to give you your first magic book."
My food was almost forgotten as I got some tears in my eyes and Stick was just there. She moved from the first feel of the longing and emotions that swelled up in me. "I do miss them…" The admission, my first, made me feel at once terrible and more alive. I had been bottling this all up from the moment I had been changed. Stick didn't move and by the time I returned to my meal it was cooler, Twilight had finished hers.
"Better?" Stick's voice sounded just like any other pony's. I nodded and ran my cheek by her own. She knew my feelings possibly better than I did. "Good, finish that plate and lets get you some ice cream."
Somepony's magic rubbed the tear streaks from my cheeks as I turned back to the plate. Finishing the vegetables just in time to have Stick bring out three big bowls of ice cream, topped with sprinkles and some thick-looking topping. My mouth watered and my belly, full as it was, expressed it's own opinion that this was something that needed to be inside me.
One bowl was set before Twilight, one at an empty seat, moments before Spike charged in and the last was set at the place beside me. I tried to levitate it and the spoon over but green magic wrapped forcefully around my own and held it all steady. "I like feeding you." Stick said, sitting down beside me. She worked the spoon around in the bowl a little before the first load was brought up and to my lips.
I looked at it and her, expressing a desire for defiance before opening my mouth. Willpower can only take a pony so far. The flavor of the ice-cream, the chocolate-molasses topping and the little sparks of taste of the sprinkles lit up in my mouth and I almost melted sideways against Stick. "Silly mare, can't even sit up straight without my help." She didn't move though, nor move me. The second spoon had to wait not a moment before I opened my mouth.
Curled up with Stick, the rest of the evening was almost as much fun. I was reading the book, starting and working through the stuff I already knew, I finally got to the tricks with juggling items, check, and then the next step was to keep practicing that while memorizing patterns?
I poked one with a hoof. "Stick, what are these, really?" She had been distracted, lost in her own world. "Oh, unicorns use those to cast spells. See, what me." Her horn lit and for a moment I could see the pattern, lit in green.
"Wait, unicorns use them. What do you use?" I tilted my head to her.
"Silly, we use mostly the same stuff, it takes some work to learn. But we also have our changeling magic." I was curled up with Twilight, then Rainbow Dash, then the flames came once more and Stick was herself once more.
"Wait, do that again…" Stick tilted her head as I asked but was Twilight again, staring into my eyes. "Your horn doesn't channel when you do that!" She nuzzled me and I drew back a little. "Sorry, I only snuggle Stick." There was a flash of green fire and I accepted the snuggle.
"So it is magic without a horn, natural magic?" My thoughts were interrupted as I yawned. As I felt my faculties winding down for sleep but turned my gaze to Stick's neck and made a little light. She had done some shifting for me and would need a pick-me-up.
My dreams were calm, no demon-changeling to haunt them, but there was Stick, still big and imposing. I wasn't going to complain.
"We need to leave." Stick murmured in my ear, probably not for the first time. As my eyes opened I looked up at her and kissed her on the nose. "Come on sleepy-head. We have missed the first train through, if we don't hurry we will miss the next."
My pack I found easily, but when I looked for my shawl I found not the one I had originally, but five! "Rarity?" Stick nodded to my guess. Most were in pinks and purple, one dark blue I grabbed, settling it across my croup and tucking it in to my saddlebags. "Okay, check." The remaining clothes floated over and into my bags.
Stick drew a brush from the other pack and set to work on my mane, I found another and did hers. Even though we could both safely do magic and take care of our own, it felt better to look after each other. I had as much energy as I could devoted to moving the brush, but I knew that I was likely supplying energy for the both of us. "Right, lets go grab some food and be off." Stick had finished with my tail and even gave my ear-tufts a flick each.
"Right." I gave her a nuzzle as we left the room and ambled down the stairs. No one was around, it was quiet. What was going on? Spike walked through from the kitchen. "Where is everypony?"
He looked around like he was, himself, unsure and shrugged. "I bet they are around. Maybe fighting off a monster or saving breezies…" The young dragon set a bowl of his crystal cereal down and started eating it.
In the kitchen was a cake and a note.
Sorry I couldn't be here to see you off, had to go with the girls to take care of something. There is a letter for Cadance, make sure Stick gives it to her herself.
- Twilight
"Aww." I lifted the cake with my magic and carried it out with two plates. Dishing up a slice each we had breakfast cake and, despite her efforts to feed me all of her plate, I fed Stick back my own.
"I don't need to eat that, you should-" My revenge was so sweet, as sweet as the cake I popped in her mouth to quieten her. She glared but chewed the cake. Of course it was one of Pinkie's, no doubt, I hoped ponies don't get cavities.
"Nope, I'm out of here." Spike wasn't done with his food but we had made him uncomfortable it seems. I knew calling him back wouldn't help so let him leave.
"Okay, now for a proper snuggle." Stick stuffed a big hunk of cake in my mouth and kissed me. My eyes closed and I channeled a little magic. We were distracted, quite well so.
"Train leaves soon!" Spike called from outside, clearing his throat after it. We both giggled and I had to lick a smear of the cake topping from Stick's cheek.
"Lets go." I nodded to Stick's sentiment and we put the cake back in the kitchen, what was left of it, cleaned our plates and trotted out. This time I could see the shimmer of the protection spell much better and, as Stick walked through it she giggled. "That is ticklish, but I doubt it is for other changelings."
"At least it is a start. I don't think Rarity would have had a chance to talk to Queen Fast while she was here, you should talk to her on our way through." Stick gave a nod of agreement.
It was lucky Spike had broken our moment, the train was just starting to build up more steam to leave when we arrived. "Two for Canterlot, please." The pony in the ticket booth smiled brightly and gave us two tickets.
"Heard you helped protect the Apples from that nasty business." The ticket clerk, an older-looking pegasus mare, seemed focused on Stick. Who nodded. "Good to hear. Some folks around here had bad words for you, but you can't judge everypony by just a few bad eggs." Stick nodded more and smiled.
"Thank you!" She practically bubbled with happiness at this. Progress.