June 9th, 2159
Finally! The grand opening! It started a little bit after lunch time. I spend my time playing ice hockey, pinball, and the only Daring Do video game ever made. I had such a hard time finding an arcade in Changico that had this game until now.
Aura Draft says there’s an arcade in Tiholena that has it but I already looked. I guess there’s more than one arcade in the city and I missed the other one. Oh well, too late now.
Suddenly, I hear a song coming from Aura Draft, who is sitting at one of the tables, when playing ice hockey. I tell the competitor that I have to have time out and come to Aura Draft, who just so happened to call me over when I did.
“Air Wiff, you home?”
“Yeah, but where’re you?”
Okay, first she was very sad, now I can barely understand what she’s saying. What is going on?
“The new arcade. Air Vent’s with me because we wanted to go to the grand opening.”
“Alright, get her home as soon as you can.”
“Okay.”
I instantly gallop back to the hockey table to see that the competitor I had for the game I was playing left.
Back home, Mom has fallen asleep on her bed, but as if she was previously waiting for us. I try not to wake her up, but Aura Draft does. With Mom stirring, I do my best to hold back a laugh. It is so adorable to see Mom stirring like that.
Suddenly, Aura Draft and I see Mom’s forehooves shake back and forth quickly, almost like flailing, except it’s not tense. Aura Draft just drops her jaw, but I try wake Mom up, thinking she’s just having a nightmare about her time perhaps. Her hooves slow down.
“Mom!!! You have to get up!!! You’re only in a nightmare!!!”
Then they stop. Why won’t she wake up? She’s usually a very light sleeper. Oh, just forget it.
“I think we ought to let her sleep. There must’ve been a lot to do at Halma.”
“Are you sure she’s sleeping?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course she’s sleeping. How could I not be sure?”
“I suggest we feel her chest.”
“What do you mean? I want to let her sleep. I know she’ll wake up.”
“Okay, we’ll leave her alone, but I’ll call a doctor. Here’s a fifty. Just go get a supper for yourself.”
I nod to Aura Draft and gallop over to downtown Changico City.
What do I chose? The hayburger joint? I can’t really be there without an escort unless I turn twenty, like Mom, Queen Shell and Aura Draft. Cloud’s Ice Cream Parlor? No, that’s not supper. Tune Toast? Actually that’s a good idea. I’ve seen a changeling as young as ten enter on their own in there. I’m definitely old enough to go in there on my own.
When I enter, every changeling is changed into somepony. Of course, I’m the only real pony, and I accept the fact that I’m the only real filly in school. Everyone has changed into a variety of races including pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies and two alicorns.
One of the two, the younger, is sitting around five other younger changelings who’ve changed into what appears to the naked eye a rainbow. The only thing is that the color is not that right, especially since green should be in place of white, like how red should be in place of pink. But it’s a given since the colors are particularly light.
The second one of them is incredibly tall, kind of like... Queen Shell.
I come up to the second alicorn and wave hello. She waves back.
“Would you come with me for a second?”
I follow her outside before she changes to Queen Shell.
“Do you remember how you became able to temporarily levitate?”
“I remember that I felt your hoof in my head and it felt more magical than any other time I’ve felt it.”
“That was part of a spell that I have been working on. Today is the first opportunity I have to try it out.”
“A spell? What is it?”
“You’ll find out on your own.”
Huh. I guess it has something to do with levitation. Well Mom can levitate, Aura Draft can levitate, since they have horns. All my classmates have horns... horns... levitation... so am I getting a horn?!? Am I going to be an alicorn?!?
“I think I might have already.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Then come with me.”
Queen Shell and I come over to her home for privacy.
“Oh, goodness. Did you have supper yet?”
“Hmm. I never did have that, did I? Well, I have a fifty.”
“How did you get such an allowance?”
At that moment, a high wind comes from three changelings going to the right of the entrance.
“Aura Draft gave me money for supper while she called a doctor.”
“Well, I could take you over to the hayburger joint. I’ll stay with you.”
“You would? Thank you Queen Shell.”
“The only thing is, before we go, Air Vent... or, from here on, Vent...”
Why was I being called just Vent? I’m referred to as Air Vent.
Queen Shell lights up her horn and gives me a hug before resting her hoof on my mane, feeling more magical than when she originally granted me levitation. When she moves away from me entirely, I get surrounded by a green fire that loops. Suddenly, without moving my wings, I’m up in the air while the fire turns into flowing glass.
I get a pain in my wings and teeth and air starts to flow through my hooves. Afterwards I start to get a sharp headache. Finally, after all that, I start to shiver as if all the fur was ripped off my aching coat. I have a glow in my eyes and I suddenly faint.
An hour later, I wake up to Queen Shell worried about me. I have no idea what happened, but I’m here now.
“Vent? How do you feel?”
Seriously, why is she calling me Vent now? Why is it kind of cold in here compared to when I was first here, especially in the hooves? Why don’t I have as much control over my wings as I used to?
It looks like my entire coat is burnt, and it feels kind of like a mix of paper and metal. When I look up, I see a black horn.
I stand up and... I feel taller. I’d probably say that I’m as tall as Aura Draft now.
I look at Queen Shell one more time before realizing that I didn’t become an alicorn. Becoming an alicorn wouldn’t be that painful and shiver inducing.
“Remember, no changeling will hear of this spell. You will simply go as Vent.”
That’s not my full name, you know, Queen Shell. Isn’t it AIR Vent? Oh well, no harm in keeping with the times I guess.
“I’m probably going to have to get used to being called that.”
“I know Vent, but our full names are one word names. That’s why I took off Air in Air Vent. You will fit right in.”
Yeah, that makes things so much easier for me.
Because a name changer is one thing that I need while I’m waiting for Mom to wake up, much less a transformation.
When I get home. Mom’s gone. I guess she did wake up and she went with Aura Draft, because she’s gone too.
Well, I guess it’s time to get a good night’s sleep. I’m glad Mom actually did get up. She must’ve had some dream. Last I saw her, she was stirring and everything.
I do get some sleep... for about an hour. I wake up to Aura Draft screaming that there’s a changeling on my bed. So, wait. I’m a changeling? I’m of the kind I’m around every single day?
“What’ve you done with Air Vent?!?”
“So, you’re asking me what I did with myself?”
“What you- ugh! Okay. Where was Air Wiff from Friday to Saturday?”
“Halma, Yakyakistan.”
“Do you know where you used to live?”
“Yes, it was in the northern side of Changico City, where the street my old house is on is owned by Changico and Queen Shell.”
“Describe the house in detail.”
“It went from beautiful white walls on the outside full of windows, and completely closeable doors to walls partially chipped with paint and full of... graffiti, was it... It barely had any window left and the doors fell in. When I went in, it was a mess on the first floor and the second floor had sunken parts of the floor. My room in particular had pretty much no ceiling. Afterwards, I could’ve sworn I had an asthma attack. I looked for an inhaler and the whitewatch was-”
“Okay, I get it. You’re Air Vent.”
“You’re not the only one not to get the names of changelings. Queen Shell insists that she calls me Vent instead of Air Vent.”
Then, the big question comes.
“Is Mom at the hospital?”
“No. She was at the hospital, but they never checked her in.”
“They never what?!? How come?!?”
“Remember when you were trying to wake Air Wiff out of her ‘nightmare’?”
“Yeah, and when I heard her on your whitewatch, I barely understood what she was saying.”
“Yeah, about the whitewatch. How about when you stayed home on the last day of school?”
“Yeah. The day before, I needed an inhaler and the whitewatch was the closest thing I could find.”
“Yeah, that spray thing you used that got you to sleep for almost an entire half of a day. The spray in the whitewatch is a powerful depressant. You came back because the spray in the whitewatch you used was almost a decade old.”
Aura Draft starts to tear up.
“The nurses say that she used it from a brand new whitewatch.”
“So what happened to her?”
“I’m afraid she’s gone.”
Aura Draft hugs me, bursting into tears in the process. I hug her back leaving a trail of my own tears.
“But how did I wake up from what I lost Mom to?”
“Venty, you inhaled a ten year old depressant; it’s not as powerful as one that was brand new.”
“So, was I lucky?”
“Yes, you were. I really hope you’ll go to Yakyakistan this time. I better let you rest.”
“I’ll be there. So, when are we going?”
“Early tomorrow morning.”
“Okay. Goodnight Aura Draft.”
“Goodnight, Venty.”
Aura Draft closes the door in the room. I think of turning off the light and it turns off. Afterwards, I close my eyes and try to get to sleep again.