What's a Magic Surge?
Purple. Two shades of purple, or was it one shade of purple and one shade of pink? It really didn't matter too much to Luke, or Shadow as his name appeared to be here. Groggily he returned to consciousness, once more with the purple fuzz ball curled up next to him, this time on a large pillow. Lifting his head and looking around, he was reminded of his current location, the home of the filly that was currently mumbling about something he couldn't make out into her makeshift bed. The same filly that seemed to be the reason for his current problems. Looking around, he took in the décor for the first time. It was hard to notice things when you're just waking up, getting dragged around by a crazy unicorn, slapped into a wall, and then getting some answers to what the hell happened from the super-pony.
He let his gaze wander the living room, spotting picture frames here and there as well as furniture that he could recognize, but which seemed to sit really close to the floor. It made sense in a way, he supposed. Ponies were a bit closer to the ground, so their furniture would be shorter, right? Hopping off the large pillow to the unicorn's mumbled displeasure, he wandered the room, allowing himself to feel the furniture with his strange new appendages. The fact that he could still feel the fabric of the chairs through his strangely soft chitin confused him greatly.
During his exploration, he wandered in front of a mirror, stopping short at the creature that met his gaze. The first thing that crossed his mind was an insectoid pony, but the closer he looked, the more he couldn't place the creature before him in any specific category. The horn was slightly curved compared to the unicorns, with what appeared to be a small pockmark on the back just above his eyes. The chitinous plates that dotted his form were a dark purple in color, as were the orbs that made up his eyes.
'I bet it's because of Twilight.' He thought as he continued his inspection.
The next thing he noticed was the simple fin that started just where a ponies mane did, only this one was followed by a strange dark purple mane that, upon closer inspection, seemed closer to silk than hair. Returning to his face, he looked at his teeth, seeing the fangs just barely jutting out from his lips in almost a comical display, when he noticed something strange about his eyes. There was something else there, underneath the lens. Looking closer, he could see what looked like a pupil under a purple cover. Twitching muscles all over his face, he finally moved one that caused it to lift slightly, though he was immediately blinded by the brightness of the room.
'Purple sunglasses, and purple hair. I'm sensing a running theme here.'
Remembering the ponies grabbing things with their hooves, he stuck his hooves together, and pulled them apart, trying to figure out the grip that was being used. Closing his eyes, he imagined his old hands, the hooves being his palms, and wrapped his fingers around each other as though he were praying. Pulling, he felt resistance, and opened his eyes to find the hooves sticking together.
"That was easier than I thought." He mumbled to himself, before his gaze tracked up the wall. He was kind of bug-like now, right? Slowly a grin split his muzzle, before he took a new position in front of the wall, while humming an old tune.
Slowly, consciousness returned to Twilight, and she was wracked by a planet splitting yawn. Looking around the empty living room, she noticed a blur of movement at the edge of her vision. Looking up, she saw the changeling, shadow, sitting on the ceiling like it was the floor, smiling and waving at her. Barely suppressing a giggle, she turned to see her mother walking into the room.
"Good afternoon, dear, how are- where's your, um, friend?" Twilight Velvet asked her.
Twilight only giggled, having seen Shadow motion for her to be silent, and watched as he positioned himself directly above the unicorn. Her mother however was too busy looking around the room to see him, checking all the places Twilight usually hid when she was feeling mischievous, or had snuck a cookie when she thought nopony was looking. Soon her mother turned to leave, mumbling something about the difficulties of keeping track of normal foals, let alone bug-like ones, before she stopped, eyes widening in realization. Turning back to the still giggling filly, she frowned, before lifting her gaze to the ceiling...
And the changeling foal sitting on her ceiling, covering its muzzle with both hooves to suppress its chuckles.
<-(0)->
"Dragons? Real fire-breathing dragons?" Shadow asked the filly in disbelief.
"Yea! I mean, that was part of the test before I met you. I was supposed to hatch a dragon egg by pushing magic into it." Twilight explained. "You don't have dragons where you come from?"
The changeling shook his head. "Only in stories. I mean, we have the idea of giant fire-breathing monsters but they don't actually exist. They're like manticores and uni- ok, maybe that's not a good example here. The point is, we have the idea for them, but they're not real."
"Manticores are too real! I've seen them in my books, they said they live in the deepest parts of the Everfree forest."
The two foals, or one foal and one pseudo-foal, were enjoying a lively exchange of the different creatures from their perspective worlds during lunch, though Shadow mostly just picked at or nibbled at the strange foods. Some tasted alright to him, but they just didn't seem to fill him up much. Not only that, he wasn't that hungry to begin with, odd as it may be. Maybe it had something to do with his new anatomy? In the meantime, Shadow was having to dig through his knowledge of deep sea creatures or insects to impress the filly, while she was throwing the more outlandish creatures of the world at him, leading to a friendly game of one-uppance.
"Ok, how about this. There's a shrimp that can break glass with a single snap of its claw." He said with a grin, watching as the filly pouted.
"That's dumb, how can a crab snap its claw and make its tank break?"
His answer was cut off by a few simple nickers from the other side of the table. While he'd begun to hear a pattern to the sounds the ponies made, it was worse than trying to decipher people speaking or writing in Russian or Japanese to the colt. He knew something was being said, and there were contextual clues, but the words were beyond him. He didn't look forward to trying to learn the local language either, though he knew he couldn't rely on swapping with the filly to communicate. Watching the filly deflate, he assumed it was something along the lines of 'Stop talking and eat.' So he waited for the meal to end, idly nibbling on the boiled hay and rolled flowers that had been served for lunch. The way it was served actually reminded him of spaghetti and meatballs.
Watching the unicorns eating with utensils gripped in auras that matched those surrounding their horns, Shadow already knew what the next topic of discussion would be. It came from their horns, and he had one. Maybe he could manage the same thing? Focusing on the horn on his head, he was disturbed by a few whinnies from his left, and the filly to his right translated.
"Daddy said don't practice magic at the table. It will make a mess." her ears fell to either side of her head in memory. "When I did that and was still learning, I made my cereal explode."
The changeling colt just nodded dumbly, not sure how one could make cereal explode, nor interested in the kind of mess boiled hay would make from the same treatment.
'Maybe this magic stuff won't be as simple as I thought.' He thought glumly. He'd probably have to work at it before he could blow stuff up with his mind.
<-(0)->
After the meal, the two were allowed to retire to the fillies room which would serve as their room until they could find other sleeping arrangements. It felt awkward to Shadow, but at the same time, he didn't feel comfortable being separated from Twilight. Making themselves comfortable on the floor, the unicorn had pulled out several basic spell books and practice items and was currently giving him instructions on magic use.
"Ok, so first you need to find your magic. 'Magic is an energy that feels different for each tribe. For the unicorns, it is most often described as lightning, or electricity. Earth ponies often describe the sensation as similar to a warm meal, or the calming sensation of watching the sun set. Pegasi describe it as wind, a cloud, or any number of weather phenomena they feel comfortable and relate well with. The reason for these different description is thought to be because one's magic is an extension of their will, and thus is focused on whatever somepony enjoys the most. A unicorn who works metals often finds their magic attuning itself to their craft very quickly, while pegasi find their latent magic will often work best with whatever speeds and elements they find themselves most comfortable with.'" Twilight said, reading from one of her primers. "In other words, think about what you like doing the most, and your magic will most likely be in an elemental form that would help with that task. If that doesn't help, Mom just told me to concentrate, to just focus on what I liked to do and watch for a tingle in my horn or chest."
Nodding, Shadow closed his eyes, thinking about his hobbies. He liked running, he liked walking trails. He also liked cooking, and growing his own herbs made his meals that much more special. Wind, fire, lightning, he couldn't seem to get a grasp on any element, though he swore he felt an odd tingle every now and again. What he did feel while concentrating like this was the shimmering warmth that was staring right at him. He frowned, why could he feel her energy but not his own? He looked closer, taking note of the rolling of the aura, the sudden jerks and surges much like the storms Twilight had described when talking of her own magic.
"Um, Shadow? What are you-eep!"
Pushing ahead, he mentally caught some of the magic, pushing and pulling it, watching as it flowed like water around his grip. He watched it, he smelled it, he took in every detail he could find about it. This was magic, something that as far as he knew, didn't exist back home. It was power, raw and waiting for purpose. But it was also contained, bound to the filly sitting across from him. Finally bringing his thoughts back to his own form, he noticed it, a small link from the filly to himself, some of her power seeping into him, slowly converting into a more diffuse state that spread through his form.
It was much more subtle, not as raw and strong as the fillies, but it was there now that he knew what to look for. A different kind of power. A quiet burning power that smoldered beneath the surface, hiding itself from view. Of course he couldn't find it earlier, the magic seemed to attempt to avoid detection. Only by watching as it changed mid-link did he learn what to look for. Pulling at it, he brought his focus to his horn, feeling a simple warmth flow up from the base of the black spear. This was what they were doing in the dining room. This is what the changeling needed to do to control his magic, something he'd eventually have to learn to do subconsciously.
Distantly, he heard the filly giggling, prancing around the room while cheering at his success, and he felt his own emotions follow. He chuckled softly, then barely stifled his own giggles, nearly losing his concentration. He shook his head, forcing the happiness back. Now was not the time. He had to focus on the feeling, the sensation, memorizing the flow of magic.
Suddenly, the door flew open, and a male voice whinnied and nickered from the hallway, shocking him. There was a burst from his horn, and he nearly collapsed from the sudden vertigo that assaulted his senses.
Twilight could only stare at the place that had once held her new friend. She'd seen his horn glowing faintly, a sign of the colt finding his own magic and pushing it to his horn, but then her father had spoken and spooked him, and the energy had dispersed in a flash of fire. After the flames had cleared, she was left staring at a carbon copy of herself.
'So that's why the Princess called him a changeling.'
The possibilities whirled through her mind, her mouth agape as she stared at the stumbling purple clone. Distantly, she heard her father's questions slowly fading into confusion as he too spotted the scene unfolding in the room.
Finally snapping out of her stupor, Twilight trotted over to Shadow, steadying him with a hoof.
"Shadow, are you alright? You surged when the door was opened."
"I think so?" He responded in her own voice. "I'm not sure what happened... do I sound different? I can't really tell if it's just my eyes or all my senses, but everything's gone all spinney."
Twilight smiled. "Don't worry, I got sick after my first surge, and mom was kind of upset because she had to change my sheets. It's normal."
Her dad chose that point to interrupt their conversation. "Uh, Twilight? We'll be having dinner soon, then your mother wants you to head to bed early tonight, ok? It's been a long two days for all of us. We'll, we'll set your friend up with a sleeping bag tonight, ok?" With that her father left, leaving the filly confused. Did he not find the surge funny? Twilight thought it was great. She was already wondering what else Shadow could change into!
"Hey Twilight? What did that surge do? You said earlier that surges make things happen, right? He uh, didn't sound too thrilled." The not-her said, finally standing on her/his own four hooves again.
"It was great! When you surged, you turned into me!" The filly cried, pulling the unsteady changeling into a hug. The next words out of her mouth caused the changelings eyes to widen in terror.
"I always wanted a sister!"
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poor Shadow.
I'm on mix feelings. I love seeing this early stuff but frankly I can't wait for the Summer Sun and the wedding with Shadow around.
And yes first comment
6112467 He's basically attached to purple smart at this point. Tia has all the time in the world to ask him those questions. I'm of the mind that she's good at the long game. Also, it was the possibility for those things that drove me to start this. I enjoy the premise, but as I said when I first posted this set of stories, the one that gets the most love will get my focus. Substitute got the best reception, so its where I spend most of my time.
Poor, poor 'ling.
Hope to see more soon
Yay he kinda learned how to use his changeling magic thing!
6122157
I hope Shadow has the fortitude to make it through all the tea parties and games Twilight is going to subject him to. A little girl has the equivalent of a real imaginary friend that can be anyone or anything? Ack. Granted, there's size limitations and such but that still leaves a lot of leeway in Twilight's playtime.
And has no one in Twilight's room noticed at the end of the chapter that Shadow could understand Equestrian after turning into a copy of Twilight? ...or the author forgot to mask the father's speech as gibberish with Twilight translating?
I'm glad this story is still getting continued, and I hope you work on it some more as I feel it has a little more potential for interesting scenarios than Substitute. I feel it could have quite an interesting alternative look at Twilight Sparkle's development, with someone that attached to her for her entire education. How it would affect Twilight's relationships with everyone else as well.
I can foresee some time-skips upcoming, but only to give Shadow the language. Else, it could be slice of life for a bit, moving forward to the Summer Sun celebration, and then changed Spike, changed Twilight Sparkle, and changeling Shadow could have all kinds of bizarre and interesting experiences.
One of the more immediate concerns for them is the distrust of Shadow by everyone, especially Twilight's family. It's an uphill battle, especially with how overprotective of her they are. But Shadow doesn't have a choice, and Twilight may actually need him around and close by. Shadow is a familiar after all, and that's a bond closer than any other in all kinds of fiction.
[I'm really curious what kind of familiar bond shenanigans they can do. Can they cast each other's magic? Augment each other's abilities, thoughts? Share direct telepathy? Can Twilight use Changeling magic like self-transformation with some practice, or be able to sense emotions through Shadow? It's a giant hotpot of possibilities! Especially if Shadow eventually overcomes the horror of being able to change gender, will they do a Twin gimmick to confuse and disorient others? I know Trixie would definitely be all over that gimmick in Twilight's place, as the potential of not being able to tell them apart (and being able to pass thoughts between each other to boot) could be a huge boon, or at least the joke that keeps on giving.]
6122917
It's Twilight's perspective.
6122917 The last part was from Twilight's POV so Shadow still doesn't understand them without the swap.
Tea parties won't be an issue. This is TWILIGHT were are talking about. her first sleep over was in Ponyville.
Thanks for the update!
Great chapter.
6122966
Well, I guess it's not like Twilight's gonna go full ForScience!-mode on shadow experiment with him, right?
...right?
[Years later, not much has changed in Twilight and shadow's relationship...]
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/2/17/246753__safe_twilight+sparkle_oc_artist-colon-makkon.jpeg
6125195 need to make the picture smaller, it got cut off.
6125625
Looks fine and uncropped on my laptop...?
6125807 it's cut off on my desktop. Only see the tail of who ever Twilight's experimenting on.
Poor, poor Shadow.
Shadow: