Binging
I woke up the following morning with stiff limbs. Pinkie had been determined to teach me every dance she knew. I sat up in bed and stretched each appendage, trying to ease the pain out of my muscles. If that’s how every party was, I think I’d have to sit out the next few.
“Good morning.”
Twilight descended the stairs, looking far too cheerful for how early it was. I grumbled a ‘good morning’ and continued my stretching.
“Well somepony isn’t an early riser.”
I shifted to the edge of the bed, hanging my back legs down.
“Can you blame me? What’s the point of getting up with the Sun? There’s plenty of daytime.”
“Exactly! So there’s plenty of time to start your education!”
Oh boy. I carefully placed my legs against the floor, putting weight onto them. Not bad today. I set my front hooves down next and found that I was remaining steady.
“At least one thing is going well today.”
Twilight had begun walking around the library, pulling books down from the shelves.
“I thought we’d go over some of the basics of Equestria to begin with. We can dive into more current fields of study after that.”
Spike entered the room, hauling a saddlebag behind him.
“Uh...Twilight? Did you forget something?”
“The Guide To Common Equestrian Cloud Formations?”
Spike motioned to the saddlebag and Twilight gasped. The stack of books she’d been levitating behind her fell to the floor, scattering to every corner.
“Oh. My. Gosh. I forgot about the tryouts!”
I picked up the nearest book, brushing it off.
“What tryouts?”
She grabbed the saddlebag from Spike, throwing it onto her back.
“The tryouts for the Equestrian Games. I can’t believe I forgot!”
Spike jumped on her back.
“Relax Twilight. You’re on schedule technically.”
Her head turned to the dragon.
“Which schedule?”
“Umm...the ‘If I’m Possibly Running Late’ schedule...”
“NO!!”
She bolted for the door. I sat down, picking up another book.
“Don’t mind me. I’ll just be here.”
Twilight skidded to a halt, spinning around to face me.
“Shade! You- I- We- Ugh!”
I chuckled at seeing her so disoriented.
“How long will you be gone?”
“A day. Maybe two.”
“Is there food in the kitchen?”
“Yes.”
“And I’m allowed to read any of these books?”
“Of course!”
“Well get going. I can handle myself. I don’t plan on making any public appearances anytime soon.”
“I don’t know..”
Spike nudged her back.
“C’mon Twilight. You heard him.”
He turned his gaze to me.
“There’s a basket of gems next to my bed. They’d better be there still.”
I nodded. Twilight smiled and ran out the door.
“I'll be back as soon as I can!”
I closed the door quickly, making sure not to draw attention. I sighed at the prospect of being alone for the first time in a few weeks. I had grown so used to my own company that being around others, even just one on one, had been uncomfortable. Hopefully that would change as time went on, but for now I was relieved to be alone. I put my back against the door, staring at the sea of leather and paper before me.
“Just you and me, Golden Oaks.”
I began walking along the shelves. The books were in excellent condition! I’m sure that was thanks to Twilight. I perused the titles, wondering where to start. Reading that potions book of Zecora’s had reminded me how much I enjoyed the activity. I’d only ever read books to gain information for Chrysalis. Reading for pleasure was a new concept that had me feeling giddy.
I turned to move to the next shelf and stepped on one of the books Twilight had picked out. I looked down at the cover;
The Cutie Mark: Equestria’s Biggest Mystery
Cutie Marks...oh right. Those images on everypony’s flank. I had wondered about those. Changelings didn’t have anything like that. I picked up the book, brushing some dust off in the process. My eyes traveled the room, finding all the books that Twilight had dropped.
“Alright Princess. I’ll humor you.”
I gathered up the books and stacked them next to the table. Did she really think all of these would be relevant to me? I suppose there was only one way to find out. I grabbed the Cutie Mark book first, flipping to the first page.
———————————
I reached for the next book and found that I’d depleted the pile. How long had I been sitting here? I looked out the window and saw that the sun was beginning to set. I’d been reading all day. And I had completely forgotten to eat!
My stomach instantly growled at the realization that I wasn’t reading any longer. How did I not notice this earlier? I trotted to the kitchen and found a bowl of apples. I grabbed one and bit into it as fast as I could. The juices of the apple ran down my throat and I moaned in ecstasy. How could I have forgotten to eat? That wasn’t like me at all. And further more, apples are delicious! I could hardly believe just how good pony food was! I wondered if anything else tasted this good...
Over the next few minutes I dug through every cupboard and cabinet. There were some prepared snacks, but most of the inventory was separate ingredients. I looked around the kitchen and instantly locked on the leather spine of the cookbook. Time for another binge read.
The pages flew by as I took in every recipe. There was so much you could make! I didn’t know so many types of food existed! I reached the end of the cookbook, slamming the back cover closed.
“Time to see if I can cook.”
A few minutes of searching produced the pots, pans, and measuring devices I would need. The next thing was to gather the necessary ingredients. My stomach continued growling as I grabbed the flour and sugar.
“I know, I know. I’m going as fast as I can.”
I threw the first set of ingredients in the mixing bowl and grabbed the whisk. I was really doing it! The whisk was mixing everything together like magic! I grabbed a couple eggs and cracked them on the edge like the cookbook said. The contents fell into the bowl and soon disappeared into the batter. This process continued as several more ingredients were added, culminating in a delicious-smelling dough.
I placed my mix onto the pan in small bundles. They already looked good enough to eat, but I refrained. I didn’t want to ruin my first attempt at baking. I put the pan in the oven and set a timer.
“Ten minutes. I can wait that long.”
———————————
“What is taking you so long?!”
I looked at the timer. Eight minutes to go.
———————————
The timer finally went off and I opened the oven. The smell was intoxicating! I grabbed an oven mitt and reached for the pan, pulling it into the light. A dozen glorious chocolate chip cookies gazed up at me, begging to be eaten. I licked my lips.
“Don’t worry. You’ll all be safe in my stomach soon.”
———————————
I woke up to the library door opening.
“Shade? We’re back!”
I sat up and looked around the kitchen. The first thing I noticed was that it was morning again. The second was the kitchen. It was a disaster. If a tornado could have materialized indoors, this would have been the result. Could I hide it? Doubtful. I might as well own up to my mess.
“I’m in the kitchen.”
“Are those cookies I smell? Did you make cookies?”
Twilight entered the kitchen and froze.
“Wha-? Wha-?”
Her eyes darted around, taking in every stain, spill, and stray utensil.
“What happened?!”
“I might have been a little messy with my baking.”
She shook her head and refocused her eyes on me.
“A little?!”
She moved further into the kitchen, beginning to examine the damage. Her gaze traveled from the floor to the overhead cabinets.
“I had a full bag of flour up there!”
A smile crossed my face.
“I might have made several batches.”
She spun around, a look of disbelief on her face.
“I thought you’d just read and maybe make a hay sandwich or something!”
“Well I decided to get creative after I finished that pile of books you picked out.”
Her jaw dropped.
“You...finished them?!”
“Well yeah Twilight. It was only twenty-two books.”
“I was gone for a day and a half!”
“Well I admit I’m out of practice, but I did the best I could.”
She sat down on the floor, not noticing that she’d landed right in a pool of flour.
“You can read that fast?”
“That’s kind of my special talent. That’s what they call it right?”
She nodded.
“Can all changelings do that?”
I walked over to the counter and began to tidy up.
“No. I was the only one. I had a knack for gathering information. And retaining it. That talent made me a popular choice for reconnaissance missions.”
“Reconnaissance?”
I sighed, wiping up the last of the sugar.
“A spy Twilight. I was a spy.”
She joined me at the counter, grabbing a towel to wipe down the sink.
“So did you spy on us?”
“You specifically?”
“No. Equestria.”
“...Yeah. But I only took in information pertinent to my mission. I never read books for fun. I never got to know ponies. I got the intel and reported back.”
“And now you get to learn whatever you want.”
I smiled.
“Right.”
“And the cookies?”
“I forgot to eat. I might have overcompensated.”
She giggled.
“Maybe a bit. I'm just surprised that you like pony food so much.”
“It's better than the roots and berries I was eating before.”
Twilight paused mid-wipe.
“That must have been tough. Especially if you're used to love. Then again, anything is probably more filling than roots and berries. But still...I thought changelings consumed only love.”
I nodded.
“That’s always been the case.”
“How long has it been since you...ate?”
“Canterlot.”
“But that was-“
She thought for a moment.
“Thirteen, almost fourteen months ago!”
“I know.”
She was speechless for a moment as she stared at me.
“Well...I suppose that your body adapted to a more pony-like diet in order to survive in Everfree.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like it before. Then again I’ve never known a changeling who went that long without love. And I think the evidence in this kitchen proves it's possible.”
"It's an amazing insight into your species!"
Before any more could be said, Spike entered the kitchen.
“Twilight, can I...”
His voice trailed off as he saw the half-cleaned kitchen. He looked at the two of us and frowned.
“I’m not cleaning this up.”
He left without another word and we both started laughing. Twilight wiped a tear from her eye.
"I suppose we'll need to get some more supplies if you intend on eating this much regularly."
I shook my head.
"On no! This won't be a regular thing. Now that I'm more aware of my appetite, I'll moderate myself a little more."
"That would be helpful. But I think we'll have to binge just a little tonight."
I turned to the Princess, curiosity urging me on.
"Why is that?"
She beamed.
"Do you know how many foods there are you need to try? Oh! And I can take notes! You can tell me how each item tastes and how it compares to your old diet. It'll be like an experiment! We don't want to overdo it but maybe we could-"
I put my face in my hooves and sighed. What had I unleashed?
Twilight continued talking as we finished cleaning. I looked down at my stomach with a frown and whispered.
"This is all your fault."
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Well
Slap my hand!
Alright.
I will start reading this story at this current moment.
I will do as I did with Taken In, in that I vow to follow this story all the way to the end. No matter if it becomes terrible or you set it away on hiatus for a year.
I loved Taken In before so I can't wait to see what u change in this one.
You... really should use the "Enter" key more often. Or get it fixed. At the very least try using tab to indent each paragraph to make sure they each stay individual paragraphs.
That explains how he managed to survive on berries and the like for so long.
9518271
I copy all my writing in from a word processor. Sometimes I don’t catch all of the spacing issues. Thanks for pointing it out though! I’ve gone through and fixed them. I’ll have to be more diligent from now on.
9518291
Alright then, glad I could help in some way!
“I’m not cleaning this up.”
I say the same when my sister cooks in the kitchen.
(I still clean it up though, usually).
So true