> Resonance Change
>  by Macrophage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Changeling in the Window
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1: Now You See Me….

Reformed Changeling Hive: 3:14AM Equestria Standard Time



Ugh, another night of no sleep. Just staring at the walls. From down the halls I can hear the light sounds of other changelings sleeping as well as the storm outside. The walls insulated well against the noise outside, but inside did echo a bit, despite several attempts to add plants and other improvements. Apparently, it’s just me with insomnia.

I get up and walk out of my room into the hall slowly wandering around. Nowhere really to go or be this early in the morning. If there were at least one other here with the same problem at I’d have someone to talk to. I could stand being tired tomorrow, but this is just boring!

It’s hard to see in the tunnel. The biolumincescent plants put up inside gave everything a light green glow so there was no chance of running into anything but there was no light really coming in from outside, other than an occasional flash of lightning from the small interspersed windows that were also a feature of the re-design of the hive. The rain and wind were soothing in their own way, just not enough for me tonight. This happened a lot during these storms.

I slowly stagger around, hoping the walk will help. Maybe I can talk with Typanus tomorrow to see if there was something that I could take for this. ‘Just try to quiet your thoughts Pinea.’ just wasn’t cutting it anymore, and he wasn’t going to brush me off again on this.

It just felt like everything was confused and jittery on these nights. Like a couple ferrets and at least eight bees got in my head and were playing with my thoughts. Bits and pieces of this and that just popped in there at random. Some made sense, but a lot didn’t. Random phrases, pictures, or snippets of songs I’ve never heard, some of it made sense, but a lot of it didn’t. Last month it was a recipe for banana bread, which I guess wasn’t too bad. That had tasted pretty good and had sold well. I never said it was all bad.

I end up wandering outside, or at least it was outside now. At one point this had been the queen’s chamber, though most of it was gone now. All that was left was about half of the throne which used to protect the hive against arcane magic. I was never sure if it had been something Chrysalis had created, or it was something that had just been there, and the hive was built around it. Not like anyone wanted to ask her. Besides, the thing had been broken when she’d been defeated, and everyone had changed. I still had memories of the bad old days before, though I suppose everyone had those around. I’d never been a particularly good drone back then. I didn’t have the ‘zeal’ that some did. To be fair though I’m not sure how much zeal I had now, but at least 

The rain was sheeting off my exoskeleton, but I still liked this area on nights like these, even if the storm was particularly bad tonight. The rain never bothered me anyway. Last storm I’d starting writing lyrics for a song about that. But the buzzing in my head usually wasn’t as bad here. Usually it was a one ferret and 4 bees room.

Tonight was bad though. I need to flap my wings to stay in place in here. Ugh, what’s worse is the place is making my head worse tonight. I’m up to a mid-size bee swarm between my ears. It’s hard to even form a thought. I go to leave but the wind gusts in the opposite direction, throwing me into the middle of the room. I yell and try to grab onto anything. I feel myself being pulled up. I’d change to something bigger, but I can’t solidify a shape in my head for the bees. I flap my wings harder, trying to make it to the remains of the throne. A crack of lighting about twenty feet away partly blinds me, my ears ringing from the thunder crack. I keep flapping though, hooves barely latching onto the ruined throne. I pull and flap slowly making more progress. The wind keeps trying to pull me off, but I slowly pull myself down, getting at least a little shelter from the wind. I try to flatten out as much as I can, trying to focus, but it’s a whole hive of bees and a couple overwhelmed ferrets in there now.

There’s another flash and crack of lightning.

The ferrets become wolverines that really hate bees and I pass out.




***




Wednesday 5:11AM CST: Minneapolis Minnesota

“Oh man! We got another one? That’s three in a week. What’s the reading?” the shared line crackled.

“Hold onto your horn G, this one’s a level four, so we’re going to have to mobilize a couple cleanup teams at least.”

“What teams A? We’re still cleaning up the two level threes and W’s still on the injured list. What’s the location?”

“Western Canada. At least it’s almost in our backyard. U?”

“Yeah, I can get on scene with no port backup. Be there later today.”

“OK, but don’t engage anything on your own.”

“Aww, c’mon A, I never get any fun!”

“What about last week on that lovely trip I….”

“Shut up G.”

“Level fours can include major magical non-sentient creatures. No individual engagements,” A says, his tone saying no more discussion on the matter.

“I can take it,” A monotone voice chimes in.

“Thanks O, but we need you on that shipment. Besides, extraction’s going to be a bitch right now. Wrap it up in the next two days with Y if you can then get back to Central.”

“L’s got our Level three under wraps, he can finish up. I’m not much good here now. He can port me in.”

“You know we usually work in teams, but we need all we can on this. You got the go-ahead Q.”

“If they can contain things for now I can back them up.”

“No way Y. You’re O’s extraction and backup. That artifact can’t stay in their hands. We got our two agents for now. Finish up and we’ll send you out as soon as we can afford it.”




***




Wednesday 3:44PM MDT: University of Regina



“Miiiiiike? Helloooo?” Shelia says a few inches from my face, waving a hand. “You going to make it to the end of the day? I need your lab expense estimates in today. What’s going on?”

I yawn and shake my head. “Sorry Shelia. Really bad insomnia last night. Then what sleep I do get has some really screwed up dreams, then all the thunder outside. I’ve got the numbers in here. We’re good for most of our chemicals. I worked on a deal with a friend in Chemistry. Getting some of their surpluses at discount.” I get the printer to spit out some papers which she checks.

“What about buffers for…”

“Simple substitutions in the formulation. Should be fine for student labs, don’t let the researchers grab any of it though.”

“This is pretty good. Nice work. Damn Mike, just go home and get some sleep! You’ve got everything here.”

I get up, working on the lab’s fridge, shaking my head. “I’m going to get the test samples done today for Ag so I can take tomorrow off and try to catch up some sleep.”

She nods and walks out, “If you get that done, take a few days off. Just don’t drive yourself crazy before you do.”

I nodded and got down to work. Insect test samples for an agricultural researcher. Protein and DNA extractions. I sighed. When you were a kid and thought about going into science this was never what you thought. It certainly was never what they told you was where you’d be spending most of your time. Like press gangs they were. Arrgh!

After another five hours and no breaks I call it a night. Work’s done, I’m famished, and about ready to crash. I rub my face, eyes bleary a little as I close up and head to the car. Seatbelt on. Maybe I can hit a drive-in on the way home. I adjust the rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of an alien eye as I do.

“AAAAGH!”/” AAAAGH!”




***




Chapter 2:  How Much is That Changeling in the Window

Wednesday 9:09PM MST: University Parking Lot



I fall back in my seat, head whipping around to look behind me. There’s nobody in the car.

What I saw in the mirror though… It looked like an alien.

Oh man, way too little sleep. I’d better get home.

I check the back seat again and then drive home. I don’t use the mirror the rest of the way, still on guard for anything after the hallucination. I grab a couple burgers and a drink and head home. When I finally get in I turn on the computer and TV and sit back with supper. I still need some time to wind down before bed and find myself still a little jittery and wired after earlier. I scratch the back of my neck. I hope I didn’t accidently touch any chemical earlier. I’m cautious about that stuff, but it’s been hard to focus today with the lack of sleep. 

I get up to go to the bathroom, turning on the light and looking in the mirror….

I plaster myself up against the wall and fall hard on the tiles for my efforts. The thing I saw earlier is back and in the room!  I reach for the toilet plunger, grabbing it like a weapon looking around quickly. Nothing here. I look up to the counter now above me. I don’t know what I’m thinking really, looking over the edge ready to smack whatever’s there with my mighty club. I know it’s just a mirror there, but I want to be ready to smack it too.

I peak over cautiously. Its peaking over back at me as we both lower our heads a bit. Teal face. Vaguely horse like, if a horse had a sordid tryst with a rainbow beetle. Big dark purple eyes with no apparent pupils and sort of a unicorn-like horn. I think it may be shaking a little, which would make two of us. Its leg and hoof are wrapped around a plunger. I raise another hand as it raises a hoof. Are we doing a mirror comedy bit?

I look at my raised hand. It is a hand. That’s good. Check all the bases.

“What the hell are you?” we both say.

“Stop doing that!”

“I’m not doing that, you are!”

“Arrrgh!”

“Okay. You can’t possibly have the same name. Say your name in three, two, one.”

“Pinea!”  “Mike!”

We stare at each other a minute pacing a bit, sizing each other up, still matching moves. They’re a little de-synched now, by perhaps less than a second. Maybe the copying moves wasn’t a choice? They didn’t seem to be getting anything from doing it, and they seemed like they were copying my expression, which was me being annoyed at all this. It… Pinea, I guess it called itself didn’t seem to be dangerous, just a really weird looking thing. Maybe another different answer.

We look at each other, determined, at least if that was its expression.

“Okay, let’s try what are you? Three, two, one,” We say.

“Changeling!”  “Human!”

“What the hell is that?” we both say again, but they get it out a second or two before I do. We both catch ourselves at that, both smiling. Time for twenty questions, as long as all the answers are proper nouns.



It’s perhaps about twenty minutes later. We probably also know quite a bit about each other now, if they’re not a hallucination. If this is a hallucination though then my brain really deserves applause for some of the answers. Then again some of the names ‘Pinea’ gives sound an awful lot like a trip through a biology textbook. Then again if my brain thought up this tedious trial to get to a simple conversation, I had a Q-tip with its name on it.

I hold up a hand, and they don’t follow it, so I try again to have a conversation with a reflection of something not in the room. Totally sane here.

“Okay, let’s try this now… Pinea is it? What are you doing in a mirror in my house?”

It looks like they go to start to make the same gesture, then stop themselves. Yes!

“I… I don’t know. This is a dream I think. I was outside in a storm. I had just got to a safer spot and there was a flash and I was dreaming, here. I think I maybe got knocked out. This could be a hallucination.”

“I’m starting to wonder the same thing for me. Couldn’t sleep last night.”

“Me too. Really bad insomnia.”

“Maybe we should try to wake up, or go to sleep and see if this is still a thing in the morning?”

Pinea nods. I like it when hallucinations are amicable like this. I mean it’s still my first experience, but a solid four stars.

“Can you turn around though? I need to relieve myself here,” I say.




***


Wednesday 10:48PM MST: Regina, SK

U dropped down out of the clouds at the designated meeting area. By the tiny bridge was a small stone monument surrounded by benches. Sitting on one of the benches furthest from the streetlight in a confluence of several shadows was a man, older looking with fedora and a trench coat biding his time, staring at the sky.

“Wow! That’s got to be the most conspicuous inconspicuous getup I’ve seen.”

“Says the black pegasus. What sort of mess are we looking at here?” he says, getting up slowly and walking over into the edge of the light, his new companion taking to the shadows.

“We’ve got at least eight spikes. Four out of town, four in.”

“Anything else?”

“One of the pings in town is intermittent, it may be a sensor ghost.”

“Hope so, that’s a lot of targets.”

“Sweep in, work out,” she says, nodding, with a bit of a smile on her muzzle. “Up for a fight? A said not to engage alone. I’m not alone now.” She adjusted the grasping augment device attached to her foreleg.

“U-ie, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship.”

“Okay, THAT was actually one of your better jokes Q. Just so you know where the bar is set.”




***




Chapter 3: Changeling Hardware is Ready to Update. Please Hit Restart

Thursday 10:30AM MST: Mike’s house.



I get up, rubbing my eyes blearily. That was one hell of a freaky dream last night. I can’t remember the last time I had a lucid dream like that. I get rid of a hair in my mouth and scratch my side. Kind of itchy today. I hope there wasn’t anything weird with those last samples I got. I’d just given myself a four-day weekend, and I’d like to enjoy the time off. Sure as hell better not be bedbugs.

I stagger into the bathroom to use the toilet.

“Okay, so that didn’t seem to work,” Pinea says. I jump again, smacking against the wall and falling on the floor.

“You okay Mike?” he asks, walking closer in the mirror, looking down as I pull myself up. It feels like my stomach wants to drop out of my body.

“O…O…Okay This isn’t a dream. So it’s crazy time?”

“It could be magic. Mirrors always seem to be a thing with magic,” the changeling offers, looking up at the sides of the mirror.

“There’s no such thing as magic.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Says the mirror image talking to me.”

“You’re the image,” Pinea says, looking as if he’s going to snort or something. “How do you feel today? I’ve been feeling sort of off today. I don’t know how to describe it. Like last night I didn’t feel much of anything, but today I feel kind of itchy and on edge.”

“Yeah, me too. But I work with some chemicals so it’s probably that. Hmm, maybe I should look up neurological interactions of the stuff I was working with yesterday?” I say, scratching my arm. It’s a little more intense there. Skin feels like some inflammation was coming on. I can see Pinea scratching his foreleg.

“Quit making fun of me,” I grumble, “Or…are you doing this?”

“I don’t even know what ‘this’ is,” Pinea replies testily. “If I could I’d get it to stop. This is kind of annoying you know.”

I walk out throwing my hands up. “Oh, I know. Screw this, I’m getting breakfast.” If this is going to be a regular thing, I’m finding a way to charge the changeling thing rent. I go and finish off some leftovers in the fridge, sitting down, trying not to think of the itchiness. With a little effort I can distract myself to watch the TV for a bit, but after a while I need to go to the bathroom again.

“OK, turn around, I need some privacy again,” I say as the changeling turns around. As I go, I can see their back move a little, then catch the hint of a wing.

“Do those work?” I ask, as Pinea gives a tentative half turn, making sure I’m done, but nods.

“Interesting. Anything else you can do…? Sorry, don’t mean to pry. I guess I’d like to get to know my delusion a little better.” I don’t know how he manages to roll his eyes when I can’t really make out any pupils, but he does it pretty well.

“Some basic stuff… OH!” he says, turning and grinning at me. “So, no magic huh? Try THIS on.” The mirror flashes around him and he’s gone, replaced by a deer about twice his original size.

“My hallucination can change shape. I guess that’s impressive.”

“Magic Mike,” He groans. “You’re just determined to not believe this are you?”

“I told you not to look at me when I went,” I grin.

“What?”

“Nothing.” I guess my hallucination doesn’t know that movie reference. “I will grant if you were actually here that would be impressive. Clearly what you did would violate laws of conservation of mass. But you have to be a product of my imaginat…. Aaaagh!” I scream as I look down at my arm that I’ve been scratching but ignoring. 

In the background Pinea turns back to his original shape and nears the mirror face. “What is it Mike?”

I hold up my arm, the color has shifted to teal blue in a small spot and the skin there has got hard and smooth. Pinea leans in as if trying to examine it. “I’m guessing that’s not normal for humans?” He then looks panicked for a second and checks his corresponding leg. It’s the same as it was before, but the color is a match.

“What are you doing to me?” I shout.

“Nothing!” he shouts back, “I have no idea what in Tartarus is going on! I still don’t know where I am, because this isn’t like anywhere I’ve ever seen! Besides, wasn’t it you that said I couldn’t do magic because I was just a hallucination?”

I don’t like getting outmaneuvered by my own delusions, but here I was, with some new fresh hell to contemplate. My brain is already racing to diagnose the problem. The color doesn’t quite match a bruise, and there should be redness. The hardness though is the scariest part. It feels like a plate, and I know there’s nothing that causes that. There’s buildups of keratin or calcification, but those are longer term processes, and the texture doesn’t fit either. What’s worse is I think it’s got bigger in the minutes since I first discovered it.

“Mike?”

I turn to the mirror.

“Mike, if there’s anything I can do to help tell me. This isn’t like anything I know about. You seem like an okay guy. If it’s something I can make stop I will.”

“Umm, thanks,” I say as I wander out. If this is a delusion, then wallowing in it isn’t going to help. I grab some swabs, a small container, and a knife. I go back to the bathroom and size up my arm. Gritting my teeth, I nick the skin where I can get something to come off. The center is too hard but the edge works. My audience looks confused.

“OW!” Pinea yelps, “What the heck?”

I mumble an apology and leave, grabbing a coat and heading for the lab, though that reaction leaves even more questions.




***




Thursday 2:12PM MST: Mike’s house

I walk back in. I’ve been giving this delusion as many chances as I could to end but I don’t think I can anymore. I walk back to the bathroom where my new roommate is waiting. I probably don’t look that happy, as the only thing in the mirror is the changeling looking at me silently.

“Mike? Are you okay?”

“I tested that sample I took,” I said, pulling back my sleeve, showing the patch has spread to much of the arm now, and I know the other one has started to go the same way. I can see him pull back a bit, looking surprised. It’s kind of weird seeing this from something so alien. “It’s chitin.”

“What’s that?”

“That is something that makes up the carapaces or exoskeletons of things like shellfish and bugs, but humans don’t produce it. I can’t exactly get a sample from you Pinea, but I’d guess it similar to your shell or exoskeleton or skin? The color match seems to be too much of a coincidence.”

“Couldn’t this still be a delusion?”

I laugh and smack my head. My would-be delusion is now asking if it’s a delusion? How meta. “I got someone else to run the test. Randomized several samples so I’d not know which was my sample. If this is a delusion it’s an incredibly complex one. I was going to take the remainder of the sample over to a friend at the hospital afterwards, but I passed after the test.”

“Then what does that mean?”

“I think we’re somehow linked here Pinea. The synched movements last night. This. Then when I took the sample and it hurt you? Not that that makes any more sense here. I’m either quite insane or this all is actually happening.”

“Want to sit down and try and figure it out Mike?”

I nod and go and get a drink, dropping the seat on the toilet to sit down and work this out. If I am still hallucinating, might as well make it a really good story for whoever gets to analyze me.




***




Thursday 5:25PM MST: Still Mike’s House

We spend about three hours going over our last nights, but it doesn’t give much to go on. I just got up and went to work as usual. We both had insomnia that night. Pinea’s experience with the storm is a bit more suspicious. Combined with the artifact it’s close to an origin story. There was also a local storm here that night, assuming the timeframes were the same. I’m willing to entertain magic at this point because quite frankly nothing else is making sense. By this time we have also tried a few stupid things to slow down whatever was happening, but really we’re just flailing in the dark here. Trying to ‘re-sync’ ourselves by giving common answers had been the dumbest idea, but we tried that too. It’s also at this time it occurs to us that while we could see the other in the mirror, neither could see themselves. Were we using vampire rules now? No, I had garlic for lunch and blood still made me squeamish to think about.

“So, know any other magic?” I ask, but he shakes his head.

“We’re not really good at it. The shapeshifting and some basic telekinesis to grab some things is about it. The old queen was good at it but…”

I shudder and nod. We’d spent fifteen minutes on her alone at one point. She profoundly creeped me out by the descriptions.

“Arrgh!” Pinea knocks his head against a wall on his side of the mirror. “We’re no closer than we were three hours ago. Stupid head! You can do better than this. Come up with something. Anything. A muffin recipe. A story about mice making it in a new world. Anything!”

“I just don’t get why I’d be changing into you,” I say, as we’re pretty sure that’s what’s going on. The shared pain and the color match up seem to be clear on that. “Multiverse theory? We’re all connected? Circle of Life? I mean I’m getting the ‘despair and hope’ part right now and looking forward to hyperventilation soon.”

“Is it still spreading?”

I look, pulling off my shirt. The arms were pretty involved in the first hour but are now completely covered. The new ‘skin’ makes it harder to move my fingers, but everything still was working. There were changes in color into my chest now. I nod but we both can see it. At the rate it’s going, everything could be covered today. I’m quietly trying not to freak out here, but that ball of anxiety has been slowly building as time goes on.

“So where does this end?” It’s kind of a rhetorical question. Neither of us have a damn clue. The last three hours had proved that.

“Full change?” Pinea asks shrugging his legs. “By what you said of where you live that might even be better now. At least if it went all the way you might be able to change shape and look like your weird self again.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“I’m serious. You could maybe return to sort of normal if you could….” He pauses, his expression changing to fear, “I…I mean what happens to ME if you do though? Do I still exist? If I’m still unconscious something must be really wrong. Did…did I die?”

“Hey, no going thinking like that Pinea. We’re both going to be fine,” I say. With whatever was going on, I’ve dropped the idea of him being a delusion. He seemed stuck in this as much as me. This does bring up another line of thought though. “What do you see on your side of the mirror outside this room?” I ask.

“It’s dark. Very dark. I can’t see anything. I tried walking that way once, but it was like I didn’t get anywhere,” he says, head tilting like a dog that was confused by something.

“What about when I went to the lab?”

“What about it? You left for like a few second and were back.”

I shake my head, “I was gone about three hours.”

Pinea takes a couple steps back, head pulling back. “No, I mean, it seemed really short.”

“What about when you tried to wake up?”

“A couple minutes maybe. I can’t really tell here.”

This just keeps getting odder. It’s like his whole world is the room, and almost only when I’m present. The ‘synchronized’ thing seems like it goes deeper, but now I’m wondering if he’s right.

“Is…is there a ‘both’ at the end of this?” he asks, his voice cracking.

“What?”

“Are the changes physical or also mental? Does one of us end up getting ‘erased’ by this? Do I stay here?” 

I hadn’t thought of this, but now that it’s brought up an extra dread falls on me. I look to the mirror. Pinea’s eyes have started to tear up.

“Hey! Take it easy. Nobody’s going anywhere here,” I say, trying to fake a bit more confidence than I have right now. I kind of want to hug the guy. I think we could both use it right now. I hold my hand up to the mirror surface, though I test it to see if it’s become something I can push through. That was always a thing in stories and movies. It’s still cold and hard though.

“How about a deal then? If either of us have any control over this, we don’t let the other be erased, trapped, or anything. Whatever comes we face it together?” I say. When I say it like that I even sort of convince myself to relax a bit. Pinea comes closer on his side and puts a hoof up to the glass, sniffing a little, but nodding. “Agreed. We get through this together. Not letting anyone go. Not giving up.”

I can feel a tingle on the glass as we both pull away as if it were on fire.

“What was that?” we both say, then chuckle a little, testing out if we’re re-synched again. Sadly, no.





I order in take-out as I’m not sure how much I want to be outside. No changes in the face yet, but the expansion rate didn’t seem to be slowing. I order quite a bit to have extra leftovers for tomorrow, figuring if I planned for tomorrow maybe things would be normal. As I grab my order from the delivery guy and close the door I notice my reflection in the window. It’s not of me. I check my face again but things don’t feel like the reflection. “So, you’re in every reflection?”

“This is a different reflection?” Pinea says, tilting his head. I shake my head. I guess it’s a reflection thing somehow. I set up the dressing mirror in the living room by the computer and TV, behind the couch. It takes a while before I realize that I must be ‘in frame’ for Pinea to see anything out.

“So, I guess we ride this out,” I say, looking over my shoulder.

“I guess. Together. Unless we can think of something else. What’s that?” he says pointing a hoof towards the TV.

“Really? Whoo boy. Well, umm, think of it is my realm’s magic. Science and technology.” I turn it on and watch him jump a little, then stare ahead. 

“Wait, so a mirror talking to you was ridiculous, but THIS is perfectly normal?”

“I, well, I mean those are just movies. It’s not real, just staged. Kind of like a story told with moving pictures.”

“Still seems kind of magic-y to me.”

“Arthur C. Clarke said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

“Fine, then can you technology our problem?”

“That’s how I found out about the chitin.”

“So, you can do technology?”

“Science,” I correct him. “It’s a set of rules for attempting to understand the universe. A way of approaching problems. So, I guess, yeah, I kind of can. I work in a lab. A place that does science. But this is far beyond what we know of.”

“Okay, so you’re a kind of mage? Odd, you don’t have a horn.”

I double over laughing as he looks at me a bit annoyed. “Nono. No horn. Just crushing debt from years spent learning. I almost was able to work as a ‘mage’, but…”

“Hmmm?”

“It didn’t work out. There’s a lot of people that want to do that, and I…wasn’t quite good enough.”

“I’m sorry Mike. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Hey, no worries Pinea. You didn’t know. If we have some time here so I thought maybe I could share a few movies with you. I don’t exactly want to spend hours watching myself. I don’t think you do either.”

“Yeah, though I do like talking with you.”

“You too,” I say to easily the weirdest friend I’ve ever had. “So, this first one does have some magic and technology in it, and some comedy. All about hunting ghosts. And hey, we can still talk through it.”




***


Thursday 7:36PM MST

“Okay, so still getting readings off this place, but it looks clean. Told you, just a sensor ghost. Bigger the storm the greater the chance,” U said, hovering over the house, nodding to the crow beside her.

“Just a normal guy inside. Nothing else. Let’s check out the next one.”




***




Thursday 8:45PM MST: Yup, Still at the Same House

It’s a few hours later and we’ve gone through a couple movies. Thankfully Pinea seems to have some similar taste in movies as I do, but I do have to explain a few things here and there about technology. From what I’m gathering where he’s from is perhaps seventeenth or eighteenth century and more agrarian. Shame. A steampunk universe would have been so much cooler. 

“Steampunk?” he asks, tilting his head a little.

“What?”

“I know what steam is. Steam engines. What’s steampunk?” Pinea asks.

“I…I…didn’t say that.”

“Yes you did. I heard it.”

“I didn’t SAY anything. I was THINKING It though,” I say, more stress creeping in to lay on the large ball of stress I’d been building up today at a rapid rate. That ball was approaching boulder in Raiders of the Lost Arc levels now.

The reflection takes a step back. “Oh no…”

“Yeah,” I gulp. Being a scientist (sort of) though I must test it. I think hard about half a song lyric….

“Ghostbusters!” Pinea answers and then jumps. Now I have an image in my head of a very pink looking pony with a big smile on her face. “Pinkie Pie?” I say, never having seen this before. Pinea nods in confirmation.

“Well this is creepy,” we both say.

“I guess it does go further,” I say, looking down at myself, pulling off my shirt and sweats. My body seems to have been busy the last hours. As we thought might happen, I’m matching Pinea’s colors exactly. The changes are all the way to my feet now. It looks like a lazy animator re-skinned me for a different background character. As I can’t actually use a mirror now, I feel up my head. My cheeks and nose are hard, but that’s as far as it’s got.

I look down at my shorts. Am I up for this? No, but I got to know.

I really could have stood not knowing. I’m at full Ken doll. I can see something like a space between a couple plates but that’s it. It’s still very jarring. I feel a pit open in my stomach. I’m naked at this point but it doesn’t exactly matter anymore does it.

“I can tell you what I see,” Pinea offers, seeing as I can’t use the mirror anymore.

I just nod, still stunned as I flop back numbly on the couch, which results in a pain shooting through my spine. “OW! What the…” I reach down, and regret that too. You’d think I’d have learned that from seconds ago. There’s a projection off my tailbone as a, well tail. The structure is kind of thin and feels fragile. Feeling down I can feel a crinkly surface. I stand up immediately and pull it to the side as I crank my head around. Yup. The same sort of insect wing-like thing like Pinea had. I start to feel faint and pass out as the stress ball passes my carry capacity and rolls over me.




***


 

Chapter 4: Zen and the Art of Changeling Re-layer



“Miiiike. You there? Mike? Are you OK?” I hear.

I’m anything but OK. I’ve got a front row seat for a screwed-up version of Metamorphosis, and I’m watching everything change before my eyes. I thought I was ready for how far this would go, but I’m not.

“Mike. We’re going to get through this together. Remember?”

 “I’m tapping out. I think my brain is broke already.”

“I’m not letting your brain break while I’ve got a cottage there Mike.”

I kind of chuckle at that one. “Don’t know if you have a choice in it Pinea. I’m not ready for me looking like this, let alone anything else coming up.”

“Well, you couldn’t have got stuck with anyone better then.”

“What do you mean?”

“Duh, I’m a changeling. We’re used to taking different shapes. Some in the bad old days would impersonate ponies or others for YEARS. You know what you learn? The shape can matter to some, but in the end it really doesn’t. It’s still you at the heart of it Mike.”

“Current me is strange and unusual and getting worse….and I just realized I’ve not moved my lips through this whole conversation.”

“I had noticed that. I didn’t really want to bring it up.”

I pull myself up and walk to the other side of the couch and turn and look at the mirror. “So, what do you see?” I ask.

“You were out like that a few hours Mike so, ummm. I have some good news…? Surface is all done,” He says.

“Go me,” I say with all the enthusiasm of someone that’s just decided for whatever reason to read the comments section on an online video.

“That, umm, means your hair and eyes too,” He says, hesitating a bit more. At this point some numbness has set in so I just nod. I’m kind of glad the mirror isn’t working for me right now. The eyes would certainly freak me out. At least if I’m looking at Pinea I can still think that that’s him. As I speak, I notice the blockage in my field of vision between my eyes. Crossing them I can see a teal protrusion. As I touch it I jump back a little as I feel my small snout now there. I feel something move against my back. The mental map in my head says the couch but I’m too far away….so I look. I JUST had two opportunities to avoid doing this exact thing and regretted it, but noooo… There are wings on my back that are out and fluttering.

I decide to take another small impromptu nap.







“Miiiiiiiike!”

“Please no more. I need a break,” I say, laying flat on the floor.

“Get up! You need to deal with this at some point, and this is the second ‘break’ you’ve had. I’m through the first two of the Star Wars movies so far.”

“Oh, those are the best ones.”

“Don’t tell me that with seven to go! Mike, if it’s too much just get up and look at me. Talk to me. I don’t want to be alone in this either.” He sounds more worried than I think I’ve ever heard him.

Against my better judgement I raise up my front on my arms. It feels a little weird to do so, like my arms aren’t quite right. I don’t focus on it though.

“Why don’t you want to be alone in this? I thought shapeshifting was normal for you. Plus you’re not even changing by what I can see.” I say tiredly.

He nods, looking down, “It is, but…. I don’t know what happens to me at the end of this. You’re becoming me right in front of me. As far as I know I’m just here in this dream I can’t wake up from. Is this it for me?”

“No. No it’s not,” I say touching the mirror, a thought entering my mind. “It could be me that doesn’t exist at the end. You’re clearly the dominant force here somehow, re-writing me. Why should it stop just at the outside? The brain is just more tissue. No reason for it to be special.”

“No Mike. No! I’m not letting this happen to you! I don’t care if this is it for me. I won’t have you gone because of me. I can’t have that happen!”

“Maybe….” I say softly, something desperate entering my head.

“Huh?”

“If this is magic, and it’s got to be, maybe we can will it along some lines WE want!”

“I told you I don’t know anything about spells. I’ve been interested in it, but I couldn’t do it. Most all of us can’t. Besides we tried those things earlier.”

“Nono, I know. But perhaps something else. There are no human mages but there’s stories about people being able to do amazing things by concentration and focus. If we can find one thing to change or protect, focus on protecting that single thing together, same time, same image….”

“We may be able to control it. Like diverting a stream!” he says, with a smile.

“Okay so how do we do this?” I say, looking around. “I did meditation a little bit. We should focus on a single sound. I have a book!” 

I rush to get to my feet and quickly faceplant into the rug. “Mpppph!”

“I wasn’t going to say anything…. Just focus on getting the book! I don’t want you fainting again. I don’t think we have time for another nap!”

I nod and push myself up, getting to my feet and falling over again. I need look now. Yup, this is NEVER a good idea.

My back legs have gone full changeling pony-like thing on me. Full hooves and the foot and knee bends are in very new places. In the process of getting up I can see the middle digit of both hands has expanded a lot, the nail growing thick while the other fingers are retreating back along the midline. So, single toed ungulate bugs. There must be a fascinating evolutionary tree…. FOCUS!  I feel faint again, but I push it down. This is speeding up and I need to get this before I, before WE run out of time. I push my back legs up and push, crawling with my arms on the rug. Screw dignity.

“Physical may be too late Mike. We should focus on ‘us’!” I hear Pinea shout, as I nod, crawling with front arms.

There’s the book! I knock it down and paw at the pages to flip them. Exercises, yes! I read. Yup. Single sound, single image. Start by holding hands…

Crap! Okay. Yes, yes…. Improvise! I really doubt they wrote this for this precise situation.

I do my weird walk over to the mirror, “Alright. I’m going to imagine you and me when we first saw each other, hand…er hooves to the mirror with a protective bubble around us. Got that image?”

“Got it!”

“Book says to hold hands, so maybe touch the mirror?”

“Something happened last time. Seems like a good guess!” Pinea nods, sitting on his haunches, getting into position, booth hooves on his side of the glass. I put my quickly transforming hooves on, and there is a tingle again.

“OK, so we should close our eyes and focus on the image, using the sound to center our thoughts. Try to be as in sync as possible. Nothing else should exist in our thoughts. I’m going with ‘doh’ for a sound because if this doesn’t work it’s going to be an appropriate final sound.”

“Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“We get through this together right? I don’t want to lose you.”

“Not going anywhere without each other here,” I smile weakly as I close my eyes and start.


“doh” We’re a little out of order but I can feel, I don’t know, something in my…hooves I guess.


“Doh” Timing is much better. I can feel a flow from where the mirror should be. I ignore it. Concentrate on the image and sound.


“Doh!” the sound syncs perfectly and I can feel the mental image as if it were in two places at the same time.


“Doh!” Both images collapse into one.




***




Friday 4:13AM CST: Minneapolis, MN



“Damn! Q? U? Report in! We just got another level two disruption on your site! Did you see what caused it?”

“That’s a negative A. Sky’s clear. Taking another reading. We were checking out six readings. Neutralized one chimera. We’ve got…. Shit, ten pings. So four more probably minor problems. How’s the assist coming? We’re going to have to get some sleep here sometime.”

“L and G are done and can get out there. L go rendezvous with G and port to Central for some traps. If M wants to go take her along too.”
> Chapter 2: Changeling Hardware v. 2.0. Human-Changeling OS v. 1.0
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5: Changeling Hardware v. 2.0. Human-Changeling OS v. 1.0

Friday 9:54AM MST: Mike’s House, Regina, SK. You know what? We’re spending a lot of time in this house so just sit back and relax!



I blink my eyes as I look up, I’m beside the mirror and there’s light coming in the window. I push upright fast and check the mirror.

“Pinea!” I say, but the image is in sync perfectly with me. I try to do the proper noun thing, but there’s only one voice. It’s a “normal” reflection, but it’s not me anymore. I bury my head in the carpet. I…I failed him. I told him we were going to get through this together…. Damnit Mike you worthless….

“Mike?”

“Wait….”

“Mike?”

“Please please tell me I’m not developing some sort of multiple personality disorder here.”

“What the buck is multiple personality disorder?”

“Pinea?”

“Yes?”

I don’t know what the mental equivalent of a hug is but maybe a flood of endorphins directed at the voice in my head would work. I feel it rebound so I guess that it does.

“Did it work?” He asks

“I think so, kinda. I feel like me…well as much me as I can with what’s going on outside of my… I think it’s OUR head.”

“I feel like me too I guess.”

I get up again and look at the mirror. It’s extremely weird at first because it feels like the two of us are competing to move head and forelegs. I give up trying so that Pinea can move things as he’s probably more familiar with the ‘hardware’ He tests legs and flutters wings in front of the mirror. I just stare numbly at ‘me’. I can feel everything, yet I’m moving nothing, and the mental image I’ve built up of what is me over my whole life is nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly I feel things sort of ‘reconnect’ to me as I feel and intense wave of sorrow.

“What’s wrong? I know it’s not the best situation….”

“That’s it then. I probably don’t exist back home. My soul must have been trapped in there. A ghost…. The lightning. I must be dead there.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I doubt I could be in two places at the same time Mike. It was, what do you call… the thing where something exists in two states until forced?”

“Schrodinger’s cat? A cat in a box is both alive and dead until an observation is made at which point they collapse into one reality. How did you know that?”

“I can sort of feel a few things that I think you know. Try me.”

I try to think of the hive he had mentioned before. Suddenly there are memories of the layout, the way the halls looked in the past and now. Vivid memories of someplace I’ve never been.

“This is pretty weird.” I say.

“You’re telling me? But I guess we opened the box last night, and now there’s one me. Here.”

“That’s just a hypothetical thought exercise. Maybe it’s not like that. Maybe eventually we get thrown back to our normal lives. Until then though we need to work out a time-share agreement on the body.”



We settle easily enough on a control situation. I’ll learn how to be a changeling, but in emergencies Pinea can take control. The idea is to get to the point where it doesn’t really matter who is ‘driving’. The other can ‘backseat drive’ spending more time analyzing what’s going on or just sit back.

That does seem to be the one advantage to the situation that we quickly realize. Concentration isn’t shared. So, it’s quite possible for us to truly multi-task. Someone can be thinking of baking while the other is contemplating how to balance a chemistry equation. We are literally two minds stuffed into this weird little body. If we don’t go crazy in the first month, I think our chances to make this work might not be bad. I don’t know what this would be like if our personalities were a lot more different. Maybe I’ll find out more the longer we’re like this. Maybe all that ‘synched’ stuff also meant a level of synchronicity in personality too? That might now be so bad.

We quickly hit upon an idea, creating a small mindscape with each of us in it, ala The Matrix in the training space as a way to communicate. Nebulous feelings oddly didn’t always translate well with words but throwing in visual cues seemed to work better for us. Also, a lot less weird and unusual, which we’d both had a lot of lately. I of course make myself look like Neo-changeling with black glasses and a sort of pony-ized version of a black trench coat. Pinea accuses me of trying to ruin a movie he wants to watch and not just grab second-hand memories of. He assures me there’s a big difference between the two. Still, he does agree to the Morpheus look for now. We also put a couch in the space. Got to be comfortable when talking.



“OK, first lesson is walking. One side then the other. So right front, right back left front left back. Not complicated.”

“Sir yes sir!” I salute.

“Hehe. Okay, just do it smartass.”

I take one step and faceplant in the rug.

“Smooooth,” Pinea says.

“I wasn’t ready,” I protest, getting back on my/our hooves.

“Okay. You ready now?”

“Yup. Let’s do this,” I say with as much determination as I can.

I take one step, but pick the wrong leg for the second and faceplant again

“How are you doing WORSE than when you were rushing to get that book last night?” Pinea asks. 

“I was crawling with my front half then so there was no more down to fall to.”

“I think you were sort of moving your front correct though. Think of doing that perhaps, minus the actual crawling? Whatever weird ape your ancestors were from must have used all four limbs at SOME point.”

I get back up. Try and put my mind into what I did last night and try again. I get about eight or nine steps in before falling over to the side.

“Better. Again,” He says, but his avatar is clearly smirking.



It’s perhaps an hour later before I can get a basic but shaky walk down, but Pinea is happy with that, feeling that if I’m up now things will just get better with practice. 

We try to finish up the leftovers from last night. I have to give over control for that, as he levitates the dish down to our level. That’s lesson three apparently. Things even taste a bit different in this form, but at least the meat dishes aren’t too bad. I’d been wondering but had been assured changelings tended towards being omnivores. I do have a bit of a craving for sugar, but I always had that.

We take a break after lunch, though it consists of me walking around the living room while we watch The Matrix. I fall a couple times still, but by the end a lot of the balance problems seem to be OK.



“Okay, ready for lesson two?”

“I was born ready!”

Pinea smirks, “Not for this one you weren’t. Shapeshifting.”

“Oof, yeah, this is going to suck.”

“Maybe not. It’s our main magic ability. If you know what you’re doing you can do exact copies of ponies or probably people. Anything from rocks to, well the flying kind of rocs. Some shapes you just totally make up could work too with a little practice. You can even go quite a bit bigger or smaller in size as I showed you a while ago in the mirror when you were sure this was all in your head. Guess what, now it is and I am too.

I roll my metaphorical eyes. “How big are we talking about here?”

“I’ve gone as big as a grizzly bear myself. I did see someone manage a full-grown dragon for a few seconds. Think of it like running. The harder you run the quicker you tire out. The more difference in weight, the harder it is to hold. Something close to our size though is easy to keep up with very little effort. Human size should be about the same. You could probably go the whole day without breaking a sweat. But it’s easy to tire yourself out with a big change.”

“Do we sweat?” Now that I thought about it….

“Focus.”

“Sorry, so what do we try to look like?”

“Well, the most useful, and I’d think easiest would be you.”

“Me?”

“Mike shape.”

“Oooooh. Gotcha. So what do I have to do?”

“Get the shape very clear in your mind. This is why Mike is best.”

“I sure am.”

“Shush. Okay, so imagine the form, then imagine DOING something in that form that you can’t do now. So, maybe, reaching up to grab something with your hands.”

We faceplant in the rug as I lift my forehooves. I quickly get back up.

“Aaaand sometimes that happens,” Pinea says, “Okay, first time is always hardest Mike. No worries.”

“Please be gentle.”

“You can be cocky when you start getting this right. Okay, so ummm, try to imagine the reaching thing again while still imagining standing. Like if you were trying to reach with arms that weren’t there, but you were determined to put arms up. Kind of forcing your body to make a decision it can’t actually do currently.

“Do the impossible. Okay, I think I can do that.”

“Do it a few times and it’s like walking.”

“Lots of faceplants?”

“You’re already at one on that.”

There’s a flash and suddenly I’m back as me, dressed as I was in the lab when this craziness started. I nearly fall over but catch myself.

“YES!”

There’s another flash and I’m back to my changeling self again.

“No!”

“Control! Control! You must learn control!” He says in a good Yoda impression. “Remember, once you get it, you have to hold it.”

“How do I do that?”

“Just keep the idea of the shape in your head. It doesn’t require a lot of concentration, but you should feel, I don’t know how to describe it… a tension? Like you want to snap back, but you’re just going to hold this a little tight. That means of course when we sleep, or if we were to get knocked out, we’re changing back.”

“So we’re going to do the practice and movie thing again?”

“Hey, I want to see Iron Man. Besides, you have to learn to hold a shape with distractions.”




***




Friday 1:07PM MST: Riverbank, Regina, SK



U skims through the trees, a large wolf made of logs chasing close behind her running down a river jogging path. “That’s it big boy. Nice succulent pony meat just for the taking.” She jiggles her tail to bait it more. The wolf growls in return.

She turns and looks ahead down the path through the trees towards the riverbank. Damn, got a gawker on the path. Will have to clean that up on the way back. Damn joggers always messing up her recon estimates.

“Anytime Q.”

The park bench she flies by flashes, turning into a man with a chainsaw on his arm. He brings the chainsaw up into the neck of the timberwolf, burying the blade deep getting sprayed with woodchips. The glowing yellow eyes of the beast flicker and then go out, the body collapsing into a pile of wood around it’s assailant.

“Groovy.”

“Really Q? Did you bring a chainsaw here JUST for that?” the pegasus says, hoof to her face.

He nods, form flashing again to a park worker with a chainsaw.

“C’mon U. You have to ENJOY this stuff,” He says with a smile.

She shakes her head and turns to the human male still there gawking. She plasters a big smile on, trying to look cute as she waves and slowly flies over. “Hey there.”

“Wha..wha…”

“Yeah, path needed a little thinning. This is what happens when you just let the woods run wild.”

“But but you are.”

“Yeah, Pegasus. Mythic horse of the gods. Nice to meetcha!”

The jogger numbly takes her hoof and shakes it as the other hoof with the lock mechanism on it finds the item at her side.

“Anyhow, I’m sure you have a lot of questions and OH MY GOD ANOTHER ONE BEHIND YOU!”

When the jogger turns she clocks him on the head with the truncheon, one of the gems flashing on it as they drop.

“Little energetic with that weren’t you? You know you only need to tap.”

“Walkers get a tap, joggers get a smack G,” she says, looking over to her side. A small black cat is smiling at her, and beside it a tan unicorn with a black cape is checking a small device.

“Update?” the cat asks.

“Six left. Most on the outskirts of town.”

“I’m getting seven.” the unicorn says still examining and adjusting the device. “Sorry we’re late, I didn’t know you were out of traps. You should have waited on the timberwolf.”

“It’s a class two,” U groans. “We can determine trap or neutralize on them. As to the pings we swept that intermittent one. It seems to be a glitch. We can check it out when we wrap up.”

“Went with the chainsaw instead of the boomstick this time Q?” the cat says.

“It was a timberwolf. What else do you use on lumber G?”




***




Chapter 6: The Great and Powerful Mike

Friday 3:12PM MST: Mike’s House (see, we’re back here)



I keep looking like Mike for most of the movie. I do drop it once when Pinea does the equivalent of shouting in my mind out of nowhere to distract me. I get back on and manage to hold it through the second shout though. I drop it finally when the movie is done.

“Like the walking, it’ll get better with practice,” He says. “Ready for the third lesson?”

“Yeah, sure. We’re covering a lot today. How many of these lessons are there?”

“Four. The last one is the last one because it’s kind of dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“Flight.”

“Really? Cool!”

“Yeah, it is. It’s just when we get enough altitude it’s not like walking and a little faceplant if we screw up. It’s more we become a crater.”

“Yeah, I’m putting that in the bad things I don’t want to do column.”

“I can take over if things start looking bad, so I think it’ll be okay Mike.”



“Okay… so I don’t really know how to do this one,” Pinea concedes as we get ready for lesson three.

“Not that reassuring a start.”

Pinea tries to levitate a few things so I can experience what it feels like. I try, but for some reason I just can’t seem to trigger anything, both of us getting more frustrated at this.

“I don’t know what else to try here Mike. It’s hard to put in words. For a lot of grubs it’s triggered by something like an accident. Kind of an instinctual protection thing. I could throw something but you’ll just dodge …. OH!”

“What?”

His avatar smiles in a way that I think he’s about to grow a curly mustache just so he could twist it menacingly.

I find myself lose control as we start to trot off.

“What are you doing Pinea?”

“You’ll see Mike.” He says as we trot into my bedroom.

We’re going over to the night table and looking at the lower drawer.

“Pinea…. no.”

“Whatever could you be storing in here that you’ve walled it off in your mind?” he says, avatar grinning.

“I get the feeling you have an idea, so let’s just leave this….”

“I think I want to see….”

I try to wrest control but he’s more familiar with how things work than I am and is managing to fight my attempts back.

“You just have to push it closed with magic,” he says putting a hoof on the edge, finding enough to hook onto, yanking it hard to open. We’re fighting hard for control now and then he quickly gives control to me as I panic.

“NO! I yell, horn glowing as it feels like something connects with my mind and the drawer slams closed. Actually, what happens is the whole table slams against the wall, shattering. Most stuff stays where is is, but the drawer above releases it’s contents as well. Both of us are in shock at the damage, but I’ve got the extra mortification on top. It’s hard to hold your head up when something rubbery in a tube has fallen and stuck on your horn.

Pinea seems scared at the damage, “I’m sorry Mike, I needed you ‘motivated’ I promise I won’t do that again.

No, you won’t,” I say, grumbling.

We survey the remains of the table.

“Is it always that violent?”

“No…I mean. I don’t think I was ever able to generate that much force ever. Can you try again, picking up some pieces gently?”

First, I pull off the item attached to our horn with my hooves. I doubt that will help matters. Next, I look at the remains of the table, concentrating on one of the larger pieces. I try to remember the feeling I had before, but this time doing it gently instead of in panic. There’s a faint blue glow around the piece of wood as it floats up a little in the air, as I gently lay it on the bed.

“Once you do it, it’s actually pretty easy. It’s just getting that first time.”

“I still dislike your teaching method for this one.”

“Really, I’m sorry Mike. I mean I’m curious now about that thing that got stuck on us, but perhaps now that it’s out there in the open….”

“Still not ready to share that.”

“Okay. That’s the lesson anyhow. Though Mike, that was a LOT of force. I still don’t know how we generated that much. There’s been so many weird things the last few days it could be any of them, but maybe we should re-visit this? There are some other basic spells I’ve seen others use. Some of them stuff that most changelings can’t use. Maybe we could take a try at some, though I won’t really be much help.”

“Okay. I’m up for it. So, what about lesson four?”

“Tonight, when it gets darker. We could try taking the form of a bird, but I don’t think we need any more things complicating this.”




***




Chapter 7: You Tail the High Road and I’ll Drake the Low Road

Friday 11:32PM MST: Riverbank Park, near city limits



We’re walking to a nearby park after driving out a ways from the downtown area. It’s a nice clear night out, moon shining bright in the sky. I’m looking like Mike tonight and carrying on a conversation with myself in my head. We have a fair way to walk to our destination despite the drive.

“So, you were mentioning other magic spells?” I ask.

“Yeah, I had a book for a while on it. They talked about basic spells and how they all could derive from telekinesis. Just changing the flow but it got technical after that.”

“The flow? Hmmm, I mean I suppose somepony could alter the way the force was applied. Yeah! You saw Star Wars…. Wait…somepony?”

“Sorry Mike, that’s probably from me, I lived in an area with a rather big pony country there. Just look up Equestria in my memories.”

“Oh, I see what you mean. Wow, and I thought you were colorful. Name of the place is a little heavy handed I suppose, but if they like it who am I to criticize. Looks really pretty.”

“You were saying about Star Wars? Oh, wait, I see what you mean. Things like ‘force pushing’. That’s basically all telekinesis. Would take a lot of power though.”

In our little ‘room’ I’m nodding now, “Exactly! But if it’s just shaped kinetic force and you can use it like a hand, can it be shaped in other ways?” 

Pinea ponders a second, eyes going wide. “Oooh, yes! There had been a shield spell in that book. I didn’t quite get how they described it. I had tried it once years later, but it didn’t really work. This makes more sense. Oh! Or, concentrate the force along a thin line…”

“…as an offensive shot.” I finish. 

In our head Pinea is literally prancing around thinking about new ways to alter and shape the force. Another idea sort of occurs to me, but I need to keep us from running into someone or dropping our shape as I’m pretty sure he’s gone off in his own world for now. When this is over, we’ll have to dedicate time to this.



We finally get to the park. It connects with the river but is very wide open covering several football fields worth of land. It’s wooded in some parts and wide open in others. Friday is maybe not the BEST night for being out here, but it’s still early enough that people won’t be staggering out of bars to find a place to do privately do weird things with each other yet. We’re here doing our weird stuff first!

“Here we are Pinea. This should be enough space, yes?”

“What? Oh yes. This is perfect. We can walk towards the wooded area a bit more and get started.”

I look around a bit, seeing nobody I drop back to changeling form and gallop out. I’ve wanted to do this all day today, and I only fall twice in the process. Pinea is clearly enjoying it too. A lot of time indoors can be really stifling.

“Okay. Lesson four. Flight.”

“Bring it on!” I’m both a little scared and really thrilled for this one.

“Okay, most of it is like walking. It’s about balance. You’re just going to have to worry about wobbling up and down as well as left and right. So, first thing is unfold your wings.

I try and can’t seem to get anything to move, looking over my shoulder at my back.

“Okay, taking over,” Pinea says. “I’m going to move them and see if you can feel what to do when I do it.”

Immediately I see our hard outerwings raise, feeling something near my shoulders. It sort of feels like shrugging in a new direction. The lacy underwings fold out next. Those feel really odd. I don’t think I would have thought that’s how they felt to move. Like clenching your sides somehow.

Pinea puts our wings away. “Okay Mike give it another go.”

I think on this and slowly get the outers up, but it’s a couple tries before the underwings obey. I try to flex both, which takes a lot of effort.

“There you have it. I just realized you might have one advantage here. The underwings are the only ones that beat, so it’s more like dealing with just two legs than four.”

“That are strapped to my sides. This still feels so weird!”

“So, try to flex the tail… oh, you got that one right away. Good! That’s going to help with balance. Up and down is some wing angling and amount of power. I think some of it you just kind of have to feel it.”

“OK, so what’s next?”

“Now you flap hard. Try to hover.”

I try. Once I can isolate the muscles it’s not that bad. Not a massive amount of effort but they are moving pretty fast. I start to feel my hooves lifting off. I start wobbling as soon as they leave the ground and fall on my side.

“Well THIS part feels familiar,” I say to Pinea as he laughs

“So, tail, and you can give more or less power to each side. Leaning into a side can help.”

“Gotcha!”

Take off number two. Still shaky, but I’m making some adjustments and staying generally stable until I start pitching forward and faceplant.

“This is also familiar.”

“It’s less things to move but finer control,” Pinea offers. “Just have to keep trying.”

About twenty-five minutes go by with a lot of falls, but I can maintain it better each time. Pinea is very patient with me, offering suggestions each time.

“Okay, I think you got it. Now skim the ground.”

I’d been trying to move a little in each direction during hovering. It felt good to move in a direction with a little speed now. When I get asked to stop I reverse direction for a second and halt in space. Turns are harder, but after three crashes I get the idea of turning.

“Okay, so now all of that, but higher up. You ready for it Mike?”

I mentally gulp

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Remember, we’re doing this together. If you start to fall I can take over.”

“Got to do it sometime.”

“That’s the spirit. All on you for now then Mike. There may be more wind the higher you go. We dealt with a few gusts already. You can do this.”

I flap harder as we start to rise more. I resolve to do the “do not look at the ground” thing to start, but of course as I go up the horizon goes down, so now I’ve failed at that. I feel my heart rush.

“You’re doing good. Stay calm. I got you.”

Well, I’ve already looked down once, so I look straight down. About thirty feet up now. Don’t get freaked out, you’re equipped for this now.

“I am NOT going to fall with bucking wings! Wait, Bucking?”

“Sorry, ponyism again.”

“I actually like that one. I’m using that!” I think as I start to move forward. Okay, not bad. Try not to think about becoming street pizza or the world’s most colorful lawn dart. Little more speed. Good. Light turn. Good.

“See, you got this Mike! Try something a bit harder. Remember, I got you.”

I nod and build a bit more speed, doing a harder bank. It feels a little odd, but I stick it. I try another, trying to flap a little less and let the air take me, but we’re not as built for gliding, I think. I can feel Pinea starting to get a little excited at this too. It’s at this point I realize we’ve got rather high, like maybe a hundred feet. Now I’m starting to get a little worried again.

“So, umm, how about reducing altitude?”

“Cut your flapping a bit, and you can try to glide down some. Some of those steeper turns also work well. You can also angle your body down. That’ll get us down pretty fast, but just remember to give time to reduce speed before the ground reduces all the speed all at once.”

“Okay.” I start with a little less flap and more glide. I think it may be working.

“Good, you can try a bit more.”

I go for a corkscrew turn. I like that one a lot and I’m definitely a little lower.

“Want to try the dive?” Pinea asks, seeming more confident about me now.

“Oookay, sure.”

I angle down, and I start to drop fast. This is faster than I was expecting and I’m really getting that feeling in the stomach when you drop fast. I go to re-angle my wings but a gust hits and partly flips me. I’m trying several things now to right myself but I’m also shifting to panic mode. Hello lawn dart…

Pinea grabs control, flapping hard and pulling us out, swooping over the trees near the river, landing a bit hard, but still a four-hoof landing.

“I guess we’ll work on pulling out of dives next time. You OK Mike? You actually did really well up there.”

I’m still stressed out, but I’m sure he knows that. “Not so big on the end, but the early stuff was awesome! We need to come out here again.”

“I do like it out here. Lots of room. Good to stretch hooves and wings. I…I suppose this is home now.”

“Pinea?”

“Sorry, just thinking back to home. I guess here is where I am now.”

In our little ‘room’ I put a leg around him as we sit and look across the dark field and forest.

“This place isn’t so bad. It has its problems, but there’s so many places to go and see.” 

“It’s pretty good company too.”

I nod, “Really good company. I guess we’re kind of stuck with one another.”

“I’ve no complaints so far.” Pinea says

“I have one that has to do with a certain drawer.”

Pinea falls over laughing and as he’s still at the wheel it must look like this one lone changeling has just spontaneously broken out into a laughing fit for no reason. Wait, maybe this was what was happening with cats that would randomly freak out.

We’re snapped out of it by an audible hiss and a human scream.

Pinea is on his feet in an instant as I scan around, ears flicking to try and center the sound. Another scream from the wooded area by the river.

“A lot of animals can follow the river into town,” I offer. “Cougars are a particular problem. What are you doing?”

“Going to help. Problem?”

“Nono. I’m not often the brave type so you got this. I don’t know a lot about hand to hoof combat.”

We gallop down. I feel useless right about now. There’s got to be something I can do here. Wait, the stuff we were talking about earlier about telekinesis. I ponder on how one of these may work…


 



***




Mike’s working on something so it’s on me. He mentioned a cougar, so I try shifting to that. Some stealth but big enough to not attract predators. I bound into the tree line then stalk. I do that for a second before realizing whatever is up ahead is putting out enough noise that it’s not trying to hide. I get through the trees to see what looks like two humans, one man one woman. He’s down on the ground holding his leg. She’s by him with a bag, trying to use it as a weapon against their attacker, a six-foot-long lizard, smoke coming from its mouth.

“Is that a DRAGON?”

It’s a drake Mike. They’re nasty but a dragon is way bigger, nastier and intelligent. You don’t have these?”

“No! I’m sure I’d remember that thing! What do you know about it?”

“Pretty tough armor. Territorial. Not that bright. I think I can lure it away, but they can be fast sometimes.”

“Okay, working on that offensive spell you talked about.”

“That was just an idea.”

“It’s a backup plan. I’m not going to be much help here otherwise.”

I hate to admit it but he’s right in this situation. He’s getting better but I have years of this as my body. Now to get its attention. I pounce and roar at it, raking claws across it. No damage, but I have its attention. I growl at it so its fixated on me. The man is trying to get up. They’ll need a couple minutes to get out of here.

It lunges at me, as I barely dodge, the claws getting a little fur, but no blood. I turn tail and run, looking behind to make sure. Yup, they were vicious but not bright. We’ve got some distance between the couple now, so I shift back, but they’ll still need time to get away. I could go to a bear or crocodile, but they were slower, and neither is going to get through that armor.

It strikes again. I didn’t pay attention and it latches onto my leg. The teeth aren’t through my exoskeleton yet, but I’m in trouble especially if it uses its fire. I shift to a mouse to break the hold, then immediately back to myself. It strikes again getting a hold on another leg.

“I think I have it! Give me control a second!”

I’m scared, and I don’t know Mike can handle it, but I need to trust him. 




***




I’m in control again. I charge my horn. I imagine the hand compressed to the dimeter of a quarter, trying to impart as much force as in the bedroom or more. With this monster on my leg I certainly have the urgency. Shit, how do you aim a horn? Point and shoot? Give it a shot! I fire and then hand off to Pinea.




***




There’s a flash of light and the pressure around my leg loosens as I pull at it. I look down. The drake’s dead. A large divot in the ground where the back half should be.

“Ohmygod! I didn’t mean it to be THAT strong! I just wanted to hurt it a little, but I wanted to get through the armor,” Mike is yelling in my mind.

I back up as its jaws let go. No damage, but my leg does hurt a little. I can’t take my eyes off the hole in the ground. The divot is so big.

“WHAT WAS THAT?”

“I…I…I didn’t know it had that much power.”

“There…there’s no way we should be able to do that Mike. That kind of power is top-tier mage-level stuff.”

“Pinea, we should get out of here. Animal control will be around soon. We need to find a safe place, sit down and figure this out.” I hear Mike say. He’s clearly scared. We both are.




***




“Hey L, looks like we got beat to this one. Take a look,” G says, poking the body with a hoof.

The unicorn whistles low. “Owch! Local hunters perhaps? I don’t know a gun that does that much damage though. That’s really good penetration on a drake.”

“You mean half gone.”

“Yeah.”

“Local report in said a monster attacked a couple then a cougar got into a fight with it.”

“Cougar with a railgun maybe,” L says, kneeling casting a light spell to examine the hole, poking something in it, digging a bit.

G sighs, “I guess I’ll bag it then. Hey, one less problem.”

“Maybe not,” L says, standing up. “There’s no slug in the hole. This wasn’t a common gun. Heck I doubt a common gun does that much damage on a drake.”

“Anything else to go on?”

“No charring of the wound or dirt, more like it was punched out at a small diameter with massive force. I suppose someone could have shot it with something pretty big, but there’d not be much reason to dig the projectile out.”

“Telekinetic?”

“Could be. Maybe monster on monster violence. If whatever took it out is packing this though we should be careful.”

“I’ll let the others know. Whatever the case, sure helped those folks out and made things easier for us tonight. Last thing I need to do is try and infiltrate a hospital or morgue.”
> Chapter 3: Carapaces in the Closet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8: Carapaces in the Closet

Saturday 1:33AM: Mike’s House



We’re sitting on the ‘couch’. Nobody saying or thinking much of anything. Just a lot of confusion and fear on my part as we both rock slowly back and forth.

“How did you do that?” Pinea finally asks.

“I told you twice, I just imagined turning the ‘hand’ of the telekinetic spell into a first that I throw, but I focused it down to a narrow point, like a spear or laser. I was really panicked, I should have known it might be too much.”

“Mike, you just created a spell from scratch and cast it at a force that I’m not sure many could counter. It’s amazing, but also scary.”

“Creating it isn’t my worry It’s the force. I know me. I don’t trust me with that kind of firepower.”

“Why?”

“I…I… well I guess I’ve always been a screwup. Screwed up my career. My life is mostly work and doing little here because I’m scared of screwing up more things. Someone like me should not have that kind of power on hand. I’m great at finding the worst decision and taking it. Giving me something as powerful as THIS is like giving a toddler a car with chainsaws strapped all over it and explosives in the back and telling them to ‘discover’ the road.” My avatar turns away. I need to tone down the interaction, I can’t stand him staring at me right now. “I suppose we could never use it, but I don’t even feel good with knowing that it’s a possibility.”

“Mike, I don’t know. Maybe you screwed up some things before, but that’s not who I know. The Mike I know figured out the situation we were in. That Mike may have saved one of us from ceasing to exist. That Mike learned how to walk, shapeshift, cast magic and fly in a single day. Though he may have had a good teacher for some of that.”

I turn to see him with a goofy smile with that last comment. I can’t help but smile a little.

“And that Mike did something in that same day that I’ve always wanted to do. Cast a proper magic spell. Not just cast but create one.”

I turn now fully as he nods his head.

“Telekinesis is a spell,” I counter.

“It’s the basic default of at least two species. It’s something that a grub or foal learns by accident. But all this said, I shouldn’t be trusted with that kind of power either.”

“Pinea, you’re one of the kindest people I know. Granted I only know one changeling, but I feel pretty confident about that.”

He shakes his head, slowly walking over. “I think you need to see something Mike. It still feels weird that we’re literally mind to mind here but there’s things you don’t know that you probably need to know about who you’re sharing this body with.”

He puts his head to mine, “I want to see if I can share this with you through my eyes.”




***



 


The world shifts. It’s the changeling hive, but it’s not the last image I saw of it. No plants around. The place looks like a termite or ant colony. The light is bioluminescent green provided by various insectoid-looking pods around the ceiling. The walls and floors of this place look like H.R.Geiger had been called in to decorate, looking almost like the hive itself was an organism, grown here rather than built. My mind fills in the fact surprisingly fast that that was the case in a way that creeps me out far more than the actual visuals. The most jarring thing though was that at some level this felt ‘normal’.

I’m looking through the eyes of someone or something. I assume it Pinea though. I see what I know are changelings everywhere, but they’re black with much sharper features and holes in weird places like the legs and wings. Sharp incisors and long tongues fill their mouths. Again, this seems perfectly normal in way that is innately alien to me. Much like when I give Pinea the controls I’m an observer only.

“Drones, we have a break-in storage chamber two. Escape in progress!” one of the warriors says as several of us immediately run for the room. When we’re most of the way there we break off into smaller and smaller groups, trying to cover as many possible exits as possible as more reinforcements try to get there. My route takes me through the storage chamber. The walls are lined floor to ceiling with cocoons. I try to focus in on them but I’m not looking directly at them. I’m not sure I want to know, but I feel I have to.

I keep running but I’m feeling weak. There’s a gnawing hunger in the background as I move. We split off further, until it’s just me making for one of the smaller tunnels. My spot.

I push into a corner off the side of the tunnel though, turning into a small resin stalagmite and sit still. Someone else can cover the tunnel I suppose.

I hear voices coming my way, but not changeling ones. Two earth ponies, one a red young colt, maybe ten or so, an older mare that I figure is his mother. The two are with a unicorn with a couple packs on him. The first two look confused, and still covered in fluids from the cocoon. The hive is built with confusion in mind, being almost impossible to navigate to outsiders.

“Get Wheatsheaf to the others at the next juncture Lilly. I’ll create a diversion. Keep the compass with you, it’s your only hope for getting out of here!” the unicorn says, rummaging with a hoof for several vials.

They nod to him and run off as he turns in the opposite direction mixing chemicals together fast in a small lamp to create a blinding light that’s strong enough to hold off the incoming drones but his back is to me as I pounce. He’s sealed to the ground and incapacitated in a second, but the lamp is still active, preventing pursuit.

I grab his backpack and assume his shape running after the others. I keep his compass. It’s a bright idea. Not totally precise, but the with the anit-magic field these were some ingenious workarounds. I now know the direction they will take and instinctively know a faster way to them.

“Lilly! They’re interfering with the compasses somehow!” I shout to her, pretending to be out of breath. “I found an alternate route!” They nod and change course as I take them through several tunnels, each one closer to where they’ve just escaped from. They don’t even know they’re back in the storage chamber until they enter the room itself. By then it’s far too late for them. I drop the shape to cheers of my fellow drones. I watch as they’re sealed away in cocoons in a preserving sleep. There are easily a hundred in this room, preserved in a fashion like those in at least five other such chambers. The me that is watching this feels my non-existant skin creep at the process, watching as they pare put into a stasis. My mind fills in the details of their future as a source of food, being held in a trace like state. I had wondered why Pinea has struck up a conversation a couple times about unrelated things when we watched the Matrix, but now I knew why. This was why. Emotional batteries.

I’m offered to feed off them. The recent fresh hope is sure to have made them more filling. Instead I opt to keep the books. Later I see the unicorn was a mage and alchemist. They’re useless in our home, but I will try to read both several times over the coming years.

The next day I return to normal duties, but I keep thinking of the three that I stopped. I know some about the mage, but nothing other than a couple names of the others. I never learn of those they were to meet and there is little I can ask them sealed away as they most likely are. I can’t seem to shake them though. I invent lives for them in the absence of actual information. My work declines, as I move to more and more menial jobs.

When the hive is breached again and falls, I feel as if a massive weight is lifted with the hunger. I want to run down to the chambers, where they are freeing the prisoners, my prisoners. I can’t though. I can’t bear them to see me again. I don’t look the same. There’s no way they could know, but I somehow know they will. I’ll know if nothing else. The years I took from them.

 


***




The image fades and we are standing together again in the room of our mind. I hang my head in front of Mike whose staring at me without saying a thing.

“Mike, if you’ve hurt anyone it’s only been you. I have lives of innocent ponies on my head. We can be nice and colorful now, but this is what we were. That doesn’t go away. It’s also why I… why we should never have anything near that power every again.”

I can see him looking at me, mouth open, then it closes into an angry scowl. I don’t blame him

“Pinea, take us back.”

“What?”

“It’s your memory, how well do you remember it?”

“These years are seared into my mind.”

“You just said you thought I knew what I was doing. Maybe I do or maybe I’m going to screw this up too. Take us back. There’s something I need to know. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t vital.”

I nod and we travel back. 




***




Pinea gets us back in his memory. As it’s a memory I can’t look anywhere that isn’t a part of the events he saw. That’s okay though. That’s enough. 

We start with Pinea’s hiding spot, as I ask him to stop.

“Why’d you pick this spot? It was out of the way with not the best view of the hall. All your hivemates pick tunnels, but you pick a small alcove off the side of yours. Why?”

“Good hiding spot. It worked.”

“For whom? Anyhow, let’s put a pin in that. Let’s go to after…”



We next move to after Pinea’s first demotion. I decide to take a prosecutor’s tone with him for this. I think I may have to fight him on some things to come.

“What do you remember from here?”

“I was demoted. The first time at least. Inattention to details. I was mad that day.”

“At who?”

“Myself. There was no good reason for me to stop paying attention to my duties.”

“Yup. Why did you lose that attention?”

“I couldn’t concentrate on work, I just finished saying…”

“You were thinking about them?”

“Of course I was.”

“Why’d you invent lives for them?”

“I wanted to see how they’d live okay? How their lives would have gone on without….

 

“Now take me to when they were sealed away.”

“Mike please….”

“If you still want to do penance for this, consider this part of the price you’ve been extracting from yourself.”

His opposition crumbles and we go further back, to the point where he takes the books.

 

I’m now into full confrontation mode, partially to try and distract myself from this room. This storage of sentient ponies as food makes my skin crawl on so many levels. Do they feel this? What does the drain on them do? I don’t actually want any of the answers to these questions.  I don’t want to be here for so very many reasons, but it’s important that we are.

“I’ve been through this point twice now. Why does a hungry changeling turn down a meal?”

“I…I wanted the books.”

“Why?” I try to let that question hang in the air.

“I was interested in magic but we didn’t….”

“What was in those books?”

“Books on magic and alchemy. I told you this.”

“When did YOU know that?” 

“After I got…them…home….” He pauses, but I keep the pressure up. I was right. This is the one thing that made me force Pinea to drag us back here. This is the part that didn’t add up at all. Nowhere in the memory at this point had he opened one book, and if that were true…

“So, famished, like your hivemates you turn down a huge meal for an item that you have no idea about other than it was on the ponies you captured.”

“I still don’t see the point.”

“A changeling finds an out of the way spot to watch for intruders, a place that reduces his chances of finding those intruders in his hallway. When that fails and he spots them he’s thrust into a position where he’s forced to do the ‘right thing’ and pursue and capture them according to hive rules. He captures them but he turns down the obviously optimal reward that would benefit him, settling for something to remind him of those he locked up, and then spent years trying to see lives for them to the continued detriment of himself. If it’s one thing I know, I sure know self-sabotage when I see it. You tried to sabotage your guard duty. You sabotaged yourself after succeeding, and the one chance for the most gain from it I’m going to guess part of you didn’t or couldn’t take that prize, so you went for the other thing with some possible value, but something that wouldn’t have you feeding off your victims. I’m sure you can point to having fed on others over the years, and you would have had to. THIS was different though because this was more personal!

“And you know what? In a more bucked-up way THIS seems more like the Pinea I know. What he would do to himself if forced into this mistake. The changeling that when stuck in someplace frightening he didn’t know about, with an unknown fate still was concerned with helping a weird hairless ape. The changeling that always offered to help. The one that was willing to face non-existence rather than have someone pay the price for his life. THAT now makes so much sense to me now.”

Pinea says nothing.

“Maybe you believe me. Maybe you don’t. I will tell you this. You had a moment of weakness that even at the time, with hunger driving you on, you still regretted, and continued to do so. Only the truly evil have no care for who they hurt. The remorse is the price of newly found virtue. Maybe the you I know has always been you. Or maybe I’m all wrong and the you I know was forged in that mistake. Whatever the case that’s the you I’m with now. That’s the you here making decisions, and that’s the you I want with me!”

 


***




The hive dissolves away leaving me looking at him as I put a hoof around him, and he around me as he starts crying. I do too. It’ll be a long night, but he’s worth it.




***

> Chapter 4: Happy Bug Noises
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 9: Happy Bug Noises

Saturday 1:17PM MST: Take a wild guess where we are



Mmmph, I wake up, slowly. Last night was very rough, but maybe something better would come of it. If anything, I feel a lot closer to Pinea. I realize how ridiculous that sounds when I share a body with him, but it’s true. I didn’t realize what he was carrying around with him. If his experience was like the others, it meant they all had this same burden of guilt, yet nothing I’d seen poking here and there into his memories suggested they had the problems with it like he had. Of course, the one that had problems with it before it was ‘fashionable’ would set a higher standard for himself.

But in a way we were both screwups in our own ways. He was right that my experience was nothing in comparison, but we both punished ourselves for the past to the detriment of the future. Sometimes it took seeing it in someone you knew to realize how bad it was for you. There were still a lot of things about last night that I needed to mentally unpack.

Ugh, so much weighty stuff! I get to my hooves and go into the kitchen. I look up at the counter. What do I want?

Oh, YES. I know. This could either be an awesome idea, or I’m going to create a massive mess.



Twenty minutes later it’s both. A few failed levitation attempts early on led me to just change to Mike and take care of things. Oh, the smell alone is worth it. I’ve been craving these.

“Mmmph, what’s that smell?”

“Wait, have you been asleep?”

“Yeah, why? What’s up?”

I lean against the table laughing. So, in a technical sense I was just sleep-cooking. OK, that’s good! I guess one of us can be out while the other is up. This arrangement keeps getting weirder.

“Really, what’s the smell? I’m really hungry now.”

“Banana pancakes!” I say to him triumphantly as change back and float the plate down, drenching them in syrup. It may not be fancy, but it’s one of my favorite things. I also get down knife and fork because I am not burying our snout in that sticky mess.

After the first taste I reconsider the snout burying option. I’m also not the only one thinking it. Were changelings big fruit eaters? I’m sure these taste better than I remember.

“You doing better today?” I ask

“Yes, I think so Mike. Thank you. I really needed that last night. There’s a lot of things I need to think over about the past now, but I needed that for a long time. Sweet Celestia these are tasty!” 

I don’t ask, but just check the name out in his memories…hmmm, horns AND wings? What’s up with the images on the flanks of all the ponies?

Then another thought hits me. “Pinea, do you cook or anything?”

“Oh YES! After things changed in the hive so did our diet thankfully. I got the chance to learn from some ponies. And really took to it!” I can feel the sudden eagerness as he starts finding memories of past things he’s made to show me. Mostly baking. More than a little sugar too. Who’d figure an insect-like hive race would have a thing for sugar.

I counter his images of one with the nearby mega grocery store, remembering what’s in the isles. I…I think he’s making a high-pitched buzzing almost. Wait, I think he’s making me do it too. Oh my God this is so cute!

“OK, we’re doing a road trip to the grocery store. Cue shopping montage!”



I drive to the store as Mike. Pinea’s a bit nervous watching the traffic, much like driving to the park. I try to explain the rules as we go so that he will worry a little less. I’m not letting him behind the wheel anytime soon though.

Once in the grocery store it’s a different matter. I hand off control to him. I kind of want to sit back and watch this. I think this is going to be fun, and I never have fun at a grocery store. After last night I want to give him a kid in the candy store moment. I know I was kind of rough on him, but I thought it was necessary. I want to show him some upsides of being trapped here with me.

“Okay, leaving it all up to you Pinea, so get whatever you want. Two things. First, don’t get lots of one thing. They restock this place constantly so we can come back any time. Second, ask me any questions. Hopefully I can answer as we go, like how something tastes or do we have enough room to store it.”

In our little headspace he nods with such a dumb happy look on his face I have to laugh. I realize that to the outside world I look like an idiot right now. Screw em! I’m having too much fun watching this.

I answer a LOT of questions over the next hour. I don’t mind. The longer I watch him though I realize how jaded I must have become. I’d drag myself here, grab a few things and go home. He’s running through at least one or two new ideas for recipes every isle we go down, except the detergent isle thankfully. I wonder if this is how he felt teaching me all those things yesterday? Maybe not walking, but certainly flying he seemed happy.

He’s very creative too. So many ideas running through his/our head, I wonder how he keeps them straight. Maybe he doesn’t. It’s surprising that he couldn’t come up with a spell…

Wait. Maybe...A couple times when we had students with problems in my class, I’d try to flip the context of a concept. Maybe that was it? The mental shaping of that magical energy to something useful…. Did I just hit the context that worked to do that? I thought of it all in terms of physics, particles, and reactions. Maybe that framework was what I needed, no, maybe it was what HE needed.

“You know if you buy it you have to cook it.”

“Duh, what do you think I’m going to do with all this?”

The cart is a mighty mound when we get to the checkout, and that’s with putting a limit on the amount of fruits so they don’t spoil. I’m not big on them, but I’m wondering if that’s changed with other things because Pinea really gets a wide assortment. As we get to the checkout, I think maybe we have a months’ worth of groceries in here or more. Is flight going to be an option in a month?

“Hey Mike! Restocking the bomb shelter?” I hear as I immediately get thrust back in charge.

I look over to Shelia, “Haha. Just stocking up. Had some real inspiration to do some cooking and baking the last few days.”

Albert said you were running more tests a couple days ago. Take the time off Mike. We can survive without you.”

“Can you though? Look deep in your heart and ask yourself…. Can you?” I laugh.

“Wow, you certainly seem more relaxed. You should take more vacations.”

“It’s actually been a pretty busy weekend. Felt like I’m beside myself,” I say, Pinea laughing to himself as I do, “But it’s a good hectic.”

“Must be,” She nods, “So anyhow, I don’t think you’ve been checking your Email, but Albert’s folks have a farm for special events. Event cancelled but they’ve paid for everything and forgot to cancel, so he’s invited the department out this Sunday.”

“Oooh, I don’t know,” I start.

“C’mon Mike, this sounds interesting. I’m curious now,” Pinea says. “How about that showing me the world stuff. You can start with those you work with.”

“Really? You sure. That’s a few hours at least….”

“We can hold this form all day Mike. That’s just an excuse.”

“Open bar Mike. Hayride. Music,” Shelia says, leaning in a bit.

“C’moooooooon.”

“Okay, sure, why not. Maybe not so much drinking. Someone needs to be the designated driver.”

“Whatever! See you then,” she smiles, driving her cart out.

I pay for our groceries, balking a little at the price, but it’s worth it. “Had fun?”

I get more buzzy bug noises.

“So, what if I said I had an idea for how you might create a spell.”

“Really? How?”

I chuckle as he seems to get even more buzzy. “You’re going to learn some science.”




***




4:13PM MST: Mike’s Kitchen

We’re in the kitchen, Pinea at the changeling reigns as he levitates one item after the next. He’s working on an ‘easy’ mixed berry banana bread with bananas, a hint of peanut butter, raspberries, and a combination of blueberries and saskatoon/juneberries. He wasn’t kidding about intending to cook everything. He actually has three versions of the recipe going as it’s something he’s just come up with. As he mixes and bakes, I’m trying to give him some basics in physics. I’ve taught more than a few classes, at least where it relates to chemistry and biology. This is NOT where I saw my career heading.

“You know you could just refer me to the parts of your memory where you took this,” he suggests to me.

“I don’t think so. I think it’s critical to really understand this in a way that YOU can think about it. The way I think about it may make less sense. You must put it together into a way that works for you. Sort of like you letting me work out how walking and flying feel and how muscles move.”

  “Makes sense. And this works with magic how?”

“When I put together that spell, I was thinking about everything in scientific terms. Think of this as background information. So what you said about that book saying a lot of spells coming from telekinesis this I think is the key for a lot of it. You said it got ‘technical’ after that. I think this is the technical part.  So basic telekinetic spell you can grasp and poke things. Shots would be throwing that force. A shield, shaping it like a wall. 

“If it’s that simple why couldn’t I do it?”

“First, to create a large shield would take a lot of power. Think like two very large hooves pushing out against something. More hoof, more energy. Sort of like holding a larger shape. Second did you think of it terms of moving molecules? Again, like shapeshifting I think you need a clear idea of the thing in your head, and I think in a way that’s ‘right’ for it to work.”

“Okay THAT makes a lot of sense.”

“Right. So how about we give it a shot?”

“After the loaf is done though. I have to see how this turns out.”

“Agreed, that smells way too good to wait.”




***




4:13PM MST: 28km Outside Regina City Limits

“Ugh, why’d it have to be Bugbears. I HATE bugbears,” L moans, taking a shot that goes wide as the bugbear dodges. One was a hooffull but there were two out here they caught stalking a hobby farm.

“Take it easy, U’s got it. DON’T YOU U?” G says, shouting up. U is currently stuffed under one massive bugbear arm as almost an afterthought as it takes swings at Q who is flying around the beast, the green hued changeling trying to keep it busy and find a way to save his partner. G and L are facing off against the other bugbear.

“I hate you so bucking much right now G!” U shouts back, trying to pry herself free.

“That’s ma’ girl!” G shouts back with a laugh taking flight, copying the bugbear he’s on and tackling it.

“Why can’t you do that Q?” U shouts as Q dives, latches on to the arm holding her, changes to a bear to pull the arm holding U up before being shook off, but it gets U free as she streaks away.

“Hey. If you’re so good how about YOU try to do that hmm?” Q grumbles. Switching back and flying up. To their side G loses shape and is trying to lead his target. L’s next shots hit their mark as he re-positions.

“How much more do we have to tire them out?” U huffs, picking a point to divebomb her target. There’s a truck incoming now. Wonderful, another headache she thinks as her hooves connect with the head of her target, causing it to land on its ass with a thud. It shakes its head and roars as she tries to put distance between them now.

The truck pulls up as an old woman in her seventies gets out, calmly assessing the chaos of the current situation. She rummages through a bag, looking up again, shaking her head, and then searching again as G gets a bugbear elbowcheck in midair.

“Ooof! I’m guessing until they’re tired and stop resisting,” G yells, turning and flying back, trying to pull attention back onto him and away from L.

The woman goes to the back of the truck pulling the tarp off revealing several smashed beehive boxes as she pours something on and gets back in the cab, driving closer. As she does, both bugbears sniff the air, re-orient on the back of the truck and fly down, going after the contents in the cargo bed. Landing on the truck jostles the driver, who makes a throw motion with her arms. L nods to her and throws two gemstones in the back of the truck with magic as everyone disengages the target, watching and hoping. All are counting down twenty seconds. When the time lapses there are two flashes, and everyone exhales coming down to the truck. U is getting out her truncheon again as the human exits the cab.

“U dear, smack me with that and I’ll see the next replacement gem feeds back on the wielder.” She says, her form wavering and then disappearing as the hologram drops revealing an older light green earth pony with white mane strapped into an exoskeleton.

“M? You came out after all?” she says, smiling as she looks over the suit. “OK, this is impressive.”

“Indeed, I had to field test it, and this seemed the perfect opportunity. A literal field test.”
“I knew bears liked honey, but I’ve never seen bugbears get so obsessed about it mid-combat” L says, looking in the back of the truck and reclaiming the two now full traps.

“Bugbear pheromone L. You little ones have to remember not everything gets solved with a fight. Though I suppose after about, oh…two minutes you would have had to deal with bugbears in a mating rage.” She, smiles. “That’s when they get REALLY tough.”

“Still, really glad to see you M,” G says smiling and giving a small bow to her as she laughs.

“Always the charmer,” She smiles. “So, how have you been doing? I swear A’s going to be bald if the stress this week keeps up.”

“Two more.” Though they’re probably big.

“Well, hop in the truck. I have a room where you can rest up for a bit. We’ll get a meal in you all and then go after the next target.

“Brought some toys?” Q asks.

“Don’t I always?”




***




Saturday 8:43PM: Mike’s House Again. It really is a lot of his world.



We’re tired when we come in from the backyard, but the day has been filled with happy bug noises. With some coaching by me on the thought context we both ‘discovered’ a shield spell and the ‘force push’. I’ve been thinking more about the future, paying attention to how Pinea discovered these things, making my own mental notes.

Magic seemed to rely on raw power and control. Raw power was innate, but control appeared trainable and the key to it all. It shaped the power, and with no shape to the power the spell would just fizzle. It was apparent we had sufficient power now for whatever reason, so it was a lot about the second. Creating the right mental contexts to pull off magic.

I was thinking smaller. If telekinesis could be refined to the molecular level, then the possibilities expanded exponentially. At the same time though a few of the ideas that came to mind were also pretty scary, and I’m not sure either of us wanted some of those. Fireball was good in a D&D game, but not so much in real life when you considered what sort of nastiness it could unleash. Or if you could mentally accelerate that power like a supercollider… there was a nasty thought too. There could be other peaceful ideas as well. Light could be a wave and particle, so maybe invisibility?

We’d talked a bit more about the destructive spells and agreed not to go that way again. Stunning maybe, but nothing that would kill. Neither of us had the stomach for that. I wasn’t sure about Pinea, but I still didn’t trust myself with the option of deadly force. I’m not sure he does either.

We’d stopped partway into the evening for a supper consisting of the banana berry bread. I’m really amazed by his skill. It wasn’t even a recipe before today. I make sure we write it down though and save a couple pieces for work. I’m not sure if its appealing more to our tastebuds, so I need a human second opinion. I DO try it in human form and it still tastes amazing, but I need more test subjects. We settle in to watch another movie. I suggest Men In Black.

“Today’s been really something else Mike. You know… It’s not been long, but I really think I could like it here.”

  “Wait unit I have to go back to work. You might think twice,” I chuckle

“Come on, I’m serious!” he laughs. “We just were able to do something today I’ve wanted to do for years and years, and do not one but TWO spells! You’re a pretty good teacher.”

  “Not where I envisioned my career going, but I’ll take it. AND I did it without mortally embarrassing anyone.” I kid back. We’re on the couch in our mental space to sit beside each other, though I suppose technically I’m in control of ‘us’ right now.

“Again, I’m sorry for that Mike. When I learned how I think there had been a rock thrown at my head by another grub. I couldn’t exactly do that to you. I don’t get what you’re embarrassed about though. Not exactly sure what that was for.”

I look at him, I think nearly as shocked as when I first saw him in the mirror.

“What?” he asks, confused.

I sigh, finally relenting and pulling up a memory of one of those items that I’d been keeping hidden tightly away. His eyes go wider, his carapace somehow blushing.

“OH! OH! I see. I’m sorry,” he says, but he’s also grinning.

“You don’t exactly look sorry.”

“Sorry. Actually, it does bring up something I was wondering about. When THIS happened, you weren’t…I mean. There wasn’t a special somepony you were with was there?”

  “Somepony? OH! No no.”

  “Good. It didn’t come up and there weren’t any memories that suggested it, but I was worried maybe all this might have ended something….”

  “No, it’s OK. I’m single. Wait, did you…?”

  “No no, just myself. Sooooo?” he grins at me.

  “What?”

  “Mares? Stallions? Both? Neither?”

  “None of those because I was a human.” I laugh, “It’s kind of complicated.”

  “Try me.”

  “Okay, I guess either or neither as you say, I don’t really find anyone ‘sexy’, it’s more about the feeling I get with someone. Not so much on the physical looks.”

  “You’re SURE you weren’t a changeling before this?” Pinea laughs.

“Oh? So tell me about the mating habits of changelings,” I smirk, sitting back.

“There’s a lot of varieties, but the thing is, when you can switch shapes up so easy, it gets to be way more about the personality. At least in my thinking. It gets complicated around a lot of things though, but personality tends to be very critical.”

  “I mean it is with humans too, though nobody goes to a bar and whispers to their friend “Look at the personality on him! But really, ummm, this kind of brings up a question,” I say. Now it’s my turn to blush.

“Hmmm?”

I flop us over on the physical couch, looking down. “I was wondering how you or we even ‘do’ things? I changed to human to use the facilities, and well, there’s not exactly anything there on our form.”

Much as I expect Pinea breaks out laughing as I blush internally and externally.

“Everything’s internal Mike. Though if you want to see….”

I go to say no and flop over, but he’s grabbed control and rubbing a few places. Then I see…

***The following account has been redacted by the (ORGANIZATION WITHHELD) under the Sentient Species of Equestria Act (SSEA). Those wishing a transcript of such accounts for academic use are urged to apply to the SSEA under the Sentient Nookie Understanding of Gratificational Gaping and Lewd Entertainments Stipulations (SNUGGLES). Please allow 6-8 weeks for us to ignore your application, at which time you are encouraged to apply again.***




***

> Chapter 5: High Neigh to the Danger Zone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 10: High Neigh to the Danger Zone

Sunday 7:17AM: Easy-sleep Hotel. Regina SK. Now just $77/night



“Argh! These just keep getting worse. Manticores now? I’d take a full pack of timberwolves over those. At least I don’t have to worry about getting stung,” U groans. “Is L going to be OK?”

M nods as the unicorn staggers in being supported by Q and G. The antivenom would take care of things, but it was still painful, and there would be a lot of nausea coming.

“Well, another one for the wounded list. Why don’t we just get a few more agents? You’d think we’d at least fill out the whole alphabet,” Q says, easing L into bed.

“Aside from one recruiting and testing window every few years when there’s a guaranteed portal opening, it’s kind of the problem of the trainers in Equestria not getting us acceptable candidates,” M says, easing into a chair.

“We get good recruits,” G grumbles. “It’s when they made O administer the testing…. Who was the last recruit he passed? Nobody!” 

“Leave it be,” M says. “He’s strict but he’s fair.”

“Fair? I don’t think he’d pass any of US. I’ve beat him before, but the rest? No offense.”

“I’m always offended by you G,” U says.

“Of course you are. That’s your charm,” He smiles back. “I’m serious though. Next recruitment comes around in a few months and we are getting new ponies or I’m out.”

“Bring it up with A again dear. I agreed originally with him, but you’re right, our standards are maybe too high for some ponies that will learn a lot on the job. You all have learned so much since you joined.”

“One more to go.” Q says, “Hopefully we get a break on this last one.”




***




8:09PM Country Bend Farm (4.75/5 on Barnreviews.org). 18km East of Regina





I never quite got these places. We parked away out from the barn, being taken there in a horse drawn cart. I got the charm, but the cart never made much sense. Just park by the barn. I hold on to my seat as we bump along slowly. There’s a few of us here. Shelia, the section head was beside me. Across from us were Ted, Albert, and Imogene our researchers. Amy our grad student and her boyfriend Harry were seated on the front bench with the person at the reigns. We were the third group out. Apparently close to twenty-five had come out. Most were grad students. Offer them free anything and you could count on good attendance. I sure did when I was one.

“So that’s what horses look like here. They make them pretty big.” Pinea comments.

“They come in a few sizes. Pony to Clydesdale” I say, trying to remember some pictures I’d seen. “Just none that are intelligent.”

We get to the barn. It’s somewhat fake rustic on the outside while inside was a very well appointed and clean meeting area with tables a band and dance area. Several tables with food are laid out. Outside there is a nice wooded area behind the barn. Very popular for weddings. I’m told that was what it was meant to be before someone got cold feet. They’d never bothered to specifically cancel.

As the night wears on I’m glad I came. I was worried about interacting with people after everything that’s happened, that somehow, I’d have a ‘turn up naked for a test’ moment and just spontaneously turn back into a changeling in front of everyone.

“I told you, it’s really easy with a little focus. Just don’t get drunk. That may be a problem.”

  “Yeah. Are you having a good time?”

“Pretty good. This place is nice. I’ve been a few places that look like it before, and the food isn’t too bad. Are you going to dance?”

“Buck no.”

  “Awwww. Shelia seemed like she wanted to. I kind of like her.”

“Not interested.” I say, sauntering outside. It’s another nice night in early June. Clear night, no wind, just a little bit lower than room temperature. Being a little way out of the city there were also a few more stars visible as well.

“It’s not about being interested, it’s about enjoying yourself and her enjoying herself. Others are getting out there. It’s not like anyone is a master dancer. Or are they? I don’t know what sort of weird wiggles you apes do,” he snickers.

I smile to myself and shake my head. “Okay, you talked me into it. I need to get out a little more.”




***




9:37PM Country Bend Farm. 18km East of Regina

“Oh, please let it be something small. It doesn’t always HAVE to be big,” Q says. 

“I’m not worried about that,” M says, pointing. “There’s a gathering out there. That’s going to be a serious containment problem. We’re going to need at least two or three to deal with that. We may have to evacuate and do a retreat. We don’t want casualties.”

The others look on, tired. One more to go then hopefully some downtime.

There’s a rustle in the trees behind the barn that gets more intense. There’s no wind tonight though.

“I don’t think we’re going to be lucky.” G says.




***




I’m dancing again. OK, I admit it, I’m having fun. I just needed a little push I guess.

“Mike? I think I heard something weird,” Pinea says. The music isn’t that loud and now that I think about it, it sounds like there’s a lot of motion in the trees. I put it off to wind, but there is none. I excuse myself and walk over to the drinks table, which is close to a back door, which I slip out of. I’m almost in the trees back here, but I’m not alone. There’s something else here. Something very big. I look up. It’s a reptile of some sort, mostly neck, no, four necks and a thick lower body. Its easily taller than the barn. Its looking around but hasn’t seen me yet thankfully.

“H…h…h…hydra!” Pinea stammers in my head, terrified. I’m right with him, blood running cold. I almost drop our form in the process, one arm slowly reaching behind as I slip back inside the door and gingerly close it.

“Damn! What do we do?” I could get away but there’s a huge hellbeast just outside. I don’t ask about if hydras are vicious, Pinea’s response made that clear.

“I…I..don’t know Mike. We can’t leave everyone here!” He says, as I’m in agreement. We’re the only ones here with any ability to remotely take this thing on.

I nod and quietly walk over to a table where Shelia is sitting down. Oh, great, how do I approach this? I’m guessing honestly isn’t the best policy. We need people moving quietly.

“Hey Mike, ready to go on the dance floor again?” she says with a wide smile. She’s a little tipsy certainly. I shake my head at her, grabbing her arm hard, forcing her to look at me with a different expression.

“I just saw a bear out back Shelia. We need to get people out of here quickly and quietly. Stay away from the woods and move to the cart. We need to be QUIET though.”

I see a moment of panic and then a nod as she starts going to others as I try to inform some myself. The din of the party starts to fade as we quietly tell the band, and get people filing out. The last of the people at the party leave the barn when I hear more rustling and then one of the people screams, which is followed by a roar. So much for the bear story.

“Mike, I don’t think we can change to anything big enough to take that on.”

  “We have the new spells. A lot of those could be good to protect them. Pinea, I don’t think we can help without them seeing us.”

  “Then that’s how it’s got to be.” He says, and I nod, hiding and dropping the shape. Mike’s gone for the evening.




***




“You just HAD to say let it be small didn’t you Q?” U groans as the hydra emerges.

“At least the party had started to get out of there. Why does one person always have to scream?” G says.

“They’re not going to make it!” Q adds, flying up as the beast lumbers forward. It’s not close, but it has a very long reach. Two heads go to catch the last of the party goers until something gallops out, getting in the way of the attack. There’s a bright flash of blue as the heads bounce off something, shaking in annoyance and re-orienting on the new target. Q pauses, confused.

“What the buck is that?” U says, “Did backup arrive?”

“None of our casters auras are blue,” G says. “Kind of looks like…”

“Changeling.” M says, an eyepiece on her suit magnifying the view for her. “You two don’t know any teal and green Changelings on Earth do you?” she asks. G and Q both shake their heads.

“Why can’t YOU do that?” U says to the two of them as the hydra makes another attempt and gets deflected.

“None of us can, that’s why. There was one that could but she’s gone.” G says, though the two look at each other worried. They never had found her….

“Well, what are we doing up here then? Let’s get down there and lend a hoof!” U says, fiddling with a gun attachment that’s been added to her hoof device, but M stops her.

“G and Q should get people to safety, and make sure we contain this. U, I want you on the tail end, ready to defend those retreating if the hydra gets past our friend there. We ensure a safe retreat THEN take it to the hydra. Besides, our new friend seems to be holding their own so far. This might be a good time to lean a few things before dealing with them. I’ve got something here for long range so I can give them a little help.”

There are nods around as everyone breaks. G and Q take human forms and get people to the cart while U goes high, scouting and flying in behind the mystery changeling.




***




“GET OUT OF HERE NOW!” I shout, trying to make our voice sound deeper so hopefully nobody associates it with Mike, whose now backseat driving. I hear another scream at me. Yeah yeah, scary bug yelling at you and protecting your ass.

“SO glad we worked on that shield spell now.” Mike says.

“Any bright ideas on what to do? I’m a little busy here.”

“Working on it. I suppose we could shoot it, but I still don’t want it to get to that. That’s still a do or die thing. It doesn’t look very well balanced. Really top heavy I mean. If someone could probably trip that thing up. Maybe if….”

I dodge an attack by another head. We now have the attention of all four heads as the rest of the party starts to put some more distance between us. I throw up a shield to hold off another attack by all four at once this time. It deflects three, one getting through, managing to get a glancing blow across my left leg, which still really hurts. They’re getting stronger and I don’t have the endurance to keep this up.

“I have one really dumb idea.”

  “Most of your ideas aren’t dumb Mike. Let’s hear it.”

  “Rope the heads in, pull down, then sweep the legs with a push. Take It to the ground then try and stun it.”
“Not bad. No rope though.”

  “If telekinesis can be a hand or hoof, how about a rope of force?”

“I…why not indeed! I’ll give it a shot.” I say. “I may need to do some fancy flying. If I can’t get it to work you may need to take over.”

Mike agrees, but I can feel him get distracted.

“I think I just saw a pegasus in the sky?” He says, “They’re not engaging so focus on the hydra!”

I open my wings and get into the air. Mostly I’m thinking of how this is going to work, if it works. I imagine doing a normal grabbing motion but imagine it’s along a line. Ohh, like spider silk! That’s it! I dodge another lunge of a head and then a second, testing it out. I can see the glowing line wrap a neck as I try to pull it back to me. It sort of works but fizzles out. Getting close. Mike’s usually better with this part. Crap, its heading for one of the humans. A head makes another lunge for me, as the body moves ahead, two heads going for the strike on the straggler.

Bank turn in hard! “OW!” Outer wing gets clipped, throwing me off course. I pull hard, to the side, hitting the ground feet behind the runner, casting shield again in time to deflect. One head gets through with a headbutt, sending me rolling. I shake my head, trying desperately to clear it, right myself, and take to the air, but I can feel that side really hurting.

I need to get it on me alone, so I try to thread the four heads. One gets close enough to get a gash across my flank, the head nearly colliding with each other. OH, IDEA!

“You got an idea of what that rope spell might be like?”
“I…I think so, yeah.” Mike says.

“OK, I’ll give you a shot at it. I just need to ‘tenderize’ him.” I say, looking at my target with new determination. I know how this is going to go down.

“HEY DUMMY!” I shout, “That the best you got?” I wiggle in the air, daring it to come at me.

Two heads attack, the others following something else in the air. I let both heads get closer then cast a hard push, the force wave slamming into both, stunning them. Yes!

“If you stick close to stunned heads, I bet they can’t twist very fast.” Mike offers. Yes, that’s an even better option! I try the force bolt spell but weaken it as much as I can. I still get a shot off. It does no damage, but it does draw attention of the other heads, who go to strike my position near the other stunned heads. I hold position, dodging to the side away from the first two heads and fire another force wave, sending the new heads into the other two. I twist a little in the air as one of the heads graze my side.

“Now Mike!” I think as I throw control to him.




***




I make sure to adjust flight first, still a bit shaky with the clipped wing. Then I visualize the spell. I’d thought about this one once before, and seeing Pinea’s attempt gives me the final clues. I solidify the image as the field also solidifies. The heads are all dazed so getting them all in is easy as I cut height and drop to the ground. I look up. This is going to take a lot of energy I think as I pull HARD along the line of the field. That’s the tricky part, but it works! The heads snap down towards the ground as it tries to re-balance its legs. I drop the spell, casting another force wave as hard as I can at its leg, the beast going over with a tremendous crash, heads whipping into the ground, lying there  stunned. I stagger back, feeling almost ready to collapse.

I hear something whiz by me, a small glowing gem shot at us.

“Someone’s shooting at us Pinea!” I look around. There are no more party goers around, so I hand control back to him and we fly full speed out of there, away from where the shot came. We’re both exhausted and drained from the spells, our escape being fueled by pure adrenaline




***




M puts away the rifle, starting the countdown. 20…19…18…

“They’re getting away!” U says, but M holds up a hoof.

“We’ll have other chances to see them I’m sure, now that we know they’re here. Tell me, what did you plan to do dear? Talk or tackle them?”

14…13…12…

U goes to says something then stops. In the heat of things that hadn’t been discussed.

G and Q return. “Did they just take down a hydra on their own?” G says, looking at the stunned beast flat on the ground.

8…7…6….

M nods. “Impressive job too.”

3…2…1…

There’s a flash and the hydra is gone, leaving only a small glowing gem.

“Well, someone go and pick up our hydra. Looks like you got your wish Q, it was an easy night.”

“So, what do we do about them?” G asks.

“Find out who they are, then have a talk with them.” M says matter-of-factly

“I don’t trust them. We have no idea who they are.”

“I think we know quite a bit actually.” M says calmly. “They appear to have been at this party, otherwise it seems pretty coincidental them showing up. We know the first thing they did was to protect the escape of others, putting themselves in harm’s way. Fairly heroic if you ask me. As we’ve not encountered your ‘cougar with a railgun’ and this is the last of our targets and they can fire force bolts yet didn’t take killing shots we can assume they were trying to use non-lethal means against something much stronger than them so they’re probably measured and not bloodthirsty. In the end its your call G. I’m just suggesting that if we approach this right we may not have a problem, but a talented ally.”

G nods and turns to Q. “You got the information from those people before processing? Tomorrow we pay the University here a visit.”

M shakes her head and sighs.




***




Chapter 11: Mage or Malfunction



11:15PM MST Regina, SK

We fly all the way home, ditching the car for now. We can’t be totally sure if they shot at us or the hydra, but we weren’t going to stick around in case it was the former. We’re exhausted, but still wired, calming down a bit when we realize that the pegasus could have tailed us easily if she had wanted to. We could fly, but Pinea assures me that pegasi were specialists at it. Still, we were going to be wary. The shots it got on our leg flank and wing still hurt and my leg and flank are still bleeding a little. It’ll heal, but it’s going to be harder to walk for a while.

Sleep comes easily thanks to the exhaustion. The next day we take several forms getting to work mostly flying to stay off the leg. The odd thing is that nobody seems to remember much about the party other than it was good and it ended early. I don’t push it with any of them. The less said about last night the better.

“Hey Mike?” Shelia says as she walks into my small office closing the door.

“Hey Shelia. Berry banana bread?” I say, offering a piece. She smiles and takes it, taking a small bite, her eyes growing wide.

“Wow, that’s really good! Taking up baking? She asks, sitting across from me in the only other chair in the room.

“Yeah, when the bombs fall, I can’t go down to the store and grab baked goods can I?” I chuckle.

She laughs a little uneasy. “Bombs dropping?” she says with another awkward laugh.

“Mike….”

  “Yeah, guessing maybe not Shelia. Keep an eye out.”

She scoots a little closer. “Anyway Mike, I wanted to talk about last night….”

I nod, “What about exactly?”

“Just how crazy everything got. With everyone running. I got worried when I couldn’t find you,” she says, leaning in.

“Mike, she’s slowly moving her right arm.”

“And I…” the arm flashes out, but I’ve already moved back, grabbing the arm, using the motion to push it into her own chest. The patch in her hand sticks to her chest and she immediately changes into a yellow and orange hued changeling. My other arm goes around their neck. I know they’ll shift out but I’m already thinking of other things to do.

“What the hell? Trying to drug me or something?”

“Taromort,” he says with a bit of a cough. I may be squeezing a bit hard from panic now. “Blocks shapeshifting for a few hours. Perfectly harmless though.”

“Then perhaps we can start with why you want to do that to me in the first place.”

“So you’d not run.”

“Really great negotiator. Sure as hell wouldn't want to be your date.”

“We just want to talk.”

“Can you see how I may have a few trust issues right about now about your intentions?” I say as I try not to yell. He nods slowly. 

There’s a knock at the door. “Shelia?”

“As there was nobody else in the lab before you came in here, I’m assuming that’s your backup.” I ask, and get another nod.

“Okay, so here’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to go out there and have a little talk like you wanted, but now you’ve graciously volunteered to be my leverage. I don’t want to hurt you, but right now my trust level for you is in the negatives. If you DO want to just talk amicably then there’s no reason not to go along and cooperate with me. Do we understand each other?”

Another nod.

I open the door and step out, changeling before me. Albert is in the room but I highly doubt its him. There is also a middle-age woman, seated at one of the desks, perfectly calm with everything, so she’s with them too. I’m already planning an escape route. This situation is very tense.

My ‘hostage’ aims a kick at me, surprising me enough to drop my own shape as he gets clear of me. I look to the chemical shelves, telekinetically pulling two specific jars off, smashing them into one another, the room filling with a billowing smoke. A bolt of light shoots out of the cloud as I turn tail, shifting to a sparrow, handing things over to Pinea as we fly out the narrow open window.




***




11:34AM University of Regina



“That went well,” M says tartly.

“I told you he’s dangerous! He attacked me and then tried to poison us.”

“Your plan was to patch him so you threw the first blow G, then Q here shoots at them. As to poisoning us, there are plenty of things in here that could be combined to make something toxic. He chose two bottles that would just create an obscuring cloud. Clever boy, but again, not bloodthirsty.”

“I’m calling this in NOW. I’ll get O here to handle them.”

“Mmm, that’s got to sting. You know he’s going to remind you of that for some time dear.”

“You have a better plan?”

“I HAD a better plan but you decided you wanted to drug and capture. Give me a day to try things my way. If they’re still out there after that then go and ask for help.”

“One day! And U and Q can still bring them in if they get a shot.” he grumbles, going back to the office, closing the door to wait out the poison. “Someone get me a coffee at least!”




***




11:39AM Northridge Apartments



I gasp as we finally finish flying, coming to land on a top of one of the higher apartment building, dropping the bird form and laying on the roof trying to recover from our escape. 

“Who the buck are these guys Mike?” I ask rhetorically. “What did we do to them?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen them before. More changelings. I mean do you know anyone else that would be here?’  

“I’d never heard of this place before. I’m pretty sure a world inhabited by mostly naked apes would have been something that stuck around in my head.”

The clouds overhead provide some intermittent shade from the bright sun while we figure out what to so. If they knew where I worked, they’d know about the house. I doubt I could even pick up the car from last night. Maybe that was for the best. Move to a new city with no possible traces. Would we have to worry about these assholes showing up there too? For a bunch that just wanted to talk they seemed to want to use their hooves a lot.

I notice the shadow get dark very fast. I roll us on the roof as I feel it shake behind us with a sharp thud sound. When I look up I can see the black Pegasus that Mike had said he glimpsed last night. Black coat, dark blue mane and what looked like a lightning bolt on her flanks. She had some sort of contraption on her right hoof that appeared to be used for holding things, a small bejeweled club held there which she’d just brought down where we used to be a second ago.

“So, what’s your deal huh?” she asks casually, “Good work on the hydra last night by the way.”

“MY deal? You just tried to bash in my head! What’s YOUR deal?” I shout.

“Sorry. G’s got all serious about bringing you in. I mean, I KIND of like to see him all flustered, but I still got to listen to him,” she says, sitting down for a second. “I mean you can fly out of here but we both know I’m going to catch you if you do.”

“What the hell do you even want with me? I was just trying to help out those people last night.”

“Yeah yeah I know,” she sighs. “Look all I can say is we look into weird stuff like this here, and there’s no record of you, so that qualifies you for ‘weird stuff’.”

“So you bash in the ‘weird stuff?’”

“Eh, sometimes. Mostly just trap and release. Hey, the club here’s set to stun. You would have been fine. I’d get my tail handed to me if I hurt you too much,” she shrugs. 

“I felt the roof move! That doesn’t seem like painless. Are you all insane?”

“OK, that was useful. They can’t hurt us, so they’re going to have to pull punches.” Mike offers. 

“Nawww, but let’s get this over with. You going to come along nice or make this difficult? I mean I don’t WANT to hurt you, but after seeing you last night I’d also kind of like to take you on. Really, lot of respect for last night.”

I don’t waste a second or even consult Mike. “Bring it feather-flanks!”

She smiles and adjust her club, circling a little, sizing us up, “Cool!”

We do the same. “Okay, probably a really stupid move. Mike? Anything? Please?”

“So, can’t use too many tactics from last night. Outclassed on speed, maybe maneuverability too. At least she’s not looking to kill…. I got nothing yet.”

“Wonderf…” I start then roll as she launches at us. Club just barely missing connecting with my head, my leg throbbing in pain, reminding me of last night.

“Don’t fly for now. If she’s got us beat in the air make her deal with the roof.”

I nod, changing to a small orange cat. More nimble, smaller target. She makes another pass, but I do better at avoiding this one, stumbling thanks to the leg injury. I’m on defense until Mike can think of anything to get us out of here.

Another pass. I jump but she pulls a fake out and I twist hard in the air. OW! Painful! By luck I land on her back, claws out in panic as I latch on. Her flight path goes wild.

“GAA!” she shouts, flailing with her hooves as we crash onto the roof and I’m thrown clear. I change back, shaking my head. She’s still getting up so I try a force push, knocking her off the roof. Not that that matters to her.

“Miiiiike?”

“NOW we’re talkin’!” she says, flying back up a big smile across her muzzle. “The guys always think big when we spar so I’m usually just beating against a bear or rhino or something.”

“OK, she’s crazy.” We both think.

“She got us outclassed most every way here,” Mike tells me, “It’s only a matter of time until she scores. The only thing we have going for us is she can’t….”

I dodge another a lunge, then get kicked by her hind hooves as she maneuvers into a follow-up, knocking the wind out of me. I’m gasping, then dodge again by changing to a rat, so she flies over her target.

Mike feeds me an image. Really risky, but we don’t exactly have options here… I tap out and get myself ready.




***



 


I drop back to changeling form, as we face off again, slowly backing up to the edge of the roof. I’m still out of breath and limping.

“Damn, you’re fast,” I puff, still trying to get some air back.

“Damn right,” she smiles and makes another run at me. She’s probably going to aim low, so I change to a hummingbird and fly up as she swoops under, swinging the club where I just was. I wasn’t going to outrun her, but this could at least out-maneuver her. I aim down, making my run.

I can see her in my peripheral vision, gaining on me. She swings wide as I turn to her, the next swing coming in right at me. I cast and there’s a flash. My tiny wings stop and now I’m plummeting as I revert to changeling form. I pass control.




***




“Oh buck me!” she shouts, realizing what she’s done as the ground rapidly gets closer as everyone plummets to an empty parking lot below. She quickly flies under supporting my body, her wings pumping hard as she tries to slow our descent. The ground’s getting closer but she’s doing it. She’s so fixated on slowing us that she’s not expecting the flash and tentacles that wrap around her, grabbing each leg and the club, still leaving her wings free. She’s already committed to slowing down or we’re all street pizza so she keeps flapping as I slip other tentacles around her neck and muzzle so she doesn’t throw me off. Her face is so hot, is she blushing? When just a few feet above the ground I hit her with her own club. There’s a flash and she drops unconscious. I lift her into a trash bin in the lot and limp off. Trash day wasn’t for another week Mike informs me so she’d be safe.

“You know if you didn’t pull off that shield so close this would have gone very bad,” I say to Mike as I turn to a crow and fly out of the lot.

“Yeah, but she wasn’t going to drop us. Worst case is she’d have won, but I didn’t see any other way out Pinea. If she hadn’t had to take us in, we’d be pulp. Really good work with the octopus.”

  “Let’s just find a place to rest up. I hope there are no more of them.”




***




2:55PM Riverbank

It’s several hours later and I’m sitting near the river in an open area of the park along its banks. I’ve currently taken the form of an old classmate I used to know, or at least how I remembered her in grad school. We used to come here after some late days in the lab. I don’t really know where to go now. 

“We can find somewhere else to start over.” Pinea offers, having handed over control to me. “It’s not great but we can survive I’m sure.”

I nod. It’s somewhat weak. Just a day ago we were happily enjoying a day together and now being hunted for helping save my coworkers. I guess its ex coworkers now. Can't go back there now.

“Excuse me?” I hear a woman say. She looks to be in her 70’s, but I’m on edge right now. I assume she’s a threat unless other information comes up. This is probably no coincidence.

“Yes?”

She waves me over to a bench in the middle of a green area by a jogging path. Very open. Pinea’s keeping an eye out on the bench, but we don’t see any eyes. Even shifted if you wanted to see something you needed eyes somewhere. I wanted to run but also at this point I wanted information. If this was another one of these dolts at least it looked like she was making an effort at an amicable meeting. Fairly public, out in the open. I’m not sure how she’d know me in this form though. Crap! Probably old picture posts. I limp over, my leg really hurting now, and my midsection still tender from the kick. If this is another fight I’m not sure how well we’re going to fare.

“I want to apologize for the idiot, I mean idiots today,” she says, sitting back out of range of any arms. “I told G he was being stupid, but he refused to listen. These kids today spend so much time bagging monsters they forget that you can’t treat people the same way. I hope the bruise to his ego reminds him of that.”

“And you are?”

“Well, I’ve been going now by ‘M’ for some time. Sort of like in James Bond. Little inversion of it seeing as Q had been taken. Bit of an in-joke I like,” she smiles, “But if you’re wondering what I am. An earth pony in an exoskeleton mounting a holographic projector. I suppose changelings can do it a lot easier as you know, but I like to get out and walk around. I’d show you, but obviously this isn’t the time nor place.”

“Not necessarily the weirdest thing I’ve heard. I’m guessing you know my name by now, seeing as you tracked me to work.” I grumble.

“Yes Mike. Again, I’m sorry. I really want to clear the air here about the last day, perhaps days. I think you deserve that and more. I saw what you did with the hydra. Very impressive and very brave. I like watching when someone who clearly has a head on their shoulders uses it.”

“Thank you I guess.”

“Mike. I represent a group operating on Earth here. We’re all from Equestria, but the problem is that things tend to keep slipping through from one place to the other. The odd magical item, monsters, and the occasional pony or two. Things like hydras and drakes aren’t exactly native to Earth and we’re trying to keep it that way for the safety of others, and so no inconvenient questions get asked of other interests here. As I’m sure you’re aware, there was a large storm here a few days ago. Pretty strong really, though not the strongest we’ve encountered. I don’t know what your week has been like, but in the background these ponies have dealt with at least ten magical creatures that have found their way here because of that storm four days ago. Timberwolves, manticores, bugbears, and of course the drake and hydra, but those last two are in your column.”

“And my prize for taking it down was to get shot at by one of your band of little chipper crickets, drugged, or bashed by a pegasus?”

“What? OH!” she says, realization appearing to hit. “Oh my, maybe some of this is my fault? Oh Mike, no. I was aiming that shot last night at the hydra. The ‘bullet’ was a trap for holding it. The large ones take quite a bit of time to fully activate so getting a trap under the stunned creature as fast as possible was important. You were never the target.”

“Until today.”

She sighs and leans back. “They’re actually some of the best Equestria has to offer. We pick from a lot of different services back home. All secret of course. We’re currently a little understaffed. Mike, taking down a Hydra on your own to my thinking is more than enough to qualify you to join, though the process is more formal. G was thinking in terms of neutralizing another problem he had to deal with. I think you’d be a very good agent for us. Personally, I’d like someone around with some science background to talk to. Two bachelors a masters and a PhD isn’t too shabby.

“Mike, it’s not glamorous work, but it is vital work we do to keep people safe. You’re free to walk away from here. If you do though G will report what happened and they’ll send the best we got after you because he’s still worried. I’ve tried telling him different, but for whatever reason he’s being stubborn on this. The changeling they’ll send though, he’s good deep down, but can also be rather… umm zealous, and I don’t want to see you hurt for doing the right thing and saving those people. I don’t get to make the call on that, but I am giving you this information as a good will gesture. If you choose to run away you’ll have a head start at least.”

“Thaaanks. Join us or die.”

“We’re always looking to capture and not kill, but he would be rough, yes, but not lethal. Look, I can offer you two more things. Three more if my personal assurance means anything but I’m guessing it doesn’t to you.”

“Good guess.”

“Deserved,” she sighs. “The first is I’m willing to be your bargaining chip. No resistance. No escaping. I want you to join, so I have no reason to resist.”

“So you say.”

“Again deserved. The other is a piece of information that will make things much harder for us. A mutual secret dear. We’re pretty good at keeping tabs on the few Equestrians here on Earth. Either you’ve been so amazingly good you’ve avoided detection for, let’s see… last level 5 disruption was a bit over a year ago, so a year. Or, you’re new here. If I were you, I’d say it’s the former. If so, you arrived through a breach between worlds near Edmonton and moved here assuming this life.”

“Whose saying that’s not true?”

“Oh, I won’t, but I know it’s not true dear. See, if that WERE true, I doubt you’d have the glowing work reviews you have, or be teaching several classes in science, or know how to mix chemicals on the fly. The credentials can be faked, the knowledge less so. Science in Equestria isn’t quite at the same level but I suppose you could have self-taught in that time, but it’s less likely you did. Also, the breach occurred in Kelona, so you’ll want to be clear on that.” She smiles.

“Damn, she just suckered an answer out of me,” I say to Pinea, as she continues. 

“All of this means the more likely situation is that you or some force came through the recent breach.  NOW, I know that Mike existed here before the breach and the current Mike seems to have his knowledge and skills. We wouldn’t be having this meeting if this place and that shape didn’t have meaning to Mike too. Old posted pictures wouldn’t have much sentimental significance to an imposter. I also know that level four breaches like the one here recently never have been able to transport sentient creatures.  So, the best conclusion would be that whatever happened changed you into a changeling, and one with some significant magical talent.”

“She’s really good. She got everything right except for me,” Pinea says in the back of my mind, breaking the silence he’d kept for a while now. I have to agree, though we also both agree not to correct her one mistake.

“Now I don’t NEED to figure any of that out, or include it in any report. I’m not sure any of the others will figure it out either, if you get my drift. You may want to put off questions until you have some more background knowledge of Equestria if you do decide to come…”

“I have a fair knowledge,” I say, arms crossed, looking at her.

“Helpful. Anyhow, I’d advise against copping to the last story, as some may start to think of you as a test subject to figure out what happened. I admit I’d like to figure that out as well, but I’d rather just ask questions and try to work on it like colleagues. Otherwise we offer nice living spaces, a dental plan, lots of travel, and access to some nice toys. Work is intermittent depending on how many problems we have to deal with or things to investigate, but probably comparable with what you have now. This week has been a pretty stressful exception for us as I’ve said. So….?”

“I need to think about this” I say as she nods but holds up a hand.

“You have the day, but you may want to stay here with me. The others may make another attempt if you leave. Here I can control things. There is just one more thing.” 

She very slowly reaches to her purse, showing me she’s not trying anything, removing one of the patches I saw earlier.

“For some reason G was VERY insistent on forcing you into your true shape. I’m not sure I get why. But if you come back you’ll have to use that to convince him. You’ve spooked him for whatever reason since we saw you fend of the hydra. In fact, I think he may even let you walk away if you just do that for him.”

Pinea chimes in now “I think I know Mike. Remember when I said the only other changeling in recent memory that was able to cast more than telekinesis was Chrysalis? She’s still out there somewhere, though that would be Equestria. Maybe he thinks…I don’t know how offended I should be at that.”

  “How about you take over negotiations?” I say to him, letting him take over for a while.

“I think I know why. You may know we’re not exactly casters.” Pinea says to M. “I’m not even sure why I have this much power to use. The last serious changeling spellcaster though was Chrysalis, who is still out there somewhere. I’m guessing he wants to be sure I’m not her. I…probably don’t blame him on that.”

“OH, yes, yes, that makes perfect sense!” M nods. “The boys did seem a little spooked last night. It certainly explains his being so deadly serious today. Very out of character for him.”

“I’m going to walk around here a little and think about this, OK?” Pinea says as M nods, saying she’ll stay at the bench.



“Okay, so what do you want to do here Mike?”

  “I was going to ask you the same question Pinea, I’m really not sure. I suppose it sounds interesting. I’m still damn mad at them, but…maybe there were a lot of miscommunications.”

  “And if they were thinking we were HER, I can kind of see why they might try to do what they did….”

“But by what they say it would be a lot more danger. I’m not really sure,” Mike trails off. “The hydra didn’t scare me quite as much at the end as I thought it would, and she seems to suggest that was on the high side for threats. I don’t know. Maybe I could do it if you wanted to. I’m not exactly the very brave type. I’ve also told you about my ability to make wrong decisions…”

“I really like the idea of helping people deal with these things. The night with the drake, things got out of hoof, but I’m still glad we did it, minus the spell. Saving your work friends from the hydra too. I…I think I could see doing this. What would we be doing here otherwise? I sort of like the idea of seeing more of this world too.”

  “We’d be going to work in the lab. Teaching. Mixing stuff up. Oh God it does sound so limited when you start to think about it in comparison doesn’t it? Three weeks’ vacation time a year and pretty cold winters. This new place might also be somewhere to try and work on new spells. They may even have some books on it. Maybe even get some answers to what happened to us. They seem to know a few things about these ‘breaches’.”

  “I think I know where we’re going on this Mike,” He smiles. “I think I want to negotiate two more conditions though.”

Pinea walks over to M, looking stern, sitting at the table, crossing our arms. “I think we have a deal. I’ll agree to your terms, but under two more conditions.”

“I’m listening,” She says, leaning a little closer.

“Is there a well-stocked kitchen? I like to cook.”

She smiles broadly. “Not so much now, but I’m sure nobody would object to that changing. I’m assuming the banana bread was yours? If there’s anything more like that in store for us I’ll stock it personally.”

Pinea nods. “Second, I just bought a ton of groceries. I’m not leaving them behind. So….”



When M hears his suggestion, she breaks out laughing.




***




6:15 PM Regina, SK

“Come on, at least take a few of these through the port. I’m NOT walking into Central like this!”

“Oh yes you are dear. Mike was nice enough to put on your silly patch after you attacked him earlier today. This was part of the deal,” M says, hanging two shopping bags of groceries off the changeling’s horn. The saddle packs on him were already full.

“I didn’t attack him, why do I have to do this too?” Q says, already with bags off his horn and snout, a third clutched in his teeth. “We could just change….”

“Exactly like this was the deal,” Pinea says, helping to support L who was still feeling nauseous from the manticore venom. He’s still woozy but assures us he can open a portal back.

U is having trouble breathing for all the laughing though, taking pictures with a phone attached to her hoof augment after she hangs the last bag off G’s snout. “Don’t worry, you’ve got this. Don’t you G?”

“I hate U so much right now.”

“That’s my boy!” she laughs. “Oh man O is going to give you SO much grief for this,” she cackles as G quietly scowls at us.

“So what’s your actual name ‘Mike’?” U asks as she lands and walks up to me. “You’re not exactly with humans here so….”

I can feel Pinea’s question coming, “Your name or mine, it’s all good to me.”

“Pinea.”

“Okay then Pinea it is.” She says. “We’re having a rematch you know.”

“I know no such thing other than you’d kick my tail three times before I got two hits on you,” Pinea says.

“That’s what training’s for. Maybe you can get it down to one or two losses,” she grins.



“You realize they’re doing the agent letter thing like in the movie.” Pinea says to Mike.

“Yeah, I don’t know if it’s stupid, silly, kind of charming, or a warning sign,” Mike replies, “though I plan to grind their gears for it in the future if this works out. Still, we should watch out. We’re just going into a new kind of unknown here.”

  “Whatever’s next I think we can take it on together.” Pinea says, smiling on our little mental couch, hoof around Mike’s shoulder, and Mike’s over his.

“One for all, and all in one.”