[DotP - 2] Genetic Promenade (WiP) - 12/31/12 2005

[DotP - 2]

Genetic Promenade

 

Continued from

Genetic Instigation

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>"Don't worry Anonymous, I'm right here."

"Thanks moonbutt, but this is--"

>"Why are you embarrassed?  What you went through would've driven a lesser being to insanity."

"I suppose, but having to learn how to walk again?  Fuck me."

>"You want to leave the hospital wing, don't you?"

"Of course!"

>"Then you must learn to walk."

"Yeah yeah."

>That itch.  You knew that itch.

>Sneeze incoming.

>SNEEZE INCO--

>POW

>Yup.  Set another clipboard on fire.

"Man, magic is a bitch."

>Luna sighed, extinguishing the fire with her own magic.

>"Magic will be after walking."

"Right."

>You stood up once more, managing a semi-stable posture.

"You know, walking shouldn't be this hard."

>"You've gone from walking on two legs your entire life, to walking on four."

"I suppose."

>You slowly started making your way from one end of the room to the other.

>It was a simple enough trek, but it'd taken you nearly three days to get to this point.

>Luna had insisted on a 'slow and steady' pace, as it were.

>"You're improving tremendously, Anonymous."

"Sure.  After what, three days?  It shouldn't take that long to figure out how to walk..."

>"You're being hard on yourself, Anonymous."

"It takes a newborn foal what, an hour, tops before they can walk on their own?  I'm a fully grown... changeling and I can't even make it out of this room without help."

>"How many humans did you know that had to adjust to being a new species, Anonymous?  You're not a foal."

"Exactly my point.  I shouldn't be having this much trouble with--"

>Before you could finish the sentence, you were tripping over your own legs.

 

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>You shook your head and stood up slowly.

"See what I mean?"

>Luna had opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the doors to the hospital wing opening.

>"Luna, I was..."

>Celestia didn't finish her sentence either.  Was there something about today that made everyone tongue-tied?

"What is it Celestia?  Cat got your tongue?"

>"...Anonymous, I suggest you look in a mirror."

"Why?"

>"Anonymous..."

>Using her magic, Luna moved a mirror so that you could get a good look at yourself.

>Instead of the green eyed changeling you'd only started getting accustomed to seeing; you found Luna's reflection staring back at you.

"AH!"

>You risked a look down at your hooves, and sure enough, they were identical to Luna's.

>Taking inventory of your body, you found they you were indeed a mirror image of her.

"...I didn't know I'd..."

>"It is okay, Anonymous.  There are more than a few things you must accustom yourself to."

"How... How do I... I don't know how I did that, Luna.  How do I stop being you?"

>"I'm not sure Anony--"

>You were temporarily blinded, as Celestia had a solution to your problem.

>After the light subsided, you looked around at your body to find that it once more belonged to you.

"...Thanks, Celestia."

>"...Do let me know if you find yourself... in a similar situation.  We need to resolve those quickly to avoid confusion."

"...Right."

>"As I was saying.  Luna, I thought it might be a good idea for the elements to assist in Anonymous's... adjustment.  What do you think?"

>"I suppose they could help."

 

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>"What do you think Anonymous?"

"Hey, if they can help, I'll take all the help I can get.  You sure they're not busy with other stuff though?"

>"Twilight assures me that helping you would not burden them in the slightest."

"Well, if you say so."

>"Excellent.  I will send them in after breakfast then."

"Breakfast?  Luna, you should--"

>"Don't start with me, Anonymous."

"Grouch."

>"Anonymous, do be careful around the Elements of Harmony."

"I'll do my best, but you might want to tell them to keep on their toes anyways.  Still adjusting to magic and all that..."

>"...Indeed.  Luna, I suggest you get some rest.  Anonymous should be fine for a couple of hours by himself."

>"But--"

"I agree.  Get some sleep, moonbutt."

>Her ears flattened against her head at the mentioning of her pet name.

>"It would seem as though I'm outnumbered.  Very well, I shall retire to my chambers and get some rest."

>As she made her way out of the room, a though struck you.

"Celestia, you said the Elements of Harmony were finishing breakfast, right?"

>She stopped and turned to face you.

>"That is correct, Anonymous.  Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking I might have a chance to talk to Shining Armor today.  Catch up with him and all."

>"...I will let him know that you wish to see him."

"Thanks Celestia."

>She nodded and shut the doors behind herself as she left.

>Once more, you were alone in the hospital wing.

>A situation you had grown accustomed to over the past couple of days.

>No matter what she wanted to believe, Luna couldn't spend all of her time here with you.  She had duties to attend to.

 

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>Being a changeling didn't help your situation either.

>The doctor that had been helping you became reluctant to be alone with you.

>Same for most of the medical staff, actually.

>They'd always come in pairs; kept idle talk to a minimum; avoided looking at you when possible...

>Like they were only helping you because they had to.

>Which was probably true...

>Why'd you have to be a changeling of all things?  Luna had told you about the wedding incident a while ago.

>Makes sense why a changeling wouldn't exactly receive the warmest of welcomes.

>Even if you could master actually disguising yourself as another pony, should you?

>Would that help at all or make things worse?  Why should you cover up what you are?

>Are you going to accept that there's no turning back now?  Can you live with being a changeling for the rest of your life?

>...Can everyone else?

>You thought about the answers to these questions in great detail while passing the time.

>On the positive side, you'd taken to wandering around the hospital wing while thinking.

>You had a few fumbles, but were fine otherwise.

>All without setting any clipboards on fire!

>You almost thought about going and telling Luna yourself, only to recall that her room is quite the ways away.

>That and you might start a riot if you didn't have another pony escorting you.

>Not everyone knew about your being a changeling.  Best to not take any stupid risks.

>Last thing you want is to have Luna come and get you from a holding cell.

>You would've kept wandering around the room thinking to yourself, had the door opening not caused you to trip over yourself again.

 

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>You quickly got back on your hooves and turned to see who'd come in.

>It was none other than Shining himself.  Finally, someone to talk to!

>"Princess!" he snapped to attention after you'd turned to face him.

"What?"

>"My apologies Princess Celestia, I thought Anonymous was still here."

>It took you a moment to register that he was talking to you.

"Oh no."

>Looking down at your hooves, your suspicions were confirmed.  You'd fumbled and turned yourself into a mirror image of Princess Celestia.

>"Princess?  Is everything alright?"

"Shining, it's me.  Anonymous."

>His posture slacked a little, and he lowered his hoof he was saluting you with.

>"Uhhh, Princess, do you need me to--"

"You helped me here when I wasn't feeling well in the gardens, remember?"

>Nothing.  He thought his Princess Celestia was going crazy.

"Listen, just hit me with a spell that'll knock a disguise off a changeling."

>"What?  Princess--"

>You sighed.  Fine.  Might as well roll with it.

"As Princess Celestia of Equestria, I order you to hit me with a spell that would remove a changeling's disguise."

>He hesitated, but only for a second.

>A flash of light later, and you were checking to your hooves to find that you had indeed been returned to your new natural state.

>Looking up, you found Shining with his mouth agape, eyes wide in shock.

"Don't freak out.  Just stay calm, I can expl--"

>"Stay where you are, Changeling.  This doesn't have to get ugly."

>He'd taken a defensive stance.

"Shining wait!  Listen, it's me, Anonymous!"

>"Anonymous is a human.  Try again, bug brain."

 

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>You would've giggled like an idiot had the situation been less dire.

"Now Shining, if I was a changeling here to cause trouble, why would I tell you that I was a changeling?"

>The thought seemed to sit with him for a moment, as his stance softened.

>"That still doesn't explain your poor excuse of claiming to be Anonymous.  He's a human."

"Was.  Was a human.  Didn't Celestia or Luna tell you?"

>His stance softened more, apparently taking in what you had to say.

>Good.  He's still willing to listen to reason.

"Besides, didn't you just talk to Celestia?"

>"No, she sent a messenger."

>He wasn't on the verge of flipping his shit anymore, but he was still uncertain of your identity.

"Cadance put me under a love spell with a coconut, remember?  I called Luna moonbutt and she--"

>"She hit you over the head with it... Anonymous?  Is that really you?"

"I told you, knuckle head.  Now will you calm down?"

>"They'd said you'd been going through recovery, but no one had mentioned you'd--"

"Turned into a changeling?  Yeah, freaked me out too.  Still am kinda freaked out."

>"That's... Yeah, that's one way to put it.  Wow.  So how di--"

"Discord.  Or rather, his daughter, Eris."

>"Now I know you're making shit up."

"Surely you heard about them bringing in Discord to try and cure me?"

>"Anonymous, I haven't heard anything about you.  No one has really.  Every time I ask one of the Princesses, they refuse to tell me anything about you."

"...I suppose it wouldn't be such a good idea to say anything about a changeling in the castle..."

 

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>"Ever since last time, no probably not."

>You sat down, looking at your hooves.

>You'd become a monster.  Something parents tell their children about to scare them.

"...Why a changeling?"

>Shining walked over to you, standing a few feet from where you were sitting.

>"I wish I had an answer for you, Anonymous."

"I hope Luna is able to find a cure.  I'm a changeling for fuck's sake."

>"If there's a cure, she'll find it."

"Yeah yeah, but what if she doesn't?  What if I'm stuck as a Changeling?"

>"It can't be all bad, can it?  Sure the changelings invaded, but you're not one of them.  You're anonymous."

"And how many ponies are going to take the time to figure that out before running off in terror?  Face it Shining, I'm a monster."

>"Give us some credit Anon, we're more friendly than you'd think."

"Really?  Then why'd you almost arrest me?"

>"I thought--"

"You thought I was a changeling.  Well, I am a changeling, and I doubt many ponies will look past that."

>Shining looked down at the ground.  You could tell he was searching for something to say.

>What do you say to someone who's changed species?

>It'd be like your best friend turning into a xenomorph.  How do you explain that shit to other people?

>You don't.

>Your friend gets taken away, if not shot on sight.

>"...Did you think that when you first got here, Anonymous?"

"Think what?"

>"That you'd be feared because you're different?"

"That wasn't exactly my concern when I realized I was in a world of pastel talking magic ponies."

>"But eventually it crossed your mind, didn't it?"

 

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"Yeah, what's your point?"

>"My point is, you shouldn't worry about being different.  You're an alien, and you're courting a princess.  Give ponies some credit, Anon."

"A complete alien with a clean slate.  But now I'm a changeling.  A familiar species, and not in a good way."

>Shining didn't back off though; he was determined to find a silver lining.

>"If you're so worried about being feared, why not mimic a pony?"

>He had a point.  Why not just run around as a regular pony?

"I'd love to, but there are a couple problems with that."

>"Really?  Like what?"

"For one, that requires me knowing how to use magic.  Two, I'd eventually run into the pony I mimicked, or someone that knows the real him."

>"You can learn magic, it's not hard Anonymous."

"Maybe I can.  But what about running into my doppelganger?"

>"Your what?"

"The pony I mimic?  Eventually our two reputations would start to clash, I'm sure."

>He was once again searching the recesses of his mind for something, anything to prove that it wasn't all bad.

>But he couldn't find anything.  It was all bad; there was no way of getting out of it.

>"So maybe it's not so great being a changeling.  So what?  I'm sure ponies would get used to you!"

"Maybe.  And what happens when another changeling is caught or tries to do something in the city?  It's back to square one."

>"But we ran the changelings off, along with their queen."

"Who's to say they won't return?  Or that they haven't already?"

>"Now you're trying to make it all bad."

"I don't have to try very hard, Shining.  Like I said, I hope Luna finds a cure soon.  I'm starting to get cabin fever."

 

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>"Now that I can take care of."

"Really?"

>"I don't see why not.  So long as we keep you in the castle, ponies shouldn't question your being with me."

"Yeah, just like you didn't question that the changeling queen was your wife, right?"

>"C'mon Anon, stop being so negative."

"Try saying that when you swap species."

>"I haven't swapped species."

"My point exactly."

>You both sat there, each coming up with counter arguments for rebuttals the other would surely utter.

>Your awkward silence was interrupted when the doors to the medical hall opened.

>"Anonymous, are you-- big brother!"

>Shining turned to just in time to get a purple unicorn to the face.

>"Hi Twiley."

>"What's going on?  I thought you were on duty?"

>"I was, but Princess Celestia sent me to see Anon here."

>She looked from her brother to you.

>"Hi there Anonymous!  Remember me?  My name is--"

"Twilight Sparkle.  We met earlier, I think."

>"That's right!  I'm going to help you learn to control your magic!"

"So I've been told."

>"Be careful Twilight; his pessimism might rub off on you."

"Oh ha ha.  There's a difference between pessimism and being realistic."

>"You should try optimism sometime Anon.  It could do wonders for you.  Anyway, I'll be back to check on you later.  I've got to get back to duty."

"Yeah, sure.  See you around."

>He shook his head and left you with Twilight, who promptly unloaded her saddlebags full of books beside you.

>"Let’s get started!"

>You looked from the overly enthusiastic unicorn to the pile of books she'd procured.

>It's gonna be a looooong day.

 

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>Three hours later, and you're still not sure how the apple turned into an orange.

>But you'd learned to levitate some books without setting them on fire, much to Twilight's delight.

>All things considered, not bad for your first shot.

>Well, first intentional shot at magic.  Apparently there were some differences between normal unicorn magic and changeling magic.

>What they were, you would never really know; you'd simply nodded your head in agreement when Twilight explained them to you.

>Something about emotions being fuel for changeling magic or whatever.  Emotions make better changeling magic, or something.

>You were on the subject of changeling magic now, actually.  She was reading a book to you about how changelings...

>Changed, really.  Or, how they could imitate other ponies.  It was interesting, but seemed to be just beyond your grasp to control.

>"Now focus Anon.  If you can't change into another pony, you'll never know how to change back."

"Encouraging words, sparkles."

>She hit you on the head with a book and continued pestering you.

>"Just give it one more shot Anon.  Try to focus on who you change into."

>You sighed and shut your eyes, picturing the only pony you could think of right now.  Luna.

>"That's it.  Now, just relax and let the magic do the rest."

>Soon a warm tingling encompassed you, starting with your fee--

>Hooves.  Starting at your hooves.

>You opened your eyes when you didn't hear Twilight babbling on at you.

>She was writing something down on a scroll furiously.

>Unsure as to why, you looked over to the mirror to catch a good view of yourself.

 

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>Previously, you'd only managed to blink in and out of being another pony.

>Now though...  Luna was looking back at you from the mirror.

>No blinking.  Not even a flicker of that green flame that, for whatever reason, seemed to be mandatory when you changed.

>It was kind of creepy, seeing her mimic your every move; until you remembered that that was indeed you, not her.

>You were doing it.  You'd managed to hold another pony's form for more than a few seconds, and on purpose too!

>"That's pretty impressive Anon.  How do you feel?"

"I feel..."

>You thought for a minute before turning to look her in the eyes.

"Warm" you said, in Luna's voice.

>It was strange.  When you'd accidentally changed before, you'd never picked up on your voice being different.

>Now though, you could tell without any hints or straining to hear, that you were indeed not yourself.

>"That's... Strange."

"What?  Being warm?"

>"No, seeing and hearing Princess Luna say that, all the while knowing I'm talking to a changeling.  I've never met a changeling one-on-one before."

"Neither have I" you said bluntly.

>"Oh... Right.  Sorry."

>Her ears were drooping, but you didn't really care.

>This warm feeling felt insanely good, and you were more interested in why it was there.

"So, Twilight."

>Time to change the subject and move on.  Maybe get some answers.

>She looked up at you quizzically, sensing your intentions to move forward.

"This warm feeling... any idea what it is?"

>"I'm not sure, Anon.  Like I said, you're the first changeling I've met one on one that didn't have some kind of agenda for me."

 

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"Hmmm... Well, how do I change back?  Preferably without being blasted."

>She opened the rather old scroll she'd been reading, scanning its contents.

>"Let's see..."

"Say, what is that anyways?"

>"It's a scroll by Starswirl the Bearded.  He was a great unicorn a long time ago, and he's got some notes on changelings here."

"Really?  Anything that'd be helpful?"

>"That's what I'm looking for."

>She continued her scan of the parchment, leaving you to your own devices.

>Figuring you have nothing better to do, you decided to try changing again.

>Maybe... Fuck it, why not.

>You closed your eyes and focused on the pony you wanted to imitate, and soon felt the magic flowing through your body.

>Opening your eyes, you quickly looked to the mirror to find Shining Armor looking back.

>The warm feeling was there, but not as great; more like a subtle hint.

>Seeing that Twilight was still pre-occupied, you decided to keep up your spree and see if you'd finally figured out this changing deal.

>You turned into one of the nurses, the doctor, Luna again, Celestia, and you'd just turned into Twilight.

>Of course, she picked then to stop scanning her parchment and inform you of her findings.

>"Well Anon, I think-- Oh please, you couldn't imitate me if you wanted to."

>You sat down and faced her, deciding to have a little fun.

"You couldn't imitate me if you wanted to."

>"Ha ha, very funny."

"Ha ha, very funny."

>Her expression changed to annoyance, naturally.

>"Alright now.  Let's get you back to being a changeling.  It says here that for a changeling to change to its natural form, he has to change into nothing."

 

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"Change into nothing?"

>That sentence was all sorts of wrong.

"How do I even do that?"

>"I'm not sure.  Could you at least change into another pony?  This is getting weird."

>You stuck your tongue out at her and sat down to think.

>How do you go about changing into nothing?

>Maybe... Just clear your mind or something?

>You focused, clearing your mind as best you could.

>Slowly, you felt the warm tingling leave you.

>Guess that's it then?

>You opened your eyes to find that you had indeed changed back into the changeling you'd been previously.

"Guess that was it then?"

>"Well, you look normal.  How do you feel?"

"A little cold, but fine."

>"Cold?  Really?"

"Yeah.  I felt warm and tingly when I was another pony.  Kind of like waking up and getting out of bed.  Feels normal, just... colder."

>"Interesting..."

>She made some more notes on her own parchment, scribbling away her worries.

>You decided that, since you could apparently function while looking like another pony, you might as well wonder around as another pony for a while.

>Getting a devious idea, you changed back into Twilight.

>If you're going to muck about as another species for an undetermined amount of time, might as well enjoy it.

>Maybe being a changeling wasn't so bad after all.

>This whole changing into another pony was kind of cool, actually.

>You wondered over to see what Twilight was scribbling away at.

>Something about what you'd said and how you'd acted recently.

>When she noticed you looking over her shoulder, she started to say something.

>She only managed to cut herself off however, as she realized you had once more taken up her appearance.

 

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