Tinkering in the Pink

Bolt woke up the next morning much like Shady. A killer headache and a general feeling of laying in bed and doing nothing. That didn’t last long. All he could think about was his night with Shady. How could he do that? Cheat on his own marefriend with her mother.

She wasn’t that bad. He kept telling himself that. She wasn’t too much older. He was drunk he couldn’t think straight. What if Umbra found out? She would never want to see him again.

He decided he had to do something about it. He got up, head pounding, and walked down the hall to the fridge. His mother always did this when she had too much. Now that he thought about it, she wasn’t the best of idols to follow.

He made a cup of coffee and quickly chugged as much as he could stand of the bitter drink. It woke him up and helped with the headache a bit. Finally able to focus, he walked out wearing his saddlebags. One was empty and the other was full of bits he was saving.

The unicorn walked through town and turned to the library. He walked in and was greeted by an elderly mare, her gray hair back in a bun and her glasses barely on her muzzle.

“Hello sir, how may I help you?” The elderly unicorn wiped her nose right after she stopped talking.

“Hello ma’am. I’m looking for a spell book. Something with memory spells.”

“Memory spells, huh?” She turned around and began digging through cabinets for an index card. Her hoof flipping individually through each one. “I know we have one somewhere… It’s always a bugger to find.”

One index card lied out on the desk. He could barely make out the lightly written letters. “Encyclopedia of Memory Spells and Enchantments”.

“Ma’am… Is this it on the desk?” He used his magic to highlight the card and the writing.

She turned around and adjusted her glasses. “Why, yes! Yes it is. I guess somepony just returned it this morning,” she floated the card to him and pointed him down the aisles of books. He scanned them. Looking for the numbers on the card.

“198-b. 198-c. 198-d… 198-e book 12,” he looked up the large bookshelf. He counted up twelve books and floated down a large leather bound book. “Perfect,” he put the book in his saddlebag and walked back to the front desk. “May I purchase this book?”

“We usually rent out books sir, but we also make sales. This is an old volume, so I don’t see why not,” She removed the large book from his saddlebag and opened it up to the copyright pages. She scanned it and found the price in the corner of the page. “That will be 34 bits.”

The stallion, in a rush, tossed his bits on the counter. They spun and stopped, and before she could even offer him a receipt, he was out the door and bolting back home.

As he galloped down the road his horn was glowing. Nothing would stop him. Just as he was going to run over somepony, he flashed on the other side, making small teleports to avoid any collisions. He busted into his home, his mother was gone. He went to his room, sat down, and began to read.

The thick book laid open for hours as his eyes skimmed. The book was in such bad condition even the table of contents was missing.

His horn quickly flipping through the out of order spell names. He finally came to a spell he hoped would work. “Last Friday Night,” exactly the spell he needed. Even though it was really a Monday…

“Last Friday Night. Forget a selected memory from the past few weeks of your life. Focus on the date and activity and gather the following ingredients. A fang of a hydra, stick from a timberwolf, a pinch of okra, and the hair from a cat.

Warning: Deviation from the recipe even one ingredient can cause the spell to have a terrible outcome.”

His horn glowed. His hoof ran across how to do it as he focused. Wait a second… He needed some ingredients. What kind of spell needed ingredients? He flipped back to the title page and noticed it was magic from the days before Princess Luna was banished to the moon.

His horn focused. The book was old; Unicorns didn’t need ingredients. His horn glowed brighter. His eyes shut tight as he remembered the night he spent with Shady. The memory began to fade. It was working. He kept working. It was amazing.

He relaxed, the spell over. To his horror, the memory flooded back. He could remember it clearly. Every last detail seemed burned into his brain. Her laying there legs spread. Their tongues dancing together. Everything seemed the same.

“Dammit! Waste of bits!” He threw the book off the bed. Slamming his face back in the pillow he let out a loud scream of annoyance. He stood up but quickly fell over. “Ah shit!” The spell drained him of energy. He laid there on the ground for several minutes before he stood back up. With all his might, he pulled himself onto the mattress and laid down.

His hooves rubbing his temple. The spell did manage one thing… It brought back his killer headache. He decided it was time to quit for the day. He’d go to Umbra’s tomorrow for New Year’s and act like nothing happened. Hopefully her mother didn’t remember.

His eyes closed and he finally passed out on his bed.

Bolt awoke a few hours later. The sun was about to go down. He climbed out of bed, stomach growling. He skipped lunch and dinner not even realizing it.

His hooves gently landed on the ground. Feeling rejuvenated by the nap, he walked down the hall and to the kitchen. He went to the fridge and opened it up. Digging around with his magic, he pulled out some bread, a head of lettuce, and other vegetables.

He found a large knife to cut up the lettuce and vegetables. The red glow around the handle as it cut apart the head of lettuce and tomato. He began to layer them on the bread as he cut up an onion.

Crying he placed the rings on the sandwich and pushed down. Dropping the knife in the sink and pulling a plate from a cabinet he sat the sandwich on it and began to walk back down the hall.

“Hey sweetie,” His mother, Ruby Drift, called from the living room.

“Hey mom…”

“You okay dear? You sound a bit higher pitched than normal.”

The plate fell and shattered on the ground. The unicorn standing over it as his mother ran in. Instead of her son, she saw there was a smaller unicorn. Her coat the same, the mane was a bit puffier and longer. It ran down the side of her face and still had the black ends to it. The tail was a lot bigger. It was split perfectly down the middle; top half orange, bottom half black.

The unicorn’s hooves were fully covered and the muzzle rounded off. The unicorn mare blinked and her eyelashes moved gently.

“Um... Yeah, I'm fine..." Bolted Tinker, now Tinker Belle, said.

She heard her mother walking to the kitchen. There was no time to teleport away before she was in there.

"What the hell happened!?" Ruby exclaimed.

"I was practicing magic and fucked up a spell," Tinker told her, neglecting to mention exactly what spell she was trying to do.

"Well, do you know how to get back to normal?" His mother asked.

Tinker put a hoof on the back of her head, rubbing her mane. "Um... No..."

Ruby sighed, but then she remembered something. "There is someone who can help... Unfortunately she's away in Canterlot at the moment."

"Shit..." Tinker said in disappointment. "Fine, I'll wait, I guess.”

“Go back to your room and rest up. I’ll tell Umbra you can’t make it tomorrow.”

“That sounds good…” The new mare walked back down the hallway and back into her room. She took out the book and read the spell again. There was an asterisk at the the bottom of the page but not above with the text. It must have faded away.

The bottom of the page read “Mix the ingredients into a potion and drink before casting the spell.”

“Well… I guess I’m stuck like this until that pony gets back…” She let out a long sigh and closed the book. Sliding it back under the bed she rested her head on a pillow. Her eyes shut. Why did she take that first drink? She never drank before. No matter who offered it to her. How was it different with Shady?

Time passed and her thoughts raced through her head. Her mane and tail padded underneath her as she laid on the bed. She pulled up her blankets with her red glow and closed her eyes. Falling asleep quickly. Cursing the world in her sleep.

Tinker awoke the next morning, her new body full of energy. The spell must’ve only made her feel weak. She walked out of her room and made herself breakfast. She couldn’t go to Umbra’s; she wouldn’t have stopped the onslaught of questions.

‘Okay. I have a plan dear,” Ruby said as she walked in. “You’re going to find the pony I told you about.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be difficult,” Tinker Belles voice was fully changed. It was sweet and gentle. It was music to even her own ears.

“She’ll probably be in Canterlot’s library, if I know her.”

“Oh?” Tinker lifted an eyebrow.

“She is amazing with spells. If anypony can figure out how to change you back, it’s her.”

“Alright, Mom. Can I have some bits for the trip? I spent all mine on Umbra’s birthday gift.”

Ruby handed her daughter a bag full of bits. “Use all you have to. I liked having a daughter, but Eve was too much to handle for me. I don’t need another teenage mare. Also dear, be careful. I’m sure you’ve smelled Umbra.”

“Well, yeah I’ve smelled her before. She smells normal most days and really, really good every few weeks,” She said with a hint of annoyance.

“But when she smells like that it means she’s in heat. I smell something different about you, but I believe it’s just because you’re a mare. Just be careful, dear.”

Tinker Belle nodded and grabbed the bits. She strapped her saddlebags around her waist and quickly made her way to the train station. The cat hair was scavenged from out back Carousel Boutique.

She bought her ticket and took her seat for the trip. A stallion came down the aisle and sat with her. It was Smoke… And his nose was picking up a scent.

Oh fuck...