I Want To Change

Shift trotted aimlessly through the hallways of the cottage, bored and awaiting the return of the yellow mare who'd been his exclusive source of company the past two days. He stopped to look out one of a window, the sun was setting.

“Shift? I'm back.”

The voice was barely audible but he heard it from the living room. She was back. He trotted in the direction of her voice.

“Shif, oh. Oh no. Oh my!”

A crash startled him before he turned the corner, which encouraged him to trot as fast as he could into the living room. “Fluttershy?” He trotted in and stopped in his tracks. Fluttershy was there, in a small pile of books. He saw her head poke up from the pile with a dazed look on her face and a book lay open on her head. “F-Fluttershy?” He snorted and tried to hold in his laughter.

“Hey Shift, I um... Brought you some books.” Fluttershy shook her head and knocked the book from it.

“Some?” Shift asked, using his magic to levitate one of the books to his muzzle. “Botany? What the hell is Botany?” The cover looked like it was covered in dirt, and a root was burrowed down through it, wrapping around the spine.

“It's what you call the study of plants... I didn't know either until Twilight told me.” Fluttershy got to her hooves and shook away another book. “She couldn't decide which one would help so... She gave me all of them. Nopony ever checks them out.” Fluttershy shrugged. “You're leg seems to be okay.”

“My leg?” It wasn't until then did he feel the dull ache. “Oh yeah, it's good for the most part.” He stomped the floor lightly and looked back up at her. “Much better than yesterday.”

“That's good, so... I'm just going to put these on the shelves, they won't all fit in but I can just stack them on top.” Fluttershy went to pick a few of them back up until Shift stopped her.

“No no, that's fine. I'll do it.” He levitated a few in his green aura and placed them on the shelf on the opposite end of the room. “It's easier for me and you already did too much.” He smiled and took a few more.

“Thank you Shift. I'm going to go lay down.” Fluttershy started for the stairs while Shift continued to set the books up.

As he placed the on the shelf by the bookcase he started to read the titles. Caring for Your Garden, Basic Plant, Roots for dummies, Cycle of Life, Tree's and Stuff. “Trees and stuff?” He repeated this and shook his head. There were at least fifteen books here on plants. Shift hadn't imagined there'd be so much learning involved. “Might as well start now,” He sighed and pulled the Roots for dummies book back from the shelf and brought it over to the table.

He sat at the edge of the table, opened the book and began to read. “What is a plant? A plant is any of various photosynthetic, eukaryotic, multicellular organisms of the kingdom Plantae characteristically containing chloroplasts, having cell walls made of cellulose, producing embryos, and lacking the power of locomotion. Plants include trees, bushes, herbs, ferns, mosses, and certain green algae.” Shift shook his head and looked back down at the first page of text. “I'm going to need a dictionary.”

Fluttershy groaned and stirred in her bed, opening her eyes slowly. She looked over to her clock which told her it was two-thirty-three in the morning. She groaned again, then coughed as her throat was dry. For a few minutes she toyed with the idea of getting up and getting a glass of water and scolding herself for not bringing one up before she'd went to bed. The idea that her throat would only get dryer the longer she slept convinced her to get the water after all, despite how comfortable she was. With one last huff she rolled out of bed.

When she opened the door she noticed the dancing light from down the stairwell and blinked a couple of times to figure out why it was there. The fireplace was still lit, she'd left it going for Shift who must have forgotten to put it out. When she made her way downstairs she saw that Shift had indeed forgotten to put it out, but he wasn't on the couch. He was slumped over the table where three of the books lay, two of them open and the third pushed to the side. His head was laying left side first on the table, one of his forelegs lay outstretched in an open book while the other was tucked under the table. He didn't look very comfortable.

Fluttershy frowned and tilted her head to one side. She wanted to wake him so he could get up on the couch but she didn't want to wake him at the same time and ruin his sleep. Maybe she could move him without waking him if she were careful. Would he be upset if he woke up to her touching him? It was a chance she'd take.

Slowly and deliberately she trotted over, sitting back on her haunches and hooked one foreleg under his tucked foreleg and the other behind his neck. Gently she pulled him back from the table, relieved to find he wasn't so heavy. She winced when his forehoof hit the table after sliding off the book. At first he didn't move, but a few seconds later when she'd started puling him from the table again he jolted up, half growling half shouting.

Fluttershy jumped back fast, her heart beating in her chest as Shift flailed for a moment before recovering and rolling back to his hooves, bewilderment in his eyes as he stared down the yellow mare.  Then recognition registered in his mind and he slumped down to the ground. “W-what were you doing?”

Fluttershy squeaked. “Y-you fell asleep on the table a-a-and I was just trying to move you to the couch.”

Shift glanced at the table and the books, then back at Fluttershy. “Oh.” He didn't know what else to say. “I didn't scare you did I?”

Fluttershy caught her breath and reluctantly nodded. “A little.”

“I'm sorry.” Shift's ears flattened and he turned his head away. “I was studying and must have dozed off.”

“You still need to sleep though.” Fluttershy straightened herself a bit now that he'd calmed down.

“I know but... There's just so much stuff... I didn't know there was so much to learn about plants.” He shook his head solemnly. “I'll never learn it all.”

“Don't say that. I know you can if you just try.” Fluttershy trotted a bit closer and sat in front of him. “Maybe Twilight can help.”

“Even if she did... I just don't know if I could retain all this information if I did manage to learn it all.”

“You're just tired right now Shift.” Fluttershy decided to change the subject. “Maybe, you'd feel better if you slept. You've been through an awful lot lately and haven't had too much time to recover.”

Shift didn't feel much better hearing those words even though he knew he should. After all she was right. Either way he did want to sleep. “Yeah... Maybe I should get to sleep. I didn't mean to stay up anyway,” he put on a fake smile to reassure her. There wasn't any sense in having her worry about him.

“I think that's a good idea.” Fluttershy returned the smile. “Just, tell me if you need anything.”

“I think I am good tonight Fluttershy. Thanks. Maybe you should get to bed too. It has to be late.” It was then that he realized he didn't actually know what time it was. He looked over to the clock and his ears drooped again. Two-fifty.

“Okay. I'll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight.” Shift turned to acknowledge her.

“Goodnight.” Fluttershy smiled once more before turning and trotting into the kitchen.

Shift jumped up on the couch and sighed. He also hadn't known how tired he felt until now. He listened as he heard the sink in the kitchen running for a few seconds, then tracked the mare's soft hoof steps as she passed back through the room and up the stairs until finally he heard the soft click of her bedroom door shutting. A minute later he was asleep.

Shift woke up to the sound of a door shutting and he jolted awake. He sat up and looked around,  noticing a small note on the table. He picked it up.

Went to see Twilight, will be back soon.

That must have been her shutting the door on her way out. “He grumbled to himself and dropped the note back on the table. He was too tired to care so he laid down, falling back asleep.

“Does he usually sleep in so late?”

“No, he was just up late last night.”

“Reading the books?”

“Yes... Though he seemed a little um... overwhelmed.”

“Hmm...”

Shift opened his eyes and shook his head at the sounds of the voices. At first he'd thought he'd been dreaming but it was only getting louder. Sure enough Fluttershy was there, along with Twilight who was staring down at him.

“Good morning, or... Afternoon.” Twilight grinned. “Get up. I have news for you.”

“Mmm...” Shift hummed and rolled over, facing away from them, still too tired to care.

“Um, Shift, please could you get up?” Fluttershy's soft voice echoed in his ear yet still he refused to move. “Maybe we should just let him sleep.” Fluttershy turned to Twilight.

“He needs to get up anyway Shy, or else he won't be able to sleep tonight. Besides, he might want to hear this.” Twilight prodded the changeling's shoulder with a forehoof.

Shift had heard her last statement, and it perked his interest so this time he resigned and rolled back over to face them. “Good morning.”

Fluttershy held out a glass of orange juice, offering it to him. Shift smiled and sat up, feeling a sense of warmth from the gesture. He took the glass in his forehooves and took a drink. “Thank you Fluttershy.”

“Oh, you're welcome,: Fluttershy replied.

“Shift we need to talk,” Twilight stated.

He would have been worried if she didn't look so happy. Maybe he should be worried. “About?” He asked cautiously.

“You, the spell, and Princess Celestia,” Twilight replied.

Shift almost dropped the glass. “Celestia? Me?” They turned me in!

“Shift calm down.” Twilight snapped. “It's fine. Please let me explain.” She shook her head and sighed. Maybe she should have been a bit more subtle.  “I had to tell her, but it's okay. She is fine with you being here and agrees with our plan. Only her, the other princesses and a few guards will know, and they've been given orders not to touch you unless you do something out of line.”

Shift's heart was still racing though her words calmed him a bit. Only one question came to mind at the moment. “Why?”

Twilight sighed and Fluttershy looked away. “You have to understand... We couldn't just, trust you with the whole of Equestria. So... There is one more condition to our agreement.” She waited for him to respond but he didn't, just stared at her blankly, so she continued.  “After the spell is complete we're going to record everything about you, breed, fur color all of that and send it to the castle,” again she waited but still he didn't speak. “This is just insurance Shift, you won't be followed or anything like that but ponies of importance will know who you are. Princess Celestia has promised me you will not be harassed unless you break a law here in Equestria.”

Shift blinked and sighed, admittedly upset they didn't fully trust him, though he understood and had no ground to blame them. At least now he didn't have to worry about Celestia finding him out. “So... I don't have to hide anymore?”

“Well... No... You still have to hide. Not all ponies are as understanding and even I the Princesses allow it you would still be in danger. Also, if it did go to the castle it would put strain on their leadership. It's sad to say but a lot of ponies would demand you be punished as a spy, or at the very least, sent back to-”

“Yeah I understand.” Shift cut her off, looking down to the ground.

“Now, you don't have to accept this offer. If you don't however you'll be sent back. No pony will know you were here but you won't be able to stay here anymore.”

“I accept and I will stay,” Shift replied immediately. “I don't have any reason to worry. I am not a spy.”

Twilight smiled and Fluttershy visibly cheered up. “Great! Now, there is a good side to all of this. The castle can get you a proper I.D which will help you once you have changed. I actually hadn't thought about that before.”

Shift perked up a bit. “They'll do that?”

“One more thing though,” Twilight stated.

“What's that?”

“You were up all night reading?” She asked.

Shift slumped back on the couch with a heavy sigh. “Yes but, it's a lot and I feel like I haven't learned anything.”

Twilight giggled, looked at one of the books that still lay on the table and levitated it in front of herself. “Some ponies actually go to school for a long while before they learn all of this Shift. You couldn't possible expect to learn it all in such a short time.

“I mean, so what do I do then?” Suddenly feeling helpless again.

Twilight frowned a bit. “Shift you don't need to know everything about every plant to take care of them. When you turn a light on, do you know exactly how the switch turns the light on?”

“Yeah, I don't know too much about plants but I do take care of a garden,” Fluttershy blurted, or... What you could call blurting from her. However once she realized she'd interrupted she took a step with her head down. “S-sorry.”

Shift smiled at her sheepish demeanor and looked back to Twilight. “You think so?”

“I know so. Nopony knows absolutely everything about what they do. Even if... It doesn't have to be plants. You have time to think about it. I'm still working on the spell. “

“How is that going?” Shift asked curiously and hopefully.

  “Actually, not that bad. I don't think it's going to be quite as hard as I thought though I am not too sure yet. Princess Celestia is sending me a book she says may help and actually seems curious herself.”

Shift was happy to hear this. “That's good right?”

“Of course!” Twilight beamed. “I have to get back to the library for now though. I'm pretty busy.”

“Well... Thanks for coming by to tell me all this. I know I've told you before but you're too kind.”

“Anything for a friend,” Twilight replied before heading to the door.

Shift let her exit before looking to Fluttershy who'd recovered from her embarrassment. “A friend?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy replied. “You're our friend now, if you want to be.”

“Of course I want to.” Shift felt good about everything again, though he was a little nervous about it all at the same time. Everything was happening so fast. However he wasn't going to let it ruin how he felt right now.