Carina and Jon

by Josh Crapo

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Human, Changelings, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 7618

Jon finds an amnesiac hybrid of bug and pony in a rural field after paying a visit to a forgotten mall.

Jonathan Vibe is a filming urban explorer in the state of Minnesota. After filming in an empty mall, Jon goes outside one day to see what looks like a meteor. After arriving where the "meteor" crashed, he finds what looks like a mix between a bug and a pony. The only thing is, it doesn't remember its past.

Published 2016-12-05 12:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-12-05 12:50:01 UTC

Carina and Jon

Every day, I find another old place to check out. Well, ALMOST every day. When in southeastern Minnesota, I’m bound to find forgotten homes, shops and outlets left and right.

My first venture into this territory would have to be a place called Diddy Fair Mall, which has been closed and untouched for three decades now. I visited that place about six years ago. Afterwards, I just got into the habit of going out of town, starting with exploring places I use to go to at a young age, then with places I’ve never been to before. After a while, I was able to easily get out of state and come back within the course of one day.

I’ve been in the rehabitable. I’ve been in demo sites. Some places look like they close to the public as I enter. Some look like they’ve been abandoned longer than they actually were. I saw empty walls. I saw walls filled to the brim with graffiti. Many window panes and skylights are whole. Many have resulted in puddles of glass. Plants have died. Plants have overgrown. There were shelters. There were nature pieces. Power on, power off.

When I started putting videos on the internet, I already had half the experience i have now under my belt. Even at that time, I went out of state. But I didn’t take as many risks as I do now. Some of the more obscure forgotten places are much easier to get into, so I found a lot more of those. However, afterwards, I started exploring more of the infamous places, like Rolling Acres Mall and Randall Park Mall. Of course, at that distance, I’d need a place to stay nearby. So, I don’t go too far so that I can still make some money off of my videos.

Almost every day, I explore and revisit abandoned places within Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakota’s, and once in awhile, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. After finishing my visit, I head home as fast as legally possible to get to bed in time. Then, when I wake up, I post the videos on the internet. The longer distance visits are the more interesting though. Because of how time consuming it is, I give myself two days instead of one, that way I have more time home on the first day, and more time to explore on the second. It usually works out fine.

But then, there are times I get caught. Usually, I don’t get punished, and I don’t even get caught too often. But when I do get caught, the worst I get is a fine hefty enough to erase my salary from the past few videos at the time. Every video, I earn about ten to twenty dollars within the first week, only slipping downhill very slightly. So, I guess I should be fine as long as any fine doesn’t exceed its current maximum.

But, to end on a good note, I’m going to hire a friend of mine to help me edit my videos and cut out unneeded footage of future videos I plan on doing. Every now and then, he might be in the shot after the course of the next few years.

Today, my co-editor is coming with me to see the Headrest Centre, a long abandoned mall that closed earlier this decade. I decided to visit this place since it’s just closer to home than most other abandoned malls. By now, it’s been closed for almost eight years. When I first heard about it, I looked up reviews of it. It’s got a lot of good reception for being a dead mall. I heard that it was still clean, seldom vandalised, little to no graffiti, and even had some electricity, which told me somehow that no scrappers were around.

So, when arriving at this mall, I feel almost as if I’m just in front of an empty open mall. Looking back at the sign that shows the storefronts of local interest, there’s absolutely nothing on it. There’s literally nothing on it, not even a canvas. It’s just the skeleton of a sign.

When I park in front of the main entrance, I notice that there are seven lights, one overhead of each window, and they’re all working. When looking at the windows themselves, I see no boards. Just fresh glass completely intact. The main entrance itself is a light tan colored wall in the shape of a symmetrical “n” with a thin strip of brown near the bottom.

I take my camera with me as I get out of the car and start for the entrance. Unfortunately, it’s locked up. Even though I knew that was going to happen, it’s still worth a shot. So, I look around the building for a small entrance.

Suddenly, upon walking, I step on an object that causes it to clang. Stopping and looking down, I see a key with a considerably large head. It’s not much bigger than the car key I have on me, but it’s enough to notice right away.

Again, looking for entrances, I take the key with me in hopes to find where it came from.

Finally, I find a cryptic spot where I can enter, which even has a mat in front of it. Looking at what I found, I wonder if it’s like a master key. Only one way to find out.

When I turn the knob on the door, it doesn’t budge. So it’s locked. I put the key in the lock, and the key surprisingly turns. So I continue to turn the key to the right and I hear a loud click. I’m finally in, which gets me to break out my camera and start filming. After opening the door, I put the key under the mat.

Where I enter has gotten me into a hall that I suppose was for personnel only when the mall was open.

When I open the door on the opposite side, the mall that is revealed looks to be in great shape. I see what actually looks like an food court. The floor is clean. Most of the items are still on the stands and tables. Yeah, a few items fell, but it wasn’t that bad. Also upon entering, I find that this place has a rather pleasant scent compared to other malls I’ve been in. It smells like sunflowers powdered in sugar.

As I walk around, I feel warmer and warmer emotionally, like even after closing, Headrest Centre was a welcoming place. Along the way, I see a rather small image near one of the old food stands. However, unlike most malls, the image actually kind of fits the mall. It’s in the shape of a heart inside a square. Upon reviews I read about the mall, those that did go during their childhood claim that this image wasn’t there. And approaching this image, the scent from earlier is at its strongest. Well, whoever put the graffiti on there really payed attention to what this mall used to be like.

Walking around the rest of Headrest Centre, I find the occasional fitting graffiti, leaf, and price tag, but other than that, there’s really nothing on the floors or the walls. Along for the ride, I only see one crack on a window out of all the glass, and that’s it and it’s not even large in the slightest.

Finished with exploring the mall, I walk out back and turn off the camera.

As I arrive at the car, something in the sky catches my attention. It looks like some meteor but in the color it would look like with lime-colored glasses on.

“What is that?”

“What’s what?”

“That meteor-like thing falling through the sky.”

I point to the lime-colored meteor, but my friend doesn’t see it.

“Where?”

“Your right.”

He looks in the direction I look in and sees the meteor.

“Uh- I see it.”

Twenty to thirty seconds pass afterwards before we hear a distant crash. Well, that convinced me. I have to study this site.

So, where I find the crash site is in a rural area, in a vast crop field to my left. After pulling over, I get out and cross the road, watching for any traffic along the way. After that, it’s a breeze to find the crash site where this “meteor” hit.

As I arrive at the site, the most interesting thing catches my eye. At the first second of seeing it, there seems to be a black cat with holes in all four of its legs that has lost its tail. Upon the second second, I notice transparent wings and that there indeed is a tail, even though it’s transparent just like the wings. Finally on the third, I notice large fangs coming out from the roof of its mouth. I also notice that there’s a very small mane and horn. So, that’s no cat.

In fact, I don’t know what this thing is. At first I thought the legs ended with paws, but no, they’re hooves. So this thing may be some kind of alicorn. I don’t know though. What do I do? It’s not moving, so it must be unconscious.

Then, the final straw hits me. I see a slight line around the torso area, so I check the soil away and near the spot I last noticed. I knew it. The soil near the line is warm and wet. The soil farther away is not. I can’t take anymore.

I quietly grab the alicorn thing and quickly take it to the backseat of my car. Afterwards, I break out my camera again and start recording myself.

“Hey everyone. Just a quick update. After Headrest Centre, I won’t be doing videos for the next week and a half. The funniest thing happened to me just now. After I finished filming, I saw what looked like a small meteor and once it crashed, I went to check it out. And it looks like I’ll be taking care of whoever crashed there.”

Finally, I turn off the camera and tuck it back between the seats my friend and I sit on. After my message, I hear some chirping and a few buzzes from behind me. Uh oh. I never knew there were crickets and bees in here.

I find myself in a place I’ve never been to at all. As of now, I feel dizzy and cold. Add to the fact that where I am is shaking and humming, and I’m in one bad situation. When I look up, I see a tall wall that is somehow standing. In fact, there are two. In fact, how is this entire structure standing if there’s a jolt going on?

Looking closer past the two strong walls, I see two things. They seem to be nearly the same. Are these the first things I saw in my life?

Suddenly, the jolt increases temporarily and I use my wings to stay where I am.

“What’s that sound?”

What? They talk?

“Yeah, that buzzing sound’s been going on for a while. And you notice it now?”

“I know that. I was just saying.”

As I continue to look at the two walls, I see very large structures passing by. I guess that would explain the shaking. A little shortly after, a large jolt knocks me into the opposite wall. And then another knocks be almost into the wall on the left. After that, the shaking stops as well as the humming.

I stop the car and open the door to get out. As I close it, I open the one behind to reveal that the thing had woken up. The eyes shine a very bright blue when the wings start going, which explains the buzzing and chirping.

“So, you comin’ out or what?”

The thing extends its forelegs, a possible offer to be picked up. Then I remember what happened earlier. I have to get this thing home and healed. So, I decide to pick it up and hold it over my right shoulder.

This thing is heavy. It has to be at least twenty pounds.

I look back at the car to see my friend.

“You coming?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there.”

I open the door with my left hand.

“If you find a spot you prefer to be set down on, let me know.”

Soon after, the thing buzzes its wings. After that, it puts its head up and points with one hoof a spot from behind. I turn my head to see what it is, which turns out to be the couch.

Setting the thing down on the couch, I arrive at the door after hearing the knocking and open it.

“Alright, you made it.”

My friend nods.

“So, what do we do first now that we’re home?”

“I know. We should give this thing a bath. It was badly injured when I found it.”

“What thing?”

I show my friend the thing on the couch, to which he freaks out at first.

“Those eyes. Those wings. At first you startled me, but I’m kind of liking it all.”

The thing buzzes its wings again and cocks its eyes.

So, after getting settled for a few minutes, the thing extends its forelegs again to be picked up. I carry it to the bathroom so that I can clean the thing allowing it to heal.

As soon as I start the water, the thing looks at the faucet with curiosity. Then it looks to the water accumulating in it. As I stop the water, I put the thing in the tub as I add some liquid body soap.

The thing seems to be fine with it.

“Feeling better?”

Suddenly, the thing acts as if something knocked it backwards. Upon realizing this, I attempt to save it, but it comes up on its own.

“You okay there?”

The thing comes up and puts its left hoof on the side of the tub. The thing’s right hoof rubs its torso, telling me that the thing is hungry. As I get the message, I turn to get food for the thing. I don’t know what food it needs but I wanna see what it tries.

However, I get stopped by a pull on my shirt before I get past the door. I look behind me, and nothing’s there. I still see the thing in the tub, but I’m getting tugged. How is this possible? How is levitation possible?

“What’s going on?”

The thing first points to its torso, then to its horn. All the while, the wings buzz like crazy.

“I thought I was going to get you food.”

The thing just buzzes its wings now with the eyes starting to tear up.

“Well, why didn’t you tell me you wanted love? Come here you.”

Now, the thing and I just hug each other, holding on for about twenty to thirty seconds.

“There, feeling better now?”

The thing nods.

Suddenly, something catches the thing’s eye. Tilting its head left and right and facing the faucet, the thing closes its eyes and lights its horn. I don’t know how illumination will help. It already has eyes for that. Then, I hear a pop and the bathtub starts to drain. When it does, the thing’s head leans down in shame and comes back up for the eyes to blink.

So, once the tub drains, I grab a towel and dry the thing off. However, as soon as it’s visible to the thing, the towel floats out of my hands and onto the thing’s back as it turns its head back and forth to face the towel as it gets dried.

By the time the thing is all dry, night has officially started and it was time for me to put up my video. Finally, it was a good thing how bright the thing’s eyes shine. Otherwise, we would’ve needed a whole bunch of lights.

So, heading to my computer in the “dark”, the thing follows suit, giving me light so that I can see where I’m going. Once I put my video on the internet, it’s time to get some sleep.

This has been one turnaround alright. Whatever a week is, one of the two things I met is spending it with me. During my bath, managed to feel so much better within a matter of a minute. Sure I had to clarify to the thing to share love with me so that I could share whatever love I had, but still.

But one thing that’s in the back of my mind is that I’m not one of them. Or at least I think I could be.

So, waking up the early morning after my bath, I go out and see if I can still change at all. When I do, I start to feel pain from stretching out. So no, that wouldn’t work.

I change back into my normal self and come back inside.

As I look around the room my friend carried me into as it came inside, I see so many things I have never seen at all. Okay, I may’ve gotten a glimpse of it when I first came here, but I was too weak to notice.

I try to think of what I’ve been doing as communication. My wings seem to be able to do the talking for me so far. But I have no idea if I could actually speak. But, my friend seems to understand me. I guess my front hooves help quite a bit.

But getting picked up has grown on me. When I was weak, it was the only way I could go places. Maybe it was more I got to know my friend for a while.

After a while, the thing I was thinking about comes into the room I’m in.

“You’re up early.”

I tilt my head to the right in confusion.

“It’s not even eight thirty.”

I blink and buzz my wings, trying to tell the thing that that’s fine by me. I had enough sleep and could use another day.

“So, how do you like your new home?”

I nod to answer the question.

“Well, I’m glad you like it. How about some breakfast?”

But I already shared my love yesterday. That got me to heal. And it even satisfied my hunger. But, I might as well.

I extend my forehooves to brace for a hug.

“Okay, we’ll hug for now. But then it’s food time.”

We hug and hold it for a little bit. Then my friend goes into the hall and turns right twice.

I follow the path it went. Then I find a room I haven’t seen yet.

Arriving at a taller version of one of the things in the room previously left, I hover to see a few things on it.

They all appear to be a pink rectangle, a weird white cylinder (could I even call it that), a yellow square, a red spheroid, a large orange pill or something, and two tan square-like things with a depth color of brown. Some of them look like items.

Suddenly, I get an urge to take the red spheroid, and the large orange pill. At first, I don’t know why, but I realize later on that I’m thirsty. So, I float both as I land and put my fangs into them as they start sparing the space they kept before.

What I leave behind is a brown double crescent. The orange pill is gone now. So, now that my thirst is satisfied, I have complete access to my horn.

Suddenly, I hear a sound I haven’t heard before. It sounds like it’s coming from below, so I look. Nothing. I feel my chest and it’s vibrating. Am I... humming? Like that one shaky place I was in when I first woke up? I’m surprised I haven’t heard my voice before.

Nonetheless, my friend notices and thinks I’m thanking it. I am grateful for what it provided, but at the time, that thought wasn’t on my mind.

I hope that this next week as it’s called doesn’t go too fast. I don’t want to be separated from my friend.

Tomorrow’s a big day. The day I return to urban exploration. Over the time since I found Carina back a week ago, she’s made some amazing progress.

The landmark: the day after I found her, she started using her real voice in the form of purring.

That night, Carina did something amazing. I got into bed, inviting her to join. As she got in, she yawned.

“Goodnight... Daddy.”

Soon after, she was fast asleep as I patted her head.

“Sweet dreams, my little one.”

It was half an hour before I fell asleep. In that time, I was getting tears of joy. I’m considered her father now. I’m her human father.

Early in the morning after, I ended up getting up and pacing around the living room, trying to interpret what she was like. After about twenty minutes, I finally pieced it together.

Her voice was about as high as a cat’s voice at average. So, that must’ve meant that she was a girl. Then I figured out what to name her. Carina seemed like the perfect name because it means a rigid portion of bug skin. When I first got her, she had survived a huge blow to the torso, something that rarely ever happens in a species other than a human.

As the proceeding days went by, Carina began talking more and more. And because of that, I learned that all that love we shared when I gave her a bath is what healed her, not the bath itself and that her main source of food is love.

The downside: Also by her learning to talk like I do, I learned that she can’t remember any events that happened before the fall when I found her. So, ninety five percent of her memory is within a week. Anything else is what she’s kind of capable of already like hovering, levitation and such.

Now, Carina is living a life she needs. One with love, affection, companionship, but most of all... a father.

One morning, when I wake up, Jon’s not with me. I quickly hover to the living room to find him there.

“Oh hey, you’re up.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’m going to leave for the day. I’ll get Roman to come over so that you won’t be alone.”

“But I wanna go with you. Please, may I tag along?”

“Okay. I really hope you like the place we’ll be going to.”

So, when we get into the car, I sit on the back seat so that I won’t be likely to fall.

After five hours, we finally arrive at Jon’s target place. It’s a rickety looking house that has two levels and a porch, and all of it is a mix of white and brown. Whoever this Roman is, that human’s house doesn’t look or feel like a place I should be in.

I take out my camera from my pocket and start filming as I make my way into the house. Carina follows suit in a surprisingly reluctant way. I have to wonder what’s going on with her, but she’s probably never been in abandoned places before.

As I keep exploring, she becomes increasingly hesitant.

Finally, when I head upstairs, she uses her horn to weakly pull on my shirt, looking like she’d suffered a blow to the torso as I turn around, complete with tears in her eyes.

“Jon. Help... me.”

Now I know something is wrong. I have to get Carina to a vet. Actually, no. That’s a bad idea. I don’t know what I was thinking when I came up with that. Love got her to heal. And, during my last trip, Headrest Centre got me emotionally feeling warmer little by little every single step.

That should be the next destination.

I turn off the camera, quickly scoop up Carina into my arms, and take her to my car. All the while, she sniffles.

“Don’t worry, Carina. I’ll get you over to Headrest Centre. That place should make you feel better if even I felt positive emotion in there.”

“Daddy, why am I feeling sick?!?”

Carina tugs my right arm and cries on it as I rub her back with my left hand.

“I’m not sure, but love had healed your wound when you had your bath. Headrest Centre should make you feel better.”

It takes four hours, but we make it. By that time, Carina isn’t crying anymore, but still looks doubled over in pain.

When I park, I take Carina around the back to where the door with the mat in front of it is. I check to see if it’s locked, and it’s still not. I open the door into the personnel only hall. Finally getting into the mall itself, Carina begins to look shocked. She is the first to catch the sugary sunflower scent.

When Carina actually looks at the food court, she’s completely taken aback. It’s like she feels it should make her feel even worse, but she’s not having to hold her torso as hard as she was holding it previously.

While I’m at it, I show Carina the rest of Headrest Centre. As we walk, she begins to grow a smile on her face.

Suddenly, near the main entrance, I spot a car not too far from mine. Uh oh. It’s security. In response, I start to worry. After that, I jump to hear Carina cough.

“What was that about, Jon?”

“I saw security. We might get caught.”

“Well, what do we do?!?”

“I have an idea.”

I look around for a storefront, one where I could see the main entrance.

“Okay, I found the storefront, but it’s gated.”

Suddenly, Carina’s horn glows as she closes her eyes. Afterwards, I see a flash of lightning, or at least what looks like lightning. After that, my eyes sting a little and I get very dizzy, so I try to set Carina down. However, I hear buzzing, so I assume she’s hovering to land on her own. When the stinging subsides, I find myself in a dark area.

“Did we just...”

Carina nods.

“I guess you really have a handy horn.”

“Looks like it.”

So, looking around, I see the main entrance. Of course, I see security, still cruising in the parking lot.

“We can’t stay here long. When the guard leaves, we sneak out.”

Ten minutes pass before we hear a door from the food court creak open and slam closed. Listening closely, I hear footsteps coming closer. Now that we’re hidden out, there’s just a problem. Carina’s eyes will blow our cover.

“Carina, close your eyes.”

Just as Carina closes her eyes, I look to the side window and see the guard walking by.

The guard stands silent in front of the gate for a few seconds and heads to the left. After that, we continue to wait until the guard is nowhere near us.

Finally, Carina hovers into my arms and glows her horn again. After the flash, I can’t see for a few seconds until the stinging ends. When I open up again, we’re in front of my car. Both of us wave a brief sigh of relief.

“Quick, let’s get out of here.”

When I turn the key in the ignition, the car starts, allowing us to make an exit from Headrest Centre.

“That was too close. Good thinking teleporting us to the car.”

Carina hugs me, thanking me for the compliment.

So, we arrive home and it’s already night out. Upon getting on my computer, something pops into my mind. What if I bought a remote control helicopter and strap my camera on that?

So, after putting my video from today on the internet, I get to bed and deliberate a bit before getting to sleep.

I wake up early in the morning and take my camera into the living room so that Carina doesn’t hear me. After yawning, I turn the camera on and start recording.

“Hey, guys. Upon filming, I ran into some trouble. Before you say anything, nothing happened to me. I’m fine. But I had to get Carina over to Headrest Centre. It was the closest destination to where we were at a time when we had no helpful area in close proximity. So, excuse the short length compared to my other videos. Basically, Carina fell doubled over in abdominal pain. It was to the point where she was crying on my arm when we got into the car. I-it was that bad. But thankfully, she quickly recovered when we arrived at Headrest Centre. If you guys know how she doubled over in pain, let me know. I’d like to hear what you think. Anyway, guys, there’s no place to explore today because I’m looking for a way to hold the camera without doing so. So, see you tomorrow.”

I come into my room to see that Carina has woken up.

“Good morning.”

I stroke the back of her head to give her a little breakfast. In response, she hugs me tightly as I adjust.

I get on my computer and connect my camera to it so that I can put my video up on the internet. When I do, I wait a few minutes for comments to appear. A few do. Each time, I read ‘em out loud.

One asks if I considered going to a doctor, to which I type how I did and that there was no familiar location nearby at the time.

Another asks if Carina was “that thing cameoing throughout the exploration video”. I confirm it, to which he replies with a “no wonder” template. I ask what the commenter means by that. Finally, I get a reply that says something surprising.

I say “no wonder” because, correct me if I’m wrong, but Carina just might be a changeling. Whoever abandoned the house must’ve had a hard knock life at the time of moving out.

No. That can’t be right. Changelings would replace children. And even then, they wouldn’t look like horses in the slightest. The only thing close to a similarity Carina shares with changelings is that her main source of consumption is emotion.

Wait a minute. Emotion. That must’ve been the reason Carina fell ill. I got it now. And if that applies anywhere else, she would never stand a chance at Rolling Acres Mall. She’s better off watching videos of it.

So, that means I have to be careful where I visit before I invite Carina with me.

“I’m a changeling?!?”

“Carina, I actually don’t know what your kind is called. All I learned about your kind is from you. I’ve never seen anything like it. The only similarity I found between you and changelings is that both you and changelings’ main source of consumption is emotion. Other than that, there is absolutely no similarity.”

In response, Carina starts crying.

“Hey. Don’t let other people get you down. Many will be like that. But that just means that the love that is found is far more valuable. It’s remarkable what abilities you’ve shown me. You can levitate as many objects as you desire. You can teleport where you need to be. You can see in the dark, unassisted. You can fly with just wings. You have a strong sense of emotion. I can’t even come close to what you can do.”

Wiping a tear, she looks at me, eye to eye.

“Really?”

“Unconditionally.”

I put my left arm around Carina, who hugs me in response.

“You’re my little Carina, and you always will be.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s no trouble.”

After calming Carina down, I realize that today isn’t going to be the day I get a remote control helicopter. I’m already fine with holding a camera, and I’ve gotten so used to it. I could get the remote control helicopter another day. Maybe if I take the weekend off, I’ll buy one.

Right now, Carina is on the top of my priorities.

Today... has to be the worst day of my life.

Earlier this morning, I found a clean, vacant complex just twenty minutes from town in the suburbs. It was a short distance so that I could easily get to a vet or my doctor in case Carina fell ill like last time.

However, one thing I overlooked was how the complex closed its doors.

As per usual, I bring my camera with me and Carina wants to come along for the ride.

When we arrive at the parking lot, things start to turn for the worst. I don’t notice much. Just a slightly eerie appearance and a tad bit of a smoky scent. But Carina feels something right off the bat.

Still in front of the car, I decide to carry her over my shoulder in case she feels worse later on.

Upon going into the complex, Carina starts shivering as if she’s scared of the place. I coo her out of shivering...

“Shh. It’s okay. You’ll be fine with me.”

only for her to start moaning.

“Oh, Carina. I’m sorry you’re not feeling good. But don’t worry. We’re only twenty minutes away from town. After the next room, I’ll bring you home.”

Carina continues to moan as I walk into the last room I want to explore. Suddenly, she starts coughing, each one getting worse than the last. That’s the final straw. I have to get her home.

I rush over to my car and turn off the camera. However, on the way over, I accidently drop it and it breaks. But I just keep going as fast I can. After opening the passenger front door, I quickly and safely put Carina in.

When I turn the car on, the coughing finally stops, but Carina is unresponsive.

Screw it; I have to get to a vet.

So, arriving at the local vet, I carry Carina on my right shoulder and grab my wallet.

“Hey, I know you. You’re that urban explorer. Love your videos.”

“Ma’am, I don’t have time to chit chat. Carina’s fallen unresponsive.”

“Okay. Let’s get you in then. Dr. Kondo, we have a patient that needs immediate care.”

Within about a minute, Dr. Kondo arrives.

“Hey! Jonathan Vibe! Surprised to see you here. Who’s this precious bird of yours?”

As we chat, we go into a room to set Carina down.

“This is Carina. I found her in a field a ways from Headrest Centre a little over a week ago. I came here because she lost consciousness upon arriving at a complex twenty minutes away from here.”

“Huh. This is quite the peculiar pal you have with you. She has four legs, a pair of wings, two fangs and a horn. What other features does she have?”

“She can see in the dark, levitate, teleport... she even consumes emotions.”

“Whoa! Did all of that actually happen?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, enough chit chat. Let’s get to business, shall we? So, you say Carina feeds off of emotions?”

“Yeah.”

“Any instance where she rose back to health?”

“Twice. Once when I gave her a bath and some love. Then again when we visited Headrest Centre.”

“Describe this Headrest Centre. It sounds familiar, but I don’t know.”

“It’s five hours away from here. It closed very early in the decade. It has some of the best reception any dead mall has ever gotten.”

“Ah, now I remember. I used to go there when I was a kid.”

“So, do you know what to do?”

“I’m not sure what to do now, but when she comes to, make sure she gets the love she needs to recover.”

“Thanks Dr. Kondo.”

Suddenly, something comes into my mind.

I put Carina onto a counter and fill a cup with water. Then, I aim it just right so that only a little water lands on the side of her head at a time. It proves to be effective when Carina raises her head a little.

“Jon?”

“I’m right here, Carina.”

“Where am I?”

“You’re at the vet because you fell unconscious.”

After moaning a little, Carina closes her eyes and sniffles.

“I’m sorry about putting you through this all. I should’ve told you that I wasn’t feeling well.”

“Carina. You didn’t know at the time. You already told me that you weren’t feeling well. I just wish I listened right away. But that’s all in the past. Let’s go home, Carina. Thank you Dr. Kondo. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Take care, Mr. Vibe.”

So, when we leave the vet, Carina and I get in the car and ride home.

I never thought this day would come any time soon. I knew it would be coming, but not this soon.

Today, I get on the internet to write a journal that says how I won’t be making more exploration videos for the next few weeks, but I would make a list of places to visit until I get a new camera.

I’m expecting Roman so that we could find a camera at Wal-Mart. Of course, when Carina hears about it...

“Ooh, can I tag along?”

Yeah...

So, upon getting dressed after a shower, I hear a knock on the door. However, it doesn’t sound like Roman’s knock in the slightest. It can’t possibly be any of the neighbors because they don’t knock that loudly. If it’s the police, I’ll see if they could clear anything up with me.

“Hold up; I’ll be right there!”

When I open the door, appearing in behind it is one huge creature that has five look-alikes of Carina behind it.

“Um, hello?”

“Greetings. I do believe one of my subjects resides in this very house?”

“What?”

I gasp.

“Oh. Do you mean Carina?”

All six tilt their heads and cock their eyes in confusion.

“Who’s Carina?” the one in the far back asks.

“Carina is the one I’ve been taking care of for the past ten days.”

“Well, isn’t that quite the coincidence. One of my drones went missing after a failed invasion of Equestria almost two weeks ago. My name is Queen Chrysalis, and these are five of my top drones, Cilia, Seta, Cervix, Brand and Thorax.”

“Never heard of you.”

“What? Surely with my drone under your care, I’m certain you would’ve heard about me at least once.”

“No. I noticed that she’d suffered retrograde amnesia because of the crash when she began talking.”

“Began talking? Blasphemy! Just before the invasion, I spoke with her.”

“Hm. Then I guess your first language would be your interpretation of sign language? Throughout the first 12 hours I spent with Carina, she didn’t use her voice once, and instead used her wings, head, and forelegs for speech.”

“We may first express our sign language, but our brains translate that from our first spoken language.”

So her thought process translated sign language from English then.

“Oh. Okay.”

“But enough beating around the cliff. Where’s my precious subject?”

Jon comes into the bedroom, picks me up, and brings me to the living room.

“Ah. Areola. It has been twelve days since I last saw you. I was so worried you wouldn’t make it. But you’re in even better condition than prior to the invasion of Equestria.”

Already, I’m getting confused.

“Are you talking to me? And what’s Equestria?”

“Areola, no playing games. I’m simply here to take you home.”

“But- but I’m already home. I have everything I need. Shelter, companionship, but most of all, a loving father.”

“A father?!? That thing is your father?!?”

I nod.

“We may be different in kind, but it didn’t stop Jon or me from believing it.”

“Let me rephrase. I’m here to take you back to the hive.”

“A hive? Like wasps or bees?”

“OUR hive.”

“A group of my kind is called a hive as well?”

“ENOUGH, Areola! Just come with us back to the changeling hive, that way things can return to normal.”

Okay. This Chrysalis character is obviously denying that I don’t know her.

“No.”

“What was that?”

“I said no. Would I be saying what I was just saying if I did remember any events before I woke up in Jon’s car? No. Jon named me Carina because I suffered a crash landing that got me a fatal wound in the torso. Apparently, not many other species other than humans survive such a blow. He considered me lucky to survive that and that I was tough for doing that. Finally, as far as Jon’s concerned, we’re not changelings. In fact, he doesn’t know what we’re actually called.”

“What a TRAITOR you truly are, Areola! Come now, my drones; we shall return home.”

The Chrysalis character and her “drones” as she calls them fly off into the sky. I start smiling as I walk out of the entrance. I remembered what Jon said when I needed it most. Don’t let those who want to bring you down do so. Finally, Jon comes out and pats me in the mane.

“Carina, I’m very proud of you. You never gave into Queen Chrysalis’ orders. You may be safe for now, but she will return most likely. So, remember your golden moments.”

“I sure hope she doesn’t come back. I knew she meant well, but I’m better off with you instead of that ‘hive’.”

Shortly after the Chrysalis incident, Roman arrives.

“Hey bud!”

“Hey Roman.”

“What’s up?”

“Not too much. But guess what happened?”

“What?”

“Someone paid a visit, trying to wrongly take Carina under their wing. Carina refused, and stood up to them, and I’m proud of her for that.”

“Really?!? Did she do that?!?”

“Yes. I saw it first hand.”

“Wow. She’s grown a lot ever since you found her. So, what’s your next video?”

“I don’t have one.”

“What? Do you mean?”

“Yeah. You have no videos to help me edit because my camera broke when I was rushing to the car.”

“Oh, well that’s too bad.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter now. I’m going to hold up on videos in case Chrysalis returns.”

“But what about your money?”

“I’ll have income for a long while. I’m not worried. Carina is more important to me than anything else. And now, she can stand up for herself.”

It’s the day after I told Chrysalis off. Today, Jon’s decided to start packing. Why? I don’t know, but it has something to do with Headrest Centre.

That night, Jon and I take a short break.

“Carina. What you did yesterday has shown me that you’ve stepped up. We’re going to move out in a while so that I could easily visit you should you decide to live at Headrest Centre. That mall, in terms of condition, is very pristine and full of love in case you fall ill again. And because you can teleport, you can visit it at any time once we move.”

“So, does that mean I can have as much love as I need?”

“Well, yeah.”

I hug Jon, who responds with a hug back and a rub on my back.

“Oh, thank you Jon!”

“Anytime, Carina.”

Well, today’s moving day. I found a neighboring house next to Headrest Centre that isn’t only good to live in, but also is within close proximity to Headrest Centre and the downtown area closeby.

If the past week hasn’t said anything about Chrysalis’ return, chances are she’s not coming back to us for a long while. I sure hope my prediction about her return is wrong anyway.

When Carina and I arrive at our new home, she’s overjoyed that she can literally see the Headrest Centre near the horizon. As for me, I’m ready to dish out some money for a camera and a remote control helicopter.

Every day now, Carina teleports out and back once a day to have a meal.

However, once so far, I got a visit by a security guard carrying her. That day, online, I find a news story titled “Food Court Takes Over Forgotten Mall: Creature Found Wandering Around Headrest Centre”. So, I guess Carina making a headline makes up for that.

If I was told a month ago that I’d be taking care of a pet that feeds off of emotions, I wouldn’t believe it in the slightest. But now? Ha. Carina pretty much is living her own life now. She still spends every night where I live though just so that she’s ready to go with me, exploring.

Roman rarely comes over since he lives near the place I used to live in. However, he bought me a present two and a half weeks before Father’s Day. It was a Kima AV Blade 5. It’s a great remote control helicopter because it has tall enough landing gear to include a camera underneath. Not only that, but I can connect the controller to my computer to not just upload my videos, but to charge the battery.

Carina is now fully allowed to stay at Headrest Centre. And because she can teleport, security is able to block off the mall. And the kicker? She can bring anyone she wants with her. So, that means she could tag me along to see how things are going. As of now, I have no worries on whether or not Queen Chrysalis will return. So finally, I can finally say that Carina is living a dream that she’d achieved and she deserves it.