I was focused on the stack of books in front of me.

“Come on..”

I was concentrating as hard as I could. Why did magic have to be so difficult? I felt the warmth of the crystal as it began to glow.

“Finally.”

A green aura formed around the book at the top of the stack. It slowly lifted into the air. I willed it to move towards me. It began inching forward across the room.

“Slow and steady.”

“You’re improving.”

I flinched as the aura dissipated and the book fell. I turned to find Celestia.

“Not enough though.”

“Give it time. It’s only been two months.”

“Exactly! I should have levitation down at least.”

“Artifact magic can be..temperamental. If anything, you’re thinking too hard.”

“How am I supposed to know a spell without thinking about it?”

“What do you want to do?”

“I want the book to come to me.”

“Focus on me then. And will the book to come.”

“Focus on you? But the book is behind me.”

“Exactly the point. Now look at me and picture the book levitating to you.

“Okay...”

“The spell should be at the back of your mind. A brief thought used to begin the magic. Then quickly tucked away as you think of the action you’re using the spell for.”

“Alright.”

I closed my eyes and thought of the spell. As soon as it popped into my head I began thinking to the book instead. I pictured it rising from the stack and floating over to me. The cover opened to the first page, ready to be read.

“Open your eyes Shade.”

I opened them to find the book exactly as I had imagined it. The green aura was holding it open in the air.

“I did it!”

“A lot easier than you’re making it out to be.”

I smiled.

“I guess I shouldn’t try so hard..”

“Try less, do more.”

“One of Starswirl’s sayings?”

“One of my own.”

“Try less..that explains a lot about you.”

Her horn lit up and my stack of books flew at me, knocking me to the ground.

———————————

I stepped off the train and took a deep breath. It was good to be home. I trotted through town to the boutique and entered. Rarity was working on a dress. She turned her head to see who had entered.

“Oh! I didn’t think you’d get here so fast.”

“I think if Pinkie hadn’t been there to push things along, the meeting with the yaks would have gone a lot longer.”

“She does have a tendency to speed things up. Not always for the better.”

“It worked out in this case. How’s business?”

“The Manehattan shop is doing well. Things are a bit slower here. I’m just working on an alteration for Octavia. She has a performance coming up.”

She reached over to a table and felt around for something. She paused and looked at the table.

“I could have sworn I brought my pin cushion over here..”

I looked around the room and spotted it at another table. My amulet lit up and the cushion levitated over to her.

“Oh. Thank you.”

She took a pin and began placing it. It took her a few seconds to realize what had happened. When it hit her she turned to me, a smile on her face.

“You flew it over to me! That’s wonderful!”

“Celestia figured out I was overthinking it. I’ve just been making it more difficult on myself for no reason.”

“I’m glad you’re making progress. Have you tried anything else yet?”

I shook my head.

“Nothing yet, but I’m excited to try.”

She walked over to me and kissed me.

“I’m glad you’re happy. You’ve been trying so hard these past months.”

I gave her another kiss. She held it for a few seconds before braking away.

“I’d better finish this dress. Do you want to go start dinner?”

“Sure.”

I wandered into the kitchen, thinking of what sounded good. I finally settled on salad. We’d both been trying to eat better lately. I looked at the fridge and was surprised as an aura hit the door and opened it. The lettuce came floating out, followed by a lemon, the dressing, and some cherry tomatoes.

“What the?”

The items set themselves on the counter and the aura disappeared. Did I do that? I moved to the counter and looked over the ingredients. I still needed-

‘Creak’

I looked over my shoulder as a bag of croutons came flying from the pantry. I ducked as the bag didn’t deviate around me. It landed next to the dressing.

“Celestia wasn’t kidding about this stuff. A lot easier than I thought.”

I decided to test it further and envisioned the lettuce. It began to break apart in front of me. A bowl came down from one of the cupboards and landed in front of me. The lettuce fell in and the tomatoes followed after. I looked at the dressing and the top unscrewed itself. It poured over the salad as a pair of tongs began tossing the lettuce. I had to be controlling at least three or four things at once!

“Shade?”

Rarity’s voice caught me off guard. I jumped, causing the tongs to fly across the kitchen, the dressing bottle to fall on the floor, and the crouton bag to shake its contents out across the counter.
Rarity walked into the kitchen and froze. Her eyes darted around the scene. There were croutons littered across the counter, a bottle of dressing pooling on the floor, and a a pair of tongs stuck in the wall. A timid smile crept onto my face.

“You feel like eating out?”

———————————

My magic began improving at an amazing rate. I found myself mastering simple spells in less than a day. I moved on to more advanced spells as the weeks went by. My biggest goal was to master teleportation. I was sick of riding the train.
I found myself practicing smaller spells when I was bored. Though this usually got me in trouble. I was using magic to make a paper crane. When it was done I levitated it around the room as if it were flying.

“Shade?”

I looked at Celestia. Then I scanned the room, looking at the other members of Parliament.

“Sorry. Back to the budget approval?”

The head pony frowned.

“If you can find enough time in your busy schedule.”

I let the crane fall. We continued the meeting until the budget details were finalized.
I followed Celestia out of the room. She didn’t look at me as we walked.

“I get bored by that too Shade. But paper cranes?”

“Sorry. I’ve just been practicing my magic on everything.”

“Perhaps you need a distraction.”

“Like what?”

“What if I just had you go to those sessions alone?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“I think a little more responsibility is just what you need. You’re my Right Hoof after all. You hold the authority to make decisions on my behalf.”

“They’d probably be terrible decisions.”

“I have faith in you. You’ll do just fine. So no more paper cranes.”

“...Okay.”

———————————

Celestia began entrusting me with making decisions for a number of things. Every few days it seemed like there was something else.

“What do you do with all this free time?”

Celestia smiled.

“I still have a lot to do. I’m giving you a lot of the local things. I still handle the larger scale problems.”

“Oh yes. Twilight’s play seemed like a huge problem.”

She glared at me.

“Is there something you’re trying to say?”

“Of course not! But if anypony should get a prize for acting, it should be me. I’m the one that helped you memorize your lines without saying a single word about your...acting.”

I smiled at her and she rolled her eyes.

“Twilight learned the hard way about being honest with friends.”

“I never lied to you! I just didn’t say anything.”

“Why not? You could have saved Twilight the trouble.”

“It’s not my place to ruin your happiness or her excitement. Besides, I thought she knew how bad you were going into the whole thing.”

She punched my shoulder and giggled. We began to laugh as we made our way to dinner.

———————————

Rarity and I walked down the street. Ponyville was alive with activity today. I watched as ponies went about their business.

“Everypony seems busy.”

Rarity nodded.

“Hearts And Hooves Day is coming up in a few days. Ponies are starting to get their gifts and surprises ready.”

“Hearts and Hooves. I’ve never really celebrated that one.”

Rarity looked at me in shock.

“What?! Seven years and you’ve never once celebrated it?!”

“I mean..Twilights sent me a card and some candy before. And you sent me things the last couple. But I’ve never had somepony to spend the holiday with.”

“Well then! We’re going to make this a day to remember!”

She sent me off to Twilight’s to see if there was anything I could help with. She didn’t want me around to spoil the surprise she was going to prepare.
I arrived at the castle and Spike redirected me to the school. I made my way over there and walked through the entrance. My eyes were bombarded with pinks, reds, and purples. There were heart-shaped decorations everywhere!
I began walking down the hallway. Students were busy hanging more decorations. They all looked excited for the upcoming holiday. I smiled to myself. I’d never really thought much about holidays. I participated whenever Twilight invited me though. You’d think after seven years I’d be accustomed, but I’d never heard of holidays before then. It was an odd concept.
I turned the corner and nearly ran into Rainbow Dash. She hovered out of the way at the last second.

“Woah! Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“Sorry. I’m looking for Twilight.”

“She’s probably in her office.”

“Thanks.”

I stepped on something and looked down. It was a heart-shaped card. I picked it up.

“Did you drop this?”

“Horse-feathers!”

She snatched it away from me with blinding speed and raced down the hall. It took me a moment to process what had just happened. A smile crept onto my face. Rainbow Dash had a crush! And I doubt she knew I’d seen the name she’d written on the card. I continued down the hall. This holiday was growing on me fast.

———————————

Hearts and Hooves Day arrived. Rarity had me blindfolded when I walked into the boutique.

“Oh! Are we trying something new?”

I couldn’t see her, but I knew that I’d made her blush.

“Hush! I just want to surprise you. And I don’t trust you not to peek.”

“I would never!”

She led me through the boutique.

“You’re leading me to the bedroom Rarity.”

“It’s not what you’re thinking. Well..not entirely anyway.”

She removed my blindfold and I found a blanket laid out on the floor. There were dishes of food spread out in a decorative display. I smiled.

“An indoor picnic!”

“Do you like it?”

“It’s wonderful! But..why in the bedroom.”

“Well I can’t very well tackle you in a meadow during the day, can I?”

I barely had time to respond before she tackled me.

“What about the food?!”

“Nothing’s perishable. Are you really going to complain right now?”

“I just don’t want your hard work to go to waste.”

“Worry less about my work and focus more on the job at hoof.”

I smiled and kissed her.

“I love you Rarity.”

“I love you too Shade.”

———————————

Celestia and Luna were waiting for me in the throne room.

“Am I in trouble?”

Celestia smiled.

“No. We just wanted to congratulate you.”

Luna nodded.

“You do realize you’ve been with us for a year, don’t you?”

“A year? Already?”

Celestia pulled me into a hug.

“I I’ve been so grateful having you around. You’ve been a huge help. And a good friend.”

Luna joined the hug.

“Though I could definitely use a little more help. If Celestia will stop hogging you.”

I felt Celestia move and heard Her hit Luna in the flank. Luna returned it in kind. I wiggled to free myself.

“Can I not be caught in the middle of this?”

They started laughing, but the hug continued. I was blinded by a sudden flash of white light. When it cleared, I was free of their embrace. And I was also ten feet away from the two of them.

“Wha- Waht just happened?”

Celestia’s smile grew even bigger.

“You just made your first, successful teleportation.”

“Really?”

Luna chuckled.

“All it took was an uncomfortably long hug.”

They started laughing again. I rolled my eyes.

“Go ahead. Laugh all you want.”

I thought of the process. I had wanted to get out of the embrace. I guess thebspell must have popped to mind. I decided to test it again. I looked at the princesses. They were beginning to calm down.

“If you two need me, I’ll be in my room.”

I visualized my room and another flash of light filled my vision. When it faded, I was standing next to my desk. I smiled

“Alright.”

I looked down at my amulet.

“Think you can handle long distance? I’m going to need you to get me home regularly.”

———————————

I sat looking at myself in the mirror. I’d let my mane and tail grow out more. Rarity thought it looked better that way. I was combing thoroughly when Rarity walked up behind me.

“If you keep combing and brushing, you’ll start pulling your hair out.”

“Don’t you think I’d look good bald?”

She bumped my flank.

“Don’t even joke about that.”

I smiled at her. We’d been happy for the last year. There’s been some more adventures for her. I’d stayed busy helping the princesses with their work. My role had continued to expand as I took on more duties. Some days I felt like I was running the kingdom all on my own.
My title had become known far and wide, though my face had not yet been attached to it in my two years of service. I preferred it that way. Even the ponies that met me didn’t know how to describe the dark stallion that spoke for the royalty. I was mysterious. It made me happy that I could garner such mystique around me.
I put down the comb and turned to Rarity.

“Do I look ready?”

“You look lovely. Though I’m sure you don’t need to do so much to impress Thorax.”

“It’s a big deal being invited to a Naming. It’s an old changeling tradition that was lost when Chrysalis took the throne.”

“I’m just surprised that Thorax alresdy found a mate. He always seemed shy to me.”

“You and me both. Ocellus said he’d really like me to be there for such a historic event. His son’s Naming is the first in nearly forty years!”

“Are you sure you want me to come? I’d hate to crash a changeling affair.”

“I want you there with me. I haven’t been around changelings in so long... It would be nice to have a familiar face nearby.”

She smiled and kissed my cheek.

“When do you want to leave?”

“As soon as Ocellus gets here.”

There was a knock at the door. Rarity walked over and opened it to reveal Ocellus.

“Hi Shade!”

“How have you been?”

She walked inside.

“I’m okay. I’m just excited to go home! Are...are you sure we’ll be on time? The Naming is going to start in an hour..”

I smiled.

“We’ll be fine. But I’m going to need your help.”

“My help?”

“I don’t know the hive like you do. I’ll need your help to guide us through the spell.”

“What do I need to do?”

Rarity stepped closer to us and smiled.

“Picture home dear. Think of every little detail.”

Ocellus closed her eyes. I let my magic reach out to her so that I could see the mental picture she was painting. Wow! The hive had become..beautiful. As soon as I had the image, the familiar flash of light enveloped us.
When the light cleared we were standing in the middle of a clearing. There were changelings all around us. They stared at us, not knowing how to react.

“Ocellus! Shade! I was beginning to worry.”

Thorax appeared from the crowd and approached us. Ocellus gave him a hug and then went off to find her friends. Thorax turned to me and held out a hoof.

“It’s good to see you again Shade. And Rarity! I didn’t realize you’d be joining us.”

She gave Thorax a hug.

“As if I’d miss such a big day! Congratulations on your little one.”

“Thanks. It’s exciting for all of us. It’s the first Naming for everyone here.”

Rarity looked confused.

“Then how did you learn about the ceremony to begin with?”

“Twilight helped with that. She found some old texts that described a few changeling customs.”

I chimed in.

“Leave it to Chrysalis to break tradition.”

Thorax turned to me.

“What do you think of the hive?”

I looked around at the greenery.

“Eight years is a long time. It looks a lot better than what I remember.”

A voice sounded off from behind Thorax.

“I still think it looks too pretty.”

A changeling had approached without anyone noticing. He looked similar to Thorax, but much darker. He looked like a hybrid between the two types of changelings. Thorax rolled his eyes.

“Ignore my brother. He still thinks we should be living in caves.”

“Caves offer protection. You’ll need that now with a young one of your own.”

He turned to me and saluted.

“It’s an honor to meet you at last.”

Thorax his his face in his hoof.

“Pharynx..”

I looked around. None of the changelings were really paying attention. I turned back to Pharynx and straightened up.

“At ease.”

He relaxed..slightly. I shook my head.

“That’s really not necessary. I don’t hold any command here. Not anymore.”

Pharynx frowned.

“You’re an Elite. You’ll always hold command.”

I shook my head again.

“I’m more pony than changeling now. Besides, protocol dictates that if an Elite ever abandons the hive, they’re stripped of their title.”

Pharynx thought for a moment.

“Oh... I wasn’t aware of that protocol.. very well. It’s good to meet you Shade.”

He turned and walked away. Thorax leaned in close to me.

“I didn’t know about that rule either.”

I smiled.

“What rule? I just don’t want him saluting me anymore.”

Thorax looked at me and smiled.

“Oh that’s good.”

Another changeling approached us. She was very pretty..for a changeling anyways. She walked up and kissed Thorax on the cheek.

“Are you ready?”

He nodded.

“Of course.”

He looked at Rarity and me, motioning to the newcomer.

“This is my mate, Artemis. Artemis, this is Shade and Rarity.”

Artemis held out a hoof.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m afraid I have to steal Thorax now. The Naming is about to begin.”

They both walked away. Rarity and I joined the crowd forming in the clearing. It wasn’t long before Thorax stood up on a moss-covered rock to look over the whole crowd.

“Thank you all for being here on this wonderful day! I’m so happy to share this with everyone.”

Artemis appeared holding a small bundle. She raised it up and smiled.

“We’d like you all to meet our son. The first-born of King Thorax! Let it be known that from this day forth, our little prince will be known by this name.”

All the changelings leaned forward. I smiled at Rarity.

“This is exciting.”

Thorax took his son and lifted him up above the crowd.

“Everyone, meet Filius!”

Cheers rang out. The changelings were jumping for joy. I had never seen so much merriment. I scooted closer to Rarity.

“This is intense.”

“I know! Ponies don’t have anything like this.”

“Positive?”

She smiled.

“Trust me. We’ll name the baby without any fanfare.”

“Right. We’ll-“

I glanced at her.

“What did you say?”

“What?”

“You said the baby.”

“Did I?”

Her smile hadn’t gone away. I stared at her for several seconds.

“You know that stuff still flies over my head sometimes, so I’ll ask this very simply.

I swallowed.

“Are you?”

A tear rolled down her cheek.

“I suppose you’ll have to marry me now.”

I pulled her into my hooves as we both began to cry. I kissed her for what seemed like an eternity.
Everything that had ever happened in my life vanished. All the hardships and monsters were nothing to me now. Today, I was the happiest pony alive. Today, I had gained the thing I had wanted more than anything in the last eight years.

Today, I was complete.