Silver Rose thought that something odd had happened when she entered Crystal Prep Academy. A lot of the students were giving her weird looks, some of them even smiling at her strangely.

It was only when Canvas Splash had come up to her when she was at her locker did she find out what why they were looking at her weird.

“Silver, Silver!” The artist had poked her shoulder. When she got Silver’s attention, she thrust her phone out for the pink-grey haired girl to see. “You won’t believe this, but there’s a picture of you on the school newspaper’s website. See?”

Silver Rose stood back a step and looked at her phone’s screen. Her face quickly drained of color, except for her cheeks, which turned red.

On the screen was a picture of her from yesterday on the field. Her pants were down and she was trying to use her shirt to cover her bottom. A bit of her panties could be seen just below her shirt line.

“W-What is this picture doing here…?” Silver pushed Canvas’ hand away and looked around the hall. No wonder the other students were giving her strange looks. “Who posted that?”

“It doesn’t say.” Canvas looked at her phone. “It’s just there. On the website. I’m sure the school will take it down. This isn’t the kind of thing they’d want outsiders to see.”

Silver took relief in that statement. “I hope they do, Canvas.”

Her mind was already at work, deducing who could’ve done such a thing. Everyone was on the field that day, meaning their phones would’ve been in their bags in the changing rooms. Only one student had been sitting out, her sprained ankle still recovering from her fall. She was the only logical culprit who could’ve done this. The only one who would have done this.

“Sunny Flare…” Silver muttered.

“That’s what I was thinking too,” Canvas told her. “Who else would do this to you?”

“I think I need to have a word with her…” Silver put her other books into the locker and slammed it shut, startling Twilight Sparkle, who was getting some kind of gadget from her locker, two rows down. “Me and my friend, Mister Fist.”

“Uh, Silver?” Canvas said timidly. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I mean no, I’m not alright. I want to find Sunny Flare and… and do horrible things to her, let’s leave it at that.”

Twilight Sparkle, who was still squatting down holding her things, let out a little squeak and scurried away like a rat, looking back once before disappearing into class.

“What’s up with her?” Silver asked irritably.

“I think she heard you,” Canvas said, pulling at her ponytail. “You did say ‘horrible things’, Silver.”

“She’s not going to tell Sunny though, is she?”

Silver’s mind was already blooming with numerous creative ways to get Sunny for this. A small variety of toxins came to mind which she could easily slip into Sunny’s drink. Then she mentally slapped herself.

Calm down… she thought to herself. You’re not here to start a war, but to make peace with everyone. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, right?

Canvas looked at the classroom door. “Twilight won’t tell on you. She sticks to herself all the time. More so than I.”

“Okay, that’s good then…” Silver sighed. There was too much for her to deal with so early in the morning.

“Well, if you need me when you, um, talk with Sunny…” Canvas looked like she wasn’t sure on her word choice. “I’ve got your back, Silver. It’s the least I could do for you.”

“Thanks, Canvas. Glad I can count on you.” Silver Rose patted the artist’s shoulder. “Come on, we better get to homeroom. I guess I’ll see you later?”

“Yup, catch you later, Silver!” Canvas waved happily and ran down the hall, almost tripping when she turned around.

That was one student Silver could always count on to get a good taste from. She inhaled deeply, trying to find that string of support and camaraderie, but instead, her nose picked up something stronger. Far stronger.

Hm? What’s this?

There was a new smell in the air. It was definitely directed at her, and it tasted sticky and sweet. Silver’s brow furrowed in confusion. This was a totally novel scent to her, but it tasted so nice that Silver inhaled again, breathing in and tasting this new smell.

“Mmm… what is this smell?” It was just too good to resist. She inhaled again. Whatever it was, it was awakening something within her, a few faint flickers of something making itself known.

Suddenly, it was like she lost control of the muscles in her body. Her legs wobbled and then collapsed under her, sending her down against the locker.

“W-What…?” Silver breathed. Even her voice was having trouble escaping her throat. To her shock, she could feel her fangs easing out into view, filling up with venom, ready to strike. No, not now, what are you doing, Silver? Get control of yourself!

She tried to get up, but her legs felt like jelly and her arms were heavy. She knew it had something to do with the smell, but Silver couldn’t help it. It was so good. She sniffed the air again and again, now noticing that it was coming from multiple sources.

It’s so strong… It’s so good…

She felt her body heating up like an oven, especially her face and hands, which were twitching, and worse of all, it was growing warm between her legs.

I need to get out of here.

“Silver?” Canvas Splash was suddenly beside her again, crouching down. “Are you alright? I heard you fall. Gee, your face is all red. Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. I j-just need to go to the nurse’s office. Tell Ms. Script t-that I won’t be there, okay?” Silver kept a hand over her mouth.

“Sure I’ll tell her for you. Do you need me to walk you to the nurse’s?”

“I think I can…” Silver pushed to her feet, holding her other hand against the locker. By now, plenty of other students had gathered around on their way to class, but Silver couldn’t worry about them watching her now.

“Nonsense.” Canvas shook her head. “I’ll go tell Ms. Script, then I’m coming back to help.”

Silver watched her friend go, her heartbeat increasing almost by two times from the smell. She found herself panting like a dog and unable to retract her fangs.

She knew she shouldn’t inhale deeply again, but she did it again, the taste too tempting for her to resist.

“Aah…” Silver fell to her knees again, one hand still covering her mouth. Why is it so good…?

She began to breathe through her mouth in an attempt to stifle the smell. It sort of worked, but with her hand covering her mouth it wasn’t as easy to get a breath.

The warmth between her legs had heated up significantly, almost unbearable now, but Silver maintained enough composure to handle it. She thought she felt something running down her legs, but she ignored it. There was no way she was going to see what was going on down there right now. Not in public with so many eyes on her.

Soon, Canvas Splash was back, hooking her arms under Silver’s and hauling her up. Silver tried her best to walk along, but her legs were still all wobbly.

“How are you feeling now?” Canvas asked.

Silver opened her mouth, but all that escaped were whimpers. She wanted to sniff at the smell again, really badly, but she knew she had to keep off of it, at least for now.

“You’re really not feeling well.” Canvas made a turn after the chemistry classroom. “Don’t worry. We’ll be at the Nurse’s in no time.”

Silver’s face was still heavily blushed red and her hands were still shaking. Her fangs refused to go back into her gums, forcing her to still keep one hand on her mouth. She didn’t know there could be a smell that tasted so good to the point of losing control of her body.

After what felt like weeks, Silver and Canvas arrived outside the nurse’s office, with the artist knocking on the door before pushing it open.

“Nurse Cardiac?” Canvas called out. CPA’s nurse was at her desk, her attention now on Silver and Canvas. “It’s Silver. She’s not feeling very well, I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“My, Silver Rose, you’ve become very frequent around here recently.” Nurse Cardiac helped Canvas, supporting the young changeling from under the other arm. “You look like you’re having a fever. Come on, we’ll set you down on the bed, Silver. Then I can determine what’s wrong.”

Silver nodded, still willing her fangs to return into her mouth. By now, the smell had disappeared outside the office, but she could still remember its sweet scent.

“You-you should get to class, Canvas…” Silver breathed, still slightly panting. “Don’t be late because of me.”

“Will you be alright, Silver?” Canvas looked concerned. Silver used that taste to take her mind off the sweet one.

“I’ll look after her,” Nurse Cardiac assured. “She’s in good hands.”

“Oh, okay…” Canvas looked between them. Silver gave her a reassuring smile. “Get well soon, Silver.”

The pink haired artist waved one last time before closing the door behind her, leaving Silver Rose sitting on the bed.

Nurse Cardiac began to walk over with a stethoscope and a thermometer. Willing for her fangs to retract, Silver closed her eyes and concentrated. Now that the strong scent was gone, she soon found her fangs disappearing back into her gums, just as the nurse stopped beside her, lifting the thermometer. The numbness and warmness didn’t go away, but at least this was a start.

Close call…

“Open your mouth, Silver, let’s see your temperature.”

Silver dropped her hand from her mouth and managed a smile. “Sure thing, Nurse Cardiac.”

The nurse handed Silver an electronic thermometer which she stuck into her mouth, waiting for the device to beep.

“Hmm. Thirty-nine degrees. You’re running a fever,” Nurse Cardiac diagnosed. “I can give you some medicine to bring the fever down, but there’s really no better cure for a fever than lots of bedrest.You shouldn’t be at school, child.”

The nurse put the stethoscope to Silver’s chest and back and listened. “Your heart’s racing, Silver. I’m not that scary, am I?” the nurse said with a quick smile.

“No, you’re not scary, Nurse Cardiac…” Silver laughed, though her voice was trembling.

“Good to know. Your face is still flushed and your hands are shaking. This looks to be a pretty bad fever. Let me prescribe you the medicine. In the meantime, do you have someone to call to come pick you up?”

“Y-Yeah. I’ll give my mother a call.”

Silver took out her smartphone and selected ‘Mother’ from her list of contacts. She put the phone to her ear and waited for her mother to pick up. It kept ringing, without anyone picking up on the other side.

Just when Silver was about to give up and end the call, someone finally picked up on the other end, her voice sounding very annoyed. “Silver, this better be important. I’m in the middle of an act. I had to stop to pick up your call. Shouldn’t you be in class now, anyway?”

“Sorry, mother. It’s just that I’m not feeling well, so I was wondering if I could come home early today.”

“Not feeling well?”

Silver looked up at the nurse, who was still writing something down on a small piece of paper, a few bottles of medicine on the tabletop in front of her. For now, she knew not to mention too much with the nurse in the room.

“I’m… running a fever, mother. The nurse says I should go home.”

“Our kind don’t get sick easily, Silver. I’ll send your aunt to go pick you up. She’s also a certified medic, so she’ll take care of you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back on set.”

“Yes, sorry mother.” Then the line clicked off.

Silver Rose looked down at her knees, somewhat disappointed that her mother didn’t show more concern for her. It was then that she noticed trails of water going down her thigh socks from under her skirt, only, it wasn’t water. She hadn’t realized it before, but her panties were also wet.

“What?” Then she quickly righted herself as the nurse came over with her medicine. She hoped Nurse Cardiac didn’t see it.

“So, Silver Rose, I’m giving you three different meds for your fever.” Nurse Cardiac set the bottles of medicine on the bed. She went on to describe what each one would do. “So make sure you take them all twice a day, okay?”

“Sure, nurse,” Silver answered, though she was sure she wouldn’t need them when she got back.

At that moment, there was a knock on the infirmary door. It opened, revealing the snowy white hair of Silver’s aunt, her face arranged in an expression of supreme concern.

“Aunt Ivory!” Silver said with surprise. “You’re already here? Mother just said she was going to call you like, five minutes ago.”

“I might have broken the speed limit and run a few red lights on the way,” Ivory admitted. “Now come on. I’m here to take you home.”

Silver inhaled, finding the strand of love flowing from her aunt. It made her feel a little better.

“So you’re Silver’s aunt?” Nurse Cardiac looked at the white haired woman. “Silver here is running a fever. I’ve given her a few types of medicine. With enough rest, she’ll be good to come back to school again.”

“Thank you, nurse.” Ivory bowed slightly and scooped up the various medicines. “Now let’s go, Silver. Time to go home.”

“Yes, Aunt Ivory.” Silver got off the bed slowly, testing her legs. They were still a little weak, but they were faring much better than before. The young changeling walked a little bit sideways, hoping Nurse Cardiac couldn’t see her stained socks.

Once she was safely in the car, Silver allowed herself a sigh of relief. She was away from the mysteriously good smell, and though she wouldn’t have minded tasting it a bit more, she was happy to finally have all her faculties under control once again.

“Thanks for getting here so quickly, Aunt Ivory.” Silver looked at her aunt’s face from the rear view mirror. “I don’t know what happened… There was this new smell in the air and it was so good… I just… lost control of myself. I, uh, I wet myself, Aunt Ivory. Kinda embarrassing, but that’s how good it felt. Do you know what it is? That smell.”

“You did what now?” Ivory arched an eyebrow in the rearview mirror. “I didn’t smell all that much coming to get you, but then again I wasn’t really trying. Can you describe this new smell?”

“Uh, well...” Silver thought back to the overpowering smell she’d encountered at Crystal Prep. “It smelled really sweet, and it tasted pretty nice too, but not very filling, so I guess it wasn’t love. I mean, I know what love is. This wasn’t it, but it tasted sooooo good, Aunt Ivory. So very good.”

“Hmm…” Ivory brought the car to a stop at a red light and squinted back at her niece in the mirror. “That’s not an awful lot to go on. Could you tell if this new smell was directed at you?”

“Umm, yes,” Silver nodded. “It was coming from multiple people too.”

“Sweet, not filling, and directed at you,” Ivory pondered as she turned the corner, honking her horn at a passing motorcyclist who was weaving in between lanes. “And tasting so good that you… what was the phrase? Wet yourself?”

Silver blushed, though it was hard to tell, seeing as her face was still a little flushed. “Y-Yes, Aunt Ivory…”

Silver pulled up her skirt to see, now that she was in the privacy of her ride. The pink fabric underneath had a stain somewhere in the middle, expanding out, along with the stains on her thigh socks and in between, making her mauve skin glisten with the strange liquid. The changeling swiped some of it off with a finger and put it to her nose to smell. It wasn’t like anything she’d smelt before, but she had an idea of what it was.

“I’ll need to discuss this with your mother once she comes home. For now, I advise you take a cold shower and get some rest. Don’t bother with the medicine the nurse gave you, they’re useless on us anyway.”

Ivory Wings soon pulled the car up into the estate and parked, pulling Silver Rose from the back of the car and carrying her bridal style to her room.

“Now just take your shower and go to bed. I’ll come wake you the moment your mother and I come to a decision of what that new smaste was.”

“Smaste?” Silver asked, retrieving a towel from her wardrobe.

“Smell and taste. I’ll see you later.”

When her aunt had left, Silver went into her bathroom, tossing her panties and socks into a basket that would later be sent down by the maids to be washed. She thought about it for a while, then tossed her skirt in there as well. She wanted any indication of her smell to be washed away, just in case the other students could smell it.

After that, she took a long cold shower, which felt really refreshing, cooling her body temperature down, at least for now. She got to washing, working doubly hard on her lower regions, then her face, which was almost as warm.

When she was done washing herself, Silver stood under the shower, leaning her back on the cool marble wall, thinking about the fantastic smell again. Whatever it had been, it was strong. She had to somehow boost her resistance to it, otherwise there were going to be a lot of sick days ahead of her, along with more wet clothes, and that wasn’t going to do a lot of good for her school profile.

Contemplating for a while, Silver decided to wash off her disguise as well, not wanting to have to deal with any other distractions and things she had to say as Silver Rose. While she rested, she wanted to just be Chrysidea.

When her hair returned to her turquoise color and her skin to charcoal, Chrysidea sighed.

Oh, Dea… You just had to go embarrass yourself again, huh?

She had wanted to confront Sunny Flare about her involvement with putting her picture on the school newspaper’s website, but then all this happened instead. Maybe it was her punishment for wanting to teach Sunny a lesson the hard way.

“Huh…” She pulled at her hair, washing the gel off and returning it to its full length. “You wait, Sunny Flare. You’ll live, but I still want to give you a piece of my mind the next time I see you…”

She stayed in the shower for another twenty minutes, then left to dry herself before changing into her pajamas. It was still rather early, but she just wanted to be comfortable.

Turning the AC down to sixteen, Chrysidea placed her towel on her pillow before lying down, all nice and snuggled in her sheets with Mishter Schniffs by her side. She still felt a little warm, but nothing a little time and rest couldn’t fix.

Ah, sweet solitude…

Chrysidea was awoken when she felt a hand rest against her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open, looking right into Aunt Ivory’s deep green ones. The room was still dark, with her aunt holding up a candle to chase away the gloom.

“Hmm… your fever’s gone down.” Ivory Wings moved her hand to the young changeling’s cheek and caressed it. “How are you feeling, sweetie?”

“Mmnh. A little better now. A bit hungry though,”

Ivory nodded. “I thought as much. I brought you some Prench toast.”

She held out a small tray with a plate of toast on it.

“Thanks, Aunt Ivory.” Chrysidea sat up and began to tear into the toast ravenously.

“Now, about this new smaste-”

“Emotion,” a two toned voice piped up from within the darkness. “Smaste just sounds silly.”

“Mother, is that you?” The young changeling looked around, unable to find her. “What time is it?”

“Just after sundown,” Ivory said, checking her watch. “About seven thirty.”

“So did you and Aunt Ivory find out what it was that… made me like this?” Dea swallowed the food in her mouth.

Both the elder changelings exchanged loaded looks.

“Now, I know this might come as a bit of a surprise, but after some… lengthy discussion, we both came to the same conclusion.

“This new smas- emotion,” Ivory corrected herself. “Tell me, have you recently become quite popular with the boys at your school?”

“Popular with the boys?” Dea tried to think back. The only guy friends she had were Jet Set, Sound Wave and Quillion Riposte. The others were really just acquaintances. “No, not really. In fact, I think I’ve likely become less popular after making a fool of myself today.”

“Strange…” Chrysalis could be heard in the darkness. Only her eyes were visible, faintly luminous in the gloom. “But then why…?”

“Why what, mother?” Chrysidea put her fork down.

“Why would that particular feeling be present at Diamond Prep Academy, if you’re not popular with the boys? Is there something you’re not telling us?”

“Crystal Prep, sister…” Ivory sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. Dea? You have something to say?”

“I-I don’t know, mother,” the young changeling replied shakily. “What do you mean? I’m n-not sure what you want me to say.”

“What she means to say is, have you given the male and or female population of your school to start wanting you?” Ivory asked sharply with a glare at Chrysalis’ general direction.

“To start wanting me?” Dea repeated, a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks in the dark. “I-I haven’t made any advances to anyone if that’s what you’re asking mother. I know you don’t want me in a relationship yet. I haven’t found any love in CPA either.”

“Good,” Chrysalis said. “But you must’ve done something else, Dea.”

“Hmm…” Ivory Wings put a hand to her chin. “Silver, the day I picked you up, the rude boy outside asked you to lift your skirt for him. Was there any reason for that?”

“Umm…” Dea’s face glowed red. “Th-that one was b-because… my shorts were p-pulled down during PE… So-someone took a picture and p-put it on the school newspaper’s website. B-But I’ve only been made fun of because of that. Nothing else...”

Chrysidea could see a flare of green fire in the darkness, coming from her mother’s mouth. “That’s it! Who did it? Who’s been bullying you now? I’m going to find them and rip their fingers off and feed them back to whoever’s been bullying my daughter. No one-”

“Chrysalis!” Ivory interrupted. “Please, we’re not here to murder anyone, at least not for this! We should handle this delicately. Preferably without violence. Now, Dea, do you know who did it? Was it that Sunny Flare girl again?”

Chrysidea looked at Mishter Schniffs, then held him close and nodded her head.

“Okay,” Ivory said with a nod of her own. “We’ll work a way to deal with her later. As for this picture on the website. Your students all have access to it, hmm?”

“Yes, Aunt Ivory. Could you call in and… and get them to take it down? It’s, um, pretty embarrassing…”

“I’ll get on that, but the damage has already been done. Now you’ve got at least half the population of Crystal Prep going after you, and that means there’ll be a whole lot of lust in the air.”

“L-Lust?”

“The smaste,” Ivory said, ignoring the snort from Chrysalis. “After a lengthy discussion, we’ve decided that’s what it was.”

“It’s something I get every now and then in the business,” Chrysalis said, staying out of the pathetic circle of light shed by the candle. “I am very attractive, so it’s only natural that a lot of humans would want me. You, however…”

“Wh-what about me?” Dea looked down at her hands.

“You might not know it, but you are moderately attractive in your Silver Rose persona. It’s a thing we go for when creating a persona. That, combined with the… photos, means that there are quite a few horny teenagers with your rear on their minds. Unfortunate, but that’s just how it is, from my point of view.”

Ivory Wings rolled her eyes. “Way to sugarcoat it, sister.”

“So that was what I was smelling?” Chrysidea looked between her aunt and where her mother was standing. “Their lust for me, just because of a picture with my pants down? But it felt so good.”

“That’s just the way it is,” Chrysalis said bluntly. “Lust is on a similar wavelength to love, though it’s not nearly as filling, and it starts getting old after a while. Especially when in the presence of actual love. Lust is like cake frosting, tastes nice and all, but ultimately not much more than a snack.”

“But I’ve tasted love from both of you. It-it isn’t even nearly as nice as this lust that I had this morning.” Dea snuggled Mishter Schniffs closer.

“That’s because you’re used to it from us,” Chrysalis explained patiently, her faintly luminous eyes shining. “What you tasted at school was new, and therefore, exciting. Why do you think we go for other humans? Because it tastes different than what we give each other.”

“I think it was a little too exciting.” Ivory rubbed Chrysidea’s back. “Don’t worry, sweetie. You’ll get the hang of it eventually.”

“If I’m going to wet myself and get a fever until I get used to it… I think it’s better I avoid it.” Dea liked the smell very much, but the cost was a little too high.

“I’m guessing the smaste will die down after a few days. There’s not all that much that can be extracted from a few photos of you in your underwear,” Ivory reasoned. “There’s plenty more hot material to be found on the internet. But I will call in tomorrow and get the photos deleted.”

“Thanks, Aunt Ivory…” Dea gave her aunt a hug. She, on the other hand, really needed one. “So if I’m still feeling like this tomorrow…”

“I think you should stay home tomorrow.” Ivory looked to her sister. “Rest up and get well before going back again on Monday.”

“Your aunt is right,” Chrysalis grunted in the shadows. “Stay home tomorrow. Let the students lust over your picture until your aunt makes that call.”

“Do I still get to go out tomorrow, mother?” Dea looked hopefully into the dark. “It’ll be Friday.”

“If you feel better by then. The same stipulations apply.”

“Yes, mother.” Chrysidea leaned against her aunt, who had an arm around her. “Thank you, mother.”

“Don’t you worry, dear.” Ivory lifted a hand and gently pinched the girl’s nose. “I’m sure you’ll be better by the afternoon. You’re already on your way there.”

Suddenly, Chrysidea’s room door opened, finally shedding light on her mother, who now had a hand on the doorframe.

“If that concludes our talk, then I’ll be off now. I have some late night acting to do, and I need to re-apply my persona.”

“Why did you even take it off for?” Ivory Wings asked.

“It was coming off anyway.” Chrysalis waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

She quietly closed the door behind her, plunging the room back into darkness, except for Ivory’s candlelight.

“I’ll stay with you, Dea.” Ivory got off the bed, finally turning on the bedside light and blowing out her candle. “Keep you company until you fall asleep. Rest.”

“Thank you,” Chrysidea said, snuggling deeper into the blankets. “You’re… the best.”

In one hand, Chrysidea held her aunt’s, while in her other, she held her plushie around the neck, sighing with contentment. If there was ever someone she could share her problems with, it was her aunt. Aunt Ivory was always there for her, both smart and comforting when she needed them.

The young changeling hadn’t had lunch or dinner, but the love she was getting from her aunt was more than enough for a night of rest. Chrysidea closed her eyes, smiling at the corner of her mouth.

After an hour, Dea’s grip on her aunt’s hand loosened and relaxed.

Ivory Wings simply smiled and turned off the lamp, sending the young changeling into the land of dreams.

“Sleep well, young princess.”