Amy felt a strange cold chill wash over her, and shivered involuntarily.
"What is it?" Lina asked, wiping a tear out of one of her red eyes.
"I felt cold for a second," Amy said. "And...I think I'm going color-blind."
Lina looked over at her friend. Amy was staring at her reflection. And it was changing. "If you are...then I am, too," Lina said. The girls watched as Amy's yellow and purple zebra body faded into a black and white one. She now had a more normal zebra appearance.
"Why did that happen?" Amy wondered. "Not that I'm ungrateful."
"Hang on," Lina said. "You felt cold right before this happened?"
"Yeah."
"I felt a chill every time the collar changed me."
"But I'm not wearing a collar."
"Obviously...which must mean..." Lina looked down at her gothy, goaty body. "This look needs some jewelry and tattoos."
"What are you doing? You'll only change more!" Amy shouted.
"No, I'm not. I don't feel cold."
"But... if it isn't the collar that's voice-activated, what's been doing this to you?"
Lina turned to the mirror they had been glancing in all this time. "This look needs some jewelry and tattoos." Within seconds, the familiar chill swept down her body.
Several pinches in her face and elsewhere heralded the appearance of new piercings. In addition to the five silver rings embedded into each long goat ear, two more rings appeared. A two-inch-tall silver ankh dangled from a chain attached to the tip of each floppy ear. They were so heavy they forced her ears down. Lina could no longer raise them all the way. A few piercings were visible on her face. A row of three silver studs rested above her left eyebrow, while three silver rings coiled around her right eyebrow. A big silver ring was placed in her nose. It was so large it rested coolly against her mouth. She could feel a silver stud in her tongue. A silver ball was fixed into her chin just below her mouth.
As for tattoos, several faded slowly into view on her skin. A blazing red sun appeared on her left cheek, and a radiant blue crescent moon appeared on her right. Red and orange flames crept up her neck, originating from underneath the top. The way the tattoo widened to include her shoulderblades before it disappeared under the fabric hinted that the "source" of the flames was her chest.
She was now wearing five necklaces. Two gold, three silver. The largest silver one held another ankh that looked identical to the two hanging from her ears. The gold necklaces were chains with small red jewels at every inch. Underneath the fabric of her top, she could feel that her nipples were pierced. Looking down further, she saw that her navel had a thick silver ring pierced into it with a red jewel set into the ring. A big red pentagram was etched around the navel. She turned around and lifted her long hair to find that her entire spine was covered from neck to tailbone in a tattoo of a pale blue spinal column. Blue sparks of lightning radiated out from each vertebra. Her arms became covered from shoulder to wrist with an elaborate tattoo of spider webs. Loops of barbed wire appeared around her arms in places. It was designed with such detail that the barbs were tearing the webs and making it look like her skin was bleeding. A silver snake-shaped bracelet with a golden diamond pattern snugly wrapped itself around her upper right arm. Its eyes were shiny and red.
Several rings appeared around several of her fingers. They were each several shades of silver or gold. Some appeared tarnished. Some had different colored jewels. Her left ring finger had a large dragon-shaped ring that engulfed almost the entire finger. A red spherical jewel was in its mouth.
Lina took a long moment to finish surveying all of the changes that had occurred. She could see so much intricate detail in every piece of jewelry and every tattoo. How could magic create such amazing things on a mere whim?
Amy could do nothing but gasp. Repeatedly.
Lina suddenly realized that it was her own body these changes had happened to. She tore her eyes from the mirror and looked down at herself. She looked at the rings intently, then at her arm tattoos.
"I'm not really sure how to feel about this," she said with a guarded voice. She was trying very hard not to start screaming. "At least now we know the real wish-granter around here.
"So I can change back to normal!" Amy said excitedly. She pushed Lina out of the way and said into the mirror "Change me back to normal!"
Lina tried to keep her balance on her goat hooves. Meanwhile, her ears and necklaces were flying around and distracting her. All of her changes were obviously cumbersome, and she couldn't wait to have her turn at the mirror again.
However, she watched as absolutely nothing changed about Amy's zebra appearance.
"Why won't I change back?" she asked, clearly disappointed.
Lina walked back in front of the mirror. "I'd like to look like a cheerleader now, instead of a goth."
Nothing.
Lina rubbed her chin...until the feel of her rings against her skin got annoying. "I thought it was the mirror... What are we missing?"