From Sin to Virtue

Chapter 1
From Sin to Virtue

From Sin to Virtue

It was the afternoon of Halloween, and a young, blonde fairy was slowly fluttering around in a circle above a busy city that was preparing for the evening’s various celebrations. ?C’mon, Flint...’ she said to herself as she checked a tiny pocket watch ?...you only have 30 seconds left...’

?I’M HERE!’ an even smaller, red-haired fairy screamed as she zoomed through the air, just barely screeching to a halt before slamming into the other fairy. ?D-did I make it in time? Did I, Professor Eve?!’ she sputtered out.

Her professor smiled. ?You certainly did...’ stated the older fairy. ?...with 12 seconds to spare. As I understand it... that’s a record for you.’ As her smile broke into a grin.

?Woohoo! Yay!’ cheered Flint as she waved her arms in the air and spun in place, only stopping once Professor Eve zoomed over and placed her hands on her shoulders. ?Now... are you ready for your final examination? I suppose I don’t have to remind you that once you’ve passed it, you’ll finally be issued a proper license to practice your magic without my supervision.’

?Oh, yes! I can’t wait to show you what I can do, Professor!’ nodded the easily excitable young fairy.

?That’s what I wanna hear from my favorite student!’ beamed the proud teacher. ?Now then, let me inform you of the requirements.’ She snapped her fingers and a small parchment appeared, of which she reviewed before giving Flint the details of her examination.

?This examination has to do with seven particular sins that many beings commonly embrace. My research has indicated that this town has quite a few people that do, indeed, commit such heinous vices.’ She cleared her throat, adjusted the parchment and continued, ?Your assignment is to choose people that commit these sins, and use your magic to change them in a way that will counter their sin with its proper virtue, or simply not allow them the ability to sin any longer.’

?I will be carefully watching your conduct with each individual that you decide upon.’ She stated as she snapped again, and the parchment disappeared just as easily as it had materialized, ?I will be grading each particular use of your magic, and when you’re finished, give you a proper evaluation of your overall performance. Keep in mind that your ability to warp an individual’s reality will be a heavy requirement to properly pass this examination. Don’t worry though; it’s quite an easy task to do against non-magical beings.’

?Do you have any questions, Flint?’ when the other fairy indicated that she didn’t, Professor Eve continued, ?Now, the people around here are celebrating a holiday called ?Halloween’...’

?What’s that?’ the younger fairy interrupted with a titled head and confused expression.

?It’s a very strange holiday... young children dress up in unusual clothing and beg their neighbors for candy... It’s something called ?Trick-or-Treating”. Older children tend to dress up, too, but they like gather into one place to dance around and drink from a bowl with a scoop for some reason... in any case, just be aware of your surroundings.’

Professor Eve checked took out her watch and waited for it to reach a particular time, ?OK...’ she stated as she put the watch away, ?It’s time to start. You must at least attempt all 7 changes, or you will automatically fail. Keep in mind that you must complete this assignment within 3 hours. So... without further ado... tune up your instincts and lead the way, Flint!’

Flint nodded happily as she started flying off, ?Already picked up on my first target, Professor!’ she called back as she continued on. Her teacher chuckled and followed.

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Flint finally stopped at an apartment window and peered inside of it. The room she gazed upon was a complete mess! Clothes were scattered all around the room, dust caked every piece of furniture in the room... it was quite obvious that this room hadn’t been cleaned in a while.

At first glance, it would seem that this room had been hit by a tornado and abandoned by its owner. But Flint had different thoughts. Thoughts that were confirmed as she spotted a young teenage boy spread out lazily on a bed that probably hadn’t been made in months.

A voice called out from outside the door, ?Bradley! Aren’t you dressed, yet? For cripes sake, son... you’re 14 years-old! You ought to be passed the age for afternoon nappy time!’

?Ugh... Mom, just leave me alone... I don’t feel like going out tonight...’ the boy groaned.

?Well, tough!’ his mother yelled through the door. ?You don’t ever feel like doing anything, and it’s high time that changed! It’s Halloween and it wouldn’t kill you to be sociable with other people your age, you know. Now, I’m only going to tell you one more time... get dressed!’ and with that, she stormed off.

Bradley moaned as he rolled out of bed and stared at the pirate costume he was supposed to wear. ?Bah... just a few more minutes...’

He fell backwards onto his bed, curled up, and started to nod off again. It was at this point that Flint decided to tackle the first 1/7th of her exam. ?If you wanna be lazy, then fine...’ She raised her arms into the air and cast a spell.

The dust that was covering the boy’s furniture puffed up into the air to form a massive cloud that covered his entire room. ?Wh-ack! Wh-What the *hack!* hell!?’ he coughed out. He thrashed around on the bed, trying to get up and see what was going on, but the spell was keeping him immobile.

The dust started settling on every inch of the room. Once it had done so, every material thing that occupied its space, excluding the ceiling, carpet, doors, and walls (but not the brown paint that was on them), started dissolving into dust, themselves.

Soon, Bradley found himself lying naked on the floor where his bed used to be, surrounded by a ?wasteland’ of dust. He could not believe what just happened... there was absolutely no explanation for what had just happened. Before he could even think about trying to move again he started rising back into the air.

The dust around the room was now shifting and reforming into new furniture and new decorations. A thin, plastic mattress had formed under Bradley and he soon found himself surrounded by bars as a crib formed around it.

As the crib was being created, so too, was a changing table where his computer desk used to be; it was stocked with fresh Pampers and other assorted diaper changing equipment.

And across the room, a small, colorful dresser popped up with a cute little lamp on top. And where Bradley used to have an entertainment center that housed his TV, DVD player, and assorted gaming consoles, he now had a big box filled with soft toys, and colorful building blocks.

His closet now contained a folded up stroller and playpen. And the shelf in the top had various boxes of clothing marked ?Hand-Me-Downs’, that most likely belonged to Bradley’s cousins.

In the crib, Bradley was on the verge of tears... his walls were now light blue and adorned with decorations of baby Looney Toon characters. And soon, his body started changing to match his infantile room.

The young man, soon to be very young man, started to bawl as his age spiraled backwards. Everything he had just gained after puberty was gone in a flash. No more beginnings of facial or pubic hair, no more conquered fear of the dark, and the only girl he wanted to be near now was his Mommy, who soon entered the room.

?Aww... what’s wrong with my little Bradley? Huh, baby?’ she said as she lifted his new 10-month-old body out of the crib. ?Oop! Where’d your didey go, you silly boy?!’ she grinned as she lifted him up and blew raspberries into his plump tummy, causing the boy to giggle and flail his legs.

She carried him over to the changing table and laid him down gently, smiling down upon him. She lifted his legs, slid a diaper under his bottom and with a spurt of powder, the world was protected from his lack of potty training.

?It’s time for my little man to get dressed for Halloween!’ she said in a sing-song voice as she held up what used to be his pirate costume... which was now a tiny, sailor’s uniform. And as she proceeded to dress him in the embarrassing outfit, Flint flew over to her teacher, ready to receive praise.

?Did you see?’ she asked happily. ?He wanted to be lazy, well now -? Professor Eve interrupted her ?He can be lazy all he wants...’ she said with a sigh.

?Huh? Professor...?’ Flint stared at her, in confusion.

?I’m sorry Flint... but I cannot give that a passing grade... it was a spectacular show of magic, to be sure... and you properly changed reality... but tell me: What is the virtue that opposes Sloth?’ she inquired.

Flint stared down, suddenly depressed at the realization of her mistake.

?Right...’ said Professor Eve. ?His reality should’ve been changed to put him into a position of being something of a laborer... not in a position that allows him to not even have to go to the bathroom for himself, anymore. Even if this experience changes the way he’ll be as he grows up again, the academy heads are only interested in the here and now’

Flint started to sniffle, ready to cry. But Professor Eve embraced her in a hug and said, ?Now, now... we’ll have none of that. While I cannot give you a passing grade, I am quite proud of you. You did a wonderful job... but being able to follow instructions explicitly is essential to a fairy licensed to practice magic. Just take it as a lesson for use in the future... you still have a few more chances to prove yourself and I expect big things from you!’

?Th-thank you, Professor...’ Flint said as she dried her tears, smiling. ?Let’s hurry on, then!’ she yelled as she started flying to her next target.

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Flint wasted no time as she floated above a sidewalk, watching a 17-year-old girl strut down the street. She was dressed like Rayne, a sexy vampire killer from the BloodRayne videogame series. It was quite a revealing costume; her breasts were practically spilling out of it, and you could easily tell that she quite pleased with how she looked in it.

Right away, Flint could see into her personality. She was a superficial girl that prided herself on her good looks. And she was on her way to a party filled with girls just as superficial as she was... but Flint only needed her.

?Whoo! Lookin’ good, Rachel!’ a guy dressed as a ninja said as he crossed paths with her. And he wasn’t the only one... nearly every teenage boy that she crossed paths with gave her a similar compliment.

Flint rolled her eyes and unceremoniously clapped her hands together and opened them, releasing the magic needed to set off her next transformation.

Rachel squeaked as she felt her clothing squirm. ?Heeheehee...haha...hahahahaha!’ she laughed as it started to tickles her skin. She fell to the ground and rolled around, ending up behind a bush.

The leather that the top part of the costume was made of, as well as the part that went around her crotch, was now pink a fuzz. The parts that had covered her legs had become pink stockings, and her high heels had become red sneakers.

When the costume stopped changing and Rachel was able to stop laughing, she looked down at her costume in shock. To torso of the costume had puffed out, and now displayed a smiling face: the face of Nintendo’s Kirby.

She saw her reflection in a nearby window. ?Oh my God! I-I... I look ridiculous!’ she squeaked out as she tugged on pigtail she now had hanging off the side of her head. Then she felt her skin crawl again.

?Oh no! Wh-what’s happening to me now?!’ she exclaimed. She didn’t have to wait long... for a moment later, a brilliant flash of light made everything go white. When her eyes refocused, and she could see her reflection again, she let out a high pitched yelp. For in the reflection there was now an adorable 5-year-old girl.

?There you are!’ a voice called out. Rachel turned and found it to be the voice of her father. ?Don’t you ever run away from me like that!’ he barked as kneeled down and hugged her. ?Now let’s get back to Trick or Treating before all the other good little boys and girls take it all!’

He placed the handle of a plastic bucket in her hand. But she dropped it, ?N-no! I wanna go home! I wanna go home now! I don’t wannabe seen like this!’ she yelled, stomping her feet in an angry tantrum. Her father groaned a picked her up, ?That’s it... I think you’ve earned yourself a spanking young lady!’ he fumed as he carried flailing body to a private spot to do administer the punishment.

Professor Eve appeared behind Flint, ?Well done! Well done, indeed!’ she applauded. ?Pride has most certainly been replaced by modesty. She won’t want to flaunt that body for quite some time.’

Flint smiled and gave a little bow to her, but suddenly straitened herself in shock as she realized she was running out of time. ?Uh oh! I better hurry!’ she exclaimed as she fluttered off again.’

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Throughout the next hour, Flint was quite busily working through her exam, going so fast that Professor Eve could barely keep up with her. She got through the Gluttony, Envy, and Lust parts of the test quite easily.

She happened upon 30-year-old man that was about to drink himself into a coma at a bar. And after diving into his mind, she found that he did it quite frequently. So, she used her magic to change his reality to that of a 3-year-old boy and reconfigured his wife into his new mother. A doting mommy that would now moderate what her little boy guzzled down on a daily basis.

Soon after that, she spotted a 12-year-old boy trick-or-treating with his parents as they pushed his 2-year-old sister along in a stroller. Flint could see that he was clearly annoyed that his sister had gotten a lot more candy than him, simply because she was so, very adorable. Before they even reached the next house, there were 2 so, very adorable 2-year-old girls being pushed by their parents. One of them didn’t seem to care too much for candy any more... and, at least from Flint’s perspective, didn’t seem to envy her sister at all now.

And Flint found her Lust target quite easily as well... 2 teenagers that just couldn’t wait to get into each other’s pants decided to take advantage of the fact that the girl’s parents wouldn’t be home Halloween night. Not only did they soon find themselves under the babysitting services of a 13-year-old girl that lived across the street, but that the diapers they now had to wear were quite adepts at chastising them.

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Flint was feeling winded, but knew she could not slow down... she only had a few minutes before her time was up. And she still had 2 people to go!

She was finding it hard to concentrate on her next target, because the prospect of completely flunking this examination was slowly shaping to be a reality. If only she had more time! She was just about to have a fit, when she heard a commotion nearby.

?Give it to me!’ she heard a gruff voice say. ?Give it to me, or I’ll slit your throat, old lady... I swear I will!’ Flint gasped and zoomed towards the noise.

She ended up a small house at the edge of the neighborhood. The door was wide open, and a burglar was standing over an old woman. ?No! No! This ring was my husbands! You can’t have it!’ she screamed out, terrified.

?Have it your way, you stupid, old hag!’ he said as he lunged at her with the knife. But before he made his strike, he went stiff and fell over beside the old woman. His body was shaking violently as it shrank, his clothes changing with him.

The old woman stood up, looking perplexed. What was she doing on the floor? Why was her door open? Her mind was given a answer that was satisfactory as she looked down at the 4-month-old baby sleeping on the floor.

?That’s right...’ she said to herself. ?I was tending to that baby that was left on my doorstep...’ she knelt down and picked him up, cradling him in her arms. ?Who would dress a child up as a burglar on Halloween, and leave him on my doorstep; And with a plastic knife, no less!’

She cuddled the baby closer to her chest. ?I need to find out whom you belong to... but if they left you on my doorstep...’ she sighed. ?I suppose they’re not the right people to raise you... and you’ll probably end up in a foster home.’

?Oh... duh!’ thought Flint as she slapped her own forehead. She then cast another spell that slowly changed the old woman and the environment around her. Soon, it was a young, pretty 25-year-old woman cuddling the baby boy, in a house with modern furnishing.

?Oh, look at my cute little baby boy... fast asleep in his little Halloween costume!’ she giggled and placed him in a playpen that had appeared in the corner. ?Don’t really know why I dressed you as a burglar though... my little boy is going to be a rich, successful businessman someday!’

Flint sighed, ?Well... at least I took care of the Wrath section of the test...’

Professor Eve appeared in front of her. ?Hello, Flint!’

Flint looked up at her, with big, sad eyes. ?I-I’m sorry Professor Eve...’

?For what?’ she asked, puzzled.

?For not living up to your expectations of me...’ she looked away as her Professor giggled. ?Flint... I’m passing you!’

Flint looked up, ?But... but I missed one of the essential Sins... I missed fixing someone’s greed...’

Professor Eve smiled, ?No you didn’t... you just got a burglar that was about to kill an old lady AND steal her belongings... he was acting on both greed and wrath. And from the looks of things, you have cured him of both. I mean, at least temporarily... no telling how he’ll change as time progresses. Anyways, you attempted all 7 parts of the exam and successfully completed 6 of those parts. So... you pass! Congrats!’

Flint’s expression slowly changed from one of sadness to complete and utter joy as she flew forward and hugged her teacher tightly, ?Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!’

Professor Eve giggled and hugged her back, ?So... what would you like to do to celebrate?’

Flint gazed down upon the trick-or-treating that was still going on down below. ?Well...’

Professor Eve sighed, ?Really?’ she thought it over for a second, ?Fine, fine... let’s go Trick-or-Treating then!’

Flint giggled as they both cast a spell to transform themselves into 8-year-old, human versions of themselves, dressed up in fairy costumes.

?C’mon!’ said Eve as she began lowering herself to the ground. ?I bet I get more candy than you!’

?Nuh uh!’ exclaimed Flint as she followed after her friend, giggling as she thought of all the fun that would be had.

 

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