Heart Of Fire: You'll Be In My Heart

by Melody Brush

Chapture I: The Changling

The sun was just over the mountain line in the east as it rose to glory, starting a new day for life in Equestria. Just outside of the small town of Ponyville, a single pegasus named Blazing Feathers was out stretching his limbs as his yellow and orange zebra striped coat shined in the sunlight. After several good long stretches he stood on his hind hooves then let his body weight fall forward to the ground, his wings stopped his fall just when he was an inch from hitting his muzzle in the dirt, then he continued his exercising with wing-ups.

After half an hour of working out he got to his hooves and took a moment to look back to his flank at his cutie mark. The single, bright red wing bursting into flames made his eyes tear up as he smiled at it. Turning away from his cutie mark he crouched down low to the ground as he spread his wings. He locked his eyes forward, a big grin of determination on his face. With one swift motion he leapt off the ground, leaving a trail of dust in the shape of a pegasus where he once stood. The wind rushed in his ears as he flew around town three times, the exhilaration of the wind rushing through his ears pumped his adrenaline before going straight up in the sky. He flew well above the cloud line before he stopped in mid air. The air was now cold, but he took in a deep breath with his eyes closed as he soaked in the rays of Celestia's sun.

After a few minutes of sunbathing he looked down. Ponyville was so small it looked like a display set. He smiled then took off toward Ponyville, heading straight for the center of town. As he got closer he saw every-pony going about their daily lives. Every-pony soon looked up to see him speeding in with no sign of slowing. Knowing he had an audience he increased his speed going faster and faster until he got only a few feet from the ground. At the last second he pulled up into a three-sixty loop de loop.

The crowd cheered at the site, it was not often a pegasus took the time to put on a quick show for every-pony. Except for Rainbow Dash, but she was usually just practicing her moves to impress the Wonderbolts and she was out of town in Canterlot for a wedding.

Blazing continued to entertain the crowd with aerial acrobatics, diving and performing every stunt he knew. After several minutes he hovered in place above the town, his breathing labored as he smiled at every-pony.

"Still doing the simple stuff, Stripes?" Blazing turned around to find Rainbow Dash sitting on a cloud.

"Dash," he said with a sigh, "you know I don't like it when you call me Stripes." Ever since they first met years ago as foals Dash always called him Stripes for his zebra striped coat. Most of the time he would put up with it but every now and again he would complain about it.

"Aw, don't be such a cry-foal." Dash replied. "Take it like a stallion." Blazing rolled his eyes and shook his head. She may have gotten on his nerves more often then not, but he still enjoyed her loyal friendship.

"So, how was the wedding?" he asked.

Dash's eyes lit up with excitement. "Best. Wedding. Ever!" She screamed as she jumped off the cloud into the air. "The princess had me do a Sonic Rainboom at the end! And we all fought off an entire army of changelings!"

"Changelings?" Blazing asked, an amused smile on his face. "It sounds like you guys had your hooves full. Why don't you tell me everything at Sugar cube? Cupcakes are on me."

Dash didn't answer right away, she looked like she was considering the offer. "Okay, but just one. I need to go practice some new moves for the Wonderbolts." With that, the two flew off.

The two pegasi left Sugar cube Corner laughing about how Princess Cadence and Twilight escaped the caves by tausing the bouquet at Queen Chrysalis' bridesmaids.

"Oh sweet Celestia," Blazing said, "that must have been a good day for you, Dash."

"Good?" Dash replied. "It was awesome! I only wish you could have been there to get some of the action." Blazing chuckled at Rainbow's enthusiasm.

"I didn't miss much, Dash. The Changelings came here that day. Spark showed up and had Ditzy gather all the pegasi and had them bring the thunder clouds at the edge of the forest." Dash smiled.

"That's awesome!" She said. Blazing nodded. "Well, thanks for the cupcake, Stripes. I need to go and work on my moves." Blazing blinked at the nick name, but shook it off.

"Break a leg, Dash." Blazing said. Rainbow saluted the yellow stallion, then took off into the air. Blazing smiled as he watched his friend fly off.

Now, what to do? He asked himself. He thought about things he did not do in the last month. I haven't been to the forest lately. Blazing liked to venture into the Everfree Forest now and again. It gave him an opportunity to see the only one he knew who had stripes like him.

"To the forest it is, then." He said to himself taking flight toward the Everfree Forest.

In the forest, when he was in the air, he flew low to the ground to avoid getting tangled in the vines of the trees. After a while of venturing through the forest he heard a sound coming from the bushes. He would of mostly ignored it, but it was not just the sound of a creature sniffing its way around. It was the sound of some-pony crying.

"Hello?" he called. There was no reply, but the sound did not stop. He followed the sound to a bush big enough to hide a pony. He slowly walked over to the bush, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that might attack him. "Is some-pony there?" he called again. The crying went silent, but he pinpointed where it came from. He reached out his hoof and moved the bush aside. What he saw made his heart stop for a second.

Laying on the ground behind the bush was a changeling. The changeling made no attempt to attack or move in any way, it just stared him in the eye. Blazing's first thought was to run, but he was frozen in place, although not by fear.

The changeling was bruised, covered with small spots of blood stains and had a long cut on the side. It’s wings were bent out of shape, apart from having all the holes in them and her eyes were filled with sadness and a slight hint of fear.

"Well?" The changeling said in a female voice. "Are you going to try to attack me, or run away from me?"

Blazing did nothing, his mind split in two. This was a changeling, a creature known for changing its shape to a pony you care for and feed off your love for them. But this changeling appeared hurt and unwilling to fight. She could be playing a trick on him to regain her lost strength, or she really was hurt, being here in the middle of the Everfree Forest.

Blazing spotted a tear starting to run down her cheek. That made his heart sink.

"It's okay." He said finally. "I won't hurt you."

The changeling shot a glare and hissed at him, that made him flinch. "You lie!" She screeched. "You ponies fear and hate my kind. And after the events of the past few days every-pony would want to hurt me and ever changeling!"

"I'm not like every-pony else." he replied. She looked at him in confusion.

"You're not a changeling. If you're not like the others, what are you?"

Blazing did not answer, he just looked again at the changeling’s wounds. He reached out his right hoof to her. She cringed at his hoof like it was a small monster about to attack her.

"It's okay." Blazing reassured. "I know some-pony not far from here who can help with your cuts."

The changeling looked into his eyes. "You would help a creature that attacked your kind?"

"You're hurt and need help" he replied. "Take my hoof, I'll help you." The changeling looked at his hoof, then back into his eyes. After several minutes, she turned her head up.

"Get away from me!" She barked.

"Please, let me help you." He pleaded. She shot a glare at him as she hissed.

"Get the hell away from me pony!"

Blazing Spent all night thinking about the changeling in the forest. He had pleaded with her to let him help her, but she refused him. Lost in his thoughts he completely forgot the original reason he went into the forest in the first place and made the trip back home without another word.

He looked over at the clock on the stand by his bed. Six-thirty six. He stayed up all night thinking about the changeling. Frustrated, he got up from his bed and made his way to the door, down the stairs into the living room. He opened the front door at the end of the room and saw that Celestia did not raise the sun yet.

He walked out of the house, closing the door behind him and gazed up at the stars. For a brief moment he saw something fly across the sky. He immediately lost sight of it in the night sky. He could only assume it was Princess Luna and smiled, it was extremely rare for one to see the Princess of the night in her night sky. He smiled at his luck and continued to look at the stars as he waited for Celestia to raise the sun.

Blazing made his way through the forest. He had waited in the cold for Celestia to raise the sun and as soon as first light broke he made his way to the forest. Now he was searching for the changeling. Why am I trying so hard to help her? He asked himself. The changelings tried to destroy, not only Canterlot, but Ponyville as well. So why did he want to help her?

Blazing made his way through the forest until he heard it, the same sound he heard yesterday when he found the changeling. He found the source of the sound in the same bush, but he did not approach it this time. He waited a few minutes before calling out, "Hello?"

"Go away pony!" The changeling shouted. Blazing jumped at the changelings snap, but he did not run.

"I just wanna help." He said. The changeling charged from the bushes. Blazing began to move out of the way but stopped when he saw the changeling had collapsed just at the end of the bush.

Seeing her fall to the ground from her being so weak from her wounds made him want to run up to help her. He slowly made his way to her, jumping at a few of her movements. He got to her side and crouched down beside her as she looked up at him.

"What is compelling you to help me?" She asked. "I just tried to attack you." Blazing looked at her.

"You're hurt. I can't just let some-pony, even a changeling, die like this." She looked at him, confusion in her eyes. "Please, let me help you." The only sound for several minutes was the sound of the forest animals. Blazing held out his hoof to her. "Take my hoof." She stared into his eyes, as if weighing his intentions. Finally, she reached up and took his hoof.

Blazing helped her onto his back and carried her through the forest. "Where are you taking me?" She asked.

"To Zecora. She's a zebra who knows herbs and potions that can help heal you." Blazing tripped over a branch, the changeling nearly fell off his back before he regained his balance.

"Watch where your walking pony!" She snapped.

"I'm sorry." He said, continuing on through the narrow path.

The trek was a good fifteen, twenty minutes before Blazing came to a small hut decorated with masks and other foreign items. The trip normally would have taken Blazing no more then five minutes because he knew the way to the hut from venturing it all the time, but he had precious cargo laying on his back. He walked up and knocked on the door.

"Thank you for your knock." Came an accented voice from inside. "The door has no lock." The changeling looked lost and confused, but Blazing read the rhyme and opened the door. The inside of the hut was just as heavily decorated with masks and shelves stocked with bowls and bottles. In the heart of the main room of the hut was a zebra standing by a cauldron boiling with... something.

Zecora looked up from the cauldron and smiled at the yellow pegasus. "Blazing Feathers, how pleased I am to see you. What is it you wish for me to do?" Blazing smiled at her weakly as he turned to show the wounded changeling on his back. Zecora's face went blank as she saw the changeling. "Oh, a creature of scaly black. Is that a changeling on your back?"

"Yes, and she's hurt." Blazing answered. "I found her in the forest yesterday and..."

"Yesterday, you say?" Zecora interrupted. "Why come here today?"

"She wouldn't let me. I wanted to bring her to you when I found her. I even went with out sleep last night because of it." He looked back at the changeling, who looked surprised at his words.

Zecora walked up to the changeling. When she got close, the changeling glared at her. Zecora stopped and looked at the changeling cautiously. "Child, be of good cheer. I only wish to help you here." The changeling looked at Blazing.

"Does she only speak in rhyme?" She asked him.

"Yes." He answered. "It's one of the reasons I like her." The changeling looked annoyed.

"I think it is annoying." Zecora just smiled at the changeling, waiting for her to let her look at her wounds. The changeling looked around the room, uncertainty in her eyes. After several minutes, she looked back at Blazing then at Zecora, and nodded.

Blazing got to his belly as Zecora helped the changeling off his back. Zecora then gathered many plants and a few bowls and sat them on the floor next to the changeling. She mixed the herbs in the bowl turning the mixture into a slimy blue liquid and rubbed in on the changelings wounds. As Zecora applied the herbal gel the changeling flinched and caused Blazing to jump.

"I apologies. I meant not to make you jolt." Zecora said. "It looks like you were struck by a lightning bolt." Blazing's thoughts immediately turned to the other day when he joined the pegasi in moving the thunderclouds to the edge of the forest. Ditzy came to him saying Spark was back and needed the pegasi. She never said why, but she gave the order and later he found out why.

"Well, that should do." Zecora said, pulling Blazing out of his thoughts. "You are good as new." Blazing looked at the changeling covered in the gel, a few bandages and her wings were straitened with small, light planks.

"Thank you Zecora." Blazing offered.

"No thanks is necessary, I assure you." The zebra replied. "Is there anything more I can do?"

"You can promised me you won't tell any-pony about this." He replied.

"You ask me to help a changeling, this much is clear. But, you wish for no-pony to hear?"

"She still needs help. She's not well enough to go anywhere or do anything, so I'm taking her home so she can heal."

"What?!" The changeling cried, earning herself a jolt of pain that caused her to flinch. Blazing ran down to her side at this.

"Take it easy." He said. She gasped and flinched again at the pain. Blazing looked up to Zecora with a pleading gaze.

"The herbs will heal her for sure," she explained, "but for a while she will be sore."

"I'll take care of her at home, but I will come back with her to check up on her recovery." He said.

"Frequent check ups I will allow, but do be careful. Especially now." Zecora said.

"... and you won't tell?" He asked.

"For the knowledge of the changeling to be concealed, my lips from here on are sealed." She replied.

"Thank you." Blazing turned to the changeling and smiled at her as she stared him down. After he was sure she would not attack him he helped her on his back and started for the door. The door opened and a green earth pony stallion with brown and orange mane and tail came into view. He also had brown zebra stripes like Blazing and Zecora.

"Oh, Forest." Blazing said causing the stallion to jump.

"Blazing?!" He replied. "You have a-"

"... a changeling on my back? Yes." Blazing interrupted. "You can't tell any-pony, even your friends, I'm taking her home."

"Mother, are you helping her, too?" Forest asked as he looked at Zecora. She simply nodded her answer and Forest turned back to face the pegasus. "You have my word."

"Thank you." Blazing said. He then gave his goodbyes and ventured back into the forest with the changeling on his back.