//------------------------------//
// Chapter Eight 
// Story: PonyProse II - Winds of Change 
// by PonyProse 
//------------------------------//

Colours. A vibrant swirl of colour was all he could see, without form or definition. It had started with a spiral of black and red that seemed to come from a distance, before growing to fill his entire field of view. Now he was suspended in a void of light. He looked around and discovered that he had no body; he was but a point in this ever-shifting world of shapeless hues.

Sounds. From everywhere at once he heard a sound so familiar, it was like a memory. A whistling, screeching sound. It didn't take him long to place it as the red-and-black swirl's sound as it had whizzed through the air towards him. After that though he remembered nothing, save for this bizarre, dimensionless space.

Feelings. Suddenly he could sense something soft supporting the body he didn't have. It was warm, and comforting. Another soft thing lightly covered the front of his body, as if he was lying down in a bed. He didn't know what to make of these sensations, given that he clearly had no body and was not anywhere near a bed.

The world of colour dimmed suddenly, becoming nothing but a gradient from black to white. The intermediary gray surrounded him, with blackness off in one distance and brightness off in another. He felt a gentle tugging towards the light, and as the tug rapidly accelerated into a rushing force, propelling him along at what may have been a great speed, he heard a quiet voice in his non-existent head:

One day, Wonderwhy, but not yet. One day, not yet.

Then the brightness was upon him and he shot through.

The total darkness following the blinding light surprised him. He tried to open his eyes but something soft was tied around his head. It took him a moment to realise that he even had a head again. Experimentally he sent out instructions to shift his legs, one by one, and three of them responded. A head and three legs, he thought, that's not a bad start. What else have I got here?

He could rotate his head through a small arc, meaning he had a neck, but the narrow limit of movement was interesting. He tried to shrug his shoulders, and again was met with limited success. A tail twitch was achieved even though he had attempted a full-on swish. So, everything is accounted for except one leg. Could be worse I guess.

Then he started remembering. The mountain star, the prison, Celestia and Sky and... Temporal! What had happened to the Prince? The last thing he remembered was the earth mare telling him to be careful before he went back to help the Princess. Guess I messed that up somehow, he mused as he unsuccessfully tried to move his back left leg again. This time it hurt, and then without warning everything hurt.

His involuntary groan provoked a commotion off to his right. The sound of hooves on a wooden floor was pleasant confirmation that wherever he was, he wasn't alone.

"Bee? Can you hear me?" What better pony to be there with him, too!

"Is that you Sky?" he asked as he tried to turn his head to the right. By now he had established that he was indeed lying down in a bed, flat on his back. He was unable to fully rotate his head to face the voice he'd heard, nor was he able to stop his head from sinking into the pillow.

"Yes! Oh Bee, you're awake! Does your leg hurt much?"

"Ha, I think so, but I can't tell what exactly is hurting right now. I think everything is." He winced as his back twinged along its whole length. "Wow, how long have I been lying flat like this? My wings are so numb I can't even feel them." He stopped smiling partly because his face was now hurting too, but mostly because Sky didn't respond. "What's wrong? Haven't you ever had numb wings? Of course you normally lie on your side when you sleep, as do I, but wow this is incredible. I can't get them to move at all, I can't feel them in the slightest."

"Your wings aren't numb, Bee. They're not... anything, anymore."

He stopped smiling altogether. He rolled onto his right side as much as he could to face his sister and to expose the middle of his back. Gingerly, he slid a foreleg over his back, as far as he could without his shoulder hurting too much. He remained silent when he found nothing on his back at all, apart from two small areas of very rough skin. He cleared his throat.

"Ah. I see." He could remember the searing pain he'd felt as his wings disintegrated at the prison. Still unable to remember anything after that mare had wished him luck, he could only assume that his wings hadn't managed to stop disintegrating. Sky jumped slightly as he exhaled sharply. "Well, at least I still have my leg, right?" He finally managed to get some movement out of the damaged limb.

"Oh Bee," his sister whispered as she rested her head in front of his to nuzzle him gently. "Wait, does that hurt your face?"

"Wow, my face is broken too?" He lifted a hoof to his head and carefully felt around. Everything seemed intact, although there were many small cuts and grazes, and he couldn't tell what was going on beneath what he now knew to be a thick bandage strapped around his head. "Is this here for any particular reason? Can I get rid of-"

"Wait," came an unexpected voice from further away. Bee's ears twitched.

"Princess?" Slightly heavier footsteps crossed the room. "What's wrong with my head such that I have to have this on? And where are we?"

"You're home Bee," Celestia replied, now at his bedside too. "This is your own bed, at the School." Some mild creaking and shuffling indicated the Princess was seating herself on the floor next to Sky. "What do you remember?"

"Um... you were holding off your brother, and... I was escorting the earth mare away from the prison. Sky met us on the way in her Elemental transform, then she left to prepare the final spell to release your sister." He paused. "The earth mare bid me farewell as I started back to the prison to help you... and that's it," Bee finished, conceding defeat. "I can't remember anything after that. So did we win?"

"Thanks to you we did," the Princess replied. "You were wonderful. It's such a pity that you had to... pay so highly."

"You mean my wings and my leg?" Bee tried to shrug again; it wasn't easy with his constant all-body ache. "I can get used to that. I think. I mean flying is great and all, but as long as I have three good legs I can still get around, right?" It wasn't hard for Sky and Celestia to detect the false bravery in his voice. He would probably be more upset over the next few days, once it had all had a chance to sink in. "Is my leg facing the right way now at least? Hehe, the earth mare pointed that little quirk out."

"I saw to it that you were tended to by the finest medical hooves in Canterlot," said the Princess softly, "it's the least you deserved. Your leg will always be problematic but it looks unremarkable, as will your back in time." She drew a sharp breath before continuing. "There were some things, however, for which no treatment could be found, and the extent of which we do not know. We are learning their full extent now as you do."

"Hmm. Such as?"

"By now you should have noticed the-" Her sentence was interrupted by a series of coughs from Sky that were receding into the distance. "We had some refuse in a box just outside your room, collected from various kitchens around Canterlot. Sky opened it when you woke up, as per the doctor's instructions. She's just gone to dispose of it now." A sigh. "It seems you have not retained your sense of smell."

Bee's head sank back onto the pillow.

"Great. I thought something was wrong when you said this is my room. I can always smell that funny 'old book' smell around here, but now..." He flared his nostrils experimentally. "Nothing." He gave his nose a quick rub. "Anything else I should know about?" He tapped the bandage on his head.

"You suffered the brunt of my brother's final attack with your head. The Elements of Harmony suggested that you may be unable to smell once recovered..." The end of the statement was a long time coming. "Or see."

Bee gently massaged his scorched forehead with the back of his hoof. He was almost fresh out of feigned bravado by now. He was putting a brave face on for the Princess and for his sister, who'd just returned from her rubbish run by the sounds of things, but he wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. I'll have time to ruminate on all of this, he thought to himself, but now I need to be strong.

"So what do I actually have left, exactly?" he said with a small laugh. "No wings, one leg of limited use, a senseless nose... and now my eyes might be useless too?"

"What you have left is your life, your sister, and your world," Celestia listed off. "I'm hoping you find that adequate compensation," she said with a low chuckle for the benefit of Bee who couldn't see her smile. "You have Brightsky to thank for your life, as well as the earth mare. They donated some of their bodies' life essence to restore yours. Your soul is your own, but technically your body is a blend of theirs." At this Bee extended a foreleg as far as his tender shoulder would allow. Sky shuffled forwards and nudged the proffered hoof with her muzzle.

"Guess I owe you one Sky," Bee said gently. "And that mare. It'd be so disappointing if I've gone blind, I was hoping to see her again in daylight and without a dust storm or a raging alicorn hogging my attention." He smiled broadly. "If I'm honest she didn't look that bad given the circumstances, in daylight I'm sure she's even-"

"What, exactly?" The question and accompanying chuckle startled Bee, his sudden twitch making his body hurt anew. "Relax, you big klutz, it's just 'that earth mare' who so happened to save your flank. Well, you did save mine first, so, call it even."

"H-how long have you been here?" spluttered Bee, suddenly going noticeably red.

"For every single one of the three days you've been sleeping off your big night out." Gentle hoofsteps crossed the room, stopping at the bedside. "You really had us worried for a while. Well, not me obviously, I know exactly what tough stuff you're made of thanks to me." She chuckled again before whispering, "I'm glad you're alright though, I never got to say thank-you properly." She rested a hoof on his shoulder before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Right, now you owe me."

"I'll keep that in mind," Bee said with a renewed broad smile. "I'm guessing your name isn't Earth Mare."

"Duh," she said with a laugh. "Valorous. Before you say anything, yes, it is a bit more like a stallion's name than a mare's but I like it. I think it fits."

"No no, it's fine," Bee said quickly, "great in fact. Very fitting. But you do realise my name isn't in fact Klutz, right?"

"Eh, I dunno. That seems fitting, too." Bee couldn't help but laugh. "Besides, I can't call you 'Bee' anymore. Well I could but it doesn't fit very well."

"Oh?"

"Obviously. You've got your sister and me in you now, remember? Your sister looks new too; the Elements restored her body to what it was going to be before they got involved. They wanted to restore you too, but, there wasn't anything left after the Prince was done. We had to start almost from scratch." Bee considered his next question carefully.

"Well, in case my eyes are now useless, what are your exact colours in daylight? I registered some different shades but the only colour I can think of is blue."

"Well that's good, I am largely blue. Princess, what would you say?"

"Hmm. Your coat is either a moderate cobalt blue, or a brilliant sapphire, depending on the light. Your eyes are... a luminous, vivid hue of cerulean," she described as thoroughly as she could for Bee's benefit. "Your mane and tail are part light gray, and partly a darker, moderate blue." Figuring Bee would also be interested to know what his sister now looked like, the Princess continued. "Brightsky, turn around so the sunlight catches you better through the window... yes, there we go. Your coat is a solid white, while your mane and tail are partly the same luminous vivid cyan that half of your coat used to be. The remainder is equally luminous and vivid, but a darker, stronger blue." With a subtle laugh she finished, "Your eyes are the same though; that intriguing, strong orangey shade which is almost brown."

Bee had been nodding away throughout the speech, trying his best to picture these descriptions.

"Oh, and I'm a unicorn now," Sky chimed in, "like I was supposed to be all along."

"And me?" Bee asked. "If I can't see, I'd like to know what I look like too."

"For starters, you're more refined than you were," Valorous said. "You're still tall but not as tall as the Princess. Your mane is kind of a mess to be honest, but your tail is more restrained than it was. Not as bushy." She added quickly, "It all works well together, don't worry."

"And my colours?"

"A fine blend of these two fine young ponies," Celestia said with a smile at Sky and Val. "Your coat is similar to the sort of blue you see in permanent mountaintop ice, while your hooves, mane and tail are a brilliant version of the blue you usually see in cornflowers."

"I would have said it's a sort of purple," Sky mumbled.

Bee drew a deep breath and whistled it out.

"Wow. So, now what am I to do? I don't think I'm in any fit state to continue my researching for you, Princess, but I'll go mad if I have to stay in bed."

"Well, I know you love what you do, but I of course understand that you need some time off to recuperate. You remember you sent that letter to one of your friends down in Ponyville about a week ago? Basstrot, wasn't it? I've heard through Saving Grace that he and your other acquaintances have already found you a place to live in Ponyville. I'm recommending you go and spend some time in the fresh country air, to be with your friends, and to continue your research at a more relaxed pace."

"I helped too," Val said cheerily. "I've always been a bit... uh, troublesome, shall we say? I live down in Ponyville too, and Gracie often helps me out if I'm in a bit of a pickle."

"Wait, you know Saving Grace? And you call her Gracie?" Bee was surprised. Saving Grace was a unicorn mare who had been stationed in Ponyville for some time. She was a sort of experimental Royal Guard representative posted to the town by Celestia a while ago, to be a first-response protective spell caster should anything dramatic arise before the Royal Guard could arrive to sort it out. This duty made her a very serious individual, and Bee's years of knowing her while she'd lived in Canterlot made it almost unthinkable that she'd let anyone call her 'Gracie'.

"Of course! As Ponyville's resident guard or whatever, she's nearly always rescuing me from my more... eventful outings. Although I must say even she would be impressed at where I managed to end up three days ago."

"To help you cheer up," Celestia said as she walked closer to the bed, "I've left some tickets to the forthcoming Grand Galloping Gala on your table here. Take them with you to Ponyville and invite your friends along."

"Thanks," Bee mumbled.

"What's up?" Sky queried.

With a huff, Bee raised both forelegs to remove the bandage around his head. He heard all three ponies by his bedside draw breath, no doubt to advise him otherwise.

"I need to know everypony," he said quickly before any protestations came forth. Silently he fumbled with the bandage until it slipped off his head and dropped to the floor. Celestia, Sky and Val held their collective breath as the stallion's eyes slowly eased open. Once similar to his sister's eyes, they were now a grayish aquamarine. With a blank and emotionless expression on his face, his eyes swept across the room. If he was able to see, he was looking out of his bedroom window, then at Val who was returning his stoic countenance. His gaze shifted to Celestia and his sister, without ever giving away any clues as to whether his sight had been spared or not.

Finally, as his head turned to the right, he directly looked at the Gala tickets on his bedside table. Next to them was a little teacup, filled to the brim with dirt. A freshly potted flower stood proudly in the soil, having been set there as a little get-well gift from Sky. The glorious orange bloom stared right back at Bee's unflinching face.

"Marigold," he whispered as he suddenly cracked a broad smile. "My favourite."