//------------------------------//
// A Chance, A Storm, A Truth 
// Story: A Change in the Wind 
// by Silent Whisper 
//------------------------------//

Ghost awoke to the smell of smoke. In a panic, she scrambled to her hooves, half awake. “Who, what, why-” She mumbled, looking around for the source of the flame before taking a deep breath in. Was that… burnt bacon and sweet peas? Only one pony could possibly make such a horrible choice of things to cook. She sighed and flopped back down on her pillow. “Good morning, Misty,” She sighed, trying not to complain about the smell that would undoubtedly linger for days. 

Misty grinned and waved from the nook that consisted of Ghost’s kitchen. How she managed to burn bacon and sweet peas together into an unrecognizable mush in a microwave was beyond her. Yet, here it was, served on her best plastic dishes. “Good morning, Ghostie-wostie! I made you some breakfast! Hope you like it, cuz that’s all there is!” She split the charred food into two portions and dug in.

Ghost’s ears slicked back as she poked the food with her magic. It wobbled, oh sweet Celestia. “I, um, I mentioned that I don’t eat meat, right?” She inquired, pushing the plate away from her. 

Misty shrugged, halfway through her abomination meal. “Eh, yes, but that half is mostly peas! You can pick out the bacon if you don’t like it, I’ll eat it. And don’t scrunch up your muzzle like that. It isn’t burnt, it’s just dark brown!” She laughed and finished up her plate, much to Ghost’s disgust. With a resigned sigh, Ghost tried a small bite of her meal. Once she got past the abhorrant texture and flavor, it wasn’t too bad.

Misty cleared her throat. “While you’re eating, I wanna run by you the plan I made for capturing the spy.” She pulled out a list, written in crayon. Ghost managed a grimace that slightly resembled an encouraging smile. “Alright, so step one, I’m gonna wait this sucker out. He’ll make a mistake, and then wham-bam, I’ll swoop down and catch him!” 

Ghost rolled her eyes at her friend’s energy. Misty continued, ignoring her. “Step two, I’ll plan out what I’d do if I were the spy. Which brings me to step three, retracing what I’d do around town until I find the spy!” She beamed. “So, what do you think? Does that sound like an actionable plan, or what?”

Ghost cleared her throat. “It sounds… well, first of all, I love your enthusiasm for it. But that may not work. These things take time, Misty. You can’t just expect you’ll happen upon the spy who’s hiding somewhere in San Fransiscolt.”

Misty slumped. “Hey, I know that. I’m not completely naive. I just… this is my last chance, Ghostie. I’ve led the Royal Guards to far too many dead ends. And it’s not just the ponies that are sick of it. My Queen, may the stars shine down kindly on her, has given me way more chances than it should take. If I don’t catch the spy soon, I’ll have to return to the Hive. I-” She sighed, and picked up both dishes in her magic, making them fly through the air and narrowly miss each other.

Ghost tried to reach out a hoof to hug Misty, but she leaned away and shook her head. “I really want to be a scout, Ghostie. More than anything in the world. I want to be good at this, and I want to find that spy before anypony. I have to prove that I’m good enough, or all this goes away, and I get stuck cleaning the bathrooms in the hive, or something equally meaningless.”

Ghost grabbed the dishes from Misty and trotted over to the sink to wash them. “I know how that feels. Sometimes… sometimes things don’t work out, okay? I know little jobs seem like the worst possible thing, but they’re not the end of the world. Besides, these things take more time than a day. I don’t want you tiring out and- oh Celestia above, is that the time?” She gaped at the clock flashing on her microwave. “I’ve got to get to class!”

The changeling sighed as she watched her friend scurry around the apartment, picking up books and notepads and stuffing them into her saddlebags. “I… I’ll probably go too. That spy won’t find itself!” Misty trotted into the bathroom.

Ghost grumbled as she left to go to her algebra class. She knew she was right, so why did that knowledge leave such a bad taste in her mouth?





Ghost sighed as she tossed her back into her apartment. That math class had been boring, almost a waste of time if she weren’t paying for it. She could hardly pay attention during it too. While the class went on about sine and cosine, all Ghost could think about was her disagreement with Misty. Besides, Fundamentals of Algebra was boring as heck. She looked around her home. 

Misty had left while she was gone, and had finished the dishes Ghost had started to scrub. Stuck to a pair of clean plastic plates was a note, written in worse handwriting than Ghost wrote in.

Ghostie,

I’ll be back soon. I just have to try. I don’t want to end up doing nothing with my life. I’ve got to catch them, you’ll see. I don’t have a choice, I just need to try.

-Misty Step

Ghost hugged the note before setting it down to put the clean dishes away. She didn’t have work, so all she could do was wait on her friend’s arrival. She looked over at the pile of dishes and mugs thoughtfully. At least she could get something productive done while she waited.

Dish after dish, mug after mug was scrubbed, rinsed and dried. After every one, Ghost looked at the door hopefully. No Misty. Drat, maybe next dish. She wiped off bowls covered in the remains of ramen, and mugs dusted with dried tea. One by one, she levitated the cleaned dishes and put them away. Still no sign of Misty.

With the dishes cleaned, she grabbed a random book off the stacks and began reading. A Night of Spooks and Shrieks. Hopefully Misty would arrive just in time to cuddle her. Ghost perked up at a sound, and then frowned. It was just the rain, coming down in a cold dreary drizzle. Thunder rumbled outside as she turned a page, barely paying attention to what she was reading.

After a few hours (her clock read 9:38, so perhaps more than a few hours), Ghost finished the book. It wasn’t as good as she expected it to be. The rain was coming down in full force, but still no sign of Misty. Should she go out and search? No, maybe she was just stuck in a shop, waiting for the rain to slow down a bit before arriving. 

Ghost started up a pot of her favorite jasmine tea, and grabbed another book. Saddle Arabia at Sundown: One Mare’s Steamy Journey. A romance book, something Misty would probably love to make fun of, judging by the title. 

She was halfway through the rather exotically descriptive novel when a quiet knock on her door startled her from her reverie. Ghost trotted over to the door and opened it to find a shivering changeling, drenched in freezing rainwater. “I- I had to try, Ghostie,” Misty mumbled as she stood in the doorway. 

Ghost shushed her and hugged her soaked friend, before leading her into her apartment. Misty stood in the middle of the room, dripping and shuddering as Ghost started up a warm shower for her. Sometimes, Ghost thought as she warmed up a towel in her magic, it really sucks to be right.