Sunrise frolicked and splashed in the cool, crystal-clear river. The mud that had caked into his mane and fur had washed away to reveal a bright yellow coat and a shining silver mane and tail.
Chrysanthemum and Lucky Day sat at the edge, dipping their hooves in while they watched him.
"Was I like him when I first arrived at the diner?" Day asked.
"Like him how?" Chrys smiled coyly.
"Cold, dirty, and starving? Running away from something awful?"
Chrys hummed quietly. "I think most of us were like that when we arrived. You have more in common with everypony else than I think you like to believe." She lifted a small stone in her chartreuse aura and skipped it across the river. "Why do you ask?"
Lucky Day picked up a similar stone in his hoof and tossed it. The stone landed halfway across and sank straight down. "Look at him: I've never been that happy in my life. A warm blanket, a meal, a bath, and a safe place to sleep, and he's like a brand new pony after one night. Five years and I still feel like I just walked out of the stable." He sighed.
Chrys closed her eyes and focused on her changeling senses. Day's moods were frequently volatile, but she tasted only calm now as she had the night before. She put a hoof on his back and gently soothed between his shoulders; she could feel the tension in his muscles fade under her gentle touch.
He chuckled softly.
"What's funny?"
"Just remembering something somepony told me on my first night outside. I told him about the stable, and he said, 'What a perfect name for a civilized society: Stable. Everything's static, always stays the same, never falls apart, and every day is exactly the same as what came before.' He was right: Nothing and nobody ever changed in there. Everyone was just a replaceable part. When someone died, there was someone else to take their place and everything went on staying the same. And here I am, cog without a machine. I'll never get better because I can't change. I don't know how."
"I think you're better today than you were yesterday."
"What about tomorrow? Or in another year? Or a decade? What if something happens to you or Starry or. . ." He gestured toward Sunrise.
"What if something happens to you?" Chrys countered. "The reason I found Sunrise before the cold got him was because of you. The reason we're here right now is because you could understand him. You've already changed the course of his life just by being out here. You're not replaceable. You can change." She leaned in close and whispered, "I know a thing or two about that, remember?"
"I think it works a little different for you."
"In practice, maybe, but I bet I can adapt the theory for you. Lesson one: What do you want?"
Day thought quietly for a long moment. At length, he shrugged and said, "I want to be happy."
"Okay. Lesson two: do something about it." Chrys stood up and waded a few steps out into the river. She turned around and extended her hoof to Day. He reached out and, hoof-in-hoof with her, waded out to meet Sunrise. "Sunrise, how do you sign 'splash?'" Chrys asked.
The colt grinned deviously as he brought his hoof near the side of his face then swept it down in an arc, sweeping under the water as he did so, and kicking up a spray of water as his hoof came back up in a rapid flourish. Splash!
Chrys turned to Day and repeated the gesture, dousing him in the process.
Day brushed his mane out of his eyes while water streamed down his face. Shaking his head, he sighed. "Okay. But this was your idea." His wings unfurled and curled over, sweeping under the water, they scooped out a wave that came crashing down over Chrys. Her raucous laughter was infectious, and he soon joined her, though in a more subdued chuckle.
After trading splashes a few more times, all three ponies made their way back onto the river bank. Chrys did her best to wring the water out of her long mane, but she knew she'd have to properly brush and style it back into her usual bouncy curls. "Well? Did you feel a change?" she asked.
Day let out a relaxed sigh. "Maybe. I guess your theory is sound, but I'll have to work on the practical application myself."
Sunrise jumped up and started waving. Kijiba is back!
Their zebra friend came trotting into the clearing, towing a small cart behind him. "I have bad news, I'm afraid," he said. "The chief wants you out of the village. But I promised to help you, so I will come with you. We should leave immediately." Chrys was initially reluctant to let Kijiba take the risk alone for them, but ultimately accepted, and the four of them set off through the woods back to Mum's Diner.