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// Prologue: The Beginning 
// Story: Change the Heart 
// by FatesWinds 
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Change the Heart


By FatesWinds

Pre-read and editted by:
nero_33










Prologue
The Beginning
“There is a start to every path, all you need to do is take that first step.” –Wayfinder




The sun shone through the curtains of the room, covering it with the nice warm glow of the morning light. The light spread across the room, eventually reaching the figure laying under the covers of the single king-sized bed. As if sensing the light, the figure shifted slightly, curling under the sheets further; all that could be seen was a glimpse of black and red hair before that too vanished. Undeterred, the light crept up further until the entire room was lit with the glow of the bright and shining sun. Try as the figure under the covers might, eventually the owner of the oddly colored hair had to admit defeat and sit up, yawning loudly. The blue pegasus rubbed his eyes before stretching, working out the kinks in his arms, back and wings. When he had finished he climbed out of his bed and walked over to the sink on the far side of his room, taking his toothbrush out of its holder and began to brush his teeth. After a few minutes of this he decided he had done a satisfactory job, spat out his toothpaste and returned the toothbrush to its holder before washing his face. The pegasus looked up at the mirror and shook his head dry, his black and red striped hair whipping around until it was dried off. He blew a tuft of hair that had fallen down out of his eyes and looked at his reflection, red eyes staring back at him. He studied it for a few moments before turning sideways so that his hip was visible in the mirror, sighing as he looked at his flank.
“Blank as always,” Heart Shield said gloomily. “Why am I not surprised…”
Heart Shield swished his red and black tail – the colors were switched around from his mane; while his hair was black with a single jagged red stripe down the middle, his tail was red with a jagged black stripe running down the center – around before hiding his flank with it. He was bothered by the fact that he was still a Blank-Flank after so many years had passed; he wasn’t a foal anymore after all, so why hadn’t he gotten his cutie mark yet? He didn’t like that he was different from everypony, something he’d had pointed out to him ever since he’d moved to Cloudsdale as a foal. It wasn’t just the blank flank that had made him the subject of many a cruel joke, though that was bad enough. Heart Shield raised his eyes from his hip to his abnormally large wings. These were the first thing everypony noticed and the item that made him the butt of as many jokes as his lack of a cutie mark, and more so they were the reason that he was teased and, though he knew they thought he didn’t know what they said behind his back, the object of some rather rude rumors. He might not have known what was said at all had it not been for Derpy flying to him on one his first days here, cheerily asking him if he was related to the Princesses like some of the other ponies were saying, which he mumbled that he wasn’t and proceeded to attempt to tuck his wings in to appear smaller. It was true that his wings weren’t like other pegasus's, and in fact were, now more than ever, the same in size and appearance as Lady Celestia and Lady Luna’s, but being labeled in cruel whispers as an illegitimate relation of theirs or other alicorns was the reason he tried to hide them every day as best he could.
He quickly tucked them into his body, grateful that they completely hid the fact that he still had no cutie mark, which he considered was the only good thing to come of having those wings, and walked over to the stand by his bed where two items lay neatly on top of it. The first was his newest copy of Daring Do, though it wasn’t the latest one, or even close to it; the second was a checkered black and white wristband, which he slid onto his right wrist just above his hoof. He looked at it, remembering the day he had gotten it.


*  *  *


He was sitting in the bleachers watching the other foals and fillies flying around the course the instructors had made, chewing on the mouthful of apple he had. The light-blue filly, Rainbow Dash, was flying circles around some of the older foals, showing off a little. She’d gotten her cutie mark a little over a month ago and was nothing if not proud of it. A movement on his right alerted him to somepony coming over. Heart Shield looked over and saw a yellow filly, Fluttershy if he remembered correctly, walking over to sit on the bleachers too. He and she hadn’t spoken much during the month-and-a-half since he’d been sent to Cloudsdale; she was as shy as he was around other ponies. He was about to turn back to the others flying around when she spoke up.
“Are you not flying today? U-um, it’s okay if you aren’t I mean,” she asked in a quiet, tentative voice.
“N-no,” Heart Shield replied, shifting his wings nervously. “I-I didn’t want to with e-everypony around…”
“Why not?”
Heart Shield squirmed uncomfortably, reluctant to answer. Derpy was flying by when she heard Fluttershy’s question. She skidded to a halt in midair, flying sideways as she stopped, and flew over to them, hovering in the sky.
“It’s because he’s shy about his wings,” she said, waving at Heart Shield. “Hi Heart Shield!”
“Hi Derpy,” he replied. He almost chuckled; she was always doing that, talking about things in a bubbly cheerful voice, even if it was something that wasn’t at all what somepony would say like that. It was one of the reasons they had become friends.
Fluttershy looked quizzically from him to Derpy. “How come?” she asked. “They’re such a nice pair, I’d be happy if I had ones like them. Ah, y-you don’t have to be though, th-that’s okay too.”
Before Heart Shield could reply, one of the older pegasi came over to them, a tall, red mare whose name he’d never learned. “Heart Shield, there’s somepony to see you. They’re waiting by the rainbow factory for you.”
“Somepony to-?” he began, blinking in confusion.
“-See you, yes,” the pegasus finished, looking down at the foal who didn’t seem to grasp her words. “And I’d suggest you don’t keep them waiting.”
Heart Shield looked confused but nodded and stood up. Derpy tilted her head, “You leaving Heart Shield? I thought we were going to get a muffin after flying practice?” The grey pegasus’s ears drooped sadly.
He looked over his shoulder at his friend, calling out to her, “I’ll make it up to you! Triple of whatever ones you want, on me!” Derpy’s face lit up and she cheered at the news. Heart Shield waved to her and Fluttershy as he followed the mare to the rainbow factory. Who would have come to see him, he wondered. He’d been an orphan back at Canterlot, though it didn’t feel like it. There were plenty of stallions and mares who had taken care of him, but he didn’t think any of them would come all the way to Cloudsdale just to see him. It wasn’t that any of them didn’t like him, he just hadn’t opened up, but everypony still enjoyed raising him until he’d been sent to Cloudsdale to spend more time with fillies and foals his age. Besides, even if somepony who’d looked after him had shown up, they would have sent him a letter, right? He got a few from some of them, but nothing more than news from ‘home’ and well wishes. The mare who’d come to get him wouldn’t tell him who it was, and eventually he stopped asking, letting his wings down gloomily. It took only minutes, partially because he was walking rather than his poor attempts at flying, partially because he hurried to get past some of the foals who made fun of him, but when they reached the factory, he stopped in his tracks, staring at who was talking cheerfully with some of the pegasi working there.
“You wished to see him, Princess?” the mare who’d brought him asked, dipping her legs down in a curtsy.
The alicorn princess, Princess Celestia, thanked the workers for talking with her and turned to face them. She smiled warmly, trotting slowly over. “Yes, thank you,” she said before directing her gaze to the young foal. “Hello Heart Shield, how are you?”
Heart Shield bowed deeply, so low in fact that he bonked his nose on the clouds they stood on. “G-g-greetings, Lady Celestia,” he squeaked, holding his wings tight against his sides. “I-I’m well, th-thank you for asking.”
The princess smiled more and laughed softly. “There’s no need to be so formal, Heart Shield. I apologize if I brought you away from your lessons, but I happened to come by today to request a lovely rainbow for tomorrow over Canterlot and I wanted to see how you’re adjusting to life in the clouds. Come, walk with me please.”
Heart Shield raised his head, looking nervously to the mare who'd brought him, who nodded to him, then hurriedly trotted over to Celestia. He stumbled a little as the tip of one of his wings got under his hooves, but the princess used her magic to keep him from falling over, lightly floating the nervous foal to her side before letting him down, walking slowly with him.
“Careful Heart Shield,” she said to him as they walked, “you’ll hurt yourself if you don’t keep your wings out of your way.”
Heart Shield lowered his head, tucking his wings in at their mention. This action wasn’t lost on Celestia. “Are you still ashamed of those?” she asked softly, slowing to a stop. Heart Shield’s silence was all the answer she needed. “My little pony, we’ve talked about this before. There is nothing to be ashamed of about your wings. They make you a very special pegasus, and you should be proud to present them, not hide them like a turtle in his shell.” Celestia knelt down and nudged one of the wings lightly with her nose.
“They don’t make me special,” Heart Shield mumbled quietly. “They make me different than everypony.”
“But everypony is different, that’s what makes us all special in our own unique way.”
“Then why does everypony make fun of them!” The young foal looked up at the princess, tears lining his eyes. “It’s not enough that I’m the only Blank Flank in Cloudsdale, but I’m also the big-winged freak!” He began to spill everything that everypony was saying about him, how he felt so alone, that if Derpy wasn’t the pony she was then he wouldn’t even have a single friend, how he never practiced flying unless it was night and everypony was asleep. “Please Lady Celestia, can’t you use your magic to give me normal wings?”
Celestia dipped one wing down and wiped his tears with its tip. “That kind of magic, as I‘ve said before, is dangerous, and even if it wasn’t I wouldn’t wish to change the things that make you special. Remember this as your lesson for the day: you are a very special pony, different, yes, but nonetheless special, perhaps more so than any other, and that kind of uniqueness often brings out the jealousy in other ponies. That jealousy is let out as teasing and rumors, but you should never let them bring you down. And as for everypony making fun of your wings or current lack of a cutie mark, well, you said yourself that you have a friend here, and I know that nopony in Canterlot speaks or thinks ill of you.”
Heart Shield nodded and sniffled, reaching up to wipe his eyes. Lady Celestia was somepony he looked up to and respected, and on the few times he’d been to the Grand Galloping Gala, or some times when she’d stop by the house of the family that was taking care of him at that time, she had seemed happy to speak with him; quite often she told him that he was a special pony, and even when he begged her to use her magic to change his wings, she said that she would not do that, explaining as she had today, that they were part of what made him special. Celestia smiled at him and leaned down, putting her wing around him in a hug as she always had when she saw he was upset. If Heart Shield hadn’t known in his heart that there was no relation between them, he might have assumed this gesture was a motherly way of comfort. Nevertheless, he leaned against her side, grateful for her kindness. When she rose up again, she looked at him as if thinking something over.
“Heart Shield, I’d like to give you something that may help you. Think of it as a gift for being a good student here, and for being brave to move to a strange new place where you didn’t know anypony.”
He looked up at her quizzically and nodded. Lady Celestia smiled, her horn glowing softly as she focused her magic. There was a flash of light around his arm as the glow vanished. He looked down, feeling something around it. Above his hoof was a black and white checkered wristband. He lifted up his arm, turning it around from side to side, staring curiously at the sudden appearance of the object before looking up at Lady Celestia.
“It isn’t much, but it’s a magic item that absorbs negative feelings and the mean things other ponies say or do, and amplifies good feelings and the kindness you’ll receive,” she said to him.
Heart Shield’s eyes widened and he stared gratefully at her. “Thank you Lady Celestia!” he said, bowing deeply to her. “Thank you very much!”
Celestia merely smiled at him before one of her royal guards showed up and whispered something in her ear. She nodded at the stallion and turned to follow him, pausing as she looked back at the young foal who clutched the present close to his chest. “I’m afraid duty calls my little pony, and I’ve kept you from your lessons longer than I should have. Hurry back to the other ponies and remember what I’ve said. One last thing before I go, everypony back at Canterlot wished me to tell you they say hello, and that we’re all proud of how well you’re doing here. The next Gala is in a few months, I know everypony would be glad to see you if you attend this year; a ticket should be arriving for you in a couple days.”
Heart shield nodded quickly. “Thank you Lady Celestia, I’ll be sure to come to it. Will… will you tell everypony hello and thanks for me?”
“Of course. Now, you should get back to the others. Until the Gala then.” With those words, Celestia walked with the guard to where her chariot was waiting.
Heart Shield waved goodbye to her, even though she couldn’t see him from where she was facing, and ran back to flying practice.


*  *  *


Heart Shield smiled as he looked at the wristband around his wrist. He knew now that it wasn’t magic, but Lady Celestia’s words had made him believe it was; he didn’t allow himself to be bothered by anything anypony said thanks to it. A knock came from the door to his room.
“I’m coming!” he said, trotting over to open it. He was greeted by a familiar pair of wonky yellow eyes and blond mane. “Hi Derpy, how are you?”
“Heya Heart Shield,” she replied, dropping the scroll that had been in her mouth. “Oops, my bad.”
Heart Shield picked it up and handed it to his old friend. “Are you here for a visit?” he asked. “Or just dropping by from a mail run.”
“I’m on one right now,” she replied, giving him the same scroll he’d just handed her. “Here you go!”
He laughed and took it from her, laying it on his back as he currently had nothing nearby to put it on; all of his things were packed up in the other corner of the room, having just moved into it. “Do you have any time to talk?”
Derpy’s ears drooped. “Sorry Heart Shield, I have to deliver to Ponyville right now. Maybe another time?”
“Fine, but dessert’s on you this time,” he chuckled. “You’re still coming over next week for the Wonderbolts’s race, right?”
She nodded her head so vigorously that when he put his hoof on her head to keep her from hurting herself, he almost swore he saw her eyes roll around. “Thanks,” she told him, shaking her head to steady herself. “I can try, but it depends on how fast me and Rainbow Dash finish moving the clouds for the rain that day.”
Heart Shield nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you there if you can make it, if not I’ll let you know what happens.”
“Thanks Heart Shield!” Derpy waved to him before she took off in the air and flew off.
Heart Shield waved to his friend as she left, slowly lowering his hoof. He sighed and stepped back into his room to take a look at the letter for him. Ever since Derpy had moved to Ponyville, they rarely got to see each other. As much as he put on a brave face and appeared to be doing fine, he missed his friend. Without somepony around to take his mind off of things, and nopony who didn’t look at him strangely for his lack of a cutie mark – everypony had long since gotten used to his wings, though there were still those who poked fun at them – it felt like he was a foal again, only this time there wasn’t a supposedly magical gift to make him feel better. At times he wished he could just go back to Canterlot, but it had been years since he last went, not since Lady Celestia had invited him to that Gala, and the letters from the mares and stallions who had taken turns raising him had long since stopped. He put the scroll on the bed stand and pushed it open. His eyes widened as he read the words on it.
“What?!”