//------------------------------// // Ch. 1-1: New Faces // Story: Changing Odds // by Melody Brush //------------------------------// Part One Summer Nightmares Chapter One New Faces Dear diary. There's only a week left before the Summer Sun Celebration, and the whole town is getting set up for the arrival of Princess Celestia, which is quite an occasion for the ponies, and I am proud to be a part of it. This holiday also marks the second celebration since I moved to Ponyville, and the first time they've held it here in town in a long time, as I understand it. I'm so excited and terrified at the same time! I'm excited because I get to be a part of an enormous pony event, but the princess herself will be here, which means there'll be guards all over the place, and if they discover who I am, I'll need to make a run for it, or they'll take me away! I hope it won't come to that; I love this town and every pony in it, excluding the ones like Buck Rogers who've been picking on my new friends and me for the last two years. Buck Rogers is a pony who acts like a rich snob who's better than everypony else, and if you so much as cross his path, he'll snap at you faster than a snap turtle. He's so bad that we made kind of a joke about it. Whenever something annoying or anything that gets us frustrated happens, we say "buck rogers!" as if it was a substitute for "horsefeathers" or "horse apples." Jet's the one who started it, and it gets on Rogers nerves, which makes us smile, so we keep it up. Anyway, I need to get some sleep. Jet and I have to get up early tomorrow to help get a few clouds rearranged for the day. Good night. Zuro signed and finished his diary before he put it away on a small shelf built into his desk in his bedroom. The room was lightly decorated with a few pictures here and there on the walls. A portable mirror stood on the right side of the desk, and on the other side of the room was a bed covered with a single blanket and pillow and was well made. He got up from his desk and trotted over to the bed, letting his pony form die down as he hopped onto the blankets as he let out a happy sigh. The bed was a lot more comfortable than sleeping on a bunch of leaves and animal fur piled on a stone floor. He did not miss living in the Desolute Zone beyond the western border at all, but he did miss his family all the time. About a month after Zuro moved Ponyville, his father began making regular visits to check up on him and give him reports on how things were going back home. Anorum was a nervous wreck, thinking about her first child endlessly and what may happen to him. Gnator was deeply upset with Zuro's decision to leave and started spending more time away from the castle and with new friends, more often causing trouble for others than anything else. Dili was as cheerful as ever for her big brother, even though she did not see him anymore. She did miss him, but for the most part, she was happy for him. Vitam showed fear for his son; however, he was willing to let things go, knowing full well all must move on in life. Apart from his immediate family, the hive also found a new monarch. A changeling named Chrysalis was named Queen of the Changelings and immediately began leading the hive with an iron will. She inspired loyalty in her subjects and began building up a new order to lead them out of starvation. Oddly enough, she had no ties to the royal family or high council, and no one had ever heard of her before. How this random changeling became queen in these times was beyond anyone's guess, but it is what it is. Zuro was concerned about Gnator. His younger brother looked up to him as a role model and wanted to be like him, but since Zuro left, Gnator had been degrading in morality and the standards they grew up with. He smiled when he thought of his little sister and admired her sweet, gentle, and high spirit. She always was a highlight in his life, and he loved her so much he would not think twice in calling himself her guardian if the situation called for it. And every time his father would leave for home, Zuro would tell him to tell his mother he was alright, and he can take care of himself now. Zuro lay on the bed staring at the ceiling with his thoughts swimming around his new life. He reached over to a clock placed on a nightstand next to his bed and turned on the alarm for six o'clock in the morning. He placed the clock back on the stand, then lay his head on the pillow of his bed when he almost instantly fell asleep. ~~)oOo(~~ The town was low with activity this early in the morning, except for the pegasi, who worked with the clouds. One mare, in particular, was very good at clearing the sky. She could clear the clouds in just ten seconds flat, having proven that to Zuro when they first met shortly after getting a job as a cloud wrangler. Zuro opened the door to his new home and was met with a 'hey Guard' and a hug from a bright red pegasus stallion with black mane with a white stripe through it. Zuro returned the hug as he sensed the love of a brother coming from Jet Blast. "Hey, Jet!" Zuro laughed. The two let go of each other and hoof bumped. "Did you sleep well last night, Guard?" Jet asked. Zuro smiled at his nickname. He did go by his birth name when he first came into town, but a few short weeks after moving in, the two got themselves in a bit of trouble with some wild woodland critters, and Zuro saved Jet's life. Multiple times after that, Zuro helped save Jet's life and the life of others, nearly losing his own life in the process, but his actions earned him the title, Guardian, and Jet never let the name die. "Yes, I did," Zuro answered. "How about you?" "Great!" Jet answered. Zuro closed the door to his home, and the two took to the skies to begin their workday. "Hey, guess what," Jet asked. "What's up?" Zuro replied. "Guess." Jet persisted. Zuro thought about it for a minute before his mind trailed to the celebration coming up. Ponies near and far would be coming to see the princess raise the sun. Quite possibly, Jet had some friends or family he wanted him to see. "You have friends coming over for the celebration?" He asked. "Yup." Jet answered. "My cousin, Angel is not only coming for the celebration, she's moving in! I think you'd like her." "Really?" Zuro asked. "Yup." Jet replied. The two flew towards Cloudsdale, the large cloud city in the sky not far from the small, peaceful town. They flew in through the streets that were filled with pegasi flying around as they started their day. Up ahead at the other end of the great city was a large factory generating clouds through chimneys, rainbow streams fell from the edge of the great cloud as the factory was settled right at the end of the city, and some pegasi were packing clouds to be spread to other locations in the land while others began moving the clouds towards the town below. "Y'know, Guard," Jet called, "I'll never get over how amazing this city is!" "Maybe you should move here, then," Zuro stated as they landed in the factory. "Nah. Who would I have to save my flank when I'm feeling mischievous?" Zuro shook his head as he rolled his eyes up. "You two planning on getting into trouble again?" Zuro and Jet stopped and turned around to find a cyan-blue mare with a rainbow mane and tail landing behind them. "Hey, Dash!" Jet called as he hoof bumped the weather manager. "Hello, Rainbow Dash," Zuro added as he raised his hoof up to her. She took it in one hoof and bumped it with her free one. "You bump hooves like this, Guardian." She said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Ah, don't be rough on him. He'll never change." Jet said. Zuro smiled sheepishly at his best friend's words. I certainly hope I don't have to. He thought to himself. "Why would we want him too?" Rainbow asked. "Now, c'mon! We've got work t' do, and we have newbies to train!" With that, the three took off to begin setting the weather for the day. They flew over to a batch of clouds hovering over the city, waiting to be carried off to there scheduled places above the town below. Zuro and Jet Blast began to move the clouds as they normally did. "hold up, boys," Rainbow called. The two stallions both looked to their manager with a curious expression on each of their faces. "The new recruits aren't here yet. I wanna see what they know." Zuro gave his head an understanding nod while Jet just shrugged. They waited there for several minutes with nothing to do, and Rainbow refused to start the workday until the new recruits arrived, which set them back quite a bit. "Um... excuse us?" Came a voice that pulled the three from there own worlds. Hovering a few feet away from the trio was a green pegasus mare with brown main and tail shying behind a grey stallion with buzzed mane and a short tail. Both were young, more so then Zuro and both looked nervous, the mare more than the colt. "We're looking for Rainbow Dash...?" The stallion said. "You're the new recruits?" Rainbow asked. "... yes." The stallion answered with a nervous nod of his head. "About time, you're late!" Rainbow stated flatly. "Rainbow, let's not be harsh on them," Zuro told Rainbow calmly. "They are new, after all." He turned to the two with a smile on his face. "My name is Zuro, this is Rainbow Dash," he gestured to the cyan mare, then to the red stallion, "... and this is my best friend, Jet Blast." "I'm Grey Gale, and this is my little sister, Rose Peddle." The stallion replied as he gestured to himself and the mare behind him. Zuro smiled at the amount of love flowing between the two, it made him think of Dili. "I have a younger brother and sister myself." He said with a smile. "They don't live here, though." Rainbow flew in to stop what she knew would delay them further. "Okay, Guardian, you can socialize with your new friends later. Right now, we have work t' do." With that, the manager began barking orders to the four pegasi, and their workday began, and it was going to be a long one at that. ~~)oOo(~~ Zuro was now alone on a cloud hovering over the edge of the Everfree Forest just outside of town, where he could relax in his changeling form. The day was long, with Grey Gale and Rose Peddle. The two knew nothing about cloud wrangling, and it was getting on Rainbow and Jet's nerves. Rainbow chewed them out a few times, and Zuro was afraid he would need to jump in and stop Jet from tackling somepony. Zuro lay on his lone cloud alone and deep in thought about his family and hive. Dili would be turning five soon, and from what his father told him, she had gotten very good at changing to ponies. Maybe he could arrange things so she could come and visit him for a few days. He was concerned for his younger brother, Gnator. Lately, they have been hearing less and less from him. He had just turned fourteen in the past few weeks, and ever since Zuro left, his bother had been growing more and more separate from his family. Zuro spent so much time lost in thought he barely had time to change to his pony form before the two ponies he just felt coming his way got to close. He quickly positioned himself on his back, tucking his hooves under his head and closed his eyes to give off the appearance he was just relaxing. He felt a level of love between the two and heard the sound of flapping wings growing closer. "There you are, Guard!" Came the voice of Jet. Zuro opened his eyes and looked up to see Jet hovering with a mare beside him. She was a light blue with deep blue mane and tail, and white wings for her cutie mark. "Angel, this is Guardian." Jet said as he gestured to his friend, who was looking at them upside-down. "Guard, this is my cousin, Angel Wings." Angel smiled at Zuro as she waved a hoof. "Hey." She said. Zuro turned over on his belly and smiled up at her. "Hello." He said. "Guardian is just what the town's ponies call me. My real name is Zuro." At that moment, he felt a spark come from her. "Why do they call you, Guardian?" She asked. Zuro looked puzzled and turned to Jet. "You haven't told her?" He asked. "Nope." Jet said as he shook his head. "I'm surprised," Zuro said. "With all the times I've saved your flank, I'd think you'd tell everypony you met about me." "You saved Jet?" Angel asked. "Many times," Zuro answered. "Mostly from wild bears he annoyed." "That sounds like my cousin," Angel stated as she rolled her eyes.. "Hey!" Jet cried. Zuro and Angel both laughed at this. Jet protested at first but soon joined in. "Well, I'm starving. What do ya say we go and get a treat?" "I'm game," Angel said. "Sure, let's go," Zuro stated with a proud smile. The three took off back toward the town to spend the rest of the day together. They had a late lunch, or early dinner, exchanging stories and sharing laughs as they enjoyed their meal. Zuro was being well-fed with the steady levels of love coming from each of the pegasi who he spent his time with. When the day was almost done, and Celestia's sun was nearly set, the three said their goodbyes for the day and went their separate ways. Jet left for his new home near Sugarcube Corner, Angel had an apartment at the end of town, and Zuro flew towards his home by the road to the apple farm. Dear diary. Today was pretty average apart from all the new faces I've seen and a new friend I've made thanks to Jet. There were new recruits at work today, and they were a pain. They knew nothing about cloud wrangling and I was afraid I would have to step in, and stop Jet from tackling one of them. He always was a bit short with the slow ones. He always calls that one mare, Ditzy Doo, Derpy Hooves, because of her eyes. She's a bit slow, but she's a nice mare and a great mother. The love between her and her daughter, Dinky, is very strong, it's intoxicating. Jet introduced me to his cousin, Angel Wings. She is very nice, and already I can feel something sparking from her. It may be a fluke, but I find her rather attractive, she's my age, and it's obvious for a changeling she likes me. I'm getting ahead of myself here. I must be at that point where I want somepony to share my life with. My father should be coming over to visit before long, and Dili is turning five soon. Maybe I can have dad bring her over to see me as a birthday present. I know she would love that, and it would be nice to introduce my friends to some of my family. Anyway, the day is out, and I've been asked to help with some of the preparation for the celebration tomorrow, so I better get some sleep. Good night.