Sleight woke up suddenly, having fainted during his crazy balloon ride. The magician pony only groaned as he partially got up and rubbed his head… only to come to a joyful conclusion.
"I'm alive?" He gasped, as he checked himself. Seeing no wounds, he let out a cheer. "I'm alive! Thank you, Celestia!"
Standing up, he saw that the storm was over, and that the balloon had been dropped in a dank, unfamiliar marshland.
"Where am I?" He asked nopony in particular. "I have a feeling that I'm not in Baltimare anymore…"
With the balloon destroyed, Sleight had no choice but to get out of the basket, and try to find his way out of the marsh.
Immediately after he got out, he grimaced at the feel of the murky marsh waters under his hooves.
"Eck… of all the places to end up in, it had to be a marsh." Sleight groaned, as he begin to make his way through the waters… only to trip and land face-first into the water.
"Awww, horseapples!" Sleight cursed, his voice making bubbles in the water.
After the small 'trip', he explored the marshlands, as he kept his eyes open for anything that looked familiar to him. Unfortunately, everything seemed so foreign.
"Great, just great." He sighed. "I'm lost, out in the middle of nowhere. Not another pony to be found, and no civilization in sight. Maybe I should've let that big brute rip my head off after all..."
As he continued walking, Sleight found himself in a small forest. As he surveyed his surroundings, he suddenly stepped in some strange purple goo.
"What th-" He struggled to pull his hoof free, but to no avail. "Aw, come on! Does this day have to get worse? Haven't I suffered enough?!"
Sleight looked around. There was no sign of intelligent life anywhere, and the forest didn't exactly look warm and inviting. Sleight didn't want to think about what creatures could be out there, especially once night fell.
"Help!" He yelled. "Anypony out there?! Beloved performer in a conundrum here!"
Suddenly, there was a rustling in some nearby bushes. Sleight trembled in fear.
'What manner of foul creature is that over there?' He thought. 'Let's look on the bright side. Maybe it likes card tricks… but knowing my luck, it's probably lions, tigers, or bears… oh my indeed.'
From out of the bush came a Changeling. It stood apart from other Changelings by a notch in it's ear, and it's web-like mane. It's eyes were different too, being more of a bottle green then the usual blue. Sleight had never encountered a Changeling before, and was suitably unnerved.
"B-back off, pal!" He gulped as the changeling approached him. "I'm warning ya!"
The Changeling did not heed his desperate warning. It looked down at the goo covering his hoof.
"Okay, if you're going to eat me, then make it fast!" Sleight pleaded. "I have a low threshold for pain!"
The changeling merely glanced at the pony, when suddenly, he made a snorting sound, and with a simple 'spatootie', he spat on the trapped stallion's hooves.
"Ugh!" Sleight grunted in disgust. "What the hay is wrong with you?"
However, to his surprise, the Changeling's saliva caused the goo to dissolve, freeing Sleight. Sleight, rather shocked by what happened, gave a sheepish grin.
"Uh, thanks." He said, waving his freed hoof. "Never thought I'd be grateful that somepony spat on me..."
"You're welcome." The Changeling nodded. "That quickstick slime can be quite bothersome. You're lucky that I happened by."
"I'll say." Sleight agreed. "Though I could have gotten out by myself... Anyway, you got a name, pal?"
"Oh sure. I am Sazh Teller, good sir." The Changeling declared. "And you are?
"Me? I am the mystifying and extraordinary Sleight of Hooves, wizard extraordinaire!" Sleight said in his most dramatic voice. However, he quickly realized that he was not in a show. "Er… but I also go by 'Sleight Gambit'."
"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Sleight." Sazh smiled, "It's not often that we get visitors."
"I can see why…" Sleight muttered, look at their eerie surroundings. "Now, if you don't mind my asking, Sazh... where exactly am I?"
"You are in the newfound lands of the Changelings." Sazh declared. "My kind recently emigrated here, having been granted this area by Princess Celestia herself. It certainly beats a dank cave anyday."
"How nice for you." Sleight said dryly.
"However, we do not see many ponies here." Sazh noted. "May I ask how you came to be out here, so far from your homeland?"
"It wasn't by choice, pal." Sleight snorted. "I got sucked up by a twister, and dumped in that marsh back there. I barely made it out with my life."
Sazh did a double take.
"Excuse me, but did you just say that you fell out of the sky?" He asked.
"You could say that, yeah." Sleight nodded.
"Do you happen to come from a long line of great wizards by any chance?" Sazh prompted.
"Boy, do I." Sleight boasted. "In fact, my ancestor was Starswirl the Bearded himself!"
"A wizard with the blood of Starswirl the Bearded... who fell from the sky..." Sazh mused. "I can't believe it! It's the prophecy!"
"The what now?" Sleight asked, confused.
"There is a prophecy amongst my kind." Sazh declared. "I was told of it by an old friend. According to him, a wizard with the blood of Starswirl the Bearded in his veins would one day fall out of the sky and defend the land of the Changelings from a great evil."
"Oookay..." Sleight said, bemused. He had never been one to believe in 'legends' and 'prophecies', and looked down on those who did.
"Oh boy, if you are who I think you are, that must mean… we're saved!" Sazh cheered.
Sleight rolled his eyes at his kookiness. It seemed obvious that he was delusional. The pony started looking around for a path out of the forest, walking past the Changeling. "Look, thanks again for helping me out of the slime, but I think you got the wrong guy here… say, which way is it to the nearest town?"
"Wait!" Sazh gasped, stepping in front of Sleight. "You can't leave! You might be just what we need!"
"I highly doubt that." Sleight snorted as he turned the other way.
"But without you, we might be finished! The prophecy stated that the descendant of Starswirl who had fallen from the skies would defend the changelings and proceed to become king of the Changelings and mate to our beautiful queen!" Sazh continued.
Sleight immediately stopped, making tire screeching sounds. He quickly got close to Sazh, grasping him by the shoulders, "What did you say?"
"Without you, we might be finished?" Sazh gulped.
"The other part!" Sleight demanded.
"…Becoming king of the changelings and mate to our beautiful queen?" Sazh suggested.
"And when you say beautiful…what does this queen rate on the scale of 1 to 10?" Sleight followed up.
"Oh, 11, definitely." Sazh smiled. "Our queen is as beautiful as they come nowadays."
"I see…" Sleight mused, letting go of the Changeling as Sazh fell to the ground, "And you think that I could be the wizard you're looking for?"
"Yes. You have the blood of Starswirl and fell out of the sky, and the prophecy states that you are one destined to defeat the great evil and then rule the Changelings alongside our queen… that is you, right?" Sazh asked.
Sleight glanced at Sazh, as cogs turned in his head. He seems to think that he was this "wizard"… a part of him wanted to come clean and tell the truth… but he was rather curious as to what he could get out of this so-called prophecy… becoming a king and getting a beautiful mare as a wife? The thought of that just seemed too good to pass up.
Without another second to think on it, he made his decision…
Sleight gave a smile. "Well, today's your lucky day… for I am, in fact, the wizard which your prophecy speaks of."
"Really?" Sazh gasped. "The great one himself?"
"Of course." Sleight nodded. "Would I lie to you, Sash?"
"Sazh." Sazh corrected him.
"Whatever." Sleight shrugged. "Now, what say you take me to meet this 'beautiful queen' of yours?"
"At once, your magnificence!" Sazh nodded. "This way, please!"
Sazh walked down the path, Sleight right behind him.
"What a glorious day!" Sazh cheered. "The prophecy has finally come to pass. Wait until the colony hears about this! I always knew our savior would come, I always knew it!"
Watching the changeling giving a good cheer, Sleight gave a wry grin to himself.
'Well, well.' Sleight thought. 'Isn't this interesting? If I play my cards right, I may finally find that greatness I've been searching for... and a 'beautiful queen' as a bonus!'