Chapter 43
It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies
“You’re sure he’s ready?” It was probably a little late to be asking such a thing; Charcoal was already tucked into the baby buggy, and we were all ready to head for town square to cheer on the breezies.
“Positive. Check it out! Charcoal, shift!” Blaze snapped his claws in demonstration, and on cue, Charcoal’s turquoise flame gently sparked, barely covering his body before dying out. The sheets weren’t even singed, but the transformation left the hatchling version of my son in the stroller.
“Yes, Blaze, you’ve introduced me to the keyword method already. But he isn’t a dog, remember. I just need to be sure he won’t get distracted and decide to spark.”
“I know he’s not a dog,” the orange dragon indignantly huffed. “But he’s ready, I’m sure of it.”
“Okay, Blaze, I’ll trust you.”
“One more time, Char. Shift!” The baby obediently flickered just brightly enough to perform the change. “See? I told you baby dragons learn quickly.”
“Doctor Horse did say he seems to be developing more quickly than other babies he’s seen,” Torch noted as he passed by.
“Hey! If today goes well, can I finally bring Charcoal to visit Garble in the Dragon Craters?”
“Maybe.” I was still hesitant to let Charcoal mingle with the dragons for the simple fact that they were a lot rougher than the ponies here in Ponyville.
“But Garble will be migrating away with the flock soon! I want him to get to meet Charcoal before then.”
“We’ll see,” I repeated, lifting my hat off the hook. “He could always come here, you know.”
“I don’t think all his friends will come back to Ponyville anytime soon. Especially Gilda. She’s a little touchy about showing her face back here again after last time.”
“I don’t see why. We’ve all forgiven her.”
“By all you mean you and your friends, right?”
“No, I mean everyone.”
“I hate to break it to you, but not everyone’s like you. A lot of folks are still a little upset from her first visit, let alone this last incident. We can’t all be Elements of Forgiveness.” I briefly wondered if he was smart-mouthing me, but seeing his point, I decided to let the matter go.
“Are we ready?” Torch was waiting for us by the door. Blaze eagerly jogged ahead, and I more slowly followed, carefully maneuvering the stroller through the tables of Art Life.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious. A couple of curious and well-meaning customers and friends had stopped by to visit the baby before, and though Char had behaved himself, this was his first time really out in public. And especially since we discovered his new ability, I was worried of what ponies might think. Would they accept him as the doctor suggested, or would he be forever labeled as a freak? I couldn’t imagine that our tight-knit community would do anything intentionally hurtful, but I knew how superstitious they could be. When Zecora had first appeared in town, ponies avoided her like the plague because of her queer rhymes and striped coat. Then again when Apple Bloom had come down with the Cutie Pox, some feared she had fallen victim to a hex or curse. At the same time, my friends took it well enough. The Cakes had also been pushing for us to schedule a playdate soon, and they had been informed. Neither of them seemed fazed in the least. By these mixed results, I just couldn’t be sure how Charcoal would be received by everyone else.
Though I pretended to be extra careful around potholes or bumps, I was really just using these inconveniences as excuses to postpone our arrival. But I couldn’t delay our arrival forever, and we arrived at the bustling town square all too soon. Blaze volunteered to utilize the newly-discovered use of his wings to scout out our friends and identify the easiest route to take with the stroller while we waited on the outskirts of the celebration. Not that we could have moved it we wanted to, of course. A few ponies who hadn’t yet gotten the opportunity to meet Charcoal Stormwood recognized us with the buggy, and crowded around to say hello. Among them were Ditzy, her friend Time Turner, Cheerilee, and a few of the curious foals hovering around her.
“He’s so pretty! I was really worried after that accident at White Tail Woods, but I’m glad he’s okay,” Ditzy beamed. She tried to offer an earnest smile, but to this day I found it difficult to take her wall eyes seriously.
“Thank you, Ditzy.”
“He is beautiful,” Cheerilee praised. “I look forward to having him in class.”
“Speaking of which, I should be coming back next week,” I informed her. I’d been on maternity leave while we adjusted to life with the baby, but with Blaze helping out, I would finally be able to return to work.
“I’ll be sure to inform the students. They’ve missed you,” Cheerilee chuckled. I beamed.
“Torchwood! Acrylic!” I recognized Doctor Horse’s voice before I saw him pushing through the crowd.
“Doctor,” I formally nodded in greeting. Time Turner looked up for a moment, wondering if he was being addressed, but realizing we were being joined by a fourth member, shook it off.
“How is the little feller?”
“Rather feisty,” Torchwood winked. The doctor seemed to understand the underlying meaning, and hushed his tone of voice.
“So you’ve gotten the shifting under control then?” I wasn’t able to shush him in time. Charcoal heard the word, and as Blaze had trained him, switched forms. Cheerilee nickered and reared in surprise; the gathered colts and fillies scattered, squealing in fear; Ditzy instinctively ducked behind Time Turner; and the brown earth pony brought forth a silver stick topped with a glowing blue bulb, wielding it like a defensive weapon. I wasn’t quite sure how to take that last bit, and almost forgot an explanation was in order.
“It’s alright!” the doctor assured, calming them all down. “Torchwood? Acrylic? Would you like to explain?”
“Right. See, Char here is a bit... special,” my husband began.
“When I was pregnant, Princess Luna performed a transformation spell that temporarily turned me into a dragon,” I went on.
“And we believe that the baby absorbed that magic, or at least some of it, which gives him the ability to shape-shift, as it were.”
“Blaze somehow trained Charcoal to shift on command, at least until he’s older and knows better. Whenever he hears ‘shift’,” I waited for him to revert back to a colt, “he changes.”
“Well... I suppose that makes sense,” Cheerilee finally concluded, appearing a bit more at ease.
“Sorry, what’d you say his name was?” Time Turner absentmindedly asked, waving the glow stick around Char’s head. It made the most irritating whirring noise, and my son whined in protest. Torchwood defensively batted the thing away.
“Charcoal,” he rigidly answered.
“As in, Charcoal Stormwood?” Time Turner scrutinized the green-coated foal.
“That’s right.” I narrowed my eyes in confusion. I thought the whole town had heard about the baby naming incident. It wasn’t as though we’d kept things a secret.
“Well, I’ll tell you what,” the earth pony straightened up with a wild grin. “I think your baby is going to be just fantastic.” Something about his tone of voice made me smile.
“Thank you... I think.”
“Right then! It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Stormwood,” Time Turner extended his hoof as though expecting the baby to shake it. Charcoal did take hold, but only to see if it was edible. Time Turner pulled away before he could be covered in baby slobber. “Congratulations on the baby. Keep up the good work.” I was too dumbfounded to protest when he moved on to shake my hoof as well as Torchwood’s. “Come along now, Ditzy. As I recall, we were supposed to pay Roseluck a visit.”
“Oh yeah. Her.” Did I detect a hint of jealousy in the gray mare’s voice? Even so, she reluctantly tagged along after her bizarre friend. I shook my head again. What was that all about?
“Do those two seem a bit... odd to you?” I found myself asking. I realized how rude I must sound as soon as the words came out of my mouth, and instantly clapped a hoof overtop as though that could erase my mistake. Luckily, no one else seemed offended. In fact, Torchwood chuckled as if in agreement.
“They are perfect for each other,” Cheerilee voiced with a childish giggle.
“Indeed. It seems obvious to everyone but them,” Doctor Horse added with a sly smirk.
“They’ll come around,” Torchwood assured. “True love always finds a way.”
“That’s only the cheesiest line ever,” I teasingly chided, fondly poking him. “So dramatic!”
“I thought you liked drama,” he playfully shot back. “After all, you’re the one that died and came back to life as the Seventh Element of Harmony!”
“Almost died,” I corrected with a challenging smirk. “There’s a difference.”
“And then turned yourself into a dragon to stay fifty meters closer to Garble in the exchange,” he went on.
“You volunteered to do the same!”
“It was your idea!”
“Children, children, settle down!” I almost forgot Cheerilee was still standing there, and she threatened to burst out in tears of laughter. Doctor Horse was no less amused.
The technicolor form of Rainbow caught our attention from the sky, and we all realized with a start that the breezies were arriving. We all hushed to a dead silence, calling to mind Fluttershy’s warnings about being too loud and startling the creatures. Blaze’s hovering form drew our eyes next, waving for us to join him and the rest of our friends. I even spotted Wild Flower’s brown mane bobbing up and down. It looked like she decided to show up after all.
“Gotta go,” I dared to breathe farewell to my employer and family doctor. They silently nodded acknowledgement, and we parted ways.
“Everypony, it’s time. Please welcome... the breezies!” Twilight had taken her place at the front of the crowd, but we could barely hear her whisper.
A tiny stream of little forms floated in. Their flight formation and lightly buzzing wings reminded me of a mosquito swarm, but they were somehow far too angelic and mystical to be compared to those pesky parasites. Yet I couldn’t relate them to butterflies, either. They were truly magnificent, in their own right. I could see why Wild Flower might have mistaken them for ‘mythical’ creatures. We could only gape on in silent wonder.
“They’re as cute as Apple Bloom on the Day she was born,” Applejack finally commented.
“And would you look at those adorable little packs they carry their pollen in?” Rarity quietly concurred.
“So... cute! Can’t... take... it!” Pinkie covered her mouth before she squealed in excitement.
“Gla!”
“Shh!” I clapped a hoof over Charcoal’s mouth. “I know they’re pretty, sweetie, but you have to be quiet, okay?” He blew a raspberry into my hoof in response.
“I wonder what it’s like to be a breezy,” Wild Flower absentmindedly mused. “Hey, you think Princess Luna or Twilight would cast a transformation spell for me?” she giddily jibed, obviously realizing I still wasn’t on good terms with such magic.
“Shut up. Literally,” I hushed, turning my attention back to the fairies overhead. Torchwood chuckled, alerting me that he’d also heard the conversation.
Since all but a few working pegasi were supposed to be grounded, Nova and Blaze had lighted down on one of the tree branches above. The leaves rustled slightly as Spike clambered up to join them. It didn’t register at first that the leaf he accidentally loosed would be a problem until it disturbed the breezy swarm, sending a sizable group of them spinning out of control!
“Oh, no!”
We all gasped upon the realization that the little ones were in danger. Pegasi and thestrals alike looked to each other, wondering if this was just cause to break the grounding rule to help.
“Slow down the breeze for the other group to catch up,” Rainbow immediately took control of the situation.
“They're too far back! We can't connect the breeze to both sets of Breezies!”
“What if we speed it up?”
“Then the first group'll be going too fast, and they'll get separated from each other!” There just seemed no good option.
Seeing the poor things in such a state caused Fluttershy to snap into action. One of the breezies had spun terribly out of control, so Fluttershy made that one her priority. She plinked of Fluttershy’s stomach ever so gently, and Fluttershy proceeded to carry it back to the others.
One breezy with a blue coat and a pink mane was squeaking something indecipherable to its partners. Though I couldn’t decipher what he was saying, Fluttershy was obviously able to translate, for she concurred, “He’s right! You must all gather as close as you possibly can!” Through her coaching, the breezies all eventually found their way to the yellow mare, and she promptly lighted down with the precious cargo. Seeing as how we couldn’t exactly distract them any further, the silent audience finally erupted into cheers of praise for the rescue.
Pinkie darted off to meet them. Dash did the same to make sure things were alright, and the rest of us followed their lead. Torch bolted ahead, but I still had Char to worry about, so we were the last to arrive.
“THAT WAS AMAZING!” Pinkie shrieked.
“I'm sorry we couldn't get a breeze going that would get them back to the others,” Rainbow apologized.
“Oh, it's not your fault,” Flutters assured.
“I, for one, am very proud of you, Fluttershy. Leaping into action like that,” Twilight congratulated.
“I feel like I should design you a special hero's gown! Heh... Or a sash. At least a sash,” Rarity spoke.
“Okay, okay, okay! I know what you're all thinking! Why don't you just say it?!” Spike wept, groveling at Fluttershy’s hooves. “I'm sorry! This is all my fault! I'm so, so sorry!
“Oh, Spike, it's okay! It could have happened to any one of us.
“Okay... Thank you!” The breezies, however, weren’t so forgiving, and burst into an outraged clamor of shrieks and cries in their foreign language. “Uh... I'm... just... gonna stay over here,” Spike took shelter cowering behind Nova.
“Look on the bright side. Now we get to meet these guys up close. They’re so cute!” Wild Flower stuck her nose down to their level, but not intimidatingly so. “Hi, guys! Ooh! They’re so tiny!”
“So, Fluttershy, you want us to get the breeze going again so these little guys can get a move on?” Rainbow questioned. The breezies squeaked in protest, and Fluttershy gave in to their pleas.
“Maybe we should wait just a moment or so. They've been through so much...” Trusting her judgment, Rainbow nodded.
“Just gimme the word when you think they're ready.”
“Come on, little ones. I’ll take you back to my house where you can get all rested up,” Fluttershy snuggled another one close.
“Need help?” Wild Flower eagerly volunteered. She loved tiny things almost as much as her flowers.
“We’d all be glad for the company.” The fairies murmured agreement.
“What about aunt-nephew time?” Torchwood raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, uh, well... I don’t suppose Charcoal could come too?” Fluttershy considered the colt.
“He has his abilities under control now, right?”
“Sure does,” Blaze proudly boasted.
“Well, so long as he can behave himself, I don’t see why not,” she kindly consented.
“Great! We’ll take him and the breezies meet up with you guys later.”
“But Wild Flower, remember? He’s supposed to have his first play date with Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake in a little over an hour.”
“Oh, I think the breezies will be rested up by then,” Fluttershy interjected.
“You can pick him up then, or we’ll just meet you there,” Wild Flower suggested.
“Wait, you mean leave him alone?” I correctly assumed that Wild Flower meant to exclude me and babysit her nephew. I’d only left him alone with Blaze before once, and that was just to run down to the store and pick up a few things. This would be my first time away from him for an extended period of time. My stomach knotted in dread.
“I think three mares and the baby might be overcrowding the breezies just a bit,” Fluttershy cautiously pointed out. “After all, I wouldn’t want to make them feel anxious.”
“Does that mean I have to stay behind, too?” Blaze realized with wide eyes. I didn’t think he’d actually left Char’s side since we brought him home, either.
“It’s fine. We’ve got it under control,” Wild Flower casually waved, pushing herself between me and the stroller.
“Besides, now we finally have time to hang out,” Nova pointed out, placing a reassuring claw on his shoulder.
“See you in an hour!” The breezies flocked to Fluttershy once more, and Wild Flower slowly nudged the buggy into motion. Before I could protest, the pair disappeared over the hill.
“Relax! It’s only been ten minutes,” Applejack advised. Nova and Spike dragged Blaze off to Sugar Cube corner so they could spend time together over ice cream. Rainbow was rallying Cloud Kicker and Flitter to prepare for anther breeze, and Torchwood had gone back to work. Everyone else was going about their business, so I also returned home. Applejack stopped by, wondering if we could spare an extra cooking pan or two; it was coming up on pie delivery season again, and they’d fallen short.
“I’ve never left him alone before... I hope he’s okay!” I fretted.
“He’s got your sister and Fluttershy lookin’ out for him! I’m sure he’s fine.”
“But what if he isn’t? His toys are all here. What if he wants to play? What if he gets bored and starts acting up and accidentally burns all the little breezies to crisps?” The mere thought nearly caused me to faint.
“Don’t sweat it. He’s only two weeks, an’ ya already got a well-behaved boy. Fluttershy’s good with little ones, and he loves Wild Flower. I’m sure they’re gettin’ on just fine.”
“Maybe I should bring one of his toys, just in case.”
“Why don’t ya let them handle it? You’re gonna have to let him out on his own sometime.”
“He’s just two weeks old. There’ll be plenty of time for that.” I quickly snatched his favorite ferret doll. (Long and slinky, the thing was originally purposed as a dog’s chew toy, but Charcoal became so attached to the thing at Fluttershy’s that she’d brought him a new, clean one of his own.) I headed out with the toy, barely noticing Applejack who shook her head the whole time.
“He’s fine, he’s fine... but he might be lonely. No, I’m sure he’s fine... unless Wild Flower could have gotten distracted by the breezies and forgotten about him! It couldn’t hurt to check,” I muttered. Onlookers must have thought me crazy: not only had I been muttering to myself the whole way to Fluttershy’s, but I’d walk thirty feet or so before changing my mind and pacing back a few steps, then repeat the process, so progress was slow. I must’ve talked myself into and out of the trip a hundred times by now. I was just turning back around to complete the journey to the pegasus’ cottage when I came face-to-face, literally, with the door.
I took a step back so my nose wasn’t pressed up against the wood, and reangled myself so I could gaze through the tiny peep hole. The breezies were comfortably lounging about, some sipping at thimbles of water, some napping, and others still just flat out relaxing. Wild Flower was off to the side, so I had to move to a larger window to spot her. She was busy weaving tiny flowers into a very tolerant breezy’s mane, but Charcoal wasn’t being neglected. His stroller was off to the side, breezies perched all over it. To my surprise, he was very quiet, yet very much alert. He watched the little creatures with intense curiosity and amazement. The feeling appeared to be mutual, for the many fairies that hovered about his buggy stared back, rather fondly, actually.
“Acrylic?!” I flushed crimson with embarrassment when I realized I’d been caught. I sheepishly pulled away from the window as Wild Flower stormed to the door. “What are you doing here? Couldn’t you trust me to watch Char for one hour? It’s only been twenty minutes!”
“I just thought he might want a toy,” I surrendered the stuffed toy as if to call a truce. Wild Flower scrutinized the ferret carefully before finally deciding it was alright. “How is he?”
“Fine.” She opened the door wider with a roll of her eyes, and I sidestepped my way through the clustered breezies to reach the stroller. Charcoal eyed me and giggled furiously. The trance broken, startled breezies fluttered away. I gently nestled the toy in the blankets beside him. He busied himself with sucking on the ferret’s paw.
“Have you been good for Aunties?” I cooed, prying the toy from his mouth.
“Ba!”
“Oh my! Acrylic! Has it been an hour already?” Fluttershy finally appeared from the back with more thimbles of water for her guests.
“No, she just doesn’t trust me with her kid,” Wild Flower huffed.
“It’s not that! I’m just worried about him.”
“It’s your first time away from him, isn’t it?” My sister matter-of-factly raised an eyebrow.
“I... uh...”
“I knew it. Go! Scram! He’s fine! We’ve got it covered!”
“But-!”
“You should be grateful for the time alone. I bet you won’t get many more opportunities to just lay back and relax for a while.”
“At least let me say goodbye!” I finally ducked around her and returned to Charcoal’s side. “Okay, big boy. Be good. I’ll see you soon, and then you’ll get to meet some new friends, okay?” He gurgled some more in response.
“Go!”