Fleur-de-lis was worried about the orphaned Bloodmage foals. The youngest ones seemed to have begun recovering well enough, but the older ones were showing signs of significant psychological trauma. She had learned the very first day that the older foals were deathly afraid of Unicorns. She had nearly been struck deaf the first time any of the foals saw that she was a Unicorn. Their terrified screams still echoed in her ears two days later. Fancy Pants had decided to join her in caring for the foals. His arrival had gone no better than her own.
She and Fancy had been concerned that their presence would be a detriment to the well-being of the traumatized foals. One of the developmental psychologists, Turquoise, had come to see the foals and afterward had informed the concerned Unicorns that because the foals were still young, that their minds were still as malleable as clay and that frequent positive interactions with Unicorns alongside non-Unicorns would go a long way toward helping them unlearn their negative learned behavior. And so it was that the kindly Unicorn couple began spending nearly all their free time trying to interact with the orphaned foals. They read stories, they distributed snacks, they did everything they could to help, but there were some that they simply could not reach.
One of the ones who was unreachable was a little greenish gray Earth Pony filly who had a mane and tail of dark orange. She refused to speak to anybody and spent all of her time lying on her side on the floor, facing the wall and weeping. Whenever anybody went to bring her food or even came close to her, she would lash out violently, screaming and fighting like a cornered animal. She had forced the medical staff to sedate her just to get her to the hospital and more than one doctor or nurse had sported a black eyes or bloodied nose from her. By all accounts she was inconsolable.
* * *
Amber Eyes was nearly beside herself. There were finally foals her age in New Humansville! Granted her parents wouldn't tell her much about the other foals but even so, the idea of other foals made her giddy with excitement. She was almost as excited about the new arrivals in town. There had been a bunch of Diamond Dogs and strange Humans in town for the last couple of days, but they had left last night. Amber's family had been really friendly to the Diamond Dogs. They looked really strange but her parents treated them just like normal Ponies. The new Changelings were strange, but they seemed to be alright. She had heard her Lamane talking about helping to 'squash rumors' about the Changelings and to her surprise, her Lamine did too.
Her Lamine was beside herself talking about 'being overrun with Bloodmages'. Amber didn't know what Bloodmages were, but they didn't sound very nice. Maybe she could ask Mr. Rifin about them since her Lamine had all but demanded that she stay near the humongous Changeling whenever she went out to play.
Her Lamine, Lamane, and Petamines had been talking a lot about bringing home another foal, but for some reason Amber couldn't understand, they always spoke of Bloodmages around the same time. It didn't really matter to her, she had time to play with Mr. Rifin and she was not going to waste it.
Amber Eyes opened the front door and saw the colossal Changeling waiting for her in the front yard, well his head was in any case, as the rest of him waited in the street. She waved to him then turned and yelled over her shoulder, "I'm going out to play with Mr. Rifin! I'll be back before dinner!"
"Alright sweetie!" her Lamane yelled back.
Amber closed the door behind her and turned to Rifin, "Hiya Mr. Rifin!" she yelled bounding up to him, "What do you want to do today?"
Rifin knelt down on the road, which was barely wide enough for him, and angled out his left leg for Amber Eyes to climb up, "How about we go see how the new Changelings are doing?"
Amber climbed up Rifin's tree trunk leg and plopped herself down on his back, "You mean the ones who are living with everybody around town?"
Rifin nodded, "Yes, but that is only until they get their houses built."
"Oh, is that why Daddy's been so busy?" Amber asked as Rifin stood up and opened his wings.
"Yes. The Princesses are sending more lumber for more houses." Rifin's wings buzzed as he took to the air, but he paused and raised his head and looked over his shoulder at Amber, "Want to help me cut down some more trees? It will help make space for the new homes."
Amber smiled, "Sure!" She paused and held her right forehoof up to her mouth in thought, "Do we need to tell Mr. Kolo and Ms. Buzz Butter about that first?"
Rifin chuckled a deep laugh, "Good thinking. Let's head that way." Rifin turned and banked toward the indicated house.
"Mr. Rifin, why is everybody always talking about Bloodmages? What ARE Bloodmages anyway?" Amber asked.
Rifin grunted as he landed in front of the proper house, "We can talk about that when we reach the trees. For now," he knelt and extended his left leg for Amber to descend, "Would you please knock? I would but I don't want to bash in the door by accident."
* * *
Rifin and Amber arrived at the forest to the North, not far from the new Shipping Center. Rifin landed as smoothly as his eighteen ton bulk would allow and raised his battle arms, ready to fell trees. As he worked he began talking to Amber, "You asked me about Bloodmages. Well Bloodmages are Ponies and other beings who don't like Unicorns. They cut themselves and use their own blood to cast spells like Unicorns do."
Amber stuck out her tongue, "Eew! Gross! Why would anypony do that?"
Rifin's massive battle arms sliced cleanly through an oak tree with one swipe and the acorn festooned giant slowly toppled toward the forest, "They want to be able to cast spells like Unicorns, but they don't have horns so they use the magic in their blood. Bloodmages sometimes kidnap Unicorns and make them sleep for years while they take the Unicorns' blood for magic instead of using their own. We Changelings," he felled another tree, "Are immune to Blood magic. It can't touch us for some reason. Bloodmages don't like that and they... hurt us. The whole reason that Changelings even developed how to turn into forms like mine was to protect themselves from Bloodmages."
Amber crossed her forelegs, "What a bunch of meanies! I wish they would all just go away and leave us alone!"
Rifin chuckled as his arms sliced through another tree, "As do I little Amber, but not all Bloodmages are bad though. Remember the new Pony, Starburst? He was once with the Bloodmages and he even helped us when we went to rescue the baby and the Sorcerers. So not all Bloodmages are bad."
Amber uncrossed her forelegs and looked down at the back of Rifin's head, "So where did all the new foals come from and where are they?"
Rifin sighed as each of his arms felled small trees, "Most of the foals are in the Hospital right now. Many of them are very young and none of the foals in the Hospital have any families so many of the families here are going to adopt them." Rifin paused and lowered his battle arms then turned his head over his left shoulder toward Amber, "There are some other foals in the holding cells in the Community Welfare Guardian Headquarters. Those foals still have some of their families but... they are Bloodmages."
Amber's eyes bulged, "What!? Why are they HERE!? We should send them away!"
Rifin shook his huge head, "No Amber. Most of the Bloodmages are confused. They have never met a normal Unicorn and they were taught that Unicorns will control their minds and do bad things to them. I don't think that most of the Bloodmages are actually bad Ponies, but they think that Unicorns like you are bad. We need to show them that Unicorns are good Ponies. If we made them leave we wouldn't be giving them the chance to learn the truth about Unicorns. They don't know any better. You should feel sorry for them Amber. They're just confused. Don't they deserve a chance to live peacefully too? What about their foals? Would you want somebody to take away your Mother and tell you she was bad because she was afraid of me?"
Amber lowered her head, "No, but she likes you now."
Rifin nodded, "That is what we are trying to make happen. The foals in the hospital... their parents... got hurt... really badly..."
Amber spoke quietly, "They died, didn't they."
Rifin swallowed, "They... they did." he answered slowly.
"That's why you and Officer Hord and everybody else went looking for them." Amber asserted.
Rifin shook his head, "No. We didn't want to hurt them. But they had kidnapped the Humans and killed many of the officers. They killed my sister Vaiawa, but she managed to store enough magic and she was loved enough to let her come back. I have only ever heard stories about that happening, it is very, very rare."
Amber smiled as Rifin raised his battle arms again, "I'm glad she's alright. I never got a chance to talk to her but from what I saw she seemed nice."
Rifin grunted as he felled another tree, "Most creatures are pretty nice as long as they don't want power or control." He grunted as his battle arms felled a larch, "The other Changelings back in our hive were starving, but our Queen, Chrysalis, lied to us and said that the Ponies weren't willing to help us at all. From what I have heard, the Princesses offered to help us but Chrysalis wanted everything her way or not at all. She lied to us and had us attack Canterlot, not for food but because she wanted to rule. We thought we were fighting heartless enemies and I'm sure many of the other Changelings that made it back to the hive still think that. What do you think of me and the other Changelings? Are we good or are we evil?"
Amber didn't even have to think about her answer, "You're nice."
Rifin rumbled a chuckle as he raised his battle arms again, "And the hope is that if we give the Bloodmages a chance, they will end up being nice too. Sometimes bad things are done by good creatures because they have been confused or lied to. It is the ones who have lied to them and those who want power who are the real enemy."
* * *
Darryl Hord strode purposefully toward one of the doors in the New Humansville Hotel. He stopped in front of room 212 and knocked soundly on the door. He adjusted his shirt. He was not on duty and had been given a day off to recover from the raid. The spare time had jolted his brain into action and a long standing question sprung up from his memory. When combined with a recent revelation, he had no choice but to go do what he was doing at that very moment.
The door opened and a harsh feminine voice spoke from the open doorway, "It is good to see that you did not get yourself killed out there. What do you want?"
Darryl looked down at the surly silver Unicorn mare with her cobalt blue mane and tail, "Backlash, we need to talk."
Backlash's scowl never faltered, "Come in then. Let's see if my brain can do what your brain can't." She stepped back and held the door open for Darryl.
Darryl entered the room, which was as spartan as the silver mare and sat down on the edge of the one bed in the room, "You've been helping me slowly edge off those magic limiter pills but do you think I'll ever be able to come off them completely?"
Backlash closed the door and trotted past Darryl. She hopped up onto the bed and laid down looking like a loaf of bread with her hooves folded and tucked under her body, "I never gave you permission to sit on my bed." she said sharply.
Darryl scowled right back at her, "Yeah, well you haven't asked me to get off it either. Will you just answer my question?"
Backlash never faltered in her expression, "Yes, I believe you can. The Human brain seems very flexible and adaptable, much like the Human body. At first I thought you would have the same difficulties as we would, but to my infinite surprise you seem to be able to function normally, if given enough time to adapt. I do not believe that you should cease taking the pills immediately though. Do you think you are ready to decrease the dosage again? Do remember that I am not responsible for any damage you do to your mind through stupidity."
Darryl chuckled mirthlessly, "And you are never going to find a boyfriend if you keep insulting everybody. To answer your question though, yes I think I can handle it."
"I have not insulted you until now, you blundering buffoon. I never called you stupid, I insinuated that you are capable of doing stupid things. It was a warning. You chose to take it as an insult. Anyway, you may decrease your dosage by half and see how well you handle it." Backlash replied.
"And another thing, why did you wish me well and give me a kiss before we left?" Darryl asked bluntly.
Caught completely by surprise by the sudden subject change Backlash blushed through her silver coat and turned her head away, not saying anything. Darryl decided to wait for her to answer. The ball was in her court and he did not want to rush her. As much as she frustrated him, he did not want to seem pushy. Looking at her, Darryl decided that she was not a bad looking mare, as such things went. She took care of herself and her coloration was appealing. Her coat was glossy and her mane and tail had both volume and bounce. Her voice was pleasant enough, when she was not biting somebody's head off and her eyes matched her mane and tail, a strikingly beautifully contrasting set. He figured that by Kavim standards she was likely considered quite lovely, even if he could not properly appreciate it. Darryl was brought out of his ruminations as Backlash spoke.
"I wanted to give you an incentive to come back safely." her voice was so soft Darryl nearly missed it.
"Was it an invitation of some sort?" the Marine asked, "Because it just confused the 'hell' out of me."
Backlash had no idea what the word 'hell' meant but given the context she could make a logical assumption, "I don't know. It was spontaneous..."
"Are you interested in me?" Darryl asked.
Backlash did not honestly know the answer, 'Am I?' she asked herself, 'I have known him for a while, but am I romantically curious?' She was unsure. She paused and gave it more thought, lapsing into silence again, 'When I kissed him I was simply 'doing', there was no real thought behind it, but I'm not going to put myself out to be hurt if he's not interested.'
"Let me ask you something. Are you interested in me?" Backlash asked.
Darryl shook his head, "I hadn't given it any thought until you kissed me. I might be willing to give it a try, but we would have to talk about a few things first."
Backlash turned her head back to Darryl and looked at him in puzzlement, "Like what?"
"Like why you're so... grumpy all the time. I doubt I've heard you say a single positive thing to anybody in the entire time I've known you."
Backlash snorted, "I don't need everypony's approval. I say what I feel the need to. I say negative things to challenge others to be better. If they want to take it as an insult that is not my fault."
Darryl rolled his eyes knowing he would have to out-logic her, 'Whether or not we end up dating she needs to ease up on people.' He took a breath and began, "You have to look at it from others' perspectives. Have you forgotten? The first day of classes Catalyst said something like, 'I don't want to hear any complaints from the students about us.' and she looked straight at you when she said that. Why would the most powerful and most educated Unicorn, your boss for all intents and purposes, say something like that if there was no reason for it?" Darryl slapped his right thigh with his right hand, "Because there IS a reason for it. That means that you have had those kind of complaints before. It's one thing to challenge somebody to be better and I'm all for that, but the person you're talking to needs to be able to understand what you're doing. There is a big difference between challenging somebody to be better and talking down to them. The way you talk to others makes it seem like you have a superiority complex, like you think you're better than everybody else."
Backlash narrowed her eyes at Darryl's last statement, "I do not think that at all. I believe that everybody is guilty of not fulfilling their full potential and I try to push them in that direction."
"But that's not your place." Darryl shot back quickly, "When they come to you for help they want to be helped not told they need to be better. If they want to improve, they will do so on their own. They come to you for knowledge of HOW to improve; they already have the impetus to do it themselves they just need instructions. If they're coming to you that means they already know they need help to improve. Reminding them of their imperfections is only going to drag them down. Nobody likes being reminded of how imperfect they are. Teachers are supposed to challenge their students to learn and grow and improve, that's true. Teachers are also supposed to encourage that growth. How is it encouraging growth if you're telling them that they're an imbecile? By merely stating that there is a problem and not presenting a solution, YOU are part of the problem. In the military we are taught to not only bring up a problem but ALSO bring a solution. There's a saying that I really like, 'If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.'"
Darryl took another breath and continued, "What if somebody is having a really, really bad day, a day that is so bad they are seriously considering a big jump off a small roof? If they come to you for help and you just say something unproductive and insulting it might be enough to push them over the edge... figuratively speaking." Darryl shifted his weight and turned so he could face Backlash fully, face to face, "Look, I'm not saying you're a bad mare. What I am saying is that not everybody else functions on the same... level that you do. If you want to really communicate effectively with somebody, you have to be on their level. You have to know how to speak to others. I had to learn that when I was with my twins. I can't talk to them the same way I talk to my Dad, who is also a Marine. As Marines we talk hard to each other, the same way you talk hard to me. I know how to deal with that because I'm used to it, but others will just think you're being condescending. Nobody likes a snob and that's how you sound."
Darryl took another breath and leaned in toward a very unhappy looking Backlash, "I meant what I said, too. I have a solution for you, pretty Pony," he reached out his right hand and poked the tip of her nose with his index finger, causing her to blush a second time, "I don't just bring problems. I may not always voice my ideas, but I always have them. In your case, if you want to get better about this I suggest we tutor each other. You tutor me on how to best use my magic, as you know WAY more than I do. In return I tutor you on how to be a positive influence. I really wish I had my copy of, 'How To Win Friends And Encourage People' here with me. I can help you and I'd like to, but I won't force you to do so."
Backlash quirked her left eyebrow, 'Why do I blush when he does those things!? It should be infuriating... and yet... it... somehow makes me feel... good.' she shook her head, 'Stop acting like a school filly.' she looked back up and cleared her throat, "How did we go from talking about a possible relationship to... this?"
Darryl smirked and sat up, "The Human mind is still a mystery, even to us Humans... but don't change the subject. You asked if I was interested and I might be willing to give it a try if you stop acting like your horn is stuck up your... well you get the idea."
Backlash sighed irritably, "Fine then, how do I win friends and encourage people?" she asked through gritted teeth.
Darryl smiled a very strained smile, 'This is going to take a while.'