//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Hidden Roots // Story: Nature of Change // by PostNinja //------------------------------// Several years ago... Rainbow Blaze yawned and rose to sit. It took about three seconds for him to feel the sharp pang of a headache, making the pegasus clutch his head with a groan. He closed his eyes and tried to get rid of his hangover through sheer willpower. No luck there, unfortunately, so he just laid down again, turning to the side on the small cloud he had slept on through the night. The rays of the rising sun had woken him up, but bright lights were the last thing he wanted to look at right now. Memories of the last night were little fuzzy. He remembered flying home at night after the party with the other cloud factory workers, though maybe he drank just a tad more than he should have. The young pegasus looked around him to see where he had passed out. This was right at the edge of Cloudsdale, on the southern side where no one really lived. All that surrounded him were clouds. He couldn't be too far away from home. Blaze blinked when the memory hit and rose to stand, shaking his head in a vain attempt to clear it. With any luck, his wife wouldn’t have woken up yet. She was already giving him disapproving glances from staying so late in these nights out, and he knew that once their foal was born, he wouldn't be able to go to parties for a long while. The blue pegasus stretched his wings and prepared to fly back home with the speed he was famous for, but something caught his eye. There were two pegasi some distance away, right at the edge of the massive cloud that formed the ground of Cloudsdale. A mare and a stallion. It looked like they had just arrived from somewhere. Rainbow Blaze looked at the strangers more closely making out a few more details. Both were carrying heavy bags, though the yellow mare with the dark red mane had shed hers so that she could take a closer look at the green stallion’s wing. Was he injured? Did they need help? Rainbow Blaze shunted both his hangover and the thoughts of his angry wife to the back of his mind and started making his way towards the two, trying to remember how far the closest doctor's office was. Once he was enough close for them to hear him, Blaze shouted to the two, "Good morning! Do you need help?" To his surprise, both jumped in surprise, as if they had been caught doing something they shouldn't have. They scanned the area around them quickly, almost frantically, before they finally caught sight of him and relaxed slightly. Had somepony tried to rob them? This was getting stranger and stranger. Blaze landed next to them, trying to mask his puzzlement with a charming smile and good humor. "Not many pegasi flying this early in the morning," he said, looking at their heavy bags and trying to sound as casual as he could. "Are you returning from a vacation?" The two pegasi quickly looked at each other, still visibly nervous. Finally, the stallion spoke. "N-no. We are moving to Cloudsdale." The green pegasus's voice was timid and soft, but his voice grew stronger as he spoke. "But I'm afraid we are lost. It took all night to get here and I sprained my wing." The pegasus raised his wing for emphasis, flinching despite how simple the motion was. That helped to explain things. They wouldn't be the first ponies to forget that Cloudsdale constantly moved across the sky. With those heavy bags, it wasn't a surprise that they were exhausted, especially if they had been flying for the whole night trying to find the city. "Well, let me help. I know my way around these parts." Blaze looked at the saddlebag on the ground next to the green pegasus, reaching to take it, "I can take you to the doctor's office to take a look at that wing." He had just enough time to touch the handle of the bag with his hoof before the mare, who had been silent until now, quickly pulled the bag out of his reach. "No!" Blaze rose his head to look at her, this time without bothering to hide his puzzlement. She seemed to shrink, suddenly looking awkward and almost fearful as she clutched the bag close to her like it was the most precious thing in the world to her. "I… I mean, we don't want to bother you." Her voice was even softer than the stallion's, and just looking at Rainbow Blaze seemed to be an effort. "We don't want to cause any trouble." Well, these two were the most timid and shy pegasi he had ever met. Blaze sighed before putting on another smile. "It's not a problem at all." And also just common decency. What kind of pony wouldn't offer to help in this kind of situation? "So please, just give me a bag to carry. I promise I will be careful with it." The two pegasi looked at each other again before coming to a decision, hesitantly handing Rainbow Blaze a different bag to carry. Maybe a passerby offering to help was just something they weren't accustomed to. Were they from Manehattan? Ponies there were more guarded than those here or in Ponyville. After some more balancing with the bags, the three pegasi moved forward, Blaze leading the two towards Cloudsdale. As they walked, Blaze noticed how the stallion in particular looked at the numerous clouds of different shapes and sizes around them in what looked like awe. To Blaze, they weren’t anything out of the ordinary. Then again, he had spent all his life working in a cloud factory. It was all just routine for him at this point. "Do you like our clouds?" Blaze asked, in only to break what was quickly turning into awkward silence. The green pegasus looked at him hesitantly again, but nodded. "They… look quite astonishing. Especially right now with the sunrise." Blaze looked around them and admitted to himself that the other pegasus was right. The rays of the rising sun colored the clouds around them in varying hues of yellow and orange. The landscape, for a lack of a better word, around them looked very serene. He had never seen an actual desert with sand, but maybe it looked something like this. A thought popped into his head, and he turned to look at the green pegasus, saying, "You said you were moving to Cloudsdale? Do you have a place to work in yet?" The other pegasus blinked. After a moment of hesitation, he shook his head. "No. I hope we can find some." It was only now he seemed to wonder why Blaze had asked that, and he turned to the pegasus with a rainbow colored mane. "Do you know a place that needs workers?" Blaze smiled as he saw the earnest hope in the other's voice. "I work in a cloud factory. One of our regulars just retired. I'm on my way back from his farewell party. It's not very exciting work, but if you like clouds, I'm sure you would enjoy it." The green pegasus looked at the clouds around them again and smiled, nodding carefully. "Yes, I think I would." His smile brightened and he turned to look back at Blaze, "Thank you, um…" The blue pegasus blinked before bursting out into laughter. "Oh right! We haven’t even introduced ourselves yet. I'm Rainbow Blaze." "I'm Swirl Breeze." The green pegasus turned to point at the remaining pegasus walking behind them. "And this is my wife Rose Dust." She smiled at them both, nodding her head but not saying anything. Now when the two strangers had turned into ordinary ponies with actual names, Blaze relaxed, letting all the odd things he noticed until now to slip from his mind. These two were a bit eccentric and shy, but that was all there was to it. He shouldn't have judged a book by its cover. As the two stallions started talking with each other, Swirl carefully asking questions and Blaze earnestly answering them, Rose slowed her steps to put a little more distance between herself and them. When she was certain that their friendly pegasus guide was too occupied to pay attention to what was happening behind him, Rose carefully opened the bag Blaze had first offered to carry. She had been forced to carefully lower it to the ground a minute earlier so she could free her hooves and look at Swirl's wing. She inwardly scolded herself for doing the unthinkable and forgetting to look after the bag in those first few seconds of surprise when Blaze had suddenly arrived. She glanced inside the bag and sighed in relief. The object of her worry was undisturbed. The small green cocoon was intact, safely tucked between cushioning bundles of clothing. She placed her hoof on its shell, feeling its warmth and the steady rhythm of its occupant's heartbeat. Assured that the tiny and helpless newborn entrusted to her care was safe, Rose closed the bag again and turned to look forward where her husband and the blue pegasus were still chatting. If Rainbow Blaze was any indication, Equestria was far more welcoming than they had dared to hope. This could actually work. After they started to see buildings in the distance, Rose finally relaxed, letting a smile cross her face. This city in clouds was a safe haven, peaceful and calm. They could live here and raise the newborn as their own, giving her a normal childhood. She would never need to know who or what she really was, living her life as an ordinary pegasus. Everypony would be safer that way. It was shaping up to be a beautiful summer day in Ponyville. At least for Twilight Sparkle. She walked down the street, dodging a pair of fillies eating ice cream as she made her way towards the town's post office. The summer heat had emptied the streets, most ponies either staying indoors or going for a swim or a picnic or something like that. Twilight wasn't really an expert in such things. She was going to enjoy this peaceful summer day in her own way. As in, getting the newest Daring Do book from the mail, along with sundry other books she had ordered from Canterlot, and spending all day indoors reading them. Maybe she could organize her library again while she was at it. Starlight had left to visit her town and Spike was helping Rarity with her boutique in Canterlot, so Twilight had the entire castle for herself. Perfect time for some relaxing reading. Twilight was about to jump up and clap her hooves together in anticipation of her upcoming day with her new books, but she blinked when she saw who was walking down the street a short distance away. "Fluttershy!" "Oh, good morning, Twilight!" Fluttershy smiled at her. "It sure is a beautiful day, isn't it?" "It certainly is!" Twilight trotted closer with a smile, but it faded quickly when she remembered why she had been so surprised to see her friend. "I thought you were still in that meeting of Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures? Did it end early?" Fluttershy's smile disappeared for a second before coming back again. "N-no. I just haven't been feeling very well in the last few days." She frantically waved her hoof at Twilight before the unicorn had time to ask whether her friend was alright. "It's nothing serious! Maybe it's this heat or all those other ponies in the meeting. I just felt like I wanted to come back home a bit early." Twilight looked at Fluttershy for a moment, but since she seemed to be perfectly well, the unicorn relaxed and smiled again. "Well, you should still visit a doctor just to be sure." Fluttershy smiled back. "I'm sure it's nothing, but I will, if I'm still feeling tired tomorrow." Twilight nodded, patting her friend on her back. "Alright, see you later then. Have a good day!" The two friends waved at each other and then walked to their separate ways, Twilight heading towards the post office at the end of the street and Fluttershy to her cottage at the edge of Ponyville. Five minutes later, Twilight eagerly stepped out the post office with her new books floating above her before promptly colliding with Rainbow Dash, who was entering the office at the same time. After a moment of confusion, the two ponies managed to untangle themselves and stand back up, Twilight levitating the books that had been scattered all around the doorway back into air again. "Hi Twilight! Didn't see you there!" She didn't have time to even open her mouth to scold Dash for not being more careful before the pegasus plowed on. "Are you here for the new Daring Do book too?" "She sure is," Applejack said from behind Dash, plucking said book from her face and straightening her hat. "Ah’ve said it a million times b’fore and Ah'm going to say it a million times more before you learn it, Rainbow Dash. Look before you leap." "Come on, Applejack!" Rainbow grabbed the book from her friend's hooves and raised it up as if it were a sports cup she had just won in a competition, looking at it with the glee of a true fan. "I can't wait to read it!" "Well, you’ll have to wait a moment longer. That is my copy." The book levitated itself out of Rainbow's hooves back to Twilight, who then pointed inside the post office with her hoof. "Yours is right there on the shelf. It wasn't hard to guess who else had ordered a copy." Dash was inside the office and arguing with the clerk about cutting in front of the entire line before Twilight could get out another word, so she just shook her head. Applejack chuckled. "At least she waited for the mail to deliver it instead of gettin' it herself, sugarcube." Twilight rotated her books in the air, looking closely for any scratches as she replied, "she has to keep herself available in case the Wonderbolts need her." "That's true." Applejack stretched her legs and stepped to the side with Twilight as another pony entered the post office. "Too bad Rarity and Fluttershy are out of town. It's a mighty fine day. We could have figured out somethin' to do together." "Oh, Fluttershy came back today already. I just met her." Applejack raised an eyebrow at her, so Twilight followed with, "She said that she hasn't been feeling very well." Her friend’s expression scrunched into a frown, and Twilight rolled her eyes and elaborated further. "She looked fine and said she was just tired of crowds." Applejack scratched her head, still not convinced. "Maybe Rainbow Dash and I should still go and see her, just to make sure." Twilight nodded with a smile, gesturing inside the post office. "I'm sure she’ll want to tell Fluttershy how good the new book is." She turned to walk away, but turned back to look at Applejack again. "I'm sure it's nothing, but let me know if she seems sick. That meeting has ponies from all across Equestria in it, so who knows what kind of flu she could have gotten." Applejack nodded and waved to Twilight as she walked away, turning to step inside the post office. Twilight was probably right and it was nothing, but Applejack couldn’t even remember whether Fluttershy had ever been sick before. Fluttershy felt sick as she walked up the path leading to her cottage. Well, not sick. She felt weak and vaguely hungry, or perhaps just thirsty. It was difficult to put the feeling into words. It had struck Fluttershy in the meeting and she somehow knew that getting back home and being with her animal friends would make her feel better. She got all the way to her door before she noticed a box lying on her doorstep. A simple cardboard box, identical to those used by the mail service. She looked around, but there was nopony in sight. She didn't remember ordering anything by mail, and the box was bereft of any postmarks or written addresses. Fluttershy looked at the box for a moment longer before she shrugged, opening the door and pushing the box inside with her. Angel was immediately there to greet her, and he wasn't alone. The birds, mice, and seemingly the entire cottage came to greet Fluttershy. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you all again! Did you miss me too?" A chorus of chirps and hisses filled the room in agreement, and Fluttershy laughed aloud in a way she seldom did with other ponies. She was feeling better already! How could anypony not feel good when being adored by such cute animals? Fluttershy went to the kitchen to fill Angel's bowl with carrots and lettuce and then fed all the other animals who used her cottage or her backyard as their home. It was only after doing her chores she remembered that box again. Fluttershy walked to it and lifted it onto the table, opening it carefully and looking inside. The contents were not very exciting. All that the box contained was a small stone or gem of some sort. Fluttershy grabbed the gem and lifted it up, taking it in front of the window to see it better. It was enough small for her to hold in her hooves, more like a small ball or pearl than a gem. It was completely black and devoid of any other discerning features, its surface smooth and cool to the touch. Fluttershy turned the mysterious gem in her hooves, trying to figure out why anypony would send her something like this, or what possible purpose it could have. It wasn't even heavy enough to be a paperweight. She decided to ask Rarity about this. She knew everything there was to know about... Fluttershy fell to her knees, her hooves suddenly too weak to hold her weight. She felt dizzy, and her vision blurred. The gemstone felt warm to hold, and for a moment, Fluttershy thought she saw it glowing with a sickly green light. Before she could help it, the gemstone slipped from her hooves, falling down with her and rolling away across the floor. Fluttershy tried to rise, but she screamed in shock when she looked at her own hooves, falling down again. They were black and filled with holes, looking like burnt twigs. But then she blinked and there was nothing wrong with her hooves. They were yellow and whole, completely normal. Fluttershy tapped them against the floor and sighed in relief when nothing felt wrong. She must have been even more exhausted than she thought. But the dizziness didn't go away. She was still hungry too. So hungry that it was hard to think. No, not hungry. Empty. Hollow. That was how this felt. Her skin somehow felt wrong too, like she was wearing a costume that didn't properly fit her, breaking apart at the seams. Fluttershy shuddered and tried to get rid of the disturbing mental image, but she was distracted by a knock on the door. Or maybe somepony had been knocking for a moment already because the sound was getting more insistent. "You there, sugarcube? Are you alright?" It was still difficult to think, but Fluttershy realized that Twilight must had told Applejack that she had come home early. Maybe she was worried about her too. With a little willpower, Fluttershy rose up and shakily walked to the door, determined to prove to her friends that everything was alright and that there was no need to worry about her. She was just feeling a bit dizzy and exhausted. She didn't notice the sparks of green flames following her steps, or how the color of her eyes had changed from their normal light blue to a deep emerald green.