Chapter 1- A Light in the Snow
A Home for the Homeless
Chapter 1
A Light in the Snow
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The wind howled, sending the snow in one direction, then the next, whipping her mane again and again, making it even harder to see.
Rose Aphid struggled to pull the large bag of bits along the ground.
It had been several hours since she was given the kindness from that pony. That kindness was keeping her warm and was helping her keep up her form of a blank-flanked pegasus filly with a pink and white mane and tail. She was wearing the apron the pony had wrapped around her to keep her from getting cold, along with the kindness also warming her. Now she was wearing it like a jumper.
Though, much of the physical heat had left it since she’d left the alley and started walking through Canterlot again, the gesture of its being given to her was what kept it warm.
Rose let the fabric fall from her mouth and looked around, squinting her eyes.
White. That was all she could see. Nothing, but white snow, blocking everything out, making it impossible to tell which way she was going.
After the first few minutes, she’d thought about heading back to the alley behind that shop. Maybe the pony would be kind enough to give her shelter, if only until the storm lessened? But, finding her way back was impossible. She had no idea if she was walking towards anything or just going in circles.
Rose shivered. Though it was sad to admit, she knew the energy she’d gotten from the pony would not last long. It would still last longer than her last bit of energy from before that, but not much longer.
How had she gotten that small bit of energy again? She couldn’t remember? Had she consumed a memory? Which memory? She had nobody during her time in the hive that were happy enough to be worth consuming, even for a few seconds worth of energy.
The wind grew stronger, more vicious and Rose dropped down, trying to conserve heat.
What was she to do? She couldn’t see where she was going and the chances of finding anywhere to ride out this storm were looking bleaker every second.
“Hello?” a voice faintly called out, so quiet Rose was sure she’d just imagined it. “Is anypony out there?” Rose did not answer. She knew the voice was not real. It was her mind playing tricks on her. Nopony would be out in this storm. Nopony, but her.
“Can you hear me? Do you need any help?” the voice called out again. Rose noticed it sounded female. Maybe her mind was trying to make her think her mother had come for her.
She snorted. Her mother? Her mother was the changeling queen. Why would have mother be looking for her?
“Can you hear me?” the voice called out again. “If you can, come towards the light.”
To Rose’s surprise, a lavender light suddenly appeared from within the white surrounding her. Deciding she may as well indulge her herself with the fantasy she was subconsciously creating for herself, she stood up, gripped the bag in her teeth and, keeping her eye on the light, slowly made her way over to it.
But, as she drew closer, Rose noticed the light was not fading away, as all illusions do when you get closer to them. In fact, it was getting brighter.
Within a few minutes, she’d reached the light, hearing the sound of a magical aura as she passed through a field of magic the same colour as the light.
Her mouth dropped open, the bag of bits hitting the ground and spilling open. She did not care, for what she was seeing she dared not believe.
It was an alicorn. A lavender mare with large wings tinged a darker purple at their edges. The horn on her head was much larger than a unicorn’s horn.
She was not as tall as Rose had heard Princess Celestia or Princess Cadence were. This alicorn looked more the size of a regular pony.
She had heard of this alicorn shortly before she’d had to leave the hive. Princess Twilight Sparkle, the newest of the alicorns and the bearer of the Element of Magic.
Rose began to shiver and not from the cold.
She knew the very alicorn Chrysalis, the former queen, had impersonated was now this alicorn’s sister-in-law. How could she get away? If the princess found out what she was, Rose knew the kind gesture from that other pony would mean nothing, for her end would surely come at the hooves of this alicorn.
It was then, she saw the look on the princess’s face. Concern.
The princess leaned her head down, so she was level with Rose. “Are you okay?” The question dumbfounded Rose. Having forgotten she was still disguised as a Pegasus, she had not been expecting such a question, nor for it to asked with such gentle care.
“What is your name, little filly?” Princess Twilight asked, her face showing nothing but concern for Rose. Rose shuffled her hooves a few times before answering, very quietly.
“Rose Aphid, your highness.” Rose thanked the Goddesses that, when she’d taken on this form, the distorted sound in her voice had gone.
The princess smiled. “Rose Aphid. That’s a very pretty name.”
Rose felt a small blush of red appear on her cheeks. She had always been teased in the hive for her name. To hear it being called pretty, with no malice, was a wonderful thing.
Princess Twilight looked around, frowning at the snow outside the magical field. “Where do you live, Rose? Do you need help getting home?" Rose looked away, tears welling in her eyes. “Rose?” Twilight put a wing around her as the tears slid down her muzzle. “What’s wrong?”
“I-I—” Rose stuttered, her voice shaking, before the dam burst. “I don’t have a home!”
Twilight gasped, then regained herself and asked, “But, you have a family somewhere, don’t you?”
Rose shook her head violently. “No, I don’t! They kicked me out! I have nowhere!" She began sobbing, sitting down on her haunches and holding her forehooves over her eyes as the flow of tears streamed down. “I-I— I d-d-don’t have an-any-wh-where! N-n-n-nopony loves me! I-I-I’m worthless!”
Her body was shaking from the sobs erupting from her. Rose had thought the kindness from that pony would be enough to force away all the pain, but, now, it was all coming out and she couldn’t hold it back any longer.
She had no one and no home. Nopony would want her. Why would they? She was an exiled changeling, abandoned and left to die by her own kind. Who could love a changeling anyway?
Rose stopped suddenly, when she realized Twilight had pulled her into a tight embrace. “You are not worthless,” Twilight said firmly and the tone in her voice made the young changeling hesitate. “Never say that again, Rose. Never even think that you're worthless, do you understand?”
Rose did not say anything. She had been surprised at first, but now was basking in the warmth coming from Twilight. It was compassion, the same as she had received from that other pony. Only, this was stronger, somehow. Almost like love, though Rose did not believe for a second that one of the princesses could love a creature like her.
Twilight spoke again, and this time, her words left Rose speechless. “You can stay with me. I won’t leave you out here all alone.”
Rose looked up into the princess’s eyes. There were tears in them. The princess was crying, for her. Twilight gently loosened the embrace, letting go of Rose.
The bag of bits at Rose’s hooves glowed with the same coloured aura as the field surrounding them and lifted up, every bit that had fallen out, returning to the inside.
“Mind telling me where you got these, though?” Twilight asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Rose looked down at her hooves. "A pony gave them to me."
“From that apron, I have a good idea who,” Twilight said, indicating the apron around Rose’s body. “You will have to thank Joe when you next see him.”
Rose nodded, not wanting to tell why that would not be possible, since the pony named Joe had already told Rose not to let him see her near his store again.
As they trudged through the white-covered city, Rose kept glancing up at Twilight. She did not understand how she could be so kind as to offer a perfect stranger her own home to stay in.
Yes, she was still disguised as a Pegasus and Twilight didn’t know she was actually a changeling, but Rose still couldn’t understand why she’d be so kind to somepony she didn’t even know.
________________________________________________________________
The sounds of Hearth’s Warming music and songs could be heard, muffled. A door shone with Twilight’s magical aura, as if appearing out of thin air to Rose. The door opened and the two trotted inside, the magical field disappearing as the door closed behind them.
The sight before her made little Rose Aphid’s heart scream with joy. They were in a house with beautiful yellow painted walls, all covered with Hearth’s Warming decorations.
Baubles of red and green and gold. Tinsel stretched from wall to wall. A tree decorated with all the above and more by the fireplace, which was lit and roaring with flames. And the warmth, oh, praise to the mother, the warmth. It was heaven.
“Twily,” a loud voice said. “Where’ve you been?” Rose was suddenly aware of the other six ponies in the room. They were all dressed in Hearth’s Warming clothes, jumpers and scarves, all with Hearth's Warming patterns.
There were three unicorns; two stallions, one white, the other a dark-blue, the other a mare, also white. But, the other three ponies? They were alicorns. They were Princess Cadence, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. She gulped.
"Sorry I’m late, everypony,” Twilight smiled, putting a wing around the little Pegasus. “But, I found young Rose here out in the snow, so I brought her with me.”
"Hello, there, dear,” the unicorn mare said, taking a few steps forward. “I’m Twilight Velvet, Twilight’s mother and, yes, it is very confusing having two ponies with the name 'Twilight' in the same household.”
Rose said nothing. The kindness and warmth coming from them all was filling her, making her a bit giddy.
"I am curious, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Luna said, looking at Rose. “Why did you not take her to her home? Her family must be worried.”
Rose looked away and Twilight glanced at her, then at Luna. “She... doesn’t have a family.” To this Luna raised an eyebrow. Twilight walked over and whispered into her ear, “She says they kicked her out.” Luna’s eyes widened.
“You are not serious?" she said in hushed voice. "She was joking, was she not?” Twilight stepped back and shook her head sadly.
“She was sobbing as she told me. I don’t think she’s making it up. Her family really did kick her out.”
“If I ever get my hooves on them...” Luna muttered, her right eye twitching with the effort of keeping her calm demeanor.
“Well, it looks like we’ve one more guest for Hearth’s Warming,” Velvet said, nudging Rose towards the fireplace. “Come on, dear, let’s get you warmed up.”
As she sat down in front of the fire, and a red and green scarf was magical wrapped around her neck, Rose looked from Velvet to Twilight. “You... you mean I can really stay?”
Twilight smiled. “Of course. And you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” Twilight walked over to Rose and lay down next to her, wrapping a wing around the small filly.
Rose did not protest. The fire was lovely and the love she was feeling from Twilight and Velvet was wonderful. Even Princess Luna and Cadence’s love towards her was wonderful. Celestia was giving a kindness, but there was something behind it.
She snuggled into the alicorn mare and felt her eyes closing. She’d never thought she would be this lucky. She was exiled from the hive, left to die, and yet, she’d found a place to stay, if only for a few days, where she was surrounded by love.
As she felt herself drifting off to sleep, Rose was looking forward to the next day. Whatever was to come, she knew, she would be happy, for this was the best night of her life.
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i like it and yay that going to be more chapters to this story this time
i love reading changeling stories!
so, my good pony, i thank you.
3919665 What you said.
3931626 yeah
I just realized something. You need to give credit to the original story idea creator. You pretty much just made a sequel. You need to add a link to the creator's story and you need to say that this is a sequel. Here's the link: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/153282/1/if-only-in-my-dreams/if-only-in-my-dreams Put it in the description.
yikes
At last, stories where Channies aren't evil. :-)
hello, remember that youtube comment?
this one is the one to be narrated and pony FX edited
hope youll enjoy it
I couldn't eps but smile as I read this
Thank you for continuing this story. I felt the same way about the ending of " if only in my dreams".
It must be a hard act to keep up