Change the Heart

by FatesWinds

Chapter 13: Just Like Me

Chapter 13
Just Like Me
“No matter where you go in life, always make sure to find your way safely back home.” –Excerpt from Hearth and Home

"Woooohoooooo!" shouted Rainbow Dash as Fate's Winds soared over the tentacles of a giant kraken that had been trying to crush them moments ago before they had once again engaged the rockets and took to the skies. "Now this is what I'm talking about! Why haven't we done this sooner?!"

"Rainbow Dash, be careful!" Twilight cried, gripping the railing on the deck to avoid being thrown off the ship from how fast the pegasus was making them shoot through the air as she circled the kraken's tentacles, pulled off a barrel roll past two that had shot to pierce right where they had been, and performed loop-the-loops around several more so closely that it was a wonder why their mast was intact.

"Oh don't be such a worrywart," Dash scolded, looking over her shoulder at her friend. "With my skills and this thing's speed, there's no way that slow, blundering, overgrown squid could possibly-."

Her words were cut short as the giant sea monster wrapped its largest and longest tentacle around the ship's stern, crumpling one of the rockets like an empty soda can, cracking the reinforced, magically shielded wood and metal running along both sides of the ship's rear ends, and partially crushing the ship's cabin. The kraken began to pull them down towards the water as it raised its grotesque head out of the ocean, opening its jagged, barnacle covered beak hungrily and fixed its eight milky-white eyes on its prey. It let out a loud screech that sounded like a mix of nails on a blackboard and grinding brakes, showering the ponies on deck with salt water, spittle, partially digested meat from its last meal, and dozens of bone fragments. A scream came from somewhere through the ship, Twilight couldn't tell where or who it came from.

"You just had to try to jump the ship using that thing as a ramp!" Heart Shield shouted at Rainbow Dash. "You just had to try some pointless tricks with the jets and burn its tentacle didn't you!"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time!" she shot back.

"Your good idea is going to get us killed!!! Can't you just stop trying to show off all the time and focus on the mission we had?!" he replied. "Twilight can you get us free already?!"

Twilight was already busy trying to boost the ship's shields with her magic and shouted back at him, her voice strained, "This isn't as easy as it looks!"

"Forget the damn shield and fire some magic laser or something at it before we get swallowed!"

"If I drop this shield it'll crush us in half!"

As they argued the kraken continued to pull them closer to its mouth.

"Well we can't just let this thing eat us!"

"I don't see you trying anything!" Twilight snarled at him.

"Do I look like I have a bloody horn on my head?!" Heart Shield retorted.

Twilight was right though, they needed to get out of the kraken's grip, or at least loosen it, but how? He looked around frantically for the answer, there had to be something! His eyes alighted on their only remaining intact jet, which was dangerously close to the underside of the tentacle that held them captive.

"Dash, floor it!" he shouted.

"Are you crazy? There's no way we can jet our way out of this!" his friend replied.

"Do you have any better ideas? Just do it!"

She didn't argue and slammed her hoof onto the button that fired the rockets. Instantly the jet flared to life, shooting out a white-hot flame the size of Discord's statue into the unprotected underside of the kraken's tentacle, searing a nasty red welt onto the raw flesh. The kraken screeched in pain, releasing its hold just a fraction.

"Twilight shoot it now!"

Twilight abandoned her attempt to boost the shield and summoned all her strength, putting it into the largest blast of pure, raw magical power aimed directly at the centermost eye. The kraken screeched louder; the combined pain of the scorching flame and the blinding, stinging magic caused the giant beast to decide that maybe this meal wasn't worth the trouble. It pulled its tentacle back and threw the ship as hard as it could through the air. Fate's Winds tumbled end over end as it shot through the skies– all ponies on board gripped whatever was nearest to them to avoid being thrown off the ship and abandoned to the cruel seas below, screaming their throats raw. The force of the throw soon put them out of eyeshot of the kraken, which sank back below the waters in search of a better, less pain-inducing meal.

"Now who's going to get us killed!" Rainbow Dash screamed at Heart Shield.

"At least my plan was actually a good idea at the time; I didn't plan on getting thrown like a football!"

"And now we're going to die when we land!"

"Shut up! It's hard enough to think with everything spinning, I don't need to hear your criticisms on top of that!" Heart Shield shouted.

"I hate to interrupt such a lovely debate," interjected Rarity, "but could you two save it for when we're not about to crash into the side of a cliff?"

Both pegasi stopped talking and looked at the bow; they were indeed about to smash into the side if a giant cliff, and at this speed, none of them would survive the impact.

"Dash, fire the thrusters again! Twilight, Rarity focus all of your magic into a shield around the ship!" ordered Heart Shield. He grabbed what appeared to be the front end of a trombone attached to the world's longest pipe and shouted into it, "Everypony brace for impact!"

* * *

"…take weeks to repair, even if we knew what we were doing!" Twilight said angrily to Dash and Heart Shield.

"So we're stuck here?" grumbled Rainbow Dash.

"That's what I just finished saying!"

"Could y'all stop fightin' for a while?" Applejack called up to the three ponies who stood on deck, surveying the damage to the ship.

The crash hadn't been as bad as it could have been. They had lost their left thruster when hitting the cliff –it lay about a hundred yards away along with a good portion of the left side of the stern, their port and aft sides of the bow had taken a beating, the alicorn masthead had broken off and now lay on the shore below them, the cabin had caved in slightly, and almost the entire stern looked like there had been a giant lasso squeezing it shut, the sails were the most worrying part, they had been ripped in several places and the magical fabric that had been used to make them was one of the few things they hadn't been given spare parts to repair. Without the sails or a second working thruster they were pretty much stranded on the island they had crashed onto.

"Since it looks like we're going t'be stuck here for a while, ah thought we should scope out the island. No sense in gettin' trapped on another phantom island," Applejack said. "Pinkie's comin' with me, but ah'd feel right safer if we had eyes in the sky, would one o' y'all-?"

"I'll do it!" Rainbow Dash interrupted, eagerly soaring away from Twilight's anger to the relative safety of the shore. "Lead the way Aj."

Applejack took a glance up at the ponies on board, leaving only when Heart Shield gave her a small nod. Heart Shield looked back at the damage and sighed.

"Fluttershy and I will get started on repairing what we can," he said, "while you and Rarity focus on getting power back to the crystal."

Twilight opened her mouth to retort, but fortunately Rarity stepped in and hurried her away.

"That sounds like an excellent idea, Heart Shield," she said, pushing Twilight into the cabin. "Come along Twilight, we'd best get to it."

Heart Shield slumped in defeat after the unicorns had disappeared inside. They were definitely in a fix. He didn't even know if the ship could be repaired.

"No use in dwelling on things that aren't certain," he said to himself. "Better get started on repairs. It looks like we'll need to replace the outer hull more than anything else at the moment…"

* * *

An hour later Rainbow Dash shot out of the forest surrounding the shore, shouting for all of them to come with her.

"You'll never believe this!" she cried.

"Believe what?" asked Fluttershy, a little fearfully.

"We found the most amazing thing you've ever seen; Come on!"

Heart Shield and Twilight exchanged a look before climbing down the ramp to the shore, followed by Rarity and Fluttershy, and followed Rainbow Dash into the woods. The mare wouldn't answer their questions about what the fuss was about, merely insisting that they hurry along and wouldn't believe their eyes when they saw it.

She was right.

Several miles in, the woods broke off into a hilly clearing, marked with dozens upon dozens of houses, both on land and in the clouds. Everywhere they looked they saw pegasi walking and flying around, eagerly talking amongst themselves. There was something odd about them all, but Heart Shield wasn't given a chance to wonder what it was before Pinkie popped up and yanked him to the center of town where Applejack stood talking to one of the pegasi, a green mare with a white and yellow streaked mane, a white tail, and a cutie mark that looked like a tornado turning into a bolt of lightning. She turned her green eyes from Applejack, whom she had been in the middle of speaking with, to study the newcomer.

"I didn't think you were telling the truth," she said to Applejack, still looking Heart Shield up and down, "but I can see I was gravely mistaken. Please accept my sincerest apologies, Applejack of Equestria."

"Ain't nothin' to apologize for; ah'd be skeptical too if somepony from way o'er the sea told me that there was a mare who looked like she was a long-lost member of the Apple family," Applejack replied. "Heart Shield, ah'd like y'all t'meet-,"

"Gale Bolt," interrupted the pegasus mare, stepping forward to shake the colt's hoof. "Welcome to Outset Island, the isle of the pegasi."

She waved her hoof to the side, drawing attention once more to the dozens of pegasi flying through the air and coming to crowd around them. Heart Shield looked around at them, trying to figure out what was so odd about them, but it wasn't until Rainbow Dash landed beside him that he pieced it together. Their wings. Their wings were not the same as Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy's. Instead, they were the exact same size as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's, the same size as… his.

"H-how...?" he said, his voice cracking as he looked wildly from one pegasus to another, struggling to comprehend what he was seeing. How could there be other pegasi with wings like his? There weren't any like him in Equestria.

"Welcome home, Heart Shield," Gale Bolt said to him.

Heart Shield stared at the mare in disbelief.

"Home?" he asked, a little harshly from shock. "What are you talking about?"

Gale Bolt gave him a sympathetic look.

"I would have thought it obvious. Your friends have told me much about you; how you were found abandoned in the capital of your country, how you were raised not knowing your parents or your place in the world, the hardships you suffered, being the only pegasus of your nature in Equestria, and so much more," she said with a smile. "It must come as an immense relief to have, after all this time, found your true home; here, on Outset Island. Though, I must admit it came as a shock to discover that an Outset pegasus lived so far from here."

"Now hold on a second," said Twilight, taking a step forward. "Are you implying that Heart Shield isn't from Equestria, but from this island instead?"

"My dear girl, I'm not implying anything; I'm stating a fact. Your friend here clearly doesn't belong in your country."

Gale Bolt looked at each of the young ponies who had landed on her island as if they were much too young to understand the conversation.

"Allow me to ask you this," she said. "Have any of you ever heard of a pony such as him living in your country before?"

There was an uncomfortable silence as the six mares looked away; only Heart Shield met Gale Bolt's gaze, his eyes narrowed.

"Just because none of us have heard of it before doesn't mean that there hasn't been one," he said.

"That is true," admitted Gale Bolt with a shrug, "but the fact remains that there is more evidence of you belonging with us than with /them./"

There was a slight hint of contempt in her voice that Heart Shield almost missed. Almost.

"And what might that be?"

"For starters, your wings. If your friends are any example of our race in your… home, then you are clearly not the same as any of them. For another, there is the fact that your parents have never been found in your country. Now, why might that be?"

"So what if they never showed up?" Heart Shield replied. "It doesn't mean that they were from here. If they were, then why wouldn't they just let me be born here?"

One colt, a tall, brown pony with a black mane and tail with white tips and grey eyes, spoke up.

"There had been an outbreak of a virus years back," he said, "many newborn foals and fillies died from it before we could find a cure."

Gale Bolt had a triumphant look on her face.

"Thank you Nimbus," she said, locking gazes with Heart Shield again. "You see? A logical explanation. Ah, but I can see that this is something that takes time to digest. Come, let us put this aside for now. Allow me to show you around our dear home, and perhaps you could tell me how you came to Outset? I’d also love to hear more about this land where you’ve been living.”

Heart Shield frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but noticed how excited his friends looked; Twilight’s eyes were practically glowing and he could only imagine the numerous questions she had for these pegasi going through her mind right now. The pegasus shook his head and sighed in defeat.

“Very well,” he said. “We do need to try to fix our ship anyway, so I guess it won’t hurt to stay until we repair it.”

He shot his friends a look to remind them that while they may be fascinated with the ponies on this island, they still had a mission to accomplish. Time was running out while they dawdled here, for both their home and for Chrysalis. Heart Shield had no doubts that another attack was imminent, and more concerning was their continued inability to get in touch with the Princesses. They didn’t have time to waste, especially if he was to prove Chrysalis’s innocence before something else happened to Equestria.

“Excellent,” said Gale Bolt. “Follow me. While we walk, you and your friends can tell me all about this ‘Equestria’ you call your home. Then you can show me this ship of yours and we’ll see what we can do to help your friends to repair it.”

* * *

Gale Bolt, along with the colt Nimbus, led Heart Shield and his friends through the island, showing off the town of Hoofling that Applejack and Rainbow Dash had stumbled upon, and even brought them to the capital city, Perchens. For the next few hours, she went on about the history of the Outset pegasi, from the time the first pegasus discovered the island hundreds of years earlier, a mare named Dust Shower, to the modern day with the outbreak of the virus Nimbus had mentioned and the subsequent cure developed by their neighboring nation Coltata. Gale Bolt was more than happy to answer the seemingly never-ending questions Twilight had for her, though more often than not it seemed that the answers she gave were directed at Heart Shield rather than his friend.

As it turned out, the Outset pegasi had no official form of government despite having a capital (which Gale Bolt explained was more for formality’s sake whenever diplomats from Coltata came to their island). Instead, the pegasi relied on each other for any help they needed, and had a sort of council should any disputes or issues arise that needed addressing. Gale Bolt was one of the members of the council, thus why she’d taken it upon herself to see to these foreign ponies that had come to their shores. She seemed to take more pride in this duty of hers than Heart Shield thought was appropriate. In fact, he found her attitude rather smug, similar to how his friends had described the personality of Trixie Lulamoon. It was beginning to get on his nerves. Several times he attempted to direct the conversation back to the topic of repairing their ship, but each time Gale Bolt brushed his words aside, saying that she would send someone out to take a look at it and see what supplies they could offer, then brought up some random nonsense about Outset.

“If I might inquire,” Rarity said, “you mentioned earlier that Outset was the isle of the pegasi. Does that mean that you have no other ponies living on the island?”

“That’s quite correct,” replied Gale Bolt. “Here on Outset, only we pegasi live. On occasions such as visits from Coltata, other races do stay here for a while, but otherwise we pegasi keep to ourselves. That’s not to say that we do not have the rare case of unicorns or earth pony foals or fillies being born, but such instances are an extremely rare occurrence here.”

“Do all pegasi have wings like yers?” asked Applejack.

“Of course,” Gale Bolt answered proudly, puffing her chest out slightly and allowed her wings to extend to their full length. “It is a proud trait that all from our island share.”

She looked directly at Heart Shield when she said this, giving him a smug smile. He shot her a glare in return.

“How is that possible?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Large-wing here’s the only pony in Equestria like that. Well, besides the princesses of course.”

“I’m surprised your unicorn companions haven’t noticed it,” was Gale Bolt’s response.

“Noticed what?” said Twilight.

“Why, the innate magic running through all of Outset. Our island thrives with the magic flowing through its very veins. Everything from the pegasi to the trees have been shaped and molded by its whim.”

“You speak as though you consider this magic to be almost alive,” Heart Shield said skeptically.

“It is alive, young Heart Shield,” she replied coolly. “Outset is more in tune with the magic of the world than anywhere else. Its touch is everywhere here, it is the reason we so rarely have unicorn or earth pony young born here. The world’s magic provides us with all that we could possibly need. The weather is always peaceful, our crops plentiful, the seasons perfect; in fact, save for the disease years ago, we have had no major issues with our home. Outset is a paradise for we pegasi.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed.

“Yeah right. Everypony knows that only unicorns can use magic. It’s not something that can think for itself.”

“Oh but it is,” said Gale Bolt. “Perhaps Equestria is farther from the heart of the world than Outset, or less in tune with it as a result of so many races intermingling. We may not be able to control the magic like your unicorn friends, but we do not seek to control it. We live in harmony with the world’s magic, and in return it grants us all we desire. All one needs to do is open themselves up to its ever-present existence, become one in mind and essence with it. Feel its touch around you in all of nature, within the very soil beneath your hooves. Listen to the voice of the world, of the magic speaking through the air, the sea, even the grass. That is the gift of Outset.”

As she spoke, Heart Shield had the oddest sensation. A faint touch against his mind, the lightest of caresses, as though a wisp of smoke were brushing against it. It was so soft that he later questioned if he had felt anything at all or if he’d let Gale Bolt’s words get to him. At the time, however, the touch grabbed his attention. Along with the touch, he could swear he heard something. It seemed like a quiet voice, no, multiple voices, all reaching out to him with their faint whispers at once. He couldn’t make out the words if there were any at all, and the thing that perplexed him the most was the sudden sense of leaves that came to mind. It was as though some familiarity, some connection between the whispers and trees swaying in the breeze existed completely entwined, like some melding of nature and language that was just beyond his ability to understand what was being spoken. Despite this he had the idea that he was being told to look at something, thought where this thought came from escaped him.

As soon as it came, the sensation vanished. All in all, the experience took less than the span of three seconds, but it was enough to wrench him away from the conversation. Heart Shield looked around as Gale Bolt led him and his friends through the capital’s residential district, showing off the housing to them. He wasn’t sure what it was he was looking for, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was supposed to find something.

A tuft of a mane retreating behind one of the buildings caught his eye, causing him to stop where he was and have Fluttershy collide with his back. He didn’t know what it was about the mane that made him stop all of a sudden, it wasn’t as if ponies weren’t going about their days as usual around them, but something made him certain that this was what he was supposed to notice. He muttered an apology to Fluttershy and broke from the group, heading in the direction of the pony.

“Heart Shield? What are you doing?” Twilight asked.

“Taking a walk,” he replied. “There was… I want to take a look at something.”

“What could possibly have gotten your attention over there?” inquired Rarity.

“Nothing. I just- Something was-… I’ll meet you all back at the council building Gale Bolt showed us.”

Gale Bolt studied him with an odd expression. She brought a wing up to hide her mouth, a smirk lining her lips. She had felt the world’s attention shift to this colt, and had an idea of what had just happened. Here at last was the final, conclusive, proof of his origins, in her opinion. The magic was as curious about him as she was and had decided to reach out to him, and judging by his current reactions, he certainly noticed it, even if he wasn’t aware exactly what it was.

“I assume your friend has also felt the island,” she said. “It is always an unusual experience, hearing it for the first time.”

“Heard what?” asked Twilight. “What are you talking about?”

“Its words will become clearer in time,” Gale Bolt said, ignoring the unicorn’s questions. “There is no better place than your home to feel it Heart Shield.”

Heart Shield stopped and looked over his shoulder to glower at the mare.

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about,” he said sharply. “I just want to look at something and you’re busy showing my friends around so I’ll see it myself. Other than your own, there haven’t been any words spoken. And for the last time, my home is not this island. My home is Equestria.”

“Nonsense. I know you felt its touch just now. It’s only natural for an Outset pony to be more in touch with it than others, even one who hasn’t been here before. The world’s taken an interest in you, and you know it. Please, dear, do stop denying this truth. None of your friends have noticed it, not even the ones most familiar with the touch of magic; surely that is proof enough for you. You belong here, with us."

"That doesn't prove anything," he shot back testily. "And I may be different from other pegasi in Equestria, but that doesn't mean that it isn't my home. I'm not an Outset pony, I'm an Equestrian, and nothing you say changes that!"

He turned away from the other pegasi and stormed off, fuming. Fluttershy ran after him while Applejack and Twilight offered Gale Bolt an apologetic look.

"Ah'm sure he didn't mean any offense," Applejack said. "He's just a little high-strung at the moment."

"Ah, yes, you mentioned your quest to find this Chrysalis pony," Gale Bolt replied, nodding. "And there is no offense taken, I assure you. He's merely in shock right now. I would be curt too if my world had just been turned upside down. He needs time to digest all of this; I'm certain he'll come around."

"Would it be alright if we rested here for a while?" asked Twilight. "Our ship-."

"Certainly," Gale Bolt interrupted, "As you may remember, Applejack here has already explained your predicament to me. You may stay here as long as it takes you to repair your ship. We have plenty of spare supplies you could use if you would like, unfortunately I’m not certain we have everything you would need here. There aren't any unicorns here at the moment, so we cannot provide replacements for the curious sails Applejack described, but we do have cloth that can be used to travel normally by wind.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said with a smile. “I promise that we won’t be much of a bother to you.”

* * *

Heart Shield returned to his friends later in the afternoon. He hadn’t had any luck in locating the pony he’d seen, no doubt a result of Gale Bolt keeping him from pursuing the mysterious pony with her annoying insistence that he was from Outset, that the parents that abandoned him at the gates to Canterlot castle had lived here. His mood wasn’t improved when Pinkie casually mentioned this ridiculous theory when he returned, sparking an argument between the two friends.

"But what if she's right?" Fluttershy said to Heart Shield. For the past ten minutes she had been trying to calm him down. "You could finally have answers about your parents."

"I'm not one of these pegasi!" he snapped at her. "I refuse to believe what Gale Bolt was saying."

"But-."

"Enough! I'm not an Outset pony and that's final!" he shouted. He slammed his hood against the ground and stalked off in a huff. Fluttershy started to go after him, but Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder and pulled her friend aside.

"Maybe it's best if we stay away from that topic for a while; he's wound tighter than a pocket watch," she said in a quiet voice.

"Applejack's right," said Rarity. "Gale Bolt did say that he would need some time to come to terms with this."

"I don't get what's made him so upset," Dash said, scratching the back of her head. "I think it's awesome that there's other pegasi like him. Just imagine what it'd be like to race against some of them."

Heart Shield ignored what his friends were saying as best as he could and walked faster, distancing himself from the conversation. He looked around the city as he went. Oddly enough, it reminded him a little of Ponyville; the moment he thought this he felt a pang of homesickness. It had been nearly three weeks since they'd left Equestria; he wondered how everyone back home was getting along. The summer sun celebration would be soon, where would it be held this year? Who was looking after the library, or the animals? How were things at the Apple farm going? He missed his home, his life there. Would he ever see it again?

He was so lost in thought that he nearly didn't notice a mare staring at him from the shadows between two shops. She only caught his attention because he had the same sensation from earlier, the brush of some consciousness against his mind and the nearly inaudible leaves and whispers that somehow made him think there was something around him that he was supposed to see. When she saw that he had caught her she slipped into the shadows, disappearing from sight as she backed away. Heart Shield looked at his friends who were still talking amongst themselves, then back at the alley the mare had been watching him from. He hesitated a moment before slipping away from the others in pursuit. When he reached the alley he looked around for the mare, surely she couldn't have gotten too far ahead, and spotted the tip of a tail disappearing around a corner. He ran after it. The mare stayed just ahead of him as he chased her through the alleyway; he nearly lost her thrice, but he always managed to catch a glimpse of her just in time to avoid losing her completely, though his luck didn't last. As he rounded the corner of a bakery he found himself staring at a dozen different houses and about another twenty stores. The streets were deserted, all that was left in the direction he’d thought she’d gone was a small house past the limits of the city, all alone on the other side of a large field. He hung his head, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He’d pursued the mare to the edge of the city, only to lose her.

"What was that about?" he said to himself. "Why was she watching me, why did she run?"

He was about to turn around and look for his friends when a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He needed to look twice to make sure of what he saw—someone standing at the entrance to the house, lingering at the door with their gaze fixed in his direction. It had to be the mare. She vanished from sight again, but Heart Shield was already rushing towards the house; he wasn't going to lose her this time! Just as he was about to reach the front door, it slid open and the mare stood in the doorway, still hidden by shadows. He skidded to a halt in time to avoid crashing through the door and into the mare. She stared silently at him for several moments before stepping aside and motioning him to enter.

"Well? Come in then," she said.

Heart Shield obeyed without question. The mare shut the door behind him and turned around to face him, giving him his first real look at her. His eyes widened and he took a shaky step back as he stared at her. She looked exactly like a mare version of him; their coat, wingspan, even their mane and tail were the same! The only differences were her mane was longer than his, her tail and mane were black where he had red, and red where he had black, her eyes were blue instead of red, and she had a cutie mark in the shape of a white feather. Apart from that, she could have passed for an older sister, or...

"Before you ask, no, we aren't related," she said, holding up a hoof.

"Of course not," Heart Shield said dejectedly. It was ridiculous, but Gale Bolt's words, and this pony's appearance, had given him a moment of hope. He should have known better. "Why were you watching me?"

The mare shrugged. "Curiosity," she said simply, "I'd heard that there was a colt on the island who looked like us though he'd never been here and thought I'd see what the fuss was about." She studied him for a little bit before speaking again. "The resemblance is uncanny though..."

Heart Shield had to agree, but the mare clearly meant something else, because she said quietly, as if to herself, "You look so much like she did..."

"Who?"

The mare seemed taken aback, startled that he'd heard her.

"Never you mind," she said with a tone that made it clear she wasn't planning on telling him anything right now. "So, tell me, it's true that you come from far away?"

"How has word spread so fast," he grumbled. "Yes, I'm from Equestria, a country many, many leagues from here.”

The mare nodded at the information he gave her, almost as though it confirmed some thought of hers.

“A comfortable country, I assume. Fortunate to be so far off, I suspect there’d be no way for any diseases to find their way across the ocean. I must say I envy you for that.”

“What do you mean by that? Is this about the plague that Outset had?”

“At your age, I doubt you’d understand,” she replied. “At the very least, I’d hope one as young as you hasn’t made some mare a mother, one never knows with colts your age these days.”

Heart Shield’s cheeks burned brightly at her insinuation.

“Is that how you talk to every colt you meet? Invite them inside and then lecture them about parenthood without even knowing them?”

The mare’s lips twitched upwards in a small smirk momentarily, as if his response reminded her of something or someone.

“Quite the reaction. Good, at least you have a decent head on your shoulders for somepony your age. Never mind that.”

Heart Shield eyed the mare, starting to question if following her was a good idea.

“To answer your question, yes, I was talking about the plague. Many young ones were taken far before their time. Their absence still stings for those closest to them.”

Her tone conveyed the meaning behind her words, even without her explicitly stating it.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Heart Shield said quietly, bowing his head to her.

“It’s the unfortunate fact of life,” she replied, waving his condolences away, “and not why I was curious about you.”

“Really? Why were you spying on me then?”

The mare gave him a look that said he was letting his temper get the better of him.

“Curiosity,” she said simply.

He raised an eyebrow and waited for the mare to elaborate, but she merely looked at him without so much as another word.

“Fine then,” he said when it was clear she wasn’t going to say anything more. “Then are you going to tell me why you led me here?”

“Who knows,” she said with a shrug. “It’s certainly unheard of for an Outset pony to be living so far from the island-.”

“I’m not an Outset pony,” Heart Shield said through gritted teeth.

“-or for somepony to crash their ship, that apparently can fly, into our island,” she continued, ignoring his interruption. “It’s also rare for us to have ponies come from so far away. It’s only natural that I wanted to get a glimpse at the ones being talked about. Though that glimpse certainly came as a surprise…”

“And what do you mean by that?”

“Nothing of concern to you,” was her response.

Heart Shield was beginning to get fed up with the ponies on this island.

“You don’t get to decide that,” he snapped. “It’s not like you’re my mom, and I say that some random pony spying on me and skirting around the issue, dropping ridiculously vague notions, is, in fact, something that is of concern to me. What’s the real reason for watching me, and don’t give me this ‘curiosity’ garbage. Are you one of the changelings? Is that it?”

“I have no idea what a changeling is,” she said. “And if it concerns you so much, I merely had a feeling that you were somepony I should meet.”

Before he could demand to know what she meant, the mare grabbed her head and winced. It looked as though a painful headache struck her, and Heart Shield’s frustration was replaced with concern.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, approaching the mare. “Do you need to sit down, or have a-?”

“Danger’s coming,” she said under her breath, cutting him off. “Something’s headed to Outset.”

“What?”

The mare winced again and then lowered her hoof, shaking her head as the headache faded away.

“It’s nothing, just a headache,” she replied. “They come and go at my age. I apologize if I said anything out of the ordinary.”

Heart Shield wasn’t convinced, but a knock at the door stopped him from voicing his concerns.

“Excuse me, is anypony home? We’re looking for one of our friends and some ponies mentioned they saw him heading in this direction?” came Fluttershy’s voice from the other side of the door.

The mare moved past Heart Shield and opened the door, inviting his friends inside. She waited patiently as Applejack reprimanded him for storming off and Heart Shield clumsily apologized for getting upset, as though this were a regular occurrence in her home. Once the colt was properly mollified she addressed the group, explaining that she’d encountered him in town and wished to verify some things with him. As an apology for causing his friends to worry about his whereabouts, she offered to make them dinner and let them stay the night, a request Twilight politely accepted.

“We’d be grateful for your kindness if you’re certain we’re not imposing on you, Miss…?”

The mare let her gaze lock with Heart Shield’s for several moments before answering Twilight.

“My name is Angel Wing,” she said, still looking at the colt. “And I assure you, it’s no trouble.”

* * *

A cool breeze ran over Heart Shield’s coat that night. Once again he was having trouble sleeping, and so he found himself sitting on Angel Wing’s roof staring up at the moon. He had so much on his mind, but he wasn’t given the time to sort everything out as Angel Wing flew over and sat beside him.

“So I’m not the only one that thinks this is a good place to be with one’s thoughts,” she said, gazing at the moon as well.

Heart Shield didn’t say anything and continued to watch the night sky. They watched the stars blink into existence silently for several minutes. Heart Shield almost forgot he wasn’t alone until she spoke up again.

“The resemblance truly is uncanny,” she muttered. “One could almost wonder if the two of you were…”

She trailed off, but Heart Shield wasn’t going to let this drop this time.

“Who are you talking about Angel Wing? Does it have anything to do with why you were really watching me? That was you earlier today, wasn’t it? When Gale Bolt was showing us around.”

“That was me, but that was just pure chance. I asked around after that, which is why we ran into each other again.”

“And the resemblance?”

Angel Wing sighed.

“You and she look so much alike; my sister. For a minute I’d thought she’d come back home…”

“Your sister?” Heart Shield’s heart skipped a beat. Angel Wing couldn’t be saying…

“I knew it was too much to hope for, but that’s why I needed a second look, or part of the reason. I just had a feeling that this was something I needed to verify for myself. It should have been obvious you weren’t her from the beginning, not unless she decided to dye that ridiculous mane of hers, but having seen you close up, the similarities are almost scary. You have the same rebellious, determined look in your eyes, the same coat, same attitude, even the same stupid tuft in your tail. You even talk like she did…”

“You keep using past tense,” Heart Shield said. “Did something happen to her?”

Angel Wing remained silent for a long time, causing Heart Shield to fear the news that was coming. Eventually, she explained that her sister had vanished ten years earlier without a trace. One day she was there, the next, her house was abandoned, stripped as clean as the day it’d first been built. No one had any idea where she went or why she’d left so suddenly. Angel Wing had held onto hope for several years, but eventually she’d had to accept that her sister was not going to return to Outset. As sorry for Angel Wing as he was, Heart Shield couldn’t help feeling disappointed. The timeline just didn’t match up, too many years were left between his birth and her sister’s disappearance. He wished he could have the answers he’d longed for for so many years, and now he’d allowed himself the faintest bit of hope that he was about to get them. Instead it was the same story he’d been left with for as long as he could remember. Angel Wing noticed the change in his mood and asked what he was thinking. Heart Shield shared what was on his mind with her, feeling stupid for getting his hopes up.

“If you were to ask me, my parentage is probably the biggest mystery in all of Equestria,” he joked, trying to keep the bitter disappointment out of his voice.

The night sky no longer held any interest for him and he stood up with a sigh.

“Well, I’m going to try to get some sleep. Goodnight Angel Wing,” he said, gliding back to the ground.

Angel Wing watched the colt enter the house. She could sympathize with his pain, even if theirs were two different pains.

“One day, Heart Shield, all of the mysteries the world leaves for us shall be answered,” she said, unheard by the young pegasus. “I only hope that your answers are ones you can accept, even if they aren’t the ones you want to have.”

* * *

The next day Angel Wing accompanied the seven ponies to their ship after providing them with a large breakfast. Neither she nor Heart Shield mentioned their talk the night before. Gale Bolt was waiting for them at the ship with some fresh supplies and tools to repair it with, as well as several burly-looking pegasi that were all too happy to help with the repairs. Thankfully for Heart Shield, Gale Bolt didn’t bring up the topic of his birth or home. He had an odd feeling it had to do with a look Angel Wing shot her the first time she opened her mouth, though why Gale Bolt would listen to some mare that lived alone outside the city was unclear. All the same, he was glad she left the subject alone. One thing that had resulted from his talk with Angel Wing was a new self-affirmation he had. While he may never learn the truth about his birth, that didn’t have any real impact on his life. He knew who he really was, he knew where his true home was, and more importantly, he knew who his real family was –the friends who’d stuck with him, the ponies who’d raised him, and the princess that had always looked out for him. Those answers were good enough for him for now.

While Twilight and Rarity worked on recharging the ship’s crystal, Heart Shield and the other ponies set to work at piecing Fate’s Winds back together. It took a while to gather all the pieces they could find, but eventually they had close enough to the complete wreck as they could hope to get. Applejack took to directing them through the process of fixing the massive ship. They salvaged what they could and dismantled what was beyond hope of repair. The task was daunting and as they had to break apart more and more of the ship, Heart Shield began to worry that it was beyond their capabilities to get in working order. One of the jets was completely smashed and they needed to replace the entire bow, which had caved in from the impact. The day before he’d had hope that they could patch the boat together, but now that they were actually working on it, he wasn’t so sure. Even if they were able to get it all fixed up, the amount of damage meant the process would take days, even weeks to repair despite the amount of help they had. They didn’t have the luxury of wasting all that time; the longer this took, the less hope there was for Chrysalis to be proven innocent.

A sudden, startled shout from Fluttershy shook him out of his thoughts. He rushed over to his friend, joined by Pinkie and the others.

“Fluttershy, what’s wrong?” Dash asked.

“Th-th-the wood just started moving,” Fluttershy squeaked, pointing at a broken board. “I was just bringing it to the scrap pile and all of a sudden it jumped out of my arms and started crawling towards the ship!”

“Uh, Fluttershy? Are you sure that actually happened?”

“It did!”

“You do know that wood can’t move by itself, right?” Dash said skeptically. “You sure you didn’t just drop it by accident?”

“I’m telling you, it moved all on its own!”

Heart Shield and his friends shared concerned looks.

“Listen, Sugarcube,” Applejack said slowly, “maybe y’all need to take a break. The exhaustion’s gettin’ to ya, there’s nothin’ wrong with-.”

“Oooh! Oooh! Lookie there!” Pinkie squealed, bouncing up and down excitedly. “Hee hee hee, the wood’s dancing!”

“Pinkie, what are you-?” Heart Shield said, only to be cut off when Pinkie grabbed his head and turned it towards the pile of broken boards Fluttershy had been heading to.

It didn’t take long to find out what it was she was so excited about. The wood was twitching and floating out of the pile and into the air. The way they were swaying in the air did make them appear to be dancing, he had to admit, but he was far more alarmed by the fact that the wood was moving.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack exclaimed.

“How are they doing that?!” demanded Rainbow Dash. “It’s a prank, right? Twilight o-or Rarity, one of them’s pulling a prank on us, right?”

“If they are, then they didn’t tell the other one, look,” one of their pegasi helper’s said and pointed to where the two unicorns were.

Rarity and Twilight were busy dodging planks, screws, metal plates, and various other scrapped remains of the ship as they shot past the mares, narrowly missing them on occasion.

“Twilight, what’s happening?” Heart Shield called, having to duck one of the boards from the nearby pile as it flew past his head.

“I don’t know!” she shouted. “Rarity and I were just working on the crystal and then everything just went crazy!”

“Y’all don’t think one o’ them ghosts managed to get on the ship, do ya?” Applejack said, smacking aside a beam that had been lying motionless moments before.

“I don’t think so, but after everything that’s happened, it’s entirely within the realm of possibilities!”

“As enlightening a conversation as this is, perhaps we could discuss these theories when we’re not trying to avoid being bludgeoned by our own ship?” Rarity said, deftly dodging what appeared to be the mirror she kept in her cabin.

“We could always ask Nero about what’s going on,” said Pinkie as she bounced along several flying floorboards without a care in the world. “He probably has some answers.”

“Nero’s not here, Pinkie!” Heart Shield called.

“His head sure is, look! See? He’s all big and floaty!”

Pinkie pointed at the crystal. There, emitting from the center into a large projection in the sky, was Nero, or what appeared to be a see-through recording of Nero.

“Are you sure this is working?” he asked someone that was out of view of the recording. “It’s hard to tell if this crystal tech of yours is on or not, and I have to admit, it feels silly talking into a rock.”

“You’re good to go Nero,” came Princess Celestia’s voice.

“Right, well then,” Nero turned back to face the crystal. “I guess if you’re seeing this message then it means that somehow you managed to wreck the ship and activate its self-repair sequence by fully recharging its crystal core. If that’s the case: Congrats, you’re not dead. Tool came up with the idea just as we started to finish reconstruction, and with the help from Princesses Luna and Celestia, we were able to put a failsafe into the ship’s core. Unfortunately, this is a rushed prototype, so you get one use out of it, after that, any severe damage the ship takes that you lot can’t repair on your own will be permanent. The worse the damage is, the longer it’ll take to repair, though unless you broke it in half, it shouldn’t take any longer than several hours. And if you did manage to smash this work of art into pieces then you’d better have had a good reason for destroying all the hard work we’ve put into making it. It’s best not to get in the way when the ship is repairing itself, I can’t vouch for your safety if you happen to be in front of a pipe as it rushes back to its spot. Hopefully you won’t have to see this, but if you’re unlucky enough to have come across this, know that from here on out, you’re on your own. Please be careful with the rest of your journey and return home safely.”

Heart Shield had some rather choice words he planned to give to Nero and Tool for neglecting to mention this little feature of the ship.

* * *

It was evening by the time Fate’s Winds finished its repairs. Heart Shield and his friends spent the remainder of the day stocking up on whatever they hadn’t been able to recover from the wreckage. The Outset pegasi were extremely helpful, turning down their offers to pay for the food and personal items in exchange for the chance to watch the spectacle of the magical, self-repairing ship. Gale Bolt was impressed with the work that went into it and pulled Twilight aside to discuss Equestria, now more interested in this foreign land than ever. According to Twilight, Gale Bolt was considering sending a diplomat out to Equestria and establishing relations with their home. Rainbow Dash set up a race course with the help of the other pegasi and held her own tournament of speed and agility against the Outset ponies while waiting for the ship to finish fixing itself. Rarity met with several of the businessmares from Perchens, discussing with them the possibility of opening a store of her own on the island, claiming that “Foreign fashion is absolutely in this year. You simply must see the latest lines Equestria has to offer.” Meanwhile Pinkie roped Applejack and Fluttershy into helping her throw a small entertainment show together, complete with a comedy performance, feats of strength and even a small collection of talent from the local wild animals that Fluttershy managed to recruit.

Heart Shield found himself outside of Angel Wing’s house, hesitating by her door. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was there, it wasn’t as though they’d formed a deep connection the previous day, but even so he felt as though he should talk with the mare one last time and say goodbye in person. He still had questions he wanted answers to, such as what that weird sensation from before was, and why she’d felt compelled to see him. He also wanted to know more about the sister she’d been missing for so many years. Even if it wasn’t his own mother, he felt he needed to hear it all. Perhaps he could ask Celestia if it were possible to help the mare find out what happened to her sister when they got back to Equestria? Certainly the princess would at least be interested in the island, possibly even the magic Gale Bolt claimed was alive and flowing through it.

The next few seconds were a blur for the young pegasus. He recalled later the sensation from before, the touch against his mind, the unintelligible whispers, the odd feeling of nature that combined with the language he couldn’t understand, but at the same time was able to grasp what was attempted to be conveyed. Unlike the previous day, the message he thought he could decipher was a warning about something, this time also accompanied by the thought of… green?

Acting instinctively Heart Shield dove to the side just in time to avoid a flash of emerald light that blasted Angel Wing’s door apart, splinters flying in all directions. More flashes, blasts of magic Heart Shield grasped vaguely, rained down upon the house from the sky. He could hear the furniture inside blow to smithereens. A shout came from inside along with the sound of a struggle as the house was razed by the magical onslaught. Heart Shield raised his head to the sky in time to catch a glimpse of a large, black shape erupt from the house, bringing a blue object with it to join about a dozen others in the sky. He didn’t need to see them clearly to know what they were, the mere abject terror coursing through his body that threatened to make him wet himself was enough of a hint.

The changelings were back.

He wasn’t sure what made him do it. Maybe it was anger, maybe it was fear, maybe it was to just prove he was capable of doing something. Whatever the case was, he gave his wings a powerful beat and kicked off the ground to soar at the changelings. He managed to slam into one of them, knocking it out of the air with a solid head-butt to the wing, but that was pretty much all he managed to accomplish. A second later he felt the corrosive magic collide with his back, sending him spiraling to the ground below as the magic bound his wings to his sides. The impact rattled him almost as much as the magic burned him, causing his vision to blur and swim. He looked to the sky, ready for a follow-up attack, only to see the black blurs of the changelings vanish in emerald flashes of light. In the distance he could hear the sounds of more strikes coming from the city.

Moments later Twilight appeared beside him and helped him to his hooves. He mumbled his thanks before the two were back on the ship. He was aware of his friends shouting things to each other. Rainbow Dash shouted something and a second later the entire ship lurched beneath the colt’s hooves as the engines rumbled to life and the ship switched to its flight mode, hurtling through the air towards Hoofling where more destruction was raining from a massive cloud of changelings. Heart Shield fought to clear his head as the ship rammed into the changeling cluster, sending the bug-like ponies flying from the impact. He grabbed onto the railing as Rainbow Dash turned the ship around in the air to come back for another pass at the remaining changelings. However, the initial shock appeared to have worn off and the changelings swooped to the ground, latching onto several pegasi before taking back to the sky and flying off towards the setting sun. Fate’s Winds followed in hot pursuit, but even with the boost from the jets and Rainbow Dash’s reckless flying, the changelings widened the gap between them and the ship by the second. Eventually the jets failed as Dash pushed them to their limits and the ship dropped down into the ocean, sending saltwater spraying across the deck. Despite this, the ponies continued to chase after the ever retreating changelings until they were too far away to see clearly and the light too poor for their telescope to allow them to follow despite the distance. Twilight called the group to the cabin where they discussed their plan of action while she and Rarity refueled the crystal. Some of the systems in the ship were still recovering from the repairs, Heart Shield noticed, including the magic tracker that was their only connection to the changelings. Twilight explained that the systems would be back online before too long, but with the crystal focused on repairing the majority of the boat, several functions were left alone so that the magic could be used the most efficiently.

“Ah say we send word back to Equestria pronto and track them no good varmints down,” said Applejack. “They ain’t only after Equestria now.”

“That’ll take too long, we need to find them and show them who’s boss!” exclaimed Dash.

“How do either of you propose we follow those horrid creatures?” Rarity demanded. “They’re much too fast to pursue by ship and now that night has fallen they’re practically invisible.”

“We could use the changeling tracker Toolie installed when it’s working again,” Pinkie suggested.

“We have to find where their home is,” replied Heart Shield. “That’s where they’re headed, and the tracker should bring us there. And where we find those changelings, we’ll find Angel Wing and the others.”

“I agree,” said Twilight. “And I think I have an idea of where we might need to go.”

She pulled out the map they’d gotten from the dragons and spread it out across the floor so everyone could get a good look.

“According to the star charts this is where we are now,” she said, pointing at a spot on the map. “If we assume they were headed in a straight line back towards their home, then these islands are our best bets for now.” She circled three different islands with her hoof. “Until the tracker comes back online, we should head to these and assume that they’re on one of them.”

Heart Shield studied the islands Twilight had pointed out silently. He wouldn’t voice his thoughts right now, because he knew his friends wouldn’t believe him if he insisted Chrysalis had nothing to do with this attack either, but there was something about this attack that bothered him. Why did the changelings kidnap those Outset ponies? What could they be planning to use a bunch of pegasi for?

Whatever it is they’re planning on, they won’t get away with this. Just hang in there Angel Wing, we’re coming for you and the others.

Author's Note:

Okay, so this accidentally got deleted due to wrong clicks on mobile. Back up now.
Guess who finally managed to knock this sucker out.
Happy Valentine's day y'all.

Comments

[Razzy]

Yay~ More stories is always good. Especially if they involve my favourite character.

Hah, so that's why all those errors popped out when I was trying to post this a moment ago.

[FatesWinds]

7948469 Yeah, stupid phone.
Don't you worry, you're definitely going to get your Chrysalis fix with what I have planned.

[Razzy]

7948580 Awesome.

7948850 Actually, the original was right save for one word - foal refers to young horses of both genders. Replace it with colt and it's correct. Or just use foals.

[FatesWinds]

7948850
7949171 My editor mentioned something like that a while back but we both weren't sure since I think the show referred to those two as foal and filly and we were uncertain if foals was correct.
Thanks for pointing that out, I'll switch it over to foals.

[FatesWinds]

7958144 Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

[Teraunce]

Wonder if this will ever be updated.

[FatesWinds]

10127786
It will, a lack of time from work and just so much life stress has sapped my drive, but I will be updating and finishing this.