Colorless Magic

by SparkStone

First published

A human boy gets a new life under the wings of Rainbow Dash. After gaining family and friends, he pursues to find out more about himself.

In Cloudsdale, almost everyone that lives there can fly. The very few that can fly are visitors and one resident: A human with the ability to walk on clouds. When taken in by a young Rainbow Dash, he gains new family and friends.

Follow him on his story to learn more about himself as well as the world he now lives in.

*Set on Teen because I don't trust myself.*

Rainbow with Black and White

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Up on a small cloud was a human child. He clung onto the cloud in fear of falling to the planet’s surface far down. His eyes were shedding tears as his stomach rumbled from being there all day. He didn’t know what to do, only that he was stuck on a cloud.

Meanwhile, over another cloud was a young pegasus with a colorful mane and a cyan blue coat. She was flying by and happened to see the young creature holding on for his life. She flew on by and checked on him.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” She asked. “It’s dangerous to be out here without any wings!”

“I don’t know…” He cried. “I… was in my bed one time… but now, I’m here… And I can’t… do anything…”

The boy was so scared; he began to speak in hiccups. The pegasus felt sorry for him. She extends her hoof to him and offered help.

“If you want, I can fly you to some bigger cloud.” She told him. “Come on!”

The boy looked at her and extended his hand to her. In moments, she was flying the boy off the cloud. The child closed his eyes for a while as he hugged onto the filly as tight as he could. It wasn’t long before she landed him within the city areas of Cloudsdale. The boy opened his eyes and saw the wondrous city built in the sky. The white marvels of the sky towered over him. It was like a dream.

“Hey, I never seen you around before.” The pegasus told him. “Where do you live?”

“I don’t know…” He replied.

“Hmm… Do you know your parents’ names?”

“I don’t have any parents…” He told her.

“Oh…”

The two stood on the clouds for a while, not sure what to make of the situation. The rainbow pegasus knew one thing however. She wanted to help the boy out of this jam.

“Hey, why don’t you come live with me?” She offered.

The boy stepped back in surprise, almost falling off the cloud for a moment. He calmed down and responded, “Is that really okay?”

“It’s fine! My parents will be totally okay about it! Trust me!”

“Um…” He stuttered, unsure what to make of this. He couldn’t go back to where he lived before however, so he had no choice. “Okay, I guess…”

“Great!” She yelled happily. She swooped underneath him and had the boy on her back again. “Come on! Let’s go!”

The boy hung on once again as the rainbow maned pegasus flew him to her house. “By the way, what are you?” She asked on the way.


“Oh! We’re so proud of you Rainbow!” The mother said so affectionately.

“Rescuing a creature we never heard of, you’re so nice Rainbow!” Her father stated with just as much affection.

The boy looked at her parents with a nervous smile. Rainbow Dash, the filly that helped the boy, was blushing red with embarrassment as her parents hugged her with praise. Managing to pull herself out of their grip, she quickly asks them once more. “So, can he stick around?”

“Why, of course Rainbow!” The mother agreed. She looked back to the boy and asked, “So what’s your name?”

“My name?” He repeated.

“Well, we can’t call you him forever.” She giggled.

“Um… Well, I don’t have a name…” He told them. “Not yet anyways. For now, the orphanage calls me Aloe, but…”

“No way!” Rainbow said out loud. “We’ll just have to give you a better name!”

“Good idea Rainbow!” Her father told her.

Rainbow circled around the boy and looked at him. He had a swirl of black and white hair. His eyes were white as clouds and his clothes consisted of a white short sleeved shirt with a black spade on the middle. His shorts were gray, and his shoes were black. Taking a good look at him, she said, “You don’t have a lot of colors on you.”

“Um… I guess not.” He agreed.

“Something black and white… Let’s call you…” She said as she rubbed her chin. “Mono… Monochrome… I think that’s the word I’m thinking of.”

“Monochrome?” He repeated. “That’s… a nice-”

“WOW RAINBOW!” Her father shouted, interrupting the boy. “That’s a perfect name! Monochrome! How do you like your new name, Mono?”

“Ergh, it’s nice! I guess…” He said, shyly.

“We’re glad to have you living with us, Monochrome!” The mother said, hugging him tightly.

“I’m… Happy… too…” He choked.


After a loud dinner, full of cheering and praising, the kids went to their room. Rainbow put together a makeshift bed made of clouds for Monochrome. The boy watched her as she does her work, shaping the cloud as big and fluffy as she could.

“It does suck to get stuck on a cloud when you can’t fly, but they’re the best thing to sleep on! I totally love napping on these whenever I’m outside.”

“So, I’m going to be sleeping on that?” Monochrome questioned.

“Yeah! Trust me, one of the best things to sleep on!” She stated as she rolled on the cloud bed for a while. “Yup, super soft…”

“I see… Well, it’s time to sleep, so…”

Rainbow then started to snore just as Monochrome was suggesting to go to sleep. Monochrome was surprised as she wouldn’t wake up and go to her own bed. Deciding that bed was hers now, he goes to Rainbow’s bed. Wrapping himself in blankets, he closes his eyes and begins to slumber.

… This place isn’t so bad… I want to stay here longer…

Rainbow in the Sky

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Monochrome sits with Rainbow’s family and eats breakfast together. After the meal, Rainbow Dash turns to Monochrome with a wide grin.

“So, looks like you and I are gonna go out to town and get everything you need!”

“Um… What do I need?” He asked.

Rainbow turned to her mother and raises out her hoof. “Mom! The list!”

“Here you are, Rainbow!” She cheerfully says as she delivers her daughter a scroll of paper. Once in hoof, Rainbow opens the list and shows Monochrome. It’s a small list of much needed items, such as a toothbrush, a clothing, and other necessities.

“We need to get you this stuff today! That way, we won’t have to worry about it later!”

“What a good girl Rainbow is!” Her father cheered. He turns to Monochrome and says, “It’s a good thing Rainbow is helping you out today!”

“Thanks Rainbow Dash.” Monochrome says gratefully. “I’m very glad to have you helping me.”


“Thanks Rainbow, but do we really have to fly so high!?” Monochrome shouts as he hugs Rainbow tightly, his eyes closed tight as Rainbow flies him high over town.

“Yeah, of course! This is a great time to test my mettle!” She replied.

The two were over the buildings over Cloudsdale, flying to the stores they needed to go. The trip had Monochrome on the edge of his seat, or almost off Rainbow for that matter. They land and go near the store, Monochrome is still shaking and groaning as Rainbow trots inside the store. The store clerk watches Rainbow and her new frightened companion still holding onto her.

“Hey! I’m looking for the toothbrushes!” Rainbow tells the clerk.

“Uh… they’re over there…” He informs her. “So… Who is that?”

“Him? His name is Monochrome.” Rainbow tells him. “He’s living at my house, so I’m getting stuff he needs!”

“It looks like he needs a break.” The clerk stated. “He looks like he’s about to keel over.”

Rainbow looked at Monochrome’s exhausted expression. Realizing he was tuckered out, she turns to the store clerk once more. “You have medicine for air sickness?”


The two exited the building with a bag of the items on the list. Monochrome rested up and walked around outside with Rainbow Dash.

“Can we walk for a while?” Monochrome asked. “I want to take a small break before we fly again.”

“Yeah, alright.” Rainbow agreed. “But don’t forget we have other places to be!”

“I know.” He responded with a sigh. As they walked for a bit, he saw an ice cream cart pass by. He had a craving for something cold after seeing it pass by. He wasn’t the only one either, as the colorful pegasus then asks, “You want some ice cream?”

“Yes!”

The two walked to the vendor who took a good look at the two. He’s used to seeing fillies, but Monochrome was a first for him. He knew a child when he sees one though.

“I see you’re new in town, sport.” He states.

“He’s bunking in at my house!” Rainbow stated.

“Ah! Moved into Cloudsdale?” He smiles. He takes out two scoops of ice cream and gives them each strawberry. “You like strawberry? On the house for your first time!”

“Thanks!” They both said gratefully.

The two say their farewell to the vendor as they ate their cold treats. Hey stroll some more while their treats were still cold and edible. Walking past the tall buildings of white, they come across one in particular. It was a stadium of fliers, specifically for the Wonderbolts.

Rainbow looked up with sparkling eyes. She really wanted to go inside. Monochrome looked at her starry gaze and had an idea.

“Wanna go inside?”

“Yeah!” She replies almost immediately. “But… I don’t have enough money for tickets…”

“How much do they cost?”

“More than ice cream.”

Monochrome held his chin for a moment, wondering what to do. He looked up and noticied the stadium was shaped in a certain way. He soon had an idea and turned to Rainbow.

“Do we have enough money for binoculars?”


The fliers zip by at amazing speed. Their trails leave behind smoke and lightning. It was a thrilling masterpiece of aerial tricks and mastery of the air itself. The two sit on a cloud from a reasonable distance, relaxing as Rainbow looks through the binoculars. The stadium had no roof, so they could watch from afar. Rainbow barely contains herself as she sees the fireworks go off with the Wonderbolts. Monochrome smiles as he watches the cyan blue pegasus have a good time. Rainbow turns to Monochrome and smiles widely.

“This is awesome!”

“Next time, we’ll be able to go in there ourselves.” Monochrome tells her.

“Really think so?!” she says in almost disbelief.

“Just give it some time.”

Down in the stadium, they had t-shirt cannons blasting souvenirs to the audience. They reached far, able to be caught by pegasus in the back of the crowds. Rainbow was excited to see this as well.

“You think of those shirts will reach us?”

“That might be stretching it.” Monochrome chuckled.

Unexpectedly, a t-shirt cannon holds too much air in, and fires the shirt in a long distance and over the crowds within the stadium. It hurls straight to Monochrome’s face and pushes the boy off the cloud. Rainbow Dash was in a spur of surprise before she got off the cloud and dived down to reach him. She gets closer and closer to him until suddenly, he pierces through the cloud with Rainbow being stopped by the dense cloud making up the ground of Cloudsdale. She looks through the hole where Monochrome passed through, only to see him continuing to fall down to the surface of Equestria! She quickly dives down even faster this time. She keeps going and going until she was able to grab his hands and do a loop back up. In moments, they reach back to Coudsdale, catching their breaths.

“Are you okay!?” She asked, out of breath.

Monochrome hugs Rainbow as a response. He breathes heavily but doesn’t cry or say anything. He just holds Rainbow for a while until they calmed down. Once they have, he was able to speak.

“… I’m happy you’re here with me…”

Rainbow simply grins and says, “No problem! I’ll be there whenever you need me!”

She laughs triumphantly while Monochrome takes something out.

“I somehow managed to get this.” Monochrome told her. “Do you want it?”

Rainbow looks at Monochromes hands to find that he was able to hold onto the t-shirt of the Wonderbolts. She holds it in her hooves before squealing.

“Oh my gosh! Thank you so much! You’re the best!”

She embraced Monchrome with a tight hug. Monochrome was happy to simply repay a bit of her kindness to him so far.


At the doorstep, they discussed things before entering their home.

“Now remember, let’s not tell Mom and Dad about the thing with the Wonderbolts and stuff.” Rainbow told Monochrome.

“Right.” Monochrome nodded.

They had everything they obtained packed in the bag. As they opened the door, the parents welcomed them with warm embraces and congrats to ordinary tasks. As strange as this day has been for Monochrome, he couldn’t wait to see another day like this go into his life.

Stuck in Trouble

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Up on a small cloud was a human child. He clung onto the cloud in fear of falling to the planet’s surface far down. The other colts flying around him were laughing.

“What’s wrong? Scared of heights?” One of them teased.

“If you hate being so high up, why don’t you live down there?” The other chimed in.

“What’s a freak without wings doing up here anyways?”

“Hey! You leave him alone!” a voice roared at the bullies.

The three turned to see the rainbow maned filly shooting towards them. They scatter and flee from the boy as the filly flew next to him in his aid. She shook her hoof at them as they escaped from her tantrum.

“You better run! You jerks!” She screamed at them. She turned to the boy and asked, “You okay Mono?”

Monochrome nodded before he held onto Rainbow’s hoof. A while later, they were flying back to the city. As they landed, Monochrome tapped his foot on the cloud a couple times.

“It’s good to be here again.” He said with a small smile.

“Monochrome, you gotta stay away from those guys.” Rainbow lectured him. “They’re gonna bully you and take you to places you can’t get away from!”

“You’re right, Rainbow.” Monochrome nodded. “I’ll stay away from them.”

“Good!” Rainbow grinned. “Hey, it’s almost time for flight school! You’ll come with me, right?”

Monochrome tilted his head in confusion. “Why? You know I can’t fly.”

“This is one of your only chances to see me in action!” She stated. “Plus, Mom and Dad said it would be a good idea for you to be close by me.”

“Well… alright then.” Monochrome agreed.

“Great! Come on, let’s go before we’re late!”

The excited pegasus grabbed Monochrome and flew him to the school. Monochrome sighed as he lets the cyan blue pegasus eagerly take him to the school. Even if she does it a bit much, he’s always impressed by her energy and skill.


Outside of the school building of flyer’s school was the training field. There, Rainbow and her classmates were being instructed by their flight teacher. Monochrome was sitting on a bench nearby, watching Rainbow’s lesson take place.

“Okay kids! Now, it’s important to keep flight when you’re flying and there are no places to land.” She told them. “Which is why preserving your energy is important for your safety. If you get tired while you’re up flying, you could be in trouble!”

“Yes Mrs. Glide!” the students responded diligently.

“Alright then! Now, let’s practice flying! But don’t fly off too far!”

The kids quickly began to take flight in excitement, all except for another filly whose coat was a cream yellow and her mane a light pink. The filly flied in the air for about three seconds before falling on her stomach. Monochrome flinched at her, feeling her pain of flight or fall. The teacher who was instructing the class walked up to Monochrome, giving him a lollipop.

“Thanks for coming to see our class again Monochrome!” She smiled. “It’s nice to see you visit your sister fly with us.”

Monochrome looked at the lollipop for a moment before putting it in his mouth. He thanked the teacher properly before turning his attention to Rainbow. He realized he has been here for a while. And even though he wasn’t technically adopted yet, he was taken in and living with Rainbow’s family for a while. By now, others see him as the brother of Rainbow Dash.

It felt strange for Monochrome to see this come as a fact. Perhaps it’s because of how he was brought here out of the blue, or maybe that it’s unfamiliar for him to be treated so kindly in these past few weeks. But he was generally happy from the turn of events. He continues to watch Rainbow fly around doing a few tricks until he spotted something going on the ground.

It was the three colts who bothered Monochrome from before. This time, they were badgering the pegasus filly who fell on the ground earlier. They were holding a paper bag and passing to each other while the yellow filly tried to get it back. Every time she got close however, they would fly higher and throw the bag to the next pony.

“Fluttershy can hardly fly! Fluttershy can hardly fly!” They chanted.

“Stop it!” She cried. “Give me back my lunch!”

Monochrome felt annoyed at the sight. He looked around for the teacher, but she seemed to have been preoccupied with another group of kids up in the sky, making it impossible to reach her or even yell to her. The colts continued to bother the poor girl to the point where Monochrome has had enough. Perhaps it was Rainbow’s nature that rubbed off on him, because he got up and started to head over to those colts. Totally forgetting what Rainbow warned him earlier today.

“Hey!” Monochrome called the three. They turned to him with a mean look in their eyes while the shy filly just watched them.

“It’s the freak without wings!” One of them pointed out.

“What do you want?” Another questioned.

“Leave her alone.” Monochrome reasoned. “Just give her food back.”

“It’s none of your business!” They remarked. “Besides, why should we listen to you?”

“Why do you gotta be such a pain all the time?” Monochrome sighed, kicking the ground.

The colts got mad and began to surround the boy. Monochrome didn’t feel like this was going to end well, but he was certainly not going to back down after what he said.

“You know, maybe you need a time out.” The one with the lunch bag threatened. The other two grabbed Monochrome, planning to do the same thing to him from this morning. The boy kicked and shook his body, but he was unable to get out of the grip. “Let’s fly you to your own personal cloud.”

As one of the colts held his stomach, he happened to squeeze too hard. Monochrome than spat out his lollipop in reaction and have the candy land right on the colt’s face. He screamed and dropped the bag in disgust, distracting the other two long enough for Monochrome to slip away from their lightened grip. He grabbed the lunch bag and tossed it to the shy filly before running away from the three colts who then went right into pursuit for the boy.

Monochrome ran from the three boys until he left the flying grounds and towards the school building. Dashing inside, he ran through the empty hallways, void of students and teachers alike. Today, it seems all the classes are practicing outside. The colts have the advantage of not getting in trouble with the school being empty. Monochrome didn’t feel like he was going to get caught by the teachers or those colts.


Rainbow Dash flew back down after doing an array of talented tricks. She smiled to herself, smugly brushing her wing.

“Monochrome! Was I awesome or what?” she asked aloud, only to look around and see he wasn’t nearby at all. “Mono? Hey, buddy? Where’d you go?”

“Um, excuse me? D-Dash?” The shy filly called. Rainbow turned to the girl as the yellow pegasus tried to gather her words. “U-Um… Your brother was being chased by these bullies after he tried to help me.”

“He WHAT!?” Rainbow exclaimed. “Where’d he go!?”

“They went inside the school.” She answered. “I wanted to tell you earlier, but it’s difficult for me to… fly…”

“I gotta help him out!” Rainbow declared. “Thanks for telling me!”

Rainbow flew to the school immediately. The mare watched as the sister of the one who helped her now goes to help him.


One of the bullies was wandering the hallway of lockers, looking for the boy. As he crossed the countless storage units, one of them was making a knocking noise. He faced the locker as if he was ready to strike until he listened to the noise carefully.

“Hello? Can any pony hear me?”

“Dude, is that you?” The colt asked. “What’re you doing in there?”

“That brat trapped me in here! And I can’t get it opened for some reason!”

“There’s a chair leaning against the locker.” He pointed out.

“Well, move it and get me out!”

“Alright, alright! Hold your hay…”

As he removed the chair and opened the locker, Monochrome came out of hiding and pushed the colt in the locker as well before closing it and locking it up with a combination lock. The colts were hitting the door angrily, shouting insults and threats as the human boy simply sighed.

“Okay, just one more.” Monochrome noted to himself. “I don’t think the same trick will work on him though…”

“You’re right about that!” The last one said, able to see it all happen before his eyes.

“Oh… You’re here.” Monochrome realized.

“Yeah, and don’t think about doing that locker thing on me!”

Monochrome watched his foe carefully before grabbing the chair off the ground and running off with it. The colt flew after the boy as he made a sharp turn to the right. The colt then followed him, only to hit a locker door right on his face. He was then pushed inside the locker and trapped like his friends. Monochrome then backed the locker door with the chair, and brushed the sweat off his face to marvel at his work.

“What do you know… He did fall for it.” Monochrome noted.

“Monochrome!” Rainbow shouted, flying towards him at a high speed. She tackled him, pushing Monochrome almost to his limit, leaving him barely standing. He took a good look at Rainbow’s serious expression. “Did they hit you!? Where are they!? What happened!?”

“It’s fine now Rainbow.” Monochrome assured her. “I gave them a place for time out.”

Rainbow raised her eyebrow at the boy, not sure if he was bluffing or not. “Are you being serious?”

“Yes, I am.” Monochrome told her, hoping she’d accept it.

Rainbow shrugged it off, but still felt like lecturing him. “Well, next time, just ask for help! I’m sure the teacher or I can handle it just fine!”

“You both were flying up so high though.” Monochrome pointed out. “It’s too hard to yell and get your attention.”

“Alright, fine, you got me there.” Rainbow admitted. “Still, I really don’t want you getting hurt either. I mean, we are family, right?”

Monochrome suddenly felt a twinge in his mind for a moment. After all this time, he never heard Rainbow call him her brother. Only that he was living with her and being taken care by her family. Having her say it aloud made him feel content. As if he had nothing to worry about. He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry Rainbow.”

“Well, so long as you understand.” Rainbow grinned. “Now… let’s leave before we get into trouble.”

“But what about those guys in the lockers I trapped?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Rainbow snickered. “I’m sure some pony will notice.”

“But what if-”

“Don’t worry! It’ll be fine!”

Monochrome and Rainbow left the building, with the human boy still wondering if what they were doing was alright.

The Kind One

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Monochrome and Rainbow were sitting on the bench after Flight School was done for the day. The three bullies from the other day received a good shouting after they were caught inside the school without adult supervision, and were punished with detention. Monochrome somehow avoided receiving punishment, able to freely spend time with his sister as they starve outside. Apparently, Rainbow dropped their lunch bags on the way to school.

“This sucks…” Rainbow sighed.

“Why aren’t we just going home to eat with Mom and Dad?” Monochrome questioned.

“Can you imagine what they’ll say?” She sneered. “Oh! You dropped your lunch? Only Rainbow would be daring enough to try and go a day without eating!

“You’re right.” He admitted.

They sighed again in despair until a cream yellow pegasus filly walks up to them.

“Um… Are you two okay?” She asked.

Monochrome looked up and realized who it was. “Hey, you’re the one from yesterday.”

Rainbow Dash looked up and remembered as well. “Oh yeah! Your name was… Uh… Ah…”

“M-My name is… Fluttershy…” She squeaked.

“My name is Monochrome, and this is my sister, Rainbow Dash.” Monochrome introduced themselves as properly as he could.

“Um… I heard you dropped your lunch, so I was wondering if… You want to come eat with my family? I was going to head home after class was finished.”

“For real!?” Rainbow exclaimed. “That’d be great!”

“That would be nice.” Monochrome smiled. “It’s okay with your parents though, right?”

“I believe it would be fine…” She answered.

“What are we waiting for?! Let’s go!” Rainbow shouted in excitement.

“I-I need to wait for my parents…” Fluttershy told them.

“Why?” Rainbow questioned. “We can just fly there ourselves.”

“Um… Well, I can’t really fly that well…”

Rainbow gave a dissatisfied expression at that announcement. “Seriously?”

“I feel you.” Monochrome said, understanding her. “I can’t fly at all.”

“You too?” Fluttershy said, somewhat in surprise. “I thought no pony would understand my problem.”

“Well, of course he can’t fly!” Rainbow stated, rolling her eyes. “He has no wings.”

“Oh… right…” Fluttershy said, embarrassed.

“I wish I could though.” Monochrome sighed.

“Me too…”

Rainbow groaned as the two sulked a bit over the matter.


Not much later, Fluttershy’s parents came and picked up Fluttershy from school, along with her friends. They happily brought them to their house, letting Rainbow and Monochrome explore the new house a bit. They checked out the living room which reminded Rainbow of a grandparent’s house. Monochrome hoped that Rainbow would do her best to avoid saying that to them however. As they sat down to eat, Fluttershy’s parents said something.

“Thanks for being such good friends with our daughter.” The father said in gratitude. “We know it’s hard for her to get along with other kids her age.”

“After all, school can be very difficult to get along with.” The mother added. “We gave her lunch to take to school yesterday, only for it to be stolen.”

“I understand that pain very well.” Monochrome stated, nodding in agreement. “I’m glad I was able to help Fluttershy with that problem.”

“Thanks again for your help, Monochrome.” She said, blushing slightly. “It was… very unexpected.”

“It was my first time doing something like that.”

“My sheer awesomeness must have rubbed off on you, huh?” Rainbow grinned.

“Oh!” The mother spoke suddenly, realizing something. “Zephyr still hasn’t come down…”

“I’ll get him, Mom.” Fluttershy said before she left the table.

Monochrome and Rainbow looked at each other, bewildered at the time. The father noticed their expression and quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry! We didn’t tell you about our son! His name is Zephyr Breeze.”

“I hope you’ll forgive us for not telling you sooner!” The mother joined in as well.

Rainbow Dash and Monochrome sweat a bit as they watch the parents apologize frantically. In moments, Fluttershy returned with her brother, Zephyr Breeze.

“Um… This is Zephyr Breeze…” Fluttershy announced.

Monochrome and Rainbow Dash looked at the aqua-green colt with the blonde mane. He had a smile as smug as Rainbow when things go her way. He strolled in and looked at Monochrome as if he wasn’t surprised.

“So, this is the mysterious creature that came to your aid, Flutters?” He asked.

“I-I told you not to say t-that!” Fluttershy complained, already nervous as is.

“Well, it’s no big deal.” Zephyr shrugged. “I mean, I could have taken care of those bullies, no problem.”

“This guy sure talks big.” Rainbow whispered to Monochrome, making him snicker a bit. Zephyr looked at Rainbow and smiled.

“Aw, sorry kid, but I’m not interested in any relationships yet.”

“… What?” Rainbow said in confusion.

At that point, Monochrome didn’t like Zephyr Breeze.


After the meal, Monochrome and Rainbow sat in complete satisfaction. The food was so good; it was hard not to have a fourth plate. As they relaxed, the parents cleaned up the table and Fluttershy was sitting next to the human. Zephyr went back to his room doing whatever he was now.

Fluttershy was still trying to think of the right words to speak out, but she was unable to do so right now. Monochrome looked at her struggling to speak, and decided to say something. “How… Is school?”

“Huh?” Fluttershy jumped for a moment. “Oh! It’s… okay…”

“I don’t get to go…” Monochrome stated. “So between certain days, I learn from my Mom and Dad, and go to the library.”

“Oh, not a lot of ponies visit the library in town.” Fluttershy pointed out. “It’s nice to go there sometimes, since there’s not a lot of ponies there…”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Neeerds.” Rainbow burped.

The two blushed, but Monochrome was a bit annoyed at the remark.

“It… would be nice to spend more time with you two…” Fluttershy stated. “I don’t have a lot of friends, so it would be nice if we could… Well… If you want to… um…”

“There’s no need to ask you know.” Monochrome told her. Her ears perked up as she lifted her head.

“Yeah, we’re already pals, aren’t we?” Rainbow stated.

Fluttershy looked at the two as they stare at her with smiles on their faces. She then smiled as well, knowing that she now has friends to turn to.

Birds of a Feather

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Monochrome was walking around town while Rainbow and Fluttershy took a test at school. For the time being, he was just traveling the plaza, visiting some ponies that knew him. The town treated the human boy well, giving him kind greetings and some treats. Today, he stopped by the Ice Cream Cart run by a fellow pegasus.

“Strawberry please.” Monochrome requested.

The Cart pegasus took his bits and gave him two cones. “Here you go! One for you, and one on the house for your sister!”

Monochrome held both in his hands before saying, “Thank you.” He looked at the two cones of Ice Cream and sighed, unable to give this cone to Rainbow right now. He continued to walk through town, watching the day go by when he happened to spot a young griffon sitting around. The young griffon looked around shyly, not doing anything. She turns and sees the human boy in front of her, holding two cones of pink ice cream. She looked at him with unease until he offered her one.

“Do you like ice cream?”

She stared at him for a moment before accepting the offer. They sat down and ate as they watch pegasus go about their day. Halfway through the cone, she finally speaks.

“What… are you?”

“… Would you believe me if I said a griffon?”

“Not a chance.”

They laughed before he answered truthfully. They returned to eating their ice cream until even the waffle cone was devoured. She then introduced herself.

“My name is Gilda.”

“I’m Monochrome.” He smiled.

“Nice to meet you!” She grinned as she shook his hand. She looks out to the distance and the sea of pegasus in town. She then says, “It’s hard to fit in here…”

“I know.” He replied. “But when you do fit in, it’s pretty nice.”

“I was worried that it’d be hard for me since I’m one of the only griffons here.” Gilda stated.

“Well, don’t worry. I’m the only human here at all. And I managed to make some friends and get a family.” Monochrome pointed out.

“Are they nice?” Gilda asked.

“My friend is really nice and a bit shy. My sister is really cool and loves flying.”

“Oh! I love flying too!”

“You and Rainbow Dash will get along great.”

“So… How does she fly if humans don’t usually have wings?”

“S-She’s not human! I was adopted by a pegasus family!” Monochrome quickly corrected her.

They laughed some more before talking about other things. Soon, it was getting late and the sun was setting. Monochrome however needed Rainbow to take him home, yet she was nowhere to be seen.

“What’s wrong Monochrome?” Gilda asked.

“Rainbow should’ve been out of school by now. Where is she?”

“If… you want, I can fly you.” Gilda offered. “I mean, I’ll need you to show me where to go, but other than that, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“That’d be great! Thanks Gilda!” Monochrome said gratefully.

Gilda blushed a bit before getting Monochrome onto her back. It took a moment to get used to, but she could fly with him still okay. Soon, they traveled he sky together.


They arrived at the school with the sun almost setting completely. There, they see Fluttershy waiting outside, alone. As they landed, Fluttershy screamed in surprise until she realized who it was.

“M-Monochrome!? And… Who are you?” Fluttershy asked.

“She’s my new friend, Gilda.” Monochrome introduced. “Hey, have you seen Rainbow?”

“Um… She’s still taking the test.” She told him. “I… don’t think she’s going to get a good grade.”

She’s still in there!? Monochrome thought to himself.

“I said I would wait for her, but my parents are getting worried. So they stayed here too.”

“Your family is too nice.” Monochrome warned her. “You should all go home now. I’ll wait for Rainbow.”

“A-Are you sure? It’s going to get dark.”

“It’s no problem for me.” He told her. “Sorry for making you wait.”

“Alright then… Mom, Dad? It’s time to go home.”

Fluttershy and her parents left. Monochrome and Gilda sat again and looked out at the flying field. Gilda took some time looking around the area, taking in everything all at once.

“I’m going to this school starting tomorrow.” Gilda announced. “I’m still a bit nervous though…”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll do fine.” He smiled as he placed his hand on Gilda’s talon. Gilda’s face became red before Rainbow Dash suddenly pushed open the doors as dramatically as she can.

“I’M DONE! I’M FINALLY DONE!” Rainbow cried in sheer happiness.

“Yo.” Monochrome greeted her.

Rainbow looked down at Monochrome and Gilda, realizing they were there waiting for her. She became embarrassed but tried to play it off. “H-Ha! Hey there! Sorry to keep you waiting!”

“Why’d you take so long for a test? I heard Fluttershy finished it way earlier.”

“Whatever! That’s not important right now!” She shouted. “C-Come on! Let’s go home!”

As she grabbed Monochrome, she looked at Gilda and said, “Oh, and thanks for looking after my brother.”

“No problem.” Gilda told her.

As they went their separate ways, Gilda smiled as she looked forward to a better tomorrow.

Where the Rainbow ends (Part 1)

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Monochrome and Fluttershy spent time together at the library. They have been meeting there a lot recently when Rainbow Dash and Gilda started hanging out afterschool practicing flight tricks. The two didn’t just read, but also talked about their day. Today however, Fluttershy seemed a bit more down than usual. Monochrome couldn’t let that slide however.

“What’s wrong Fluttershy?”

“O-Oh, I was just thinking…” She muttered. “I was thinking about my cutie mark.”

“What about it?”

“I was wondering… If I’ll ever get one.”

“I’m sure you will. Rainbow hasn’t found hers yet either, and besides, there’s no race.”

“I guess you’re right…”

“Yeah, you’ll find your special meaning, I’m sure.” He smiled in assurance. A moment passes and suddenly, a thought crosses his mind. He looks at a reflection of himself from one of the windows and thought aloud. “What… About me though…?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“What am I going to do in the future?” He asked. “What special talent do I have?”

“Well, of course you’re special Mono!” Fluttershy stated. “You’re not like other ponies. You’re also smart and really nice too!”

“But… I can’t even fly in a city of flying creatures…” He said. “Why… Why am I even here?”

“Monochrome…”


At the dinner table, Rainbow and the rest of the family were eating. Monochrome was looking down at his plate, a steak that was given to him by Gilda’s family for his protein. The mother managed to notice his expression and bumped the dad’s shoulder to get his attention. The father cleared his throat before saying, “What’s wrong sport?”

“… Did it matter if I came here or not?”

Silence was his answer. Rainbow stopped eating as she gave her brother a confused look. “Uh, yeah, it does dude.”

“Ponies get cutie marks. They have a talent that will lead them to something they may do for the rest of their life. But I don’t know if I can do anything a pony can. I read that they’re magical or special, but I haven’t done anything like that.”

The parents looked at each other, unsure of what to say. The father however tried to say whatever came to mind. “Well, you see, you don’t need a mark to tell you what you’re going to do forever. I mean, look at your griffon friend, Gilda. She’s good at flying and… stuff. So she has opportunities too.”

“But griffons are strong and can fly.” Monochrome pointed out. “I don’t even know much about humans. I only know that I am one.”

The parents only got more worried for him. Even Rainbow didn’t know what to say for her brother as he became more distant from reality. For now, the only thing they could do is let it slide. Hopefully, it will either sort itself out or they’ll figure something out.


Monochrome was with Rainbow and the others at school again. He was watching the kids line up for a special checkup. Several adults he has never seen before were overseeing the facility. The checkup focused on the wellbeing of the children’s physical, magical, and other measurable masses. Rainbow and Gilda finished up with reasonable readings. Their flight speed was estimated to go even faster by the day, and may even have a chance to aim for higher goals if they so wished. Rainbow was proud of her fitness so far.

Fluttershy however left with somewhat below average readings. Physical stats were lower than normal and she has yet to build the muscles to fly very high or at all. She walked to the rest of her friends with her head lowered in shame.

“Relax Flutters, if you start working hard, maybe you’ll catch up with us!” Rainbow reasoned.

Gilda looked at the solemn Monochrome just looking so down, like a zombie. She didn’t like this on her friend. She looked at the pegasus adults looking at a clipboard and thought of something.

“Hey, why don’t you have your reading too?”

“Huh?” Monochrome looked up, wondering what Gilda was talking about.

“Oh yeah! We don’t know much about what you can do, right?” Rainbow thought. “You should get yourself checked up and see what you got!”

“A-Alright then.” Monochrome accepted. He walked to the adult pony and stood in front of him. The stallion looked at the kid and raised an eyebrow before looking back at the clipboard.

“Um… Do you go to this school?”

“My sister does.” He responded.

“Uh… Good enough, I guess?” He shrugged. “Head behind those curtains.”

Monochrome nodded and did as told. There, a mare was waiting for him.

“Hello there! Let’s begin the checkup. Sit on this bed.”

“Okay…”

The mare guided Monochrome through the procedure. She placed a bracelet on his upper arm and checked the readings. The test began and started to produce the results. The mare looked at it for a moment before she too raised an eyebrow.

“… Please wait here…”

The mare left the area for a moment. Monochrome was puzzled at her reaction. The way she left felt like something was wrong. It wasn’t too long until she came back with another adult. A middle-aged stallion with thick glasses. He was reading the results and looked back to Monochrome.

“What are you, sonny?” He asked.

“I’m a human.” Monochrome answered.

“Do humans usually have little magic?”

“I’m surprised if I had any at all.”

“Do adult humans usually possess strength equal to that of an earth pony?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you know the general ability of humans? What their main magic capability is?”

Monochrome became more befuddled than before. The adults exchanged glances before the stallion continued.

“Here’s an example. Pegasus have a natural magic of fiddling with clouds and flight. Unicorns can freely use magic to create spells. And Earth ponies can grow plants very well. Ponies also have cutie marks as another form of magic to add to their abilities. But here in Equestria, all creatures have some form of magic, and that would include humans.”

“Humans have magic?” Monochrome asked, shocked to hear all of this.

“Yes, and one of your abilities seem to be like pegasus and the cloud fiddling. But you have no wings.”

“Where did you come from?” The mare asked.

“I don’t know. I know it wasn’t here though, before I got adopted.”

“I see…” The stallion nodded. “In any case, I’m very curious to learn more about humans. I was hoping if you could come with me to Canterlot.”

“Canterlot?”

“It’s one of the most important and prestigious cities in Equestria.” The mare explained. “There, the doctors and professors would like to know more about human capability. If you accept, we will also allow you to travel around the city, and even the castle where Princess Celestia resides. This is purely for research, but we believe there is an incredible ability within you, something very unique. We can’t do more with the equipment we have now.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but we of course would like your permission. This is something you should talk to your parents about. Consider everything before calling us. We will be at this school for a few more days.”

“… Alright then…” Monochrome nodded. “I’ll check with everyone to make sure this is okay.”

“Okay. Well, best be on your way for now.”

Monochrome left the ponies and returned to his companions. The three turned to him and saw Monochromes solemn expression gone as a sign of fortunate news.

“Well? How was it?” Gilda asked.

“Don’t tell me! You’re super strong!” Rainbow guessed.

“Hmm… Something like that.” Monochrome chuckled.

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” Fluttershy stated.

“Sorry for making you all worry.” Monochrome apologized. “I guess I shouldn’t have thought about it too much.”

“It’s cool.” Gilda assured him. “But you should tell us what they found out.”

Monochrome decided to tell them what they had discussed earlier. They were somewhat surprised of the news, but had a confident smile as if they knew the whole time.

“Well, yeah, we told you that you were special.” Rainbow laughed.

“Do you think Mom and Dad will let me go to Canterlot?”

“Heck yeah! We should all go together!”

“But Rainbow Dash, we’re supposed to attend Summer Flight Camp in a few days.” Fluttershy reminded her. “You signed up to attend it, remember?”

“Oh shoot!” Rainbow realized. “Crud, I really wanted to go.”

“You might have to go by yourself.” Gilda thought.

“Yeah, Mom and Dad are too big of fans of Rainbow.” Monochrome stated. “It’d be hard to bring them along.”

“Sorry Mono.” Rainbow sighed.

“It’s fine.” He simply laughed. “But I guess I won’t be here for a while. Is that okay with you?”

“Um… Well, it’ll be a bit lonely, but I think we can manage.” Fluttershy thought.

“Yeah, so be sure to come back quick.” Gilda told him. “Got it?”

“Yeah, I understand.” Monochrome responded.


After their talk, it was about time to go home. As they went their separate ways, Rainbow and Monochrome returned with news to their parents. The Mother and Father hugged the two with such pride and tightness. Rainbow tried to reach out for air while Monochrome tried to endure it.

“I’m so proud of you two!” the father said with such happiness.

“Our little kids are growing up so fast!” The mother chimed in.

Once the two were released, Monochrome used his chance to speak.

“So, anyways… I’m planning on going with them. I wanted to ask if it was okay.”

“Well, if you really want to go, then we’ll allow it.” The mother assured him. “The stallion with those big glasses came to your school, right? He’s a friend of your father, so we’re sure you’ll be safe.”

“But if you want one of us to come, we’ll gladly follow.”

Monochrome was a bit surprised to hear this. He looked at the two to make sure they weren’t pulling his leg. “Are you being honest? What about Rainbow’s Summer Flight Camp?”

“Well, of course we’d love to watch our Rainbow Dash go to the Summer Flight Camp!” his mother told him. “But we still see you as our son. And we’ll be there if you ever need us.”

Monochrome was taken back by this. He knew that his parents cared for him, but perhaps he took them for granted. They’re happily offering him company if he so wishes. As joyful as he was to be given the choice, feeling content in his mind was more than enough.

“It’s alright. I can go by myself.” Monochrome told them. “I want to try going by myself. Is… that okay?”

“Of course sweetie.” His mom told him, kissing him on the forehead. “We’re so happy for you.”

The day ends with a new tomorrow. Soon, Monochrome will be heading to Canterlot for a while and learn more about humans. What are the abilities of humans when they are in Equestria? There is hope in the young boy as he searches his meaning in this world.

Where the Rainbow ends (Part 2)

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Monochrome was riding on a chariot pulled by the pegasus. He was riding with the two adults he met before as they were taking him to Canterlot. At the city were tall and fancy marvels. Among those city structures were crowds of unicorns strolling the streets. It was quite a view, and a first for him to see the many different types of equines. He was only used to seeing pegasus, but now he sees ponies with horns on their heads. The adult with thick glasses tapped his shoulder.

“We’re heading straight for the castle and going to begin the testing as soon as possible. Are you feeling well?”

“Yes, I managed to eat breakfast before leaving.” Monochrome assured him.

“It’s good to start the day with a healthy meal.” He said with a grin. “Knowing your parents, they can make an overabundance of food though.”

“So how did you meet them?”

“I was the doctor they hired when Rainbow Dash was born. Then they asked me to do a checkup on her every day for the next three years. It took a long time to convince them that she would be fine before my career suddenly shifted to checkups and research of Canterlot.”

Monochrome wasn’t sure how to react to that. “You did a checkup on Rainbow for three years?”

“Yes, I do. Admittedly, I came to Cloudsdale again to check on her. I guess those habits tend to stick on you more than you would think.”

As the group landed, they went inside the castle. Many beautiful glass panes of all colors shined a rainbow of sunlight. The hallways had a long line of carpet going through, and there were pillars that had a heavenly feel to them. As they went in further to the research room, he happened to pass by a violet unicorn filly who was also being accompanied by adults. She looked at the human for a while until Monochrome would eventually leave her sight completely.

“Twilight Sparkle?” The mare called her.

“Huh!? Y-Yes?” She responded in a panic.

“You will be called in a few hours. Please be ready by then.”

“Yes mam.”

The filly continued walking with the mare and the other adults while wondering about what she saw just now.


Monochrome was watching the ponies in lab coats running back and forth, trying to get their work done efficiently. They took out a hair sample, blood sample, and some saliva. Monochrome was a bit startled when they were extracting blood, but he managed to go through with it. The stallion with thick glasses came back with some news.

“We received a lot of the materials we needed so far, but processing the information will take a while. Would you like to walk around the castle until we finish?”

“That would be nice.”

Monochrome left the room with a guard accompanying him. As the researchers returned to their work, the human boy strolled down what felt like an endless hallway. He traveled what seemed to be a castle of wonders, but it felt more like a quiet monument. There was almost nothing going on right now. He was left bored with himself and the guard. He would talk to the guard, but he seems to be too reserved in his own thoughts. As Monochrome continued to walk down the castle, he noticed a library. Deciding to take a read, he opens the door to find not only the countless books among the walls, but a filly frantically reading as many as she could. When the sound of the door opening echoed throughout the library, the filly turned around. It was the same unicorn filly he saw before. She was of all different shades of purple, from her coat to her eyes to even her mane. The filly looked at the human with black hair and a swirl of white. His clothes were of black and white as well.

“Who… are you?” She asked.

“Um… I’m Monochrome.” He answered, scratching his head. “I’m just staying at Canterlot for a little while.”

“Oh… Um… I’m Twilight Sparkle.” She introduced herself. “I’m here to do a test to get into a magic school.”

“I’ve never been to a magic school before.” Monochrome stated. “I’ve only been to a flight school, but I was never able to attend.”

“A flight school?” She repeated, befuddled. “Where do you live?”

“I live in Cloudsdale. My family adopted me when I was stuck on a cloud.”

“You can stand on clouds? Even if you don’t have any wings?” Twilight noted with much curiosity. “That’s… interesting.”

“I’m here so the doctors can learn more about me. About humans.”

“Humans? Is that what you are?”

Monochrome nodded, making Twilight perk up a bit from her frantic nature earlier.

“That’s very neat! Is it possible if we can talk about this some more later?”

“I’m not going to stay here in Canterlot for long, but I’ll be happy to talk while I’m here.”

As they discussed the matter, a mare walked in and called for the violet filly.

“Twilight Sparkle, we’re ready to see you. If you’ll come with me.”

The violet filly gave a huff of nervousness as she stood up. Monochrome watched her as she paced herself slowly to the mare. Monochrome, feeling worried for her, wanted to help her cheer up. He got up and walked with Twilight.

“If it’s alright, we could talk more after you pass your test?”

Twilight felt a bit calmer with Monochrome coming with her. Feeling better, she nodded in agreement. “Yes, that would be ideal.”


Meanwhile in Cloudsdale, Rainbow, Gilda, and Fluttershy was attending the Summer Flight Camp. The trio went forth and did many lessons for those wanting to fly even higher and further. Rainbow eagerly showed off her energy and skills, but also accidentally hitting her face on some boundary walls. Gilda simply did the trial standards and took a long break right after. Fluttershy was however struggling as usual, barely making the standards of flight if at all.

After the first trials were done, they had a half hour recess. At the moment, Fluttershy was sitting around, trying to catch her breath.

“That was tiring…” She sighed before looking down to the surface of Equestria. She then thought about her friend and how he was doing. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was okay. So far however, she feels confident that Monochrome will find what he was looking for.

As Fluttershy was thinking to herself, three colts came by after they spotted the filly. She knew who they were however. She knew they were coming only to mock her flying. As unfortunate as it was, she was correct on her suspicions.

“Hey, you’re that girl that tripped over everyone on the flying hoops!” One of them pointed out. “Geez, where’d you learn to fly?”

“Oh, um…” Fluttershy murmured, hesitant to speak.

“What’s wrong klutz? To dizzy to speak?” He teased her.

“M-My name is Fluttershy…” She spoke.

“Fluttershy? More like Klutzershy!” Another one sneered.

“Ha! That’s a good one!” He laughed.

Fluttershy tried her best to stand her ground. In the hour of need, Rainbow came down and defended her.

“Leave her alone!” Rainbow told them.

“Oh look, it’s Rainbow Crash.” Another one of them teased.

“Rainbow, you don’t have to-” Fluttershy spoke, only to be assured by her friend.

“Don’t sweat it Fluttershy!” Rainbow told her. “As for you three, you better step off!”

“Don’t act like such a big shot, Rainbow Crash!” He lectured. “You gotta prove your worth before you say stuff like that.”

“Compared to you bozos? Easy!” She taunted.

“Alright then.” He scoffed. “We’ll settle this with a race.”

“You’re on!”

A few minutes later, two of them stand behind the line to race. Fluttershy played the role of the starter of the race. With the flag raised up high, the two were positioned to take flight. When the flag was lowered, they flew off at incredible speed. The ponies who were watching were excited and cheering the kids on, unaware that the sudden flight caused Fluttershy to fall off of the clouds and down to the surface.


Back at Canterlot, Monochrome watched Twilight as she confronted the staff. They prepared their clipboards and were ready to examine her performance. Twilight’s parents and her new friend, Monochrome, were giving her a smiling confidence. The staff calls in the test, and out comes a dragon egg. Monochrome has never seen such a thing before, and was already excited.

“Whoa…”

“Now, try to hatch the egg.” One of the staff spoke.

Twilight widened her eyes, not expecting such a task to be brought out. She looks at the egg and tries to figure out what to do. Monochrome didn’t have to know much about magic to know how hard it was to hatch the egg. As she tried her best to find a solution and use some of her magic, she couldn’t figure it out. She hangs her head down in defeat and turns to the staff.

“I’m… Sorry I wasted your time…”

She began to walk away from the egg in utter defeat. Monochrome was about to comfort her until suddenly, a loud, colorful explosion erupted from outside. He looked out the window for a moment to see the source before turning back to Twilight to see something supernatural occur.

Twilight began to erupt magic everywhere, transforming the plants, her parents, and the staff into many things. Monochrome was shocked and began to back away from the raw power until one happened to strike him dead on. He crashes to the wall, feeling some pain. Looking back up, he sees Twilight still shooting out countless spells in random directions. Understanding that he needed to stop the magic, he lifted his body from the ground and struggled to reach her. Step by step, he makes it to her without any of the magic hitting him twice. Placing his hand onto her hoof, the filly turns to him. Monochrome sighs in relief and smiles as he knew Twilight began to calm down again. Exhausted from the event, he blacks out.

Where the Rainbow ends (Part 3)

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Monochrome woke up in a hospital bed. He finds himself wearing a gown and bandages wrapped around his head to the point where he seemed bald. He was confused on what could have happened until he saw Twilight walk into the room with her parents and a doctor. Another tall mare with a long, flowing and colorful mane also accompanied them. She was decorated with a gold crest and a crown.

“Are you alright Monochrome?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t feel any pain actually.” Monochrome thought. “I remember it hurt earlier, but I feel fine now.”

“Interesting.” The doctor spoke. “So the analyzation was correct.”

“Analy-… Anal… What?”

“Your tests. The reason why you chose to come to Canterlot.” The doctor reminded him. “Our tests found out an extraordinary ability humans seem to possess. Something that is very special, unique maybe.”

“What do you mean?” Monochrome wondered.

The tall mare smiled at him, waving her hoof near her head. “Take your bandages off.”

A mirror levitates in front of Monochrome’s face before he did as he was told. When he unwraps the bandages, he sees his hair has completely changed colors. The black hair with the swirl of white was now of a purple and a pink swirl. He didn’t notice until now that his eyes have become purple as well. He places his hand on his hair to feel something tingly brush his fingers. He looks at them utterly bewildered, laying down on the bed tirelessly.

“This may be a lot to process, so I’ll explain it very briefly.” The doctor stated. “Humans seem to have the ability to mimic magic from others and freely learn and use those abilities.”

“… Um… I think I understand…” Monochrome spoke. “But… I never used magic… and my hair or eyes never changed color this much…”

“Twilight’s ability seemed to be enough for your body to react to the magic.” The tall mare explained. “She was very talented to bring out new abilities hidden from you.”

“That’s… Really cool.” Monochrome stated. “Twilight must be really good at this magic stuff.”

Twilight blushed while the tall mare brought up other news. “I’m happy for the discovery of your abilities, but I’m afraid it comes with a problem as well.”

“Your ability must be trained properly.” The doctor warned him. “Without the minimum of magic training, you can evoke damage to yourself and others.”

“I don’t want that…” Monochrome said softly.

“Which is why it is imperative that you get proper guidance as soon as possible.” The doctor told him. “And what better teacher is than the Princess of Equestria herself? Princess Celestia.”

Monochrome turned to the tall mare in surprise as she chuckled lightly. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing her correctly. “Your… the Princess of Equestria?”

“I suppose you’ve never seen me before?” She guessed. Monochrome nodded, making her giggle for a bit. “That’s quite rare.”

“So… If I have to learn magic, doesn’t that mean I have to stay here in Canterlot?” He questioned. “I have a family back in Cloudsdale.”

“We understand that this is a very difficult decision to make.” The doctor told him. “But we will do what we can to make it work if you decide to stay here.”

The doctor leaves followed by the Princess after she says farewell. The only ones’ left is Twilight and her family staying with the boy. Monochrome looks to the violet filly as she goes to him.

“I’m sorry about all of this.” Twilight apologized. “I didn’t expect all of this to happen.”

“It’s not all bad.” Monochrome assured her, patting her head. “You helped me learn more about myself and see something that I couldn’t have experienced back home. So, thanks for that.”

Her face reddens a bit before she remembered to tell him something. “If… you do have to stay in Canterlot, I can help you get used to everything. If you don’t have any place to stay, my parents said they’ll be happy to help!”

“Thanks Twilight.” Monochrome smiled. “I think I will end up staying here. So, I probably will rely on you.”

“I’ll do what I can!” Twilight vowed to him with a smile of sunshine.


It was a summer day when Monochrome returned to Cloudsdale. His peers were amazed by Monochromes change, asking about his days in Canterlot and what had happened. He answered as much as he could before returning to his home with the aid of the Royal Guard. There, he and his parents sat down and were informed of everything.

“We’re so proud of you Mono!” The mother exclaimed as she hugged her son with extreme might.

“That’s my boy!” The father cheered as well.

“M-Mom… D-Dad… Loosen up a bit…” Monochrome begged.

They let go of him, letting him gasp for air. He sat down on the couch and looked at the two with a sigh. “Thanks… Anyways, they asked me to stay and learn magic in Canterlot. I think I have to do it so I don’t become dangerous.”

“We understand the situation Monochrome.” His mom told him. “And we’ll respect your decision.”

The father was tearing up as he tried to talk. “Y-Yeah, we understand. I-If you want, we can drop by everyday as much as you want.”

“That means a lot and would be nice, but please don’t. You have jobs.” Monochrome warned him.

“I… Just don’t want to let you go so soon.” His mom stated. “I want to see you grow up and become a fine young man.”

“I really would like if you came to see me when you can.” Monochrome stated. “I really love the family I have.”

The parents smiled widely with a gasp before hugging their son with the same force as before. He struggled to breathe before his parent finally released him from their grasp.

“Anyways, is Rainbow still at the Summer Flight Camp?”

“Yes, she is. Are you going to go tell her?”

“I need to.” Monochrome stated. “She’s been through a lot for me, and I need to tell her what’s going on.”

“Well, before you go, have this.” His mother gave him a pendant. It was a black circle with a white swirl in the middle. “I was going to give it to you when you still had black and white hair.”

“Thanks Mom.” Monochrome thanked her with his own hug to give. “I’ll miss you both.”


Monochrome arrived at the Summer Flight Camp. There, he found Fluttershy and Gilda looking to the distance in thought. Fluttershy was nervously tugging her mane before she noticed Monochrome entering the Camp. She and Gilda turned to the boy and rushed to him.

“You’re back!” Gilda shouted in astonishment.

“We haven’t seen you for a while.” Fluttershy stated. She looked at Monochrome’s hair and eyes to realize they have changed. “You… look different…”

Monochrome scratched his head with a weak grin. “Sorry. Things happened at Canterlot.”

“It’s good that you came.” Gilda told him. “Fluttershy here told Rainbow some news.”

“What is it?” He wondered, tilting his head. Fluttershy turned and showed Monochrome her flank. He then notices the butterflies decorated on her, and realized what this means. “You got your cutie mark!”

“Yes, that’s right.” Fluttershy nodded. “I learned that I like to take care of animals when I went to the surface.”

“Whoa, that’s impressive.” Monochrome responded. “I’m proud of you.”

“Yes, so when I came back to Cloudsdale, I decided on something.”

“And that is…?”

“Well, I’m planning to move to a town somewhere down there.”

“Oh… I see…” Monochrome responded slowly. “I… Didn’t think you’d be leaving.”

“Rainbow wasn’t expecting it either.” Gilda added. “She got frustrated and stormed off.”

“But now that you’re here, we were wondering if you could cheer her up?” Fluttershy suggested.

Monochrome kicked the cloud he stood on while turning his gaze away from them. “I think I’ll just make it worse…”

“What do you mean?” Gilda questioned.

“At Canterlot, I found out about the ability of humans is copying magic.” He explained. “And I got a new one, the magic of the unicorn. They told me it would be dangerous if I don’t train to use it properly, so I have to leave to Canterlot.”

The two were shocked and silent. They didn’t expect news like this to pop up. Monochrome was looking down solemnly. He knew it would hurt Rainbow if he told her now, but he didn’t want to leave her without telling what happened.

“Are you serious?” Gilda questioned. “I thought you were just going to leave for a while, not like, forever!”

“I… I don’t know what to say…” Fluttershy muttered, tearing up.

“I do want to stay here.” Monochrome said honestly. “But I’m afraid what will happen. I don’t want to end up being trouble. I can hurt not only myself, but every pony who lives here.”

Gilda and Fluttershy were still saddened, but understood where he was coming from. They wanted to say something to him that will have him stay in Cloudsdale a bit longer, but they knew that would be problematic.

“Well, I guess at one point, we’re all going to leave Cloudsdale.” Gilda sighed.

“You’re… leaving too?” Fluttershy said in surprise.

“Well, not now.” Gilda replied. “But I don’t plan to stay here forever either.”

“It’s going to be sad not to see either of you again.” Monochrome told her.

The three were in agreement to that. As time passed, Gilda knew what he had to do. “Monochrome, you have to go see Rainbow right now. She went off in the middle of camp. You can’t miss it.”

“Alright. See you later then.” Monochrome said back before setting off.

As the human left, the two watched as their friend walked away before Gilda had an idea.


Rainbow was sitting on the cloud looking at the moon. The mare within watches back while she sighs from what she had heard earlier. She couldn’t believe that Fluttershy is planning to leave Cloudsdale. She couldn’t think of her friend leaving off like that. The change was as sudden as her cutie mark she had just recently received. She doesn’t know what to think anymore.

“Rainbow?” a voice called to her.

She turns to see her brother, Monochrome, approach her. She smiled widely and raced over to him with a tackle to the ground.

“Hey! You’re back!” Rainbow said excitedly. She looked at Monochrome’s face and hair to notice the change of colors. “Did you dye your hair or something? And… did you dye your eyes too?”

“It has something to do with what happened in Canterlot.” Monochrome explained. “I’ve changed I guess.”

“Changed, huh?” Rainbow repeated with a bit of sourness. “Me too I guess.”

“Oh?” Monochrome thought. Rainbow got off of him to show her flank. A cloud with a rainbow thunderbolt was there. The human was astounded. “You got your cutie mark!”

“Yeah, being fast and awesome.” Rainbow chuckled and some pride. “Things have changed here too. Fluttershy said she was planning to move out of here.”

“Yeah, I heard.”

“And it’s crazy, right!?” Rainbow laughed. “We gotta tell her that she can’t do it! She won’t survive down there! I mean, it’s Fluttershy!”

“Calm down Rainbow.” Monochrome told her. “I… understand where she’s coming from.”

“But won’t you miss her!?” She remarked. “She’s our friend! So, she can’t just up and leave us!”

“Rainbow, I will miss her.” Monochrome answered. “But I’ll miss you too.”

Rainbow paused and fell silent to that line of words. She stared at her brother for a little longer before finally letting the words escape her mouth. “What?”

“I found out the ability of humans.” Monochrome told her. “Humans can mimic magic, like cloud handling with pegasus and just recently magic from unicorns. This power is special, but can be dangerous if untrained. The ponies at Canterlot said I should stay with them and learn so I can handle my powers better so I can use them properly.”

“So, wait a minute!” Rainbow shouted, trying to process all of this. “You? Have these powers and now because you got more stuff to it, you have to move!? What about your family!”

“I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.” Monochrome explained. “If I stay, my powers could go out of control.”

“Why do you have to leave too!?” Rainbow screamed. “First Fluttershy, now you! What if Gilda leaves too!?”

“Rainbow… We’re not going to stay in Cloudsdale forever…”

“Why not!? I hate how everything is just, changing!” She cried. “If I knew this was going to happen, I would have never done that stupid rainboom and got this cutie mark…!”

“Wait… Rainboom?” Monochrome repeated.

“Yeah, it’s this big explosion I make with lots of colors.” Rainbow told him. “I made one while I was racing and that’s how I got this dumb mark.”

“Rainbow… I saw it.” He told her. Rainbow’s ears perked up as she turned back to him. “It’s… What changed my life, I guess. I learned who I was because of you.”

“… I did?”

“Rainbow, you’ve helped me so much ever since I came here.” Monochrome told her. “And I don’t care whether or not I stay in Cloudsdale. I just want to be with you. But things change, and they changed in a way even I didn’t want.”

“So, you really have to go…?”

“I have to Rainbow…”

“I wish I could come with you…” Rainbow sighed. “This is so unfair…”

“Rainbow…”

“But I guess it’s hard for every pony else too, huh? It’s not just me. You have to deal with it, Gilda has to deal with it, even Fluttershy has to deal with it. I have to buck up too, I guess.”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Heh…” Rainbow chuckled a bit. “Well, I guess this is it then… But I can still visit, right? Or write to you and stuff?”

“That would be great.” He smiled.

As the two accepted their fate with a smile, a flash went off. They turned to see Gilda holding a camera and Fluttershy next to her.

“Since it’ll be a while for Monochrome to come back, let’s take a picture for all of us.” Gilda suggested.

“That way, we can all look back to this day.” Fluttershy added.

With the four together, they took a picture. The two pegasus, the griffon, and the human, all spending tonight together before the human boy must depart. It was a bittersweet moment where they all grew up a little inside. A memory they will never forget.

First Day

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Monochrome was lugging a large suitcase with him to his room at the castle. When he finally reached the door, her threw his belongings onto the bed. Catching his breath before opening the suitcase, he began to unpack. On the shelf, he places a photo of him and his family. Another photo he places was of him, his sister, and his friends. He smiles at the sight before putting the rest of his belonging away. Just as he finished, a knock on the door catches his attention.

“Monochrome? Are you there? It’s time to go to school!”

It was Twilight. He recognized her voice by now. As he opens the door, he sees the filly carry bags with her. She seems eager to begin her first day as well.

“I’m here. Did you decide to walk with me?”

“It’s on the way to Princess Celestia, so why not?” Twilight stated. The two strolled through the castle while they talked. They became fast friends ever since the event had occurred. It was nice to start the new life with a friend, especially when the rest of his family couldn’t come due to their jobs and schools.

“To tell you the truth, I’m a bit nervous.” Twilight told him. “I never would have thought I was going to be taught by Princess Celestia!”

“I never been to school to learn.” Monochrome stated. “I had to learn from my parents and by going to the library.”

“Wow! Your town has a library too?” Twilight said in eagerness. “Books sure are great, huh?”

“Very much so.”


When they arrived in the Princess’s chamber, the two saw the princess trying to feed a baby dragon. When Monochrome saw this, he had a thought.

“Is that the dragon you hatched?” Monochrome asked.

“Yes, he is.” Twilight answered.

They walked to the princess who noticed their presence. She smiles at the two and welcomes them.

“It’s nice to see you two today.” The princess greeted. She turned to the human boy and gave a small bow. “Thank you for accepting the offer Monochrome. I know it must have been difficult to make the decision.”

“It was, but I believe it’s for the best for now.” Monochrome assured her. He looked to the baby dragon squirming in his basket, understanding that he was having trouble resting. “Is he alright?”

The princess looked to the baby dragon with a bit of dismay. “I’m afraid he won’t eat or drink anything I give him. He’s going to get sick at this rate.”

“May I, princess?” Twilight asked. She walked up to the baby dragon and took out a formula. She levitated the bottle near the dragon. He sniffed the bottle before accepting it easily. The princess and the human were amazed at the sight.

“Whoa, Twilight, how’d you do that?” Monochrome asked.

“I mashed up some of the egg shells from the remains of the dragon egg. Some dragons need the nutrients from the mother, but the shell will also carry those nutrients.”

“How impressive Twilight!” The princess complimented the violet filly. “I see that you have been studying very well.”

The violet filly smiled quietly, not expecting the praise so soon. Monochrome looked at the dragon and noticed he was in distress.

“Huh? Did the formula not work?” Twilight wondered.

“He just needs to burp.” Monochrome assured her. He lifted the dragon and patted his back until he burped a flame. He then carefully places the baby back as he quietly slept. The two kids sighed and smiled at one another. The princess was quite pleased of the performance.

“You two make a great team, it seems.” The princess pointed out.

“I guess so.” Twilight smiled.

The dragon was rocking his basket a bit, trying to get comfortable. Once he was settled in, he spoke his first words.

“Mama… Papa…”

The three were silent as the kid’s faces turned red as apples. The princess merely giggles at the scene.


Once they finished with the lesson with the Princess, they began to attend school together as well. Monochrome and Twilight sat together again with many classmates looking over their way. Some of them began to whisper to each other.

“Who is he? And… What is he?” One of them wondered.

“I don’t know, but I heard he’s very special.” Another gossiped. “He’s from another city and lives at the castle.”

“The castle!? No way!”

Monochrome didn’t notice them as he was looking through his bag. He took out a notebook, a pencil, and an eraser. Twilight did the same, and the two sat and waited. The teacher enters and begins the day.

“Hello class, my name is Mr. Wise. Today, we’ll be examining a creature of your choice. Your choices are the creatures within this classroom.”

He levitates several glass containers, each carrying a frog, a snake, a lizard, and other amphibious animals. The class were grossed out except for Monochrome. One of the students raised their hooves and asked, “Sir? What’s the reason for this assignment?”

“Good question.” He told the student. “It’s important for all of you to gain as much information from properly examining the creature in mind. Whether it is a relic from the past, a gem, or even an animal. It is important you do it in the most respectful and safest fashion as possible. Now, select your specimens.”

The class quickly chose the animals, leaving Twilight and Monochrome to choose either a frog or a snake. When they examined the two, Twilight looked a bit shaky from selecting the two. She turned to Monochrome and asked, “W-Which one do you want to do?”

Monochrome raised an eyebrow at Twilight before looking at his choices. “Well, the frog isn’t too scary.”

“It… is a bit slimy though…”

“That does have a strange abundance of mucus…”

“… Is there a third choice?”

“Well, I guess so.” Monochrome thought.

“Really? What?” Twilight asked with hope.

“A human.”

Twilight’s expression fell flat as she groaned at the idea. “Monochrome, I don’t think that counts.”

“You can either go with the snake or the frog then.”

Not wanting to touch mucus or risk snake bites, she sighed and chose Monochrome’s plan. They had two hours to prepare like the rest of the class and find the little details as well as learn from the book. When the presentation began, they were the first to go up. Twilight was so nervous, she began to sweat as Monochrome simply placed his hands in his pockets and looked at the class.

“Miss Sparkle? Where is the creature you’re presenting?”

Twilight was hesitant to speak, but Monochrome managed to do the talking. “She decided to tell the class more about humans since they aren’t from around here.”

“Oh! Very interesting. Please proceed.” Mr. Wise continued.

Twilight looked at Monochrome smile at her, calming her down before resuming her presentation.

“Um… Well, humans are a sapient species.” She began. “Monochrome here is from Cloudsdale, and thanks to his ability to copy magic of other species, he gained the ability to stand on clouds with pegasus magic. When he came to Canterlot, he was exposed to a lot of unicorn magic, and was able to attend school here to learn more about magic.”

The class were in awe of this treasure of a story and information. The teacher was quite enthralled by it too. During the talk, Monochrome felt a bit of hot air in his stomach. He started to think he was about to burp. He tried to hold it in, but it started to feel a bit painful inside.

Once Twilight noticed he was struggling, she asked, “Monochrome? What’s wrong?”

He couldn’t hold it. By then, he lifted his head up and released wasn’t simply air, but a blue flame from his mouth. He paused for a bit in shock of this sudden roar of fire as well as his classmates and teacher. He looked around to see amazed and bewildered expressions. Twilight leaned to him and asked, “Could… humans always do that?”

“I thought that was unicorn magic.” Monochrome thought.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a spell like that before.”

“We should go see the princess again.”


Once the news was passed onto Princess Celestia, she rubbed her chin thinking about the cause. She then had an idea and walked further into her chamber. The kids followed before the Princess took out a gem.

“Bite this.” The princess requested Monochrome.

“Um… Okay…?” He complied half-heartedly. When his teeth dug into it, the gem easily broke and was chewed up. Monochrome struggled to swallow. Once he had though, his eyes widened from the taste of it.

“It looks like you received a new magic.” Princess Celestia deducted.

“Are you okay Monochrome?” Twilight questioned.

“It’s really tasty.” Monochrome noted. “But what magic is it?”

She smiled as she moves aside and shows them the baby dragon from earlier. The two then understood which magic it was. “Dragon magic!”

“Correct.” The princess smiled with pride for her students. “It seems you can eat gems like the dragons as well as breathe fire.”

“That won’t become a problem, right?” Monochrome asked.

“Sadly, not much is known about dragons.” The princess stated. “However, with the right spell, we can make your flame outburst not occur so often.”

“I think that is the best idea.”

With that, the princess casts a spell on the boy. When it was over, she smiled. “You know, I was afraid that the baby would grow up without others understanding his nature.”

“You mean the dragon?” Twilight asked.

The princess nodded. “Yes, since he is the only dragon from around here, he would grow up with abilities not like the others. But maybe I was worrying too much. As long as we accept and love him, he should grow up fine.” The princess looked at Monochrome and said, “Of course, I believe with you and your powers, you two may get along fine.”

“Since I’m kinda the same as him, right?” he assumed.

“Yes. You two can learn from each other that way.”

“Though, it’ll be a while until he can do any of that, right?” Monochrome pointed out. “Well, I guess either way, it is what it is.”

“By the way Monochrome, are you getting acquainted to Canterlot?”

Monochrome looked up and thought about it. “It’s fine so far. I still miss my family, so I hope to write a letter to them soon.”

“Hmm… I believe I can help with that.” The princess thought.


In his room, almost time for bed, he wrote a letter to his family back at Cloudsdale. Once he had finished, he held the letter in his hand and breathed fire on it. The fire turned the letter into dust before it magically escaped his room. He went to lay down on his bed and try to sleep. But the mattress wasn’t as soft as the clouds Rainbow had given him. He rolled in his bed until he was comfortable enough to slumber. But even though his position served well to rest, his eyes couldn’t keep shut.

He looked up to the ceiling and thought about his life back before this. Before he even went to Equestria. In the orphanage were countless faces but no one to be called family or friend. His room was actually quite decorative for a room of the orphanage, but that wasn’t enough to make him happy. It was empty in that room. And this home at the castle felt the same way.

“Knock, knock!” A voice called with the tapping on the door. “It’s me! Twilight Sparkle!”

“Twilight?” He said in surprise. He got up and opened the door. It was Twilight with her school bag and a sleeping bag. “What are you doing here?”

“I was too excited about everything we’ve been doing so far, so I wanted to start lessons with the princess as quickly as possible! So I asked if I could sleep at your place for tonight! I hope I don’t bother you, seeing how this is your first night sleeping here.”

“It’s… okay.” Monochrome assured her.

“Great! Sorry again for this being so sudden!”

She unrolled the sleeping bag and lied down on it. When she did, she pulled out a book. Monochrome raised his eyebrow until he remembered something.

“That was the book you were reading in class.”

“Yup! It’s a guide to slumber parties!” She told him. “Don’t worry! I’m only reading it for tonight. But next time, we’ll actually do this later!”

“I… guess?”

Twilight stayed up while Monochrome stared at the ceiling again, wondering where his new life at Canterlot will lead him this time.

Update: Story Progress

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Well, I talked to my Landlord about the issue of the FCC fiasco.
After some talking, they told me not to sweat it as they feel things may be fixed. And if not, they will pay for services I need since it's been covered within my rent already.

A reader also suggested using the school Wi-Fi, so I plan to use that to my full advantage if possible.

I also want to use this time to apologize for giving everyone a hard time. I was trying to tell everyone what is most likely to happen. I thought I was being realistic when I was really just pessimistic.

I might as well give you an update. If you see this message, that means the story you are reading HAS at least 1 chapter in the work. And I will tell you in detail why there are delays.

This story was actually supposed to be quick. But there seems to be a lot of interest in a story for Rainbow Dash to be a sister figure. (And I guess that's a strong selling point)

So I decided to expand this story more. Which is a darn shame that I messed up the beginning. I don't plan to rewrite the beginning, not because I don't want to, but because I feel like a lot of readers will be confused.

So I'm trying to work with what I got. The story is leading to an interesting point, but I have to focus on the other stories as well since they are my responsibility. (But hey, maybe with these few months of free time, I can finish some more chapters.)

Feel free to ask questions, post suggestions, and comment.