Chapters Chapter 1
The city of Cloudsdale was the city known for it’s grand facilities of weather control and all it’s grand schools for the greatest of weather ponies that could go wherever they would be needed in Equestria. The Pegasi who lived there always saw themselves as ‘above’ one another and rarely had other ponies living in their city, with the exception of the flying Griffons who found themselves included in the flying sports of the Pegasi.
Sky Light was never one for such simple games, he was a very grounded pony who could never do what his classmates had done when they learned about clouds and weather patterns that they would one day manipulate for Equestria. While others entertained themselves with the different flying games, he would study in the small children’s school for the ‘less than gifted’ in the normal fields.
His mother, one of the tornado managers of the weather factory always told him to keep his head up, that not everypony was meant for weather duties around Equestria. He was nearly constantly made fun of for his lack of talent. He always did find a way to make himself smile, the cutie mark he had gotten later than everyone came from his love of Fireworks. Making them was his talent after her made a few to prove he could take out clouds like his classmates.
Not everyone approved of his odd talent, many of the ponies would fly near his home as he had a penchant for having fireworks randomly come through his windows when he was trying something new. He never, however, aimed to do any harm but was quick to judge Pegsi who sneered at him in the windy city.
Graduation came quickly for the class that Sky Light was in, his fellow members were given the graduation degrees in class but normally were only given their official assignments to areas where they would be working in weather teams. It was one of the grandest ceremonies of the year bringing in the end of the younger years of the ponies of Cloudsdale’s lives and making them truly take on responsibilities of an adult. Most had gotten their best suits and dresses on the for the grand occasion. Some of the best weather ponies even had been invited to watch who would be on the team of the newest top graduates.
Everyone in Cloudsdale had shown up for the momentous occasion, the heads of the weather factories, the families of ponies coming from Saddle Arabia who kept the skies clear of clouds and rain, even some of the royal weather team who kept the castle perfectly weather controlled throughout the year. They were the absolute best of the best out of every graduate of the academies. There had been rumors that a few of the best Pegasi would be joining their ranks this year.
As normal, the ceremony was slow and many of the most famous Pegasi gave speeches to all the former students and the families around them. Giving words of advice, encouragement, and even one of the most famous Wonderbolt giving a random student a Zap Apple Pie. This had been a tradition of the Wonderbolt since the day he graduated when he was eating a pie when he was called up to receive his Wonderbolt assignment. As the last few Pegasi were called up, the final name that was on the list was called, Sky Light.
When he didn’t answer, he was called again over using the Microphone with no answer yet again. Many of the Weather ponies started to whisper to one another while his mother looked around for him frantically. His name was called for a final time after twenty times of trying and the only sign they got back was the note his mother brought from their home still sealed with a bit of wax with the symbol of Sky Light’s cutie mark.
As it was opened by the announcer of the awards, quickly tore the letter and out came many flashing and popping lights making the sky shine in the odd colors the fireworks. Everypony there quickly grounded themselves to the nearest cloud as the explosions filled the sky. His mother had figured out what his plan was from the start, but she had wanted him to be joking. With a smile on her face, she looked out below the grand weather city to see a distant Gypsy style wagon barreling down the road.
She couldn’t say she had blamed her son for not wanting to attend the ceremony, he had always wanted to leave Cloudsdale since he was bullied as a foal. She smiled at the fireworks, knowing he would find someway to use his special talent to get somewhere in the world...even if it wasn’t having anything to do with Cloudsdale.
After all, it isn’t easy growing up in Cloudsdale as a Unicorn.
Author's Note
I know the people that have been watching me for at least a year have been waiting for something of an update on another one of my stories.
But I've been fairly busy with other things and will happily be updating this, which is something I've been wanting to do for a while. The Element of Chaos is also coming very slowly but...It's coming.
I hope you all enjoy this and tell me what you think of this story.
Chapter Two A Friend and A Problem
The day soon came to the end as Cloudsdale disappeared from sight, over hills and down the road closer to the massive Everfree forest was a small field where a large wagon was parked with a fire burning nearby it surrounded by stones as the night slowly came alive with the sound of insects and small animals. With a few sounds of light pops and bangs quieted the sounds of the night for a little bit, slowly having them come back to the normal volume.
“It’s nice to finally be free...” Said the scrawny unicorn pony sitting on a small log under the awning that pulled out from the top of the wagon. At his hooves were four white horseshoes that were worn from use that had a faint glow to them. “Never have to wear these again either...” He said laughing a bit as he picked the horseshoes and tossed them into the fire. The fire changed into a faint white color until the magic had burned out from the metal.
The night was calm with the gentle crackle of the fire being the centerpiece of Sky Light’s attention. He had never been this far from Cloudsdale, but he had never felt more at home. It was his dream, one just so different from everypony else in Cloudsdale. A simple life of travelling to different towns selling fireworks, setting up displays for those who were willing to give him enough bits.
He smiled thinking about it all, looking at the fire and then back at his wagon before tossing the bucket he had next to him full of water onto the flames before he started to open the door again. He saw the slightly glowing ember of flame under a log and gave a swift kick backward kicking dirt to put it out fully. He gave a quick nod before hopping up fully and letting his screen shut on it’s own and locking his main wooden door to allow him to maneuver his way past all the boxes of fireworks from floor to ceiling in safe little crates to keep them dry.
Moving to a small bed he had near the back he hopped inside and pulled down a small hatch to close himself inside. Not one to enjoy being woken up by sunshine hitting him in the face he gave it a quick check then closed his eyes, falling asleep into blissful dreams of wanderings and fireworks he would use to entertain Ponies, Griffons, and even Minotaurs when he would meet them. He never thought the loud buzzing from outside his wagon was anything but normal bugs as he dreamed...
He swung open the small panel with a grin as he stepped out to stretch his limbs, lifting a small pot on top of a hot plate and turning it on to mix a simple pot of coffee to wake him up fully before he felt the cold touch of somepony on his neck who seemed to be wearing some sort of armor.
‘They are going to take me back to Cloudsdale and send me to some waste management system in the middle of nowhere. Probably in some Tornado alley to be rid of me. Please no, no no no...” Sky Light thought to himself as his eyes closed and he visibly shook.
“You will say nothing, you will do nothing, and you will not resist my occupation if you wish to be safe.” Said a chittering voice, it was an even tone but one that spoke with the pure intentions of what would happen if the speaker was disobeyed. It wasn’t a normal pony, it was worse. It was something that been in Fresh Yoke Post.
It was a Changeling.
“Of course...whatever you say.” Sky Light said with his breath shakily coming out each time. He felt the hoof move from his neck and gulped. He heard rooting around for a moment, boxes being opened then closed again with light slams. Cabinets being opened then closed with growls accompanying them.
As this went on, Sky bolt was still facing his coffee pulling it off with his magic and putting it onto a mat to not burn the drink. He eventually, after hearing the same thing for five minutes allowed himself to look back and watch as the Changeling, who looked gnarled as most did but with a light burnt cloth hanging from its head opened and closed different large creates and moved ever closer to Sky Light before turning with it’s eyes narrowed.
It seemed as if the Changeling was about to say something in its odd voice again, its horn glowing lightly with its sickly green energy before there was a heavy pounding on the side of the wagon. The Changeling took a sudden look of fear, a scar along its muzzle now greatly accented as it looked around in desperation. It kept looking around, it was clear what it was looking for.
It was looking for a place to hide.
“Equestrian Royal Guard, whomever owns this wagon please step out now, failure to comply will be met with being forced entry by the security edict.” Said a low voice from outside as the pounding stopped once again.
The Changeling looked to Sky Light and had pleading eyes, what could he do? Run out, screaming about the changeling in his wagon to have it carted away to Celestia knows where? Or...he could do the only alternative he had on his mind...
Sky Light shook his head moving closer to squeeze past the Changeling and in a whisper for the odd creature to hear, “Use the panel to hide the bed, stay there until I open it and they leave.” With a surprised look the Changeling bolted to the area told of and slide the panel down as Sky Light cleared his throat to open the wooden door but not the screen. He saw the pair of guards, both were Earth ponies wearing dark metal armor looking at him carefully.
“Have you seen any Changelings Son?” Ask the larger of the two, his greying mane compared to his partners brighter blonde was a clear show of who was in charge.
“No, if I see any I’ll point the nearest guard in the right direction.” He said smiling as he sweated a bit and showed all his white teeth as the older guard nodded.
“Well son, you have a good morning.” Said The older with a slightly raised eyebrow and looked to his ‘partner’ who turned around and both jogged down the road toward the nearest town. Sky Light watched them leave, making sure they were gone by the time they went over the crest of the nearest hill. It had been five minutes and he let out a sigh of relief.
He looked to the back of his wagon and moved to open the panel. He leaned back as he gently pushed the wood up and hopped back watching the Changeling open its bright blue eyes carefully. They had stared at one another for another two minutes before Sky Light blinked turning away. He had always heard the stories of Changelings from the books he read, most weren’t as mean as the papers had been saying, Demonizing them like that was just cruel. They were for the most part just creatures wishing to be fed as others wished to be.
“Would you...um...Like some Coffee?” Sky Light asked moving his now cool coffee pot back onto the hot plate. The Changeling moved out of the small alcove and gave a small shake of its head and watched him carefully.
“I do not understand why you did not report me to your authority figures.” The Changeling said with its head tilted. Its face was clear of most emotion and it’s only distinguishable feature was a small scar on its muzzle.
“Well...it’s complicated. I ran away from home, you are just trying to find a home.” Sky Light said heating the coffee up and pouring it into a mug then drinking it down purely black.
“Wouldn’t that be hot?” The Changeling asked with the tilt of the head.
“Extremely.” Sky Light said as he suddenly ran to the small sink to fill his mouth with water and pant a bit.
“I know it would not be what you Ponies call grateful, but you must now watch for my own safety as well as your own from now on.” The Changeling said with a flat voice and a small grin on its face now.
“No. I don’t. The Guards are gone, you were looking for a place to hide. Now you can leave because both are gone.” Sky Light said simply and glared, “Besides, I don’t want a wagon mate. I left alone for a reason.”
The Changeling used its odd ability to then change into the image of Sky Light, his light colored orange fur with the mop of black mane resting on his neck and head. It looked at him and changed instantly back. Sky Light knew the implications instantly, blackmail, the threat of being arrested when they get the Changeling to tell them who helped it, and even being ticketed with Jaywalking.
“Fine just...keep quiet and out of my way when we travel and sell things. I don’t want to get arrested...” Sky Light said and magiced open a second set of panels to pull out a large amount of fireworks making supplies and threw a few spare pillows inside. “That’s yours unless you want to find a crate to sleep in. The Changeling gave a bit of a click with its tongue and teeth and buzzed his wings to float into the higher loft and close the door from the inside.
With a grand sigh, Sky Light filled his cup of coffee again and took a slowly sip to calm himself. Now he not only had to worry about himself, but also the changeling sleeping above him. He looked at the odd panel again and shook his head as he moved to the small magic console that would cause the enchanted wheels to start turning and stick to the road as they moved toward the town less than a day away.
“At least I won’t be too bored.” He said solemnly and took another sip closing his eyes again.
Chapter 3
The week following the departure from Cloudsdale was rather slow, with the exception of the slight interactions with the odd Changelings sleeping in the upper alcove. The nearest town was a very long way away, but little work for the wagon which needed a simple supply of magic from a unicorn or a battery charged by magic. The wagon was much more orginized with plenty of the crates holding the fireworks supplies tucked to the side giving plenty room for a small table and hanging baskets of fruits and vegetables.
By noon, the small town of Timberbridge was in sight, a small town compared to Cloudsdale full of ponies of every shape size and color. Stopping the Wagon on a hill less than a mile from town, Sky Light started to push different crates out of the door to be loaded on a small collapsible cart he’d pull to their small market. He smiled, he knew he would be able to sell enough to get his name out there. Perhaps he’d even get a new pair of normal horseshoes to replace the ones he had left on the side of the road, with the old bits of magic burnt out of them.
“What is it that you are doing?” Asked the chittering voice which Sky Light had surprisingly rarely heard. With the Changeling sleeping above his own bed, one would think he’d be louder or at least more watchful during the day. But it seemed to Sky Light that Changelings were at bit Nocturnal, if not this one was enjoyed the night more than day. Whenever the Changeling did speak it was sudden, making Sky Light nearly jump every time. The chittering tones were...unnerving to say the least.
“Just a town, I’m going to sell some of my fireworks.” Sky Light replied after shaking his head and staking the crates with his magic. He felt the huge blue eyes of the Changeling boring into the back of his head, it was unnerving as he finished strapping everything down with a quick turn of his head.
“What am I to do then?” The Changeling asked not leaving the wagons dark doorway, they were far enough from anypony that they wouldn’t be seen, but it seemed that the odd creature was still paranoid from far sighted eyes.
“I don’t know, whatever it is you do in your little zone when I’m driving?” Sky Light said shrugging as he moved to strap the cart to his shoulders so he would be able to pull it straight to town and back. He kept the aura going on the odd knot he was tieing when he saw a flash of green fire. He nearly yelled in fear when he saw a rather average green earth pony now standing in his doorway staring at him with bright eyes.
“I am coming with you.” The Changeling said, it wasn’t a request. It was an order, he was going to come whether Sky Light wanted him to or not. As Sky Light just continued to strap the cart finally and walk down the dirt path he struggled to move much. He mumbled under his breath about packing too much stuff for the day until he felt the cart move with his pushing much easier. He saw beside him the dull green coat of the Changeling in disguise next to him and smiled, if he was coming and helping it wouldn’t be too bad.
“So...” Sky Light said as they continued to push the cart down the road toward a few small homes with small ponies playing in their yards or elderly tending gardens happily. “I never did get your name, with all the driving I’ve been doing and all the hiding in your bunk you’ve been doing we didn’t exchange names.”
The Changeling looked at him with a strange expression, one of distrust and interest at the same time. His ce was much more readable while a pony and much less imposing to say the least. Sky Light let himself smile a bit, he wasn’t glaring at him or bearing any fangs.
“You may call me Jitters.” It said finally looking forward pushing a bit harder as they started up a small hill.
While Sky Light looked at him and they kept their pace up the hill together responded, “My name is Sky Light.” He kept his eyes to the road which got a bit more level near the top and smiled. It seems the Changeling wasn’t all bad at least. Now he wouldn’t have to push and pull everything on his own to different towns.
The town wasn’t busy at this time of day, the roads mostly free of other ponies except for a few school foals and other adults who had to go to different chores throughout their day so they would have time for themselves. The market place was well defined, the other small stands and stalls were set up while their owners were sitting behind them setting the different wares up to look nice for those passing by.
Sky Light took a deep breath, finding a small side area where no one else was setting up and parked his cart. He smiled and started to pull a few things up to have his rather small sign with the picture of a few different fireworks. He smiled nodding to Chitters who had started to sit down at a nearby bench and close his eyes.
The crowd started to wonder in, the shoppers browsing all the different stalls with their friends by their sides. Ponies buying fruit, different tools, even flowers from a different shack and eating them as they left. Keeping a smile on his face and fooling with one of the firework bags to make a sort of ‘grab bag’ of tiny and cheap fireworks to be sold to anypony wanted it.
The only problem is that none of them wanted any Fireworks.
Two hours went by and no one bought a single firecracker, Not a single fizzing flyer, not even his unique lanterns that glowed with the symbols of different famous pony’s cutie marks. It was rather grim from his point of view and eventually, near noon he let himself fall into a light nap in the sun. He felt himself fall into a faint dream about making great fireworks that would turn into dragons, the only problem was that it was lit by fools who ran from it and caused chaos.
When he heard a loud slam on his small wagons side and bolted up, nearly falling backwards and onto the ground. He rubbed his eyes to see the calm looking gentlepony, he had an odd looking mustache. He had a foal next to him, who was staring at the different crates of fireworks. Some were so full they had bits and cones poking out of the top to give a bit of enticing images to the buyers.
“How may I help you today? I’m Sky Light, crafter of these fine fireworks.” Sky Light asked the two unicorns with a smile after clearing his throat. It wasn’t a real smile, but one he had perfected to look like a ‘happy to serve’ employee. The colt, who was a light grey and had a few coins as his cuite mark looked at the older pony next to him expectingly.
“Yes, Yes. Well my son here, Lucky Money, would wish to know how much some of your fire works would be.” The Older pony asked and pointed to one of the largest crates he had brought. It was full of Spitting Fires, Belching Beasts, and even a few Zebra trees. All high class, well made, and rather expensive to make.
“Well,” Sky Light said smiling and pulled out one of each of the items. One was a freestanding little figure in the shape of a Manticore, another was a seemingly normal firework with the symbol of the Wonderbolts on the side, and the last was a rather normal looking fake wooden tree. “Each of these are roughly fifty bits a pop. For one of each bought at once I’d go to about...One-Twenty five.” Of course, this was a bit more than normal, but with their clothes and money related Cutie Marks he doubted they'd be too pressed for bits.
"Dad, I want all three." Lucky Money said, his snotty tone nearly made Sky Bolt cringe.
"Yes, yes. One of each please." Said the stallion before the colt stomped his hoof.
"I want two of each!" The haughty tone implied that a tantrum would soon follow.
The stallion gave a shake of his mane, his light wrinkles around his eyes had a clear source. Sky Light looked at them both and motioned for the father to lean a bit closer.
"I'll bump it down another thirty. Two hundred twent bits, you need the break more than me." He offered while the six items floated onto the table.
The stallion had a slight look of relief and said, "That sounds fair. Thank you." He dug out the large sum of bits, all rolled up in neat twenty bit packs. A quick count and the fireworks were bagged up.
The stallion and Sky Light shared a quick nod, the two customers turned and left. The colt trying to grab at the bag and the stallion pulling it away with his amber colored magic.
Sky Light smiled, his first real sale had gone remarkably well. The other ponies had caught a bit of other's interest. He had a few of the better dressed buying the more expensive fireworks, word spread and by days end most of the boxes empty.
Sky Light smiled looking at everything he had sold, packing back up was far easier. The cart was pulled down and the sign pulled to be in the small bottom again to finish the deal.
As he pulled out the block breaks, he looked to the nearby bench to find Chitters. What he saw was far more shocking, the particular lack of the disguised pony. His head whipped back and forth, trying to find him.
Finally he saw the Changeling, the one still disguised as the green earth pony as this morning. The lack of cuts or being a shaved was a slight relief.
The only problem was that he had a pair of mares hanging on his sides.