I can feel it!

"No! NO! Over that way! South! Take the storm clouds to the south! The farmers in the southern region need the downpour! Not the school in the north!  how can you even get that mixed up!? School is north! Farms are south! Farms need water! School needs kids! I only supply one of those to this town and I sure as heck don't get invited for parent teacher interviews for a reason! Now help pick up the cloud and take it south like it said on the notice board in the weather office this morning when you flew in! I know you saw it!"

I facehooved for what felt like the umpteenth time this morning. "NO! Thats east! You're taking it east! You see the town hall over there? The one in the EAST! the one you're taking the cloud over to! Damnit Jayid! I swear, if we weren't already short-hoved!" I shouted over at the blue pegasus mare pushing the cloud toward the town hall, as she frustratingly did quite often.

"Jayid! You see where my hoof is pointing? You feel where I'm trying to drag this cloud over to? That is where the farms are located! That is where we are taking the storm, that is where it was supposed to start raining TWENTY MINUTES AGO! Oh yeah.. AND THIS IS THE FIRST CLOUD! You'd think this is-"

"SADE! For once in your life! Shut up! Stop yelling! I'm sorry! ALRIGHT!? I've got a lot on my mind at the moment and you're not making it any better! I can't focus with all the yelling and ordering and demanding! It sucks enough to be yelled at by another pony when you're making simple mistakes! But it's just degrading and embarrasing when your boss who is shouting at you is just a foul halfbreed striper!"

"You're fired" was all I calmly said as I took the cloud and pushed it myself to the north where it was needed. I could feel the glare from Jayid on the back of my neck trying to burn its way into my soul. She hated my guts right now, but I don't care.

Was what I did a little harsh? Sure. was it unwarrented? Heck no! Do I feel bad about it? absolutly not. I can tollerate somepony being a tool, an idiot and an all around ass, but one bad word about my ethnic heretige, and I'll let you know something. Sometimes its how hard I can hit, sometimes Its how hot your coffee feels on your crotch, and sometimes its how you need to start looking for a new job.

I guess she got door number three.

"Damnit Sade! I'm gonna tell my father on you! He's the mayor, and he's so going to fire you from your job! See how you like that!"

Yack yack yack, the only reason she had this job in the first place is because her father asked me take her under my wing, and besides, she pulls that "Daddy is gonna get you unless you do everything I say!" card all the time, its not like he ever actually does anything. She's a spoiled little brat and he knows it, although sometimes he pretends not to.

The farm disctrict started coming into view as I forced the cloud south. This thing is heavy all on your own, and I need to lug another four out this way from the cloud pen back at the office.

I sighed heavily as I pushed and shoved the bloated grey mass toward its destination, my mothers tribal rings on my right hindleg jingled everytime I pushed hard enough on the cloud.

Hmm, Funny, I can feel Jayid glaring at the back of my head again,  It's almost as thou-

Pain. All I could feel was pain. My whole world was pain. My wing felt as though it had been torn right from its socket, whats worse was that I could see the tips of my wings while looking forward. They should fold backward, not forward. That is not right.

I could also hear a high pitched noise, it sounded like somepony screaming, it sounded a lot like me... Then again, that was more than likely because it was me... I was screaming, and falling. Thats never a good sign.

All of a sudden, I felt something slam into the side of my head, and that was it. my whole world shifted from pain, to pure and utter blackness.

That beeping is annoying! Beyond annoying! Beep... Beep... Beep... ARGH!

I tried to bare it for as long as ponily possible, but it was just so irritating!

I slamed open my eyes and flew my hoof toward my alarm clock to turn off the stupid beeping, only for my hoof to slam onto some sort of bar

"FFFUUUAAARR!! DAMNIT! ARGH! WHAT THE- GAH! Uph! AAAAHH!" was all the sophisticated language I knew at this moment of my life.

after cradling my hoof (of what I'm sure is now at least fractured)  for a time, I opened my eyes to spy what I had assumed was my alarm clock.

The silver bar was in fact one of those gate thingies that they put on the end of hospital beds..

Then it hit me.. I was in a hospital bed.. the beeping was one of those heart monitor things.. I was hooked up to it because...Uh...

I can't really remember what happened.. Jayid was being a bitch, I fired her.. I went to take the cloud to the farm district, wing pain, hoof pain... Thats all...

Sighing in defeat at my lack of knowledge, I looked back at my wing, sure enough, it was bandaged, and now that I remembered it, I noticed the pain, much duller than what I remember, but still there, Morphine maybe, or something similar at least.

Continuing to look around the room, I could see that it was a fairly plain hospital room, it looked kinda standard for a hospital room, like most others. I should know, I've been in a few.

There was the bed in the middle of the wall on one side, with hospital Doohickeys and Whatchamagijits crowding around the head of the bed, as well as a visitors chair on my left.

Across from me was a closed door, to what I assumed to be the bathroom, and a sink with a mirror facing me.

As I looked at the mirror a pegasus mare stared back at me, she had a golden dirt colored mane, purple eyes and a white coat. She was quite fit and thin too, if I didn't say so myself, thanks to all the work she does as a weather manager. The only thing that sets her apart from all the other pegasii is her zebra stripes on her left foreleg.

I look down to my stripes. My mothers' stripes. She was a zebra, my father was a pegasus, heh, and I'm both. When I was young I'd often ask my dad how he met my mom, every story was different.

Sometimes he'd rescue her from a tyrant zebra warchief in a one on one hoof to hoof fight, where the warchief would always cheat, but dad would still always win.

Other times it was the other way around, where my mom would find dad in the desert and take her back to her village to be treated for dehydration or hunger.

I bet you can guess what one is real and what one I like better.

As I looked down to my stripes, I remembered my mothers rings. In all of the photos I saw of her, she used to wear three gold rings on her back legs and two gold rings in her tail, when my mother passed away when I was still a filly, not even two, my dad put them away untill he then gave them to me on my ninth birthday when he assumed they would fit.

He was correct. They fit although very very loosely, and I never took them off again. They were the only thing I had left to remember my mother.

I used to have pictures too, but they were lost when my dad was working with storm clouds, he asked the weather office if he could borrow one for one reason or another, and accidently hit the house with a jolt of lightning, one moment there was nothing, then fire, and then the next, dad was rushing in to save something he swore that was important.

I never found out what that important thing was, he never came out, and I was left alone.

A small tear splashed on my striped foreleg, as the door to the room opened up.

I wiped my face and gave a quick sniffle to clear my head. I don't usually get so emotional when I think about my parents, I guess this must be a special day huh?

A purple unicorn nurse with a blonde mane and tail with glasses then entered the room, her nose was burried in her chart, about me, no doubt.

I'd met her before, a few times actually. Her name was Karri. Nurse Karri. Since I got into all sorts of fights on account of assholes and thier issues with my herritage, she was usually the one to patch me up afterward.

"Oh! Sade! You're awake! Good. Thats good." She said without even looking up from her board. "How are you feeling?"

"Fantastic. I think I might go for a fly a little later." I deadpanned.

Placing the clipboard down, she gave me half a smirk and half a frown as she moved me forward so she could get a look at my wing.

"I would strongly adivse against that, but since when do you ever listen to me. I tell you to stay out of trouble, and yet, you're my best customer Sade. What should I do with you?"

I winced as she fiddled with my wing. "I dunno, Stay in bussines and keep me in top flank kicking shape? Speaking of being awake, how long have I been asleep? and what the hell happened to me? I don't remember much"

Pushing me back into a more comfortable possition, obviously done with my wing, she noticed the red mark on my hoof from when I'd slammed it against the railing and sighed. "You've been asleep for about a twenty two hours. give or take however long you were out before we got our hooves on you, as for what happened, all I know is that Vinny brought you in after he said that he found you on the ground in a puddle of blood, feathers and mud" She said as she moved to take a look at my hoof "Punched the railing I see. Did it make a racial slur against you too?"

I huffed at that. If she wasn't such a good friend.... "Wait.. Mud? What do you mean mud? was I found in the farm disctrict?"

"No, more along Whinney Avenue I think? Vance said something about Mane Crossing." She wrote something down on the pad she'd come in with and grabbed some bandages for my hoof. I think my theory about it being at least fractured was somewhat spot on.

"Mane Crossing? Thats miles from the only place that was scheduled for any rain, why was I in mud? I mean, sure, there was a storm cloud above me, but those only start raining when prompted by a pegasus who knows where to kick, and the only other pegasus up there with me was... JAYID!" I bolted up, causing my hoof to slip from Karris' hooves and the bandages to come undone. "I'm gonna beat that girl within an inch of her pathetic spoiled life! The mayor had better know some damn good private detectives! He's gonna need them to find all her teeth!" I screamed!

"SADE! Calm down! What you meant to say was that you're going to go to the authorities to talk to the guard captain about setting up an investigation to see if it really was her, and then, only then, will you press charges! NO violence at all! isn't that right!"

I had a feeling that that wasn't a question, more like command. Jeez, Karri can be scary when she wants to be, and right now, she's not even trying.

"Uuuhhh.. Yeah.. Right. Sure thing Karri, that is so totally what I meant" That is so totally not what I meant.

"Good. Now, this hoof, It's not broken, but It is bruised, keep off it for a little. as for your wing, and head-" My head? I didn't even notice that, Cheers Kerri, now it's starting to throb. "-You've got a very mild concussion, likely from hitting the ground or something similar, and as for your wing, it was dislocated and reveresed. I've never seen anything be so serious looking, and yet so not threatening to your future in flight..."

"What do you mean?"

"If you'd let me finish, I'll tell you. You see, your wing was pulled out of its socket cleanly, and then twisted, however, the twist was done in such a way that it didn't tear, snap or break any musscle, bone, tendon, nerves, skin and so on and so forth. Pretty much, all it did was hurt. Now, if Jayid really did do this, you're either so damn lucky and there was a one in too many numbers to count chance that this was an accident and didn't tear your wing clean off, or she is such a skilled martial artist and knows the pegasus body in and out much better than any doctor or nurse in history that she can do this mid flight with such perfect presission that even a machine can't hope to match."

"Option A, Deffinatly option A, So how long till I can fly? or leave the hospital?" I really didn't want to be in here too long. I'd been here so often that this place was becoming like my seccond home. and that sucked.

"It's interesting how this doesn't even bother you" She sighs at my lack of response to such a serious matter

"I'd say you're free to leave today. As long as the Doctor okays it."

"Great! My chance at happiness is riding on some doc telling me if I'm having a sleepover here or not"

"Shush Sade. It's not so bad out there. there are trees and flowers and-"

"I was talking about in here being bad"

"I know that" Kerri sighed. Even if she can be scarry, she is pretty much my only friend in this racist town, I'm glad she puts up with me... Most of the time.

"Well then Kerri, when is this Doctor supposed to visit poor ol' me?"

Looking at the clock on the wall she smirked a little and looked toward the door. She didn't even say anything as it opened like it was just waiting for me to say that.

In stepped a short old stallion with far too little mane.  He was a grey fella with black.. uhh.. strings on his head.. I can't even call it hair, there is like a total of nine strands on his head. His glasses were thicker than the walls around us, and he had the most sour of looks on his face.

"So.. This is Sade eh? Luckiest Zebrasus in the whole damn history of this town.. Right..." I already hated this guy with a firey passion. Even Kerri had a dissaproving frown on her face.

"Uh, Doctor?" Kerri picked up" Where is Doctor Jubles? He was the one who was supposed to okay Sade or not."

"Nurse Kerri, shut up please, Jubles was asked to do something more important and asked me to do the okay for him. So sit down, be quiet and let me look at this here Halfbreed!"

I could feel Kerris' teeth grinding, oh.. No.. Wait.. Those are my teeth.

"My name is Ink, I'm a doctor from hoofington, I was here on business, but apparently Jubles thinks I am some kind of traveling circus doctor he can show me to all his pet freaks! So let me look at you so I can get this over and done with and send you home so this room can be given to somePONY who really needs it, like that nice stallion out there who has a runny nose!"

Oooh I'm trying so hard not to show this guy how hard I can hit, I want to pull of those damn nine hairs on his head, punch down thone stupid racist teeth of his and kick the absolute sh-

"You're fine. get out" he said as he walked out of the room. He barely even gave me a passing glance. What an ass.

After sitting there in silence for a few moments, Kerri perked up.

"Wow Sade, I'm so proud of you!"

"That makes one of us!" I said as I just glared at the glob of crap as he pretty much rolled his oily old fat ass out of the room

"I wanted to hurt him so bad! But I didn't! You know why?"

"Why is that Sade? because he is an out of town doctor? He might have large amount of pull with the government? because you're a better pony than you were yesterday?"

"No, Because I'm going to arrest that asshole one day." I said with determination.

"What do you mean arres- Oh Sade! you're still not going on about that are you? You've been applying to the Royal Guard school for three years now, every month, on the first you put in an application, and every month on the fifteenth you get a rejection notice. Isn't it time to just accept facts that you're not cut out to join the guard? You just don't have the qualifications."

"Kerri! You know thats not true! You need to be fit! and damned if I'm not fit with all the weather working I have to do on my own because of the lazy assholes I've got to work under me, You need credibility, and every time I've said I'm gonna beat the heck outa some dude, I did! You need intelligence! You know I've got that! How would I be a weather Manager otherwise? and lastly! you need an ample amount of patience, and did you just see me not hit that Dr Ink guy? Now that was some serious patience!"

All Kerri did was place her hoof softly on her face "I know Sade, but we both know the real reason why they won't accept you is because you're not a full fledged pon-"

"Don't say it Kerri! Do not say it! You know as well as I do that I am too a full fledged pony! I put more work into keeping this pony town going than any other 'Full fledged pony' and I'll be damned if I won't be accepted because of it! Besides! This time is gonna be different!"

"And how do you know that Sade? Did you say please? did yo- Oh jeez! Don't tell you bribed them! or threatened them! SADE! they'll never let you in if you do that! What were you thinking!? Oh dear! That's illegal!"

Wow, way to go Kerri, you're way off.

"Relax Kerri, I didn't bribe or threaten them, I didn't say please, none of that, it's just a normal application. I just have this feeling that they will say yes this time! I can feel it in my gut!"

After saying goodbye to Kerri, avoiding Dr Ink, who I swear smelt like alchohol, I trotted out of the hospital. Albiet a little wonky and slow, due to my sore hoof. "Stupid hospital bed!"

I began my trot down to the post office, it was after all, the sixteenth of the month, and I always get my letter from the Royal Guard School on the fifteenth, so I'm late. Hehe, the post office mare must be worried about me. I've never missed a day before.

I walked down the crowded streets of Hoofiter, passing by numerous ponies who were giving me suspicious looks.

But right now, I didn't even care. I didn't even know why. I should be beyond mad, but I just felt good. With Jayid I should be ready to kick her flank all over town, with Dr Ink, I should be ready to go on a rampage and start smashing the hospital, but for some reason, I just felt great, like this was the day I was able to get out of this stupid backwater middle of ass-nowhere town and go be a royal guard! Just like my hero!

<"))>{   ---OoO---   }<))">

"Daddy! Where are you? Daddy!" I called. Daddy is missing! I can't find him! We came to Canterlot earlier today cos he had to talk to somepony! Grown ups are weird! Why couldn't he just talk to the ponies at home? Why did we have to come to this city for daddy to talk to somepony? "Daddy!"

"Hey little filly? You lost?" A big red stallion grown up asked me, he looks nice enough, but daddy always told me not to talk to strangers"

"Uuh, Daddy is missing, I can't find him, but he always says 'Don't talk to stranger Sade, they could be mean and take you away forever' So I can't talk to you mister! Sorry!" I appologised, but the big stallion just smiled

"Thats cute. My name is Briggs! I work at the candy shop just a few minutes to the east." He smiled at me in a way that felt kind of wrong. "See, now I know your name, and you know mine. We're not strangers anymore. Want to come with me to my shop? You can wait for your daddy there. I'm sure he'll look for you inside of candy shops."

I gave it some thought, it sounded like fun! and he was right! We weren't strangers any more and daddy did promise me that we'd go to a candy store after! so it made sense to me! "Sure mister Briggs! I'll follow you!" I said as I smiled and skipped up the nice stallion.

He chuckled and started walking out of the crowd, "So how old are you Sade? You look a little young to be floating around Canterlot."

"I'm four and a half! thats almost five! and I am not too young to float! I can already fly! I've been able to fly since I was two! See!" I flapped my wings and left the ground, only to bump my head on Mister Briggs' Belly, making him chuckle.

"Haha, thats great kid, Hey, I know a quicker way to my shop, its just down this here alley, and the best part is its totally secluded No pony knows about it, so it'll be like a super secret between just us! Doesn't that sound fun?"

I looked down the alley that Mister Briggs was talking about, it looked kinda dark, even in the middle of the day, and kinda dirty too, "I dunno mister, it seems kinda scary..." This response caused him to chuckle again.. I don't get what is so funny?

"It's alright Sade, I'll protect you, here just pop yourself under my barrel and we'll go together? sound good?"

This kinda scared me, even my own daddy never told me to walk under him, Mister Briggs was a weird guy.

"Uhh, No thank you Mister Briggs, I think I'll just go back to the street and look for daddy that way. I'm sure hes worried about me, and It might be easier to see me if I'm not inside a shop."

This caused Mister Briggs to seem mad, but he soom smiled again, I saw that look before when I yelled back at a bully who teased me about my stripes, that was before he attacked me... Mister Briggs was scaring me.

"Sade, If you come with me now, I'll let you have all the candy you want, for free!"

Daddy also said to never accept candy from strangers either, and Mister Briggs was still a stranger, and he was offering me candy, I didn't like it.

"No thank you Mister Briggs. It was nice to meet you, but I think I'm going to go this way now. Bye."

I started trotting off toward the crowd, but Mister Briggs put his hoof around my head and over my mouth and then started dragging me into the scary alley! Mister Briggs was stealing me! NO! I don't want to be stolen! This is bad! So I bit him!

"YEOUCH! DAMNIT! YOU HALFBREED ZEBREGASUS BITCH!" He roared as he pulled his hoof from my mouth. I tried to yell for daddy but Mister Briggs put his hoof back faster than I could say anything and he kept pulling me into the alley way! I started to tear up as I was pulled further and further away from finding daddy I don't want to go in there! I don't want to go with Mister Briggs! I want daddy! I want Mommy! I want help!

"HEY! You there!"

There was a loud noise and Mister Briggs let me go, and I fell to the ground, I bumped my nose on the ground and it caused it to start bleeding. But I wasn't gonna cry like some other kids would. I'm tough. I'm so used to blood noses.

As I pulled myself up into a sitting possition, I heard some more thumps and bumps and bangs as if ponies were fighting. I turned around to see a white pegasus pony in golden armor fighting with Mister Briggs! The pegasus pony was a Royal Guard! My daddy always said they were the good guys!

The Guard pony swung his hoof at Mister Briggs only for him to move at the last moment, but thats ok, cos Mister Briggs was silly and jumped. The Guard Pony hit Mister Briggs in his boy parts. I knew then that the Guard pony won. I'd hit colts in the boy parts before when they said mean things about me, and that would always stop them.

I watched in awe as two more golden armored ponies came into the alley way and picked up Mister Briggs. They were both unicorns so they were able to pick up a pony as big as the bad pony with ease. The Guard pegasus pony said something to the other two and they did that salute thing I saw them do sometimes. It was cool! it was like the pegasus pony was the boss!

"Are you alright kid? Did he do anything untoward?" The pegasus guard pony said as he walked toward me. Daddy said these guys were like knights in shining armor! and knights in shining armor always rescued the princess! that means I'm a princess! yay!

"yes sir, no sir!" I said. I was feeling funny in my tummy, like butterflies were flying around inside me.

"I'm glad." The guard sat next to me and looked at me eye to eye.

"Hello, My name is Captain Captain, But everypony just calles me CC, whats your name little lady?"

I giggled at that. CC. that's funny.

"My name is Sade. I'm lost. My daddy and I came here so he could talk to somepony, thats silly if you ask me! We have ponies at home to talk to! Anyway! We got seppar... seper... sap....  we got split up, and then Mister Briggs over.. uhh" I looked for the red stallion, but he was gone, same with the two unicorn guards" there.. somewhere, said he'd help me, but then he started acting weird, so when I said I didn't want to go with him anymore, he tried to make me go with him. then you came in and was all like 'Hey!' and then wham! pow! doosh! bang! and then here we are! Thank you!"

I leaned in and gave him a hug. He chuckled at that.

"Alright kid, well, lets get you back to barracks, I'll allert the guards to be on a lookout for your dad, when you tell us what he looks like of  couse. haha, and then I'll get them to lead him to us. How does that sound?"

"Yes please" I said.

<"))>{   ---OoO---   }<))">

I thought back to the memory, with how dad had come rushing into the guard barracks, tears down his cheeks and he was huffing and puffing, turns out he'd pretty much been tearing down the whole of canterlot to find me. He was about to go to the princess herself and everything, till the guard realised that this was in fact the pony they were looking for.

I'd never seen dad cry before that day, or get so mad when he found out what happened. He demanded to meet Briggs, CC of course, wouldn't let him. Not in a million years.

I chucked at that too.

It's all because of CC that I'm here today, and he is the whole reason I want to be a royal guard. I'll be accepted this time, I know it. Then, one day, I'll be posted under his command and I'll make him so proud! And today! I know the letter is going to be a yes!

As my memories faded, a large wooden building appeared in front of me, the words "Hoofiter Post Office" were etched into an old redwood board, dangling from an iron bar attatced to the roof.

I eagerly opened the door, savouring the smell of old wood, ink, paper and acceptance.

"Oh! Jeez! and here I was hoping you'd given up."

And there goes the good feeling. "Hello Letter Opener. Is there any mail for me today?" I said in a bored monotone voice. I really didn't like this mare.

"No! Doesn't even matter if there was! It's always rejection! and it's always gonna be rejection! heh! Maybe they finally wised up and stopped sending you responses in the first place. save themselves Ink, paper, time and effort it takes to send a no to a halfbreed who won't even be allowed into the guard because she's not even a full pony!" the older grey mare responded. She looked way passed retirement age, what was she even doing working here?

If I didn't need her for mail, I'd soooo knock her false teeth in.

"Wait? No mail? since when are they late? they've been here on the fifteenth of every month for three years, how can there be nothing from them? that's not right!"

"Tell someone who cares! Now do you want to actually post a letter? If not, get out! I don't need you smelling up the place!

I growled under my breath. I supposed this is always good patience training for being a guard. I mean, you can't just beat the living tartarus out of some pony as a guard because he said something offensive about you.

I sighed and opened the door, only to be greeted with a full body slam and a tumble to the floor.

"Ugh.. what is it with the attacks these days? Did I piss off some cosmic power or something recently?" I asked in a sarcastic tone. I'm so sick of being hit.

I turned to face the attacker only to be met with a pair of toned grey flanks in my face. It would seem that the other pony worked out.

Ugh, now isn't the time. "Oi! You alright?" I asked having noticed that the mare on the ground was dazed. I assume she didn't mean to crash into me. But I suppose it was either me, or the door... I myself would have preffered the door, but I guess that can't be helped right now.

"Hey! Grey mare! You alright? You need some help?" I asked again as I stood up and moved toward what I now see is a pegasus mare. she had a blond mane and a blond tail, her cutie mark was bubbles.. What has that got to do with anything..? I asked, before looking to my own, a crooked seven and three dashes.. Yeah.. I'm one to talk..

"Uh.. I.. I'm ok! Did anypony catch the number plate of that muffin?"

Muffin? what? "Hey! Mail mare!" I said after noticing her official mailmare hat and bag, now half full of mail, as the rest of it was all over the post office... well.. what better place I guess.

I moved toward the mare and helped her up "Easy there, you flew into me pretty hard, you sure you're alright?"

The mare rubbed her head and her eyes shot open, revealing two golden eyes, they were real pretty.. Except that they were facing two different directions.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I'm always crashing into things! I'm sorry! are you ok? I'm sorry!" I think she was sorry.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The real question is, are YOU ok? I mean, you did slam into me pr-"

"Would you two shut up! You're driving me mental! You! Halfbreed! Get out! You! Wall-eye! Deliver the mail and get out!"

I started grinding my teeth again.

Calm down Sade, It's all guard training, its all guard training. Calm down.

"Oh! sorry! Yep! Here you are!" the mailmare said as she passed the bags over to Letter Opener, who obviously noticed something sitting on the top of the pile of letters.

"Oi! Halfbreed! the mail here has something for ya. Seems kinda heavy. Maybe they accepted you or something. Hope not! HA!" Letter Opener said as she passed me my mail, the last part of what she said didn't phase me, the first part did. It's heaver? I KNEW IT! This is the day I get accepted! I'm so excited!

Without waiting another seccond, I tore open the letter to see what was inside it, the stars in my eyes turned to water as the words on the letter I'd been waiting for, had been stated.

REJECTED