Hex

"I..." Breeze sat on the ground, looking up at the earth pony in front of him in shock. I didn't know she felt that way... he thought. Applejack reached her hoof down, offering to help him up. Unsure of himself, he took it and slowly rose back to his hooves. "... I'm sorry. You're right, the ponies here are friendly and reliable. They don't mean any harm... I was wrong to mistrust you all..." She playfully hit his shoulder.

"Aw, that's alright... I think I can make it back and finish some of the day's chores on my own, sugarcube. Y'all just go on and go back to your new friend. I'll see ya when you get back." She smiled, continuing down the path without him. Breeze watched her leave.

"W-Wait!" he shouted, but she was already too far away. He reached out his hoof, but set it back down and looked behind him. He stood still, trying to decide whether or not to run after her or head back to Ponyville. Shifting his gaze between Applejack and the town a few times, he finally turned around, looked at her one last time, and walked back. He slowly made his way to the Hay-Burger, where he left Steel Shield. Upon opening the door, he quickly spotted him and approached. "I'm back..."

"Hey, I ordered some more fries... Are you feeling alright?" he asked. Breeze stared at him, losing focus, before shaking his head quickly.

"Uh, yeah! I'm good! You gonna eat those?" Steel Shield looked down, unsure if he should believe him or not.

"N-No; you can have them," he said, reaching forward to push them towards him. The fries were already gone. "Hold on, you didn't even wait for me to answer!" he nearly yelled. Breeze forced himself to chuckle.

"You didn't answer quick enough! You gotta be faster!" he teased. Steel Shield slammed his hooves on the table, rattling the trays.

"What If I had said yes? What if I was going to eat them?"

"Well... You didn't." He smirked; Steel Shield frowned. "... If I get you some more fries, will that make you feel better?" He was unmoved. Breeze got up and walked over to him, laughing. "Come on! I'm sorry I took the fries that you weren't going to eat, okay?"

"No; it's fine. I should probably eat a bit less, anyway." Steel Shield stood. "The sun's up; we should head into town and find something to do."

"A'ight, let's go!" As he trotted to the door, however, Breeze blocked his path with his hoof. "Thank you," he said, walking ahead of him. Steel Shield looked confused.

"For what?" he asked. Breeze never answered him. What did he... Oh well, I'm sure it's nothing. I'll just ask him later. he thought as he followed the pegasus.

"So... What should we do?" Breeze asked, hovering slightly off the ground and shifting his gaze between the ponies nearby.

"I have an idea..." Steel Shield waited for a couple of moments. "Why don't we try to undo your criminal history?" Breeze looked at him.

"What in Luna's name are you on about?" He landed next to him. "First off, that's a pretty strange thing to ask out of nowhere, and second, that ain't gonna happen."

"No, no, I mean... You could try doing some good to counteract all the bad you've done. And I can help!" Steel Shield grinned. Breeze brought his hoof to his chin, rising to the air again.

"Sounds hard, but... We don't have anything better to do, so..." He looked towards the center of town. "... Eh, what the heck. Let's go." With that, he flew off into town, Steel Shield following close behind.

The two kept moving until they came across a troubled pegasus. "Yo, you need some help?" The pony was surprised to hear the sudden voice, and even more shocked when he saw who it belonged to.

"Oh, uh, y-yeah. I think I lost my saddlebags somewhere around here. They had some pretty important things in them," he explained.

"We can help you find them, right, Silent Breeze?" Steel Shield glanced at him, then back to the pony. When he didn't receive an answer, he turned and looked at Breeze again. "Right, Silent Breeze?" he asked louder.

"What? Oh! Yeah, we can help!" Before the pony could thank them, they ran off. After a few minutes of searching, Breeze spotted them in a nearby tree. Found them... These saddlebags look pretty nice... he watched the pegasus for a couple seconds, looked around for Steel Shield, then slowly began floating towards an alleyway. When he could no longer see the pony, he turned to come face to face with Steel Shield.

"No thievery. We're trying to avoid that, remember?" he reminded.

"I know! I was just going to take these to... that one mare... Rarity! I was just taking these to Rarity; I found a tear that I was hoping she could fix."

"I'm sure that pegasus over there can do that on his own. We're going to return them," Steel Shield told him. Breeze groaned and flew back to the pony.

"Are these yours? I found them in that tree over there." The pony's face lit up as he happily took the saddlebags from Breeze.

"Thank you, sir!" Steel Shield looked behind him and saw Twilight. He ran over and bowed.

"Good morning, Princess Twilight. I have some news for you." Twilight jumped a little.

"Has something happened?" she asked. Steel Shield stood and looked in her eye.

"Princess Celestia has been visited by Silent Breeze, who told her that it was you who sent him. For this, she thanks you. Also, the stolen necklace has been recovered, thanks to his recommendations," he explained. Twilight smiled.

"Well, I'm happy that he was able to help." As Steel Shield turned to head back to Breeze, Twilight raised a hoof to stop him. "Have you seen him recently? I have something I need his help with."

"Yes, I have. He's right over there." Steel Shield pointed to Breeze, who was resting in a tree.

"Thank you, sir."

"It was no problem at all, princess." He bowed once more as Twilight walked over to Breeze, who sat up and flew down to the ground when he saw her. He, too, bowed.

"Hello, princess. Have you had any luck finding a counter spell?" Twilight nodded.

"I have, actually! I found a spell that I'd like to try out. I think it may undo the curse completely. If you would come with me, please..." Together, she and Breeze flew to the castle. "I stopped by Sweet Apple Acres to inform Applejack of this discovery. She should be at the castle by now."

"That's good; I'm sure she was glad to hear about it." When they reached their destination, they landed and opened the door. "You ever thought about getting some guards?" Breeze asked.

"I don't think I really need any." He stopped.

"With all due respect, you're a princess!" he said.

"I understand why you might be worried, but I am capable of defending myself."

"Yes, but you shouldn't have to. Even one guard would be fine. In fact, I think I know somepony that would be able to do the job... I'm gonna get him real-" Twilight brought a hoof to his lips.

"You can introduce me to this stallion later, but right now, we should really see if this spell works." Breeze shrugged and continued walking to the main chamber. After a short walk, they reached it. Applejack set down a book she was reading and looked over to the entrance. She stood and greeted him with a hug. "Give me a second to read over the spell once more; I'll be right with you."

"I reckon you're at least a tad bit excited about this, Breeze. Why, if this works, it'll probably do wonders for you..." He laughed.

"I hope. Princess Twilight, I'm ready." He stood in the center of the room, wings spread and a smirk on his face. She can do this, she's Princess Twilight! Let's get this done!

"Alright. Here goes nothing!" Her horn glowed as she focused on Breeze, teeth clenched in concentration. Breeze stood still, looking at her horn. The amount of energy was slowly increasing, and Twilight rose off the ground, hovering above the other two. A bright flash was seen as the magic from her horn burst outward, encircling Breeze. He kept calm, bringing his attention to it. Twilight's eyes went white. The magic began to lift Breeze as he looked to the ceiling. Suddenly, his coat, mane, and tail began to change. His usual black and red appearance flickered to a brown and dark blue, as did his mane, which flashed between spiked and dreads. His short tail slowly got longer, braiding itself.

"So this is what he really looks like..." Applejack observed aloud. The magic continued to influence Breeze. His eyes, which were normally deep red, slowly changed to a light brown. All of the markings on him were fading, except for one on his forehead, which turned cyan. In a second flash, the magic dropped him, his body continuing to flicker between the two appearances. "Well, Twi? Did it work?"

"We can't be sure yet. We have to wait until the spell calms down." Breeze's colors began to alternate slower and slower before finally coming to a stop. "Oh..." Twilight said, sorrow in her voice. The spell, while it showed the mares Breeze's true self, failed to undo the curse.

"Darn... I guess we'll have to try something else..." Applejack slowly walked towards the door, Breeze flying low next to her. "I'm real sorry we couldn't get the spell to work. Twi tried her best."

"I know... We came pretty close. We just need a different spell, that's all." Breeze opened the door, letting Applejack walk in front of him. "Princess Twilight found one; I'm certain she can find another."

"Yeah, all we gotta do is wait. Come on." Applejack headed back to Sweet Apple Acres with Breeze, the sunlight struggling to shine on his skin through his black fur.