The true story.... Of Little Cloud.

by Lord Indisar

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life
Length: 6038

Abandoned by the queen.... Fled to find safety..... Now he must hide himself, and what he is..... From both pony kind.... And his own...... So young, but still so hated.... This is the story of how he copes......

This is my first fic, but don't worry, I've actually played a lot of it out in my head….

My only problem should be grammar.

This story wouldn't be possible, or I just would never have thought of it without a certain Old fic from the five score universe. It's my favorite one from that universe, and I've always been interested in changeling fiction ever since.

The changeling with no name… It's easy to see why a changeling wouldn't have a name…. But this one wasn't even given a number. No. The moment he was born, she wanted him dead for treason. Because he just wasn't born correctly, in a way of speaking that is….

And no thing, pony, or whatnot is on his side. Everyone is an enemy for this young one.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-09-20 08:39:16 UTC

Prologue, Part One: Judgement. Oh, and some introductions.

                 Queen Chrysalis stared at the young changeling. She was excited when her Royal hatched, especially considering that the hive was nearly destroyed, after that ill-fated battle at Canterlot. If something went wrong, this Royal would become the new queen and take place as the leader of the Hive. She did not plan on dying just yet, however. But Chrysalis was weakening, and it would be at this point she would need to set a Royal as a temporary queen, and go into hibernation to conserve energy.

    The young changeling looked to its queen, waiting for its instruction. It was of the Royal breed, so it's first order would have been to learn its shapeshifting powers, as well as learn to speak......

Would have been.

     But there was a problem with this young changeling, this young Royal. All changeling Royals were supposedly born female. The odd circumstance was that this one.... Was male. He would never be able to lay eggs at any rate, even if he was to change forms. It shouldn't have happened like this. Did the magical blast that annihilated the queens army disrupt something in her? In any event, this situation should have been impossible, and the queen was furious about it. She just didn't need her anger to show. She ordered her guards to remove the Royal from her presence, to put it to work, while she pondered as to what to do with it. She didn't even assign it any form of identification. She wanted it gone.

After a few minutes, she realized, "Yes, it needs to be gone. An act of treason, this is. Being born male when it clearly shouldn't have been is an act of defiance! One that shall be punished...." She said to herself, smirking.

She had to act quickly, however. Young changelings learned fast, all to better to begin serving the hive as quickly as possible, and for Royals, it was even faster. She wanted no trace of the 'defiant' Royal to ever be found again......

・・・Only a few hours later・・・

At this point, the changeling already learned basic language, how to shapeshift, but that was basic knowledge. Chrysalis already figured she would be too late to prevent that, considering the astounding capability of the workers she charged with teaching Royals. As she walked in, she immediatly shouted her orders to the instructors.

"Cease this at once! This abomination shall not become a part of my hive!", She said, once all the drones had bowed in respect.   She glared at the young Royal.

The drones all looked Chrysalis. What could she possibly mean? What abomination? Who was she referring to? One of the drones? One of the other hatchlings, most likely..... But not the first, and only Royal they have had ever since the  failed invasion, right? Surely she wouldn't.... They dared not ask her, and waited for her to continue speaking.

" I want this Royal eliminated from the hive. Do so as quickly as possible.",  She ordered, and without another word she turned and left.

She contemplated on whether she should of done it herself, but she knew she had a soft spot for her Royals, even in this sort of predicament. She didn't trust herself to not go easy on it. She wanted it dead. Not locked away, and not sent to exile. The Royal had to be wiped from existence....

She would later  find, however, she should of given her guard more explicit instructions, as exile is exactly what they had sentenced.

Cast the hatchling Royal out, and let him starve to death in the wilderness... As in, with all the lessons he was able to learn....

・・・Meanwhile・・・

     The young changeling was surrounded by the advisors, as well as the Prime Consort. They were called upon  for a purpose, yet did not know why. They could only wait for the information to reach them.

                    Moments later, a drone arrived to the chamber, and immediatly addressed the Prime Consort.

                    "Our Great One, second only to the Queen herself. I bring word of what is to come:

The Royal is to be removed from the hive. Do so as quickly as possible! By the order of the Queen, I repeat: The Royal is to be removed from the hive! As quickly as possible!" It announced, before bowing before the council.

           The Prime Consort looked at the messenger, and nodded in approval.   "Drone-742, the council has received you message. Judgement shall be swift and done. By the order of the council, you may take your leave." He said, gesturing for the drone to leave.

               Now the council knew the purpose of the meeting. They were  here to pass judgement upon the Royal. To decide the fate he would have. And it was here that fate would be determined. By the council. They began to discuss as to how they would go about eliminating the Royal from the hive. Some of the advisors truly had the nerve to question the idea of punishment on a Royal.  While they were permitted to voice such opinions, due to their role and rank, it was still unexpected how many of them were against it. Nonetheless, it had to be done.

  Soon, they had decided upon three choices. The same three choices they always chose from when a changeling was set trial.: Exile the changeling by driving it away. The punishment common for traitors.   Execution, the most merciful (and most common) of punishments, usually for minor, yet still severe, such as deserting a battle or being exiled, and then having the nerve to return.....

                  But the last, and in fact the worst of the punishments, of all the fates a changeling could face was.... Neglect. If a changeling attempted to horde love, without sharing it with the hive.... That changeling will suffer a delayed death sentence. There was no way around this punishment once it was decided.. The punishment was simply given as an offer: The changeling would work for the hive, yet without getting any share of love for itself, until it slowly died of starvation. Failure to accept this offer would have the changeling be locked up, and be given just enough love to let it survive, yet still in severe starvation until it figures the only way to end the suffering was to finally accept the offer.  For those changelings that are sentenced to neglect, death invariably and inevitably becomes the sweetest reward they have ever been gifted.... Or ever will be.

      All three options generally ended in death for the changeling being punished.  But even so,  none of them wanted to go for the execution method. Traditionally it was a high ranking member of the hive to carry out an execution . But a Royal? They couldn't.....or they could.... They had orders to be rid of the Royal as quickly as possible, so that meant the neglect option would be disobeying said orders. So execution or exile were the only option.  It would of helped to have the queens input on this choice, but the reason they were here now is because she wanted them to make a decision for her.

And so they did.

     They rallied the guards, and with a joint effort,  all forced the changeling with tooth and horn to flee the area completely. The entire hive forcing one to relocate far, far away. The message was clear: Do Not Return.....

Prologue, part two: Exile, and discovery.

The young changeling was driven far, past so many landmarks, even past cities and towns. The hive had driven him so far away, that in his panic for surviving the swarm, he literally did not know which way he was headed 90% of the time. No doubt away from the hive, but that was not what was on his mind.

Even in their chase, the entire swarm was horrifyingly deceptive. No pony ever noticed the swarm,  even as they moved by the flock around city and town. While they stayed hidden themselves, were able to surround the youngling at every opportune moment,keeping him on the run at all times.

They allowed him neither pause nor rest. Changelings needed not to sleep, unless it was to hibernate and conserve energy. Clearly not a priority that was permitted to the youngling.

They 'travelled' for five days straight, until the swarm knew the youngling wouldn't  stop on his own. He knew that the hive would always whip him on his way anytime he attempted to stop. However once this was the case, they didn't need to return to him every night. It was time to return to the hive, knowing the youngling would keep running for a while before even thinking of stopping.

・・・(and now we *finally* get to our main characters Point of view! )・・・

He ran.... And he ran.... No stopping... Just running. He didn't keep track of how long it had been. He was driven from his home, and he was pursued, and still was, as far as he knew. His wings ached badly, and yet he still had to go on. If he stopped, they would hurt him more than they already had.  He had to keep moving, ignoring his pain.

It was only on... The seventh day?.... That he noticed there was no trace of the swarm.  Perhaps he was well hidden in the forest he was located in. Realizing his exhaustion, he stopped and spread out on the ground, hoping not to be found by the swarm. He stayed still, and waited, expecting a number of drones to rise from the shadows and drive him forward.

He stared into the darkness of the forest, watching for any movement. Nothing came out to attack him.  He continued to stare for another hour, until he was convinced he was safe, and that the chase was over. The youngling sighed, in both relief and exhaustion. He was finally safe from the swarm.

Of course, other problems still arose, and he knew it as soon as he felt the subtle pain of hunger in his stomach. It would only get worse as time went on, but for now, he had time before it would overwhelm him.  Until then, his concern was to find a source to feed from, as well as learn his whereabouts.

Easier said than done. There was no indication of where he was. From what he knew, ponies had always set up signs saying where a path led, or what a city or landmark was called. Speaking of locations.... He had to find a city or town, and blend in, he realized. It would provide a source, a place where he could get his food. No longer being a part of the hive meant it was in his best interests to settle in a single town and live as normally as possible.

He pondered the thought in his head, only to remember where he was.  He needed to get out of the forest first. Even though it was dark in the forest, it would get darker as night came. He wasn't attacked by animals  to this point because of the swarm lurking in the shadows themselves, their numbers invoking fear.  Being chased by the swarm actually protected the youngling from predator attack, No matter how undesirable their company was.

He was alone now, and he knew that by nightfall he would be hunted by the monsters living in the forest. He had to move quickly, and at least get as close to the exit as possible before then.  He got up from his sprawled position, no longer tired, and chose to keep moving, an at a steady pace in the same direction he had been fleeing for the last week. At this point, he could figure out where he was once he exited, without looking back to see blue eyes glowing, warning him not to pause, even just to read.

It was time to keep moving.

Not for long after he started moving again, he heard voices. Young voices... That were coming towards him! He quickly jumped up and waited for the sources of the voices to show themselves

As they came into view, he saw that they belonged to  two young foals walking around the forest. One was an earth pony filly with a purple coat and a darker purple mane. The other was a brown pegasi colt with a dark grey mane.

'What are they doing here?', the young changeling wondered. 'Do ponies have a settlement somewhere in this forest?'

He quickly concluded that to be no. If they lived here , they would know the dangers of being alone in the forest. They weren't supposed to be here...

"Did you hear something, Sweet Rain?"   The colt said, looking around.

The young changelings eyes grew wide. Had he been heard? Was he discovered? He sat still, hoping not to cause any more noise then he possibly had....

Suddenly, an adult, white mare with a violet mane, styled into a bun, emerged from the shadows in the same direction as the foals did. Both of the foals turned around in surprise, and the filly lowered her stature in a mixture of fear and embarrassment.

The mare stopped In front of the foals, and looked at them angrily.... Yet the primary feeling coming off of her was relief.

"Sweet Rain, and Swift Wind, I've been looking all over for you two! You didn't come home after school, and you weren't by Sugarcube Corner, either!" She said, and at this point, the colt also took the same posture as his friend.

"This is, what? The fourth time you've run off into the Everfree Forest together?!  I want you to turn your flanks around and get back home! Now!" She ordered, and once they turned around and sulked away, the mare followed them.

So the Everfree Forest..., the young changeling thought, now knowing where he was. He was also pleased that he was right in continuing to move forward. With that thought, he continued forward, but carefully, with the possibilty there would be more ponies nearby.

As he approached the edge of the forest, he saw the town. Now was as good as a time as any to take the form of a pony... He just wanted to go for something simple. All changeling magic was green no matter what form they chose.. So a unicorn would be a bad idea.... He didn't want to be an earth pony, due to them being so limited. There were at least 10 NAMABLE reasons  as to why he couldn't keep both his wings and horn. That left one option. A Pegasus pony.

He thought back to the way the mare dealt with the foals. Nothing severe, they were actually sent home as a punishment. The changeling assumed that foals were treated lighter than grown ponies, so if he wanted to blend in, it would be easy for him to maintain his size upon transformation, and pass himself off for a young pony, which in terms of age he truly was.

The best disguise is the one that is not a disguise.

He finished thinking of his disguise. He lit up his horn, and in a flash of green fire, he was no longer a changeling.

In its place stood a young, pegasi colt with an Orange Coat and a Red mane.

The young colt inspected himself, looking at his new form. All this colt now needed was a name. He thought back to pony naming patterns. He had to create his own identity.... He was a Pegasi, so an appropriate name could be......

'Cloud'..... No. It needed a second word to be more believable..... Cloud Rain?..... Little...

Yes! Little... Cloud! Little Cloud!

So now he had a name.... In fact, his only name, the only one he'd ever had... He wasn't even assigned a number the way a drone would have been...... So this was Little Cloud, the Pegasus, as well as Little Cloud, the changeling.

Yes. This was the story... Of Little Cloud.

End of Prologue. The story begins.

Chapter Two: Dangerous Encounters... also a school.

Little Cloud was lightly shoved towards the school entrance by the guard. It was quite clear to Little Cloud that the guard wasn't  going to hurt him at this point.  But what was a school? Was it some sort of jail? Little Cloud was worried, no knowing what was to happen.

"Come on kid, you're going inside first." The guard said once they were at the base of the building.  Little Cloud stepped in, immediately seeing a rather large number of  colts and fillies. He was speechless. Not any more than he already had been, the imposing presence of the guard still terrifying him.

The guard soon stepped in after him, and spoke to the magenta, pink maned mare  in the front of the class. " Found ya a new student, Cheerilee. He was trying to skip class or something of the sort, but I caught him in the dirty little act."

The mare, whom Little Cloud had assumed as Cheerilee, looked at him. " Well come on, introduce yourself to the other students! Don't be nervous!" She said, with no hints of malice in her voice.  Little Cloud could easily sense emotions, and Cheerilee actually seemed... Friendly... and Little Cloud saw no reason not to return the emotion.

He made a smile, though not a wide one, before walking to the front of the class.  He turned to the students, but it was then he remembered why he was so nervous upon entering the classroom. What was this 'school', and why was it filled with young ponies?

He didn't have time to wonder what the answer was. He was supposed to speak. He was standing at the front so that he could introduce himself to the children. He  took a deep breath, calming  himself.

"...Hello, every... pony," he began, remembering the term from hearing it at the market. " My name is.... Little Cloud, and..... I guess that I'm... New here?" He said, looking to the class, hoping for approval.

Little Cloud looked around the class nervously, before recognizing the filly and colt from the night before, in the back row. Sweet Rain and Swift Wind, if he remembered correctly.

Didn't that mare say they were going to have some sort of punishment? he thought, and began to feel terror rising in him once again. So it WAS a sort of jail for young ponies! He was a prisoner here, and...

Wait, no..., Little Cloud thought. He had not done anything wrong in his current form, and he made sure no pony was around when he first shifted.  Not to mention the friendly disposition given off by Cheerille, and in fact, even the guard wasn't hostile towards Little Cloud, except only slightly when confronting him about 'skipping school'.

"Well Little Cloud," Cheerilee said, causing him to turn around and look at her. "You may take a seat in the class. "

Little Cloud looked around the class. He spotted a seat in the third row,  between a white earth pony filly, with a green mane that had a yellow split running down the middle. The other pony was a young, Lilac colored unicorn filly, with a  Cream mane.

As Little Cloud made his way  to his seat, he caught a few glances from the other ponies..... but particularly the unicorn, as Little Cloud sat down, looked at him with great, and evident suspicion... and it made Little Cloud very nervous. She knew something was different about Little Cloud, and Little Cloud could sense her caution....

"Hi there, Little Cloud!"  A voice to his right exclaimed. As Little Cloud turned, he saw it was the white earth filly that he also was sitting next to. "My names Green Tree! Nice to meet you!" She said, extending a hoof towards him.

Little Cloud knew this greeting, and met her hoof with his own, following along with the arm movement afterwards.  "Well.... Hi there, Green Tree..." He said, returning the greeting. Some other students in front and behind him waved to him, and he returned them with waves of his own.

"Alright class," Cheerilee began. "You have all had ample time to meet our new student! Now Little Cloud,  I'm sure you've heard by now, but I am Cheerilee, your teacher in class. It's a pleasure meeting you!"

Teacher? But that was just a casual term for.... instructor.... Like at the hive... So that meant a school was... A school was a place of learning for young children, just like the instruction chambers were for young changelings! He smiled, having many questions answered. "Thank you, Miss Cheerilee."  He said, happy to know he wasn't exactly in danger.

"Alright class, it's time to start on our history." Cheerilee said, and Little Cloud snapped to attention. He needed to know this information, it would be essential to his blending in.

Cheerilee began talking about how the princesses Luna and Celestia founded Equestria, and she mentioned the tale of Nightmare Moons corruption, banishment, return, and how the Elements of Harmony were able to bring Luna back from her hatred. Those were the most important things Little Cloud picked up on.

・・・Later that day・・・

The bell rang. "Alright class, time to go outside for recess!" Cheerilee said, as all the students rushed out the door towards the  small fortification seen from the back window. Little Cloud simply followed in suit, not knowing what the term meant.

As he made his way out, Little Cloud saw the fillies and colts running around the very poorly made fortification. He saw a rather large group of them, and assumed it was the attacking force.  He wanted to join them, so he made his way towards them.

Before he could reach them, however,  he felt a rather strong magic pull him up, by the tail that is, away from all the other kids. After falling forward, he found himself upside down, and face to face with the unicorn he sat next to in class. The same unicorn he had sensed suspicion in when he first arrived in class...

Little Cloud's heart raced in fear once again, staring at the eminent danger that was in front of him. Not only did this unicorn acknowledge that he was different, but she was proficient in magic as well! A very bad combination for Little Cloud....

His fears were only confirmed and made word when the young unicorn spoke.  "You fear me, changeling?  I can tell what you are, and you won't deny it, will you?" She said, releasing him from her magic.

Little Cloud got up, but not fully. He stayed in a kneeled position of submission, nodding the unicorn. She had specifically drew him away from the other ponies, so there was no use lying to her when she already knew of him. Time spent denying her claim was time spent allowing other ponies to get closer, and hear their conversation. It was a dead end for Little Cloud, and he knew it.

The unicorn spoke again. "I want you to calm yourself. I sense no malice within you, and I have never heard of a pony named 'Little Cloud'. Therefore, I am inclined to believe you did not hurt anypony to get here. But you are still a changeling, so I want you to explain yourself to me. Immediatly."

Little Cloud sat down, and told the unicorn what had happened to him so far. He didn't omit or exaggerate any details. When he was finished, he sensed a new feeling coming from the unicorn. Sympathy, and understanding. She didn't harbor feelings of suspicion towards him.

The unicorn nodded. " I see. Well, it's about time I introduced myself." She began. "My name is Righteous Vision, and I'm from Canterlot.  Currently I'm living with my uncle and aunt. My father is the current leader of the Canterlot Royal Guard, and my mother is a researcher in its library. I'm here in Ponyville due to my mother finding something. A black gem of powerful magical radiance. She had to figure what it was. She sent me here, and well, my uncle sent me here. I would guess that's an equivalent amount of information equal to yours?"  She

finished, smiling to Little Cloud.

All Little Cloud could do was nod. Suddenly the bell rang, and all the young ponies went inside.  Righteous Vision went in before Little Cloud, and took her seat. Little Cloud hesitated,  knowing that Righteous could at any moment shout his secret for the room to hear. And based on what she told him, they would all have no reason to believe she was lying. It would certainly spark investigation.

He shook his head. That wasn't going to be the case. He was only letting his fears get to him again. Righteous Vision had welcomed him, and accepted him. If she was going to reveal him, he wouldn't be feeling such a friendly  attitude from her. He walked over to the seat to he chose, between Green Tree and Righteous Vision.

And he would stay there, unafraid, until school had let up.

・・・After a ringing bell・・・

Little cloud got up, as well as every other student before exiting the building. He had no where to go, so he figured he'd go back to the forest, when Righteous Vision stopped him.

" I assume that you have no where to stay, Little Cloud?" She asked, prompting him to turn around.

He shrugged in uncertainty. " I was planning on going back to the Forest, don't really have a place in Ponyville." He said, before awaiting a response.

Righteous Vision look surprised. "The Everfree a Forest? It's dangerous there, even for you, Little Cloud. Why don't you come home with me? I'd be interested in learning more about a changeling."

Now it was Little Cloud's turn to look confused. She put that much trust in him? If so, Righteous Vision was the one who was being dangerous. Not that Little Cloud wanted to attack or hurt the daughter of 'the current leader of ghe royal guard'. He would be stupid to even contemplate it. Not to mention she was being friendly to him so far.

And she probably is strong enough to kill me on her own if she wanted....he thought to himself, remembering the strong pull of magic from recess. He nodded his head, accepting the offer.

Righteous Vision smiled, and Little cloud could feel the emotion coming off from her. It wasn't love, nothing that strong, yet still much stronger than between simple acquaintances.

Righteous Vision tilted her head, beckoning Little Cloud to follow her, and so he did.

He wondered about the irony of it. His first friend was also related to the leader of his most numerous and dangerous enemy... Unless he counted the hive from which he was exiled. But they were no longer after him, so that was out of the picture..

Right?

Chapter One: Arrival... Of a perfectly normal colt (MAY BE EXTENDED IF Chapter Two is too short!)

Chapter One: Arrival... Of a perfectly normal colt (MAY BE EXTENDED IF Chapter Two is too short!)

The Pegasi colt,  Little  Cloud,  looked to the darkening sky.  It was getting late.  It might, or might not  be a good idea to walk into town at night. It would be strange enough that a never before seen colt would walk in from the Everfree Forest.  Ponies certainly did not allow their children to walk alone in such locations.  Not at night, at least.  But during the day was a gray area to him. He didn't know how ponies reacted to the Forest in general.  He was willing to take the chance that ponies didn't care during the day.  But with what he'd just seen, he didn't want to take that chance at night.

My best bet is to walk in during the day, he realized, rather than to sneak into town at night. Especially since he wanted to be able to return to the Forest at any time. It was a matter of how willing ponies were when it came to the Everfree Forest.

So it was decided. Little Cloud resolved himself to wait out until daylight came. Then he would be able to enter the town and attempt to figure out where he was and learn the layout of the settlement. He nodded in agreement of his own plan, and turned back around towards the Forest, making note of the direction the town was in.

Now there was only one more question: What was he to do until sunrise came?  He didn't need to sleep unless he had to conserve his energy, so that left him a gap with nothing else to do.

He thought back to his disguise, and wondered how well he would be able to fly with his new wings. He  attempted to beat his wings furiously, as he normally would, but they were too heavy for him to do it with any sort of swiftness. The only thing he accomplished was a cramp and some pain.

Ponies must have a much different flight pattern than changelings. he realized.  He then attempted to do it more slowly, but to no avail. He gave up, realizing that he would have to learn from another pony. It wasn't going to be something he could learn alone. He frowned, disappointed by the idea of it.

What else was there to accomplish, other than to wait until morning came?  Thinking of nothing else he could do, his options were either to simply stay awake, conscious until the sun rose, or he could 'sleep' until the same time, limiting his consciousness only to hearing. It was quite a simple choice, really:  Waste away at what time he had to feed, or to conserve that time as long as possible by staying dormant when movement was unneeded.

As if exaggerating to let him know what the right choice was, his stomach twinged in pain, followed by a feeling of.... want. He knew that the pain and feeling would grow worse as time went on.

So his decision was made. He found his way into a bush, away from the eyes of anything that may have seen him otherwise. He lay down after making room for himself, and rested his head, closing his eyes.... And while his hearing was still in perfect order, he would not wake for the next few hours.....

・・・First Day of a 'normal' life・・・

Little Cloud had heard many sounds throughout the night: the prowling of the monsters in the Forest... The scurrying of the critters around him, the hoots of the owls, and the eerie wind that made the Forest so psychologically terrifying... Unconcerned,  he slept through it all. So long as he wasn't attacked, he  did not care for his surroundings.

It was when he heard the cheerful chirps of birds that he knew it was morning. He woke from his slumber, and stretched every muscle he could think of. Forelegs, backlegs, neck, and wings.  Once he was done, he looked up to the sky. It wasn't exactly day yet, but he could see the orangish rays of the early day above him.

It was time for him to make his way to the town. The day had come, and he would be wise to use this first day to grow accustomed to the way the town was designed. He approached the  outskirts, and already he could see the ponies in the distance,moving about with their lives. Some, who he had identified as Pegasi were flying around, moving clouds away from town.

He stood still for a moment, in fear. He was a changeling... an enemy to all of Equestria. And so vice versa... He was surrounded by enemies here, without the support of an army of allies. He could clearly see the castle in the back of the town, meaning there would be guards to defend the town. While his plan, if discovered, was to flee, and take on another disguise..... Would he even be able to escape? There seemed to be far too many variables to consider when it came to that situation?..

No, he told himself, I'm not a part of a hive... I'm not a changeling. I am Little Cloud. I have only been known as, and will continue to be known as Little Cloud, for it's my name.

Finalizing his resolve, the young pegasi walked towards the town, ignoring all thoughts to turn back. It was too late for that. There would be no going back, for there was no where to turn back to.....

As he made his way inside, no pony saw him, or at least took note of the young colt coming from the direction of the Everfree Forest.  Their reactions were quite acceptable, actually. He traversed the town, seeing some ponies wave at him.  He assumed it was either a greeting, or a beckon, so he returned the gestures with a slight wave, only indicating that he acknowledged them. Others simply glanced at him, wondering why a young colt was up and about at such an early time, yet saying nothing.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, and the day grew brighter, Little Cloud felt like he was getting slightly familiar with his surroundings.... Until a guard, a unicorn, came up and stopped him.

"Stop right there, kid." The guard ordered, and Little Cloud froze in fear.  These were the soldiers of the town.. Of the nation.... Had he already been discovered?  What magic could of been in place to detect him?!

That wasn't why he was stopped, however......... " What are you doing out at this time, kid?  Don't you have a school to attend? I'm sure your parents wouldn't want you to be playing...hooky" the guard said, his expression relaxing into one of amusement.

Little Cloud looked at the guard in confusion. "School?" He questioned, not knowing what it was or why he should of been it at the time.

The guard simply laughed, before tugging on Little Cloud lightly with his magic. "Follow me. Now." he ordered,  and with nothing better to do , Little Cloud followed the guard, knowing he couldn't just do otherwise....

A short bonus chapter that consists ENTIRELY of foreshadowing.

"The Royal is to be removed from the hive. REMOVED from the hive?" Chrysalis said, staring down at the changeling drone in front of her.

The drone looked to his queen, trembling " I am sorry, my queen! I did not mean to misquote your demand! Please, forgive me!" He begged.

Chrysalis bared her fangs. "Forgive you? Drone-742, I have half a mind to send you to a life of neglect. The other half tells me to exile you! I wanted him dead, not exiled! The Royal was an abomination to the hive that never should have existed! EXILE will not change that! Death was the only way to properly rid of it!  But you misquoted my directions and let the council decide upon it! So how shall I deal with your crime?"

Drone 742 looked up fear in his eyes. " Anything but neglect, my queen, I'll do anything you desire, and I'll do it till it is done, whatever it is! Just don't let me starve like that... Please...."

Queen Chrysalis  listened to the pleas of the drone, and suddenly, she had the perfect idea. The perfect punishment. " If you so truly are sorry, my good messenger, you who had never failed me till now....  Then I shall punish you according to your crime."

The drone's fear quelled, now replaced with wonder.  " What would that be..... My queen?" He asked, standing up to his hooves.

Chrysalis smiled. " 742. Your actions in misquoting me lead a changeling to be exiled, instead of being killed. I grant that same punishment to you as well. However, you will be allowed to return.  All you must do is find the royal, and bring his dead corpse to me.  Do that, and you shall also be rewarded upon return. You may leave of your own accord, when you are ready for the challenge. But you will return with the corpse of a male changeling.  If you do not bring such a corpse, then the corpse in question... Will be yours. Understood? "

The drone got up, grinning. " I am ready now my queen. And I shall not fail you. " he said, before bowing, and exiting the queens chamber.

The future does not seem so well for the Royal that hides among equestrian..... The question is if, and when judgement arrives....