Family is More than Blood
For the longest time, all I could see was black. I couldn't move, couldn't see, couldn't hear. All was silent and all was peaceful. I felt safe and content.
Gradually, an odd sensation bloomed around me. It was warm and encased me in a gentle, flowing blanket that seemed to conform to my body. It was then that I realised my once-stable mass was slowly elongating and forming eight different extremities, which I would later discover to be four legs, two wings, a head, and a tail.
After touch, came sound. I began to experience slight, quiet vibrations and soft, light noises around my head. It was puzzling at first, but the routine sounds of varied thumps and hisses eventually became normal and even comforting at times.
After sound, came smell. A thick, slightly humid scent that I couldn't quite identify appeared and alerted me to the creation of my snout and muzzle. The thick, goopy substance around me seemed to flow freely into and out of my body through said muzzle, engulfing my entire being.
The last was sight. The ever-present curtains of black that I had know for so long lifted, revealing a darkish green, partially translucent surface. Occasionally, blurry patches of darker green would dance across my vision, moving left or right until they vanished. I realised that I could control my exposure to the foreign color by lifting and closing the curtains of black that I would eventually know to be my eyelids.
I don't know how long I stayed in that state, waiting and watching the shadows for hours upon hours. Back then, I didn't have a perception of time, just the difference in how the shadows would move every time I opened and closed the curtains.
Then something changed. The simplicity and safety of my boring life was ripped away from me, thrusting me into a new world with new emotions, experiences, and a distinct lack of safety. The panel of green was ripped away and a bright field of light blinded my vision. The warmth vanished as my hooves hit a cold, hard surface, and I found myself both scared and equally curious.
I heard a muddle of gasps and hisses surround me, and as my eyes adjusted to the light, saw a circle of black, quadupidal beings with holed bodies and wings, a horn, and monotonous eyes that seemed to stare right into my sole. I looked down at my hooves and was greeted by the same holed body; however, mine was not dark nor as large. Instead, I was white and smaller. My wings were grey instead of a pale blue and my back was covered by a pale, red shell instead of the apparent deep green of the others.
The familiar sound of thumping reached my ears except it seemed sharper and clearer than it ever had before. The ring of creatures parted and I came face to face with a massive, long-haired being that blinked at me in obvious shock.
She hissed to the creature standing next to her in an angry tone, but I found myself slowly understanding and translating the hisses in my mind.
"What in tartarus is wrong with this abomination! I demand an explanation!"
The creature she was addressing curled back in fear as he replied, " I don't know, your majesty. The cacoon hatched on schedule and everything seemed fine. This has never happened before!"
"It's obscene! Can it even understand us? It cant be of any use to the hive if it cant transform or communicate like the others," The being, Your Majesty, then looked at me with a condescending glare, "You there. Defect! Can you UN...DER...ST...AND ME? YOU...ARE...CHAN...GLING,...YES?" She said each word slowly and deliberately, almost as if she was mocking me, though I didn't realise it at the time.
I stared at her in slight confusion before nodding in response. I opened my mawl and awkwardly flapped my tongue around, letting out a choppy, barely understandable reply. "..I...Un...Stan...I...Change....wing...You...Speak.....me."
Your Majesty's glare hardened and gained a slight hint of curiosity. "It appears her difference in color has also affected her brain. She should be able to speak clear sentences, yet she is not. Her bright color will only draw attention to her while hiding; therefore, she can be nothing but a hindrance to the hive. Yurnyx, Darelli, take this reject away and dispose of her. We have no use for deadweight in the hive."
Two muscular changelings, as I now knew we were called, bowed as they replied, "Yes, Queen Chrysalis, we know exactly what to do." They then sneered at me with sinister, fanged snarls as they swiftly grabbed me by both my fore legs and dragged me across the stone floor.
I struggled and hissed in panic. "He...lp...me! What....Ha....Penn...ing? H..urt! O..w!" The rough ground cut into my belly and hind legs, leaving ragged scrapes and painful cuts that seemed to worsen everytime I hit a rock or patch of gravel.
Yurnyx and Darelli laughed at my misery and dragged me faster, increasing my pain. Suddenly, after an eternity of confusion and fear, I was flung through the air. Thick, pointy objects punched me as I fell, twisting, grabbing, and ripping my body until I landed with a soft whine in the wet, solid dirt. I heard a loud crack as pain exploded through my right foreleg. I groaned in despair. I didn't realize what was happening. Everything had occurred so fast my brain could barely keep up with it. I was terrified and desperately wished to be back in my casing where it was safe and nopony attempted to hurt me.
I curled up into a pathetic ball as the sadistic changelings descended upon me with kicks, bites, and punches. All I knew was pain. There was no comfort, no light, no ... hope.
I laid there on the ground, taking the hatred and wishing desperately for an end to everything. My request was answered by a hard kick to the head, flipping my neck backwards and cracking it against a tall, nearby object, and as I surrendered to the darkness, I said a small thank you in my mind. To whom? I didn't know. I only knew my gratefulness for the approaching darkness and the comfort it contained.
I awoke to the gentle feeling of my muzzle being repeatedly wacked. I opened my eyes and was greeted to the sight of a tiny, fluffy creature with fur as white as I was and a cute little nose that was constantly twitching. All around me were giant, brown cylinders with thick, green appendages growing out from their bases. I was laying on a mix of dried, dusty dirt and trampled, green grass that was drenched in a dark, crimson liquid of some sort. The creature, which I now know to be a bunny, looked at me in relief when I awoke and moved around me, pushing into my side. I winced at the jolt of pain that exploded from my body and let out a soft keel.
It hurt to move; it hurt to breathe; it hurt to think. Everything hurt! Even today, I still don't know how I did it, but somehow, I managed to fight through the pain long enough to stand up on my hooves and follow the hopping bunny through the forest.
A trail of blood followed me as I stumbled around, barely keeping track of the bunny as it slowly bounded ahead. After five days and nights, it led me to a large clearing at the edge of the forest. Along the way, the bunny had brought me berries and leaves to eat, but I couldn't seem to keep anything down. This seemed to worry the bunny since it seems more visibly anxious with each passing day.
In the clearing, was a small village. I could recognize the vaguely changeling shape of its residents, but they were brighter in color, solid, and either had wings, a horn, or neither instead of both.
They had strange images on their flanks, and I was hesitant to approach. I didn't know what kindness or love was, and the only feelings I had experienced were hatred, confusion, safety, comfort, curiosity, and pain...so much pain. Nevertheless, I approached the village. It was made up of structures composed of brown clay, wooden beams, and thatched roofs that were placed in a large circle surrounding a stone well. Farms spread out behind the homes and the ponies trotted all around, working peacefully and conversing happily. It seemed all so strange to me back then. I wondered if I should approache one, but the decision was made for me as an adult, pink mare froze, purple eyes locked directly on my form. She dropped her basket of carrots from her dirty hooves. She ran away from me in fear and let out a horrifying scream that left my ears ringing painfully. "CHANGELING!"
The entire village seemed to freeze, and before I even knew what was happening, my hooves moved without my permission. I bounded in the opposite direction of the mare, aggravating my wounds, and leaped into the first hiding place I saw: a large cart full of hay. Miraculously, I remained unseen by the rest of the villagers as I cowered in pain and fear under the mound of straw and hay. After about three hours, the village finally calmed down. After that large burst of energy, I was too weak to move from my hiding place, and barely managed to keep quiet as the cart I was laying in shifted, moving forward.
I stayed hidden for days, too terrified to pop my head up out of the hay. As time went on, my wounds slowly healed, though my right foreleg seemed to rotate at a slightly wrong angle than before, and I grew hungrier. Near the end of my ride, I worried about my health and thought I was going to starve to death.
I know now that it takes quite a bit of time for a changeling to starve, but during that cart-ride, all I could think about was my never-ending hunger. I didn't even realize the cart had stopped somewhere until a gasp reached my ears as the hay covering my small body was removed.
As my vision began to clear, I was met with the sight of a large, brown earth pony staring down at me in shock. I meekly tried to stand, but found my legs and hooves to be unresponsive. As I fell, the stallion, suprisingly, caught me. In all honesty, I think he felt sorry for me and my current circumstances. Thinking about it now, it's almost funny in a way: a pony feeling sorry for a changeling.
Nevertheless, the stallion quickly maneuvered his way into an empty alleyway, holding my form close to his coarse chest. I dont know how long he carried me, but I do know that he eventually set me down gently on the cold, cobble paving of an alleyway next to a large, fenced-in building. I watched as he carefully made his way towards the back entrance. He nervously knocked on the door, eyes skittering back to me every few seconds.
Eventually, a pale blue mare with curly, yellow hair and white glasses opened the door. I couldn't hear exactly what was said between the two ponies, but it didn't take long for the mare to exit the doorway and make her way towards me. She gently picked me up, cradling me in her hooves, and walked back towards the building. Before entering, she turned to the stallion in expectation. The stallion then rummaged through his saddlebag and pulled out two shiny, golden coins, handing them to the mare, who nodded in response.
The mare then carried me inside the building, shutting the door behind her. I was confused and scared, but the warmth of the mare's body was similar to my lost casing, and I found myself relaxing into its safe, comforting hold.
I awoke to an unfamiliar feeling that, at the time, I couldn't quite identify. Something was surrounding me: something that wasn't hard or cold in the slightest. I opened my eyes and found myself laying on a fluffy rectangle of white. Beneath my head laid a smaller, softer rectangle that seemed to compress and shift around the weight of my head. I attempted to stand, finding that my legs were much stronger than before, and looked around at my surroundings.
I was in a square room with wooden floors and tan walls. Various wooden constructs littered the room, along with brightly colored objects the likes of which I had never seen before. Directly across from me, a strange creature laid sleeping on a similar rectangle to my own.
It was mostly blue, with a scaly pink back and a long, light-purple mane that flowed down its neck in waves. Its berry-colored horn was twisted, more akin to that of an antler than a unicorn.
The creature yawned and stretched out its limbs before staring back at me in surprise. I said nothing as the creature hopped off her rectangle and trotted over to me. She jumped up beside me, plopped down, and extended her hoof towards me. Curiously, I tilted my head as I stretched out my hoof towards hers.
And that's how I met River Blossom.
Family is More than Blood
Unlike most ponies, my earliest memories weren't of learning how to walk, or playing with my family, or even meeting other ponies like myself.
No, my earliest memories are of overwhelming panic, flailing limbs, and unstoppable coughing as I was tossed and flipped down a freezing cold river. I remember my limbs going numb and darkness surrounding the outskirts of my vision until a sharp pain erupted from my head, and suddenly, my world of fear and indescribable feelings was reduced to total and absolute nothingness.
The next thing I remember is a blinding light as I awoke in an immaculately clean room with shiny, white walls, tile floors, and various bulky, metallic constructions that beeped and pinged steadily.
I was confused and, honestly, rather scared. I tried to move my small frame further under the light blue blanket of my plasticity bed, but this only aggravated my overworked and underappreciated muscles, eliciting a rapid, ache-like pain from my extremities.
My rather high pitched yelp of pain actually caught the attention of a unicorn mare, who promptly galloped into the room. She had soft, lilac toned fur and a vibrant purple mane that was pulled back into a hastily-tied bun. She was wearing a light blue top and carried a clipboard in one of her hooves.
The mare observed the situation before calming herself and looking towards me kindly. "Hi, Sweetie! Glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?" Her voice was soft and contained a strange yet pleasant accent.
Eventually, I learned that I was at a building known as The Canterlot Foal's Hospital, and I was found half-dead on the side of a riverbank near the outskirts of the city by a stranger who brought me in.
Throughout the length of my stay at CFH, I learned a bit of new information. The first was that hospital food tastes like shit. It's bland, disgusting, and barely passable as real food. The more important thing, however, was the revelation that I wasn't like the other ponies. I appeared physically different, with my pink, scaled back and oddly-shaped horn.
The doctors had never seen a pony like myself before, and it baffled them. Some were curious and asked me lots of questions about myself, most of which I couldn't answer, and others were frightened, avoiding me like I was the bringer of all things freakish and unnatural. It bothered me that some ponies seemed to dislike me before I had the chance to actually open my muzzle and speak to them, but the nice nurse-pony, whose name I learned to be Lillian Lilac - Li for short -, reassured me that it was nothing to worry about. She never knew how wrong she was.
Once I recovered, a grey stallion from FPS (Foal Protective Services) paid me a visit. He asked me personal questions about my age, family, interests, etc. Unfortunately, the only one I could answer was the inquiry about my name: River Blossom. For some reason, my name was the only distinct thing about myself I could remember. To this day, I still have no clue about my past or where I came from.
Anyway, after the stallion, Coal Coat, finished asking me his questions, he left, promising to return within a day or two.
When he did return, I was escorted out of the hospital, and instructed to follow behind him as he led me to what he described as my new home: a place with lots of other fillies and colts to play with, plenty of good food to eat, and a comfy bed to sleep in every night. To my narrow, childish mind it sounded like paradise. If only it were true.
Coal Coat led me to Canterlot's Home for Fillies and Colts. It was a large, brick building with wooden trim and an iron wrought fence that clearly outlined the edge of the property. I was led past a soft, green yard with tiny white and yellow flowers blooming in small clusters throughout the grass, up a small set of red stairs, and towards a large, oak door.
Coal Coat rapped his hoof loudly against the door, and, after a few minutes of waiting, the door was opened by a pale blue mare with a curly yellow mane and calm, grey eyes.
"Good morning, Coal Coat. Is this the young filly you called me about?" The mare asked, peering down at me in slight confusion.
"Yep! Ms. Fluff, meet River Blossom. River Blossom, meet Dandelion Fluff. She's the caretaker of the orphanage." Coal Coat explained, nudging me forward with his hooves.
Ms. Fluff extended a hoof, which I hesitantly took, and led Coal Coat and me inside.
The walls of the orphanage were an off white color, matched by the dark, wooden floors that creaked loudly against the weight of my hoofsteps.
I was led down a long hallway filled with tall, oaken doors and staring foals. I hadn't had any kind of interaction with other foals up till that moment, and I found myself feeling rather shy under their curious gazes. I hid myself between Caretaker Fluff's legs as we walked, desperately trying to avoid eye contact with the other foals.
Eventually, I was led to one of the doors near the end of the hall. It was plain, lacking the name tags that previous ones seemed to possess. The connecting room was bare with only four small beds and two wooden dressers to occupy it. The chipped walls were painted a soft tan color and the wooden floor creaked loudly as Caretake Fluff led me into the room.
She shut the door behind her, and turned around to face me. "Welcome to Canterlot's Home for Fillies and Colts. Breakfast is at 6:00, Lunch is at noon, and Dinner is at 5:00. Pick whichever bed you want, and stay out of trouble. Behave and you won't be punished, clear?"
"Um....yes?" I replied, looking up at her. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this situation as the Caretaker sounded much to mean for her personality to match Coal Coat's kind and gentle description of her.
With a sharp nod, she left, closing the door behind her. Left alone for the time being, I jumped on a white bed and looked out the window at the bustling streets of Canterlot.
Before I could observe much, I was distracted by the creaking of my door opening as an orange Pegasus colt with frizzy yellow hair trotted into my room. We stared at each other for a few moments before the colt cleared his throat, breaking the awkard tension of the room. "Um, HI! I'm Sunny Skies. Who are you?"
I jumped off the bed and walked towards him. "I'm River Blossom. Hi."
And that was the start of a beautiful friendship. If only it could stay that way.
Sunny and I were very close, inseparable even. We did nearly everything together: playing, eating, talking. The only time we ever separated was when night fell, and we had to sleep in different rooms.
Life in the orphanage wasn't perfect, however. Caretaker Fluff was rather strict and would refuse to feed foals who entered the dining hall past the allotted starting time. She also punished anypony who was being too loud or annoying by locking them in The Box for a day. I was never put into the box myself as I was a generally quiet and well-behaved filly, but Sunny was a different story. Sunny had a habit of yelling when he got excited and was sent to the box more than a few times for it. The days after a boxing were harsh as Sunny would refuse to talk for at least two days and barely above a whisper for a while after. He always eventually recovered but the cycle never stopped.
Well, I suppose it did stop, technically, as Sunny got adopted by this Pegasus couple about four months after my arrival. I could barely keep myself from crying as he left. I know now that being with a family was infinitly better for him than staying at the orphanage, but at the time I felt betrayed and alone. I didn't leave my room for days after that.
Then one morning I awoke to something new. A strange filly was lying on the bed next to mine, staring at me with a mix of confusion and curiosity. She looked, in all honesty, scared. She reminded me of myself when I first arrived, and I found myself taking pity on her. I yawned and got up, approaching the filly and jumping up onto her bed.
The filly sat up in confusion as I stuck my hoof out towards her. She looked down at her own hole-ridden hoof and gently bumped hers against mine.
I spoke first. "Hi, I'm River Blossom. You're my new roommate, right?"
The filly blinked.
"Um, okay. So, what's your name?" I asked, slightly unnerved by her lack of response.
The filly blinked twice before finally replying. "No....Na...me. W...hat Nam...e?"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What kind of filly doesn't know what a name is? I can understand not remembering your own name, but not knowing what a name is at all? Now that's odd.
"A name is what other ponies call you. Other ponies call me River Blossom, for example." I explained.
"I Don....'t k...no..w." the filly replied. Her words slurred and broke at odd times. It was as if no one had taught her to speak properly.
"Come on, let's find out." I led her out of the room, and looked up at the door. Right below my silver nameplate was a new one labeled Melanyx. I pointed at it and directed her attention to it.
"That's your name. Melanyx. Caretaker Fluff must have given it to you. What do you think?" I asked.
"Mel..a..nyx. Li..ke i..t." Melanyx replied with a fanged smile.
A few days passed with Melanyx and I getting steadily closer. I noticed we both had something in common: we were ignored and hated by the other fillies for our differences in appearance. Sunny was the only foal who never really cared, but the others thought we were odd and, as they often taunted, 'freaks of nature'.
Another thing I noticed was that Melanyx didn't eat. She couldn't seem to hold down any of the food at mealtimes, but she never really complained. I asked her about it once, but she replied that she never felt hungry when around her friends. It was definitely weird, but hey, so was I. I had no right to question Melanyx as we both had our oddities and dropped the subject. As long as she didn't get sick or start dying, I was okay with her lack of consumption.
Then one night, a new friend joined us. Well, I say joined, but I really mean crashed as he tumbled through our window, shattering the glass to pieces. Both Melanyx and I were startled out of our sleep as we stared down at the winged intruder sprawled out along our bedroom floor.
The intruder, a dark grey colt with leathery wings and a muted, purple mane, stood up, glass falling to the floor as he groaned in pain. He looked up at us, and gave us each a bright smile before promptly passing out.
And that was how we met Onyx Wind.
