Chapter 4 - The New Beginning

The party was a blast.  Pinkie Pie always threw the best parties.  She would say it was always because her best friends were there.  It was certainly more fun than Asouva ever had in his life.  Between the music, the dancing, the visuals, the games, it was far more stimuli than Asouva was accustomed to.  He had overeaten though.  Tumbler told him this was not unusual for somepony's first party.  Asouva had to be dragged back upstairs to his bed by a couple stallions that night.  The next morning, Asouva was still feeling the effects.

“I'm never doing that again,” Asouva groaned.  He was quite simply overstuffed from food and love.

Tumbler chuckled, “You can never have just one Pinkie Pie party.”

“Ugh... is this party a regular occurrence?” Asouva asked.  He really wanted the answer to be no.

“Yes,” Tumbler answered flatly.  He put a hoof over Asouva's head to feel and make sure he wasn't actually sick.  He didn't feel anything except his cool forehead, with its shiny hard exoskeleton.  “We'll have to find a new way to tell if you're ill.  The forehead thing doesn't work with, well, you.”

“Then let me tell you, I feel ill,” Asouva moaned into his pillow.

Tumbler chuckled again, “I'm sure you'll be fine.  Just need to rest and recover.”

Asouva raised a hoof to wave Tumbler away, moaning and groaning some more.  Tumbler smiled and turned to leave when a thought came to his mind.  “Isn't today your first day of work on the farm?”

“Ugh,” was Asouva's initial reply.  After a moment of laying still, it hit him.  He bolted upright and had a look of considerable alarm on his face.  “I'm late!  I'm late!” he exclaimed as he jumped up and ran out the door.

There was no way he'd get there quickly just from running, so he took to the sky to get a bird's eye view of the town.  Upon spotting the farm at the far edge of town, he made directly toward the house in the middle, nosediving the same way the Changeling army did after the barrier around Canterlot shattered.

A small crater was formed in front of the house where he landed.  There was no one around.  It was quiet.  He looked up at the two-story, brightly painted red house and sighed.  Right as he was about to knock on the door, a couple of wheelbarrows were pulled up by two ponies; one was a massive red stallion with a large green apple sliced in half on his flank, and the other was orange with a trio of three small red apples on her flank.  They both had blonde hair, but the larger red pony's mane was a darker blonde.  Asouva recognized the other as one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

“I'm here!” Asouva yelled.

“Sorry Sugarcube, but we already finished our apple-bucking for the day,” Applejack said.  “However, you can still buck a tree or two to practice until you get the hang of it.”

“Sounds great!” Asouva eagerly replied.

“Big McIntosh, you go ahead and get these apples stored away, I'm gonna go help Asouva with his learnin'.”

Big McIntosh nodded his head and pulled both apple carts toward the storage barn while Applejack took Asouva out to the orchard to begin his training.

The two of them happened upon a couple of trees that still had apples.  Applejack looked up at them while talking.  “We gotta get the apples out of the trees by bucking them.”  She laid out a few baskets at the base of the trees.  Afterward, she turned to face away from the trees, stood on her front hooves and let out a mighty kick with her hind hooves.

Asouva's mouth hung open in amazement as every apple fell from the first tree into the baskets.  Applejack took some more empty baskets and put them underneath the next tree.

“Why don't you give it a try?” she asked.

“Looks simple enough,” Asouva replied.

Asouva walked up to the tree, cautiously examining it.  It was just a normal tree, with apples.  He turned around to face away from the tree, turned his head around so he could see what he was doing, and let loose with a mighty kick!

Two apples fell from the tree.  Asouva kicked again, and one more apple fell.  Frustration building to higher levels, Asouva turned back toward the tree and closed his eyes, deep in concentration.

“Whatcha doin' there?” Applejack asked.

Just then, a green glow began to emit from his horn, followed by a green glow surrounding all the apples on the tree.  All the apples were then simultaneously plucked from the tree and dropped into the baskets.  Asouva opened his eyes once done and smiled.  “There we go, much better,” he said.

“Uh uh, no way!” Applejack snarled.  “We do NOT use magic on this farm!  We do things the Earth Pony way!”

Asouva didn't understand.  “I thought the job was to get the apples off the tree and into the basket-”

“The way I showed you, with hooves!  Not horns!”

“Does it matter?” Asouva asked innocently, which seemed to be a berserk button for Applejack.

“Ya darn tootin' it matters!”  Applejack was yelling by this point.  “Ponyville was founded by Earth Ponies, mah family, and since day one we've always done things the Earth Pony way!”

“I'm sorry I couldn't be of use to you then,” Asouva said sadly, looking at the floor.  He then turned and ran back into town, toward Golden Oaks Library.

Once back at the library, Asouva collapsed in the middle of the floor.  “I only wanted to help!” he cried.  Twilight and Spike came running in from the next room.

“What happened?” Twilight asked.

Asouva's face was a mess from crying, and his speech labored, “I got to the farm late, so they were done with their work for the day, but Apple-Mare had me try to kick apples out of a tree, and when I couldn't do it, I used magic, and she kicked me off of the farm!”

“Shh, it's okay, it's okay,” Twilight said, trying to comfort the Changeling.  “The Apple family is very particular about doing things the Earth Pony way, from harvesting crops to the change of seasons.”

“But magic,” Asouva sniffled, “it's just so much more efficient.”

“The ponies of Equestria all have their own kinds of magic,” Twilight explained.  “Unicorns are the most obvious example, being able to actually control magical energies with their horn.

Asouva nodded in understanding as Twilight continued.  “Pegasi have their flight, the ability to carry things with them even when physics would say otherwise, and of course, controlling the weather.”

“What about Earth Ponies?” Asouva asked.

“Earth Ponies have a special connection with the ground, the soil,” Twilight explained.  “Back in olden times, Earth Ponies provided the food, for any crop harvested by Earth Ponies would be more fresh, more delicious, more plentiful than the same crop harvested by any other type.”

“I see...” Asouva said, looking down at the floor once again.  “Twilight, I'm none of these pony types.  How can I hope to even help out on the farm?”

“You don't have to work on the farm, you can find somewhere else to work,” Twilight thought for a moment.  She seemed to get a eureka moment, which was followed by taking out a quill, and a small piece of parchment.  Putting quill to parchment, she jotted down a short checklist, and upon finishing, gave the list over to Asouva.  “Here's a list of my friends here, perhaps you can visit them to see if there's somewhere you can help out.  You can start with Sugarcube Corner.  I know Mr. and Mrs. Cake would be happy to have you.”

“Sugarcube Corner?” Asouva asked, looking back up at Twilight.

“Sugarcube Corner,” Twilight replied.  Right at that moment, there was a knock on the door.  Both Twilight and Asouva looked to face the door.  “Come in!” Twilight called out.

The door opened and the familiar Earth Pony Tumbler walked in.  He had a saddlebag on as well as his usual hat.  “Hello Asouva, Twilight.”  He smiled, “It's good to see you two getting along.”

“Yes,” Asouva nodded.

Twilight chimed in, “Asouva just came back from Sweet Apple Acres after an... unsavory experience.”  Asouva looked down at the floor again.  “I suggested he try Sugarcube Corner, with Pinkie Pie and the Cakes.”

“That sounds like fun, if you can deal with Pinkie's over-the-top antics, and the overly stressed out Cakes,” Tumbler remarked.

“Where is this Sugarcube Corner?” Asouva asked.

“Why don't I give you a tour of the town?  It'll help you get your bearings, and you'll learn where things are besides the library and the farm,” Tumbler offered.

Asouva agreed to the tour.  It would certainly help knowing where everything is.

And so, Tumbler took Asouva from location to location, describing what each place did.  Asouva had already been to Sweet Apple Acres, the hospital, and was currently staying at Golden Oaks Library until his own place could be built.  Tumbler pointed out Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique, and City Hall, among others.  Tumbler only pointed in the general direction of the forest, sensing Asouva's reluctance to ever go back there.

It was quite a different sight from what Asouva was accustomed to in the Changeling kingdom.  So many colors, so many sights and smells, a veritable feast for the senses.  The Changeling kingdom was very dull, having mostly just had blacks and greens.  Canterlot was mostly white, gray, purple and gold, and even that seemed rather plain compared to the bright pinks and purples and blues and greens and yellows and reds that made up Ponyville.  It was a lot to take in all at once for the unaccustomed.  All good things must come to an end however, and the Ponyville tour was no exception.

“So, what do you think?” Tumbler asked.

It was a few minutes before Asouva would respond.  “It's very colorful,” he finally said.  “Hypnotically so.”

“I'm glad you like it.  What was your favorite place?” Tumbler asked.

“I think my favorite place is the library,” Asouva finally replied.  “It was the quietest part of town.”

“Yeah, that library is run by Twilight Sparkle.  She's living there tempo..rar...ily.”  Tumbler paused for a moment to think.  “You know, she's been living there 'temporarily' for over two years now...”  Asouva was getting annoyed Tumbler.  He seemed to get easily sidetracked by random thoughts.

This went on for a few minutes before Asouva finally interrupted.  “Well, I better get going to Sugarcube Corner.  I'm sure they'll still have things for me to do, with or without magic.”

Tumbler snapped back from his own little world.  “Alright then, I'll catch ya later.  By the way, I found something remarkable in the Everfree Forest you're not going to believe.  I'll show it to you later.”

“Sounds dangerous,” Asouva said as he began to hover, turning to fly away.

“Alright, but if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.”

“Will do!” Asouva called out as he flew back toward the pink two story house known as Sugarcube Corner.

Asouva arrived without incident and noticed that there were a couple ponies sitting at tables, a pony rushing from table to table to ensure that everypony was provided with food, it seemed hectic.  Asouva waited for a good moment to speak up, but it never came.  His frustration grew and his face made a snarl.

“Hi!” came a familiar high-pitched voice from behind.  Asouva jumped in the air, startled.  He immediately recognized the voice as belonging to Pinkie Pie.

“Hello Pinkie Pie,” Asouva greeted her, once he recomposed himself.

“Farm work didn't work out for ya, huh?” Pinkie asked.

“No, it didn't-” he started to say, but cut himself off.  “Wait, how did you know about that?”

Pinkie smiled and chuckled, “Oh you're so silly.”  She trotted away toward the back to fetch ice cream for a couple of ponies seated across from each other at a table.  She offered no further explanation.

Asouva walked up to the counter where there was another pony standing.  She had a light cerulean coat with a light crimson mane with even lighter highlights.  Her mane looked like the frosting on some of the treats offered.

“Hello dearie,” the pony said.

“Hello miss...” Asouva started, trailing off to invite the completion of his greeting.

“Cake.  Mrs. Cake,” she smiled.  “Would you like to order something?”

“Umm, I actually was hoping you could give me a job,” Asouva stammered through.  “I was told that I have to earn a living, contribute to the town in some way.”

“Well, we can always use help,” Mrs. Cake said.  “We can have Pinkie Pie show you how to bake, Mr...?”

“Asouva, and that would be fantastic!” Asouva replied.  He turned to walk toward the back from where Pinkie was just now emerging, carrying ice cream dishes to be delivered to one of the tables.

“Dearie, would you be a sweetheart and show Asouva here how to work in the kitchen?” Mrs. Cake asked Pinkie Pie.

“Of course, Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie replied.  “Come Asouva, to the kitchen!”

She squeaky-bounced her way into the kitchen, with Asouva walking behind.  The sugar and cupcakes and everything was just so sweet smelling, he was finding it hard to resist just devouring everything there.  As Pinkie Pie explained the use of each utensil and pot and pan, Asouva's mouth started to water, imagining each tasty delectable delight that would come out of that oven.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cake even made the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness in this very oven.  We called it the MMMM."  Pinkie patted her belly and licked her lips as she recalled the very yummy cake that was so unjustly robbed of the first prize at the National Dessert Competition.

"First we'll start with cupcakes," Pinkie began.  Pinkie lifted one hoof and then another, alternating in some kind of rhythm, perhaps a song that only she could hear in her head.  After a minute or so of this, she began singing:

"All you have to do is take a cup of flower,

Add it to the mix,

Now just take a little something sweet, not sour,

A bit of salt just a pinch,

Baking these treats is such a cinch, add a taste of the vanilla,

Add a little more then count to four and you never get your fill-a!  Cupcakes, so sweet and tasty, cupcakes don't be too hasty,

Cupcakes, cupcakes cupcakes CUPCAKES!"

Pinkie finished her song, then opened her eyes.  Asouva was nowhere to be found.  She heard the sound of gorging though, and followed her ears beneath the table where Asouva was hiding, shoveling chocolate into his mouth as quickly as possible.  Pinkie was amused by the problems he was having as chocolate kept slipping through the holes in his legs and hooves, but he managed somehow to devour most of it from a single bag just in the time Pinkie was singing.

Mr. Cake walked in to check on how the progress was going and get Pinkie started on making some orders when he saw the Changeling under the table gorging on chocolate.

"Oh no!  I can't afford to have TWO gluttons eating all the product!" Mr. Cake yelled.

"Mr. Cake!  Asouva was only..." Pinkie started, but realized she couldn't really defend him on this matter.

Mr. Cake stood firm, "I'm sorry Pinkie, but if he wants to eat, he'll have to pay just like the other customers."

Asouva's chocolate binge was hastily interrupted by Pinkie wrapping a leg around him and pulling him out from underneath the table.

"Nooooo, my chocolate!"

"I'm sorry Asouva, but Mr. and Mrs. Cake can't let you work here if you eat all the chocolate."  Pinkie was sad, she was looking forward to teaching Asouva all about baking and pastries and sweets and so forth.

Asouva looked down at the ground, not knowing what came over him.  Tears began to well up in his multifaceted eyes, and when he could hold in the tears no longer, he ran out the back door, crying.

Mr. Cake tried to comfort Pinkie, "I know you wanted to have a friend to work with here as well, but I can't afford the both of you eating us out of house and home."

"I know Mr. Cake," Pinkie said finally.  "I just had no idea he'd go crazy for sugar sweets, like... like..."

"An insect?" Mr. Cake frowned.

"Yeah..." Pinkie replied sadly.

-***-

I might as well head back into the Everfree Forest, he thought to himself.  It's not like they would miss me.

He wound up at the entrance to the Everfree Forest.  Asouva blinked his eyes a couple times before closing them to lie down.  He didn't really want to go back.  He didn't have a lot of memories from his time in the forest, but everypony said it was miraculous that he wasn't killed by the local flora or fauna.

He was lost in thought for what seemed like a long time when he heard the familiar squeaky toy sound that the pink one always made while hopping in lieu of walking normally.  When he opened his eyes, he spied a pair of light cerulean eyes looking into his own.  It was the pink pony from Sugarcube Corner.

“Oh my,” she said with a shudder.  “That's impressive!  I've never seen anypony eat that much chocolate!  Well, except for me of course!"

Asouva looked up into the pink Earth Pony's eyes.  "How could I have done that?"  Asouva looked away from Pinkie, ashamed of himself.  "I ate so much chocolate... but it was SO DELICIOUS!"

"I didn't know Changelings liked chocolate so much," Pinkie said.  "But then, who doesn't like chocolate?"

“I appreciate what you're trying to do,” Asouva began, “but I think I want to be alone for a bit.”

“Nopony should be alone when they're feeling down,” Pinkie said, “and I know just the thing!”

“Not another party...” Asouva said, covering his face with his hooves.

“No silly,” Pinkie replied.  Pinkie wrapped her forelegs around Asouva in a hug and held him tight.  “We just had a party last night.  It's much too soon for another party right now.  We'd have to wait a few more hours at least!”

“Delightful,” Asouva responded sarcastically as he was being squeezed by Pinkie's vice-like grip.

Pinkie released her hold on the poor Changeling.  “There.  You feel any better?”

Asouva gasped for breath as soon as Pinkie let go of her vice grip.  After he was able to breathe again, he had to admit, yeah, he was feeling a little better actually.  "Alright, time to pick myself up and get to the next item on the list."  Asouva checked off Sugarcube Corner and moved on to the next item on the list.  Fluttershy.

-***-

Asouva was flying over Ponyville toward the small cottage at the edge of town to meet up with Fluttershy.  From his vantage point, he was able to see quite far, including a yellow Pegasus on the ground who looked like she was being attacked by a manticore.  Wait, what!? Asouva thought, and immediately dove toward the mare in trouble.  Asouva wasn't really the heroic type, being a Changeling and all, but life in Ponyville really was a chance at a new beginning for him.  The manticore noticed the new arrival and growled at him in a threatening manner.

"Don't worry, ma'am," Asouva consoled the mare.  "I'll take care of this."  Asouva steeled himself, looking the enormous manticore in the eyes, not once showing even an inkling of fear (but he sure felt it on the inside).  Mere seconds later, he launched himself at the beast, delivering a swift kick across the its head, landing just behind him.  A quick charging attack to the side, and the manticore went down quickly.  Not dead, just on its side, roaring in pain.

The yellow Pegasus mare looked on in horror as Asouva stood proudly, having saved her from the beast.

"What did you go and do that for?" she asked angrily.  Asouva was taken aback by the Pegasus's ungrateful attitude.  "That manticore is one of my friends!  He was just coming to visit for a back massage!"

Asouva deflated immediately.  He offered an apology, but the yellow mare would have none of it.  Not until the manticore was better.  Asouva offered to help heal it, but the yellow Pegasus simply met his suggestion with a cold Haven't-you-done-enough? stare.  Asouva meekly walked away, getting about ten yards away before taking flight and continuing over to Fluttershy's cottage.

-***-

Asouva knocked on the door, but there was no answer.  Looking around, he noticed that this place seemed to be more of a private residence than a place of employment.  There were lots of small birdhouses all over the place though, and it was a large tree with an impressive canopy.  Whoever lived here must really love animals.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" came an angry yell.  Asouva quickly turned to look to the source, and was shocked to see that very same yellow pegasus mare from earlier.

"I was told to come here to see a Miss Fluttershy for..." his words were caught in his throat.  He began to get a very sinking feeling.

"Well, I'm Fluttershy, and the answer is NO!" Fluttershy yelled.  "Now get OFF my property, or I'll get my friends to remove you themselves!"

Talk about a double-whammy Asouva thought to himself.  He slowly trotted away for a few feet before taking to flight again.  He heard her yell something to the effect of never wanting to see him around her house again, but he was too far to hear her distinctly.  Mid flight, he took out the parchment and quill and crossed off Fluttershy's name.  This day was turning out to be not such a good new beginning after all.

Two more names; Rarity - Carousel Boutique, Rainbow Dash - Weather Factory Asouva thought to himself.  He wasn't a Pegasus, so his chances at manipulating the weather seemed like it would end up the same way trying to work the farm did, so Carousel Boutique it was.

-***-

Asouva sadly flew over to Carousel Boutique.  When he first entered the store, there was no one to be found.  There was a faint noise in the background, the tell-tale tingle sound that magic makes when it's used.  The Changeling meekly said, "Hello?"

“Come in!” a voice called from deep inside the house.  “You'll have to excuse me, I'm incredibly busy filling an order from one of my clients.”

Asouva cautiously stepped inside and looked around.  There were mirrors, mannequins, huge reams of cloth and even trunks of gemstones.  That was always one thing that amazed him, how plentiful the gemstones were in Equestria.  In most other nations, these kinds of gemstones were rare, but here they grew like fungus.

He looked up from the gemstones and into the next room, the source of the voice that had initially welcomed him in.  In that room was none other than Ponyville's own fashionista, Rarity.  Asouva recognized her as one of the element bearers, generosity, he believed.

“Ah, there you are,” Rarity smiled.  “Pinkie said you might be coming.”

Asouva looked around confused, “How did she, did you?  What is...?”  He put a hoof to his head, already getting a headache from trying to figure things out.  "You know what?  Nevermind."

Rarity chuckled, “Oh darling, don't try to figure out Pinkie Pie.  We've had our fair share of unicorn scholars go crazy trying to.”

“Duly noted,” Asouva responded.  “Now, I'm told that you could make good use of my magic?”

Rarity took a break from her dress-making for a moment.  “Why yes, of course!” she responded.  “Whenever I get a client for some new dress or suit, I always have to use these boring old mannequins as models.”  She smiled coyly at Asouva.  “But, with your shape-shifting, I can see how the finished product will look on a client long before they ever come in to pick up their order.”

Asouva looked down, a little disappointed.  He was hoping his magic could be more useful, and not for something so frivolous.  Picking up on his sentiment, Rarity's expression changed from excitement to sad.  “Dearie, what's wrong?”

Asouva looked back up at Rarity, “I was just hoping that my magic could be more useful instead of, well, this.”  He gestured all around them, indicating the mannequins, the clothing, just everything around them in general.

“Oh, but this IS important!” Rarity tried to assure him.  “And since I'd be able to work faster with a live model, I could fill my orders that much more quickly!”

Asouva wasn't feeling Rarity's enthusiasm yet.

“With the increased sales and business, I could afford to pay you more, then you can move out of that old library and into your own house.”

Asouva started feeling it now.  He jumped up, eager to get his own domicile.  “How do I begin?  What do you want me to do?”

“Excellent!” Rarity exclaimed.  “First we'll need to go visit my next client.  I don't know how he'll feel about Changelings, so it might be a good idea if you disguise yourself for now.”

Asouva was a little saddened by this, but not entirely surprised.  Changelings were the enemy, and the very sight of one within the Canterlot city limits could put the guards on alert.

He changed shape to match the pony he was most familiar with up to this point, that of Tumbler.  That should allow him to slip through Canterlot without being noticed.

Rarity took out a quill and parchment to write a note, then rolled up the parchment and put it in her bag.  "We'll have to stop by the library first before we go," she said.  "I need my little Spikey-wikey to do something real quick..."