Wind of Change

Why I never! Rarity just could not believe her ears. The pony they had just saved from certain doom was being incredibly rude. How dare you! she thought while glaring at the pale-maned pegasus whose stare was still fixed on a perplexed Twilight. I even got dirt on my muzzle helping you, you ungrateful little shrew! She grew even more furious as this twit of a pony lifted her wings and lowered her front limbs, clearly preparing to simply take off without so much as a 'thank-you'.

The pegasus had both of her wings up at her sides ready to be brought to the ground with just enough force to bring the slender pegasus up off the ground. The meager amount of sunlight radiating from the east was more than enough to reflect off of the silver feathers in her wings, creating a simply breathtaking display. Her wings began their quick decent to the ground, still shimmering in the sunlight. She seemed to hesitate for a split second as if her body would not cooperate with her. Just then, her left wing flexed in almost completely in a sudden jerking motion, surely unintentionally. Oh dear, I hope she didn't break anything in the fall. A look of concern was clearly visible on the white mare's face, though this was almost instantly replaced by the previous one of irritation as she began to think for a moment. If it hadn't been for us, a lot more then just a wing would be broken.

The strange pony did her best to ignore the spasm in her wing and began readying herself for another attempt at take off. She once again rose her wings as she shifted her hooves into a position similar to that of a cat preparing to pounce on its prey. Does she seriously think leaping into the air will help to fly with a damaged wing? Her wings rose very rapidly over her head and were set to come down even faster than before.

"Now wait just a moment!" Rarity asserted, stopping the pony dead in her tracks. The gray mare obeyed. She stopped her wings mid-beat and adjusted her hooves so that she stood up straight. The mare tilted her head to the side, her mane falling in perfect timing with the rest of her body. A look of bewilderment quickly replaced the threatening scowl she once wore. "You are not going to just fly off without showing the least bit of gratitude to the ponies who so graciously and selflessly hindered your imminent demise."

The strange pony just stared at her for a moment. Rarity continued to stare back only shifting her eyes for a second to glance at Twilight, whom she'd almost forgotten was even there. She noticed her friend finally getting up off the ground. Thank goodness. I thought she was never going to get off that dreadfully dirty ground. The pegasus before them closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. She let her head fall forward as she released her breath in a heavy sigh before calmly opening her eyes.

"Like I told you before," she started. There were no signs of any emotion behind these words. The pegasus' head still tilted down as if she'd lost the ability to pick it back up as she began to turn away. "I didn't ask for anypony's help."

"Maybe we should just leave her be." whispered Twilight. The pegasus began walking away, clearly not caring to hang around any longer then she had to. Rarity had a look of determination on her face and was not about to let this go. "She might need some time to take in all of what just happened." The purple mare continued. "I'm sure she's confused more than anything. We don't even know what made her fall in the first place. That could be what's causing her to be so defensive."

The white unicorn had heard what her friend was saying but was not truly listening. No pony could be that proud as to rather die then accept another pony's help, could they? Perhaps she's frightened. Yes, that could be it. She woke in a strange place to see ponies she had never before met. This pony wasn't ignorant, she was just scared and masking it with anger, Rarity concluded.

"You can leave if you'd like, darling. I think I shall try to make our new guest feel welcomed in Ponyville. I can't stand the thought of an injured pony just wandering about by herself. I wouldn't want her accidentally wandering into the Everfree Forest or Celestia knows where else."

"Well... I do have studying to catch up on. Though I could put it off a bit longer and come along with you if you wanted me to. We don't know this pony or what her intents are here in Ponyville. She could be bad news."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Twilight." Rarity stated warmly, trying to convince her friend. "Go attended to your studies, don't worry about me. I assure you I will be perfectly fine."

"Alright." Twilight said with a look of concern on her face. "Just try not to push her too far."

Rarity raised an eyebrow at the comment but decided not to elaborate as to why that was a rather insulting thing for her to say. The gray mare was nearly out of sight. She had no time for such silly disputes.

"I won't." She said plainly. "Now, if you don't mind, I really should be going before I lose track of her. I'll fill you in with all the details later, I promise!"

Rarity had already began trotting off when Twilight began to mumble to herself, "I know you will. You always do." She playfully rolled her eyes before walking off again in the direction of home. Maybe this time she'd be able to actually make it all the way there without any more incidents.

~

"Wait just a moment, dearie!" Rarity called out as she neared the earth-bound pegasus. "Listen," she requested. "how about we forget everything that just happened and start fresh, shall we?"

This had obviously gotten the new pony's attention. She slowed down but did not look back at the unicorn following her before replying in the same neutral tone as before, "I'm listening."

A small smirk came across Rarity's face as she gave a quick nod to congratulate herself on getting this pony's cooperation. Good start, Rarity. Now don't scare her away, just introduce yourself and volunteer to show her around. She quickly but cautiously trotted up in front of the gray mare, studying her body language to be sure she wasn't frightening her. The sudden obstruction caused the unknown pony to stop all at once as her eyes widened in surprise.

Rarity flipped her deep purple mane to the side with a perfectly choreographed shake of her head, every hair falling flawlessly into place. She cleared her throat and smiled at the pony in front of her.

"Hello there," she beamed "my name is Rarity. I would like to be the first to welcome you to the wonderful town that is Ponyville."

"Hello Rarity." smiled the mare. "It's a pleasure to meet you." The pegasus gave a quick curtsy before continuing. "I appreciate the warm welcome."

The white pony's mouth parted and eyebrows lowered in a look of disbelief and suspicion. Did she just curtsy to me? True, it is proper manners when greeting a lady... but quite odd after the fuss she was putting up just a few moments ago. She shook her head, trying to clear these thoughts so she could focus her attention on the conversation at hoof.

"Why thank you. May I ask what your name is?"

"You can but it's not as fun if I just tell you." The pale-maned pony gave a slight, playful wink. "Take a guess."

What in all of Equestia? Rarity glanced at the moon-and-swirl-of-wind cutie mark on the pony's flank. Lunatic, perhaps? she remarked to herself, mostly in jest but a part of her thought this could really be what the pony's name was. She must have suffered a brain injury in the crash landing earlier. She's absolutely out of her mind, getting furious over us saving her life and now, just a few minutes later, she's all smiles and playing games with me?

"I'm sorry dearie but I haven't the slightest clue."

"Well, you're no fun." she said while her disposition changed yet again. This time, clear disappointment radiated from her face. "Oh well."

Rarity looked at her, wondering what to say. Do I have to ask? Is she not going to tell me because I didn't play her ridiculous game?

"Oh, you're waiting for me to tell you, aren't you?" the mare asked after a few awkward moments. Rarity gave a cautious nod. "The name's Moon Breeze. Most skilled flyer in all of Equestria! At least I think so. I've yet to meet a pegasus I couldn't beat in both speed and especially agility."

I doubt Rainbow Dash would agree with that claim.

"Hello Moon Breeze. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Would you like me to show you around Ponyville?"

"Well it would seem my wing is sprained so I don't think I'll be going anywhere any time soon. I suppose that's a good idea."

"Maybe the first place I should show you to is the hospital to be sure it's just a sprain. It's just back this way." Rarity informed her, tilting her head in the direction they had come from.

"I-I'd rather not. I'm fine. Really." the pegasus objected with an awkward, obviously forced grin on her face.

"Oh heavens no! We must ensure you are alright before I can give you a full tour of the town!" Seeing the uneasy look on the mare's face, she decided a different course of action may be best, else she infuriate the fickle-emotioned pony once more. "If you have a problem with hospitals however," she began again "I have a friend who could at least look at it. Though she's not exactly a doctor."

"Uhm... I... uh..." Moon Breeze fumbled on her words for a moment then stopped, possibly taking a moment to consider her options. "I suppose that sounds like a good idea."

"Fabulous! Let's get moving then."

~

The sun was now completely visible and the town was beginning to come to life. There had been a couple of ponies out and about, hurriedly making there ways to their destinations while the two mares had been going through town. A cool wind rapidly made its way through leaves overhead, shaking some loose, causing a light snow of beautiful, though deceased, foliage to descend upon them.

Yet another gust whipped along the more remote trail the two ponies were following. The cool air traveled straight through Rarity, causing her to shiver slightly. The gray mare beside her didn't seem to be bothered by the cool gust, in fact, she seemed to enjoy it. The lean pegasus tilted her head up allowing her pale blonde mane to be caressed by the autumn wind. She seemed to take in a deep breath of the crisp air surrounding her.

Perhaps the fresh air will clear her mind and make her act a little less... eccentric. It would be simply dreadful if she had a mood swing whilst receiving her examination.

Moon Breeze seemed to be quite tranquil now. There was no way to tell that she had had such a close call with death less than an hour ago.

Just then, the peaceful mare cast her gaze at something in the distance. She squinted her eyes and wrinkled her brow, certainly trying to get a better look at whatever she saw that Rarity had not. The gray-coated pony jerked her head back and raised her ears, alerted by something. She came to a complete and sudden halt, only to break into a full-blown gallop just a moment later.

I'm beginning to think this may not have been the best of ideas.