A Brew of Blood, Tears, and Brine

Prelude:

Fate

In the world, lonely souls make their way through life, waiting for a warm smile, or a gentle greeting to be pointed towards them. Suffering in solitude, they try to scream for an identity, and to get some affection. Some souls get what their want. Some others just give up trying and die in the way.

That is up to fate...

~~ -[+]- ~/~

Caelus was fidgeting with her hooves, absently, under the shadow of a tree. Why she wasn't able to make friends, she didn't know for sure. Maybe she was a very timid pegasus filly at the first day of the Cutie Mark Crusaders Summer Camp; and maybe she was scared of all the other ponies, as they were running across the meadow from one side to another, playing along and having fun. She sighed. That must be the reason.

The meadow. Beautiful and refreshing. There was a river not so far of it. The perfect place for a summer camp. The only bad thing about it was she being under the shadow of a tree, alone.

Caelus remained there, and tried to smile. Someday she would have a friend. She knew it. She could feel it in her heart. Someday, somepony would ask her something, and she would be eager to answer. Exchanging names, it couldn't be that hard.

It just seemed like that someday would never come.

Maybe coming to the camp was a bad idea, after all. She was still afraid of ponies. She didn't know why, but she was.

She remembered her first day at school. She had sat on the corner desk, and nopony talked to her. Never. Maybe someone asking for a pencil or an eraser, but anything else. It was frustrating.

But the hope had made its way through the filly's heart. She wouldn't be alone forever. She couldn't be alone forever.

She inspected the place she was lying on. Under the shadow of a tree, she would never be found. She felt somewhat awkward as she tried to pull herself out of that shadow. When she did, her cerulean coat and her bright white mane gleamed under the sunshine. The gold in her eyes was as brilliant as sun.

She was Caelus. She was Caelus because she was the sky. Or at least she looked like it.

But she didn't feel special. She tried to walk some more steps, but her legs refused, starting to tremble. There was no way she could make a friend.

But even if Caelus didn't meant to, nor wanted to; somepony eventually noticed her. The cerulean pegasus tried to hide herself again, but didn't find any place, as the other filly started to walk towards her at a relatively quick pace. Caelus started panicking.

"Hi, there!", said the strange pony, waving a hoof at her, smiling widely. "I haven't seen you ever before. Where were you? Were you hiding?"

Caelus felt overwhelmed by the amount of questions, but she tried to keep calm. "I was there, under that shadow. I was a bit afraid."

"Oh, I see. You are shy, don't you?", asked the other filly.

"I suppose", answered the pegasus before inspecting her talker. She had a light pink coat, a black mane, and deep blue eyes. She was a unicorn.

"I'm Dawn, nice to meet you", said the unicorn.

"I'm Caelus."

"What a cool name!", exclaimed Dawn. "Hey, why don't you come with me and play something with us?"

"That sounds kinda funny... but I'm still a bit afraid", whispered the cerulean pegasus.

"Come on, it isn't that hard", cheered the pink unicorn. "My grandmother always tell me that friendship is magic. Doesn't it sound just cool?"

"Yes... kind of", answered Caelus. " Who's your grandmother anyways?", she asked that because she wanted Dawn to forget about games and other ponies.

"She is the Ponyville librarian. I'm sure you have heard about her."

Caelus paralyzed. "Of course I had!", said the timid filly, mouth hung open in amazement, all her fears being dissipated. "She's the legendary Element of Magic the tales books speak of!"

Dawn chucled a bit. "She was. Now is just a plain boring old mare. You actually remind me of one of her friends... Rainbow Splash, or something like that."

"Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty?", corrected Caelus, not feeling awkward anymore.

"Yes, that is."

"And what about Spike? Is he still living with her?"

"Of course!", replied Dawn. "He's like a big brother for me. And he is really cool!"

"Wow! He should be really big by now...", mused Caelus.

The black maned unicorn giggled. "He's a teenager, so he isn't that big yet."

Caelus's mouth was still open. "Oh, my! You really are Twilight's granddaughter!", squeaked the pegasus, unable to believe such a thing.

"It isn't that a big deal", said the unicorn, blushing. "Maybe someday I will introduce you to her."

"Oh, please, that would be great!", cheered in amusement the happy cerulean filly, as she bounced in her place. "Promise it!"

"I Pinkie Promise", answered Dawn, grinning.

Caelus stopped bouncing and cocked her head. "You what?"

"Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stitch a cupcake in my eye!", said the unicorn, pulling out a strange motion with a hoof. "That way you make a promise that can't be broken."

"Wow! What happen if you break a Pinkie Promise?"

"You don't want to know", Dawn shivered a little. "And me neither."

Caelus laughed. She actually laughed. She wasn't alone. She had a friend. The other pony, Dawn, laughed too, because she was her friend. They were friends.

"Enough about me", said the pink pony, after pushing some air in her lunges, as both fillies started to walk towards the camp headquarters. "Tell me more about yourself."

Caelus smiled widely. She liked Dawn. She liked having a friend. It felt quite warm on her heart.

"Well, I..."