Acceptance

        Jeter walked his way to a quiet spot behind the library, hoping he had lost Tinge at the fork by the playground a good distance back. So far he senced no trace of her, wich made him happy. He needed time to think about what Rich said earlier, and with her around that was not going to happen.

Just because of ones past, or bloodline, that doesn't make them inherently evil. It's what's in here that defines you.

Jeter pressed a hoof to his chest where Rich had pointed out when he spoke those words. He could still feel his hoof there over an hour later. He put all of his focus on thinking about what Rich told him he did not notice the presence of Golden Nugget in front of him until he was pulled to his hooves.

"Hey, changeling, I'm talken to you." The bully said.

"Hooves off, Nugget." Jeter stated.

"Where is she?" Golden asked.

"I said 'hooves off', blinder." Jeter ordered.

"What did you just call me,?" Golden asked.

"What, you deph, too?" Jeter asked. "Read my lips. hoooves... oofff... blinder." He spoke slowly and clearly, making sure that the bully still holding him could understand him.

Jeter was thrown to the ground after that with a thud. He shook his head and did not bother to look for the direction his enemy was in, Golden's hoof steps told him he was not done with him yet. He felt Golden's hooves lift him up to his own again and forced him to look forward.

"I'll ask again before I have a little fun." Golden stated. "Where's Depth?"

"Ask me if I care." Jeter replied.

"I know she came looking for you, so where is she?!" Golden was obviously getting more angry then he already was, and Jeter was liking it.

"I don't know." Jeter answered. "Why don't you take your blindingly awful looking face and go find her?" That struck a cord. Before he knew what hit him, he was on the ground with a sore right cheek. He rubbed a hoof over his cheek as he worked his jaw, using the love energy he stored from his mother to stop the trail of blood on his chin.

"You rotten litlle monster!" Golden grouled through gritted teeth. "I'll make you wish an ursa came into town and stepped on you!"

Jeter braced himself for the next blow, but it never came. He heard an angry Golden struggling to get to him, barcking orders to let him go. He also heard a mare, also angry, telling Golden he was grounded as she dragged him away from the changeling. Soon there was silence for a long period of tim as Jeter lay on the ground, shaking with rage from the spoiled rich colt. He heard more hoof steps coming his way and came to an abrupt stop several feet away. He knew it was Tinge, and that was the very last thing he wanted, or needed now. She slowly took one step closer to him and stopped short when he shot a sharp glare in her direction.

"Please, let me help you." She pleaded. He said nothing, he kept his glare in her direction as he got to his hooves. He was about to tell her off before he remembered what Rich said.

... if you keep yourself closed up like this, you'll never make friends.

His glare softened after and minute as he reached out to sense her feeling, and what he felt told him the exact opposite of what his head told him. He heard her take another step closer to him and he took several steps back from her before he turned and ran off in the opposite direction.

~~~

At first, Jeter did not care where he was going, but he soon regreted that decision. He ran from the filly, using his remaining senses to dodge ponies and objects until he left town boundaries. He found he was lost in a forest he could only assume was the Everfree Forest.

He was in unfamiliar territory now and payed little to no attention where he came from, so finding his way back was impossible. It was up to fait to bring him back home, and his faith was highly faultered in fait. In his mind, he considered his life nothing but a cursed reck. He was borned blind and was abandoned for it, everypony feared and despised him for being a changeling, the other foals constantly teased and ridiculed him, especially Golden Nugget, and the only thing good in his life was the mare who willingly and lovingly took him as her son.

Now he was lost and alone in this forest, tripping over roots, and getting tangled in the hanging vines. He gave up his blind search for a way out and found a large tree to lay next to and only hope for the best, wich he knew would never come.

Every now and again he heard something walking around through the trees, and a part of him was hoping it was a timberwolf, or ursa to come and end his misery, but it only turned out to be a small animal running around, scrounging for food.

He had been out here for, Celestia knows how long, and was getting hungry, both physically and magically. He had been using his magic to try and find his way back home with no luck and was now tired of it all. He wanted his blindness to end, his being a changeling, the other foals teasing him, and everypony else afraid of him. He wanted it all to end.

He heard another rustling in the trees, but this was different then the rest. This time he felt a strong love for... him? But, it was not his mother it was...

"Tinge?" He called.

"Jeter?!" Came the familiar voice of the filly.

"Tinge, over here!" He called. He repeated this over until he heard her come from behind a tree.

"Jeter!" She called. He heard her hooves stomp on the ground then felt her wrap her hooves around his neck. "Thank Celestia you're okay!"

"Why did you come for me?" He asked. She pulled away, keeping her hooves on his shoulders.

"You ran off and everypony said they saw you run into the forest. I had to come find you." She explained.

He could feel a strong source of energy coming from her, and he felt like he wanted to cry. He slowly let a smile build on his face and wrapped his hooves around her. They hugged each other for a minute before she pulled away from him and held up her tail in front of him.

"Take my tail in your teeth, I know a way back home." He blindly reached out with his teath and finally found the end of her tail after she helped a little. Once he had a hold of her, she started walking and he followed her through the trees out of the forest.