Well, here's another chapter for ya! I would've posted it a day earlier, but some bullcrap happened that I couldn't avoid, and it took time away from my writing. In any case, hope you all like it!
The next day, Aversion was fortunate enough to have time off from work. He would get the next three days off, according to his schedule. He decided to go for a hike, since he hardly ever liked to stay cooped up in his small home. It was a nice, cloudy day. He would honestly take cloudy weather, or even just an overcast, over a sunny day.
Aversion was walking through the streets of Ponyville to get to the woods where he usually liked to walk around. It was very quiet there, with nothing but the subtle background noises of woodland creatures and faint breeze among the treetops. However, his trip to the woods was interrupted by the sudden appearance of several large-figure stallions approaching him. The largest, most muscular one of the group, an earth pony who had a rust-red hide and dark-brown, Mohawk-style mane and tail, as well as a dumbbell cutie mark, was the one leading the group. He stood right in front of Aversion.
It was Aversion's childhood bully, Brawn Brutus.
"Well, well... what do we got here?" Brutus said. "A scrawny, skimpy runt in our territory!"
Aversion sighed. "Not today, Brutus... I'm not in the mood."
"Ah, hear that, fellas?" Brutus said to his cronies. "He's 'not in the mood'! Ha!"
The group laughed.
"Well, let's, again, lay down the facts, wimp! This is our turf, and we told you that you ain't never to set hoof on our turf!" Brutus said.
"...Or what?" Aversion asked.
"Or this!" Brutus thundered.
Immediately, he splashed a mud puddle, which happened to be right next to his hoof, into Aversion's face. This caused the latter to stagger backward, trying hastily to wipe the mud from his eyes. The rest of Brutus' gang laughed at Aversion's misfortune.
"Yeah, that's nice!" one taunted.
"Looks good on ya!" another one said.
"Learned your lesson, Ass-version?" yet another added.
Brutus then smugly turned his back to Aversion, just before looking back one last time at the smaller stallion.
"I'm gonna buck you in the face and bust all your teeth out if I catch you on our turf again!" Brutus said.
He then turned to face his gang.
"C'mon, boys. We've wasted enough time on this living waste of space in Equestria!" Brutus said.
After Brutus and his clique of friends left, Aversion quickly left, mud still covering his face and mane, and continued until he came across a drinking fountain. He used what little spray there was from the tap to clean himself. It took several minutes, but he got it all off... leaving his mane fairly soaked. That did not matter to him, though. Being covered with plain water was better than being covered with mud. Besides, it would evaporate on his hike.
As he continued into the woods, following along the familiar two-mile loop trail, he still could not get the fact that he was stuck in a place that seemed to despise him off of his mind.
"Why did I have to end up in this washed-up excuse for a town, of all places in Equus?" Aversion asked himself.
It was bad enough that his worst elementary school bully had to end up in Ponyville along with him, but that fact that his boss, as well as cafe patrons, outright abused him as well... it made him feel absolutely worthless. Of course, he always tried to tell himself that this was not true, and he was capable of doing great things, but when the only feedback he received from ponies was that he was a terrible stallion, it was all he could focus on.
Aversion originally wanted to move to a major city and start a career as an actor, but whenever he applied for an audition, he never heard back, or in the rare case that he did, it was a rejection without audition. There was absolutely nothing he could do about this... and so, he gave up hope on his dream. He knew it was a fool's errand to try and get hired as an actor in this day and age.
The one thing Aversion could have really benefited from were connections and social networking made through other ponies. However, friendship has definitely been something that is not one of his strong points. Whenever he did try to befriend other ponies, it always backfired on him, and he ended up being betrayed or denied by the recipients of his attempted befriending.
Princess Twilight Sparkle says "Friendship will make Equestria a perfect place!"? Aversion thought. What a bunch of malarkey... if I know anything about friendship, it's that everypony uses it to exploit and backstab you, or never give you a CHANCE for it! I mean, she's got lots of friends, lives in a castle, and has an overall carefree life! Where's the bucking justice!?
Aversion could no longer bring himself to trust anypony, what with how carefree and happy a lot of them seemed to be. They had jobs they enjoyed... they had friends they could have fun with... they were overall better off than he was. Regardless, he knew that he had to come up with a plan to salvage his situation while he was still young...
Continuing to walk along the path through the woods, Aversion's ears perked up at the sound of shuffling in nearby bushes. He looked in the direction to see some movement among the foliage, and a moment later, a black equine figure appeared, sticking its head from behind them. They had a pair of translucent wings, solid blue eyes, a fairly plain, curved horn, and overall had a very insect-like appearance.
It was a changeling.
"Aversion?" the black insectoid equine asked. "Is that you?"
Aversion recognized him nearly immediately from his voice.
"Scolus?" he asked.
"Hey-hey!" Scolus said enthusiastically.
The changeling stepped forward from the bush, coming out into the open and walking right up in front of Aversion.
"How ya doin', buddy? Been a while since I've seen you!" Scolus said.
"Yeah, I know..." Aversion said. "...what's it been, like... two months?"
"Three, actually!" Scolus corrected his friend. "So, what's good?"
Aversion sighed, letting his eyes fall. "...Same as usual, unfortunately."
"Ah, that sucks!" Scolus said. "But there's plenty you can do to go out and have some fun to take your mind off things!"
"I know, Scolus... it's just that I really can't afford to." Aversion said.
"What do you mean?" Scolus asked.
"Well..." Aversion began. "...I'm still putting in fifty-hour weeks, which even then is barely getting me by for the rent, utilities, and insurance bills... plus, given that I'm forced to work mostly on weekends, I can't go and participate in any activities that happen during such a time."
"So... just make time!" Scolus said. "If you have some time off saved up, use it whenever you want to do something fun in your spare time! And if you have enough seniority, maybe they'll let you choose specific days to work! My point is, Av, just look for ways that you can get around your difficulties and make your life easier! Take me, for instance; I'm ordered by Chrysalis to participate with the other drones to survey regions of Equestria, but while I do so, I take the form of a random pony to go about spending time with others and doing fun activities in pony communities!
"I get that you're not a changeling, Av, so you don't have the same abilities at your disposal. But what I'm saying is this: look for a way to escape from the mundane routine, and seek out something enjoyable that is within your reach! It is possible; you just have to motivate yourself to do it!"
"...Nothing ever gets you down. Huh, Scolus?" Aversion asked, a slight smile appearing on his face.
"No way!" Scolus said, upbeat as ever. "What good is life if you choose not to have fun?"
"It's not that I'm choosing not to enjoy my life..." Aversion said. "...it's just that... my current circumstances are really making it difficult..."
"Things will get better! I promise that to you, buddy!" Scolus said. "Maybe one night, you'll have a dream that'll foreshadow the start of a new life to come for you!"
Aversion nodded. "Thanks, Scolus."
"Anyway," Scolus said. "I probably shouldn't be goofing off for too long; Chrysalis wants all of us to report back to the hive soon."
"Alright. Well, good talking with you, Scolus!" Aversion said.
"Yep!" Scolus added. "Hope to see you again soon, buddy!"
After his changeling friend had gone back the way he came through the bushes, Aversion sighed as he continued to walk, weighing his life situation heavily on his mind. Scolus was his only friend, and it was still, to this day, something that immensely surprised him. He was probably one of the only ponies to befriend a changeling, who were a sworn enemy race to the ponies. There were myths about how the two races used to co-exist together, but several ponies began to become extremely weak and ill, and even die, after having all of their love sucked from them by the changelings, forcing the latter race into isolation after being ordered to by the former race... but these were just myths.
Not only that, but it seemed like Scolus was the polar opposite of Aversion; where the latter was semi-apathetic, melancholic, and reclusive, the former was very energetic, enthusiastic, and fun-loving. You would think it was the other way around, given how each of their respective societies function. However, it was these differences that really worked in favor of their friendship.
Aversion still remembered the day he met the changeling...
Aversion, just a colt no older than six years, was wandering around the woods one afternoon in a brisk fashion. He was panting with both fatigue and anxiety.
"Hello? Anypony?" Aversion called out.
The young colt wanted to explore the woods outside of Ponyville after becoming bored with his babysitter (an old mare who did nothing but sleep, and never woke to anything), but he ended up losing track of where he was, and which direction his home town was in.
"Please, somepony help me! I'm lost!" Aversion cried.
There was nopony around to hear him; all his ears could pick up were the background noises of the environment. Having been wandering around calling for help for the past twenty minutes, the tired, hungry, and panicked colt sat under the shade of a large elm tree, tears filling his eyes. After a moment, he began to cry. He feared that he would never make it back home or see his mother again... he was stuck in the woods with no way to navigate... and he was alone...
...Or so he thought. After having cried for a little bit, Aversion began to hear some hoofsteps. Hopeful that help had found him, he looked to see who was approaching... but it was not a pony...
"Hey, you okay?" they asked.
The distinctive appearance made the colt realize that it was a changeling nymph. He stood bolt upright as he eyes widened to nearly their limit without popping out of his head.
"A-AAH...! CH-CH-CHANGELIIIIIIIIIIING...!" Aversion shouted at the top of his lungs.
The panicked colt took off running in the other direction. The young changeling galloped to keep up with him.
"Wait, wait!" the nymph called. "I don't wanna hurt you!"
Aversion did not listen and continued to run, the changeling child following him all the while. Though the nymph was insisting that he would not hurt the colt, the pursuit continued... up until Aversion found it very difficult to move his hooves, and then... he could no longer move them at all. He looked down at his hooves, which were being pulled into the fairly soft earth, and no matter how hard he pulled, he could not free even a single leg.
"AAAAAAAH...!" Aversion shouted. "Quicksand! I-I can't move...! I'm sinking!"
"Just hold on!" the nymph, who was right at the end of the quicksand pit, said. "I'll try to get you out!"
Aversion looked back at his "pursuer," surprised at what he just said, only able to rotate his head as most of his legs had been pulled under the surface of the quicksand.
"What are you gonna do?" he asked.
"Just don't struggle!" the changeling said. "I'll levitate you out!"
"H-h-hurry...!" Aversion said as he abdomen went under the quicksand, threatening to smother the colt.
Closing his eyes and focusing, the nymph's horn began to glow a bright green color, and a halo of the same color outlined Aversion's body. Just before the latter's head was about to go under, he felt himself start to rise. The mud was squeezing his legs, trying to hold him down, so the nymph had to put a little more oomph into his levitation. Eventually, though, Aversion was free, the mud slipping off of him, and the changeling levitated him so that they were both right in front of each other.
Aversion let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks for saving me!"
"It was nothing." the nymph said. "Just couldn't let you smother to death like that! You really gotta be careful around these parts of the woods!"
The two then remained silent for a moment as the colt examined the young changeling.
"So... why did you save me?" Aversion asked.
The nymph was put on the spot by the question. "...Because why would I feel good about letting you die?"
"Well..." Aversion began. "...I always thought that changelings were... savages."
The changeling nymph blinked a few times in astonishment.
"No... we're not all like that!" he said. "I mean, yes, Mamma Chrysalis conditions us, to think ponies are the enemy... but some of us can... resist the conditioning..."
"Really?" Aversion asked.
The changeling nodded. "In fact, I remember one of my hive-brothers, who was also one of my few good 'friends,' was the same way that I am... I think his name was... Thorax, or something like that. The only reason Mamma Chrysalis wants us to hate ponies is because... well... she had some bad experiences with them, but none of us know what happened."
"Oh..." Aversion said, surprised that this particular changeling was the way he was, and a few others, as he described, were as well.
"Yeah." the nymph said. "Just always remember that it's not how we look on the outside, but what we are on the inside."
"Yeah, I gotcha." Aversion said. "Anyway... do you know where we are right now?"
"Well... I know that we're a little ways outside of Everfree Forest to the North." the changeling said.
"So... do you know the way back to Ponyville?" Aversion asked.
"Oh, yeah!" the nymph said. "I know it off the back of my hoof! Especially when Mamma Chrysalis would have us... stalk the area for ponies to take the forms of..."
"Would you be able to show me the way back?" Aversion said.
The nymph nodded. "Totally! In fact, you weren't too far off from it!"
With that, the two started walking back in the direction from where Aversion ran from to try and get away from the changeling child. After about five minutes, they eventually made it to the familiar town limits of the Ponyville community, and sure enough, they caught sight of the town itself.
"Oh, there it is!" Aversion said.
"Yep!" the nymph said. "Told you it wasn't very far!"
"Thanks for helping me get home." Aversion said.
"Don't mention it!" the nymph said with a nod.
"Well, I guess I'll be going now." Aversion said, about to head off. "See you around!"
"By the way, what did you say your name was?" the nymph asked.
"Oh yeah, I'm Aversion." the colt introduced himself.
"Name's Scolus!" the changeling said. "It was nice to meet you, Aversion!"
"Good to meet you, Scolus!" Aversion said.
With that, he started trotting his way back to Ponyville... but he stopped and looked back at Scolus, who sat where he was, watching as the colt left him. To be honest, he felt a little guilty about asking for his help without offering anything in return... but he saw this as a good opportunity for something. Aversion walked back up to Scolus, who pickked his head up a little higher upon seeing the colt returning to him.
"What is it?" Scolus asked.
"Would you ever like to... meet up again?" Aversion timidly offered.
Scolus' ears perked up. "Really? You want to... meet up? With me?"
"Yeah! You helped me! It's the least I could do for a new friend." Aversion said.
The final word the colt said had a massive effect on the nymph.
"Friend...?" Scolus asked, smiling with tears in his eyes. "...Y-you really think of me... as your... f-f-friend...?"
Aversion nodded. "Why are you crying?"
Scolus sniffled. "...I-it's just... I've never had... a real... f-friend, before..."
"Well, as long as we can keep in touch... you can call me your first real friend!" Aversion said proudly.
Sniffling, the nymph leapt at the colt, pulling him into a firm, overly-friendly hug.
"We're gonna be the bestest friends ever!" Scolus said.
"Yeah...o-okay..." Aversion said, trying to pry himself out of the nymph's tight hug. "...no need to...o-overdo it..."
Aversion sighed with reminiscence at this flashback. Even though neither he nor Scolus could take a lot of time out of their routines to see each other, they had still been the longest-term friends either have ever had. The species barrier was nonexistent to both of them, because their friendship was something that transcended that. Whenever one had a bad time, the other was willing to hear them out and offer consolation. The two were never on bad terms... ever.
After completing the loop he liked to take, Aversion made it back to his rented house, where he laid down on his bed. He was staring up at the ceiling, thinking. If things were indeed going to get better... when would it happen? Was his purpose to suffer through this and have the light come to him eventually? Or would he have to seek it out on his own? He did not know... but he always had something that clued him in on the matter.
Aversion looked down at his flank, observing his cutie mark. It was a simple, blue flame. Even after all these years of bearing it... he honestly still had no idea what he ended up doing to receive it. All he recalled was that, one night during his childhood, when he was laying in his bed, crying after a bad day (he had been severely bullied), he was eventually able to remember what his mother used to say to him:
"One day, my dear little Avey... you will grow up to do AMAZING things! Just don't let anypony hold you back..."
It was this memory alone that allowed Aversion to stop his sad tears... albeit replacing them with happy ones. He then stood from his bed, walked over to the window, and stared up at the stars. He vowed, to himself with verbal speech, that he will do something that will impact all of Equestria in a positive light before he dies, and that he will make his mother... who was now "among the stars"... very proud of him. Immediately after giving himself this short, but powerful, pep-talk... that was when he saw a glowing light appear on his flank. The next thing he knew, the blue-flame cutie mark appeared, and it has remained imprinted on him ever since.
Regardless, Aversion did realize that there were a few narrow silver linings in his life that he could appreciate... however, the struggled he faced had gotten to the point where he could no longer find satisfaction with the little things. He wanted more... and as it just so happened, there was one particular part of his life, still left in a void, that he was hoping to fill with one thing he has always desired since entering his adolescence...
Pretty long, huh? Don't worry; I haven't forgotten about Luna. I just feel that we should learn more about our OC here, since, y'know... we already know Luna's story. In any case, I hope to continue this story in a timely fashion... but school is starting back up again (ugh... -_-), so it may take a little longer. But I will continue to provide! Keep holding on...