After appearing in Saddle Arabia and being found by Ghyr Muhimm, it had taken Cloud Calculation two weeks to awaken. Seventeen hours later, the royal guard of Princess Luna, a Changeling by the name of Mawr, had been sent to retrieve him.

A few more days of rest was all Cloud had needed before he had become well enough to limp around the hut. While not fully healed, he used this progress to help with chores as a way of thanks towards Ghyr.

A week after that and Cloud was well enough to walk normally. The crossbow bolts had left scars, in the left side of his mouth his teeth were in terrible shape and the bruises on his face continued to be vibrant, but he was able to move and cast magic well enough.

Ghyr lived alone. The closest village was a few miles away, but he was relatively close to a reliable water source. Combining that with a small cactus farm he had been growing meant that he did not need to go to the village very often. As such, there had been no news of Cloud spreading outside of Ghyr’s hut.

This did not make Mawr’s job particularly easy.

It had taken almost ten days of wandering through the desert, chasing mirages and obliterating scorpions, but Mawr had finally found civilisation.

While in the desert, her survival strategy had been to transform into a Camel - another native species to Saddle Arabia - in order to survive the heat. While she had been far from danger of dehydration, Changelings were devoid of sweat glands, the heat had turned her chitin into an oven, slowly cooking her from the inside.

“Finally…” Mawr sighed. This is a small village, she thought, but news of a Pony should have spread like wildfire. With luck, I can find out where this guy’s been from here - or get a very rough idea of where to go, at least. First, though... Mawr was engulfed in green flames as she transformed back into her natural form. “That’s better.”

Though Changelings were able to stay in alternate forms for as long as they pleased, a constant slight discomfort could always be felt. As time went on, this discomfort would increase little by little. It would stop increasing at a certain point, but it would never fade, not in the slightest. The only remedy was to change back into their original forms. While not accurate to the sensation, this discomfort was dubbed by many as ‘the itch’.

With the itch no longer present, Mawr was better able to focus her thoughts.

I should find a social hub. This is a small town, so a tavern’s probably my best bet.

As she walked into town and looked around for a tavern, or the equivalent to it, Mawr noticed a lot of eyes watching her - more than she had expected. She narrowed her eyes.

I expected a little attention in a town this small, but this is too much... It isn’t uncommon for Changelings to be hired by traders in Saddle Arabia, so unless newcomers are a rarity there’s something else going on.

Watching her back with some discreet magic, Mawr continued deeper into the town.

Cloud and Ghyr were sitting at a small table outside of the hut, telling stories and drinking some cactus juice for lunch. The soup was as pleasant as it sounded.

“...And she blasted me with her magic,” Cloud finished. “Whatever she did, which was probably a powerful teleportation spell of some kind, sent me here. You know the rest.”

“For a Pony with a couple of months worth of memories, you sure have some interesting stories,” Ghyr remarked.

“Equestria gave me hell, but hell gives something to tell.”

“You think you’ll head back there?”

Cloud sighed. “I’m not sure. I mean, I was banished, so I’d probably be arrested if I even did, maybe even executed with how violent Celestia seemed, but…” He paused for a second. “Equestria is just one place in the world. I did a lot of stuff there since waking up, but made very little progress in finding out who I am. Twilight helped me discover more about my talent. She was a great friend, and yet the only person who’s shown any kindness towards me, discounting you, obviously. She’s the only genuine reason I have to go back.”

“You said that the Princess poisoned you with something. Don’t you want to find out why she did that? Maybe she had some big, evil plan of some kind.”

“I doubt it. Celestia’s problem is something… more basic. Boredom, maybe? Eternal life has gotta start messing with your head after a few thousand years or so."

“As for any ‘big, evil plan’,” Cloud continued, “there are Ponies stronger, smarter and more important than me figuring it out. I’m sure they’ll do fine without me.” Twilight doesn’t need me. After all the messes I caused I’d just hinder her more than help.

“What about your memories?” Ghyr asked. “You said it was a magic problem.”

“Yeah,” Cloud nodded, “it’s most likely because of a spell of some kind. The doctor I went to in Ponyville seemed to think so, at least, and Twilight agreed. After a couple of tests from her, of course.”

“Then isn’t Equestria the only place for you? It’s the most magical place in the world. Where else could you learn about magic? Or find a way to recover your memories?”

“I don’t know…” Cloud thought back to Princess Luna’s guards. “Changelings, maybe? They can use magic. It’s possible they have different kinds of magic.”

Ghyr shrugged. “I suppose.”

I don’t know much about them, so it’s possible they have magic from an entirely different evolved civilisation.

For a while the two were silent, save for the occasional sip of the cactus juice.

“Yeah,” said Cloud, after thinking for a while. “Yeah, I think Changeling’s are probably my next best bet. Do you have any idea where their homelands are?”

Ghyr shook his head. “I sure don’t.”

It shouldn’t be too hard to find out. Any decent library would have decent maps, or history books that could give me a good lead.

“Is there a library in that nearby village you mentioned?”

“There is, but I wouldn’t mention what you’re looking up to anyone while you’re in town. The locals are… less than accepting of non-Horse species. They should be fine with you, being a Pony and all, but…” Why is everyone always racist wherever I go? “Oh, and not too many Horses are fluent in Equestrian, as I am. Some speak it, but for the most part you’ll have to improvise in some way.”

“Alright.” Cloud stood up. “Thanks again for the hospitality, Ghyr. I literally owe you my life.”

Ghyr nodded. “Try not to die.”

Cloud closed his eyes, cleared his head and focused. After a moment, he summoned a Support Circle underneath himself, rose high into the air and flew off towards the village.

There was a Horse following Mawr. She could see him with her spell, trying not to act suspicious. Every turn she took, he soon took too.

Mawr sighed internally. No point in putting this off…

She took a quick turn, heading down an alleyway between a couple of buildings and stopped, waiting for him to follow. Sure enough, he did. He slowed for a moment as he noticed her watching him, but sneered when he realised where they were.

“[We don’t like your kind here, Changeling,]” he sneered. He spoke in Saddline, the Saddle Arabian language.

This wasn’t a problem for Mawr, as she was fluent in almost all current languages in the world. Another perk of being a shapeshifter was having more comprehension of other cultures, and a Changeling could learn a new language in mere months.

It was because of this that Mawr was fully ready and able to provide an appropriate response:

“[Eat shit and die,]” she retorted.

The Horse growled. “[You’re gonna regret you said that, you damn bug!]” He ran at Mawr, but she easily sidestepped him, confused him with a disorientation spell, pulled him into a headlock and snapped his neck.

After throwing his body into a nearby pile of garbage, she took on his form before leaving the alley and continuing down the street - now able to blend with the crowd.

Mawr sighed internally once again.

...And the itch returns.