Pipsqueak stared at his baggage hesitantly. This was the fifth time he'd changed homes, and it wasn't any growing easier. Each house was different, and all were equally unfamiliar. The layout was wrong. The noises strange. The ceilings were foreign. The ponies who lived them in were different too. Some were sympathetic, and others were annoyed. Many of them didn't have the time to deal with him, and when they did they seemed to spend too much time making sure he was alright. It hurt, without a doubt, he had no problem admitting that to himself, at least, but he was a big colt, not some little baby that needed constant attention! Being treated special because of what had happened didn't help any either.

He didn't like it. All it did was remind him of the accident and cause trouble with the other foals around town. They were jealous of the special treatment he was given, and most tended to pick on him as a result. Even Applebloom had been aggravated by the way her siblings and grandmother acted around him when he'd stayed at their farm. Though she thankfully hadn't been spiteful enough to bully him.

Now, he was leaving the care of the local mailmare, Derpy Hooves, for Lyra and Bonbon. The young colt still didn't know what a "filly fooler" was, but he did know the two mares seemed to like each other very much. The little pinto brown pony was never able to make much more sense of it than that, but it mattered little to him. It was only a mild curiosity given Derpy's firm insistence he not call them that. "Pipsqueak, are you ready?" His current guardian called in a friendly tone.

Shaking off his hesitance, the earth colt hastily grabbed the handle of his suitcase in his mouth, and with an effort he started to tug it away. It was a bit heavy for him, but with a minimal amount of grunts her managed to haul his luggage out of the guest room to the foyer. Derpy watched him sympathetically with her off-center eyes, and before he'd reached her she trotted towards her charge and took the handle from him. Backing her plot up against it, the slate-grey pegasus levered the suitcase onto her back, as she stood back up. It was indeed a little heavy, but her job had long ago made the single-mother used to carrying heavy packages around, among other things.

Pipsqueak sat down with a huff. "I had that." He stated a little agitatedly.

"Aww, it's no trouble, Pipsqueak. Besides, I wouldn't be a good host if I didn't lend you a hoof when you needed it." Derpy brushed off with a kind smile.

Pip crossed his forelegs and glared at the ground to avoid staring so meanly at the well meaning pegasus. This was just more special treatment. "I didn't need help." He grumbled under his breath.

Either his complaint went unheard or Derpy ignored it, as the pegasus made no indication of having heard the colt. Instead, she merely trotted over to the door and opened it. "Shall we then?" She asked the grumpy pony.

With a brief grimace, Pipsqueak rose to his hooves and cantered out the door. He halted once he was off the mare's stoop and looked over the streets of Ponyville, while she locked her home behind them. As always, the dirt paths that made up the small town's roads were relatively busy but far from the bustling Pip remembered from his home town of Trottingham. The greetings most ponies extended one another was still something he was growing used to. Everypony knowing each other was odd, and it had always made him a little uncomfortable, now moreso than ever. Derpy trotted by him, having finished securing her home, and flashed him a small smile to encourage him. The pinto colt sighed, knowing it was time to move to another house, and together they made their way through town.

It wasn't too far to Bonbon and Lyra's home. Though to Pip the distance mattered little. It was the same monotonous trip he'd made every week for the last month. He tried to ignore it, but every time there were always those stares. They weren't done out of rudeness, and not everypony even acknowledged him. Yet every so often he would see it. Somepony staring at him with that same stinging pity. He wished for nothing more than for them to stop. Sympathy did him no good. How could feeling sorry for him help?! All of them knew what happened, but none of them bothered to really help! Why should they, though? He was just the orphaned son of that strange new couple that moved into town last year! What was he to them?

The earth colt fought off the tears threatening to spill out his eyes, and did his best to put on a determined face. He wouldn't let them see him hurt. His pain wasn't a spectacle for them to gawk at. "Are you excited, Pipsqueak?" Derpy asked, interrupting his thoughts.

The little pony's tough facade fell in surprise at the confusing question. "W...what for?" He asked.

"'Cause, Bon Bon makes candy for a living! All the sweets you can eat, huh? Huh?" Derpy pointed out in the silly voice that she always did for Dinky.

Pip bit back his immediate response. She was trying to distract him, and he didn't appreciate it. As if sweets were enough to make him forget. "I don't really have a sweet tooth." He lied, no one ate as much candy as he did on Nightmare Night.

"Oh, well, what about Lyra? I'm sure your curiosity is burning to be sated." The pegasus continued in her attempt to cheer the colt up.

Pipsqueak couldn't help but furrow his brows at that. All the parents told their foals to stay away from Ms. Hearstrings because she was "strange." He'd never been explained why, and aside from the manner in which she sat she didn't seem that odd. Halting this train of thought, he responded, "No. I'm not interested in the least."

Derpy frowned, but she didn't have much of a chance to follow up on the comment. For they shortly reached Pipsqueak's home for the week. The mailmare knocked on the door, and after only a moment's wait it was answered by a cream mare whose mane and tail were evenly split down the middle between dark blue and bubblegum pink. "Oh, Derpy, I wasn't expecting you this early." She greeted in an oddly hoarse voice.

"My shift in an hour, so I wanted to bring Pipsqueak over before it became a problem." The grey mare explained. "Um, Bon Bon, what's wrong with your voice?"

"Huh?! O-oh! Same old same old!" She brushed off with a blush.

Derpy Hooves quirked a brow for second. Abruptly her eyes widened, and she settled a surprisingly harsh, given her eyes, stare upon the candy-maker. "I expect you will be tactful around your guest, and go to bed on time." She snapped in that beat-around-the-bush type speech grownups used sometimes, like when you asked where babies came from.

"Y-yes, of course! W-we wouldn't do anything to...bother Pipsqueak." Bon Bon replied ambiguously, folding her ears back at Derpy's anger.

Pip had to hold back his own agitation at the confusing conversation, but it was fortunately over. Derpy snorted, before she turned to the young earth pony, her features softening, and leaned down to his eye level. "Now, you be good for Bon Bon and Lyra, alright?" She asked.

With a reluctant sigh, the colt nodded and answered, "Yes, ma'am."

"Good." Derpy replied with a friendly smile, and sat down to offload her former-charge's suitcase.

Once that was down, she gave the young foal a firm hug and waved the two goodbye, before she went on her way. Pip watched her go briefly, but Bon Bon caught his attention by clearing her throat. "Come on inside. I'll show you to your room, so you can get settled in." She rasped.

With no other choice, Pipsqueak bit into the handle of his suitcase and started dragging it inside. He hoped it wouldn't be far to the guest room, as he wanted to be alone for a bit. To his surprise, however, Bon Bon lead him to a couch in the living room. "Sorry. We only have one bedroom. Lyra's made the only other option into her...lab." She warned apologized. "You'll have to sleep on the couch for now. I hope that'll be alright."

"It's fine." Pipsqueak mumbled round the handle in his mouth, and pulled the baggage down onto its side with a grunt.

It wasn't really fine, but he didn't have a right to complain. The mares taking him in this week hadn't done anything wrong. Though he wished they had. If he could scream it might make him feel better. "Right, well, make yourself at home. I'll be in the kitchen making my next batch of candy for the Cakes. Lyra's in her lab down the hall, but it's best if you stay out of there. Our bedroom is right across from her lab. Is there anything you need, before I leave you alone?" Bon Bon asked.

"No." Pip answered shortly, as he unzipped his suitcase and started taking the things he cared about out.

"Oh, alright. You know where I'll be if you need me." The cream mare rasped uncertainly, but only hesitated a moment before leaving the colt to his own devices.

The earth foal didn't respond. He was more focused on fishing out the things that mattered from his luggage, sentimental things. A story book his mother used to read to him every night, his favorite in the collection being the legend of the Big Bad Wolf, a picture of his first Nightmare Night last year, a special stuffed doll of the Princess his mother had made for him, a notebook full of the tales Pipsqueak's father used to tell him about his adventures on the high seas as a pirate. Something which the pinto colt was still young enough to believe, and had eagerly filled the notebook up with. The only things he brought out of the suitcase were things that meant something to him. He didn't want his essentials cluttering up the room.

As he reached into the bag one last time his teeth clacked against something hard. Pulling it out into the light, he already knew what it was, but once he set it down on the coffee table he still stared at it. It was a framed photograph of his parents and him. He was just a newborn in it, cradled in his mother's forelegs. They appeared so happy, even though he looked like he was about to cry. Perhaps he still was a baby. Because he felt tears well up in his eyes, and he sniffed more than once.

He couldn't believe it. It was still so hard to accept. He wished his parents hadn't gone to that tradeshow in Las Pegasus. He wished his Dad had a different job. He wished they'd missed that train. If any of those things were true, or all of them, then they wouldn't have been on that train. They wouldn't be...

The slam of a door snapped Pipsqueak out of it, and he quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. Turning, he saw a familiar mint unicorn with a streak of white in her mane and tail come out of the hall in the back of the house. She stretched, and her back popped rather loudly, making the earth colt flinch. He never would have thought a pony of her age would have back issues. Maybe it had something to do with her lab? What did she experiment with anyway? He wasn't if sure he wanted to know.

With a distant look, Lyra Heartstings trotted past Pip for the kitchen but abruptly froze mid-step. Slowly, she turned, and she eyed the colt oddly. "Uh...Bon Bon?" She called.

"Yes?" Came the distant answer from the kitchen.

"What's this little foal doing here?" Lyra asked loudly.

"What? That's Pipsqueak! It's our turn to look after him, remember?" Bon Bon coughed, yelling not doing her strained voice any good.

"Oh....Oh!" Lyra exclaimed, as the memory surged back to her. "How you doing little guy?"

Pip bit his lip to keep from saying something he'd regret. This pony had just completely forgotten about him, and then expected him to be all friendly? It wasn't a good impression to say the least. Lyra didn't seem phased by the silence, though, and trotted up to colt's side. She did not sit beside him, but climbed onto the couch to sit in that awful awkward way she always did, perhaps which was the source of her back problems. Unbidden, a white glow surrounded Pipsqueak and lifted him into the air. Panicking at the involuntary levitation, he began to buck and struggle, trying free himself from the awkward weightlessness. Lyra, once again, seemed oblivious, as she set Pipsqueak beside her and ruffled his messy brown mane in what she undoubtedly thought was a friendly manner. The young earth pony fumed and blushed at the continual indignities, which began to try even his ordinarily friendly demeanor, something that had been under a lot of strain recently. However, he was given no chance to vent. "So what'cha got here?" Lyra wondered, as she levitated his story book over. "Ooh! Faustian Tales for Foals! This is a classic! My favorite story's The Last Human."

"I don't care what your favorite story is!" Pip growled through grit teeth. "Put it down!"

The minty unicorn appeared not to hear him, as she quickly skipped through the pages until she found her story. "Here it is! Aw, what? This is the crappy Equish translation, not the original Ancient Unicretian! You can hardly capture any of Queen Faust's unique prose in this!" The air-headed mare groaned in disappointment.

"I don't care! It's MY book! Now put it down!" Pipsqueak finally yelled, glaring at the mint mare.

Lyra stared at the colt in surprise and blinked several times. Carefully, she levitated the storybook back onto the table and climbed off the couch. "Okay, no need to have a hissy." She said calmingly.

"Lyra? What's going on in there?" Bon Bon called.

"It's...It's nothing Bonny! Don't worry about it!" Lyra shouted back, and cautiously turned around to canter out of sight, heading for the kitchen.

The earth foal stood on the couch, heaving from his outburst, for several minutes after Lyra had left, before he finally sat down. His gaze turned to the ground. Screaming didn't make him feel better like he'd thought. He knew he shouldn't have done that. These two mares were taking care of him for nothing. But they were just like everyone else. They just didn't get it. No one got it. Sadly, his gaze turned to the small stuffed Luna on the table. She would've gotten it. With a grunt, the pinto colt pushed himself off the couch and grabbed the toy. He stared at it for only a few seconds longer, before hugging it tightly and sniffing again.

The flamboyantly dressed azure unicorn huffed, as she rested on her on the front of her carriage. She had no idea why she'd been asked to meet her superior out in the outskirts of this horrid forest. They weren't really covert. They couldn't be, so sneaking and secrecy shouldn't be required. If they were she may not have been able to join. After all, her GREAT and MAGNIFICENT style was quite attention grabbing. Why, she was practically a celebrity!

Proudly, the Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon flicked her silvery blue mane with hoof. "Enjoying yourself, Recruit?" A minorly amused voice asked.

Trixie jumped and spun around in surprise. Before her stood a surprisingly handsome batpony. While he shared the grey coat almost unanimous to his breed, he was far less gruff and bulky than most, but he stood quite tall instead. The slender black-maned stallion was dressed in the standard uniform of their organization. A smooth navy blue dress jacket that almost looked like a gryphon soldier's formal wear, black dress pants, and fine horseshoes. The jacket was quite plain except for its silvery lining and buttons, and a high collar that rose straight up and surrounded the batpony's neck.

"H-how dare you sneak up on Trixie, Nightshade?!" The Showmare exclaimed.

"That's 'Sir' to you, Recruit." The batpony corrected calmly. "Now, I trust the situation is truly in need of our intervention?"

Trixie scoffed at the question, "Ha! Trixie would not have reported it if we were not needed!"

The batpony shook his head and asked, "Then perhaps you can fill me in, Recruit?"

"Of course, Sir." Trixie responded with a showy bow, smirking at demonstrating what she saw as a humble show of respect. "The foal in question has been orphaned for a little over a month now. He moved to Ponyville with his family last year, so the ponies of the town have very little familiarity or attachment to him. Two months ago, his parents left on a business trip to Las Pegasus, putting him in the care of the Apple family for the duration. Unfortunately, the train they took on the return trip crashed. Most of its passengers survived. The foal's parents were among the few casualties."

"I see, and Ponyville does not have an orphanage?" Nightshade questioned.

"Trixie was just about to get to that!" The azure mare protested, receiving a belittling look from the batpony in response. "U-uh...um, Sir!"

"Continue then." The stallion ordered with a spin of his forehoof.

Clearing her throat, Trixie resumed her summary, "Since Ponyville has no proper way to deal with orphans, the foal was left in an uncertain situation. Rather than handle things properly, the local government brushed the issue aside with a poor solution. They have been moving the foal to a different home of random choice each week. Presumably, this would continue until the foal was of age."

Nightshade grunted and shook his head at the situation. "This is unacceptable. I shall see to it that Her Grace learns of the irresponsibility of the town government. For now, though, we have a job to do. Good Job, Recruit. You properly analyzed a situation requiring our action. Now let's get to work. What is this foal's name?" He asked.

"Pipsqueak, sir. He's a white and brown pinto earth pony of five years. Today he should have moved to a new home, but I haven't been into town for the last week. So I'm unsure who has him." Trixie answered proudly, full of herself from the praise.

"We'll head to town hall first, then. We can handle the legal issues and find out where he is there. Go put your uniform on." Nightshade instructed.

"W-what?! But Trixie's cape and hat are glorious enough! Why must she change?" Trixie blurted in surprise.

"This is official business, Recruit. You must represent your organization. Now, go find the uniform we gave you and dress." The batpony ordered firmly.

With an exaggerated huff, Trixie hopped off her carriage, and walked around it to the entrance at its rear. She would NOT diminish her brilliance any. How else would she be recognized for the wondrous mare that she was? No, she would go in uniform, she didn't have much choice, but who said she could only wear that?

Digging through her chest of belongings, she pulled out the jacket and pants and studied them for the moment. This would not be the best, ...but it would have to do. The magician only removed her star spangled cape and hat long enough to slip on her formal uniform. Once dressed, the unicorn wasted no time in replacing her signature clothing. Proudly, the mare exited her carriage, and walked back around to join her superior officer. However, her disposition was destroyed when Nightshade began laughing at the sight of her. Trixie blushed at the reaction, and her jaw moved noiselessly for a moment. "S-stop laughing at Trixie!" She demanded.

The stallion did not comply immediately, but only stopped after several minutes. With a trembling grin, he held back a chuckle to reply, "If you want to go dressed like that, Ms. Lulamoon, that's your choice. I shall find it infinitely amusing."

Trixie growled and fumed at the insult, but as her superior officer turned to head into town she was robbed of any chance to comeback at him, instead being forced to follow.

It wasn't far to Ponyville. The Showmare distrusted the forest greatly, especially after her first visit to this town, and so she had parked her carriage only deep enough in that they would not be spotted by a casual observer. It took only a few minutes before they were walking the streets of the little hamlet. Needless to say, they attracted some attention, even if only mild curiosity. Two strange, mostly, well-dressed ponies coming into town did not go unnoticed. Though much to Trixie's frustration she noticed several ponies holding in laughter, as she passed. The mare tried to hide her blush at the insult of it all, but she was extremely grateful when they arrived at Town Hall and left the streets. She was starting to think she might have made a mistake, but she refused to admit it.

The governmental building was not especially larger than any other building in Ponyville save for its height. For the seat of the Mayor was a four story structure with three balconies going round-about it. Each floor served a specific purpose. The top floor was the Mayor's office. The third was where court was held. The second was for meetings of the town council, and the bottom was a reception and waiting area.

Once inside, Nightshade wasted no time in approaching the Receptionist, despite her clearly being busy with something. "Excuse me, Ma'am, we're hear to see the Mayor." He spoke, grabbing her attention.

The pegasus mare looked up from what she was writing, and dropped the pencil out of her mouth when she saw what breed of pony was speaking to her. In an attempt to be professional, the Receptionist spoke with veiled disdain, "Mayor Mare is busy today, and has cancelled all appointments, neither is she taking any."

"Pah!" Trixie scoffed, attracting the pegasus' attention. "WE are a part of a government agency directly under the crown, and we speak and act with authority far greater than that of your dingy little town! The Mayor has no choice, but to see us!"

Nightshade shot his subordinate a glare for the attitude, before clearing his throat and interjecting, "As overzealous as Ms. Lulamoon may be, she speaks the truth. Our agency is under the direct control of the princesses, one in particular, and as such we have authority far higher than that of your local government. If the Mayor is not seeing someone else then she can make time to see us. We will be out of her mane shortly. We merely have some matters that we must settle."

The Receptionist looked doubtful for a moment but relented. Reluctantly she turned on the intercom. "Ms. Mayor?" She asked.

"Yes? What is it?" Came back the voice of a middle-aged mare.

"Two government agents are here to see you. I don't know what for, but I didn't want to take any risks. They'll be coming up shortly." The pegasus explained.

A sigh came through the machine, and the Mayor responded, "I understand. Thank you for the warning, dear."

After turning the intercom back off, the Receptionist grunted, "The Mayor will see you now, sir"

Ignoring the bite in the pegasus' tone, Nightshade gave her a pleasant smile and proceeded for the stairs, Trixie hot on his heels.

"Aren't you going to eat, Pipsqueak?" Bon Bon rasped.

"No." Pip answered.

The young colt had spent his whole day moping. Much to the concern of Bon Bon and Lyra most of his time was spent either staring out the window hugging his stuffed doll or staring at the picture of his family. On the former account, the mares tried to encourage him to go outside and play, but he'd staunchly refused. Now, as the sun was setting, he was refusing to eat dinner.

"Come on, you have to eat something." The cream mare urged.

"No." The earth foal insisted.

Lyra sighed exasperatedly, and snatched the colt up in her magic. "Come on kid. I'm tired of arguing. You're eating." She stated plainly, but upon being wrapped up in the alien white glow once more Pipsqueak began to yell and panic.

"Lyra, someone's gonna hear!" Bon Bon fussed.

The mint mare aggravatedly dropped their temporary charge back onto the couch. "Fine. You can keep arguing with the squirt, but I'm too hungry to keep this up! If he wants to starve, let him! I'm going to eat!" She retorted, her stomach growling in agreement, and stormed off into the kitchen.

The earth mare watched her go sadly, before turning back to the sulking colt. "Please, Pipsqueak. Just come eat." She begged tiredly.

"No. I just want to sleep. Leave me alone." Pip retorted.

Uneasily, the cream mare acquiesced, leaving the pinto pony to his thoughts. The foal stared out the window beside the couch forlornly. Today had not been a good day. No day since he'd lost his parents had been a good one, and the longer it went the tougher it became. Wasn't it supposed to grow easier? It sure didn't seem like it. Every day that went by it became harder for him to act normal, harder to not snap or sit and grieve like now. Were things ever going to change? When would they start getting better?

Once the sun was beyond the horizon, the moon shot up into the sky to light up the night. The foal admired the beautiful white ball in the sky mournfully. He'd never been particularly interested in either day or night, but he'd gained a lot of adoration for the Night herself after meeting her. He wondered what she was doing now. If she ever intended to come back to Ponyville. Could she help him in anyway?

There was a knock on the door, but Pipsqueak ignored it. He was vaguely aware of someone walking by to answer it. It was only when they started speaking to whoever was at the door that he bothered to pay attention. "Yes?" Bon Bon asked.

"Ms. Bon Bon, I presume?" A smooth male voice guessed.

"I am. What's this about?" The earth mare questioned again.

"My name is Nightshade. This is my associate, Trixie Lulamoon--" The stallion tried to explain.

However, he was interrupted by a voice that Pipsqueak vaguely recognized, "The Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon!"

After a second of silence, the stallion continued, "We're with the LAA."

Author's Note

Hello everyone! It's been awhile since I've written anything, but here I am. I hope you'll enjoy this story. I don't have much to say on it right now, unlike I usually do, but that's because I feel more confident about the way I've written things. I believe they can be understood quite well on their own. Any questions I will gladly answer, though.

To those wondering about True Colors, at this time I have no intention of yet returning to it. I do, however, hope you will enjoy this story, and what I intend to do with it. To any worried I may abandon this, I assure you that I will not. Chances are this will be shorter than what I've written of True Colors already, and I have a solid plan and set routine for writing now. So you will see this story complete. Have no doubts about that.

Now, please, tell me what you think.