[1] - Daddy Won't You Please Come Home?
"You can't be serious, do you have any idea what they do to changelings that try to leave? That's not what I want for you, and it's not what your father would want for you. Besides, what makes you think you could just waltz into Equestria and be completely accepted, especially after what the Queen did at Canterlot? *sigh* Look, you're an Adult now, so I can't stop you, and while I won't report you missing, it's not going to be long before they realize something's up. You're a smart girl, so please, I urge you make the right choice and just stay home. I know life here isn't perfect, but it's a life nonetheless, because out there, you'll have a lot more to worry about than your father being missing," said Caustic's mother.
"I understand. I just miss him so much, I don't know what to do, and it worries me, not knowing whether he is even alive or not," Caustic added.
"I know, dear. I miss him too, but I'm sure wherever he is, he is doing something he is very passionate about. He would have to be, to just leave without a word like that. Now, if I were you, I'd go to bed, because you know how these curfews are. You know what they say, Sleep early, Work early," her mother replied.
"Alright, I'll see you at breakfast, goodnight," she said, heading up the rickety stairs of the small hut, to sleep.
Her eyes slowly opened, feeling heavy from last night's sleep, or lack thereof. The roof of the forest hung over her like a constant reminder that she was more than far away from home. She had decided to camp and sleep a small ways from the Equestrian border, to go across in the morning. She had traveled around the border to a more western gate, to not seem suspicious, as southern gates are specifically instructed to check for changelings, or so she heard. Today was the day that her luck and skill would be tested. She had thought over her plan to get across multiple times, but the nervousness of actually doing it was almost unbearable.
She groaned as she got up off of the forest floor and gathered her things, changing into her pony form, which was a unicorn with black hair, a white coat, emerald eyes, and a cutie mark of a test tube. It was believable enough. She began to walk towards the border checkpoint, into the sight of 2 ponies guarding it, and one to decide who gets in and who doesn't. As she approached, she was stopped by the inspector.
"Hello there, Please state your business in Equestria," the pony stated, seeming friendly enough.
"I am only passing through on my way to the Griffon Kingdom, I am being sent there to deliver a message," said Caustic, trying to suppress nervousness in her tone.
"Alright then, I will also require some sort of identification. Things have been a little paranoid around here recently, so we have to check identification, Understand?" asked the pony.
"Yes, that is perfectly reasonable, I understand," she added, before pulling out a very generic looking I.D. card with information as to Name, Height, Weight, etc. and handing it to the pony.
"Alright, let's see here... It looks like we have all the information we need here. Welcome to Equestria, We hope you enjoy your stay and we ask that you do not disturb the peace," the pony said with a smile, before opening the gate.
"Thank you," said Caustic, before walking through the gate, making sure she had everything.
As she was heading along the path, feeling relieved, she noticed a small train station surrounded by some trees. Since there were no other landmarks she could see from here besides the border, she decided to head on over and see if she could take a ride to somewhere more lively. She stepped onto the platform, and up to the pony who seemed to be running the place.
"Hello, I was wondering if I could take the train to somewhere?" asked Caustic.
"Yes, Of course, do you have a ticket?" the pony replied.
"...No, I don't. How do I get one?" said Caustic, worried she might have to just walk like she had for weeks getting here.
"Well, you have to buy one with bits, darling," he answered.
"I assume that's the currency here in Equestria?" Caustic inquired.
"Yes, That would be correct. I'll tell you what, since you don't appear to have any money, I'll help you out if you help me. There's a pony here, Snow is his nickname. Some doctor-type pony with a violet coat and orange mane and tail. He has a package that I need you to give to him. I'm too busy over here to deliver it myself, so if you'll take this to him, I'll give you a ticket to anywhere of your choosing. Simple, right?" he replied.
"Yes, thank you very much, I appreciate it," said Caustic, Smiling.
"No problem, Thank you," said the pony as he handed her the package.
"Oh, by the way, have you seen my father come through here? Grey mane and tail, a dark blue coat, and emerald eyes?" Caustic asked while putting the package in her bag, hoping for some kind of information.
"Sorry miss, I can't say I have," replied the worker.
"It's alright," said Caustic.
With the package in her bag, she looked around at the 10 or so ponies waiting at the station, one of them matching the description given by the worker. She went over to the pony, carrying the package in her saddlebag. He was quite a bit taller than her, and seemed incredibly bored by the waiting at the station.
"Hello. Snow, is it?" asked Caustic.
"Yes, and who might you be?" replied Snow.
"I'm Caustic Shift, and I've been sent to deliver a package to you that arrived at this train station for you to pick up." Caustic said before taking the package out of her saddlebag and handing it to him.
"Ah, thank you. Here's some money for the trouble. I noticed you coming through that border gate, so you must need some kind of money to get started here," Snow replied before handing her 100 bits.
"Oh, thank you, I appreciate it!" Caustic answered happily.
"No problem, Have a good one," Snow said before going back to reading a book.
She walked back over to the worker, putting the bits in her bag before speaking to him.
"I did that errand for you," said Caustic.
"Wonderful! Where to?" asked the pony.
Thinking on it for a moment, she realized she doesn't know the names of any towns or cities here.
"Well, what is there? I'm looking for anything from a settlement to a city," Caustic replied.
"Well, the shortest rides from here are Ponyville and Canterlot. You could also try your luck in Las Pegasus. If you're willing to go a little further, there's the cities of Vanhoover, Baltimare, Manehattan, and Fillydelphia. Or if you want a small town, there's Appaloosa or Dodge junction," he answered.
"I think I'll head to Baltimare," Caustic decided after a bit of thought.
"Excellent, here's your ticket. Enjoy the ride!" the pony said before handing her the ticket.
"Thank you," Caustic smiled, before sitting to wait for the train.
It wasn't long before the train stopped at the station. Everyone boarded and handed the tickets to the worker on board. They headed to their seats, and Caustic sat alone in a booth. It was going to be a long ride, and so she decided to kill some time by napping.
Author's Note
My first chapter of the first story I have ever written. Feedback is appreciated, and I apologize in advance for any errors or boring/cliché plot points. I'm trying to keep this as original as possible while still making it interesting to read. I look forward to your comments and criticism, so if you have anything to say one way or the other, or any suggestions as to the story, I'm open to any ideas. I am writing this as I go, so I really have no plans as to where to take the story other than wherever I write it. I want to make this story as entertaining to read for you guys as it is entertaining to write for me.
Thanks for reading.
(On a side note, if any artists want to try their hand at a better cover for this story, feel free to send them in. I whipped this one up in about 15 minutes in Paint.NET, so any of you are free to try your hand at doing a better cover. I'll credit you in the description if you want. Also, anyone who would like to proofread can PM me and i'll reply as soon as I can.)
"Sweetie, I'm not going to be around to hold your hoof forever. You need to know these things to function on your own, like how to disguise yourself around ponies. If you don't even know how to act around ponies, what are you going to do if you get picked to go out on a mission? I know you don't like the way things work around here, I don't think any of us do. But it's ignorant to pretend like you won't be chosen at some point. Sure, there's a chance you won't be picked, but you can't count on it to carry you through your life. I'm only trying to prepare you for the future, so that you can live on your own. What kind of father would I be if I didn't? Now come on, let's do at least a half hour of practice. We can go out to have fun in the park afterwards, sound alright?" Caustic's father smiled.
"Alright, Dad. I understand," Caustic replied, smiling back.
"Good. Now, repeat after me sweetie..."
She woke up on the train to an announcement that they'd arrive within the next 15 minutes, and to pack your things. Yawning, she took her bag and made sure everything was in it before slinging it over her shoulder. Looking out the window, she gazed in awe at the tall buildings and sprawling urban landscape. It was like nothing she had ever heard of, much less seen. The train soon arrived at the station, and she got out of her seat, exiting the train.
As she stepped out, there were ponies everywhere, more than she'd seen in her life, all at once. Holding back her nervousness, she stepped off of the platform, acting as the other ponies did. As the train was leaving the station, she noticed someone begging for money. Trotting over, she dropped 5 bits into the can.
"Thank you so much, miss. You have no idea how much this means to me," the pony smiled.
"You're welcome, it's no problem at all. Have you seen my father by any chance? Grey mane and tail, a dark blue coat, and emerald eyes?" asked Caustic.
"No, I can't say I have. Try talking to the scribe at the town hall, He keeps tabs on who passes through town. I wish I could help you more, miss," the pony said, feeling a little guilt that he couldn't help her more.
"It's quite alright. You've already helped me a lot with that little bit of information." Caustic smiled to him.
"Well, if you say so. The town hall's that building over there," the pony replied, smiling back and pointing.
"Thank you, I hope things get better for you," Caustic said as she looked over to the town hall building.
"No need to thank me, If anything I should thank you, You've helped me more today than anyone has this entire week," the pony answered as they waved goodbye to each other.
Walking inside the town hall, she looked around at the different offices. There were doors for Ambassadors, The mayor, and a lot of other civic workers. Noticing the Scribe's Office, she trotted over and knocked on the door.
"Coming," a pony said behind the door before opening it. "Yes?"
"I was told you were the pony to talk to if I wanted to find out if my father passed through here," Caustic asked.
"Correct, have a seat," the pony replied before sitting at her desk and taking off her glasses. "Now, what does he look like? I can look through my records," the pony added.
"He has a grey mane and tail, a dark blue coat, and emerald eyes. His name is Midnight Blue," Caustic answered.
"Alright, just a second," the pony said, flipping through the records. "Yes, He was here a few weeks ago, I saw him. He was headed to Canterlot if I recall. Something about trying a new solution to an old problem," the pony added.
"Thank you," Caustic replied, getting up and leaving the office.
She trotted out of the town hall, and noticed it was getting dark outside. She hurried back to the train station, quickly getting a ticket to Canterlot and getting in the train before it left. She sat down in her seat, and noticed a familiar face across from her, reading a book.
"..Snow?" asked Caustic.
"Hm? Oh, hello there. Caustic Shift was it?" he replied.
"Yes, it was. Quite a coincidence seeing each other again, right? If I didn't know better, I'd say you're following me," Caustic added jokingly.
"Well, if you did know better, you'd realize I am following you," Snow said with a smirk.
She paused for a moment, worrying that he was a spy from the hive sent to bring her back.
"What? Why are you following me?" She asked, nervously.
"Now, no need to worry. I'm following you to protect you. I was hired. Remember that train station package? That was the payment. Your old man told me to guard you with my life, and that he'd pay me whatever it took. He's a smart one, predicting you coming here like this," Snow replied in a calming tone.
"That actually doesn't surprise me, it sounds like something he'd do. But what made him trust you enough for this?" asked Caustic.
"Your dad and I have worked together here and there in the past thinking of ways to make peace between Equestria and the Changelings. Whatever brought him back here though, I have no idea. He gave up on it a little bit after you were born. He seemed to be incredibly confident that he had a way to do it this time, though. Also, while I was following you, I saw some changeling spies following you as well. I did what I could to deter them and throw them off, but in the end, I thought it was best if you knew I was following you," Snow said, calmly closing his book and putting it away.
"I see, Thank you for being honest. This is a lot to take in, so I'm going to get some rest, wake me up when we are almost to Canterlot," Caustic replied, before laying on the seat and sleeping.
"Alright then, Will do," Snow said, opening his book again and reading.
Author's Note
I already detailed some authors notes in the first chapter, so I'll keep it simple here. Any suggestions are appreciated, and if you want to make a new cover for the story, I'll credit you.
