Feather Paw's Destiny

"You're staying with us!" she announce, "I'm so sorry we---" she stop but I know what she is going to say and I just smile, knowing that I wasn't going anywhere for a long time.

"Yeah kiddo, you're actually not bad!" He replies patting my head.

"Thanks for giving me another chance" I reply smiling at both of them knowing there is somepony out there who care for me and I just have to find them.

"What do you want to get for dinner" Bright Wish ask, "we could go for Chinese food or pizza or anything you want."

I stand there thinking for a moment.

"Feather Paw? Feather Paw?? Feather Paw? FEATHER PAW!!!"

I wake up immediately follow by the sound of heavy breathing, I look up and who stand before me. You'd never guess who, Scarred Snow. I was hoping if I stay still and didn't move he wouldn't see me like the Wendigo in my game.

"Get up!" Scarred shout, "we're on a very strict time limit right now! Getting to your appointment on time at the orphanage and then dropping you off there!"

"Ugh" I reply "fine, I'm up. Let me just put a comb through my hair" I walk over to the vanity where my comb sat but then remember it’s in my bag. So I rush over to my bag and use my magic to comb my hair. I then put my backpack on and walk downstairs escort by Scarred Snow and Bright Wish, who is waiting by the stairs.

“Why are you doing this?” I ask looking up at them both.

Bright Wish sigh and look at her husband "We do it not because we don't love you. It’s because we're running low on money and we've got our personal stuff that we need to deal with."

"Oh okay." I say looking down and trying not to cry.

"Okay, let’s go. We've got to get you there by seven forty five. It’s seven twenty eight." Scarred Snow interrupt.

We walk out of the house and I look back once more and in my head said bye to the house. The house with the blue door.

On our way nopony said much. Bright Wish is the first to break the silence "I think you'll like it there."

"You think.?" I ask, "I mean honestly, I could compare you to my "So-called family" you're just like them! Except just a bit better!”

"What do you mean. We love you but we can't afford to take care of you, your hamster and ourselves" Bright Wish replies.

"Right there!" I yell "That's what I mean! They act like they love you, they act like they'll be there forever and then one day they'll kick you out and keep their love with them leaving their twelve year old child to fend for herself and her brother" I couldn't see straight anymore "I know what it's like to be in an orphanage. I know, you know why? Because I was there for the first four years of my life!" I start walking again the pavement then became a blob. I didn't even look like anything anymore but I kept walking away remembering to keep twelve hooves steps ahead of them. When the orphanage came into view I run. I run to the door, the red door.

Ever so carefully I open the door trying not to be seen or heard, I thought maybe I could get in, find my age group, sneak in and have them think I was always here. My thought shortly faded as I walk into a room that look like a play area when you go to the doctor's office to keep the little foals busy while you check in. I'm walking around inspecting every element of the room when Scarred Snow and Bright Wish came in, they look at each other than at the room I’m standing in and continue on into the next room which was a check-in office.

"Hello how may I help you today?" the pony behind the desk ask.

"Hi, we’re here to drop off a child into your care" Bright Wish replies.

"Is she a returning child?"

"No---"

"Then please take a seat in the other room and fill out this waver" She give it to Bright Wish and look away "Oh I'm sorry, but there are no pets allowed in the orphanage" little have I known she is talking to me and the mini cage on top of all my stuff. I walk away not listening to what she have to say, let alone even acknowledge that she said something.

I walk into the other room and plop myself down on a seat next to Bright Wish and look over her shoulder as she writes. She ask me a couple of questions here and there, some of them that I couldn't answer. I walk around the room some more and inspect things that I didn't see before, they have walk in. Meanwhile they are sitting in their chairs whispering, I pretend to look distract and absent-mind while they talk. I ponder thinking why would they do this? There has to be more to this, and what happen to Scarred Snow when he is a kid? The questions tug and nag at me for a long time until I decide, I was NOT going to be mistaken for a coward. I’m going to ask him before they leave.

The form was at least four pages long and in addition to that they both had to read, agree and sign a contract. When they turn the form in that's when they can leave me here to live alone for the rest of my life. I’m constantly looking over Bright Wishes’ shoulder to check the information they put down. I’m also head with Bright Wish when she heads to the main desk to ask a question, considering they don't have my adoption papers some of the questions. I'm supposed to know, that I don't, but I know that's not my fault. Taken into consideration they are long gone by now just like Bright Wish and Scarred Snow will be soon. It pain me to think about it but I'm probably going to think about them for the rest of my life whether I like it or not because they gave me the head start I wasn't able to give myself. They fed me, they took me to parks and concerts (actually they've only ever taken me to one and frankly it was the only one I ever saw and probably will see.)

"I'm finally done!" Bright Wish shouts with relief, I look over at her in disbelief. She quickly gets the memo and reword said. Not that it made it much better.

"I meant that it was a long form and it was tiring"  She responds.

"Suuuuure" I grumble to myself.

She walk into the other room and since the end of our time was nearing I rack up the courage to ask him what happen.

I walk over to him, uneasy and wobbly. Lifting my head up and staring him right in the eye, "I need to ask you a questio" I tell him still looking in the eye. He back look at me, his expression remains unchanged from what it is before. Staring at him I began ask, "I want to know what happened to you when you were little?" I ask him, "you talk about it as if it were something that will change someone's life but you never specified it."

"And I don't have too" He replies.

Just then Bright Wish walk into the room "What's going on?"

Staring at her I couldn't believe what I had just done! I can't even, I just ask him straight up.

"She wants to know" Scarred Snow clarified.

I looked at him. My eyes darted nervously around the room  as she sat down, avoiding her gaze I looked at Scarred Snow.

"So are you going to tell me?" I ask glancing around for something to do other than this. Avoiding his gaze was hard, I look at Bright Wish who look at him with a soft expression. He nods in her direction and she look at me. Staring at her my courage drop massively as to what she was going to say, but I keep my gaze as if to say I'm not afraid and I will not back down.

She open her mouth and started to speak "When Scarred Snow was young, very young. Maybe about two and a half years old his mother died.... She died from a drug overdose. His father loved his mother very much. After that happened he was punished for his mother's actions. He was not allowed to go outside or hang out with his friends after school. He was forced to come straight home, start his homework and take care of cooking dinner and doing dishes. That's because after his mom died and his dad got very depressed and turned into an alcoholic. Not even bothering to go to work anymore after that. When he was fourteen years old he had to get a job, after getting a two weeks overdue bill notice for the electricity" She paused for a bit, "after that things went downhill. He got more confused and went to a support group every Tuesday because he didn't want to end up like his dad, also I should mention after that he start rebelling against his father. After school he hung out with his friends and started going places" she stopped

I’m stunned. I didn't know some pony could've had it even more rough than I, but that was before I knew that and that was before I thought of everypony's future and outcome of their childhood.

"Wow, I didn't know that. Sorry for everything I've done, you guys are great, no matter what did or didn't happen because I've had lots of fun staying with you for these past couple of months and you gave me the head start my parents weren't able to give me."

"Bright Wish" a pony calls from the next room

We walk over to the desk and stared at the pony behind the desk, her nametag reads “Lightning Streak”. She walk out from behind the desk and over to us.

"Hello, my name’s Lightning Streak and I'll be directing you to your room" she says pointing a hoof at me "Let's go!"

She guides us into a back hallway and through a door that leds outside and into another building. There she open a wooden door and walk in, "This is where she'll be staying" she points a hoof around the room.

There are beds aligned with the wall and they look super comfortable. They were all bunk beds but apparently they had good quality mattresses.

"We had a new bunk bed come in just yesterday for her arrival, the staff here helped set it up. So over here on the back of the door are rules. There are twelve other fillies living in this room including herself. Now just very brief: no fighting, no stealing, no bullying, you have to make your beds every morning, and if something gets lost and you can't find it got check the lost and found because lots of things end up there and what we do is by the end of the year if nopony claims it then what we'll do is we will give it to the homeless" she assures us that I would be in good hands and then left us to check out the whole building.

Um, aren't we the homeless?" I ask her. But she ignores me and continues on.

"So where do we start? I want to go see the lunch room" Bright Wish ask.

"Sure, Feather Paw. Are you up to it?" Scarred Snow ask quite calmly.

"Yeah, sure. Not like it will really matter though. I mean what's the point? You guys aren't coming back. So why?"

"Okay, we don't have too. We can help you unpack and then leave or we could get something to eat." He suggests.

"Sure, let's get something to eat."

We follow the map until it led us to a big room with tables everywhere and a nice salad bar. Yes we get to pick what we eat, not wait for ten minutes on a lunch line.

We find a table right near the salad bar. I head up to the salad bar and bring back a daisy sandwich. I eat it fast, I guess I was hungry after all.

Bright Wish and Scarred Snow just got plain salad with tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. It takes us about twenty minutes to eat.

We walk back to my room and sat down on the bed. No pony talked. No one moved. We just sat there for a while, in silence.

"Whelp, we need to go because Bright Wish has a haircut appointment at two pm" I looked  at the clock, the time is one thirty.

"Oh, okay." I look away and then look back up to see them staring down at me

"We're sorry!" Bright Wish says in her soft tone "If I had my choice you would not be here" she starts to cry.

I stay put staring up at her, not moving, not saying anything, I just watch her sob into her husband's shoulder.

I look at both of them. I know they loved me and they were doing this for me but it feels weird to be here.... In an orphanage with some pony crying because they'll actually miss me and I would miss them. The walls became blobs and Scarred Snow’s face to was now just a smudge of grey. I felt a tear trickle down the right side of my face. Who was I to fool around with? I am going to miss them and when they walk out that door I'll never see them again.

"Come on Bright. Let's say our goodbyes" Scarred Snow replies.

Bright Wish let out a long sob. She look at me and takes me into her embrace, I hug her back and sniffled.

"I'm going to miss you!" She tells me quietly.

"I'm going----- to miss you ----- more" I say, between sniffs "Come back for me."

"I will, let all we taught you be a lesson and remain in your life. Don't let anyone put you down about what you like and don't let anything get in your way! Keep your hamster because he loves you. Let your plushy toy be a reminder that we are always here for you and support you in everything and anything!" She tells me these things before but hearing them for the last time in my life was different, "I love you Feather Paw."

"I love you too, Wish" and for the last time we all have a group hug. Bright Wish kiss me on the forehead before walking towards the door. "Bye" she says in a high pitch and squeaky voice. I watch them walk out the door and the heard a loud cry outside the door. I walk over to my bed and lay on my back. I muffle my sobs into the pillow.

Just then six other fillies walk into the room and stop when they see me on my bed crying into my pillow. I turn to look at them, some of them snicker at me for crying but others just stares as if I was... I was a wild animal that is trap and they want to help but didn't know how. I just want to go home wherever that may be. The other fillies are still standing in the doorway staring but quickly walk to their own beds minding their own business. I flop back down on my bed and press my face against the pillow and inhale heavily. I’m quickly interrupted by weight being put onto the foot of my bed. I look up and see a  pegasus filly with bright blue eyes and dark blue hair, almost a nighttime blue and a with a icy blue streak in it and her coat color is also a midnight blue. She’s tiny and cute, and her cutie mark is a pink feather with two mini stars above it.

"Hey, are you okay?" she ask me.

"No, not in the slightest bit." I answer honestly.

"It gets better, I promise. Trust me... I've been here for six years" she says, "anyway I'm Midnight Gem. I'm from Cloudsdale. My parents were divorced and my mom got depressed and my father didn't have enough money to take care of me."

"That's horrible!" I exclaim, "um... I'm Feather Paw" I look at her for a moment. She’s beautiful.

After introducing ourselves we sit on my bed and talk for hours we must've talk for a long time because the pony that was taking care of us told us that it was time for bed. Luckily her bed was right next to mine and she is on the bottom as well.  Now we could talk and follow directions at the same time.

“So... Why are you here?" She ask me “sorry sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me. You don't have to say if you don't feel comfortable though. Since you're new here and all I don't want to push you to do anything.”

“Oh no, it’s quite alright. Not much, just family issues actually, I ran away almost a year ago now and I ended up in my friends old shut down apartment building. It was shut down due to health reasons. Apparently it was unfit to live in the conditions. Anyway then I went to the street everyday to see if I could rack up some spare change for food and all that. Um, oh yeah an old couple adopted me a couple of months ago maybe about 7-8 months ago already and then they were running low on money so they needed to give me up for adoption" I say.

"Oh, I'm sorry" She replies with real sorrow in her voice something of which I had not heard of in a long time.

There was one thing... one thing I was keeping from her though. One major thing that throw my life into a haze, my brother. I haven’t seen him since the train one year ago and next Saturday will be the one year anniversary of not having him around.

"Feather?" I’m awaken by my dream of memory lane.

"What? Yes?" I say still staring into space.

"You alright?" Midnight had ask.

"Yeah, I'm fine! I wasn't doing anything. I was just thinking thoughts. That's all" I assure with a snappy tone, "you know what? I'm tired, I'm going to go to bed" I say as turn to my side "good night."

"Good night?" I hear her body shift and then I close my eyes continuously repeating to myself in my head that tomorrow is another day.