Truth in my Eyesby Sir Random J GuyChaptersFreedom (Original)RepressionNew BeginningsA Strange Start...Freedom (Original)I woke up, like I would any other day, but today wasn't just any day. Today was the day, the day I get released. I don't really remember what it's like outside this place, but I've heard good things from some of the other patients. One stallion told me of the green pastures, and the pretty scenery; Cliffs, beaches, and all kinds of places. Maybe one day I'll see these pretty scenes he spoke of. Maybe, just maybe. I rolled over onto my back, and, opening my eyes, I stared at the ceiling for a few moments. Looking down, I saw the great glass wall that trapped me in my room, there was a tray for passing things through, and a small lock built into the wall at the edge of it, on the other side. Through it, I noticed the lights in the hallway were off. Must be early. I jumped off my metal bed, and trotted over to the desk across from my bed, jumping on the chair near it. Originally, I didn't have this desk, nor the bookshelf beside, but after a tutor was hired for me, as they didn't want me to be uneducated, she convinced them to let me have them. When I was brought in here, I think it was the same year I was supposed to start school. My tutor was a mare named Paper Trail, she was very nice, I'll give her that. A bright mare too, she liked to keep my bookshelf up to date. I may as well do some reading, it's the last time I'll be able to use these books anyway. Trotting over to the shelf, and using my wing, I grabbed a random book, and began reading. I don't know how long passed, but when I looked up, the lights in the hall had come on, and a large stallion with a sandy coat, and blonde mane had appeared in front of the glass wall. "Scarlett. You ready to go?" he said. I looked up at him, nodding. "Yeah, I guess so," He shuffled around with a large ring of keys, eventually finding the right one, and then he slid open the great glass wall/door thingy. I then trotted out, looking around the hall. He walked in front of me, leading the way. I quickly followed him. "I can't imagine what it must be like to be locked up at such a young age," he said softly. "Well, I can't remember what it was like outside very well, so I suppose you can't miss what you can't remember." "Eight years is enough time to forget, especially when it makes up the majority of your life." He turned a corner, and I followed along. "Yup," I said, nodding slightly. We walked a little more, before reaching what appeared to be a lobby, with a receptionist's desk near the door, and many chairs across from it. Many ponies sat on them, some looking anxious, some sombre. The stallion stopped, and turned around to me. "Your uncle, Silver, I think it was. He said he'd be here for you soon. Well, goodbye, Scarlett. I wish you luck." He smiled at me and began walking past me. "Thanks, Mister, uhh..." He turned and smiled again at me. "Steelheart. You forgot again!" "Heh... Sorry." He walked on down the hallway, chuckling slightly. I turned, and as I went towards the door, they flew open, and a blue blur crashed into me. "SCARLETT!" it shouted, all the ponies in the room turned to the source of the noise, a midnight blue batpony laying on top of me. He jumped up quickly, wrapping his forehooves tightly around me, pulling me into a hug, and lifting me off the ground. "Scarlett! It's been so long! I can't believe you're out!" He beamed at me, with a smile as wide as the door. "S-silver?" I said, as I had my ribcage crushed slightly. He's way stronger than he looks, it's really deceiving. He loosened his grip around me. "Heh... Sorry, I guess I got carried away. But, Scarlett! It's so good to see you!" He dropped me onto the floor. "How ya been?" "Well. Pretty good, I guess, I mean, the beds here are kinda eeh. But the ponies are nice." "Nothing but the best for my Scarlett!" He beamed. Steelheart trotted up the hallway again, carrying a box. "Scarlett! I almost forgot, your belongings." "I don't remember having any belongings." "The Watch left them here after you were brought in, they also left some things your parents left you." "Oh." I looked down, I hadn't thought of them in while. Books amongst other things kept my mind busy. I turned round and walked towards him, he then hoofed me a cardboard box, containing a rusty pair of small golden glasses, a fancy pocket watch with the initials "S.L." inscribed upon it, a pair of magically enchanted contact lenses, a soft velvet scarf, a dusty picture with a mare and a stallion standing together and lastly, an old-looking, yellowed envelope with a fancy looking wax seal, with the letters "M.L." placed in the middle of an unusual looking crest. I sighed sadly, and thanking Steelheart for bringing me my stuff, I turned towards the door. Silver also thanked Steelheart and wished him well before quickly trotting after me, planning to try cheer me up no doubt. But, before he could, taking a deep breath, I pushed myself through the doors, and out into the street, the afternoon breeze hitting me as soon as I did. Well. I'm free, now isn't the time to mourn, well, maybe it is, since I didn't get a chance to when they passed away, but I'm sure Mommy and Daddy wouldn't want me moping about on the day of my release, they'd want me to take the opportunity by the horns, right? I hope so. Securing my forehooves around the bulky box, I turned towards Silver, who tossed me an empty saddle bag. "Here, I don't think you wanna carry a big box around Canterlot with you." he said, smiling. "Thanks." I said, grabbing the saddle bag, and promptly stuffing everything from the box into it. I then tossed the saddle bag onto my back. "Soooooo, where we going?" I asked, looking at him with my head tilted slightly. "You hungry? It's around dinner time, so you fancy some food?" "Yeah, I supp-" I found myself interrupted by the rumbling of my stomach. "Heh. Sorry, I just missed dinner." "Well! That settles it then! I know a great place a ways up from here!" He then led the way up the street, taking us through the main streets of Canterlot. Nothing much happened on the way, although a few ponies stared at us, since we're bat ponies. Some ponies are scared of us, I guess the fangs wouldn't help that. Plus, I looked a mess, Silver was pretty well-groomed, but, well, my mane was a tad scruffy looking and I had bags under my eyes. Hard to sleep thinking of freedom, though I guess it wasn't as grand as I thought it'd be. I just walked out, and it happened, I guess thinking of parents put a damper on the moment for me. While we were heading through a side street, I glanced at a shop window, and saw the reflection of a small colt stare back at me. He had a scarlet red coat, and a jet black mane, which was completely dishevelled, and he had a pair of large red bat wings, or at least large for his age. His eyes were navy blue, and slit, unlike most ponies' and his ears were different too, the usual bat pony ears. He also had a pair of fangs protruding from his top lip, this was somewhat unusual for bat ponies, as not all had them. I look a bit different than I had remembered. I had almost forgotten, as there were no mirrors in the Institute, after an incident where somepony got gutted with a shard of one, I wasn't there at the time, in fact, I think it may have happened before I was born. Yeah, I don't think I'd like to have been there, at that 'impromptu anatomy lesson', sure sounds gruesome. We soon arrived at the restaurant, it was a fair walk away from the Institute, but I didn't mind, as I got to stretch my hooves. On the walk over, the weight of being free hit me, so I spent most of the walk breathing in the fresh air, and the city smells, and I got to soak up the concerned stares of some Canterlotians too. Some recognised me from the paper when I was locked up, there was sort of an uproar about a four year old being convicted, as you'd expect, and ponies started calling into question how competent the City Watch actually were. The media ate it up for sure, ponies were pushing for the Captain of the Watch to resign, but he was a pony of conviction for sure. I heard he was forced to resign in the end. They say up till this day, ponies still bugged him about my conviction, it's probably gotten worse now that I've been released. I feel sorry for the fellow. Always being annoyed by overzealous journalists, that's probably in his side. But, from their point of view, a four year old being convicted of first degree murder is madness, as it is in the eyes of most, but for the Captain, it was cold hard fact. Why? I'm not really sure, I don't remember much, just the sound of wooden door being smashed to bits and hooves clopping against a concrete floor. But back on topic, so we arrived at the restaurant after a while, as I said, it was good to stretch out my hooves, though I was starting to get hungry. Plus, we passed around three bakeries, which didn't help either. We grabbed an outside table and Silver began scanning the menu. "Hmmm... Whatcha want, Scarlett?" he said, his oceanic blue eyes peering over the menu. "Uh, I'm not sure. Anything you'd recommend?" "The apple crumble here's pretty good, so you could try that." I nodded, and he put down the menu, and called over the waiter, placing our order. He ordered an oat sandwich and a milkshake, while I just had water with my crumble. The service was nice and quick, and before I knew it, the waiter was back with the food, and off he went again, leaving the bill behind. Silver quickly tucked in, while I planned to savour the moment. I mean, the food wasn't bad at the Institute, but it just wasn't the same after the chef was let go, because of budget cuts I think. It was all very bland. Just plain nutrition. I reached down and took a little bit of my crumble. I never knew apples were that tasty. Damn. Before I could even realise, my plan to savour the crumble was out the window, as I'd gobbled the whole thing down. "Woah! Somepony was hungry!" I chuckled nervously. "Sorry, but I'm really hungry. And that's the best apple crumble I've ever had." He smiled. "See? There's a reason I like this place enough to walk out this far." "I can definitely see why, or rather, taste why." I said, smiling slightly. That was some damn good crumble though. Silver finished up his sandwich, before looking up at me. "So, Scarlett." "Mhmm?" "I'm sure you'll want to get out of the city now. Y'know, to avoid the media. Actually..." Silver rubbed his chin in thought. "I wonder why we didn't run into anypony on the way...?" I tilted my head slightly, wondering the same thing. "Maybe something big's happening that we don't know about? Something's always happening in this city." "I suppose..." His face was still contorted in thought, but his expression suddenly changed to a smile. "Oh well! Whatever's happening, this is good luck for us! But anyway, about getting out of the city." "Well, I never put much thought into it, but yeah, I suppose that would be a good idea. Have you got anywhere in mind?" "Well, actually, I do! I managed to nab a place in a small country town, Ponyville. Nice little place nearby, just before the Everfree Forest and Ghastly Gorge. You can even see the city from there. And! It's only an hour long train journey! Not too bad, am I right?" "Huh. Sounds alright actually." I said, propping my head on the table. This is a really tall table. Or maybe it just seems tall to me. "Well good! Cause a train leaves in around fifteen minutes, so we'd better go!" he said, jumping off his chair and chucking a few bits on the table. "What!?" I jumped up also, finding myself being more reactive than usual. "Can you fly?" he said quickly, panic seeping into his voice. "U-uh, I don't know! I haven't tried yet!" "Well, we don't have time to find out!" he said hastily, then grabbing me by the hoof and chucking me onto his back. "Wait, what are you doi-" I was cut off by Silver suddenly blasting out his long, bat-like wings, and with a hearty flap and a strong push, I found myself being violently thrust into the air with Silver. He didn't hold back, going straight through any and all clouds in his way, blasting past all nearby airborne ponies. Soon the restaurant was merely a spec of dust as we flew away. RepressionI yawned, stretching my hooves across the park bench that I found myself lying on. I lay with my eyes closed, feeling the gentle breeze in my fur, as I tried to forget how sore my stomach was. I was laying around doing nothing, because somepony, namely my dear uncle Silver, had a great idea, to fly to the Canterlot train station so fast I couldn't see clearly, and he had me dangling off the back of him. I'm pretty sure he broke the speed limit. And my stomach. Owie. I am not enjoying this. On the bright side though, Ponyville is quite a nice place. Being in a nice, pretty, and quaint town makes me appreciate my freedom much more. I dunno, but I guess it felt somewhat premature when I left the hospital in Canterlot. It's hard to appreciate the present when moping about the past, that's for sure. Since I don't want to drag my hooves around moping all day, I suppose I've been appreciating the scenery more since I got here. As I lay on this strangely comfy bench, relaxing and trying to forget that my stomach existed, I heard hoofsteps, coming close, and I before I could turn my head and see who it was, I felt a hoof jab me in the side. "Hey! Scarlett! You alive there, kiddo?" I heard the voice of my favourite uncle (Because he was my only uncle that I knew of) Silver say. I groaned in response. "Heh... Sorry about giving you motion sickness, Scarlett. But, hey, at least we caught the train on time, right?" Where's the cricket sound effect when you need it? I turned my head towards him, and opened my eyes, I pulled a deadpan. "Yeah, that was all well and fine, but we were fifteen minutes early." "Oh yeah...Heh..." he said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Okay, fine! You win, I probably didn't need to go that fast." "You think?" I grumbled at him. "Scarlett, since when were you this snarky? You aren't the cheerful little guy I knew!" "Last time we met I was four, I think all four year olds are like that." Silver then looks at me like I'm an alien. "Look, sorry. I get like this when I'm in a bad mood." Silver, lifting my hooves out of his way, sits on the bench beside me, looking down solemnly. "Look, Scarlett. I'm sorry I ruined your first day of freedom, I was just so happy to see you, and I didn't want anything to go wrong." He sighs, "I sure did a good job of that, didn't I?" He then threw his head backwards, looking towards the sky, and he let out another defeated sigh. I sit up, and put my hoof around his neck. "Look, Silver. I'm the one who should be saying sorry, cause I'm the one killing the mood and being a negative ninny. I mean, I wouldn't rather spend my first day outside with anypony else, because you're all I've got, and I'm all you've got, so we should stick together." Silver looked at me, a smile crossing his midnight blue face. "You mean it?" I nod happily at him, and he then hugged me tightly, just as tightly as he did when I first met him again, if not a little tighter. So, after a little detour at an ice cream parlour, (which put me in a really good mood) we passed through the market place, and it was peak time too, so everypony was real busy, huge crowd. I haven't been in a crowd in a long time, and they sure take some getting used to. But then after passing through the market, we shortly arrived at Silver's holiday home. It was a decently sized home, same as most, but it didn't look very lived in. I guess Silver doesn't go on holidays much. Hmm, y'know, that reminds me, I must ask him what his job is. But we head up to the house, and after Sliver shuffled around in his saddle bag, he found the keys and promptly opened the door, revealing a dusty hallway. "This place needs dusting." Silver muttered to himself, followed by a harsh cough. He then walked inside. I followed him, and we passed through the living room, where I noticed something strange. All the furniture was covered in those white sheets that were used when a place is getting painted. I suppose Silver has been planning ahead? "How long you had this place, Silver?" I asked curiously, trotting behind him into the kitchen. "Uhh, a good while. I used to live here, moved out around the time of Princess Sparkle's coronation. Ish." he answered, rummaging through the cupboards, probably looking for rotten food. "Wait, when was that? Wasn't that pretty recent?" "Uhh, maybe half a year ago?" "Huh. Feels like it hasn't been lived in for years." He chuckles. "Yeah, dust builds up really quickly here! Used to be a nightmare when I lived here. Had to dust things down weekly!" "Woah. Is that why you moved out?" He stopped for a moment, staring inside of the last cupboard above the sink. "Amongst other things, but yeah. It was great not to worry about dust, plus the new castle was an eye sore. Ruined the view!" he sighed defeated, taking his head out of the cupboard and slumping over slightly. "I liked that library. Had nice books." "Aw. I like books too." Yeah, I guess Paper Trail had worn off on me, you can learn a lot from books, and I guess I won't be. Not till they build another one, I hope they do. "No rotting food left over, so no nasty smells in the cupboards, thankfully. Just that dusty smell. Reminds me of Grandpa Moon." he said, trotting out of the kitchen and getting ready to leave again, that was quick. "Oh yeah, Grandpa Moon. I don't remember much about him, just that one time he started yelling at the mailmare and she couldn't understand a word he was saying." The thought brought a smile to my face. Grandpa Moon had a really strong accent, so many ponies outside the family couldn't understand him, it was mainly because he came from The Baylands, a small island to the far east of Equestria. The thought of him also brought a smile to Silver's face. "Mmm, yeah. He was great. He spoke his mind, no matter who was around, and no matter how badly worded." "He swore a lot, didn't he?" "Oh yeah!" Silver said, a mischievous smile crossing his face. "I learnt all my swears from him! Most foals learnt theirs' from that shady colt who hangs around the back of the school, but not me! Didn't even need to leave the house!" "Dad didn't swear much, closest he ever came was calling my mother in-law 'comparable to a female dog'. I didn't think that was a bad thing, I like dogs, but Mom wasn't pleased with him." With that, Silver's smile widened. "Oh, that sounds like sly old Swagbags!" I tilted my head in confusion at him. "That was my nickname for your father, since things got confusing if we called each other Silver. He was Swagbags, cause he was loaded, and I was Clouded Judgement, because I kinda did some dumb things in my youth..." he chuckles awkwardly. "Yeeeeeah, Scarlett. If you learn anything from me, it better be to not do dumb stuff like me." "Sure. I won't." I felt like I was humouring him, but I guess I wasn't, I mean, I didn't plan on doing 'dumb stuff', whatever that was. "'Atta boy!" he said cheerfully. "You're now wiser a colt than I was!" I trotted up to Silver, who now had the door open, saddle bags on and ready to go. "Maybe that wisdom will help haggle at the market, huh?" We spent the rest of the evening at the market, I'm a little more used to crowds now, but still, damn. That was a lot of ponies. Anyway, we bought enough supplies to last us a long time, maybe a month? I don't know if Silver's prone to the munchies, but even if he is, I don't think we'll run out for at least two weeks, if not much longer. By the time we got back, the sun was setting. I'd hoped Silver had a bed for me, while metal tables aren't very comfortable, it's better than the floor. Least that's what I told myself every night at the Canterlot Institute I had my hopes high enough, I didn't expect anything like at my old house. It was a very fancy place, as my parents were very well off. At least my father was, Mom didn't have a bit to her name. I wonder what kind of ponies live there now? Probably mean aristocrats. I was supposed to inherit the mansion, but the City Watch seized it, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't by the books either. Far as you get from the books, without getting caught or not being able to afford your superior's bribe. That's a thing I haven't mentioned about the Watch yet, to them there is no law higher than the law of the bit. So, yeah, they're really corrupt. At least the Lower Watch, the Elite Watch have large enough salaries that they stick by the books. I followed Silver upstairs, and he led me down a dusty hallway, way dusty than downstairs for sure. Downstairs felt like it hadn't been lived in for around half a year, as Silver said, but upstairs... Different story. Cobwebs, creaky floorboards, kinda hard to breathe. All that sorta thing. After passing two doors, he turned and opened the third. "Well, Scarlett. This is your bedroom." he said, gesturing towards the door with his hoof, but just as I was about to peek in, Silver stopped me. "Look, I'll be honest with ya kiddo, times are tough. But I will make it my duty to make sure you can lead as normal a life as possible. And that includes buying you a bed." His tone was the most serious I ever heard him use, even more than the tone he used at my trial. "I have faith in you, Silver. But don't worry, I'm not a picky colt. It's probably better than the metal bed I've been using for the past while." Even thinking about that nasty old thing makes my back hurt. He moved out of my way, and I peeked in. It was a relatively large room, but narrow, straight across from the door was a window, which was part of the roof. Besides that there was nothing else in the room beside a pile of hay by the window. Right as I looked over to my 'bed', Silver laughed awkwardly, like he often does. "Heh... Sorry, Scarlett. But hey, wood's more comfortable than metal... Right?" Back when I was in the Institute, not too long ago, to help me be grateful for what I had, I always told myself: "Hey! It's better than the floor right?" I suppose it worked. Well, I can't do that anymore. I found myself tossing and turning for what felt like hours. The warm milk and daisy sandwich Silver gave me didn't help either. The hay was going everywhere. I guess it was warm, it and the blanket really kept me warm, but well... I don't want to sound ungrateful or anything, I mean, warmth is great and all, but my back is killing me, plus I keep rolling over my wings, which doesn't feel nice. Not having a bed really sucks. I felt myself let out a yawn, and I began to hope that maybe, just maybe, I might leave the land of the wakened, even if only for a little while, till I roll on my wing again, putting all my weight on the tip, and jump the height of myself. I felt myself yawn again, and I realised just how tired I am. Maybe tired enough that I don't mind how crappy it is to sleep on the floor. Then I felt myself nodding off, slowly slipping away into the dream world, the last thing I heard being the bang of the front door closing. As I opened my eyes, I found myself staring into a soup bowl. Strange, I haven't had soup in a long ti- "Tut tut tut. Looks like somepony didn't get enough sleep!" I heard a stallion say. That voice... It's familiar... Where have I heard it before? I heard a soft chuckle. "Oh, when will you ever learn, Scarlett?" It was a different pony this time, a mare. Another familiar voice. I lifted my head upwards, and saw that I was sitting at the top of a dinner table, a large table, the sides lined with many chairs, and an empty chair faced me across the table. All the other chairs were empty, pardon two. In which the mare and the stallion sat. I looked to my left, facing the mare. She smiled at me. She's a very pretty mare, with a brown moussey type mane and her coat was a soft pink colour. She was so familiar looking... Who was she...? I must've been pulling a confused looking face, as the mare titled her head and pulled a concerned face. "You alright, Scarlett? Something amiss?" "N-no, Ms." Her look of concern changed to confusion for a second, before she cracked a smile. "What's with all the formalities, Scar? No need for such things with me! I am your mother after all." M-mother...? What? N-no. It can't be... B-but... She's gone... "You feelin' alright there, buddy?" I heard the stallion interject, and I noticed he had an accent. Like Grandpa Moon's, just more... diluted. As if, he had only half his accent... I turned to face him, and sure enough, I saw it. He looks like him too. And he also looks like Silver, same mane, just styled better and it was different colour too. Very dark purple, almost black. He was a midnight blue stallion, and rather dapper looking, with his bat wings poking out of his suit. He wore a very fancy suit, but from what I remember, this was his casual suit. But... N-no, no no. It can't be...No. Not at all. The stallion continued to look at me, concern growing in his face. "U-uh, y-y-yes." I stuttered, as I just realised something. My voice is different too. It's much more... Squeaky. I look down at my hooves and noticed they're much smaller than I remembered. "You sound sick, Scarlett. Maybe you need a rest? Some soup to help you feel better?" he asked me, worry clear in his voice. How is this even... Well, maybe it was just a dream then. I-I guess it could've been one of those lucid dreams I heard about. "I...I..." Before I can finished my sentence, I jumped off my chair and landed on top of the stallion, wrapping my tiny hooves around him. "L-love you, D-daddy." I stammered, with a choked sob. "Y-you too, M-mommy." I said, looking over my father's shoulder. She smiled reassuringly at me, while Dad wrapped his large wings around me, making me feel weird. It was a strange feeling of warmth, and safety, and... And... I never wanted it to end. "I missed you guys s-so much." I stammered through a choked sob. "Why's that, Scar? We haven't gone anywhere. Nor will we." Mom said to me, in a soothing tone. "I... I had a really bad dream. You and Dad... You were... gone. Dead, and- and ponies thought I did it! Silver was there too." Dad put his hoof around me, making me feel like I was in an impenetrable fortress. "Well, don't worry, little one. We're here for you. And we always will be." "Y-You mean it?" I sniffled, while the tears rolling down my cheeks began to stop. "Of course!" he said, determinedly. "You too, Mommy?" I asked, lifting up my head. which had been buried in Dad's wing. She smiled and nodded. "Of course, sweetie. Of course." I could see the sincerity in her crystal blue eyes. She would. And I looked upwards towards Dad, who had the same sincerity in his own emerald green eyes. I then buried my head in his wing again, wanting that feeling of complete safety once again. I don't know how long I stayed like that, but it felt like an eternity. That's how I'd like to spend my eternity for sure. It seemed like everything was right in the world, none of the bad stuff I was used to happened. Maybe it was all just a bad dream. After that lovely eternity, I looked up again, to Mom, who went back to drinking her soup. But something was off, something wasn't right, no. I had a really bad feeling. Right as that thought crossed my mind, I saw it. In the chair that sat across from mine, there sat a stallion, cloaked in darkest black I had ever seen, much darker than even my mane. He noticed I was staring at him, and he turned his head towards me, smiling a toothy grin, his teeth a bright white, contrasting with the rest of him. He didn't look much like a pony, just by shape. He looked more like a shadow pretending to be a pony. He was just a black blob in the shape of a pony, white teeth and empty white eyes, which were staring right through me. "Daddy...?" "Mmm?" "Who's that pony at the back of the room...?" "What pon-" A loud piercing scream cut him off, and I felt myself being thrown backwards. We were launched off our chairs, and the table was being flipped. I felt myself slipping out of Daddy's grip, and as I look at him, while I flew out of his hooves, he had a terrified look on his face. I crashed down on the ground harshly, the only sound I could hear was that of plates smashing. When I looked, at the end of the now flipped table, he stood there, same smile as before, if not a little wider. I then looked towards Daddy, who lay on the ground, with that same petrified look on his face, and... And.. A cut to his throat... No... No no-no-no-no, he can't be gone... Not again... W-what about about Mommy...? I ran to the other side of the table, nearly tripping over myself. I ran to her, she was also lying on the floor, but not with the same look, with a tired pained look. I saw her eyes move to meet mine. S-she's alive! I took her hoof in mine. "M-mommy! You'll-you'll be alright! I'll save you." I said, only whispering the last part. She smiled weakly at me. "I...I'm sure you will..." she trailed off, before coughing harshly, a little bit of red liquid coming out of her mouth. "Mommy, don't go... Please don't go..." she said nothing, just looking on me with those blue eyes of hers. And then I saw it, the light, the spark in her eyes, it was gone... No... I felt tears welling up inside me, slowly rolling out. I felt a soft green flame roll over her hoof, as she turned back into her true form. Holes in her hooves, black body, but she still had her mane, just with more holes. And her eyes, they were pink not blue. I lay beside her sobbing for another eternity. An eternity I never wanted to relive. I got up and turned, to see him standing close to me, with that same smile. I ran towards him, rage slowly building up inside of me. I jumped up, spreading my wings, and crashed into his head. I started throwing my hooves at his face, each clumsy throw somehow connecting, but after a few he just brushed me off with his hoof, sending me flying across the room. I then smashed into a mirror, and bounced off it. I hit the floor. Slowly my vision was consumed by darkness. I flew out of my 'bed', nearly crashing into the door, but I managed to stop myself just in time. That was a horrible dream. I had this nasty hollow feeling. Soon after I woke up, Silver pushed the door ajar, and peeked his head in. "You alright, Scarlett? Thought I heard somepony crying." he looked at me, pulling a sombre face, before pushing the door open, and hugging me. "I was...?" I said with a sniffle. I never realised how similar Silver looks to Daddy. That's... depressing. That hollow feeling is getting worse. And he hugs just like him too. "Well, yeah. You have a bad dream?" he asked, rubbing the tears from my eyes. "Y-yeah, a really bad one." I replied, hugging him back. After a few minutes, he let go of me. "Alright, well, do you want a midnight snack then? Maybe it'll help you sleep?" "Yeah, t-that sounds good." Author's Note Woah, sorry people about this taking so long, you see, thing with me is...I'm really easily distra-Ooh! A piece of candy! Wait, where was I...? Oh yeah! Distractions! Yeah, they suck. Hopefully my story doesn't huh? Heh. Yeah, feel free to give me constructive criticism in the comments. Or call me a duck, cause freedom of speech and stuff. But I'd kinda prefer the first one, but y'know, you do you. New BeginningsAs I stared into my mug, filled with a dark yet see through liquid, steam rose into my face, heating me up. I pretty much had my snout stuck in it, I liked feeling warm. I used to do this when I was younger, just stare into my tea for a while, absorbing the heat. Mmm. Good times. "You gonna drink that, or just keep staring into your cup there, Scarlett?" I heard a familiar voice say, pulling me back down to reality, away from the nice, warm and carefree place that is my imagination. "Huh? Oh... Sorry, I just like doing this. I've been doing it since I was a foal." I said, looking up to where the voice came from, the source being my uncle Silver, who was walking towards the couch that I was sitting on. He chuckled, before jumping on the couch beside me. "Old habits die hard, huh?" I nodded at him, he then looked past me, to the chair beside the couch. "So, Scarlett. I don't think you've met my good old buddy here, Doctor Stirling. Well, you might've, but I'd doubt you remember him, even if you did, you probably wouldn't recognise him. Cause, y'know." he said, pointing his hoof in the direction of the nearby chair. When I turned to face the chair, I realised I'd forgotten that there was a pony- Err, rather ling, there. I see what Silver means. The stallion, well I'm not sure what a male changeling's called, so I'll just call him a stallion. But, the stallion that sat in the chair, was black, the same black as my mane, with holes in his hooves. He was a fancy looking ling, with a shirt and tie on, covered mostly with a woollen jumper, he sure looked very doctor like. He had that bedside manner. He also had a neatly styled brown mane, looked silky, kinda like Mommy's, of course with lots of holes, and finally brown eyes. "Why hello, Scarlett. I don't believe this is our first time meeting. I met you when you were much younger, but I suppose this is our first time meeting formally." he said, gesturing me with his hoof. I took his hoof and shook it, still holding my mug with my wing. "Nice to meet you, Doctor." "Please, call me Jim." "Oh, well nice to meet you, Jim." Changelings have odd names, including Mommy, I think her real name was Mary-Ling. "Yup, Jimmy here has been a family friend for a long time." Silver said, smiling happily. "Yeah, I knew your mother, Scarlett. She was a good ling. Real shame she's no longer with us." he said, looking down slightly, sorrow etched on face. "Nicest blue blood I've ever met." "Mmm..." Silver bit his lip. "Anyway! Doc! How's things in the hive? How's old Chrissy doin'?" "Oh! The Queen! She's good, after the discovery of liquidised love, things have really been looking up, y'know? No more secretly leeching off other races anymore. If all goes well, we might one day build the empire once envisioned by our ancestors!" he said, a gentle smile on his face, the kind of smile you wear when thinking of a really sweet dream you had. Can't say my last dream would make me smile like that. "That's a heck of a lofty goal, Doc, but, I believe in you. A lot of ponies don't particularly like changelings, and as you said, think of 'em as leeches, but I always kinda liked 'em! Especially with Scarlett around!" he said, beaming a bright smile, while ruffling my mane. I took my snout out of my mug, to look up and smile back at him. "Well, he seems like a good kid. What's in the ling comes out the lang, I suppose." he said, giving me a similar friendly smile to the one Silver gave me. "Aw, well thanks, Jim." I said to him, returning his smile, my cheeks turning almost the same colour as my coat. So, while Silver and Jim talked, I zoned out, retreating back into my little warm world, only coming back to reality to take a sip of my tea. Before I knew it, when I tried to take another sip, all I got was a slurping noise and a few droplets of cold tea. "Oh! Scarlett! I nearly forgot you were there!" Silver said, after being pulled out of his engrossing conversation. I wonder if it was as engrossing as my tea. "Right! It's time for bed! Again! It's way past your bedtime! Probably. Doc, do you happen to know what time it is?" Jim looked over to the side of seat, floating a fancy pocket watch, kinda similar to Daddy's, out of his bag, flipping it open. "Uhhh, it's... 4:24." he said, popping his watch back in the bag, seemingly unfazed by the time. Silver didn't say anything for a few moments, he just sat still with this look on face, it was one of those uh oh faces. Like when you get caught with your hoof in cookie jar. Pretty sure that happened to me once... Never again. (And Daddy made a really bad joke about being caught red hooved.) "Scarlett. Bed. Now. Silver. Bed also." Silver said, his face still frozen with that expression on it. "I suppose I'd best be off then. Sorry for keeping up so later, Silver. And you too, Scarlett. Have you got school tomorrow?" "Huh?" I tilted my head sideways, and gave him a confused look. "No. I don't. I haven't actually ever gone to school." "Oh? Really? Don't you ponies start school at around four or five?" "I think, I was going to start school the same year that, when it... Uhh... It all kinda fell apart." "Ah. Sorry about that then. I just thought a colt of your age would be back in school ASAP." Just as Jim finished, Silver finally got over the time. "Oh yeah! School! I was planning to send Scarlett to the local schoolhouse in a few days. Give him a few days to settle in here, y'know?" "Mmm. Fair enough." Jim got up, and grabbing his back, he made his way towards the front door. Myself and Silver followed him to the door to see him off. "Well, it was nice seeing you, Silver! And nice to meet you, Scarlett!" he said, opening the door. "Good to have you over, Doc! It was long overdue!" Silver beamed. "Nice to meet you too, Jim." I said, giving him a little smile. And with a little salute, he was gone. Off into the darkness of the night. Silver turned to me, and jammed his face close to mine, his eyes staring into mine. His snout squished mine a little. "Scarlett. We are never doing this again." "Aww, but I liked Jim though. He was nice." He pulled back, "No, not that. Jim is great, it's the staying up till four thing. I wanna be a good parent-y guardian type pony! And to do that I can't let you be staying up into all hours of the night! Not matter how sad it may make Luna!" "Well, so far you seem like a good guardian, Silver!" I say, trying to comfort him. "That's kind of you, Scarlett, but regardless of what you think of me, I gotta earn the title of good guardian!" he said, showing a little bit of his prideful side. I guess it's good to have a bit of pride. "Well, Silver. As with the bed, I have faith in you." "Awww, thanks, little buddy. But now. Bed!" I nod, starting to climb up the stairs. "Goodnight." "Night, Scarlett." When I woke, I knew it was early. Not as early as breakfast back in Canterlot, but still really early. I could tell from the fresh sunlight pouring through my window, and the loud tweeting of robins and spring birds. As I shuffled to the stairs, I heard a loud snoring sound coming from the door nearest to the stairs. Being the sorta curious colt I am, I peaked inside to see Silver strewn across the floor, like I was not too long ago. Seems Silver doesn't have a bed either then. Times really are tough. After that, I made my way downstairs, and I slid into the kitchen. It was still pretty barren looking, even though we'd filled a few cupboards the previous evening. Using my wings and a nearby chair, I jumped onto the counter, soon finding a bowl and a box of sugary looking cereal. Eh. It'll do. Jumping back down again, I put on the tea and chucked the cereal box and bowl on the nearby table. Soon after, I joined them, with a nice hot cup of black tea in wing. As I sat down, I noticed there was a newspaper across the table. Some ponies say no news is good news, while that can be true, bad news is better than boredom. I grabbed it, huh, it was a new copy of The Daily Trotter. The headline read; "Colt Released After Investigation Turns Up New Evidence." Ah. So now the media's getting involved. The centrepiece of one of the most controversial cases in Equestrian history, Scarlett Skies was released yesterday from the Canterlot State Institute for the Mentally Ill. Mr. Skies, a young colt of only twelve, spent the majority of his life locked up, and in light of recent events, probably for a crime he didn't commit. The controversial case started eight years ago, when his parents were murdered at the hooves of the infamous, Monotone Melody, Just thinking of him made me shudder. What made it worse, was that there was old mugshot of him at the side of the page, looking exactly as I remembered him, those orange eyes glaring at me. Melody of course being a legendary coltnapper, and the single most prolific serial murderer in Equestria's history. Of course, Scarlett's parents were not the first to fall at the hooves of 'The Mute Monster', but thankfully they were the last, as Melody was later found dead, believed to be the work of a pony who'd come to be later known as 'The Crimson Colt'. Originally believed to be Scarlett Skies for a time (And he was hence nicknamed 'The Scarlett Slayer'), the Colt creased all activity after Scarlett's arrest, but not too long ago, reports have come in of another pony at work who fits the Colt's M.O. Which was the main driving force in the release of Scarlett Skies. It went on further, but I'd read enough. Tossing the paper aside, I dug into my cereal, sipping my tea as I went along. After a while, I heard some hoofsteps moving around upstairs, and soon after, I saw Silver pretty much sliding down the stairs on his stomach. Wish I'd thought of that. Actually, no. Probably wouldn't have been a good idea after yesterday's flight. "Oh, hey Scarlett..." Silver grumbled, while dragged his hooves just like I did, but he had way bigger bags around his eyes, and I wasn't glued to the floor. "Want some tea?" I ask, taking a lengthy sip of my own. " No thanks, a cuppa joe for me." He said, followed by some indistinct mumbling. "Fair enough then. You look like you need it." I answered, while taking the last spoonful of my cereal and heading over to the tea pot once more. I then went about making his coffee, making sure to make it extra strong for him. Silver, who had dragged himself over to the table, plopped his head on the table, face down, grumbling all the while. "You alright there, Silver?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder. "Did you not sleep well?" "What time is it now?" he grumbled, sounding slightly muffled, and a little nasal, due to his snout being squashed on the table. "Uhhhh, lemme check." While the coffee stewed, I thought I'd give flight a try for the first time in forever. With that thought in mind, I ran to, and bounced off the table, throwing my wings open, flying up the stairs to my room, to grab Daddy's pocket watch, which lay in my saddle bag, beside my 'bed'. When I came back down, Silver was glaring at me, with a huge deadpan. Also his face was covered in milk, and my cereal had been spilt across the table and floor. "Hey, Scarlett. You mind, y'know, not bouncing off the table, scaring the buck outta me, and sending you cereal everywhere? Or is that a little too much to ask?" he asked, sounding really annoyed, and sarcasm dripping from his tone. Just like the milk from his brow. I held my hoof up to my face, trying to stifle a giggle at the silly scene. "Oh, uhh. Well, sorr-" A hearty laugh escaped me. Ooh. The face he's pulling. I've never been given a death glare before. Yikes! Silver stared at me for a few more moments, before licking a piece of cereal off his snout. "Not gonna lie, that's good stuff. Which peev- Irks me more. Cause now I want some! And it's all over the floor..." he said, his death glare deadpan combo changing to a pouty face. Barely stifling another giggle, and a grin, I asked him, "Well, we can buy more at the market!" His pouty look then changed to a suspicious look and a cocked brow. "We'd better! That's good stuff." I smiled at him, before heading back over to the tea pot to finish making Silver his coffee, while also grabbing a rag to clean up that mess. "Uh, also, it's 9:35." "Great." After getting his coffee, Silver came around again, and was back to his usual self. It was weird seeing him tired, he seemed a bit more... Foalish? Yeah, I suppose. Silver, who was sitting at the now clean table, suddenly threw his head back, downing all the coffee in the mug, before casually rubbing a few driblets off his mouth. "Ah, that was some good joe! Thanks, Scarlett! I needed that!" he said, stretching out his hooves and letting out a yawn. I glanced over to him from the couch, on which I was strewn across. "That... was scarily impressive. How did you down that much coffee?" "Runs in the family, kiddo! Grandpa Moon, in his hayday, could down waaaaaaay more than that! Cause, y'know, we're Baylic!" he said, with a chuckle. "I thought that was just a stereotype, about Bayland ponies drinking lots. Is it true?" "Course not! I mean, some do. Like in all places, but yeah. Not every Baylic pony could drink six Equestrians under the table, I mean, Grandpa Moon probably could, but still." "Ah. Hey, Silver. You ever been there? To the Baylands?" "Yeah, I went there last year. Mmm. Nice place, mostly country land, but they're are some cities, like in the capital, I hear there's a huge city. Pretty much the whole county is a city." "I'd like go there one day. All the open fields and pretty views, sounds just what I imagined the outside world being like." "Oh yeah. If that's what you're looking for, the Baylands is the place for you! I went to Dun-neigh-gal, mmm. Nice views, nice ponies and nice place!" "Sounds great!" I said, smiling at the thought of such a place. "Hmmm..." Silver rubbed his hoof against chin in thought. "I should get a holiday home there. We could stay there, and it'd be great! And you'd fit right in Scarlett! With your accent!" "Wait." I said, tilting my head to the side, a look of confusion on my face. "I have an accent?" "Oh yeah! Way more than me anyway. All the Baylic ponies think I'm Amareican, and call me a 'yank'. I wasn't born in the Baylands like your dad or Grandpa Moon, so I kinda had one, but then kinda lost it." he said, pulling a slightly pouty face, before getting up and dropping his empty cup in the sink. I just lay on the couch, still surprised I had an accent. All this time, and I didn't know! You'd think somepony would've noticed and said something, but strangely not. I guess I didn't really talk much when I was locked up in Canterlot, so maybe nopony there noticed. And Daddy had one too, so he wouldn't have noticed. Mmm, but still. Hard to believe I didn't know. Silver, turning away from the sink looked at me, while heading to the seat Jim sat in the night before. "You didn't know?" he asked, pulling the same face I pulled not too long ago. "Nope." "Darn! Twelve years alive, and you never knew! Now THAT! Is an impressive feat, never mind me and my coffee drinking habits." "Well, it's just not something anypony ever mentioned to me." "Still! Can't believe that! You didn't know!" he said, chuckling slightly, a smile as always across his face. "Well, uh yeah. That's how it went." I said, awkwardly scratching the back of my neck. After a little bit more chuckling, he clasped his hooves together in thought and stared at them for a moment. "Whatcha thinking on, Silver?" I asked curiously. He looked up, facing me, a slightly down look on his face. "I need to get a job." he said flatly. "And naturally I can't leave you alone all day, so I'll need a foalsitter till you start school." "Ah. Are foalsitters expensive?" "Eh." he said, twisting his hoof side to side. "They can be. Plus, as you know personally, we're not rich. Yet." He turned downwards towards his hooves again. "Yet?" I said, realising I knew nothing about my uncle. In fact, I thought he had a job, but I guess not. "Well. There's always your inheritance." he said, his eyes sliding up to meet mine, they seemed to be sparkling with hope. I don't even know if it exists anymore. With my luck, somepony probably spent it binge drinking. "Well, I hope so. You know what the City Watch in Canterlot is like." He gave a dark chuckle, "Yeah. When I lived in Canterlot, there was a saying I heard tossed about a lot. 'Be careful of the Watch, for they respect no laws.' Sadly, it's become more accurate since I first heard it." Yup, that sounds like the Watch I know, and, generally dislike. "I mean, I guess not everypony in the Watch is bad, but it's the overwhelming majority of them that are." I sighed sadly. "To be fair, they do keep peace, and I guess that's the only reason the princess keeps paying them. Pity the police force wasn't as effective, corruption rates are way lower, since everypony with impure goals chases a cushy Watch job. Oh well!" he said, trying to lift the mood a little. "Least we don't have to deal with them out here! Just the PPD. They're alright I guess." "That's one good reason to come here, for sure." "But anyway, I don't think an inheritance as big as your own, could be stolen under the Watch Captain's snout, he'd either want too large a cut, or maybe he's trying to turn things around and would crack down on it." "I suppose." I say, still somewhat unconvinced, because I just really don't have faith in the goodness of ponykind, at least when it comes to those ponies. "C'mon! Let's go then!" Silver said happily, as he jumped out of his chair. "Let's inquire! Plus I need a job!" he continued, pretty much bouncing to the door. "Well, alright then!" I said, somewhat surprised, but I followed him anyway. I placed my head on my desk tiredly, my mane flattening against it. I need a vacation. The room that contained me and my desk was a dark and smelly basement, actually that reminds me. I should get off my flank and clean this place up, that thought reminding me to clean my desk. Even though I couldn't see what was on my desk, I knew what was there. A black muzzle, a pair of old flight googles, a hat, a bunch of scribbly notes and a quill. Maybe if I stop thinking of my desk, I'll actually get something done, that sound like a plan, Me? Anyway, now that smell's really getting to me. Maybe I'll ask S- "You thinking again?" The young, squeaky voice of a filly asked. Well, speak of the devil. "Uh huh." I muttered, moving my head slightly. I heard the sound of a horn casting a spell, and a light green light was cast behind me. I didn't look back, I didn't need to, I already knew what she looked like. "Not going well?" "Nuh uh. Well, I just thought you should know, that colt arrived. Scarlett, was it?" "I know." "Wha- Really? How?" I heard her squeak in confusion. Ahh, love that kid. Not in a weird way though, even though I'm a fully grown mare in a dark basement with a foal. "I was there." I said flatly. "Ohhhhh. Well, somepony's been busy! I thought you were taking time off?" "Well, I was, but then Scarlett just showed up! The Daily Trotter just ran a story on his release this morning, while he's already here." "How'd you find out?" "Dumb luck, really. Seen him and that Cloud fellow get off the train. Funnily enough, I was thinking of how we'd get him here, or how'd we'd have to track him down, but nope! Thanks to Lady Luck, we don't need to." "Thank goodness for that. I don't think Miss Cheerlie would be happy if I took anymore days off!" "Mmmm, plus I'm feeling lazy. Working overtime is tough!" "You think that's bad? You should see some of the homework I get!" Sometimes I can forget she's just a filly, especially considering the stuff we do, but it's good to have her around. Keeps my morale up. That foalish spark can do wonders for my mood. I laughed softly at her statement and then pulled my head off the desk. "Yeah, I'm sure it's way tougher!" I said, with a sardonic smile crossing my face. "Oh it is! Waaaaait, are you being sarcastic?" "Oh yeah." "Oh, well, if you don't believe me just look!" she squeaked angrily, and a sixth grade math paper was floated in front of me. "Well, looks kinda tough, if not at least time consuming. But it's nowhere near as physically tiring as what I've been up. Running all over Canterlot, doing what felt like odd jobs." "Still a pain in my flank..." she mumbled, sounding irritated. Looking at my desk, which now had a faint green glow over it, I grabbed everything except the notes and pen. "Alright. Let's go!" "Huh!? Where?" "I don't know, but I intend to find out!" I said, getting up of my chair. Spinning round, I had held my hoof out, which just as I intended, gave the tiny little unicorn a smack on the horn, literally knocking the lights of her, but not knocking her over or anything. I like her too much for that. "Hey! That hurt..." she said all annoyed like. I begz n trotting to the other side of the room. "Well, too bad! You were knocking my concentration off!" After making some annoyed and grumpy sounds, the filly stormed behind me, just not so dramatically. On the trip to the door, a plan started to form in my head. Author's Note I ponifyed Ireland! I know I'm not the first, and probably won't be the last, but I'm happy! I had trouble! I was originally going to call it The Biré (Cause y'know, Ireland in Irish is Éire), but then I'd have to say Birish, which doesn't look right. But then lightening struck! Baelic! I think I did good with that pun! I dunno, whatchu reader people think? A Strange Start...I threw my head back, staring up into the pretty blue sky, rubbing my tummy contently with my hoof. I let out a little yawn, before coming back down to the table I was sitting at. It was one of those outdoor tables at those restaurants in nice places, and I'd say this place is nice. I'm becoming quite fond of Ponyville. On the other side of this nice table, in a nice place, was a nice pony. Silver also looked stuffed, as he was doing what I had done not too long ago. "Whoo wee, the food here. Ooh, I forgot how good it was..." he said, almost sounding slightly winded he was that full. "Yup." I say dreamily, my eyelids drooping a little. It's still early. "This is possibly one of the best spur of the moment decisions I've ever made." Silver said happily, a mite of triumph in his tone. "Much as I like that cereal, this place does a proper breakfast, doesn't it?" "Yup." I need to splash some water in my face, or get some coffee, or I'll conk out soon. "Right!" Silver said suddenly, jumping up from his chair. "I'mma grab the bill. Scarlett, you can... Sit on your flank, and feel full, I guess." "Sounds good to me." I said, nodding happily at the thought. He then went off, inside the restaurant, while I began staring at the clouds again. Mmmm. This is nice. "So. Somepony had a good breakfast, huh?" A strange muffled voice asked. "Yup." I say dreamil- Wait, who? I looked down again, and I was greeted with a strange sight. In Silver's seat opposite to me, sat a mare. She wore a black latex suit, covering her from hoof to ear, pardon her eyes and snout. Which we both covered by a pair of black tinted flight goggles, like the kind those Wonderbolt ponies might use, and a plastic black muzzle. On her head, she wore a large black hat, leaving no clue to her race, except it was clear she had no wings. "What the...?" This was... Strange. And I dunno why, but I felt slightly uneasy. Maybe it was those piercing goggles. "Bout time we met, ain't it Scarlett?" How does she- "But enough with the pleasantries. Our time in this world isn't infinite, and I'm a busy mare. As such, let's stop beating around the bush, huh?" "Uhh, well what do you want to talk about then?" I asked awkwardly. She titled her head at me, and she was, I assume, staring intensely at me. Sizing me up maybe? Not literally anyway, that wouldn't take as long. (I hope I grow up big and tall when I'm older...) "You really don't know, do you? Or maybe you just pretend not to. Either way, I'm going to ask you a question." "What is it then?" I said, still feeling confused at the strange mare, and her even stranger outfit. "What would you say is the price of freedom?" Woah. That was not what I expected. Hmm, what was I expecting? From her, I don't know, but not that, that's for sure. "Well, I uhh. I suppose it depends." I responded, uncertainty in my tone. A little more than I'd like. "On what?" "If you're guilty or innocent. I suppose I have some faith in our law system, so for the innocent it's time and patience." "And the guilty?" "Uhhh, a lot of money I guess? Bribery can be expensive. Least I'd imagine so. Cause, the kind who'd accept bribes are probably greedy." I said, more confidently than last time. "Especially if you're a Watchpony..." I muttered under my breath. The Mare laughed gently. "Yeah, they are annoying at times. And easy to manipulate." I cocked a brow as she said that. "But I say the price of freedom is usually a little more simple. Determination." "Well, yeah. I suppose that's a way to put it." "It takes determination to last how ever long the system takes, or... Determination and a lot of work to get a guilty pony out." She said, the areas of latex around her muzzle stretching as she spoke, as if she was... Smiling? "Take my word for it, Lil' Buddy!" Her tone seemed a little more cheery than her previously flat tone. "Would you know about that sort of thing, Ms...?" I questioned her, cocking my brow as I did so. "Ohhh yes, I'm very experienced indeed." She still spoke with her cheerier tone, her latex still stretched in the same way as before. "And, call me Hat. Ms. Hat." "Ms. Hat?" I asked, all confused like. "Yup! I like hats, plus what would be the point of this disguise if I told you my real name, silly? You probably wouldn't know it anyway." "Well, that begs the question why are you wearing that disguise?" I asked, while glancing back to see if Silver was coming back soon. "Why does anypony wear a disguise? And don't worry about Silver. He's in good hooves." I stopped right then and there, a cold sense of dread crawling over me. "To hide from ponies! Duh. Or kinky roleplays I guess." She said, tapping her hoof against her chin in thought, glancing waywardly. When she glanced back towards me and the even more confused face I was pulling, she then seemed to snap back to reality. "Oh! Right. I guess I shouldn't talk about that sorta stuff around you. You are only a foal after all. As much as you don't act like it. Kinda like her..." "What's that supposed to mean?" I said sharply. Too sharply. Whoops. A little anger seeped into my tone. I don't want her to think I'm becoming hostile, as she could hurt Silver if she gets annoyed at me... I should just try play along. "You know exactly what I mean. I know you d-" She cut herself off, a look of realisation (probably) crossing her face. "Anyway! To business! Sorry, I'm easily distracted. Not such a good thing in my trade, huh?" As she said this, a waiter was trotting past the table, only glancing at us slightly, till he noticed Ms. Hat, then he stopped, and looked at her with a weirded out look. "Ohhh waiter! Can I have some soup please?" He looked at her some more, still weirded out. "Sure?" "Well, get to it then! Chop chop!" She claps her hooves together to emphasise her point. After the waiter seemed to get over himself, he then responded. "Yes, Ma'am!" Before trotting off speedily, forgetting he was carrying somepony's food on a tray. Ms. Hat then turned to face me again, those black goggles piercing through me. "Soooooooo...?" "So." "Uhhhh." I'm not really good at carrying conversation often, nor starting them, so I don't really like being shoved on the spot like this. Poor me! "Well. I think we've both wasted enough time today. Sorry. I was supposed to discuss your debt, but seems that'll have to wait till another time. Cause uhh... Well. My assistant, Ms. Horn, she needs to get somewhere really soon." She then got up off her chair, getting ready to leave. "Okay then." I said, still not really having a clue what really just happened. And what "debt" does she speak of? "Well, twas fun, Scarlett, but I must go! We'll talk again soon, no doubt! And maybe I'll actually get my point across next time, huh? Anyway, buh bai." Ms. Hat then promptly began to trot off quickly, into the distance. I sat there, a silly face on me, my stomach still sore from that (Admittedly yummy) breakfast, still thoroughly confused. And worried. She knows a bit too much. I mean, sure, I was in the newspaper, but they don't print The Daily Trotter in Ponyville. Wait. Where'd did that copy at home come from...? It was marked with today's date, so Silver couldn't have gotten it yesterday in Canterlot, so... "Here is your soup, Mada- Huh? Where'd she go?" The confused sounding voice of the pale cream waiter pulling my back to reality. "Huh? Oh, uh, I dunno. She just up and left." The pale cream stallion, with a shiny blue mane looked at me, with a slightly annoyed face, before sighing, and shaking his head. "Some ponies..." He tutted, before trotting off again, hoping somepony would order soup soon. Not long after that, my favourite (And only) uncle made an appearance. "Silver! What took you so long?" "Oh! Scarlett! Something strange actually happened to me!" Silver said, taking his seat once again, filling the mare's place. "When I was finished paying the bill, and was about to come back, this little filly came up to me! Cute lil' thing. She seemed lost, and said she couldn't find her mommy. Looked like she'd been crying. So, I helped her look around a bit, but then she suddenly thanked me, and ran off!" I stared at him for a few moments, before asking: "Was she a unicorn...?" "Why yes! She was! How'd ya know?" He asked, with a tone of casual curiosity. I just stared at him, with my look becoming even more worried. "Scarlett?" I dived across the table, hugging him tightly. "Um, yay?" He hugged me back, still a mite confused. I had a really bad feeling in my tummy, and not just from being over stuffed (Although I'll admit that played a big part in it.) but I also had this feeling of dread, dawning over me. I don't trust that Ms. Hat character, and I don't trust her assistant either, maybe even a little less, since I haven't met her. I loosened my grip around Silver. I wonder what could've happened if she got angry at me... I shuddered slightly. "Scarlett...?" He seemed worried now. "I'm just glad you're alright." I said happily, with a sigh of relief. "Glad that I'm alright...? Course I'm alright! I was just paying a bill!" He said happily, ruffling my mane. Just like Daddy... Now's not the time for that. Getting off him and turning towards the semi-busy streets of Ponyville, I turned to him and said. "Well, let's go then! I need a nap!" I said, exaggerating a yawn. "Oh, okay then. Lead the way!" As we began heading home, I felt better. But as I did, I noticed the figure of small horned pony, running out from behind the restaurant hastily. Oh no... Author's Note 150 views! Woo! Sweeeeeeet! I feel like a cool kid! Yeeeeah! Woo! Now, if only a sixith of the commented with opinions! But oh well, I'm just really happy. Also, maybe some of ye eagle eyed sleuths out there noticed something! I added a character tag! "Other" Why? Well, let's just say the Ms. Hat isn't an OC.
Freedom (Original)I woke up, like I would any other day, but today wasn't just any day. Today was the day, the day I get released. I don't really remember what it's like outside this place, but I've heard good things from some of the other patients. One stallion told me of the green pastures, and the pretty scenery; Cliffs, beaches, and all kinds of places. Maybe one day I'll see these pretty scenes he spoke of. Maybe, just maybe. I rolled over onto my back, and, opening my eyes, I stared at the ceiling for a few moments. Looking down, I saw the great glass wall that trapped me in my room, there was a tray for passing things through, and a small lock built into the wall at the edge of it, on the other side. Through it, I noticed the lights in the hallway were off. Must be early. I jumped off my metal bed, and trotted over to the desk across from my bed, jumping on the chair near it. Originally, I didn't have this desk, nor the bookshelf beside, but after a tutor was hired for me, as they didn't want me to be uneducated, she convinced them to let me have them. When I was brought in here, I think it was the same year I was supposed to start school. My tutor was a mare named Paper Trail, she was very nice, I'll give her that. A bright mare too, she liked to keep my bookshelf up to date. I may as well do some reading, it's the last time I'll be able to use these books anyway. Trotting over to the shelf, and using my wing, I grabbed a random book, and began reading. I don't know how long passed, but when I looked up, the lights in the hall had come on, and a large stallion with a sandy coat, and blonde mane had appeared in front of the glass wall. "Scarlett. You ready to go?" he said. I looked up at him, nodding. "Yeah, I guess so," He shuffled around with a large ring of keys, eventually finding the right one, and then he slid open the great glass wall/door thingy. I then trotted out, looking around the hall. He walked in front of me, leading the way. I quickly followed him. "I can't imagine what it must be like to be locked up at such a young age," he said softly. "Well, I can't remember what it was like outside very well, so I suppose you can't miss what you can't remember." "Eight years is enough time to forget, especially when it makes up the majority of your life." He turned a corner, and I followed along. "Yup," I said, nodding slightly. We walked a little more, before reaching what appeared to be a lobby, with a receptionist's desk near the door, and many chairs across from it. Many ponies sat on them, some looking anxious, some sombre. The stallion stopped, and turned around to me. "Your uncle, Silver, I think it was. He said he'd be here for you soon. Well, goodbye, Scarlett. I wish you luck." He smiled at me and began walking past me. "Thanks, Mister, uhh..." He turned and smiled again at me. "Steelheart. You forgot again!" "Heh... Sorry." He walked on down the hallway, chuckling slightly. I turned, and as I went towards the door, they flew open, and a blue blur crashed into me. "SCARLETT!" it shouted, all the ponies in the room turned to the source of the noise, a midnight blue batpony laying on top of me. He jumped up quickly, wrapping his forehooves tightly around me, pulling me into a hug, and lifting me off the ground. "Scarlett! It's been so long! I can't believe you're out!" He beamed at me, with a smile as wide as the door. "S-silver?" I said, as I had my ribcage crushed slightly. He's way stronger than he looks, it's really deceiving. He loosened his grip around me. "Heh... Sorry, I guess I got carried away. But, Scarlett! It's so good to see you!" He dropped me onto the floor. "How ya been?" "Well. Pretty good, I guess, I mean, the beds here are kinda eeh. But the ponies are nice." "Nothing but the best for my Scarlett!" He beamed. Steelheart trotted up the hallway again, carrying a box. "Scarlett! I almost forgot, your belongings." "I don't remember having any belongings." "The Watch left them here after you were brought in, they also left some things your parents left you." "Oh." I looked down, I hadn't thought of them in while. Books amongst other things kept my mind busy. I turned round and walked towards him, he then hoofed me a cardboard box, containing a rusty pair of small golden glasses, a fancy pocket watch with the initials "S.L." inscribed upon it, a pair of magically enchanted contact lenses, a soft velvet scarf, a dusty picture with a mare and a stallion standing together and lastly, an old-looking, yellowed envelope with a fancy looking wax seal, with the letters "M.L." placed in the middle of an unusual looking crest. I sighed sadly, and thanking Steelheart for bringing me my stuff, I turned towards the door. Silver also thanked Steelheart and wished him well before quickly trotting after me, planning to try cheer me up no doubt. But, before he could, taking a deep breath, I pushed myself through the doors, and out into the street, the afternoon breeze hitting me as soon as I did. Well. I'm free, now isn't the time to mourn, well, maybe it is, since I didn't get a chance to when they passed away, but I'm sure Mommy and Daddy wouldn't want me moping about on the day of my release, they'd want me to take the opportunity by the horns, right? I hope so. Securing my forehooves around the bulky box, I turned towards Silver, who tossed me an empty saddle bag. "Here, I don't think you wanna carry a big box around Canterlot with you." he said, smiling. "Thanks." I said, grabbing the saddle bag, and promptly stuffing everything from the box into it. I then tossed the saddle bag onto my back. "Soooooo, where we going?" I asked, looking at him with my head tilted slightly. "You hungry? It's around dinner time, so you fancy some food?" "Yeah, I supp-" I found myself interrupted by the rumbling of my stomach. "Heh. Sorry, I just missed dinner." "Well! That settles it then! I know a great place a ways up from here!" He then led the way up the street, taking us through the main streets of Canterlot. Nothing much happened on the way, although a few ponies stared at us, since we're bat ponies. Some ponies are scared of us, I guess the fangs wouldn't help that. Plus, I looked a mess, Silver was pretty well-groomed, but, well, my mane was a tad scruffy looking and I had bags under my eyes. Hard to sleep thinking of freedom, though I guess it wasn't as grand as I thought it'd be. I just walked out, and it happened, I guess thinking of parents put a damper on the moment for me. While we were heading through a side street, I glanced at a shop window, and saw the reflection of a small colt stare back at me. He had a scarlet red coat, and a jet black mane, which was completely dishevelled, and he had a pair of large red bat wings, or at least large for his age. His eyes were navy blue, and slit, unlike most ponies' and his ears were different too, the usual bat pony ears. He also had a pair of fangs protruding from his top lip, this was somewhat unusual for bat ponies, as not all had them. I look a bit different than I had remembered. I had almost forgotten, as there were no mirrors in the Institute, after an incident where somepony got gutted with a shard of one, I wasn't there at the time, in fact, I think it may have happened before I was born. Yeah, I don't think I'd like to have been there, at that 'impromptu anatomy lesson', sure sounds gruesome. We soon arrived at the restaurant, it was a fair walk away from the Institute, but I didn't mind, as I got to stretch my hooves. On the walk over, the weight of being free hit me, so I spent most of the walk breathing in the fresh air, and the city smells, and I got to soak up the concerned stares of some Canterlotians too. Some recognised me from the paper when I was locked up, there was sort of an uproar about a four year old being convicted, as you'd expect, and ponies started calling into question how competent the City Watch actually were. The media ate it up for sure, ponies were pushing for the Captain of the Watch to resign, but he was a pony of conviction for sure. I heard he was forced to resign in the end. They say up till this day, ponies still bugged him about my conviction, it's probably gotten worse now that I've been released. I feel sorry for the fellow. Always being annoyed by overzealous journalists, that's probably in his side. But, from their point of view, a four year old being convicted of first degree murder is madness, as it is in the eyes of most, but for the Captain, it was cold hard fact. Why? I'm not really sure, I don't remember much, just the sound of wooden door being smashed to bits and hooves clopping against a concrete floor. But back on topic, so we arrived at the restaurant after a while, as I said, it was good to stretch out my hooves, though I was starting to get hungry. Plus, we passed around three bakeries, which didn't help either. We grabbed an outside table and Silver began scanning the menu. "Hmmm... Whatcha want, Scarlett?" he said, his oceanic blue eyes peering over the menu. "Uh, I'm not sure. Anything you'd recommend?" "The apple crumble here's pretty good, so you could try that." I nodded, and he put down the menu, and called over the waiter, placing our order. He ordered an oat sandwich and a milkshake, while I just had water with my crumble. The service was nice and quick, and before I knew it, the waiter was back with the food, and off he went again, leaving the bill behind. Silver quickly tucked in, while I planned to savour the moment. I mean, the food wasn't bad at the Institute, but it just wasn't the same after the chef was let go, because of budget cuts I think. It was all very bland. Just plain nutrition. I reached down and took a little bit of my crumble. I never knew apples were that tasty. Damn. Before I could even realise, my plan to savour the crumble was out the window, as I'd gobbled the whole thing down. "Woah! Somepony was hungry!" I chuckled nervously. "Sorry, but I'm really hungry. And that's the best apple crumble I've ever had." He smiled. "See? There's a reason I like this place enough to walk out this far." "I can definitely see why, or rather, taste why." I said, smiling slightly. That was some damn good crumble though. Silver finished up his sandwich, before looking up at me. "So, Scarlett." "Mhmm?" "I'm sure you'll want to get out of the city now. Y'know, to avoid the media. Actually..." Silver rubbed his chin in thought. "I wonder why we didn't run into anypony on the way...?" I tilted my head slightly, wondering the same thing. "Maybe something big's happening that we don't know about? Something's always happening in this city." "I suppose..." His face was still contorted in thought, but his expression suddenly changed to a smile. "Oh well! Whatever's happening, this is good luck for us! But anyway, about getting out of the city." "Well, I never put much thought into it, but yeah, I suppose that would be a good idea. Have you got anywhere in mind?" "Well, actually, I do! I managed to nab a place in a small country town, Ponyville. Nice little place nearby, just before the Everfree Forest and Ghastly Gorge. You can even see the city from there. And! It's only an hour long train journey! Not too bad, am I right?" "Huh. Sounds alright actually." I said, propping my head on the table. This is a really tall table. Or maybe it just seems tall to me. "Well good! Cause a train leaves in around fifteen minutes, so we'd better go!" he said, jumping off his chair and chucking a few bits on the table. "What!?" I jumped up also, finding myself being more reactive than usual. "Can you fly?" he said quickly, panic seeping into his voice. "U-uh, I don't know! I haven't tried yet!" "Well, we don't have time to find out!" he said hastily, then grabbing me by the hoof and chucking me onto his back. "Wait, what are you doi-" I was cut off by Silver suddenly blasting out his long, bat-like wings, and with a hearty flap and a strong push, I found myself being violently thrust into the air with Silver. He didn't hold back, going straight through any and all clouds in his way, blasting past all nearby airborne ponies. Soon the restaurant was merely a spec of dust as we flew away.
RepressionI yawned, stretching my hooves across the park bench that I found myself lying on. I lay with my eyes closed, feeling the gentle breeze in my fur, as I tried to forget how sore my stomach was. I was laying around doing nothing, because somepony, namely my dear uncle Silver, had a great idea, to fly to the Canterlot train station so fast I couldn't see clearly, and he had me dangling off the back of him. I'm pretty sure he broke the speed limit. And my stomach. Owie. I am not enjoying this. On the bright side though, Ponyville is quite a nice place. Being in a nice, pretty, and quaint town makes me appreciate my freedom much more. I dunno, but I guess it felt somewhat premature when I left the hospital in Canterlot. It's hard to appreciate the present when moping about the past, that's for sure. Since I don't want to drag my hooves around moping all day, I suppose I've been appreciating the scenery more since I got here. As I lay on this strangely comfy bench, relaxing and trying to forget that my stomach existed, I heard hoofsteps, coming close, and I before I could turn my head and see who it was, I felt a hoof jab me in the side. "Hey! Scarlett! You alive there, kiddo?" I heard the voice of my favourite uncle (Because he was my only uncle that I knew of) Silver say. I groaned in response. "Heh... Sorry about giving you motion sickness, Scarlett. But, hey, at least we caught the train on time, right?" Where's the cricket sound effect when you need it? I turned my head towards him, and opened my eyes, I pulled a deadpan. "Yeah, that was all well and fine, but we were fifteen minutes early." "Oh yeah...Heh..." he said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Okay, fine! You win, I probably didn't need to go that fast." "You think?" I grumbled at him. "Scarlett, since when were you this snarky? You aren't the cheerful little guy I knew!" "Last time we met I was four, I think all four year olds are like that." Silver then looks at me like I'm an alien. "Look, sorry. I get like this when I'm in a bad mood." Silver, lifting my hooves out of his way, sits on the bench beside me, looking down solemnly. "Look, Scarlett. I'm sorry I ruined your first day of freedom, I was just so happy to see you, and I didn't want anything to go wrong." He sighs, "I sure did a good job of that, didn't I?" He then threw his head backwards, looking towards the sky, and he let out another defeated sigh. I sit up, and put my hoof around his neck. "Look, Silver. I'm the one who should be saying sorry, cause I'm the one killing the mood and being a negative ninny. I mean, I wouldn't rather spend my first day outside with anypony else, because you're all I've got, and I'm all you've got, so we should stick together." Silver looked at me, a smile crossing his midnight blue face. "You mean it?" I nod happily at him, and he then hugged me tightly, just as tightly as he did when I first met him again, if not a little tighter. So, after a little detour at an ice cream parlour, (which put me in a really good mood) we passed through the market place, and it was peak time too, so everypony was real busy, huge crowd. I haven't been in a crowd in a long time, and they sure take some getting used to. But then after passing through the market, we shortly arrived at Silver's holiday home. It was a decently sized home, same as most, but it didn't look very lived in. I guess Silver doesn't go on holidays much. Hmm, y'know, that reminds me, I must ask him what his job is. But we head up to the house, and after Sliver shuffled around in his saddle bag, he found the keys and promptly opened the door, revealing a dusty hallway. "This place needs dusting." Silver muttered to himself, followed by a harsh cough. He then walked inside. I followed him, and we passed through the living room, where I noticed something strange. All the furniture was covered in those white sheets that were used when a place is getting painted. I suppose Silver has been planning ahead? "How long you had this place, Silver?" I asked curiously, trotting behind him into the kitchen. "Uhh, a good while. I used to live here, moved out around the time of Princess Sparkle's coronation. Ish." he answered, rummaging through the cupboards, probably looking for rotten food. "Wait, when was that? Wasn't that pretty recent?" "Uhh, maybe half a year ago?" "Huh. Feels like it hasn't been lived in for years." He chuckles. "Yeah, dust builds up really quickly here! Used to be a nightmare when I lived here. Had to dust things down weekly!" "Woah. Is that why you moved out?" He stopped for a moment, staring inside of the last cupboard above the sink. "Amongst other things, but yeah. It was great not to worry about dust, plus the new castle was an eye sore. Ruined the view!" he sighed defeated, taking his head out of the cupboard and slumping over slightly. "I liked that library. Had nice books." "Aw. I like books too." Yeah, I guess Paper Trail had worn off on me, you can learn a lot from books, and I guess I won't be. Not till they build another one, I hope they do. "No rotting food left over, so no nasty smells in the cupboards, thankfully. Just that dusty smell. Reminds me of Grandpa Moon." he said, trotting out of the kitchen and getting ready to leave again, that was quick. "Oh yeah, Grandpa Moon. I don't remember much about him, just that one time he started yelling at the mailmare and she couldn't understand a word he was saying." The thought brought a smile to my face. Grandpa Moon had a really strong accent, so many ponies outside the family couldn't understand him, it was mainly because he came from The Baylands, a small island to the far east of Equestria. The thought of him also brought a smile to Silver's face. "Mmm, yeah. He was great. He spoke his mind, no matter who was around, and no matter how badly worded." "He swore a lot, didn't he?" "Oh yeah!" Silver said, a mischievous smile crossing his face. "I learnt all my swears from him! Most foals learnt theirs' from that shady colt who hangs around the back of the school, but not me! Didn't even need to leave the house!" "Dad didn't swear much, closest he ever came was calling my mother in-law 'comparable to a female dog'. I didn't think that was a bad thing, I like dogs, but Mom wasn't pleased with him." With that, Silver's smile widened. "Oh, that sounds like sly old Swagbags!" I tilted my head in confusion at him. "That was my nickname for your father, since things got confusing if we called each other Silver. He was Swagbags, cause he was loaded, and I was Clouded Judgement, because I kinda did some dumb things in my youth..." he chuckles awkwardly. "Yeeeeeah, Scarlett. If you learn anything from me, it better be to not do dumb stuff like me." "Sure. I won't." I felt like I was humouring him, but I guess I wasn't, I mean, I didn't plan on doing 'dumb stuff', whatever that was. "'Atta boy!" he said cheerfully. "You're now wiser a colt than I was!" I trotted up to Silver, who now had the door open, saddle bags on and ready to go. "Maybe that wisdom will help haggle at the market, huh?" We spent the rest of the evening at the market, I'm a little more used to crowds now, but still, damn. That was a lot of ponies. Anyway, we bought enough supplies to last us a long time, maybe a month? I don't know if Silver's prone to the munchies, but even if he is, I don't think we'll run out for at least two weeks, if not much longer. By the time we got back, the sun was setting. I'd hoped Silver had a bed for me, while metal tables aren't very comfortable, it's better than the floor. Least that's what I told myself every night at the Canterlot Institute I had my hopes high enough, I didn't expect anything like at my old house. It was a very fancy place, as my parents were very well off. At least my father was, Mom didn't have a bit to her name. I wonder what kind of ponies live there now? Probably mean aristocrats. I was supposed to inherit the mansion, but the City Watch seized it, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't by the books either. Far as you get from the books, without getting caught or not being able to afford your superior's bribe. That's a thing I haven't mentioned about the Watch yet, to them there is no law higher than the law of the bit. So, yeah, they're really corrupt. At least the Lower Watch, the Elite Watch have large enough salaries that they stick by the books. I followed Silver upstairs, and he led me down a dusty hallway, way dusty than downstairs for sure. Downstairs felt like it hadn't been lived in for around half a year, as Silver said, but upstairs... Different story. Cobwebs, creaky floorboards, kinda hard to breathe. All that sorta thing. After passing two doors, he turned and opened the third. "Well, Scarlett. This is your bedroom." he said, gesturing towards the door with his hoof, but just as I was about to peek in, Silver stopped me. "Look, I'll be honest with ya kiddo, times are tough. But I will make it my duty to make sure you can lead as normal a life as possible. And that includes buying you a bed." His tone was the most serious I ever heard him use, even more than the tone he used at my trial. "I have faith in you, Silver. But don't worry, I'm not a picky colt. It's probably better than the metal bed I've been using for the past while." Even thinking about that nasty old thing makes my back hurt. He moved out of my way, and I peeked in. It was a relatively large room, but narrow, straight across from the door was a window, which was part of the roof. Besides that there was nothing else in the room beside a pile of hay by the window. Right as I looked over to my 'bed', Silver laughed awkwardly, like he often does. "Heh... Sorry, Scarlett. But hey, wood's more comfortable than metal... Right?" Back when I was in the Institute, not too long ago, to help me be grateful for what I had, I always told myself: "Hey! It's better than the floor right?" I suppose it worked. Well, I can't do that anymore. I found myself tossing and turning for what felt like hours. The warm milk and daisy sandwich Silver gave me didn't help either. The hay was going everywhere. I guess it was warm, it and the blanket really kept me warm, but well... I don't want to sound ungrateful or anything, I mean, warmth is great and all, but my back is killing me, plus I keep rolling over my wings, which doesn't feel nice. Not having a bed really sucks. I felt myself let out a yawn, and I began to hope that maybe, just maybe, I might leave the land of the wakened, even if only for a little while, till I roll on my wing again, putting all my weight on the tip, and jump the height of myself. I felt myself yawn again, and I realised just how tired I am. Maybe tired enough that I don't mind how crappy it is to sleep on the floor. Then I felt myself nodding off, slowly slipping away into the dream world, the last thing I heard being the bang of the front door closing. As I opened my eyes, I found myself staring into a soup bowl. Strange, I haven't had soup in a long ti- "Tut tut tut. Looks like somepony didn't get enough sleep!" I heard a stallion say. That voice... It's familiar... Where have I heard it before? I heard a soft chuckle. "Oh, when will you ever learn, Scarlett?" It was a different pony this time, a mare. Another familiar voice. I lifted my head upwards, and saw that I was sitting at the top of a dinner table, a large table, the sides lined with many chairs, and an empty chair faced me across the table. All the other chairs were empty, pardon two. In which the mare and the stallion sat. I looked to my left, facing the mare. She smiled at me. She's a very pretty mare, with a brown moussey type mane and her coat was a soft pink colour. She was so familiar looking... Who was she...? I must've been pulling a confused looking face, as the mare titled her head and pulled a concerned face. "You alright, Scarlett? Something amiss?" "N-no, Ms." Her look of concern changed to confusion for a second, before she cracked a smile. "What's with all the formalities, Scar? No need for such things with me! I am your mother after all." M-mother...? What? N-no. It can't be... B-but... She's gone... "You feelin' alright there, buddy?" I heard the stallion interject, and I noticed he had an accent. Like Grandpa Moon's, just more... diluted. As if, he had only half his accent... I turned to face him, and sure enough, I saw it. He looks like him too. And he also looks like Silver, same mane, just styled better and it was different colour too. Very dark purple, almost black. He was a midnight blue stallion, and rather dapper looking, with his bat wings poking out of his suit. He wore a very fancy suit, but from what I remember, this was his casual suit. But... N-no, no no. It can't be...No. Not at all. The stallion continued to look at me, concern growing in his face. "U-uh, y-y-yes." I stuttered, as I just realised something. My voice is different too. It's much more... Squeaky. I look down at my hooves and noticed they're much smaller than I remembered. "You sound sick, Scarlett. Maybe you need a rest? Some soup to help you feel better?" he asked me, worry clear in his voice. How is this even... Well, maybe it was just a dream then. I-I guess it could've been one of those lucid dreams I heard about. "I...I..." Before I can finished my sentence, I jumped off my chair and landed on top of the stallion, wrapping my tiny hooves around him. "L-love you, D-daddy." I stammered, with a choked sob. "Y-you too, M-mommy." I said, looking over my father's shoulder. She smiled reassuringly at me, while Dad wrapped his large wings around me, making me feel weird. It was a strange feeling of warmth, and safety, and... And... I never wanted it to end. "I missed you guys s-so much." I stammered through a choked sob. "Why's that, Scar? We haven't gone anywhere. Nor will we." Mom said to me, in a soothing tone. "I... I had a really bad dream. You and Dad... You were... gone. Dead, and- and ponies thought I did it! Silver was there too." Dad put his hoof around me, making me feel like I was in an impenetrable fortress. "Well, don't worry, little one. We're here for you. And we always will be." "Y-You mean it?" I sniffled, while the tears rolling down my cheeks began to stop. "Of course!" he said, determinedly. "You too, Mommy?" I asked, lifting up my head. which had been buried in Dad's wing. She smiled and nodded. "Of course, sweetie. Of course." I could see the sincerity in her crystal blue eyes. She would. And I looked upwards towards Dad, who had the same sincerity in his own emerald green eyes. I then buried my head in his wing again, wanting that feeling of complete safety once again. I don't know how long I stayed like that, but it felt like an eternity. That's how I'd like to spend my eternity for sure. It seemed like everything was right in the world, none of the bad stuff I was used to happened. Maybe it was all just a bad dream. After that lovely eternity, I looked up again, to Mom, who went back to drinking her soup. But something was off, something wasn't right, no. I had a really bad feeling. Right as that thought crossed my mind, I saw it. In the chair that sat across from mine, there sat a stallion, cloaked in darkest black I had ever seen, much darker than even my mane. He noticed I was staring at him, and he turned his head towards me, smiling a toothy grin, his teeth a bright white, contrasting with the rest of him. He didn't look much like a pony, just by shape. He looked more like a shadow pretending to be a pony. He was just a black blob in the shape of a pony, white teeth and empty white eyes, which were staring right through me. "Daddy...?" "Mmm?" "Who's that pony at the back of the room...?" "What pon-" A loud piercing scream cut him off, and I felt myself being thrown backwards. We were launched off our chairs, and the table was being flipped. I felt myself slipping out of Daddy's grip, and as I look at him, while I flew out of his hooves, he had a terrified look on his face. I crashed down on the ground harshly, the only sound I could hear was that of plates smashing. When I looked, at the end of the now flipped table, he stood there, same smile as before, if not a little wider. I then looked towards Daddy, who lay on the ground, with that same petrified look on his face, and... And.. A cut to his throat... No... No no-no-no-no, he can't be gone... Not again... W-what about about Mommy...? I ran to the other side of the table, nearly tripping over myself. I ran to her, she was also lying on the floor, but not with the same look, with a tired pained look. I saw her eyes move to meet mine. S-she's alive! I took her hoof in mine. "M-mommy! You'll-you'll be alright! I'll save you." I said, only whispering the last part. She smiled weakly at me. "I...I'm sure you will..." she trailed off, before coughing harshly, a little bit of red liquid coming out of her mouth. "Mommy, don't go... Please don't go..." she said nothing, just looking on me with those blue eyes of hers. And then I saw it, the light, the spark in her eyes, it was gone... No... I felt tears welling up inside me, slowly rolling out. I felt a soft green flame roll over her hoof, as she turned back into her true form. Holes in her hooves, black body, but she still had her mane, just with more holes. And her eyes, they were pink not blue. I lay beside her sobbing for another eternity. An eternity I never wanted to relive. I got up and turned, to see him standing close to me, with that same smile. I ran towards him, rage slowly building up inside of me. I jumped up, spreading my wings, and crashed into his head. I started throwing my hooves at his face, each clumsy throw somehow connecting, but after a few he just brushed me off with his hoof, sending me flying across the room. I then smashed into a mirror, and bounced off it. I hit the floor. Slowly my vision was consumed by darkness. I flew out of my 'bed', nearly crashing into the door, but I managed to stop myself just in time. That was a horrible dream. I had this nasty hollow feeling. Soon after I woke up, Silver pushed the door ajar, and peeked his head in. "You alright, Scarlett? Thought I heard somepony crying." he looked at me, pulling a sombre face, before pushing the door open, and hugging me. "I was...?" I said with a sniffle. I never realised how similar Silver looks to Daddy. That's... depressing. That hollow feeling is getting worse. And he hugs just like him too. "Well, yeah. You have a bad dream?" he asked, rubbing the tears from my eyes. "Y-yeah, a really bad one." I replied, hugging him back. After a few minutes, he let go of me. "Alright, well, do you want a midnight snack then? Maybe it'll help you sleep?" "Yeah, t-that sounds good." Author's Note Woah, sorry people about this taking so long, you see, thing with me is...I'm really easily distra-Ooh! A piece of candy! Wait, where was I...? Oh yeah! Distractions! Yeah, they suck. Hopefully my story doesn't huh? Heh. Yeah, feel free to give me constructive criticism in the comments. Or call me a duck, cause freedom of speech and stuff. But I'd kinda prefer the first one, but y'know, you do you.
New BeginningsAs I stared into my mug, filled with a dark yet see through liquid, steam rose into my face, heating me up. I pretty much had my snout stuck in it, I liked feeling warm. I used to do this when I was younger, just stare into my tea for a while, absorbing the heat. Mmm. Good times. "You gonna drink that, or just keep staring into your cup there, Scarlett?" I heard a familiar voice say, pulling me back down to reality, away from the nice, warm and carefree place that is my imagination. "Huh? Oh... Sorry, I just like doing this. I've been doing it since I was a foal." I said, looking up to where the voice came from, the source being my uncle Silver, who was walking towards the couch that I was sitting on. He chuckled, before jumping on the couch beside me. "Old habits die hard, huh?" I nodded at him, he then looked past me, to the chair beside the couch. "So, Scarlett. I don't think you've met my good old buddy here, Doctor Stirling. Well, you might've, but I'd doubt you remember him, even if you did, you probably wouldn't recognise him. Cause, y'know." he said, pointing his hoof in the direction of the nearby chair. When I turned to face the chair, I realised I'd forgotten that there was a pony- Err, rather ling, there. I see what Silver means. The stallion, well I'm not sure what a male changeling's called, so I'll just call him a stallion. But, the stallion that sat in the chair, was black, the same black as my mane, with holes in his hooves. He was a fancy looking ling, with a shirt and tie on, covered mostly with a woollen jumper, he sure looked very doctor like. He had that bedside manner. He also had a neatly styled brown mane, looked silky, kinda like Mommy's, of course with lots of holes, and finally brown eyes. "Why hello, Scarlett. I don't believe this is our first time meeting. I met you when you were much younger, but I suppose this is our first time meeting formally." he said, gesturing me with his hoof. I took his hoof and shook it, still holding my mug with my wing. "Nice to meet you, Doctor." "Please, call me Jim." "Oh, well nice to meet you, Jim." Changelings have odd names, including Mommy, I think her real name was Mary-Ling. "Yup, Jimmy here has been a family friend for a long time." Silver said, smiling happily. "Yeah, I knew your mother, Scarlett. She was a good ling. Real shame she's no longer with us." he said, looking down slightly, sorrow etched on face. "Nicest blue blood I've ever met." "Mmm..." Silver bit his lip. "Anyway! Doc! How's things in the hive? How's old Chrissy doin'?" "Oh! The Queen! She's good, after the discovery of liquidised love, things have really been looking up, y'know? No more secretly leeching off other races anymore. If all goes well, we might one day build the empire once envisioned by our ancestors!" he said, a gentle smile on his face, the kind of smile you wear when thinking of a really sweet dream you had. Can't say my last dream would make me smile like that. "That's a heck of a lofty goal, Doc, but, I believe in you. A lot of ponies don't particularly like changelings, and as you said, think of 'em as leeches, but I always kinda liked 'em! Especially with Scarlett around!" he said, beaming a bright smile, while ruffling my mane. I took my snout out of my mug, to look up and smile back at him. "Well, he seems like a good kid. What's in the ling comes out the lang, I suppose." he said, giving me a similar friendly smile to the one Silver gave me. "Aw, well thanks, Jim." I said to him, returning his smile, my cheeks turning almost the same colour as my coat. So, while Silver and Jim talked, I zoned out, retreating back into my little warm world, only coming back to reality to take a sip of my tea. Before I knew it, when I tried to take another sip, all I got was a slurping noise and a few droplets of cold tea. "Oh! Scarlett! I nearly forgot you were there!" Silver said, after being pulled out of his engrossing conversation. I wonder if it was as engrossing as my tea. "Right! It's time for bed! Again! It's way past your bedtime! Probably. Doc, do you happen to know what time it is?" Jim looked over to the side of seat, floating a fancy pocket watch, kinda similar to Daddy's, out of his bag, flipping it open. "Uhhh, it's... 4:24." he said, popping his watch back in the bag, seemingly unfazed by the time. Silver didn't say anything for a few moments, he just sat still with this look on face, it was one of those uh oh faces. Like when you get caught with your hoof in cookie jar. Pretty sure that happened to me once... Never again. (And Daddy made a really bad joke about being caught red hooved.) "Scarlett. Bed. Now. Silver. Bed also." Silver said, his face still frozen with that expression on it. "I suppose I'd best be off then. Sorry for keeping up so later, Silver. And you too, Scarlett. Have you got school tomorrow?" "Huh?" I tilted my head sideways, and gave him a confused look. "No. I don't. I haven't actually ever gone to school." "Oh? Really? Don't you ponies start school at around four or five?" "I think, I was going to start school the same year that, when it... Uhh... It all kinda fell apart." "Ah. Sorry about that then. I just thought a colt of your age would be back in school ASAP." Just as Jim finished, Silver finally got over the time. "Oh yeah! School! I was planning to send Scarlett to the local schoolhouse in a few days. Give him a few days to settle in here, y'know?" "Mmm. Fair enough." Jim got up, and grabbing his back, he made his way towards the front door. Myself and Silver followed him to the door to see him off. "Well, it was nice seeing you, Silver! And nice to meet you, Scarlett!" he said, opening the door. "Good to have you over, Doc! It was long overdue!" Silver beamed. "Nice to meet you too, Jim." I said, giving him a little smile. And with a little salute, he was gone. Off into the darkness of the night. Silver turned to me, and jammed his face close to mine, his eyes staring into mine. His snout squished mine a little. "Scarlett. We are never doing this again." "Aww, but I liked Jim though. He was nice." He pulled back, "No, not that. Jim is great, it's the staying up till four thing. I wanna be a good parent-y guardian type pony! And to do that I can't let you be staying up into all hours of the night! Not matter how sad it may make Luna!" "Well, so far you seem like a good guardian, Silver!" I say, trying to comfort him. "That's kind of you, Scarlett, but regardless of what you think of me, I gotta earn the title of good guardian!" he said, showing a little bit of his prideful side. I guess it's good to have a bit of pride. "Well, Silver. As with the bed, I have faith in you." "Awww, thanks, little buddy. But now. Bed!" I nod, starting to climb up the stairs. "Goodnight." "Night, Scarlett." When I woke, I knew it was early. Not as early as breakfast back in Canterlot, but still really early. I could tell from the fresh sunlight pouring through my window, and the loud tweeting of robins and spring birds. As I shuffled to the stairs, I heard a loud snoring sound coming from the door nearest to the stairs. Being the sorta curious colt I am, I peaked inside to see Silver strewn across the floor, like I was not too long ago. Seems Silver doesn't have a bed either then. Times really are tough. After that, I made my way downstairs, and I slid into the kitchen. It was still pretty barren looking, even though we'd filled a few cupboards the previous evening. Using my wings and a nearby chair, I jumped onto the counter, soon finding a bowl and a box of sugary looking cereal. Eh. It'll do. Jumping back down again, I put on the tea and chucked the cereal box and bowl on the nearby table. Soon after, I joined them, with a nice hot cup of black tea in wing. As I sat down, I noticed there was a newspaper across the table. Some ponies say no news is good news, while that can be true, bad news is better than boredom. I grabbed it, huh, it was a new copy of The Daily Trotter. The headline read; "Colt Released After Investigation Turns Up New Evidence." Ah. So now the media's getting involved. The centrepiece of one of the most controversial cases in Equestrian history, Scarlett Skies was released yesterday from the Canterlot State Institute for the Mentally Ill. Mr. Skies, a young colt of only twelve, spent the majority of his life locked up, and in light of recent events, probably for a crime he didn't commit. The controversial case started eight years ago, when his parents were murdered at the hooves of the infamous, Monotone Melody, Just thinking of him made me shudder. What made it worse, was that there was old mugshot of him at the side of the page, looking exactly as I remembered him, those orange eyes glaring at me. Melody of course being a legendary coltnapper, and the single most prolific serial murderer in Equestria's history. Of course, Scarlett's parents were not the first to fall at the hooves of 'The Mute Monster', but thankfully they were the last, as Melody was later found dead, believed to be the work of a pony who'd come to be later known as 'The Crimson Colt'. Originally believed to be Scarlett Skies for a time (And he was hence nicknamed 'The Scarlett Slayer'), the Colt creased all activity after Scarlett's arrest, but not too long ago, reports have come in of another pony at work who fits the Colt's M.O. Which was the main driving force in the release of Scarlett Skies. It went on further, but I'd read enough. Tossing the paper aside, I dug into my cereal, sipping my tea as I went along. After a while, I heard some hoofsteps moving around upstairs, and soon after, I saw Silver pretty much sliding down the stairs on his stomach. Wish I'd thought of that. Actually, no. Probably wouldn't have been a good idea after yesterday's flight. "Oh, hey Scarlett..." Silver grumbled, while dragged his hooves just like I did, but he had way bigger bags around his eyes, and I wasn't glued to the floor. "Want some tea?" I ask, taking a lengthy sip of my own. " No thanks, a cuppa joe for me." He said, followed by some indistinct mumbling. "Fair enough then. You look like you need it." I answered, while taking the last spoonful of my cereal and heading over to the tea pot once more. I then went about making his coffee, making sure to make it extra strong for him. Silver, who had dragged himself over to the table, plopped his head on the table, face down, grumbling all the while. "You alright there, Silver?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder. "Did you not sleep well?" "What time is it now?" he grumbled, sounding slightly muffled, and a little nasal, due to his snout being squashed on the table. "Uhhhh, lemme check." While the coffee stewed, I thought I'd give flight a try for the first time in forever. With that thought in mind, I ran to, and bounced off the table, throwing my wings open, flying up the stairs to my room, to grab Daddy's pocket watch, which lay in my saddle bag, beside my 'bed'. When I came back down, Silver was glaring at me, with a huge deadpan. Also his face was covered in milk, and my cereal had been spilt across the table and floor. "Hey, Scarlett. You mind, y'know, not bouncing off the table, scaring the buck outta me, and sending you cereal everywhere? Or is that a little too much to ask?" he asked, sounding really annoyed, and sarcasm dripping from his tone. Just like the milk from his brow. I held my hoof up to my face, trying to stifle a giggle at the silly scene. "Oh, uhh. Well, sorr-" A hearty laugh escaped me. Ooh. The face he's pulling. I've never been given a death glare before. Yikes! Silver stared at me for a few more moments, before licking a piece of cereal off his snout. "Not gonna lie, that's good stuff. Which peev- Irks me more. Cause now I want some! And it's all over the floor..." he said, his death glare deadpan combo changing to a pouty face. Barely stifling another giggle, and a grin, I asked him, "Well, we can buy more at the market!" His pouty look then changed to a suspicious look and a cocked brow. "We'd better! That's good stuff." I smiled at him, before heading back over to the tea pot to finish making Silver his coffee, while also grabbing a rag to clean up that mess. "Uh, also, it's 9:35." "Great." After getting his coffee, Silver came around again, and was back to his usual self. It was weird seeing him tired, he seemed a bit more... Foalish? Yeah, I suppose. Silver, who was sitting at the now clean table, suddenly threw his head back, downing all the coffee in the mug, before casually rubbing a few driblets off his mouth. "Ah, that was some good joe! Thanks, Scarlett! I needed that!" he said, stretching out his hooves and letting out a yawn. I glanced over to him from the couch, on which I was strewn across. "That... was scarily impressive. How did you down that much coffee?" "Runs in the family, kiddo! Grandpa Moon, in his hayday, could down waaaaaaay more than that! Cause, y'know, we're Baylic!" he said, with a chuckle. "I thought that was just a stereotype, about Bayland ponies drinking lots. Is it true?" "Course not! I mean, some do. Like in all places, but yeah. Not every Baylic pony could drink six Equestrians under the table, I mean, Grandpa Moon probably could, but still." "Ah. Hey, Silver. You ever been there? To the Baylands?" "Yeah, I went there last year. Mmm. Nice place, mostly country land, but they're are some cities, like in the capital, I hear there's a huge city. Pretty much the whole county is a city." "I'd like go there one day. All the open fields and pretty views, sounds just what I imagined the outside world being like." "Oh yeah. If that's what you're looking for, the Baylands is the place for you! I went to Dun-neigh-gal, mmm. Nice views, nice ponies and nice place!" "Sounds great!" I said, smiling at the thought of such a place. "Hmmm..." Silver rubbed his hoof against chin in thought. "I should get a holiday home there. We could stay there, and it'd be great! And you'd fit right in Scarlett! With your accent!" "Wait." I said, tilting my head to the side, a look of confusion on my face. "I have an accent?" "Oh yeah! Way more than me anyway. All the Baylic ponies think I'm Amareican, and call me a 'yank'. I wasn't born in the Baylands like your dad or Grandpa Moon, so I kinda had one, but then kinda lost it." he said, pulling a slightly pouty face, before getting up and dropping his empty cup in the sink. I just lay on the couch, still surprised I had an accent. All this time, and I didn't know! You'd think somepony would've noticed and said something, but strangely not. I guess I didn't really talk much when I was locked up in Canterlot, so maybe nopony there noticed. And Daddy had one too, so he wouldn't have noticed. Mmm, but still. Hard to believe I didn't know. Silver, turning away from the sink looked at me, while heading to the seat Jim sat in the night before. "You didn't know?" he asked, pulling the same face I pulled not too long ago. "Nope." "Darn! Twelve years alive, and you never knew! Now THAT! Is an impressive feat, never mind me and my coffee drinking habits." "Well, it's just not something anypony ever mentioned to me." "Still! Can't believe that! You didn't know!" he said, chuckling slightly, a smile as always across his face. "Well, uh yeah. That's how it went." I said, awkwardly scratching the back of my neck. After a little bit more chuckling, he clasped his hooves together in thought and stared at them for a moment. "Whatcha thinking on, Silver?" I asked curiously. He looked up, facing me, a slightly down look on his face. "I need to get a job." he said flatly. "And naturally I can't leave you alone all day, so I'll need a foalsitter till you start school." "Ah. Are foalsitters expensive?" "Eh." he said, twisting his hoof side to side. "They can be. Plus, as you know personally, we're not rich. Yet." He turned downwards towards his hooves again. "Yet?" I said, realising I knew nothing about my uncle. In fact, I thought he had a job, but I guess not. "Well. There's always your inheritance." he said, his eyes sliding up to meet mine, they seemed to be sparkling with hope. I don't even know if it exists anymore. With my luck, somepony probably spent it binge drinking. "Well, I hope so. You know what the City Watch in Canterlot is like." He gave a dark chuckle, "Yeah. When I lived in Canterlot, there was a saying I heard tossed about a lot. 'Be careful of the Watch, for they respect no laws.' Sadly, it's become more accurate since I first heard it." Yup, that sounds like the Watch I know, and, generally dislike. "I mean, I guess not everypony in the Watch is bad, but it's the overwhelming majority of them that are." I sighed sadly. "To be fair, they do keep peace, and I guess that's the only reason the princess keeps paying them. Pity the police force wasn't as effective, corruption rates are way lower, since everypony with impure goals chases a cushy Watch job. Oh well!" he said, trying to lift the mood a little. "Least we don't have to deal with them out here! Just the PPD. They're alright I guess." "That's one good reason to come here, for sure." "But anyway, I don't think an inheritance as big as your own, could be stolen under the Watch Captain's snout, he'd either want too large a cut, or maybe he's trying to turn things around and would crack down on it." "I suppose." I say, still somewhat unconvinced, because I just really don't have faith in the goodness of ponykind, at least when it comes to those ponies. "C'mon! Let's go then!" Silver said happily, as he jumped out of his chair. "Let's inquire! Plus I need a job!" he continued, pretty much bouncing to the door. "Well, alright then!" I said, somewhat surprised, but I followed him anyway. I placed my head on my desk tiredly, my mane flattening against it. I need a vacation. The room that contained me and my desk was a dark and smelly basement, actually that reminds me. I should get off my flank and clean this place up, that thought reminding me to clean my desk. Even though I couldn't see what was on my desk, I knew what was there. A black muzzle, a pair of old flight googles, a hat, a bunch of scribbly notes and a quill. Maybe if I stop thinking of my desk, I'll actually get something done, that sound like a plan, Me? Anyway, now that smell's really getting to me. Maybe I'll ask S- "You thinking again?" The young, squeaky voice of a filly asked. Well, speak of the devil. "Uh huh." I muttered, moving my head slightly. I heard the sound of a horn casting a spell, and a light green light was cast behind me. I didn't look back, I didn't need to, I already knew what she looked like. "Not going well?" "Nuh uh. Well, I just thought you should know, that colt arrived. Scarlett, was it?" "I know." "Wha- Really? How?" I heard her squeak in confusion. Ahh, love that kid. Not in a weird way though, even though I'm a fully grown mare in a dark basement with a foal. "I was there." I said flatly. "Ohhhhh. Well, somepony's been busy! I thought you were taking time off?" "Well, I was, but then Scarlett just showed up! The Daily Trotter just ran a story on his release this morning, while he's already here." "How'd you find out?" "Dumb luck, really. Seen him and that Cloud fellow get off the train. Funnily enough, I was thinking of how we'd get him here, or how'd we'd have to track him down, but nope! Thanks to Lady Luck, we don't need to." "Thank goodness for that. I don't think Miss Cheerlie would be happy if I took anymore days off!" "Mmmm, plus I'm feeling lazy. Working overtime is tough!" "You think that's bad? You should see some of the homework I get!" Sometimes I can forget she's just a filly, especially considering the stuff we do, but it's good to have her around. Keeps my morale up. That foalish spark can do wonders for my mood. I laughed softly at her statement and then pulled my head off the desk. "Yeah, I'm sure it's way tougher!" I said, with a sardonic smile crossing my face. "Oh it is! Waaaaait, are you being sarcastic?" "Oh yeah." "Oh, well, if you don't believe me just look!" she squeaked angrily, and a sixth grade math paper was floated in front of me. "Well, looks kinda tough, if not at least time consuming. But it's nowhere near as physically tiring as what I've been up. Running all over Canterlot, doing what felt like odd jobs." "Still a pain in my flank..." she mumbled, sounding irritated. Looking at my desk, which now had a faint green glow over it, I grabbed everything except the notes and pen. "Alright. Let's go!" "Huh!? Where?" "I don't know, but I intend to find out!" I said, getting up of my chair. Spinning round, I had held my hoof out, which just as I intended, gave the tiny little unicorn a smack on the horn, literally knocking the lights of her, but not knocking her over or anything. I like her too much for that. "Hey! That hurt..." she said all annoyed like. I begz n trotting to the other side of the room. "Well, too bad! You were knocking my concentration off!" After making some annoyed and grumpy sounds, the filly stormed behind me, just not so dramatically. On the trip to the door, a plan started to form in my head. Author's Note I ponifyed Ireland! I know I'm not the first, and probably won't be the last, but I'm happy! I had trouble! I was originally going to call it The Biré (Cause y'know, Ireland in Irish is Éire), but then I'd have to say Birish, which doesn't look right. But then lightening struck! Baelic! I think I did good with that pun! I dunno, whatchu reader people think?
A Strange Start...I threw my head back, staring up into the pretty blue sky, rubbing my tummy contently with my hoof. I let out a little yawn, before coming back down to the table I was sitting at. It was one of those outdoor tables at those restaurants in nice places, and I'd say this place is nice. I'm becoming quite fond of Ponyville. On the other side of this nice table, in a nice place, was a nice pony. Silver also looked stuffed, as he was doing what I had done not too long ago. "Whoo wee, the food here. Ooh, I forgot how good it was..." he said, almost sounding slightly winded he was that full. "Yup." I say dreamily, my eyelids drooping a little. It's still early. "This is possibly one of the best spur of the moment decisions I've ever made." Silver said happily, a mite of triumph in his tone. "Much as I like that cereal, this place does a proper breakfast, doesn't it?" "Yup." I need to splash some water in my face, or get some coffee, or I'll conk out soon. "Right!" Silver said suddenly, jumping up from his chair. "I'mma grab the bill. Scarlett, you can... Sit on your flank, and feel full, I guess." "Sounds good to me." I said, nodding happily at the thought. He then went off, inside the restaurant, while I began staring at the clouds again. Mmmm. This is nice. "So. Somepony had a good breakfast, huh?" A strange muffled voice asked. "Yup." I say dreamil- Wait, who? I looked down again, and I was greeted with a strange sight. In Silver's seat opposite to me, sat a mare. She wore a black latex suit, covering her from hoof to ear, pardon her eyes and snout. Which we both covered by a pair of black tinted flight goggles, like the kind those Wonderbolt ponies might use, and a plastic black muzzle. On her head, she wore a large black hat, leaving no clue to her race, except it was clear she had no wings. "What the...?" This was... Strange. And I dunno why, but I felt slightly uneasy. Maybe it was those piercing goggles. "Bout time we met, ain't it Scarlett?" How does she- "But enough with the pleasantries. Our time in this world isn't infinite, and I'm a busy mare. As such, let's stop beating around the bush, huh?" "Uhh, well what do you want to talk about then?" I asked awkwardly. She titled her head at me, and she was, I assume, staring intensely at me. Sizing me up maybe? Not literally anyway, that wouldn't take as long. (I hope I grow up big and tall when I'm older...) "You really don't know, do you? Or maybe you just pretend not to. Either way, I'm going to ask you a question." "What is it then?" I said, still feeling confused at the strange mare, and her even stranger outfit. "What would you say is the price of freedom?" Woah. That was not what I expected. Hmm, what was I expecting? From her, I don't know, but not that, that's for sure. "Well, I uhh. I suppose it depends." I responded, uncertainty in my tone. A little more than I'd like. "On what?" "If you're guilty or innocent. I suppose I have some faith in our law system, so for the innocent it's time and patience." "And the guilty?" "Uhhh, a lot of money I guess? Bribery can be expensive. Least I'd imagine so. Cause, the kind who'd accept bribes are probably greedy." I said, more confidently than last time. "Especially if you're a Watchpony..." I muttered under my breath. The Mare laughed gently. "Yeah, they are annoying at times. And easy to manipulate." I cocked a brow as she said that. "But I say the price of freedom is usually a little more simple. Determination." "Well, yeah. I suppose that's a way to put it." "It takes determination to last how ever long the system takes, or... Determination and a lot of work to get a guilty pony out." She said, the areas of latex around her muzzle stretching as she spoke, as if she was... Smiling? "Take my word for it, Lil' Buddy!" Her tone seemed a little more cheery than her previously flat tone. "Would you know about that sort of thing, Ms...?" I questioned her, cocking my brow as I did so. "Ohhh yes, I'm very experienced indeed." She still spoke with her cheerier tone, her latex still stretched in the same way as before. "And, call me Hat. Ms. Hat." "Ms. Hat?" I asked, all confused like. "Yup! I like hats, plus what would be the point of this disguise if I told you my real name, silly? You probably wouldn't know it anyway." "Well, that begs the question why are you wearing that disguise?" I asked, while glancing back to see if Silver was coming back soon. "Why does anypony wear a disguise? And don't worry about Silver. He's in good hooves." I stopped right then and there, a cold sense of dread crawling over me. "To hide from ponies! Duh. Or kinky roleplays I guess." She said, tapping her hoof against her chin in thought, glancing waywardly. When she glanced back towards me and the even more confused face I was pulling, she then seemed to snap back to reality. "Oh! Right. I guess I shouldn't talk about that sorta stuff around you. You are only a foal after all. As much as you don't act like it. Kinda like her..." "What's that supposed to mean?" I said sharply. Too sharply. Whoops. A little anger seeped into my tone. I don't want her to think I'm becoming hostile, as she could hurt Silver if she gets annoyed at me... I should just try play along. "You know exactly what I mean. I know you d-" She cut herself off, a look of realisation (probably) crossing her face. "Anyway! To business! Sorry, I'm easily distracted. Not such a good thing in my trade, huh?" As she said this, a waiter was trotting past the table, only glancing at us slightly, till he noticed Ms. Hat, then he stopped, and looked at her with a weirded out look. "Ohhh waiter! Can I have some soup please?" He looked at her some more, still weirded out. "Sure?" "Well, get to it then! Chop chop!" She claps her hooves together to emphasise her point. After the waiter seemed to get over himself, he then responded. "Yes, Ma'am!" Before trotting off speedily, forgetting he was carrying somepony's food on a tray. Ms. Hat then turned to face me again, those black goggles piercing through me. "Soooooooo...?" "So." "Uhhhh." I'm not really good at carrying conversation often, nor starting them, so I don't really like being shoved on the spot like this. Poor me! "Well. I think we've both wasted enough time today. Sorry. I was supposed to discuss your debt, but seems that'll have to wait till another time. Cause uhh... Well. My assistant, Ms. Horn, she needs to get somewhere really soon." She then got up off her chair, getting ready to leave. "Okay then." I said, still not really having a clue what really just happened. And what "debt" does she speak of? "Well, twas fun, Scarlett, but I must go! We'll talk again soon, no doubt! And maybe I'll actually get my point across next time, huh? Anyway, buh bai." Ms. Hat then promptly began to trot off quickly, into the distance. I sat there, a silly face on me, my stomach still sore from that (Admittedly yummy) breakfast, still thoroughly confused. And worried. She knows a bit too much. I mean, sure, I was in the newspaper, but they don't print The Daily Trotter in Ponyville. Wait. Where'd did that copy at home come from...? It was marked with today's date, so Silver couldn't have gotten it yesterday in Canterlot, so... "Here is your soup, Mada- Huh? Where'd she go?" The confused sounding voice of the pale cream waiter pulling my back to reality. "Huh? Oh, uh, I dunno. She just up and left." The pale cream stallion, with a shiny blue mane looked at me, with a slightly annoyed face, before sighing, and shaking his head. "Some ponies..." He tutted, before trotting off again, hoping somepony would order soup soon. Not long after that, my favourite (And only) uncle made an appearance. "Silver! What took you so long?" "Oh! Scarlett! Something strange actually happened to me!" Silver said, taking his seat once again, filling the mare's place. "When I was finished paying the bill, and was about to come back, this little filly came up to me! Cute lil' thing. She seemed lost, and said she couldn't find her mommy. Looked like she'd been crying. So, I helped her look around a bit, but then she suddenly thanked me, and ran off!" I stared at him for a few moments, before asking: "Was she a unicorn...?" "Why yes! She was! How'd ya know?" He asked, with a tone of casual curiosity. I just stared at him, with my look becoming even more worried. "Scarlett?" I dived across the table, hugging him tightly. "Um, yay?" He hugged me back, still a mite confused. I had a really bad feeling in my tummy, and not just from being over stuffed (Although I'll admit that played a big part in it.) but I also had this feeling of dread, dawning over me. I don't trust that Ms. Hat character, and I don't trust her assistant either, maybe even a little less, since I haven't met her. I loosened my grip around Silver. I wonder what could've happened if she got angry at me... I shuddered slightly. "Scarlett...?" He seemed worried now. "I'm just glad you're alright." I said happily, with a sigh of relief. "Glad that I'm alright...? Course I'm alright! I was just paying a bill!" He said happily, ruffling my mane. Just like Daddy... Now's not the time for that. Getting off him and turning towards the semi-busy streets of Ponyville, I turned to him and said. "Well, let's go then! I need a nap!" I said, exaggerating a yawn. "Oh, okay then. Lead the way!" As we began heading home, I felt better. But as I did, I noticed the figure of small horned pony, running out from behind the restaurant hastily. Oh no... Author's Note 150 views! Woo! Sweeeeeeet! I feel like a cool kid! Yeeeeah! Woo! Now, if only a sixith of the commented with opinions! But oh well, I'm just really happy. Also, maybe some of ye eagle eyed sleuths out there noticed something! I added a character tag! "Other" Why? Well, let's just say the Ms. Hat isn't an OC.
