Icy blinked as she watched Shadow Rose talk to a police officer. She was zoned out from the conversation, all of this having happened so fast. Still wrapped up by the warm blankets, she sat on the comfy couch and munched on an apple the sweet stallion had given to her. Her stomach was happy and full and her thirst quenched as Shadow had given her some food and water.

"Icy?"

She suddenly found herself whisked out of thought as the officer asked her name. "Y-yes?" She responded, blushing.

"Where do you live? Where did you come from?" He asked with a gentle and calm tone.

"W-wait... I don't want to go back. They will hurt me and yell at me..." She immediately broke into panic as she dropped the blankets and ran to the corner and gained a defensive stance. It was only now that the officer saw her frail and bruised figure. His eyes widened.

"No. I would not force you to go back to a cruel place. I only want to find out who did this to you." He trotted toward her, smiling softly and offering a hoof. She recoiled in fear, still thinking about the terrors of going back to the play she had just escaped from. One again being pulled back into reality, she replied.

"Oh. Well I d-don't know where it was. My m-mo-... her name is Chilled Crystal..." She shivered as she said the name.

"We will have to look that up. As for you, Icy. You are twenty-two years old, and therefore have the right to make your own decisions. You may stay with this stallion as long as he allows, or go somewhere else." The officer looks at his notepad and nods before trotting out the door.

Icy then looked at Shadow, who said, "You can stay with me as long as you would like. I do have a question, though."

"Uhm... go ahead and ask," the mare replied.

"Do you want to see your father? You sort of... called out for him in your sleep." He cocked his head as he wondered and questioned.

"If he were the same as he was the last time I saw him, I would love to see him again. His name is... uhm..." She scratched her head before her eyes widened. "Spin Diesel! That is his name."

The stallion gasped, "You are the daughter of Spin Diesel? He designed the engine for my car!"

Icy smiled and said, "Do you know where he is?" her tail wagging.

The stallion tapped his hooves on the ground excitedly and nodded. "Yes! He lives in Vanhoover. I am leaving tomorrow for Vanhoover so I can get a new engine I recently ordered from him. I can take you there with me."

"Oh, thank you sir!" Icy happily shook the kind stallion's hoof and smiled widely, happy to have the chance to see her beloved father again.

"So, since you were never allowed to go to school or well... anywhere at all, how then do you talk so well?"

Icy frowned and said, "Well... my mother had me homeschooled, and I could only read in my spare time, so I did."

He nodded and asked, "Would you like to go to the bookstore with me? Your father said he'd give me a deal if I brought him a book wrote and printed locally here."

Icy nodded at the chance to see new books. Even though they were a part of her suffering, she still loved reading, and could not get enough of it.

"Ok. Why don't you get cleaned up? You seem to not have bathed in a long time." He smiled at her.

She nodded and trotted with him to the bathroom. She looked fearfully at the shower as he turned it on. The faucet looked like a hose, and she was sprayed by hose when cleaned. When he nodded for her to go in, she looked at him with her same fearful look.

"Don't worry. It won't bite," He smiled softly and nodded toward it again.

She shakily trotted into the shower but immediately relaxed as she felt the warm water hit her fur. After standing there for a couple minutes, she began to get out, only to be blocked by him.

"Have you never used soap?" He asked, to which she shook her head. "Here then."

With that the stallion stepped into the shower and had the mare sit down, and gently began to rub some shampoo into her mane. She quickly eased into the warm and comfortable rubbing of her mane, a soft smile breaking her lips. She then sighed happily as he rubbed some soap into her fur, making it feel thicker but fuller. He stopped when he approached her flank and private areas. "May I?"

She nodded and he continued, covering her flank in the soap along with her hips and groin, missing her mare parts on purpose. She then closed her eyes as the water began to pour on her again, his hooves massaging her as he washed out the soap. He carefully cleaned her wings and smiled as she seemed to be more fluffy now. Turning off the shower, he stood up and shook before getting out, wrapping a towel around himself and inviting Icy to do the same. After shaking off, he wrapped a towel around her and helped her dry off. It made her quite happy to feel another pony assisting her in a way other than forcing her to do another job.

"Alright. I am going to finish washing up. You can sit in the living room and finish drying up." He smiled and closed the door behind her and she trotted back to the couch, sitting down. She looked at her fur and her eyes widened as she saw the fluffy fur she dreamed about. She smiled and touched it, softly brushing it and feeling across it. She then looked out the window and smiled as she saw the beautiful sky with only a few clouds. Her mane was flowing a little longer than she remembered, and her tail was not all knotted up.

"Well let's get to the bookstore. I want to be to bed by eight tonight. The trip will take a long time. Possibly about fifteen hours if we run into minimal traffic." He smiled and helped her up, letting her trot with him down into the lobby and then outside. She saw many ponies trotting around, and stayed side by side with the stallion, still afraid she would be caught by her mother, stepdad, a sibling, or one of their many workers. They eventually made it to the bookstore.

The clerk smiled at Shadow and asked, "Who is the lovely mare?"

"Oh. She is a visitor from the north. We are about to drive up to Vanhoover tomorrow. Just friends."

The clerk nodded and resumed sorting books on some of the shelves.

Icy simply followed Shadow until he got to the vehicles section. Watching him look through, she eventually found herself looking across all of the books, and soon enough, she had a book about stars in her hooves. She opened it and read a little bit of it. It only took a tap on the shoulder by Shadow to shake her and scare her. She looked at him before putting the book back.

He then grabbed the book and carried it with a couple other books to the front. Icy curiously cocked her head as he trotted away with it. She watched him give a card to the clerk and then put the books into a bag. Shadow held the door open for Icy and she trotted out with him.

Icy's eyes widened as he held the book out to her. "Wait... For me? But I never did anything for you..."

He put it in the hold of her hoof and said, "It is the least I could do to help you..."

She smiled and said, "Thank you..." Before placing it under a wing. She trotted down the street and took very little notice in the ponies, but instead looked at the scenery. The streets were four-laned, and the town was made up of blocks. Different shops and stores dotted the area and each had their own special scenery.

The stallion nudged her into a small cafe, which she realized as the one she had tried to go in the day before. A host sat them at a booth and she looked around. The seats were made of leather and the table of a type of wood she could not identify. Shadow gave her a menu and she looked across it, wondering what many of these foods were, only ever having fruit and the bad unwanted leftovers of her mother's design.

"Go ahead and choose whatever you want. Don't mind the price. I can pay for it." The stallion smiled at her as two water glasses were served to them along with some roses as appetizer.

"Uhm... a lavender salad?" She asked. The stallion was bewildered, not expecting for her to ask for such a simple and inexpensive dish.

"Ok. I will take a daisy grilled cheese." He nodded at the waitress who trotted away.

The mare looked at him and thought about the stallion. "Where are you from?" She asked.

"Oh, I was born in Manehatten and raised in Seaddle." He nodded as he said this.

The mare nodded and then asked, "What is your career?"

"I am a programmer. I make programs on the computer."

"I have always wondered how those work..." She scratched her chin again, looking very cute as she did so.

It was at this time they were served their meals. Icy smiled and took a bite of her salad and gasped at the flavour. It was delicious, and she loved the taste. She began to eat more, looking exceptionally cute as she ate more and more with a foal-like demeanor.

They both soon finished their food and Shadow left a few bits for the meal, then leaving. It was only a couple minutes before they arrived back at his home, full and feeling nice.

Icy smiled at the very kind stallion as he closed the door and she hugged him as tight as she could. She was so grateful for his hospitality and care. Never having experienced anything like this before, she felt quite relaxed and safe.

The sun was already nearing setting at this point. Icy was helping him pack his things and attempted to organize his clothes.

By sundown Icy was ready to turn in for the night along with the stallion, and she picked out a blanket she liked and was setting it on the couch.

Right as she was about to lay down, she felt a hoof on her shoulder. Turning, she saw Shadow blushing and smiling. "I think this couch is too dangerous for a pony to have a regular night's sleep. And I don't feel safe about you sleeping close to the front door. I would appreciate it if you could sleep with me for tonight."

The mare was blushing too, but she nodded. "Ok. I would do that."

She trotted into his room with him and he helped her get into the bed. As soon as she lay down, she gasped as the comfort of the bed accommodated her body, almost removing her soreness all by itself. The stallion lay down on the other side and turned off the lamp which was lighting the room.

She closed her eyes and smiled as she heard a snore before she too fell into slumber.

Author's Note

I am sorry if it feels rushed. The story just has not even advanced into its important part yet.