Family is More than Blood

Unlike most ponies, my earliest memories weren't of learning how to walk, or playing with my family, or even meeting other ponies like myself.

No, my earliest memories are of overwhelming panic, flailing limbs, and unstoppable coughing as I was tossed and flipped down a freezing cold river. I remember my limbs going numb and darkness surrounding the outskirts of my vision until a sharp pain erupted from my head, and suddenly, my world of fear and indescribable feelings was reduced to total and absolute nothingness.

The next thing I remember is a blinding light as I awoke in an immaculately clean room with shiny, white walls, tile floors, and various bulky, metallic constructions that beeped and pinged steadily.

I was confused and, honestly, rather scared. I tried to move my small frame further under the light blue blanket of my plasticity bed, but this only aggravated my overworked and underappreciated muscles, eliciting a rapid, ache-like pain from my extremities.

My rather high pitched yelp of pain actually caught the attention of a unicorn mare, who promptly galloped into the room. She had soft, lilac toned fur and a vibrant purple mane that was pulled back into a hastily-tied bun. She was wearing a light blue top and carried a clipboard in one of her hooves.

The mare observed the situation before calming herself and looking towards me kindly. "Hi, Sweetie! Glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?" Her voice was soft and contained a strange yet pleasant accent.

Eventually, I learned that I was at a building known as The Canterlot Foal's Hospital, and I was found half-dead on the side of a riverbank near the outskirts of the city by a stranger who brought me in.

Throughout the length of my stay at CFH, I learned a bit of new information. The first was that hospital food tastes like shit. It's bland, disgusting, and barely passable as real food. The more important thing, however, was the revelation that I wasn't like the other ponies. I appeared physically different, with my pink, scaled back and oddly-shaped horn.

The doctors had never seen a pony like myself before, and it baffled them. Some were curious and asked me lots of questions about myself, most of which I couldn't answer, and others were frightened, avoiding me like I was the bringer of all things freakish and unnatural. It bothered me that some ponies seemed to dislike me before I had the chance to actually open my muzzle and speak to them, but the nice nurse-pony, whose name I learned to be Lillian Lilac - Li for short -, reassured me that it was nothing to worry about. She never knew how wrong she was.

Once I recovered, a grey stallion from FPS (Foal Protective Services) paid me a visit. He asked me personal questions about my age, family, interests, etc. Unfortunately, the only one I could answer was the inquiry about my name: River Blossom. For some reason, my name was the only distinct thing about myself I could remember. To this day, I still have no clue about my past or where I came from.

Anyway, after the stallion, Coal Coat, finished asking me his questions, he left, promising to return within a day or two.

When he did return, I was escorted out of the hospital, and instructed to follow behind him as he led me to what he described as my new home: a place with lots of other fillies and colts to play with, plenty of good food to eat, and a comfy bed to sleep in every night. To my narrow, childish mind it sounded like paradise. If only it were true.

Coal Coat led me to Canterlot's Home for Fillies and Colts. It was a large, brick building with wooden trim and an iron wrought fence that clearly outlined the edge of the property. I was led past a soft, green yard with tiny white and yellow flowers blooming in small clusters throughout the grass, up a small set of red stairs, and towards a large, oak door.

Coal Coat rapped his hoof loudly against the door, and, after a few minutes of waiting, the door was opened by a pale blue mare with a curly yellow mane and calm, grey eyes.

"Good morning, Coal Coat. Is this the young filly you called me about?" The mare asked, peering down at me in slight confusion.

"Yep! Ms. Fluff, meet River Blossom. River Blossom, meet Dandelion Fluff. She's the caretaker of the orphanage." Coal Coat explained, nudging me forward with his hooves.

Ms. Fluff extended a hoof, which I hesitantly took, and led Coal Coat and me inside.

The walls of the orphanage were an off white color, matched by the dark, wooden floors that creaked loudly against the weight of my hoofsteps.

I was led down a long hallway filled with tall, oaken doors and staring foals. I hadn't had any kind of interaction with other foals up till that moment, and I found myself feeling rather shy under their curious gazes. I hid myself between Caretaker Fluff's legs as we walked, desperately trying to avoid eye contact with the other foals.

Eventually, I was led to one of the doors near the end of the hall. It was plain, lacking the name tags that previous ones seemed to possess. The connecting room was bare with only four small beds and two wooden dressers to occupy it. The chipped walls were painted a soft tan color and the wooden floor creaked loudly as Caretake Fluff led me into the room.

She shut the door behind her, and turned around to face me. "Welcome to Canterlot's Home for Fillies and Colts. Breakfast is at 6:00, Lunch is at noon, and Dinner is at 5:00. Pick whichever bed you want, and stay out of trouble. Behave and you won't be punished, clear?"

"Um....yes?" I replied, looking up at her. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this situation as the Caretaker sounded much to mean for her personality to match Coal Coat's kind and gentle description of her.

With a sharp nod, she left, closing the door behind her. Left alone for the time being, I jumped on a white bed and looked out the window at the bustling streets of Canterlot.

Before I could observe much, I was distracted by the creaking of my door opening as an orange Pegasus colt with frizzy yellow hair trotted into my room. We stared at each other for a few moments before the colt cleared his throat, breaking the awkard tension of the room. "Um, HI! I'm Sunny Skies. Who are you?"

I jumped off the bed and walked towards him. "I'm River Blossom. Hi."

And that was the start of a beautiful friendship. If only it could stay that way.

Sunny and I were very close, inseparable even. We did nearly everything together: playing, eating, talking. The only time we ever separated was when night fell, and we had to sleep in different rooms.

Life in the orphanage wasn't perfect, however. Caretaker Fluff was rather strict and would refuse to feed foals who entered the dining hall past the allotted starting time. She also punished anypony who was being too loud or annoying by locking them in The Box for a day. I was never put into the box myself as I was a generally quiet and well-behaved filly, but Sunny was a different story. Sunny had a habit of yelling when he got excited and was sent to the box more than a few times for it. The days after a boxing were harsh as Sunny would refuse to talk for at least two days and barely above a whisper for a while after. He always eventually recovered but the cycle never stopped.

Well, I suppose it did stop, technically, as Sunny got adopted by this Pegasus couple about four months after my arrival. I could barely keep myself from crying as he left. I know now that being with a family was infinitly better for him than staying at the orphanage, but at the time I felt betrayed and alone. I didn't leave my room for days after that.

Then one morning I awoke to something new. A strange filly was lying on the bed next to mine, staring at me with a mix of confusion and curiosity. She looked, in all honesty, scared. She reminded me of myself when I first arrived, and I found myself taking pity on her. I yawned and got up, approaching the filly and jumping up onto her bed.

The filly sat up in confusion as I stuck my hoof out towards her. She looked down at her own hole-ridden hoof and gently bumped hers against mine.

I spoke first. "Hi, I'm River Blossom. You're my new roommate, right?"

The filly blinked.

"Um, okay. So, what's your name?" I asked, slightly unnerved by her lack of response.

The filly blinked twice before finally replying. "No....Na...me. W...hat Nam...e?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What kind of filly doesn't know what a name is? I can understand not remembering your own name, but not knowing what a name is at all? Now that's odd.

"A name is what other ponies call you. Other ponies call me River Blossom, for example." I explained.

"I Don....'t k...no..w." the filly replied. Her words slurred and broke at odd times. It was as if no one had taught her to speak properly.

"Come on, let's find out." I led her out of the room, and looked up at the door. Right below my silver nameplate was a new one labeled Melanyx. I pointed at it and directed her attention to it.

"That's your name. Melanyx. Caretaker Fluff must have given it to you. What do you think?" I asked.

"Mel..a..nyx. Li..ke i..t." Melanyx replied with a fanged smile.

A few days passed with Melanyx and I getting steadily closer. I noticed we both had something in common: we were ignored and hated by the other fillies for our differences in appearance. Sunny was the only foal who never really cared, but the others thought we were odd and, as they often taunted, 'freaks of nature'.

Another thing I noticed was that Melanyx didn't eat. She couldn't seem to hold down any of the food at mealtimes, but she never really complained. I asked her about it once, but she replied that she never felt hungry when around her friends. It was definitely weird, but hey, so was I. I had no right to question Melanyx as we both had our oddities and dropped the subject. As long as she didn't get sick or start dying, I was okay with her lack of consumption.

Then one night, a new friend joined us. Well, I say joined, but I really mean crashed as he tumbled through our window, shattering the glass to pieces. Both Melanyx and I were startled out of our sleep as we stared down at the winged intruder sprawled out along our bedroom floor.

The intruder, a dark grey colt with leathery wings and a muted, purple mane, stood up, glass falling to the floor as he groaned in pain. He looked up at us, and gave us each a bright smile before promptly passing out.

And that was how we met Onyx Wind.