Where We Come From

by tallestbrony

Chapters

Chapter 1 Stay Safe
Chapter 2 A Simple Wish...
Chapter 3 ...Gone Wrong
Chapter 4 Secrets
Chapter 5 Safety Dance
Chapter 6 Sunday Thoughts
Chapter 7 First Flight
Chapter 8 A Good Home
Chapter 9 Say You're Sorry
Chapter 10 Runaway Cassaway
Chapter 11 A Lot of Nothing
Chapter 12 Where I Want To Be

Chapter 1 Stay Safe

Where We Come From

By Tallestbrony

Chapter 1 Stay Safe

Perspective: Princess Cadence

KRA-BOOOOOOOM

As a massive quake hits again I slam against the wall. I stand to my hooves and check the package on my side, fearing the worse. With a content sigh I continue running down the hall of the castle.

As I run, I pass squads of guards and dignitaries as ponies run in fear. When I make it to an intersection I slide to a stop. Before me is a massive crowd of ponies trying to gain access to one of the underground shelters. I look through the panicked seen before stomping a hoof down and opening my wings. With a powerful thrust I launch myself over the crowd and continue on my way.

I wish I could have helped them... I wished I didn't need to run... I wish I could use my magic....I wish I didn't have to fly right now, but we don't always get what we wish for. I just have to make it to my aunt as quickly as possible, they can help, they will know what to do..... I wish I had Shining here with me....

KRA BOOOOOOOOOOOOM

The next quake throws me into the air before slamming me against a near by window. I shake my head and pick myself up against, feeling blood falling from my forehead. I take a long look at my hoof and watch the blood trickle down my pink coat. How long has it been since they made contact... how long since they began the threats... how long will we draw blood until this all ends. When the blood dries itself into my coat I twist to look out the window as the screams of thousands of thousands of ponies fills my ears.

In the distance, far past Canterlot, a massive chunk of land lifts high into the air. The mass lifts up and towards us, towering well over the peaks of Canterlot before falling back down towards the ground.

KROOOOOM

The entire mountain side shakes as the land hits, forcing me to the ground again. I quickly get up and look out the window again. That was Ponyville. Oh... Twilight... please be safe.

A single tear finds it way out as I watch the blue sky begin to change. A streak of crimson red slivers it way around the sky, slowly taking over the entire sky. Soon the world around me turns red as the the sky fades to even deeper crimson. Only a small hole is left, leaving a source for the sun to shine through...

"Celestia." I murmur before taking off down the hall. I have to find her before they get here. I must...

"STALLIONS! TO ARMS!" Yells a guard as a group of castle guards charge past me, no doubt heading down towards what was Ponyville.

"SIR! SIR!" I yell to the leader as I try to catch up to him. He glances back to me before slowing down enough for me to keep up.

"Princess, please head back to the shelter! You are in no condition to..."

"Where is my husband!?" I demand, silencing the unicorn guard. I shake my head again as the blood begins to cover my face. The guard stops and takes a piece of cloth from his armor to bandage me up.

"He... he was on his way to Ponyville.... I'm sorry Princess. But I don't think..."

"No... no that can't be true!" I yell, making the guard pause. He motions to the others to continue on before coming to my side. I look down and shake my head as he rests his hoof over my shoulder.

"My lady, I can't say whether or not he is or isn't..."

"DON'T SAY IT!" I yell frantically as I begin to sob. He pulls me close and hold me lightly as I continue to break down. Shining is a smart stallion, he would have teleported out for sure. He can't be dead....

"My lady." He says as he pulls back and looks over to the sheets wrapped around my side. "We need to get to the shelter and..."

"Send me to Celestia immediately." I demand, only making him shake his head. "This is an order guard! Send me to her immediately!" I shriek, getting him to frown.

"Princess.... they can't..."

"It is up to them whether or not they do this. Now send me there NOW!" I demand, getting a low sigh from him as he begins to charge his horn.

"Very well, my lady." He says before the world around me burns from a bright light.

After a brief moment of my eyes burning I look around to find myself in the court room. The usually pristine white marble glowing red as Luna and Celestia speak to one another, staring out at what was Ponyville.

"...and fend for them sister. You have to keep them safe... or it will all be for not." Luna says as she stares out to the massive crater.

"Twilight said she was nearing completion. Lets give her a..."

"Ponyville has been destroyed sister! All over the world they attack! There is no more time. I must go now and aid our soldiers before its too late!" Luna yells back in protest. Celestia stands there for a moment, thinking deeply about what's transpiring. I watch those ancient eyes dart around the landscape below. I hold my breath as I wait for her to answer Luna. I know if she sends her there, that things are far worse then they appear.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I like it little sister. Very well. Take them there, and stay safe sister." Celestia says before taking Luna in a tight hug. As they hold each other, trying their best not to break down, I take another look out to the crater.

From the center of it a sea or what looks like black sludge is beginning to rise. A contingency of guards have taken form around the edge, holding the flags of our nation as they fly in towards the sludge. What is that stuff? Is.... is that what they look like?

"OK!" Luna says as she breaks off the hug. "I'm off... pray for us sister." She says before teleporting out of the room.

"I will.... please stay safe." Celestia says quietly as she continues to stare out to the crater.

"Um.... aunt Celestia?" I ask as I tentatively step towards her.

"I know what you're going to ask Cadence, and I can't allow it." She says as she turns away from the window and begins to walk towards the door. I run in front of her and hold my ground.

"Please." I beg as I step towards her. She shakes her head as she turns away from me, walking away as she tries to get around. I run in front of her again and hold my wings out, wincing from a sharp pain in my shoulders. "Please..."

"Cadence." She says softly as she steps towards me. "Everything will be alright. Things are... looking down now, but we will prevail. I promise..." Before she could finish I pull the sheet on my side and step towards her.

"Can you promise that he'll grow up happy? That he'll be safe, laugh, play.... find love? Can you promise me these things aunt Celestia?" I ask as I open the sheet, revealing my son.

Thanks to a spell that I poured all the magic I had left into he's asleep. I feel my heart stop as I see the back of the blanket stained with red. I pull him out and check the back, seeing the red stain the back of his head. I lay him down and press my ear against his chest, checking his pulse before looking back up to Celestia.

"Please." I beg again as I begin to tear up. "I... I can't let him stay here. They will come and... destroy him! Throw him from the walls... you have to send him!" I yell as I look back down to him. "There is no life here for him... for anypony..."

"CADENCE!" Celestia yells in astonishment.

"LOOK AROUND YOU!" I yell back. "How many ponies lived in Ponyville? How many more will come!? Do you really think I want this for my son?! I will forever hate myself for this Celestia, but it has to be done. Please! I beg you!" I yell as I fall over my son and cradle him, crying my heart out.

"Cadence," Celestia starts as she lays by my side. "Are sure of this? IS this what you truly want?"

"No. I want things to go back to the way they were before. I want my son to grow tall, have friends... have all of the fillies chase after him. But that world is gone now. Please. Send him there. Its his only hope for a life. Please." I ask as I cradle him for what could be the last time. Celestia doesn't answer me. Instead she stand and walks back to the throne. She looks over the set before looking back to me.

"I will wake him. Say goodbye to him." She says before looking back to the throne and pressing something under the hoof rest. The sound of stone grinding against stone fills the room as the seat slides into the wall behind. "But promise me one thing Cadence. If I do this, have no regret. Do it, and have solace in the choice you made."

"I will... I promise." I say as I nod to her, wiping the tears from my eyes. Celestia gives me a single nod before charging her horn as she begins to walk down the steps. I look down to my boy as her aura takes over him, waking him. He lets out a long sigh as he stretches his legs and wings out.

"Mmmmm.... Mama?" He asks as he looks up to me, rubbing the sleep from him eyes. "Mama, what's going on? Where are we?"

"*sniff* My colt.... my sweet sweet colt." I say as I rub his mane, grateful that Celestia healed him.

"I already told you I don't want to be sweet. I want to be brave like Daddy! Where is Daddy? Why is everything red?" He asks as he sits up and looks around the room; confused by his new surroundings.

"Son, auntie Celly is going to send you somewhere... somewhere far far away...."

"Is it auntie Twileys library? Cause last time I went there I had to read, like, five kagillion books!" He says with a bit of a pout. I laugh a little as I lift him up and hold him tightly, rocking from side to side as he just hugs me back. "Did I do something wrong? If its about the vase, that was all Spikes fault...."

"I'm not mad at you.... I just love you.... so much." I say as I begin to tear up again, scaring him.

"Mama... I don't like this." He says as he holds me tightly. "Can we go home? I want daddy..."

"Cadence." I look back to see Celestia standing in the center of the room. On her back is a large blackened metal device that has two bright blue light emitting from it. "Its time."

"Right." I say before setting my son down and resting my hooves on his shoulders. "We're going to send you far away..."

"What! NO!" He yells as he latches onto my leg. "I don't want to go Mama! I want to stay with you! I want to stay with Daddy! I'll go to auntie Twileys and read all of the books, promise! I..."

"Shhh." I say, silencing him. I bring my nose to his and nuzzle him a bit before looking into his eyes. "My son.... my sweet, sweet, brave son. When you get there you have to find a grown up, they'll know what to do. It's going to be scary at first, but you'll be a brave pony like Daddy. Be safe... my son."

"No..." He mutters as his eyes begin to tear up. Celestia walks behind him and sets the devise down. "I love you Mama."

"I love you..."

KRA-KROOOOOOM

"CADENCE!"

"MAMA!"

I'm not even sure what exactly happened. All I can see is a field of blurs moving back and forth. I feel a soothing warmth grow over myself as the world around me begins to turn dark.

Sleep... I should go to sleep now. Celestia will send him there, he'll be safe... sleep now.

As the world around me begins to fall to darkness I see a massive blue light shoot up through the castle. That's my colt.... my sweet sweet colt...

Stay safe...

Chapter 2 A Simple Wish...

Perspective: Stephanie Allen

I tip toe my way out to the living room to check on Grandma. Just like I left her, asleep with a warmed up diet cola in her hand. With a slight giggle I make my way to the door and sneak out.

Its not that I hate being at Grandmas, I love my grandma. She's just really boring! Though that's not entirely her fault either. Manton isn't a very big town. It is, but it isn't. Its... well, I guess for a farming town its pretty big. It nothing like Anaheim at least; I don't think half the people here have even seen the ocean. I take my bike down the bumpy road and pedal as quickly as possible, trying to get to my secret place on the farm.

I love the night sky here in Manton. You don't get all of the planes and satellites and stuff here. Just you, and the sky. As I ride down the dirt rode I slow down as one of the stars begins to shine brighter and brighter. IT MUST BE A SHOOTING STAR! OK OK OK OK OK, I have to make a wish. Hmm... what should I wish for? Maybe for Mom and Dad to stop yelling at night, maybe then I can get some sleep.

Naw.

How about for the new game thing I saw at the store?

Meh.

I stare up to the star and think about what I want most of all. Something that I don't have and wont be able to get without this stars help. I guess the logical thing would be to wish for more wishes... naw. Santa would probably get mad over that. Hmmm....

"I wish... for a friend." I whisper as I look up and close my eyes.

KROOOOOOOMM

I fall back off my bike as a massive blue beam crashes into the forest before me. It holds steady for a bit before it just... ends; leaving a resounding echo through the night.

"THIS MUST BE MY FRIEND! THANK YOU STAR!" I yell in excitement as I jump back to my feet and pick up my bike. I get pedaling down the road as quickly as possible, getting to the edge of the forest in a matter of minutes. I pause for a second as I peer into the dark woods. Grandma says there are bad things in there, and that I shouldn't go in alone; especially at night.

But how often does a star grant you a wish? No, I'm going to be a big girl and make my way to... whatever my star brought me. With my mind set, I push the pedal down and ride into the dark wooded area.

I pedal at a slow pace as I keep my eyes open for anything that could live here. With every cool breeze I twist around, trying to find out what would make that rustling noise. I hate scary things. Why would anyone want to do something just to scream and run away. It doesn't make any sense to me. I try to pick up the pace, but come to a stop when I realize something.

I have no clue where the light even landed.

In a panic I begin to race forward, trying to get to wherever I was trying to get to as quickly as possible. I hear a loud snap off in the distance and let out a small scream before hitting something. I fly forward, going over the handle bars and right above a small log. I come to a slide and lay there for a moment, feeling my body ache from the rough landing. I hate falling off my bike. More so then how often it happens.

With a light groan I pick myself up and walk back to my bike... only to drop to my knees at the site. The front wheel has bent completely to the left, making the bike completely useless.

Of course it breaks, something always goes completely wrong when I break the rules. That's the entire reason I'm at Grandmas! I always break the rules and get caught. I don't mean to do bad things... I just...

*SNAP*

My heart skips a beat as something nearby breaks a stick. I try to keep my breathing down as I jump behind the log and lay low. Hopefully whatever is out there won't notice me and just go on its way.

What if it's my wish though? If I just hide here it may leave me, and I'll be alone...

With a final sigh I lift myself up and look around. With nothing directly near me I stand up and inspect the area around me closer. Off to the left of the trail there seems to be some fog growing. Either that's where the monsters come from or that's where my wish is.

Before I begin my trek through the woods, I remove my seat and wield it with both hands to fight off anything that may come after me. Step after step I keep my head on a swivel; looking for anything that could be a potential threat or wish.

*SNAP*

"Who's there?" I ask as I turn around. I walk backwards slowly as I hear another loud snap somewhere in the distance. "I'm warning you, I have a bicycle seat and I'm not afraid to use-AAAAAHH!" I yell as the ground disappears behind me. I fall flat on my back and quickly scramble to get my seat. I grab it and move to run off, when I find my wish.

"A pony?" I ask aloud as I stand up and walk around the sleeping form. It has a light teal coat with bushy light yellow hair. I take my seat and poke its face with the metal end a few times, checking to see if it'll do anything.

Nothing happened.

I use the seat again to poke at its wings, keeping as much distance between us as possible.

Again, nothing happened.

I set the seat down and sit beside its face. As slowly as possible, I bring my hand up and pet it across its head. When I near its forehead I find a short teal horn sticking out. Its a... unicorn... pegasus... pony. Is this what my wish brought me? A pegasus/unicorn pony?

I jump to my feet when I hear the snap again. Whatever's out there is getting close. I eye the pony a bit, trying guess his weight, before attempting to lift it up... its a boy. Kind of gross but whatever; I'm not going to argue with what the stars gave me. I try lifting him up, but find him pretty heavy. I end up giving him a piggy back ride before taking him out of the small crater.

I walk at a quick pace as I try to find my way out of the darkness. Thanks to the thick tree cover I can't really see where I'm going. A couple of times I trip over rocks or downed branches; but I never drop my pony...

THUD

Still didn't drop him. I lay there for a moment, facing the ground, as I try to trace my steps back home-

THUD-THUD THUD-THUD THUD-THUD

I roll over and throw myself on top of the pony as a horse jumps over head and slides to a stop before me. I wont let anyone take my little pony! He's my wish, I'll take care of-

"STEPHANIE ALLEN!" Oh no.....

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Rose Cassaway

Twenty Minutes Prior

With an annoyed sigh I walk old Nelly to her stall and take her to the trough. After a long day of riding around the farm she eagerly begins to take in gulps of water, alloying me to remove her saddle. I pat her side a bit before taking the saddle to its rack and locking up her pen.

Working the farm alone is hard work, but I manage it. I grow what I can and make the best with what I can do by myself. I don't need anyone's help; I've come this far without it. Others only slow me down anyway. Jonathan can go fuck himself for all I care.

I shut the lights off in the barn before walking off for home; rubbing my tired muscles along the way. I'm just going to go inside, heat up that left over chicken, and go to bed-

KROOOOOOOMM

"WHAT IN THE HELL!" I yell as a massive beam of blue light comes crashing down, hitting right in the middle of the pine forest. All of the horses begin to whinny and buck as the light quickly disappears. I stand there, dazed, until I begin to run towards the house. A lightning strike without clouds, somethings going on. But I don't care about that all too much. I just want to make sure that my crops don't burn down.

I burst through the door and make a bee line to the phone in the kitchen, being the closest one. I quickly dial three numbers and wait for the person on the other end to pick up, tapping my foot impatiently.

"911 what's your emergency?" The operator asks.

"My name is Rose Cassaway, what looked like a bolt of lightning just struck near my house-"

"A.... bolt of lightning?" She repeats. "Is there a fire?"

"Not that I'm aware of. The odd part though is that there isn't a single cloud in the sky right now. No planes. Nothing out here to spark it." I glance outside quickly to check if a fire has started by now. It hasn't, but I still don't trust it.

"Can I have your address please?"

"I'm at the Cassaway Farm on 1200 Castle drive, Manton California-"

"Right. We're sending someone out there to investigate. If anything changes please notify us. Stay indoors and-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I get it. Thanks." I say before slamming the phone back onto the receiver. Useless as usual. I pace around the kitchen a bit before deciding to take matters into my own hands. I march right back over to the barn and begin to saddle up Cobalt. He's a bit more sturdy then the rest, which will come in handy in case of any fires.

"LETS GO!" I yell as we gallop out of the barn. With my left hand I hold onto the reins while I hold onto a shovel with my right. Hopefully if there is a fire it won't be too big to fight on my own. I don't want a bunch of fire fighters driving through my fields.

We burst through the tree line with great speed as we head north, looking for any lights or smoke. Nothings yet, that's a good sign, maybe I just imagined it. It was fairly close to the barn, if there was any fires I think I would of found it by now. In a split second I spot a little blonde girl before me. I instictively kick Cobalt in the ribs and brace for him to leap over the idiot.

"STEPHANIE ALLEN!" I yell as Cobalt slides to a halt before the little blonde girl. She jumps over something and stares up at me, scared out of her mind. "What in the hell do you think you're doing out here? It's one in the morning!" I yell as I dismount Cobalt and walk up to the little girl.

"I... I..." She stutters as she covers some teal thing. "I wont let you take him!" She yells as she hugs the thing tightly.

"Take who?" I ask as I walk up to her and take a knee. "What are you hiding?"

"He's my wish, I want to keep him!" She yells. I just roll my eyes and yank her off the...

"Oh my god.... what is that?" I ask as I look over the small colorful horse. "Did... did you steal a colt!?"

"NO! I wished on a shooting star and he appeared!"

"Girl, don't be stupid. Where did you get this colt? He doesn't look old enough to away from his..." I begin as I start to look his body over, finding the horn and wings quickly. "What in the hell is this thing?"

"He's my pony! So leave us alone Rose!" She barks at me as she moves back over to hug the unconscious being. I just roll my eyes as I pull her off the creature again. If she wasn't with Abigail I would probably bite her head off for being disrespectful; I'll just let her deal with her later.

"Whatever he is, he probably has a concussion of some kind." I say as I stand and toss him on my shoulder, much to Stephanie's displeasure. "Come on, I'll take you home-"

"Where are you taking my pony?" She asks as I head over to Cobalt.

"Back to the barn. He needs a vet to look him over-"

"I want to come!" She demands, stomping her foot down. I grit my teeth before lifting myself into the saddle and reach down for her, getting her to take my hand eagerly.

"You can come with me to set him in the barn. After that I'm taking you home." I inform her.

"But-"

"No buts. Its past midnight and you have school tomorrow. Now keep quiet and hold the-"

"Pony."

"Right.... pony." I say as I set him in her arms. I'm not entirely sure about this thing being a pony. But whatever it is, I have to at least take it to the barn to be checked out. I'm sure Lynn will be fascinated. I kick Cobalt's sides as I hold Stephanie close, getting him to gallop off through the woods back home.

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Unknown

Ah.... my head. Why does my head hurt so much? What happened? Where am I? I sit up and look around to find myself in a wooden barn. The wall in front of me seems to be a door that slides open while the wall behind me has a window up high. Below the window is a metal tray that has spots of rust all over it. The room smells heavily of hay, thanks to the floors being covered in it. When did I go to a farm? How did I get here?

I sit up and try to think back to what happen prior to this. I can't remember anything. All I know is that I'm really thirsty and that I'm in some wooden room. I don't know how I got here, where I'm from.... what's my name?

All of my thoughts ended the moment the door slide open and two creatures walked inside. I've never seen anything like them before. They walk on two legs and seem to only have manes. Ones really tall and looks fairly old. She had a short brown mane that's tied back and is wearing jeans and a red and white button up shirt. She has some wrinkles and tired light brown eyes. I can't help but feel tense around her. She seems to be mad about something, I hope I didn't do anything wrong...

The other one looks about my age... maybe. She's a bit taller than me and has bushy blonde hair. She's wearing a light blue shorts and a pink top... why are they wearing clothes to begin with? Her light blue eyes dart between me and the other pony in excitement. I wonder if...

"Alright, he's awake. That's a start." The taller one says as she moves to the metal tray behind me. She twists something inside that makes the tray begin to fill with water. "Okay. He has water, now I'm taking you-"

"He has to drink first!" The smaller one pouts as she stomps a foot down. I kind of chuckle at her antics, mainly because she seems to have some weird control over the obviously older one.

"Fine!" The tall one shouts as she pushes me over to the tray. I look up to her before looking down to the water. Licking my lips I dive down and begin to drink to my hearts content. I feel as if I've gone months without a single drop. "Well... I guess you can lead a horse to water." The tall one jokes as she stands up.

"I told-"

SLAM

We all jump a bit as the sound of a door slamming open fills the room. I look back and watch as another one of the two legged people appear. She's old. Much older then the tall one. She's wearing bright neon green pants and a grey sweater that has a green face on it. Her mane, oddly enough, seems to be wrapped in aluminum foil and had two random metal sticks pointing out. She looks around the room a bit before looking down to me and smiling.

"OH GREAT VISITOR FROM BEYOND!" She yells as she runs towards me. I run to a corner and try to distant myself as much as possible as the tall one holds her back. The little one moves in front of me and holds her arms out as she tries to protect me from her as well.

"Barbra! What in the-"

"TAKE ME TO THE GREAT BEYOND! PLEASE! I'll tell you where our leaders are, I can give you anything you desire! Just-"

"BARBRA!" The older one shouts."Get a hold of yourself! It's just-"

"Rose, don't interfere with Inter Galactic Association dealings! A visitor from another planet has come to our humble town and-" She begins but stops when the taller one, Rose I think, begins to push her out of the room.

"Come on. It's time for you to go back to bed." She says as she wrestles the older one, Barbra, out. "Stephanie, come on! You're going home too!"

"Fine." She says before turning back to me. She drops to her knees and pulls me in for a tight hug.

Whoa.

I feel... butterflies. Why are my wings trying to stand up? I've had plenty of hugs before, I think, and they've never felt like this before. What's going on?

"Good night pretty pony." She says as she stands and follows the wrestling older ponies out. I sit there in a daze as I try to comprehend what just happened. I look up and jump to my hooves as I notice that she's leaving the building.

"Good night!" I yell after her as I run to the doorway. They all freeze and look back to me. Was... was that too much? We all stand there for a bit, just staring at each other. I begin to feel my cheeks burn as they continue to stand there, frozen in wrestling pose, eyes on me with their jaws open. "Uh..."

"MY PONY CAN TALK!" Stephanie yells as she jumps up in excitement.

"YES! FIRST CONTACT!" Barbra yells in excitement.

"Oh.... we're in deep shit." Rose says as the other two jump in joy. Did..... did I do something wrong?

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Agent Lewis

"Sir." Agent Thompson says as he offers me a folder. "You won't believe this one." I take it and begin to read it over. Page after page I feel myself begin to get worked up as I slowly stand to my feet. This can't be true... there's... there's just no way.

"Grab your coat!" I yell as I run to the front of my office and grab my jacket. "We're going to Manton."

Chapter 3 ...Gone Wrong

After Stephanie and Barbra had their moment of... excitement, they ran over to me and started asking me a million questions; none of which I could answer. What's my name, where am I from, how can I talk, whats the meaning of life? I started to get a little worked up when I couldn't answer these questions, but Rose saved me. She just pushed the other two out of the room and closed the door behind herself.

"Who am I?" I ask myself quietly as I look out the window. Where did I come from? How is it I can talk and know what most stuff is, but I can't think of anything that happened to me before earlier? The earliest thing I can think of is waking up here, looking at the strange ponies-

SLAM

"LET ME! LET ME! LET ME! LET ME!" Barbra repeats as Rose walks over to me and kneels down.

"Barbra! For the last time, just take Stephanie home and let me deal with this!" Rose snaps. Barbra lets out a humph before guiding Stephanie home. "Okay, so what's your name?"

"Uh..."

"Name? Title? What do you go by?" She demands.

"I... don't know." I say as I look away from her.

"Well what do you know? Where are you from? What are you? Where are your parents?"

"Parents?" I ask as I look over to her. I don't know why, but this is what brought my tears out. "I don't know." I repeat as I try to hold back my own tears. "I don't know anything! I don't know how I got here, what my name is, I don't even know what my parents look like!" I sob as Rose just sits there. She looks a bit put off, as if she doesn't know what to do. Without warning I run over to her and hug her as I let my tears fall out.

"Uh..."

"Please! Help me! I don't know whats going on! Where's my mommy? Wheres my daddy? I want to go home, wheres home!" I cry into her stomach as I feel myself lose control of my emotions.

"There.... there..." She says awkwardly as she pets my back a bit. "Look.... we've all had... big days. Why don't you come on over to the house and go to bed. We'll get this sorted out in the morning, okay?"

"*sniff* okay." I say quietly as I continue to hug her.

"Uh... let's go then." She says as she pulls me off. I wipe my eyes a bit before following her out of the building. I don't get why she's walking away so quickly, I just needed a hug...

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Agent Lewis

"WAKE UP!"

"HUH!" I jolt awake as Johnson hits my leg. I give an awkward stretch, thanks to the small car, before looking out the window.

"We're only in L.A." I complain sleepily as he gives me his net book. I look at the fuzzy screen before asking for an explanation.

"Someone knows we're coming." He says as we race up the five. "That's the satellite feed to Manton, someone set up a jammer so we can't look in-"

"Any idea who?" I ask as I try to break through the fuzz.

"Intels working on that," he replies as he takes a drink from his coffee.

"So why did I have to wake up?" I ask as I shut the computer.

"Don't you think that we should call for back up?"

"Lets not jump to conclusions. For all we know its just some crazy UFO conspirator. No need to mobilize... yet." I say as I lay back in my seat. "But lets try to get there as quickly as possible just in case..."

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Lynn Darenger

THUTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD

"AH!" I yell before falling out of bed. I look back to the clock and groan as I pick myself up from the floor. Not caring about being in my underwear, I storm over to the door and slam it open to find Rose standing there with her truck still running.

"ITS SIX IN THE MORNING!" I yell at her. "AND SUNDAY!"

"Shut up Lynn." Rose... tactful as always. "I need you to come over to the farm-"

"It's... Sunday. My day off." I say before shutting the door. I begin to walk back to my warm, toasty, comfy-

SLAM

I spin back and gape as Rose walks over my now destroyed door and approaches me... with a rope.

"Rose... what are you doing?" I ask as I back away from her.

"Either you get dressed and come with me, or I hog tie you and drag your ass down to my farm. Your choice." She says before squaring off.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

Four Minutes Of Trying Later

"ROSE! ROSE CASSAWAY YOU LET ME GO THIS INSTANT!" I yell as she tosses me into the back of her old chevy. "ROSE I'M HALF NAKED!" I scream as I try to break out of her ropes.

"That what you get for sleeping like a whore." Rose says before getting in the drivers seat. "Now shut up and try not to fall out." She says before starting the engine.

"ROSE! ROOOOOOOOSSE!" I yell as we begin to drive away.

After about a twenty minute drive she finally pulls over to check on my mood. Through gritted teeth I comply with her, getting pants and a shirt along with a seat in the cabin. Once we were back on the road I just wait until her farm comes into view before asking questions.

"So what is so important that you drag me out of my house, half naked, this early in the morning?" And without coffee.

"..."

"Rose? This better not be like the time you had a horse throw a shoe-"

"This.... I guarantee that you've never seen anything like this before." She says slowly.

"What is it?" I ask, my curiosity slightly peeked. "What did you find?"

"I don't think words can really describe this. Lets just say he needs a doctor."

"I'm a vet Rose." I say, but don't get an answer. "A he? Is he hot?"

"..."

"Hm.... is there a reason you wanted me to come half naked?" I ask teasingly.

"..."

"So whats his name?"

"If you keep asking questions I'm going to toss you back in the bed." She says before turning down the road to her place.

I keep quiet until we finally make it to her house. I step out and begin to head towards the barn, but stop when I see her heading towards the house. Not fighting it, and not wanting to get hog tied again, I follow her inside. We go up stairs where she pauses in front of the guest bedroom. She goes to open the door but stops as she turns back to me.

"Okay. He tends to be a bit... clingy, but try not to ask too many questions. I think he may have hit his head."

"Rough night?" I ask with a smile.

"You don't know the half of it." She says before opening the door and pushing me inside. I was about to protest when she shut the door in my face.

"Not... cool." I groan as I rub my nose. I look around the room and begin to walk around, not finding anything of interest. No man. No wounded animal. Just a plain, country bedroom with a bit of dust laying around. I swear sometimes I think that Rose has gone mental ever since John-

"*snore*" I look back to the bed and see a small lump move around a bit. I walk over to the small sleeping form and pull the blanket back...

"What... in the name of..."

"Huh?" It asks as it wakes up and looks at me. "... hi?"

"AAAAAHHH!" I yell as I run for the door and try to force my way out, only to find Rose holding me in. "ROSE! ROSE THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" I yell as I try to yank it open.

"QUIT YELLING AND HELP THE POOR KID!" She yells from the other side as she continues to hold the door.

"IT SPOKE! IT FUCKING SPOKE!" I yell as I spin back around and... "Oh..."

He's hiding under the sheets shaking as I hear him cry a bit. I stop trying to escape as I stare the at the small bundle. Okay, he's obviously smart enough to have emotions and be able to speak. And I just... okay. I walk over to the side of the bed and stand there awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

I take a seat on the edge and reach out to him. I hesitate a bit more before fining his back and begin to rub slowly. I hear him stop his crying as he tries to gain control over himself. Taking a deep breath, I pull the sheet back until I get a complete look at him. He has a light teal body with light yellow hair. On his sides are feathered wings while a horn protrudes from his temple. What catches my attention the most though are his large magenta eyes.

"H-hi." I stutter as I try to find my voice. "My name is Lynn Darenger."

"..."

"Uh... sorry about earlier... I.. well, I didn't think I'd ever see anything like you." I say awkwardly as I chuckle a bit.

"..." He stays silent, staring up at me as he tenses up from my every movement.

"So... I'm a veterinarian you know. Its like a doctor, but for animals-"

"But I'm not an animal." He pouts as he scooches away from me.

"You are absolutely right. Now I'm going to go tell Rose this so... I dunno, go back to sleep or something?" I say as I stand and begin to back away from him.

"Wait!" He yells as he jumps up. "Uh... I might be hurt though.... and I guess, since I'm different from you..."

"Why don't I look you over a bit before talking to Rose." I say with a smile. He nods a bit before sitting back down.

I go to the bed and begin to check him over. I start out as if he were any other animal I was looking over, but that soon ended when I found out he's ticklish. I couldn't resist his adorable little laugh for long, so I started to just play with the poor thing. He tries to squirm out from my torrent of tickling fingers, but I scoop him up and hold him against his will as I make him cry from laughing.

"Everything alright?" Rose asks as she opens the door. We both continue to chuckle I sit him back down on the bed, ruffling his hair-

"What is that?" I mumble to myself as I inspect the back of his head.

"Ah... it hurts there." He complains as he ducks from the contact.

"What happened to you? There's a huge... wound here." I separate his hair to get a better look, but there isn't much to it. It's just a typical bashing wound.

"Is there anything you can do for him?" Rose asks as she peers over.

"Well, I can clean it up and wrap it off, but other then that no. I guess this explains why you can't remember anything." I say as I stand. He looks between the two of us as he begins to think about something.

"No.... I remember one thing." He says as he tries to focus.

"What is it?" I ask, egging him on to focus.

"I... remember... somepony... calling me sweet... I think." He closes his eyes as he tries to focus on the memory, mumbling to himself as he begins to piece everything back together.

SLAM

"ROSE!" Barbra yells from downstairs. We all freeze up as she comes barging into the room. "THE POLICE ARE COMING TO GET HIM!" She yells as she runs over to the curtains and peers out below.

"Okay, people need to stop slamming my doors open." Rose says as she walks over to Barbra.

"Didn't stop her from breaking down my door." I whisper to... the kid, getting a chuckle in response.

"What's going on Barbra?" Rose asks as she pulls the elderly woman to look to her.

"I've been setting up satellite jammers all over Manton, but someone on the outside is breaking through my firewalls! The mans coming for... HIM!" She yells as she points over to...

"Okay, we need to give him a name, even if its temporary." I say as I try to think of one. "Joh-"

"Don't you dare." Rose warns me.

"Sorry." I say, getting her to back off. I swear, you even mention his name and she gets so pissy-

"How about Herbert?" Barbra asks.

"That's a terrible, ugly name. Who would want that kind of name?" I ask, getting a glare from Barbra.

"My husband."

"Oh... I'll just be quiet now." I say as I shy away from her. We all stay silent as we try to think of one that would fit him the best-

"Mathew." Rose says quietly. Barbra and I look to each other before looking down to him.

"He kind of has a Mathew vibe to him. What do you think? Do you like it?" I ask him. He thinks about it for a second before shrugging.

"Okay. I'll be Mathew... at least until I remember my real name." We all nod along until we hear some knocking from downstairs. Barbra runs to the window before ducking out of sight.

"Its the fuzz!" She yells in a hushed tone. "We have to hide Matt!"

"I thought it was Mathew?" Matt asks.

"Matt is short for Mathew." I explain to him, getting a nod in response. "Why would we hide him? I'm sure Sheriff Coalson wouldn't-"

"Its not the police! It's a federal agent!" She corrects me. Not believing her for a second, Rose and I peer out the window to see two men in black suits waiting by the front door.

"Oh... shit." Rose mumbles as she walk about the room.

"You can't give Matt to them!" Barbra says as she jumps up a and follows Rose around.

"Why not?" I ask, getting another glare from Barbra.

"Heeeelllo!? Does Roswell ring any bells!? What do you think they would do to him? They'd probably dissect him and stuff his parts into tiny little jars labeled 'cheese.' Darn flat foots-"

"Would they really do that?" Matt asks as he shies away from us. "Why? I didn't do anything to them-"

"Exactly! That's why we need to hide you! Keep you-"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Hello?" A voice from down stairs calls. "Miss Cassaway? The front door was open. We're here about the... weather disturbance."

"Weather? Roswell? UFO's? Black suits? Does any of this ring any bells for any of you?!" Barbra asks as she gapes at each of us.

"Barbra-"

"He's too sweet to go to some government laboratory!" She yells as she lifts him up and squeezes him in a hug. He tries to wiggle his way out, but he's too small to do so. "Rose, we have to-"

"All I have to do is go down there and tell them what happened." She says as she stops and looks to each of us.

"Rose, maybe we should listen to Barbra-"

"Lynn, go ahead and take my truck home, you can return it later. I'm going down there to talk with them." She says before walking out of the room. I look over to Barbra for help before she suddenly drops Mathew.

"I have to go.... save... my.... medicine. No damn government lackey is going to take... my.... herbs away from me!" She stumbles before running out of the room.

"Miss Lynn?" Matt asks as he looks up to me. "What's going to happen to me?"

"Well.... I... you..."

Chapter 4 Secrets

Perspective: Rose

As I walk down the stairs I pull on a hidden panel at the bottom and reach for the shotgun inside. After checking the barrels I snap it shut, gaining the attention of the intruders.

"Is there a reason you two broke into my house?" I ask, getting them to back away and raise their hands.

"Why do you have a shotgun?" The black one asks.

"Its a free country. I also have the right to shoot intruders. Start talking or I start shooting." I warn them as I shift the gun around in my hands.

"Calm down, we're with the government." The white one says as they both show me their badges. "My name is Agent Lewis, this is my partner Agent Thompson. We're here in response to your call about the weather. Did anything recently happen that you can't really explain? Odd weather, mysterious noises.... strange creatures?" I eye the two of them before walking over to the kitchen. I set the shotgun on the counter as I open the fridge and pull out a pitcher of lemonade.

"Ma'am, your cooperation is essential for..."

"Don't Ma'am me sonny boy." I snap as I pour myself a glass and take a drink. "Yeah. There was some odd weather."

"Odd how?" Agent Lewis asks as he steps towards me.

"Well..." I say as I peer back to see everyone tip toeing their way down the stairs. "It was around midnight when I was putting my horse to stall. It scared the living daylights out of me." I say as I lean against the counter, setting my glass down.

"Did you happen to get a look at the... lightning? Where did it come from? We need to know everything ma'am," Agent Thompson says. A loud creak gets his attention, making him start to turn around.

"Where are my manners!" I yell as I begin to slam cabinets as I look for some glasses. "Would you two like some lemonade? I make it myself."

"That won't be necessary-"

"None sense. I insist." I say as I pour a glass for each of them and hand them over. I have to buy as much time as possible for the others. Barbra was right, they know about Mathew... and I can't bring myself to give him up. Lord knows what the government would do to the poor kid.

"Well... if you made it yourself." Agent Thompson says as he takes a sip. Agent Lewis just rolls his eyes as he does the same.

"So, back to the lightning. Did you happen to go out there at all?" Agent Lewis asks.

"Uh.... yes. I actually did." I say as I start to run the garbage disposer, the best thing I could think of to cover the sound of my truck starting.

"Ma'am... is everything alright?" Agent Thompson asks, glancing to his partner.

"Yep! I mean no! I... uh..."

"Did you see something out there?" Agent Lewis asks as he steps over to me and shuts the garbage disposer off. "This could be a threat to national security ma'am. You need to tell us everything."

"*sigh* fine. Ya got me. You see, the thing is..." I start to say but stop when I see Barbra in the back. She gives me a thumbs up before flipping off the two government workers. "The thing is... I... lied."

"You... lied."

"You got me! I saw the lightning but I didn't go out there at all. I was too worried about my horses and crops. That and I've been feeling bloated, cramps you know. That and I've been having mood swings ever since my husband left and I just-"

"Okay, okay, we get it. Look, do you mind if we take a look in the forest on your property? We need to do a thorough search and-"

"Oh go right ahead. Don't mind me, I'm just a... single... lonely... woman in search of a....*gulp* man *shiver*." I say, hating myself for saying it.

"Uh.... we'll keep that in mind. What can you tell me about the residences on you property?" Agent Lewis asks as he gives an odd look to his partner.

"Oh, I rent three campers to some elderly people. They're on medi-care and that kind of stuff so I don't think they'll be much use-"

"We'll keep that in mind. Thank you for your cooperation." Agent Thompson says before downing the rest of his lemonade. "We have to get going now-"

"Don't you have any other questions.... big... guy?" I hate myself so much right now.

"Uh... no. Anyway... we have to get going now... you should stay here... in case... just stay here." He says as they look to one another and begin to slowly back away from me. Crap, I need to buy them some more time.

"Are you sure there isn't anything else you need? Anything?" I ask as I walk after them.

"No, we'll be fine on our own. You just... stay here and.... keep an eye on your horses." Agent Thompson says as they turn to leave the building. I walk after them and try to think of another way to stall them more, but nothing comes to mind.

"What are you flat foots doing here?" Barbra asks as she walks through the front door.

"Barbra? What are you doing here?" I ask in a panic.

"I saw these two knuckle heads waltz into my peaceful little town and decided to see what's going on. What is it? Trying to find the perfect spot to hide you gov-"

"You're Barbra Sainen, the blogger of 'Not Alone." Agent Thompson says, getting Barbra to freeze up as he approaches her. "Lewis you go ahead and check out the forest, I'll stick around to question her."

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Mathew

I sit up on the bed and continue to watch Lynn pace around the room. I think I did something wrong, but I'm not sure what. Hopefully they don't get too mad at me, I don't really have anywhere to go...

"Miss Lynn?" I ask, getting her to pause. "Did... did I do something wrong?"

"Oh no honey. Its just... there are some-"

"The fuzz is down stairs trying to take you away! But we won't let them..." Barbra starts but is stopped when Lynn covers her mouth.

"What Barbra meant to say is that there are some bad people down stairs and we don't want anything bad to happen to you. You didn't do anything wrong. Now... what to do?" She asks aloud as she continues to pace about.

"Why don't we just take him to my fallout shelter? It's only a short walk away." Barbra offers.

"You have a fallout shelter? Why?" Lynn asks.

"Built it back in the eighties to hide from the commies. Shame though, never really had to use it. Four feet of reinforced concrete hidden from any prying eyes. Stocked with weeks worth of supplies as well as weapons and ammo." Barbra says proudly.

"... weapons? Like... guns?" I ask nervously.

"Guns, swords, crossbows, grenades, you name it I have it," she tells us, proud as ever.

".... why?"

"I ain't gonna be a no commie."

"..."

"What's a commie?" I ask, but am ignored.

"Anyway, how far is this shelter?"

"Not far, a mile at most."

"Alright lets go to it then." She says as she goes to the door and opens it slowly. "Okay, stay quiet and follow me." We all sneak our way out of the room and down the stairs. I bump into Barbra as she stops to signal Rose. I wonder what it means to show somepony your middle... appendage... thing. We make it out to the front porch where we find Lynn in some kind of carriage thing.

"What are you doing!?" Barbra yells in a whisper as she runs over to her. The metal carriage thing roars to life as two bright lights shine from the front. I wanted to run out of the way, but the lights kind of... froze me in place. "We can't take that! They'll notice it's missing!" I shake my head as the lights shut off. That was... weird.

"Well... lets get walking then." Lynn says as she steps out of the carriage.

"Just go north for one mile and-"

"Wait, aren't you coming?" I ask as I walk up to Barbra.

"Sorry kido, but I live on the farm. They'll come to question me soon. Don't worry though, Lynn will take you somewhere safe, I promise." I look between the two of them before nodding and walking over to Lynns side. "Right, go north for one mile and look to the two leaning trees. Here's the key, just... stay there until one of us come to get you."

"Alright. But be sure to trade with me. I still have work tomorrow." Lynn says as she takes the key.

"We'll try. Take care-"

"I will."

"I was talking the kid." She says before looking back inside the house. "Now get going!" She says before turning around and marching straight back into the house. We both look to one another before taking off for the forest.

A thick layer of fog covers the forest floor as we run through. Due to my smaller size Lynn decided it would be quicker to carry me. The early morning sun begins to brighten the world around us, shining a light on two fallen trees that are being held up by each other. The one on the left has long thin branches that has bright pink flowers while the one on the right is dead and has a hole in the center of it. Lynn and I glance to each other before trekking underneath the two trees.

Lynn sets me down and begins to search the ground for something. I look around for something as well, but... it's just the ground. No matter where I check or how deep I dig there isn't anything here. After a few minutes Lynn starts to cuss a lot.

"HELLO? IS ANYONE THERE?!" Somepony calls from the distance.

"Shit!" Lynn shouts as she begins to look around frantically. As the sound of plants being crushed by steps becomes louder and louder she picks me up and shoves me into the hole in the tree. "Just stay here and be quiet. I'll deal with these guys-"

"What if they take you? What should I do then?"

"Then-"

"MA'AM? CAN YOU COME HERE PLEASE? MA'AM!?"

"Just stay in here okay?" She says before walking away. I sit back in the cramp hole and try to keep calm as I hear them begin to talk. What did I do to deserve this? I didn't mean to cause everypony all this trouble, I just... I just want to know what's going on. I try my best to stifle my tears as I hear the two of them begin to argue. I rub my eyes as the tears begin to fall-

... strong stallions always press on. No matter what they face they always find a way to continue. One day you'll understand this...

I shake my head as the deep voice echos in my mind. I... I remember... somepony told me that... but why? Who was the one who told me that. I sit back as I try to think-

CLICK

"Uh oh." Suddenly the tree opens up and I fall straight down. The surface starts out as wood but quickly turns to metal, making my screams echo all the way down. I look down and see what looks like a grate blocking the end of the tunnel.... NONONONONONO! I begin to flap my wings as hard as I can in an attempt to stop from crashing through, but I've already gained too much speed.

CRASH

I slam into the grate and break it off it's hinges. With a loud thud I crash onto something metal and fall off onto the stone floor. I sit up and rub my head a bit as I take in my new surroundings. I've fallen into a stone room that has flimsy furniture scattered about. I had landed on a stove that's in between a refrigerator and a sink. To my left is a wall with a poster that says:

'United We Stand, Separated We Die.'

To the right there is a hall that leads to other rooms while in front of me is a table... with Stephanie sitting in one of the seats. She's wearing blue pants and a white t-shirt with her hair tied back. She looks as if she's barely woken up and is eating a bowl of cereal.

"*gasp* my pony! How did you find my secret place?" She asks as she runs over to me and hugs me again.

Whoa.

There's that feeling again, in my tummy. I don't know why, but I like getting hugs from her. They feel.... nice.

"Uh.. h-hi Stephanie. I.. uh... well..." I stumble as I try to explain the situation, but find it hard to do as she continues to hug me.

"Are you hiding here to? You can hide with me! No one knows how to get in here anymore so it'll be just the two of us." She says as she releases me.

"Just.... just the two of us?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"Alone?"

"Pretty much."

"With nopony having anyway of getting to us."

"Yup."

FWOOSH

Chapter 5 Safety Dance

I sit there stunned as I try to grasp why my wings are holding themselves out like this. I've never had this problem before, why are they doing it now? And in front of Stephanie no less! She'll probably think I'm weird or something! No matter what I do they refuse to go back down, popping straight back up when I push them back.

"What's up with your wings?" Stephanie asks as she inspects my back.

"Uh... it jUUSST WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I yell as she grabs one roughly. A sudden wave of butterflies washes over me as she yanks my wing one way then the other. This is too weird. I pull my wing free, getting the weird feeling again, and back away from her.

"What's wro-"

"Why don't you show me around?!" I blurt out as I try to change the subject, keeping my wings as far away from her as possible.

"Are you blushing?" She asks with a giggle as she leans down to get a better look at me.

"N-no. I... I'm just... WHATS THAT!" I yell as I point to... actually, I don't know what that is. Stephanie looks at it and laughs a bit as she walks towards it.

"It's a juke box. They're not used anymore, explaining why Barbra would have one, but they were used to play music.... you know what music is right?" I have to roll my eyes at that.

"Of course I know what music is." I say, slightly offended. "Like polka and orchestral stuff.."

"Polka!?" Stephanie says with a laugh. "Okay, here. This one is a good one." She says as she presses a button.

The sound of music I've never heard the likes of fills the room. It immediately makes me bob my head as the drums begin to fill the back. I don't know what instrument could make this sound; possibly a guitar but I've never heard one so... not acoustic. It's also a lot faster than anything I've ever heard... where did I hear polka? What is-

"Come on!" Stephanie yells as she reaches down and grabs my forelegs. Before I could protest she pulls me up and begins to bounce around, throwing her head back and forth as our hops move about the room. I can't help but smile and join her antics. Jumping one way then the other as I drop all of my fears.

"GO, GO! Go Johnny go, go!" Stephanie sings aloud. "GO JOHNNY GO, GO! GO JOHNNY GO, GO! GO JOHNNY GO,GO! Johnny be good." Stephanie drops my legs and begins to dance on her own, tossing back and forth as her hair blurs about her. I couldn't help but gawk a bit before closing my eyes and letting the music take over.

This music felt... alive. Much better then what I think I remember of music. It just has this weird way of getting under my skin and making me want to move. I can't help jump, hop, and kick around as I throw my head from side to side, trying to match the same energy of the music.

Stephanie runs back to me and begins to dance with me again. I can't help but smile as I hold her... claws? Hmm... not hooves but not claws either. What ever they are, they're really soft and warm. I look up to see she's staring right at me, a large smile plastered on her face. I shrug and smile back as I try to keep up with her movements, finding it hard to do rearing up like this.

I feel the butterflies again, this is starting to get annoying. Why do I feel this around her so much! I don't feel it when I'm with Barbra or Rose! How does Stephanie do this to me almost every time we're around? Maybe it's because we're the same age?

Stephanie begins to giggle suddenly as she begins to spin around, still holding my hooves. I nearly trip over myself at first but stay standing by running with her. Faster and faster win spin around, the world around us becoming a blur as we focus on one another. She lets out a high pitched scream as we reach our top speed, nearly everything turning hazy as we let the music guide us. I let out a scream of my own as I feel my wings begin to flap along, trying to match her enthusiasm.

THUD

Stephanie trips over herself and falls to the ground. Due to the direction we were running, I follow right after her, landing on top. We both giggle a bit until Stephanie rolls onto her back. This proves to be a problem, because it puts us face to face with our chest against each others.

BUTTERFLIES!

WHOA! Okay, maybe not butterflies now. Now I think a couple of massive birds flew in, ate the butterflies, and then started dancing in my tummy.

"Uh..." UH!? Really?! That's all I can come up with! UH! I stare nervously into her eyes as I wait for her to respond. I'm unsure what to do here...

"You're weird." Stephanie says with a giggle as she begins to sit up. Weird... I quickly make my way off of her and sit to the side, too embarrassed to say or do anything else. "But that was fun. Come on, that's enough rock and roll for now. I'll show you the rest of the bunker."

"O-okay." I say as I follow her out of the room, giving one last glance to the bright music machine. Yeah... that music does things to you... gets in your head. That rock and roll....

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Rose

I can't help but pace about my living room as I wait for any word from the others. I know I won't hear from Lynn anytime soon, but Barbra was taken back to her trailer hours ago. And I haven't seen the other agent either... THAT'S IT! I'm going out there to take a look for myself. If I don't I'll have a heart attack! I run to the door an-

"Hey Rose-"

"GAH!" I yell as I nearly fall back. "Lynn! What are you doing here!? Where's Mathew? Is everything alright? Did they take him? What about Barbra? What happ-"

"ROSE! Calm down, everything is alright... for the most part." She says as she casually walks inside. I gawk out the door for a few seconds before turning back to her.

"What do you mean 'everything is alright for the most part'? What happened?" I ask as I follow her to the couch, where she drops down and sighs. She sits there for a few moments, eyes shut, and just relaxes. "Lynn."

"Huh? Oh right. Well, I took Mathew into the forest and tried to hide him in a tree, but then I was found by Agent Lewis. He asked me what I was doing out there and if I had seen anything. Of course I lied to him and made some bullshit excuse-"

"Language."

"... then when he decided that I was telling the 'truth' he took me to his car and ran a device over me. It beeped a bit, then he told me I could go."

"... and then?"

"And then I came here," she tells me matter of factly.

"... and then?"

"And then I scared you, and then I sat on your couch, and then I told you everything that happened, and then it's the future and I don't know what happens then." She says calmly as she sits there relaxing. "It's too early for all this crap."

"Watch your mouth!" I snap at her.

"You cussed in front of the kid!" She snaps back.

"Yeah! Because a damn horse started talking! Now the government is looking for him and are probably going to take him away! And because you and Barbra want to fucking lie to them we're probably going to go to jail for this! So forgive me for trying to-"

"Whoa whoa whoa. Hold it right there." Lynn says as she looks up to me. "You agreed to help us hide him. You didn't have to do any of that, but you did. And don't call him a horse, you know he's not-"

"I KNOW!" I snap as I begin to pace again. "I know... look, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just... don't know how to deal with all of this." I say as I cross my arms and continue to pace around.

"I don't either Rose." Lynn says as she stands up. She walks over to me and takes a hold of my arms, holding me still. "But I want to keep him safe, and I know you want to as well."

"Is he safe?" I ask her. "Lynn, are you sure he's somewhere safe? Somewhere where they won't find him and take him away?" I ask her, seeing the uneasiness of the answer.

"Hi Rose." Mathew says as he and Stephanie walk by.

"Hey, Lynn you tell me- WHAT THE FU-U-I mean Mathew! What are you doing here!?" I ask as I run over and pick him up in a tight hug.

"GAH! Too... tight... can't... feel... lungs..."

"Sorry!" I say as I set him back down and back off. I didn't mean to hug him like that! I was.... just worried about the poor kid. That's all.

"Well Stephanie and I were in the bunker together, taking a tour, when she stopped at something called, a monitoring station. We watched Miss Lynn talk to somepony in a suit and then leave the area. The guy in the suit reminded Steph that she had to go to Sunday school and asked if I could be her, 'show and tell'. Whatever that means. I said yes, so we left. We stopped by here to let you know where I was going."

"I... I..." I stutter as I try to piece everything together.

"Give us one second!" Lynn says as she pushes me into the kitchen. "This is perfect."

"In what way is this perfect?" I ask her as she begins to pace about.

"Look, they're going to search this place high and low. So the best coarse of action would be to remove him from here. If we write a note to Ben explaining the situation I know Ben'll help us-"

"And why would Ben help us?" I ask as I cross my arms.

"Are you joking? Ben is a softy when it comes to children-"

"And that's another thing. I don't trust Ben with children."

".... are you kidding me? What is Ben going to do except tell boring stories. Look, this is our best shot. I'll take him-"

"And why do you get to take him?" I ask, getting her to stop and stare at me.

"Why are you being so defensive of him? We're on the same side Rose. I want to keep him safe just as much as you do." I turn away from her as I try to think why I am being so protective of him. I barely know the kid, not to mention the whole species thing.

"I... just want him to be safe Lynn. Okay, take him into town. BUT KEEP HIM OUT OF SIGHT! I don't know how the rest of the town will react to him so lets keep this on a need to know basis."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. But I'll need to borrow your truck." She says as she pulls the keys from her pocket. I nod to her and follow her out to the front room, where we find the two of them on the couch. "Alright, I'll go ahead and take you guys to Sunday school-"

"YES! No old people music!" Stephanie exclaims as she jumps off the couch and pulls Lynn out the front door. Mathew jumps off the couch and was about to run off, but walks over to me instead.

"It's alright if I go... right? You aren't... mad at me, are you?" he asks me. I drop down to my knees and rest a hand on his shoulder, trying to find the right words.

"I'm.... a little disappointed that you didn't listen to me." I tell him, getting a worried look on his face. "But, it's okay this ONE time. In the future, if I tell you to do something, do it. I only want whats best for you." I tell him, getting a slow nod from him. He takes a few steps towards the door before coming to a stop. "Mathew is-" I start but stop when he turns and jumps into my lap for a hug.

"I'm sorry I disappointed you Rose. I promise I wont do it again," he tells me as he holds on tightly. I lightly wrap my arms around him and stroke his mane slowly. I have to take a moment to catch my breath and find my voice before responding.

"I know you wont. Now get going before you make Stephanie is late." I tell him quietly.

"Pony-feathers!" He exclaims before jumping out of my lap and running for the door. "Don't leave me!" I laugh a bit before I realize what just happened.

"Take it easy Rose Cassaway. You're playing this one too close. Don't do it again." I warn myself as I stand up and head to the door. I watch as my truck leaves the yard and drives down the dirt road, leaving a trail of dust behind them. It won't be like last time... he's too different for it to be.

Author's Note

The song played this chapter was Johnny Be Good by Chuck Berry. Not Marty Mcfly. Thanks for reading and like always,
Brony on!

Chapter 6 Sunday Thoughts

Perspective: Mathew

THIS CARRIAGE IS AWESOME! It goes really, really fast! It's a bit bouncy, but thanks to the cushioned seats it's not much of a problem. Though the seats don't really matter, I can't help but look out all of the windows as we travel down the dirt road. I look between Stephanie and Miss Lynn and wonder how they could possibly have such bored expressions. This has to be some kind of extreme magical device of awesome.

"Guh, can't this hunk of junk go any faster?" Stephanie asks in a gruff.

"FASTER!? We're already going... like... super fast! What more could you want? Wait... can it fly?" I ask, getting laughs from both of them.

"Super fast huh?" Miss Lynn asks with a chuckle. "Sorry, but we aren't breaking the speed limit. You'll just have to deal with it until we get to town."

"Can we at least put the radio on?" Stephanie begs. Miss Lynn just rolls her eyes and turns a nob, making the thing before me glow as sounds come out from the doors.

"Whoa... that's cool." I mutter as the slow music fills the carriage.

"Meh, it's only FM." Stephanie says as she looks out the window. I just shrug as I listen to the music as I look out every window.

Rose's house has disappeared from sight behind the gentle rolling hills of farmland. Large fields of golden yellow crops sway in the wind as large trees fill the horizon. The road we're on has been raised a bit, just enough so we could see over all of the tall crops. In the distance I can see a cluster of small buildings. Most of them look as if they're made of bricks or wood. The road turns black and smooth as we begin to near the town. I think I can see more pon...er... people to!

"Okay kid," Miss Lynn says as she pulls me back to sit down. "You need to stay seated now."

"Why?" I ask, tilting my head slightly.

"Well... it's against the rules to stand in a moving vehicle. You don't want me getting in trouble now, do you?" She asks as we slow down, barely making it to the edge of town.

"I'll stay seated." I say quietly. Sitting like this doesn't give me a good view of everything, but I don't want to get Miss Lynn in trouble, so I'll just deal with it.

At least I can the see top of the buildings though. Some are pointed while others are flat... this is boring. I want to see the people and the inside of the buildings and all the other stuff they have. We come to a stop as I hear some ponies talking outside. It sounds like a mare and a stallion. I tried to sneak a peek, but Lynn held me back.

"Shh..." She says as she puts a finger over her mouth.

"Why?" Stephanie asks loudly.

"Well... a talking... person, like Mathew is... strange. We don't want a ton of people rushing Mathew all at once now do we?" She asks us. We look to each other before looking back to her and shaking our heads. "Good, so lets try not to be seen by-"

"Lynn?" A mare calls from outside. "Lynn Darenger, my heavens what a surprise."

"Oh... Mrs. Mouldouth, Hiiii." Lynn says slowly as she moves her body to cover the window.

"My my my, up early aren't we. Will we be seeing you at service today?" The mare asks as she walks up to the window. I try to sneak a peek, but can only see a pink dress and blonde hair.

"You know, I was just on my way to drop off Stephanie with Ben, don't want-"

"Stephanie Allen? How... what is that?" The lady asks as she leans over and looks at me.

"HE'S MY PONY!" Stephanie yells before I can answer as she holds onto me tightly. "We're going to Sunday school together, his name is Mathew." She stares at the two of us for a second before shifting her gaze over to Miss Lynn.

"Honestly Lynn, church is no place for play things-"

"Huh? Oh! right, we'll just leave it in the car then-"

"I hope you do." She says in a tone that sounds almost nice, but leaves a lot of room to be mean. "Well I wont keep you any longer. Be sure to send my regards to Ben." She says as she walks off.

"Okay!" I yell back to her, getting Lynn to cover my mouth.

"What-"

"BYE!" She yells before making the carriage lurch forward. She lets out a long sigh as she shakes her head and rubs her forehead. I guess I wasn't suppose to talk... this place has too many rules.

We ride around a bit more before finally coming to a stop behind a tall white building. It's only two stories high, but the front part goes up more and comes to a point, kind of like an upside down ice cream cone. On top of that part of the building is metal cross, not sure why though. Lynn takes a few glances around before opening the door and escorting us inside. I wanted to look around a bit more, but Lynn wanted to get inside as quickly as possible.

"Hello? Ben?" Lynn calls out as we walk through the door. The wood paneled hall goes down three doors before ending with a set of double doors. I like the shaggy red carpet, but I wish the lights were on a bit more, it's fairly dark in here.

"Lynn? Groooovey baby, you came on down to volunteer, right on." From the last door on the right comes a woman with waist high purple pants, a very loose white shirt that has a massive collar, and a vest that has long cut up strands that go down to her knees.

"No, Ben, I'm just here to ask you a-"

"BEN'S A GIRL!?" I yell in surprise. I honestly thought that we were looking for a stallion.

"Whoa, I, am a vestige of life, not some company label of stereotypes that the man tries to keep down." She tells me.

"Sorry."

"Okay, so Lynn, what brings you to my humble abode?" Ben asks Lynn.

"..."

"Ben."

"Yeah."

"Do you notice anything... odd in the room?" She asks her as she glances down to me. Ben takes a look around, waving her arms around slowly, as she tries her hardest to find the source of the oddity. I just wait for her to notice me.

"Mmm... OH! You brought Stephanie to class, far out sister." She says as she high fives Stephanie.

"No Ben, the pony." Lynn says as she face palms. Ben looks down to me, to which I wave, and looks back to Lynn.

"Right, right. Hows it going love child." She says as she shows me two fingers. I'm not sure what that means, but at least she isn't freaking out like everypony else.

"Ben, there's a talking horse in the room..."

"Where?"

"RIGHT HERE BEN!" She yells as she points to me.

"You said that was a pony." She says as she pulls out some sun glasses and puts them on. Lynn face palms a bit harder now. "Anyway, I have to start class now. You coming little love pony?" She asks me with a large smile.

"What are we learning about?" I ask hesitantly.

"Well.... that 's a good question." She says with a pause as she thinks about it. "Huh, I forgot to make a lesson plan..."

"Again." Stephanie whispers to me.

"Ben, can I talk to you over here please?" Lynn says as she pulls her down the hall, leaving Stephanie and me alone.

"So..."

"Let's go get something to eat." Stephanie says as she runs to the middle door and opens it. I run after her to find the room inside is a small kitchen. We go to the fridge where we start going through the food. Stephanie makes the comment 'there's never any meat in here' and I nearly fainted. Meat? They eat... meat? But there's nothing in here other then veggies! Not to mentions all of the farms. Are... are they growing the food to feed others JUST TO EAT THEM! "Hey Mathew, want an apple?"

"MONSTERS!" I yell as I hop away from her.

"... what?"

"I mean..." I stutter as I suddenly feel very silly. "I don't really like apples that much."

"But you're a pony." She states plainly. "Ponies like apples. It's law."

"No it's not!" I snap back.

"Is to!"

"Is not!"

"Is to!"

"Is not!"

"Is to!"

"Is not!"

"Is to!"

"Is not!"

"Is to times infinity!" She argues, folding her arms in confidence.

"Is not times infinity plus one!" I retort, pleased with my clever response. There's no way she can one up-

"Is to because I'm a girl and I say so."

"... what!? NO IT DOESN'T!" I yell back at her, only to have her smile and turn away from me.

"That's how it works here, so eat up." She says as she tosses me an apple. That's... that's... that's just not fair! Why do girls get to boss us around like this!? Why don't we get a say in anything? REBELLION! I start my revolution... by not eating the apple. TAKE THAT GIRLS!

*GURGLE*

I look down to my tummy as I feel the emptiness eat away at me. I haven't eaten in awhile now.... NO! I'm not eating the dumb apple! I look over to the fridge and see Stephanie leaning against it, waiting. NEVER! I sit on the floor and stare back at her as she bites into an apple, smirking as she chews loudly.

*GURGLE*

My tummy quakes again. I curse my luck as I chance a glance down at the apple. I guess a couple bites couldn't-NO! I have to do this. To crush the tyranny of girls! For all stallions, big or small. FOR EQUESTRIA! Wait... where?

"Alright my little star eyed vessels." Ben says as she walks into the room. "Lets go to the classroom to get started-"

"Did you make a lesson?" Stephanie asks innocently as she follows her out.

"Uh... I thought we'd expand our minds during some soul searching Ti- Chi, you coming Mathew?" She asks from the doorway.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." I say slowly as I follow them out. Equestria, why does that sound so familiar?

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Lynn

After I dropped off the kids I move back to the truck, unsure of what to do next. I pull the door open, only to have it slammed shut. After the initial shock of the door being shut I take a look at the arm holding it shut. That's a military uniform...

"Jason?" I ask weakly as I turn around. "JASON!" I yell as I leap into his arms, kissing his cheeks and hugging him tightly. "I though you were in Afghanistan for a few more months!" I say as I continue to kiss him.

"Well, taking a shot in the leg gets you a ticket home-"

"YOU WERE SHOT!" I yell as I back off him.

"Well, shrapnel, but don't worry. It was only a flesh wound." He reassures me as he moves back to embrace me. I lean up on my tip toes to kiss him more passionately on the lips, moving my hands through his blonde hair. He chuckles a bit before breaking the kiss to grab his bag and toss it into the bed of the truck.

"My place?" I ask eagerly.

"You know it, but why do you have Roses' truck?" He asks a he takes the driver seat. I run around and jump in, barely registering his question.

"Oh, she let me borrow it to drop some stuff off in town, now lets go!" I tell him. We take off for my place, getting naughtier and naughtier the closer we get. Why did I have her truck... don't care. I'll figure it out later. After spending some time with my man.

Chapter 7 First Flight

Perspective: Lynn

Jason and I make our way back to my place as quickly as that rusty old truck could take us. We waste no time removing clothing as we hurry to my bedroom, where Jason throws me down. He crawls the length of my body so slowly my desire begins to burn, only being teased further by the soft kisses he plants occasionally. When we're finally face to face I grab the back of his neck and pull him in for a deep, passionate kiss. My focus falls to the dance between our tongues; where I'm trying to make an intricate waltz he's simply mashing. I don't mind today.

I let out a low moan as his hands begin to explore my body, finding its treasure quickly. I begin to pant slowly from his gestures, grabbing his broad shoulders to steady myself. I run a hand in his hair and accidentally pull when I feel his rigid member enter.

"Grah, ease up babe." He says as he begins to rock his hips.

"NNHG, a little....a little warning next time." I pant back as I release his hair. I move my hands out and grab at the sheets as his movements begin to become more powerful, guided, meaningful. My entire bed begins to shake as he grabs my shoulders and takes full charge over my body, becoming...

SLAM

We both freeze and turn our head to watch Rose march straight in and glare at the two of us. Everything falls deathly silent as we stare at one another, waiting for someone to speak.

".... heeey Rose. Look, Jason's back...."

"Where. Is. Matthew?" She asks slowly.

"I just dropped him off at Sunday school..."

"Lynn.... THAT WAS THREE HOURS AGO!"

"WHAT!" I yell as I grab the nearby alarm clock to see the time... twelve o' clock.

"Told you we shouldn't have done it back in the parking lot." Jason murmurs as he sits up. I pull the sheets to cover myself as I try to think where all the time went..... oh, yeah.... three times.... worth it.

"Did you two have relations in MY TRUCK!?" Rose yells, on the verge of as mental breakdown.

"No." I answer.

"Yes." Jason answers at the same time. Rose lets out an annoyed groan as she rubs the bridge of her nose. "It's OK, I went inside so there's no mess..."

"Jason, I thank you for your service and sacrifice..."

"Thank you..."

"But if you keep talking I'm going to cut your junk off."

"..... sorry." Jason and I share a look before falling silent. Knowing Rose, it would be wise to heed her warning.

"Where are my keys?" She asks, still rubbing her eyes.

"Uh... they're in the truck." Rose stops rubbing and glares right at me. "Don't kill me." I beg as I scoot away.

"So, Mathew is stuck with Ben at the church, where a town meeting is going to be held, my truck is out of gas, and my horse threw a shoe. What else is there to plague me?"

"..."

"Well, I may have not gotten it all in." Jason says, getting an irritated look from Rose. "Who's Mathew?"

"I swear Lynn, if your little treasures weren't so easy to get I'd say you were selling them." Rose says as she leaves the room. I pull the covers closer to myself as I begin to blush.

"I'm not... I'm not a whore... am I?" I ask Jason, who thinks about it for a second.

"No, no... well, maybe a little."

"Thanks Jason." I say flatly.

"So... who is Mathew?" He asks again.

"A little talking blue horse that came from lighting. He has some kind of memory loss and can't recall anything about where he came from or who he is." I state simply.

"No seriously, who is he?" I just pat his shoulder as I try to think of what to do.

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Mathew

"And push the ball away." Ben says as she makes a slow pushing movement to the right. I try to mimic her movement, but fumble through it and nearly fall over. It's hard to do stuff on your rear legs only! "Alright my star eyed vessels, we'll call that a day."

"FINALLY!" Stephanie exclaims as she falls back. I drop down to all four and stretch my shoulders a bit, what? Standing is weird!

"Alright, you two just hang out here while I give Abigail a call." She says as she heads to a different room. Stephanie and I look to each other before she gets up and runs to the door. She takes a peek outside before motioning for me to follow her out.

"Where are we..."

"SHH!"

"Why are we whispering?" I whisper to her as we sneak our way down the hall.

"Because I want to go to the tower, and we're not suppose to go there so we need to be sneaky." She whispers back to me as we find some stairs.

"Wait, what?"

"SHH!"

"Stephanie! Stephanie! I don't want to get in trouble... STEPHANIE!" I yell to her as she climbs up the steps. I check to make sure the coast is clear before running after her. I can't help but keep looking back as we climb higher and higher up the steps. Why does she want to go up here? What could possibly be up here that could be worth breaking the rules for?!

"Why are you being such a scardy cat?" Stephanie laughs.

"... I'm not a scardy cat."

"You're sweating..."

"YOU'RE SWEATING!" I yell back, only to get more laughs from her. "Why do we have to go up here anyway?" I ask as the stairs suddenly meet a hatch door.

"You'll see." She says as she undoes the latch and pushes it open. A strong, cool wind blows through the opening as we step out to the tower. We step out to a small square opening that has large, open windows. Above us a large metal bell hangs above us, shifting slightly in the wind. I walk to the edge of one of the windows and stare out over the town and surrounding farmlands.

"Whoa..."

"I like to come here to get away from... well, to get away." look back to her as she takes a seat against on the window sills. "It's nice up here. No one messes with me. Nothing happens. You just have to get out before the bell goes off."

"Huh." I mutter as I step onto the ledge and continue to look out to the surrounding area. There isn't a single cloud in the sky, letting the sun shine down. The wind here is fast and crisp . I can't help but close my eyes and open my wings, letting the wind fly though my feathers as I lean further out the window. I feel free up here. Wind in my mane, nopony telling me to stay hidden, just me and the world.

"Mathew, what are you doing?" Stephanie asks nervously. I open my eyes and smile back to her before stepping completely onto the window sill. "Whoa, get down from there before you fall." She says as she stands up. I can do this. I look forward and give my wings a few test flaps before stepping forward and letting gravity do its work.

For a brief moment everything slows down as the feeling of weightlessness takes over my body. I close my eyes and hold my arms out as my weight begins to drop down. The hair on my body flattens out as the wind blows wildly through my mane. I can feel my wings begin to stiffen in response to the air moving around them, preparing for my commands.

With all my might I begin to flap my wings as hard as I can. Each push sends gusts of air that help slow me down. Soon I peek out to see I'm hovering in the air... wait... I'm... I....

"I DID IT!" I yell at the top of my lungs as I strike a victory pose. I drop a bit more when I do so, but recover quickly enough. I look up to see Stephanie hanging her head out the window, cheering me on from above. With a confident smile I flap harder and take off through the air.

"WOOOOOO!" Stephanie yells as I zoom past her, heading high and higher through the air. I climb and I climb and I keep climbing until everything below me is just a spec. I spin around and take a glance at the world around me. Blue skies fill most of the world as farmland and forest cover the ground below me. Far, far in the distance I can see specs of light glimmering in the air. I wanted to go investigate, but I don't think my weak wings would carry my that far.

Maybe one day...

...but for now.

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Rose

After ciphering most of Lynns' broken sedans gas to my truck I finally make for town. I can't help but tap my fingers against the steering wheel as I speed down the road. I know I shouldn't worry, but... I can't help it. I keep thinking that someone will find him and give him to those suits or he'll get hurt or.... something! I know I shouldn't worry. I know Ben will take good care of him. But....

CLU-CLUNK CLU-CLUNK CLU-CLUNK

"DAMMIT!" I yell as my truck slowly starts comes to a stop. I should have guessed that there wasn't enough gas for my truck. I pull over and park as I continue to curse my luck. I step out and kick the door shut, cursing a bit more. I begin to pace around as I try to think of a way to get Mathew without him being spotted. Maybe I can just stuff him into a jacket... I'd just need a jacket.

"Hi Rose!" I stop as I hear a voice somewhere. I take a look around but.... there's no one here. Unless they're hiding in the corn.

"Hello?" I call out as I look between the rows.

"Rose! I'm flying, look!" OK, now I know it's Mathew. I just don't see him...

THWUMP

I fall to the ground as a light teal blur crashes into me and knocks me on my back. I blink a few times before sitting up right, feeling something stand on my lap and bounce in excitement.

"Rose! Rose, did you see? Did you see me!" Mathew asks as he bounces some more.

"Mathew? What in the name of Sam Hane happened?" I ask as I rub my head.

"I was FLYING Rose!" He yells as he jumps into the air and hovers there. I can't help but gape as hiss tiny wings defy logic and gravity itself. His smile begins to deflate as I continue to silently stare at him, unsure on how to approach this. Does this mean he's grown up? Like a bird finally being able to leave the nest, will he leave now to?

"Uh..."

"Did... did I do something wrong?" He asks as he lands on my lap again.

"No! No no no no no, no. I was just.... so surprised to see you flying it took me a second to process it." I tell him, getting a massive smile on his face.

"It was so awesome! I just jumped out a window and closed my..."

"You jumped out a window!" I yell.

"Well, I think it was a window. It was up in the bell tower..."

"YOU JUMPED OUT OF THE BELL TOWER!" I yell again. He seems to think I'm OK with this, because he just nods enthusiastically.

"Yeah! Stephanie brought me up there after our Ti-Chi lesson, I don't like Ti-Chi by the way. It's boring. Anyway, we went up there and I felt the wind on my wings and I went for it! I fell to just about the sidewalk and took off! I flew really, really high up and fell back down. I was going so fast Rose! I even did a few loops and stuff!" He tells me excitedly.

"That's... was this your first time flying?" I ask him.

"Uhuh." He nods. I take a deep breath as I take a look around, making sure no one sees this.

"That's.... amazing, Mathew." I say as I pull him in for a hug. He squeezes back as I feel his wings flutter a bit. "I'm.... I'mm so proud of you. This is... just.... just don't jump out anymore buildings OK."

"I wont." He tells me as we let go of each other.

"And try not to crash into me anymore. I'm not as tough as I used to be." I say as I rub my gut.

"Sorry, I didn't figure out the whole landing thing yet." He says as he rubs the back of his neck and blushes.

"That's alright, we'll figure it out later. Let's just head home for now... home. Mathew, I have a very important question to ask you. And I need you to really think about your answer, OK?" He takes a serious face as he slowly nods. "Do you.... do you want to stay with me? Until everything gets sorted out that is." He looks up to me and smiles a bit. His answer is a simple hug. One that I return with much more enthusiasm.

Be careful Rose Cassaway. Don't repeat yourself.

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Stephanie

Wow! Mathews flying was awesome! I think the rest of the town thinks so too! I can tell because they're all coming here, probably to congratulate him for doing TWO whole loops. That was so cool!

Chapter 8 A Good Home

Perspective: Rose

After our tender little moment together, Mathew and I start to head back to town. We need to get to my truck as quickly as possible, or we chance someone seeing him. I wanted to try to hold him, to hide him of course, but he was too darn excited to hold still. I don't blame him though, a first flight like that would have anyone just as excited... or terrified. I guess we should do something special, but what do you do for a pony? Can they eat sweets? Do you buy sweets for something like this?

"Hey Mathew," I ask slowly, trying to hide the fact that I have no idea what to do, "this is a pretty big... thing. You flying and all."

"Uh-huh.... sure.... is." He says as he glides around me.

"So... we should.. celebrate?" I didn't mean for it to come out as question, but I'm so lost on this one. If it was a normal kid getting an A or winning some kind of contest I would know what to do. But flying... I have no clue. Mathew lands in front of me and gives me the biggest smile he can muster, practically standing on the tips of his hooves.

"Can we get pie? Please." He asks, leaning forward enough to nearly fall over.

"Pie?"

"Apple pie!" He adds, stepping forward.

"Uh.... sure..."

"YES!" He leaps into the air and throws hiss legs out in excitement. He grabs my arm and begins to pull me along as he talks about all the pie he's going to eat. I laugh along but.... yeah, we need to get him some pants. Especially with him flying now.

When we make it to the edge of town I notice how little activity there is. Now, it's a small town, but there's always something happening. Cars driving by, people checking out the local stores, elders sitting out to enjoy the sun, but not today. For some unknown reason the streets were empty. Mathew doesn't seem to notice, or care, but I make a small detour to see if somethings happened.

We take an alley to Main street and look around. Like before there isn't a soul in sight. There's even a truck still running with the doors wide open! What is going on...

"I don't think they're open." I spin around to find Mathew, reared up, looking into the window of a diner. I was about to tell him to hide, when I noticed that there wasn't anybody in the diner. "Think they're on break?"

"I don't think so... stay right here while I check inside." I say before stepping through the front door, a bell chiming above. "Hello?" I call out as I walk down the row of booths and counter seats. Unfinished meals dot a few of the tables as timers go off in the kitchen. I make it to the back of the diner where I take a look into the kitchen, finding it empty.

"Uh... Rose..." Mathew mumbles as he steps inside.

"Mathew, I thought I told you to stay outside." I say as I jump the counter and try to find... anyone.

"Uh.... I think you should..."

"Here." I say as I slide open the dessert cabinet and pull out a pie. "Go nuts while I try to figure this out."

".... whatever you say." He says as he runs over and jumps up onto the seat. I can't help but laugh a little when he shoves his face into the apple pie and begins to devour it. I shake my head and continue looking for anyone here. The kitchen is empty, as well as the small office in the back. What could have happened to make everyone disappear like this? I step back out and lean against the counter. Trying to think of what to do.

"Can you pass the whip cream?" Stephanie asks.

"Sure." I respond as I- "Stephanie!? Where did you come from?"

"Church. Whip cream-"

"What happened here? It's like a ghost town. Where is everyone?!"

"At church." She deadpans as she looks over to Mathew, who's licking the crumbs off of the pie pan. "So much for pie-"

"What do you mean they're at church?! Why are they there? Start talking missy!" I demand as I lean over the counter to get in her face.

"Well, I think everyone saw Mathew flying around and wanted to question it. But then they ran into Ben..."

"... oh dear God."

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Ben

"What was that thing flying over your church?" One of the towns folk asks me, making me laugh.

"Dude, you need to chill and take that negative energy elsewhere." I tell him, making the crowd of people groan again.

"Ben, focus. There was a little blue thing flying around here. What was it?" I look to the other person and try to think of the best, logical answer.

"Hmm... *gasp* You... You all need to get in here as quickly as possible!" I yell as I throw the double doors open and begin to pull people into the sanctuary.

"What is it Ben? Did you remember what it was?" A towns lady asks eagerly.

"What? Look, I didn't see the angel flying around. But we need to get you all baptized and saved for the rapture." I say happily, getting a collective groan of joy from all the new found church members. I knew today was going to be a good day.

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Rose

"Okay, so we only have a hours to get out of here and hide Mathew before people start looking elsewhere. We can't go to the farm, can't go back to the church.... hmm, where can we go?" I ask aloud as I pace about the diner. We can't go too far, I still have to tend to my fields, not to mention hiding a kid isn't going to be easy.

"Why don't we ask her? She seems to be just as worried." Mathew suggests. I look out the window and nearly faint as the worst possible woman walks through the door.

"Oh my word... is that what everyone is looking for?"

"Stacy Mouldouth." I practically growl as she walks over to Mathew and inspects him closely.

"Uh.... hi?" Mathew greets as Stacy takes a seat beside him, never taking her eyes off.

"Oh my word... what is it?" She asks slowly.

"His name is Mathew, and he's my little pony." Stephanie corrects, adding a little bit of sass in her tone.

"He's.... your pony. Stephanie I think you need to stop watching so much tv and come back to the real world. Ponies don't talk-"

"I talk, and I'm a pony. I'm just not her pony." Mathew adds, getting an upset look from Stephanie.

"Can I talk to you outside Stacy?" I ask before leaping over the counter. She starts to protest until I grab her arm and forcefully drag her out. I take her out of site of the children before letting go of her. "OK, here's the deal-"

"How dare you grab me like that! I am not one of your farm animals to man handle! I.... am a lady."

*Eye twitch*

"Look lady, the government is searching for Mathew and I'm trying to keep him hidden-"

"Why would you want to hide him from the government? They could probably take better care of him then you could."

*Eye twitch*

"Do you see what he is? Do you know what they would do to him? Probably lock him up in a cage and do all sorts of test on him. Do you want to be the one responsible for ruining that kids life?" She leans over and looks back into the diner, biting her lower lip as she thinks about it.

"He does seem a bit of a softy. I guess that wouldn't be the best answer, not now at least. Where is he from? Is there anyone else looking for him? How long has he been here?" I tell her all the main details. The lightning, finding him and Stephanie together, the Government boys, his memory loss, all the major details. By the end of it, she finally agrees with me to hide him.

"Good, then you're going to hide him in you place until the two government boys are gone-"

"My place? What are you talking about, why my place?"

"Because you're the fricken town mayor and your husband is the town sheriff! If you can get him on board with this, he'll have the best chance of staying off their radar."

"And then what?"

"And then.... I don't know. We'll cross that bridge when we get there." I say as I step away from her. She lets out a sad sigh as she step towards me, softening her face a bit.

"Rose, don't repeat what happened last time. Look, I'll take him in for now, but you really need to find him a home, a good home. Somewhere safe and nurturing. A farm... well, like you said, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I'll go tell him that he's coming home with me. You just go and make sure that no one comes looking for him at my place. Now... anything I should know about him?"

"Uh.... he just learned to fly."

"And..."

"And... he can't remember about his past, so don't try prying. He gets fairly upset about it."

"Well no duh he gets upset. I swear Rose, sometimes you can be so brutish."

"Well excuse me miss high and mighty. Some of us have to work for a living without getting to depend on our husbands!" I defend, getting her to roll her eyes.

"Anyway, lets get him over there while everyone is distracted with Ben.... I'll give you a moment to say goodbye."

"...... goodbye?"

"Yes, Rose, given your past I don't think you're the best candidate to be a foster parent. He needs stability, and-"

"I can be stable!" I yell as I step towards her. She just raises an eyebrow to me shifts her stance a bit. "Oh don't you try and act all high and mighty missy! I don't care what you think, I am perfectly capable of taking care of Mathew." I tell her, the tone in my voice rising a bit.

"Rose, no you're not. You have a farm to tend to. A big farm. Just what exactly will he be doing when you're out working?"

"Well.... plenty of stuff-"

"And what about education? Di you finish school yet? What happens when he needs help with math, or science, or-"

"I still got my GED from Cuesta community college! I know my stuff!"

"What about when he's crying because he cut his knee?" she asks, a small smile forming on her lips.

"He wouldn't cry from some little cut-"

"But if he did? Not everyone is as devoid of emotions like you are Rose-"

"You better watch your mouth," I warn as I step towards her.

"What happens if his memories come back and becomes distraught over losing someone close? What if he's repressing the memories of his dying parents? Who knows what he's seen? Are you actually going to stand there and tell me that you're ready for these talks Rose? This is a defining moment in his life Rose, not yours. Look me in the eyes and tell me your ready to help him through this Rose. Look me in the eyes and convince me that you're capable of this, right now."

I stare deep into her eyes and glare my response to her. He could help around the farm. I know enough to help him early on in school work. I just need to make sure he studies hard for the later years... or take another semester of school. Farm work will toughen him up, and its not like I'll yell at him for crying. And if his memories came back.... I'd say what would be needed.

What ever that may be. What do you tell a kid who watched his parents die? Maybe there's a book on this or something? But when could I read something like that? I'm still doing my dusting, as well as reworking my irrigation network. Not to mention I still have to get my southern field tilled and seeded.

....

"Well Rose? What's it going to be?" She asks me as I step back from her. I keep thinking over how daily things would go about. Would he be happy living with me?

Could he live with me?

I take a deep breath before turning away from Stacy. I know what needs to be done, I just need to get it over with. I open the door to the diner and walk inside, finding Mathew and Stephanie spinning on the counter seats.

"Stephanie, could you give Mathew and I a minute please. We need to have a serious talk." Stephanie tried to complain, but I shot her a look that made her run, waving goodbye to Mathew as she did so. I take the seat next to Mathew and bury my face in my hands. This isn't going to be easy.

"Am I in trouble?" He asks quietly, lowering his head in shame.

"No, you didn't do anything wrong Mathew.... I did."

"Oh... did you apologize?" I look over to him and raise an eyebrow, getting him to scoot closer. "When you do something wrong, you have to apologize. Everypony knows that."

"... I can't apologize.... not anymore." I admit, my eyes starting to water.

"Its never too late to say sorry," he says, making me face him again. "The best apologize are the ones that are from the heart.... huh. I think I just remembered something! Somepony told me that once.... I don't know who though.... hm, I think I was getting in trouble though. Probably best I don't remember that." He laughs a bit at the end as he racks his mind over it, trying to pry every bit of information from the memory.

"Mathew.... you're going to stay with Mrs. Mouldouth for a bit, but I'll be back, I promise." I say as I stand up. He looks a little worried by this, but nods anyway.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to go apologize.... but more importantly, I need to build a good home. I'll be back as soon as possible, I promise."

I leave the diner in a hurry. I know what I have to do... I just hope it's not too late for it. First things first though, I need to buy some flowers.

Author's Note

Sorry about the long wait on this. I recently ha to re-work a large portion of the plot to make sure things made sense. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, get ready for the feels in the next one.

Brony on!

Chapter 9 Say You're Sorry

Perspective: Mathew

Rose leaves in hurry, trying to hide her face as I hear her sniffle a bit. I try to run after her, but the other pony lady blocks the door by stepping in the way. I try to move around her, but she simply steps in the way.

"Can you move? Please? Rose is-"

"She has to go take care of something personal right now. Why don't you come with me to my home for a bit while she takes care of that?" She asks as she keeps moving in my way. I take a few steps back and sigh in irritation. She's probably long gone by now anyway.

"I.... I guess."

"Great! Don't worry about her; she's a lot tougher than she looks. Now, let's get going before anyone else see's you," she says with a quick glance around.

"Why would it be bad if somepony saw me?" I ask, but am ignored as she walks out of the diner. I follow after her and glance back to where Rose ran off towards. I don't see her, she must be far away by this point. I hope she's okay, she seemed really troubled by something. I hope it wasn't anything I did.

Mr. Mouldouth takes me to another one of those motorized carriages and buckles me into the back bench. The seats have some weird smooth cloth over them and are really comfortable, I just wish I didn't have to wear a seat belt though. I don't get why they would want to make something that chokes you for safety. It must be a... none pony thing.

She starts the thing and begins to guide it to her home. It's a lot smoother then the carriage Rose has, and a lot quieter. Though I miss the music from Rose's. Mrs. Mouldouth is playing something that has two boring old stallions talking to each other about... something threatening the family foundation?

I don't get it.

After a short ride we make it to her home. It's a really fancy looking two story building with light blue paint and white trims. She parks the carriage on the driveway beside the house and steps out. I quickly undue the chocking hazard and bite onto the handle as I try to open the door.

"Mathew... what are you doing?" Mrs. Mouldouth asks from outside.

"Ahm trern ter erpen de deur." I mumble with the handle in my mouth, pulling it with all my might. I rear up a bit as I give one final pull.... and fall back when it snaps back. Whatever this door is made of, it's tough to move. And tastes like soap.

"Honey, the child locks are on," she says before opening the door with total ease. "Why would you use your mouth to open the door?"

"What else would I use?" I ask as I get back on my hooves and jump down from the seat. She eyes me a bit before closing the door and walking over to the front door.

"Well, next time just wait for someone to open it for you. We don't want to have your drool ruining the interior upholstery." I look back to the carriage and shrug, not really knowing what upholstery is. She guides me to the front door and holds it open for me.

Wow.... ritzy. Everything in here looks shiny and new looking. Fancy drapes, super uncomfortable looking furniture, random plates in cabinets set up to be viewed... it feels more like a museum than a home. I begin to walk in when Mrs. Mouldouth runs ahead of me.

"Uh-"

"Can you wait here please? We need to clean your fe- er- hooves," she tells me worriedly.

"... why?"

"Honey, you've been walking around that dirty old farm all day. You'll track dirt into the carpet." I glance down to my hooves and exam them a bit. They seem fine to me, but it's her home, so I'll just deal with it. "Good, now you just... wait here while I go grab some cloths."

"Okay... I'll just wait here then." I call out to her as walks off into the large home. I l huff a bit as I stand there, waiting...

Alone...

By myself...

With nothing to do...

FOOOOOOOOREEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR...

I glance over to the couch and mull over the idea of taking a seat there. I could at least lay down, even if it looks stiffer than a log. I already went this far into the living room, what's the harm in going three feet? I take one last look around before taking a deep breath and stepping over to it. I glance back towards the kitchen area before climbing up onto the seat.

Not half bad, I guess. Stiff, but I'm not standing so... meh. I don't really get why I couldn't just come over here and sit down. Nothings happening. I lay down on my stomach and let out a sigh. It's pretty boring here. Maybe if I can somehow convince her to let me-

"Mathew? Mathew, It old you to wait over there! Why are you on the couch!?" She asks as she comes storming over.

"I-I just wanted-"

"Now we'll have to get it cleaned. Mathew, when I tell you to do something I expect you to listen, am I clear on that?" she asks firmly.

"Yes ma'am." I say as lower my head. I don't get why I'm getting in trouble, but I don't want to argue with her either. Especially if laying on a couch is enough to get in trouble. I don't want to even imagine arguing back.

"*sigh* okay, now... just follow me and keep off the carpet. First things first, you need a bath... you do bathe, right?" She asks, her disappointment still in her voice.

"I think I washed recently. Maybe-"

"Well, now you'll have washed even more recently. Follow me, and remember to keep off the carpet." I look around and try to see where I can get down without stepping on the carpet... this may be a bit tricky. I look over to her and watch as she climbs the steps upstairs. Better get moving then...

Okay, if I can glide to the path in one jump I'll be home free. I take my stance and wiggle in anticipation. Gotta hurry, here I go! I jump of the couch-

THUD

Well... at least my face caught my fall. I get up and quickly run off the carpet before I could get in any more trouble. There are so many dumb rules here. Don't sit on the couch, don't walk on the carpet, what's next? Don't eat the food?! Whatever, maybe Rose will finish whatever she's dealing with and take me back to the farm. It was way better there then here.

I make my way up the stairs and find myself in a hallway that goes two ways; each way having two doors. I don't see where Mrs. Mouldouth went, and any-

CRASH

I jump a little when I hear something hit the ground, hard. It sounded like toys being tossed about, and it came from the right. Well... I guess it beats just standing here thinking to myself. I go to the first door and open it. Inside is what looks like a mini library with a large wooded desk at the end of the room. A decorative rug covers the wooden floor as tall bookshelves, filled with many thick books, cover the walls. In the middle of the room is what looks like the remains of a toy, smashed into a million pieces.

"Oh man I'm in trouble." Says a younger kid as he walks out from behind the desk. He's pretty skinny and has lightly tanned white skin. He's short blonde mane is spiked up, making his blue eyes stand out. He's wearing blue pants and a red and white stripped shirt. "Whoa... I was joking when I said I wanted a pony-"

"What happened to your toy?" I ask as I walk in and look at it.

"Oh! You talk to! Wow... oh, that wasn't my toy, it was my dads model air plane... I may have- accidentally- thrown it across the room and broke it," he says in a casual manner, shrugging it off.

"... why would you throw something that isn't yours?" I ask as he joins me by the broken... airplane? Not sure what that is.

"I was-"

"What was that!" Mrs. Mouldouth yells as she storms into the room, making us both freeze up.

"HE DID IT!" The other colt yells, stepping away from me and the mess.

"WHAT!?" I yell as the kid points at me. "No I-"

"I told him it didn't fly, but he wouldn't listen! I even told him we weren't even supposed to be in here! But he came in here anyway!" He lies as he goes to Mrs. Mouldouths side, giving her his best puppy dog eyes possible.

"No-"

"Mathew! Not another word from you!" Mrs. Mouldouth snaps as me, glaring down at me with intense eyes.

"But-"

"What did I just say!?" She asks in a firm, demanding tone. I literally have to fight myself to yell back. "I swear, I thought I could expect better from you. Just go wash up and I'll deal with you later."

"But-"

"NOW!" I huff a bit before leaving the room. This isn't fair! I didn't do anything wrong! Why am I the one in trouble? That jerk, I didn't even say five words to him.... well, still! He's a jerk! WHERE'S THE BATHROOM! "And don't think you aren't apologizing for this afterwards Mathew." Say sorry... SAY SORRY!? But I didn't do anything wrong!

I want to go back to the farm...

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Rose

I wipe the last of my tears as I drop from my knees to a sitting position. There were so many things I should have done. So many things I should have said. I was never brave enough to do either of them. I always thought that things would solve themselves and we could have just been happy. But... that's not how things turned out.

As the wind picks up I look up to the area before me and let my mind go blank. There's a field of tall, golden grass standing before a lone tree line. As the wind races before it, they sway to and fro, bending to the wild elements. Several birds fly from one tree to the next as they go about their daily, carefree lives. The trees just stand there, growing in the sunlight without a worry in the world.

The wind pushes harder, forcing me to look back down at the ground. I bring a hand to the exposed soil and grip it between my fingers. I feel the dry dirt crumble between my fingers and fall back to the ground below, bits blowing away in the wind. Everything has to come back to earth, one way or another. You can't just pretend that things will get better, you have to till the soil if you want anything to grow.

I drop the dirt and look back to the lonely stone standing before me. It's nestled before a weeping willow and has a bit of dirt in its engraving. I reach up and run a hand over the top, closing my eyes as I feel its smooth surface. Two words. Just two words and... and... then... I don't know what happens after those two words. That's partially why I've never said them. What happens next? Do I just pretend that it never happened, live as if everything is a-okay? Or is this something that will burden me for the rest of my life? Do I carry this weight until I meet my own fate and pay the price? What happens when it breaks my back and forces me down?

What about Mathew? I just met the kid but... I... I already feel protective of him. I don't know why, but... I need to get him back from Stacy. Lord only knows what she's putting him through. I don't care what she says, he's coming home with me and that's final! I don't care if I have to leave town forever, I am going to be the one to provide for him. Because I must. But... first...

"*inhale/exhale* I-I'm.... I'm sorry... baby girl. I'm so, so sorry. I promise, I'll do better." I stand up and dust myself off before marching back to the road, a final tear rolling down my cheek.

Author's Note

So... yeah, it's been awhile. Sorry about that but I have a damn good reason. During a conversation I was having with someone else (it was completely off topic from this) they made a comment that made think. At the end of that thought, I realized there was a major flaw with the plot line for this story. A really bad one to.

So! I decided to set it aside and work out that kink. I never moved it to the Hiatus marker because I thought it would have been resolved much quicker... and here I am!

So, thanks for being patient! I promise things will pick up soon. And like always,

Brony on!

Chapter 10 Runaway Cassaway

Perspective: Mathew

This is just dumb. Actually, no. This is beyond dumb! Because I refused to admit fault -for something I didn't do!- I now have to stand here in 'time out'. I've had my face pressed against the corner of the room for nearly ten minutes! I have to 'think about what I did' and learn to respect authority'. I can think of a certain somepony that could use these lessons. But nope! I get to learn them! All because that kid had to be a little fawning foal! It's not fair.

I don't want to be here anymore...

CREAK

I tense up when the door opens and heavy hoof steps enter the room. Whoever this is, it's not Mrs. Mouldouth. I gulp the lump in my throat as I slowly peer behind myself, seeing the stallion standing in the doorway. He has short blonde hair that barely coverings his pinkish head. His belly goes way out as his tan shirt tries to stay tucked in to his tan slacks. He has a star pinned to his chest, as well as a belt that fits snugly underneath his large gullet. He leans down and stares at me with those beady blue eyes, squinting a bit as he looks me over.

"Um... h-hi?" I try to be polite, but his large stature is scaring me a bit. He goes wide eyed for a second before he turns and leaves the room. I swallow another lump. That can't be good. I hear him start to talk with Mrs. Mouldouth. I don't get everything from them, but I do get a few words here and there.

Freak...

Alien...

Orphan...

Animal...

I'm none of those things. I'm not a freak... I'm not an alien... I... I can't be an orphan... I can talk, think, I'm not an animal... I'm... I'm...

TAP TAP TAP

I hiccup as I look up to the window and see Stephanie's face in the window. I wipe my eyes and look back to the door before I head over to her.

"Why are you crying?" she asks me quietly through the window. I was about to answer, but stopped when a burst of yelling came from downstairs. "Oh... sorry-"

"Am I a freak?" I ask her, feeling a few more tears roll down my cheek. "An alien? Am I an animal or-"

"Hey, hey... Did they say that?" she asks sweetly. I nod to her, wiping my eyes again. "Don't listen to them. Everybody in this house is a jerk, trust me on that. Mr. Mouldouth yells at me all the time."

"Really? Why?" Knowing that I'm not the only one that they yell at is comforting.

"He's the Sheriff, I guess it's his job to. Hey, I've got an idea. Let's get out of here. My grandma is making her famous rhubarb pie for dessert. Plus... we can hang out some more that way. Sound good?" I look back to the door and listen to them yell some more before I nod to her. She smiles back to me, making my stomach turn on itself a bit. I'm not sure why though.

"Back up so I can climb out with you." I tell her as I open the window. She nods and shimmies over the edge. I look down and see that the building goes straight down. How did she even get up here in the first place?

"Think you can fly me down? I don't think I can make it without dropping into a bush," she asks me, glancing down for a moment. I think over for a second before I nod to her. I just flew around that one building, I think I can manage getting the two of us down safely.

I climb out and hold onto the railing as I flap my wings. With my hooves supporting me, I get airborne easily enough. I reach out to Stephanie, getting her to hold onto me lightly. In one quick motion I pull her in for a tight hug and START TO DROP WAY FASTER THAN I SHOULD! I try to force my wings to flap harder, but I can only manage to slow our descent a tiny bit! Stephanie either doesn't notice, or doesn't care. She's giggling along, smiling as if we weren't about to hit the ground. Well... this beats being in there still.

THUD

Luckily for me, there was a planter just below us. The soft, tilled soil -along with the squishy flower- made the landing much softer for the two of us. Well... me at least. Steph at least had me to break her fall. She giggles some more before standing up, dusting herself off a bit before stepping out of the planter.

"The landing could have used a bit of work, unless you wanted to destroy Mrs. Mouldouth's garden. Then good job. Now let's get going! If we don't wake granny soon enough, she'll sleep right through dinner!" she tells me before running off. I look back to the window and stare at it for a moment before chasing after her. I don't like leaving without telling anypony, but... I really don't think I was wanted there.

As we run through the town I start to see more and more people coming from the church. Most of them just stare at me, mouths open. A few started to run while most would whisper to their friends and family. I was going to ask Steph about it, but before I could she made a sharp turn into an ally. I try to keep up with her, but nearly crash into her when she slides to a stop. I was going to ask her what happened when someone grabbed me and picked me up, shoving a bag over my head.

"HEY! Let me go! Let me go!" I yell as I try to wrestle free. I can hear Stephanie struggling as well, but she's getting quieter and quieter. The pony grabbing me suddenly tosses me onto a cushion before slamming a door shut. I pull the bag off my head and look up at the person before me. It's one of the people from the farm house, the darker one. He's just sitting there, looking between a folder and me. I turn around and try to pull the door open, but I think it's locked.

"I don't believe it." The person mutters. I spin back around and press my back against the door, scarred out of my mind.

"Wh... what are you going to do to me?" I ask, trying to find another escape route. It doesn't look good.

"I'm just going to ask you a few questions, okay? I'm sorry I grabbed you like that, but I had to make sure no one saw us here. Do you think you can manage that?" I look around a bit before nodding to him. I don't trust him, but he did apologize. "Good. What is your name?"

"Um... M-mathew." He nods to that, writing something down.

"Can you use your wings yet?" I nod, making him write more stuff down. "How about your horn?" I shake my head at that. What would I use it for? "Interesting. Do you know where you came from?"

"Uh... I can't remember. The last thing I remember is waking up in the forest with Stephanie... where is she?"

"She's over by the street. We'll let the two of you go after this last question. Do you feel safe here?" I cock my head at him, making him chuckle. "Obviously not in this car. But, here as in this town. On.... a scale from one to ten; one being perfectly fine and ten being scarred beyond belief, how would you rate Manton?" I think about this for a second. The people here stare at me, call me names, yell at me for things I didn't do. But, there are good people too. Ben was nice, so was Ms. Darenger. Stephanie is a good friend and Rose...

"Um... three." he nods to me, writing something down. "But... if I was at the farm... one."

"The farm? You mean Ms. Cassaway's farm?" I nod to him, making him flip over a few pages. "Did the two of you meet already?"

"I thought you said that was your last question." He rolls his eyes at that, putting the folder on the front seat. "C-can I go now? Please?"

"Huh... yes. But! I have one last thing I would like to tell you." I pause for a second before nodding to him. "Don't let anyone take a picture of you, understand?"

"Um... okay. Why?" He doesn't answer me. Instead he just opens his door and steps out, holding the door for me. I hesitate for a moment before jumping out, putting a bit of distance between the two of us. "Sir?"

"I have to get going now, lots of paper work to do. Take care Mathew." He tells me as he takes his seat in the front of the car. The other person in the suit comes walking up and takes the other seat, completely ignoring me along the way. I stare at them as they talk for a second before turning the carriage on. I run to the side of the alley as it backs up and drives away, leaving me confused.

"Mathew! Are you alright?" Steph asks as she comes running back to me. I jolt a bit from her voice before nodding to her, still staring at the carriage as it leaves. "What did they want with you?"

"They... he..."

"Yeah?"

"They wanted to know if I'm scared." I tell her, getting a confused look from her. "Does that make sense to you?"

"... not really. Look, let's just keep this between the two of us for now, okay? If we tell the adults... they'll just worry. Plus, we'll get in trouble for sneaking out of Mrs. Mouldouths house. Agreed?" I look to her for a second before nodding to her, still feeling slightly shaken from the encounter. "Alright... well, let's get going. I don't think staying here would be a good idea."

"Right." I start to follow her out of the alley when I pause to look back. They're still sitting over there, watching me. They say a few things to one another before finally leaving the alley. If they wanted to dissect me, then why would they care if I was scared or not? Maybe... maybe they aren't as bad as we thought they were.

--o-0-0--

Perspective: Rose

There seems to be a lot of commotion at the church today. Practically everyone is there. I would stop by there to see what's going on, but I'm on a mission. I march right past it and head straight for Stacy's house. I go straight to her door and and march right-

THUD

... into Frank. I rub my nose a bit before straightening my posture to stare him in the eyes.

"Look here Frank. I-"

"Take the farm animal home." He tells me bluntly before pushing me aside and walking past me. Well... that was easy. I walk in and see Stacy sitting at the couch, trying to remain as dignified as possible.

"Where is Mathew?" I ask her.

"In the study upstairs, left hall, second door on the right. Please try not to walk on the carpet." I look down and note that the stairs and walkway are covered with carpet. So... I ignore her request and head up to the study. At the door I pause to take a moment to collect myself. I can't just take him back int my life, not without telling him what happened before. Twice in one day... I can handle it. I've been tough before this, and I'll be tough through it now. I have to be.

I open the door slowly and peer inside. I don't see him at first, so I walk in and look around. Everything seems to be in order. No little talking ponies hiding in here, or, so it seems. I check under the desk and between the bookshelves, but I can't seem to find him. I stop and rub my hands together, trying to think. Maybe he's in another room? But this is the room Stacy told me he was in. And she tends to tell the truth, mostly. Maybe he just left to use the facilities?

I go to leave the room, but something stopped me. The window drape brushed against my skin thanks to the gentle breeze from outside. I take a look out the window, but don't see anything. That is, until I look down. Stacys garden has been flattened. In a panic I rush out of the room and head towards her backyard. Stacy tried to asks what was going on, but didn't stop to fill her in.

When I make it outside I rush to the garden. All of the flowers have been flattened and the soil has been compacted. I can't believe it. He wouldn't...

"What in the world has gotten into you!?" Stacy demands as she rushes over to me.

"What did you say to him?" I demand, pointing a finger at her face.

"Do not threaten me- AAH!" I grab her wrist and twist it around, pinning her. She tries to struggle out, but my grip is strong.

"What did you say to him!" I demand again, adding more pressure.

"Frank didn't want an animal in the house so he said he was going to send him to the pound. But we weren't in the room when we said that- Oowowowow!" I add more pressure for a moment before relaxing it back, letting her speak. "I didn't think he would hear us arguing."

"Half the town hears you two arguing." I tell her before letting go. She backs off and rubs her arm, mumbling her censored insults to herself. This can't be good. That boy is too sensitive for something like that. He probably ran off, but where would he go? He has nowhere to go... well, except my farm.

"Where are you going?" Stacy demands as I start to walk off.

"Mathew ran off and I am going to find him." I tell her as I make it out to the street and head towards my truck. Most of the townsfolk are still at the church, but Frank is there as well. I'm sure he's going to muddy things up for sure. I go to open the door when Stacy steps in the way.

"I want to help!" She practically demands. "I have to apologize to him. It's only fair." I think about it for a second before nodding to her. She moves out of the way and heads to the other side, where she pauses. "Um... would you mind if we took my car? It's...cleaner."

"Git in, or I'm leaving." I tell her flatly, making her sigh in defeat. I start the engine and race back to the farm. Just hang in there kiddo. Don't do anything stupid until I get there.

Chapter 11 A Lot of Nothing

Perspective: Rose

"Just haaad to take your truck, didn't you?" Stacy asks dejectedly as we hurry back into town. We made it about a mile down the road before my truck completely died. How I had forgotten that I was out of gas is beyond me. I let her complain tough, I have plenty on my mind at the moment. We make it to the edge of town soon there after and rush towards her house.

The town is still empty, more so than before. Where is everyone? Are they all at the church still? Did something else happen? Could they have found Mathew? I shake all of the questions from my head as I focus on hurrying to Stacy's house. There's no need for working myself up over something that doesn't concern me right now. I just need to stay focused on the task at hand.

When her house comes into view I book it down the street. I have a lot to say and I'm done waiting. Stacy started yelling something at me, but I ignored it as I burst through her door and rush upstairs. I go to the office and pause at it. Slow and easy, no need to worry him any further. I open the door and slowly step inside, feeling my palms start to sweat a bit.

"Mathew?" I call quietly, looking around the study. There doesn't seem to be anyone in here, but this is where she said she left him. Maybe he's hiding? He did get in 'trouble' and he is pretty sensitive. I step in and shut the door behind myself, locking it. This needs to be just me and him.

"Mathew? It's me, Rose. You can come out now." I keep my voice calm and quiet. If he's hiding, he probably doesn't want to be seen right now. Maybe that's alright. What I have to say would be easier if he wasn't looking up at me. No, no, I have to say it to his face. He has a right to know everything.

"Mathew, I'm sorry." I check under the desk, but he's not there. "I shouldn't have let Stacy take you like that. There are a lot of reasons why she did what she did, and why I did what I did. And you have a right to know, Mathew. You have a right to know because... because I care about you."

I pull open every drawers, check every cabinet, and on top of every bookshelf in this room. When he doesn't show up I start to double check them all again. And again. And again. I start throwing books off their shelves and turning drawers over in my attempt to find him. But he isn't here. In desperation I start to go through the piles of books and papers that I've thrown in the middle of the room. Maybe I scared him off and he hid in here! Pile after pile I search for him. He has to be here! Where else could he have gone!?

THUD

I slip over something and fall on the floor. I let out a few sobs as I sit up and look over the room.

"I'm worried sick about someone who's basically a stranger Mathew," I cry to him, rolling to my and pulling my knees into my chest. "I just wanted everything to turn out okay. I didn't need happily ever after, I just wanted to be okay. But she wouldn't stop crying. I didn't know what to do. I was alone, afraid, in way over my head. What would you expect from a seventeen year old kid? How was I suppose to have the answers when no one was there to help me?

I've been bitter ever since. Figured... figured it was just the person I was. What else was I supposed to do? What else would a kid do? I pushed everyone away, and worked. It was all I knew to do. I'm not like other people Mathew, I know that. I'm blunt, forceful, I can even be mean sometimes kid. I guess it was my way of getting back at the world. I wasn't given anything, why should they, right? It's bitter thinkin, but it's the way I am. Until I saw you...

I don't know what it is about you Mathew. I found you in that little crater with that brat and... I was drawn to you. Like, I had to take care of you. That I needed to take care of you. I know that sounds mighty silly, but it's true. I saw you there, laying in bed, and I knew we had to protect... that I had to protect you. I wish I could tell you more, but that's just how I felt. I guess... I guess that's just how I've been then, huh? Living by how I feel and never considering how others might. If you're mad at me, that's fine. You are right to feel that way and I deserve it. But you need to do better than me and tell me. I didn't face my emotions and it destroyed the person I was. Please Mathew... please-"

THUD THUD THUD

"Mathew ran off!" Stacy yell from behind the door.

"... WHAT!?" I yell as I jump to my feet and run to the door, throwing it open. "How do you know that!?"

"I stepped out back to... what did you do to my study!?" she yells as she looks behind me. I grit my teeth and take her by the shoulders, shoving her against the wall behind her. She lets out a small scream and freezes up, shaking slightly.

"How do you know?" I ask with heavy breaths. She tries to speak, but the words escape her. "Stacy!"

"My garden!" she yells back in fear. "All of my flowers were flattened and there were hoof prints all over! That, and the window is open." I think about what she said before finally setting her down. I take a few steps back and begin to chuckle to myself. I just said all of that, to no one. I literally spilled my heart and soul... to no one. I BROUGHT UP MAGGIE... to no one. I think about it a little more and start to laugh harder. Stacy presses herself against the wall and forces out a few chuckles and she watches me carefully, unsure of what to do.

"Are you... are you... okay?" she asks carefully.

"Me!? Oh I'm just peaches and cobblers! I couldn't be happier!" I tell her, laughing even harder.

"Oh? Do tell-"

"I'm so happy I could strangle something. Something small, blue, with wings! In fact! I'm going to go find something that fits that general description and tan its hide! Isn't that funny!?" I ask as I rush forward and grab Stacy again. She lets out a small yelp as I start to spin around with her, laughing hysterically.

"You're joking... right?" she asks me carefully. I come to a stop and start to walk down the stairs. Check list: get gas and gas can, pick up Lynn, find Mathew, capital punishment. "Rose?"

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Mathew

"*Achoo*" I shake my head after a rather powerful sneeze takes me by surprise.

"Bless you!" Stephanie yells back to me as she hops from one boulder to another.

"Thank you!" I yell back. We've been following the road back to her home, but then she remembered these rocks and we've been having fun on them for awhile now. We're still heading to her home, we're just taking a slightly longer method to get there. It's been fun though, so it's been worth it.

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Lynn

After getting decent, Jason and I made our way back to town. It looks as if there isn't anyone here, which means one of two things. They're all talking to Ben, or hunting Mathew. Along the way I brought Jason up to speed and he's... taking it pretty well. He didn't laugh or anything. He just asked why we avoided the government and nodded in agreement. I'm a little shocked he's this excepting, but we can talk about it another time. With little other options, we make our way to the church where we hear the murmur of conversation. We share an uneasy look before opening the doors and entering.

The pews are filled to the point where even the only room left to enter are the side aisles, and even those are filled. There's a loud murmur in the audience, but it's nothing compared to the people yelling up front. It looks like the Mayor Al Slouzy -a middle aged European man with a receding hair line and a large nose-, Sheriff Mouldouth, and Ben -for some reason- are all trying to discuss something at the front. But the sheriff and mayor are just yelling at one another. Ben seems lost in thought, something that scares me even more than the yelling. Jason and I step to the side and just watch. It looks as if all of town is in here. I knew our town was small, but it's weird seeing how small it is.

"LYNN DARENGER!" I jump when someone yells my name. I look around in confusion when I realize the person yelling was Sheriff Mouldouth. I look around as everyone suddenly turns to look at me. Some people look mad, while most are just curious. "Get up here!"

"Um.... why?" I ask timidly, looking to Jason for support. He just shrugs... thanks Jason.

"NOW!" I jump again and hurry to the front, feeling every eye on me. "Tell everyone what you know about this horse."

"Um..." Shit! Did they all see him? Where is he then? "Where is he?"

"He ran off with that Stephanie girl," Al tells me. "What do you know? Please, there are a lot of people here who are confused and would like answers. Just take a deep breath and let us know when you're ready." I take his advice and breath in a long breath, letting it out slowly. Hey, that kind of worked! I take another long breath and let it out even slower, feeling a bit better. Maybe one more-

"Spit it out woman!" I jump when the sheriff yells and start to talk.

"I was in bed when Rose came to me asking for help because something happened and she needed my help badly enough to hog tie me and toss me in the back of the truck and didn't let me in until we were halfway there but I-"

"Slower dear. Slower," Al tells me, rubbing the bridge of this nose. I nod to him and take a breath. This is going to take awhile.

"The... person you saw is Mathew. He... appeared on Roses farm recently and I was called in to give him a check up. We didn't know he was sentient until a little afterwards. We; by which I mean Rose, Barbra, and myself, took him in to hide him from some... official looking people. Our fear was that they were going to take him away and do... things to him. After talking with the kid, because he is just a child, it was the unanimous thing to do. But things got complicated when those people started searching the town. And now-"

Before I continue the room explodes in debate. A lot of the yelling is directed at me, but there are a lot of people arguing between themselves. The general gist I get is people being mad that we hid him from the government and what that means for them. Are they accomplices? Will they get in trouble? Should we turn him in? All of that general stuff. I look back to Jason for help, getting him to rush up to me.

"You okay?" he yells over the others. I shake my head, getting him to take me into his arms. I didn't want it to come to this, but there was no avoiding it. People were going to find out eventually, I just didn't think it would explode like this. Or be pointed at me, for that matter.

"WAIT!" Ben yells as she jumps to her feet. The room goes silent as we watch Ben, waiting for her to speak. "Mathew... is a horse!"

"..." The room stays silent.

"Mathew is a living, breathing, understanding, talking horse!" she yells at us, stepping forward to be the center of attention. "... why didn't anyone tell me!?"

There's a collective groan from everyone as they return to their seats. Leave it to Ben to diffuse the situation with ignorance. Sheriff Mouldouth steps forward and guides Ben back to her seat, whispering something to her. She doesn't look happy about it, but nods anyway.

"Look everyone," he starts out, turning back to us. "This is clearly something that this town doesn't need. Not like this. I'll have my deputies search out these officials and bring them in so we can have an understanding. While they do that, I'll go find the kid and bring him into the sheriffs office. Just to have him somewhere safe for the time being. The rest of you need to go back to your lives and worry about this another time. We'll gather everyone when we have the answers. But we won't have any answers until we get all of those people together, understand?" Everyone murmurs to themselves before starting to file out of the church. I try to leave with them, but Sheriff Mouldouth grabs my shoulder to stop me.

"You know you can't do that, right?" Jason asks, eyeing him.

"I have a right to detain anyone who could be involved in a missing persons crime," he retorts, eyeing him back. "Now, Lynn. We need to know where that kid is so we can bring him in. This is for his safety, okay?"

"I actually don't know where he is," I tell him as I wiggle out of his grasp. "The last place I saw him was here, when I dropped him off for program." He nods to me and walks past me, roughly brushing against Jason along the way. He glares him down as I try to ignore it. He's an ass. Always has, always will be. Ben walks up and motions for me to come closer, so I do.

"This is very important," she whispers to me. Words I never thought she'd say. "But you have to be the one to find him."

"Why me?"

"Because he is just a child. And if the police take him in, it won't be good for him. He needs someone there for him, to tell him that everything will be okay. And that person shouldn't be wearing a gun with them." I nod to that. He's a sensitive kid, that wouldn't end well for him. "Do you have time to tell me everything?"

"That was pretty much all of it." I tell her. She puts a hand on my shoulders and looks me in the eyes. I try to stare back at her, but she's unmoving. I look away, getting her to rub my shoulder a bit.

"From the beginning." I nod and take a deep breath. This is going to take awhile.

Chapter 12 Where I Want To Be

Chapter 12 Where I Want to Be

Perspective: Mathew

Steph and I laugh and giggle as we run down the driveway to Roses farm. I didn't think walking all the way here would have been this fun, but it was! We played a ton of games to pass the time. Eye spy, hop scotch, tag -even when it was completely one sided. We're racing back to her home now, but I'm not trying to win. I can run a lot faster than she can, so I'm running at her speed. It makes it more fun that way. Plus, she really likes to win.

We rush towards the metal tube thing she calls home and I let her pull ahead to win. She jumps up on the step and slams her hand on the door, cheering herself on. I just laugh and slow to a stop, catching my breath along the way.

"I win! Whoo! That means you have to eat an apple!" I roll my eyes at her. I may have wanted to lose so I can eat an apple without being judged too harshly. I'll never say though.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Should we be yelling like this? Isn't your grandma asleep?" I ask her.

"Don't worry about her. She could sleep through a bulldozer tearing through a glass factory. Smells wake her up instantly though. She'll wake up once she smells us inside. Oh! One last thing, watch out for the orange cat inside. He's... not the nicest cat." She opens the door and rushes in quickly, leaving me a little confused. Am I supposed to wait? "Your turn."

"My turn for what?" I ask as I step up to the door.

"You have to rush in or the cats will run out." Oh, that makes sense, I guess. I look up to the door handle and realize my first obstacle. I'm too short to reach the handle. I could just ask Steph to open the door for me...but that's just not happening.

I rustle my wings as I try to think through this. I could rear up and open the door, but then I can't get in that quickly. Maybe I can do that just enough to open the door slightly, then rush in. But, I'm not that smooth on my hind legs. Plus, the step up looks a little loose, so I doubt 'd be able to get the door open that quickly. I give my wings another shake as I try to think of an answer. I could just try to open the door and go for it, but I really don't want to lose any of her grandmothers cats. Hmm...

...

"Um... do you need help-"

"I got it!" I yell, conveniently at the correct time. I flap my wings and get airborne long enough to open the door. Then, using gravity, I rush through the door and buck it shut. A few cats tried to rush out, but I got through just in time. Score one for Mathew! "Right, now you said something about rhubarb pie?"

"Right, took you long enough." Steph jibes as she steps over a few cats to get to the kitchen.

There are a lot more cats in here than I had anticipated. I was thinking five or ten cats, not twenty or thirty cats! Most of them are mewing at me, eyeing me curiously. A few are even sniffing me, but I don't think they'll do anything. I take a look around and try to find a way to get around them, but they won't let me be! I would fly over them, but that just seems rude. I don't want to send a draft through the building and knock stuff over.

"Come and get it!" Steph yells from the kitchen. I start to get nervous as I try to find a way though, but there are too many cats! Maybe I can just push through them? Not roughly of course! Just... a little persuasion out of my way. “You coming?"

"Just a sec!" I yell back to her. I take another look around as I try to see if there is anything that would break from a little draft. Porcelain figurines, fancy photo frames, stacks of books; oddly enough, this place is really clean. They must spend hours cleaning this place daily.

With no other options, I start to tip hoof my way through the ocean of cats. Almost immediately they start to walk away, giving me a path to walk. Strange. I guess I just needed to let them know what I wanted to do. I make my way to the kitchen and join Steph at the table. She slides me a slice of pie and an apple. She giggles at my response, but I begrudgingly eat the apple. If it lets me eat in relative peace, then why not?

We each go through two slices of pie together. It was nice. No one talked, no one was in a hurry or telling me to stay down, we just ate. I thought it was weird at first that we weren't talking, but when she smiled back at me I just let it be. She's happy, I'm happy, nothing needs to change. When I finish my pie I push the plate away and sit back, content and full of pie.

"Do you hear that?" Steph asks after a brief pause. I flick my ears back and listen intently, hearing muffled voices outside.

"Do you think it's Mrs. Mouldouth?" I ask nervously as I get out of my chair. Steph shrugs back to me, moving towards the door. I follow her into the living room and watch as she goes to check outside. I really hope it's not her. I don't want to go back.

"It's Ms. Lynn and Ms. Cassaway," Steph whispers to me.

"Who?" I ask absentmindedly.

"Rose." I blush at that. How did I forget that? "They're talking pretty loudly, but I still can't understand them. Whatever they're talking about, it looks pretty serious." She shuts the door and turns back to me, concerned. I think about it for a moment before I make up my mind.

"Step aside. I need to talk to them," I tell her, trying my best to look brave.

"Why? We should just run to the hide out in the woods or-"

"I can't run from this forever. I'll have to face them eventually. Heck, I want to face them again! They're some of the only ones who have been nice to me, so far. It would be the right thing to do." She tries to form an argument, but she quickly sees how serious this is to me. She rushes forward and gives me a quick hug. Nothing like the one before, but enough to give me a boost of confidence. I walk to the door and take a deep breath before opening it... letting all of the cats out.

"*Sigh*, don't worry about it. I'll work on getting them back." Steph drones to me as she walks past me. All of the confidence I had before has left me now. All I can do is stare back at Ms. Lynn and Rose and blush. Why did I have to do that? Now I just want to run and hide! Pony feathers!

"H-hey Mathew," Ms. Lynn starts out nervously, stepping towards me. "We were looking for you... and now we found you... and this is getting awkward so I'm leaving! Later!" She quickly turns around and quickly walks away.

I feel my nerves begin to falter as I look back to Rose. She looks... scared. More scared then I am. which puts me at ends. What is she scared of? Shouldn't she be mad? Even worse, I'm too scared to ask her what's going on. I know I'm in trouble, but what else has happened to make her this scared? I want to be the one to ask, but I can't find my voice. I can't even move out to the porch!

"Mathew,” she forces out with a heavy breath. "We need to talk... a-and I need to show you something too. Can you come with me... please?" We stare at each other in silence for a moment before I nod to her. She nods back to me, but grows paler. I swallow the lump in my throat and look around, though I don't know what I'm looking for. "Let's go."

"O-okay." I step out and shut the door quietly. We share another look for a moment before she turns and starts to walk away. I try to say something, but nothing comes out. I leave it at that and follow after her, head held low.

--o-0-o--

The walk was long and silent. I could see the fear in her eyes, the doubt. Whatever it is that she's going to show me, it's something big. Something I don't think she wants to talk about. But, apparently, she has too. I tried to ask her what was going on, but I couldn't bring myself to break the silence. This is already hard enough for her as it is, there's no need to make it harder by asking a thousand questions. I'll let her say what she needs to say when she's ready.

She takes me down the road and out along the corn fields. There isn't anything out here besides the occasional crow, the corn, and us. The road we're walking on follows the corn fields as they roll along the hills. Each row of corn is evenly spaced from the others. It's kind of creepy how organized they are. How could they have done all of this by hand? Unless they used that carriage thing from before. How could such a small town need so much corn? I'm sure they sell if elsewhere too, but that's still a lot of corn out there.

We finally make it to the bend in the road. Rose leads me off the path and towards a tree on a hill ahead of us. I can see a small forest in front of a grassland all around us, giving a peaceful glow in the area. I grow more and more curious about the tree and we step closer, but I keep my questions to myself. I'm sure I'm about to get all of the answers I want soon enough. We make it to the tree and walk around the back to find a stone hedge standing there. It looks a little weathered, but is mostly well kept. Rose kneels before it and starts to sob a little, so I take a seat beside her and wait. It takes her a bit, but she eventually forces herself to speak.

"This is... this is Cadie... my daughter." I lose my breath when she tells me that. I look to the stone again with a new appreciation. Rose had a daughter, and she... I swallow the lump in my throat as I try to think of what to say to her. But here isn't anything to say, nothing that comes to mind at least.

"I was seventeen when I had her. I was just a kid really. I met a boy and... well, I thought we'd be together forever. When I found out I was pregnant I told him first and... he didn't really seem too moved by it. I guess... I guess he always thought he'd leave town as soon as he could. Do something bigger with his life. But with a kid on the way, that wouldn't allow him to chase his dreams. So one night he just left. No goodbye, no note, nothing. It was just me and my old man for a bit... until he found out that is. He had... an old way of thinking. He didn't want a bastard in his house, so he kicked me out. I was lucky enough to be able to stay at the church for a while, but that was just the beginning.

When Cadie was born... she was the only thing that mattered to me. I thought, 'I may not have Johnathan, but at least I have her.' I had to work every day to be able to afford rent, food, the babysitter, everything. I worked from sun up to sun down, sometimes working multiple jobs. And as soon as the sitter would leave, she would start crying. She must have really hated me. She would cry, and scream, and push me away! She couldn't stand to be near me! I didn't mean to shake her that hard! I was scared! And hurt! And I just wanted her to love me the way I loved her!"

She breaks down again, clutching her lap tightly as her tears fall to the ground. I can feel myself start to tear up as well. Why would her father send her away like that? What kind of person sends their child away when they need them most? And why wouldn't this Jonathan guy stay? Didn't he love her?

... Did my parents do that? Is that why I'm here? Was I so much trouble that they decided to send me away? What could I have done that would force them to do that? Didn't they love me?

"I know this is a lot to take in right now." Rose continues, gaining slight control of herself. "You probably have more questions than I have answers right now, and I'm sorry. But I had to tell you what happened. You have a right to know what kind of person I am. Right had to know what kind of monster I've been."

She breaks down again, crying to herself. I look down and wipe my eyes when I feel a tear roll down my cheek. I don't think she's a monster. She... made a mistake. A really big mistake. But... that doesn't make her a monster, right? I don't think a monster would care so much about their victims. Or love them as much as she does. I don't think that just because you make one bad decision that you are forever a bad pony. She apologized, and I'm sure she faced whatever punishment there is for that. I don't even want to know what that would be.

If she could, I'm sure Cadie would forgive her. She's still her mom after all.

Rose is still crying. I don't know what to say to help her. I don't even think there is something that could be said. I want to make her feel better... but what can I do?

I jump forward and grab her arm in a tight hug, burying my face against her sleeve. She flinches from the contact and pauses in her tears. The two of us just stay like this for a while. I can feel a few tears soaking into her shirt, but I tighten my grip on her regardless. I don't want her feeling like this. I don't want anypony feeling like this! But this is all I can think of to help her. Maybe I should say something, but I don't know what to say. I guess I could try to say something from my gut... I hope this goes well.

"I'm sure Cadie would forgive you if she could. Nopony can stay mad at their moms forever... no matter what." Rose chokes on her tears a bit before scooping me up in a tight hug. I hug her back, hoping that I helped in some way.

While we hold each other I can't help but think to my own mother. Why did she do what she did? When I meet her, will I be mad? And will I be able to forgive her as well? It seems mean, but I don't want to find her right now. I want to stay here a bit longer. Just so I can help Rose.

Perspective: Agent Lewis

Carter and I sloth into our motel and move to cover all of the widows. It's been a long day, and it's only getting longer. The talk we had on the way here only made things worse. We don't know what to think. We need to call HQ. We need more answers. Once everything is close, locked, and sealed, we start setting up for the call. Encrypted computer, smart link satellite connection, voice modulators; this is a covert as things go. Once everything is set up we sit back and look to each other. We're both unclear on what to do, and none of the options we thought of were optimal. Carter pulls out a cigarette and lights it, ending his five-month streak. Where did he even get those?

"*Puff*, start the damn call." I nod to him and start connecting. It takes a minute, but we eventually get through to HQ.

"This is Eclipse, give me your code name," a distorted voice demands. Carter and I each pull out our wallets and bring out blank business cards. We check them against the screen to see our name.

"This is Morning Star, checking in," I tell him, knowing that I sound the same on the other end. He stays silent for a moment, verifying our identities no doubt. Carter takes a long pull from his cigarette and finishes it off. I don't care right now though. There is too much going on for me to care right now. How did it even get to this?

"Verification checks out, what's your status Morning Star?"

"Confirming contact with subject A-6. Unclear how to proceed sir." The other end stays quiet again. Long enough for Carter to start another cigarette and get halfway through it. I just keep my eyes on the screen. Waiting for them to respond.

"We're off the books now boys, speak freely." Carter and I look to one another again. This was unexpected. Then again, so was everything else.

"He's just a kid sir," Carter starts out, leaning forward to talk more directly into the computer. "I don't think taking him to the compound would be wise. He needs to be out-"

"How was the public reaction to him?" Eclipse cuts him off, not caring about his opinion. Carter takes a drag before continuing.

"Mostly normal. Several were able to look past his appearance rather quickly. Some even were willing to lie to us in order to protect him-"

"And the boy? How is he adjusting?"

"Fairly well," I chime in, pulling out some of our notes to read. "He appears to have amnesia, of some sort. He doesn't recall his people or himself. I don't even think he remembers the Anomalies. Though, he could be repressing them."

"Did any of the others make it?" Carter asks bluntly, making me cringe. No matter how much I want to know, I know what the answers will do to me. We wait for Eclipse to answer. They always take forever to respond, clarifying each bit of information.

"None of our contacts have activated. As far as we know, he's the only one. They've also been silent since the first landing. We sent teams Alpha through Geronimo, but they've all missed their check-ins for the past few days. As of now, we are assuming the worse."

"Total fucking annihilation," Carter muses, flopping back into his chair. I swallow the lump in my throat as I think about the implications of this. An entire planet, gone. What has the power to do something like that? How are we going to stand against them? They had magic for Christ sake!

"If Equis has fallen, then we have to assume that we are next. Even if they can't find us, the threat is real. We need the child here to prepare him for what may come."

"So he's a slave now, is that it?" Carter asks, getting angry. "If Celestia were here I'm sure she would-"

"If Celestia had followed protocol, she would be here. But she's not, so we need to make the best tactical decision. And as of right now, he will be our greatest asset-"

"He's a fucking kid you drone!" Carter yells, sitting up in a rage. "If we force him to grow up in some facility we can't even guarantee that he'll want to fight for us! We need to let him-"

"Carter!" I yell, slamming my fists down. "Enough! This is more than just the kid! It's about what's best for the rest of us! If we can find a way to combat this, then we need to make sure we utilize this to its full potential!"

"Do you even hear yourself? Utilize? Full Potential? We're talking about someone’s life here? He needs to grow up like a normal kid-"

"But he's not normal! He's a fucking talking horse! He's never going to be normal here, never! And what about the public? What if word gets around that there's a talking, winged horse? Do you really think his life will be normal then?"

"Don't give me that bullshit," he scoffs with a wave of his hand. "We were able to trade Paul McCartney with some blue freak from space, I think we can keep this quiet. Look at where he landed! It's the perfect location for this! It'll take more effort than the alternative, but it's the best option for him!"

"But is that something we can afford?" Eclipse asks, making us both go quiet. "Transfer all of your files. We will send you a package with your next orders as soon as possible. Until then, stay silent. Eclipse out." The call drops and Carter leaves the room in a huff. I sit back and sigh. What are they going to do? What are any of us going to do?

I hope you knew what you were doing Celestia. We as sure fuck don't.