This is not a good day for Speedy Sprint, one of the unfortunate foals of Ponyville that had taken the trade of being a street urchin. As the result of this chaos, foals are limited to stay in their homes for their safety. A simple curfew should be enough for the young ones to obey, but not all chose to obey the new law enforced.
Deaths are usually the results of "Collateral Damages" made by protesters. Many young foals are left orphaned, their parents unwillingly left the world. The Ponyville Schoolhouse became in general, an orphanage as a response to the increasing death toll. The orphanage might be there to mend broken hearts of the young, but there are those exist who were inflicted with much sadness that scarred deep into their memories.
Sprint's case are applied here. For most foals who got themselves into the orphanage, their parents died when they were out. While for the rest, they saw their parents died firsthoof. Those in the latter would let the whole thing go after that zebran mare gave each of them a potion that made them forget the sorrowful pain. Sprint didn't take the potion because he was picky on what he would eat and drink back then. He spew the potion out of his mouth later when nopony was looking. Some of the solution did manage to get into him, so he do forget some details about his parents. Normally, he would have completely forgotten about his parents and live like any orphans who never met their parents before.
"It must have been hard for you."
"Yep, but I got used to it now," Sprint and his once-thought-to-be-the-devil savior, Maud, sat on a hill overlooking the clock tower.
A gentle breeze still hush them from behind as they shared their stories, "Now that I feel more comfortable around you, so...
"What's the deal?" Maud's expression didn't flinch from the the sudden change of tone.
"It was no doubt you that trotted down from the second floor, who are you?"
Maud ignored the colt by diverting her eye contact to the cyan horizon, "Hey!
"I've been telling you my story the entire morning!" Sprint puts the absence of his fear to good use. "Now you better tell yours, lady!"
Maud let out a smirk after witnessing this colt talking her back; a new social experience for her. Everypony she had met so far didn't dare to argue with her. Maud's never been an outgoing type, so she had only maintained a few friends. Accompany by seeing no other options to shut his demands up, Maud decides to tell her story. Sprint listens despite the monotone that eats away his attention every couple of minutes, "That explains a lot more than you might expected."
"Like?" Maud replied with slight curiosity in her tone.
"There are too many to choose from..." Sprint lingers in his thought for a few moments, muttering hmm as he decides, "Yeah! There were many times back then that I heard Pinkie shouted out your name!
Maud lets out another smirk, "And what does that explain?"
"Well, I thought she was making Mud Pies that morning," Sprint spoke in a-matter-of-fact-ly manner. "Imagine me crawling to the counter after some tiring races with my friends and telling her, "I want that delicious Mud Pie so bad. I'm gonna eat it all up!"; imagine some heavy breathing in there as well."
Normally, a mare would've blushed being referenced like this. But this particular mare just keeps smirking on this colt's lack of common sense.
"I should have known that there's no way she would've known the recipe. I mean, I've only ate a Mud Pie once at the only restaurant in the entire Equestria that plates them! Pinkie doesn't look anywhere near being posh. There's Sweetie Belle's big siste-"
"Where's this restaurant?" Maud paused the unlikely-going-to-stop chain of thoughts.
"..." Sprint reminisced for another moment, "Trottingham."
"Trottingham doesn't really cut out as posh."
"But every griffins I saw there are, especially the chef that made my pie. He was so rich that before we left the restaurant, I heard him talking to... someone that he's moving to Manehattan!"
"Someone?" Maud remarked the slight delay she noticed.
A moment of silence and then Sprint's expression grew pale, "No! Not just someone! My dad!"
Sprint grasped to Maud's right leg, "Please! I'm forgetting again! I don't want to forget my mom and dad! They're all I have left!"
Tears flowed from his eyes, "They're all I have left. Please... help me..."
Maud looked down to the colt. She was confused. Seconds ago, he was very brash and open to her. Now it has all turned into sorrow. After taking up with the shock of his sudden change of behavior, "I'll... see what I can do."
No one would have ever imagined to see a tree house becoming something of a refuge camp, but that's exactly what happened to Golden Oak Library. Colts and Fillies helped around organizing tools and equipment that were hastily moved in after an incident at the Carousel Boutique. Among the little ponies that are trotting around the library are Rarity and Spike, both coordinating the foals to their volunteered duties...
"No, no. Don't put the papers in the box that smells like flowers on the top shelf, Tipsy. Instead, take your team and go help Stem's move some other boxes out of the wagons.
"Got it," the filly and her group ran out to the wagons that are unloading various equipment. Rarity would be lying if she admits that managing foals to do organizing works is tiring...
Rarity sighed, "I am aware that you have a crush on one of the sisters, Bolt. But it is definitely Not an excuse for you to be sniffing the boxes in That manner!"
"Ahh!" and of course, plentiful supplies of mentally healthy humor.
"I wish I could help," said Spike whose body is covered with bandages. When rioters were cleared from the establishment. Spike was seen guarding Rarity's unconscious body. If it not had been for him...
"...I would have perished in that fire."
"But in the process, I hurt them," Spike looked into his once-bloodied claws. "I... I hope they don't hate me for that.
His speech suddenly paced, "But what they were going to do to you. I just can't stand there! I just went straight in! Oh, I hope they survived that. But what if they-"
Rarity placed her hoof on to Spike's mouth, "Hush, darling. Those stallions will be fine. I'm sure of that"
After spitting hooficure out of his mouth, "But what they did-"
"Spiky, I've been through worse with the Diamond Dogs," said Rarity as she used her telekinesis to put the latest reports from the Spa Sisters on her desk, the scent of Lily passed by her nostrils. "Ugh."
"Same as yesterday?"
"Yes," Rarity replied. "But also tell her to be really vigilant while I do the analysis. The scent is really strong this time."
"That bad?"
"I almost puked."
Spike chuckled. "Says the aesthetic mare who- OW!"
"My standards are limited by moderation, Spiky." Rarity smirked as she hovers the book-shaped paperweight she hit Spike with back to its rightful position, right on top the documents scheduled to be re-checked due to inconsistencies according to last week's reports.
As Spike wrote the letter, Rarity went on with her daily duties, administration. The only music that accompanied them were the cheerful sounds of colts and fillies working together with Cheerilee. It is hard to find serenity during these troubled times, so both of them tried to enjoy every second they can get.
Then everything went silent. The sudden lack of sounds disrupted the smooth motion of the duo's works. Spike quickly finishes his last letter, sent it, then walked to the already opened door to see what had happened.
Aside from the confused little dragon, Cheerilee and the kids do not know how to react. Upon them are two ponies. Though the mare, they are all strangers to. But the colt that stood besides her on a leash is their center of attention. They trotted together into the library, ignoring the stares they had gained.
"Um, Rarity!" shouted Spike after he came back from his confused thoughts. "Visitors! Two!"
Rarity turned to the visitors and said to them, "Have a seat somewhere while I finish this. Spiky, go and cheer the foals up. I don't know who these two are, but they managed to make them silent like that. They might not be something good. No offense, uh."
"Maud."
"Okay?" Rarity was stunned because she was expecting the regular "No Offense" as anypony would reply to.
After placing a log book she was writing on a second ago back on its shelf, "So I suppose you have business with us Miss Maud?"
"Yes," Maud replied. "I was wondering if you can find the parents of this colt. He was causing trouble this morning."
"Ah, the reports did mentioned this. The runaway colt if I'm correct," Rarity hovered another log book from its bookshelf to her desk and started to flip it to find a certain page.
While Rarity was finding the page she wanted, she noted the monotone of Maud's voice. Never have she ever heard of anyone speaking like that before. She pondered with it so much that the leashed colt shouted, "You just went passed mine!"
Rarity snapped back to reality. She remarked the colt, "My, you have a good eye... Speedy Sprint."
"Hmm, you were specially scheduled for... oh," Rarity paused as she read the details of his appointment.
"Miss Maud," said Rarity after she finished with her reading and decision making. "We appreciate that you assist us in bringing back this poor colt. We have been tracking him for weeks. I'm sure the foals will be glad that they will finally see him again."
"So what will happen to me now?"
"You will wait here until Cheerilee takes you to..." Rarity paused yet again. "prepare! Isn't that right?"
Cheerilee who was peaking from the opened door then replied, "Yes... it is."
Without any more word to say, Cheerilee went back to care the foals. Knowing that there aren't any more problems for her to deal with any longer, she resumes her daily work that could possibly be called chores at this rate.
"I'm still here."
Rarity looked away from her work that she had just begun and up to Maud, "I'm afraid that I didn't follow."
"You ponies must have been overworked." Maud stated the obvious. "I can take this colt to the place instead."
After a minute of deliberating, her hoof scratching her chin, "You are right. It is evident that we lack horsepower. I'll definitely take any help I can get."
Rarity then hovered one of the smaller scrolls stored on one of the book shelves behind her, "This is the map to the place. It is a tree house lived by a zebran mare, hard to miss if you ask me."
As Maud put the map into her saddlebag, "Tell her that Cheerilee sent you and she will take care of the rest. Providing that you are interested in a bit charity, you can come back here to discuss this with me later."
Retaining her silence, Maud took Sprint with her and trotted out of the library. As the duo disappeared into the streets, the foals resumed what they were doing as if this whole thing never happened; possibly having no idea what to say to the colt who they knew clearly, don't like them...
"Spiky?"
"Yes, Rarity?" Spike replied to her call as he dragged the items away, all related to his unsuccessful attempts to wake up the foals.
After giggling to the testaments of his failures, "What do you think about Maud, Spike?"
"What? Oh, I finished cleaning up after they left. Can't remember details of any of them. Though she does look kinda familiar."
"Well, I believe I should share my opinion on her too," Rarity flips another page of her log book with a quill hovering besides her. "Her frock is absolutely marvelous with her mane!"