The Shaded View

by FluxerCry

Chapter 1: My Name is Featherdrop and I am an Orphan

Do I even want to get adopted anymore?

I was pondering this question when the time came to go down for dinner. As usual, I didn't really feel like eating, but I had learned from experience that if you didn't, the cafeteria ladies put it in a blender and forced you to eat it. Not a pleasant experience.
I got up from my bed; every time I did that it surprised that me there wasn't a dent where my body had lain. It just goes to show how mercilessly dense they were. I then trotted past the long rows of other equally uncomfortable beds to the door at the end of the room.

After that there was a short staircase that led to the cafeteria portion of the orphanage. Like everything else it was much too small, even though it was a relatively large room. The "kitchen" was plainly visible, as they had simply built it into one end of the cafeteria. At least it was visible when the room wasn't packed to the brim with hungry orphans.
When I'd gone downstairs and managed to find an isolated place to eat my food, I went back to pondering my question. I’d been in the orphanage a very long time… not only was I past the age that most people actually wanted to adopt a child in, but I think I was getting past the age where I even cared about getting adopted. It was no longer my dream or purpose in life; having a childhood seemed like more of a commodity now than anything.

"Feather-"

"Do NOT call me that!" I snapped and turned with a snarl to the pony who'd said my name. The orange pony took no heed of the hostility, staring at the boring grey slop in the bowl beneath my hooves as she continued.

"Sorry, Featherdrop.”

I hadn’t let anypony call me Feather in over a year—and I wasn’t about to let that change. I was still a little miffed at the slip up, but decided to let it slide for the time being. “Anyhoof… what do you want?”

“You’re not eating anything..."

My eyes narrowed on the filly, and I let my eye twitch slightly to show I wasn’t in a good mood. She ignored it though and continued. "Are you going to eat that..?"

I worked my jaw a bit as I said, slowly and deliberately "Yeah, no." Then I followed it up by dipping my spoon in the bowl and taking a bite.

The filly took the sarcasm unperturbed and turned to a shy-looking colt on her right with glasses and asked him the same question.

I snorted and turned back to glare at the wall on my left with my ears lowered, then continued to eat my food, taking slow and deliberate bites while trying to ignore the taste (or lack thereof). The food, as always, was thick yet somehow runny, and it was perfectly made to stimulate the gag reflex on as many levels as possible. If I had to name an ingredient it would be salt. Way too much salt.

With the annoying filly out of my fur I could finally take a moment or two to think to myself. I wasn’t really in any mood to keep thinking about the same old question, but I did nonetheless. Part of me blamed the other orphans, unfair as that may be. I’ve watched so many others come and go, while I’ve stayed and waited for my chance to be the one smiling, walking out the door.

"What makes me so different from them?"

I caught that thought midway and did my best to stop it. Then I shook my head violently and slammed it against the table for good measure. I was not going to let myself get caught up in that kind of thought again. ‘Cause last time you got caught in that kind of thinking…

Again with the head slamming. not going to think about that. "Hate." I answered myself definitively. "I hate them. That’s what makes me different-"

Before my thoughts could go any further I felt a hoof on either side of me grab my shoulders and pull me back. I was about to scream and go into attack mode before I realized that the two restraining me were full-grown stallions wearing uniforms. Then it quickly dawned upon me what was happening. I looked back and said with an aesthetically neutral face and tone "I was doing the head slamming again wasn't I...?"

The one I was looking at nodded his head. I gave an exaggerated sigh and stood up, my eyebrows furrowed as the two then led me across the cafeteria.

From there they took me to a small room with a light brown earth-pony mare I was all-too-familiar with at this point. I wish I could slam her head into a table.

"Hello, Ms. Coltone." I addressed her flatly as she looked up at me through those thick, ugly glasses she never seemed to part with. She had been reading a book titled "Thirty Shades of Mane," which she gently lowered to the desk she sat on the opposite side of. The sharp light divided by the blinds covering the small window in the room did nothing to help her complexion.

She put on a horrible smile as she replied evenly "Featherdrop." She gave a gesture to the two kind stallions that’d dragged me to this monster, and they both left the room. "Well then..." she shifted her gaze slightly as she continued, "head slamming again?"
"How’d you know?" I said with my trademark sarcastic tone.

"Bruise on your head." she remarked, and pulled her book back in front of her. "And I could hear the banging."

I acknowledged with a grunt and took it upon myself to sit on a chair readily available in the corner of the room. "Don’t suppose you have something new to say this time?"

"Actually, no." she looked at me past her book as she spoke. "Not unless you have something new to say?"

"I hate you."

Coltone donned a half-hearted smile and looked back at her book again. "That’s not new."

After a moment's silence, Coltone placed the book back onto the desk and looked straight at me. "However..." she began after clearing her throat, "you need to stop doing these things. The last thing we want is you hurting yourself-"

"I'm not trying to hurt myself!" I yelled and stood on all fours, cutting her off with a piercing glare of all my pent-up hatred, focused solely on her. She stared back at me calmly and stated "I know."

It took a few more moments of my glaring before I recomposed myself and sat back down. Freaking out really wouldn't help my argument here...

"Now" she began, "how do I know you aren't going to do this again?"

I shot her another vicious glare for that one. What a stupid question. "You tell me."

Coltone shifted and sighed, adjusting her glasses. "Well we have to do something, don't we?"

"Would it help if I slammed other ponies' heads into tables?"

Coltone donned another hideous smile and shook her head. "No Feather, that wouldn't help at all."

"Well then I reckon I'm out of ideas."

We both held a stare for a few more seconds. Sweet Celestia I hated that mare...
At last she broke the eye contact and went back to reading her book. "You may go back to your food now."

I got up from my seat and trotted through the door, tossing a curt "thank you, Ma’am." over my shoulder. I walked past the two stallions who'd dragged me over and shot a glare their way before navigating the sea of orphans back to my seat. I found the bowl I'd left behind somewhere between the hooves and mouth of a certain annoying orange pony. She smiled sheepishly as she spotted me and put the bowl down with the guiltiest look possible. "Um... heheh... hi there Featherdrop."

I ignored the greeting, sitting down in my spot as I dragged my near-empty bowl back over. Of course, now I felt hungry. I groaned and put a hoof to my face. If I remembered right, this annoying little pegasus was the newest orphan to be brought in. I think her name was Scoot-a-something-or-other; I never really asked ‘because I didn't really care.
But for some reason, she HAD to take a liking to me. Being the oldest orphan most ponies chose to keep their distance. but of course, little Scoot-annoying decides to learn my name, sit next to me at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and even ask the nice, quiet pony in the bed next to mine if she could have that one.

"S-sorry..." she started. “I didn't think you'd be coming back so soon."

How was THAT an excuse? "Forget it." I responded flatly.

"You can have mine tomorrow if you want..."

Ugh, why couldn't she just drop it? "I don't need anything. Just forget it." I took a bite of my remaining food at that point, hoping to end the conversation there.

The orange filly watched me chew my food for a few seconds. When I was about to swallow, she suddenly broke out into a smile and practically shouted "Thanks Featherdrop!” I felt her lean an elbow on my shoulder as she examined her other hoof. "Everyone says you're a mean pony, but you seem pretty nice to me..." I almost spat out my food when she said that. Where the hell did she get that from!? I rushed to swallow what was left in my mouth as fast as possible; downing it all with water, but the Pegasus just kept talking. "You know, it's pretty awesome being friends with a cool pony like you."

And that's all it took. as soon as she hit the word 'cool,' what little food hadn't come out the first time evacuated my mouth in a wet, greasy mess as I had my second spit-take. This pony was just digging herself a deeper rut with every word.

On the bright side, she also managed to ruin my appetite. Everyone at the table stared wide-eyed as the mist of food that'd left my mouth found a new home on the face of a very surprised unicorn colt sitting across from me.

Awkward silence proceeded. It lasted an agonizing few seconds, and would have lasted longer if Scoota-sumthin' hadn't snapped her gaping jaw shut then opened it again in a disjointed, slowly-spoken sentence. "That... was... awesome!"

The rest of the orphans gave a cheer in unison (well, except for me and that unlucky unicorn, who looked like he wanted to dig a hole and live in it for the rest of his life), while I stood up, took the bowl in my mouth, and trotted away as fast as possible without attracting any more attention. I deposited my bowl on the growing stack of used dishes and made a beeline from there to the only place it seemed I could get any privacy:

The fillies' bathroom.

The moment the door clicked behind me it was locked, and I was sitting in a restroom with my face in my hooves and a persistent blush on my face. If I was lucky everyone was too busy staring at the victim to get a good look at the perpetrator... oh, buck that! If I was lucky I'd have 5 minutes before Scoota-something told everyone I did it. So much for being cool...

~ ~ ~

I spent as much time as I could in that cramped little space until I'd been asked by 3 different fillies if I could hurry up and get out already.

I didn't give anyone any time to say anything to me as I walked past them--the ground was my only friend, and I was intent on beating it in a staring contest.

One flight of stairs later I was back in the bed room, sitting on the corner bed I'd claimed as my own almost 2 years ago.

A few other fillies had decided to go to bed early and paid no heed to me when I strode past them.

Part of what I liked about my bed was the small window residing on the wall next to it. It was a place where I could just shut out the world around me and get a glimpse of what normal life was like.

I knew the ponies pretty well, though I never said a word to any of them. Out there, I could immediately recognize everyone I saw. There was never a lot to see... but the faces out there were actually more familiar than the ones in the orphanage. Every few days I'd get to see mail-mare come and drop something off. And if I pressed my face very close to the glass, I could sometimes just barely see the sign on our building that read

Caresoar
Ponyville Public
Orphanage

"What'chya lookin' at Feather?" The sudden voice made me jump, and I swear my head almost hit the ceiling. I slowly turned to look over my shoulder, only to see that same monstrous orange pegasus on the bed behind me. And she was smiling. Ugh...
I leaned my head on my hoof and looked away self-consciously as I replied "Nothing... or everything... I don't know..."

I expected the filly to want me to explain, but to my surprise she simply gave a semi-enthusiastic "alrighty," and plopped down on her bed. When I was sure she would leave it at that, I went back to what I was doing.

I sighed and gazed out onto the far from bustling town below. I don't know how this silent outside world held so much interest to me, it just did... since I didn't really know anypony out there, I'd gotten into a habit of giving everypony a nickname. Right then I could see Pepsi and Bonnie, just sitting around and talking with each other...

Pepsi was a turquoise-pelted mare with a turquoise and white mane. She got her nickname ‘cause the first time I saw her she was just drinking the buck out of some soda... not hard to connect the dots.

Bonnie was just a close friend of Pepsi's. No real story to her nickname...

Nopony else was around. Even Pepsi and Bonnie looked about ready to head home. Dissatisfied with the events of the outside world I fell back onto my bed, content simply to stare at the ceiling.

My mind was somewhere between thinking and not thinking, and I'm not sure how long I stayed like that. It was maybe an hour or two before the feel of something soft brushing against my leg snapped me back. I let out a low groan as I slowly sat up in my bed.

"S-sorry!" I heard a whisper come from my right. Lo and behold, little Scoot-annoying let her tail drift onto my bed. Hard to blame her considering how close together the beds were, but it annoyed me nonetheless. She pulled her tail back between her legs and hugged it against her chest, but she kept looking at me.

Eventually I lay myself back down. Scoot-annoying smiled sheepishly and whispered "eheh... small beds, huh?"

My ear flicked and I laughed humorlessly. "Yeah... small as Tartarus."

She nodded her head and looked back up at the ceiling. "Yeah... at least they're soft."
I blinked at that. "... Soft? These things are hard as a rock."

I looked at the filly, and she looked back at me. "Well... I think like this a lot better than sleeping on a rock."

I had no idea how to respond to that. She was probably just making a point... but could she have meant she'd actually slept on a rock before? I wasn't sure whether to get defensive or actually feel sorry for her...

And that stupid smile on her face wasn't giving me any answers.

A few seconds later a slight bit of red entered my face as I realized we’d been staring at each other for quite some time, and I immediately snapped my head back to stare at the ceiling.

“Hey Feather…” The filly said after a few more moments of silence. I flicked my ear in acknowledgement. “Um…” she continued hesitantly, “you… don’t have your cutie mark yet, huh?” I turned my whole body to face her directly. I let my mind chew a bit on what she said before I answered.

“No, I don’t.”

She nodded her head slowly, looking a little bit relieved at the short answer. “Alright… well…”

She took another nervous gulp, examining her hooves rather shyly, and then said rather quickly “Do you wanna join the Cutie Mark Crusaders??”

My mind pulled a blank. “The Cutie-what-now?”

“Cutie Mark Crusaders…” She repeated a bit more slowly. “Me and two of my friends wanted to get our cutie marks, so we started our own little group… wanna join?”

I took a few seconds to let that run through my mind. On the one hand, I really had no interest in finding my cutie mark. It just wasn’t all that big a deal to me.

On the other hand, sitting around the orphanage and not being allowed to leave got pretty boring. Maybe if I just played along with an orphan who was allowed to leave…
“Alright” I said, extending a hoof in her general direction, “I’ll join your… cutie crusade. Or whatever…”

I think she took my hoof, ‘cause I felt it shaking violently. “Hooray!” she yelped in excitement, ignoring the other sleeping orphans. A moment later she was at least whispering again. “Wow, this is great! There’s only 3 of us and we were thinking of finding more members and I was kinda nervous ‘cause I never really asked anyone before, and I was afraid you’d think it was stupid ‘cause you’re so cool and all, but it’s not really stupid and I’m pretty sure you’ll like it so I thought I’d ask you and I did and you said yes!!”

If she could’ve squeed any louder (which she probably would if she could), she’d have woken up the other half of the sleeping fillies…

I didn’t really share her excitement, but I let her ramble on nonetheless. If all her other friends were like this…

Sweet Celestia, what have I gotten myself into?

~ ~ ~

There were plenty of places I could have expected to find myself that morning. Of all those, the only place I probably wanted to be was in the bed room, alone, by the window. I certainly did not want to be sitting in Ms. Coltone’s office, standing next to Scoot-annoying, immediately after another disgusting breakfast.

“You… want to leave the orphanage?” the monster spoke in confusion.

I nodded slowly. “Yes Ma’am.” I stopped and gestured towards Scoot-annoying with my hoof. “Well, she wants me to.” Scoot-annoying beamed at Coltone with that innocent little smile she was so damn good at. Judging by the look on Ms. Coltone's face, it had the intended effect.

Rather than trying to answer to that smile, she turned her gaze back to me and carefully said “You… haven’t left the orphanage in a long time.”

“I am aware of that,” I replied flatly.

Coltone nodded in understanding. “Yes, well… it’s just, what happened before-“

“That was more than a year ago.” Yes, a year. I hadn’t left the orphanage in over a year. “You don’t really plan to keep me locked up in here ‘till I die?”

Coltone quickly shook her head in denial. “No, no, not at all. It’s simply..." The mare paused for a moment to think of an appropriate word before settling on "Concerning, to let you leave here without someone to look after you.”

“I’ll look after her!” Scoot-annoying perked up enthusiastically.

Ms. Coltone smiled down on the filly as she replied “No darling, what I meant was an adult to look after her.”

Darling.

Ms. Coltone called everyone “darling.” Hello darling, well darling, how are you darling… darling darling darling. I’d almost forgotten that little fact though, as she’d learned some time ago that I did not like pet names. Scoot-annoying didn’t seem to mind it at all though, simply nodding in silence.

And said silence continued, just long enough to become uncomfortable, as Ms. Coltone mauled over the concept in her mind. I was almost grateful when Scoot-annoying leaned over and whispered to me “Why’s she gotta think so much about it?”

I shrugged my shoulders at the question and passively mumbled “Dunno…”

That was a bit of a lie. I had a pretty good idea why it was such a hard decision. Even despite what had happened last time I got out, there was no ignoring the fact I hadn’t left the orphanage in over a year. I’d never even asked.

Yet here I was, asking now. I hardly understood it myself. It was just last night that I’d joined Scoot-annoying’s cutie mark groupie gang or whatever. I guess today they were having some sort of group get-together (I had a vague memory of Scoot-annoying calling it a crusade or something), and I “had to had to had to” be there.

My thoughts were interrupted by the garish voice of the devil as she finally spoke. I didn’t catch what exactly Ms. Coltone had said, but based on the way scoot-annoying was bouncing around ecstatically, I took a wild guess it was something to do with the word “yes.”

I was a bit surprised at that. I wasn’t expecting her to flat out refuse, but I didn’t think she’d agree so easily. Of course, it wasn’t without its conditions.

Ms. Coltone raised a hoof to silence Scoot-annoying’s excited jabbering. “But,” she continued, “You must be back in the orphanage before sundown-”

“Got it!” Scoot-annoying interjected.

Ms. Coltone seemed to hold back an amused chuckle and managed to stick to the condescending parental tone. “… And, for the love of Celestia, stay in Ponyville.”
Alright. Simple enough.

“What about Sweet Apple Acres?” Scoot-annoying questioned. “That’s where Apple Bloom lives.”

Ms. Coltone once again broke out into a hideous grin and replied “Well, it’s not really in town, but you can go there to get your friend."

~ ~ ~

“… So your name’s Featherdrop, right?”

“Yep.”

“And you’re a Cutie Mark Crusader now?”

“I guess so.”

The young filly gave a quick bounce of glee at the confirmation.
“And… your name’s Apple Bloom, right?”

The filly nodded her head energetically. “Yeppers!”

I nodded slowly, making sure to remember it. “So… you’re from down south, right?”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Nope! Born ‘n raised right here in Ponyville.”

I cocked an eyebrow at that. “Then…what’s with the accent?” Apple Bloom had a noticeable southern accent, which dominated her speech and basically screamed “ahm a country girl!”, so it was rather surprising to hear she wasn’t a country girl. Of course, Ponyville was more “country” than most places so close to Canterlot, and we were mostly an earth-pony based community, but we were still townsfolk for the most part.

“Apple Jack says it’s hereditary!” Apple Bloom answered innocently.

Hereditary. She had a hereditary accent.

I tried not to think of how little sense that made and just followed the filly as she led us back into town. Scoot-annoying was still with me, she and her friend flanking either side of me, a dirt path beneath our hooves that was just barely wide enough for all three of us to stand side by side.

“Alright, so where are we off to now?” I asked after I’d felt that the silence had gone on for a bit too long.

Scoot-annoying took it upon herself to answer this time. “We’re going to Sugarcube Corner.”

Apple Bloom turned to look at Scoot-annoying, a look on her face that said she clearly disagreed. “Nuh-uh, we were gunna go to th’ library to find some books on cutie marks!”
“Books?!” Scoot-annoying repeated, sounding almost exasperated. “I don’t want to get a dusty-old-book-cutie-mark!”

“The books might tell us how to get a cutie mark though!” Apple Bloom argued. “C’mon Scootaloo, we already talked ‘bout this. Or are you such a chicken you’re even scared of books?”

“I told you not to call me a chicken!” Scoot-annoying yelped indignantly.

I felt like I should have picked something up from what Apple Bloom said, but whatever it was sailed right over my head…

I let the two of them hash out the details without me, zoning them out and just enjoying the breeze against my mane. I’d actually forgotten until then just how muggy the air was inside the orphanage.

Despite my blatant annoyance, I was grateful to Scoot-annoying. It wasn’t quite the same as being able to get out and take a walk on my own, but it felt better than staring out at a world I knew would never be mine. I’d much rather be alone, but still; I’d have to thank her later.

“What about the other one..?”

Both Apple Bloom and Scoot-annoying had to stop in their tracks and stare at me for a few seconds before I realized I was the one who’d asked the question. My face immediately flushed as I stammered to explain myself. “I-I mean… you said you had two friends, right? Well, um… where’s the other one?”

I must have struck a chord, because the both of them perked up like meerkats in a spotlight.

“Sweetie Bell!” both of them exclaimed at once.

“Oh gosh,” continued Apple Bloom, “We forgot ‘bout her again.” I felt a pair of hooves wrap tightly around me, the sudden weight of another filly making me stagger. “Thank you Featherdrop!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, oblivious as I struggled to escape her embrace. “Ah’d feel awful if we’d gone ‘n left her out again!”

Eventually I gave up on escaping, patted her back and said an awkward “Err… you’re welcome.”

At last Apple Bloom let go and, after Apple Bloom reminded her which way it was to Ponyville, Scoot-annoying led us on the quickest route to Ponyville’s local boutique.
Why did I say anything..? I wondered. Do I really need another one of those things bouncing around me? I didn’t have much of a choice now though.

Before long we were standing in front of the boutique while Scoot-annoying and Apple Bloom quarreled over who got to knock. They were interrupted though when the door opened, and out came an utterly beautiful white-furred mare. I almost choked on my own tongue as I recognized her.

I'd seen this pony countless times through the window of the orphanage; trotting by, giving curt nods of acknowledgement to all the "lesser" ponies of the world. She always seemed to have a passionate air about her that just screamed of glamor and self-respect. Surprisingly enough, I found that pretty damn awesome.

Of course, all positive perceptions I'd managed to gather towards the mare were immediately broken the moment she spoke.

"Darlings! Come in, come in!" she said in an overly friendly tone as a smile entered her face to wipe away the look of 'what do you want, I'm busy right now.'

Scoot-annoying and Apple Bloom hurriedly rushed inside, though I was a little more hesitant.

The white mare looked at me and smiled. "You too, darling."

Sweet. Celestia.

"Oh, you're new right?" she continued, thankfully dropping the awful pet name. "My apologies, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rarity." she gestured to herself in an over-dramatic fashion to indicate she was rather proud of who she was. "And you are?" she asked.

"Featherdrop." I replied bluntly.

"Well Feather--may I call you Feather? Let’s get you inside darling."

She ushered me in and closed the door behind me before I even had time to answer her question.

All positive perceptions. Crushed. In an instant. I hated that nickname with a burning passion. And I was about to say as much when Miss Rarity cut me off again.

"Can I get you something to drink? Oh I'm sure I have some lemonade left in the fridge--do you like lemonade? Here, let me go get you some lemonade."

She rushed off to what was presumably the kitchen, again leaving me no opportunity to tell her I'd never really tried lemonade. Or that she shouldn’t call me Feather.

I pushed that to the back of my mind and began to trot across the room, to a nearby door which the voices could be heard from. I was in a wide open room, carefully organized with most objects pushed off to the side, leaving a wide-open space near the center.

As I approached the door across the room from me the conversation became clearer, though I didn't care to listen to whatever they were saying. I poked my head through the doorway, which put my face squarely in the chest of somepony who'd been coming the other way.

I backed up with my face flushed, stammering slightly in hopes my tongue would land on the right words to form an apology. I didn't get a chance though, as the other filly beat me to it.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she yelped. "I heard you walking over and I wanted to say hello to our newest crusader, and..."

I stopped stammering and refocused my thoughts, less worried now about apologizing and more so with getting a better look at the filly I'd just bumped into. I noticed our faces were still a bit too close for comfort, so I backed up a bit to offer some breathing room. She was a white-coated unicorn, much like the older mare in the house. She was still, however, a distinctly different pony; her mane curled up in bright swirling colors that lacked any form of grace. Plastered on her face was a childish but adorable look of guilty concern.

What progress I'd made backing up to a comfortable distance was erased as the white filly-corn stepped forward to inspect me and ask if I was alright. Before I could answer yes she took matters into her own hooves, grabbing my face and tilting it up to inspect it before saying "Oh my, your nose is bleeding!"

Oh. Well, now that she mentioned it I could feel it trickling down my face.
Horseapples.

I tried not to look down, but my eyes wandered regardless, and I watched as a drop of the viscous red liquid fell from my chin and began to stain the elegant carpet between my hooves.

My legs began to tremble at the sight, so I closed my eyes as tightly as I could. By now the other two fillies had come to my side, evident by the simultaneous gasps of concern they threw my way. I tried to keep my voice from trembling as I assured them "it's not... a big deal..."

"Sweet Celestia she's going to pass out!"

Ok, what? It was just a feathering nosebleed for Celestia's sake; even if I was a little bit scared of the blood part.

Since I still had my eyes squeezed shut I couldn't see the white filly-corn anymore, but I couldn't help but notice she had a very beautiful voice. It had a soothing elegance that seemed to make up for her less elegant appearance. It almost made me feel better about my insides dripping out my nose.

~ ~ ~

I shivered a little as I felt a damp cloth wipe away the last remnants of blood on my face, a tiny drop of the cold water dripping down my face. "Sorry about your carpet, miss Rarity..."

"Oh it's fine darling," the mare holding the cloth ensured me, "I can assure you little Sweetie Bell here has spilt most every color of paint on that very carpet, and I'm sure cleaning out the blood won't be any harder than that. It'll just be a little more... icky."
"Oh come on!" Sweetie Bell protested, "Are you ever going to let that go? I spilled paint on your carpet one time!"

“Yes, and like I said, you’ve spilt most every color of paint on that carpet.”

Sweetie Bell and miss Rarity continued the exchange for a while, but I found myself focusing on other things. Like Scoot-annoying sitting in the corner looking all dejected. I asked miss Rarity if she was done with me, to which she nodded and continued her argument with Sweetie Bell. I trotted my way over to Scoot-annoying and gently sat down next to her.

I was hoping she’d be the one to strike up a conversation, like she usually was. I turned out to be wrong on that front, and tried my best to start the already awkward conversation. “Umm… hey, uh… Scoots.” Realizing I still didn’t know her full name I decided just to use the part I was reasonably sure belonged to her.

“Hey, Feather,” Scoot-annoying replied in a sad tone. I ground my teeth when she said ‘Feather,’ but considering the mood she was in I decided she didn’t need a lecture right now.
“You… you okay in there?” when I poked the side of her head with my hoof I got no reaction but for the orange pega-filly to sigh and lower her head even further.
“Some day this was,” Scoot-annoying whispered after the longest time.

“Um… what?”

The pega-filly finally looked at me, her eyes wide and almost on the verge of tears. “This was your first day out of the orphanage in, like, a year, and I wanted to make it special for you and I wanted to show you how cool the Crusaders were and make it the best day ever so you’d want to hang out again, but all that happened was a lot of walking and then you got hurt and now you’ll probably want to go back to the orphanage and you won’t want to be my friend anymore!”

Okay. I had no idea where all that came from. I swore to myself silently and tried to figure out how to handle this. Given the way Scoot-annoying was looking at me expectantly, I didn’t have much time to do that.

“Um… well, I, uh… I like walking. Really, the walking was… fun. Really.” Scoot-annoying did not look convinced of my excuse. I scratched the back of my head and continued “I mean… like you said, it’s been like a year since I left the orphanage. And I wouldn’t have left at all if it weren’t for you. So, uh… tha-”

Whatever I was going to say was cut off as Scoot-annoying decided to wrap her hooves around me. I wasn’t expecting that at all, and my immediate instinct was to worm my way out of it, but I stopped myself from doing that. It was hard to see with her head pressed so hard against my chest, but it looked like she was almost smiling. And instead of feeling annoyed by it, that smile made me feel like I’d done something right…
“So you really don’t hate me..?” Scoot-annoying mumbled through my fur.

I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes and simply stated “No, I don’t hate you.”
“Awwwwwh!”

I whipped my head to the side and noticed that miss Rarity and Sweetie Bell had at this point finished their conversation and were staring at us; miss Rarity holding a hoof to her mouth to cover up the smile that was still obvious regardless of her efforts. Alongside them was Apple Bloom, whom had probably been watching the whole time.
A blush immediately took over my face; I probably pushed Scoot-annoying at least halfway across the room from me in that moment.

“H-hey,” I said as casually as I could muster, “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing dear-” Rarity began, but she was swiftly cut off by Sweetie Bell.
“We were watching you make up with Scootaloo, and Rarity said it was adorable.” I watched as Sweetie Bell was promptly smacked in the back of the head by miss Rarity.
I looked about the room frantically for a few seconds before at last my eyes fell upon a clock. “Oh hey, would you look at the time!” I perked up. “I think me and Scoots better be getting back to the…” I trailed off as I actually noticed what time it was.

“Horsefeathers!”

Miss Rarity gasped and pulled Sweetie Bell close to her, covering her ears.

“Featherdrop!” I ignored her glare and trotted over to Scoot-annoying, whom still looked like she was recovering from just how hard I’d pushed her. I grabbed her tail between my teeth and mumbled “thanksh for your thime mish Rarithy!” within seconds I’d dragged Scoot-annoying out the door and was well on my way back to the orphanage.

~ ~ ~

Scootaloo had tried to get back on her feet and keep up with me, but ultimately I was going too fast and she had to make herself content with simply being dragged by the tail. “Where are we going?” I heard her whine.

“Back to the orthanage!” I said through her tail.

“Why are we in such a hurry then?!”

“Becauth the mailmare’th coming!”

“What?!”

I didn’t care to explain and simply trudged on, the orphanage nearing on the horizon. By the time I’d actually gotten there I was exhausted, but I didn’t even care. I dropped Scoot-annoying off at the front door, her rump hitting the floor with a loud ‘smack’ and startling the mare who’d been waiting behind a desk just inside.

I skirted past anything and everything in my way, flew up the stairs with careless haste, and flopped onto my bed, looking out the window expectantly.

I waited like that; just staring out the window, waiting for her to come.

Author's Note:

It's finally here! I've been planning out and drafting this story (and especially this chapter) for months; I kid you not, MONTHS. but here it is, the glorious introduction to the glorious tale of star-crossed friends! yes, friends, there will be little to no romance involved in this story, so sorry y'all. but hey, some of you have got to be tired of that by now.

I should also mention that despite the first-person perspective in this story, it will take place from multiple points of view. you'll meet our next vessel of storytelling in the next chapter, but to keep things as unconfusing as possible I've decided to title each chapter after its point of view, so keep your eye out for that, though I'm sure you're all smart enough to tell who's eyes you're looking through.

I may decide to start a blog detailing some of the more interesting details of the writing of this story, so if that happens I'll post a link. also, jobs are available for anyone who wants to be a part of the writing team. more details in the story's description, so go ahead and check that out if you're interested.

Editor's notes:
Finally, Flux has been working on this for a while and it's awesome to see it finally up! Also, first editing/co-authoring/whatever thing I’ve done, so this is made even more awesome by the fact, WOOP! Everyone go congratulate Flux!
~ Professor Stiltstrider

Comments

[Valen]

This is awesome man! I'm really happy to see it finally up and i'm loving the new title. Theres not much else to say side from 'YAYAYAYAYYAYAYAY!!!!'

[Silverstein]

Great upload! My advice is to add this story to some groups, get an appropriate cover art, and keep plugging away at the writing! In fact, I think I can help you with the group part!

Silver out!

[FluxerCry]

3258125

Well, thank you! ^^ I'm glad you're excited bro.

[FluxerCry]

3260707

Really? I'd love some help with the group thing! I'm not familiar with alot of groups, so there's only 2 or 3 I know of that I think would be relevant enough for me to post this there. I'll get to work on all that, but any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Valen]

Awh! Thanks man! You are the best partner/editor/whatever as well! I'll see if I can find an artist, I know a few myself

[FluxerCry]

3265823
And a warm saucer of milk might be equally as useless but just as fun to say!
but if you honestly think this is highly underviewed, then thank you! we'll be doing our best to fix that. If you wish to help all you need to do is stay tuned for further updates! (a like and a comment help too )

[goddamnAnimal]

Hey, I'm still open for prereading, if you need more help give me a PM.
I like the first chapter btw.

[Cerulean Voice]

Just thought I'd let you know that I plan to be featuring this here late this afternoon. I certainly think it needs more exposure, as you've established quite the setting already. Loving the idea of a tsundere-type as the main character. Seeing Dark work with Slice of Life without heading into sad/tragic grounds will certainly be something I in particular look forward to.
I can't wait to see what you do with young Scoot-annoying