Letters

by Pathos14489

Black

'Mother Caretaker's Home for Troubled Foals' My mouth worked daftly as I read the sign again. "'Home for Troubled Foals'?" I echoed the words to Fluttershy. "I'm not sure I understand. Are you sure this is the right place?"

She nodded. "I'm positive. I..." She leaned down until her hair fell over her face a bit more. "I used to go here a lot as a filly... Dad always thought there was something wrong with me... Some reason why I was like 'this'." Her voice kept getting quieter and quieter.

"Fluttershy..." I leaned down and nuzzled her cheek, wrapping a wing around her. "Nothing's wrong with who you are, you know that right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Thank you, Twilight." She smiled at me, her voice edging up, bit by bit.

I smiled before looking back. "But I don't get it. Sunny Skies seems ordinary for the most part, why would she be here?"

"Fillies and colts go here for a lot of reasons." Fluttershy frowned. "A couple were just like me. Nothing wrong with them really, but their parents thought they were broken somehow because they weren't what they wanted. And sometime foals were just... left here." She walked over, slipping from under my wing, and placed a hoof on the walls of the obviously old cloudhouse. "Nopony ever came back for them, even when the ponies here helped them come to terms with their illness or informed them they didn't have one."

"That's... Horrible." I frowned at the home again. "I'm glad Granny Dash could look after Spike, I'd rather him not come here if I'm honest." I winced. "N–Not that I want to shelter him too much or anything but..."

"I understand Twilight, and so does Granny Dash." Fluttershy smiled at me, coming over and placing a hoof on my shoulder. "Are you ready to go inside and find Sunny?" I nodded. "Okay."

Knock knock knock knock

Fluttershy knocked before stepping back.

We waited there for a minute or two, me shuffling from hoof to hoof and Fluttershy waiting patiently. I went to knock again, but—for some reason—Fluttershy said to wait. And wait we did until the door finally started to creak open. "Fluttershy? Is that you, dear?" Fluttershy smiled and nodded at the elderly mare who'd opened the door. "Oh my–Dear come, come. Please." She gestured us inside, inching out of the way.

Fluttershy trotted over and hugged the mare. "It's been too long since my last visit, Mother Caretaker."

"It really has dear, truly." Caretaker pulled away and looked my friend over. "Why; look at'chu. All grown up and your own mare." Tears started to bead around her eyes as she just gushed and gushed over Fluttershy. "I've heard so much about you in recent years, I was afraid I wouldn't see you again before I went and kicked the bucket. What with your fantastically busy life now and all." She nodded to me. "I would bow, Your Highness, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to get up."

"Don't worry, Ms. Caretaker." I smiled at her, walking past the two and closing the door for them. "And please, just Twilight is fine." I glanced around, the old home showed ever true on it's interior. The pegasus cloud wall spell structure was definitely around 800 A.N.M.(After Nightmare Moon), not quite as solid as the modern equivalent, nor as efficient.

"Mother Caretaker," Fluttershy caught her attention. "I'm afraid I didn't just come for a visit. Twilight has been writing letters to a filly here in the home and she's started to get concerned—Sunny Skies?"

"Who the hay is Sunny–Oh." Caretaker nodded, her wrinkled lips in the shape of an o. "Oooh. I see." She kept nodding. "That's who she's been writing. She told me it was letters to Santa Hooves."

I tilted my head. "It's June."

"We get all types here, Twilight." I immediately decided to shut up and never talk of this again. "So Sunny," She put an odd emphasis on it, causing me to raise another eyebrow. "What has she been writing to you about, Princess?"

I bit down the urge to argue her calling me Princess. "Just normal conversation I suppose. She sent me a post card of her family, told me how she doesn't have many friends—and asked for advise about that—and..." I shook my head. "Just normal stuff any ordinary foal might write the Princess of Friendship about I guess."

Caretaker nodded. "Fluttershy, dear. Would you go and find Doctor ah..." She scrunched her face in confusion, waving one hoof around in a circle. "What's–his–face... Doctor Whoever." She stared at Fluttershy, who stared back with a patient smile. "Brown fellow, dark hair and a bowtie? You won't miss him. He's in Doctor Goldfield's old office." Fluttershy nodded and went down the hall.

"Let's sit down a bit, Twilight—These old bones don't much like to stand for too long you know." She chuckled.

I nodded and kept the slow pace with her as we slowly made way over to a table surrounded by four chairs. "Do you have that post card with you, dear?"

"Uhhh." I thought about it sitting on my desk at home. "One moment." I closed my eyes, reaching out and trying to grab it. My brow conquered more and more of my face as I scrunched my face in frustration, a bead of sweat riding the conquest down my face. There! I sighed in relief as the postcard popped up in front of me in a purple flash.

"Fancy magic work there, Princess." Caretaker had taken her seat. "Did you actually grab that there post card all the way from your castle?" I smiled meekly, nodding a little as a blush took the territory my brow had lost in my victory. "Princess Celestia really knows how to pick'em doesn't she?" I kept blushing more as I took my seat.

I coughed into my hoof. "Heheh... Yeah, I guess." I placed the letter on the table in front of her. "This is the postcard she sent me."

Caretaker nodded as she looked it over. "Thought so." She then turned around and started skimming around the bookcase near the table. "Have you ever heard of that radio show, Half Empty House?" She asked casually.

I frowned. "No, I don't really keep up with radio shows. Not really my thing, I prefer books." I glanced at the vacant hallway, impatiently waiting for Fluttershy to come back.

"Well maybe you'll recognize this." She tossed a only slightly dusty magazine on the table, eliciting a gasp from me. "Is that?!"

"Yup. That is Sunny Skies." She tapped on the image of the filly. "Or Bright Horizon as she's also know. She's the voice actress of Sunny Skies on the radio show."

I. My. What. My brain hurts. I stared at the magazine. "But..."

"The filly you've been talking to is... She has troubles we have to help her work out." Caretaker leaned back in her seat.

"Princess?" I turned around and found Fluttershy and... "I'm Doctor Cornflakes." He extended a hoof. I pushed out my own from reflex and shook his. "I work with that filly more than most doctors here. She's something of my life's work." Luckily he wasn't too old.

"Is it that bad?" I asked stupidly. It was obvious who it was.

"Well." He sighed. "The filly you've been talking to..." He waved a hoof. "Mother Caretaker, would you mind if I took the Princess to see her?" He asked past me quickly.

The old mare waved a hoof. "Thank you, dear. I'm not sure I could make it all the way there and back in time for bed time." She laughed heartily, ending in a dry cough.

Doctor Cornflakes nodded. "I'll be sure to send Nurse Go Fish and Nurse Blackjack to help you to bed when I'm done."

«♦»

"Princess, this is her room." Doctor Cornflakes gestured to the door. The door that had a piece of paper tacked on it claiming it was the Janitor's Room in crayon. He obviously saw the look I was giving him. "She put that there herself soon after arriving. She doesn't want random strangers to find her room and she thinks everyone hates janitors so..." He sighed.

"Right." I shuffled in place. "Do I just knock or is there a special procedure or–"

"Just knocking is fine, Princess." He smiled at me patiently.

I giggled before reaching up and tapping quietly on the door. "Who is it?!" A shrill, tiny voice screamed. "Go away! I'm a janitor, I'll like... Give you germs and get you sick or something!"

"Sunny Skies? It's Princess Twilight!" I yelled back through the door.

Silence then followed for a bit. I gave Cornflakes a look but he just shrugged. "Are you sure?" The voice asked, much closer to the door. "Count Chocolate?"

"Yes?" Cornflakes responded.

"Is she really Princess Twilight? Can you get me a sample of her hair?!" She banged a hoof against the door. "Maybe get a wizard to cast a disillusioning spell on her?"

"Already did that! She's one hundred percent, the one and only, Princess of Friendship." He sorta lied. "I promise."

More silence. "You know the drill." She finally said as several things were thrown about the room.

Doctor Cornflakes sighed. "I'm sorry about this, Your Highness. But she insists that if we are to enter her room we have to walk in backwards with our eyes closed." He frowned. "I'm still not entirely sure why we have to do it backwards."

I frowned. "That's..." I coughed. "Entirely okay." I turned around, lining my flanks up with the door.

"We're ready." He said through the door before turning around and closing his eyes. I nodded and squeezed mine shut too.

Cloc-Clink!

I heard the tale tell sound of a bolt lock unlocking before the door creaked open. A tiny gasp followed before a tiny hoof prodded the back of my leg. "Princess Twilight?"

I nodded. "Yep. I said I'd visit one day, didn't I?"

"Count Chocolate, you're relieved. Me and Princess Twilight have a lot to talk about." She then proceed to pull on my leg before I started walking backwards by her lead.

"Err." While he didn't sound thrilled, he nodded. "If you need anything, I'll be right outside."

"Thank you Doctor C–Count Chocolate." I corrected myself. I heard the door slam and lock. "Can I open my eyes?"

"Wait... Just one moment." I felt something placed gently on my head. "Okay. You're good." I opened my eyes and looked up at the strange hat on my head. "You can't be in here without one." I followed the voice to the top of a loft bed, the railing on it extending all the way to the ceiling in crossing bars of wood. Two golden eyes peaked out from a tiny opening. "It keeps you safe."

I swallowed. "From...?"

A tiny filly inched out of the shadows. "Everything." She said quietly, she herself covered in numerous strange garments and charms. Her pupils were wide, probably from living in this dark tomb of a room. The windows were painted over it what I believe was red and black hoof paint, the lights were all off too. Only barely any light made it in. "If they can't see you, they can't get you." She adjusted my hat. "And this is the minimum amount of protection required."

I nodded, casting a silent charm to enhance my vision. tacked and taped to every wall were drawings and letters. I even spotted a few from myself, but many were all in her hand writing, just different names on them. Below the bed was a piled high desk, paper and books and boxes spilling over and covering the floor below it too. "Sunny, h–how are you doing?"

She shushed me, holding a hoof to her lips. "Call me Lily in here. In the halls I'm Hippopotamus Baby, and in the Count's room I'm Princess Fluffybuns." Her eyes shifted. "Not to disrespect your title I mean, never! I wouldn't ever, ever, ever do that!" She giggled softly. "I mean, you're a princess! A real one, here in my room!" She gasped. "Are you here to help me or doom me?" She slinked back into the shadows of her loft, shadows even my enhanced couldn't pierce without a stronger, more obvious charm. But I still saw her bright golden eyes. "Did they ask you to come here?"

"N–No, I came here to talk to you in pony." I replied, too reluctant to inch forward or to inch backward. Either could end badly.

"Oh." She hummed. "We need to hide your name. Do you like Princess Laser? What about Princess of Magic? Oh! Starbutt!" She started to cackle. "Genius!" I mean, it does have a nice ring to it. And I do have a stars flank I think.

«♦»

“The reason I talk to myself is because I’m the only one whose answers I accept.”
― George Carlin

Comments

[Scorch215]

some times I hate being right.

also

"I'll be sure to send Nurse Go Fish and Nurse Blackjack to help you to bed when I'm done."

YES!

[Pathos14489]

7071617 Thank you for catching that reference.

[nebulaegalaxy]

Twilight=Starbutt
So true.

[Pathos14489]

7071683 A lot of my humor is taking for popular bits of the fandom and twisting them. XD Like, PONY.MOV or terms for ponies only bronies use, or FiW. ...Or Doctor Who and Project Horizons.

[Skye Mist]

Okay...

This poor filly really needs Twi now that we know the drill.

[Pathos14489]

7071810 Nods

[SpiritOfDancingFlames]

oh.

[Twilight Glimmer]

Something tells me she has a type of schizophrenia.