Stolen Childhood

by MistyShadowz

Chapter 5 - Choco Who?

---

Rainbow Dash sat there, eyeing the exit, blinking repeatedly trying to comprehend wheat had just happened.

A colt, whom she barely got a word out off, randomly began punching her, then was taken away by that same mare that had dragged her here and some other stallion, and now she was left wondering what happened.
Questions after question popped up in her head.

Who was that colt?

Why did he attack her?

Why were the other fillies and colts cheering?

She sat there, deep in thought, different feelings boiled up inside her, she didn't know know which to be. Whether she should have cried out of pain, shouted in anger or apologised out of guilt, she didn't know. Her heart raised, her breathing fast and unsteady, she could feel herself shivering, that be from the breeze that past them by or the fear she felt, she didn't know.

She shook her head, trying to get all those questions out of her head, nothing seeming to work, though.
One simple question, that had been bothering her since the minute her mother flew off, reappeared, this time asking a different sort of question.

"Why is he like that?"

She asked, seemingly to the wide, open archway in front of her.

"No one really knows," came the voice of a colt she hadn't heard before.

Turning her head to face him, she met the gaze of that CC colt. He was staring at the exit, like she had been, though he was less in pander than she had been. He wore a scowl, his eyes were narrowed angrily.

"Knows what?" Dash asked simply. The CC kid turned his gaze to meet hers, his gaze as dull and lifeless as ever.

"Know how he became that way. He lives off of pony's cheering for him. He attacks anypony that gets him angry to any level,"

He paused, looking back at a crowd of kids gathered a little behind the two.

"See those kids over there?"

He asked, pointing one hoof at the group of fillies and colts.

They were gathered there to finish up the cleaning they were assigned. Most of the colts had brooms in their clutches while the fillies held onto the mops and followed the colts around, mopping up anything left by them.

What got Dash's attention was not how unified they seemed to be, no. What got her attention was something far different from their uniformed appearance. What got her attention was the fact that some, older seeming kids, had bandages plaster on them. From under their wings, to on their forehead, slightly covered by their bangs. These certain colts, she had not spotted before this. Either they were just hard to see, or she never turned their direction, or just blatantly missed them on purpose, the point still stands; they had more bandages on them than the kids she had gotten to recognize to an extent.

They weren't the kid she shared a room with while sleeping, they weren't the kids she had come across while eating. They weren't even the kids she had spotted when arriving at the gymnasium. They were older kids, seemed to be in their teenage years, a few seemed nearly at the age of eighteen. Though that was all she assumed, she had no idea how old these kids actually were.

"Those kids with the bandages are some of the other kids that got Cinder angry."

He finished.

Dash stared at the fillies and colts. Each wore the same dull expression as CC, it was odd. They all had the same look on their faces, and practically looked the same, while each seemed so different. One of the fillies had a hot-pink mane and a cream coat, while another had a dark red mane and a midnight blue coat. One colt even had a bright white coat and a bright yellow mane. Individually, they may have been equally as different and unique, but put them side by side, and they looked just about the same.

"The name's Choco, I'm assuming your name is Rainbow something?"

He asked, blankly. He was still eyeing at the group of kids. Dash stared at him, trying, yet again, to see what he was thinking, if in any way, she could figure out, by the way he acted and looked, what he was thinking or feeling.

"Uh yea, Rainbow Dash."

She replied just as lifelessly as CC did.

"Oh!"

She propped up to her hooves, with a wider smile on, having thought off something that got her distracted.

"I'll call you CC!"

She declared.

The brown colt cocked an eyebrow at that.

"Why?"

He asked simply, quite baffled both by the name she used and the random change from near devastation to outright excitement.

"Cause, that's what I've been calling you! Since I read that sign above your above your bed, 'the CC kid', that's what I've been calling you!"

She enthused.

Still finding it puzzling how she changed from one drastic to another, CC didn't divert from the confused look he wore.

"Mhm, sure, I guess"

He replied, more or less eyeing her, who was now distracted by something completely different.

"Hey, you think I can learn to be like you?"

She asked, innocently.

"What do you mean by that?"

Dash motioned around the room before replying.

"Y'know, seem so... dull all the time. Everypony here doesn't smile, I wanna know how! I can't not smile, at times. How do you all do it all the time?"

His gaze fell distant, not daring to look her in the eye. "It's not something to learn, you get used to its around here."

Dash blinked, her smile withering.

"Oh."

An unreasonable amount of silence soon engulfed the two, CC staring off in some other direction, while Dash remained both confused, and angry. She wasn't focusing on anything specific, merely staring at random positions.

"Hey, do you know why I was put here?"

She let the question slip her lips. She didn't intend for it to, but it did, and now it remained out in the open, for anyone to take an use as they wish.

The brown colt stared down at the filly sat on her haunches. He nearly had a sympathies look on his face, but that quickly disappeared.

"The same reason we all were."

Was his only reply.

He motioned for her to follow, which she promptly noticed and decided to do. She, for the second time in their little conversation, propped up to er hooves, and followed CC. He seem to be going toward the crowd of kids. It wasn't long before both were stood in front of a group of fillies and colts, most with confused or concerned looks on their faces, some with angry and irritated glares shot toward the rainbow pegasus.

"Who is she?"

Asked a random voice from the crowd. A midnight blue pegasus was the source of the question. The little filly trotted up to CC, a more angry look on her face. She gave the cyan filly a glare before turning her attention back to the brown colt.

"I'm Rainbow Dash."

She stated, though a bit less enthusiastic than she had been for any other greeting. She gave a sheepish smile, and rubbed the back of her head nervously.

The red headed filly glared at her, clearly unhappy with her presence.

"Why is she here?"

"She's new. Figured she might need a proper introduction."

His reply may have given an answer to blue filly but definitely not to any other present there.

"You, as in CC."

Asked another voice, one which was left a mystery to Dash.

"Yes, me. I think you all can help her get used to things, so what just happened,"

He shot the filly a glare.

"Doesn't happen again."

"Oh no, no!"

The red maned filly stomped a hoof on the floor, not pleased with this new information.

"You are not leaving us to babysit this filly! You went up to her, and started talking, so she's your problem, not ours!"

She clarified.

"Besides, we have our own problems to deal with. We don't need an annoying kid messing everything up. Like she did just now!"

"Hey! I didn't know he'd attack me! How was I supposed to know that!"

Rainbow defended, a glare of her own was formed on her face. Her muzzle scrunched up and her eyes narrowed.

"As I was saying,"

She promptly ignored her.

"We don't have to deal with your dirty work, Choco!"

CC rolled his eyes.

"If you don't want to help-"

"You take that back! I am not anyone's dirty work!"

She cut him off. Her wings buzzed, but did not take her off the ground, her eyes were narrowed yet again, and she wore a nasty scowl.

The dark blue filly rolled her eyed, and proceeded to promptly ignore him.

"You're taking her with you, or she's doing it on her own. She is not, I repeat to you, she is not staying with us."

CC gave a sigh, knowing there was no way he was going to win this argument. He gave a lifeless glance back at Dash before motioning for her to follow him to some corner of the room.

"Now, don't go starting fights with anypony. And don't even bother trying to escape,"

That las sentence caught Dash off guard. Yet another pony in this orphanage mentioned escaping. What was there to escape from? As far Dash knew, orphanages were places where ponies get adopted into new homes and families, nothing more. Not some place you'd need to escape from, right?

Another spine-chilling thought crossed her mind, "Wait, you're leaving me here?" She asked, genuinely scared for her life at this point. If more kids like Cinder were around, then she wouldn't survive a day without get beaten up some more. She just didn't know to protect herself.

The brown colt eyed a distant pole behind Dash, not making eye contact with the filly in front of him. All that went through Dash's mind was how she didn't want to be left alone here.

"Yes, yes I am."

He answered blankly. The filly' face fell, disheartened by the answer.

"I'm not leaving my friends to help some..."

He muttered the last bit under his breath, preventing the rainbow filly from hearing. She could only assume it was not something that he said.

"Now, like I said,"

He paused collecting his words.

"Don't bother trying to escape, don't start any fights, and definitely don't complain about any of it. If you do any of that stuff, you'll be called in, and they'll have you on their radar. That's somewhere you want to avoid at all cost."

All her got in reply were blank blinks of incomprehension. He sighed, evident fed up with the filly' lack of concentration.

"Sue, I'll keep that in mind. No escaping, no fighting and definitely no complaining. Got it."

She gave a salute. The colt tilted his head a little, then proceeded to walk off, in the direction of the kids

Dash watched as he went and rejoined with the other kids, not even a single glance her way, did she receive. Looking around she quickly spotted a mop, and went to grab it.

"Racing Bolt!"

A sharp voice called out to all the kids. Each filly and colt there turned their head toward Dash, baffling her all the more. The cream coated mare trotted up to Dash, her walk as stern as ever, her glare sharper than usual, and her scowl seemed to blend in with the rest of her face.

"Seriously."

She muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Dash to pick up on. The mare approached Dash, who was already readying herself to sprint off, not wanting to be caught by this mare again. She plead her hooves and buzzed her wings.

"Bolt! Stop acting like an idiot!"

She scolded, grabbing the filly by the waist. She tried fighting her grip, but one glare from the older was enough to silence her right then and there. She had no intention of getting slapped again. Not by that mare or anypony else.

"My name is not Bolt!"

She spoke up with gritted teeth. The cream mare didn't give her any of piece of mind, just kept moving.

---

They passed through all the corridors before arriving at a little room with the words, Foal Nursery on the board above it. Dash blinked. Why was she at a foal's nursery? Was she going to be kept there or something? Did they think she was a foal now too? The mare opened the door to reveal a very blank looking nursery. Cribs were leaned against the wall, with little foals inside. She heard a few crying but most seemed to be quiet.

"Uh"

The mare plopped her on the floor.

"Now get to work!"

She prompted for the filly to get up and do whatever it is she was meant to do. Dash stared up at the older pegasus with a baffled stare. She b.inked a few time over, still unsure as to what she was to do.

The cream coated pegasus, grunted before motioning to some of the crying foals inside.

"Get them sleeping."

She ordered. Still very confused, Dash asked the mare how she was to do it, and other groan left the cram pony's mouth.

"Get to it!"

She demanded before leaving the room, locking it behind her. The rainbow filly stared dumbfounded for what felt like the hundredth time that day. She shook her head. This time she wasn't going to sit around and do nothing until told what to do. Ponies here just didn't seem to be happy with her, maybe if she did this, they'd be pleased, and stop looking at her as though she were some alien from another planet.

The made her way to the first foal show as crying. Her job was made quite simple, get the foals to sleep. Simple. Vey simple... right?

She tried holding the baby to cradle them to sleep, like she remember her mom doing to her when she was much younger. But the foal had other plans. They flung Dash's hooves away with their own, seeming upset with her or something. She tried doing the same with other foals, but the same thing happened with each. She grew frustrated, stomping a hoof on the ground, upset with both the babies and the mare who had Locke her in there.

She tried again, reaching for the foals, and trying to cradle them. But again, they shook her hooves away with their own tiny ones.

"How in Equestria do you ponies get these things to sleep!"

The babies weren't even half her size, and she wasn't that big either, and yet, she was unable to grab hold of even one of them? Now that was embarrassing.

She grunted falling to her haunches, unhappy with this whole thing. She rubbed her hoof against her eyes.

"I hate this!"

Exclaimed the little filly, flailing a hoof in the air.

To Be Continued!

Author's Note:

Hey Folks!

Yep, it out. Let's celebrate!
I don't know if the chapter name fits, let me know what you think of it, I'm not sure what to name it, For now it'll remain as so.

Now that's it from me Folks! Hope you enjoyed this little chapter, it's my last work of the year, there will be no more publishes through the entirety of today, tomorrow and maybe the day after, which is probably a given, but eh. Hope you all great New Year ahead!

MSz Out!