> Never Leave Me Again > by rubypages1000 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 1- A bit of a Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ugh, this night definitely can't get any worse." Oh, great. Rain. I lifted my head to the sky, and screamed at the heavens, not bothering to sweep my long brown hair out of my eyes. "Why, Celestia?! Why ME?!" I cried out, wishing someone would answer, and maybe even tell me why. Why was I the earth pony who had been chosen to give birth to a beautiful pegasus filly, only to find her eyes crossed? An uncommon disability. So uncommon, that even the most talented unicorn Doctors refused to even try to set them straight. So, after facing the facts, (That I was a single mother, and I barely had enough bits to feed myself.) I knew what I had to do. Don't get me wrong, I loved my beautiful baby, but that didn't change the fact that she would be way better off with a strong family that could help her, and maybe even heal her. So, here I was, in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but a black cloak to keep me dry, and a small sleeping bundle held in my hooves. "It should be somewhere around here," I whispered to my daughter, as she stirred. Looking around hopelessly, I thought to myself how unfortunate I was to be an Earth Pony. If only I had been a unicorn, or even a pegasus! My life would be so much easier, and I wouldn't be in this shape. I started as my bundle gave a small shriek and opened her eyes, revealing two amber floating masses in the white voids that nearly consumed her face. I felt her tug at my heart, and, to shield myself from grief, I pulled the blanket back over my little treasure's face. All that remained were two gray ears, and a few blonde hairs on the top of her head. "Ah, yes. Here we are, little one," I said as I spotted some glowing lights in the distance, and a large sign that read, " St. Marey's Orphanage for the Blind and Mentally Disabled." I had no choice. It was the only way that my baby would have a chance to live a normal life. As I approached the porch of the large building, I noticed hash marks on the fence posts. Not bothering to wonder what they could possibly stand for, I ignored them and pushed on to the front door. Once I was under shelter, I took the hood of my cloak off, and sat for a second, thinking about the life changing event that was about to take place. However, after a few seconds of trying to sort my future out, I gave up and took the blanket off of my filly's face. One Amber eye looked up at me, with a cheery glow provided by the lanterns on the porch. The other eye, however, was looking behind me, into the wet and dreary night. I desperately tried to return a smile, but tears soon crept past my eyelids, and in no time, I was on top of my baby girl, sobbing. "Astro... If only you hadn't left me! If only you had been more careful....this wouldn't be happening.." I said, whispering into my babe's ear. However, not a whisper answered me, but a small gray hoof that had somehow made it's way out of the snug blanket. My unnamed daughter stroked my face, pushing my hair out of my lavender eyes, and smiled at me. This broke my heart. I re-wrapped her in her brown blanket, and, while trying to avoid eye contact with either of the eyes, I laid her down on the porch. At this, the young filly started to whimper, and I sat down next to her, softly cooing and trying to calm her down. She soon closed her eyes, and an unpleasant memory hit me. I was holding an injured gray unicorn stallion's head up, bombs exploding around us. His mane, usually bright yellow, was soaked with a thick red liquid. His amber eyes were dulling, and he looked up at me, and mustered all his strength to speak. "Kimi.... get out of here.... protect our daughter.... don't worry about me.. I'll be fine.." he said, trailing off. "Nonononono, Astro, this isn't funny. We need to get out of here. We need to forget about this silly war and get back to our home. We need you, I need you! Please, Astro..." I broke off, realizing that he wasn't going to answer me. In fact, he wasn't ever going to answer any of my stupid questions again. Devastated, I fell onto him as pieces of broken glass fell from an aircraft that was flying above us. "KIMI!" A loud voice bellowed. I looked up from my dead husband to see a large Earth Pony running towards me. "I need to get you out of here. You're not supposed to be here!" he screeched. "Astro.." I said, in horror of what I had just witnessed. "KIMI! ARE YOU EVEN- LOOK OUT!!!" the Earth Pony screamed, tackling me. Screams of many doomed ponies filled the air, but what did I care. The Earth Pony, whom I recognized as Ergo, grunted loudly above my head as he was splattered with heated embers and broken glass. "Let them die." I said in an almost insane voice. Realizing that I was back in the present, I looked at my sleeping filly. She was dozing comfortably. How I wished that I could look that peaceful, what with all the terrible memories and terrors of war. She made a small noise that sounded like a young puppy trying to bark for the first time. I smiled sadly, and leaned over to whisper a short lullaby that I hoped she would remember for years to come. "Little filly, oh so precious, won't you accompany me to dream land tonight," I stood up with great effort, as my joints still cried from training for the military, and went to the door of the orphanage. I took a deep breath, and sang the next verse. "I'll be waiting for you, don't you worry now. I'll see you soon, my daughter..." And with that, I knocked on the door, and ran for it. > 2- St. Maney's Orphanage > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You there, girl! Tidy up my dress! The governer is coming to visit tonight, and I don't want to disappoint him." "Yes, Madam." A sad filly's voice answered to the large, and, rather chubby, headmistress of St. Maney's Orphanage for the Blind and Mentally Disabled. She wore a disgusting pink dress that somehow made her look 3x her normal size. "Hold on, not you, disgusting girl. I'll get somepony whose eyes don't stare up at the ceiling every time I talk to her. May I remind you that I am the headmistress, and that I have quite a right to punish you? I haven't forgotten about our recent mistakes, now have I?" "No, Madam." The sad voice answered again. The filly brushed her blonde hair out of her face, revealing two strange floating masses. One was looking at the busty mistress, and the other was looking off to the left. Her sad eyes took up a bit more space on her shallow gray face than they should have, and she definitely could have used a bit more food. "Now, go and gather the others. Tell them that I need to see them." The mistress, whose name was Ms. Trelawney, turned to a large mirror on the wall that her chubby face barely fit into. "I can't, Madam." "Okay, and- what do you mean, YOU CAN'T?!" "They don't listen to me." The young Pegasus' eyes filled with tears. "They call me a freak. They laugh, and some of the ones who aren't quite 'right in the head' use their enhanced magical abilities to tug on my hair, and once one even put a hex on me." "I've had enough of this nonsense. Stop making up silly stories, or I will use the belt on you. Is that what you want?" The tears that had been filling up the filly's eyes flowed over. "N-no, M-madam." "And don't call them that. They are more 'right in the head' than you ever will be." Ms. Trelawney huffed, adjusting her frilly collar as the gray pegasus ran off, sobbing. "Why does she treat me like that? Why does she hate me so much? I know that I don't hate her," she cried, once she had safely locked herself in the broom closet. "Why does everypony hate me?" she screamed, unfolding her scarred wings and massaging the torn flesh on her back. Suddenly, something inside her tore. The filly stumbled, and a new light came to her eyes, that was extremely dark, and a bit frightening. "If Celestia is my witness, I swear that I will get Ms. Trelawney fired tonight, so that nopony ever has to go through what I've experienced here." And with a determined expression, the young pegasus set off to her small cot in the filly's dorm.