A week had finally passed, meaning the runaway girls got to go home. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom that is. Unfortunately, the event made a permanent mark. Considering that the doctor said the wound is scarring, and could probably have some more unforeseen damage. There would be a full blown red ring around her throat, but at least she was still talking, which everyone was very excited about. Especially Apple Bloom. She just couldn't let her go. They were currently heading towards a chariot that held Applejack and Princess Twilight, both offering smiles at the very young couple.
"Hello, girls," Twilight greeted calmly. She hopped out the chariot and opened the doors for them.
"Hey, Princess," Applebloom greeted. Sweetie Belle hopped in first before Applebloom and the rest of the family followed along.
A few minutes later, they were flying over Canterlot, enjoying the view of the Castle. Applebloom was too deep in her thoughts to notice though, having so much on her mind. Such as school, home, and......their future. Since the CMC was disbanded, they had no hobbies. Nothing to do. So....now what? They could just run around and do what foals do for the time being. But then after they grow up, what then?
"Stop thinking."
She turned her head to Sweetie Belle's smiling face. "What?"
"I said stop thinking," she playfully repeated. "You're doing that thing where you overthink things again."
"What? No ah'm not," Applebloom denied. Her older sister shook her head and rolled her eyes from the front.
"Applebloom, I can always tell when you're thinking," Sweetie countered. She sauntered over and sat down beside her, then lifted a hoof and poked her in the chest. "You look down at your hooves and start mumbling. And you were doing that for twelve whole minutes."
"Yeah, it's a family curse," Applejack joked.
"Okay, fine!" Applebloom admitted, throwing her hooves in the air. "Yes, ah' was thinkin' about what to do now. I'm out of ideas." Sweetie Belle chuckled and nuzzled her, making Applebloom smile.
"That's because you're thinking too hard," she whispered as she ceased her nuzzling. "We just take it as it comes. We won't be going back to crusading. But whatever else may come up, we'll take it on. Together. Okay?" She took hold of Applebloom's hoof and gave it an encouraging squeeze. Her girlfriend sighed and nodded in agreement.
"Alright. We'll just let whatever happens happen. Applejack? Have you watered the seeds?"
"Yes I have," she responded. "Ah' know how much you want it to grow, so I water them everyday."
"Thanks."
"We're here, everypony!" Twilight announced as they landed in front of the Castle of Friendship. The chariot rolled to a stop in front of the doors, letting them know that they have finally arrived at their destination. Although at a different location.
"The castle?" Sweetie Belle asked. Her and Applebloom shared a confused glance, completely missing Twilight and Applejack's shared smirk and wink. The fillies climbed out of the chariot and made their way towards the front door of the castle with Sweetie's parents right behind them.
"Yep. We want to show you somethin'," Applejack answered. Twilight walked forward and opened the castle doors, allowing the clueless fillies inside before they walked in after. But once the door shut, all Tartarus broke loose.
"SURPRISE!!!"
Sweetie Belle shrieked and backed away before Apple Bloom jumped in front of her, ready to fend off any pony wanting to....wait, it's just Pinkie Pie. And a few more ponies. The two looked up towards the ceiling where there was a banner that read, 'Congratulations On Finding Your Special Somepony, Sweetie Belle And Apple Bloom!'
"That is a lot of words," Sweetie commented. Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. They looked back down and gasped before Pinkie Pie pulled them into a bone crushing hug.
"Were you surprised?! Huh? I know I was when I heard you two were girlfriend and girlfriend!" Pinkie asked enthusiastically as she hugged the two fillies.
"Yeah, Pinkie, REALLY surprised," Sweetie answered, struggling to get out of her grip. When they did, they were bombarded by more foals all trying to figure this out.
"You're dating?"
"Are you in love?"
"What's it like?"
"I thought mares were supposed to date stallions. Not another mare." Apple Bloom sighed and shared a look with her girlfriend, who shrugged in response.
"Can I get some clothes?" Magenta asked the FPS worker two weeks later in front of her room. Today was the day Magenta Streak and Bright Snow were discharging from the hospital. Bright had the casts on her wings taken off, allowing her to hover above her friend with a smile. Magenta was still having trouble walking. Therefore she was still in a wheelchair at this moment. Not to mention still wrapped up in gauze. The nurse and doctor said that the wounds would heal in three months then scar over.
"Why do you need clothes, dear?" Gray Oceans asked while she was speaking with her nurse. Kind Goldhoof decided to answer for her.
"Her wounds, after they heal, will become scars," she said, catching the caseworker's attention. "She's afraid she'll be made fun of by other foals in the future."
"I see," Gray Oceans replied. She nodded before turning back to Magenta. "I'm sure we can find you a few things, Magenta. Are you ready to go?"
"Mm mm," she replied with a shake of her head. She turned around and walked towards her nurse, who was watching, and lifted a hoof up at her.
Nurse Goldhoof smiled sweetly, knowing exactly what she wanted before she reached around and unhooked Magenta's rear hooves from the mobile assistant. She then put her muzzle down to a level she could grab. Which she did. The nurse pulled her into a loving embrace, nuzzling her cheek.
"Will you visit us?" Magenta asked her as she looked into Goldhoof's eyes. "They said you can. Will you?"
"Of course I will!" She agreed happily. "Once a week, I promise."
"Promise?" She asked, pulling back a little and giving her a confused look. "What's a promise?"
"It's a guarantee that something will happen. I promise I will visit you and Bright Snow once every week."
Bright Snow flew over and joined in, giving her a tight squeeze. The nurse chuckled and hugged her too. "I love you both," she whispered.
"We love you too, Nurse Goldhoof!" The two cheered. Gray Oceans fawned before they backed away.
"I'm walking with you until you get to the taxi," the nurse said as she hooked Magenta back up to her wheelchair. "I don't want you to fall and hurt yourself even more."
Once she was secure they started walking towards an elevator, not that Magenta knew what that was exactly. Only that they had stopped in front of some silver doors. Gray Oceans pressed a button next to it that had a strange shape that Magenta probably knew in the past.
"Is this a room?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. Bright Snow shook her head from Magenta's right.
"Nuh uh," she said, catching her attention. "It's an elevator. It moves you up and down from one floor to the next."
"So.....how does it work?"
"Magic!"
"Oh." The doors opened with a ding, making Magenta look around for the source before she carefully walked into the weird room. She looked around at the interior before a sound behind her caught her ear. She looked over and gasped as the doors shut.
"Oh no! Are we locked in?!!" She yelled in fear.
"No, we're just moving," Nurse Goldhoof said down to her in an attempt to calm her. "We're moving down to the ground."
"Oh." She walked towards Bright Snow and turned herself around in her wheelchair. Bright realized she was a little nervous about the box, since she kept glancing around at everything.
"Don't worry," she said, trying to reassure her nervous friend. She put a wing over her densely gauze-covered back, rubbing her with the feathers. "It won't hurt us. I promise." Magenta gave her a nervous glance before the door opened again a few seconds later.
Once it did, Magenta walked out as fast as her little and painful hooves could carry her, trying to get away from the box of death. "Hold on, Magenta!" Nurse Goldhoof called, quickly following after her. Magenta stopped in the hall and looked around, sighing in relief before Goldhoof caught up with her. Along with Bright Snow and Gray Oceans. "Don't run out like that, okay? You could've gotten hurt," the nurse warned her. Magenta nodded before they continued walking again. They were currently in a large lobby with marble flooring and a lot of windows. There were also pillows around that served as seats for anypony coming in and waiting for something. As well as nurse's desks.
"Are you excited?!" Bright Snow asked suddenly. Magenta turned to her as the adults stopped in front of the door. They turned around and looked at the two little fillies with smiles on their faces.
"For what?" Magenta asked her.
"To see Equestria! Since you lost your memories, you have no idea what it looks like! So this will be pretty big for you! Are you ready?!" Magenta nodded. "Let's go!"
"Stay close to us, okay?" Gray Oceans ordered. After the foals nodded, the two mares lightly pushed the doors open, allowing the cool summer breeze outside to bristle the coats of the two foals inside. Magenta took a few hesitant steps before she walked out with Bright Snow right beside her.
The second she was out, Magenta was met with the suns bright light, not to mention heat. "Ugh! The sun is so....."
"Beautiful?" Gray Oceans guessed as the two adults stopped next to them.
"No! It's....too bright! Cut it off! Please!" The two adults laughed as they walked towards the yellow chariot waiting in front of them.
"Sorry, Magenta! Celestia doesn't just cut off the sun," Nurse Goldhoof commented as she positioned some plastic steps by the door of the taxi. She opened the door before making her way back to the foals. "I have to unhook you now dear. Sadly, you're not allowed to take this with you to the orphanage."
"Awww," Magenta said as the nurse took off the straps. Once they were loose, Magenta's rear hooves touched the ground sending a jolt up her legs. Those muscles just couldn't heal fast enough.
"I'll walk you up to the taxi!" Bright cheered as she landed beside her. Magenta nodded and started walking up to the steps, albeit slowly. After twenty six seconds, they finally made it to the plastic elevation tool. She lifted her front hooves and pulled herself up on one of them.
"Be careful," Goldhoof warned from beside the steps. The pony who would be pulling the chariot looked over his shoulder inside of it. Goldhoof was watching her anxiously as Magenta finally got off the last step and into the chariot. She continued to the other side before she took a satisfied seat. Bright Snow took a seat beside her while Goldhoof took back the steps and Gray Oceans turned to her.
"Kind Goldhoof?" She said, catching her attention. She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a card, which she held out to the nurse. "If you're ever thinking about adopting, here's my contact information. Let me know and I will help you."
"Thank you. I will keep this close by me." The caseworker nodded to her before she got into the chariot with the two fillies, closing the door behind her.
"I'll see you soon, girls!" Goldhoof yelled, waving as the chariot drove off. She could make out the two foals' little hooves waving back at her for a moment before she sighed, picked up the steps, and made her way slowly back into the hospital. She was going to miss those little angels.
"What's the.....orphanage.....called?" Magenta asked as they turned a corner. The two looked over at her. "I've learned that everything has a name here."
"That's true," Gray Oceans agreed. "The orphanage is called Quick Hooves Orphanage. It is two stories high and has two wings."
"The building flies?"
Gray Oceans chuckled. "No dear. When there are wings on a building, that means there is more buildings connected to it. One on the left and another on the right. One for fillies and the other for colts. You'll see when we get there."
After a few more minutes, the Taxi turned onto a different street, went on for a few more seconds, then stopped. "Quick Hooves Orphanage!" The pony up front said over his shoulder.
"Here we are kids!" Gray Oceans announced as she stepped out. "Your new home." Bright Snow and Magenta Streak looked over at the building, gawking a little at the size. The front of the building had brick steps that led up to a bunch of columns that were holding up the extended roof. The entire building was made out of brick. There were also two more buildings, on the left and right like Gray Oceans said, that were half the size of the middle one and covered in windows.
The middle building had a white triangle roof as well as two ornate wooden front doors. And it was much longer.
"Whoa! It's big!" Magenta yelled as she stalked to the edge. Bright Snow already flew out and was waiting for her, along with Gray Oceans. Magenta eventually made it to the edge but froze upon arrival. How was she going to get down? It was too high up.
"Here." Magenta squeaked when a pair of hooves lifted her up and set her on the ground safely. "You're heavy," Bright Snow commented when she landed next to her.
"Thank you," Magenta told her. Gray Oceans waved for them to follow her as she spoke. Realizing that Magenta had trouble walking, they walked slowly with her.
"You'll be staying here until somepony adopts you," Gray Oceans said as they walked up the stairs. Bright and Gray took it slower here since Magenta had to take each step one hoof at a time. "There are more fillies and colts here than you two. But they are all at school right now. Like how you will both be going in the future. Bright Snow already goes to elementary school, so all she needs is for somepony to go and take her there. As well as pick her up when it's over. However, Magenta, you will be a much longer case. You can't go to school until you are fully healed and can walk better. We don't want you going with other ponies where it's guaranteed you will be hurt." They got onto the top and waited for Magenta to climb it. Once she did, she waited a moment to catch her breath before nodding, letting them know she was ready.
The caseworker walked towards the doors and pulled out a pair of keys from her saddlebags. She pushed it into the slot with her mouth and turned it before grabbing the handle and pulling the door open. The two fillies walked into the building while she stood to the side to allow them in. Bright Snow was just looking around at everything. In front of them was a staircase that led to another level that had black carpet on it. There was also a lot of carpet around them too, as far as they could see. There were also hallways that led to other areas on opposite sides of the staircase. On the left area there was a big spacious area that had books, couches, a lot of pillows, lamps, tables, and a television.
On the right, there seemed to be a giant kitchen that had a very long wooden table, a lot of chairs with pillows on them, as well as just pillows for older ponies that could actually reach the top of the table without any assistance. There was also a stainless steel refrigerator, and more that Bright Snow or Magenta couldn't see.
"Are these our new children?"
The two looked towards the front to see a completely white unicorn trotting out of one of the hallways. "Yes, ma'am," Gray Oceans said, walking towards her. She reached into her saddlebags once more and pulled out two folders, along with a bag holding a tube and some notes inside. "Girls, come."
The two fillies trotted forward while the caseworker was speaking to the lady. "This is a nice place so far," Bright Snow told her friend. Magenta nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, it's fine. But we have to see what everything else looks like too." They stopped in front of the two mares as they wrapped up the conversation and the white unicorn took the folder and bag of items in her magic.
"Girls, this is Director Platinum Diamonds," Gray Oceans introduced, motioning towards the unicorn. "She is the head of this orphanage. The head matron, which is the staff that works here to keep you safe and happy. Say hi."
"Hi!" Bright Snow greeted with a little jump. She was enthusiastic as ever. "I'm Bright Snow! And this is my friend, Magenta Streak!"
"Hello, children," she replied. She walked closer to them and gave a kind smile. "I hope you both know why you are here. Correct?"
"We don't have parents," Magenta answered for her friend. She glanced over, seeing her sad expression.
"That's right. Now we're going to keep you here until you're adopted. Or until you're old enough to go out on your own. Until that time, this will be your home. We'll keep you happy and satisfied as best as we can, not to mention healthy. We have retrieved your stuff, Bright Snow, from your old home. as well as some of your parents' things so you have something to hold onto. Everything else is in holding in a storage facility."
"What's a facility?" Magenta asked. The unicorn took on a confused look before glancing to the caseworker.
"She has a really bad case of Amnesia that has erased everything from her past life," Gray Oceans explained. "Right now, she is in the process of learning more advanced terminology. She also can't write. And I do not believe she can read either."
"But she can talk?"
"Yes." The unicorn turned back to the children, humming in thought.
"We'll have to teach you some things before we can put you back in school," Director Platinum told Magenta. "I was told it would take you quite a while to heal as best as you could. Considering that you do not have wings anymore, as well as intense scarring in the future. So we'll find you some nice clothes to keep you covered up so you can be happy around other foals, and so they're not intimidated by you. Okay?"
"Mmhmm!" Magenta agreed, nodding enthusiastically.
"Good! Let me show you two to your rooms. Follow me."
"Magenta can't walk as fast as the others due to her wounds, ma'am," the caretaker told her.
"Ah, right," she said as she walked down the stairs slowly. The other two followed her around the right corner of the staircase and made their way towards a hallway that intercepted the one they were currently on. Their little hooves trying to catch up to the fast unicorn. Magenta especially. Eventually they made it to, what a sign on the side of them read, the East Wing.
"What's that say?" Magenta asked, motioning towards the sign.
"East Wing," Bright answered as they continued walking. After coming out of the hallway, they turned a right and walked down the hallway. Magenta looked around as they walked, seeing more rooms that were spaced apart by a few feet.
"The East Wing is for fillies, the girls, while the west wing is for Colts, the boys," Director Platinum explained as she slowed down and stopped at a room. "We always separate the genders. Which are boys and girls. This is your room. Number 126. Try to remember it. You are not allowed to have anypony else in your room except only you two. They can stand outside your room but they are not allowed in. The bathroom is right around the corner of this hall."
She pointed a hoof to the hall a little feet back to where they came from. There was a visible indentation in the wall that let the two new fillies know that there was another passage. "This side is for the younger fillies while the area over there right across from us is for the teenagers. When you reach thirteen, you will be moved to that area where you will have a little bit more freedom. Most of the time fillies are adopted by that time frame, but some are not and have to be moved."
The director opened the door to the room, allowing the fillies inside to take a look. There were two beds on opposite sides of the wall as well as a window right across from them on the far side. The room was relatively livable. Not too big not too small. Just right. On the right there were a few things that Magenta guessed were Bright Snow's things. Books, toys, notebooks, saddlebags, and some more things that she had no idea were called. She only recognized the other things because they had them at the hospital and Bright told her what they were. On the left side was just a basic bed with covers and sheets, and a dresser. As well as a radio. That seemed to be really important in Manehattan. Is that what this city was called?
Magenta carefully walked over to the left and looked around. It was a cozy looking environment. She tilted her head when she saw another door on her side. Walking to it, she pulled it open and raised an eyebrow. "Uhh....what room is this? Why is it empty?" Bright Snow looked over and made her way to Magenta's side.
"It's a closet," Bright clarified. "You put your things in here. Clothes and stuff. It's storage."
"But when you do put things in, make sure it's organized," the director explained as she walked into the room. "I hope you enjoy yourself here. This room doesn't have a lock. So you can't lock anypony out or in. That'd be very rude. Now. You can go and venture through and discover everything in the house. Do not go upstairs in the main building. That is where the workrooms are. I hope you can be happy here." She turned around and left, leaving the girls to their own devices. After a minute of just looking around the room, the two fillies turned to each other.
"Yes!" Bright cheered before she shot into the air and hovered. "So! What do you want to do now?"
"Let's go in the....big room and relax on the pillows," Magenta suggested, not knowing the name of the room she wanted to visit. "And then we can listen to the radio when we come back."
"Sure! I wanna see how those pillows feel on the tushie too!" The two laughed before they walked out of the room and back into the hall. After three minutes of walking they made it back into the foyer and walked towards the living room that had all that stuff in it. They walked onto the pillows and started poking around them.
"They're so soft," Magenta cooed. She circled the center of it before she plopped down with a "fwump", sighing as she relaxed her aching muscles. Bright Snow sat down next to her and draped a wing over her back. "You know...this is the first time we've ever had alone time. Together."
Bright blinked in realization. "Oh yeah," she agreed with a nod. The two were just staring at the blank television screen in front of them before Bright grabbed a nearby blanket and draped it over the two of them. "I'm tired...are you tired?"
"Yeah. And Bright?" Bright Snow looked towards her with a smile. "Thanks. For being my friend and for being there for me when I need help. I have a feeling we're going to make some great memories together."
"I do too, Magenta. I do too." The two snuggled up together before they laid their heads down and dozed off. Having peaceful dreams.