“Are you alright, dearie?” Bright Side asked with a concerned look on his face as he and Emily ate their food, the filly requesting just a plate of plain pancakes and a glass of water without ice. She had her eyes closed and a hoof on her yet, making a face that expressed her discomfort. It made the stallion worried to see.
“Is it heartburn again?”
“Dysphagia,” she whispered back, breathing deeply as she spoke. “The food gets stuck in my throat and moves as slowly as it possibly can.”
“You’re not choking, are you?” he asked quickly, suddenly standing up and getting ready to go over to her.
“No, I’m fine, it’s just uncomfortable,” she told him. A moment later, she sighed in relief as the food passed down her esophagus, continuing, “I have dysphagia, too. The doctor said it was GERD, and that’s why things like grains are hard for me to eat.”
“Well we can get you something different if you’d like, honey,” he told her sweetly. “Eggs or grits if you’d like. Can you eat oats?”
“It’s fine. I won’t choke or anything. Plus, these pancakes are so good!”
“Are you sure?” Emily nodded happily, and with that, Bright Side continued, “Is it okay if I talked to you while you ate?” Another nod came, and he asked, “Where do you live right now?”
“Right now?” She put a hoof to her chin to think it over before answering, “In Ponyville! I went to sleep in the hospital, plus I’m eating breakfast, so I live here now!”
He gave her a kind smile and laughed a little bit at what she said before asking, “Where did you live before here, missy?”
“Ummmm somewhere super far away! You’ve probably never heard of it, or anypony else. But it’s okay because I don’t really like that place anyway.”
“Awww, you don’t like your home? Where was it at?”
“Kansas. It’s the worst state except for all the other states! And I only don’t like it because it’s boring as heck.”
“Boring? What’s it like there?” Bright got out a pen and paper to begin writing down what she was saying as the filly took another bite of pancakes, and then put a hoof on her chest again after she swallowed. He wanted to make sure he had a complete picture of what was going on, and was already a little bit concerned with a couple of the things she said. Not that everything she said was necessarily true, but that was also why it was best to write everything down. It would help to determine what was real and what wasn’t.
“It’s boring. There’s nothing to do. No beaches or mountains or amusement parks or anything! And half the cities there smell like cow farts and manure. It’s awful.” She took another swipe of pancake before adding, “Hmm. Ponyville doesn’t smell like manure, but it’s full of ponies. That’s so weird!”
“Heh, I lived in a place where everypony tried to do things without earth pony magic,” he commented. “They said it made the food taste different, but I could never tell. It didn't smell very nice.”
“Neither can I, and that’s what they say here! I wish everyone could use magic for everything! Then Kansas towns wouldn't smell so stinky!”
“I wish so too, sweetheart. Do you know what street you live on, dearie? Who takes care of you?”
“I take care of myself!” she beamed with a smile. “I can even cook and clean, and do the dishes even though I don’t like them. And uh, I live… in an apartment! Not on the street! Hehe!”
“Of course you do, sweetie,” he smiled. “But what happened to your parents? Like I said, a little girl like you shouldn’t be all alone out there. You could get hurt, or worse! Who knows what could happen!”
She giggled and said, “I’m always safe! Always!” Despite her smile and giggle though, Bright could pick up on the fact that she was a little uncomfortable by the topic, and wrote it down for later.
“Oh, I’m sure you’re the strongest little filly around! But even strong fillies like you need grown ups to help them out. Do you have any grown ups helping you out, sweetie?”
She shook her head, and the stallion sighed silently to himself. He felt like he was going to have an issue getting any information from her just from what he was receiving already. He could tell that she was trying to be secretive– foals never did a very good job at hiding that fact from him– and it made him just that much more worried about why she could’ve been showing up out of the blue to Ponyville General like she did. He’d have to make doubly sure to take it slow and tread carefully.
“Well then it certainly sounds like you’re mature for your age, Ama Lee! It must be hard taking care of yourself all the time like that. How did you get to Ponyville from Cansess?”
“I walked.”
“Oh, you did? You didn’t fly with those wings of yours?” he asked, making Emily smile again. “I’d certainly love a pair like that. Where did you walk through? Do you remember?”
“Umm, well… I walked through a field, and then I saw a town, and then I went through the woods, and then I ended up in Ponyville! And now I’m here! Um, do you think I could have more pancakes, please?”
“Of course. But did you walk all day to get to Ponyville? Did you eat at all yesterday, or have anything to drink?”
“Uh huh, I stopped at a restaurant and asked for some hayfries, but they tasted gross so I got potato french fries instead. I didn’t have any money though, so they gave it to me for free. And they said I was super adorable!”
“Oh, I can imagine that they did, since you absolutely are. But how long did you walk? Do you remember?”
“Uhh… I think I got here at noon, and then I walked until I ate dinner, and then I walked and walked and walked, and then I got to the hospital!”
“I see. Where is there ‘here’ that you got to, dearie? And how did you get there?”
“Eeep! I mean I started walking! I’m so silly!” She giggled to try and portray innocence and took a sip of water before asking, “Do you think I could go to the restroom?”
“Of course sweetie. Do you know where it’s at?”
“I can find it!” She climbed down out of her chair and scampered off, Bright Side keeping his eyes on her until he watched her enter the restroom. When she did, he put his head in his hooves and let out another long sigh.
Oh, this is already more than just a lost filly, he thought to himself. Where do I even begin?
Getting her comfortable wasn’t an issue. She was already comfortable from what he could tell, what with how bright and bubbly and happy she seemed right now. Making accommodations for her– that’d be a bigger issue, especially if she wasn’t being complete with what she said or was lying, doubly so if somepony had coached her on what she should be saying. He’d need to work his way in, and get somepony else to talk to her, too, to see how her answers stacked up and if she stayed consistent. Bright Side didn’t expect that they would.
But first was getting back into conversation with her, Emily walking out of the bathroom just as the stallion began wondering about her. Just the way she walked was something he noted and quickly wrote down as he watched her. She seemed like she was trying to walk naturally, and was pretty close to doing so, but it seemed a little bit stiff and forced. Even more concerning was the way she kind of tucked her tail as she walked, something Bright Side saw a lot of during the more tearful parts of his job.
But we’re not going to be making assumptions. It’s way too early for that right now. Just sit down and finish breakfast with her.
“You’re not hurt, are you?” he asked as he looked back down at her, watching her wiggle her body and legs as she climbed up into the seat. “Are your hooves okay?”
“Mhm, they’re fine. I just walked all day yesterday so I’m tired.”
“I understand. Can I ask where exactly ‘here’ was? Where did you get here from?”
“Here is Ponyville!” she said enthusiastically, flapping her wings excitedly as she did. “There are so many ponies here, and I get to be one, too! It’s way better than Kansas!”
That did not add up at all, and wasn’t what she said before she went to the restroom. Of course, she was just a little filly, and genuinely might not have spoken correctly before, but there would be no harm in being cautious. In any case, it seemed like she was lying about one or the other.
“Do you have a wife named Destiny?” she suddenly asked. “Cause if you do, then you should have her call for you! And then you’d be able to open up your eager eyes and be Mister Brightside!”
“Well yes, I am married, but my wife’s name isn’t Destiny. Why? Do you know somepony named Destiny? Can you tell me about them?”
“Hehe, no, it’s just a song I like.”
“Mhm, I understand. So what I’m hearing is you walked to Ponyville, and then walked around town all day and then went to the doctor? Is that right, missy?” She nodded her head and giggled, and he continued, “That sounds like you had a very active day then. You must have been very tired if you didn’t get to sleep until a little while ago.”
“A little, but not too much. I can stay up for a long time.”
“Oh, I’m sure you can, but you know little girls like you need to sleep to grow. Do you remember what restaurant you went to? I bet the fries they served were pretty tasty.”
“They were, but I don’t remember.”
“Awww, I guess that means I’ll have to go without them then.” He made a faux sad face, and she made a sad face back before laughing again when his lips turned back up into a smile.
“How did you get to Ponyville from Cansess again, sweetheart?”
“Iunno. I think I teleported. I mean, how else would I have gotten here? I can’t fly yet.”
Once again, she was changing the story. First she walked, then she was always in Ponyville, and now she had teleported. He wondered which statement, if any, was the truth. But that wasn't an important matter right now. Flying, and her lack of ability to, was.
“You can’t fly yet, sweetie?” he asked. “Has nopony ever shown you how?”
“Nope. Never ever. I mean, these wings flap and stuff, but I can’t fly.” She gave a demonstration of her flapping her wings, and then shrugged.
“Well that’s no good!” he said, hiding the concern he had from his voice. “I certainly bet we can find somepony to help you with that. What do you say?”
“That’s great! Flying is gonna be so cool! I can’t wait!”
“I’m glad you're excited! I’ll make sure to talk to the best flight instructor I can find, dearie. But first, do you know what unicorn it was who teleported you here? What was their coat color?”
“Iunno. All I know is that I was in Kansas, and now I’m here. And also I’m the cutest thing ever! Look at me! I’m gonna rule the world!” She looked down at herself and laughed again, so hard that she fell out of her chair and landed on her back.
“Whoa! Ama Lee! You have to be careful now, sweetie! Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she said, brushing herself off. “Note to self: don’t think about how cute I am when I’m sitting in my chair. That hurt.”
“It looked like it did,” he said as he helped pick her up off the ground. “Are you sure you’re okay?” The filly nodded, and he said, “I think that’s enough breakfast for now. What do you say we get on with heading to my office, honey? There’s a lot of cool toys for you to play with in there.”
“I don’t need toys, but okay. Umm, do you know where I’m gonna sleep? Cause I don’t know anywhere in Ponyville to sleep, and I'm tired.”
“Well, hopefully we’ll find your mommy and daddy before the day is up and let you stay with them. If we can’t, then we’ll find a place for you to be, okay? You don’t have to worry.”
“That’s good. I don’t think you’re gonna find my mom and dad, but okay.” With that, she climbed up the chair to take another bite of pancake, then started walking off ahead of Bright Side, leaving the stallion wondering what she meant by her ominous assertion.