//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Arrival // Story: Little Nightingale // by Brony707 //------------------------------// Chapter 1 Arrival Nightingale laid her chin to rest atop her hooves. Every muscle in her body ached, screaming for a chance to rest. Not surprising, considering she'd been running all day. The young filly brushed aside a strand of her silvery mane which was seemingly trying very hard to obscure her eyes. 'It's getting late,' she thought to herself, watching Celestia's sun disappear behind the horizon in a magnificent array of colors. Its stunning beauty was lost on little Nightingale however, as soft, nearly unhearable snores escaped her mouth, her small chest rhythmically rising and falling to a steady pace. ******************************************* The night passed by quickly and peacefully as the sun slowly rose from its slumber, chasing away the remnants of the night. The whole of Ponyville was still deeply asleep. Except for one orange mare wearing an old Stetson hat. Applejack mindlessly trotted through the still empty streets of the small town, lost in thought. Being a farmpony, she was used to waking up early, and today was no exception. Especially since today was market day, and somepony had to go set up the apple stall. Big MacIntosh was too busy bucking apples and, quite frankly, not a very good salespony. Applebloom was too young and impatient to really be entrusted with it and Granny Smith... Well, they'd be lucky if she even found the right stall. Besides, at her age, she really needs her sleep. So it was up to Applejack to do it. As the mare was walking through the park however, she was abruptly snapped out of her musings. 'Now why would a 'little filly be sleeping all by her lonesome in the park like that?' she wondered to herself. Granted, it had been a warm and beautiful day yesterday, but it didn't explain why the filly was all alone. 'Well, can't hurt to atleast ask,' the mare concluded. She made her way over towards the bench where the azure coated pegasus filly was sleeping, head burried between her hooves and hind legs pulled up to her belly. Applejack gently nudged the filly with her hoof, which only made the ball of hair and feathers in front of her curl up a bit more. After some hesitation, Applejack tried again, albeit a bit harder this time. The filly yawned slightly, sitting upright while sleepily raising a hoof to rub the sleep out of her eyes. ******************************** Nightingale froze mid-movement, however, as she noticed the tall mare in front of her. "Goodmorning sugarcube," the orange earth pony said. "If ya don't mind my asking, what're you doing sleeping on a bench all by yourself?" The filly was at a loss for words, struggling to find an answer. Her silvery mane was quite short for filly-fashion, although still long enough to cover her left eye completely. Hiding behind it always made her feel a little safer, away from the prying, inspecting eyes of other ponies. Except this time. Feeling the eyes of the other pony going over her body, she couldn't help but feel very self-concious. Her mane was a mess and no doubt covered in dirt , just as her coat was. She didn't get a lot of chances to clean herself up, after all. She remembered trying to comb her hair once using a selfmade brush, made mostly out of twigs. She sighed at the memory. She'd never look as pretty as those canterlot fillies. A subtle cough from the mare in front of her interrupted her thoughts. "U-uum..." Nightingale stammered. She had no idea what the big, orange earth pony in front of her wanted or why she was even talking to her. Her eyes darted everywhere, desperately looking for a way out. She felt every muscle in her body tense up, ready to run away in the blink of an eye. Her wings fluttered anxiously, useless considering she couldn't even lift herself off the ground, let alone speed away. "It's alright sugarcube, ah just wanna make sure you're okay, that's all." Her voice was gentle, but Nightingale didn't feel very reassured. No matter how nice they were, grown-ups, or anypony for that matter, couldn't be trusted. Especially strangers. Realizing the mare was still waiting expectantly, she calmed herself down enough to utter a reply. "I-I'm okay, Miss..." "Applejack" "I'm o-okay, Miss Applejack." The filly gulped down the lump that was building in her throat, while she directed her eyes towards her hooves. The orange mare failed to suppress a small chuckle at the filly's behaviour "Are you sure sugarcube? You don't look too well to me." "Y-yes Miss Applejack. I-I really should go now. Uum... Have a nice day Miss." And without waiting for a reply, the pegasus darted off as fast as her legs could carry her towards the park entrance. Even once the park was far behind her, she kept running, fear fuelling her every step. Tears trailing behind, glistening unnoticed in the rays of the morning sun. ********************************* Applejack, dazed by the sudden departure, shook her head to try and make sense of what had just happened. Something was off about that filly, but she just couldn't put her hoof on what. The dirt in her coat was strange, but could've easily been a result of playing around in the park. The cutie mark crusaders were the proof of that. They never came home even nearly as clean as they left. She shuddered at the thought. Tree sap didn't come off easy. Still, in the back of her mind, a little voice kept nagging. Applejack started walking again, continuing her earlier path towards the market. 'Ahm sure she'll be fine. She'll be home lickety-split, and her parents'll take care o' her. No need to worry.' ***************************************** Nightingale only stopped running when she finally reached the end of town. Panting heavily and all out of tears, she decided to take a small break to catch her breath here. Looking around, she quickly found a nice napping spot in the shade of a large apple tree growing right next to the road. The grass tickled her belly as lay down on it. A gentle breeze waving through her feathers, the soft smell of apples filling her nostrils, the filly's eyes fluttered shut once again, her exhaustion swiftly catching up with her. Several hours passed by, dreams of gigantic cakes and as many candy as she could eat filling her mind. Being fast asleep as she was, Nightingale failed to hear the sound of several pairs of hooves on the road slowly draw closer to where she was sleeping...