Chapter 1: A Twist of Fate
Something was wrong. It was too quiet.
The worst case scenario had finally manifested. Felicity was nowhere to be found, and that meant any variety of things may have happened. It could mean that she might have left the house. Slightly less likely but far more scary, somepony might have taken her. This was a disaster that Tinder had hoped could be avoided simply by never letting the little filly out of his sight, but it appeared that she was capable of eluding even him. His siblings had taken other jobs to help support their family, leaving Tinder to handle sitting the young ponies on his own. He’d thought he could handle it.
He had been dead wrong.
The crimson unicorn began flipping over the furniture in the room. Every other day seemed to be like this. He absolutely could not lose track of this kid. His entire life was on the line. If word got out that he had lost Felicity, or any of the other fillies under his supervision at the orphanage in Yearlingdale, he and his siblings would be kicked out of their apartment next door. This was the job that Tinder did every day for the orphans, one that barely paid for the rent and not much else. If he failed at it, his chances for being hired again elsewhere would be ruined. On top of that, his two siblings would be homeless if he lost this job. Losing track of a child in as big and dangerous of a city as Yearlingdale was a risk he couldn’t afford to suffer.
All that hung on the slim chance that the wily little filly had left the orphanage, of course. Tinder had taken measures to make sure none of his kids left the building, and as far as he knew, they were still intact. If Felicity had tried to exit the room, she would have triggered a magic spell that instantly notified the caster that somepony had crossed it. This had not occurred while he had been downstairs, and the spell remained intact. The other few fillies watched as Tinder almost tore the room apart looking for the mint green earth pony to no avail.
Tinder sighed in resignation. Somehow, she had managed to exit without triggering his monitor, and with no way of tracking her outside the room itself, that left the remainder of the building to check. With any luck, Felicity had not yet reached the front door, or attempted to exit through it. As Tinder fled from the room—being sure to lock the door behind him—the few orphans left began to play with the toys again, with no further commotion to keep them preoccupied. Then, and only then, did a small figure waltz into the room again through the supposedly locked door. Her signature amber bow danced along with her beautiful black mane as she skipped into the center of the playroom.
“Did ya' miss me?” asked Felicity heartily, carrying on her back a sack full of some unknown substance. She slammed the door behind her, reaching up from a stack of preemptively placed books to lock it again.
One pegasus filly, Feather Wingly, spoke up. “Where were you? Poor Tinder 'bout had a heart attack lookin' for ya'.”
“Wha'...I thought I made it clear where I went!” Felicity was dumbfounded. She'd only been planning the heist for a few days, but all four of the other fillies in her room knew about her scheme. “How can you not remember?”
“You didn't tell us what you were leavin' to get, Fel,” Feather replied.
Felicity slowly raised her chin to the right, squinting harder and harder as she did. It seemed to the others that she was staring into their souls. “You really don't remember...”
“What's in the sack, hun?” asked Maple, an earth pony like herself. Felicity sighed.
“Ladies. C'mon! Four days ago, Tinder put a stop to our raiding the fridge downstairs. So I, being the compassionate and fiendishly clever filly I am, concocted a plan of retribution. I set a stack of books outside the door and another inside, so that when Tinder was still setting up his spell, I was ready for him. The moment he left the room, I was on his heel, just close enough to get away without his notice. By the time he came back, I had secured the goods.” She opened the sack with her teeth, allowing a mountain of chocolate chip cookies to skid to the floor. The wide eyed fillies around her began to lick their lips. “Now do you remember?”
“Oh...but of course, Felicity!” came the hurried responses. Feather, in particular, was already making a break for the stack of chocolatey goodness. Felicity was one step ahead, however. She put a hoof down in front of the pile of cookies and glared sideways at her winged friend, who quickly diverted her course and hovered momentarily a few inches off the ground. “What do you want in exchange this time?”
“The usual,” Felicity replied smugly.
Feather sighed slowly. “Felicity, you're the smartest, awesomest, hardcorest, rockin'est pony ever. You're the envy of the entire orphanage.”
“And don't forget it,” replied the mint colored filly, lifting three cookies to her friend. She was preparing for the incoming assault of compliments and cruelly unnecessary flattery when, like a lightning bolt from the blue, the door burst open and revealed a very unhappy red unicorn. Felicity turned slowly to face her rival, the bane of her existence, and probably her closest friend.
“Tinder, welcome back.”
Tinder said nothing. When his alarm had triggered in reverse, he had raced upstairs. When he arrived to find the door locked, it took everything he had within him not to break it in. Tinder was panting heavily, and his horn was still glowing from manipulating the lock magically. He took almost immediate notice of the pile of cookies and everypony froze, making no move to partake from them.
“How in Equestria did you do it this time?!”
“A magician never reveals her secrets,” chided Felicity. It wasn't the first time she'd said that to him, yet he couldn't come to grips with the fact that she was more talented at magic acts than he ever was, despite the fact that she was an earth pony and he a unicorn. Tinder stomped a hoof into the floor and tried to catch his breath, exhausted from his rapid return to the playroom.
“Felicity...I love...you, but...you need...to stop.” He finally took a deep breath and regained his composure. “You truly are an aggravating little filly. I know you mean well, but these crusades you go on, no matter how harmless, really do get me in trouble. I can't afford to lose this job. Every single one of these bits goes toward paying for our apartment and supporting my siblings, who, by the way, paid for those cookies. The least you can do is behave. And another thing—”
“Tinder?” Felicity interrupted.
“I...what?!”
“Can we go on a field trip?”
Felicity's question rang across the room like a bell. Instantly all four of the other fillies were up in arms, demanding a field trip as well. Suddenly his irritated expression melted into resignation. Secretly, he cursed Felicity's natural cunning and skill with her silver tongue. She knew all too well how much prestige and clout she retained over the other fillies in the orphanage, and she was probably smarter than all of them combined. In a moment she had turned a situation that would not have ended well for her into one that would put Tinder in disfavor with the orphans if he declined.
“Fine,” Tinder conceded. “A field trip it is. But, mind you, this is not a reward, nor is it a punishment. This is compassion from the bottom of my heart.”
The other fillies rejoiced, but Felicity merely smiled her notorious, smug smile back at him. Compassion my flank, she thought to herself.
“Where are we going?” Felicity asked.
Tinder considered his options. The park was always the safe option, but he had errands to run in town. And he didn't want to leave the fillies alone. “We're going to the park. After we've been there awhile, you'll all come with me to the grocer. And you'll all stay where I can see you. Understand?”
Felicity needed no further understanding. She had come out victorious, with a large pile of cookies, a trip to the park, and the continued adoration of the other four fillies. What more need be understood?
-~-~-~-~-~
The problem with his fillies was that they couldn’t sit still, and Felicity only stirred up their excitement. As Tinder sauntered up Mane Street, he couldn't help but feel as though he was the one that should have been leading this group. But instead, as always, he had locked the door and turned to find his fillies were gone. Under Felicity’s guidance, they had arrived at the playground a few minutes ahead of him. The park wasn't a terribly long trek to begin with, but it was principle of the matter that bugged the him so much. He'd known Felicity since she was a baby, and he considered her like a sister. But she had been at the orphanage so long because she refused to act like a proper pony her age. When she wasn't insisting on burglarizing and outsmarting Tinder every chance she got or being the leader of a small group of orphans, she pretended to be an immature child, and it had cost her many adoption opportunities.
One time, she managed to completely topple the fridge in an attempt to pilfer a snack. This just happened to be while two prospective parents were in the kitchen with Tinder and his siblings, Warden and Airy, and the fridge just happened to land on the hoof of who might have been Felicity's new father. They left to have the injury checked by a medical professional, but never returned to finish the paperwork. On another occasion, the electricity went out during a meeting with another pair of nice ponies, and Felicity offered to light a match. Conveniently, it started a small fire on the prospective mother's tail. They left without her, to say the least.
Every time he probed Felicity for answers, all Tinder got in return was “It was an accident, I swear!” He had to believe her. The idea that she sabotaged her chances for a happier life just didn't compute with him. But it happened every blessed time. She remained, as he had once told his brother Warden, 'an enigma he had no hope of fully understanding, ever.' Despite all that, she continued to be a bright spot in Tinder's otherwise very dull day to day routine. He truly would miss her when she was gone. Still, he wanted that day to come sooner rather than later.
You can only survive so much of Felicity.
The park was bustling that day, more so than usual. The fillies were already in the middle of their play when Tinder finally caught up to them. He took a spot under a nice, large oak tree to lay down and enjoy the autumn weather. It was warm, not too hot and not very humid, probably because winter was fast approaching. Pegasus ponies darted around the skyline as time passed, and Tinder watched with jealous contempt at their passing. He longed dearly for the thrill of flight, despite his gift in magic. Others thought he was crazy, but he knew deep in his heart that if given the opportunity, he would trade his horn for a set of wings without a second thought.
One pegasus in particular was flying rather slow. Her wings were motionless, gliding rather than flying, and it was apparent she was making a descent. As she spun around, her red mane and tail fluttered gracefully behind her, not stopping their rhythmic dance until the pegasus was firmly planted on the ground next to Tinder.
“Could I assume they're doing alright today?” prodded Airy, poking her younger brother with a playful hoof.
“Sure,” he replied nonchalantly. His sister's presence at this moment was tolerable only because he needed somepony to talk to. Another hour alone would have been unbearable for Tinder. “How was your flight?”
“Turbulent. Those rowdy weather ponies accidentally started a hurricane off the coast, and I was about to head home, when WHAM!” Airy socked her brother as hard as she could in the shoulder. He toppled over from where he sat, thrown off balance by the sudden punch. “I got hit by a flying barn door. I was fine, of course, but my wings were shaky after that, and the high winds didn't stop until I was at least a mile from the shore. That cursed storm followed me all the way back, and stopped just before it reached Yearlingdale.”
“Sounds like fun,” replied Tinder absentmindedly, rubbing his shoulder.
Airy frowned. She had fabricated a funny story to amuse her little brother, but he had basically ignored her. “Snap out of it, Tinder! You're zoning again. How are you supposed to find a girlfriend if you can't even listen to me for five minutes?”
“I'm trying to watch Felicity,” came his reply.
Airy looked over at the playground to see the five orphanage fillies playing happily on the equipment with the other young ponies. Felicity, in particular, seemed to be leading an expedition into some make believe cave, with several ponies following behind her. She had wrapped her orange hair bow around one of her amber eyes, flattening a section of her black mane. Even Airy could not deny the girl was a standout. She looked like a pirate captain, and was acting like one, too. “Why just her? Why not all of them?”
“They follow her wherever she goes. If I just watch her, I know they’re not far behind.”
“What'd she do today?”
“Raided the cookie jar, outsmarted my proximity spell, and nearly gave me a heart attack. Again.”
“So, just another Thursday?”
“Just another Thursday.”
“Well, I've got another mail run to make. Here’s my wages. Warden’s expecting you at the markets.” The young pegasus mare dropped a sack of bits next to her unicorn brother. “Catch you later, pipsqueak.”
“I’m only a year younger than you,” Tinder said quietly. His gaze was transfixed on his little ponies, and only after Airy had taken off again and become just another colorful blur in the sky did he finally look around. His bleached yellow hair was in his eyes when he tried looking skyward again, but instead of trying to move it, he just looked back down at the playground. Another hour alone wouldn’t kill him.
-~-~-~-~-~
Tinder awoke with a start. He had dozed off under the tree while the fillies continued their play. It hadn't been long: perhaps, at most, forty-five minutes. He stood up slowly and put a hoof in his mouth, whistling to the orphans that it was time to leave. All five looked at him from a distance and sighed heavily, but they accepted their fate and, one by one, trotted over to him.
“How was your adventure, girls?” he asked.
“It was over too quickly,” Felicity whined. “We didn't find the lost treasure.”
“Do you know how hard it was to find the map?” Maple asked in disgust. “We'll have to come back tomorrow and find it again!”
“Nice try,” Tinder replied. He gave Felicity a stare of authority. “Line up. We're going to the market. And I'm leading.”
Felicity begrudgingly accepted these terms and joined the already formed line at the back. Just like her, Tinder and his siblings were orphans, so he knew what caused her various mood swings and incredible knack for trouble. She was, deep down, a very loving, tender filly, but used the facade of a rebel and a warrior because of her being deprived of attention. The other orphans never stayed long enough to become close friends, always being adopted right as a relationship was forming. It had hurt Felicity many times over. Tinder had heard her say that he was her closest friend, and that alone was why he tolerated her shenanigans.
Her childhood had been blessed, however grim it may have seemed. Felicity’s father was still alive, as far as Tinder knew. He had sent a birthday present last year—a very large, very delicious cake and a substantial donation for the orphanage—so Tinder knew that he still cared for his daughter. With his gift came a short letter addressed to the Lightheart siblings.
Dear Warden, Airy and Tinder Lightheart
You three have become my personal heroes. I thank you from the bottom of my pitiful pony heart for taking such good care of Felicity. My current line of work—and loss of my beloved wife at her birth—has not allowed me to return for her sooner. I promise, if she has not found a loving home by the end of the fall season, I will come back for her personally. Tell her I love her dearly, and I hope to see you all very soon.
From a pony who owes you three a debt that can never be repaid,
Dr. Gardens
That letter had given Tinder a hope for Felicity, who must have been cursed with an anti-adoptive spell or something. She was a charming and intelligent filly, but was always getting into trouble.
The Yearlingdale markets were bustling and loud. His little troupe of orphans were complaining of sore hooves and irritated ears, but they pressed on anyway, following Tinder as closely as they could. Even Felicity, who had accompanied the Lighthearts to the market several times before, was careful not wander from the trail of fillies behind him. Their destination was not far from the town center, where the park was, but getting back to the orphanage was a good hike, and they had a decent amount of supplies to get. Tinder sauntered up to a shelved stand, where a burly, dark blue stallion was rearranging vegetables in the back of the stall.
“Warden!” Tinder called. His astonished brother nearly fumbled the cabbage he was holding from the shock, and turned to look at his customer. Their eyes met in a brief stint of confusion, but it didn’t take long for a smile to break across their faces. Warden, the oldest of the three, was the only one that had been born an earth pony. Tinder took after his father’s side as a unicorn, whereas Airy had been born a pegasus like their mother. Neither disrespected their brother for his lack of special talents: in fact, he was often regarded to as a fatherly figure, due to his age and loving, supportive nature. “Have you got the stuff?”
“Yes, Tinder. It’s all here.” Reaching down, Warden grabbed a large sack of food in his mouth and placed it on the table in front of him. “Mr. Leaf was very gracious with our shipment today.”
“Wonderful,” Tinder replied happily. He handed Warden a sack of bits. “Courtesy of Airy.”
“Thanks. You better get back to the orphanage now. Is Felicity giving you trouble?”
“Nope, she’s doing—” Tinder turned to face his fillies and immediately noticed something was wrong. It was too quiet. Again. He mentally counted the girls and only turned up four: Felicity was missing in the markets. “-one of her vanishing acts right now.”
“What!?” Warden peered around his brother from behind the stall and confirmed Felicity was missing. “Quick, go find her. I’ll watch these four.”
Tinder didn’t argue. He immediately galloped into the crowd and started a fresh locator spell, trying to track Felicity as he went. Immediately after it started, his horn indicated he’d went the wrong way. He streamed past Warden as the fillies were filing into the booth beside him. For what felt like an eternity after that, Tinder followed his horn: the spell was guiding him on and on, as though Felicity was moving constantly forward.
“Why is she running away from me?” he wondered.
Eventually he broke free of the crowd and saw Felicity. She was on the back of a hooded pony, her mouth gagged, her legs tied, and her amber eyes filled with fear. The ponynapper darted behind a corner at the sight of Tinder, hoping to lose him. He was, however, already in full gallop, pursuing the pony with a speed and passion he’d never thought possible. This was his filly, and no one was going to take her from him. Plus, his job was on the line. Again.
The corner rounded into more busy market streets. His target was weaving the crowd, causing quite a ruckus as he went along. He took notice of his pursuer and began toppling ponies, carts and stalls in an attempt to slow Tinder down. One such stall spilled its contents into the street: a large collection of decorative snow globes. Unable to keep his pace and maintain his balance, Tinder tripped and eventually rolled right into another stall, where the impact sent even more objects into the air. It began raining vegetables like carrots and lettuce—whole ones, not just pieces. A particularly thick cabbage came down on Tinder’s head and caused his vision to swim for a moment, knocking him to the ground after he had just recovered from barreling into the stall.
After he could see straight, Tinder stood back up and began chasing again, maintaining his locator spell. He rounded another corner and found himself in a private warehouse district. The nearest building had its lights on inside, so he bolted toward the front door. When he reached it, he peered inside the window and saw two ponies, dressed in black and completely unrecognizable, stuffing Felicity into a burlap sack. Across from them was a back door that Tinder knew he could reach if he hurried. As he galloped around the warehouse, he prayed that the villains would be smart and use the back door. It would be foolish of them to escape through the way they came knowing Tinder was following them.
Sure enough, when Tinder reached the other side, the door was just starting to open. The two hooded ponies tiptoed outside and began their march across the flat courtyard between the warehouses. Tinder charged as hard as he could into the side of the one carrying the sack, knocking him over before he had a chance to react. The contents of his burlap bag spilled out onto the dirt, and that was where Felicity lay, squirming to get free of her bindings. Tinder put a hoof down in front of her and dared the two ponies to mess with him.
When the fallen one recovered, they both charged him headlong. Tinder, using his magic, whipped the burlap sack out of the air and shoved it over the head of the first pony. He tripped and fell so quickly that a sickening sound alerted the unicorn to a devastating injury that he could not identify. The other ponynapper bucked forward and shoved Tinder back, sending him toppling onto the ground. For a few moments, all was quiet: the hooded pony thought he’d won. But then a large, metal box slid into his side and pushed him across the yard, right into the wall of the nearest warehouse. As Tinder stood back up, he couldn’t help but appreciate his handiwork for a moment.
Then he remembered his duty, and he picked up Felicity with his snout and tossed her onto his back. Tinder made his way back to Warden by taking a shortcut around the warehouse district, doing his best not to shake Felicity up as he went. The older brother and the four orphans were all glad to see them back, but all of them had confused faces.
“Uh, why is Felicity tied up?” asked Warden.
“I’ll explain later. Warden, we need to talk. In private.”
“But, the stall—”
“Now, Warden.”
Warden opened the back door of his booth and allowed Tinder inside. Once the door was shut, the younger recalled the events that had taken place in the last fifteen or so minutes. While Warden was skeptical that his little brother had bested two full grown ponies in a street fight, he could not deny that Felicity had been fillynapped. “What should we do?”
“We need to alert the authorities. Surely they can track these losers down.”
“Not without some evidence.”
“The girl’s tied up.”
“Are we going to leave her like that until the police arrive?”
Tinder considered, but decided nothing would work. He couldn’t identify the two culprits, nor could he necessarily prove Felicity had been ponynapped. The police would have to take his word on it, and the department of justice in Yearlingdale did not respond to just anything. “What about the crowd of ponies I passed? They saw what happened.”
“Could you manage to get some to testify?” Warden asked.
“Certainly. It’ll be easy.” Tinder opened the stall door and walked outside. “I mean, we practically—”
“Halt! You’re under arrest!” Two armored officer ponies strode past the fillies and slapped hoofcuffs on Tinder. The surprised unicorn had no time to react.
“Arrest!? On what grounds!?”
“Vandalism, trespassing, and destruction of private property and merchandise.”
“Outrageous! I was trying to save Felic—”
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of pony law...”
-~-~-~-~-~
A very angry green pony paced back and forth in the foyer of his mansion. The beautiful estate in Canterlot was empty and devoid of life to him, and all of the time he spent waiting for that error to be fixed wrought nothing but more frustration. Herb Gardens had sent two agents to recover what he’d asked for. It had been two whole days since they departed, and they still weren’t back. The unicorn tried to locate his servant but could not do so without help.
“Orchid!” Herb bellowed. A young mare raced into the foyer. “Are they back yet?”
“Not yet, sir. I’ll notify you when they arrive.”
“Fetch me a bowl of soup. I don’t care what kind.”
“Right away, Mr. Gardens.”
The sound of hooves making all haste for the kitchen filled Herb’s ears as the maid pony left the room. Just as she left, two ponies in black entered the room from the side door. One was holding the other up, practically dragging him, and both appeared to be injured. “Sir.”
“What happened?”
“We failed. A young unicorn thwarted our efforts.”
“A unicorn? You got trumped by...who was it?”
“The young stallion that runs the orphanage, Tinder.”
“Oh. In that case...if the Lighthearts are still there...Very well. Your services are no longer required.”
The two ponynappers were shocked. “Wait, what?”
“I sent you to retrieve my daughter. Obviously your understanding of the legal system was insufficient to have her signed away to me, so I’ll just go myself. I need to speak to the Lighthearts anyway, so it’s no trouble at all. Your payment—”
“Uh, sir, you wanted us to ‘adopt’ Felicity?”
Mr. Gardens stopped. “Yes. Why? What did you do?”
“Well, we thought...you said ‘abduct’ her. So, we kinda...tried to abduct her.”
“YOU WHAT?!”
“Sir, it was—”
“WHAT DID YOU DO?!”
“We merely—”
“WHERE’S MY DAUGHTER?!”
“She’s fine! We didn’t harm her—”
“You two are fired! You hear me?! FIRED! Now, GET OUT!”
The two frightened ponies fled the room, leaving a seething Mr. Gardens alone in the foyer. A few seconds passed before the maid returned with a bowl of soup on a levitating tray.
“Sir, I brought the soup. And by the way, your two mercenaries came back. I don’t know why, but they were in quite a hurry to leave the premises—”
“I spoke to them. Soup can wait, Orchid. Take a letter. I need to get a message to Yearlingdale, tonight.”
“Why, sir? What’s the occasion?”
“I fear for the safety of my daughter...”