//------------------------------// // Mountain Orchard orphanage // Story: Her Brother, Her Angel, Her Depression // by Kustom95 //------------------------------// The only one who had been close to her was her brother, and they weren’t even related, at least not by blood. They were orphans, abandoned at the some of the highest class orphanages in Canterlot, and cycled through different ‘homes’ before ending up here, at The Mountain Orchard orphanage. ”I don’t see an orchard” DarkCloud muttered as he surveyed the scene before him. While the building itself appeared to be freshly painted, at least, everything else about the place seemed to yell out “END OF THE LINE, KID”. The charcoal-grey colt grimaced at the thought that he was going to die here “I figured we would have been adopted by this point, and then I could’ve died in a nicer setting. Nothing too fancy, but nicer than this.” DarkCloud looked at the kahki-colored filly to his left, giving a small jerk with his chin to say that they should get through the formalities and get settled in. “It looks like we’ll be here for a while” he said. Spring Song nodded in agreement, looking at her brother with a sad light in her eyes. They started through the somewhat overgrown yard, following a path that had been worn from either constant use, weather, neglect, or a combination of the three. DarkCloud’s horn glowed as he levitated their belongings, passing by a few other ponies sitting in some swings, or scattered around the yard in pairs talking softly to each other. His sour mood lightened when he saw that it was a mixed orphanage, one that allowed all three species of ponies to reside there. He hadn’t seen a pegasus or an earth pony for the last two years, and the thought of being surrounded by unicorns again would have driven him crazy. He and his sister weren’t like the other unicorns. Yeah, they used their magic often enough, but the Canterlot unicorns would always try to convince them that, because they had magic, they were far superior to the other species. That thought made him start seeing red, he wasn’t an egotist like the others, and he had made some friends with both kinds before. Being here couldn’t be all bad, though. There was still the chance that one of them could be adopted, even out here on the edge of town. For what it was worth, this house and the small village nearby were much more homey and welcoming than the “high society” snobs back in Canterlot. As the pair approached the door, a rattle came from the doorknob and a huge red stallion appeared as the door swung open. At first glance, Cloud mistook the Stallion in front of him for a Pegasus, but a more focused look revealed that he was an earth pony. He had heard of pegasus stallions developing their muscles to the point where they looked like flying boulders. He didn’t think that an earth pony could grow so large. Both of the young ponies quickly shifted their gaze and moved to the side to let the larger one pass. “I was opening the door for you” the stallion gently rumbled, moving backwards into the house. “Oh, um…sorry” came the reply from Cloud, who looked down at his hooves. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, you probably aren’t used to too many adults showing you kindness” came the rumbling reply. The voice had a sad quality to it, like it knew some of the pain they had felt. But it was comforting at the same time. It was the voice of somepony who held their peace when they had no opinion, a voice that captured everypony’s attention when it had something to say, and a voice that whispered it could be trusted with any problem and it would give the best advice it could offer. Looking back up at the owner of the voice, Cloud suddenly felt as if a weight was lifted off of his chest. He took in the details of the huge stallion in front of him with an artist’s eyes, the shaggy blonde mane, docked tail, horse collar, and gentle green eyes that told he would give them all the chances they needed. “I’ll give this place a chance, if the things this stallion can show me with his eyes alone are true, then it’ll be nice here.” “Let’s get y’all inside and put away, dinner’ll be along in a bit” again the soft rumble spoke to them. “Dinner? Already? It’s barely five!” came the exclamation from both siblings, not too loud, in case the giant became angry with them. “Eeyup” came the reply “It’s how things run on the farm”. The siblings looked at each other with the question apparent in both of their eyes “Farm?”. “I’m Big Macintosh, by the way” the stallion said, turning and moving into the house, motioning for the two ponies to follow him. Cloud had dropped the luggage when he saw Big Macintosh open the door, and now picked up the bags and levitated them inside as he followed. He looked back when he noticed his sister hadn’t moved, she stood with her eyes glazed over in a trance. With a smirk, Cloud lifted his sister with his magic and started to carry the bags by the handles instead. She would be in that state for a little while; this had happened a number of times before, and she wasn’t surprised when she snapped out of it in a location she didn’t remember moving to. With his sister and luggage in tow, he followed Big Macintosh through the house, which was nice. Everything seemed to be made of various shades of wood, with the addition of several large and comfortable-looking rugs and cushions scattered throughout the rooms. The hall stretched back further than he expected, with large entrances into the dining room and living room areas, making them feel like one big room that stretched across the hall. Towards the end of the hall, was a bathroom, and at the end were two sets of stairs. Having seen nopony aside from the giant in front of them and the pair out front, Cloud was curious as to how large the home was. “How many others are there, Mr. Macintosh?” Cloud asked tentatively as they passed the living and dining rooms. “First off, call me Big Mac, that’s my nickname. And there’s no need t’ be shy. Including you, there’s fourteen in the family. There’s me, Fluttershy, Zecora, Applesprout, Springdarling, Greenhoof, Bluebolt, Starcatcher, Firefly, Poundcake and Pumpkincake, Diamondroot, and now you two.” “Zecora?” Cloud wondered aloud, “That doesn’t sound like a pony’s name” “You’d be half right, seein’ as Zecora is a zebra.” Big Mac replied “That, and she’s a doctor of sorts, though she prefers t’ be called a Shaman. She doesn’t live here, but she drops in often enough.” He gave a small chuckle as remembered one incident that had involved the CMC, a crate of dynamite, and a certain zebra being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That, and a lot of heated words towards many a pony. At this point, Spring’s eyes snapped back into focus, and she took in her surroundings. “What’s a zebra?” She asked as she joined the conversation. Big Mac turned to look at the filly, who’s voice had projected from a higher elevation than he had expected, and raised an eyebrow when he noticed her floating gently towards the ground, enveloped by her brother’s magic. Cloud blinked when he noticed that a stalk of wheat had appeared at the corner of Big Mac’s mouth. “There’s more than three types of ponies out there. Aside from pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies, you got thestrals, zebras, alicorns, and a few others. Most of ‘em tend to stay to themselves, is all.” Spring was about to reply when a head popped out of the kitchen and asked, “Hey Big Mac, do you know where the triangle is?” Turning to face pony in the next room, Big Mac replied “Have you checked the usual places?” “Most of e’m, but we can’t leave this sitting on it’s own, it’s a two-pony job.” “Try yellin’ out the window for BlueBolt, he should pass by in a few minutes anyhow. If that doesn’t work, then Diamondroot and Springdarling are out front” “No can do. Could you see if Starcatcher is awake yet?” “Sun’s going down, I’m sure he is” Big Mac said. “Thanks”. And with that, the head blinked out of existence as the pony moved back into the kitchen. “That was PoundCake, him and his sister Pumpkin are the ones who take care of cooking. I’d help out now and then, but I’m a bit too big for the kitchen.” Big Mac stated. The trio began moving down the hallway again, with Cloud and Spring looking into each of the rooms they passed along the way. They didn’t see anypony else as they toured the house, down the stairs, and into a long hall that stretched back towards the front door, upstairs. What they hadn’t seen from the outside was that the house was three stories tall from the base of the hill, the back end serving as a staircase between the floors. The hall that stretched before them was illuminated well enough to see, and each side was lined with five rooms. At the end of the hall, they could just make out a T-shape. “Which one do we get?” Cloud asked. “We’ve got five rooms open down here, so you can each have your pick” Big Mac told them. “Are there two next to each other?” Springsong spoke up. “Eeyup. There’s two just to the right of the intersection. The other three are a little spread out.” The two ponies moved down the hall ahead of Big Mac, to the rooms placed next to each other. As they passed the third door on the right, the fifth door on the left side opened to reveal a Dark grey colt. He stepped out to reveal a pair of bat wings, and shut the door before talking to Big Mac. “I’m going hunting” He said. His voice was low pitched and somewhat scratchy, it almost sounded like a loud whisper. “On your way out, can you tell the others that dinner’s almost ready?” “Of course” he replied, “I’ll be in the woods at the base of the mountain” “Just be back in time to help with the cider” Big Mac reminded him The thestral cracked a grin at that. He moved past the trio to the door near the stairs, spreading his wings and taking flight when he was outside. “What kind of pony was he?”Springsong asked. “That was Starcatcher, and he’s a Thestral” Big Mac replied. Seeing the questions piling up in Springsongs’s eyes, he said “He’s going to the orchard to tell the others its time for dinner. But let’s get you settled in before you ask any more questions”. Spring decided to keep calm for the moment and bother the large stallion later.