//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: A Few New Faces // Story: The Unknown Life of a Happy Face // by RainbowShine //------------------------------// Years went by, and the filly watched as the others got adopted, grabbed their stuff, and left.At one point, she was all alone. No new kids coming in, and everyone but her has left. Each time a parent came by seeking a child, they saw her scars and wounds, asking Ms. Violet for another when there wasn't any. You would think some ponies would have more heart than that. But to no avail. Until the filly was outside one day, looking at the rock in the ground, collecting the ones she thought looked nice. She wandered further and further away from the building, not noticing at all. Eventually, she found a strange, clear rock with only three sides and triangular ends. She sat down, setting her other rocks on the ground as she picked up the strange one. "What is this...?" she spoke to herself. Suddenly, she heard something walking through the bushes near where she was. Not knowing what to do, she stayed there, curious a bit as to who or what is was. It came closer, and closer, about to come out of the bushes... A unicorn horn. Followed by the body of a decently aged stallion. His coat was blue as sapphires, and his mane and tail were the colors of fire. His eyes shown a dazzling gold as he gazed down onto the young filly. He examined her closely, and smiled a bit, seeing the color of her innocent eyes. "Oh, why hello there. I see you've found my prism." He smiled down at her. The filly looked at the rock then up at him and asked, "What, this? This is just a weird rock..." She had never talked so much before in her life. Not even to Mrs. Buckington before she passed away. But... she felt strangely comfortable around him. His soft smile and welcoming spirit were all she needed to feel safe around him. Seeing where the sun was in the sky, she knew she had quite a bit of time left before Violet would come looking for her. She turned back to the older pony who was now sitting in front of her, looking down, and smiling at her. She smiled back; for the first time in forever, she had finally smiled. It had been seven years since she last smiled. The night she was left all alone in this world. The stallion chuckled lightly and asked, "So, little one, how old are you?" She was taken back by his question- nopony had ever asked before. "Um.. I- I think I'm seven..." "Seven, huh? Well, that's one of my favorite numbers! What's yours?" He asked her. "Um.. I don't know many numbers... or many things... I live there in that building where ponies will come and go with new families all the time... but I'm the only one left..." He shook his head and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear that... Hey, would you like to see something cool to cheer your up?" he lifted her head with his hoof gently, wiping away the forming tears. She smiled a bit and nodded, feeling better already. "Now, you must know what a Cutie Mark is, right?" She nodded. "Good. My cutie Mark is a prism. I know how to make them, and how they work. Do you want to know how they work?" He smiled as she became more and more excited about the topic of something new. He gently took the prism from the filly's hoofs and held it up in the air with his magic. "Now, if you hold it up to the light in the right way, it should produce... A rainbow!" Through the prism went the light of the sun, shining a rainbow onto the little filly. She looked around the array of colors, astonished in every way. "Wow... it's so pretty! It looks just like my mane!" She stood up, a spark in her eyes that was never there before. The stallion smiled and looked at her, glad to see her happy in such a horrible environment. "That it does. Say, do you have a name?" He asked her. Still amazed by the wall of colors, she simply answered no and moved on, as if she didn't want to talk about it. The stallion looked upset for a bit, but kept his smile on nonetheless. "Well, my name is Rown Baish. It's been a pleasure meeting you, but it seems to be getting a bit late. Surely you don't want to get in any trouble." "No.. I really don't..." She said, tucking her ears away and lowering her head. Rown sighed slightly, and looked at her. "How's about you meet me here tomorrow at the same time, and I can show you a few more things."The filly looked up at him again, her smile wide again as she frantically nodded. "Nameless! It's time to come inside!" Violet shouted from the doorway. She turned and started running back before she caused any trouble, when Rown called her back. "Hey! Here, take this." He gave her the prism to keep for herself, seeing how much she liked it. "Tuck it under your mane and behind your ear, that mare will never find anything there! You're too smart for her." He gave the filly a wink and let her hop along as she waved goodbye to him, obviously eager to see him again. She ran right up to Ms. Violet at the door, "I'm back! I'm here! Am I late for supper, Ms. Violet...?" She asked, trying not to huff and puff from her sprint back to the building. The owner sat at the table, the plates ready for both of them. "No, you're just in time, Nameless. Come and sit with me and the maid." The filly sat down and ate swiftly, wanting to examine the prism more closely by herself. Violet was surprised at her speed tonight, dismissing her to the sleeping room early. The filly ran up the stairs to where her bed has been for years and years, right under the window. She looked at the prism as she got her towel for her shower. "I wonder what the secret is..." she spoke to herself as she walked down the hall. The filly got into the shower and turned on the light, she washed her mane, her tail, watching the dirt and grime fall right off of her. When she placed the prism next to the soap, the light hit it just so, that the whole room lit up with color. She looked down at it and smiled widely, her heart feeling a warmth that was never there before. She thought to herself, 'That'll be my name... Rainbow Shine!" Partially from the prism's vast light show, partially from the nickname Mrs. Buckington used to call her. She'd forever be known as Rainbow Shine. She finished up and went to her bed for the night, prism safely tucked in her mane, just like Rown showed her. During the night, when she turned over, the prism fell out from its hiding spot just as Violet walked passed her. That next morning, Rainbow Shine woke up at her usual time and went downstairs for breakfast. She went through the routine of cleaning and tidying up her bed, and then was allowed to play outside after Violet took her into the office to talk.She stayed out front for a little while, but when Ms. Violet went back into her office, Shine made a run for the trees. She'd always been afraid of the forest, but that was at night. And before she saw what beauty it really held. She walked around for a bit, taking in the scenery, before she literally walked right into Rown's chest. "Oh.. I- I'm so sorry! Please don't hurt me!!" Rainbow Shine braced herself for impact, as Rown stood watching. "Now why in Equestria would I ever lay a harmful hoof to your cute little head?" He smiled, gently putting his hoof on her shoulder. She jumped a bit, jolting back, but she realized it didn't hurt. It didn't sting, it didn't poke, it didn't even feel like a punch. It was so strange to her, she didn't know how to react to it. "Have you never been touched lightly before..?" He asked her, curious. "N- no... I'm always beaten and thrown, kicked and scratched... Nopony ever pats me on the back.. or gives me a hug.. I wish I could feel one.." She sighed and sat down, her head hanging. Rown saw on her back a few red marks that weren't there before. "What are these..?" He asked, his voice filled with concern for the filly. She sat up straight so he wouldn't see them. "Um, n- nothing! Nothing at all! I- It's a birthmark!" she backed up from him a bit, hoping he wouldn't touch them. "It's definitely not either of those... I won't touch it, but would you please let me see?" He asked, trying not to force it upon her. She reluctantly agreed and turned around. They were fresh whip stings. "What the- who in the hoof did this to you!?" He examined the marks closely, trying to see how bad it really was. Shine almost had tears in her eyes, "M- M- Ms. Violet... She found my prism last night and said I could hurt someone... Whenever I do something wrong, she gets out her whip and hits me again and again... Most times she gets it wet first..." He was taken aback by the news. "She does this to you every day!? That lady is crazy! Do you have anywhere else to go?" He asked, almost frantic. She sniffled, wiping her tears away, "Why do you care...? You barely know me at all..." She tried to stand up without her back giving her too much pain. "Just because we don't know each other well, doesn't mean we're not friends. I know how to help, my wife Scarlet taught me first aid. I can help you." She thought for a moment and turned to him with hopeful eyes. He knew what to do from there. "Follow me." Rown led her to a nearby creek with the cleanest water she'd ever seen. He went to a plant that had big leaves and took one off. He snapped it in half and got some of the gooey mess from inside onto his hoof. "Now this will only hurt for a second, little one." He placed the goop on Rainbow Shine's back, almost instantly cooling down the burning sensation for her. The only thing that really hurt was the pressure. After he finished applying it, he wrapped the other half of the big leaf around her, like a giant bandage. "There we go! By the time you have to go, you should be all better!" He put on a big smile for her to know that she really was going to be okay. "Can we play a game? I'm already feeling a lot better!" She jumped a bit, excited for him to say yes. He looked at her and smiled, nodding for her. "Yay! I haven't ever played a game with anypony before! What should we play?" "Well, it's your choice, now isn't it? Do you know any games?" Rown asked her. Shine only shook her head. "Well what can you do the best? Maybe we can make a game out of that." "Well, I can hide really well.. When there were still kids at the building with me, I'd always hide from Ms. Violet when she called for all the kids... and that's when she started hitting me with the wet rope." She brushed the worst of the memories aside and turned to him. "The kids used to play a game called hide and seek, and when they did, I would hide and no one would even think of hiding where I was." "I think we've got ourselves a game! How long do you want me to count? Thirty seconds?" He asked. She nodded and ran off to hide somewhere. Rown closed his eyes and counted aloud, but not too loudly. Rainbow Shine ran off and climbed up a short tree to hide on one of the thicker branched with a bunch of leaves. She tucked her tail in as much as she could when he finally got to- "Thirty! Ready or not, here I come!" He chimed. Rown walked around, looking to the ground for any pink or, well practically any other color as well. It wasn't until his horn barely brushed the end of her tail that he saw her up in the tree. "Aha! there you are, you little rascal!" He smiled as he levitated her down from the branch and onto the ground. "You really have a thing for good hiding places, huh?" She nodded to him as she remembered something, "Uh-huh! Oh yea! I forgot to mention, I named myself!" He looked down at her with a smile that asked, 'What is it?' So she replied. "My name's now Rainbow Shine! I thought is was a good name.. I do like rainbows a lot now that I've seen one, and the old owner of the building would always call me a Shining Star! So I put my two favorite things together!" She looked up at him excitedly, waiting anxiously for his approval. Rown kneeled down to her eye level and looked her in the eyes. "I think it's the perfect name for a wonderful filly such as yourself." She shown her bright smile as he stood back up. A strong breeze came through, almost knocking Rainbow Shine off her hooves. Rown grabbed her and tucked her under his legs, her small hooves instinctively grabbing them. "We need to get you home, and fast! A massive storm seems to be coming right this way!" A bolt of lightning struck the ground a couple miles away, the following thunder pounding into Rainbow's ears and head. She lowered her ears and pressed her hooves up against them so she wouldn't hear it. Another gust of wind came along and tore the big leaf wrapped around her body right off, sending it to the wind. Worried she wasn't healed enough yet, Rown glanced down from the storm to inspect the wounds, which weren't completely healed, but he knew how strong she was, Rainbow Shine would be alright. Soon enough, Rainbow saw Ms. Violet coming out to see the storm and look for the filly. "NAMELESS!? NAMELESS WHERE ARE YOU!?" She screamed and yelled, looking through the dirt being blown everywhere. The thunder was louder than before, and it started to rain. "You need to go! I'll meet you here again tomorrow! I need to talk to you!" Rown picked her up with his magic and, timing it correctly so Violet didn't see, carried her over to the side of the building where she ran around the corner, pushing against the wind to get inside. Seeing she was inside safely, Rown ran back off into the forest before the storm hit too hard. Once inside, Rainbow Shine and Ms. Violet both caught their breath from either pushing against the wind, or yelling through it. "I'm sorry, Ms. Violet.. The wind caught me off guard and I had trouble getting to the door... Do I need to get the whip, Ma'am...?" She asked, ready to go get the owner's weapon of choice. Violet opened her mouth to say yes, but something came over her, and though her lips said 'Yes and hurry back,' her voice said, "No. Just come and eat dinner." Shine saw this as an opportunity and rushed to her seat to sit down and start. She finished quickly and went upstairs to the sleeping room, looking towards the forest where she last saw her only friend. "I wonder where he goes..." She asked herself as she laid her head down on the window sill and listened to the tapping of rain on the glass. * * * * * The next morning, nopony came to wake her up, so she cautiously went downstairs to only see the maid at work. "Where's Ms. Violet?" The maid turned to her and said that she was out for the day for business. Shine thought for a moment, "Then can I go outside and play?" The maid nodded silently and returned to her work. Shine quickly slipped out the door and ran right for the trees. After Shine got through the first few, she began looking for her friend. She searched high and low, thinking of where he might be. She climbed up to the spot she had hidden in just the day before, and searched the forest floor. Only seeing bugs and squirrels, she hopped down and kept going. She eventually stumbled upon the creek the Rown showed her, thirsty enough for a drink from it. Lifting her head, she notices a unicorn mare with a robe of some sort draped over her, looking at the filly with a slightly fearful look on her face. "Oh, hello there! Have you seen my friend? I've been looking everywhere for him." she hopped over to the mare. The mare cautiously backed away from the filly, struggling to answer her question. "I- I, um, I don't know of anyone else in the woods but you..." she looked around, paranoid, and backed up into the trunk of a tree, cornering herself in. Rainbow Shine took into account of what the mare looked like, she was scared of something... was it her? Shine stepped back and gave her some space as she introduced herself. "I'm so sorry, I never told you my name... I'm Rainbow Shine. I live in the building not too far from the edge of the forest. I'm looking for my friend Rown. I met him a few days ago and I wanted to see him again. Have you seen him?" She sat down calmly as she spoke, giving a gentle smile to the mare in front of her. It seemed to calm her down as she stopped trying to back up. "Unfortunately, I haven't.. But if there's anything I can do for you.. I'll help." The mare offered, "Oh, and my name is Scarlet Rivine.. in case you wanted to know." Scarlet looked down into the filly's Bright blue eyes and felt a chill run down her spine. Rainbow Shine saw her shuttering and gave her a confused look. "It's nothing... happens all the time." Scarlet replied. Suddenly, a growl came from seemingly all around them, and Scarlet readied herself for attack. She swiped Rainbow Shine behind her in an instant and instructed her to stay behind her. The growl came again, now louder to Scarlet. "Um.... Ms. Scarlet..?" Rainbow tried to get her attention, "I think the growling is my stomach..." A little embarrassed, Shine's ears lowered a bit. Scarlet looked back at the filly and let out a small sigh of relief. "Oh Celestia, I thought there was a Timber wolf out here. Did you eat breakfast today?" She asked, turning towards Rainbow. She shook her head as her stomach growled again. "Well, we'd better find you something to eat then." Scarlet smiled at her. "I saw some berries earlier on my way here! I know where they are!" Rainbow ran off quickly, Scarlet trotting close behind. Shine took her to the bush, where plump, purple berries hung from tiny vines. She plucked a couple, about to raise them to her mouth when they ever so slightly moved on their own. Scarlet became instantly alarmed, and swatted the berries out of Shine's hoof with her tail. Not expecting this, Shine backed away, frightened that Scarlet would be just like Ms. Violet. Despite being terrified, Shine asked, "W-why'd you do that...? There were more berries over there.." Scarlet crouched down to Shine's eye level to get her full attention, "Rainbow, those berries would have hurt you, look," She pointed to the berries, who's seeds were now sharp spikes, sticking out of the small fruit from all angles. "The seeds of this berry are very dangerous.. Once the berry is picked, the seeds will shoot out with toxic spikes that could poison you if you were to touch them." Shine looked at the thorny berries, and then back at Scarlet, "How... How did you know that? And how'd you move so quickly to get them out of my hoof?" Scarlet looked down at her and smiled, "Years and years of practice. And, I have a talent for it. It's represented in my cutie mark." Scarlet turned to her side to show the filly her flank. On it was a leaf that shined with green purple and blue, over a stream of dark red. "What's the little red part under the leaf?" Shine looked at it a bit closer, the color seeming all too familiar. Scarlet thought for a moment before speaking. "It's nothing important, but what is, is getting you something to eat. I know the perfect thing for a hungry pony like you!" Scarlet led her to another bush not too far away, covered in turquoise berries that shined in the sun. "These are called Zazzlepluckers. Just one, and it'll fill you up for most of the day!" Shine excitedly went to pick a berry, but stopped short. "Is this one gonna hurt me...?" She looked up at Scarlet with scared eyes. The unicorn shook her head, "The only thing you need to watch is the tip of the berry when you pluck it." And she did, watching as tiny blue sparks came out of the top. As Shine looked nothing but amazed, Scarlet asked, "Neat, huh? If you want to, I can show you some more things like this." Rainbow Shine turned to her, still licking berry juice off her muzzle, and nodded. Scarlet smiled and took her off into another part of the forest, beginning to show her all kinds of plants, the good, the bad, and the helpful. "Wow, you sure know a lot of stuff, Ms. Rivine, thanks for teaching this all to me!" "You're quite welcome," she smiled, "Have you ever gone to school before? You seem to be a very quick learner." Shine shook her head as she examined a strangely shaped leaf, "Nopony has ever taught me anything before, I had to learn to talk on my own. The only thing I guess I was ever 'taught' was the meanings of some stuff... Haven't really learned much, since. Just how to clean and hide." Scarlet watched her for a moment and though to herself, This isn't what I'd had in mind at all... She grew up so horribly.. Her ears lowered at the thought as she sat down. Rainbow, turning to notice her sad expression, cautiously stepped over to squeeze herself between the mare's front hooves for comfort. But she has the heart of a Princess. Scarlet smiled and hugged the filly lightly and thought for a moment. "How would you like it if I taught you more things? Like, more plants and animals? Maybe even some school subjects as well? How does that sound?" Rainbow Shine thought for a moment and smiled up at the mare. She nodded happily and started to ask her a few questions. "You mean, I'm gonna be able to know things now? Like.. real things?" Scarlet nodded, "I want to teach you everything I know. I want you too learn math, and science, and how things work. I want to teach you history and how to read and write, like a normal kid." Shine took a bit for it to sink in, but she was ecstatic, starting to jump around Scarlet in circles. "I can teach you half the things you need to know, like History, and how to read and write, maybe even more things on plants and stuff that you want to learn in the meantime. And maybe I can get my husband to teach you Science and Math." "I'm gonna be normal! I'm gonna be normal! I'm gonna be norma- I'm gonna be normal... I can finally get adopted! I'm gonna get out of the building!" Shine's eyes sparked up again, almost having her squeal in excitement. Scarlet thought for a moment at the thought of her being adopted by somepony. Her smile turned into a deep stare at the ground. Rainbow instantly noticed and slowed her bouncing to ask, "What's wrong..? Was it something I said..?" Scarlet snapped out of her self-induced trance, "No, hun, nothing of the sort..." Celestia, I can't do this to her... "Are you sure you want to be adopted?" Rainbow was confused. "Of course I do.. I've wanted it for a really long time.. I won't have to listen to Ms. Violet anymore." "That may be true, but you would also have to follow the rules of somepony else. What if you could go out on your own? And make your own rules?" Scarlet tried to keep a calm face on, but her heart was racing at lightning speed. What am I saying! I can't do this to a filly! She needs a family, she can't go out there on her own! But... It would hurt us so much.. Rainbow laid down, her head in her hooves, "I dunno what I want anymore... Making my own rules sounds really nice... but I've wanted to be adopted for so long... I just... don't know.." Scarlet saw her distress and stopped the conversation immediately, "Rainbow Shine, you don't have to make a choice right now. There's still a lot of things I need to teach you so you have plenty of time to think. Why don't we go and do what you came here to do and find your friend? What was his name...- Rown!" Shine took a deep breath and calmed herself. She nodded and led the way back to where she met Rown the other few times they were together. There were no words shared the entire trip until Shine finally broke the silence. "Thank you for all your help today, I really had a lot of-... fun?" As Shine turned to look for her new friend, she was nowhere to be seen. Shine started to panic. Running back, she desperately searched to find her, yelling and calling her name, almost beginning to cry. Shine went off as fast as her little legs could carry her, she slams right into the base of a tree. At least that's what she thought it was until it started moving. A Timber Wolf, a fully grown male, towered feet above her head, glaring down at her with glowing, yellow eyes. Frozen with fear, Shine could only watch as it opened it's foul-smelling mouth to take a huge chuck if not her whole being out of her. Suddenly, just as it moved to attack, something else moved quicker, pushing Shine out of the way, and in that moment, while air-born, everything seemed to move half as slow than it should have been. She tried to see the face of her rescuer, but the sunlight blinded her from their face being visible. The only thing she saw in the silhouette was their fiery-shaped mane. She hit the ground fairly hard, watching during her recovery as the pony zipped by the Timber Wolf, again and again, knocking it in every which direction. Each time they ran through the small clearing, something glistened in the specks of sunlight shining trough the trees. The wolf stumbled backwards, letting out a loud roar that shook the ground. Shine was unable to keep her balance, and fell onto her backside again before racing to a nearby tree, climbing it to get a better view. She hid behind a bunch of leaves hanging off the branch, and peered down into the battlefield, noticing something that seemed familiar to her. The weird rock! A... A prism!? "Rown!?" The mighty Timber Wolf finally fell in a heap on the ground, unresponsive. The stallion walked over to the filly, a metal sheet held in his magic. "What is that...?" Shine gazed at it, astonished. "What, this? It's my sword. Nothing special, it's just plain metal, although I did make it myself." He smiled, looking at his craftsmanship. "A.. soard?" Shine tried to repeat him. He took notice to her lack of understanding and said, "Have you never seen a sword before? Do you know what it does?" Shine only shied away and hung her head, shaking it lightly. "Well then come here and I'll teach ya." He motioned Shine over to him. "Now this is a weapon. A weapon is something you can hurt somepony with, but ONLY if you REALLY need to. This part here is really sharp. It's called the blade. The part at the bottom is called the hilt. That's where you can hold it." Rown went on for a bit about swords and all their glory until Rainbow Shine asked one question. "How do you use it? I wanna do what you did to that Timber Wolv too!" Shine jumped up, looking up at him. Rown was surprised, "You want to learn to wield a sword? It's quite a bit dangerous for a filly like you..." He looked at his sword and back at her, "But... with proper training, I'm sure we can work up to a weapon of your own. Sure, I'll teach you. But not today. I need to get some stuff ready before I start. For now, try saying 'wolf' again." Shine smiled, despite having a short patience, this was something worth the wait. Regarding his request, she tried again, "Wolv." He shook his head and re-spoke the word, again and again, until Shine was finally able to produce the 'f' sound. "Very good, Rainbow Shine. Seems to me that your speech still has a bit of trouble getting out certain sounds. But I have no doubt that in time, it will get much better." He gave her a warm smile that only brought the same to her face. Rown spent the day talking to her, telling her all about his own adventures with his trusty sword he named 'Sky Scraper' or 'Sky' for short. He told her how his battle style was mainly from the air, even without being a pegasus, thus giving his sword the name Sky Scraper. Rainbow Shine asked questions like nopony's business, listening intently to every work he spoke. Hours went by, the sun seemingly racing for the horizon, when Shine heard something coming closer to the building. A taxi. With Ms. Violet inside. Shine's heart fell to her stomach. "Uh oh... I gotta go! Bye Rown! I'll see you tomorrow!!" She sprinted her way to the building, with a bit of a jump start from Rown's magic, just in time to greet Violet as she stepped out of the taxi and paid the pony pulling it. "Welcome back, Ms. Violet." She forced a smile and kept from huffing and puffing as Violet disregarded her, making her way inside to set her things in her room. Shine and the maid followed the mare inside, the maid finishing up dinner. They sat through dinner in utter silence, hardly a glace at one another. Shine went upstairs immediately after dinner to prepare for her shower. With her towel in a ball, somehow balanced in her next of a mane, she walked towards the showers, stopping short by about ten feet. Overhearing Ms. violet and the maid, she crouched down, sneaking her way to the very edge of the staircase to see. "I'll be out every morning from now on, due to the lack of income the orphanage is getting. I've taken a part-time job at the local newspaper to bring in more money for your pay." Shine cocked her head curiously. Orphanage? She decided to stay and keep listening, but to be sure they wouldn't suspect anything, she quickly turned on the faucet for the shower so the water would be warm, and left her towel in there before returning to Violet giving the maid instructions. "And keep an eye out for Nameless. You know how much she likes to cause trouble around here." The blank expression on the maid's face showed that of annoyance, and that she knew what to do already. Violet noticed and did nothing but nod and say goodnight to her before retreating to her room. As she passed under the staircase, Shine stuck her tongue out at her for her comment, knowing that this time she wouldn't get in trouble. Shine then turned back to her warm shower that was calling her name at this point. She stepped in, the dirt and mud falling right off of her, leaving behind her bright, beautiful pink coat. But she couldn't get that word off her mind. Orphanage. What does that even mean... She thought for the longest time, washing her mane and tail, before she finally decided she'll ask Scarlet and Rown tomorrow. Rainbow went over to her bed, tucked herself in, and quickly fell asleep. * * * * * The next morning, she was woken by the distinct sound of the front door creaking and slamming shut. Peering out her window above her bed, Shine watched as Violet left for the morning, her saddlebag in tow. A bright smile came to her face as she rushed down the stairs, almost falling, and came right up to the maid. "Good morning! May I go outside to play?" The maid, who was usually expressionless and hardly talked at all, had smiled for her. "Well, shouldn't you eat breakfast first, little Rainbow Shine?" Shine instantly caught on and gave her a confused look that was almost fearful as to how she'd figured out her name. "Don't worry, I only heard you when you were in the shower, and no, I never told Ms. Violet. There's no need to worry. Now I have a special breakfast planned for the both of us to celebrate Violet getting a new job. Could you hand me those eggs, sweetheart?" Shine almost felt as if Mrs. Buckington was still here. She joyfully handed the eggs to the maid and stood back to watch. She used her shorter-than-average wings to throw the eggs around, almost putting on a show for her. Finally, she cracked the eggs in the now heated pan, instantly pouring in milk, flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Shine was curious as to what she was doing, so she pushed a chair over to watch. "You're making pancakes in the pan!?" She watched in awe as the maid shaped one into a heart, and the other into a party hat. "I didn't even know you could do that!" The maid smiled. "My aunt taught me this when I was your age. I thought it was impossible to do! I tried and tried, but I'd mess it up and it'd look somethin' like a bush that's been half eaten by a cow!" She smiled as she heard Shine giggling. "I don't think I've heard you laugh before." Shine blushed a bit. "Well... not much here really makes me laugh... But you do. I like it when you talk and smile. You have a pretty voice." The maid finished up her own pancakes and turned to her. "You haven't heard me sing yet, little lady." She smiled as she set the plates down with her wings. She poured syrup on both of them as Shine sat down. "What's singing?" She asked. The maid looked surprised, "You don't know what singin' is?" Shine shook her head as she started to take the first bite of her pancakes, the crisp smell of cinnamon rushing through her nose. It was the perfect amount of cinnamon and syrup to make this possibly the best breakfast of her life. She dug in, throwing all her manners out the window, getting the sticky sweetness all over her face. The maid smiled, shaking her head slightly. "Well I'll just have to show you then, maybe even teach ya." She went to eating her pancakes as well. Silence fell over them, besides the sound of Shine licking her plate clean, before the maid broke it once more, "Alanii." She said. Rainbow Shine looked up from her plate, her tongue still in mid-lick, before slowly putting the plate down onto the table, giving her full attention to the maid. She laughed seeing the filly's face covered in half her breakfast before continuing, "My name is Alanii. I know that Violet doesn't care about anypony but herself, so she just calls me maid all the time, just like she calls you 'Nameless'. Pretty stupid if you ask me," she smiled down at Shine, watching her laugh with a face full of food, that shimmer in her eyes that's never been there before. Alanii felt a wave of warmth wash over her seeing the filly laugh. They cleaned up together and said their goodbyes. "I'll have to teach y'all to cook somema' my favorite recipes sometime!" Alanii called out to her as Shine headed outside. She waited until Alanii was back inside to run for the forest, directly up to where she met Scarlet. Excited and jumpy, Shine explained everything that happened that morning. Afterwards, she and Scarlet went off, Rainbow Shine's first official day of learning had begun. * * * * * Twelve years old. It's been five whole years since Rainbow Shine first started her training. After years of studying, after endless nights, stretching her ability to stay awake for days, after loss and loss again of her scrimmages between her and Rown, she's ready. Along the way, she's made up her mind. 'I'm leaving' she told Alanii three years into her sessions. Shine explained everything. She had even stood up to Violet several times now. Rown has taught her courage and strength, intellect, and skill. Scarlet showed her to healing and stealth, as well as an open mind to the world Shine sees around her, no matter where she goes. Cleaning her appearance was a big help to it as well, being able to hide herself more efficiently. And every single day before she left for bed, this scene would commence. "What are the five rules to being on your own?" Rown asked. Shine would answer him. "One. Have strength. Two. Be aware. Three. Only protect thyself when needed. Four. Use thy resources. Five. Trust everyone- and no one." Though she added her own for personal goals' sake. "Six. Be kindhearted to everypony." Rainbow Shine had learned above and beyond what normal ponies her age would know. But with her background, had nowhere to go but where she chose. Finally, the night came. She wrote Alanii a note, leaving her a small, hoof-made gift, before proceeding. It was the dead of night, the only sound now was the whistle of the wind hitting the window. She slipped a few black rags onto the smooth, dark, wooden floor, just in front of Violet's room. A place she dare not enter until now. Sliding her hooves along the floor with the rags underneath to prevent sound, she cautiously opened the door. Violet, asleep in her bed, shifted in her sleep, causing Shine's heart to drop for a moment. Looking around, she instantly saw her target. a briefcase. She knew what it was full of, and she knew she needed it far more than Violet would have. Shine shuffled her way over to the case, and just as she was about to pick it up, Violet's sheets shuffled. A lot. The slanky mare stood up from her be, dragging herself out of the room, hooves scraping the floor. She was obviously still half asleep, probably just getting a glass of water. But unfortunately, would be coming back fairly soon. Shine, hidden and tucked away behind the now standing briefcase, barely could breath in such a curled up state, but remained motionless nonetheless. After what felt like an eternity, Violet came back and fell asleep almost instantaneously. Waiting just a few more minutes to be sure, Shine made her move. Stepping ever so carefully back onto the black rags, she carried the briefcase with her, making it harder to shuffle her hooves. Not having calculated any of the cracks in the old building's floors, she tripped just as she was going through the doorway. Her front right hoof hit the hard floor, almost echoing through the small room. Violet's head shot up, but being so tired already, her vision was still blurred. Not being able to make out anything, she suspiciously put her head back down on the pillow. Shine regrouped herself and closed the door behind her. That had to be the scariest thing I've ever witnessed... She sighed two lungs worth of relief, and made her way outside to the trees where she met up with her two closest friends. "Rown, Scarlet, how are you this evening?" She smiled and tilted her head downwards towards them in respect. Rown ruffled her mane. "No need to be so formal, Shine." "Yea, we've known you for what, five years now?" Scarlet added. "Five when the sun comes up tomorrow morning. Because that's the day that the Zazzleplucker bushes grow their first green leaf. I've practically made that day my birthday." She looked at the horizon, the light of Celestia's sun ever so slightly beginning to peek out from Luna's night sky. "Well... I guess it's time to go." Shine took a deep breath and picked up the saddlebag that Scarlet had made for her. a plain black one, it's all she could find. But with enough space and the right durability to last. Shine opened the briefcase to see it filled to the brim with bits and cash that she would definitely need if she were traveling. Stuffing it into the saddlebag, she kept walking before Rown stopped her. "Hey! You're forgetting something!" He called to her. She came back, wondering what he was talking about until he pulled it out. A sleek, lightweight, brand new and sharpened sword. At the hilt, her name. Engraved into the metal. Small wisps lined the middle, with the most extravagant detail she'd ever seen on a sword. Rown held it in his magic for her, giving it to her, hilt-first. Tears welled up in her eyes as she pushed the sword out of her way gently and hugged both Scarlet and Rown for the last time. "Thank you both.. so, so much.. I'll never forget you, I promise!" Tears streamed down her face as she let go, even with as much as she didn't want to, picked up the sword and got the holder from Rown. Putting it on, she placed her new found prized possession inside. The sun rose up, her twelfth birthday now official, as she passed one Zazzleplucker bush after another, each sprouting their first green leaf. * * * * * Scarlet gently laid her head against Rown's neck, her soft mane brushing up against him. "Headmaster will be furious with us..." Rown watched as Rainbow Shine, the filly he's come to know and love, walked farther and farther away from them. "It had to be done, my dear... It had to be done..." He sighed as Shine walked out of sight, turning towards the forest with his wife, walking her home.