"Hey March, you know what we should do first thing in the morning?"
"I don't know, Speck. What do you think we should do first thing in the morning?"
"We should go to Sugarcube Corner, so Mrs. Cake can put you to work, even though it's your day off!"
"Wow, Speck! That sounds like such a wonderful idea, even though we were going to do something fun, and I had plans to do something really exciting with you. Let's do that instead!"
Speck stared at her friend across the counter of Sugarcube Corner's lobby as he mockingly re-enacted a conversation they had shortly before they left the house. His audience consisted of her, Mrs. Cake, and a few ponies enjoying breakfast and a show.
"It's such a nice day, too! You went and ruined it, Speck. You ruined it by wanting to come here and get a cake, for whatever reason."
"You didn't bring me any of the marzipan thing."
As it turns out, this was all his fault. He let it slip that morning that he gave the cake away, but he didn't say to whom. Speck was less than happy with him, so she forced him to go to Sugarcube Corner with her and get another cake. Except, she changed her mind when she found out Mrs. Cake was making banana nut muffins.
Mrs. Cake also requested that he help her.
He said no, but Mr. Cake said yes.
He yelled at him.
He scared her friend.
"Your cake's almost done!" Mr. Cake's gruff voice shouted from the kitchen. Speck's friend ran into the kitchen as Mr. Cake walked out with a small box of muffins. "Here y'go, Speck."
"Thank you!" She took the box and turned to trot outside. Taking a seat at one of the tables on the porch, she took a deep breath and admired the scenery.
It really was a beautiful day. There were few clouds in the sky, the sun was shining brightly, and a gentle wind blew through Ponyville.
She felt a little giddy as she thought about what her friend had planned. He refused to reveal any secrets, but only let on that it was going to be exciting. His being secretive made it so much more exciting than it should have been!
All she had to do was wait for him to be done in Sugarcube Corner, and they'd be on their way.
While she waited, her stomach started to grumble. With a tap of her hoof, she popped the box of muffins open and took one, but nearly dropped it as something flew from the kitchen window, onto the grass. Fire engulfed it, crackling and roaring.
She sighed as the large something rolled around on the ground. It stood and approached Speck as it put the fire out.
"New recipe, dear?"
"Yeah. I forgot how stupid some of the recipes on Earth were. I guess it would be pretty bad if the Cakes didn't use magical fire, right?"
"It would be. Your hair's on fire, by the way," Speck said with a giggle. Her friend sat across the table from her and stroked his fingers through his hair, extinguishing the fire.
"I think I like this magical fire stuff," he said as he shook his hand to put out the remaining flames. "It cooks stuff, but it doesn't hurt anything with a pulse. Did you know this existed?"
"Yes. How did your cake turn out?"
"Worse than I did." Mr. Cake walked outside and dropped a coal black brick onto the table before snarling at her friend and walking back inside. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"I'm not eating that."
"Neither am I." He reached over the poor excuse for a cake to grab one of the muffins. Speck swatted him with a hoof.
"Put that back!"
"Make me."
Speck climbed onto the table and glared at her friend.
"Put it back!"
"Nope. Glare harder, maybe you'll give me a heart attack."
"What?"
"Cause you're so cute when you're grumpy!" He pinched her cheek.
She screeched and launched herself at him, knocked him over, and started hitting him with her hooves. He just laughed and laughed as she batted her hooves at his face, never making any attempt to block her assault.
Her screams grew louder as she tried to beat her friend senseless, to no avail. Tears formed in her eyes as she slowed her assault. Her friend gasped for breath as he sat up, causing Speck to tumble into his lap.
"Why are you always so mean to me?"
"I find it humorous that you get upset when someone touches your food."
"Well... I don't."
"I'm sorry," he said as he hugged her tightly. "You ready to get going?"
"Yeah."
~~~
Speck and I hurried on with our morning tasks, and were on our way to the orphanage. Strangely enough, she stopped when we passed by the school. It is a rather large school, compared to what I've seen of it in the old history books.
Nearly two dozen fillies and colts run around, chasing each other and playing in an open courtyard.
I don't know if Sirocca was taught by Matron Cherry, if she taught herself, or if she attended school here. Regardless, she definitely wasn't one of the kids playing outside.
Speck and I sit on a nearby hill, content to watch the kids. I've caught Speck sitting around here a few times since we got back from Canterlot. Nearly every time, our conversations came back around to her parents and her childhood.
She sighs to herself as the children run by us, screaming and hollering. Looks like it's just about time for one of her depressing conversations.
She looks up at me with a frown, and not one of her usual pouty frowns. It's the kind of frown someone has when there's something really tearing them apart. Somehow, this pony still manages to be cute.
"What's on your mind?"
"I don't know. A lot of stuff."
"Tell me about it." I hug her close and stroke her mane.
"I miss my mom. Like, I know I hadn't seen her in a long time, but just... Knowing that she isn't around anymore, and I can't write to her. I feel like I'm alone, even though I'm not."
"And watching the kids makes you feel better?"
"It does. It helps a lot." She falls silent and snuggles up against me. "March. Do you think we're ready?"
"Ready for what?"
"To have a foal."
She leans away from me as I place my head in my hands. There are so many things wrong with that statement. As much as I love her, we've only been together for a few months. We've formed a pretty solid bond. I don't think we'll be splitting apart any time soon, if ever.
Most importantly, I'm at least one-hundred percent sure that we aren't genetically compatible, even with magic. I still don't know how ponies breed, anyway. They walk around naked, and never once have I caught a glimpse of anything private.
"Speck, I don't think that can work. I'm not a pony."
"What?" She looks up at me, completely confused. She really is oblivious. "What does that have to do with anything? There's an orphanage in town. We can go there and adopt."
"Let me think about it. Are you ready to go? We're holding my friend up." I stand up and start to walk away from her. She jumps up and follows me.
"March, wait! What did you think I meant?"
"Some human thing. You wouldn't understand," I say as my cheeks burn.
"You're so strange."
"Yeah, let's go with that."
A muffled screech nearby stops us in our tracks. Speck takes off and rounds the corner of the build just as trio of giggling pegasus fillies. I recognize one of them from my walks home from Sugarcube Corner. One of them mutters something about a "freaky looking pegasus," as I run past them.
Yeah, that's real nice. A bunch of kids making fun of an adult, based on how she looks. What is this world coming to? Speck doesn't even look that freaky. She's adorable.
As I round the corner, a soft whimpering reaches my ears. A soft humming accompanies it. I've heard the tune before. Speck hummed it all the time after her mom's funeral.
I approach Speck, who lies on her side, wings draped over whatever is whimpering, and kneel beside her.
"She's hurt."
"She?"
Speck looks up at me, over her shoulder, and moves her wing out of the way. There, in her arms, I see the not-so-familiar face of a familiar purple filly.
Her left eye is swollen shut and she refuses to open the other as tears stream down her cheeks. A small stream of mucus trickles from her nose, crusting her fur over. Worst of all, her left wing looks like it's been broken in at least four different places.
My heart drops into my stomach.
"We need to get her help."
"What's going on back here? Who are you?" A soft-spoken voice with a tinge of aggression calls as I stand. "Three of my students told me there was an injured pony back here." The mare approaches us, a look of suspicion crossing her face as she sees Speck.
"We found a filly back here right as three pegasus fillies walked by. She needs a doctor."
"You expect me to believe that my students would hurt another pony?"
"It's more likely than another bat-pony hurting her. But, you know what, forget it. So what if we hurt her? She needs a doctor."
"March, we need to find her parents."
"She doesn't have parents. She comes over here with the matron at the orphanage." The teacher speaks up before I can. Speck's ears perk up and she stares at the teacher, as if something is completely wrong with all of this. Aside from there being an injured little filly in an almost-perfect world.
"I'm taking her to the hospital." Speck mutters as she wraps her hooves gently around the filly and takes to the sky.
"I'm calling the guards!"
Ignoring the mare, I follow Speck. It's not like the guards are going to do anything to me.
***
If there is a princess that controls the sun, a princess that controls the moon, a princess that specializes in love, and a princess that specializes in friendship, then surely, somewhere in this world, there is a princess that controls fate. And she sure does love rigging my life.
I just find it a little bit coincidental that Speck asked about adopting a filly, and we just so happened to find Sirocca.
Speck managed to check Sirocca in and get her taken care of before I reached the hospital. We were able to see her shortly after I arrived. Magic can be a wonderful thing sometimes. The doctors set her wing in a cast and used magic to start setting the bones and speed their healing up a little bit. They said she would be in the cast for about a month. Her right wing was bound in a similar cast, but allowed for a little bit more mobility, since winged ponies have a habit of moving both of their wings in tandem.
The matron came by briefly, after a visit from the guards and the teacher to inform her of the whereabouts of Sirocca. The guards came with her, but left after seeing me. Matron Cherry, of course, brought adoption papers, but wouldn't take them out in front of me. She just continually dropped hints to Speck about adopting Sirocca. If she can play up a tragedy like this in order to get me to adopt the kid, then she's a smart mare. She's also the embodiment of evil.
"Speck," I whisper as I place a hand on her cheek. She lies beside Sirocca, with the filly's head tucked against her chest. Sirocca is out cold. "You're acting pretty overbearing. You don't even know the kid."
"I know, but... She shouldn't be alone." She kisses the filly on the forehead. "Bat-pony orphans are extremely rare. Like, if both of their parents are gone, and they don't have anyone else in their lives. It's wrong, March."
"I'll send a letter to Luna tonight. See if she can't get here tomorrow morning so we can see if there's anything she can do about the kid."
"I just want to know what happened to her parents, and why she didn't have anyone else. Bat-ponies are extremely sociable amongst our own kind, so... It's weird."
"Yeah. We'll find out what happened."
She brushes the filly's mane out of her face and snuggles closer to her. The light pouring in from the window starts to fade as it gets late in the evening. I sit for a little while longer, just watching Speck with this child.
She's so complacent, just being near another bat-pony. Her motherly instincts have kicked in. She isn't her usual hyper-active, excitable self. I am a little torn. I like when she's hyper, but she's glowing right now. Maybe our fun phase is ending, and we're moving into our serious phase.
I stroke her shoulder gently.
"I'm gonna head home, alright?" She nods as I kiss her on the cheek. "I'll be back in the morning."
"Okay."
I leave the room quietly, and make my way home.
I run all the way to our house, unlock the door, and rush to my study. As I sit down, I light Luna's candle, grab a quill and parchment, and start writing.
Dear Luna,
Please help. Speck and I found an injured bat filly outside of the school house shortly after Speck said she wanted to adopt a foal. I'm not ready for this, and I don't think she is either. I need help.
Sincerely,
March
After folding the letter and stamping it with a seal, I hold it over the candle. It burns up, and a magical wind carries its ashes away.
A few moments later, a scroll manifests in a cloud of smoke in front of me and plops down onto my desk. I waste no time in opening it.
Dear March,
I will be in Ponyville as soon as I am able, most likely at dawn. Please keep an eye out for that little bat.
Princess of the Night,
Luna
Perfect. Hopefully she'll have some solution to all of this. I'd love for Speck and I to keep visiting Sirocca, but I'm not ready for the responsibility of taking care of a child. Maybe I can convince Luna to take care of her, or convince the Cakes to adopt?
I guess tomorrow will be the moment of truth.
~~~
Speck laid beside the filly, never leaving her, never nodding off. She sang soft lullabies to the child, and told her stories and fairy tales.
After a few hours, the filly roused from her sleep. She looked up at Speck, her one good eye staring up with wonder.
"Mom?" The filly asked with an elated smile. Speck shook her head and hugged the filly.
"No, sweetie. My name's Speck. My friend and I found you and brought you to this hospital. You're going to be alright."
The filly wrapped her arms around Speck's neck and hugged her as tight as she could muster in her weakened state.
"Thank you, miss Speck."
"You're very welcome. Would you like to tell me your name?"
"I-it's Sirocca."
"Sirocca? Well, that's a pretty cute name for a cute little filly." Sirocca giggled softly. "So, you're from the orphanage?" She nodded and hid her face in Speck's chest. "Do you like it there?"
"It's alright, I guess. I-I get the basement to m-myself. It's a lot better than the school."
"Well, I wouldn't worry too much. Everything's okay now, and it'll only get better."
Sirocca nuzzled Speck's chest as she nodded.
"Okay. Good night, miss Speck."
"Good night, Sirocca."
Speck stroked the little bat's cheek as she dozed off and started to snore. Soon after, a yawn parted Speck's lips. She covered the filly with her wing as she, too, fell asleep.
Even a watchful guardian needed her rest.