A warm ray of sunlight shone on Rose's face as she slept in her kitchen. She snored softly, her back slowly rising and falling as she inhaled and exhaled. Something then began to shake her gently and she woke up with a start. Rose immediately looked to her right and was only able to make out a small and blurry figure, but as her sleepiness slowly faded away, she saw that it was none other than Rarity. Rarity had been awake for roughly an hour already and had decided that it was time for Rose to get up as well, since her father was supposed to arrive shortly.
"Good morning Ms. Rose Wind, did you sleep well?" Rarity asked. It took Rose a moment to understand the question before she nodded silently, which was then shortly followed by a large yawn. "That's good to hear. You should probably make yourself a bit more presentable though since my father will be here shortly to pick me up." Rarity stepped to the side as Rose stood up and stretched her legs before she slowly stumbled out of the kitchen. She went directly to the bathroom where she brushed her mane and tail as best as she could. When Rarity saw Rose again in the kitchen, she looked a bit better than before. She knew that it wasn't Rose's best, but at least she looked presentable.
"Ah... so Rarity, did you sleep well?" Rose asked. She still felt sore since she had fallen asleep sitting at the table, but at least she didn't feel very tired anymore. "I hope that everything was comfortable for you in the guest bedroom."
"Oh yes, everything was lovely Ms. Rose Wind, thank you very much," Rarity replied. She helped herself to one of the many apples that were present in Rose's fruit bowl and began to nibble on it. "I'm quite sad that I have to leave so soon, but I will definitely come and visit often. Where is Peaches by the way? I wish to say goodbye to him before I leave."
"Peaches should be on the couch in the living room dear," Rose said. "He must still be tired from last night. I don't blame him though, just look at how long I slept for!" Rose left the kitchen to check on Peaches and Rarity followed her shortly after she finished her apple. Rose sighed in relief when she saw that Peaches was still sleeping on the couch. She was worried that he might have woken up and wandered off somewhere since he liked to do that quite often. Rarity walked over to Peaches and watched as he rolled over and continued to snore.
"Goodbye Peaches, I had hoped that you would be awake already before I left, but that's alright," Rarity whispered. "Be good for Ms. Rose Wind and please try not to get too dirty. Also, your secret is safe with me." Rose and Rarity then heard something knocking on the front door and they both looked at each other. "That's probably my father. Rose, can you walk me to the front door please?" Rose nodded and the two left the living room and made their way towards the door. Rose looked through the door's peephole before she opened it, revealing Rarity's father.
"Rarity! Thank goodness you're alright!" Magnum exclaimed. He quickly embraced his daughter and hugged her tightly. Rose stood there and watched the two until she coughed, allowing her to get Magnum's attention. He released Rarity and slowly stood up as he regained his composure. "Oh, Ms. Rose Wind! I'm glad that you're okay as well."
"If you don't mind me asking Mr. Magnum, what are you talking about?" Rose asked. As far as Rose was concerned, nothing bad had happened in Ponyville at all recently. What was Magnum talking about?
"Haven't you heard? Dusty Paper the librarian was attacked last night. She claims that it was some sort of tiny monster with tentacles," Magnum said. "No serious harm was done, but there are now two books unaccounted for. Creatures of Equestria and for some reason, Parenting and You. Very peculiar don't you agree?"
Rose's heart was racing as her eyes darted towards the direction of the living room before she looked at Magnum again. She gulped and nodded in agreement, hoping that Peaches would not wake up until Magnum had left.
"O- of course. That sounds very peculiar, very peculiar indeed," Rose replied nervously. "I hope that monster doesn't come back. That would be just awful." Magnum looked at Rose carefully before he nodded as well.
"Indeed. Well Ms. Rose Wind, thank you very much for taking care of Rarity on such short notice. What do you have to say to Ms. Rose Wind Rarity?" Rarity quickly stepped forward and hugged Rose with all of her might.
"Thank you for quite the interesting evening Ms. Rose Wind. I hope we see each other again very soon," Rarity said and she let go of Rose and returned to her father's side. Magnum then took out a small satchel of bits from within his coat and held it out towards Rose.
"Here is your payment Ms. Rose Wind. I would love to stay and chat, but I'm afraid there are some errands that I have to run," Magnum said as Rose took the payment and placed it on a nearby table. "I hope you have a wonderful morning." Rose watched as Magnum lifted Rarity onto his back and they walked away. She waited until they had disappeared from view and she slowly closed the door just as Peaches crawled around the corner from the living room.
"Soha... Rabee?" Peaches asked. He rubbed his eyes and yawned as Rose lifted him up and carried him to the kitchen. She lowered him onto to one of the chairs and she pulled one over next to him before she sat down as well.
"Good morning Peaches, thank goodness you didn't wake up sooner. I thought I was going to have to explain to Mr. Magnum why I had taken in yet another creature," she said and gently nuzzled his head. "And then the whole town would have discovered you, but you're not a monster, you're my little Peaches! Are you ready to start learning today?" Peaches stuck one of his fingers up his nose as his other hand reached towards the fruit bowl. He grunted as he opened and closed his hand. "What is it Peaches? Oh! That's right! I almost forgot that you and I haven't eaten breakfast yet. Let's take care of that and then at last we can begin."
Rose stood up and walked over to the fruit bowl. She at first considered making a full meal, but she ultimately decided that she and Peaches should just have something small for now. Rose looked over the various fruits in the fruit bowl, trying to decide which ones to take back for herself and Peaches. She couldn't make up her mind, so instead she just picked up the fruit bowl and brought it back over to Peaches. Peaches quickly grabbed the nearest fruit without any hesitation and began to munch away at it. He had chosen an apple, so Rose heard every single crunch he made as she picked out her own apple and moved the two books from the library between the two of them.
"Let's begin by figuring out just what you are exactly Peaches," Rose said. She picked up Creatures of Equestria and opened it to the page that she had stopped on last night when she fell asleep. The first chapter was just a bunch of useless information, much to her disappointment, but it wasn't until she got to the second chapter that things started to get interesting. Rose decided that if she was going to find out what Peaches really was, she might as well tell him about Equestria's inhabitants, starting with herself.
"Look at this Peaches, this is an Earth Pony, this is what I am." She moved the book towards Peaches so he could get a closer look and he touched the illustration with his free hand that wasn't occupied with the apple. He then looked at Rose and placed his hand on her muzzle. "That's right Peaches, very good! Now let's see what you think about the next one." Rose flipped through a couple of more pages until she found the next pony race, which were the Unicorns. "Now this Peaches is a Unicorn. They are able to use their magic to accomplish a whole bunch of tasks by simply using their horns." Peaches looked at the illustration of the Unicorn and he placed his hand on his forehead, successfully creating a poor representation of a horn which Rose couldn't help but giggle at.
For the rest of the day, Rose taught Peaches all about the creatures in Equestria, well, what she knew about them anyway. She saw that Peaches was surprisingly smart since he was able to recognize creatures when they went back to look at them again. Or he just had an excellent memory. They took frequent breaks throughout the day to stretch, eat, and use the bathroom. Rose used these breaks to her advantage to begin training Peaches how to use the bathroom, since there was no way in Equestria that she was going to change him every time he soiled himself. Near the end of the book, Rose was rather disappointed since they didn't find any illustrations or even sections that mentioned what Peaches was. Instead, all she found was some weird illustration of a bug, and it was very poorly drawn. She looked up at the clock on her wall and her eyes widened as she suddenly realized how late it was.
"Oh my goodness! Where did the day go?" Rose asked herself as she stood up and stretched her legs. "Oh well, it was time definitely well spent though, what do you think Peaches?" She looked over at Peaches, only to discover that he had already fallen asleep. His mouth was wide open which allowed drool to ooze out of his mouth and it gathered in a small puddle on the table. "There is still so much for you to learn little guy... I'm happy that we are progressing much faster than I had thought we would. It'll only be a matter of time until you are ready to roam about and go to school and explore! Gosh, you have no idea what I would give to experience that same feeling again little guy... and there I go rambling on again!"
She carefully lifted Peaches up and onto her back before she made her way to her bedroom. She didn't want Peaches to be in a room on his own just yet, so she decided that she would just have to share her bed for now. Inside her bedroom, she gently placed Peaches on her bed and did her best to tuck him in. "Goodnight Peaches, I think I'll have you help me in the garden tomorrow. Nopony can see inside the greenhouse from the outside, so we should be just fine. Sweet dreams little one." She nuzzled his cheek before she climbed onto the bed herself and curled up next to him. The bed was definitely much more comfortable than the kitchen table
Many Months Later...
"This place is such a mess! Ugh... and they'll be here in less than an hour!" Rose exclaimed. She picked up a pair of pants off the floor and tossed it into the nearby laundry hamper. She wanted to make her home look as presentable as possible for the Ponyville School Board Directors, but that was quite hard to do since she lived with Peaches.
Over the last couple of months, Peaches had been growing at a rate unlike anything Rose had ever seen before. He went from looking like a one year old to looking like he was the same age as Rarity and the other fillies and colts. Fortunately, Rarity had stopped by often to drop off clothes for Peaches since he had outgrown the other ones she made before he could even have time to enjoy them fully. Rose was indeed grateful for Rarity's help and even offered to pay her, but Rarity denied any payment. She didn't give any reason as to why she denied payment, only telling Rose that she was just being generous. She was simply glad that it helped her practice her skills.
"Peaches! Could you come here please! Nap time is over!" Rose shouted. She heard movement come from Peaches' bedroom as Peaches landed on all fours and made his way towards the kitchen. He walked like any pony would, putting his right hand forward then moving his left foot before he did the same thing with his other limbs. Of course, he didn't call them hands or feet, they were his hooves, just like his Mother said. Rose heard him enter the kitchen and when she turned around, she had to stifle a giggle as she looked at his hair. It was standing upright in all directions, as if he was just shocked. "Ah! Th- ahem, there you are Peaches. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes Mommy, why did you want me?" Peaches asked as he rubbed his eyes.
"Don't you remember Peaches? Today is a very special day," Rose replied as she began to wipe the table with a wash cloth. "The Ponyville School Board Directors are stopping by soon. I'm going to try and get you into school, just like I promised."
"School?" Peaches asked when he suddenly remembered what it was. "Oh! School! Yay! When does it start Mommy? Can we go now? Please please please? I want to go so-"
"Woah! One step at a time little guy. First I need you to help me clean up a little and then we can make you look nice for when they arrive. Are you with me?" Rose asked and Peaches nodded in agreement. "Excellent, let's get to it then!"
Rose continued to clean and only had Peaches assist her when she needed it, such as when she swept the floor. He held the dustpan which made the job much less difficult. From the kitchen they moved on to the living room where the meeting was to take place. Rose moved her possessions out of the way which allowed Peaches to dust the places that seriously needed it. When he needed to reach the shelves above them, Rose lifted Peaches onto her back. As he dusted the framed photos on the shelves, he saw one photo that caught his eye. It was taken when he was younger since it showed Rose holding him in a bundle of cloth. He briefly wondered if Rarity was the one who took the photo, but quickly forgot about it as he slid off of Rose's back.
"That should be good enough for now Peaches, good job," Rose said as she took the duster away from him. "Now that's out of the way, we can fix that shaggy mane of yours! I hope that the Directors don't arrive while-" Rose was interrupted when she and Peaches both heard a knock on her door, causing Rose's heart to race. "Gah! They are here already! Quickly Peaches, go put on something that is not your pajamas, I'll call for you when we're ready."
"But Mommy, what about my hair? You said my mane needs to be fixed right?" Peaches asked. He was still slightly confused as Rose began to gently push him out of the living room and down the hall.
"Just, uh, do what you can Peaches, and whatever you do, do not come out until I call for you."
"But Mommy I-"
"I'll be in the living room Peaches, just stay here in your room and try to make yourself look nice." She gently nudged him into his room and closed the door behind him. She felt bad that she couldn't fix up his mane in time, but this meeting was just too important. Not as important as Peaches, but it was important enough that it could affect his future. She heard knocking on her door once more just as she approached and opened it, revealing a trio of ponies. Two of them were stallions and the one that was knocking on her door was a mare. All of them were dressed as if they were attending a fancy dinner. Rose felt rather embarrassed since she hadn't even thought about wearing something equally as nice. She did her best to remain calm though and smiled, although it felt rather forced. "Good morning! You must be the Directors, correct?"
"Indeed we are. Are you Ms. Rose Wind?" the mare asked and Rose nodded. "Excellent. We have a busy schedule this afternoon Ms. Rose Wind, so hopefully this will be short and sweet." She walked past Rose and the other two ponies followed her inside shortly after. Rose hadn't even invited them in yet, but she chose to ignore the fact and closed the door.
"If you would all follow me please, I wish to have this discussion in the living room," Rose said as she carefully squeezed past them. She led them to the living room and gestured her hoof towards the couch where the Directors quickly sat down. She pulled up a chair of her own and sat down across from them. At first they just stared at each other silently when the mare suddenly cleared her throat.
"Before we begin, let me introduce myself," the mare said. "My name is Poetic Breeze. The stallion to my left is Inky Blotches and the one to my right is Crinkle Parchment. We are here today because you wish to enroll somepony into our education system. Is that correct Ms. Rose Wind?"
"Yes, that is correct," Rose replied as she nodded. "I wish to enroll my son Peaches."
"Ah! So Peaches is the little colt's name? That's a wonderful name," Poetic Breeze said. She clapped her hooves together and Crinkle Parchment brought out a small but very thick book from within his shirt pocket. He gave it to Poetic Breeze just as Inky Blotches brought out a quill and an ink pot and placed them on the coffee table. She then opened the book and began to scan through it. "Let's see here... Peaches should have been added when he was born, but in your letter you said there was a mix up, correct?" Rose nodded and continued to smile, but inside she was a bit nervous. She desperately hoped that they would buy her story and add her son to the book. "Interesting... so Peaches has indeed not been registered. We can solve that problem easily Ms. Rose Wind, all we need from you is his birth certificate and of course, your son must be present as well. Is he here currently?"
"Why yes he is! I'll get the papers and I'll bring him back with me. This shouldn't take too long," Rose replied. She stood up and walked to the kitchen where she had left Peaches' birth certificate. Of course Peaches didn't have a real birth certificate, but that didn't stop her. Rose had planned ahead of time and after some rather shady and uncomfortable deals, she had successfully obtained a birth certificate. Yes, it was a fake, but it looked authentic enough. Rose hoped that it was enough to fool the Directors. She lifted the fruit bowl and quickly grabbed the certificate and some papers before she left to get Peaches.
"Peaches? Come on out, the Directors would like to meet you," Rose said and she opened the door to his room. Peaches had been patiently sitting on his bed and he looked a thousand times better than he did just a few minutes ago. His mane was no longer shaggy and it looked to have been bushed to perfection. Even his clothes matched, which was something Peaches definitely wasn't good at doing. In fact, as Rose continued to look at him, she thought he looked a bit too good... and then she noticed that his window was open. "Peaches... why is your window open?" Peaches simply shrugged his shoulders and pretended that nothing was out of the ordinary. "Peaches... you can't lie to me. I could recognize that style of brushing anywhere. I know you're there Rarity, you don't have to hide." Rose heard a sigh as Rarity poked her head out on the other side of the bed and she gave Rose a guilty smile.
"H- hello Ms. Rose Wind. I was just walking through town and as I passed your house I remembered that you had that meeting today, so I-" Rarity stopped talking when Rose held up a hoof and smiled at her.
"So Peaches let you in and you fixed him up, didn't you?" Rose asked and Rarity nodded. "Well, I have to say he does look quite handsome, but I can't keep the Directors waiting for much longer. You can stay here if you want and wait until they are gone. We can have a proper visit afterwards."
"I think I'll do just that Ms. Rose Wind. I wish you and Peaches the best of luck," Rarity said. Rose smiled as she and Peaches left his room and returned to the living room. When they arrived there, the three ponies on the couch were whispering to each other and stopped as soon as they noticed that Rose had returned.
"Ah! There you are Ms. Rose Wind, we were beginning to wonder what was taking you so long," Poetic Breeze said. She craned her head to the left and to the right and she became concerned. "I see you've brought the papers, but where is your son? He has to be here in order for us to complete the process."
"He is kind of shy, but don't worry, he's here," Rose said. "Come on out Peaches! The Directors want to say hi to you!" She stepped to the side as Peaches appeared around the corner and smiled weakly. At first, the Directors couldn't believe what they were seeing. Peaches was definitely not what they expected and they each began to slap each other. When it turned out that they all weren't imagining it, the three immediately began whispering to each other.
"What in Equestria is that thing!?" Inky Blotches whispered to his fellow co-workers. "Is that thing... Peaches... is he even a pony?" They all looked up at Peaches before they lowered their heads again. "He sure doesn't look like it... do we have rules about other species wanting to enroll?"
"Now now, he might look very... different, but that doesn't mean he isn't a pony," Poetic Breeze whispered. "If there aren't any rules against other races and the papers are in order, then I don't see why we shouldn't allow him to go to school."
"To be honest, if he is a pony, I pity the poor thing," Crinkle Parchment whispered. "His, er... hooves look like mutated legs. His muzzle is way too small and so are his eyes and his rear is way up in the air! Are you sure we should even be considering this Poetic Breeze? The more I look at him... the more he reminds me of that monster that was spotted recently."
"Um, excuse me? Is everything alright over there?" Rose asked, causing the Directors to raise their heads. "Will my son be allowed to attend school?" The trio remained silent as Crinkle Parchment brought out another book. Rose saw that it wasn't as thick as the other one and instead of answering her question, they opened it up and began to skim through it. After some time had passed, Poetic Breeze nodded at both of her co-workers and sighed as she closed the rule book.
"Ms. Rose Wind, may we see the papers please?" Poetic Breeze asked. Rose didn't hesitate to give her the papers and Poetic Breeze placed them neatly on the table. "Thank you, this will only take a moment Ms. Rose Wind." She divided the papers between herself and the other two ponies and they finished reviewing it in no time at all. The three ponies placed the papers back on the table and Poetic Breeze pushed the book towards Rose, along with the quill and ink pot. "After some review, we see no reason why Peaches shouldn't be allowed to enroll into our education system, as different as he may be. Just sign his name Ms. Rose Wind and we will be done here."
"W- wha- Oh, yes of course!" Rose exclaimed excitedly. She opened up the book to a fresh page and picked up the quill that laid before her. She quickly dipped it into the ink pot and scribbled Peaches' name into the book before she dropped the quill and watched as the ink dried on the page. Poetic Breeze suddenly closed the book and gave it to Crinkle Parchment. He returned it inside his shirt and Inky Blotches did the same with the quill and the ink pot.
"Thank you very much Ms. Rose Wind, your son is now registered," Poetic Breeze said and she smiled. "Good thing too, you did it just before school started back up again." Rose walked over to Poetic Breeze and hugged her tightly, much to Poetic Breeze's surprise.
"Thank you so very much! I'm so happy that things worked out!" Rose exclaimed and she released Poetic Breeze from her hug. "And there weren't any issues at all?" Poetic Breeze looked at Inky Blotches and he shook his head. There weren't any rules that stated that different species weren't allowed, but it didn't matter anyway since Peaches' birth certificate said that he was a legal pony born in Equestria.
"None at all Ms. Rose Wind," Poetic Breeze replied. "Although before we leave, there are some things we wish to tell you." Poetic Breeze walked over to the window and looked outside. The sun was beginning to sink, so she decided to be quick about it. "Two things Ms. Rose Wind. First, it would probably be a good idea if you attended the open house tomorrow with Peaches. Let him meet some of the fillies and colts so he doesn't accidentally... startle them on the first day. Second, there have been reports of a monster prowling the town at night recently Ms. Rose Wind. Nopony has really been harmed, well, except for that one poor fellow, so I suggest that you... you be careful after it gets dark."
"Oh, of course we will be careful Poetic Breeze, thank you for notifying me," Rose said and Poetic Breeze turned around and nodded. "Thank you for everything. All three of you."
"Indeed. Have a good evening Ms. Rose Wind. Inky Blotches, Crinkle Parchment, I believe it is about time we left." The two stallions nodded in agreement and the trio left the living room. Rose heard the door open and waited until it closed before she began jumping around the room.
"We did it Peaches! We did it!" Rose shouted joyfully and she picked Peaches up and placed him on her back. "You can go to school now! Rarity! Rarity come quick!" Rarity appeared just seconds later to find that Rose had started dancing, which Rarity found to be hilarious. "Did you hear Rarity? Peaches is going to school! He's going to be in your class now!"
"Yes, I heard you from Peaches' bedroom Ms. Rose Wind. I can't believe your plan actually worked!" Rarity replied. "He'll be in a lower grade than I, but yes, it seems we will now share the same classroom in two days."
"Wait... Mommy? I'm gonna go to school with Rarity?" Peaches asked. He looked over at Rarity and she nodded, which caused a huge smile to grow on his face. "Yay! This is gonna be awesome Rarity!"
"I believe this calls for a mini celebration," Rose said. "And guess what? I have a peach pie that I baked last night in the fridge just waiting to be reheated!" Peaches gasped and his mouth began to water. Peaches have been his favourite fruit for as long as he could remember, and putting the fruit into a pie was simply delicious. "Come join us at the table Rarity. I'm sure you have enough time for a slice before you have to go home. What do you say?"
"I would be delighted to have a slice of your pie Ms. Rose Wind," Rarity replied. "Everypony in Ponyville knows that you grow the best fruits, especially now since you provide them for Sugarcube Corner!" Rose chuckled as she remembered the grand opening of Sugarcube Corner that occurred a couple of weeks ago. She had to conceal Peaches somehow since he was far too big for saddlebags. In the end, she simply put him on her back and covered him with a sheet. It was simple but effective. She pretended that what she was carrying was just something fragile when somepony asked her what it was. The three then made their way over to the kitchen where Rose began to reheat the pie. A few minutes later they were all sitting down at the table, enjoying the sweet and sticky goodness that the pie had to offer. The pie did not last very long and soon they were all relaxing in their chairs, the taste of the pie still on their lips.
"Now that is what I call a pie," Rose said and she yawned. She wasn't surprised that she was tired since all of her hard work getting to this point had finally paid off. She only hoped now that Peaches would be accepted by the others. Rose had known immediately that the Directors felt uncomfortable with Peaches when they first laid their eyes on him. Hopefully the other ponies in Ponyville would not be like them. "So Rarity, how have you been lately dear?"
"Oh you know Ms. Rose Wind, same old stuff as usual," Rarity replied. "Actually... have you heard about the new family that just moved in to Ponyville?"
"New family... oh yes! I've heard about them. They are rock farmers right?' Rose asked and Rarity nodded. "What was their last name again? Pickle... no that's not it. Pine? No, that doesn't sound right either. Oh! Was it-"
"They are the Pie family Ms. Rose Wind," Rarity said and giggled. "Pickle... If I ever meet a pony that has that name I'll eat my mane. Anyway, I bumped into them today at the market and I think I probably met the strangest pony ever. Pinkamena Diane Pie I believe was her name."
"Ah, so is this Pinkamena the same age as you?" Rose asked and Rarity nodded once more.
"Surprisingly, yes she is, she'll be at the open house tomorrow, along with... ugh... Applejack."
"Applejack? Isn't she that little filly on that apple farm over yonder? By the way you said her name, it sounds like you two don't get along very well."
"Well... I guess you could put it that way Ms. Rose Wind. She's just not..."
"Fabulous?" Peaches asked. Rarity and Rose both looked at Peaches before they burst out laughing. Rose knew she shouldn't have been laughing, but by the way Peaches said fabulous she just simply couldn't help herself.
"Y- yes, I guess you could say that Peaches," Rarity replied as her laughter faded away. "It's not that we don't like each other, we just don't really work well together, especially when it comes to fashion."
"Alright that's enough now Rarity. We don't want to give Peaches the wrong idea about Applejack when we go to the open house tomorrow," Rose said. "Let him form his own opinion on her, you never know what could happen."
"Ms. Rose Wind... do you think other ponies will accept Peaches the way he is tomorrow? Because to be honest, I'm not sure he'll receive quite the warm welcome you are expecting," Rarity said. Her thoughts drifted to the drawing of the monster that had been posted in the market earlier that day. When she saw it she had to look at it twice just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. The monster looked somewhat like Peaches, except it walked on two legs instead of four and was very tall. She was sure that everypony in town must have had seen it by now and she was worried that they might relate Peaches to that... that thing.
"I think they will, why shouldn't they? It's not like Peaches is dangerous or anything," Rose said. "Actually, I want you to help Peaches out tomorrow Rarity if you can. The only ponies he knows are just you and I. Show the other fillies and colts that he is just like any other pony." Rarity couldn't bring herself to say no to Rose's request, having become good friends with Rose and especially Peaches who looked up to her.
"I... yes Ms. Rose Wind, I would be happy to help Peaches tomorrow," Rarity replied and she hoped that she wouldn't have to regret her decision. "I really must get going now though Ms. Rose Wind, otherwise I won't make it home in time before dark. Thank you for the pie and I'll see you and Peaches tomorrow." She stood up and quickly hugged Peaches and Rose before she made her way towards the door.
"Bye bye Rarity!" Peaches shouted as he landed on all fours and began to follow her to the door. "See you tomorrow, right?" Rarity smiled and turned her head to face Peaches.
"That's right Peaches, I'll see you tomorrow morning. You are going to make some new friends tomorrow, I promise," Rarity said and waved goodbye just as Rose appeared from the kitchen. Rarity then left and the door closed behind her with a dull thud.
"That was nice of Rarity to stop by, wasn't it Peaches?" Rose asked and Peaches slowly nodded his head and yawned. "I believe it's time we get you to bed little guy, you have a big day tomorrow!" Peaches didn't budge from where he was so Rose had to gently turn him around and nudge him in order to get him to move. What could have taken only a few seconds turned into a few minutes as Peaches moved inch by inch down the hall. At last they reached his room and Rose lifted him up and onto his bed with her head. Peaches quickly made himself comfortable underneath his blankets and he rolled over and looked at Rose.
"Mommy?"
"Yes Peaches? What is it?" Rose asked gently.
"Do you think... do you think the other ponies will like me?"
"Of course they will Peaches, in fact, I think you'll be the most popular of them all!" Rose's kind words caused Peaches to smile and he sat up and hugged her as tight as he could.
"I love you Mommy," Peaches whispered as he continued to hug her, not wanting to let go due to how warm she was. He could feel her chest moving up and down at a gentle rhythm, up... and down... Rose waited patiently until at last she heard Peaches begin to snore. She gently lowered him onto his bed and nuzzled his forehead. His grip had weakened tremendously so she was able to escape from his grip with ease.
"I love you too Peaches." She gently removed his necklace and put it on his bedside table before she slowly walked out of the room. She then flicked off the light and closed the door, leaving Peaches to dream peacefully as the moon bathed his face with its soft light.
A lone figure was perched in a tree just outside of Ponyville and she watched the moon as it slowly continued to rise. She knew that she would have to wait until the moon was much higher before she could set foot into the small town, which for some reason was filled with a bunch of sentient coloured ponies. She had stumbled across the town a couple of days ago, and it was a good thing she did too. Her supplies had run dangerously low, and as much as she didn't want to steal from the innocent little town, she knew that she had no choice.
The figure stretched her arms since she didn't want them to become too stiff. She quickly rummaged through her bag she had stolen the other day and pulled out a faded picture from within. She held the photo up to the light coming from the moon and it revealed herself and two other figures she still held dear to her. One who had a hand on her shoulder, and one that she carried in her arms. She would have cried as she looked at the photo, but Clara had no tears left to shed. Her eyes focused on the bundle of cloth before she quickly stuffed the photo back into her bag.
"I have wandered around in this dreadful forest for far too long," she whispered to herself. "I have been battered, I have been sliced, bruised, and I have even starved, but I have not given up on you Oliver. I never will." She jumped down from the tree and rolled cross the dirt ground for a short distance before she quickly looked to her left and then her right. She didn't see any sign of the ponies she had encountered last night, they were probably too scared to step out of their own homes now. Clara moved quickly and quietly towards what she considered to be the marketplace, sticking to the shadows as to not be seen. Living in the forest for months had taught her many skills, more than the time she spent with the military back home. Fortunately she did have military training, otherwise she wouldn't have even survived the first night. Clara suddenly stopped and dived behind a few bushes as a light appeared up ahead, which was soon followed by a group of ponies carrying a mix of lanterns and torches.
Clara listened carefully to them as they walked past her and held her breath. She couldn't understand a word they said, but she didn't care. She waited until the light had disappeared before she crawled out from behind the bush and continued to make her way towards the market. Clara didn't encounter any more ponies on her way to the market and when she arrived, she immediately began to scavenge for anything she felt she needed. She was able to break into the locked stalls with ease by simply tearing away the flimsy wood panelling. Clara had certainly become a lot stronger from the time she had spent in the forest. She hoped that tonight she would be able to find some sort of sewing kit since she had been wearing the same clothes for months. Of course she washed them whenever it was necessary, but washing them unfortunately does not fix the tears and holes she had accumulated.
When she had taken as much as she could carry, she began to make her way back to the forest when a piece of paper nailed to a pole caught her eye. Curious, she approached the pole and saw that the paper had on it a crudely drawn representation of herself. She quickly tore it down and stuffed it into what little space she had left in her bag and sighed. She never wanted to be seen as a monster, but the pony from the other night had charged at her. She didn't kill the poor thing, but what she had done had obviously given her a bad reputation. Suddenly, multiple lights appeared around Clara and they slowly began to move towards her. She looked closely at the lights, only to discover that they were in fact lanterns being carried by the ponies.
"So... they thought they would be able to catch me here eh?" Clara whispered. "Heh, too bad for them, I'm not really in the mood to be captured tonight." One of the ponies yelled something and they all began to converge on her location. When they reached the pole however, they discovered that she was gone.
"What the hay? Where did the monster go?" one of the ponies asked and the rest of them shook their heads. "How can something so tall just disappear? That thing was right there! Gah! Spread out boys, we are not letting the monster slip through our hooves again!" The rest of them nodded in agreement and they quickly dispersed to scout out other parts of the town. When the coast was clear, Clara slowly continued to climb the pole and she jumped to a nearby roof. The straw was soft beneath her feet as she ran and jumped from roof top to roof top. She was fortunate that there weren't any ponies with wings that time, otherwise they would have found her for sure. Lights turned on as she leapt from each roof until at last she made it to the edge of the town. She jumped from the roof and landed on a bed of flowers below that cushioned her fall. From there she sprinted back towards the safety of the forest. Little did she know that in that very same forest, she would soon see a face that she hadn't seen in a very long time.