Stay

by Wintergreen Diaries

Prologue

There were many ways that a young pony could display their excitement, and on one particularly sunny morning in the seaside city of Baltimare, a young colt was doing his best to show them all. Uncontrollable laughter bubbled from within as he romped in circles, bounding and giggling with abandon, and even a stranger taking him at a glance would have left the impression that the behavior was nothing out of the ordinary for a child that looked as though chocolate had been dunked in a pastel rainbow. Brilliant streaks of greens, yellow, and even a playful splash of pink flowed through his neatly trimmed mane that complimented his coat of deep brown. As the room began to spin faster than even he could keep up with, Merry Mint ceased his antics for a few seconds and stumbled to a stop, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted for air.

“Settle down, dear,” his mother chided him with a warming grin, “you’re going to make yourself sick.”

“Can’t be sick!” the youngster quipped, pouncing on his tail and rolling across the floor until he lay at his mother’s hooves. “We’ve been waitin’ all week for today! Right, sis?” Craning his head towards the entrance of the dining area, he fixed his sparkling eyes on a filly just two years older than himself. Her deep mocha mane seemed to be mimicking a fire cracker while her creamy white coat remained mostly obscured by the blanket wrapped about her shoulders, a testament to her reluctance to pry herself out of bed.

“Mmph.” Having been more verbose than she cared to be, the filly trotted over, pulled up a chair, and rest her head on the table, knowing that there was no way she was going to be able to sleep in that morning. She flinched a little as the sound of little hooves scrambled over, signalling the imminent approach of her brother.

“C’mon, sissy, don’t be boring!” the colt pleaded, hopping onto a chair beside her. “Don’t you know what day it is?” Her drowsy gaze slowly panned over to meet his expectant stare.

“...Mmph.”

“Minty, honey, let your sister be,” his mother suggested, rustling his mane as she passed. “You know how she is before she gets her tea.”

“Uh huh! She’s boring!” he answered, snickering to himself as her expression soured. “What? It’s true.”

“...You’re a butt.”

“Chai, dear, be nice,” their mother interceded again, stifling her laughter. Ninety percent of the time, her children got along better than any parent could ask for, but the first few minutes of the morning were particularly prone to squabbles. Chamomile couldn’t help but grin as her daughter’s ears perked, heeding the siren’s call coming from the kettle that had just reached a boil. All traces of weariness and exasperation were erased as the young filly watched her mother prepare her a cup of her favorite thing in the world, her hooves tapping on the tabletop as she waited: nobody made a good cup of chai like her mother. Vanilla Chai accepted the steaming mug of her mother’s special blend with eagerness, pausing to take a deep draft of the fragrant aroma before gingerly lifting the cup to her lips.

“And a three, an’ a two, an’ a one,” her brother counted down, watching as his sister’s features came alive. He didn’t quite understand what it was about tea that made Chai smile the way it did, but all that mattered was that she was smiling.

“Mmm, thank you, mother,” the filly said politely before glancing across at her brother with a sly grin. “You’re still a butt.”

“Am not!”

“Alright, you two, come on now,” Chamomile chuckled, giving them each a bowl of flavored oatmeal. “Eat up! After all, today is a special day, and we can’t leave until you’ve had a good meal.” Growing appetites and the word of their mother was enough to call a truce between the two, and they tucked in with gusto. Despite having a rough time getting going in the morning, Chai was actually just as excited for the day to start as her younger brother was, and they both finished in record time. Within minutes, their dishes were rinsed, and with both her children bouncing by the doorway, Chamomile wrapped them each with a scarf before they stepped out into the thriving streets of Baltimare.

Much of the walk went by in both a literal and figurative blur for Minty, who was constantly dashing ahead and running back, or splashing in the shallow puddles left from the previous night’s shower. Being a larger city, there were typically throngs of ponies going about their business, but his mother had long since given up on trying to keep him by her side at all times: there was just too much wonder in the colt to be completely reigned in. That didn’t keep her from watching him like a hawk, and it was with some measure of thankfulness that they lived away from the seaside of town where all kinds of rabble rousers and traders frequented. Hearing his name called for the umpteenth time, Minty pried his attention away from a fuzzy caterpillar that had caught his eye and skipped back to his family as they stood outside their destination.

“Baltimare Animal Shelter,” Chai read aloud, turning back to her brother. “You ready for pet day?”

“Pet day, pet day!” the colt squealed, romping in a few tight circles before catching a hoof motion from his mother and toning it down.

“Remember your indoor voices, Minty,” his mother reminded him as she held the door, letting her children in ahead before leading them over to the front desk. A cheerful looking pegasus greeted them as they made their way over.

“Welcome, welcome!” the mare said in a cordial tone. “What brings you all here today?”

“Pet day!” Minty blurted out, only to cover his mouth with both hooves. “We’re here for pet day,” he repeated in a slightly quieter tone.

“That’s right,” Chamomile confirmed, patting her son’s head to assuage his worry over being loud. “These two are interested in giving a pet a good home.”

“Well, if there’s one thing he have plenty of around here, it’s fine little critters that make finer pets,” she laughed, edging around the desk and looking down at the two young ponies. “However, owning a pet isn’t all about fun and games. They can be a lot of work, and require responsibility and patience. Do you think you both can handle that?”

“Minty has the fun, and I’ve got the patience,” Chai explained, wrapping a hoof around Minty. “Between the two of us, I’m sure that we can find the responsibility, too. Right, brother?”

“Right!”

“Ha ha, that’s the best response I’ve heard in a while!” the receptionist exclaimed, laughing freely. “Alright, then, follow me. Let’s see if we can’t find some animal companions.” Following their guide, both of the children eagerly lined up behind the mare as she led them through a door and into the land of fur and feathers. Oblivious to their mother’s watchful and warming gaze, the kids marveled as they were shown all manner of animals. From the manic and curious ferrets that never seemed to sit still to brightly colored canaries, mice to playful kittens, Minty and Chai found themselves wowed with every room that they were shown. Neither had given much thought to what kind of animal they would prefer to have, and they had almost been through the whole shelter by the time they got to the kennels.

“Oh, wow, puppies!” Minty exclaimed, bounding over to a cage with a little terrier inside. Playfully trading bark for bark and pawing at the cage just like the canine, Minty only half paid attention as their guide began explaining all of the different breeds that they had available, instead choosing to browse the aisle, stopping by each cage and watching the little pups. Some of them were really young, and their barks, if they could even be called that, were soft and squeaky, whereas others were already almost as big as himself.

“You seem to really like this room,” Chai commented, strolling up behind him. “Do you see any that you like?”

“All of them!” Minty said unabashedly, hopping over to the next cage and looking inside.

“Even the most responsible colt would have trouble keeping track of all these dogs,” the mare commented in a jovial tone. “Now, over here we have…” Already on to the next thing that caught his eye, the mare’s voice faded from Minty’s attention. He was being truthful when he said that he liked them all, but for some reason he couldn’t imagine having any of them as his pet. There was something missing, something that he couldn’t quite put his hoof on, but he felt something stir as he watched the guide move towards the door onto the next set of animals.

“Excuse me! Miss, um…”

“Feather is fine, dear,” came the mare’s friendly reply. “What is it?”

“Are there any other dogs around?” For the first time that morning, she frowned.

“No- Well, I mean, she’s not…” Feather fumbled, searching for the words to explain the answer. Try as she may, she couldn’t bring herself to fib to the earnest colt, and with a sigh she nodded. “There is one other one, but she’s not… really up for adoption.”

“Why not?” Minty asked, cocking his head to the side. “Every dog needs a home, right?”

“Yes, that is true,” she replied, stooping down to Minty’s eye level. “Every animal you see here was brought in because they don’t have a home, or because they lost theirs. Most of the time, the animals we receive are really very sweet, and they make wonderful pets. However,” she continued, her voice taking on a tinge of sadness, “sometimes we get animals that have been… well, that haven’t had a good life. They can be really mean, and are dangerous to be around.” The colt looked stricken. “We feed them, and keep them as comfortable as we can, but sometimes they never warm up to being around ponies, so we have to keep them separate from the rest.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Minty said quietly, glancing at a beagle that was gnawing contentedly on a length of thick chord. “How could anypony be mean to a cute little doggie?” There was a brief silence in the room before Minty turned back to Feather. “Can I see the sad doggie?”

“W-well,” she began, glancing over at Chamomile for some kind of confirmation. She nodded. “I… I’m not really supposed to let our guests back there, but if you promise to stay close to me and keep away from the cage, we can go see her.”

“We promise,” Chai answered for her brother, drawing up beside him. “We’ll be good.”

“Alright, then, follow me.” Sticking close, the group made their way through the play area where the older animals were allowed to frolic and into a smaller building in the back. It was slightly larger than a shed, around the size of a modest bedroom. After unlocking the latch, they followed Feather inside to find a single, large cage within. Huddled in the corner was a bundle of matted fur that didn’t stir when they entered.

“Is that her?” Feather nodded to the colt. “...She looks so lonely.” His eyes wandered from what was likely once beautiful golden brown fur, to the ample lump of fluff on her chest, and then on to the food bowl that lay largely untouched. He took a tentative step forward but found his way barred by Feather’s hoof.

“You’d best not get too close,” she explained in a quiet tone. “We’re not sure what happened, but she can be really vicious.”

"What kind of dog is she?" he asked, glancing back and forth between Feather and the pup.

"She's some kind of collie mix, probably rough collie."

"Mix? Mixed with what?"

"I don't know, a bear perhaps," Feather muttered, giving the cage a wary glance.

“Does she have a name, at least?” The desperation in his voice made it difficult for Feather to think.

“We actually haven’t given her a name. She hasn’t been here very long, but she’s already attacked two of our staff…” Minty turned back to the cage, catching movement out of the corner of his eye. The dog had woken to the sound of their voices and lay watching their every move. Minty trotted a little ways away from Feather and scooted a little closer to the cage, though he couldn’t help but flinch as a low snarl began to build within its throat, it’s ears peeling back.

“U-um… hi there.” The snarl stopped for a moment, but came back a short while later. “How has your day been?” Another growl. “I’m sorry to hear that. Did you not like your breakfast?” There followed a lull. The dog stared hard at the child before glancing in the direction of its bowl, giving it a disdainful snort. “Yeah, it doesn’t smell like it’d be very good,” Minty said with a timid chuckle. “You should try my mom’s oatmeal! She puts all sorts of good stuff in it, and makes it really yummy an’ sweet!” He shifted his weight, planning to move closer, but when the growl returned, he sat back where he had been.

“You must really like your space, huh? Well, that’s okay. I can just sit over here.” Chamomile watched with mixed emotions as her son continued chatting with the young dog. Anytime he moved around or fidgeting, the snarl would return, and it rightfully made her nervous. But on the other hoof, she could tell already that her son wasn’t going to be convinced to simply leave things as they were. After a mere number of minutes, he was chatting up a storm without any trace of hesitancy, and Chamomile slowly moved over and sat beside her son, doing her best not to pay the ensuing snarl much heed.

“Minty, I… I know that you’ve made up your mind,” she began, placing a hoof on her son’s shoulder. “But… we can’t bring her home with us.”

“B-but-” he began, his eyes filling with tears. “She’s lonely! We can’t just leave her here! Wh-what if nobody ever comes to see her, or play with her, or, or…”

“Shhh, Merry, don’t be so dismayed,” she murmured, scooping him into her hooves. “I didn’t say that you couldn’t be her friend.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” he asked, running a hoof across his snout and sniffling.

“It wouldn’t be very nice to move her to somewhere that she wouldn’t be comfortable living, would it?” his mother explained gently, drying his eyes. “She needs to get used to being around ponies first, so how about we come back and visit her again?”

“An’ again?”

“And again,” Chamomile said with a smile. “Would that be alright, Feather?”

“Of course,” she said, a little misty eyed herself. “For now, though, why don’t we leave her be?”

“O-okay,” Minty agreed, his voice quavering as he turned back to the cage. He couldn’t explain why, but he couldn’t stop himself from feeling drawn to the puppy that lay within, even though they had nothing in common; She was a grump, and he was a happy kid. “Hey in there, I’ve got to go now,” he explained with evident reluctance. “I know it’s not as good as oatmeal, but you should eat your breakfast. Otherwise, you won’t grow big and strong like me! Oh, and here.” Reaching up, the colt unwound his hoof-knit scarf and tossed it onto the top of the cage. The dog shrank away and growled at the tassel hanging down, but that too ceased as Minty continued.

“It’s been getting kinda cold lately, so wear that. It’s nice and warm, an’ it’ll keep you toasty at night.” He watched for a few more moments, waiting to see if she would take it, but she remained where she was, watching. “I’ll see you again soon, okay? And next time, I’ll give you a name. It’ll be a really pretty one, too! Just you wait.” Waving as he followed his family out, the colt paused at the doorway and looked back one last time at the pup. There were plenty of others more playful and pretty than her, but in his eyes, she was the only one that he wanted to take home. She would be more than just a pet, he knew. She would be his companion. She would be his friend.

“I’ll come back for you,” he whispered, offering one last timid wave. “I’ll come back as many times as it takes.”

Comments

[TheMyth]

Yay! New story!
And Pinkie's turn now... so excited!

[Lucky424]

Oh fuck Yes!

I had a feeling Merry would go for a dog like that, and I already know I'm going to like him.

...bet Rarity is going to be pissedwhen she finds out she's last. Well , there is always Blueblood!

[Just-A-Micro]

Oh my god yes........

i.imgur.com/rjWn6.gif

[djthomp]

Now this just feels like an allegory for how Merry will need to approach befriending Pinkie as she is after her return to the rock farm. Or possibly the whole Pie family, given their portrayal in the last story Pinkie isn't the only one of the sisters who needs careful handling.