As Raindrops walked to the market, the world seemed to dissolve around her as her mind wandered to the events that led up to this moment. To think that a week ago, I was just helping out Ditzy and her kids while she recovered from the alicorn flu, working her mail shift, and ensuring she wouldn’t lose bits.
Then I met her. Scootaloo is quite something, and I see so much of myself in her. I’m just glad that she had true friends who kept her from making horrible mistakes, I’m able to help her out in my own small way. It cut quite a ways into my donation funds, but Scootaloo is more important than some charity. Any foal would be. I’m amazed at the ponies in Ponyville. They really came together for her, and soon she’ll go to a happy family, just like all the others.
At least she had a much better start than I did. Raindrops contemplated.
*12 years ago*
Mrs. Sugar Sweet was one of those ponies who knew how to ride the coattails of others, while soaking up the credit for herself. One who was a master of looking busy while doing nothing, and worst of all, one who knew how to play the system while those under her were terrorized by her antics.
Raindrops didn’t like her very much, and Sugar Sweet didn’t like her. She let Raindrops know that she was unloved, unwanted, and if she didn’t do as Sugar Sweet commanded, would be tossed out on the street. The snobbish mare had a greyish-brown coat like the filth in a grease pit, and an oily black mane wrapped in a bun. Her beady green eyes showed a constant disdain for her 'lessors', lessors being anypony not born with a horn on their head.
It was years later that Raindrops would learn what a tribalist meant. All she knew back in her early fillyhood was that her ‘caretaker’ was good at fooling inspectors, who only cared about what was written on paper, while being a spiteful hag to those under her care or in her employment.
But then again, as Mrs. Sugar Sweet was happy to point out every night, while tanked on cheap Sherry, “Canterlot was a unicorn city!”, usually followed by things along the lines of, “Any non-unicorn dropped off at an orphanage there was dropped off because their parents hated their existence, and they were lucky not to be tossed off the mountain or shipped to work in a mine for the superior race.”
It angered her that somepony like that was in charge of foals like her, and she was glad to get punished just to have her chance at making that ponies life as miserable as her little filly self could. Which, in hindsight, amounted to nothing, but at the time she felt empowered by her rebelliousness.
But today, she went too far. She committed the gravest sin any filly under that miserly wench with a princess complex could do. Sugar Sweet was a known tippler who owned a rather impressive amount of expensive sherries given to her by the ‘thankful parents’ of the social elite, rumored to be related to some rather shady deals involving misbehaving children who vanished from the home during the night.
Being on full display as they were in her office, it wasn’t that hard for Raindrops to filch the keys, and toss them into the laundry cart that she was in charge of that day. The hard part was making it to the roof, but that was more of a physical challenge than a worry of getting caught. After all, anypony other than a unicorn wasn’t worth noticing as long as she or he was doing labor for the matron. It took a few trips, but eventually she had her prize and knew just what to do with it.
If those ponies walking past the home were so happy in their superiority, she’d show who was really on top. Taking aim at the ponies below, walking along like mindless insects Raindrops reared her little arms back, using her primaries to line up her sights with a particularly wealthy-looking unicorn in a fancy suit… And completely missed her mark.
Still, the look on his face when the bottle shattered at his hooves and stained him with splatters of sherry... It didn’t take Raindrops long to abandon all thought of aiming. Sure, hitting one of those pompous bigwigs would’ve been great, but seeing them shriek and gallop off in terror was even better. The sight of them being as scared as she felt every waking moment of her life was beyond cathartic.
But like all good things, it had to come to an end. As soon as news of a crazed maniac accosting the wealthy with bottles reached the matron’s ears, the tyrannical matron tore apart the orphanage in search of Raindrops to enact her furious vengeance.
Eventually, Sugar Sweet discovered the unlocked roof door, and just a few feet away, a Raindrops, tossing the last sherry bottle onto the streets below. Fuming with barely contained rage, she roughly grabbed Raindrops' ear and dragged her off to her office. Dumping her in front of her desk, Sugar Sweet growled, “You know, you featherbrained waste of a life, I have tried being nice to you, only denying you two meals a day, giving you extra chores... I hoped that would discipline you.
“But just like the rest of your barbaric tribe, I can see there’s no reasoning with you. It’s one of the many things I hate about you flying feather dusters. I simply can’t talk sense to you, what with your head being so full of air.
“So, I’m finished with you. I told you I could toss you out on the street and nopony would miss you, and it’s true. I can keep drawing money from the crown on you for ten more years and nopony would know you don’t live here anymore. You wouldn’t be the first one I kicked out for being a horrible little cancer on the world.
“I’m doing everypony a favor by letting you die on the streets like your parents should have done to you instead of dropping you here. I’ll give you five minutes to pack up and leave. If you don’t, I’ll toss you out myself.”.
Raindrops smirked, her little wings flared out in challenge. “Wow, you like to hear yourself talk, don’t you? Face it, you can’t toss me out. If you do, ponies will see how horrible you really are.”
The adrenaline died down quickly as a predatory smirk grew on the matron’s abhorrent muzzle. Raindrops felt her anger turn to terror as Sugar Sweet's horn lit up. The door behind her was slammed open, followed by Raindrops as she slammed into the opposite wall.
Raindrops yelped in pain as her body hit one wall, then another, punctuating each of Sugar Sweet’s icy words. “You don’t get it. I know how to hurt you and stay out of trouble. It’s the word of a troublemaker versus a hard working mare. No one loves you. No one wants you.”
Raindrops was disorientated as the door to the orphanage opened up. “And no one will miss you,” were the last words she heard as she was tossed into the street. Shards of glass from her failed revenge tore into her coat, leaving jagged, bloody scratches in her flesh.
Raindrops looked around at the surrounding crowd. At first she thought they were watching, waiting for her to explain what happened, to form an angry mob and take care of Sugar Sweet once and for all... But they kept walking. Nopony stopped to look at the poor, ragged filly on the sidewalk. They just kept moving as if she didn't exist.
That’s when it hit her. Nopony did care. A part of her wanted to run back and ask forgiveness. Sure, she knew no one cared, since she had reached the ripe old age of eight and no one had claimed her like the unicorn fillies and colts. All the horrible things she had heard but didn’t allow to break her seemed a whole lot more real now that she was tossed out, hurting, and bleeding.
But with nowhere to go, she decided to pick a direction and run as fast as her legs could carry her.
*present*
I’m glad Scootaloo never had to go through something like that. But in way, I have to thank that spiteful hag. If it wasn’t for her, I would never have had the drive to find those like her and put them behind bars. I’m glad ponies like her are the exception rather than the rule in orphanages, but being tossed out was probably the best thing that happened to me.
A smile grew on Raindrops’ lips as she trotted over to the Apple family stall. In a way, the farmer’s markets in small towns like this were a blessing compared to mass produced food found in bigger cities. Not to mention the friendly atmosphere, and getting to know the ponies you get food from, not some faceless company dishing out food you can’t always trust.
“Howdy, Raindrops! What brings ya ‘round these parts this early in the mornin’?” Applejack asked, pulling Raindrops from her thoughts..
“I thought I’d come and do some light shopping while Scootaloo’s recovering. How are things with you?”
“Good enough. Nothin’ ta complain about, at least. So what were y’all thinkin’ about? Ya looked mighty deep in thought there.”
“Just how happy I am that Scootaloo is in such a loving village, and how quickly ponies pulled through for her. You really don’t see that in a whole lot of places,” Raindrops answered, beaming.
“Well that’s just how we are. We look out for each other,” Applejack replied, a smile of her own gracing her muzzle.
“So can I get myself some apple fritters, applesauce, and a few bottles of apple juice?”
“Sure, no problem, sugarcube,” Applejack placed the contents in a paper bag, and nudged it over to Raindrops, “That’ll be twenty bits.”
Raindrops gave her the bits and waved off as she trotted to her next spot in the market. Too think it’s only been a week since that filly’s entered my life, and it was all thanks to Ditzy getting the Alicorn Flu. If I hadn’t taken up her work, I wouldn’t have been flying on that route back home, and I would’ve never have met that little filly. How long would she have have lasted on the streets this coming winter? The next? Five years is five years too long for a filly like her to be suffering in the streets.
*12 years ago*
Raindrops had been living on her own for a few weeks now, and the first scheduled snow was falling on the streets of Canterlot. She had learned the hard way that Mrs. Sugar Sweet wasn’t lying. No one paid attention to a street waif, the pleas of a little pegasus filly were of no concern to them. But it was a common problem she would learn as she got older, ponies just had the habit of overlooking, neglecting, or in some cases outright ignoring the plight of foals. It’s what made the few Foal Protection officers so special, since it took a rare type of pony to want to watch over and protect the young.
But at the time, all she knew was that while ponies ignored her, it made it easier to steal and run before anyone noticed anything was amiss. But it didn’t matter. Now that she was shivering as the snow melted on her coat before getting frozen again in the cold weather, she tried to find shelter and was lucky.
A group of vagabonds sat around a warm barrel, keeping the cold at bay. They were a motley crew of of different races who shared the fact that they had fallen on hard times, as their dirty, and matted fur could attest to.
“Um… Can I join you?” Raindrops whispered, scared that she’d be chased away.
The leader of the group, a wiley-looking earth pony mare, with a shock of red mane highlighting her rugged face and dust covered peach coat, looked her over. With a smile and a throaty laugh, she replied, “Sure thing, short stuff. Can’t let a fellow drifter freeze to death.”
“Thanks,” Raindrops murmured, stepping closer to the barrel. It had been a while since anypony had showed her kindness of any sort, and she thought it would be nice of her to offer something in return. Emptying the contents of the ragged saddlebag she’d found in the trash, all had to offer was a chunk of cheese and a half eaten carrot. “Um, it’s not much, but I can share my food.”
“Nah, keep it, kid. It looks like you barely eat as is,” The mare joked, only to hear Raindrops stomach growl, “And it sounds like someone agrees with me. Tell me kid, when’s the last time you really ate something?”
Raindrops thought back. After she was kicked out of the orphanage, she tried dumpster diving, but it made her sick and that was something she couldn’t afford to do again. Afterwards she just stole food from vendors, that netted her a meal a day if she was careful. “Define ‘really ate something’? I think my meal before this one was… Yesterday. A bottle of milk, an apple, and some weird fish thing that somepony left on their plate on one of those outdoor patio restaurant things.”
She saw a rather sad smile on the group's faces as the mare came up and went to give Raindrops a nuzzle, but Raindrops shied away from it. The mare’s smile turned to a frown, and Raindrops was sure she was about to be tossed out away from the warmth for her transgression. Just like she was tossed out by Miss Sugar Sweet.
As the thoughts of getting quite literally tossed around by a unicorn flashed in her mind, she became quite aware that there were a few unicorns in the group. Whinnying in panic, she took a step back.
The mare looked at the two unicorns with a deeper frown, and crouched down in front of Raindrops. “Hey, hey little filly. It’s alright, hey, why don’t we go for a walk. I promise you, you won’t get hurt. Just a friendly little stroll. What’cha say?”
Raindrops was confused to say the least. but gave a nod, shoving the remains of her food in her mouth in case she had to bolt.
They trotted slowly next to one another, Raindrops a short ways away from the red maned mare. “By the way, my name’s Zesty Peach, but my friends call me Z.”
“My name’s Raindrops.”
“Well now, Raindrops, want to tell me which of those unicorns hurt you?”
“What do you mean?” Raindrops asked with a tinge of fear in her voice.
“I saw the look of fear you were giving them. Now before I go in hooves a blazing for a misunderstanding. I wanted to hear your side of things first.”
“Oh, it wasn’t them. I was just remembering…” Raindrops’ voice tapered off into a whisper.
“Ah, good…” Z shot Raindrops a look and clarified, “Not ‘good whatever happened to you’, just that I don’t have to snap their necks for hurting a foal. I wouldn’t want to think anypony in my little family could hurt a foal, but it's one of the few things that I don’t tolerate. So who did it?”
“I … I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Is it the same reason you were afraid of getting nuzzled?”
“Nuzzled?” Raindrops.
“You don’t know what nuzzling is?”
“Noooo … Should I?”
Zesty Peaches roller her eyes. “We’ll talk about it later kid. So you feel better?”
“A… A little.”
“Good. Now why don’t we go back? I promise, you won’t need to worry about a thing with us. We take care of each other, and it looks like you could use some pony to look after you as well.”
*present*
And they were a good family too. Sure, what they taught me was how to steal and work in the shadow of the law. And it was my fault that I got caught in a scheme I started. But I never turned them in, even though it was me who ended up in jail. It actually turned out to be the best thing that happened to me.
If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have ended up with Lieutenant Shimmering Breeze. Sure, I never told him about my family, neither the ones who tossed me away, or the ones that took me in, but I told him everything else, and in a way, he saved me. Both him and Z. I should probably check up on them next time I’m in Canterlot, at the very least I know Z’s been helping ponies like we were. At the very least I need to let her know I finally have a marefriend.
Raindrops squeed at the thought. It was just another blessing that came into her life after taking in Scootaloo. In her heart of hearts she knew that filly had a bright future. Even if Raindrops was only a stepping stone to Scootaloo’s future happiness.
Welp. So, Sugar Sweet is (was?) in dire need of some arresting.
And... has... Raindrops never told anyone about Sugar Sweet? She didn't tell her (probably) parent figure... which would've been the big one to tell...
How could she describe her life to Shimmering Breeze if she couldn't say "at first I was in a shitty orphanage, then I was taken in by legally dubious vagrants"? That was her whole life up until then! She just... never talked about her past? To anyone?
6642260
She told him about the orphanage. But she didn't tell him about the family she had prior to that [gave her to the orphanage [and she sees it as them basically throwing her into an unending nightmare], or Zesty Peaches [who in a way saved her. So in her way she protected them by taking the blame of everything that she did that ended up getting her caught, as well as about parts of her life on the streets]. But she told him well mostly everything in passing here.
And it was her time at the Orphanage that made her be who she is. Although Sugar Sweet was arrested before that happened [and I'll eventually be hitting that part of her past at a later date.]
6642454
She had a family first? Was this touched on before this and I just missed it, or was this just intended to be implied during this chapter? Either way, it's good she talked about the orphanage part, since it was very significant.
And yeah, I understand that she might not want to tell an officer of the law about a valued parental figure that might get in trouble for it.
6642534
It wasn't really touched upon here. Basically showed her as a pony Scootaloo's age that was in an Orphanage. I was thinking about talking about it in her next flash back. When she's talking to Zest Peaches about her past once she opens up to her. And in the Golden Wings flash back was implied that she had a family before, but it was a reference in passing.
But yeah, Lt. Shimmering Breeze and Zest Peaches are both really awesome ponies. I'm eager for the day I can actually get to writing them. It was good that she was able to have them in her life after her getting tossed out of the orphanage.
6642454 I'm glad that Sugar Sweet got arrested.
However, I'd be lying if I said that I thought that was enough punishment for her.
6642689
And I'd be lying if I said I didn't agree with you on that. Then I think of what happens to child abusers in prison, and the fact that unicorns have magic, and pegasi have wings. Then I grin a little inside. Still yeah, one of these years we'll have to see what happens to her. Probably on a holloween so I can make it especially grim dark. Like making her watch endless loops of Son of the Mask. Or worse.
6642705 Or better yet:
Make her watch the G3.5 stuff AND the Newborn Cuties stuff, and put her through physical torment if she tried doing anything but watch silently.
It's ponies like this that make me want to reach into my computer screen and strangle them.
And then there's ponies like this one who I want to hug and give belly rubs to.
Z is awesome and I can just see her being one of those little old mares who look harmless, only to reveal they can break you in half in an instant if you push them to far. I bet she'd love Scootaloo.
6642595 Just imagine the look on Raindrop's face if they somehow met, hooked up, and are now living together. Relationship or not, I can totally see Raindrops' jaw hitting the floor the first time she found out.
6642705 6642712 You're both forgetting the best form of torture: making her listen to very annoying songs that drive her crazy. then, just as she calms down and tries to go to bed, have a guard whistle part of the jingle
6644295
Yep. Z would love Scoots, and it would be funny to see how Raindrops reacts if they did hook up . As for that punishment ... that sounds hilarious. Especially if Luna once she was released made those songs haunt them in their dreams. And yeah, Sugar Sweet is one of my least favorite types of characters to write, 'the racist, abusive drunk.'. As for Z, I love writing that character. I see her [when Drops was around Scoots age] as in her 20's, and a mix of Punk [rock], mafioso [protects her people, and will rain fury upon any who mess her "family"], and lovable rogue. All around she's all sorts of awesome.
6645994 I love Luna's addition to the mental torture. Pure genius! And will Z get to meet Scootaloo??? I can actually see her as having taken control of a mafia, cracking down on criminal violence and smashing abusive orphanages wide open, then being invited to tea with Celestia for doing such good work.
would love to see new chapter soon
6876604
I got all of the new chapter of ToL written, and most of chapter 5 of this one written. Mostly waiting on my editor, and IRL's been crazy. Having to learn how to do both 3ds Max, Maya, and I'm learning Rigging ... which in and of itself is super crazy. But I promise that I'm working on it.
Hopefully once IRL slows down a bit, I can start pumping out chapters as fast as I'd like. Oh! Next chapter has some of Cloud Kicker's past, and we see how awesome her parents are.
6876635 cool and I understand life gets in the way a lot more than anyone wants too. even more so the weather likes to be really annoying at times too
6876649
One of the few good things about living in Florida is that I don't have to deal with snow on top of everything else.
6876720 wow nice
but I haven't had school since what last..... Wednesday and its Tuesday right now so that's what.. 6 days with 4 week days being canceled and possibly wensday in the balance of being canceled
6876730
XD. That was I think the only benefit of snowy weather. That and sledding.
6876788 we were snowed in.... until sunday I think. and even then my brother and sister could only stay outside for a few minutes
XD
Damn Unicorn privileged city.