Stray

by Storm Vector

Chapter 3

Vlyka's determination in her mission lasted unchallenged for only a few minutes, before she found herself on the street corner she had been looking for. As she looked carefully for the right address, Vlyka's heart stopped for a moment as her eyes found the number engraved into a shimmering golden plaque. It was mounted on high wall that ran along the main road with a single wrought iron gate, giving Vlyka a glance inside. The place wasn’t so much a home as it was an estate; an enormous garden pathway leading up to a house so big she felt sure her entire school would fit comfortably inside it…the ponies, certainly, but possibly the building itself if it was twisted in the right way. All Vlyka could do for a good few minutes was gawk at the scale, the size, and wonder if she’d somehow gotten the address wrong. Surely there was some small building she’d missed on the way here, with a shopkeeper’s family or something as all she needed to talk to, right?

“Wow, mom got an even bigger garden,” Kenzie said, panting as he looked at the grass behind the wall. Vlyka blinked at him, still in disbelief, wondering if Kenzie thought whatever park he clearly had been brought to regularly was his owner’s garden. “Is mom up there?” he asked, pointing his nose at the house.

“I…I just…” Vlyka stammered. “I have no idea. Really hope so though…are…can you…?”

“What’s wrong?” Kenzie asked, nudging Vlyka with his snout again. The mare grumbled as his gesture forced her to step to the side or be bowled over, but at least that broke most of the utter shock at her situation.

“Does this seem like your owner at all? Is this…did she really have this kind of money?” Kenzie panted something in the affirmative, making Vlyka sigh and press a hoof to her forehead. “Oh this is gonna be painful…well...fine. For you, Kenzie.” She sighed as she carefully opened the gate and stepped inside, glancing nervously around for any guards who would just jump her for trespassing, the angry, critical part of her brain sprang back to life.

“Great, probably some duchess or something,” it groaned. “Plenty of formal training, regal manners, she’s going to turn you inside out for what you are. You’ll just burst into flame at the sight of such beauty, majesty, you can’t handle seeing it even for a second.”

Vlyka shook her head and forced her thoughts back for a second, needing to concentrate on actually making it up the pathway to the door and not turning tail to flee. By the time she made it all the way up to the massive double doorway, it felt like an eternity had passed. And yet, still no signs of any guards, anypony trying to throw the riff-raff out. That should have encouraged Vlyka, but instead it just made room for her next worry: how was she even going to get anypony’s attention in here? Surely her tiny hooves tapping at this massive front door wouldn’t be enough, surely nopony was sitting right inside waiting for uninvited guests…

Fortunately, Vlyka wasn’t so distracted by her worries that she didn’t at least think to look around. She easily spotted a rope leading up and into the house dangling not far away. “Sure hope this is a doorbell,” she muttered, moving and stretching to reach it…but it was no good. Her legs were too short, she couldn’t reach the rope at all. “Ugh…come on!” she snapped at her tiny frame, jumping up and biting at the rope in the vain attempt she could snatch it and pull it down with just her weight. But her jump wasn’t high enough to reach it. “Kenzie, can you reach this thing?” she pointed at the rope.

Kenzie moved in closer to the rope as Vlyka tried to give him space, but it was no good for him either. “Sorry,” said Kenzie, "I can't balance on two paws, mom tried to teach me."

“Come on, why’s this have to be so hard…” Vlyka groaned, looking up at a stupid little twist of fibers that was vexing her far more than it had any right to. It was just out of reach, the only thing right now preventing her from reuniting a dog and his owner, perhaps the purest good deed she’d ever done in her life…and all she needed was for her body to be more cooperative. Anypony else would have been fine, Crys at her age had been tall enough to reach it certainly, even without magic! If only Vlyka were a little taller, or if there were something to stand on, but there was nothing out here besides… “Wait, Kenzie? How strong are you?” Kenzie looked down at her in confusion, prompting Vlyka to rephrase. “Do you think you can support me if I stand on your back?”

“I haven’t really tried that before,” Kenzie said, “but I can try.”

“Well come down here then, I need to get on your back. You’re too tall…”

Kenzie did as Vlyka asked and laid down beside her, allowing Vlyka to clamber onto his back. “You don’t seem too heavy,” he replied, starting to stand up.

“Wait wait! Too fast, I’m,” Vlyka slipped and smashed back down on the ground, having not quite found the right position to stand on a dog’s back. The impact caused a jolt of pain on her left foreleg as she landed awkwardly on it, but it didn’t seem too serious. “Oww…wait until I say to stand up, alright? I need to be balanced or I’m gonna fall off again…”

Kenzie laid down again, this time waiting until Vlyka had stabilized herself a bit, one hoof on his head to try and control her body a bit better. “Okay, stand up again. Slowly, please.”

Even when Kenzie listened and stood up carefully, Vlyka had to bend her knees and hang on, about ready to slip off despite her efforts to balance. But after a second to adjust herself, step one had succeeded. “Okay…can you stand next to the wall then? If I can…slowly!” she snapped, as the dog beneath her lurched to one side. “Don’t knock me off, you big lump!”

Kenzie panted in laughter, making her smile with relief he understood her humor. This time he stood carefully and leaned towards the wall, until Vlyka gently pressed her hoof down on his head to tell him to stop. She then reached out and placed her forelegs on the wall, standing up carefully on Kenzie’s back as she reached one more time to bite at the rope. Finally, success, as Vlyka’s teeth snagged the pull rope and yanked down on it, sounding a bell somewhere on the other side of the wall. She took just a second to relish this victory, miniscule as it seemed, before hopping off Kenzie’s back and standing in front of the door, only to freeze in terror once again. Now there was no escape, she was about to meet somepony of the house, somepony with stature and grace beyond her wildest imagination…at least, if somepony was home, and this entire exercise was worth something. Assuming somepony was in there and coming, what were they going to say to this dirty, mutant little filly and a mangy dog sitting on the doorstep?

Her brain didn’t have too long to run through apocalypse scenarios, however, as only a few moments later the door creaked and opened, revealing a large sherbet orange unicorn in a subdued black suit. Vlyka looked straight up at his face and felt her ears flip backwards, her forelegs inching closer together as the nerves of talking to a stranger got worse. The stallion’s eyes looked around for a moment, expecting to see somepony closer to his head height, but a second later he glanced down, meeting the little filly's gaze. “Oh, what brings you here, little one? Are you lost?” he asked. his voice suggested concern, but Vlyka couldn’t shake the thought that he was disgusted by the sight of her as he spoke.

Vlyka tried to speak up, say anything to explain what in the hay she was doing here, but her throat clenched shut at the mere thought of it. Her mouth slacked open despite no words coming to her, only making the pony stare more intently at her, noticing her sharp fangs and further driving home her freakish nature to him. “He’s going to kick me off the property, I can’t help it. I was so close…” she thought, anger at herself for her failure already flooding her system. But it wasn’t enough to unlock her body, let her move again, as the thought of failing her task crushed the slightest hope from her mind.

Just then, Kenzie barked excitedly, finally snapping Vlyka out of it. She looked at the dog, having been so thrown off she couldn't quite catch his meaning, but it was something happy, excited. "Why Kensington? Amazing! The missus must know immediately!" The stallion looked rather excited, as he stepped back. "Please, come in, come in! Oh, please if you would, wipe your hooves," he added as Vlyka barely moved to step forward. She looked down at her hooves, a little ashamed to realize there was indeed some muck that had stuck to them, probably a puddle from the dog park. And she'd been about to track it all through this nice fancy home, without even bothering to check...

"Miss, are you alright?"

The unicorn’s words broke Vlyka’s concentration again, snapping her out of her self-hatred enough to look back up at him. He was looking at her with concern, certainly wondering if he’d just let a complete nutcase into the house, but Vlyka only wiped her hooves down and followed the stallion inside. He had to use his magic to corral Kenzie before the dog knocked something over, leading the dog and the filly through a few rooms filled with objects that made Vlyka’s eyes widen in awe. She felt sure that the furniture she was walking past cost as much as everything in her home, and out of fear of damaging anything by mere contact with an unworthy little filly she watched her step carefully, struggling to do that and keep up with the stallion. “Madame, I have fantastic news for you!” the stallion called excitedly, two rooms past the entryway.

“Well please, Caramel, I’d be delighted to…” came an older mare’s voice from just ahead. In that instant, Vlyka realized that this unicorn, Caramel apparently, was probably the butler of the house’s true owner, the mare who had put out the posters for Kenzie, the mare who…

“Mom!” Kenzie barked, leaping forward ahead of Caramel’s grasp. Kenzie vanished around the corner…only for an elated squeak to reach Vlyka’s ears from where he’d vanished. She couldn’t tell if it was a noise Kenzie had made, or his owner, clearly delighted to see her beloved pet back. She heard the two excitedly chittering back and forth and couldn't help but smile a little. She could tell neither of them truly understood what the other was saying, but they didn't really need to, as Caramel regained his composure and led Vlyka into the next room.

Vlyka caught sight of a beautiful silver-blue earth pony, kneeling on the floor with hooves wrapped around Kenzie’s dirty coat. The little filly smiled at the heartwarming scene…but couldn’t help but cringe a bit at the nice fabrics this pony was wearing were rubbing against the dirty coat of her pet. It was clear, however, that the mare didn’t care in the slightest.

Finally, after several seconds of cuddling with her pet, the older mare looked up, tears welling in her eyes as they found Vlyka standing there staring at her. Instantly Vlyka flinched, as though the old mare had just thrown something at her, but the mare’s expression was nothing but pleasant and warm. “I take it I have you to thank for returning my darling Kenzie to me?” she beamed, squeezing the dog tightly in her hooves. Kenzie responded with a loving whine, tail thumping against the floor and conspiring to make Vlyka smile despite her social anxieties coming up to drown her.

Barely holding her panic in check, Vlyka nodded in silence, unable to respond more properly. "Oh my dear sweet filly, I can never repay you enough for this! I've been so worried for Kenzie these last few weeks, I felt sure he'd left us forever... Please, can I get you something to drink? A little tea perhaps, you look a bit chilled. Caramel," the mare looked up. "Would you please prepare some jasmine?" The butler responded with a nod, before turning and leaving through a different doorway, presumably to the kitchen to heat some water. But as Vlyka lost sight of him and turned her focus back to the room, the older mare had approached her, a hoof raised surely to shake hers. "Azure Dream, my dear..." she began, but Vlyka leapt backwards as the mare's hoof approached her. Azure looked surprised for a second, before smiling gently. "I'm sorry dearie, I forget not everypony is a social butterfly. I suppose I should have guessed a big, strange old mare would be worrying to you, based on your body language when you came in." Vlyka looked quizzically back at Azure as she spoke, worried at how easily she was being read by the old mare, and by how little Vlyka's oddities seemed to affect her. Azure's eyes did linger on Vlyka's fang for a moment, a look of mild surprise crossing her face as she realized the little filly had such sharp teeth, but she merely smiled and turned back towards a nearby table. "If you would indulge an old mare, please, have a seat," she said graciously, lifting herself into one of the chairs by a tall table in the corner. "I simply must know all that you're willing to tell me about my darling Kenzie's rescuer."

Vlyka hesitantly stepped forward, nervously making her way to the seat opposite Azure Dream. It took her a slight effort to hop up into the chair, and even then her head barely cleared the table so she could see the mare giggle slightly. "Oh dear...perhaps I should get you a pillow. Would that be more comfortable for you, perhaps?" she said gently, moving to rise from her seat.

"Please no," Vlyka spat out, before she could stop herself. She covered her mouth for a second as Azure looked at her, confused, which only made Vlyka sigh and start again. "No thank you, I'm fine," she said, just barely keeping her body and voice from shaking.

"Ah good, you do have a voice for strangers," Azure smiled, a gentle joke that might have been just as at home in Crystal's mouth. "I thank you for sharing it with me, I know that can be tricky for some ponies. Now, if I may ask...how old are you? You seem rather young to be wandering alone. Do you have family who are worried about you?"

Vlyka wasn't so socially inept that she couldn't recognize the worry in Azure's voice as she asked, and honestly she didn't blame the mare. Vlyka was far too young to have been out on her own, she knew that painfully well, but she still couldn't confront that whole mess in her head just now. Instead, Vlyka ignored the question, falling back on what seemed like appropriate introductions. "My name is Vlyka Velveteen," she said, voice just a bit stronger as she focused on dodging the worst question she'd been asked. "I found Kenzie at a dog park, he told me he missed you, and I knew he needed to be with you again."

"Goodness gracious, he spoke to you?" Azure replied, looking rather astonished as she pet Kenzie's head, since the dog had settled firmly against her chair the moment she'd sat down. "That is quite an impressive feat, my dear. Quite a special talent. Can you tell what he's thinking now?" she grinned, turning her attention back to her beloved pet.

The love in Azure's eyes as she looked at Kenzie made Vlyka smile ever so slightly, though she followed the mare's gaze and looked more intently at Kenzie. "Uhm...I think he wants to be scratched a little further back, behind his left ear. Something there is bothering him."

Azure looked back at Vlyka, confused and a little disbelieving certainly, but she listened anyways and moved her hoof according to Vlyka's directions. Almost instantly Kenzie whined in glee, tail picking back up after it had come to rest for the first time since entering his new house. "Oh my!" Azure laughed, "it seems I really shouldn't have doubted you! You can hear what he's thinking?"

Vlyka shrugged slightly, though she realized her shoulders were hidden entirely by the table, and she would have to answer verbally. "A few things aren't direct, sometimes dogs don't understand normal things the same, but mostly I can...understand..." she muttered as her brief flair of social energy died down. She felt her forelegs pressing tightly together as her right one overlapped the left.

"Well I would certainly pay for that ability, if only I could," Azure said, her face beaming as she looked directly at Vlyka. The little mare cringed and looked away in response. "Quite the talent indeed, I hope you can put it to fantastic use!"

At that moment, Caramel returned in the doorway, levitating a gorgeous silver tray with matching tea set in his gleaming gold aura. Despite living with a father and sister who were both adept unicorns, it never failed to astonish Vlyka how poised and controlled unicorns were with their magic...which only bit her in the behind every time she had to remind herself she would never be that elegant or powerful in her life. She sighed as Caramel walked closer and set the tray on the table between her and Azure, before picking up the teapot. "Do you care for sugar, milk in your tea, miss?" he asked, casting a gentle glance down at Vlyka. She bit her lip and broke eye contact, before shrugging in confusion. She didn't notice that Caramel and Azure shared a meaningful glance in the silence that followed, before Caramel spoke again. "I'm sorry miss," he said with a weak smile. "This must be a tad overloading, I apologize. Would you care for a taste then, perhaps? Or do you know if you like your tea sweeter, or perhaps a bit thicker?"

Vlyka remained silent for a few moments, before finally sighing and whispering "just a little sweet, please..."

Thankfully Caramel heard her, and stirred in a single scoop of sugar before presenting Vlyka with the cup. He then quickly stirred up Azure's tea with two dashes of cream and two spoons of sugar. She gently stirred it herself, before taking a tender sip and smiling. "So Miss Velveteen..."

The words made Vlyka's heart flutter, after she realized they were directed at her. She'd never been a "Miss" in her life, certainly she lacked the class necessary for it? But the idea that it might be a deserving title was a pleasant one, one she held onto for a scant few seconds before deciding it wasn't at all appropriate. "Um...Vlyka, please..." she muttered, losing her grip on her eye contact with Azure as she tried to speak. She reached carefully for the cup in front of her and held it to her nose, sniffing at the scent of the jasmine inside. It was strong, but not quite overpowering to her nose, though the heat was a little too much for her lips at the moment and she set the cup down without even trying to take a sip.

"I understand. Well, my dear Vlyka...I must know, how old are you? It seems very impressive for a filly your age to have come so far on her own. I must know just how impressive you are." Azure was beaming at her, but the attention only made Vlyka uncomfortable.

"I'm nine, ma'am," she replied hesitantly, "but I didn't do so much. I just ran into Kenzie and brought him home, it was the least I felt I should try to do..."

"A nine year old filly outpaces the entire city's worth of animal control, and she's not even trying," Azure grinned as she sipped her tea again. "You're quite special, my dear."

Vlyka shrugged again, almost unwilling to believe Azure knew what she was talking about. If Vlyka was so special, after all, why did she feel like that was a bad thing? Wasn't her being different, unique, exactly what was ruining her life? But Azure seemed to not even notice her dismissal reply as the old mare spoke again. "Well I'm very glad that you found Kenzie. I know my poster offered a thousand bits, but really money isn't enough payment, and especially when I can see what it’s taken you personally to do. It seems my house has you a bit worried, may I assume you don't live in a mansion?"

“Please, ma’am, don’t pay me, I hardly deserve it…” Vlyka sighed. “Keep it…”

“Vlyka dear, it’s not as though I’ll miss the money,” Azure said. Vlyka glanced directly at her, not realizing she was giving a rather pathetic look again, causing Azure to relent. “Very well, if you insist on being such a marvelous, selfless young mare,” she smiled. “Your family must be proud of you.”

“I guess…” Vlyka shrugged. “But my dad’s got to be mad at me by now…”

"And who is your father?" Azure asked gently, but Vlyka bit her lip and turned to her tea again. If she took a sip she couldn't respond to that question, not soon at least, and a burn in her mouth felt preferable to facing her father right now. It was obvious now, Azure was trying to get her home, which would have been comforting under normal circumstances. But now it was still too scary, thinking of how angry he was going to be at her... She reached for the teacup again, but distracted as she was Vlyka entirely missed grabbing it, instead clumsily batting it and sending the cup to its side. As the cup rolled, steaming hot tea splashed up and out, dropping past the saucer and straight onto the tablecloth below. Vlyka gasped in shock at her own ineptitude and grabbed it to pull it back upright to avoid the spill. But in trying to right the cup she overcompensated, and a second splash leapt from the cup back towards her, spilling out onto the back of her extended hoof. As the signal reached her brain, Vlyka yelped in pain, pulling her hoof back into her chest and wrapping her other foreleg over the injury. She clutched it tightly in an effort to staunch the pain. "Oh my, Vlyka!" Azure cried, instantly up from her seat and leaping across the table to the injured filly. She grabbed a napkin in her mouth and carefully pried Vlyka's injured hoof away from the filly's body, dabbing what was left of the tea out of her burgundy coat.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry...oh Celestia your cloth..." Vlyka whimpered, staring at the spill as it began to seep into the tablecloth. She knew she would ruin any of these fancy things by simple touch!

"Oh that thing is simple enough to clean, I've done far worse in my time," said Azure dismissively. "Caramel? Please bring some ice, quick as you can!" she called, prompting Vlyka to look up and realize the unicorn had left at some point during her short conversation. "How is your hoof, dearie?" she asked, meeting Vlyka's tear-lined eyes again. This time, Vlyka felt oddly at ease holding the gaze, though she couldn't say for sure why.

"Stings," she sniffled, just withholding herself from crying. "But it's okay." Vlyka's uninjured hoof wiped the tears from her left eye, but she glanced down at the drop that slid down and held itself to her hoof for a second, dropping onto the chair below her. "I'm sick of crying today..." she whimpered.

"Vlyka?"

Vlyka's neck shot up and her gaze fixed with the worried look from Azure Dream, making Vlyka realize she'd been heard, clear as day. She bit her lip as Azure just stared at her, a look of pity on her face. "I know I'm a strange mare, but...if you feel the need, the want to talk about something, please just say so. I'd love to listen to anything that's bothering you, I promise."

It was hard for Vlyka's poor color vision to pick out the color of Azure's green eyes, but the slight color she could perceive was reminding her more and more of Crystal's cyan eyes, until the question they were begging became too loud in Vlyka's mind. "Tell me everything," they screamed, but so paradoxically gently that Vlyka couldn't resist.

"I ran away from school today..." Vlyka sighed. "Moon was picking on me, he made me cry in class...my teacher took me out of the room, and I ran away while she was gone..."

"Oh my...Vlyka you poor dear," Azure whispered. It surprised Vlyka just a bit, to hear a seemingly reasonable adult not be furious she'd run away from school. "This Moon must pick on you a lot...nopony deserves to be treated that way, and I am so sorry that such a foolish foal thinks he can get away with picking on somepony as sweet as you. Is he much older than you?" she asked.

Vlyka nodded. "He's twelve, I think. He's the oldest in our class."

"I can imagine, I'm sure he must have been held back a grade or two," Azure smiled, before turning her gaze to the archway. Caramel had just appeared with a small ice pack and a towel, which he gave to Azure as she gingerly wrapped the ice and presses it to the slight burn on Vlyka's hoof, making the little filly growl slightly in pain.

"No," she sighed as the sudden heat change stopped hurting. "I was moved up. That's his grade, I got moved up to it."

Both Azure and Caramel looked startled by Vlyka’s words, sharing a confused glance, before Azure regained her composure and smiled. “Well I knew I had a bright filly visiting me, I’m just terribly sorry I didn’t realize how bright,” she smiled, gently releasing Vlyka’s hoof and backing away, giving the little filly as much space to be alone as she desired. Kenzie, however, was worried about her, and sat in front of Vlyka’s chair staring back up at her. It made Vlyka smile as she held the icepack down with her other hoof, wanting to reach out and pet Kenzie for his attention.

“Thank you,” Vlyka looked at Azure for a second, gently raising her covered hoof to indicate what she was talking about.

“Don’t mention it, my dear,” Azure smiled, gently reaching out and stroking Kenzie’s back. The dog panted and turned his attention back to his owner, Vlyka smiling at his utterly elated mood as it infected her dour thoughts. This was the familiar happiness she’d loved to watch at the dog park, back again to brighten her spirits despite her strange surroundings. “After you brought Kenzie back to me, there’s so little that seems fitting. He was a gift from my late husband, you see,” Azure sighed, looking up at nothing in particular. She was surely looking back to the day she’d first met Kenzie. “Our last wedding anniversary. He knew he wasn’t long for the world, the poor stallion, and he wanted to be sure I had a faithful companion to carry me onwards. Between you and me,” Azure lowered her voice to whisper to Vlyka, “as much help and a joy some of my staff has been to me, Caramel especially, nopony here is paid to love me. Kenzie is so very important to me, and not just because of the memories about meeting him.”

Azure squeezed Kenzie again, this time just a bit tightly as the pup grumbled slightly. Vlyka was about to translate that she was holding him too tight, but Azure picked up on that on her own and released him entirely, allowing Kenzie to pant again, appeased. “Every day he’s with me has been one to remember, and I was so terrified when he disappeared during our move that I would never see him again.” At that, Azure leaned in to kiss Kenzie’s head, but stopped herself with a sniff. She coughed for a moment, before clearing her throat and giggling gently. “Perhaps, however, a bath would be in quick order. You still remember about bathing, don’t you Kenzie?”

“Bath?” Kenzie asked, making Vlyka restrain a giggle of her own. The dog seemed torn between wanting a bath and dreading it. He looked at Vlyka, surprisingly, asking “do I need a bath?”

“Hey, I told you your coat was dirty,” she replied, raising an eyebrow as she spoke. “And I bet you picked up fleas somewhere, it’d be good to get those off you, fast.”

“I agree,” Azure replied, making Vlyka jump. She’d forgotten that she was still understood by ponies, and for a second, even that Azure was still there. “Come on Kenzie, let’s get you feeling wonderful again." Azure stood elegantly and pet Kenzie's head, gently leading the dog towards an archway in the back of the room. "Would you care to freshen up, Vlyka?"

The little filly glanced up in a mixture of confusion and horror at Azure, who smiled and shook her head. "We have more than one bathroom, you will have all the peace you need." At that clarification Vlyka nodded hesitantly, letting Azure smile once again. "Then Caramel, show her to the guest bathroom if she would like. Bring her a hot fresh towel, and anything else she may need."

"Of course ma’am,” Caramel bowed his head, before gently approaching Vlyka. “If you would care to follow me,” he said gently waiting for Vlyka to move before he did anything else. She gently released the ice pack on her hoof, which Caramel took in his magic, and waited for Vlyka to get up and walk after him.

It felt rude to refuse Azure's offer, even when Vlyka was rather uncomfortable with the idea, and so she warily followed Caramel through the arch he’d vanished under before. She kept her head on a swivel as she walked, looking out for anything else she might damage by accident, and to keep herself from feeling too intimidated by the strange stallion she was now with. As they walked deeper into the mansion, however, she heard two mares having a conversation further along in the hallway. Caramel stopped Vlyka for a moment and spoke with the mares, each wearing a similar black uniform with white frills: maids, she realized, for cleaning the massive estate. He asked them about something relating to the house and preparations, Vlyka wasn't sure and tried to tune it out, but she couldn't ignore the fact that the mares were giving her a lot of surprised attention.

Vlyka turned her head down to look away from the mares, nervous enough as she was, leaving her to shift anxiously as Caramel continued to speak. What felt like half an hour later, at least to Vlyka's nerves, Caramel nodded knowingly at the mares and turned to lead Vlyka further along. But there was a whisper behind her and, unable to ignore it, Vlyka's ear twisted back to listen, her sensitive hearing strong enough to pick it up. "Did that filly have a fang? What is she even doing here?"

"Well the missus must have some reason..." The second maid said hesitantly, causing Vlyka to sigh and turn her head down again. What was she doing here anyways? She’d brought Kenzie home safe, why was she still here?!

“Right in here, miss Vlyka,” Caramel said finally, opening a door to the left and heading inside, holding it wide open for Vlyka to see inside clearly before she entered. Nothing seemed off, making her sigh and follow him inside.

The bathroom she stepped into was cavernous, at least compared to the one she’d known her whole life…probably even compared to other rich-pony bathrooms, if Vlyka could be so bold as to claim. It was easily as big as Vlyka’s bedroom, but the room was mostly open space, instead of being stuffed with her familiar desk, bed, dressers etcetera. Filling a significantly lesser portion of the room than Vlyka’s furniture was an enormous bathtub, a sink, a toilet, all done up in a dainty silvery touch, to complement the sea-green and silver wallpaper that Vlyka couldn’t quite see clearly with her poor color vision. Caramel turned to a large set of drawers, standing next to a glass cabinet that positively dripped with the strong scent of soaps and herbs. Caramel pulled a large towel from the drawer and turned to the massive tub on the far wall, turning the faucet on and letting the water run until it began to steam.

"You are welcome to you use whatever you need here, help if you like, just call," Caramel bowed his head respectfully as he placed the towel on the bath's side, setting a small stool by the side to help Vlyka reach the tub. "I'll station a maid outside if you need, just call."

Vlyka nodded hesitantly, but said nothing. Caramel smiled gently to her and nodded again, before trotting outside and shutting the door behind him. Vlyka glanced, but there was no lock clicking from the door, no shuffle of furniture to barricade her in like she feared. It all seemed...safe, almost pleasant, but Vlyka couldn't believe it would be this nice, this pleasant for a simple act of returning a dog! With a sigh and a look at the grimy smudge on her forelegs, Vlyka shook her head and climbed upon the stool to run the towel under the tap. The hot cloth was soothing on her skin as she dampened her fur, adding a dash of soap from the holder beside her as she wiped down the dirt sticking to her.

As Vlyka slowly cleaned her body off, her nerves began to calm a little. Azure seemed pleasant enough, if a little too innocent for the rest of the world, letting Vlyka return to the stress of her family. By now they would surely be panicked, it was nearly dark outside when she had glanced out the window last, and she was missing from them. They didn't know where she was, any anger her father and sister had was growing to the point of absolute danger. "I can't do this, not to them. They need to know I'm safe..." Vlyka sighed, dampening the cloth again and washing off the last soap from her side. "They've waited long enough..."

As she finished drying herself, Vlyka trotted to the door and knocked, stepping back as a moment later one of the maids from before opened the door inwards towards her. "Thank you," she muttered, bowing her head respectfully, before she walked out the door and tried to remember the bath back to the sitting room.

To her surprise, Azure was sitting in the same chair as before, but the tablecloth and her clothes had been changed. She also looked freshly washed, as a slight smudge Vlyka had noticed on the older mare's cheek, left by Kenzie's coat when they were cuddling she was sure, had finally vanished. "Poor Kenzie did not seem to like the bath idea after all, but I wanted to be sure not to keep you waiting," Azure explained as she met Vlyka's confused glance. "Now I realize it's getting rather late, I don't want to keep you if you must be going, but..."

"Please, ma'am..." Vlyka sighed, ashamed to be interrupting but needing to get her words out, before she lost all her nerve. "Can you tell the police I'm here? I'm sure they're looking for me, my dad would have called on them by now. They have to be so worried..."

"I had a feeling you might be ready to go home," said Azure with a gentle, understanding smile. "I had somepony go and inform them you were here right after you left for a bath. Your family should be on their way shortly...I was prepared to entertain them separately if you wanted some more time, perhaps some dinner, but..."

Vlyka shook her head determinedly in response to Azure's invitation. She was already far too in debt to this mare for her kindness to what could have been an utter street urchin, there was no way she would accept a meal. Besides, she really wanted to go home to her own room...even if she was sure she wouldn't be leaving it for the next month, at least, due to the first grounding of the entire household. "Very well...I must say it’s been a pleasure having you, Vlyka, and if I may impose one more thing on you, I should like to meet your father when he gets here."

Vlyka must have looked as stunned as she felt, because Azure smiled and let off a soft giggle, raising a hoof to her mouth as Vlyka barely recovered her balance. She could only nod in response, utterly flabbergasted at why Azure would want to meet her dad. Of course Vlyka thought he was amazing, and so selfless he'd take on a second foal, raising her on his own, simply because of his massive heart, but compared to Azure he was nopony. He worked hard raising his fillies and at his job, so they had a comfortable life, but he was nopony that special in the social pecking order of Baltimare, he'd said so himself! It was all Vlyka could do, puzzle over why Azure would want to meet her family, sitting in silence for several minutes before she heard what she suspected was the same doorbell she'd rung earlier.

A few seconds later, there was a clatter of many hooves coming closer, prompting Vlyka to stand up and walk closer, shorten the distance between them. Sure enough, mere moments later, the familiar coat of Crystal appeared around the door frame, followed shortly by her father's and Caramel as he led her family to her. But Vlyka could only see the rushing mass of what was supposed to be vibrant green fur, as Crystal charged at her. The filly leapt the last few meters with forelegs spread wide, tackling Vlyka and sending the two of them to the ground, Crys' hooves locked around Vlyka's throat.

"Oh my Celestia, Vlyka you're okay!" Crys cried, squeezing her hooves so tightly Vlyka felt sure the pressure would snap her head clean off. She tried to resist, keep herself breathing, but found herself both physically unable to and mentally unwilling to fight back: she deserved this for terrifying her sister, her dad, so terribly for the last several hours.

Moments later her dad's hoof came into view as he stepped closer to the tangle that was his two fillies. Vlyka looked up ashamedly, meeting his eyes for a split second before turning her gaze back. "I'm sorry..." she wheezed, still having issues breathing thanks to Crystal's vise-like grip.

"Vlyka you had us so worried!" her father exclaimed, falling to the floor and picking both his fillies up at once, squeezing them together in his own hooves. Vlyka really felt like something in her body was about to give now, but still couldn't find it in herself to struggle against either of her crushers. "Are you alright? What ever possessed you to run out on the street like that?!" He set the fillies down after a few seconds, but Crys refused to dislodge herself, only squeezing tighter as their dad moved slightly to look Vlyka in the eye.

It was only then that Vlyka realized her dad's voice was shaking: he wasn't angry, she'd heard him get utterly furious about some clients after work...his voice was shaking just as bad as Crystal's did every time Vlyka jokingly suggested going for a swim. He was terrified, terrified he'd lost her for good. And that fear was all her fault...

“The important thing is that she’s safe,” Azure said softly from somewhere nearby. Vlyka looked up, her view of the world upside-down thanks to Crystal pinning her down on her back, to see the older earth pony move gracefully forward, prompting her dad to look up at her. “Azure Dream,” she said, extending a hoof to shake, “delighted to meet you.”

Crys finally detached herself from Vlyka, and the little filly stood up shakily, too ashamed to look at anypony else as her father shook Azure’s hoof. She was mortified, shaking violently at the idea of what was about to come from her father. “ ...can't thank you enough for finding Vlyka and keeping her safe,” said her father, as Vlyka faded back into the conversation. She looked up to catch him bowing his head and placing a hoof to his chest.

“Actually, it’s me who can’t thank you enough,” Azure said simply, prompting everypony in the room to look at her in confusion, even Vlyka. “Thank you for raising such a charming, sweet, helpful little filly, who was willing to brave her worst fears to help an old mare find her missing pet.”

Crystal looked at Vlyka in shock, blinking in silence as Vlyka gave an embarrassed shrug. “I just ran across her missing dog when I was sulking,” she said, “I didn’t do much…”

"Nonsense Vlyka, it’s not hard for anypony to tell you’re shy.” Azure caught Vlyka’s attention again, making her look back despite her forelegs beginning to cross. “And you still came all the way up here personally to be sure he came home safely, even refused to be compensated for it. You must love your canines to have done so much for a stranger, and I can’t thank you enough for any of it.”

Vlyka couldn’t help but smile a bit at her words, but she couldn’t smile for very long. There was something emotionally blocking her way to feeling relief, and she felt fairly sure she knew what it was. “Dad,” she sighed, looking in his direction, only to lose her nerve and stare at his hooves instead of his face. “I’m sorry. I ran away from school, I shouldn’t have…I was overwhelmed, I…I’ve been dealing with mean foals who were hurting me…”

“Crys told me about your bullies, dear,” he responded, kneeling down to Vlyka’s level and gently putting a hoof to her cheek. He tried to tilt her head up to look him in the eye, but she refused, keeping her eyes screwed shut and head turned away.

“I didn’t tell you, I’m sorry…I should have told you, I shouldn’t have run away…”

At that, she felt her father’s hooves close tightly around her body, prompting Vlyka to reach up and hug him back, squeezing his neck as she let herself tear up. “It’s okay, Vlyka, everything is alright…” he whispered. She could hear his voice quavering as she sniffled, hugging him tightly as she could. “I’m just glad I didn’t lose you…we can talk this out any time you need, I swear to you I won’t ignore it. Just tell me what’s on your mind, okay?” Vlyka could only nod in agreement. “I love you, Vlyka, no matter what happens, what you do. I love you.”

“I love you too, dad,” she whispered, pulling back as much as she could to look at his face. He let her go enough to meet her gaze, shamelessly showing the tears in his own eyes as they held a smile between them. Vlyka wiped her eyes for a second, before dad gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead, making her smile as he set her down.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help…” Crystal muttered, coming up next to Vlyka and gently wrapping a hoof over her back.

“You were in class, what were you even supposed to do?” Vlyka replied, a little exasperated at Crys’ reply. But she reached out and hugged Crystal back. “I should have said more though, I should have told you instead of hiding it…you both could have helped me. I didn’t want to burden either of you…”

Crystal didn't respond to Vlyka verbally, only holding her tighter, almost as though she were physically stopping the negative words spilling from her sister’s mouth. To her credit it worked, and Vlyka only hugged Crystal tighter in response, breathing slowly and heavily as her body shook for a few moments. But finally, Vlyka gently tried to pull herself away from Crystal’s grip. By now Crys knew her sister’s limited desire for contact and let her go without issue, smiling softly at her when the fillies locked eyes again. Finally, things seemed right with the world again, and if Vlyka just admitted to her problems instead of hoarding her grief, letting it fester inside her until she’d burst, she never would have needed to scare her family like this.

“I don’t suppose I could interest you in joining me for dinner, could I?” Vlyka’s family all turned their attention back to Azure Dream, who looked each of them in the eye briefly. “I know it’s been a long day, but perhaps having dinner taken care of would be a nice little reprieve?”

Vlyka bit her lip and turned to her dad, sighing at what she was about to ask. “Dad, do you mind cooking our usual tonight? I really just want to go home…”

“Of course I don’t mind,” he smiled, swooping down and picking Vlyka up suddenly, tossing her onto his shoulders with a barely restrained giggle. “I’d be delighted to, if that’s what you want. But I think we’re going to have to decline Ms. Dream’s gracious offer.”

"I completely understand,” Azure smiled sweetly. Vlyka hoped there was no malice hidden in her smile, since she was sure she could never pick it out, but she really didn’t want to disappoint Azure after she’d been so nice to her. Maybe later she could ask Crystal what she thought… “Well I hope to see you again, Vlyka. You’re always welcome here, I’m sure Kenzie would love somepony to talk to.”

“Thank you Ms. Dream,” Vlyka bowed her head. “If you think Kenzie has something to tell you, please…find me…” Suddenly, Vlyka was possessed by a thought. This, surprisingly, wasn't a dark and dismal misconception of herself. It was instead a bright and shining idea that seemed to glow like the sun, so much so that she lost track of her sentence entirely.

“What’s wrong Vlyka?” Crys asked, walking closer as Vlyka hopped off her dad’s back, starting to pace a little.

“My talent. I knew I could talk to dogs, I could understand Kenzie pretty well even when I'd just met him. But I didn’t think it was that special, I couldn’t think what to do with it…but now I do.” She turned towards Crys suddenly, eyes wide with excitement. “If I can talk to pets, tell their owners,” she gestured towards Azure, “what’s going on with them, I could make everypony’s lives better! I can sort out problems nopony is even aware of!"

Suddenly, a massive flash of light blinded Vlyka, a strong wind lifting her off her hooves and sending her mane and tail whipping about. She shut her eyes to block out the momentary overload she felt as her entire body started to tingle. Right before she could start worrying about what was happening, however, the wind died down and she felt the ground return beneath her hooves, though still just a bit dazed she swayed a bit as she felt the winds die down. She staggered, but stayed standing, blinking the stars from her eyes and shaking her head to try and reorient herself. As her sight returned to her, she looked around…only to find everypony staring at her. “What…what happened?” she asked nervously.

“Vlyka…look…” Crystal said, jaw hanging slack as she pointed right behind Vlyka.

“What? What’s wrong?” she asked, turning her head over her right shoulder to see what was behind her. But there was nothing there, no monster or anything standing behind her. Everything seemed fine…that is, until out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a speck of blue on her flank. Vlyka gasped in realization, not quite ready to believe the hopeful thought that leapt into her mind, as she turned her hindquarters a bit to get a better look. Sure enough, staring straight back at her, was a blue pawprint plastered on her haunch, a small white heart with four elongated claw-like hearts nestled inside it. “A…a cutie mark?” She looked back across the room, as various different smiles gazed back at her, all just confusing Vlyka more. She couldn’t believe this was happening. “I…I got my cutie mark?”

Vlyka didn’t have another second to process before suddenly she was on the ground again, bowled over and ensnared by her big sister one more time. “Oh Vlyka I’m so proud of you!” Crystal squeaked, so excited her voice was breaking as she again tried to squeeze the life from her little sis. Only this time, Vlyka couldn’t help but smile back, the realization finally sinking in and giving way to elation.

“I got my cutie mark!” she cried, embracing Crys in return as she started giggling madly. “I…I don’t believe it, I got it!”

The fillies giggled and hugged for a couple seconds longer, before both of them were again picked up by their father’s magic. “That’s amazing, I’m so happy Vlyka!” he cried, moving in for a hug. Only this time, Crys detached herself from Vlyka, giving her and her father the chance to have this hug to themselves. “I always knew you’d have an amazing talent, and a beautiful cutie mark,” he said beaming at Vlyka, before he engulfed her in another powerful hug. But Vlyka could only continue to giggle, unable to stop fidgeting at the rush of energy that was still coursing through her body. She still couldn’t believe it, she’d earned her cutie mark after all!

Sadly, while the elation of her brand new cutie mark continued to pulse through Vlyka up until her bedtime, her reserves of social energy were utterly exhausted, forcing her to beg Azure Dream not to insist on a celebratory feast. The family left minutes later, a smiling Azure and her freshly-bathed Kenzie waving goodbye from the front door as they headed for home. Vlyka had just enough energy to talk to her family, thanking her father and sister for everything and promising to explain everything that was wrong tomorrow before school. She even managed to apologize to a relieved-looking Ms. Rosedance, who had come by after hearing that Vlyka was safe...but after all that, Vlyka had no energy left to speak, which Crys and her dad respected and let her have all the quiet time she needed. And so after a breakfast for dinner special, with perfect pancakes shaped like pawprints at the center, Vlyka spent the evening reading the text for tomorrow, smiling at her cutie mark, and trying to calm herself down so she might actually get some sleep tonight. Even tucked away in her covers, wrapped up toasty and comfy in her bed, it took a concentrated effort to keep her eyes shut long enough for sleep to take hold, dragging her away into a new day that might just be something she could still smile about.