Little Filly Lost

by bkc56

3. This is Bad

I opened my eyes. The room was darker than yesterday. The weather schedule called for clear skies today, so it was a lot earlier in the morning. One lousy day, and I was already setting the plan back. I got up and went into the bathroom. You’ve looked better there, Steel. I twisted my head around and sniffed. With a grimace, I decided that perhaps two showers this week would be in order.

I was feeling much better when I headed out to the kitchen. The smell of scrambled eggs and toast caused my belly to rumble. I was not used to food this early in the day, but my stomach was rather insistent.

I was greeted by a warm smile. “Hi.”

I returned the smile. “Hey, kid. Made breakfast again, I see. Sure smells good.”

“I like cooking. But you’re gonna need to get more food ‘cause we’re runnin’ out of everything.”

As I walked into the kitchen, I noted again how clean and neat it was. “I haven't been eating a lot of meals at home the last few weeks, so I haven’t kept things stocked up. We’ll pick up some stuff later today.”

She put a plate on the table, and I sat down to start eating.

“As soon as I’m done eating, I need to go out for a bit again.” I glanced at my plate with some amazement. “Wow, this is really good. Anyway, it won’t take long just like last time, but it’s important.” I shoveled in the food a bit too fast for polite company.

She sat down in the other chair. “Trying to find my daddy?”

“Yes. When I get back, that might be a good time to go shopping.”

Once we’d cleaned up, I headed out to the precinct. I went inside to the front desk and asked them to let Citrine know I was here. I stepped outside to wait. It was perhaps two minutes before she exited the building.

She nodded to me as she walked over. “Morning, Steel. You’re up early.”

I sighed rather dramatically. “Yeah. Having this filly in the apartment is messing with my… schedule. It’ll get back to normal once she’s gone. So, got anything?”

She shook her head. “Nope. There have been no missing filly reports in the last week. Whoever she belongs to hasn’t reported her missing yet. That might not be strange if she was older. But for this young, it’s concerning. Of course I’ll keep watching for something.”

I smirked. “Well, that’s a pain-in-the-flank. I was hoping somepony had reported her, and we could have had her home before lunch.”

She sounded hopeful as she asked, “Have you found out anything more?”

“Yes, a little.” I filled Citrine in on the information about the kid’s parents.

“That’s a lot of details from such a young filly.”

I nodded. “Yeah, she seems to be pretty sharp. Not a lot gets past her.”

“I think she’s sharper than you give her credit for.” She winked at me.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because we’re under surveillance right now. To your right.” She tilted her head in the direction.

I looked over and spotted Windflower hiding behind a bush, watching us. I turned towards her and waved a hoof for her to come closer. Like prey hoping the predator didn’t actually see her, she stood motionless. I raised my hoof again and waved her over. With ears and head down, she walked up to where we were standing.

I looked down my muzzle at her. “I thought I asked you to wait for me at home.”

She winced. “I wanted to see where you were going. Am I in trouble?”

“I wouldn’t say trouble... exactly.” I let that hang for a moment. I needed to make a point. “But if you want me to keep helping you, I need you to trust me and do what I ask. I’m being honest with you. I need you to do the same.” I lowered my head to face her. “Can you start doing that?”

“Uh-huh.” She nodded slowly.

I arched an eyebrow. “Really? Is that a promise?”

She looked up at me. “Yes, I promise.”

“Okay then.” I glanced over at Citrine to see her grinning at me. “What?”

“Looks like you got a way with foals there, Steel. I wouldn’t have thought you had it in you.”

I rolled my eyes. If she only knew just how far out in the wilderness I was with this filly.

The filly turned towards Citrine. “You’re a cop?”

“Yes, I am. My name’s Citrine.”

“It’s okay, kid. She’s one of the good cops, and a friend.”

“Are you a detective too?”

“Yes. Steel and I worked here together for some years.” She gestured towards the precinct. “Would you like to come in and see?”

Windflower’s eyes went wide, and she took several steps back. “No, no! I can’t go in there!” She turned towards me. “Please, I don’t want to go in there. Please don’t make me.”

Citrine stepped towards the filly and raised a hoof to reach out to her. The filly flinched and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. That reaction felt like a punch in the gut. Citrine backpedaled a couple steps and turned towards me, eyes wide in surprise. She clearly knew what that reaction meant.

As I stepped past her, I whispered, “The mom, there’s… history.” I sat down next to the filly and gently wrapped a leg around her. “It’s okay, kid. No one is going to hurt you. Miss Citrine didn’t realize she’d startle you.”

Citrine quickly added, “I’m sorry if I scared you, Windflower. I just thought you might like to see where we worked. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

I gave her a gentle squeeze. “Calm down. You don’t have to go in if you don’t want to. No one is going to make you.”

She opened her eyes filled with tears and looked at each of us.

“I think we should get going now, Citrine.” I gave her a subtle nod. “We’re going to do some shopping, then head back to the apartment.”

“Gotcha. It was nice meeting you, Windflower. And I’m sorry I scared you.”

Very softly, she replied, “It’s okay.”

---

We arrived at the apartment with four bags of groceries between us. We carried two bags each, slung over our withers like bargain basement saddlebags. Of course I carried all the heavy stuff. Windflower immediately started putting the food away, in all the wrong places of course. No matter. She could find it when she needed, and I’d figure it out. It was good to see her engaged in something. She was kind of tired when she finished, so I had her take a nap on the couch, tucking her in with the blanket.

When lunchtime arrived, I made myself a sandwich. As I ate, I read one of the two-bit crime novels I had an affinity for. I told myself I read them to laugh at how unrealistic the police and detectives acted. But in truth, I think I read them because, in the end, everything worked out. Real life wasn’t like that. But in the novels, they always caught the bad pony, the innocent pony was released, and the stallion got the mare. I hadn’t seen a lot of happy endings while I was on the force. It was nice to read about them, even if it was all make-believe.

My sandwich was gone when I heard the filly stir. She walked over to the table. “Hey, kid. You hungry? I can make you a cucumber sandwich if you want.” She nodded, so I whipped one together and pushed the plate towards an empty chair.

She hopped up and sat. “Thanks.” She looked a bit groggy, so I let her eat in peace as I continued reading.

Once lunch was over, we did the dishes together. We had developed a pattern of cleaning the kitchen after a meal. The routine seemed to be good for her. And she appeared more relaxed when focused on a task.

We were just finishing up when there was a knock at the door. I walked over and opened it. “Oh, hi, Citrine. Look, kid, it’s my detective friend.” Windflower turned and gave a tentative wave. “So, what brings you…” I knew that expression. This is bad. This is really bad.

She talked low and softly. “Steel, you need to come with me, right now.”

I turned around. “Kid, I need to go with Citrine for a bit. You remember what you promised me earlier?” She nodded. “Good. You can dig out the paper and crayons we got today and draw some pictures if you want. But stay here. You promise?”

“Yeah, I promise. Will you be gone long?”

I glanced at Citrine. She shook her head. “No, I don’t think it’ll be too long. I should be back... before dinner.” Citrine nodded a confirmation.

Once we were out on the street, I asked. “So, it’s bad, isn’t it?”

She sighed. “Yeah. I took the information you gave me this morning and did some digging. Steel, we found a body the other night. It’s like a perfect match to your description. We had no idea who he was.”

My heart sank. “No. This kid’s already had enough bad luck for a lifetime. She doesn’t deserve more. It’s just not fair.” I sighed heavily as my ears drooped.

We trotted in silence for a while. “Do you know how he died?”

“He was beaten to death. Broken ribs. Three fractured legs. The doc thinks head injuries were the actual cause of death.”

I sighed. “Everything points to him being involved in something really bad. It must have caught up with him. Just one thing that doesn’t add up.”

“What’s that?”

“The kid mentioned that the attackers said something about getting the filly. Why would they want this filly so bad that they’d beat the dad to death?” A shiver ran down my spine as I considered another possibility: no witnesses. I wondered, was the dad the target, or was he collateral damage from the true target?

My mind was awash in thoughts as I tried to piece together the clues I had. Nothing made sense. There was something missing from this puzzle, and until I found it…

---

The body lay on an exam table under a sheet. I hated this place. So many cases either started, or ended here. These rooms were death’s domain, and today was no exception.

Citrine stood at the head of the table. “Normally, we’d want the next of kin to come in to confirm the identification. But I don’t think...” Citrine lifted the sheet with her magic to expose his face.

“No!” I shouted. “You’re right. No way she should see this. Absolutely not!”

“Yeah, I know. She’s just too young to see her dad… And not like this.” She lowered the sheet again.

I moved to the other end of the table and flipped back the covering. “His cutie mark is wrong.” I desperately grasped for any thread of hope.

“Look closer.”

I leaned in, and I realized there were three faint stars superimposed over another cutie mark. I whispered, “This month…”

She stepped over next to me. “It’s not dye. The examiner says it’s some sort of illusion magic, and it’s fading fast. It’ll be totally gone in a few more hours.”

I flipped the sheet back down. “Did you find anything with the body?”

She pointed. “A saddlebag with some stuff in it. Over there on the table.”

We walked over. I froze. Light blue-green, red, violet. Whatever delusional doubts I'd fabricated were wiped away in an instant.

“Steel, what is it? I’ve never seen you so pale.”

I pointed. I don’t think she saw my hoof tremble, but I felt it. “That bracelet. Windflower has one just like it. She made two, and she said her dad always carried his with him.”

She sighed. “I guess that’s our confirmation, but we still don’t know what his name was. He had no identification on him.”

I slid the bracelet to the edge of the table. “I need this.”

“I’ll sign it out as being returned to next-of-kin.”

I looked at Citrine. “I don’t know what I’m going to say to her. How am I going to tell her?”

Citrine glanced down as she thought, then looked up again. “We could have the grief counselor pony come with you. I mean, officially, we should probably do the notification anyway.”

I closed my eyes. “No. She shouldn’t hear about this from a stranger. And certainly not from a cop. I need to do this.”

“I understand. Can you at least take a few minutes to talk with the counselor? She can give you some ideas on how to approach it with somepony so young.”

---

I stood outside the apartment for a long time. I repeatedly shook my head no. I had to do this, but I’d have given anything… Why does it have to be me? Telling adults they’ve lost someone is hard. I’ve never had to tell a kid before. The longer I waited, the harder it would be for me to do this.

I opened the door and walked in. She was sitting at the kitchen table drawing something. She looked up and smiled before returning to her work.

I removed the bracelet from my saddlebag, set it on the coffee table, then sat down on the couch. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as the adrenaline poured through my body. My breathing was fast and shallow. This was going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It could destroy whatever trust I’d built with her. This was going to be a disaster.

I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Hey, kid, can you come over here for a minute?”

“Okay.” She hopped down from the chair and started over. As she got close, her eyes drifted to the table.

“That’s my daddy’s bracelet.” She glanced at me. “You did it. You found my daddy.” Then she froze.

I’m not sure what expression I had, but I imagine it reflected how I felt: hopeless. Words failed me. Everything the counselor had told me seemed pointless. I just stared at her.

“You… you did find my daddy, right?”

“I’m sorry, kid. He’s not going to be able to come get you. I’m sure he wanted to, but he just... can’t.”

Her eyes got wide as she shook her head. “No, no, no…” She started to tremble. “No, no!” Her eyes flashed back and forth between me and the chair in the corner. She took a couple steps towards the chair, then spun towards me again.

Finally, she galloped to the couch and threw herself at me. I grabbed her and hung on tightly. She buried her face in my neck. “I don’t want to be lost. Please. Don’t make me be lost.” She started to cry, but not just that. She sobbed. Each sob racked her whole body as I held on. Then she began to wail.

Of course I’d heard ponies wail before when told a beloved mate was never coming home again. It was hard to witness as the pain from deep within them found a voice and escaped. But I’d never heard a young foal wail. It was different, raw and unrestrained. Her pain was like a physical assault. It tore at my very soul.

I wept.

I don’t know how long I held her. But the emotional and physical drain began to show as she quieted down. After a while, I felt her body go limp. Asleep or unconscious, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was now free from the pain, if only for a short while. I carefully laid her down on the couch and put the blanket over her. I brushed the hair back from her eyes. How could someone so innocent have to face so much loss in such a short life?

I walked over to the table where various pictures were scattered. It appeared her artistic skill was consistent with her age. Her ponies looked like oddly shaped chairs with pillows atop the backrests. But the colors were accurate. Even the eye color when visible. That was enough to identify the subjects in her artwork. There were a couple of her and her dad. One was probably in the kitchen at their home. The other, walking through a park. There was a picture of her and I sitting on the couch, with me reading from the journal. I allowed myself a slight smile at the memory.

There was another picture face down on the table. I flipped it over. It showed her and her dad on the street surrounded by three other ponies. I didn’t understand. Then I noticed the light lines drawn down the page. Rain. This was her version of the night they were attacked. Her other pictures were accurate, so this one probably was too. In my hoof I held an eye-witness description of the three ponies that attacked them, showing their tribes and colors.

She slept straight through dinner time. When bedtime came, I walked over to the couch to check on her again. I adjusted the blanket and tucked it in all around her. It rose and fell to her gentle breathing. She looked so peaceful, but I knew it was only temporary. The pain would return in the morning. I could only hope it would be more merciful when it did. I left a light on so she wouldn’t wake up in the dark, and went to bed leaving my door wide open. I hoped that if she started to cry again, I would hear it and could get up to do… something. I don’t know. What do you do for a filly who’s lost everything?

---

I must have been more tired than I realized, because the next thing I remember is opening my eyes to see the morning light through the window. I stretched, and my hoof hit something soft at the foot of the bed. I sat up. Curled in a ball under her blanket lay the filly quietly sleeping. I got up and headed to the kitchen to get something simple for breakfast. As I was eating, my eyes were drawn by movement. Windflower walked out of the bedroom with the blanket draped over her back and dragging on the floor behind her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, ears down.

I swallowed my current bite. “For what?”

She continued walking towards me. “I woke up. It was late, and I was all alone. I didn’t want to be alone. I didn't want to be lost. So I snuck into your room and slept on the bed.”

“I’ll tell you what. We’ll let it slide this one time, okay?” She nodded. “Good. So, do you feel like a little something to eat? I’m afraid I didn’t make anything, so it’s just cold oats and milk today.”

She climbed up on a chair. “I like oats and milk.” I’d already set out a second bowl and spoon, which she took. I poured her some oats and added milk.

She just sat, staring at her bowl. Very softly, she asked, “What’s going to happen to me now?”

I set my spoon down and leaned forward. “You mean without your daddy?” She closed her eyes tight. “I’m not sure. But I promise we will figure it out. Now… you must be hungry since you missed dinner. Go ahead and have some breakfast. You’ll feel better.”

I resumed eating. After a few moments, she levitated her spoon up to take a small bite. We ate in silence for a while. I could feel some awkwardness in the air, so I decided to try something.

“So, I have a plan for today, if you think you’re up for it.”

With a mouth full of oats, she asked, “Wath tha?”

“First, this picture you drew yesterday…” I tapped the face down drawing. “Are those the correct colors and everything for the three stallions?” She nodded. “Good. Then I want to start by dropping that off at the precinct. They need to find those three ponies.”

Her spoon full of oats and milk floated before her. “Your friend Citrine?” She took the bite.

“Yes, probably her and others.” I took another bite of oats and chewed. “Next, I want to find your school.”

She put down her spoon. “Why?”

“Because if we can find your school, they’ll have records.” I tapped the table for each point. “They’ll know your dad’s name. They’ll have your home address. They may have other useful information.”

“But how will we find my school?”

“We’ll visit each one you could attend in Canterlot until we find the right one.”

Using a voice that in a few years would be a well developed teenage whine, she complained, “But that’s going to be a lot of waaaalking.”

I nodded. “Yup. Being a detective is hard work. There’s no spell to solve a mystery. You start with a clue. You follow that clue until you find another one. Each clue leads you closer to an answer. It’s long, lots of work, and sometimes boring. But that’s what a detective does. And our clue today is that your school is somewhere in Canterlot.”

She tilted her head to the side. “So we’re going to go detectiving today, you and me?” I nodded. She smiled and picked up her spoon again. “Okay.”

That tiny smile was like a balm to my ragged emotions. This was good. If I can just keep her distracted. As long as we’re working together towards a goal, she won’t have time to think. Right now, thinking will only bring her pain, and I want to prevent any more of that, if I can.

Comments

[Flash Magnus]

Better this than a changeling foalnapping

[Rawislon03]

I’ve seen many of your stories over the years but I’ve never bothered to properly read one of them until yesterday, gotta admit I was missing out for a good long while. Now though I’m definitely going to have to read through everything.

[bkc56]

11124095
I'm glad you're enjoying it. We got three chapters (plus a tiny epilogue) to go. Hopefully, you'll enjoy some of the other stories too.

[Azure Drache]

First you have an exellent emotional scene and then you ruin it by the end of the chapter