My Little Fortress: Dawnpick

by Paaaad

54: Friesden

Friesden was running along the main road with her father. He was the nicest dad ever. He did everything with her, even this race! She couldn't think of what she'd do without him or mum.
She was too busy being happy to notice the well in front of her or her father's warning and tripped up over and into the well. After a couple of seconds of frantic swimming, she burst up from the well, gasping for air, and walked soddenly over to her father.
"T-t-t-that was FUN! Can we do it again?"

Carmine looked down at his soaked daughter and his eyes went wide as he saw her coat was running. He slowly pulled a pigtail cloth from his saddle bag and began to wipe her off. More color came off and eventually her stripes were plainly visible.
"WHAT THE BUCK IS THIS!"

Friesden quivers as her father yells at her. "Um. I. Um. I don't. Um. I don't know..."

"No! No! I'm not mad, mad at you! I'm mad at her!"
Carmine chewed on his cheek and seethed for a few minutes
"Ocean! WHERE ARE YOU! I need to talk to YOU!"

Friesden slowly built up the courage to tiptoe up to her father. Maybe if she gave him a hug then he wouldn't shout anymore. "D-d-d-d-d-dad?"

Ocean Breeze flutters to the ground near the two, eyes wide. "What's the matter?" She spots her daughter and sees the stripes showing on her coat. Uh oh...

Friesden hesitantly extends a forehoof to Carmine. "D-d-d-d-d-d-d-dad?"

Carmine barely notices his 'daughter'... no, somepony ells' daughter on his leg, or reaching out to him.
"Care to explain this?"
He clenched his teeth and snorted

She stammers something incoherent and makes a motion for Friesden to come to her. "It's-it's not... I-I mean, she-she is o-our daughter...."

"THERE ARE NO DAMN DIRTY ZEBRAS ON MY SIDE OF THE FAMILY!"
Carmine was literally jumping up and down with anger and bellowing at the top of his lungs.

Friesden sits down, hard. "D-d-d-dad..." Before she can say anything else, she bursts into tears.

She retreats a step and says, "B-but we-we raised her t-together, y-you're her f-father."

Carmine had raised her, that's right, he was raising her... He was raising somepony ells' foal
"She, she, belongs to somepony! Not me though! SOME BUCKING ZEBRA!"
He turned away chewing on his cheek. He had been betrayed.

Ocean Breeze is nearly in hysterics by this point. "Carmine, please... y-y-you're her father! I-I made a mistake... b-but..."

Friesden is lying on the ground, her sobs continuing.

Carmine was so mad he could hardly speak, and he was so sad he just wanted to run away. Run away from this pony he didn't even know any more
"H-her or us? Y-you got to chose *sniff* Ocean, h-her or us?!"

Friesden stops the sobbing for a second. "P-p-p-please d-d-d-d-dad, d-d-d-d-d-d-don't, p-p-p-p-p-please..."

Her mouth hangs agape for a few moments before she collapses to the ground, face in hooves as she begins to sob. What had she done? She had to choose between her daughter and the rest of her family. How could anypony do that? She is unable to vocalize at all for some moments, daring not to look up to her husband or child. Finally she croaks, "You..."
What had she done?

Friesden wraps her forelegs around her father's leg, as tight as she can. "P-p-p-p-p-p-please...."

Carmine looks at friesdizzy. his eyes quiver for a moment, and then pushes her away. He needed to help his wife, It was just one thing... wasn't it?

"I..I... lets' go home, Ocean, we, need to, to...."

He tries to get Ocean Breeze to her hooves again, and he was trying even harder to forget this ZEBRA that was not! His! Daughter!

Carmine has to all but drag his stricken wife from the scene, who fixes her eyes on her daughter as the filly slowly disappears into the distance.

Friesden just sits there sobbing.

Glyph was out walking when he heard loud yelling by the well. He ran over, just in time to see Ocean breeze and Carmine leaving, and young Friesden sitting on the ground sobbing. Slowly he approaches her, noticing the odd stripes, which he's sure he's never seen on her before, and carefully reaches out a hoof to touch her withers. "Little one? What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Friesden doesn't answer, just sobbing her eyes out.

Deciding that caution wasn't going to help in this situation, Glyph wraps his forehooves around Friesden and hugs her close. "Hush now little one... just let it out... can.. can you tell me what happened? Where did these stripes come from?"

Friesden just continues sobbing onto Glyph.

"Come on... it's okay..." He brushs Friesden's mane, letting her cry. "Maybe we should find your parents..."

Friesden just continues sobbing, seeming to sob even harder.

"Please... just tell me what happened..." He wipes some of the tears from Friesden's eyes, worry starting to creep into his voice. "Please, there must be something I can do... are you hurt? Do... do you need to go to the hospital?"

Friesden tries to choke back a couple of sobs. "I-I-I...Dad doesn't like me...Neither does mum..."

Glyph blinks, her answer surprising him, then hugs her tighter. "Come on now... that can't be true... what makes you think they don't like you?"

"Th-t-t-t-t-th-th-they said they don't! That's why!"

"They said... oh sweetling..." He kept her held close, stroking her mane and letting her cry herself out. "H-here... I'll take you to your parents.. w-we'll get this all sorted out you'll see."

"R-r-r-really?"

"Yeah... come on." Glyph stands, keeping Friesden close. "We'll go and see them, and I'll make them explain what's the matter... come on." He leads the way back to Ocean Breeze's house, hoping he was right, and that this was just some misunderstanding.

Friesden sniffles. "Okay. Thank you."

After a while, they arrive at the house, Glyph reaches up and knocks on the door, swallowing slightly. "Carmine? Ocean Breeze? Are you here?"

Carmine answers the door slowly, his eyes are wide and keep flicking back and forth.
"Hello how are you Glyph? why are you here? everything is fine here, fine, fine, fine."

Friesden tries to speak up. "D-d-d-d-dad? Can I c-c-c-come home?"

Carmine looks at the little zebra filly with unfamiliar eyes
"I don't know you, you must be confused, no zebras in my family. Not a one, can't be our filly."

"D-d-d-d-dad? It's me, Friesden, your filly...Dad? Please? Tell me you remember me...please? Please, dad?"

Glyph's eyes open wide, stunned by that reaction. "Carmine... are you alright? This is F- wait... did you say Zebra?" He looks at Friesden again, the stripes suddenly making sense. "But.. this is Friesden, your daughter... and she's upset... you need to comfort her..."

"I, I," *his eyes shrink to little dots* "Have no idea what you are talking about Glyph. This filly is a zebra, I'm not a zebra, my wife's not a zebra, so she must be somepony ells'. I have four wonderful foals and a faithful wife, but no zebras."

"D-d-d-dad..."
Friesden begins to cry again.

Glyph grits his teeth at Carmine's words, and steps forward, his voice dropping to a low growl. "You want to run that by me again. Your daughter is sitting here, crying her eyes out. And you're denying her existence... What the buck are you playing at..."

Carmine dashes away from the scary soldier, but stops when he reaches his wife and foals, he had to protect them. He shook noticeably.
"D-don't h-hurt us m-mister Glyph! I swear I, I just don't know what you're t-t-talking about!"

"D-d-d-dad? M-m-m-mum? P-P-P-Perry? C-C-C-Chestnut? C-C-C-Crimsy?"

Glyph snorts and scrapes his hoof. "You... you..." He closes his eyes and take a few breaths. He really seemed to believe his lies... and looking at Friesden... Glyph couldn't keep pressing... He just had to get her away from this... "Virtue will hear about this... fine... she isn't yours you say? Then she'll stay with me tonight... but... don't think there won't be consequences for this..."

Chestnut tries to move forward but swept up by her father into a hug before she can take two steps. Carmine closes his eyes and shivers.
"Do what ever you what ever you need to Mr.Glyph. I know my foals, and my wife has always been faithful. Please don't hurt us Mr.Glyph, we didn't do anything."

"C-C-C-Chestnut, you remember me, don't you? Tell dad he's my dad! Please!"

Chestnut just starts to cry into her fathers chest. Carmine speaks over her bawling as he tries seemingly in vain to comfort his daughter, his real daughter, not somepony ells'
"Please, you're making us all so scared, please just go away."
The other two foals hide under their mother

"C-C-C-Chestnut..."
Friesden can no longer hold back her tears and bursts forth in another torrent of crying.

Glyph blinks back angry tears as he looks at the monsters he used to think were ponies... He may not be able to do anything for the other foals but... "Fine... we're leaving... come on little one..." He picks Friesden up and walks away, still seething, but trying to keep his emotions under control for Friesden's sake... Glyph slowly heads back to his house, trying to think of something to say... "Sweetling... I'm sorry.... I... I wish there was more I could do... but you can stay with me tonight at least..."

"W-w-w-why doesn't D-d-d-dad remember me? W-w-w-w-w-will he remember me tomorrow?"

He opens his door and walks inside. "I... I don't know little one... but you can stay with me as long as you need to..." He places Friesden on the ground, holding her close again. "You don't have to worry about me... I'll be here for you..."
'I... I wish Kat was here... she needs more love than one pony can give...'

Kat had seen Glyph and Friesden walking into his room, and it made her wonder why would Glyph take a young filly into his room like that.. something must be investigated! and thus, investigate she did. By walking directly over, seeing the scene filled with sad and dread. "Uh... Hello?"

I look up, still holding Friesden tightly. "Hey mein wenig liebe... Come here please... I... I think... I think this needs more than me..."

"I-I-I-I just want D-d-d-dad to remember me..."

Kat sensed something very.. VERY wrong going on here. as she quickly trots over, "What's going on?" she asked worryingly

"It's... it's a long story... Friesden is going to be staying with me for a while... Just, hold her too please... she needs the love... now especially." Glyph closes his eyes and nuzzles the filly, trying to give her all the love and comfort he can.

Friesden shivers. "D-d-d-d-d-dad used to do that...So did m-m-m-m-m-m-mum...Why don't they remember me?"

Kat got down on all of her four legs next to Friesden, opening her wing and warped her in close. Embracing her.. "There there..." She said softly... Soothingly... Getting ideas of what's going on already... Oh she's angry. She's really angry.. but Anger can wait. She has a foal to comfort...

"I just want d-d-d-d-dad...and m-m-m-m-m-mum...I just want them back."

"I know... I know..." Glyph strokes Friesden's mane as he continues to hold and nuzzle her. "I... I wish I could do something more... I wish I could tell you everything would be fine... but all I can do is be here... and promise to stay..."

Kat sighed, holding closely onto Friesden and nuzzle softly onto her mane.. she wanted to say something, but she knew that it won't help and the filly doesn't need that right now.. so instead.. she slowly.. and quietly.. begin to hum.. a song.. a soothing.. calming one. The one she remembers her mother humming her to sleep in those scary nights..

Friesden continues to choke out a few sobs before the crying subsides.
"H-h-h-h-he'll like me tomorrow? Right?"

Glyph blinks back a few more angry tears, trying to focus on the filly in his hooves. "I... I don't know... I wish I could give you more sweetling..." He continues to stroke her mane, looking to Kat for some sort of help.

Unfortunately for Glyph, Kat couldn't think of any other help other than just to be there.. She were too mixed with sorrow, anger, and it's giving her quite a lot of chest pain.. but so far she's been successfully fighting off the tears as she continues to hum away the song for the foal in her wings. Giving her a kiss to the side of her head softly.

"H-h-h-h-h-h-he might not? B-b-b-b-but then what will I do?"

"If... if that happens... then I'll take care of you... I... I won't let you be alone..." He kisses her gently on the forehead. "But... as much as I'd love to have a foal... I hope your father will come to his senses... either way, it's late, and we should sleep... do... do you think you could try to get some rest?"

"I-I-I-I...D-d-d-d-d-dad s-s-s-sings me to s-s-s-sleep..."

"I... I could try to sing for you..." Glyph gives her one last squeeze before picking her up and putting her on the bed. "I... don't know many songs though... maybe you have one that I can sing? Would you like that?"

Kat followed up to the side of the bed. "Or, i could sing for you if you want... Sweetie." she said, trying to give her a reassuring smile with that kind face of hers.

"I-I-I-I-I don't know the songs...d-d-d-d-d-dad does."

"W-well... I'm sure we could think of one... if you want..." He looks at Kat. "The both of us could sing to you... just for you..." He carefully pulls the covers over Friesden, brushing his hoof through her mane again.

"P-p-p-p-p-please..."

"Alright then..." Glyph climbs into the bed next to Friesden, holding her tight. "Like I said, I don't know many songs... but there is one my pen-mother used to sing a lot... Kat, you should join in too if you want..." He closes his eyes, and takes a breath, thinking back to his days as a foal... and he begins to sing, just a small lullaby, but one that always brought him comfort.

Kat wasn't very familiar with the song much, but after listening for a few moment, she joined in.. adding the soothing tune into the lullaby as she sings from the purest depth of her heart.. she sings for this filly in front of her that desperately need something for comfort.. and she's making sure it's going to be the damn best comfort she could afford for her...

Glyph cuddles in with Friesden, holding her tight as his song finishes... even with what happened he can't help but smile at the little filly asleep in his arms. He shifts slightly to look back at Kat and whispers. "At least she can get some sleep... you want to climb up as well? I think she could really use as many loving ponies around as possible..."

Kat looked at the bed, seeing that it's going to take some squeezing to bed all 3 ponies together.. but if they snuggle really close to each other that can happen. "Yeah.. she'll need it." she said climbing up onto the bed on the opposite side of Glyph, with Friesden in between them. she opens a wing to cover the young filly with as well, giving her warmth and cuddles. "Good night... Little one."

Comments

[Paaaad]

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Well, techticley it's Polyamory, but close enough.