> R.E.P is Magic
>  by ToonLegion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Turning of a Friendly Coin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 1: Turn of a Friendly Coin





Darkness, complete and utter darkness. 

Everywhere he looked, that’s all he could see. The figure felt...numb to say the least. No memories of how he got where he was or what he was even doing. Heck, he couldn’t even seem to move. However, he managed to feel his voice coming back to him and give out a groan. This was followed by bits of feeling returning to his body. Though in doing so, this traded in the numbness for sharp pangs of pain. Especially in his head which begin pounding like a drum, causing him to moan in concert. As such he couldn’t stand to open his eyes to the thumping of his brain.

“Huh? Hello i-is somepony there?”

This unfamiliar sound to his pain rhythm managed to catch his notice though he could barely let out a response to it. At best, another pained groan came from him and he could hear footsteps coming in his direction. Suddenly the world seemed to move underneath him as if he was being tilted. This actually let him feel ground underneath, it didn’t feel like gravel. Rather it felt wooden, he could feel his feet even touching the end of it and getting the same feeling of the material. It’s then the voice spoke again, a rather hollow somewhat echo-y sound.

“Oh...oh wow! It’s a dragon!!”

However, the reverb didn’t do wonders for the pounding. But it did manage to get his body to move as he lifted up his left hand, albeit cringingly, to his head and rub it in a futile effort to dull the pain.

“Um...M-Mr. Dragon? Are y-you alright?”

The figure growled a little and he heard the voice pull away with a little “eep”. Yet after a bit, could feel the gaze come back on him. Summoning what returning strength he had, the figure spoke.

“Y-Yeah..just...keep it down...would ya?” The figure said, a mixture of grogginess and scratchiness in his throat. “W-Where?”

Much as the pounding was getting to him, he was getting tired of being in pitch black. Thus he forced his energy into his eyesight, managing to slowly open them.  It was still rather blurry but he could make out the night sky and a building towering in the background. From what of his surroundings, it was circular and indeed wooden. But the more noticeable feature was that there was someone staring down back at him. A lightly brown-ish figure with a blue looking and yet bulky collar around his neck. His blue eyes staring at him with both a look of curiosity, concern and a little fear. From the look of  him, he seemed fairly young.

“Where? Um you don’t remember? Did you get separated from your pack?”

“Pack?” The figured asked, trying to make sense of the questions, but nothing was coming to mind. Only more pounding to his head, he grimaced “I...I don’t know? Ugh, you...you called me a dragon? Are you one?”

The young one blinked but chuckled a little “No silly, I’m a pony”

The figured raised an eyebrow at that. Granted nothing seem to register when he said it, yet at the same time, it didn’t seem...right. He wanted to rack his brain more on this but the headache was only getting worse. Most he could do was go back to a previous question

“W-Where am I? Can you tell me?”

“Uh..oh right. Well this is the Ponies of Mercy Orphanage. Least the alleyway of it anyway. You’re currently in the barrel where we stash away old clothes and whatnot. Um, do you...need some help?” The young pony ducked down a bit. “You won’t eat me will you?”

That sentence both annoyed yet amused the figure somehow. “Doubt it, last I checked. I don’t eat things that talked back to me.” He chuckled but then groaned as another onslaught of pain hit his head “Just help me out of here, will ya?”

The young pony did just that, at first trying to reach for him. But his arms were too small to close the distance. Instead he left for a bit then lept onto the side of the barrel. The whole world tilted completely to the side, throwing the dragon into another section of the wooden container. He let out a yelp as he fell face first into the wood.

“S-Sorry” The pony apologized “Was trying to get it to come down more smoothly but…”

The dragon just groaned from the newfound pain. Still the action wasn’t without merit as the young pony managed to slide in and grab the dragon’s arms, pulling him out of the barrel and into the moonlight allowing the pony to get a good look at him. He was completely brown colored, save for his yellowish stomach, with black spines on his back and head. Yet was surprisingly not very big. When the pony lifted him to his feet he found he was practically his height. The dragon wobbled a bit, trying to gain his footing but it was taking all he had just to lean up against the pony.

“Wow, you're...nothing but a baby.” The pony remarked “Guess you really did get separated from your pack, huh?”

“Maybe...maybe not” The dragon quipped back still holding his head “It’s just all a blur to me. Ugh my head!” 

“Oh well do you know your name at least?”

“My...name?” The dragon echoed, again nothing was coming to him. “I...uh….huh?”

It was then he noticed his right claw. The whole time it was clenching something within it. Opening it, he found a small coin in his claw. Nothing too out of the ordinary saved for a “X” etched into it. The dragon stared at it for a bit. “A...coin?”

“Oh a Bit! Must’ve been in the barrel with you. Hehe they say that’s usually good luck if you manage to find one on the street!”

“Really..?” The dragon queried “Huh well I guess you can call me...um Coin.”

“Coin? Really?” The pony asked

The dragon shrugged “The only thing I can really remember. Maybe it’ll bring me luck.”

The pony chuckled at that “Fair enough. Mr.Coin. I’m Barrel. Barrel Roll. Everyone calls me Rolly though.”

“Cute name, nice to meetcha Rolly” 

The two shook claw to hoof before Coin nearly doubled over again.

“Whoa easy there.” Rolly said catching him “C’mon, on my back you go.”

Coin found himself surprisingly hoisted onto the back of his finder. The little guy was indeed stronger than he looked. 

“W-Where we going?”

“To see Sister Katsidy. Hopefully she’ll know what to do.”

“Uh you sure?” Coin said a bit worried “From our little meeting a minute ago, it sounded like you were scared of me”

“Well yeah” Rolly admitted  “But you seem friendly enough. ‘Sides she specializes in stuff like this, so don’t worry.”

With that Rolly trotted back inside with his new reptilian friend on his backside quite happily. “Hehe and I thought this day was going down the tubes but hey I made a new friend and he’s a dragon to boot. Cool!”

“Uh Rolly could you slow down. I still got this headache...and now...it’s kinda...transferring...to my stomach.”

“Huh wha...whatcha mean “stomach”?”

“I mean…I...” His mouth suddenly puffed up and his face turned a sickly shade of green “Ulp!”

“Oh no! No! Nononononononono!”

Unfortunately in his haste, he quicken the bouncing with Coin still on his backside, which did not help matters until…

“BLECH!”

...Well, some details of the beginning of a beautiful friendship are probably best left untold.

(To Be Continued)
> Chapter 2: Starry-Eyed Surprise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2: Starry-Eyed Surprise






“Oooh, is it really a dragon?”

“Does it breathe fire?”

“I thought they were all big and scary.”

“Does it eat bugs? I hear they ate bugs!”

A clamoring of voices with similar questions crowded at the door of the infirmary of the Ponies of Mercy orphanage. The curious onlookers of course being in the same age group as Rolly, so naturally like any kid, they wanted to see how something they don’t normally see everyday up close. However, they were being blocked by a much bigger pony, green colored with a bit of blond mane wearing a nun habit. Normally, nuns were meant to be of the gentle looking sort, but this one’s gaze felt very imposing.

“Enough!” The nun pony bellowed, almost with a hissing sound “The dragon is a patient! Not a freak show! He needs his rest and your squawking at the door isn’t helping matters! It’s nearly your bed times anyway! Get a move on, the lot of you, or so help me..!”

She reached into her habit and pulled out a long wooden ruler, the angle of which hitting the light  to make it look quite threatening. Indeed the children got the hint and shrunk back from the rectangular fury.

“You have to the count of three. One…”

She barely got to forming the “T” in “Two” before the kids were down the hall, out of sight. The nun sighed before putting away her instrument of punishment “Kids. Seems like they get harder to control with each one that comes in.”

“Hehe go easy on them, Sister Brim” A voiced called from the room “You can’t blame them. If I were in their hooves I would be right along with them at the doorway. Luckily for me though, I don’t have to.” she giggled.

“Sister Katsidy, please.” Brim chided sternly as she closed the door “You’re suppose to be the Mother Superior here. Show some maturity.”

Said nun, Katsidy, just stuck out her tongue at that statement. Unlike Sister Brim however, she wasn’t a pony. Rather she was a white cat standing on two legs with fur as white as pure snow and golden yellow eyes. What’s more, she was pretty small to boot as well, having to need a stool just to stay by the bedside of the dragon she was looking over. Though like Brim, she wore a nun habit tailored to her size, along with wearing a pendant with a symbol of two ponies seemingly circling each other with a day background on one side and night on the other.

“Maturity’s all well and good sister. But not enjoying yourself is something else altogether.” Katsidy quipped “Like I told you before, try to relax a bit sometime.”

“With those little monsters always planning something, twenty four-seven. I’ll pass, thanks.” Brim stated starchly, but her expression eased up a bit upon seeing their patient. Indeed, it was quite a shock even to her when Rolly called for help and to see the one that needed aid was something that was quite feared to civilized areas such as their town. Still the dragon didn’t seem dangerous and gave no struggle to their treatment. “How is he?”

“Mmm a few bits of bruises but nothing we couldn’t patch up. However before I gave him some medicine. He mentioned he couldn’t remember how he got in that barrel, nor where he came from.”

“Amnesia?” Brim questioned, tilting her head “Oh my, not sure if that’s a blessing or something to worry about. If he does regain his memory, whose to say he won’t go on a rampage.” She noticed the “X” marked bit on the bedside table and motioned to it. “The fact that he was holding that bit in his claw likewise doesn’t give me a good feeling as well. You know how dragons get around treasure.”

Katsidy’s face went blank at that. “Indeed. I know the risk all too well when it comes to this species. In fact the most record of any pony having a dragon would go to Celestia’s student and that’s only because she hatched him from his egg.” She looked over Coin who was sleeping soundly now, with a towel of his head and some band-aids on his arms and legs “This is something completely different though. But even so, we’ll treat him as any new entry here.”

“Even after...Sombra?” Brim asked, knowing she was entering a taboo subject and indeed Katsidy’s face reacted with slight sorrow to that. “Ah I…I’m sorry. I didn’t…”

“It’s all right.”  Katsidy said, shaking her head “That was a long time ago, but even then it’s still a reminder that we can’t help everypony. Still… poor Amore.” After a bit of silence, she regained a determined glance. “But that’s no excuse not to treat others with a helping hand when they need it. Isn’t that what we're taught after all?”

Brim blinked in surprise at this resolve then smiled. “Of course, Mother Superior. Forgive me for not remembering that. Just voicing my worries. Heh, I guess I do need to ease up some.”

“Quite alright. We do have charges to look over and we seemed to have gained one extra as well. Don’t worry we’ll keep an eye on our dragon friend.” She closed the first aid box, to which Brim trotted over, allowing Katsidy to hop on her back “Though, I have a feeling we won’t have much to worry about with this one. ^_^”

“Mmm, I do hope you’re right, Mother Superior.” 

With that, the two cut the lights and let their newfound guest rest.





“Mmm...huh wha?” Coin muttered as he opened his eyes and found himself in a cloudy-like setting. He was standing on  some sort of ground but couldn’t make out anything among it. In fact he seem to be the only person there.

“H-Hello?” He called out, noticing his voice echoing across the weird area. “Is anyone there?” However nothing answered back to his call. Just complete and utter silence. To say that it was unsettling was a bit of an understatement. Coin moved forward, trying to get his bearings but the fog gave him a hard time. “Where am I? Rolly? K-Kat-Lady? Anyone?” 

Suddenly lights shone on him like someone had flip the switch on a spotlight. He quickly turned to it, shielding his eyes. “Who’s there?” His eyes widened however when he found not one but two “spotlights” on him. And these seem to form expressions, almost as if they were…

“Eyes?” Coin noted, a bit of trepidation in his tone. “Um..h-hi? Is this your place? I didn’t mean to intrude, though really I don’t know how I got here. Can you help me out?”

The “eyes” suddenly moved forward and he could make out a vague, shadowy shape. In fact it didn’t really seems to have any kind of form other than a blob of dark whips around it. What’s more, Coin noted that it was big, practically towering over him. Coin instinctively backed up seeing the scale of it. Smiling nervously all the while “O-Of course, I can..always show myself out.”

It’s then the shadowy figure spoke, a massive booming tone coming over the area, But what came out wasn’t words, rather a garbled deafening white note that rattled Coin’s eardrums. He quickly covered his ears the best he could as he grimaced. “GAH! S-STOP! I’M SORRY! JUST STOP!” But the figure continued on, the sound beginning to pierce through his hands. Unable to take  it anymore, Coin ran. Even with no direction to go to, he ran as fast as his stubby little legs would allow. Anything to get away from the terrible noise. However the echo around him just seem to make this feat impossible. But that wasn’t the worse of it, he noticed that the “lights” were following him.

“No! NO! STAY AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME!” He yelled, but the pleads went ignored, if anything the mass was closing in on him quickly. The light getting wider around him and the feeling of the futility of his situation. As he dared to chance a glance behind him, he was met with a giant shadowy hand reaching for him.

“COIN!”

Coin blinked and suddenly found himself staring at the worried face of Rolly looking at him.

“Whoa! There we go.” Said Rolly, a bit of relief in his voice “Y-You alright?”

Coin looked around and found himself back in the infirmary bed. Judging by the darkness it was still night out. Though Coin noticed that he was sweating a bit and panting hard. “Rolly? I’m...at the orphanage?”

“Well yeah, you never left since the nuns brought you in. You must’ve had some dream though, you were tossing and turning like you were in a mini-earthquake.” Rolly noted “Good thing I came in to check on you.”

“Oh, whew yeah a...a dream” Coin echoed trying to calm himself. But a part of himself was doubtful. The dream felt more stressful than it should’ve been. Coin sat up, shaking his head to get his bearings back “Still, thanks for that. That was nice of the sisters to let you see me.”

“Uh yeah about that…” Rolly chuckled nervously “I… actually snuck in. We’re not allowed to be out of bed once nighttime hits unless it's for a potty emergency. I was just curious how you were doing. Still good thing, eh?”

Coin stared blankly at that, not sure how to respond to it. “O-Oh so...if they catch you…?”

“Good chance I’ll be forced to scrub all the dirty laundry by hoof. Not the first time it happened,  I can assure you.” Rolly actually smiled when he mentioned that, almost like he was… proud? Again Coin didn’t know how proceed from that statement, so he just shrugged.

“Well still, I appreciate the gesture. But I’m fine now, so you better head on back.”

“Well I could but I can’t really sleep now after waking you up.” Rolly rubbed the back of his head smiling sheepishly. Then perked “Oh I know, I can take you to my secret place within the building.”

“Secret place?” Coin questioned

Rolly nodded “If you’re feeling up to it. I can show you.”





Sometime later, the two were making their way through the building, seeing a scant few nuns patrolling the hallways. Though Rolly seem to make his way around them as if he was a ninja to Coin’s amazement “Wow, strong and slippery.”

Eventually the two arrived at the second floor, after dodging another guard. Rolly lead the two to a room with many knick knacks scattered around.

“Whoa. Is this the place?” Coin asked but Rolly shook his head.

“Nah just where we keep old supplies and decorations for holidays. No one really comes here otherwise, especially at night.” He moved a pillow and threw it on a box next Coin, causing dust to kick up. Coin coughed as he got caught up in it.

“I can -Cough- see why.” He said waving the cloud away.

“Sorry” Rolly apologized then headed over to an old desk and pushed it slightly where a crude looking board was placed, colored to look like the wall. He pulled it aside and showed a small crawl space “Here we go, watch yourself now, there’s some bits of wood here and there. Could give you a splinter.”

Coin nodded and they headed in. Indeed Coin could see some wood lined around the wall, no doubt due to the infrastructure of the building. It didn’t take the dragon long to see they were in the walls of the orphanage. The night didn’t really give much light to see which made it creepy, yet at the same time felt pretty exciting too. It’s like Coin was an explorer checking out uncharted territory.  Eventually they reached a clearing where snack wrappers and soda cans could be seen strewed around as well as some pillows here and there. Rolly waved a hoof around the area.

“Welcome to Casa De Barrel!” He grinned. “Though I assure you, MUCH better than the one I found you in.”

Coin smirked as he looked around “Your own private room? Cool!”

“Yeah, I found it when I was getting stuff for Hearts and Hooves Day chasing after a decoration. Good for hiding out when I wanna avoid chores. Though the sisters do eventually make me do em anyways...” He chuckled “Still if I wanna be alone this is usually the place. You hungry?” 

He headed over to a pillow and pulled out a knapsack which was filled with snacks bearing the same logo of the cans and wrappers around him. “I’m running a little low, meant to make another food run when I could. You be surprised how often the other kids don’t bother eating this stuff.”

“Pfft, their loss,” Coin chimed. Rolly reached into the bag and tossed him a bag of chips and a soda and the two flopped on the pillows “Ah, much better than that bed. Wish we had some light though.”

“Oh right,” Rolly said, bonking himself in the head. “I nearly forgot.” He reached over to a string and pulled on it. A panel in front of them slide to the side letting the moonlight in and giving the two a nice view of the starry sky. Coin could also see most of the town from here as well. It looked very Victorian from the outset but some modern touches like water towers and pole lines were strewn about the area. At the current, all was quiet as the residents were no doubt asleep in their homes, waiting for the light of the next day. 

“T-This is just...incredible, dude!” Coin managed to blurt out “How…?”

“Eh no biggie, just rigged up some string to the roof tiles. Took me awhile though, I’m not exactly what you call a pony of mechanical expertise.”

“You sure? You seem to have a lot of talent under your belt from what I’ve seen.” Coin said opening the soda “Heck, from the way you were sneaking around, I think you were trying to be a stealth expert or something.”

Rolly smiled at that but his expression likewise had a mix of uncertainty “Y-Yeah, well, when you’ve been here long as I have. You pretty much know your way around things…”

Coin tilted his head “Rolly? Um...how long have you been here?”

“Since the day I could walk, apparently,” Rolly commented forlornly. “Brim said they just found me amongst some clothing in a donation bin. The only thing of note I had on me was this..” He pointed to the collar around him “...Been living here ever since.”

“Oh..oh Rolly.” Coin started, a bit ashamed for bringing it up. “I’m sorry I didn’t…”

But Rolly shook his head “It’s alright. There’s no point in thinking about it. I wasn’t wanted, that’s just how it is. Not just with me, with a lot of us here too. It’s just I’ve...Come to accept it.”

“Even then…” Coin thought to himself for a second. “Surely you can’t be happy with that, Rolly.”

“Of course I’m not. But what else can I do?” Rolly flumped on his side of the pillow pile.

“...Well, I dunno about you, but, I’m not going to just sit around here and wonder to myself.” Coin looked at the bit in his claws. “First I wake up here with this coin, then I have that weird dream...I have so many questions, and not a single answer to them. I need to find out who I really am.”

“Dude, you’re a dragon with a bump on his head, what’s there to explain?” Rolly replied.

“A lot!” Coin growled. “...Sorry, but I won’t be satisfied until I find out why I was dumped here outside the orphanage.”

“...At least stay here for a bit.” Rolly sat back up.”You don’t even know where you are, right now do you?”

“Eheh, I guess you have me there,” Coin chuckled. “Does this city have a name?”

“Hoofington,” Rolly answered. “It’s small, but hey, it’s on a map, so I’m ok with that.”

“Hoofington, huh…” Coin reached for a bag of chips and crunched some in his mouth as he thought some more. “What’s this town known for anyways?”

Rolly opened his mouth to answer, but instead of emitting words, he gasped instead. “Coin, look! Up there in the sky!”

“Huh?” Coin looked at where Rolly was pointing. One of the stars, shining brightly than the rest, was streaking through the sky like a comet. “Oh wow, is that one of those shooting stars?!”

“Eeeeyup,” Rolly replied with satisfaction. ”Been seeing them a lot lately...Almost every other night, it seems. What, did a planet explode somewhere?” Rolly chuckled but saw Coin frown at that “Err..forget I asked” The two continued to the watch the night show.

“...Say, Rolly, if I make a wish now, will it come true?” Coin asked.

“Heck if I know, fifty fifty chance really.” Rolly replied. “I say, Knock yourself out.”

Coin smiled and stared up at the sky, his heart aflutter with anticipation. He thought to himself, “Maybe I can finally find out who I really am!” as he made his wish loud and clear in his mind. Coin closed his eyes and focused on it as hard as he could. Over and over, Coin chanted the wish in his mind…This moment seemed to stretch on forever, but as much as Coin wanted to, he couldn’t bring himself to stop wishing.

That was, until Rolly shouted “Uh...Coin? COIN!”

“What?!” Coin snapped out of his stupor in an annoyed fashion. “I’m trying to wish here!”

“Well you wished a little too hard! GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Rolly shouted as he dove and grabbed Coin off of the pile of pillows.

“ACK! What gives?!” Coin’s question was answered rather abruptly after he heard the sound of breaking wood around him. Once he and Rolly tumbled to a stop, Coin got his bearings and got to his feet. “Seriously, what the hay is going..On?”

Also tumbling to the ground, making a sound similar to wind chimes as it did so, was a star-shaped object. No, it wasn’t an object--it was a star. With five rounded points, a light yellow glow, and the mass of a dinner plate, it rolled to a stop across the room with about as much grace as a tumbleweed.

“Whoa…” Coin was entranced by the star’s glow. He walked up to it, then ran, until he suddenly was brought to a stop by Rolly grabbing his tail. “HEY!”

“Aren’t stars supposed to be radioactive? Not to mention hot?” Rolly said as he pulled Coin to his side. “Touching that might give you the worst sunburn ever!”

“Well, what do you suggest we do with it?” Coin asked.

Rolly grasped for an answer, but then looked up at the window and shook his head. “The nuns probably heard that window break…”

“We can just say it was a rock or something,” Coin said quickly as he tried to reach for the star again.

“Yeah right, who could possibly throw something that...Far…” Rolly came to a stop as his face twisted into a frown.

“What’s the matter?”

“I just remembered that stunt Shining Armor pulled in the past…” Rolly grumbled. “I mean, who does that?!” Coin just raised an eyebrow. “It’s...I’ll tell you later, right now we need to get that star out of sight ASAP.”

“All over it!” Coin ran up to the star before Rolly realized what was going on, still seething over his little tangent.

“COIN! NO! DON’T!”

Coin effortlessly lifted the star over his head and went to the pillow pile. “What? I’m not screaming in pain or anything.”

Rolly just raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh...Kay then...Where were you planning on hiding it?”

“In the pillow pile here, where else?”

“Well…” Rolly thought for a second, then smiled and nodded. “That’s actually not a bad idea.”

“You think so?” Coin said as he shifted some pillows off the pile. “I just hope the light doesn’t shine through to alert anypony else…”

“Nah it’ll be fine,” Rolly said quickly. “I mean, I have a lot of pillows.”

“Very soft ones, hehe.” Coin flopped back on the pile once he was finished. “Ahhh…”

Coin wasn’t sure if he talked to Rolly again that night, as the only thing he could recall was falling asleep again after filling himself with junk food. Coin didn’t dream again that night, but he had a much more peaceful sleep than he did before.

“Maybe my wish will come true after all…”

(T.B.C)
> Chapter 3: Prepare Your Stealth 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 3: Prepare Your Stealth


Sunlight shone through the opening in Rolly’s secret place, signalling the beginning of a new day, followed by a rooster crowing from the nearby animal pen. Eventually the light came upon the two occupants, a dragon and a young colt, surrounded by snack wrappers and soda cans from their previous binging. However, the former groaned as he returned to the waking world, holding his stomach, followed by a groggy and ill feeling.

“Ugh…” Coin muttered ”...No wonder they call this-- (burp) junk food.”

“You ok, dude?” Rolly asked while yawning, as he rolled over on the pillow pile.

“I feel like I just got back from a boat ride,” Coin said as he dizzily got up.

“Heh, I’ll admit, I was sick the first few times I did this too, you’ll get used to it. Just...Don’t do that here, ok? It’s a pain to clean up. Trust me, you don’t want that smell to ruin the place.”

“R-Right…” Coin staggered towards the entrance of Casa de Barrel.

“Whoa there, lemme escort you at least!” Rolly helped Coin out of their hidey-hole and back into the orphanage proper. It was still quite early, the sun had barely just begun to raise. “Now we just have to rush back to bed and--”

“And what, if I may ask?”

Rolly froze in his tracks. The two slowly turned and saw Katsidy waiting for them around the corner “And...Uh...Go back to sleep?”

Katsidy chuckled. “I said it once and I’ll say it again...You are a terrible liar, Rolly.”

Rolly gulped. Coin was still pretty much in a daze, to which Katsidy immediately took notice of.

“What on Equestria happened to poor Coin?”

“...Junk food binge,” Rolly blurted out thoughtlessly. He quickly kicked himself for it. But then again it was hard to lie to the Mother Superior, especially if she knew you all too well.

“Rolly!” Katsidy’s tone turned more strict this time.

“It wasn’t my fault this time!” Rolly pleaded. “Please, I just wanted him to feel at home here!”

“Is that right?” Katsidy said, eyebrow raised. “Well, if you’re as truthful as your words say...You’ll go to the lavatory and help poor Coin get over his hangover.”

Rolly sighed. “Yes Mother…” He then trotted off to the nearest bathroom, where he (ahem) helped Coin get all the undesirables out of his stomach. Not exactly a pretty sight. “Geeze dude, how much did you eat?”

“That depends…” burped Coin. “How much was missing since we--”

Rolly covered Coin’s mouth immediately and asked him to shush.

“Huh? Oh…Right.” Coin washed his face and the two exited, only to be greeted by yet another pony, clad in a black with a crew-cut mane and glasses. “Uh…!”

“Oh, Father Bell!” Rolly smiled. “What brings you here?”

“Not a visit to the loo, I can assure ye,” Father Bell chuckled (in an accent we humans would recognize as Irish). “I actually would like to ask you boys a favor.”

Rolly’s bright face softened into a frown once last night’s memory came to mind. “...Punishment for our little excursion last night?” 

“Oh-ho no, nothin’ of the sort, lads! Katsidy’s got that taken care of, no worries.”

Coin and Rolly looked at each other nervously as Father Bell reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a round object. It looked like an ornately-decorated metallic eyeball.

“Does this have meaning to either of you?” Father Bell asked politely.

“No...Where did you find this?” Coin asked as he looked at and sniffed the object closely.

“It was thrown right into my office, it was,” Father Bell replied, his normally jovial demeanor giving way to one of frustration. “I swear, if some demon or monster thinks they can mess with the likes of me...!”

“Um, excuse me sirs…” A faint voice perked up. The three ponies turned to see another orphan standing by. “Can I use the toilet, please?”

“Oh, sorry!” Bell and the others moved aside to let the orphan into the bathroom.

“Adorable little tyke, that Clair,” Father Bell said with a smile. “I’ll admit he does confuse me a tad bit...He’s not the only pony with that name.”

“Yeah, I figured…” Rolly replied. “Um, why do you have reason to believe that object is some kind of...Evil thingy?”

“It just looks forbodin’, it does,” Father Bell replied. “Perhaps a magical camera sent to spy on us?”

“I doubt it,” Rolly said as Coin nodded in agreement. “Have you asked the others about this?”

“Twas about to when I ran into ye, Rolly. I know ya have a habit for playing hookey.”

Rolly frowned again. “Gee, thanks.”

“In any case, I must be off,” Father Bell was about to leave when Coin stopped him. “Hmm? Something the matter, son?”

“Uh...You...Didn’t happen to hear anything else last night, did you?” Coin asked nervously.

“Not at all, twas as quiet as my mother-in-law...Why do you ask?”

“Just...Curiosity’s sake, maybe whomever threw that into your room ran off in fear!”

“Perhaps they did, the scoundrels…” Father Bell growled. “But worry not, boys! Father Silver Bell is on the case! I’ll get to the bottom of this yet!” And with that, he trotted off, his head held high.

“...I can’t tell if he’s the most vigilant or the least,” Rolly said once Father Bell was out of earshot. “Speaking of which...We gotta go find Katsidy for our punishment.”

Coin sighed. “That’s...Gonna be fun, isn’t it?”

“Depends on your definition of ‘fun,’” Rolly said as the two went to seek out the head nun.

However, she was nowhere to be seen in her normal haunts. Not in the cafeteria, the library, or even the rec room where she usually watches the morning news on the television. This was confusing and worrying for both the young colt and dragon.

“Where the hay is she?” Rolly asked, scratching his head.

“Oh well, I guess we’re not being punished today,” Coin said with a smile.

“You wish!” Rolly sneered. “The clergy here are bloodhounds, they’ll find us in no time once they find out we’re not replanting the garden or cleaning out the gutters.”

“Wish…” Coin’s thoughts turned back to the star again. “...I wonder…”

Rolly silenced Coin again and pulled him close so he could whisper. “...Ohhh no, let’s not discuss it here in the open, what if somepony else finds out?!”

“Good point…” Coin sighed. “Ok, let’s find the others,” he said as Rolly and he continued their hunt for Mother Katsidy.

After more searching, the two settled on just going to the main office. Normally, most of the orphans weren’t allowed here unless they were already in trouble, but seeing as they were already on Katsidy’s blacklist, Coin and Rolly figured a little peek wouldn’t hurt. And a peek is what they got, as the office door was left open slightly. The voices of Brimstone and Katsidy could be heard within.

“...Honestly, why did it have to wind up in his possession? Now we’ll never be able to turn it into the police, you know how he is with such objects!” Brimstone complained.

“Father Bell does listen to reason, we just have to be patient,” Katsidy tried to reassure her colleague. “Regardless, we know that this eyeball exists, and that can only mean one thing…”

“Wait...Eyeball?” Coin whispered. “You don’t think they’re talking about…?” Rolly shushed him and they leaned in trying to hear the conversation more clearly.

“...You don’t mean…?”

If Rolly and Coin could see Katsidy now, they’d see her nod. “The Lockets have targeted our fair town.”

Brim gasped. “I thought the royal guard arrested them months ago!”

“Tch...If they couldn’t stop the invasions of Sombra and Chrysalis, they can’t stop these master crooks. They’ve hit like five shops already, and now they’re after our donations, those vultures!”

“...I am suddenly very thankful we have Father Bell in our midst,” Brim replied, trying to keep herself calm. “Tis a shame Father Steel is travelling abroad as well. His magic would be a big help here.”

“We’ll just have to go back to the old standbys of locking our doors and windows...Speaking of which, you left this open…” Katsidy went to the door, but instead of closing it, she flung it open, sending Coin and Rolly tumbling away from the door. “BOYS!”

Coin and Rolly stammered out excuses, but Katsidy’s loud hiss silenced them.

“Nothing that you heard is to be uttered to anyone else, understood?” Katsidy snarled.

“Y-Yes sister.” Both boys agreed nervously.

Katsidy took a moment to regain her composure, then her eyes lit up with an idea. “Brim, isn’t our Nanny out sick today?”

“Why yes, she is...Oh no, you’re not thinking of--”

“It’s the best thing I can be thinking of at the moment.” Katsidy turned to the two boys with a grin. Rolly was all too familiar with that look when it came to punishments. “Come along now, children.”

Rolly and Coin gulped, and with good reason. What was their punishment going to be this time?

Babies.

Dozens. And Dozens. Of crying baby foals, all in need of feeding, diaper changing, and being put to rest. Katsidy said before Coin and Rolly started that “this would blast those mischievous thoughts right of your skulls,” and she wasn’t kidding. The two had to wad up cotton balls and plug them in their ears before they lost their hearing.

“I NEED MORE BABY POWDER!” Rolly shouted.

“WHAT?! HADES FLOWER? NEVER HEARD OF IT!” Coin shouted back.

“Ugh, this is gonna be one of those days, isn’t it?” Rolly grumbled to himself, his words lost to the depths of the deafening din.





Foalsitting was not the end of the dynamic duo’s chores, of course. They, along with the other orphans, had various tasks to do to help raise money for the orphanage and keep the facility in proper working order. Keeping it clean was also a plus, but sparkling clean was an impossibility.

It wasn’t all bad though, as the days passed on, it gave Coin a chance to get to know some of the other orphans. Most were fillies and colts, though there were some other species as well such as griffons, a deer, a buffalo and even a Breezie. Some of them were around Rolly’s age, some younger coming out of the toddler years, others older and naturally with many different personalities to boot. Dragons however were indeed rare in the area, so Coin couldn’t help but feel like a minority when a few of the kids talked to him with various questions about his species. It was near overwhelming until Rolly managed to get them to ease back after revealing Coin’s memory loss. The sisters likewise aided, telling the tykes to get back to their duties.

After a particular busy day, Coin and Rolly were begging for a nice, long night’s rest. Coin sure was. Thankfully, he got it...For the most part.

Coin's dream didn't seem eventful since he first came to the orphanage and he chalked it up to the medicine messing with his head when he was treated. However, that night’s dream was different. He found himself greeted with the sight of stars, just like the night before when he spent it with Rolly. As Coin gazed up into the dreamscape of his mind, he heard a voice…It was quiet at first, but then it descended into the warbling Coin was all too familiar with.

“Oh no, not you again!” Coin braced for another earful, but the voice was much softer this time. “...What...Do you want?” Coin looked around for the source of the voice, until two large stars turned into the set of glowing eyes he was familiar with.

The voice continued to speak, but Coin could only make out a few words: “Twilight,” “stars,” and “Ponyville.”

“I don’t understand...What do these words mean…?” Coin asked.

“Stars...STARS!” The voice shouted, this time blasting Coin off his feet and into the darkness again.

“WAIT COME BACK!” Coin shouted, before he realized he was sitting on his bed again. A few orphans nearby grumbled in their sleep, complaining about Coin’s outburst. “Sorry guys, I...Huh?” Coin noticed somepony was missing.

Rolly wasn’t inside his bed.

“Rolly?” Coin climbed out of bed and looked around. “Hmm, maybe he went up to…” The dragon then jogged off to the secret passageway leading to Rolly’s hideout. It took him some effort to actually get there, however; the clergyponies had tightened security after they realized the Locket Bandits were in town. Local security guards watched the corridors like hawks for any signs of movement. Thankfully, Coin had something the ponies did not...Claws. Coin was able to scale the walls of the facility’s corridors (as silently as any clawed beast could manage) and make his way to Rolly’s secret passage. “Geeze, I feel like a cockroach after doing all that...’

Coin finally caught his breath once he got back up to Casa de Barrel, and found Rolly laying on the bed of pillows, mumbling to himself while holding something.

“Uh, Rolly?” Coin said quietly.

Unfortunately, Rolly was spooked by Coin’s greeting. He yelped and fell off of the pillow pile. Where Rolly laid, however, Coin could see the familiar glow of the star they found last night.

“Dude, don’t scare me like that!” Rolly snarled.

“Hey, I was under the impression you heard me come in,” Coin replied. “Then again, you probably couldn’t hear me over the constant mumbling.”

“I was just...Talking to myself, that’s all.” Rolly rubbed his head.

“No wonder Mother Katsidy said he was a terrible liar,” Coin thought to himself, but didn’t show his suspicion yet. “About what?”

“Things. You know. Dreams and whatnot.” Rolly smiled with an accompanying “squee” noise. “I just needed some ‘me’ time, ok?”

“I guess we all do,” Coin replied as he raised an eyebrow. “Speakin’ of dreams, I had one again.”

“Oh, what was it about?”

“Some...Thing telling me about the stars and Ponyville...Is that an actual place, or…”

Rolly perked up. “Oh yeah, but it’s a ways off from Hoofington, far to the southeast. If you wanted to get to there anytime soon, you’d best take the train...But good luck getting a ticket, though.”

Coin shrugged. “No worries, I’ll just stow away on it.”

It was Rolly’s turn to raise an eyebrow now. “Wait...You’re not gonna leave the orphanage, are you?”

“Well...I might, I was thinking it over while doing chores. I just get the feeling I have to leave, you know. Especially after knowing that this place is real.” Coin shrugged “Maybe take the star with me too. Somepony might buy it, to give me some cash for the road.”

Rolly frown and snorted. “I knew it...You’re just gonna take the prize and run, huh?”

“The hay? What’s with you?”  Coin was a bit taken aback by this response.

“I’d ask you the same question! How do I know you’re not just feigning this amnesia thing to get more attention?!” Rolly’s voice steadily rose as he berated Coin’s ambition.

“Whoa, dude, calm down! I’m still thinking about it, I didn’t say I was gonna--”

“Leave? Abandon me like my family did?! Take away any hopes I had of ever having a normal life?!” Rolly was advancing on Coin at this point, backing him into a corner. “Well let me tell you something, buster! You’re not going to succeed! This is MY star, do you hear me?!”

“...What?” Coin said after a moment of silence.

“Are you dumb? This thing grants wishes!” Rolly exclaimed.

“Uh, how?!” Coin was a bit flabbergasted at this as well.

“It’s a shooting star! You’re supposed to make wishes on these, right?!” Rolly then ran off and extracted the star from the mass of pillows, holding it above his head like a trophy.. “And I’m gonna wish that I had never been dumped in this place, that my family actually cared about me…” It was then that an odd, unsettling glow came over his eyes as he grinned …”I could reverse the very flow of time and space itself, and--OOOF!”

Coin had walked up to Rolly and bonked him on the head, causing him to fall over and drop the star. “Rolly, just drop it already! You’re sounding like an escapee from an insane asylum!”

“But I...Huh?” Rolly’s eyes widened, now back to normal, as he stared out the window again.

“If you had given me a second to explain, I was gonna say...I was gonna take the star with me, and maybe take you with me as well,” Coin explained.

“Uh?” Rolly shook his head and turned to Coin. “I don’t get it, what’re you saying?”

“There was another part of my dream, a name that came up...Twilight. Does that mean anything here?”

“Twilight?” Rolly echoed, taking a minute to think it over before he gasped in realization and nodded. “Yeah! Princess Twilight!”

“I knew that name sounded familiar, I overheard the other orphans talking about her, Said something about seeing her coronation recently.” Coin smiled as he snapped his fingers. “She lives in Ponyville, then?”

“Yup, it might as well be her kingdom by now,” Rolly chuckled. “What’s your plan?”

“My plan was to go to Ponyville with you and the star, and maybe she can help restore my memories, and perhaps hook you up with a proper family!” Coin explained.

“A...A family?” Rolly looked a bit shocked at this. “I...I don’t know, she’s royalty, why would she care about my problem? Besides...Who’d want to adopt me?”

Before Coin could answer, Rolly turned around and pointed out his cutie mark. It looked like someone tried to erase it; all Coin could make out were some bubble-like marks behind some kind of cross-hatching pattern.

“I don’t even have a full cutie mark yet,” Rolly said, dejected. 

“Wait, wha?” Coin said, looking it over. “Cutie Mark?”

Rolly blinked, a bit confused, “You didn’t know? They’re symbols that signify our talents. When we feel strongly about something we wish to do, it’s suppose to appear on our flanks.”

“Oooh, I see,” Coin noted. “I was wondering about that. But what do you mean yours isn’t ‘full?’”

“Just as I said, it just..Appeared one day. But I don’t know any talents of mine that would form it. Mother Katsidy looked it over and told me the details. It’s rare, but sometimes the Cutie Mark doesn’t fully form, it’s an Incomplete Cutie Mark. The worst part is there’s no cure or treatment for it. Cutie Marks are a part of who you are, so if there’s anything wrong...Then the fault lies with me.”

Coin stared at the mark in silence after hearing this, the realization coming over him. “No wonder he’s so...anxious.” Coin thought to himself. “If they’re that big a deal, I guess he figures it’s the reason he’s not adopted yet. If that’s the case…”

Coin smiled and spoke aloud. “Then..maybe traveling with me might be good for you after all!”

Rolly perked at that “F-For real? You mean it?”

“Yeah! There’s gotta be some talent locked away within you, right?”

Rolly smiled (with a squee) again and clapped his hooves together. “You’re right, I wouldn’t have a Cutie Mark if I had no talent!” Rolly then turned and looked at the star. “If only I could just wish for it to appear…”

“Yeah, about that...If we’re gonna be traveling together, we can’t abuse that star’s power, dude.” Coin explained as he turned Rolly back to face him. “We don’t even know if it’s good for one wish or several.To to mention, the last thing we want is for it to fall into the wrong hands...er hooves.”

Rolly’s smile vanished once again. “...I suppose you’re right,” Rolly sighed. “What’s more...I couldn’t take my eyes off it, I just kept caressing it and talking to it like it was a baby foal or something.” Rolly shuddered. “Maybe we should just forget about the star, Coin.”

“Are you kidding me? This isn’t every day this happens, and that Princess Twilight will probably know more about this than we ever will. Besides, if that star could do that to you, I can only imagine what one of the orphans or clergy would do if they manage to find this crawlspace.” Coin shuddered at the possibility of Mother Katsidy getting her hands on the star. He actually had considered telling her about it after remembering her meeting with Sister Brim, but fatigue from the day’s chores and seeing Rolly’s actions now quickly made him drop that idea.

“I guess so. Still…” Rolly looked around his room and gathered up a few blankets. “I’d rather not be entranced by that light again. It’s scary…” He then started to wrap the star in them.

“Whatever works, I--” Coin was stopped mid-sentence as he noticed a blur fly by the window. “...What was that?”

“What was what?” Rolly finished tucking the blankets around the star, wrapping the result into a nice package. Just as he finished, the moonlight went dim for a moment, as a shape flew into its path. “What the…”

Coin looked out the window, but whatever it was there vanished. He quickly closed the “window” keeping an eye out all the while. “...Somepony or something was flying around the place just now.”

Rolly rubbed his chin and then said, “You know, I saw something like that after you knocked me over...I thought it was just a trick of the light, but…”

“Let’s not worry about it, for now we gotta keep this thing well-hidden from everypony else,” Coin suggested.

“You’re right. We’ll just keep it up here for now.” Rolly stuffed the star back under the pillows again. “Mmm…I think it’s pretty safe to say we need to keep this between us.”

“Agreed.” Coin nodded and they both shook on it to seal the deal before they both yawned. “All that excitement tired me out. Let’s go back to bed.”

“Yeah...And let’s not get caught this time,” Rolly said with a grin.

“Pfft, you don’t get caught.” Coin chuckled “I made it here by myself through the new security.”

“Pure luck, I can make it back to our beds blindfolded!”

“Wanna stealth race, pal?” Coin grinned

“You’re on!” Rolly replied eagerly.

And the two made their way back as quickly yet quietly as they could.





On a distant rooftop, a pegasus landed. He wore rugged travel gear, and his Cutie Mark was that of a dragonfly. Staring off at the orphanage in the distance, he produced a familiar-looking golden eyeball from the folds of his clothing and pressed a button. The device displayed a magical holographic image of the scene he just witnessed...A pony and a dragon fighting over what appeared to be a star.

“A star...Well well well, Luna seems to be smiling on me this night.” the pony mumbled. “The boss’ll wanna know about this…” He took off into the sky again, landing in a dark alley close to an abandoned house. At the back of said alley, was a cellar door. The pony knocked a select few times on the door, and it popped open, letting the pony descend into the room below.

The cellar was converted into a base camp of sorts, ponies of various ages, genders and species, all rugged and itching for some action, talked and interacted with each other as if they lived in this place for years. One of them even greeted the visitor as he walked to the back of the basement.

"Oy Dragonfly, Your back early! Wanna have a drink with us?"

“Sorry, can’t talk now, gotta report something to big bro,” the pegasus known Dragonfly said as he brandished the eyeball from earlier.

In the back, an older Earth Pony, sporting impressive facial hair, was fast asleep, while a female unicorn was sitting next to him reading a book. Dragonfly nudged the elder pony awake. “Sassafrass and gumbo...Huh?”

“I’m back, boss!” Dragonfly greeted.

The elder pony was not amused. “Please tell me you haven’t been stealing from the bakery again, I’m not hungry.”

“Oh no Padlock, I brought you something way more delicious than an eclair!” Dragonfly produced the eyeball again and displayed its holographic image.

The pony known as Padlock gasped, then smiled. “I knew these Golden Eyes were useful fer somethin’!” Padlock got to his feet, the covers of his bed slipping off of him and revealing his cutie mark (a padlock, who would have guessed).

On the subject of Cutie Marks, the female unicorn’s mark consisted of two crossed rods, glowing brightly in the darkness. She looked completely uninterested in her cohorts’ conversation, as she flipped through the pages of her book, Ancient Tales of Equestria, by Georgia Stone. “Can we sell it this time?” she commented as she started the next chapter in her book.

“If it’s real, then you bet we can, Glowstick!” Padlock exclaimed. “Do me a favor and round up the boys, we’re gonna start plannin’ our raid on the orphanage!”

The unicorn known as Glowstick sighed and closed her book. “Seriously? We gonna rob fillies and colts? Seems a bit beneath us don’tcha think?” But seeing Padlock’s annoyed expression, she rolled her eyes. ”Whatever,” she said in flat tone. “Anything to make this boring job interesting.”

“This’ll be anything but boring, trust me!” Padlock declared, and then gave a devious grin. “Once we pull this job off, the Locket Bandits will be back at the top of ‘Equestria’s Most Wanted’ list!”

(T.B.C)


> Chapter 4: Delayed Departure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 4: Delayed Departure


Morning soon came over the Ponies of Mercy orphanage and the sound of the rooster signaled the wake up call for the residents.  Everyone was soon up and at it: washing faces, brushing teeth, grooming and what not. Soon the kids piled into the cafeteria where the menu showcased pancakes as the day’s starting delicacy. Coin and Rolly yawned as they got their share and headed to a table to chow down.

”Alright so, I was thinking.” Coin started as he wolfed down a few flapjacks “...if were gonna do this thing, we need to be discreet.”

“Disbeept?” Rolly echoed with a full mouth.

“Uh...yeah,” Coin commented, frowning a bit before he continued “We can’t let the sisters know about this. They’ll never let us leave otherwise. And no telling the other kids either, most of these guys can’t keep a secret and next thing we know they’ll either alert the clergy or we’ll have a mess of runaways with us.”

Rolly swallowed his food. “Ah, good call. Three’s a crowd and all, right?” 

“Right.” Coin nodded “Although...considering I just got here, I don’t want to leave right away.” He looked over on the wall to the calendar “Let’s see, it’s the middle of the week. So...I say we do it on that Saturday night. It’ll give us time to gather what we need, plan where to go and...Y’know least spend some time with the others.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Rolly smiled

“What plan?”

The two jumped and turned to see a young light yellowish filly in a blue dress and a red mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a cat with flowers around it. “Are you plotting something again, Rolly? And dragging the new kid into it?”

“Uh no! No! Of course not Clair” Rolly quickly denied “We…”

“Clem.”

“Huh?” Rolly blinked.

“Call me Clem. I’m getting tired of being confused for that pony with the pastry symbol.” She puffed her cheeks in frustration. “He wouldn’t let us call him Eclair though, so…”

“Ah well,” Rolly sweatdropped “I guess that’s fair enough, um...Clem. In any case, no we’re just uh…”

“Planning what to do when free time comes after chores.” Coin grinned “I...uh...was...wondering where I could get some clothes for myself.”

Clem tilted her head “Really? You’re interested in clothes? You don’t seem the fashion type.”

“Yeeeesss?” Coin said grinning, looking to Rolly who just shrugged

Clem narrowed her eyes at him, apparently seeing though his fib before she smiled.

“Neat! I like clothes myself. I even made this dress with Sister Katsidy’s help” She twirled around a bit to show it off. “I was thinking of making some new clothes too; if you want a new outfit I can make one for you.”

“Uh...” Coin stammered, not sure what to say. But upon looking into her big blue eyes, his heart wouldn’t let him deny her. “...Heh sure, why not.”

“Yay!” Clem cheered then wrapped her tail around his arm and pulled him forward. “C’mon, we’ll go to Sister Brim and get your measurements. Oh, maybe you can help model some other clothes for us too!”

“H-Hey wait, what about my pancakes!” Coin protested, but his cries went unheard as Clem led him away.

“Don’t worry, dude! I’ll make sure they don’t go to waste,” Rolly waved before plopping the remaining flapjacks onto his plate and licked his lips. “Welcome to Om Nom Nom-ville!”






The next few days were abuzz with activity for the pair as they found themselves multitasking in the days and nights. During the waking hours, they had their usual studies, chores and, in Coin’s case, modeling for clothing, as well as playing around with the other orphans when they were able.  At night, particularly before bedtimes, they started grabbing supplies around the building for what they would need for the journey and storing it away in backpacks. Blankets, bottles for water, survival training books, spare food, even a compass just to be on the safe side. It was agreed that Rolly would carry most of the weight since he was obviously stronger while Coin would handle navigating, inventory and monetary matters. 

Admittedly, the two were anxious as the days crept closer to the deadline. After all, if they were found out, they would no doubt get an earful from Sister Katsidy, be put on punishment and would have the clergy watching their every move to make sure they don’t pull another stunt like that again. However, if they succeeded in leaving undetected, they were on their own. No supervision but also no guide as well, having to trust their own wits through their excursion. Not helping matters was the fact the train station was on the other side of town, so they really had to hoof it to reach the platform before morning and board before the sisters discovered they were missing. 

And even if they did reach this Twilight Princess, they was no guarantee she could help them. It was pretty much a shot in the dark at best and a tremendous risk at worst, with the threat of being stranded hanging over their heads. ‘Twas bad enough being orphans but being homeless wasn’t something that was very appealing either.

And yet...something was urging Coin on, he couldn’t explain it but he felt as if a force was telling him it’ll be alright long as he tried. Besides, it wasn’t as if he was alone, Rolly was gonna be with him the whole way, so at the very least they’d have each other. This helped ease the tension a bit as they continued preparations.

On the night before the eve of their departure, the two headed into their hidey-hole early after making sure they had done their chores quickly. Taking the precious few minutes to relax, as they did Rolly couldn’t help but notice that Coin had brought a notepad with him and was drawing something on it.

“Hmm, taking up art?” Rolly asked


“Nah, I…” Coin paused, in a bit of thought before asking, “Do… dragons get cutie marks?”

Rolly blinked a bit before chuckling that went into laughter.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’ then,” Coin sarcastically noted.

“Ah sorry sorry,” Rolly apologized as he wiped a tear out of his eye. “Just the thought of you with a mark on your rump...Pfffft--” He started to go into another fit of giggles before Coin whacked him with one of the pillows. This didn’t stop him completely but it managed to get Rolly to regain his composure. “All right, all right... -ahem- far as I know, only ponies get Cutie Marks.”

“Huh, why’s that?” Coin asked, curious but Rolly shrugged.

“Can’t really say for sure, dude. It’s just something that’s common in this world. Most reasons I know of is that the marks are linked to the ponies of this world. You heard about most of it when we were in study hall, right? How ponies are responsible for the changing of the weather and what not? Well, I think that’s because it also has to do how our talents respond to us. They help us thrive in what we do, so we can help out others around us and thus the whole world in general.” Rolly rubbed his head “Heh...confusing when I say it, I know.”

“Actually, that’s pretty profound there, my friend,” Coin complimented while nodding his head “Ugh, if I didn’t have this amnesia, I’d know about this sooner. I feel like such a dunce.”

Rolly patted his shoulder reassuringly. “It’ll come back eventually, I know it. Even if it doesn’t come back right away, this is the whole reason were undertaking this journey.”

Coin smiled at that. “Indeed, thanks!”

“No prob,” Rolly said, returning the expression. “Why did you want to know about cutie marks for, anyways?”

“Well.. Brim and Clem said they’re nearly done with some clothing for me and asked if I wanted anything on it. I wanted to know because I wanted something extra, like...I guess a symbol  So I’ve been sketching some ideas.”

“Oh really?” Rolly asked, now the curious one. “Whatcha got?”

Coin showed him the crudely done sketches of what he had, from lighting bolts to speed lines.

“Hmm?” Rolly looked the sketches over. “They’re not too bad, but nothing that really pops out at…” He stopped on one of the sketches. “Oooh, this one I like.”

“Really?” Coin asked, tilting the notebook a bit. “Hmm well yeah I guess it does have a bit of charm that suits me. But it’s...Missing something.”

The two pondered for a bit before Rolly perked up and grabbed the pencil, adding his own touch to the doodle. Coin’s face lit up upon seeing it, grinning to his equine friend.

“That’ll do it!”





The next day after the usual rounds of studies and chores, free time came once more. Coin reported to the clothing room which was filled with old clothing and fabric, with tables in the center bearing sewing machines. Sister Brim and Clem were already there getting things set up when they noticed him.

“Ah, Coin!” Brim smiled “You’re just in time, I need one more measurement and we’ll have your wears done by the evening.”

Clem giggled. “It’s the least we could do for you modeling our dresses.” She motioned to a wall which had photos of various orphans in hand-made clothing, in one section was of course him in some not so flattering outfits that were, needless to say, suited for his gender.

“Ehehe yeah...” Coin chuckled while sweatdropping. “D-Don’t mention it. But about the finishing touches..I decided what I wanted on my outfit.” He showed the sketch of his emblem to the two ponies. “Think you could put it on the backside in the center?”

Brim looked it over, rubbing her chin. “Doesn’t look too lewd, I suppose we could work it in. And you're sure about this? I’m not exactly a pony who changes things in the middle of something.” Her eyes suddenly lit up in a unnerving expression “So if you change your mind, so help me…”

“Ah n-no! I’m certain! I’m certain!” Coin quickly replied. “It’s what I want, please.”

Brim looked him over, then looked at the drawing again and smirked. “Get on the measuring stage,” she said as she cracked her neck, making audible popping sounds. “Let’s make some magic.”





Soon, Friday arrived, the eve of the adventure’s beginning. Coin and Rolly agreed that once the orphans were asleep, they would head to the hidey-hole, grab their stuff then exit through the roof via the tile window. There was a fire escape not far from where they were leaving, so as long as they didn’t slip off, they could work their way down to street level and proceed from there. Before that, they figured they might as well give their friends a good time, a sorta reverse send off, only without the occupants really knowing it. 

They managed to coax Katsidy into throwing a celebration under the assumption that since Coin was memoryless, he had to have had a egg hatching day. So why not have a party on that day? Surprisingly, she was quick to agree with them and had the clergy prep the cafeteria for a party. Even Rolly was stumped it worked so well. As they helped with the set up however, they overheard Brim mumbling “Ugh anything for a party, that one.” 

By afternoon the party was in full swing, they had cake and a variety of snacks, some games, some dancing and singing, the whole nine yards. Brim and Clem even used the occasion to give Coin a present, the completed and promised clothing. The kids all “ooh-ed” as they looked it over. A black hood jacket with some white trim at the bottom of it. cotton made one with the requested symbol in the back: A exclamation mark with wings on either side of it with the x-scared coin as the dot. In the back of it all with the faint outline of a star.

“A-Awesome!” Coin said dumbstruck as he tried it on. It fit like a glove, which, considering how long he had to stand while Brim and Clem got measurement, wasn’t all that surprising. Brim went to great lengths to make sure it fit his stature, The cotton likewise made very comfortable as well and it was tailored enough that it didn’t interfere with his tail either. After admiring it for a bit, Coin smiled at the two. “Thanks guys, I love it. I really do.” Brim smiled and nodded while Clem squealed and hugged Coin. 

“Happy Egg-Hatching Day! You silly dragon!” 

Coin just blushed as the rest of the kids giggled at the sight. The party continued and soon stretched into the early evening, though things started to wind down as the sun started to set. Coin found Rolly near the snack table around that time.

“So far, so good,” Coin whispered to Rolly. “Between this and cleaning, everyone will be good and tired. I’m gonna go load up some more food and move the bags to the fire escape. If there are any last minute things you wanna do, I suggest you do it.”

Rolly nodded as Coin headed off. He looked around and saw Clem talking with a few of the other orphans. “Last minute thing, huh? Well…” Rolly gulped, but he put on a determined face and made his way to Clem. “Uh C-Clem would...you uh...I’d l-like to..d-d-d…”

“Hmm?” Clem titled her head in curiosity. “To what?”

“D-Daaan…..” By this point his face was becoming red as tomato “Daaaaaang it! I can’t do it!”  Rolly started to trot off when one of the orphans shook his cup too hard, causing the punch inside to splash on toward Clem. Seeing this, Rolly dove in front of it without thinking, causing him to slam into her by accident. They rolled around on the floor in a daze before finally stopping.

“Uhhh whoa...R-Rolly? You okay?” Clem asked after getting her bearings. “That was so brave of you, thanks!”

“T-Twas nothing!” Rolly muttered still trying to shake the stars out of his eyes. Clem helped with that...by giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Rolly’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates in response. “Waaaah?”

“Hehe, what? Doesn’t a hero deserve a reward?” Clem giggled.

Rolly likewise chuckled in kind before his eyes rolled back into his head, to which he fell to the floor with a thump, a happy expression on his face.

“Uh..Rolly?” Clem poked at him “Rooollly?...Oh dear.”





Meanwhile on the roof, Coin was getting the last of the supplies to the fire escape. “And that should...Do it. Whew, glad I’m not carrying all this stuff for the trip,” Coin stated as he stretched his back. “All that’s left is for everyone to go night-night and…”

Before he could finish that sentence, he noticed a rather large group of ponies hanging around the building. Normally this wouldn’t be anything unusual, but by sundown, most of the town’s residents were pretty much at their homes. What’s more, he didn’t even recognize any of them, they certainly weren’t clergy. 

“Who the hay?” Coin moved to try and get a closer look at them.

It was then that Coin heard the clopping of hooves on the roof and looked up to see a few pegasi had landed on the building. Somehow, Coin had a feeling these ponies were bad news, judging by their gruff looks. He quickly ducked back indoors before the pegasi noticed him.

“Right, the others are in position,” Coin heard a rough voice say. “You boys know what to do. We’ll be starting the operation soon, wait for the signal.”

“Right, boss!” the other pegasi answered eagerly.

“O-Operation?” Coin thought to himself “What’s going on?’





Down on street level, one particular pony was watching the building, biting into a hay burger as he did. Eventually, another pony came over to him.

“Ah, there you are! What the news?”

“Seems they’re having a party inside. Most of them are gathered in the cafeteria, but a few of the clergy are milling around in the halls.”

“Oooh, wonderful!” The figure grinned. “They did the work for us. Glowstick found the fuse box?”

The pony nodded. “We checked the place over up and down all week. Everypony’s raring to go. We’re just waiting on you, boss.”

The figure gobbled up the last of his burger and licked his lips before smiling in anticipation.

“Showtime!”





*BZZT!*

The lights in the building suddenly cut out all at once, much to the confusion of the occupants.

“Huh? D-did we party too much?” Clair asked aloud.

“No no, must’ve been a blown fuse.” Father Bell assured the kids. “Don’t worry ye young lads and lassies. We’ll pop over to the fuse box and get it up and running in no time.”

With that, he and a few clergy ponies were making their way to the electrical room. 

“Still rather odd though,” Father Bell commented “The wiring in this place isn’t that bad.”

They soon neared the fusebox and were greeted with a green glow that blinded them on sight.

“The Tartarus?!” Bell yelped in surprise.

“Evening, gentleponies!” Glowstick replied “We’re what you call the neighborhood committee coming to file a complaint about the noise. So as you can see, it time for the party to end...” The glow in her horn intensified. “And time for lights out!”

Father Bell’s eyes widened as the realization hit him like a stack of bricks. “GET BACK LADS!”

*FWHOOSH*





The doors to the cafeteria room were suddenly kicked in as the Locket gang made their presence known to everyone there. Naturally, much screaming, yelling and panic erupted from the kids as the gang rounded them up like wild cattle. The unicorns among the bandits fired magic blasts into the air to make their point. A few of the clergy resisted as best they could, but it became obvious they were outnumbered and outmatched. Eventually, everyone was forced toward a wall with the gang surrounding them on all sides.

“Heh...Smooth as buttermilk,” Dragonfly grinned as Padlock made his way into the room. Katsidy glared daggers at him as he did so.

“You!” Katsidy hissed in defiance. “I heard you were in the area, but I never thought you stoop to such a low!”

“Oh relax,” Padlock chuckled. “Your little tykes are gonna be fine long as they behave themselves. I just needed the brats someplace where I can keep an eye on all of them.”

“What do you want?” Katsidy demanded. 

“Nothing that concerns you. Although...This place has had a few objects I’ve been looking for recently. Objects that I’m sure aren’t of any value to you.” He pulled out the eye, to which Katsidy’s eyes widened upon seeing it, but she quickly composed herself.

“So it’s true, he does have it. But how did he...”

Katsidy’s train of thought was interrupted when Padlock produced the hologram from the device. “We were just gonna take your donations and be done with it, but this...Star thing has gotten me interested. Y’all know anything about it?”

“Star?” Katsidy echoed. “We have nothing of the sort here.”

“Is that a fact? Well, you won’t mind if me and my crew have a little look around, hmm?” Padlock asked then whistled to his cohorts, who nodded and got to work ransacking the place. “Hold them here. If any of them try to be a hero...Blast em!” Padlock told his cronies before heading off.

The henchponies grinned and chuckled evilly at that much to the kids’ horror. Katsidy and the sisters however held firm against their threats, staying in front of the orphans at all times.

“Uh wha…what’s going…?” Rolly asked as he recovered. “The hay?”

“Shhh.” Clem hushed before whispering “T-They’re bandits! They’re robbing us!”

“Bandits?!” Rolly nearly shouted but Clem put a hoof over his mouth. One of the bandits aimed his horn their way in response, giving a warning glare.

“O-Oh.” Rolly said in a more hushed tone before thinking “Oh man, this throws everything out of whack! What are Coin and me going to….wait?” He looked around “Where is Coin?”





Meanwhile, the Locket bandits were scouring the building, trying to find their target prize while upturning beds, pulling out drawers, rummaging through closets and belongings, and just generally causing a huge mess while taking anything of value as well.

“Anything?” One of them called out.

“Nothing on this floor.” One of his comrades responded. “Let’s try the next!”

And thus they moved on; no sooner than they did, a unnoticed figure popped his head from a vent in the ceiling.

“Sheesh, thought they would never leave...” Coin muttered. “They’re all over the flippin’ place. If I didn’t have these claws I wouldn’t have been able to get around. Heh, guess being a dragon does have its benefits.”

Coin scaled along the ceiling and walls, trying to keep a wide berth of the bandits and staying out of sight when he could. “ I don’t get it, why’re they robbing us? We’re an orphanage, not a jewelry store. Doubt we have much money to give them and the other kids certainly don’t have anything they could want….unless...”

Against his better judgement, Coin made his way to where most of the the bandits we’re currently at in the next part of their raid. Sticking to the shadows, he listened in closely.

“No..no, no. Ugh, no!” Dragonfly groaned as he tossed some belongings aside. “That stupid eye said the star was here. Why couldn’t the dumb thing pinpoint the exact location?!”

One of the ponies shrugged. “You’re the one using it, we’re just following your lead, mid-boss.”

“Yeah yeah, well stop lollygagging around watching me complain and get back to it!” Dragonfly grumbled. “The last thing I want is something mucking up the works the longer we stay here...Oh, and one more thing, never call me ‘mid-boss’ again, I’m second in command, got it?”

“Now that’s just tempting fate,” One of the bandits chuckled, but Dragonfly’s glare made him jump. “Uh, r-right away, mid-bos-I MEAN, sir!” And thus they got back to work.

“I knew it!” Coin thought as he nibbled on his thumb claw. “How did they know about the star? Only Rolly and me…” It was then he remembered the shadow that flew by on that particular night, then he looked back at Dragonfly. “That was him! He must’ve seen us with it! Then...This means this is all our fault!” Coin rubbed his head. “Oh man, we lead them right to us! Argh, stupid stupid stupid!”

As he was berating himself, Coin unconsciously punched the wall near him, which knocked over a vase on a nearby table. As you can imagine, the resulting shattering alerted the bandits. 

“What was that?!” Dragonfly asked, perking up to full alert. “We should be the only ones on this floor. Boys, check it out!”

The henchponies nodded and headed off.

“Uh oh...” Coin quickly made himself scarce, running down the hall. “Can’t climb on the walls now, they’ll see me for sure!” He heard the rumble of hooves behind him starting to get closer. “Gotta hide!” He ducked into a hallway, but skidded to halt when he saw there was another group of shadows coming his way. “Oh, are you KIDDING me?!” The sound of the pursuers was closing in fast behind him and there was no door to duck into.

“HEY!” One of the henchponies yelled out as they rounded the corner…

“”Hey” what?” 

...Only to find their fellow bandits on the opposite end of the hall. The one that called out to him blinked “Uh…Did you...Find what we’re looking for?”

“No, that’s why we were coming to you lot. I take it you’re not having any luck either?”

The pony shook his head. “I think Dragonfly’s losing it. Made us think somepony was out on the halls other than you guys. In any case, there’s nothing here. Let’s get Dragonfly and continue on.” The other henchponies nodded and head off, unaware of the slightly pried open window not far from them. Outside, Coin hung on the ledge outside. Unlike indoors however, his claws were having a hard time keeping a grip on the concrete.

“Not one of my better ideas...But it beats skulking around indoors.” Coin leaped to a lower window and looked inside. Seeing no one, he used his claws to pry the window open as he had before and slipped in. “Whew, too...OOF!”

Coin found he had tripped over something wide as he fell in. “The hay?” Looking back, his eyes widened as he spotted the familiar body. “Father Bell!”

Indeed it was Father Bell, as well as the clergy ponies with him. Father Bell looked a little bruised but otherwise not too badly hurt. Coin ran over and shook him vigorously. “C’mon! C’mon, wake up!”

Bell seemed unresponsive at first but eventually he groaned and opened his eyes. “Ugh, my head. Feel like I’ve been hit by a rockslide, I have. I’m not on the Pie rock farm by any chance, am I?”

“Uh no, still at the orphanage,” Coin told Bell, looking him over. Coin could also see that the ponies were all tied up. “I take it the bandits jumped you?”

“Bandits?...Oh aye!” Bell growled. “A little filly in the control room blindsided us! I shielded me lads the best I could. That’s the last thing I could remember, anyway. W-What’s going on?”

“Looks like we’re being raided,” Coin told him. “They’re um…Looking for something but I don’t know what. From the sounds of it, they’re holding the others hostage in the cafeteria.”

“Those brutes!” Father Bell seethed. “No one messes with my flock and gets away with it!” He tried to get up, but soon realized he was still tied up. “Er...Think you can help with the ropes, lad?”

“Heh” Coin grinned, gearing up his claws. “Ask and ye shall receive!”





“SERIOUSLY?! NOTHING YET?!” Padlock bellowed to his crew. “How hard is it to find a stinking star in this place?! It’s not like it’s blending into the walls!”

“We’ve nearly turned this place inside out,” Dragonfly reported. “Good chance it might have been moved.” 

“Hmm you don’t think that Wuv-Cat might have hidden it?” Glowstick suggested. 

“Most likely…” Padlock rubbed his chin. “I was hoping it wasn’t coming to this, but we’re getting nowhere and we don’t have all night. C’mon!”

Padlock headed back to the cafeteria, and pointed at Mother Katsidy. “You!”

Noting this, Katsidy stepped forward, eerily calm and composed. “Yes?”

“I’m going to ask you one more time.” Padlock growled “Where...is...the dang...Star?”

“I’m sorry to say I don’t know what you mean let alone know where it is.” Katsidy answered. “If I did, I would gladly hand it over. All I can do is ask that whatever transgressions you have, you take it up with me, leave the children out of this. They have enough to worry about.”

“Admirable…” Padlock stated. “...And seeing as you’re a nun you wouldn't have reason to lie either. But...At the same time I’m having trouble believing you. Maybe you don’t really know, if that is the case maybe your fellow sisters might. Or…” He turned his gaze to the kids. “Maybe one of the brats is keeping it from you. If that’s the case…” The unicorns holding the group hostage charged their magic. “I guess we’ll have to do some...interrogating.”

The kids started to panic upon hearing that. However, before Padlock could give an order,  a black and white blur zipped in front of him! 

*POW!*

“GAH!” Padlock yelped as he was knocked back across the room. “Ugh..the Tartarus?!”

It was then he saw Katsidy, holding her arms out to her side in a fighting pose.

“I gave you fair warning.” Katsidy hissed angrily. “You seem to be under the impression that as a nun, I’m all about love and peace. While that may be true, I’m afraid the title of the place is a bit misleading. Celestia gives mercy…” It was then the rest of the sisters likewise join in standing with her, ready to fight “...We don’t!”

(T.B.C)
> Chapter 5: Fights and Flights
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 5: Fights and Flights


Rolly was taken aback at what just happened. For what seemed like years, he’d known Mother Katsidy and the rest of the staff as strict, yet good-natured and caring ponies who wished to give these orphans a roof over their heads. And now, they were staring down a bunch of bandits like they were about to kick some flank in a kung-fu movie.

“Am I still dreaming or...?” Rolly thought to himself before another pony shattered his stupor.

“SMITE THE VILLAINS, YOU GUYS!” said pony had a cream-filled pastry as his cutie mark, to which Rolly could only assume this was Eclair.

Rolly just facehoofed. “What is this, some kind of hoofball game?” Unfortunately for him, several other of the other orphans followed Eclair’s example and cheered on their caretakers.

“Augh, I can’t think with all this screaming!” Glowstick grumbled. “We don’t have time for this, Padlock!”

“You’re the unicorn here, make time for us!” Padlock said, unblinking as he sized up the clergyponies and cat.

“Fine,” Glowstick grumbled as her horn glowed. This provoked Katsidy and the other clergy ponies to charge. However, by the time Glowstick finished casting her spell...The bandits vanished into thin air!

“What in the name of Celestia?!” Brimstone exclaimed as she skidded to a halt. “Did they teleport?”

“That was no teleport spell!” Katsidy said, her nose wrinkling. “I can still smell them!”

“So you’re saying they--” Brim tried to say something, but something hit her on the head, knocking her out and making her collapse.

“BRIMSTONE!” Katsidy and the others shouted. “They turned invisible!”

Chaos erupted once again as the clergyponies tried to fight back, but without any bearing on their foes’ locations, they might as well be fighting blind.

“I’ve had enough of this!” Clem stood up and ran for the kitchen.

“CLEM WAIT!” Rolly tried to stop her, but he felt his body stop in midair, and get pulled back. “AUGH!” He was hoisted out of the cafeteria, and into the hallway, until he was dropped abruptly into another classroom...Right on his head. “OW!”

Glowstick then faded into existence before him, looking quite cross. “I knew something like this would happen, and I suggested we be sneaky about it...BUT NO! My stupid brothers just had to go all gung-horse on this place and...ugh, I have such a headache now!”

Rolly tried to escape, but Glowstick used her magic to slam the door leading into the room. ”EEP!”

“Hmm, you look familiar now that I see you” Glowstick narrowed her eyes, then perked up with realization. “Ah of course, you were in that hologram with the star and the dragon, right? Where are they both now?” Glowstick asked sternly.

“Uh, I…” Rolly tried to answer, but he couldn’t get the words out. “What’s the matter with me?! Vocal cords, work!”

Glowstick growled angrily. “ANSWER ME OR I’LL MAKE YOU DISAPPEAR FOREVER!”

Rolly gasped, but it wasn’t one of fear, it was realization. He looked at her and smiled as best he could despite the impending doom standing before him. “Heh, a-about that...I-If you get rid of me, wh-who’s going to take you t-to the s-star?”

Glowstick’s eyes widened and her cheeks puffed in anger. It looked like she was going to scream, but she just inhaled and exhaled a couple times, trying to catch her composure. “Ok then. If that’s how you want to play…” She levitated Rolly gently onto her back. “Then we’re going on a little field trip.”

“To...Where?” Rolly asked nervously.

Suddenly, Glowstick vanished before him again, but it wasn’t complete invisibility, as he could see a white outline of his front hooves and Glowstick’s body before him. “Just a quick trip around the building. That star has to be upstairs somewhere, right?”

Rolly found himself speechless again. “Horsefeathers! Oh boy...Well, at least she can’t fit into the secret passageway,” Rolly thought to himself.

“I’ll just take you up there and if any of these places look familiar, just lemme know, ok?” Glowstick said in a surprisingly cheerful tone. “Oh, and don’t bother calling for help if you know what’s good for you.”

Rolly whimpered. “Well it’s only a matter of time, then…Coin, where are you?”

Glowstick silently exited the classroom, looking carefully around for any signs of stragglers. Rolly could hear the sounds of the fighting in the distance. All he could do was hold on, not out of desperation but out of fear. Rolly knew unicorns could use devastating magic...And he wasn’t going to let himself be hit by any of it.

“I’m such a coward,” Rolly thought. “Now I won’t be able to help Coin or find my own family…”

“Hey, easy kid, this isn’t some kind of joy ride,” Glowstick whispered in response to Rolly clutching her. “I know you’re a valuable hostage, I ain’t gonna hurt you as long as you help me. Then I’ll be out of your hair and you can get on with your life.”

“Yeah, easy for you to say,” Rolly chastised Glowstick from the back of his mind. “Well, I’m not gonna make this easy for you...I hope this works!”  Rolly sat up cautiously...Then lunged for Glowstick’s neck, squeezing it as hard as he could.

“GACKPTH!” Glowstick coughed as she levitated Rolly with her magic and pulled her off his back, bringing the poor pony before her angry face. “Are you trying to cause trouble here, you little brat?!”

“This HAS to get somepony’s attention!” Rolly thought to himself, feeling both scared yet proud at the same time.

“If you don’t behave yourself, I’m going to--”

*SMASH*

A glass container shattered at Glowstick’s feet, releasing a cloud of something on the two ponies. Glowstick and Rolly coughed as a powdery substance enveloped them both. As Rolly was cleaning off his face however, he got a taste of it. “G-Garlic?”

“ROLLY, GET BACK!” A familiar voice called out as a large figure leapt over him and tackled Glowstick, making her (and Rolly) visible again.

“OOOF! YOU?!” Glowstick shouted as she levitated Father Bell off her and tossed him down a hallway.

Father Bell immediately got to his hooves, and got his game face on as well. “Ya think you could abduct one of my charges and drain his blood, you filthy vampony?”

Glowstick’s expression twisted from one of anger to one of confusion. “Vampony?! Whatever the hay gave you that idea?!”

“Hmm? Uh...oh. My mistake, just remembering something from …N-Nevermind! Regardless…” Father Bell produced a pair of batons from his sleeves. “It’s time I gave ye a lesson in respect!”

Glowstick snarled and fired at Bell, as the elder clergycolt ran and dodged the shots. Bell tried to swing at her, but Glowstick ducked his blows and used a levitation spell to keep him at a distance.

“Rolly, ye’d best get out of here, before it gets too dangerous...Rolly?” Father Bell looked around and saw Rolly galloping away. “Oh, good on ye then!”

Bell broke free from the restraint and rushed Glowstick, who barely dodge most of his swings and got hit a few times as well when he found an opening. Glowstick responded by blasting at him a few times but he managed to block or deflect the magic with his batons. Eventually he ducked under one blast, slide and kicked at her sending her flying down the hall. Glowstick recovered from it, panting heavily and now angry.

“Had enough lass! I can do this all night.” Bell grinned batons at the ready. But his opponent growled back in response.

“I’M GOING TO FLATTEN YOU!” Glowstick  concentrated  until she ripped a door straight off its hinges and tossed it at Father Bell whose eyes widen in surprise.

“Oh mercy me.”

====

Earlier, Coin had joined forces with Father Bell to find the Locket Bandits and hopefully save the orphanage’s residents from them. But as they skulked their way through the building, Father Belle caught wind of Glowstick blowing her cover, and separated from Coin to confront her...With a bottle of garlic powder.

“G-Garlic?” Coin asked with a whisper. Bell quickly silenced him and went to confront Glowstick. Coin could only watch from around the corner as the fight scene erupted, and saw Rolly book it down another hallway as well. “H-Hey! Wait up!” Coin called out, but not loud enough for Rolly to hear as he fled. “Oy vey…” Coin then grabbed onto the walls and crawled after Rolly, only able to catch up to him as he reached the entrance to the hidden passage.

“Huh?!” Rolly jumped and turned as he heard the scratching noise, but sighed with relief when he saw Coin. “There you are! Where were you?”

“I was with Father Bell, are you hurt?” Coin answered as he dropped down to Rolly’s side.

“I’m more scared than scarred,” Rolly said between breaths. “That Glowstick chick is somepony else…”

“So I heard,” Coin replied. “What are you doing here?”

“Hiding, what else?” Rolly undid the entrance to the secret passage.

“And then what?”

Rolly was about to get inside when he stopped midway, and pulled himself back out. “I...I was thinking of running off with the star.”

Coin looked at Rolly, perplexed. “Why?”

“Because I’m a filthy little coward, that’s why!” Rolly whined. “You had no idea what I went through, Glowstick threatened to hurt me if I didn’t take her to the star…And I could only imagine how the others felt when I got kidnapped.”

“Rolly…” Coin tried to come up with something to reassure him, but he just shook his head and said, “You’re right. That star is what they’re after. We need to find a new hiding spot for it or at the very least, get it out of the building.”

“Y-Yeah...B-But where will we hide it?” Rolly stammered.

“We’ll figure it out once we get up there, now let’s go! Before the bandits catch us!”

Rolly looked at Coin for a second, then nodded. “All right, come on.”

They worked their way up through the secret passageway up to Casa de Barrel. However when they got there.

“It’s gotta be around here somewhere...Huh? Is this it?”

Rolly gasped and rushed ahead. He recognized the voice, and its owner was standing amidst the now-decimated pillow pile. “You...You’re one of the bandits!”

“Why yes, yes I am!” Dragonfly said, standing there confidently while holding the blanket-wrapped star. He looked white as a sheet, however. “I knew I couldn’t trust Glowstick to find it, she is way too--”

“Hold on a sec!” Rolly interrupted. “Why...Why are you white?”

“...Why am I not white?” Dragonfly replied, his confidence faltering a bit.

“Is...Is that flour?” Coin pointed out. Indeed, Dragonfly was covered in the stuff.

Dragonfly gritted his teeth and grumbled. “Ok, fine! One of the fillies--a redhead, I think--jumped us with a bag of flour and negated Glowstick’s invisibility spell. I knew that talent of hers was useless!”

Coin and Rolly’s cheeks puffed up, and they soon burst out laughing. “Y-You look like a ghost!” they stammered as they cackled.

“Yeah, well...Like a ghost, I can fly!” Dragonfly declared as he took to the air. “And I’m not going to stand here and be mocked by a couple of brats!”

Rolly was still laughing his flank off, but Coin snapped out just enough to notice Dragonfly was making a getaway. “H-Hey!” Coin quickly grabbed a pillow and lobbed it at Dragonfly as hard as he could. It didn’t knock him out of the air but it did slow him down slightly.

“Knock it off!” Dragonfly complained as he made a break for the window. “Now I can...Uh…” Dragonfly tried to fit through the broken pane with the star in tow, but the combined mass of the star and himself, he was too big to fit through! “Darnit! I’m trapped!” This made Coin and Rolly break out into laughter again. “OH SHUT UP!”

“I...Can’t...help it...Hahaha...You guys are terrible…” Rolly gasped through his laughter.

“Ok, fine then!” Dragonfly started to undo the blanket wrappings on the star. “If this thing really is a wishing star, then I can just wish for my escape!”

“Uh…?” Rolly perked up at that, and now it was his turn to freak out. “Don’t do it, you moron! That star is too dangerous to handle!”

“It’s a risk I’m actually willing to take, unlike you scaredy-cats!” Dragonfly chuckled. “Now... I wish...For this window to be gone!” He stared at the star with delight as a bright flash emitted from it. Suddenly, the star itself began to change its shape. It shifted into something resembling a hammer...In fact, it was turning into a hammer! A very large one, with a star marking on the head. “Whoa…” Dragonfly tried to grasp the hammer, but flinched back as the hammer moved on its own, and swung to shatter the window Rolly worked so hard to make.

“YOU JERK!” Rolly cried out. “IT TOOK ME MONTHS TO BUILD THAT!”

“Oh well, you snooze, you lose,” Dragonfly said with a smug tone on his face. “I wonder what else I can do with this hammer…” He reached for it as it hung in midair for a moment, but then it started to shrink and shift back to its star state. The glow from the star vanished, and it was left a pale gray as it fell to the ground with a dull *THUNK.*

Coin growled and looked up at Dragonfly. “You happy now?! You got your wish, now get out!”

“Not without that star!” Dragonfly made to reach down and grab the star again.

“GRRRR! BACK OFF!” Coin roared, his rage building.

“Or what, you’re gonna burn me? Ha, good luck doing that without starting a--”

*FWOOSH*
“FIRE!” Dragonfly reeled back in horror as Coin shot a baseball-sized purple fireball at him! “Whoa, never saw that color before!”

“You...You took away that star’s wish...A wish Rolly and I were gonna make someday…” Coin clenched his fists as hard as he could. “You destroyed our dream, and now...I’m gonna destroy you!!”

Rolly, despondent, perked up and said, “Coin, enough, it’s not worth it…”

Coin wasn’t listening though. He growled, snarled, suddenly doubling over as he held his head.

“Coin?” Rolly said in concern before noticing he had two bulges appeared on his back. His newly made jacket straining to contain them but ultimately failed as the bulges ripped two small holes ironically where the wing design were embroiled and popped like massive zits. A pair of black and brown wings unfurled from Coin’s back as the young dragon let out loud roar.

“Uh…!” Rolly was speechless for the third time tonight. And for once, so was Dragonfly.

“So...You still want that star, tough guy?!” Coin bellowed, his voice sounding layer with a much deeper tone as he looked up at Dragonfly with an evil smile on his face.

“I-I-It’s fine! You can have it! It’s dead anyways right?!” Dragonfly stammered.

“Yeah, it’s dead all right...Just like YOU’RE about to be!” Coin sprang from the air and took flight, his eyes glowing red.

Dragonfly could only scream in terror and take flight as well, zipping out the window and across the rooftops of Hoofington. “LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU FREAK!”

“No one commits a crime in my presence and gets away with it!” Coin declared while spewing forth more purple fireballs.

Dragonfly ducked and dodged as best he could, but try as he might, Coin-with-wings was surprisingly agile for a baby dragon. He flew about the town in a panicked state, trying desperately not to get burned.

This didn’t matter much to Rolly though. He just walked up to the now-dim star and put his hoof on it, before mourning over it like it was a dead pet.

“All I ever wished for...Was for a family that loved me.”

====

The cafeteria was complete mess. Padlock and Katsidy stood in the middle of knocked-out Bandits and Clergy, while the children huddled in the kitchen waiting for the victory who would ultimately decide their fate. Padlock’s body was all scratched up, and Katsidy’s fur coat was marred with dirt and bruises. The two combatants stared each other down with incredible intensity, panting profusely. Their gaze was only broken when they heard a roar outside.

“...What in tarnation was that?” Padlock muttered.”

“Hmmm, good question,” Katsidy nonchalantly responded. “I think a better question to ask is...What will you do now, bandit? Your little raid has failed.”

Padlock growled. “Don’t give me that, you mangy cat. It doesn’t matter what happens as long as we got the star.”

“Is that so? Do you even know where it is?”

“One of those kids has it, and as we speak, my brother Dragonfly is interrogatin’ them!” Padlock boasted.

Unfortunately, Dragonfly’s screams outside made Padlock quickly lose face. Katsidy grinned at this development. “And I’m sure he’s doing a smashing job of it.”

“Grrr...Looks like I have to bail him out again,” Padlock said, reaching for something under his cloak.

“But who’s going to bail you out, big guy?” Katsidy hissed and readied herself, but she suddenly cringed and held her right front leg in pain. “Augh…”

“Oh good, you’re one less bullet I have to waste on,” Padlock said, as he took out a revolver attached to his front leg by a metal band. It had a complex mechanism that connecting the gun and the band together, to which Katsidy could only assume it was what he used to fire it. “I’ll be back.” Padlock folded the gun attachment up so he could walk, and did so, albeit a bit slower due to his injuries.

“...Father Bell, where are you?” Katsidy pleaded. “O Luna, if thou art watching, please protect us…”

===

Unfortunately for Katsidy, her prayer would go unanswered, as Glowstick’s door-throwing assault managed to KO the poor priest. Glowstick was fuming by the time it was all over, but once she was sure that Father Bell was out, she started to calm down. “About time, you old fart,” Glowstick chided as she went to regroup with the other bandits. Of course, she had to find them first, which was no problem for her. Glowstick cast a spell that revealed her brothers’ locations, by way of magical thread-like energies that flowed from her to her targets. She followed the first thread until she ran into Padlock, whom was panting and limping a bit. “...Padlock?!”

“That cat did a number on me…” Padlock groaned. “But I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“I ain’t got time for some first aid, your brother needs help!” Padlock sternly groaned.

“Oh, right, let’s go,” Glowstick nodded in agreement as she and Padlock made their way to the entrance of the orphanage.

Once outside, Padlock turned his gaze up to the skies, and saw two figures: Dragonfly, and a small baby dragon with wings. This sight alarmed both of them, but Glowstick moreso.

“What...is that the dragon?!”

“S’gotta be,” Padlock said, readying his revolver. “But that pest isn’t gonna be bothering us anymore.” Padlock took careful aim, and waited for just the right moment before pulling the trigger. A loud bang erupted through the burg as the bullet found its mark, and Coin spiraled out of the air as a result. Where he landed, Padlock didn’t know, but at this point he didn’t care so long as his brother was safe.

Once Dragonfly realized that tiny flaming doom wasn’t chasing after him any more, he laughed with glee and shouted “WHOO-HOO! I’M ALIVE!” from one of the rooftops.

Sadly, this didn’t please either Glowstick (who facehoofed) or Padlock, who just growled. “Dragonfly, get yer flank down here! We gotta skedaddle!”

“Huh? Oh right, coming boss!” Dragonfly perked up to rejoin the two. In the distance, they could hear the trotting of hooves and sirens beginning to blare. But by the time the police arrived on the scene, the Locket Bandit siblings were long gone.

There was just one problem though...Once Padlock and the others were back at the hideout, he asked Dragonfly, “Did you get the star?”

“Yes!...Then a bunch of stuff happened and then I lost it. Sorry!” Dragonfly said nervously.

Padlock scowled fiercely. He had half a mind to put a bullet through Dragonfly too, but Glowstick eyed him and shook her head. Padlock’s rage was stymied...At least for now.

“Whatever...we'd discuss what to do later. Let’s lick our wounds, regroup with anypony whose left and turn in.”


===

While most ponies at this hour would be asleep (all the racket from earlier notwithstanding), there were a select few who were wide awake, burning the midnight oil so to speak. One such unicorn was doing just that, in an inconspicuous home just a few blocks away from the Ponies for Mercy orphanage. Sitting in her home at the corner of Durabell and Hamhung, the pony was hard at work in her kitchen, not cooking a midnight snack but cooking up something marvelous. Something wonderful.

“Turn the temp down to 101...Add the dry ice...Aha, there we go!” She smiled as she let the potion she was working on simmer for a bit, until a conveniently-placed egg timer rang. The pony then carefully levitated the flask with her magic over to several small phials, which she filled with the still bubbling liquid. When all was said and done, she took a taste of the concoction. Her body shivered as she exhaled, unleashing an icy mist from her mouth. This made her smile.

“Eureka, I think I got it right this time!” The pony squeed in excitement. She reached for her notepad and started taking notes. “Recipe this time was 2 grams of purified dry ice and peppermint...Still feels a bit cold running down belly, have to make sure stomach doesn’t freeze over…”

Unfortunately, the pony's train of thought came to an abrupt halt when she heard a loud *CRASH* come from upstairs.

“The hay was that?! A meteor?” The pony asked herself...Then realized if it really was a meteor, her house would be gone by now. “Then again…” She thought of the possibility of a smaller meteor, but shook her head. “No time for random theories!”  The pony quickly shut off all the burners and the like before rushing upstairs.

It didn’t take long for her to find the source of the impact, as she heard a loud groan of pain coming from her bathroom of all places. Cautiously, she stepped inside and found what appeared to be a brown and black baby dragon sitting in her now-damaged tub.

“Uh…” She wasn’t sure how to react at first. One would normally chide the dragon for destroying her property, but once she saw the wings and the fact it had a huge bleeding hole in one of them, she had second thoughts. “Oh Celestia, are you ok?”

“M...Medic…” the dragon pleaded as it tried to get up.

“No, please don’t move, you’re injured!” The reached into her medicine cabinet and began treating the dragon’s wound. “Good thing you crashed in here, saves me time getting the first aid.”

“Where...Am I?” The dragon grunted. “Am I dead…?”

“N-No, you’re gonna be fine, all you have is a pierced wing…” She disinfected and bandaged the wing, to which the dragon responded by growling in pain, before asking. “Wait, wings? How did you get these? Baby dragons normally don’t have wings! At least, I don’t think?”

“No talky...Head hurty,” the dragon rubbed his head in pain.

“I’ve got some pills here for that,” The pony stated as she grabbed some children’s aspirin and gave a pill to the dragon (as well as some water to wash it down). “Come on, let’s get you to a more comfy setting.”

===

Coin was completely out for most of the night. The last thing he remembered was some pony he didn’t recognize tending to his injuries and tucking him in...Was it a friend, or foe? He tried to think about it as he slept, but a myriad of voices disrupted his thoughts. The voices of the children from the orphanage crying out for help...Rolly’s anguished pleas...The mysterious voice from earlier shouting about stars…

“Stop...Stop...ENOUGH ALREADY! SHUT UP! I NEED TO SLEEP!” Coin shouted out, and as if on cue, the voices went silent. He was all alone in his dream world. “...Maybe that wasn’t a good idea.”

Then, a light.

“Huh?” Coin headed towards it, but it quickly approached him and and filled his vision with whiteness. It wasn’t blinding, but at the same time...It wasn’t exactly comforting. “What’s going--”

Suddenly, a blue pony with purple fairy wings and a mane appeared from his line of vision, and cheerfully greeted him with a hearty “Hello!”

This didn’t have a very positive effect, as Coin woke up screaming in terror. Thankfully, he woke up in a perfectly normal, if small, bed in a basket. A dull pain snapped Coin back to reality, as his now folded up wing was still recovering from that shot he took last night. “Ugh...The crazy train just doesn’t stop, does it?”

“Oh, you’re awake!” The pony from last night returned. She had blonde hair, an orange body, and for some reason, wore a red cloak as well. She also carried a bowl of what Coin suspected to be oatmeal with her magic. “How’re you feeling?”

“Sore...And worried, what the hay happened to me last night?”

“I was hoping you could tell me,” She handed the bowl off to him. “Do you have a name, little guy?”

“Er...Yeah, I guess so, it’s Coin. Who’re you?”

“Eleanor Gallop, up and coming medic, chemist and merchant!” she replied with a smile. “Please call me E.G though or Eeg if you prefer.:

“Oh well...thank you E.G.” Coin stated then looked over her household, noticing plenty of lab equipment all around as well “Wow you weren't kidding about the chemist thing.” 

E.G chuckled “ What can I say, it's my passion. I’d tell you more, but I'm a bit more interested in your tale iight now. Mind sharing...if that's alright with you.”

“Uh, right.” Coin started on his oatmeal, which tasted strongly of apples and cinnamon. “Mm! This is delicious! In any case...You’d better pull up a chair, this is gonna take a while.”

And took a while it did. E.G reacted as anyone would when listening to such a shocking story, but when all was said and done… “Wow, I had no idea that sort of thing went on last night,” E.G solemnly commented. “At least you’re all right, right?”

“Yeah…” Coin sighed. “I dunno about Rolly though, he sounded pretty devastated about that star.”

“Well why don’t we take you back over and see what’s going on? I don’t have anything else planned at the...Mo...Ment?” E.G’s gaze drifted out the window for just a moment, and she peeked outside. The city was thick with a morning fog, making it hard to see. “I could have sworn I saw something out there…”

“Is there?” Coin asked as he gobbled up his oatmeal.

“...Not anymore. How strange.” E.G shrugged and went back to tend to Coin’s needs.

What E.G didn’t know, however, was that somepony was watching her. Not a bandit, not a police or clergy pony...It was a pale white pony in a black cloak, completely covering their face and body. They silently watched E.G’s house for a moment before disappearing into the fog from whence they came.

(T.B.C)