> Stray
>  by Storm Vector
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey Short-stack!”  Vlyka Velveteen winced at the grating voice, not even needing the tired old insult to identify which horrible pony was approaching behind the nine-year-old earth pony’s back.  She kept her tired, pinkish-purple eyes turned down, looking at her maroon hooves as she tried in vain to escape the glaring eyes of her unwelcome followers. 

Just as she tried to round a corner and flee, surprisingly adept at running away even with the oversized saddlebags she needed to carry her books, a gray hoof slammed down in front of her with enough force to make her freeze, flinching and shutting her eyes at the mere sight of it.  This one too, she knew without glancing up at her opponent’s face.  Vlyka absently crossed one of her forelegs across her body, the other holding most of her weight centered over it: it was a tell she couldn't control, an outward sign of her fear and stress, and it happened all the time, especially in the last few days.  “Come on tiny, your head gets any lower and your buck teeth are gonna start gouging the floor.” 

The little filly’s mouth tightened at the new insult, feeling the object of this torment assert itself on her lip.  Vlyka’s four canine teeth had always been unusually sharp, one of many of her physical oddities that caused her to worry if she was a healthy little filly.  But losing those teeth hadn't helped her any, since one had already grown back bigger than before, jutting past her lip while her mouth was at rest. It wasn't a struggle for her to work with one anymore, and she'd probably adapt to talking and eating with another, but the added length only served as a bigger target for everypony to gawk and laugh at her. 

“Nice one Dare,” the voice from behind called as it approached.  Vlyka didn’t look up, only glanced past the yellow hooves that had just trotted past her to match some sort of secret hoofshake with the gray one that had stopped her retreat.  She was looking for an exit, some place to slip away while her friends here were distracted by their buddy-buddy relationship.  But she ran out of time before she could act.  “So runt, what’s new today?” 

Tired from an awful night’s sleep, Vlyka seriously debated responding to his rhetorical question.  A biting comment on how the yellow one's attitude would have fit perfectly in last night's reading on a barbaric era of Equestrian history slid straight to the tip of her tongue, begging to be used.  But she held back, memories of the last time she’d snapped at one of these ponies she’d found herself “tripping” down a staircase, crashing into a wall and bruising her shoulder.  That had set off her adoptive big sister, Crystal Lattice, who had physically dragged Vlyka into her own classroom the next morning and told off her teacher for letting it happen.  

While Crystal had meant well by it, slight injuries due to a crushing bearhug of her little sis notwithstanding, it hadn't really helped Vlyka's situation any.  She still had to deal with her nitwit entourage every day: Golden Moon and Jackpot Dare.  The eleven-year-old unicorn and earth pony duo, occasionally joined by Moon’s ‘marefriend’ pegasus named Sugar Breeze, regularly harassed Vlyka ever since she'd been elevated into their grade.  They'd torment her with everything that could get a rise out of her: of course, her abnormally short stature and teeth were a common target, but the one that stung worst for Vlyka was the ever-popular "blank flank" insult.  it was hardly her fault the school had catapulted her a few grades forward, so she was surrounded by ponies who had earned their cutie marks at least a year ago.  Though she couldn't help but worry that, even at her age, she should have earned a cutie mark by now anyways, and just plain hadn't.  Of course, that had been a fear Vlyka had been dealing with on her own, alongside other fears of looking different than anypony around her to the point it had kept her from even speaking around strangers for weeks at a time.  “Don’t think she talks much,” had been one of the early insults, that one by Moon, and the falsehood that drove Vlyka to tell him off…only to find herself a tangle of limbs and saddlebag straps at the base of a stairwell.  Moon’s efforts to crush Vlyka had gotten a bit subtler than that first time, it having attracted far too much attention from the school staff.  It wasn't much comfort, as Vlyka still found herself getting pinballed around the hallways, forced to turn down strange paths or get stopped entirely when she just wanted to walk past untouched. 

Just then a set of pale cyan hooves clopped into Vlyka's downcast vision, most assuredly belonging to Sugar. Vlyka was proved correct a second later after hearing the smack of a pair of lips on a pony's cheek, a sound that sent unidentified chills up the tiny mare's back.  "So what's going on with her today?" the lighter voice of Sugar asked, talking about Vlyka as though she wasn't even standing there. It didn't surprise Vlyka in the slightest, but somehow that didn't stop it from hurting. 

"Don't know, hadn't gotten that far yet," Dare replied, raising a foreleg up off the ground. Vlyka still refused to look up, trying to convince the more rational part of her mind that if these ponies couldn't see her eyes, they wouldn't see how scared and hurt she was. It wasn't working. 

What would they have her do this time?  Usually their abuse was only verbal, but every week they'd be planning some "harmless prank" to play on her, just to mix things up. Early on it had been stuffing her locker with damp grass clots, getting water all over her notebooks, but it had evolved to trying to trap her in one of their lockers, alongside somepony's odorous towel, filling the confines of the locker with a smell that would have made a normal pony's sense of smell revolt.  In the case of  Vlyka's sensitive nose she'd nearly thrown up, a fate she'd been saved by only because they'd feared a nearby teacher would notice Vlyka pleading for help.  It wasn't all hooves-off her, however, as some weeks they took advantage of her sharp hearing and forced her head up against a locker while slamming a locker a few units down shut.  The whole wall would reverberate and send sound right into her ears, making them ring for hours on end.  It was admittedly a clever abuse, since there was no indicator anything was wrong besides her having issues paying attention in class thanks to lack of solid hearing.  Her inattentiveness wasn't a great sign something was wrong either, since Vlyka pretty much got all her understanding from reading at home, and struggled to focus in class as it was... 

"Ooh I've got it!" Moon exclaimed.  At that Vlyka couldn't resist looking up, mouth slightly agape as she stared helpless at the yellow unicorn's malicious grin. "Think anyone would notice a wad of gum in her mane? Right in that bright patch," he pointed, making Vlyka flinch at the hoof coming at her. The deep, dark pink mane in question obscured the top of her vision, but she saw enough of Moon's face to know the look he was giving her. 

"No no, what about in her tail? Then she can't even sit down without getting it stuck!". Dare's voice was still a whisper, but Vlyka's sensitive ears and the excitement in Dare's tone made it sound quite a bit like a shout.  Her tail flicked up to her flank in response, to hide her cutie-markless haunch and protect it from possible attackers...probable attackers, at this rate. 

"I dunno," Sugar muttered. "Seems a little too obvious, if she's going to react. Teacher's going to notice her not sitting down." Vlyka bit her lip again, almost hard enough to draw blood with her fang despite reflexively knowing how to avoid that injury.  This was Sugar's idea of mercy, something Vlyka hated.  Sugar seemingly felt guilt at picking on this speck of an earth pony, but only enough that hurting her deeply was too much: a shallow cut would do for her, instead of the deep stab Vlyka felt the colts aiming for every time. 

To Vlyka's enormous relief, however, the five-minute bell rang at that exact moment, causing Moon to tear down the hall to retrieve something from his locker before class. Dare and Sugar said a farewell and parted ways, forgetting Vlyka was even there and letting her slip away.  But as she hurried to her own locker and tried to get it open, her hooves were shaking so badly she couldn't properly enter her combination for a few minutes.  This had been the model of her mornings at school for the past two weeks now, being so utterly nerve wracked that she couldn't even get her locker door open, assuming she had time after Moon's gang was done with her.  Crystal had noticed Vlyka's added reluctance to split up and tried to stay with her little sis as much as possible, but Crystal's own surprise grade skip had ensured that her locker was in a different part of the building entirely from her little sister's, leaving Vlyka less time to hide in her sister's shadow after getting to school. 

Vlyka slammed her locker shut finally, having to triple check that she'd gotten the right notebook this time, and turned to sprint for her classroom, pleading to make it before the bell.  But fate was not on her side today, not that it really ever was on her side, because as she rounded the corner near her class the bell rang.  She was late, no way even at top speed she could make it into the room before it finished.  Crushed, she skidded to a halt and ran up against the wall, propping herself up as she tried to just breathe for a second.  Her entire body was shaking violently, making it hard to fast-trot to class as she regained some sense of balance. Ms. Rosedance was always accepting of Vlyka's odd behaviors, and would politely excuse minor tardiness as "having trouble with her locker."  But it wasn't the thought of her teacher's response that petrified Vlyka, it was her fellow classmates. Everypony would stare at her as she tried to slink to her desk, Moon would certainly snicker at her shame, regardless of her teacher's reaction. 

Thankfully Vlyka pulled herself together and got to her homeroom in time, Ms. Rosedance had only just started attendance. "Ah Vlyka, wonderful! Forget something in your locker?"  The cream coated, curly brown-maned unicorn standing behind the desk only smiled at Vlyka, her comment meant in nothing but good humor. Even Vlyka could sense that, despite being utter garbage at reading ponies... 

"Morning..." Vlyka replied, voice trembling as she tried not to focus on how squeaky she sounded today.  "More ammo for Moon," she sighed, unable to stop herself from glancing over at Moon's desk. The colt looked ready to fall out of his seat laughing, hoof pressed against the side of his muzzle to hide the enormous grin on it from their teacher. Vlyka ripped her gaze away from him before the tears welling in her eyes formed, refusing to give him the satisfaction of watching her cry.  She trotted slowly to her desk, at least having the presence of mind to check her chair for anything abnormally sticky before collapsing in her seat, yanking a notebook out and planting her face straight into it.  She was mostly in the back row, almost out of sight behind a larger tan-coated colt seated in front of her: Not even Moon or his cronies had a good view of her without some very obvious contortion.  At least Ms. Rosedance seemed to notice that and came down harshly on any of the three when they didn't give their attention up front.  It gave Vlyka all the peace and quiet she needed to force herself to not start crying.  

Ms. Rosedance's lesson began predictably enough with a review of the reading material last night, stuff Vlyka had, at least temporarily, memorized, to the point she could practically finish Ms. Rosedance's sentences.  It was for the best really, since Vlyka was paying almost no attention. She was instead doodling something in her notebook, something she couldn't even identify: She was just desperate to be anywhere but here right now.  It took a few new starts on later pages for her drawing started to become a little more defined than just nervous scribbles, taking on a four-legged stance with a short neck and a tail...a dog, she realized. Oh how she wanted to visit that dog park right now, the one not far from her home. She loved going out there and watching, listening to the happy hounds playing with their owners and each other.  But she hadn't been by there in a while... 

"And these splinter factions, can anypony tell me where they originated?" 

Ms. Rosedance's words cut through Vlyka's thoughts rather abruptly, snapping her back to reality.  Her mind was already going ahead, drawing up what she remembered from last night's reading...that had been something of minor interest to Vlyka, something that had caused her to read a little ahead to get the answer she was hoping for.  Vlyka glanced at the clock, confused when her routine was upset by suddenly being in new material.  Only seeing what time it was made her realize they were deep into class by this point, well past when she should have faded back in and paid some kind of attention...surely Ms. Rosedance had noticed her daydreaming, directed the question at her to drag her back?  Could she have known Vlyka had read ahead to just that topic? 

Vlyka looked around at her classmates, and it became apparent she wasn't alone in being dazed. Everypony was casting glances at their neighbor, hoping they would have the answer and get the entire class off the hook. Ms. Rosedance cast her gaze across everypony, looking for one eager student to respond. She and Vlyka locked eyes for a moment, Ms. Rosedance offering a gentle smile surely in an effort to encourage quiet little Vlyka to speak up if she knew anything, but the lock didn't last long and she continued to sweep for a hoof in the air.  "Anypony?" 

Vlyka bit her lip as the tension mounted.  She wanted to share the info she knew, feeling obligated to repay Ms. Rosedance for the kind smile, the gentleness and understanding of her teacher.  She wanted to alleviate her classmates worries by speaking up and taking the brunt of the conversation: that's what Crys would have done.  But Vlyka kept thinking she was wrong, thinking she was hooked into the wrong section of history, that she'd fumble her words and make a fool of herself in front of the entire class...but nopony was speaking, nopony else had the slightest clue... 

"...er, yes, Vlyka?" Ms. Rosedance's surprise was evident as she answered the maroon hoof only barely raised off the desk.  Shocked, the entire room turned to face the tiny filly, who flinched at the attention. But she swallowed her fear for a moment and let her memory take over. 

"Splinter factions were often a problem for major governing bodies and beliefs, but after Nightmare Moon's rise and fall, many Equestrians began to question Princess Celestia's beneficence and power.  Organizations like the Cult of the Stars rose up worshiping Nightmare Moon as a savior.  Some later began to question the fabric of reality itself, and...". Vlyka fell silent after that, in part because she had forgotten the rest of the statement she was going to make. There had been something about ponies believing in old gods, entities that had shaped the world, but that was as far as her memory had taken her. Of course, the stares from everypony in the room hadn't exactly helped her feel okay to keep talking.  

Vlyka glanced at some of the eyes staring at her, biting her lip as she tried not to show how badly she was shaking, ashamed at how difficult it had been to talk in front of everypony.  Her forelegs were crossing even as she sat still, feeling too ashamed to move.  She didn't hold eye contact with anypony for long, especially Moon, who shot her a particularly nasty look that caused her to lower her gaze so fast she nearly smashed her snout into her desk. 

"Yes, exactly right Vlyka, well done," Ms. Rosedance finally said, after a moment of stunned silence.  It sounded like she was praising Vlyka alright, sounded like encouragement for talking in class, but Vlyka couldn't bring herself to look up and check what her face said, not that she would have been able to read it clearly anyways.  Whatever genetics she'd gotten from her biological parents, they clearly hadn't had the social intuition that Crys and her family had... 

“Oh come on,” came a sharp voice from a few seats up.  “She just read that straight out of her book.”  Vlyka cringed, still finding a way to be surprised by Moon finding any way to put her down.  

“Golden, please,” said Ms. Rosedance, stamping a hoof irritably as she addressed him. 

“What?  There’s no way she remembered all that just from reading it.” 

“Maybe you ought to read your homework once and a while,” somepony Vlyka didn’t know responded, prompting the class to giggle.  She wanted to smile at Moon getting some just desserts for insulting her, but she was too busy obsessing over his words.  He was right, of course; one of Vlyka's oddities was an above-average short-term memory, letting her absorb and recall information for a limited time without much effort.  It was surely part of what had already catapulted her forward two grades in school… but was that really as good a thing as her dad, as the letters from her school's principal and other important ponies, said it would be? 

“Settle down everypony,” said Ms. Rosedance as she tried to calm the class, with delayed but effective results.  “Now, Vlyka is correct…” 

“Freak.” 

Vlyka winced again at the whisper, loud enough for her to hear with her sensitive ears even when she couldn’t be sure that anypony else had heard Moon insult her under his breath.  Though this time, he didn’t get away with it. 

“Now that’s quite enough!” Ms. Rosedance snapped.  “I won’t stand for you insulting a student in my classroom, young colt.  And if you insist on pushing the matter you’re welcome to take it up with the principal’s office.”  

There it was, the hollow threat to send Moon away for “discipline.”  Nothing ever seemed to come of it, save Moon and his cronies coming down on Vlyka harder for the next few days as punishment for having him sent there.  Sometimes it brought Moon in line, at least for a class period or two, but the words only set off a new dark cycle of thoughts in Vlyka’s head.  Surely Moon was going to harass her worse for putting him in the spotlight, making him the teacher’s target for today… 

With that distraction ended, Ms. Rosedance continued her lecture, mentioning something about ancient societies that might have vaguely interested Vlyka on any other day.  But she was exhausted now, and the emotional strain of pretending she wasn’t about to break down in tears sapped the energy to even think from the little mare.  She just wanted to go take a nap, go home and sleep, even snuggle a bit with Crystal’s cat: as much as she hated the chaos that animal brought to the house, it was something warm and soft she could hold, pretend that things were alright.  By now Crys would try to work the problem out, surely only making things worse, and she already owed her dad enough for adopting her, raising her like his own flesh and blood, there was no way Vlyka could put more on that stallion’s plate.   

As Vlyka tried to hold herself steady, zoned out from everything while she just tried to appear like things were fine, a sudden tap to her shoulder nearly scared her out of her skin.  She glanced over to see a pony passing a scrap of paper to her.  Wary of it, and heart still racing, she took the folded paper and set it on her desk, already knowing she should ignore it.  But something possessed her to open it, trying to brace for whatever was there…only to find a crude drawing.  It was a short, malformed-looking earth pony, a dopey expression on what barely passed for its face.  There was no label on it, but Vlyka could only assume it was somepony’s interpretation of her…namely because of the one, massive spiked tooth jutting from the pony’s jaw and imbedded in the floor.  Now she realized the pony looked somewhat baffled, trying to either figure out how to dislodge itself or uncertain why it couldn’t move.  It ultimately didn’t matter, as one of Vlyka’s hooves flew to her fang, smacking into it roughly and jarring her entire head unexpectedly.  She winced and stared at the drawing unblinking for a few seconds, trying to process something, anything else, but she couldn’t.  The end of her rope slipped from her grasp, and without any consciousness of her surroundings Vlyka broke down sobbing, collapsing out of her desk and falling on the floor.  She curled up tightly, hooves locked together as emotions flowed uncontrollably from her tiny frame, unable to be withheld any longer. 

“Vlyka!? What’s wrong?” Ms. Rosedance darted down the aisle of desks and knelt by Vlyka as she shook.  But Vlyka was too entrenched in her own tears to hear her teacher, much less respond in any meaningful way.  It fell to Rosedance, then, to figure out what had happened…and after gently propping Vlyka back up in her seat, trying to comfort her little charge despite Vlyka seeming adamant to refuse all outside help, Rosedance’s eye caught sight of something on Vlyka’s desk.  “WHO is responsible for this!?” she roared, making Vlyka recoil despite the massive sound wave pointing away from her.  Ms. Rosedance yanked the drawing from Vlyka’s desk in her magic and held it aloft, eyes sweeping the entire classroom with a piercing gaze that made her students flinch.  

Ms. Rosedance held the scrap of paper aloft for thirty seconds straight, glaring at her students as each of them looked back in fear. Some glanced at the paper to try and get a better look, but Rosedance folded it to avoid humiliating Vlyka any further: the culprit would know precisely what they'd drawn.  Nopony confessed, not that it surprised her, but she couldn't allow that to go unnoticed.  “I’m extremely disappointed in all of you,” she shook her head, before gently lifting Vlyka onto her shoulder.  “I expect all of you to have written three pages of ‘I will not bully my classmates,’” she snapped, grabbing her chalk from across the room and slashing the phrase onto the board, “over and over, line by line by the time I get back.  Get started,” she growled, as she walked for the door, still trying to cradle Vlyka’s resistant body as she left.  

The door to the classroom slammed shut behind Rosedance as she turned towards the hallway.  By now a couple of straggling students, pupils from nearby classrooms enticed by the yelling, had poked their heads out to see what the commotion was about.  But another deathly glare sent them scurrying away to other places, allowing Rosedance to turn her attention back to Vlyka. 

“Please put me down…” Vlyka whimpered, still shaking, tears still flooding her eyes despite trying her hardest to stop them. 

“Of course sweetie…”  Rosedance very carefully lifted Vlyka again and set her down, letting the little filly stand up on her own hooves.  It wasn’t worth much really, since Vlyka was still shaking so badly she could barely stand, much less walk as Rosedance gently tried to shepherd her towards the teacher’s lounge.  “I’m so sorry that this happened, I shouldn’t have let anything come to this.  Golden Moon has been out of control, and I’ve done so little to stop him…I hope you can forgive me...” 

“Please…” Vlyka moaned.  “Just leave me alone…” 

Rosedance paused for a second, letting Vlyka process.  She could at least admit that her teacher didn’t like what was happening in her classroom, and maybe Vlyka could even understand if she, somehow, didn’t have control over it.  Maybe there wasn’t anything else she could do to Moon to get him to leave Vlyka alone?  But in her state, it didn’t take long for Vlyka to stop caring, only wanting the pain to go away however possible.  Ms. Rosedance hadn’t helped with that, and only made it worse by coddling Vlyka in plain view of every student in her classroom, Moon and his cronies included.  They had all kinds of new material to use against her now, and nothing but “a stern talking to” to prevent any of it.  Predictably, losing control had only made her life worse…she really just wanted some time alone, where nopony else could hurt her. 

“Honey, I know you’re scared and upset right now…” 

“This is beyond scared and upset!” Vlyka roared in her mind, but her outrage was suppressed.  She didn’t have the energy to scream, she couldn’t even look up and interrupt Ms. Rosedance as she spoke.  

..."but I think you need some time to talk, or just some time to be in a place nopony is going to hurt you.”  As if on cue, they arrived at the door to the teacher’s lounge, Vlyka looking up in fear at the sight.  She’d never been in here before, surely this was a place that students were never meant to go, right?  How many rules was she breaking because her teacher had brought her here?  Was there going to be trouble to come because of this, should she not look around?  

Vlyka was so preoccupied with her fears that she simply let Ms. Rosedance lead her to a couch and sit her down gently on a pillow.  “If you’re up for it, I think a little calming tea might be well deserved,” she said with a gentle smile, carefully brushing Vlyka’s mane away from her face.  The little filly looked up just barely, meeting her gaze for only a second before dropping it and turning away.  She didn’t move again until Ms. Rosedance returned with a hot cup of tea for her.  “Watch the heat, I tend to make it very hot for myself.  I forgot to ask how you liked it.”  

Vlyka took the cup carefully and sniffed the vapor wafting up from it cautiously.  “It’s some ginseng tea, helps to alleviate stress and exhaustion…you look like you didn’t sleep too well, am I right?”  Vlyka looked up at Ms. Rosedance with one eyebrow cocked in disbelief, to which the mare laughed gently.  “Tired students are fairly obvious, but I try not to bug them unless it becomes a habit.  And I know you’re not usually…” 

“Please just leave me alone,” Vlyka sighed, looking back down at the tea for a minute.  “I hate talking, just leave me alone…” 

Ms. Rosedance sighed, but when she tried to speak again Vlyka raised her eyes to meet her, staring her down with the most pitiable look on her face.  She didn’t mean to guilt her teacher like that, she only wanted to pay attention if she really insisted on talking despite Vlyka’s pleas.  But the crushing emotional weight she was under etched itself on Vlyka’s face and eyes, making even what was supposed to be a neutral, vaguely interested look into one suggesting she was about to start bawling again.  “Okay Vlyka.  You’re welcome to talk if you want to, or stay here as long as you need.  I need to go back to class and make sure nopony gets into worse trouble though.  If you feel alright, come back to class, if you just need me come as well and tell me.  If you need me to send word to your dad to come pick you up I’m happy to do that as well.”  Vlyka shook her head and averted her eyes again, not moving until Ms. Rosedance got up and started to leave. 

“You know it was him, right?” Vlyka murmured, even after fighting herself to say nothing.  She heard Ms. Rosedance stop and turn to face her again, prompting Vlyka to begrudgingly finish her thought.  “It was Moon, I know he drew that…” 

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Ms. Rosedance sighed.  “But I can’t punish him without proof, and sadly your word isn’t enough…but I promise I’m done letting him walk all over you.  If I can do anything to get him in trouble for his actions, I will.” 

Vlyka shook her head, unwilling to believe Ms. Rosedance.  She'd already known from Crystal's confrontation that Moon had been a problem, and yet she’d done nothing Vlyka could see to fix the problem.  She'd hoped for anything, especially during the few days after the talk Vlyka had felt brave enough to bring her problems forward.  But there had been word about Moon’s dad and something about the school board, all beyond Vlyka’s understanding: all she knew was her teacher had done practically nothing to stop this.  Nopony besides Crys had, and it wasn't right to ask for anymore work from her… 

Ms. Rosedance saw Vlyka’s head shake, and could only sigh in disappointment with herself.  She knew she’d let poor Vlyka down.  This poor little filly was alone in a strange grade, bright enough to outpace her other pupils but so shy it was hard to remember she’d walked into a room sometimes, and as an authority figure in her life Rosedance had let her down by not stepping up to help her.  It was easy to see Golden Moon’s hoofprints all over Vlyka’s torments, as much as the little mare tried to hide and act like nothing was going on.  Vlyka had pretended to not even notice things happening to her, but she was bad at hiding it, especially to somepony trained in dealing with foals.  Of course Rosedance had tried to bring attention to this, bring it up to the appropriate higher ups, but had run into trouble with the school board, somepony suggesting her job would be on the line.  But she’d let an innocent little filly suffer for her job for the last time: she had to end this before the situation got worse.  She just needed the time to figure it out, if Vlyka could hold on for that long. 

Predictably, Rosedance’s class was halfway to a riot by the time she got back.  Only two students had done the assignment she’d slammed down in anger, only worsening her mood and feeling guilty that these two students; they had clearly done nothing wrong, but had been so terrified of her losing her temper that they’d listened without question.  She made a quick note of those two, hoping to give some extra credit or leniency as a reward, before she moved to her next task and trotted up to Vlyka’s desk.  “If anypony has taken anything from Vlyka’s desk while I was gone, it will be returned to her, undamaged, by the end of today.  Am I clear?” she said sternly, stomping her hoof to emphasize the last word of her sentence.  Nopony responded directly to her, her glaring eye having cowed the rebellion with just a glance.  She was almost grateful her mother had taught her that look of disapproval that so expertly had corralled many an insane adventure in her youth…but now wasn’t the time to reminisce, as Rosedance carefully rounded up everything she could find from Vlyka’s desk and packaged it away neatly into the bag.  She expected Vlyka was particular about what went where in her saddlebags, and would have to apologize later for messing up her organizational system, only hoping the little filly could forgive her that transgression on the grounds of keeping her things safe from the other foals.  

Rosedance proceeded to run through the rest of her lesson plan for the day, checking in on Vlyka during her lunch break to see if the filly had improved any, only to find her sitting there unresponsive to anything.  She’d drunken her tea and set the cup down, but now the only sign she hadn't been petrified was the occasional twitch of her ear and retreating when Rosedance tried to touch her.  “I guess I’m enough of a stranger to her she hates the idea of me touching her at all,” Rosedance sighed to herself as she left the room again, having tried to pass along some comforting advice to Vlyka.  She hurriedly stuffed her face with her lunch and hurried back to her classroom to complete today’s lesson plan and assign an extra heavy workload for tonight's homework, a perhaps unjust price for the malice that had festered until today.  "Too late to regret it now," she thought as she packed her things and headed for the teacher’s lounge to check on Vlyka, resting the tiny filly's saddlebag resting on her back.  She'd entirely forgotten to bring it to her during lunch, admittedly hoping Vlyka would have come back to her for any reason. 

“Excuse me, Ms. Rosedance?”  Rosedance turned at hearing her name, spotting the caller almost instantly: Vlyka’s older sis Crystal Lattice, a bright green unicorn with a short brown and yellow mane.  She was almost always smiling about something when Rosedance spotted her in the hallways, and it saddened her to remember the angry, personally offended glare she’d seen on the filly's face when they were first properly introduced.  Her expression now wasn’t much better, a look of slight worry she was trying rather well to hide from a teacher.  “Have you seen Vlyka anywhere?  She wasn’t where dad and I usually meet her.” 

“Oh yes, Vlyka had some trouble in class today.  I suspect she’s still in the teacher’s lounge.  I was just going to see how she was, why don’t you come along?  I’m sure she’ll be glad to see a familiar face.” 

Crystal’s cyan eyes looked infinitely more worried, begging to ask what had happened, but it was clear she didn’t want to overstep her bounds as a student by asking her teacher what had happened.  Instead she only nodded and fell into step next to her.  “I’m sorry for your sister, I’ve let her down,” Rosedance sighed, keeping her gaze forward and whispering to Crystal to avoid everypony around from catching wind.  “I promise I haven’t liked seeing what’s been going on, and I’m done cowering.  From now on I’m helping her no matter what it takes.” 

Crys didn’t seem to know what to say, instead opting to say nothing the rest of the walk, arriving outside the teacher’s lounge and only entering at Rosedance’s gentle gesture.  But as Rosedance looked up and around, she saw no sign of Vlyka anywhere, just a fellow teacher.  “Did you see a little filly in here earlier?” she asked him. 

“You mean the one who was here during lunch?  She hasn’t been around for a while no,” he replied.  “Left just a little before lunch ended, when I asked she said her dad was here to pick her up.” 

Crystal and Rosedance’s eyes widened at the same time, hearts skipping a synchronized beat.  Rosedance was about to ask for conformation on an earlier statement, but Crys blurted it out without prompting.  “Dad hasn’t seen her since he dropped her off!” 

Rosedance's heart froze in her chest, her mind instantly flooded with fear. For a brief, selfish moment all she could think of was her job being in jeopardy because a foal had gone missing on her watch.  But only half a second later she snapped out of that fear to properly recognize the far more horrifying fact: a foal had gone missing.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vlyka had been walking for what had to be a few hours now, wandering the streets and trying to be inconspicuous and out of the way.  She’d gotten horrendously lost and doubted she could find her way back to school anytime soon, but by now she didn’t care: she was away from that awful place, and out where nopony knew her or cared to bother her.  She could be alone with her thoughts all she wanted, free to stew on whatever she felt appropriate.  Of course, for a while that had only been obsessing over everything wrong with her.  Her body was freakish, her mind was freakish, her attitude was freakish…Moon was right to pick on her, she was a mess of a pony, barely worth being called a pony even.  He didn’t know about her issues with seeing colors yet, but that only further proved his point that she was a complete and utter freak.  Everything that could go wrong with a pony seemed to go wrong with her. 

Vlyka groaned and looked up at the sky, her foul mood too much for even her to handle any longer.  It was a dingy autumn afternoon…or evening, maybe, she wasn’t sure the exact hour since she’d never bothered looking for a clock in her aimless stroll around town.  There were thick clouds hanging over most of the sky, brought in by out of town pegasi teams delivering them for the upcoming rains just before winter.  For a moment she smiled a bit, appreciating the slightly overcast daylight as it started to wind down, but then she the memory of how those clouds had come into the sky made her tear her eyes away, sighing.  Magic, flying…all Vlyka had was some extra strength, that was nothing compared to the skills Crystal had, and she was only eleven!  When she was as old as their dad, what crazy feats of magic would Crys be capable of?!  And Vlyka would still be here, the same miserable filly with no skills, no friends, no care for anything in her life… 

Fortune finally struck Vlyka as she passed a street corner and saw a familiar sight not far down the road: the old dog park she’d stumbled on a year and a half ago.  This had been where she’d first realized that she had a close connection to dogs, a place she came so often to just watch happy dogs and happy dog owners play and laugh.  After she’d learned she could understand dogs, she’d come here to listen in on the joyful thoughts and exclamations of those lovable canines as they frolicked and played with their owners.  It was hilarious to listen to some of them, believing they were in charge despite clearly living under the pony’s rules, while others were well trained and excited to have playtime with their favorite owners in the entire world.  It was a pure kind of joy and love that touched Vlyka’s heart…right up until somepony had invited her to join them.  She’d been spotted sitting at the fence one too many times, started getting recognized by some regular park goers, who every time they saw her began to invite her to join them for some playtime.  But Vlyka had shaken her head, or just straight up left, every single time.  At first it had been discomfort causing it, not wanting to associate with strangers in a strange situation, too terrified of what they’d think of her, and the strain had led her to flee to the comfort of her home to just be alone for a bit.  After that it had just turned into habit, a feeling of shame at watching but never joining and never feeling right to walk over, until she got too ashamed to even go and watch anymore, abandoning the park and the glee it had brought her.

Vlyka glanced up a nearby street to her right, already seeing the path back to her house in her mind’s eye.  But she didn’t want to go home right now: dad was going to be furious at her, ditching school like that.  She had the chance to get through her education faster than most other ponies, learn how to take care of herself, and here she was throwing it away to wander the streets alone at nine years old.  Celestia help her, she was insane.  She banged her head against the bars of the dog park’s fence, growling at her own stupidity as just how bad an idea this was began to sink in.  Of course she wanted to go home at some point, and certainly waiting longer was only going to make her dad angrier and angrier with her, meaning each passing second was more and more incentive to stay far away from him.  Seeing her dad mad at her was going to be an entirely new experience, an entirely terrifying experience she really didn’t want to ever have… 

Vlyka sighed dejectedly and found her way to the park’s gate, wandering inside to look around.  The gate wasn’t locked, but the place was entirely abandoned: barely anypony came here after autumn started to move into town.  She had never been inside the park, so now that she was alone Vlyka took a little bit into the nooks and crannies of the park she had long observed from a distance. It was a little anticlimactic for her hopes, but at least it kept her mind off her school strife for a few minutes.  

The little filly sat down with her back against a large tree in the center of the park. She took a second to just breathe, glancing up at the brilliant fall leaves. She loved to look at the fall leaves even through her freakish vision, tritanomalous, her doctor had said, something wrong with the blue sensitive cones in her eyes. It muted the vibrancy of greens, even the coat of her beloved adoptive sister, but the colors of the autumn leaves were relatively undisturbed and she could enjoy them just like a normal pony would. It was a fleeting pleasure, especially today when she already was painfully aware of how broken and pathetic a pony she was. 

"Ugh...why was I born like this," she growled, leaning back against the tree. She shifted with a little more anger than she had intended and slammed her skull into the tree trunk behind her rather hard. She yelped in pain and rubbed the sore spot as she growled irritably up at the tree, only to sigh in frustration as she turned her hatred back inwards, where it belonged. "What a waste of space..." 

"You too?” came a voice from somewhere nearby.  Vlyka’s ears shot to attention, swiveling to try and catch another sample of that sound.  She started to look around her, worried that somepony had seen her.  Instantly she was aware of how her defects, as well as her age, made her extremely vulnerable, and in her mental state she was certainly no match for anything they might do to her given the opportunity. 

A moment later her guard dropped, as the bushes parted to reveal a ragged looking dog looking pitifully back at her. He came a little closer to Vlyka, sitting a respectful distance from her with his deep brown eyes downcast, disappearing in the thick mess of dark fur that hung in large clumps from his forehead. Vlyka recognized the breed as some kind of terrier, standing about 2 feet tall, just a hair taller than Vlyka herself.  She hadn't really had experience reading emotions on this type of dog, but even without the obvious tone in the voice only she could hear thanks to her talent, Vlyka could read the dog was sad about something.  Maybe even depressed and self-defeating, just like her right now.  “How long were you there?” Vlyka asked, really not sure what else to say. 

"Here? Part of the day I guess," the dog whimpered, his tone a little strange in Vlyka's ear. Dogs thought and spoke differently than ponies did, so Vlyka had learned, making it occasionally difficult for Vlyka to fully understand their meaning. If only she’d had the courage to work on it, develop her understanding so it wouldn't be so hard...if only she’d have gotten her cutie mark already and none of this would be happening…except she already knew that was false.  Moon found everything he could wrong with her and used it to torment her, it wasn’t just because she was cutie markless.  All it would have done was moved his torment to something different, probably doubling down on her height and her fangs. 

Desperate to pull herself away from the noise in her brain, Vlyka took a closer look at the dog before her. “Where’s your owner?” she asked, spotting a bright yellow collar on his neck. It was the only thing that set this pup apart from being a complete stray. 

“I don’t know,” the dog replied.  “I haven’t seen her in weeks.”  Vlyka blinked in shock at the mention of “weeks” as the dog continued.  “Everyone around has been scary, rushing at me if they see me.  I’ve been hiding, looking, finding what I can to eat.  I miss her…why did she leave me?" 

Without thinking, Vlyka stood up and approached the dog, reaching up and giving it a tight squeeze, hugging it just like she hugged Crys on occasion.  “They abandoned you, didn’t they?” she sighed.  “You’ve been out here a while, your poor coat…” 

“I think so,” the dog replied.  “She wasn’t places I thought they’d be…we came here a lot, I hoped she’d come by.  I miss her…” 

“What’s your name?” Vlyka asked, slightly raising a hoof to pat the dog as he came lowered his head for her. 

“Kenzie,” he replied, gently batting Vlyka’s head with his muzzle.  It was a sweet gesture on his part, trying to foster a little love between them, and Vlyka sorely appreciated having somepony…well, somebody, to show her some affection today.  But her mind was racing: the name Kenzie was familiar, as was this dog…she’d seen this before, tried to commit something about it to memory…what was it?  “You want to play?” he asked her. 

“I’m sorry Kenzie, I really don’t…” said Vlyka, leaning back against the tree.  “I’m really not in the mood to do anything…” 

“What’s wrong?  Can I help?” 

Vlyka scoffed for a moment, but sighed and looked at Kenzie with a slightly more critical look. Regardless of species, this was a friendly ear, a creature who cared enough to listen to her strife. Nopony was around to see her talk, nopony would hear her besides Kenzie, and he could tell nopony anything she told him, and she didn't have to burden Crystal or her father with anything  else; her poor adoptive family could stop having to help such a broken pony, at least for one stupid thing. “Can you just listen to me? For a bit, I…I need to get something off my chest.” 

“I don’t see anything,” Kenzie replied, glancing at Vlyka’s chest as he spoke.  The moment was endearing enough that Vlyka snickered, almost burst out into unrestrained laughter at Kenzie’s innocent mistake. 

“That’s a pony expression,” she explained, a giggle sneaking out when she just couldn't help herself.  “It means I have a lot of thoughts bothering me, and I need to tell somepony or it’s going to haunt me.” 

“Oh, I think I get it,” said Kenzie.  “Well, I’ll listen alright.  What’s wrong?” 

Vlyka decided to give Kenzie another big hug, squeezing him tightly, before she sat down with her back to the tree trunk and took a deep, slow breath. Then Vlyka opened up with two minutes of two rambling sentences, her mind scrambling to find words to express her pain with Moon, her strain in school, her hatred of her own body, and the fear of hurting her family with anything. But as she mentioned her family her mind turned on her again, giving her a terrifying image of Crystal and her father staring down at her, furious.  "I miss them, and I can’t go back.  My dad’s going to be so mad at me for leaving, he’s going to hate me and throw me out because I threw away the life he gave me just because Crystal’s mom would have wanted me to have it…Crystal's going to hate me for not talking to her about this, but she’s already trying so hard to study and learn and grow up and take care of me that I can’t put that on her…I’m so broken, and pathetic…I’m a wreck, I don’t know if my life is worth anything to anypony…why would anypony want me?  What can I do?” 

As the weight of her emotions crushed her, Vlyka collapsed, too drained to move her body even the slightest as she stared blankly into the nearby bushes.  She wanted to cry, but didn’t seem to have tears left.  All she felt was an uncomfortable numbness affecting her entire body, every emotion and sense feeling restricted to the point it pained her.  But as her chest heaved, Kenzie moved closer to her and started licking her cheek.  She didn’t move, didn’t react for the first few licks, but something about a dog’s kiss made her smile, a tiny little spark of light emerging in her heart.  “You can be with me,” Kenzie said simply.  “I’d want you around.  You’re fun, you understand me.  I think you’re special, amazing.” 

“Heh…dogs and unconditional love…you know,” Vlyka grunted as she sat upright, Kenzie moving to sit next to her.  He leaned on her ever so slightly, tipping the little filly slightly against her will…but right now she could tolerate it.  “I heard a lot of that from the other dogs here, even if they thought they were the leader.  You all love your ponies…and I love that about you.  You guys make sense, you admire ponies you know, ponies you don’t know you want to like.  If only ponies were that easy to understand…”  Vlyka sniffled, before reaching up and squeezing Kenzie again.  He only responded by licking her cheek again, causing the filly to giggle, wiping his slobber off her cheek.  But she was smiling now, feeling more at ease than she’d felt in months, and all thanks to a few moments with this dog.  If only she could think of why he was so familiar, she wanted to help him… 

“I want to help him!” she gasped.  She remembered she’d used that phrase before, which sparked a memory of seeing this dog in a picture somewhere, somewhere sad she thought he needed help.  Something with the name “Kenzington”.  Now she remembered!  “Kenzie, your owner didn’t abandon you!  She’s looking for you!  I saw a poster asking ponies to look out for you weeks ago, you were missing!  She wants you back!” 

Almost instantly Kenzie was on his paws, tail wagging a mile a minute.  “Mom wants me back?! Where is she?  She wasn’t home when I looked for her.” 

“I…agh, come on…” Vlyka grumbled, tapping a hoof to her temple as she tried to think.  The “missing” poster was still there in her memory, but it had been a while since she’d focused on that information and chunks of it were missing.  “The poster, it mentioned a move, I bet that’s why you couldn’t find her at home.  But where …” 

Vlyka glanced around the park as she thought, realizing that a dog park would be a good place for posting missing dog posters,  around a place dog lovers convened, and sure enough she was right.  Over on a lamppost not too far from where they were sitting, a lone piece of paper flapped in the light wind.  Vlyka hurried over and slammed a hoof down over the flapping edge to get a clear view, a smile breaking out on her face when she realized it was exactly what she remembered.  “This is it Kenzie, your mom put these up all over town to find you.  Too bad you can’t read them, or you’d have found her yourself." 

For a second Vlyka winced, worried at how rude she had just been, but Kenzie seemed amused by what she'd said.  Before she got sucked into her fear at how her actions looked, she scanned the poster until she found the line she was looking for, the address to return Kenzie to if he were found.  “Hmm…I think I know that street name.  And if dad’s house is over there…”  Vlyka took a moment to try and figure out where she was, tried to recall maps of town she’d seen once or twice before, and marked where she thought she was trying to go.  “I think I’ve got it.  Come on Kenzie, stay with me.  I’m gonna get you home.  And don’t!” she cried, as Kenzie came right up to her side, batting her to the left as he snuggled up against her.  “Don’t push me,” she chuckled, “you big lump!  I need to walk too!” 

Vlyka and Kenzie hurried down the street, Vlyka deep in her thoughts as she tried to focus on her location and route.  She didn’t want to make a mistake, she knew that both Kenzie and his owner would feel much, much better to be reunited as soon as possible, and getting horrifically lost in the city wasn’t going to help a speedy reunion.  She ignored everypony around her, every sight and sound besides street signs; they didn’t matter. Vlyka had her mission to complete, she would see it through, disregarding herself just like her big sis did for her all the time.  As she trotted purposefully towards her goal however, just two blocks behind her, she just barely missed hearing her name frantically being called by several familiar voices.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

"Miss, are you alright?"  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Vlyka?" 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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