Chapter Seventy-Two: Terra Cotta

Within hours, the fast-flying pegasus made his way to his destination: Las Pegasus. The child in his foreleg had been crying in terror through the entire trip, not used to flying at such speed and height. The stallion held no regard for the chick's feelings and did nothing to comfort her, eager to see the look on his boss' face when he saw her.

Soaring into the clearing near the city's entrance, he came upon a giant blue tent that had been erected the day the train-carriage arrived. The vehicle's cars had been disconnected and sorted into rows depending on what were contained in them. The employees were stationed on the left side of the big top and the supplies on the right, with the animals hidden from view in the back. The animals took up the most space and were assorted in categories with the most dangerous animals in the very front where they could be supervised much easier-with the exception of one, which was in the very back, covered with tarp and shadowed by a group of trees.

Ears picking up the sound of bagpipes, he was able to single out Pendulum's car. Holding the unwilling chick in one foreleg, he raised the other to knock on the door and pushed it open without waiting for a response.

The screeching of bagpipes ceasing, the brown and orange unicorn offered a fatherly smile to his employee-and the creature in his hold. He recognized the youngster instantly, but he wondered how he was able to acquire her. Worry of a possible kidnapping began to pull at him.

"Sir! I found this wandering around the Everfree Forest, and I figured you might like it."

The bout of worry was becalmed once he heard that the pegasus hadn't committed abduction, but he was confused as to why the child had been wandering the Everfree Forest on her own. Didn't her mother know it was dangerous? Nodding to the equine before him, he decided he wouldn't allow this child into another hazardous situation again.

"Indeed I do, soon. And here I was aboout to scoold yoou foor barging in," Pendulum said, setting aside his bagpipes and reached out to receive the chick. Cradling her in his forelegs, he rocked her comfortably with a tranquil intonation to soothe her. "Yoou'll be a fine additioon to the family, little lassie…"

Back at the aforementioned cloaked cage, a familiar red dragon was brooding. His arms, legs, and neck were shackled and his chest and mid-section were wrapped in chains in order to prevent him from escaping his prison. He was sitting on a stack of hay that served as a sleeping spot, currently looking through his scrapbook-having been doing so in an endless cycle. His eyes welled up with tears as he stared at the pictures of his family and friends, the effects of heartbreak flaring up and yanking him deeper into the grips of depression.

"YOU LITTLE RAT!" a horrible scratchy voice screeched out from the employee's side, followed by a very loud crash. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT GOING THROUGH MY THINGS!?"

Another loud, shattering CRASH could be heard, as if something was blown apart into a thousand tiny fragments. A couple of seconds later, a small figure made a beeline for Smokey's cage, slipping underneath the tarp and through the bars. It was a filly-a very young filly; younger than Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, but obviously older than Chenoa. The girl's coat was the color of rust and her mane and tail a dirty pink.

She was not in the dragon's vision for long, not seeming to notice him as she dug her way inside the hay pile.

Another second later saw another figure searching the vicinity of the cage. Her figure, as outlined through the tarp, suggested to be that of an adult mare-somewhat tall and slender.

"YOU CAN'T HID FROM ME FOREVER!" she screamed. "You're only making things worse for yourself the longer you hide! When I find you I AM SO GOING TO BEAT YOUR FLANK!"

She heaved, obviously very much enraged.

"TERRA COTTA, GET OUT HERE THIS INSTANT!"

Smokey was startled by the outraged shouting, and was even more surprised by the sudden appearance of the filly. He had been about to address her as she burrowed herself in his makeshift bed, but hearing the wrathful voice kept his mouth shut and he waited for her to stop.

There was a pause in which everything fell silent. Minutes that felt like hours passed by as the figure crossed in front of the tarp several times-noise erupting as she violently upended crates and tossed things aside, apparently looking for the filly.

Releasing a long scream, she stormed off.

The draconian pinned his ear frills at the sheer volume of the mare's voice that threatened to burst his eardrums. Pushing the tarp aside with his tail just enough to take a peek outside, he watched the pony leave. Heaving a sigh and moving his tail back to its primary place, he turned his attention to the portion of hay where the filly was stowed away.

"It's all right, little one. You may come out now. She's gone."

There was a short lapse, before the tiny head poked out from the haystack. She was shivering, and even though there was a slight chill in the air, it was evident she was shaking from terror than the actual temperature.

The filly was an earth pony. Her neck frill, vest, and the bright red and white paint on her face suggested that she was employed as a clown. Tottering out of the haystack, she glanced up at Smokey-and she gasped, slowly backing away in pronounced fear.

Despite the dragon's initial depression, he forced a kind smile and spoke gently.

"It's all right, sweetie. I will not hurt you."

Eyes drawn to the awkwardly placed red on her face, coupled with his sense of smell, he was able to come to the conclusion that it wasn't paint at all!

"You're bleeding!" he gasped. Quickly opening the scrapbook to a pair of blank pages, he ripped them out and soaked them in his bowl of water. "Here… Let me clean you up…"

The small filly was very reluctant. She was terrified. As she realized he wasn't going to harm her, she hesitantly shuffled closer to him.

"That's a good girl…" he crooned, very slowly touching the damp paper to the rivulet of blood. Following it up, the reptilian was shocked to find a deep gash. "My goodness…! Who did this to you?"

She quaked, her eyes tearing up from the combination of pain and terror she was still experiencing. She opened her mouth to try to speak, but all she was able to do was choke out a cry, and pointed a hoof to where the larger figure had disappeared just minutes earlier.

"Her, huh? I had a feeling it was her…" A burning anger seared through him as he continued to gently dab the filly's gash. "Well… you're welcome to come in here anytime she tries to harm you again… Or… anytime, really."

The filly whimpered and huddled closer to Smokey. She didn't seem to want to leave in the first place, let alone continuously come back. The fear in her eyes was palpable. The elder mare, whoever she was, perceptibly terrified her.

Tossing the soiled paper aside, he tore out more of the sturdy pages and soaked them before resuming cleaning the child's wound. Seeing the tiny pony quake in fear inspired sympathy and a need to continue helping her.

"Who was that pony, anyway?"

She winced a bit as her injury was cleaned. Tears sliding down her cheeks, she was silent for a good long moment before she finally calmed down enough to speak.

"S… si… sista," she managed to squeak out.

"Sister? Your sister?" Smokey had a hard time believing that this little filly's own sister would do such a thing to her. "Where are your parents? They shouldn't be allowing your sister to hurt you."

The filly blinked, appearing perplexed.

"Wutur purents?" she mumbled.

Smokey was absolutely shocked to hear this. She didn't know what parents were? How was this even possible? He never had parents and he even knew what they were? Surely, she should have been exposed to many foals and their parents if she was working for the circus. Perhaps she was too young to understand?

"Parents are generally a mare and stallion who made you and take care of you." He paused for a moment, jumping to the realization that this pony was an orphan. "Who takes care of you?"

Just by studying the resulting expression on the child's face, Smokey could tell she didn't understand him.

"Who feeds you? Gives you a place to sleep, comforts you when you're sad or afraid?"

Understanding dawned on the child's face and she gave a soft smile.

"Mista Pendum," she said, almost immediately. "An' Cookie, an' Missus Perl, an' Jambri, an'-"

She rattled off an entire list of names, a number of which may have sounded familiar to him.

"Those aren't exactly parents. Are you saying you don't have a pair of ponies who you call Mom and Dad?" he queried, sounding worried.

The blank expression returned to her visage and she shook her head. The mystification in her eyes suggested she didn't even know what a mom and dad were.

"A mom and dad are the two ponies who gave birth to you," Smokey attempted to explain. "The mom is the mare and the dad is the stallion. Though, ponies can adopt a foal with no parents and call them their son or daughter. A son is the boy and a daughter is the girl."

The red-scaled creature ceased as his mind drifted to Chenoa, tears pooling in his eyes.

"I… adopted a baby griffon with a sweet pegasus and called her my daughter…"

The filly still didn't seem to understand, however she appeared to be getting rather bored with the conversation. Yawning and looking drowsy, she moved to curl up by Smokey's leg. It was a bit warmer in the cage due to the tarp cutting off the wind and with the addition of the straw bedding, but she still shivered lightly.

She turned her gaze to the bars, but she was hesitant to leave. The dragon stared down at the little equine for several moments before speaking again.

"You don't have to go out there. You may stay with me, if you want. What is your name?"

The filly was startled somewhat, and turned her eyes up at the dragon. She bit her lip, then spoke.

"T… Turra… Cotta," she muttered.

"Terra Cotta…" he repeated, a tiny smile tugging at his lips. "That's a beautiful name. My name is Smokey."

"Smo… key," the girl said, testing the name. "Smo-key!"

She giggled, breaking out into a smile.

Grinning down at the child, he dropped the bloody paper aside.

"At least your owie stopped bleeding. If only I had a bandage… You have a doctor here, right?"

"Doktur?" she repeated, puzzled again. A look of recognition painted across her face a few seconds later. She smiled and nodded, but one look at the bars and fear passed over her again.

He took a look at the filly's gash once more.

"It should be fine without stitches." The next thing he noticed was the child was slightly emaciated. Smile dropping, he picked up the full loaf of bread that had been sitting next to his water dish and extended it out to her. "Hungry?"

Terra Cotta stared as if she hadn't seen a loaf of bread before. Gasping, her stomach audibly growled, and she nodded vigorously as her eyes shined with an inner light.

"Eat as much of it as you want. I can always tell Chuckles he is not giving me enough food," he stated, holding out the loaf for her to take.

The filly was incredibly happy, and, tears in her eyes again, leaped at the loaf and tore it apart. She began to swallow large chunks, not even taking the time to chew it.

"Oh! Careful, Terra Cotta! Please chew your food. I don't want you to choke!" he warned, his eyes wide with anxious concern.

The loaf was already halfway eaten when Smokey's exclamation reached her. She frowned, her large, wet, glassy eyes staring up at him with a whimper escaping her. Tenderly, she took small bites, huddling up on herself to prevent another scolding.

"It's all right," he reassured gently, offering her a smile. "I just don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Sniffling, she whimpered again, but eventually started taking larger bites-and made sure she took her time to chew. It didn't take much longer before the loaf was fully consumed. Stretching out with a yawn, she curled up near the dragon's leg again and leaned against it as she closed her eyes.

"Awww… Here…" Leaning forward, he picked up Terra Cotta slowly as not to surprise her and set her down on his straw bed. "There… Comfortable?"

She gasped softly upon being picked up, and squirmed, but quickly calmed as she was placed upon the stack. Murmuring something indecipherable, she turned around once and laid down on her stomach. Lowering her head, she closed her eyes a couple seconds later.

Three minutes passed, and the breathing emanating from her told Smokey she was fast asleep. Smiling down at the child as she slept, he curled up on what was left of the bed and unfolded a wing to drape it over her to keep her warm. Sighing through his nostrils, he shut his eyes and drifted off.