Cadence looked over her Crystal Kingdom with a smile on her face. She saw the smiles of her ponies and the city flourishing. The sun shines high above her city thanks to her aunt in Canterlot and her husband was busy training the guards for her city.

It had been several months since Sombra was defeated and the winter wonderland that still surrounded her city was slowly melting away. The weather and area was still tainted by Sombra’s magic, but thankfully the love in the ponies hearts and help from Twilight Sparkle, the world was carefully and slowly going back to it’s original lush green landscape.

“Your highness?” A older guard interrupted her train of thought. With a quick blink to steady her thought she smiled and turned around to see the guard standing with the traditional stoic expression.

“Yes, my guard? Anything new to tell?” Cadence asked warmly.

“A strange creature has been seen wandering around the frozen wasteland. It appears to be crying for it’s mother but so far nothing has arrived to claim it. What are your orders?” The guard said in a monotone voice.

“Strange creature? Crying for it’s mother? Why has no one yet to go comfort this poor thing!?” Cadence almost shouted at the unbelievable statement.

“Your highness, we know not how to handle these things. For all we know that creature could be the spawn of the shadow king himself!” The guard stated, not batting an eye at the princesses tone.

“Now that is absurd! Sombra was defeated months ago and any signs of his return would have already shown themselves.” Cadence said looking over her city again.

“And yet his influence remains. We cannot take a chance. We must still maintain that this... Thing, no matter how young, could be hostile.” Another voice said, Shining walked into the room looking tired from the training he had just done.

“With all due respect, perhaps it is best to leave this creature to its fate.” The guard said, Shining nodded

“Now that is just obscene.” Cadence hissed as she turned to face the guard with a glare that only Celestia could possibly handle. “You would leave a poor innocent creature to die in the frozen land that surrounds our home?”

“The needs of the few or the one should not outway the needs of the many.” Shining added.

“Then gather your guards, I shall see what is so horrible about a creature crying for it’s mother. As if it’s not already horrific enough.” Cadence scoffed as she trotted past the guards and down the halls. Her horn glowed as a coat floated from a closet as she passed and secured the coat around her neck. She turned to see Shining Armor and a few guards exchanging glances of uncertainty.

“What could it be?” One guard asked.

“What if he’s returned?” Another said nervously.

“Okay that’s enough!” Shining Armor shouted as he turned to face his troops. “I have not groomed you maggots into shields for the ponies of the city just to have you chicken out on me here and now! NOW FALL IN AND SHUT YOUR MUZZLES!”

All the guards straightened up and stood at attention before a loud and synced ‘YES SIR’ was heard through the castle walls. Shining Armor smiled and levitated his own winter coat onto his back before he looked back to Cadence with a smug smile on his face. Cadence simply rolled her eyes at Shining as several guards began to follow her.

Soon Cadence, Shining Armor, and seven of the guards were marching through the frozen tundra that circled the city around. They had been searching for this strange creature for the past twenty minutes. Cadence was just about ready to call it a silly rumor and go back to the city to continue the more important business that plagued her desk.

She sighed and looked over the guards as they searched the frozen wasteland for any sign of the creature. She shook her head and watched as her breath turned to mist in front of her. A single guard walked over and saluted before stating.

“We have searched every thing in this area. There is not a sign of the creature, whatever it was must have perished in the snow.” The guard said with a small tone of sympathy in his voice. Cadence closed her eyes to give whatever creature in the snow had perished a moment of silence, good or evil.

“Nothing, evil or no, should never have to die in the snow begging for it’s mother to come back.” Cadence muttered as she listened to the snow whip past her ears. Shining Armor shouted an order as the guard saluted again and ran back as the soldiers went into a formation and began to march back to the city as Shining Armor trotted over and nuzzled his wife.

Cadence gladly returned the affection as the sounds of the winter surrounded them. She looked at Shining with a small expression of sadness as he sighed.

“I am sorry Candy, there is nothing we can do for it if we can’t find it.” Shining said sorrowfully. Cadence could only nod as Shining Armor lead her back to the city. As they trotted back to the city, Cadence heard the faintest sound of a whimper.

She stopped dead in her tracks as her head whipped in the direction of the somber noise. Her ears swiveled around to catch any noise. Like the sound of a pen dropping in a hallway, her ears snapped to the sound of a sniffle. With determination in her mind she galloped towards the noise, not stopping to hear the complaints and hollow orders to return coming from her husband. She continued to run until she found a small hill of ice and snow piled together to create a arch that barely shielded anything that was smart enough to hide from the frozen torment the land held.

Under the arch was a small silver bodied figure with grey, fuzzy five fingered paws, black legs along with black rubbery textured looking hooves, or well paws. The poor creature was sniveling and sobbing as it curled up under the ice arch quietly calling out for it’s mother to come back.

It was in that moment Cadence’s heart broke. She gently and carefully approached the creature, still being mindful that it could attack her at any moment. As she neared it, she heard it more clearly, it sounded like a colt calling to it’s lost mother, hoping that she will find him. She took another step towards the small creature and ever so carefully lifted her hoof and gently tapping the creature’s silver coat which felt more like fabric that fur.

The small creature’s head almost snapped as it looked at her and suddenly backing up with tears streaming down it’s face. She immediately noticed this creature was not that of any thing she knew of. It’s face was hairless although a mane could be made out through the hood of whatever it was wearing. She simply watched as the bloodshot and watery eyes clenched shut and the creature covered it’s head in a futile attempt to protect itself.

Cadence could no longer stand to see this poor thing in such a state of sorrow. As much as she’d hate to admit it, this poor thing was most likely a orphan. With no other options left she gently laid down in the snow, ignoring the bone chilling cold she instantly felt, and put on a smile.

“Don’t worry.” She said gently and calmly. “I am not going to hurt you.”

The creature stopped cowering and uncovered it’s eyes to look at her. The gentle green irises seemed to plead for safety from the cold. “A-a-are y-y-you g-g-going t-to t-take m-me to m-my m-m-mummy?” It asked.

Cadence swallowed a lump in her throat before gently saying. “I can’t take you to your mommy, but I can take you to where she may find you.”

The creature slowly undid it’s limbs and wiped it’s nose with a sleeve before looking at Cadence. “R-r-really?” It asked. Cadence slowly nodded and sat up on her haunches before opening her front hooves.

“Now come along, I will take you someplace warm.” She said gently, making sure to prepare a fail safe spell just incase it was a trap. The creature slowly, almost painfully so, crawled towards her until it was sitting right in front of her before it practically leapt and embraced Cadence and her warmth. Cadence gasped as she felt the small limbs wrap halfway around her midsection before she looked down and saw the small creature looking up at her with tear stains on it’s cheeks.

“C-c-can w-we g-g-go n-now?” It asked whimpering from the cold. Cadence smiled again and nodded before she shifted the creature’s grip so it was on her back and opened her wings to keep the winds from knocking it off. With that she took a deep breath before running into the snow and following the now apparent calls of Shining Armor and the guards. As she arrived near them Shining ran up and nuzzled her affectionately as the guards panned out scouring the tundra with their vision.

“Where have you been!? Do you know how close I was to burning this whole frozen wasteland just to find you?!” Shining Armor scolded as Cadence returned her affection twice fold and gently whispering in a exhausted breath.

“I found the motherless infant.” And folding her wings to show the guards and her husband the infant that clung to her neck and still shook from the cold. Shining Armor’s horn lit up before Cadence stopped him. “Don’t! He is harmless as a fly! He is just scared and cold and wanting his mother back! Have some sympathy for this creature!” She shouted to the guards and Shining Armor. They all blinked as they looked between her and the creature on her back.

Shining Armor sighed before saying. “Fine! We will bring it back to the castle, but as soon as we are there, I am running a full security scan on it!” Shining said in a tone that meant he was not going to take no for an answer.

Cadence didn’t want to terrify the poor infant anymore that it already was, but if it meant getting it out of the cold and into the warmth, she would allow it. She was going to make sure that she would oversee the tests however, no matter how much Shining would protest. She sighed and nodded as the guards formed a tight circle around Cadence with Shining in the front as they walked back to the city.

This situation could go two ways for Cadence and her people. One: The creature on her back was evil and just waiting for the moment to strike. Or two: The poor thing was just lost and alone and needed a loving home and family.

She prayed to her aunt that it was the latter.

Cadence sat in the corner of the room smiling and urging the poor thing to keep calm as Shining Armor and several other unicorns scanned him with spells. They found out much about this creature, such as how it’s anatomy worked, what gender it was, how old it was, and even more disturbing, it had little to no trace of magic in it’s body making it impossible to be corrupted by Sombra’s magic. Sadly, not even Cadence’s protests could keep her in for all of the tests and she had to leave when the tests became more difficult and harder to concentrate on.

Cadence was even more sorrowful for the creature now. She had been told the poor thing was nothing more than a seven year old colt that was in no way affected by Sombra’s magic. The colt was just cold, alone, and needing his mother.

‘Which he might not find her again.’ Cadence thought mournfully. Shining Armor returned with a stoic expression before he breath a sigh of relief and relaxed receiving a loving nuzzle from Cadence.

“You were right. Again.” Shining Armor said rolling his eyes. “He was not by any means connected to Sombra, but he is the strangest creature we have ever seen.”

“What do you mean?” Cadence asked looking at him.

“Well the doctor said that his anatomy and diet is that of a griffon.” Shining Armor Stated.

“He is a omnivore?” Cadence gasped as Shining nodded.

“But his body would be able to be sustained off of a large amount of protein taken from nuts and other such foods, so his body could survive without the consumption of meat.” Shining said. “But even stranger, the creature is hairless. What you saw was merely several articles of clothing. And stranger still it stands up on two legs instead of four.”

“So... He is like a hairless Diamond dog that is omnivorous?” Cadence said trying to contemplate the strange creature.

“In a nutshell. Whatever it is, I can tell you this much.” Shining said as he looked to the room where the small child of... Whatever he was, was sitting and gently tapping his feet together and talking with the nice nurse pony. “He is scared. Very very scared.”

“So what do we do Shiny?” Cadence asked as Shining Armor scrunched up his nose at the name.

“You know I hate that name.” He said before Cadence kissed him. “Okay, now I hate it less, but I still don’t like it.”

“I know.” Cadence said smiling as she nuzzled into Shining again. “But in all honesty what are we going to do for that poor child?”

“Well... We have options.” Shining Armor said. “We could send him to Twilight, she might know what he is and where he came from and possibly how to get him home.”

“Shining, I don’t think sending a possibly rare,or even more possible, only one of a species to Twilight would be a good idea.” Cadence said making Shining chuckle.

“I guess not.” He said smiling. “We could always put him in the orphanage so a Pony, Griffon, or friendly Diamond Dog could adopt him.”

“Hmm.” Cadence hummed as she looked into the room. The child was in nothing but a small shirt that went to it’s elbows and pants that went to it’s feet. The child seemed to be much more calm now, but still was terrified of where he was. He needed a true mother. One that would take care of him, and make sure he was safe from harm. That sparked an idea in her mind. “Shiny?”

“Yes, Candy?” Shining said looking down at her.

“You know how I have been wanting a foal of my own?” Cadence said making Shining’s expression turn to one as if he had just eaten something sour.

“You aren’t suggesting...” Shining trailed off.

“What if we raised him ourselves?” Cadence asked looking up at him with a serious expression. Shining looked at her, then to the child, then back to her before sighing.

“Do you think that is a good idea?” Shining said.

“Of course!” Cadence said smiling. “We have the resources to give him what he needs, I have the time since our fair city has been at a slow point these past few weeks, and we can tell aunt Celestia before we make this decision!”

“... You thought of all that in a span of twenty minutes of us standing in this hallway?” Shining asked while Cadence nodded. Shining looked back at the child before looking to Cadence and seeing her infectious smile. He tried to resist, but he could not stop from smiling and finally sucumbing to her. “Alright, but we ask Princess Celestia first!”

“Yay! You are the best husband ever!” Cadence gushed as she wrapped her wings and hooves around Shining as he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah yeah, I am the greatest. Now let’s go write that letter.” Shining said as he told the guards and doctors to take care of the child before they went to Cadence’s office to write the letter telling their aunt of what they planned to do.