The first thing that Accident’s mind registered was the pain she felt. Her head, wings and legs all ached from the previous night, and as the young filly recalled it, she let out a pained little whine, trying to spread her wings a little.

They were wrapped in something. Odd. Accident frowned in her sleep as she realised that they weren’t responding to her attempts to move them, almost as if she was tucked up under some blankets.

But that can’t be right… She thought to herself. I was outside...it was raining...I’m still wet and everything…

She didn’t want to open her eyes just yet, merely laying there and taking in the sensations. It was almost like a fun little guessing game, and Accident loved guessing games! This was going to be pretty fun!

Okay...um...am I back at home with mum? Accident thought to herself, grinning a little. Oooh, I bet I am! Mum must have found me and brought me home, so now everything can go back to normal! I bet that if I open my eyes, the very next thing I’m gonna see is my mummy with a bowl of hot soup to make me feel better!

Accident was so excited that she couldn’t even resist. With a tiny little squee, she cracked one eye open just a little, taking in her surroundings.

The first thing she noticed as the blurriness died away was that this was most certainly not her house, much less her attic. She lay in a living room that was in desperate need of some refurbishment, with paint peeling off the plaster of the walls and ceiling. An old lamp hung off the wall by sheer force of will, nonetheless casting a warm light across the little room. The ancient windows rattled as another gust of wind struck them, the rainstorm outside still as loud and strong as ever. Though Accident felt a little frightened and didn’t know where she was, it was at least better than being out there.

The filly’s ears perked as she heard a crackling sound from across the room. Cracking her other eye open, she blinked in the dim light, smiling again as she spotted the lit fireplace. It sat beneath a mantlepiece that bore all manner of interesting curios. Old clocks and wooden toys, a little model horse, a few very precious stones indeed, and in the centre of the mantle sat a photo, too distant to make out properly.

Accident blinked a couple of times to try and focus her vision, growling softly with all the reluctance of a little filly who has to get up in the morning, and as her vision returned fully she spotted her. There stood a short white pony with a messy red mane and tail, prodding the fire with a poker. She had her back to Accident, muttering under her breath about something. She almost sounded like…

“Mu...mum?” Accident ventured, blinking a few more times to bring the whole room into focus. It was bare beyond what she had initially seen, with nothing else of note but an empty picture frame on the wall.

The mare’s ears perked, and she looked around with concern etched into her face. She had a look on her face like her mum did when Accident mentioned learning to fly, a kind of shocked expression like she’d been given the world’s worst surprise party.

“Erm…sorry?” The mare asked, shuffling her hooves awkwardly. Her mane’s braided just like Accident’s! She had to be her mother! It was her who’d taught the young filly to do her mane up like that in the first place!

“You’re my mum, right?” Accident insisted, stretching in her swaddle as best she could. “You’ve gotta be! Where did you find me? I ran a super long way and I got lost and then there was this crazy guard who wanted to take me home with him but he gave me the heebie-jeebies and…”

“Whoa! Whoa! Hold up!” The mare started, holding her hooves up in the air and backing up. “I’m not your mum, kid. Trust me, I’d know if I was!”

“But you look like my mum!” Accident grinned slyly. “Are you sure you’re not my mummy playing a trick on me?” She groaned as she struggled against her soft blankety bindings, defying the numb pain she felt in her forehead where she’d struck it earlier that night. Her mum was here, she was okay, they were back together again and she’d even sprouted wings! As far as Accident was concerned, this officially made up for everything that had happened that day.

“Yep! Pretty sure!” The mare squeaked, backing up a little more until her flanks were pressed against the wall. Her tail started to flick from side to side. She’s obviously lying. Accident’s far too smart for a trick like that to work on her!

“But you look like her and you sound like her...you don’t smell like her…” Accident frowned, sniffing the air as she pulled free of her blankets and shuffled over to the retreating pony. “But that’s okay! I know you are anyway! I knew you’d come back for me!”

“Now, hang on!” The pony yelped. She opened her mouth to say something else, probably another denial or something, but she seemed a little distracted all of a sudden. The mare’s ears perked as she heard a sizzling behind her. She glanced behind herself and - with an incredibly girly squeal - she leapt away from the fireplace, taking her burning tail in her hooves and frantically blowing it out. Whisper exploded into squeaky giggles, clapping her forehooves together with excitement. This pony is funny!

“Mum?” She asked politely, once the pony finished blowing out her own smoking tail.

“Oh Luna, what?” The mare groaned, backing away towards the kitchen now.

“Did you grow those wings just so you could teach me to fly? Was that the big surprise you had planned for me?”

“Okay, I dunno why you think I’m your mum, but…”

“But you are my mum!” Accident insisted, nodding. She kept trotting after the reversing mare even though she tripped over her wings a couple of times. It didn’t matter. Even though her body ached and her head stung horribly, her mum was here and everything was going to be okay. Anything was better than being stuck in that box.

Fatally, the mare missed the doorway to the kitchen, bumping into the wall. In the time it took her to readjust her course, Accident caught up to her and embraced her foreleg.

“Don’t think you can fool me.” She whispered, closing her eyes and nuzzling the pony’s hoof. “You’re definitely my mummy. I can tell.”

The mare stood stock-still for a time, regarding Accident with the air of a zookeeper being accosted by a tiger who hadn’t had his morning coffee.

“Um...look, kid...what...what’s your name, anyway?” She said diplomatically.

“Mum, don’t be silly! You know who I am! My name’s Accident, you silly pony!” Accident giggled, rubbing her wet cheek against the pony’s hoof, almost purring as she leaned into her. “I’m so happy to see you again…”

The mare froze in place, not apparently certain how to proceed. She looked so uncertain, so unused to Accident’s affection, that she couldn’t help but look up at the elder pony with concern.

“Um...mum? Are you okay?” Accident asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

This isn’t right...mum’s always been so happy to see me. What’s wrong? Is she sad? Does she not like that my mane doesn’t look nice anymore?

“Look, kid...I dunno who your mother is, but it’s not me…” The pony said, cocking her head and looking supremely apologetic. “I don’t know where she is...but you’ve got the wrong pony. I’ve never...never had a filly…”

Accident frowned. This didn’t make a lick of sense. She looked like her mother and she was taking care of her and everything! What was the problem?

“I...don’t understand…” Accident shook her head. “You’ve gotta be my mum! She has red hair and a white coat, and a cutie mark just like yours, only hers is gold and yours is black, and...and…”

“I’m sorry...Accident, was it?” The pony sighed, her ears flicking back against her head. “I...don’t have a family.”

“You do! You’ve got a daughter! It’s me!” Accident beamed, hopping up and down on the spot insistently. “Come on, mum! Stop playing around...pl..please?” Her smile wavered a little. Something was very wrong indeed.

“Look, kid, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m not your mother! I’ve never had a kid! Look at me! I’m way too young!” She backed up a little more, visibly panicked. Whisper let go of her hoof, looking her up and down.

The mare looked to be in her early teens, not an awful lot older than Accident herself. She wasn’t much bigger than the young filly, and she had a look of abject terror on her face. Must be the storm outside. Accident remembered a time when she’d been super-scared of thunder, too.

“But you’ve gotta be…” She asked, confused. “I mean, you’re her! You’re my mummy! You’ve gotta be…” Her wet fluffy little ears flopped back against her head as she shuffled closer. “Nopony else would’ve taken me in…”

“I’m...sorry, kid…” The pony closed her eyes, turning her head away. “I’m not your mum...I’m really sorry…”

Accident sat down, although it’s perhaps fairer to say that her back legs collapsed from underneath her, leaving her sitting in a very odd position indeed. She was horror-struck, having so much difficulty processing that this wasn’t her mother after all. She’d spent all day waiting and all night looking, been so badly hurt while she’d run from those guards, and after all that she still hadn’t found her mum.

This really has been the worst day ever… Accident thought to herself. She didn’t know this pony, and she knew that it was rude to cry in front of someone you didn’t know, but she couldn’t help herself. Her big green eyes filled up with tears, her legs shaking as they started to drip onto the dusty wooden floor.

“Oh Luna, what now?” The pony groaned, clearly not used to young ponies getting upset in her presence. “No, please...don’t do that…”

Accident’s shoulders shook as she began to sob quietly, tears running down her cheeks and dripping onto the floor as she processed exactly what had happened over the past twenty-four hours. Her mum still remained lost and probably worried sick about her, she had no idea where she was or who this pony could possibly be. It was scary, wrong. She’d never expected adventures to be as unpleasant and cold and rainy and lonely and sad as this.

“I want my muuuuuuum….” Accident sobbed quietly. “I don’t wanna b...be lonely...I want…I want a hug...and I wanna see my family again…and...nopony even talked to me today...even though I did my mane up and everything…”

The white pony sat up, looking at her uneasily. “Um...well...er...don’t cry, kid...it’s okay...I’m sure a load of ponies like you. I mean, I talked to you today, right? That’s gotta count for something?” She smiled with more than a little hint of desperation.

“But…I don’t even know who you are, and...and my mum’s still missing…and I wanna see her again...I really really miss her…”

The pony frowned, extending and retracting a hoof time and again, unsure about whether fillies responded well to being petted. She was clearly completely out of her element here, with no idea of how to console a crying little foal, and Accident couldn’t stop herself from sobbing her little heart out. It had all gone so very very wrong, the best day of her life turning into something horrible, scary. All that Accident wanted right now was to see her mum, to go home and hug her and be tucked into bed. Heck, she wouldn’t even mind if her dad did it.

The teenager’s ears flicked and swivelled as she desperately tried to work out how best to approach this situation, and finally she dashed out of the room into the kitchen. There was a godawful racket from back there as she turned the place inside out in search of something. Accident was taken aback, drying her tears for a time and cocking her head in confusion. She couldn’t stop sniffling and snuffling as she listened to the pony work, one of her little fluffy ears flopping down.

What in Equestria is she doing in there?

Accident was debating going in after her when the pony finally emerged again, setting down a little bucket in front of the little filly and sitting back awkwardly.

“Look, kid…” The pony said quietly, nudging the bucket towards her with her nose. “It kinda looks like you’ve had a bad night, and I get that it’s pretty hard for you and that you want your mum, but...I dunno, maybe this’ll make you feel a little better?”

Accident shuffled closer, gazing into the bucket suspiciously. She didn’t believe that there was anything in there that could make her feel better, not when she was missing her mum so much, but she had to che…

Ohmygoshcookies!

Accident’s wings fluttered excitedly and a little smile formed on her face. They weren’t her favourite cookies, of course, but there were lots of them and she loved cookies very much indeed. Taking one in her hoof, the young filly nibbled on it experimentally. She had to make sure that they weren’t oatmeal raisin. Those biscuits were the work of Tirek himself.

Chocolate chip! Oh my goodness! Accident let out a tiny little squee as she stuffed the whole cookie into her mouth. They’d always been a special birthday treat, and now Accident had been given cookies for no reason at all! She still didn’t know who this mare was, but she sure was nice!

“Mmmph mmph…” Accident murmured, smiling up at the pony gratefully and trying to speak through the cookie in her mouth. Her little ears perked up again as she wiped her eyes on her wing.

The pony returned the smile, tussling Accident’s mane and kissing her between the ears. “You’re welcome.” She giggled, apparently fluent enough in Cookie to know what Accident had been trying to say. “Hey, are you gonna be okay, kid?”

“Mmph…” Accident rolled her eyes, swallowing the cookie and taking another in hoof. “I...I think so…” She had a bucket full of cookies, after all. While that would only take her so far, for the time being Accident had business to attend to. Delicious, chocolate-chipped business. “Um...what’s your name, miss?”

“I’m Sky.” The pony replied, laying down and crossing her forelegs with a nervous little smile. “I...well..I live here. So...erm...why the heck did you think I was your mum?”

“Becaummmph mmmph mmmph…” Accident grunted, stuffing another cookie into her mouth.

“Er...wanna run that by me again?” Sky chuckled, perking her ears attentively.

“ ‘orry…” The little filly swallowed again, giggling. “Well, my mummy looks just like you, except she’s a unicorn and you’re a pegasus, and your cutie marks are different colours, but she still looks a whole lot like you!”

“She does, huh?” Sky asked, raising her eyebrows and smiling softly. “Well, she sounds like a pretty sexy mare. How’d you lose her?”

“Um…” Accident frowned, not entirely sure what the word “sexy” was meant to mean. “Well, she was taking me to this party, and I was blindfolded, and I got left in a box while she went off to get my cousins and brothers and sisters, and she must’ve gotten lost, and...and...I went looking for her and I got lost…” Her face fell again as she stuffed another cookie into her mouth. These were the tastiest cookies ever, and not just because there were a lot of them.

Well, that was a big part of why they were so good.

“O...oh…” Sky’s ears splayed back as she frowned. “Um...I’m...I’m sorry, kid…”

“Sorry? Why are you sorry! I’ve got cookies!” Accident beamed, fluttering her wings again. “I love cookies! How did you know?”

“Lucky guess.” Sky shrugged, lowering her head down onto her forehooves. “Um...so...I was thinking…”

“Mmmph?”

“Finish your cookie, kid.”

“Mmmphkay.”

“I was just thinking that maybe...if you wanted me to...I could help you find your mum? I mean, it’s a bit late out and there’s a lot of ponies out there that I wouldn’t wanna run into, but...I guess I could make the time…”

“You’d do that for me?” Accident squeaked, nearly upturning the bucket of cookies as she leapt to her hooves. “Oh my goodness! You’re, like, the second nicest mare I’ve ever met!”

“Second nicest?” Sky cocked her head, taken aback.

“Yeah!” Accident giggled, hopping over to the mare and wrapping her forehooves and wings around her. “I mean, my mum’s the nicest, but she’s my mum, and...well...you’re really nice, too...you took care of me and you brought me cookies...nopony else has ever done that before…”

“Yeah, well you were getting blood all over my porch.” Sky smiled. “I had to do something...besides, I’ve never seen anypony bump their head that badly before. I’m surprised you were only out for that long.”

“How...how long was I asleep for?”

“I dunno, a couple of hours?” Sky shrugged noncommittally. “I patched you up, but I might take you down to this great doctor I know tomorrow, just so he can give you a look over. I don’t wanna see you get infected or anything.”

“Well, okay…” Accident nodded. “But then we’ve gotta go and find mum, okay? I don’t want her to get worried about me, and I’ll have been gone for two straight days!”

Sky sighed, scratching the giggling filly behind the ears. “Sure, kid. We’ll find your mother right after that, okay?”

“Okay…” Accident sighed quietly, burying her head under Sky’s wing. It was much softer than a normal wing, as if Sky had never lost her filly down. It was warm and soft, like she was being hugged by a little white adolescent pillow. “Um...Sky?”

“Ye...yeah?”

“Where’d you get all of the cookies?” Accident grinned, poking her head up through Sky’s feathers and smiling attentively.

“Well, erm...I...er...got them legally, if that’s what you mean…” Sky stuttered.

“Legally?”

“You don’t know that word?”

“Nope!” Accident shook her head, enthralled. “What does it mean?”

“Erm...oh, it means “in the most boring possible way.”” Sky chuckled to herself.

“Oh...that sounds kinda dull…” Accident pouted. “So where’d you get the cookies?”

“I dunno...cookie factory?”

“Co...cookie factory? What’s that?” Accident sat down, flicking her tail from side to side as she listened intently.

“Oh, it’s, like, a place where they make hundreds of cookies…like, a whole lot of…”

“OH MY GOODNESS IT EXISTS?” Accident squealed, bouncing up and down on the spot and propping herself up on Sky’s chest by her fluffy little forehooves. “THERE’S A COOKIE FACTORY AND THEY MAKE COOKIES THERE AND THERE’S HUNDREDS OF THEM?” Her voice was so squeaky by this point that she’d almost transcended audible sound.

“Uh...yeah! Lots!” Sky nodded, leaning away from the excited filly. “Is...is that okay?”

Accident glanced around to make sure that nopony was listening before beckoning to Sky, her face growing dark. “I have a terrible secret.” She muttered conspiratorially. “Only my most trusted friends can know it. Only, you, mum and Scruffy are allowed to hear it, got it?”

“Um...sure…” Sky nodded, leaning in and perking her ear.

Accident took Sky’s ear between her forehooves, leaning closer as her eyes searched the room for eavesdroppers who would sell her secrets to Chrysalis. When she was finally satisfied that there were no changeling spies about, she finally let slip her darkest little secret.

“Someday...I’d love to get a hug from a cookie. Like, a giant one, all warm and fresh out of the oven.” She said quietly. “It’s my lifelong dream!”

As Accident pulled away, her lip was quivering and concern was etched into her face. “Um...you won’t tell anypony, will you?” She added.

Sky put a hoof to her lips, smiling softly. “I promise I’ll never tell another pony. Cross my heart.”

“Okay…” Accident smiled again, nuzzling her way under Sky’s chin and hugging her again. “Thanks, Sky. You’re a really nice pony...I’m sorry I bled all over your porch.”

“That’s okay, kid...you couldn’t help it.” Sky chuckled, spreading her wings and wrapping them around the young filly. “Hey, how about you go back to sleep? You still look kinda messed up and you probably had a pretty big day today.”

“Silly Sky! I’m not sleepy at all!” Accident rolled her eyes, giving Sky’s chest a friendly poke. “If I was, I’d be yawning!”

“Damn. Thought I had you there.” Sky giggled quietly, reaching down under her wing and retrieving Scruffy. “You sure this guy can’t convince you to change your mind?”

“Oh my gosh, Scruffy!” Accident yelped, snatching the little plushie pony out of Sky’s hooves and clutching him tight. “You saved him, too?”

“Sure did, and I’m pretty sure that he wants you to go to bed.” Sky nodded. She cleared her throat, putting on a rather silly voice and nudging the plushie a couple of times. “Goodness me, Accident! Sky sure knows what she’s talking about! It must be time for bed!”

Accident narrowed her eyes at Sky, raising a single accusing hoof and booping her on the nose. “HA! You thought you could trick me, didn’t you? Well, you can’t! Scruffy has an Irish accent! Everypony knows that!” She sat back, snuggling her little plushie and closing her eyes. “His name’s Scruffy Seamus O’Huggable, and he doesn’t like it when ponies do his talking for him.”

Sky rolled onto her back, kicking her hooves in the air in frustration. “Ugh...fine, what does Scruffy want to do, then?”

“Oh, he...erm…” Accident frowned, sticking her tongue out as she perked her ears up to listen to Scruffy. Looping a wing around the little plushie, she bobbed and nodded his head a couple of times as she listened. “He’s tired. He wants to go to sleep now.” She concluded, giving Sky a cheerful little squee.

Sky tucked her head under her wings, groaning. “Fi...fine! Well, goodnight then, and…”

“Wait!”

“What now?” Sky asked, peeking through her feathers.

“Um...I know we’ve just met...and...and maybe you’re busy or you’ve got visitors coming over later or something, but...but…” Accident shuffled her hooves uncomfortably. “Can...can I sleep with you tonight? It’s just that I’m kinda...this place is new, and scary...and I’ve never slept over at another pony’s house before...and...and…”

Sky held up a hoof to silence her, rolling onto her front again. “Come on, kid.” She said quietly, cringing a little. “Hop on my back and...yeah, whatever. You can bunk with me tonight, okay?”

“Okay.” Accident nodded, tucking Scruffy under her wing and hopping onto Sky’s back with a little grunt. She was just a little pudgy, straining for a moment to get onto the pony’s back, but Accident managed to get her front half over Sky nonetheless, relaxing as the elder pegasus got to her hooves and carefully clambered up the stairs. The little filly glanced around curiously at the bare walls and chipped paint, frowning just a little. This house was a real fixer-upper!

“Is this your house?” Accident asked, as Sky reached the top of the stairs and began trotting down an upstairs hallway.

“Yep.” She replied simply, her head drooping down from pure fatigue. Fillies were surprisingly draining.

“How many ponies live here with you?” Accident grinned, staring as they passed a row of identical old doors. “I bet you can fit your whole family in here!”

“One.” Sky replied quietly, tucking her wings in by her sides.

“One whole family? I bet you could fit two in this place, or even three if you squeezed!” Accident giggled with a little squee.

“Nah, not a whole family.” Sky chuckled quietly, as the two of them made their way into a bedroom at the end of the hallway. Her bed looked like a great many mattresses had been stitched together. As Accident looked around, taking in every last little feature of the room, she spotted a closet, a bedside table with a couple of photos on it, a chest of drawers in the corner and...one big pony-shaped imprint in the bed.

“You mean...you’re all alone?” She asked quietly. “Does your mum come to see you on Visiting Day?”

“Erm...no…” Sky shook her head, laying down on the bed and shifting her weight so that Accident slid off of her back. “She...doesn’t exactly know I live here.”

“Ooooh, so this is like a secret clubhouse?” Accident nodded. “I’ve always wanted a secret clubhouse! How many ponies meet here?”

“Well, I dunno…” Sky shrugged, as she tucked her head under her wing. “It’s a pretty exclusive club, and this is one great hideout…”

“Ooooh, how exclusive?” Accident bounced up and down on the bed, poking Sky on the nose through her feathers. “Come on, tell me! I wanna know! Like, five friends! Oooh, what about two friends?”

“I’m not gonna tell you…” Sky muttered. “Fewer ponies than that, though. It’s super-exclusive.”

“Wooooow, that sounds awesome!” Accident beamed. “What kind of club is it, huh?”

“It’s...erm...it’s a club specifically for ponies who like me.” Sky muttered, trying to force her head further under her wing.

“You have a fan club?” Accident gasped, clapping her hooves over her mouth in happy surprise. “Can I join? It’s not too exclusive for me, right? I mean, I’m in the super-secret hideout, so does that mean I’m part of the club?”

“Uh...you wanna be part of…the Sky fan club?” She asked, peeking out through her primaries at the tiny filly.

“Yahuh!” Accident nodded. “You saved me, Miss Sky! I’m your biggest fan ever!”

Sky raised her wing, regarding Accident with a cautious, tired gaze for the longest time. Finally, she let out a near-inaudible sigh. “I guess you are…” She said simply, covering her head again. “Welcome to the club, kid.”

“Oh my goodness! Um, is there something I’ve gotta do? What’s my first task? Do I have to make a pledge?” Accident got to her hooves, bouncing up and down excitedly.

“Uh...yeah...the first thing you’ve gotta do is go to sleep. It’s part of the secret initiation ritual thing…” Sky muttered dully.

Accident stopped bouncing, still shivering excitedly as she nodded. She’d never been in a club before, and this was the best one ever! Of course, it was the only one ever as far as she was concerned, but Sky let her in just like that! She must have seen all kinds of potential in that little filly, and just the thought of it left Accident beaming with pride.

Oooh, I’d better get to sleep! I don’t want Sky to change her mind! She’s gotta know that I’m gonna be the best club member ever! Maybe she’ll even let me meet the others before I go home! She thought to herself. Accident crept around behind Sky and nuzzled her way under the pony’s wing, bumping her head out from under it with her fluffy little snout. Once the filly was completely wrapped in downy softness, she rolled onto her back, leaving her hooves dangling in the air.

Sky was staring at her, perplexed. She’d never shared a bed with a filly before, and she most certainly hadn’t expected to have been evicted from under her own wing tonight.

“Miss Sky?”

“Yeah?” She answered tiredly, head flopping down onto a pillow.

“Can you show me what a cookie factory looks like?”

“Maybe tomorrow.”

“Does that mean yes?”

“Sure, whatever.”

The two ponies lay there in silence for a little while longer.

“Miss Sky?”

”What?”

“Thank you for making me feel better...and for giving me cookies...and...and for keeping my super-special secret...and letting me into your exclusive club…”

Sky sighed again, rolling onto her side and wrapping Accident in her forehooves. “Don’t mention it, kid. Now, are you finally gonna go to sle…?”

Sky started as she heard the tiniest little squeaky noise from beneath her feathers, something between a snore and a whinny. Sky raised her wing slightly, peeking underneath to see if it wasn’t just her mind playing tricks on her.

Sure enough, Accident was curled up, forehooves wrapped around Sky’s midsection with her muzzle buried in her chest fluff. The tiny filly snored softly in Sky’s reluctant embrace, a serene smile on her face as she snuggled in closer.

Placing her wing back over Accident to keep her warm, Sky leaned down and nuzzled her between her ears.

“Goodnight, kid.”

“Goodnight, Miss Sky.”