I wasn’t sure how long Fleetfoot was leaning against me, the two of us standing in front of Pyro’s tombstone, but I didn’t really care. The rain and lightning refused to lighten up, and I continued to comfort the distraught mare. I probably wouldn’t have realized that she had stopped crying if it wasn’t for her shaking finally coming to a stall. I looked down at the mare, a few whimpers escaping her lips, but her eyes were closed. Continuing to stroke her mane, I looked back at the tombstone, giving a slight nod before looking back at the mare.

I closed up Fleetfoot’s umbrella and tied the strap around one of my belt loops. Adjusting the umbrella I was holding, I wrapped an arm around the mare and lifted her off the ground. Fleetfoot squirmed a little as I lifted her, but after I was able to place her head over my shoulder, she settled down. The two of us were soaked because of how long we were out in the rain, and I could feel the mare shiver from the cold. Sure, pegasi could withstand cold temperatures since they live high in the sky, but they could only handle so much when there is intense rain and strong winds.

I’ve already lost feeling in both my arms, my skin prickling at how cold I was, and decided to make my way back to the orphanage. Even in the dark cloud streets, I made note of how many turns we made, along with which direction we returned, and was able to easily make the trip back. I could still feel Fleetfoot shivering against me, and I felt bad that I couldn’t do anything to help stave off the cold until we got back. I picked up my pace, going at a brisk jog as I tried to return back to the orphanage. I jogged for a few minutes before finally making it back to the dreaded building that does more harm than good.

I got underneath the stone arch and shook out my umbrella. Water dripped from both Fleetfoot and myself, and I tried to shake as much as I could off without waking the mare. Sighing heavily at the fact that I was able to only get rid of the top layer of water, I grabbed the handle, only for the front door to be thrown open in a dark pink aura. I froze as Ever Ring fixed me with a look that could probably kill a manticore. The unicorn said nothing as she brought out a couple of towels and handed them to us. I took the offered towels and wrapped Fleetfoot in them to soak up the water that coated her fur. Ever Ring stepped aside, gesturing for me to enter quickly with her hoof. I briskly walked into the building, rubbing the towels against Fleetfoot to get more water off of her.

I didn’t even bother addressing Ever Ring, or even bother giving her thanks as I started to climb the stairs. I paused momentarily when Ever Ring spoke up.

“Your room is across from the foals’ room. Make sure you dry yourself up and get that worthless mare into bed.” I could just feel the hatred in the mare’s tone.

I didn’t move from the middle step, fighting down my emotions as I contemplated setting Fleetfoot on the staircase, and then kicking Ever Ring in the face. Thankfully, Ever Ring made my decision for me as I heard her trot off, a door closing behind her. I assumed she went back to her office, and took this chance to take a few breaths. Shaking my head clear of any thoughts, I climbed back up the stairs, reminding myself that this was for Fleetfoot. I made my way back to the foals’ room and opened the door to see all of them asleep. I left the door slightly ajar as I opened the room across from them, leaving a slight crack as I turned on the light.

The room was about what I expected it to be. There was a single bed in the middle of the room, a nightstand to the left, and a small dresser on the right. The bed was obviously for ponies, since it was too small for me to sleep in normally. It probably could have fit both Fleetfoot and myself, but I thought against it. Sliding my feet along the floor to make as little noise as possible, I made for the bed. Giving a few more rubs to Fleetfoot’s body, I pulled the covers back and placed her on her belly. I unwrapped the towels from her and threw them to the other side of the room as I moved her head onto the pillow. Fleetfoot gave a small hum of pleasure as she wrapped her forelegs around the pillow, burying her muzzle deep into it.

I pulled the covers over the mare’s body, allowing a little excess in case her wings adjusted during her sleep. Once Fleetfoot was tucked in bed, I moved towards a side of the room and slid down the wall. I saw the trail of water that followed me to the bedroom, and there was a nice streak mark of where I slid against the wall. I grabbed my shirt and peeled it off my body, shivering as the cool air hit my wet skin. I leaned my head down, giving a heavy sigh as I remembered that my backpack was downstairs. I really didn’t want to go downstairs, wanting to avoid Ever Ring as much as possible to avoid any kind of incident. I buried my head in my hands as I debated with either getting a cold from my soaked clothes, or heading downstairs to deal with that awful unicorn.

As my mind slowly settled on just sleeping in my soaked clothes, I heard the door creak slightly. I looked up to see a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring at me. The filly moved from behind the door, and I recognized her as Everglade. The thestral’s eyes moved between myself, and the other room she was sleeping in. The poor foal looked torn between coming into the room, possibly being a bother to either myself or Fleetfoot, or just heading back to her bed. I watched as she turned around, but stopped when I called out to her.

“Everglade, it’s okay. You can come in if you want to. That’s why I left the door open.” I made sure to speak in a hushed tone to avoid waking Fleetfoot.

Everglade looked back at me, waiting to see if what I said was true. I gave a gentle smile, gesturing with my hand for her to come closer. The thestral shuffled on the tips of her hooves for a few seconds before coming into the room. Everglade closed the door behind her, leaving the little crack like I had left it. The filly trotted up to me and gestured with her hoof if she could sit in my lap. Holding up my hand, I got to my feet and went over to the tossed towels. I lifted them both and checked to see how damp they were. The towel that I had first wrapped around Fleetfoot was pretty soaked, and the second one was just as wet, but still dry enough for the filly to sit on.

I walked back over to my original spot and sat down, placing the towel on my lap. I picked up Everglade and sat her in the middle as I gently stroked her mane. Everglade gave a small sigh of contentment as she rubbed her head into my hand. I never let up on my strokes, but Everglade was able to pull herself out of my gentle pets. The thestral turned towards me, her eyes slightly watery as she continued to rub her head against my hand.

“What’s wrong, Everglade? Has Ever Ring done something to you?” This caused the filly to wince a little, making me worried that something had happen.

My worry was pushed aside when Everglade pulled away from my hand and shook her head. “It’s not that. I was worried for Ms. Fleetfoot. I’m fairly new here, but the one time I remembered her visit, it turned out just like this.” This caused me to raise a brow at the little filly as I took a quick glance at Fleetfoot. “A few of the others said that during her visits, she would sometimes not come back until morning.”

I nodded my head as I looked down at the filly, gently scratching behind her ears. “Do you know what she does when she comes for visits here?”

The filly gave a frown as she moved to lay down in the blanket. “We all do. Madame Ever Ring takes us to the tombstone to remind us what happens to foals that don’t listen to her rules.” I could feel my rage boiling deep inside, my hands shaking as I tried to suppress it.

I could faintly hear Everglade talking, but my rage tuned out everything she was saying. I’ve only been in Cloudsdale for not even a day, and I could already feel the urge to never return again. Every time I spoke with Fleetfoot or one of the foals, I learned something new about Ever Ring that made her even more of a monster than I thought before. My mind started to wander about what I could do to get the foals out of this orphanage. My thoughts were stopped when I felt a small, searing pain in my hand. I looked down to see Everglade biting my hand, her eyes looking up at me with concern. Seeing the filly’s concerned look helped to ease my building rage. I didn’t even notice my heart rate increase until it started to slow down as I relaxed under the filly’s look.

Rubbing my head with a hand, I spoke to Everglade in a soft tone. “Sorry, Everglade. My mind was off on its own tangent.”

Everglade pressed a hoof against my arm, causing me to look at her as she looked at me with caring eyes. “I know what you’re feeling, Mark, it’s understandable. Ignoring her for now, I was curious to know if Fleetfoot was doing any better after her visit.”

I looked back at Fleetfoot’s sleeping form, the gentle rise and fall of her body showing that she was calmer than before. Looking at the mare, I thought back to my own past life, and I considered telling her about that part of my life. Fleetfoot was brave enough to share a piece of her own life, giving a few details about Spitfire, that I thought it would only be fair to share a piece of very personal information myself. Shaking my head slightly, I put the thought away for later, contemplating as I turned back to the filly.

I went back to petting the thestral’s mane as I smiled at her. “Fleetfoot is doing better. I think she really needed a shoulder to cry on after all those years.” Everglade gave me a small smile as she hugged my arm.

“Thank you for being there for her, and being such a great friend to her,” Everglade said as she wrapped her tail around my wrist.

I started to pet the filly’s mane when a thought crossed my mind. “Hey, I have an idea on something fun that we can all do tomorrow morning. Want to hear what it is?”

This seemed to perk the filly’s attention as she pulled away from my arm, raising a brow as she curled her lip curiously. “What do you have in mind?”

I smiled at the filly as I leaned down, whispering my idea to her as I let my excitement show through my words. “How about we go to a park? Just you, me, Fleetfoot, and the other foals. Does that sound like fun?”

The thestral gave a huge smile before it quickly turned into a deep frown. “It sounds like fun, but I don’t think Madame-”

I placed a finger on Everglade’s muzzle, silencing her before she could even utter that unicorn’s name. “I don’t care what or how she feels about all of you going to the park. If you’re interested in going, along with the others, then we’re going.”

The filly grew hesitant as she avoided looking at me. I could feel her shift uncomfortably as I held her close. I brought a hand to her chin, gently lifting it up so she could look at me. I gave her a smile that promised everything would be fine, and that nothing would happen to any of them if Ever Ring decided to throw a tantrum. Everglade stared at my promising smile, slowly nodding her head as a smile tugged at her lips. Nodding to the filly, I gave her a few pats to the head before carrying her back to the other bedroom.

I entered the bedroom and took a look around to see the foals asleep, except a few that were trying to fake being asleep. I didn’t pay it much mind as I assumed they were waiting for Everglade’s return to probably tell them how Fleetfoot was feeling. I shook my head slightly as I gave a small smile at the few foals. Continuing to cradle Everglade, I headed towards her bed, making sure to move quietly to avoid waking all the other foals. I made it to the filly’s bed, and placed her on the slightly soft mattress. The thestral smiled up at me as I tucked her in, smiling as I ruffled her mane a little.

Once Everglade was tucked in her bed, and she was comfortable enough to get some sleep, I moved out of the room. As I stepped out of the foals’ room, I finally decided to go get my backpack. Thankfully, the water had finally stopped dripping from my body, and now I only suffered cold chills as I briskly walked down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, I easily spotted my backpack near Fleetfoot’s saddlebags. I opened my backpack, and grabbed a clean pair of clothes. Zipping up my backpack, I threw it over my shoulder and headed back upstairs. I looked to my left to see Fleetfoot’s and the foals’ bedrooms, but there wasn’t a bathroom on their side.

I looked to the right to see a door by itself. With no other options, I walked to the door and opened it. I found the light switch on the wall, and flicked it on. The light blinded me for a few seconds, but once my eyes adjusted, I saw that I was in a bathroom. I closed the door behind me, and started to remove the remainder of my wet clothes. The bathroom wasn’t anything fancy or eye catching. It was a simple bathroom, sharing the design of what most people would find in a shopping mall. The sink was a simple white porcelain, and the toilet was a little dirty. I looked towards the shower to see that it was the only nice thing in the bathroom.

The tub was a well-polished marble, but there was a slight problem. The shower had no shower head, but a cloud. I stared at the cloud, packing away my wet clothes as I tried to understand how this would work. Putting my backpack to the side, I grabbed a towel and placed it with my clothes on the sink. I looked around the cloud, trying to see if there was anything I could use to activate it. Not finding anything that I could use to turn on the water, I took a random gamble. Fluttershy talked about her cloud shower that she had in her cottage, especially how the water from the cloud helped to wash her animals’ fur.

Not really sure if this could work since I didn’t have any pegasus magic, I tapped the cloud. Surprisingly, the cloud let loose drops of water after the initial contact. I gave a slight frown as I stared at the cloud. The water started pouring out of the cloud a few seconds later, and it didn’t seem to be losing any of its mass. Rubbing my temples to avoid the growing headache, I pushed aside all thoughts about how this worked. I was about to step into the shower when I decided to take extra precaution. I moved towards the bathroom door and locked it. Nodding my head in approval, I moved back to the shower, and stepped inside.

The water was cold against my skin, causing me to give a harsh shiver, but I could feel the water starting to slowly warm. Not really sure how long the water would last, I moved through the shower quickly. I couldn’t do much since I had forgotten my shampoo and body wash at the house, and the other cleaning products were out of the question since I didn’t want to smell like some fruit basket. I was in the shower for five minutes, getting rid most of the grime that was on me, and turned the cloud off. Once the cloud had stopped pouring water, I moved out of the tub quickly and grabbed my towel.

I vigorously rubbed at my body, trying to get some heat from my arctic shower. I rubbed a little too hard as a few areas got a slight towel burn from my intense drying. After I finished drying off, I threw the towel to the side where a few other towels were gathered. I got dressed in my dry clothes, and exited the bathroom. I walked back down the hall, looking down the stairs to see Ever Ring’s shadow. The unicorn moved from wherever she was standing as her shadow disappeared. Shaking my head, I moved back to the foals’ room, and took a look inside. I gave a small smile as I saw the foals peacefully asleep. A few of them had moved from their beds to join Everglade in her bed.

I closed the door, leaving a slight crack so a little light could get in. I moved towards Fleetfoot’s room, and as I entered, I saw a pair of light purple eyes staring at me. I didn’t say anything as I entered the room, closing the door behind me while leaving a small crack. Fleetfoot’s eyes followed me as I moved back to where I was sitting before. I took a seat as I stared back at Fleetfoot, the mare just watching me.

I leaned back against the wall, trying to find a comfortable position so I could get some sleep. “You should go back to sleep. You really need your rest.”

Fleetfoot lifted herself from her bed, grabbing the blanket in her mouth as she moved off. I could hear the gentle flap of the mare’s wings, and before I could say anything, I felt her blanket thrown on top of me. I looked at the mare as she gave a stern expression, before finally giving a slight shake of her head.

“I heard you talking to Everglade about going to the park,” Fleetfoot said as she landed on the floor. “Since when do you make the decisions?” Fleetfoot gave a playful smile as she moved a part of the blanket, and laid on top of it.

“Since I think those foals deserve to have a fun memory,” I said as I looked down at Fleetfoot with a raised brow. “Any reason why you’re sleeping on the floor now?” I asked as I gestured to her comfy bed.

“I agree, Mark, they do deserve a fun memory. This place is already depressing enough with Ever Ring.” Fleetfoot was about to say more, but shook her head as she looked back at me. “As to why I’m sleeping on the floor, I don’t want to see you uncomfortable. It’s bad enough that there’s only one bed, but you can’t even fit. It also doesn’t help that I’m the only one that gets a blanket.” I couldn’t help but laugh at this, causing the mare to give me a harsh glare. “What’s so funny about that?”

It took me a few seconds before I could finally get my laughter under control. “Nothing, just a memory from my past. But you really don’t have to sleep down here with me. I’m just a guest here, and Ever Ring is just a poor host.”

Fleetfoot didn’t seem to find this funny as she stood on her hooves, and moved in my direction. I watched the mare as she moved closer towards me, and before I could say anything, she wrapped her forelegs around my neck.

I went to say something, but Fleetfoot cut me off. “You said you wanted to try being friends, and I want to be your friend. I don’t know what it’s like having friends on your planet, but here, friends stick together.” Fleetfoot pulled back, looking at me with a caring expression as she wiped her hoof along my cheek. “So please don’t cry. You’re supposed to be my shoulder for the day, not the other way around.”

I was confused by what Fleetfoot said when she mentioned I was ‘crying’. Not believing that I had been crying, I moved a hand towards my other cheek, and I froze as I felt a wet spot. I pulled my hand back to see a little moisture on my hand. I had no idea I was crying, and I quickly wiped away the few tears that had apparently escaped. Fleetfoot continued to hold me close, rubbing my back up and down with her hoof as I reeled in my emotions. Fleetfoot held me for a few more seconds before letting go, and moving back to her spot.

Fleetfoot sat on her haunches, moving her hoof along the blanket as she spoke in a careful, caring tone. “Do you… want to talk about it?”

I didn’t say anything as I looked at the mare. After Fleetfoot had mentioned that I was crying, I knew what had caused it. It was something that I have long kept to myself, but after seeing everything Fleetfoot has gone through, while learning a little bit about Spitfire, I thought it was fair to maybe share some of my own past.

After a few more seconds of thinking it over, I gave a small smile at Fleetfoot. “Sure, but do you mind if we wait until we get back home?” Fleetfoot raised a questioning brow at my request. “I would like to share with Spitfire as well so I don’t have to tell this story twice. It’s going to be painful enough the first time.”

Fleetfoot stared at me with a concerned expression for several seconds before giving a soft smile. Nodding her head in understanding, Fleetfoot stood up from her blanket, giving me a quick hug before moving towards the light switch and turning off the lights. I could feel Fleetfoot move the blanket around as she tried to get comfortable on the cloud floor, preparing to suffer a painful night’s rest with me. I could only shake my head as I thought about how weird a pony’s friendship in this world could be. I wouldn’t say that Fleetfoot and I were friends just yet, but it seemed like she was willing to try and be one.

Once Fleetfoot had settled into the blanket, I leaned forward and stroked her mane. I was expecting to have her swat my hand away, or even tell me not to touch her, but she just gave a happy sigh. “Good night, Fleetfoot.”

“Good night, Mark.” Fleetfoot gave a few pats to my hand before she fell to sleep’s embrace.

Letting out a deep sigh, I closed my eyes, and tried to get as much sleep as I could so I could play with the foals at the park.

Morning

“Mark, time to get up,” Fleetfoot said as she pushed against my side.

I gave a small groan as I tried to push away my assailant. “Just five more minutes.”

Fleetfoot didn’t seem to like this as she gripped the blanket in her mouth and ripped it away from my body. Once the blanket was removed, Fleetfoot put a little more pressure behind her pushing. I fell to the floor, grateful that it was still cloud and not a hardwood floor. I cracked an eye open to see Fleetfoot looking down at me, a playful grin on her face as I stretched on the floor. A few pops escaped my arms and back as I tried to wake myself up. Fleetfoot offered me a hoof, and I gladly accepted it as she helped me to my feet.

“Sorry about pushing you to the ground,” Fleetfoot said with an apologetic grin as she stretched out her wings.

“Don’t worry about it. I know you didn’t mean it, and at least I landed on a cloud floor,” I said as I gave one final yawn.

“So, you ready to head out to the park after I get all the foals together?” Fleetfoot asked as she hopped to the air.

“I’ll grab my backpack and your saddlebags and meet you downstairs,” I said as I grabbed my backpack.

Fleetfoot nodded as she flew out of the bedroom and headed for the foals’ room. I exited the bedroom not long after her and I could hear her faintly whisper to the foals, gently rousing them from their slumber. As I headed down the stairs, I spotted Fleetfoot’s saddlebags on a nearby table by the front door. As I went to pick up the saddlebags, I heard Ever Ring’s voice from behind me.

“It seems you plan on taking the foals somewhere.” I turned to face the mare as she gave a slight glare towards me. “Mind telling me where you’re taking them?”

I took a glance towards the stairs to see if I could gauge how far away Fleetfoot and the foals were. Not hearing them anywhere near the stairs, I turned back to Ever Ring with a neutral expression on my face. “Fleetfoot and I are taking them to the park.”

Ever Ring took a few steps closer towards me as she stared directly into my eyes. “What makes you think that I’ll allow this?”

I set my backpack and Fleetfoot’s saddlebags on the ground, and kneeled in front of the unicorn, keeping my eyes locked on hers. “I don’t give two shits if you’re going to allow this.” Ever Ring raised a brow at my slightly harsh tone. “You already treat these foals horribly and I plan on giving them something to smile about, whether you like it or not.”

Ever Ring gave a sharp scowl as she pressed a hoof against my chest, her voice dripping with pure hate and anger. “You better watch what you say, or else I will have the mayor here and have your sorry ass thrown out of this damn city. I raise respectful foals at this orphanage, and only punish those that need to be taught a valuable lesson.”

I let some of my anger slip as I gripped the mare’s hoof, giving a harsh grip, and causing her to give off a quiet whimper. “You keep ponies from acting on their biological instinct! You’re traumatizing foals so much that they would probably need years of therapy to get rid of their nightmares of you. You even let a foal go out in a harsh storm, and she died because of you, you fucking bitch.” I let go of the mare’s hoof, pushing her away from me.

Once I had some space from Ever Ring, I stood to my full height, and spoke to her in a threatening tone. “Go ahead and call the mayor if you want to. I don’t care! I’m just going to make sure that the princesses know exactly what has been going on around here.”

Ever Ring gave a small giggle as she looked up at me, her features giving a sadistic grin. “You think the princesses would be able to do anything.” I raised a brow as the mare’s horn glowed, gripping at the collar of my shirt, and pulling me down so her muzzle was pressing against my nose. “Many other ponies have complained to the princesses, but without any proof, they weren’t able to do a thing.”

Ever Ring let go my shirt’s collar, and trotted off back to her office. I heard her give an evil laughter before closing the door behind her. My right eye gave a slight twitch as I slammed my fist on the table. I heard the wood groan under the impact of my fist, and I bit my lower lip as I stifled my own scream of pain. My hand shook violently as Ever Ring’s words weighed heavily on my mind. The unicorn seemed so confident that she could get away with everything that she had done, and I honestly couldn’t find a way to doubt her claims. Ever Ring had the foals easily silenced under her iron hoof, and it seemed that she was prepared for anything.

I was pulled from my thoughts when I felt a gentle hoof again my leg. Looking down, I saw Everglade looking up at me, her eyes starting to fill with worry. I looked away from the filly, grabbing my hand as I looked at the other ponies that had gathered. Fleetfoot was looking at me with a concerned expression, but she gave a gentle hoof shake, showing we could talk about it later. Looking at the worried foals, I was able to push away some of my anger as I crouched in front of the filly.

“Is everything alright, Mark?” Everglade asked as she wrapped her forelegs around my leg.

I gave a gentle smile as I stroked the filly’s mane, speaking in a calmer tone. “Everything is fine.” I pulled the filly away from my leg so I could carry her as I addressed the other ponies in the room. “Now who wants to go to the park?”

There was an ear splitting cheer as all the foals scampered outside, stopping near the stairs as they looked back at Fleetfoot and myself. Everglade buried her muzzle into my arms as I stepped outside with the foals. Thankfully, the skies had cleared up, and the sun was shining down on the city. Fleetfoot jumped in front of the group, her wings spread wide as she took to the air, and started to lead the group towards a park. The foals were full of energy as they ran around each other, jumping through the air, and playfully rolling around on the clouds.

I made sure to hang back, keeping an eye on the foals to make sure none of them got hurt, and also to make sure that they don’t get separated from the group. Our little tour group seemed to gather a lot of attention as the pegasi that were flying around the sky looked down at us. Many of the pegasi looked at the group of foals before looking back at me, only to stop in their tracks when their brains finally registered what they were looking at. I received many stares from the pegasi, and there were a few flashes that I was sure had come from cameras. I could only assume these pictures were to be used as proof to show the assailant of the current mayor of Cloudsdale visiting their city, or to show that Princess Luna’s concubine was with another mare.

If it wasn’t for Everglade in my arms, and the mass of foals in front of me, I was certain that I would have screamed at every pegasus that stopped and stared at me. The walk was thankfully short as we arrived at a park. There weren’t many pegasi around, and I was generally surprised with what I saw. The park in Cloudsdale was similar to the ones that were around Canterlot, but modified because of its location. There weren’t any trees around, but instead clouds in the formation of trees to give some shade from the sun. There was a walkway that a pony could walk on, and there was even a little picnic area that we could sit at.

There was a little jungle gym near the picnic area, and a cloud box for foals to play in. It was interesting to see a cloud box since pegasi could physically manipulate clouds. The clouds in the cloud box, though, were a different variation of cloud that acted like sand in some sort of way. That cloud was still a cloud, but was specifically designed to be molded into anything a foal desired without causing a small storm. Fleetfoot and I took a seat at the picnic table as the rest of the foals ran towards the playground.

I looked down at Everglade, who beamed up at me. I returned the filly’s smile as I set her on the ground. She then quickly took off towards the other foals. I watched as the foals ran around, playing a game of tag as Everglade and Torch went for the cloud box. Watching the foals play around without a care in the world put a huge smile on my face as I thought back to my youthful years. I was so occupied watching the foals play that I didn’t even notice Fleetfoot scoot next to me. When she finally spoke, I jumped a little from her presence.

“I saw your confrontation with Ever Ring.” Fleetfoot looked up at me as her ears splayed back. “What happened?”

I clasped my hands together, placing them under my chin as I let out a heavy sigh. “Ever Ring wasn’t entirely too enthralled about us taking the foals to the park. She threatened to call the mayor for this and have me thrown out of Cloudsdale, but…”

Fleetfoot placed a hoof on my shoulder as she looked at me with worried eyes. “But what?”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I let out a deep exhale. “I opened my big mouth to call her out on everything she has done to the foals.” Fleetfoot didn’t say anything, rubbing my arm with her hoof as I continued talking. “She had no fear from my threat, already prepared for anything that I could throw at her. Do you have anything that could possibly convict her of her actions?”

Fleetfoot removed her hoof from my arm, the feeling of the soft underside of her hoof gone made me want to feel it again. “I tried to talk to the princesses about everything Ever Ring had done, but I didn’t have anything on her. The foals won’t even talk against her for fear that if she doesn’t get convicted, then she will severely punish them.” Fleetfoot let out a heavy sigh as she looked out at the foals. “I don’t blame them since I would never want them to suffer the worst punishment that she could give.”

I looked at Fleetfoot with a raised brow, my lips curling into a small frown. “What the hell did she exactly do to you?”

I saw a small tear form at Fleetfoot’s eyes before she quickly wiped it away. “After Pyro’s passing… I confronted Ever Ring. I just let my anger control me… and I just attacked her. She easily stopped me because of her magic, and after that, she gave me her worst punishment.”

Fleetfoot was trembling as a few whinnies escaped her maw. I did the only thing I could think of at the moment, and that was to wrap the mare in a tight embrace. Fleetfoot wrapped her hooves around me, pulling me closer to her as I felt a few tears stain my shirt. The foals were still busy playing with each other, giving us the alone time that we needed.

I stroked my hand through Fleetfoot’s mane, speaking softly into her ear. “It’s okay, Fleety. Just take a few breaths and we can continue on from there.”

Fleetfoot let out a small giggle at me using her nickname, before finally taking my advice. Fleetfoot took deep breaths, collecting her riled up emotions before looking up at me. “I think it’s better if I show you.”

I didn’t know what she meant, but I was answered quickly when she lifted her left wing, and moved closer so I could see a line of missing fur. A scar was clear as day where her fur was missing, and I moved around the mare’s wing to look at her. “What did she do to you?”

Fleetfoot folded her wings against her side, looking at the foals as she spoke in a quiet, hurt tone. “After Ever Ring had me held in her magic, she grabbed a knife, and threatened to cut my wing off. She was about to, but she seemed to second guess herself as she placed the blade against the base of my wing.”

I easily saw Fleetfoot shiver at the memory of the cold steel against her wing, her hooves moving towards it to cradle it caringly. “She thought that it would be too easy to show that she had harmed you. So instead, she decided to cut you below the base, and then come up with a bullshit story about how you got hurt.”

Fleetfoot nodded as she stared off to the side. Even with my short interaction with Ever Ring, it was easy to see that the mare was as smart as she is crazy. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fleetfoot told me that she tried to use her scar as evidence against the awful caretaker, but Ever Ring was apparently one step ahead of everyone. I was pulled from my thoughts when I felt something wet sliding down my fingers. I looked down at my right hand to see that I had balled it into a fist. I was clenching tightly enough that my nails dug into the skin, and caused me to bleed. I took a few deep breaths as I uncurled my fingers, looking at the four nail marks that were dripping blood.

Fleetfoot turned around to see a few drops of my blood fall from my hand. The mare surprised me when she grabbed my hand and licked at my small wounds. I saw her face scrunch up as she spat a little after giving a few licks to my wound. Fleetfoot licked at my hand for a few more seconds before spitting out the last of my blood, and turning back to me with a concerned expression.

I looked between the mare and my hand a few times before speaking in a soft voice. “What was that about?”

Fleetfoot grabbed my hand with her hooves, holding it between her soft pads as she spoke in a caring tone. “I didn’t bring a first aid kit with me, so I improvised. Ponies do the same thing with foals when they get a little cut to help it heal if they can’t find anything else to use.”

I nodded my head in understanding as I removed my hand from her grip. I wiped her saliva on my pants as I chuckled internally at that small similarity. Animals from Earth would do the same thing to keep their young from getting any sort of infection, and it wasn’t uncommon for humans to do the same since our saliva helped to speed up our healing. I turned away from Fleetfoot as I watched all the foals running around, playing a game of tag. Watching the foals play, I noticed how happy they were, and started wondering if there was anything I could do to help them.

“Hey, Fleet?” Fleetfoot looked at me as I continued to watch the foals. “Are you sure there isn’t anything we can do to convict Ever Ring?”

Fleetfoot let out a heavy sigh as she looked back out at the foals with me. “Pyro was trying to gather anything she could use to convict Ever Ring. She did find a few things, but I don’t know where she hid them.” Fleetfoot gave a soft shake of her head as she turned back to me, placing a hoof on my shoulder. “I’ve tried looking for where she could have possibly hidden it during my travels here, but I’ve had no luck in finding it.”

I let a deep breath escape my mouth as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. If Fleetfoot had been looking for Pyro’s ‘evidence’, and had no luck in finding it, then there might not be anything that I could do. The feeling made me sick to my stomach. I refuse to think that there was nothing I could do to help these foals out. A slight growl escaped my lips as I looked at the foals, determination burning inside me to help them. I looked back at Fleetfoot, who shied back a little from my gaze. I took a few calming breaths, stretching my arms like Twilight had shown me to ease my anger.

“I’m not going to let this continue anymore. We’re going to find wherever Pyro hid her evidence, and we’re going to get these foals a better life.” I stood up from the picnic bench as I gave a confident smile.

Fleetfoot gave a small smile and nod and she hopped into the air, patting my back with a hoof. “I’m glad to hear you say that, Mark. I want to see these foals grow up into wonderful ponies without fear of having to deal with Ever Ring ever again.”

I gave a curt nod to the pegasus as we both went over to join the foals. The foals were excited to have us join them in their little games. I joined Everglade and Torch in the cloud box, building a small cloud castle. Fleetfoot showed off a few tricks from her shows, making sure to use her more simple ones to avoid straining herself. Everglade seemed to enjoy my castle as she started to dig a moat around the building. Torch started building miniature catapults, placing them along the outer walls and towers of the castle.

Fleetfoot and I continued to play with the foals for another hour before finally deciding to go out and get something to eat. The foals were disappointed to hear that we were leaving, but a promise to go the park again during our next visit made them smile brightly. The only thing I hoped for was that during our next visit, Ever Ring would have nothing to do with them. Fleetfoot led us to a little restaurant a few blocks away from the park. When I went up to see what they had to offer, I was surprised to see what they had. A lot of the food on the list isn’t something I have seen at Canterlot.

Fleetfoot ordered cloud meals for the foals, and a cloud sandwich for herself. Not really familiar with anything on the menu, I just took a gamble with a cloud sandwich. We all walked out of the building, and took seats at the tables. The foals happily ate their meals, and by eat, I really mean that they made a mess of everything around and on them. I was about to take a bite of my sandwich when Everglade touched my arm. I looked down at the filly to see that she had food all over her face. I looked at the other foals to see they were in the same state, or even worse than Everglade.

I sighed as I got up from my seat, and entered the building to grab a ton of napkins. I walked back out, taking my chair again as I had the foals line up. I went one by one on each foal, cleaning their faces, manes, and coats. A few of the foals squirmed as I cleaned them, upset with a few harsh rubs I had to give to make sure I got everything off of them. While I was busy cleaning them, I glanced up to see Fleetfoot giving me a small smile. I could only assume that it warmed her heart to see me care for these foals like they should be. Giving the mare a smile in return, I passed her a few napkins, and gestured for her to help out cleaning the foals.

I laughed a little as her smiled turned into a bemused look as she gestured for one of the foals to come towards her. After several minutes of cleaning the foals, they were all presentable, and I was given a chance to try out my new meal. I picked up the cloud sandwich, and took a large bite. After I chomped down on the sandwich, I lost the rest of my meal on my shirt. Fleetfoot was busy laughing at my surprised face as I finished the bit of lettuce, tomato, and pickle from my sandwich. Apparently, cloud sandwiches could only be eaten by pegasi because of their affinity with clouds, but if anyone else tried to eat them, the cloud would just pop.

Shrugging at the mess on my shirt, I grabbed one of the many napkins I brought out, and did my best to clean up. I was able to get most of the food off of my shirt, but I would have to toss the shirt later. Not really up to making a fool of myself again, I stood up from the table, and gestured for us to head back to the orphanage. The foals all nodded as I grabbed my backpack, and slung it over my shoulder. Everglade and Torch jumped on the table, extending their forelegs out to me. I looked at them with a raised brow as they gave huge smiles and adorable puppy eyes. I chuckled a little as I picked up the two foals, and cradled them in my arms.

A couple of foals trotted up to Fleetfoot, begging for a ride on her back. Fleetfoot happily agreed to give them a ride, but now she didn’t know what to do with her saddlebags. Moving Torch over to Everglade for a few seconds, I grabbed Fleetfoot’s saddlebags, and slung them over my shoulder. Fleetfoot looked at me with a worried expression as she turned to look at me fully.

“I can carry that, you know.” Fleetfoot gestured to the saddlebags.

I gave the mare a smile as I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t mind carrying it. Plus, I think you could go without having to deal with adjusting while you carry the foals.”

Fleetfoot looked away as she mumbled under her breath. “It’s usually the mare that would offer to carry something.”

“What was that?” I asked as I leaned in closer to hear what she had to say.

Fleetfoot took a few steps back quickly as she looked at me with a slight blush. “I said as long as you’re okay with it.”

I nodded my head as I moved Torch to my other arm, and gestured for Fleetfoot to take us back. Fleetfoot hovered in the air, but made sure to stick close to the ground in case one of the foals slipped off her back. The foals didn’t jump around as much as they did this morning. A few gave large yawns as they fought to stay awake. I wasn’t surprised to see how tired they were since they were going at full energy when we left the building. Torch had fallen asleep in my arms, but Everglade was fighting against her sleep by chewing on my arm.

We made it back to the orphanage, and thankfully, Ever Ring was nowhere to be seen. Fleetfoot started to lead the foals back to their bedroom, getting them in bed to get some sleep. I placed Torch in his bed while I continued to let Everglade happily chew on my arm. Since after our first encounter, she was able to avoid biting through my skin, and instead made it tickle. I moved towards Everglade’s bed, glancing up at Fleetfoot as she put the last foals away in their bed.

“Hey, why don’t you go take a shower? I can take care of everything from here,” I offered as I smiled at the mare.

Fleetfoot smiled back as she spoke in a delighted tone. “Thanks, Mark. I’ll be in the bedroom after I shower.” Fleetfoot started to head for the door, but stopped as she turned around to address me. “Also, we’re taking the first carriage back to Canterlot. Make sure to get to bed early.”

I nodded to the mare as I waved her off with a hand. I watched as the mare left, waiting a few seconds before looking down at Everglade. “Hey, Everglade, do you think you can help me with something?”

Everglade stopped chewing on my arm as she looked up at me with her bright yellow eyes. “I can try.”

I nodded my head as I placed the filly in bed, leaning in close so the others don’t hear me. “Do you know where either Fleetfoot’s or Pyro’s beds used to be when they stayed here?”

Everglade looked at me, her head bobbing side to side as she thought. It seemed like she wasn’t coming up with anything, but could I really blame her? I was asking a five year old to tell me the location of something that was many years old. A couple minutes passed, and it seemed like I wasn’t going to get an answer. I was about to kiss the filly on the head, and move to Fleetfoot’s room before Everglade placed a hoof on my hand.

“My bed used to belong to Fleetfoot. Pyro’s is…” Everglade hesitated as her eyes shifted from side to side. She gestured for me to move closer, and I did so. “Pyro’s room is the door next to Madame Ever Ring’s office.”

I nodded my head as I stroked the filly’s mane. “Thank you for that. Do you mind if I searched your bed for something?”

Everglade shook her head, and moved so I could look around it. I lifted the mattress, looked under the bed, and pulled it out some to see if anything was missing, but nothing was out of place. I gave a small frown at this setback, but I still had two more places to look. Kissing Everglade on the head, I tucked her into her bed, and wished her a good night’s rest. I moved out of the foals’ room, turning out the light as I left the door slightly ajar. I looked towards where the bathroom was, and I saw the door was still closed. I moved over to the bathroom, and pressed my ear against the door. I could hear the water still running, and made to move fast with what I was doing.

I moved towards the stairs, but stopped at the picture that had Fleetfoot, Spitfire, Pyro, and all the other foals. Giving the picture a curious look, I moved the picture to the side to see a regular cloud wall. I put the picture back where it belonged, and moved down the stairs. I looked towards Ever Ring’s office, and made sure that she wasn’t anywhere near. Taking a deep breath, I moved towards the office, and saw a door next to it. There were no other doors, and I could only take the guess that this was Pyro’s room. I grabbed the handle of the door, and as I turned it… it was locked. I cursed under my breath as I threw my hands in the air in exasperation.

I looked at Ever Ring’s office as I bounded on the tips of my toes. I moved towards the stairway, and took a quick look around. Fleetfoot was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Ever Ring. I moved back to Ever Ring’s office, placing my hand on the doorknob. I knew I would get in a lot of trouble for what I was going to do, but from everything I’ve heard about Pyro as of late, I had a good idea where she might have hidden everything. I turned the doorknob to the office, and the door opened. I looked around the office to see a mahogany desk in the middle, three bookshelves filled to the brim in the back, and two chairs in front of the desk.

I moved towards the desk and started sifting through all the papers. I found nothing on the desk, so I moved on for the drawers. Many of the drawers had books, papers, a flask, whiskey, and a collection of very adult magazines. The drawer with the magazines I quickly shut before opening it again. I looked through the magazines, yelling at myself to stop going through all this, but I couldn’t take my eyes away from Ever Ring’s vast collection. I probably would have spent hours looking through her magazines if I wasn’t stopped by a certain one. I looked at the cover of the magazine to see Spitfire and Fleetfoot on the front cover. I quickly pocketed that magazine in my backpack, and closed the drawer.

There was only one drawer left to look through, and I took a deep breath as I prepared for whatever horrors I might find in the drawer. I opened the middle drawer, and immediately closed it. I found the key I was looking for, and apparently a large assortment of sex toys. I couldn’t help but pound my head on the desk at my terrible luck. I started laughing hysterically, making sure not to be too loud as I gripped the drawer again. Mentally preparing myself, I pulled the drawer open, and grabbed the key. After grabbing the key, I slammed the drawer close, wincing at how loud it was as I moved out of the office.

I closed the door to Ever Ring’s office, and moved towards Pyro’s bedroom. I realized I didn’t even take the time to look if there were other keys in the office, but I really didn’t want to go back in that nightmare room. Putting the key in the lock, I prayed that this key would work. Turning the key, I heard the door unlock, and started mentally cheering. Happy with my luck so far, I opened the door as quickly as I could. As the door opened, I noticed something fall from above. Looking at the ground, I raised a brow to see a spider on the floor.

The hairs on the spider were white, and it gave it a very fluffy look. There was a blue ring on the top of the spider’s abdomen, indicating it was female. Taking a closer look, she was the size of at least a tarantula. The spider looked up at me for a few seconds, before gesturing towards the stairs. I nodded my head as the spider scurried downstairs. I stood at the top step for a few seconds, trying to make sure that I understood what I saw.

“Huh, a female version of Scary. What a small world,” I mumbled to myself as I flipped the light switch.

The light was a dull yellow, barely illuminating the room, but I could make out the few things in the room. I saw a bed against the back wall in a corner, a bookshelf next to the end of the stairs, and a small desk against the left wall. With little to work with, and probably not a lot of time to spare, I started my search. I began with Pyro’s bed, moving the mattress around, and looking under it. I found nothing around the bed, so I moved towards the desk. Papers were littered across the top, and I saw there were even a few pictures of Pyro, Fleetfoot, and Spitfire. They were very well drawn, and I couldn’t help but smile at the picture.

I grabbed all the pictures that Pyro had made, and stuffed them into my backpack. With the pictures collected, I began searching through the desk’s drawers. During my search through the drawers, I started slamming each one that I searched through. There was nothing in any of the drawers, and I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t find anything. Slamming my fist on the desk, I stood up, and moved towards my only hope. I looked at the scarce amount of books and folders on the bookshelf. Grabbing the first book, I flipped through the pages to see if anything was out of place.

I searched through all the books and folders for ten minutes, and I started to worry that Fleetfoot would come looking for me. Searching through the last book, I threw it against the wall. All my time was wasted as I came up with absolutely nothing. Moving towards the bed, I sat on the edge as I placed my face in my hands. Taking a few breaths, I stood up from the bed, and started for the stairs. As I neared the stairs, I tripped on something, and hit the cloud floor. I groaned as I rolled to my side, and saw a piece of cloud sticking up. Moving towards the cloud piece, I grabbed it, and tried lifting it.

I removed the cloud piece to see a key underneath. I removed the key, but I found nothing for it to go to. I stared at the key intently as I looked over at the bookshelf. Giving the bookshelf a curious look, I grabbed it, and moved it to the side. With the bookshelf out of the way, I saw another piece of cloud sticking out. I grabbed the cloud piece, and removed it from the wall. I looked inside the hold to see a small safe. I grabbed the safe, and pulled it out. I placed the safe on the ground, and put the key inside. The door to the safe unlocked, and I opened the door.

Inside the safe was a folder, and a smaller picture of Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and Pyro. I placed the picture inside my backpack, and pulled out the folder. The folder was decently filled, but I wasn’t sure what was inside. Not working with much anymore, I put the folder away in my backpack, and closed up the safe. I returned everything I had moved to its rightful place, and went back up the stairs. I ran into female Scary at the top step, who gave me a gentle nod. Even after those animal lessons with Fluttershy, seeing this much intelligence from a spider was kind of frightening. The only thing that could make the spider even scarier would be if it was working for some mob where the boss had an obvious name that went over everyone’s head.

Shaking my head from those silly thoughts, and filing them away to talk to Vinyl about later, I closed the door, and locked it. I moved towards Ever Ring’s office to see that she was still gone. I moved into her office, and walked towards her desk. I looked at the middle drawer of doom, which I’m now naming Mordor, and prepared to open it. I grabbed the handles of the drawer, and pulled it open. I threw the key inside, and closed the drawer. I briskly walked out of the office, and headed up the stairs. At the top step, I grabbed the picture that had all the foals that knew Pyro, and placed it in my backpack.

I walked over to the bathroom, and didn’t hear the water running. I moved over towards Fleetfoot’s bedroom, and looked inside to see the mare asleep. I could assume that she was very tired from everything that has gone on during these two days. Quietly stepping inside, I left the door ajar as I walked over to the mare. I gave Fleetfoot a small frown as I stroked her mane. I heard the mare give a delighted sigh as I moved away from her. I sat against the wall I slept on and opened my backpack. I pulled out the folder, and looked over at Fleetfoot to make sure she was still asleep. Seeing that she was still out cold, I looked back at the folder. Taking a deep breath, I cracked the folder open, and my eyes widened at what I was seeing.

I’d finally found what I was looking for. All the hard work that Fleetfoot had put in to help the foals was finally going to play off. Fleetfoot was still asleep, so I decided to take a small peak at what was inside. I opened the folder and dropped it immediately after what I had seen. Picking up the folder, I looked out the door to make sure that Ever Ring was nowhere near the bedroom. Moving away from the door, I grabbed my backpack, and placed the folder inside. If the few sentences were anything to go by, then there was no chance for Ever Ring to talk her way out of everything she had done.

Author's Notes:

Everyone, please give a warm welcome to Zooman Stan (his profile is linked in the description), who has taken Izanagi's position as my editor until his return. Also, writing emotional scenes is hard when you have a disability that makes you pretty emotionless.