> Adventures Are No Fun. > by AxalKay > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Family. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most ponies think heroes go on adventures to defeat evil. Screech Stormchaser's adventure had no evils nor any heroes. ------------------------------------------------------------ Cleave tore Screeche's curtains open flooding her room with early morining light. Screech hissed. "Don't take that tone with me young lady!" scolded Cleave. "Out of bed. Customers will not wait for you to feel like getting up." Screech streached her wings. Her hoof fumbled around on her night stand. She refused to open her eyes without her glasses. She found her glasses and placed them on her muzzle. "I am awake." Cleave levitated a coffee mug and a bowl of hot oats and fruit slices. She gave the latter to Screech. She took a big sip from her mug. Screech loved her wings, but envied her mother's horn. She desperatly hoped bat ponies could become alicorns. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech looked up at the ceiling. She was beneth her bed. A few feet from sleeping through the day. "Yovidaphone?" asked Sharp Winds for the third time. Screech nodded for the third time. "Do you want it or not?" "Screech!" scloded Cleave. Her unicorn horn glowed pink. A harpsicord she was examinening dissasembled. "What? I was just asking a question." Cleave shook her head and took a big sip from her coffee mug. "No. I think I will just get a harmonica," said Sharp. Screech hissed. "Get the stupid yovidaphone. You know you want it." "I do. But it is not practical." Screech hissed. "You sound like my mama. When I am an adult I am never going to be practical." "Yes you are," yelled Cleave. "Yes Mama." Screech rolled her eyes. "Buy the Yovidaphone. Do what you want." "I will only be purchasing the harmonica." On the other side of the instrument shop a colt blew into a bugle. The horn squeeked and squeeled like a a pig on a water slide. Screech shot across the store and confiscated the bugle. She pointed her black hoof at one of two dozen sighs which read 'do not play the instruments'. She pointed at her ears and explained, "Bat ponies have very good hearing. When you make a lot of noise it physically hurts me. When you hurt me." She bared her fangs. "I hurt you." The colt laughed in Screeche's face. "Mama, the customers are annoying me," Screech complained. "Can I go play with Carver?" Cleave stared at the harpsicord. She rubbed her eyes and looked around like she was surprised to be exactly where she was a moment ago. "Yeah. The shop will do better without you. Don't fly before night fall. I don't want you crashing again." Screech flew out the door before her mother could change her mind. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech stiled her poofy black and purple main over her eyes. The sun shined bright over Canterlot. She could bear it to see Carver. The sudden barking didn't startle Screech. Dozens of dogs barked at her every day. Something about her smell made dogs hate her. She bared her fangs and hissed. The dog continued to bark. Even dogs knew she was all tooth and no fang. Half way through her twenty minute walk, Screeche's sunglasses flew off her face. They floated infront of two teenage unicorns named Drip and Agaricus. Screech hissed at the older boys. Drip smiled wryly."What is that? We don't speak bat." "I think she wants to share her glasses with us," said Agaricus. "Divide them into thirds." Drip gently placed the glasses on the ground. He held his hoof just above them. Screech had to squint to keep the sun out of her eyes. She didn't notice Agaricuse's horn start to glow. She dove toward Drip and grabbed him with her hooves. A bucket of muddy water fell onto Screech (bucket and all). Drip laughed and stomped his hoof down on Screeche's glasses. "Sorry about that. I hear they make stronger glasses in the dragon lands. Maybe you should go live there." "First, bat ponies are from the dragon lands. I could go live there. Second, my specal talent is fixing things. I restore instruments for a living. You think I can't fix a pair of sunglasses?" Drip's horn flashed a bright white light. Screech hissed. Drip taunted, "What is that? We don't speak bat." Screech (who was still holding Drip) flew straight up. She did three loops and dove back down. She gently dropped Drip to the ground. Drip vomited. "Did you get that message?" Agaricus fired stun botls from his horn. Screech flew up. Agaricuse's focused gaze followed her. Just as he was about to fire again his eyes burned as he looked directly into the sun. He rubbed his hooves against his eyes trying to force his vison back. Screech landed at the end of the street. Last time she flew during the day she nearly knocked a pegasus out of the sky; she had her glasses then. Canterlot was too noisy to rely on echo location so Screech had to resort to asking strangers for help. She had a new (used) pair of sunglasses in three minutes. living In a city with a lot of ponies meant there were always good ponies to offer a helping hoof. There were also dogs and bullies, but that was life in the city. ------------------------------------------------------------ Carver hugged Screech almost before the door was fully open. The dark green unicorn with a white mane had trouble getting her legs around Screech. She was half Screeche's size despite being the same age. "Were Agaricus and Drip bothering you again?" asked Carver. "Yeah. I need a bath." Carver squeezed Screech and peted her mane. Screech gently sank her fangs into Carver's neck. They held each other for a minute. After they got out of the bath, Carver spent hours brushing and styling Screeche's main. Screech didn't complain. She liked being treated like a doll. Screech hated the smell of rotting food. She hated roaches. She hated boxes of dead light bulbs. She hated stolen trash cans full of empty photo albums and cracked rusting shoes. She hated stray cats clambering through broken windows. She loved Carver's house. She loved eating freshly baked cookies at a table coverd in bird feeders. She loved listening to recordings of old races after Carver's father found the one functioning record player in the pile of broken electronics. She loved watching Carver's parents dance on the rugs they placed over a pile of shatterd porcelain dolls. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech flew home a few hours after the moon rose. She was going to fly around the house a few times and look for dragons, but she was too excited. She could hear her parrents arguing from outside. Screech flew through the door and hugged her father with all of her strenth. Hugging the giant bat pony was like hugging a warm fluffy boulder. "You got new sunglasses again? You should stop picking fights with those boys." Dual Stormchaser smiled at his little girl. Screech bit her father. He laughed and petted her. "Screech, it is getting late. You should go to bed," Carver insisted. "I came all this way to see her and you send her off to bed the moment she gets back." "You came all this way to see her? You live here! If you weren't off doing Luna knows what with I don't want to know who, you could see her every day!" "I have to travle. You know I can't stay one place for long. I always bring back instruments for you. You love the yovidaphone." "I hate the yovidaphone. I have been trying to sell it for three years! No pony in their right mind would by that thing! I suppose that is why you spent so much on it!" "I am sorry for trying to do something nice for my family!" "You want to do something nice for us? Get a job in Canterlot!" "I can't! My job is impo- My job has a large impact on the lives of a lot of other ponies. I can't put myself first." "You are a secrity coordinator not a diplomat! There are hundreds of ponies who can do your job! They can not raise your daughter!" Screech interjected, "Papa, I need to seach for dragons before bed. Do you want to help me?" Cleave groaned. "Ten minutes." ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech looked up at the moon. She wondered if Princess Luna's parrents fought. Carver's didn't. "There are no dragons in Canterlot," assured Dual. "You don't have to search for them." Screech didn't tell her father if she didn't look for dragons he would never come home again. "I know. How long are you staying?" "A week. Six days. I will leave in the morning so five and a half." Screech noted Papa was staying either three or four days. "How was Dodge Junction?" "Fine place. There were..." Dual scratched his chin. "Minotaur run up and down every street. You have to dodge them to get where you are going." "Where are the Minotaur going in such a rush?" "To the... I don't know. How is your mother doing?" "Fine. She barely drank all week. Except today." Of the two Screech was the better lier. "Can we search for dragons now?" "In a minute. How is she shop doing?" Screech shrugged. "We have food to eat." Dual smiled. "That's good." "You should be nicer to Mama." Screech didn't know where the words came from. She said them before she thought them. Dual frowned. Screech could feel panic building inside her. It strangled her heart pounded brain. "I will be right back," Dual assured in a low gruff voice. He flew off into the night. Screech waited. She waited for what felt like hours. Screech woke in her bed. She heard her mother shouting in her office. Screech ignored her stiff muscles. She shook the dizzyness out of her head and hobbled to her mother's office. "What are you doing up?" "He left." Cleave chugged the contents of her coffee mug. "After everthing I said, I found you alone sleeping on the roof!" Screech was not surprised. She was not hurt or angry. She was actually relived to know why she was in so much pain. She asked, "What are you doing up?" "Working," Cleave snapped. "Something your father could learn a thing or two about." "Papa does work hard. Why else would he be gone so long?" "I don't know. I have a few theories." Cleave tipped a wine bottle over a coffee mug. Both were empty. Screech gently placed her hooves on her mothers leg. "Mama, I think we should both go to bed." "He is going to The Crystal Empire. Why would he refuse to take you? What is he hiding?" "Nothing. I am sure he knows I would never leave you. He doesn't want to ask me because he knows I will stay." Cleave hugged Screech for balance and support. After she was tucked into bed Screech went to bed as well. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech woke screaming. It felt like her right wing was being torn off her body. She assured herself it was just another fever dream. She had been too sick to move since the night she fell asleep on the roof. Cleave chugged from a wine bottle. She had given up on the formality of the coffee mug three days prior. She slamed Screeche's bloody wing onto the floor. "Cloudsdale! Your father had a secret family in Cloudsdale. I knew he resented me for only being able to have one child! I am glad the snake is dead!" She chugged more from her bottle. Screech wanted to ask two dozen questions, but she was in too much pain to speak. She would have cried if she didn't black out. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech woke wrapped in blood covered sheets. What remained of her wing was compleatly numb. She burst into tears. She sobbed uncontrollably for an hour. She knew her father's death was her own fault. She hadn't been searching for dragons. Cleave stumbled into her daughter's room. "Why are you crying?" An open wine bottle floated behind her. "Is Papa dead?" Cleave pressed a hoof against her head. "Yeah. He died last night. Fell from Clouds Dale to Fillydelphia. He had a heart attack while flying. His wife and two sons saw the whole thing." "My wing?" "Mama can't have you flying away too. I am going to keep you here forever." She lovingly nuzzled Screech. Screech nuzzled her back. > Pets. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Screech left her house. The neighbour's dog did not bark at her. Her neighbours didn't have any dogs. Luna's Home For Journing Children was built between a school and a hospital. No noisy dogs were allowed withing six hundred hooves. The last three monts had been hard on Screech. She was getting used to flying with a prosthetic wing. Getting used to not having a family was much harder. She recived a letter from Carver every day which dulled the ache, but made her ache to hold Carver. She sent letters to her mama. Her mother was not allowed to write back. "I am sure your new family is a perfect fit for you," assured Guilded Lilly. The pegasus who ran Luna's didn't even pretend to smile. Screech hissed. "Come again?" "I have a family. Let me live with Mama. She didn't mean to cut off my wing. She was grief stricken." "I am sorry," Gilded Lilly lied poorly. "You can see your mother as soon as she is let out of jail." "She was sentenced to life." "Was she?" The first genuine thing Guilded said to Screech. "That is a shame. Anyway. I am sure you will love your new family more than your old one." Screech hissed so loudly her throat burned. Guilded rolled her eyes. "Are you done? Our train leaves in twenty minutes. You do want to go to Dodge Junction don't you? Don't answer that. Just move it along." ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech had never been on a train before. She sat on a soft chair and covered her ears. Everthing seemed loud in the shaky metal box. She wondered how long the ride to Dodge Junction would take. She wondered where Dodge Junction was. She wondered why she was not enough for her papa. She wondered if her mama would be okay with out her. A tall pink mare walked to the back of the train car. She smiled, thought better and crouched down. She lay on the train's floor infront of Screech who hissed at her. "Hello little darling." She spoke softly and quietly. "I am Cradle Berry." Screech bared her fangs. Tears ran down her face. "Take me home! I want to go back to Canterlot!" Cradle nodded. She looked to the train conductor. "Two tickets to Canterlot please." The train conductor shook his head. "Going the other way." Cradle looked back to Screech. "What do you want to do?" "I am not getting off this train!" Cradle nodded. "She is not getting off this train." The train conductor shrugged. Screech and Cradle were held in the Dodge Junction Sheriff's Office for three hours. Both girls refused to apologize and were eventually let go because they didn't break the law. Screech followed Cradle to her home. She didn't have anywhere else to go. She could not fly to Canterlot with her prosthetic wing even if she did know the way. If she did get to Canterlot what would she do there? Sell the yovidaphone? ------------------------------------------------------------ Cradle's house was bigger than Screech expected. It was two floors and the first floor was not a business. The kitchen was big enough to house a kitchen table. Three ponies sat around the kitchen table. One pony poked at the insides of the oven with a spatula. "Meet the newest member of our family!" Cradle anounced with a grand wave of her hoof. Screech hissed. "Sorry. Meet the newest meber of our household." Screech begrdingly refraind from hissing. She was introduced to every pony and sat betweeen Cradle and Periwinkle. Beery, a dark blue stalion with a long green mane, said, "You were gone a while." His voice was quiet and soothing. It didn't carry the same edge as his mother's. "The train was delayed," Cradle lied with a sweet smile. "Well, you are right on time for lunch," Said Leaf. The small brown stalion gestured to a pot with his spatula. "I made steamed grape leaves stuffed with carrots and blackberries." Cradle asked, "Doesn't that sound delicious?" Screech shrugged. "I am used to eating hey and oats." "We have traditonal fodder," assuerd Leaf. "I wanted your first meal in Dodge Junction to be unforgettable." Periwinkle, a female earth pony with a dark pink coat and short purple mane, whispered, "Dad's cooking is always unforgettable. He set the stove on fire while trying to boil water. We never figured out how." Funny, a light blue colt with a bright red muzzle and frizzled orange mane, stood on his chair. "Is it true bat ponies drink blood?" Screech shrugged. "I don't know. I grew up in Canterlot. I don't drink blood." "What is Canterlot like?" asked Berry. Funny frowned. "I heard bat ponies drink blood. My-" "That is nice dear," Cradle scolded with a smile. "Sit down and let Screech tell us about Canterolt." Funny pouted and dramatically dropped back into his chair. "I was just trying to learn about bat ponies." There was a moment of silence. "Canterlot was far from perfect but it was home. There were a lot of friendly ponies. It could feel like too many at times. Despite be-" "Sometimes I feel that way about Dodge," interrupted Funny. "Our city may not be as big as yours, but it is plenty big." Screech nodded and continued. "Despite being a big city everthing felt cramped. Most streets were constantly packed. Some streets hardly ever saw any ponies at all. Every building on those streets were borded up before I was born. Ponies avoided walking down those streets no matter how long it added to their commutes as if stepping on a desolate street would bring ruin." Leaf placed plates of what looked like green and orange slime on the table. Every pony stared at the plates. "You don't have to eat it," said Leaf with audible dissapointment. "We can toss it in the compost. I can make hay cakes." Screech looked confused and mortified. She could not grasp the concept of throwing away food. "I don't think it is that bad," said Periwinkle. Every pony nodded in agreement. Leaf asked, "Screech, Why is your cutimark a clock?" Funny groaned. "Just like time, I can fix anything." Screech licked the slime off her fork. She winced but continued eating. "Really? I have a pocket watch in need of fixing." Screech chuckled. "I don't know how to fix those." Funny flung a forkfull of the slime at Screech. It spattered against her glasses. Screech gave Funny a confued look. "Why did you do that?" "Screech is an only child," reminded Periwinkle. "I was trying to welcome her to the family," said Funny with a sly smile. Screech, predictably, hissed. Fuuny preteded to apologize and quicly changed the subject to himself. ------------------------------------------------------------ Periwinkle walked Screech around town. She pointed at buildings and addmitted she had no idea what was inside them. She rarely left the vinyard, and when she did it was not to inquire about factories and mills. "You didn't enjoy sitting in on the auditions?" "No. It was stalion after stalion doing the same dance." "I was already boy crazy at your age. I guess I was an early bloomer. In two years dancing satalions will be the most important thing in the world." Screech pointed her hoof at a bee. "What is that?" "That is a bee. They help flowers grow. They also make honey and wax." Screech snickered. "That is a bee? I thought they would be bigger. What is that?" "That is a butterfly." "Really. It looks different than the ones in picture books." "There are dozens of spices of butterflies?" "Dozens?" "Yup." "What is that?" "That is a canary." Periwinkle caught Screeche's smile. "You're screwing with me?" "I was joking. We have critters in canterlot. I could have gone to a pet store and bought a phenonix. If we could have afforded to keep a pet." "Do you want a pet? We are only a few streets from an animal shelter." "No. I don't want a stupid animal." "Lets go to the shelter and see how you feel after meeting a few animals." ------------------------------------------------------------ Periwinkle stopped infront of a cottage. "This is it," she delcared. "Mrs. McVeigh's Animal Rest Up." The cottage leaned to the left. The foundation was rotting. One of the windows was boarded shut from the inside. All of the grass around the house was long dead. Sreech took one look at the house and said, "I smell rabies." "Mrs. McVeigh's has fallen into disrepair," Periwinkle admitted. "All the more reason to help her by taking an animal." She walked toward the front door. Screech dove around Periwinkle. She stood firm bolocking the path. "I smell rabies." "Seriously? We have to warn Mrs. McVeigh!" Periwinkle tried to run around Screech. She made it two trots before she was pinned to the ground. Screech hissed. "Don't run toward the house full of rabbid animals!" "Get off me! Mrs. McVeigh needs us!" A big dog heard the girls arguing. He limped toward them on his bloody infected legs. He spat mouthfulls of foam as he barked. Periwinkle screamed and covered her eyes. Screech hissed so loudly she roared. The dog was undeterred. Screech dove toward the dog. She beheaded the rabid dog with the edge of the unnatrually sharp wing that was bred into her. ------------------------------------------------------------ Periwinkle watched ponies in hazmat suits raid Mrs. McVeigh's from across the street. Screech sat a few trots from Periwinkle and stared at her. She was wating for her to say something. After nearly an hour Screech whispered, "I know I am disgusting." Periwinkle whispered, "You saved me. You are not disgusting. You are a hero." "You don't think I am disgusting?" "No." "Mama would always tell me I was disguting when I killed things." Periwinkle stammped her hooves on the grond. "You are not disgusting!" Her voice echoed off the stiff humid air. Screech slowly inched closer to Periwinkle. She slowly opend her mouth and very gently bit her. Periwinkle didn't ask about the bite. She knew they were bonding and didn't want to ruin the moment. ------------------------------------------------------------ "I smell rabies." Screech took off. She sniffed at a ground burrow no more than ten trots from the road. She stuck her head into the burrow and pulled out a babby raccoon. She handed him to Periwinkle. "I am going to track the rabid raccoons," she said as if it were easy. She flew over a fence and landed in a stranger's yard. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech dropped five dead raccoons onto the kitchen table. She beamed with pride and waited for praise. The stalion from The Center for Disease Control smiled. "This epidemic has been spreading for weeks. We can end this before anypony else gets hurt. Thank Celestia Screech is here." Screech hissed. "My family has served Princess Luna for thousands of years. My entire foal hood I preyed to a statue of Nightmare Moon. I am not thanking Celestia for anthing! Her sun burns my eyes. Her gifted unicorns tormented me. Her family is immortal." Cradle chewed on her hoof. "This sounds dangerous. What if Screech gets hurt?" Screech smiled proudly. "I will not get hurt. I come from a long line of bat ponies who protected equestria from dragons under command of Princess Luna. We have been fighting nasty dragons for thouthands of years. Among the other bat ponies my father was quite large. My mother came from a long line of rodeo ponies. My great great great- etcetera- grandmother bought the best genetic materail she could to breed generation afrer generation of the biggest, strongest, fatest and best rodeo ponies in equestria. Her ultimate goal was to kill Celestia. My grand mother was thought to be perfect. She broke dozens of rodeo records. My mother surpassed her in every way. When my great great great- etcetera- grand mother made my mother marry my father she predicted I would kill Clestia when Nightmare Moon returned. My mother had trouble conceving, probably do to the muti generational genetic experiment, so I was born a few years too late. If I was a little older Celestia would be dead." "You are proud of that!" asked Funny. "Yes. I was bread to kill alicorns and dragons. You were born by chance and may or may not grow berries." Funny frowned and stared daggers. "Why didn't your extended family take you in?" Asked Periwinkle. She quickly added, "Not that I don't like having you here." Screech casually stated, "My father's family is dead. Fighting dragons is dangerous. My mother's family is in jail, in hiding or dead. The plan to assinate Celestia did not go well. I don't have any family left." The CDC stalion assured, "Screech will not be killing anything else. She will be in body armour. She will be protected by the animal control and the local law enforcement. She will only be using her nose to find rabbid animals. We will take care of the rest." Cradle hugged Screech so tightly it hurt them both. "Our little Screech is going to save the whole dang town," she squealed. Funny asked, "Is there anthing I can do to save the town?" Cradle said, "You can finfish your chores." ------------------------------------------------------------ After capturing two coyotes, three cats, six stray dogs, four skunks and one colt Screech could no longer smell rabies in Dodge Junction. Her first day in Dodge, Chief Black Kettle awarded Screech a certificate for heroic behavior. (They planned a ceramony later in the month. She recived the certificate early so the local paper could have a good picture for Sunday's headline.) > Wings. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The morning of Screeche's second Day in Dodge, Leaf made an anonuncement at breakfast. "I am heading off to Mainhatten," said Leaf with a smile. Screech hissed. "Why do you have to go?" "There is a restaurant that wants to stock our wine," explained Leaf. "Wine is difficult and expensive to transport. We don't have enough money to pay somepony to ship it for us. Not yet. I just know this is the start of something big. This time next year all of our money woes will be gone. We will eat slime with silver spoons and dance on the higest roof in Cloudsdale. What is something useless and expensive no pony would ever need?" "A yovidaphone." "I will buy you ten!" Leaf kissed his family (and Screech) before heading out the door. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech sat on the damp ground and listened to Berry go on about grapes. She nodded. She streached her prosthetic wing. Rain drops rolled off of it. It was a marvel. She wondered how it worked. She wondered why it needed eighty nine gyroscopes. She wondered why it was blue. She would have prefered black. Or pink. Pink was a nice color. She didn't mind aqua blue. At least it wasn't red. Orange would have been nice. She did most of her flying at night and being more visible at night is never a bad thing. "Are you listening?" asked Berry. Screech shook her head. "No. Do you think my wing should have reflectors on it?" "No. You don't want to blind the other flyers. Having flashes of light coming off your own wing would be distracting if not disorienting." Berry took a grape off a vine and handed it to Screech. "Do you know why we grow grapes?" Screech looked at the walls of grape vines. "Not to make wine." Berry smiled. "Not to make wine. This is what our family has done for generations. Have you ever competed in the rodeo?" "I have." "Were you good at it?" "I broke a few records." "Did you enjoy it?" Screech poked the ground with her hoof. "Not especally." "Dad meant it. He would buy you every one of those yovidaphones. He never will. Dodge is a nice place where ponies live quiet lives." He smiled at his home. "You can kill Celestia. I am going to grow grapes in Dodge." The rain started falling harder. Screech spread her wing to feel more of the rain drops. "The rain feels nice after a long day picking grapes." "It is quite pleasant," agreed Screech. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech woke in an unfamilure bed. She groaned. She was still in Dodge Junction. She went to her closet to grab her prosthetic wing. It was not in her closet. Screech ran to the kitchen and hissed at Cradle. "Use your words," said Cradle. "That was a word," snapped Screech. "Never mind. Where is my wing!" She stomped her hoof and bared her fangs. Cradle frowned. "That is not how you get what you want. Ask nicely." Screech hissed. "Please tell me where my wing is." Cradle smiled and patted Screeche's head. "Upstairs in your closet." Screech bit at the air. "My wing is not in the closet!" "Berry didn't take it. Leaf has been gone since yesterday. Either Periwinkle or Funny moved it." "Why!" "I don't know. Lets ask them." They found Funny in the empty field. He held a big jar of pink glitter in his hooves. On the ground infront of him was Screeche's wing. He had spray painted her entire wing hot pink. "Now everypony will be able to tell you are a girl," said Funny with a smile. The small delicate machinary that allowed her wing to bend and fold was gummed up with paint and glitter. Screech burst into tears. Her ability to fix broken things did not extend to prosthetic wings. Cradle hugged Screech and whispered reassuring words to her. Funny snapped, "Quit acting like a baby!" Cradle snapped, "She is a baby. She is younger than you are." Funny was taken aback. "She is huge!" Screech sobbed, "Good prosthetics cost a lot of money. This was the best Luna's Home For Journying Children was willing to buy." Cradle petted Screech. "We will get you a new wing. A better wing. How much did this one cost?" "Three thousand bits. A good one could cost four times more." Cradle glared daggers at Funny. "We don't have that much money. Hopefully we can get it reparied for six hundred bits." ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech tried to fly away from Mr. Nick's army of basset hounds. She spiraled and fell a short distance. She hissed at the hounds who barked more loudly. Mr. Nick held Screeches prosthetic wing in his hooves. "Can you fix it?" asked Cradle with a forced smile. "Get these fitlhy muts away from me!" "They are not muts! Those are pure bread hounds." Mr. Nick poked one of the wings joints with a dirty hoof. "I Can't be sure until I take her apart." Over the dogs' barking, Screech shouted, "He can't fix it. I lived in Canterlot. I can smell a conpony from a mile away." Mr. Nick jumped half a pony high. "I- I am not a conpony!" He cleared his throat. "Little filly I am a good honest stalion." Screech reared onto her back legs. The dogs ran. "If you can't fix it will you charge us?" "I have to this is a buisness." "Not a good one," Screech spat. She ran away as the dogs came back. Cradle sofly assured, "Screech, Sweet heart, this is not Canterlot. We do things differently here. If Mr. Nick says he will fix your wing then he will." Screech ran away. One of the hounds chased her down the street. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech washed dog blood off her wing for the second time in three days. "Did you have to kill Houdsly?" asked Cradle. Screech said, "Yes. It chased me." "I know. I am sorry." "He can't fix it. Mr. Nick. He can't even train his muts." "I know." "Why did you pay him?" "You will understand when you have children." Screech forgot to hiss. "Maybe. I am a bat pony." "I am sure bat ponies are wonderful parrents." Screech didn't agree. "Will you braid my mane?" ------------------------------------------------------------ Periwinkle dragged Funny through the front door by his ear. "What part of 'grounded until flying pigs freez' did you fail to understand?" Funny yelld, "The part where I am being punished for doing something nice!" Screech looked up from her coloring book. "Did Silly sneak out?" Periwinkle smiled at Screech. "Your mane looks nice braded." Funny yelled, "It's Funny!" Screech said, "Not as you think." Periwinke said, "He did." "Has he always been like this, or is this recent?" asked Screech. "This is not your fault!" insisted Periwinkle. "Mom always wanted another child, but shortly after Funny was born... it was no longer an option. She babied him way too much. She realised her mistake about a year ago. He has been like this his entire life." "This is your fault!" Insisted Funny. "Everything was fine until you came along. You ruined everthing!" Prey (Screeche's pet baby racoon) hissed. Screech nodded in agreement. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech closed her wings. Her prosthetic wing was stiff and the weight distrabution changed. Four hundred bits for greased joints and she was still stuck on the ground. "I am sorry," said Cradle. Her head was so low her muzzle nearly touched the floor. "No pony in Dodge Junction can fix your wing. We don't have any replacements either. We don't have many pegasi. You are the first one winnged bat pony in Dodge ever." Funny yelled. "I can fix it." He grabbed Screeche's wing. He ignored the girl's hissing and thrashing. His hoof found the release and her wing popped off. Screech dove onto Funny. Cradle was startled and confused. Screech was biting Funny. She panicked and grabbed a broom. Not exactly a crowbar but it would do. "Screech, let him go!" she yelled. Screech saw the broom being held like a club. She did not let Funny go. Cradle lightly batted Screech on the head. Screech jumped away from Funny and tried to hiss. She sobbed. > Endings. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Doctor Lash explained puncture wounds should never be opened by removing the sharp object. He also explained bat ponies can heal their prey to presurve them for later. Lastly he explained Funny would have died if Screech had let go of him a few moments earlier. His wounds were less than half way healed. In his office Doctor Lash said, "It would be very bad for you if word of this got out. Screech would surely be sent back to Luna's Home For Journying Children." Cradle glared. "What do you want!" "Screech. Her healing bite could help a lot of patients. Our spells and potions are fine. Her fangs can heal internal injuries in minutes. With her magic fangs and her natural talent for fixing things, under my guidance, she could be the best doctor in town." "I will think about it," Cradle lied. "She is going through a lot and she is still a child. I don't like the idea of her seeng mangled ponies in an ICU." ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech cowered a few trots from the broom. She had not moved in three hours. A puddle of tears reflected her fear. Cradle went to pickup Shcreech's wing. She didn't need to be a bat pony to know the low rattle snake like hiss was a warning. She left the wing and decided to pick up the broom. Cradle didn't scream. Screeche's fangs punctered the bone in her leg, but she did not scream. She didn't want to upset Screech any further. Very calmly and evenly she said, "Screech, please remove your fangs from my leg. I know you are upset, but biting is not allowed in this house." Screech slowly pulled her fangs from Cradle's leg. "I am sorry I hit you. I panicked when I saw you bite Funny. I promise to trust you more. Can you promise you will not bite anymore?" "No. Biting is part of how bat ponies comunicate. I have trouble communicating as it is." "Screech, I need you to promise me no more biting." "If I don't will you send me back to Luna's?" "I am sorry but we may have to." "I promise. No more biting." Cradle smiled brightly. "I got you something while I was out." She showed Screech the local paper's headline. It said Screech saved the entire town from a rabies outbreak. The story did not mention the death of Mrs. McVey. "You are a hero," said Cradle. "You will have more friends in Dodge than you ever had in Canterlot." Screech nodded. "I only had one friend in Canterlot. It is hard to find unicorns who wanted Nightmare Moon to rule." Cradle beamed. "You will have no trouble finding earthponies who are happy Princess Luna is back." ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech ran from her mother. She felt her body being torn apart. Chunks of flesh tore from her like pices from a 3-D puzzle. She woke in a small dark room. Her room. She put on her sunglasses and prosthetic wing. She wrote a letter to Carver. ------------------------------------------------------------ Prey sat on the kitchen table. He wore a reflective orange vest. "Do you like the vest?" asked Cradle. "Berry made it so you can see Prey during the day." Screech nodded. Her mouth was full of oats. "It's funny," said Periwinkle betwen bites. "A week ago I was afraid of racoons and loved dogs." "Dogs are violent monstrosities," agreed Screech. Funny smiled a wicked smile. ------------------------------------------------------------ The adults at Pinwheel's baby shower drank decaf and bad mouthed the father to be's family. Cradle and Periwinkle drank the coffee but refrained from the gossip. Screech was excited to play with ponies her own age. Swinger took one look at Screech and shouted, "Monster! A vampire pony has come to devour us all!" Screech sat in the back yard with the teen age ponies. Seam sat beside her on the trampoline. Ledger and Twink were kissing on a lawn chair. Duckey balanced a soccer ball on each wing and strutted in a straight line. Seam stroked one of Screeche's ears. She was surprisingly gentle for a pony with four face peircings and neck tattoo of an impaled heart. "I hate parents," whispered Seam. "Claiming their kids will magicaly learn right form wrong just because they get older is like claiming apples will mature into oranges instead of giant piles of rot. I knew better when I was that age. You know better." "I would have kicked the little pests' teeth in!" Ledger mimed kicking a child. Twink giggled. "That would have been so hot. You are the coolest." Seam insited, "Those kids are not being raised right. I was not raised right either." She showed off her forlegs. Under her fur was dozens of of small straight scars. "My hardships taught me empathy. Those kids are being taught to be public nuisances." "I feel bad for them," Screech lied because she thought it was the adult thing to say. "I was lucky enough to have a smart caring mama." Ducky stopped modeling for a moment. "Wasn't she a psycho who cut your wing off?" Screech hissed. "That was an accident! Her spell missfired!" Twink teased, "Little Duckey is going to get his butt kicked by child psycho." Duckey scoffed. "Yeah. She is a child. I would not fight back." "I would pay to see the little monster fight," Ledger looked at Screech. "I bet you could do some serious damage. I want to see you fight a timberwolf. That would be the coolest thing ever." He howled like a wolf. Screech sniffled. She fought back tears. She tried to breath evenly. She sobbed and burst into tears. ------------------------------------------------------------ Pinwheel seemed happy her neice and the bat pony were leaving. She didn't want monsters around. Seam led Screech down the street to her house. They sat on Seam's bed, but it felt different than sitting on the trampoline. "Sorry about my cousins. They are always like that." "I was not crying because of them," Screech lied badly. "I know how to make you feel better," Seam proudly declared. She softly pressed her lips against Screeche's. Screech pulled away. "What are you doing?" Seam cocked her head and pretended to be confused. "Kissing you. When you scraped you knees didn't your mom kiss you to make you feel better?" "Yes, but not like that." "Ofcouse not. She is your mother. Trust me. Kissing will make you feel better." She stroaked Screeche's ear and softly kissed her. After a few moments Screech pulled away. "Sorry. This is not making me feel better." "You have to do it more." Seam leaned forward. Screech pushed her away. Seam frowned. After a moment her face lit up. "I know why you are not feeling better. They hurt your heart. I need to kiss you chest to make you feel better." "No!" Screech jumped off the bed. "I am sorry, but I want to go. I don't feel right. Your kissing is only making me feel worse." Seam failed to hide her anger behind a smile. "Okay. Let's go back to the party." "I am going home." Seam sighed with relief. "Yes. You should go home." ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech was too lost in thought and churning emotions to notice her bedroom door was always open. Twelve muts greeted Screech the moment she opened her bedroom door. ------------------------------------------------------------ Funny yelled, "You make it sound like this is my fault!" "This is your fault," scolded Cradle. "Screech was bred to kill dragons. What did you think would happen when you scared her?" "I thought she would scream. No normal pony would tear twelve dogs into ribbons." "Screech is not a normal pony. You can't treat her like a- you can't provoke her." "She is dangerous! We can't handle her. You have to send her back," Funny pleaded. "I won't!" Cradle slammed her hoof against the kitchen table. "I can't. She needs a mother." "She needs other bat ponies. And a psycatrist." "That is not funny!" "I am not joking!" Cradle frowned. "You are going to clean Screeche's room until it is spotless. Then you are going to wash the blood off your coat. Then you are going to appologize to Screech. Then you are going to tell our neighbours you could not handle their dogs. That a fight broke out and they killed eachoter. With any luck Mr. Nick will think one of these dogs killed Houdsly." "How many dogs had Screech killed!" "Two. One was rabbid. One was Houndsly. Ten fewer than you killed." ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech sat under the sun to dry her coat and mane. She took two baths and used an entire bottle of pear scented shampoo. "You okay?" asked Berry. Screech smiled. "Yeah. I feel a lot better now." "Are you sure? I imagine killing all those dogs would haunt me for the rest of my days." Screech was confused for a moment. Then she caught on. "I said I am fine. Can we talk about something else." "Why do you walk around the house every night with that intence look on your face?" Screech could not tell Berry that if she did not walk around the house seven times his father would never return. "I used to fly around Canterlot every night. I get nervous unless I search for dragons." Berry went into the house. He returned a minute later. "Can you search with this?" he asked as he handed Screech a spyglass. Screech looked through the spyglass. It didn't help. "I do feel a little more safe," she lied effortlessly. "Thanks." From inside, Pereiwinkle scramed, "Why is Funny covered in blood!" A few moments later she ran outside and hugged Screech. "How could he do that to you after that rabbid dog attacked us? You must have been terrified. I am so sorry." ------------------------------------------------------------ Prey slept on Screeche's vampire bat plushy with half a cracker in his mouth. Perriwinkle delicatly dabbed a small canvas with paint. Screech watched and delicatly drew on a sheet of paper with a crayon. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech sat at the kitchen table. She slowly read her latest letter from Carver. She wanted to make it last. Leaf kissed his wife. Cradle beamed. "How was your trip?" Leaf proudly declared, "It was marvelous. We will not have to worry about foreclosure any time soon." He handed Screech a small plastic yovidaphone. "How is the newest member of our little family doing?" Screech hissed out of loyalty but her heart was not in it. "I am doing fine. I had a little trouble adjusting. I am having fun living in Dodge." "I have a big big- knock your shoes off- big gift for you. I told some ponies in Manehatten about you. They put together a charity drive. In a few months you are getting a new prosthetic wing. Top of the line. I asked and submerging it in paint will destroy it. Nothing else will though. The whole family is going to Manehatten in four weeks so you can get a fitting." Screech didn't hiss. She hugged Leaf. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech smiled at Brass Lantern. He smiled back. A lot of ponies in Dodge (still) had dogs. Brass was the only pony who walked his pet chicken on a leash. Screech was the only pony who walked her pet racoon on a leash. The two young ponies chatted for a while. They both hated dogs, loved Nightmare Night, felt weird around Seam, thought unicorns were overrated, wanted to be alicorns, prefered warm oats to fancy food and never knew their fathers. Even Prey and Qill (the chicken) were fast friends. "I worry my mom is going to drink herself to death," confided Brass. "I worry I will never see my mama again," said Screech. "Just knowing every day my mama is in jail is one less day I get to spend with her fills me with a desire to cry and kill things." Brass nodded. "I understand what you mean. Who is your therapist?" "Mrs. Berry. She is good at lisening to me and validating my feelings." A cart down the street rolled backward. A colt screamed. Funny lay on the ground with his leg pinned under the cart's wheel. Screech lifted the cart and Brass pulled Funny to safety. Funny's leg bent in places it was not supposed to bend. Screech bit Funny's leg. In minutes his leg was compleatly healed. Funny beamed. "Thank Celestia you were here. I am going to tell every pony you are a hero." Screech pinned Funny to the ground. She displayed her bloody fangs. "Tell one pony I bit you and what I did to the dogs will sound like a slap on the wrist." Funny nodded to show he understood. He had a momentary lapse in judgement. "Why were you behind a bread cart?" asked Brass. Funny looked at Screeche's fangs. "I was making sure she does not kill any neighborhood dogs." "I was the pony who killed the rabid dogs," said Screech with a hint of pride. "Now he has it in his head I am a monster." "You killed fourteen dogs!" yelled Funny. "I didn't realise the outbreak was that bad," said Brass with admiration. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech spiraled and fell to the ground. "Screech," called Periwinkle. "You should stop trying to fly before you hurt yourself." Screech explained, "I have to fly above the clouds. It is a full moon and Nightmare Moon will not know her loyal bat ponies are awating her return if we don't fly above the clouds." "Screech," said Berry. "Nightma-" "I know!" Screech snapped. "I don't point out the flaws in your religion!" "In a few months, when you have your new wing you can fly as high as you want," said Periwinkle. "If you keep trying to fly with that broken wing you are only going to hurt yourself." "Thank you for the new information," Screech seethed. Funny smiled wickedly. "If Screech hits her head hard enough she might see Princess Luna in a dream. Or her father in the after life." Screeche's hooves pummled Funny's face. In only a few moments she knocked three of his teeth out. Screech hissed as she was pinned to the ground by Periwinkle and Berry. "What has gotten into you?" Periwinkle asked with concern. Funny spit a mouth full of blood onto the ground. "I was born by chance and may or may not grow berries. She was bred to kill." "Screech has moments," snapped Periwinkle. "She is not violent. She is not a murderer." "She can't fly," Berry said thoughtfully. "Bat ponies need to fly. They get nervous unless they can look for dragons. She is scared." Periwinkle smiled at the revelation. "Poor Screech. Funny, this is your fault for breaking her wing." ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech stood just behind Perrywinkle in the greenhouse. "Have I ever told you, Dad built this greenhouse for me when I was six?" asked Periwinkle. Screech wondered why her father didn't love her as much as Leaf loved his children. "I was obsessed with flowers when I was a filly. Every pony thought my cutie mark was going to be a flower." Periwinkle was strong. She could easily survive a few bites. "I am happy my specal talent is painting. I am just as happy when I garden." Screech felt a desire building in her. She wanted to steal Periwinkle's strenth. It grew to an impulse. She was certain that if she bit Periwinkle's flank all of her pain and suffering would vanish. One bite and she would be happy. Periwinkle reflexivly bucked when Screech bit her. Luckily she didn't hit Screech. "What are you doing!" Screech tackled Periwinkle. She easily took the adult earth pony to the ground. One bite was not enough. "Get off me," Periwinkle commanded. Screech bit just above Periwinkle's heart. She waited only a few moments before removing her fangs. Periwinkle pushed Screech away. Screech hissed and bared her fangs. "Screech, get off me right now!" Screech tried to bite Periwinkle's neck. She got her leg. Periwinkle summoned all her strenth as an earth pony. She launched Screech three ponies away. She climbed to her hooves only to be tackled again. Screech bit Periwinkle's hooves and legs. With each bite she felt more incontrol. Less alone. Less scared. Periwinkle frantically swung her hooves. Her strikes had little force and made the pain radiating from her bite wounds worse. ------------------------------------------------------------ Periwinkle hobbled into her home covered in blood. She carried a barely conscious Screech on her back. "Mom, we had an accident." Had Screech been an adult or had less of an aptitude for healing everthing she bit, Periwinkle would have died. ------------------------------------------------------------ Screech ran from her mother. She felt her body being torn apart. Chunks of flesh tore from her like pices from a 3-D puzzle. She woke in a small dark room. Her room in Luna's Home For Journeying Children. She put on her glasses and looked for Prey. After a moment she rembered he was in Dodge. Luna's did not allow pets. Screech put on her new prosthetic wing. It was exactly like her old wing was before Funny broke it. She hated the blue color even more now that she knew how it would look if it were pink. She looked at her framed certificate of heroism. She hissed at the piece of paper that ruined her new life. The last time Screech saw the Berrys the Department of Children, Youth, and Families promised to 'rescue' all of the Berry children. She only lived with the Berrys for one week and she managed to ruin their lives. ------------------------------------------------------------ I warned you at the beginning. Not all adventures have heroes. Not even the ones that need them most.