You Found Me [open]

[Monochrome]

He had only been in this town a few hours and already he was forced out of the house. He would have been perfectly content to curl up on his bed and mope, just like he did back in Canterlot, but his mother would have nothing to do with it. Incessantly, she had poked Monochrome in the rear with her horn - thankfully, it had a dulled end - until, grumbling, he had jumped out of bed just to make it stop.

Of course, it didn't, and she kept had pushing him along until he had reached the door and that's when he had finally gotten the hint. Sighing in resignation, Monochrome had pushed his way out. Before the door had closed, he was sure he had heard her call out, "Now go out, explore and make some friends!"

Well, he thought to himself, there was little chance of him making friends. However, he knew she wouldn't be happy if he came back too soon, and he immediately decided to find somewhere quiet to curl up - if it wasn't his bed, a grassy meadow would do. Somewhere that was quiet, and peaceful and devoid of ponies, where he'd be able to take a nice, long nap. Then he'd go home to mother, make up this story of some nice young foal that he met, and be done with this whole friends nonsense.

Of course, it wasn't as if Ponyville was particularly crowded, at least not in comparison to Canterlot, but there was enough ponies going out to do daily business that Monochrome felt uncomfortable. Every time anypony got near to him, he flinched to the side, pinning his ears flat to his head. He always relaxed them slightly shortly after, so he'd be better able to hear, but it was never long before he flattened them again. Like always, his wings were clamped tight to his side.

After walking around listlessly for a quarter of an hour, he realised that he had passed that same shop before. He realised then and there that he had simply been walking in a large circle and, worse yet, that he was hopelessly lost. Not only would he be unable to curl up on a nice, grassy meadow, but he didn't even know his way back home. Monochrome's entire body seemed to shrink as he kept walking around Ponyville, hoping for some sort of epiphany. After passing that same shop for a third time, he lost hope, simply sitting down in the middle of the street, his blue eyes filled with despair.

[Snowdrop]

Snowdrop the magical white deer raced through the dangerous and magical Mistymire forest, leading King Hawthorn ,Starswirl the bearded, and the knights of the round stable to the Holy Tail. Behind her, the yelp of the hounds, the jingle of bells, the shouts of the knights, were growing fainter. The deer smiled. They were keen, but their quest was only beginning. They would have to face many trials and tribulations before they were ready!

But Snowdrop the little filly with little jingling bells tied to her wings, paused. Something had caught her eye. Something was wrong. That something was another white foal, a bit like herself, sitting in the middle of the road facing her, his eyes on the ground and a look of utter misery on his face. Actually, Snowdrop wouldn't have been surprised if he had begun to cry.

At once, the Mistymire forest, Hawthorn, Starswirl, and the Knights of the Round Stable were completely banished from her imagination. Quietly, she trotted up and sat down right in front of him, nearly a mirror image, except for her long, cloudy-blue mane and tail, and the fact that she was (just a little taller) and had eyes of a lighter slate blue. She waited, saying nothing at first, until he looked up.

"Are you okay?" Snowdrop asked, tilting her head on one side slightly. "Can I help somehow?" She paused a moment and then added, with an encouraging smile, "I don't think we've met before. My name is Snowdrop. There, now I'm not a stranger, so, tell me what's wrong?"

[Monochrome]

Quite honestly, Monochrome had absolutely no idea what he should do or how to get home. Surely his parents would eventually come out and look for him, but that could likely take hours and what should he do until then? Just keep sitting here, while ponies walked around him completely oblivious to his plight? Or should he start looking around again, see if he could get himself on the right track to his house?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sight of something white in front of him. He figured it was just some pony who would soon move on but, when he could still see the white in his peripheral vision, he finally looked up to see what was happening. What he saw shocked him.

There was another young foal in front of his, one who looked almost exactly like him. If it weren't for her differently coloured mane and tail, her lighter eyes, and the fact she was a teeny bit taller than him, he could have been looking in a mirror. In fact, Monochrome first thought he was looking in a mirror, until he realised that this was a filly in front of him, not a colt. Immediately, the familiar panic rose up in his chest.

"Are you okay? Can I help somehow? I don't think we've met before. My name is Snowdrop. There, now I'm not a stranger, so, tell me what's wrong?"

Monochrome stood up, his chest heaving as he began breathing heavily, trying to keep himself under control. Wide eyes locked on hers, he slowly began to back up, holding his wings in even tighter than normal. The fact that she was, in fact, a pegasus like him did calm him slightly - at least he wasn't so different - but the thought of talking to another pony absolutely terrified him.

[Snowdrop]

Snowdrop had no idea how it happened, but somehow, she had frightened him! Snowdrop was not, in her own mind, very impressive. She was smallish for her age group- she was white and blue, colors that generally were considered serene and calm. She wasn't (at least she didn't think so) particularly pretty, she had no frilly and lacy clothes to make her look like royalty or elite society or anyone she might have been alarmed to meet suddenly!

Yet she had startled and alarmed him, somehow. Look at those wide, staring eyes and the way he was breathing. He wanted to make a break for it, she could tell. She had wanted to help, because he looked so sad, not make him so terrified he couldn't speak! Snow slid into more of a laying position than sitting, so that she was looking up at him. It was probably a sight he didn't see often! "I'm sorry," she said in a softer tone, "I didn't mean to surprise you, or make you afraid. I'll go away if you want, or I'll let you go away, if you prefer. You just looked so sad that I wanted to help. Don't mind me."

Snowdrop was, in fact, trying something she had learned from Fluttershy. You couldn't run up to wild animals, that would make them run away. You had to make yourself as small as possible and be as still and calm as you could be. You had to let them come to you, and not try to rush things. She didnt know why she was treating a colt her own age that way though. It was just something to try!

[Monochrome]

As he slowly began to back away, his keen eyes locked on the filly in front of him, he saw her... laying down? Momentarily forgetting his fear, purely due to how odd this looked, he froze mid-step and put his hoof back down. Tilting his head to look at her, confusion clear on his face, he did something that surprised him. "What are you doing?" Immediately after, shocked at hearing his own voice, Monochrome made a little squeak, lowering his head and pinning his ears in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you, or make you afraid. I'll go away if you want, or I'll let you go away, if you prefer. You just looked so sad that I wanted to help. Don't mind me."

At her words, his eyes hesitantly looked up although he kept his head down. Her words, as his did before, surprised him. Was this somepony who actually wanted to be his friend? If he came home with a friend, his mother would be so happy... These thoughts were immediately shoved out of his mind by the much stronger paranoia that washed over him. Even if she wanted to be his friend, which he doubted, she'd probably think better of it when she got to know him. Although, at the very least, she might be able to help...

"Er... um... well..." he stammered, his voice cracking with fear. Monochrome swallowed, then tried again. "I'm... er... um..." He paused, shuffling his hoof on the ground as he tried to get the nerve to speak. Finally, after a few more moments of silence, he tried for a third time. "I'm... kinda... er... lost?" It came out as a question, but it was obviously only phrased that way out of nervousness. His eyes had dropped to the ground as he spoke, as pretending he was alone helped, but they flicked upwards again to catch her reaction.

[Snowdrop]

Snowdrop looked thoughtful, and a little pleased. It worked! He spoke! I got him to speak! He speaked to me! Grammar was not always Snowdrop's top priority, so it was lucky she only thought those phrases. Her eyes were bright as she looked at him, but not intensely staring or soul-penetrating gaze'd.

"No wonder you're upset." she said softly, making it a simple statement. Ponyville was not a huge town, and it was not easy to get lost there, unless... "I'm guessing you recently moved here?" Snow asked. "If you know your address, I'm sure we can find your house easily. If you don't, it might be a little harder, but we can ask the Mayor, she probably knows the homes recently bought, sold or rented. Or if you don't want to ask anyone, we can take a long walk through all the neighborhoods until we find the right one. I can even show you around town a little."

Snowdrop brightened a little more and she giggled. "I was new here not long ago. I'm not the best guide in the world, but if I get us lost, I'll get us found, too. You can rely on me!" Yes, Snow thought, she liked this colt. He looked... kind. He looked... Shy. He looked... Remarkably like a little Kale, actually. The colors were a little different, Kale was a light grey with a brown mane and tail, but it reminded her all the same. She liked him even more for his mild resemblance to her teacher and hero, even though his personality was so different!

"So... would you like me to help?" she asked, hopefully!

[Monochrome]

Even though Snowdrop was being much quieter than when she first spoke to him, but she was certainly just as talkative. While this would certainly take some getting used to, for a pony who was used to so much quiet, Monochrome actually saw this as a sort of blessing. If she talked a lot, certainly that meant he could listen more and talk less. Maybe eventually he'd feel more comfortable talking to the young filly, but for now he was quite satisfied with a less-active role.

"No wonder you're upset. I'm guessing you recently moved here?"

Hesitantly, he scuffed the ground with his hoof, trying to garner enough nerve, again, to reply. He had managed to open his mouth and let out a little squeak when she began to speak again. Immediately he shut his mouth, his ears flattening again. Hopefully she didn't notice he had tried to talk - he didn't want to seem rude.

"If you know your address, I'm sure we can find your house easily."

Monochrome shook his head once when she mentioned his address - he had only been here for a little while and he certainly didn't remember the name of the street where he lived. He shook his head again when she mention asking the Mayor. It was hard enough talking to this pony, who at least was near his age. He couldn't bear asking someone else, who would definitely be much older.

This time, when she paused, he waited to see if she was actually done talking. Sure enough, after a moment, she began talking again and, despite himself, his ears pricked to catch every word she said.

"So... would you like me to help?"

Gently, he nodded his head. However, his mother was always trying to get him to be polite and speak to other ponies, and he desperately wanted to make her proud. It was because of this that he swallowed the lump that had formed in the back of his throat before looking at Snowdrop, trying to meet her eyes. "I... I'd like that..." he managed to say before dropping his gaze again.

After a moment pause, realising at that point his greatest rudeness, he spoke again. "I-I'm Monochrome... by the way..."

[Snowdrop]

Monochrome! Such a big name for such a- well, it was the first thing Snowdrop thought of when she heard it. She wondered if he would take kindly to a shortening, maybe Mon, Cro, Rome? Snowdrop rather liked Cro herself- it would be silly to name a white pegasus after a black bird. But she didn't know if he would be flattered or hurt that she took such a liberty with his name. And asking him if she could shorten it might make him feel his name was a problem. She needed to tread very softly here.

"I'm happy to meet you, Monochrome. You can call me Snow if you want, Its a little shorter than Snowdrop." she said, with seemingly no awareness that he had done anything rude. She got to her feet and used a wing to brush off some of the dust she'd acquired. The wing made a soft jingly sound, and, being open, Monochrome would see a small jinglebell tied securely to the base of the wing with ribbon. Had Snowdrop even seen him looking, she might have explained it, but she didn't, and all too soon, the filly tucked up her wing again and smiled over at her companion.

"Shall we go for a walk? We can start with some of the main streets near here and work our way into the smaller ones. If you see anything that looks familiar, just let me know, okay?" Snowdrop thought it might be a good idea to stick to yes or no questions for now. He wasn't afraid of her, but he clearly was still very shy. She would try to make it easy for him!

[Monochrome]

"I'm happy to meet you, Monochrome. You can call me Snow if you want, Its a little shorter than Snowdrop."

Monochrome lowered his head as he felt heat rise to his cheeks. With his white fur, even the palest rose of a blush was clearly visible - as he knew well - and he didn't want this white filly to know just how embarrassed he was. Snowdrop - or Snow, as he was now permitted to call her - was the closest thing he had ever had as a friend, and she was actually happy to have met him. He knew this probably wouldn't last, but happiness swelled inside him.

Finally, his blush subsided and he straightened up in time to watch her get up, catching sight - and sound - of a small jingle bell tied to her wing. Monochrome opened his mouth to ask about it, but not fast enough; before he had the chance the speak, Snow had closed her wing again, the jingle bell now out of sight. She smiled over and him, and already he could tell she'd be talking again. It seemed that was all she did.

"Shall we go for a walk? We can start with some of the main streets near here and work our way into the smaller ones. If you see anything that looks familiar, just let me know, okay?"

He nodded his head once, in agreement, before shaking out his coat. This was his way to dislodge any loose dust that had settled in his fur, and while it worked, Snowdrop's method was much more efficient; his rump was still a light, dusty grey. Monochrome, with a sudden burst of bravery, walked the few steps towards her, so he was now standing beside her, like a friend would. He realised, then, how presumptuous it could be to assume she wanted him near, and he pinned his ears again.

[Snowdrop]

Snowdrop smiled and brushed shoulders with him in a friendly way. She wasn't in the least surprised to see him blush- she knew only too well how embarrassingly clear her own blushes were. Setting off, Snowdrop planned in her mind how they would go down this street and come up that street. The passed by a gingerbread-looking shop, and Snowdrop paused to point a hoof in it's direction.

"That's Sugarcube Corner, home to Mr. and Mrs. Cake and their baby twins. They sell really good cakes, cookies and other baked things. Best I've ever tasted! Upstairs is Ponyville's party expert, Pinkie Pie, and her younger sister, Inkie Pie. Inkie is really nice, You might like her, she's kind of quiet too. Not like me, I talk too much, don't you think?" Snowdrop giggled. She knew it was true, she didn't mind.

But she must have had a lingering thought of it, for as she led the Pegasus on, down a long road that had many smaller lanes branching out from it, all lined with houses, She was a little quieter. But whenever he chanced to look at her, she would glance at him and grin, so it was a friendly quiet. For every smaller lane they passed, Snowdrop would pause that Monochrome could look down it and see if he recognized his house. That was a great deal faster than walking them all!

A little while later, they came across a big tree that was also a building. "That's the library!" Snowdrop explained. "I haven't been in there yet, but it's run by a really smart unicorn." Snowdrop's eyes got big as she leaned in to share a secret. "They say she's the most magical unicorn in Equestria, and knows everything" She gazed at the building with a mixture of awe and respect for a minute.