Found Again?

Reports of a strange figure near the border of the Everfree have been running rampant in the past few days. The figure resembling that of a tiny foal, running about. None have been able to get a close look of the foal as it runs off when it realizes somepony has been watching it.

These reports have caused a couple of rumors, stories and legends to begin surfacing. Some say the foal is the ghost of a colt that was once dared into the forest, others say the foal is the timid guardian of the Everfree - keeping undesirable ponies out (which would not be that difficult as ponies usually avoid the forest.) While others still insist that the foal is no more than an illusion caused by a magical fungi.

Whatever it is - it has the whole town talking. Some in fear, some in curiosity...three of them in hope.

Once the crying and grieving period had passed, it had been replaced with determination. It had become a ritual.

Nikki would don her ninja suit, bid her mother goodbye, and head out to find her "Kitty." When she told ponies what she was doing, the mares would go "Awww" and note that she must really love her cat to still be looking for it.

Calla knew better.

Kitty had been a nickname Nikki had given to her little big brother when she was two. Even at age eight, when her words had gotten longer and her speech was punctuated and correct, Nikki refused to call her brother by his given name.

This time, however, Calla had tagged along with her enthusiastic and steadfast filly. Rumors were rumors, they always said. There is no merit to them. 

Rumors were all she had to go on in this chase.

Brawny Hooves had been following his wife and his daughter for some time now to the Everfree Forest. Nikki was dressed up like a ninja, again, and they were all hunting for a rumored foal shadow that was running around the Everfree. they thought it could be the son they lost some time ago and missed dearly. Or it could just be some rumor.

Either way, Brawny had nothing better to do but sit on his flank all day, so might as well accompany his family on this venture

Kid was dodging through the Everfree, making sure not to trip lest he became a meal for one of the many monsters of the Forest. This being a now easy task from living in the forest for so long, dodging roots and rocks now being second nature to him. He was on his way to Ponyville to see if he couldn't steal some food.

He had been doing this for the past couple of months, since he managed to evade his captors. they had stolen him whilst on a picnic with his family and began taking him away. It took him a few days but he did manage to get away. Not without an amount of cuts and bruises however. Making his way to the only spot where he knew his captors would not enter - the Everfree forest. He has been living there ever since. Using the knowledge from the books at school and his own natural agility to survive.

The books he had read for survival though had not covered how to keep calm, so Kid had begun to panic and wonder about why his family hadn't saved him. Why they had allowed him to get captured. He finally deduced the options: His family didn't care, His family didn't love him or his family wanted him to get captured.

Nikki hopped around on random objects like the ground was lava, teleporting when there was too large of a gap from one place to another. With her eyes narrowed, she scanned every building and every tree until they reached the edge of the Everfree Forest.

Nikki hadn't actually gone inside to look for Kid, and she was, quite literally, facehoofing herself until she fell over. Calla had to pick her up off of the ground and direct the little motor in the right direction.

Following "standard protocol," Nikki started screaming.

"KIIITTYYYYYYY!! KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTYYYYYYYY!!! KIIIIIIIIIIITTYYYYYYYY!!!!"

Calla was desperately scanning the trees for the little shadow of which her friends had been scared to death to see, looking for that one glimmer of hope. She smiled weakly at her husband and covered her ears as Nikki screeched.