From Hell to Heaven

"As you can see my little ponies, he is just slightly different from myself." The Princess began. "He has 2 horns, and also wings. An Alicorn is the term used for myself, Luna, and Cadence, but the one used for a being like him, it is one that has not been used for ages. It is a slight genetic mutation, not a bad one Rainbow Dash, that causes his horn to be split in half and give him 2. The thing is, this sort of mutation only happens with males. The name we give such a unique appearance is Yewlicorn."

"I've never read about Yewlicorns Princess."

"No, I wouldn't expect you to have. In the history of Equestria as I've known and kept track of, there has been only 2 Yewlicorns before this arrival."

"But... How does it happen? What causes it, and why is it so rare?" Twilight spoke eagerly as something new to learn stood before her.

"I am not sure. The first was Luna and my brother, but he lived a very short time, and we never truly knew him, we were all much too young. The second was, just as now, an arrival from an unknown place or source." The Princess smiled at me as she looked in my direction. "Although he didn't have quite an impact upon Equestria." She chuckled softly to herself, covering her muzzle with a hoof politely as she did so.

"So... I'm a Yewlicorn..." I began to process the information, all of it since my first memories an hour ago until now. "So I'm different... But not in a bad way... Just a... I don't mean to be insulting, but a rarity..."

"No offense taken at all darling, none at all. You may associate yourself with me any time you like." Rarity smirked and winked at me once again, which got AJ to stand in front of her while laughing.

"Calm down there lover girl, seems your gettin' a little strong on this stallion when we know almost nothin about him." AJ was almost laughing as she spoke.

"Well, when one only sees a small handful of stallions while she's not working, seeing one like him is a grand opportunity."

"Now's not the time for romance or seduction Rarity, save that for later. We still need to find out more about him." Twilight still hadn't taken her eyes off me, but it was clear in her tone for their focus to switch back to the predicament I posed, not how I was posing.

"Yes my student, but he seems to need a little knowledge of his own. Do you have a name, child?"

"He said he..." The Princess looked at Twilight from the corner of her eye as Twilight went to speak for me, and she quickly went silent and dropped her eyes.

"Well... I can't remember..." I stammered as I spoke, she towered over me, so regal and powerful. No wonder all the mares bowed at her entrance.

"Well, most ponies are named by their parents, and it may be coincidence or it may be intuition by parents, but most of the foals have names that are closely related to their cutie mark. You have no cutie mark, nor do you have a name, yet you are of this age." She paused as she collected her thoughts and looked me over, taking much of her time to study my horns.

"But... what is a cutie mark?" I blurted out, still confused as to what they kept referring to.

"A cutie mark," the Princess began, "is the mark that all ponies in Equestria are given when they find their special talent, and that realization is then planted onto their flanks so that any pony that sees them will know what they are good at. If you look at the mares around you, it will make sense. It is not exact, but a similarity. My little ponies, why don't you explain to him your cutie marks and your talents."

And so they did, one by one, and the picture slowly began to make sense. It also dawned on me, as they carried on, that I had no special talent, no special ability to my knowledge. They all seemed to concerned about me not having one. How long does it take? How long did it take them? As Pinkie Pie was the last to finish, and started to show that she would never stop talking about parties, she was hushed by Twilight. Princess Celestia was still smiling as she turned to look at me, but her face became one of confusion and slight concern. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes... Well, no. Everyone was named at birth, and they had from then until they received their cutie mark to figure themselves out. I don't have a name, nor do I even know where to begin searching out what I'm good at. How..." I was cut off by laughter coming from AJ, and grew instantly irritated that she would laugh at how I was feeling. "I'm sorry my plight amuses you, but I'm feeling a little lost." My voice was short and icy cold, which ceased the laughter, but AJ's eyes still held mirth.

"Ah' meant no disrespect, but you have tha' same worries as mine and Rarity's little sisters and their friend Scootaloo. Ah' never imagined I'd hear their worries from an adult, and so I laughed. It wasn't laughter at you, but at the situation, and ah' apologize."

"Oh..." I looked up at the Princess, and she nodded.

"Yes, your concerns are not without reason. There are always young foals that are searching out their way into adult hood. Some gain their marks earlier than others, but that doesn't make anyone better or worse at what they do. It is all about finding what comes the most natural to you, and being patient."

"An' ah'll tell you what I tell Apple Bloom, it'll all come in time."

"Ok... So where do I start? I don't have a home and have nowhere, or no one, to go to..." My head hung as I spoke and this realization finally came to me, giving me a hollow feeling in my chest. My chin was lifted up by the white hoof of the Princess, and I turned bright red under my eyes at the feeling.

"Here, you will never be alone." She spoke with kindness and compassion which made my heart seize and my throat catch my breath. "You will always have friends, no matter what." She brought her face away from mine, and looked at the 6 mares. "I will entrust him with you 6. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, I want you 2 to teach him how to fly. He seems good at landing, but with wings he should learn the ways of the Pegasi." Both of Pegasus nodded, although Fluttershy still wouldn't show her eyes and Rainbow Dash glared at me.

"Rarity, I wish for you to show him about how to live in this world and how to act with the ponies in this world." Rarity bowed deeply as the Princess addressed her and how she would assist me. "He is new, and his emotions may well get out of control, both to the good, the bad, and the indifferent. You are to be his social mentor."

"Apple Jack and Pinkie Pie, I want you both to teach him about the foods of this world. Apple Jack, you are to teach him about how food is produced on your farm. Let your brother help as well, to teach him the physical aspect. As a stallion, he should learn to keep his physique and how to improve upon it if need be. Pinkie Pie, I will have you teach him how to make the food that he produces, so that he may be self sufficient should he need to travel." Apple Jack nodded with a determined smile on her face, showing she wouldn't let the Princess down. Pinkie merely continued to bounce, and what I assumed was nod as she went up and down.

"And Twilight Sparkle, my student, I wish for you to teach him the ways of magic. He may learn differently than you did, or possibly different than any pony you've studied with or taught, but I believe you will find a way. He still has magic, even though his horn is split in 2, so do not forget that. It may be more powerful than you have experienced in the past, or less so, but always be prepared when teaching him something new." Twilight, as Rarity did, bowed her head with a smile.

The princess turned to look at me once again, and spoke as though decreeing a new law. "These 6 shall be your new friends, and shall henceforth follow you on your journey to find your cutie mark, and should it so happen, until your ways are forced apart. I will come to check upon your progress, and Princess Luna will also wish to meet you in time. He is to stay with at the Apple Family's farm, with Big Mac." Rarity shuffled her feet and turned her eyes away from the Princess, which probably would have been seen as not allowed, because she got a vicious glare from Twilight with her horn glowing. "And with that, I bid you all farewell. I must return to quell the storm that his arrival has stirred." The Princess was halfway out the front door when the poked her head back in. "And if anything interesting happens, please send a message with Spike."

With the Princess now absent, everyone deflated and relaxed. Rainbow began to complain, and was allowed to as she flew out the front door, leaving everyone behind. Fluttershy followed suit, though still not saying a word. I wondered how she did so without hitting a wall, but said nothing. Rarity trotted forward and smiled, "Twilight will most likely make a schedule for you as to when you'll see everyone. I cannot wait until our appointed date." She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and then left as well.

Pinkie Pie slammed into me as I stood stone still at Rarity's leaving, and Pinkie gave me a hug that felt like she was crushing my ribs. "I'll see ya soon newest best friend!" I coughed as she let go, and pulled me up, sputtering what must have sounded like a farewell because she nodded in contentment and bounced out.

"Well then stranger, let's get headed to the farm. It's just about dusk and we get up early, so you'll need your dinner and then sleep. We'll drop by tomorrow at lunch, Twi, to get his schedule I'm sure you have worked out in your head."

"Alright Apple Jack." She looked at me and put a hoof on my shoulder. "You take care of yourself and be good."

"I'll do my best."

"That's all we ask of ya sugar cube. But we can't just keep referring to you as..."

"As a pronoun?" Twilight finished.

"Yeah, one of them."

"You're right AJ, he needs a name." Twilight thought for a moment, and then looked as though a light bulb went off in her head. "How about... Ever-yew. Does that sound ok?"

"Ever-yew..." I say it a few times and mull it around in my head, and then finally nod my head, smiling. "I like it."

"Tha's the first smile we've seen outta ya today. I can see why Rarity is so taken with ya." Apple Jack cuffed my shoulder with her hoof, laughing as Twilight joined in with a gentle giggle. "Alright, let's get home fer supper."

My stomach roared and I smiled sheepishly. "Sounds good to me."

"AJ, Ever-yew, you 2 have a good night and I'll see you at lunch tomorrow!" Twilight called out as we walked away from her tree house.

"It'll be good to have another pair of hooves on the farm. Maybe yer cutie mark will be apple related and we can keep ya forever." She chuckled happily, and sighed. "Big Mac's gonna enjoy trainin' you."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"You'll find out tomorrow." She turned her eyes away from me after she spoke, and find out I did the next morning.