Unknown Innocence

Chapters

Chapter 1: He is a special child....
Chapter 2: It's good to live in a castle
Chapter 3: Volcano
Chapter 4: A black rose with holes
Chapter 5: Answers & Feels
Chapter 6: Like a free bird
Chapter 7: Love, Love, Love.
Chapter 8: End of the Innocence
Epilogue

Chapter 1: He is a special child....

Chapter 1: He is a special child...

"There's the last one...." Princess Celestia placed the last letter with the rest, after spending an afternoon reading mail she felt tired and wanting to sleep, she got up of the throne and turned to the couple of royal guards that were always close to her when she was on the throne.

"You're excused" The guards bowed and abandoned their positions, Celestia trotted to the entrance of a nearby corridor, heading to her bedroom.

The sun mare passed through a endless wall of doors at both sides, she moved in a tiresome way, her ancrestal body had followed the same routine for more than a thousand of years, attending courts, reading mails, meet with other rulers.....

Celestia remembered the days where she was "young", living in the old castle, now ruined, beside the Everfree forest, with her little sister Luna and their parents.

In those days, she didn't had to worry about rule a land, she spent the time playing with her sister or other ponies, her life was peaceful and naive.

All that changed when a misterious being, named Discord appeared, he was a draconequus, a spirit of chaos, a powerful creature that made Celestia and Luna's parents, the King and Queen of Equestria, "dissapear".

After that, Celestia and Luna fighted the spirit of chaos transforming him in stone with the help of some magic artifacts called, "Elements of Harmony".

Then Celestia and Luna inherited their parents places, returning the harmony that Discord tried to destroy with his magic.

But it didn't lasted very long....

"I wish this wasn’t necessary". Celestia was on the balcony of her bedroom, preparing to lower the sun and raise the moon.

Everyday, everytime she do this, a memory appears on her mind, her sister Luna becoming the worst nightmare possible.

Something that you must defeat, but that you don't want to.

But that's the past, now Luna is merged with the moon, waiting for the day when she return at her sister's side.

Celestia glow her sharp horn to let the night enter in Equestria, the sun dissapeared and was changed by the shiny white satellite.

She turned inside and walked to her big white and yellow bed, Celestia lifted the covers and placed her body under them, minutes passed and she just couldn't sleep, she rolled, searched for a comfortable position, or just closed her magenta eyes strongly, but was useless, she couldn't get to sleep.

"Maybe a little walk on the river can fix this...." Celestia got out of the bed and went to the balcony, she spread her wings and flew over the dark sky around Canterlot.

When she reached the river below Canterlot, Celestia stretched her body and sighed happily, she really enjoyed this, all alone with no more company than her thoughts and the water of the river colliding with his edge.

Celestia trotted while looking at the water of the river, she looked the reflection of the moon, as the picture of a pony stuck on a side, she stopped and stared at the image of her banished sister.

"Someday…..you will return Luna" Celestia sighed and allowed a tear fall form her eyes, she wiped it with a hoof and followed her path.

Then something caught her attention, a object was floating on the river, it was going in the opposite direction as her, Celestia first thought that was just a illusion, but then she heard a noise from the object.

The noise was strange, like a outcry, Celestia waited the object to be closer, the object looked like a basket or a crib made of wood, also the noise became more clear and loud.

"It sounds like.....a colt" Celestia deduce following her eyes the object.

Celestia saw that in fact was a crib, and the noise came from it, she glow her horn and levitated the crib to put it beside her, her eyes looked down to see a blanket covering the newborn.

She lowered her muzzle at the blanket to watch it closely, the probably newborn had ......odd hooves.

Finally Celestia released the blanket to see the colt, but what her eyes saw was something far different of a foal.....

Or at least a pony.....

Celestia jumped in surprise, she was shocked for the being inside the crib, her eyes were wide in wonder, after a while she calmed and moved slowly her head to meet with the newborn again.

"By the sun.....it's a.....human?" Celestia asked to no one in special, she stared at the little human, that was crying with all his might.

Celestia knew that humans were a strange and mythical species that came to Equestria a long time ago, before the arrive of Discord, they were a race of intelligent hairless apes from a unknown land, that ponies knew not much.

She remebered that humans during decades, attacked the pony kind, searching always for treasures and booty, they looted villages and fighted against the royal guards, they were very strong and brave, wearing light armors and armed with all kind of melee weapons, from swords to double handed hammers.

After getting what they wanted, they turn around to their large and fast ships, some of them with a featuring dragon head like bow, and returned to wherever they were from.

Then without a reason, humans stopped come to Equestria, what was a good thing for the ponies then, during centuries the stories about them became myth and legend.

But with Celestia wasn't a warrior or a creature that she had to fear, there was a newborn that probably their parents had abandoned in a crib floating on a river, and that may be hungry as scared.

Celestia wasn't going to allow that poor colt suffer anymore, she grabbed the little human with her hooves and stared at him, the baby had brown head on his head, a small nose, and two closed eyes for the crying.

She didn't know what to do, in her entire life she never had experience with colts or fillies, less with human babies.

"Please dear, don't cry! you are safe with me...." Celestia said to the baby trying to calm him down, but was worhtless because the baby kept crying.

Then a idea popped on the princess head, she remembered a lullaby that her mother singed when she was a filly, Celestia thought if it could work with him too.

Celestia started to hum sweetly to the baby, as she balanced him on her hooves, surprisely, the baby stopped crying and relaxed until he fall asleep, Celestia ended the lullaby and did a "aawww" seeing the little human sleep.

"So cute...." Celesia looked at the crib and saw something inside it, she leaved softly the baby on the grass to got closer.

In the crib was two papers and a amulet, she lifted the three things and looked mindfully to them.

She looked that one of the papers had words written in perfect equestrian, Celestia downed the other paper and the amulet to see what it said.

It was a letter, and said this:

“If you're reading this, it's because you found this baby, i don't have much time to spread the details so i just want to beg you, whoever you are, to take care of this little one.

The reason of why you found him in this status, it's because we are desperate to keep him alive of someone that wants to kill him.

Please, take him as if he was your own son, as if he was equal to your race, he's from a distant land at the north of your country, a land that will need him in a future.

I'm sure one day he'll became a brave and good man, and when that happens, when in his mind appears the want of knowing the true, let him go, i beg you to don't deny him the opportunity to discover his true self.

I know your land it's a place full of peace and good morality, please make him have a wonderful chilhood full of love and caring.

A last thing, his name is Heynriik.

Thanks for doing this.

Airon Volkaer"

When Celestia finished reading the letter, she was confused and with even more questions, but right know was futile to ask something that was impossible to be answered.

She laid the letter inside the crib and looked to the amulet, she grabbed it with a hoof to take a review, it was a necklace made of silver with a strange symbol on hit, a triple spiral triangle with a dot in the center.

Then she grabbed the paper, it was a map but it didn't showed Equestria, instead there was a continent that she ever saw before.

"Is this where the humans live? quiet rare names their countries have...." Celestia shrugged and placed the amulet as the map on the crib again, then she looked back to the baby, he was awake.

"Oh...." Celestia trotted to him and sat in front of him, she grabbed him with her hooves and stared at the human, the baby was looking at her too.

"Heynriik......strange name...." She stared at his eyes, they were clear green as the grass, then Heynriik moved one of his hands to touch Celestia's muzzle, he moved his hand through all her face reaching the cheeks, mouth and chin.

Celestia giggled, feeling his tickilsh hands, she saw him open his small mouth to laugh too, the princess smiled warmly and looked at the sky, she yawned before smacking her lips, her body wanted to sleep.

She set aside the two papers and the necklace, to make Heynriik comfortable, Celestia layed him inside the crib and smiled while watching him doing sounds and shaking his hands.

"Heynriik is a bit difficult to say, hummmm......" Celestia put a hoof under her chin until she giggled and centered her attention to Heynriik again.

"Riki, yes, i can use it as a nickname for you, do you like it?" The baby replied with a laugh, Celestia kissed his forehead and lifted the crib with her magic.

"Well, let's go home Riki"

Chapter 2: It's good to live in a castle

Chapter 2 : It’s good to live in a castle.

Ten years had passed since Celestia found that little human baby named Heynriik. He lives now in the Canterlot castle with his adoptive mother and the rest of the royal family.

Celestia took the responsibility of educate him since he was brought there. It wasn’t easy due the fact that unlike ponies Heynriik couldn’t do magic or fly and was from a species that were though didn’t exist, but she could still teach him all the basic things of Equestria’s history and society. She knew that he may ever be on a throne, but at least he would be a good and respected boy…

“BLUEBOOD! GIMME THAT COOKIE NOW!” Heynriik said to his cousin while they were on the dining room of the castle, taking the breakfast.

“And why I should give it to you? I saw it first, and my dear ape-like cousin, do you think that’s its right to ask it like that? always forgetting your manners....”

“Oh you want me to be gentle? Then explain me, my SO POLITE AND GENEROUS cousin WHY YOU EATED NEARLY ALL THE COOKIES OF THE TABLE AND WHY YOU USED YOU’RE MAGIC TO DRINK THE HALF OF MY CHOCOLATE MILK!”

“Well, I thought that sharing the cookies with you would be a lost of time, having in mind that you eat like a farm animal and you always make the table a horrible mess, so I had taken all for myself to prevent that”.

“Heynriik, Bluebood, please stop arguing, you two shouldn’t be insulting just for something like this” said Cadance trying to make peace between them, but they didn’t pay any attention and continued screaming to each other.

“You BASTARD NARCISIST!” Heynriik yelled to Blueblood angrily.

“Hahahahh how funny that you call me a bastard when you are the only real “bastard” here!”

“How did you…i…..em….YOU BETTER BE SORRY FOR SAYING THAT”

“Emmmm…no I’m not sorry because it’s true, you’re a bastard”

After that Heynriik stood up from his chair and ran to Blueblood's with an angry face. He tighten up his hands over Blueblood’s neck rabidly.

“Agahstophafjfsfjhpleasehysahjadhstop”

“HEYNRIIK!” Cadance shouted angrily, making him turn his head to look at his alicorn cousin confused.

“It’s enough, you’re hurting him”

“But…but….it’s no fair! He’s always doing whatever he wants! And his parents either mom never do anything to punish him!” Heynriik complained with his hands still on Blueblood's neck.

"That doesn’t mean that you can grab his neck and strangulate him!” Cadance said moving to where Heynriik and Bluebood were.

Heynriik lowered his head in shame and released the white unicorn. Blueblood breathed slowly regaining his consciousness and glared to Cadance and then to Heynriik.

“You….you aren’t royalty……you are a barbarian” Blueblood looked Heynriik with bitterness.

“I'll never understand why auntie Celestia brought you here” Blueblood leaved the room and left Heynriik and Cadance alone.

“Look what you done, now he will tell his parents about this and get you in a big trouble!” Cadance said to the human unamused.

“I…I’m sorry Cadance, I promise i'll never do that again” Heynriik looked up to Cadance eyes with a sad face. Cadance sighed and rubbed his hair with her hoof

“It’s okay Rikie, you don’t need to get mad with Blueblood for something like that”

Heynriik wiped out his sadness and smiled first but then he got a little angry after realizing that Cadance had just used the nickname that created Celestia for him years ago.

“You know perfectly that I don’t like being called like that” Heynriik said with a face mixed of rage and joy.

“Ohh but it fits so well with your cute face, your messy hair and your beautiful green eyes!” Heynriik blushed heavily on his face and looked away of his pink alicorn cousin.

“I….errr….thanks….Cadie” both Cadance and Heynriik hugged strongly, then Cadance released her cousin and looked him directly at the eyes.

“Heynriik, it doesn’t matter what that spoiled and shameless of Bluebood says, you are part of our family, and we will always love you “

“Thanks Cadie” Heynriik was now happy after hearing that and nearly forgotten his arguing with Blueblood.

“Well, I have to leave you” said Cadance while moving towards the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to take care of Twilight; I promised to her parents that I would look for that filly all the morning”

“You mean Shining Armor’s sister?, he’s always talking about Twilight but I didn’t see her yet” Heynriik asked inquisitive.

“Someday, we can do something so you can meet her” Cadance suggested before leaving him.

“Okay cousin, see you later”

“Bye and, if you don’t mind, don’t get in more trouble” Cadance waved a hoof and leaved the room.

“I’ll try” Heynriik quipped. He leaved the dining room later and moved hall to hall, passing through servants and guards, until he reached the gardens outside of the castle.

He always goes there after breakfast or before night falls. Heynriik loves to lie on the grass and relax to take a sleep enjoying the silence of the nature, the leafs of the trees swinging with the air and the clouds moving slowly on the sky. All this made him feel a peaceful sensation inside of his heart that was impossible to describe, he liked all these things since he was little, there wasn’t a why, he just liked them.

“Oh boy, this is life” Heynriik said laying aside a tree, looking up to the sky and closing slowly his eyes.

Darkness, everything was dark, there wasn’t anyone or anything. He could move his legs, he could see through his eyes, he could hear but there wasn’t anything just him, or at else that was what he thought.

Suddenly, he heard a sound difficult to recognize.

“What is that?” he thought while walking slowly to the origin of the sound.

“Hello?... Somepony there? ” instead of a response, Heynriik received a strong roar. It sounded like a monster, a BIG monster.

“Wh- wha- what the …..what was that!?” Heynriik started to get nervous. He couldn’t move his legs due the fear, his hands were shaky and all his body was sweating.

“Dur dierag…..dur dierag” He didn’t know what meaned that, but the voice was the same as the previous roar.

“Emm..Do you speak Equish?”

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!” This time the roar was more loud and violent. Heynriik fell to the ground in surprise, his heartbeat was increasing with the time and his face had a really scared expression.

“I…i….I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!” He got up of the ground and started running to nowhere. He didn’t know where to go because there was nothing more than darkness and that monster, but he didn’t care, he wanted to return back to Equestria, to Canterlot, he had more fear than ever before.

“Eu nak pod coriil….dax dur dierag…..dax kin eu zeriis….DAX VAF EU RALDIHEIN ZERIIS!” the ground shook with every step the monster did. Heynriik was trying hard to not lose his balance.

“SHUT UP AND GET AWAY FROM ME WHATEVER YOU ARE!” Heynriik cried without looking back.

“Heynriik… eu verhei deil vetrud…..ehul daine….eu verhei deil vetrud.” the monster replied in the same unknown language. After that, Heynriik wasn’t hearing the voice anymore. Silence surrounded him, making him stop to relax and take a breath.

“Finally….he’s gone…” Heynriik put his right hand to his chest and sighed. The danger was over….or not.

“Deil vetrud..” he heard that voice again, but this time was closer than before. He noticed something behind him, something warm, he turned and saw the monster's face.

“Oh no….ple-plea-please d- do- don’t hurt m- me” Heynriik said with wide eyes and sweat over his face.

He couldn’t move, he was completely paralyzed of fear. Heynriik started to look the face of the monster, that was the only thing he could see. It had a big jaw with sharp teeth, dark blue reptile-like skin, big green eyes and two large horns on his head pointing back.

The monster opened the mouth, showing his scary teeth and a large tongue, Heynriik closed his eyes and put both arms over his head waiting for his end.

“Konos deil vetrud….eon deil vetrud volu zergan friider” the monster stated while a stinky stench got out of his jaw.

After saying that, the monster roared so strongly that Heynriik fell to the ground. Heynriik closed his eyes until he noticed that the roar stopped, he opened his eyes and saw that the monster wasn’t there anymore. Instead of him he started to see lights, flashes and images that he couldn’t recognize, they went faster and faster, he closed his eyes and started to cry.

“I want to go home......please……..mommy……Cadance……I love you...”

Heynriik raised his head and screamed like never before, and then everything went black.

Heynriik opened his eyes and saw that he was back to the royal garden laying aside a tree; he was sweating hardly and tearing after all the things that he just saw.

“It was….a nightmare….just a nightmare”

He looked around to see all the plants, trees and statues. Heynriik was now sure that the monster and all the strange things that he saw weren’t real.

Then he saw a royal guard in front of him, it was Silver Shield, one of the few royal guards that he really knew. He was a grey coated unicorn with yellow eyes plus black mane and tail.

Heynriik knew Silver Shield because he was his personal bodyguard. He always was on the door of his bedroom when he was sleeping or at his side when he was going to any dangerous place. Silver Shield never got mad for the jokes and problems that sometimes Heynriik do, he was always calm and nice with him.

Silver was looking Heynriik with concern, the unicorn stared a while at Heynriik until he finally talked.

“Sir Heynriik, are you alright?” Silver Shield asked worried. Heynriik nodded and looked away trying to hide his tears, but Silver Shield approached to him and sat at his left side.

“You had that nightmare again, right?" Silver asked looking at the human kid concerned.

“Yes but this time was….different” Heynriik replied shyly.

“Different? Why? What you saw?”

“There was….a monster”

"What kind of monster?”

“It was….i think it was….” Heynriik was starting to get nervous and his hands were shaking. His green eyes were throwing tears again. Then Heynriik felt something moving on his face, he saw Silver Shield’s right front hoof clearing the tears of his face.

“Don’t worry sir Heynriik, everything its okay” Silver smiled shyly and lowed slowly his hoof.

“It was…a dragon….and he was talking to me”

“What was saying that dragon?”

“I…I don’t know, he was talking in a language that I never heard before.”

“I see…” Silver placed his hoof in his chin thinking in what Heynriik just said, then the royal guard stood up and looked Heynriik.

“Sir Heynriik, you must tell your mother about those nightmares, they’re starting to be a serious problem” Silver was right. Heynriik started to have those nightmares months ago and by the time they were becoming worse, but he didn’t tell anything to anypony about them except to Silver Shield.

He discovered it one night that he was guarding Heynriik’s bedroom. He heard a scream coming from the inside, when Silver Shield opened the door he saw Heynriik with a scared face and sweat over his face, then he told him that he had a strange nightmare.

This nightmares were all the same, flashes, images, sounds, no one of these things were easy to recognize because they pass very fast. Also in these nightmares he also felt cold, dry cold like if there was snowing, but this is the first time he saw that dragon on a nightmare.

“Ok Silver, I’ll tell her about this” Silver Shield gave him a nodded of approval. Heynriik got up and was starting to go to the castle when Silver put a hoof to stop him.

“I nearly forgotten….that friend of yours, the white unicorn with blue mane was asking for you to play in a hoofball match or something”

“You mean Shining Armor?” Heynriik gasped and remembered that today he, Shining Armor and other young ponies of Canterlot were going to the Harmony park on the center of Canterlot to hang out all the day. They were going to eat in a picnic, play hoofball, hide and seek and a lot of things.

“Well thanks for saying it Silver, now if you excuse me, I have to go!” Heynriik said cheerfully while heading to the castle again.

“Enjoy yourself sir, but remember” Silver Shield pointed one hoof to him.

“When you return, you have to talk with your mother about your nightmares”

Heynriik nodded and ran to the castle. He passed all the corridors and halls until he reached the entrance and saw Shining Armor waiting for him.

“Yo Shiny!” Heynriik calls him with joy. Shining turned and smiled when he saw his human friend.

“Hey Rikie!, what were you doing? That guard told me that I wasn’t allowed to enter the castle, so I waited here while he was looking for you”.

“Well I was….sleeping on the royal garden” Heynriik scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed for showing Shining Armor the lazy side of him.

“Oh! That's so typical of you! I wish i was on your place, lucky ape” Shining Armor laughed and then Heynriik did the same.

“Hey! It’s good to live in a castle, I have a big bed, I eat the best food made by the best chefs of all Equestria, the servants clean everything and i hardly have anything to worry about. Sadly, you never will know how it is” the human said trying to look cool. Shining rolled his eyes at Heynriik's selfishness.

“You’re wrong Rikie, because when I grow up I’m going to be the Captain of the Royal Guard and I will live in the castle too!”

“No, if I become Captain before you” Shining lifted a eyebrow after hearing those words.

“Wait, you want to be Captain of the Royal Guard too? I'm sorry, but I don’t think that somepony like you who spends half of the day sleeping and the other half being lazy would get such a honor” Shining laughed again after saying that. Heynriik glanced at him and raise an eyebrow.

“Yes, yes, laugh now Shining, because not only I will be Captain of the Royal Guard, I’m going to be the greatest hero and warrior that nopony has saw in Equestria ever!”

“Well, if you say so….” Shining rolled his eyes and did like if he was disinterested on what he just heard.

“Never mind, we have other things to do more important than making future plans, like winning that hoofball match!” Heynriik said in a cheerful tone.

“Whoa! It sounds like you will take a match seriously......finally” Shining muttered. Heynriik ignored him and replied.

“Of course! Because I’m the best and I have to prove it” Heynriik stated full of confidence.

“Well, then let’s get moving!”

“Well it was a good match, right Shiny?” Heynriik looked to his friend with a smile

“Yes…of course…...or at least it would be if you hadn’t sent the ball to the moon in your last kick!” Shining Armor shouted slightly angry.

“Hey! I was trying to kick it with effect! and in the end our team had won!” the young human said with joy and putting his left arm around Shining’s neck.

“Hehehehe you’re right dude, but I guess it’s easy to win a hoofball match when in your team is a human that had twice the size of anypony of his age” Shining praised him. Heynriik replied with a chuckle.

“Thanks, but it’s not my fault that I cannot be tackled by that pathetic excuse of defenders” Heynriik and Shining laughed at the same time, but they stopped when finally reached the castle’s entrance.

“Well Shiny, I see you tomorrow” Heynriik extended his hand to shake it with Shining Armor's hoof.

“Goodbye, Rikie” Human and unicorn separated, going to their respective homes.

Heynriik entered the castle. It was late afternoon and he was tired after all the day that he had, he wasn’t hungry because he already eat with Shining Armor and other ponies before in the Harmony park, they played hide and seek, horseshoe throwing and of course the hoofball match, he had spent half day out of the castle.

“I hope that mom don’t get angry for this” Heynriik said when he was already inside the castle, then he remembered the promise that he did to Silver Shield.

“I have tell her about the nightmares…maybe she knows something” Heynriik started to look for his adoptive mother. First he went to the throne room, but it was empty.

Heynriik knew very well his mother. At this time of the day there could be only three places where she can be: the throne room, her bedroom and the meeting hall where she always was meeting with leaders of other countries, important ponies or nobles in general.

“Let’s see if she is on her bedroom” Heynriik moved to Celestia’s bedroom, but instead of her there was two royal guards standing in the bedroom’s door.

“Hey guys! Do you know where my mom is?” Heynriik asked being friendly.

“Her highness is on the meeting hall, sir Heynriik, but you shouldn’t molest her because she is in an important meeting and she gave orders of don’t being disturbed until the meeting ends” One of the guards replied serious.

“Oh well…ok thanks”. After hear that, Heynriik walked to the meeting hall. He didn’t care about what the guard said, it was very important for him to tell her his nightmares, he was sure that his mother could know something that he didn't.

Heynriik finally reached the meeting hall's door, but there was two guards on it wearing spears and looking completely concentrated on their watching.

“Emmm guys could you, if you don’t mind, let me enter the meeting room?” Heynriik said smiling and in a shy tone.

“We’re sorry sir, but there is an important meet inside and we are not allowed to let anypony to get in “. One of the guards said with confidence to the human kid, who was getting curious about all this “important meeting” thing.

“But I must tell something to my mom! And it’s important too!” Heynriik said while doing puppy dog eyes. The guard sighed and replied.

“You can wait here until your mother ends her meeting sir, but you can’t enter”

“Well….ok” Heynriik sighed in defeat and stayed there with the two guards. He looked up to the one that talked, the kid smiled and said.

“Can I ask you something?” Heynriik said to the guard.

“Well emm…yes of course you can sir” the guard responded confused.

“Why nearly all the royal guards are white with blue mane and tail or brown with white mane and tail? Are you clones? Are you disguised with some kind of ninja technique to look equal or it’s because there are two large families which all their members only want to be guards?”

“Well..i….em….we….you know sir, the truth is that…” Before the guard could answer, the door opened and a figure walked out of the meeting room.

It wasn’t Celestia, it was like a mare but bigger than the usual ones and with strange looks. She had black coat with some kind of brown carapace at the top of her body, holes in the hooves, insect like wings, blue eyes, large and grey mane plus tail besides the two fangs showing on her mouth.

Heynriik was looking her with fear. Unlike the dragon of his nightmare, this thing was real, and was looking him directly to the eyes with an expressionless face.

Then another figure appeared behind the other one. This time was Celestia who looked to her son with a smile.

“Hello, Heynriik I haven’t see you in all the day”.

“Hi mom, I was looking for you to tell you…something” Heynriik said with a shy tone to his mother.

“Well, I just had finished my meeting, so we can talk now my dear” The black mare looked Celestia with interest.

“It’s….your son?” She asked inqusitive. Celestia nodded silently and replied.

“Of course, his name is Heynriik”

“But….it’s not a pony” said the hole-legged mare.

“He’s a human” Celestia said with a wise tone.

“Interesting….” the black mare looked to Heynriik and lowered her head until her nose was near of the kid’s face. Heynriik looked at her with a raging face, he didn’t know why but he didn’t like that strange mare.

“Little human you….are kind of cute” the black bug-pony mare giggled with a maliciously tone and rubbed Heynriik’s brown hair with a hoof. The human kid stepped backwards disgusted by her touch.

“I supposed we finally have a….deal, right Princess Celestia?” said the black mare turning back her attention to the sun’s mare.

“Of course, and if it works well, we’ll have a peacefully relationship between our countries and subjects”

“Excellent, now if you excuse me I have to return to my kingdom, goodbye Princess Celestia”. Celestia nodded and the black mare started moving but stopped when she was aside of Heynriik. She looked at him and smiled showing her sharp teeth.

“Goodbye to you too, little Heynriik”. Then she moved gracefully until she passed the corner of the corridor. Heynriik looked to Celestia with some fear on his face.

“Wh- who was that…thing mom” Celestia looked his son with concern and replied.

“She was Amanthis, queen of the Changelings; she came to Canterlot to make a….solution for a problem that was between Equestria and the Changeling Kingdom”. Heynriik was confused. He knew what the changelings were but he never had though that there was one like Amanthis. He looked up to Celestia who noticed something rare on her son’s face.

“You look sad my dear, it’s something wrong?” Celestia put gently a hoof on Heynriik’s chin.

“I…I wanted to tell you something..” Heynriik looked directly to his mother’s magenta eyes.

“Don’t have fear Rikie, you can tell me any kind of problem you got, I’m your mother and it’s my responsibility to take care of you” Celestia smiled and rubbed carelessly Heynriik’s hair with a hoof.

“I…I think it’s better if i told you later..” Heynriik said while blushing and taking away gently his mother’s hoof out of his hair.

“As you want, my dear”

It was late night; Heynriik was already on his bed going to sleep when suddenly he heard some knocks on the door.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s me Heynriik, let me get in, I want to talk with you” the human kid recognized quickly that was the voice of his mother.

“Ok mom….get inside” Celestia opened the door and walked slowly to Heynriik’s side.

“You told me that you wanted to tell me…something, so here I am, what's the matter?” Heynriik looked to his mother with sadness and talked nervously.

“I..i wanted to tell you that sometimes when I sleep I had…..nightmares” Celestia raised one eyebrow and then giggled.

“Oh Rikie!, you don’t have to worry for that, everypony haves nightmares!”

“But these are….strange they aren’t like normal nightmares!” Heynriik said in a terrified tone that make Celestia change her expression. She sat on his bed and put a hoof on his chest.

“Why your nightmares are different? Tell me, please” said Celestia who was starting to worry seriously.

“Because i….i don’t know what they look like, I see images and I hear sounds but no one of them makes sense” Celestia hugged him and kissed his forehead. Heynriik was now more relaxed.

“Keep going, there’s nothing here that can hurt you” Celestia said wanting him to face his fears.

“Today I had one of that nightmares again, but….there was.....something more..” Celestia nodded and signed him to continue.

“There was a dragon…and he was talking to me, but I didn’t know what was saying because he was talking in other language” Celestia put a hoof on her chin and started on thinking if all that have any explanation.

“Rikie I….I don’t have an answer for all that right now, but I promise you that if I find something that can help you, I will tell you instantly” Heynriik nodded to his mother. Celestia got off of the bed and before she got out of the room she turned her head and smiled to Heynriik for a last time.

“Sleep well dear, and don’t worry, there’s nothing that you should fear”.

“Good night mom”. Celestia was gone; Heynriik put his head on the pillow and closed his eyes.

Chapter 3: Volcano

It was morning in Canterlot, the sun was at the top of the sky, the clouds were moving peacefully and the ponies were doing each other their typical routine, some working, others taking a nibble in a restaurant and a few walking on the streets to meet with friends, neighbors or familiars.

Meanwhile in the castle the day was going perfect. Princess Celestia was on the throne room with a royal guard from the north border reporting, all the royal guards were guarding and patrolling all the halls of the castle, while the servants were doing their respective jobs, except one.

The exception was Cleo, a yellow unicorn with orange eyes, blue mane and tail. She had the most difficult task that a servant of the Canterlot castle could got.

Make Heynriik to take a shower.

“HERE YOU ARE…oh well i…I’m sorry your…your highness I was…I was trying to caught your cousin to bring him to the bathroom and well…it’s seems that he’s not here”.

It was the fourth time that Cleo opened a door expecting to find Heynriik, but instead of him was somepony else. This time she opened Cadance’s bedroom, she only saw Cadance who was brushing her mane in front of a mirror.

“It’s okay Cleo, don’t worry” Cadance giggled and the servant lowered his head in shame.

Cadance turned and moved to Cleo, then she put a hoof on the servant’s chin and lifted her head gently.

“If you want, I can help you to find him” Cleo widened her eyes and smiled after hearing that.

“You will help me to get that filthy colt….i mean…your..cousin?” Cadance grinned and lowered her hoof.

“Of course I will, Riki will end on the bathroom soon clean and smelling well” Cadance said putting one hoof on her chest in signal of promise.

“But your highness how…how will you help me to find him?” asked Cleo with interest.

“Cleo, he’s my cousin, I know him since he was brought here, there is nothing that I don’t know about him, I know the things that he likes, the places where he likes to go and how he is” Cleo raised an eyebrow and saw a basket with some food on the bed. Cadance looked to the basket too.

“Are you going to a picnic, your highness?” asked Cleo with interest.

“Oh yes, I and Heynriik where going with Shining Armor and his sister to go in a picnic on the woods aside of Canterlot”

“Shining Armor…isn’t that white unicorn which you had some….interest?” Cadance blushed in all her face and sweated.

“Well i…him…he is a good friend and….nice and….” Cadance remained silent a while until Cleo apologized with a bow.

“Forgive me your highness, I shouldn’t have asked something like that” said Cleo with a shy smile.

“It’s…it’s okay Cleo don’t worry, I’m not mad with you” Cadance smiled shyly to the servant who nodded silently.

“Now… we had to find my cousin” said Cadance with a little malicious grin.

“Do your highness have any idea where he can be?” asked Cleo with concern. Cadance took a hoof on her chin thinking until she nodded and smiled to Cleo.

“I think….i know where he is..”

“Oh really your highness?! Where!? please tell me!” said Cleo with some despair. Cadance put a hoof on Cleo's chest trying to relax the servant.

“Did you look on the garden, Cleo?” said Cadance raising an eyebrow.

“Well I….no your highness”

“Then follow me, I think where he is right now” Both, Cadance and Cleo, moved out of the bedroom and walked through the castle’s halls until they reached their destination.

“Wh- Where I am?” Heynriik looked up and he saw that he wasn’t on the castle. Instead he was inside of a room all made of wood that was moving slowly in all directions, like inside a ship. He turned his head to the right and then to the left but he couldn’t see very much.

Heynriik opened the mouth and tried to talk, but instead of talking he babbled. He tried again but not a single word was said.

“What it’s going on?! Why I can’t talk…and why I can’t move too!?....Ah!”

He looked his legs and then his hands, they were small and chubby. Heynriik realized that he wasn’t on his body anymore, then he moved his head to the right an to the left. He was inside a little crib with a blanket covering his body.

“I AM A BABY!? BUT HOW?! DID I GET IN SOME TIME TRAVEL SPELL OR WHAT!?”

Then a strong sound appeared and the entire room trembled brutally.

“Whoa! What in all Equestria was that!?” then he heard the sound of a door opening and two figures walking inside. Both were tall, bipedal and with hands.

“Wait they….they aren’t ponies….they are like me….humans” The two humans were talking. Heynriik remain silent and started to hear the conversation.

“You know perfectly what that traitor of Viran and his roman friends are following us day and night, and that they will hunt us until the end of Jorgard, right Airon?”

“Yes, I know, but we can’t let them take your son, Joriik, he's to valuable to let them kill him"

“I know but, what can we do? We been in the sea running away of them for weeks since we left Iberii, our men are starving and dying, the supplies are ending and we even know when or where our ship will land!”

“Joriik….you know that we can't let Viran win, if Heynriik dies.....our people will suffer the rage of that damned psychopath, with no one enough strong to stop him. This little one must survive so there's any hope for the future!"

“Airon, do you EVEN know what are we going to do with him? we can't run forever"

“I know, we have to find a way to keep Heynriik out of the hands of Viran and his allies”.

“But what? we are far away of civilization, here there's only water..."

"There is a reason of why i wanted our ship head to the south of Afrika, Joriik"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think there's beyond the Great Dessert?"

"I don't know, nobody had went that far, why do you ask?"

"Because there's more than sand, in that part of the world there's civilization too, unless they aren't humans"

"There's people there? Who are they if not humans? and how do you know all that?!"

"I know all this thanks to a book i found randomly one day on the library, it was writted in our language by someone named "Starswirl", but he didn't look like someone form the same country as us"

"And what is this "civilization" we are talking about?"

"They call themselves.....ponies"

"Puunys?"

"Ponies"

"Pownees?"

"Ugh! nevermind, they are a sentient species with the shape of small horses, except that they are colorful, with bigger eyes, and are so intelligent as our race, they even have their own country!"

"Please......tell me that you drinked of that barrel full of eirean beer again...."

"You are hard to convince, right? what if i told that the pony land, named "Equestria" if i'm not wrong, is a place where wars and fights practically don't exists? that pony culture is based in being kind with everyone, live in harmony and love no matter how or WHAT you are, Oh! also they can fly and do magic...."

"I would tell you that you're DRUNK! Also, Fly? Magic? i think you're going to far, Airon..."

"I'm not lying, that book said that there was three kind of ponies, the unicorns, that had a horn on their heads that may be used to do magic spells as levitating things, the pegasi that can fly thanks to two wings stuck on their bodies and earth ponies, which didn't have horn or wings but their strenght is higher than the other two races"

"Let me guess, you want to send Heynriik to a place that don't appear on the maps, lives a equine species that can fly and do magic, rejects violence, lives in peace without problems or threats, to see if one of them have pity of a baby from a species that they may not have seen ever and adopt him? I thought you druids were smarter...."

“Look Joriik, I know it sounds....crazy, maybe even insane, but while we are discussing Viran's boat it's getting closer and closer to us, if we don't find a solution soon, we'll fail"

“You’re right Airon but he…are you sure it can work? i hardly can imagine him growing up in a place where he don't belongs, also, how can you be so sure that these......ponies will accept him? what if they reject him for being so different or because they think Heynriik's a monster?"

"I have a feeling of that never going to happen, i always trust in the words written in a book, and if Starswirl says that Equestria is a place where our Heynriik can have a peaceful and joyful life, i believe him"

"I wish this was a nightmare.....my son is going to live not knowing where he's from, who really is or even who are his real parents....."

"I think it's....a good thing that he may ever known what he "is".....we already have seen how powerful is he inside....."

"Yes......when i heard the stories about Zoran and the Firehearts, defeating dragons, golems, powerful warriors with that same power......i couldn't imagine that one day a son of mine was going to have that same gift of the gods"

"That day when Viran tried to attack Drakahain and Heynriik became......that......i still can't believe something so pure and naive had such.......strength"

"I don't either.....but now i realize, if he has no idea where he's from, how are we going to make him return to Iberii? worse, what if he stays in that Equestria forever and don't achieves his destiny?"

"Don't worry, i'll take care of that, trust me"

"Okay......Maite is going to hate us for this..."

"She always have been a she-wolf who wants to protect the people she loves, it will be understandable if she reacts madly, talk to her all what you want, after all it's her son as yours"

“Thanks, Airon”

“Well, we are already on the gardens Princess Cadance, now are you going to tell me where your cousin is?” Cleo asked wanting an answer after hours of “playing hide and seek” with Celestia’s son. Cadance giggled and pointed with her hoof at the top of a tree.

“He’s right there” Cleo approached to the tree and looked up. She gasped and widened her eyes in surprise when she saw Heynriik lying asleep on a big tree branch.

“SIR HEYNRIIK HOW DID YOU- IT DOESN’T MATTER! GET DOWN IN THIS INSTANT! I’VE BEEN SEARCHING YOU FOR HOURS! YOU HAVE BEEN TO LONG WITHOUT HAVING A BATH!” Heynriik opened his eyes slowly, realizing that he was back to the real world.

“What…what kind of dream was that? It was even more strange that the one with the dragon..” Heynriik put a hand on his chin thinking. Cleo was ragging and screaming just down of him, while Cadance was trying to hide her laugh.

Finally, Heynriik jumped down to meet with Cleo and Cadance.

“FOR CELESTIA’S SHAKE HOW DID YOU GET THERE!?” Cleo asked angrily. Heynriik remain silent a while, until he finally said.

“Emmm…..magic?” Heynriik said with a fake smile and innocent eyes.

“If I saw you again up there, I will tell it to your mother” Cleo said in a threatening tone.

“But..but..i like to be there! It’s my favourite place of the garden!” Heynriik was trying to convince the servant, but was futile.

“I’m sorry sir, but it’s for your security, what if you fall of the tree and get injured? I’m sure that you won’t like that, and less your mother”

“Oh c’mon! I climbed that tree many times, it’s a filly’s game for me!”

“It doesn’t matter, you can’t do it again”. Heynriik lowered his head and sighed in defeat.

“Now you will come with me, you may not be a pony but you're still part of the royalty, and you must be always clean and looking good!” Cleo said with authority while Heynriik crossed his arms and looked selfless.

“Yeah royalty…” Cleo did like if she didn’t hear that and lifted him with her magic to put him before her.

“Let’s move to the castle’s bathroom, sir”

“Well…ok” Heynriik walked slowly while Cleo was behind him with a victorious smile. Cleo looked to Cadance that was still there.

“Thanks for your help, majesty”

“No problem Cleo, just make sure that Riki is clean and ready to our picnic”

“I will” Cleo and Heynriik entered to the castle and headed to the bathroom. When they finally got there Cleo looked to Heynriik who was all the time with a sad face and looking down.

“It’s something wrong sir?” asked Cleo with concern.

“What? Oh no it’s just…a dream that I had before” Cleo nodded and pointed the bathroom’s door with one hoof.

“Get in and wash yourself, I will return in thirty minutes with new clothes, if you run away again or you aren’t clean, I’ll have to bath you and you know perfectly that you are old enough to do it by yourself, sir”

“It’s ok Cleo, you won’t need to do that” Heynriik sighed and looked the servant with trust.

“Let’s see if it is true” Cleo turned and walked away. Heynriik entered to the bathroom reluctantly.

“Well…at least I have beaten my old record of most time evading her…”

*knock knock*

“Who is it?”

“It’s me Cadance, I finished my shower” Cadance opened her bedroom’s door to let Heynriik go inside.

“Oh, I see that you are ready, did you enjoyed your shower, cousin?” Cadance giggled and Heynriik blushed heavily while looking away.

“Don’t get mad Rikie, you know that is for your good"

“Yes, yes, anyway did you have everything Cadie?” Cadance lifted with her magic a basket in front of her cousin.

“Of course, we have sandwiches, orange juice, cupcakes..”

“Humm…they have a good looking…” Heynriik started to drool over his mouth.

“Well, let’s meet with Shining and Twilight” Cadance started moving along with Heynriik to exit the castle, when he stopped Cadance with his hand.

“Wait, I want to say goodbye to mom, she doesn’t know our picnic and I don’t want her to get angry if we return late” Heynriik said with concern.

“Ok Rikie, let’s see her, I think that she is on her bedroom” Heynriik and Cadance walked until they finally were on Celestia’s room. The human kid knocked the door but no one answered.

“Are you sure that she’s here?" Heynriik asked to Cadance unsure.

“Well, at least that was what I hea-“ Before Cadance ended her sentence, the door opened and Celestia appeared.

“Oh! Good morning Heynriik and Cadance, what do you want dears?” While Cadance was replying Celestia, Heynriik noticed something, a figure behind Celestia. He couldn’t see very much because his sight was hampered by his mother and the half open door, but he could see what looked like a black hoof with .....holes? Heynriik tried to move his head to a side to see the figure entirely but it moved away quickly and disappeared to his sight.

“Well, I don’t see nothing bad at that picnic, so you two better enjoy it!” said Celestia with a smile.

“We will auntie Celestia, right Rikie?” Cadance looked happily to her human cousin, who seemed to don’t be paying attention.

“Wha- what?..Oh yes the picnic! Sure that we will have fun!”

“Well then I see you later young ones” said Celestia to his son and niece.

“Bye mom” Heynriik and Cadance said goodbye to Celestia and moved away.

“Cadie did you..did you saw it?” asked Heynriik to the pink alicorn.

“See what?”

“Well the….nevermind”

“Are you sure that he is coming, big bro?” asked Twilight to her brother.

“Of course Twily! And I’m sure that you will like him, i know him for years and is a really good friend"

“Oh! And it’s true that is foalsitter Cadance’s cousin? And that he’s........human?” asked Twilight again with a wide smile.

“Well, yes, he’s human, a very rare species that everypony thought didn't existed anymore. Also he is Princess Celestia’s son, so that makes Heynriik and Cadance cousins…I think” after that, Shining Armor heared his name being called. He turned his head and saw coming Heynriik with Cadance.

“Hey Shining there you are!” said Heynriik approaching to him.

“On the fount as we agreed, dude” then Cadance appeared at Heynriik’s side.

“Em…hi Cadance, how are you?” said Shining Armor shyly and with blush.

“I’m fine Shiny” Cadance replied with a giggle.

“CADANCE!” Suddenly Twilight jumped over her brother and fall over Cadance neck hugging her, then both placed in front of each other and did “their song”.

“Suneshine! Sunshine! Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” foalsitter and filly laughed after finishing.

"What was that?" Heynriik asked to Cadance with a chuckle.

"Filly's things...."

“Hey! are you Cadance’s cousin?” Twilight asked curious.

“Well yes, I’m Heynriik, are you Shining’s little sister?”

“Oh yes! My name’s Twilight Sparkle! And he is my BBBFF!” Twilight said jumping around and with a happy face.

“BBBFF?” asked Heynriik confused.

“It means "Big Brother Best Friend Forever", don’t take it seriously” Shining replied while Heynriik laughed a bit.

“Well guys, let’s start moving to our place!” said Cadance. All four walked out of Canterlot and headed to the woods until they stopped in a good and calm place to set the picnic.

They extended a big cloth on the ground. Cadance remove all the things of the basket and the four started eating.

“Hey- Heynriik can i…ask you something?” Twilight said with a shy look to the human.

“Sure Twilight, what is?” Heynriik said while giving a bite to his sandwich.

“Well I was thinking….you are Celestia’s son but you aren’t a pony….” The unicorn filly put a hoof on her chin. Heynriik raised an eyebrow after hearing the “you aren’t a pony” part.

"True, that's because i'm adocted"

"Then, you don't know who are your real parents? or where your from?" The little filly kept asking.

"N- no, i.....i don't know where is my real family....." Heynriik said those last words with a hint of sadness.

The human stopped eating his sandwich and looked down, with watering eyes to the red cloth. The three ponies looked at him with concerned faces.

"Heynriik, something's wrong?" asked Cadance putting a hoof on his shoulder.

"You know Twilight, until you asked me that, i never been worried about who i really am and all that stuff.... until now" Heynriik sniffed his nose and removed a tear with his hand.

"I really want to know who are my real parents and how humans are, i want to know what happened to make me end in a place where i'm one of a kind" Heynriik closed his eyes and sobbed.

"Twilight, you shouldn't have asked that!" Shining Armor said upset to his little sister.

"But i just wanted to....."

"Shush filly! you have to apologize Heynriik to make him feel sad"

"Shining!" Cadance yelled to the white colt, making him look at her ashamed.

"Sorry, it's just...i don't like Heynriik look like...this.." Cadance turned to Heynriik and lifted his sad face with a hoof. She kissed his forehead and hugged him.

"Rikie, look me at the eyes" the pink alicorn said with a sweet tone. Heynriik moved his green eyes to met with Cadance's ones.

"Since you came here, you're part of Equestria as any other pony, this is always going to be your home, we're always be your friends and family, and we'll love you no matter what you are" The young human smiled while moving his arms to hug Cadance.

"You always know what to say to make me happy, Cadance" Cadance giggled and released him softly.

"Because i know you too well, Heynriik"

"Anyway, i still want to have answers, all that "everypony knows nothing about humans" thing it's making me......a bit mad"

“You can ask to aunt Celestia when we return to Canterlot” said Cadance trying to make him comfortable. Heynriik looked to his cousin and smiled.

“It’s a good idea Cadie, maybe she knows something” Heynriik then looked to Shining and then to Twilight.

“Well guys now that we have finished with the food…what can we do?”

“I was thinking in pla-“

“YOU BRING IT!” Twilight jumped to her big brother, touched his body and run.

“What makes you think that I’m not going to catch you, little filly?” Shining smirked and started running to catch his sister.

“These two are always like this?” Heynriik asked to Cadance.

“If you knew Rikie…” Cadance gave him a playfull smile.

“Well i….i going to take a sleep…” Heynriik sat beside a tree and closed his eyes.

Heynriik opened his eyes. He didn’t know how much time he had been sleeping, but he felt that he was asleep for hours. He yawned and stood up.

He looked around and saw that nopony was around him, there wasn’t any sign of Cadance, Shining or Twilight.

“Where is everypony?” Heynriik walked through the trees, but he was still unknowing what could happen to them.

Then he saw a little purple spot running to him, it was Twilight.

“Hey Twilight! Where are Cadance and Shining?” Twilight was panting and doing strong breaths.

“Heynriik! You have to help them!” Twilight said with anguish.

“Help who?” the human said confused.

“My brother and Cadance are in trouble! A monster attacked us when we were playing hide and seek!”

“Monster? What mons- nevermind, Twilight, return to Canterlot and search for help!”

“NO!” yelled the purple filly.

“I DON’T WANT TO LET MY BIG BRO HERE!” Twilight looked with tears to the young human.

“You have to help him, it’s your friend!” Twilight said to Heynriik. He had a confused face first, but then shook his head and looked brave.

“You’re right Twilight…let’s save your brother and Cadance! No monster threats my family or friends!” Heynriik followed Twilight who guide him where Cadance and Shining Armor were.

They finally reached a big space with trees surrounding it. He saw Shining glowing his horn and Cadance who was lying on the grass unconscious.

“Guys I’m here!”

“Heynriik?! What are you doing here!? Take Twilight and go while I take care of th-“ Before Shining Armor could finish, something big and black hit him so fast that he didn't had time to react.

“SHINING NO!” the unicorn fell to the ground hurt. Twilight hide behind Heynriik and shook her body in fear.

Heynriik looked at the monster, it was like a big pony, bigger even than Celestia. He saw his black body with strong muscles, then he looked at his eyes, big and red like fire whilst his mane and tail were a mix of red and orange.

“By my mom’s shake...” Heynriik was paralyzed. He never had seen something like this before, he gave him an angry face and pointed with a finger.

“You monster! You will pay for hurting my friend and my cousin!” the monster looked Heynriik and walked slowly to him with an expressionless face.

Heynriik looked at a side and saw a little stone; he grabbed it and looked to Twilight.

“Twilight, go and help Shining and Cadance. I will distract him, don’t worry about me, I’ll be okay”.

The purple filly walked silently to her big brother. The monster turned his head to Twilight but before he could do anything, he felt a little stone hitting his cheek.

“I’M YOUR ENEMY NOW, BEAST!” Heynriik screamed to the monster that turned his head to him and roared loudly, showing his big jaw.

“Let’s see if you can follow me, pal!” Heynriik runned fastly to the forest with the monster following him. He looked back and saw that the monster was getting closer to him, being faster than the human.

"I HAVE TO RUN FASTER!" Heynriik's heartbeat was becoming more and more faster than usual. He was running like never before, but the sound of angry hoofsteps warned him that the monster was close.

"You're never will caug-" His feet crash with a rock and his body fell to the grass. Heynriik lifted his face from the ground and rubbed his head to wipe out the pain.

When he stood up, Heynriik knew that something was behind him, breathing and growling with pure rage. He turn shocked to face the monster.

Said monster was staring him with hate on his red eyes. He trotted slowly to the human with steady movements.

Heynriik only could watch how the monster was going to tear him away.....but that's a destiny which he didn't wanted to accept. He stared at the monster with courage and said.

“I don’t fear you……you don’t scare me..” Heynriik walked slowly to the monster that did a strong roar, but the human kid ignored it.

“You..hurt Cadance…and Shining…I’m not going to forgive you that”

The monster was silent, both were staring at the eyes. Heynriik moved at a side without stop staring the monster.

“I don’t know why you hurt them..i don’t think they had harmed you” When looking at the monster, Heynriik noticed something on his eyes. He felt something on that monster, no rage either hate it was like…sadness.

The monster was moving in synchronization with Heynriik in a invisible circle, like if they were preparing for a duel.

“It’s the first time that I saw something like you….i’m sure that you are the only one of your kind because I never saw or heard something like you” Heynriik stopped and walked slowly to the monster, the monster remain quiet and calm. He wasn’t with an angry face anymore and he even seemed to understand what Heynriik was saying.

“You…you are like me….living around with other species completely different to you and unknowing if there is somepony of your own kind” the monster didn’t do a single sound and keep hearing Heynriik.

“I know that feel….the feel of being alone, i had been living surrounded by ponies since i was a baby…but I want to know if there are more humans out of Equestria” Heynriik approached carefully to the monster, then he noticed something unexpected on the monster’s face.

A tear falling from his red eyes.

Heynriik continued moving until he was just in front of him. He raised his right hand to stroke gently his snout, the monster closed his eyes making Heynriik let out a smile.

“You’re not so bad at all, right? You only….was scared and misunderstood” Heynriik then released his hand of the monster’s face. The monster opened his eyes and licked Heynriik’s face, making him laugh.

“I don’t know what you are….but I think…” Heynriik put a hand on his chin thinking.

“I think that you have to get a name” the monster moved up and down slowly like doing a nod.

“Volcano….yes Volcano fits perfect with you because of your strength, your red eyes, your mane and tail that looks like fire and your…wildly nature….do you like your name?" Volcano did a neigh. Heynriik smiled taking that like a “yes”.

“Then I’ll be your friend Volcano…you’re not alone anymore..”

Chapter 4: A black rose with holes

“No way man! I don’t understand why Princess Celestia was so kind letting you stay with..that….thing” Shining Armor pointed with a hoof to Volcano, who was lying on the grass sleeping aside Heynriik.

“I know that is difficult to understand Shining, but c’mon give him a chance, he’s not so bad at all..”

“HE NEARLY KILLED ME AND CADANCE DON’T YOU REMEMBER!?” Shining put his angry face in front of Heynriik’s, the young human sighed and stood up.

“Look, my mother lets him stay with me if I look for him and make sure that he doesn’t harm anypony, if he does something bad again, you can blame me, but until that happens, don’t worry dude” Shining Armor lowered his head and sighed, he looked up to Heynriik and smiled.

“Well ok, but…how are you going to take care of him? I mean…do you even know what it is? What he eats or what to do with him? Because I don’t think that he likes to be in the castle’s garden all the day..”

“I asked to my mother and she said that it was a Horseacus Beastilis, some kind of primitive earth pony that had evolved in a different way and that rarely appear in Equestria”

“Good, that answers ONE question!”

“And about his diet….he looks like a pony, right? So i guess he eats the same kind of food as us"

“If you say...anyway, I still can’t imagine Volcano being treated like a pet, he gets angry easily and it’s VERY big compared to ponies, even with you Heynriik!, and you are enough tall” Heynriik blushed a little for his friends compliment and stroke Volcano’s mane with his hand and turned to Shining again.

“I think I have an idea…but it’s a little crazy one!” Heynriik said with enthusiasm to the white unicorn.

“What it is?” Shining asked with intrigue, Heynriik smiled and say.

“I can ride him” Shining Armor gasped and widened his eyes in surprise.

“WHAT!? RIDE HIM!? ARE YOU CRAZY RIKI?! YOU WANT HIM TO KILL YOU, RIGHT? DID YOU EVEN THINK HOW FAST HE IS? THAT YOU COULDN’T STAND MORE THAN 5 SECONDS OVER HIM? THAT YOU CAN..” Heynriik stopped Shining’s terrifying speech with a hand on the unicorn’s mouth.

"I know it isn’t a very clever thing, but I know somepony that can help me” Shining moved away Heynriik’s hand of his mouth with his hoof and raised an eyebrow.

“And what kind of crazy pony will help you with that?”

“His name is Smart Gear and is some kind of......inventor that works for the royal guard, he makes weapons, armors and a lot of weird stuff for them, maybe he can make me something that can help me to keep over Volcano without falling”.

“Are you going to see him now?”

“Well yes, he have a workshop on the castle’s basement, he doesn’t shows up very much on the castle and is all the day there”

“Wait, how do you know him then? Have anypony told you about him? Or it’s because you are hiding something, Riki?” The human kid laugh a little and put his arm over Shining’s neck.

“Let’s say that sometimes I do tests with some of his experiments and things that he creates"

“Why? Did he reward or something?”

“Oh! No! I don’t need rewards, I did it because some of them are awesome and funny, I had good times playing with them”

“I don't think it's a good idea knowing how......impish are you” Shining looked at him worried.

“Don’t worry Shiny, I’m always careful”

“Okay, then I see you later, I have to….meet with….ehem..Cadance” Shining Armor rolled his eyes and rubbed his left front hoof with the right one, Heynriik looked at him and chuckled.

“You’re going in a date with her, right?” Shining blushed after hearing that, he started to feel nervous.

“Wha- what? No! i- it’s not a d- da- date! We j- just are going t- to spe- spend some time t- tog- together!”

“HAHAAHAH don’t worry Shiny I’m not mad with you, after all, it’s pretty clear that you like her since you two meet each other..”

“Th- that’s not true we are…just….friends..” Heynriik shrugged and saw that Volcano was awake.

“Oh! Hi big boy!” Heynriik said to the big black equine who was with an emotionless face, Volcano nuzzled his head making him smile.

“Well at least he had awake with good mood..” said Shining that was moving away of him scared.

“I- I see you later Ri- Riki”

“Bye Shiny, and don’t forget that Cadance likes though guys!”

Shining Armor opened the entrance and got off the royal gardens, Heynriik was alone with his big black horse with red mane and eyes, or at least was what he thought until he heard his name coming from a grey unicorn with golden armor.

“Sir Heynriik” He turned and saw Silver Shield, his protector and bodyguard.

“Oh good day Silver, why are you here?” Heynriik smiled to him but Silver was staring at him seriously.

“As you know, my job is look for you and make sure that you are not in danger, that implies being at your side all the time” Heynriik put a confused face at that sentence.

“Yes…I already know….why you say?”

“Because I want to know WHY YOU RAN AWAY WHEN I WAS TALKING WITH THAT GUARD AFTER BREAKFAST!?” The unicorn yelled at the young human who was stunned about the fast changing mood of his bodyguard, when he recovered Heynriik looked at Silver Shield with innocent eyes.

“Hey relax Silver, I just couldn’t wait to see Volcano, I didn’t wanted to worry you!” Silver sighed and smiled at him.

“Alright, alright sorry to being mad at you, I just was worried” Silver got close to Volcano who was staring at him with his big red eyes, but the unicorn didn’t cared.

“But, I don’t understand what you see in him” Silver tried to touch the big horse with a hoof but Volcano roared him and went in a fighting pose.

“VOLCANO” Heynriik yelled at the big horse that lowered his ears and stopped looking angry, then Heynriik pointed with a finger at him and then to the grass, the horse was obedient to his human boss and sit on the ground.

“Wow….it seems that you are the only one who respects"

“Well, yes but i....want to change that" Heynriik rubbed Volcano's head with his hand, the horse closed his eyes and relaxed.

"I want to prove that he can be good, that i as anypony else can be his friend, like me, Volcano is one of his kind, in the forest he was....alone, angry, confused, i felt sad for him, like...”

"Empathy?" Silver Shield said interrupting him, Heynriik turned to the grey unicorn and blinked in confusion.

"What is....empathy?" The royal guard trotted calmly to Heynriik, he stroked Volcano's mane carefully to don't harm him.

"It's when you identify with somepony else who is suffering or having a bad time" Heynriik scratched his head and looked at Silver, the pony rotated to meet with the human.

"You felt bad for Volcano because you are alike him, somepony of a different species living in a world that don't fits with him, i'm right sir?"

"Yes, i guess it's that..." Heynriik blushed at the same time that he looked uninterested on what Silver just said.

“Sir, you really have a great sense of kindness as a brave heart for doing this” Heynriik blushed harder, it was rare to see Silver talking to him in that way.

“Well as you know….my mother always says that I have to be nice and tolerant with everypony, even with the ones who look different” Silver moved away while showing admiration to him.

“You have to feel lucky sir, there’s no many ponies that can live in this castle and say that their mother is no less than Princess Celestia”

“Yeah, the only bad thing maybe is that I have to live in the same place as Blueblood’s…”

“You two still being mean with each other, right?”

“It’s not my fault! He’s always saying that I’m a bastard, that I shouldn’t be living here, that I’m a big ugly hairless ape without manners…he has no right to say all those things!"

“Don’t worry sir, it’s not a secret that all servants, guards and near all the ponies that live here are sick of his attitude” Heynriik changed his face from anger to happiness, he opened his mouth to say something to Silver but closed it before he said anything.

“You want to tell me something, sir?” Silver asked raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I wanted to ask Smart Gear if he could make me…something to help me…..ride Volcano”

“You want to ride him? I think is a dangerous idea sir..” The grey unicorn look untrusted to Volcano that was still sit without doing any sound or move.

“It’s not so difficult, in fact when I meet him, I returned to Canterlot riding him, it was awesome! But my spine hurted a little”

“Wait, you have already ridden him?” Silver asked with a serious tone.

“Yes, but as i said, i wasn’t very comfortable, if he had…something over his body to keep me balanced, it would be more easy” Heynriik looked down and sighed.

“But like you are my bodyguard and you're always looking for me, you're not going to let me do that, right?” He crossed his arms and looked innocently to Silver Shield, he put a hoof on his chin and then nodded.

“You have my permission” Heynriik looked up to him and hugged Silver.

“THANKSTHANKSHANKSTHANKS”.

“Wow wow, relax sir” Silver released him from the hug.

“You can visit my brother now, but only if you let me be at your side”

“Ok Silver, I swear that I won’t get out of your sight” Both started walking out of the gardens, when Heynriik realized something and looked at Silver Shield confused.

“Wait, Smart Gear is your brother?!” Silver laughed about how much he lasted in notice what he just said a few moments ago.

“Exactly”

“How it is possible? I didn’t know it until now”

“Well, he tried to enter to the royal guard, but seemed that he is more skillful with his mind than with his hooves, so he decided to be an official builder and designer for the guard’s weaponry and equipment”.

“Are you mad between you two or something? Because he didn’t had talk about you when I visit him”

“No, sweet Celestia! We don’t hate each other!, it’s just that our jobs make us stay away, and we don’t have much time to see each other” Silver explained to him.

“In fact, I think this is the first time I’m going to see him in months!” He said excited.

“Then let’s go dude” Silver looked at him seriously expecting rectify that.

“I mean….Silver” Heynriik righted his words, Silver smiled.

“That’s better”

Smart Gear was sleeping over a broken couch on his workshop, tables full of papers with new weapons and techniques for the manufacturing of armors required by the royal guard, inventions and all kind of machines spread on the room, some broken, others dirty and inside of boxes, and a toolbox with oxidized tools.

“A little step fo’ the pony kind…but a big jump fo’ ‘Questria…” Smart Gear’s dream was stopped when he heard some knocks on the door, he stretched his body and stood up.

“Who’s there?” He said rubbing his head and yawning.

“It’s me Gear, can I pass?, I wanted to ask you something important” The brown unicorn recognized instantly the voice of Heynriik.

“Oi! Yeah Riki ya can pass!” He opened the door and let Celestia’s son enter to his workshop.

“You were sleeping again, right?” The young human asked.

“Ya kno’ perfectly how busy ‘n’ tired makes ma job, dude” Heynriik looked at all the mess that were his workshop and chuckled.

“Sure…” Heynriik said ironically.

“Nevermind wha’ ah said, what’s bring ya he-“ Smart Gear didn’t end his sentence, because he saw a grey unicorn with a royal guard armor behind Heynriik, he approached to him with steady look.

“Silver, wha’ the?, what are ya doin’ here? Oh! Ah kno’! ya are sorry fo’ forgetting me in all this time RIGHT?! Ya wanted to see your nerd and freak brother!?” Smart Gear put his face in front of his brother’s, Silver smiled and just said.

“It’s good to hear your Manehattan’s accent again Geary!” Smart Gear sighed and gave him a regretful look.

“Sorry to yell like tha’ bro, it’s just…it been so long time without seeing ya...Silvy”

“I missed you too, but due to this pesky colt right there, I couldn’t visit you” Both stared tearing.

“Hey! If you two aren’t going to hug, then I think I have to go and return when you remember the reason why we are here, Silver!” Heynriik said joking, both unicorns looked at him.

“We are stallions, dude!, we don’t hu-“ Smart Gear was hugged then by Silver.

“You don’t say?” Heynriik said crossing his arms and laughing.

“Now that we had ended our regards, Heynriik?” The human kid nodded and talked to Smart Gear.

“Smart, I wanted to ask you if you could make something that makes me stand sit over Volcano’s body without falling”

“Hmmmm…..let me think ah second..” Smart Gear sited on the floor and scratched his head thinking.

“Eureka! I think I have somethin’ fo’ ya!” Smart jumped and stroked fast Heynriik’s hair until it was a mess.

“And what it is?” asked Silver.

“It’s a ol’ artifact that the ponies used long time ago when they wanted to domesticate ‘n’ use big creatures like young dragons or timberwolves fo’ his own advantage.

“Do you have it?” asked Heynriik amazed.

“Well…no..but don’t worry pal! I have a book that explains how to do it” Heynriik looked down in frustration and looked again to Smart Gear.

“When you can have it?”

“It’s not very difficult, ah can make it in two o’ three days” He said safely.

“Ok, then in three days I’ll return, thanks Geary!” Heynriik and Silver where moving to the door when Smart Gear called his name.

“What!?” the human asked annoyed.

“Aren’t ya forgettin’ somethin’?” Heynriik smiled at him and stretch his fist and chocked it with Smart Gear’s hoof.

“Brohoof!” Both said while Silver raised an eyebrow unknowing what’s going on.

“Bye Riki, and you too bro!” Heynriik and Silver went away of the workshop, the unicorn looked at him curiously.

“That’s our salute” Silver nodded and both followed walking.

“I’m sorry Heynriik, but Shining Armor haven’t returned to home yet”. Said Twilight Velvet, Shining and Twilight's mother to the human.

“Ugh…okay, thank you miss Velvet, goodbye”. She nodded and closed the door, Heynriik walked away looking down with a bit angry.

“It seems that Cadance and Shiny are getting a really good time together..” He sighed and looked at the sky.

“I wish I could find my “special somepony….” He looked forward and started walking on the Canterlot’s streets.

“….but I don’t know who would love me when I’m so…..different”.

His expression changed when he heard somepony saying one of his favorite words.

“ICE CREAM! ICE CREAM! WE HAVE ALL KIND OF TASTES AND LOOKS!” He saw the summer market, a street market
that is in Canterlot every year on summer, and on one of the shops was Hot Taste, the most nicer ice cream maker and the favorite of all colts and fillies.

“Well, I guess I can think on that stuff later, now it’s time for ice cream!” He got near and saluted Hot Taste

“Hello Hot Taste!”

“Hiya sir Heynriik! What do you want this time?” Hot Taste asked with sympathy.

“I want triple one with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry!”

“HAHAHA always thinking in big right? okay” Hot Tasted lighted his horn and moved skillfully three balls of brown, yellow and pink to put it on a cone.

“Thank you, and have a nice day!” Heynriik paid him and walked happily with his tricolored ice cream, he moved his tongue up and down over it.

“Ah! this is delicious!” Heynriik walked for minutes until he finished his ice cream, when he was returning to the castle, he heard a noise and turned his head to a dark alley, there was three figures, a white unicorn, a blue earth pony and the third one was unfamiliar.

The unicorn and the earth pony were laughing and surrounding the third one, Heynriik could finally recognize one of them, he ran fast with anger flowing on his veins.

“BLUEBLOOD!” The white unicorn and the earth pony turned and saw the human.

“Well, hello my sickly bastard cousin, what brings you here?” Blueblood said with an evil tone.

“What are you doing to that pony?” Heynriik approached to them slowly, with closed fists.

“Pony? I’m sorry to tell that you are wrong cousin, because she’s not a pony, it’s a monster” Blueblood and the earth pony laughed maliciously making Heynriik get even more angry.

“ARE YOU BULLYING HER RIGHT?!”

“Bullying? We are doing what it’s right! She’s should be far away of Canterlot! This is not a place for creatures like her!” said the blue earth pony.

“You are always damaging and making fun on those who aren’t royalty or are just different to you, why Blueblood?” Heynriik said staring with his green eyes at Blueblood’s blue ones.

“Because i'm better than them, Heynriik” Heynriik got his face red like never before.

“THIS TIME YOU WILL GET WHAT YOU DESERVE!” Heynriik moved fast and grabbed Blueblood from the head and launched him strongly to the blue earth pony, making both hit the ground.

Blueblood and his friend stood up and tried to hit Heynriik with their hooves, but the human dodged and kick them on the belly making both fall to the floor, they rose again and looked at Heynriik who got a victorious face.

“You barbarian!, auntie Celestia will punish you when she knows about this!, let’s go Deep Sea”.
Blueblood and Deep Sea runned away and disappeared on the distance, Heynriik turned and saw the pony that they were disturbing.

He looked at her, she was black, with holes on the hooves, insect legs, blue mane and tail, with a jagged horn on her head.

Heynriik moved slowly without harming her, she was lying on the floor crying and hiding her face with her hooves, then the black pony lifted her head and got scared when she saw Heynriik getting closer.

“No! Please, don’t have fear on me…I don’t want to hurt you” Heynriik put a hand on his shoulder in trust, the cheese legged pony didn’t move at any moment, Heynriik got closer and closer until he was just in front of her face, he stared at her eyes, they were colored with a beautiful dark green, the most beautiful eyes he ever saw.

He stroked down gently her mane and smiled, she wiped out her tears and returned the smile, then the black pony looked around like trying to see somepony else.

“Did you make run away the other two?” she asked with a shy tone on her voice.

“Yes, I kicked their flanks out when I saw they were molesting you” Heynriik said in a heroic tone, the black pony blushed and hugged him strongly, then she kissed him on the cheek.

“Thanks for saving me!” Heynriik blushed and offered his hand to help her stand, she was a bit tall than Cadance but not more than him, both keep staring at the eyes in silent.

“Who are you?” asked the black mare.

“My name’s Heynriik, and you are…” She put a hoof on his chest and rubbed it while looking at him curiously.

“I’m Chrysalis” She nuzzled him, making him blush again, she moved in circles over him looking every part of his body.

“You are….amazing…I never saw anything like you…what are your species name?”

“I’m a human…and you are a changeling, right? I saw somepony like you a few days ago”

“Yes I’m a changeling, and it seems that everypony hates me for that!, I’m alone since I came here..” Chrysalis started to cry a little, Heynriik put a hand on her shoulder and other on her chin lifting her face.

“You…you don’t have family? Or friends?” Heynriik asked with concern.

“No, my family it’s far away of Canterlot and I tried to make friends, but the ones who aren’t scared of me, are ignoring me or even disturbing me as you have saw, actually I don’t get out of the castle but today I heard there was a special market or something like that, so I went to saw it but I was stopped by those two colts” Heynriik opened his mouth in amazement.

“Do..do you live in the castle too?! How is it that we don’t meet each other before?!” Chrysalis gasped at him.

“How it is that you live in the castle, Heynriik?” Chrysalis asked with interest.

“Well it’s because my mother is Celestia, and I live there since I was a baby”

“Yo- you are Celestia’s son? But you’re human…I’m sorry but it’s a bit strange” The changeling mare was confused, Heynriik laugh and responded.

“I’m adocted”

“Oh I see….that explains it”

“What about you, Chrysalis? Why are you in Canterlot?” Heynriik asked to her.

“Well, my mom told me if I wanted to stay this holydays on the Canterlot’s castle because she is a Celestia’s friend or something, I don’t know why but I didn’t care because I always wanted to come here and see how it looks like” Chrysalis looked down and sighed.

“But it isn’t the charming city that I thought..” Heynriik put his arm on her neck and grinned.

“Don’t worry Chrysalis, I’ll be your friend and I’ll be at your side every time you need it”

“Thanks...Heynriik”

Chrysalis smiled and blushed a little, Both, human and changeling moved out of the dark alley and walked together on the streets.

Chrysalis was all the time looking at his eyes, she didn’t look anything that wasn’t him, Heynriik noticed that and asked nervously.

“Wh- why are you looking me like that?”

“Your green eyes….they are lovely” Heynriik blushed and looked away a bit.

“Ehm…thanks for the compliment” Chrysalis laughed aswell Heynriik, he saw that they were near the summer market again.

“Hey Chrysalis….do you want an ice cream?”

Chapter 5: Answers & Feels

It was late afternoon; Heynriik was lying on his bed reading one of his favorite books, “Daring Do and the Faust’s orb” he pass the pages with his hands looking all the dangers that the treasure hunter avoids, finally he finished the book, Heynriik closed it and leaved on a little table at his side, he put his head on the pillow and looked up the wall above him.

“Boy, I’m so excited about what happens on the next book…” He sighed and placed his hands down his neck, he was tired before a really long day, but this wasn’t like the other boring and casual days, no, this was special, today happened something that maybe he will remember for the rest of his life.

“Chrysalis….and I thought my name was strange…” Heynriik couldn’t take off his mind the changeling mare, her sharp fangs, holey hoofs, blue mane and tail, jagged horn, insect wings and her eyes, her lovely big and dark green eyes.

“I don’t understand” Heynriik said to himself.

“Why ponies are scared of her? Why they hate her? She’s kind and a good pon- I mean changeling, and she didn’t done anything bad”.

Heynriik had spent a lot of time with her on the summer market, they eat some ice creams, played some fair games, and they about themselves, she was on the same age as him, also she was Amanthis's daughter, the changeling queen that he saw a few days ago, making her a princess, but she didn’t liked being called “Princess Chrysalis” because it sounded a bit awful and egocentric for her.

They talked about him too, he told her that indeed he was adopted by Princess Celestia when he was just a baby and that he lives In the castle since she found him, Heynriik told Chrysalis about his cousin Cadance, his best friend Shining Armor and Blueblood, he said that he’s always a jerk and maybe it’s the worst pony that he ever met.

Chrysalis was very interested about the humans and where they were from, Heynriik said that he didn’t know anything about the human kind and the little he knew was for the legends and stories that his mother Celestia told him.

“She’s awesome, a bit shy, but awesome after all” He moved his hands to put them on his belly.

“Also, how dare Blueblood to treat her like that? I don’t care what he says, you can’t do that to somepony just because it’s different to you” Heynriik closed his eyes picturing Chrysalis and the things that they did today on his mind, maybe they met each other hours ago, but it looked like they were friends for years.

“I want to spend more time with her…..really, I don’t know why but when I was with her I felt….good, very good, and she seemed to enjoy being at my side aswell, she was looking to me all the time, being kind and confident…..maybe because i’m the only one here that didn’t ignore her…”

Heynriik opened his eyes and sighed, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard some knocking the door.

“Who is?”

“It’s me sir, can I pass?” Silver Shield responded.

“Ok, you can pass Silver” The unicorn opened the door and walked inside Heynriik’s bedroom.

“What do you want Silver?” Heynriik asked with a bit of fear on his tone, he felt that nothing good was going to be heard from Silver’s mouth.

“Your mother, Princess Celestia, wants to talk with you in this instant on her room” Silver showed a very serious tone, he knows that this kind of situations appear always when Heynriik does a mischief or just gets on trouble.

“Y- you know abo- about what my mo- mother wants to t- talk?” Heynriik said, but he knew perfectly the reason of the call.

“No, she only told me that she wants your presence right now on her room”

“Ok, ok, I’m going now…” Heynriik jumped out of the bed and walked until he reached Celestia’s room, he knocked twice on the door and waited for a reply.

“Go inside my son, we have to talk seriously” Heynriik heard Celestia’s voice, he opened slowly the door and saw his mother, but not only her, there was Blueblood too with some wounds on his face and body, he started to think on the words that he had to say so he could explain what truly happened between his fussy cousin and him.

“Well, Heynriik” Celestia said looking with disapproval.

“Blueblood here told me that you two had met on the summer market, then you got angry with him and hurted him” Heynriik gulped and lowed his head.

“All that I want to know is, what it’s your excuse for this” Celestia said in a more concerned voice.

“I…I can explain it mom, please!” Celestia raised an eyebrow, Heynriik sighed and saw Blueblood chuckling as looking at him with a malicious grin.

“It’s true that i stroked Blueblood but was because he was bullying Chrysalis! When I saw him, I fought with him to defend her, then he and a friend that was with him runned away” Celestia looked to Blueblood with disappointment, he started to sweat nervously.

“That’s true Blueblood? You disturbed a defenseless mare as our guest on the castle?” Blueblood tried to look innocent but Celestia was staring at him expecting an answer.

“Well au- auntie Ce- Celestia…i….she…PLEASE DON’T PUNISH ME I’M SORRY!” Blueblood fell over Celestia’s front hooves crying and shaking his body, Heynriik smiled victorious.

“Blueblood, you can leave, I will talk with you later” Blueblood stood up and walked out the room lowering his head in shame, Heynriik grinned and looked to Celestia, but she was still looking serious.

“I didn’t have finished with you, Heynriik” The human kid looked at her confused.

“But, I already told you why I did that!, what do you want mom?”

“I want you to promise me, that you won’t use violence as solution anymore”

“But…but..he wa-“ Celestia put a hoof on his shoulder and looked Heynriik sadly.

“Please, my son, you know I never teach you to be like this” Heynriik lowered his head; he knew that she was right, even if he did it with his hateful cousin.

“Ok mom, I promise you that I won’t be violent again” He said shyly, Celestia smiled and stroked her hoof over Heynriik’s hair.

“Good colt!”

“Hey! You know that I don’t like that!” Celestia chuckled while Heynriik recomposed his hair.

“I’m sorry Riki, but I couldn’t resist! You’re kind of cute!” Heynriik blushed and crossed his arms.

“I’m not cute…”

“Well, Chrysalis thinks that you are” Heynriik gasped and turned to Celestia.

“Yo- you talked with her?”

“Yes, she told me that you two had been all the day together, but it’s strange that she didn’t tell me that Blueblood had disturbed her…”

“She’s a little shy, and maybe was scared too” Heynriik wanted to know the truth, why she was here? And why he didn’t saw her on the castle? He feels that Celestia was hiding…something to him.

“Mom, why I haven’t saw Chrysalis on the castle until today?” Celestia opened her mouth to answer but she stopped and rolled her eyes nervously, then she sighed and finally said.

“She got some….problems to integrate in Canterlot’” Celestia relaxed and continued.

“Changelings have a very bad reputation on Equestria, that’s why when Chrysalis came here, she didn’t got out of her bedroom very much, every time she got out of the castle, she returned sad and crying because all the ponies that she was meeting where ignoring, insulting or treating her bad”

“I tried to help her, but it was impossible to convince the rest” Celestia approached to Heynriik and smirked.

“That was until she met you, Heynriik, she told me that she was very thankful with you, to help her, to be his friend when she was alone” Celestia hugged him and whispered to his ear.

“I’m very proud of you, Riki, you had grown so much...." Celestia released him and turned slowly.

“Can I leave now?”

“Yes you can, dear” Celestia said in a clam voice, Heynriik turned and closed the door gently, after that, She lowered his head and closed her eyes.

“I should tell him but….that would break our deal” Celestia sighed and let a small tear fall on her face.

“I’m so sorry to lie you, my son….”

Heynriik and Chrysalis where at the gardens, enjoying the sun’s light and the clear sky above them, Volcano was sleeping peacefully beside them.

“So what you did?” asked Chrysalis to Heynriik.

“I throw him a little stone and ran away to make Cadance, Shining and Twilight safe, he followed me until I fell to the ground, then he got close to me and stared angrily, I was really scared”

“Wow what happened? Did you fight Volcano? Because I can’t understand how you treat him so well after all that happened…” Chrysalis looked at him confused, Heynriik chuckled and did a gesture to the changeling to take a sit at his side that she accepted.

“Well Chrissy, what I did was….” Heynriik got interrupted by a holey hoof hitting him on the shoulder.

“HEY!”

“You know that I don’t like you or anypony else calling me “Chrissy”, it sounds ridiculous!”

“Ok, ok, I’m sorry Chrysalis, in fact you`re right, you are a princess and everypony should treat you in the best possible manner” She blushed and smiled.

“Hem well…..thanks for your….kindness…”

“Like I was saying, what I did was got up and look at him in the eyes, I can’t explain why, but I felt like if he didn’t want really to hurt me, Volcano just was standing in front of me without making any move”

“Then I talked with him, I stared at his eyes, I don’t know how but I saw…sadness and loneliness on his eyes, I tried to tranquilize him, I told him that I had that feel to, the feel of being the only of your kind and alone”

“But you aren't truly alone, Heynriik, you had family, friends, a home…”

“Yes I know Chrysalis, but what I mean it’s that I’m the only known human in all Equestria, most of ponies thought before I got here that humans were myth, that they didn’t really existed” Heynriik sighed and looked at the sky.

“And now here I am, in Canterlot, being the adoptive son of a sun goddess and living like royalty, when probably my true family and those of my kind are far away of Equestria” Chrysalis hugged him and nuzzled sweetly her face over Heynriik’s face.

“You don’t have to get paranoid by that Heynriik” She released him and stared at him with her big dark green orbs.

“I’m sure that one day you will find more humans, you just have to wait” Heynriik sighed and stood up.

“You’re right Chrysalis, but….it’s not that easy, when I ask my mother, she never tells enough to make clear where I could be from”

“The only interesting thing that she told me about humans was that centuries ago they were like barbarians that landed on Equestria with their boats, to attack ponies and loot their places, stealing anything that was made of gold or had value for them"

"That’s not sounds very….soothing” said Chrysalis that was uncomfortable for hearing that.

“Yes, and I want that to be false, furthermore, that’s supposed to be a thousand years ago! Maybe humans had changed a lot since then.....” Heynriik scratched his head thinking; he snaped his fingers and pointed Chrysalis.

“And I know where we could find information about humans”

“Oh really? Where!?” asked Chrysalis excited.

“On the castle’s library, it’s the “Starswirl Hall”, a section where there’s a lot of strange books about magic, history, and mythology” Chrysalis stood up and looked to Heynriik while trying to hide a blush with her mane.

“Ca- can I g- go with y- you? I mean..if you want…”

“Of course! Why not? the Starswirl Hall it’s huge and I will need help to find what I want!, what could make you think the opposite, Chrysalis?” Heynriik asked worried.

“Well, it’s just that…..i want to repay you for saving me from those colts, it’s the least I can do”. Heynriik smiled and put a hand over Chrysalis neck.

“Then, my dear changeling princess, let’s go to the library!”

“Did you find something over there, Heynriik?” asked Chrysalis that was in front of a large bookcase, while Heynriik was searching on the other side.

“No! Nothing! There’s books about griffons, dragons, minotaur, hydra, cockatrice….even windigos! But no one about humans!” Heynriik sit on the floor, hopeless and surrounded by books.

Chrysalis moved to the other side of the bookcase to meet with Heynriik, she patted his back with a hoof trying to comfort him.

“I’m really sorry Heynriik, we have been looking for hours and we didn’t get anything related with humans”

“No, don’t be sorry Chrysalis, it’s my problem not yours, I’m very grateful for your help”

Both stoop up and looked each other, when suddenly they heard the sound of the library’s doors being opened.

“Wh- who’s there?” Heynriik asked.

“Heynriik it’s you?” he was answered by the sweet voice of Princess Celestia, she showed her head first on the end of the corridor and smiled to them, then she got close to her son and the young changeling mare.

“Hello there my dears! How are you doing in this evening?” Celestia asked with her typical charming smile.

“We`re fine mom….more or less” Celestia looked around and saw a huge amount of books scattered on the floor.

“Hmmmm…. you two seem to have problems to find something…”

“Yes majesty, we have been trying to find any book that contains information about humans….” Said Chrysalis lowering her head in sadness.

“….But we didn’t find anything” Heynriik ended the sentence showing sadness on his face too.

Celestia put a hoof on his chin and then looked away with her eyes closed; finally she looked to Heynriik and Chrysalis.

“I have something….that can help you a bit, Riki” Heynriik gasped and exploded in happiness.

“Oh really?! What it is?! Please tell me!” Celestia put a hoof on his shoulder to calm him down.

“I will show it to you dear, but you have to come alone with me” Celestia looked at Chrysalis.

“Why, majesty? What it is?” Chrysalis asked.

“It’s something that was with Heynriik when I found him” Chrysalis nodded and looked at Heynriik.

“Well, then….I see you tomorrow Heynriik?”

“In the royal garden after breakfast, as always Chrysalis” Heynriik and Chrysalis said goodbye to each other, He and Celestia got out of the library and started walking together.

“Where are we going, mom?”

“To my room"

Celestia opened her room’s doors and both went inside the room; Heynriik looked at all the beautiful decoration, the huge bed where she sleeps and the desk where she reads all the mail.

Celestia moved to her desk and glowed her horn to open one of the drawers; she levitated a silver amulet, an old brown colored letter, and a map to gave them to Heynriik.

“I always tell the servants to don’t clean in that drawer” Celestia said while getting closer to Heynriik, who was looking curious at the three things.

“Wh- what are those things mom?” Heynriik asked confused.

“This things where with you when I found you in the river aside of Canterlot”

“You found me on a river? How?” Celestia sighed and sat on the floor.

“Sit down Riki, it will take a while to tell you everything” Heynriik did as she said and sat in front of Celestia.

“Ten years ago, after I raised the moon….”

“Then I took you to the castle, since that day I decided to take care of you as my son” Heynriik was with a poker face, he didn’t know what to say or think, he sighed and calm down.

“So….i ended here because somepony wanted to save me from something that wanted to hurt me?” Celestia nodded and stood up.

“I’m sorry, but this amulet, the map and this letter written by that ”Airon Volkaer” it’s all that I got” Heynriik stood up and hugged strongly his mother, for him she was still the only mother that he knows.

“Thanks mom, this helped a lot, believe me” Celestia returned the hug and released him, then she looked at a window and saw that was time to set the moon.

“Well, it’s late dear; you should go to the bed now” Heynriik nodded and headed to the doors.

“Goodnight…..mom”

“Sleep well, my dear son, and don’t forget that I will always love you, no matters where your from or what you are, you're still my son” Heynriik closed the door and walked to his room, Celestia had let him take the amulet, map and the letter aswell, he looked at the amulet and the triple spìral triangle.

“This symbol…..i don’t why but it seems familiar to me….but I never saw it before...” Finally he arrived to his room, he left the amulet at a table aside of his bed.

He took a look at the map, like Celestia said before it showed an unknown continent, some parts of it were with names like “Iberii”, “Roma” or “Gallia”, and on a corner was an inscription in a strange language that he couldn't decipher.

"I would like to know what says here......" He said looking at the rare letters, it wasn't equestrians of course, in fact more than letters they were like symbols.

Heynriik put the map aside and looked at the letter, it was writted in perfect equestrian.

“This Airon must be a human too….but, how is he related with me? hummm....” Heynriik wiped out these thoughts and sighed, he left the letter with the amulet and looked again at the map.

“This place……I would like to go someday in the future…I want to know how the humans…are” Heynriik grabbed the amulet, the letter and the map to placed them inside a drawer of the table, He lay down on the bed, closed his eyes and before get to sleep, he remembered the dream that he had a few days ago, the one where he was in a baby form and with other two humans.

"Jorgard.....it's how humans name their place?.....i want to go there..."

Meanwhile, in some place far away of Equestria…

There was a huge building made at the border of a mountain, all made of grey stone and decorated, the roof connected to the own mountain, with a nearly endless line of stairs that went up to the mountain and leaded to two big doors with a couple of symmetric dragons in front of each other.

Inside of this outstanding building, was an old man, with hoary long hair, blue eyes and a beard covering his chin, he wears a large white coat, brown leather shirt, leather boots and pants made of fur.

He is inside a room full of bookcases and shelves, most of them with dirty books, covered with spider webs or dust.

This old man it’s sitting on a chair, writing a book with a plume full of ink on a desk with a small torch up of his head lighting him, he feels tired, he have been waiting for years for someone in particular, but that person didn’t appear yet, he’s starting to loss any hope, and due his age he can’t wait any longer.

He puts the plume on a glass, grabs a large wood stick with the head of an eagle on the top and gets up of the chair, he walks until he is in front of a curved triangular door with a hole in the middle, he inserts the wood stick, making the eyes of the eagle glow a blue light.

The doors opened slowly and the old man walks inside, he encounters with a big room that was full of paintings and drawings on the walls, these showed scenes of warriors wearing a crimson colored armor with golden borders and helmets of the same color, they were armed with all kind of weapons, swords, axes, two handed swords, hammers, and all of them where fighting against an enemy in common, dragons.

These dragons showed some fighting against them, others burning villages or chasing people and others just flying over a green mountainous landscape.

The old man lifted his head up and looked at a huge hole on the roof that lighted the center of the room, where was three round steps that ended on a rock, in that rock was a golden trident nailed on it.

The trident reflected the light above him and emanated an invisible energy, making it look like something divine, it had a description in a strange language at his handgrip.

The old man stayed quiet looking at the trident; he sighed and looked at the sky through the hole on the roof.

“Someday, Heynriik, you'll return home...."

Chapter 6: Like a free bird

“Can we try the spell again, please?” asked Twilight doing puppy dog eyes to Heynriik.

“NO! YOU SAID THAT IT WILL CHANGE THE COLOR OF MY HAIR, BUT INSTEAD OF THAT YOU’RE MAKING MY HAIR A CIRCUS!” Heynriik said with a rainbow colored crest on his head.

“Please Riki!, I promise you that now I’ll do the spell correctly, just one more time! Please please please please…” Twilight approached fastly to him and started begging while shaking his ropes and saying repeatedly “please” until Heynriik sighed heavily and moved away her gently.

“Ok Twilight, ONE more time, the last one” Heynriik remembered then that his mother Celestia told him that Twilight have a big talent for magic, but that she was still a filly, so she needed all the possible help to learn and perform new spells.

Also, he couldn’t say “no” to her, he didn't wanted that little cute unicorn to feel sad.

“But only if you let me eat some of your mother’s cookies, deal?”

“Deal!” said the purple filly; Heynriik nodded and got in position to receive another magic beam.

“Are you ready?” Twilight asked while glowing her horn.

“Yes, and please, don’t fail” Twilight shot a beam from her horn to Heynriik, a huge flash blinded both, when Heynriik recovered his sight he saw Twilight jumping around him.

“IT WORKED, IT WORKED! THE SPELL WORKED!” Heynriik was confused, he touched his head and noticed the he didn’t have the crest anymore.

“Oh really? It’s my hair normal now?” Heynriik asked smiling.

“Hemmm….well…the spell was for changing somepony’s mane to red….so now yours it’s red, not brown like usually”

“Wow! Now my hair it’s red? I would like to see it” Twilight trotted inside her house and returned with a small mirror, she gave it to Heynriik who started to look his new red colored hair from all angles with the mirror.

“It’s kind of cool but….i would like to have it brown again, Twi” Heynriik placed the mirror on a table and looked to Twilight, she nodded and glowed her horn to shot Heynriik again, he closed his eyes to avoid being blinded by another flash, when he opened them he grabbed the mirror again and saw his hair with the usual brown.

“Finally, one hour later you are with me again, my beloved brown hair!” Heynriik said in a narcissist tone making Twilight giggle, He left the mirror on the table and looked at Twilight.

“Now, you have to make your part of the deal, Twilight” She nodded and went inside the house.

Heynriik was looking at the sky, lying on the grass, after eating a few cookies baked by Twilight’s mother and drink an orange juice; he was at the back garden of Twilight’s house taking care of her.

Usually, this is Cadance’s job who is her foalsitter, but this time she couldn’t due she wanted to “spend some time” with Shining Armor on the morning, so she asked him if he could replace her because also Twilight’s parents were out too, making her stay alone on the house.

Heynriik accepted because he didn’t have nothing to do that morning, also he wanted to know Twilight better, a few weeks ago he didn’t know anything from her except for what Shining told him when they were together.

But now, she was one of his friends, Twilight was more smart and talented than the other fillies of her age, also since Celestia is her personal teacher, both meet around the castle some days and spend a bit of time talking.

Heynriik looked around to see the garden, it wasn’t big as the one of the castle but it was okay,it had plants, a small wall surrounding it and a table with four chairs on the center.

Then he noticed something over his belly, he saw Twilight sleeping peacefully over him, she let out a yawn and crossed her hooves to placed her head on them, Heynriik smiled, he couldn’t resist the cuteness of the scene, he put his head on the grass and placed his arms down.

“Cadance….you owe me a big one…” Heynriik wasn’t stupid, he knew perfectly what Cadance and Shining Armor were doing, a date.

“I know that these two love each other, it doesn’t matter how many times they deny it, it’s obvious!” Heynriik didn’t mind that they were in love and that they start dating, they were his closest friends and he’ll never complain about them.

He was more worried about himself, even before Celestia told him how she find him and show those things she found with him, there was still many things unclear about his origins.

“How did that Airon managed to sent me here in a crib!? He only could do that if he was already here, I don’t think that I came to Equestria directly from….how it was? Foalgard? No……Jorman? Wait…..Jorgard! Yes it was Jorgard” Heynriik continued passing thoughts and ideas on his mind.

“Anyway, I would like to know how it looks like….and if I have family there” Heynriik closed his eyes and felt sleepy.

“All these things are going to make my brain explode…”

Heynriik opened his eyes again, but he was no longer on Twilight’s house, he was….flying? No he wasn’t, he felt that he was being hold by something or someone, he looked up and saw a face, but it wasn’t a pony’s face, it was a human one.

“What the?....wh- who are you?.... what’s happening” if the situation wasn’t awkward enough, he couldn’t hear his own talking, instead of that, he babbled.

He looked at his body and….he was a baby….again.

“This dream again?! Once is enough!” of course, whoever was holding Heynriik, ignored this due he really was doing nonsense sounds.

“Relax little one, don’t make this harder than it is” Heynriik didn’t recognized the voice, but it sounded familiar.

The human lowered him and he was put on a basket.

“Hey! What the hay?!" Heynriik said in a mix of angriness and fear, but again the human only heard more babble.

The human stroked Heynriik’s hair and kissed him on the forehead, Heynriik could see now all the human’s face, it had blue eyes, hoary hair and beard.

“I can’t believe we have to do such a thing to an innocent child like you, Heynriik” Heynriik finally could remember that voice.

“It’s one of the humans of the boat! And that means two things: he could be “Airon”, the one who write the letter or “Joriik”
who said it was......

.......my true father.

Heynriik saw how the human put a little blanket to cover his body and then he put under him something that he couldn’t saw.

Then he saw how the human sat on his knees and with a plume started writing on a piece of clear brown paper and placed it on the basket as well.

He saw the human’s face over his again; he was tearing with disconsolate eyes.

“I want the Five Divines to forgive me about this…because I will never forgive myself” The human grabbed the basket with Heynriik, in a baby form inside it, and got close to a river.

“This is such a curious river… it flows at the opposite direction as any other that I saw, it will send you inside of….Equestria instead to the sea, so don’t worry, with some luck you will be found by a fisher or anyone that it’s near the river”.

He looked a last time to Heynriik who was confused all the time.

“Whe- Where’s the sense in all this? It’s impossible to…” Heynriik stopped when he saw how the sun disappeared quickly and was changed for the moon.

He looked at his left and saw a big mountain with a city aside a waterfall.

“Canterlot…it’s Canterlot” Heynriik thought, then he understood everything, the crib, the human, the river, he was in the time when Celestia found him.

The human lowered the crib slowly on the river and before he released it, he said a last words to the baby with a smile.

“Heynriik, be strong” The human released the basket and Heynriik feel how it floated over the water, then his sight went dark.

“It happened again, mom” Heynriik said to Celestia, he had interrupted her when she was lying over a big cushion, reading her new received mail.

“What dear?” Celestia asked confused.

“A dream, one of that dreams…” Heynriik looked to Celestia scared and paralyzed, she turned her head, lifted a cushion and place it in front of hers.

“Sit and tell me more, please” Heynriik nodded and sat on the cushion; he looked at Celestia who was giving him a charming smile.

“What was that dream about?” asked Celestia.

“I…I was a baby….like the last one but…this time we were outside, near of a river” Celestia raised an eyebrow after hearing that.

“We? There was anypony with you?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t a pony” Heynriik lowered his head and closed his eyes.

“It was….a human?” asked Celestia in a worried tone, Heynriik just nodded.

“He was…sad and crying…..i heard him saying to me that he would never forgive himself for doing that…” Celestia lifted his head with a hoof; she smiled to him and nodded.

“You know where you two were? Equestria? Or the human land?” asked Celestia while she stroked her white and smooth hoof over his hair.

“We were…..near of Canterlot, in fact, we were in the same moment when you found me…” Celestia opened wide her mouth and then closed it, she put a hoof in her chin thinking.

“Heynriik…..if you remember….in the letter said that you should return one day to your land of origin"

“But….i don’t think that moment had arrived” Heynriik looked confused to Celestia.

“Wh- what? Why not? Why I can’t go t-“ Celestia shut Heynriik putting a hoof on his mouth.

“My dear, you are just ten years old! You’re still a colt, I can’t let you do such a dangerous thing” Celestia released her hoof from Heynriik’s mouth and looked at him with concern.

“Since I brought you here, I knew that you’re destiny it’s far away from Equestria…. But, did you have any idea were to go? What to do? We are talking about traveling to somewhere completely unknown…” Heynriik sighed in defeat and stood up; he looked to Celestia in silence and with tears falling from his eyes.

“M- mom did you……did you really love me or….you just brought me here for pity?” Celestia was shocked, she stood up and went closer to Heynriik,trying to wipe out Heynriik’s tears with her right hoof, then she started tearing too.

“Wh- why did you ask such a thing, Riki? I love you, I care of you, I don’t and ever minded the fact that you are from a different species” Both wrapped each other in a hug, sobbing and letting out a thousand of tears.

“I know that I’m not your real mother, Heynriik….” Celestia said with a sob.

“…But you always will be the only one that I can call my son” Celestia released him; Heynriik wiped out his tears with the hand and smiled to Celestia.

“I know…mom….i’m very grateful for what you did, for what you teach me and for all the attention that you gave me…” Celestia smiled warmly and returned to her place to continue reading letters, Heynriik said goodbye to her and got out of the room.

Then, he remembered something, the object that Smart Gear were building that could help him to ride Volcano, it had passed three days, the time he said that he needed to make it.

Heynriik started running through the castle’s corridors, when he turned to the left on a corner, he bump to something and fell to the floor, he felt some pain on his head and scratched it, when he stood up he saw that the thing which he had bumped, was Smart Gear himself.

“Ouch! Ya can’t run like that in the castle Heynriik, ya can hurt somepony…..like me” Heynriik giggled and smiled at him.

“Sorry Smart, but I was excited to ask you if you had finished that..hem…thing that you told me a few days ago”

“Oi! Of course boy! In fact I was goin’ to told you that I have finished it!” Heynriik jumped in joy, and hugged Smart Gear.

“Ok, relax big boy, I kno’ that ya are happy, but there’s no need to make this a sentimental moment”

Heynriik released him and blushed; Smart Gear put a hoof around his neck.

“Now, let’s see if it works, mate”.

Heynriik, Smart Gear and Volcano were on the royal garden going to test the “riding artifact” like Smart Gear liked to name, it divided in two parts, one was a curved piece of leather with four strings, two with rings and the other two could be connected like a lock.

The other part was just some feather lines, which could fit perfectly on Volcano’s mouth, with a long string that united both sides of this part.

“So, how it works?” asked Heynriik.

“The book that talked ‘bout this artifact said that we have ta put the “sit part” over his body and the “ grabbing muzzle” on his face and wit’ this long string being back of his head”.

“This is the “sit part”” said Smart Gear lifting it with his magic, trying to explain something like this to a young boy like Heynriik was going to be a challenge, but the brown unicorn knows that he’s enough smart to learn how it worked.

“It’s used so you can sit over Volcano’s body, with your two legs in these rings, the other two strings had to be connected surroundin’ Volcano’s body so it doesn’t fall and with your body looking in the same direction as him”.

“Now, the other one, ya see that one side it’s wider than tha other, right?, we have to put this on Volcano’s face trough the wider part, so all the feather lines cover him ‘n’ the long string with a “U” form it’s back o’ his head”. Heynriik nodded and grabbed the sit part while Smart Gear had the grabbing muzzle.

“Well, let’s start” Heynriik put the leather piece over the big black horse and then he positioned under his body looking up to connect the two strings doing a “click” sound.

Meanwhile, Smart Gear was going to put the muzzle thing on Volcano’s face, but he didn’t allow Smart Gear and was doing neighs, roars and shaking his head brutally, making the brown innovative unicorn angry.

“C’mon big buddy! What’s yer problem!?” said Smart Gear, who was trying and trying, but Volcano was still rebelling, finally the horse moved forward fast and hit Smart Gear to the ground.

“Hey Volcano! If you don’t be quiet you will be sent to your hut for being bad!” Heynriik said to the horse that looked at the human with regret.

Volcano lied on the ground and stays quiet as Heynriik said.

“Good boy” said Heynriik, Smart Gear recovered his consciousness, stood up and lifted again the muzzle with his magic, he put it on Volcano’s face and positioned the long uniting string back of the horse head.

“Well, now we have to try, but I’m not goin’ to be over this bucker’s body….” Heynriik chuckled at Smart Gear.

“Okay dude, I will be the one who does the test” Heynriik jumped over Volcano, sited on the leather piece and put his foot inside the rings.

He grabbed the string with both hands and set to the test.

“Well, hummm……stand up Volcano!” The big horse stood up as his human owner said.

“Ok, hem…let’s start going slow, got it Volcano?” the horse neigh in response, Heynriik take it like a “yes” and grabbed strongly the grabbing string.

“Remember to use that string beside you to make Volcano understand your moves, if you want to go right or left, you just have to pull the string to the side you want” said Smart Gear.

“Got it, Smarty”

Volcano trotted slowly through the royal garden, Heynriik smiled sawing that this riding artifact worked perfectly, he was comfortable and moving Volcano wherever he wanted with the help of the string.

“It’s good but….we need more space”.

“What are you thinkin’? And don’t tell me that it’s ‘bout goin’ out o’ Canterlot wit’ him…” Heynriik controlled Volcano to be in front of Smart Gear, he smirked to him, and the brown unicorn feared the worst.

“…..Ya are goin’ to do it, right?”

“Yup, Hiya Volcano!” Heynriik pulled the string strongly and make Volcano shake his front hooves and stay with two back ones while neighing loudly.

Volcano trotted fast and got out of the garden while Smart Gear was still there with a shocked face.

“….What did jus’ happened?....”he said, meanwhile Volcano was trotting fast with Heynriik riding him through the Canterlot’s streets, all the ponies were shocked or running scared due the intimidating look of Volcano.

Finally, they find the Canterlot’s entrance and got out of the city, heading to the forest.

Meanwhile, in Celestia’s room.

Princess Celestia sighed happily after reading all the mail that she received today, it took more time than she thought it would be, but she felt that it had worth the way.

She walked to the balcony to see the splendorous sight of the city of Canterlot, she look at the beautiful and clear sky; she closed her magenta eyes and smiled.

But this relaxing time was interrupted when he heard some loud noises from the streets, she looked down and saw something big and black with a smaller figure over him running to the Canterlot’s entrance, the ponies where getting off of his path and shocking.

She didn’t know what it was at first, but then Celestia could recognize them, it was Heynriik riding Volcano.

She instead of being angry or mad for his son’s action, did a cute chuckled and placed her front hooves at the border of the balcony.

“Oh Heynriik…..seems that it doesn’t matter how crazy it’s your promise, you always make it”

Then the happiness of her face was wiped out when Celestia heard some knocks on the door, she turned and got close to the door.

“Who is it?” asked Celestia.

“Majesty?, we just had received an important letter that you may want to read it now, can i come inside?” Celestia knew that the voice was one of her guards.

“Oh, yes please come in” the doors where open and the unicorn guard was shown to Celestia, he bowed and lift a stamped letter with his magic.

“Here you have, majesty” said the guard, Celestia put the letter on her bed.

“From who is this letter, guard?” asked Celestia curiously.

“It’s from Amanthis, the changeling queen, majesty” Celestia widened her eyes, and put a hoof on her chin.

“You can leave” Celestia waved a hoof and the guard left the room.

Celestia lied on the bed and opened the stamped letter, as she thought; it had the changeling’s queen signing, she read it:

Dear Princess Celestia.

As you remember, our “deal” between our countries was to confirm your idea, that you ponies can love and tolerate all kind of creatures that live in this world, that includes griffons, dragons, zebras and of course….changelings.

So before of months searching a solution to our hostilities, we agreed in see if that idea could work for us, the changelings, then was when i offered you to take care for a month of my idealist and extremely kind daughter, Chrysalis, so she could live on Canterlot, a changeling princess among ponies.

Being a completely disgrace to the changeling race due his talks about we changelings, cooperating and living in peace with your kind, I thought that it could work because she were with those who could understand her.

But instead of that, she told me on her letters that she were hated and even chased by the ponies, because they thought she is evil.

Even if I want her to be really evil, I think this meant that ponies aren’t so tolerable and kind as you thought, right?

But since some weeks, she talks about somepony in particular…unless that he ISN’T A PONY, but I think you know who I’m talking about.

Heynriik, your beloved yet strange son, the only known human, becomes friend of my daughter, you may think it’s cute seeing both laughing, having fun, and being together as everypony of their age does.

But I, the queen of the changelings, and the one that shall guide her in the right way, I think it’s DISGUSTING! You know why? Because I hate the fact that she loves him, a changeling princess should be away of that kind of scum!

How do I know she loves him? Because of the form that she talks about him in her letters, her beloved bipedal hero, her knight with green innocent eyes, and the most important person on her life, I refuse to look at that letters again to avoid vomit!

With all this, my dear Celestia, I just want to say that if they still together, I will break our deal, and your little ponies will suffer the consequences.

Sincerely.

Amanthis, the Changeling Queen.

Celestia finished reading the letter, she was scared and angry atthe same time, for the unforgiving petition of the changeling queen, not only because Heynriik would reject stopping being Chrysalis friend, because of Chrysalis herself, if was true that she loves him, then if they got separated….she didn’t want to imagine the pain would cause to somepony innocent and kind as Chrysalis.

Heynriik was lying on the grass of the forest looking at the sky, she was starting to feel sleepy and Volcano seems recovered after three hours with Heynriik riding him thanks to this new artifact.

He saw Volcano approaching to him and neighed, Heynriik stretched his body and stood up.

“Yeah, your right Volcano, we should return home, I’m sure mom’s worried” He jumped over him and grabbed the string.

Volcano trotted fast heading to Canterlot, while Heynriik felt the wind hitting his ropes and hair, he smiled because he never had felt so good at any other moment at his life.

In the time he was riding Volcano, both were like connected, like on the same body, he could hear his breath, his heartbeats, he didn’t know how to explain it, but it was awesome.

He feel that the world was all his, that he could do anything and go anywhere, that makes increase his desire to travel to the human lands, but he knew that Celestia was right about that it’s too dangerous for a young colt like him.

“I promise, someday, I will go…no one will stop me....” Heynriik said before he entered to Canterlot.

Chapter 7: Love, Love, Love.

“You should had asked me for permission, Heynriik”

“But… but…. i…” Heynriik was lost of words, Celestia had call him to get an explanation of why yesterday for a few minutes all the Canterlot’s citizens were screaming and running away from Volcano’s path, making most of the high class members of Canterlot criticize Celestia’s passivity with her son’s doubtful behavior for somepony of the royal family.

Heynriik was downcast and sad for making his mother fall in shame, he couldn’t count the times that both ended talking about a prank, fight or any other not very gentle situations that Heynriik ends up.

“Nopony had get hurt, Right? So…I think..it’s not…so…bad” Heynriik tried to hide his shame, but was worthless, Celestia approached to him with a serious expression and frowning.

“And if Volcano had hurt anypony? Who would have taken the responsibility?”

Celestia was staring at him, showing more disapproval to Heynriik who was starting to be for the first time of his life scared of Celestia.

Heynriik remain silent, trying to evade the sun’s mare magenta eyes, he sighed heavily and looked up to meet with Celestia’s face.

“……Me…it would be my fault…” Heynriik started tearing away, Celestia changed his expression to one of sadness.

Celestia rubbed slowly his hair with a hoof, Heynriik looked up and saw his adoptive mother with a warm smile, then she sat with her four hooves lying on the floor and make a signal to Heynriik so he does the same.

“Sit Riki, and listen” Heynriik look confused after hearing that, he sat and crossed his legs while staring at Celestia, his green eyes met with her magenta ones.

“Heynriik….i know that you always have good intentions….that you’re kind and caring with all your friends, family and almost all ponies in Canterlot”.

“But…when you do something bad like this, you end crying or trying to find an excuse, and that is not the way to do it, my dear” Heynriik was confused; he didn’t know the reason of this speech.

“Mom why….why are you telling me all this? What do you want to mean?”

“What I want to say dear….is that I want you to be more mature when you fail or you have to face a hard problem” Heynriik looked down and rubbed his left arm with the right one, Celestia smiled and lifted his head with her hoof, their eyes meet again.

“Everypony have fails on his life Riki, and you don’t have to see them as something that surpass you, you have to see it as lessons, learn from them” Heynriik returned the smile to Celestia and nodded in agreement.

“Because if you don’t learn from your errors, if you don't take the responsibility of your actions, you will end with your heart growing dark and weak” Celestia smirked at him and put her face closer.

“And….from what I heard….you want to be a great knight when you grow up, right?” Heynriik gasped and stood up.

“YES! And I will be the most heroic and strong knight in all the history of Equestria!” Celestia giggled at the enthusiasm and energy of Heynriik’s words.

“Oh! Then you should take this with the bravery and honesty that a real knight haves, right Riki?” Celestia stood up and continued smiling at him, Heynriik erased the smile from his face and returned to feel sad, he looked to Celestia directly at the eyes.

“I’m sorry mom, I really promise that I won’t do anything like that never again” Celestia closed her eyes and smiled shyly.

“I forgive you, my little one” said Celestia in a charming tone.

Heynriik was going to get out of Celestia’s room when she called out his name.

“One last thing dear, about your….punishment”

“Oh really!? I mean…..okay, what it will be?”

“Well, first I want to know, where did you two go to make Volcano return with his body covered of mud?”

“Hehehe…mom, that’s because we went to….the Everfree forest”.

“Th- the Ever- EVERFREE FOREST!?” Celestia said nearly shouting.

“Please don’t be mad! We only been there no more than five minutes and we didn’t go very far”. Celestia looked at him seriously; Heynriik was sweating and smiling badly.

“But then it started to rain in the Everfree forest and some Timberwolves tried to catch us, Volcano trotted very fast, he passed through some puddles and a muddled ground so when we returned to Canterlot , he was all dirty” Celestia sighed and looked back at him.

“How many times I told you that is a VERY dangerous place, even if Volcano was with you!?” said Celestia madly.

“I- I’m really sorry mom but….but I was….curious…” Heynriik lowered his head and rubbed his left arm, Celestia sighed heavily trying to relax, she approached to Heynriik who lifted his head to her.

“You won’t be allowed to leave Canterlot for a while, understood?” Celestia looked at Heynriik coldly, the human kid keep silent and just nodded.

Celestia moved her hoof slowly to rub Heynriik’s brown hair and smiled sadly, Heynriik returned the smile and did a step forward to hug her, Celestia gasped first but then she put a hoof around him to return the hug.

“You’re such a rascal, Riki”

“I’m sorry, I promise that I will change” Celestia released him from the hug and shook her head.

“No…”

“No….what?”

“I don’t want you to change….i just want you to be more careful of your actions and their consequences”

“Hum…ok” Celestia pointed a hoof to him and looked serious again.

“Also, I think you deserve a…..punishment”

“WHAT!?” Heynriik screamed, Celestia frowned and get closer to him staring at his green eyes.

“You have to start being responsible, and you know it!” Heynriik sighed and nodded, Celestia smirked and put a hoof on her chin until she finally found the perfect punishment for this situation.

“Like Volcano is YOUR horse and you’re supposed to take care of him, you will clean him and take off all the dirtiness that he still have since both returned” said Celestia in a boss like tone.

“Well…it seems easy but it isn’t, mom”

“Really? Why?”

“He didn’t like to be cleaned, he always acts like a jerk when somepony tries to wash him, he prefers to clean himself on the river” Celestia laughed for a while making Heynriik laugh too but in a more shy tone.

“It seems that he is a bit equal to you, Riki!”

“Yeah sure…anyway if I got close to him with a towel, a sponge or anything like that he’ll buck my face very hard!”

“I’m sorry dear, but it’s YOUR punishment, you have to search a way to do it”

“Ok mom, don’t worry” Heynriik was opening the door but he stopped and looked back to Celestia.

“Hemmm mom…”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for being so kind, I’m very lucky that you were my mother”

“And I am glad that you’re my son, Heynriik” Heynriik smiled while closing the door, leaving Celestia alone on her room.

“If you knew how much I love you, Heynriik” Celestia said while looking to the desk where was the letter recently sent by the changeling queen.

“Here ya got, boy!” said Smart Gear showing one of his newest inventions to Heynriik in the royal garden.

“Th- this thing is supposed to help me clean Volcano?” Heynriik looked at the strange artifact, it was a hosepipe connected to a steel box with four wheels, some lights, three switches and two little containers at both sides.

“Riki, this is the “Super Dirt Hunter 5000” the ultimate machine fo’ cleanin’ anything in a jus’ a few seconds!” Heynriik circled the machine curious and then looked to Smart Gear.

“How does it work?”

“It’s easy, see these switches over here?, the first one is makes the S.D.H 5000 throw clean water, ya even can choose if ya want it cold or hot!”

“The second applies soap to the water, so the thing or pony that is bein’ cleaned shines like it was the sun itself!”

“And the last one blows hot air so isn’t necessary use a towel to be dry again!” Smart Gear finished his speech; he sighed happily and looked proud.

“Riki, I have the feeling that this little creation of mine is goin’ to make me live like a king, oh yeah! I see it! Living in a penthouse on Manehattan, lying in the most fancy and comfortable couch eating all the food that my servants give me before i jump to a chocolate pool…..oooooohhhhhh…” Smart Gear started to spread saliva from his mouth due his "living like a king" daydream, Heynriik chuckled and slapped him to wake him up

“Hey!”

“Sorry Smarty, but your mind was again to far of reality”

“Nah….well, be careful with that, I don't want you destroy my only way to get a chocolate pool!” Heynriik giggled and grabbed the S.D.H 5000 by the end of the hosepipe.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be carefull dude” Smart Gear waved a hoof and returned inside the castle, Heynriik headed to Volcano.

After reaching the very end of the royal garden, he saw the gigantic pony like creature lying asleep on the grass, half body being lighted by the sunshine and the other part was shadowed by a nearby tree.

Heynriik knew that Volcano had a very good ear, not only that, he was always aware of all the things that surround him, the black coated horse knew always when someone or anything was near him even if he couldn’t see it.

Celestia explained to Heynriik that this could be because his lack of magic had force him to develop his senses and body to survive, due his wildly nature, making him have a stronger anatomy to run faster than others, better sight and a more sensitive ear.

While Volcano was concentrated on his dreams, Heynriik moved stealthy and crouching to him trying to don’t wake him up or make him run away, Volcano was an animal but not a fool.

Heynriik went closer and closer until he was enough near of him, he stopped and turned on the machine.

“It’s washing time, Volcano!” the hosepipe started to shot a lots of water that hit directly to Volcano, who awaked and stand up quickly.

Heynriik moved side to side the head of the hosepipe to take off all his mud, but then the black horse trotted away at the speed of light.

“Hey! Don’t run away, coward!” Heynriik tried followed him but was worthless due Volcano’s speed; he faceplamed and grunted while looking his target walking to the other extreme of the garden.

“I have the feeling that this will take longer than I thought…”

Heynriik was lying on the grass looking at the sky breathing heavily and sweating, trying to take a break after thirty minutes running behind Volcano’s back without achieving his goal.

“Why….why i…..i had to bring him here….that hydrophobic…..thing” Heynriik closed his eyes, he felt defeated and humiliated by his own horse, but when he opened his eyes he saw two big green orbs watching him.

“Good morning, Riki!”

“Hi….Chrysalis” Heynriik got up and remove with his hands some dust of his ropes, he looked at Chrysalis who was confused.

“What…were you doing? I wanted to tell you….something but I haven’t found you in the castle” asked the young changeling mare.

“Remember the little "excursion" that Volcano and I did yesterday?” Chrysalis nodded and then giggled, Heynriik smiled, he couldn’t resist the cuteness of her laugh.

“Well, he returned a bit dirty and I’m trying to clean him with this machine that Smart Gear gave me, but he always ran away when i'm close to him"

“How so?, I thought he was obedient to you…” asked Chrysalis.

“Yes, he is…..except when he have to be cleaned…”

“I guess is not the first time that this happens…” said Chrysalis approaching to him with a smirk.

“Actually, always when he needs to be cleaned, I go with him to the river down of Canterlot and I let him wash himself there, he likes that very much” Heynriik sighed and looked sad to Chrysalis, she turned sad too after noticing his changing of mood.

“But now, mom doesn’t allow me to go out of Canterlot for what happened yesterday…”

“Hummm…..i think I can help you” Heynriik smiled in joy first but then looked at Chrysalis disappointed.

“H- How will you help me? Do you have any idea?”

“Yes, but don’t worry, you don’t need to do anything, in fact it’s quite simple…” Heynriik was intrigued, but he didn’t mind what was going to do Chrysalis if works to stop Volcano.

“Wait here, I’ll return with him in a few minutes” Heynriik nodded and Chrysalis put a hoof on her chin.

“Where did he go?”

“The last time I saw him, he was going to the tree on the center of the garden” Chrysalis headed to there, leaving Heynriik alone with the SDH 5000.

“Heynriik!” Chrysalis yelled to the awaiting human, Heynriik turned and saw Chrysalis flying along with Volcano, who was following her.

“Wow…..she really did it…” Heynriik couldn’t believe it, Volcano was calm, he wasn’t bundle or trapped in any way, he was free and following Chrysalis without protest.

Chrysalis moved aside of Heynriik and smirked to him, Heynriik returned the smile and saw Volcano stopping in front of him.

“I….i cannot believe you’ve convinced him to stop being a jerk! What have you done?” Chrysalis was going to answer but she shut her mouth looking back doing a silly face and whistled, Heynriik was suspecting.

“Something wrong, Chrysalis?” Chrysalis looked at him, she lowered her head and sighed.

“Heynriik I……I have done a mind control spell to Volcano…” Heynriik was shocked to hear that.

“Yo- you are….controlling Volcano’s mind right now?” The human kid asked, Chrysalis nodded shyly and tried to evade eye contact with Heynriik.

“I’m really sorry…..you said that wanted him to stay quiet and…I thought that a mind controlling spell was the best option” Chrysalis sat on the ground and looked with regret to Heynriik, he looked to Volcano’s face that had the same retarded looking that a zombie could have, then he looked at his eyes, they weren’t red anymore, instead they were green.

“This….this is….”

“I know, is wrong to do something like this to Volcano, i’m go-“ Heynriik cut Chrysalis words hugging her so strongly that she was close to suffocate.

“THIS IS AWESOME! NOW WE CAN CLEAN HIM WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM…..thank you Chrysalis” Heynriik released the changeling mare, Chrysalis coughed and breathed slowly until she was okay again.

“You….you’re not angry for me? For brain washing Volcano?” Asked Chrysalis surprised by Heynriik’s acceptance.

“Oh no! I can’t be angry with you, Chrysalis, you’re a very good friend and you had helped me an amount of times!” Heynriik offered his hand to Chrysalis to stand up, she accepted to let him help her to get up.

Chrysalis looked happily to Heynriik, she got close to him and rubbed her body against him, making the human blush, then Heynriik stroked her mane with a hand.

“You’re awesome, Heynriik”

“Hehehee, I know” both stopped this sweet moment and looked to the brain washed horse.

“Let’s get started!.....are you going to help me, lady Chrissy?” Chrysalis giggled at Heynriik’s gentlecolt like words, but then she slapped him on the stomach with a hoof.

“Ouch! That hurts!” whined Heynriik.

“Sorry, but this lady doesn’t like to be called Chrissy” Heynriik chuckled at that, Chrysalis got closer to Volcano and looked attentive to his mane and then his tail.

“I don’t think that machine of yours will clean properly Volcano’s mane and tail, they are too curly, maybe if we use a sponge over those, they would be cleaned well” Heynriik nodded while grabbing the SDH 5000’s hosepipe.

“Ok, you Chrysalis will work the mane and the tail while I take care of the rest of the body”

“Wait, we didn’t have any sponge, either a bucket full of water”

“Go ask Cleo, a servant of the castle, I’m sure she has some of those” Chrysalis used her wings to fly inside the castle while
Heynriik waited in front of his brain controlled horse.

“You won’t get away anymore, buddy….”

“Brushie, brushie, brushie, brushie.....” Chrysalis was brushing Volcano’s mane with a sponge full of water while Heynriik dried him with the SDH 5000, he moved the hosepipe to all sides disappearing the dampness of the black horse.

Heynriik turned off the machine and walked to Chrysalis; she looked at him and leaved the sponge on the bucket with her magic.

“I think is enough” Heynriik said looking to Volcano, Chrysalis had make him fall asleep on the ground before cleaning him.

“Ok, I’ll break the spell and he’ll return to have control on himself” Chrysalis glowed her horn, Heynriik looked how Volcano opened his eyes, they were red again.

The big horse moved his head to look at them and rolled to have his body in his typical lying position, head looking forward and his four hooves down of his body, Volcano stood up and stretched his body like a cat or a dog does after take a sleep, Heynriik and Chrysalis laughed at his curious movement.

“Did you sleep well, friend?” said Heynriik to his horse, he only replied with a huge neigh.

“I think that means yes, Heynriik” Chrysalis joked, she moved in front of Heynriik forcing him to see her.

“Heynriik….did you have plans for….tonight?” asked in a sweet tone the changeling mare.

“Tonight? Hemmm….no, nothing at all, why?” Chrysalis smiled at the answer, she looked away and rolled her eyes.

Chrysalis finally sighed and decided to have the enough bravery to ask what she wanted.

“I heard that tonight there will be a meteor shower called “Aurora’s tears”, it’s spectacular, a phenomenon that only happens once every thousand of years….”

“I want to see it but….i was wondering….if you wanted to…..watch it with me?” Chrysalis closed her eyes and turned his head to a side fearing that Heynriik’s answer was going to be a no, but she was wrong.

“…..Yes….. I want, in fact, it sounds kind of interesting thing to watch, I never had seen a meteor shower before” Chrysalis looked at him with a wide smile and tears of happiness, she jumped over him and hugged Heynriik tightly.

“Thanks!, many thanks Riki! I lov-“Chrysalis didn’t ended her words, she released Heynriik from the hug and put a hoof on her mouth, her face was blushing hardly, Heynriik looked her with concern.

“Are you ok Chrysalis? Were you going to tell me something?” asked worried Heynriik, Chrysalis got her hoof out of the mouth and stared Heynriik with a shy smile.

“No, nothing…..well I mean….yes…..” Heynriik lift one of his eyebrows, unknowing the meaning of Chrysalis answer.

“I…..want to tell you something……something very important about you and me…..but I want to do it when we were together tonight” Heynriik smiled to her and rubbed Chrysalis slowly his hand through her large neck.

“Ok, I’ll wait to whatever you want to tell me, if that’s what you want”

“Thanks, Riki”

“No problem” Heynriik stopped rubbing her and turned.

“We’ll meet tonight Chrysalis, goodbye!”

“Bye…..Heynriik” The human waved a hand and Chrysalis did the same with her hoof, Heynriik leaved the garden to enter the castle leaving Chrysalis alone.

“I can’t believe it…..this night…..I’ll show you the truth, Heynriik…” She looked down and closed her eyes, a tear falls from one of her emerald orbs.

“….my true feelings….”

As always the streets of Canterlot were full of activity, ponies walking, talking with their neighbors, eating on elegant restaurants, everything looked normal, or at least that’s what Heynriik thought.

All the ponies that he was passing were looking coldly at him, he saluted and say hello to some of them, but he was ignored by all, then he looked around and saw that nearly all the ponies right there didn’t seem very happy to see him.

Heynriik was starting to get nervous, he decided don’t pay attention to this and continued his walk, but he was stopped by a blue earth pony with a fancy black suit and a top hat, he stared at Heynriik’s green eyes upset.

“You are very brave to show yourself after the disaster that you and your monster did yesterday, bipedal colt!” said the earth pony in an offensive tone.

“For not talking the unforgivable passiveness that your mother had showed to that! You shouldn’t be allowed to get out of the castle for a very long time knowing how dangerous are you!” Heynriik’s face went red of rage and pointed with a finger to the blue earth pony.

“YOU BETTER BE CAREFULL WITH WHAT YOU SAY! A BUCKING FILTHY POSH LIKE YOU DON’T HAVE ANY RIGHT TO TALK LIKE THAT ABOUT MY MOTHER EITHER VOLCANO!” the blue earth pony did a step back and widened his eyes in shock, Heynriik looked around and saw that he was surrounded by well-dressed and rich like ponies, they started to insult and scream to him, nothing that they were saying was very nice to hear.

“Celestia shouldn't care about this ugly rascal!”

“What was our majesty thinking when she adopted this rude monster?"

“RETURN TO WHEREVER YOU’RE FROM, FILTHY CREATURE!”

“Monster!”

“You don’t deserve to be royalty!”

Heynriik was shaking and full of fear, he closed his eyes and put his hands on his ears trying to not hear all that things.

“I’m…..not…..monster…” he charged forward and got out the circle of ponies, he ran fast tearing away, after some time, he stopped and saw the Harmony park in front of him, he approached to a tree and sit to rest whilst recover some breath.

He stayed there a while, trying to understand what had just happened, he felt for the first time in his life in Canterlot, hated, spurned, someone that don’t belong here.

Heynriik stood up and sighed, he smiled and thought that it was better to forget that, the human walked with a smile while whistling, he looked around and saw the huge green park with colts and fillies playing, ponies going in a picnic, and even some couples spending time together.

But one of these couples was familiar, very familiar to him, they were sitting on a wood bench, one was a white coated unicorn with blue hair and tail, and the other pony had pink coat, stripped mane and tail with yellow, pink and purple, wings and horn at the same time, both were hugging each other with the pink mare resting her head on the unicorn’s shoulder.

Heynriik knew who they were, Shining Armor and Cadance, both were trying to hide that they were dating and in love for each other, but Heynriik wasn’t a fool, he knew it since the very beginning when both started spending time after the picnic on the forest.

He minded in going and say hello to them, but the human saw something suspicious, close to Shining and Cadance, there was a little purple thing hiding behind a bush looking at them.

The human moved to be out sight of the couple and walked slowly to the purple thing, that was when he noticed what the purple thing was, Twilight Sparkle, Shining’s little sister.

Heynriik chuckled, he didn’t thought that Twilight was the kind of filly who spy her own sibling, then he couched and moved silently to surprise the purple filly.

“Peekaboo!” Heynriik showed his face in front of Twilight’s, the filly jumped in surprise, she stayed down closing her eyes and covering her head with both front hooves.

“HAHAAHA” Heynriik laughed loudly, Twilight opened her eyes and smiled at him, then she laughed too.

“hahahaah…..you caught me, Riki!” Heynriik stopped laughing and looked at Twilight, he sit on the grass, Twilight did the same.

“So….are you spying your brother and Cadance, Twi? I never expected that from you!”

“Hey! I’m not spying them! I’m just…..hem…..just…..” Twilight looked around nervous trying to find an excuse, she sighed and gave up.

“Ok, yes I’m spying Shining and Cadance, but it’s bec-“

“There you are!” a very nearly voice sounded suddenly, Heynriik and Twilight looked up to see Shining and Cadance’s face above them.

“I knew that I heard that laugh before!” said Shining upset and frowning.

“Hey hi, lovers!” said Heynriik cheerful.

Heynriik and Twilight got out of the bush and went in front of the couple, Shining looked angry, Cadance was blushing and looking away.

“Twi!, Riki! Don’t tell that you were….that you were….”

“Wait big brother! Is not his fault!” said Twilight suddenly interrupting Shining Armor.

“Wh- what?”

“I was spying you two, Shining…..but Heynriik wasn’t, he just come a few moments ago…”

“It’s true, Twily? Why have you been spying us?” asked Cadance worried.

“I…well….” Twilight sighed and looked seriously to her sibling.

“Big bro! why didn’t you told me that you were with Cadance? I was worried about you because you were going out of home without telling me where you going! And when I asked you, you said that you just were to “meet with friends” but you never told “who” were that friends!” Shining was out of words and doing a fake smile, Cadance giggled and hit him on the shoulder.

“So, you didn’t say anything to poor Twilight? You’re a very bad big brother! Right Twi?”

“YES, YES HE IS!” Twilight yelled, Heynriik crossed his arms and looked to Cadance.

“Well, I’m not surprised, I was suspecting this since a long time”

“I can’t expect more of you, Heynriik” said Cadance to her cousin.

The four spent the morning talking playing and, well, having a good time, after a while all four where lying aside a tree in the center of the park, looking at the clear blue sky.

“So…Heynriik” said Shining looking at Heynriik, he opened his eyes and looked to see his pal.

“You’re going to see the meteor shower with Chrysalis? Cadance and I were going to do the same tonight”

“Oh really? I didn’t know that you liked those things, Shiny…”

“Have you heard about the “love effect” of the Aurora’s tears, cousin?” said Cadance who was beside Shining Armor, she lifted her head up to see Heynriik.

“Love….effect?”

“Yes, the legend says that if a couple see the Aurora’s tears together, they will be loving each other forever” Heynriik looked emotionless, without knowing what to say, Cadance stood up and approached to him.

“We are going to the royal garden to see it, are you two coming?”

“Ye- yes of course, it would be fun to all four watching it, I’m sure Chrysalis don’t mind too”

“Hey! What about me? I want to see the meteor shower too! Please, please, please!” Twilight said begging to Cadance while she was jumping around her.

“Ok Twi, you can come with us, can she Shining?”

“Huh? Yeah she can, but Twi, please don’t annoy us, okay?” Shining said pointing a hoof to her little sister.

“I’ll be good, BBBFF!” the four laughed, then everyone returned to their homes, Cadance and Heynriik headed to the castle
while Shining Armor and Twilight go to their house.

“Cadance….” Heynriik said shyly to the pink alicorn.

“Yes?”

“Chrysalis said this morning that…..she wanted to tell me…something important tonight” Cadance stopped and looked with a warm smile to him.

“And when you said…..that if a couple see the Aurora’s tears together….they’ll be in love forever…I was thinking…”

“That she may love you?” ended Cadance the sentence.

“Ye- yes…..if she….loves….me” Cadance put a hoof over his neck and giggled.

“Heynriik, did you love her?” He gasped and blushed heavily; he looked shy and turned his face.

“Well i…..i feel something…..something strong and warm in my body when I’m with her…”

“……I like how she is, how kind and happy is when she is with me, I like her laugh, her mane…..her eyes….” Heynriik looked to Cadance, she was still giving him a warm smile.

“As alicorn of love, I know what you mean….but the best you can do is wait until tonight”

“Ok..”

It was late night, Cadance, Shining Armor and Twilight were sitting on the grass of the royal garden waiting to see the meteor shower, meanwhile Heynriik and Chrysalis were heading there too.

“It will be so exciting! we’re going to see something that only happens once time in centuries!” said Chrysalis happily and excited.

“Cadance said that she, Shining Armor and Twilight are already there”

“Then let’s meet with them” Both entered the royal garden and walked where the three ponies were.

“Good night everypony, are you two ready? The meteor shower will start in a moment” said Cadance to the human kid and the young changeling mare.

“We are ready, Cadi” replied Heynriik to his cousin, Cadance and Shining sit on the ground beside each other, they were staring and their hooves touching, suddenly Twilight jumped over her brother’s head.

“Don’t get distracted! You can loss something!” Cadance laughed and Shining grabbed her sister to put her between him and Cadance.

Heynriik sit near Cadance and Chrysalis followed him to be at his right side, she smiled at him and Heynriik returned the smile.

After a few seconds, a strange sound came from the sky, the five looked up and the meteor shower started, a lot of meteors flied at the speed of light, they were of all colors, red, blue, yellow, white, green….

All were amazed at this beautiful wonder, they were saying “woo” every time they saw one of the colorful meteors, Cadance rested her head over Shining Armor, making him blush.

“Yay! It’s fantastic” said Twilight that was the one who enjoyed the most, Heynriik looked at Chrysalis, he looked her mane, her face and finally her eyes, he really liked those emerald like eyes.

Chrysalis turned her head to see him staring at her, she blushed and smiled at the look that Heynriik was giving her, he put an arm around her neck to make her closer to him, she nuzzled his cheek affectionately.

Some minutes later, the meteor shower ended, Cadance, Shining Armor and Twilight were going to leave the garden but
Heynriik and Chrysalis were still sit.

“Are you coming, Heynriik? It’s already late” Cadance said.

“No, i….im going to stay here with Chrysalis a bit…..” Cadance nodded, the three ponies leaved the royal garden.

“Now….what is that important thing that you want to tell me?” asked Heynriik in a sweet tone.

“First, let’s go sit that tree, there we’ll be more….comfortable” Human and changeling walked together to the tree, it was on the center of the garden, the most tall and the one that Heynriik does his naps.

Heynriik and Chrysalis sit with their bodies touching the tree’s body, they looked at the dark sky full of stars, then they took a look to the moon.

“My mother says….that her sister it’s on the moon…” Heynriik said, Chrysalis gave him all her attention.

“One day, she became evil and wanted to bring an eternal night to Equestria, but Celestia stopped her…” Chrysalis put a hoof on Heynriik’s chest and rubbed it slowly, Heynriik looked the hoof and started stroke it carefully, both stared and smiled.

“She sent her to the moon; mom says that she regrets what she had done, but that was the only thing she could do to save Equestria and her sister at the same time….”

“That’s very sad to hear….” said Chrysalis, still rubbing his chest with her hoof.

“I know…” Chrysalis got up and moved in front of Heynriik, she wrapped him between her holey hoofs and sat on his knees; both were staring as blushing in a lovely way.

“Heynriik….what I wanted to tell you….” Chrysalis sighed and continued.

“I want to tell you that I don’t know how much time I’ll stay in Canterlot, I don’t know when I’ll return to the Changeling Kingdom…”

“But before that happens, you must know something…” Chrysalis put her muzzle in Heynriik’s left ear; he wrapped the changeling with his arms touching her green carapace with his hands.

“I love you, Heynriik”

“I…..i…” Heynriik was out of words, Chrysalis put her head back to see all his face again.

“….I love you too….Chrysalis” The mare smiled and moved slowly her lips to meet with Heynriik's, both mouths touched and the kiss started.

They were kissing for a few seconds moving slowly their lips swinging sweetly, both felt the taste of their saliva and the warm of their breath, they stopped kissing and Chrysalis released him from her hooves, Heynriik stood up too and looked at her, she rubbed her body against him, he feel more happy than ever.

“Chrysalis…when you leave Canterlot….please, don’t forget me” Heynriik grabbed her front hooves and stared her at the eyes.

“Never Heynriik….I’ll never forget you…”

Faraway of Canterlot, there was a certain changeling queen that had been watching everything that Heynriik and Chrysalis were doing that night…..and she didn’t like it.

“Love….sweet love……enjoy it while you can my daughter……..it won’t last very long….” Amanthis said looking at the magical crystal ball....

Author's Note

Finally, the longest and maybe most worked chapter i ever did...

After this chapter, there's only another chapter left and a Epilogue to end this fiction, then i think i'll start making the sequel

Hope you like it ;)

Chapter 8: End of the Innocence

Chapter 8:End of the Innocence

“It seems I have to concentrate more….” Heynriik said holding a horseshoe and aiming to the steel post of a “Point ‘n’ shot” game in the last day of the Great Summer Fair, a traditional fair on Canterlot that appears every year on summer’s last week.

“Heynriik, you don’t have to…” Chrysalis was shushed by his left hand before she could say anything.

“Silence! I said that I’ll get that big manticore plushie for you and I swear that it will be yours even if need to pay for other 20 rounds!” Chrysalis removed his hand and shook her head in disbelief while letting out a giggle.

“Ok, but if you keep failing, I think you won’t have enough bits to buy us some cotton candy as you promised!” Heynriik looked back at her and winked an eye.

“Don’t worry, this time I shall not fail!” the human kid glared at the steel post, getting ready for his shot.

He sighed anxiously and bit his lower lip, his right hand swing once, twice, and at the third he throw the horseshoe before closing his eyes unconsciously.

*PLONCK*

After hearing that, he opened one eye slowly and then the other, a wide smile appeared on his face joined with shine on his eyes.

“YYYYEESSSSS!!!” He jumped punching the air, after spend almost all the bits that Celestia gave him, Heynriik make the horseshoe fall on the post.

“Well, it was time…” Chrysalis shrugged glaring at Heynriik, who was still euphoric for his victory.

After a while, Heynriik stopped and recovered some breath before talking to the fair booth’s owner.

“Good shot little prince!, there’s no many ponies that have enough guts to choose that one, as you saw, it’s the most difficult I’ve got!” said the orange coated pony that was in charge of that booth.

“And now….which one you want?” the owner pointed to the shelf behind him, there was a lot of plushies of all kinds, small, big, with the form of dragons, hydra, minotaur and other creatures.

“I want the big manticore one!” Heynriik said pointing the manticore plushie, it was the biggest of the entire booth and was in the highest point of the shelf; the owner nodded as he caught the plushie to give it to Heynriik.

Heynriik nuzzled a bit the plushie, it was very fluffy and smooth, he looked to Chrysalis that was looking at him seriously.

“What? I told you that i was going to get this plushie, and I did it!” Heynriik quipped, the young mare rolled her eyes and grabbed the plushie with her hooves to leave it on the ground, then she got closer to him until her face was very close to his, Heynriik looked innocently at her while Chrysalis was grinning.

“You really took your time to get that manticore….” Chrysalis said in a sweet tone.

“Well….you wanted it also…. It was worth it, right?” Heynriik looked at the big manticore plushie and then to Chrysalis, he let
out a shrug accompanied with a happy expression on his face.

“Indeed, Riki…” Chrysalis moved slowly her lips to meet with Heynriik ones and kiss him for a couple of seconds, she leaned back her head and smiled showing her growing fangs, Heynriik blushed making his face look like a tomato.

“It was worth it” Heynriik moved his head trying to hide his blush and scratched his hair, Chrysalis giggled and kissed him again but this time on the cheek, he turned his head to see Chrysalis and smiled, then he seemed to realize something, Heynriik put his right hand on one of the pockets of his pants to take a look at his budget, he downed his head and shook his head, Chrysalis looked the budget too and sighed sadly.

“There’s only five bits left…” Chrysalis said to Heynriik cheerless.

“We haven’t enough to buy two cotton candy…” Heynriik put his badget back on the pocket, he moved his hand over Chrysalis neck and stroked her mane, making her sigh happily, he stopped and move in front of her.

“But, we have enough to get one and share it!” Heynriik said extending his arms as showing a joyful smile.

“Oh, r- really? I mean, I don’t want you to spend the few bits that you have left in a-“ Heynriik put two fingers on the changeling’s mouth to shut her up, then he grabbed her two front hooves to make her stand on her hind ones and look at him at the same eye level.

“Chrysalis, I don’t know how much time we have until you return to the Changeling Kingdom, so before that happens I want you to enjoy your last days on Canterlot, I want you to forget all the bad things that the ponies here had say to you, I want you to remember all this time that we are spending together, I want you to feel…..loved” Heynriik lowered her hooves so she could stand in her four hooves again, then he did something rare to someone born on the royalty.

He bowed, lowering one leg and the other leg touching the ground.

“Will you, Miss Princess Chrysalis of the changelings, my date for this afternoon and love of my life, accept the offer of this poor adopted human prince for a shared cotton candy?” Chrysalis put a hoof on her mouth and widened her emerald eyes; she closed her eyes nodding in excitement.

“I will, Sir Heynriik” Chrysalis offered her hoof to him, but Heynriik tilted his head unknowing what she wanted, the young mare growled and moved away some hair that was covering her face.

“Aren’t you going to kiss my hoof like a gentlecolt do when is with a mare?”

“What? Oh! Okay…” Heynriik touched her hoof and kissed it, Chrysalis tried to hide the blush on her dark cheeks turning her head.

“Now….shall we go?” Heynriik said while releasing her hoof, the changeling mare paid attention to him again and nodded fast in agreement, the human smiled while grabbing the big manticore plushie.

After buying the cotton candy, they decided to get out of the fair and rest somewhere, while walking Heynriik looked that most of the ponies around them where giving cold looks to him and Chrysalis as well, some frowned, others where muttering, glancing or just looked angry.

“Heynriik wh- what’s wrong with ev- everypony? Why all looking us li- like that?” Chrysalis got closer to Heynriik, with her body touching his, the young changeling’s wings started to buzz nervously, Heynriik noticed that she was getting more and more nervous, he could even fell how Chrysalis’s heartbeat speed increased, he comforted her placing a hand on her carapace and rubbed it slowly, making the mare let a sigh out as turning her head to smile at him.

“Don’t worry, I’m with you, I won’t let anypony hurt you” These words relaxed Chrysalis’s nerves as her heartbeats got slower until they reached the normal rate; she stared at him with a kind smile and shine on her eyes.

“I….i don’t know what would happened to me if you didn’t appear in my life, Heynriik…” The human smiled at her and kissed her muzzle gently, making the changeling show some pink blush on her cheeks.

Both had forgotten all the unpleasant looks that the ponies on the fair where doing, they felt warm, happy and safe with each other, having a holiday that they may never forget.

Heynriik saw that they passed the last fair’s booths and were heading to the Harmony Park, they had been walking a plenty of time, and carrying the cotton candy as the manticore plushie at the same time was annoying him, so he thought that a rest while eating the sweetness of that cotton candy could be a good idea.

“Hey Chrysalis, why don’t we sit under that tree?” Heynriik pointed to one of the many trees of the Harmony Park.

“Yes please, I’m a bit tired” Chrysalis nodded and took a look at the cotton candy that was holding Heynriik in the hand, her eyes where stuck at the pink sweet’s bouncing not looking away at any second, some saliva was starting to fall over her mouth.

“Looks delicious, right?” The changeling hear that coming from Heynriik’s mouth, he chuckled a bit making Chrysalis lift an eyebrow expecting him to show what was so funny.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Your mouth, Chrysalis” She had no idea what he tried to say, Heynriik pointed her mouth with a hand, she touched her muzzle and finally knew what was going, Chrysalis was spreading a lot of saliva from her mouth, she couldn’t wait any more to taste the so good looking sweet.

“Ups…em…sorry” Chrysalis bit her inferior lip and turned her head away trying to hide the blush created by such embarrassing thing.

“hahahaha Oh! You can’t imagine how cute you loo when you do that, Chrissy!” Heynriik said trying to hold his own laugh, Chrysalis gasped and looked at him offended, she hissed showing her sharp teeth to him, Heynriik stopped laughing and gave her an apologizing look.

“YOU KNOW THAT I REALLY HATE THAT NICKNAME, HEYNRIIK, IF YOU…IF YOU SAY IT….AGAIN…” Chrysalis was breathing heavily, her face was red of rage, she lifted a hoof to do something rare, punch him for don’t respect such a simple thing like not saying that, but she didn’t want that to happen, no, she would never hurt him, her heart was telling her that she would regret it if she does it, she downed her hoof and tried to relax.

“Chrysalis i….i’m sorry, I really am, but…..bah nevermind, I don’t have excuse for this…” Heynriik looked down to his black and stylish shoes that Celestia ordered to make just for him and for this date, perfectly fitting on his feet, he felt very sad for lie her, for breaking his promise.

Then he saw a black holed hoof touching his chest, he looked forward and saw Chrysalis smiling with a bit of sadness on her face.

“What if we just sit there at once…..and we start with the cotton candy?” Heynriik just nodded without saying anything, both moved to sit under the tree, Heynriik was showing a small smile on his face and don’t looking away of Chrysalis.

Human and Changeling were sitting aside a tree, looking at the light blue sky, with no many ponies around them to molest, there wasn’t nothing that could distract them, it was just them, the dry wind of the summer, and silence, sweet and peaceful silence.

Heynriik leaved the manticore plushie at his side and grabbed a piece of cotton candy with his hand, but instead of eat it, he looked at Chrysalis that was waiting expectantly to taste it, she lets out her tongue to slid it through her lips, Heynriik smiled and moved his hand with the little piece of cotton candy in front of Chrysalis muzzle.

“Take it” Heynriik said to her, she smiled and grabbed the sweet with her hooves to eat it, first Chrysalis did a small bite to test if it tasted so good as Heynriik said, she find it delicious and sticky, even more delicious than she could imagine, then she opened her mouth to eat the whole piece and chew strongly, Heynriik laughed at Chrysalis reaction aswell her mouth being all covered by the pink sweet.

“EETS AMAYSEENG! I HAVEN’T EETED SUMTHIN SO DELICIOUS EEN MA LIF, HEYNRIIK!” Chrysalis said at the same time she was eating the cotton candy, making her talk in a funny accent caused by the sweet, Heynriik grabbed another piece and eat it, he noticed the stickiness and sugary taste of the cotton candy.

“Yep, itz troo dat itz tasteez good” Heynriik said while trying to get the sweet fall down to his stomach.
After eating every part of the cotton candy, Heynriik and Chrysalis where lying on the grass looking at the sky, still with the silence as only one with them.

“Thanks Heynriik to buy that cotton candy, in the Changeling Kingdom there aren’t such delicious things like that” Suddenly on the human’s head popped some curiosity, he moved his head to the right to see Chrysalis and asked.

“Chrysalis…..how is the Changeling Kingdom?” Hearing that made the mare lift her head up and look to Heynriik surprised.

“You don’t know how it is? Celestia didn’t teach you anything about my race?” Heynriik shook his head and lifted his head too to be at the same level as Chrysalis.

“Not very much, only the basic like that you can shape shift in the aspect of other ponies, feed in love, your anatomy, the thousands of attacks your race did along all the history to Equestria, The Griffin Kingdom, the Zebra Tribes....but nothing about your kingdom” Chrysalis snorted and got closer to Heynriik until her face was just a few inches of his face.

“Heynriik….do you really want to know how really the changelings are?” Chrysalis asked in a sadly voice.

“Of course I want! in this time we were together I’ve told you everything about me, my friends, my life…but I don’t know how was your life before you came here, you never told me anything about your family or the life you got there” Chrysalis downed her head and sighed, then she sit in front of Heynriik, put a hoof on her chest and breathed slowly.

“Your right, I think after all we did together, I owe you at less being honest…”

“Okay, then……how looks like the Changeling Kingdom?”

“First, I don’t think it really deserves to have the title of “Kingdom”, because it’s only a city no more bigly than Canterlot, built over a mountain in the middle of the badlands”

“Wait, only a city? Then why it’s called “Kingdom”?” Heynriik asked, not believing that.

“Centuries ago, it was a real kingdom, with a lot of villages and cities, a unstoppable army that always succeeded in getting love, from the attacks that you said, to feed the population”

“Something must had happen to make all that don’t exist anymore” Heynriik said, Chrysalis nodded and continued.

“Due all the attacks and invasions that the Changeling army did, every territory around us started to grow a strong hate and rejection towards my people, they decided that it was over, that they won’t allow changelings damaging their homes anymore, then, ponies, griffins, zebras, diamond dogs, minotaurs….everyone that the changelings had suffered my people’s wrath, that had been cocooned to suck out their love, joined forces to return their pain to the changelings, only leaving a few of us and the capital, the only remaining city we have today” Heynriik noticed that Chrysalis were talking in a weak voice, like she didn’t want to talk about this.

“You don’t seem very proud to tell your people’s history” Chrysalis looked at him, at his green beautiful eyes, which feels like she’s watching his soul.

“Heynriik do you….do you think that I can become evil one day? That when I’ve became Queen in the future I’ll…..hurt other ponies, making them be scared and without any kind of hope, at the sight of an endless changeling army destroying their homes, taking the foals, mares and stallions into cocoons to feed on their love…” Chrysalis couldn’t hold it much more; she started to cry hardly, creating a waterfall of sadness on her face, she put both hooves to cover his face and avoid Heynriik saw her in this way.

“Chr- Chrysalis please, don’t cry, you’re not….you’ll never” Heynriik tried to calm her, but was worthless; the tears keep dropping down from her eyes.

“No, I’m not a monster….changelings aren’t monsters….we can…we should…” Chrysalis noticed something wrapping her; she opened her eyes and saw Heynriik hugging her strongly.

“You’re not a monster, Chrysalis…..monsters aren’t beautiful” Hearing that made Chrysalis eyes wide like never before, she moved her hooves to hug Heynriik and put her head over his shoulder, the tears were starting to go away slowly.

“You…you think I’m beautiful?” She asked in a weak tone.

“If you weren’t, my heart wouldn’t beat for you” Heynriik said whispering on her ear, Chrysalis released him from the hug and wiped her tears with a hoof, she stared at Heynriik who looked at her with a kind smile, a smile that melted her heart.

“Heynriik…i…you…” Chrysalis felt out of words, she couldn’t believe how important is Heynriik for her right now, all that happened between them, the moment when they met, their friendship evolved in romance, the kindness, the understanding, the love, everything that he did for her, not caring the fact that she was different to the rest of the world…..
…..but he was different too.

“Heynriik….words cannot express how important you are for me…” Heynriik chuckled and moved his face forward touching his nose with Chrysalis muzzle.

“If words don’t work……then you could show your gratitude in other way” He said giving a certain look with lidded eyes.

“Oh really? How?” Said Chrysalis lidding her eyes too, following his game.

“Well… a kiss could be a good idea” The changeling mare didn’t doubt any second and jumped to Heynriik making both collapse on the grass, then she kissed passionately claiming her human’s lips, Heynriik tried to fight back but Chrysalis was using all her strength in the kiss, finally she stopped and drew back her lips from Heynriik.

“Wow….that was….very good…” Heynriik said panting, trying to recover his breath.

“Glad you had enjoyed” Chrysalis winked at him and got up on her four hooves again.

“Humm….can I ask you something again?” Heynriik said, still recovering from the changeling’s passion attack.

“Yes, what it is?”

“How do changelings exactly….”feed” on love? It’s like eating normal food?” Chrysalis chuckled and then fall to the ground rolling her body and laughing hard.

“Hey! What’s so funny!?” Heynriik yelled at the same time he blushed, he knew that he just asked what it seemed a very silly thing for Chrysalis; she stopped laughing and got up again.

“Oh please! No! Of course no! We don’t “eat” love literally, it works differently”

“Then, if you don’t really “eat” love, how do you get love?” Chrysalis cleared her throat and said.

“We changelings can get love in three ways, the first one it’s through the cocoons, the cocoons absorb the love of anyone that is inside of it, when it had absorbed enough love, whoever is inside the cocoon it’s freed and the cocoon ends in the Changeling castle, where is a room with a large aerial, the cocoon is connected to the aerial and then it spreads the love to all the kingdom” Heynriik looked a bit disgusted at the image in his mind of a pony locked in a cocoon.

“That’s how we did it anciently, when an army of changelings attacked anyplace, they cocooned all who can be feed and after a while they released them and returned to our kingdom with the cocoons full of love”

“And the other ones?” Said Heynriik, not very convinced to keep hearing those things much longer.

“The second one is easier, love is a feeling, not a material thing, our bodies are spreading love all the time, but we can’t see it, so a changeling can be aside of a body that can love and feed on it, without he or she knows it” Heynriik lifted an eyebrow not sure what she wanted to mean.

“I don’t think I understand it….” Chrysalis giggled at that and followed his explanation.

“It’s not that difficult Heynriik!, it’s like…..breath, we are breathing all the time, but we don’t do it for our own, it’s our body that does it automatically, I can feed of love, but I can’t control it, when I’m near anypony that feels love, my body feeds on it without I need to do anything”

“So, if a changeling it’s with a pony, the changeling’s body feeds on love without doing anything? That’s what you’re trying to say?” Chrysalis nodded, Heynriik started to think and suddenly he looked at Chrysalis angry.

“Did you….feed on my love, Chrysalis?” The mare widened her eyes and hided his face with her long blue hair.

“I’m sorry but….as I said I can’t control it, I can’t choose who I want to feed and who not, it just….happens” Heynriik keep staring with angry eyes at her, but he realized what he was doing, if Chrysalis was right then he couldn’t blame her, if she can’t evade to feed on his love, even if she wanted, he cannot make her feel guilty, Heynriik gave a apologized look.

“I shouldn’t react like this, sorry Chrysalis, i….i can’t blame you, also I didn’t know it until you said it and I didn’t felt strange or hurt every time we’re together” Chrysalis looked at him and smiled, she put a hoof on his chest and rubbed it gently.

“It’s okay, Heynriik, I know that is very easy to you misunderstand these “feed on love” thing”

“Well, then…..what’s the last one?” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at that question; she looked strangely to Heynriik who shrugged.

“You said that changelings could feed on love in three ways, you have already told me two, so only there’s one left” Chrysalis put a hoof under her chin and thought, she opened her mouth but said nothing, there was something that she had just remembered.

Chrysalis downed her head and blushed, she blushed like never before, then her body shake lightly, Heynriik was starting to concern so he moved her head up to see her face.

“What’s wrong? Why are you acting like that?” Chrysalis took off the humans hands and looked away.

“I….i can’t tell you that, Heynriik” The human moved to see Chrysalis face again, he hated when she tried to evade his attention.

“Why? It’s really that bad?” Chrysalis turned slowly her head to him and nodded; she shook her head and sighed.

“That way to…..feed on love is very…..you….you need to be older if you want to know it…” Heynriik sighed and looked at her with a smile.

“If you think it’s not okay to tell me now, I understand” Chrysalis rubbed his cheek gently and then kissed it, letting Heynriik escape a blush.

“Can you…..tell me one last thing, unless you want t-“ The changeling mare silenced him with a hoof on his mouth and nodded, Heynriik moved away her black holey hoof and laid with the tree’s body just a few inches from his head, Chrysalis followed him letting her body fall on the green silky grass of the Harmony park beside his beloved.

“Ask away” Chrysalis said in a sweet tone.

“How is your life in the Changeling Kingdom? I guess you lived like…..well like the princess you are” Chrysalis looked at her belly with sad half lidded eyes before she answers; she looked to Heynriik with an unexpressive face and answered.

“It isn’t easy….at least since some years ago when I started to learn about my people’s history and traditions” Heynriik placed a hand on her hoof. Chrysalis noticed this and felt her hearth beating faster.

“When I started to know everything that changelings have done in their history, hurting and rejecting the rest of races in the world, being no better than love stealing monsters, I started to ask myself, why don’t we change this? What makes us to be so hateful towards to anypony that isn’t a changeling? It’s that difficult to live in peace with everypony?, I wanted to know why, I wanted to believe that there was a way to be in peace with the rest, to work together, but not only that, I also dreamed on crossing the Changeling Kingdom limits to go to Equestria, to the Griffin Kingdom, I wanted to see the world beyond the badlands.” Chrysalis gulped at the time that her mouth began to shake while letting out some panting.

“I wish I knew what came next…”

“Why? What happened after that?” Heynriik asked surprised to hear how her life was until then.

“When I started to act like this, every changeling on the castle and the city changed, the guards gave me angry looks and hissings when I passed them, the rest of changelings of my age told me bad things and refused to play with me, the servants never wanted to looked me at the eyes and even my mother, the Queen herself, wasn’t the same”

“Was she….bad with you? Did she agree with the way you thought?” Chrysalis was silent for a while, until she talked again.

“…..No, she hates me, she hates me very much” Heynriik wide his mouth in awe.

“What?! I mean….really!? How could she hate you? She may look things differently but, you’re her daughter and also the kindest mare I’ve ever known!” The human kid said getting up fast on his feet.

“THERE IS THE PROBLEM!” Chrysalis yelled at him. Heynriik just shut his mouth; she got up and stared at him.

“She wants me…to be evil, cruel; she wants me to be in some future a powerful and strong Queen that will lead the changelings to a new era of conquests and dominion over the rest of nations of Equis”

“But…you don’t want that to happen, right?” Heynriik said in a calmly voice. Chrysalis closed her eyes slowly; she keeps silent until Heynriik shakes a bit her body with his hands.

“You’ll never do something like that, right?” The human asked again but the changeling mare was still without saying any word.

“Chrysalis! C’mon, say something! You’ll never be ev-“ Chrysalis put a hoof on Heynriik’s mouth to shut him up quickly. She released the hoof and budge her head forward.

“Heynriik, sometimes we have no other choice than forget everything that we believed or want to….still alive” Heynriik looked confused. He never expected somepony like Chrysalis to say something like that.

“Because at the end of the day, you realize that….sometimes we have to do things that we may think are “bad” for you…..but good for the ones you love” Heynriik looked at her amazed for the wise words she just said…..but he felt scared too….for what can happen to her….

….in the future.

Celestia was enjoying the beautiful sight of Canterlot at the afternoon, she was sit in a big cushion, taking cup of tea on a fancy white table with some trimming made of gold.

She lifts the cup with her magic and takes a sip, the cup downs back slowly to the table. Celestia was tired, worried, and sad, she had a mix of feelings inside her and no one was good.

Her magenta eyes centers in a piece of paper with a broken stamp and a text, she knew it was going to be sent this day for a matter that was locked on her ancient mind since certain adoptive son of hers met a princess from an exotic race in these sunny days of summer.

The sun mare used her magic to take a last look at the letter. It was a letter from somepony that she unfortunately is bound to make a deal.

Dear Princess Celestia.

Today, as we accorded is the last day that my daughter Chrysalis will stay on Canterlot. If you remember in the last letter I’d sent you, I asked you to end the odd relationship that your strange adoptive son Heynriik haves with my weak daughter Chrysalis, of course for the good of our deal and our respective Kingdoms.

But I heard that you refused to do it; you are letting my daughter love somepony that can corrupt her and make her worse than she is right now. Why? Do you really think it’s good to see them kissing, hugging and playing together? Do you think I like seeing the future leader of my race in a daughter that believes in such stupid things like tolerance, love to feel instead to feed and peace? NO! The only reason I sent her to Canterlot was to make her open her innocent eyes! To make her have the enough strength and rage to be a real queen! To see your ponies how really are toward us!

And….it seems that it worked…..

The last letter she sent me talked not only about the useless time she spent with your human son, but also that the citizens of Canterlot were being even worse than in her firsts days. Because as you may know, now the ponies of Canterlot are starting to give bad looks and insults to your beloved son, so now she’s a hated changeling with a hated bipedal creature.

But don’t worry; like you didn’t end it, I’ll end their love THAT NEVER HAD TO BE APPEARED! Before you set the sun on the horizon. I’ll be waiting with my chariot and some guards outside of Canterlot, near of the river, so we can keep this deal secret as we promised. Also I hope you make something to your Heynriik so he don’t disturb us.

Have a pleasant day

Amanthis, the Changeling Queen.

Celestia wanted to burn the letter and forget what she was going to do. She knew that if Heynriik and Chrysalis find the real reason of why the mare was sent to Canterlot, their hearths would break apart for discovering that the time they spend together, all their love wasn’t more than an experiment which Amanthis wanted to fail since the beginning.

“Why….why they can’t be together? Why is Amanthis so obsessed in the fact that Chrysalis and Heynriik being in love is bad?” Celestia sighed and downed her head, looking at her white hooves with gold shoes. A memory started to fly on her head, it was the painful and tragic memory of her sister Luna, being sent by her with the power of the Elements of Harmony to the moon.

“I failed to Luna….and now I’m going to lose the love that Heynriik had gave me in all his life just for a political deal that I thought was going to go well, but it’s going to end in nothing…” Celestia got up and moved to the balcony. She looked down and saw four familiar figures, a pink alicorn, a white unicorn colt, a bipedal creature with blue and dark clothes and a dark mare with twisted horn, insect wings and holey hooves.

Celestia heard them talking, laughing, being happy….and she was going to see all that happiness being destroyed. She turned to the table and sit again to take a last sip to the cup of tea.

“I just wanted to feel what was having a family….again”

“HAHAAHAHA! Oh my! How did Cadance convince you to go shopping?” Heynriik asked trying not to die in laughter.

“Well, I promised him that I’ll buy some corndogs after we’ve finished, he’s very easy to convince” Cadance giggled and glared to Shining Armor. He snorted wishing to forget that situation for a long time.

“You know that corndogs can’t heal the pain on my back, after carrying to the castle all that amount of bags full of clothes and expensive shoes, right Cadance?” Shining did a sharp yell of pain and rubbed his back.

“Oh don’t such a whining filly Shiny!, it was just two bags with a dress and a pair of crystal shoes!, if you want to be part of the guard someday you may have to start do some exercise and eat less corndogs” Cadance poked twice with her hoof to Shining’s belly making him blush.

“Princesses don’t like to be saved by lazy knights” Cadance said looking at him with half lidded eyes, Shining downed his head and sighed.

“Okay, I’ll promise I eat less corndogs, but only if you take Twily to fly that new comet that I bought for her birthday, I was going to do it until a pink and sweet alicorn tricked me to go shopping with her instead” Shining Armor grinned to Cadance who shook her head and kissed the white colt on the snout.

“Then we have a deal, my lazy knight” Cadance moved slowly her head towards Shining’s, the unicorn did the same, but
before both mouths began to kiss, certain voice yelled from a few meters of them.

“HEY, YOU COUPLE! CHRYSALIS HAS RETURN WITH THE SHAKES! BUT IF YOU PREFER TO SHOW US AN AMATEUR CLASS ROMANTIC SCENE, WE DON’T MIND BECAUSE WE ARE STARTING WITH THE SHAKES RIGHT NOW!” Heynriik sat on the grass and cleared his throat taking some of his lemon shake, he felt how his brain froze, and then the tasty juice downed to his stomach making a light sigh of delight.

“You didn’t need to yell, Heynriik….” Chrysalis said before slurping her shake.

“Yeah, I know, but I only wanted to make clear that if they don’t drink their shakes, then we’ll do” Chrysalis giggled followed by Heynriik, Cadance and Shining Armor reached the place they were and gave them serious looks.

“So, you two were going to start without us?” asked Cadance lifting an eyebrow.

“Well, if I had an extra shake, I won’t complain right?” Heynriik said in a jokey tone.

“Sadly that’s not going to happen, Riki” Shining Armor grinned at him, he sat and slurped his chocolate shake, the unicorn tingled his body when he felt his brain getting colder and rubbed his own head with the hooves, Cadance shook her head sighing, she placed a side Shining and tasted her strawberry shake.

“He always does that” Cadance said looking at Chrysalis with an amused tone, the changeling tried to hide her laugh but she couldn’t hold it much more.

After all shakes where empty, the four youngsters laid on the grass feeling tired even if they haven’t did anything, the clouds on the sky moved slowly at the same time that the warm of the sunlight fall down to their bodies.

“Chrysalis, when will you return to your home?” Cadance asked turning her head to see the changeling princess.

“Huh? Well, I don’t know, Celestia neither my mother told me when I’ll return to the Changeling Kingdom” Chrysalis downed her eyebrows looking to nowhere in particular; she looked around seeing every part of the royal gardens, the trees and plants, Heynriik sleeping with his head touching Volcano’s body, she stared to Volcano who was sleeping too while his red and orange mane was being hit by the weak wind, Chrysalis giggled when Volcano swayed his tail unconsciously molesting
Heynriik who grabbed the tail and used like blanket to cover his body.

“So cute….” said Cadance seeing that moment too.

“I don’t know you girls, but I’ll never understand how Heynriik could saw anything good on him” Cadance and Chrysalis stared to Shining Armor with a steady look.

“Really Shining? You still look at him like a monster?” Cadance shook her head not believing that he keeps thinking on the horse like something evil.

“He’s very far from the monster that attacked us in the forest, Volcano had changed a lot, he’s now very loyal to Heynriik and I’m sure there’s no reason to fear him now” Shining felt a bit stupid now, he looked to Volcano, a bigger version of an earth pony with red eyes, as a mane and tail that looks like fire, it’s the kind of creature that he can fear, at least if he was running savagely outside, and not sleeping peacefully with a friend at his side.

“Come on, don’t you think it’s a pretty cute image?” Chrysalis said smiling and looking at them with shine on her eyes.

“Well…maybe” Shining shrugged and fall back to the ground slowly to look at the sky again.

“So Chrysalis, did you like Canterlot? Because I heard that some ponies didn’t were very kind with you…” Cadance asked with guilt for the things that she heard about Canterlot’s colts and citizens did to the innocent changeling princess, things not typical from a hospitable place as Equestria.

“It was very hard at the beginning, it’s true, but when I met Heynriik…..everything changed” Chrysalis sighed happily and looked at his still sleeping love.

“We started to go together, to be friends, I always searched for him when i felt lonely or bored” The changeling’s body began to shake as some tears where falling from her emerald eyes.

“He always is there to help me, to cheer me when I’m sad, looking at me as I wasn’t different, like if he ever cared that I was from a species as mine, he…..gave me the love that I never had on my home” Cadance and Shining got closer to her, they looked sad but with a smile.

“Chrysalis, have you ever…..had friends?” Shining Armor said with a calm voice.

“I…….no, I ever had, all the changelings……hated me” Chrysalis downed her head and started to cry, them she felt love,
lots of love running through her body, she looked up and saw Cadance and Shining Armor, both hugging her strongly surrounding her neck with their hooves.

“Heynriik is not the only one that loves you….” Shining said wiping his pride liquid from his eyes.

“We are your friends Chrysalis, we always will be your friends” Cadance released her slowly; Chrysalis wiped out her tears and smiled like never before.

“Th- thank you…..you don’t know how much this means for me” Chrysalis never have felt this kind of affection before, Shining Armor and Cadance where the only ones apart of Heynriik and Princess Celestia that treated her well and never told a bad word about her.

Meanwhile, Heynriik yawned and opened his eyes, he blinked lazily and stretched his body, and then he patted Volcano to wake up as well.

“C’mon buddy, you have slept enough” The human looked to Chrysalis who was talking with Cadance and Shining Armor, he felt happy for her, for having friends, for enjoying a life that he wished she had on her home.

In the corner of his eye, he noticed two figures; Heynriik turned his head and saw two royal guards, two white Pegasus, heading to Chrysalis, Cadance and Shining Armor.

“Excuse us, but we have to talk with Princess Chrysalis for an important issue….in private” said one of the guards.

“Why? What’s wrong?” asked worried Cadance.

“Nothing bad, but it’s needed that you two leave us alone, please” Cadance was going to speak again but Shining Armor stopped her, he shook his head to the alicorn who nodded.

“Okay, we’re leaving now” Shining and Cadance passed the guards, and then Cadance looked to Shining with a frown.

“What’s happening? Did you have any idea what want those guards from Chrysalis” Shining glared at her and sighed.

“No, but it’s better that we don’t stay in the middle, it could be dangerous” Cadance turned her head back and then looked at Shining again.

“Shouldn’t we tell Heynriik to….”

“Don’t worry, he won’t let the….”guards” do something bad to Chrysalis”

Cadance and Shining Armor crossed the white wood doors and leaved the royal garden.

“What the hay it’s happening?” Heynriik asked to himself, hiding behind a tree with Volcano aside, he saw Cadance and Shining Armor leaving the guards alone with Chrysalis.

The guards were silent for a moment, Chrysalis looked both not sure what to say, then Heynriik heard her voice but he couldn’t listen exactly what she was saying.

One of the guards replied, Chrysalis gasped and seemed nervous, something wasn’t right.

“These guards are…..strange” Heynriik put a hand under her chin, he didn’t remember the faces of that guards, it’s true that they can look identical but years living in the castle had teach him to differentiate them.

The next thing Heynriik saw was shocking, big green flames appeared out of nowhere and covered the guards, when the flames disappeared and they showed their true form.

They were changelings, like Chrysalis, they occulted their true form changing to the shape of two Pegasus with royal guard’s armor.

Unlike Chrysalis, these changelings had all blue crystalline eyes, short grey tail and wear a helmet on their heads, one of the changelings got closer to Chrysalis and yelled loudly, but Chrysalis replied yelling too.

Then the changeling closer to Chrysalis gestured the other, both lighted their horns and pointed to Chrysalis, Heynriik felt the anger grow on his veins, he wanted to stop them, but he was human, he can’t do magic like a unicorn, he can’t fly like a pegasus and his arms weren’t strong to fight with them.

But he had somepony, enough strong to crush them so hard, that they’ll see the stars….

…..unless that he wasn’t exactly a pony.

“Volcano” The big black horse looked to the human, Heynriik grinned at him, he had an idea, his hand pointed to the changelings and said.

“Go for them” Instantly, Volcano trotted with all his strength heading to the changelings. They even had time to react when the wild creature knocked them out being hit by his body, Heynriik smiled after seeing the changelings colliding with the castle walls and falling unconscious on the ground.

Heynriik ran fast to Chrysalis who saw him and smiled widely. He hugged her and kissed her lips passionately, then the changeling released him and looked sad to her love.

“It’s over, Heynriik” The human had no idea what those words meaned. He looked to the changeling guards and then to Chrysalis again.

“What? What do you mean?” Chrysalis put a hoof on his chest and rubbed it slowly, she wanted to feel Heynriik’s warm for a last time.

“Those changelings were guards sent by my mother, she’s here for me, she wants to reunite with me outside of Canterlot to send me back to the Changeling Kingdom” Heynriik moved his arms to don’t let Chrysalis go back and pulled her into a hug.

Chrysalis just cried, she cried more tears than ever before, these were the best days on her entire life, all thanks to Heynriik, who helped her when she needed the most, who loved her no matter what she looked like, and the person who had changed her life forever.

“I’m going to miss you…” Heynriik widened his eyes and walked backwards, he stared for a while to Chrysalis until his mouth spoke.

“We can’t…..see each other again? Are we going to……be separated forever?” Chrysalis blinked slowly thinking in her words.

“My mother is not going to let me escape from the Changeling Kingdom, and I don’t think she’ll let you be with me…” Heynriik closed his eyes and started drawing in his mind all the time they spent together, all the things that he did with her and other ones that he wished to do with Chrysalis on the future……but that one’s weren’t going to happen.

Unless he rebels to accept the truth.

“No…” Heynriik said in a cold tone.

“What?” Chrysalis was confused for hearing that “no”.

“No….i’m not going to let you return to that damned place, you deserve better…..more better”

“But Heynriik! If I don’t go with my mother right now, she could get really angry and blame your mother!” Heynriik walked fast to Chrysalis and stared at her with water on his eyes, he didn’t wanted to lose Chrysalis, his love, like this.

The human grabbed the changeling princess from the hooves and whistled to Volcano, the horse moved to the couple and stopped in front of them.

“Get on Volcano” Chrysalis looked at Heynriik with sadness and begged to not do whatever he was going to do.

“Heynriik plea-“

“Get on Volcano!, we’re leaving” Heynriik said in a breaking sad voice.

“Where are we going?” Asks Chrysalis using her wings to reach the horse body and placing herself to be comfortable.

“I want to show you something…..before you leave” Heynriik crawled the horse and sit before Chrysalis.

“Grab to me, it will be a popping ride” Heynriik cached the string and shook it to make Volcano run.

Amanthis was beginning to feel nervous, half hour ago she had sent two of her guards to bring Chrysalis to her. But either they or Chrysalis were there and the changeling monarch was starting to suspect.

“Celestia….if you have something to do with this…..” Her teeth creaked and her blue orbs looked at the sky waiting for the reason of her suffering in this waiting.

Then a white figure showed up joined by other two flying at her side, it was Celestia accompanied by two guards.

The white alicorn and her guards landed In front of Amanthis, both stared with cold eyes for a moment until the changeling queen spoke.

“Why she’s not here?” Celestia raised an eyebrow, her expression changed from steadiness to confusion.

“You mean your daughter? I searched for her all around the castle, but I didn’t find her” Amanthis gasped in surprise. She stamped furiously a hoof on the ground.

“How it is possible!? What have you done!? I sent two of my guards to find her but they didn’t return!”

“Why did you send your guards? I thought you were going to trust me at least this time, Amanthis!” Celestia replied moving forward until her face was in front of Amanthis.

“Because for how this “deal” had gone, I cannot trust you, I’ve told you to separate your human son form my daughter, but you didn’t care to listen!”

“Didn’t you care for Chrysalis happiness? Do you know how much can hurt them being separated?” Amanthis snorted at Celestia, making the sun mare close her eyes for a second.

“I care for her future, as well the future of my subjects! In about ten years we’ll start to starve, and I want to rule my children a strong and powerful queen, not an idealist and weakling in love with hairless monkey!” Celestia moved back slowly not looking away of her changeling alter ego.

“You….you are a monster….” Amanthis laughed hardly making Celestia began to lose her patience.

“Oh! Even the Goddess of the Sun can’t hide her true self! As your puny ponies you are just a mask trying to trick your own mind” Celestia downed her head and sighed, Amanthis cleared her throat and spoke.

“Your son…..Heynriik, I’m sure he’s the one who keeps my daughter!” Celestia widened her eyes and stared at the changeling queen.

“He won’t ever do something like that!” Celestia yelled with red eyes.

“Oh are you sure Celestia? Can you prove that Heynriik didn’t KIDNAPPED MY DAUGHTER!?” Amanthis said nearly roaring, Celestia stared at her not knowing what to do.

“We have a deal, and for the good of your subjects, it’s better that you don’t break it” Amanthis looked back at her black decorated chariot and then to Celestia again, she grinned maliciously at the alicorn who was still tense.

“If Chrysalis isn’t here in an hour, tomorrow my army will cocoon everypony alive, understood princess?” Celestia turned her head back to the royal guards. Both put one hoof on their foreheads awaiting orders, but Celestia lifted a hoof to them and shook her head.

“I’ll find them, you two stay here” The guards looked each other confused but nodded at their princess. Celestia spreads her wings and fly to the sky to meet with Heynriik and Chrysalis.

Heynriik and Chrysalis where at the top of the mountain that holds Canterlot, looking at the large green lands beyond of Equestria’s capital.

The human placed a hand over the mare’s shoulder, she lets her head fall to stay on his chest. They spoke nearly nothing since Volcano brought them there.

Chrysalis closed her eyes and moved her ear to listen her beloved’s heartbeat, they were fast and she knew why.

This was going the last time that they could be together in a long time, no one of them knows when they’ll see each other again. But both don’t want to wait very long, to don’t make their love be forgotten at the pass of the years.

“Such a beautiful view….” Heynriik said quietly.

“Yes….” Chrysalis replied moving her head away of Heynriik’s chest.

A sound coming from behind them made the couple got up and look back. They saw a white alicorn with a ethereal rainbow mane and gold jewelry.

Celestia looked at Heynriik and then to Chrysalis, her face showed sadness and guilty. She gestured to Chrysalis to get closer; the changeling mare looked to Heynriik and kissed him in the lips while stroking his cheek.

Chrysalis released her lips and hugged Heynriik for a last time; the young human surrounded her neck with his hands and whispered to her ear.

“Please…..don’t forget me…..i love you”

“I’ll never forget you Heynriik…..thanks for……...everything” Chrysalis got off of Heynriik and walked to Celestia, she nodded to the alicorn who nodded silently too, then Celestia looked at Heynriik, he was letting out an entire waterfall of tears from his eyes, eyes that suddenly changed his iris green to red after a blink.

Celestia turned and said something to Chrysalis that Heynriik couldn’t hear, the alicorn and the changeling got lost flying on the sky leaving a very angry human kid alone with his horse.

Heynriik felt something strong and hot running through his veins, a force that feeds of his anger and rage. Unrecognizable images and sounds appeared on his mind, his muscles began to tense and his breath was becoming harder.

Finally, something from inside of his body made him say some words with a strong voice.

“You’ll pay for this, mortal!” Heynriik frowned first but then he shook his head and relaxed, he looked at his hands with fear and unknowing what had just happened.

He sighed and thought that he was just tired; then he looked to his horse laying on the ground and walked to him.

“Volcano, let’s go back home”

“Well, well, you really made it, princess” Amanthis grinned to Celestia who looked down shamed.

“I think it’s time to leave, I’m sure my daughter had….learned a lot in the time she spent in Canterlot, right little one?” The changeling queen put one of her holey hoofs on Chrysalis chin to make her stare at the eyes.

“Yes, mother” Chrysalis said in a weak voice.

“Fine, then we should go back to our home, your people waits for you, daughter” Amanthis and Chrysalis headed to the chariot guarded by two changeling guards. The queen stopped and turned her head to Celestia.

“I think your son deserves an explanation to this” The changeling queen grinned showing her sharp teeth, Celestia stared angrily to her quiet. Amanthis got on the chariot with Chrysalis in it already, then she ordered her guards to take them back to their kingdom.

“I’m a failure of mother….” Celestia said to herself while watching the chariot disappearing on the distance.

Heynriik was lying on his bed looking the roof of his bedroom, trying to forget what had just happened, what he ever wanted to happen, but that was impossible to stop.

About a month ago, he felt a bit lonely for being the only one of his species, the only known human, living surrounded by ponies.

Then she appeared, a creature with black coat, green carapace on her back, insect like wings, hooves full of holes, blue silk hair and tail, and her eyes, beautiful emerald eyes….

….. eyes that he may never see again.

Everypony saw Chrysalis like a monster, something to fear and reject, but Heynriik didn’t saw her like that, for him she was
just a living thing like anypony else that deserved to be loved.

“Why mom? Why…..” Heynriik wanted a reason of how this could happen, he wanted to know what she was hiding about Chrysalis staying on Canterlot, he got off his bed and opened his bedroom’s door.

Silver Shield was beside the door as always, watching for anypony or threat that could enter Heynriik’s bedroom, he saw the doors being open and the young human prince appeared, the grey guard gasped at the sudden show of Heynriik.

“Sir, there’s something wrong?” Heynriik instead replying he just glared at Silver and said.

“I just want answers….from my mother”

“If you want to find Princess Celestia, I think she’s on the throne room right n-“ Heynriik started to run leaving Silver Shield alone, the grey unicorn sighed and followed him.

“This is not going to end well….”

“YOU LIED TO ME!” Heynriik shouted angrily to Celestia who tried to calm her son’s mood.

“Heynriik, I know that using Chrysalis was a horrible idea, but it had to be done for the good of Equestria!” Celestia got closer carefully to Heynriik; Silver Shield was holding him to evade the young human make the situation get worse.

“Please sir, relax! Fighting with your mother won’t change anything!” Silver felt an elbow hitting his nose, but that wasn’t enough to make Heynriik free.

“THEN WHY YOU HAD LET ME LOVE HER!? WHY YOU DIDN’T TOLD ME EVERYTHING FROM THE BEGINNING?! AT LEAST I WOULDN’T BE SAD FOR KNOWING THAT I’LL NEVER SEE HER AGAIN!” Heynriik fought harder to be free from Silver Shield’s lock.

“I couldn’t! it would be very dangerous if somepony else knew about that” Heynriik began to fight with less force until he fall to the ground leaning on his arms, sweating and panting.

Celestia looked to Silver Shield and waved a hoof to leave them alone, Silver Shield bowed and left the throne room.

Heynriik got up slowly like if his body weighted more than before, he stared at Celestia silent, not saying anything, letting his frown talk for him.

“Heynriik, I’m sorry” The human grinned in a form that made Celestia feel fear.

“Sorry…..you’re…..sorry” Heynriik walked slowly to Celestia, breathing heavily.

“You took away of me…..the only mare I could love…”

“You’re always trying to make me be a charming noble prince…..when I hate royalty” Celestia was quiet; she didn’t have idea of how to react.

“You’d never told me anything about my true race……” Heynriik felt the same force that before appearing on his body again, his muscles were tensing.

“You don’t let me go out of Canterlot…..” His heartbeats growth.

“You were always hiding the true of me, fearing how humans can be, and fearing that I can become something that you ever wanted…..” The blood of his veins and arteries became hotter.

“You were saying during all my life that you wanted me to be happy, to enjoy the good life I had, to have friends so I can learn “the magic of friendship”” Suddenly, Heynriik’s eyes became red like fire; the human heard a deep voice on his mind.

“Your destiny…..” He covered his ears for the pain that was on his head.

“Your destiny…” Heynriik felt that his body was changing strangely; his muscles, bones and organs were moving on their own, all his anatomy were transforming, the skin was becoming dark and scaly, his teeth turned sharp and big, there was claws where the hands and feet should be, as a large tail with a sharp tip appeared from the lower part of his back.

“By the sun….” That was all that Celestia could say while seeing her son falling on the ground supporting with his big scary claws, his height were growing much, he was now far more taller than Celestia.

“AAAAAAAAAAUUUGHHHG” Heynriik roared strongly, two horns pointing back grew from the top of his head, all his brown hair was gone, as the mouth was bigger and spreading bad smelling saliva.

The transforming human keep growing until his head were close to the roof, but now he wasn’t human, he was a monster, a live representation of destruction and death, a creature that Celestia was looking up with tears on her magenta eyes.

“Heynriik…..no….it can’t be you…” But it was him, not in his human body, instead this time he was….

…..a dragon

“This is your destiny….” The voice sounded for a last time, Heynriik looked down to Celestia and a pair of big wings showed up on his back.

“Huh…..hum…..wh- where i….am….” Heynriik opened his eyes lazily, something smooth was under his body, he moved with the little strength his body had after waking up and saw that was on his bed.

“What? How did I end up here?” He remembered that was discussing with Celestia on the throne room and then he felt something strange on his body, his body changed until.....

“I see you’re awake, dear” Heynriik turned his head with still half opened eyes and some headache to see Celestia sitting on the floor, looking at him with a warm smile. The human saw that she wasn’t wearing her typical jewelry and also her body was with some wounds, cuts and bandages on her wings as on the right front hoof.

“What….what happened to you?” Heynriik asked worried, Celestia chuckled but she ended coughing.

“Don’t….worry for me…I’m okay, Riki” The human got up of the bed and looked at the horrible status that was his adoptive
mother.

“Did something….bad happened?” Celestia shook her head, she tried to get up but her right front hoof couldn’t resist and she yelled in pain, the sun mare was going to fall but Heynriik grabbed her from the shoulder to help her keep in balance.

“I didn’t know that you were so strong, Riki….” Celestia said in a weak tone, Heynriik helped her to stand on her four hooves and looked sadly at her.

Celestia ignored Heynriik's concern, she was still smiling and trying to hide whatever had happened, then a strange noise from a nearby window made curiosity increase in Heynriik, he passed Celestia who tried to stop him but another cough catched her.

Heynriik separated the curtains from the center and his eyes widened as his mouth opened in awe at the sight of most buildings of Canterlot destroyed or severally damaged, there was a lot of guards running and flying through all the city like if they were searching something. The citizens of Canterlot were picking up the things that could be saved from their ruined homes or setting aside the debris.

“What….what….happened?” On Heynriik’s mind some images and terrible sounds appeared, when his mind was clear again, he felt a big feeling of guilty on his heart; he feared that all that destruction, that pain and the miserable look of Celestia was his fault.

“I…I did it right? I did something bad, I know….” Heynriik covered his tears with the hands; Celestia approached to him and hugged her son.

“No….you didn’t make all this madness…..you’ll never do something like this….” Celestia rubbed his back with a hoof and looked at Canterlot’s damaged streets.

“You are not…..a monster”

Meanwhile, far away in some place on the north….

A human was sitting in the middle of a wide room made of stone with some torches lighting it, sculpted rocks with words from a rare language surrounded him, and a wall of ice in front of him with a great creature inside it. The human was meditating, relaxing his thoughts, letting a fierce power run on his body.

He wears a large black coat with a light armor made of a hard black metal that protects his torso and shoulders, letting free his legs with fur made pants and a pair of boots. On his head there was a helmet with the shape of a dragon’s head, colored red with some oxidized parts, and a broken horn.

The dragon head shaped helmet had space were the eyes and the mouth were, so he could see and talk freely. Also on his back, inside a sheath was a large spear made of ice except for a part of the handle made of steel.

The human felt suddenly nervous, unquiet, something that was far away made him stand up and breathe hardly, he noticed something powerful, very powerful. He looked to the wall of ice and walked to it slowly; he stared at the creature inside and frowned.

“He’s awake” The human saw the frozen creature opening its eyes lazily.

“Then it had started….a new age starts today in Jorgard, Viran” The human nodded and turned his back to the frozen but alive creature, he walked away leaving the room.

“It’s time to pay back my debt, Kirif” Viran pulled away his ice spear and settled his helmet.

“Today starts the Age of the Dragon….”

THE END

For now……

Author's Note

Here is the last chapter, i cannot believe i've made all this alone, really, i'm going to take a big rest until i start with the sequel

PD: If you ended here after reading all this story, thank you, i appreciate very much every one that cared to watch and enjoy Unknown Innocence.

PD2: Tomorrow i'll make the epilogue.

Epilogue

Dear Celestia.

By the time you’re reading this, I’m heading to the Crystal Mountains with Volcano, you hadn’t answer my questions about who I really am and where I’m from.

So I decided today, the day of my 18º birthday, look for the truth that I wanted to know since I was a kid.

I’m going straight to the north; it’s the most logical direction were the human lands should be, I picked the map and the amulet that were with me when you found me, I think they can help me to don’t get lost.

As I don’t know how long I’ll be out of Equestria, I grabbed a bag and full it of food and ropes, maybe I’ll return in a couple of months or perhaps I spend the rest of my life without getting anything, but that’s something that only time can tell.

I don’t know if you’re going to hate me for leaving Canterlot, my family and my life for going in this dangerous journey, or either you like the idea of me disappearing of your life after these last hard years that I had.

But there’s something I’m sure, something big and mysterious is far away of Equestria waiting to be discovered, and I’ll be the first one to see how the world looks like there.

Now i have to go, wish me luck, i'll need it.

Always your son.

Heynriik.

“That’s all, Luna” Luna looked in awe at the letter that Celestia was hiding for four years.

“Sister….i didn’t know …….” Celestia lifted a hoof to Luna and shook her head.

“Luna, pity won’t solve anything, it had passed four years since he left Equestria and I still hadn’t received any news of him” Luna put the letter back to the table and got closer to Celestia.

“But Tia, didn’t you said that….you loved him as your son, even if he was adopted?” Celestia looked away but Luna moved to stare at her older sister.

“Don’t you want him to return? To be again with his family? You hide his existence from me since I’d return, just to say that you already accepted his fading from your life?” Celestia closed her eyes and sit on the floor, she opened her magenta eyes with tears and sobs coming from her mouth.

“I’d been with him since he was a foal…..i saw him grow, I saw him living surrounded by a kind that wasn’t his…” Luna saddened and sited aside Celestia, she comforted her putting a hoof around her neck.

“I lied him, I betrayed him, since the day he was separated of Chrysalis he became a very serious and cold hearted person, it was almost impossible to see him happy or smiling like before” Luna hugged Celestia and cleaned her tears.

“I’m sure sister that someplace on Heynriik’s heart still had love for you as his mother, no matter how far he’s right now” Celestia nodded and got up, Luna followed her and stared to her sister with a smile.

“He’ll return soon, I’m sure of that” Celestia returned the smile to Luna and headed to the balcony, she looked at the beautiful night that Luna has built, the stars where shining on the dark sky in a way that only Luna can do.

“Heynriik……wherever you are, I’m sure you’re doing great things”

Heynriik was sit on the ground inside a tent, the typical cold wind of the Sagunlán region was something that even the mightiest warrior of the iberian army didn't liked.

He was looking to a helmet, a helmet made of a metal that shined as gold but that was harder than any other mineral on this world, it had a red crest on the top with two horns on the sides.

Heynriik stroked slowly the red crest and closed his eyes, a memory of somepony came to his mind, somepony that had taken care of him since he was a baby, she wasn’t his true mother, she was the reason of that he hadn’t saw the love of his life in twelve years, and she wasn’t even human.

But even after all that, he missed her, not only her, he missed his calmly life, his friends, his home...

“Celestia, I wish you could see me now….. I hope that soon we could be together again…..mother”

“Commander Dumiórix!” A human wearing grey armor over a white coat, with a winged steel helmet, an oval red shield on his left hand and a spear on his back entered on the tent.

Heynriik got up grabbing his helmet with the right hand; he turned back and saw the soldier who bowed leaning his upper half of his body.

“The men are ready, their all prepared to siege Sagún”

“Good, I’m going now” The soldier bowed again and leaved the tent, Heynriik put his gold helmet on his head, he grabbed a curved sword that was on a table and set it on the sheath that was on the belt of his black fur pants.

He then placed a hand over a tiny golden trident on the sheath that he had on his back, he looked at it and grabbed it with his right hand.

"This is for your dream, Kiór” The trident started to do electric sparks and at the blink of an eye the trident turned bigger having its normal size.

Heynriik got out of the tent and crawled Volcano, his loyal horse, the one that had been with him since they reached this strange and violent land.

“One last battle and we’ll return to home, buddy” Heynriik placed himself on the saddle and shook the string, Volcano trotted fast through the camp heading to where they’ll meet the rest of the army.

Heynriik saw the rest of soldiers running, grabbing their gear, sharpening their weapons or making small organized groups to join the rest of the army.

Volcano finally reached the point, all the soldiers where forming In their positions, elite guards with their round-trip shields, one-hand axes and horned black and gold helmets were on the first line, back them were the spearman with oval shields, light steel armor, winged helmet and large spears, on the flanks the cavalry awaited orders with their bows, shields and spears ready to get stain with roman blood and behind all them the archers were ready to shot their arrows at any moment.

Heynriik make Volcano go at the center, in front of all his men, to say his last words before the battle begin.

He looked to the nearly endless line of soldiers waiting silently their commander’s orders.

“Sons of Gaia, brothers of battle, we are here to make real a dream….” Heynriik took a big breath and spoke a bit louder.

“A dream about a land where all the prejudice and hate between brothers, due the flag they wear or the king they serve, it’s forgotten”

“A land that can finally enter an era of peace, when there’s no need to make other men bleed because thinks different” Heynriik looked at his trident, the humans of this land said that it is "Ciolhaemór", weapon that Zorán, god of thunder and war had in ancient times.

He raised Ciolhaemór, and spoke again to the men in front of him.

“A land where we can take a drink of cider and laugh with each other, no matter if we’re from the Steppe, from the northern coast, from Lusitlán, from Janrelán or from Baetislán!”

“EUP!” All the soldiers yelled at once, lifting their weapons at the same time.

“A land where we’ll be united and free, where the opinion and voice of any man or woman could be heard and respected, no matter if he’s poor or rich!”

“EUP!” The entire army yelled again this time with more force.

“A land where that decadent empire from the east will fail every time that they fight with us!”

“EUP!”

“Because after all, we all talk Ibérik, the language that we talked since centuries, we all believe in the same Five Divines since the beginning, and we all love Gaia as all the mountains, forests, rivers and seas that she gave us to live!”

“EUP!” the yells were becoming stronger and stronger.

“Sons of Gaia! In this day with strong winds and dark sky, we’ll end this war, we'll siege the last city controlled by the romans! Scream to the sky with me!” Heynriik began to move passing all the line of shields and spears while holding Ciolhaemór high.

“FOR IBERII!”

“EUP!”

“FOR GAIA!”

“EUP!”

“FOR OUR FREEDOM!” Every soldier started to run to Sagún’s walls leaded by Heynriik, riding Volcano, with helmet on his head and trident on his hand.

“We’ll see soon….mother”