A Hero Untold

The air was frigid, the breath of him and his companion could be easily seen, nearly turning to frost as it floated through the air. He was used to winters, but recently they had just been getting colder, and longer. He remembered overhearing some other guards theorizing that the cold was somehow related to the old stories of Hearth's Warming Eve. But he dismissed that as an impossibility. The creatures who brought on that endless winter fed on dissonance, and he was certain that not much of that could be found in this day.

He was guarding one of the gates in Canterlot's outer wall, accompanied by an earth pony. He was quite angry to be posted outside on such a cold day, despite having been in the force for longer than many of the guards who got to be within the castle, and he saw little reason to the wall being guarded at all. It was the dead of a cold, dark winter. No one had arrived since the last train, and another train wouldn't come for over two hours. The wall was, by his judgement, in no immediate danger, and did not need his protection.

"Ferrous," the earth pony accompanying him began "Look at that bush."

Ferrous did as suggested, the bush being gestured to by the earth pony seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary.

"I don't see anything odd about it." Ferrous contested his companion's observance

"I'm certain I just saw it move against the wind. There's gotta be something behind there."

Ferrous responded this time with a verbal disagreement to throw off whatever may have been lurking behind that bush. But he signaled for his companion to stand ground, while he went to scout it out. The earth pony nodded in silent agreement.

Ferrous, being a unicorn, was more sleight than his companion Quakehoof, as the name might suggest. The unicorn carefully plucked his way through the knee-deep snow, doing his best to soften the crunching that each step made. The bush was not far, but Ferrous still did not hear or see anything odd about it. Admittedly the snowstorm was quite obstructive, but Ferrous continued to disbelieve his comrade's claims. That is, until he stood only a few steps away from the bush.

He heard a sound, not dissimilar to the squelching of hooves in deep mud, but with a hint of vibration. It almost sounded vocal, if there were a creature in Equestria incapable of forming proper words without gushing saliva from it's mouth. He began to imagine fantastic beasts, made of tentacles and maws whom would dwell within sewers or swamps if they existed. Recalling books which told of otyughs, and oozes, he quickly remembered that those creatures belonged in a game invented by his uncle, and no mention of them had been made in trustworthy literature.

Disregarding his imaginings, Ferrous stepped around the bush, revealing a small bundle of tattered, brown cloth. It was audibly gurgling and visibly rustling. Simple logic led the unicorn to the most apparent conclusion; the bundle of cloth held within it an infant of some sort. Further inspection confirmed these notions, as he rolled back a portion of the bundle to reveal a small, grey, equine face staring up at him contently.

"Hey, Quakehoof!" Ferrous shouted through the storm,

"Well, What is it?"

The white unicorn relayed the scene before him, and his companion assumed an appearance of skepticism, mixed with worry. Ferrous shared both these emotions as well. He was confused as to why a child would be lying in snow this deep, and he was dreadfully concerned about it's well being. A colt of that age would not normally be able to survive in the current weather for more than an hour or two.

Without further hesitation, Ferrous used his magic to tie the cloth into a makeshift satchel. In removing the blanket from the infant, he discovered that the young colt held a few certain traits. He was a blueish gray hue, and had a blonde mane. He was adorned with wings that seemed a tad too large for his size, and was wearing a ridiculously over sized pendant made of dark metal. Observing, but not giving much heed, to these qualities, ferrous quickly placed the child in the satchel he had made, and trotted back toward the wall which he was supposed to be guarding.

He began to open the gate, when his companion spoke up.

"You don't want to get charged for dereliction of duty, do you?"

"Of course not, but this pegasus needs someone's help, and I just happen to be here."

Without further speech, he entered the city and began his march to Mane Street. The travel was uneventful, and cold. Nopony was outside, and Ferrous was somewhat disappointed by that. Although he knew that doing the right thing required no reward, he always appreciated ponies knowing of his occasional heroism. He knew exactly what he was looking for, so it wasn't hard to find. Though to the ignorant passerby, the exact manhole covering he needed would be looked over. As was intended by it's inhabitant.

Looking around to make sure the coast was clear, ferrous stomped on the manhole three times and waited for it to open. As though the whole act were flawlessly choreographed, he stepped down into the sewer just as the manhole slid open. Once he was in, the cover closed itself again, putting him in utter darkness. He knew he would have to wait for a moment, while the lighting got working, it had been damaged for some time.

Sure enough after a minute of darkness, a light flickered on. It illuminated the crude tunnel which he was in, and revealed the exact location of the steel box he was looking for. He trotted up to it, and held down the button with one of his hooves.

"Amp, I need you to come up here" he spoke into the 'intercom' as Amp had dubbed it.

"What's the password, then?" A female voice asked suspiciously through the machine. Ferrous pondered for a moment, having trouble remembering what it was that Amp had insisted he remembered.

"Uh, please?" he asked. 'Please' being the only thing that would come to mind.

"Damn it, Ferrous. I've reminded you at least three times now. It's 'Isobutane.'"

Ferrous apologized out of courtesy, but was actually quite irritated by his friend's paranoia. None the less, the steel door beside him opened up, revealing the tan earth pony. She was covered in filth and had several patches of burned fur. She wore a reflective yellow piece of headgear with a light mounted on it, and had a bag full of diagrams and sketches at her side. She wore a pair of goggles with dark lenses, and her mane was a disorderly mess of tangled threads. She was just as she usually was.

"So, what is it you need?" Amp asked "A new refrigerator, a toaster, an electric generator, a--"

"None of that, Amp. I just need a favour." He said as he held out the pegasus infant with his magic.

"Ew, a baby? Are you implying something?"

"What? No," He denied as he began to understand Amp's innuendo "I just need you to take care of this guy while I go and sort out what to do with him."

"Well, okay. But this counts as the favour I owe you from our bet." Amp accepted reluctantly, "What's his name?"

Realizing only now that this may be important, Ferrous admitted he had no idea. Luckily Amp proved a bit more observant and identified the necklace the colt was wearing. It was crude, and made of a very heavy and dark metal. Upon it were a few scribbles of letters. Amp read it aloud:

"Wolfram" She said once with some labour, and iterated it again more clearly.

"Wolfram!" She assumed a look of confusion.

"Is that a name?" she asked Ferrous.

"If it is, I've never heard it before."

Amp stated she would get on identifying the name's origin as soon as she could. But Ferrous knew that meant she would tell herself the work would begin after she ate a snack, and then never actually get around to doing it. He simply supported her claim to avoid conflict, and left the child to the irresponsible mare with some worry.

His first stop was the citizen records in the Canterlot Barracks. He was allowed entry, as a guard of his somewhat elevated rank. He looked all through the recent births, and the names beginning with W, but not a single mention of a Wolfram was to be found. Further more, no pegasi had been birthed in Canterlot for a few years. Most of that sort of thing went on in Cloudsdale.

Following his lack of success in personal research, Ferrous determined he would have to go to a higher power and ask what to do. He would go and ask the Princess herself for information. He worried though, that the princess would just be irritated by his presence. After all, it's just one child, certainly a monarch has more important things to deal with. But he could think of no place else to go, and no one else to ask. His social influence was severely limited.

Just as he was trotting out of the Barracks he heard a gruff voice hail his presence from behind.

"Now just where are you going, Corporal?" The voice was clearly that of Captain Bolt.

Ferrous began to stutter some kind of excuse for his dereliction, but the Captain interrupted him.

"You know I could have you discharged for what you've done, right?"

"Yes, sir." Ferrous responded solemnly.

"Then I'll have you know the only reason I'm not doing that is because Corporal Quakehoof spoke so fondly of your heroism and selflessness."

Ferrous perked up, and made a mental note to thank Quakehoof whenever he got the chance. He thanked the Captain as well.

"Don't bother returning to your post, the shift's almost over anyway. But you get outer gate duty for the next week." The captain ruled as a pseudo-punishment for Ferrous's disobedience.

Ferrous bowed and thanked the captain again. Captain Bolt shook off the thanks, as "Hoof licking" and told Ferrous to think not of it. With his new found freedom for the remainder of the day, Ferrous decided for certain he would seek audience with the Princess, and he was off to the castle.

At the entrance to the castle, two guards stood watch. They both were dark grey, and wore the standard Bronze uniform of a royal guard. As Ferrous approached, one of the guards spoke up.

"State your business within the castle."

Ferrous told them he sought an audience with the princess, and he would appreciate it if it could happen sooner rather than later. However the guards denied entry, on the basis that a princess had "much else to do." Ferrous was very frustrated, and stressed that it was extremely important, though he was only met with stubborn resistance.

Ferrous decided on a way to exaggerate the truth for the benefit of entry, without truly lying.

"There is a colt in Canterlot, who gained unsanctioned entry through a guard's illegal assistance. He is not known to anyone in Canterlot, and is currently residing within the sewers. The princess must know of this suspicious pony, must she not?"

The Guards shifted for a moment, before stating that he was still not allowed in. They decided that if it were true, they would have already received reports from an on-duty guard. But to Ferrous's luck, the main entrance to the castle opened, revealing the Princess. She stood tall and strong, striking awe into her guards. Her white coat retained a sunny glow, even in the impending twilight, and her mane was just as colourful as it would be in the middle of summer.

"It is a good thing I was passing by the door when you spoke, I must apologize for these guards' behaviour. They are only following orders." Celestia said in her authoritative, yet soothing voice.

the guards both looked flustered and embarrassed for Celestia's obvious disappointment. The alabaster princess beckoned Ferrous inside, and began leading him through the magnificent castle while he spoke.

"I must apologize, princess. The colt I spoke of was something less of a threat than I described him as. But I did need to see you about him."

"I am not angry with you. Those guards would not have let you in, and I would not have seen you if you did not say as such. But please, before you state your business, what is your name?"

"I am Corporal Ferrous of the City Guard, your majesty." Ferrous said with a slight bow.

"It is a pleasantry to acquaint you, Ferrous. Now that we are known, what would you ask of me?"

"Today I discovered an abandoned child in the snow, while on duty. I left my post derelict so that I could see to his safety, as no superior was around at the time. He is in a safe place for now, but only temporarily. I was hoping you might be able to tell me what should be done with him?"

The princess looked worried at the mention of a child, "I'm afraid that all the orphanages, public or otherwise, are far beyond their maximum capacity already. The winter has taken many parents, and not enough food is available for most to adopt a child. Alas, there is little even I can do for him within this city."

"But there has to be somewhere, someone who can care for the poor child, right?" Ferrous asked with an audible sense of dread.

"I'm afraid not, and definitely not if he cannot be identified as a Canterlot citizen." The princess spoke regretfully.

"Well, he has a name. But none of the city records have any mention of him." Ferrous stated, trying to share as much information as he could that may help the colt's case. But to no avail. The princess apologized again, and said that there was no way to help the child, for there were already so many who needed help before he did.

Ferrous took a deep breath. Realizing there was only one thing that could be done within his power to help the child.

"Princess Celestia, if what you say is true, then I submit myself as a legal guardian of this colt. To raise him in my name, and under my protection, so that he may be granted the gift of life."

Ferrous was already quibbling with himself over whether what he said was the right thing to do or not. But his worries were cut short by the princess's calming voice.

"You have chosen to do something very noble, Ferrous. Your morality impresses me, and I will grant you legal guardianship of the child, should you provide me with his name."

"Wolfram, his name is Wolfram"

The princess seemed taken aback by this, and noted the oddity which was his name. But she said the paperwork would be filled out by the next day, and that Ferrous could assume his new role as soon as he would. Ferrous humbly thanked the princess for the child's safety.

"You should be the one receiving thanks, Ferrous. You have acted as a hero would this day. More ponies should follow your lead."

Ferrous quickly exited the castle, and began his journey back to Amp's hideout. The sun was beginning to fall, and he knew that it would be best if he could get Wolfram to his home before the chill of night set in. Once at the entrance to Amp's tunnel system, he quickly thanked her for her help, and took Wolfram from her, before returning to his small house in the outskirts of Canterlot.

He lay Wolfram down in a bundle of what little bedding he could spare on his bed for the night. He quietly promised that Wolfram would have the best life that Ferrous could grant him. He lay down next to Wolfram, and fell into a peaceful slumber.