Foal

by thelittlestpony

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Tragedy, Dark, Alternate Universe, Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 20798

History can tell us many things, but what if the truth is not always one of them?

Act 1: Of Mice and Ponies.
Born to a cradle of his mothers blood a young foal, blamed by his cold father for the death he witnessed, journeys to find a mother to call his own.
Act 2: A Leap of Faith
Years after he is found in the Everfree, a young pony learns the lessons his family and friends give him, while the picture of Equestrian harmony is tainted.

Note from author: Not going to stay strictly canon to series. Comments welcome, even if its just to say lolubadm8. I am also looking for an editor/proofreader to bounce ideas off and get suggestions for the flow of the story so pm me if you are interested.

Published 2013-04-04 17:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-13 16:31:34 UTC

Act 1: Prologue

“Where are we going daddy?“

“We are meeting mommy, and I told you not to call me that, foal“

The light from the Sun was dipping over the horizon, dead leaves and the crooked bark from the thickening flora slowed the pair as they ventured deeper into the forest. The calls from night animals waking from their slumber for their evening foraging could be heard far away, they had not walked far into the forest just yet.

“Mommy?“

Father and son walked silently. The father, earth pony in front leading a unicorn foal no older than two. Hessian saddle bags straddled their bodies. The growing gloom of the impending night aided by the ever green canopy of leaves towering over them obscured even the slightest hint of the colour of their coats.

“Stop“ the earth pony hissed. Ears twitched and pointed to a noise filtering through the woods, a pattering of hooves, or paws sounded from the distance. Gentle clicking from twigs from snapping on the forest floor, getting closer.

“Mommy?“ the foal enquired again, the earth pony remained silent for a moment. Lips twitched as if thinking of a response. With a grimace and the slightest hesitation he moved, stuttered and then stopped again.

“Yes, son. We must be quick or she might not find us!“

Raising a hoof in the direction of the sounds he moved again, starting slowly but with a gradually quickening pace. The foal struggled to keep up, his tiny body cantering to match the pace of the earth pony's gentle trot. Passing branches of twisted and gnarled trees they approached a clearing. Silence surrounded them, no sign of the source of the sounds could be seen. The earth pony slowed and stopped at the centre of the clearing. Ten metres around in every direction them there was nothing but sparse patches of browned grass, a border of trees towered around holding back a darkness that was only now seen due to the lowering sun in the distance. It would soon be the dead of night and the father realised that there would be no respite as he witnessed a thickening cloud cover blotting out the twilight of the moon.

“Wait“

The foal, tired from the brisk pace the earth pony had set dropped to his haunches, then lowered body to the ground, stifling a shiver he huddled near the pony standing vigilant over him. Unmoving the pair waited as one had commanded and the other obeyed. A cool earthen breeze blew smells of rotting vegetation over them while the earth pony’s ears twitched in every direction attempting to pick up on the now lost sounds.

“Just...... just wait.“

“Uhkay, daddy“

All too soon the sounds resumed, seemingly closer and louder. The earth pony looked down to the foal and lay down beside him gently raising a hoof and placing it across his front two legs. The last flickering from Celestia's Sun revealed a sombre face gazing to his son, his foal, the reason for this journey. Tired features twitched again, he knew that this evening would bring him back to his love, but there was something that he needed to release from his chest, a weight that had burdened him for more than two years. The reason for this final journey.

“Three years ago....“ almost talking to himself, but loud enough for the foal to hear he continued;

“...my life was.... perfect. I shared a love with a special pony.... your mommy. Everything was as it should have been..we

were soon to be proud parents to a foal we could both cherish and share our love with... It's almost funny how things

turned out...almost“

The sounds, increasingly louder echoed through the forest. The earth pony now no longer twitched his ears in their direction. He knew what was coming, this is what he planned. The last journey he wished to take in the search for his lost love.
The foal stirred looking up at the earth pony and meeting his eyes, he didn't hear the voice of his father often, he remained silent oblivious to the situation that was enveloping him. He wanted to hear his father speak more, but his young mind was not the inquisitive type, and questions he knew his father did not like. Looking away to the tree-line the father continued in a monotone voice, resigned to the outcome of this journey, there was no going back now;

“I remember so much about her but time and years are taking those memories away now. She was gentle, kind,

honest. She would never allow her friends and her family to go without... Not bashful and proud like most pegasii I have

met in my lifetime... She had a pure white coat, white wings, white mane and the most pale blue eyes I have ever

seen. Her winged cloud cutie mark was not her defining characteristic.... those pale blue eyes...“

The father stopped for a moment, knowing he should continue, but haunted by the memory of something so beautiful taken from him so abruptly and without warning. It wasn't fair. It was not how it was in the fairy tales. A solitary tear escaped his eye and dropped to the ground of the clearing, a last tear of so many already shed. He looked over to the foal again and raised a hoof to the eyes of his offspring.

“This... thing“ tapping three times on the tip of the horn of the little unicorn with iron shoes, causing the foal to flinch his head away.

“..is the reason she is not here.“

“daddy?“

“don’t....... don’t speak.....“ he hissed back through clenched teeth. “...just don't speak“

The pony turned his head around seeing orbs of green light blinking in the distance, strobed through the crossing of paths with trees. He knew that time was running out but he couldn't rush, he had planned this, this was not a journey of whim.
He drew a deep breath, took a gulp of a long since passed emotion that had been ever stuck in his throat since his foals birth.

“Now I only see the pain you brought to me, your birth should have been a moment to be cherished.. Now I only see

your unnatural form bathing in her blood, while I cradled her dying form. You are the reason your mommy is not here

son, you“
The little unicorn remained silent, the beginnings of tears forming around his eyes his head dropped to his legs, his eyes raising to the object of his fathers ire protruding from his skull. Whimpering the foal spoke, breaking the silence that had descended upon them.

“Mommy not want me? Where mommy? I hurt mommy?!“

“Yes..“
Tears flowed evenly from the foal, not understanding the gravity of what had been said he raised a quivering leg and touched his horn with a hoof.

“...Yes foal, you did this... That thing on your head killed your mommy... You will never be able to see her.. Never“

The earth pony looked around again, the green orbs were larger now. Blinking less with each passing moment, fewer trees were now hiding the column of hungry eyes that stalked them. The pony blinked and rose from his resting place.
A brief moment of clarity washed over his soul as he looked down at the wreck of a child he had raised for such a brief time. His body lurched and muscles clenched. A hoof rose to the mane of his son. His son! His child, was he a gift or a curse? His mind reeled seeking to in moments decipher the clues that two years of anguish had so utterly failed to grasp. Was he her last gift to Equestria?! Is it too late? Is he her last gift to Equestria!

Spinning away from the bobbing green eyes he realised he did not have long. He couldn't take the risk, would not take the risk that he was wrong. It was too late to seek redemption, apologise for the cold years he had inflicted on the innocent child before him. He would not remember any words said now anyway. There was only time for one last throw of the dice. The earth pony dropped to his knees and scooped the foal on to his back in a fluid moment, tears instantly dampening his mane from behind him he put his back to the Timberwolves stalking in the distance, and barrelled as fast as he could away.

He had been running now for only minutes, but the passing of each second leached his strength. The Timberwolves had halted the quiet stalk of their prey and had lunged into a full pursuit. A brief break in the cloud cover above allowed navigation through the haphazard trees that surrounded them, but he could not run forever, he needed to conserve as much strength as he could if he was to lead them away, and that was a task in which he was not prepared to fail.
His eyes shot in every direction surveying the forest looking for a place to hide his weeping cargo but nothing stood out, no contrast to the ever present wave of wooden limbs flanked him, hindered him. Never claustrophobic in his life he suddenly felt strangled as if the trees themselves were wrapping around his neck and tightening a noose he could never escape.
Tiny hooves clutched the base of his neck, too small to envelop it completely, he could feel them digging in to his soul. Could he have been so stupid? So utterly blind to what was in front of him? Her last gift to Equestria?
As suddenly as he bolted he stopped. A diseased tree before him cracked at its base resting upon its neighbour. Long dead, but still sporting a body just big enough. A plan quickly blossomed in his mind, but he had to be fast, they were coming. He could not run much further and still lead them away so he would act.
Dropping the foal to the ground he reared and bucked like only an earth pony used to working the land can. Not enough! Again and again he strained his muscles for all he was worth, for what little he was worth. Finally cracking through the shell of the long dead tree on the fourth buck the slightest flicker of a smile grew on his face for the first and last time since that night many months ago. Green hungry eyes thundered through the forest from every angle now. Not enough time! What was I thinking. He was her last gift to Equestria! His thoughts crept and misfired. There is no other explanation! fuck!

He dropped to his knees once more and picked up the foal gently, cradling his body and placing him like a delicate Hearth's Warming eve gift inside of the hollowed out tree. If he knew any better he would have questioned the fortuitous finding of the old oak but time was of the essence.

“Stay silent, do not move, wait until it is day and leave the forest“

“Daddy?” The foals tear soaked face peeked through the hole his father had hastily constructed. “I'm scared daddy!,

where mommy! We go to meet her now?”

“No son, only I will. When its sunny go that way“ the father raised a hoof to the direction that their journey had started.

“Remember, that way“
Turning around and facing the other direction the earth pony flinched hearing a fallen stick breaking too close. Slowly he started to move, as if his muscles were suddenly too heavy.

Her last gift to Equestria. He thought.

Charging through the trees again his head shot around again taking one last look at the fallen Oak, green eyes passed by it following his heavy charge. Being careful to be as loud as possible he stifled a grin knowing that he would continue, not stopping until their snouts could not possibly be able to track down the gift he was leaving behind for Equestria.

Our last gift to Equestria. He hoped.

Chapter 2: The Ceaseless Search

An excerpt from Canterlotian tome; 'The Lore of the Land'. by Frostmane the Elder;

2:14 And so it came to pass, the two sisters descended upon Equestria amidst great turmoil and strife;
2:15 The celestial bodies the Moon and the Sun looked upon the land with great sorrow;
2:16 Themselves, pitying the Kingdom of Pony’s, brought forth their avatars of divine beauty Celestia and Luna;
2:17 The Goddesses arose with mighty armies and banished the heathen element of Chaos to his granite coffin; keeping vigil over their fertile land.

The young foal did not sleep much. His tired mind was contemplating his solitude through a maelstrom of nightmarish sounds. The forest was not a pleasant place to be at night, the lack of his father by his side did nothing but heighten his senses to the darkness outside. The shack was not quiet, rattling and creaking in the wind, the prison in which he was stuck though was not the only noise he endured.
Wind rustled the leaves of the trees surrounding his temporary home and an open window allowed cold air to circulate mercilessly through the small shack. The foal did not move from his resting place beneath the table, the only movements he allowed were his flinching ears pirouetting endlessly to witness the sounds outside.
A pattering of steps nearby; a growl of an angry carnivore; the fall of rain; each preventing the sleep he craved but was unwilling to relent to alone.

Gradually his eyes became too heavy to keep open and he reluctantly acquiesced to his bodies demand for rest, and he slept.

It was not a sleep of foals dreams.

As morning drew closer and the Sun breached the horizon for another day, a solitary squirrel approached a worn shack barricaded with the tiniest of barricades. A small thin twig, one end buried under a pebble on the ground the other end nestled at the crook of a door handle above. It was not a barricade designed by Canterlotian engineers to pause an stampede of raging beast, but an improvised doorstop to prevent an infant from stumbling into danger at the dead of night.
The animal gently knocked the pebble aside with its snout...
… the stick fell.

The foal awoke to the day to the door opposite him slowly creaking open, its un-oiled hinges screeching unpleasantly. The little unicorn rose and moved to the doorway to witness the saviour who had released him from his prison...
...The squirrel glared back at him.

“Erm, hewwo?”

The squirrel tilted his head to the side looking back.

“Ermmm... Imma find daddy!”

The squirrel looked back to the foal again for a moment, then turned in the direction that he had led the foal from the evening before. The little foal followed.

It was not far to the same hill but on the way the squirrel stopped at a patch of mushrooms growing from the cadaver of a broken tree. The little pony looked at the strange fungi before him, narrowed his eyes, and patted the largest one in the patch on its cap. A brief smile escaped him as he repeated his gesture. A sound like a wet hoof slapping a flank replied causing a grin to creep across the foals tiny features.
Patpatpat
“heeehehehehee”
patpat “heeehehe.... Owwww!”
An acorn rebounded from his forehead and landed on the mushroom ahead of him stopping him in his childlike reverie in an instant. A squirrel looked up at him and shook its head and started off again to the hill the child would be certain to circumnavigate again. The foal suddenly remembered his task and followed again; 'Daddy'.

The squirrel watched from his vantage point atop the tree the little unicorns foalish endeavour, he was not moving as quickly as the previous day but his motions were certainly the same, never venturing far from the furrows surrounding the hill, not raising his head to survey the area. Stopping only to drink muddy water from the base of the ditch, and rest for fleeting moments.
The squirrel satisfied the child was to go nowhere leapt from his perch and swiftly ran between trees and brush alike heading to the borders of the forest once again. To visit the yellow and pink pony.
To bring a friend.

Fluttershy was in the middle of her morning routine. Sacks of foodstuffs weighed her down, but her face always bringing a smile to the work she committed to. Every so often she spoke to the collection of animals gathering around her waiting for their feed. Her soothing voice a paragon of harmony. But her mind was unnaturally occupied though as she went about her tasks.

Her 'friends' had been restless... Her mind was cast to the previous day when one of the woodland animals had came to her, gesturing to follow in to the woods. Her mind curious and fearful in equal measure as to the reason of the visit.

Had she neglected one of the poor animals injured children?

Was she really the caretaker of animals that they deserved?

Perhaps... but her commitment to the task at hoof was never to be questioned.

Her eyes flashed sporadically to the forest ahead. Many times she had ventured in to the woods and came back alive with stories the greatest playwright could never imagine, but her fear of the unknown was ever-present.
That she had a home so close to the forests edge was a bitter pill she would rather not swallow, but swallow it she did in her conviction to her chosen profession. Nobody had told her that in order to be kind you needed to be brave.

Feeding chores complete she turned to the front door of her cottage. One last glance to the forest edge revealed yesterdays visitor returning with a haste that only a worker late for a day on the farm could manage. Her expression now grave she turned to the squirrel and called;

“I'm sorry Mr Squirrel, I simply don't have time to come in to the woods today.”

The squirrel stopped and looked at the yellow and pink pony, raising to its hind legs in response and flicking its head to gesture back to the woods.

“Oh.. Oh, my. Maybe I can come tomorrow?”

The squirrel repeated his gesture.

Fluttershy was being torn apart inside, her precious animals were a great source of solace to her. Could she ignore them so?
She took two steps towards the forest then floundered. A few moments passed and over the hill three fillies approached.

“HELLO MISS FLUTTERSHY! WE ARE HERE TO EARN OUR ZOOKEEPING CUTIE MARKS!”

Fluttershy's head spun to the three fillies bounding down the hill.

“Oh my, I almost forgot!”

The appearance of the Cutie Mark Crusaders was a welcome distraction. How could she be kind if she broke promises! She could not go in to the forest today when three needy fillies were in such need of her kindness!

“Of course girls!, this way”

Fluttershy turned back to the door of her cottage with the trio of trouble in tow and held open the door to let them inside.
Stopping for a moment she watched the squirrel returning to the forest which he came from.

Surely it can wait until tomorrow?.

The foals venture in the woods in search of his father was continuing in earnest. The furrow he was traversing was surely the route to his destination. His foalish mind continued its ever present meander through his fathers words to him on that fateful night but drawing little conclusion replaying the words he was privy to.

'This... thing is the reason she is not here'

Exhaustion was creeping up on him now, his regular pauses becoming more frequent and greater in length, ten metres was now a merciless mile in the deepest desert. His saddle bags wore into his skin, but reminded of words his father had said he refused to remove them.

A squirrel returned to keep his vigil over the young ponies endeavour, perching itself upon the branch of the tree atop a hill. Ever silent, but unwavering in the labour he assigned to himself. Celestias sun was high in the sky and there would be hours to go until nightfall.

The foal stopped and took in his surroundings, tiny hoof marks ahead and behind, much too small for his father to have made. A frown painted his face as he looked to the tree at the centre of the hill with a squirrel nestling easily.

“hewwo mister”

The squirrel did not respond, but turned to the child with a quizzical face.

“umm, I dont know where daddy”

The foal dropped to his haunches and brought his hoof to his sweating face, dragging fetlock over his fore head he sat waiting for a response which would never come.

“why daddy mommy not want me?!”

The foals violet eyes shimmered in the noon sun close to tears. Infantile mind unable or unwilling to admit to the fate before him; he raised a hoof, and placed it on the horn protruding from his forehead and tapped three times.

“DADDY!.

.. MOMMY!”

Silence.....

As darkness fell a squirrel waited by the wayside of the little foals path. The little unicorn approached his guardian increasingly slowly, exhausted from his days walk.
Upon seeing the little creature the foal made no sound, simply looking at the woodland inhabitant and focusing his movements in its direction.
The journey they took was not so short now, drained from his endless circling of the hill the foal had little left to give, and every step was a mammoth undertaking. Relentless though the squirrel lead back to the shack from the previous night.

As the foal finally reached the shack he walked apprehensively to the doorway, the squirrel had moved to the windowsill already but neither seemed willing to make another move.
A step forward by the foal, and the squirrel was gone.
“eeEEEP”
The foal was bashed on his flank by a jumping rodent causing him to jump into the shack ahead.

Turning once more the foal saw a squirrel looking back at him...

Before the the door closed...

With no heart left to attempt to open the door the infant moved to the corner of the shack underneath the table he had slept the evening before.
The only light refracted from the axe above him

Alone,
Still.

Chapter 3: The Find.

In memorandum of all Ponies who have came and passed.
Loved ones cherished and here no more.
To those who have battled the darkness and given their lives to the forces of good.
Proof that no Pony shall be forgotten.

The Eternal resting place of Discord, the bringer of darkness.
May the Princesses have mercy upon his soul.

Etching upon the plinth of the stone tomb of Discord in the gardens of Canterlot.

“Twilight?”
“Oh, hi Fluttershy, just in time! Watch this!... SPIKE!”

Fluttershy watched on with a sombre expression as her friend Twilight Sparkle spun around levitating a magical tome in her purple aura.

“SPIKE, WHERE ARE YOU!”
“Here Twi.... sup?”
“I just need my assistant to erm.. assist with a spell I have just recovered from this book!”
“umm, ok? What do I need to do?”
“Just stand there”

Twilight motioned with a hoof to one of the few places in the library which was not littered with books and scrolls.

“I just need to make sure that I have everything I need, this shouldn't take long”

Twilight brought the book to her face and turned her head to Fluttershy who was still standing in the doorway. The beginnings of a smirk on full display.

“Ok, ready!”

With a flash from her horn the little dragon was hoisted off the ground. Moments later a brighter flash and he was gently placed back in place on the clearing on the floor.

“Is that all Twi? You wanted to practice telekinesis? You do that all the time!”

“Oh it mustn’t have worked, thanks Spike”

The newly pink and even more pink dragon turned back to the kitchen and shrugged his shoulders.

“pfffpfppffhhh”
“Twilight?”
“Yes FlutterhahahHAHAHAHHAHA”
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”

Twilight froze at the sudden 'stare' that Fluttershy threw her way.

“Oh!, I'm sorry Twi!. I.. I just... I-I just need to talk..”
“Ohhhhkaay?....”
“Its.... Its just that my little friends have been restless the last couple of days... I think I need some help”

Twilight frowned and moved closer to the now quivering pegasus.

“What's wrong 'Shy, you can talk to me about anything”
Twilight raised a hoof to her shoulder and tapped it gently.
“we are friends after all”
“Well... If you insist...”
“I do!”

Fluttershy met Twilights eyes with her own and slumped to the ground.
“I think something is wrong in the Everfree”
“Define; wrong”

Fluttershy shrugged her shoulders and stood again.

“My little friends have been trying to tell me something I think... It seems important. I don’t know what it could be”
“In the Everfree?”
“You know I would not normally ask, but Rarity is just so busy with an order, AJ is bucking apples for the new season and I don’t even know where Rainbow Dash or Pinkemina are!”
“Ask what 'Shy?”
“eep”

Fluttershy stifled a squeak and looked over her shoulder nervously to the still open door behind her and inched backwards.

“Well... The last two days one of my little friends has been visiting. He normally only visits every once in a while but he seems to want to take me to something in the forest. HEISNICEANDHEWOULDN'THURTANYONEHEISKINDANDGENTLE!”
“'Shy?”
“Twi....”
Fluttershy did not want to ask the question which was coming and put her friend in danger, but she knew the squirrel would not put her in danger unnecessarily.
“Twilight, will you come with me into the Everfree?”
“Of course 'Shy! I thought you would never ask!. Let me get a quill and a parchment so I can make a list of everything we need!”
“Twilight?”
“Yes Fluttershy”

Twilight was busying herself shuffling around paper on a writing desk and levitating a quill, an odd smile on her face.

“Can we just, you know... go now?”
“Oh!, of course! Silly me! We should maybe head to Zecora first though?... SPIKE! PREPARE A SATCHEL, WE HAVE AN ADVENTURE TO GO ON!”

The little Foal awoke slowly. Exhaustion had crept up on him, lack of food and safe drinking water causing every movement to be a mammoth undertaking.
Celestia's sun was high in the sky now, it was noon, or shortly afterwards and the noises of love song from birds hung over and drifted around the shack.
The little foal did not move aside from the raising of his eyes to an axe hanging over the edge of a table.

The last two days had been not been kind to him, his foalish mind swam with the words his father had shot at him.

'This... thing is the reason she is not here'

A hoof raised slowly to his horn and tapped three times.. An axe loomed overhead..

'This... thing is the reason she is not here'

“MOMMY, DADDY!”
Silence...

The foal rose, slowly at first. But with a conviction not befitting his age. The door to the shack, long since opened by a squirrel who had vacated the doorway, was bringing an ethereal light to the room around him.
The little foal nudged the table leg once and looked above.
The axe shook on its perch, but did not budge.
The foal kicked both front legs ahead of him as hard as his tiny limbs could.
The axe shook...
...and dropped to the floor resting against the table leg.

The little foal looked at the blade of the axe standing proudly to the air, not knowing the consequences of what he was about to do, he dropped his head.

His horn touched the blade of the axe.... gently at first.

'This... thing is the reason she is not here'

“Zecora's hut is just ahead 'Shy, we should see if she has any more information for us. If the animals have been acting strangely the surely she would have noticed?”
Fluttershy, Spike and Twilight had been walking in the forest for what seemed like hours now. The sun was beginning to set and along the forest path ever increasing shadows were being cast. There had been no sight of the squirrel Fluttershy had hoped to see. A glum look on her face matched the darkness ahead deeper in to the forest.
“I don’t know Twi, it seemed really important”
“Well lets keep going then! We should head somewhere safe before Celestia brings the sun down though... We both know how this forest can be..”

The trio continued on the path set before them, Fluttershy at the fore, uncharacteristically forcing the pace of the other two deeper in to the forest.

“Are you sure about this 'Shy?”
“My animals never lie Spike”

The trio continued their path, stopping only to gauge the sounds they could hear echoing through the forest.
A bird?
A fox?
A twig breaking..
eeeEEEEEPPPP!
The three spun around.
“A taxing journey I do see,

do my little ponies come to visit me?”
A zebra, Zecora, stepped out from the forest..
“Oh Zecora, you scared us! We came to see if there was a disturbance in the forest”
A flustered Twilight Sparkle spat.
“Certainly the forest is not obtuse,

an animal I see gives guide profuse”
Zecora gestured along the path to a squirrel, a squirrel Fluttershy recognised immediately. Despondent from her days fruitless travelling she bolted, not thinking about her friends or Zecora, but intent on assisting the poor squirrel who needed her help.
Fluttershy was not Rainbow Dash; there was never to be a Sonic Rainboom amid the Everfree, but her determination kept her running without thinking deeper in to the forest she so normally feared.

The sun was low in the sky now and the squirrel bolted with a quickening pace in to the depths of the forest, neither slowing or checking for his pony follower.
Fluttershy did not relent in her pursuit.

Twilight turned to see a yellow and pink blur flash past her, a she turned and two blue eyes looked back at her..
“a journey this one alone should make

a toll yourself should not take”
Zecora flicked her head to the side, gesturing in the direction of her shack.
“come rest at my home my friend

and in the safety of my abode we can watch the day end”

The forest had descended into darkness now and Fluttershy had become acutely aware of her predicament. Driven by her inaction the previous days though she continued on.
The squirrel had not stopped so far and she would not too, her resolve was unwavering in her pursuit to help her woodland friends. The only respite afforded was the clear night the pegasus weather teams had given. A clear moon shone through the forest covering.

Up ahead a squirrel stopped at the doorway to a broken shack. Fluttershy bounded through the woods to catch the furry critter.

“What is it my little friend?”
The squirrel turned to the shack and jumped to the window opposite the doorway. In a voice almost too soft, she continued;
“is there something here?”
Approaching the doorway the young mare entered the shack and took in her surroundings.
An open window,
a small table
an axe on the floor,
some Hessian sacks in the corner....

“I.... I'm not sure what you need?”

The squirrel jumped from the windowsill and jumped to the Hessian sacks on the floor and began circling.
Fluttershy approached.
“is there something in here?”
A hoof raised and touched the sacks that were partially hidden in the darkness under the table.
“Oh my”
Fluttershy drew her hooves back with the sacks and buried within was a little pony. A tiny pony. Her eyes flashed wide at the sight of his forehead.
“Oh... oh my!”
A tiny pony, barely alive slumped in her velveteen grip. Upon the tiny foals head was the jagged stump of a unicorns horn. Fluttershy's quivering limbs cradled the tiny foal as tears flowed freely down her cheeks:
“Hussssh now, quiet noww,
It'ss time to lay your sssleepy head.”
Fluttershy's voice stammered at every word:
“Hussssh n-now, q-quiet now,
it'sss t-time t-to go t-to b-bed”
The tiny foal stirred, his front limbs quaking ever so slightly..
...”mmm.....mommy?”

“Oh, my.. “

Chapter 4: Perihelion

“TWILIGHT, ZECORA! HELP!”

Fluttershy's tear soaked face burst through the doorway to the Zecora's shack, eyes reddened, almost dried out from the cold wind she brought with her.

“I HAD NO IDEA! I...I JUST DIDN'T KNOW! OH PRINCESSES FORGIVE ME! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!”
“Calm down 'Shy, and just tell us what's wrong? Just sit and tell us where you have been”

Shaking and turning her head to her saddle bags she began undoing the harness hugging her abdomen. Gently, gently, she rested it on the a bed in the corner of the room. Whimpering she turned to three pairs of confused eyes looking over to her.

“Shy?.... what's wrong?”
“I... I just don't know how.... how this could have happened Twi...”

Fluttershy brought her hooves back up to her saddle bags resting before her, and flipped back the layer of fabric covering its contents....

…..Pulling all of the items out with shaking hooves she proceeded to throw what little she had thought to bring in to the forest with her around the, until recently, abandoned shack.

“Its OK little one, it's OK... Oh Princesses, please be OK”

The little foal had not stirred, aside from occasional shivers, since his foalish uttering after Fluttershy had stumbled across his prone form. His breathing was shallow and he would surely not be able to walk through the forest to the safety of Zecora's hut.

“Please be OK... I... I don't know what I w-would do if... if”

Stiffening her face and wiping errant tears with a fetlock she moved to the foal and placed the now empty saddle bags gently beside him. Taking a blanket she had removed just a moment before and draping it around the tiny body, she lifted him off the ground and wrapped it around him three times.

“Hush now..”

She moved the bundle to the bags and placed him gently within, careful not to bump him on the hard floor.

“..quiet now..”

Her melodious voice seemed to echo through the silent forest as the light from the moon guided her parcel to the bottom of the bags beside her.

“...It's time to lay your sleepy head..”

Making sure the tiny foal was secure she lifted the bags up to her back and began securing it in place, folding a flap of fabric over the opening to protect it from the elements, she moved to the doorway.

And ran.

“'Shy, what is it? Oh please tell me what's wrong!”
“H-how could this...”

Fluttershy lifted a blanket out of the bag before her and held it in her forelimbs. Brushing the now empty bags to the floor with her muzzle she placed the bundle in to the place on the bed and began uncoiling its too tiny contents from its grip.

“...who... w-what could have done t-this Twi?!”

Fluttershy was galloping through the forest now, the dim light of the moon strobing through the forest canopy barely enough to allow her to see the terrain before her. There was no sign of any creatures lurking, or she simply did not see or wish to acknowledge their existence.

She knew that time was of the essence. A young foals life depended on her swift arrival at Zecora's home, surely Twilight and Spike would be there? They would know what to do!

An unnaturally heavy burden caused her to slow for a moment. Every sinew of strength sapped in an instant as her mind finally realised how she had been led to this.
'He wanted me to save this foal' she thought as her mind cast back to the previous days visits. 'and I would not come'
Her pace redoubled. Fatigue simply did not matter. A tiny foal pressed in to her side through the fabric of the bags over her back reminding her of the job at hoof. 'This is my fault!'

Fluttershy moved the last fold of the blanket to reveal to her friends around her the tiny Unicorn she had found.
“W.... w-what...”
“He was all alone in the forest Twi!”
“Shy...”
“I knew something was wrong Twi! I just didn't... I.... I was too sc-scared!”
“Fluttershy...”

The stony silence was broken by Zecora bustling in a herb cupboard, throwing ingredients into a wooden mortar on the table at the other end of the hut.

Spike climbed up on to the bed and looked down at the foal and raised a clawed hand to its forehead.

“What happened to his horn?”
It was more a statement than a question.

Fluttershy was racing through the forest now. Breaths were coming harder as she galloped through trees and avoided fallen branches, but her pace did not slow, could not slow. On her mad rush to follow the squirrel who had guided the way to her charge she had not paid heed to the distance she had covered.
Every hoof-step seemed to take an eternity but she knew she was not far now. All was not lost. How could she forgive herself if she did not make it in time?

Jumping over the twisted remains of a fallen tree she came to a stop and took in her surroundings. Just up ahead, illuminated mercifully by Luna's moon was a dirt path trampled into the floor of the forest. A path she knew would lead her to Zecora's home.
Blinking twice to clear her vision of tears she no longer realised she was producing she moved to the path and steadied herself.

A brief shiver escaped her...

..Her ears flicked as a tiny cough sounded from behind and a weight shifted ever so slightly...

She blasted through the final furlong to the sanctuary up ahead. She could see the faint aura of lamplights flashing through the trees as her aching body steadfastly kept it's speed.
Gradually, mercifully the hut, Zecora's hut, came in to focus.
“It's going to be OK little one.. My friends will know what to do.”

Laid upon the bed the little foal made no movements aside from the shallow breaths entering and escaping his chest. Pale brown coat muddied by several days of forest dwelling and sleeping rough darkening it at his limbs.
A short white mane jutted imperiously from his head and neck and a white tail, darkened to almost black in patches from dirt, spread thinly behind him.

Twilights eyes moved to his horn... His lack of horn and widened.

“I....”

Tiny sparks flashed intermittently between the crooked remnants of a unicorns horn on his forehead. She cast another look at Fluttershy and her expression softened.

“Fluttershy, thank goodness you found him when you did, I cant possibly imagine how you feel but you are not to blame for this.. You, I am sure, have saved this child's life”

“I...”

“Its OK 'Shy, here help me undo his saddlebags, let's get him cleaned up... I am sure the Princesses can help us once we find out what happened”

Twilight moved forward and started to work the ties on the little foals saddlebags, enveloping them in her purple aura.

“Its all my fault.. If I had come sooner! if.. if I”

“No Fluttershy, don't think like that. Zecora will make a brew and everything will be fine, you'll see... now help me with these bags”

Twilight blinked away tears, she had to stay strong for her friend, now was not the time to mourn or reflect on mistakes.

“Come on 'Shy, Spike too, both of you help me here”

Her aura released the fastenings in front of her as Fluttershy moved to gently lift the little foal. Spike and Twilight moved closer and slowly removed the hessian bags and placed them to the side of the bed.
Twilight cast down her gaze to the tiny saddlebags now on the floor and slowly raised her eyes to Spike.

“...Spike?”

The young dragon did not respond. His eyes fixated on the sight ahead of him. Mouth agape.

“...Is everything OK, Spike?”

Slowly she turned around and met Fluttershy's gaze.

“Twilight...” she whispered, barely audible through the Zebrican melee in the background.
“.....I ju...I... what... wh-what does this mean Twilight?..”

Her body finally caught up with her mind and the mare looked at the tiny foal draped across the forelimbs of her friend. Starting at the head and surveying the body her eyes slowly widening at the sight before her.

“..What does this mean Twi?”

“...Oh.. Princesses...”

Chapter 5: Parabola

Excerpt from the private journals of Princess Celestia.

These days my mind is consistently drawn to a time long passed. An age ago now when my sister and I were still young to the world in which we were born. An era of chaos and turmoil, it seems, was our birthing pool. A legion of Discord's minions held an iron claw on the land which is now so fertile and green. Twisted by his maniacal mind, Ponydom suffered to his tumultuous wrath.

I may never know the circumstances of my fathers appearance in this tempest that swallowed our race, aside from the timely fashion in which he was gifted to us.
My mother, Rhea; winged unicorn; mortal. Her meeting with my father, Aion, the first Alicorn, gave the trifecta of pony races the inspiration to battle the dark forces whom ruled our land. A unifying, irresistible force. His insistence that their names never be written in to the annals of time and revered, as rightly they should be; confuses me still to this day. Did he hope to be forgotten to the sands of time?
Without his guidance, myself and Luna, would never have become the 'Princesses' and saviours our subjects revere to this day, for right or wrong.

His disappearance at the casting of the forbidden spell revealed to us the Elements of Harmony and led us to our eventual victory. But would we have cast it if we had known we would never see him again? This is a question one should certainly not entertain. Surely peace and harmony is more important than one spirit, no matter how sacred?.
Was it worth the loss of his soul? Will he ever return to us? Was our eventual victory Pyrrhic due to losing such a powerful and graceful mind?
Would he be proud of the land which I now rule at his behest; a land capable of such malice to such an innocent foal?

I fear I shall never know the answer to the questions which I pose to myself and my sister.. All that remains, I fear, in my long years; is questions which can never be answered....

One answer I can give myself is the certainty in which I can never be Queen Celestia. I shall forever remain regent; Princess. Vigilant guardian awaiting the return of our rightful ruler.

King Aion.

“Twilight, how... how could this be”

Wings...

The tiniest pair of wings greeted the small group, Zecora's crashing around her herbs and spices stopped for a moment, but soon the sound of a pestle grinding ingredients she had so hastily gathered broke the pondering's of the trio surrounding the foal.

“...”

The limbs hung limply by his sides, clearly too damaged to fly due to missing flight feathers and lack of preening.

“...I”

“This is not time for soliloquy,

lets help this foal sufficiently”

“...”

Zecora had joined the trio by the bed carrying a mortar on her back, placing the viscous solution at her hooves she lifted a small paint brush and began to apply the ointment to the cracked hooves of the foal and covering exposed grazes and sores.

“Of infected wounds this ointment shall prevent,

his horn though I fear I cannot augment”

“...”

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE”
The Zebra broke from her usual vocal cadences to snap the bewildered ponies back to the task at hoof.
“Your teacher... should hear of this”
“...yes... YES!, Spike, quill and parchment please!”

Fluttershy had moved to the kitchen and was preparing a wooden bowl with lukewarm water and a cloth while Twilight scratched away hastily at the scroll before her. Finishing and rolling it up she moved it to Spike.

“Spike, this needs to go to Princess Celestia now.”
“But Twilight its still night, Luna is the ruler of the night. I don't think Celestia will be pleased”
“Spike, that is not important now, we need her... If you will”

Spike sighed and blew a small wisp of fire to the scroll in front of him turning it to ashes almost immediately. The remains of the scroll fluttered slowly to the ground but gradually disappearing before hitting the surface.

“Celestia will know what to do...she simply must”

Celestia snored loudly in her bed chamber as a scroll flashed into existence above her head, spun a little and dropped unceremoniously to her muzzle.

“WAT, IT WASN'T THE FILLIES CANDY CANE!”
She spat out as her head shot up, eyes wide and her mane of pure energy somehow flattened to one side defying any notion of physics.

“mhhmmmnn”

Groaning she sat up and glanced at the mirror at the other end of the room, catching her reflection.
“mmmeh, bed head”
A flash from her horn and her mane was restored to its regal glory, shimmering as if caressed by a gentle breeze. Another flash and the lamps and candles around the room ignited and cast a yellow glow throughout the lavishly decorated palatial chamber.
Searching for the cause of her rude awakening she cast her eyes around, finally landing on the scroll resting on a pillow.

“What has my student been getting up to now!”

Twilight had been a steady source of pride to the princess since she had taken her under her wing, but likewise a constant source of exasperation. Breaking the seal and opening the scroll she started to read aloud to herself sleepily.

“Dear princess,
blah blahblah,
forest blahblahblah blah,
Zecora's hut blah blah,
…...
...what”

Celestia shot out of bed and jumped to a dresser to put on her jewellery whilst still holding the scroll in her magical grip, reading and rereading the scroll her body began to tense with every word.
Taking one last look to the mirror she adjusted her royal garb and allowed her horn to envelop her whole body with a light glow.

It was a spell she had cast many times before;
'Just imagine where you want to be, daughter'
The words echoed through her mind.
'Imagine seeing yourself moved there, as if by a gentle wind...
...Let the wind caress your body and flow through your wings;
open your eyes'

With a bright flash a frantic looking Princess appeared in Zecora's shack by the doorway.

“Thank goodness Princess! We just did not know what to do!”

Without a word she moved to the group huddled around the bed and looked up to the foal.
It had been a long time since she had seen another like him, winged unicorns were a rare breed indeed.

“You did the right thing faithful student” her expression moved gently to a smile at the little mare;
“This little one is indeed precious”

“But...but an Alicorn?... H-how?..”

Fluttershy was whimpering with tears still flowing gently down her face, moving a damp cloth to the little foal and removing dirt and stains from his fur and tail.

“My little ponies, this little one is indeed a rarity. When I read your letter Twilight I thought... for an instant... well... that is not important, but I am here and we shall do all we can to help this poor child”

The princess took a deep breath and looked back from the foal to the eyes all looking at her. She knew an explanation was needed but that could wait a while.
Moving to the bed she let her horn begin to glow and moved it down to the foal casting her aura back and forth across his body. Healing magic gently closed scratches and repaired cracks and chipped hooves.

“The foal is weak but not seriously injured. I feel his current predicament is exhaustion and lack of food and water... You found him just in time, much longer and he may not have fully recovered”

Fluttershy winced at the last sentence, the princess flashed a look her way but quickly regained her composure.

“He is still so very young, his horn will regrow in time. If he had been much older I may not have been able to say the same, the nature of magic fusing with an adolescents horn makes that much less likely.”

“But.. but Princess” Fluttershy interjected in a voice almost too quiet to hear.
“How is this possible?”

“Chance, my little ponies, chance. There have been times before when a foal such as this has been brought to my attention. Precious gifts each one handed to us by a random dice roll of fate, but make no mistake, this foal is no Alicorn in the sense you may believe”

“..I”

“...do not understand?”

“..yes princess”

“Well.. let me explain”
The Princess gently sat back on her haunches and smiled reassuringly back to the huddle ahead of her.

“There has only ever been three Alicorns, myself, my sister and one other, possessing the powers that many regard as having no pier. Anomalies do exist though, the rarest of which you see before you. A winged unicorn, for want of a better term... Possessing the magic’s of all three races in one pony; a pegasus' wings, a unicorns magic and the latent dexterity and agility of an earth pony. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is one such creature.
“Sadly being such an anomaly being carried by a mother not designed for such a task commonly ends in her death at childbirth.”

“oh.. oh my goodness” Fluttershy spoke again. “poor, poor thing!”

Twilight, Spike and Zecora looked back to the foal on the bed with tears beginning once more, holding their gaze for a moment, allowing the revelation to sink in. Fluttershy kept her vigil, bringing the cloth once more to the mane of the little foal and gently wiping down its length.

Raising once more Celestia continued;

“What this child need now is what only one pony I know of can provide; A home... A home with a kind and loving mother willing to brave the darkest corner of Equestria to protect him”

Twilight's eyes rose to Fluttershy who had not fully listened to what the princess had inferred. But kept up her gentle mopping of the foals brow with the cloth.
Celestia moved to her side and placed a hoof on her sagging shoulder.

Eeep

“Fluttershy”
“Yes Princess?”
“I see no other pony in my land who could care for a soul with such kindness as you alone are capable”
Fluttershy's mouth moved but made no sound.
“...”
“I would hope that you could care for this foal... for me.”
“...I...”
“You have proven to all here you are ready for such a task. The letter from my student here described your valiant foray into the Everfree to save the foal you are caring for now already”
“...I... I-I'll try Princess...”
“And you shall succeed my little pony... Now, let me delve in to his memories and find out what caused this all to happen.”

Celestia moved her horn to the remnants of the horn on the foals forehead and let her aura swallow both in light.

Her body flinched slightly as she transferred her consciousness to the tiny pony ahead and slowly the forest began to coalesce through a grey cloud around her.
Ahead was a little foal, trotting behind an earth pony between trees and brambles.
She allowed herself to move through the forest trailing the duo. Passing with her ethereal limbs through the obstacles ahead.

“Where are we going daddy?”
A little foal asked.
“We are meeting mommy, and I told you not to call me that, foal”

Chapter 6: The Unbearable Lightness Of Ponies.

'Foal'

The cold tone with which the pony wielded the word like a weapon made Celestia flinch, sending a cold shiver through her incorporeal form.

Before she could get closer to the pair the colours of the forest began to merge to black and swirl around her, before a little foal appeared before her. Stooping down beside him she moved to raise a hoof.
As suddenly as the forest vanished colours began to form, beginning in smoke like patches and spreading around the two. Branching off in seemingly random directions as if the trees themselves were painting the landscape with their many limbs. Looking around once more she turned back to the foal who was resting on the ground now in a small clearing in the forest. A larger pony looked down at him as a tear left his eye landing beside the foal. Dropping himself to beside the tiny pony and placing a hoof across the child's he spoke;

“Three years ago... my life was....perfect. I shared a love with a special pony...your mommy... Everything was as it should have been...we were soon to be proud parents to a foal we could both cherish and share our love with... it's almost funny how things turned out... almost”

“I remember so much about her but time and years are taking those memories away now. She was gentle, kind, honest. She would never allow her friends and her family to go without... Not bashful and proud like most pegasii I have met in my lifetime... She had a pure white coat, white wings, white mane and the most pale blue eyes I have ever seen... those pale blue eyes..”

No..

Celestia listened in apprehensively to the pony before her, leaning in slightly to hear his almost whispered speech.

“This... thing... is the reason she is not here”

“No”

Celestia spoke with a stern voice, she knew she was simply reading memories but she was compelled to try and stop this pony in his tracks. 'How could a father blame a child for something like this!'. Her mind could not comprehend the twisted and malformed ramblings coming from this pony.

“daddy?”
“don't...don't speak... just don't speak”

“Silence you fool” she hammered back at the pony before her, swiping a ghostly limb through his face.

“Now I only see the pain you brought to me”

“SILENCE YOU HORRIBLE ABORTION OF A CREATURE!”

She screamed like a banshee with her eyes shut tight, bringing hooves to her ears, she could not listen any further. Would not listen any further. 'How. Dare. He!'

“Miss?”

Her eyes shot open and was greeted by a foal surrounded by nothing but a small circular patch of ground beneath him. All else was darkness.
She drew a none existing breath and raised a smile, stifling the tears she was so desperate to give.

“Oh little one, my special little pony.”
“HEHEHE! You talk funny!”
“...Thank you?”
“S'OK Miss”
The little foal giggled to himself while Celestia struggled to hold back a smirk at the little pony's blasphemy.

“Tell me, what is your name, little one?”

Before she finished her sentence the darkness turned in to a hurricane surrounding the pair of them. Standing in the eye of the storm Celestia looked for any sign of structure to the forces buffeting the little child, she moved to hold him but her ghostly limbs failed to grasp and comfort the foal. She looked back to his face, but he seemed calm. Serene.

He lay down on his side and a worn blanket formed from smoky tendrils escaping from the veil of grey cloud spinning ceaselessly around them.

As suddenly as it started it ceased and Celestia moved back taking in the surroundings. The little foal was now huddled beneath the blanket in the back of what appeared to be a trading wagon. Tatty looking trinkets hanging from hooks clanked against the shelves, percussively accenting every stone and trough the wheels hit. Outside a thick blanket of snow covered the ground as the pony powered ramshackle wagon slowly bundled down a slope.

“FOAL. OUT OF THE WAGON. HILL”
A familiar and most unwelcome voice sounded from up ahead.

Foal?

“Yes daddy!”

A younger looking pony than she had seen just a few moments ago stood, tiny saddlebags now the only warmth from the cold outside, he moved to the rear of the wagon and jumped to the snow below.
'He is too small, that wont make any difference at all!'
The tiny shivering pony started to jump through snow which was pressing tightly up to his chest, chasing the wagon which was moving much to quickly for him to keep up.

“BACK ON, FOAL!”

FOAL?

Rage was boiling in Celestia's mind now. 'How dare he! His own child!' The little pony scampered and chased after the wagon, tears beginning to form in his eyes looking at the pony drawn wagon ahead.

“WAIT FOR HIM YOU AWFUL MONSTER!”

The scene began to fade, as if washed slowly away in shimmering lines by the falling snow. Feeling a coldness washing over her very soul. Celestia kept her eyes closed tight. Hairs that were not there stuck out on the back of her neck and back. 'How could ponies be so cruel to their own flesh and blood?' repeated over and over again in her head. 'How?'

'I'm sowwy Miss'

The little foal had moved to her side and had raised a hoof to catch her attention. Looking down to the sombre looking child and forcing a reassuring smile back and giving a wink she replied in the softest tone she could muster;

“You can never be sorry for anything; my little pony.”
With a frown the foal replied, looking straight in to her eyes.
“Why you sad”
“You did not make me sad little one, your resilience gives me hope”
“But”
“Now, you must show me who hurt your horn so that it may never happen to another pony again”
“...Ohkaaaay Miss”

Celestia was suddenly alone.
Columns like giant stalagmites rose and spun from the ground she was now standing on. Colours grew in to focus as the columns rose and widened, joining above her head and closing the gaps between them. A colourful flower blossomed next to her hoof, and like a trail of domino's protruding spikes turned to green grass, differing shades of brown, green orange and blue washed down from the canopy meeting at the ground. Trees towered over her and grass softened under her hooves. The sweet summer smell of bark and plant-life that only a mature forest can produce surrounded her and filled her nose prompting a little smile. Birds swept overhead singing merrily.
There was no foal to be seen.
Spinning around her eyes moved to a small wooden hut hiding under the cover of a great oak tree, its aged branches drooping and leaves gently caressing the roof of the neglected structure.

She raised an apprehensive hoof.

“MOMMY! DADDY!”

And bolted as fast as her seraphic limbs could take her to the open doorway, just as in the corner under the table a little, tiny, pony stirred.
The slightest nudge of the table and an axe quivered from where he gazed.

“no..”

The foal raised hooves and with a strength his body should not be capable the axe toppled and fell to the ground.

“please, please not like this”

Her begging went unanswered.

The little foal dropped his head, placing his horn on the blade of the axe, gently at first so as to not push it over. With a determined look he started to shift his weight back and forth. Tiny sparks trailing his movements as he changed his weight one way then the next, and began sawing the horn from his own head.

“Oh, please stop!”

The child's movements increased, moving faster from one end of the blade to another, ignoring the pleas from the princess. She felt trapped. Powerless for the first time in her long life. Her spectral body would not produce the tears she needed, no release from the mental anguish she was subjecting herself to, yet, she could not end it. She could not leave the foal alone, it was a memory of course, she had no power in dreams but staying by the child's side was the small comfort she could provide.

What seemed like hours passed in moments and the foal's job was complete with a small click from the final sinew of horn giving way.
The foal looked up to the princess and smiled warmly.

“Hewwo miss!”
“I... I-I'm so sorry”
“Hehe silly!”
“I was not there little one.. was not here!”
“Nnnope!”
“You have been through so, so much”
“Silly miss! How can I find mommy and daddy with this!”

The little foal pointed to the horn on the ground by the axe with a hoof. Celestia looked down upon it then moved her eyes to meet the foals, holding back her emotions she raised her head.

“Come now little one, wake up! I have someone for you to meet”

“Princess are you OK! What happened!”

Celestia opened her eyes to a concerned looking group of friends.

“I am... fine”

Celestia had not needed to lie in a long time but she had to be strong. Be the noble Princess she was meant to be. Her heart beat a little too fast, her brow was a little too hot, her breaths were a little too shallow.

“Little one, wake up!”

As the group moved their eyes to the little foal Celestia wrapped a wing around a trembling Fluttershy. Slowly the little foals eyes began to twitch, then blink, then look up to a smiling Princess sitting by the bed, yellow and pink Pegasus by her side.

“hewwo miss” he croaked through a dry voice.
“Hello my little stallion!. I would like you to meet a dear friend of mine”
The little foals eyes moved around everypony in the room.
“This...” gesturing with her head to Fluttershy
“...Is your mommy, little one”

“mommy?”
Fluttershy looked to her hooves as if waiting for reassurance from those around her, but before anyone spoke she looked in to the foals eyes with a profound sincerity.

“Yes. And I am so proud of you for being so brave”

The foal jerked and leapt out of the bed to a startled Fluttershy, tears already streaming down his face he pressed hard with his exhausted limbs into her neck, muzzling and failing to get his forelimbs even half way around the little mares neck as she gently wrapped her silken wings around him.

“Oh, my”

“MOMMY!”

Celestia shrank away from the hastily arranged union many months in the making. Turning her back to the sobbing Zebra, Dragon and Ponies she enveloped her body in her magical aura and placed herself back in her chamber.
An anger like no other she experienced before built up in her.
'how could a father be so cruel!'
'why did I not protect him!'

With tears streaking down her face she took off her crown with her magic and forced it through the air to the mirror.
With an anguished scream she began throwing furniture against walls, smashing windows. Forcefully destroying all the useless items she surrounded herself with.
Luxuries.
They disgusted her. Mocked her.

“sister?”

Flinging portraits she did not want to see, paying no heed to the voice from the doorway she lashed every possession in her sight in to a maelstrom of fury, compacting and throwing in random directions anything she could.

“sister?”

“...I failed him Luna”

Stepping closer Princess Luna moved to her sister and raised a hoof to her shoulder.

“Come, sister. It is almost time to raise your Sun and set my Moon.”

“How can I do that now?”

“Like you always have my sister. For eon's passed and ages to come”

“How?”

“Come now, I know how much raising the Sun means to you. A new day beckons.”

Author's Note

Coz every story gotta have a dream sequence yeh?

Chapter 7: Home

“Father, from where did you come?”
“I'm honestly surprised you haven't asked before now, truth be told!”

A adolescent Celestia looked enquiringly at a tall Alicorn sitting under a willow tree, a streak of amber magical energy flickered along the base of his mane and tail casting a shadow in front of him. Raising a hoof and tucking his mane behind his ears he looked to the ground and sighed.

“I was sent here, Celestia... By whom? Well that does not matter at all. Do I regret being sent here? Honestly, no... Do I miss whom I left behind?.. Well... I miss my friends and my family more than you can ever possibly imagine. One day, maybe you will meet them, I don’t know if I will ever see them again, I know though you would love them as I do. But, there are times when I wish that I could go back. To see them once more and just embrace them and be with them. To watch the sun rise and set and to enjoy each-others company. To argue about nothing in particular with a smile. To even just see their faces would sate my appetite...”
“So father. Why do you not visit them?”
“...That is something I would love to do, but my time here is much more important, can you imagine how life would be for ponies if the element of chaos and his lieutenants snuffed out our little insurrection?”
“Is that more important than your happiness father? There are others willing to lead.”
“My happiness resides here, with my daughters and my wife.”
“So father, where do they reside? I would love to go with you and meet with them”
“Come here Celestia”
“Of course father”

The young Celestia moved to the Alicorn, who wrapped his forelegs around her and embraced her tightly. The pair held each other for a few moments before the older Alicorn loosened his embrace slightly to allow his daughter do shift back. The pair looked to each others eyes.

“I love you, daughter”
“I love you too father”
“...I want you to tell you something... You could never do anything to make me angry... You and your sister give me a purpose in life that you could never possibly imagine...”

“How could he have no name Twilight?”
“I don't know 'Shy, the Princess was sure in her letter”

The Sun had been risen by Celestia a short while earlier and Spike, Twilight and a nervous looking Fluttershy carrying a sleeping foal curled on her back were walking along a beaten path to the forests edge.

“I cant just make a name up!”
“Why not?”
“Because...”
“You are his mother now Fluttershy, it is your responsibility to care for him. How can you care for him if he has no name? You cant just call him for supper by shouting 'thingy'”

Fluttershy looked to her back, to make sure the little pony was still secure more than anything else and visibly slumped, wings almost dropping to the ground as she walked.

“But I don't know how Twi”
“It's easssyyyy! All you have to do is pick something that describes him!”
“Brown Pony?” Spike suggested whilst looking up to the sleeping foal.
“NO!.... Well sort of no, that’s boring! And he has a bright mane and tail anyway!”

Fluttershy mumbled to her self unintelligibly.

“What, 'Shy?”
“Oh sorry, I was just talking to myself”
“About what?”
“Well... He isn't really just brown, he has a beautiful sorrel coat and flaxen mane”
“PERFECT! Sorrel! You said you were bad at this!”
“I don't know Twi...”
“What does he mean to you?”
“Well... I don't know. It feels strange having someone to look after...”
“But what about all your animal friends!”
“That's different”
“No it isn't!”
“I mean... It feels different... My animals are my friends Twilight, this pony is my colt and...”

Fluttershy bit her lip halting herself mid speech as the trio walked along in silence for a moment. Twilight flashed glances at the pegasus pony waiting for her to continue.

“And what 'Shy?”
“Well... I don't feel like I deserve him... Like he is too precious for me and I can't care for him like he needs.”
“And that, Fluttershy, is why you are the perfect mother for him, he is a gift. And I also think that you have the perfect name for him too”
“Huh?...but”
“No 'buts' 'Shy. The princess was right to give this gift to you... Sorrel Gift”
“You don't like Brown Pony?”
“Spike!”
“Sorry 'Twi”
“So, how about it 'Shy?”
“I think... I think I like it... 'Sorrel Gift'”
“Well I think Brown Pony was better, people will just end up calling him Soggy!”
“Spike!”
“Sorry 'Twi”

With a sigh from Spike and a smile from two mares they reached the edge of the forest, exiting a short walk from Fluttershy's cottage. The Sun was high in the sky bringing a warmth to the group that they had not felt since entering the forest the day before.

“umm, 'Twi?”
“Yes, Fluttershy?”
“Can you.. I mean if you don't mind, I hate to ask”
“You can ask me anything 'Shy!”
“Well... I want to spend some time with Sorrel... Just me and him... So I can get to know him better, I don't think he is really up to visitors at the minute anyway”

Twilight beamed a big smile to the pegasus pony by her side and nodded slightly, whilst from over the hill a pink pony approached.

"OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHWHOISTHIS!.”

Pinkemina arrived beside the group a little too quickly for the group to react and raised a hoof to the sleeping foal on Fluttershy's back causing her to wince slightly.

“This is so exciting! I've never been so excited! Well, except for that time when I went.... NO, NOT EVEN THAT TIME! but I mean really, what can top this!? WEHAVETOTHROWAPARTYRIGHTNOW!"

Stirring to the tirade from the over excited pink flurry of activity the little foal opened his eyes to the sight of a giant pair of dilated blue eyes staring back at him.

“SQUEE!”
“Eeeep”

“Pinky!”
“I could just eat him up!”

Pinky bounced around the trio wearing a peculiar grin before Twilight stopped her, the little foal looked on with a hint of apprehension.

“Pinky.. I think we need to head to Ponyville, Fluttershy has some things she needs to do and we should let her get on”
“But”
“Pinky, come with me”
“BUT”

While Pinky and Twilight were occupying themselves Fluttershy moved away silently towards her cottage, bringing her wings to her back and surrounding the foal whose heart was beating a little to fast for her liking.

“Its Okay, Pinky is a friend, she is just.... different”
“Okay mommy”
The foal settled down and began to play with Fluttershy's mane as they continued on, patting it with his tiny hooves and rubbing his face in it, giggling to himself and raising a hint of a smile from his mother.
“Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“Where we going?”
“We are going home my handsome little stallion! I think you need something to eat and a nice rest, you can meet my friends later”

Author's Note

Not much going on in this chapter. I am kind of drawing a line under the 'foal' part of the story and building a tiny bit more lore/history into there.

Act 2: Leap of Faith - Chapter 8

Dear Princess,

I write to you today, not to inform you of my findings in the matters of friendship and harmony, but with my concerns for Sorrel Gift. It has been 6 years now, and as I am sure you aware from your many visits to Ponyville, there has been no sign of improvement to his condition.

I remember vividly the day we first found him amid the Everfree forest, and your assurance that his horn will one day regrow but there is no hint to this happening, it is, and has remained in the same condition since that very day. I have measured and tested weekly during the lessons you advised I should provide him, he is intelligent and learns very quickly, and I am sure he knows what I have been doing, but I do not wish to see him live his life incomplete, without all of his senses and faculties.

I am not sure why I write to you on this matter, but I feel I have exhausted every other avenue of research. I have spent many, many hours reading magical tomes from my library and the library of Canterlot during my visits, and see no way to help further, not even the slightest mention of how to regrow or repair a unicorns horn, I just hope that there is something that we can do, and I hope that you may be able to provide the glimmer of hope that my friends and I seek.

I eagerly await your reply and hope you can provide us the means with which to help Sorrel in the way he deserves.

Your loyal student.
Twilight Sparkle.

“Sister, what doth trouble thou?”
“My student seeks advice from me”
“I am sure that she can find the answers to her own questions? For such a young being she is wise, wiser than thou sometimes are prepared to give credit”

Celestia leaned away from the head of the table at which she sat. Releasing a sigh she looked up to Luna at the opposite end of the table over the grand spread of opulent food laid out before them for breakfast. The sisters hated the waste when ponies often went hungry in the remote lands to the west, but knew that their subjects only wished them happiness.

“It is not the simple matter of a lost trinket or a sudden happening of circumstance of which she asks sister. This is about Sorrel”
“Is he OK!” Luna shot back, eyes opened in fear of the unknown.
Both princesses had become very close to the young pony since he arrived in Ponyville, visiting often and never missing birthday parties and gatherings.
“No”
“What hath happened? We should go to him!”
“Luna”

Celestia rose from her seat and trotted to the other side of the dining hall and raised a hoof to Luna's shoulder to calm her down.

“It's not what you think”
“But thou said he is in danger?”
“I did not. I merely stated he is not OK. He has not been 'OK' since we found him after all”

Luna turned to her seat and took a deep breath before turning back to face Celestia. With a dour expression on her face she lifted her onyx tiara and placed it beside her plate and moved closer to her older sister.
“We knew this moment would arrive Celestia. If nature did not take its course and Sorrel did not recover naturally, then unnatural methods would need to be... sought”
“Yes. It is not that simple though is it? How can we ask our little ponies to make such a pilgrimage? We have not spoken to the Kingdom of Dragons in so long, how do we know they will help us with such a task?”
“Faith, sister.”

Celestia's face twisted as she spat back with a barely contained anger.
“Yes, faith is all well and good, but we are talking about lives here sister. We cant send... I cant send just anypony on this kind of journey. It can never end well. J'her can not have forgiven us!”
“J'her may not even be alive Celestia, he would be nearing eight thousand years old, his life cycle would be nearing completion!”
“And if he is there?”
“Spike”
“You know fine fucking well what I think about that Luna”
“SISTER!” Luna shouted back at Celestia to stymie her outburst.
“No Luna, you know as well as I the sacrifices that poor dragon has already made for Equestria, he would never allow his guardian to travel that distance without him. Especially knowing the destination!”
“We cannot allow these wounds to go untended any longer Celestia. What would thou have them do? Search endlessly for answers that they will likely never find without our help? Nay, who art thou to judge what is and what is not acceptable. And if they were to find out, would thou stop them regardless? They may not be as old or as wise as us, but they would certainly match thy obstinate nature if their family are at stake, as would thou! Are we wrong? It hath been nearly four thousand years since the great war”

Turning away from her sister Celestia released a breath she did not realise she was holding and looked at a crack on the stone floor beneath her hoof.

“And what if the element is no longer there Luna? The journey into the void would be a waste of time. Precious time that could be spent in the company of those he loves and whom love him. Would you risk never seeing them... or him again?”

“Sometimes you gotta risk it for a biscuit”

Celestia's face grew a large smile in stark contrast to her eyes which were on the brink of tears. Letting out a chuckle she turned back to Luna.
“I find modern Equestrian has the most colourful of phrases Celestia” Responding with her own sombre smile.
“You certainly know how to say the right thing Luna, always have”
“So we hath decided?”
“Yes, I suppose we have. I just hope that we are doing the right thing”
“Well, shall we not simply plant the seed of thought in your student?”
“What do you mean?”
“Twilight is a headstrong pony, sister. Shall we not give her what she seeks; hope, and see what becomes of it?”

Celestia thought for a moment at her sisters meaning, searching back through her memories and contemplating the journey they had taken to reach this point. Thousands of years of memories relived in a moment, of friends come and gone.

“Stygia!”
“Yes sister; Stygia”
“There is no time like the present sister!... GUARDS!”

Loud hoofsteps thundered down the corridor. It was still early and the changing of the guard had not fully completed. Bursting through the entrance to the grand dining hall a dozen ponies, Luna Guard and Celestial Guard spread around the table with spears and pole-axe drawn, eyes searching out any enemies that may lurk in the shadows.
“Princesses! What danger is there!”
“umm...”
Celestia stuttered hiding her rapidly reddening face from the guards now surrounding the two sisters. Luna let out a loud chuckle at her discomfort.
“Princess?”
“I.. I mean, everything is fine. I just wanted a scroll and a quill, I'm sorry I didn't mean to worry you all”
“Of course your majesty. Guards; to your posts. Private Green, please oblige the Princesses request.”
“Yes, Sir!”

“Sorrel!”
“Yes mom?”
“RD will be here soon, are you ready?”
“Of course! How could I forget! Aunt Dash is a little forgetful though so I'll just read until she gets here Mom”

Sorrel sat beside the fireplace with a book open before him, occasionally flipping pages with a fore-hoof. Fluttershy clattered around in the kitchen at the rear of the cottage preparing the evenings food, sweet smells drifted around the home causing the young colt to catch fleeting scents of the meal to be had later. His mother was the best cook, he was sure of that. Even crazy Aunt Pie could not match her culinary prowess, although he felt that just a little of that opinion was biased but he would never tell Aunt Pie that.

Breaking from his meandering thoughts he turned back to the book before him. It was a large tome on the history of the Princesses and Equestria. 'The Lore of the Land' a book he had studied at the behest of his teacher Twilight Sparkle. It was written long ago, and the text in the book seemed confusing at times, using archaic language he often had to return to ask about. It was anything but boring though and it told stories of wondrous creatures long since extinct from the land. Of ponies like Sleipnir; the great warrior. Bephomet, Leviathan and Behemot the lieutenants of Discord and the war against the armies of chaos. It was not all pleasant reading, many passages described foul happenings and murderous armies rampaging through pony lands, systematically destroying civilisation one village at a time. One passage of text which recurred regularly was a short Draconian phrase that he searched for meaning.
“Si vis pacem, para bellum. If you seek peace, prepare for war”

“What was that Sorrel? I cant quite hear you through there from here”
“Nothing Mom, just thinking aloud”

It was a phrase repeated throughout the book, although it did not make much sense to him. 'Prepare for war to keep peace?'

His thoughts were interrupted by a banging on the front door, dressing his face in a stupid grin he jumped up and ran to open it.

“Soggy!”
“Aunt Dash! You're early for a change!”
“Meh, you know me, no place is worth going to unless you can get there faster than the speed of sound! Anyway, I wish you would call me sister or something, you're making me sound old!”
“But you are the same age as Mom! That's aaaaannncient! Haha”
“Don't think your Mother didn't hear that!” Fluttershy shot back from the kitchen, followed by her own little chuckle.
“Hey, you want to learn to fly or not!”
“YESSSS!”
“Well its time for your lesson! Hop on!”
“Don't come back too late you two, Dinner will be ready in two hours and I want you both here on time, Rarity is coming too!”
“Yeah yeah 'Shy, I'll bring him back soon enough”

Rainbow Dash spun around to face the open doorway and dropped down to allow Sorrel to jump on her back. Turning her head to the young pony on her back she gave her own grin and wink.
“Its time for you to 'take the leap'” Her smile widened impossibly further as Sorrel nestled between her front shoulders.

To my Faithful Student.

'The Lost Unicorn'

Regards,
Princess Celestia.

“What does it say Twilight?”
“Well Spike, I'm not really sure. It just says the name to a fairy tale. Do you know the story of 'the lost unicorn'? I don't really remember it.”
“It is around here somewhere, I remember reading it a few years ago to Sorrel, not long after he arrived in town”
“Why?”
“Well, he was so cute when he was sleepy, so in the afternoons when you were busy I would go to Fluttershy's cottage and read him stories before his afternoon nap”
“You big softy! And I didn't realise a Dragon could blush so much! Haha”
“Aww come on Twi, he was tiny and I don't even know how his eyes were so impossibly big! Anyway, that's not the reason I remember the story.”

Spike turned to a bookcase at the end of the library, a slew of colourful books on the bottom shelf at the height a foal could reach were haphazardly stacked as the adolescent dragon crouched and flicked through them searching for one book in particular.

“I remember it well because of what it was about”
“And that was?”
“Twi, it was about a Unicorn who was tricked in to giving his horn to a Troll to cross a bridge”
“Oh Spike, you know as well as me Trolls don't exist”
“I'm not finished.”
“Oh.... OK then, go on”
“Well after he is tricked out of giving his horn to the troll he travels the world looking for it, to get it back. His journey leads him to another land and a burning rock at the foot of a mountain takes pity on him and makes him a new one”
“A burning rock?”
“Yes”
“A... burning... rock..”
“Well you wanted to know”

Spike pulled a book from the shelf and tossed it to Twilight.
“Its all in there”

“Dash, where are we going? We usually just go to the park green”
“Well Soggy, if I told you that then it wouldn't be a surprise!”

Rainbow Dash continued on towards the dam, gradually climbing higher towards a small cumulus cloud above the body of water just upstream from the pony made construct. Turning her head back to the grinning pony on her back and giving a wink she dropped down to the cloud and let Sorrel jump off, bouncing on the fluffy cotton wool like construct.

“Wow Aunty Dash! You said we couldn't play on the clouds again until I could fly!”

Grinning madly the young pony bounced around on the cloud, scooping up chunks in his hooves and throwing them at the pegasus who swatted them back with an equally large grin.

“Thanks thanks thanks thanks! Hehehe!”
“I haven't quite finished yet Soggy”
“umm”
“Well, I thought to myself I was being a little harsh when I said that I wouldn't bring you up to the clouds again if you couldn't fly up here. But then I thought, what is the next best thing?”
“You flying me up here?”
“Nnnope!”
“eeeep”
“Yep, you flying back down from here!”
“But Dashie! I can't!”
“Now don't be so silly Sorrel, Scoots was able to fly at around your age, now you see how well she can fly! And I did just the same thing with her!”
“...you did?”
“Yyyep!”
“But, what if I can't!”
“I will be there the whole time, if you need help I will be right there, you trust me don't you?”
“Of course Auntie”
“Well then!”
“What do I do?”
“That's the easy part! This will be awesome! Just spread your wings...”

Sorrel spread his wings as wide as he could make them, Rainbow Dash stifled a chuckle as she dived behind the cloud and hovered directly beneath the young winged unicorn. Raising her front two hooves and burying them deep into the cloud, almost touching his hooves she laughed as she spread her limbs apart, splitting the cloud beneath him.
“...And FLY!”
“EEEEPPP!”
The young pony dropped like a sack of potatoes straight down, not the graceful glide Dash was expecting, causing her to giggle all the more before she swooped to get along side him.
“Sorrel!, open your wings!”
“AAAAAAHHHHHH CAAAAHHHHNNNTT”
“Of course you can silly! I'm right here, there is no need to be scared! Just open your wings!”

Fighting against the pressure of the air buffeting against his wings Sorrel forced his wings open, stabilising his fall, but doing nothing to slow it.

“Good! Now I want you to angle your wings so you feel pressure build on the top of them”

Slowly the young ponies wings shifted, bringing flight feathers at an angle to straighten him from his fall. His face grimaced from the effort before he started to slow and levelled out beginning an undignified glide in the direction of the dam.

“Ok, now. We are going to head back to Ponyville, we need to turn to go there. Now when you do this be careful not to retract your wings too much otherwise you will spin and I will have to laugh!. Look in the direction you want to go and close the wing your nose is furthest from slightly and bring your tail the opposite way. This will increase friction on that side of your body causing you to turn, now not too much, start slow and if you don't feel yourself turning adjust by small amounts until you do”

The little pony turned his head to the centre of Ponyville, with the vision his pegasus genes afforded him he could see the gaudy spires of Rarity's boutique far in the distance, slowly with his face twisted in concentration he adjusted his trajectory and turned himself towards the town aligning himself roughly to the town square.

“Perfect! Now if you didn't already notice we are still dropping to the ground, you should feel the pressure in the air start to build the lower you are. Do you feel it? Its kind of like someone gently pressing the feathers in the lower you get? Maybe I am not explaining that right..”
“No, I think I know what you mean, its like when you are swimming and the deeper you get the water squashes you. I can feel it”
“Good! One day you will instinctively know how high up you are by that, even with your eyes closed, so remember it!.. Now, that doesn't really help though, were still getting closer to the ground, and as far as Ponyville is we wont get there before we get to the ground. So I need you to push down and bring your wings to your body, then extend them once again as far as you can and as fast as you can. You can do it, you have done so well so far!”
“I... I'll try Aunt”
“That is all I ask, and remember I am just here, I will not let you fall”

Looking back to the centre of town in the distance he flapped his wings once then extended them again. The drop slowed but they had not completely levelled out.

“Perfect! I'm so proud Sorrel, and your Mom will be too! Now just a few more times”

Repeating the instructions again the little pony flapped once slowing the descent further, before turning and grinning back to his mentor.

“I'm flying Dashie!”
“Yes, yes you are. Now lets keep going!, I know you are tired, but do you think we can land on your doorstep? Its nearly time and Rarity will probably already be waiting for us”
“Yes!”

Flapping twice in quick succession to gain a little altitude before gliding again he turned his head to look to the stream that skirted the boundaries of his home at the edge of the Everfree. Adjusting his tail and wings to turn the pair sailed slowly down towards the homely cottage with big grins plastered on their faces.

“I knew you could do it Sorrel, sometimes it just takes a leap of faith, you know I would never let any harm come to you though, don't you?”
“Of course Auntie Dashie!”
“Well... Just don't tell your Mom what we have been getting up to eh?”
“haha I'm going to tell her! You are so in trouble!”

Rainbow Dash gasped and looked back at the young pony who glanced back with a giant grin on his face.
“Oh you!”
“Hahaha!”

“Fluttershy? Are you home?”
“Rarity?”
“Yes darling! How are you? I have been so busy with work recently I fear I have not been able to visit my best friend an my nephew as much as I would like, where is the young gentle-colt anyway? I have missed you both so much”

The pair hugged each other with a sincerity that only the best of friends can conjure and remained silent for a few moments.

“We have missed you too Rarity, you must tell us where you have been. Ponyville has not been the same without you”
“Of course! Now, where is Sorrel?”
“Flying lessons!”
“Oh, he has come so far from the timid little pony I met so long ago. It seems like only yesterday!”
“He has been having lessons from 'Dash for more than a year now Rarity! He can fly better than me already! Not that this is saying much though..”
“Now come Fluttershy, your ability of flight is not the defining characteristic of your personality is it? Since when have you worried about your ability to fly? Surely having the best flier in Equestria to teach Sorrel in Rainbow Dash you cannot be worried?”
“Well, it's not that Rarity”
“I know exactly what it is 'Shy, you think you should do everything for him? Well you should know by now as well as I do that is nonsense! You teach him more than enough. The gift of flight is nothing to the gift of kindness, and you have given him so much since he has been with you, and don't you ever doubt that, you have given him a home and love and family. Although we are not family by relation you know how us 'Aunts' relish our jobs too”
“...Yes Rarity”

Rarity gave a little smile to the timid pegasus before her and continued.

“You know fine well how this conversation ends 'Shy, we have had it every time we have met since you took the young foal in to your home, the princesses and your friends know we could never have done a better job than you, raising such a well adjusted gentle-colt into this world. After everything he had been through you were there, and look at him now, an intelligent handsome young colt that everyone wants to be friends with! And I'm sure that young Dinky would like a little more than that!”
“Rarity! He is only a colt!”
“Haha, Of course, I'm only teasing 'Shy, the fillies do love him though, you best keep your eyes on him! He will be quite the heart-breaker!”
“Rarity!”

The pair looked at each other with stern expressions on their faces and remained silent for a moment, before bursting out in laughter.

“Well yes I suppose!”
“hahaha, lets get this table laid, Dashie certainly isn't going to do it when they get back! When are they getting here anyway?”
“They should be on their way, I asked them to get back around this time but you know how RD is”

Just as Fluttershy finished her sentence Rainbow Dash burst through the front door of the cottage. Adopting a royal tone to her voice and raising her right foreleg to her chest she proclaimed:

“Please make way for Prince Gift! His royal highness shall soon be landing in the premises”
“Landing?” Fluttershy muttered

With the door wide Sorrel glided through the doorway and flapped his wings to bring himself to a stop mere yards before a grinning pair of ponies.

“RARITY!” Diving in to the arms of the Unicorn before him.
“Sorrel, you have grown so, look at you!”
“MOM, I flew in, did you see?!”
“Yes, I'm so proud! Come here!”

The pair wrapped each other in their wings, tears of pride dropping from the eyes of Fluttershy as her son grinned and panted madly at his exertion while Rainbow dash spoke again.

“May I present to you Air Captain Soggy Bum of the Ponyville weather maintenance service!”

Author's Note

A little longer than I intended but I wanted to get through a few things in this chapter. Comments welcome of course.

Chapter 9: A Friend in Need

“My Lord, it is as we feared, the Colthaugh Redoubt has fallen”
“Survivors?”
“Few My Lord, a caravan of injured and dead approaches, scouts report back less than a dozen”
“Please do not call me that Ni'irus, old friend, you know how uncomfortable it makes me feel” Aion looked over to the slowly approaching caravan, flanked by several of his guards and scouts. Rain thrashed down from the black rain-clouds above, midday in the middle of summer was not as it should have been. Breaking himself from his thoughts he turned to his Zebra lieutenant; “Ni'irus, prepare the medical teams, we have a lot of work to do this day”
“Yes My Lord” Leaning closer to the Alicorn he whispered “Aion, friend. I know how you feel about this but I must call you by your title when others are here. Do you know what the Prancians call you?”
Aion hesitated, looking down then shook his head slightly.
“Aion le Magne”
“...What?”
“Aion the Great”
Aion sighed and turned his eyes to the ground. “A name of such gravity for such a pony, Ni'irus. A pony who knowingly left a garrison in the depths of the enemies realm with little chance but to delay their advance. How can someone so 'great' be so vacuous?”
Without waiting for a response the Alicorn spread his wings and launched himself into the air and drove through the torrential downpour towards the caravan. Healing magic was not his forte, but he knew his presence was comforting to his troops.
Ignoring the hastily arranged escort he glided down to the back of a wagon and stepped aboard. Around him were pony and zebra alike, he counted a half dozen with varying injuries, some unconscious, some awake and murmuring quietly. Some with limbs missing, forelegs with bone exposed cauterised it appeared by a skilled pyromancer to stymie the bleeding until better treatment could be provided. The smell of burned flesh was overpowering.

Beside him a unicorn wept, holding his horn to his cheek, a large wound along the side of his mutilated face bisecting a cut which had driven through the horn and cleaved it clearly in one blow. His eye was covered with a heavy bandage. The likely work of a Manticore. The horn taking the full blow had clearly slowed the attack and was likely the only reason he was still alive.
“Tell me, what is your name?”
The unicorn raised his head so his remaining good eye could see his questioner.
“Sire! I..I”
“Calm now, think of me only as a concerned friend, what is your name soldier”
“Stygia, Sire”
“Stygia, my name is Aion, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Yes Sire, but we must go back! I cant leave him.. them”
“Him?”
The unicorn hesitated, clearly agitated by the topic but the calming presence of the leader of the rebellion gave him the heart to continue. “Yes Sire, my friend. Zehar”
“Tell me about him Stygia, we shall do all we can”
The unicorn stifled a rasping cough, the journey from Colthaugh had clearly been long and if the stench on the wagon was any indicator there was infected wounds to be treated. Several inhabitants shivered and sweated feverishly, unconscious to the conversation that Aion and Stygia were having.

“I met him almost two years ago sire. I had been sent to the Northern forest to scout reported enemy movements with a small group and we came upon a group of zebra who had been attacked. He was one of two survivors of what we were told was seventeen. His whole family were slaughtered before his very eyes.
“After returning to the base at Colthaugh he stayed with me, I trained him, we told each other stories with the soldiers. I guess you could say I took him under my wing.
“He was a good source of morale. He had the will of a soldier but the innocence of a colt. We became very close, I looked upon him as a son, and I hope that he looked upon me as a father. His presence was a constant source of solace to the other soldiers, years of constant fighting can leave a Pony's soul.... hollow”

“Yes Stygia, I know I ask much of everyone. And for this I am sorry, please continue and tell me more about Zehar”

“Of course Sire” The unicorn sighed deeply and suppressed his emotions to continue with his story.
“After a year, as of course you know, the Colthaugh garrison had been working hard clearing enemy encampments from the surrounding area. The enemy was disorganised and easy to rout. Of course we took losses, but we had carved out a workable safe haven around the redoubt. We were well defended, we had walls built around the keep, a moat. We felt safe for a long time, we felt we were making a difference to the war and keeping people safe. It was a good time. Well, as good as war can be”

Making no attempt to speak Aion waited silently as the unicorn before him bared his soul to him. It was a story he heard so often but the least he could do is remember those that had fought in his name.

“...Three days ago, it happened.. It started as any other day, wake up, relieve the night guard. Organise the four man scout team to check the area.. An hour later we were under attack from a column of Minotaur, we were unprepared, we were living under a false sense of security from our year of near silence.
“The earth pony and zebra phalanx were quick to organise and man the gates as they were being battered, it would not hold long. I took to the tower with the other unicorns and attempted to force them into a retreat with a wall of flame... They seemed possessed, every one we killed another seemed to immediately take its place. We just didn't understand what was happening. Zehar kept close to me as he always did with his spear and plate armour waiting for commands. It was comforting having him near where I could protect him. As suddenly as the attack started it petered out and the Minotaur retreated to the forest line...
“An hour passed and the enemies seemed to be waiting for something, our phalanx did not shift from their position at the gates and the commander gave the order to tend the wounded. We had lost several unicorn to spears thrown from behind the wall but for the most part the Minotaur had taken the brunt of losses.
“Shouting started from the rear of the camp among the medical tents... Trolls.”

“Trolls this far south Stygia? Are you sure?”
“Yes Sire” Taking a laboured breath and allowing a solitary tear to escape his good eye he continued with his recollection. “They undermined the rear walls as we were occupied with the attack”

Aion's face flashed with concern. Attacks were often random and mindless, nothing more than a swarm of brainless creatures bent on destruction and caring not how their objective was achieved. The revelation that they were becoming organised enough to take even the strongest fortification was a worrying prospect, they already outnumbered the Pony, Zebra and Griffin forces by ten to one by most accounts.

“Please continue Stygia, and please call me Aion”

“Yes Sire... Aion... There was confusion around the camp and the commander immediately sent the remaining unicorn from the battlements to the medical tents. As we moved to the rear of the camp the Minotaur forces redoubled their attack on the main gates. Without us unicorns throwing fire down the gates quickly buckled and fell. The earth ponies and zebra fought like lions as we unicorns battled the Trolls at the rear of the camp and pushed them back. We had taken heavy losses and I was one of only three remaining unicorn by the time we had collapsed the tunnel and returned to the melee at the main gates.
“The earth ponies and zebra alike had taken heavy losses, their column though fought in their organised rank and pushed the Minotaur back to the gates as myself and the other unicorn returned to our place upon the walls. We were exhausted, we had been fighting for nearly three hours without pause but were quickly cutting down the enemy numbers, it seemed we were going to hold out.. but... the Minotaur had not committed their full force at that point. A shout came from a Griffin that more were coming, I had exhausted my magic by that point as had the other unicorns so we moved to the rear of the phalanx and readied spears. It was a horrible sight, the earth ponies and zebras fought and cut down enemies whilst taking heavy losses of their own. The exhaustion of the battle wearing them down and causing the front rows to become disorganised, the Minotaur seemed to just keep coming with no end until there was only two rows left. Myself and Zehar among the last.”

The unicorn paused again and dropped his head to the floor of the wagon breathing heavily, as if exhausted by reliving the event in his mind. Aion waited patiently as the wagon drew closer to the encampment. Shouts could be heard readying medics and preparing guards and scouts to check the surrounding area.

“There were not many of us left by then, Aion. But we were not going to give up. There was no more than twenty of us still alive and fighting but we had cut down the enemy number so much that it would be a close run thing. They pushed us back and broke our ranks, our remaining troops became disorganised. I turned to where Zehar was... A Minotaur had thrown a spear and caught his rear leg. I rushed over as fast as I could but... I... I was too late. The creature had removed his spear and thrust it to his chest as I arrived and cut it down.
“I will never forget his face... He was crying as he took his last breaths and I could not save him”

Aion lifted his head and raised a hoof to the shoulder of the unicorn before him. Stygia seemed lost, the colour had left his face and he was stone faced as tears escaped him.

“I'm sorry” The Alicorn raised his hoof and grasped the mane of the unicorn. “I am so sorry Stygia. You have dealt with so much. I hope you can forgive me”

“NO... please don't” he shot in response.
“I... I don't understand Stygia...”
“Please don't be sorry Aion... Sire. Let me finish” The unicorn raised his head again looking with his remaining eye to Aion. He could almost feel the eye burrowing in to his soul. A look of a desperate pony.

“As the attack continued our scout party returned, a Manticore leading them having bolts of fire shot at it from our returning unicorn. The three earth ponies accompanying him had spears drawn and were chasing also. The Manticore was faster than them and swept through the gates and before I could do anything it was upon me. Its clawed paw thrashed at my face, I didn't realise what had happened but as I fell a spear pierced its skull and it dropped by my side. Our returning comrades leapt into the fray and cut down the remaining Minotaur in short order. Their fresh muscles combined with the magical support destroying the enemies and saving us.... What was left of us... It felt like a miracle that any had survived at all.

“The scouts brought grave news, enemy reinforcements to the north numbering in the hundreds. We could not stay as they were only a few short hours away. We moved as fast as we could, scooping any supplies we could and loading any injured in to this wagon. One of the scouts gave me this”

Lifting his horn from his cheek and cradling it in his hoofs like a foal he looked back to Aion. “I... could not bury him Sire. We left them all there, to be carrion for the vultures... More than eighty of us, my friends, my family... Please, please do not be sorry. I could not take it if their sacrifice had no meaning, no purpose. Please..”

Aion paused and looked back to the unicorns piercing glassy eye and nodded slowly. “They shall never be forgotten Stygia. Their lives had a meaning that you may never comprehend.” Aion paused again taking a deep breath and holding back his own emotion to show his new friend his strength. The strength and conviction he was supposed to embody to his troops. “And your sacrifice also Stygia, you will be remembered for as long as there is still a pony still alive, I assure you of this.. Now, I must ask something very important of you...”
“Anything, Sire”
Aion flashed a glance to the horn the unicorn was holding then raised his gaze to meet his eye. “Tell me Stygia. Have you ever seen a Dragon?”

“Sorrel, it's time to get up”

It was still early in the morning, Fluttershy was an early riser and the sun had barely breached the horizon which could be seen out of the window of the converted study-bedroom in the cottage now that Fluttershy had drawn the curtains.
Sorrel stirred, not usually one to wake of his own accord he mumbled imperceptibly back at the mare approaching the bed whilst covering his head with his duvet.

“Come on Sorrel, not this again”
“Moooomm, just five more minutes”
“You know how Twilight is Sorrel, you don't want to be late”

Moving on to his back and pulling the covers back down to reveal his violet eyes and stifling a yawn he sighed and looked back to Fluttershy.

“Morning Mom”
“Good morning sleepy head” Fluttershy whispered as she leaned to kiss him on the forehead. “Did you finish reading that book Twilight gave to you?”
“Yes Mom”
“Good, now get up you lazy so and so! And get your things together!”

For a couple of years now his routine had been the same on Mondays and Thursdays; get up early and walk over to the library for lessons. Twilight had been teaching him, giving an education outside of Miss Cherilee's usual curriculum. Still attending on the other weekdays with the other young ponies and socialising like a normal member of society, but advancing quickly due to the attention he was given from his mentor during their study days.
Not that he always enjoyed the lessons though. It seemed to him that Twilight just wanted to read books and discuss what they were about, often books that Sorrel had to force himself to read. Not always text books but sometimes novels with hidden meanings, they would discuss and argue over what the author had intended to portray, often disagreeing but always respecting each others opinions. It was enjoyable at times though as Spike and Twilight offered a differing and sometimes refreshing viewpoint that he would not always think himself.
Aside from these extended discussions Twilight often tested his magic ability, with little success. Sorrel understood quite early that Twilight had taken it upon herself to do anything within her power to coax his magical ability out. His lack of horn was always in his mind though as the best he could manage was magical sparks between the crooked remains.

As he continued to the library he looked around the small town, it was still quite early but the smells from Sugarcube corner were still overpowering causing his stomach to protest his lack of breakfast. Pinky always got up early to make cupcakes and muffins and the bakery smells caused him to slow in his walk, a warming respite to the coolness of the morning. He was almost tempted to pay a visit to a certain pink pony, but decided against it on account of skipping breakfast without telling his mother.

“SOGGY!”
Turning back on himself Sorrel saw Spike following him from the direction of his own home, Spike used to come to the cottage to keep him company for the walk to the library but had done so less as he got older so it was strange that he should have done so today.

“Lesson is off bro, Twilight had to head to Canterlot early this morning, she sent me to tell you but you had already gone”
“Oh.. well, not the first time she has been called away, I best head to Miss Cherilees class today then”

Spike, still slightly out of breath from his running allowed his face to turn to a grin. “Well I didn't exactly say that did I?”
“Well.. What are you suggesting exactly?” he replied frowning back at the Dragon.
“I don't know. You aren't expected in class so maybe we can do something? I did all my chores last night so have a free day today, how about we go to the Carousel Boutique and see if we can help with anything? Worst comes to worst you can always ask Sweetie Belle to sing you a song” Spike moved beside Sorrel and nudged him with his elbow and laughed at the blushing pony.
“OK!, I mean right, yes. Ahem, why not”
“Doesn't take much to persuade you to go visit a certain young mare does it?”
“Spike!”
“Come on”

The pair turned in the direction of the gaudy shop at the other end of town and moved off. Spike grinning to himself as Sorrel did his utmost to compose himself. He had grown quite attached to Sweetie Belle, although he never admitted it. They continued in silence as Sorrel thought on what he was going to say to the young mare. She was a couple of years older than him, her cutie mark had appeared whilst singing a lullaby to him shortly after his arrival in the forest, and beautiful to him it was too. An outline of a heart with a treble clef at its centre. Certainly apt. His own blank flank was sometimes the cause of mocking from others his age but that had never seemed to matter to her.

“Rarity? Sweetie?”
Sorrel broke from his daydream as Spike called from the shop door for the two sisters. A short walk often seemed faster when he had things on his mind.
There was a little shuffling at the back of the shop as Sweetie raised her head above a pile of fabric she was working on. “Oh hi Spike, Sorrel. Is Rarity with you? We are so behind on this order, I don’t know what she is playing at!”
“So you are helping her to finish an order? Well where is she? Shouldn't she be, you know. Working?” Spike replied with a confused grimace.
“Yes! I don't understand why she slept at your house last night either Sorrel, she knows I cant work all day on this!”
“She didn't stay at my house last night, she left not long after RD”
“What?”
“She said she had some work she needed to do so she left after dinner”

Sweetie Belle left her work and rushed around to the two still standing at the doorway and raised her hoofs to Sorrels shoulders and looked him in the eyes. Glancing back and forth from the two with a clear panic she continued. “Well, where is she?! She would never neglect her work! We have to find her, please! Where could she be!”

Blushing slightly from the closeness of Sweetie Belle's touch Sorrel raised a hoof of his own to hers. “Of course, lets go”

Chapter 1: Alone

Alone..

The feeling the foal harboured in his very soul. Alone. Cold. Wet. The night was not kind to him, rain followed soon after his father had vanished in to the dark.
Alone...

It was a word his foalish mind was too young to comprehend and understand in its entirety. But he felt it nonetheless.
The Sun had risen moments before, and true to his fathers command he struggled against the rotten tree which had been his shelter. Flailing his limbs without any real plan other than to break free he struggled. He had sunk in his slumber deeper in to the husk of a tree becoming trapped, ever so slightly. After a short while his front limbs broke free and rose to the hole his father had fashioned so violently. He kicked his hind legs deeper in to the rotten body of the tree and propelled himself higher so that his head could see outside.
Silence...
He could not hear any sounds of the forest. Expecting his father to be nearby he kicked again pushing himself up and up again until his torso straddled the crooked maw of the tree. One more kick and he was free.

“Daddy?”

Silence...

The foal was hungry, nothing new to him, food was not high on his priorities at the moment. Looking in the direction his father had pointed he remembered his last command. 'that way'. This was the first time he had awakened and his father not been here. An ever present taken for granted. A reluctant guardian, but a guardian nonetheless.
The foal tuned in the direction his father had galloped. Not understanding the true weight of what his father had told him he moved forward, deeper in to the Everfree forest.

“Daddy?”

The sun was rising higher in the sky and woodland animals were beginning to stir. A family of squirrels perched on a branch looked down surveying the scene in front of them. Birds fluttered through the trees at a lightning pace halting sporadically to glance from branches towards the forests latest inhabitant.
The foal ventured further while a solitary squirrel left its home and ran in the direction of the forests edge.

“Daddy?”

The foal walked deeper into the forest, not stopping his search, he did not wish to be alone when his father was just up ahead. Of course he could catch him! He just needed to go faster!
The foal quickened his pace. Damp saddlebags roughly clung to his sides as the forest grew darker around him as the day outside grew brighter. Patches of light caught his eyes and caused him to blink his violet irises in defence. His warm brown coat freshly drenched in sweat covering his frail frame glistened in the fleeting flashes of light like dew refracting the multi coloured light of the sun at dawn.
The foal stopped.

“DADDY!”

Silence....

“DADDY!”

Birds in the distance took flight at the sudden intrusive sound. The foal spun looking in every direction hoping to pick up a sign as to where his father was.
Nothing...

He cast his mind to the night before. He may have been young but his memory was something that never failed him. 'this..thing...is the reason she is not here'
The foal lifted a hoof to the horn piercing the air in front of him. Tapped it three times and then lay on a bed of fallen leaves staring blankly at the gloom ahead.

At the edge of the Everfree forest an adult Squirrel bounded towards the home of a pony engaged in a flurry of chores. All kinds of animal feed were being hastily placed into bowls, troughs and trays on the outside of the small cottage. The pale yellow and pink flurry of activity bathing her charges in a melodic song as the woodland creature jumped on her back.
EEEP!

The pony popped a nervous head up from behind the rock she had jumped and looked to her back.
“Oh.. hello, Mr Squirrel”
The animal ran a circle on her back, jumped off and ran a short distance to the forest ahead, spun around and then waited for the pony to follow.
“What is it Mr Squirrel?” The pony intoned “I simply cant go in to the forest today, I have too much to do before Applejack gets here!” Her eyes flashed to the forest before shuddering slightly as the cool morning breeze crept around her. That was not a place in which she wished to travel.
The animal approached again and stopped a few paces ahead of the pony, turned once more and bounded back off to the forest.
“Something has spooked my little friend” she said as the animal leapt into the tree-line.

The little foal had resumed his march through the forest. Passing a tree for the second time today. His search floundering. Walking in a long circle not paying attention to the forest around him but simply avoiding going up hills, he was too tired to do that anyway, but the consequence of which was tracing his own hoof-steps around a small hill.
The squirrel sat upon the branch of a tree at the top of this small hill silently watching the foal circling around him. Head tilted at an angle and eyes opening suggesting the slightest hint of sentience.
The day had passed quickly and soon it would be evening. The foal paid no heed to the Suns slow movement across the sky and continued on his path passing the same trees again and again. Eyes not moving from the path he was taking until he saw a little ball of fur sitting in front of him.
“Hewwo mister” the little foal said in a high pitched squeak that only a pony of his immature age could muster, sounding as if his tongue was a little too large for his mouth.

The squirrel looked up at the foal, tiny in many respects but towering over the smaller adult animal. The foal lowered his head looking at the animal as if waiting for a response that would never come.
“My daddy that way!” The foal rose again and raised a hoof ahead of himself. The squirrel stared blankly at the hoof before him before turning and leading in a different direction entirely.
“Bye bye mister”
Continuing on his circular path the foal trotted away from the squirrel as the night time continued to creep over the forest. The squirrel, bared his teeth, a hint of ire accented by the swish of its tail and the raising of its head in an haughty manner, as it turned again and headed back along the path the foal would surely follow, to head him off.
The foal was tired now and his gait became punctuated by ever increasing pauses. The tightly tied saddlebags on his back were empty of anything useful to him, only containing a few shiny objects he liked the look and feel of that he had collected over his short life, and an old blanket given to him by his father.

“DADDY?”

Silence....

Following his circular path like the turning of the hour hand on a clock the pony marched onwards, paying little attention to his surroundings as he approached the creature he had so obstinately ignored.
The foal startled jumped and looked up again to find the same squirrel looking up at him, this was a different part of the path and his foalish mind did not recognise the animal before him.

“Hewwo”

The animal turned to lead through the forest the young pony to break his consistent circling of the hillock. The pony unknowingly obliged. Darkness was creeping ever faster now and long shadows cast from the setting of the sun crossed their path. His eyes looking forward to the little animal before him leading the way.
The foal was stopping with much greater frequency now, a day of walking without any food causing him to tire on his quivering limbs.

The squirrel waited, keeping his vigil.
Then led again.

Just as the night was about to swallow the day a dilapidated shack revealed itself to the weary traveller, without a sound the squirrel bounded for its open door hopping and jumping to an open window at the other side of the shack and turned to look to the little unicorn silently following. The pony quickened his pace, a glimmer of hope etched upon his face as he too headed for the open door.

“DADDY!!”

His eyes leapt around the worn shack, eyes glistening surveying the dusty hovel he would unwittingly call home for the evening, there was no sign of his father.. Or the squirrel which had led him here.
Turning back to the door with a solemn face a squirrel stared back at him as the crooked door swung closed on creaking rusted hinges. A log landed on the handle as the foal jumped forward to escape his imprisonment, not realising the mercy being gifted to him. There was no escape this night.

Giving up finally on trying to breach the door the little foal turned and crept to the corner of the shack, a table with an axe on top was the only furnishing afforded him here. His eyes moved to the underneath of the table and his body slowly did the same dropping to his empty stomach.
His eyes moved to the axe blade, his thoughts swimming with his fathers words the evening before.

Alone,
for now.