//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: Parabola 
// Story: Foal 
// by thelittlestpony 
//------------------------------//




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”