//------------------------------//
// Moonstone Ruby 
// Story: Take Off Stories: Abandoned 
// by Sapphire Shadow 
//------------------------------//

 Chapter One 
Moonstone Ruby 


Scarlet paced nervously on the hard floor, waiting impatiently for the very important news. His sky blue mane was combed neatly into place, and his wings folded close to his gray body. This morning had been wonderful, he had been ready for the day. He had cleaned himself up quite nicely, hence the neatly placed mane and the tucked wings, but had never expected the news that had come to him a few minutes later. 



“Honey, it's time.” his beautiful wife, Peridot had said. 



“Time for what?” Scarlet looked at her. In that one moment his heart skipped a beat. She was pale, her mane matted to her neck and her horn glowing as it always did when she was nervous or excited. 


“Oh no, you don't mean...” Scarlet trailed off. Peridot nodded. 


“We must get to the hospital...” she wheezed. Scarlet had then picked her up and rushed out of their fancy white house, into the carriage that was supposed to take him to work. 


“To the hospital, now!” he'd ordered. The silver and purple stallions had rushed them here, and were now waiting outside, along with a large crowd of ponies. 



Scarlet shook his head at the memory. 


I should have been ready. Should've been prepared. He berated himself. Finally, the doctor, a black pony with a purple mane and tail stepped out of the room in which Peridot was lying. 


Scarlet jumped and looked at her. She looked up from her clipboard and nodded. 


“You may go in now. She'll need you for the birth.” she said. Scarlet breathed a shaky thank you and trotted in to his wife. 


The couple were very rich. One of the richer families in the Fillypines. So the crowd was waiting patiently outside, holding their breath in excitement over the Stallion and Mare's first child. 


“Scarlet! My darling! Thank goodness. I don't know why the Doctor wouldn't let you in before. She was just taking my pulse and charting my breathing and weird stuff that would not have hurt you to see.” Peridot said with an edge to her voice. 


“She was just being cautious.” Scarlet assumed. 


“She barely let me allow you to come in! I had to insist!” Peridot took a breath. “but it's over now. No concern.” and she gasped as another wave of pain came over her. 


Scarlet took her pretty pink hoof, which was now covered in sweat, and his eyes widened at her iron grip. 


Doctor Black Hooves came in and looked at them through her glasses. 


“The delivery will start very soon. I believe it will be an easier one.” she said and adjusted her glasses. She put her clipboard down and came over to the other side of the bed. 


“You may leave now, Mr. Scarlet.” she said. 


“No! I want him here!” Peridot said. Scarlet could see Black Hooves press her mouth closed hard and nod. 


And then, the beautiful Peridot Stars went into labor. 


As the doctor said, it was an easier delivery, and a beautiful foal was born. She had large eyes, was a white color, which they assumed she would grow out of, and her tiny first wisps that would grow into a mane and tail were a very faint brown, which matched her eyes. 



“Oh Scarlet, look, she has a tiny little stub of a unicorn! She'll grow to be a beautiful little mare!” Peridot exclaimed. 


“Uh, Peridot, look!” Scarlet gently pushed a part of the pink blanket back and pointed. There, on her side was a tiny little something that looked like-a wing? 


“Is it just me or did I just give birth to a-” 


“-alicorn.” Scarlet finished. 


“Oh Scarlet!” Peridot laughed outright. 


“The crowd will be happy.” Scarlet said, only half joking. 


“They sure will be. An alicorn! Think of that!” Peridot leaned back and closed her eyes happily, then launched back up, a look of sadness in her eyes. 


“Scarlet-you know what this means. When she is thirteen, she'll have to go to Queen Marble's Academy for Alicorns!” She cried. Scarlet paled a very light gray. 


“Oh dear.” they looked sadly down at their beautiful child. They would lose her, as the law stated, at age thirteen. 


Queen Marble was a just ruler, living only for her people and her country. But, since alicorn foals were extremely rare in the Fillypines, they were needed to go to her academy, so that they might learn all the skills a king or queen might need in case they ever had to take over the throne. She had done this because she was not married and had to heirs to the thrown. 



Those who would not go on to become the queen or king, would do something else important, most likely at the palace, so that they would make good contributions to the land. 



Scarlet and Peridot understood this, and knew that at age thirteen she'd soon be old enough to be on her own anyway, but they would still miss her. 


The parents smiled at each other, and knew that though she'd just been born, she had a chance at becoming the new queen, since Queen Marble was still a young mare. 



“Well, dearest, we'd better show the patient crowd our prize.” Scarlet said, and Scarlet took the foal in his hooves so that Peridot could rest, then walked out on the balcony with Dr. Black Hooves. 



The crowd silenced and looked up at the wealthy stallion and his foal. 


“A beautiful alicorn filly!” the doctor announced. The crowd cheered, and many showed off their whistling tricks. 



“You should write her name down in this book. Every hospital in the Fillypines were given one in case any alicorns were ever born.” the doctor said, handing Peridot an old book. 


“Of course. We already came up with a name for her the second we found out it was a filly.” Peridot assured her, and took the quill and book. 


In it, she carefully and lovingly wrote, Moonstone Ruby 


“A beautiful name.” the doctor remarked, and took the book, then left the room. 


“Well, soon as you are able, shall we take her home?” Scarlet asked. 


“Yes. I never did like hospitals.” Peridot said, wrinkling her nose. 


And, they did, as soon as they were able, they took their bundle of joy-Moonstone Ruby-home.  


As Moonstone-or Moon, as they liked to call her-grew, so did her parent's surprise and wonder. 


She did not grow out of her white color, but instead the white color grew more and more beautiful, as if Moon was carved from ivory. Her mane grew to be extremely long and wavy, and was a lush, brown color. Her unicorn sat tall and proudly upon her head, and her wings big and beautiful. She was indeed a beautiful filly. 


“Mom!” she said one day, bringing her magazine to Peridot. “look! These ponies from Equestria have pictures on their hindquarters! This one has balloons, this one has three gems...” she looked questioningly up at her mother. 


“Oh! Well, most ponies have those. They are called cutie marks. Ponies from the Fillypines don't have them. We have talents, like them, but we usually have more than one.” Peridot explained. 


“Wow. So, if I grew up and married a stallion from Equestria, what would happen to our foals?” she asked. Moon was always curious. 



“Oh, well, your foal would probably have a cutie mark, if the stallion was from Equestria. Now, if a stallion from here married a mare from Equestria, then the foal would have no cutie mark. It all depends on where the stallion is from.” Peridot replied, and put another freshly cut strawberry into her bowl. 


“What're you making?” Moon asked, suddenly changing the subject, and lying her magazine on the table. 


“I am making strawberry-flavored, chocolate-coated fudge.” she replied, and poured sugar and water in with the cut up strawberries. She had chocolate boiling on the stove, and her fudge was in the freezer. 


“That sounds yummy! Where on earth did you get such a weird recipe?” Moon asked. 


“Oh, just from a friend of mine. It's really delicious.” and she set the pot on the stove. 


“Hmm. Well, I can't wait to taste it. Oh, mom? Can I please have Turquoise over? I haven't seen her for a while. Not since school let out, and that was a few weeks ago.” Moon looked up at her mom, her large brown eyes made her mother smile as usual. 



“Of course. Have her come over tonight. She can have some of the fudge.” Peridot answered, and got to stirring. One of her main talents was cooking. 


“Alright! Thanks, mom!” and she flew up to her room, to get things ready. 


Turquoise Dream was her best friend. She was also a beautiful pony, and lived in the country. Moon always liked the hustle and bustle of her Fillypine city, but the country was amazing, because it was filled with adventure and there was lots of room to run and frolic.


Moon went here and there, doing this and doing that. She fixed her bed, tidied her room and set out snacks. She brushed her long mane and put it back in a casual up do to keep it out of her eyes. 


Finally, she phoned her friend and told her she was welcome to come over. 


“Oh yay! I'll be right over! Soon as I finish feeding the animals.” Turquoise said, and they hung up. 


Turquoise's father was a sheep rancher. She loved the sport, and declared she'd always live on the ranch and tend the fluffy animals. Moon loved to visit and help round up the sheep.  


Soon, she heard footsteps. She brushed a strand of mane back and opened her bedroom door to see Turquoise, hat and all. 


“Hey, Dream! So glad I could come over! Oh, and what is your mom making that smells so delicious?” Turquoise asked, coming into the room. 


“She's making strawberry coated chocolate flavored fudge. No, wait, it's strawberry flavored chocolate coated fudge.” she shook her head at the complicated sentence. 


“Yikes. Well, I hope it tastes as good as it smells. Knowing your mom it probably will.” Dream said, settling herself on the bed. 


Moon grinned as the pony took off her brown felt hat and fluffed her mane. Turquoise was such a beautiful filly. She was a fair pink color and had a light-and-dark blue mane and tail that was slightly frizzed from spending all her time outdoors. 


“Wanna play a few games?” Moon asked. Turquoise nodded and they brought out their favorite game Settlers Of Catan. 


“My mom said we can have some of the fudge when she's done making it, so, we can be her royal taste testers. Oh! And did you know that ponies from that place Equestria have pictures on their hindquarters?! They are called cutie marks....”