Shattered

by sunstar93

Chapter III

Applejack’s eye widens at my question and her breath catches in her throat. “Yer mother?”

I nod. “I don’t remember her. I don’t know anything about her, not even her name,” I sigh. When I was a young colt, it was a question that haunted me, keeping me awake at night as I tried to understand why I didn’t have a mother. Did she even exist? And if she did, why did she leave me? Didn’t she love me? I would sometimes imagine what she would look like: sometimes she would be a beautiful Unicorn, with a dazzling white coat and a mane as black as the night sky, like mine; or perhaps a simple Earth pony, strong like Father, but still as stunning as the golden sun; maybe even a graceful Pegasus, gliding through the sky on feathery wings, watching over me.

Applejack shakes her head. “Ah’m afraid that it ain’t my place to tell ya that. Now go on; I gotta lot of things to take care of.” With that, she directs her attention back to the papers on her desk. I sigh and turn to exit her office, allowing the door to close behind me.

I find Father standing next to Striker; they are watching a training session take place outside the armory. Two ponies scuffle in the dust, one evading a mace, the other swinging the weapon at her opponent’s head. I immediately recognize the mace-wielding pony as Ice Flower, though the name of the other one escapes me. Ice Flower’s mace barely misses the other pony’s head, one of the spikes grazing the muzzle of his helmet. The pony- I remember, his name is Copper- dives towards the ground, swiping Ice Flower’s hooves from under her. She falls with a metal thump and the mace suspended from the end of her tail swings up, landing back on her armored barrel. It dents the plate metal, scraping and scratching the shiny steel. Copper stands in front of Ice Flower, offering his hoof to help her up. She takes it and pulls him back down into the dirt. He hits it hard, knocking the wind from his lungs, and she uses the opportunity to scramble to her hooves, standing over his triumphantly. She stands with two hooves on his back, keeping him down, swinging the mace in victory.

“Wonderful move there, Ice Flower.” General Swift Breeze breaks from the crowd and approaches the two ponies. Ice Flower backs away and Copper gets to his hooves, trying to catch his breath. He turns to face Ice Flower and nods curtly, removing his helmet. He is a russet-colored stallion with a prominent scar crossing over his left eye. Swift Breeze calls the name of two more ponies, and two mares make their way to where the general is standing. Ice Flower sees me and begins to make her way over to me, but Copper intercepts her.

“Great move,” he compliments, “taking advantage of my chivalry.”

“In battle there’s no time to help your opponent up,” she answers briskly, trying to step around him.

“Yes, but you’re not my enemy. And obviously I would never do that on the battlefield,” he defends.

I break away from where I’m standing next to Father and approach Ice Flower, walking up behind Copper. Copper spins around and narrows his eyes as he looks up at me.

“Storm! Did you see me kick his flank out there?” Ice Flower grins.

“You did more than kick it. You buried it in the dirt,” I reply, much to Copper’s annoyance.

“It’s rude to interrupt, you know,” he says crossly.

“Interrupt what? Your pathetic attempts to flirt with me?” Ice Flower laughs. “Sorry, Copper, but I’ve told you before, I’m not interested.”

As we turn to leave, I hear Copper say, “That’s right. I forgot, you’re too busy shacking up with this freak. Just because his father is a high general doesn’t mean anything, you know. I don’t know what you see in him, anyway.” Ice Flower whips around and charges towards him, spinning around at the last second to hit him in the chest with her mace. It makes contact with his breastplate, and Copper falls to his knees, gasping for air. There are pin-size holes where the spikes briefly penetrated the metal. Her face is red with frustration and embarrassment as she stands over him. She kicks dirt in his face, but instead of turning back to me, takes off towards the armory and disappears inside.

It’s no secret that I like Ice Flower: she’s a pretty mare, great at fighting, with the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard, especially when she laughs. And I’ve known that she’s had a crush on me for a while. But I guess Copper’s words really hurt; we’ve never “shacked up” together, and I know that my father’s rank has no bearing on our relationship. And I can’t shake the tightness in my chest.

Father is sitting alone in the main room of our house, staring out the window at the dark sky. Apple Bloom comes in, covered in black soot, the scent of singed hair clinging to her mane. Her pink bow is crooked and dirty and her weary eyes are nearly closed as she drags herself into the bathroom to wash up.

“Father?” I ask. I have gone over in my mind a hundred times in the last hour how to approach the question, but my mouth is suddenly dry and I have to force the words. “I spoke with Applejack today.” He looks over at me, raising an eyebrow, and I continue. “And the subject came up…about who my mother was.”

“And?” he prompts.

“Who was she? Why did she leave me? It’s never bothered me before, but I feel like I have to know.” I shift my weight, still standing, nervous.

It is a few minutes before Father begins to speak. “Yer mother loved you. No doubt about it. That’s why she left you with me an’ AJ, ‘cause she know you’d be better with us. It ended up not workin’ between us, and after you were born, she left. I didn’t see you for two years, ‘til the war started and she came back.” He pauses, lost in thought for a few minutes. “But I know she loved ya.”

“But who was she? What was her name?” I pleaded.

Father shook his head. “Don’t matter.” He gets to his hooves, turning to go to his room.

Not a satisfying answer.

A few hours later, there is a soft knock at the door. I am the only one to hear it, since I am still up, replaying Father’s answer in my head, over and over again. I go to the door and pull it open, and Ice Flower pushes past me. Her magenta eyes sparkle in the dim light, and I can see she has been crying.

“What are you doing here?” I ask in a low voice.

“I came to apologize, for running off earlier,” she says, voice hushed. “I shouldn’t have let what Copper said get to me. Especially since it’s not true.”

“And you came over here in the middle of the night just to say that?”

“Well, no,” she replies shyly. She looks away and I see her face blush pink. “I also wanted to say that…I like you. I always have.”

“Well I knew that,” I tease. “I think everyone does.”

“I know, but I needed to say it.” An awkward silence follows. Then, she surprises me. She reaches up and kisses my cheek.

I am stunned, barely noticing that she has already galloped out of the house.