//------------------------------// // Abandoned // Story: Abandoned Alicorn // by Seeking-Sparks //------------------------------// The night was pitch black, storm clouds covering the moon and stars. Wind howled through the trees and the rustling of large creatures echoed through the trees. Two ponies stood at the edge of the forest, shaking as they peered inside.  “Why does she look like that???” A stallion's voice whispered. “I don’t know!” A mare hissed back. “But we can’t take her back to the village, they’ll kick us out!” The stallion shuddered. “They’ve never seen anything like her. Who knows how they would react.” “Neither have we! Now put the note in the blankets and let’s go.” The mare set a bundle of cloth at the roots of a gnarled tree.  The stallion tucked a piece of paper just inside and they both rushed off into the night. It would be morning before anyone found the little filly, screaming and flailing, her commotion having knocked the paper from her swaddle.  A gray unicorn stood above her, studying and considering her. She was light gray, with striking yellow eyes. But most notably, she had both wings and a horn.  Starswirl the Bearded lifted the infant in his magic, and turned to leave before the piece of paper caught his eye. He levitated it too and raised an eyebrow in surprise.  “Wandering Winter Winds hm? I’m surprised your parents even had the decency to give you a name.” He floated her through the forest, interested in how his other two alicorn pupils would respond.  oOo “Where did you find her?” The white mare cocked her head and pulled down the blanket to get a better look.  The gray filly fidgeted and whined, flailing her hooves and starting to cry. Starswirl rocked her in his magic and sighed.  “At the edge of the forest. She just had a note with the name Wandering Winter Winds written on it.” Celestia cocked her head as she looked up at the baby encased in Starswirl’s white magic. “Seems kinda mean to call her that.” A blue alicorn filly blinked at her older sister. “Why?” “Well if her parents just abandoned her, it just seems mean to call her by the name they gave her.” Luna flew up to the whimpering filly. “We could call her Wandy.” Starswirl allowed Luna to tuck the blankets tighter and bring her into her forelegs. He continued to support the filly with his magic, but let the younger sister dote on the baby.  “I think Wendy sounds better.” Celestia levitated a stuffed bear over to Luna and the baby.  Starswirl nodded and brought the filly down. “Wendy it is then. Now you two run along and get ready to go out. I’ll get this one tucked up and we’ll head into town for some milk and bottles.”  The two older alicorns ran up the stairs to brush their teeth and brush their hair to get ready for the day. Starswirl lifted the baby out of the soiled blanket. He examined her wings and horn, looked her over for injuries, and then wrapped her in a clean towel. She continued whimpering, and Starswirl rocked her in his magic again.  When Celestia and Luna came running down the stairs, wrapped in their usual wing-hiding cloaks, he set on his hat and directed all three alicorns towards the door. The two older fillies ran through the forest, laughing and jumping after one another. Occasionally one of them would fly slightly, only to land and glance guiltily back st Starswirl.  The wizard would give them stern looks and shake his head as they adjusted their cloaks and folded their wings away. Starswirl had decided moons ago that it was safer if the girls covered their wings when they went into town. After a pony had spotted them in the woods and ran off shrieking about demons, they had all become wary of letting the townsponies see their strange anatomy.  Starswirl still did not know why the two girls were alicorns, but he did know that their magic was off the charts. Both fillies refused to talk about their parents, and Starswirl suspected that they remembered less than they wanted to admit. He had found both girls in the forest, much like he had found Wendy. And although neither alicorn talked about their parents, Starswirl’s prevailing theory was that their parents had been alicorns and had been killed by something in the forest. Now where the lineage of alicorns came from, he didn't know, and he suspected that he never would.  As they neared the town, Celestia and Luna slowed down to a trot beside him, hanging back ever so slightly. The townsponies kept a wary eye on them as they walked to the stalls and Starswirl offered healing plants from the forest in trade for crops, milk, and other goods. None of the earth ponies there had seen many unicorns. Even though the three tribes lived in Harmony now, other types of ponies were still uncommon in this little unnamed town.  Celestia and Luna shrank under the judging gaze of the town but Starswirl nudged them up. “Go have a look around. See if there’s anything you want.” Starswirl walked up to another stall, one selling fabric and rope. The purple pony behind the counter smiled warmly at him.  “Hey there Starswirl. Haven’t seen you in a while. Who’s this little cutie?” She gestured to the filly still held aloft in his magic.  Starswirl sighed but smiled softly. “Hi Berry Vines. She’s another to join my little family I suppose. Found her abandoned in the woods.” The wizard pointed to a series of cloths and Berry started cutting and wrapping them in brown paper.  “How have your girls been?” Starswirl gestured to the two fillies laughing at a candy stand where a baker pony was nervously showing them rows of hoof-made sweets and simple pastries.  “They’re still a bit nervous in town but their magic studies are coming along nicely.” Berry smiled and handed him the cloth packages. “The ponies in this town aren’t exactly sure how to handle a trio - now quad - of unicorns who mysteriously live in the forest.” Starswirl chuckled deeply and placed a bundle of Heart’s Desire on the counter. “Well we can’t very well live in town and practice magic. Here, these flowers should provide you with enough purple and pink dye until I come back.” The seamstress smiled and thanked him as she set the flowers behind the counter. The unicorn tucked the cloth into his saddle bags along with the fresh crops and baby supplies that he had picked up. Celestia and Luna were much older than this when he found them, so this would be the first time in a long time that he had looked after an infant.  He found Celestia and Luna, traded some Zap apples for the sweets and pastries, and the group headed back into the forest. The townsponies watched after them, shaking their heads and murmuring to each other as the group of unicorns (or so they thought) disappeared back into the gloom.