//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Like a free bird // Story: Unknown Innocence // by MrPescanova //------------------------------// Chapter 6: Like a free bird “Can we try the spell again, please?” asked Twilight doing puppy dog eyes to Heynriik. “NO! YOU SAID THAT IT WILL CHANGE THE COLOR OF MY HAIR, BUT INSTEAD OF THAT YOU’RE MAKING MY HAIR A CIRCUS!” Heynriik said with a rainbow colored crest on his head. “Please Riki!, I promise you that now I’ll do the spell correctly, just one more time! Please please please please…” Twilight approached fastly to him and started begging while shaking his ropes and saying repeatedly “please” until Heynriik sighed heavily and moved away her gently. “Ok Twilight, ONE more time, the last one” Heynriik remembered then that his mother Celestia told him that Twilight have a big talent for magic, but that she was still a filly, so she needed all the possible help to learn and perform new spells. Also, he couldn’t say “no” to her, he didn't wanted that little cute unicorn to feel sad. “But only if you let me eat some of your mother’s cookies, deal?” “Deal!” said the purple filly; Heynriik nodded and got in position to receive another magic beam. “Are you ready?” Twilight asked while glowing her horn. “Yes, and please, don’t fail” Twilight shot a beam from her horn to Heynriik, a huge flash blinded both, when Heynriik recovered his sight he saw Twilight jumping around him. “IT WORKED, IT WORKED! THE SPELL WORKED!” Heynriik was confused, he touched his head and noticed the he didn’t have the crest anymore. “Oh really? It’s my hair normal now?” Heynriik asked smiling. “Hemmm….well…the spell was for changing somepony’s mane to red….so now yours it’s red, not brown like usually” “Wow! Now my hair it’s red? I would like to see it” Twilight trotted inside her house and returned with a small mirror, she gave it to Heynriik who started to look his new red colored hair from all angles with the mirror. “It’s kind of cool but….i would like to have it brown again, Twi” Heynriik placed the mirror on a table and looked to Twilight, she nodded and glowed her horn to shot Heynriik again, he closed his eyes to avoid being blinded by another flash, when he opened them he grabbed the mirror again and saw his hair with the usual brown. “Finally, one hour later you are with me again, my beloved brown hair!” Heynriik said in a narcissist tone making Twilight giggle, He left the mirror on the table and looked at Twilight. “Now, you have to make your part of the deal, Twilight” She nodded and went inside the house. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Heynriik was looking at the sky, lying on the grass, after eating a few cookies baked by Twilight’s mother and drink an orange juice; he was at the back garden of Twilight’s house taking care of her. Usually, this is Cadance’s job who is her foalsitter, but this time she couldn’t due she wanted to “spend some time” with Shining Armor on the morning, so she asked him if he could replace her because also Twilight’s parents were out too, making her stay alone on the house. Heynriik accepted because he didn’t have nothing to do that morning, also he wanted to know Twilight better, a few weeks ago he didn’t know anything from her except for what Shining told him when they were together. But now, she was one of his friends, Twilight was more smart and talented than the other fillies of her age, also since Celestia is her personal teacher, both meet around the castle some days and spend a bit of time talking. Heynriik looked around to see the garden, it wasn’t big as the one of the castle but it was okay,it had plants, a small wall surrounding it and a table with four chairs on the center. Then he noticed something over his belly, he saw Twilight sleeping peacefully over him, she let out a yawn and crossed her hooves to placed her head on them, Heynriik smiled, he couldn’t resist the cuteness of the scene, he put his head on the grass and placed his arms down. “Cadance….you owe me a big one…” Heynriik wasn’t stupid, he knew perfectly what Cadance and Shining Armor were doing, a date. “I know that these two love each other, it doesn’t matter how many times they deny it, it’s obvious!” Heynriik didn’t mind that they were in love and that they start dating, they were his closest friends and he’ll never complain about them. He was more worried about himself, even before Celestia told him how she find him and show those things she found with him, there was still many things unclear about his origins. “How did that Airon managed to sent me here in a crib!? He only could do that if he was already here, I don’t think that I came to Equestria directly from….how it was? Foalgard? No……Jorman? Wait…..Jorgard! Yes it was Jorgard” Heynriik continued passing thoughts and ideas on his mind. “Anyway, I would like to know how it looks like….and if I have family there” Heynriik closed his eyes and felt sleepy. “All these things are going to make my brain explode…” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Heynriik opened his eyes again, but he was no longer on Twilight’s house, he was….flying? No he wasn’t, he felt that he was being hold by something or someone, he looked up and saw a face, but it wasn’t a pony’s face, it was a human one. “What the?....wh- who are you?.... what’s happening” if the situation wasn’t awkward enough, he couldn’t hear his own talking, instead of that, he babbled. He looked at his body and….he was a baby….again. “This dream again?! Once is enough!” of course, whoever was holding Heynriik, ignored this due he really was doing nonsense sounds. “Relax little one, don’t make this harder than it is” Heynriik didn’t recognized the voice, but it sounded familiar. The human lowered him and he was put on a basket. “Hey! What the hay?!" Heynriik said in a mix of angriness and fear, but again the human only heard more babble. The human stroked Heynriik’s hair and kissed him on the forehead, Heynriik could see now all the human’s face, it had blue eyes, hoary hair and beard. “I can’t believe we have to do such a thing to an innocent child like you, Heynriik” Heynriik finally could remember that voice. “It’s one of the humans of the boat! And that means two things: he could be “Airon”, the one who write the letter or “Joriik” who said it was...... .......my true father. Heynriik saw how the human put a little blanket to cover his body and then he put under him something that he couldn’t saw. Then he saw how the human sat on his knees and with a plume started writing on a piece of clear brown paper and placed it on the basket as well. He saw the human’s face over his again; he was tearing with disconsolate eyes. “I want the Five Divines to forgive me about this…because I will never forgive myself” The human grabbed the basket with Heynriik, in a baby form inside it, and got close to a river. “This is such a curious river… it flows at the opposite direction as any other that I saw, it will send you inside of….Equestria instead to the sea, so don’t worry, with some luck you will be found by a fisher or anyone that it’s near the river”. He looked a last time to Heynriik who was confused all the time. “Whe- Where’s the sense in all this? It’s impossible to…” Heynriik stopped when he saw how the sun disappeared quickly and was changed for the moon. He looked at his left and saw a big mountain with a city aside a waterfall. “Canterlot…it’s Canterlot” Heynriik thought, then he understood everything, the crib, the human, the river, he was in the time when Celestia found him. The human lowered the crib slowly on the river and before he released it, he said a last words to the baby with a smile. “Heynriik, be strong” The human released the basket and Heynriik feel how it floated over the water, then his sight went dark. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “It happened again, mom” Heynriik said to Celestia, he had interrupted her when she was lying over a big cushion, reading her new received mail. “What dear?” Celestia asked confused. “A dream, one of that dreams…” Heynriik looked to Celestia scared and paralyzed, she turned her head, lifted a cushion and place it in front of hers. “Sit and tell me more, please” Heynriik nodded and sat on the cushion; he looked at Celestia who was giving him a charming smile. “What was that dream about?” asked Celestia. “I…I was a baby….like the last one but…this time we were outside, near of a river” Celestia raised an eyebrow after hearing that. “We? There was anypony with you?” “Yes, but it wasn’t a pony” Heynriik lowered his head and closed his eyes. “It was….a human?” asked Celestia in a worried tone, Heynriik just nodded. “He was…sad and crying…..i heard him saying to me that he would never forgive himself for doing that…” Celestia lifted his head with a hoof; she smiled to him and nodded. “You know where you two were? Equestria? Or the human land?” asked Celestia while she stroked her white and smooth hoof over his hair. “We were…..near of Canterlot, in fact, we were in the same moment when you found me…” Celestia opened wide her mouth and then closed it, she put a hoof in her chin thinking. “Heynriik…..if you remember….in the letter said that you should return one day to your land of origin" “But….i don’t think that moment had arrived” Heynriik looked confused to Celestia. “Wh- what? Why not? Why I can’t go t-“ Celestia shut Heynriik putting a hoof on his mouth. “My dear, you are just ten years old! You’re still a colt, I can’t let you do such a dangerous thing” Celestia released her hoof from Heynriik’s mouth and looked at him with concern. “Since I brought you here, I knew that you’re destiny it’s far away from Equestria…. But, did you have any idea were to go? What to do? We are talking about traveling to somewhere completely unknown…” Heynriik sighed in defeat and stood up; he looked to Celestia in silence and with tears falling from his eyes. “M- mom did you……did you really love me or….you just brought me here for pity?” Celestia was shocked, she stood up and went closer to Heynriik,trying to wipe out Heynriik’s tears with her right hoof, then she started tearing too. “Wh- why did you ask such a thing, Riki? I love you, I care of you, I don’t and ever minded the fact that you are from a different species” Both wrapped each other in a hug, sobbing and letting out a thousand of tears. “I know that I’m not your real mother, Heynriik….” Celestia said with a sob. “…But you always will be the only one that I can call my son” Celestia released him; Heynriik wiped out his tears with the hand and smiled to Celestia. “I know…mom….i’m very grateful for what you did, for what you teach me and for all the attention that you gave me…” Celestia smiled warmly and returned to her place to continue reading letters, Heynriik said goodbye to her and got out of the room. Then, he remembered something, the object that Smart Gear were building that could help him to ride Volcano, it had passed three days, the time he said that he needed to make it. Heynriik started running through the castle’s corridors, when he turned to the left on a corner, he bump to something and fell to the floor, he felt some pain on his head and scratched it, when he stood up he saw that the thing which he had bumped, was Smart Gear himself. “Ouch! Ya can’t run like that in the castle Heynriik, ya can hurt somepony…..like me” Heynriik giggled and smiled at him. “Sorry Smart, but I was excited to ask you if you had finished that..hem…thing that you told me a few days ago” “Oi! Of course boy! In fact I was goin’ to told you that I have finished it!” Heynriik jumped in joy, and hugged Smart Gear. “Ok, relax big boy, I kno’ that ya are happy, but there’s no need to make this a sentimental moment” Heynriik released him and blushed; Smart Gear put a hoof around his neck. “Now, let’s see if it works, mate”. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Heynriik, Smart Gear and Volcano were on the royal garden going to test the “riding artifact” like Smart Gear liked to name, it divided in two parts, one was a curved piece of leather with four strings, two with rings and the other two could be connected like a lock. The other part was just some feather lines, which could fit perfectly on Volcano’s mouth, with a long string that united both sides of this part. “So, how it works?” asked Heynriik. “The book that talked ‘bout this artifact said that we have ta put the “sit part” over his body and the “ grabbing muzzle” on his face and wit’ this long string being back of his head”. “This is the “sit part”” said Smart Gear lifting it with his magic, trying to explain something like this to a young boy like Heynriik was going to be a challenge, but the brown unicorn knows that he’s enough smart to learn how it worked. “It’s used so you can sit over Volcano’s body, with your two legs in these rings, the other two strings had to be connected surroundin’ Volcano’s body so it doesn’t fall and with your body looking in the same direction as him”. “Now, the other one, ya see that one side it’s wider than tha other, right?, we have to put this on Volcano’s face trough the wider part, so all the feather lines cover him ‘n’ the long string with a “U” form it’s back o’ his head”. Heynriik nodded and grabbed the sit part while Smart Gear had the grabbing muzzle. “Well, let’s start” Heynriik put the leather piece over the big black horse and then he positioned under his body looking up to connect the two strings doing a “click” sound. Meanwhile, Smart Gear was going to put the muzzle thing on Volcano’s face, but he didn’t allow Smart Gear and was doing neighs, roars and shaking his head brutally, making the brown innovative unicorn angry. “C’mon big buddy! What’s yer problem!?” said Smart Gear, who was trying and trying, but Volcano was still rebelling, finally the horse moved forward fast and hit Smart Gear to the ground. “Hey Volcano! If you don’t be quiet you will be sent to your hut for being bad!” Heynriik said to the horse that looked at the human with regret. Volcano lied on the ground and stays quiet as Heynriik said. “Good boy” said Heynriik, Smart Gear recovered his consciousness, stood up and lifted again the muzzle with his magic, he put it on Volcano’s face and positioned the long uniting string back of the horse head. “Well, now we have to try, but I’m not goin’ to be over this bucker’s body….” Heynriik chuckled at Smart Gear. “Okay dude, I will be the one who does the test” Heynriik jumped over Volcano, sited on the leather piece and put his foot inside the rings. He grabbed the string with both hands and set to the test. “Well, hummm……stand up Volcano!” The big horse stood up as his human owner said. “Ok, hem…let’s start going slow, got it Volcano?” the horse neigh in response, Heynriik take it like a “yes” and grabbed strongly the grabbing string. “Remember to use that string beside you to make Volcano understand your moves, if you want to go right or left, you just have to pull the string to the side you want” said Smart Gear. “Got it, Smarty” Volcano trotted slowly through the royal garden, Heynriik smiled sawing that this riding artifact worked perfectly, he was comfortable and moving Volcano wherever he wanted with the help of the string. “It’s good but….we need more space”. “What are you thinkin’? And don’t tell me that it’s ‘bout goin’ out o’ Canterlot wit’ him…” Heynriik controlled Volcano to be in front of Smart Gear, he smirked to him, and the brown unicorn feared the worst. “…..Ya are goin’ to do it, right?” “Yup, Hiya Volcano!” Heynriik pulled the string strongly and make Volcano shake his front hooves and stay with two back ones while neighing loudly. Volcano trotted fast and got out of the garden while Smart Gear was still there with a shocked face. “….What did jus’ happened?....”he said, meanwhile Volcano was trotting fast with Heynriik riding him through the Canterlot’s streets, all the ponies were shocked or running scared due the intimidating look of Volcano. Finally, they find the Canterlot’s entrance and got out of the city, heading to the forest. Meanwhile, in Celestia’s room. Princess Celestia sighed happily after reading all the mail that she received today, it took more time than she thought it would be, but she felt that it had worth the way. She walked to the balcony to see the splendorous sight of the city of Canterlot, she look at the beautiful and clear sky; she closed her magenta eyes and smiled. But this relaxing time was interrupted when he heard some loud noises from the streets, she looked down and saw something big and black with a smaller figure over him running to the Canterlot’s entrance, the ponies where getting off of his path and shocking. She didn’t know what it was at first, but then Celestia could recognize them, it was Heynriik riding Volcano. She instead of being angry or mad for his son’s action, did a cute chuckled and placed her front hooves at the border of the balcony. “Oh Heynriik…..seems that it doesn’t matter how crazy it’s your promise, you always make it” Then the happiness of her face was wiped out when Celestia heard some knocks on the door, she turned and got close to the door. “Who is it?” asked Celestia. “Majesty?, we just had received an important letter that you may want to read it now, can i come inside?” Celestia knew that the voice was one of her guards. “Oh, yes please come in” the doors where open and the unicorn guard was shown to Celestia, he bowed and lift a stamped letter with his magic. “Here you have, majesty” said the guard, Celestia put the letter on her bed. “From who is this letter, guard?” asked Celestia curiously. “It’s from Amanthis, the changeling queen, majesty” Celestia widened her eyes, and put a hoof on her chin. “You can leave” Celestia waved a hoof and the guard left the room. Celestia lied on the bed and opened the stamped letter, as she thought; it had the changeling’s queen signing, she read it: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Princess Celestia. As you remember, our “deal” between our countries was to confirm your idea, that you ponies can love and tolerate all kind of creatures that live in this world, that includes griffons, dragons, zebras and of course….changelings. So before of months searching a solution to our hostilities, we agreed in see if that idea could work for us, the changelings, then was when i offered you to take care for a month of my idealist and extremely kind daughter, Chrysalis, so she could live on Canterlot, a changeling princess among ponies. Being a completely disgrace to the changeling race due his talks about we changelings, cooperating and living in peace with your kind, I thought that it could work because she were with those who could understand her. But instead of that, she told me on her letters that she were hated and even chased by the ponies, because they thought she is evil. Even if I want her to be really evil, I think this meant that ponies aren’t so tolerable and kind as you thought, right? But since some weeks, she talks about somepony in particular…unless that he ISN’T A PONY, but I think you know who I’m talking about. Heynriik, your beloved yet strange son, the only known human, becomes friend of my daughter, you may think it’s cute seeing both laughing, having fun, and being together as everypony of their age does. But I, the queen of the changelings, and the one that shall guide her in the right way, I think it’s DISGUSTING! You know why? Because I hate the fact that she loves him, a changeling princess should be away of that kind of scum! How do I know she loves him? Because of the form that she talks about him in her letters, her beloved bipedal hero, her knight with green innocent eyes, and the most important person on her life, I refuse to look at that letters again to avoid vomit! With all this, my dear Celestia, I just want to say that if they still together, I will break our deal, and your little ponies will suffer the consequences. Sincerely. Amanthis, the Changeling Queen. Celestia finished reading the letter, she was scared and angry atthe same time, for the unforgiving petition of the changeling queen, not only because Heynriik would reject stopping being Chrysalis friend, because of Chrysalis herself, if was true that she loves him, then if they got separated….she didn’t want to imagine the pain would cause to somepony innocent and kind as Chrysalis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Heynriik was lying on the grass of the forest looking at the sky, she was starting to feel sleepy and Volcano seems recovered after three hours with Heynriik riding him thanks to this new artifact. He saw Volcano approaching to him and neighed, Heynriik stretched his body and stood up. “Yeah, your right Volcano, we should return home, I’m sure mom’s worried” He jumped over him and grabbed the string. Volcano trotted fast heading to Canterlot, while Heynriik felt the wind hitting his ropes and hair, he smiled because he never had felt so good at any other moment at his life. In the time he was riding Volcano, both were like connected, like on the same body, he could hear his breath, his heartbeats, he didn’t know how to explain it, but it was awesome. He feel that the world was all his, that he could do anything and go anywhere, that makes increase his desire to travel to the human lands, but he knew that Celestia was right about that it’s too dangerous for a young colt like him. “I promise, someday, I will go…no one will stop me....” Heynriik said before he entered to Canterlot.