//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: One Heart's Destiny // by Robobrony //------------------------------// Chapter 2 After Applejack left some food for Heart Wing, she went into town to try and find her friends. By sheer luck, she found them all hanging out in front of a resturaunt and talking. One was a cream yellow Pegasus with a soft pink mane and tail and had three pink butterflies for a cutie mark. This was Fluttershy and she was just as timid as Heart Wing. There was another Pegasus with a sky blue coat and a rainbow colored mane and tail with a cloud and a rainbow colored lightning bolt coming out of it. Rainbow dash was brash and cocky, always out to prove herself, but she was very loyal to her friends. There was another earth pony there with a pink coat and a darker pink mane and tail that was all poofy, her cutie mark was of three balloons, one was yellow and two were blue. Her name was Pinkie Pie and she just loved to throw parties, she was very energetic and always loves meeting new ponies and making new friends. Next was a unicorn with a white coat and a violet mane and tail all done up in fancy curls, her cutie mark was of three light blue diamonds. Rarity was a fashionista and was very good at making dresses. She was a bit of a perfectionist but she was a generous pony. Finally, another unicorn with a light purple coat and a dark blue mane and tail with a dark purple and pink streak through them, her cutie mark was a pink six pointed star with five small sparkles around it. Twilight Sparkle was a very smart and well read unicorn. She was a personal student to one of Equestria’s princesses, Celestia. Twilight was a very talented unicorn when it came to magic. Applejack made her way over to them to inform them of this morning’s recent events. “Howdy gals, glad I found ya, there’s somethin I need ta tell ya’ll.” The girls all saw Applejack and each gave a greeting, Fluttershy was first. “Oh, hello Applejack.” Rainbow Dash was next. “What’s up?” Rarity was next. “Hello darling, how good to see you today.” Then Pinkie Pie. “Hi ya Applejack, glad to see you could take a break from your work to come hang out with us.” Finally, Twilight said her hello. “Hey Applejack, what did you need to see us for?” Applejack began to explain. “Ya see, earlier this mornin, I caught this here pony in a cloak eatin some of my apples in my orchard, as soon as I called out to him he took off. I chased after him only for him to take a nasty tumble down a hill. The poor fella ended up with a nasty bump on his head and a broken foreleg. He’s restin at my place right now, but he’s real timid and shy around others, probably more so than Fluttershy. When I talked with him in my guest room, he thought I was gonna beat him for stealin ma apples. He explained that it wouldn’t have been the first time that happened to him.” Pinkie couldn’t contain her excitement any more at the mention of a potential new friend. “A new pony, THIS IS FANTASTIC! What’s his name, where did he come from, does he like cakes?” Pinkie asked each question in quick succession, then she got an idea that she always gets whenever there’s a new pony in town. “OH MY GOSH, THIS CALLS FOR A PARTY!!” Applejack had to put a stop to this. “Pinkie, that is not a good idea, weren’t you listening? The poor feller is afraid, from what I gathered, he’d been through a lot that made him afraid ta be around others.” Pinkie quickly deflated at that. “Awwwe, no party? Shoot.” Rainbow Dash then spoke up. “So what’s the big deal with this guy?” Applejack began. “Well, the thing is, he’s an alicorn.” It was now Rarity’s turn to get excited. “An alicorn?! Oh my goodness, is he a prince, oh what am I saying of course he is, he must be. What’s his name, where is he from, oh is he handsome?” Twilight spoke up to try and calm her down. “Easy Rarity, let Applejack explain. Go ahead Applejack, tell us what you can about him.” “Well, his name is Heart Wing, I don’t think he’s a prince. He said he’s not from Equestria, he didn’t even say where he was from. The odd thing about this though is the fact that he thinks he shouldn’t even be an alicorn, fer some reason, he thinks they don’t exist and that he’s some kind of freak. He told me about how he was picked on because of it. I can’t help but feel sorry for the poor fella. He was in bad enough shape before all this too, he was practically skin and bones when I saw him without his cloak, he was so dirty and skinny, it almost looked like he was on his last legs.” Rarity was once again ready to speak out. “Good heavens, how awful. That settles it then, I’ll go to my house, gather a few supplies and meet you at your place to give the poor dear a good cleaning up. I won’t take no for an answer, ta ta.” Before the ponies could say anything more, Rarity was gone. Twilight then spoke up. “I should inform the princess about this as well, she’ll want to meet this new alicorn.” Applejack interjected. “Now hold on there sugar cube, I think we should hold off on informin the princess until Heart Wing is all better. But you can come over to meet him, I just think we need to do this carefully, ya’ll can come on over but you’ll need to be careful around him.” “All right then, let’s go meet this new alicorn.” The girls then all got up and left for Applejack’s place to meet the new alicorn. Heart Wing was lying in bed with his cloak back on wondering what he was even supposed to do now that he made it to Equestria like his mother wanted him to. Was he supposed to just start a new life here? Was he supposed to meet with these princesses that Applejack mentioned? He just didn’t know. And why was Applejack being nice to him? No pony had ever been nice to him other than his parents. His thoughts were soon interrupted when he heard the door to his room begin to open. In a panic, he quickly lept out of the bed, once again ignoring the pain from his leg, and got back in the same corner he was in when Applejack and him talked. Applejack walked in to greet him. “Howdy there Heart, I brought ma-“ She stopped herself when she saw Heart Wing was in the corner again. “Heart wing, what are ya’ll doin in the corner, yall need to be in the bed restin so yer leg’ll get better.” “I just don’t feel comfortable lying down when others are around, I just feel too vulnerable.” Applejack just looked curiously at him, she decided to let it go. “All right then. I brought my friends over to meet ya, but I should warn ya, when I told one of them about the condition you were in when I found you, she was a little insistant on gatherin some things to clean ya up. She ain’t about to take no fer an answer so you might as well just let her do her thing.” “She is, but why, she doesn’t even know me, she hasn’t even seen me and right away she wants to clean me up? That doesn’t make any sense.” Applejack smiled. “That’s just how she is, anyway, why don’t you come on out and meet every pony. They’re all real nice, I should probably also warn ya about Pinkie Pie, she’s a little…..energetic and gets real excited at meetin new ponies, but after a good talkin to on the way over here, she promised to try and control herself.” Heart wing was a little hesitant. “I don’t know, I really don’t see the point in all this. Why do they want to meet me, I’m just a freak.” He looked down and away as he spoke. Applejack looked to him with pity in her eyes. “Now look here sugar cube, no pony here is going to see you as a freak, I promise. Now come on.” Heart Wing was still hesitant, but he saw she wasn’t going to let this go. So he got up and carefully made his way out the room following Applejack to the living room where the others were. Upon entering the living room, he was greeted by eight ponies. One of which was a large red stallion with a short orange mane and tail with half a green apple for a cutie mark. Another with a lime green coat, a grey mane and tail, both done up in a bun and an apple pie for a cutie mark. This one was looking quit old. Another was a little filly with a yellow coat, a red mane and tail, and a big pink bow in her mane. The other five were Applejack’s friends. Apple jack began introductions. “Heart Wing, this here big fella is ma big brother, Big Macintosh.” She pointed to the red stallion. “This here is ma little sister Apple Bloom.” She then pointed to the little filly. “This is ma grandma, Granny Smith.” She pointed to the elder mare. “And these here are ma friends. This is Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity.” Before anything else could be said, Rarity began to speak. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you darling, would you mind taking off your cloak so I can see what exactly I have to work with.” Rarity had a pair of saddle bags on her filled with mane and coat care products. Heart Wing grew quite nervous at her request. “Uh, wh-what do you mean?” “Well, from what Applejack told us, you are a bit of a mess under that cloak and could use a good clean up. And I would be more than happy to get rid of that old cloak of yours and make you a fabulous new one.” Heart Wing seemed to take offense to this. “Oh no, you’re not getting your hooves on MY cloak, it may seem dirty and shredded to you but it’s all I have left. My mother gave me this cloak before she…….before I had to say goodbye.” Heart then took on a somber look. Rarity then felt bad about what she said earlier. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry dear, I had no idea your cloak meant so much to you, if you like, I could just clean it up and patch up the holes in it for you. I promise that I can make it as good as new.” “You….you would do that for me? But why, why would you go out of your way just for some pony you never even met?” “My dear, I am a lady, and I always take pleasure in helping others look their best. Now would you be so kind as to take off your cloak so we can begin with assessing what needs to be done to clean you up?” Once again, Heart Wing was hesitant, but he went ahead and undid the clasp that held his cloak on. He carefully removed his cloak to reveal himself to the ponies, he then set his cloak to the side on the floor. Apple Bloom couldn’t contain herself as she spoke up. “Wow, you really are an alicorn. That is so cool.” Rainbow Dash had to agree. “I’ll say, this could be a chance for some real competition.” She quickly flew up and hovered in front of Heart wing practically touching muzzles to him. “How fast can you fly, how good a flyer are you?” Heart wing became terrified that this pony was right in his face. He let out a terrified yelp. “AAAAHHH!” Then he just backed away as fast as he could until he was up against the wall and fell to the floor, covering his head with his hooves, shaking out of fear. Twilight began to scold Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash, you scared him! You need to take it easy around him remember.” Rainbow Dash then came down to the floor with a sheepish grin. “Oops, heh heh, uh, sorry Heart Wing, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just got over excited at the potential for a new flying buddy.” Applejack rolled her eyes at Rainbow Dash then made her way over to Heart to try and comfort him. “Now now sugar cube, it’s all right, she didn’t mean ta frighten ya.” Applejack then put a hoof on Heart’s shoulder as he cowered on the floor. Heart looked up at Applejack as she wore a comforting smile. Heart Wing never did smile as he got back up. “Um, Rarity, could we just get this whole cleaning me up thing over with.” Rarity looked to Heart wing with a smile. “Very well then, follow me please, we’ll be using the bathroom in the room you were staying in.” Rarity took the lead to the room and left the others to chat amongst themselves. With Heart Wing out of the room, Fluttershy found the courage to speak up. “Gosh Applejack, you weren’t kidding when you said he was shy, even I wasn’t that afraid when it came to meeting others, the way he seemed to cower when Rainbow Dash came up to him, he was so afraid.” Pinkie then spoke up after much anticipation and holding herself back. “I wonder what happened to him to make him so afraid. Do you think he’d be willing to tell us where he came from?” Twilight then spoke up. “I hope so, there are so many questions I have about him.” Applejack interjected. “Now let’s not go nuts with questions, we don’t want to pressure him into tellin us something he ain’t comfortable tellin us.” Apple Bloom then made an observation. “Did any pony else notice that he didn’t have a cutie mark?” Now that they thought about it, he did seem to lack one. It was rather odd for a pony his age to not have a cutie mark. Big Mac then Spoke up. “I’d better get back to my chores round the farm, good luck with this new fella girls.” Big mac then made his way out to get back to work. Back in the bathroom, Rarity had the water in the tub going and was ready to give Heart Wing a good cleaning. Heart Wing however was still unsure about this. “So why exactly are you doing this for me, it’s not like you have to ya know.” Rarity gave him a credulous look. “It’s not a matter of have to darling, it’s a matter of want to. I simply cannot stand by and let a stallion of your good looks be ruined with such a bedraggled appearance. By the time I’m done with you, I promise you’ll look and fell so much better, the only thing that will be left to do is get some meat on those bones of yours.” The tub was now ready. Rarity used her magic to carefully remove Heart’s bandages on his head and cast. “Now into to the tub dear.” Heart Wing climbed in and sat in the water. To his amusement, the water felt very nice and warm, he didn’t show any sign of pleasure on his muzzle though. Rarity began her work of shampooing and conditioning his coat main and tail. She made sure to get every single speck of dirt out of his fur. Once the bathing was done, Rarity then began brushing him all over until his coat, mane and tail were silky smooth. “There, all done, don’t you look so much better? I’ll bet it feels good to finally have a decent bath and to have all that dirt out of your fur.” Heart didn’t show any smile as he responded. “It does actually, I can’t remember the last time I felt like this, thank you.” “You’re welcome dear, now come along, let’s show the others how much better you look.” Rarity then put Heart Wing’s bandages and cast back on him. Heart Wing followed Rarity out of the bathroom, just as he exited it, another sharp pain racked his body from his heart, he grunted in pain. “Gah, ah.” Rarity heard heart and quickly turned around to check on him. “Heart Wing, are you all right, what’s wrong?” Heart wing practically grunted out his answer. “It’s nothing, just an old pain that comes and goes. I’ll be all right.” Rarity wasn’t sure if she could believe him. “Are you sure you’re all right? We could take you to the hospital if you’re sick.” “I’ll be fine, I’ve had this pain for a long time, it’s no big deal.” “Well, all right then.” The two then continued on their way out to the living room. Rarity began. “My friends, I give you the new and improved Heart Wing.” Heart Wing came out and the ponies were all amazed at how much better he looked compared to how he did before. His coat, mane and tail were practically shining. Heart Wing just turned his head away from the attention he was getting. He did notice, however, that Granny Smith had gone to sleep in a rocking chair and Big Macintosh was gone. Fluttershy was the first to compliment him. “Wow Heart Wing, you look so much better. Not that there was anything wrong with you before, I mean that you look much cleaner now.” Twilight decided that now would be a good time to see if Heart Wing was in a mood to talk. “So Heart Wing, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind telling us about yourself, where are you from, what’s the name of your country?” Heart Wing began to explain. “You see, I’m not from a country.” The ponies were all confused by this, Twilight voiced her concerns on the matter. “What do you mean you’re not from a country?” “I come from a village that is literally in the middle of nowhere, it’s not part of any country. I know it sounds odd, the only explanation I can give is based off of stories I was told by my parents when I was a little foal, there used to be a country where I came from but it was struck by some great disaster and the country was disbanded, so only a small village remains. I don’t believe it though. The village I came from is called Stableton, don’t be concerned if you’ve never heard of it, no pony really even knows it exists, the villagers prefer to keep to themselves.” Rainbow Dash then decided to take a turn to ask a question. “So why did you come here, aren’t your parents missing you?” “It was my mother who told me to come here before she……passed away.” The group then took on quite a sorrow full look. Fluttershy was the first to offer her apologies. “Oh my, I’m so sorry to hear that, you must miss her so much. But I’m sure you dad misses you too at least.” “He passed away too, years before my mother did.” Fluttershy then felt even more guilty for bringing it up. The others, however, seemed a little concerned as how casual he seemed to be acting at mentioning his parents being dead. Twilight spoke up about this. “Aren’t you at least a little sad about it? You don’t seem to care as much as you should.” Heart Wing figured he might as well tell them about his life growing up. He thought they would ask him about it anyway, for some reason, he just didn’t care about them knowing. “As I said, in Stableton, the ponies there mostly kept to themselves, it was miserable there. No pony smiled, or laughed or did anything fun. But my parents were the only ones who managed to smile. My mother was a unicorn and my father was a Pegasus. I figured it was because of that that I was born like…………this. Because of me being born looking like an alicorn, I was always picked on as a foal. Alicorns were just a myth there, no pony believes they exist. So every day I was tormented and picked on by the other kids for what I was.” “No matter how bad a day I had though, my parents would always be there for me, but even then I just couldn’t smile or laugh. They never showed it but I could tell they felt bad for me. They always greeted me with a smile when I came home from school. My father would sometimes let me ride on his back and take me flying to try and make me smile, but no matter what, I just couldn’t feel any joy.” “The weather over our village did whatever it wanted, no pony wanted to bother trying to control it. One day, the village was hit with a terrible storm. If something wasn’t done soon, a flood would occur and destroy the town. My dad was the only Pegasus to try and weaken the storm so the town wouldn’t flood. My mother and I watched him from the front of our house while he worked desperately to try and weaken the storm. After a while he managed to succeed, but it was still pretty fierce. He was about to come down for a landing when a bolt of lightning struck him.” “He fell to the ground right in front of us, my mother cried out to him, but it was no use, she ran over to him and cried over his dead body. I walked over to join her and looked at my father as he lay there dead. The scary thing is…….I didn’t feel as sad as I should have, I don’t know why, I just didn’t cry over him. I was still just a little foal at the time too. My mother noticed me not crying, she never said anything about it, she just hugged me as hard as she could as she cried.” “Years later after I had grown up some more, my mother made me this cloak. She didn’t want me to be ashamed of what I was, but she took my feelings into consideration. So she made me this cloak to hide myself. It wasn’t long after that that she got sick, I don’t know what it was she had, but it was a lethal disease. On her death bed, she told me about a country where I could find happiness. She did have a strange talent for getting visions of the future, that was how she knew that the storm that killed my father would flood the town if something wasn’t done. She made me promise to go to a country called Equestria. The next day, she was gone, and I was all alone now. The only two ponies who ever cared about me were now gone, and for whatever reason……I just didn’t seem to care like I should have. Don’t get me wrong, I am sad that my parents are dead, just not as sad as some ponies would be. So here I am, after months and months of traveling and being hopelessly lost, I found my way here.” Needless to say, the girls all had tears in their eyes for hearing how much hardship Heart Wing had been through. Even Pinkies usually poofy mane and tail had deflated and was now straight. Fluttershy couldn’t help herself as she spoke up. “You poor thing, I can’t believe how much pain you must be in.” She then simply walked over to him and gave him a big tight hug, hoping it would comfort him. Heart Wing was confused by this, he couldn’t figure out why they were all crying. “Um, Fluttershy, why are you hugging me?” “Don’t you feel even a little sad about all this? It’s ok to cry, you don’t have to hide your feelings from us. Just let it all out.” “But I really don’t feel like crying, I never have.” The others, except Apple Bloom, joined in on a group hug around Heart Wing. He just couldn’t understand these ponies, why did they care so much for a total stranger? As he tried to think about this, another sharp pain from his heart erupted. “AH, GAH!” The girls quickly broke their embrace upon hearing his pained cry. Pinkie was first to voice her concerns. “Oh my gosh, are you all right, we didn’t hug too tight did we?” Heart Wing just held his good hoof over where his heart was as he spoke. “I’ll be fine, like I told Rarity, it’s just an old pain that comes and goes, it’s nothing to worry about.” Twilight wasn’t convinced. “I don’t believe you, we need to get you to a doctor to check you out.” Heart Wing looked to Twilight to respond. “When I first felt this pain as a foal while my parents were still alive, they took me to a doctor, they couldn’t find anything wrong with me. I only felt it three times then, and I haven’t felt it at all until today. It’s nothing to worry about.” The girls still weren’t convinced. Fluttershy spoke up. “Oh, please let us get a doctor to examine you, we don’t want you to be sick.” Twilight then spoke up again. “I’m going to the hospital to see if one of the doctors can make a house call since you’re in no condition to make it there, I’ll be back later, for now why don’t you just go back to bed and rest.” Applejack agreed. “Come on now sugar cube, let’s get you back in bed.” Heart Wing just followed Applejack back to the room while the others said their goodbyes and left. Twilight made her way to the hospital. As heart Wing lay in bed wondering why Twilight would go out of her way as well to get a doctor to come and look at him, he was once again assaulted with that familiar pain from his heart. “GAH, geeze, what is this pain in my heart, why does it seem to be so frequent?” Heart Wing was left at a loss for words, he still didn’t understand why these ponies cared so much for a total stranger. And why did they cry when he told them his story? He just let those thoughts go as he lay down and went to sleep for a nap, hoping he could make sense of all this later.