//------------------------------// // 115. Foal (Luna / The Prince) // Story: Short Shorts // by Coranth //------------------------------// "Canst thou wake?" One moment he'd been in the Weyr as usual; the next moment he was... where? "Waken mine little one, please...?" This... this wasn't right! Where was the presence of the Weyrmind? Where was Khorvas? Where were his Hoofmaidens? Where... Where was... "Mine beautiful baby..." The Prince whimpered. He was supposed to be psychically watching over Everfree City from his Golden Throne! He was supposed to be... He was supposed to... He was... "Mine lovely foal..." Although it took him the greatest effort to even open his eyes, now the Prince was awake. He recognized that voice... 'Oh, no...' Hazel eyes, glowing faintly with the cyan hue of latent psychic energy, wearily opened--and then the Prince slow-blinked before sighing through his nose with annoyance. Once again, he was with Princess Luna - in her bed - pressed against her furry belly, nose in her starry mane and one of her hooves holding him. Whimpering softly, the teal alicorn struggled weakly, but his frail body was - as always - near-devoid of strength. He'd been in this situation so many times... Each time, however, he'd been rescued, by the Weyr, by his Templar Guard, or even by Celestia. Not this time, however; wherever they were the Lunar Diarch had made sure the brown-maned, teal-coated alicorn couldn't contact the Weyr. For the first time, the Prince was utterly alone... with the poor lonely alicorn mare who had - after taking one look at him - 'adopted' him as her foal, despite the fact that he was actually an adult. "There you are mine lovely Auryn..." the Night Princess crooned softly, "Mine beautiful foal..." Knowing that his sheer power might bring... wherever they were... down around them - and not wanting to hurt Luna - the Prince sighed before whispering, "My name is Dav--" Lick. "Luna, I am not your..." Nuzzle. "Luna, please, I..." Lick. "Luna, please, I have to get back to the..." Lick. Despite his feeble protests, eventually, Luna's gentle grooming of him made him drowsy; how could it not for it felt so good! Tears of frustration escaping him, the Prince forced himself to wake as he made one last effort. He wriggled. He writhed. He flailed about in her grip, heaving and straining as much as his frail body would allow. But, alas, it was futile, and finally, the Prince... gave up, a soft, choked sob escaping him. "Good boy..." ... and then he was being moved but slightly below her belly, a warm, fleshy object gently being placed into his mouth. 'By Adun, that's one of her... her... her...!' - and suddenly he suckled - he just couldn't help himself. Rich, creamy milk flowed into his mouth and his eyes slowly closed even as he swallowed, eager for more. "You are Ours now, Auryn; never again will We allow thee to return to that place of metal death; 'twas killing thee..." Something inside the Prince broke, then, and - as his tears ran from between closed eyelids, down his cheeks - the Prince, now Auryn, sniffled as he drank the Night Princesses... ... as he drank the Lunar Diarch's-- ... as he drank Luna's-- ... as he drank his Mommy's milk. Luna hummed contentedly as her little Prince drank. Oh, she knew he wasn't a foal, of course, and yet... he looked so very right, there, cuddled against her, drinking his fill of her milk. After he'd befriended her - after he'd helped her so much - she knew she had to do something. Now, she was; she was giving of herself to him, giving her milk, giving her love. Her love would ease his loneliness - the same loneliness she felt inside every day despite being surrounded by so many ponies - whilst her milk, magically adjusted so as to be rich in iron and other minerals, would strengthen him, and cure him of the terrible Anaemia he suffered. It was a side effect of his amazing power, the reason why he was so very, very frail. All of that power had to come from somewhere, after all. He wasn't getting a proper diet, thus, his body was cannibalizing itself to maintain his psionic reserves. Did his Everfree Ponies not know that he was not-Pony? She did. Discrete magical scans of his body revealed a digestive system geared for an omnivorous diet. Like the griffons - and herself - he could eat greens and meat. It was a secret she'd managed to keep from her sister. It was one she wouldn't need to keep from him. Soon, Luna felt her Prince withdraw his muzzle from her teat; he'd had enough. Sitting up on the bed where they lay, she lifted him up with hoof and a touch of magic then petted him gently, listening as he burped softly. A few drops of milk still clung to the teal fur of his muzzle, and she licked them away. Thereafter, Luna nestled her Prince against her, wrapping a forehoof and draping a wing over his frail body. Gently, she nudged him awake that she might look into his eyes. He blink-blinked awake and looked back into hers. 'Her eyes are so beautiful,' the Prince thought. 'They match the color of my coat...' When the teal alicorn's eyes closed again for a final time - as he slipped into a deep, restful sleep - he didn't notice her horn glow a gentle blue... "For all of Our life" Luna sang, "We will be by thy side / And We'll be there when thou falls / And there'll be no pain at all / And We'll be thy shelter / Thy shelter from the storm / Always be thy shelter / We'll be there if thou falls / And if thou walks a lonely road / Know that thour't not alone yet / Cause We'll be thy shelter / Thy shelter from the storm..." Weeping softly as she ended her lullaby, Luna then completed her work; she wove her very soul about his own, establishing thousands upon thousands of magical and spiritual quintessence linkages deep into every aspect of his mind and spirit, filling the void in him with her soothing, dark presence as she established with him the most powerful and ancient of bonds; that of a Mare and her Foal, Mother and Son. In time, she knew, the linkages would become permanent, and the bond he and she now shared would be forever... At that moment, she couldn't help herself - a rush of her happiness transmitted through their newly established bond - she was thrilled to be his Mother in all but blood! With the groundwork completed, and their bond established, Luna moved carefully through her little Auryn's memories and shared with him her own experiences such that his memories became hers and hers became his, until all were One. Then, at last they fell asleep together; she soothed by the sound of his little heart beating and he by her body's endless warmth. Later, when the Prince awoke - when he felt the pain of the horrible void in his head just gone, felt the presence of his Mother filling his thoughts - Dav--Auryn--trembled and whimpered. "Do you... do you have any idea what you've done, Luna?" he whispered tremulously in wonder, overwhelmed, feeling lighter than he had in years. "Yes," Luna choked out, a beatific smile upon her face as she tearfully nuzzled her beloved son; her Auryn. "Yes, We do! Oh, mine Son, mine wonderful Son..." Her loneliness, at last, was at its end and she wept her joy into her son's teal coat. As Luna wept, so too did Auryn, shedding years of pain and loneliness... He would cuddle normally with her for a while; then he would wedge his muzzle beneath hers chin and wail uncontrollably for a few minutes; then, without warning, he would nuzzle her furiously - like she'd just reunited with him after leaving him alone for far too long; then he just resumed clinging to Luna, trembling as though he were dying of cold. "There, there; ssh, ssh, ssh; it's all right little one, Mother's here, Mother's here..." she whispered, feeling his pain as her own.