Stormwalker had been sobbing uncontrollably until we arrived at the hospital, where he was put under a light sleep spell. The two small lumps, which were nothing more than skin covering his wings, had ruptured and revealed two bloody limbs with tiny red, wet feathers.
I was in a panic, but Cloudchaser had insisted that everything was fine. Whether it was instinct, or just my personality, I couldn’t stand to see the little guy in pain. Scootaloo had been more upset than me, the sight of a set of bloody wings doing her mind little good.
I was thankful for Cloudchaser as she stroked the filly’s mane while we waited for the doctor. She was the calm one amidst all the chaos that had unfolded in the blink of an eye. It was an ability only a mother had, turning the mayhem around her into order.
A knock on the room door pulled me from my thoughts, as the doorknob briefly became engulfed by a purple energy. Twilight poked her head in, alongside Spike, before quietly entering into the room. While the spell keeping Stormwalker wasn’t going to wear off any time soon, it seemed the princess didn’t want to take any chances.
“How is he?” Twilight asked quietly.
“They say he’ll be fine,” I replied, fidgeting nervously. “We didn’t expect this to happen so soon.”
“It’s not uncommon.” Cloudchaser sighed.
“Has he been like this long?” Twilight giggled, pointing a hoof at me.
“Ever since Stormwalker’s wing tips broke through.” Cloudchaser replied.
Spike looked our foal over carefully. He seemed fascinated with the process of developing pegasi wings. I was as well, admittedly, since I hadn’t been born a pony and had simply been given a pair by Discord.
“He looks peaceful at least.” Spike commented.
“So, what happens now?” I asked, trying not to rock back and forth on my hooves.
“Usually close friends and family gather to see the foal’s wings. I’ve already sent for the others,” Twilight replied before turning her head towards Cloudchaser. “And let Flitter know as well.”
“Thank you Princess.” Cloudchaser said bowing her head respectfully.
Twilight opened her mouth to explain the princess part was unnecessary, but shook her head instead. No matter how normal Twilight wanted to be around her friends, there would always be those that would be proper around her.
True to her word, it wasn’t long before the others showed up to see Stormwalker’s wings. Apparently, it was a long standing tradition, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash had made bets as to what the wings would look like. Applejack believed he would take after me, having larger wings. Rainbow Dash believed that the foal would take after his mom.
“At least they knocked him out,” Isabella said, gently stroking Stormwalker’s mane while carefully avoiding the newly exposed limbs.
“I suppose one can take solace in that the poor dear won’t remember this.” Rarity added.
“I wish the doctor would hurry up so I can collect my bits already.” Rainbow Dash huffed.
“You seem awfully confident Dash.” Applejack snickered.
“What do you know about wings? It’s obvious he’s going to take after Cloudchaser!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“Heh, the earth pony is right.” Lean Streak chuckled.
“Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash spun around to face the old stallion.
“Yeah, it’ll be daddy’s wings on him.” Scootaloo added, still resting in Cloudchaser’s lap.
“I don’t believe this, you too squirt?” Rainbow Dash sulked.
“You’ll get your answer soon enough.” Twilight said as the door opened.
The doctor looked up from his clipboard to take in the decent crowd that had gathered. Admittedly, I was a little impressed myself, and touched as well. While not all were present, it was still a nice reminder that there were those that genuinely cared in this world.
“Huh, wasn’t expecting a gathering like this,” the unicorn mused as a silver object levitated from a cabinet. “Let’s see how the little guy is doing.”
The room fell silent as the doctor took the device in his mouth and prodded the area around Stormwalker’s budding wings. As he did so, a look of intense concentration crossed his muzzle. Needless to say, this did little to ease my mind about the entire situation.
“Yep, I’d say they’re ready,” the doctor smiled, as the object he had used to inspect Stormwalker’s wings was thrown into a waste bin. “Mom, dad, are you two ready?”
Scootaloo hopped out of Cloudchaser’s lap, letting her up at the doctor’s request. I followed her over to Stormwalker’s side, more than a little confused as to what was about to happen. This was something I wasn’t expecting at all, encouraging the wings to fully extend was something the doctor was supposed to do, right?
“Umm…doc, I don’t-“ I started to say.
“Just do what I do.” Cloudchaser said, giving me an encouraging smile as she motioned for me to stand on the other side of our foal.
I watched her gently rest her hoof just below Stormwalker’s right wing tip. I did the same with his left, watching her the entire time. As I watched her, the smile she wore through this while ordeal seemed to calm me down. She had once asked me if she would be a good mom, there was little doubt now whether or not she was.
“You’re going to apply the smallest amount of pressure to the area beneath his wing tips,” the doctor instructed. “Kind of like petting a dog.”
“Together on three,” Cloudchaser whispered. “One…two…three.”
At that instant, we both applied pressure just beneath his wing tips. I felt something shift and buckle, before two wings slid smoothly from Stormwalker’s back. They were soaked red with blood, and about four inches long. The most distinguishing feature about them though, were the large primary feathers; large considering Stormwalker’s age, anyways.
“W-what!?” Rainbow Dash’s wings and ears drooped in defeat.
“Heh, told ya.” Applejack grinned.
I had thought that seeing Stormwalker born was special, but seeing him with his wings, finally complete, nearly topped that moment. Even as his wings were cleaned of the blood and goo that had covered them and kept them safe, he still remained fast asleep, with a tranquil look about him as both wings came to rest beside him.
“I’ve never actually seen it before.” Twilight said looking the new wings over.
“Now comes the fun part of raising him, making sure he doesn’t fly out of the crib.” Spike laughed.
“Wait, what?” I asked dumbly.
“Well, Spike is right to a certain extent,” Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Pegasi foals can sometimes gain the ability to hover and fly at an early age, they obviously lack the motor skills to truly control their wings though.”
“Comforting thoughts…a summer without the ceiling fans it is then.” I said.
“Which is why I thought ahead,” Cloudchaser planted a kiss on my cheek. “His crib has a safety net to stop him from hurting himself.”
I was about to make the cliché comment as to what I would do without her, since I now genuinely wondered what I would do without Cloudchaser? The mare clearly had more forethought than most, including me, would give her credit for. I was going to address all of this, until a loud pop stopped me, which was accompanied by a pink cloud.
“Discord? Where have you been?” Fluttershy asked as the smoke cleared.
“I was preoccupied. My alarm clock kept running, couldn’t get it to stop until I took its legs away.” Discord replied, stretching himself out. “So why is everpony gathered in a hospital anyways?”
A tiny yawn silenced the entire room. Stormwalker stirred from his nap, and looked up at Discord with sleepy eyes. Discord had never seen our foal, nor Stormwalker Discord. All present held their breath, expecting the foal to break down into tears out of fear, or quite possibly from some residual pain around his new wings.
Stormwalker’s eyes opened a bit wider as he stared Discord down. The lord of chaos seemed as equally confused for once, not quite sure what to make of our reaction, or Stormwalker’s.
“What?” Discord finally asked, addressing the colt as if he was capable of speech.
Stormwalker didn’t reply, being incapable of doing so. Instead, he held a tiny hoof up, gesturing towards Discord. This caused him to recoil slightly, unsure of what the foal wanted.
“I think he wants you to hold him.” Fluttershy suggested quietly.
“I can’t hold another pony’s foal, what would I do with it anyways?” Discord asked.
The draconequus looked to me for an answer. If Stormwalker genuinely wanted Discord to hold him, I wasn’t going to stop it, Cloudchaser on the other hoof, was the one who I was certain would be a bit more cautious with who could, and couldn’t, hold him.
“Just be gentle with him.” Cloudchaser replied, her tone carrying a subtle warning with her words.
Slowly, Discord picked Stormwalker up, holding him out a good distance away from him. This clearly displeased the foal, as he tried to reach for him with his tiny forelegs.
It seemed his infant charm had won over Discord as well, as the chaos entity brought him closer. Stormwalker stopped his squirming only to stroke and play with Discord’s beard. Discord seemed to be at a loss once more, not quite sure how to react.
Discord’s indifference towards the situation melted away, as a new sound came from Stormwalker’s small muzzle. It was one that left both Cloudchaser and myself baffled, as well as the others in the room. Stormwalker laughed for the first time, cooing and playing with Discord.
“Well, at least somepony can appreciate good taste in muzzle hair.” Discord chuckled, wiggling his fuzzy eyebrows, eliciting another laugh from Stormwalker.
While I had never taken Discord to be the caring type when it came to children, he seemed to at least have half a heart when handling Stormwalker, or he was putting up a very good front. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and trust that some part of him did care.
“Wings like his daddy's eh?" Isabella grinned down at me.
“Yeah, how about that,” I replied, a smile crossing my face for the briefest of seconds before something crossed my mind. "Hey, are you headed back to Canterlot anytime soon?"
"I was going there after I got through socializing here, why?" my sister asked.
"I don't know when I'll be there before the charity race, so I was hoping you could pass something along to Noctra." I replied.
Isabella closed her eyes for a few seconds before responding. "I don't really see the mare that often, given the time conflict and what not, but I can see to something being passed along. What's on your mind?"
"I need some information on a pegasus named Brave Banner." I whispered, flying up to her level to whisper the request to her.
"Brave Banner...isn't that-" Isabella started to blurt out until I shushed her. "-right, I think I can manage that."
---
Scootaloo’s wings beat with humming bird like speed to stay airborne as she latched Stormwalker’s crib net closed. Her wings had been getting stronger, even though she still needed to move them faster than a pegasus normally would. She probably wouldn’t be a speed demon like her surrogate sister, but that was for the best, for my own sanity as well as her mother’s.
Stormwalker’s new wings flapped happily as he laughed at his sister’s less than graceful landing. His wing beats actually lifted him off the small mattress in the crib, until he startled himself which caused him to fall victim to the laws of gravity. This made him laugh even more as he proceeded to hover briefly before letting himself fall back down onto the soft bedding.
“Uh, is he going to be okay?” I asked, nervous that he would cause himself harm.
“He’ll be fine, I promise. You’re worrying too much,” Cloudchaser said, leaning against me. “He’ll tucker himself out before too long.”
“He seems more active at least.” I commented as my eyes followed him, trying not to laugh as he partially devoured his blanket, sucking on it.
I did my best to try and draw from my experience taking care of my cousins when they were younger, but foals developed at a completely different speed. After seeing him prop himself up on his hind legs, I had the feeling that it wouldn’t be too long before he was completely mobile, which didn’t bode well. At least Scootaloo was excited about the thought of Stormwalker wobbling about.
“When do you think he’ll be able to walk?” Scootaloo asked, looking up at us.
“It shouldn’t be too much longer,” Cloudchaser replied, ruffling the filly’s mane. “It’s your bed time too though.”
Scootaloo sulked, she had loved those words the first few times she heard them. After a while however; she became like every other filly, and knew that those words meant the end of the day. She looked to me, since I was the one who had been an inhibitor of this response, letting her stay up a little later when Cloudchaser had left for the week.
I mouthed my sympathies, to which Scootaloo sighed and walked to her room to get ready. I glanced over at Stormwalker once more, observing him enjoying the cottony taste of his blanket. Small, comical “nom” sounds came from his tiny mouth as he watched Cloudchaser and I exited his room.
---
Scootaloo opened one eye, certain that her parents had gotten up for the last time for the night, or so they thought they would be anyways. She smiled as she slid out of bed and quietly walked to Stormwalker’s room, catching her brother just as he was starting to nod off.
While the tangerine filly was no fan of books, she had been anxiously waiting for her brother’s wings to fully develop, knowing they brought with them the trademark hyperactive tendencies of a pegasus. It was something to do with their abilities taking root, or so she had read.
“Hey Stormwalker.” Scootaloo whispered, leaning her forehooves against the crib.
Stormwalker lazily babbled upon seeing his sister, sitting up after blowing and popping a spit bubble. His tongue remained outside his muzzle as he watched Scootaloo expectantly, tilting his head slightly.
Scootaloo stuck her tongue out in response to the foal’s antics, making him giggle in response. His laughter was contagious however; making it a struggle to suppress her own laughter in order to prevent her parents from waking up.
"Do you think mom and dad are alright?" Scootaloo asked her brother, who simply stared back at her, now sucking on his foreleg. "I think they're okay too."
Stormwalker let himself lean lazily to the left until he toppled over, his copper eyes never leaving Scootaloo. The tangerine filly knew he couldn't understand or respond to her questions, but it still felt good to talk to somepony about this, even if it was her baby brother.
"I love them both, it's just," Scootaloo hesitated, as her brother ceased his rocking motions and propped himself up against the wooden bars of the crib, akin to a prisoner in a jail cell. "I wish I knew more about where I come from. You don't have that problem."
Stormwalker leaned his tiny muzzle through the crib bars, pressing his against hers. She made a note of how small his muzzle was compared to hers. More important than that was his giggling had returned, causing Scootaloo to smile.
The moment was ruined all too soon however; as Stormwalker did what most infants do best, explore their world the only way they know how to at first. Before Scootaloo could pull away, the foal mouthed the tip of his sister's muzzle, matting her fur.
"Eww!" Scootaloo yelped. While more tolerable of most things her friends would find gross, she drew the line at baby drool, even her brother's.
A deep throat clearing cough startled the filly. She could practically feel a set of eyes burning into the back of her head before she even turned around. Upon doing so, she was met with the very tired glare of her father.
"Squirt...why are you opening Pandora’s Box?" Daniel asked.
"Uh..." Scootaloo had no idea who or what Pandora was, or what box this pony had. This led her to believe her dad was sleep walking. "You need to go back to bed."
"Yep, you're going too though." Daniel replied, debunking her theory, and ending her midnight adventure.
---
Isabella had grown to like the castle at night, after all of the commotion had settled down from the day. Despite their personality, the bat ponies were actually quiet when it came to their duty. Isabella could only think of night when they had been a bit chattier than they normally were.
After spending time around them during the evenings, she had picked up on the differences in the voices of bat pony mares and stallions, as opposed to your average pony during the day.
During the day, when she was out and about with Blueblood, which was still a work in progress, he would never shut up about wanting her to leave Ponyville. His reasons ranged from wanting to see her more, to improving her magic. Isabella could only guess how he knew about that particular trait, since she had never mentioned anything to him.
He was right though, she could probably improve more so than she had been if she were in Canterlot, and it would finally get Blueblood off her case. Despite loving the castle though, she didn't care for the ponies that dwelt within.
They felt fake to her, just like two of Blueblood's friends, whom she had taken the liberty of relinquishing that title from the little moochers. How he had fooled himself into thinking he had friends was beyond Isabella's comprehension. After spending enough time with him, it became apparent that he had almost no friends at all.
Turning the royal priss into a real stallion was an ongoing project, but at the very least Blueblood could now say he had friends when asked. This was one project Isabella was happy to get behind.
Something else that the prince often brought up was how she had turned into a unicorn. Isabella didn't speak about the odd circumstances that led to her walking a few miles in a pony's metaphorical shoes. They had both been drunk the night her brain decided to be so forthcoming.
It wasn't surprising that he would remember her story though, since ponies simply slept booze off like it was nothing. Isabella could only remember the splitting headache, and wanting to kill Blueblood for being so noisy the following morning.
After her little story, Blueblood had occasionally asked what she looked like when she was confined to four legs instead of two. Isabella would give the same details, he thankfully didn't ask enough to annoy her about, but did ask if she had ever considered it again.
Isabella had in fact considered it, and had something special planned for him soon, since he was so intrigued by what she looked like. She would need help from the walking funhouse from Ponyville in order to make it happen.
"Ponyville...oh shit, Noctra!" Isabella exclaimed, bolting from her room to try and find the mare.
Truth be told, any guard would probably do when it came to asking for this type of information. Noctra was a family friend though, which made her the go-to bat for this little favor.
Isabella had expected the mare to be running drills or patrolling the halls, but after what felt like an eternity of searching, she finally asked one of her co-workers as to her whereabouts. Much to her frustration, the mare had the day, or night, off tonight and was reading in the library.
Upon finding her Isabella's face twisted into an extremely confused one, as she took in the sight before her. The mare was hanging upside down, reading a book. When Noctra finally noticed Isabella, the mare cocked an eyebrow at her.
"What? I can't read?" Noctra grinned playfully.
"Sorry, it's just the last thing I thought I would catch you doing." Isabella confessed.
"Well, I have been caught doing worse," Noctra giggled. "So what brings you my way? Here to 'see' Blueblood?"
"Just you tonight, before I turn in." Isabella replied.
"Oh, well what's up?" the bat pony asked, dropping down from the ceiling to hover just above the floor a bit before landing.
Isabella looked around the library cautiously, wanting to keep this as private as possible. "Did you know a pegasus by the name of Brave Banner?"
'Brave Banner...that doesn't ring any bells, but then again, you'd probably have more luck out of the record files." Noctra laughed nervously.
"He was Scootaloo's father, his wife was Summer Stars, a unicorn." Isabella added.
"Summer Stars....I think I remember something about her...." Noctra stuck her tongue out in thought.
"How would you know her but not Brave Banner?" Isabella asked.
"This is unicorn central here, if you don't know a unicorn after spending at least a few hours in Canterlot, something is wrong with you," Noctra explained with exaggerated motions with her hooves. "At any rate, the name does sound familiar, and I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find something on this Brave Banner."
Isabella wasn't sure what to expect from the bat pony, but she had at least tried to be helpful. Perhaps she could get more information from one of Celestia's guards. They rarely spoke out of line, but when talking about another brother in arms, Isabella assumed it wouldn't be too hard to get their mouths moving.
"Well thanks Noctra, I guess I'll give the books a once over tomorrow." Isabella said.
"Sorry I couldn't help you more..." Noctra sulked.
Isabella shrugged, leaning in to scratch the bat pony's ear. Just as she was about to leave the library, Noctra stood up at attention, as if somepony had just called her.
"I remember now!" Noctra exclaimed.
"Wait, you do?" Isabella asked in disbelief.
"I saw their case a few years back, when it ran across the paper." Noctra replied.
"Their case...as in-" Isabella started.
"Their deaths," Noctra said. "I remember it now, bits and pieces anyways. Their house had burned, and there was never a clear link to how the fire started though."
Isabella cringed, she didn't want the image of Scootaloo's parents writhing in pain in her mind. She couldn't imagine a worse death than that, and how horrible it must have been.
"You said they never found a clear cause for the fire," Isabella managed to squeeze from her throat. "Did they not think it was just a freak accident?"
"Most houses in Canterlot have a fire ward inside, to prevent that from happening," Noctra tried to explain. "Which means that an accidental fire would have to be big and strong enough to overpower the ward."
"...somepony did it?" Isabella asked cautiously.
"A lot of ponies at the time thought that, given the mix of events." Noctra replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Isabella crossed her arms.
"Think about it, you have a beautiful unicorn mare, a rough pegasus guard stallion, and then you throw a foal in the mix, a pegasus foal no less," Noctra's voice dropped as she explained. "How well do you think that sat with a predominantly unicorn populace?"
"I think you're reading too much into it," Isabella scoffed. "Besides Celestia and Luna would have stomped that out."
"They did in Cloudsdale, sure, but Cloudsdale wasn't very subtle about their less than friendly words and actions towards our land bound kin," Noctra shrugged. "Izzy, you have to remember that not every blade in Canterlot, or Equestria for that matter, is political. Otherwise we wouldn't be needed."
"That's wrong though, I mean, if it was murder they shouldn't have gotten away like that." Isabella fumed.
"The princesses can't be everywhere at once Izzy, and neither can the guard or the elements. I know it stinks, but sometimes the bad ponies walk away." Noctra sighed.
"I know, I'm not blaming you. I just hate it for the kid....I can't go back with that though, I doubt that would sit well with her dad, especially if it's gotten me fired up." Isabella said.
"You might have to wait until morning, then," Noctra cautioned. "Family records are sensitive, so you'd need an official’s okay before going snooping."
"I can think of a mare that might help me out." Isabella smiled. She wasn't about to let this go now. What at first had seemed like a simple, boring request from her brother had now gained her interest.