An Earth Pony Orphan In The Unicorn Court

by Benman

Chapter 1

As he made his way through the forest, Comfort Glow kept one eye on the undergrowth and its hidden dangers, and one eye on the children. There were three of them, riding in a heavy wain laden with sacks of provisions, trunks of fine clothes, and a long spear forged of a single piece of dull steel. The spear was a perfect twin to the one on the slate gray flank of Bastion, the baron’s sister, who was pulling the wain. She was the mother of Comfort Glow’s two children, and he felt a thousand times safer with his wife watching over them. The bladed steel spurs on her hooves gleamed pink in the fading sunlight. Before and behind, the rest of the unicorn caravan tromped along.

The cart shook as the largest of the foals clambered up the railing that kept him safely inside. Bastion spoke without turning to look. “Stay in the wain, Bonfire.”

Bonfire paused with his forehooves dangling outside the wain. “Why?” he asked.

“Because we don’t want to leave you behind,” said Bastion. “We can’t slow down here, and you’re not strong enough to keep up with big ponies yet.”

“Yes I am,” said Bonfire. “I’m fast.” He heaved himself over the railing and tumbled over the side. He landed in a ball of tangled legs, then quickly hopped to his hooves and followed alongside the wain at a brisk trot. The setting sun cast an elongated shadow behind him.

Comfort smiled back at him. “Tell me when that makes you tired, so I can put you back inside.”

“Yes, Dad,” said Bonfire. He turned to his cousin. “Beauty! Come on down here!”

Beauty Blue peeked over the edge and looked dubiously at the drop. “No,” she said. “It’s too far.” For several seconds, she watched Bonfire keep pace with the wain, then she turned to the adults. “I liked Canterlot. When can we watch the coronation again?”

“Not for a long time, Sun willing,” said Bastion. “Queen Corona is still young. She’ll rule for many years, if she doesn’t fall in battle.”

“The coronation was boring,” said Bonfire, breathing hard. “It was just a bunch of ponies talking. How far is home?”

“About two more days, if the weather holds,” said Comfort Glow. “We should—”

A great roar tore through the forest, shaking him down to his hooves. Whatever beast was out there, it was large and it was enraged. Bastion pulled herself free of the wain’s traces and galloped to the baron’s side, snatching up her spear in an aura of azure magic as she went.

Frightened murmurs spread up and down the caravan until the baron’s voice rang out from the vanguard. “Stay calm!” Baron Bounty spoke loudly, but he didn’t shout. When he talked, ponies listened. “Circle up, nice and orderly. Guards, form a perimeter.”

“Teams of two,” Bastion called. “Like we practiced.”

The two of them conferred in low tones while the rest of the caravan, some two dozen ponies, formed a ring with the three foals at the center. Comfort Glow grabbed Bonfire before the press grew too tight, picking up his son with his mouth and depositing the colt safely in the wain.

“Dad?” said Bonfire. “What’s going on? Where did Mom go?”

“There’s something in the forest,” said Comfort. “Mom has to make sure we’re safe.”

“But why?”

“Because she’s the captain of guards. Stay in the wain, now.”

“But I can help!”

“Yes.” Comfort gave him a solemn look. “I need you to watch Busybright. He’s not big enough to take care of himself.”

Bonfire nodded and turned to his younger brother, who was looking open-mouthed in every direction. Bonfire stepped to his side. Busybright latched on to his brother and did not let go.

A shriek came from deep in the woods. Comfort Glow looked up in alarm. That was a pony’s scream.

The baron didn’t hesitate. “Somepony’s out there! Bastion, Sunbeam, Water Dancer, with me. The rest of you, stay where you are!” Bounty galloped into the trees, the three knights hard on his hooves. Their bladed spurs clattered as they ran.

“Nova!” Comfort cursed. “What’s he dragging her into this time?” He watched the four unicorns disappear into the forest.

A silver-white mare, frantic with worry, dashed to the wain and looked inside. She visibly relaxed at what she saw. “Oh, my stars.” She nuzzled Beauty Blue, who shrank against her. “You’re safe.”

“Mirror.” The mare looked up at Comfort’s voice. “Watch the foals, please. They might need me out there.” He levitated his healer’s panniers from the wain and draped them over his back.

Mirror Sheen scowled. “And supposing we need you here? You’re the only physician we have. You shouldn’t leave the children.”

“The children aren’t galloping towards some Sun-forsaken beast. Your husband is, and so is my wife.”

“Fine. Go. I’ll watch over the little ones.”

Comfort Glow galloped off after the warriors. He was far from an expert woodspony, but even he could follow the path the other four had trampled through the undergrowth. The fading sunlight grew dimmer as trees pressed close around him. His breath grew short; Comfort was no athlete. He pressed on, fueled by willpower and adrenaline. From ahead he could hear shouts, bestial shrieks, cries of pain. He was close.

He burst into a clearing and pulled to a halt. “No,” he gasped.

He had never seen so many bodies in one place. Water Dancer was the only pony still standing. Maybe half a dozen unfamiliar ponies lay at the far end of the clearing, red and torn. Closer to him sprawled a pair of manticores, a male and a female, trailing blood from countless wounds. They were surrounded by the bodies of Bastion, Bounty, and Sunbeam. Water Dancer had stripped off his bloody spurs and was crouched over the baron.

Comfort Glow dashed to his wife’s side. Her face was a red mask. Razor-sharp claws had torn three long, deep gashes through the right side of her face, and one had carved a notch near the base of her horn. She was breathing, but shallowly. Comfort opened his saddlebags and went to work. When the needle came out, Bastion was just conscious enough that Water Dancer had to help hold her down.

Some time later—Comfort Glow couldn’t say how long—he found himself attending to Sunbeam. Bounty was already dead, he remembered Water Dancer saying. The manticore’s poison had worked too fast. Sunbeam had suffered a deep slash above his hind leg. Comfort did what he could, but the cut had severed an artery, and Sunbeam died beneath his hooves.

The strangers turned out to be a family of earth ponies. “Nova,” said Water Dancer. “I can’t believe we did this for a bunch of hornless idiots.”

The bloody patriarch was still hitched to the cart containing everything they had owned. He was dead, as was a mare who had likely been his wife and a filly whose cutie mark was a sunflower. The two blank-flanked colts were unconscious but alive. One had a bloody scalp and a shallow gash running the length of his belly; Comfort Glow stitched it up without much trouble. The other’s chest had been crushed by some terrific blow. Comfort could only hold him while he died.

Comfort Glow realized he was sitting on the edge of a tarp. The stars were out, and his ochre forelegs were crusted with dried blood up to the knees. Bastion and the earth pony were laid out on the tarp behind him, as was the sleeping form of Water Dancer, who had somehow acquired a bandage on his flank. Comfort hadn’t even realized the soldier was injured. The rest of the caravan had caught up to them. Tents were set up, but almost nopony was asleep.

“Is she going to live?” Mirror Sheen sat beside him. Her voice was thick with grief.

Comfort blinked while his brain extracted meaning from her words. “Probably,” he said at last. “I think so. As long as it doesn’t get infected.”

“It wasn’t worth it.” Mirror Sheen’s blank stare was fixed on the earth pony colt.

Comfort followed her gaze. The colt was barely younger than Bonfire. Bauble Bounce would have been his age, had she lived. “The children?” he asked.

“Asleep. They don’t know yet. How am I supposed to tell them?”

A pony cleared his throat. The two of them looked up at the muscle-bound figure of Solid Steel, the farrier. “Begging your pardons,” he said. “I hate to interrupt…”

“Well?” The regal mask slid over Mirror Sheen’s face, pushing her pain out of sight. “What is so important?”

Steel rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, you see, it’s just that a few of us were wondering about the succession, now.”

“What question could there be? Beauty Blue is my husband’s only child. The barony passes to her.”

“Yes, my lady. Only she’s seven years old, now.”

Comfort Glow pulled himself up on bloody hooves. “Sun’s breath, pony! The baron’s not even cold yet. We’ll worry about the regency later.”

Steel looked to Mirror Sheen, but he found no help in her icy glare. “Right,” he said. “Of course.” He hurried away.

Mirror Sheen huffed. “Doubtless he is not the only pony thinking such things. We will have to come to an agreement on that, and soon.” Now that her mask was on, it showed no signs of slipping.

“Later,” he said again. “You’ll have to talk to my wife, not me.”

She nodded. “One more reason to wish her a speedy recovery, then.” She stood. “Excuse me. I should be with my daughter.”

Comfort Glow watched her go. As she went, Mirror Sheen passed a wagon that had been emptied of everything save for a pair of bodies shrouded in white sheets. Baron Bounty and Sunbeam, he knew. They would take their own dead with them. Several unicorns were building a cairn above an oversized grave that doubtless contained the four dead earth ponies. The manticores were left where they had fallen.

He turned back to his patients. His eyes were drawn to the smallest of the bodies. Who was that earth pony, and what had his family been doing in the middle of nowhere? In the moonlight, the black blood blended seamlessly with the colt’s dark green coat. He looked like any child, sleeping peacefully beneath the stars. Comfort Glow silently wished him pleasant dreams. He was in for a rough time when he awoke.

Bonfire stood on his hind legs, leaning on the wain’s railing and trying to see Mom. She was lying in one of the carts, which was weird. Dad said she was hurt, but whenever Bonfire got hurt, he felt better pretty soon. Mom had been hurt all day. Dad walked next to her cart, and Bonfire couldn’t see anything past him. He gave up and dropped back down to the wain’s floor.

Beauty Blue was somewhere else. Dad said she had to be with her mom because Uncle Bounty had died. Bonfire didn’t know what to think about that. Ponies died in stories, not in real life. Busybright was napping, and even when he was awake, he was still only four—barely more than a baby. Playing with him wasn’t fun for very long. If Mom or Dad was pulling the cart, Bonfire could talk to them, but Diamond Edge was pulling now. Whenever Bonfire tried to talk to him, he just gave him that horrible look. Mom said Diamond Edge didn’t like foals, which didn’t seem fair at all.

That only left the strange colt. He lay at the back of the wain, crying softly and smelling of blood. Bonfire didn’t want to go near him. Instead he settled into a cozy nook in all the bags. There was more stuff here than usual, today. He grabbed a burlap sack with his teeth and dragged it to form a cave around himself, blocking his view of the strange colt.

It was some time later that he heard Dad’s voice. “Hey, my little Spark. Where’d you get to this time?”

Bonfire stayed where he was. “I’m not here,” he said.

“Well, when you come back, I’d like to talk to you. I know this is a hard day. You’re being very brave.” After that, there was only the sound of cloth on cloth. Bonfire wormed forward until he could see. Dad was walking behind the cart, using magic to wrap fresh bandages around the strange pony’s belly. The old, bloody bandages lay in a pile to the side. Bonfire looked away.

It was a long time before Dad finished and looked up. “Do you understand what’s been happening?”

“Yes,” Bonfire lied.

“Okay,” said Dad. “Tell me if you have any questions.”

Bonfire wrinkled his nose. “Who’s he?”

Dad was quiet for a little while. “I don’t know. We’ll have to ask him, once he’s awake.”

“Can I see Mom?”

“Not right now. She needs to rest.” He took a breath. “I’m sorry, Spark. I’ll tell you when she can see you.”

“Comfort Glow?” Steel trotted up. “Um, sorry to interrupt. Lady Sheen said she needs to talk to you.”

Dad nodded. “Right away.” He looked to Bonfire. “Be back soon, little guy.” And then he was gone.

Bonfire edged closer to the strange colt and the back of the wain. With a tentative hoof, he pushed the pile of old bandages off the cart. Bonfire watched the bloody rags as they fell further and further behind.

Comments

[katarjin]

hmmm i like this so far

[MissPegasis]

Some one please help me. All I understand is that there's a group of unicorns trying to go home. Comfort is a physician, Bonfire, Beauty, and Busy are all foals, and after a manticore attack, they lose some unicorns and gain one earth pony foal. Someone PLEASE tell me how these ponies are related, who WaterDancer, Sunbeam, MirrorSheen, BaronBounty, SolidSteel, Nova, and Bastion are/were, and species please? Also, please don't tell me Comfort Glow and Bastion are married/siblings. I don't care what era you're from, that's just wrong