Comet The Colt of Steel

by Stallion of Steel

The Foal That Fell From The Stars.

"Hurry up A'h don't wanna miss the big meteor shower!" Applejack called out from the loft of the house. Tonight was the night that astronomers had predicted a major meteor shower and the citizens of Ponyville had gathered on rooftops and hillsides, telescopes in hoof to witness the magnificent sight.

"Hold your horses Sugarcube." A gruff but gentle voice replied. “We're coming, remember your Mother is carrying for two right now.” One by one the rest of the family came up the stairs.

The first was a beautiful young mare with a light orange coat and poofy orange mane. She had the mark of a jar of Pear Butter on her flank hence her name and her distended barrel made it clear she was with foal. Right behind her was a middle-aged green mare with a cutie mark of an apple pie on her flank. Though her face showed several wrinkles she still trotted with a firm step as if to show she still had some strength in her aging bones.

Next came a young colt with a red coat and a cutie mark of a green apple carrying a picnic basket in his teeth. The last to come up was a mammoth yellow stallion with a cutie mark of a great green apple with a golden star. He stood taller than most stallions sitting down and could carry a full-grown apple tree over his shoulder during planting season. Everypony who ever met him described Bright Mac as a quiet gentle giant who worked hard to provide for his family.

Like every other colt and filly in town, Applejack had been waiting all week for the big meteor shower. It was a pretty big deal in Ponyville. In ancient times ponies saw falling stars as a sign of great change and would leave offerings in front of their homes in hopes of bringing themselves good fortune. However, since the banishment of Princess Luna, the festival had fallen out of favor as time wore on.

"Is everything ready Applejack?" Pear Butter asked slowly sitting down.

"You betcha!" Applejack replied trotting over to her mother. "I've been waiting all week for this."

"Alrighty just settle down AJ, everyone's here." Bright Mac said sitting down next to his wife.

"It's starting!" Applejack cried as the first comet shot across the sky. The sky lit up in a dazzling display of comet tails streaking over the tiny town.

"Look Ma, Pa!!” Applejack pointed as one of the comets turned inward towards the farm. "One of them looks like it's breaking away from the rest!"

"One of the comets?" Bright Mac chuckled at his daughter's statement. "That’s not possible Sugarcube, comets just don't change course on a bit unless...Sweet Celestia!!! It's heading straight for the orchard!" He cried out as he spotted the comet plunging headlong toward the farm until it crashed into the distant tree line. For the next few moments, the house was dead quiet, Nopony making a sound. After a minute passed Applejack broke the silence.

"Wow." She whispered "That was amazing! A'h never thought Ah'd see a shooting star land in our backyard!" She cried with excitement as she raced down the stairs. "Come on everypony let's go check it out?"

"Applejack wait!" Pear Butter called out as followed after her daughter. "Hold yer horses, little lady." Pear Butter said as she finally caught the little filly by her tail. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"Aw... A'h wanna go see the shooting star!" Applejack pouted as her mother set her down.

"The only place you're going little filly is straight to bed. It's much too dangerous for you to go out there!
"But...."

"No buts young lady." Pear Butter said with a stern look on her face. “Granny will be putting you young' in's to bed while yer Father and A'h go check things out."

"But that's not fair!" Applejack pouted and crossed her arms. "Why do grown-ups get to have all the fun?"

"Yer already getting to stay up past yer usual bedtime and yah ain't got no school in the morning. Sounds pretty fair to me." Pear Butter answered her daughter. "A'h promise if you and yer brother behave yourselves ya can both have a look at whatever it is in the morning."

Applejack sighed and stood. "Alright, but you better keep yer promise."

"A'h always do Sugarcube. Now Y'all head on upstairs and I'm sure Granny will be glad to read a story for you."

With that, Applejack galloped up the stairs like a filly on Hearth's Warming Day in reverse.
"Big Brotha! Big Brotha! Ma says we all can have a look at the shooting star tomorrow!"

"Whoa, easy there Pumpkin!" Bright Mac said as his daughter rushed past him. "Slow down there." Applejack kept on running nearly bumping into a table as she turned the corner to her room. Leaving her poor old Pa scratching his head. "That Filly don't know her own stamina." He sighed and turned to his wife. "A'h found the lantern upstairs."

The farm was eerily calm as Bright Mac and Pear Butter stepped outside. Falling stars illuminated the sky as they went to see what had landed in the orchard.

"A'h think I saw it land somewhere around here." Bright Mac said to his wife as they searched the orchard for the falling star.

"No offense but that's like searching for a needle in a haystack." Pear Butter exclaimed as she carried the worn brass lantern in her hoof.

"Do you even know what a falling star looks like when it stops falling?"

Bright Mac shrugged his shoulders. "Well, Ah'm sure we'll know it when we see it. Ah'd imagine it'd be pretty hard to miss.

"What if the orchards caught fire!" Pear Butter exclaimed. "We can't afford to lose any trees this close to harvest!"

"A'h think we would've seen smoke or smelled something burning by now if that were the case." Bright Mac reassured his wife. "Whatever it was it probably kicked up a bunch of soil when it impacted, smothered the flames. Anyway, it's getting late, Ah'd say we search for fifteen more minutes before we turn in....... What's that sound?"

"Waaaaah! Waaaaaah!!!"

Bright Mac looked at his wife. "Did Y'all just hear that?" he asked her.

"Waaaaaaah! Waaaaaaah!"

"Yeah, I think it's coming from over by the Jupiters." Pear Butter answered.

"Waaaaaaaah! Waaaaaaaaaah!"

"It almost sounds like a foal or something." Bright Mac said. "But who in Equestria would leave a foal out here at this hour? "

"OH NO!" Pear Butter cried her maternal instincts kicking into high gear. "Hold on there sweet baby, Ah'm coming!" She dashed as fast as she could closer and closer to the sound of the crying with her husband hot on her hooves. Despite her being eight months pregnant Sweet Peach kept on running. By now the cry wailing through the night was unmistakable.
They were almost there.

"By Princess Celestia's mane." Sweet Peach gasped in shock as they finally reached the source of the sound.

Sitting in a trench of uprooted earth was a sleek arrowhead-shaped craft with rocket engines and fins. A large hatch door lay open giving them a clear view inside of the ship. Lying inside wrapped in a red blanket adorned with a symbol of a golden comet and a pendant wrapped around his neck was a tiny white colt with a silver tuft of hair bawling his little lungs out.

"Oh, mah sweet land!" Pear Butter cried out. Ignoring the searing heat, she put the lantern down and rushed in, scooping the infant up her hooves. "Shh, it's okay now little one you're safe now." The softness of her voice seemed to soothe the child as he slowly began to cease crying and look up at her.

"Where in tarnation did you suppose he was doing in there?" Bright Mac asked as he looked over the craft that had landed on his farm.

"It doesn't matter why he was in there."Pear Butter answered, "What matters is that he's safe now." She nuzzled the top of his head with her snout and smiled softly.

"Well, A'h think it does matter. If somepony put him in there then he's somepony else's foal." Bright Mac looked over the interior of the cabin. "A'h'm sure there's something in here that'll explain all of this. A note or photo or something." The cockpit was mostly taken up by the seat. There weren't any instrument panels or controls of any sort leaving Bright Mac scratching his head on how the darn thing was supposed to fly.

"Well, he's wearing a pendant of some sort." Pear Butter said as she carefully examined it in her hoof. It was a silver diamond shield emblazoned with a comet soaring through the stars,

"Does it say anything about him?"

"No, It doesn't, It's just an image of a shooting star."

"A shooting star?" Bright Mac's hoof found a switch that opened a hidden compartment. Inside was a long clear crystal covered in symbols that glowed with a strange light. "What in tarnation?" Bright Mac muttered as he removed the crystal from its compartment.

"Did you find anything?" Pear Butter leaned in to get a closer look as Bright Mac turned and showed her the crystal he was holding with his hoof.

"Ah don't know." He said. "It was inside whatever this thing is. A secret compartment of some kind. All A'h know is it feels strange when A'h hold it."

"Well if ya don't know what it is then put it back." Pear Butter replied as she turned her attention back to the foal in her hooves. By now he was content to yawn and rest his head in her arms.

Bright Mac bent back down as carefully as he could and slipped the crystal back into its slot in the compartment. "Ow!" He cried as he bumped his head pulling it back out.

"You okay dear?" Pear Butter asked concerned.

"Ah'm fine just conked mah head is all." Bright Mac grumbled as he closed the door to the craft all the while rubbing the sore spot on his head.

Pear Butter giggled a little at her husband's clumsiness. "It's alright dear, Ah'll grab you an ice pack from the fridge after A'h put this little one to bed."

"Fair enough. Ah, suppose Ah can pull this out of the ground tomorrow after we drop him off at the orphanage." Bright Mac grumbled as he started to walk back to the house.

"Dear." Pear Butter said. “Ah've been thinking."
Bright Mac sighed knowing what was to come next. Pear Butter loved children, heck the day she learned she was pregnant with Big Mac was one of the happiest moments of her life. And now with a third on the way he'd learned how to tell when she was thinking about having more.

"Oh no Pear, look A'h love with all mah heart, and A'h love our children with all my heart." The words hurt for him to say but he knew if he didn't put his hoof down now he'd never get another chance. "But we can't afford another child right now. Y'all are already eight months along with our third. We just ain't got no more room right now."

"He's got nowhere else to go Mac. Look at him, Look at those little eyes, and tell me you can say no to that face." She said holding the sleepy-eyed foal in front of him. She had resorted to fighting dirty.

"Look A'h know what yer trying to do Pear but mah mind is made up. We're dropping him off at the orphanage first thing tomorrow."

"So what we just drop on the doorstep and leave him to spend most of his foal-hood without a loving family?" A switch inside her flipped. Pear Butter's tone changed from a loving mother to a protective hen.

"It's a good establishment.” Bright Mac protested. "Ah'm sure they'll find a home for him in no time." Bright Mac saw tears beginning to form in Pear Butter's eyes. "Oh, Pear please don't start bawling. I'm saying please."

"Ah don't want to drop him off at no orphanage like some bad apple out of a bucket." Pear Butter's words were choked with tears. She cradled the foal tightly in her hooves as if fearing Bright Mac would take him away from her. "Bright Mac A'h swear if you send this child to an orphanage Ah'll...Ah'll...A'h'll divorce you and move back to Vanhoover with the kids and Y'all will never see us again!" A fire burned through her streams of tears pouring from her eyes.

Bright Mac took a deep breath. "Alright calm just down now. There's no need to get all worked up. We'll talk to the rest of the family tomorrow and see how everypony feels about it."

Pear Butter let out a sniffle as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Oh, Mac! Mac you wonderful wonderful stallion!” She exclaimed as she planted a kiss right on his lips. "You make me so happy you big o'l stud you."

Bright Mac could only shrug his shoulders and yawn. This was just too much to deal with this late at night. "Ah love you too dear but can we just go to bed now? Shooting stars and rambunctious youngins A'h can handle but foals coming from falling stars is just much to deal with in the middle of the night."

Comments

[Comickook]

Not much I can say other than thanks for getting this story started. Next to Batman (particularly the "Batman: the Animated Series" version), Superman is my favorite super-hero, so seeing this opening so faithful to the source material is quite heartening. Excellent job on the exchanges, emotional content and future chapter set-up in all the right places. I'll definitely be looking forward to more of this as soon as time and inspiration will allow.

[Stallion of Steel]

7863300

Thanks I really appreciate that.

[Comickook]

7863446 You're quite welcome.

[The Hermit]

I am only reading this story because I got hyped up from watching Man Of Steel, but I am going to stay for the rest of the story.

[FriendsForever]

"Ah don't want to drop him off at no orphanage like some bad apple out of a bucket." Pear Butter's words were choked with tears. She cradled the foal tightly in her hooves as if fearing Bright Mac would take him away from her. "Bright Mac A'h swear on mah dear old Father's grave if you send this child to an orphanage Ah'll...Ah'll...A'h'll divorce you and move back to Vanhoover with the kids and Y'all will never see us again!" A fire burned through her streams of tears pouring from her eyes.

How would Pear Butter find her father then?

[Autistic Retard]

"Ah don't want to drop him off at no orphanage like some bad apple out of a bucket." Pear Butter's words were choked with tears. She cradled the foal tightly in her hooves as if fearing Bright Mac would take him away from her. "Bright Mac A'h swear on mah dear old Father's grave if you send this child to an orphanage Ah'll...Ah'll...A'h'll divorce you and move back to Vanhoover with the kids and Y'all will never see us again!" A fire burned through her streams of tears pouring from her eyes.

“Okay that just seems out of character on Pear Butter’s part. I mean... yeah it would be appropriate for her to have strong motherly instincts (I’m not completely sure since we don’t really get to see how she raised her children in the show but we can kinda see how based on how her children behave when it comes to family), but shouting at her husband about divorce because he doesn’t agree with her about taking care of a foal? I don’t know... maybe have her breakdown until Bright Mac agrees or maybe convince him more about how it will affect the foal living in an orphanage and list some pros and cons between living with a family and an orphanage would be a more realistic approach on Pear Butter’s part.

I didn’t mean to criticize but I was just really engrossed with the story and that line just kinda made me hit a flat wall. But I am enjoying the story so far. I could see a few punctuation mark errors (well more like ‘lack of using punctuation marks’) as well as a few spelling errors but everything else so far is great and I don’t honestly care if you proofread this again or not.

[LightningChaser04]

"Ah don't want to drop him off at no orphanage like some bad apple out of a bucket." Pear Butter's words were choked with tears. She cradled the foal tightly in her hooves as if fearing Bright Mac would take him away from her. "Bright Mac A'h swear on mah dear old Father's grave if you send this child to an orphanage Ah'll...Ah'll...A'h'll divorce you and move back to Vanhoover with the kids and Y'all will never see us again!" A fire burned through her streams of tears pouring from her eyes.

Isn’t Grand Pear alive? And the two farms are rivals?

[Luckyfanisaac]

"Applejack wait!" Pear Butter called out as she followed after her daughter. "Hold yer horses, little lady." Pear Butter said as she finally caught the little filly by her tail. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"The only place you're going little filly is straight to bed. It's much too dangerous for you to go out there!”(——
(New paragraph)
"But...."

Despite her being eight months pregnant Pear Butter kept on running. By now the cry wailing through the night was unmistakable.
They were almost there.

"By Princess Celestia's mane." Pear Butter gasped in shock as they finally reached the source of the sound.

Bright Mac took a deep breath. "Alright just calm down now.