He could hardly breathe as smoke filled his lungs. Sweat and ash covering his usually gleaming yellow coat and vibrant blue mane. He tried to see through the smoke, moving objects with his magic to clear a path while looking for the stairway down to the first floor. The young colt was afraid and he wanted his mother so the colt strained a weak cry to his parents. He stepped carefully, looking for the rug that started down the steps. But as he finally found the stairs he felt himself slipping from consciousness. The colt shook his head trying to stay awake as he made his way down the steps, but fate had other plans. He slipped near the middle of the way down. Tumbling the rest of the way the colt began to feel light-headed and exhausted. Then landed close the entrance. He saw the door fly wide open and white filled what was left of his vision. Voices started speaking to him as the world faded to black.
“Sunny…”
Sunny began to hear voices call out his name. He didn’t quite realize what had happened, but what he did know was he felt quite sore.
“Hey…!”
He heard the voices again, and as he began to open his eyes, blinding white light filled his vision. Maybe it was the light playing tricks, but for a second, he saw his parents. In the time it took him to become fully aware of his surroundings, he noticed his parents were in fact not near him. His house… his parents, none of it was around him. He wasn’t home so while in distress he quickly looked around the room, a squeak leaving his mouth as he called out for his parents. He began to shake and from his hooves to his mane he was trembling. “Ma! Pa!” His southern accent came out as he cried out for his parents once again.
The careful examination of the room proved fruitless... His parents were nowhere to be found. He felt tears fall down his cheeks, where were they?
“Pardon me son… `Sunny’ right?”
A stallion in white had appeared beside him as he was crying. The young colt was still in shock and in his traumatized state there was no response. The stallion had a soft gaze as he tried to calm the poor unicorn named Sunny. Sunny slowly came to as he replied with a meek “yes.”
The stallion smiled at the colt, his voice becoming soft, “It’s ok little one, I’m here to help you. My names Earthen Heart. You’re in the Appleloosa Infirmary.”
The poor colt’s mind was still racing, but slowly things became calm as Doctor Heart assured his safety. Sunny looked at Doctor Heart and asked him, “Where are my Ma and Pa?”
“Ah… Well,” He started when a young mare with a clipboard started her way in.
“Excuse me. Are you the earth pony Earthen Heart?”
The white clad stallion turns to where the voice was beckoning, seeing the mare. “Yes I am, and who may you be?” He says looking at the mare, bewildered. He then noticed a pin on her green blazer. His expression changed and the young colt in the room took notice.
“Who’s this Dr. Heart?” Sunny asked, looking at the doctor.
Heart turned his face to the young colt and grimaced.
“She’s from Equestrian Adoption Services.”
The mare nods and with a slightly sophisticated accent she says, “The southern division.”
“Equestrian Adoption Services…” This ran through Sunny’s head over and over again.
He had heard of them when he was in school, they sent colts and fillies to a new home if their parents were gone. The fact that this mare was here now and that the doctor had such a distraught look about him meant that...They were here to take Sunny. That his parents were gone. This train of thought finally clicked in the young colt’s mind and he had hung his head knowing that his mother and father had left him. Tears began streaming down his face and the doctor and mare had noticed. The young mare had seen it all before, but Doctor Heart hadn’t. This was the first time he’d ever witnessed something so heart wrenching and he didn’t want to let go of Sunny not knowing where he was going to be. He tried to think of any ponies who could adopt this young colt, his own heart breaking for Sunny’s loss.
Earthen Heart suddenly thought of the perfect mare to take him in. The bright yellow mare with the pink mane that had adopted his chickens, she was a kind pony and he knew she would say yes. His demeanor had loosened and with certainty he looked at the young mare dead in the eye.
“I know who can take him.”
Sunny was still in shock but the pace of his thoughts have slowed. `I’m going to be with some mare that I don’t know… but Doctor Heart seems honest and sure of himself. Maybe I can trust his decision.’
Looking around the room, he waited for Doctor Heart and the mare to return. They were currently talking about the mare who would possibly adopt him. It seemed as though the doctor was adamant about this particular pony. He must have thought this through at least a hundred times in his head before being so sure… he IS a doctor, so it’s a good decision. Maybe. Sunny then found it in himself to leave the table he was on and softly trot up to Doctor Heart.
“Erm… Doc? Who are you talking about?”
Earthen Heart looked over to Sunny which was now at his side, concerned and confused looking. But there was something about Earthen Heart that was… steady and true. Sunny was almost overwhelmed by the confidence the doctor exuded. Earthen smiled at the young colt, walked him away from the prinny looking mare and softly said, “I know the perfect mare to take you in.”
Earthen trotted away to the young mare and Sunny suddenly felt a smile on him. The two began conversing and Sunny stood with his head held a little high. The ever so confidant stallion in white had a smile on his face while talking with the young, now crabby looking mare. She hung her head and walked away while Earthen’s smile grew brighter as he trotted back to Sunny.
“What’s wrong with her?” asked Sunny to Dr. Heart.
“She wanted to send you to a group home. I ain't havin' any of that Sunny,” Heart replied with a sudden gruffness in his tone. But a smile creased both their lips as Heart knew what was going to happen. Sunny was going to Fluttershy if she said yes, and he knew she would.
“Come with me,” said Heart. “Let’s take a walk around. I’m sure you’ve never been here before, right?”
“No,” replied the shy colt, “I don't think so. I never really use my magic so I guess that’s made me less prone to mess-ups.”
Heart looks at Sunny with a playfully bewildered look. Sunny looks back at heart with a small smile and looks around a bit.
“Taking in your surroundings I see,” noted the doctor. The young colt squeaked softly and looked down, slightly embarrassed.
“Y-yeah… Just noticing that there are a lot of old folk here,” said Sunny. Though what he said was true, there are older ponies in this place. Some looked like they were at one point serviced in some war.
Earthen nods and points to the building that is seen from one of the windows saying, “that there is the retirement home for elder stallions and mares, the reason it’s so close is if they ever start having problems, they can easily get help.”
Some younger looking ponies, maybe no older than Earthen are around as well which struck the doctor as strange. Ponies in armor are around… but most look hurt. Earthen couldn’t help but let his eyes wander. He regretted it almost immediately. He looked almost grief-stricken. The young unicorn looked up and saw Heart was beside himself. Sunny spoke out to Earthen, “Hey, Doc… What’s got you so bothered?”
Realizing that he’d been walking in almost a daze, Earthen tried shaking off the eyes of his past and smiled meekly, “Nothing, Sunny.”
A face that Earthen recognized had soon appeared. One that he hadn’t seen in a while, a warm grey colored and silver maned unicorn clad in armor and a foreleg cast… which was accompanied by a familiar face. One familiar to Earthen. It was a mare, a unicorn. Sunny noticed the change in the doctor’s expression, though he decided to remain silent. ‘Maybe it’s best not to poke ‘round where my muzzle don’t belong’, though Sunny. Earthen caught Sunny staring and decided to walk toward the faces he knew so well.
“Hey there!” Earthen addressed to a stallion and mare with same kind of coat. The young mare was using her magic to help the stallion hobble along, though he looked flustered when he saw Earthen and attempted to walk faster than she could keep up. Though he fumbled around more than anything else.
“You know them ponies, Doc?” asked the puzzled looking Sunny.
Earthen chuckled, “Yeah, I know them both alright. A real… treat,” said a now delighted Earthen as an elated face replaced the doctor’s dreary expression. The two gray unicorns looked as if they were squabbling. The stallion pointed in the direction of Earthen and Sunny and the mare looked as if she were embarrassed. Of what though? She half-heartedly waved to Earthen and the grey stallion immediately stamped his hoof and stared daggers at the poor mare who nervously said, “What did I do?”
“Ah!” Doctor Heart surprised them with a scream, “THAT’S YOUR BAD LEG!”
The grumpy stallion now looked as if everything hit the fan and slowly looked at his leg in cast. Wide-eyed, they stood silent as they all stared at each other. Oh no…
Seconds later the four were stampeding through the halls screaming. The grey, horned stallion who was screaming for dear life was enveloped by the magic of Sunny and the grey mare as Doctor Heart led the three screaming ‘out of the way!’ so that room was made. After the scene they caused, they eventually made it to a room.
“Alrighty, everything looks… decent,” Said Earthen with mixed emotions removing a white mask from his face. Sunny was stunned. He never knew an earth pony would be of capable of performing such ample examinations
“ARE YOU KIDDING?!” started the grey stallion as the silver maned mare put her hoof on his muzzle.
“Sorry about him,” said the apologetic mare, “I’ll explained what happened”.
“I think I’d rather have Virt here explain, alright Blu?” replied Earthen.
“Erm… what are their names?” said Sunny in confusion.
Earthen looked at Sunny and realized that he had forgotten something rather important.
“Ah right, their names!” the light bulb finally went off in Earthen’s head.
“The grey mare is Blooming Emerald,” pointed Earthen while Blooming bowed her head. “And this ding-bat of a stallion is Virtuous Lance,” he poked.
Virtuous glared at Earthen but immediately smiled. It was obvious they’re old friends.
“Though I call them “Virt” n’ “Blu”. You know, makes things easier,” Earthen added.
“Yeah, but you KNOW I don’t like that Earthen!” pouted the grey stallion.
Laughs were had all around. Then, a cold silence filled the room. An uncomfortable weight was in the air. The weight of someone’s consciousness. A question that’s been left out but has been on somepony’s mind for a while. Sunny then looks up at Earthen and asks in a quiet squeak, “How do you know em, doc?”
Earthen’s eyes fall to the ground, reluctant to answer. He then looks up at the quiet yellow unicorn softly staring his way, waiting for a reply.
Virt chuckles and looks at Sunny as he got his attention with a few words, “This here pony was a medic for the royal guard.”
Earthen looks at Virt with a cold, somber stare, ”You know I don’t like talking about those days.”
Virt looks at him, before sighing and looking down. “You’re going to have to talk about it someday, Earthen. Why not now?”
Earthen just stares down at the floor, pacing just a tiny bit as he sighs. “I guess so,” he replies as he looks up at Virt then towards Sunny.
Virt smiles at this, because he knew Earthen needed to get what happened out in the open, or it would eat him up inside which Earthen Heart remembered it all though… He wanted to avoid the shadows of his past. Though Virtuous was right; he had to let it out. He lost a brother in the service, who was one of his best friends. So much so that he called him family. The day his ‘brother‘ Lunar Dusk died was one of Earthen’s darkest days, as he was the one to bring the message to Lunar’s family. He grimaced as he remembered Lunar’s mother's facial expression. Sunny saw this, and wrapped his little hooves around Earthen in a hug.
“So please speak?” said Sunny, “You’re around ponies that obviously care, right guys?”
Virtuous and Blooming both nodded and smiled. And with that, Earthen hugged Sunny back, closed his eyes and softly smiled. He then walked to the wall, waited. He stood there silent. Then he turned around, opened his eyes and let loose his story.
The story of Earthen Heart and Lunar Dusk.