My Secret Love

Ch.59 Born Warriors

Moonscar: "So you're going to be a mother soon?"

Cornflower: "(Smiles) Yes! I can't wait to see what I sired!"

Moonscar: "...Sired? But how? You're a…!?"

Cornflower: "There is a spell for those who have that sort of problem. It was made to ensure that families of royalty, could mix their lines in the event that they had offspring of the same gender."

Moonscar: "I see. I had no idea such magic existed?"

Cornflower: "I assume that you're interested in using such a spell, right? (Smiles)"

Moonscar: "(Blushes) I-I…..(Gulps) I'm too young and…...Celestia probably wouldn't want offspring from me."

Cornflower: "Why think so little of yourself? I bet you a 100 bits, that she'd take you right now, and have as many offspring as she could with you."

Moonscar: "It's not that simple. Besides, even if she and her parents approve of me, no pony else will; I am after all of lower birth."

Cornflower: "Not necessarily!"

Moonscar's ears perked up at the very mention of this; reaching into her saddle bag, Cornflower pulled out a letter, and handed it to the young mare.

Cornflower: "You might want to read that first; I guarantee you won't be disappointed after viewing its contents."

The letter was sealed with a mark she had never seen before; it was that of a quaver stamped in blue candle wax, with the initials 'SB' underneath. Moonscar looked at the letter, then back at Cornflower; the copper colored mare smiled and nodded to assure the young mare, that all was well; swallowing before slowly opening the letter, Moonscar took a breath, and began to read.

Dear Moonscar,

Allow me to apologize to you, for I know that I have no right to be forgiven, especially by you. I write this letter, because I need to tell you the truth; I have for the past several years kept this a secret, but due to my declining health, I can no longer keep it hidden. When I was a young colt, about your age at the time; I fell in love with a servant that worked for your grandfather Nimbus's family. Her name was Athena, and she was a very lovely mare; try to understand that I never wanted to hurt her, and that I tried to take care of her after sh became pregnant. It was never my intention to get her sent away, and I made sure that she stayed with me, not as a servant, but as my fiance; she gave me my very first child, a son, and earth pony named 'Apollo.' I raised him like all my other offspring, never once making him feel less than wanted; however, I was not able to acknowledge him as my legitimate son.

My reason, although not a very good one in my opinion, was my family's reputation; I was afraid that my father would do the unthinkable to Athena and our son, so I kept silent about it. When your father came to me for help, after he and your mother were banished; I did everything in my power to find them a home in Finch Willows, but to me, it wasn't enough. I was so happy to see you come into this world, so very happy that I even asked if I could name you; never had I seen your father so happy, then the moment I gave you your name. You have brought so much joy to me with knowing that you have lived up to the very one I named you after, and I am sure that she, your great grandmother, is smiling down on you.

I know that you are probably wondering where I was after the take over; the truth is I was there when Nimbus was called to claim you. I wanted to take you, right then and there, but Nimbus, angry as he was for my son taking his daughter, vowed to kill you at any cost; out of fear of him keeping to his word, I asked Steelwind to take you in. He agreed under the conditions that I give you a pedigree once you reached a certain age; I am a stallion of my word, and I shall keep my promise. To you, my beloved grand-daughter, I give you my lineage, as well as the territory of Friesian Valley; I hope you know that I understand if you cannot forgive me, that this is my sin to bare for hurting you. I love you so very much, my dear Moonscar, and I hope that your cousin gives you this letter; please be safe, and come home.

With much love,

Songbird

The young unicorn eyes swelled with tears as she finished the letter; how could life had gotten so grim, so depressing, so stressful, just down right horrible?

Moonscar: "(Sobs) Did he really think that writing this would help me in anyway!? Why didn't he just die without telling anypony!?"

Cornflower: "Now wait a minute! Calm down, no need to be upset with our grandfather."

Moonscar: "Our? You…..you're my cousin!?"

Conrflower: "Yes. My father is the third son, and second brother to your father; he and my uncle Dag are twins, born from our grandfather's second wife, Blaze."

Moonscar: "...So he knew about me? But he didn't say anything. I have been blessed with two grandfathers, and neither one of them wants me. What a life I have!"

Cornflower: "First of all, he does want you; our grandfather couldn't take you in because of Nimbus. And second, he has loved you since the beginning, he even gave you such a great name to show his love; not one mare in our family has been given such a gift, only you. After the war is over I'll take you to go see him, if you want; I find it best considering he is not doing well, and it may put him at peace before he goes."

Moonscar: "...I don't know…."

Cornflower: "Oh come now! You should be happy! What pony wouldn't like to have a family!?"

Moonscar: "I already have a family! My master, the captain, Tia and Luna, Blizzard and Echo, and even Tinshield; they are my family!"

Cornflower: "(Sighs) Alright, I knew it was a bad idea to tell you; grandfather insisted, but what can you do? I already knew you'd be upset; you don't have to acknowledge us, we just thought it was best to let you know, especially since grandfather it visiting Nimbus to tell him everything."

Moonscar: "He's what!?"

Cornflower: "Our grandfather thinks that he's going to die, so he wants to settle a few things before passing on. I really had hoped that he would live long enough to see my first born, but it doesn't look so promising at this point; Hell, I might not even be able to see my first born."

Moonscar: "How long…..do you think he has?"

Cornflower: "Hard to say. He could go at anytime, but why even worry?"

The endless amount of animosity within Moonscar had vanished; enraged as she was by the fact that she had another grandfather, the young unicorn could not stay angry for very long. Sure some part of her felt abandoned, betrayed, and lied to, but the other part felt sad, and for the most part guilty; for so long she thought she had no one, no family to call her own, and now here was one that wanted her. Songbird may not have been a big part of her life, but he was offering to be a part of the rest of it; could she really face the grandparent she never knew? Did he really love her as much as he had claimed?

Moonscar: "W-was this it? Is this all he wanted to give me?"

Cornflower: "Yes. I am certain that there will be more, but that may not be for awhile; especially where we're headed."

Moonscar: "How long have you known about me?"

Cornflower: "Hm? How long? (Sighs and thinks) About the time I married Ari. It was our wedding night, and our grandfather stormed in before we retired; I thought it strange that he would miss such an important day, but it made sense when he explained himself. That very day, he found out about the rebels, and what they had done to the village; I never expected him to tell me that I had another cousin, and I was so excited to find out, but you disappeared without a trace before I met you."

Moonscar: "You really wanted to know me?"

Cornflower: "Of course I did! You and I are the only warriors in the family! Grandfather was the last one, and before him was great grandmother. Do you know how boring it is to grow up with sissy fillies, who don't even want to sword play with you!? Its terrible, absolutely terrible; especially when they go off crying about how you were being to rough! I had always hoped that you would be like me, if only a little bit; I guess I got my wish!"

Moonscar: "(Blushes) I….I'm glad I wasn't to much of a disappointment."

Cornflower: "Disappointment!? You are an accredit to our family line! Be proud of yourself, dear cousin! Not even I have been able to do the many great things you have done, and I am actually married to royalty. You are going to do something far greater than any of us has ever seen, and I hope to to see you do it."

Such words of encouragement coming from one of both Lionheart's and Amethyst's students; Cornflower had already made a name for herself, not just as the wife of princess Ari, but as the great defender of the empire. The copper colored mare had one many a battle against overwhelming odds, stopped many an invader from taking over, and had even survived Lionheart's thrashing; yet here she was, praising her long lost cousin, whom just almost half a year ago, was nothing more than a mere page of lower birth. As the two walked side by side, it felt as though they had known each other for years, that they had always known of each other's existence; it was a bond that just came so naturally, and it was wonderful. However, within this new found happiness, a dark realization reared it's ugly head as the unicorn marched forth into the unknown, piercing her heart like a dagger; 'Will I have to leave my new family, for my real one?'