Chapter 81
Yawning, Sumac realised that there was still a lot of party left. He followed after Trixie and Lemon, shuffling along as they returned to the smaller, more private room. His brain was buzzy, full of thoughts, and more than anything, he wanted a quiet place to go so he could have a nice think. Pebble, beside him, had a strange little smile upon her face, which unnerved him just a little. He liked seeing her happy, but she needed some practice in showing it.
“Miss Yearling is Daring Do,” Pebble said as they walked together.
“What?” Sumac turned his head to look at his boon companion as they walked. “What? No… Miss Yearling was wearing glasses. Daring Do wears a one of those weird, um, uh—”
“Pith helmets.” Pebble ignored Sumac’s floundering and continued, “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but she and Daddy are good friends, and along with Rainbow Dash, they’ve done a lot of work recovering important and dangerous artifacts. In the Daring Do novels, Rainbow Dash is Crown Agent Crash and Daddy is Crown Agent Cocoa.”
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?”
“Really.”
Sumac had trouble processing that. He wasn’t as well versed on the Daring Do novels as he might like, but he knew a few things. Crown Agent Crash was the international spy that nopony could catch, a slippery pony, and her fast thinking always seemed to save them at the last minute. Crown Agent Cocoa was the cautious one, the perfect foil for both Daring Do and Crash. He was always drinking tea, which was needed for a chronic medical condition, a terrible life-threatening cough. Cocoa was the no nonsense one when it came to trouble, and carried a bullwhip to keep the savage denizens of the jungles in line.
“I need to read more Daring Do novels,” Sumac remarked.
“Borrow mine,” Pebble offered.
Holding Boomer in his forelegs, Sumac watched as Trixie, Lemon Hearts, Octavia, and Vinyl all took turns dancing together. He wasn’t bored in the slightest, as he had plenty of things to occupy his mind. Boomer was half awake and seemed content to be pony watching. If there was going to be an attack upon the wedding, Sumac figured that they had better hurry up, as it felt as though things were winding down.
Or maybe it was just him. He sort of needed a nap, even though he refused to admit it.
With another yawn, he turned to watch Stinkbug, who was giving a demonstration of changeling magic. With a green flash, Stinkbug turned into all sorts of things, including a dinner fork lying upon the floor. After yet another flash, the changeling turned into a drinking glass. The display was both enlightening as well as unnerving, as changelings could literally be anywhere, hiding as anything.
Just as he was about to yawn again, Sumac caught a whiff of something, and it wasn’t just him. All around him, other ponies were sniffing as the scent of roses faded and was replaced with something else… something… bad. Sumac had once stood outside of a paper mill, and while that was pretty bad, this was somehow worse.
“GAH! THE STENCH!” a mare cried as she fled the room with her eyes and nose streaming.
“I don’t smell anything bad,” Stinkbug’s harpy companion said in loud voice.
“I’m sorry, I think my potion wore off!” Stinkbug shouted as he tried to appease the crowd.
Much to Sumac’s horror, Boomer was drooling. A long thin ribbon of drool dangled down and the little dragon was sniffing the foul smelling air with great interest. For the colt, the smell progressively grew worse, gaining strength and intensity. The stink was a living thing, a powerful malevolent force that Sumac could feel trying to force its way into his nostrils. His magic sense tingled with ferocious intensity and made the root of his horn feel like it was cold and full of throbbing tiny hearts. Beside him, Pebble was moaning and clutching her face.
“Hang on!” a mare shouted. “I got this!”
“Save us, Twinkleshine!” Lemon Hearts cried out.
Holding her head high, Twinkleshine began to cast her spell, her stink banishing spell. For a second, the stink seemed to subside and the scent of roses returned to the air, but it was only for a second—then the stink returned with a nightmarish second coming. There was a stampede as the close quarter survivors all tried to make it to the door before the queasiness turned into something else. The stench was merciless and Sumac was positive that his face was melting.
“Way to go, TWINKLESTINKLE!” A glowing bubble of raspberry coloured magic appeared around Lemon Hearts’ head, a protective shield bubble that protected her from the nostril violating stench.
Beside Lemon Hearts, Trixie gagged and stuck out her tongue as Octavia and Vinyl fled the room in a hurry.
“AAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAH! The skunky funk is coming from me now! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!” Twinkleshine ran around in a circle with a harpy flying around over her head.
“Celaeno, go and find Tarnish!” Stinkbug cried.
“But you smell sooooo good!” Celaeno replied as she circled overhead. “Besides, who cares what others think? Opinion is all relative, right?”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie—hurgle-gurgle—is about to have a Great and Powerful spew!”
“I don’t smell anything,” Lemon Hearts announced from the stink-free safety of her magical head bubble. “I can’t believe this spell worked. It’s amazing! Sometimes, as a unicorn, I surprise myself. Do you think this is why Twilight hired me? This is pretty impressive! I’m awesome in a crisis! Wow, this rush of self confidence is great!”
Sumac looked over at Pebble, who didn’t look well. In fact, Pebble looked like how he felt, and Sumac didn’t feel good at all. He set Boomer down upon the table and tried to stop his head from spinning. Pebble was gagging and Sumac knew that the two of them were in trouble, real trouble, but he was somewhat better off than she was at the moment.
It was time to be a hero.
Now with four good legs, Sumac was more like his usual self. Using his magic, he pulled Pebble onto his back, only to discover that she was far, far heavier than he anticipated. Pebble weighed a ton, but his survival instincts told him not to say a word about Pebble’s weight. Survival instincts had to be listened to if one wanted to live. With his magic, he snatched Boomer off of the table, and then he took off towards the door on wobbly knees.
Just as he was about to slip out the door, Sumac was forced to stop, as Princess Luna appeared in the doorway. She stood there, sniffing, her nostrils flaring, and the corner of her eye twitched in a frightful manner. Sumac looked up at the majestic Princess of the Night and he understood why ponies were afraid of her. She was cold, austere, and had a terrible, wonderful beauty. When her eyebrow arched, he felt like throwing himself down upon the ground and groveling.
“Götterdämmerung,” Princess Luna whispered. “Dieser Gestank…”
Fearful, not knowing what Princess Luna had just said, Sumac asked, “Have you come to save us?”
“Ja, mein Fohlen.” Holding her head up high, Princess Luna’s horn flared with a brilliant indigo light and then she strode into the room with her wings flared out from her sides. She moved to the center of the room and then cast a spell.
Sumac felt his magic sense almost go haywire. There was a strange, almost painful pressure behind his eyes and then the smell went away, banished by powerful alicorn magic. He stood there in awe of what he had just witnessed, and he could feel Pebble clinging to his back. Blinking, he watched as Princess Luna approached Stinkbug.
“Art thou well, mine subject?” Princess Luna lowered her head and looked Stinkbug in the eye. “Another draught of reversal is needed it seems.”
“They never quite work the way they should,” Stinkbug said to Princess Luna in a sheepish voice.
“Such is the nature of poison joke.” Princess Luna extended her wing, touched the much smaller changeling, and then with a turn of her head, she looked around the room. “We give Our thanks to all present, for remaining civil and kind. Thou hast mine appreciation.”
Turning about, Princess Luna made her way back to the door, then stopped to look at Sumac once more. Pebble scrambled off of Sumac’s back and then stood beside him as the Night Princess scrutinised the colt. Boomer, clinging to Sumac’s horn, lifted her head to get a better look at Princess Luna.
“A dragon.” Princess Luna’s eyes narrowed and she got a better look at Boomer. “It would please Us a great deal, colt, if you would wait right here until Our return. My return. There is something I wish to do.”
“Okay.” Sumac nodded and as he did so, Boomer’s head bobbed up and down.
“We shall only be gone a moment.” Princess Luna bowed her head, then took off at a brisk trot, exiting the room, and leaving behind a group of stunned witnesses and onlookers.
The murmur of voices filled Sumac’s ears as the ponies in the room began to talk. He glanced at Pebble, who had recovered, and then had a look around, but he didn’t move from where he stood. There had to be a word for everything that had just happened, but Sumac didn’t know what it might be. Had he a better vocabulary, he might say that everything that had taken place was surreal. Such was the hazard of living in a world filled with magic.
“I don’t stink anymore,” Twinkleshine announced to anypony that might be listening.
Sumac’s brain was already picking apart everything that happened and most of his mental focus went to his realisation that his magic sense was growing stronger. It was a sign that he was growing up and that his magic was growing stronger, or so he thought. Memories of his education floated around in his thoughts, the knowledge that ponies had six established senses, with special ponies sometimes having extraordinary sensory perception, or extra senses, such as Pinkie Sense, earth pony sense, pegasus pony senses, and specialised unicorn senses.
With these thoughts came the realisation of why Princess Cadance and Princess Luna seldom used magic—the assault on his senses had been overwhelming. Princess Luna’s spell had almost scrambled his brain and had made his magic sense go bonkers. It had caused him physical pain. Princess Luna had immense power and Sumac could not help but compare it to the times when Twilight used her magic.
The colt concluded that Twilight had a long way to go before she matched Princess Luna or Princess Celestia for raw magical output. His brain, the helpful organ that it was, brought to memory Princess Cadance’s healing spell. That had overwhelmed him, but it hadn’t caused him pain. The Princess of Love was powerful though, no doubt.
If he really wanted to gain the perspective of an alicorn, to know no limits, he knew that he had a way. The lantern. The strength of an earth pony had been unsettling, upsetting even. Learning how Pebble had to face the world had been a real eye opener for him. But to be an alicorn—to have the strength of an earth pony and all of the magic of a unicorn, plus more… not to mention the powers of a pegasus, which Sumac could not even begin to comprehend.
Pegasus ponies were a real unknown for Sumac. At least earth ponies lived on the ground, just like unicorns. There was something in common. A shared perspective. Blinking, he watched Trixie and Lemon Hearts dancing together. At some point, Octavia and Vinyl had returned, and both of them looked sweaty and messy.
Why were they so sweaty? Maybe it was hot in other rooms, Sumac didn’t know.
Turning his head to look around, Sumac was quite startled and let out a cry when he saw Princess Celestia standing right next to him. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed her. Somehow, the big alicorn had snuck up on him. Also, she had a bird sitting on her horn, a big bright orange bird.
“Seville, you do have one of those instant cameras, don’t you?” Princess Celestia asked.
The yellow-orange earth pony nodded and adjusted his neck mount, affixing a camera to the brace. Sumac, wide-eyed and bewildered, looked up at Princess Luna. Something rather horrid clung to her horn, it looked old, ancient, and Sumac could not help but think that whatever it was, it had become a lich at some point long ago.
“Ooh, I think the light is bothering my precious Tibbles,” Princess Luna said to her sister.
Hanging from Luna’s horn, the withered, leathery opossum yawned, stretched, and then went back to sleep. Sumac felt Boomer shift and the dragon struck a pose, realising that she was in fine company. Sumac could not help but feel that the princesses looked just a little bit silly with their pets on their horns, and by extension, he began to wonder how other ponies saw him.
“Philomena, do you think we should form a club?” Princess Celestia asked the phoenix roosting on her horn.
The phoenix fluffed out, let out a peep, and then began rubbing her face against the tip of Princess Celestia’s horn as she cooed. The princess had a very long horn and Philomena had a lot of room to move about. By comparison, Sumac’s horn was stubby, although he had been told that his horn was quite long for his age.
Every colt wanted to hear that their horn was longer than usual for their age.
“Hey, what’s going on over here?” Twinkleshine, whose stink removal spell had failed in a most spectacular manner, stood just a few feet away, looking at the royal sisters with wide, curious eyes.
“We are the ponies whose horns have become habitats,” Princess Celestia replied. “Now, Sumac, come closer so we can get you into the frame. You are rather… short.”
An indignant snort shot out of Sumac’s nostrils, he narrowed his eyes, and he squinted up at the much larger princess. “I’m five,” he protested, “six come spring. I’m not short, I’m just little!”
“Thou hast been corrected, dear sister.” There was a merry look of mischief in Princess Luna’s eye. She shuffled around on her hooves, impatient, and Tibbles, as she called her pet, swung from her horn like a pendulum. An observant pony, Princess Luna noticed that she had an admirer in the form of Pebble, and she turned a cool stare upon the little earth pony filly.
While Sumac scowled up at Princess Celestia for her social faux pas, Pebble had a far more worshipful expression for Princess Luna. Some distance away, on the dance floor, Octavia swung Vinyl around with careful, mindful movements in a beautiful, if somewhat sweaty bipedal waltz. Ponies who paid attention might have noticed that Vinyl’s hind hooves never touched the floor, and Octavia carried her every step of the dance.
“Come here to me, Sumac, and let me stand you upon the table.” Using her magic, Princess Celestia lifted the small colt from the floor and then plopped him down upon the table beside her. “Now, stand up straight. That’s right. Neck out, head up, and those short little legs of yours need to be straight. Look alive.”
“Oooh, see how he scowls, dear sister.” Princess Luna’s voice was teasing. “If only all of Our guard were so ferocious.”
Lowering her head, Princess Celestia placed her muzzle next to Sumac’s ear. “Enjoy this time of your life, when you are little, when you are short. This is a precious time for you, and it will be over far too soon. Every little colt, every little filly, in times of trouble, they run to hide beneath their mother. Foals do this without thinking, running and taking shelter in their safe place. But one day… one day…”—she made a dramatic pause and shook her head—“one day they go to hide beneath their mother and discover that they no longer fit.”
Sumac’s scowl melted away as Princess Celestia disarmed him. A blank expression replaced it, and Sumac craned his head around to look at Trixie. He thought of all of the times that he had gone beneath her, seeking shelter. Times when he was scared. Wanting to be out of the freezing rain. Those moments when there had been real danger. One day, his safe place would no longer be there for him, and the thought made the wheels inside of his head start turning.
It occurred to him that Princess Celestia had just taught him a much needed lesson.
The tip of Princess Celestia’s snoot tickled Sumac’s ear and caused it to twitch. “One day Sumac, you are going to have some little ones of your own… and when they seek shelter beneath you, you will think of this day, of this time, of this moment, and you will be thankful for the time that you had when you were little. You will be thankful for having Trixie in your life, because let’s face it, Flam and Belladonna were not ideal parents for you. You will look back, and even with the troubles, the tribulations, you will look back and see that this was the happiest time of your life, and with renewed perspective, you will treasure giving your own foals safety and you will be thankful to be their shelter.”
“That’s… that is… uh… um… that is a lot to think about,” Sumac stammered in an almost inaudible whisper. He thought about Trixie and wondered how much time he had left. A teeny, tiny voice in the back of his mind suggested that he make every moment matter. He was also in awe that Princess Celestia had just laid his soul bare with just words.
“Now, let’s take a picture.” Princess Celestia turned to face the camera while Philomena bobbed up and down upon her horn.
The two sisters stood close together and the larger, older sister placed her wing upon the back of the smaller, younger sister. Sumac, standing on the table, shuffled a little closer, then stood up as straight and tall as possible. He was present in body, but his mind was busy thinking about how much of his foalhood he had left. Every precious second mattered and he intended to make the most of it. When this photo was over, he planned to ask Pebble to dance with him, even though he knew nothing about dancing.
“Tibbles, do wake up and at least make the attempt to look as though you are alive.” For a moment, Princess Luna’s eyes crossed as she looked at the marsupial hanging from her horn. After a few seconds, when it appeared as though Tiberius couldn’t be bothered with appearing alive, the Night Princess let out a frustrated snort.
“Ready,” Seville said in a soft voice, “steady… and say, ‘string cheese sneeze.’”
Just as Sumac started to laugh, Seville snapped a picture.
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The party is crashed by one of the Distinkuished Guests!
Lewd.
Poor Stinkbug.
Sumac seems to be doing a lot of growing up very quickly, even as he learns how to be a child again.
Sort of curious if Tibbles is actually undead, or that's just Sumac's perception (given a possum's lifespan, it could be either), and also as to the exact nature of the spell Luna used to dispel Stinkbug's stink, but that's probably just my desire to categorise everything.
7719031
Stinkbug still stinks. That hasn't changed.
What Luna did, even though it is not written, was transmute the noses of all those present in the castle and Canterlot to make them think they were smelling roses. It's temporary, but it is the reason why Sumac's magic sense went off the scales for a second.
God damnit Kudz, that broke me for a bit.
7719036
Quite the feat, and certainly deserving of Sumac's reaction. Although taking that approach suggests that the Law of Essential Nature (or something similar) is in effect in the Weedverse, at least for some forms of magic, and that Stinkbug's stink is part of his essential nature.
7719047
It can be reversed with one of Tarnish's poison joke reversal potions. Most of the time. With only just a few side effects. Stinkbug doesn't take them often.
Well, at least we won't need scent candles for this party.
Also known as the "Clark Kent effect"
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/4e/b0/0c/4eb00c897a000c2d95b16c41f04fe884.jpg
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I can imagine how the encounters between Daring and Ahuizotl go:
Ahuizotl: "And now, with this ancient relic on my grasp, I WILL TAKE OVER EQ...wait, who is this pegasus?"
Daring (remove glasses)
Ahuizotl: (gasp) "Perry the Platypus Daring Do the pegasus!"
Daring: "(sigh..every damn time)"
7719060
Link is borked borked borked.
I think someone needs to changeling a diaper.
...
...
...Door! On the right! Exiting!
I'm sure there's a perfect rational, and family friendly explanation for this.
(One that probably involves that family being "very" friendly.
)
'Gestank'. All nouns are capitalized in German(e).
7719037
Just like every pegasus wants to hear compliments on their wingspan.
What would it be for earth ponies? Muscles? Big hooves? Or their wit?
7719274
Oh, I think they like being complemented on the size of their vegetables (hur hur hur...).
7719031
It depends on whether Tibbles is a possum or opossum. If a possum than he could be elderly, since they live up to 15 years. If an opossum then he could only be undead, since they would be very lucky to reach 5 years.
7719312
True.
7719334
I was not aware there was a difference and shall defer to your superior expertise.
7719442 It also depends on if its lifespan is enhanced merely by being around Princess Luna. Her mystic nature might enhance the lifespan of her pet.
7719442
Opossums are North American while possums are Australian.
7719551
That would probably depend on whether Tibbles is a true Familiar or not, and I seem to recall this being discussed before.
Now I'm tempted to go on a massive archive binge to find it.
7719581
It has been discussed before. Tibbles creeps other ponies out when he comes a callin'.
7719577 'Possum' is also an abbreviation for opossum, just to make things more confusing. Eg, 'playing possum' is something that opossums do.
7719589
Archive delving achieved!
7719334
7719551
It seems that Tibbles must be either life-extended or undead, as they're an Opossum, according to chapter 22, although this is viable given they are described as a familiar in the same chapter. According Lemon Hearts, they're life-extended, and by the descriptions in that chapter, seem to have picked up a bit more from the bond than just long life.
7719012 ...I will slap you.
I will find you, and I will slap you.
Die Prinzessin spricht Deutsch?
Luna (and Tiberius) are already trying to enlist Sumac.
fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/328/c/5/auntie_luna_by_muffinexplosion-d87dx52.jpg
Tia & Mena, the early years...
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/10/10/118738.png
So am I Maud's earth pony familiar?
66.media.tumblr.com/5a15241d3963c46bda5659d586f79759/tumblr_o1dgi8He3n1rvfjs2o1_500.png
7719577
The only Opossums here in Oz are brought in to zoos.
7719613 Just for some clarification, definitely two different families of marsupial, different continents.
7719012 Isn't Twinkle one of the ol' faction members?
7720289 Yeah, but if you say 'possum' in America it's short for 'opossum'. I'd never even heard of the Australian version before you mentioned it, and it doesn't look at all similar, so... yeah. Pretty sure that's not what all the opossum-looking things people were calling possums were supposed to be.
7720431 Something banging on my screen door one night at 2.00AM, who the hell is that?
Turn outside light on, open door and hanging off the top of the screen door was one big muscled possum.
Tried to open screen door a touch, he leapt off and tore up the nearest tree.
They bang around our roofs quite often at night looking for bugs to eat.
1.bp.blogspot.com/-4imwq-ewArs/TvpIe3vT1lI/AAAAAAAAEbU/gALK9LDRAKs/s1600/possum.jpg
Ain't never going to try handling one, their claws would shred you.
There's a wonderful pic with Tibbles and Luna done by MuffinExplosion
pre08.deviantart.net/3900/th/pre/f/2014/229/e/8/tiberius_want_by_otakuap-d7vjmbv.jpg
And Andy Price loves to draw Tibbles hanging on Luna's horn.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/3/28/586878__safe_princess+luna_traditional+art_artist-colon-andypriceart_tiberius.jpeg
7724072 That last one is what I was trying to find, perfect!
7719066 Hey Kudz another late one I just found, poor Mena better hope Tia doesn't start writing an Autobiography.
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The Dash part of this is my favorite bit. Randomly becoming an adventuring archeologist*? Seems like a very Dash thing to do.
* For a given value of archeology.
Heh.
Celestia, it's your wedding reception, stop inflicting life lessons upon children!
Luna sprict Deutsche!!! That's frickin lit.
8885938
So do her distant offspring.
Words of wisdom, right there.