Genetic Dead End

by peacevic

Chapter 8

Genetic Dead End ch. 8

He loved making dramatic entrances. And as the victorious group turned his way, he decided this one was one of the more enjoyable of his career as a magician.

"Wait, you're Trixie's dad," the purple alicorn gaped.

"Lulamoon the Magnificent?" the white, and extremely attractive, unicorn breathed. "But you died..."

"That I did. But you know I just loved my baby girl so much, I had to visit."

Though they all looked like, well, like they'd seen a ghost, a certain earth pony was taking it a bit worse than the others. He frowned. This wasn't going to be easy.

"How are you still here?" the alicorn asked before he could say anything else. "Magdha was disintegrated."

He nodded. "The summoner might be gone, but a chunk of her power's still floating around. Until it dissipates fully, I have some leeway on when I go back. Might as well make use of the time I have."

Lulamoon strode over to where filly and mother stood, stopping in front of the younger. He didn't really see much of himself in her. There wasn't a lot of her mom either, but that was okay. Uniformity was for marks.

"So, you're the daughter I never met." He scratched his head awkwardly. This really wasn't easy. "Trixie was telling me you're pretty awesome, and I guess you kind of proved it just now. Thing is, that's something you're going to have to prove over and over again- otherwise the crowd will start doubting you. So try not to make a liar out of her, okay?"

"O-Okay..." Apple Bloom agreed, a slightly confused look on her face.

He shifted his gaze to the mare beside her. "Applejack."

"Surprised ya remember my name," she responded bitterly.

"I'm too dead to lie to you- Trixie had to remind me."

"Figures it was somethin' like that," she scoffed.

"I... I am sorry. For leaving you like that. I know it doesn't mean that much after all this time, but it's true."

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she muttered, "It means more than you think."

Lulamoon dipped his head in gratitude, then slipped past the two of them and marched over to... her. He felt the eyes of the ponies clumped behind him, but the weight of their stares wasn't much compared to the agony curled up before him.

"Ingenue." He hesitantly reached for her.

"No, go away!" she sobbed, slapping his hoof away. "Go away!"

He sighed and knelt down. "I'll be gone soon enough. But first, there's something I have to tell you." Another steeling breath. "There are no words in my language to express how sorry I am. I used your pain to justify my own weakness, and I never stopped hating myself for it. I literally carried that regret to the day I died."

"Good for you," she choked out, "you're over it."

Undeterred, he continued, "But that's when I realized- all that self-hate, that was nothing compared to the hurt I caused you."

"You stole my joy and left me all alone, and now I've lost my only chance to be happy again. Might as well-"

"Hey, none of that! We may have been apart for a while, but I'm hoping you're not going to join me too soon. Prouesse is, too."

"You- you found him? He speaks with you?" she gasped, fresh tears welling.

"He's our colt, Ingenue. Of course he's a talker." He gently cupped her cheek. "And you'll have plenty of time to find that out for yourself, trust me. But for now you still have a life to live. Make the most out of it, won't you? What about visiting Prance? With all this time in Equestria, you've lost your accent. Maybe you can find it again there."

"That sounds like a great idea! Accents are totally amazing!" the pink pony suddenly beside them agreed.

Lulamoon yelped and sprawled back, with Ingenue doing much the same- though she had slightly more decorum. Then there was a rush of ponies passing him. One of them shouted, "Pinkie!"

"That might have been the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen you do," Trixie quipped as she trotted over.

"Well... I've got a few stories, but they'll have to wait until you're older." He stood and dusted himself off. As he did, he noticed that one of his hooves had faded away a bit. He shook his head ruefully. "Looks like our reunion's coming to an end, Trixie. I'm sorry, I know this probably wasn't the closure you wanted."

"It's fine," she reassured, as she pulled him into a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you."

The princess' voice caught their attention. "What have you been doing, Pinkie? Why were you gone for so long?"

"Oh, Celestia asked me to go on a double-cherry-on-top-secret spy mission. There were parties, and dancing, and ninjas. It was really fun!"

Lulamoon laughed. "You have good friends."