Chapter 21 – Wedding Gifts and The Best Gift of All
Chapter 21 – Wedding Gifts and The Best Gift of All
As the classical quartet left the stage, Rainbow and her musicians took the spotlight. Shortly, she stood at the front and picked up her Fender Stratocaster and turned up the amp.
“Ponies! Griffins! Are you ready to rock? Classically!” she shouted into the mic and began playing. The griffins and ponies with her followed her lead and started on a heavy metal version of "Pachelbel’s Canon."
(Heavy metal Pachelbel’s canon- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNmcLKXPGSg )
The younger ponies in the group began dancing. After a few songs she turned the music over to Daisy Cutter and Grongor, and the combined pony and griffin bands began a heavy metal duet of the Beatles’ All You Need Is Love. Rainbow stopped and slowly turned around, watching as pony and griffin looked adoringly into each other’s eyes as they sang their duet into a single microphone.
“Cadance, if you ruined two of my favorite bands, you’re in so much trouble,” she grumbled.
As Rainbow mingled, she was met by one of Twilight's servants with the request to meet with the princesses in the library. Shortly she stood in the library along with the bride and groom, and Grandpa Gruff. When Celestia and Nightmare arrived, Twilight magically sealed the door.
“Friends,” Princess Celestia said, smiling at them. “This was a lovely occasion. Thank you all so much for allowing us to attend. There are some gifts we wish to bestow. It was implied to me that the couple has concerns about their child. If you so desire, I can show you what your child will look like.”
Fullbright smiled and shook his head. “We’re honored, your highness, but we saw the picture you sent. From what Twilight told us, we already have an idea.”
“You misunderstand. I mean I can literally show you what your child is going to look like, from birth to adulthood.”
The others looked at each other in surprise.
“Really?” Fullbright asked.
“Really. Does the mother wish to know?”
“Yeah, sure,” Gilda replied.
Celestia’s horn glowed and she closed her eyes. After nearly a minute of preparation she opened her eyes and she stepped back as a ghostly glowing form began to materialize in the middle of the room and the others gathered around. Soon a small image materialized and there stood a little male hippogriff, its front half an eagle with the feathers on his head having a rainbowish tint while his equine rear half was light blue like his father's. The form began to age and soon there stood a stout and handsome fellow.
Gilda looked to her grandfather. “Well, Grandpa, what do you think?”
He walked around the figure several times, looked to Gilda and smiled. “I’d be proud to call him family."
Gilda let out a sigh of relief and hugged her grandfather. “Thanks, Grandpa! You don’t know how much that means to me.”
Rainbow knew he was lying, but he loved Gilda too much to hurt her and he’d force a smile for the rest of his life to hide the truth. She then looked to her father and smiled as she noted his trained flyers eye, judging his future son’s flying capabilities.
Nightmare Moon now stepped forward and stood before the couple. “We have given great thought to what would be a worthy gift. We know that thee are a child of Griffinstone. I have been told of the misfortunes that have befallen your land.” Nightmare’s horn glowed and a scroll appeared in the air. “For the couple, we give thee this." The scroll floated over to Gilda and she took it in her claws and opened it.
“A map?” Gilda asked.
“That is a map to the lost treasure of Griffinstone. With that you can recover your beloved Idol of Boreas and return honor and glory to your people.”
Grandpa Gruff rushed over and looked at it, studying the landmarks. “I-I know where that is! We can find the idol!”
Nightmare nodded. “It will be a perilous descent into the abyss to retrieve it, so be sure of yourselves and your valor. I give this to thee in private, so none may try to claim it before you.”
Gilda looked to Gruff and then to her husband. “Mind if we cut the honeymoon short? Take a raincheck. I don't think Grandpa would like to wait on this one.”
Grandpa Gruff folded his arms and glared at Fullbright. "It's not like I've been waiting more than sixty years for this day or anything. Besides, you already got her pregnant, so there's not much point to a honeymoon, is there?"
Fullbright nodded then turned to his wife, smiled and hugged her. “For you, my dear, anything.”
Gilda laughed and hugged her husband, then her grandfather. “We wouldn’t dream of it, Grandpa.”
Rainbow nodded. “I guess I'd better get my gear together for the climb.”
“You’re going into the Abysmal Abyss?” Grandpa Gruff asked, clearly surprised.
“Sure thing, old timer. Like any of you know anything about rock climbing. I’ve climbed to the top of Canterlot Mountain, and when I got to the top I jumped off it. We’ll make Griffinstone awesome again in no time.”
With lots of hugs and a few tears, the new couple said their goodbyes and Celestia sent them off to Canterlot on her personal chariot to spend their honeymoon night at a suite at her castle, with plans to meet at the Canterlot train station bright and early the next morning to begin their journey.
With that business taken care of, Rainbow set out to find Scootaloo. Ponyville was a mass of celebrating ponies—singing, dancing, partying, gaming, eating. She eventually found Scootaloo with her new friends Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon and Diamond Rich, apparently having the time of her life. The matron was protectively nearby, but at the same time was actually enjoying herself as well.
As night fell, the celebration went up a notch and the bands Rainbow had brought in also kicked things up another notch. The whole town was rockin’—the air itself seemed to vibrate with the power of the music.
Everypony partied through the night until the first hint of dawn approached. Rainbow had to wake Scootaloo, who’d drifted off to sleep, but she wanted to make sure she saw the highlight of the holiday. The kids all watched with awe as Nightmare Moon lowered the moon and Celestia raised the sun. When the festivities had concluded, Rainbow picked up the sleepy Scootaloo, who snuggled against her. She smiled down at the little pony in her arms.
"Sweet dreams, Scoot," she said and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
Rainbow hosted the Matron and Scootaloo at her place, due to the rest of Ponyville being packed with visitors for the holiday. She showed the weary matron to her room and Rainbow went to another door. Rainbow took the sign off the door, went inside and tucked Scootaloo in. She hung the sign on the wall opposite the bed.
The next day, Rainbow sat at very late breakfast with the matron when she heard the thump of Scootaloo leaping out of bed. They both winced when they heard the pony galloping down the stairs, trip and tumble down the rest of the way, then get up and charge into the kitchen, slipping and sliding across the freshly waxed floor till she was at Rainbow’s chair.
“Good morning, Scootaloo. Sleep well?” Rainbow said, smiling at the performance.
It was a battle which was bigger—Scootaloo's eyes or her smile. “Rainbow… am I dreaming?”
Rainbow looked around. “I don’t see any clowns or spiders, so I don’t think so.”
“But… but… that thing on the wall. M-my room?” she stammered, tears starting to run down her cheeks.
“That’s up to you, kiddo. Lady Golden Meadow and I already took care of most of the paperwork. Just one last signature. I just wanted to make sure you’re cool with this. Is this what you want?”
Scooaloo leaped up onto Rainbow's lap. “Do you even have to ask?”
“You’ve got to understand, Scoot, my life's a dangerous one. I take risks and even though I’ll be looking after you, I’ll still have to take risks. I have a very important job. Can you accept that my life will at times be in danger?”
“Yes, Rainbow. I understand. I wouldn’t be here if you were afraid of a little danger.”
“I already talked to Dad and Gilda—if anything should ever happen to me, they’ll look after you. I hate to say it, but there may even be times where you might be put in danger just because of my work. Do you understand that, Scootaloo?”
“Yes, I understand, Rainbow. Do you promise to come rescue me if I end up in danger?” the little pony replied, shaking with excitement.
"Of course!"
"Then I accept the danger."
“You ready for this? To be mother and daughter?”
The little pony hugged her, totally happy. “Yes, yes, yes, Rainbow!” Scootaloo sobbed.
With Scootaloo still clinging to her, Rainbow lifted her pen and signed her name to the last document.
“That makes it official,” the matron said, with a few tears of her own. “Congratulations to both of you! May you always be a happy family."
Scootaloo was too overcome to respond, just burying her face against Rainbow and crying tears of joy. Rainbow smiled, wiped her eyes and hugged her new daughter.
"Scootaloo, I had all kinds of cool bonding stuff planned for our first day as a family, but adventure calls. We've got to pack for a trip to Griffinstone. There's some lost treasure we have to find to make Griffinstone awesome again, so I'm going to need my climbing gear and stuff. You up for adventure, kiddo? I know it's a big surprise, so if you want you can stay with the Apples until I get back."
"Are you kidding? I'm ready for anything!" the little pony responded with a big smile.
Rainbow laughed and hugged her daughter. "That's my girl!"
***
Lady Golden Meadow just smiled as she watched the two begin hashing out plans for the trip. Two peas in a pod, she thought to herself as she smiled and sipped her tea.
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7731741 Thanks for reading the story, I'm glad you were willing to give it a try. I have to ask, why wouldn't you read a story that released all it's chapters at once? I personally am always reluctant to start reading a WIP for fear the author will never finish it.
7732269 In this story AJ's rebellious youth had taken her to her Aunt and Uncle Orange, and they had introduced her to the world of modeling and it was there she found her calling and got her cutie mark of three jeweled apples. :) She returned to the farm after a time and likes to keep busy, in both professions.
7732295 Thank you! Glad you liked it. :)
7732309 I have the notion that ponies have normal birth names but when they get their cutie marks their culture gives them the option to alter their name to fit their mark. In the story AJ's birth name was Applejack, but she changed it to Apple Jewel due to her cutie mark and only her mother can call her Applejack without her getting mad. :)
Well, this was certainly a very interesting alternate universe! I loved it!
7732392 LOL! Good point. :)
7732451 Thank you! I'm glad you liked it.
Really enjoyed this one. Keep up the good work on the writing, though in the future it might better to post one chapter a day to let people roll with it as it grows.
7732520 Thank you for taking the time to read it. I'm glad you liked it. I know I could probably get more views out of it by delivering one chapter at a time, I just don't like sitting on a completed story and the reader doesn't have to worry about the story being abandoned.
Glad to see there is a second story planned. This is pretty different, and in a very good way. I have a small list of my absolute favorite stories (0.2% of the stories I read) and this is on it. I want to see more of this universe.
7733202 Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.
7733341 This story has been in the works for over a year and a half, it just got to the point where it was done and edited and I just needed to put it out there so I could move on to something else.
7731778 I didn't even know you responded so sorry for the simi-late reply.
Mostly because I have read other stories that released all their chapters turn out to be poorly written. when each chapter is released the author can get feed back from others on their grammar, pacing, characters, ect. and it helps the author become a better writer as it goes on. of course I don't expect the author to be perfect as there will be mistakes, but that's where a proof-reader and editor comes in but idk much about those two. but I finished the story and it turned out alright. few mistakes here and there but I'm sure others have pointed them out already. you got an interesting world that you built and i was wondering if you have written other stories in this world? if not then i would like to see how events before this story happened.
7733769 Please let me know if there are any mistakes, I've only had one pointed out so far.
I do have a sequel in the works, it was originally going to be all one big story, but it was just too different in tone and style from this part to really fit well together.
Alright! Well, having reached the end, I must say that this is a well-rounded, well-edited story. Your pacing was good, too. I liked how the 'serious' chapters were offset with the Scootaloo bits; each time the story veered toward 'too saccharine' or 'too melodramatic', you would swing it back to other aspects of the plot.
If I had one gripe about the story, it is that I still don't get the whole 'Rainbow Dash magic' situation. To recap what I think I understand:
1. She gets her magic from Firefly and Fullbright, two pegasi
2. Her human parents assumed the identity of ponies during her conception to 'have a baby pony', with the mother planning to 'turn into a pony right before delivery and give birth to a foal'
3. Twilight Sparkle has used transformation magic on Rainbow in the past, allowing Rainbow to become a pegasus, a unicorn, an earth pony, a griffon, and a dragon. None of these transformations granted the innate magics of these forms.
Knowing these three facts, why isn't Rainbow Dash a pegasus? Unless it was meant figuratively (as in 'a child of Equestria'), her human parents sought to generate a pony offspring, and they took steps with zebra shaman to ensure it was so. Yet that clearly didn't happen, so what went wrong? I would think 'Harmony' would have been happy to 'nudge' that development towards a pegasus. Even if that is meant figuratively, her magical parents are both pegasi, and she gains a pony cutie mark. In addition, RD's magic allows her to enhance her speed through the air. Doesn't that mean that Rainbow has genuine pegasus pony magic? Therefore, when she was transformed into a pegasus, wouldn't Dash already have the magic she needs to fly?
If you could provide more of an explanation on this, then I would have no more gripes about the story. Either way, I enjoyed it.
7735334 Could you mark your post as spoilers?
I'm glad you enjoyed the story. :) This story went through a lot of revisions and many hours reading and even my listening to a text to voice audio version of it to hear how it sounded. I'm amazed it's been so well received.
Sorry if I didn't clarify, and as I think about it I realized I totally dropped the ball in the explanation. Rainbow was conceived as a pony, thus from conception was granted pony magic, but her mother didn't use the other potion to become a pony when giving birth, so Rainbow was born as a human. So her nature became muddled. Even when Rainbow was shape changed, it was a physical change but not a metaphysical change, as she was still human inside.
7735334 Thank you.
I went back to the tree scene and added some context to correct that mistake.
Discord accidentally prevented your original destiny, but destiny isn't easily thwarted, so it found another way for Fullbright and Firefly to have a foal, however, your mother chose not to use the second potion and gave birth to you as a human."
Does that clarify enough?
7735375
No problem, thanks for the clarification. Anyways:
That still doesn't make much sense to me, from the parents' perspective. I mean, you've established that her parents knew what they were doing giving her magic from the start, and despite their marriage issues, I still thought they want what is best for their daughter. Why would the mother not deliver her as a foal as planned? You imply there is this huge stigma/issue of humans with magic ('a touch of leprosy'), so why would they willingly let that happen to her by not making her a foal? Then they ditch her in an ophanage of Equestria rather than Earth, so she's even less likely to be adopted (though maybe that's a citizenship thing).
Speaking of, the 'touch of magic' stigma really doesn't make sense, considering Rainbow (and I assume other humans) starts losing that magic with enough time spent 'detoxifying' on Earth.
7735442
Well, for the "touch of magic" scene, Rainbow was trying to boil down a complex issue to explain it to a child, so I didn't really want to spend too long going into that. I was going to have RD refer to them as "Exorcist babies", but Scootaloo wouldn't understand the reference.
As for the parents, these events happened twenty years ago and the issue wasn't as well understood back then, and what they did wasn't a common or acceptable practice, so they were in uncharted territory. By the end of their relationship they both wanted out and like with Sweetie's father's family, Sue's parents didn't want Rainbow around. That's the big reason she was left behind in Equestria. Rainbow's vaguely aware of that reason, but she doesn't know just how big a part of it it was.
7735458
Gotcha. Thanks for taking the time to explain all of that. While I think this story ended on a good note, I will definitely check out a sequel if you choose to write one. You seem to have a good set-up to write random one-shots in this verse going forward, if you felt like it.
7736366 This is an alternate universe. Her birth name is Applejack but when she became a model she decided to call herself Apple Jewel.
Oh cool this is an awesome story I hope to see a sequel.
7738341 Glad you enjoyed it. :)
My god that was an amazing story!
7742108 Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)
7742202
Of course you did everything rite. The plot development, world building, character development, ect. It was just spot on.
Non biased score: A+
Biased score: B
That was an awesome read.
7801701 Glad you're enjoying it and thanks for the upvote and comment. :)
Okay I finished the story and I really enjoyed it. One issue I had is that the description doesn't really prepare you for what the story is about. I was surprised by the sheer amount of world building that was going on, at one point I had to stop and double check that this wasn't a sequel to another story lol.
I really like this world you've created and I love that you went all in on the Alternate Universe concept as very few stories take it this far. There are just so many stories that could be told for example how AJ came to be a model and how that life has changed her.
I would also suggest that next time you don't release all the chapters at once as it is criminal that this story hasn't gotten more attention.
Very good story.
7829745 Thank you. :) I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Very cool story, glad to hear there's a sequel planned.
While this story is good, its just not for me. I'm just not keen on all the changes you have made to characters and or addimg them. While it's good your original and doing your own thing, this specifically isn't for me.
I wish you luck with this story and any others you write. Oh and It's a little late but happy new year :)
I won't be faving this story, but I will thumbs up it, but thats all.
7840022 Well, I appreciate that you took the time to read it and comment. :) And Happy New Year to you as well!
Fav'd and looking forward to the sequel(s)!
I'll admit the first few chapters had me weirded out. Apple Jewel? Human-dash and this Otherside thing that is just there. Nightmare and Luna.
But as you explained more about it, and details came to the foreground as Discord revealed his meddling and we started hearing more of a time-split. Then things made more sense. I know it was tagged as an AU, and that is enough to diverge however you please, but it was nice to have a reason behind it all. To somehow incorporate the canon as a template for this alternate timeline.
Luckily I am OCD enough that I couldn't drop it right away, and also that despite the weird AU elements the writing was entertaining for me. It all was worth it to me at the end, and I enjoyed this story a good deal. :)
Definitely an AU I'd invest my time in reading more stories for!
Of course there will always be weird gripes, but every story has them. For me the "here's what your baby will look like" scene at the end was a bit...meh? I just feel it was too plot-device-y and unnecessary. Like maybe a "magical ultrasound" to see what the foal looks like now or something, but being able to just replay his entire life of looks?!
Also the aloofness and just going "okay" when asked if they want to see, it's a bit concerning. I mean I'm a sucker for spoilers, but JEEZ. I'd rather wait and see the kid grow up then "just know". Also what if they saw it, and it caused another timeline split because now Gilda/Fullbright could steer his growth, or get lax assuming he'd just "be" this handome hippogriff eventually?
But besides that, the rest of the story was good (to me)
7850473 Thanks for the fav and the comment. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)
The magic bit at the end was basically Celestia reading his DNA and just taking it from there. My guess would be that over the many centuries she's been called in to settle enough paternity suits that there'd be spells created to extrapolate the look and ancestry of a child, it's not one she'd use often, but as they were having a hybrid, the likes of which hadn't been seen in over 500 years, she'd give them the option to see that the child wouldn't be a horrifying mutant. As for the "Okay", it was meant more as a shocked response, but I guess it came across as indifferent. I'm sorry about that.
7850948 No worries! Also yeah, the "okay" can be in shock or indifferent, either way just having it shown to them so plainly and on the spot. I guess it was just more of a shock for me as well! XP.
Also the DNA imaging thing makes more sense, but it seemed less like that and more like a time-scrying spell or something. Since DNA alone can't tell you what a person will look like in the end. Any number of things can alter what the baby would grow up to look like, from diet to accidents. So I guess that's why it felt off, because just randomly seeing through time seemed a bit hokey and cheapened the cost of such powerful magic. Meanwhile the DNA/paternity thing is a better explanation, but it'd be nice to have a note that it is an estimation rather than "This is exactly what he'll look like as an adult" at least.
Just me nitpicking a bit
Still really enjoyed the story, and still hope you'll have more on the way
If you got to the end of this comment, thanks for putting up with my rambling nitpicks :P
Absolutely amazing book! You had me in stitches and you had me in tears at times. Well done. A true masterwork if ever there was one. You sir, (or ma'am), have earned a hallowed spot in my Favorites list, as this is a book that I will enjoy re-reading over and over again. You are a truly gifted writer, and your imagination is without bound. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to seeing this rumored sequel.
See you next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.
7861404 Thank you for the very generous praise! I'm glad you enjoy the story so much.
It took over a year and a half to write this story, so while a sequel is in the works, it may be a while before it's ready.
I'm doing reviews of this fic over the next few days, here's the first one:
Review
*applause* This is officially the best version of a "human in Equestria" story I have ever read. Heck, I even approved the ships. Do you know how rare that is with me? Awesome story. Be festooned with a whole 5 outta 5 mustaches.
7913677
I'm glad you found it so enjoyable.
*Bows* Thank you.
7975741 Apple Jewel is Applejack. Since the events of her childhood were different, her life took a different path. She stayed with her aunt and uncle Orange for a longer time and they introduced her to modeling and she chose that as her primary career over farming, Her birth name was Applejack, but she chose Apple Jewel as her personal and professional name.
7976450 are you still doing a sequel
7979958 Yes, I do plan to finish the sequel, but it may be a while. I worked on this story for over a year and have a bit of burn out on Rainbow Dash and friends. So I need to take a break. Also, one of the big plot points of the sequel was solved in the revisions of this story, so I need to rethink the plot of the sequel.
Thank you for taking the time to read it and comment. :)
8025981 Yeah, I wanted to try something different since there are a lot filly Nightmare Moon stories and explore a bit of how they interact as separate people. In the sequel I'll try to explain how they became separate beings. It was clearer in my first draft, but her origin story got a little lost in the revisions.
8137012 I'm glad you're enjoying it so much. Thanks for giving it a try!
8297582
Sorry you didn't enjoy it, but thank you for giving it a try.
So is the sequal no longer happening?
8489716
8489716
I do plan on finishing the sequel, it was already mostly written by the time I finished this story, but the emotional arc of the sequel was actually resolved in the revisions of this story and finding something to fill it's place is proving harder than I expected and an episode unexpectedly addressed something that was going to be a big subplot of the story as well. So that derailed my enthusiasm for finishing it for the time being.