//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: When Consequences Come Home // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Pursing her lips, Twilight Velvet looked up at her loyal assistant and trainee, Wormwood. He would make for a fine foal fetcher, someday, but today was not that day. He appeared distracted and out of sorts. He lacked his usual sense of professionalism, something she treasured. “Mister Wormwood…” “Yeah Boss?” “Mister Wormwood,” Velvet began again, this time in a more firm tone of voice. “If you would please just call me Twilight Velvet or even just Mrs. Velvet.” “Sure thing, Boss.” Frustrated, Twilight Velvet let heave a sigh as she looked up at the enormous draconic pegasi standing beside her. He looked a little sweaty. Instead of irritation, she began to feel some concern. “Mister Wormwood, is something going on that is affecting your job?” “No, Boss. Everything is fine, Boss.” “Out with it, Mister—” “Everything is fine, Boss.” “Wormwood!” Velvet snapped, losing her patience. Right away, she felt sorry. The big brute of a lunar pegasus recoiled and then shrank away, looking very much like a stepped on puppy. For being so big and so dangerous looking, he sure was a big softy. Guilt gnawed at her insides and she had memories of scolding Twilight Sparkle when she was little and oh so curious. “Everything's not fine, Boss.” Ears drooping, Wormwood rubbed one foreleg against the other. “I’m nervous, Boss. Hearth’s Warming. Family. It’s a lot to take in.” “The holidays can be very overwhelming, Wormwood. When we’re all done with this job, you and I, we’ll talk, and I’ll see what I can do to make this easier for you somehow.” Twilight Velvet’s voice was soft and gentle now, as she had slipped into her ‘foal services’ equona. “It can be hard adjusting to civilian life after so much time spent in service.” There was no response from Wormwood, he just began to pace back and forth in the small room, treading what little bit of floor space he had. The room wasn’t very large, but it was well furnished, comfortable, and was decorated in such a way that it was sure to make a foal feel better. There were Wonderbolts posters on the wall. A painted portrait of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna hung next to a small round window. Peering out the window, one could see that the Crystal Empire was preparing for the holidays. An army of helpful sorts put up decorations, garlands, lights, and enormous eight foot candy canes built to stringent government regulations. Snow was falling, but it did nothing to slow down or stop the army of decorators that had invaded the city. “Wormwood, I’m not angry, but did you read the casefile?” Twilight Velvet asked. “No, Boss. I’m sorry. Silver Lining wanted my attention before I left again. It’s hard on her.” Hearing this, Twilight Velvet’s heart softened and she gave a knowing nod. “It’s okay, Wormwood. Let me go over what we know, okay?” “Okay.” She blinked. That was a good sign. The big lug might be relaxing a bit. It would be a relief to have her coworker and friend back to his usual, jovial self. “Our case is an unusual one,” Twilight Velvet began, “hybrid, descends from manticore and equine stock. By all accounts she is very sweet, a little shy, and according to my son, Shining Armor, she has weapons grade adorableness.” “An adorable manticore spawn?” Wormwood blinked. “Uh, I’ve fought a lot of manticores and none of them have ever been… adorable.” “My son doesn’t lie… much.” Twilight Velvet let out a little, polite laugh. “He never lies when it matters.” For a moment, the older mare appeared to be lost in memories and nostalgia. “Come to think of it, he was a little liar… always covering for his sister.” Wormwood chuckled as he paced, just as Twilight Velvet predicted that he would. “She is intelligent, capable of speaking, but needs education. She has been vaccinated and has spent a little time in quarantine, so she is bound be a little out of sorts. Up to this point, she was a feral creature.” “How did she end up here?” Wormwood asked, getting into the swing of things. Inhaling, Twilight Velvet felt a swell of pride for her daughter in law. “Somehow, she found out that Princess Cadance helps ponies who have problems with love. The poor little thing made a very dangerous journey here to seek Cadance’s help.” “How did she know—” “We don’t know, Wormwood.” The older mare smiled, and, tired of standing, she sat down in a worn looking chair that had seen better days. Poor Wormwood wouldn’t even fit into this chair and she lamented the fact that nopony ever took lunar pegasi into account when creating furniture. “The Crystal Empire is a beacon for broken hearts and at some point, every broken hearted creature comes here seeking Cadance’s aid. Dragons, griffons, diamond dogs, and now, a little manticore spawn that wants to meet her daddy.” “Manticores eat their own young,” Wormwood said, shaking his head. “Only sometimes,” Twilight Velvet replied. “Look, Wormwood, I know how Gloomy found Silver Lining. Don’t let your own feelings and biases cloud your judgment here.” “Of course.” Wormwood slumped, his back sagging, and he began to scratch his chin with his wing. He began to hum to himself and he shifted his weight from side to side, trying to entertain himself in a room with no furniture big enough for him to get comfortable in. Pulling out a crossword puzzle book from her bag, Twilight Velvet settled in to endure the wait. Hearing a click from the door Twilight Velvet raised her head from her book, which she closed and tucked into her bag. The door opened, a mare’s soft voice could be heard, and then, something small was pushed through the door, something much smaller than she expected. Twilight Velvet peered over the top edges of her reading glasses to have a better look at the little hairball staring back at her, silent and terrified. The first and most obvious thing was the poof of dusky red hair protruding from the top of her head, forming a natural mohawk that stood up several inches, with the hair curling into ringlets near the tips. The foal—cub—whatever a manticore and a pony made when they bred, had a coat that was a distinctive shade of chocolate brown, a very distinctive shade of chocolate brown, and Twilight Velvet could only think of one pony that had a pelt like that. Fiery orange eyes, wide and fearful, stared up at her, and Twilight Velvet felt her heart begin to thump. “Nothing alive should ever be that cute,” Wormwood breathed, sounding as though he was being strangled. “Alicorns preserve me, it hurts, it hurts!” Twilight Velvet was surprised to note that there seemed to be no poisonous scorpion tail, but there were wings, leathery, draconic wings, wings very much like Wormwood’s. The adorable little fuzzball appeared to be a good mix of pony and lion characteristics. No hooves, but four little paws, broad and wide, connected to long, slender legs and a body made for running. Again, Twilight Velvet could think of only one pony that could be the father. Long legged, tall, skinny, a natural born sprinter if ever there was one. The little… cub? Her mohawk continued halfway down her back, standing up and sticking out in all directions, a dusky, smoky red stripe that stood out in sharp contrast against the chocolate brown fur covering her body. Her face… her face wasn’t quite a pony, nor was it a lion. It was feline, but also equine. She had whiskers. “Hello,” Twilight Velvet said in as soft of a voice as she could muster. “Hi.” The little cub, yes, Twilight Velvet decided, it was a cub, became distracted by her own tail, which was long like a lion’s and had a dusky red tuft on the end of it. She swatted at it with her paw, which her tail seemed to ignore as it evaded her attempts to make it behave. Wormwood let out a wheeze and appeared to be having trouble breathing. “Do you have a name, little one?” Twilight Velvet was pleased to note that her son had not lied, not when it mattered. She felt a strange tightness in her chest. For being a little monster, this little fuzzball was adorable. “My name is Twilight Velvet. This is Wormwood.” The cub lifted her head and looked the older mare right in the eye. “Megara the Lioness.” “And you came to Princess Cadance for some help to find your daddy?” The little cub nodded, blinked, and her bright orange eyes flashed with brilliant inner luminescence, which looked like flames reflected in stained glass. She managed to catch her tail and squish it down to the floor with her paw. To Twilight Velvet’s eyes, the small cub almost appeared to be on fire, with her deep, dark red hair that rose in curly spikes off of her head. “Do you have any questions, Megara?” Blinking, the cub looked quite sad. “What if he no want?” “What if he doesn’t want you?” Twilight Velvet said, offering gentle correction. “I know your father, and I know that he wants you. I’m going to take you to him. We’re going to take a train. It will give me some time to get to know you.” “But what if he no want?” Megara’s eyes began to water and tears threatened to fall. “Megara, you have to trust me. I know it is difficult, and you don’t know me, but everything is going to be fine.” Twilight Velvet rose from her chair, eased herself down to the floor, and made her way over to Megara, who shied away. “I runt. Not wanted.” “Megara, darling—” “Not wanted. Runt. Brothers and sisters tease. Bite. Claw. Chew on. Hurt.” With a very concerned look, Twilight Velvet stared into Megara’s fearful orange eyes. “Megara, darling, can you tell me how you learned to talk so well?” “Manticore talk,” Megara replied as she leaned closer and sniffed Twilight Velvet. “Much time listening at food talk. Hear word, make word. Keep talk. Too much talk. Make brothers and sisters mad. They mad and chew on head.” “Food talk?” Twilight Velvet shuddered at the thought. She didn’t like the implications, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Megara was a feral creature from the wilds, but a smart one. She had made the choice to come to civilisation. “No like when food talk. Feel wrong. Bad. Bad Megara.” Twilight Velvet let out a sigh of relief. The knowledge that it was wrong was a good sign. Megara appeared to be more equine than manticore. She didn’t even have a stinger tail. “Megara, what made you come to us?” “Mama talk about daddy. Say he nice. She let live, not eat as do other daddies. She say me like him. She make me go. Say Megara too weak. Megara sent far off to live with food.” Extending a hind leg, Megara began to scratch behind her ear, and as she did so, her tail escaped. The cub let out a yowl of annoyance and right away, she tried to catch it again, swatting at it with her front paw while she continued to scratch behind her ear with her back paw. “Oh, Sweet Celestia, I can’t stand it!” Wormwood said in a low shout. “I want to hug her so bad! It’s unnatural! What foul thaumaturgy is this?” “So says the father of a mouse eating hairball.” Twilight Velvet rolled her eyes and then returned her attention to Megara, who looked a little scared. “Wormwood doesn’t mean to scare you, if he is. He’s… he’s just excited at the moment, because, well, let’s face it, you’re cute.” Eyes wide and glittering with their strange inner luminance, Megara stared up at Twilight Velvet with her feline ears pricked up. “Cute? This new name? I hear this. Lots.” With a ball of yarn, this cub could cause others to drop dead. Twilight Velvet began to fear for the safety of ponies everywhere. As she tried to think of what to say, there was a crash behind her as Wormwood’s backside fell to the floor and he sat down. Turning her head, she glared at him with a raised eyebrow, but he ignored her. “Megara scare some, some say cute. Why?” The curious feline-equine tilted her head off to one side and then let out a strange whinny-mewling sound. The upper half of Wormwood’s body hit the floor with a ‘whomp!’ and he cried, “Mrs. Velvet, make it stop!” “Megara, darling, the train leaves in just a little while. We still need to walk to the station, but we need to hurry. Wormwood is going to pull himself together, and he is going to carry you on his back. I’m going to bundle you up, because it is cold outside. Are you okay with this?” “We go see daddy?” Megara asked. “Yes, we shall go and see your daddy,” Twilight Velvet replied. “And your new family. You have a mother, and a sister, and more are on the way.” “What if them no want?” Megara’s glowing orange eyes were fearful. “Oh, trust me, they’ll want you, Megara. We just need to get you home.”