//------------------------------// // Chapter 45, A Deal // Story: An Unexpected Life // by alejin //------------------------------// It has been one week since Bright wrote that special letter to his good friend Mr. Jilt. He was so excited about what the old gryphon had to say about Bright’s discovery. But he didn’t want to get his hopes too high. “Hmm… next time I go to Minus, I’ll make sure to give them a magical everlasting fire to communicate more effectively.” he thought. Even though the waiting was very annoying, Bright’s day could not get any better. It was the day he would be reunited with his fiancée once again. He made sure to prepare a nice room in his Ponyville home. He exited the house and proceeded to go to Ponyville’s train station. On his way there, as always, everypony greeted him very kindly and cheerfully. He gladly greeted them all back. He arrived at the station at the accorded time. After several minutes of waiting, the train from Manehattan had finally arrived. Many ponies were exiting the train and, finally, hid face lit up as he caught sight of the pony he cared about the most exit the train. “Flying Hope!” Bright screamed. The sexy unicorn’s eyes widened and immediately turned to the direction the familiar voice. “Bright!” she screamed before tackling her prince like she never did in a long time. They hugged on the floor and started to kiss, ignoring all the attention they were getting from the other ponies in the station. After the heated moment, Bright proceeded to carry his princess in his arms and take her to his house. He wished he could fly her there as she liked it but even though Ponyville saw him fighting the Plunder Vines weeks ago, they still didn’t have any clue about his abilities yet and he was fine with it. Not having to answer any questions for curious ponies, like Lyra, about it was something he didn’t mind. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The couple finally arrived home. Bright brought Flying to her new room and placed her on the bed. She was staring at him with cute eyes. Her hooves on her chest; just that sight was enough to... “Damn, Flying, please cast that silent spell over this room now, please... I want you so badly.” Flying Hope smiled and nodded. After her horn glowed and casted the spell and making sure it worked (not wanting to repeat that incident with her fiancée’s family), she and Bright proceeded to catch up on their alone time that they’ve been waiting weeks for. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bright woke up on his fiancée’s bed hugging the cute unicorn. She opened her eyes as well and give him a good morning kiss. “Wow, Bright… that was amazing.” “Hey, that’s my line, honey. So, are you in the mood for lunch?” “Yes, thank you. Lunch sounds great right about now.” With a nod, Bright put his clothes back on and fixed a nice lunch for him and his marefriend. They were having a nice time talking about what they did during their time apart. Bright was relieved to find out that her family helped her out a lot in her time of need. ‘Sweet Rose would be relieved too’, he thought. While eating, Bright and Flying heard a knock at the front door. He opened the door and found Ditzy on his doorstep. “Hi, Ditzy.” “Hello, Bright. I have a letter for you.” “Really? Who from? One of the Princesses?” “Nope, it’s from Minus. Somepony called Jilt.” “Really?!” Ditzy nodded and handed the letter to Bright. “Thanks, Ditzy!” “You’re welcome, Bright. See you later!” Ditzy then flew away to continue her route. Bright re-entered his home to reunite with Flying. She immediately noticed how excited he was by looking the letter. “Anything interesting in that letter, love?” “We’ll see.” Bright answered before opening the letter. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My dear friend Bright, I hope you and your fiancée are doing okay. We’re all doing fine here ourselves, waiting for your next visit. Let’s get down to business; I checked the medical information and X-rays you sent me. I must say, my friends and I also found many similitudes with Wingrift’s case, but it’s still too early to be completely sure. Bright, as you may already know, I need you to bring that little filly here to do some tests of my own. I don’t need to remind you to not fill her head with too much hope. At least, not until I have all the information needed. Please be sure to tell us in advance when you are coming so I can get everything ready with my friends. Your good friend, Jilt Al - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Flying hope read the letter as well. She looked puzzled. “Bright, what is Mr Jilt talking about? What filly is he talking about? Bright sighed and started to explain to Flying about Scootaloo. After he finished the story, Flying was already shedding some tears. “That’s... that’s so sad. That poor little filly. It’s so unfair” “Yeah... I know.” “You... you think Mr Jilt would be able to help her?” “I sure hope so.” “Oh, Bright, you really are a kind soul, trying to help that filly. I’m so proud of you.” “Thanks, honey. If Mr. Jilt and his friends can do something, even the tiniest thing, I’ll be satisfied.” “You’ve really taken a liking to her, haven’t you?” “I have. No child deserves that kind of thing.” Flying hugged Bright warmly, still shedding some tears, but was happy, nonetheless, to have such a kind fiancée. Not that she didn’t know any better a long time ago. But there was something else in her head. “Bright... now I need to know; Who is Wingrift?” “Well… where do I start? Let’s see, when I was a thirteen, living in Minus with Mr. Onyx, I met this interesting gryphon chick. She and her family had travelled from Gryphonia to Minus. I must say, she was nice and cute.” Flying gave a glare to Bright after hearing him say that. “What? That happened years ago! Don’t forget that I didn’t even remember you back then.” Flying sighed and nodded for Bright to continue. “Meeting new gryphons wasn’t that new for me, since we lived near the checkpoint where traveling creatures come and go. I, at least, saw a new face every day. As I was saying, when I met this nice Gryphon, she was kind of shy at first. Of course, when she saw me, her instincts told her to defend herself. I gotta say, she was kinda strong, despite her shyness. Thanks to Mrs. Margaret and Wingrift’s parents, she stopped attacking me and immediately apologized. Then Mr. Onyx proceeded to tell them what I was. After that, me and the market’s children started to spend time with her.” “The days passed and, little by little, everyone started to notice the obvious; neither of us had seen her fly. Not even once. Sure, she could glide, but not actually fly. She noticed us starting to get suspicious and started to avoid us. I was pretty sad by that, but I decided to leave her alone. Then I talked with Mr. Jilt and found out everything about her.” Flying was listening carefully. This story was very interesting to her. “Wingrift had a strange condition in her wings; her bones were stuck and weren’t able to grow right.” “Just like Scootaloo?” “Maybe. As Jilt said, he still need to do some tests.” “I see. Okay, please continue.” “Right, okay. Mr Jilt also told me the reason why they were so far from Gryphonia and visiting Minus; they were there to visit him. That was when I found out Mr Jilt was not only an egghead merchant, but also a Doctor. He was one of the best, in fact. You see, Wingrift’s parent had already tried everything to help their daughter, but with no success. Their hope was almost lost, but they then heard about Mr. Jilt and his many studies about strange deceases. With nothing to lose, he did some tests on Wingrift’s wings. Of course, he found out the dysplasia in her wings. It was a really special case, but being the amazing doctor that he was, he found a possible cure; a special surgery he invented.” “Wait, wait, wait! Bright... I’m sure that Mr. Jilt is very smart and wise, but... how could he have invented a surgery treatment that not even unicorns with their magic manage to find?” “Easy. Mr. Jilt has something nopony has, not even many gryphons have.” “What is it?” “His eyes. It’s no secret that a gryphon’s eyes are way more amplified and sharp than a pony’s eyes, but his are even more special. It’s as if he has a microscope attached to his eyes. I can surely say he has one of the best eyes in the whole world.” “Wow. Is that true?” “Yep! I can assure you that even Princess... even my mother would not be a match for his sight. Not even when she uses her best sight amplification spell. “That’s amazing and all, but... what does his eyes have to do with all of this?” “You see, for Wingrift’s case, the problem was to fix her bones and place them in the right position. It was necessary to make the exact micro cuts and micro sutures. The kind that no doctor would be able to do, not even with the best eyes amplification spell found. In résumé, my love, with his special surgery and eyes, he has been the only one capable of helping her heal or...” “Or what, Bright?” Flying asked, worried. “Hmm. Okay, Flying, you see...” Bright said the next line in a whisper. After hearing that, Flying got a little more worried. “I see. That is no good, but... If we have a chance to help Scootaloo, then... let’s hope for the best, okay? There is one more thing I need to know, though; what happened with Wingrift?” Bright’s serious expression disappeared. He smiled and looked at her right to the eyes. “Let’s just say that, after the surgery and months of recovering and training, Wingrift returned with her parents to Minus... Oh, Flying, it was sad to see her go, but everyone was happy for her and we felt so proud of Mr. Jilt. He managed to do what no other doctor could do. Now he even treats Minus royal guards and royally.” Flying Hope was marvelled and her face beamed with happiness when she heard that. She hugged Bright tightly. There was hope for the little filly after all, but she couldn’t shake what Bright told her. Even if Mr Jilt would be able to try to help Scootaloo... there were chances that she might... she shook that feeling aside and tried to remain positive. “Sooo… how are you planning to take Scootaloo to Minus?” Flying asked. “That’s... a very good question.” Bright said cluelessly. Flying hope looked at him and hoofpalmed. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll think in something, you’ll see.” “I know you will.” After lunch, Bright finally proceeded to introduce his fiancé to everypony in Ponyville; the Mayor, Ditzy and her daughter, Lyra and everypony else. Of course, she was somepony who didn’t need presentation. All Ponyville knew who she was. Almost everypony and filly in town asked for her autograph. She was very flattered. Ponyville was such a welcome town, just like Bright told her. After signing every sheet of paper she was given, Bright introduced the CMC to Flying Hope. All of them were speechless to meet a famous model. Of course, they asked tons of questions. Just by looking at his fiancée talking with the fillies with that warm smile and eyes that said everything he already knew, Flying Hope also wanted a foal. After the CMC left to do whatever they had planned, Bright and Flying returned home. Once there, Bright asked: “So, what you think about my little friends?” “Oh, they’re just so adorable. Each one of them have their own special trait and you were right; that filly, Scootaloo, is something else. She’s so full of determination. Oh, Celestia protect her ‘parents’ if I someday find out who they are.” “Not if I find them first, my love, and I highly that doubt my mother would protect them in any way” Bright said with the same enthusiasm as his fiancée. “So, have you thought a way to take that little filly to Minus?” “Well, normally, anypony would think of an exaggerated and unnecessary plan to convince her to go, but... to be honest with you, that’s not my style, so... I’ll just ask her if she wants to come.” “Are you sure that’s a good idea? What if she asks you why?” “I’ll just be honest with her. She has every right to know. After all, this is all about her and her wings.” “I guess you’re right... when are you planning to tell her?” “After the Equestria games. Right now, she needs to focus in her flag routine.” “Good idea, Bright... but now that I think about it, if you take her to Minus, she will need a...” “I’m already on it, Flying” Bright kissed his marefriend and started to fly to Canterlot. “I’ll be back in a few hours, my love. I’ll see you later!” Flying waved him goodbye and proceeded to go out to buy some groceries. She had a feeling that Bright would be very hungry after visiting his family. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Luna was on her balcony raising the moon like every other night. After moving it in the right position, she proceeded to walk back into her room when... “Aunt Luna?” Luna gasped and turned around. There was no mistaking that voice. She then caught sight of her favourite nephew. She immediately scooped him up in her hooves in a tight hug. “Oh, Bright, my dear nephew, I’ve missed you so much!” “Aggh... I missed you too, Aunt Luna, but please... air!” “OH! Sorry, sorry!” Luna said and released Bright. “Tell me, my nephew, what brings you here? Are you finally returning home?” Luna said with expecting eyes. “Hmm... no, not yet. You see... I need a little favour and only you can help me with it.” Luna raised an eyebrow. “And what, pray tell, is this ‘favour’ that you need from your aunt?” Bright told everything to Luna. What he had planned to help Scootaloo in Minus and how he needed a special Passport to get her pass the Minus checkpoint just like the one his mother gave to Flying Hope when they travelled there together. “Hmm… so you need another royal passport, huh?” “Yes. Please, Aunt Luna, help me out.” “...okay.” “Really!? Thank yo...“ “Not so fast, my dear nephew. There is one thing I need you to promise me before giving you what you need.” “...what is it, Aunt Luna?” At that moment, Luna’s smile widened to levels that would even put Pinkie’s smiles to shame. “I want you to come to the Equestria Games.” “Uhh… okay. I was planning to go anywa...” “And sit in the royal seats with me, Cadence, Twilight and your mother.” “What!? But... oh, c’mon, Aunt Luna, that’s extortion!” “Maybe, but if you can do that one thing for me, I will give you the Passport immediately after the games.” Bright took some time to think; if he didn’t have that Passport, there was no way he could legally bring Scootaloo to Minus and he was not stupid enough to try to take her without a passport. That would create serious problems between Equestria and Minus. With a sigh, he asked… “I only have to sit with the royal family during the games, right?” “That’s right.” “No talking or having conversation with my mother... right?” “I’d rather you do, but I will not pressure you, my nephew. That’s totally up to you.” “...okay. You have a deal, Aunt Luna.” Luna smiled and hugged Bright warmly this time. She had hope now. Hope that maybe if her sister and nephew were close enough, they would finally talk and resolve this family issue. She’d never say this before, but she just needed her favourite nephew back and fast. Watching Celestia’s low mood every day was heartbreaking. Not to mention how boring the palace was without him. Blueblood just sucked as a sparing partner. Nope! She needed him back right away and for that to happen, she finally decided to do what her nephew would do sometimes; play dirty. After they broke the hug, Bright kissed Luna’s forehead and she did the same. He then flew away to Ponyville to write Mr. Jilt a letter to tell him he would take Scootaloo to Minus after the Equestria Games. Luna then proceeded to enter her room, but before closing the doors, she spoke out loud… “Okay, Tia, this is your chance! Don’t screw it up!” The white alicorn, who was hiding in the corner, couldn’t help but smile and giggle. She then, still giggling, proceeded to fly cheerfully to her room. She needed to plan on how to place the royal seats for the games. Of course, she knew which seat she wanted next to her, and close. Very close.