//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: A Monstrous Family Reunion // by drnkntst //------------------------------// Chapter 3 Once again, Chris’s whole family, two and four legged, were seated around the breakfast table. Dust Bunny was standing behind Chris, waiting for orders that he almost never gave, while Cotton Tail sat in her favorite spot, AKA, Chris’s lap. Little Cotton Tail would munch on her pancakes while Chris would use her fluffy mane to prop up his own plate of eggs and toast. It was a pretty decent mealtime. It would have been better if a certain somepony hadn’t returned from their vacation the night before. “Ugh, as if it wasn’t bad enough we had one monkey running around, now we have three of them.” Chris could normally ignore Blueblood’s bigotry, but these were his parents. “Fluffy Butt, hop down and go stand by your mommy.” Chris stood and cracked his knuckles. “You may not want to watch this.” Chris leapt across the table, his wings keeping him from touching table cloth. “Christopher.” Celestia’s voice was neither threatening nor loud, but it was clearly a warning made all the more clear by the inflection she put on it. Chris was frozen in mid-air, mere inches from getting his hands on his cousin. He straightened up and lowered his hands. “Sorry, Mom.” Celestia was about to turn her vocal lash on Blueblood, when she was interrupted. “Yes, that’s a good little monkey. Listen to your master.” Celestia could only facehoof at the determined stupidity of her nephew. It takes a special kind of dumb to constantly poke the Ursa Major like he does. She didn’t even need to see Chris’s face to know it was already beet red. At this point, she might as well alert the infirmary to get ready for their new patient. To everyone’s astonishment, Chris simply left the room. As soon as the door closed, Blueblood let out the breath he had been holding and returned to his breakfast, feeling quite smug about himself. The others could only stare at the door in confusion. However, that wasn’t the door they should have been focusing on. Chris snuck in through the kitchen door, holding something black and white in his hand. With his ringed hand, Chris forced Blueblood to sit bolt upright and raise his forehooves over his head. In an instant, the thing in Chris’s other hand was slid down over Blueblood’s body and, thanks to a spell attached to the material, stuck to his fur. “There you go. Now go show off your pretty new outfit to everypony.” Blueblood looked down at the maid uniform that he had been shunted into. He was about to scream in rage, but before he could, Chris shoved a banana in his mouth. “Call my parents monkeys again and I’ll feed you another banana,” Chris leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “the hard way.” Blueblood jumped from his seat began to tug on the dress’s hem. Unfortunately, tugging the dress meant tugging fur. “Ugh, why won’t this come off?!” “Glue spell, courtesy of my assistant in chaos,” Chris reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a tiny, “Discord.” Discord stood on Chris’s open hand and bowed deeply with a sweep of his arms. “It was my pleasure, your highness.” Both Barbara and Steven stared, dumbfounded at the little chimera before them. Blueblood, however, gave a snort and stomped out of the room. “Don’t worry, the spell should wear off in a day or so,” Chris reassured. “After all, permanent damage isn’t funny. Right, Discord?” “It depends on the situation.” “Hey! That’s bad. Bad, Discord,” Chris scolded mockingly. Discord suddenly appeared full size between Chris’s parents. “And who have we here?” He leaned in with a huge monocle. “More humans? I swear you guys are like slow rabbits.” “Discord, these are my parents. My mother, Barbara, and my father, Steven Lechance. Please, go easy on them. They’re new to magic and talking critters and all that, let alone someone like you.” Discord was suddenly floating over the table in a white robe with dirty trim and a wire halo on his head. “Now, Christopher, you know I am always on my very best behavior.” “Look, I can tell you’re holding back, and I’m very thankful, but you aren’t the lord of chaos for no reason.” “Hmm, I suppose that’s fair.” “Anyway, not that it isn’t nice to see you, but why are you here?” “Oh-ho-ho, I almost forgot. Fluttershy is on the train to Ponyville as we speak. I’m sure you’re as anxious to see her as she is to see you.” “You don’t know the half of it. A week is far too long to be away from that little beauty.” Celestia let out a small, polite cough. “Discord, why don’t you go and greet dear Fluttershy ahead of Chris? We have some things we need to discuss before he goes out for the day.” Discord bowed, “As you wish, Celestia.” Discord was gone in the very next instant. Normally, Chris would say something smart and trot out the door to do his own thing, but not when he could tell how serious she was. She wasn’t angry, but what she was going to say needed to be heard. “What’s going on, Mom?” Celestia let slip the slightest hint of a smile at still being referred to by her favorite title before setting her face back to serious. “We need to discuss why Chris cannot return to Earth.” “Excellent. We were starting to get a little frustrated about being kept in the dark,” Steven said. “I don’t mean to be rude, especially since you’ve been so generous, but we would like some of our questions to be answered.” Barbara nodded in agreement. “We understand your annoyance, but I promise we haven’t withheld information out of malice,” Luna defended. “While what Luna says is true, that does not excuse our not being forward with you. Now, what would you like to know?” Celestia asked. “First and foremost, why can’t Chris return to Earth?” Steven asked. “If he could spend a week there, then why not longer?” Before Celestia or Luna could answer, Chris stood up and removed his shirt. He then pointed to the scar over his heart. “This. This is why I can’t ever leave Equestria. I had been foalnapped and before I could be rescued, I had a spear pushed through my heart. Celestia and Luna, with the help of Discord, literally traveled to Death’s doorstep and made a deal. They gave some of their life so that I could live again. Now, the magic that permeates this country is literally keeping me alive. Anything more than a few weeks away from Equestria and I start to grow incredibly weak. And that’s while I’m still on Equus. On Earth, I’d be dead within a month or two.” “Hogwash!” Steven growled. “You expect us to believe that?” “Actually, they were buffalo out there,” a maid spoke up, “but I can assure you it’s all true. I was there.” “Oh, Willow, I didn’t recognize you. Who are you wearing?” Chris asked without any hint of sarcasm in the question. “Just some mare I saw in the market a few days ago. Do you like it?” “It’s not bad.” “If you were there,” Barbara started, “then I suppose you were killed and brought back to life too.” “No, I wasn’t. I was… I…” Willow looked to Celestia for support. “It’s alright, Willow. You may tell them.” Willow nodded solemnly. “I was there because… I helped capture him. It was my hive that captured him. I was the one who found him and brought him to our queen.” “The one who helped me, too. Don’t forget that,” Chris said. Willow gave a little grin in appreciation. “You talk about a hive and a queen like you’re some kind of bee or something,” Steven half joked. “You’re not too far off, Dad. Would you show them, Willow?” Willow nodded and stepped back from the table. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, she didn’t like dropping her disguise without a good reason but she couldn’t say no to the only non-changeling who showed concern for her clan. She breathed out and an instant later was surrounded by a ring of green flames that quickly engulfed her entire being. The gasp that came from Chris’s parents at the sight of her true from cut Willow like a knife, but she wasn’t there alone. Chris knelt down and wrapped an arm around her chitonous shoulders and whispered his thanks into her ear. “Mom, Dad, this is what a changeling looks like. Well, a drone at least. The queen is much larger and meaner looking. She lays all the eggs and controls her brood with an iron hoof. However, Willow here risked everything to get me and another pony out of the hive. Only the pony made it out.” “Yes, and it was thanks to her that we found you at all,” Celestia added. “If it weren’t for Willow’s efforts, Chrysalis would have never let you go.” “And every changeling would have suffered greatly for her actions,” Luna added darkly while nonchalantly nibbling her cantaloupe. “What happened to this… Chrysalis?” Barbara asked. “Mom broke every bone in her hands by rolling her fingers back like a toothpaste tube and was about to start on her arms before Discord stopped her. She’s down in the dungeon right now,” Chris looked to Celestia and spotted the almost imperceptible twitches in her ears and the corners of her mouth that told him she was hiding her extreme shame at her actions. “Why is she still alive?” Steven growled. “What?” the royal family looked at Steven. “I mean, if I had your power and someone had hurt my son, I would have pulled her inside out by pulling her own tail out her throat. Any human would.” “But we are not humans,” Luna defended. “Furthermore, as alicorns, allowing ourselves to succumb to our emotions to that point… There could be global consequences.” Barbara wasn’t convinced. “Please. I know you two are rulers of this country and all, but do you honestly think so highly of yourselves that you believe losing your cool could actually effect the whole planet?” Without looking up from the table, Luna answered, “You may believe what you wish, but that is exactly what happened just over one thousand years ago.” Chris got up from his seat and quickly made his way over to Luna and wrapped her up in his arms. Luna leaned into the embrace and thanked the creator that, despite her horrific errors in the past, she still had family that cared for her. After a few moments, Chris released his grip on his aunt and turned back to his human mother. “You need to understand, Mom, they’re more than just the leaders of this country, they command the heavens. They literally raise and lower the sun and moon. Luna here paints the night sky and can create meteor showers. I’ve seen sunsets created by Celestia that nearly made my heart stop… again. The three of us, Twilight, and Cadence are the only ones that can move mountains, change the weather, and revitalize the land, all at the same time. It’s an awesome responsibility that they both have had to deal with on a daily basis for over five thousand years. If they were to give in to their rage, nothing would survive. “Fine,” Steven said, “but anything that dangerous needs to be put down.” “I’m happy to say that you will not find many on Equus that share your views. Although, I personally still wouldn’t mind seeing her chained to a very large stone in Tartarus,” Celestia said with a huff. “However, Chris has convinced me that doing so would damn an entire species that is little more than her prisoners. So, against my better judgment, I agreed to his plan.” Celestia let out another huff. “Perhaps I do spoil him.” “Your plan is to free a predatory species? That’s like inviting lions into your home,” Steven pointed out. “Maybe,” Luna responded, “but griffons and minotaurs were once predators of ponies and now, not only are they our allies, but there have been many loving marriages between the different species.” “Ooh, speaking of loving marriages, I need to go. Fluttershy will be arriving at the train station soon and I need my cuddles,” Chris stood from his chair and gently flexed his wings in preparation for the flight before leaving. “Celestia, tell me about this Fluttershy our son is so fixated on,” Barbara requested. “I don’t think I’ve met anypony like her in all my centuries in this world. Her beauty is matched only by her grace. Most importantly, she is so sweet and caring that she is literally the living embodiment of kindness. After what happened with Roseluck, there are few I would even think of allowing to get close to my- our darling son.” “Wait, what happened with Roseluck, or whoever?” Celestia’s face contorted into one of pure rage and hatred. Seeing this, Luna answered, “Roseluck was Christopher’s first love. However, she began to care more for what being in a relationship with him could bring her rather than what was best for the both of them. She even went so far as to get herself impregnated and claim the foal was his.” “On his bucking birthday no less,” Celestia growled. “Yes, indeed. If it weren’t for Christopher being so level headed and caring, we would have happily banished her from Equestria.” Luna grinned, “He even set up a trust fund for the child to make sure it was properly cared for.” “Wow, really? Better man than me,” Steven said as he looked to the slowly closing doors. “Enough of this gloom and depressing atmosphere,” Celestia declared while standing from her chair. “Come, let’s go and meet your future daughter-in-law.” Meanwhile, Chris, having literally flipped out the nearest open window, was now gliding over the Whitetail Wood with Rocky, his pet squirrel, gliding alongside him. Rocky, having been rescued and cared for by Fluttershy until he was adopted by Chris. Since then, Rocky has been living it up in the palace gardens along with the other animals including Celestia’s pet phoenix, Philomena, and Luna’s opossum, Tiberius (or as she likes to call him, Tibbles). Thanks to Chris’s alicorn vision, he could clearly see Fluttershy climbing off the train, his cousin, Twilight Sparkle, by her side, struggling under the weight of her saddlebags. His heart went out to the little pegasus. Chris, like everypony that knew her, was familiar with the fact that although she was physically unimpressive, performance wise, her inner strength was without limit. Sadly, inner strength does nothing to lighten the weight of a dozen books. Chris had a clear, buttery target now and started his dive attack, his tiny wingpony close behind. He called out to his lover when he was a few dozen meters from the ground. She looked up, her smile broadened and her eyes watered a little in happiness. In an instant, Fluttershy shed her bags and rocketed into the air. Within a few seconds, she collided with the prince and started to cover him in kisses. The two floated there for several moments, with a squirrel flying rings around the pair. Once on the ground, Chris gave Fluttershy a firm kiss on the cheek, knowing that she would have been embarrassed by too much more affection. Besides, the sun would be setting eventually. Instead, he settled for nuzzling her impossibly soft and sweet-smelling fur. Fluttershy did the same, resting her head in the crook of his neck. Despite all the cooing and ‘dawww’s, Fluttershy’s ears perked at the sound of Celestia’s chariot touching down nearby. Within the chariot was, of course, Celestia, along with Steven and Barbara. The new comers made Fluttershy shrink. The change in her composure caught Chris’s attention and he turned to see what caused it. “Mom! Dad! … and Mom. I’m surprised to see you here.” Chris carefully set Fluttershy down onto the ground, though she kept constant contact between her shoulder and his thigh. “Come on, there’s somepony I want you to meet.” The other humans approached, heads twisting to take in their new environs. Places as lively and green as Ponyville are not as common as they should be back on Earth. No one seemed to notice the look of terror on Twilight’s face. Chris may have forgiven her for bringing him here, but did his parents even know? What would they do if they did? “Fluttershy, this is Steven and Barbara. They’re my parents. Mom, Dad, this is Fluttershy. She’s my fiancé.” “I-It’s nice t-to meet you,” Fluttershy managed to stammer out as she held up a hoof in greeting. Steven stood there staring at the hoof while Barbara kept looking from Chris to Fluttershy, her mouth opening and closing silently. Fluttershy started to get more and more nervous as she tried to hide within her mane, hoof slowly dropping back to the ground. Finally, unable to take the silence anymore, Chris spoke up. “What’s wrong? Say something you two.” “Is this a joke?” Steven ask, his voice a growl. “W-what do you mean?” “She’s a horse.” Barbara nodded in agreement with her husband. Fluttershy whimpered and curled into a ball, trying to make herself as small as possible, her eyes filling with tears. Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Spike where glaring at the new humans. However, the others, who were magically inclined, found their attention being drawn to source of magic that was rising exponentially. Chris’s vision was going red.