//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: A Monstrous Family Reunion // by drnkntst //------------------------------// Chapter 7 It had been a month since Chris’s parents had gotten settled into their new villa and they were still getting used to having a staff to take care of their every need. Fortunately for them, Dust Bunny made frequent visits to insure the staff wasn’t slacking off or taking advantage of their employers’ unwillingness to give them orders. Bunny took her career seriously and she took her responsibility to the prince even more seriously. With this much time passed, it was almost time to get the final preparations for the wedding ready. There was still plenty of time, but in situations as important as combining two souls together forever, it didn’t hurt to leave room for error. Still, Steven was making great strides in his weight loss efforts and Barbara looked ten years younger without the stress of people accusing her of a horrible crime that never even happened. If things kept progressing at this rate, Rarity and Fancy Pants would have to make serious alterations on their attire for the wedding. Fluttershy, in an attempt to get closer to her future in-laws, had taken Barbara and Steven for a walk through Whitetail Woods. They were walking along the same path used for the running of the leaves every year so they wouldn’t get lost nor run into any unknown of the horrible monsters one might find in the Everfree. Still, Chris and Rainbow Dash were following them, unseen upon their cloud hideout, just in case. “So you can really talk to all these animals?” Steven asked. He was thankful that walks like this didn’t put a strain on him like they had in the past. “Oh, yes. It’s my special talent.” “Special talent, huh?” “Mmhmm. Didn’t anypony tell you? Every pony has a special talent and when they discover it, we earn our cutie marks. Twilight’s is magic, Pinkie’s is making ponies happy, Rainbow Dash’s is her incredible flying, Rarity’s is finding the beauty hidden in anything, Applejack’s is farming, which also relates to her incredible strength, and mine is talking with animals. “Interesting. It doesn’t work that way with humans.” “Oh, Chris told me about that. Humans don’t get cutie marks. That must make things incredibly difficult for you.” Without thinking about it, Barbara reached out and placed her hand on Fluttershy’s head in a reassuring fashion. “It’s alright, Fluttershy. We humans are very adaptive. We make it work.” “That’s good,” Fluttershy said with a big smile on her face. “Looks like things are going well,” Chris said. “*Snrrt*... huh? Wha…? Oh,… yeah,” Rainbow replied. “You know, you can just go take a nap if you want to.” “No, no. I want to be here. For Fluttershy. She deserves to be happy and I won’t let anyone get in the way of that. “You’re a good friend,” Chris rubbed her head, mussing up her already unkempt mane. “But maybe you should wipe the drool of your chin.” She did so, with a blush. “Just shut up and watch them,” she growled. “Yes, ma’am.” Chris turned back to watch his loved ones below. “Though it seems like we got worried over no- wait. What’s that?” he pointed at a few shadows moving through the trees. Rainbow followed his gaze. “Trouble.” With a stomp of her hoof, the cloud was gone and they were hurdling through the sky. It only took a few seconds for the two of them to reach the ground, but they instantly took defensive positions between the humans and Fluttershy and whatever was approaching them from the thick brush. Chris raised a shield around them just in case something got past the two of them. “Chris!? Rainbow?!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “What’s happening?” “Not sure,” Chris replied as he picked up a fallen limb and quickly stripped it of twigs and leaves. “We saw something coming this way and we couldn’t tell what.” “Yeah, but don’t worry. We got this,” Rainbow added. “Oh, I hope you don’t have to hurt any little furry critters,” Fluttershy said. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, I promise we’ll be gentle,” Chris assured her. The rustling was getting louder now. “Get ready, Dash.” The two lowered themselves into a fighting stance and prepared themselves for an attack. The bushes were rustling more and more as beads of sweat formed on their foreheads. Steven and Barbara’s worry for their son grew as each second ticked by. “Ah’m tellin’ ya’ll, the trail is right through he-whoa!” Apple Bloom crashed through the bushes only to dive back in. “Wait, Chris? Rainbow Dash?” Both Chris and Dash deflated in relief, the shield dropping instantly. “For crying out loud!” Rainbow groaned. “Get out of those bushes you guys.” Five fouls crawled out of the bushes, the CMC, Dinky Doo, and Nature Walk. They all walked over to the adults. Chris lowered himself to the ground and sat cross-legged, Dinky crawled into his lap. “What were you all doing out here?” Chris asked while he scratched Dinky behind her ear. “You scared us half to death.” “We’re sorry,” Sweetie Bell apologized. “We were trying to help Dinky get her cutie mark in forestry. Nature Walk is here because that’s what her cutie mark is in and we thought she could help,” Scootaloo added as she approached Rainbow Dash, who ruffled her mane. “We aren’t in trouble are we?” Nature Walk asked. “No, of course you’re not,” Fluttershy assured her with a nuzzle. “You just startled us is all.” “Chris, who are these kids?” Barbara asked, kneeling next to him. “This here is Dinky Doo, adorable daughter of Ponyville’s own mailmare, Derpy Hooves. This little lady over here is Nature Walk. And I think you‘ve already met Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “I think so,” Steven replied, “if only for a short time. Dinky sure seems to like you though.” Dinky nodded and smiled. “Mmhmm. The prince saved my life.” “I wouldn’t go that far. All I did was fly you down from Cloudsdale and give you back to your mommy.” “Why were you separated from your mommy?” Barbara asked. “Tirek,” Rainbow answered flatly. “Tirek was stealing magic from ponies throughout Equestria. The pegasi in the cloud city of Cloudsdale were forced to abandon the city and stick to the ground. Dinky had been taken up there by Derpy and was forced to stay in a box. Derpy couldn’t get her down when Tirek attacked.” “I don’t understand,” Steven said. “Why was she stuck in a box?” “Only Pegasus ponies can walk on clouds,” Dinky told him. “If she got out of her box, she would have fallen out of the sky,” Chris tussled Dinky’s mane. “But she’s fine now. She and her mommy, Miss Derpy, live happily in town.” “Well that’s good then,” Barbara said as she scratched Dinky under her chin. “Why didn’t you tell us you were an honest to goodness hero, son?” Steven asked. “I’m no hero. I mean, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy here have saved the world I don’t know how many times and you don’t hear them bragging about it, which is saying something in Rainbow’s case.” “Hey!” “I was just happy to help.” Chris held Dinky to his chest and stood up. “Come on, girls, I’ll give you a lift back to town.” Chris formed a bubble around the fillies and spread his wings. He was halfway through his first flap when he stopped and turned back to Fluttershy. He gave her a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll see you later, Flutters.” Chris then took to the skies, children in tow. “So, you guys enjoying your nature walk?” Rainbow asked. “Oh, yes,” Fluttershy answered for them. “We have met so many furry friends.” “Yeah, still getting used to all these animals understanding us. I don’t know how Chris did this for sixteen years,” Barbara said. “Probably helped having the ruler of the whole country playing mother to him,” Steven said. “Yeah, right,” Rainbow scoffed. “Poor guy couldn’t even leave the grounds without being hidden inside a carriage or something.” “It’s easy to see why,” Fluttershy defended. “Even you tried to fight him when you first saw him.” “What?” Steven growled. “Whoa, whoa. Relax there big guy,” Rainbow held her hooves out in front of her in a placating gesture. “Chris whooped my flank easily. He whooped all of us, actually, and still managed to protect Flutters.” “Why the hell were you fighting my son?” Barbara asked. Her voice laced with agitation. “Oh, that’s because we thought he was trying to eat our little sisters,” Rainbow answered without even registering the anger. “Man, was the princess mad. If it weren’t for Twilight’s shield, I think Celestia might have actually killed me. And Twilight didn’t let us off easy either.” “Why would Twilight care if the rest of you were fighting with Chris?” Steven asked. “Because Twilight considers Chris to be her cousin,” Fluttershy answered. “Her and her whole family consider Chris to be one of their own. I’ve heard that Shining Armor would play with him and protect him from other ponies who teased him. Twilight’s parents even celebrated birthdays with Chris every year.” “Hmm… well, I guess it’s good to know that at least our son was cared for and loved while he was here,” Barbara said. “Though I would have preferred to watch him grow with my own eyes.” “Hey, don’t worry about that,” Rainbow said as she hovered above the ground in a reclined position. “The way Chris and Flutters here are into each other, you’ll have a grandfoal to spoil in no time at all.” Ignoring the ‘eep’ and the science, Barbara said, “Well, that’s something to look forward to, I suppose.” “I just hope they’re holding off until after the wedding to bear children,” Steven added. “Um, w-w-we are. I do want foals, and so does Chris, but he wants to be responsible, too,” Fluttershy answered, hidden by her mane. “Good, I’m glad to hear our boy is a smart one,” Steven puffed his chest out a little with pride. “Now, we should probably get back to town before it gets dark.” Some time later, the humans and pegasi found their way to Twilight’s palace. Right around the same time the party was reaching the few steps that led up to Twilight’s door, Chris touched down. He greeted them before he scooped Fluttershy up in his arms and nuzzled the giggling mare, who he then draped over his shoulder like half a cape. “You two are adorable,” Barbara said, causing Fluttershy to blush and Chris to smile. “Though I’ll admit, I’m still finding all of this as surreal.” “Yeah, same here,” Steven added. “But, I’m starting to dig it.” The door opened and Spike stuck his head out. “Are you guys coming in or are you going to just stand out here chatting all day?” “Oh, hello, Spike,” Fluttershy said from her perch. “Hey, Fluttershy. If you’re going to stay for a bit, I’ll make you some tea.” “Ooh, that sounds lovely. Thank you.” As they entered, passing Spike, Barbara commented, “He certainly is a helpful little guy, isn’t he.” Chris answered, “Well he is Twilight’s number one assistant.” As the group progressed further into the palace, following Spike’s directions, they found themselves in the dining room. The table was surrounded by Twilight, Rarity, and Dust Bunny. Spread across the table was photos, catalogues, and the Equestrian equivalent of the yellow pages. They were having a quiet, but heated discussion. “…and I know for a fact that neither of them would want anything nearly this grand,” Twilight was saying. “Yes, I understand that, Darling, but we are talking about the crowned prince and future princess of Equestria. Surely we cannot expect them to simply exchange their vows in the local courthouse,” Rarity argued. “Then you don’t know the crownedprince as well as you think,” Bunny said with venom in her voice. “Chris has always hated anything formal.” “That’s right. He’s only ever worn his crown I think two times,” Twilight added. “The gleam hurts my eyes,” Chris joked from the entryway. He approached the table and gently set Fluttershy down in one of the chairs that surrounded it. His parents following them in. “Oh my, you are all working so hard on this,” Fluttershy praised. “And it all looks lovely.” A tiny voice asked, “But is it what you want?” A dragonfly landed on Fluttershy’s nose. “Hey, Willow,” Chris said. “Didn’t see you there.” “That is how I was designed. Sneaky, sneaky,” she jokingly hissed. Chris held out his hand and Willow climbed on. He then lifted her up to his shoulder where she perched after changing into a parrot. “Yeah, yeah. So, what are you girls planning for me?” “Both of you, actually,” Twilight said. “I know how you are about formal events, and we figured who would know Fluttershy better than us?” “Her parents,” Chris teased with a smirk. “Anyway,” Twilight huffed. “We got together and threw together some ideas.” “What’ve you got?” Barbara asked. Rarity slid over some sheets of parchment. “Here are some design ideas I’ve come up with for your dress, dear.” “My, these are lovely,” Fluttershy gasped. “Christopher, Fancy Pants sent over these designs for you.” Chris thanked her as he took the sheets. “The royal palace will be sending over some of their best chefs,” Bunny said. “Plus, Applejack and the Cakes will be providing desserts,” Twilight added. “They even said they’d do it for free if Pumpkin and Pound get to be ring bearer and flower girl.” “Those two foals get anything they want from me,” Chris confirmed. “But what about Fluffy Butt? What will she do?” “She’ll be with me,” Bunny stated. “I’ll be combing through the details, making sure everything is perfect. Iron Hammer is already working on the rings and will be standing by with the guards in case… undesirables show up.” “Please make sure my name is at the top of guest list,” Chris joked. “What about you?” Chris asked as he scratched the parrot’s head. “*Rawt* Undercover surveillance,” She answered with a bit of play acting. “Excellent. What about the revenue? Where are we doing this thing?” “Well,” Twilight started, “your mother wants to hold the ceremony in the banquet hall, that way there’ll be plenty of room for all the guests.” No one else in the room noticed Fluttershy shiver, except for the only human with wings. Chris reached down and scratched Fluttershy behind the ear, making her lean into his hand and hum. “Alright. Ladies, we both appreciate all the hard work you’ve done here, but may I make a few suggestions?” “Of course. It is your wedding after all,” Bunny answered. “Great. And Flutters, feel free to chip in at any time. I would suggest, instead of the palace, let’s have the ceremony here, in Ponyville. Something small, quiet, just friends and relatives. Max, one hundred heads. There’s plenty of room around town, we can even use the town hall like Cranky and Matilda. Heck, for all I care, we can do it in AJ’s barn. The only thing that matters is that I get to be hitched with the most beautiful pegasus on Eques. “Mmhmm, I agree. Though I would rather be married to you than a beautiful pegasus,” Fluttershy giggled. “Aww, thanks, honey,” Chris smiled as he leaned in and kissed her on her forehead. “That’s so sweet,” Barbara said. “You know, your father and I were married on the lake. We couldn’t afford the local chapel.” Steven reached out and took his wife’s hand in his. “And it was the happiest day of my life.” “What about the day I was born?” Chris asked. “No, that was the most terrifying day. We had absolutely no idea what we were doing.” “None,” Barbara agreed, “but we were going to do our best.” “Hey, I got no complaints,” Chris said. “Alright, this is sweet and all, but we really need to figure out these plans,” Willow ordered from her perch, no longer going with the parrot routine. “You know, for your wedding?” “You’re right, you’re right,” Chris held his hands up in mock surrender. “Hoof me that catalog.”