//------------------------------// // Prologue (edited) // Story: A Parents Legacy // by Lunar Flarion //------------------------------// The sun shining brightly in the middle of the sky. The town of Ponyville, for the most part, was awake. Today wasn’t a normal day, however, for a very important event was happening. Near the edge of the Everfree forest was a wedding, the wedding of two rare creatures, one native to the Everfree, the other, the badlands. The reason this wedding was important was the fact that these two dangerous creatures would be bound together. Normally, this wedding would pass unnoticed by the two Royal Sisters and the Elements of Harmony, but this wedding provided Celestia, the eldest sister, raiser of the sun, and co-ruler of Equestria, a chance to make these two accept an agreement which would promote the safety of her subjects. The edge of the Everfree was more alive than ever before. Most of the town was gathered here to witness the binding of these two creatures. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were looking over the sweets and buffet. Why Applejack? Well, she had to keep Pinkie from eating the sweets. Rainbow Dash stood guard at the entrance, making sure that ponies didn’t do or bring anything dangerous into the wedding. Fluttershy was with the CMC, helping them prepare for the opening ceremony of the wedding. She had a small squirrel stand next to her as she explained what they were supposed to do. Twilight and Rarity both had their hooves full as they were getting the creature from the Badlands ready for her big day. Her name was Viper Pit, and she was a scorpion pony. Her mane was purple and her coat was a candy-colored purple. Her eyes were blue with the inner pupil being a darker shade of the color. She was sitting on top of a pedestal as Rarity did her mane. Twilight, Nurse Redheart, and Lyra stood by and watched as the seamstress worked her magic! Both literally and figuratively! Nurse Red Heart stood slightly forward than the others, a medical bag clenched in by both of her hooves. She was a bridesmaid, asked by little Miss. Viper (soon to be Mrs. Light) personally to attend. Viper said that if she stung or bit anypony that she would like medical assistance as soon as possible. Even though Viper’s sting couldn’t actually kill anypony here, other than the CMC, since they are near twice the size of her. With the way Viper is acting now, she stepped forward slightly, since the little scorpion mare’s tail was swinging back and forth quickly, which was a funny sight to see while she was being held in Rarity’s magical grasp. The scorpion pony was giddy and excited, this was something she had been waiting for ever since she left her pack to find a mate. Though she felt dread when she heard that she was going to have to wear something called “shoes”. The little pony was already in her dress, which had been quite difficult for the others since she didn’t want to wear one. When Rarity tried to get Viper to stay still so she could put it on her, Viper would hiss, swing her tail, and sometimes try to bite the hooves that would grab her. Finally, after both Twilight and Lyra offered to feed her their magic, Rarity finally got the dress on her. At first, she started to bite at it, but thanks to Rarity, she stopped it. The dress was a normal white wedding dress, but in the center of it was a lovely pink flower. A bow would’ve been put in her hair but Viper wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice. “So Viper, how are you feeling darling~?” Rarity asked as she combed her hair. Viper shuffled uncomfortably in the dress, ”Happy, nervous, hungry, and itchy.” Rarity raised an eyebrow,”Itchy?” “It’s this dress!” Viper replied as she gave her best pouty face. “Oh hush! Soon you’ll be married and then you can get out of the dress!” Rarity said as she put the comb down. “Good!” Viper huffed as she jumped down from the stool. Viper landed with a small thud as Rarity walked over to grab a pair of high heels she had made for her. Twilight and Lyra struck up a friendly chat while Nurse Red Heart sat down in a nearby chair. “What are those?” Viper asked upon seeing the white shoes. “These are high heels!” Rarity exclaimed happily, holding them up like a certain green video game character does when they find an item. Viper glared flaming daggers at the shoes, she didn’t like them, they didn’t look comfortable, nor did they smell right. “Okay dearie, hold still while I put these on you!” Rarity said, walking slowly and evenly to Viper. “Why do I half to wear shoes!?” Viper huffed. “Because, and I don’t want to mock you dearie, but you are rather... short...” Rarity replied Viper huffed loudly at that response, either way, she wouldn’t be wearing stilts today, tomorrow, or ever! She tried to bolt sideways as Rarity grabbed her with her magic. ‘Hopefully Ace is fairing better than I am!’ Rarity thought as she brought Viper back to the chair. “How do I look?” Strings asked Cutter. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a dark blue tie. Stringy was a dark blue stallion with no eyes. His hair was a light blue with a black stripe running down the center of it. His normal hooves were replaced with his steel claws. Strings looked normal except for the eyes, but on the inside, he was mostly filled with steel cables and wiring. His original name was lost to time but he found satisfaction with the name String Theory, or just simply Strings or Stringy. “You look normal!” Cutter replied with a confident yet jokester-esk smile. “Heh... thanks...” Strings replied,” Do you think I could wear my sunglasses?” Cutter rolled his eyes as he said,” Strings, everpony from here to the next planet knows that you don’t have any eyes!” “Bloop!” Stringy said as he dropped the sunglasses over his eyes. “Hey! No! Get those off!” Cutter said, walking over to the stallion. “What are you gonna do short guy? Jump?” Stringy replied. In truth, Cutter was 6 feet 2 inches, while Stringy was 6 foot 6 inches. “I’m warning ya!” “What are you gonna do? Fight me?” Stringy asked with a smirk. “Not here I won’t! I can kick your plot later!” Cutter replied with a similar smirk. A period of silence fell upon the two. Ace stared into Strings’s eyes and Strings did the same. Within a few seconds, the two of them burst out laughing. Stringy removed the sunglasses from his face and put them on the table next to him. That was one of the reasons why Cutter was Stringy’s best man. Before Stringy was properly settled into town, Cutter and is brother Tattered Moon stopped by. Apparently, Strings was known as a top priority target in Canterlot, which caused Cutter to attack him. To make a long story short, Cutter got his butt kicked easily. Who knew that swords couldn’t cut through steel cables? As their laughter died down Cutter looked around, searching for his brother. “Where did he go?” Cutter asked as he began to search every dark corner of the room. “Who, Tattered Moon?” Strings asked, looking over at the unicorn stallion with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, he up and went. I don’t know where he is.” Cutter pouted as he crossed his hooves. Strings felt a breath touch the back of his neck. With a soft sigh, he replied,” I think I do...” “Really where-” Cutter was cut off as Strings turned around quickly and grabbed an orange figure by the collar of his tuxedo. “There you are~.” Strings hummed as he gave the pegasus a metal noggie. “O-ow! Hey! Stop!” Tattered begged as he tried to escape the vice grip. “Kid,” Strings started as he let him go,” Get out of the shadows! The light ain’t gonna hurt you!” Tattered grumbles something under his breath as he looked over at his brother. “Ah jeez!” Tattered said as he looked over at the clock,” String Theory, you need to be out there right now!” “Dang! You’re right,” Stringy said, he extends both of his metallic cable forelegs and grabs the two stallions. They walk out the door and into the aisle. .: At The Alter:. Stringy stood stalk still as he waited for his soon to be wife to walk up the aisle. He remembered how it all started as a simple hunt, prey against a predator. ~Flashback~ The hot air of the desert wasteland blew around Stringy as he sat on top of a sand dune. He had been tracking a small, weird looking “filly” that had left a large group of ones that look similar to her. He was stalking her not only to see what she would do and the like but to take the gem that was in between her pincers. Right now, the “filly” had found the entrance to his native territory, the Everfree Forest. He had high hopes that she would enter it, if she did, she would be in his playing field. Why hasn’t he just killed her? Where would the fun in that be? He loved the thrill of the hunt, but he also loved stalking his prey, making them go insane before he got to them. He had been tracking the “filly” for a week now, every once in a while, she would sleep, which allowed him to do the same. He didn’t need to, but it was an essential need that kept his skills sharp. He remembered that he had overheard something the “filly” told the others in the group, something about “being grown up” and the like, she said a number, but he was sure what it meant. ‘Come on, enter the forest...” He thought impatiently. The “filly” had been looking at the forest entrance for an hour now, it was as if she was in stasis. He decided to wait another hour to see if she will move. If she didn’t, he’ll end his hunt right then and there. *Hour ticks by* Still no movement. ‘GRAAAH!’ Stringy thought angrily,’ Move dangit!’ He couldn’t help it anymore, that “filly” was messing with him and he wanted her out of the picture... now. He jumped off of the sand dune and began to walk towards her. He retracted his normal hooves and replaced them with his metallic claws. He was barefoot at the time as well and soon, his back hooves meet the same fate as his hooves, replaced by metal. He was in striking distance of the filly, his footsteps grew heavier and heavier. He didn’t care if he was making any noise, all he cared about was that the sand became softer and less dense than before. He had a sinking feeling that this was a trap, that somehow, through all the ways he has hidden, this little runt knew that he was following her. Closing in on the target, his desert camo, which was a sandy yellow cape, shirt, and pants, blew in the wind as he raised his arm. It was like time slowed as he brought his claw down onto what looked like the “filly”. He heard a sicking crunch as his claw slammed down the lower half of the... changeling’s body? “WHAT?!” Stringy exclaimed as he moved backward slightly, his hoof covered in a sticky blue substance. “RAWR!” A female roar echoed to the side of Stringy. He looked over to see what made it, only to have something light purple, much bigger filly stabbing his neck with two sharp objects. Each strike hit him fast, but he didn’t feel any of it. He reached up and pulled the runt off of his face and threw her back onto the ground... hard. He reached up and felt the five to six brand new puncture holes in his neck, each one oozing a dark green liquid. He heard the scorpion-like creature whimper and growl as she tried to stand up. Her right leg was bent at an awkward angle and her tail had a crack in it. “O-ow,” she mumbled as she limped towards the large stallion. “F-fea-ar m-me!” The filly groaned as she tried to sting him again. When she did so a sharp pain ran up her spine,”O-OW!” The filly stopped stinging his leg and resorted to biting it. At that moment, Stringy released how much she wanted to kill him, his urge to kill her faded quickly as she continued to nibble on his leg with the ferocity of a small cat. What he admired most was that she was a child and took a throw like that, only to get back up and fight like it bearly affected her. Really, her biting barely hurt, or at least it would have if he didn’t feel any pain. “Kid,” Strings crossed his forelegs as he looked down at her,” Stop, you’re getting nowhere with this.” *Nibbling intensifies* “Alright, have it you’re way than!” Strings growled as he used his magic to pick her up. The filly stopped her assault on his leg and turned to bite the air, then quickly stopped as she saw she wasn’t biting anything. He then trotted home with the creature as she floated behind him, he heard angry clicks and her ways of cursing him with some ancient curse and the like, he soon tuned her out in favor of ways to treat the injuries he had caused her. * Sometime later* “-And that's why you don’t attack a Wendigo with a frost sword.” Stringy had concluded his story with a light chuckle. “What is a windigo?” The filly or more accurate, small scorpion pony mare asked. She was wrapped in a black blanket near the open fire. Her tail was in a cast and her leg in a splint. The reason for the splint is because Strings ran out of gauze to use. “Well, a Windigo is a creature of ice and snow that was once a pony. They turned into that creature because they ate another pony,” Stringy summed up,” A Wendigo is a creature if Ice and snow, but it feeds on hatred.” Viper Pit only nodded as she drank warm water from a widdled wooden cup. “What’s snow...” Stringy thought for a moment, as he thought of how he would describe it to a desert creature. “Well,” Stringy said,” It’s like sand, but it’s denser, white, it can fall from the sky, and it’s really cold.” “Oh... I still don’t get it.” The two sat there for a moment. Complete silence surrounded them. Until Stringy broke it with his laughter. “W-WHAT!?” Viper asked as she dropped her cup. “Y-you’re just too innocent for this world kid,” Stringy said as he wiped a tear from his eye. His laughter died down as Viper tried to argue back that she wasn’t. Stringy just wavered her off and continued what he had said from earlier. “Still, that isn’t the only beast I’ve killed and I’m sure that I'll kill more as time goes on!” “You look experienced with hunting...” “Eh,” Stringy shook his hoof slightly,” I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I think that I’m an amazing bounty hunter... Except I don’t get a bounty.” “What do you hunt?” “Anything really. I hunted dragons that became a problem once before.” “Really?” Viper said as she looked over the stallion,” I haven’t seen your kind in action, but I don’t think you can take on a dragon!” “Yeah, well, I’m not like most of my kind. To prove it to you I think I have a dragon’s head around here somewhere.” Stringy said as he stood up and stretched. He walked over to a tree and hit it. The tree made a loud thunking noise as it opened up. Inside was a dragon skull, complete with horns. “WOAH!” Viper said as she looked at the skull with amazement. “Caught this guy stalking the Everfree hunting for a Phoenix! To bad I got to him first!” Stringy replied as his hoof tapped the dragon’s horn. “H-how did you kill it? You don’t have a stinger!” “You’re right! I don’t! I just used my bare hooves!” Stringy replied as his metallic claws came out and began to open and close. The mare giggled a little as Stringy sat back down. He rubbed the back of his neck as he stared out into the woods. Another long silence fell on them, the sounds of the forest echoed throughout their little campsite. ‘I’ve had enough silence for the day...’ Stringy thought. He looked over at the mare who had downed another glass of warm water. “What are you doing out here, kid?” He asked. Viper stopped her long drink and put her cup down onto the rough forest landscape.”I’m looking for a mate! I am to become an alpha mare!” Stringy gave her the most deadpan of all deadpan looks. He raised a finger and pointed at her,” Kid... I know you little guys dream the universe and all... but you look far to young for a... mate!” “What are you talking about! I’m twenty-six! I’m an adult!” Viper argued back, she gave Stringy a pouty face. “Twenty-six? You look like your five!” Stringy exclaimed with a smile. “ARE YOU CALLING ME SHORT?!” Viper shouted back. “No!” Stringy exclaimed louder as his smile grew larger. “Well, I need to find a mate! My heat is coming soon! It’s almost rainy season!” Viper spat, both at Stringy and into his cup. “Ugh... well, how long does your little heat last?” Strings asked, hoping to stir away from this topic. “Three days!” “That’s it? Three days? No wonder you want to get a mate, if it only lasts that long...” “Hmpf!” Viper replied as she curled up underneath the blanket. “Tell you what. How about we head to a town I know. Maybe you can find a mate there!” Stringy said as he started to get comfortable on the ground. ‘And maybe find a book on your species...’ “...” Viper said nothing, for she has already fallen asleep. "Yeah, yeah, see you in the morning...” .: End of Flashback:. The music started up and Stringy was knocked out of his flashback to witness his soon to be wife walking up the aisle. He must have missed the flower girls since rose petals were scattered around the path. The small light purple mare walked up the aisle with a slight glare on her muzzle. He knew this look, she was trying to hide her emotions. He remembers many moments of which she broke this look, one moment, however, stood above the rest. The first time the two went on a date. :.’Nother Flashback.: “I didn’t know your kind doesn’t live to for that long... 40 years? That is short...” Stringy said. “You seem sad...” Viper replied as she walked beside him. “Well, it’s just... you don’t have a full life as I can. You don’t get to see the world or live happily without the thought of early decay. That’s sad... even for a monster like me.” Stringy looked down at her. He was wearing his sunglasses that day since he didn’t want to scary anypony... yet. Stringy had picked up a book from the Golden Oaks Library with the only annoyance being Twilight Sparkle. Right now, Stringy was showing Viper around the park, showing her where the pond is, and stuff like that. Some ponies gave the two an odd look but they looked away upon seeing the glare from Stringy. The two walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. They chatted about random stuff that came to mind, both at peace in this setting. However, that peace faded away when two younger boys walk up to them but had a look of bad intent on their faces. “What is that thing?” One of the brats says disgusted, pointing an accusing finger at Viper. “Yeah, looks like somepony got it out of the trash!” The other snickered as he motioned to Stringy. “Hey! Leave him alone!” Viper countered, she stood up and pointed her tail at them. “Or what? You can’t do anything! Your just a wild animal!” The white colt said as he gave her a mocking laugh. “H-hey!” “I bet she rolls in the dirt like one too!” The brown one snickered. “I-I’m-!” Viper tried to counter, but she began to tear up. She sniffed softly as she tried her best to look like a threat. She failed and soon curled up into a tiny ball of tears. “I bet-!” The little brat stopped as the large stallion stood up. “Listen,” Stringy said in a low and dangerous tone,” I want you two brats to apologize to her, and to scram.” The white colt snickered,” What are you gonna do, old man?” Without a word, Strings grabs the colt’s collar and lifts him up so that they were face to face. The boy squirmed in Stringy's grasp, he even hit the stallions forelegs and chest, and on time punched him in the face. Though no of the punches affected him, he pulled the boy closer so that they could look each other in the eyes. “It doesn’t matter what I’m gonna do...” Strings said as he reached up to grab his sunglasses,” It only matters how long it’s gonna take me.” With a quick motion, Strings removes his sunglasses and showed the colt that he had no eyes. “A-AH! W-WHAT ARE YOU!?” he screamed, his friend had ran away when he saw the stallion approach. “Doesn’t matter,” Strings said,”Now, I warned you to scram yet it appears that your ego is so big it weighed your body down a little. I’m gonna let you down, and if you don’t leave in three seconds... well, Tartarus is a lovely vacation spot this year, and I just so happen to have a ticket.” To say the colt screamed like a filly would be an understatement, the kid screamed like a banshee. Strings dropped the kid as he let off a haunting laugh roaring into the wind that he was going to give the kid a bad time. The colt ran back to where he came from, he yelled for his mother as he booked it to the other side of the park. Stringy turned back to look at Viper, who had slowly stopped sobbing. For once he could feel his dead heart beat a single beat. He was surprised at first, his heart would never beat for anyone, none could do it... but Viper did. Viper had buried her muzzle into her forelegs as she growled. She couldn’t understand why the colts made her feel bad, she was the alpha mare! She was in control... or was she? She began to wonder how to find a way to fight it, to make sure she wouldn’t feel this way anymore. She would’ve thought more, but two gentle hooves picked her up. She opened her eyes as she looked at the Stringy’s face. He pulled her close and gave her a hug. She wrapped her tail around his arm and cried into his chest. She hated being treated like a child... but for some unknown reason, she liked it when he did. Then it hit her, she was on the look for a mate, somepony who was strong and could easily defend both of them. She thought she would have to go on a long and dangerous journey to find him. But... she didn’t have to wonder anymore, she was being held by him. :.End of Flashback.: Stringy looked down as Viper stood beside him. her hair was wavy and she was slightly taller. ‘Is she wearing high heels?’ Stringy mentally asked,’She’s pouting right now, she is defientintly wearing high heels.’ “Ladies and Gentlecolts! It is time!” a female voice started in rhyme,” We gather here today to greet this new couple! Even though they have caused some trouble~. They gave us pause when they asked to be wed and share a home with a new bed! The couples have written their own vows and with a bow I let them speak!” Silence hung still over the alter as Zecora cleared her throat,” String Theory, do you take Viper Pit as your wedded wife?” Stringy didn’t miss a heartbeat,” I do.” Zecora nodded, she then turned to Viper and asked,” Viper Pit, do you take String Theory as your new wedded husband?” “Yes,” Viper replied simply. Zecora and a few ponies tried to hide their laughter, which confused the small mare slightly. When Zecora was finally able to talk normally again, she said,” Will you two protect this town from evil and protect the ponies within?” “Yes,” Viper and Stringy both said at the same time. Viper thought next to nothing of it, but Stringy mentally glared at Celestia. “I now pronounce you Mare and Stallion!” Zecora said happily.