//------------------------------// // Together Again // Story: Tails of Fate // by CroisSunnyPlay //------------------------------// Tails of Fate CHAPTER FIVE - TOGETHER AGAIN ((Third Person)) Canterlot Castle, Throne Room Tails and Luna stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, ignoring the confused questions of the others in the room. The world fell away from them, and in that moment, there was no Fox or Pony Princess. Only father and daughter reunited. Tails wrapped his arms around Luna- no, around Melissa, faintly noticing how her horn lighted up and she got steadily smaller as she hugged him back. In a few moments, he was holding a small filly in his arms, but he didn't care. His little girl was alive, she was here! "D-daddy..." He heard her sob, and couldn't hold it in anymore. His let his tears flow for the first time in eight hundred years. "Shhh, it's okay sweetie... Daddy's here..." He started petting her mane gently, slowly and surely stopping her sobs. The two held each other tightly, in fear that if they let go the other would just disappear in thin air. The others in the room watched as he started whispering comforting words to her, unsure of how to process the scene in front of them. Well, everypony except Pinkie and, surprisingly, Rarity, who were sharing a box of tissues as they cried at the 'beautiful and touching moment' that was happening. Princess Celestia, a little confused herself, decided to approach the duo and get some much needed answers. "Luna?" Opening her eyes after a moment, it a minute for Luna to process the position she was currently in. Tails just watched in amusement as she squeaked, finally noticing the others in the room staring at her before she started flailing on his grip. "Dad, let me go!" Tails merely chuckled- something he also hasn't done in a long time- and rose an eyebrow. "Why? Is my little moon princess embarrassed of hugging her daddy in front of her friends?" "Daaaaad!" Luna squeaked out with a deep blush. This caused the others to chuckle, despite the situation. Slowly, the tension in the room drained, and as Tails decided to climb and sit atop the Master Emerald with Luna on his lap (who was still blushing a lot), the others approached and started asking questions, but where silenced when Tails rose a hand calmly. "Before I answer anything, can I ask for a small favor?" Princess Celestia thought for a moment. It didn't seem like he would ask for much, so she didn't see a reason to say no. "Very well, as long it's reasonable, we'll see what we can do." Tails nodded and pointed out fhe window. "I rescued a young colt on my way here, and he's currently hiding in the train station. Can you send someone to fetch him?" With a nod, Celestia called for one of her guards and sent him to retrieve Pip. With that done, the questions began. Especially from a certain purple Alicorn, who was apparently writing down everything about him. Tails politely incinerated the parchment asked that she refrain from writing anything. He understood her, he was an undocumented species of intelligent creature after all, but it still made him a little uncomfortable. Which was surprising to him, since he too was partly a scientist himself. Where do you think his staffs came from? Throughout it all, Tails refused to let go of Luna, much to the embarrassment of the small princess. Though there was a question that has been burning in his mind ever since they embraced, and as soon as the questions slowed, he decided to ask it. "Melissa, how did you get to Equestria?" The others leaned in, interested to hear that too. She took a moment to organize her thoughts before answering. "I'm... Not really sure, Dad. First, I was in a lot of pain, then everything slowly faded to dark. Then suddenly a bright white light filled my vision, from everywhere at once. There was this voice telling me to not cry, that I would see you again... And then I started falling. I fell for a long time, I don't know how much, it seemed like an eternity. Next thing I know I'm waking up as a little foal with Celestia. I never forgot about you, even when I became Nightmare Moon..." "Wait, so that commotion I heard in my castle some years ago was you and those six?" Tails asked in confusion. "Well... Yes, but by that time I was only staying in character. Nightmare and I actually became friends after a few months in the moon. She was like the little sister I always wanted. She even taught me a time spell to jump forward in time so I wouldn't have to wait long for our return. She's actually sleeping in the back of my mind right now and... Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Tails looked up to find that yes, Celestia and the others were staring at Luna with wide eyes. He took a few guesses as to why that was, but didn't really need to. "So..." Began Rainbow. "You weren't stuck in the moon for a thousand years?" Luna rolled her eyes. "Well, duh! I don't think my sanity would agree with that." "And the Elements did not destroy Nightmare Moon...?" Twilight followed up. "Of course not! She was not evil in the first place." Tails stood and placed Luna down besides her sister. "Okay, back up a little. From what I gathered here, you're telling me that the story of The Mare in The Moon was real, and that you banished her to the moon for a thousand years over jealously?" He pointed first to Celestia, then to Luna before pointing out a window while he spoke. The two princesses could not meet his eyes. Tails rubbed his face with a sigh before approaching and pulling both their ears. The rant that followed would be marked down in history for years to come. And so, the questions continued. Well, after the awkward air in the room lifted, that is. Tails himself seemed more cheerful, at least to the point of managing more expressions than the constant frown. The mane six had to admit it seemed to suit him better. While they talked, the topic of what's gonna happen to all the deactivated robots all over Canterlot and Ponyville. "Ah, those. Just give me a moment." He said before bringing his emerald before him, a bright light filled everypony's vision for a moment. As soon as the light faded, everypony became aware of the sound of metallic skittering around the room. Rarity herself shrieked in fright as they all noticed how multiple small, dome shaped robots with many little legs were crawling all over the room, repairing damage and collecting any robot parts left around. Tails himself was fitting what looked like a very futuristic watch on his left wrist with a little trouble. "Right, have to remember I don't have noodle arms like in the anime..." He muttered to himself. Luna flew over to him. "U-uhm... Dad? What are those things?" He over at her before glancing over the room and shrugging. "They are a project I have had in the backburner for a long while now. Made them with a lot of difficulty, since Equestria doesn't have some of the components I really needed. Thankfully there are some parts of this world that leads to random places in Mobius, so I was able to visit Scrap Brain and get myself what was missing. Anyway, I'm rambling. Back to the question, I still don't have a name for these little robots, and as to what they can do, I managed to get them to repair most damage to an area while also collecting all scrap metal and technological pieces scattered around. They are also solar powered. Basic thing." Twilight's hair started to stick all over the place. "Basic? BASIC!? That kind of technology is leagues above our own! Do you how how much this could help ponykind!?" She latched her front hooves to his face while grinning widely. "You HAVE to teach me! The advancements we could make are near limitless!" Tails stared at her. Twilight stared back. It took a moment to register that their noses were almost touching. "Just kiss already, eggheads!" Rainbow called out. Twilight's face tried to imitate a tomato with how red she became. Muttering an apology, she let go of his face and shuffled back a few feet, avoiding his gaze. Tails only kept staring before turning to the others. "Does this happen often?" He pointed at Twilight. "More than we care ta count." Applejack said with a snicker while Twilight pouted. Any further conversation was interrupted as the doors to the throne room opened and the CMC were led in along with Pip. Tails found himself on the receiving end of yet another tackle, but due to the addition of a fourth pair of hooves, couldn't keep his balance this time and got buried under the foal pile. Luna looked strangely jealous as she watched. Celestia looked at her and chuckled. "Aren't you gonna return to normal, Luna?" The small alicorn responded by sticking her tongue out at her. "You should know that we always refused to grow up, sister." They shared a laugh as Tails managed to get the foals off of him and, at their insistence, started telling them what happened after he left, with Pip embellishing a little the part of his rescue. Tails himself could feel his heart get lighter. Feelings once lost slowly came back to him, and at that moment, he decided that maybe, just maybe, it was time to give social life a chance again. The Lone Fox won't be so lonely anymore.