//------------------------------// // Chapter 45: Grandparents // Story: The Bug In The Basement // by Skijarama //------------------------------// One Month Later… Autumn was definitely underway, now. As the dark red car made its way along the countryside highway, the passengers couldn’t miss how the leaves on the deciduous trees had all begun to turn shades of red and yellow. Many of those trees had already surrendered their leaves to the frigid wind at this higher elevation, leaving many of them as little more than skeletal remains awaiting the coming of spring. Meanwhile, mixed in among the gold, the evergreens stuck true to their name, remaining blissfully undeterred by the dropping temperatures. It created a powerful contrast, one that was both beautiful and slightly off-putting. An oddly fitting divide, considering the reason for this trip... Meanwhile, on the left side of the road, rolling foothills could be seen for quite the distance before gradually angling up and transforming into the lowest peaks of another part of the mountain range that wrapped around the region. A few homes, mostly farms, could be seen pocketed around the plains and hills, reminding the people in the car that there was civilization out here. Evening Light looked out at it all from the passenger’s seat, her dark blue eyes sweeping across the landscape slowly and methodically, taking in every single detail in an effort to distract herself. Her long, curly maroon hair had been combed back that morning, providing a gentle and curving frame around her pale yellow face. Next to her, in the driver’s seat, Earnest Vow looked ahead at the road, occasionally looking at her from the corner of his eye. He had short dark brown hair that he kept well combed, cyan eyes, and peach colored skin. They had both elected to say nothing since they left their house, only speaking up to confirm with each other that they hadn’t made any wrong turns and that they were going the right way. Aside from those fleeting exchanges and the low rumbling of the car rolling over the road, though, it was almost completely silent. It was all quite dreary, and it was not at all helped by the thick blanket of clouds in the sky. They blocked out the sun and painted everything in dull and muted shades that seemed to suck the life and enthusiasm out of the car, if not the world itself. Evening couldn’t help it. She gave off a quiet sigh, disturbing the silence, and that finally seemed to be what Earnest needed to hear to speak up. Checking carefully to ensure that the road ahead was clear, he looked over at Evening and lightly nudged her knee with one of his hands to get her attention. “Hey. You alright, Eve?” he asked in a quiet voice, briefly meeting her gaze before returning his eyes to the road. Evening winced and tore her eyes away from the landscape to look ahead at the road in front of them. She placed her hands in her lap, hesitant to answer the question. “I’m okay… I just wish we’d made this trip sooner…” she eventually answered her husband solemnly. One of her hands slowly reached up to anxiously rub at her shoulder. “We waited way too long… we should have-” Earnest frowned and slowly shook his head. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it. We had no way of knowing that he’d moved. I mean, he never told us,” he tried to console her, though it did not work as well as he had hoped. Eve frowned and leaned back in her seat. “I mean we should have gone to see him sooner. We shouldn’t have waited so long… maybe he would have told us he was moving if we’d-” “Hey now,” Earnest was quick to say, giving her a sideways look. “Stop that. We all made mistakes, and it’s too late to change them. All we can do now is try to make up for them. Which is why we’re coming out here, remember?” Evening gave off a quiet hum but otherwise offered no response. A new silence fell over them, and she went back to looking out the window at the trees rolling by. Earnest spared her a worried glance, his expression darkening. Eventually, Evening spoke up. “...Do you think he’s forgiven me, yet?” she asked in barely even a whisper, her face falling and her eyes losing focus. Earnest went to say something but closed his mouth after a second of hesitation. He then perked up slightly before turning the car down a more narrow that cut through the treeline. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?” he asked in an optimistic voice, drawing Eve out of her trance. “We’re here.” “See you later, Beebee!” Scootaloo called over her shoulder as she and the other Crusaders walked away from the house, making their way for the highway and the bus stop they would need to get back into town. Beebee and Eventide were at the front door of their home, waving goodbye from the frame. “Bye, guys!” Beebee called after them, waving with far more energy than Eventide was while wearing a gigantic grin on his face. “Come visit again soon!” Apple Bloom looked back at Beebee with a smile before flashing him a wink. “Don’t y’all worry none, we will!” she called back. “Y’all are just too much fun!” “Heh. I’ll take that as a compliment,” Eventide mused under his breath with a small chuckle before lowering his arm and backing up into the home. “Alright, Bee, come on. You should probably rest up a little,” he continued in a hushed voice. Beebee delayed answering his father’s request for a few more seconds so he could keep waving. In the end, though, the Crusaders focused on departing, and Beebee could do nothing more but pull back into the home. As soon as the door closed behind him, he wasted no time in swirling back into his normal state with a relieved sigh. He could hold his form for longer, now. If he didn’t exert himself and only did basic things for most of it, he could hold it for almost an hour and a half. However, as thrilled as he was with his progress, it was still tiring to maintain other forms, and his rate of improvement had seemingly slowed down considerably. Eventide looked down at Beebee for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. Then, with a small grin, he reached down and suddenly scooped Beebee up into a warm and tight hug, drawing a startled squawk from the bug. That squeak soon faded into a happy, albeit confused, chirping noise when Eventide held him close. Beebee could hear his father’s heartbeat, and after a moment, became vividly aware of the sheer volume of love Eventide was emitting. As if sensing the little guy’s confusion, Eventide smirked down at him. “Lunchtime,” he explained simply before leaning down and planting a light kiss on Beebee’s forehead. Making a cute little ‘o’ with his mouth and giggling at the kiss, Beebee returned the hug and began to greedily drink in the cloud of love. He shuddered slightly at how good it tasted, like it always did, and savored every drop. In short order, it was all gone, and he settled to just relax in his father’s grasp. A few minutes passed in blissful silence, the two of them content to just cuddle. Eventually, though, Eventide shifted Beebee up so that his lips were by the bug’s ear. “I’m proud of you, Beebee,” Eventide eventually whispered to him, giving him a gentle squeeze. Confused, Beebee leaned back and tilted his head up to look at Eventide. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in curiosity. “Huh? For what?” Eventide smiled down at him, then released him from the hug. Beebee’s wings sprang into life, buzzing actively in the air and carrying him over to a safe landing on the couch next to Buddha. Then he turned around and watched Eventide in curiosity. After a few seconds, Eventide smiled even wider and wandered over to sit down next to Beebee. “Well, because those new friends of yours are good friends, and you’re really coming into your own, socially.” Beebee’s head slowly turned the other way, and his muzzle scrunched up as he pondered the phrase. “Coming into my own?” he echoed, having not heard that particular phrase before. Eventide rolled his eyes and twirled a hand in the air for emphasis. “Oh, it basically means that you’re getting the hang of it. Every time you hang out with those three, you get better and better at just interacting with them. Talking, answering questions, making jokes, that kinda thing.” “Ooooh…” Beebee nodded his head while his wings gave a few little twitches on his back. Satisfied with that answer and puffing up from the praise, he then looked over at Buddha with a predatory smirk. She looked right back at him with a look that just said ‘please don’t.’ He ignored her silent plea. Beebee proceeded to jump from his place on the couch to land on Buddha’s side. Her brow furrowed, and she let off an irritated whine before relenting and setting her head back down. Beebee then buried his muzzle into her fluffy neck and began to chitter and purr in contentment. His wings slowly drifted back and forth on his back, and his whole body relaxed. Not just from getting to cuddle his favorite dog, but also because he didn’t have to hold a transformation any longer. Eventide wore a warm, charmed smile directed at the two for a few minutes before leaning back and closing his eyes. The family remained like that for a little while, with Buddha begrudgingly serving as a pillow for Beebee, and Eventide just basking in the quiet and resting up a little. Sadly, the peace couldn't last for long. The quiet was disturbed a while later when a knocking came to the door, and Beebee’s eyes snapped wide open. With his ears springing to attention on his head, he sat up and craned his neck over to look at the door with uncertainty. He didn’t recognize that knock. Strangers? Growing nervous, he looked over at Eventide for instructions and found him looking back intensely. “Boy or Puppy, it’s up to you, just pick something and stick with it,” he whispered emphatically before standing up and turning for the door. Beebee nodded and got off of Buddha, who in turn leaped down from the couch and ran over to the door herself. With no other creatures making contact with him, Beebee closed his eyes, channeled his magic, and transformed into his border collie form. It took less energy to maintain than his human form, and it was easier to move around in. He gave himself a quick look over to check for any problems. Satisfied that there were none, he turned to Eventide and barked to announce his readiness. Eventide wordlessly nodded at him in confirmation before taking a deep breath and opening the door. “Hello, who is-” His words died in his throat, and his entire body went stiff. Beebee, from the couch, watched with confusion as a sudden flurry of colors entered his father’s aura. Red, purple, dark blue, black, more red… Wondering who could possibly cause such an intense emotional response, and such a negative one for that matter, he leaned over to try and get a better look at their visitors. He saw two people he did not recognize. They were a man and a woman, both looking to be significantly older than Eventide. The woman had pale yellow skin, dark blue eyes, and shoulder-length hair that was the same shade of maroon as Eventide’s. The man had short brown hair, peach colored skin — also like Eventide’s — and eyes that were a much lighter shade of blue. Much like Eventide, their auras were lit up with a wide range of negative emotions. However, there was no red in their spectrums. Just… blues. Lots and lots of blues. So… they were sad? Eventide licked his lips and didn’t even go to stop her when Buddha shoved past his legs to start sniffing at the new arrivals in friendly curiosity. The woman looked down at the dog and smiled happily in greeting. She reached a hand down for Buddha to sniff and then looked back up at Eventide, making eye contact with him and drawing another rush of emotion out of him. After what felt like an eternity of staring at each other, Eventide spoke. “...Mom,” He finally acknowledged in a quiet voice before looking at the man. “...Dad.” “What?!” Beebee thought, his eyes going wide and his ears perking up on his head. “Those are his parents?!” The woman looked down and away when she heard the sharp edge in Eventide’s voice. She reached a hand up to grasp at her shoulder in a display of nervous energy. “...Hello, Eventide. We didn’t come at a bad time, did we?” she asked, her voice timid and demure. Beebee’s eyes couldn’t grow any wider when he saw even more waves of sorrow and sadness radiating from who he now knew to be his grandmother. She was so sad… no, it wasn’t quite sadness She was guilty. “Why?” Beebee wondered within the sanctuary of his own thoughts. “What happened between you guys, dad?” Eventide hesitated and looked back over his shoulder at Beebee with a pleading expression. After a moment, though, he sighed, shook his head, and stepped away from the door, allowing his parents to enter. “No… no, it’s fine. Come in, I guess…” Beebee watched as his grandparents stepped into the home, looking around with approval. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but Eventide shot him a stern warning look, cowing him into silence. Eventide then sat back down on the couch next to him and leaned over to quickly whisper in his ear. “Don’t say anything. Wait until they’re gone. If you get tired, go hide in your room and wait.” The intensity in Eventide’s voice made Beebee shrink down and quiver even more. But, after a moment, he gave a shy nod before looking at his grandparents again. His grandmother spun slowly in a circle as she took the home in, and her face softened considerably with a small smile. “It’s a nice place, Eventide…” she said quietly, seemingly pleased with what she was seeing. “Yeah, it is,” the grandfather agreed before letting off a low whistle. “Kinda impressed… this is a big house-” “Okay, guys,” Eventide suddenly started in a blunt tone, leaning forward on his chair and resting his hands on his knees. “Look, I’m happy to see you and all, but what are you doing here?” “He’s lying,” Beebee thought, seeing that the flow of emotions Eventide was letting off was entirely negative and growing more red with every passing second. His mother flinched and looked away. “I… we just thought we’d come and visit. It’s been so long since we’ve spoken, and we heard from one of your friends at the Ginger Mart that you’d moved, so…” “Clean Sweep?” Eventide deduced in a deadpan. Both of the parents nodded along quietly. “Yeah,” the father said before putting a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Eve was… well, she really wanted to come see you. So did I, mind you, but it was her idea first.” Eventide’s frown deepened and his gaze returned to his mother, Eve. “That right?” he asked slowly while leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. Eve nodded slowly, her face lowering to hide her expression. “Yes… look, Eventide, I... I know that you left home on… er… not good terms, but… I just-” “I was angry,” Eventide quickly cut her off, the edge in his tone unrelenting. “I was mad, I was bitter, and you know I had every right to be.” The father frowned at that. “Eventide, please-” “He’s right, Earnest,” Eve cut him off with a shake of her head. She sighed, her shoulder slumping before she looked up at Eventide again. “Look, Eventide… I… I’m sorry, okay? I am so, so sorry. I hurt you, I hurt us, and I know it’s too late for an apology to mean anything, but... I just…” Eventide stared at her for a few moments before leaning back in his seat and shaking his head with a heavy sigh. The red began to leave his aura, replace with some of the darkest blue Beebee had ever seen from him. “...I know you are… I just wish you’d caught on to that a little sooner,” he said in a quiet mumble. The room fell completely silent, and even Buddha seemed to sense that there was something wrong. She let off a quiet and pitiful whine before backing away from Eve and Earnest, her tail falling limp behind her. Beebee’s eyes danced between his father and his grandparents, and he couldn’t stop himself from whimpering a little himself from the bitter tastes in the air. “What happened, dad?” he questioned again in his mind, his striking blue eyes boring into Eventide. After a few moments without an answer, though, the silence became too much for him to bear. Without a sound, Beebee rose to his paws and jumped down from the couch, immediately drawing Eventide’s attention. He looked up, his eyes glued onto Beebee’s back as he slowly approached his grandparents. Eve and Earnest looked down at him as he approached, seemingly taken aback by his presence. Beebee was pleased to see a small amount of yellow and pink enter their auras. “They think I’m cute,” he deduced before coming to a stop right in front of them. He settled down onto his haunches and leaned forward, timidly sniffing at Eve’s leg. His nose wasn’t Buddha’s, so he’d never be able to smell things like the could, but it kept up appearances. Then, with another whine, he pawed at Eve’s ankle and looked up into her eyes, silently begging her to cheer up. His efforts proved successful, even if only somewhat. With some more positive light slipping into the air around her, Eve knelt down and reached a hand out to Beebee so he could sniff it, a small smile on her face. She looked past Beebee to look at Eventide again. “What’s his name?” she inquired gently before starting to lightly pet Beebee on the head. Eventide watched them for a few seconds, his expression conflicted. In the end, though, he rose to his feet and slowly began to walk over. “It’s… his name is Beebee,” he answered quietly before also kneeling down next to the bug-turned-dog. “I got him a few years ago. He’s…” a small, tender smile appeared on his face, and he also reached out. “...He’s a real good boy.” Eventide began scratching Beebee on the back of his neck, right where his neck fin usually was. “Cheater,” Beebee sulked internally as he lost fine control over his motor functions. He just had the presence of mind to loll out his tongue and fall back against Eventide while wagging his tail as happily as he could. Earnest knelt down as well, adding his own hand to the mix, scratching Beebee’s belly and making him feel absolutely spoiled. “Heh. He’s really cute…” Earnest said before giving Eventide a curious look and a small smile. “How did you get him?” Eventide pondered his answer for a moment, and in that time, his scratching slowed down. After a moment, he settled on an explanation and spoke. “He was a stray. I found him as a sick, skinny little puppy hiding under a tree in my front yard,” he explained in a quiet whisper. “I couldn’t just leave him there, and he didn’t have anyone else to go to… I did what I thought was best and took him in.” “That’s very kind of you,” Eve complimented quietly, her gaze turning away from Beebee to look into Eventide’s eyes again. “I’m glad…” The two shared a long moment of eye contact, and for a moment, Beebee became worried that the negativity was about to come back. Instead, after a few minutes, Eventide slowly nodded his head and looked back down at Beebee. “I guess it is… I had some help, though…” he muttered, a nostalgic look on his face. After another few moments of fawning over the black border collie, Eventide rose back to his full height. Beebee rolled back over onto his paws and watched as Eventide seemed to struggle internally for a moment before finally relenting. He turned and began to head for the kitchen. “Okay, how long are you guys gonna be sticking around? I got some food if you want anything to snack on.” Beebee relaxed on hearing those words and looked back at Eve over his shoulder. She and Earnest both stood and followed Eventide out into the kitchen. “We’ve got some time to kill, an hour or two,” Earnest answered Eventide’s question. “But if you want us to go sooner…” Eventide glanced back at them, then at Beebee. After a few seconds more of eye contact, he shrugged his shoulders and continued on his way. “Eeh… we’ll see.” With that, Eventide disappeared fully into the kitchen. Upon hearing the fridge opening up, Beebee quickly got back onto his paws and fell into step next to Eve, occasionally looking up at her with curiosity and hope in his eyes. She looked back down at him every so often as well, and every time she did, she would smile.