Many hours had passed since they had gotten home. The moment they had gotten back, Beebee had retreated into his room and had not left since, absorbed in his own thoughts. He currently sat on the edge of his bed with a far off look in his eyes, and a morose frown on his muzzle. His wings periodically twitched on his back, and his nostrils flared every so often as he took a sharper than intended breath.
He may have calmed down, but he was clearly still far from happy with the situation. As much as he regretted making Eventide mad enough to yell at him like that, Beebee was still angry with the man for outright denying his request to tell his friends the truth. It was frustrating in the extreme...
If Beebee was being completely honest with himself, coming down to his room for the whole day was as much about wanting to be alone as it was not wanting to make things worse with his dad. If the two went off on each other again, who knew what kind of damage their relationship would suffer?
All Beebee knew was that he did not want to experience anything like what Eventide and his mother had gone through...
Beebee’s thoughts became distracted, and his ears twitched on his head when he heard the tell-tale thumping of Eventide’s feet walking around upstairs. A quiet sigh fled his lips, reminded that his father was right upstairs, no doubt feeling just as down about this whole mess as he was. “...Maybe I should go talk to him,” Beebee whispered to himself, his first spoken words in hours.
What would he say, though? What could he say? Beebee frowned and shook his head in mild frustration, struggling to think of how he could even begin to approach the subject. Would it be a good idea to apologize again? Should he try to more calmly explain his position to Eventide so they could come to a compromise? Should he just accept Eventide’s decision and let it go?
Beebee’s face fell, and his expression became forlorn. Even just the thought of willfully keeping his true self a secret from his friends now was enough to make him shudder. It only got worse when he pictured his friends sitting with him, smiling and laughing as they played one of their silly games or told funny stories…
He didn’t get to give it much more thought before the distraction of Eventide’s movement became worse. Specifically, his voice started coming from upstairs, as if he were speaking to someone else. It was muffled by walls and doors, but in the total silence of Beebee’s bedroom, it was still clearly audible.
His ears perked up to listen, and he lifted his head in curiosity. The words were too muffled to be made out, but he could make out Eventide’s general tone of voice. He sounded tired, confused, and maybe a little hopeful… but he wasn’t talking to Buddha, that much was clear. He must have been on his phone.
With his curiosity growing rapidly, Beebee lightly stepped down from his bed with a small beat of his wings and made his way out of his room. With every step towards the stairs he took, Eventide’s voice became just a little clearer. Soon, as he was climbing the steps, Beebee could make out the words and listened intently.
“He told me that he's been feeling guilty recently. He says he wants to show Apple Bloom and the other Crusaders his true form because of how seriously Apple Bloom takes the truth...” Eventide explained to whoever was on the other end, his voice heavy with exhaustion.
Beebee, muzzle scrunching up, pressed his ear up against the door to listen in to the conversation better. Who was Eventide talking to? Since he was talking about Beebee’s true self, he could only assume it was Aunt Fluttershy.
“What do you think? I told him no. It's too risky to let anyone see him, and Apple Bloom's still a teenager!” Eventide went on, his voice increasing with volume in exasperation as he spoke.
Beebee scowled at that, but quickly forced down any negativity caused by his father’s statement.
“..I know, I know, but still... all of that's calmed down lately, at least around the school. I just don't know if I can trust Apple Bloom or any of them to keep it a secret if someone starts getting nosy…”
There was a moment of silence as Fluttershy spoke back to him.
“Well, yeah, but...”
Eventide fell utterly silent after that, and for a minute, Beebee thought that maybe they had hung up or something. But then he started speaking again, his voice quieter and much more solemn than before. “Just... I'm sorry, Fluttershy,” he began, confirming who he was talking to. “I just love him to death, you know? I don't want anything bad to happen to him. He's my son... and things are different now.
“...Well, for one thing, I didn't realize he was a person back when you met him. I thought he was just some freaky wild animal. I tried to give him away to you, remember?” Eventide went on, sounding like he was replying to a question.
Beebee’s frown deepened at that. He hadn’t realized Eventide had tried to give him away at first. It raised some interesting questions in his mind, but he ultimately chose to dismiss them outright. Whatever Eventide had wanted to do when he first got him, he had chosen to raise Beebee. In the end, that was all that should have mattered.
Eventide continued a moment later. “Yeah... look, the point is, it's been almost five years, and so many things have changed. I just... I just don't wanna risk it. I don't want to lose my son or put him at risk.”
There were a few seconds of silence.
“...Fluttershy, I'm worried. I'm worried that I might have just alienated him, but I don't want anything bad to happen to him either. I have to take care of him, it's my job as his dad, but…” he fell silent again. When he spoke again, his tone suggested that he was responding to a request. “Uh... sure?”
The silence returned as he listened. Growing curious, Beebee used his magic as quietly as possible to open the door an inch or two, allowing him to look at the back of Eventide’s head. He was sitting on the couch with a very conflicted aura surrounding him. There were so many colors, most of them negative, flickering in the air around him that Beebee found he was glad he wasn’t epileptic.
After several seconds, that aura became was suddenly flooded with deep and intense purples and blacks. Eventide sat more upright, his entire body tensing up. “Wha… you’re sure...?” he asked slowly, his voice sounding more than a little uneasy about whatever had just been said to him.
The silence returned, and as the seconds ticked by, Beebee watched as Eventide’s aura slowly lost some of its intensity. The ravaging purple and black slowly dwindled down into a far gentler arrangement of violets and grays. “...Fluttershy…” he whispered, sounding like he wanted to say more, but could not find the words.
After a few seconds, Eventide’s aura suddenly flashed with bright yellow, and he leaned forward with a barely stifled chuckle. “Ha! …Why am I not surprised to learn that?” he asked through his mirth, and Beebee couldn’t help but smile slightly at the sight.
A moment later, the gold filtered away, and his anxiety returned, albeit somewhat lessened. Eventide leaned back in his seat, his tone becoming serious again. “I noticed... ugh, okay, look I... are you sure? Really sure? ...Alright, fair enough... I'll talk to him about it in the morning, I guess.”
With that, Eventide suddenly leaned back and let out a large and rather unattractive yawn. When his mouth clamped shut, he let off a quiet groan. “Yeah, I will. Thanks, Fluttershy. I think I'm gonna go, though. It's getting dark, and I am really tired. Plus, I got work in the morning. ...You, too… Goodnight.”
And with that, Eventide ended the call and set his phone down on the couch cushion next to him. Beebee watched for a few minutes, observing his aura and waiting for something to happen, before eventually closing the door and sneaking back down the steps. As he went, he couldn’t help but let off a quiet whimpering chirp, his ears drooping.
He knew Eventide loved him, of course… but when they had been having their fight, it had never occurred to Beebee that he was as protective as he was because of that love. Now, though, Beebee knew for sure that Eventide felt bad about their fight, too, even if he still stood by his decision to keep Beebee from showing himself.
As Beebee reached the bottom of the steps, a spark of adrenaline pumped into his veins when he heard Eventide’s feet thumping against the floor for the door to the basement. Moving quick, he darted through the door to his bedroom. He slid to a halt and quickly closed it with his magic, being as quiet as possible. That done, he hopped back up onto his bed and settled down on his belly. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
A few seconds later, a knock came to the door before it was slowly pushed open with a low creak. Beebee cracked open one of his eyes, and sure enough, there was Eventide, his aura filled with unease and trepidation. He flicked on the lights, illuminating the otherwise dark room, and met Beebee’s eyes. “...Hey,” he greeted gingerly, slowly stepping deeper into the room.
Beebee looked down at his hooves, which were fidgeting in place beneath him. “...Hi, dad…” he murmured quietly. “...What do you want?”
Eventide stood where he was for a moment, hesitant, before coming up to the side of the bed. “Look… I get that you’re mad with me… and I’m sorry you feel that way. We can talk about it in the morning when we’ve had a chance to calm down and get our heads together. But right now, I’m gonna get some early sleep, and I think you should, too.”
Beebee sighed and nodded his head. “Right… so that means it’s dinner time, right?” he asked, his stomach growling somewhat at the prospect. He hadn’t had much to eat all day, after all, and now that he thought about it, he was starving.
Eventide nodded and gingerly sat down on the edge of the bed. “Yeah…” he confirmed before opening his arms in invitation.
Beebee just sat there for a minute, reluctant to move from his spot on the bed. But, after a time, he relented and dragged himself into Eventide’s waiting arms. He was pulled against his father’s chest and returned the hug even if only by reflex.
To say that the hug was awkward would be an egregious understatement. The outpouring of love from Eventide was significantly watered down compared to normal, likely due to residual feelings of doubt and anger from earlier. Beebee did his best to ignore the sour taste, though, and just greedily swallowed what he could. However, as it pooled in his stomach, the feelings that spread throughout him could be considered lukewarm at best.
Finally, after maybe ten minutes, Eventide pulled back and set Beebee back down on the bed. “Alright… you good?” he asked in a hushed voice, to which Beebee stuck out his tongue in a display of distaste.
“Blegh… dinner wasn’t that good today…” he muttered before looking down at his hooves, his ears and wings drooping. “...I’m sorry I made you mad earlier…” he apologized, figuring he might as well while he had the chance.
There were a few seconds of quiet before he felt Eventide lean down and plant a very gentle kiss on the top of his head. “...So am I, Bee. We’ll talk about it in the morning, okay? I promise...” he whispered quietly into Beebee’s ear, giving him a few slow pets with his hand. The air became filled with a little more love, purer than before.
Beebee was silent for several seconds. He then nodded his head in confirmation. “...Okay.”
Eventide leaned back, his eyes scrutinizing Beebee for a second. “Alright… sleep tight, kiddo.”
Beebee grunted and turned for his pillow, barely even casting his father a glance. He felt Eventide’s eyes boring into him as he dragged himself over and slid beneath his blankets. Everything in that underground bedroom fell still for a minute after that, with Eventide continuing to sit there just to stare at Beebee. He occasionally opened his mouth as if to say something, and Beebee could see that he wanted to say something thanks to his aura… But always elected to remain quiet. In the end, he rose to his feet and silently left the room.
The lights were flicked off as Eventide made his exit, pulling the door shut behind him. With an almost deafening click, Beebee was plunged back into the darkness he had grown familiar with over the course of the long day. He lay there for a while, his eyes open as his mind wandered. Then, with a final, heavy sigh, he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.
But sleep did not come for him on that night. Instead, the darkness and the quiet dragged on and on and on, disrupted only by the occasional rustling of the blankets as Beebee tossed and turned. However, even that was lost amid the tumultuous storm of thoughts that flooded his mind.
Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours. All the while, Beebee tossed and turned, grunting and groaning in frustration, completely unable to find any semblance of peace. His thoughts wandered aimlessly and chaotically from one topic to the next, dragging him wearily along for the rise.
He thought of his father, and how tense things had gotten since the previous morning. He thought of the Crusaders, his friends, and what he was supposed to do now that Eventide had forbidden him to reveal himself. He thought of Aunt Fluttershy, wondering what she had said to Eventide on the phone. He thought of all the time he had spent with them, the people he cared about so much, and the memories they had made together. Finally, he thought of the face of a young human boy with black hair with white highlights and piercing blue eyes… the face he had been wearing as a deception.
His eyes opened, and were one to look carefully through the glow, they would see red veins appearing in those otherwise pristine blue orbs. He let out a long, loud growl of frustration, and pushed himself up with his hooves. With a snarl, he drove his hoof into his pillow over and over again in a series of punches to vent his stress. “Just fall asleep, dangit!” he seethed at himself before ending his assault and flopping down face-first into his pillow.
Much to his swiftly mounting displeasure, he soon came to the realization that his efforts were in vain. He would not be getting any sleep on this night. Resigned and disgruntled, he cracked his eyes open again and sat up in his bed, his blankets sliding uselessly off of him as he rose. He just sat there for a good, long time, trying to calm himself down and collect his thoughts.
Among those thoughts, an idea emerged, one which made him stop in his tracks. All other notions were pushed to the side, leaving just him and this renegade idea. He considered it, and for a moment, he almost outright dismissed it from his conscience. But the longer he thought about it, the more enticing it became. The more he thought about it, the more he remembered…
The last time he had defied Eventide was when he had gone out into the woods unsupervised. He had fallen and gotten himself hurt, yes, and things could have ended much worse than they had… but they didn’t end badly. He had met Apple Bloom, the girl who would then go on to become his first and very best friend.
All of that happened because, just once, he had decided to defy the will of his father. He had met his best friend, discovered he could turn into a human, and had begun the long and still-in-progress journey of conquering his weakness. So many good things happened because he had taken a risk and disobeyed...
If that was the case… what would happen if he defied Eventide again? What if he showed his friends who he was, with or without Eventide’s approval? What if he started to do it… right now?
Slowly, ever so slowly, Beebee’s eyes drifted over to the door to his room, while his mind wandered to his father’s phone...