THE ALICORN KING:
ROYAL REUNION
BY
Scarlet Rhine
&
Tempest Flare
Celestia came running into the throne room with a worried look on her face. "LUNA!" She called out "What's wrong?" Luna was looking out the window with a sorrowful look as she said, "Remember that stallion that helped us as we attempted to rescue the Crystal Empire?" The Alicorn of the sun nodded. "He received a wound that would've been fatal if you hadn't turned him into a thestral. You married him two months later." Luna gave a wan smile. "I recently learned that he had a mare and foal waiting for his return. That foal has grown up into a young stallion, who has helped purify me. And we met his other mare, the one who was waiting for him. Tia in the crystal mine are five hundred-twenty-five thestrals in stasis. They will revive tomorrow night. HE is one of them. Please be there with Candance when they wake. IAlex and the Elements will be there as well." Celestia nodded and said, "I understand. I shall welcome them."
Back in Ponyville the three in the library were looking at each other. "Guess I'll have to head back to canterlot after all. But I'm not doing any of those God damn balls too damn boring." Tempe said "after all I'm going to have to take care of my younger brother when he meets his dad."
Alex had stopped crying and composed himself. "Thank you… sugarcubes." He said. "My mother had dad declared dead after the wards of Travelers Rest transferred to her, which would normally happen if Dad had died." His hand caressed Twilight's cheek lovingly. "Thank you and the herd had helped me get rid of years of sorrow. Guess I'll be taking the night off and start preparing. Oh. We better commission some formal/casual wear for us."
"Formal/casual wear?" Rarity asked as she stepped in from the open door. Alex nodded as he answered "It's formal wear that's designed to be acceptable for formal gatherings while at the same time rugged & comfortable enough to be worn at casual gatherings. Is that a challenge you'd accept?" Rarity smiled and said, "Of course dahrling, when do you need them?"
"Before nightfall. Also could you make them so the Elements & my amulet can be…" Alex said before Rarity put her finger on his lips and said, "Relax Dahling. Leave it to me." Twilight then gently started pushing him to the door and said, "You said you had one more load of books to extract from the Castle of the Two Sisters before you can finish exploring and mapping it. So the sooner you get that done, the sooner all of us go to Canterlot." With that Alex went off to work.
Two hours before the stasis end finds Candance, Celestia, the Viator-Sparkle herd, and Shining Armor and an escort detail of Royal Guards standing at the entrance to the chamber in the mine where the thestrals slept their enchanted sleep. Alex stared at one thestral stallion laying in reposè, a look of worry on his face.
"Don't worry I explained a bit to you a while ago, we're family now." Tempe said wearing her night guard general armor, something that had been forged long ago before her mother's banishment. "I technically am their Commander in Chief. They were a Shadow Force meant for protecting Equestria from threats within and without. Celestia's S.M.I.L.E. agency now typically does that, I'm hoping that once they're fully integrated with modern times we can have them add it back into the fold."
"Thanks… Sis." Alex said. "I'm getting used to the Idea of having an older sister. Thankfully, Buhe's gift hasn't latched onto you. But still having ANY type of sibling is both confusing and relieving." Twilight smiled at the sight as Alex hugged his adopted Big sister. At the sound of softly clopping hooves, she turns her head to see her brother walk up to her. "It's sad the two of the grew up separated like they did. From what you told me of Alex's dam she and Princess Luna would've gotten along here on Equis." Twilight nodded, "They're handling it well considering they found out almost a day ago." She said before she opened the case that held the Elements & Alex's Amulet, then gave each element to its bearer and settled the amulet on it's bearer.
Cadence Joined the two and said, "Tempe was right I can sense magic identical to mine in him. I think he'll be a nice stallion to Twilight and her friends." The alicorn of love said, while smiling. The glow of the stasis spell flickered. It flickered again half a minute later after that it flickered at a slowly increasing pace until it finally winked one last time. The first to wake were the foals, who mobbed Candance as was a new alicorn. The next to wake were the mares who got up and looked about. Twenty went into labor, thankfully some of the guards, other mares and stallions were medical personnel. And finally the stallions awoke. One stallion walked up to Celestia and bowed and said, "I ask forgiveness Tia, I wasn't able to prevent the Nightmare from overwhelming your sister."
"Dad!" Tempe shouted as she ran over to the Thestral hugging him tight. "Mom is free and you'll never believe who helped!" This was unconventional behavior for Tempe who is almost always straight laced in front of her subordinates even the man she considered her father, only Alex's father and Alex himself noticed the green glow in her eyes.
Alex could barely keep from crying as he hadn't seen for sixteen years. His father went "Oof!" When the young man collided with him. "Uh! Who're young stallion?" Alex stepped back and looked at the older thestral and said, "Dad. It's me! Alexandre!" The Older thestral's eyes opened wider before he pulled Alex into a hug. The pair began to cry as they hugged each other. As they were crying Alex motioned the elements to join with the father doing the same to Tempe. Soon the entire family, minus the princess of the night.
"Ah think you need some explaining, Buster!" An elderly woman's voice could be heard from the area where civilian families were waiting to reunite with their long lost relatives. "If'n my granddaughter is going to be with you, you need to tell the entire Apple family about your history!"
"Granny!" Applejack groaned.
The group hug broke up and Alex's father bowed to Granny Smith and said, "Matron Apple, could this wait until we're out of this place?"
"I think that Smith should explain herself," A deep voice rumbled from a stallion approaching Alex's father, the stallion approaching Celestia's height. "don't think I didn't recognize you little Filly. I know exactly why you're here."
Alex stepped up to the stallion saying, "She's here to accompany my Wife as the Matron of the Apple Clan. Who're you to disapprove of her presence, Turkey!" Alex looked ready to fight in defense of the grandmother of one his herd. Compete with his wings partially spread.
"I'm the current patriarch of the Apple family then. I am Apple Corp. second in command of Luna's Shadow Guard." The stallion said his gray, almost black fur darkened further as his blood red mane and tail started to spike in response to his agitation.
"Well that just proves that we're cousins Applejack, his hair is reacting similarly to how mine would!" Pinkie Pie said she mentioned to Applejack that they were sort of distant cousins when they formed the herd and Applejack had said dude look into a full history between the two families later.
Alex, still agitated, said, "Granny is up on current events Mr Apple. Until you've updated your said knowledge I'll be looking to Granny and my Father, Allister Archemedes Viator for advice." Alli walked up to Apple Corp and said, "Alex. Show Apple Corp some respect. And you A.C. watch what you say around my son. I don't want Canterlot to fall off the mountain because of the fight between the two of you."
The thestral earth pony glared at Alli saying, "What makes you say that Alli?"
"Because crazy things happen when one of my family fights for others. Remember the strange things that happened during the War? Also remember it's been a millennium since that… thing that possessed my Moon Pearl and placed the lot of us into stasis for a thousand years? Which reminds me," Alli turned to Celestia. "What happened to The Nightmare?"
Celestia looked down to the ground before raising teary eyes to the elder Viator and replied, "We fought and I was forced to banish my sister and, my niece accidentally, to the moon. And for a two year period I just went through the motions of just existing. It was during that time the Nightmare Purges happened. The thestral tribes were ruthlessly hunted down and slaughtered and seven communities consisting entirely of thestrals, including Underdark. Upon it's fall I came out of my sorrow and destroyed the Nighthunters. But I was too late to prevent Luna's Night Ponies from going into hiding. " Celestia brightens up and with still teary eyes, princess Tempe fought the Nightmare for a thousand years. Two months ago Alex unintentionally enlarged Ponyville Lake and later helped Tempe and six mares use the Elements of Harmony to purify Luna."
Alistair stood up and said, "That's my colt!"
Alex walked up to Apple Corp and said, "I'm Sorry Patron Apple. You came up in such a.. OW!" The young thestral cried out when Granny Smith borrowed a cane from one of the thestrals and swatted his behind. "That was disrespectin' your elder." She chided.
The group finally noticed the green glow emitting from Tempe. "APPLE CORP.!!! YOU WILL DROP AND GIVE ME 500 PUSH-UPS FOR DARING TO DISRESPECT MY BROTHER!!!!" She roared just below Canterlot Royal Voice levels in her drill sergeant mode before switching her tone of voice to an almost death-like calm. "Now."
Apple Corp. blanched and looked at Alex who was looking away at Granny Smith and rubbing his behind. Then dropped and began to do push-ups. "Me and my big mouth." He grumbled. Three hours later Apple Corp did his last push up. Alistair helped his old friend up. "You always did have a tendency to act before you think things through. Didn't you realize that my son would be Tempe's Brother?"
"I also did not realize that people would be able to read my emotions very easily in this day and age, my uniqueness wasn't common back then." AC said with barely a huff of exertion. "Even before I transformed my mane would react to my emotions."
"Sorry to correct you sir," Twilight said gently "but we actually have someone who has a similar condition when it comes to her physical appearance and her emotions as a friend, a distant cousin of yours. While I haven't personally experienced her darker mood swings, I've seen that she has unique properties with her mane, and she's extensively explained how she looks in those kinds of moods."
Cadence then asked, "Could we leave this place, it's giving me the shivers." The pink alicorn leaned against The Captain of the guard.
"I'll teleport us all out. I've been gathering magic for the last few hours otherwise I would have done it earlier before this whole fiasco with the push-ups." Tempe said her body is still glowing green. With a deep inhale she started to breathe a purple smoke using her dragon transportation magic in a way to teleport large groups, something she had done back during the time before she was sent to the Moon.
Both Viators raised eyebrows at the sight, before their vision was obscured. When the smoke cleared the entire group including those that wouldn't be able to move otherwise appeared in the Canterlot castle gardens. The group heard a few foals crying, which was in response to what they expected their young eyes to be irritated by the smoke which since it was a magical type didn't actually cause any physical irritation for anyone luckily.
Pinkie then shouted, "YOU WHAT THIS CALL FOR?!" Alex smiled as the pink mare pulled a cannon out her mane. "A party!!!" She cried before setting it off. Instantly the area was set up as a party Venue.
One unfortunate Lunar Guard got hit with a pie in her face as she was flying to investigate. Another guard walked up to her and swiped some of the errant confection and tasted it. "Hmm. Vanilla." She said with the unfortunate mare rolling her eyes.
Alex sat down with Granny Smith at a table then told what he could about the Viator family history. When the Apple Matron smiled at him, Alex sought out Tempe. "May I talk to you sis?"
"Sure Alex, what'd you want to talk about?" The draconic alicorn asked.
"I have to apologize to you on my Dad's behalf." Alex said, rubbing the back of his head. "You see. My family lives under a curse. A curse where the oldest of a generation is forced to become an adventurer. Unfortunately, since you have been adopted into the family the curse will be affecting you to a lesser degree. I'm suffering the full effect due to the fact I was born in another reality and was the first born of my generation.
"Dad told me all about it," Tempe said. "It affects my emotions and makes me act out my inner desires for the most part. Although I also go out and fight things because of it so don't worry I understand exactly what you're talking about. It's part of what pushed me to fight so hard against Nightmare because Mom was underneath you know?"
Alex sighed in relief. And went to get a drink, slapping Pinkie on her butt as he passed.