//------------------------------// // Dinner // Story: How my Little Brother Became an Alicorn // by WiseFireCracker //------------------------------// I had always figured that, snootiness aside, Canterlot didn’t have much to offer. Boy was I wrong… We had done more than I could have imagined possible in the town. Perhaps my opinion of it was too shallow. “Well, this is awkward,” I said, alternatively looking at Tom, Pinkie and the various food stalls. “I can’t believe you would forget to take bits with you, Sam!” The little squirt sneered, angry that his stomach kept rumbling with no way to satisfy it. Like I would let that fly. “I apologize, Tom, but it did not occur to me that we would spend so much time in the park, that we might see the Wonderbolt’s open-air show, that there would be a free visit of the Museum of Equestrian History – which, by the way, I can’t believe you asked to visit –, that we would ultimately end up so far away from the castle and that you would get hungry before we got back. I can’t make bits appear out of nowhere and you will not try to summon money the way you tried to summon party supplies. You will have to wait until we return to the castle and that’s final.” “Or you could go whoosh!” Her mane flailed as if it was shaken by a particularly strong breeze. “And ask Princess Celestia if she could lend you the bits!” …Smart. “Oh pleaaaaaaaase!” Tom instantly jumped on the idea. “I don’t wanna wait till we get back!” Okay, this is him being a brat and indulging him now is truly a bad idea. On the other hand though, I’d rather not deal with him whining on the way back for half an hour. Plus, I’m still supposed to make sure he has a nice day. Still, I had some apprehensions. “…What are the chances you will not spend the whole time conspiring against me?” “Preeeeeetty good.” Tom flashed me his best angelic smile, which answered that. I’ll wish I had an unfortunate and unexpected sudden explosion accident on the way back, got it. -- She tensed before I even announced my presence. I barely had the time to slip through the space between her window’s frame that her perfect slender body had already shown signs of her vigilance. Slowly, as if to show her lack of concern, Celestia looked up from her paperwork and aimed her gaze directly at my form – or lack thereof. Her voice appeared carefully controlled, yet still gave off a certain… warmth. “To what do I owe this visit, Ventus?” “Color me impressed, Princess.” A chill went down my spine as my body took a solid shape once more. My front legs folded as I bowed, humbled. “You detected me instantly, even if you did not know I knew this spell.” “I have quite a bit of experience with magic,” she said, with a heavy tone, somewhat playful nonetheless. I could not hold back a grin when I looked up. “I can imagine.” She raised one eyebrow at that. The sass overflowing from her general person was enough to bring one stallion to his knees. “Was that a jab at my age?” “Oh no!” I snorted, holding my hooves in front of me. “I wouldn’t dream of that.” She was so convinced I was sincere she rolled her eyes. “If that is how you talk to mares, young stallion, then color me puzzled as to your apparent success with my faithful student.” Now, that was just asking for it. “My incredible looks must account for quite a bit. Mainly though, I simply do not talk about age, because chances are the burn will be much more powerful if turned back on me.” My grin widened. “With a few select exceptions.” “That is honestly something I would have expected Blueblood to say.” My smile disappeared at the speed of lightning, being replaced by a spectacular scowl. Heck, being compared to him had made all my organs rebel and I was now seconds away from illness. “You seem an awful lot chipper than usual, my little pony.” How ironic. “You, who have always been so guarded around others, are exchanging quips with me.” She settled down on her seat, her gaze suddenly greedy for information. “What brought this sudden change of heart?” “I… I guess today has been… nice…” For a moment, my eyes turned to the shelves around us, detailing the covers of a few books, as I tried to put my thoughts into order. When I looked back to her, Celestia’s whole focus was on me alone. “I spent a lot of time today, having fun with my family and a friend. It felt… good to just shed away this mask of cool and stoic attitude to just be… me.” Whoever that is. Something flashed in the princess’ eyes. “What I’m trying to say… well… I want to be the real me with my family and, well, you’re a part of that, Celly.” I don’t know what I’m saying! …But it still feels right. The mare behind the mask of absolute ruler took a deep breath, as if her breathing had been cut short by the words. “I am touched, Ventus,” she admitted with a beautiful smile. Bashful, I could only offer her one in return. Her eyelids flickered once and her gaze momentarily went to the window, who allowed only the sunset to be seen over the city of nobles. In this light, she looked at peace, radiant in her own glory, as the wave of her mane reflected the colors of the red sun. Yet… I could only focus on the sadness inside her eyes. Her voice seemed… shaking, almost regretful, when she spoke next. “Now then, not that your presence is not a delightful, albeit unexpected, surprise but the job of a Princess includes a lot of paperwork. Now, understand me when I say that I do not want to return to the absolutely fascinating legal disputes and administration puzzles that make my kingdom, but…” The moment had passed. “I understand, Princess.” I nodded, ignoring the small pang of disappointment that suddenly flared in my chest. “And I am grateful you did not throw me out on sight for disturbing your work.” The image made her snort. “I can only imagine what me trying to throw a stallion like you out would look like to my guards.” That does sound rather silly. I had to fight a bubbling feeling in my chest soon. It was hard, but necessary. The longer I stayed here, the more justifications Calx and Pinkie could dish out to explain why Canterlot was now a smoking crater. “Oh, I suppose the guards might be worried you’d be telling empty space to leave you alone.” Her eyes shone with amusement and, for a moment, I was convinced she wanted to try. To stop this dangerous course of action from being attempted, I cleared my throat and affected a much more serious tone of voice. “Moving on… I would like to humbly request an…” “Yes?” She asked, her delicate brows furrowed in the slightest. I gulped down and swallowed my pride. “An… allowance…” I said, biting my cheeks in a vain attempt not to feel the burning shame all over my face. “Of… some sort…” “My, Ventus, do elaborate, my little pony.” And suddenly, I’m ten in front of Mom again. “W-well… honestly, I would not bother you with this, seeing as you are housing my brother and I so graciously, but…” I glanced aside, trying and failing to get my ears up again. My shame was just too strong at this point. “After Pinkie’s repeated help at taking care of Calx, I thought appropriate the idea of inviting for supper in a high class restaurant here.” “I suppose it must be quite difficult to find one such establishment offering free meals.” Celestia’s lips twitched upward. I took the statement as graciously as I could. “This lack of foresight on my part means a disaster is currently brewing in downtown Canterlot as an excitable little alicorn with the potential to wreck this place is currently alone with Pinkie Pie, while they are both hungry.” “Oh my, that is indeed quite serious.” She chuckled. “I am glad you came directly to me for this question of national security.” Her head turned to a cabinet behind her, all of polished carved wood, with a few symbols I felt were familiar. “Here, take these.” A small bag levitated out of her drawer, making my eyes widen when I realized she was giving me bits from her personal funds. I actually hesitated, growing a little self-conscious in the face of this obviously big gift. With a little bit of urging however, Celestia managed to push me to take it and observed its content. Platinum bits. Lots of them. “C-Celestia!” I protested, my tail and my wings flickering once with excitement even as I tried to appear scandalized. She gave me a knowing look, the kind a mother had in front of a child badly trying to cover up something. “I suggest going to The Royal Crown. The food there is absolutely exquisite and they have a table specifically reserved for royalty at all times.” “I…” “Don’t worry about the amount. Use it wisely to make a beautiful gift to your friend.” She stood up, walking up to me with what I knew was a furious desire to laugh. “It seems appropriate for a pony that babysat a prince, wouldn’t you agree?” Gently, her horn pushing against the side of my shoulders, she forced me to turn toward the same window I had phased in between. I was not quite mentally prepared to resist her commands yet. “Go. Enjoy your evening, my little pony.” A bit mechanically, I forced my hooves to move. Grabbing the bag of bits with my mouth, I focused on the sensation of turning into air, of becoming one with my own sense of concept. My consciousness started to spread, ready to leave my cousin and not-cousin behind to her work. It seemed, however, that she was unable to resist one last jab. “I do hope your double-timing adventures will not blow up in your face, little cousin.” Thanks to that, I finally found my voice. “I will not even dignify that with a reply.” I raised my muzzle high in the air, refusing to even look at her. As I disappeared into the evening sky, all I could hear was her light-hearted chuckles. -- The waiter did not ask question when I stepped into the restaurant, flanked by two hyperactive ponies. If anything, he looked ready to answer them all if one dared bother us. Either that guy was nervous or he was used to being visited by royalty and ‘royalty’ in this case would probably translate with Blueblood most of the time. Now he would have to deal with a hungry Tom and a hungry Pinkie Pie… That poor stallion. Leaving a great tip for him was in order. Quickly putting on a stoic and servile façade, the waiter guided us inside. The first thing we noticed was the music. Part of the background itself, the notes were soothing and obviously reminiscent of great classical authors. It felt as if they floated between the conversations, slipping past a net and forming completely intact by my ears. I was impressed. The restaurant was high-class. It was no exaggeration. Neither lives I had had been inclined that much toward luxury and I was as much of a stranger to this than, say, Applejack. The floor was covered by this incandescent red carpet that left a fleeting, ghostly impression of softness under our hooves. Its appearance alone seemed to invoke the idea of nobility, as it stretched through the restaurant all over, to meet up with the pristine marble walls. Those were covered in crystalline chandelier, bearing lit candles that projected an orange glow, so reminiscent of the evening sun and the fading day. Ponies and other creatures everywhere were sitting with an air of refinement to themselves at tables covered with the most incredible pieces of silverware I had been given the chance to see. Blueblood could come in here and not have legitimate beef with the décor. E-everything was on a whole new level. We were being lead directly in the center of it all, toward what seemed to be a plateau of some sort, in the middle of the room, seemingly like an ivory tower amongst the elite of the populace. My heart skipped a beat at the idea of actually belonging to this world, to this level of aristocracy. It was unbelievably flattering and exciting. “Your table, sirs and madam.” I blinked, just now realizing we had reached our destination. All to my thoughts I hadn’t even realized we had walked up the stairs. “Thank you kindly, Sir.” I nodded, taking place on one of the silky cushion surrounding the table. Tom and Pinkie both dove into their places, seemingly as psyched out as I was to be in this kind of restaurant. “Calm down, Buddy,” I said to my little brother as he started bouncing in his seat, even though I felt kind of exactly the same way. Chastised, he stopped… for like three seconds. That was obviously as good as I was going to get. “Just don’t make too much of a mess tonight, ‘kay?” I whispered, which, I’ll admit, was a little bit of teasing. “I’m not twenty-two, you know!” He rolled his eyes, making a show of his wings and puffing out his chest. The smile on my lips froze around the edge. “W-what about you, Miss Pie?” “What about me, Sammy?” The mare tilted her head to the side, making me realized that neither of us had actually an idea of what we were meant to make small talk over. Swiftly, I scanned the room for a topic of conversation, as would have been smart to do beforehand. Logically though, the first thing that really caught my attention, in a restaurant, was the food. “Have you ever had the chance to eat in a place such as this one before?” “Nope!” She cheerfully replied. Another waiter, this time a stallion with a red coat and a slick mane, seemed to appear out of nowhere with some menus. The next instant, the poor guy glanced at me, the only one not having jumped on them like a starving timberwolf. To his carefully guarded expression, I answered with a sympathetic shrug of my shoulders and listened while he listed the specialties of the chef and the recommended dishes. “Ooooooh, what am I going to choose? Everything sounds so fun and yummy!” Scratch that, she was listening, in her own way. “Man, I dunno… there’s so much stuff there…” Calx said, his gaze transfixed by the menu. Quickly, his head turned to me, shining with curiosity. “Ventus, what’s a ratatouille?” I came up with a blank. I had heard of the dish, but never tried it. “...Dozens of veggies cooked in a pan?” For a second, Calx’s face contorted into a disgusted grimace. My heart skipped a beat. Is he…? It wouldn’t make sense, right? For a pony to hate them with such passion? My brain was running at the highest speed, trying to figure out if that had even a remotely, vagued, badly established, link to his human memories. “Oh, yuck!” Pinkie exclaimed, making a face as well. “You’re right about that, Bladey!” A flame waned inside me, quietly, without fanfare. It just disappeared and the room lost a little light to me. Not unusual, eh? Just a sign of being a kid… not necessarily a human kid… It took nearly all my self-control to keep my ears from drooping and my eyes not to shine with tears. This one had been like another kick to the guts. Struggling, I knew I had to focus on something else. Anything else, really. Briefly, I took the waiter’s ear aside to talk about the currency I was holding, fearing that my companions had stomach bigger than Celestia’s gift could satisfy. One look inside the bag had the stallion’s eyes widening so much that the fear got pushed back to the back of my mind instantly. “I assure you, Sir, that this is more than enough for any combination of items on our menu.” He eyed me with some sort of shocked respect. Slightly embarrassed by all this and certainly not craving attention at the moment, I scratched the back of my head sheepishly, hoping he would take the hint. Fortunately, he quickly assured us our food would be ready soon and left. After that, I just let myself calm down. Things weren’t complicated. I couldn’t overthink them, it was less painful. Just… no preoccupations. No, really, we just made small talk, sometimes a bit more explosively from Pinkie and, yes, it got a few aside glances, but apparently nopony had the guts to call her out when she was with us. It felt relaxing to just join in on their antics. More so, it felt natural, something I would do, not this mask of royalty I was expected to wear, nor this slowly unraveling mess of anxiety I had turned into. Even the arrival of a waiter with our ordered meals did little to disturb my inner peace. I felt like this would be a great evening. My zen-like attitude was drastically shaken though, when a chump of mashed potato squashed itself against my face. Feeling my temper flare, I fought a furious desire to chew out the one responsible, as I calmly wiped myself clean. Had somepony seriously thrown mashed potato at me? Who does that? Calx snorted, obviously amused, but the lack of guilt or fear of retribution in the way he carried himself protected him. Besides, he didn’t have mashed potatoes. He hates that. No, the one that I had to blame for that was the truly obvious culprit and I felt like smacking myself in the face for not seeing it coming. Of course. Pinkie’s body was halfway spread across the table, her traits not visible with her face smashed against her meal. She was making those… noises… of satisfaction, which had my cheeks burning up in embarrassment and… you know… Heck, a wave of whispers spread through the ponies below, with a few pairs of eyes falling on us. They were watching, making an opinion of Pinkie, of me… of Tom. They’d judge and spread the words. Like a certain fanbase… I thought venomously. Now I just wanted to buck someone’s head off. Great. I made a conscious effort to breathe deeply and not snap at anypony. Okay, Ventus, you can do this. Pinkie’s a real sweetheart with the most innocent joy ever as her sole motivation, but this needs to stop. This is actually on par with pigs. “M-Miss Pie…” I called softly, grimacing. “Yes, Sammy?” She looked up, pieces of her food sticking on her cheeks… for a few seconds anyway. Then they fell to the floor with a wet sound. I cringed. “Forgive me if you consider this insensitive, but would it be possible for you to reign yourself a bit? I fear your… manners… are making some ponies in the restaurant uncomfortable.” “Huh?” She tilted her head in the cutest possible manner. I almost gave up on the spot. Then, I heard a mother scolding her child after he had imitated her while giggling. The mare in question glared our way as she took her foal to the bathroom to clean him up. “…Pinkie, you’re ruining some ponies' evening.” “W-what?” Her voice died midword, with her expression falling. Cautiously, biting my lips, I looked for the right way to fix this. There had to be- “It’s kinda gross,” Tom muttered, making me blink. “But this is so good! And I was so looking forward to it!” She looked at us with distress in her eyes… well, behind all the layers of food… “I understand.” I nodded, wishing I could just skip over this awkward moment. “However, this makes others' experience much less satisfying, not to mention that it produces a bad model for foals to imitate.” “But…” She looked down. This is just sad, in some horrifying ways… “Now, don’t look so sad…” I did my best to sound comforting, though I figured it probably sounded as awkward as this whole thing was. “This is not a rebuke. I’m simply concerned the rest of the world will not get the chance to admire your beauty under all this gravy.” She giggled and snorted again, her whole body perking up. Tom, on the other hand, made a gagging motion and coughed something that sounded suspiciously like ‘gross’. Ignoring him and the voice in my head that said I was flirting, I lifted up a table cloth with a spell, holding it up to her level. She took the hint remarkably quickly, leaning almost instantly toward the levitating object. Softly, I moved the cloth across her visage, wiping it clean of all the food she had virtually slammed it against. In just a few movements though, her pink fur looked as clean as it ever was. “There.” I smiled, locking my gaze into hers. “Much better.” Eying the disastrous mess on our table, I held back a sigh and made my magic surround her fork. “Why don’t you just let me give you just a bite?” I tilted my head, hoping to come across as bashful and a little shy. “Open up.” Pinkie’s eyes lit up, figuring out the game this was and playfully opened her mouth widely. “Not as wide…” I smirked, this time feeling a bit of amusement at what was clearly teasing. Gently, with finesse, she closed her lips on the fork I was holding up, letting out a small hum of appreciation, then looked back at me with hopeful eyes. “Was that still good, Miss Pie?” “Yeah…” She admitted shyly, her smile screaming ‘sheepish’. “It’s just so hard to resist…” “But this way you can enjoy it longer and other ponies are more comfortable.” It was enough to convince her. “I’ll do my best so everypony can enjoy their meal, Pinkie Promise.” She solemnly did the gesture, making me sigh with relief. Crisis… averted… I had rarely been as wrong before. “Blade Darkblaze?” called a juvenile voice, one that was strangely familiar. All three of us turned simultaneously toward the source of this voice, only to discover two young fillies: Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. My jaw dropped. Tom, on the other hand… “What?” His expression darkened, no doubt recognizing the fillies. He loathed them. A part of me urged me to nip this one in the bud before it degenerated, but I was too dumbstruck to act. Why are those two…? I stared dumbly, unable to quite process and rationalize their presence. Sure, they were probably rich and able to afford this place, but why would they come seek Tom out? “R-right…” The filly stumbled at the vehemence in his voice, but still catching herself quickly. “You don’t have to hang out with Pinkie Pie. W-would you like to come with us instead, Blade?” She asked, with the kind of tone a grown woman would say to a man she hoped to seduce. Holy. Buck! Mind. Blown. Tom’s reply was instantaneous and straight to the point. “No way!” “B-but…” Her eyes were screaming how much this couldn’t be happening. I could imagine why too. Not used to not getting your way, eh, brat? “Nopony likes a bully!” He sneered, refusing to look at them. “Bladey?” Pinkie called, thoroughly confused. “W-we’re n-not bullies!” Diamond Tiara yelled, yet managing to sound uncertain and vulnerable. This might have been the first time in her life somepony she respected had called her out. “Oh yeah?” Tom jumped on his hooves and I knew this one was going to hurt for real. He marched toward them, head slightly lowered and glaring at them viciously. Seeing that, the two fillies backed away, eyes widening with something akin to fear. It was Silver Spoon that found the strength to speak, but even then, she was shaking in her boots. “Y-yeah…” At this point, Tom’s face wasn’t visible to me anymore. Nonetheless, it wasn’t hard to imagine it. To my surprise, instead of the screeching I had expected, I simply heard a loud coughing noise and that of somepony clearing his throat. When his voice came out, it was whinier, of a higher pitch and all around, girlier. On the spot, probably every patron in the restaurant that could hear us understood whose voice that was supposed to be. “Blank flanks, blank flanks!” He topped it off with a cruelly accurate snide laugh, an imitation of their own. They looked like deer caught in the headlight. “Look, those fillies don’t have their cutie marks yet, Diamond Tiara.” He pointed to an empty spot, his head turned as if talking to another foal. Then, he turned his head the other side and changed the intonation slightly. “You’re right, Silver Spoon. Let’s go be jerkfaces and rub it in their face, like MEAN BULLIES THAT NOPONY LIKES!” The whole room had fallen into shocked silence. Even the musicians had stopped to stare in horror at all the drama. As for me… well, I had to be an absolutely horrible person all around, but my only thought at those two being rolled over like that by my little brother was among the lines of… well… BURN! My inner bastard wasn’t even moved when their eyes started watering. There was something horribly wrong with me. No, really, this was two young children, being brought to tears by my little brother, and I felt nothing. No empathy at all… They ran off crying. I still didn’t find myself compelled to chastise Tom. What is wrong with me? They’re bullies, yes, but… that was brutal! Why can’t I…? I felt… broken, incomplete… At my side, Calx sat down again, glaring at his meal as if it had started insulting him. “Bladey…” Her tone of voice had my stomach churn. Worse even, her mane was straight and devoid of liveliness. “That was… really… really… mean…” “They’re mean,” he grumbled sullenly, picking at his food with his fork. Each stab was stronger than the previous one. Each stab seemed angrier. He really was the only one moving. Everypony else was still looking up to us with the kind of scandalized expression that translated as a morbid curiosity. You wouldn’t find a soul refusing to suck the scene dry of all drama, even when it seemed to be over. They still watched, just in case. Their prayers were answered. “Young colt!” A stallion thundered, making my head snap toward him. I grimaced. Oh buck… Filthy Rich… The earth pony was barreling through the restaurant, ignorant the staff that seemed completely overwhelmed by this turn of event. Really though, who would blame them? It probably wasn’t often that such an occurrence happened from their usual clientele. Filthy Rich reached the stairs with minimal interferences, while a few waiters seemed to be whispering amongst themselves for their next course of action. If I had to guess, I’d say the Royal Guard was about to show up… Still, the moment Mr. Rich stepped on the plateau, I stood up, very intently, and placed myself in front of Tom. The little squirt wasn’t even afraid; he was glaring daggers at Diamond Tiara’s pops. Fearing what could happen next if such an attitude was witness by the stallion, I extended my wings to hide as much as Tom’s form as possible. It worked. Mr. Rich’s attention was entirely focused on me. His attention was expressed through the usage of loud swearing, outraged words and spit in my face. I could understand the sentiment. With every passing word from the indignant father though, I felt my heart grow more detached. In his anger, as justifiable as it was, he was still insulting and screaming at Tom. Every one of my instincts was taking it as a declaration of war. “Sir, with all respect, kindly shut up.” The earth pony stallion stopped dead in his track, probably too shocked to speak in the face of my audacity… “Yes, his behavior was out of line.” Tom sneered at that, glaring at me now. When I glared back, he seemed rather shaken. “However, his words were nothing but an echo of the bullying your daughter and her friend perpetrates each day. They intruded and even acted disrespectful toward his friend. He had every right to reject their invitation.” “T-this is an outrage!” Cold, cold, cold. A mist was making my thoughts hazy. JUST SHUT UP! “Your parenting is an outrage, Sir, if you allowed your daughter to become an entitled brat that bullies her classmates.” Distantly, I was amazed I sounded even remotely rational in my current mental state. Mr. Rich certainly didn’t. He was still burning with the fury of an angered father. “How dare you accuse my little princess like that when this… this colt of yours just made her cry! He’s a ruffian with no manners and you should be ashamed of yourself for letting him off the bat, sir!” I narrowed my eyes, an array of words already lining up in my head, hateful words, as naught but my darker emotions remained. You pushed one too many buttons. “How many fillies have returned home in tears because of her? How many of her teacher’s reports did you ignore and pat her on the back, saying you didn’t believe those horrible lies about her, that she was still your precious princess? Do you like it, the feeling of seeing your foal heartbroken by another while the stallion that could stop it does nothing, FILTHY?!” It did the trick. The words, aimed at him with heartless precision, just cut right through his outrage and he deflated. Stuttering, he struggled with his words, his cheeks now coloring themselves red. There was no way the crowd had missed my words, nor his guilty reaction. He ran. Feeling heavy with mental fatigue now, I turned back to Tom and Pinkie, but they both held the same expression. None of us really had the heart to enjoy the night anymore. “I am sorry for the ruckus,” I said, sighing sadly. “I hope you can still enjoy the rest of your meals, everypony…” This will be a nightmare to deal with tomorrow… and I have no one to blame but myself… Quietly, we stood up, paid for our meals and went back to the castle, heads swimming with the events of the night. Pinkie was the worst of. Her cheeks were darkened by a trail of wet fur and her steps were punctuated by the sound of droplets hitting the ground. You wondered ‘what could go wrong’, eh? Everything. ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING! Does that answer your question, Pinkie?