//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13 
// Story: How I Became An Alicorn... 
// by ShadowBolt94 
//------------------------------//

(***AN: Quick little tip, anything with an * and a number next to it is a note that will be listed in the actual AN at the bottom of the page, in order to make sense of it you can briefly scroll down to read the note and then go back to reading where you were, also I finally got a chapter under 16,000 words! Yay.***) 
How I Became an Alicorn
Chapter 13-
An Unexpected Turn of Events
Twilight Sparkle paused as she sipped from her tea and watched as her daughter stared at her with her eyes wide in anticipation. She seemed to take her time and it was making Nyx edgy as she scooted forward nudging her mother gently with her hand. 
“Well….?! What happened in the volcano?!” she asked impatiently. 
“Oh. I’m not at liberty to discuss that with anyone. International agreement with the Italian government on that matter.  I’d have to call Gelo to get permission first. Which won’t be all that difficult when I tell him it’s you asking about it. He always did have a soft spot for you.” She teased noticing her daughter’s timid reaction at the mention of the older Alicorn. She smiled and continued as she set down her tea and picked up a cookie. “But I can skip to what happened right after our business was concluded in the volcano. That’s not protected by the agreement.” She offered as she bit into the cookie. Nyx quickly nodded and Twilight smiled at her daughter’s enthusiasm for the story. ‘Wonder where on EARTH she got THAT trait…’ Twilight mused to herself. “Okay, well after the volcano incident we all congregated back to the dock…” 
***
“Whoa that was totally awesome!!! I mean Angelo was all like pew pew pew with his CLASSIFIED; And then CLASSIFIED came in and just swooped in to save the day before the CLASSIFIED unleash the CLASSIFIED and rain it’s doom like the big meanie pants it was and then me and Rainbow were all like ‘We’ll Help!’ but then I totally tripped on that weird looking stone that Twi called the CLASSIFIED and that bottle of CLASSIFIED spilled into the volcano and so did Cassy! Then there was that great big cloud of CLASSIFIED that merged with Gelo’s CLASSIFIED and there was that huge awesome explosion that took out all those meanie’s and then Cassy rose out of the volcano like that super cool Arny guy that was like a cyborg from the future or something and he totally caught that CLASSIFIED right under the ol’ CLASSIFIED and it was like a total one hit K-O! Seriously that was AWESOME!!!” Pinkie cheered jumping in the air and doing her best impression of a pegasus with how high she was going. 
“Yes, but remember Pinkie, you have to keep all this under wraps. We don’t want this getting out to the public to worry them. It’s bad enough I’m going to have to come out of hiding now.” Angelo explained with a weary sigh as he shook his head his shaggy white hair dancing across his face as he walked his torn and tattered white robe hanging loosely from his shoulders just barley covering his white wings. Not that it mattered much, everyone on the island had already seen him, the whole of Italy had probably seen him actually. Which meant it wouldn’t be long until most of the world would hear all about the ‘Mysterious Alicorn Boy’ that had flown out of Mount Vesuvius with an unknown energy source shooting into the sky behind him out of the volcano. He was sure the locals would spread rumors about it being a second judgment day… without all the tragedy and death. 
“Well, the important part of this is that Applejack and Rainbow here are no longer wanted criminals. Thanks to our newest friend here.” Twilight mused lightly nudging the tall golden armored male that walked alongside them. 
“Well, it isn’t much. Like I said before these two aren’t cut out to be cold hearted killers like me.” He mused playfully ruffling the two athlete’s hair. Surprisingly enough neither of them minded and only gave him a playful punch in the arm to make him stop. 
“Aw stick a cork in it you big softie. We all know yer not half as cold hearted ya’d like us to think. Yer just a big ol’ pile of mush under all that armor.” Applejack teased poking him in the chest plate. 
“Actually technically speaking I’m little more than a pile of dust without the armor but I see what you mean by it anyways.” He chuckled before nudging Rainbow with his elbow. “So are you gonna need me to come with you to the island or are you all good with just Pales escorting you…?” he asked. Rainbow looked from the girls as they walked up to the boat ramp. 
“I think we’re good with sheep boy. But you keep it cool here alright? I promise we’ll have the kid back in his little corner of the world before we head back to Equestria. Sound square Goldy…?” she asked holding out her fist to the man as the remainder of the girls and the two boys that were now accompanying them loaded onto the boat along with riptide who was happily listening to Pinkie recount the epic battle which he had also been there to see. Casco 'oro grinned and bumped fists with the girl.
*** "Whoa, Hold up a second. I think I need a little bit of clarification here. I get that it's classified and everything but how in Luna's starry sky did they go from trying to kill each other to being best buddies just because of a little lava and some kind of awesome showdown that I'm going to have to drag the details out of Gelo the next time I see him...?" Nyx asked her disbelief for the sudden change making her face contort a little. Her mother simply smiled a little and Spike grinned. 
"You'd be surprised at how quick we tend to make friends Nyx, besides if there's one thing I've learned it's that life or death situations tend to make people fast friends through the magic of adrenaline. That and it's Rainbow Dash, Cas is literally just a living weapon of course she was going to bond to him once she got passed the giant jerk shell he has!" Spike explained with a snort of laughter.
"Precisely, now as I was saying..." Twilight continued.***     
“Have fun Archo*1, remember what I said about little Timido*2 over there huh?” he offered nodding towards the pink haired girl who was currently watching as Pinkie bounced around Riptide like an over excited puppy. Rainbow laughed and smiled at him before she nodded and boarded the ship bringing the loading platform up with her. The group all stood by the railing waving at the group of people they were leaving behind with friendly smiles on all of their faces. When at last they were out at sea heading for the island once more they all sighed and watched the sun set below the horizon. It was quite the sight and for once everyone found themselves wanting to stay on the deck instead of dispersing through the ship. Even when the sun had set they sat on the roof of the control deck and watched Luna’s stars start to fill the night sky. When the cool night air started to nip at them the crew came up with blankets and cups of hot chocolate for all of them. 
It was, despite the hectic day they’d had, a very beautiful night to spend staring up at the stars with your friends. Twilight closed her eyes as she let the wind carry her long dark hair behind her and she took in the feeling of having so many close friends surrounding her. A year ago she was worrying over how her finals would turn out, not caring in the least if she ever had social contact outside her family. Now she had friends, real friends. And she was making more every day. It made something inside her soar a little at the thought of that. 
Beside her the white haired Alicorn boy was feeling something very similar, he’d had friends that he spoke to online but he had never had this before. He’d never sat surrounded by people who truly cared about him, not because he was part of a race descended from the gods but simply because he was him. Pales was the closest thing to that and he was far more like an older brother than a friend. This was new, refreshing, and liberating. His feathers danced in the sea air as he closed his eyes and simply listened to it all, to the girls talking to each other, to the crew mates cracking jokes at one another’s expense, at the calm sea crashing against the boat as it made its way to a legendary island that most of mankind wasn’t even aware existed. This was certainly a far cry from what he had expected to happen when he woke up this morning. But he was so glad it did.
“Ohhhhh! Twiley, Gelo look! A shooting star! Quick! Make a wish!” Pinkie urged pointing at the glowing twinkling star that seemed to stream across the beautifully painted scenery before them. 
‘I wish this moment could last forever…’ Twilight and Angelo quickly prayed to the wishing star. They opened their eyes to see the rest of their friends just opening their eyes and knew just from the looks that they gave that they were thinking something along the same lines. Angelo looked up when he felt a gaze on his back and looked over to see Pales sitting on the railing smiling at him. Angelo stood and walked over to him blanket still wrapped around his shoulders and flaring back a bit in the wind as he walked. He leaned against the railing and smiled up at him. 
“You look like an elderly man reminiscing at the sight of his grandchildren growing up as you watch me from over here brother, why not join us…?” he asked the mint haired boy. Pales smiled and shook his head before staring out at the slowly rising moon. 
“I’m quite content with watching from afar Angelo, I’m just happy to see you enjoying yourself for once.” he admitted his deep blue eyes resting on the smaller boy. 
“Well this is a far cry from my normal night wouldn’t you say…? I think it’s appropriate my response be altered as well. My only concern now is-“
“Master… I know. His potential reaction worries me too. But…” Pales paused looking at the six girls who were listening as Twilight was now pointing out a few constellations to them; a smile crossed his ageless face. “I think… that if he paused for a moment and actually took the time to try and see what we see in them… then he wouldn’t be able to judge you badly for all that you’ve done today. You were right you know… when you said that they were special. I just never knew it went beyond their destinies.” Pales mused watching as the girls all huddled close together and then seemed to notice the pair of boys. They waved them over and Pales smiled politely raising a hand to decline as he stood. He ruffled Angelo’s hair slightly before turning towards the hatch that lead back down to the control deck. “You should get back to them Gelo, enjoy the peaceful ride. It won’t be much longer before things start to get hectic again.” He warned his brother before he disappeared down the hatch leaving the white haired Alicorn boy staring at where he had vanished with a ghost’s smile still on his lips. 
Angelo turned back around to face his new friends and walked over to sit beside Twilight once more. Just said girl turned to him a curious face greeting him as he sat back down. “What was that about…?” she asked.
“Just Pales playing the wise old man again. I swear, he sometimes acts a lot older than 28. It’s amusing really.” He lamented before his eyes widened and he pointed up at the stars. “Look Twilight! The full Pegasus constellation is out tonight! He stated pointing at the collection of stars. Rainbow perked at that scanning the billions of glowing orbs feverishly. Angelo noticed this and smiled. “Here, let me connect the dots for you a bit.” He mused his fingertips glowing golden as he brought them up to the night sky like it was a board for him to write on. Evidently for an Alicorn child, it was. He connected the dots together using golden lines of his magic creating an outline around it so that the great horse that represented the ancient race was clearly seen.
Rainbow beamed at him. “That’s so cool Gelo! Can you do anything else with them?!” she asked excited by the impressive display. Gelo waved his hand over the ‘drawing’ and it shimmered out of existence. 
“I could, but I’m not all too sure Luna would approve of part of her masterpiece suddenly running across the sky like it was alive once again. And it would probably cause a worldwide panic as well.” He explained with a small nervous smile. 
“Aww… that’s a shame. Any other mind bending Alicorn stuff you can do that won’t get the sisters or the world all riled up…?” Applejack asked with a small grin as she leaned back on her hands to avoid Rarity who had been trying to lean on her shoulder. It caused the girl to tumble over and land in her lap instead. Red faced and flustered by the farmer’s sly little trick she quickly sat back up and tried to pretend it didn’t happen. 
“Hmmm… none that I can think of… Oh! Wait, yes! Here, anyone have any parchment and a pen?” he asked. To the surprise of no one, Twilight produced the materials from her bag offering her notebook to the boy along with a fountain pen. He smiled at her taking the pen in his left hand and sitting cross legged as his tongue stuck out  a  little in concentration as he worked. In less time than it took Pinkie to get impatient and start to look over his shoulder he dotted something on the paper firmly and with the tip of the pen still glowing a little with golden aura he lifted it off the paper and with it pulled what he had drawn. Three small horses, one a unicorn, another a pegisai, and the last a regular earth bound horse trotted off the paper and seemed to come to life in the air before them. 
They snorted a little letting out small jets of dust like golden magic that their outline bodies were made of before they each trotted over to the pair they represented. The unicorn was dancing gracefully around Rarity and Twilight Sparkle’s head its small horn sparking with golden energy as its bright form made their faces glow with its radiance. The Pegasus was doing laps around Rainbow’s head before it landed carefully on Fluttershy’s outstretched finger like a dainty butterfly. She leaned in tilting her head marveling at the sight along with Dash as the winged horse whinnied at them and tickled each of their noses with its primary feathers. The two wiggled their noses at it before giggling in unison. The earthen horse galloped strongly in the air around the farmer and the party animal. They watched as it leapt from one of their shoulders to the other’s and then would seem to run off into the air and perform a few more stunts for the pair showing off its power and speed to them. They laughed as they watched the scene and Pinkie even held out her hand to the golden horse which it gratefully nuzzled before it hopped into it and ran across her body like it was the great plains and then did laps around AJ’s hat like it was a race track. 
“My creations, whenever I write something or draw, they have a habit of… well coming to life. Not always so literally mind you but it’s been known to effect people pretty powerfully.” Angelo stated before he again waved his hand and the three horse vanished only leaving behind small clouds of gold dust that quickly dissipated in the wind. The six girls looked very disappointed for a second before they looked back at Gelo and got ahold of themselves again. It had felt like they had been enchanted to look at the horses, like something about them just drew them to the magical doodles of their races. 
“That… pull that they gave off, is that normal?” Twilight asked the boy. 
“Well, I wanted you to like them, so yes. My will feeds into my creations Twilight. When I write and I want people to cry me a river they do. If I paint and I want people to feel sentimental they start to find themselves thinking about home, or if I want someone to feel unbridled joy just by reading a Christmas card, I can do that.” He explained carefully.  
Rarity was the first to speak. “My that’s… quite the powerful gift.” She commented. 
“Yes… and one unfortunately that could be very easily misused. It’s why my grandfather didn’t want to expose me to things that would compromise my way of thinking. I think it’s quite obvious how easy it would be for my talent to be used badly.” He continued as his gaze lowered back down to the pad in front of him. 
“One bad feeling…” Dash started.
“Leads ta one bad drawin’-“ AJ continued.
“And then next thing we know there’s some kind of super mean monster running through Rome burning it to the ground with the flames of angst!” Pinkie gasped dramatically putting her hands on the side of her head.
“Girls, calm down.” Twilight urged before she placed a gentle hand on Angelo’s shoulder and smiled at the boy. “Angelo is very responsible for his age. And I would imagine that your grandfather is to you much like Celestia is to me. A mentor to guide you and teach you how to control it right?” she asked. Angelo nodded staring off into the distance once more. 
“He’s not home very often… but when he is he always sets aside time for me. Actually, funny thing is he was supposed to be coming into town today.” He laughed a little doodling on the pad of paper once more. “But he called in early this morning saying he was going to be stopping nearby to spend the day with an old friend of his who was vacationing nearby… Sunny something or another.” 
Twilight’s face deadpanned. “Sunny Shores…?” she asked her voice squeaking out  a little as the rest of her friends slowly grew a look of disdain matching hers. 
Angelo looked up shocked. “Yes actually, do you know her…?” he asked the girls. He looked around noticing their faces. “Girls…? Okay this is getting weird, even Pinkie looks like she's terrified. Girls who is she?” he asked nudging them a little after waving his hand in front of their faces. A loud ship’s whistle interrupted him and Captain Vents came on over the intercom. 
“It is with the greatest pleasure that I welcome you all back to Déesse Paradis Island. And if my look out isn’t hallucinating I believe there’s a very special guest waiting to greet you all on the docks!” he mused. A familiar cold rock hit the pit of Angelo’s stomach as he felt the powerful presence growing closer. 
“Figlio di Troia…” he hissed under his breath as they all rushed to the front of the ship as they started to pull up to the island. Standing on the dock watching with the two regal sisters at his side and the fairy queen flittering behind him stood a white robed old man who’s silver white hair was neatly combed back to reveal a complex looking crest in the center of his forehead and two powerful looking silver eyes that locked with the golden orbs of his grandson aboard the ship. The girls quickly started to whisper amongst themselves  as the ship came to dock at the large pier. 
Angelo swallowed hard but steeled himself standing tall and squaring his shoulders as he took flight off the ship and came to land in front of his grandfather and the three regal women in his company. He kneeled and lowered his head so that he was looking down at the sea worn wood at his feet. 
“Grandfather… I’m sorry for this intrusion. I’m sure you’re very confused as to why I’m here-“ he started before a gentle hand with many thick jeweled rings brought his chin up to look the old man in the eyes. The stone cold face softened and melted away into a gentle smile. When he spoke his very voice made the girls who were just coming off the ship themselves halt in their steps. 
“Angelo, my sweet child. I’m already very well aware of why you’re here. I had known this day would come for many years now.” The Pope explained with a soft smile at his white haired grandson. 
“Whaaaaaaaaat?!?!” came the collective gasp of the six girls and the boy himself. Their gasps brought the attention of the other adults to them. 
“Ah, there you girls are. Did you have a fun time in Rome?” Celestia asked happily walking over to them. Luna walked beside her before noticing their looks of shock. 
“Sister, I believe they are more concerned with what Joey just said rather than how their day went. It is not as if we don’t already know anyhow.” Luna commented. The six stares shifted to the moon and sun diarchy’s faces. 
“You were WATCHING us?! And you didn’t think to send in a little divine intervention?!” Rainbow roared once she realized the implications, she flew up ready to test just how hard you could punch an Alicorn without breaking your fist. Fluttershy quickly caught Rainbow by the back of her shirt and brought her back down to the ground murmuring in her ear to sooth her. While that went on Celestia explained. 
“We were watching, yes. But Joey specifically asked us not to intervene, unless of course your lives had really been at risk. Which, judging by all of you standing here in one piece, worked out just fine.” She explained with a smile. 
Angelo had heard this and looked up at his grandfather shocked. “Y-you saw it?! All of it?!” he asked panicked instantly by his grandfather having seen all the embarrassing outbursts he had had that day. 
“Well, yes. And quite frankly I was ready to give a thorough lecture when I stopped watching, which was just after you left the volcano. But… someone showed me something that changed my mind.” ‘Joey’ continued. Behind them the group heard footsteps and turned to see Pales walking towards them the two war horses being led by reigns he had in each hand. He stopped in front of the pope and kneeled. 
“Master, you called for me?” he asked as he lowered his head.
“Yes, I did son, but try not to call me that in front of my friends. Just sir or Joseph will do just fine.” He stated plainly with a small sigh at the boy’s over formal tendencies. “And what have I told you about kneeling when we’re in private?” he groaned before bringing the boy up to his level and chastising him for his behavior. 
“S-sorry sir. Won’t happen again sir.” Pales replied quickly straightening out as he stood back on his feet. “I didn’t actually know this counted as a private situation.” He added with quick glances thrown at the three regal women behind Joseph to cover up some of his mistake. 
“I’m on a private island with none of my private guard and two of my oldest friends to do nothing more than catch up. This is about as informal as it gets son.” He explained motioning to the two regal sisters. “Given… I did have a BIT of business with them to start out with… just a minor detail.” He commented more offhandedly.
“Thou calls hiding away your only grandson who happens to be one of our kind away for 13 years a MINOR detail Joseph?!” Luna snapped back. Joseph winced but only smiled in turn. 
“Well, perhaps it was a little bit bigger than I originally made it out to be… but the result is the same! And I must thank you for your help in this Pales. I would have made a fool of myself here if it were not for your insight on the matter at hand.” He stated calmly turning and giving the mint haired boy a warm smile. 
Angelo however was now very confused. “P-Pales?! You’re the one that convinced grandfather not to punish me?!” he asked turning with a very shocked stare at his friend. 
Pales nervously scratched his chin. “Well uh… I-I may have, just a little…” he trailed off his voice returning to the soft and meek tone that Rainbow Dash and Applejack had originally heard him use when they first met. It reminded the group far too much of the shy pegasus that was watching the scene with a confused stare like the rest of them. 
“Joey, perhaps we should all head into the house and sit down for tea while we explain what we’ve been up to today…?” The regal fairy queen Tianna offered. 
“Ah, an excellent idea Tianna. Come children, I believe there’s a young boy that was worried about you all who’s making tea right now.” Joseph commented as he turned towards the house his long white robe twirling around him and flowing back in the wind like an epic superhero’s cape. 
Twilight was quickly brought back to her senses at that sentence. “Oh my Faust SPIKE!” She shouted before she bolted past the pope and ran towards the house with agility that made Rainbow Dash whistle. 
“Remind me to tell her there’s a big sale on books in town and then time how fast she takes to get there.” She stated playfully nudging Applejack as they all walked to the house. 
“Ah think she’d put ya ta shame if ya did that partner. Best not to ruin your fragile little pride.” The farmer snickered. 
Rainbow nodded and then realized the insult behind it. “Hey!” she shouted but Applejack was already running towards the house, she growled and took off after her. “Get back here you smart ass!” she snarled. Fluttershy winced quickly looking to the four adults who were all rather proper and against such vocabulary but none of them seemed to mind as Rarity and Pinkie were chatting them up so she sighed in relief before resuming her trek up to the beach house. 
Inside the house there was a clatter of china as Twilight Sparkle came in and tackled hugged the small boy who was just bringing in a tray of tea so hard that it flew in the air and was only saved when the fairy boy on the couch caught it midair with his magic and set it on the table gently. 
“Spike! I’m so sorry!  I’d completely forgotten you’d warned me about Pinkie’s antics! But I couldn’t stop her she was just gone from the moment we stepped in the city and she dragged me along with her! Then we got chased by all the local police for wrecking havoc on the city and almost got arrested for kidnapping and-“ 
Twilight’s rant was cut off by Spike pinching her lips shut and him cocking a green eyebrow up at her with a knowing smile already on his face. “Twi, chill. I already know about all that. Celestia and Luna told me you guys had gotten into a bit of trouble and I already knew THAT was gonna happen with Pinkie Pie there.” He laughed before letting her lips go and wiggling his way out of her hold. He righted the hoodie he was wearing and then turned back to face her. “I knew you guys would be fine after the way you handled yourselves yesterday! I was worried sure, but Avery kept me plenty occupied so I didn’t get to think about it too much.” He explained pointing at the now modernly clothed fairy boy who fluttered beside Spike now. 
Twilight stared in shock for a second before she felt a smile come up on his face despite herself. “Well, that’s great then. I’m glad you two had fun today…” she trailed off as the rest of the group started to enter through the open glass doors of the foyer. “Oh! Spike, Avery, I’d like you both to meet my newest friend! Angelo this is my younger brother Spike and his friend Avery. He’s the son of Tianna who you’ve already met.” She explained bringing the winged boy over. Angelo blinked and smiled at the two boys offering out his hands to them which they took and shook. 
“It’s a pleasure meeting you both, especially you Spike. Twilight has spoken in length about you today.” He mentioned with a polite smile and then a slightly devious one cast at Twilight who had straightened at his comment. Spike’s reptilian eyes slowly slid sideways at his sister. 
“Oh has she now…?” he asked carefully. Twilight smiled nervously her eyes darting from one boy to the other before Spike turned his own gaze back to the white haired boy in front of him and froze with his mouth open before he could continue further. Instead of questioning what exactly his sister had said about him he caught the sight of the intricate crest in the middle of the boy’s forehead and his words halted and were replaced by newer more astonished ones. “StarSwirl’s beard, y-you’re an Alicorn!” he gasped backing away a little in shock. Angelo’s golden eyes looked up to where his crest sat on his fore head and then quickly smiled nervously. 
“Whoops… well it’s kind of pointless to hide that now since it’ll be all over the news tomorrow morning anyways…” he remarked with a sigh. “Yes, I am. It’s a long story…” he explained to the two shocked boys who stared at him with wide eyes. Avery was especially intrigued by this. 
“Spike, I thought you informed me that the Alicorn race was made up of strictly females…?” he asked fluttering around the body of the taller boy to examine him properly tugging a little at his wings and then tapping him on the crest to make sure both were real and not just props and paint. 
Angelo frowned slightly. “And up until about ten minutes ago I was under the impression the fey went extinct over a millennia ago.” He smarted back. Avery backed away a little smiling nervously. 
“Touché.” He remarked before his mother came in and his eyes lit up as he flew over and danced around her happily. 
“Mother! Look! Twilight’s new friend is an Alicorn like Aunt Celestia and Luna!” he said pointing at the white winged boy who now stood staring a little dumbstruck by the fairy boy’s sudden change in personality. Tianna merely laughed and gently held the small boy in her long arms. 
“Yes Avery, we’ve been watching their group all day remember? I already knew that.” She giggled bopping him on the nose gently and then tickling his stomach which made him burst out in a fit of giggles as well. They looked so happy, like the world was nothing to them as they were lost in their shared embrace. Angelo felt a pang in his heart and brought his hand over his chest at the pain that came from seeing the pair so carefree and lost in their bond. A gentle hand on his shoulder brought him back around and he looked up to see his grandfather smiling at him softly. The pain dissipated a little but it was still there, the want for the same thing that boy had… jealous he had a mother who could hold him like that. 
“Control Angelo, remember to control it.” Joseph reminded the boy as he watched the royal fairy pair embrace lost in their own little world. The look of longing remained but Angelo bit his lip and looked away choosing to stare instead at his friends who looked at him with worried stares. 
“I-I am fine. It merely caught me off guard is all.” He explained to them putting on a brave smile. The girls all exchanged a shared look before they all came forward Pinkie being the first to shroud him in a gentle nurturing hug, Fluttershy was next spreading her wings around them like a shield from the outside world. The rest of the girls joined in Dash mirroring Fluttershy’s gesture the tips of their wings brushing against one another as the ring of protection was formed. 
At the center of the tender hearted circle Angelo had lost himself in the feeling of shared affection, the closest thing he had to compare it to was the caring embrace of Elisabetta that she had often given him when he was much younger. It made the jealousy he had previously felt melt away, he may not be able to ever hug his own mother but he had this… and for now that was more than enough. When the group hug broke apart he saw the gentle smiles of all the adults and Pales greeting him. He blushed a little and cleared his throat. 
“So, you were going to explain Grandfather…?” he prompted trying to deflect their gazes. The adults all sat down on the soft cushions of the extended couch that wrapped its way around the large media center that centered the living room. The TV that had been playing in the background was muted by Spike who had taken to serving the tea and setting out plates of snacks. 
“Yes, you see it started this morning when Casco reminded me that he would be attending the tournament in the city proper that day and that he wouldn’t be able to escort me back to the city. Being my most trusted guard this concerned me and I tried to think of something that I could occupy myself with for the day that wouldn’t require armed guards with me at all times. When my ship was making its way to the city I felt the familiar presence of Celestia and Luna nearby and quickly ordered my driver to turn the ship in that direction. That was when I called you to tell you I wouldn’t be able to make it today. I decided to use this opportunity of them being in the area to come clean about your existence. I had told them in letters about you but never about your… origins. I honestly feared that they would attempt to take you from me if I told them. But it seems that in my infinite wisdom I forgot a very key detail about my old friends…” he explained rubbing the back of his head a bit.
“We don’t separate children from their guardians. When we brought Cadence to the castle we also brought her mother so that she would feel more at ease. And we asked for extensive permission first. We never ordered anything.” Celestia and Luna explained in unison not even batting an eyelash at their synchronization. 
“Even though I’d only returned very recently that was a law that had remained set in stone, a law that we abide by dutifully if only from personal experience.” Luna added with a kind smile cast at the boy. Angelo gave her a small smile in return knowing that these two shared the same pain he did, especially Luna considering how young she was when her Mother left.
“Right… so needless to say I felt quite like the rear end of a mule when they pointed that out. After our initial business was concluded we got to speaking about other matters, they eventually told me about you six.” He stated nodding at the girls who were still staying relatively close to his grandson, it warmed his heart and showed in his smile when he looked at them. “They told me all about it, how Celestia had found you Twilight Sparkle and how through your studies you developed rather antisocial habits. Then how she had sent you to a new school far away from the walls of the castle with her sister in attempt to get you both some real friends. And then how you met these lovely young ladies and flipped your world right on its head.” He laughed. Twilight blushed glancing a little at the girls that surrounded her and were now smiling at her with the same amused smile. It was quite embarrassing to hear her mentor had spoken about her little socialization issue but it was receding as he continued speaking taking the heat off her. 
“Well just after she described you all we were quite interrupted by your young brother here, he came in after sensing that something was off and shouting about something called a ‘Pinkiesaster’. Well Celestia didn’t waste any time and conjured a scrying glass for us to see you all with. We watched as you broke into my chapel and quite literally kidnapped my grandson. I was of course distressed at first but Luna was actually the one that convinced me not to worry. She defended the action saying it was something of the norm for you Miss Pie. With a little talking they both convinced me to sit down and ‘enjoy the show’ as they put it. We watched it all, and I found myself astonished at the transformation you went through Angelo. In just a matter of hours these two girls managed to do what I had built up inside you for the entire length of your life. To say I was astonished was an understatement. You even went so far as to break into a laughter and adrenaline fueled rebellion where you cursed the rules I had laid out for you. I had read many parenting books so I wasn’t unfamiliar with the concept of angst, I knew it would come with age and that my methods of… repression would eventually backfire on me but Celestia was the one who gave me the best advice on this matter.”
“’Let him blow off the steam, this is the first time he’s been able to leave that chapel and he’s finally seeing the world for what it is, let him take it as he will and pray that your guidance was enough to push him in the right direction.’ It’s the same advice I’ve given many of my subjects when they come to me asking for guidance about their troubled children. It often comes down to who they choose to bond with, and since he had latched onto my prized student and her friends I could tell he would be in capable hands.” Celestia explained with a caring smile given to the dark haired magic user. Twilight again was left blushing and Pinkie was beaming from ear to ear. 
“Thaaaaat’s right~! If anyone knows when enough is enough it’s Twilight here! And with me teaching him how to have fun and her keeping him sane there was no chance he’d snap! Oh, except for when I gave him those water balloons… he did get a little out of hand there.” Pinkie admitted with a small shrug of indifference. Rainbow and Applejack snickered at this and it caught the attention of Celestia.  
“Oh and don’t think we forgot about you two. You just as big of a contributor to this fiasco as they were. Although I do have to applaud you on that last move of yours Rainbow I haven’t witnessed a pegasus with that much power in their magic since Hurricane himself was alive.” She turned to face Applejack just as Dash puffed out her chest a little in pride. “Or seen an Earthbound with that much resilience in them since Smart Cookie went on that trek with Puddinghead in the lead. I still wonder to this day how she survived the storms Hurricane tried to throw at them. But I digress; you both are still at fault for causing the scene to begin with. Now that it’s over and Cas has returned of course the charges will be dropped but we went ahead and put in our foot there and made sure the two of you would suffer no other consequences. But from now on I would appreciate it if you would tone it down on the showy moves when you’re in a foreign nation and being broadcasted on live television, savvy?” she asked the pair. The both smiled sheepishly and nodded. Celestia smiled and nodded. “Good, did you want to continue Joey…?” she asked the man beside her. 
“Yes, you see there was one more rather significant event that occurred that I think needs a bit of recognition… Your choice to defy your mother’s wish and reveal yourself. I have my opinion on it… but I first want to hear why. Why did you choose something so… drastic after only knowing these girls for a matter of hours?” he asked his grandson. Angelo blinked and slowly turned to look at the six girls that stood behind him. A small smile crossed his lips and looked around for a second before he found the fountain pen he had used before, he however did not take the pad of paper this time instead choosing to stand as the point of the pen glowed and he illustrated his tale to his grandfather and the rest of them by using the air around him as his medium. With delicate flicks of his wrist images began playing before their eyes like a movie made of golden magic. 
“Thirteen years ago I was born in a back alley to a woman who to this day is still unknown to any of us, with her dying breath she gave me a name and told the only person around at the time to take me to the safe haven of the chapel so that I could live a life without burden. Upon meeting my grandfather for the first time I produced a magical surge that was powerful enough to not only shake the foundation of the ancient structure but imbue the boy who had fulfilled my mother’s wish with power beyond that of just a mere mortal. Seconds after this surge ended I was revealed to have a mark imprinted on my leg that has forever been known as the mark of the Messenger. Faust’s supposed chosen that were born to mark the world in some form or another. 
“With this knowledge in his mind he adopted me and added his name to my many. I grew up isolated. My only friends being those who were hired to look after me and Pales, the boy who I had blessed. I tried to fill my isolation with tireless study, learning new things about the world outside made me happy and fed my secret hopes of someday being able to see it for myself. But as I grew older those dreams became buried under my work, tucked away in a little corner of my mind and only surfaced in my wildest dreams where just for a second I could see the beautiful rainforests of the Amazon, taste the sharp air of the Himalayan mountains, and walk the crowded Manhattan streets without anyone looking twice at me. To be free. To live my own life not separate from my family or my duty but to have a CHOICE in the matter. And then I’d wake up, staring at a cold grey ceiling with my dim candlelit work desk beside me and the same comforting scent of old books and a breakfast of oatmeal greeting me to another day of routine. 
“For thirteen years I lived like that. And then my world exploded, quite literally actually, with the appearance of two very strange girls who, again literally speaking here, swept me off my feet and dragged me out of the walls that had kept me safe and yet imprisoned me all my life. They took me on a wild ride, being chased by the law enforcement across the city and then getting them off our trail by making two cardboard cut outs come to life and making a third look alike of myself out of nothing but a feather. It was bizzare, and it all felt like it was happening too fast. Like it wasn’t real at all and I was just having another one of those crazy dreams again. But another part of my mind, the part that never stopped dreaming, told me it wasn’t. It was real. These girls from a nation so far from my own had found me, and they wanted nothing more than to make me happy. To teach me how to be normal. To teach me how to actually LIVE rather than just survive. It was amazing. They took me to a clothing store and there I realized just how sheltered I had been, enough that I couldn’t even dress myself properly. It was saddening but they added a sweet flavor to it and taught me how. 
“Then they did something even more magical to me, they talked to me. ME, the shut in who had been nothing but the Pope’s dutiful grandson just hours before. Me who had nothing interesting to talk about other than the stories my only friend shared with me about HIS adventures. But they talked, and I listened. They told me about their friends, and what kind of crazy adventures they’d been on in the short time they’d been together. How one of them shared my background of being in a hierarchy, being privately taught by one of the deities many, including myself, worship. She was alone too, a shut in and covered it with her studies just as I had. But they had found her too. Sniffed her out like blood hounds and dragged her into the light and thrown balloons and streamers in her face to welcome her into their warm circle. They befriended her despite who she was formally. They hadn’t cared or even batted an eyelash at it. And that got me thinking…
‘What if I could have that too…?’ 
“They continued to teach me about the world I had been blind to, the world I had been forbidden to see. And the more I heard about it them deeper I fell. Before I had even realized it I was SMILING for these girls, a genuine smile. My own Grandfather had not seen such a smile on me in years! I was astonished to say the least, I didn’t know what had come over me! These girls, one who could relate to me so well, and another who didn’t give two rat’s tails if you were Faust herself and just wanted to see you happy, were changing me. The layers of cold isolation I had around my heart started to melt, I was happy again! And something inside me, the Dreamer inside me, told me they could be trusted. With everything. I could be myself, who and what I was born to be and they wouldn’t care. They saw me as Angelo. Not anyone or anything else, just me. When I met up with their other friends after the grand escape from the city I had witnessed actions I never thought I’d see before. Actions that were completely selfless, how they defended one another even though they were facing impossible odds. True friendship and harmony. That was what I saw inside each of them. 
“With that in mind I knew they could be trusted, that they wouldn’t mind if I didn’t hide anymore. And that somehow… someday, neither would the rest of the world.” He finished the final picture being of all of the faces they’d met together in one large group surrounded by unmarked faces of random people all circling the Alicorn boy in the center with smiles on all of their faces and hands held out in acceptance. The golden image dissolved and faded into the air as he turned to face his grandfather. 
“I don’t want to hide anymore. I don’t want to be confined to a fate my mother chose for me. I understand she wanted to protect me, and that you do as well, and that’s perfectly fine. But this world isn’t as bad as you make it out to be. There are good honest people out there. People like these six who would accept me for who I am along with what I am. Sure there will be the others, those that put me up too higher than I actually am or those who want to use me because of my position, but that’s life. And more importantly, it’s the life I choose.” He finished a look of solid determination in his eyes as they locked with his grandfather’s. Behind him there were a few sniffles as the girls were handed tissues out of a box Spike was holding and when he was sure no one was focusing on him he himself wiped a little tear from his eye but the main focus was on the two males that were holding each other’s intense gaze firmly. 
Finally after what seemed like an eternity to all present Joseph’s eyes softened and he smiled at the boy. “You’re right.” He stated simply. Jaws dropped and confetti flew out from Pinkie’s mouth as it fell but their gazes never left the old man as he continued. “How you live your life should be your own choice, and I was wrong to try and keep you from it. And for that I apologize.” He stated. Pinkie was now grinning and about to pull out her stops and declare a party in celebration as she leapt into the air. “But…” She crashed face first into the floor. “This ‘coming out’ deal that you’re trying to do, it needs to be done gradually and properly to the public. Not by exploding out of a volcano with a show of power for the entire world to see.” He explained with a knowing smile. Angelo smile a little at that and scratched his chin. 
“Well… to be fair Grandfather I didn’t have much choice in the matter.” He reasoned with a nervous chuckle. 
The pope chuckled as well. “I know, but we still have to do some damage control.” He explained before turning to face the girls that were sitting on the other end of the couch. “And I’m quite sorry for not introducing myself beforehand, I’m Pope Benedict XVI by title but here I’m just Angelo’s worrying grandfather Joseph Ratzinger. You all may call me what you like.” He stated with a warm smile at the six. 
Twilight Sparkle was the first to come forward and greet him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you sir, I’m Twilight Sparkle and- wait a second… where’s Pinkie?” she asked noticing the distinct lack of a pink blur knocking her out of the way to introduce herself first. She looked over to see Luna on her laptop with Spike, Avery, and Pinkie all leaning over her watching her as her long slender fingers danced across the keyboard as she worked away. Beside her Celestia sat gracefully with on leg draped over the other as she smiled over at her student with her eyes closed and golden magic glowing around them. Twilight curiously walked over and peered over Spike’s shoulder at Luna’s screen. Green infiltration codes and streams of data flowed in the background over the Equestrian Government’s insignia and had a small box that had a loading bar filling up over it. “Luna… why are you hacking into our government files…?” she asked the lunar princess with a deadpanned look. 
“I’m not.” She replied simply. Twilight sighed in relief before she continued. “I’m hacking into the world’s media center and deleting all evidence of the volcano incident from the internet and media in general.” She said as she continued entering code into the computer as more and more boxes started to pop up all showing similar loading bars in many different languages. “So far I’m about half way through.” She stated although it was directed at her sister not the people that were watching over her shoulder. 
“Excellent, I myself have almost finished the wiping spell.” Celestia replied opening one eye that was glowing with light yellow energy. Twilight’s jaw had unhinged a while ago but now with Pinkie Pie shutting it for her she found herself stuttering in shock. 
“W-why are you two hacking into the world’s media center and preparing a massive mind wiping spell?!” she shrieked. Luna winced and reached up to rub her ear. 
“Ow, Twilight calm down. It’s called ‘clean up’ for a reason you know. We’re making sure that no one’s gonna be able to find out or even remember this little screw up.” She explained as she carefully tucked a lock of her free flowing starry mane behind her ear as she looked back at the screen and got back to her work. “Oh curses… your distraction made me miss one of Japan’s firewalls and now they’re trying to counter hack me.” She smiled and cracked her fingers before she redoubled her efforts. “Let’s see how you handle this Shindō-san*3…” she chuckled as she recognized the program as one of the minister’s personal weapons of choice. Twilight leaned over to her mentor to whisper in her ear. 
“Princess… I’m beginning to wonder how Luna picked up on our modern day technology so fast… ten years ago she was throwing blenders out the window because she thought they were the spawn of Discord… Now she’s hacking into highly secure government files like it’s a walk in the park and she’s throwing banter at the person who’s SUPPOSED to be the world’s leading expert on technology…” she remarked. 
Celestia chuckled as she continued weaving her spell. “Silly Twilight, my sister has always been one to look upon new technology with a smile. She also absorbs information like a sponge. Combine those two and leave her alone with a Beta Gateway computer for one weekend and when you return she’ll be playing modern warfare on a custom built super laptop she built using the old computer.” Celestia responded in kind. Twilight groaned and buried her face in her palms. 
“Why do I attract the oddest of people…?!” she exclaimed to the sky. “I have a dragon hybrid for a baby brother, I’m taught by a deity whose sister is the equivalent of a modern day Albert Einstein, one of my best friends can defy the laws of the universe whenever she wants, and the others can perform feats that shouldn’t be humanly possible as well! Why me…?!” she whined as she lay herself over the back of the couch. Celestia merely patted her student on the head gently as she finished her spell. 
“There, there my dear. You forget that you yourself are a far cry from normal. Half of Equestria was convinced you were my daughter after your first big surge remember…?” she soothed. 
“Well YEAH, but I think that’s kind of small in comparison. A unicorn with an abnormally large magic base is not all that uncommon.” Twilight murmured staring up at the ceiling while the rest of her friends all chatted amongst themselves not noticing her little fit.
“True, but none of them have your potential either. Luna, are we clear on your end…?” she asked turning to her sister for confirmation. 
“Onnnnnnne second… there! All clear.” Luna replied giving her sister a big thumbs up. 
“Excellent.” Celestia hummed before she released her spell a wash of yellow light shooting out from her at supersonic speeds. It went through the walls and seemed to spread in every direction. The girls all blinked not feeling it effect them. “Spike, be a dear and unmute the TV.” Celestia ordered staring as a news bulletin came up with the words BREAKING NEWS stamped across it. Spike hit a button on the remote and the news reporter’s voice came in half way through his announcement. 
“-and now we give you this footage of the incident captured by a tourist that was standing nearby.” The screen faded to black before the a large blank screen which was then replaced by the following symbol:
 
and Luna’s prerecorded voice. 
‘Hello people of the world, It’s your beloved Princess of the moon Luna here with an important message, the information you were about to view is currently classified and therefore your memories of this incident will be redacted at the end of this message. This mandatory wipe or your brain was brought to you by Moon-Pie’s, They’re Out Of This World~!’ there was a loud waiting tone and then the feed of the news cast room came back on with a confused looking news reporter who had a yellow shimmer around his eyes before he shook his head looking rather hung over all of a sudden. 
“Whoa… what… what was that…? Suddenly my head is fuzzy and I’m crazing… Moon-Pie’s…?” he offered obviously too confused to realize he was still on air. Behind the camera there was a murmur of agreement before the reporter seemed to realize that he was on air and he stared dumbly at the camera. “Uhhhh, we’ll be right back after these messages.” He made a motion to cut the feed and Celestia clicked the TV off with a satisfied smile.  
“Another successful wipe little sister, I suspect your Moon-Pie sales will be sky rocketing soon as well.” She mused as she high-fived the shorter Alicorn. Angelo cocked an eyebrow at the two of them. 
“Do you two do this often…?” he asked the pair. 
“Only when necessary… or when a particularly embarrassing story gets leaked about us.” Celestia explained with a practiced smile. She then stood up and walked over to the boy motioning for him to stand as well. Even without any shoes on she was still almost two full feet taller than him. And he wasn’t a small boy either. Celestia was just that tall. 6’9 was a pretty impressive height for a woman after all, not to mention she had a rather unhealthy love for platform heels. Those usually put her above seven feet. Standing under her gaze Angelo felt why it was so easy to feel intimidated by her. Celestia cupped him under the chin turning his head from side to side examining him carefully. Luna stalked around him like a cat eyeing him as well. “Hm… his magical basin is quite impressive, certainly on par with ours…” Celestia commented.
“And his physical form is completely human, he doesn’t seem to possess the same outer worldly connection we do despite his powers.” Luna added. She prodded his left leg with her finger right where she knew his mark should be and the insignia of it shone through his pants and remained imprinted in gold on them. “Oh, curious. His mark responds the same way ours do. Cadence’s doesn’t do that.” She added her teal eyes widening a little in curiosity. Angelo was starting to sweat a little under the two sister’s poking and prodding. He was used to being tested on and observed by medical professionals but that was in private, not in front of a group of staring girls that happened to be his friends. Luna reached up and pulled out one of his wings gently stretching it out to its full length. She extended her own wing to compare and her eyes widened a little. “Tia look at this! Rainbow, come over here and stand behind him wings spread.” She ordered. The athlete looked confused for a second before following her Princess’s order and standing behind the shorter male and spreading her wings out to their full length as he did the same. Her jaw dropped a little in shock. His were already longer than hers! Boy’s wings NEVER grew that big until they were well into their teens! 
“How in hell’s name does HE have bigger wings than me already?! He’s barely thirteen and freaking scrawny as hell! Alicorn or not that’s messed up!” she complained retracting the appendages back to her back and backing away from him glaring a little. Joseph stepped forward and cleared his throat to get their attention.  
“I believe I can explain that. As most of you already know Angelo is no stranger to medical testing, he goes in for a full physical once a week actually and wince his last birthday he’s shown a surprising amount of growth. Which isn’t odd for a boy his age but what WAS unusual was the projected estimates for his wings… first off with his adult feathers growing in in only three weeks’ time he very nearly set a world record; shortly after that development they began growing at rates that actually gave him terrible pains, so much in fact he had to remain medicated until they stopped which was only a few weeks ago. His wings before the growth spurt measured at just over four feet in length… two weeks later they stopped growing. They currently measure at 70 inches from tip to tip. And that’s just his first growth cycle over. With those numbers his doctors projected a final wing span of over 10 feet.” He explained as he showed them a chart projected using his silver blue magic. 
Fluttershy’s eyes widened in shock. “B-but the c-curent holder for largest wings on the planet is Princess Celestia and she only measures at-“
“Nine feet two inches, yes we know that. That’s why the numbers astonished us so much. The size of a pegasus’ wings is supposed to be relative to their body mass. So with those projections they also came up with a height and weight estimate for him. By the time his wings and body have fully matured at an estimated age of 20 years old he’ll weigh over 300 pounds and be at a height estimated at 8 feet and 10 inches. Just shy of a world record for tallest human, living or dead.” He explained with a proud smile across his face. 
The girls were doing the math in their head. For Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy they were adding a foot and then some to Jolly’s heavily built frame. For the rest they were adding almost a foot and a half to Big Mac’s stature and it was just as bad for them. Pinkie Pie acted first quickly strangle hugging the boy. 
“Nuuuuuuuu!!!! Little Gelo can’t grow up to be that big! He’ll look all mean and intimidating…! He’s too sweet and gentle to be that big!” she protested rubbing her cheek against the boy’s embarrassingly. Angelo groaned and tried pushing her off only for her to hug him tighter. Behind her Twilight had pulled out a calculator from her pocket and was crunching a few numbers on it. 
“If you think that’s bad wait until you hear this! With those numbers he’ll be taller than Celestia by his sixteenth birthday!” she said flipping the calculator around to show them the mathematics. Dash quickly zoomed over and stole the calculator from her. “Hey!” 
“Shut up egghead I’m trying to crunch something here.” Dash hissed punching in some numbers into the calculator quickly. She paused and turned to Angelo. “Gelo, hit me with a wind as hard as you can make it with your wings.” She snapped quickly. Angelo looked up confused by it but did as ordered pushing Pinkie off of him and then using his wings to create a strong gale force wind forced Dash back so fast that she only barley stopped herself from crashing though the long glass window that looked over the cliff into the sea below. “Whoa… okay, that’s… at least a fifteen already…” she murmured punching in the numbers she needed to and then hitting the enter button and staring wide eyed at the result eventually dropping the thing and fainting on the spot. The others, distressed by their normally sturdy friend suddenly fainting rushed over to her to make sure she was alright. When they established that she was fine just unconscious Applejack curiously picked up the calculator and let out a whistle. 
“That’s a lot of fancy mathematics… Twi, Pinkie, ya’ll recognize any of these equations…?” she asked handing the device to the two math prodigies. Pinkie glanced at the numbers and shook her head. 
“Nope, I’ve never seen those before!” she responded simply Twilight nodding at her response. 
“Me either, though I can’t imagine how Dash would know equations that we don’t when she can barely do her algebra homework…” Twilight commented with a shrug. Fluttershy’s head popped up at that and she quickly snatched the math machine from Twilight’s hand and scanned the numbers for herself. Her eyes widened and her face paled. 
“O-oh my… these are… wing power conversion equations… based on the wing power he has now with his body mass... b-by the time he’s fully mature he’ll-he’ll…!” her breath was hitching and she was starting to hyperventilate a little. As if she was alerted by the situation Dash’s eyes shot open and she quickly grabbed an inhaler from her pocket and moved Fluttershy’s hair from her face as she guided the breather to her lips. Fluttershy grabbed it with shaky hands and quickly released the medicine into her lungs holding it while she felt it course through her. Rainbow sighed as she but her head between her knees and ran her fingers through her messy shaggy hair. 
“His estimated average wing power will be over 250… that’s without formal training or any kind of extensive exercise. Right now I’m the top flier in my class, I practice every day every spare hour I can and I have for over seven years now. At max when I push myself to my very limits I get up to 20, and that’s abnormal for most adults.” She explained without looking up once. Twilight’s eyes widened considerably. She quickly scooped up the calculator and scanned it. 
“This can’t be right… you have to have messed up one of the numbers somewhere. Dash’s bright magenta eyes looked up sharply. 
“Twi, I may be a huge screw up on pretty much everything else academic but I know my wing power and weather stuff. Have Celestia check my numbers if you don’t believe me.” She stated waving a dismissive hand at the magic user. Twilight carefully looked up to her teacher who took the calculator from her and reviewed it with her own calculating eyes. 
Slowly they began to widen. “She’s… right! The formula is flawless, the numbers and factors are all exact, and she didn’t misplace anything… this is… unheard of for any race! Even the great Griffon clans can’t come close to these number’s and those are always higher than that of an Equestrian Pegasus…! MY numbers don’t compare, Luna’s can’t either, and Cadence would faint just from him flying by at this rate! It’s… impossible.” She muttered as all heads turned to face the boy. He stared at them all his own eyes wide in shock. 
“Whoa, okay, slow down all of you. These are all just ESTIMATES remember? Predictions! I could very well top out at 6’4 with wings only slightly larger than normal!” he paused for a moment before looking over at Pales for support. “R-right…?” he asked carefully. The mint haired boy blinked a few times and then walked over and very calmly plucked a hair from the top of his head and presented it to Princess Celestia. 
“DNA is the pool that we stare into to see our future. If you break this down you should be able to find out exactly what his final measurements will be.” Pales explained handing the strand to the Sun Princess. She smiled and took it from him. 
“An excellent point! DNA doesn’t lie and the spell is well known to me. Let’s see…” she muttered as a screen appeared made of deep golden energy formed with white text streaming through it as the DNA strand was broken down into basic components and laid out like a map for them. The end result made Celestia’s eyes go wide and the others all tried to read it over her shoulder but couldn’t make out the letters and symbols for themselves. “The estimates are wrong…” she stated simply. Angelo let his shoulders slouch and his body to uncoil from the tension it had been holding. “You’re going to go beyond them.” She explained as she flipped the screen around the text darkening so they could see it easily and translating into plain English so they could read it. It showed a virtual model of his grown form with his measurements beside it. 
Height: 9 feet 2 inches
Average Weight: 411 lb. 
Wing-span: 12 feet 6 inches
AWP(Average Wing Power): 275
Magical Charge: 12 F *4
The list went on but Angelo had already passed out before he could continue reading any further. 
*** Nyx looked up at her mother grinning. “So Gelo DID used to be tiny then…?! I always thought he was BORN that big!” she laughed. Twilight shook her head laughing a little as well. 
“No, and let me tell you the letters I got from him describing the growing pains he went thorough were very descriptive. Without his medicine he compared the feeling to having being struck by a Rainbow Bolt seven times with a sensitivity spell cast on his entire body.” She quoted. Nyx shuddered rubbing her arms a little as she did so. 
“Wow and I thought Spike had it bad when he first grew his wings…!” Nyx almost whispered. 
Spike nodded a little. “It DID hurt, I still remember Twilight first coming into the bathroom to find me trying to tear at my back to rip some of the skin off so the scaly monsters could come through easier… It felt like thousands of tiny needle’s poking at me from UNDER my skin… you’re so lucky you were born with those wings.” He commented with a small shudder. The his frown was replaced with a grin. “Of course I still remember when you first met Gelo. You screamed and ran away because you thought he was Slender…!” he laughed rolling on the ground a bit. Nyx punched him in the arm and growled at him. 
“Hey! It was Nightmare night first off and I was only ten so I was already scared senseless and he came down the street in that stripped suit so I lost it and freaked out a little!” she complained. 
“Nyx, freaking out a little is slapping someone when you’re scared. Not striking them down with enough shadow magic to kill the ACTUAL Slenderman!” Spike countered. 
“It missed…!” she groaned in response. 
“Hey, kids. I was telling a story, remember…?” Twilight put in. Quickly the two stopped bickering and turned to face her once more. “Much better, now when he woke up…”***
Angelo groaned slowly lifting his form off what felt like a soft mattress. He opened his eyes and found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, at first the initial panic of not waking up in the same place he had for all his life took over him before he calmed down when he remembered where he was. Then the reason why he had passed out in the first place came back to him and he groaned flopping back down on the bed. A knock sounded from outside his door. He didn’t have the energy to deal with anyone right now but it would be rude to turn them away. 
“Enter.” He ordered simply. 
An older man with deep grey and white streaked hair that was finely combed back in a simple black servant’s suit and white gloves came in and bowed slightly. “Good morning Lord Angelo, my name is Olive Platter, or just Oliver if you would. I’m the head butler here on the island and I wanted to inform you that breakfast is being served in the dining hall, your grandfather and the others are all already gathered there awaiting your company.” He reported with a kind smile at the boy. Angelo quickly sat up when he realized he was not only keeping his friends but his grandfather and royalty as well. He leapt out of the bed and ran for the bathroom to make himself presentable. 
“Please tell them all that I’ll be down shortly! Oliver, does this room happen to have clothes fitting for me…?” he asked as the steaming water of a shower kicked on. 
“Of course sir, the room was outfitted for you when your grandfather announced you’d be staying here for the night.” He replied loud enough for the boy to hear above the water. “Would you like for me to lay out an outfit sir…?” he offered. 
“Yes please…! Oh, and Oliver?” Angelo asked sticking his head out of the bathroom. “Just Angelo is fine.” Oliver smiled and bowed deeply as the boy shut the door to start his shower. Oliver chuckled as he set to his work. 
“Twilight was right, that boy IS quite something…” he mused. 
***
“YOU’RE LEAVING ME HERE?!?!” 
Joseph didn’t bat an eyelash at his grandchild’s outburst and simply continued to cut into his omelet. “Sit down and lower your tone Angelo, we are in the company of ladies and it is impolite to shout.” He chastised. Angelo sat back down in his seat but his jaw hung open all the same. “And yes, I talked it over with Celestia and we agreed that a little bit more time outside would do you wonders. We also agreed that separating you from your new friends would hinder you more than it would help. So you’ll be staying here on the island until they depart for Equestria once more.” He informed the boy with a small twinkle in his silver eyes. 
“B-but…! I was sure you-! And I disobeyed your DIRECT orders…! Why Nonno *5…? I mean no disrespect whatsoever but you are not normally so… lenient with me.” Angelo questioned with a look of confusion set on his face. 
“Are you not happy with my choice…?” the elder asked. 
“No! I mean Yes I am! But… it’s just- very confusing.” 
Joseph smiled and brought a hand under the chin of the boy to bring his eyes up to his. “I am many things Gelo, but I am a man of Faust first. And she would send me to play with Discord if I denied you your happiness. I also am not blind, I can see the changes these girls have made in you and despite what you may think, I like what I see. One week ago you would have not dared questioned any of my decision’s and yet you’ve done so twice now in less than twenty four hours. It’s good to, oh how do you put it Luna…? Grow a spine. As harsh as that sounds I mean it. Of course if you running a riot through my fair city becomes a habit of yours I might have to pull on the reigns a bit.” He chuckled. Angelo’s eyes brightened and he started to grin from ear to ear. 
“It won’t! I swear to you Nonno, no more wild antics…! Well… none quite as extreme as yesterday at least… being with Pinkie and Dash I cannot guarantee another distressing situation will not pop up.” He quipped with a small smile. 
“Hey!” Dash shouted from across the table.
Pinkie was giggling until she realized she was included in that and she voiced her protest. “Gelooooooo~! I’m not that bad!” She whined as she drank from a large pot of what looked like coffee. He smiled back at her offering her and Dash a playful wink as Joseph belted out laughing. 
“Oh I know the feeling quite well young one, back in my prime Celestia here used to get me in the most compromising of situations by the most amusing means. If I recall when we first met I was only a little older than you are now and she crashed into my study window with exactly sixteen and a half arrows piercing her skin and oddly enough she was covered in cake frosting. She then recruited me to help her free a third world country from a minotaur dictator who used explosive pastries as war weapons in his attempt to assassinate her in her own dining hall. It’s quite the story I’ll have to share with you some time.” He laughed with a smile at one of his oldest friends. Celestia had a pink hue to her face as she calmly sipped her morning tea trying to hide her embarrassment. Luna gaffed however and had to hold back a snort as she looked beside her at her sister. 
“That’s quite rich! What did he do Tia, lay out a cake for you and detonate it when you tried to grab it like a pudgy child?!” she exclaimed as she got winded and started to roll on the ground laughing her head off. Celestia was not nearly as amused but already had a counter to it. 
“Oliver, would you be a dear and bring me that treat I asked the chef’s to prepare earlier…?” she asked the butler. He bowed deeply to her. 
“Of course My Lady.” He responded before backing away into the kitchens and then returning shortly with a silver platter that was covered. Luna sat up looking at her sister curiously. He set the dish in front of Luna and removed the lid to reveal a beautifully decorated moon pie with Luna’s cutiemark in the corner of it. Her eyes lit up. 
“Moon pie~!” she squealed as she picked up a fork ready to dive right into her favorite treat. Her fork froze however only a millimeter away from its delectable chocolate covered gram cracker shell and her gaze darted up to her sister at the memory of the conversation they had just had. She pushed the cake towards her. “You take a bite first.” She ordered. Celestia shrugged and picked up her own fork and dug into the treat making sure Luna saw her put it in her mouth, chew, and swallow. When Luna was satisfied with the gesture she resumed her own act of digging right into the dessert. She got about four forkfuls in before her eyes shrunk to pinpricks and she let the half chewed pie fall out of her mouth back onto the plate and she started to scream running around and licking every avalible surface in attempt to get the taste out of her mouth. “IT’S A FAKE!!!! THAT PIE IS A FAKE!!!! IT TASTES LIKE THE BACKSIDE OF A NORTHBOUND CAMEL THAT HASN’T BATHED IN ITS LIFE!!!!” she declared as she dragged her tongue along the floor. 
Celestia smiled as she sipped her tea. “Precisely my conclusion when I tried to consume his treats. Now imagine that but with hundreds of them exploding in your face right afterwards. It was enough to knock me all the way to Berlin where I met young Joseph and I asked for his assistance in the matter.” She explained motioning towards the white robed man who smiled at her in return. 
“Whoa, wait. Berlin…? As in Germany?  Thought you were Italian.” Rainbow commented looking at the Pope confused. 
“I’m half and half. My mother was German and my father Italian, but I was raised in Germany in my mother’s family estate.” He explained simply. 
“Also, sprechen Sie die Sprache sowie dann ...?” she asked quirking an eyebrow at him. (So, you speak the language as well then...?) 
Joseph smiled before he responded. “Nun, es ist meine erste Sprache nachdem alle, und als gut untersucht wie ich ich spreche auch neun weitere Sprachen sowie bin.” He replied in turn. (Well, it is my first language after all, and being as well studied as I am I also speak nine other languages as well.)
“Seriously? Cool! I never knew the Pope could be that awesome! Oh, uh… sorry guys.” Dash responded noticing her friends looking at her with confused looks. 
“It’s okay Dashie, I translated for them.” Fluttershy put in as she bit into a fruit tart. 
“Nice going Flutters, but I think we broke them all the same.” She pointed out as Twilight’s hair began to frazzle. The ever diligent student quickly turned to her teacher. 
“Celestia, how many languages do you speak…?” she asked curiously. Celestia recognized the first signs of one of her student’s famous breakdowns and quickly started to sooth her. 
“More than you can learn my dear, but if you wish I’ll let you pick three to start off with and I can prepare lesson books for you to work on in your free time.” The solar princess offered with all the grace and charm that came with years of handling the duties that came with being an eternal goddess. 
“Really?! Well… what three would you suggest Princess?” she asked looking up at her mentor with hopeful eyes. 
“For you Twilight…? I imagine you’d like Japanese quite well, and with your knowledge of Latin you could easily learn languages like Spanish, Italian, or French. I’ll leave it up to you to decide but for now I believe it’s time for me to see my dear friend off.” She stated as she stood from the table and dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. “Luna get off the floor and stop moaning, you’ve tasted worse and you know it. A certain incident back in the fifth century with the fire pit and a certain blue flower comes to mind-“ Luna quickly sat up shoving her hand in Celestia’s mouth her teal eyes stone cold as she glared at her sister. 
“We do not mention that dear sister. We have an agreement, or do you want everyone here to know about YOUR first encounter with the banana’s…?” she asked her older sibling. Celestia removed her sister’s hand from her mouth and simply smiled at her. 
“Glad we have an agreement, come along then, the boat should be waiting.” She stated as she ushered her sibling and her friend towards the door. 
“Slow down Celly, I’m 87 years old for pete’s sake I don’t move as easily as I used to!” Joseph complained. 
“Joey, I’m over thirty millennia old and I’m doing just fine. You have no excuse.” Celestia countered as they headed towards the door. With the adults out of the room Applejack slowly leaned towards Twilight. 
“Twi, what’s the deal with Celestia and banana’s…?” she asked the student. 
Twilight shuddered a little as did Spike. “I’m bound by a royal promise not to say, but let’s just say she’s allergic and leave it at that okay…?” she responded with another shudder. 
“Allergic…? How’d you find THAT out…?” Pinkie asked curiously tilting her head. 
Twilight bit her lip and cast a glance sideways at her brother. Quickly she and Spike played rock-paper-scissors which Spike lost and groaned before turning to face the others and lowered his voice to a whisper. 
“Twi tried to bake her a cake for her birthday once… it had banana’s in it, in the frosting, and as decorations. The result was not… pretty. The medical ward was occupied for weeks after that…” he explained in a hushed tone. 
“With just the princess?!” Rarity gasped in horror. His green reptilian eyes slid sideways at her. 
“No, with all the servants in the castle.” He responded. The looks of horror spread across their faces like wild fire in a hayfield. 
“Moral of the story: don’t give Celestia anything with banana’s in it. Even the slightest amount. Also, never give Luna anything spicier than mild chili. She hates spice.” Twilight explained. Pinkie was taking notes while the others just nodded in turn. 
“Celly, no banana’s, Lulu no spice. Got it. Wait, does she like cinnamon…?” Pinkie asked the magic user. 
“Uhhh, I’ve seen her eat Applejacks before so, yeah.” Spike responded as he tapped his chin. Applejack retracted a little at the statement. He laughed and shook his head. “The cereal, Applejack, not you or any of your ancestors…” he added. Applejack’s shoulders released and Pinkie giggled. 
“Silly Applejack, Lulu only eats actual people when they take her Moon Pies~!” she sang. 
“Well that’s good… wait, what…?” she asked her eyes shrinking to pin pricks. But Pinkie had already skipped off singing to herself to do whatever it is Pinkie’s do when they aren’t directly interacting with friends. At that moment Angelo noticed there was one big addition to their happy little group. In a chair at the end of the table Pales calmly sipped his black morning coffee with little more than a glance at the girls around him. Angelo’s face deadpanned when he saw the mint haired boy. 
“Pales… what are you doing here…? Shouldn’t you be going with Nonno back to the city…?” he asked his golden eyes as flat as his toneless expression. 
Pales opened one eye and smiled at the younger boy. “If I recall Master said that you were to remain on the island to relax with your friends, do I not count as that simply because I’m your body guard as well…?” he asked before taking a sip of the black substance. 
“You’re here to keep an eye me to make sure I don’t pull another volcano stunt aren’t you…?” Angelo asked not biting at the emotional bait Pales had tried to tempt him with. 
“Ouch, I am offended by that harsh accusation baby brother. Don’t you know me better than that…?” Pales asked in a very sarcastic and rather childish voice that made the others stare at him. They had never seen this side of the ‘simple stable boy’. 
“Yes, and that is precisely why I said it in the first place. And as your charge I’m ORDERING you to stand down and go back to the mainland with my grandfather.” Angelo stated firmly pointing at the door where the adults had left earlier. 
“Mmm,” Pales gestured for him to wait a moment as he was in mid sip of his coffee. “You see, there’s two issues with that.” He continued once he had drained the cup. “The first being ‘Nonno’ already gave me my leave so right now I’m on vacation and don’t have to listen to you. The second is that he just took off on the ship about thirty seconds ago, and as you can see, I’m quite without wings or magic so I can’t catch up to him and you are now stuck with me.” He replied as he placed his elbows on the table, folded his hands and rested his chin in their interlocked groves. Angelo looked horrified by this development and quickly ran to the nearest window to see the cruise ship sailing away. With his sharpened eyes he could see his grandfather smiling and waving peacefully at him as it went off. 
“Cazzo…” Angelo muttered under his breath. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see the pearly smile that could only be described as a big brother’s ‘spying’ smile. 
“Don’t worry Gelo, I’m on vacation too remember…? That means I have to relax just as much as you do.” He encouraged the younger male. 
“Pales, I’ve known you my entire life. And in the thirteen years, two months, and twelve days I’ve been alive you have NEVER once so much as taken your boots off to get comfortable around me.” He retorted with a grunt of annoyance. 
“Well that’s something that I’ve already changed.” He chuckled pointing down to reveal that he was wearing wool slippers with sheep faces on the front of them. “Like my casual wear…? I only ever wear it around my room but seeing as I’m supposed to be ‘cutting loose’ as they say I decided to throw that one to the wind.” He mused as if he was very proud with himself.
Twilight and the other girls were watching the scene with shared looks of disdain. Twilight slowly turned to her friends. “Rainbow could you-“  
“Go get Pinkie to dislodge whatever twenty foot pole the Italian government shoved up his ass…? Already on it egghead.” She stated as she padded out the door bare feet hardly making a sound as she stepped on the marble floors. Pales looked back at them confused. 
“I don’t understand… how is the pink haired sugar fiend going to pull a pole out of a donkey…?” he asked the slang translation shooting over his head. Angelo and the other girls all simultaneously facepalmed and dragged it down their faces with a collective groan. 
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us…” Twilight sighed.