Interlude
The Argument
Chocolate flash was perched on the roof of rainbow dash's house early one morning, sitting there with a gigantic cup of coffee planted firmly between two hooves. He sat sipping and enjoying his sister's sunrise.
"Terry..."
He almost dropped the cup, not having heard the name in months.
Princess Celestia had appeared apparently out of nowhere.
"Tia?"
She appeared out of a heavy solar aura. He was used to it by now, but the glare was a killer
"Sis, couldya turn down the wattage?"
She eventually complied "we need to talk, little brother..."
He sighed heavily
"Come here to lecture me AGAIN?"
"I should, Terrozan Earthshine, like the colt you are"
"Oh, don't start that crap again, Tia, I made my decision. And quit calling me a colt, dammit, I'm only 200 years younger than both of you"
She put her ears back at that
"You forgot, didn't you? Too wrapped in the overload after that debacle with Luna to pay attention to baby brother. Then you had all your students"
"You know the major load I had after..." she couldn't go on
"Even when I offered to help through the best of my abilities?"
"I...I didn't see how you COULD help, I mean."
"Dammit, sis, I coulda helped at LEAST with the pegasi. For papa's sake, i literally wrote one of the starter books on weather control and observation!"
"You...did?"
"I had to do SOMETHING during those times you were so damn busy. I used the notes Lu left behind to help"
He got up and began to pace as a stunned Celestia sat on her haunches and followed him with her gaze.
"You were too damn busy to notice, and when you weren't busy, I could hear the sobs from the other side of the Castle. I couldn't even comfort you over Lu 'cause of the plotholes you had for guards at the time didn't even recognize me!"
Celestia's jaw fell open, stunned more
"You never told me you had trouble with the guards"
"Dammit, Ti, they mistook me for one of the SERVANTS!"
He paced and steamed back and forth
"But what happened to the horn I gave you?"
He screeches to a halt, and violently shoves up heavy hanging forelocks, showing her the blank space there
"See that? It wouldn't take. I even had to have the mount removed with actual surgery when it got infected. Neighschellus had to go get Imhaytep to help him pull the thing on a brake between pyramids."
She had a hoof to her mouth, now.
"But I used magic to..."
"I’m immune to a lot of magic, remember?"
He snorts like the angry stallion he is
"You were in the middle of one of your little affairs when I had to first get these." he whips out a pair of glasses and shakes them in her direction, letting his coffee cup fall through the roof and crash into furniture below. "One of the servants noticed, and I worked my flank off paying him back. You probably didn't even notice the little things i left you. Hell, your coltfreinds only SNEERED at me. 'Oh, look at the little one helping out his folks'. You never told anypony about me!"
He then started to tear up
"but what broke my back more was when I got into flight school, and damn near got killed..."he flared his newly restored wings "they took my wings, Tia, i hurt a filly who was in love with me. When they cut them off, my coltfreind dumped me like a sack of freshly made horseshoes, and then that dam-bucker of a noble got word that his son was dating another colt. Even HE thought i was a servant, DadDammit."
"Terrozan Emanuel Earthshine!!" she flared for a minute and the nasty indignant words that had come out of her brother's mouth
He bolted right up to her, in her face
"Don’t start that crap on me, Celestina Marie Sunrise...I grew up a hell of a LOT"
She practically doused all glimmer and shine, and teared up a little
"What’s going on up there?" called out a voice, and Dash popped her head through the roof, only to get all big eyed
"P-p-p-Princess?!"
"Rainbow Dash?"
"W-w-w-What are you doing on my house?"
"YOUR house?"
"I’m getting married, Tia, to The Element of Loyalty"
"You...did grow up"
"Because I HAD to"
But what about..." dash started to ask
"Let Lu tell her in her own time"
Celestia started
"She doesn't know? How lame is that"
"Tell me WHAT, terry?" Celestia asked
Dash popped her head back in and chocolate flash actually looked nervous, then firmed up his resolve.
"Nu-uh. I’d rather let Lu say it first"
She flared right there, burning a hole right through the roof, and dropping them straight into the bedroom. Flash landed on his back with a sickening crunch.
Celestia winced "Terry, TERRY?" he appeared to be knocked out "oh NO"
Dash bolted up the stairs, breakfast preparations forgotten
"What’s all that..."she slammed the door open "what the Bucking HEY?!"
She spotted Flash conked out, bent in a funny position over the foot of the bed "TONY!" she rushed over to the still unconscious Chocolate Flash
"No, I didn't mean to..." Celestia began to sob for the first time since she'd had to banish Luna
Dash shot her a look "what the Buck happened?"
"I burned a hole through your roof accidentally and..."
"He’s still breathing. We need to get him to the clinic..." Dash saw a small pool of blood begin to form and drip down the bed set "Now!"
"This is my fault...I..."
Dash twitched uncomfortably. It was weird seeing the Princess all vulnerable like this "you need to buck up, princess. It’s creepy seeing you like that"
Celestia wiped her eyes, and suddenly stiffened to steel
"Call an Ambulance, Rainbow Dash...I need to set things right by my own brother"
She teleported out in a glare, a determined look in her eyes...for the first time in ages
"Don’t...don't you go dyin on me. I'll be back with help in 10 seconds flat" she held back tears, and rushed downstairs
* * * * * *
Flash groaned awake. The pain was terrible.
"Ohhhhhhhhh...what the" he opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a hospital room, and things didn't look too good
"Oh, for dad's sake...i just had em FIXED!"
His wings were swathed in bandages, and what looked like plaster. It felt like his back was, too
Dash was sprawled in a chair, conked out and looking more worn than ever. He could see the top of Luna's head leaning against the mattress. There was actually an IV drip. He tried to reach for his glasses, laid on the side stand, but it hurt too much. He looked over, and could see a lens had cracked anyway. He mumbled something vulgar
"Now, now" came a voice from outside as a nurse came in, escorting several ponies "there's fillies present"
"Mister Flash"? Came a familiar voice
"Scoot?"
she popped up over the foot of the bed "why are you all covered up like that" she pointed to the fact his nether regions were hidden, not under a blanket, but what appeared to be a strategically placed sheet, instead. He smiled embarrassedly.
"You’re too young to know that, yet, honey"
Awwwwwwww, I'm always too young"
Not much longer, squirt" he ruffled her mane
Are you gonna tell me the same thing about my Cutie mark?"
He grinned.
"Terry, are you all right?" a concerned twilight approached the bed
"Dunno, yet, twi. Has Lu been in here all night?"
"Yes, I was starting to get worried. You’ve been in here a couple days, now"
"A couple days?!" he let his head fall back down on the pillow "just bucking wonderful"
Twi blushed, and a sleepy voice came from a corner "Watch your mouth, Tony". Dash yawned, stretched and got up groggily
"Tony?" Twi asked
He chuckled "Had to put SOMETHING on my license, twi"
"Mister Chocolate Flash?" came a voice from the door. He looked up
It was a lawyer pony
"Ouch...do you need a lawyer for what happened to you? I know a couple good bodily injury ones"
Flash waved a hoof. "Nah, shouldn’t have ticked my sister off. Besides, it falls under 'act of Goddess' legally
The lawyer actually looked disappointed at that "Darn. Well, anyway, you need to review and sign these. And, I should say, congratulations" the guy smiled genuinely
"What’s this?"
"Good luck, Mister Flash. First time I've ever had paperwork for an adoption go through this fast"
"What?! Twi, gimmie a helping horn, wouldya please?"
"Here, baby brother, let me" Luna had woken up, and began hovering the stuff before twilight could move. He took it out of the air, and tried to read it...it was still out of focus. He tried reaching for his broken glasses, and shortly found them sitting on his muzz. Twi smiled at Luna in a delicate way while he flipped through pages of legalese. He reached over to grab a pen in his mouth, and signed
"Scootaloo?"
She popped up from where she'd been sitting with dash
"Yeah Mister Flash?"
He teared up "you can call me Daddy now...it's done"
"Really?"
"C'mere, scoot" She buzzed over and hugged his neck, carefully
"Been getting a few lessons, have ya?"
"Yeah, from Rainbow Dash"
He grinned "she'll be mom, too, soon"
"No way!"
"Way!" he looked at Dash with loving eyes, and she popped right over to take his hoof. Lu and Twi looked at each other the same way, and also held hooves. The nurse and lawyer looked at each other knowingly, and she shut the door.
* * * * * *
In the middle of the night, a bright presence came into his room.
"Terry..."
Celestia had popped into his room, which was, for the moment, vacant of anyone else.
She bowed her head as she materialized, as fully out of regalia as Luna had been months earlier "Terry...I'm Sorry, I..."
"I needed to let that out, Tia. I've been holding it in for centuries, now"
"Addy told me...what you did for Scootaloo. What you both did"
He blushed
"It was what my heart told me to do, Tia"
She looked sorrowfully at him
"You sacrificed your granted immortality, and Rainbow Dash some of her life force...for one filly"
"You gave me a second chance as a foal, Tia...it was time to give back.
She smiled, despite tears in her eyes
"I pushed through your paperwork"
"I kinda figured that, sis"
"Smart as ever, terry"
"I'll miss you and Lu when the time comes. Don’t grieve too hard for me, okay?"
"I won't, promise" she made the pinky-pie swear gestures
"I love you sis...no matter what"
She hugged him, letting the tears roll down her muzz, happy
"Now get back to bed" he unsubtly winked
she gave him a look, then it dawned on her
"yeah, you forgot your mane. gives you away every time"
she stomped the floor "Dammit. Every Time?"
"Every time, Tia. Besides" he grinned, "it's kinda hard not to hear about it when they tell me after WE'RE finished" he winked again
"Terry!"