Family and Friends

by conTROLLER234


Losing and Gaining

Family and Friends

Chapter 1

Losing and Gaining

“Larry, honey. Can you please hurry up with the cake?”

“It’s almost done! Can you come finish up with it while I go grab the rest of the presents?”

“Alright.”

It was a warm evening in the middle of summer, and a new born child was just brought into the world. Well, a year ago. Today they were celebrating Andrews very first birthday. As Andrews parents, Larry and Samantha, were rushing to get things finished up, Andrew was sitting on his grandfathers lap, Bill, who had opened the first, and smallest gift secretly in front of Andrew.

“Oh my, look what your father bought you Andrew!” As his Bill opened the box, inside lay a normal sized pair of dog tags with Andrews name on it. Andrews father was in the military, and he had just returned from a long trip. Andrew gazed at the shiny silver jewellery as his grandfather slowly laced the dog tags around Andrews neck. Andrew shivered slightly at the cold feeling of the metal on his neck, then smiled brightly as he looked down at them.

Because they were big, they reached all the way down to his feet as he was curled up. He poked at one of the tags and giggled. Samantha leaned into the doorway and saw the actions going on in the living room. “Dad, wait for everyone to be here before you open any gifts!”

“Oh relax. It’s the smallest one. And he just loves them. Don’t you Andrew?” Bill smiled as he wiggled his finger on Andrews bare torso. A grunt was heard in the distance of another room of the house, coming from Larry.

“I can’t find them! Where did you put them Samantha?” Larry sighed as he continued searching through the house.

“I’ll help you look in a minute!” Sam replied.

As the two talked back and forth, Bill slowly cradled Andrew closer and talked in a more hushed tone. “You know, when I was younger, I grew up in this same house you are in. And many times, my father would tell me a story about this house. A very deep secret, that I will only tell you.” Andrew slowly closed his eyes at the soft sound of his grandfather's voice.

“My father would always tell me that beneath, this very house, held a secret magic. A magic that brings you to the safest, happiest, and most loving place. I never knew if it was true, but maybe one day you will find out.”

At this point Andrew was half asleep, feeling the gentle breathing and heartbeat of Bill's chest. Another grunt that is heard from the kitchen made Bill frown, then slowly get up and place Andrew on the couch and wandering into the kitchen.

“What’s with all the fuss?” He asked, and another groan was the reply from Samantha.

“Larry, the stove is acting up again!” Sam yelled, smacking the equipment with her hand. Larry walks out of a room and towards the kitchen.

“Just turn it off, we’ll fix it later!”

Sam reached for the knobs and twisted and turned them, but nothing happened. The smell of smoke began to fill the air. “It’s not turning off!”

“Let me try!” Larry stepped forward and began kicking appliance, then foolishly opened the door to the cake. A large cloud of dark grey smoke poured out of the small opening, making everyone cough in the kitchen. The smoke floated to the ceiling, setting off the smoke alarm.

Andrew had climbed off the couch a bit before the alarm went off, after he had seen a large, purple and pink sparkling bag in a room across from the living room. After he entered the room the alarm went off, startling him. He fell into the bags and some blankets and clothes fell on top of him. Unable to move with everything black, he began to cry.

“Larry do something!” Samantha cried, beginning to panic.

“I can’t its out of control! We need to all the fire department. Grab Andrew and meet me outside!” Larry moved towards the phone as Samantha and Bill hurried back into the living room, only to find that Andrew was missing.

Samantha screamed and began running around the room. “Andrew is gone!”

As Larry went to dial the number, he noticed some of the upper cabinets catch on fire. He swore, then ran for the fire extinguisher. It seemed like within minutes, the whole kitchen was on fire. Larry threw the now empty fire extinguisher on the ground. “Lets get the neighbours to call them! Samantha, Bill! Do you have Andrew?!”

Samantha was now bawling as she ran up to Larry. “I-I can’t find him!!”

Larry gasped and looked at the fire, which was spreading quickly. “Samantha, we need to go. If we get the firefighters over here quick enough they’ll find him. Please, we need to go!”

Andrews crying grew louder, though it was nothing compared to the wood burning and cracking. He suddenly felt warm. And the inner walls of the blankets and clothes began to glow a faint purple. Andrews crying began to simmer as he then felt sleepy as the ground below him made the same colour.

All the sounds of screaming and fire had slowly faded away as he drifted off into a slumber.

- - - - -

“Hnng!” Was the sound that came from the backyard of Twilight’s parents house. It was dark out and Twilight had been practising a certain teleportation spell, a spell that she had been working on for quite a while. Though this spell she was working on was a different type of spell; it contained a special type of Equestrian magic.

Twilight was a very talented unicorn, and right now with her only at the age of 10 years old, it was amazing what she could do. The light around her horn illuminated the entire backyard, and after a while Twilight gave up for the night. “Ugh, why can’t I get this right?!” She sighed in defeat and began to walk towards her house. “I guess I’ll just try again tomorrow…”

She was about to enter the house, but stopped as her ears flinched at a certain sound. It was a baby’s cry.

She had heard this many times before, especially in such a big town like Canterlot. But this was different. It sounded like it was only a few feet away from her. She turned around and saw a bush rustling a few feet away from her. The crying continued, and Twilight curiously and cautiously inched towards the sound.

The crying carried on as Twilight was now standing face to face with the shrubbery. Twilight gulped and slowly parted a few branches with her magic, and gasped at what she saw, her eyes wide as dinner plates. She leaned over the baby closer to identify it, though as much as she looked at it she couldn't recognize it.

“Um, h-hello..?” She leaned down towards the infant.

Andrews crying slowed as he gently opened his eyes to meet Twilights. He whimpered slightly, then continued crying. Twilight knew that her parents had gone to bed, so she didn’t want this baby to wake them up, leading to them finding this baby too.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay.” Twilight every so gently lifted him up with her magic, and that's when she noticed something drop from him. She looked down and lifted up whatever dropped, and looked at them closely. “What kind of necklace is this?” She examined it closer, reading whatever it said.

“Andrew Watkins. Is, that your name?” Twilight asked foolishly to the baby, whose only reply was more whining and crying. As some of the lights in houses began to turn on, Twilight knew she had to stop Andrews crying soon. She rushed through things in her mind about how to take care of babies, and stopped on one.

Twilight slowly sat down and rested Andrew in her fore hooves, slowly swinging him back and forth, holding him close to her chest. “Shh, it’s okay..” She whispered to him over and over again.

Over time, Andrew’s crying became quieter and quieter, until it completely stopped. Twilight had assumed he’d fallen asleep. Twilight carefully levitated him up again and walked through the house and to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. She lied down in the bed and hugged Andrew against her chest.

“I promise, I’ll take good care of you.” She yawned.

“Good night.” She whispered as she shut off the lights.