Chapter 1
Celestia stood in the flowery field with her mane and tail its subdued pink instead of its normal ethereal, quad-color glory, watching her sun closely, counting the seconds going by. Her eyes darted from the sky to the spot before her in the flowery field. Her hoof tapped anxiously with anticipation. Sweat was dripping down her forehead and she bit her lip, she couldn’t wait much longer.
Finally, the sun was in the right position and with better precision than any clock on Equus, Celestia knew it was time. She nearly jumped for joy but managed to keep herself restrained to a small hop. Magic was pushed through her, admittedly more than was necessary, and the field was awash with light.
“...and that’s why I can’t stay on Earth. It’s only been a week and I can already feel the effects of not having magic around. I have to… oh, we’re here.”
Celestia stared at the three before her, only one of which was familiar. All three were humans, one was female, she assumed, and the other two were male. One male was clearly older, and plumper, while the younger one was very athletic. Oh, and the younger one had huge wings, magic, and meant more to her than anything else on Equus. He was her adopted son, Christopher. What worried her was that he might very well mean as much to the others. They were his real parents after all.
Celestia approached the group. “Oh my. She’s beautiful,” the female said when she spotted Celestia. “Who does she belong to?”
Chris turned to see Celestia causing a huge smile to spread on his face. “Oh, no. this one belongs to no one and yet she’s here for everyone.” He then wasted no time in running up to and embracing Celestia who nuzzled him lovingly.
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?” the older male asked.
“Mom, Dad, this is Princess Celestia,” Chris replied.
“Well that would certainly explain the crown,” the female said sarcastically.
“It’s not crooked is it?” Celestia asked while reaching up and feeling the tiara on her head.
Both the older humans froze and their faces blanched. “No, Mom, it looks fine. What’s with the pink though? And where’s your breastplate? I mean it looks great and everything, but, I just figured you be going all out.”
Celestia kissed Chris on the cheek, “I didn’t want to come across all showy and upset your birth parents.”
“Mom, you live in a giant, white marble castle capped with gold and perched on the side of the mountain, filled with maids and guards. Oh, and the guards are all wearing gold and silver armor,” Chris snarked.
Celestia giggled and wrapped her wing around Chris as the two turned back to the other humans, both of whom looked utterly dumbstruck. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Chris said as he pulled away from Celestia. “Mom, Allow me to introduce my parents, Barbara and Steven Lachance,” Chris indicated each respectively. “Mom, Dad, this is Celestia. She rules all of Equestria alongside her sister, controls the movement of the sun, and is one of the most powerful beings in this world. Also, she’s the one who took me in and took care of me for the past sixteen years.”
“Greetings,” Celestia said as she bowed her head, “and please allow me to be the first to welcome you to our land.”
“Uh buh… talking…” was about all Barbara could say.
“Um, thank… you, your, uh, highness,” Steven forced out.
“No, no. We are family, and I will not have family address me so formally. Please simply call me Celestia. I hope that you will afford me the same courtesy.”
“Muh… horse…” Barbara agreed.
“Oh, no, Mom, she’s a pony. Horses come from Saddle Arabia. I mean, uh, Mom here is the biggest pony around, but she’s still a pony.”
“Oh, Sweetie, speaking of Saddle Arabia, we have some guests that are looking forward to seeing you.”
Chris looked around excitedly. “Really? Excellent!” He spread his huge wings and got ready to fly away. “Wait, what about Mom and Dad? We can’t expect them to walk all the way back to the palace. Especially with all their bags.”
“Don’t worry about that, Honey.” No sooner had Celestia said that, that a golden chariot pulled by four pegasus guards touched down behind her. “You know your mother always thinks ahead.”
“Nice work, but you should probably change first.”
“Alright, shield your eyes please.” All the guards and humans did as they were instructed. Celestia closed her eyes as well and began to shine blindingly. After a few moments, she stopped glowing and her mane had returned to its normal wavy, colorful brilliance and her breastplate had also returned. “Okay, everypony on board. We are expected.”
“Um, al~right… what just happened?” Steven asked.
“It’s magic, Dad. You get used to it,” Chris answered. “Now get in and take a seat. And don’t worry, these four are some of the best fliers in Equestria and they’ll take good care of you.”
“What about you?” Steven asked as he helped Barbara into the chariot.
Chris spread his wings, “I haven’t flown in a week, I need to get my feet off the ground.”
“Ooh, would you like some company? I could use a good flight myself.”
“Chris, where are you going?” Barbara asked. “Aren’t you going with us?”
“Of course I am, Mom. I’m just going to fly with… well, Mom,” Chris chuckled. “We won’t be that far from the chariot.”
“That’s right. Also, it’s not a long flight and that is one of my best chariots. Please, relax and enjoy the ride,” Celestia added as she hovered over them. “And all your luggage will be waiting for you at the palace when we return.”
“Um, o-okay,” Barbara said as she joined Steven on the overstuffed bench.
“Great, let’s get going,” Chris said as he lifted off the ground.
At the same time, the pegasus guards all spread their wings and began to gallop up to speed. Thanks to the special spells on the suspension, the field’s uneven ground did nothing to make the ride any less comfortable. Shortly after, the chariot lifted off the ground. Both Barbara and Steven nearly tore the armrests off the frame in their near panic.
“Calm down, you two. You couldn’t even fall out of that chariot if you wanted to. It’s enchanted,” one of the pegasus guards told them.
“He’s right. Besides, you should really be concerned about the pink one,” another guard added.
“Wait,” Steven asked, “what ‘pink one’?”
“Hiya!” Pinkie Pie hollered out from between the two screaming humans. “Aah yourself! Are you related to Chris? ‘Cause you look just like him!”
“Pinkie!” Chris called out as he dive bombed the chariot and plucked her out of it by her tail. With a flick of his wrist, she was flipped like a coin into the air and landed expertly on Chris’s back. “You know I love ya, but my parents are still getting used to magic and talking ponies, you need to give them some time before going full… Pinkie. Can you do that for me?”
Pinkie thought about it for a moment or two before answering, “Okie dokie lokie.” She then stood on her hindlegs and spring boarded off Chris’s feet and disappeared through the clouds.
“Oh my god!” Barbara screamed.
“Don’t worry about her. That’s just Pinkie being Pinkie,” Chris said with a smirk. “Twilight once tried to figure it out and had a nervous breakdown.”
“You sure she’s gonna be alright?” Steven asked with growing concern.
“That filly has taken on impossible odds and simply laughed in their face. She literally laughed away danger and saved her friends once. I’ve also personally seen her leap from one of the towers at the palace.”
“What happened?” Barbara asked.
“I… don’t know. She reappeared behind me when I ran over to see.”
“What is with this place?” Steven asked. “Does everything talk, fly, or do magic?”
“No, Dad, of course not. There’s a lot of animals that can’t do any of that. It’s mostly ponies.”
Celestia drifted over next to Chris. “Although the zebras do have their own type of magic, the griffons are excellent fliers, and the yaks and buffaloes have some fairly extreme strength just like earth ponies. Oh, speaking of fliers…” Celestia pointed ahead.
The humans looked ahead in time to see five smokey streaks stretch across the sky. The streaks then rose high into the sky and split of in different directions and curled back towards the way they came. No sooner had each streak crossed its own path, missing the others by mere inches, than they each corkscrewed, looped and spiraled to form the shape of a sun rising from behind some clouds. Then, those same streaks came back and formed another image. A smaller sun rising next to the first.
“Wow. The Wonderbolts really went all out,” Chris observed.
“Celestia giggled. “They’re not the only ones. Look.”
Chris turned back to the display just in time to see a streak of rainbow spread in an arc across the whole feature. It would appear that Rainbow Dash had also worked on the show. He knew she must have been close to losing her mind at finally being able to fly with her heroes.
“Amazing. What do you think, Mom and Dad?”
“What were those?” Steven asked.
“Knowing how crazy this place is, those are probably some kind of flying squirrels,” Barbara said sarcastically.
“Nah, just pegasi, like these guys,” Chris said with a sweeping gesture. “Rocky’s a pretty good little flier, but he’s no Rainbow Dash.”
“Yeah, there’s only one Rainbow Dash,” one of the pegasus guards pulling the chariot said. “She’s the best flier in Equestria.”
Another one chuckled, “I’ve seen inside your locker, Cloud. I know exactly how impressed you are with her.”
The other guards laughed heatedly at Cloud. Chris stage whispered, “You want me to put in a good word for ya?”
Steven and Barbara just looked at each other in disbelief. Their heads were simply screaming, “Is this place real?”
Celestia drifted over. “I know this must all be new and… bizarre to you, but I assure you, if you give Equestria a chance, you may come to love it as much as Chris does.”
“You’ll have to forgive us, Princess. Earth doesn’t even have magic, let alone animals that can talk, fly and… survive a fall from this high up,” Steven replied.
“Well it’s not so bad,” Barbara said. “Besides, griffons and unicorns aren’t so bad. It’s not like there’s dragons or anything.”
Fortuitously, the air was filled with a deafening roar at that very moment. Barbara and Steven froze in terror, then they slid in closer to each other and pretended to not be barely holding their bladders.
“Woah! Is that who I think it is?” Chris asked Celestia with a growing smile on his face. Celestia grinned and nodded. “Awesome! Come on, everypony, get the lead out!” and with a flap of his powerful wings, he was gone.
“I should probably go after him,” Celestia said with a smile, “he doesn’t even know where we’re going.” She then took off after him, laughing.
The guards pulling the chariot chuckled as they began their descent. “It looks like she’s back to her old self again,” one of the guards said to the others.
“Wait, what do you mean ‘her old self’?” Barbara asked.
“What Babbles here meant was that while the prince was on your world, the princess was a little… disheartened,” another guard replied.
“Yeah, but now that she’s got her son back, she’s practically giddy,” a third guard continued.
“Wow. She really cares about Chris that much?” Barbara asked.
“Hmph, you should have her last spring when-”
“Ahem! Corporal, I believe the princess would call that ‘family business’,” one of the lead pegasi interrupted. “Besides, I think she’d rather forget that ever happened.”
“Understood, Sergeant,” the corporal responded with a sheepish look on his face.
The rest of the trip, which wasn’t long, was made in silence. The two human passengers simply watched as the pristine countryside passed by around them. Well, for a time they did. The sight of a building-sized dragon tends to draw one’s attention.
The huge black dragon with ruby colored spikes down its back was only the first thing that drew their attention. The second thing was the beautiful ship suspended from a large balloon a few hundred feet off the ground. There was the golden coach filled with plush pillows and rugs. Then there were the armored ponies, horses, and other creatures that shouldn’t even exist.
It didn’t help that their son, who was a normal little boy the last time they saw him, was flying around to each of these monsters in turn and greeting them. He even went so far as to roar at the dragon and then laughing when it blew a smoke ring around him. Though they had nothing to worry about since Celestia was keeping an unwavering eye on him and all potential threats, which was anything and anyone in her opinion.
The guards that had flown the chariot from the field they first arrived in to the valley floor detached themselves from their harnesses and led Barbara and Steven toward the large tent set up near the river. Once there, they found that there was a large buffet set up, cushions and rugs on the ground, and a platoon of ponies dressed as maids and butlers. Strangely, there was also a huge pony that was clearly a blacksmith standing next to a tiny maid with the poofiest mane and tail they had ever seen.
“Are you two doing alright?” a deep voice asked from behind them.
Barbara and Steven turned and jumped back when they came face to face with none other than the king of all griffons. Together, they answered with a joint “Uhh…”
“Haha, I guess it is a lot to take in.” Gurfon extended a talon. “My name is Gurfon, and I am ruler of the Griffon Kingdom. I’ve had the honor of knowing your son for many years and I hope that we can also be friends.”
Shakily, Steven reached out his own hand and risked placing it within Gurfon’s and shaking. “P-pleased to m-meet you, Sir.”
Gurfon laughed heartily again. “No need for that. Christopher has been calling me his uncle longer than I care to admit, I think we can do away with formalities here.”
“Oh, o-okay,” Barbara said, clearly disturbed by thing, that two hours ago was an impossibility, saying that it knew her son and that they should be friends.
“Speaking of your son, where is he?”
“We, uh, last saw him with the dragon,” Steven answered. “Is that, uh, normal around here?”
“Not in the least.” Gurfon noticed the look of sheer terror on the humans’ faces and amended, “What I meant was that dragons rarely come into Equestria. Especially Elder Blood Onyx there. However, the elder dragons have always respected Celestia, even if the adolescents don’t, and Blood Onyx is quite fond of Chris. I, personally, would not suggest approaching any dragon without the princess present for protection.”
“Why not?”
“Because we dragons are dangerous, viscous creatures who are not to be messed with.”
“Puh-lease, Spike. You spend almost as much time at the spa as Rarity does.”
“There is nothing wrong with wanting to look one’s best, Rainbow Dash. I have known you to visit there once or twice.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes my wings need to be loosened up and a massage is the best way to do that.”
Barbara and Steven turned to see four ponies approaching, a white unicorn in a stunning pink dress, a blue pegasus, an orange earth pony with a stetson, and the pink earth pony from before. The strangest thing amongst the group was the purple lizard that had to have been the one referring to itself as a dragon. Even though they were all about half the size of a standard human, it was all a lot to take in at once.
“Oh dear, are you alright? Please, sit down and rest here.”
“Thank you, uh…” Steven said as he helped his wife into an overstuffed cushion before he sat down next to her.
“Oh, my apologies. My name is Rarity, this is Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike the dragon. And though we know you must be Christopher’s parents, I’m afraid we do not know your names.”
“My name’s Steven, and this is my wife, Barbara. May I ask how you know our son?”
“He’s one of our bestest friends!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“And I’ve known him my whole life because Twilight hatched me and she her lessons with Princess Celestia,” Spike furthered.
“Well,” Barbara started, “I’m glad that Chris managed to make some friends.”
At that moment, the human in question landed outside the tent and quickly stepped inside with three giggling fillies in his arms. “Hey, the seapony princess is hungry for foal stew. I need one more filly and maybe some dragon for flavor. Sir, may I please barrow your daughter?” The response from the blacksmith was to nudge his daughter’s rump before she galloped as fast as she could, Spike keeping pace. Then, with laughter in abundance, Chris was gone again.
“Don’t worry,” Gurfon said from beside Steven. “Seaponies are actually vegetarian. Chris just wants to play with those foals in the pool we dug down by the river.”
“Alright. Who were those kids anyway?” Steven asked.
“They’re our sisters,” Applejack answered. “’N’ the lil one is the daughter uh Iron Hammer here,” Iron Hammer nodded, “’n’ Dust Bunny, Chris’s personal maid.”
“Our son has a personal maid?” Barbara was dumbfounded.
“Yes, Lady Lachance. Christopher protected me from a noble who tried to force me into… something I didn’t want to do. Since that day, I have worked for him and he has been nothing but friendly and kind to me. He even got my husband a job and our little Cotton Tail thinks the world of him.” From somewhere in the distance there was a call of ‘fillypault’ which was followed by uproarious laughter. “He’s also the only one I would trust to throw my daughter like hoofball.”
*****
*Earlier*
Chris flew toward the roaring with Celestia close behind him. Both were ecstatic, Chris because he could already see the huge party, Celestia because her son was home.
“I can’t believe you convinced Elder Blood Onyx to come here. Who else is here?” Chris asked.
“The Element Bearers are here, except for Twilight and Fluttershy, they are away on a mission. The princess of the seaponies is here in that pool next to the river. The Sultan of Saddle Arabia could not come, but he sent his vizier who brought his wife. Cadance and Shining Armor should be here by now, but they could not stay long. Sadly, your aunt could not make it. She’s had a very trying night.
“What about everypony’s favorite chaos bringer?”
“No, Discord thought it best not to come.”
“Well, he did turn the dragons’ gems into jellies, the desert into marbles, and put the seapony’s palace in a fish bowl. Probably better he did stay home. I’d hate to see what he’d try on my parents for a laugh.
“I would suggest asking Fluttershy to have a word with him, since he seems to value her opinion of him. That may help keep him from scaring them.”
“Yeah, or scarring them. For now though, I see a dragon I want to talk to.”
Chris flew over to Elder Blood Onyx and proceeded to perform the traditional dragon greeting, which consisted of a roar and some smoke blowing. He then went to the seapony princess and drank from the royal conch shell, which only sounds dirty. From there, he flew off to meet his cousin.
“Cadance! Shining!” he called out.
“Chris! It’s so good to see you,” Cadance responded.
“Hey there, Chris. How was your trip?”
“It was interesting. So much has changed since I left there. Or, more likely, I just grew up and started seeing things differently.” Chris then picked up Cadance and held her in a tight hug. “Either way, I missed you so much.”
“Aww, we missed you, too,” Cadance said as she returned the hug. However, when she released the hug, she found that she was still being held aloft. “Uh, something wrong, Chris?”
He didn’t respond, but rather channeled his magic into his ringed hand and pressed it into her side. His eyes were squinted in concentration. Suddenly, he gasped and hugged her tighter.
“Congratulations. I’m so~ happy for you two.”
“Um, what are you talking about?” Shining asked.
Chris set Cadance down, finally. “Oh, um, you may want to visit your physician when you get back. I’ll act surprised when you tell everypony officially.”
“What are we going to tell everypony?” Shining asked, but before Chris could answer, he was tackled to the ground.
“Chris!” the Cutie Mark Crusaders yelled out in unison as they slammed into his chest.
“Oh no! It’s a ravenous pack of fillies, *gasp* that got their cutie marks!” All thoughts of previous conversations were instantly forgotten. Chris jumped to his feet with all three fillies in his arms and ran off, telling everyone he met the exciting news.
“What was he talking about? What would we announce officially to everypony?” Shining asked Cadance.
“I don’t know, but I think I should see our physician tomorrow.”
*****
Celestia, after she was satisfied that no one here was going to injure her son, made her way over to the tent. She returned greetings and bows from many servants and dignitaries, partook in small talk and generally milled about on her way. Before long, she found herself shaded from her sun’s rays.
Celestia also found that she was not alone. She saw that Chris’s real parents were already here. And they had met the Elements and Dust Bunny. She stopped at the buffet table and made several selections of small cakes disappear.
“Mom,” Chris called out before she could approach the others. “Look, they got their cutie marks!”
She was worried, at first, that he was about to shove the fillie’s flanks in her face, but he merely held them out at arm’s length. “Yes, Dear. Isn’t it great? Their marks are lovely, and they match. I’ve never seen matching marks before either.”
“That’s awesome! C’mon, girls, let’s go meet the seaponies.”
“Before you go, you may want to bring along Cotton Tail. I’m sure she would love it for the swimming if nothing else.”
“That’s a great idea, Mom. Thanks.” Chris then darted off to gather more trouble.
Celestia was happy that her son was having fun, but she just her biggest buffer. Now she had to talk to the Lachances alone. She devoured one more piece of cake and made her way over.
“Ah, Princess, won’t you please join us?” Rarity asked as she waved to a vacant cushion.
“Thank you, Rarity, I shall.” She sat upon the cushion that happened to be between the Element bearers and the Lachance family. “What were you all discussing?”
“I believe Miss Dust Bunny here was just telling us how Chris saved her from some noble and then got her husband a job. She was being a little vague with the details though.”
“Yes, I my boy is a hero,” Steven said, “then I want to know all about it.”
“Ugh, this story again.”
“Yer jest jealous ‘cause it doesn’t involve you, RD,” Applejack teased with a nudge.
“Yeah. That means it’s boring.”
Celestia giggled at Rainbow Dash’s antics and then proceeded to tell the story. The longer she talked, the deeper the scowl on Steven’s face grew. “…and since that day, Miss Dust Bunny has worked directly for Chris and he, I’m very proud to say, has treated her exceptionally well.”
“I would very much like to meet this Blueblood,” Steven said. His fists were so tight, his knuckles were going white.
“If I know my nephew as well as I think I do, you’ll meet him a lot sooner than you think. I regret to say that I was unable to raise him as well as Chris.”
Barbara muttered something under her breath. “What was that, Darling?” Rarity asked.
“I said, I would have liked to raise my son.”
Celestia looked as though she had been slapped. “Yes. Yes, I imagine you would. I can only offer my condolences.”
“Screw your condolences. You stole our son away from us.”
“Barb, calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Steve! This horse took our little boy!”
“She’s a pony,” Chris’s voice corrected from the edge of the tent. He set down the four soggy fillies and the dripping dragon and approached the group. “She’s also the one that took me in when I had nowhere to go and no one to trust.”
“Sweetie, I-” Barbara started to defend.
“Look, Mom, I would have loved to have grown up on Earth with you and Dad, but that didn’t happen. What did happen was that I appeared here, in a field, alone. She took me in, took care of me, loved me like her own blood, and made sure I was always happy and healthy, no matter what it cost her or her reputation. I can’t say don’t be mad at her, but I can say don’t insult her around me.”
“Christopher, you shouldn’t talk to your mother like that,” Steven reprimanded.
Chris simply turned his back and spread his wings, said “I’ll see you at the palace,” and took off.