//------------------------------// // Chapter 16, Uh Oh... // Story: Mechanic Hearts And Postage Stamps // by Ebony Runwick //------------------------------// WARNING! Issues With Parents, Disappointment And Other Things, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! (It's not major, just gotta put these things~!) A few months had passed and everything was great, spring had passed and it was now early summer. Ebony had worked with the two stallions to set up the perfect and most amazing wedding in her lifetime which was saying a lot. It had been quiet, peaceful even, that sadly, was about to change. “Alright, we have the invitation list almost complete, the venue selected and the music down to the decibel all that needs to be done today is to pick the flowers. Now, Orchids or Roses?” The golden mare asked, holding up the two flowers for the engaged couple to inspect. “Ughhhhh….I don’t know, why not both or something…?” Circuit groaned from his spot sprawled out across the couch, one of his arms thrown dramatically over his eyes. They hadn’t been planning this wedding long, at least, not by most wedding standards, and he was already sick of it. “Why do we have to have some big fancy ceremony anyways? Can’t we just go down to the courthouse and get it over with already?” The hybrid looked over her reading glasses and raised a brow in her favorite look of ‘Are you bucking kidding me?’ “If we did that then you wouldn’t get to see Adhesive’s dress now would you hmm?” Said mail stallion blushed and found something interesting to look at on the floor. “He can wear a dress to the courthouse then!” The now flustered ‘pegasus’ flung his hoof out, accidentally flinging himself off the couch in the process. He face planted onto the floor, letting out a soft grunt. “I blame you both for this.” Both Ebony and Adhesive let out a loud guffaw of laughter, the stallion slapping his knee and the mare nearly dropping her glasses. Suddenly their laughter was cut short but a loud and rapid knocking on the door. “Strange… I didn’t know we were going to have guests…” The hybrid murmured softly. “Neither did I…” The green maned stallion muttered before walking up towards the stairs leading to the foyer. Circuit reached up a hoof, snatching one of the blankets off of the couch so he could cover himself with it. “If they ask for me then I’m not here! Tell them I...I don’t know died or something.” The gray stallion snuggled further into the blanket, curling up till he was just a lump on the floor. His fiancee chuckled before opening the door, revealing six figures. Two stallions and four mares, one was a pair, a taller mare as well as a bulkier stallion who seemed to be a married couple. She was pearly white with a pinkish pearl mane while he was medium gray with a darker gray mane and tail. The other stallion was tall, beefy but the same colors as the other older stallion. The other two mares were the same as their mother but with different eyes while the third was mostly covered by very long clothing that covered almost all of her and was white with a gray mane and blue eyes. But the most interesting fact was that they were all unicorns. The mare wrinkled her nose slightly as she scanned over Adhesive, forcing her pearly whites to spread into a smile. “Er….Is Circuit here? This is where he lives, right dear?” She muttered the last part to her husband, who just let out a noncommittal grunt, never once looking up from his phone. The white coated mare turned back to the earth pony again, flashing him another smile. “Could you go get him for us please?” “Uhh… yeah sure, come on in…” Adhesive opened the door wider to let them in before calling down the stairs. “Babe! Someponies are here to see you…” “Adhesiiiive, I told you to tell them I’m dead!” Circuit whined as he pulled himself from his blanket, dramatically dragging himself up the stairs. “It’d better not be freaking telemarketers or I swear I’ll-” He froze, staring at the group of unicorns with wide eyes. “No...No, get out. I told you to never come here. You need to leave, now.” “Circuit!” The white mare gasped, her blue eyes wide. “Is that anyway to talk to your family?” Adhesive blinked, looking between his fiancee and the group of unicorns. As if summoned by the commotion, Ebony marched up the stairs. “What in Luna’s name is going-” She looked up at the unicorns. “Nope, nope nope nope nope!” The hybrid turned around and briskly trotted downstairs and into the kitchen to make food. Her go to activity when stressed. “You all need to leave right now, I’m not going to take this crap in my own h-” “Nonsense dear! You haven’t even let us see your home!” The mare, Circuit’s mother as they’d just learned, pushed past Circuit and Adhesive, the rest of the family trotting down the stairs after her. “W-wait you can’t….Help me out here Adhesive!” The blue eyed stallion looked about the room helplessly trying to find something to say before sighing and going to his backup plan. “Ebony! Get you golden flank in here!” Said mare poked her head out from the kitchen and pulled her mane down and out from its ponytail before blinking at the new ponies in the home. “Okay… Who are you?” “Oh! You must be Circuit’s little marefriend! I’m Pearl Necklace, Circuit’s mother. I’m sure he’s told you all about us.” Pearl stepped forward, holding out a hoof for Ebony to shake. There was a strained smile on her face as she scanned her eyes over the pegasus. “The gray stallion is my husband Lawsuit, and the other three beautiful unicorns are his siblings, Equation Quarter,” she gestured to the younger looking stallion who gave Ebony a little wave. “Rose Shard, my youngest daughter” she gestured to one of the mares. “Flawless Jewel, the second youngest. And Golden Cross, my eldest daughter.” The last one she gestured to was the mare who was all covered up in frumpy looking dress. The hybrid had a confused and shocked face, one eye kind squinting and her mouth screwed up like she had no idea what the hell was going on. “Lady… I’m not dating your son… That stallion right there.” She pointed to Adhesive. “That’s his fiancee, they’re getting married. And no, Circuit never talks about you…” The golden mare was slowly moving backwards, her neck straining. The rest of Circuit’s siblings had a slightly more controlled response, though you could tell they didn’t seem to approve. “I….See...How nice…” Circuit’s mother shot Adhesive a strained smile, one of her eyes twitching slightly. Lawsuit didn’t even respond, too busy talking on his phone with a client. “I’m...Disappointed to hear that you never talk about us Circuit, I thought you would’ve told your friends about us by now?” “Oh wow you’re disappointed, what a shocker..” The ‘pegasus’ muttered bitterly under his breath, rolling his green eyes. The white stallion took a deep breath before putting on a smile. “Hey, well we’re all here now! Where are my manners, please, sit, would you like something to drink? Water, tea, coffee?” He brushed back a loose piece of his green mane and was doing his best to lighten the mood. Ebony on the other hoof, looked between Circuit, Adhesive and the rest of the family, the latter she looked at with mild distrust and worry. “Tea would be lovely, right?” The mare flicked her gaze at her family, most of them nodding quietly while Golden just looked at Adhesive with a look of mild alarm. “Great, Circuit would you help me fix the tea?” He looked at his fiancee with a desperate look of ‘we need to talk’ before pulling the ‘pegasus’ into the kitchen. “What the buck is going on? Why are they here? And why in Luna’s holy flank did they think you were dating Ebony?” “I don’t know why they’re here, okay?” Circuit hissed, his voice filled with panic. “They just...Showed up….” He ran a hoof through his mane, tugging at it at the roots. “And I don’t know….You’ll probably have to get used to that hun, for some reason a lot of ponies assume that at first.” Adhesive let out an amused snort. “I suppose, come on, let’s get the tea done before Ebony tears them apart.” _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ebony was not amused, these were fickle and shallow ponies, those who only cared about themselves, the kind of ponies that she hated most. But, she had her own weapon, patience and etiquette. “So, where are you ponies from?” She asked sweetly, smiling brightly and making sure not to show her fangs and ruin the entire thing. “Our family is originally from Trottingham, but currently we live in Canterlot.” Pearl Necklace answered, shooting Ebony a polite, but tense smile. “What about you miss Ebony?” “Oh here and there, I have a private home that I’d not like to give the location of, paparazzi and all. It’s quite annoying when you’re the CEO of Onyx Innovations, everypony wants something from you.” The changeling hybrid emphasized on that last part, still smiling but her green eyes had gone cold. “Oh trust me, we know what that’s like. My little Flawless Jewel is always being swamped by fans asking for her autograph. Isn’t that right dear?” She shot a smile at her daughter who returned it, her teeth just as straight and bright white as her mother’s. “Oh yes, it’s so hard being so famous. You get what that’s like, right Ebony?” “Yes, of course. Though most ponies run in fear.” “Oh er….” Pearl shot her a slightly uncomfortable look, raising an eyebrow at her. “How come…?” The mare smiled brightly, showing her fangs this time. “Oh I don’t know, my reputation as the Lady of a Thousand Tears and Sorrow.” “I….I see…Well! Isn’t that lovely? Equation, why don’t you tell Ebony about yourself, I’m sure she’d love to hear about your last game, right?” “Er...Yeah sure, whatever.” The stallion grunted, flicking his mane out of his eyes. “Sure, what is interesting about you? What sets you apart from all the other jocks I’ve seen over countless decades?” “Well for one, I’m not just some dumb jock. Straight A+ student all through high school and college. Plus,” he flicked his gray mane out of his eyes, shooting Ebony what was supposed to be a charming smile. “I like to think I’m more handsome then most other jock types.” The mare’s brow rose. “Wow, that’s quite the resume, personally I got 105% all through high school, middle school and elementary as well as 110% in all three of my college degrees. Oh, and on a trip to Japan I learned five martial arts styles consecutively in two weeks. Oh yeah, one more thing, I was doing geometry in kindergarten.” “I...I see….I’m just gonna go wait in the car now.” The stallion got to his hooves, quickly making his way up up the stairs and out to where the car was sitting idle. Not a carriage, a car, because they could actually afford one of those. “Well...Isn’t that just..Lovely…” ‘One down, more mofos to go.’ The golden mare thought to herself before turning towards Circuit’s father. “So, Lawsuit wasn’t it? What do you do for a living? I don’t think I’ve heard you actually speak since you walked into this house.” She smiled brightly, but her expression and tone were getting less and less welcoming with how stupid their responses were. Ebony’s temper was running thin as it was. “I’m a defensive lawyer.” The stallion muttered, taking his phone away from his mouth for a total of ten seconds before he was talking into it again. “No no, I wasn’t talking to anypony important, just had to answer some stupid question. Please continue.” Lawsuit spoke to his client on the phone, shooting a pointed look at Ebony. Said mare reached over the table, grabbed the phone out of his hoof and crushed it between her hoof sending circuitry and plastic bits everywhere. “Now, where were we?” “You little brat! That was an important call!” The gray stallion let out a huff as he got to his hooves, his eyes narrowed. “Where’s the phone in this disgusting house? I have more important things to be doing than listening to some prissy mare.” “Now now dear…” Pearl attempted to get the stallion to sit down again, her voice slightly panicky. “Surely work can wait? After all, we’re here visiting our son and his friends, don’t you want to talk to them?” “No, I don’t as a matter of fact, this whole thing was your idea.” “What a rude and disgusting stallion, not even caring about his own son’s family and home. Was Case File on the phone? Your boss I assume, I know him, well I won’t say know, more like he works for me.” “My boss works for the Runwick family, not some bratty little mare.” “I am Ebony Runwick, which you’d have known that if you would’ve actually listened, now with you being so rude to me and my family I might have to take drastic measures, how does the mail room sound?” The stallion stared at her, for a moment real fear showing on his face as his eyes went all wide. It was quickly covered up with a mask of indifference. One that looked a lot like the face Circuit usually made actually. “I’ll just go use the phone in the car.” He huffed, following the same route his son had made a few moments earlier. For a few moments there was nothing but tense silence into Pearl broke it, a strained smile on her face. “Well! Isn’t this just lovely? Why don’t one of your girls go see why the tea is taking so long?” The mare turned to her three daughters, practically forcing Rose off of the couch. “Go go….” She hissed, shoving the mare towards the kitchen before turning back to Ebony, the same tense, fake smile on her face. “What about you Mrs. Pearl? What do you do for a living? What do you enjoy doing with your life? And why is it that in your life you chose to alienate your youngest and in my personal opinion most worthwhile child to come from your entire family?” “Ah..Well...I’m a stay at home mother.” She smiled tensely as she started to speak. “My husband and I thought it’d be best if I stayed at home to raise the kids. And I never...Alienated my son, and I’m sorry if he feels that way. It was never my intention, it was just...Hard trying to raise five kids. I’m sure you wouldn’t know what that’s like.” “Maybe not five, more like an adoptive mother for seven. Seven orphanages that is, I’ve lost track of how many birthdays and Hearth’s Warming Eve presents I have to buy, but each one is exactly what the foal wanted. I believe last year along I bought seventeen puppies and thirteen kittens.” “Ah, but that’s your own choice. You could simply leave your workers to take care of them if you so wanted to. A mother has to raise her own children.” “I do actually, when I was younger I found two foals abandoned on the roadside. I took them in, clothed them, fed them, changed their diapers, read to them and raised them.” Ebony murmured in a more hushed tone after that. “When they were older instead of calling me mama, mom or even mother they called me sister. Do you have any idea that kind of pain inflicts upon you? When you raised your children and they don’t see you as their mother?” The hurt was evident in her voice, her pain could even be felt in the room and seen in her eyes. “I don’t recall asking you for parenting advice.” Pearl hissed, the look of kindness she’d been forcing the entire time they’d been here finally vanishing into a look of anger. “Why does it matter anyways? I raised four perfectly normal unicorn children, it’s not my fault he was a little freak!” The mare’s words were met with a loud crash from the entrance to the living room. All eyes turned to see Circuit standing in the doorway, the teacup he’d been holding now laying in pieces at his hooves. “So you finally admit it, huh? Why am I not s-surprised…” The stallion’s voice cracked slightly on the last word as he turned to flee from the room, his messy bangs hiding the fact the tears were starting to build in his eyes as he left. Ebony’s eyes widened as she rose to her hooves, a look of anger and absolute murderous intent on her features. “You. I have been nothing but as nice as I could be when you and your disgustingly basic family barged in on our lives! Get. The. Buck. Out. Of. This. HOUSE!!!” She roared, finally bearing her fangs out of pure fury. “If you ever come near this family again I will literally skin you alive and make you into a pretty little throw rug!” “I...I….” Pearl shot a glance towards where Circuit had disappeared, her eyes shining with pain and so much disappointment. She quickly got to her hooves, gesturing for her daughters to follow her out of the house. They all did after a moment, Golden taking a moment to make a cross sign over her heart before fleeing from the house after her family. Ebony leapt up and grabbed a few knives from the kitchen, following the family by running up the stairs, throwing the door open and chucking the knives with accuracy at the car, popping the two closest tires. “AND DON’T COME BACK!!!!!” The hybrid roared. The car quickly sped off, or at least, as fast as it could with two popped tires. “Where the knives really necessary..?” Circuit muttered as he came up behind Ebony, trying to discreetly rub at his eyes. Adhesive stood behind him, gently rubbing a hoof across the gray stallion’s shoulders. “Of course it was necessary, and if I ever see their ugly muzzles around here again I will literally stick a knife through their jugulars.” At this comment from the mare, the white stallion pulled away from her slightly in fear but kept comforting his fiancee. “Right, I agree with Ebony, they’re not going to hurt you ever again babe.” “I swear you two...Just….Don’t maim them too much..Okay Ebony..? They’re...Well they’re terrible ponies but..They’re still my family, you know?” The ‘pegasus’ leaned against his fiance, sighing softly as he let his eyes slide shut. Adhesive nodded and pulled Circuit close, giving him a soft kiss next to the gray stallion’s ear. Ebony huffed but nodded before heading back inside, practically glaring daggers into where the car had been moments ago.