//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: A Monstrous Family Reunion // by drnkntst //------------------------------// Chapter 2 The flight from the party was a quiet one. There was no chatting, no comments, no conversation of any kind. Even when they touched down, the hooves of the guards seemed to be muffled somehow. The party had been cut short after the ‘incident’. Some of the dignitaries returned to either the palace for the night, or their own homes, if they lived close enough. Celestia had remained long enough to oversee the cleanup. She didn’t need to, but it gave her an excuse to be alone. Back at the palace, Steven and Barbara had been led to their suite. Steven was quite impressed with the décor and design. Barbara, on the other hand, was still too upset to enjoy much of anything. She just knew that this horse princess was showing off. Barbara knew how that story went. The leaders make sure they’re rich and powerful while their populace suffers in squalor. Barbara plopped herself down on, arguably, the most comfortable bed she’d ever seen and sulked. Meanwhile, Steven went out onto their private balcony overlooking the valley and took in the beauty before him. “Barb, you’ve got to come see this. It’s gorgeous.” Reluctantly, Barbara stood and joined her husband. In the light of the setting sun, she could see that, under different circumstances, she might actually fall in love with this place. From her viewpoint in the guest quarters of the palace, she could see a town that seemed to be made entirely of white marble and built like some fairy tale city. Down below, at the foot of the mountain was a village that reminded her of old, German style homes. Next to that was a huge orchard near some kind of jungle. Inside the jungle was some kind of old castle that was in ruins. While the Lachances were enjoying the visage, something, or rather someone, else caught their attention. At the top of a nearby spire, a blue alicorn stepped out onto a balcony of their own. The alicorn watched patiently as the sun set in the distance. Once the sun disappeared, the alicorn lit its own horn, a brilliant blue hue, and bowed its head. Then, slowly, it raised its head. At the same time and, strangely, the same speed, the moon began to rise. In fact, if one didn’t know better, they could almost swear that this new alicorn was raising the moon on its own. As soon as the moon was on its journey across the night sky, the blue alicorn turned and looked directly at them. The alicorn then leapt from its balcony and glided over to the Lachances. “Good evening, Lachance family. My name is Luna and I am known as the Princess of the Night. It is a… longwinded title, but one that I guess fits. May I enter?” “It’s your palace,” Barbara shrugged as she turned her back. “I think what my wife meant was please, join us.” “I thank you,” Luna said as she landed on the marble without so much as a clink from her silver shoes. Luna looked around the room. “It has been some time since I’ve been in this guest room. It is where I spent my nights awaiting my own chamber’s completion. Young Christopher was very helpful in aiding my transition, despite our… less than favorable first meeting.” “Well, it couldn’t have been worse than having your own son yell at you,” Barbara said as she crossed her arms over her chest. “No, I can definitely say that did not happen.” Luna hoped they wouldn’t press the issue further. After all, how do you tell someone you tried to blast a hole through their child the very instant yet met him? “Why did he yell at you?” “Because he wants that horse more than his own mother,” Barbara huffed. “Barb, please,” Steven pleaded. “Missus Lachance, I do not agree with that. Since I’ve known Christopher, he has always mentioned you with fondness and longing. I believe he simply sees my sister as more than just a surrogate for you. She has taken care of and protected him since day one and he was never one to take that for granted. “Hmph,” Barbara argued as she crossed her legs and folded her arms. “I’m sorry, Princess,” Steven started. “Please, call me Luna.” “Luna. You have to understand, when Chris was taken from us, everything in our lives took a nosedive. Barbara was accused of killing him and then hiding the body. The Only reason she didn’t wind up in prison was because other witnesses stepped forward. I, as you can see, gave up on taking care of myself. I only just barely avoided becoming a full-blown alcoholic and I gained almost two hundred pounds. Then, out of the blue, he’s back but he’s different. Not quite human. To top things off, he’s not even loyal to his own parents anymore, choosing instead to defend the ones who stole him away from us. It’s… not an easy pill to swallow. “I think I see now. Thank you for explaining. If it helps in any way, Sister is not responsible for Christopher’s arrival on Equus.” There was as knock on the door. “Mom. Dad. Can I come in? I wanna talk,” Chris’s voice came through the wood. “Come in,… son,” Steven replied. Chris stepped through the open door. “Look, about- oh, hey, Aunt Luna.” “Nephew,” Luna bowed her head. “I shall be taking my leave now. I have many duties to attend to.” “Alright. Please, check in on Fluttershy’s dreams for me.” “I will. Sleep well Lachance family.” With that, Luna walked back out onto the balcony and leapt into the night. “You know, when Luna says ‘sleep well’, she can make it happen.” Chris crossed the room and sat on an ottoman near the bed. “So, about earlier, I wanted to apologize. I shouldn’t have yelled at you and I certainly shouldn’t have run off like a spoiled foal. I was raised better than that and I’m sorry.” Barbara stood from the bed and crossed the room to embrace her son. “Oh, Honey, it’s okay. I was never upset with you anyway. I was just… mad in general.” “Believe me, I get that.” Chris returned his mother’s hug. When she released him, he stood. “Alright, it’s getting late and I need to get to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.” “Late? But it’s just past sundown,” Steven pointed out. “Yeah, I know, Dad. Thing is, since my first year here, I haven’t been able to stay up past dusk. Came from spending every night with Celestia.” “Why did you do that?” “Apparently, my crying myself to sleep every night was disturbing a lot of ponies. Celestia would hold me until I finally fell asleep and that put me on her sleep schedule.” “Why were you crying so much?” Barbara asked. Before closing the door, Chris said over his shoulder, “Because I lost my parents.” ***** Owing to the fact that Blueblood was still visiting his parents, breakfast the next day was without drama. There was still awkward silences and a few glares, but nowhere near what Chris was expecting. It was a relief to him. He knew his cousin well enough and he had a pretty good idea as to what would have happened, and beating Blueblood black and blue was not getting along with him like Celestia had asked. After breakfast, Chris asked his parents, “What would you like to do today? We could tour the palace, walk through the gardens, or how about we journey into the Canterlot? While there, we could visit a museum or see some friends of mine. What do you say?” “A trip through the city might be fun,” Steven said, “besides, I could use the exercise.” For emphasis, he slapped his stomach. “You know, if you want, I could set you up with some of our trainers,” Chris offered. “Either way, just stay away from Sugar Cube Corner and Mom’s cake stash and you’ll be set.” “Hmm, I’ll have to think about it.” Steven meant it too. He may not be a fan of hard work, but now that things were different, he wanted to go back to the man he once was. “What about you, Mom?” “Yeah, I could certainly use the fresh air.” Chris arranged for an open-air carriage to take them out and a squad of pegasus guards to protect them from the clouds. He always hated this kind of treatment being doted on himself, but he was able to protect himself. He wasn’t even certain his parents were immune to magic like he is. They spent the first part of the morning seeing fountains, gardens, shops, and a few shoppes. Barbara and Steven appreciate the beauty of the city, but, like their son, they didn’t feel very welcome in Canterlot, and the fact that every citizen they passed was bowing. For lunch, Chris chose a delicatessen near the middle of town. It wasn’t long before a certain couple that he was hoping to see arrived. “Ah, Mister Fancy Pants, Miss Fleur Dis Lee. I was hoping to see you both here. Please, would you join us?” “Oh, Christopher. I believe we will take you up on your kind offer,” Fancy said as a waiter materialized out of thin air, moved another table and two chairs over, and then disappeared back into the ether. Fancy Pants pulled out a chair for Fleur before he sat himself down. “And who are these fine humans you have with you today?” “Fancy Pants, meet Barbara and Steven Lachance, my parents. Mom, Dad, this is Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee, my first friends outside the palace.” “It is truly an honor,” Fancy said with a slight bow that was mirrored by Fleur. “Thank you, Mister, uh, Fancy Pants.” Steven nearly had to force himself to say the name that, to a human, was very odd. “What do you mean, ‘outside the palace’?” Barbara asked. “Oh, well Mom used to keep me in the palace almost all the time. She was worried that somepony might panic at the sight of a predator nearly twice their size and totally new unknown to the world in general. In short, it was for my own good.” “Didn’t stop you from sneaking out though,” Fleur said with a small giggle. “Hey, you got your skylight fixed.” Chris’s joke got a laugh out of both Fleur and Fancy. Not everyone at the table found it as amusing. “She locked you away?” Barbara aked in a barely controlled growl. “Like a wild animal.” “Hardly. All those rulers you saw yesterday were ones I met during travels with Mom. Then, I had Twilight, Shining Armor, and their parents visiting me in the palace all the time. Plus, it’s a dang palace. It’s the size of a small city. I only snuck out because I got bored. Besides, she was kind of right. “I still think the papers calling you ‘The Monster of Canterlot’ was a bit harsh,” Fancy added as he sipped his tea. “Monster?” Steven asked with a smirk. “You mean you’re a real life bigfoot?” “Yeah, they even called me ‘Bighoof’. Isn’t that hilarious?” “My baby boy is not a monster,” Barbara grumbled under her breath. “Chris dear, have you taken your parents to meet Velvet and Night yet?” Fleur asked. “And what about Fluttershy?” “No, not yet. Though we did only get back yesterday. As for Fluttershy, she and Twilight are still out on mission. I can’t wait to see her again. A week, even one spent reuniting with loved ones, is too long to be without.” Fancy wrapped a fore leg around Fleur and pulled her close, “I agree fully, my boy.” “You make it sound as if you got yourself a girlfriend, Son.” “Not just a girlfriend, a fiancé,” Chris said with pride. “Yes, and a lovely one she is too,” Fleur added. “Why, she was able to make ponies everywhere forget about my career in modeling after only a few days.” “Miss Fleur, I’ve been in the guard barracks and I can promise you that nopony has forgotten your career.” “Oh, ever the sweetheart, this one,” Fleur said with a wave of her hoof. “Dear me, I almost forgot,” Fancy Pants interjected. “Christopher, are you aware that Miss Rarity opened a boutique here in Canterlot? Doing quite well, I believe.” “Ooh, we’ll have to stop by there and see it for ourselves. Maybe we can talk her into doing a nice dress for Mom.” “I believe you could convince her to make one or two, and, if you wish, I would be happy to create some for yourself, Mister Steven,” Fancy Pants offered. “I’ve made a few for young Christopher here and am familiar with your species’ form and function. I could make you something both comfortable and, excuse me for saying so, slimming.” “Thank you very much, Mister Pants, I believe I will take you up on your kind offer. And please, call me Steve.” “And you may address me as Fancy.” The rest of lunch was pleasant. The meal was tasty and filling and the conversation was light. Steven and Fancy Pants shared a few stories about their respective careers while Chris and Fleur talked about what he missed the week he was away. Barbara, however, had little to say. Barbara was trying her best to come to terms with this huge change in her life. She was sitting in a diner made by ponies for ponies. She was sharing a meal with what, until yesterday, she always knew to be mindless animals. Plus, her long-lost son, whom she had thought lost forever, was not only back in her life, but he was royalty. The worst of it all, Chris, her own flesh and blood, was calling another woman ‘Mother’, and that woman wasn’t even human. From the diner, the group made the short trek to Fancy Pants’s shop. Fancy insisted on taking the measurements himself, even though he hadn’t needed to do the work in years. The reason he insisted on was simple; Chris was a friend and this was his father. Fancy felt that he needed to make a good impression, not just for himself, but for all ponies. After their visit to Fancy’s shop, the reunited family journeyed on to Rarity’s new Canterlot boutique; the Canterlot Carousel. Sadly, Rarity wasn’t there. Instead, they met one Sassy Saddles, a blue unicorn with orange and gold two-tone hair who was built similar to Fleur Dis Lee. When Chris finally convinced her to stop bowing, he managed to convince her to take his mother’s measurements and send them and a message to Rarity requesting a few dresses and casual outfits be made. It wasn’t late, but they decided it was time to head back to the palace. Steven and Barbara were starting to feel guilty about having the guards pull them around all day. Chris decided not to tell them about the guards who were watching out for them from the shadows. Before long, they were pulling through the front gates. “Well, what did you guys think of Canterlot?” Chris asked as he helped the guards unhook themselves from the carriage. “It’s nice, but it seems a little… fancy for my taste,” Steven said. “It’s not home,” Barbara furthered. “I know what you mean.” “Good, then you can come back to Earth with us when we leave.” “What are you talking about? Mom, I can’t go back to Earth. Equestria is my home now. Besides, why would you want to? This world is amazing.” “But it isn’t our world,” Barbara argued. Chris stood there for a moment, then he turned and beckoned his parents to follow. “Come on, I got something to show you.” Barbara and Steven followed their son along a gravel path that led around the palace and straight into the gardens. From there, he led them to the top of one of the waterfalls the cascaded off the side of mountain Canterlot was perched on for the past eight hundred years or so. “Don’t worry, there’s a magical barrier and net to keep anything from going too far and catching anything that gets past the barrier. Now, look down there,” they did. “You see that castle down there?” he pointed at Twilight’s castle. “You mean the one that looks like it’s giving the world the finger?” Steven asked. “The what?” Steven held up his fist with his thumb and middle finger fully extended. Chris looked back at the castle with his head tilted ever so slightly. “Huh. It does doesn’t it. Anyway, that castle belongs to my cousin, Twilight Sparkle. It’s made entirely out of crystal and sprang forth from seed about the size of my head when she and her friends saved the world. The forest over there is called the Everfree Forest. It’s the only place in Equestria that can’t be tamed. Its weather, plants, and wildlife all do their own things without any intervention from ponies, griffins, or some kind of magic. In fact, if it weren’t for the manticores, carnivorous plants, and timber wolves, as in wolves made of timber, it would be exactly like Earth. Equestria is such a peaceful and welcoming place that that forest scares everypony. There hasn’t been a war here in almost five hundred years. Equestria is the most amazing, magical, peaceful, and loving country in the universe…” “Don’t forget fun!” a stone reminded. “Yeah, yeah, fun too,” Chris plucked Pinkie Pie from under the stone as nonchalantly as someone picking up a bit from the street and cradled her on her back in one arm. As he spoke, he tickled her tummy. “I just can’t imagine why you’d want to leave.” “Because we don’t belong here.” Barbara’s scowl at Pinkie would have been intimidating if circumstances were different. As it was, Pinkie was giggling too hard to notice. Chris stopped his tickling. “Alright. Pinkie, if you head into the kitchen, you might find some left over cake.” He then took her in both hands and threw her straight up without looking. She laughed like mad as she latched onto a pegasus guard who happened to be flying by on his rounds. He didn’t think it was nearly as funny, judging by his screams anyway. “I can’t go back to Earth.” “What do you mean?” Steven asked. “We’ll talk about it later.” Chris turned and started to fly back to the palace. “For now, I’m going to go relax in the baths. Maybe Mom’s already in there.” She was. Celestia was floating on her back, using her wings to keep her afloat and her ice mask to relieve her headache. It was practically a standard procedure when the nobles are getting demandy, as Chris always liked to call it. Chris, who had already changed into his bathing suit, slipped into the water. The waves gently rocked the alicorn princess like a boat in a harbor. Chris paddled over to his adopted mother and draped his arms over her belly like she was a pool float. He laid his head down and simply listened to her heartbeat for a moment or two. Celestia, who had been awake the whole time, couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her lips. It was moments like these that she cherished more than anything in the world. Even when the inevitable happened, like it was now. Chris started to scratch Celestia’s tummy, just below the ribs. She could always stop him, but it felt so good. If only she just stop her darn leg from kicking when he did this. On the upside, his laughter at her expense every time was far too sweet to her ears. Even when they were underwater and she couldn’t hear anything. “So, how’d your day with your parents go?” Celestia asked after she rolled over. “Not bad. We met up with Fancy and Fleur, got a suit in the works for Dad. Then we stopped by Rarity’s new shop, ordered some dresses for Mom.” Chris then fell silent and his face seemed to drop. Celestia’s mask floated off her face and turned to face him. “What’s wrong, Honey?” “They… they want to leave. They said they don’t belong here.” Celestia snatched her son in a warm hug and held him close to her barrel. She wanted to say something to comfort him, to make him believe everything would be alright. But what does one say to someone who might lose their family… again?