What You Are in the Dark

by Little Jackie Papercut

Epilogue

Author's Note:

The story's all wrapped up, but that doesn't mean it's over! This epilogue takes place months later, after "Mother Shows Best" by Skyeheart.

"Oh, Octavia! So good to see you again! And you too, Auntie, Uncle, please make yourselves at home!" Lovestruck beckoned the earth ponies into her Saddlin' Island abode.

Some time had passed since Lovestruck had asked Octavia and the Oranges to visit. They had spoken since, but most of their nights had been occupied. What they had been occupied with, she had no idea, and she was really eager to learn.

A young filly followed her mother, looking around shyly. The small living room was decorated in bright colors, with plush animals peeking out of every nook. It all looked very happy, and she brightened a little. "Are you Mrs. Lovestruck and Mr. Gedion?" she spoke up, approaching the tenants. "I am Tangerine, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Lovestruck bent down to look the filly in the eye. "Why, thank you, Tangerine, it's nice to meet you too," she said. With a flicker of her horn, she lifted a stuffed tiger from a bookshelf. "You know, I've been looking for a good home for this kitty for a while. What do you say? To remember our meeting?"

Tangerine looked from the tiger to Lovestruck, then smiled. "Why, thank you, Mrs. Lovestruck!" she said, accepting the gift.

Her mother set a hoof on her shoulder. "Now, Tangerine, I think there's somebody else who would like to meet you." She gestured to a doorway at the far end of the room. A head peeked out from the right of the frame. A gentle nudge from her mother convinced Tangerine to move in that direction. The beaked face disappeared as Tangerine approached. Once inside the room, she glanced to her right, and saw its owner lounging on a sofa.

The front half of his body was feathered much like his father's, in a very light tone with a tint of golden-red. He had talons as one would expect, and a head like an eagle, save for the much larger, baby blue eyes. However, the rear half looked nothing like a lion's. Instead, he possessed the hindquarters and tail of a pony. The coat on his hindlegs was a richer red, while his white tail held streaks of gold.

"Hello," she offered, taking a curious step forward. "I am Tangerine."

"Yeah, I know," he replied, grinning. "And I'm Hal. Nice to, ehh, make your acquaintance."

She nodded, then lowered her eyes pensively. "It is nice to meet you, Hal," she said. "I hope this question is not too forward, but what are you?"

To her surprise, this provoked a snort of laughter from him. The snort shook itself loose and was followed by a few hearty guffaws. "What?" he asked, sitting up. "What kinda question is that? Haven't you ever seen a hippogriff before?"

Tangerine shook her head. "No, I do not believe I have. There are no hippogriffs at my school."

Hal suppressed a round of snickers. "Okay, see, you know what a griffon is, right?"

She nodded.

"So my dad's a griffon, and my mom's a pony. So that makes me a hippogriff." He shrugged. "Weird that you've never seen one before."

Tangerine tilted her head in thought. "It may be because there are not many griffons in the part of the city I live in," she mused. "I have heard griffons usually form their own communities." Slowly, her eyes drifted to his flank. "Do hippogriffs get cutie marks?" she asked.

"Hm? Oh, I... guess so," he answered, shifting slightly. "Why d'you ask?"

"I was curious. Do you think you might want to meet my friends?"

Mulling it over for a moment, the hippogriff tapped a talon to his beak. "Yeah, that'd be cool." He grinned at her. "Anytime."

Comments

[Evowizard25]

*sniffs* Is that a ship I smell?...Yes, that is a ship I smell.
static.tumblr.com/5289d0743b7a800075b192237ecd1dd3/nf1hyep/cSbn1dgt5/tumblr_static_shipping_goggles_lok.gif

[touileasaso]

A hippogriff as a Cutie Mark Crusader...I like that idea. Very original, and I'm pretty curious now as to how each and every Manehattan CMC will interact with one another.

[Freewing Alchemist P]

A hippogriff? Nice idea I like to see what come him becoming a CMC.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

A hippogriff in the CMC. I like! I also like him and Tangerine there interacting. Great finish, here!

[Sidvious]

8306795
It's from hp lovecraft "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" ("In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.")
It's technically gibberish? I think? It's not based on a real language as far as i know. I've always just assumed based on the sentence structure fhtagn means wait, though it could be dreams too.