Chapter Fourteen - THIS CHAPTER INCLUDE BEST YAK!!
Spike paced back and forth in his room, the three princesses gathered around him. “I can’t believe it! I… I just can’t believe it!”
“Spike, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked him. “You were fidgeting all through dinner!”
“What is so dire that you needed to call a family meeting?” Celestia added.
“And if this is a family meeting, why art thou excluding Cotton? Surely this is more important than her homework,” Luna added. Twilight fought the urge to scowl at her.
“Well, that’s just it. It’s about Cotton,” Spike said.
All three princesses’ eyes bulged. Celestia’s mane darkened like a storm cloud. “What happened to Cotton?” she asked, her voice like distant thunder.
“Whoa, whoa, Tia, relax. Nothing is wrong,” Spike reassured her.
Her mane regained its colorful shimmer, as Celestia let out a relieved sigh. “Don’t scare me like that, Spike.”
“Well if you’d let me finish, you wouldn’t have been scared. There’s no need to go all Solar Flare on us.” Celestia grimaced at the remark.
“So what’s going on with Cotton?” Twilight asked. “Why can’t she be here to talk about it with us?”
“Well, I don’t want to make a big deal about it in front of her; it’s still a new development,” Spike said.
“What is a new development?” Luna asked with a huff.
Spike took a breath, then said, “I need you to hold your Royal Canterlot Voices for this—I don’t want her to hear us.” The three princesses all raised a brow at each other before Spike leaned down to them, a huge grin on his face. “It sounds like Cotton’s found a special somepony!”
All three princesses clasped their muzzles as muffled Royal Canterlot Voices shouted, “WHAT?!” simultaneously. An instant later, there was a flash between them all. Stepping back, they cleared a space, and Princess Cadance stood before them.
Cadance looked at the four of them, all wearing huge grins on their faces. “Did he tell you?” She turned to Spike. “She told you herself, didn’t she?”
Spike nodded. “It just happened this afternoon, too. Figures you would drop in, Cadance.”
“I sensed the spark, all the way from the Empire,” Cadance said.
“Wait, this afternoon?” Luna asked.
Twilight glanced at her. “That would mean it’s probably—”
“The griffon!” Luna finished, a deerstalker cap upon her head.
Celestia, Luna, and Cadance all dropped their jaws. Twilight did a double take on Luna. “Hey, give me back my hat! That was a special gift from Pinkie!”
“Anyway, yeah,” Spike said. “So I guess he’s a special some-griffon.”
Luna crossed her hooves and looked down her nose. “We do not approve.”
Twilight looked over at her. “What? Why not?”
“What did I miss while I was in Day Court?” Celestia asked.
“The griffon was quite disrespectful upon his entrance,” Luna grumbled. “A mere dip of the head is no way to—”
“Luna, you need to pick up a book on culture sometime,” Twilight interjected. “Griffons never lower their defenses, even in front of royalty. The way Steadclaw greeted us today was the highest form of respect among griffonkind.”
Luna snorted, but looked at Twilight. “Truly?”
“Yes,” Spike said. “Even I know about griffon culture, and now that I think about it—”
“It makes perfect sense!” Twilight finished, dancing on the tips of her hooves. Spike nodded in agreement.
Luna looked unconvinced. “Dost thou really approve of this griffon, Spike?”
“For now.” Spike smirked. “I spoke with him today before this little development even occurred. He was quite respectful, and grateful for my help.”
“Help?” Celestia asked.
Spike chuckled. “Yes, I was giving him some information on the Secretariat Comet Crisis for that school paper I told you about.”
Celestia stomped a hoof. “Please don’t tell me you told him about the trident and eyepatch.”
Spike suppressed a snort and a smirk. “Maaaaaaaaybe.”
Celestia smacked her forehead with a hoof. “You are never going to give that a rest, are you?”
“Nnnnnope,” Spike replied with a drawl.
“Hey, nice ‘Big Mac,’” Twilight laughed. Spike took a slight bow.
“Okay, there’s still one thing I don’t get,” Cadance said. “You know I have no problem with interspecies relationships, given you and Rarity or my daughter…”
“How are Flurry and Rutherford, anyway?” Twilight asked. “We missed all of you at our party this weekend.”
“Yes, I’m sorry we couldn’t come, but you know the Crystal ponies always flip when I leave. Flurry and ‘Ford are doing well. We’re having dinner together tonight, and Rutherford is being his usual self,” Cadance replied. “Anyway, why is a griffon so perfect for Cotton?”
Spike and Twilight looked at each other. “Maybe all princesses need to brush up on foreign cultures,” Spike said.
“All princesses?” Twilight coughed.
“Obviously not you, you bookworm,” Spike replied with a barb. Twilight nodded her approval.
When Celestia narrowed her eyes at them, Spike began, “Well, numbers of books and princesses aside… you know Cotton has always been self-conscious about her scars.”
“Mhmm,” Cadance answered.
“Well, if I’m correctly interpreting the conversation I had with my daughter after her friends left, then that griffon just took all her self-consciousness and turned it on its head.”
“He’s perfect for her!” Twilight squealed.
Luna scratched her chin. “We redact Our previous remark. We approve!”
“Here here!” Celestia added. “I’m going to have to meet this Steadclaw as soon as possible!”
“Let’s not force it,” Spike said. “I’m sure Cotton will invite him back when they’re ready to make it official. He does need to meet all of us, after all.” He brought a claw to his chin. “And she needs to meet his mother. That’ll be interesting.”
“How so?” Celestia asked.
“Well, depending on how closely his family sticks to tradition,” Twilight answered, “my guess is that his mother will either completely disapprove, or absolutely adore her.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Spike said, “but we’ll have to see. Given the effect Pinkie has had on the griffons over the years, I have a feeling it will be the latter. And considering Cotton’s connection to Pinkie as well…”
“Oh, his mother will love her to death,” Twilight said with a wave of her hoof.
“Hold on now, I’m all for planning the names of their future children, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves… yet,” Cadance said. “It’ll play out as it goes along. Anyway, I really need to get back to the Empire before Rutherford complains that dinner wasn’t ‘perfect’ because of my tardiness.”
“Agreed. Those chandeliers were expensive to replace,” Twilight said. “Say hello to Flurry and Rutherford for us.”
“Will do,” Cadance replied. “Hopefully we’ll see you all up north sometime soon.” Turning to Spike, she said, “Spike, I’m thrilled to hear all of this. I just have one piece of advice for you.”
“Oh? What’s that?” he asked.
“Well, there’s nothing you can do while they’re at school, but if the two of them are here in the castle…” She paused. “Do not let them be alone. Ever.” With a flash of blue light, she vanished.
“Celestia’s beard!” Spike’s eyes widened. “She’s right!”
“Hey!”
“…I’ll need to make sure Cotton brings those other three fillies with her,” he said, furrowing his brow.
“Oh Spike, Cadance is just being dramatic,” Twilight said. “They’re just teens. I doubt you need to worry.”
Celestia chuckled. “Twilight, your teen years were hardly the statistical norm.”
“We remember Our teen years,” Luna said with a smirk. “As the relationship develops—”
“If it does,” Celestia added.
“I’ll need to make sure he stays in line,” Spike growled.
Twilight sighed. “Fine, be the neurotic parent. Just give them some space for now, okay? If you hover over them too much, you’ll scare Steadclaw off!”
“I’m the neurotic one?” Spike asked with incredulity. “That’s rich, coming from you.”
“Oh come on,” Twilight scoffed. “When have I ever been neurotic?”
Celestia, Luna, and Spike all chuckled. “Well, there was that time when—”
Ж
Cotton sat at the crowded breakfast table. Along with the normal retinue of Celestia, Luna, Spike… and a grumpy Twilight, they were joined by Aunt Cadance, Uncle Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart, along with her hungover husband Prince Rutherford II.
“Ack!” Shining Armor yelped. “Cadance, what’s this green stuff in my soup?”
“It’s kale, dear.”
“Oh… Okay.”
Cotton focused on her pancakes as Cadance, Celestia, Luna, and Twilight talked about the Crystal Empire. She could have sworn, though, that every now and then, all four of them would steal glances her way.
“So, not that it isn’t great to see you, Flurry,” Cotton said, turning to Flurry Heart and Rutherford, “but what are you guys doing here?”
“RUTHERFORD TOLD NOT TO SAY HE KNOW ABOUT NEW GRIFFON FRIEND.”
Flurry Heart put a hoof to her face as Cotton glared at Spike, then the rest of the table. “He told you?”
An uncomfortable silence settled over the table.
“Ack! Cadance, there’s something green in my soup!”
“I said it’s kale, dear.” Cadance smacked her forehead with a hoof.
“Cadance, how do you put up with that senile brother of mine?” Twilight asked.
“Hey!”
“Unconditional love, Twily,” Cadance replied. Cotton noticed Flurry Heart rolling her eyes.
“Speaking of love…” Flurry said with a smirk, turning to Cotton, “How handsome is he?”
A red tint appeared on Cotton’s cheeks. “Well…” she mumbled, glancing down with a little smile. Flurry Heart rested her head on her hooves, raising her eyebrows. “Well, you’ve seen pictures of Aunt Pinkie’s friend Gilda, right?” Flurry nodded. “Well, she’s his grandmother. He looks a lot like her, but his upper plumage and the edge of his beak are a nice, charcoal gray, and his head feathers flow backward instead of forward. And his eyes…” Cotton trailed off, sighing.
Cadance giggled. “It’s always the eyes.”
Cotton continued, “His eyes are…” She glanced at her forelegs; looking at her exposed skin, her eyes widened as she realized something she hadn’t noticed before. Holding up her scarred right foreleg, she said, “They’re a lot like this, actually. A nice, darkened red.” Looking at the leg she had just held up, she smiled. “And they see these scars differently than everyone else, he sees me differently than everyone else…”
Spike smiled as well. “It sounds like Cotton has found someone who sees her beauty as much as we do.”
Celestia said, “Well, I’ve yet to meet him. That’ll be remedied soon.”
Cotton winced. “Everyone, please! This just started! I don’t even know if it’s going to last!” She let out a sigh. “Then again, he—”
“PONIES NOT TALK SO LOUD! YAK HUNGOVER!” Rutherford ‘whispered’. “OWWW, YAK OWN WORST ENEMY.”
Luna passed him a mug of coffee. “This is the best elixir for a hangover that We are aware of, Rutherford.”
Rutherford took a swig of the brown liquid. “THIS NOT TASTE LIKE YAK COFFEE.” He lazily waved a hoof in the air, before laying his head back on the table. “RUTHERFORD RAMPAGE LATER, THOUGH.”
“Ah, the upsides to a hungover yak,” Flurry Heart chuckled. “Less property damage.”
“NOT FUNNY,” Rutherford grumbled. “HEAD STILL HURT.”
“Keep that in mind next time ya go killin’ your brain cells that way!” Shining Armor piped up from across the table.
“Says the stallion with maybe ten brain cells left,” Twilight laughed.
“Hush, you,” Shining said, pointing a shaky hoof at his sister. “You and your immortality. You’re as bad as my wife!”
“That’s because we’re both princesses, dear,” Cadance said. “It comes with the title.”
“I know that! You think I would forget such an important—Ack! Cadance, there’s something green in my soup!”
Ж
“LOVELY TO SEE EXTENDED PONY FAMILY AGAIN!!” Prince Rutherford shouted. “YOU COME TO CRYSTAL EMPIRE SOON!! RUTHERFORD NOT LIKE INSTANT TRAVEL VERY MUCH.”
“Believe me, dear, it’s not that easy to bring you along,” Flurry Heart commented.
“SIZE NOT RUTHERFORD’S FAULT!! RUNS IN FAMILY!!”
“We know, Rutherford. We’ve met your father,” Twilight said with a laugh. As she gave Flurry Heart a hug, she whispered to her, “How’d he get over his hangover so quickly?”
Flurry Heart chuckled. “I figured out a spell to cure hangovers a while ago. I just haven’t told him,” she whispered back. “He’s easier to manage that way. I just use the spell when we need to be presentable the day after he takes to the bottle. Or when a proper goodbye is in order. He hasn’t figured it out yet.”
Twilight shook her head. “You really are a strange one, you know that, Flurry?”
“Runs in family, Aunt Twilight,” Flurry Heart shot back, laughing.
“Touché, dear niece,” Twilight said with a smirk.
“Cotton, it was great to see you, and I’m thrilled to hear you found yourself someone special,” Flurry Heart said to her cousin. “Keep him close. And believe me, if anything important happens, my mother will know.”
“I know,” Cotton laughed, hugging the alicorn. “It was great to see you, too, Cousin Flurry.” Turning to the rest of the departing party, to whom she had already said her goodbyes, Cotton said, “Bye, everyone! See you soon!”
The four of them waved as Cadance and Flurry Heart grasped their respective husbands and lit up their horns, disappearing in a flash a moment later.
Luna glanced at the clock with a yawn. “Hmm, ‘twas a lovely family meal, but We must retire to Our chambers and rest. I bid ye all good day.”
“Have a good day’s sleep, Aunt Luna!”
“We shall, dear Cotton, We shall. Have a good day at school.”
Cotton’s eyes widened. “School! Ohmigosh what time is it?”
Spike laughed. “Don’t worry, sweetie, you’ve got time. That’s why we woke you up early. Go get your stuff together, and I’ll give you a ride.”
Cotton let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Dad. Hey, can I do one of my air drops when we get there?”
Spike lifted his eyebrows. “If you want to. You usually don’t like doing that in public.”
Cotton smiled with a little blush. “Well… now I have someone to impress.” As she rushed upstairs and into her room, Celestia and Twilight approached Spike.
“So, when’s the wedding?” Celestia asked.
“Can I be the Mare of Honor?” Twilight added, breathless.
Spike chuckled. “Hush, you two. Like Cadance said, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’ll be back shortly.” He walked toward the main door of the castle and called upstairs, “I’ll be out front when you’re ready, Sweetheart!”
“Be there in a minute, Dad!” Cotton called back.
Twilight and Celestia looked at each other and smiled.
“I’ll be the wedding planner.”
“I’ll choose the cake.”
“You haven’t even met him yet!”
“I still get to choose the cake.”
Chapter title was totally the Moose's idea, as was the basis behind Shining Armor's interaction. Just FYI. But probably my favorite suggestion of his:
“Twilight, your teen years were hardly the statistical norm.”
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I laugh aloud at this line. Rutherford is just too much fun!
I'm sad and extremely titillated that Shining is an old stallion. Loved the chapter!
Silly Twilight, you refuse the assistance of Equestria's foremost expert on cake?
And before any of you say anything, think about it.
I am looking forward to more of this story.
Spike should've told Celestia to "not go all Nightmare Noon."
Ohhh man, poor Steadclaw. That's one heck of a family to have to face for approval.
This is the funniest chapter so far!
7544744 Not a bad wordplay, but "Solar Flare" is the name that I've seen a lot of people use for an AltU Nightmare Celestia, and I kind of like it myself. In this case, though, since Nightmare Moon still happened here, my view of it is that "Solar Flare" is what happens when Celestia pulls the stunt that Twilight did in Feeling Pinkie Keen (You know, this little gem. Some of us Pokémon lovers tended to call it "going Rapidash" in Twi's case.)
Go to deviantArt, pick your fan-art, and go with that. Personally, I kind of like this rendition. Imagine trying to earn her approval!
Ok, was Shining Armor hungover as well or is he actually old enough to be THAT senile? If it's the latter that was actually rather sad...
7545120 It was indeed the latter. And yeah, there is kind of a sad undertone to it, but it was meant to have the comedy at the forefront.
7546139 Not even necessarily the attention given to Spike, but a lot of the backdrop characters and comings and goings take a lot of precedent over Cotton throughout the narrative, and what is there rarely covers things like her point of view or thoughts. When it is focused on her it's good, though, but it felt pretty telly and distant at most junctures to me. I havent gotten to the newer chapters yet, and circa 2013 is pretty far back, so my criticism is probably unnecessary at this point.
This was a cute chapter. Although the bit with Shiney was a tad sad. Still rather good all around.
7543435
Best Yak is Best
.
I hope these kids are responsible
7545020 Oh, I know. "Nightmare Noon" just makes me giggle like a dork, though.
Shining Armor is giving me a "Sankarea" vibe lol.
Ack! What's this green stuff in my fic?
7555068 That would be the likes bar, dear.
7555781 As I said before, it was a minor detail, and it could have been I read it wrong, so I wouldn't worry about it. Plus, I can't remember what chapters it was in. I still love the story, and I can't wait for more to come.
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!
i.ytimg.com/vi/qFflM1L_bXQ/maxresdefault.jpg
orig11.deviantart.net/d3cf/f/2010/321/8/d/property_damage_by_someguyfromcrowd-d331upl.png
Your story is awesome! Loving every chapter.
7555068
It’s all the likes my friend
They're gonna be there all night.
A C K
7545522
Yeah, as funny as Shining’s clear Alzheimers was, it definitely has a sad aftertone. My great grandmother was at about that point the last time I had a chance to see her, and it brought up a few thoughts about the more serious aspects of the realistic situation they must be in, aside from the silly parts.
Luna there is no excuse for not studying Griffon culture, you have been back from the moon for several decades.
Seriously, Twi?
You've opened yourself up to a veritable barrage of examples there.
Well, whatever else, it's really good to see that Twilight has come to terms and even wholeheartedly accepts her immortality and its... downsides.
I'm glad she has a lot of family and friends to help her with that, both immortal and not. I'm happy for her.
I can picture them all saying this line at the exact same time and the exact same tone of voice.