Chapter VIII: The Understanding
…
I found myself in a dimly lit hallway, the only source of light coming from a set of double doors in front of me. I heard muffled music coming from the doors, and I looked around the hallway that I was in. For some reason, this place felt familiar, but there wasn’t enough light for me to clearly see where I was. On a whim, I chose to open the door to see what was happening on the other side. The door led to a gymnasium that was festively decorated with balloons, streamers, and banners. It was then that I realized where I was.
This gym was identical to the one at my old middle school.
I looked at the main banner, which read “Highland Junior High Annual Parents’ Night Dance,” and then I looked at everyone there. I recognized many of my old classmates, but they looked exactly the same as they did when we were around twelve or thirteen years old.
“Was this supposed to be some kind of flashback?” I thought.
Everyone was either on the dance floor, by the punch bowl, or sitting on the bleachers, and the DJ was playing a mix of songs that were popular during my middle school days. I remember coming to this Parents’ Night Dance for both of my years in middle school, and I couldn’t tell which year this was.
All of a sudden, the music stopped playing, only to be replaced by a slower tune a few seconds later.
“Wait…”
“Alright everybody,” the DJ announced. “Now it’s time for all the moms in the house to share a special dance with their kids.”
I saw all the kids pull their mothers onto the dance floor as the music played. The eager mothers held their kids close to them as they danced, the tone of the music providing the perfect atmosphere. The dance floor soon became the most congested area in the room, and with everyone there, I spotted a kid standing in the corner watching everyone else.
It was then that the realization hit me. I remembered which year this was.I was thirteen, in eighth grade, and this was the first Parents’ Night that passed since Mom died.
That kid was me.
I saw my younger self looking at the crowd, the smiling faces of the other kids reminding him of what he… of what I no longer had. He walked around the walls of the gym, shuffling and fidgeting as he tried not to cry, until he approached a man that was sitting on one of the bleachers. When he approached the man, he pulled on his sleeve to get his attention.
“Dad… can we go home?” my younger self asked the man.
“Sure, Devin. Let’s go,” he answered with a somber tone.
All the while, I stood by the doorway, watching the entire scene. This was probably one of the most painful times of my life, one of the most painful reminders of the fact that I no longer had a mother.
And I had to watch it unfold all over again.
I decided that I had seen enough, and I turned around to leave the gym, but then I spotted something shining in the shadows.
I focused my eyes on the figure standing in the darkness, and I was able to make out a sparkling mane and tail with two shades of blue, along with a pair of greenish-blue eyes, eyes that were looking upon the same scene that I was, eyes that were welling up in sadness.
“Luna?” I asked.
The figure flinched in surprise, but then it slowly revealed itself, or rather, herself.
“Yes, it’s me,” she admitted softly as she looked to the ground. “Forgive me for intruding.”
“What are you doing here?”
The princess sighed. “Earlier tonight, I had a talk with Celestia about the altercation we had, and she wasn’t pleased with the way I acted. She said that she wanted me to give you a chance, and I originally was going to do so solely because she requested it, but then…”
“But then what?”
“I was walking through the dreamscape, as I do every night, when I felt a mass of negative energy coming from somewhere, and the trail led me here, to your dream.”
“So this is a dream then,” I said to myself, my suspicions confirmed. I then looked back at Luna. “How long have you been here?”
“I arrived not long after you walked through the door,” she admitted, and then she let out a sigh. “I… I never realized how much pain you were in. For someone to lose their mother at such a young age… it’s so tragic.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I just try to move on, you know?”
“I now see why Tia thought that we were so alike,” Luna said as she sat on the floor with her back against the wall.
“What do you mean?” I asked as I sat beside her.
“When I first returned from my banishment four years ago, I had a hard time adjusting to the modern way of life. As a result, I didn’t really open up to anypony other than my sister. By the time I was ready to come out of my shell and try to make friends, a year had already gone by. In a way, you’ve adjusted to your new life more quickly than I adjusted to mine.”
I shrugged. “Well, to your credit, the change you had to go through was a lot bigger than mine.”
“I suppose that’s true. Anyway, I decided to go to Ponyville and attend their Nightmare Night festival, but that night didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped.”
“How so?”
“Everypony there assumed that I was the same mare that tried to bring eternal night to Equestria, and no matter how hard I tried to convince them otherwise, they didn’t give me the benefit of the doubt. Even though a few ponies tried to help, I still felt alone, like nopony could understand my pain.” she then sighed. “I never realized that I was treating you in the same manner that they treated me. I barely had any idea of how you felt, and yet I still decided to judge you…” Luna took a moment to let out a deep breath, and then she looked right at me and said:
“I’m sorry Devin. Could you ever forgive me?”
I blinked in disbelief at first, but then I smiled. “Sure,” I told her as I extended my hand. “Shake on it?”
Luna looked at my outstretched hand, only to move it away with hers. I gave her a look of confusion, but then I saw the smile on her face.
“We don’t shake hands in this family,” she told me as she reached an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to her. “We prefer hugs.”
I smiled and returned the embrace I was receiving, happy that Luna finally accepted me into the family.
The princess of the night sighed and looked down at me, lighting up her horn. “Now wake up, Devin. You have school in a few hours.”
Before I could respond, everything went white, stunning my eyes for a few moments before I finally regained my vision. When I was finally able to see, I found myself in my bedroom, which was dimly lit by the falling moon. I looked to my right and saw that my clock read six-thirty AM.
“Ugh, morning already?” I asked myself as I rubbed my eyes and got out of my bed, heading for my bathroom. After being fully woken up by a warm shower, I dried myself off and got dressed. Before I left my room, though, I took a quick look at Misfit, and saw that something was… wrong.
I looked at him some more, wondering what was so different about him, when I suddenly realized what it was. It was so minute, but it made so much of a difference. I reached forward and moved his crown a little so it sat properly atop his head.
“There. Now you’re crown isn’t crooked anymore.”
I left the room and made my way down to the dining hall to get some breakfast, and as I was picking out what I wanted on my plate, I felt a familiar presence.
“May I join you?” a voice said.
I turned around to see a smiling Princess Luna looking down at me. Smiling back at her, I nodded my head yes and sat at a small table with her.
“So, I guess it’s just the two of us for the next few days while Tia and your father are on their honeymoon ,” she said.
“Isn’t there another royal that lives in this castle? What’s his name?”
“Oh, Blueblood,” the princess groaned with a roll of the eyes. “He just comes and goes as he pleases. Some days he’s in the castle, and other days he would stay with whatever random mare he'd meet at whatever social event he'd happen to be at. Celestia’s tried her best with him, but eventually we all decided that he was just a lost cause.”
“He’s that much of a bother?”
Luna gave me a serious look. “You have NO idea.”
I couldn’t help but laugh a little at that. “Back to the honeymoon, though, I’m just waiting for Dad and Celestia to get back. I promised Celestia that I’d spend a day with her once they do.”
“Is there anything in particular that you have in mind?”
“Not really. I haven’t figured out what I should do.”
Luna shrugged. “I wouldn’t fret over it too much. Regardless of what you two do, Tia will just be glad that she'll be spending time with you.”
“You think so?”
“I’m positive,” she smiled.
After we finished our breakfast, I stood up from my seat, but then…
“Hold on, Devin,” Luna said.
“Yeah?”
The princess sighed and looked up at me. “There’s one more thing I need to apologize for.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Your stuffed bear. I didn’t know that it was a memento from your mother, and I shouldn’t have talked about it like that.”
“Oh, it’s fine Luna,” I assured her.
“No it isn’t,” she insisted as she lit up her horn and revealed something from behind her back, “especially when I have a stuffed animal of my own.”
It was a pale blue stuffed bunny with two black buttons for eyes, one of which was misplaced by about a centimeter.
“Her name is Lucinda. Celestia made her for me when we were fillies. It was the first and only stuffed animal she’d ever made, so her eyes are a little off, but I love her regardless. Seeing you with your bear reminded me of her. I haven’t looked at her in years.”
I chuckled. “I’m glad I could help reunite you two,” I said as I left the dining hall.
I went back up to my room to brush my teeth, and then I took the royal carriage-car to school. When I got there, I met up with Kadeem in the main hallway looking at the bulletin board.
“What’cha looking at?” I asked.
“I saw a bunch of students crowding around here earlier this morning, and they were talking about this particular flyer.” The zebra pointed to a piece of paper pinned to the center of the board, and I read it aloud.
“CANTERLOT ACADEMY ANNUAL PARENTS’ NIGHT DANCE
NEXT FRIDAY @ 7:PM IN THE SCHOOL GYMNASIUM
FREE ADMISSION, FOOD AND DRINKS WILL BE SERVED”
My eyes focused on the words “Parent’s Night Dance” for a moment, but then I just shook my head. “Everyone’s getting excited for this, of all events?” I asked in disbelief. “Don’t most high school events involving parents end up with low attendance?”
“Normally, yes, but not this year,” Kadeem answered.
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it; this school hasn’t had a student from the royal family since Princess Cadance graduated. With you here, there’s a chance that you’ll be at the dance, and if you’re there, then Celestia will be, and that means…”
“That it’ll be the perfect opportunity for all the stuck up nobles to have an excuse to kiss up to her,” I finished.
“Bingo. You have no idea how badly these ponies try to get her attention. Despite the fact that her marriage essentially cuts the number of nobles bothering her in half, there are still a considerable number of them that want to chat her up for reasons other than courtship, be it politics or just for bragging rights.”
“It is kinda fucked up when you think about it. These guys are taking advantage of the fact that they have kids enrolled here in order to get to Celestia,” I said. “Why are the other students excited, too, though?"
“They probably just want to get into your good graces, too."
“The more we talk about this, the less appealing it sounds.”
Kadeem shrugged. “I dunno. To be honest, despite all that, I still think it’d be a good idea to go.”
“Really?”
“Well, yeah. You’ve been talking about trying to make a connection with your stepmom, so this is the perfect opportunity.”
I stared off vacantly, dumbfounded by the fact that I didn’t think of this myself. “Kadeem, you are a genius,” I said to my friend.
“I know,” he smirked. “So, while we’re talking about princesses, how are things with Luna?”
“Well, when I got home from the movies, we had a bit of a fight, but everything’s all good now.”
Kadeem raised an eyebrow. “You had a fight with Princess Luna, the princess of the night, and now, the very next day, everything is all good?"
“Sounds like you understand perfectly,” I smirked.
“Well, what happened? You two obviously had to make up somehow.”
I chuckled at how privy the zebra was to how I managed to settle my feud with Luna overnight. “Let’s just say that Celestia helped the two of us find some common ground.”
Kadeem rolled his eyes. “I guess that’s as good an answer as I’m going to get.”
I laughed at his disappointment, and then I thought about the upcoming dance. It really was the perfect idea, in more ways than one.
Firstly, it’d be a great way for Celestia and I to spend some time together, and then she’ll know that I’m willing to accept her.
And secondly…
I’d finally have a mother to go to Parents’ Night with.
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To me, Anthro's are like wasps, I stay the fuck away from them.
But this one isn't too bad, I like the characters, the dialogue...Pretty much everything to be honest.
Brr...Well, keep this up and I may just fav my first Anthro.(Well, second including your other fic)
Maybe...
Perhaps...
...I wanna see some Mommylestia! Then you get your fav!
Its a good thing that Devin is moving on and that he managed to befriend Luna.
All this happiness and contentment from resolved conflicts. Bah Humbug!
................ 
Just a question would he ever will meet Blueblood?
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You might as well fave this now. The next two chapters will have sone serious Mommylestia.
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Maybe, maybe not.
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Can you think you can add a part with him just punch him square in the nose? please, Blueblood can't even say a thing since they are family, honestly he will be doing everyone a favor
Ah man, only TWO!? *Sigh* Oh well, all good things must come to an end. I'm glad Luna and Devin are on good terms now, happy feels all around.
All sweet and amazing stories must come to a end sooner or later. Still makes me happy to of read it but sad to see it end so soon.
I loved this story, so well written and thoses feels. Gald Luna and Devin found some more common groumd and that everything is fine between them.
Only two more chapters?! Whaaaaa
I gotta say, didn't expect their problems to be resolved in Devin's dreams. It's nice to see the 2 finally getting along though.
As for the dance, I thought bringing something like that up would bring up some bad memories from his middle school times, but now he's got something to spend time with Celestia. Nice way to turn things around. Plus, now he can give Celestia that dance she wanted from the wedding reception. It's a win-win situation!
This sorta sounds like every social I went to as a kid.
Okay, that ending was really sweet, even though I knew it was coming as soon as we were told a bit about the flashback... I actually thought this would be more 'snap to first person' but then Luna comes in and makes Celestia dance with him... While that would have been adorable, this works too.
I would really like to see Devin and Blueblood meet and face off over Devin's lax and not really useful look at royal status versus Blueblood's in your face, holier-than-thou attitude in an upcoming chapter...
Uhngnnnn! The feels
I wonder how old is Blueblood anyway.
I would never have pictured me being at one of these events with anyone.
Non of the Schools that ive been on never really did any sort of party-thingy, the only thing that was bit of a once a year thing was that the oldest class played Burnball (I dont know if thats what its actually called in english) against all the teachers.
Anyway great chapter as always and i will look forward to the next part.
But at the same time im sad that the story is soon over.
The feels touched me in this chapter.
I'm impressed that you can juggle two stories at the same time!
Although I found it funny when I read the newest chapter of MOA and I was thinking when Marcus was talking to Luna 'Wait doesn't she hate him? Oh, wait that's Devin!'
Keep 'em coming Sketchy!
4220578 He acts like a stuck up 8 year old.
So many feels!
it's a good story but it's not like the maze runner
I just love how the story builds up from its sad beginning, slowly constructing his current life and relationships with his new stepmom. MOA is also a wonderful adventure with how both characters took their time with making amends with Celestia.
You, good sir, are both brilliant in drawing and writing, the stories you write flow seamlessly through the metaphorical pages. I just love how talented you are and how I was there when you started with humble beginnings (I Watch'd you after reading Chaos Next Door). I can see how far you've improved since then. Keep up the fantastic work, Sketch.
aww thats a nice way to bring the two together. Im so used to your other story where luna is so nice and goofy
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4218533 Whats wrong with anthros, man? they're just bipedal ponies with hands is all.
For some reason, there seems to be some instances of a male symbol in this chapter instead of paragraph spacing at some points in this.
Who the hell thinks like them?
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Care to specify who you’re referring to?