Secrets of the Everfree

by PaisleyPerson

Chapter 5: Father-in-Law

Author's Note:

A/N: Remember from the first book where underlined scenes mean 3rd person POV? Well, it’s carrying over here, so keep this in mind!

EDIT: I got so many complaints about the formatting that I decided to take it down. Shrugs.* You're on your own, now.

Chapter 5
Father-in-Law

“Married?” Wind Storm muttered to himself for the hundredth time. He quietly chuckled to himself as he glided over the treetops. “She’s growing up,” he sighed. “But I don’t want to let her go.”

He was taking the news just as well as could be expected. He’d never heard of this stallion before, much less met him. Wind Storm was willing to give him a chance, considering how much he meant to his daughter. Still, he wasn’t giving his little girl up to just any old bloak. He needed to prove himself to Wind Storm, first. And what of Porcelain? He realized with a start that his wife hadn’t been informed of the wedding. How would she take the news? Of course, she missed very little. Had she noticed the ring around Acrylic’s neck and simply kept quiet? He doubted it. She wouldn’t be so keen on giving up their eldest, either. Would she?

Memories of the little filly they raised flashed before Wind Storm’s eyes. But that little filly wasn’t the same as he remembered. All that she’d been through changed her. She had a certain look of understanding in her eyes that he just couldn’t place. A look so familiar, yet he couldn’t quite put his hoof on it.

“Where are they?” a distant voice called. The echo rang in Wind Storm’s ears, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“The sonic rainboom came from here, I’m sure of it,” a masculine voice answered. Wind Storm set his jaw. Could that voice possibly belong to Torchwood?

“Well, they obviously aren’t here. Is there any way to track them? Oh, why didn’t I think of a way to keep in contact?”

“Maybe Rainbow Dash did. Perhaps she was trying to signal us through the rainboom.”

“You don’t think they ran into trouble, do you?”

“It’s hard to tell. But Acrylic knows this area. It’s very close to her home. I’m sure they’re both fine. They have to be. Because if anything happened to her...” The voice trailed off. Wind Storm was hovering in the general vicinity of their voices, but still failed to identify faces.

“We’ll find them,” the second voice consolingly assured.

“Don’t you know any tracking spells?”

“You could always ask for directions,” Wind Storm pointed out, finally coming down through the tree tops where he thought the voices were coming from. Sure enough, two young ponies about his daughter’s age were standing in the Everfree’s shade, startled by their visitor. Wind Storm carefully scrutinized the brown-coated stallion who was obviously a thestral. He was accompanied by a purple alicorn, which caused him to raise an eyebrow, but he said nothing.

The stallion was about his height with a dark coat, a black and blond mane, though the tail was kept a little longer than Wind Storm approved of. His eyes were like coals, but had a certain amber glow to them. The cutie mark was what gave him away: it was a torch.

“You’re Torchwood?” Wind Storm went on. The stallion narrowed his eyes.

“That’s right. And you are?”

“Apparently, your future father-in-law.” Both the ponies froze.

“That means you’re... Acrylic’s father?”

“Wind Storm,” he proudly nodded.

“I-It’s an honor to meet you, sir,” Twilight addressed, caught off guard but making a quick recovery. Torchwood, too, cleared his throat.

“You’ve spoken to Acrylic, then? Is she safe?”

“She is now, though I initially found her facing off with a manticore.”

“A manticore!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Is she alright?” Torchwood hurriedly put in.

“She suffered a few cuts, but she’s still in one piece,” Wind Storm gruffly answered. “Follow me. I’ll take you to her.”

“Thank you, sir,” Torchwood gratefully sighed, spreading his wings for takeoff. Wind Storm nodded a second time. At least the lad was respectful.

“This way,” he grumbled before shooting up into the sky. He had purposefully taken off at full speed, just to see what Torchwood was capable of. He wasn’t really worried about how athletic he was as much as what his character was like. Still, he could have some fun with him.

To his surprise, Torchwood moved quickly. He had by no means caught up to him, but the stallion was still pretty quick. Unfortunately, Twilight was not nearly so spry on her newfound wings. She resorted to teleporting between the treetops to keep pace instead.

It wasn’t until he was directly over the camp that he remembered that he was supposed to be signaling Rainbow Dash. He wasn’t the most skilled at keeping his own flame under control, and definitely didn’t want to make a fool of himself trying to wrangle the fire to his bidding in front of his future son-in-law. Hadn’t Acrylic said that his talent was fire dancing? His mediochre display could never compare to the a flawless technique refined fire dancers had. Then again, he’d never actually seen Torchwood’s displays. That gave him an idea. So long as he was already putting him through a physical, why not test Torchwood’s other abilities? The brown stallion swooped over to the hovering father and stopped alongside him, calling loudly over the loud whooshing of wingbeats.

“Something wrong?”

“Your friend Rainbow Dash is still out there looking for you. I’m supposed to send a signal to reign her in. But Acrylic tells me you’re quite the fire dancer.”

“I earned my special talent in it,” Torchwood proudly admitted, nodding back at the mark on his flank. Wind Storm narrowed his eyes at the boast.

“Well then, perhaps you would rather call her back? I haven’t had the priviledge of witnessing any of your displays.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Torchwood nodded. His eyes shone at the opprotunity. He was better than just a good fire dancer; he was the best. Though a good show wouldn’t be enough to win over his fiancé’s critical father, it could earn him some respect. At once, the fire dancer summoned his flames, causing them to appear out of thin air. Already, Wind Storm was impressed. He was inarguably unskilled in this field, and usually needed a bit of kindling to help his get going. Torchwood went further, growing the suspended blaze until it could have engulfed them both. And that it did, swirling, expanding, spiraling into an orange-and-green vortex. If this didn’t catch Rainbow’s eye, Wind Storm didn’t know what would.

It had indeed attracted attention, and not just from Rainbow. Most of the sparse camp had woken up and gathered just to gaze upon the spectacle. Most had ever seen such a talented fire dancer in their entire lifetime. Twilight didn’t even recieve one odd glance from the gathering thestrals when she landed in their midst. They were all too focused on the show for that. The alicorn looked around for Acrylic in the crowd, but didn’t recognize their missing companion. She was distracted from the search when a loud *CRACK* burst from overhead, a color burst exploding in the sky to announce the grand finale. Torchwood also took it to mean that she got the message, and let the vortex burn itself out. The flames were completely harmless, and he glided right through its bright, flickering wall. Wind Storm followed his lead, and the two thestrals were greeted by the thrilled onlookers. Rainbow Dash made a grand entrance when she slammed to the ground with a colossal thud. She managed to stay on her hooves, but it wasn’t one of her more graceful landings. Despite the breed difference, she was instantly swarmed by fans. They all associated her glorious multi-colored mane with the astounding sonic rainboom they’d just witnessed. She coiled back in shock at first, but then her ego took over, and she soaked up all the attention like a sponge.

Torchwood, on the other hoof, didn’t waste any time on his new admirers. He hustled through the dense cluster after Wind Storm (the ponies instantly parted for the well-respected thestral). They headed right for the pottery-littered tent. Most of the crowd dispersed when they realized he wouldn’t reserve time for them, but a few of the more loyal onlookers trotted after them, curious as to what business he had with the Storm family.

---

Mom had come back as promised, a small bag of bandages clenched between her teeth. She was probably only carrying them in such a manner so she didn’t contaminate the bandages themselves. While she fashioned a sling for my wing, I explained in more detail what exactly had happened with the manticore. She listened indifferently, focused on her work but nodding every so often to let me know she was still listening. She was a terrific multitasker. She absorbed every word you said, though she looked preoccupied. This came in handy when she was in the middle of a project, especially in her field. Pottery couldn’t always afford to go very long without attention.

After my manticore story, she tenderly moved onto my ankle. There wasn’t much blood, but what little there was had dried and caked around the gash, making it slightly uncomfortable to move. She dabbed at it with a damp cloth to remove the stiff clot before wrapping it in a fresh bind. It wasn’t too tight that it hurt, but kept a good amount of pressure on it.

“So, tell me about Ponyville. Do you like it there?”

“Oh, Mom, I love it there! I’ve got my own shop, now. And I met the kindest, friendliest ponies you could ever hope for in that town.”

“Do you meet him there?”

“Him?”

“The one,” she clarified. It was still incredibly vague, but I caught on.

“How’d you know?”

“You know me, Acrylic. I never miss anything.” She beamed down at the necklace I wore, ring strung through it. Now, she finally bent in close to examine it closely. “Who is the lucky stallion?” I blushed.

“His name’s Torchwood,” I confessed.

“Torchwood,” she mused, lost deep in thought. “And when do I get to meet the young Torchwood?”

“As soon as Rainbow and Dad get back. They’re supposed to be out looking for them.”

“Them?”

“Twilight Sparkle, one of my other Ponyville friends, is with him.”

“I see. Traveling in pairs, then. That makes sense. One thestral in each group. Quite logical, after recent events.”

“It was Twilight’s idea,” I boasted, puffing out my chest at my friend’s grand idea.

“Good for her. Is she a pegasus too, then?”

“Actually, she’s an alicorn.”

“Really? An alicorn? Royalty in the Everfree?”

“She was recently promoted,” I winked. “She’s taken on the reintegration of thestrals as her own personal project.”

“I see,” Mother slowly nodded, absorbing this new information. “I look forward to making her aquaintance.”

“You’ll love her,” I assured.

“Royalty from Ponyville,” she thought, still unable to get her head around it. “I suppose it never occurred to me that such important ponies would come from such small towns. Though, I suppose this makes two grand ponies from Ponyville, doesn’t it? I should say your dear Torchwood counts, if he makes you that happy.” She beamed at me again, proud of her daughter, now all grown up.

“Well, he’s not really from Ponyville. He’s originally from Midnight Armor Sector Two here in the Everfree, of course, but then he moved to Vanhoover.”

“Vanhoover? What’s a thestral doing in Vanhoover? Ponyville I can see, with it being so close to home, but you can’t get any farther from the Everfree than Vanhoover!”

“Wow, Mom. You’re really up on your Equestria geography.”

“Well, I have forged a little more interest in the rest of the world since my two girls moved there,” she slyly grinned.

“Torchwood said that he originally left with some buddies of his, and I guess they just made their way up there. He found a job, and that was that. Until we met at the Grand Galloping Gala, that is.”

“The Grand Galloping Gala? Isn’t that the biggest event of the year? Oh, how romantic! How in the world did you get invited to such an event?”

“I know Twilight, and Twilight knows the Princess.”

“Uh-huh,” she smirked.

“And Torchwood was working for a very prominent artist at the time, so he got to come along too. It was like love at first sight, if there is such a thing.”

“You make it sound as if he’s switched employment. Has he? Was he fired because he’s a thestral? Of course I’m thrilled that thestrals are returning, as you say, but I’m afraid there’s just no avoiding such prejudice.”

“Well, yes and no. It’s a long story.”

“Well, I have the time. Still, best to give me the condensed version.”

“Alright, I guess. He used to work in Vanhoover as Graphite Sketch’s butler. He’s a very prestigious artist with his own gallery. Graphite found out about his secret a long time ago and kind of used it as blackmail leverage to make him work harder for less pay. He quit over a year ago. But now that the cat’s out of the bag, none of it really matters. In fact, the two are getting along pretty well now. I bet he’d take him back for regular wages, if it came down to it. You know Graphite’s going to be his best colt at the wedding? Anyway, Torchwood actually moved to Ponyville after we first started dating, and I gave him a job there.”

“That is quite a story,” Mom agreed, finally pulling the bandage taught. She’d taken such labors to dress it properly, I was almost afraid to move and ruin her hard work. Even so, she urged me to my hooves to make sure I could stand. “Hmm... I’m no nurse, but I think you should be alright to walk on it. Just keep most of the pressure off, yes? Good.” She didn’t wait for answers to those kinds of questions. Neither did Dad, come to think about it. I wondered if I’d adopt some of Torchwood’s habits once we were living together. Would he adopt some of mine?

Suddenly, a deafening explosion echoed through the valley, shaking the ground. I braced my forehooves, catching myself in time. Mom had no trouble keeping her balance, though one of her small creations suffered. It toppled from the one side table, somehow crammed into the tent, and cracked. Mom didn’t even bat an eye at the damaged piece. “What in Equestria?”

“I know that sound.” I almost chuckled at the thought. I’d been becoming very aquainted with that thunderous noise. It was Rainbow’s trademark move. Sonic Rainboom. She’d had it in her after all. “They’re back.”

“I’ll go see about that.” Mother strode dutifully out of the tent to make sure the coast was clear. I appreaciated her concern, but I was already certain that it was my friends whom had arrived. Positive that we weren’t in danger, I gingerly tested out my ankle, and limped to the exit more slowly. I was surprised to find a thick swarm of ponies gathered in the center of the encampment. The place had looked so sparse at first that I wasn’t even aware this many remained. I looked to Mother for answers, wondering what the commotion was about. She shrugged in response. Thinking the pegasus and her rainboom could be the source of all the hubbub, I looked for Rainbow Dash in the crowd, but there were too many thestrals blocking my view. I pouted, about to give up when the crowd rippled. Somepony was parting the waters.

Dad’s pale form emerged, but the familiar dark coat that followed made my heart skip a beat. Torchwood beamed, chest puffed out upon eyeing me. I took one feeble, shaky step forward, cuing him to sprint to my side. I met him halfway on my three good legs. I could feel icy, protective eyes on us, and I knew Dad was watching our reunion. But a reassuring warmth seeping into my mind from the other side also told me that Mom approved. I tried ignoring them both by throwing myself deeper into his strong arms. He was more than willing to keep me there. Dad eventually cleared his throat, rudely interrupting. I glared at him over Torchwood’s shoulder, but he impatiently motioned for us to break up. I reluctantly pulled myself away. I wasn’t sure what came next. Torchwood spared me the trouble of initiating conversation.

“Oh, no! What happened to you?” His troubled eyes rested on the bandages which encased my right wing. He tenderly stroked the sling holding it up.

“A little manticore incident,” I confessed with an embarrassed blush. He knelt down to examine my ankle. I didn’t protest.

“Lay down,” he ordered.

“It doesn’t hurt,” I protested. “I can walk on it just fine. Mom says-”

“Just lie down,” he repeated. “Please?” Baffled, I did as I was told. Dad’s eyes narrowed, and he moved in close to watch. I could tell he was eager to intervene the second Torchwood overstepped his welcome. “Now, stretch out your leg, the injured one, and hold still. This won’t hurt at all.” I moved my bandaged hoof away from my body, and though I hadn’t been told to do so, lifted my injured wing as high as I could without removing the sling or damaging it further. Torchwood moved a few paces away, faced me, and closed his eyes in deep concentration. This could only mean one thing: he was going to use his fire.

“Now, just hold on one minute, young colt,” Dad firmly addressed. He obviously wanted to know what he was up to before he actually tried anything, escpecially on his little filly. Torchwood paid him no mind, and I wasn’t sure whether that was the smart or idiotic thing to do at the moment. Either way, it made no difference. Gentle, flickering flames sparked from the base of his forehooves, and swiftly but quietly made their way over to me. They were much more calm and peaceful than his usual raging pyre. Their warmth enveloped my whole body before Dad could do a thing to stop it. He took a few steps forward, but I watched through the fluttering blaze as Mom held him back. Unlike my uneasy father, she was curious and willing to go along with Torchwood’s judgement.

“It’s okay, Dad,” I assured, a stray tongue of fire flaring up into my mouth as I spoke. I almost contradicted myself by choking on the smoke it produced. Luckily, Mom also nodded for him to continue. I didn’t think that Torchwood had any intentions of stopping in the first place, but nodded back to acknowledge her permission. The fire around me grew higher, more intense. The heat was welcome on this windy day. Thestrals are extremely sensitive to the cold.

There was a vague tingling in my ankle and wing that almost stung, but I was so caught up in trying to identify the unusual sensation that I didn’t notice any pain. The heat grew more and more intense, focused specifically on those areas. The light produced by the flames, too, became more concentrated. It was an extremely curious process, and my eyes were fixated. I only looked away when the light became unbearably bright. The next thing I knew, the bandages were gone. Not even a scar was left in their wake. He’d healed the injuries!

Torchwood smiled down on me, offering me his hoof. I took it, letting him pull me to my hooves. Neither my wing nor my leg felt tender in the slightest.

“How did you...?” Twilight bounded over, thrilled at the thestral magic she’d witnessed.

“A new technique I’ve been working on,” he winked. I beamed.

“Thank you.”

“I can’t have my bride-to-be walking up the aisle in bandages,” he joked.

“You’ve... healed her?” Dad couldn’t quite understand what he’d seen. I held out my wing for him to examine. He was thoroughly impressed, I knew, though he maintained a blank expression. Torchwood bowed his head to affirm Dad’s assumption.

“It doesn’t hurt at all,” I told him, flexing my wing in every possible direction to demonstrate. Finally, Dad turned to Torchwood, who stood at attention. He looked like a soldier that was about to be drilled by the captain of the royal guard. Dad shattered that image when he sidled up close to him and slung a wing around his back as a sign of affection. Knowing Dad, that was the closest thing to a hug anypony but his direct family would ever recieve. Torchwood’s eyes bulged in surprise, not expecting such a reaction.

“Thank you,” Dad said, sucking up his pride. “You’re alright, kid. You’re alright.”

“Th-thank you, sir,” Torchwood stuttered, still in shock.

“I’ll have none of this ‘sir’ business. My name is Wind Storm. It always has been and always will be. Got it?”

“Yes, si- I mean, Mr. Storm.”

“Hmph. Close enough.” I was so thrilled that they were finally getting along that I bounded up between them both and initiated a group hug. Mom followed suit until our whole family was together. Twilight stood a short distance away, smiling giddily as she watched our reunion. The rest of the camp errupted into a clamor of cheers and congratulatory whistles. I was too happy to be embarrassed at this point. “This doesn’t mean that I won’t be watching you closely,” Dad went on.

“Dad!” I groaned.

“You take care of my daughter now, you hear me, son?”

“I will love and cherish her for as long as I live,” he vowed. I nuzzled him to let him know the feeling was mutual.

“Then you have my blessing.”

“And mine,” Mom hummed in an almost sing-song voice.

“Now, young lady,” Dad said in a voice loud enough for the whole camp to hear. At first I thought he was addressing me, but then he turned to Twilight. “I have been led to believe that you are in charge of relocating the thestrals?”

Comments

[cyberlord4444]

Torchlight's technique reminds me of this.