Chapter 99
And now we return to the main story in progress…
As Sumac Apple struggled to recover from long distance teleportation, his woozy mind informed him that they had never had a chance to light the stars together. Dizzy, his vision blurred over, he heard many hooves and a number of voices all talking at once. Too many voices all at once, and he couldn’t make out what was being said. Neither could Twilight, it seemed.
“Just hold on!” Twilight commanded.
The voices fell silent and Sumac blinked to clear his vision. He heard Boomer let out a yawn, and he supposed that sleeping through a portal gem jump had to make things easier. As his legs wobbled, he felt Lemon Hearts steady him, and he was thankful. All in all, Sumac prefered walking, or maybe the train.
“Twilight, there are some major emergencies that need to be dealt with… now.” Moondancer placed a firm emphasis upon the word ‘now’ that was unmistakable. “You left without much warning on an unscheduled trip and now we have multiple situations.”
“Stuff just happens, Moondancer… besides, how bad could things be? I was only gone a few days.” Twilight scowled and shook her head. “It’s like everything falls apart if I’m not here to run things, or something.”
“One of the many unintended consequences of Starlight Glimmer’s equality movement has arrived in the flesh, begging for our help. Twilight, you need to come right away—”
Moondancer’s words were cut off as she, Twilight, Starlight Glimmer, and several others just vanished. Sumac, curious, wondered what was going on. He looked around and found that Trixie was gone too, leaving him alone with Lemon Hearts, who let out a sigh. As he looked up, he gave her an expectant look, wondering if she was about to say something.
“When they need a cup of tea, they’ll summon me,” she said to Sumac with a smile. “It feels like crisis mode has become the norm. Now that it is the norm, I’m kinda scared of what an actual crisis might be like. I’m going to take a shower, you, don’t wander off. I’ll take you to see Pebble in just a bit.”
“So now I have to be watched?” Sumac asked.
“Well,” Lemon replied, “uh, I don’t know for certain. I wasn’t any given specific instructions on what to do. I hope you’re not upset.”
“Seems fair.” Sumac shrugged and then was surprised when Boomer lept from his horn to Lemon’s. “I think Boomer wants a shower.”
“You know, Sumac, you might want to think about one yourself. Just saying. Be mindful of that stapled spot on your head though. If Trixie has to bathe you, you’re gonna smell girly.” Lemon Hearts waited, perhaps to let her words sink in, and she smiled. “We’ve talked, she and I, and we’re going to go out and shop for the girliest liquid soaps we can find and we’re gonna wash you until you start washing yourself. I thought I’d give you a heads up.”
Sumac felt his blood run cold as he listened to Lemon Hearts’ words of pure, premeditated evil. Ears drooping, he looked up at Lemon, wondering how anypony who claimed to love somepony else could do such a horrible, awful act. It was as incomprehensible as it was terrible.
“Now, remember, lots of shampoo and when you’re done, rinse well, and then use lots of conditioner. If you don’t condition, you’ll get tangles and mats in your pelt, and that makes it harder to brush. Mats are most common in your leg pits and places where your pelt rubs against itself, and as a colt, you need to pay special attention to this advice, hint hint.”
Gulping, Sumac quailed from Lemon’s advice and took a few steps backwards. Lemon was clearly having mom-thoughts, and this unnerved him. He didn’t like this development at all. She was thinking about him as a colt and telling him what to do. Overwhelmed, Sumac’s brain attempted a disconnect and he suffered from a case of the stupids, as any five year old was wont to do.
“Oh please,” Lemon Hearts said as she rolled her eyes. “Don’t stand there looking at me like that. I’ve scrubbed you all over and I’ve been there with Trixie as she’s scrubbed you all over—”
Sumac began to scream in an internal fashion.
“—so I don’t understand what the big deal is. Bathing is best done together, it’s a good way to socialise, build trust, and honestly, Sumac, it is no different than swimming together or walking outside in a rainstorm together, if showering is your thing.”
The internal screaming intensified a great deal.
“Such a silly colt… now, go and shower!”
“Hmm, that’s a handsome colt in the mirror.” Sumac stood on his hind legs, balanced atop a stool, leaning against a sink, which was cold against his belly. He admired his green eyes and he blinked a few times at himself, wondering if perhaps his eyelashes were a little too long. His cream coloured pelt seemed a little darker, or maybe it was just because he was wet.
He couldn’t help but think that his coat colour was almost the same colour as Apple Bloom’s, and his mane and tail was almost a perfect match with Applejack’s. He could see the family resemblance. And in no way was he beige, as Discord had suggested.
As he began to brush his teeth, he thought about how difficult this had been for him just a year ago. His telekinesis was getting better, stronger, and a good deal more accurate. His telekinesis wasn’t his biggest concern though; his magic sense was getting stronger too, perhaps a bit too strong, and it had reached the point where he was starting to worry.
Even now he could feel it, a buzzy sensation, Twilight’s castle was magic, and while the feeling wasn’t unpleasant, Sumac knew that it would become annoying after a while. It wasn’t like this before going to Lulamoon Hollow. Sumac realised that his magic was maturing, or at least beginning the long journey of doing so. As he brushed his teeth, he thought about all of the different types of maturity that he would have to face in his life; emotional, magical, physical, and that really icky maturity that lead to the ability to make foals of his own. One day, he was going to want to touch Pebble in a very grown up sort of way and he was going to want her to touch him back. Ick. He wasn’t looking forward to any form of maturity, at least, not at the moment.
Mouth still full of foam, he began shaping his mane, sweeping it upward, and using a bit of magic that Vinyl had taught him. After a few attempts, he had himself a passable mohawk, which would survive right to the point where Trixie saw it. Lemon thought it was ‘cute,’ which it wasn’t, not at all, it was ‘rugged’ and ‘tough.’ Trixie would smooth it out the moment she saw it though, because she wanted him to look ‘respectable.’
It was his mane and he felt that he should have a say in how it looked.
As he began spitting out his toothpaste suds, he wondered if he could change his mane colour in the same way that Vinyl changed hers…
Holding his waxed cardboard juice box, Sumac stared up at Twinkleshine, trying to read her face, and she looked down at him. She had seemed a little surprised that he had said ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ when asking for a drink. The colt wasn’t quite sure how to take that, maybe she wasn’t expecting that from him, or maybe she had been around some rude ponies. It was hard to tell.
“You are free to roam during the daylight hours,” Twinkleshine said to Sumac. “Stay in the open and don’t go wandering out of town. The cemetery is allowed, of course. If you suspect trouble, call for help.”
Sumac nodded as he slurped his apple juice through the narrow little straw that he had between his lips. He was glad that things were almost normal. As he sat there, looking up at Twinkleshine, he watched as her horn ignited and then he felt a curious sensation along his scalp. In all of about three seconds, he had a smoothed out mane, slicked back between his ears, and perfect, no doubt, by Twinkleshine’s standards.
“Looked like your mane hadn’t been combed at all. What a mess. You need to comb that when you get out of the shower. With the way it was sticking up, ponies might’ve started calling you Cock-A-Doodle-Doo the Rooster. You’re a unicorn, Sumac, and simple grooming isn’t hard for us. We don’t need to brush our pelts or comb our manes… we just need a basic cantrip. It’s so simple that it isn’t considered a real spell. Where other ponies can take hours to get well groomed, or have to go to the spa, we can be done in mere moments.”
Slurp. Sometimes it was better to stay silent.
“We unicorns have an obligation to help others. Our magic makes so many common tasks and chores easier. There are so many things that we can do with no real effort on our parts, but it would take a pegasus pony or an earth pony a serious investment in time and energy. As unicorns, we also have an obligation to respect the earth pony way, if requested, and we must never push our magic upon others in such a way that they are left diminished.”
It was right then and there that Sumac realised that Twinkleshine had something different to teach him than magic. He was certain there was a word for it, but he didn’t know what that word was. She was teaching him that though, whatever it was.
“The worst thing that a unicorn can do, Sumac, is hoard their magic and only use it for themselves. It is intolerable and unconscionable. If unicorns start doing that again, I have no doubts that the windigos will come back, or something worse.” Twinkleshine’s tail began swishing around and her eyes narrowed. “Never be lazy with your magic, Sumac, or there will be words between us.”
“Right.” Sumac blinked a few times and then decided that Twinkleshine was not a good pony, she was a great pony, and he liked her. She had her head screwed on right and her advice felt right to him. “I’ll listen to what you have to say, and follow any advice you have to offer, Twinkleshine, but you also have to teach me magic.”
“Fair enough.” Twinkleshine gave Sumac a nod. “I specialise in pacification spells and I really started training hard after the changeling invasion. I was caught off guard once… and never again will I allow that to happen. I’ll be happy to start teaching you. I think you can be trusted to learn a few dangerous spells, given your situation.”
Intrigued, Sumac nodded. “I’m gonna go see Pebble… thanks!”
Ponyville was already returning to normal. Many houses had been rebuilt, magic had hurried up the process a whole lot, they only needed some finishing and some furnishing to be livable. Overhead, the weather team was doing cloudbusting drills, training to tackle any dangerous feral storms that might come blowing in. The air was cold, there was a real nip now, and autumn was transitioning into winter.
Near Sugarcube Corner, he spotted Wormwood, Gloomy, and Silver Lining as they were going in the door. He veered away from the crowd and cut around the back of Sugarcube Corner, avoiding the traffic. It felt good to be out and about again, walking, and seeing the world. Directly overhead, a pegasus mare flew with two small foals just behind her, and Sumac smiled as he watched the flight lesson in progress.
Around the fountain, a group of foals were pronking as they played together. Sumac watched them as they passed, and he felt conflicted. A part of him wanted to play as well, but he also wanted to see Pebble. Social interactions had rules, rituals, there were hidden complexities, and Sumac didn’t know them. A faint feeling of anxiety hovered upon the edge of Sumac’s consciousness as he thought about how difficult it was to go and play with other foals his own age.
Octavia called it introversion and had told him that he cared more about the rules, situations, and the social interactions than the others did—they just wanted play. The thought was difficult to understand for him. To play, to engage, to interact without knowing the rules, without knowing what was acceptable… it was unnerving to even think about and Sumac wanted nothing to do with it.
Yet, he found that he still wanted to play, which puzzled him.
Sorry for the delay. It's a rough night for me. 
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Unusually clever to have a cliffhanger at the start of a chapter?
7768905
Say hello to the Ascendency.
sighs. always another proble, isn't it?
and no problem dude. we all know your healtho issues so we are patient....... well except for some asshats who think a laundry list of ills ranging from annoying to excruciating is no excuse >_<
why must there always be that guy?
7768907
Hmmm, consider me intrigued.
Ascendance-dance Revolution.
7769007 Because some people are just ass holes? It really disappoints me sometimes. And just look at how much content kudz pumps out.
I have/am reading stories that have roughly the same word count as kudz stories. I'm lucky ft they update once a week.
And kudz you here pumps out at least one chapter a day. I don't know what was the best was but I'm sure it tops 10,000 words.
7769247
If this whole series ends on a dance-off with Grogar I will literally desk-flip.
7769422
So, I've been sitting on this for awhile now, but I really don't like Twilight Velvet and Night Light right now. My problem with them is that they did a really shit thing to Trixie and have suffered no consequences for it.
One thing I like about the characterization in this story is the nuance that comes with it. Dandy Lion is a bigot who is seething over the fact that her own grandson is getting land in her domain, but she also gave up a few years of her life to protect him from the evil thing, and unless I read the implications wrong then she also did the same to allow Trixie to be born. Yet she did nothing to protect Trixie from the scorn of her grandfather. See, it seems clear that Trixie grew up in a very toxic environment, and from the information available, I'd say leaving that place was the best thing she ever did, next to taking in Sumac. Problem is, the time she spent growing up there did a lot of damage to her, and she was left to fumble around, leading a lot of the worst decisions she ever made.
I feel very strongly that parents have an obligation to their children. I can't say for sure that Trixie wouldn't have fallen so far if she had the emotional support from her mother, her father, and Velvet, but we'll never know. Dandy Lion gets some sympathy for clearly having stockholm syndrome, but what's Night Light's excuse? From what I recall, he kept the secret because that's what Dandy wanted and/or afraid of the wrath of Caper. See, no matter how justified these reasons may or may not be, it means that Night Light prioritized his friendship with Dandy and his fear of Caper over the well-being of his daughter. When it comes to priorities, it feels like Trixie's been slotted as the eternal second place.
Which is why it bothers me when dear old dad comes up and it like "Yo, sorry I've done jack-all to help you through the worst parts of your life, but now that your scary grandfather's dead, we can be family now". Yeah, he apologized, but he also tried to justify his actions. See, I get why Trixie is open to it. She wants a happy family life, and since she grew up with Caper, of course she'd be sympathetic to him. I am not. When your other daughter can face down the most terrifying creatures Equestria has to offer for the good of the nation, but you can't face some bigoted old asshole to keep Trixie from nearly becoming a wreck of an individual, I am not in your corner Night Light.
I'm less upset with Velvet, but she is complicit in all this, and thus is responsible. Also, that crack about Twilight being too honest? Given the circumstances, it felt like a really dickish thing to say, lady. I feel like neither one of them is that regretful of their actions.
Yeah, I know they're good ponies. They're compassionate, and they do a lot of good. Doesn't make up for not being there for their kid when she really needed them. I'd like to see them reconcile and become a real family, but they're going to have to acknowledge that they fucked up. Like Trixie said concerning her mother, they have to earn her forgiveness on her terms. And I think dropping all the secrets and lies and being completely open with their kids for once in their life would be a great start.
Sorry, Kudzu. I've thinking about this a lot lately. Your incredibly engaging story has wormed its way into my head, and this situation is kinda riling me up. I hope it doesn't feel like I'm attacking you or this story. I really like this story. I'm going to keep reading it because you are one hell of a storyteller. I just had to get that off my chest.
7769464
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand this is the sort of reaction I want.
Flawed characters that are sometimes difficult to like.
My question - what sort of fun and games (or nightmares) has Pebble been up to while we've been off following Sumac? Has she dyed her coat a nice royal purple and started to study some odd Griffin warrior code of ethics? Maybe attracted a her own pet Hydra? Or will she show up looking very pretty and batting her eyes at Sumac with strange intentions that Sumac can not quite grasp (yet)?
With this story - I have no idea what to expect. However, nothing is ever simple and nothing is ever what one would normally expect. So I do *NOT* expect Pebble to be and act just as we saw her last.
7769464
I feel you, but they literally could not have been there for Trixie. Instead they've watched over her from a distance. It's not like they totally abandoned her. Kids have to grow up on their own sometimes, and sometimes they grow up in toxic environments. It's shitty, but it's not something I can really complain about because no amount of thinking it's wrong will make it worse than it is. If Night Light had been like 'Lol, sure was fun doing that Dandy kbai.' I'd feel inclined to agree. If Dandy had just squirted Trixie out and been like 'Woo, time to leave this thing on someone's doorstep', I'd agree with you.
But regardless of absence, her parents did love her as much as they were able given their situations. Let's face it, if you gave a Southern Belle a daughter out of wedlock and her father didn't approve, you couldn't be there for the kid no matter how much you stood up to him because hey - that's a shotgun pointed at your head right now. Sure not going to be doing little Trixie any favors as Dear Old D(e)ad.
Caper was apparently the closest thing to an alicorn without wings. If he'd been some mook- Night could have wheeled and dealed, shoved his way in, or brought on some legalese and tricks. But against Caper there was nothing to do but hope to fuck he didn't decide you were better off stretched out over the skin of time or somesuch. Which certainly would have pissed off Celestia... if she knew, but wouldn't have been enough to save Night Light, and any assistance he's rendered to Trixie from the shadows would have never happened, not to mention all the good he's done for Equestria and his parts in helping save the world.
In essence, I also see it as a Fate thing. Trixie's mistakes and hardships had to happen. She was going to always have to walk that long, painful, lonesome road. Or she would not be the Trixie Equestria needs: either directly or indirectly. She'd be Pampered Rich Bitch Lulamoon. Or the Incredibly Broken and Abused Trixie. Or dead. Who knows, but she wouldn't be who she is now. I feel punishing Night and Velvet for something that had to happen anyway is... well, kind of pointless. They've felt like shit keeping this secret all these years, felt like shit they couldn't be there with her, hated themselves for not being able to help her more openly, to give her the family they always wanted her to have.
In cases like this, a parent punishes themselves more than any misguided sense of justice a reader could levy against them. Keeping a father away from raising his daughter, from doting on her, from having the fullness of his family secure next to him... it's a wonder Night didn't go mad. What would yelling at him accomplish? What would punishing him more serve to do? Teach him a lesson? That's what punishments are for - teaching lessons, not petty emotional payback. There's no lesson someone could teach him about this situation he didn't constantly re-learn every day he was apart from her. It's clear he loves her, and wasn't allowed to actually do so until just now. I could be right there with you, feeling all the idealism in the world saying he should have just toughed it out, but waiting until the time was right was a lot tougher than being unmade by Caper. Heaping punishment on top of someone who's suffered for years and is already punishing themselves and has nothing to learn from the situation is... in a word, evil.
Picture whipping Luna for making the Tantabus to self-flagellate. "And when the Tantabus is done torturing you, it's fifty lashes for giving in to the Nightmare!" What would that accomplish? How is that fair, just, good?
7769546 I wouldn't say evil. I'd say being a bit of a jerk.
On that note... yup, that's exactly what's going on. The closest thing to Princess-level power and you just did WHAT?
Yeah. You need to stay a few hundred miles away. I actually feel bad for both Night and Velvet. What could they have done, exactly? No amount of begging or pleading could be done in the face of such sheer magical muscle.
7769546 Trixie is the hero gotham needs, not the hero gotham deserves.
So we've seen what happens when magical fate singles out certain individuals to give strange beneficial magic (poison joke, sorcery). What happens if someone is born with magic that is naturally negative, such as necromancy?
7769733
That story would involve a dark tag.
7769734 Even if they wanted to use their power for good? Or live a normal life?
7769546
I can't help but believe that if they didn't want to risk Caper as an enemy, they shouldn't have had Trixie in the first place. The whole thing seems ill-conceived, pardon the pun. Yes, I understand that that's kind of the point: they were stupid kids who made a stupid decision and had to deal with the fallout. It just bugs me that almost all the worst of it fell on a blameless party: Trixie. I get that it couldn't have been easy for Night and Velvet to watch from a distance, but since their suffering pales in comparison to Trixie's, my sympathy for them is limited.
I don't really see it as a question of right or wrong. While I have a hard time accepting Night Light having to maintain a distance, I will acknowledge that there are reasons, perhaps very valid reasons, behind what he did. The issue is that actions, even the correct actions, carry consequences. The consequences here are a daughter who really has no reason to ever trust her father and his wife, and another daughter whose faith in her parents is shaken. This is something that has to be dealt with, and the closest we've seen is an attempt at an apology from Night. Velvet's basically been action like nothing is wrong, which admittedly is partly because Twilight intentionally avoided upsetting her parents. It just kind of annoys me is all. And makes mes sad, because true healing won't take place until this gets brought into the open and resolved.
7769879
Like you said, choices have consequences.
You can also choose what to do with those consequences.
Given the gravity of the situation, I think it was one of the best outcomes possible; wipe the slate clean, inasmuch as it's possible, and start anew.
Everyone's been punished enough.
This word either implies somewhat disturbing things about Sumac, or you are mistaken in what you think it means.
A pelt is a pelt only once it has been removed from the original owner. Before that it is the coat (of hair) you are referring to.
It's very strange and refreshing to see a child somehow more mature than almost all the kids in my grade (12) and yet be so young and innocent.
Ahh, the curse of the sociable introvert: interacting with others is scary, but not interacting is lonely.
Hmm Sumac has a coat of the same color of the coat of Apple Bloom, that is F5F498 and the mane of the same color of Applejack mane that is FBF9AF?
Hm he is practically monochrome ^^;;; didn't realize that...
oh, twilight. Things are about to get very bad.