The Last Impressionist

by CrackedInkWell

Chapter 31: Lightning Falls

The journey to Acrylic’s home town was uneventful, to say the least. After all, the four of us spent most of our time asleep. Aside from my coltfriend, father and I, Fleur came with us for security as usual. We also brought our cats along since Acrylic said it would show his parents that we’ve come there for the sake of good intentions.

We took the train westward, first over to Applewood in order to hire somepony to ferry us over to the village by boat. Once we left the docks, Acrylic help navigate along the shoreline for a whole day. By near sunset, he spotted the village in which we landed.

Now, to be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect being in his place of birth. Since we were quite a way from Equestria, my father and I had no idea what we would find in this place. Nor did we have a clue as to what kind of ponies that live there were like.

“There it is,” my coltfriend announced as he petted Cleo, “Home sweet home.”

As we landed on shore, we had a good look at what the town looked like. While the place wasn’t by any means small, it wasn’t grand like Canterlot, or large like Ponyville. With a backdrop of pine trees, there were several hut-like structures that in some cases some could climb two or three storeys, all entirely made out of wood. Perhaps the reason for the warm climate, there was no need of windows on each floor. It left about half of each story open to the elements. The only thing it seemed that gave anypony privacy were curtains that hang at each corner. A breeze blew through that showed the trails of smoke were coming from each home, and by the smell of it, they were cooking. The roofs were made out of colorful tiles that shined like opals in the setting sun.

“This is Lightning Falls?” Fleur asked as I looked over at Acrylic. He on the other hoof only looked on with nervousness. Which was understandable for what we’ve come for.

“Uh-huh,” he nodded. “Though, it looks like the place has gotten… bigger from the last time I was here.”

“Do you remember where your home is?” Father inquired.

“I think so,” he stepped forward off the dock. “I don’t think they’ve mentioned about moving last time I’ve heard them.” He looked over his shoulder, “You guys better stick close to me because this might seem like a maze to tourists.”

So we did. With our feline companions on our backs, we followed the Artist deeper into the town. The first thing I noticed on the way in was all the shallow bowls that sat near the front steps of each home. Some of them had milk, while others had scraps of food in which several cats were eating from . Actually, it was the population of cats that really struck me. For every street we walked through, there were at least five to eight felines there. Many of them got out of our way, but looked at us as we passed. Meanwhile, I could hear Cleo giving a low growl.

Another thing that I personally found shocking was the amount of poverty that was everywhere! As colorful as this town was with its roofs, clothes lines, curtains, and even giant painted totem poles in which the cats use them as scratching posts, everything about the town seems rather… junky. What I mean by this is there’s hardly anything that was new or had anything that my fellow Equestrians have. Since we could look right into everypony’s homes when they have their curtains wide open, there was no sign of a freezer, or a stove, washing machine, sinks, or even a toilet!

The ponies noticed us too. They weren’t exactly dirty by any means. Heck, we’ve seen a few that were taking a bath in the tubs that we saw. However, they did seem a bit scraggly with their unkempt manes and tails while their coats had patches of fur that stuck out. Many of them seemed tired as they either ate or were examining some plies of opals in the light of a kerosene lamp.

“I think I see why your coltfriend had moved to our country,” Fleur whispered.

Several minutes of weaving through the streets, Acrylic paused at a building that was three floors high. All three of them had curtains drawn. There was a hesitation as he looked up at the place.

“Is this it?” Father asked.

He nodded, “I think so… wow, they’ve really remodeled it. All of this had only one floor.” Another pause, “So this is what my money has done for them.” He sighed, “Which is going to make this all the more difficult.”

I put a hoof around his neck, “Trust me, this will be challenging, but whatever the outcome, at least you don’t have to lie about who you are to anyone anymore.”

“We’re all here for you,” Fleur chimed in. “No matter what the outcome.”

“And if worst does come,” father told him, “Just let it over to me to speak with them. I can hopefully enlighten them.”

Acrylic gulped, he approached the front steps in where there was a bell overhead. “Alright… here goes… something.” Lifting a hoof, he knocked against it in which it hit a piece of medal that was hammered into the post it hangs on, letting out a sharp ding!

There were hoofsteps overhead in which a head peeked out from the second floor. We too looked up to see the head and neck of a teenage mare of an orange coat and a white mane. She gasped before she quickly disappeared behind the curtain.

“It’s Acrylic!” the teenager cried as she stamped through the house. “Mom! Dad! Tempera! Acrylic’s home! Come on you guys!” The sound of hooves stormed down the stairs to the first floor before the curtain was tossed aside. The filly that ambushed my coltfriend threw him into a huge hug.

Even when he was knocked over, Acrylic hugged back, “Hey there little sis, long time no see.”

“Oh by gods, Acrylic?” There at the entrance was his parents, his pegasus mother and earth pony father with a scrawny looking pegasi son between them.

My coltfriend sat back up, “Hey mom, dad. Heya Tempera.”

His father was the next pony to come up to him to nuzzle him, “I don’t believe it! You’ve really come back.”

“I know,” he said as he looked over to me. The rest of his family did the same; they shared a degree of uncertainty. Acrylic got back to his hooves and waved over to us, “You guys might remember Fancy Pants? This here is his bodyguard Fleur de Lis, his father Tweedy Pants, and these two,” he walked over to pick out our cat. “This is the blessed Cleocatra, and that there is the blessed Saaya.”

The family bowed, not to us but to our pets. “We remember your… friend,” his mother said rather coldly before turning to her son. “Won’t you come inside? We’re having tea on the second floor.”

“Actually mom,” Acrylic rubbed one foreleg over the other. “There’s something that I… wanted to tell you guys about.” He sighed, “I uh… want to come clean with all of you guys.”

His parents… Dusty and Fan if I remember right, looked at each other. “Alright?” his father said at last, “Come upstairs.”

We followed the family through the first floor and up a flight of wooden stairs and onto the second floor. The family pulled open the curtains to let some more light in. In the center of the room, a fire was going in a metal bowl, the smoke drifted with the breeze and out of the home. Hanging over the fire by a frame of iron was a kettle that was brewing the tea.

The family proceeded to first, offer up some scraps of food to our feline companions in which they both took advantage of. The parents instructed their children to fetch a couple of cushions for us on the top floor for us to sit on. Once this was done, and everypony sat on the floor, the mother then proceeded to serve us tea in metal cups.

“So Acrylic,” his father began. “What made you come all this way? I thought you didn’t want to see us anymore.”

My coltfriend’s ears folded back, “I know what I’ve said to you two. It’s just that I have a lot on my mind since the last time we’ve uh… talked.” He held the cup in his hand, swishing around the liquid. “I came back here to tell all of you a few things. Somethings that I needed to get off my chest.”

“Well it must be important,” his mother Fan commented. “If you came all this way from Canterlot to tell us something, then please do tell. We’re all ears.”

Acrylic hesitated. Taking in a few deep breaths he began. “First of all,” he paused. “I wanted to tell you that… with the letters I’ve sent you in the past, some of the information I’ve been given you isn’t entirely… accurate.”

Dusty gave a confused look, “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that there are some things that I haven’t told you… until now.” He took a moment to prepare himself. “The truth is, to start off , is that except for this year, I haven’t been exactly been successful in my art career. I actually had a string of bad luck ever since I’ve moved away. But I didn’t want you two to think of me as a failure so I actually sent most of what little bits I could get to you, just to make you think that I was successful. Until this year, things for me had gotten bad to worse, so much so that for a while… I was homeless.”

Their reaction, while silent, spoke in volumes as they showed guilt. I think it’s clear that since this was one of the few homes that had three floors, a bathtub, and some of the more modern goods compared to the rest of the town, they were just made aware of how their wealth really came to being.

“The next thing is that Fancy Pants over here was the one that had given me the job as a servant. Yes, he did hire me because he really did like my art, which is true. But at the same time, he was the one who had gotten me back onto my hooves. He gave me a stable job, a place to sleep, food to eat, and shelter over my head. Despite what you may think of him for his sexuality, without him, you guys may never have seen such an explosion of wealth that you have now; nor the success that I have in Equestria in the art world.”

Acrylic then paused once more, “Before I go any further, I must ask: that knowing this, do you still love me?”

This surprised them, “Oh dearie,” his mother got up and hugged him. “Why would you say such a thing? No matter what you do, you’re still our child.”

“Are you sure?”

“Son,” his father spoke up. “You’ve been such a blessing to this family. We had no idea of the sacrifices you’ve made for us. If anypony should be apologizing, it should be us.”

Acrylic looked over at us before setting on me, in his eyes; I knew what he was asking. I gave a reassuring nod. “In that case,” he said. “There’s one more thing that… I need to let you know. But please… would all of you promise me that you won’t get angry at me for speaking the truth?” they’ve nodded. With another sigh, Acrylic told his mother that she should sit down for this one.

This was it, the moment that we’ve come for. “The truth is…” he began before gulping. “That I… I have a… special… somepony, in Equestria.”

At this news, the whole family’s faces brighten up, “Why Acrylic!” his father beamed, “That’s fantastic news! We just knew that you’d come around to this eventually. Come on and tell us, who’s the mare?”

He hesitated, “Well… it’s not someone that you’d… expected to be, that’s for sure. Someone that you might not exactly uh… approve of,” to this, his family exchanged some puzzled looks. “You would even think that I’m joking too, but, what I’m going to say, I am two-hundred percent serious about. This year, I came across somepony that I care for very deeply, much more than just mere friendship. In fact… I’ve brought that special somepony here with me.”

They immediately looked over at Fleur, “It’s not who you think,” he quickly added. “Mom, dad, Tempura, Water, I’d like you to meet… Fancy Pants.”

To be honest, I have experienced moments where ponies had looked on at me from a truth that they found unsettling. The kind of eternal few seconds in which I watch the world being flipped upside-down. Finally, one forever later, after both parents looked between me and my coltfriend, trying to find some small lie about what they’ve just heard, father spoke up.

“Fancy, Acrylic, would you two excuse yourselves downstairs, Mr. and Mrs. Brush, could you have your children upstairs?”

“But… what?” Fan stumbled.

“Do it please,” he said.

A flash of rage came upon Dusty’s face as he threw his cup at me. But before it and the scalding tea could touch me, Fleur reacted quickly and caught it. He grabbed the kettle from the fire, but found his hoof was stuck in my bodyguard's aura, “If you want to keep all four hooves,” she threatened, “I suggest you let that go.”

He did, only to stand up, “You filthy stallion-stuffing faggot! How dare you corrupt our-”

“ENOUGH!!!” there have been only a few times that I ever heard my father get so angry that he would roar. However, in those rare incidents that it does happen, his voice can loud enough to be easily mistaken as an earthquake. Father took in a deep breath, “Before any of you say something that you’ll regret, please excuse your children and my companions so that we may talk about this, like civilized adults.”

We were excused from the floor, Acrylic and I escaped to the ground floor while his siblings went on the top floor. My bodyguard, however, insisted on staying with my father, so she remained up there with them.

“Oh Celestia, Fancy I’m so sorry,” my coltfriend bowed his head. “I-I just knew this would happen.”

I hugged him as we heard what was going on above our heads.

“What in the name of sanity was that!” Dusty questioned. “I mean… you’re really his father, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Now that’s something I just don’t get,” Fan said. “How are you not angry at this?”

“At what? My son?”

“Of course your son!” his dad objected. “Did you not know about this?”

“I do actually,” father told them firmly. “Not only that, but I’ve actually done something that neither of you apparently could do.”

“Oh really?” his mother said, “And what’s that?”

“I’ve taken the time to get to know him. Not only that, but I am happy for their clearly loving relationship.”

Silence.

“What?” his father said at last, “But… how! How can you approve of the fact that your own kid is a queer?”

He sighed, “What if I told you I didn’t… at first?”

“Huh?”

“Before you start spewing out something you claim to know but never researched on, at least try to hear me out. I know it’s really hard for you to do, but at least try.” Father coughed before continuing, “To begin with, I am a retired part-time psychiatrist, which means that I have a doctorate degree in studying how the mind works. Like you two, I had a picture in my head of who I thought my son was, and not for knowing who he really is.

“One day, when Fancy was in college I think it was, I saw something in the newspaper that shocked me to the core: I saw a picture of my son kissing another stallion. Just like you sir, I too flew into a conniption when I found out. I went immediately from Trottinghoof to Canterlot to confront my son about it, which was when I found out that he was Pansexual. For a while, I disowned him. I cut off his allowance, ignored his letters, or whatever news about him. We didn’t speak to each other for years after that day… but it was such a day that I would forever hold with regret.”

“Regret?” Acrylic’s mother sounds puzzled. “Over what? If you asked me, you’ve done the right thing.”

“Thinking you’ve done the right thing and actually doing the right thing, are two different concepts,” he said. “After all, if doing a good deed ended up doing much more harm than good, can you really call it a good deed? No. I reacted in anger, letting my ignorance on the subject of who my son is cloud my mind. But my wife… My dearest… she was the one who saw the light, even when I refused to see it as such. She told me that the only way for a family to be really destroyed, was if I let it be that way. After all, Fancy didn’t do a thing, he’s his own stallion, even when we had that fight, and he never said that he wanted to destroy the family… But I did. She looked on at him with genuine, unconditional love while I in hate. When she died…” he trailed off. There was a pause from upstairs, “It’s rather funny that once the pony you cared about the most is dead that you really start listening.”

Another cough from him, “Say what you will, the living will go on squabbling, but the dead will always get the last word. When she died, I found myself completely alone. The only family member that I had left was Fancy. At her funeral, I thought back to everything she said about our son. Wondering if anything she said had some truth in it. So I began research on the topic. I looked into the most recent books on the subject in the psychological, biological and historical departments to really see into it.”

“Now hold on,” his mother said, “You’re researched about this, and you still find it okay?”

“Yeah,” Dusty agreed, “I mean, in nature, only male/female relationships make sense, otherwise, how do they expect to have children?”

“That’s what I thought too. But here’s what I found on the subject. While it’s obvious that reproduction is a logical end for any given species to move on to the next generation, it’s also beneficial, especially for ponies, to form social bonds. Besides, let’s be honest here, when it comes to sexual behavior, it isn’t all about reproducing, isn’t it? It’s also used for forming and maintaining those bonds between a partner or a whole group of them. Not only that, but such behavior that’s used as recreation isn’t just limited to us. Historically, apes do the exact same thing in order to forge new friendships.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Fan objected, “If that’s true, why would nature allow something that counters the purpose of reproduction?”

“There are a few theories on that. One of them being that it’s used to climb the social ladder like that for Neighponies snow monkeys and Hydra’s. Another is the most likely is that they do it because simply out of pleasure, like us ponies. Besides, why do you think that sexuality is as simple and straightforward as you think it is? Sexuality and gender roles are two different things that can be combined in many different ways, if you’ve mixed up your laundry, you might understand.”

“What- but…” Acrylic’s mother said, “I don’t get it, why would anypony choose this?”

“I don’t know, why did you chose to like stallions ma’am or why do you choose mares, sir? Or why did you choose to be a Pegasus and you an Earth Pony? How come you don’t have a poke-a-dot mane and you a plaid coat? While you two may think that what you prefer is a simple choice, then you haven’t realized that there are some things that ponies never are given the choice to be at birth.

“Oh! And before you ask, no, there is no cure to make your son straight because I, as a doctor of psychiatry, can tell you that homosexuality hasn’t been counted as a mental illness for over a century! You have just as much of a chance of doing that to your son as I have to turn you gay, even if I hired the best in the business to turn you, it won’t change a thing. You can’t be turned by going through a traumatic experience, demon possession, looking at your own gender’s genitalia, or simply liking filly stuff. Believe me, I’ve checked every case study there is and they will confirm exactly what I’ve just said.”

There was a pause from upstairs. For a moment, we didn’t hear anything until Dusty spoke up.

“W-Well… you can’t really buy into that. I mean, how can two stallions or two mares produce foals?”

“Hmm, let’s see… there’s adoption, artificial insemination, fraternity banks, volunteer stallion or mare, pregnancy spells, I could go on, but I think you’d get the idea.”

“Oh…” Acrylic’s mother said, “Well what about raising foals? There’s none better than a mother and a father.”

“Really? Then I guess all that data about the divorce rate in Equestria, as well as much of the world that is as high as half of the whole population because of abuse, financial problems, neglect, and accidental pregnancies have absolutely no weight upon reality. Besides, a homosexual couple has proven to have a much lower divorce rate, and they often times will raise a foal for a better reason than because the preventative spell was broken.

“As much as you talk about reproduction, is it really that important when it comes to love? Really? That’s all love is about? Just to have more children whether or not you’re prepared to do so? If that’s what love is really about, then I must say given the number of foals in orphanages or been put in foster homes, that it has really been used irresponsibly.”

Another silence, for a solid minute, the three of them didn’t say a word. That was until father spoke up.

“Mr. and Mrs. Brush, can I ask you a serious question? What exactly are you two afraid of?”

“Huh?” they both said.

“Why does finding out about Acrylic’s sexuality frighten you? Look, I understand how earth-shattering it is to find out that your child wasn’t exactly who you thought they were. I’ve been there. It’s not that I’m ignorant of the thoughts you’re thinking of right now, I do. To quote from a children’s story, ‘Just because you don’t understand it, doesn’t make it bad.’ Once I saw past Fancy’s attraction to, well, all genders you could think of, I stopped thinking that he’s some sort of pervert. I looked at him for who he really was. My son. My boy, like your Acrylic, is just like you. They have thoughts, feelings, opinions, worries, hopes, dreams, and regrets, like any other living pony.

“I have taken the time to get to know your son, and while he won’t tell you this, but Acrylic has suffered from severe depression. I believe that it has been developed over time because of how he was indirectly taught to see himself. He learned how to hate himself, simply because he existed. Believe me, my wife too suffered from depression, and she told me that when she really feels down on herself, it’s the loneliest feeling the world. The truth is, with that way of thinking, he nearly killed himself several times over.”

“What!” Acrylic’s mother exclaimed, I felt my coltfriend flinch at her voice.

“Just this year alone, he almost jumped off a building and drank poison, all because he was convinced that nopony in their right mind would ever want him… well… either way, he might have died, if my son hadn’t intervened. Say what you will about my son, but he saved your son’s life twice over. Fancy had spent each and every day to be by his side to ensure Acrylic that his life is still worthwhile. Our sons are not only loyal to each other, but they do love one another. All Acrylic wants out of you, is to be a family again, one that will care for him unconditionally. Like any other parent that looks up to them. So let me ask both of you again, what exactly are you two afraid of?”

The house went silent for the final time. I looked over at my coltfriend, who seemed amazed at what he heard, “Wow.” He said, “Your dad is incredible.”

“Never mess with a psychiatrist,” Fleur was heard commenting.

I nodded in silent agreement.

Finally, a response from Dusty, “We’re not afraid.”

“Oh?” Father interrogated, “Prove it.”

A sigh was heard, “Acrylic! Would you and… Fancy, come up here?”

We all did, even my coltfriend’s siblings came down to the second floor to where the parents had argued. Cleo jumped up onto Acrylic’s back as we approached his parents. As for Mr. and Mrs. Brush, they looked up at us until Dusty spoke.

“Look son… I’m… I’m sorry about losing my temper. I just don’t know how to react to this.”

Fan put her hoof on her husband’s, “Acrylic, dear…” for a moment, she was lost for words. “Are you sure about this? That you really… like him?”

“No mom,” he shook his head. “I love him. Yes, I’ve made up my mind about this. But Mr. Tweedy Pants is also right, if there’s anything that I’ve felt bad about before, it disowned you. I really don’t want the truth about me to get in the way of us being family. I still love all of you, if I had it my way, I would gladly have you guys move to Equestria with us. After all, I have enough money as it is to do just that, but only if you let me. So… please?”

Now everypony turned to Acrylic’s father, who looked down at the small fire going. “I… I still need time. We need time. I don’t know how long, but… I don’t think anypony here is ready to… grasp what we’ve just heard.” He shook his head, “There’s so much to take in. Truth is, you have provided us with so much wealth in the past, more than I ever did at the mines. But now hearing that you, are somepony that we don’t approve of…? I don’t know if I’ll be able to accept this.”

“I can,” all heads snapped towards the sister as she went up to him. “I mean, you’re still… you, aren’t you?”

Acrylic cracked a smile as he hugged his sister, “I never really changed at all. Thank you Water Brush, you don’t know how much this means to me.” He looked up at his parents, “Even after all I’ve heard… I forgive both of you. Even if you won’t come to Equestria, I’ll still send in a share of the bits to you again. I do hope that we can be a family again, one day.”

His mother got up and hugged him, “I do hope so too sweetie.” She kissed him on the cheek, “Just promise me that you’ll be safe.”

He looked over at me, and with a smile, he replied, “I think I will be mom. I’ll wait for you guys back home in Canterlot.”