Chapter 2
Even though the snow was swirling around overhead, it wasn’t sticking, much. It was still cold though, and Twilight Velvet was thankful for her heavy coat. She heard Wormwood grumbling and it was with no small amount of amusement that she chuckled about everything that had just happened.
“Real funny, Boss.”
That earned a chuckle too. Upon being exposed to the out of doors, Megara had bolted. Now, Twilight Velvet could have used her magic to end the chase right then and there, but what was the fun in that? The poor cub had been cooped up for quite a time and Wormwood, well, alas poor Wormwood, but he needed experience in catching wily foals. Or cubs, as the case may be. It was funny watching the big brute trying catch the giggling little scamp that evaded him with ease.
Standing on the train platform, Twilight Velvet waited to board. She and Wormwood had their own train car reserved, and it was a good thing, too. Megara was a little leery of other ponies, and ponies, for the most part, were a little leery of Megara. Some thought she was adorable, others hurried away, wide-eyed and spooked.
The little hairball was now sitting on Wormwood’s back, wrapped in a heavy dark blue blanket. Her unruly tuft of hair that stuck up off of her head waved in the light breeze. She watched everything around her, trying to take it all in, trying to see the sights. Only Twilight Velvet, with her years of experience, could see the fear upon Megara’s face.
“You’re lucky that you’re cute, Meg, otherwise, I’d clap you in irons for what you did—”
“Wormwood!” Twilight Velvet shook her head and clucked her tongue. “We put proven delinquents in irons, not adorable little scared cubs.” She laughed at her own joke, as it seemed that laughter put Megara at ease.
“We need to make a note in her case file that she is boneless.”
“Wormwood—”
“You try grabbing her, Mrs. Velvet. Boneless.”
Unable to stop herself, Twilight Velvet laughed a little more. Megara was difficult to grab and hold on to. She was lithe in a feline sort of way, and Twilight Velvet could understand why Wormwood had called her boneless. No doubt, Megara could make herself comfortable in a basket, a bed, or a bowling ball bag.
A worried looking mare hurried away, her eyes never leaving Megara, and she stood on the other side of the platform. Twilight Velvet said nothing, made no response, but Wormwood scowled and a low, throaty rumble could be heard coming from him.
“Mrs. Velvet, I don’t much care for this part of the job.”
“Neither do I, Wormwood, neither do I.”
The conductor, a crystal pony wearing a fine suit, made a gesture with his hoof. “Right this way, we have you in the caboose. It’s small, but comfortable.”
“Oh, why thank you so very much.” Twilight Velvet’s voice had a sincere graciousness that was lacking in so many others. “Come, Wormwood, we must away.”
“Ooh… mercy…” the conductor staggered backwards and was forced to adjust his short ribbon tie. “That’s… cute.”
“She is, isn’t she?” Twilight Velvet asked as she walked towards the caboose.
Following along after Twilight Velvet, Wormwood adjusted his battered trilby hat and smiled at the conductor, revealing a mouthful of teeth that Princess Luna used to give dentists everywhere nightmares. He had lost a few teeth and the replacements were glittering, gleaming stainless steel. On Wormwood’s back, Megara smiled as well, revealing a mouthful of manticore teeth, and she waved with her paw, just like Twilight Velvet had shown her to do when a goodbye was in order.
“A little unnerving, but still cute,” the conductor said as he tugged at his collar.
The train moved forwards with a lurch and Twilight Velvet made herself comfortable on her seat. For once, somepony had thought about poor Wormwood, and there was a large, square cushion left on the floor that he could be comfortable on. There was, however, a problem, as Megara had claimed the cushion and was now taking swipes at Wormwood, all while making adorable little hisses.
Never one to back down from a fight, Wormwood reached down with his wing and just swept her away with no effort. He then sat down and tried to make himself comfortable as Megara retaliated. She lept, front paws out, slammed into Wormwood’s neck, and bounced. She tumbled away with a yowl and rubbed her head after bonking it on the floor.
Megara’s tail, mocking her, slashed around her ears. Incensed, Megara attacked, bringing both front paws to bear upon her tail, her claws extended. Where she sat, Twilight Velvet’s eyebrow arched in concern as Megara went after her tormentor. The claws were dangerous, no doubt, and protective measures might need to be taken.
After several failed attempts, Megara captured her ever-elusive tail, clapping it in her paws, and then, before Twilight Velvet could say anything or offer a warning, Megara bit down upon her hated foe with the intent to give it a good savaging.
Crying out in both pain and alarm, her eyes wide with shock and terror, Megara let go of her tail, lept to her paws, and took off at what seemed to be super-relative speeds. At the last second, she flattened herself down, tucked in her wings, landed on her belly, and slid right beneath the couch where Twilight Velvet was sitting. It didn’t seem possible for her to fit beneath there, but Wormwood’s boneless description held true and she cleared the gap that was no bigger than her head.
“Wormwood, not one word.” Twilight Velvet turned a stern eye upon Wormwood, who was shaking with laughter and fighting to hold it in. He snorted once, and Twilight Velvet cleared her throat while shaking her head to express disapproval. “Megara, darling, are you okay?”
“No!” cried a voice from beneath the sofa.
Another snort escaped from Wormwood.
“Megara,” Twilight Velvet began in a soft, patient voice, “you need to be mindful of what you bite.”
“No mock Lioness!” There was a pause, and then, “RAWR!”
“Megara, if your tail mocks you, then you must learn to be patient. You can’t just bite it.”
“Yes can!”
“Megara, if you bite it, you are only hurting yourself.”
“No mock Lioness!”
Twilight Velvet let out a sigh and then replied with, “Rawr?”
“RAWR!”
“RAWR!” Wormwood’s bellow made everything in the caboose rattle and left Twilight Velvet’s reading glasses askew on her face.
Beneath the couch, there was timid mewling punctuated by a worried sounding meow, that may or may not have been a question. Twilight Velvet didn’t speak felinoid languages very well.
“Wormwood, what was that about?” Twilight Velvet asked as she tried to put herself back in order.
Grinning, Wormwood’s took off his trilby and tossed it onto a nearby wooden shelf covered in snacks. “I’ve been teaching Silver Lining how to roar. She’s not very good at it, but I keep trying.”
Shaking her head, Twilight Velvet rubbed her temple and let out a sigh. “No wonder Ponyville is the way that it is.” As she spoke, there was another faint mew from beneath her couch. “Megara, darling, it’s okay. That was just Wormwood announcing that he is King of the Jungle, or at least the potted plant section in some department store.”
“Hey… ouch, Mrs. Velvet.”
“Megara, darling, do come out.”
“No.”
“Megara, be a dear, and do come out.”
“Nope.”
“Please?”
“Nuh uh.”
“Very well, Megara, you leave me with no other choice.” Twilight Velvet pulled off her coat and then set it on the couch beside her. She began to rummage through the pockets, searching through her emergency supplies. She had something for any troublesome occasion.
“What if not want? Where Megara go?”
It took several seconds for Twilight Velvet to sort out what was being said. Her eyes narrowed and a worried expression clouded her face. She glanced over at Wormwood, and saw that, he too, looked a bit concerned. She continued digging through her pockets and replied, “I assure you, you are wanted.”
There was a yowl of disbelief from beneath the couch.
“Come out from beneath there, Miss Lioness, and let me comfort you.”
“Neow.”
“Megara, was that a ‘meow’ or a ‘no’ that you just said? I’m having a bit of trouble.”
“Not know.”
Pulling out a length of lime green ribbon, Twilight Velvet prepared to take drastic measures. Armed with a brush, some lime green ribbon, and an endless supply of patience for the young, Twilight Velvet allowed a devious smile to show upon her muzzle. Many, many times she had outsmarted little filly Twilight Sparkle, and the little lioness would be no real challenge at all.
The cleverest mother alive, the mare who had completely restructured the Equestrian pyramid of politics by maneuvering her own offspring into positions of authority and power, the mare that had spawned a revolution without firing a single shot, a bloodless revolution, the kindly maternal figure that championed the cause of reform, did the most dastardly thing that could be done in this situation.
She dangled the length of the lime green ribbon down in front of her and made it wiggle in front of the couch, where Megara was sure to see it and be tempted. Twilight Velvet was rewarded with a curious, “Meow?”
The ribbon was bobbed up and down a few times, and, sure enough, a chocolate brown paw shot out from beneath the couch to take a swipe at it. She kept it out of Megara’s reach, holding it in her magic, and kept swinging it further and further away. Before long, Megara shot out from beneath the couch, hissing and trying to claw the ribbon.
Wasting no time, Twilight Velvet grabbed the little fuzzball, lifted her up, and plopped her down upon the couch. She didn’t let go, but held the cub in her magic with a firm grip. Using the brush, she went to work on Megara’s defiant shock of hair that stuck up between her ears with quick, fast strokes. The brushing did nothing to make the tuft of hair presentable, but it did leave it shiny. As Megara yowled, Twilight Velvet tied the length of lime green ribbon around the troublesome shock of hair that protruded upwards, determined to make it behave somehow.
“Reow?”
Twilight Velvet pulled a mirror from her coat pocket and held it up in front of Megara. “There, now you look pretty. When you give somepony a gift, it is thoughtful to tie a ribbon around it. Being thoughtful is a hallmark of being a good, upstanding citizen, and you want to be a good, upstanding citizen, don’t you, Megara?”
Face scrunching, Megara replied, “Huh?”
“You are a precious gift and I am taking you to meet your father. I am going to give you to him, and I have tied a bow around you. With your cute little bow, you are now irresistible and there is no way that your father could refuse you.”
Megara shook her head and with one paw, she touched her reflection in the mirror.
“It’s true,” Wormwood said from where he relaxed. “There are laws and everything. You can’t turn away a gift with a ribbon. You can’t say no. Thems the rules. That’s why we are civilised. If you break the rules, all of civilisation falls down and then ponies like myself have to step in and put it back together, and that’s a chore.”
“Oh.” Megara’s brows furrowed and she studied her reflection. “Rules.” She touched her reflection again and then learned forwards to get a better look. She waggled her ears, crossed her eyes, and then stuck out her tongue. “My mama, she—”
“Excuse me for interrupting, Megara, but does your mother have a name?” Twilight Velvet asked.
The cub fell back and leaned against Twilight Velvet’s side, but never took her eyes off of the mirror. “Margalo. Mama name Margalo. She tell stories some nights. Say daddy was soft. Little. He scream lots and she like that. Like music. Make her in mood. Screaming, roaring, ro-ro-romatic?”
“Romantic?” Twilight Velvet said in a helpful voice, while trying not to think about the chilling implications of what was said.
“Love mood.” Megara pulled back her lips for a moment and examined her teeth in the mirror. “Find mate that scream lots. But Megara no eat him. Just make scream.”
Lifting her head, Twilight Velvet glanced over at Wormwood, who looked more than a little disturbed. There were a lot of things that she wanted to say to Wormwood, but she couldn’t say them in front of Megara. She wanted to say that manticores had different values, and shouldn’t be judged. They had their own culture, their own way of life, their own way of doing things. But she knew Wormwood’s feelings about manticores.
She wondered, was Megara still a manticore to him?
“Miss Mama. She got mean. Hurt much. Stab. Claw. Bite. Make Megara go. Not feed.”
“I’m sorry, Megara. If it makes you feel any better, you’ll be getting a new mama. She’s very nice, but it may take you some time to figure that out.” Twilight Velvet slipped a foreleg around the cub and gave her a much needed hug.
“With ribbon, she keep?” Megara asked.
“Yes, Megara, she knows the rules. She’ll keep you.”
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Velvet might be bending the rules a little but the pony she;s taking Megara to is a responsible pony. Then there Megara's weaponized cuteness looking forward to seeing this continue though at times Megara seems more feline than equine
I am loving this. I need more. When you feel like giving us more of course.
Dude.
If figuratively, I'm sitting on the edge of my seat.
I'm halfway through my desk with my nose inside the screen.
.-.
The tension builds
Can...can she get a cutiemark?
She is too cute not too...
The paragraph about teeth is pure gold. I can see Wormwood and Megara posing for nightmares.
7616341
The only Pony Megara would be a nightmare for with how cute she is is Rainbow Dash. Everyone else is likely to just suffer cuteness induced heart attacks.
7616349 ironically it seems for some reason half the ponies they met are scared of Megara and the other half find her absolutely adorable
Secondary comment from the timing Megara logically should be older than Pebble. She seems more like a very young kitten at time than an older cub
7616363
She's feral and not educated. She is also a different species.
7616367 granted and there are many details I don't know that affect things. Though even feral cats learn biting their own tail hurts rather quickly. just commenting at time she seems much younger than other factors seem to indicate
7616377
She acts like a child. Pebble... well... Pebble acts like Pebble, most of the time.
She needs a cutie mark in cuteness
7616272 Gonna have to agree with you there. And with Discord.
mlpforums.com/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-31415-0-52359500-1421032287.gif
'away'?
This one is capitalised, but the other 3 aren't?
Closest pic for Megara I could find was this, but tail and more pony featured face needed.
pre04.deviantart.net/0d11/th/pre/i/2013/242/7/5/manticore_by_aritimas-d6ked3i.jpg
Megara is a child that is why she acts like one, she is also a child that has no education at all and no basic dealings with pony culture. It is even questionable from the description how much dealings with manticore culture as she seemed to not be worth her mother or sibling's time or interest.
Pebble has actually been acting kind of strange in the most recent chapters, I am guessing she is still very much in shock but she seems even more quiet and like her mother. Guessing she also could be trying to further emulate her mother now that she has a special somepony though.
Actually if Megara gets left in Ponyville for schooling and learning how to interact and behave around ponies I wonder how Pebble is going to interpret this. "Hey Pebble this is your big half sister Megara. She is very childlike so you will have to be like her big sister while we leave her here because we think that is best for her for right now. I am sure you will be the best big-little sister ever." And Pebble is left trying to figure out how she feels about Megara while feeling her parents just keep dumping their kids in Ponyville. Has to breed some resentment.
chuckled.
Chucked is to either throw something with no real degree of care, or to end a relationship. (As far as I am aware)
That was "totes adorbz" as the kids these days say.
Oh man, she really is a cat. You must know cats, Kudzu, this is too accurate for that not to be the case.
Gasp!
7616291 Actually, I think that a mark will get cuties from Megara.
Aww come on! Enough with the cuteness already!
Rawr
Sorry, but that's no excuse. Rape and casual murder of thinking beings cannot be excused just because the thinking creature doing so finds it convenient. If such is deemed acceptable, then coexistence is impossible.