A Pony Displaced: Homeward

by NoLongerSober

Chapter 20 - Family Trees (Part 2)

Belmont lead the trio into the wooden home.

Barrier glanced around the living room and saw several furnishings he found tacky, from the bright green couch to the pair of orange recliners, clashing horribly with the dark grey of the walls and the stone fireplace. The sole pieces of furniture he’d say actually fit the room was a dark wooden bookshelf and coffee table. Sitting upon the fireplace mantle was a collection of photos of Belmont and several other ponies.

“Hey Ma! Pa!” Belmont shouted as he reached the base of the stairs. “C’mon down! We’ve got company, and one’s family!”

A slow shuffling came from the second floor and moments later, a pair of elderly ponies came down the stairs. The first was a gray thestral with a dark blue, slicked back mane, his cutie mark was a red bat in mid-flight. The second was an earth pony mare with a pale yellow coat and a wavy orange and grey mane. Her cutie mark was a brownish yellow apple.

“Ma, Pa.” Belmont grandly gestured to the ponies beside him. “This is cousin Winter Gem, her fiance Hat Trick and their old captain, Magic Barrier.” He then spun around and pointed towards the elder ponies. “Folks, these are my parents, Autumn Gold and Pipistrelle West.”

“Oh, just call me Pip,” the old thestral said as he stepped forward. “It’s always good to meet fellow ponies who took up the duty of the royal guard.” He shakily offered a hoof to Barrier, who slowly accepted it.

“Nice to meet the two of you,” Barrier said with a curt nod as Autumn approached the young pair.

“Nice to see another nice and fit Apple in the family,” she said as she pulled Winter Gem into a hug. “My son’s just been gabbing non-stop ever since we first got those letters and photos about you.” She let go and headed towards the bookshelf and started scanning the spines in quick glances along the shelves.

“Mom, please don’t,” Belmont begged and tried to cover his face with his wings, its color quickly becoming the same shade as a candy apple.

“Oh it’s so cool!” she said teasingly as she found the pictures and brought them to the coffee table as fast as her old bones could take her. “We’ve got a pony in the Apple family from the era of the Flame Crest books! I’ll bet she went on all sorts of grand adventures defending Equestria from the griffins and dragons and Sombra, just like Mars Falchion!”

Winter Gem and Hat Trick chortled as they took a seat on the couch, leaving Belmont to groan from the base of the stairs. “Unfortunately, I don’t have too many a tale to tell. I was only a cadet when we were sealed away in the Crystal Empire by Sombra. I—” She paused for an instant before Hat Trick placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “...I don’t really want to talk too much about what happened in the empire. We lost a lot of our allies… friends against the undead Sombra had unleashed.”

“Oh don’t worry about that dear,” Pip said as he and Autumn sat beside her and Hat Trick on the couch. “I know about all the terrible sort of things a guard tends to see in the lines of work.”

“Thank you, my… cousin,” Winter said with a moment of pause as she leaned back into the couch and she took a deep breath. “Honestly, even if I did talk about what had happened in the empire, I’m uncertain how well they would compare to the tales of whatever Mars Falchion got himself into.”

“Yeah,” Hat Trick said with a shrug. “I mean after all, he was only what, 14, the last time we saw him?” Belmont’s jaw dropped before he dashed over to them, hovering just a few inches from their faces.

“You knew Mars Falchion?!” he asked before his mother rose from the couch and gave his tail a hard yank, pulling him back to the ground. “Sorry,” he said as a trace of the earlier blush returned. “I just can’t believe you met my favourite historical hero!”

“Oh yes, we did meet him back when he was a fairly small colt,” Winter casually replied. “Swiftsword, our squadmate, introduced him to us.”

“Whoa!” Belmont cried out and he giddily hopped in place. “You knew Swiftsword Falchion, the Maiden of Blades!”

“Maiden…” Winter Gem snorted and giggled before she regained her composure. “Yes, she’s a good friend of mine. If you want, we could probably introduce you to her.”

“Yeah, and who knows, if you behave well enough around her, she might let you look at her family’s sword,” Hat Trick chipped in as he rolled his eyes before a thud reached his ears. Looking down, he saw that Belmont had apparently fainted while sporting a particularly wide smile.

“I swear,” Autumn sighed as she placed a hoof on her forehead, “it’s CrestCon all over again.” she slowly slid off the couch. “Would any of you mind helping me get this fool off the floor?”

***

After Winter Gem hauled Belmont up to his bed and stayed to keep an eye on him, Hat Trick was given a rather extensive interview by the family’s elders about his history with Gem. After a few hours, Autumn went into the kitchen to prepare a special dinner with Hatty volunteering to help, leaving Barrier alone with Pip.

“Is there any particular reason why you look at myself and my son so oddly, Barrier?”

“I beg your pardon?” Barrier said as he shifted in his chair, an eyebrow raised.

“Well I noticed that you looked at the two of us somewhat oddly during this whole time.” Pip spoke softly as he walked over to the mantle to gaze at the pictures of his family while still seeing the charcoal stallion’s reflection. “Now, why is that?”

“Well for one thing, sir,” Barrier adjust his seat once more. “I was somewhat under the assumption that the Apple family was entirely made of earth ponies.” Barrier’s response drew a hard laugh from the elderly thestral.

“No, no, no,” he said with a shake of his head. “No, the Apples have quite a lot of earth ponies in the family, but we’ve got all kinds of ponies here. We’ve got unicorns and pegasi, and thanks to me marrying into the family, my end’s just a little more…” he looked over his shoulder to Barrier, “batty.” he lightly laughed once more.

Barrier rolled his eyes at the attempt at comedy. “Eh, I’ve heard worse jokes from my cadets. Of course, it’s harder now to give them latrine duty or KP these days.”

“Well at any rate...” Pip strolled back towards Barrier before placing a hoof on his shoulder. “There’s something else, some other reason why you were looking at my son and I the way you did. Now, be honest with me and tell me what that is.” His tone had become much darker as he gave Barrier a flat look.

“If you must know,” Barrier said as he looked into his amber eyes, “I had a rather nasty experience with thestrals in my era. Many turned traitor and killed many a good pony, so thestrals make me somewhat jumpy… however, there’s more to it than that.” Barrier closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steel himself. “Are you familiar with what the actions of one Captain Flash Sentry?”

“Yes, I’d wager that every thestral above the age of sixteen knows about how he tried to wipe us out,” the elder pony whispered as his gaze seemed to harden. “I assume you knew him?”

“Yes,” Barrier turned away, “he was a friend of mine since my days as a cadet. When Nightmare Moon was sealed away, I was taken along with her. For everypony I knew then, I was as good as dead. Flash, having lost his best friend…” He gave a hard swallow. “It’s my fault, Pip. I’m the reason why he tried to wipe your kind out. I’m so sorry.” Barrier felt a hoof being placed under his chin and his face was turned to face the thestral once more, his expression now much softer.

“There there, kiddo.” Pip removed the hoof from Barrier’s chin and patted Barrier on the head, “I don’t blame you for either of that. I was jumpy around unicorns for quite some time when a drug bust I did went south and my friend and partner Bird Warden was hurt. As for…” His teeth gritted slightly at the thought of Flash’s actions against his kind. “I’m sure that you would have made ensured none of this happened if you were around back then. Still, thank you for being honest with this old soul.”

“Trust me, if I could have prevented what he did, I would have.” Barrier sighed before looking back up at Pip with a raised eyebrow. “And who are you calling ‘kiddo’? I’m centuries older than you.”

Pip pulled back and gave a hearty laugh in response. “Have you ever tried to use that to get a seniors discount on things?”

Barrier rapidly shook his forehooves back and forth, his eyes wide as he made a shushing sound. “Keep it down!” he whispered, “I don’t want Hatty getting any ideas.”

A loud yawn rang out from the floor above, followed by two sets of hooves starting to come down the stairs. Belmont rubbed the last bit of sleep from his eyes as Winter Gem accompanied him. “So, have you been having a good time?”

“Why yes, we have,” Pip said before he strolled over to Barrier and placed a foreleg across his shoulders. “I’m pretty sure that Barrier and I will be old chums in no time at all.”

“I’d say that would be a bit of an exaggeration,” Barrier said as he rose out of the chair, “but we have been getting along really well.”

“Well it’s still great to hear.” Belmont beamed, before he took in a strong sniff. “Would you like to stay for dinner, Barrier? I can tell Mom’s setting up a big dinner for this little family reunion we’ve got going here.”

Barrier sniffed the air as well, catching the scent of mashed potatoes, vegetable stew and apple pie. “While dinner sounds good, I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Oh, don’t be like that.” Belmont bolted over to Barrier’s side, put a foreleg over his shoulder, and started to pull him towards the kitchen. “You’re practically family after all you’ve done for Gem and Hatty.”

“Well…” Barrier said as he spotted Hat Trick setting up some plates at the table while Autumn Gold pulled a pie out of the oven.

“Sir,” Hat Trick spoke up after he placed a plate on the table. “Wouldn’t that mean that leaves only Swiftsword, Iron Forge, the sergeant and Wind Whistler alone to handle their own dinner?”

“Would you please excuse me?” Barrier said out as his eyes became the size of pinpricks before his horn ignited brightly and teleported him out into the field in front of the house before dashing off back to the manor, leaving the small group to watch the charcoal unicorn running off.

“Well...” Belmont awkwardly scratched the back of his head before heading out the door. “I’ll go get Red Bouquet from the flower shop and then we’ll pick up the kids. See ya!” He spread his leather wings and flew off towards the town.

“Hat Trick,” Winter Gem whispered as she drew the purple pegasus close. “Be honest with me. Did you just say that so you’d get a bigger piece of pie after dinner?”

“No,” he whispered back into her snow white ear, a wide grin plastered on his face. “I did it so we would have bigger pieces of pie after dinner.”

***

When Barrier had arrived back at the manor, he was relieved to find that rather than having the house reduced to a pile of ash, the quartet that had stayed had simply decided to go and get a pizza.

After the five of them had devoured the cheesy treat, they soon passed the time they had by watching some movie rentals that they still had. Shortly after they had sent Wind Whistler to bed and finished the second movie in the Buck to the Future trilogy, the sound of the front door opening rang out throughout the manor.

“I assume you had a good time?” Barrier inquired as the couple trotted into the living room, Winter Gem sporting a very large smile.

“It was wonderful!” she exclaimed. “I had been worried about meeting them all for so long, and yet it went better than I could have imagined!”

“Also, somepony here needs to learn their stew recipe,” Hat Trick said as he and Winter Gem made their way to one of the couches. “I don’t care who, just that we need more stew like that.”

“Oh, by the way, Swift.” Winter drew her friend’s eye as she shifted into a comfy spot on the couch. “it turns out that my cousin Belmont is a big fan of those books about your brother and he would love to meet the mare he called, and I quote,” her face shifted from a happy smile to a wicked smirk, “The Maiden of Blades.” She chortled while her friend’s eyebrow rose.

“Maiden?” Swiftsword tilted her head in confusion. “Did he not know of my arranged engagement to Radiant Spell and Ocean Sunset?” She then slipped out of her seat and passed Barrier to head for the kitchen. “There are many a term I would use to describe myself, but maiden is not one, with many a thanks to them.”

“Could you please not talk about my brother and sister-in-law like that?” Barrier called out as he levitated a bowl of popcorn to him from a nearby table. “I really don’t want to explain any weird dreams to Luna because of this.”

“Very well,” Swiftsword replied dismissively. “Though I will always treasure my time with them and Sparkle.”

“As will I, Swiftsword,” Barrier sighed just as Forge had finished swapping the films. “As will I.”

“Glad you had a good time with your family, Gem,” Forge chipped in as he hopped into his seat on the couch. “Now, let’s see how this next part in the story plays out!”

Author's Note:

Hey folks, welcome back for the twentieth chapter of Homeward. Glad to have you here, enjoying the journey of Barrier and the cadets so far.

Fun fact: I originally created Pip West for a FOE story where he was a pony who believed he was a bat-themed superhero. However, I eventually decided to make him Belmont's father and an Adam West homage... and then with the unfortunate passing of Adam West last year, he became more of a tribute to the late actor.

Next time, Verdant and Daring return to unveil what they've dug up. What will they reveal? Tune in next time. Same batpony time, same batpony account.

Comments

[HolyCross9]

This was a most wonderful chapter overall. I must also confess that as a big fan of Adam West, I was also really grieved over his passing too; and to think that I didn't discover that until a day after I saw Wonder Woman in theaters with a close friend. Still I am very grateful that you made a tribute to him through Pip West.

[TDR]

Na na nana na na na bat pony!!!!

[Amos Anon]

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