A Pony Displaced: Homeward

by NoLongerSober

Chapter 06 - Sweet Victory

Daring waved at the unicorn, flinging a stray droplet of water from her leg as she did so. “Hey there, Barrière. How’d the house-hunting go?”

“Clever,” Barrier retorted with a deadpan tone. “Clearly all that academic knowledge and ability was not wasted in the development of such a clever nickname—”

“The house-hunting went incredibly smoothly,” Fleetfeather interjected, elbowing the unicorn. “We were actually on our way to find you, so we could all go out to eat. Something of a celebration for purchasing the home.”

“That was quick.” Daring approached the pair, only to stumble as Wind Whistler wove through her legs at a quick place and threw herself towards her mother’s face. “Guess it helps if you bring in the proof of funds and make an offer for full tag. You probably could’ve saved a few thousand bits if you’d haggled.”

The charcoal pony’s head tilted curiously. “I wasn’t aware ponies still haggled. And how did you know I paid full price?”

Daring scoffed. “Not for small stuff, or stuff you go to the store for, no. But something huge like a house? You better believe they do. As for how I know, I know you. And you just told me.”

Fleetfeather shivered as Wind Whistler moved from her face to her back, drawing Barrier and Daring’s attention from each other. “You are all far wetter than I had expected,” she observed.

“We were by the pier when a dolphin jumped out of the water and splashed us!” The filly grinned widely. “It was amazing, Uncle Barrier!”

Barrier smiled at the younger pony. “Of that, I have no doubt. However, I don’t think it would sit well if half of us were to arrive at this restaurant wet or damp. Forge, would you dry them for me?”

“Sir.” Forge’s horn lit up with an orange glow.

Winter Gem immediately made to object, but it was too late. Wind Whistler, Daring, and Winter Gem were all consumed by a cloud of steam which persisted briefly before it dissipated, leaving their fur puffed out like colored cotton balls.

Nopony spoke until Daring’s eye twitched, then Barrier and the unaffected cadets shared a hearty laugh.

“This is payback, isn’t it?” Daring huffed as she flexed her good wing and set about smoothing her fur once more. “For laughing at you that one time.”

“Why, Ms. Yearling,” Barrier feigned offense, “that you think I would stoop so low!”

Daring grumbled and folded her wings back to her side.

“In any case,” Swiftsword intervened as she started to smoothe out Winter Gem. “The dolphin reminded me of our time on Butterfly Island and left me rather peckish. Shall we proceed, sir?”

“Right.” Barrier turned away from the group and let loose a final chuckle when he saw Wind Whistler still puffed up, having a far harder time smoothing her fur out.

***

“Welcome to Strawberry Sundae’s Sodas, Scoops, and Sweets!” A familiar orange mare started as soon as the group walked into the establishment. “Oh... Well if it isn’t the pervert.”

The mare was no longer in her costume. Barrier recognised her by her voice and coloration, only now she was wearing a pair of thick glasses.

“Oh. Suddenly I’ve decided my group and I will go across the street to…” Barrier glanced out the door. “Cotton Candy’s Confections.”

The orange mare’s eyes widened almost despairingly. “N-no, hold on a second! Let’s not be so hasty!” She chuckled nervously. “Uh, right. My name is Orange Crush. How may I serve you this evening?”

“Relax, kid. I’m just messin’ with ya.” Barrier chuckled and turned to face his group, each of whom wore varied expressions at the brief exchange.

“Pervert, huh?” the disguised pegasus hip-checked the unicorn. “There a story behind that?”

Barrier snorted. “Aye. She had a mascot costume on when we first met that was so tight I could tell she’s still a maiden.”

Orange Crush gagged and sputtered before she found her words. “Hey!”

Daring looked like she had broken something inside of her by fighting back the laugh that tried to spill from her mouth. With a pained eye twitch, she turned towards Crush. “Good evening, Ms. Crush. We’re all in a celebrating mood, so we’d like to get a large cake. Could you please recommend one of the cakes you have?” Daring motioned to the group to follow her while Crush led them to a table.

“Yes, ma’am.” Crush waited until they were all seated to continue. “Currently we have all of the conventional flavors of cake, but we also have a fresh red-velvet cake with vanilla cream frosting and strawberries, picked this morning from an excellent local farm.”

Daring glanced briefly at each of her compatriots, carefully contemplating the cake before nodding at Crush. “That sounds wonderful.”

“And would you all like anything to drink with that?”

“Just water for me,” Barrier answered.

Verdant spoke next. “Do you have anything that tastes of strawberries?”

“You mean besides me?” A pegasus mare made her way out of the back, two-tone chocolate-and-vanilla mane bouncing against her strawberry-red coat with every step.

“Uh, um…” Verdant turned pink and stuttered, drawing a giggle from the mare in question.

“I’m kidding. Just… don’t spread that joke around. My wife would not be happy about it. Need any help, sis?” She glanced at Orange Crush who shook her head with a smile.

“Nah, I’ve got things covered here. As for a strawberry drink, strawberry juice is probably about as good as it gets. Think that’ll do?”

Verdant Range nodded, his blush only partially fading.

Swiftsword tapped her hoof lightly, drawing the attention of the waitress. “I believe the rest of us would be fine with any variety of juice?” Swiftsword glanced around at her companions, receiving a nod from each. “Feel free to surprise us.”

“Oh, except me!” Wind Whistler spoke up. “I’d like peach juice, please!”

“You got it, sweetie!” The red mare smiled warmly. “Come on, sis. Let’s go get these ponies their orders.”

Crush nodded and made to follow her sister, only for the latter to whip around.

“Oh, and I’m Strawberry Sundae, the owner of this fine establishment! I hope you all enjoy your time here!” She shot them a grin and whipped around again.

“Well alrighty then.” Barrier said as soon as they were alone again.

“So,” Iron Forge began. “Captain, why not tell us about this home you bought?”

“Honestly, I think Fleetfeather has a better idea about it than I do. I’m fairly certain she took measurements of each of the rooms.”

The blue mare shrugged. “It’s a good home. Large, in good condition inside and out. Easily fortifiable in case of an emergency.” Fleetfeather thought for a moment. “It has a large room known as a ‘den’ that would be excellent for some exercise equipment.”

The group began to pepper her with questions one at a time; Barrier simply tuned them out, closing his eyes for the time being.

***

Barrier slid his plate away from him, empty, save for a pile of cream and icing that he’d scraped off, finding it to be too sweet otherwise. Glancing around, it looked as though the others had nearly finished as well. “So, do any of you have any idea what you’d like to do whenever you’ve acclimated to this modern era?”

Swiftsword was the first to answer, swallowing the piece she held in her mouth before wiping her lip. “I’ve no doubt it’s obvious what I’ll be doing. Once I am sure I have fully acclimated to modern times, I shall make a home in Canterlot, rejoin the Royal Guard, and do whatever I must to rebuild the Falchion clan.”

“Hardly any surprise there,” Forge commented. “I’ll probably look for a smith to apprentice under before hopefully opening a shop of my own. Mayhaps in modern-day Gallopfrey. I believe Rainbow Dash said it is called ‘Trottingham’, now.”

Verdant hummed in thought before he answered. “I will attempt to find employment, I suppose. Maybe a flower-shop or somewhere I can utilize my talents. Something to do while I try to track down what possible descendants of my sisters I may have. After that, I suppose my eventual goal will be to start a herd and have a family. Faust knows I don’t want to accidentally sleep with a niece or nephew.”

Iron Forge chuckled. “Verdant, you do realize that based on how many sisters you had, you’ve likely eliminated the vast majority of Equestria, right?”

“Not to mention how long it would take to trace all of your various family lines for the last thousand years,” Hat Trick added.

“I am optimistic that I will find some ponies that would fit this criteria. As for the needed research, if I worked with Captain Barrier’s niece, we would likely be finished in as little as two weeks,” Verdant argued.

Barrier snorted. “You’re not wrong there. She is an absolute workhorse when it comes to anything that involves studying or learning.”

“As for me…” Winter Gem began. “I… am uncertain. I followed my family's tradition of joining the guard and fighting for Equestria, but now... “ She hesitated a bit. “The Apple family has changed substantially. From what Applejack told me, nearly all our family is composed of farmers.”

Hat Trick wrapped a wing around the mare, tugging her closer. “Whatever you decide, I’ll be at your side.”

The two briefly nuzzled one another, sharing what comfort they could.

Winter Gem pulled away from the embrace after a moment, smiling at her lover. “Thank you, Hat Trick. Though I am curious, what do you intend to do?”

Hat Trick’s answer was as swift and certain as Swiftsword’s was. “I’ll study modern prestidigitation before deciding if I wish to be a stage performer, a street performer, a party performer, or some other career path.”

“And you, Fleet?” Barrier looked at the only one yet to answer.

“I imagine mine is fairly obvious as well.” She glanced down at her daughter who was having a staring contest with the remains of her peach juice. “As soon as I learn more about this era, I’ll tutor Wind Whistler enough that she can be enrolled in a school of some sort. After that, mayhaps find a job that allows flexible hours, so I am always available. I was quite capable with weather manipulation during my time in the guard, so maybe something in that general area.”

“Excuse me,” a thestral mare who came into the shop about ten minutes ago crossed the room over to their table. “I couldn’t help but overhear what you were saying about a job in weather.”

Fleetfeather eyed the newcomer up then glanced at Barrier who had tensed just slightly, and then back at the mare.

She was a slender thestral with yellow eyes, a pale-pink mane, and an even paler purple coat.

“Aye. And you are?” Fleetfeather finally asked, her tone neutral.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” she smiled as she spoke, “My name’s Summer Eve, and I’m the night-shift weather manager here in Vanhoover. We could always use an extra set of hooves, especially come winter, so you could try out for the weather team pretty easily. If you do well enough, we almost always have a more permanent position open.”

Fleetfeather seemed to think on the proposition carefully. She went over it in her mind for a few short moments, until finally nodding. “That sounds rather promising to me, Ms. Summer Eve. It will be some time before I am ready to try out though.”

“Mrs. Summer Eve,” she corrected with a gentle tone before smiling. “Take all the time you need, Miss. I know what it’s like, doing what you can to balance career and family.”

“That reminds me,” a passing Strawberry Sundae stated. “You’ve got dish duty tonight, Eve.”

“You got it, honey.” Eve pushed forward and gave Strawberry a brief kiss. “I’ll do ’em as soon as we’ve set up the rainstorm and got it going.”

Strawberry nodded before she went back to tending to customers.

“I’m sorry,” Barrier interrupted. “Did you say you’re setting up a storm?”

“Yup,” Summer affirmed. “It’ll probably take about twenty minutes.” She started towards the door and glanced back as she was leaving. “With any luck, sooner!” The thestral flapped her wings hard and flew away from the establishment.

“Right,” Barrier turned back to the table. “Grab the food, kids. Let’s see if we can’t beat the weather back to the hotel.” With that, Barrier turned towards Strawberry Sundae, who was making her way to the back and said aloud, “Check please!”

Author's Note:

Alticron: Hello and welcome to this one time extra chapter of APD: Homeward. This is a special one time only thing because of how connected this and the previous chapter are.

In this chapter's pic, we have Orange Crush, a lovely young adopted mare created by Pembroke W. Korgi, adopted by me, her older sister Strawberry Sundae, and Sundae's lovely wife and the daughter of Dark Roast and Midnight Oil, Summer Eve.

Hope you liked this because next time, there's gonna be even more partying!

Comments

[redmar]

This was a nice chapter and I was surprised it cam so quickly after the previous one. Wind Whistler has it the easiest when it comes to the future since she has it no more difficult than any other foal once she's acclimated.

[Alticron]

8556900
Glad you liked it, just remember that all further chapters will be sticking to the "once every three weeks schedule". I only put this up so soon because the two are so closely connected.

Also, don't forget all the things that happened to her in the Crystal Empire, plus how she was raised being a lot different than modern foals.

[HolyCross9]

Wow, you sure are on a roll with uploading another chapter so swiftly!

[redmar]

8556926
True but foals can probably adjust more easily than adults. Especially if Wind Whistler befriends some other foals which is something that will most likely happen sometime in the future.

[harts fire]

a vary good chapter it looks as if everypony is settling in.

[God of Calamity]

I just realized that at this point in the story, they’ve spent more “on-screen” time at some kind of restaurant than anywhere else.