A Pony Displaced: Homeward

by NoLongerSober

Chapter 72 - Meet the Parents (Part 2)

After a few moments, Barrier had managed to collect himself, much to Verdant’s relief.

“Now, can we please move onto other questions?” Erica asked, her facial feathers matching her coat. “Preferably not related to sex.”

“Very well, dear. I won’t ask about it anymore.” Asta took a quick sip of water before looking towards the charcoal stallion. “Mr. Barrier, could you please tell me a little about Verdant’s time in the guard?”

“As you wish,” Barrier replied before putting a hoof to his chin and recollecting. “Verdant joined the guard when he was sixteen and was assigned to train under me in Squad 982, alongside four others. He specialized in the usage of a bow, so I specialized some of his training to function as the group’s sniper.”

“Oh, a sniper?” Einar started to look the shamrock stallion up and down. “Seems a bit surprising. No offense, Verdant.”

“None taken, sir,” Verdant replied with a soft smile.

“I found that Verdant’s skill with the bow far exceeds ponies his age. He’s able to reliably strike a target at just over one-hundred feet away while running,” Barrier said, quickly resuming from where he left off. “Some of the things he’s accomplished include travelling from Old Canterlot to Hollow Shades and back in two days' time, normally a three day trip under a hard march. He’s also a veteran of Sombra’s attack on the Crystal Empire and distinguished himself by aiding in the final battle.”

“Really?” Asta’s eyebrow rose. “I hope you’ll forgive my skepticism, Barrier, but I do find this last bit somewhat hard to believe.”

“I assure you, Mrs. Sorae, Barrier’s telling the truth,” Fleetfeather said as she placed a hoof over her eyepatch. “I was blasted out of the sky in the empire by Sombra shortly after the conflict started. My eye was destroyed and I crashed into a shopping stall. From what Dr. Black Harvest told me, Verdant, along with privates Prismatic Radiance and Fixer Upper found me and he personally carried me to the makeshift base we occupied. It is thanks to him that I’m still alive to raise my daughter today.”

The griffin couple were rather stunned by the blue pegasus’ words.

“And as I said before, Verdant did play a part in the final battle against Sombra.” Barrier spoke up once more as he used his magic to pull off his saddlebags. “He managed to strike Sombra with an improvised explosive arrow that allowed Captain Shining Armor and I to hold him off long enough for the element bearers to prepare the Elements of Harmony and neutralize him.” Against my orders, but I do appreciate it.

“And he left the empire completely unscathed?” Asta shifted her eyes away from Barrier to the stallion with Erica’s wing draped over his back.

“No. All three of us were injured substantially in the empire.” Barrier stated simply as he pulled open his saddlebags. “My horn was badly overloaded and cracked from the effort. I’m lucky I still have magic at all. Fleetfeather was bedridden with her injuries when the battle with Sombra occurred and Verdant received a nasty burn scar on his back from when his strike caused Sombra to fumble his magic and send it spiralling throughout the room.”

“Hmm… May I see this ‘scar’, Verdant?” Asta asked.

With a quick swallow, Verdant carefully pulled himself out from under Erica’s wing and off the couch. Turning around, he lowered the back of his vest, revealing the large burn scar that covered a fair portion of his back to his withers.

“Oh my, that does look quite nasty,” Asta said as Einar winced at the sight.

Verdant quickly pulled the vest back up and returned to his spot at Erica’s side. “Thankfully, it doesn’t hurt anymore. Still, I’m glad I’ve got a vest to wear over this.”

“And if you wish for further proof...” Barrier’s horn flared as he levitated a photograph from his saddlebags over to Asta. “I believe this should be sufficient.”

“Bei Königin Faricas heiligem Hintern!” Asta exclaimed at the sight of the photo while Einar leaned closer. The tiercel was rather stunned to see a bandaged Verdant shaking a hoof in Queen Leena’s talons while Barrier stood by his side. Some crystalline buildings stood tall in the distance behind them to complete the picture.

“No, it was Queen Leena that we met, not Farica.” Barrier bore a slight grin at the stunned looks on the griffins’ faces.

Fleet had to bite her lower lip as Erica mouthed ‘You met the queen?’ to Verdant, who could only bashfully shrug.

“When Queen Leena visited the Crystal Empire after Sombra was defeated, Verdant and Swiftsword were the only privates of mine who volunteered to meet her. I was rather proud that even with the past history between our kingdoms, they were willing to do this.” Barrier stated.

“This is rather exceptional!” Asta nearly exclaimed, only to cough into her claw while handing Barrier back the photo with the other. A tiny tinge of red dotted her cheeks as Barrier’s magic grasped the photo. “Sorry, it’s just… I always wanted to meet my queen and…”

Asta hopped out of her seat, her talons clenched together as she pleaded. “Please, could you tell me what Queen Leena was like?!”

“Mooommm…” Erica tensed at the sight before her, her face once again matching her coat. “You’re humiliating me.”

“Well, I didn’t really get to speak with Queen Leena, I merely shook her talons and competed against her in the ruby reaper eating contest the empire held.” Verdant looked away from the older hen as he rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort that was clear to everyone but Asta.

“Ruby what?” Asta inquired as she picked herself up and Einar pulled her back to her seat.

“They’re a type of pepper native to the empire,” Fleet firmly answered. “They’re considered by many to be the spiciest of peppers in the world. Based on what experience I’ve had with peppers, I’m inclined to agree.”

“I was… volunteered to take part in the competition as well,” Barrier said as Einar gave him a look of great interest. “I managed to endure six of these peppers while Verdant took four.”

“How well did Queen Leena do?” Asta stood at the edge of her seat and leaned closer to the unicorn.

“Queen Leena managed to handle nine before she gracefully bowed out. In the end, Empress Cadance won after enduring thirteen of those damned things,” Barrier answered. “I swear, those things are hot enough to melt steel.”

“Hmm… maybe I should start stocking those in my store,” Einar said as he rubbed his chin in thought.

“Only if you have masochistic customers,” Barrier replied, stowing the photo back into his saddlebags.

“Would you excuse me, I need to powder my nose.” Erica stood up from the couch and headed towards the hallway.

“You’ll need to grab a fresh roll of toilet paper from the linen closet!” Asta called out, receiving only silence as a reply.

“Say Verdant,” Einar leaned closer to the now solo stallion, pointing to the door near his side. “Could you check the kitchen timer for me? I’d like to know how much time’s left until dinner’s ready.”

“Of course,” the emerald earth pony said before rising from the sofa and slipping into the kitchen. As he did, a smirk started to form on the tiercel’s face.

Once the door sealed shut, Einar leaned over towards the pony pair. “Alright, now that the kids are out of the room, is there anything you’d like to say about Verdant that they wouldn’t want us to hear?”

“Well...” A grin of suppressed laughter came to Fleet’s face as she brought a hoof to her chin. “Did you know he’s been inside of Princess Luna?”

The two griffins were gobsmacked at the mare’s words, their jaws instantly going slack.

“Fleet, Verdant has asked us not to speak about that,” Barrier said with a tone of seriousness. “I’d please ask that you refrain from speaking any further on that subject.”

“Oh, my apologies. I didn’t realize he’d asked about it.” Fleet apologized. Looking towards the two griffins, she saw that the couple was still stunned by her words.

“Mr. Sorae! I found the timer!” Verdant’s voice came from the kitchen, snapping the pair out of their stupor as he emerged from the kitchen with a small yellow clock carried in his hoof. “Sorry it took so long. Turns out it was at the bottom of a bowl full of lemons.”

“Ah, thank you, Verdant,” Einar replied as the stallion dropped the timepiece into his hands. “My eyes seem to be going bad in my advancing age.”

Asta shook as she tried to keep from giggling at her husband’s transparent deception.

“Alright, I’m back,” Erica said as she walked back into the room, wiping her damp talons against her chest. “Say Dad, how long until dinner’s ready?”

“Oh, about…” Einar gave the timer a quick glance, “eight minutes to go.”

“Hmm, I have another question, Verdant.” Asta leaned back in her chair. “Is there anything you miss from a thousand years ago?”

“My family,” Verdant replied without skipping a beat, his tone very glum. “I only got to see my family the few times they were able to come by Canterlot and I was on a brief break. Now they’re all gone and I learned not too long ago my family had another sister that I never got to know.”

The room fell deathly quiet. Erica pulled Verdant into a hug and wrapped her wings around him.

“Oh… I’m so sorry.” Asta apologized, swallowing hard as she saw how awkward she’d made things.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Sorae.” Verdant replied, focusing his attention on Erica as he returned her hug and water started to form on the edge of his eyes.

“We’re all in similar boats,” Barrier said. “I lost my brother, sister-in-law, niece and parents… along with my lover of the time.”

“And I lost five of my children.” Fleetfeather’s wings drooped as she looked down at her hooves. “The only comfort I took in this news was learning they lived long, fulfilling lives without me.”

“I’d say the thing that stings most is knowing I had a sister that I never got a chance to meet,” Verdant quietly said before sniffing. “It just… I dunno how to put it…”

“Verdant...” Barrier slid out of his chair and moved to the shamrock stallion, placing a hoof on his shoulder comfortingly. “I know how you feel. It’s like an empty hole in your heart that you know you’ll never be able to fill.”

Verdant pulled his head away from Erica’s shoulder to look Barrier in the eye, curiosity dancing faintly across the green stallion’s expression.

“When I was twenty, my father told me I was his second born foal.” Barrier took a breath to steady himself. “I was born as the second of a set of twins. My sister, Arcane Shield, was meant to be the heir to the family. Sadly, she was a victim of crib death before she’d even turned a month old.”

A moment of silence hung in the room as the two stallions looked each other in the eyes.

“I spent many nights wondering what would have happened if she had survived. If she had become the heir to the family instead of I… or Radiant after Nightmare Moon…”

Asta raised a talon to ask a question, only to quickly reconsider and remained silent.

“In the end, I decided to do what I could to spend more time with the family that I still had.” Barrier’s grip on Verdant’s shoulder tightened. “And made sure they knew I loved them dearly.”

Verdant sniffled once more before pulling a hoof way from Erica and placing it on top of Barrier’s hoof. “Thank you, Brother.”

“Wait, you two are brothers?” Einar wore a look of confusion on his face as he looked between the two ponies.

“It’s a long story,” Barrier said as he pulled his hoof away from Verdant while the younger stallion untangled himself from Erica.

“My dad boned his mom,” Verdant said with a very small grin on his face. Asta clasped her talons over her beak.

“Okay, it’s a short story,” Barrier said, annoyed with a half-lidded expression just before Asta fell out of her chair, laughing her flank off.

“Sorry, I just needed a little levity after… that.” Verdant rubbed his foreleg as Barrier rolled his eyes.

“I’d say we probably all needed it,” Einar replied as he rose out of his seat. “Well, dinner should be ready. I hope you’re ready for chinchilladas.”

***

A little over an hour later, the four were bidding a fond farewell to the griffin couple as they waved from the porch.

“Good night, kids!” Einar called out to them as they waved back. “Have a good time together!”

“But remember to use condoms!” Asta shouted along. “Your father may want grandchildren, but I don’t yet!”

“Mom! Seriously!” Erica angrily shouted back, drawing a giggle out of Asta before she and her husband went back into the house.

“Well, that honestly wasn’t too bad, right?” Verdant asked as he patted Erica on the back.

Erica let out a tired sigh as the four trudged along. “To be honest… It was a bit less embarrassing than I expected it to be.”

“Well, that’s certainly a plus.” Verdant cheerfully said. “At least the bandage has been pulled off so there’s less to worry about.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” A small smile came to Erica’s face before draping a wing over Verdant’s back.

“It was a better meeting than I figured it would be, all things considered,” Barrier said as he and Fleet started to pull away from the couple. “You coming along, Verdant?”

“Actually, I was wondering if I could spend the night with you, Erica,” Verdant said, making her chuckle as she pulled him closer.

“Sure thing, Verdant.” She gave the side of his face a nuzzle. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Just remember what Asta said, Mr. Sire-of-Four.” Barrier chuckled before flaring his horn and teleporting himself further down the street and running off.

“And you’re supposed to be older than me now,” Fleetfeather rolled her eye before taking off to follow him.

“So…” Verdant clicked his tongue as he and Erica started to walk away. “Wanna watch some anime and cuddle?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Erica replied. “I just got my talons on this Shinobi Kame OVA, so this should be fun.”

“I’d love that, Erica,” Verdant said as he leaned his head against her neck.

Author's Note:

Alticron: Hey folks! I hope you enjoyed the newest chapter.

So, now we know Barrier was the second born foal of his family, but his dear sister tragically passed away from crib death. This was actually something I was vaguely hinting at in both the Harvest Helper chapters, as well as the flashback chapter of him with Ran Saki.

And yes, because she's a minor character in this, I made a "What if Arcane Shield lived into adulthood?" design.

Next time, we get to see how Daring's date plans for Fleet go. See ya then!

Comments

[Bronzedragon]

chinchilladas. Made from real chinchillas.??

[Alticron]

10960696

[Bronzedragon]

10960786
OMG I swear I never saw that. That has to be one of the worst ideas ever. On the other hand/hoof the Aztecs once ate the Axolotl!

[Midknight Defender]

“Well, dinner should be ready. I hope you’re ready for chinchilladas.”

Now with 8% more chinchillas! Um... don’t tell Flu—

Whaaaat?!?!