Chapter 5; Discussion
Luke sat down on the couch, next to Shadow's back hooves. The father of the thestral family looked suspiciously at him, then grunted and continued eating popcorn. Dinner had consisted of hot dogs again, but the ponies hadn't minded, and afterwards he had heated some popcorn for the others to eat as well.
While Shadow had been merely gazing at the screen without interest, his wife and child had been eagerly watching the events unfold. Bright was having a good time; he laughed at the first scene in the movie when Robin Hood and Little John had hoodwinked Prince John. had loved the fight that had broken out during the archery contest, and had been shocked and saddened when it looked like Robin had been shot in the moat after jumping from the castle wall, only to rejoice when the character resurfaced a few moments later unharmed.
Aurora and Bright both laughed when King Richard made his "outlaw for an in-law" joke. And both of them clapped their steel-shod hooves when the ending came.
"That was awesome!" Bright said, standing up and shoving his right front hoof in the air.
"It was very nice for a family film," Aurora agreed. "I rather liked it."
Shadow didn't respond. Luke felt like sighing. The stallion had said nothing throughout the film and continued to remain aloof at best and hostile at worst. It was frustrating that even seeing the ex-Guard's family having enjoyment had failed to shake him loose of that state of mind.
At least it's stopped raining, he thought to himself, trying to focus on something he considered a positive.
Luke got up and took the disc out of the player. "I'll be going to bed around 10," he said to the others. "Feel free to enjoy."
He thought he heard Shadow mutter, "Sunlover." He tried to ignore it.
Aurora affected not to have heard it either. "Thanks once again. I think we can manage."
"Glad to hear it. I'll just set the alarm before going to bed."
"A security alarm?" Aurora asked.
"Yes." Luke stopped before putting his finger to the screen. "Is... something wrong?"
"Well, we were hoping we might be able to go outside and fly around for a bit." The thestral mare stretched her wings out for a moment for emphasis. "We're used to being out and about about now, if you haven't realized."
Luke lowered the phone. "That could be a problem. The doors have the be shut in order for the alarm to be set, and if a door is opened while its on, it's going to be set off and I have to explain things to the police."
"I thought so," Shadow said, raising his head and turning to look at Luke. "You're trying to keep us imprisoned as slaves or to sucker us into something!"
"Shadow!" Aurora rebuked.
Shadow ignored her. "Well, I've got news, boy; I can lick you anyway you please. Swords, guns, bare hooves. You have your grave picked out beforehoof if you think you can keep us in your little house as slaves!"
"Calm down," his wife said, this time cuffing him behind the ear with her left wing. "You didn't even give him a chance to explain."
Luke thought quickly, trying to defuse the situation. "I suppose I can hold off on the alarm, so long as you wake me up and tell me that you're done, so that I can set the alarm then," he suggested.
"We'll take it," the mare said, before Shadow could respond.
"Alright, just please give me word if someone tries to break into the house."
"Of course, dear. It's the least we can do."
"I hope you enjoy yourselves," Luke said, stifling a yawn... and privately, his fear. "Heads up, it might get cold out there."
"We can manage that," the mother replied, looking overjoyed.
Luke opened the door for them, and they flew into the night air, bat wings alive and majestic in the night.
Luke could see, by the light of the streetlamps, that they all seemed quite happy as they headed skyward; Shadow, at any rate, seemed less unhappy than before.
Not surprising, they are flying ponies, after all.
After a minute of watching what he could, he could see Aurora looking back at him. She waved cheerfully, then made what he thought initially to be a shooing motion. A moment later, he realized that she was telling him that it was alright to go back inside. He waved back, then did so, shutting the door and making sure not to lock it.
He wiped his forehead with a hand, and began picking up the mess that the recent movie-watching had caused.
----------------------------------------------------
Aurora laughed as she dipped and weaved through the night sky. It was exhilarating after spending the past few days on the ground.
It was even better that her whole family was enjoying the privilege. She felt happier than she'd been in days to see Bright Light giggling and smiling as he showed off his flight skills.
"Are you watching, Mom?" he asked, stopping for a moment and looking at her.
"I'm watching, honey. Just be careful with whatever you're about to do."
Bright suddenly dived, heading straight for one of the lampposts down below, spinning as he did so. At the last second, he dodged around it, kicking it with a front shoe as he did so.
"Bright Light!" Aurora flew down to her son, front hooves on her hips. "That was dangerous!"
"Oh, come on, mom-!"
"Don't give me that. You know that if you had hit that lamppost, you could have been hurt badly! Your wings could have caught on it; we're not pegasi, our wings aren't as flexible as theirs. And what if you hadn't managed to pull up and hit the pavement?"
"Sorry," the young pony said, looking humbled.
Shadow remained quiet, watching with forelegs crossed as his wife looked Bright over.
"No injuries, praised be Luna. I don't want you to spin-dive again, and certainly not dive at so steep an angle."
"I won't mom. I promise."
"A ten year old's promises are written on air. I'll believe you when I see you fulfill those promises." Aurora checked Bright's left wing, the one that had nearly clipped the post. "You were lucky. Don't do it again." She looked at Luke's house for a moment to confirm that there was no break-in or anything unfortunate happening before looking back to her son.
"It was a bit impressive for a kid, though," Shadow said.
"Impressive is for the Wonderbolts and Lunar Guard. He needs years more practice to be up to our own standards."
"Hmmph. We're gonna waste the night if we keep hovering here."
"I was checking our son to make sure he was okay."
"And he's okay."
Aurora suppressed the irritation she felt. "Alright, let's fly. And we fly together," she added, giving Bright a no-nonsense look.
"Yes, mom."
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Having cleaned up the mess, Luke looked out of one of his living room windows. The three thestrals, having moved to the backyard, were flying in a circle, clearly glad to be out and about. Even Shadow looked rather content, if not outright joyful.
A moment later, Aurora grabbed hold of her son and began to toss him lightly into the air. While Luke was unable to hear them through the window, he could well imagine the squeals of delight the young pony was making, based on his facial expression and mouth.
It's hard to care whether they're a warrior people or not, they're cute.
His mind drifted off to their basic problems; food and shelter were solved, for now. They wanted, and needed, a job. They would need schooling for Bright Light, which would mean that they would have to reorient around daylight hours, as they had already said that no school for children his age would accept night schooling. They would have to build up enough money to buy a house, purchase furniture and groceries, pay taxes (he sighed inwardly), and for various other needs. They would have to adjust to that lifestyle, along with the fact that they were living outside of Equestria, and in a different society with different laws, different faiths, and different kinds of government.
May the Lord help us. It would be difficult for the thestrals to adapt. Difficult... but not impossible.
In the meantime, he sat back down on the couch and yawned as he shut his eyes...
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Luke jerked awake as something very hard poked him in the stomach.
"Oh, sorry dear," came Aurora's voice as he sat up. "Just wanted to keep our end of the bargain. You can turn the alarm thing on now."
"Oh, yeah." Luke stretched out his arms.
"Do you... mind if we stay up?"
"It's-" Luke yawned again. "It's what you guys do. Stay up at night, I mean."
"Thank you."
"No problem." Luke quickly turned used his phone to turn the alarm on. "Please try not to use too much electricity; there is a bill for it."
"We can deal without electric lighting." Aurora assured him. "We can see better at night than you can."
"Okay then."
"We'll watch some TV; not too loudly, so you can sleep. You you have anything else we could do?"
"I do have some board games in the closet over there," Luke said, pointing. "I can get them for you-"
"Oh, no, no, no; we can get them for ourselves. Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Luke yawned again. "I'm going to bed for the night. If you need me for something, I'm just upstairs."
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Aurora shuffled a deck of chance cards for a game of Monopoly. "A rather interesting game," she said, putting the cards down in their place on the board. "Not every day that a car or a battleship or a wheelbarrow become landlords."
"Or puppies," Bright put in; he'd chosen the dog.
"Or puppies," his mother agreed.
Shadow still sat across from them, looking at the wall. Aurora sighed. He was trapped in old memories again, of what their lives had been before they had been betrayed. In a way, he was trapped by that past, and by what had happened since they'd left Equestria; he wanted to go back to the way things were, and he blamed the whole world - two worlds, actually - for not being able to.
Not that Aurora couldn't understand him; she did, very much so. She still remembered night schooling for Bright, how the young colt had gotten along with his classmates. She remembered the long flights and walks they'd have together at night, along with their cottage in the woods outside Canterlot, and how they enjoyed the beauty of the moon, of the protection of their patron Princess Luna, and of the glory of serving her. Memories of meeting fellow thestrals in the market in Bat City - and of dealing with the storekeepers - also flew through her mind.
But that was the past. Things had changed. It was wonderful to remember, but necessity dictated that they deal with what is, not with what was. And the truth was, they could still have been starving on the streets, or forced into the primitive way of life that many of their ancestors had to take up during their exile.
The game was easy enough to understand; all three had understood the rules, although Aurora still didn't understand why the humans who had made the game had used a bunch of everyday objects to stand in for landlords. Bright already had several properties, although no monopolies, and Shadow had actually gotten both blue territories. She herself had a couple, lesser monopolies, and a couple railroads and the electric company.
"Dear, it's your turn to move."
Shadow didn't move; either he was pretending not to hear, or he was too wrapped up in his thoughts to pay attention.
"Dear."
No response.
"Shadow!"
The father of the family finally jerked out of his reverie. "Wha-what is it?"
"It's your turn, dearest."
"Oh, right." Shadow took up the dice and rolled them, moving his battleship three spaces and landing on a free railroad. "I'll buy it, I guess."
Aurora, who was serving as the banker, took the money and gave him the property. "Please at least pretend you're interesting in playing, my husband."
"I am interested!" Shadow argued. "I just... got sidetracked," he finished with a bothered growl.
Bright moved next. "Ooooh, chance card." He picked on up. "You both gotta pay me fifty dollars!"
Aurora chucked as she hoofed over the money. She rolled and moved passing Go and collecting $200.
Shadow was more alert this time, but landed on the "Go to Jail" space.
"Given your time in the Guard, darling," Aurora said, as she and her son laughed, "I never thought you'd become a criminal," as Shadow groaned and reluctantly moved his piece to jail.
"Ugh... it's the rules of the game. How on earth do you just end up going to jail for no reason in the first place?"
"Well, let's see; flying while drunk, jaywalking, get caught bribing somepony... I think they want you to use your imagination on this one."
"Hmph," Shadow grunted as his son moved again.
"Sorry, son," Aurora said, as Bright landed on one of her hotels. "You have to pay up."
"Awww," Bright moaned as he hoofed over the money.
Aurora moved, landing on a chance space. "Whoops, looks like we're keeping each other company," she said as she moved her piece to jail as well.
"And you give me a hard time," Shadow grumbled, though without malice. He rolled, but failed to get out of jail. "Rats."
Bright rolled again, this time passing Go and landing on another chance space. "Ooooh, I get a 'get out of jail free' card!"
"B-b-b-b-but... how?" Shadow asked, puzzled. 'I was just... then he...?"
"Fortune, dear," Aurora said, laughing again. "Speaking of which, we're fortunate indeed."
"How so?"
"We're not only sheltered and fed, we still have one another... as well as a chance to have fun."
Shadow held her gaze for several moments before finally looking down. "...I guess.
"Oh, can you stop being grumpy for one night? Let's enjoy the time we do have, as a family."
Her words seemed to jerk a bit of the old Shadow - the true Shadow, my husband - out of what he had become. "Alright, then. Let's make this game a good one. Starting with getting ourselves out of jail."
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"Well, that could have gone better," Shadow said about an hour later, head on his hoof. Bright had managed to win the game, despite being the youngest. "How is it always the kid...?"
"Our little Slugger is special, or didn't you, his father, know?" Aurora said, laughing again.
"I won! I won!" Bright said loudly.
"Shhh," Aurora said quickly. "Remember, our host is sleeping."
"Whoops. Sorry, mom."
"It's alright. Now, what's next?"
"Oh! Oh! Oh! I know!" Bright said, flying over to the closet and pulling out a red box labelled Apples to Apples.
"Well, wouldn't the heroine Applejack be happy to find a game like that," Aurora chuckled.
"Apples to Apples?" Shadow said in an inquiring voice as he took the box from his son. "Never heard of it."
"We'll find out," his wife assured him.
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Luke awoke to his phone alarm going off. He stopped it, then arose out of bed, yawning and stretching his arms.
Sunday. Time for church.
He remembered his guest belatedly as he was getting dressed. The family downstairs had kept their promise; they had managed to keep things relatively quiet, and he had slept well.
Once he was done getting ready, he walked downstairs and listened. Only some faint snoring could be heard.
He scribbled a note - Going to church, will be gone between an hour and two hours. Feel free to make yourselves at home if you wake up and read this. Luke - and left it on the table.
He walked outside, got in his pickup, and started the engine.
Hope these guys remain safe. A worry crept in. If they have an emergency, they'll need some way to contact me. He went back into the house briefly, put a pencil and pen near the house phone that was on the counter, added, If necessary, use phone to contact me in case of emergency, and scribbled the number for his cell phone. That done, he left, locked the door, got back in his truck, and began the drive to church.
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Aurora opened her eyes lazily. She sat up and rubbed them for a moment, then got quietly out of bed. By the light coming from the blinds, she realized it was daytime. The clock on the wall confirmed this, with the hands currently on 11:08.
Her belly grumbled. She walked out of the bedroom, doing her best to not make noise - something difficult, with horseshoes nailed to her hooves - and went straight to the cabinet where she'd found the cookies from the day before.
She twisted her ears, trying to hear if Luke was awake. Given that he spent so much time typing on his computer - in her limited time knowing him - she was surprised by the silence, except for the occasional snore of her family.
Her questions were answered when she got to the table. She read the note that Luke had left, grunted in satisfaction, and began to eat.
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The church session went on as usual; the pastor made his sermon, this one focusing on the unfailing Love of Jesus Christ, and on the mercy and justice of God. Luke listened, but felt distracted by the questions floating around in his mind.
When the service concluded, Luke waited in a pew in the middle of the church as the rest of the people filtered out, with much chatting between various worshippers as they left.
Pastor Vince Roberts - known affectionately as Pastor Bob - continued to pack up. He was robed, as usual, with a midnight-blue robe, and carrying a staff with a cross on top; he very much resembled a protestant minister from Empire Total War, a thought that had entertained Luke for years.. He looked up as Luke approached him. "Ah, Luke. Good to see you again, my child."
"Thanks... 'dad,'" Luke replied, smiling sheepishly.
The old man burst out in laughter; "Bob" was one of those ministers that one could talk to, one who didn't let their station get to them.
"Anyway, you must have a reason for remaining. Most people who stay have a problem they need help with."
"I do, sir." Luke sat down on one of the front-most pews.
"Well, then, might I ask what has happened?"
Luke let out a breath through his nose. "i suppose you've heard about the MLP world being real."
"I have," the pastor said, still standing and nodding.
"Well, I found family of three that were in the street, homeless, and took them in with me."
"Commendable. very commendable." The pastor smiled in a pleasant way. "What then is the problem? You're rather a quiet one."
Luke took another breath. "They're thestrals. The bat ponies. And one of them, the husband and father of the bunch, seems to hate everything and everyone. He doesn't trust me, or anyone for that matter, other than his wife and child, and it feels like he's always ready to kill, or to fight, or to bite my head off. Trust me, he has the ability to do it if he wanted to."
"Hmm. Is he a former Guard?"
"Yes, and he acts like one. Always on guard, never relaxing. His wife is much kinder, and their foal is a ten year old colt that seems like a normal kid in most aspects. But he's... it's difficult. I've feed them and given them shelter, yet it always feels like something traumatic and very terrible happened to them, and the main negative effects are always coming out of the father."
"I suppose you've tried asking."
"I want to, but one part of me feels its none of my business, and the other says that it would do negative no good to ask. The mother is tight-lipped about whatever happened as well, and the kid... he's a kid."
"Whatever has happened to them, you won't be able to wrangle it out of them. And if they don't wish to tell you, it is their right. You must have faith in our God, and be patient. If or when the time comes, they may tell you. As for the father, I would try to remain friendly; a few acts of kindness, in such a situation, go much farther than force or anger."
"I'm trying that. I guess two days isn't enough to cool him off."
"Give him time," the pastor said reassuringly. "God will act in His time, not ours. I would be careful to act in a good manner in everything you do. As our Lord said to His disciples, as He was sending them out to preach the Gospel, 'I want you to be wise as serpents, but innocent as doves.' Likewise, Paul would say to the Romans, 'I want you to be wise in all that is good and innocent in what is evil.' He was talking to those whom he feared might have false teachers speaking among them at some point, but it takes me as good advice in any event."
"I'll do my best, but Paul also said that no one is good, not even one."
"Which is part of why our Lord came to deliver us, as we cannot deliver ourselves. None save our Lord is perfect, my son. I don't expect perfection out of your efforts; I expect the best you can manage. Don't give up on doing what you can."
"..."
"Sonny, let me tell you a story," the pastor said, tapping the floor with the bottom of the staff. "Some ten years ago, my father lost the grand prize for biggest pumpkin in the fair; in fact, he didn't win a prize at all. He was disappointed that his efforts had failed, but he put in his all next year. He didn't win then, nor the next year, nor the next. But finally, after four years of disappointment, fertilizer, and dirt, he won the grand prize at last. Point being, don't give up until all's said and done. It may take time - a great deal of time - for the father of this family to lose his rudeness, but that's no reason to give up in the here and now. Keep trying, and be persistent.
Luke thought about it for a minute, then nodded. "Thank you, sir."
"Anything else?"
"I also wanted to talk to you about... well..." Luke hesitated.
"What is it, son?"
"Well, they're... They believe the Princess Luna..."
"Is a goddess. Yes, I've heard that, from the few ponies who have come in here. Not to mention that they deify Princess Celestia and often Princesses Cadence and Twilight."
"I hadn't thought about that last."
"Oh dear, yes; quite a few ponies call her 'The goddess of friendship'. I see your trouble." The pastor paused, thinking about what to say. "My son, I think you have to extend courtesy to them. As a man with a PHD in history, surely you know that forced or coercive conversion does not lead to true belief, not that I'd expect it from you. Furthermore, God gives His creatures the freedom to accept or deny Him. By all means, tell them the Truth, Way, and the Life in which we live, but don't push them if they refuse. America is a land of liberty, after all, and if they are going to live here, then they need to be welcomed. Not to the extent where crimes are ignored and injustice pushed to the side... the things..." The pastor shook his head. "Welcome them, teach them about the Lord Jesus as far as they will let you, and provide for them. Continue to help them. I believe the Lord will aid you in helping them gain their independence in this land of ours."
"I think I see." Luke arose and offered Pastor Roberts his hand. "Thank you, sir."
"Anytime, my child," the pastor said, grasping it. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I do need to buy some groceries; you're not the only one who has a family to feed."
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Aurora sat on the couch as she pondered what had happened with her family. She longed to continue her craft as a blacksmith, which could at least make the family money. Of course, that required tools and a good anvil, as well as a furnace, among other things. Neither would be cheap, and one could not build these things out of scrap metal... not if one wanted any form of quality, at least, and Aurora, along with most thestrals, prized quality in her work. Getting these things required money, and that was something she and her family lacked totally at the moment. Well, there may have been some gold back in Equestria, but it was too dangerous for her or her husband to go back there. Much too dangerous...
She yawned. It was daytime, and thus the time when thestrals usually slept. However, she had a pet peeve of waking up in the middle of the day and getting a snack before returning to bed. Her husband knew, and would, back in the old days, tease her gently about it.
She remembered flying late at night as she lead Bright to school. As she'd said to Luke, unfortunately, no school in America was willing to educate students at night, or none that she knew of. That would be... difficult to adjust to.
Difficult, but not impossible, she thought. A few thestrals, despite the difficulty of seeing in broad daylight, remained as a liaison between the Lunar and Royal Guards. Those on such duty were nicknamed "The Black Eyes," given how they had to wear thick sunglasses in order to see in the daytime. As such, it wasn't impossible to spot a thestral during daylight hours.
Just very, very unlikely.
It was a problem. At least there was a solution... but getting sunglasses that were big enough, and that would fight a pony muzzle, would be hard.
But thestrals were used to that. Besides, all she needed to do was find someone - preferably human; the fewer ponies who knew their family was here the better - who could make such sunglasses... and get the money to pay them.
The money would be an issue. But at least it wasn't as desperate as having to storm a dragon nest, which thestrals had had to do a few times in their history when Princess Luna had required it.
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Luke drove slowly into the driveway and parked, shutting down the truck after doing so. A short visit to the local Wal-Mart had seen to the food that the four inhabitants of the house would need, and he was careful to try to stay quiet as he brought the bags inside and shut the door.
When he got to the kitchen, he noticed that the door to the guest bedroom was slightly open, as though on of the thestrals had used it not too long ago. He walked over - he could hear them snore slightly - and shut it as quietly as possible. The snoring of at least one of them was interrupted briefly, but then resumed as though nothing had happened.
A few crumbs on the table and the moving of the note confirmed that at least one of the family had been awake. He nodded, then cleaned up the mess.
Now it's back to essays and military analysis. The historian's job won't end until history does.
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Glad to see this back, I really loved the start of this story. Eagerly awaiting more!
Great to see you back! 👍
Great Chapter, i hope you update soon...
Ahh, the infamous clash of religions. That should be an entertaining topic once it's broached.
I love this story. I'm very glad to see a new chapter for it! Please keep writing.
I hope there's more to come!
9869695
There is. I apologize for the slow updates (and I know that's an understatement), but I'm going through college, as well as dealing with procrastination.
9869854
I understand
I shall just have to peruse the rest of your writings in the meantime
Persevere!
Want more...
9972950
Me too, man.
College and procrastinating. (Sigh)
9973263
Hang in there, I'll pray for you.
9973477
Thanks, man.
May God bless.
fit
AAAH I WANT MOOOOAR. But.....take your time with it.
I absolutely LOVE this story.