Airship Mauled

by Darkonshadows

Chapter thirty six, Let the good times Rein: New emotional baggage.

-Rein, Tundra Tourney Signup Center, Paprika-

“What are you talking about I was faster than you!” Arizona had her head pressed against Velvet in anger, but I knew they liked to be angry with each other.

“You’re blind, I was clearly point zero one seconds faster than you!” Velvet growled back into Arizona’s face as she pressed her head back against Arizona’s.

They were learning deep alpaca communication, they should look more deeply into the others eyes though. I don’t think they were getting it quite right by only staring into only one eye like that.

The reindeer tester wasn’t paying any attention to them and was paying more attention to the sound of me munching popcorn and watching these two go at it. They looked like they were going to play violently, they really liked doing that for some reason.

“Where did you even get that popcorn?” My answer to the coach stuff reindeer tester guy was to shrug.

-An hour later-

“I’m quite certain that the cow has to be on something, there’s no way she could have put one of the machines through a wall in a way that destroyed most of the wall while leaving most of the machine intact.” The reindeer doctor guys really didn’t seem to believe Arizona was actually that strong.

Velvet told Arizona flipped an elephant and I believed her implicitly, cows are really strong.

“We’ve run multiple tests on her, her muscles are freakishly corded.” I looked to the other professional talking to the first one. “It’s amazing she can even walk given her small size, her muscles are so tight she should be paralyzed! If she were bigger then that wouldn’t look like so much of a problem.”

“Don’t even get me started on Champion Velvet, how in the world did she gain so much compacted muscle in such a short amount of time away from Rein?” I liked hearing people say nice things about loves of eyes. “I mean it doesn’t even look like she's changed much at all, but beneath the surface is a different story entirely.”

“Their red cells show nothing unusual, they had to have been really eating their grains.” I liked cereal, but what did that have to do with red cells? Why would someone paint cells red anyway? People in cells always needed big hugs!

“Don’t even get me started on how fast that alpaca can run, all three of them are quite beyond average. That’s with me taking that crazy fluffmancer and Velvet being in peak conditions into account here.” The reindeer looked over the charts again. “It’s the cow that’s bizarre beyond anything normal, what did she do to herself? Did she tear all her muscles at once and then survived long enough to heal them back stronger than ever? Do you think she might have earth pony heritage?”

“No, I don’t think earth pony heritage works quite like this. Whoever her parents were, that cow has her genetics working for her aside from her size that is. Notable small stature and stunted udder growth are the only issues with her, but are not life threatening issues.” The reindeer doctor guy sighed. “Nothing for it, we have to pass her. She’s healthier than an ox twice her size.”

I should go snuggle Arizona and Velvet to give them the good news!

“Shocking Awe, seems to be just as tough as them and a few other entrants. I wonder if Velvet knows Clause and Prancer are entered into this month’s competition.” I heard as I wandered back to my two favorite beings in the world. “This is going to be one interesting Tundra Tourney, we rarely get any equestrians aside from the unicorns of light.”

-Some time later Rein, Arizona-

“So that went well.” It was all a little too easy, five minutes hanging onto a bar suspended above the ground or twenty pull ups and lasting a solid minute afterwards? That was calves play for Velvet, Paprika and me.

“Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve done that, it was also nice of the doctor to check on Tinsel for me.” Velvet was obviously proud of herself for beating her old statistics by a mile. It was also a good thing that Tinsel got checked out, nothing was seriously wrong with the little guy except he was in constant minor pain while he was still healing. He was definitely not competition safe. “Sorry, but I’m going to have to set my hoof down on this Tinsel, you need your rest and I won’t have you endangering your health by entering fights with me sweetie. I can handle myself.”

The little ice sprite whined sadly, but accepted that he needed to rest and gave Velvet’s neck a hug from where he was sitting.

“Hello… daughter.” We stopped in the street and Paprika bumped into my backside as we looked to a tall old looking reindeer sporting a beard and had funky looking eyebrows. Not only that, his antlers look like they were bladed.

“From where I’m standing Clause, you don’t have a daughter and are talking to a random reindeer on the street that just happens to have a working relationship with a cow.” Velvet snorted and turned her nose up at him. “Go ahead, disown me, I don’t care.”

“I might take you up on that as you are a big disappointment to us daughter, but I would prefer you be married off to a suitor of our choice.” I didn’t like this Clause guy, he clearly wasn’t friendly even if he was Velvet’s father. “Instead of hanging around with this aimless lazy barnyard grass muncher and that ugly bog dwelling mutant of an alpaca that you’ve befriended.”

“I don’t play in the political reindeer games Clause, I don’t even need to guess that you’ll be in this month’s Tundra Tourney.” I could tell Velvet was dead serious, as her eyes were focused sharply on the older reindeer. “I doubt there is anything you could do that won’t make me destroy you and Prancer should you try to force my hoof into doing something I absolutely don’t want to. Just try it and you’ll know my wrath.”

“We’ll see about that in the Tundra Tourney daughter. After all we’ve done for you, the most you could do is be of at least a little use to us.” He started to trot on by us. “We’ll change your mind one way or another. You’ll see that it’s pointless to defy us for these lowborn useless dregs. You were born for greatness, you’ll eventually want to be in the lap of luxury again and I’ll enjoy watching you crawl right on back to us. We made you what you are and we can just as easily bring you down. I doubt you will even last long enough to fight us in the coming tourney. I’ll give you one chance to submit, I will send Prancer to meet with you later to broker a deal on it.”

Clause’s tone of voice had him sound like he was wallowing in his own superiority complex, he’s going to lose if I ever meet him in a fight. Guy sounded like he needs to be knocked down a peg or two.

I looked to Paprika and saw something unusual in her eyes that I would have never thought I could see in them… raw hatred. What would make Paprika give Clause that kind of look? I didn’t even think Paprika could do anger.

Even Tinsel, who normally revered almost any reindeer he came across with Velvet as his top priority for worship, didn’t like that Clause guy at all.

“Velvet, I think this may come as a surprise, but I think Paprika hates your biological progenitors.” Looking from me to Paprika and then back to me, Velvet nodded. “At least one of them anyway, won’t know about the other until Paprika meets them.”

“I can understand that, I hate them both too. Can’t help how I was raised or who I was born to, but now I have some really good incentives to get deeper into the tournament.” Yeah, because you wanted to kick your progenitors asses. “I used to love my mother… now all those good memories are tainted.”

Paprika gently pulled Velvet into a hug and glared in the direction Clause trotted off in and I quickly joined in on giving Velvet some love. That dark furred deer wasn’t going to touch Velvet on our watch and I’m sure Tinsel would help us there.

If Velvet’s biological mother was anything like her father, then she was doomed for a hoof sandwich as hard as I can give it!

“We’re with you Velvet, whatever you want us to do.” I whispered to my girlfriend and she looked at me with a gentle smile.

“Come along then, let’s head back to my cabin... you can let go of me now Paprika.” We all followed Velvet quietly, with not much else to do in Rein we would wait a few days for the Tundra Tourney to begin.

-Next day, Velvet-

Both Arizona and Paprika were quite supportive of me and I needed them more than ever. Even Tinsel wanted me to worry more about myself than him, it was as if he was saying his owl related injuries and physical scarring didn’t compare to the emotional garbage filling my mind.

They were all so sweet to me and much closer than friends.

At the end of this journey I want to be able to look Kuril in the eyes and call her mom again, even if we are never able to find Arizona’s mother or a way to save Jaded.

“Arizona…” We had been quietly resting in today and didn’t feel like doing anything in particular. I just had to ask, now that I thought of it. “I know we’re looking for your mother, but who was your father?”

"He was a longhorn, big guy named Texas… he’s not around anymore and I can barely remember his face. I can remember that he was always so protective of me, being so small for my size I must have looked so tiny to his large girth. He would always stand over me and scare away anything that so much as frightened me." Arizona looked away sadly. "From what I can remember, he died protecting me from a large monster... and he took it with him too! I can’t even remember what the monster was, I think it traumatized me.”

Arizona clutched at her head with a grunt. I just stared at her with worry, it was as if she was blocking something out of her memory. I knew how that felt, I was trying to actively forget my parents and here she was trying to remember both of hers.

“That’s why my mom ultimately gave me to Aunt Grace, she went off to try and make the world safer for me to live in. It says a lot that I can barely remember dad and mom's loving faces. I would like to believe Texas would be as good a father as Tamale is to Paprika’s whole family, were he still alive.” Shuffling her fringe out of her face, Arizona gave off a small smile to us. “I think he was called The Taurus, a title befitting the strongest and most bull headed bull around. My headstrong mother basically kicked his ass and then married him, Grace paraphrased it as them just ‘playfully’ wrestling for a few hours.”

Paprika moved over to Arizona, the cow nodded and Paprika plied her skills as a lovable cuddle toy that likes to make the hurt go away.

Lunch was a quiet affair today. After taking a bite into a sandwich Arizona swallowed and looked up to us.

“My name is Arizona Arid.” Arizona suddenly speaking up made me jump and stare at her. “It’s just occurred to me that I’ve never exactly told anyone my full name since I started living at Airship Mauled.”

“Well that name sounds better than Iceberg Deer.” I put my hoof over hers and she twisted it around to grasp mine, we smiled to each other and let go while leaning back. There was a knock at the door. “That has got to be the other one, don’t let her demeanor fool you.”

Opening the door to see Prancer, thick curly fluff around her chest and neck. She was quite an elegant looking reindeer, to think that I wanted to be like her.

“Hello there my…” Prancer started to say in an innocent tone of voice as she stepped forward.

“No solicitors.” I slammed the door in her face and I felt really good about doing that, but I didn’t think it’d deter her. “Give her five seconds before she knocks again.”

“Twenty second easy, she’s probably too shocked by you slamming the door in her face.” After Arizona made her throw, Paprika motioned it would be something more along the lines of a minute.

Tinsel didn’t want to give his own estimates and was rather impartial, he didn’t know my biological mother so he couldn’t make an honest opinion of her.

Paprika won out, it took a full minute for Prancer to come to terms with what happened. That and I had smashed the door onto her nose, I got her pretty good there.

“Yes?” I said as I opened the door.

“Okay, so the innocent routine isn’t going to work anymore is it?” Prancer received the driest stare I could possibly give her. “I thought not. Look why don’t you give up this silly idea that you are gay and come on back home?”

“Because I actually happen to like being gay? That and I have a butch girlfriend and an alpaca that likes to terrorize reindeer when she feels like it.” I looked to Arizona who came up to me and put a hoof over my back.

“Close enough, but I am not butch Velvet. I prefer the term masculine.” Arizona kissed me on the cheek and I smiled. Prancer snorted scathingly at the sight. “If I’m butch, then Paprika’s a girly girl.”

Paprika made a cooing noise as she hugged and nuzzled us, she then sent a smiling death glare to Prancer as if daring her to step over an invisible line. Paprika was quite protective of me wasn’t she? Well Paprika has been in pursuit of me for a long time and only wants my happiness above anything.

I can't believe I’m thinking it, but if Arizona wasn’t in the picture I’d prefer having Paprika around over my progenitors.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take the deal we have set up for you?” Prancer wasn’t able to play a good negotiator since I threw her off with a door to the face, her once pristine face was even bleeding a bit. “Hunk Wilder is a nice looking buck, I’m sure you’d like him.”

“No thanks, I already have a family.” I leaned back into Paprika’s fluff and titled my head to nuzzle Arizona. “I don’t know what you have, it sounds empty if you’re trying to get me back into your life in the worst way possible. You can’t fill that void where your heart might have been Prancer.”

“You will listen to the proposition young lady, I’m your mother!” Prancer shouted, before a snowball smashed into her face. She looked shell-shocked that Tinsel was glaring at her vehemently. She turned to leave. “I just... see you at the tourney.”

Author's Note:

Found it, it has some nice background music at 1:20.

Comments

[Fireeaters]

The reason tien didn't show up is that toriyama and the japanese audience don't like tien. I think he only lands like 3 attacks in all of super and all against shitty opponents.

[The Scarlett Mare]

At the end of this journey I want to be able to look Kuril in the eyes and call her mom again, even if we are never able to find Arizona’s mother or a way to save Jaded.

Same here cries I want to see Kuril reunited with her children as much as they do

[The Scarlett Mare]

“You will listen to the proposition young lady, I’m your mother!” Prancer shouted, before a snowball smashed into her face. She looked shell-shocked that Tinsel was glaring at her vehemently. She turned to leave. “I just... see you at the tourney.”

NO YOU ARE NOT YOU FILTHY IDIOT
HER MOTHER IS THAT WITCH THAT EVERYBODY LOVES
YOU ARE JUST GARBAGE

[jimerjam]

9796097
Here's to the GOOD mothers we all have