Chapter 63: Coming Home
One Day Later.
It was time for Eventide and Beebee to head home. They had only had so much time to be in Twilight’s castle, a limit set by the princess herself to ‘minimize disturbances.’ And now all of that time had been used up. Now Eventide, Beebee, Clypeus, and Lancea were waiting around in the room with the mirror portal. As of now, the purple princess and Sunset Shimmer were making a few final adjustments to the strange gadgets hooked up to the mirror, talking in hushed voices as they did so.
Eventide watched them for a few seconds before turning to look back towards Beebee. The little guy was currently sitting next to Clypeus, resting his head against her side with his eyes closed. Lancea sat on the other side of him, one hoof on his son’s back and a smile on his face.
They would be coming, too.
It was odd to think about, in his mind. They had discussed it over breakfast the previous day, Clypeus and Lancea impressing upon Eventide how much they wished to see the place their son had grown up in, and how they weren’t ready to end the visitation just yet. Not that he could blame them, and he had been happy to agree.
It still made him worry, though. They were total foreigners in his world, and Clypeus had had a less than stellar experience on her first visit. All he could do for now was hope and do his best to make sure that this time went better.
Not like things could be much worse than that first time, he reminded himself. She’d lost her only child back then.
“Okay, I think we’re about ready,” Twilight suddenly declared, drawing Eventide’s eyes back to the mirror. The machinery had started emitting a low, gentle hum as the magic set to work. The princess turned to look back at them all and beamed. “Okay, everypony! You’re free to head through!”
“Oh, finally,” Eventide sighed with relief, rising back to a standing position without wobbling this time. “Sure, I can move around on hooves, now, but I would like my hands and feet back now.”
“Eh, I never really liked them,” Twilight mumbled under her breath. “Too wiggly, and too many fingers. Give me a good horn and a pair of hooves any day.”
Eventide chose not to remark on that. Instead, he turned back to the trio of changelings he would be taking back to his home for the next few days. “Alright, you guys ready?”
Beebee raised a hoof. “Uh, can I ask the princess a question, first?”
Twilight blinked and looked over at Beebee. She then smiled at him and gave a curt nod. “Of course, Beebee. What do you want to know?”
“How come dad changed into a pony when he came here, but I didn’t change at all?”
Eventide raised an eyebrow. “Huh… you know, now that he mentions it, I’d kinda like to know that, too.”
Twilight was quiet for a second, her eyes darting back and forth between the mirror and the family before her. “Uh… I’m not sure, actually. If I had to make an inference, though, I’d probably say it had to do with the fact that Changelings can change their appearance at any time, with or without a horn. So maybe the portal can’t do it because of that.”
“Not for lack of trying,” Clypeus added, shuddering slightly at the memory with a hoof drifting up to the scar on her shoulder. “When I went through all those years ago, I… I-It hurt. Not just because I was wounded, either. It felt like a million little graspers were pulling at my body from all ends like they wanted to pull me apart…”
Beebee cringed and nodded. “Yeah… I remember that feeling when I was coming here. It wasn’t fun…”
“That probably means it’s trying and failing,” Twilight deduced, her eyes shining with a million and one calculations. “Your body was probably trying to resist the changes the portal was trying to make, and so it became something of a ‘fight’ between your natural defenses and the difference in worlds, with your pain receptors being caught in the crossfire.”
“Oh, so this is going to hurt, then,” Lancea realized with a deadpan look. “I was hoping it was just a fluke…”
Eventide winced, his ears drooping on their own. “Oh… uh, is there anything you can do about that, princess? Some magic spell or other that you can cast to make it easier on them?”
It was Sunset who answered with a shake of her head. “Probably not. Magic doesn’t work in quite the same way over on Earth as it does over here. The spell would probably come undone at the seams in transit. Besides, I’m still trying to nail down even the basic fundamentals of the rules. Until then, it’d probably be better to just power through it. I mean, it doesn’t seem to be dangerous.”
“Just uncomfortable,” Eventide concluded before sighing. He shook his head and looked back at the others. “Sorry, guys. You ready to go?”
There were no objections. Beebee stood up, shook himself, and trotted over to his side. “Yup, I’m ready.”
Clypeus and Lancea added their own words of agreement, and soon, the four of them, along with Sunset, were gathered in front of the portal. Twilight stood off to one side, checking some readout on the machinery before nodding her head. “Okay, it looks clear. I’ll see you later, Sunset.”
She nodded back at the princess with a smile. “You too, Twilight.”
And with that, Sunset led Eventide and the others through the portal.
The trip back to Earth was much less disorienting for Eventide this time, though it was still a less-than-pleasant feeling. He came back out on the other side with a stumble and a grunt, very briefly thrown off balance before finding his bearings. He heard Beebee and the others groaning to his side and quickly spun to face them.
Sunset stood off to their side, looking on with sympathy as the trio of bugs lay sprawled out in front of the portal. However, despite their clear disorientation, they didn’t seem all the worse for wear.
The wouldn’t stop Eventide, though. With his normal body restored, he stepped over to the pile and got down onto one knee. “Hey, you guys okay?”
“I feel like somepony dropped a live frog in my stomach and fed it a bag of coffee,” Lancea complained queasily before lifting his head to meet Eventide’s gaze. “I’ve felt better.”
Clypeus and Beebee gave their own quiet vocalizations of agreement before the latter got back to his hooves. “Oof… I think I’m alright.”
“Good,” Eventide nodded his head, then looked up at the sky to assess the situation. It was sunny out, thankfully, with not a cloud in sight. He then peeked around the base of the statue to see that his car was still parked right where he had left it. “You guys think you can walk a little more? My car is right over there.”
Clypeus, now standing up herself, gave Eventide a queer look. “What in the world is a… is… a…” her voice drifted off, though, her eyes slowly widening as she took in her surroundings. She took a few steps forward, then slowly spun in a lazy circle.
Beebee noticed her behavior, as did Eventide and Sunset. He swallowed heavily and took a few, uncertain steps forward. “...Mom? Are you okay?” he asked, his voice low and timid.
Clypeus went rigid, then looked at Beebee again. She blinked once, twice, three times, and then smiled. “I… sorry, Beebee, I was just…” she looked around again, her ears drooping. “...I was just remembering the last time I was here.”
That was what Lancea needed to hear to pull himself up to his hooves. He shook himself and cantered over to his mate, his face the picture of concern. “Clypie, are you alright?”
She gave a stiff nod, then smiled at him. “Yes, I’m okay. You’re with me this time, and…” her eyes drifted past him to land on Beebee. Her smile widened. “And so is our son.”
Beebee beamed, his shell opening up to let his wings buzz with joy on his back.
Eventide smiled at that, then turned to Sunset, who was currently pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. “Hey, Sunset. Would you mind calling Fluttershy and letting her know we’re on our way back? I’d do it, but I would like to get the bugs in the car and on the road sooner rather than later.”
She looked up at him, an odd smile gracing her lips. “I was just about to call her, actually. But sure, I can pass that along.”
Eventide raised an eyebrow. Something about the way she had said that seemed unusual…
He shook himself though and nodded his head. “Alright, thanks. Yo, Beebee, Clypeus, Lancea!” he called, turning to look at the family. “We need to get a move on.”
Beebee spun to face him and nodded. He then turned around and looked into Clypeus’ eyes, his grin growing. “You ever been inside a car?”
“I don’t even know what that is,” Lancea pointed out from the side.
“Oh, you’re in for a treat,” Eventide stated with a chuckle before turning and walking around the portal for his car. “Come on, follow me.”
Beebee came up to his side while Clypeus and Lancea fell into step behind them. As they went, Eventide could just make out the sound of Sunset’s voice talking into her phone. “Hey, Fluttershy. Eventide and the family are on their way to their place. You’re still there, right? Okay, good. ...Yes, I asked her. She said yes, and she’s working on it.”
Eventide blinked and slowed for a second, but ultimately chose to ignore it for now. It wasn’t any of his business what Sunset was talking about, after all. So, after ensuring no cars we coming, he ushered the group across the street and to his car.
Lancea studied the vehicle with wide eyes. “Wow… it’s like a big chariot with a roof,” he noted, poking at one of the tires absently. “But… there’s no harness. How does it move?”
Eventide leaned against the driver’s side and knocked casually on the glass with the back of his fist. “The simple answer? Technology,” he said with a playful look on his face.
Lancea rolled his eyes at that basic response. “Gee, that’s helpful,” he deadpanned before turning towards his mate. “Hey, Clypeus, what do you make of…” his voice died out, and everyone else turned to look.
She wasn’t looking at the car. Clypeus was slowly trotting towards the tree in front of the house, her eyes wide open and glued to the base. Everything fell silent, nobody daring to say anything just yet. She sat down by the tree, her hoof coming to a rest on the grass where she had left the egg five years ago.
Beebee stared at her for a few seconds, looking unsure of himself. His eyes shifted sporadically with indecision before he took a deep breath and set his jaw, appearing to resolve himself. Slowly, he began to trot towards her. “Mom?”
Clypeus’ ear twitched at the sound of his voice, but she did not otherwise respond. Not deterred, Beebee pressed on until he was right by her side. He sat down next to her and looked down at her hoof in the grass. Then, after a few seconds, he reached his own hoof down to rest on top of it.
This finally drew a response from her. Clypeus blinked and looked down at her son to see him looking back up at her with a tender look on his face. “Mom, it’s okay. I’m right here,” he whispered to her before leaning forward to nuzzle affectionately into her chest. “I made it. You picked the best tree in the world to leave me under.”
She sat in stunned silence for a second, then wrapped her forelegs around Beebee in a tight hug. “I know…” she replied in an equally hushed voice, nuzzling the top of his head in return. “I know.”
Eventide’s face fell at the sight, and his eyes found Lancea, who was staring at the scene with an odd mix of regret and charmed appreciation. “...She really took it hard, didn’t she?” he asked, drawing the bug’s attention.
Lancea nodded. “She did… when she finally made it back to the hive with a few other drones from Canterlot, she could barely speak. It took me weeks of coaxing to get her to tell me what happened. After that…” he sighed and looked down, his ears drooping. “...She was never the same. She got better with time, but she’s been far more critical of herself over even the smallest mistake.”
“I’m sorry she had to go through that,” Eventide replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “If I’d known…”
“You didn’t,” Lancea assured him with a shake of his head. “And you were busy taking care of our son. Now that she knows he’s fine, maybe she can finally start to be like her old self again.”
As Lancea said those words, Eventide looked up to see Beebee and Clypeus making their return trip for the car, trotting side by side. He gave them a nod and looked back down at Lancea. “Let’s just hope, yeah? Beebee doesn’t like seeing people sad,” he said before pulling open the door and slipping into the car.
After a few quickly worded instructions, everyone was inside and strapped in for the ride. Beebee, for his part, got up onto his hind legs and draped his hooves over the backrest of his seat so he could talk to his parents all the way back. Eventide chipped in every now and then, usually to correct him if he got something wrong.
As the car began to drive through the streets, the conversation shifted as Clypeus and Lancea took to asking a great many questions about the world they now found themselves in. Beebee and Eventide did their best to explain everything, satisfying the alien’s curiosity as well as they could.
The discussion all but died out when they passed out of city limits and into the open countryside. Clypeus and Lancea eyed the landscape as it passed by through the windows with hanging jaws and murmured appreciation for the view. Once or twice, Eventide chose to espouse some bit of trivia or other on the region that he had picked up from his time working on the trails.
Eventually, though, the car ride had to come to an end. He turned the car into his driveway, and not long after, the house came into view. Smiling with relief at the sight of his home, he briefly glanced into the back seat. “Okay, guys, this is the place. Fluttershy’s been watching it for us, so the door should be unlocked.”
“She’s really nice and gentle,” Beebee gushed with a small, excited bounce. “And she helped make me better when I fell and hurt myself!”
“I can’t wait to meet her,” Clypeus said with a quiet hum. “From everything I’ve heard, she was the closest thing you ever had to an adoptive mother.”
“Well, if she and I were a couple, then maybe,” Eventide replied with a shake if his head. “But we’re not. Now let’s go.”
With that, he opened up the door of the car and stepped out into the fresh air. He closed the car door behind him, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, savoring the atmosphere. The familiar chirps and hoots of the forest around him filled his ears, the ambiance making him relax. He heard the sound of the bugs climbing out of the car before a quick rush of magic closed the door behind them.
Then Eventide heard the front door of his house opening, and he opened his eyes. He saw Fluttershy standing in the frame, a relieved smile on her face, and Buddha sprinting towards Eventide at full speed.
“She should really slow down,” Eventide thought. “...Oh God, she’s not-”
The excited golden retriever plowed snout first into his stomach with enough force to throw Eventide onto the hard ground. He grunted on impact, the air being knocked out of him, and being forced to stay out as the dog positioned herself on his chest to lick at his face.
“Buddha!” Beebee greeted happily, flying over and starting to scratch along Buddha’s back, drawing her attention away from Eventide. “C’mon, let dad up!”
And then his hooves found her scratch spot. Buddha’s tongue lolled out, and she fell right over like a sack of tomatoes, one of her hind legs kicking out every so often. Eventide sucked in a lungful of air and gave Beebee a thankful smile. “Thanks, Bee.”
“Who’s a good girl? Who’s a good girl? That’s right, it’s you! We missed you, Buddha!” Beebee gushed, completely ignoring his dad in favor of making the dog squirm in the driveway.
Eventide just laughed and hauled himself back to his feet. Dusting himself off, he turned to look at Clypeus and Lancea to see them looking back at him with amused looks, clearly trying to hold in their snickers. “Heh. Yeah, she does that,” he explained before gesturing towards the still spasming dog. “This is Buddha. She’s kinda like Beebee’s big sister, although she can’t talk.”
“Come say hello!” Beebee encouraged before finally releasing Buddha from her pleasurable torment. The dog quickly rolled back over onto her paws, and her eyes landed on the new arrivals. Clearly curious, she stood up and walked over to them, moving much more carefully than before.
Now that he had Buddha there for easy comparison, Eventide was able to deduce that Clypeus and Lancea, if they were to stand upright on their hind legs, would be about as tall as he was, if perhaps a little taller. They busied themselves with allowing Buddha to sniff them all over, occasionally reaching out to give her pets or scratches with their hooves as Beebee had done. In no time at all, Buddha warmed up to them, her tail wagging enthusiastically.
Eventide turned back to Fluttershy to find her approaching with wide eyes glued onto Beebee. “Beebee?” she called, drawing his attention.
“Aunt Fluttershy!” he called back, his wings snapping open and buzzing into life. He shot over and tackled her in the stomach, wrapping his hooves around her in a tight hug, one she quickly and happily returned.
“Oof! Beebee, you look different!” she noted with a degree of strain in her voice. She still managed to smile, despite the abuse her poor abdomen was suffering.
He looked back up at her with an eager chittering noise. “Uh-huh! Mom and Lancea helped me do this thing called the ‘metamorphosis,’ and now I can eat other foods and not be hungry all the time!”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the word ‘mom.’ She licked her lips and looked past them all to the changelings, in particular, seeing them trotting towards her with friendly smiles. Swallowing heavily, she let Beebee go and took a few steps forwards before crouching down to be at their eye level. “Uhm… uh… hello,” she greeted them quietly, some of her pink hair falling in front of her face. “My… my name’s Fluttershy.”
“We’ve heard,” Lancea replied before closing his eyes and giving a respectful nod of his head. “My name’s Lancea. I’m Beebee’s biological father.”
“And I’m Clypeus, his mother,” Clypeus added, mimicking her mate’s movements. “Beebee and Eventide talked a lot about you, and how you helped to take care of our little boy, including helping him recover from his injuries. Thank you very much for your help.”
Fluttershy clearly hadn’t been expecting that. She recoiled, a hand flying up to cover her heart. “O-oh! Uh, I, um…” she looked back and forth for a second before she met Eventide’s gaze. He gave her an encouraging smile and a slow nod of his head. That seemed to be what she needed to see because she smiled and looked back at Beebee’s parents. “You’re very welcome. Helping take care of him has been a joy.”
“Guys, come on!” Beebee suddenly called, his voice echoing from the front door. Everyone turned to see that he was hovering in the door frame, eagerly swaying back and forth in the air. “You gotta see the house! And my room! And the forest! AND EVERYTHING!”
Eventide chuckled and gave a bemused shake of his head before sending a subtle wink towards Clypeus and Lancea. “Little guy wants to give you the grand tour. You gonna deny him that?”
“Of course not!” Clypeus replied before breaking into a canter after her son, Lancea by her side. “Hang on, Beebee! We’re coming!”
Buddha followed them, clearly curious about the two new bugs and no doubt wanting to keep a close eye on them. Eventide watched them go, smiling as they disappeared into his home. He could barely hear Beebee loudly and proudly explaining the living room. He’d no doubt be busy explaining the television for a long while.
That meant he had time to talk with Fluttershy. Eventide turned to the woman in question to see she was looking towards the door with a smile of her own, although it was clearly far more strained. He frowned and walked up to her side, letting his hand come to a gentle rest on her shoulder. “Hey, you okay?”
She jumped in mild surprise and glanced at him. “Oh, uh… yeah, I’m okay,” she replied before looking at the house again. “...I just thought they’d be angrier with me.”
Eventide frowned in confusion. “For… for what?”
Fluttershy sighed and looked down, her shoulders sagging. “For keeping Beebee a secret for so long. They could have gotten him back a lot sooner if I’d said something to you.”
“Ah… I don’t think they know about that,” Eventide replied quietly, gently turning her so they were facing each other. “But for what it’s worth, I think they’d understand. They’re good people, from everything I’ve seen.”
“I don’t know if that makes it better…”
Eventide shook his head and pulled Fluttershy into a gentle embrace, one she hesitantly returned. After a few seconds, Eventide leaned back to look into her eyes. “Tell you what… how about we go in there and make it up to them?” he suggested in a quiet voice.
Fluttershy tilted her head. “Uhm… how?”
Eventide released her shoulders and stepped back a few feet, gesturing for Fluttershy to go first. “By being with them, and showing them how much you helped their son grow into the fine changeling he is now.”
Her eyes went wide at the suggestion, her mouth forming a little ‘o’ in surprise. She looked between Eventide and the door of his home for several seconds, unsure of herself. She then took a deep breath and steadied herself. A small smile lit up her features, and she nodded. “Okay. I think I can do that.”
“Ladies first, then.”
Fluttershy giggled but said nothing more. She instead walked for the door, making a show of flipping her hair over her shoulders in an overly theatrical manner. It was a gesture that reminded Eventide a little of Rarity, from the few times he had interacted with her in his life. To his surprise, though, as Fluttershy passed, she reached out and took his hand in hers, pulling him along for the door.
He was stunned by the action for a moment but chose not to comment on it, for now, just allowing Fluttershy to walk with him, hand-in-hand, into his home to be with Beebee and his parents.
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Not for lack of the shippers trying~! And as the two age it becomes more and more “okay”. They’re only something like 5 years apart, aren’t they? I seem to recall it being mentioned they were at CHS at the same time, although a few grades apart...
Having sex with Eventide wouldn't make Fluttershy Beebee's mother. Taking care of Beebee, and giving him love: That's what makes Fluttershy Beebee's mother!
9664943
A few grades would be more like a couple of years, instead of 5, so properly closer to 2-3 years, and that isn't that big a age gap, I mean, I know people with a gap as large as 15 years, and it still works for them.
"Ahead full! Rudder hard to port. Bring guns to bear! Prepare to ship harder!"
I really REALLY hope eventide and fluttershy get together as a couple and I say this as someone who never ships anything, I mean they raised a child together basically!
9665010
Still no romance tag...
But who cares? All hands on deck! SS FlutterTide to the end!
Can't wait to see what the CMC make of Beebee's parents.
Now I’m just wondering if Clypeus will comment on ‘AppleBee’...
Yay!
Oh! Well that's a pleasant surprise! We certainly didn't anticipate that...
It's a good thing for some reason the street was deserted both for departure and arrival. How lucky is that?
Eventide can put that guest room to good use now...
Keep going! ;)
In the news today, a sudden parade in downtown Canterlot left most of the city abandoned as people flocked to the parade floats, the balloon floats and the banana floats freely given away.
So nice to see bugmom finally get some closure. This whole chapter made me smile.
9665894
Yeah, more or less. Not a romance, but I would say they graduated past being regular friends a while ago.
9665924
If you ask me: There's not much difference between being very close friends, and being boyfriend and girlfriend. Both involve love, trust, and strong emotional intimacy.
9666319
Clearly you have not seen the movie Pulp Fiction.
Vincent: You ever given a foot massage?
Jules: Don't be tellin' me about foot massages. I'm the foot fuckin' master.
Vincent: Given a lot of them?
Jules: Shit yeah. I got my technique down man, I don't tickle or nothin'.
Vincent: Have you ever given a guy a foot massage?
Jules: ...fuck you.
Vincent: How many?
Jules: Fuck you.
Vincent: Would give me a foot massage? I'm kinda' tired.
Jules: Man, you best back off, I'm gettin' pissed.
I wonder if they adjusting the enchantments to account of changeling physiology...
Or not.
Pinkie Pie party? That sounds like a Pinkie Pie party.
...You mean like a carriage? Pretty sure those have roofs too, Lancea.
9666683
Nope.
That's longer than the Fellowship of the Ring which is roughly 177,000. Congrats!
I want another baby!
Jk jk I know it was said multiple times this wasn't a romance and it wouldn't go that way.
I think "satisfying the alien’s curiosity" should be "satisfying the aliens’ curiosity", since there are two of them.
"By being with them" - this works, but perhaps you might have meant "By being honest with them"?