Parent Trap

by PhantomBulwark

The Fiancée from Tartarus

“What the fresh hell?” Vignette snarled, “you cannot just walk away when I am talking to- what are you staring at?”

Applejack stumbled from the elevator, her eyes never leaving the group. Her brain was misfiring as it tried to comprehend the sight before her. “…Cort?” She asked weakly, looking at Crispin.

“Actually… I’m Cortland,” the other boy offered.

“And I’m Crispin. Hi, Mom.”

Applejack stared. “They switched places on us AJ,” Rarity explained her expression visibly softening. “They met at camp, all summer I’ve had Cortland.”

AJ didn’t even look up, “and… I’ve- I’ve had Crisp?” She blinked and then swiftly jerked forward and wrapped both boys in a hug, silent tears streaming down her face. “My babies… both in the same place.” She laughed, “I should whip you both but goddess, just look at ya’.”

Rarity raised a brow, “do you mean to tell me you aren’t upset about this? Our children have made us both look foolish. They’ve been lying to us. And at least two of them are in on it,” She gestured aggressively at their recently reunited friends.

“Excuse me,” Vignette snarled in a grating voice, “did she just say children?” She glared at AJ, “As in plural?”

“Vignette!” AJ squawked, having forgotten she was there, “this- this is my other son! Crispin, he’s- I ain’t seen him since he was a baby.

“And you didn’t think a second child was something you should tell me?”

“Rarity-” AJ fumbled, looking between her fiancée and her ex with wide eyes, “I mean she was in Manehatten… It never came up, I never thought I’d seen ‘em again.”

Rarity glared at the two boys, “your sons were supposed to tell you we were meeting you here to switch them back.”

“Not to interrupt,” Twilight butted in carefully, “but maybe we could have this conversation somewhere less public.”

They were indeed drawing soap opera levels of attention. The whole lobby seemed to be eavesdropping; a few at least had the decency to pretend they weren’t listening.

The group separated, disappearing to their respective rooms to dress for dinner and process the shock of the whole ordeal. Rarity flopped onto the couch in her executive suite and groaned. The boys had elected to follow her and she could feel the headache she had been fighting flare to life once the adrenaline of seeing Applejack faded.

“Would one of you please go get something cold for my head?”

Meanwhile, Rainbow and Pinkie were reuniting with Fluttershy. They elected to track her down and bring her up to speed on all she had missed out on over the summer. She had been away helping save animals from a massive fire in Australia. The conversation stopped however at the loud slam of a door down the hall. It was followed by the slightly muffled sound of what was very obviously AJ yelling herself hoarse.

“I can’t believe you can talk that way!” Vignette huffed, “you sprang a whole extra child on me. How exactly is one supposed to react to something like that?”

“Well to start you could keep from calling the mother of my children a money hungry whore!”

“Well just what exactly is she then Applejack? I just find it suspicious that right as Sweet Apple Acers comes into a large sum of money, she shows back up. The only thing you ever told me about her was that she took off to Manehatten and never came back. It’s been twelve years, why is she here now? She could have called and told you what was going on.”

Applejack fumed, “Rarity has the biggest, most generous heart in the world! You’re gonna be my wife! I expect you to treat my sons and their mother with respect… We should get ready for dinner. I’ve invited them to eat with us.”

“We are having dinner with my family!”

“And mine,” said AJ firmly. “I haven’t seen my son in twelve years… I spent the summer with him and didn’t even realize it was him. I’m not missing anymore, can’t you understand that?”

“Fine.”

Dinner was a tense affair. Everyone at the table was trying to talk around Vignette’s obvious annoyance with the Apples. It was made worse by Rarity’s uneasy expression and the tension of all AJ’s friends and family. The two families were as different as night and day. Bracer Britches was enthusiastically mansplaining a physics concept to a bored looking Twilight. She had repeated the words ‘I’m a thrice published physicist.’ no less than 10 times to no avail. Sunset was trying desperately to butt in long enough to save her, and Pinkie and Dash were talking loudly over the awkwardness. By the time it ended, Rarity had bucked up just enough courage to agree to meet AJ the next day to talk out a plan for the boys. Both boys had asked for a separate table and sat far away from the pervading misery of the adults.

The group separated swiftly, and Applejack was pained to watch her friends disappear with Rarity. Vignette was still angry and seemed intent on arguing. The rest of the Apples followed their friends example and slipped off as Vignette start in on AJ.

Comments

[PhantomBulwark]

Shorter chapter this time, but lots going on in it. So, Rarity's met the fiancée from Tartarus It's very fun writing someone so unpleasant.

[Starlight Nova]

What's a Crispin?

[PhantomBulwark]

11149049
Crispin: a family name derived from crispus 'curly-haired'. Also: Saints Crispin and Crispinian are the Christian patron saints of cobblers, curriers, tanners, and leather workers.