A Long Journey Home

by VashTheStampede

Entries 133-140

Entry #133
I went to Cloudsdale again, practicing my Wings spell. So much fun. When I was in the human world, I always dreamed of flying and being able to do little feats of magic. Now that I’m here, with help from Luna and Twilight, I can finally live out those dreams. I think I finally may be able to go to Rarity and get those shorts finished.

Entry #134
And… my shorts now have a cutie mark. It’s similar to Twilight’s, but still different. It’s a dark blue, five-point star over an upside-down, white five-point star, with a pair of dark blue wings surrounding it. It symbolizes both my skill in magic and the fact that I’m a member of the royal family. However, because I stand on two legs, my cutie mark is oriented to point up (towards my torso) when I stand, so I guess it’s sideways in a sense. Still, I’m one of them now. I’m one of the ponies, in spirit and mind if not in form. I love them, and they love me. The community is just fantastic. No one is outcast, no one is shunned, and everypony is accepted and loved by everypony else.

Entry #135
I had an opportunity to witness something wonderful today. While walking out of Rarity’s store, I noticed what looked to be an improvised half-pipe built off in a field. Upon closer examination, I discovered it was and improvised half-pipe, with a little orange Pegasus blitzing around doing tricks on what appeared to be a modified BMX bike. It was Scootaloo, of course, with her friends watching on in awe. During one particularly fancy trick (I couldn’t count how many times the bike spun underneath her), I thought I noticed a flash of white light, but I wasn’t sure because of how fast Scootaloo was moving. When she landed, my suspicions were confirmed – much to the excitement of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and herself, Scootaloo bore an image on her flank now. A bike helmet and an accompanying “BPX” (Bicycle Ponycross) unit. It fits her really well. She may not be the strongest flyer, but her wings have been maturing, and she can fly short distances now, which she uses to her advantage with the bike. Just those few extra moments of laughing in gravity’s face has shown me tricks far beyond what any human could ever accomplish. The looks of sheer joy on their three faces were quickly replaced with looks of sorrow at the realization that the “Cutie Mark Crusaders” no longer existed – but Scootaloo quickly promised never to leave the group until all three had their marks. It was a really touching moment, seeing her come of age but refuse to leave her friends like that.

Entry #136
Holy shit! Not ten minutes after, Sweetie Belle started singing about Scootaloo’s cutie mark and BAM! Hers appeared too! Sweetie’s mark, a single eighth note with white wings and a halo can’t represent anything besides her angelic singing voice. That filly, whether or not she’d wanted to accept it earlier, can sing, and can sing really freaking well. Her voice is like nothing I’ve ever heard before. She didn’t notice it at first, but Applebloom pointed it out to her, and once again the three shared that look of pure joy at their friend’s accomplishment. There was a thin wisp of sadness in Applebloom’s eyes, behind the elated façade, but neither of her friends noticed it, and it disappeared with a second round of reassurances from her friends that they won’t stop crusading until all three had their marks. These fillies are going to be friends forever, it’s easy to see that.

Entry #137
Three cutie marks within an hour, in one town… what a truly amazing day. Rarity and Pinkie Pie are organizing a party in honor of Sweetie Belle getting her mark, and Rainbow Dash is in on it too do something special for Scootaloo. I… I wonder where Scootaloo’s parents are. I asked Rarity and Rainbow Dash about them, but they both kind of dodged the question. I can tell when a question is making ponies uncomfortable, but I also know a pony who can't lie. I’m going to talk to Applejack.

Entry #138
Applejack told made me promise not to tell anypony, that it’s been a secret between the six of them and the two parents involved, but Scootaloo actually is Rainbow Dash’s sister, the illegitimate offspring of Mrs. Dash and an unknown Pegasus. She said Scootaloo was put up for adoption almost immediately after birth (according to her, in fact, Mrs. Dash left the hospital after her birth without even seeing her baby), and was taken in by Miss Cheerilee. Cheerilee, while a relatively young pony, has raised Scootaloo as her little sister. Not even she knows that Scootaloo is RD’s half-sister. Rainbow Dash is planning on telling her tonight, at the party. This conversation got me curious, and I started asking about the other ponies parents. Pinkie’s mom and dad are still at their rock farm (I would question, but if the remainder of the Pie family is as eccentric as Pinkie, no explanation is needed), Twilight’s parents are in Canterlot, and Rarity’s folks live in town. Rainbow’s dad lives in Cloudsdale, but Mrs. Dash hasn’t been seen since Scootaloo’s birth, and AJ said she didn’t know about Fluttershy’s parents. Her own parents though… her own parents died in “an accident.” That’s all she would say. I wanted to ask, but it just wouldn’t have been right. Maybe I’ll ask Twilight later. I need to head back to Canterlot, see if Luna’s up for attending the party.

Entry #139
I met a nice couple on my way to the castle (wards prevent using teleportation spells to enter Canterlot, though one can teleport out, so I simply teleport to the gate and walk or fly in from there). A rather British Unicorn stallion named Fancy Pants, and a slender white unicorn with pink hair who introduced herself as Fleur. Despite obviously being a trophy wife, the pair seemed very happy. Fancy Pants was incredibly polite, and, though Fleur said very little besides introducing herself, they were clearly ponies of high society. They also said they knew Rarity, and had an interesting encounter with her that left the three of them good friends, and good friends with the other ponies too. They invited me to see the Wonderbolts Races with them this weekend. I think I’ll take them up on that, it sounds like a lot of fun.

Entry #140
Well… that was an… interesting, amazing, shocking evening. Luna said she’d come to the party on the condition I left my journal at home – I do suppose I carry it everywhere – so I’ve got a lot to write about.
The party started like a normal party, ponies were dancing, there was music, everypony wanted to talk to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. All their friends from school were there, even two angry little ponies named Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon showed up long enough to give their congratulations. Scootaloo did a performance on her bike, and Sweetie Belle sang a song for the crowd. Pinkie Pie was up to her usual antics, screwing with physics and startling everypony. Rainbow Dash took Scootaloo off to the side to privately congratulate her and to tell her the truth. Scootaloo took it hard, finding out about her mother like that. But any sadness and anger she felt was immediately overwhelmed with a sense of joy and pride at being the half-sister of someone as awesome as Rainbow Dash. The pair spent the rest of the night rushing around and playing together. Scootaloo taught Dash a few tricks on the bike, and Dash gave Scoots some instructions for training her wings. After a while the pair calmed down and Rainbow Dash called Miss Cheerilee over. I can only assume what it was about, because at the end of the night, Scootaloo gave Miss Cheerilee an extra long hug and walked off with Dash. I know Dash has a bit of an ego and isn’t exactly the definition of responsible, but those two finally being together as sisters will be good for the both of them.
Rarity gave her sister a ball. Celestia knows I haven’t got a clue what the significance was, but Sweetie Belle tried to refuse it and broke down crying when she finally accepted it. I guess it meant a lot to Rarity, maybe something her family has passed down as a sort of joke or something for when the youngest member gets their mark. Hay, it doesn’t have to mean anything to me and I don’t have to understand it. It meant a hell of a lot to Sweetie Belle, especially as a gift from Rarity (their relationship is… strained, at times), and that’s what’s important.
But that’s not even the half of it.
I met the parents tonight.
The party was winding down, most of the ponies had left. In fact, the only ones left were Luna, Pip, Twilight, and myself. I glanced at the sky, to look at the moon (Luna had preformed the ceremony at the party), and noticed a dark cloud moving in irregular patterns. While I was watching the cloud, Celestia appeared out of nowhere, right next to Luna, and whispered something to her. I didn’t think it was possible for a pony of such dark fur to turn white. Like, Celestia-white. I looked back up at the dark cloud. It wasn’t a dark cloud anymore. It was a glowing white sphere of light, just barely fringed by shadow. It looked almost like a reverse lunar eclipse. Then the shadow diverged, leaving the white light alone. The light slowly shifted into the shape of a pony, a tall, female Alicorn with the purest white coat and a mane of fire that glowed with the sun’s brilliance. A cute mark very similar to Celestia’s marked her flank. My eyes were drawn from the radiance above to the dark shadow taking shape next to her. Out of the darkness, which seemed like a void, absorbing all the light around it, flew a large, dark grey Alicorn with dragon-like wings and weighty-looking armor. The only time I’ve ever been more afraid was that first day I met Luna and she invaded my mind – and even that might not adequately display my terror at the sight of these two massive ponies. So, I did what I thought I could – I put myself between Luna & Pip and the new arrivals and ignited my fists, while preparing some defensive measures. Looking at the two Alicorns, I knew there wasn’t anything I could do to stop them from taking what they wanted, but I had to try. Unsurprisingly, my fists extinguished and I felt the defensive wards liquefy under the might of the two Alicorns. I prepared myself for the end, flashing a mental “I love you” to Luna… and the Alicorns started laughing. I remember glancing at Celestia with what must have been the most utterly terrified expression on my face, and saw her kneeling, and Luna following suit behind me. I looked back to the Alicorn above me and noticed the similarities. I also recall noticing one was missing. I remember hearing a soft sigh and some giggling behind me, and seeing Luna and Celestia giving the white Alicorn mare a tight hug. I looked back to the stallion, and he was right up in my face, and suddenly all the light was gone. I then proceeded to get what I expect would be the “girlfriend’s angry dad” talk, except ten thousand times as scary because, well, Luna is my wife, not just my girlfriend, and her dad is god. That was a terrifying experience, one I’d be rather keen not to repeat. The light returned, and a jovial smile appeared on his face. I remember thinking “How can he just smile like nothing happened?” before Luna went off on him for scaring me so badly. It was kind of odd to see that, her father just taking some of the worst Royal Canterlot Vocal Abuse I’ve ever seen. Pip was frantically looking between Luna and me; trying to decide which parent he should be acting like. I guess he ended up looking more like me – he was completely terrified. After a long conversation, both Luna and my color returned as we realized her parents weren’t mad, they were just stopping by to meet me. Her mother, who introduced herself as Solara, and her father, named Night Wish, were both very nice, once they’d gotten past the scare-the-hell-out-of-you stage. In any event, I wish they would have informed us they were coming before just showing up like that. They gave Luna and I their blessings, and returned to the heavens. I know blessings are normally just wishes of good luck, but these came straight from the top. That’s gotta do something.

Comments

[Gildor Surion]

Well, another bit of interesting entrees.
Although now I wounder just where else this might go.
Only one way to find out and that is to wait for the next chapter.

[Iceqake]

What a twist! Still loving it.

[VashTheStampede]

298124
To be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure where it's heading. I have a few planned "story arcs" so to speak, but I haven't decided how/when to end it (I've written my death in, then back out like, four times now). So it's a surprise for everypony!