Ace of Hearts

by blowngasket

Stentando

Chapter 25: Stentando

"So it's...normal for Pinkie to throw a party for new couples?" Catacomb asked Twilight, the two walking slowly to not injure Catacomb further.

"And for birthdays, day after birthdays, pet's birthdays, halfway to birthdays, holidays, Tuesdays, lazy days, and I promise you the list goes one." Twilight said, giggling as she thought about her friends antics.

"And now Perry gets paid to assist her?" Catacomb asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, surprising enough. He is also a good children's entertainer. He has only done one birthday party, but I am sure that more are in his future." Twilight answered his question. Catacomb nodded acceptingly.

"And he hasn't...umm you know..."

"No! He has definitely changed from how he used to be, at least I think. I figure it like this." Catacomb listened to Twilight carefully, not wanting to miss the explanation. "Perry is happy now!" Twilight answered, Catacomb sighing and shaking his head. He didn't want to believe it was that simple, but sometimes the simplest answer is the correct one.

"Can't say I am not proud of him." Catacomb said, chuckling. "I mean, I never even thought he could change, though from what I can see, it isn't all him."

"I know what you mean. They are good for each other. Fluttershy has been so much more open with the world because of him, and in return, he has become more...umm excepting of it?" Twilight wasn't sure if she phrased it right, but Catacomb nodded, assuring her that she was pretty much on the ball. "What about you?!" Twilight asked, walking closer to Catacomb. "What do you think of me?"

"Well, you study too hard, can be a bit obsessive, and for the most part I am discovering lightning is bad for my health." Catacomb said, chuckling. Twilight frowned, glaring at him.

"Well you're a troublemaker, a moron, and you beat my brother up." Twilight said, trying to look angry, but the grin Catacomb gave her was almost infectious and she couldn't help but slip up and start to laugh, Catacomb joining her. After laughing for a few seconds, both of them stared at each other in silence, for even longer, simply sharing a happy moment. The moment was interrupted, though, as a young passerby yelled out at them.

"Go get a room, ya old people!" He said, laughing obnoxiously. Twilight frowned, but Catacomb's smile remained. Twilight eyed him curiously following his arm to his hand, noticing the rune gun pointed in the young man's direction.

"Catacomb..." Twilight scolded, shaking her finger in front of his face.

"Fine. I was only gonna orbify him." Catacomb said apologetically, holstering his gun. "Though that room comment..."

"Keep dreaming." Twilight said, grinning as she walked on past him, continuing on towards Pinkie's.

"I love it when a girl plays hard to get." Catacomb said, walking behind Twilight. He smiled and kept quiet the rest of the way, figuring he would need to save a good amount of energy and time. If the prior party was any indication of a mild party, then he expected this to be simply awesome.

---------- ---------- ----------

"I guess this really is the norm." Catacomb said, slack jawed at all the people at the party. He guessed that people never really needed a reason to party, or really cared what the reason for partying was to begin with. If it's Pinkie, it's awesome. Adding Perry to the mix only speeds everything up, making these impossibly sudden events a reality. Looking around at the banners and the decorations, Catacomb could only assume that this really is what Perry was meant to do. "Go figure, though." Catacomb said to Twilight, who had been standing beside him as he gazed around the room. "He pretends to be an entertainer, and ends up being an entertainer."

"Do you have any secret aliases, Cata?" Twilight asked.

"Does a lazy bum count?" Twilight chuckled and shook her head. "Darn."

"Come on, everyone is starting to stare." Twilight said, blushing as she tried to drag Catacomb in, who refused to budge.

"Are you getting embarrassed by me?" Catacomb asked as he gently pulled her towards him, wrapping his arm over her shoulder. "Well then, I guess it is up to me."

"Cata, w-what are you doing?" Twilight asked, her blush deepening as she was pulled against him. Catacomb grinned, a hint of evil mixed in with his toothy smile.

"Everyone!" Catacomb yelled out, drawing the attention of just about everyone. Most of the party goers shifted their gaze at them, only furthering the darkening tint on Twilight's embarrassed face. "This is my girlfriend!" Catacomb continued to yell out excitedly, furthering Twilight's decent into embarrassment. The response was a few slow claps and someone yelling 'good luck', and everyone returned to their partying. "There, was that so bad?"

"Dark clouds send forth your emmis..." Twilight was cut off when Catacomb quickly kissed her, causing her to shiver in surprise. He held it for a few seconds, before pulling away and smiling.

"Trust me, if you're worried about drawing attention, that would do exactly that." Catacomb said, patting Twilight on the head.

"Fine...I'll let it slide...for now." Twilight mumbled, frowning. Catacomb could easily tell she secretly enjoyed the kiss.

Catacomb walked over to the snacks, grabbing a plate of whatever he could find, not actually being that picky. While Catacomb was making a dent in the snack table, Twilight managed to migrate over to a far corner of the room, where her friends were currently at, with the exception of the two party planners, talking and laughing. They immediately perked up and grinned when they noticed Twilight, who seemed content to not be all that noticed. Rarity was the first to speak, her desire for gossip practically overflowing from the expression on her face. "So I cannot believe that you hooked up with that dashing rogue! Tell me, when did you realize it was love?" Rarity said, practically swooning as the romantic side of her took the stage.

"Is this...normal to talk about?" Twilight asked, not sure what the norm was when it came to conversations like this.

"Absolutely! I know for a fact when that special someone finally does come my way, I will talk about him nonstop!" Rarity said, giggling gleefully.

"Yup. And for when the day comes, I have my ear plugs at the ready." Applejack said, shrugging of the glares her comment earned from Rarity. "Twilight, ya don't need to be braggin about it, but talking about that kind of stuff is normal. Besides, he is an alright fella. He would be happy to know yer not embarrassed to talk about him."

"She is right, Twilight." Fluttershy spoke up. “It’s hard to say, but every time Perry tells someone about us, it makes me all..." She started to blush, not even able to finish her own sentence.

"Well, you can go enjoy your conversation. That snack table is calling my name!" Rainbow said, sneaking past Applejack and Rarity.

Rarity sighed, shaking her head towards Rainbow as she started to pile on the snacks on a plate. "I can only pray for the man who catches her eye." Everyone started to snicker, which eventually made its way out as full blown laughter.

"What is so funny?" Perry said from behind them. Rarity shrieked and jumped into Applejack's arms. She gave Rarity the glare of a lifetime before dropping her, Rarity hitting with a dull thud. "Besides that." Perry chuckled, getting his own death stare from Rarity. She proceeded to get up and brush herself off vigorously.

Rarity walked up to Perry and tried her best to smile politely. "Oh, you know. Girl talk, so if you don't mind..."

"Ah, are we talking about boys?" Perry said, intermingling himself more into the conversation, much to Rarity's current annoyance. He snuck in close to Fluttershy, casually wrapping his arms around her.

"Hi, Perry." Fluttershy said happily. Rarity sighed in defeat, knowing there was no way he would leave them now.

"So, what are you all talking about?" Perry asked, convinced he wasn't getting the boot from here on out.

"Well, we were asking Twilight when she realized that she was in love." Rarity asked, her mood switching again to her giddy romantic side. "But she is a bit shy. How about you? I am sure someone like you would have a fascinating account of the how's and why's of your love." Fluttershy blushed slightly. She looked towards Perry's masked face, his silence speaking all the words necessary, not that she would have minded knowing herself. To her surprise, though, Perry began to speak.

"I guess, though I will not lie, it is kind of embarrassing." Perry said, his voice slightly shaky. With that line itself, he had immediately grabbed all of their attention, as they focused solely on him. "Promise not to be mad at me Fluttershy, and hear out the story completely?" Fluttershy nodded, willing to accept any truth he may have. "Alright then, enough stalling." Perry was obviously nervous, but he felt it necessary to share the truth none the less.

"At first, I actually hated you..." There was immediate silence, followed by a subtle sigh from Perry. "I was happy with my life. It was simple, and it made me feel alive. Then Celestia forced me into a vacation here, something I wasn't too partial on, as you all know. I was not used to relaxing, or having fun, since my idea of the sort generally lead to extra hours at the graveyards, which I did try to avoid needlessly. The occasional outing with the other members, but besides that, nothing. I didn't initially think about it, but the closer I got to her, the angrier I got with myself. I actually blamed her in my head for feeling like that, and drove it in that I hated her." Perry was obviously sullen, his voice faltering slightly into the tone of sadness. No one would have been able to guess what actually went on in his head, but this less than subtle confession was not what they were expecting of a romantic story.

"Then, the incident happened in the wood, the foul beast that attacked us. When I was in combat with it, I had come to a realization. I wasn't angry with myself anymore. The resolve to protect her is what drove me to the realization that as long as what I fight for is right, then I have no reason not to be happy. That anger I felt towards Fluttershy almost left instantly, and left me with a sensation that I couldn't describe then, having never felt it before. When I was ready to accept myself, I realized that sensation was love for her, for everything she was, and everything she did to change my life."

"Phat...oz...euiful!" Catacomb said, teary eyed, a mouth full of nachos. Everyone glared at his sudden intrusion, as well as his rudeness. Catacomb took the hint and swallowed, looking at everyone. "Hehe...sorry."

"He is right though, I think. Not too sure what he said." Rarity commented, patting Perry on the shoulder. He nodded, turning towards the one person that actually mattered to him at the moment.

"Thank you...for...well...being honest. You changed my life too, so thank you, Perry." Fluttershy said, the start of tears forming at her eyes.

"Anytime for you, my love." Perry responded, holding Fluttershy close. Rainbow was about to walk back to the group, but did a one eighty the moment she witnessed the continuation of the mushy romantics. She walked back to the other party goers, mainly the group bothering the quiet Ark as he sat in a corner, simply observing, as Spike tried to hold a conversation with him, failing miserably. Rainbow managed to narrowly avoid bumping into a new guest, who seemed interested in making her way over towards everyone else.

"I hear congratulations are in order." She said, standing behind Catacomb. The others noticed her, a tall woman, wearing a black dress which seemed a bit more revealing than what was considered appropriate in polite company. Though what set her apart was easily her long blue hair, almost reaching her waist, and green eyes that almost stared directly into one's soul. Everyone shuddered slightly, intimidated by her presence, but none more than Catacomb, who was shaking furiously, all the color gone from his face.

"Cata, do you know her?" Twilight asked meekly, feeling that she has seen her somewhere before. Catacomb gulped, slowly turning around. He wanted to be wrong. Horribly horribly wrong, but he knew inside that he was right. After getting a closer look at her as he peeked over his shoulder, Catacomb stared at Twilight and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess I do." Catacomb said, trying to speak calmly, though the trembling in his voice said otherwise. "Twilight, everyone else. Though I highly doubt introductions are in order, I would like you to meet..." Catacomb took a deep breath before finishing his sentence. "My mom." The words leaving Catacomb's mouth, everyone stared quietly, eyes widened and jaws thoroughly slacked. It was short of a miracle that none of them burst out screaming, all of them coming to the correct realization of who it really was.

"Q-Q-Qu--" Twilight started to stammer out, fear struck as anyone would be.

"Just call me Chrissy, sweetheart. I see you're getting along with...them...fairly well snookums..." Chrissy said, patting Catacomb on the back.

"What in the name of all that is holy are you doing here?" Catacomb asked, his nerves finally overcome, turning around and talking with a quiet roar. Everyone continued to stare and watch speechlessly, completely incapable of uttering even a sound.

"I caught wind that you were having a little party, to celebrate your newfound relationship. Quite frankly, I am disappointed that you wouldn't have invited me in the first place." Chrissy said, frowning slightly.

"Well ya should have thought about that before sending me into exile." Catacomb said, crossing his arms, huffing slightly.

"Oh come now, you're still sore about that? Look how happy you are now. Besides, you did try to incite a riot and all." Chrissy said, giggling slightly. "I do regret that you couldn't stay, but sending you away was the hardest decision a mother would have to make, but in the end I did do it for you." Chrissy said, giving Catacomb a quick hug. He stood there and accepted it, not wanting to cause a scene. "Now, who is the lucky lady amongst you that has stolen my little bed bugs heart?" Catacomb's mixed emotions wouldn't let him figure out if he should smash his face against a table or shoot his mother. He stuck with frowning, deciding to not even bother with dignifying the comment with a response.

"Umm...you...are his mother?" Twilight asked, slowly approaching, trying to not let her guard down.

"Why yes I am dear...Twilight Sparkle, right?" Chrissy said, her smile rightfully creeping Twilight out to no end. "I have to admit, I am surprised that it was you, no offence. You seemed, how do I put it, kind of weird."

"You stuck me in a cavern under the castle, and tried to marry my brother." Twilight responded, her face showing obvious signs of dislike.

"Damn it, mom!" Catacomb said, deciding now was the proper time to plant his face against the unsuspecting table.

"Let us put that as water under the bridge, shall we?" Chrissy said, holding out her hand to Twilight.

"You really cannot expect me to be that forgiving." Twilight said, glaring at Chrissy. "I will tolerate you, because you are Cata's family. But I don't have to like you."

"I can't say I do blame you. Invasions would make most people suspicious." Chrissy said as she retracted her arm. "In all honest, I do wish to put that aside, at least for the sake of Cata."

"Go suck a rock." Catacomb said, his voice slightly muffled from the table. Chrissy sighed, easily able to feel the hostility here.

"Let's be fair, honey. If I didn't kick you out, do you think you would have made all these friends? Cruel as it may seem to you, I truly did have your best intentions in mind. You are cut from a different cloth, and I do believe that you were meant to lead your own life. When the time does come, though, I would seriously like you to consider taking over." Catacomb remained quiet, slowly rising from his position, and staring Chrissy in the eyes.

"I do understand, mom. I am still kinda bitter about the whole thing. As for the offer, I think we both know I am not fit to rule." Catacomb said, walking over to Chrissy. "Thank you for giving me the chance to make my own life. You're still a queen bitch, though." Catacomb said, giving her a quick hug. He pulled away, taking a step back quickly as to not look all sappy. Chrissy giggled as she watched her son’s odd behavior.

"I bet your children will say the same about you one day, Cata. Don't be a stranger." Chrissy turned to Twilight, quickly giving her a hug as well, causing the unsuspecting girl to seize up in confusion. "You take care of my baby. He can be a handful, but from what I have seen from you, you should be fine. Again, no hard feelings I hope. I did what I had to do, and you did so as well. In the end, everything worked out for all of us, wouldn't you say."

"Chrysalis...I can't say I don't understand, but please promise that you won't come to any family reunions. Shining isn't exactly as forgiving as I am." Twilight said, sighing in defeat. She wasn't the one to go make an enemy out of her boyfriend’s mother, even if she was an enemy to begin with.

"Just make sure he at least writes me every now and then. I can't help but get worried about him." Chrissy asked politely, her face showing obvious concern.

"Yeah, yeah. Now shoo before you make things any more awkward than you already have." Catacomb said, waving towards the door.

"Well thank you all for your time. Have a lovely evening. Take care snuggle bug." Chrissy said as she casually walked towards the door, catching the eye of several men there. He couldn't help but smack himself in the face as one of them followed her outside.

"I swear, can't take her anywhere..." Catacomb grumbled, turning his gaze towards the rest of the group. "So...where were we?"

"Catacomb?" Twilight asked in a tone that Catacomb feared, knowing what was coming next. "How come you didn't tell me that she was your mother?"

"Technically, she is everyone's mother...though she gave birth to me personally..." Catacomb said, trying defuse the tension. "Besides, what does it matter who my parents are...she seriously stuck you in a cavern though?" Catacomb asked, staring at Twilight who calmly nodded to the question. "Yeah, she can forget a present this year..."

"Catacomb, who are you, exactly?" Twilight asked. She pretty much knew the answer, but wanted to hear it from his lips.

"Well, since all secrets I may have had have been blown clearly out of the water, I am Catacomb, crowned prince of the changeling empire. Sup." Catacomb said, smiling nervously as he waved to the group, whose faces almost seemed frozen since the initial meeting of his mother. Perry raised his head, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well I for one don't really care. So Cata, now that it looks like you have successfully blown every single mind here, what do you plan on doing next?" Perry asked, looking over everyone else.

"Well, I could use a drink. Who's in?"

Comments

[La Barata]

Hue

[Moak]

Love how Cata just shrugs it all off. Nice chapter.

A few times in there you used "excepted" instead of "accepted", might want to go fix that.

Keep up the nice work dude Cata just got more interestinger

[blowngasket]

3055599 Corrected and thank you for pointing that out.

3054808 ??? Ummm thanks?

[Lepking13]

What is this hilarity? This was not the story of forbidden romance between a Changeling and an element of Harmony I was reading.

You sir, tickled my funny bone in the right ways with this chapter. And what's with the 'No Cheese-queen love' up in here? Chrissy is best pone, cause she is all pones.

[blowngasket]

3055988 Chrissy does indeed deserve some love too. I am glad that I was able to be funny. I was afraid my brand of comedy was a bit too...cheesy. yeah I am done here... Thanks for the comments.

[Luna Secret Stallion]

3057794 Ahh Chrissy you know how to leave a your mark in the room.