Past
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Friends from Unexpected Places
Chapter 15
Welcome Home
Derpy and eTu`nes ran alongside a railroad track as a train rolled on by.
eTu`nes jumped into a boxcar and helped Derpy in just seconds before the train went over a bridge.
Both Dragon and Pegasus panted as they fell onto a pile of hay. "that… was pretty close." eTu`nes panted, holding his hand over his heart.
"tell me… about it…" Derpy panted. "I think I'm having palpitations."
eTu`nes looked at her suspiciously. "do you even know what palpitations are?"
Derpy gave a fake smile. "no… I just felt like saying it."
eTu`nes rolled his eyes with a groan. He looked out the boxcar and stared at the city built into the mountain. "What city was that?"
Curious, Derpy looked the same direction. "oh, that's Canterlot, home of Princess Celestia."
"Celestia? I think I heard that name before." eTu`nes muttered. He snapped his fingers in realization. "she's the one who's been ruling Equestria for 2000 years?"
"yep. All by herself. I heard she had a sister but nobody remembers what happened to her. Well, other then Celestia herself, that is."
"oh."
The train reached the large river separating Equestria from the Gryphon Kingdom and began it's 2 day trek across.
Derpy looked back on the receding coastline and felt a bit guilty for leaving for parents behind.
"you okay?" eTu`nes asked as he walked to her side.
"no. I didn't even say goodbye to my family. They must be worried sick about me; them and my sister."
"you have a sister!?"
"yeah. My twin, actually. She wants to be a adventurer when she grows up. No way that will go well, I can promise you that." Derpy chuckled.
eTu`nes looked out at the coastline. "sure you don't wanna change your mind? We got a chance. I can carry you back to shore."
"I told you, eTu`nes. I'm not going back so those bullies will just make fun of me to the point I want to kill myself. And with these new eyes…" Derpy covered her right eye. "…I know I will."
"that's kinda dark, don'tcha think?" he jokingly asked.
"you haven't met those 2. They even made a royal guard cry."
The dragon mouthed 'wow'.
Night fell as the train continued on. eTu`nes rummaged though some boxes and found some turnips. "ew." eTu`nes said as he pulled 2 out. "hope you like Turnips." he disgustedly said. Derpy took hers and took a bite out of it.
eTu`nes sat down, sniffed his veggie, and took a small bite. He exclaimed in disgust and tossed it out of the moving vehicle.
"Don't like Turnips?" Derpy asked with a full mouth.
"no. can never get past the taste or the smell. Just… ew." eTu`nes shivered with that ew. Derpy chuckled. The dragon looked up at the moon and stared at the image emblazoned in it. "so… what's the Gryphon Kingdom like?"
"I don't know. All I do know is that the capital city is a center of trade for the world. Open up a world map and, bam, dead center. I also heard that all sorts of species trade there; ponies, dragons, diamond dogs, gryphons, and species I never even heard of. And I think Zecora's species as well."
"sounds like a big and busy place. Perfect for someone who wants to hide." eTu`nes added as he looked out the door again.
Derpy nuzzled up next to him, which surprised eTu`nes a lot. "as long as you're with me, I'm sure we'll survive." she sleepily said.
That line couldn't help but make eTu`nes blush. He stared back out the door and rested his head on Derpy's before falling asleep.
20 years later…
"…we'll be arriving in Ponyville in about 7 hours, give or take." Satoshi said as he read a letter sent by Cadence and Spike out loud to the citizens of Ponyville. "odds are, you're gonna want to throw a big party. Pinkie's been antsy on doing that as well. Hope to see you all soon.
Spike and Cadence."
Satoshi folded up the letter and gave it to the mayor. "you heard the letter, we gotta get a big welcome home party started for our heroes!" she proclaimed. The ponies cheered and quickly went to work getting a welcome home party ready.
Satoshi walked off the stage and bumped into Lyra and Bonbon.
"Can't wait to here their stories." Lyra said. "I mean, Nightmare Moon returning? That's something worth talking about."
"yeah. She was tough last time but they beat her before." Bonbon said.
"but didn't you hear the part that 'something tragic happened that forced us to cut our trip short?' part?" Satoshi asked.
"could be anything." Bonbon muttered. Maybe one of them got a broken bone or something."
"maybe. But I don't know." Satoshi said, not really sure. "usually, broken bones don't count as something tragic."
"we'll find out when they get here, okay?" Lyra said. "now let's get this party goin'!" she exclaimed as she ran off. Satoshi and Bonbon shrugged and walked off in separate directions.
The train bound for Ponyville rolled over the tracks as it neared it's destination.
Inside, there was a awkward silence as the train clicked and clacked along. Pinkie was the first to break it.
"so… a welcome home party! That's bound to bring everyone's spirits up, right!?" she cheerfully asked.
"if you say so, Pinkie." Dash distantly said as she laid backwards on a seat.
Twi looked out a window at the moving country-side, still not ready to talk to anyone about this.
"you okay, Sugarcube?" A.J. asked as she sat next to her.
"not really, Applejack. It's just… this pregnancy was not something I expected when we left for the Gryphon Kingdom. And now that it's happening, and to me… I'm not sure what to feel right now."
A.J. thought for a moment before thinking up a good reason. "you know, my mom always said to look on the bright side of things, even in the worst situations."
Twi raised a eyebrow in question. "and what's the silver lining in this scenario?"
"in 11 months, you're gonna be a mother to a bouncing baby boy or girl. And that thing about genetics? They don't say anything about personality, does it? So what if the father was a perverted creep? You can raise it to not be a creep. Personality doesn't transfer over, right?"
Some of the mouths in the group dropped. "now why didn't we think of that?" Bahamut asked.
That little explanation filled Twi with some hope. "you know, you're right." A.J. smiled that Twi accepted it. "yeah, yeah. He or she might grow up to be somepony important like Captain of the Wonderbolts or a royal guard."
"maybe even a famous actor." Sora added.
"yeah, yeah." Twi smiled to A.J. "never thought of it like this before. Thanks, A.J."
"no prob, Sugarcube." A.J. smiled back.
"again, why didn't we think about that?" Bahamut wondered as A.J. walked on back. "I swear, Req could've come up with it back on the boat."
Some of the ponies groaned. Req even bonked Bahamut on the head. Everyone laughed at the sighted. Twi gave a chuckle but stopped half-way. She looked out the window again and the depressing feeling returned. Guess A.J.'s little speech didn't work as well as everyone thinks.
Edge yawned as he sat in Fluttershy's bed under being placed under 'house' arrest by Dinky. She even ordered Fenrir and Cobalt to keep an eye on him.
Edge was so bored, he started to talk with himself. "she's just a little filly. I should be able to leave whenever I want." the wolf and eagle both gave him a confused look. "you 2 are wondering whether I'm talking about Fluttershy or Dinky, aren't you? Well, it don't matter. Dinky's got me locked up under lock and key and last time I tried, I… felt guilty. and I'm still not sure why."
Fenrir and Cobalt looked at each other, both knowing what was really going on. "what? Why you looking at me like that?" then Reality hit him. "and why am I talking to a couple of dumb animals? And why am I listening to a school-mare? I can just leave right now."
Edge flew out of bed and down to the door. He opened it up and flew on to the Everfree Forest.
Tables of food and drinks were set up outdoors, making this a block party of sorts. The banner, saying 'welcome home' was hung up just outside the train station.
"this is gonna be a awesome party." Berry snickered as she put on a party hat.
"turning us back into ponies and defeating Nightmare Moon again? It's gotta be cause this is a double hitter party." Caramel said as he put on a party hat as well.
Satoshi put up the finishing touches on 'pin the tail on the donkey'. he got up and turned to leave, only to run into somepony's chest. He quickly pulled off and cracked his nose back into position. "hey, watch where you're going! You broke my nose." he exclaimed, unaware of who he was talking to.
"so… you're one of the humans Twilight talked about in her letters." Celestia said with a smirk.
Satoshi looked up with one eye open. "and… you are?"
"where are your manners?" one of Celestia's royal guards exclaimed. "This is Princess Celestia, one of the rulers of Equestria."
"peace, Dawn Guard. We've never met before. I'm not at all offended by this." Celestia said.
"wait. You're Princess Celestia?" Satoshi asked. He saw ponies walk by who quickly bowed for a second before moving on. He quickly got up. "sorry for that." he nervously said.
"it's no problem." Celestia smiled. "me and Luna are sometimes not formal ourselves. So… you are…?"
"oh. Names Satoshi. Satoshi Tanaka. I'm the pilot of the Orion. That ship over there." he pointed to the half-rebuilt husk that was the Orion. "so… why are you here, Celeste?"
"Celeste?" she said in surprise. She chuckled at it. "never had that for a nickname before. Well, if you must know, I am here to welcome back those who return us to our equine forms and defeated Nightmare Moon for a second time."
"so are we, but mostly the 'turn back into ponies' part. But, truth be told, I'm more curious about that tragedy part they said."
"I read that too. I'm also curious as to what it is."
"Lyra and Bonbon are saying it's probably broken bones or something. But I think it's something worse. Broken bones wouldn't be 'tragedy' material and it wouldn't cut a trip short."
"I feel the same way. I just hope it's nothing major."
"you and me both, Celeste." Satoshi looked up at a few streamers. "say, got a free hand, err… hoof? We need some help putting up decorations."
"sure." Celestia quickly said. She used her magic to put up a banner.
The train neared Ponyville's station as the sky turned to dusk.
"Okay. 10 minutes till we're home. Oh, I missed my soft bed." Derpy happily said.
"and I hope Berry Punch didn't destroy the library with a party." Spike whined. "otherwise, I'm gonna hafta rebuild it."
"No. we'll force Berry to rebuild it." Req sneered.
Twi thought for a moment about something different. She turned to her friends. "listen, guys. I'd appreciate it if nobody finds out about my pregnancy. Mom, Dad, and Celestia included."
"why?" Ash asked.
"well… I don't want them to know yet. I'm trying to figure out how to break it to them and I keep coming up short."
"it can't be that hard." Jax scoffed.
"really?" Twi sarcastically replied. "Well, let's see… 'hi Mom & Dad. Greetings, Princess Celestia. Listen, while at the Gryphon Kingdom, I was forced into a situation against my will and as a result, guess who's gonna be the proud mother of a bastard child of a perverted creep?'" she sarcastically and angrily played out.
"well, anything will sound bad if you say it that way."
Req gave a groaning scoff as she pinched her eyes. "you're not making this easy, Jax. In fact, you're probably making this worse."
Jax rolled her eyes. "well, sorry for speaking the truth."
"can I please hit her?" a peeved Cadence asked.
"I'm about to let you." Sora snarled in agreement. that's when she remembered something that bugged her since they left. "did we remember Vinyl and Octavia?"
Everyone stopped and thought back. "oh, that's right. I forgot." Halo said. "Tavi said that she got a position in the Royal Orchestra. She and Vinyl will be living there for a few months for a trial run." everyone suddenly exclaimed in agreement.
The train slowed to a halt and hissed as it stopped in Ponyville Station. "well… we're home." Twi distantly said.
The doors opened and the passengers departed into the surprisingly dark and empty streets.
"Anyone else scared right now?" Zilver asked.
"maybe there's a bla-"
"SURPRISE!" the Citizens of Ponyville yelled as the lights snapped back on. "WELCOME HOME!" Fluttershy yelped and fainted as the banner unfurled. Sora held her heart as she faked having a heart attack as the rest looked on in shock.
"why are they throwing a party…?" Req muttered.
In less then 10 minutes, the group was told of the letter sent by Cadence and Spike(which the group didn't know of) and the reason behind the party; returning the human-turned ponies back into ponies and defeating Nightmare Moon for a second time.
Twilight poured herself a cup of water with her magic as Lyra appeared behind her. "come on, Twi. Have some cider! It's a party, after all."
Twi quickly told her one of many lies she had prepared. "I'm fine, Lyra. I did enough partying back in the Gryphon Kingdom. I still have a bit of a hangover."
"that's possible?" Lyra asked. Twi nodded. "huh. I just learned something new." she said as she walked off.
Twi breathed a sigh of relief. This was gonna be a long 11 months.
"so YOU'RE Princess Celestia!" Req exclaimed in delight as she and Aura met the ruler of Equestria for the first time. "took us a month and 1 evil villain but we finally meet face to face. And it sucks Luna couldn't come."
"Exactly. And you're…" Celestia tried to place her face.
"oh. Requiem." Req proceeded to introduce her friends by pointed to them. "This is Aura, Sora, Ash, Bahamut…" she looked around for Jax and found her sulking in a corner, biting into a boiled carrot. "…and the girl with the 'tude is Jax."
"I see. I heard that she was a bit of a… horse hater?"
"That's one way to put it." Aura said. "She was almost trampled by a herd when she was 3. But, instead of cowering in fear like most people do, she gets angry when she's around creatures of the equine variety."
"oh. So, then this must be…"
"pure hell for her." Req concluded.
Celestia looked to Jax. "well, I hope she can overcome that irrational fear soon." she turned her attention back to the group. "I also heard that you were all instrumental in taking Nightmare Moon down. How can humans do that?"
"well, it's simple if you're a Demi-Goddess." Req said.
That part intrigued Celestia the most. "Demi-Goddess?"
"yeah. A Demi is someone who's the mortal child of a god or goddess. We're pretty powerful."
"That's a understatement." Aura chuckled. Req gave him a bit of a leer and bonked him on the head. He just chuckled as he took it.
"HEY, REQ!" Derpy called out. "it's your turn at the piñata. And no powers or swordplay, got it?"
"Coming, Derpy!" Req called out. She whispered to Celestia. "they don't know that I was beastly with this back home." she snickered as she ran over.
Aura sighed as he put his drink down. "better go make sure she doesn't cheat." he said as he ran off.
Celestia stood there, puzzled by what she said. "a Demi-Goddess…" she muttered. "a being with more power then anyone here on Equestria. What were they doing here in the first place?" she wondered. She looked to Req, who was playfully being put into a blindfold by Raindrops. "well, she can't be that bad."
Armor and Cadence talked with several of the background ponies when someone's unexpected arrived.
"HI THERE, SHINY POO!" Night Light and Twilight Velvet exclaimed. Armor whinnied in surprise as he jumped out of his skin and bolted for the nearest exit. Cadence shook her head with a chuckle and used her magic to pull him back.
"Shiny Poo?" Sparkler laughed. She and the others fell over laughing as Armor blushed in embarrassment.
"oh, it's nice to see you again, son." Night said as he hugged his son. "and a pleasure to see you again, DAUGHTER Mi Amore Cadenza."
Cadence bowed in politeness. "pleasure's all mine, Night Light."
Night chuckled as he turned back to Velvet. "look at that. Married into the family and she still calls me by my name."
"un… well…"
"oh, and we heard. Someone in our families' pregnant." Velvet said in a sing-singy way.
Both Armor and Cadence got nervous, both thinking that they meant Twi. "p-pregnant?" they both nervously asked.
"yes. And we must admit, we're anxious for when the little tyke gets here. We always wanted a grandchild." Night said.
"you are?" they both asked again, clearly surprised by this.
"well, yeah. And knowing you 2 are going to raise it, we can't help but feel enthusiastic."
"us?" that's when they remembered that Cadence is still 8-months pregnant. "oh, right. Us." they both nervously laughed.
"yeah. Who did you think we meant, Twilight?" Velvet asked. Armor and Cadence stopped laughed and stood there. "she's far too young to be a mother. She's only 21."
"and learning that you were pregnant before the wedding, well, we were surprised then as well."
"r-right. Right." Armor nervously said. "um… I'm gonna go check on Twilight." Armor quickly bolted, leaving Cadence alone with the in-laws.
"what did he mean 'check on Twilight?'" Night asked. Velvet shrugged but then both turned their attention to Cadence. "you know something?" Cadence chuckled nervously as she sweated up a storm.
Twilight talked with the rest of the Mane6 when Armor walked up with a worried expression. "Armor? What's going on?" a peeved Twi asked.
"Red Alert! Mom and Dad are here!"
A nuke may've gone off cause that would've been better then Mom and Dad in town. "oh, no. If they find out, they're gonna blab it all over Canterlot!" she whined. She looked to her friends and quickly shook their hooves good-bye. "I'm out of here, guys. I'm gonna be at the library before-"
"TWILIGHT'S PREGNANT!?" Velvet and Night exclaimed loud enough for all of Ponyville to hear.
The ponies stopped whatever they were doing and turned their attention to Twi. Not wanting to be judged in front of everyone, she teleported away.
Armor face-hoofed as the humans and the ponies who knew groaned. "nice going, mom." Armor groaned.
Celestia was in complete shock. "h-h-h-how is Twilight pregnant?" she asked Req.
Req puffed as she tapped her fingers together. "un, well…"
Twilight depressingly laid on the carpet in her bedroom, lazily flicking a pencil around. The door to her room opened and closed. Twi looked up to see Celestia walk up.
"Can I come in?" she softly asked. Twi did nothing for a moment but eventually nodded. Celestia walked over and laid down beside Twi. "your friends informed us all about what happened." Twi took a deep breath. "I'm so, so sorry for what happened, Twilight."
"why did it happen, Celestia? I never did anything wrong. So why am do I have to suffer with this?"
"well… I'm not sure." that made Twi even more depressed. "but… I have learned that everything happens for a reason. So, maybe your pregnancy will be a good thing."
"but… I'm not sure what to do. Do I keep it or give it up for adoption or… or…" Twi didn't even want to finish that but Celestia knew where she was going. "I'm… I'm so afraid. Will the baby be like his father or will she hate me or…" Twilight began to cry. "I just don't know what to do. Applejack told me that personality doesn't transfer over from the parents but… but if she…"
Celestia sighed as she looked away. "listen, Twilight. I'm gonna tell you something that I never told anyone. Only me and Luna know it." Twi sniffled and looked up at her mentor. "I was also a mother and it happened the same way it happened to you."
Twilight went wide-eyed in shock. "wait… so you were…"
Celestia slowly nodded. "it was before me and Luna became immortal. We were just normal Alicorn's living a normal life. I was dating a handsome pony named Cosmos, and when I mean handsome, I mean 'whoa momma!'" Twi raised a eyebrow in question. "un… right. Well, when I was your age, I went though same exact ordeal; I was taken advantage of and became a mother myself. Cosmos… wasn't happy at first; neither was I. I didn't know how to raise a child. But, over time, we accepted it and I eventually gave birth to our beautiful daughter Erys."
"What happened next?" Twi curiously asked.
Celestia sadly closed her eyes as she used her magic to summon up a white rose. She held it close to her heart as Twi got even more curious. "Discord happened. He… got rid of Cosmos and vanished Erys into thin air. The rest, as they say, is history."
"oh, Celestia. I'm so sorry." Twi comforted her.
"it's okay. It's been 2000 years later. I've… partially moved on." the rose disappeared. "anyway, I think I skipped over the most important part of the story. When I had Erys, both me and Cosmos were worried about what to do with her; we never even foal-sat before. But, as time moved on, Erys turned out to be the best thing that happened to us." a single tear rolled down her face. "oh, Erys…" she cried.
"Celestia…" Twi put a comforting hoof on Celestia's. "so… what you're saying is that this could be the best thing that happened to me?"
Celestia sniffed as she wiped her eyes. "yes. Sometimes the best things in life come from the worst events. Take the return of Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis' attack, for example. I got Luna back and you gained Cadence for a sister."
"right." Twi laid her head down on the floor. "just… let me think about it."
"alright, Twilight." Celestia softly said.
She got up to leave when Twi stopped her. "please stay. I don't wanna be alone tonight."
Celestia smiled. "All right, Twilight." she laid down beside her and snuggled up next to her.
Twi closed her eyes and fell asleep instantly. Celestia raised her head and smiled. Her star pupil, a little unicorn she took in when she was only 7 years old; she couldn't believe that all that time had passed and that Twilight was gonna become a mother herself. She leaned in and kissed Twi on the forehead.
"good night, my precious student..."
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