PyraohXBlaze - Lol yeah, a lot did happen last chapter, didn't it...?
SomeRandomBrony - O.O Wow... I love to read and I couldn't read a story this long anywhere near that fast... I'm glad to hear you enjoy it though :D
PSYCHOPATH - Lol not sure how well alcohol would work on critters that don't have a pulse...
Bobfromsiam99 - Thanks on both accounts. :D My fingers healed fairly well, though I'll probably never have feeling in my fingertips again
Guest - I like to think of them more like chapter hooks. :P While I would love to be able to update more often, work keeps me from being able to write often enough to put out more than a chapter a week. The chapters I have in reserve are in case something happens and I'm unable to write (such as writer's block), that way I can still update on my regular schedule. Truth be told I only have around 3 chapters in reserve at any given time.
Lord of darkness the 1st - For now... (insert ominous laughter here)
PBJFanFiction - Lol damn straight
KillerWoW - Lol I didn't know any of my readers watched Markiplier. So much better than PewDiePie in my opinion. And dammit Pinkie, how can I put you in more chapters if you keep leaving Equestria?!
Mikalzilla - Ah, but all that would be telling, wouldn't it?
DragonLord RyuKizoku - What can I say? Life tends to shift one's priorities...
chipmunkfanatic - You're about to find out :P
Kyguy - Lol it is that time indeed. But will it be what you expect...?
frytrix - Lol Granny Tia... it does have a certain ring to it, doesn't it?
DragonLovingBrony - Yup. That does tend to happen when potentially life-ruining events keep popping up.
A/N - Hey there everypony! It's that time again! I hope all of you who saw the first episode of season five enjoyed it, cause I haven't seen it yet (no spoilers please). As I type this, I can't help but think how weird it is not to be able to feel the keys as I press them. Ah well, just like with the damage to my hand, I'll get used to it... As always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!
"… And that is all there is to the tale my love." I had sat on the bed quietly, Scootaloo curled up next to me as I listened to Luna tell me the sad story of Sunny Town from her point of view.
I got up from the bed and paced the room, Scootaloo and Luna both watching me as I did. "So let me get this straight… when you found out what the townsponies did, which was an admittedly atrocious thing to do, you retaliated by cursing them to undeath, a terrible act in and of itself…"
Luna straightened up. "I know my actions were rash and perhaps blinded by anger, but I will stand by them, no matter what."
I sighed and walked over to her. I rested a hand on either shoulder and looked her in the eye. "Look… I won't pretend to know what went through your mind back then, because I doubt I could; you and I both know things like that are way too common on Earth, so I'm at least somewhat desensitized to them. What I do know is that one member of that town had nothing to do with that filly's death." I saw a glimmer of emotion flash across her cobalt eyes, but it was gone before I knew what it was. "I want to know… is there a way to reverse the curse? Not on all of them, but perhaps on her alone?"
She looked away from me. "I do not believe any of those wretches are worthy of redemption…" After a moment of silence, she sighed and looked back to me. "But… I love you, and I trust your judgment… very well, I shall create a cure for the curse that you may use to free this pony from it. But, I would like to know her name if I may?"
"Sure Luna. Her name is Mitta; you used her likeness when you had me show you what my gun could do, she was the grey mare with the red mane."
Luna's face twisted in confusion. "But… why in Equestria would you want to redeem her of all ponies? If what you said is true, then she merely stood by and watched as that poor filly was beaten to death by her own friends and neighbors." I looked over to Scootaloo to see her trying to restrain her feelings, but I could tell this conversation was bothering her.
I sighed and shelved that thought for now, the quicker we got this over with the better. "It wasn't her fault Luna." She looked like she wanted to protest, but didn't say anything. "She was one mare, one mare who had never even seen violence like that before, let alone knew how to protect herself from it; if she had tried to stop them and save Ruby, she'd probably have suffered the same fate." Again, she looked like she wanted to say something, but held whatever it was in. "Was it the most noble choice? Probably not, but it was the only choice she really had… and it's obvious that hates herself for making it. Besides, she tried to warn me away from the place, and when I didn't listen, she bought me some time to get away from there when the others attacked me. Now tell me, does that sound like something a bad pony would do?"
Luna's eyes darted away from mine for just a second. "I am sorry, I did not know you came to see her in such a light… I made you a promise to give you what you need to release her from the curse, and I shall keep that promise. And I will try to take this lesson to heart, that I might not condemn an innocent pony because of my own emotions."
Scootaloo giggled on the bed. "That almost sounds like those 'Friendship Report' things that Princess Celestia has Papa's friends send her."
Luna and I looked at each other and began snickering. "It does… though it's been awhile since I've seen anyone send her one."
Luna cleared her throat. "Indeed, it has been some time since my sister has received a letter that did not regard our favorite human. Though I suspect she will have something to say to Twilight Sparkle regarding her recent behavior… assuming she has not already done so." She looked to the door. "But enough of that, I understand that the two of you must depart this evening, so I wish to spend what time we have together making merry; come, let us eat!"
We decided to eat at a new restaurant today, agreeing that we didn't want our usual restaurant to lose its sentimental meaning. The restaurant that we ended up eating at specialized in the Equestrian equivalent of Italian food, and turned out to be quite a treat for all of us.
We hadn't even left the restaurant before Scootaloo started practically begging us to go on a flight over Canterlot. I looked to Luna, and she smiled her consent. I called my wings and scooped the filly up in my arms before the three of us took off into the crisp mountain air.
"C'mon Papa, please? Just one trick, I promise! It doesn't even have to be anything like the stuff Rainbow Dash does, it could be-"
"I'm sorry Scoots, but I'm still not comfortable enough with flying to try anything besides keeping us in the air, especially not with you up here. I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt because I did something I shouldn't have."
Scootaloo looked disappointed, and Luna cut in. "Your father is correct Scootaloo, somepony with his lack of experience would not be able to correct an uncontrolled descent quickly enough to avoid crashing, and if he landed on top of you, you would be very seriously injured. I know you wish to experience flight, the desire is ingrained in all winged beings such as pegasi; I felt it when I was your age, and my mother strictly forbade me from attempting to perform any feats of aerial acrobatics until I had been properly instructed on how to recover should I fail. Needless to say, I did not listen…"
Scoots had turned in my arms and was staring at Luna, listening intently. "What happened, did you do something cool?"
She laughed dryly as she stretched her wings to coast on a thermal one of the restaurants below had created. "Hardly; I took off from the balcony of my room, and managed to fly for a short time before landing in the forest surrounding our ancient home." Scootaloo's hopeful look was quickly dashed as Luna continued. "After I crashed through several trees in the descent. I was lucky to limp away with only a broken wing and hind leg, and several cuts and bruises. I was not even attempting any acrobatics; something below reflected the sun into my eyes, and I was disoriented. Even though I recovered my bearings quickly, I did not have the skill to recover from the fall. The pain of my injuries was only trumped by the humiliation I felt when my mother scolded me."
Scoots was quiet for a while. Right after we turned to head back to the palace, she spoke up. "Hey Papa… I'm sorry I tried to talk you into doing a trick; I didn't know it was so dangerous."
"That's ok kiddo. I promise I'll do some tricks with you when I feel more comfortable in the air, ok?"
"Ok Papa!" She squirmed around in my grip and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Hey Papa?" I 'Hmm'ed in response to let her know I was listening. "Are we still going camping this weekend?"
I returned her kiss by planting one into her purple tuft of a mane. "I wouldn't miss it for the world Scoots…"
Luna led us back to the balcony outside her room, and we made our landing. After a round of hugs, and kisses between Luna and me, we said our goodbyes and I took off with Scootaloo towards the train station.
Once we were back in Ponyville, I talked Scoots into making a pit-stop at Derpy's house, to see how the packing was going and if we could help. I lightly knocked on the door to her rustic little house, and a moment later, a smiling grey mare opened the door. Her crossed eyes sparkled when she saw who it was. "Blake! I wasn't expecting you!" Before I had time to react, she had somehow pulled both of us into her now-cluttered home. "Sorry for the mess… We're kinda still packing…"
I gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "That's ok; we actually stopped by to see if we could help with that."
"That'd be great! With two extra ponies helping, I bet we could get it all packed tonight!" She trotted over to a pile of seemingly random stuff off in one corner of the living room. "This is all the stuff from the attic that we want to take; some of Dinky's old toys, some books, and a few other neat things I never knew were up there."
We spent the next few hours helping pack; I helped Derpy while Scoots went with Dinky, though from the sound of it, they were doing more playing than packing. When I noticed it was dark out, I went to collect Scootaloo to leave. Derpy followed along as I headed back to Dinky's room. "Hey Blake…?" I stopped with my hand raised to knock on Dinky's door. "Do… do you think we could go with you… and maybe stay at your house tonight?"
A sneaky idea formed in my head. "Absolutely not." Before she had a chance to even shake off the shock, I continued. "You can't stay at my house, because it's our house now."
She leapt up and wrapped her hooves around my neck. Hee hee… ya got me good Blake!" She started peppering me with rapid-fire kisses as before I even had a chance to get my balance.
The door to Dinky's room opened. "What's going- Eww!" Both fillies were standing in the doorway, Scootaloo sticking her tongue out while Dinky tried to look away. "C'mon Sis, that's gross!"
Derpy let go of me and floated there with her hooves behind her back and a sheepish expression on her face. "Better get used to it kiddo, that's what couples in love do." The two of them gave me a skeptical look. "Now c'mon, we're gonna go to the new house and have some dinner."
Dinky instantly perked up. "Yay! It'll be like a sleep-over!"
I chuckled as she pranced ahead of us. "Sort of… only this sleep-over is a permanent one." I carried Dinky's bed and a few other essentials with my magic, which had become surprisingly easy of late.
We got to the house and I set about putting the boxes and Dinky's bed in their proper rooms while Derpy insisted on making dinner for all of us. I offered to help, but she insisted she wanted to do this for us. The look in her eyes told me it was as much out of gratitude as to prove to herself that she could make dinner.
It had been so long that I was about to head into the kitchen and see if anything was wrong when Derpy proudly carried out a casserole dish with what looked like mac and cheese in it and set it on the dining table. She trotted back into the kitchen a few more times and came out with a pitcher of iced tea and glasses, as well as a bowl of fruit salad.
I could tell as soon as she started dishing it out that the mac and cheese was somewhat off, and a taste confirmed that I was right; the cheese sauce had a little too much milk in it, and the noodles had been somewhat over-cooked, though it fortunately tasted alright. Scootaloo and Dinky didn't seem to mind at least, since they started chowing down almost immediately.
After dinner, Dinky went into the room she now shared with Scootaloo and started noisily rummaging around in the boxes she'd brought from their old house. After a few minutes, she trotted back into the living room, proudly carrying her UNO deck in her mouth. I was about to ask why she didn't use her magic, but then I remembered that she was only about Sweetie Belle's age, which made her too young to know how just yet.
"Well, looks like we know what she wants to do."
Derpy grinned at me. "It's always fun playing that game! Come on, let's get started!" She followed her sister over to one of the coffee tables over by the fireplace. After moving the furniture closer, we all sat down and played several rounds, switching up between teams and free-for-all, even going so far as to have me and Dinky face off against Derpy and Scoots.
Just like the last time we played together, we ended up in a stalemate, and had to call it a night so Derpy and I could shoo a pair of protesting fillies off to bed. Once we had tucked them into bed and said our goodnights, Derpy and I headed back down the hallway and into the master bedroom. "You know they're going to do anything but sleep up there, right?" I asked as we comfortably snuggled on the vastly oversized bed.
Derpy giggled as she settled into me. "I know… but foals will be foals." She turned her head so she could look at me. "Hey Blake… did… did you have any foals… before you came here I mean."
I had known that this topic would come up sooner or later since I had only talked to a few ponies about it, but I wasn't expecting it so out of the blue like this. "No… my wife was infertile, so we couldn't have children together." She looked at me like she wasn't sure what something meant. "Infertile means that the body isn't capable of becoming pregnant for one reason or another. In my wife's case, it was because of a childhood accident that damaged her uterus, where the baby grows. We had thought about adopting, but it's a long, slow process on Earth, and we never got to do it before I came here."
"That… that's so sad…" She was quiet for some time. "Couldn't your doctors have fixed her? I mean, there has to be a spell for that, right?"
I ran my fingers through her mane, and she leaned her head into my touch. "Unfortunately, Earth doesn't have magic of any kind. And while we can do a lot with the advances in medical science we've made, there are still limits, not to mention any kind of surgical procedure is ridiculously expensive, so her family wouldn't have been able to afford the procedure even if there had been one."
She snuggled further into me as I floated another blanket over from the closet. "I'm glad we have magic… it makes everything so much easier."
The next several days went by almost like normal; I would go help Applejack tend her orchard in the mornings, glad her family had been so accepting of everything that happened, then I'd head off to work with Hammer Hoof, who was quickly implementing the new things I was teaching her and expanding her business. The firesteel rods that I had taught her how to make were literally selling faster than we could make them, with orders now coming in from all across Equestria since the word had gotten out about them.
Hammer Hoof made a few final taps on a piece she was working on and wiped her brow with a gloved hoof. "Whew… Thanks for all your help Blake. With all this new business, I'd never be able to keep up on my own." She trotted over to a basin and quenched the new set of tongs she'd just finished making, since her old set had broken from all the use they'd seen. "I've actually been thinking about hiring another set of hooves to help out around the place; got any ideas for me?"
I had to stop and think about that one; out of all the ponies I knew, none of them seemed to be hurting for work, and none besides maybe Applebloom seemed like a fit for this kind of work, but she was way too young to be working in a smithy. "Can't say I do, but I'll keep my ear to the ground for you."
"Thanks Blake, I'd appreciate that." She trotted into her office and came back out with a sack in her teeth. "Here ya go Blake, your pay for the week. Two hundred and fifty bits"
I cocked an eyebrow as she passed off the bag. "That seems a little high, don't you think?"
She winked at me. "Well, you've got your usual wages, which I've upped to fifty bits a day, so that's one hundred and fifty bits for the week; and I also added in another hundred bits as a bonus for all the new things you've taught me." She read my expression as I mulled over what she said. "Don't worry about it; thanks to all this new revenue, I can afford it. In fact, I can start paying you royalties on everything that you teach me how to do… I was thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty five percent."
"That's… a lot of bits… I've got plenty to last me for a long, long time thanks to the princesses."
She punched me in the hip. "You always were too modest for your own good Blake. It's hard to believe what Twilight said about you is actually true… anyway, I want to do it, so don't even worry about it."
I looked down to the bag, then back at her. "Well… ok, if you're sure…"
She nodded and gave me a small smile. "I am. Now, why don't you head on home? I'm sure little Scootaloo is out of school and waiting for you back at home by now."
Hammer Hoof walked with me to the door of her smithy and shooed me out. I headed home like she said, but not before stopping by Sugarcube Corner for some sweets to treat everyone. The little bell above the shop door jingled merrily as I walked in. "Well hello dear, what can I get for you today?"
I walked up to the counter. "Well hi there Misses Cake. I'm actually looking for some sweet treats for everyone back home. I was thinking a banana and chocolate chip muffin for Derpy, and cake pops for the fillies. Oh! And a cupcake for everyone."
She gave me a warm smile and started punching my order into the cash register. "Let's see… that's one banana and chocolate chip muffin…two cake pops, and four cupcakes." She paused and looked up at me. "Would you like anything for yourself?"
I shook my head. "Just the cupcake for me thanks. Say, where's Pinkie Pie today?"
"Oh, she's off doing Celestia-knows-what, you know how she is. I swear, that mare has more energy that Pound and Pumpkin…"
I chuckled at the thought. "Yeah, she sure does… speaking of which, how are the little munchkins?"
She started bagging up my order. "Hee hee. They're certainly a hoofful… Poor Carrot doesn't know what to do with the little dears half of the time. Seems like only Pinkie can calm them down when they start getting cranky." As if on cue, a pair of shrill cries rang out from upstairs. "Oh dear… Well, duty calls." She handed me the bag with the goodies in it, and I handed her the bits I owed her.
I walked out the door chuckling and shaking my head as poor Cup took off up the stairs to help her husband with the little ones. I started back to the house, and my stomach started growling at the thought of the fresh, delicious pastries I was carrying. Maybe I should've gotten something besides just a cupcake…
"Hey Blake!" I looked around for the source of the voice. "Up here dummy!"
I looked up to see none other than Rainbow Dash perched on a low-flying cloud. I couldn't help but wonder how I'd missed her. "Heya Dash! How's it hangin'?"
She hopped off her cloud and glided down to me, stopping to hover just two meters off the ground. "Oh, y'know, doing tricks, taking care of the weather, the usual. How're things with you? Has stuff calmed down since Twilight made that announcement?"
I shrugged. "For the most part, everypony seems to be adjusting well enough. I haven't seen or talked to Twilight though."
Dash scratched her chin. "Come to think of it… I haven't seen that egghead either; wonder if she's even come out of the library since she got up in front of everypony and told them she was wrong to tell us all that stuff she did."
"I dunno… what I do know is that she can stew for a few more days, give what she did to me a chance to really sink in."
Dash blinked a few times. "That seems pretty harsh… especially for you…"
I put a hand on her shoulder. "I know Dash, but… if she hadn't fixed things, she would have basically ruined my life." She gave me a look that said that she understood, even if she wasn't all too happy with it. "Tell you what, me and Scoots are going camping in the White Tail tomorrow; I'll talk to her when I get back from that and we'll see where this thing goes from there."
She smirked and playfully punched me in the shoulder. Seriously, what's with ponies punching me today… "Now that sounds more like the Blake I know! She looked around at the evening sky. "Whelp, it's been fun, but I've still got some hardcore napping to do!" She gave me one more smirk and took off.
With my surprise visit from Dash out of the way, I continued on my way home. I walked up the steps to the porch, opened the newly-repaired front door and stepped inside. "Hey everypony! Guess who's home!"
The house was silent for a moment, and I started to wonder if I was the only one here. I was about to call out again, when an excited, and very wet Scootaloo and Dinky came bounding up from the stairs that led to the hot tub. "Papa! You're home!" The two dashed over to me. "Did you get us something Papa?" Scoots was practically wagging her stubby little tail in her excitement.
"Sure did kiddo, but… where's Derpy?"
"Here I am." I looked up to see her walking up from the same stairwell the fillies had just come from, one towel wrapped around her mane, and another draped over her body. She gave me a huge grin. "We all wanted to go for a dip in the hot tub."
I set the bag of pastries down on the kitchen's island and let out a laugh as the sopping wet fillies tackled me. "I can see that. Did you girls have fun?"
The pair were beaming up at me. "We sure did Papa! That hot tub is almost bigger than the pool!"
I chuckled. "That it is kiddo. It actually wasn't meant to be that big though, I made a mistake on the blueprints for the house, and the ponies who built it read them wrong." She cocked her head to the side, but I didn't give her the chance to ask further. "So, you ready for our camping trip tomorrow?"
The feisty filly's eyes went wide and she did a few little hops in the air, wings buzzing excitedly. "You bet I am! I can't wait Papa!"
"Well, I've got another little surprise for you kiddo." She stopped prancing and stared at me, waiting to hear what was coming next. "We need some food to take with us, and I'm going to teach you how to make it, and then you're gonna help make it."
"Really?! What kind of food is it? Is it yummy?"
"You go on ahead into the kitchen, and I'll be in in a sec to show you exactly what we're doing." She scampered off and into the kitchen like I'd asked. When she was gone, I knelt down and rested a hand on Dinky's little hoof, her down expression not being lost on me. "Don't worry Dinky, I'll take you next time, I promise… it's just that I've been promising her for a while that I was going to take her, and we kept having to put it off. If you want, I can show you how to make the camping food too."
She sniffed and wiped her nose with a free hoof. "Ok…" She looked up at me with big, hopeful eyes. "Can… can I call you 'daddy' too?"
