A Pony's Guide To Raising An Alien Octopus-Girl

Chapter 1, Part 5: In Which Tentacled Trouble Takes A Carriage Ride

The sound of wooden carriage wheels against dirt and cobble was the only sound that was heard, the seemingly endless bumping and grinding and crunching filled the air in a muted cacophony; muted by the doors and walls of the closed-interior carriage.

The inside of the carriage was mostly square, lined with a comfortable black velvet-like fabric that was interrupted only by the occasional shiny, black, button that was put in place for either looks, or to actually hold the fabric on, Quill wasn’t sure.

What he also wasn’t sure of, was why it needed to be so dark.

It was, extremely dark in here.

The curtains over the windows were thick and heavy, enough so that only enough light shone in to illuminate the outlines of the passengers.

Luna was most likely to blame for this, actually, he knew she was. Luna had told him not five minutes ago; she was sitting across from him after all.

“Does it need to be so…dark?” He asked, slight annoyance lacing his tone.

“Spaba.” Rekki seemed to agree from her spot on Quill’s lap.

“Quilliam, you already asked this very question not five minutes ago, and the answer remains the same. I enjoy the dim light, as your Princess I have chosen it to be so and you shall abide by this.” Luna said, her words somewhat edged.

“You’re just mad because big sis told you what to do.” Quill jabbed; wondering if he really should be ‘jabbing’ at a Princess.

There was an audible huff.

“Now you listen here, I am on a royal task, in which I am assigned to watch over you and this ‘Rekki’, to make sure you do not cause havoc for the fair citizens of Equestria. I was chosen because I am the most qualified for the task!” She said firmly, that little bit of “Ye olde” accent shining through; a thousand years alone on a moon without being around the evolving language of Equis would to that to a pony.

“Bahspaga.” Rekki deadpanned, shifting a bit in Quill’s lap.

“Shush little one, you know nothing of which you speak. I cannot even understand you.” Luna huffed.

“Are you just like, constantly grumpy?” Quill asked.

“You address your Princess in a manner most brave, Quilliam.”

“I’m a brave type of pony I guess.”

“Why the very nerve of-“

“Tabah!” Rekki cried out suddenly, finding a drawstring for one of the curtains and then giving it a strong tug. It flew open and allowed a beam of light to blast in through the window and straight onto Luna.

The Princess of The Night let out a bit of a yelp, her wings flapping a bit as she shielded her eyes from the sudden and drastic change in light, scooting over to the other side of the seat and trying to let her eyes recover.

Rekki let out a joyous laugh and clapped her hands together, seeming to find great amusement in watching the Princess of The Night practically hiss as she shielded her eyes.

Apparently Quill wasn’t the only one who wanted to mess with Luna.

“I do not appreciate your laughter at my discomfort, tentacled one!” Luna said with a huff, blinking and rubbing her eyes, and then shooting the cephalopod an annoyed glare.

“Bah!” Rekki chimed.

“She just wanted some light, that’s all, Princess!” Quill said with a grin, reaching over and patting Rekki on the head; to which she let out a happy gurgle.

“Indeed…” Luna replied with a huff, inhaling sharply and seeming to recompose herself.

One couldn’t help but notice how young Luna looked, even for as old as she was, she looked young. She wasn’t quite a sinewy and powerful looking as her sister but that may have been more because she was more proficient in magic rather than close combat.

He wondered if she had participated in many wars, she certainly didn’t have any scars, at least not ones he could see. Maybe she had fought, and simply maintained a distance, using her magic rather than getting up close.

It wasn’t all that farfetched of a theory. Luna was very skilled in the arcane and magical; that was a widely known fact that would often contribute heavily to some of the dark and twisted stories that were often told about her.

That was the thing though; she didn’t look scary at all; if anything she looked rather innocent! Though…for all her innocence, she had, you know, tried to send Equestria into eternal darkness.

Granted, she wasn’t in her right mind at the time, but still.

“I can feel your eyes, Quilliam.”

He straightened up a bit and looked ahead, clearing his throat and trying to ignore what she had said.

“Speak your piece; you need not remain silent for my benefit.”

Quill sighed softly as he felt Rekki nudging his leg, he turned his gaze down to find her rubbing her cheek on his thigh and sprawling her body out on the seat of the carriage; a few leg-tentacles drooping lazily off the edge as she let out a soft gurgle.

“I-I don’t want to be rude…”

“We all know that is a farce.” She said, turning her gaze over to him with the smallest hint of a grin. “Ask, and I will answer the best I can.”

Quill let out a somewhat nervous sigh, rubbing the back of his neck with a hoof and looking down at Rekki yet again; finding her to be slowly drifting off into sleep, despite the slight bumpiness of their ride.

“Is there a reason you were so…standoffish, back at the palace?” He asked, gently stroking the infant’s head.

Luna actually snorted, to which Quill sat in silence; unsure how to respond.

“Standoffish…?” She seemed to sneer.

“I didn’t mean to-“

“Nay, Quilliam, you have done no wrong. I will admit I was slightly…confrontational, and I apologize. Please understand something, Equestria as a nation, seems to have a knack for attracting trouble. It is a most bothersome phenomenon, yet it is seemingly one without remedy. With the recent near-disasters over the past few years; Discord, the Changelings, Tirek, I and all the other princesses have found ourselves somewhat…jumpy, at anything that could end up being any sort of major threat.”

“Oh…” Quill couldn’t help but feel kind of bad for being so quick to think Luna was just normally so snippy.

A somewhat awkward silence followed. The only sound being that of the carriage wheels against the cobblestone path, the hooves of the guards that pulled said carriage, and the occasional mewl from the cephalopod that was asleep on his leg.

“Also, partially because…she isn’t a monster.”

“Uh, pardon?”

“Quilliam, Equestria has become rather acclimated; in its own way, to near-constant trouble, not once has some great event occurred where some ner-do-well or monster hasn’t been crawling up close behind it…”

“Your sister already explained this to me…”

“I’m explaining it again, in my own way. Humor me.”

Quill blinked but remained silent, settling back in his seat and perking his ears up.

“You have heard of Fluttershy, yes?” Luna inquired, turning her head to gaze out the window.

“Yeah, she’s one of the Elements of Harmony, right? Uh…Kindness or something?”

“Former Element, but yes; that is she. Now, if you are one to pay attention to the news and ‘Tavern Talk’, so to speak, I would be correct in assuming that you heard of her contracting a strange form of vampirism?”

“Princess, I don’t see what-“

“Answer my question, please.”

“Y-yeah, I heard about it. She sucks the juice from fruit or something to that effect?” Quill said with a wave of his hoof, not really following Luna’s train of thought on the conversation.

“Precisely, fruit and fruit alone, Fluttershy was and still is as harmless as a pony could be. Yet once word got out she had contracted vampirism; it didn’t matter what kind, it wasn’t long before she was harassed, shunned and on a few cases, assaulted by random members of the public. It even got so bad that there ended up being a small mob taking up a position outside of the poor mare’s home.”

“But…she just drank fruit juices, so why would they consider her a danger?” Quill asked; he had only heard of her contracting vampirism and drinking fruit juices, but not of the mobs and assault.

“And Rekki is just a harmless child.” Luna deadpanned, turning her gaze and locking it with Quill’s; her actions seeming to almost give her words more weight.

Suddenly this entire little conversation was starting to make sense to him.

“Public conjecture is a powerful, powerful thing. I know better than most; granted those conjectures weren’t entirely false, but I digress. This child has done nothing wrong and at this point in time it seems like she is going to stay that way. The public however, will not always see it that way; even after she proves herself harmless time and time again. I do not mean to scare you, Quilliam, but It is not unlikely that you will be attacked, and shunned, and rejected…your life from this point on isn’t exactly going to be easy, quite the opposite, honestly.” Luna said coolly, her tone never faltering once.

“I understood this when your sister told it to me, so why-“

“I am telling you this again, so that I can assure you truly understand what you are doing…and, to offer an out.” Luna said, looking over to the side and tilting her head a bit as she spoke.

“What does that mean?” He deadpanned, already knowing what the answer might be.

“What I am saying is this is your chance to relinquish the child over into royal custody. I can assure you she will receive the utmost care and will be loved like one of our own. She will be taught properly and her integration into society will be as smooth as possible, all of the things you want to offer her, but without the pain to yourself.”

Quill said nothing, his gaze locked on Luna’s long after she had finished speaking.

Give up Rekki, could he really do that?

Slowly, he tore his gaze away from Luna’s and down to the small, sleeping form of the squishy octopus-girl resting against his leg. She looked so happy, so peaceful. One of her suction-cup covered hands rested gently against his thigh, as if to make sure he wouldn’t suddenly leave her.

He couldn’t leave her, could he? She seemed to already have bonded very closely to him, and he had grown rather fond of her in the short time they had been together. She was already somewhat of house child; in his eyes at least. He found her, brought her home, gave her a place to sleep, gone through all the trouble of being taken to Canterlot to be told he was going to be allowed to keep her…

He couldn’t just abandon her.

In that moment Quill made that life-changing choice. That ‘Plot Twist’ he had been waiting for his whole life, fell into place and was set in motion in that very moment.

He smiled lovingly down at his adopted child, stooping low and nuzzling her hair tentacles as gently as he physically could, before turning his gaze over to Luna and giving his answer.

“I think I’ll raise her…thank you.”

And from that moment on, his life was going to be anything but ‘Normal’, yet for some reason he didn’t really mind that all too much.