Author's Note

My apologies to any Eldar players, for a variety of reasons.

Chapter 8 - Celebrate the Season Opening Part 1

Hopper smiled. As was to be expected, the party was going well. It was relatively small for a Pinkie Party; the Princesses, Starlight Glimmer, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Barb, Big Mac, and Twilight’s old school buddies, who were currently having a grand time comparing notes and theorems with Starlight, save Minuette, who was happily running around playing some athletic game or other with the Crusaders and Barb. Adults now or not, they seemed happiest constantly on the go. Alas, Shining Armor and Cadance couldn’t make it; negotiations with the umbrum were at a delicate time, but they had sent their best wishes, and of course, presents.

As for Hopper, he was busy playing Ponyhammer 40,000 with Luna and Rainbow Dash. To be more accurate, he and Rainbow Dash were barely holding their own against Luna two to one against her Eldar. Eldar! "You are over cautious with your Guard and as unwilling to risk for victory as ever!" declared Luna, "And Rainbow Dash over-eager to shield my troops from your batteries with her White Scarves’ bodies! What should be synergy instead aids my speed and flexibility!"

Rainbow and Hopper shared an embarrassed shrug. It was true. Indeed, the only reason they were holding their own with Luna was her weakness: an old-school emphasis on taking out the enemy, and hence a tendency to forget to grab and hold objectives in her eagerness for the kill. Twilight Sparkle shaded the game with her prodigious breasts as she looked over the battlefield and kibitzed with both sides, informing Rainbow Dash, "Field more Librarians," with a sniff and a playful wink.

Rainbow was about to reply when Pinkie’s chosen light trance background music was broken with a distinctly familiar — to Hopper — thump of drums and harsh call of electric guitars. The Elements, on the other hand, took up martial positions, instinctively protecting the non-alicorns, but Hopper merely put his hands over his eyes while Luna chuckled and Celestia smiled. Snarling voices sung out, "Hey! Hey! I’m your life, I’m the one who takes you there…"

Curling black lightning mixed with pure white bursts of light flared out from an unoccupied corner of the room. As the Elements turned towards the display and the room began to shake, a twisting un-space, neither blackness nor light, pulled back into a grand doorway. Past the doorway, a long series of glowing stepstones stretched out into a starfield background. The song continued, growing louder as Hopper let out a long-suffering sigh; the Elements spared him a curious glance and, confused, relaxed their preparations for combat. The stones began to light up, illuminating a pair of peerless figures as they stepped forward.

The taller of the pair, still a polite two inches shorter than Celestia but thus towering over all the other inhabitants of the room was a graceful, lithe female figure, dressed in dark, spiderweb lace. Indeed, tailored over her chest a spider reared, staring out with mandibles and legs spread wide across the curves of her breasts. Continuing the theme, the woman possessed six long, oddly-angled arms ending in long-fingered hands, all out of proportion to her torso in length, much like her creepy yet elegant legs. One hand held scales; another, a gavel; the other four were free. She had eight dark eyes with only a light black lace veil, and an onyx crown shimmered in the light upon her brow. Her dress was likewise long and trailing lace, as much web as garment.

Her movement was odd, and the jointedness of her limbs seemed slightly off. It was difficult to tell, at first, but as she walked forward, the strangeness became more clear: when details and patterns could be made out, the angles were always shifting slightly, so that at one point, she might seem to be moving backwards, with her head over her shoulder (or turned owl-fashion), at another point, moving forwards, but simply at odd angles, and then finishing her step moving backwards with her legs in digitigrade manner, like some of the more unusual Diamond Dogs. Her arms not concerned with the figure to her side also seemed to be in perpetual motion; not merely the swing and sway of walking, but seeking and searching almost as though independently alive, or in possession of senses beyond mere touch.

At her side was a strange figure, half-blending into the starfield background. He was a ‘mere’ six feet in height, if well-built for it. As he moved, galaxies and novas, nebulae and stranger stellar phenomena seemed to pulse through a long robe otherwise seemingly woven out of the void of interstellar space set over him, with trailing lengths falling from the arms and blowing in a spectral, unseen wind. His skin seemed made of the same material, a walking figure of space and time, with only the fold and seam of the robe distinguishing it from his flesh. A black crown of the intergalactic dark hovered an inch or two above his head, with white-hot flame burning in a radiant circle above the circle of the crown.

Strangest of all was that despite the difference in height, they walked, not with her holding his hand like a small child, but arm in arm. There was no visual distortion that could be clearly made; it was simply that, when one began to look towards the male figure, it became clear that their elbows and arms wrapped together of an equal height. If looked at without concentrating on their embrace, the difference in height was clear. Twilight began to mutter to herself, and Pinkie whispered, "I wanna know how to do that!"

"She comes in her aspect as the Goddess of Justice," Celestia said softly. "Within that reality it is a commonality among all peoples and all worlds that Justice is a spider or the local equivalent, eight eyes always open and seeking, with an inescapable web that will always find and ensnare you. For them, Justice is not blind; she is eternally vigilant." At that, the Elements realized that the pair were Hopper’s parents, and a hefty swallow was made by six dry throats simultaneously as they realized that she came to them in judgment.

"Worry less," said Luna, softly, as the pair entered the world. "At least she does not come as the Lady of War," and everyone save Hopper rose slowly, almost at attention. The Void King cast flickering shadows as he entered the room, sometimes none at all, sometimes in all directions, following the odd path of whirling cosmos in his form. His wife at first seemed to cast no shadow, but living in a hyper-filled Equestria left one with the sense to look up, and soon, all of guests could see a shadow matching her form-- on the ceiling, but crawling along it like some strange bodyguard.

As for Hopper, he just continued to bury his face in his palms and sighed. "Metallica, Dad? Really?" asked the young alicornoid.

The male figure gave a deep laugh as the portal closed behind him, swallowed back into the nothingness between realities from whence it came. Speaking to the others rather than to his sulking son, the being said, "You’ve heard of the Music of the Spheres? Well, for mine, I chose heavy metal. Classic, at that, despite the reluctance of a certain musical heathen I could name."

Justice released her husband’s hand and pressed one of her long-fingered hands to her chest. "Greetings, children," she said-- or at least, Twilight heard it thus-- perhaps it was, "Hail, young ones," as Fluttershy heard, or any of a number of other similar, statements. Some heard more than one statement at the same time within the resonance of her voice. None of it matched her lips, and both Twilight and Rarity, who had made a study of such things, wondered if they could almost make out a subtle threat or promise. Pinkie Pie looked up sharply for a moment, before making her best "first impression smile" and waving, if hesitantly.

Indeed, as Justice was looking over the crowd and the Elements in particular, her gaze lingered on Pinkie Pie for several moments longer than the rest. Nevertheless, each of the princesses thus examined felt in her heart what the suitors of Prince Bullion must have thought when his mother declared that only the most fit and true warmares would be permitted to seek his hand. The Test of Queen Adamant was still a set piece adapted in many fantasy love stories this day.

Most mares would probably have rather avoided having to undergo such a test, however.

The eyes were the worst. The sense of being stared into followed not only the four pairs of eyes but both ahead and behind of the motion of her swiveling head. If Adamant had subtly indicated by royal proclamation in triplicate that any harm upon her son would be visited ninefold upon the wife's or wives' clans, then the whispers promised that Justice would know the moment that any who held her son's heart betrayed him.

And that she would need neither clan nor army, nor even her husband to speed her pronounced sentence thereafter.

A slight smile from Justice’s too-wide mouth permitted the breath back to her amazonian potential daughters-in-law. The queen smiled wider and turned to Luna and Celestia, six arms open wide. The pair embraced her warmly. "Good Queen Justice," Celestia said warmly. "I treasure our correspondence, but you must visit more often."

Luna declared, "I would love to spar with your war-aspect again! I have not learned so much since long before my interregnum."

As Justice laughed and agreed to more frequent appearances, Barb pushed and shoved to try and get to the front. Frustrated by the slow movement of the Elements, she started to move around them, before Rarity stepped slightly in the wrong direction, giving way to the inexorable gravity of the Void King as he moved towards his son. A sudden SMACK was heard.

Barb grunted as her face hit a delectable combination of padding and power. Rarity blinked and turned around to look down at Barb, who rubbed the spines on the back of her head. "Did you just hit my FACE with your ASS, Rarity?" complained Barb, who added, "I hate being short."

"I don’t know," came the warm voice of the Void King, "There are some advantages to it," he explained to the embarrassed dragoness as Rarity’s cheeks blushed and she held the side of her hand up to her lips. "How do you get people to get out of the way like that, man? I mean, uh, your majesty," Barb said, correcting herself.

"Please," said the King, "Informality is fine. This is a party, after all! As for how, it’s a matter of practice and presence. Once you know how to give yourself social space, you’ll find your height matters less. I believe I have your magical message resonance; I’ll send you some of my archmages’ and archbards’ writings on the subject."

As Barb jumped on her heels gleefully and hugged the star-whirls of the royal entity, Hopper’s rolling rumble added, "There’s also the fact that he cheats, Barb; we’re all in his gravity now, you see. You’ll get something like it from dragon magic, but if he really wanted to press us, none of us could stand. Helps with disarming people messing about with space-time phages who aren’t bad, just wrong in the head." Hopper gave his father his best glare, and then just sighed. So not worth getting into it with the old stuffed head, he thought.

Barb gave the King a skeptical look, and he patted her arm. "Hopper’s right about some of the presence coming in, but I meant it when I said: practice," The entity's component whirls turned slightly, and he nodded to Rarity. "I suspect that talented young lady could turn heads and open pathways even before her fetching transformation. Talk to her- oh?" he asked, noticing a blush on Barb’s face. "Well, speak to one of the Astral Princesses, then," he said sympathetically. "You’re the number one assistant to six of their juniors now! That’s a position of importance; you should be able to make yourself heard!"

"Let me put you in touch with Raven Quill," Celestia said fondly. "The Void King is right, of course. While I hope I listen well enough these days, she’s had to bull through certain stubborn nobles by force of personality--"

"For some of those mares, not to mention Blueblood," muttered Luna, "A square kick to the cu- oops, my apologies, mixed company…"

"Lulu," Celestia said reproachfully.

At that point, Justice walked over and placed two of her eerily thin arms around her husband’s broadly proportioned shoulders and leaned into him comfortably. Observers would be hard pressed to tell whether her unusually-jointed and overlong limbs were more disturbing, or the sense of a ten foot six woman leaning her head onto a six foot male’s shoulder without ducking. "Have you no hugs for your parents, who have missed you so?" asked the Triune Queen with a teasing laugh in her reverberating alto voice.

His grumpiness chased away, Hopper laughed and wrapped his arms around both parents. It was clearer, now, with two tall beings close to the Void King; Hopper easily rested his muzzle against his father’s chest while his mother stroked his back with two hands. "I’ve missed you too," he said softly. "I was wondering…"

"The Starlit Roads will be open to you and your allies as of this year," the Void King said quietly. "A combined gift from myself and lady Luna, whom I have come to correspond with on the matter of starry art," he explained.

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes lit up and she was on the edge of an inquiry when Barb interrupted, hands on her hips and clawed feet splayed out aggressively. "Cheater indeed! Mare, if I could be tall, I’d be tall all the time!" exclaimed Barb.

Hopper laughed and squeezed his parents one more time before breaking the hug. "Dad, if you love me, you won’t tell her your reason in front of my friends…"

"I love you boy," the Void King said, and Hopper’s wings began to untense, "But not that much," he said cheerfully, and Hopper’s wings plastered against his side, the younger male putting his face in his hands again. The King turned to Barb, who sported a skeptical look, and explained, "It’s really quite simple. One size for hugging, and things of that nature," he said, waving a hand airily before continuing, "And another size for the better views, you see, especially in such company."

Justice smacked her husband on the back of the head with one thin-fingered hand with far too many joints - reaching up rather than down - though two other arms kept snuggling him. "Perv," she said, her reverberations reaching a sibilant echo.

"Married, not undergoing heat death," the Void King replied cheerfully. "I can look, just not move them in mysterious ways."

Hopper groaned and blushed even brighter red beneath the black hairs of his hide. "I’m going to supernova," he muttered. "I’m going to become a supermassive red giant and supernova, just like Aikaelana before she cloned herself," he moaned.

Pinkie and Applejack shared a look behind Hopper's head, and nodded. Applejack touched Twilight's shoulder; while Hopper was focused on the Dread Doom of Parentalitis, she snuck off with a bow to the Astrals and a wave to Hopper's parents. Meanwhile, Pinkie decided that Hopper was being ridiculous, and she was the best judge of permissible redicularity.

"That’s just silly! You’d need to put on much more mass than that, and I don’t have nearly enough cake for you!" declared Pinkie as she leapt at the birthday colt, wrapping her arms around him, demanding without words to be carried.

As Hopper obliged, Pinkie cheered and pumped a fist in the air. Laughing, the King said, "It would also require a few more million years of spiritual development," with a wry grin, "And your older sister had quite the continuity plan worked out before I let her do that."

"You’re going to force me to do so from sheer embarrassment!" objected Hopper.

"No more embarrassment until the Special After Party!" declared Pinkie, who added, "And I am not telling your surprise," when Hopper looked at her quizzically. Mercurial as ever, the she declared, "Nope! No more moping, no secrets. Presents time! Presents presents presents! I am the Princess of Parties, and I have spoken!" She gestured lazily towards the pile of presents with one wing while raising her pointer finger high in declaration.

"I suppose we’d better, then," Hopper said with a laugh, and carried Pinkie over towards the presents. "You do know I’m the one who’s opening them, right?’ he asked her. "And the one who’s taking them home," he added after a moment’s thought, for safety’s sake.

Pinkie imitated the Void King’s wavy gesture from earlier. "Eh! Details!" was all she would say, but hopped out of his arms to go get the presents when he came near.

In tandem with their sister Element, quite as planned, Twilight and Rarity lead him over to one of the longer couches. "Here, dear," Rarity said, patting the center. "The seat of honor," she said with an indulgent smile.

As Hopper sat, blinking, Twilight and Rarity claimed places at his side, snuggling in close and making him blush for entirely new reasons - a rush of blood not hindered when Rainbow Dash claimed the spot across the laps of all three, and Fluttershy snuggled in behind his wings, content to lean against him and whisper, "Applejack had to go; she's helping to prepare the After Party so Pinkie can MC Present Time," in his ear, giggling. "She says she’s certain it’ll make up for her absence later."

Hopper smiled and chuckled, "Well, she never lies," he said. "Who’s first?"

"Applejack’s, duhhhh," Pinkie said cheerfully. "Since she had to leave!"

Hopper laughed, and dived into opening his gifts.