Dec 24th, 124 AE (2139AD)
Chopping Block made his way to Rapid Transit’s modest house, the brown and white earth pony easily pushing his way through the foot or so of snow that covered Alexandria from a blizzard that blew through the day before. It was still snowing, but not the howling blizzard of yesterday. Getting up on the porch, he shook the snow off his legs before knocking. An older pegasus opened the door. “Chopper! How good of you to come by! Do come in!” Soaring Heart said, stepping aside to let her father-in-law in.
Once inside and the door shut, Chopping Block gave his daughter-in-law a head hug. “Good of you to have me over. Where’s Dominic?” he asked.
“I’m in the kitchen, Dad! Get your tail in here and have something hot!” Rapid Transit, better known to the community as Artie, formerly Dominic Vito Capobianco, called from the kitchen.
“Don’t tell me you finally learned how to cook!” Chopping Block shouted as he made his way to the big kitchen, Soaring Heart following.
“Dad, since you arrived, we’ve been together what, three times? You’ve been busy coming up to speed with the new times and body, and I have a business to run. Of course, I learned how to cook!” Artie said as his father came in to the kitchen, leaving the fireplace grill long enough to give him a warm hug, which was warmly returned.
“Don’t let him fool you, Chopper. He can only do a few things, but what he does, he does well. Unlike you, from what I know.” Soaring Heart said, to a glare from her husband.
“So, my skills at cooking carried over. I’m working down at Town Hall, in the cafeteria.” Chopper said before sniffing. “Don’t tell me that’s a steak you’re grilling!”
Artie laughed. “No, not a steak. It’s an Equestrian recipe that does smell and taste like a good steak. I only do this up on special occasions. Having you over on Christmas Eve sounds like a good enough reason for me. Take a seat while I finish cooking. Want a beer?”
“Sure. Equestrian recipe? I have not got that far yet. Springtime, they will bring up those recipes, I’m told.” Chopper said as he took a seat at the table while Artie went back to the fireplace and flipped the steaks and the fish for his wife before checking on the gently simmering vegetable pots. Soaring Heart went to the cooler and pulled out three big bottles of beer, bringing them to the table.
“Yeah, the ingredients don’t grow well except in the spring. I keep a nice batch preserved here, so I can whip some up when I feel like it. Not enough for the whole damn town, though.”
“Smart of you.” Chopper said, pulling the cork off his bottle and taking a pull of the beer.
“He does try. Sometimes, it works.” Soaring Heart said lightly, earning a withering glare from her husband and a laugh from her father-in-law.
“That’s my son, all right!”
After some small talk and serving of the dinner, which was accompanied by some of Artie’s famous home baked bread, Artie got down to business. “Dad, you know about my business, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of it. Interurban Rapid Transit, you call it. They say you can open up subway tunnels from here to anywhere.”
“That’s not quite right, Dad. They are called telegates, not subway tunnels. I can only open a telegate from where I am to where I have been and have committed to memory, or someplace I can see at that moment. For instance, I could take you from here to Grampa’s house in Florida, but I could not take you to the market he worked at. Sure, I’ve been there, but I didn’t learn it well enough. I could take you to where the old ballpark was in St. Pete, but I could not go to Tropicana Field, because I have not been there.
“Also, if I open a gate and you go through, you are not coming back unless I go with you, or go to that spot later to open a gate there back to here. The gate’s only one way.”
Chopper grunted around a mouthful of fake steak before swallowing. “How far can you go with that?” he asked. The steak may be fake, but it tasted real to him.
“Wherever I have been on this planet, Dad. Scotland, England, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Canada, California, if I have been there and remember it well enough, I can go there. To add new stops, I have to physically go there and study the place to add it to the destination list.” Artie explained.
“Your kids and grandkids can do the same thing, right?”
Soaring Heart jumped in at this point. “Not quite, Chopper. Only those of us who are unicorns AND have silver in their horn can cast that spell. Those kids who do not can pass on the talent, but can’t do it or add to it.”
“Add to it? What do you mean by that?”
“What she means, Dad, is that I can pass on my destination list. I’ve had five kids, two of which can cast the spell, Silvermane and Silver Tint. Now, Silvermane inherited my destination list, so he can go anywhere I could go, up to the moment of his conception. He also travels about and builds his own destination list, which he adds on to mine.
“Now, he has three kids himself, none of whom could cast the telegate. But, his grandson, Silverline, has both my destination list and Silvermane’s list, up to the time of his mother’s conception. It will build, generation by generation.
“Right now, there are eleven of us who can telegate: myself, Silvermane, Silver Tint, Silverline, Silver Strider, Silver Spiral, Silverstar, Black Silver, Silvertone, Silver Streak, and Silverbrass. We have a tidy little business going, opening telegates to different cities, going on expeditions, learning more about the world. It’s quite fun, and profitable.” Artie told his father.
Chopper nodded as he took in what he was told. “No wonder you live well,” he said.
“All the market would stand. I made a deal with the government long ago that I’m perfectly willing to work WITH them, but not FOR them. Controlling long distance telegates is a heavy responsibility, and I took pains to instill that in all my kids, and they pass on that instruction, whether they can open a gate or not, because we don’t know where and when the talent will strike.
“My oldest daughter, Bright Wing, is a pegasus. She can’t open a gate. Her second son, Red Vine, is a unicorn, but doesn’t have any silver in his horn, so he can’t cast a telegate. His eldest, Silvertone, can cast a gate. She has her list and my list, and that’s it.”
“I would like to meet them all, if I can.” Chopping Block said as he finished his fake steak.
“You can, tomorrow, at the town Christmas party. I’m sure you have met some of your descendants already, but only on the other side of the serving line. They want to meet you outside of work.” Artie said before snorting. “Hell, I’ve been filling their minds with stories about you since they were all foals. When you finally arrived six months ago, they got to see the old pony knew what he was talking about.”
“Silver Spiral and Silent Flight are still abuzz about picking you up, Chopper.” Soaring Heart said. “They are so proud about being the ones to finally bring you to us.”
“Yeah, those two are good kids. They been checking up on me while I was going through indoctrination and after. I like them.” Chopping Block said before having some beer.
“They like you too, Dad.” Artie said as he used a piece of bread to finish cleaning his plate. “They’ll be at the party tomorrow. Want to spend the night here?”
Chopper thought for a few seconds. “Why not? Beats walking back to the dorm in the snow. You play poker here?”
Soaring Heart laughed. “Artie hasn’t missed a Friday night poker game in thirty years. Some nights, he comes home with a full poke.”
“Other nights, I come home early. You play in the dorms?”
“Oh, yeah. They say that no hand is done before Chopper shows his cards.” Chopper said with more than a little pride.
“Just like back Before, Dad. No hand was safe until you showed your cards. How many winning hands of mine did you send packing at the last minute?”
“Not enough of them, son. I’m still a better card player than you are!”
Artie got up from the table. “Well, you’re going to have a chance to prove it. Let me call some friends and we’ll have at!”
Soaring Heart rolled her eyes some at her husband’s bombast. “You clean up the dishes first, Artie, THEN you call the others!” she said firmly, punctuating the declaration with a hoof stomp, one wing raised, the other wing pointing to the kitchen sink.
“Are you sure she’s not your mother reincarnated?” Chopping Block asked.
“Sometimes, I wonder, Dad. Sometimes, I wonder.” Artie said as he gathered up the dishes. Chopper brought the pots and grill over, and together, they got the dishes done.
The next morning, the three were making their way to the community center, Chopper having been assigned to party and dinner setup. “I told you I could still play, Dom.” Chopper said as they made their way through the snow.
“Yeah, but to the tune of coming out three hundred up? I’ve been told not to invite you to the weekly games, but they are going to have to get used to you being there. I won’t have it any other way.” Artie said, using his silver glow to push some of the snow aside. Fortunately, it had stopped snowing during the night.
“I didn’t know you had so many high connections in town, Artie. You sure you can get me on the fire department?”
“Only if you want to, Dad. As a past chief, they will listen to me if I suggest anyone. I still remember the Hess tanker back in seventy-seven out on Route fifty-nine.” Artie said as they neared the town center.
“The one that rolled over in the gas station? How many trucks were there by the time it got righted?” Chopper asked. “I know it was one of the bigger call-ups we had.”
“Twenty trucks, twelve departments, six hours, three big tow trucks and two mini-cranes later, the truck was back on its tires. At about two in the morning.” Artie snorted.
“You were on the hose nozzle when it was righted. I was behind you.”
“And Gerry Bierker was behind you. I remember saying to myself, ‘if something goes wrong, I’ll never know it.’ Yeah, we’ve had some bad fires here as well, but not as many. We’ve adapted fire gear to pony use, and I led some salvage missions to build up stockpiles, way back when. Still have most of it.”
“You know, Dom, I think I will. Much as I like cooking, I remember my days in the fire department well. Will be good to see if I still have my skills.”
“Not a problem, Dad.”
As they got to the steps of the community center, Chopper stopped and looked at Artie. “Why didn’t you just use a tele-whatever to come here, instead of walking through knee-high snow?” he asked
“Two good reasons, Dad. One is I wanted to spend time with you, and going for a walk made for some more fun conversation. Two, well, I didn’t want to show up out of nowhere in a possibly busy area.” Artie explained, waving a hoof at some of the other ponies going about the town on this Christmas morning. “Even though everyone knows we can do so, we prefer to gate in and out of secluded spaces. Why startle anypony without good reason?”
Chopping Block nodded at the explanation. “I can accept that. Let’s get inside. I have work to do.”
Inside, Chopping Block went to the kitchen, while Artie and Soaring Heart willingly plunged into getting the community center decorated and cleaned for the big party, which will start at noon and go on till who knows when. Bit by bit, ponies and their families arrived, including many of Artie’s descendants. Coppertop was there, along with his own extensive family, those who stayed in Alexandria. Bit by bit, members of Artie’s extended family made their way to the party, getting to meet Chopping Block, who was surprised by the sheer size of the family. “If I didn’t know better, Dom, you’re taking after Grampa John.” Chopper told his son during a break.
“Not quite, Dad. Grampa John had what, nine kids? I only had five. Just know you are a welcome part of the family. We’ve been leaving you be so you could learn about the new times, but now, it’s time to welcome you in.” Artie said to his father.
“You raised good kids, Dom. That, I can say without any trouble at all.”
“Hey, I had a good example to learn from, didn’t I? Just wish Mom was here to be with us.” Artie said with a tinge of sadness. The holidays have always been hard on him, because his mother passed on four days after Christmas, some thirty years before the Event.
“Hey, that was then, this is now. Of course, you’ve had a lot more now than I have.”
“Dad, you’ll have a long time to come now, to live your life in good health. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet a mare and give me some pony brothers and sisters.
“Before you ask, no, there have not been any trace of Josie or Gina. I’ve looked. Maybe they were not at home when the Event happened, and I have no clue where they are, or even if they had exited the timestream yet. You were my main concern for a long time.”
Chopper sighed deeply. “Yes, I was. I apologize for being cross much of the time. It must have been very hard on you, worrying about me, holding your job.”
“Dad, I forgave you a long time ago. Sure, I was angry then, having to wait on you hand and foot, especially when you had one of your episodes, but do remember I never, ever raised my voice at you, no matter how much I wanted to.”
“Sometimes, I would have to say I deserved being yelled at, but your patience was remarkable, looking back at then. How did you ever manage that? You didn’t get your patience from me or your mother.”
“Natural born talent, it has to be.” Coppertop said, having drifted into earshot by then. “He sure as hell only yelled at me when I truly deserved it, not when he had a right to.”
Artie smiled at his eldest son. “Hey, you was my first attempt, and I got you premade. You didn’t require as much yelling at as your brothers and sisters needed as teenagers.”
“Well, the lessons rubbed off, and now I have four generations after me, all healthy, happy and well adjusted.” Coppertop said.
“After winter, can you show me how to do the gardening? I would like to learn about how to grow the Equestrian herbs that taste like beef.” Chopping Block asked his grandson. “If I can’t cut up a cow for a steak any more, I wouldn’t mind finding another way to cook a steak!”
“Not a problem, Granddad. They’re not hard to grow. I’ll show you how.”
“Good. Your father cooked up a good fake steak last night. As a meat cutter for a long time, I didn’t know how much I missed meats until then.”
“Come the spring, maybe we’ll sow a plot of land with them. Few here know how to cook them up right now. It’s not like I have a big work load anymore.”
“If you need transport to some distant fields for growing, just ask.” Artie piped up with.
“No, thanks, Dad. We’ll walk if we need to. You got secrets and so do I.” Coppertop said with a little nickering laugh.
At the look on Artie’s face, Chopper had to laugh as well. “Now you know how I felt whenever you showed me up!”
Several hours of mixing, mingling and munching later, it was time for gifts to be given out. Chopper was surprised when his name was called, and even more surprised by the several packages presented to him. One contained a full set of knives tailored to his grip, another several aprons he could fit around himself. After expressing his gratitude for the two gifts, he was presented with two more envelopes, one of which rattled and clanked some. The first envelope, the one that did not clank, contained a letter from the fire department chief, extending Chopper an offer to attend fire pony training school, the next class of which would start in February. The chief, who was present at the party, came up to Chopper, introduced himself, and told him that he was assured of his competency, but he still needed to train because he was a pony, not a person.
The brown and white earth pony managed to thank the chief, saying that he did not aim to disappoint. The second envelope revealed a set of keys and several sheets of paper, which proved to be the deed to an apartment in the heart of downtown, a nice third-floor flat with two bedrooms and all the amenities. The card included was signed ‘from the whole fam damily!’. “Why two bedrooms?” he asked. “All I need is one.”
His youngest great-great-great-granddaughter who could speak, a four-year-old blue and green pegasus filly, said “So we can visit you and spend the night, Grampy! Mommy says you have lots of stories!” Azure Wing said, fluttering up to Chopper’s back to give him a hug. That was the signal for all the ten-and-under crowd to gang hug Chopper.
Chopper managed to make eye contact with Artie. “You know I’m going to strike back, you sneaky sonuvabitch!” he said with a smile as he was swarmed by foals of all types.
Artie and Soaring Heart looked back at Chopper “Just call it payback, Dad. My payback to you for raising me right, despite your later irritations. I did say I forgave you long ago. Now, somepony here has one last gift for you.”
Silent Flight went up to his great-great-grandfather and pulled a box out from under his wing. “This is from all of us, but I won the draw to present it to you,” he said around the wire he was biting.
Chopper looked at the present. It was a cleaver, mounted in a brown wooden box with words engraved on the blade. ‘Welcome Home, Chopper! Returned July 6th, 124 A. E.’ A separate plaque under the handle read ‘Time for a fresh start’.
Chopper looked around at his extended family surrounding him in the community center. “I am home now, and I do have a fresh start. Who’da thunk it?” he said as the family cheered.
Coppertop looked over at Artie. “So, you did learn it from him. Who’da thunk it?”
Author's Note
Just telling a little more about Artie's father, Chopping Block. a hundred twenty-four years is a long time to wait to say 'I forgive you'.
For my father Chopper, 6 Jul 1939 - 1 Oct 2015. Miss you more now than ever...
