Twilight lounged around on her bed, looking out of the window at the lovely moon, and the sparkling stars. Her mind grew slower as she watched the peaceful scene. Normally she prided herself on a mile-a-minute mind and complex, interacting thoughts that traced a hundred paths between different elements. It had served her well in academia, letting her write large dissertations or to connect distantly related elements in ways that sparked thought and hearty discussion.
However, there was a different consideration in play for the new question. She didn't need a fast decision, she needed a careful one. Thought could, in theory, be both fast and cautious, but only as an average of the speed and care taken. She didn't want to sacrifice any care at all, not when it colored the future for so many that extended so far beyond herself.
She had been thinking on the question since Princess Celestia had posed the notion to her, and given her the responsibility to check the reactions of the other Element-bearers. They needed to be informed voters, making sensible decisions based on rational evidence. She had given them all the data she could have, along with all the possibilities. It seemed confusing but the truly important matters were seldom very simple.
The complex interactions of society and biology had many implications. The idea had been suggested to downplay the option, and promote the traditional donation system, as well as perform spermatozoa selection to increase male birthrates. That felt dishonest. It had been floated as the most desperate option, and undertaken with more transparency, with the encouragements announced with earnestness and the good of all asked for consideration. In some ways it was very like what she was asking of the other girls, without the need for absolute unanimity.
'The other girls...' Twilight thought, rolling onto her back. She thought she was being big-hearted and equal, by asking them for their opinions and asking for a unanimous decision. She never even considered that one might have wanted it while the other didn't. She could have been inviting conflicts. Given their need for unity it was hardly wise to invite chaos into their interactions.
She couldn't have simply let them remain ignorant, especially after she had been instructed to get the opinions of the others and find if they wanted to use the traditional method or a new one. She also had to let them know about the potential future cases of filly fooler reproduction that could be a less-magical version of what was being offered to them. They had the capacity to understand what everything meant, at least on some level, and that was what mattered most.
The considerations of state, the pressures of history, the eyes of the multitude... they all paled in comparison to the thought of her sweet little cookbook. She had to try and guess what Pinkie was thinking, even if the vote was anonymous she did not want to be voting against what her sweetheart wanted.
“Emotionalism... I was once smitten with mares who paid attention to me because I was so inexperienced and just wanted that closeness. I closed myself off after I became focused on more important matters. Now, with Pinkie, I could never think of anything but her heart and feelings,” Twilight said to herself, staring at her ceiling. There was a photograph of herself and Pinkie blown up to poster size and placed there. There was also a lingering flour mark near it, that curved in the shape of... Pinkie's flank. The slight extra size identified it, not that she was far behind.
Twilight blushed as she thought of it. From chaste but shallow fixations, to complete asexuality to a burning passion infused with pure love. That passionate love was driving the thought of having children someday. From the first instant that Pinkie had brought up the subject Twilight's response had only ever been 'yes.' An enthusiastic 'yes.' She had considered and dismissed her brother as a donor, for political reasons, which was a general tradition among those that had brothers. She had then started compiling an ideal list of traits that would be required of donors, for both of their purposes. She had barely begun before she stopped. It was just plain wrong to even consider it.
That was entirely opposite to the way things were meant to work. Donors were generally anonymous, in every respect, including race and age. Some exceptions were made, such as pegasi being the only option in cloud cities, but otherwise the process was intended to maintain the sociolegal tradition of the non-dam mare as the sire of the foal. Other information was sometimes available but it was generally frowned upon. In the wake of the Vault's Vale incident the OCFG had looked into rumors of 'designer foals' being desired by Randomoids.
Reproduction was a complicated subject, and would get more so with the lack of a need for males. Medically-trained unicorns would monopolize things, if no thaumatomechanical means were developed. Hybrids would retain males, however, as would non-ponies, allowing for some hope for stabilization while the tech techniques and technology were sorted out. Government campaigns would likely make the option even more attractive and open the idea to a wider audience, not that there was much in the way of resistance.
“I just want to play 'Catacombs and Creatures' with Pinkie, write my papers, pad my CV and get grants,” Twilight lamented, rubbing her hooves over her eyes. She had abdicated her honor throne because of Pinkie and a discomfort with political headaches. Just one more stood in her way, and it was, as Pinkie would say, a doozy. No matter what, she could get back to the life, and mare, she loved with one mark.
Still covering her eyes, and still only half-sure, he reached out with her magic, felt out the right stamp and firmly pressed it to the ink pad. She held open her paper, heaved a sigh and brought down the inked stamp with the hard force of a judge's gavel.