//------------------------------// // Chapter 27: Meet the Parents // Story: Pearlwort, Unintentional Villain // by Halira //------------------------------// Crystal Heart was a very different city than Harmony. Most of the buildings were one or two stories, rather than the large massive structures of Harmony, though a few would rise to four or five stories tall. They were all made of crystal rather than stone or wood, and the colors were light blue, yellow, and violet. Some of the structures were uniquely shaped structures that looked to be strange works of art despite clearly being buildings still. The streets were of the same ornate blue crystal, and had designs carved throughout them. The Crystal Spire, and the castle associated with it, stood at least one hundred stories high in the center of the city, no where near as tall as the Great Tree, but still the largest structure by far. I could imagine that there were tens of thousands of ponies in this city, which was an astronomical number, but far easier to contemplate than the legions of ponies in Harmony. The feeling this city gave off was one of art and beauty, in contrast to the feeling of power that Harmony displayed. "Hot Sticks and I will be heading to the Heart's Desire Hotel, do you know of it?" Sunset asked Mera. "Yeah, I know where that one is, it is up near the center of the city, up near Flurry Heart's personal estate," Mera replied looking off in one direction. "Good," Sunset said, "then we will leave you two to go do what you need to do, while we go check ourselves in. When you need us just go there and ask for me. Do you want us to reserve you a room as well, or do are you planning on staying with your parents for right now?" "I don't think we know yet," Mera replied hesitantly. "I would hold off on reserving us a room for now. If we need one we will rent our own. Now that we are here we can find a bank and get what we need to cover our own expenses. Don't worry about waiting around for us, I don't know how long we are going to be with my parents." "Alright then, well, good luck to you two with the parents. I don't envy you trying to explain everything to them," Sunset said sympathetically to the two of us. "Good luck," Hot Sticks said as well. "I remember when I told my parents that I was going off to Harmony to study under Meadowbrook . They were convinced that I had gone insane and was talking nonsense. I can only imagine that yours might think much the same of you." "Hopefully it won't be too bad," I told him. Mera looked at me with a doubtful expression. She would be the expert out of all of us on how her parents would react, and she didn't look thrilled at the prospect at all. We waved goodbye to our friends as they walked off towards the center of the city. When they were out of sight I turned to Mera awaiting her direction. She was still just sitting down in the street with her ears lowered, not eager at all to get moving. "We can't really put this off, but if you wanted to give me a tour of the city to give yourself more time it would be okay," I told her. She looked at me with her ears half perked up, sensing a chance to delay the meeting. She then looked around the area and lowered her head and ears again. "No," she said, as she got to her hooves. "We had best just go do this. Procrastinating isn't going to make this any easier. I still have no clue how to even go about talking to them about everything, but we will have to wing it." "It will be okay," I assured her, and gave her a hug. "I know it will," she said to me with a sad smile. "It is just going to be an extremely difficult conversation. Come on, let's go get this over with." She led me down many streets, going at a brisk trot that seemed far more determined than she actually was. The city seemed to have clearly defined residential and business districts and it took us several turns through streets to reach regular family dwellings. After about twenty minutes of making our way through the many streets she came to a halt before a simple two story abode made of purple crystal. It had a few flower patches planted in the front, and some flowers growing in pots sitting on windowsills. A small staircase led up to the front door, and the elevation of the first floor, along with a few windows near the ground, suggested there was a basement as well. "Home sweet home," she said nervously as she looked at the dwelling. "It looks like a nice place," I said as I looked over the flowers. It actually did look inviting, a place well taken care of, that you could imagine a happy family living in. "It is," she responded. "My parents are really nice, I am half surprised I don't see Peridot running around out here, she should be done with school for the day, and she likes being outdoors." "We will find out in a minute," I replied, then gave my wife a muzzle to the face. "Go on up and knock. I am right here behind you." She gulped and slowly made her way up the steps. She looked back at me for reassurance again and I gave her another smile. She turned back to the door, took a deep breath, and then knocked three times with a forehoof. A few seconds later the door opened revealing a pink mare that clearly matched the description of Mera's mother, Tibia. The resemblance between the two was unquestionable. Tibia's eyes lit up as she looked at her daughter and she let out a happy gasp as she immediately grabbed Mera up in a large hug. "Bibulous! I can't tell you how worried I was about you," the mare cried with joy. "I know it isn't fair to think it, but we didn't think you would be gone anywhere near this long. We have been so stressed the last two months and dealing with all the changes with your sister. Diamond! Get out here, your eldest daughter is back!" "It is good to see you too, Mommy," Mera said happily, with much of her earlier nervousness evaporating in her mother's embrace. A white stallion quickly came to the door and took Mera from her mothers embrace into his own. "Biblo, it is so good to see you safe and sound," Diamond said as he hugged her. He released her and gave her a look over. "And you seem to be in excellent health as well. Actually, you look more much more muscular than when you left. I take it whatever you have been doing, you have not been lazy. Is that a life pack?" "Yes daddy, its my own life pack, and yeah, I have had a very busy two months," Mera told him with a smile. Tibia was the first of the parents to take notice of me standing a few pony lengths behind her daughter. She looked at me quizzically for a moment then back to her daughter. "Who is your friend? Did you finally decide to bring a marefriend home to meet your parents?" She questioned her daughter. Diamond looked over to me with curiosity noticing me now as well. "Um, that's Pearl, and what do you mean finally bringing a marefriend home? I never told you I was into mares," Mera said with apprehension, looking at her mother accusingly. "Biblo dear, you might not have told us out loud, but it was impossible to miss how you looked at mares. Your parents aren't completely oblivious," Tibia said with a smile. She then blushed. "Plus we went through your room when you were gone and found some of your magazines. They made your tastes very obvious." I couldn't help myself, I covered my muzzle with a wing to hide a giggle. Mera gave me a stern one-eyed glare for a brief second, which I smiled back to. She dropped the glare and smiled back. "And why were you going through my things?" Mera said to her mother, as she decided to glare at her instead. "Well, you see.."Diamond began to answer for Tibia, rubbing a hoof against the back of his head in embarrassment. "We weren't trying to be nosy, but about two weeks after you left Peridot started her first estrus. She is a little young for her first one, and after what we dealt with dealing with you and your estrus periods, we kind of panicked and looked to see if we could find any of your toys to help her deal with it." "Daddy that's so wrong!" Mera shouted with horror. "You do not give something that has been in my private areas to Peridot to put in her private areas! You didn't actually give her any of those to use did you?" "We made sure it was properly and thoroughly cleaned first," Tibia assured her daughter. "Mommy no! Just no!" Mera said breaking loose from the embrace of her parents. She looked completely mortified."That has had my juices on it, and now it has had Peridot's. It is like an incestuous relationship in an object." I wasn't sure it worked that way, but Mera certainly felt it did. "I told you we washed it thoroughly dear, but if you feel that way we can find something else for her next time," Tibia replied back. "We were just very stressed when she started so soon, and we were already stressing about you being gone. We apologize if we ended up doing something inappropriate. Changelings don't get estrus, and your father certainly has no clue about dealing with it. We just tried to find what worked with you." "Let's just not speak of it again," Mera said with a shiver. "So was her estrus bad too?" "Actually, she seemed to do much better than you ever did," Diamond responded happily. "She took to watching the Crystal Guard train, and they are used to fillies and mares dealing with estrus staring at them training. I was very comfortable with her spending her time watching them, a pony showing off their physical prowess while in uniform has always been an attraction getter, and those ponies are kept in line about not taking advantage of females not entirely in their right minds when it comes to sex." "Thing that became a stress for me was she kept on watching them train after estrus passed," Tibia said mournfully. "You'll be happy to know your sister has her cutie mark now too, looks like she has a career as a guard pony in her future. I'm two for two on daughters who don't seem interested in my work." Tibia's eyes wandered back to me, and they settled on my cutie mark. I could almost see the wheels turning in her mind as she did so. I didn't actually know anything about keeping flowers, but my pearlwort bloom must suddenly look very intriguing to my mother-in-law. Even if my mother-in-law didn't know yet that I wasn't just her daughter's marefriend. Mera gave a sigh of relief at hearing the news about her sister's cutie mark. There was no absorbing talent with Peridot, so there was no fear about Peridot touching me. Her parents gave her a curious look at the sigh. "Can we come in?" Mera finally asked. "Pearl and I walked here through the forest to the south, and we started today just a little after midnight. We would really like to sit down for a while. Plus, we have a lot to talk to you about." "Of course dear," Tibia said as she made room for Mera to pass her, and signaled me to come in as well. "What were you doing in the south? From what we heard you were going northwest somewhere." Mera and I entered into the house into a nice comfortable living room. The decorations were simple, paintings of flowers, a few bookcases with knick-nacks and books on them, a few potted plants, two large overstuffed couches, and a small table. Mera motioned me to follow her over on to one of the couches. After hopping up on it and sitting she placed herself so we were physically touching. Her parents didn't say a word about our physical closeness, and took up a similar position on the other couch facing us. "I don't know how to explain everything that has gone on in the last two months," Mera began. "I do know what I need to make known first though. This is Pearl Bottom, and she isn't my marefriend, she is my wife." Her parents gave off a shocked gasp and went wide eyed as they looked me over. I gave them a wary smile and wave. "Um..hi?" I said timidly, fearing judgement. They both just continued staring for a moment, as they tried to process in their minds the fact I was their new daughter-in-law. Tibia seemed to come out of her shock first with a shake of her head to clear it. "This..is..sudden," she said simply. "I am pleased to meet you Pearl. I am sorry if I am not coming off right, but this has me shocked. I am sure you are a wonderful mare if my daughter chose to elope with you without ever telling us about anything, it is going to take a few minutes to have this settle in." "We did have a proper wedding," Mera assured her mother. "The Twilight Princess herself was the one who married us, and most of the guests were Alicorns." "You don't need to invent tall tails to impress us, Bibulous," Tibia said with frustration. "She isn't making up stories," I defended my wife. "A lot has happened, and the Alicorns have direct interest in both of us. We even have a contract signed by the Twilight Princess herself that we can show you later, once we have told you about everything." "A contract from the Twilight Princess?" Diamond said with interest. "So you two have a job that will earn you a livable wage?" "More than livable," Mera said with a proud smile. "It actually will likely make us fairly wealthy. We already have over sixteen-thousand bits in the bank that the Twilight Princess ordered deposited herself, and we expect to earn an additional three-thousand every month for the rest of our lives, provided we keep to our end of the contract." "What in the Realm could you be doing that she would be paying you so well?" Tibia said with renewed shock. Mera and I looked at one another. Mera reached around into her life pack and pulled out the rolled up contract. She looked at the document without unrolling it and set it down between the two of us. "We'll explain it and let you read the contract in a little while, we have a lot of things to still get to before we can explain that and have it make sense," Mera said, as she looked back to her parents. "Well, I guess it is at least safe to say that you didn't marry a mare with no future," Diamond said with pride at our contract. "Tell us more about yourself, Pearl. Don't let Biblo do all the talking for you. I want to hear it about my new daughter-in-law from my new daughter-in-law." Mera looked at me with a pleading look that said please take over this conversation for me. I gulped and obliged. "Well, my original name is Pearlwort. I took the name Pearl Bottom when I married Mera here," her parents gave another confused look at Mera as I mentioned her newer name. "Biblo took the name Chimera Wort, or Mera for short, trying to have a Thestral name since I took a more Crystal Pony name. She spent a while trying to decide on it." "Okay, it seems kind of weird but I can accept that name," Tibia replied looking at her daughter, before looking back at me. "Please continue, Pearl." "I was orphaned when I was sixteen years old and eventually moved to Starlight's Folly to live," I continued. "That is the farthest northern town in the realm, and sits right on the edge of the Lost Lands. Creatures of that town made a living scavenging the wastes for rare crystals that could be found there, and I was a fairly decent scavenger. The wastes are a dangerous place, and live expectancy for scavengers is not very high. There are lots of ways to die in the wastes, wendigoes, undead, ice golems, freezing to death, and more." "Wait," Tibia interrupted, and she looked at Mera sternly. "That is where you went?! I had no idea it was that dangerous! What were you thinking? If I had known that I would have gone off and hauled you back home." "I am a grown mare mommy," Mera asserted. "But I didn't know it was that bad either." "You could have been killed!" Tibia said with a half sob. "Dear, she clearly wasn't," Diamond said to her quietly. "We need to listen to the whole story." He turned back to me and smiled apologetically. "I am sorry for the interruption, please go on." "Yes sir," I replied, before continuing. "Anyway, one day after scavenging I went to the doctor of our town, Hot Sticks. I had been in a fight with an undead that day while scavenging, and I wanted to make sure my wounds wouldn't fester." Tibia gave Mera another nervous glance at me saying this, but didn't interrupt. "We got to talking and he offered to take me on as an apprentice. Unfortunately the first day on the job the town had an epidemic break out, and that training went undone as I was put on duty maintaining the quarantine on the town. There were only three of us in town who weren't sick after a day; me, Hot Sticks, and a Pegasus stallion. "Hot Sticks found Mera in a cave that the town used for storage. She was as sick as the rest of the town. We figured out that she had just gotten into town right before the quarantine happened, and soon came down with the same illness." Tibia let out a whimper for her daughter, but again didn't interrupt. "We had been failing at every attempt to cure the illness and we were losing hope. I have a special magic to me that keeps me from getting sick, and Hot Sticks had tried to find ways of transmitting that magic from me to patients, but with no success. But since Mera was a Crystal Pony we hoped that maybe she could absorb it better. "This might sound silly, but he had me hug her and think positive thoughts. To my shock it worked." "My first words to Pearl were me telling her she gave good hugs," Mera said with a giggle, then she gave me a kiss on the side of my face. "And you do give the best hugs." "So you saved my daughter from dying to some terrible epidemic?" Tibia asked me with a quivering voice. I nodded back, and found that Tibia could move very quickly, as before I could blink I found her in front of me and myself caught up in a tight embrace. "Thank you," she sobbed into my fur. Mera petted her mother's back gently as Tibia cried on my shoulder. "Come back over here dear and sit by me again," Diamond said gently to Tibia. "Our new daughter will never get to the end of the tale if you keep interrupting her." My heart swelled at being called a daughter, and I had a few tears start to form in my eyes. "Hot Sticks wanted to see if I could transfer Pearl's magic to the other townsfolk, but I couldn't do it without focus stones, and there were none in Starlight's Folly," Mera said sadly. "So, me, Mera, and Hot Sticks decided to go to Harmony to seek the help of the Alicorns," I continued on, not letting Mera brood over her inability to help back then. "Mera and I got increasingly close, and we were always together. At first it was just to make sure that she could keep absorbing my magic, but it got to be more than that. We officially had our first date as we passed through Yazyakistan on our way to Harmony." "Remember how we talked before about how I would know what you were thinking and pick up on your habits suddenly, Mommy?" Mera asked Tibia. Tibia nodded back slowly. "Well, apparently I can do that with any pony that isn't a Crystal Pony. With how much time I spent hugging Pearl I really got to know her feelings about everything well. I fell in love with her, and I could tell Pearl liked me too, even before Pearl realized it. We were trying to deal with a tragedy, but I couldn't help being happy because I had the most wonderful mare I had ever met with me." "Um..did you pick up any habits from Pearl like you picked up from me?" Tibia asked uncertainly, worried she might offend me. Both Mera and I blushed at the question, which was an answer in itself. "We will get to that," I said, sparing Mera having to explain that. "She actually picked up things from several different ponies, one of whom was an Alicorn, but we will get to each of those later." Tibia and Diamond's faces paled a bit at the thought of what Mera might have picked up from others. "When we got to Harmony some bad things happened to the two of us," I said, unsure if I wanted to discuss the specifics. Mera took on a very downcast expression and rubbed her head against my neck and let out a small sob. "Should I tell them the details or not right now?" I asked my wife. "I can talk about this now without trouble after what Starlight did, but you are still struggling with it. We can skip the details right now if you want to." "Just tell them Pearl," she said quietly. "It's upsetting, and I am never going to get over it, but they should know." Tibia and Diamond gave me a fearful look, wondering what could upset Mera so much. "Alright," I sighed. "We were in the city together and it was late. We got lost and couldn't find our way back to where we were staying. Mera spotted some Lunar Guards and signaled them. She didn't know at the time that the rest of my tribe hated me, extreme hatred. The reasons for that are a long story, it is old prejudices, nothing I did wrong. But those guard ponies came down and beat both of us." "They did more than that," Mera growled. "They raped you and made me watch!" Tibia and Diamond gasped again and were left speechless. "I am likely going to be angry about that to my dying day. No pony is ever going to do something like that to you again, I will make sure of it." "It was a turning point for each of us," I continued again. "For me I was a broken mess of a pony for a while, breaking down in panic attacks without warning. Mera was the only pony that could get near me without me feeling nervous, and the only pony I would let touch me for some time. Mera in the meantime started training with the Medical Guard, not to join, just so she wouldn't feel so helpless in the future." Tibia and Diamond had tears in their eyes as they looked at both of us. They looked like they wanted to say something but had no idea what to say to all that. "We stayed in the Temple of Meadowbrook as I recovered and Mera trained," I continued again. "The Alicorns caught the guards responsible. They were eventually tried and sentenced." I decided to skip all the details of the trial and the fate of my rapist. "While at the temple tests were done on me and Mera to find out how to better combat the illness that had hit Starlight's Folly. That's when we learned that my magic wasn't just helping me not get sick, and heal faster, it was effectively making me immortal." This brought another round of shocked gasps from the parents. "And I am absorbing it constantly from Pearl, making me effectively immortal too," Mera added in. "As long as I keep absorbing from Pearl anyway. I don't intend on ever leaving her." "Our daughter..is immortal, because of you?" Tibia asked me, voice quivering. Mera and I just nodded back. Tibia broke down crying, there was no way of telling if she was happy or upset. She was likely just overwhelmed. Mera hopped down from beside me and went over and embraced her parents. "We soon after decided to get married," I continued when Tibia was able to pay attention again. Mera kept by her mother, hugging her as I talked. "We wanted to get it done as soon as possible, we didn't think there was much point in delaying. After the wedding the Alicorns made a deal with us, they would pay us to regularly get them focus stones with my magic in them. Mera is the only pony that can actually transfer my magic reliably to focus stones. It can act as a magical cure, not only for the affliction that struck Starlight's Folly, but just about anything. So it is exceptionally valuable, and we are the only ponies who can produce it." "So your job is to produce batches of this magic super cure for the Alicorns?" Diamond asked. Mera nodded to him with a smile. He pulled her and Tibia into a tight embrace. "Do you hear that Tibia? Our daughter and daughter-in-law are important ponies who are helping cure sicknesses that no other pony can. I don't think I could be more proud!" "Yes," Tibia said with a happy gasp. "I can't even be upset about not being invited to the wedding right now. I am a little disappointed that I lost my last chance to get one of my daughters to inherit my shop, but that seems rather petty." "I might try learning about it, if you don't mind teaching me," I told her. "I don't know much about flowers right now, but our work is mainly done by Mera. I need something to keep myself busy, and I wouldn't mind learning about how to tend to flowers and run a shop." "I'd like that very much," Tibia told me with a grateful smile. "I think we need a break before we continue, let you two have some time to let this all sink in before we shock you further," Mera told her parents. "There is more?" Diamond asked her in disbelief. "What more shocking news could you possibly have at this point?" "A few things, at least one I am sure you won't be happy about," Mera said with lowered ears. "Can we just take a few minutes? This next part is really important to me personally, and I am terrified of how you will react. I need a few more minutes to work up the courage to talk to you about it, and I want you two to be braced for it. Please, just a few minutes." "There is nothing so bad you can't tell us about it dear," Tibia said to her. "We are your parents, we love you no matter what." "I know Mommy," Mera said sadly. "But this last part just feels like it will be more difficult for you to accept. I know that sounds crazy with everything else we have told you, but it extremely important to me and I am still afraid you won't understand. Just a few minutes, please, just to let me gather my courage." "I think I am going to have to have a smoke then if it is something that is bothering you that much," Diamond said as he grabbed up a pipe from a nearby end table. "Diamond, please take that outside," Tibia complained. "I have long gotten used to your habit, but I am sure they don't want to have to smell that." "Actually.." Mera interjected, blushing as she did. "I ended up picking up that habit as well in the last two months, and Pearl did too. Right now a smoke sounds like a very good idea." She looked at her father who was gaping at her, and she sighed. "Go ahead, I know you are going to be dying to rub it in. Let's hear it, I know you can't resist the irony." "I don't know what you mean," he replied innocently. "It is just my biggest taunter about my smoking habit has a smoking habit herself now. It isn't like I want to laugh my head off at the fact that the filly that grew up calling me Stinky suddenly is one of those stinky ponies herself." By the end he was clearly trying to restrain himself from laughing. "Mera I am surprised at you," Tibia chided her daughter. "I know you are a grown mare and can do as you want, but it really is a bad habit." "I know, but I enjoy it. And the healing magic from Pearl makes me immune to any health problems from it," Mera said as she began pulling out her pipe. "Did you know I can't get drunk anymore? Alcohol does nothing for me. I take my little pleasures where I can, because I am going to be around way too long not to enjoy things." "You make immortality seem so depressing," her father said as he watched with fascination as Mera lit her pipe. "Everything we have heard makes us think so," I said in reply. "Did you know after a few thousand years you start forgetting everything about the earlier years of your life? Where you were born, your family, all of that? Ponies aren't supposed to hold onto memories forever, there is just too much to remember after thousands of years. That doesn't even take into account the fact you get to see every pony around you grow old and die, over and over again, generation after generation. It is hard not to feel like it is a curse instead of a blessing. If we didn't have each other, we would probably go insane eventually." Mera began shaping her smoke as I was talking, making images of ponies being born, growing up, getting old, and then dying. She looked up at her creation sadly, as her parents looked up at the images with renewed shock. "How are you doing that?" Tibia asked her daughter with awe. "Thestral magic, the same magic I absorb from Pearl allows me to use Thestral abilities. One of those is shaping smoke," Mera explained. "There are some weird interactions between me being half changeling and having an absorbing talent. It really concerned the Alicorns a lot. They worry about what I could come to do with time. There is an Lesser Alicorn who traveled with us who is staying at a hotel in the city now. She says she will help me learn how to control my abilities so they don't get out of control. It is part of why we want to live here, I don't absorb from Crystal Ponies like I do from every other type of pony. It gives me a place to learn to control myself safely." "There is an Alicorn here specifically because of you?" Diamond asked. "We will introduce you to her eventually," I told my in-laws. "She is disguised so ponies don't realize she is an Alicorn, and you have to promise not to reveal to any pony you know she is an Alicorn. She doesn't like ponies knowing she is an Alicorn, and she doesn't want to be treated any different than any other pony." Diamond and Tibia nodded silently. We sat silently for several minutes. Diamond and I both lit our own pipes, and Diamond and Tibia watched in fascination as Mera and I both shaped our smoke into different things. Diamond actually looked envious of our abilities. Our quiet few minutes were brought to an abrupt end as the front door opened and a green filly came into the house in a rush and stopped dead still as she surveyed the room. "Biblo! Your home! Wait, why are you smoking? You know that is stinky!" The filly who was no doubt Peridot said as she tossed her saddle bag to a corner. Mera laughed and doused her pipe, then got up and rushed to embrace her little sister, who happily jumped into being embraced by her sibling. I got to get a look at Peridot's cutie mark as they pulled each other into a hug. Her mark was very similar to her father's, only her's was a set of the silver hoof blades over a purple shield. "Let me see your mark," Mera said with excitement. "Mommy and Daddy told me you got your mark, but they didn't describe it to me." They released the hug and Peridot turned so she could proudly show off her mark to her older sister. Mera clapped her forehooves together happily. "Those are hoof blades. Are you good with hoof blades?" Mera asked. Peridot quickly nodded. "I am still learning about how to use them, but they just feel right when I have the practice ones on. When I tried them for the first time I just knew I wanted to get really good with them, and that's when I got my cutie mark!" Peridot said with pride. "Do you like my mark? Dad was happy when he saw it, but mom kind of freaked out at first. She was worried I was going to get hurt." "I think it is a great mark," Mera told her warmly. "I am very happy for you. So you intend to go into the Crystal Guard when you grow up?" Peridot nodded enthusiastically. "They have this after school program for fillies and colts who have a predisposition for guard training that I have been going to every day after I am done with classes," Peridot explained with the same continued excitement. "They have us run obstacle courses, teach us about responsible weapon usage, and teach us all about the history and duties of the Crystal Guard. It is a lot of work, but it is really great. They told me if I stick to doing it up to when I am seventeen I am guaranteed a spot in the Crystal Guard then, and a spot in the officer training program. I am doing everything I can to do my very best at it." "Well, I am very glad you found what you want to do with your life, and very proud of you." Mera hugged her again. "I am just glad you are back, I really missed you," Peridot said as she hugged her sister back. "I will be around for a long while to come," Mera said as she looked down to her sister. Then her ears dropped a little. "There are going to be some changes with me now that I am back though. How about you go sit on the couch with Mommy and Daddy so I can tell you along with them. I have already been telling them a lot, and you will need to be brought up to speed on some things later. For now, I am going to get this part over with before explaining everything again for you, which I will do." Peridot picked up her sister's mood and nodded, before heading over to the couch with her parents. She looked at me curiously, not knowing what to make of me, as I doused my pipe and gave her a small wave and smile. "That's your sister's new wife Pearl," Tibia whispered to Peridot, causing Peridot to gasp. "You will get to ask everything about that later, but for now your sister has something she wants to talk to us all about that is really bothering her. Just be a good sister and try to be supportive of whatever she has to say, okay?" Peridot nodded to her mother, and then gazed at me again. If she was like Mera she never saw a Thestral before now. I got up and walked over to Mera and gave her a full kiss on the mouth, before wrapping a wing around her in comfort. I tried to think positive and reassuring thoughts to help her feel more confident. She looked at me gratefully. With a sigh she turned her attention back to her family. "I have gone through a lot of changes the last two months," she began, "and one of the biggest changes was to my sense of who and what I am. I have been absorbing things from Pearl constantly, and not just magic. I absorb instincts, thought processes, feelings, and I absorb those willingly. But I am not the same pony I was before as a result, and one of the changes that I need to address is the fact I feel more like a Thestral than a Crystal Pony now. My Alicorn friend has already transformed me for a few days when we were making our way back here from Harmony, and let me experience the world as a Thestral in form, instead of just in mind. I had to be changed back when I came here so you would know me, but I don't intend on keeping this form. It feels wrong now, and I can't begin to explain how wrong it feels to try to move my wings, only to realize again I don't have them. As soon as I can I will be turned back into a Thestral." The three ponies on the couch looked at each other with confusion. "If that is what you want dear," Tibia said. "Compared to the rest of what you have told us today it doesn't seem as big a deal as you make it out to be." "My Alicorn friend set conditions," Mera explained. "I don't have to avoid all you, but I can't be acknowledged as family in public, she says it causes too many ponies to ask questions. She told me that I need to start learning to address you by name instead of calling you Mommy and Daddy, and that part hurts. She says I need to do it even in private because I might end up slipping in public if I don't. It will be like we are going to pretend to forget there ever was a Bibulous Bottom, and you just have this new friend of the family named Chimera Wort. I am not cutting myself out of your life, but our relationship as a family is going to have to change. Being a Thestral is extremely important to me though, I just feel incomplete without being one." "What's a Thestral?" Peridot asked, completely lost. "A pony like Pearl here," Mera said, gesturing to me. "I wouldn't look exactly like Pearl of course, my facial features would be largely the same as they are now, with the exception of a set of fangs. My fur in my Thestral form is grey rather than pink, and my mane color is more bleached out. I would have the same tufted ears, and leathery wings." "You aren't cutting us out of your life though?" Diamond asked for reassurance. "No, even if I can't acknowledge that your family, you are still my family. No matter what you are still my Mommy, my Daddy, and my little sis. That can never change, even if I am not allowed to say those titles anymore. And I am still your daughter, and your sister Peridot, even if we can't say it." "I can't say I am happy about that," Tibia said sadly. "We will make it work, though. If this is really that important to you. It is going to hurt, not hearing you call me Mommy anymore. I was always so happy you never gave up calling me that in favor of Mom or Mother as you got older, like most foals do when they get older. Even Peridot started just calling me Mom since you've been gone. I can handle it though." "I can go back to Mommy if you like," Peridot said as she gave her mother a hug. "I was just trying to act more mature, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." "I think caring about another point's feelings is one of the most mature things you can do sis...I mean Peridot," Mera said sadly, and then sighed. "This name thing is going to be hard to get used to." "We will help keep you on track with it," Diamond told her. "We aren't just your parents, we are your friends too. So, go ahead and use our names. It will be weird for us too, at least at first, but we will all get used to it. As long as we still have you in our lives we can make that small sacrifice." "Thank you..Diamond" Mera said, clearly uncomfortable with calling her father by name. "Is my room still the way I left it? Pearl and I could really use some sleep, it has been a really long day. Just a short nap so we can get some rest. When we get up I can take you all to meet Sunset, our Alicorn friend, and you can meet me as a Thestral for the first time." "Yes..Mera," Tibia said, having the same difficulty with the change of names. "You and your wife go up and get some sleep, while Diamond and I explain to Peridot what she missed in the conversation. I am sure she has a lot of questions." "Thank you Tibia," I said, saving Mera from another uncomfortable use of names. "It has been wonderful meeting you. I have had no family since I was sixteen and I am really looking forward to getting to know my new one better, even if we can't say we are family. I know we are, and I hope you accept me as family too." "You have no need to thank me, Pearl," Tibia said with a smile. "Mera would be dead now without you, and you have given her direction and happiness. Words cannot express how much I appreciate you, and I am looking forward to getting to know you better, and hope you are serious about apprenticing at my flower shop. I really do want to be able to pass it on to family when I finally retire." "I will definitely make an effort to learn, it would be nice if the flowers on my flank meant something more than survival." I gestured to my cutie mark. "Get to sleep you two," Diamond ordered. "If you don't you'll be too exhausted to have us meet your friend, and I am eager to meet an actual Alicorn. I have only ever seen Flurry Heart at a distance, so I never have gotten to speak with one before." We smiled and made our way up the stairs.