//------------------------------// // Chapter 35: Bedtime Musings // Story: Pearlwort, Unintentional Villain // by Halira //------------------------------// Whatever Pinkie had said that drug was, it was good stuff. We really didn't want to have to stop and go to the Heart, but managed to force ourselves to do so. We gave each other a promise to get back to our fun time after we were done though. The Birthday Party Brigade was a very odd guard, but I supposed that was to be expected of Pinkie Pie's guard. They were of course all clad in bright pink and had streamers of all things attached to their uniforms in multiple different locations. Rank insignia's seemed to be marked with different types of cupcakes. They were also the seemingly least disciplined guards I had ever encountered. They openly asked us if we had a good time in the bedroom, gave suggestions on positions, reminisced about their own bedroom exploits, and asked us when we were going to put a bun in an oven. They were quick to laugh and joke, and never seemed to stop smiling or giggling. I guess the were completely appropriate guards for the Alicorn of Laughter, but I questioned whether I really wanted this batch of guards being responsible for our safety. Of course Mera and I were barely behaving ourselves either. We were still very much under the drug's effects, and we were being far more flirty with one another than we typically would be in public. We brushed up our wings against each other's wing bases, kept giving each other little kisses, sniffing each others personal areas, and being generally indecent all around. Mera even laughingly asked one of the female guards if she would be interested in a threesome later, and I was so hyped up on sex drive I actually considered this a good idea. The mare, thankfully, said to get back to her on that when we weren't in the midst of drug induced lust and then she would consider it. She laughed about it, and made it clear she was pretty sure that we wouldn't feel the same way later. She most likely was right, but that was hard to imagine at the moment. When we finally made outer way into the Heart's chamber we found Starligh waiting for us. "I advised Flurry that it would probably be wise to have me watching over you two in case there were any mishaps with Pearl's magic," Starlight explained as she gave out flirting an bemused look. "Shouldn't be a problem, I do this all the time with regular focus stones, and Flurry Heart sad it would be pretty much the same thing," Mera said, and then stole another kiss from me with a giggle. "I haven't actually seen you before today in a Thestral form Biblo. Sunset let me know about it, but it is a little surprising seeing it still. I kind of figured you were going to go for that by things you had said previously. Are you taking to it well?" Starlight asked casually. "Loving it, it was only a little annoying when I am supposed to know about something in Thestral culture and have to shrug my wings, but now I am kind of a trendsetter for Thestral culture so it isn't too bad on that front anymore. Everything works too, thanks to Pearl's magic. I am a Thestral with Thestral and Crystal Pony magic," Mera said happily. "It's good to hear you are enjoying yourself. Pearl, have you noticed any side effects of the adjustments to your mind?" Starlight inquired. "Nothing I can think of exactly. I have more confidence than I did before on most things, but don't see that as a bad thing," I said with a smile before nipping at my wife's neck, making her giggle more. "And I see that whatever Pinkie gave you is definitely working. Meadowbrook said it lasts about a day, but can cause you to be far mmore reckless with sexual activity. Try to get somewhere private away from other poniescwhen you are done here, okay?" Starlight said with a barely concealed smirk. "Yeah, we might have propositioned one of Pinkie's guards for a three some, not sure if that was the drug talking or not. She is pretty cute," Mera said. "Very cute," I agreed. "Yeah, that is probably the drug talking. I would avoid following up on that if I were you. For now, Biblo, you need to get to work, and Pearl, just stand by in case you are needed," Starlight instructed. "Alright, let me get this over with so I can get back to doing a very close inspection of what goes on under my wife's tail," Mera said with yet another giggle. We really should have been more serious and focused on the situation, and likely were going to feel very bad about acting like this in the middle of a crisis once the drug wore off. I think I was going to blame Pinkie. Pinkie had given us that drug. It occurred to me then Pinkie had a nice flank too, maybe Mera and I could get creative in making her pay. Okay, I really needed to get this drug out of my system if that was where my mind was going. Mera went over to the Heart. The chamber was pretty plain, just plain bluish crystal walls all around, there was a long cylinder of crystal that extended down just above the Heart, and a smaller cylinder of the same crystal below it. The Heart itself was just a large heart shaped crystal that kind of hovered in place. It was maybe the size of a large pillow, and perfectly white. Mera just stared at it for a long moment. "So do I just treat it like it is a focus stone completely? I normally have to grip those, and I am afraid of doing that with this, it looks so delicate," she said as she stared at the Heart. "Yeah just grab on and channel. Don't worry about breaking it. It was once pretty fragile, but we have long since added enchantmentss to it that make it so it would take something pretty extreme to break it. Believe me when I say you don't want to have to deal with that thing when it shatters, it is an extreme hassle getting it back together before the city is encased in snow. We have had to do that more than once, and have since made sure it won't break for less than a hundred tons of force coming down on it," Starlight explained, grumbling towards the end. "Whatever you say. If I break it by accident I am pointing my hoof at you to blame," Mera said with a shrug, before standing up on her hind legs and gripping the Heart with her forelegs. It was interesting watching Mera work. If she were in her Crystal Pony form right now she would be brightly lit with magic, but in Thestral form what could be seen instead was waves of magic seem to pulse out of her hooves into the Heart. This continued for several seconds, then without any warning the Herlart gave off a bright flash. "Gah!" I heard Mera shout, before hearing her fall down. I couldn't actually see this, as I was temporarily blinded by the flash. And it took a moment of me blinking to clear the spots from my vision enough to look around. Mera was all crystally as if she was in her Crystal Pony form, but still retained her Thestral form. It was a very attractive combination that made her look like a piece of smokey quartz. Starlight also had the same effect as well, and I swear if I looked from just the right angle I could actually see through her. I looked down at myself, no such effect happened to me. "I feel jealous," I said out loud as I looked at the other two. "I guess your anti-magic doesn't let it happen to you, Precious, but don't fret; you are still the sexiest pony around," Mera said with a inviting smile. "It has been a while since I have had this happen. I actually forgot the Heart did that. It is a shame it only lasts a day or so," Starlight chuckled as she looked herself over. "I have seen the Heart do that before when I was a filly. Well, I didn't actually see the Heart do it, but we were all caught in the effect. It was the day I got my cutie mark, and I stayed all bright and shiny for almost a week after every pony else went back to normal. I wonder if it will last a week again this time," Mera said as she admired herself. "Is every pony in Crystal Heart like this right now?" I asked curiously. "Well, with the exception of you, I would expect every pony from here to the southern Foal Mountains is right now. There are two Hearts now, and they are linked. The Heart in Night's Heart likely did the same thing. I am guessing there are a lot of confused Thestrals right now down there. Hopefully Flurry took the time to make sure some pony down there is ready to explain what just happened to them," Starlight mused. "Actually, I had better go check with Flurry about that. She might have been so focused on getting it done fast she didn't have a plan ready for any questions that might arise down south. We don't want a panic starting down there by accident." "So what do Mera and I do now? Do we just go back to trying to fill more focus stones for backup?" I asked. "My guess is that Flurry will want you to do this again when the effect starts to fade, at least until we have become certain that the crisis is past. If we are lucky it purged any non-Crystal Ponies as well of the ailment. In theory it should, but we are only planning on the Crystal Ponies getting cured with this until we are sure. If it does work on all ponies we won't need any of the focus stones to be used. If this outbreak had happened beyond the Heart's reach we would have, but Tidewater is well within the reach of the Heart," Starlight explained. "So our job is basically have lots of sex to be ready to give the Heart another magic infusion," I said with a laugh. "I suppose we can commit ourselves to such a sacrifice," Mera followed my comment up with an overdramatic sigh and hoof held to her head. "I am sure it will be very trying," Starlight said in a sarcastic tone. "I'll see that Pinkie gets you more of that stuff that makes you two behave like rabbits." "Oh, we behaved like rabbits before that, now we are like..I am not sure what we are like..but it is hornier than a rabbit," Mera said thoughtfully. "Swans, dolphins, chimpanzees, certain types of gerbils would fit the bill," Starlight suggested. "Eh, swans or dolphins maybe. I don't like having my sex drive compared to that of a weird looking monkey, and definitely don't want want to be compared to a gerbil," Mera grimaced. "You a squeak like a gerbil sometimes when we are going at it," I said slyly. "You are mistaking me and you. Let's get back to that big bed and I will show you," Mera said with a brush of her wing tip across my face. "Okay you two, get out of here before you give me a headache with all your flirting. I will be sure to take time to tease you both about this at some later date when you are thinking clearly," Starlight said with a hoof pointed at the door. We didn't need any more direction than that, we were eager to get back to doing what we had been doing after all. Out in the hall we were greeted by the still snickering Birthday Party Brigade, who were now all crystally as well. We re-propositioned the one mare again, but got the same response. Oh well, we could have plenty of fun by ourselves. *** It turned out that the Heart did work on non-Crystal Ponies which meant it was just our job to keep giving the Heart a recharge of magic on and off. Pinkie Pie returned to Crystal Heart while Starlight went out to Tidewater to conduct the search for whatever the cause of the outbreak was. We spent time either in the bedroom set aside for us or in the Heart's chamber. We even got free room service for our stay. After two days of searching there hadnt been any luck in finding the cause. What was found instead was bad news. There had been an isolated mining village a little further north of Tidewater that had only made occasional deliveries to Crystal Heart, I wasn't even sure the village had a proper name since no pony ever said a name, but it was much like Starlight's Folly had been, every pony gone. The discovery of this prompted a search of other outlining communities and many others were found to be empty as well. No residents, no bodies, no signs any pony had fled, just empty. The epidemic had been in full swing already and Tidewater had just been the first community that we had gotten notice about. It was extremely disheartening news, and caused a large degree of panic in Crystal Heart. Mera and I didn't get to witness any of this panic due to our seclusion, but the guards and Pinkie would pass along news. Pinkie actually had to up our dose of the drug to keep us in the mood despite the strong effects before. "Time for the little Thestrals to get their medicine," the voice of the pink Alicorn said as the door to our room opened. We hadn't been doing anything that moment, but I don't think Pinkie Pie would have cared if she walked in on us in the act. "Is there any sort of side effect to this stuff that we should be concerned about?" I asked as I took my personal vial that was floated to me. "Not really. You can get addicted, but you have to take way more than this daily for weeks at a time. Even then getting over the addiction just makes you feel kind of icky for a few more weeks," Pinkie said while giving a short bounce. "If you say so," I said as I downed my daily dose of lustwort. "Anything new to tell us about?" Mera said as she rolled over in bed. She didn't face Pinkie Pie, she was still busy admiring my flank, likely debating doing more with me with Pinkie Pie still standing there. "Nopesies, still no cause, but no new sick ponies either. They might have you stop in a day or so and just wait and see if a new outbreak starts to try to figure out where. At least that's what Flurry said. I am thinking of throwing you a big Congratulations for Making Ponies Better Party!" "I think we are having plenty of party time now," I said as I got back in bed and cuddled up against Mera, making sure to brush against her wing pits just so. "Yeah, but it is a special Pinkie Pie prepared party. I can make it extra special," Pinkie giggled. "Unless you are talking about a massive filly fooler orgy I think we will we will pass, we like our privacy," Mera said before letting out a moan of pleasure as I found just the right spot. "No massive kitty cuddle, just typical party. I can keep it private though, over at the Heart's Desire," Pinkie said happily. "Um, that place gives me the creeps. I really didn't like the way that one..pony..smiled at me there. Plus, Sunset said that hotel behaved really strange when the staff got upset," I said, shivering from fear rather than pleasure this time. "Oh you just have to have me talk to them. They would do anything for me, they love me," Pinkie said with a massive grin. "If you say so. I guess a quick party after all this is over won't hurt any pony," I said. I really only said it to make her drop the subject, Pinkie had a one track mind when it came to any sort of party I had figured out from hearsay and observation. If you didn't agree she would just keep hounding you about it, or just have one as a suprise party. "Will do, when this is all over we will have a party at the Heart's Desire that you will never forget," Pinkie said with another happy bounce. "Whatever you say, but can we have a bit of privacy. We need to get back to..work," Mera said, lingering on the last word. "I thought you just had to have sex," Pinkie said with confusion. Seriously? This pony was one of the most powerful beings in the world? "Out!" Mera shouted. Pinkie giggled, which might indicate she had just been messing with us, or not; she giggled no matter what. But she did teleport out of the room after that. "So, she used to be your personal Alicorn?" I said questioningly to my wife. "Call it a phase if you like. She can't be too bad. I was a lot like her years ago and you fell for me, plus I still have my moments," Mera said with a smile. "Well, you also matured well. I think Pinkie is still stuck in foalhood," I grimaced. Mera got a serious look on her face. I was a little concerned I had somehow offended her, though I had no idea how. I was about to ask if I had said something wrong when she took a deep breath. "Pearl, I have been kind of thinking. You know how Patina has foals every hundred years or so? I know we were both very uncomfortable with the idea before, and we haven't thought about the concept really since we were in Harmony, but do you think you feel any different now?" Mera asked in a low voice. "You would know how I was felt about that before me," I said with as honest an answer as I could give. "I would know if you were giving it any thought, but you haven't. I have though, and I think I might feel a little more comfortable with the idea," Mera said quietly, looking at me softly. I didn't really know what to say about that. I hadn't given it any thought, that was true. Patina did that thing all the time, at least in terms of what all the time could be considered for an immortal, and Water Shadow had seemed to be opening up to the idea again. I wasn't really sure even of the mechanics of how we would do it. "You are uncertain. That's fair I guess. You know I won't push you to do anything you don't want to do, but maybe think about it some," Mera said. "How long have you been thinking about this?" I asked. This subject really had taken me off guard. "Well, the seeds for it have been there since Harmony, but it is only maybe in the last year that I have really seriously started thinking about it more. I had been wanting to wait to feel something from you about it before bringing it up, but you really haven't thought about it," Mera said in an embarrassed tone. "Just to give me things to think on, how would we go about it?" I asked. "Well, there are special enchantments for couples like us," she started explaining. "Normally both mares would have enchantment. One mare would have an enchantment that makes her extra fertile and receptive to impregnating, the other would have a temporary genitalia altering spell that would give her..well a working cock. Magic doesn't work on you unless Starlight takes your cutie mark off, and I know how you would feel about having anything altered temporarily that way on you. So I figured that I could use the one to give me the ability to get you pregnant, and just hope for the best with a bunch of tries. The spell is expensive, and only lasts a few hours, but we can afford multiple applications of it." "So I would be the mother and you the father?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "Depends on how you look at it. I prefer to look at it as us both being mommies. Just you would be the one who goes through the pregnancy. There is the option of just getting a stallion to knock one or both of us up too, but I would prefer the foal to be all us," Mera said, sounding more uncomfortable with this part of the discussion. "I really don't know yet. I feel like we need to talk some more with Patina to get perspective. That would mean a visit back to Harmony, unless we could convince her to come visit us here. We can write her a letter about it as soon as the crisis passes here," I said with an encouraging hug to my wife. Mera smiled and then nibbled at my neck gently. We were still feeling very frisky, and only getting friskier as the drug re-kicked in. So a strong wave of pleasure went through me. "Well, no rush. I just want you to think about it. I am just glad you don't feel horrified by the idea," Mera said contentedly. "Did anything get you thinking about it more?" I asked, giving a nuzzle. I" am not even sure what got me thinking about it more, maybe it was just my mother's insistence that only Peridot would ever get her grandfoals. I am not angry she says that, she is just stating what she thinks are facts, maybe they are. It makes me think about it though," Mera said, again in a lowered voice. "I'll think on it. Once we get to talking to Patina and get to know how she deals with it I can give you a better answer," I said. Having a foal was still a big insecurity, but there was at least one pony that was immortal that regularly had foals. Maybe there were others and I just hadn't heard about it, I would need to ask. There was already the start of the feeling of watching the world age while we stayed young, at least for me. I was thirty-five years old now, but still looked not a day older than I had at twenty-one. If I had started a family around seventeen or eighteen, as was common, my foals from such a relationship they would only be a little bit younger than Peridot. Mera had aged mentally a great deal, but she too was physically unchanged in the past eight years. Maybe watching fillies and colts turn into stallions and mares was what was promoting her to start thinking about foals. My wife seemed to pick up on my thoughts and gave me a long considering look. "Do you miss me being more innocent?" She asked. "I know I have asked before, but I can't help feeling insecure sometimes. I am not the same naive little pony who sat staring at fish in confusion back in Yazyakistan. And back then I was looking to you for protection, now I do my best to protect you. I worry sometimes you will lose interest in me in favor of some pony more like the pony I was." "You are probably just thinking this because we are drugged up to the point we are looking at every pony like a potential sex partner. We both know we don't go looking at other ponies normally. Yes, you have changed from the original silly little Crystal Pony, but that was only my initial attraction to you. Your mother hasn't been bubbly and bouncy since I met her, which is how you described her being when you were a foal, but your father is still very much still in love with her. We grow together, and so does our love for one another," I said with another nuzzle to her. "Mom has changed from when I was a foal hasn't she. I never really paid it a lot of attention until you just mentioned it," Mera said thoughtfully. "She probably changed because she started worrying about you and Peridot more. Both your safety and how to bond with you, just like you changed a lot when you developed a big concern for my safety. That change is a sign of love though, you two are still very much alike, having changed due to concern for your loved ones," I said. Mera sat and considered. Since she was still nuzzled up close to me she could still feel what I was feeling. I could swear that her abilities to read that were actually getting stronger to the point she could actually read thoughts. If she was reading mine she would know I was being completely honest with her. "I think mom and I need to have a night out together," Mera said after a long moment. "I hadn't really considered how similar we still were, and how we had responded to similar things with dramatic change. She wants to bond, that is something to bond over. Once everything is in the.." "You two are going to want to hear about this!" Pinkie interrupted as she dasjmhed into the room. Mera looked annoyed for an instant, but the two of us looked at Pinkie expectantly. "What? What's happened?" I asked, not sure if were being given good or bad news. "We are being invaded right now. Tidewater is under attack!"