Mosaic adjusted Windless’ blanket. “Are you comfy?”
“Very comfy, thank you.”
“It’s wonderful having two colts back in the house. I’ve missed being able to tuck in both my boys.”
“I don’t think I’m big enough to substitute for Stone, but I’ll try.”
“I’m glad you’re here as Windless and nopony else.” She kissed the top of his head. “Sleep well.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Mosaic looked at Cobalt. “Are you sure you will be all right down there?”
“I have a blanket over me, a blanket under me, and a pillow. Everything is great.”
She moved to him and kissed the top of his head. “You sleep well too.”
“I will. Thanks, Mom.”
Mosaic turned off the lights, as she walked out of the den. The moon light coming through the binds gave the room a comfortable semidarkness. Quiet minutes passed.
“You’re mom’s great, just in case you didn’t know,” Windless whispered.
“Trust me, I know. How did you know I was still awake?”
“You were holding too still and not breathing like you were asleep. I hate to get up, after your mom tucked me in, but we need to talk about Care.” Windless left the couch and sat in front of Cobalt. “You mixed magic with my sister.”
“Yes, I did.” Cobalt sat up. “I didn’t plan it. She asked to help with rockmoss and I said it would be okay for us to try. If you want to hit me, go ahead.”
“Just remember, you asked for it.” Windless gave Cobalt a congratulatory punch on the shoulder and a brotherly hug. “You have no clue how relieved I am.”
Cobalt patted Windless on the back. “I’m glad and confused.”
“I need you to look after her. Knowing you two are compatible on that level takes a lot of weight off my mind.” Windless let go of Cobalt. “This is the first time in our lives I will be away from her. She doesn’t need protecting, but she’s still my twin sister and I will miss her and worry about her.”
“Stone’s not my twin, but I understand the feeling. When he went off to college, it was rough for a while. It threw off our routines and little things made it sting again when we weren’t expecting it. I will take care of her, while she is here. We all will.”
Windless gave him a grin. “Will you take care of her as well as you take care of plushie Care?”
“Even better.”
“You’ll give her nuzzles too?”
“If she wants them, I will.”
“From what I saw, nuzzles are well within the realm of possibility.”
“I need you to answer something for me.”
Windless grinned. “I can do that.”
“If I ask her to be my special somepony, would that make things weird?”
“For us or for her?”
“Both.”
“Between us, there’s no way. You dating my sister would be a good thing. There are not too many upstanding stallions in this world. Even if you two fall out, which I doubt would ever happen, we’d still be friends.”
“Will she freak out if I ask her?”
“Only the happy kind of freak out, she didn’t keep Stowaway for nothing. You helped our parents, and have supported each other through some rough stuff for a long time. You’ve both been building up affection for each other for years, so it’s no surprise you two may move beyond the friend level soon.”
“The timing feels off, if I ask right now.” Cobalt ran a hoof over his mane in a worried manner. “She’s vulnerable, with the move and all the changes. I don’t want to add to that.”
“One reason she chose here over the Lunar Academy is that she felt she had friends that would look out for her rather than jerks that would make fun of her. We bat ponies are a close knit community, for better and worse, and having tight connections with ponies we care about is important. If you ask before too long, it would be a boost to her.”
“Thanks. That helps a lot.”
“Let’s make things official” Windless put a hoof on Cobalt’s shoulder. “I, Windless Night, decree that if you wish to be my twin sister’s special somepony you have my blessing. However, if you hurt her, I will pound you in the dirt to the best of my ability along with whatever help I can muster, including Gauze and my parents, because I would need all the help I could get and they would be furious with you too.”
Cobalt chuckled. “Thanks. I feel the same way with you with Labra. She’s my honorary little sister, but that doesn’t’ matter to me with how much I care for her.”
“Watch me and her close. I mean it. Tell me to end the practice special pony thing between me and her if you think I will end up hurting her.”
“Are you all right?”
“Cobalt, if Gauze walked through that door right now and asked me to marry her, I would. It would be stupid for her and me both, I know that. That doesn’t change the fact I love her and I would.”
Cobalt took a moment before responding: “I don’t even know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. This is my issue. I want you to know what’s going on in my head so you can look out for Labra.” Windless took a deep breath. “I offered to be Labra’s practice special somepony because I didn’t want to see her cry. Gauze did the same thing to spare my feelings after we had such a good time at the celebration here and I asked her to be my special pony. Labra’s and my situation is different because of the larger age gap and the distance that will be between us. I know that, but I’m worried that Labra is going end up like I am with Gauze. I want you to tell me to end it with her before it’s too late.”
“You make it sound you were going to do something horrible to her.”
“I could be.”
“Is what you’re feeling about Gauze that bad?”
“Yes!”
Cobalt jumped at the strength of Windless’ answer, though it was said in not much more than a whisper.
“It’s so bad I’m jealous of you and my sister!” Windless thumped Cobalt in the chest. “You like her, she likes you.” Thump. “You’re going to be close together.” Thump. “You have been friends since we were starting high school.” Thump. “You two are compatible down to your magic.” Thump. “Because I’m a hopeless romantic idiot, I thought I could have that with Gauze even when right from the start she said it could not and never would happen!”
Cobalt caught Windless’ hoof. “Windless, do I need to get Freight?”
Windless sniffed. “Gauze discussed the ‘practice’ special somepony idea with my parents. My parents thought it was crazy on one level but a good learning experience, so they set the rules with her and me. I messed it all up by falling for her. When I realized what I had happened, I told her we needed to stop. It about killed her that she had hurt me trying to be kind. We're still friends, but it's been weird between us ever since. I don’t want to do that to Labra.” Windless put his head in his hooves and sniffed again. “Luna, I’m such a mule for falling apart like this right now!”
“What is going on?” Care asked in a concerned whisper, as she entered the den from the hallway. “I could hear you talking from Stone’s room.”
“He’s having a panic attack about how he might hurt Labra being her practice special somepony.”
“I’ll go outside and suck it up,” Windless said and then sniffed. “I shouldn’t bother anypony else with this.”
“Get where Cobalt was on the floor.”
“I just need a min-”
Care stepped up to Windless and stared him in the eye. “Get on the floor or I’ll get Mom and Mosaic.”
“That’s low. Don’t bring Cobalt’s mom into this. She’s too nice to put up with my self-pity party.” He froze as Cobalt put a hoof on his shoulder. He turned to look at Cobalt’s hoof and then up at him. “I never thought of you as being intimidating till right now.”
Cobalt patted Windless’ shoulder. “Come on, let’s get on the floor.”
“So, you’re her muscle now.”
“No, I’m your friend. You need this.”
“I don’t mean to sound like a jerk, but how would you know?”
“Because I ask others to get into pony and puppy piles with me to keep me from going insane, it’s about the only thing that works.”
Windless’ ears fell. “The village.”
Cobalt nodded. “Hound’s Run. That was its name.”
“Okay, I’ll get on the floor.”
Windless got into Cobalt’s previous position on the floor. Care and Cobalt got on either side of him. They curled around him so that Windless was in a pocket between them, with his head on Care’s shoulder and Cobalt’s chin resting just behind Windless’ shoulder blades.
Care used her free hoof to stroke Windless’ neck. “Breathe in. Hold it. Then slowly let it out. Relax with each exhale.”
“Cobalt, what happened at the village? Care told me some of it, but she didn’t tell me too much.”
Care looked at Cobalt with worry.
“It’s okay, I need to talk about. It hurts, but it helps.” Cobalt told them:
Hounds Run was a mining town that had just started in the MacIntosh Hills, on the western side of the Badland’s west mountain range. They were doing well, digging in areas that others hadn’t in a long time. Due to the changelings being pushed back and our being on good terms with the dragons they built the village where they thought they could get the most ore and gems. Since no one that lived in the region for so long, nopony knew there was a very rare kind of fungus called fire spore caps that grew in the deeper caves in the region. They dug into some chambers with the mushrooms in them and the fungus released its spores in response to being disturbed. The spores didn’t do much more than irritate them like regular dust would, so they kept going. They would wait for the spores to die down, sweep them out as best they could, and dig again. Everything was okay, and would have been all right, but they dug into a chamber linked to their water supply and the spores contaminated the water.
Cobalt paused and took a breath.
Care leaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose with her hoof. “You don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to.”
“No, he needs to know so he understands why Labra and Pyrite are so special to us, beyond being the wonderful doggies they are.” Cobalt continued:
When the spores got into the water, they started their growth cycle to get ready to colonize another cavern by using the water to travel there. The spores are very poisonous when they are in that stage. The diamond dog miners, who would drink the water in the cave, got sick first. By the time the village realized that something was wrong, most of the diamond dogs and ponies had drunk the tainted water. They sent for help, through a pegasus carrier, but he got sick too and didn’t even make it to Dodge City. When somepony found him and reported what was going on, Dodge City sent what aid they could, and called on Ponyville for help too.
I volunteered to go with Amore and Mend, when they said they were going. There were just over a hundred diamond dogs and ponies in the village before the spores got into the water. There were eight when it was over. Pyrite made it because he was not weaned yet and his mother’s body kept most of the poison. Labra was very lucky. She had gone with her dad and uncle to Baltimare to deliver a shipment of gems. They got back just before the village figured out that the water was making everyone sick. Labra also drank a lot of fruit juices and milk rather than water and didn’t get a lethal dose of the spores. Her parents and uncle didn’t make it. Bonsmara and Fierce adopted them, after finding out about what had happened.
Cobalt shuddered. “All we could do for most of them was make them comfortable as best we could.” He paused and closed his eye. “I still have nightmares about all the graves and the rows of dogs and ponies dying with nothing we could do.”
“Care, we’re swapping,” Windless said, getting to his hooves and moving out of the way.
“Come here.” Care guided Cobalt to her. “Hold me so it's comfortable for you.” Her eyes widened as he tucked her against his chest with her head under his chin without effort. She snuggled against him and wrapped her forelegs around his barrel.
Windless positioned himself at Cobalt’s back in the same manner Cobalt had with him. “You’re almost too big for this to work.” He looked over Cobalt’s shoulder and chuckled. “From here, it looks like you’ve got a bigger Care plushie than usual.”
“I’m glad you’ve back to cracking jokes,” Cobalt said.
“Hearing what you went through made me realize how little I have to whine about.”
“You both are recovering from different traumas. You can’t compare the two and they are both horrible.” She reached up and stroked Cobalt’s mane. “You didn’t tell him about how you about killed yourself pouring your energy into healing Labra and Pyrite.”
“There’s nothing much to say. We had lost so many others; I wasn’t going to let them die too.”
“Why didn’t you write about to me about all this like you did her?” Windless said.
“For the same reason I didn’t know you loved Gauze.”
“Got it, it’s tough to talk about something with some ponies but not with others.” He reached over Cobalt and rubbed Care on the shoulder. “Sorry you have to put up with us saps.”
“It’s only fair. You two helped me when I was getting bullied for looking too coltish.”
“I still want their names and addresses,” Windless said. “Cobalt and I will take care of the rest.”
“I don’t want that, even though the thought’s tempting.” She put her forehead on Cobalt’s chest. “I’m just glad you two encouraged me to keep being who I am and stick with Mercy’s training, even if it made my build look like a colt’s.”
“Buck them and what they want you to look like. You’re happier, you’re healthier, and you have always been beautiful.” Cobalt tensed as Care looked up towards him.
“Wait, did you cuss?” Windless asked. “I’ve never heard you cuss. I guess you needed the right inspiration.”
“You think I’m beautiful?” Care asked.
“Now you’ve done it.” Care gave Windless a light smack on the nose. “Ouch!”
“Don’t think about what those idiots said. You’re perfect, inside and out.”
“She is wonderful, but you’re stretching it there,” Windless said.
“No I’m not. I’ve seen her magic. She is beautiful all the way through.”
Windless chuckled. “I’ll take your word on that.”
“Could we see Windless’ magic too?” Care asked Cobalt.
“I know that there are teams of crystal ponies that work together to grow their buildings, but I don’t know if I could act as the anchor for us in something like that.”
“Can we try? Since we’re twins, his magic will be like mine. With how well our magic mixed, his should work too.” She glanced up at Windless. “What’s that look for?”
“Maybe the magic sharing thing should be just between you and him.”
“Please, try it with us.”
Windless patted Cobalt’s ribs. “I like this big guy, but I don’t know if I want to bare what amounts to part of my soul to him.”
“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing with each other tonight?”
“Touché.”
“We’ll try tomorrow, in the evening, if you’re up for it,” Cobalt said. “We need to get some sleep, though. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day for all of us.”
“All right, we’ll try tomorrow.” Windless turned his head so that his ear and cheek rested on Cobalt. “Just bump me, if I snore.”
*****
Mosaic patted Freight’s shoulder and titled her head indicating they should move back down the hall. When Freight entered Stone’s old room, Mosaic put a foreleg around her shoulders and guided her onward.
Field led them to the back bedroom door and let the mares pass. He followed them in and shut the door without a sound.
Freight sniffed and rubbed the tears from her face. “How can a pony you’re size move like that?”
Mosaic hugged Freight. “You okay?”
“Am I a terrible mother?”
“Celestia above, no!”
“I’m not sure. Look what I helped happen to my son.”
“Look what happened to ours,” Field said. “We could have stopped him from going, but we didn’t.”
“You’re not at fault.”
“You’re not either. You wanted to help your son grow, and you did. You made it as safe as you could for him, but life takes us down paths we never would have expected. Letting them grow hurts them and us, but the best we can do is shield them from the worst.”
“You’re right, but I still feel horrible.”
“I think we should follow their example,” said Mosaic, looking towards the bed.
“I can’t.”
Mosaic looked back to Field, seeming surprised. “Why not?”
“I know I seem like I’m a free spirit, but I don’t feel right sharing a bed with a stallion that is not my husband.”
“Don’t worry about me. You’re pretty, but my wife has you beat.” When Freight puffed up in indignation, Field grinned. “Just to make sure I don’t get roving hooves, she can be my little spoon and you can be hers and out of my reach. There’s nothing wrong with two mare’s holding each other.”
“Typical stallion,” Freight shot back, smiling, “trying to get two mares in a bed.”
Mosaic let go of Freight. “I didn’t mean to make things awkward, but I didn’t think you would want to sleep alone after what we saw. If you want to go back to Stone’s room, we’ll understand.”
Freight shook her head. “Your son is holding my daughter like she is the most precious thing in the world, and my son is using yours as a body pillow. I should be able to sleep next to two of my best friends.”
*****
A ray of morning sun made its way through a gap in the blinds and onto Windless' face. Windless opened his eyes and sighed. “When he finds out I drooled on him, he’s going to kill me,” he whispered to himself. With careful and quiet movements, Windless got up from the floor and left the still sleeping pair. He went into the hall, just as Mosaic and Freight were leaving the far bedroom door. “Mom?” he whispered.
Freight paused and then gave him a neutral look. “Yes?”
Windless looked at her with a confused expression. “I thought you were in Stone’s room.”
“I was, but they invited me to join them in their bed, and I agreed. I was held by this lovely mare most of the night.” She grinned and hugged Mosaic across the shoulders. “It was one of the best nights I’ve ever had without your father in bed with me.”
“What?”
Field poked his head into the hallway. “Good morning, Windless. We did our best to make your mother feel loved last night, I promise.”
“What?!”
“Field is a real gentlecolt. He made sure Mosaic and I were well cared for, before we went to sleep.” Letting Mosaic go, Freight reached and rubbed Field’s nose. “Next time, maybe Starless can join us too. That way I can release all my tensions without feeling guilty.”
Windless put his hooves over his ears. “Oh Luna, I am not hearing this!”
“You two are horrible.” Mosaic left Freight’s side and hugged Windless. “We heard what you, Care, and Cobalt were talking about last night. It bothered us, so we got into a pile of our own, nothing more.”
“Spoilsport,” Freight said. “That’s what he gets for thinking dirty things about his mother and her friends.”
“Thank the Sisters.” Windless gave Mosaic a relieved hug. “Things would have gotten weird, if Care and Cobalt got together after you three gotten together. Not to mention what it would do to Dad.”
“Other way around, what we would have done to your father,” Freight whispered. “You know I would never leave him, so he would have to join us.” She put a hoof to her chin. “Now I think about it, having two handsome, strong stallions and a lovely mare in the bedroom doesn’t sound so bad. You’re the Crystal Empire expert. Are herds still legal up there? We might need to make a trip.”
“Mom!”
*****
“I can’t believe my mother,” Care said fuming.
“I deserved it.”
“You did not. You held me and I held you. We were out on the den floor for everypony to see, for Luna’s sake!”
“Which she pointed out,” Cobalt reminded her. “I’ve never been accused of being an exhibitionist before.”
“Bringing Windless into it too was just wrong. She had already scarred him for life with that joke about her and your parents.”
Cobalt shook his head as if trying to rid himself of a thought. “She created so many unwanted images for me this morning I
don’t know if I’ll ever get them all out of my head.”
After a few steps, Care giggled.
“What?”
“It’s nothing. I’ve been reading too many of those Neighponi comics of Windless’.”
“Now you’ve got to share.”
“It’s the start of a cheesy storyline; you, the wounded healer, sensitive and kind finding yourself sharing the floor with my brother, who is suffering from his love being out of reach and falling for each other after sharing an embrace and banishing me to the couch.”
Cobalt stopped. “Nope, that’s too much for me this morning, I’m turning around and going back home.”
“I’m kidding! I’m kidding! Besides, Mom’s still there.”
“You’re right; I don’t think I can face her teasing me again.” He walked at Care’s side again.
“That and you’ve still got to show me where I’m going today. You can’t just leave me here in the middle of town.”
“Ponyville is a friendly place. Somepony would have given you directions.”
She bumped her shoulder into his. “You’re horrible!”
He chuckled. “Next right and we’re there.”
“Something smells good, which is something since we had breakfast not too long ago.”
“That would be the Grazing Meadow. It’s great and not too bad with the prices. We could stop there for lunch, if you’d like.”
“Let’s see how the place hunting goes first. If things go well, we can make it a celebratory lunch.”
They made their way to Rarity’s boutique front door. When Cobalt reached for the handle the door opened before his hoof could touch it.
“I’ll be right back!” Sweetie Belle pulled up just short of running into Cobalt. “Oh, hey Cobalt!”
“Hello Sweetie.”
Care's coat bristled as Sweetie gave Cobalt a quick hug.
“I haven’t seen you since graduation," Sweetie said. "I take it you’ve busy with your training?”
“Pretty much,” Cobalt said, moving a respectful distance back from her.
“I’m glad you’re going to Twilight’s university too. It will be nice to have somepony there I know. You should join me and the girls for lunch before we get too busy with school again.”
Care took a deliberate step towards Cobalt.
Sweetie looked at Care with curiosity and asked, “Cobalt, who is this?”
“This is Care Package, my friend and pen pal I told you about. Care, this is Sweetie Belle.”
Sweetie’s expression brightened and she smiled. “I remember you now! You were at the celebration after the Nightmares were sent back to the moon!” She hugged Care, who looked to Cobalt with confusion. “Thank you for helping him. We we’re all worried about the big guy, there for a while. Talking about you or how well the puppies were doing was about the only thing that cheered him up.”
“I did what I could.”
“You did a lot.” Sweetie let go of Care and winked at Cobalt. “You were right, her coat is soft.”
Cobalt blushed and played Sweetie’s words off. “She will be attending Ponyville University too. Would you mind if she joined us for lunch?”
“I wouldn’t mind at all. I’m sure the girls wouldn’t either. We’ll have to keep it low key, so Diamond Tiara doesn’t get wind of you joining us.”
“Why would she have a problem with me?” Care asked, “I don’t think I’ve ever met her.”
“Diamond is a good friend of mine and the girls, but she can be jealous and possessive. She won’t like it, if she sees you with Cobalt. I don’t think any of us want to start our college career with the kind of drama she might stir up.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s had her eye on Cobalt, but she never could get his attention. And trust me, she’s tried. There’s been this mystery mare he keeps writing to that seems to be more interesting to him, and it has infuriated her no end.”
“Sweetie, who are you talking to?”
“Cobalt and Care, Sis.”
“Did you say Cobalt and Care?!”
“That’s my cue to leave, or I’ll be late for my crusading,” Sweetie said. She made her way past Cobalt and Care and onto the path leading from Carousel Boutique. “It was nice to see you again, Cobalt. You too, Care.”
“There you are! Come in!” Rarity said, from just inside the boutique. “You must have gems for me. Your timing couldn’t be any more perfect. I got a rush order that could use them.” She smiled, as Care walked in. “If Sweetie hadn’t mentioned your name, I wouldn’t have recognized you as the same filly that posed for those plushies.”
“I’m surprised you remember that,” Care said.
“I remember, dear. Those plushies were something special. Do you know how many ponies have asked for them?”
“I got the impression you got a few requests, but I didn’t know how many.”
“I don’t know how many requests there have been, but there were enough I couldn’t keep up with trying to make them and run my shops. I’ve had to outsource their creation to a friend a mine.” Rarity looked to Cobalt. “I assume that you are still taking care of the first ones.”
“Yes, Miss Rarity.”
“There’s no need to be so formal, darling, or am I making you nervous bringing them up? You do tend to be more formal when you’re flustered.” Rarity gave him a look. “She knows you kept them right?”
“She does.”
Rarity turned to Care. “You should have seen him when I told him he could have them. It was like he was getting Hearths Warming early.” She looked over Care from hooves to ear tufts. “You were cute then, you are quite the mare now, I must say.”
“We keep telling her she is pretty, but she doesn’t believe any of us,” Cobalt said.
“Why ever not?” Rarity asked, as she looked back to Care. “You have a wonderful mane, enviable physique, and such good posture and poise. You don’t have what would be considered the classic figure, but you are quite attractive in an athletic, healthy way, which is very much in vogue.”
“You would have her as a model, wouldn’t you?” Cobalt asked, gaining him a shocked look from Care.
“I would jump at the opportunity!” Rarity smiled at him. “In fact, that would be a wonderful idea. She’ll be living here in Ponyville, right? If I could get her to model for me every now and then, I would be more than happy to help her with her rent. I’ve been trying to break into the bat pony fashion market, but without a proper model to work off of, I didn’t feel I could give it a proper go.” She looked to Care with concern. “Dear, are you crying?”
“Do you mean it? This isn’t something you two set up?”
“Of course not, dear! I’ve been out of town for the last bit and haven’t seen Cobalt for two months now. He and I haggled over some gems then, and that was all. Well, besides sharing jasmine tea, but we did not conspire to do anything to or for anypony.” Rarity put a hoof on Care’s shoulder. “There’s something more going on here, isn’t there dear?”
“She was teased she looked like a colt because she’s in such good shape,” Cobalt said.
Rarity gasped. “What terrible, horrible ponies!” She gave Care a comforting look. “Just give me their names and addresses. Pinkie and Rainbow always need new ponies to prank.”
Care sniffed and laughed. “You and my brother think a lot alike. Thank you for the offer, but it wouldn’t be worth it if they got into trouble for it.”
“You are quite the lady to let such an insult go.” Rarity gave Care an understanding smile. “There is somepony else I know who has been told something of the sort. You wouldn’t happy to know Applejack, would you?”
Care’s ears shot up. “Miss Applejack, from Sweet Apple acres?! I course I know her, her family grows the best apples in the world!”
Rarity smiled. “That they do. Yes, Applejack gets nasty remarks about her figure from jealous mares all the time.”
“But she’s gorgeous!”
“So are you.” Cobalt blushed, as Care looked at him. “I hope you will believe me and everypony else when we tell you how wonderful you look, now you’ve gotten the opinion of a professional.”
Care rushed Cobalt and hugged him with such enthusiasm he sat down and his saddlebags slid off his back. “You swear that you didn’t set this up.”
“I Pinkie promise.” He hugged her back. “Rarity wouldn’t offer you a modeling job if she didn’t think you qualified for it.”
“You could have bribed her with gems.”
“I didn’t, and she’s too professional to accept a bribe. I would have given her every gem I had to make you feel better, if she would have.”
“Thank you for the complement, dear.” Rarity levitated a measuring tape from the back of the boutique. “What colors were you thinking of?”
Care tilted her head. “Colors?”
“I assume you two would like matching outfits for the opening ceremonies for the start of the school year. With how well your coats work together, I could give you a variety of suggestions I'm sure you’ll love, if you haven't settled on a color scheme already.”
Care and Cobalt looked at each other and blushed. “Thanks for the offer, but that’s not why we came,” Cobalt said.
Rarity stared at them. “But, you are special someponies, are you not?”
Cobalt turned a deeper shade of red. “No, ma’am.”
Rarity covered her mouth with a hoof. “I’m sorry. It seems I have jumped to conclusions. You two bringing the gems, the compliments you have given her, and the hug she gave you gave me the impression that you were.”
“We’re here due to my brother becoming practice special ponies with somedoggy,” Care said. “We were wondering if we could place an order for a diamond dog plushie of Labra, for an updated Windless plushie, and for another Amore plushie.”
Rarity paused for a moment, shook her head, and then smiled. “Let me go put a kettle on for some tea. I suspect that there is a story behind this and I must hear it before I agree to anything.”
*****
Windless paused in scrubbing the dish he had in his hooves and blinked at Care. “She did what now?”
“Rarity offered me a part time modeling job.”
Windless grinned ear to ear. “That’s great! I would give you a hug, but I’m up to my canons in suds.”
“I can though.” Freight gave Cobalt the dish she had finished drying, put down her towel, and hugged Care. “I kept telling you, you were my beautiful filly.”
“I know I should have listened to you. By the way, Windless, Rarity wanted to see you before you headed for the Empire.”
Windless tilted his head back as if in a show. “Maybe she’ll think I’m handsome and ask me to model too.”
“If she’s looking to get into the market, she might.”
Windless paused in his washing. “I wouldn’t be able to, even if she offered. I’ll be away.” He put on a smile and finished the plate he had been scrubbing on. “She’ll just have to find another handsome stallion.”
“Are you sure you want to go up there?” Cobalt asked. “It seems to dig at you every time you think about it.”
“I’m sure. It was just nerves and the thought of missing you guys getting to me for a second. Besides, I’m sure you would get sick of me, if I were around all the time.”
“Not a chance.” Cobalt gave him a dry towel. “I think that was the last of it.”
“I still don’t know if I like guests helping with cleaning up,” Field said.
“You have feed us, given us a place to sleep, and have put up with our drama. The least we can do is clean up after ourselves.”
“We invited you here, and your children ended up sleep on the floor. I’m not sure what that says of us as hosts.”
“That you are the best kind,” Windless said. “You’ve made us so comfortable that we can sleep anywhere.”
Field chuckled. “Including on my son, it would seem.”
“While drooling on him,” Freight added.
Windless dropped his head towards the floor. “Thanks, Mom.”
Puca giggled. “It shows what good friends you are.”
“He makes a good pillow,” Stone said. “I think that's why Labra and Pyrite pull him into pony piles all the time. They like it when they get together and he curls around them.”
“They will have to fight for that space from now on, judging how he was holding Care,” Freight said. She waited for a moment and smiled at her daughter. “You’re not even going to respond?”
“And draw more teasing from you or Windless? No thank you. I’ll suffer quietly with what dignity I have left.”
“I’m sorry about last night and for still being so wired,” Puca said. “I was hoping it would pass, but I even had trouble at work with it today and had to take a break for. That I was worried about not being able to change added to it, I’ll admit. Davenport didn’t mind, though.”
“I told you he wouldn’t,” Stone said. “You’re Puca. That’s all that anypony who knows you cares about.”
“Did anypony give you a hard time?” Cobalt asked.
“Not at all.” She smiled. “There was a little filly I thought would have trouble with me, but she ended up asking me questions about being a changeling for almost half an hour while her mother picked out the sofa she wanted. I think the anxiety I was getting from her right at first was because she was nervous to ask her first question rather than what I am. After that, she was nothing but adorable curiosity.”
“Speaking of things adorable and curious, how did things go with the pups?” Stone asked Windless.
“It went well. I even got another hug from Fluttershy. She couldn’t believe how much I’ve grown since the last time I saw her. When it was time for Labra and Pyrite’s nap, we took them back to their place. They would pull me into a puppy pile, but Bonsmara shooed me away and told me to run my errands while she and Fierce got in the pile.”
“What errands did you need to run?” Puca asked.
“Getting official seals on the paperwork for school and getting it all sent off. Miss Mosaic guided me around town, while she ran her own errands. I helped her carry things when I could.”
“You were a great help, thank you.” Mosaic patted Windless on the shoulder. “I should borrow you more often.”
“Any time you’d like. It was great to see more of where Care is going to live, even if she doesn’t know where.”
Care groaned and threw her head back. “Don’t remind me. We looked at six different places. They were all too expensive or rat holes.”
“That’s why we came early,” Freight said, “to give you plenty of time to look.”
“Where were you, Mom?” Windless asked. "We kind of lost you."
“At the palace, getting parts of Care’s paperwork sorted out.” She smiled. “I snuck in and visited Amore and Mend too. That reminds me.” She turned to Cobalt and Care. “They want a sample gem from the ones you started, if you can spare one. Mend wants to ‘give the filly who’s mixing magic with my student’ a good look over’.” She grinned. “Cobalt, you’re blushing a lovely shade of red. What could you be embarrassed about?”
“Don’t answer that,” Care warned. “She knows the answer already, I’m sure, and the teasing would be relentless.”
“If it’s anything like what she did with me and Field, it’s thorough,” Mosaic said. “Mend’s examinations are like getting a physical and psychological evaluation at the same time.”
“Speaking of mixing magic, are you two ready to try?” Care asked.
Windless’ eyes widened and he signaled for Care to stop with a slight movement of a hoof.
“We can go check on the moss, if you would like,” Cobalt said. “I don’t think we’ll be able to see anything yet, but I’ve been wrong before.”
“Could I come with you?” Freight said. “I’m curious to see what you have done.”
“Sure,” Cobalt said. “There’s not that much to see, but you’re more than welcome to join us.”
Freight looked to Windless. “You’re not so enthusiastic about me coming, nor is Care. What did you three have planned that I’m interrupting?”
“I’m going to help Cobalt with the rockmoss,” Windless said.
Freight sighed, but gave him an encouraging smile. “Just be careful. I don't want to see you hurt.”
Windless hugged her. “Thanks Mom. I’ll come get you when we’re through. I promise.”