//------------------------------//
// 8 A Call Into the Void 
// Story: Alternate Beginnings: Year Four 
// by Doug Graves 
//------------------------------//

March 3rd, 996

"Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear." Fluttershy paces back and forth in the living room, slowly wearing a line in the rug. She keeps her lead low, dreading the upcoming ordeal she will be going through. Well, the act itself won't be the difficult part. During most of their encounters together Doug does most of the heavy lifting, at least with her.

"Come on, 'Shy, it ain't that bad," Applejack huffs. She has been watching the pegasus for at least fifteen minutes while getting the room and food ready for tonight, and Celestia knows how long she had been pacing before that. "Now, what's got your mane in such a tangle?"

"Oh, dear, is my mane tangled? I better go home and fix it." Fluttershy stops pacing, moving towards the front door.

"No, Fluttershy, your mane isn't tangled or anything." Applejack sighs, "You look perfect, just like you always do."

Fluttershy halts, looking towards Applejack and hiding behind her mane, "You're just saying that."

Applejack turns slightly away, grimacing while saying to herself, "Rarity better not find out about this," and then turning back to Fluttershy, saying in a falsetto southern belle, "But, Fluttershy, Ah've always admired your mane. And, just how do you get it to curl around like that? Ah love the waves you manage to keep, it looks so natural, so you."

The pegasus' face brightens, "Oh, you really think so?"

Applejack nods, her normal voice again, "Honest apple."

Fluttershy smiles, "Oh, well, I comb it before and after I take my shower, where I use a special conditioner Rarity told me about." Her eyes dart to the front door, "I can go get it and show you if you'd like."

Applejack shakes her head, "No, 'Shy, that's okay. Tell me more about combing your hair, do you have to work on it for a long time?"

"No, well, maybe five minutes?" Fluttershy looks to the ground, "Sometimes longer if Doug has been particularly energetic that night."

Applejack laughs, "Yeah, he sure can put a furrow in the mattress. Ah don't think you have to worry about that tonight."

"Oh. Well, about tonight... well... I'm scared of..."

Applejack moves over, nuzzling Fluttershy. "It's okay, Sugarcube, we all get frightened about things. Now, what are you worried about?"

"I'm scared of..."

Applejack sighs, "Is it because the Princesses will be there?"

Fluttershy shakes her head, "No, it's..." she sighs, hanging her head, "Well, yes, I'm scared about being intimate in front of the Princesses."

Applejack rubs a hoof over Fluttershy's back, "It's okay, 'Shy. Ah did it, and it wasn't so bad."

"Well, I'm not you, Applejack, I don't have your courage."

"Just think of it like when it's just you and Rainbow with Doug. You do okay then, right?"

"Yes, because Rainbow isn't a Princess."

"Okay, well, what about when the whole herd is together. You remember the train ride, right?" 

"Yes, but this is different. This is in front of the Princesses."

"What if you two are in a different room, and you just come out once you're done?"

Fluttershy covers her face with her hooves, giving a soft whimper as she sinks to the floor.

Applejack sighs. "Alright, Fluttershy. None of us are gonna make you do something you don't want to do." She walks over to the window, looking out at the evening sun. "She's gonna be disappointed, but Ah suppose that's unavoidable." Applejack moves back, nuzzling Fluttershy, "Just remember, we all love you and want the best for you. Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

Fluttershy whispers, "I was scared."

The front door opens, Rainbow Dash walking through. Rarity's voice can be heard outside, "No, Winona, stay outside and be quiet, okay?" Rarity enters the room, nodding at Applejack and Fluttershy. Rainbow takes a seat at the dining room table and Rarity heads to the kitchen. They are followed shortly by Pinkie Pie and a trio of fillies; Pinkie Pie heads to the kitchen while the fillies start scampering around the room. 

Doug enters last, holding two foals and closing the door behind him. He sniffs the foals, glancing at Pinkie Pie and grimacing, "Oh and counting," taking the two foals to the bathroom. Fluttershy moves over to the table as some of the commotion subsides, sighing and staring at the empty plate in front of her.

Rainbow nuzzles her herdmate, "Hey, 'Shy, something wrong?" Fluttershy looks away, trying to hide her discomfort behind her mane. "Oh. Well, um, I'm here, I guess, if you need, you know, something." Rainbow looks around the room, whistling a few notes before turning back to Fluttershy with a grin, "So, you excited for tonight?"

At the lack of response Rainbow sighs, watching the kitchen door as Rarity levitates a few large serving dishes into the room. She salivates as she spots a large potato and spaghetti sandwich, sweet potato fries, and apple dumplings. Applejack follows behind with several bottles of cider, a large apple pie, and a bowl of nuts and dried fruit. The two start to dish out portions for each pony, spreading the plates around the table. Doug returns, holding two bottles and two newly diapered foals, placing them at the smaller table off to the side. He whistles; Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo bound into the room, slowing down and taking their place at the foal table. Doug sits down, smiling as Applejack nuzzles him before she takes her own seat at the table.

Pinkie Pie returns, bringing out a large banana ice cream cake with pink icing swirling around the edges and a smaller vanilla cake decorated with Princess Celestia's cutie mark in orange frosting. She places the large cake in the center of the table and the smaller one at one of the open seats. The group goes silent as each pony begins digging into their plates, the food on the table disappearing as evening turns to dusk.

"Alright, girls, time for bed." Applejack calls as the fillies finish their food. The two smallest have already fallen asleep, laying with their heads on the table and empty bottles forgotten off to the side. The trio yawn together, each looking at the other, hoping one dares to say something when they obviously are sleepy. Sweetie Belle finally says, "But, Applejack, we want to see the Princesses!"

Applejack smiles, "Okay, you three, but as soon as they arrive we need to go to bed, alright?"

"Okay," comes the tired chorus, the trio moving towards the hallway leading to their bedrooms. They take up a position in sight of the front door, laying down together as Doug gets up from his chair. He gathers up Applebaum and Lemon, carrying the two sleeping foals to their bedroom. Applejack moves over to Rainbow and Pinkie Pie, "Alright, you two, time for bed."

"Excuse me?" Rainbow says, raising an eyebrow as Pinkie Pie also looks confused, "Something wrong? I kinda want to watch." Pinkie Pie nods as well, opening her mouth to say something before glancing at Fluttershy and shutting her mouth.

Applejack nods, "Well, Fluttershy is having a bit of difficulty getting her courage up. She doesn't want to do anything in front of the Princesses. It's her choice, and Ah'm not gonna push her."

Rainbow sighs as Pinkie Pie merely looks disappointed, saying, "Oh. Well, I hope she feels better later, I mean, it's not like the Princesses are doing this just for fun! I thought that was the point, right? To help them get foals of their own?"

Applejack nods, glaring at Pinkie Pie, "Yes, well, if it makes Fluttershy uncomfortable then that's just too bad. Now, each of you, off to bed. That means you too, Rares."

The mares keep their mouths shut, looking at Fluttershy with sad eyes. The pegasus hides behind her mane as Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow begin walking away from the dining room table, Doug intercepting them with a confused look as he returns from the foals room. A bright light shines from outside as the moon rises in the sky; the seven ponies watch as Doug moves to the front door, opening it. He moves to the side and bows, allowing Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance to enter the room. The two alicorns look over the kneeling ponies, Princess Celestia saying, "Rise, my little ponies. It is good to see all of you again."

Each pony rises, Applejack stepping forward with a worried look on her face. She stammers, "Um, Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance, it's, uh, an honor having you grace our home again. We have some dinner prepared for you, if you are hungry." Applejack stops, steeling herself for a few seconds as the Princesses stare at her, "But Ah have some bad news as well." Applejack pauses again at the disappointment apparent in the Princesses' eyes, taking a few deep breaths before continuing, "You see, Fluttershy-"

Applejack flinches as Fluttershy puts a hoof on her back. Applejack turns, giving Fluttershy a confused look. The pegasus has her eyes locked on Princess Celestia's face, a nervous smile on her muzzle as Fluttershy says, "Um, it's okay, Applejack. I'll do it."

A smile creeps over Applejack's muzzle, "Oh, 'Shy, that's great news!" She looks over at her herdmates, each of them beaming an encouraging smile at Fluttershy. Applejack pauses, looking back at Fluttershy as she quietly asks, "Do you mind if we watch?"

Fluttershy closes her eyes, slowly nodding her head, "Just, um, please be quiet, okay?"

The mares nod their heads, Rainbow saying, "Sure, 'Shy, we can do that." She turns to the fillies, "Okay, you three, you got to see the Princesses. Say good night!"

A sleepy chorus of "Good night, Princesses!" follows, the fillies yawning as they shuffle off to their room. Applejack follows behind them, ready to tuck the foals in and read a quick story, if she has to. Seeing as they might get excited about the Princesses being here and try to get another glimpse, she better make sure they are asleep.

Princess Celestia's eyes brighten as she spots the cake with her name literally on it, and playfully pushes past the ponies to partake. Pinkie Pie pronks up, positioning herself to observe the exact reactions Princess Celestia has as she works her way through the blueberry section of the cake.

Doug and Fluttershy move off to the corner, Fluttershy giving the gathered mares a worried look. Doug scratches behind her ears as they lay down, whispering, "Shh, Fluttershy, it's just you and me. Just focus on that, okay?" Fluttershy nods, slowly going for a long kiss. His hands start at her muzzle and ears, long strokes that slowly work their way down her body.

Rarity glances nervously at Fluttershy, then back at Princess Cadance. Rarity whispers, "So, Princess Cadance, how has your research been going?" Fluttershy's ear flicks back, a short whimper from the mare.

Princess Cadance's horn flares briefly before she says in a normal tone, "There; they won't be able to hear us. The research has been... well, it's been slow. I only have the two, well, five, times we have observed this. And I can only replay them so many times before I start worrying that it won't ever happen with me. Fortunately, I have found somepony who comforts me in those times of despair."

Rarity's eyes light up, "Oh, do tell! I was curious if there was anypony in your life!"

Princess Cadance smiles, "I'll tell you after we are finished here, it really is quite the tale, what with both of us having secret lives outside of school."

Rarity playfully swipes at Princess Cadance, "Oh, you foul temptress, you! Princess of love, more like Princess of Tantalizing Tales! Very well, a lady must know patience. What are you focusing on tonight?"

"Well, same thing as before, but we've refined the spells to focus on how the magical aspects change when they interact with Doug. Essentially, why do the foals end up low power instead of normal power and some amalgamation of human and pony parts."

"That sounds somewhat similar to the tests two years ago. Well, if you need to study the foals I suppose we can bring them out, but please, nothing invasive. I would hate for their only memories of the Princesses to be traumatic ones!"

Princess Cadance nods as Rainbow and Pinkie Pie move over, taking positions next to each other. Princess Celestia walks over, licking the frosting from her lips as she settles down next to Rarity. She remarks, "You know, I don't know that I've ever thought to study the foals directly. I was so focused on the problem of getting past that first division that it completely slipped my mind. Well, that, and I assigned a team that I had hoped would find something and report it to me, but I suppose nothing came of that. Rarity, do you mind if I levitate one of them here?" Rarity shakes her head, Princess Celestia's horn lighting. The door to the foals room opens, Applebaum hovering through the air while gripping a blanket. Princess Celestia's eyes glow bright as a similar glow surrounds the foal. "Fascinating," she says in a low voice. "To think that magic would still be actively required..."

"What is that?" asks Rarity, her own eyes lighting up. She focuses on the foal, not comprehending what Princess Celestia is talking about; the foal looks normal, just low powered.

Princess Celestia turns her eyes, focusing on Doug. His body lights up; he briefly glances at the Princesses before turning back. Fluttershy doesn't react; the mare's eyes are closed and she seems to be focusing on her breathing. Princess Celestia nods, the glow fading from Doug, "Ah. As you know, with Doug, he has no magic in his magical core, if he does have one; it can be difficult to tell, with nothing there. The earth pony magic present in Applebaum has to compensate for that. It is as if you had a certain amount of material to build a house. With, well, all other ponies, you merely have to build four walls and a roof. The size of the house is how much magical ability that pony will have. But with Applebaum, and I believe with the rest of your foals, their magical core also has to dig out the foundation, lay the ground work, and put a nice floor on top to hide the roughness underneath. I believe the magic in your foals has to actively suppress the human characteristics."

Princess Cadance nods, "Yes, I can see it as well, the way her entire body flickers with magic, but there seems to be no byproduct, no reaction. It wouldn't have shown up on any of the specialist's scans, since it isn't moving anywhere. Their machines track the flux in a pony's magic, the movement of it as it travels through a pony's body. Instead it is each cell, on division, that is forcibly converted to a pony cell. And that conversion is a large drain on their magical ability." She pauses, inspecting the foal's head, "Though the cells are not entirely pony. They don't seem to have been fully converted; more like quite a bit of modification, to function as any other pony's despite the lack of magic. Which is why they have no trouble with strength, coordination, or thinking, despite the, how shall I say, boost that magic gives all of us."

Princess Celestia nods, "Yes; though that gives little hope for Scootaloo and Fluttershy's future foal, since flight and weather magic are, as the names suggest, nearly entirely magic based."

Princess Cadance continues inspecting the foal, looking deeper, two spots between Applebaum's hind legs briefly glowing bright. Several minutes pass before she says, "The division on her eggs has already taken place, it appears; they are more heavily modified. There will be no human children or hybrid foals from her; and her foals should not suffer the same ailment she does, as they will not need to suppress the human characteristics."

Applejack breaths a sigh of relief, "Well, Princesses, that's a mighty load off my back. If nothing else comes from this, thank you for that. Ah was terribly worried that they would have trouble, you know, in the future, finding mates, who might be worried about their own offspring."

Princess Celestia nods, "Indeed, my little pony, we are glad to provide that relief. She glances over at Fluttershy and Doug, the two finished and walking over. She smiles as Princess Cadance releases her silence spell, Celestia saying, "Now, I believe somepony was going to tell us about this unicorn she fancies?"