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// 72 - Divine Sights 
// Story: Fading Suns: A New World 
// by David Silver 
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The ship had been arranged quite purposefully for the visit. Doors that led to where there were no things Gregor wanted to show off were simply closed, and did not open when the students approached. The others were either already open or opened themselves quietly upon approach.

In the accessible rooms, the displayed items were sturdy and easily enjoyed even by immature eyes. Yona had rushed right in, eyeing a statue of a saint that stood with a sword clasped in her hands, the tip embedded in the ground in front of her. "Who this? Look important." She was circling around the statue, gawking openly.

Despite being an obvious warrior, she was dressed more like Gregor, as if the kindly human had one day decided to pluck up a weapon and get serious with it.

"That is Amalthea, one of my favorites." Gregor dipped his head towards the statue, offering supplication without thought. "She is not normally depicted armed, but even the kindest of us must defend us and ours at times. She is a patron saint of healers, who spent much of her living days easing the hurts of all around her."

Sandbar's eyes wandered up and down the human statue. "That's kind of cool. Kinda like Meadowbrook. We have statues of her too."

Gregor seized on that with a bright smile, "how far we had to come, just to find we are like estranged brothers instead of true aliens. I would hear more of your patron of healing, but let's save that for later." He gestured for the next room and they began to separate from the statue with the unspoken promise of other things to see.

Laud inclined his head towards the statue, giving a silent prayer on the way past. It was a subtle gesture, but not one that went unnoticed by their alert and smiling host.

In the next room, books were arranged in a neat pile, about a dozen of them. There were paintings hung on the walls of alien vistas, portraying great moments of religious history. "Please, take one. These are basic primers on our faith." They were field bibles, essentially, with the core prayers and tenants any commoner might need on a day to day basis. "They are yours to keep, if you like."

Spike was the first to pluck one up, casually flipping through it with a soft thoughtful noise.

Laud drew out one he already had, though he had not displayed it very often in his time on the planet. "Still intact."

"Sir Hawkwood, I feel I owe you an apology." Gregor slapped him on the shoulder before reaching out an arm as if offering an embrace. "I feared you might have lost your way, so distant, but I should have trusted the strength of the Hawkwoods."

Laud was off-balance for a precious moment before thought returned. He returned the pat a bit more gently, but didn't go for the hug. "I am still faithful, Father. The Pancreator has chosen to show me amazing new things, but that only makes me all the more awed by what He has created. When I am baffled and lost, I remind myself that I am only human, and to not know is part of my fate."

"Excellently spoken." Gregor turned to the students, his hands wide. "Have you ever felt that? Put before something that just defied explanation?"

Silverstream frowned softly. "Oh, gosh, all the time..."

Yona shook her head. "Yaks are good at understanding, most of time."

Smolder nudged Gallus lightly, snorting softly. The two seemed to get the irony of the spoken statement without any words passing between them.

Spike tucked the book away. "I mean, yeah. When Twilight and I get called off to save Equestria, it feels like we see crazy things half the time. But we can usually handle it."

A brow went up subtly on Gregor's face. "We are not the Pancreator, so we can never say we truly know everything, and that's alright. Some things we were simply not meant to know, and other things we were meant to find.  Tell me, if you would, what do you do when faced with the unknowable?"

Yona raised a hoof to her chin, looking unusually thoughtful. "Is it bigger than Yona?"

Spike hiked a thumb at Laud. "I'd probably ask someone else about it, like Laud, or Twilight."

Smolder shrugged with a soft smirk on her face. "Is it trying to eat me? Get away or set it on fire, otherwise who cares?"

Gallus suddenly got a wicked look on his face. "You didn't get away or set the school on fire, and it was pretty weird when we first got there. Sounds like somecreature messed up."

"Hey! That was different!"

Silverstream waved a taloned hand excitedly. "Get my friends!"

"Fine ideas, though I can't speak too strongly in favor of setting things on fire as a default response." Gregor nodded softly at the students, categorizing them silently by how they had been acting up to then. "But, sometimes, you can't do those things. Your friends are not there, mentors, busy or absent. It can't always be fought or fled from. Sometimes you just have to be awed, for that is our fate."

He gestured to one of the paintings. "I can feel that way sometimes looking on these. I was not there when these events first transpired, and to think on them fills me with that sense of awe, to know people of faith had to be so very brave in the face of things. Awe can lead you towards the light, to the better. We must not turn away from that light, however much it fills you with that feeling."

Sandbar sat on his haunches, clopping his hooves softly. "I get that. It's Destiny. You guys aren't that weird at all. You just have different names for things."

"The truths of the universe do not change so easily," agreed Gregor as he began leading the way towards the next room, his smile a little more relaxed. The trip was going quite well, as far as he could tell.





"Say 'ahh'." The doctor slipped a strip of something under Bon Bon's extended tongue and she drew it in as she closed her mouth. "Now we just wait a few moments... So... who's the lucky stallion?"

Bon Bon's cheeks brightened, but she did not answer.

"It's alright, I'm just here to help, not pry. You don't have to tell me." He reached for the tab, pulling it free. It was a dark blue in color where once it had been wood colored, a light brown. "Oh, congratulations!"

Bon Bon had already known... She wouldn't have had the naming dream... But she had to be sure, absolutely sure... "Thank you," she said in a small voice, feeling adrift.

"Already have a name? You don't have to tell me, really, but if you want to share?" The doctor pony dropped the tab in a small waste-bin. "Oh, here." He reared up and got a book out with a flip of his snout. He handed the book labeled 'So you're becoming a mother' to Bon Bon.

She accepted the book, tucking it away in her pocket. "I... do..." She stood up. "I should get going. Thank you, again."

He waved gently as she trotted off with an odd gait. "Some of them just aren't ready..."

Bon Bon went as straight as she could for her candy shop. Her walk was a bit off, her limbs unbalanced and stiff in her uneasy mental state. She quietly berated herself, commanding them to move properly. It helped, a little.

"Hey Bonnie!" called out Carrot Top, waving as Bon Bon went by.

"Morning," she barely got out, hurrying past. Soon she was safely in her shop, the door closed behind her, slumped against it. She put a forehoof to her belly, where her mistake gestated peacefully. "That isn't fair..." She could never tell a child, any child, they were a mistake. Even if it was basically a fact.

She forced a little smile. "Some of the best things are mistakes..." She took a slow breath, trying to center herself. "And I won't take it out on you. I can handle this..." She trotted across the dark room towards the stairs, descending into the basement. "First, I handle... this." She reached for the communication equipment.

Her boss appeared with a nod, an image only, much like how Gregor spoke with his own superior. "Agent Sweetie Drops, do you have news?"

"I do... Good and bad." Her boss just kept watching her, waiting. "Good news first, I don't predict any troubles being believed to be properly wed to the alien. In fact... I imagine we will grow more attached after the next time I see him. That just isn't a problem anymore."

"Excellent." The stallion gave a single proper nod. "And the bad news?"

"I... should qualify for maternal leave shortly, but will not be taking it. It would be pointless anyway." Her cheeks began to warm dangerously. "I'd still be at work even if I took it, the way I see it..."

A brow raised. "I gather it belongs to... him?"

"He is the only male involved, yes." Sweetie cocked a brow right back at him as if they were competing with the gesture. "Who else would the father be?"

"Both Princess Twilight Sparkle and Agent Heartstrings are graduates of Princess Celestia's School. To assume they couldn't do it is unreasonable," he said it all with such an even expression, as if he were just stating casual facts.

Bon Bon applied a hoof to her face. "Be that as it may... No, it was neither of them. I was learning more about him and becoming... intimate, and then it happened. I am simply reporting a change."

"A change, yes." He leaned in just a little. "You have become a subject, Agent Sweetie Drops. Expect an agent-physician to appear, see to your ongoing health, and monitor things. Do you have any additional reports?"

"No, Sir." She raised a hoof in a crisp salute. "I'll return to my duties."

He just nodded then vanished, leaving the room dark.

Bon Bon heaved a deep sigh and started for the stairs. She was an asset, and so was the hybrid growing inside of her. Until it was born, they would be guarding her. After that, she imagined, she'd be less important and regain some shred of privacy, but until then...

It was the job she signed up for. She ascended towards the light. "I have a husband to break the news to." She cracked a smile as she went, hoping that he'd freak out a little. It'd be nice to have someone else having a panic attack about it instead of her.





"This is a room of prayer." Gregor gestured at the pews that lined the room, though there were mats along the outside as well. "We gather here to speak our praises, read from holy texts, and celebrate good tidings."

Silverstream clapped as she advanced on two feet. "It's just like class. Do you have a teacher too?"

"In a manner of speaking." Gregor curled his arms to gesture at himself. "Sometimes it is me, but we have other priests, and there are a great number of people on this ship. Our 'teachers' we call 'priests'."

"Oh!" Silverstream lit up with understanding. "Hey, you're right." She was suddenly at Sandbar's side. "They really are just like us, with funny names for things. That's great!"

Sandbar nodded with a light smile. "Yeah, kind of amazing isn't it? We have classes too, and our teachers show us stuff, sometimes from books, sometimes not."

Gallus leaned towards Smolder. "I don't think those two get the differences here."

Smolder lifted her shoulders. "You expect too much better? Let 'em have fun."

"Your teachers are what you look towards then? Your source of light?" He felt he was getting somewhere. This trip was going so well... "Tell me about these wonderful people that helped shape such attentive youth."