//------------------------------// // Dreams // Story: Mass Effect: Element of Kindness // by CommanderApplejack //------------------------------// Chapter 26 Dreams [Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?] 42% "Uhm... Garrus, could you maybe stay here until I fall asleep if it isn't too much trouble?" Fluttershy asked while heavily blushing. Not that Garrus noticed this as he just shrugged. "I guess rest is rest, no matter where you do it. Can you move over a bit?" Garrus said, Fluttershy making a bit of space so that the turian could lay next to her. Garrus being very careful not to hit the few cables that ran from Fluttershy's armor to the medical equipment Chakwas had set up to monitor the pegasus' vitals. "Sleep well Fluttershy," Garrus said as he had comfortably propped himself up against the back wall, closed his eyes, and started snoring lightly, having almost immediately fallen asleep. Fluttershy, careful not to wake Garrus, slowly climbed onto the lap of the turian and curled up all the while a blush remained present on her face. The slow rising and falling of Garrus's chest slowly lulling the pegasus to sleep as she clamped herself stuck to the turian. Fluttershy woke to an annoying beep coming from something close to her head. She opened her eyes along with letting out a groan, seeing the Garrus tap a few inputs on his omni-tool which shut off the sound. "Work's calling. I've got to go, Fluttershy," Garrus told the pegasus who swiftly got off his lap. "O-of course," She stuttered, the realization dawning on her that she no longer was connected to any medical equipment. In her short bout of paranoia she jumped around to see doctor Chakwas smirking at her. Fluttershy's cheeks immediately lit on fire and her wings started feeling tingly all of a sudden. "Oh, hi doc. Fluttershy said she couldn't sleep and asked if I could stay until she fell asleep. I guess I overdid it," He said as he popped his spine a couple of times. "Anyway, duty calls. See you two around." "Stay safe out there, Garrus, I think I can say that for the both of us," Chakwas smirked while Fluttershy's blush only became more pronounced. The turian looked confused for a moment but shrugged, nodded, and left the medbay. POMF!! Fluttershy wanted to sink through the bed, floor, and finally out into outer space, out of embarrassment as her wings shot open. Chakwas seemed to have trouble not bursting out into laughter. "So, is that what I think it is?" "NO!" Fluttershy immediately replied but quickly realized that the doctor hadn't asked the question with any malicious intent and just seemed curious. "...Maybe?" "I thought so when I found the two of you a couple of hours back, though I think you're going to have to be a bit more direct towards Garrus before he gets it," Chakwas said with a genuine smile. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Fluttershy said as she regained control over her wings and closed them. "Just know that there'll be some people who don't approve of things like this, they're usually of the opinion one should find a mate within their own species or an Asari because you wouldn't be able to reproduce otherwise," Chakwas warned as she picked up her tablet to continue working on whatever she was doing before. Fluttershy, in the meanwhile, was reminded of a research paper Twilight had written up and extensively told Fluttershy about. "That might not be that much of an issue," Fluttershy carefully said, drawing the full attention from the doctor. "Explain?" Chakwas asked inquisitively while she pulled a notepad and a pen from her lab coat. "There have been a few rare instances where a pony had hybrid kids with a griffon or, apparently, even a dragon," Fluttershy explained, Chakwas wrote down a couple of notes. "Can those kids have offspring as well?" the doctor asked curiously. "Well, yes. But all the recorded instances of that happening the children turned into either one of the parents' species, not another hybrid." Fluttershy explained further, "A friend of mine did some research into the subject and found that when a mare is in an environment with little or no other ponies a sort of magical emergency system kicks in to allow her to breed with other species." Chakwas looked at the pegasus in wonder, "So you're saying that you might be able to have kids with Garrus?!" Fluttershy's cheeks immediately turned red again and she had to restrain her wings, "Possibly, but I don't think I'll have to worry about that for a while." The doctor blushed, "Sorry, I got carried away for a bit," "Don't worry about it," Fluttershy said as she smiled, her grumbling stomach stopping any further conversation. The pegasus suddenly feeling really stupid as she hadn't eaten any of the food Garus had gotten her before she fell asleep. "I got you some rations from the kitchen before you woke," Chakwas said as she pointed at a plate that had some packaged food laying on it. Fluttershy saying a quick thanks and quickly wolfed down the food before looking at what the doctor was looking at. "Is that the scan of the eezo within my body?" the pegasus asked as she almost immediately recognized what the doctor was holding in her hand. "Yes, I've been trying to figure out how your 'magic' works but the initial scans aren't of a high enough resolution to get any useful results," Chakwas answered, "Would you mind if I take a couple more closeup scans of the various concentrated pockets of eezo?" Fluttershy shook her head, "Is there a particular pocket you're interested in?" Chakwas activated the medbay's holographic display again and pulled up the scan on there. "I'm interested in all of them but I think we should focus on a single one for now just to figure out the mechanics." This was something Fluttershy couldn't disagree with. "There are pockets of eezo withing the bones of your wings which are obviously for flying," she said while pointing at the areas that were most brightly lit up. "Another four pockets are in your hooves, possibly for grabbing things but that wouldn't explain why they also exist in the hooves of your back legs. The next pocket is spread throughout your eyes, I think we both know what that's for. The final one is located within your brain itself, I guess it might be the reason you were able to understand us without a translator but that's just a guess." The doctor closed the hologram again, "So, which pocket do you think we should investigate?" 1. Wings [Investigate flight] 2. Hooves [Investigate grip] 3. Eyes [Investigate the stare] 4. Brain [Investigate language] [Vote link]