After a mishap involving fire, and some crying from the normal unflappable Ms. Rosetta, they were finally able to enjoy some freshly baked cookies. Ms. Rosetta had even made them herself, with all the foals cheering her on. When they came out perfect, there had been a lot of happy tears by Ms. Rosetta as Phobia Remedy held her tight, congratulating her. The three demons had sensed their time to strike as soon as Phobia Remedy released Ms. Rosetta and had all moved in and tackled her, only for her to counterstrike and start tickling their bellies with her wings. An epic family war of tickles and cuddles broke out among the night ponies as Phobia Remedy came to the aid of her foals with her own barrage of tickles under Ms. Rosetta's wingpits.
Jessie just watched the carnage from her seat at the table, along with Jackie and Jordan. The three of them knew by some unspoken word that the battle before them was something close and personal, and while they might be family as well there was something sacred in moments shared between siblings and parents that should not be violated upon. Though Jessie could see in the two sisters’ eyes that they were, by equally unspoken word, already plotting their own assault upon their older sister when she emerged from her current war and would be unprepared for a new set of assailants so soon after.
The great war seemed to fizzle out with no clear winner determined. Phobia stepped away from the field of battle and her two little sisters took this moment to strike. As if fired from a cannon the unicorn and pegasus fillies bolted from their chairs and upon their older sister. The three demons determined that this would not be a conflict between sisters, but instead one of foals versus Phobia. So commenced the second great tickle war in the immediate aftermath of the first.
Jessie for her part sat back and watched quietly. She had no direct family relation like everyone else here. Even Robby, if he were down here, would have more connection than her, as Ms. Rosetta was like a mother to him. She couldn’t look past the fact that she was an outsider here and it made her feel left out.
Ms. Rosetta sad beside her. "Nothing is stopping you from joining in if you wanted. Those are your friends after all," she said.
"I'm okay," she said quietly as she looked at the others. “But thank you.”
"You're such a serious little filly," Ms. Rosetta said sadly. "You should have more fun. Even my foals, who have to be constantly guarded against threats, aren't as serious as you are. They're trained to fight and defend themselves, and to be suspicious of others' intentions. They have every reason to be far more serious than you, but they don't stop having fun. Their life would be very bleak if they didn't."
She didn't have a good way of responding to that and wondered what it was like to be under constant guard and thinking that the world was out to get her. It was hard to imagine; she'd always felt safe and secure with her family. Her parents and her brother were always there to protect her. Some kids had picked on her at school, but Robby had always protected her. What was it like to live afraid of everyone?
"Ms. Rosetta...Robby told me about how he was scared before he turned into a night pony, and the psychology book I read said that was a big thing that helped determine night ponies' tribe. What were you and Phobia Remedy scared of?" She asked cautiously.
Ms. Rosetta didn't respond and Jessie turned to look at the night pony mare. Ms. Rosetta was staring at the stove with a distant look, and gently touched her wing to her face as if remembering some old sensation.
"For me, I was afraid of something I shouldn't talk to a filly about--even one as smart as you," Ms. Rosetta said in a slow and quiet voice. The night pony then turned to her. "But to give you some answer, Phobia and I were both afraid of the same thing we're afraid of now, in addition to our other fears. It is only because night pony numbers were held in check by a magical quota that we aren't the most numerous tribe, because it is one of the most common fears out there."
"What's that?" Jessie asked. She laid her ears back trying to imagine what kind of monster could have a Dreamwarden scared of it.
Ms. Rosetta stepped towards the hallway and looked back at her. "The world." The night pony's ears flicked and she looked back towards the front of the house. There had been a sound, sort of like a car, only bigger, but smaller than a bus. "Come with me. Let's go greet Crystal."
Jessie hopped down from the chair and scrunched her nose. "That answer didn't make sense. It was too broad an answer.”
Ms. Rosetta looked back at her. "I suppose it was." She then turned back away and kept walking.
Jessie pushed her little legs hard and caught up with the adult. "You're avoiding the question!" She said in mild outrage.
Ms. Rosetta didn't look at her. "Oh, you noticed that? You're a very bright little foal. Let's go look at the big shiny thing."
"I've seen Ms.Crystal before, why're we going to look at her?" Jessie asked.
Ms. Rosetta paused briefly to giggle. "She's not the big shiny thing, though I suppose she could be interpreted as such by someone your height." She started walking again.
"So what's the big shiny thing?" Jessie said from where she'd just been left.
"If you were following me instead of asking questions, you'd already know," Ms. Rosetta called back.
Hurrying out the front door to catch up to Ms. Rosetta, she saw Crystal getting out of what had to be the biggest car she had ever seen. It was silver, its front looked strangely compressed, and it actually had small sets of stairs extending from each of its four open doors. It was big enough you could easily fit over a dozen ponies into it. The two most interesting things were that Crystal was getting out the door that was normally reserved for the driver and a very pretty--even prettier than Phobia Remedy--mare stepping out from the passenger door. She was a pure white unicorn with a purple mane and was probably the most beautiful mare Jessie had ever seen. She realized she was staring at the beautiful unicorn and that might be rude, so she looked back at Crystal.
"Like my new car?" Crystal asked in a proud tone. "I'm one of the first ponies in Riverview to have one--one of the first anywhere actually."
"It's very... big," Ms. Rosetta observed as she looked the vehicle over. "That must have cost a lot of money."
Crystal held her head and tail high. "I got a discount when they heard I was Phobia Remedy's bodyguard. They even tacked on a lot of extra features for a low price."
"Like what?" The Dreamwarden's wife asked as she went into a low hover near the driver side door and started looking at the interior.
Crystal sat down and held up a patted a forehoof against the ground as she counted off features. "They gave me cameras for inside the driver area to see behind me and to the sides of the car. A harness for me laying in the driver's area--you lay in it as a pony instead of sitting in it like a human would. These extra steps for helping everyone get in the car, and built in satellite GPS."
Ms. Rosetta continued looking over the driver's area. "Crystal...how are you normally supposed to see to your sides or behind you when strapped into this thing? I don't see any mirrors."
"With the cameras on the console in front," Crystal replied as she pointed a hoof.
"You have a lot of extra cup holders in here," Ms. Rosetta continued as she started looking around the other seats. "And are these regular human seatbelts in addition to pony harnesses back here?"
"They were extra for both, but I think they were worth it," Crystal replied with a smile.
"You know having seatbelts and a way to see behind you is mandatory, don't you?" One of the mares on the roof called down.
"Crystal paid extra for standard features!" Another called out as a group of the mares started laughing.
"Rollie-pollie crystal pony got sold a car full of bologna!" Another mare brayed with laughter. "Our glorious leader got hoodwinked!"
"Hey!" Crystal yelled as her ears lowered.
The pretty unicorn walked over to Crystal and laid a sympathetic hoof on her. "Darling, don't feel bad. This is a new thing and you can't be expected to know what is standard and what is not, and it is a very nice car. You're wiser for the future. Even I have fallen prey to duplicitous merchants on occasion." Even her voice was pretty! It had the musical sound that Jessie recognized as an Equestrian accent.
Ms. Rosetta said something that was impossible to make out that sounded almost song-like. The unicorn's eyes widened a little and replied back in the same language before reverting back to English. "Dear, your Equestrian is wonderful. I didn't realize you were versed in our language."
The night pony smiled in response. "I have a knack for picking up languages and Tempest has been helping me learn. I'll go fetch everyone and we can get ready to be on our way."
"No need to rush. I'm told we have plenty of time," the unicorn replied and then looked down at Jessie. "You must be Jessica Ann Middleton. I'm Rarity, maybe you've heard of me? I've certainly heard a great deal about you."
No one ever used her full name except her mom when her mom was really mad. Hearing it from Rarity in that musical voice seemed kind of weird. She couldn't decide if it was a good weird or bad weird. "Um, you can call me Jessie. You're an Element of Harmony, right? You're really pretty."
"That’s sweet of you to say, darling," Rarity said with a pleased smile. "And yes, I am one of the Elements of Harmony--generosity to be precise. I came all the way from Equestria to meet you. Twilight was very eager to find out more about you. I'm told that you're very bright, just like her."
She felt the need to impress. "They tested my IQ last year right before I started school. They said I was a two-hundred-twelve, which is one of the highest in the whole world!"
"That sounds very impressive...though I'm not familiar with what IQ means," Rarity replied.
"It's a scale for how intelligent someone is," Ms. Rosetta explained. "Between ninety and a hundred-ten is considered average, I got a hundred-twenty-five myself when I was tested. It’s only to get an idea of how smart someone is though, not something that you should hold strictly to. IQs as high as Jessie's are extraordinarily rare though, and you can trust someone with that high a score is exceptionally gifted."
As Ms. Rosetta went back to the house, Rarity bent down and smiled at Jessie. "Well, I hear you have made quite the impression already, so I would say claims of your talents aren't exaggerated. Tell me, what inspires you?"
She sat down and tapped her hooves together. "I just really wanted to impress the people at NASA so they'd let me in."
Rarity's eyebrows rose. "And that’s your dream? To work for NASA? It sounds like a divine dream; mapping the stars, discovering new worlds, being an explorer of the vast unknown. Rainbow Dash wanted to be a Wonderbolt from when she was a filly, and she's now the most popular one. I myself have always wanted to be a famous fashion designer, and through hard work I now operate boutique in all the biggest cities in Equestria. My fashion lines are so popular that other shops will sell my designs. With dedication and some hard work, I'm sure you'll be able to achieve your dream as well."
She realized that she'd begun to feel like she had lost track of what she'd wanted to do when getting told that she'd be helping fight the Devourers. Nothing had changed in terms of her wanting to work for NASA; nothing had changed in terms of getting to where she could. If anything, she'd taken steps forward with that. Was she that easily distracted from her goals that she'd forgotten it that quickly?
"She has a future in NASA if we're able to stop the Devourers," Phobia's voice came from behind them. Jessie turned to look and saw the Dreamwarden, all the other foals, Robby, and Tempest walking out of the house. "And I'm hoping that the world governments will be giving their full aid in the coming conflict."
"Are they really coming as soon as you say?" Rarity asked as her ears lowered.
Phobia nodded. "The physics departments around the country seem to all be confirming my fears. I still need to give them the additional data that comes from my knowledge of Devourers to get exact numbers, but I'm estimating we have twenty-five to thirty-five years till they arrive."
Rarity lifted her head and did a strong flick of her tail. "Well then, at least we know and have that much time to prepare. My friends and I have always had to save the world with no notice, and we've been successful thus far. I can't believe that these...things...can't be overcome with that much time to ready ourselves."
Phobia looked up at the sky. "I hope so. Mind you, even if we succeed, that it is only the first wave that will be coming. New waves will follow every few decades after, each aware of how the last wave was beaten and able to thwart such methods. These are machines, but they can think when it comes to trying to achieve their objective. We may win the battle, but it will only be the first round of what may be a very long war against an enemy that will always come back harder to beat. One that is also spread out across the entire universe."
Rarity's ears lowered once more. "You make it seem like it is inevitable that we'll lose, given that scale. Is there nothing we can do? What about this mysterious plan that you had?"
Jessie's ears perked at that. The Dreamwardens already had a plan for fighting the Devourers? Maybe that was what Phobia Remedy wanted her to help with.
Phobia looked up at the night ponies then back down to Rarity. "That isn't public knowledge yet, but we'll discuss it with world leaders soon. Regardless, that is currently on hold as we won't have the time to complete it before the first wave arrives. Our priorities are to survive the first wave, and then we can determine how to take this fight to the Devourers."
Jessie frowned. How do you fight something that is spread out across the whole universe? The universe was big; that meant millions if not billions of Devourers. Where did they all come from? If they were machines were there Devourer factories out there somewhere? Machines making machines? Did that make them alive? They reproduce and think, that seemed like they were alive. Or would they be more like a virus?
"I'll discuss this with you in private later," Phobia Remedy announced. "For right now we need to get everyone over to watch Wild do the final growing of the fields for the year."
Rarity nodded and her pretty smile returned. "Agreed. I'm looking forward to seeing her magic at work. I've heard stories, and seen recordings of it, but I'm sure those don't compare to seeing it done with my own eyes."
"My sister at work is quite the thing to watch," Ms. Rosetta said, as she gave each of the twins a nudge with a wing. "Let’s go, kids; climb inside Crystal's new van." She turned to the crystal pony. "Since you drove here, I'm assuming that you know how to safely use that thing."
Crystal's ears picked up and she grinned. "Easier to drive than a human car. Having four pedals took a little getting used to, but once I got them down it drove perfectly smooth. It has sensors that can detect what's around me, and it has automatic collision avoidance. It's really high tech, even a foal could drive this if their legs could reach the pedals."
"Or a foolish crystal pony that gets bamboozled by car dealers," a mare yelled down from the roof.
Crystal looked up with a scowl. "Alright, that's enough of that! Mellony, you're going to be on demon watching duty tonight."
The night pony who has just made fun of Crystal flattened her ears to the sides. "Hey! I wasn't the only one saying things. Why'm I the only one getting punished?"
"Because you decided to be the one to start things back up," Crystal replied with a satisfied smirk.
Jessie felt something tap her flank and turned to see Ms. Rosetta. "Into the car. You want to see Wild, don't you?"
She nodded her head rapidly and ran right behind her brother who was waiting patiently for Jordan and Jackie to climb the steps of the van. The two sisters were trying to do it together as some sort of game and going rather slow as a result. While waiting Alfie came up and stood so close she could feel his wing touching her.
"I wanna sit next to Robby," Alfie said as he pushed ahead of her slightly.
She shoved forward in turn. "He's my brother. I should sit next to him. You should sit next to your sisters."
The advance was stopped because Jackie turned around. "I want to sit next to him!"
"You aren't related to him. You don't get to!" Alfie yelled out.
"You aren't related to him either!" Jessie protested.
Alfie flapped his wings, causing them to slap against her. "He's a night pony colt, like me. I want to be with him. He's like my big brother."
"But he is my big brother!" Jessie screamed. Alfie turned and lowered his head in an aggressive manner, and Jessie braced herself for the impending pounce.
"Hey!" Robby shouted. "You can both sit next to me. The back seat is big enough. Jackie can sit next to me on the way back. You've both been getting to be a pain in the flank and need to calm down."
"Alfonso, come here," Phobia Remedy ordered.
Alfie hung his head as he turned and walked towards his mother. As he reached her the Dreamwarden raised his head up with a wing to look him in the eyes. "Be nicer to her than you are to your sisters! To tell the truth the three of you need to tone down your fighting with each other. I know why you want to be around Robby so much, but you can't greedily push others away from him. You can't always have someone to yourself. Do you understand?"
"But--" Alfie replied as his ears sagged low.
Phobia Remedy brought her head down to fill her son's full field of view. "It isn't up for discussion. You will not fight with other foals, and you will not shove Jessie out of the way to get to her brother. If you do it again you won't be allowed to spend time with Robby for a week. Try it again after that and we will deal with this issue the hard way in the dream realm."
That last part seemed to get Alfie's attention, as he cowered in place. "But you only give the bad guys nightmares."
"I don't give nightmares as a punishment," Phobia Remedy replied as she stood up straight again. "I give nightmares because people have fears that they need to face, but won’t. Those fears can make them do bad things.
“It's okay to be afraid, Alfie,” she continued, almost whispering. “Having things you're afraid of is a natural and important part of life. You need to be in control of your fears, not under their control."
"What's Alfie afraid of?" Jessie asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
The Dreamwarden gave her an unreadable look. "I don't need information gained in a dream to know his fears, so I could tell you. However, you'll better understand him if you take the time to figure it out on your own. You're a smart filly; put the pieces together and you'll understand my son's struggles. For right now, I want you all to get in the car with no further fighting."
Everyone went single file into the car. While the others were taking their seats, she started thinking. She watched as Robby helped get the harness fastened around Alfie, who was putting up no complaints about Robby strapping him in. She trusted that Robby would help her, too, in just a moment. Looking around the car she saw Ms. Rosetta helping Jordan into her own harness and that Jackie was already secure in a harness and looking around the car. The twins were playing some sort of slap game with each other as they waited for their mother to come strap them in. Phobia Remedy and Rarity both took a seat up front and were buckling themselves in at the moment, and Ms. Crystal was situating herself in the driver's seat...which looked like an ottoman she laid across. Outside, Ms. Tempest was talking to some night ponies right outside the passenger door.
What clues were there about Alfie's fears? Nothing around here seemed really scary. The only scary thing was Phobia Remedy, and she doubted that Alfie's big fear was his mom. What could it be?
She jumped in her seat as something touched her. "Whoah, it's just me," her brother said quickly. "I should have realized you were deep in thought. Hold still a moment so I can help you get this harness on."
Alfie was staring at her with his ears laid back. Why was he suddenly so mad at her? They'd been getting along great until today, but something had changed today. She hadn't really talked to him much, and she knew she hadn't said anything rude until he started shoving her out out of the way to get to Robby.
She looked back at her brother. It had to be something about Robby. Alfie had said that Robby was like his brother. Phobia Remedy had said that Alfie was being possessive of Robby and knew why. If Alfie saw Robby as a brother, what did that mean, and what had changed today that made him hostile to her? She didn't think that Alfie would have just started thinking of Robby as a brother today, if he thought that way. Robby was around Alfie more than her.
What else had happened today? When she'd first seen Alfie it had been when Robby had caught her and her dad talking about him. Alfie had been hiding under Robby's legs. Ms. Rosetta had to scold Alfie not to leave the kitchen when Robby had been arguing with their dad. That meant he must have been listening. What did that argument have to do with Alfie though?
Her eyes widened. He was worried about the same thing she was, only on the opposite side of it. He saw that Robby might move away and be taken away from him, and the thing that would take Robby away would be her. It all made sense, but she didn't feel any happier, having figured it out. She didn't see any way she could make this right with Alfie. One way or another, one of them was going to have Robby taken away from them. At least they would if she moved away. This made the prospect of going to college seem even worse. Why did things that she should be proud and happy about cause so much hurt?
She frowned. Something still wasn't clear. Charlotte and Tabby didn't seem as worked up about it. There was more going on she wasn't seeing. What else had Alfie said? She looked around the car again to determine if there was something she wasn't seeing. All she saw was Ms. Crystal, his moms, his sisters, Rarity, Ms. Tempest getting into the car, the twins, the two sisters, Alfie, and Robby.
What was different than the rest? Robby and Alfie were both colts and everyone else was a filly or mare. She turned and looked out the window; all mares out on the house. Alfie was surrounded all the time with females, with one exception--Robby. Things started clicking together. Night ponies had a severe gender imbalance. How many night pony stallions had Alfie met? They kept night pony stallions away from the house because it caused the mares to fight. Alfie wasn't just possibly losing a brother; he was possibly losing the only other male night pony he had regular contact with. What was it like feeling all alone like that in a crowded room? She actually didn't have to think hard about that, she knew.
She looked back at her brother. He was staring at her with one ear tilted to the side. What was she supposed to do? Ask him what he wanted to do? He was already upset about it. She dipped her head and laid down with her head down between her forelegs. Knowing things didn't always help; sometimes it hurt.
Wild was about done dealing with things for today. They were standing in a tented area just a few meters from where she needed to do her magic. It was still early in the day, but she'd had enough already. Her mother was behaving worse than a spoiled foal.
"Mama, you aren't touching me, and that's final," Wild said with her ears flattened against her head.
"But...I don't want to change back. I'm eating like you asked." Her mama looked down at the hay provided her. "Even though it tastes terrible."
“Well then, you’re getting the full ETS experience,” Wild gestured at her mama's lunch. "That's enriched hay, it's very nutritious. You need your nutrition. Eat all of it."
Her mama laid her ears back and flicked her tail. "I'm not a little filly to be bossed around."
"Jean, be reasonable. We just want you to not get hurt," her papa pleaded. "You just have to transform back for a little while, let them run some tests, and they can transform you back."
Wild frowned. It was still unknown if they could do that. They needed to determine what damage had been done and go from there. Telling her that would only get more resistance though.
Her mama just growled and grabbed up another bite of hay and started chewing.
"They already are giving your friend another round of temporary transformation. He was eating and didn't drag this out as long, so he was alright," her papa said consolingly, as he ran a hand over her ears. "You know no one wants you to be able to keep this form more than me. We just want to make sure you stay healthy doing it."
The hay was spit out and her mama glared at him. "I am healthy! You don't understand; nopony can understand. I can't live another minute like I was before; it's torture! Why can't you see that?"
"The temporary transformation is better than what you were dealing with before," her papa continued. "We can see about them reducing how much they need you to revert back, or have you spend all your time as human asleep. We can work something out."
"Not...another...minute," her mama repeated slowly.
Wild stomped a hoof. "Mama, you don’t have a choice. Maybe you'll be more reasonable when you revert back. Sunset has that pony sense of self dialed way too high on you. That has to be impacting your thinking. When you revert back you'll think clearer."
"You sound like one of those Humanity First bozos," her mama sneered. "I'm sad to hear you spouting off the crap that ponies aren't capable of making informed choices. My pony daughter should know better."
"Jean!" Her papa shouted, as he withdrew his hand from her mama's ears. "¡Eso estuvo mal!"
Wild took a deep breath. "You're not thinking clearly, so I'll let that go." She turned to the nearby guards. "Keep an eye on her. She can watch me at work, but she needs to keep eating--and don't let her get near me."
She stepped out of the tent without another word, and her papa hurried after her. "Catherine...you know she didn't really mean that. You don't understand how helpless she normally feels."
She stopped and turned to him. "I understand as well as you do. I did this so she wouldn't feel that way, but I can't let her hurt herself. If I have to be firm with her then I'll be firm with her. We can figure out how to fix this and make it work, but right now she isn't in her right mind."
"People said the same about ponies years ago,” her papa said in a low voice. “Many still do."
She shook her head. "I wasn't hurting myself by choosing to stay a pony. She is. If I could give her a true permanent transformation, I would, but I can't. What I can give her is this, but it has to be done properly so she doesn't end up worse. She could die if she wrecks her resonance, do you understand that? This isn't me being mean to her."
His eyes went wide. "Wait...this could kill her? You never mentioned--"
"I just found out today!" She snapped. "She wasn’t supposed to stay a pony this long, that’s why it’s dangerous. It'll be okay if she reverts back to normal after eating plenty of food, that's what Sunset assured me. If Sunset is wrong then they'll be cleaning red unicorn paste off the walls of the Bastion when I'm done with her. Make sure she eats and doesn't get near me. I need to go. I have a job to do."
She then stormed off to the fields, leaving her father gaping behind her.
Jessie shifted side to side, shuffling from one hoof to another. She didn't want to miss Wild Growth growing the fields, but she really needed to pee. If this place wasn't so crowded she might just squat and go right where she was at. Someone would smell it though, and they'd know then that she'd gone potty right in public. Why didn't she go to the bathroom when she was back at Phobia Remedy's house?
Ms. Rosetta looked down at her and smiled. "I know that dance when I see it. If you need to use the restroom there's one set up nearby. Wild takes her time getting situated so you have a few minutes. Robby can walk you to the restroom."
"I need to go potty too!" Alfie immediately said from nearby.
"Alfonso..." Phobia Remedy said in a strained voice.
"I really do!" Alfie insisted.
Phobia Remedy shook her head. "Okay then, does anyone else need to go potty?"
"I do!" Jackie replied.
"Me too," Jordan said quietly.
"Anyone else?" Phobia asked as she looked at the twins. The two of them shook their heads. Phobia turned to Crystal. "I'd rather you walk them to the restroom, instead of Robby. It's easy to lose a foal in crowds like this, and I want to be sure they are safe."
Jessie glanced at Alfie, but Alfie didn't seem bothered by the fact Robby wasn't going with them. Maybe Alfie really did need to go to the bathroom. Jordan seemed fine as well, but Jackie's ears sagged.
"Whatever you want, boss," Crystal said with a hoof salute. The crystal pony turned to them. "Follow me, and keep close. We'll get you guys in and out of the bathroom quickly and be back in time to see the crops grow."
They did as instructed. The temporary restroom really wasn't that far away, only about thirty or forty feet away from where they had been, but the crowds were dense. Crystal pushed through the crowds and they all followed closely by her tail. When they got close to the restroom she could see no one was in it. Everyone must have decided that they'd hold their bladders until after Wild Growth was done.
Right when they were about to reach the restroom, a blue crystal pony with a pink mane almost ran them over. Crystal turned to give her fellow tribespony a stern word then paused and frowned as her ears flicked. She then started ushering the foals on to the restroom. Jessie didn't go right away. She instead took a second to find out why Crystal had that look on her face.
The crystal pony that had almost run them down was talking to a stallion of the same tribe, and she looked upset. The stallion looked more distressed the more he listened to the mare. Jessie perked up her ears and strained to listen. "--when she does her big spell. They'll be distracted. Nopony can pay attention to anything else when that's going on."
"But what will we do for food?" The stallion asked in a stressed tone. "We've got no money, and you heard them, we need to keep eating."
"We'll figure something out. We'll eat grass if we have to. Just be ready," the mare replied.
Several crystal ponies and unicorns came hurrying over. "Hey, you two! You’re not supposed to be off by yourselves. I don't know how you two found each other in this crowd, but you need to each go back to where you were."
The mare glared back at the ponies and flicked her tail rapidly. "Can't a pony spend some time with a friend?"
"Don’t twist things around like that," one of the unicorns replied. "Come along, Mrs. Martinez. This will all be over soon." The mare was led away and the stallion left on his own accord. The mare had seemed familiar somehow, but she could remember seeing her before.
"That was Abuelita. She looked different, but it was her," she heard Alfie say in confusion.
She hadn't even realized Alfie had stayed out here instead of going to the restroom. "Who's Abuelita?"
The night pony colt lowered his head and ears once again in aggression. "Abuelita is Abuelita. I guess you aren't so smart!"
Crystal walked over to them and gave them a little push towards the restroom. "I saw her, Alfie. Hurry up, we need to get back to your parents." The crystal pony lifted up her leg and spoke into it while frowning. "Alexa, call Phobia Remedy."
She hurried into the restroom with Alfie, and didn't get to hear what Crystal was saying to Phobia Remedy. When they went in they found Jackie and Jordan already squatting over holes. Jordan had her tongue stuck out and a look of concentration on her face. She found an empty hole to squat over and almost as soon as she did her bladder released, and she let out a relieved sigh.
"I don't know why Abuelita looked different," Alfie said from a hole across from her.
She looked up at him. "Who's Abuelita? You didn't tell me."
The night pony flattened his ears again. "She's Abuelita, I already told you that."
"That's just saying a name. It doesn't tell me anything!" She yelled back as her own ears flattened.
"Abuelita means grandmare in Spanish!" Jackie said enthusiastically. "We learned that in school." Then the pegasus filly raised her head proudly. "I knew something you didn't."
Taking Latin for her language class had been a mistake. Spanish seemed to be turning out to be the option that would have been most useful. At least she knew who he was talking about now, as the voice connected in her head. That was Ms. Jean...as a pony. She didn't just look different, she was acting weird. Ms. Amanda had said that turning into a pony changed who you were, and that seemed to be the case.
"So what's different about you grandmare?" Jackie asked the Alfie.
The dark green colt scrunched up his muzzle. "She was walking around on four legs. She always walks on two...and her fur was different."
Jessie blinked. "You could just say she's normally a human and now she's a pony."
Alfie glared back at her. "Humans are ponies, dummie!" He stopped and tilted her head. "But I guess she’s a different type of pony now."
She shook her head in disbelief. How could he be this ignorant? She knew she wasn't supposed to call other foals stupid, but she was really tempted. "How do you not know humans and ponies are different? How do you not recognize right away that she's a pony now and she used to be a human?"
"So, she was a human pony and now she's a crystal pony. She's still a pony, stupid," Alfie snapped back.
Jessie's mouth just hung open as she turned to Jordan and Jackie to see their reaction. They seemed confused by the whole exchange. Jackie stood up straight and looked at him. "She did the same thing as Mom and Dad, but the other way around?"
Phobia Remedy must have explained everything to her sisters. That opened up letting her talk about it then. "My mom and your mom were talking about Ms. Jean doing it. I heard them the other day."
Jordan's ears sagged. "But doesn't it make her feel bad, like Mommy and Daddy?"
"I don't kn--" Jessie's started before Crystal walked in.
"Hey! Are you all done?" Crystal asked. "You were supposed to be going really fast so you could see the crops grow. Let's move it."
The foals all stood and followed after the bodyguard. Jessie made a mental note to herself to talk to Phobia Remedy about what she heard Ms. Jean saying.
From her raised mound of dirt Wild glanced back at the crowd that was gathered. She could make out many familiar faces and many she didn't know. There were thousands gathered, with some standing in open fields near her for effective ringside seats, and others a distance away in bleachers. Those with the ringside seats were more important guests, and there would be a line of security just beyond them. Newscrews were set up there as well to cover the event. Between the two groups there were some small amenities and venders; restrooms, food sellers, souvenir hawkers, that sort of thing. This was a yearly event, and every year she tried to come up with new ways to make the experience new and interesting for the audience, and every year it got more commercial as well.
She frowned, as she couldn't spot her mama and papa, or the guards watching them. With this large a crowd that wasn't surprising, but she wished she could spot them all the same. She did spot her sister and some of her family, as well as the Equestrian delegation. Sapphire was with her family, and Wild her lips curl up just a little as she remembered she was supposed to be impressing Sapphire's little filly. What was her name, Aurora? She wanted to make that filly's jaw drop. She'd have to do something extra-impressive just to make sure.
She turned back around and looked at the cleared fields, close to three-thousand acres in all. A simple powdered line ran the length of them marking the borders of where she'd be growing the crops. Once she'd need some more defined barrier, but those days were long gone. That powder was made of a very particular carbonate, and she could feel it on the ground when she stretched her magic out. She knew the boundaries, and all she needed to do was trace the runes to define the barriers. Normally she'd have walked the boundaries ahead of time to set the runes, but her mama had kept her too busy for that. It wasn't needed though.
Taking a deep breath, she got to work. First she began tracing the runes in her head, beginning with the first stage of the spell matrix that defined area of effect. There was some math involved, but she knew the distance of the perimeter. The first matrix complete, she put her power into the soil and let it reach out the distance the initial matrix defined. With that done, she was able to feel around the boundary without focusing so much on the runes, and made small corrections as she felt the location of of the powdered line. Whether she was impressive or not, this was the most important step. Without that her magic could go loose into the crowds, and people could get hurt if that happened. This was what made her a geomancer, rather than a pony just wildly throwing her magic at things.
The crowd could be heard stirring with excitement. They felt her magic at work, even if nothing visible was happening yet, and she liked the fact that the crowd could feel it. Only alicorns could work magic at a level stronger than her. She made even the strongest magic users in attendance look weak in comparison, and she had to admit that it was her ego demanding that everyone know it. She wondered if Aurora was able to feel it when her mother worked her magic.
Her magic traced the gravel paths that were laid out for people to walk the fields, and she traced runes to make sure those paths wouldn't be disturbed. With those in place she focused on a hundred square yard area in the center of the fields. This was where she was going to do her really impressive display for this year. All the earth underneath was already in place as she needed it to be, and the seeds as well. This wouldn't be on the scale of her making that statue the other day, but it should still suitably wow the crowd who were used to seeing her just grow crops. This would be a chance to show off some of her geomancy.
She turned around completely and looked at the crowd as she stepped over to a microphone. "Thank you for the huge turnout! I'll be starting in just a moment. As a reminder to everyone, please stay back behind the lines when I'm working my magic. All these crops will be donated to needing families all over South Carolina and Georgia. I would like to thank all our farmers for clearing these fields and allowing them to be used for this purpose, and SPEC for helping organize this event. I'd also like to extend a warm welcome to our Equestrian guests who are viewing this event in person for the first time."
Cheers erupted all throughout the crowd, making her grin broadly. She loved doing this. Even if she didn't have a crowd she would love doing this. She might be an important business pony, but she was THE earth pony. As such, she loved nothing better than helping things grow. The fact that she had a huge crowd cheering her on was a positive bonus.
She turned back towards the fields and raised a hoof into the air. The crowd quieted, waiting with bated breath for the hoof to fall. Seconds passed, Wild teasing the audience. Sunset Blessing wasn't the only pony in Riverview who knew how to work a crowd. Finally, she brought it down hard on the damp soil, and her magic rang out like the world’s largest gong.
Like many times before, nothing seemed to happen at first; then came a low rumble in the ground. Starting near her, and spreading out like a wave, crops started rapidly springing up from the ground. Closest to her were pumpkins the size of grown ponies; beyond that, vines filled with bright red tomatoes; beyond that were bushes filled to the brim with strawberries big enough that they could be confused with apples from a distance. On and on the wave traveled; in its wake were left stalks of corn, sunflowers, watermelons, grapes, lettuce, and more. It was a rainbow of colors, fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
The wave of growth continued to move rapidly to the farthest outskirts of the fields. The crowd likely couldn't see from where they stood, but apple trees, orange trees, fig trees, and more were added at the far ends of the field. She could feel each trunk of each tree with her magic, and each fruit that burdened each branch with their heavy weight. The wave bounced back from the edges, a newer trick she first employed last year, and raced back towards the center, adding more growth as it went. Potatoes now grew amongst the already-growing plants, and various beans in a dozen different types.
The air was heavy with the smell of freshly-grown fruits and vegetables as the two waves reached the center of the fields, colliding with one another. The rumbling redoubled, and the crowd gasped as the ground in the center of the fields started to rise. It was a perfect rectangular block of soil that emerged from the earth, and within seconds it reached a height of three stories tall. Flowers started rapidly sprouting all over the monolith of soil, and within just a few more seconds a message was spelled out for all to see in white daisies amongst a sea of yellow tulips.
Thank You Riverview!
Cheers erupted again as she walked down from her hill and security started setting up lines for people to orderly go out into the fields to walk around and enjoy. She wasn't personally interested in doing this, though; too many people too close to her for that. Once upon a time that wouldn't have been a problem for her; it wasn't typically something that bothered ponies at all, but bad experiences can change anyone's comforts.
She instead walked down to meet Sapphire and see what her daughter thought of the performance. She'd chat with her, find her sister and talk with her for a while, and then see about getting her mama to the Bastion. Her taking the time to socialize gave her mama time to actually digest her food and absorb some much-needed nutrients. She was still worried, but now that she'd gotten to grow the crops she felt like she had more perspective. Everything would be alright soon enough. They'd get her mama to the Bastion, take down the spell, and figure out adjustments so this problem didn't happen anymore. Having her mama hanging on her so much and acting oddly had just gotten her anxiety up too much to think straight. Her head felt clearer now.
Sapphire's filly was staring at her with mouth agape as she walked up. Wild gave the filly her best smile. "So... do you still think I can't grow everything myself?"
"That was awesome!" The filly announced loudly with several excited hops. "I didn't know earth ponies could do magic like that."
Sapphire raised a hoof to her mouth to cover a chuckle before lowering it again. "She was scoffing at the idea you could do anything to impress her up until the point you did your normal magic shockwave, that silenced her right away." Sapphire shook her head. "Honestly, do you do that on purpose just to make the rest of us feel small compared to your magic? Admittedly, there aren't many ponies that have that effect on me. I'm used to being the strongest in the crowd."
Wild gave her best innocent look. "It was something I did by accident all the time when I was first learning to control my powers. I could stop it from happening now, but when I'm putting on a big show like this I deliberately do it."
"It certainly makes an impression," Sapphire replied, before snorting. "And Phobia Remedy says I have an ego, while you like to hold yearly reminders with thousands in attendance that we’re all kind of just bugs to your raw power."
That made Wild laugh. "Oh, I'm well aware of my ego, and so is Phobia. We understand it so well there's no reason to even discuss it. And you aren't a bug compared to me...more like a yapping chihuahua."
Sapphire rolled her eyes. "That isn’t exactly a compliment."
"What's a chihuahua?" Aurora asked her mother.
"A small dog that has no idea that it is small, a loud one," Sapphire replied.
Wild grinned broadly. "Have you run into a chihuahua since you've been a pony? They seem much more impressive now that we're lower to the ground."
Sapphire spread her wings. "I normally try not to spend too much time on the ground."
Wild looked down at Sapphire's filly again. She didn't want to completely upstage Sapphire in front of the foal. "Your mom could take me in a fight though. I'm only this strong when my hooves are on the ground. I'm sure your mom could pick me up with a tornado or something and I'd be helpless. That makes her really impressive too."
Sapphire flicked her tail. "A fight? Why would we be fighting? And if we were, I wouldn't worry about lifting you off the ground, I would just drop a few bolts of lightning on your head. Or create a storm and watch you be miserable from a distance."
Wild looked up at the pegasus. "Just felt that it was important to point out that no matter how daunting the obstacle there is always a way to overcome it. People look at me sometimes and are afraid of the power I have, but I'm actually pretty easy to stop. By the way, a lightning strike would just annoy me if I was grounded, but you getting me in the air is a whole other story. The key to overcoming you is to not let you get into the air to start with. We're both got really impressive magic, but even with all our power it doesn't matter if we are taken out of our element. No one should ever feel too small to either of us, or anyone else for that matter."
"Wild, you are forgetting the best way to overcome an obstacle; extend your hoof in friendship first," Sapphire said as she reached a hoof out to her.
She touched hooves with the pegasus. "Very true. Don't start fighting to begin with." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "And don't spread around how to beat me in a fight. I'd rather not have anyone trying that in order to make a name for themselves."
Aurora frowned. "What about Dreamwardens and alicorns? My friends always say they're invincible."
Wild shrugged. "I don't know enough about alicorns to say, but Dreamwardens- just don't break their rules and they can't do a thing to you. Considering most of us don't have mind magic and can’t abuse people in their dreams, that makes them pretty helpless against almost everyone...Ghadab will forever be a testament to that."
"It's the world's worst job," Sapphire chimed in quickly, perhaps not wanting to dwell on the subject of what happened to Ghadab in front of her foal. "All that power, but rules that are too tight and you can't break them. Worst retirement plan ever too. They've got the genie conundrum; phenomenal cosmic power, itty-bitty living space. They're also on the beck and call of anyone calling out to them in a dream. I'd go crazy doing that."
Aurora flicked an ear in confusion. "Huh?"
Sapphire sighed. "When we get home we're having a Disney movie marathon. I've been meaning to do that for a while."
There were others patiently waiting their opportunity to speak with her, but she spotted her sister and Phobia hurrying over to her with Jessie in tow. They looked worried about something. "Speaking of Dreamwardens, here comes Phobia now," she said as she gestured her family over to her.
"Wild, we have a problem with Mama," her sister said in a rush as they came up.
"I'm aware of her acting strange. It is getting dealt with shortly," she replied.
Rosetta shook her head. "Not that. Jessie, tell Wild what you heard."
She looked down at her tiny admirer. Jessie gestured backwards with a hoof. "I saw her out by the restroom with another crystal pony. She was talking about doing something when you started growing things. They were talking about how they had no money for food, and how everyone would be distracted."
"Where is she?" Rosetta asked in a pleading voice. "It sounds like she was going to try to make a break for it."
Her breath caught and she quickly brought her leg up and hit the auto dial button on her phone for her security. It barely rang before being picked up. "Where is my mama at right now?"
"We...we don't know. We're looking for her as we speak," came the hesitant reply over the phone.
She grit her teeth. "Why wasn't I called right away? How did you lose her?"
"We didn't want to bother you. She'd been taking off before and we were to find her each time. We were sure we could find her before you found out," the guard said in a meek tone.
"Find her, now! We'll discuss your continued employment later," she snarled. "Where's Sunset Blessing? Does she know about this yet?"
"We don't know," the guard replied, starting to sound frantic. "We tried calling her, but it goes straight to voicemail."
"What the fuck!" She shouted, making everyone around look at her while taking a few steps back. She wasn't even going to comment on the fact they'd tried to get in touch with Sunset first.
"We all turned our heads for just a few seconds when you were doing that thing with the dirt. We figured she'd be watching in rapt attention too. When we turned back around she was gone."
"Get some pegasi into the sky and find her! How hard can it be to find a crystal pony trying to run away? Move it!" She snarled into her phone before hanging up.
"I may not know this area very well but I’ll gladly help,” Sapphire offered.
She took a few deep breaths first before replying. "I appreciate it. We need to find her fast. She's not in her right mind. She's apparently dragged Bill into this too. We need to find both of them. You know what they look like, right?"
"I remember. I saw them both yesterday," Sapphire said with a nod before looking down at her filly. "Stay with your father and be good." She turned to her husband, who had been so silent Wild forgot he was even there, and gave him a kiss. "I'll be back soon. I should be able to find you if you're out and about. Do you have your phone on, just in case?"
"Yes, I do, and GPS is working for you to track us," her husband replied before giving her another kiss. "We will be here for some time."
"If you happen to see Sunset Blessing let her know I need her to turn her phone on and call me," Wild instructed, then lifted her leg up. "Get my personal number so you can get in touch with me fast. Alexa, share contact number."
Sapphire brought her own leg up and laid it across Wild's. "Alexa, copy phone number to contacts, label Jolly Green. Alexa share contact number."
"Contact created," Sapphire's leg band responded.
Wild rolled her eyes. "Alexa, copy phone number to contacts, label Sapphire."
"Contact created," her phone said in echo of Sapphire's.
Sapphire jumped into the air and hovered. "We'll find her, Wild, don't worry. How far could she really have gotten just running? She'll be back within a few minutes." The pegasus took off into the sky with a few strong beats of her wings, creating a stiff breeze in her wake.
"I'd look too, but it's getting too bright out here for me to see well from the sky. I don't think I'd be much help," Rosetta said mournfully as she looked up at the overcast sky with a squint. She then looked back at Wild. "I need to see about getting the kids back home. It's getting close to the demons' bedtime. Call when you have news, and don't worry about waking me up."
"I'm sorry about this, Rosetta. I didn't know she'd be this unreasonable about letting the spell end, or act so crazy," Wild replied as her ears sagged.
"In hindsight, we shouldn't be that shocked, but hindsight is just looking at the past with present knowledge. Let's just focus on getting this fixed," Rosetta said softly as she laid a wing on Wild's shoulder. "Remember to call me. She's my mama too. I'll give Miguel and Jose a call to let them know what's going on."
At hearing that Wild tucked her tail between her legs. "I don't think anyone talked to them about her doing the spell at all. They must have seen it on the news, but haven't called. They might be pissed no one told them anything."
Rosetta flattened her ears. "I'll deal with that too. I need to be back at work in the morning when classes resume, so I’ll need to get my lesson plans together tonight. It's going to be an exhausting twenty-four hours. Anyway, I'll speak with you later."
"Come along, Jessie," Phobia instructed as she gave the yellow filly a push with her wing. The filly moved as instructed, but turned her head back to watch Wild as she departed.
As everyone departed from around her, other people in the crowd started moving in her direction, seemingly unsure how to approach her when she was visibly unhappy. She wondered how much they had heard. It could be a potential PR nightmare, depending on what they knew. She couldn't bring herself to care at the moment, though. Her earlier anger had now dissipated into simple worry as the waiting game began.
If they didn't find her mama quick, there could be huge problems. She was desperate to remain a pony and that meant she needed magic, but where she'd been getting that magic was no longer an option. The question of where her mama would turn to instead was a fearful one. In her mama's crazy state, would she drain too much from someone? Hopefully they found her before it came to that.
Tonya sat nervously waiting by her wife in the doctor's office. They'd run a series of tests, and were now awaiting the doctor to come back with the results. Sunset had surprised her by asking that the tests be run on her as well. She'd told Sunset that wasn't necessary, but her wife had just said they were here to find out what all their options were.
There was no clock on the wall, so it was hard to tell how much time had passed. Sunset kept looking at the phone on her leg on impulse, only to remember each time that it had been turned off for this visit. Tonya found herself doing the same thing, so she wasn't upset at her wife for doing it. It felt like it was taking an eternity, but she was pretty sure they'd only been waiting a few minutes, half an hour at most.
The doctor's computer screen was turned away from them, and likely had the time displayed. However, years of dreamwalking, along with her own career, had cemented the idea she shouldn't invade anything private. Her lone punishment she gotten for breaking rules while dreamwalking had come from Yinyu, for trying to upset a very private dream of Wild's. People thought Dreamwarden punishments back in the day were all torture, based on the reputation Sha'am developed early on, but they got a bad wrap. Yinyu's punishment might have been considered torture, but not in the same vein. Yinyu had conjured a dream where she got endlessly lectured about being a peeping Tom in front of everyone she knew. It was just shameful and embarrassing, not painful. With the exception of one lone punishment by Phobia--that even Phobia admitted went too far, and...well...everything from Sha'am, they really hadn't been that cruel. There had been one execution and one mind wipe, but everyone who watched those trials knew those ponies had that coming.
She sighed and looked around the office. There were pictures of babies, both human and pony ones. A pair of medical diagrams of what different stages of pregnancy looked like for both humans and ponies were hanging on the wall directly behind the doctor's desk. To her left there was a poster discussing birth control options for ponies, and their effectiveness. That poster made her smirk because it listed magic off as the most effective, and most expensive. She wondered how Wild would feel about that poster. To her right, beyond Sunset, was one discussing not to have sex with random Equestrians because it could introduce Equestrian diseases to Earth. The pony population on Earth was still largely disease free; a few ponies had picked up some STDs from Equestrians, but so far those had been contained from spreading.
"I should probably just check in real fast on how everything is going," Sunset said, breaking the quiet. "Just one quick call to check in."
Tonya frowned and let her ears sag. "Sunset, you promised, no work until we're done here. Nothing intrudes into our time."
The unicorn let out a long breath and lowered her head. "I'm just not used to sitting around doing nothing. I'm bored, and feel like I should be doing something. What's taking that doctor so long?"
"Be patient, they need some extra time to run your tests too," she replied, then laid a wing against her wife. "I'm still surprised you did that. I know how you feel about the idea of getting pregnant."
Sunset's turned her head away. "I'm going to tell you something that even Tom doesn't know. I never wanted to be pregnant with Phobia to begin with."
Tonya blinked and laid one ear to the side. "Really? You didn't want her?"
"It's complicated..." Sunset began, then took a deep breath. "She wasn't my first pregnancy. When I was a freshman in college...I-I had...I had an abortion."
"What?!" Tonya gasped, unable to believe what her wife was saying.
Sunset turned back to her and there were tears in her eyes. "I was young and stupid. I got into college, and like a lot of girls who had that extra freedom for the first time, I was having sex. I got pregnant and I got scared. I thought my whole life was going to be ruined. I had already broken up with the guy who had gotten me pregnant, and didn't want to get back together with him. I did what I thought I had to, and I went to the doctor and ended it before anyone could find out."
"Sunset..."
Her wife sniffled. "Then I felt guilty for it. I guess that was my silver lining. I started going to some Christian groups on campus, looking for answers, I guess. That's how I got saved and involved in the church, even though I had never gone to church in my life until then. I was terrified when I got pregnant again after marrying Tom."
Tonya reached around with her forelegs and wings and grabbed her wife into a tight embrace. Sunset cried onto her shoulder as she let out the shame and guilt she'd been holding in secret for longer than Tonya'd been alive. What she heard described was the same Sunset she knew. Everyone else saw this commanding figure when they saw her wife. What Tonya saw was someone trying to make sense of her life, and life in general, because life had gone crazy for her.
"I...I did my best to be a good mother," Sunset continued. "I love my daughter, you know how much I do, but that first year was terrible. The post-pregnancy depression hit me hard. Tom talked about getting me to a psychologist, but I never went. I kept thinking about the baby I didn't have, and- what right did I have to one after that?"
Tonya continued to grip her wife tight. "It's okay, Phobia turned out alright. She always said you weren't a bad mother."
Sunset sniffled and brought a hoof up to wipe her nose. "I wasn't a great one either. I never wanted to hurt her, or let anyone hurt her, but I still ended up doing so. I let the doctor test me because, maybe if you couldn't have a foal, I could, and this time I could do it right."
Tonya slowly released her wife and looked into Sunset's orange eyes. "Is that why you're telling me about this? You wanted to a clean conscience going into this? To move past it?"
Sunset nodded. "I guess so. Since becoming a pony, before then even, I've wanted to undo all my past mistakes. I need to get all the skeletons from my closet. I want to try again, and be a better mother. I want to be the mom that Phobia and...and my other one didn't have."
Tonya held her breath for a moment before speaking. "So...you want to do this then? You want to have a foal?"
Her wife gave a sheepish smile. "If I didn't, then I just went and made sure Wild took over SPEC for nothing. Well, almost nothing; she is the pony better to lead it at this stage, but you know how I like to keep busy."
Tonya gave her wife a kiss. "That I do, and I'm sure you'll be a great mom this time around. No one is more committed to putting the work into caring for their family like you."
The door opened behind them, revealing a cream colored unicorn mare with a teal mane. "Am I walking into something private? Do you need another minute?"
Tonya and her wife shook their heads. "We're good. We just finished the conversation, and we really want to hear the results."
The mare walked in, levitating a few papers along with her in a teal aura, and took her seat at the desk. "That's excellent. Well, to introduce myself; I'm Dr. Anderson, but you can call me Becky. I looked over each of your results, and am happy to say you are both fertile and there are no major concerns that should interfere with a successful pregnancy."
"No major concerns?" Sunset asked. "Are there any minor concerns?"
Becky flipped through the papers. "Tonya is running a little high on her blood pressure, but not too high. Her cholesterol is a little high as well. A small adjustment in diet can fix that, and even if she doesn't, it doesn't present much in terms of worry. For you the primary concern is age. Ponies from Earth remain fertile longer than humans or our Equestrian counterparts, but I would still recommend that if you were to carry a foal that you do it within the next five years. After that point I would recommend avoiding pregnancy, even if you're still technically able."
"I'm actually surprised I'm able to at all," Sunset replied breathlessly. "I'd have thought I was too old. I mean, I knew I was still having a cycle, but still..."
Becky smiled. "You're not the first pony I've heard say that. I've read up on it for an explanation. We don't know if it was intentional or just an unintended side effect of the transformation, but being transformed basically reset your ovaries. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but all those cycles that happened between when you would have started as a teen, up until the age you were at transformation, all got put back into your eggs to go through."
Tonya just gaped. "How long is that going to keep going?"
Becky turned to her. "For a middle aged mare that's enough to keep her ovulating till the day she drops dead of old age. Even the final medical report on Sha'am Maut showed that she was ovulating at her advanced age. The fact that transformation also put us back into perfect health also extends how long it is safe for her to be carrying a foal, but after a certain age I would still avoid it, just a precaution."
"This effects everyone?" Tonya asked, surprised she hadn't heard about this.
"Yes, it does. I have had to deal with many mares, that thought their foalbearing days were over, come in surprised they've got a bun in the oven." Becky levitated a pen and paper and doodled out some math symbols. "As a general rule you can take your age at transformation, subtract thirteen from it, and that's how many extra years of ovulation you have than you'd normally have. It isn't perfect, but it gives you an idea."
"Okay then," Sunset said in a dazed tone. "So is there a sperm bank or something?"
Becky sighed. "Unfortunately, sperm donations from stallions aren't what we need them to be, and the night ponies have got so many mares waiting to get inseminated that the wait list for sperm is now very lengthy. The better option is if you get a direct donor. Mind, that many such stallions would want involvement in raising any foal they sired. This may or may not be an issue for you, but I like to keep prospective parents aware."
Tonya and her wife looked at one another to try to read how the other felt. Sunset then turned back to Becky. "We'll have to discuss this together. Do we just come back here when we make a decision?"
Becky nodded and typed some keys on her computer while looking at the screen. "My schedule stays pretty packed. It was only the fact the harvest is going on right now that I even had this time slot available. I can set an appointment for you to return in late January, say the twenty-eighth, at one? That gives you time to talk and discuss options."
"That would be good," Tonya replied, and then looked at her wife for confirmation. Sunset gave a nod in response.
Becky did a little more typing with her magic and then looked up at them with a smile. "You're all set then. I'll give you a reminder call the day before. You're insurance should cover this visit completely, but if you want a receipt just ask my secretary for one on the way out. I look forward to seeing you both again in January."
They quietly left the office, not bothering with the receipt for the visit. When they stepped outside Sunset broke the silence. "I don't have a clue who to go to. Do we know what tribe we're trying for? I guess that determines who we go to."
"We can sit down and talk about tribe later. We have time to think about it," Tonya replied with a grin, as she grabbed her wife into a tight hug. "I'm just so happy you're onboard with this. You'll be so happy too when you set eyes on that little foal for the first time."
Sunset hugged back. "I am happy. It's the start of something new, with you. It might be the final chapter in my life, but I'm sure it will be a good one." They broke their hug and Sunset sighed as she lifted up her leg. "Now to find out how many voicemails I have gotten while this thing was off."
Sunset's horn lit up and she flicked the power back on her phone. They both flattened their ears as it started ringing immediately. Sunset tapped it with a hoof to answer.
"Sunset? Where the flying fuck are you?" Wild's voice rang out.
Sunset's ears rotated laying flat to the sides to laying backwards. "None of your concern. What's wrong now?"
"My mama has run off!" Wild screamed. "I've got people looking for her, but no one has found her yet. It's like she's disappeared off the face of the Earth. We need to find her!"
Tonya looked worriedly at her wife. Sunset had a deep grimace on her face and was silent.
"Sunset? Are you listening to me? I need to find my mama," Wild continued on.
Sunset shook her head. "I hear you...I'll head straight to the Bastion and see about organizing a search party, and utilizing the city cameras to spot her. You have my permission to order any SPEC operative to do as you see fit. They can verify with me if they put up an argument. I'll fix this, Wild. I promise."
"You'd better," Wild growled as the phone went dead.
They sat silent for another moment before Sunset raised the phone back up. "Alexa, call contact Equestrian embassy, Washington DC."
"Calling Equestrian Embassy, Washington DC," Alexa answered. The phone began ringing, and continued ringing for a second before an automated message saying to please hold came over the line.
Tonya looked at her wife curiously. "The Equestrians? Since when do you call them?"
Sunset looked at her with sad eyes. "I can't let this project crash and burn, it's my legacy. I also can't let Jean get hurt because of this. If she's out there too long this could become dangerous for her. It's time for me to swallow my pride and do what's necessary. The Equestrians have better mages than us available to help figure this out once she's found. I'm going to beg Twilight Sparkle for help, even if I have to get down on the ground and kiss her hooves to do it."