(One week after the disaster)
Luna emerged into the foreign dream realm and looked briefly at the various stars that filled the void. She was merely a powerful dreamwalker here, the most powerful among them, but no Dreamwarden of this realm. That fact made experiencing this realm both a nostalgic return to her days before she was Dreamwarden and disconcerting as it made her feel vulnerable.
Ghadab and the new Dreamwarden Arbiter were certainly watching her right now. They were stripped of mortal form and at their full might, might that she didn't even match back home. The others might be watching her as well. They knew why she was here, and it had taken some convincing to allow her to do what she came to do.
Not wishing to waste any more time, she conjured up a private dream, one that the Dreamwardens had agreed not to look into. Little changed in her vision, as it was merely the endless stars of the dream realm spreading before her. A casual observer would have noticed nothing, but this expanse was now her private dream. With that done, she waited patiently for her visitor.
That wait did not take long. The pearl-colored draconic creature materialized from the darkness before her and gave her a nod in greeting. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, and thank you for convincing the Dreamwardens to give us privacy. They are so paranoid about my activities, never allowing me a moment’s peace in this realm no matter how long I walked it before them."
"I have heard that you have not given them much reason to trust you, nor have you given me such reason," Luna said carefully. "I'll hear you out. What is it that you want to keep from them?"
Triss sat and spoke calmly. "The unicorn Sunset Blessing has been imprisoned by her government. I would like you to advocate for her freedom."
Luna raised an eyebrow at this. "Why? She may have broken many of their laws, some quite terrible ones at that. What pressing need is there to release her?"
"She has always had the potential for greatness; you yourself have seen it. Now that she has been broken and humbled, it's time to start rebuilding her, without the darkness that once got in the way of seeing her potential truly realized. She was on a dark path, one that caused far too much misery, but now she has a chance to be on one that could bring about much more goodness and hope--if she is given the guidance and the opportunity to do so."
"So you wish to see her redeemed," Luna replied in a low voice. She then sat down. "I am sympathetic to the idea of redemption. I have been in her position and recently have seen others like Starlight Glimmer be in the same as well. But she is not one of my subjects, and my interference with the American justice system would not be welcomed. If this were Equestria, perhaps I could sway Sister’s judgment, but it is not."
"Petitioning and vouching for her pathway to redemption are not crimes, even under the treaty you hold with the nations of Earth," Triss reminded. "I ask only that you try."
Luna's eyes narrowed. "Why her? Among all the ponies of Earth? There are others far more deserving of an opportunity for redemption who haven't been accused of such troubling crimes."
Triss looked upwards at the stars. "But not many who could rise so high from the ashes. None that could do so much when set upon the right path."
"You're seeking another ascended being," Luna said flatly.
"I hope for it. I will not push ascension on one who isn't ready for it, no matter what the Dreamwardens may falsely believe," Triss said firmly, then her head lowered, and her tone became melancholy. "I did that once. Joss will always stand as my deepest shame and regret. Sunset Blessing may never be ready for that great step, even if she is given this opportunity. There are reasons why others haven't joined me in all these years. I am not so hasty to see another mistake happen. However, she can do much to help the world, even if she is never ready to ascend. I'm asking for you to help give her the chance to do so."
"You ask a lot of me," Luna replied.
"You asked far greater of your sister, but Celestia chose to trust that there was still good in you when you became Nightmare Moon, and she chose to spend a thousand years alone waiting for the chance to see you as you are now. Twilight Sparkle risked similar when she took a leap of faith to trust Starlight Glimmer; would Earth not have been consumed by Sunset Shimmer without her aid? Can you not see a path of redemption for one not so lost as Sunset Blessing?” Triss questioned passionately. “Please, I truly believe that the future will be darker without her aid. If we expect ever to see a sunrise, then first must come a Sunset."
Luna sat and considered. "The problem arises that much of what she is capable of doing will forever be impeded by her reputation, even if she should reform. Sunset Blessing is a leader with no one to lead, a researcher with nothing to research, and a pony of boundless drive with no goals left to reach for. If a redemption had happened years before now, she could perhaps capitalize on all her traits, but now this seems impossible."
Triss actually smiled. "You underestimate her." The dragon-like creature's tail twitched. "There is another request I would make. I was once head of the Hall of Teachers back on my homeworld. More than anything else, that is what I am at my heart. I want my chance to teach again, to inspire mortals to greater heights, and to help the greatest become all they can be. Mortals such as Sunset Blessing, Sunrise Storm, Wild Growth, and many others. The Dreamwardens here block me from doing that."
"They're concerned you're trying to push for a new ascended being," Luna replied flatly. "Given the current volatile environment on Earth, that is something worth being afraid of."
Triss shook her head. "I have already told you that I will not push such a thing on someone not ready. If they are truly ready, it isn't for you, or I, or anyone else but them to decide. What I can do is help try to guide them to their potential. Just because a being may not ascend doesn't mean they aren't capable of doing great things. The Devourers are coming, and we need the best doing their best to stand in life's defense. Intercede on my behalf with the Dreamwardens and let me have my opportunity to teach again so that this world can present its best front."
Luna frowned then looked upward. "Ghadab, Arbiter, and whatever other Dreamwardens may hear my call. I request your presence."
Immediately all the Dreamwardens except Krik appeared, most in their pony forms--save Yinyu, who kept to her seapony form, and Arbiter, who took the form of an angelic partial. They gave Luna curious glances, and they all gave Triss hostile ones.
"What do you wish of us, Luna?" Psychic Calm asked, then he gestured at Triss with a wing. "Do you need Ghadab and Arbiter to chase her away?"
Luna shook her head. "She requests to speak to you and wants to be sure you will give her a fair hearing. I can believe that she has not gotten one thus far from you based on what Yinyu has shared with me. I understand your resentment and suspicion of her after what happened to your forebear Joss and the level of hurt and shame that remains. She hurts just as much or more for it and promises no repeats of what led to that."
"Forgive us, but we have reason to be wary of her," Ghadab replied. "We can't feel her mind, and she's like a foreign presence here. Perhaps if she opened it to us, we would be more believing of anything she has to say." His fellow undead Dreamwarden Arbiter nodded in agreement as she kept her eyes fixed on Triss with unabashed suspicion.
"I’m disappointed, not even a decade as wardens--one of you just days, and you have forgotten what it is like to trust others without reading their minds,” Luna remarked with a shake of her head. “Empathy is not reserved for those who submit themselves to you.”
She didn't know how she felt about Triss herself and wasn't prepared to stand for her at this time. Triss could have called on the Dreamwardens in this manner at any time but had chosen to try to go through an intermediary. That made her believe that the Dreamwardens weren't the only ones at fault in this lack of communication. Neither side had made any serious attempts to mend their bonds.
She didn't depart right away, instead sitting back to watch what might unfold. While this was but a simple conversation, it was a momentous occasion in the history of this universe. Yinyu had described to her the animosity that the Dreamwardens held for Triss, animosity that dated back to when Joss and Triss walked as newly ascended beings so far back in history that dating it would boggle the mind. The grudge between Dreamwardens of this universe and its sole ascended being was perhaps the longest of any universe. To have them sit and try to work out their differences was the type of thing that could change the course of history.
There was a pregnant silence that was finally broken by Ghadab. "So? Do you have something to say to us, junk peddler?"
Triss lifted her head and looked at the Warden of Anger. "You throw that name at me, but your distant forebear was of the same origin."
"Indeed," Ghadab growled. "And the universe would have been better if he had stayed a junk peddler."
Triss looked away. "You don't know how long I have given myself that same recrimination for what he became."
"We have some idea," Psychic said in a calm tone.
Triss looked at the Warden of Calm. "Not in the slightest. You have no memories of those lifeless eons where there was no soul to be found. Where all I could do was contemplate my actions, or how many times over that span I considered ending myself."
"Yet here you remain," Phobia said in a questioning tone. "Why do you remain? When Dreamwardens can no longer bear the burden of our jobs, we join the eternal dream. What drives you after so many eons?"
Triss’ serpentine tongue flickered out to taste the air. "My desire to bring an end to the endless cycle of death and suffering, and... I don't know what lies beyond. For all of you, it is clear, the Story--the eternal dream--is what awaits you. For me… an unknown abyss. If I live, I have some hope of seeing a thriving universe once again. But if I die, all that endless loneliness would have amounted to nothing. Hope that it meant something keeps me going."
"It's ironic," Arbiter said with a hint of mirth, laced with grief. "You want so desperately to avoid the void, yet Joss so desperately longed for it. I just gave up my direct ties to the material world, and I don't know if I'll ever be ready for what comes next. There is some peace in knowing that there is something after this, even if I have no control over it, but it is still frightening. In that, I sympathize with both you and Joss."
"I wonder, Triss, how much would you fear what comes next if not for the actions of Joss?" Phobia mused.
Triss looked at the Dreamwardens mournfully. "That's what it always comes back to, doesn't it? Joss, my mistake, and his eternal damnation of all those with magic."
Yinyu suddenly swam out between the Dreamwardens and Triss, and to Luna's shock, the Warden of Lust faced her. "Luna, I don’t think you hearing this is a good idea. Please, leave now before it is discussed," the seapony guised Dreamwarden pleaded.
"She should stay," Phobia said firmly.
Yinyu rounded towards Phobia. "This isn't the time for one of your fear lessons! This could hurt her! This is Luna we're talking about! Do you really want to hurt her?"
Luna's brows rose, and she spread her wings. "What is the meaning of this? What are you two discussing?"
Phobia stared Yinyu in the eyes. "We all want the best for Luna. It is just that we have differing opinions on what that entails." She turned to Luna and gave her a sad look. "Stay and find out. I'm telling you now that if you stay, you'll be facing your deepest fear. If you can understand it and see it for what it is, you may be stronger for it, but there is a danger it could consume you."
"You know not what risk you are taking, Warden," Triss warned. "Your fellow Warden is right; Luna should leave."
"That is not your call, Triss," Phobia replied calmly, never taking her eyes off Luna. There was a fierce determination in that gaze, as well as hope and fear. "Luna, I invite you to stay and listen. The choice is yours. No one will make you leave if you say you wish to stay."
"I wouldn't speak for all of us like that, Phobia. As you said, we have divergent opinions on this matter," Arbiter scolded. "I may force her away. I'm at full power, and you're not. You wouldn't be able to stop me."
"But I would," Ghadab said, then glanced at Luna and shook his head. "The nightmare monger is right, little sister; it is time to get this out in the open and stop avoiding the issue."
Luna looked at them all. All their faces held fear, trepidation, and worry. Whatever this was, it was no small thing, and the fact it was all focused on her made her feel a chill. There was no way she could turn away from knowing, though.
"I'll stay," she said.
Triss growled. "This is a mistake."
Arbiter stepped forward. "In this, I agree with Triss. I call for a vote. Phobia, you can't simply dictate to us allowing Luna to see what is a private discussion. One that is possibly harmful for her to hear."
"I second the call for a vote!" Yinyu yelled, then turned to Luna. "I'm sorry, Luna. I love and respect you. You know I share with you what I can, but to let you hear this is cruelty."
Phobia sighed. "Very well, you'll have your vote. All in favor of ordering Luna from this dream, please indicate so now."
Arbiter immediately raised an arm high, Yinyu quickly followed. Krik appeared and looked at each Dreamwarden in turn before he cautiously raised a wing; not surprising, given his primary goals were keeping secrets safe. Phobia looked at the raised appendages consideringly. "We have a split vote." She then turned to Triss. "As a participant in this conversation, I would give the deciding vote to you, as is just. Does any Dreamwarden have any objections to Triss being the deciding vote?"
"It is just," Ghadab said in a defeated tone. Arbiter just smiled, knowing she'd just claimed her first victory and making it clear she wouldn't be merely sitting in the background while the others decided things. No one raised objections to Triss giving the deciding vote.
"My vote is she leaves," Triss said firmly.
Phobia sighed. "The vote is passed. Luna, please leave of your own free will or be removed."
"As you wish," Luna replied stiffly. "At least I can take some comfort in the fact that all of you can be civil and cooperative with her in this."
She departed the seven of them and moved on, leaving them to either bicker or make some accord with each other. The rejection from being allowed to listen stung, and she was only left to wonder what caused them to object to her presence. It was something to address in the future. No matter what, this was private information, and her Oaths demanded she respect it if they did not wish for her to know.
She knew the target she wished to visit next, and she dove into her dreams. The unicorn in question sat as if waiting. Those orange eyes looked up in expectation as Luna came into the dream before noticing it wasn't who she expected and grimaced.
"I may be mistaken, but I believe I ordered you out of my dreams years ago," Sunset Blessing said without standing up.
"Do you wish me to leave now, or do you wish to hear why I chose to visit you?" Luna asked.
Sunset let off a sigh as her head slumped. "Do as you wish. If you're here to gloat, I doubt you could say anything I haven't said to myself already. I'm where I belong."
"You don't know me well if you think I take any pleasure in your punishment. The reason I'm here is to ask; what if the world is not done with you yet?" Luna asked.
The red-furred unicorn gave off a bitter laugh. "Then the world is more foolish than me. It doesn't matter anyway. I have nothing to offer the world, and I never did. I was a reckless idiot who endangered the lives of others and inadvertently led to the deaths of many for the sake of my warped vision of the future."
"Yes, I agree," Luna answered, and when she got no visible response, she continued. "Except for the matter of you never having anything to offer or never did anything good. Thanks to you, the ponies in the south didn't fall into the traps the west had fallen into early on. You have done much to innovate society and make others' lives better. And despite their early failures, your temporary transformation spell, along with many other spells, are wonders of magic that will help many in time, and you should be proud of them."
"My grandfoals almost died because of that spell, and Poly Glot used my spells to great effect in taking down all our defenses in the Bastion," Sunset sneered.
Luna nodded her agreement. "And you have learned what reckless pursuit of a goal can do in the process, even if the cost was high. I once tried to impose my own tyrannical reign upon Equestria, and like you, my lessons had a high cost. It also gave me insights into helping others not fall down the same path. Such lessons are harshly learned, but those that have learned them can pass their experiences on to others to help make sure others don't go down the same path."
"Well, I'll be sure to pass my experiences onto are the guards and walls of my prison since that is all who will hear me speak from now on. It isn't like anyone will ever trust me enough to listen to what I have to say, even if I was free."
"Trust must be earned after such a fall, but it can come if you make an effort," Luna said sagely. "If you were given the opportunity to, would you attempt to help the world? If only to caution them away from your failings?"
Sunset sat still for a long moment before replying. "I don't know if I could ever find redemption, but if I could keep others from going down my path, I would do what I could. It's a better direction for my life, a purpose."
Luna rose to her hooves. "That is all I needed to hear. It's said that your talent is making more than it seems possible out of what you've been given. That's a simple but powerful talent. I'll do my best to give you an opportunity at redemption. I hope that you make the most you can out of that opportunity."
And with that said, she departed the dream and began to consider her pleas for Sunset Blessing's release. However, she quickly found herself waylaid into a dream, not of her making.
"I apologize, Luna, but I wanted to have a word with you."
This new dream had no actual shape or form—just more of the endless night sky. The voice was disembodied, but it was familiar.
She lifted her head. "What is it you wish to speak about, Arbiter?"
The partial human form of Arbiter appeared before her. She looked mostly human, except for the purple hair, pony ears, orange wings on her back, and purple tail. "I've had nothing but time to think since I've become a Dreamwarden. I've been thinking about what I can do to be better than Sha'am and what it means to be a Dreamwarden in a world that doesn't need an enforcer."
"A worthy endeavor to be considering," Luna said slowly. She didn't know Arbiter like she knew the others, so she was more suspicious of the new Dreamwarden's intentions. The Warden of Song was undoubtedly quick to banish her from the previous conversation, but Luna chose not to be petty about that. If the new Warden was making an effort to reach out to her, it was best to entertain the gesture. "What do you need to speak to me about in regards to that? I suspect you have my memories up to the point I made your forebears."
Arbiter nodded. "I do, but what I need is help. I have an idea, but I need someone to talk to the world's governments on my behalf in the waking world. Phobia would help, but they are suspicious of Dreamwardens already."
"And they aren't of me?" Luna said with a laugh. "What is it that you want to accomplish? Tell me that first, and I will see what can be done."
Arbiter looked off in the distance. "I want to bring a sense of one people to the world. Not erasing the cultures already there, but helping make them see themselves as part of the whole. I want to make a great shared dream that shall always be there and be accessible by anyone with magic. A place where there are no borders, no language barriers; just the opportunity to relax, learn, and communicate in a safe and peaceful place."
"It sounds like wonderful fantasy," Luna replied. "But this shared dream of yours sounds like it is more something to bring ponies together, excluding humans. That could be divisive."
Arbiter shook her head. "You aren't aware of this dream realm like I am. There are far more humans out there that possess some sliver of magic than anyone imagines. Most can't use it, and for most, that sliver is so small even crystal ponies can't detect it, but it is there. The number of such humans exceeds the number of ponies, though not significantly more. It isn't a small number of humans that I would be giving this key to."
Luna's eyes widened. "We have heard about a magical awakening in humanity, but I never imagined that the numbers would be that high."
"Nor have they, or most of the Dreamwardens until recently. Sha'am knew, but she kept it a secret from the others. Ghadab learned of it when he died, and I know of it now. The two of us have shared this information with the others," Arbiter replied. She turned and looked at the stars. "And we wish to share it with the world. Some things don't need to remain secret."
"How are the numbers so high?" Luna asked, still incredulous at the figures. From what Arbiter described, this pushed the number of magical beings on Earth well over a billion between the humans and ponies.
Arbiter looked back at her. "ETS helped it along greatly, that is for sure. Everyone that contracted ETS at any point has magic, whether they are aware or not, and whether your mages can detect it or not, but there were many others that did before that. It is time that they knew that and time that they know they can reap some benefit from having it. I'm giving them that benefit, the great shared dream."
Luna considered the proposal and all its possible pitfalls. "Is this something they must be forced to accept? Being put into this shared dream?"
Arbiter shook her head. "I plan it to be something they can enter or exit as they wish, without the need for dreamwalking. If they do not wish to be in the shared dream, they simply don't enter, and if they wish to leave they simply leave. Maintaining it and providing whatever they desire within it will be my service to them. I hope that they may use it to break down the barriers between human and pony, as well as one culture and another. However, I don't dictate what they choose to do there...as long as the normal rules are followed."
"And how are they to be informed of the rules?" Luna asked with concern. "And what happens when the rules are broken? Some will inevitably do so."
Arbiter looked at her and smiled. "You don't need to worry. I'm not Sha'am, and I won't be using her as an example of how I should do things. The rules shall be made public knowledge in the waking world, and I, as the servant of those coming into the shared dream, will give them the opportunity to be reminded of the rules each time they enter. If they break the rules, they will simply be kicked out of the dream. There shall be no tortures, no intimidation, just a simple understanding, and agreement. They may return eventually, depending on the circumstances. I want to be about talking and communication, not a bully. That's why I chose the name Arbiter."
"And if they squander your gift without breaking the rules?"
Arbiter shrugged. "If all they use it for is to relax and talk to friends, can I say that it is squandered? It is theirs to use as they see fit. If I suddenly withdrew it, I claim ownership, and it wouldn't actually be a gift. I just come along in the package as the staff."
"That seems a very different tone than your fellow Dreamwardens," Luna observed.
Arbiter laughed. "That's because I see my duties differently than them. They see themselves as enforcers first, and everything else is secondary. That is why you chose them. The dream realm needs enforcing, but it doesn't need six enforcers, and I consider being an enforcer a lesser part of my job. I am first and foremost a servant; the Faithful Attendant is what the Narrative called me. I am here to serve the lights, not to enforce rules. Let Ghadab and the rest worry about making sure the rules are obeyed. I will be here trying to make things better through service."
Luna squinted at the newest Dreamwarden. "I am somewhat familiar with who Tonya Blessing was; you and the other Dreamwardens claim you are her, but you seem radically different from that pegasus in mannerisms."
Arbiter shrugged again. "I'm trying my best to be better and focused. I exist only to serve as Dreamwarden, and I need to give that service a worthwhile meaning because it's all I have. I only have so much time; they gave me the two-hundred-year oath. I can tell you the exact second of the exact day of the exact year that I'll go into the eternal dream. Knowing how much time I have makes me more driven. I want to leave a better world behind than the one I came into."
Luna narrowed her eyes. "I know that they said your additional oaths would be made public knowledge after the new year, but can you share with me what they are now?"
Arbiter held up a hand and started counting on her fingers as she talked. "I just told you I have to retire to the eternal dream after two hundred Earth years if I'm stuck in the dream realm, which I obviously am-- advice, never die, it gets old almost immediately. They almost said two hundred years then felt the need to be more specific to reduce wiggle room. I'm also banned from doing anything that will increase the number of Dreamwardens past seven--they gave a little wiggle room for when we are making heirs. The votes are also binding for me; I can't disregard a vote I don't like--though we can overrule it with a fresh vote. There is a strict rule about not causing or simulating physical pain, unless it is completely unavoidable in performing a duty, no matter how much harder it makes the task to avoid doing it."
Luna considered them. "That first one seems problematically worded still. What if there is no Earth? I was never happy with the concept of term limits. The others are... reasonable... considering recent events. The voting one could become problematic as well, though."
Arbiter gained a conspiratorial look. "I'll tell you a secret; I'm not supposed to make any heirs; the others will choose my heir when the time finally comes, so these oaths are not getting passed down in their current forms. I'm kind of like a guinea pig."
Luna blinked. "I'm familiar with that term. Those extra oaths no longer seem problematic; now they seem cruel."
Arbiter shrugged. "They need ways of figuring out what works and what doesn't. We don't like that term limit oath either, and it was only given to me because of that UN agreement. They are already trying to negotiate with governments to overturn that part of the treaty. Once they do, they can try to work out some new term limit that isn't so restrictive, not that it will help me, but we do like the idea of there being a definite lifespan to us instead of immortality. Two hundred Earth years isn't enough, though, and you're right that they need a better way of defining time. Since I'm just screwed in this situation, I might as well be used as a test subject for any oaths they were considering."
"You seem to take this all fairly well, considering your circumstances," Luna replied in mild confusion.
Arbiter waved a hand dismissively. "Not much I can do about it other than do my best with what time I have. The Narrative and I have an agreement where she'll try to help make the eternal dream more pleasant. She said she's still growing and learning and might be able to do more in the future, hopefully finding a way to move Dreamwardens out of the eternal dream into the realm of the dead."
Luna blinked. "There's a realm of the dead?"
Arbiter chuckled. "Yinyu still has a lot to tell you about from what we learned from our past Dreamwardens. Existence is broken up into many universes, but each of those universes is subdivided into realities, and each of those realities is subdivided into realms. We know so little of what lies out in all of that, not even the extent of what other realms of existence are out there. I don't know if there is a definite realm of the dead, but I'd like to believe in an afterlife everyone goes to--magic or not. Maybe all the Narrative's talks with Discord will help her figure out the problem since he's from a realm that can touch and interact with others."
"And if this realm of the dead is a horrible or unpleasant place?" Luna questioned.
"At least it's the same horrible or unpleasant place everyone goes to," Arbiter replied and looked upwards. "I like to think that at the end of everything that it is nice. It would be a pretty nasty joke if it weren't, and I want to believe whatever true creator there is up above all these universes isn't some sadistic freak."
"You believe in a higher power?" Luna asked, more out of curiosity of getting to know Arbiter.
"It wasn't Triss that decided that Wild Growth was worthy of alicornhood. We would have felt her touch, yet something declared her worthy by standards unknown. Who chose to put that infernal statue into a young Triss's claws, setting into motion the events that have shaped this universe? Who decided that Celestia was worthy of ascension? Something did, and it is something beyond my understanding. My understanding is limited to the waking world and dream realm. My only memories of the ethereal realm come from you and Joss, and neither of you understands that realm well. Some beings exist in realms so alien to us that we can't even comprehend them. We think we know so much, yet we know so little."
Arbiter kept staring upwards. "I didn't use to believe in a higher power when I was human. Sunset taught me to believe in something greater. My feelings about that have changed a little since I ended up here, but I still believe that beyond all this, there is some creator that loves us and has a purpose for all this. I just don't try to guess at the mind of God, now." She looked down and frowned. "My wife's faith has been shaken to the core. She needs to learn to believe in some greater purpose again, just not that she is the mouth of God."
"I hope that she finds it, and it brings about much good," Luna said without any irony. She, too, hoped Sunset Blessing would be reformed and help make the world a better place. The potential was always there; it was time to hope she could capitalize on it.
Luna shook her head. "I have tarried too long in the dream realm tonight. Getting back on track, what you're asking to do will take some convincing for the humans to allow. Are you willing to work with them to earn their trust about this?"
Arbiter nodded. "As I said, I'm not Sha'am, but I can say that over and over, and it means nothing if I don't show it. I'll work with them. I'll let them help set regulations, within reason. Maybe open my shared dream to a few humans at a time of their choosing and let them try it out and report about it?"
"And if they eventually say no, even after your efforts to prove you are doing a good thing?"
Arbiter's ears wilted like any pony's would. "I will honor their choice. I just want my chance to do good and bring people together. If this doesn't get allowed, I'll try something else. I believe in this, though."
Luna nodded. "You have my assistance then, Arbiter. I hope you get to see your shared dream realized."
Arbiter's left ear perked as if listening to something. "We have come to an agreement with Triss. She will be allowed to teach but is still subject to the dreamers' wishes on whether she will be allowed in their dreams, and we reserve the right to step in if we think she is pushing for ascending or making any suggestion of such a thing being a possibility."
Luna smiled, as she prepared to leave. "That sounds like progress. I hope it can continue and finally begin healing the old wounds this universe has suffered."
The world was tumultuous still, but there was hope that things were moving towards a brighter future. Arbiter seemed legitimate in her desire to be a servant of the people, the Dreamwardens and Triss were talking, the government of the United States was opening itself to uses of magic they would have banned out of fear just a few short years ago. A lot of hurt had happened in the last week, but out of it all, there was a light of hope. She would do all she could for her part to see that hope realized.
(Two weeks after the disaster)
Twilight Sparkle waited patiently for her guest to arrive. They'd given her a makeshift office in the old town while she studied Jean's condition. She traced runes in the air before her and frowned as yet again she was left with no solution to the problem, or any clues on how to come up with one. With a sigh, she levitated up her laptop and entered in the latest results.
So far it was looking more and more like Sunset Blessing was right. Jean's human resonance was too badly damaged to be salvaged, and the only thing keeping her alive was maintaining the temporary transformation spell. They had a few charged crystals that were acting as batteries for her to feed off of and maintain the spell, but they were far from an ideal solution. Those crystals had to be regularly recharged by a unicorn, and any break in the cycle of having one ready to go could mean disaster.
They'd also made a makeshift harness for Jean that acted in much the same was a suppression ring acted for a unicorn, only this was geared towards Jean's absorbing powers. It was designed so the only thing she could absorb from was the crystals. It also wasn't an ideal solution, and it left the mare...woman...person in a perpetual state of unease. A better design, that was more comfortable, was already being worked on, but it would still be the equivalent of her walking around permanently in chains.
There was only one viable long-term solution; that Jean be permanently transformed into a pony. That would stabilize her resonance and would take away the need to feed on magic. The government had already approved Jean going to Equestria to have it done; the problem was that Jean made it clear she had no intention of going to Equestria. There was a very real possibility of de facto exile to Equestria in doing this. Her family and home were here, and she was adamant that she wasn't leaving them. A new request had been put in to allow the transformation to happen on Earth, and to allow Jean to stay afterwards.
This request had been met with the expected hostility. Permanent transformation from human to pony was against the law in the United States, even though the temporary transformation spell was likely to get congressional approval. Even if it could be negotiated, having an Equestrian cast such a spell was a political minefield. The only Earth born pony who knew how was currently sitting in jail, awaiting hearing and trial, and there was no telling if she'd be released or not. Even if Sunset Blessing was released, there was serious doubt that she'd actually have enough magical power to cast the spell. Knowing a spell didn't make her strong enough to actually cast it. They'd already requested Sunset take a compulsion banning her teaching or leaking the spell in any way, and the unicorn had complied.
The door opened without a knock and an exhausted looking green earth pony mare walked in, one that a mere two weeks ago had been near death, but now looked fit and healthy. "Sorry I kept you waiting, I've been trying to make sense of all the research and development contracts Sunset had going on behind the scenes. There's a lot of them with private contractors, and I need someone with more tech knowledge than me to figure out what the hell she was doing with them. I'm trying to get in touch with all these people she was channeling unspecified research funds to for some explanation."
Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. "Do you think she was embezzling funds from SPEC? Your justice department has been gathering evidence for a case against her, that would certainly be grounds for it."
Wild Growth shook her head. "No, the government is already going through it and whatever it was, it was definitely research and development within the law. Something was being made, but no one seems to know what. There are legitimate receipts for all the spending; land contracts, electronic equipment, exotic materials, shipping invoices--it's all there, except the first whatever she was making went up in flames in the Bastion and there is no description of what it was or what it did printed anywhere."
Twilight let out a long breath. "That might be for the best...not the not knowing what those projects were, but the fact that she doesn't seem to have been guilty of any wrongdoing."
Wild looked at her quizzically and took a seat across from her. "I didn't expect you to be wanting her to get off the hook. The two of you don’t seem very friendly with one another."
"The Sunset Blessing I met before is not the Sunset Blessing I saw after the Bastion was destroyed. Two entirely different ponies," Twilight said sadly. "What happened broke her and left her in pain that I can't imagine."
"She's not the only one..." Wild muttered darkly. "Do you know how many are now left homeless? How many spend every day looking for their lost loved ones? I go out there, every day, and try to give these ponies hope, but I can't bring back the dead. There are wounds that can't be healed."
Twilight reached across the desk. "Wild, you don't have to try so hard to be strong for them. You need time to heal too."
Wild pulled away from the hoof. "I'm fine. I'm in perfect health," the earth pony said defensively.
Twilight pulled her hoof back. "You know what I mean. You've been cut off from using your magic to do what you love. That is a very disheartening thing for an earth pony, or any pony, to experience. You've lost something else precious too, but miscarriages hap--"
"I don't want to talk about that!" The earth pony screamed.
Twilight briefly considered throwing up a shield to protect herself. Wild was in grief, angry, and hurting. Wild Growth may no longer be capable of using her magic on the world, but her physical strength was still there, and could still shatter even an alicorn's bones. Instead she just looked into Wild's tear filled eyes. "You need time to grieve, too, Wild."
Wild looked down and spoke in a low voice. "I tried so hard, Twilight. I wasn't strong enough to protect everyone, and I needed more strength. I..I almost ascended. I felt it, in the height of everything going on-- when I was trying to hold back the explosion underground, while trying to save the foals, and trying to contain the fallout from the Bastion. In that one moment when I had so much to do, but had already stretched myself farther than I ever thought I could go; it was there waiting for me to take it."
Twilight gasped. Was Wild exaggerating? Wild Growth was powerful, yes, but even she wasn’t capable of brute forcing her way of ascending into an alicorn. All the figures and graphs she had run made it seem impossible that an alicorn could rise in the current generation, or for several more yet to come. Had she been wrong?
"So why didn't you?" Twilight asked in a controlled voice.
Wild didn't look up. "I felt it happen... I felt my foal die. All that power flowing through me, all my injuries, my mama hanging off me like a leech; I don't know what the breaking point was, but I was able in that final moment to feel all the lives around me, and I felt his give out. I couldn't... after... I just couldn't."
"If it happened once, it’s likely to happen again," Twilight said carefully. "You are no less worthy now than you were before, and your disability has no impact on that."
Wild looked up at her. "No... never again, even if it was ever in reach. I don't want it."
"You might change your mind," Twilight said slowly. Strength was not what earned ascension, and she didn't think that was what had opened the door for Wild. The mighty earth pony had been bleeding, exhausted, and it was supernatural that she had still stood; but Wild had carried on, with no thought to her own well being, saving far more than anyone could imagine, despite impossible odds. The universe had stopped and watched, and a guardianship had been offered. For a universe that had seen so much death and destruction, perhaps that is what it cried out for.
Wild shook her head, sobbing. "I can't know for sure, but... I might have killed my foal. I won't ever let myself hold that much magical power again. If anyone is going to be an alicorn... it won't be me."
Twilight didn't know whether to grieve or be relieved by Wild's decision. There was no question that the rise of an alicorn on Earth would cause turmoil, but at the same time it meant that someone worthy of the mantle wasn't living up to who they could be. It was an uncomfortable thing to consider. She could respect Wild Growth's decision, though.
"Getting to the subject of your mother," Twilight said, trying to get away from causing the earth pony distress. "I have explored every option and configuration of spells I can. Sunset Blessing is right, her only option is permanent transformation. Are you sure you can't convince her to go to Equestria?"
Wild sighed as she wiped her muzzle with a hoof. "I could try again. She'd do it if it was an ultimatum where she wasn't allowed to keep the temporary spell going, but I can't give an ultimatum like that to my mama, nor could I follow through with it."
Twilight sighed in turn. "Then we will have to redouble our efforts to petition the government for a one time exception."
"You know what they'll say," Wild said bleakly. "Once you've done it one time, everyone else will be asking for the same. It is opening Pandora's Box."
Twilight snorted. "I think Sunset Blessing already opened that."
"Well, they don't see it that way, and their opinion is the only one that impact us doing this," Wild replied.
Twilight considered. "My next alternative is convincing them to allow her back, if I took her to Equestria just to do the spell with the intention of returning her."
"That might be slightly more possible to convince them and her about," Wild said optimistically. Then her ears lowered. "But I already know what will happen. The same thing that's been going on with all the partials. Endless red tape to get back across the portal to Earth, ending in de facto exile for many. We've barely gotten any of the partials back, just enough to say they are working on it."
Twilight gave a sad nod. "It's ridiculous that they aren't allowing more through their bottleneck, but it's not my call. I can try negotiating about it again to speed along the processing times. Some time has passed, and there's people who are in Congress that ran on the platform of getting loved ones home from Equestria. Maybe the fact that she already is effectively forced to stay a pony forever will make a difference."
"Maybe I really should run for Congress in two years, and do my part to help get them all home. I still want to do what I can to help people, and I can't do that with my magic anymore. It's time I open myself to doing things like that; my philanthropy will continue, but I need to do more." Wild got down from her chair. "I'll try to talk some sense into her again. It might take a few days to come up with some negotiating tactic I haven't already tried. We're having a big family get together later this week. I'll try then."
Twilight nodded again. "By the way. I know you've been busy and haven't gotten to see her, but Jessie seems to be doing well. I've been checking in on her and haven't found any ill effects or lingering problems from her previous injuries."
Wild gave a small smile. "That is good to hear. I was worried that she'd not take to it well, since this was kind of forced on her, and since she never really had a human sense of self any point."
"It was her choice, and she seems for the most part content," Twilight replied, then paused. "With some fussing about a particular unintended side effect. She was very angry with me about that one-- and she told me in very colorful language how angry she was, but seems to have calmed down."
Wild rolled her eyes. "If it is the one I'm thinking about, she'll get over it. Any other kid would be thrilled with that side effect. Only Jessie would complain about that one."
The phone started ringing at that moment. "Excuse me one second, while I answer this," Twilight said as she answered.
"Twilight, darling, you should turn on the news," Rarity's voice echoed over the speaker.
Twilight gave a puzzled frown and flicked the television on the wall on using her magic. The broadcast was showing the president out in front of the White House, beside him stood Sunset Blessing.
"...and in light of the fact that I have seen no evidence that any malicious wrongdoing was done on her part, that the actions that were the direct cause of the disaster were taken by the pony known as Poly Glot-- whom she did take reasonable steps to contain, and that she had no reason to believe that such a disaster was possible, and for her heroic efforts in getting the population of Riverview to safety, I hereby preemptively pardon Sunset Blessing of all charges that have been levied against her. Now, she has a few words to say before taking questions."
"They're giving her a presidential pardon?!" Wild shouted in astonishment.
"Luna said she was going to campaign for Sunset's release. I guess she said something convincing," Twilight said in mild amazement as she watched the red unicorn take the podium. She half expected this, but not so quickly.
Sunset Blessing looked exhausted as she looked out at the audience. "I would like to thank the president for his kind words. However, while I'm very happy that many were saved due to the evacuations, the fact remains that there were many who were not, mainly in our military. While I may not have broken the law, I cannot absolve myself of my involvement in this tragedy. As such, I have a few things that I wish to address before I take questions."
Twilight and Wild watched silently as the unicorn seemed to collect herself. When Sunset looked at the audience there was cold resolve in her eyes. "First, from this moment on I renounce my association with the philosophy of Shimmerism. It is a fundamentally speciesist philosophy, and it's filthy for being so. There is no room in a loving society for such hate. Those hit hardest by the tragedy in Riverview were the ponies, and the ones who were there giving help and aid with kindness and compassion were humans. I tried to reach out and lead the other Shimmerists to a better course, but they won't let their hatred go. To anyone listening to this who was ever inspired to take up the flag of Shimmerism by my words, I want to tell you right now I was wrong!"
Twilight sat back in her chair. Wild just gaped as Sunset continued. "The next matter is that I wish to address the irresponsible use of magic. While there were no laws technically broken in the facility in Riverview, I ignored how dangerous some of our experiments were. I was far too eager to push on to new discoveries without ensuring I understood all the fundamentals involved. We should still learn and advance, but I would like to petition the government at this time to create an independent magic safety commission to investigate the conditions in all current magic research facilities. The harshest teacher can be personal experience, and I have learned at great cost that change must occur. We don't want there to ever be another disaster like in Riverview, and urge for new standards of safety and oversight in all magical research. If anything can be gained by the Cataclysm of Riverview, let it be that."
"Do you think she's being pressured to say all this?" Wild asked skeptically.
Twilight shook her head. She was good at reading ponies, and Sunset Blessing seemed deadly serious.
Wild stared at the television and frowned. "It's got to be a PR move on the government's part. Think about it; the government is ultimately to blame for anything she did, but Sunset takes personal blame for it rather than saying they were involved-- even believes in her personal blame. If there was a full trial, their failings would be put on display. They know there needs to be reforms, but don't want to lose face. They also get a pony that they can point to as having done bad and regrets it, and is now doing good. That's a narrative that sells well these days after stories of Luna and Starlight Glimmer have become popular."
Twilight nodded along in agreement. There was a certain political logic to it. For her part, she was more focused on what this meant for Sunset Blessing, not the political backdrop.
"The next matter is a plea," Sunset said with tears in her eyes. "The people in Riverview have endured a great tragedy. Many have no homes to return to. While many will stay and rebuild, many others need somewhere to go now. I request...I beg the leaders around America, to open up their doors and help find them homes. We are a great and generous nation. When our neighbors are hurting we extend the hand of help. The lost and homeless of Riverview are hurting, don't leave them with nowhere to go!"
"One of Sunset's contractors out in Arizona already contacted me offering a place for refugees to go," Wild said as they continued watching. “Sapphire’s crew is already organizing a place in Michigan for those willing to brave the winters. Number is supposed to be meeting with some officials in Pony Hope as well, to discuss resettlement there, and resettling Lazy Pines.”
Sunset wiped the tears from her eyes. "If anyone asks, I don't know where I go from here. I have lost my wife, I have lost my home, and I have abandoned the things that guided my life these past six years. Like many others, I am grieving, and we all need time to grieve for the ones we lost."
"I'm sure Phobia will let her sleep on her couch at least. My sister already brought Sunset's cat home," Wild speculated. Then snorted in a half suppressed laugh. "Now she has three demons and Satan under her roof."
The former preacher took a deep breath. "I do have an announcement to make for another though. An unexpected announcement to be coming from me. One that the world has been waiting for, not directly related to the tragedy in Riverview, or myself. Sha'am Maut has been committed to the eternal dream, and her heir is in place."
"They didn't...they didn't make Sunset Blessing a Dreamwarden," Wild said breathlessly. "I’ll level Phobia’s house, with her in it, if Sunset Blessing says she is a Dreamwarden."
Sunset Blessing licked her lips before continuing. "I said I lost my wife, but that is only half true. My wife is now Dreamwarden. She has taken a new name and a new title. She is Arbiter, Warden of Song. She is obviously unable to walk up here and introduce herself, as her body..." Sunset suppressed a sob. "As she was there when it happened. She wanted me to be the one to introduce her to the world. She wants you to know that she intends to be a public servant, with an emphasis on servant, and she has made it her mission to help remind the world that we are all one family, just in many branches. Many songs creating a greater melody. I am proud of her..." Sunset broke into sobbing. "...and miss being able to t-touch her so much." Sunset wiped her muzzle and pulled herself together. "I know she'll be more worthy of the job than her predecessor, and I know that you will feel safer knowing she's there to help."
"Okay, that's a little better, but just barely," Wild grumbled, then whipped her head back to face the screen, as if just realizing what was said. "Wait... Tonya's alive?"
"Hush," Twilight scolded.
Sunset went silent and still after that. A man walked over to the podium and spoke to her quietly while cameras flashed. The man then spoke into the microphone. "Sunset Blessing will now take a few questions, but only a few. She has endured a great deal of personal tragedy and distress in the last few weeks, and we should thank her for being brave enough to speak to us."
The man left, and Sunset seemed to steel herself as she pointed out to a reporter.
"Sunset Blessing, do you have any comment on what experiment going wrong caused the tragedy?"
Sunset nodded. "The cause was a lunatic who had gotten access to powerful magic within the facility, mainly due to my own failings in oversight. The device that ended up exploding was an experimental power converter. I cannot go into details about it beyond that, due to the nature of it being classified research. That research will not be continuing anytime soon, and when it does I hope that better safety precautions are put in place, and far more understanding of the basic principles are known." She pointed to another reporter.
"Sunset Blessing, would you say that despite no legal wrongdoing, you could still be accused of ethics violations?"
Sunset let off a bitter laugh. "I don't think you listened. The answer is a resounding yes! While there was no legal violations, there were clearly things that should not have happened, and I was a guiding hoof in those. I must take responsibility for Riverview. We were trying to do too much, too fast, before we even truly understood what we had. I also cut corners for the sake of showing results. I see now the gravity of what we did, and what needs to change. As a result, I will continue to call for reform from here on out. There shall not be another person who was reckless as I was if I have anything to say about it." She pointed to another reporter.
"Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions Ms. Blessing. To clarify on your renunciation of Shimmerism, do you believe that transforming humans into ponies is wrong?"
Sunset took a deep breath. "I believe that you have to consider the circumstances in any case. The vast majority of us didn’t purposely chose to become ponies though most of us chose to remain of our own free will. I firmly believe that a human wanting to become a pony because they believe we are superior is wrong. There are justifiable reasons for desiring a transformation, to become a pony or human. But it should not be because of a feeling of inferiority. No one deserves to feel shame or believe themselves lesser because of who and what we are. My six-year old niece just rehumanized because she suffered severe injuries in the tragedy at Riverview, and I think she did the right thing doing so. She's so very young, and shouldn't have to live the rest of her life dealing with debilitating injuries. She’s so wonderful and talented and I look forward to seeing the amazing life that she will have, no matter what her species." She pointed to another reporter.
"Thank you again, Ms. Blessing. Your work with temporary transformations. What is your stance on that now?"
Twilight had to be impressed with the way Sunset Blessing seemed to thrive under questioning. It seemed with each question the unicorn became more sure of herself and in control. "What I said about magical safety and oversight should be applied to this area as well. I still believe that it has value in the medical field, and should be tested and developed carefully. Like many things I did, I didn't take enough precautions. My hubris, spurred by my then-Shimmerist beliefs, was my undoing, and it caused many to be hurt. The research and possible applications in medicine are still worthwhile, but it needs much longer periods of extended testing, with much better safety precautions first. I ask the government to review the files on what happened in depth, and make better safety precautions, before continuing this line of research-- but I do hope it continues."
"Sunset Blessing would be wasted if she was taken away from this," Twilight said as Sunset began answering another question, this one in relation to the possible refugees from Riverview.
"She's winning the reporters over," Wild said in agreement. "She's hit rock bottom, and lost everything. She just walked out of jail, and already she is starting to rebuild and rebrand herself. She's screaming what she did was criminal, and they are loving her for it instead of condemning her. It's unreal. I hate to say it, but there's no keeping her down."
"Luna said she had the potential for greatness, and I'm starting to see why," Twilight said as she pulled up some social media platforms to try to gauge the average person's reaction. A quick browsing wasn't conclusive, but at the moment Shimmerists were the only ones openly hostile to what she was saying, while others appeared to have cautiously positive to outright positive reception to Sunset Blessing. The more religious Shimmerists had names for her; heretic, apostate, traitor. "Luna had also said she had talked to Sunset about seeing to it that others didn't follow in her hoovesteps and go down similar paths. What she's saying so far seems to fully embrace that idea. I'm glad about that."
"From what I heard from Phobia that's nothing new," Wild replied with a snort. "She latches onto things, and rides them for all its worth. If Luna sold her on a crusade against what she'd been doing before, then Luna's getting her devoted crusader."
"We appreciate the fact you are being so open to us, Ms. Blessing. Can you answer some questions about your wife's new role for us?"
A little bit of the fire seemed to go out of Sunset at that question. Tonya-- or Arbiter, as she was now known-- was clearly still a painful subject. "I can try to answer as best I can."
"Our affiliates have already gotten confirmation in the last few minutes from the OMMR office that your wife has indeed taken the position of Dreamwarden. They have even released a statement saying they were waiting to make the announcement, so as to not overshadow the coverage of the Riverview tragedy. Can you give us some insight into what qualifications the Dreamwardens based her selection?"
Sunset gave a stiff nod. "Please understand, I am not partial to their decision making process. The Dreamwardens keep their secrets tight. Even Ton... even Arbiter only discusses what she feels she needs with me, but I can give you some insights that may have been considered. Not many know this, but my wife was the very first non-night pony to be granted the ability to dreamwalk. She was granted this ability merely two days after the last of the original six Dreamwardens was installed into place. That means she has been a non-night pony witness that was there since the beginning to witness the actions of the Dreamwardens. She witnessed the terror of Sha'am Maut first hoof, and was there for every one of those secretive trials. That gives her more familiarity to their workings than any non-night pony. Others have gained the ability since, but none have seen as much as her."
"And you feel the fact she isn't a night pony gave her a different perspective than the night ponies?" The reporter asked.
Sunset nodded. "Yes. No offense meant to the night ponies, but they're a tribe of fighters that accept far harsher conditions than what most of the rest of us would find acceptable. A different cultural perspective into the dream realm was needed to make the Dreamwardens more open to all. My wife had the familiarity, and that different perspective. I feel that they valued bringing that fresh non-night pony perspective, that still understood the dream realm so well, into their fold. There is no question that they needed reforms, and my daughter, the Warden of Fear, has worked tirelessly to help bring those. Bringing in Arbiter is continuation of that reform process. The president will have more to say about this later. There are changes coming, good changes."
Twilight looked over at Wild. "I haven't mentioned it before now, as it wasn't my place to do so, but Luna has already been talking with Arbiter. And no, I didn't know Arbiter was Tonya, only that there was a new Dreamwarden named Arbiter."
"I'm still shocked she's a Dreamwarden," Wild replied, and then growled. "And Phobia sat there and let us all think she was dead!"
"Well, she technically is," Twilight said in the Warden of Fear's defense, as Sunset Blessing was adroitly answering a question about possible nepotism.
Wild growled deeper. "You know what I mean. When I go to bed tonight I am calling both of them in my dream, and telling them exactly what I think of them keeping this secret from people that were grieving over her."
"The Wardens are known for being secretive, but I can understand some of the reasoning here," Twilight said as she flipped off the television. "I'm going to have to see if I can get a meeting between me, Luna, and Sunset Blessing. If she's going to get this much notoriety, then I would like to see she has some friends in place that will help guide her into making better decisions. Luna said she was going to help with her, but given it is Sunset Blessing, I'd rather double down on making sure she's getting good friends instead of bad ones. I believe in the power of friendship to turn anyone around, but some people need more friendship than others."
"Might want to quadruple down on her then," Wild chuckled.
Twilight gave it a quick thought. "Actually, this might be a good task for Starlight and Trixie. They can empathise with her more, since both of them have had similar... career paths. Sunset is a talented mage, and that could give Starlight something to bond over with her. If she really is on this safety drive that would be a good influence for Trixie; who could really use a positive influence on that. Both Trixie and Sunset do seem to thrive off having an audience, so they can bond over that. I can't force a friendship to happen, but it seems like a good match all around."
Wild got up and headed towards the door. "Do what you want. I read your books, and know about Starlight and Trixie's pasts. If you think they’d be up to the job that’s fine but if in a year they form into a league of supervillians named something cheesy like the Terrible Trio I'm going to point my hooves at you for who to blame."
"Wild, hold on," Twilight called out hesitantly. "I wanted to express my condol-"
Wild shook her head, and held up a hoof. At least this time she didn't seem angry. "You don't have to talk about it. I'm going to be grieving for a long time, but life moves on. Bad things happen, but I'm not going to let even this make me stop living. I find time to cry here and there, believe me about that. I may also get some counseling when things have settled down. I do appreciate you caring, though."
"You're a strong mare," Twilight replied with a small smile.
"Still the strongest," Wild said with a Cheshire grin. "Anyway, you're invited to the party for Jessie we are having next week. I'm sure she'll be happy if you come."
"I’ll be there," Twilight replied. Then considered something. "Do you mind if I bring some guests? I have some people I think Jessie might want to meet."
Wild nodded. "If you wish. I've got to be going now. I've a date with a certain unicorn bartender who thinks I'm still the greatest. I told you that life goes on, and I think I'm ready and need to start trying to find something that isn't just a one night stand."
Twilight gave the earth pony a concerned expression. "Getting drunk isn't a good way to cope."
Wild blinked. "I think you misunderstood me. It's an actual date, at a restaurant. No alcohol involved. The kind where you sit and talk over food. Alex just happens to be a bartender. He isn't serving me drinks. I'm not bringing him home to have sex with either, at least not this time."
"Oh," Twilight replied. Then felt embarrassed about misjudging the situation. "Have a wonderful time."
The earth pony departed, and Twilight stared at the door. Wild Growth had been beaten down, and had everything important taken from her, yet still she seemed to exude life. She was a paragon of resilience. Hopefully the world hadn't heard the last of the pony who was almost an alicorn.
(Three weeks after the disaster)
Jessie stared out her window as they drove down towards Wild's house. She was doing her best to keep her back pressed against the seat, because her physical therapist said she was supposed to work on her posture. It just didn't feel as natural as leaning forward to look did though. It didn't hurt or feel uncomfortable, most of the time, sometimes when she leaned back she pinched her tail, and that hurt, but she was getting better at not doing that. It was just another thing she needed to train her body to do, now that her body was so different.
Her ears twitched as she heard Robby move beside her, and she turned and looked at him. She still hadn't gotten used to the fact she could look her brother in the eyes now. The more limited field of vision she'd barely even noticed, and hadn't noticed she had a harder time making out details in things until someone pointed it out to her. They were all concerned that she'd have a hard time adjusting, but aside from a week or two figuring out how to walk on two legs, and figuring out how to use hands--which she still needed lots of work with-- she had adapted well enough.
"Are you worried about seeing your friends?" Robby asked with a single ear lowered.
She shrugged, a gesture that came surprisingly natural for her. "I don't know. This is the first time they're going to see me since they rehumanized me. I guess I'm a little worried."
Robby laid a wing on her arm. "Don't be worried. You're still the same egghead you always were, you've just been repackaged. A few minutes of talking to them and they'll see that."
"All their parents already talked to them and explained it to them. They've also seen Jean, and understand the concept from that," her dad called back from the driver's seat. "Jordan took some extra talking to because she was afraid it would hurt you or make you crazy. She was really worried about you."
She hoped they understood, and accepted her. It had been decided that she was going to hold off a year, if not two, on going to college and be homeschooled for her last year of high school. She needed to relearn how to write and do a lot of other things, and she was told she'd be given all the time she needed to adjust. She was doing her best to learn how to make use of her hands, remembering she needed to get dressed every day, and other things. Getting dressed she still needed help with sometimes, just because she still had trouble doing buttons with her hands, but she was doing better. Tying shoes was completely beyond her right now, and she had to have her mom or dad do it each time. She honestly still hadn't figured out the purpose for shoes, but her parents wanted her to wear them when outside, so she did. At least they looked pretty.
There were, as there were with all new things, unintended side effects. In addition to her still having her pony ears and tail, she still had yellow fur covering her legs. Her hair was human hair, but it was still as blue as her mane had been. The fact that she spent nearly an hour in the bathroom vomiting after they had her try meat had confirmed that she still couldn't digest it. The smell of it cooking didn't bother her now, and that was part of what prompted the doctors to let her try. Eating it hadn't even seemed that bad at first. It had tasted different than other things she was used to, and she thought she might actually like it, but she'd been wrong...so wrong. She'd never try meat again. The doctors seemed to think she just wasn't used to it, and she should try again, but she'd be happy with vegetarian substitutes.
The biggest unintended side effect was the spell seemed to have aged her a few years; as if when looking at her mind the spell couldn't reconcile it to the age of the body, and decided to tack on a few years, just in case. Thankfully, it hadn't wanted to push her directly into puberty, or beyond. She was still just six and a half, but they said she looked like she was closer to at least ten, eleven, or perhaps even twelve years old. Out of all the things that could have caused her distress, the fact that she was that much closer to having to deal with the dreaded hormones was the worst. She could deal with walking on two legs and learning how to use hands, but being told that she was on the doorstep of puberty, instead of five to seven years away, was the thing that made her break down crying when she heard it.
"We're here," her mom said from the front seat, then turned around to look at her. "Do you need help opening the car door?"
She'd been so deep in thought she hadn't even noticed that that they'd arrived and stopped. "No, I can get it," she replied, and then reached just a single hand over to grab the door handle and pulled to open the door. Gripping things like this was starting to get easy for her; it was doing anything that needed fine control of her fingers that was an issue. She found that she really liked having hands. The extra utility they provided, combined with her new height, made a lot of tasks easier. She just had to get better at using them...and watching her strength with them. She was much stronger than a girl her age would normally be, or an average human for that matter, another thing that had carried over; enhanced further by her new size.
After getting the car door open she let her brother squeeze by her to get out. He liked to be right outside the car whenever she was getting out. She wasn't sure what he was going to do if she fell over, because she was way too big for him to properly catch, but he still always waited for her. When he was outside and waiting she carefully turned and put one leg out and then another. She gripped onto the car door with one hand and put her feet in their pink sneakers down on the ground, then carefully stood up, lifting her tail up for balance as she did. She was told she didn't need to do this, but she found she sometimes pinched it when standing up if she didn't.
She took a few steps and then pushed the car door closed. She could feel a light breeze, and shivered. Her legs were fine, even though she was wearing a pair of white shorts instead of pants; her fur kept them warm enough that wearing pants just got too hot for her. She wasn't wearing a jacket though, and the skin on her arms was largely exposed with the pink t-shirt she was wearing. Her parents had tried getting her to wear blue or yellow, but she liked pink. It was bright and colorful, and it helped cheer her up.
Her mom walked around the car with Dusk strapped to her chest. She stared down at Jessie for a moment and frowned slightly. "We might need to get your first bra in a few months."
Her dad looked dazed by that announcement. "She's aged up, but she isn't that aged up!"
"Just a training bra, but it's needed. Girls can sometimes start needing them as young as eight, and she's physically well past that age," her mom explained. "Her nipples are showing under her shirt, dear. There might not be much else there, yet, but when they start being noticeable under a shirt it's time for a bra."
"It's cold outside, that's the only reason they are," her dad protested. What was so bad about whatever a bra was that had her dad upset?
Her mom sighed. "Dear...your little filly is now a little human girl on the cusp of becoming a young lady, that means she has the problems that come with that to deal with. Considering the fact that spell did age her up some, you'll have to accept that some things are coming sooner rather than later. I had to start wearing a bra around nine, and Jessie is physically older than that right now. Having to wear a bra isn't the biggest shock you'll have to be dealing with soon if she's this developed."
Her mom had surprised everyone by being the fastest to adjust to the idea Jessie was mostly human now. Whenever something came up her mom dealt with it calmly and confidently. It felt weird that the person who had been wanting to be a pony had been the one most okay with her being half human. Jessie had a few days ago asked her mom why everyone else was having a hard time adjusting, but she wasn't. Her mom had just smiled and told her that she'd never been sure what to do with a foal, but she definitely knew what to do with a little girl, and that made her feel more sure of herself than she'd been in a long time.
Her mom gave her dad a gentle touch on the arm. "I know this is a tough adjustment for all of us to make. We're used to seeing a tiny filly when we see Jessie. We adjusted when Robby went from human to pony at her age; we can adjust now that Jessie has gone from pony to human."
"I'm right here. You don't need to talk about me like I'm not," Jessie grumbled.
That made her mom bring a hand up to her mouth and giggle. "And aging her up suits her. She already has that preteen attitude developing."
"Fudge, Mom! Don't talk about that!" She said as she stomped a foot.
Her dad smiled. "Yeah, I can see what you mean." He looked over at her. "We'll try not to talk about you like you aren't here, big girl. You suddenly are my big girl too. It's a lot of changes to take in, but change isn't a bad thing."
"I know, Dad. All of you are having more problems with this than me," she said with a ponylike snort.
"Well, I'm used to looking down at you and now I have to crane my neck up or hover in the air to look you in the face. That takes some getting used to," her brother said from beside her with a hint of mirth. He wasn't wrong. She was five feet tall, only four inches shorter than their mom, and nine inches shorter than their dad. The doctors said they wouldn't be surprised if she ended up taller than either of her parents by the time she was grown up.
Her dad touched a hand to her head, and rubbed her ears. That still felt good and comforting despite her species change. "I'm glad you're adjusting well to this. Just be patient with me, and if your friends need some time too, try not to get upset with them."
She flicked her tail slightly. "I'll try not to get upset."
They started towards the house and her parents were whispering together ahead of her. "Be prepared for some crying fits. You know what the psychologist said; she's still emotionally just six and a half."
"I know what he said," her dad whispered back. "Maybe that will catch up to the rest of her soon, even if he said not to count on it."
She frowned. One of the odd advantages of being a human was her parents seemed to forget her ears were still pony ears, and that she still heard as well as she did as a filly. That let her listen in on a lot of conversations, and there had been a lot of conversations about her lately. They also sometimes forgot she had lost her strict circadian rhythm, and that when they were up late she might actually be awake listening. She had been sleeping on the living room couch--which wasn't that comfortable to sleep on--until they could find a bigger bed for her, and there were a lot of conversations she had overheard after midnight from there in the last two weeks.
One of those conversations that made her mad was them debating whether she should even be seeing her friends since she was aged up. Her parents seemed to have abandoned the idea of trying to get her to give up her friends in favor of older friends, but she had overheard them talking about today. Their idea was that she would simply get bored with hanging out with young foals, and they could introduce her to humans and ponies her own physical age. The idea of making some new older friends didn't really bother her, but that her parents thought she would turn her back on the current friends after all she had gone through with them, and for them, made her cry.
Those were the talks she kept hearing, and what her therapist kept going on about. They worried about her emotional development, her adjustment to being human, and her motor control. They debated whether they should treat her like she was her actual age or her physical age, as if she ever fit in with either of those before. Their talks about what happened when she hit puberty seemed to indicate they were sure she was going to go crazy because of her emotional development, which made her impending puberty all the worse for her. There was also another worry that sometimes was expressed, and quickly silenced; whether people would see her as a freak because she was a human with a few obvious pony parts. She thought that was stupid to worry about. She'd had bullies before, and Robby would protect her like he had then.
It just made her mad they felt like they had to hide these conversations from her, like she couldn't possibly understand. She was smart, she could figure it out. Nothing had changed about her intelligence, and that was something she was proud of, but they didn't seem to have any faith in it. She kept silent and just listened, for right now, but her frustration about it was steadily growing.
They were let into the house by Wild's head of house, and he greeted her without even batting an eye at her species change. That made her smile, and she decided she liked him.
A quick glance around the living room let her see everyone. Almost everyone had been there for Thanksgiving just three weeks before, plus a few others. Twilight Sparkle was talking to two human ladies that Jessie didn't know, and three unicorns she didn't know were at the bar area with Auntie Sunset. Her grandmare and another night pony, that she guessed was Ferris Wheel--based on the cutie mark, were both asleep on a couch in the corner, laying on one another. Phobia Remedy and Crystal were standing next to Ms. Rosetta and Wild Growth, who were both hugging each other tight and looked like they were crying. Amanda and Tom--they had came and visited her and told her calling them Amanda and Tom was okay, were snuggled close together on a couch watching the foals. Layla, her aunt, and a blue unicorn she didn't know the name of were all at the hookah, and she scrunched up her nose in distaste at the fact they were smoking. All the foals had been playing right when she walked in, but now had frozen in place and were staring at her. That last group made her a little worried.
Her breath caught as she spotted Ms.Jean off in a corner on a chair, with Mr. Roger standing by her gently brushing her mane. Ms. Jean was still a pony, and was wearing some sort of weird harness and socks. She had a small glowing crystal strapped right to her chest, and she kept reaching up and touching it with a socked hoof while staring at everyone else in the room. Jessie met Ms. Jean's eyes for just a second, and she wasn't sure if she or Ms. Jean was more afraid. Ms. Jean wouldn't be here if she was all crazy still, but it was hard not to be afraid of her.
The only person she knew well that was missing from Thanksgiving was her Aunt Tonya. That was alright, her Aunt Tonya had visited her last night, and had been visiting her for the last week. Aunt Tonya even looked like her now, human except for a few pony parts. It was nice seeing someone else like her. Her aunt had wings, and she had taken one look at those and decided she was grateful she didn't have them. Getting her tail through her shorts was bad enough; she didn't want to even attempt to put on a shirt over her wings. If she had wings, she'd probably just give up clothes and run around naked.
"How about you go talk to your friends," her mom said gently. "Twilight wants to introduce you to some people like you that she thinks you could make new friends with, but I think your already existing friends should get first dibs."
She looked over at the two ladies Twilight was talking to, and saw all three of them looking at her. "What do you mean like me? Do you mean human?"
"Partially," her dad replied. "But like you that they've been rehumanized, and that she thinks are really special rehumanized people."
Really special? That did stir her curiosity, and warmed her up to meeting the ladies. She really wanted to talk to Jordan, the demons, and Jackie first, before doing that.
She nervously walked over to where all the foals were still staring at her with wide eyes. No one talked for several seconds when she reached them, and gripped her hands tightly together in front of herself. It was Jordan that finally broke the silence. "Jessie? Is that you? You're really tall."
"She's a human-pony now. Human-ponies are tall," Alfie said haughtily.
Jessie considered correcting him that there weren't human-ponies, it was just human, but her tail twitched and she wondered if that might be an accurate description. "Yeah, it's me. Do I really seem that different?"
"You smell close to the same," Jackie replied, and sniffed to demonstrate.
"Can you climb stuff now, like us?" Charlotte asked. "With how tall you are you could climb really high!"
Jessie blinked and looked at her hands and feet. "Um, I haven't really tried. I'm still getting used to having hands, but I might be able to when I get better."
"So, what cool human stuff can you do?" Tabby asked as she moved in closer, and started looking at Jessie's hands. With Tabby down by her legs it really stood out to her how tiny her friends were compared to her.
She didn't really know what they considered cool human stuff. "I don't know. Suggest something and I'll try it."
"Lift up the couch!" Jackie said excitedly as she gestured to a nearby couch.
She looked over at the couch. It was bigger than her, but she was still strong, even stronger than she'd been before. Her dad had challenged her to an arm wrestling match, and she was afraid afterwards that she'd hurt him. If she bent down she could grab under the couch. She walked to it made her best effort. As she tried to lift one side it easily went up, far easier than she thought it would, so easily she didn't just lift it-- she completely flipped it with a loud crash. She flattened her ears against her head as everyone in the room stared at her in surprise. She was sure she was going to get in trouble.
"It's okay, Jessie," Wild called out to her. "No one got hurt, but please don't go lifting and flipping my furniture. I don't think you can damage the furniture, it's reinforced for me, but it is heavy enough that it might hurt someone if it landed on them."
"I'll get it back in place," her dad said as he hurried over and started trying to lift it. He then let off a loud groan. "Okay, maybe not by myself. I might need a little help. This is a lot heavier than it looks."
Amanda hopped off her couch and hurried over to him. She began easily lifting it up while her dad guided it back into place. When it was back in place her dad gave the earth pony a grateful nod. "Thanks. I'd have never have moved that thing on my own."
Amanda flicked her tail and smiled. "No problem. Just remember to call an earth pony, or apparently your daughter, if you need to do any heavy lifting. You'll hurt your back trying stuff like that."
One of the ladies who was talking to Twilight walked over and grabbed the side of the couch. She then scooted it over a few inches before looking back at Jessie's dad and Amanda. "Sorry, you were off center just a little bit, and it was driving me crazy."
Her dad gave the woman a bewildered look. "Um...thanks. I didn't catch your name, ma'am."
The lady smiled and held out a hand to him. "Jenny, Jenny Tanner."
Her dad shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Jenny." He then winced and rubbed his back. "I think I'm going to go sit down now."
Jessie watched Jenny walk back over to where she had been, and heard the other woman scold playfully as Jenny retook her seat. "Show off." They really were just like her. She didn't see any pony parts on either of them, but that was definitely earth pony strength.
Robby walked over to her and held something out to her that was gripped in his wing. "How about you try this instead." She took the object from him. It was her small pink bouncy ball. The physical therapist had given it to her for her to work on her reflexes and motor control. She bounced and threw it up in the air to catch it for about thirty minutes every day. She was getting kind of good at it, she could even catch it with one hand sometimes.
She took the ball and looked at the carpet. She didn't think it would bounce very good on the carpet. That left tossing it into the air and catching it. She wasn't sure if that would really impress her friends much.
"What's that ball?" Jackie asked.
"It bounces, and I toss it in the air so I can grab it," she explained. She crouched down and held it out to the pegasus. "Do you want to try?"
Jackie walked over to her and gave the ball an appraising look. She tried grabbing it with a wing, but that just knocked it out of Jessie's hands. Jessie grabbed it off the ground and let Jackie try again. This time Jackie tried with both wings, but couldn't get a good grip on it. With a frustrated snort she just reached out with her mouth and grabbed it that way. With the ball in her mouth she didn't seem to know what to do with it.
"So...is she supposed to kick it?" Charlotte asked in confusion.
"She needs to toss it in the air and grab it," Jessie explained.
Jackie didn't seem particularly sure how to accomplish this task. After some consideration the pegasus jerked her head upwards and released the ball. It feebly dropped down on the ground. Jessie frowned. "Try that again, only release later, when your muzzle is pointed up at the ceiling."
Jackie grabbed the ball back up with her mouth and tried again. This time the ball went into the air for an inch or two, and came right back down on Jackie's muzzle. "Ow! That hurt!"
"Show us how you do it!" Jordan said excitedly.
Jessie reached down and grabbed the spit drenched ball off the ground. She rubbed it on her shirt for a second to dry it off and stood up. She tossed it in the air about three feet above her head and then caught it with both hands. The demons and Jordan gave off cheers, Jackie just gave the ball that had assaulted her nose a dirty look.
"That was like magic!" Jordan said excitedly. "You made the ball go way up high in the air and caught it with no problem. Like a unicorn levitating something."
Jessie looked at the ball in her hands. She guessed to people that had a hard time throwing things, and never had to grab something that was moving in the air that could be like magic. It had started to get mundane for her, but she had never really thought about how amazing what she was doing really was compared to what she used to be able to do.
"Maybe we can't throw it good, but maybe we can catch it," Charlotte suggested. "I want to try catching it."
"It's ‘throw it well’," Jordan corrected cheerfully.
"Um, okay," Jessie replied. She lightly tossed the ball underhanded towards Charlotte. The night pony tried grabbing it out of the air with a wing, but just succeeded in knocking it away, bouncing off Jackie's flank near the tail.
"Ow! Hey! Watch it!" The abused pegasus said as she turned her flank away from the group.
"Sorry!" Charlotte said hastily. "I want to try again."
Jessie walked over and grabbed the ball up from where it had rolled. She turned to the expectant night pony and tried tossing it as gently as she could over to her. Charlotte tried with two wings this time, and it bounced off one, then the other, and then bounced off one of her hooves as she brought that up, before rolling away.
"Darn, almost had it that time," Charlotte said with a giggle, undeterred by her failures so far.
"Maybe with just some more practice," Jessie agreed. Her ear flicked as she heard a piece of conversation from Ms. Rosetta and Phobia Remedy about getting some balls and teaching the demons how to play catch. They seemed worried that the foals were having trouble throwing and catching.
One of the unicorn mares that had been sitting at the bar walked over and grabbed the ball up in her magic while looking at all the foals. "The Great and Powerful Trixie couldn't help but notice how impressed you were with flying balls. She will put on a show for you, and make them fly and do tricks in ways you have never imagined."
"She could? Where is she?" Tabby asked.
"I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!" The unicorn said as she stood on her hind legs and spread her forelegs wide.
"So why didn't you just say so to start with?" Tabby asked as she tilted her head.
The Great and Powerful Trixie came back down on all fours and rolled her eyes. "My overwhelming stage presence is lost on some ponies," she said with a mutter. Then smiled as she levitated the ball close to her, and with a flash of her horn turned it into six identical balls. This earned hoove clapping and stomps from Jordan, and gasps of excitement from the other foals. The unicorn then began to juggle the balls in the air and make them glow.
"Jessie," Twilight whispered from beside her. It was weird looking down at a grown up, especially an alicorn. "While Trixie is entertaining your friends, come take a few minutes to meet Jenny and Beverly, they really are eager to meet you."
She followed Twilight back to a table set up with human chairs. Jenny and the lady she guessed was Beverly were both sitting there talking, but stopped talking and looked at her with smiles as she came up to the table. She took a seat at one of the empty chairs and gave them a nervous smile. "Hello."
"Hi there," the lady she didn't know said, and reached a hand out to her with her palm held up. Jessie flattened out her palm and touched it. The lady pulled her hand back. "I was told you were six-and-a-half. I think Twilight might have miscommunicated that to us. I'm Beverly by the way, and this is Jenny."
"I'm Jessie. I'll be seven in March," she replied. As she put her hand back down into her lap.
Twilight clopped her hooves together in a nervous gesture. "Jessie's rehumanization spell was a difficult one, and had some side effects. It took a full half day to do, and it kind of fought us as we were trying to apply it. We had to concede to some of what it wanted to do or not do, otherwise it would have failed. It seemed convinced she was older than she actually is. It actually wanted to push her age even further, and this was the best we could do to reign it in," Twilight stopped her tapping and smiled. "She's really bright and mature for her age, and if it had aged her all the way up to adulthood it would probably take a long while talking to her before you figured out she wasn't really that age. Um, depending on the subject matter."
Beverly beamed at Jessie. "Well, I was told that you are really into science. I'm a scientist myself, more an engineer, but I'm doing new and exciting things."
Jessie's ears perked up. "Like what? Do you do anything involving space, for NASA?"
Beverly chuckled. "Not so much...yet anyway, but we have had some NASA engineers who are very interested in what my new little company is trying to do. We're trying to integrate traditional electronic engineering with magic. We're still figuring out all the things involved in human magic, but we think it might be uniquely suited for working with technology. We heard your Aunt Sunset had been doing some of that, with only limited success, but she only really looked at pony sources of magic."
"So, like a power source?" Her eyes went wide and she hopped in her seat with excitement. "Getting traditional rockets into space takes a lot of delta-v. Fuel weight really decreases the payload dramatically and reduces how far you can send it. Magic doesn't have weight in the traditional sense though. If magic could be used for fuel you can send it much farther in a more efficient way. I'm not sure what the energy conversion of magic to jules would be. It would need study, and I would need to develop equations. Maybe if--"
"Whoah!" Jenny said with wide eyes. "Beverly, this kid is right up your alley. Hears about the possibilities in combining science and magic and she gets all excited and talking in geek speak."
Jessie flattened her ears out to the side. "Well, they technically aren't different. We just need a unifying theory to see how everything works together. Science explains everything, and magic is just a branch of science. We just haven't got together all the rules right yet. The stuff from my notebook was showing some of that. Magic obeys physical laws, you just have to understand how it is obeying them."
Beverly was looking at her with wide eyes. "Jessie, if it weren't for child labor laws I would be offering you a job right now based on what I'm hearing. You're exactly the type of person I'm looking for. I admit, I thought Twilight might be exaggerating a little about you, but you're the real deal."
"Type of person you're looking for?" Jessie asked in confusion.
Beverly crossed her arms in front of her and leaned forward on them. "I need humans that are both scientifically inclined and possess magical gifts. It isn't as easy finding that combination as you might think. I find ones with magic, like Jenny here, but Jenny isn't a scientist. The majority of scientists I find have no magic of their own, and because of that they lack insight into how it works. People like us are a rare breed."
"But, I'm not a scientist, yet. I haven't gone to college. I was going to start next year, but they said I need to wait and get used to being human for another year or so," she explained. She then looked at Jenny. "What do you do?"
Jenny sat up straight. "I'm a storyteller. My magic lets me make the scenes come to life and everyone be a character. I also work part-time with my aunt at a restaurant and sometimes Beverly here calls on me to come help her with some experiment, which really helps out with paying the rent. Since ponies out West don’t have a lot of money to throw around for a magic show, I’m kind of perpetually broke. I don't mind too much, except for when the landlord starts yelling at me."
"Jenny is also an accomplished author," Twilight added in.
"Trying to be, anyway," Jenny corrected. "I have gotten a few short stories published, but It's been a struggle translating what I can do when I'm in storytelling mode to written form. That's part of what I'm hoping Bev can help me do eventually. Maybe some computer that can interact with my magic as I'm in that mode."
"We're still trying things to help with that, and I've got more ideas to come," Beverly said cheerfully, then sighed. "But as I said, I need more magical scientists other than me working on this."
Jenny suddenly frowned and slapped her own ear. "Can you calm down? I thought you finally finished. I can barely hear myself think when you're doing that."
Jessie flicked an ear. "Huh?"
"Jenny has a voice in her head," Beverly explained. “But she isn’t crazy.”
"Not yet. The Narrative is going to drive me crazy sooner or later if it doesn't calm down," Jenny grumbled, then sighed with relief. "Thank you, worse than a child sometimes."
Twilight looked back and forth between Jenny and Sunset Blessing. "Is your friend still calling Sunset the same thing?"
Jenny shook her head. "No, it can't seem to make up what to call her now, and seems to change it around constantly. Might just mean the character identity hasn't settled into anything yet, but it's still talking about her. It has actually settled down a lot recently, but talking to Jessie just got it excited again. Jessie's title has not changed."
"Good to know," Twilight replied with a considering look at Sunset Blessing. Jessie found this entire exchange weird, and wanted to ask more about it, but Twilight cleared her throat and looked at her first. "Anyway, I know you have your heart set on NASA, but as you rightfully pointed out the future of space travel might depend more on technology like Beverly here is trying to develop. Technology that will help not just in that, but possibly every aspect of life. I thought that it might be a good idea to expand your horizons on what you could be doing to help Earth reach the stars, as Phobia says you put it. You're young, and still have lots of time to decide what you want to do, but I think this is where you could make the greatest impact when you're ready to go out into the world. As Beverly said, NASA has already expressed interest in the possibilities of what she is trying to accomplish."
Jessie sat and thought about it. Twilight was right, making the tech that could make interstellar space travel possible was in line with what she wanted. It wasn't working directly with NASA, only indirectly. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. It was also a shift away from her doing just pure math, and instead developing mechanical skills. That might not be too bad. Crystal had come by to check on her a few days ago, and suggested teaching her how to work on a car engine as a new hobby. Looking down at her hands she could see that fate had literally handed her the tools to be good at mechanical stuff. It was just a big change, and she had just gone through a really big change.
"Hey," Jenny said to her. "You're six right? You aren't even legal to work for anyone for another decade. You don't need to rush to figure anything out. If you are really going into college in two years, and you learn as fast as everyone says you do, then you have eight years in college to learn and master all the skills to do what both NASA and Bev here would want out of you, before you need to be going and getting a career. Go to college and just load up on degrees, if that's your thing. Get multiple doctorates while you don't have to worry about a job or rent or anything. Take time to meet more friends and enjoy college life. Then when you turn sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen all these jobs will still be waiting for you, and you'll have a better idea what you want to be doing."
Beverly nodded. "Well, if I'm still in business and haven't gone bottom up already by then, I'll still be there. Jenny is right though, you shouldn't be rushing. You just lost most of your childhood, and that's an important part of your life. You say you've got two years to figure out being human before college? Take those two years and figure out just being a kid while you still can. If you're interested in working for me in ten years, let me know in ten years. If I'm out of business I might even be able to resurrect that business if I get enough talent like you behind me."
She looked over to where her friends were and thought about being a kid. Her friends were excitedly cheering as her auntie Sunset had joined Trixie and the two of them were now magically tossing back and forth balls of fire in a complex pattern. Everyone in the house was watching and cheering--except Wild Growth. Wild was giving those balls of fire a wary look and probably was worried about her house catching on fire or something. It would be nice to just focus on having fun for a while. A lot of the physical therapy exercises that she was supposed to be doing had been given to her in the form of toys and games. It was like she was getting little pushes to just have fun all around. The only one stopping her from focusing on just having fun was her.
"Everyone, Jean and I have an announcement!" Mr. Roger called out as Trixie and Auntie Sunset ended their magic show. "Jean and I have talked about it and we have decided that we're going to accept her invitation to move to Equestria."
There was some cheering and clapping from all the adults. The foals didn't cheer as much. Running for their lives from Ms.Jean was the scariest thing most of them had ever had happen. The only ones who could claim something scarier had happened was her and Jordan, and that had been because Jordan had almost been caught by the other crazy pony. Jessie had to build up the courage to do something insane and stupid, and knock herself and that crazy pony off over a hundred and fifty foot drop. She'd still probably be a pony right now if she hadn't done that, but Jordan might not be alive if she hadn't.
"Jean is going to take the permanent transformation spell," Mr. Roger continued. "And since we'll become permanent citizens of Equestria, I'll be taking it too."
"Roger, you shouldn't be--" Auntie Sunset started to protest.
Ms.Jean cut her off though. "We want to have another foal, and we kind of need to be biologically compatible to do that."
"Mama! At your age!" Ms.Rosetta called out in shock.
"If we're going to be living in exile in Equestria then we still want to be surrounded by family. If we are left to communicate with family long distance it might be time to have one last one," Mr. Roger explained. A few of the mares hurried over to where Ms. Jean was, and while keeping a safe distance, said congratulations to her and Mr. Roger.
"You're calling the twins and telling them!" Ms. Rosetta shouted. "I am not having them yelling at me over the phone again because no one told them anything."
"We didn't yell at you, Mama," Tabby said with her ears flattened to the sides, and her head held low.
"Your uncles, dear. Not you," Ms. Rosetta said with a sigh.
Beverly leaned towards her. "We'll talk later, and exchange emails. Go have fun with your family."
"It was nice meeting you," Jenny added in. "Maybe I'll tell you all a story before I go. I need to corner Phobia Remedy sometime while I'm here, and convince her to give me a refund on my license fee. I've done the Dreamwardens two huge favors. I shouldn't have to pay a fee for an OMMR license."
"It's like twenty-five dollars isn't it?" Beverly asked. "It isn't that big a deal."
"It's the principle of the thing," Jenny grumbled as she crossed her arms.
Phobia Remedy seemed to appear out of nowhere next to Jenny, making the woman jump. "If you want twenty-five dollars I can give you twenty-five dollars."
Jenny scolded down at the Dreamwarden. "I want an official piece of paper saying the fee was waived."
"Um, that I can't do," Phobia Remedy said as she bit her lip.
"Why?" Jenny demanded. "And if you say because it's a rule I'll--"
"Oh my! Nocte and Ferris are just waking up. I better go say hi to them," Phobia Remedy said as she quickly retreated.
"Phobia!" Jenny shouted in indignation.
Jessie got up from here seat and looked over at the foals. Sometime in the last minute they had started doing some horseplay. Lots of pulling of tails, yanking of wings, and general roughhousing. She was definitely too big and strong for that, and she knew she'd end up hurting someone if she tried. It wasn't like she ever enjoyed that kind of play anyway.
"Hey, Jessie, going to ignore me the whole time you're here?" A voice said from below her, making her jump. She turned and saw Layla standing there, with some papers clutched under a wing. "Whoa! Calm down. My fault for sneaking up on you. I forgot you can't smell me standing next to you."
She let out a long breath. "It's okay." She then looked at the papers. "Is that my paper?"
Layla passed the papers to her, and Jessie eagerly grabbed them in her hands. "Yep, all finished as of last night. I've been working on this constantly since I last saw you. I wanted it ready when I got to see you again." Layla then looked her up and down. "They told me they rehumanized you, and even told me you had some leftover pony parts that made you look kind of like an anthropony, they didn't tell me you aged several years overnight."
"I'm still six," Jessie muttered. She removed a paperclip holding the papers together and started flipping through the pages.
Layla laughed. "I'd think you would be happy about it. By the time you actually hit your teen years you'll be full grown, and people are going to look at you right now and see a preteen instead of some small child. I thought you wanted to have people treat you like you're older."
She frowned. "I'm about to hit puberty and go crazy."
Layla gave her a long look, and then bit her lip as she tried to suppress another laugh. The night pony seemed to manage it, and grinned again. "Jessie, except for your foal friends everyone else in this place has gone through puberty. It can be rough, and sometimes scary, but it's part of growing up."
Jessie looked around the room. That was true she supposed.
Layla gave an aggravated flap of her wings. "Can you sit down? You're way too tall for me to keep staring up at."
She did as instructed and crouched down, and Layla came up close to her and spoke quietly. "Right now you're physically aged right in the middle between someone my age and someone your actual age. That means you've got one foot in childhood and one foot in the adult world. With that brain of yours you were already dealing with that somewhat. In no time at all those hormones you're so scared of are going to be causing a lot of changes, but that's a good thing; it means you're growing up."
"It's going to affect my thinking," Jessie muttered sullenly.
Layla shrugged. "So what? It impacted my thinking when I hit those changes. It impacted everyone's thinking who ever grew up. You're still smart, and like the rest of us you'll eventually settle in with it." Layla looked over at the younger foals while frowning slightly. "That said, I think it might be a good idea for you to get as much time in with your younger friends as you can now. You're going to be dealing with complicated new feelings soon, years before it will hit them. In another year or so it will be hard for you and them to relate, and that's on top of them trying to relate to a human."
She looked mournfully over at her friends. "You aren't making me feel better."
Layla patted her with a wing. "I'm just trying to be real with you. They'll catch up, eventually. I actually feel sorry for you for other reasons."
She looked over at the night pony and flicked an ear. "What reasons?"
Layla looked up at her ears. "It's weird seeing a human with pony ears...but the reason I feel sorry for you is you're going to be basically hitting physical adulthood sometime in your early teens. That's going to be tough, because everyone's going to look at you and see an adult, but you aren't."
She flattened her ears. "But I don't want to be treated like just a kid. Shouldn't that part at least be good then?"
Layla shook her head and gave her a sad look. "It's complicated, and I shouldn't talk about it with you before your parents do. Maybe it won't amount to much, but I'm fairly confident it is going to become its own stress. If it does, I'm still available to vent to. I won't get offended if you feel the need to yell about things."
She wished Layla would just come out and say whatever the problem was going to be, but the night pony had said that she'd listen when whatever it was made her mad. One thing she had noticed that had changed about her thinking was that she was more prone to anger now. She didn't know if that was because she was human or because of the hormones starting, or a combination of both. She tried to keep it from showing, because she didn't want to hurt her parents' feelings, but it was hard sometimes.
Actually, now that she thought about it, some of the things that were making her mad with her parents involved them discussing her getting age appropriate friends. That might be what Layla was talking about. She gave the grateful but sad, smile. "Thanks, Layla, I think you're a good friend."
Layla lightly bumped her shoulder with a hoof, then got closer to her. "My aunt has always been there as my psuedo-big sister and best friend; I think I wouldn't mind doing that for you. As a bonus, I actually do understand complex math. That means I'm someone that can actually understand the stuff you're into...mostly, you'll need to teach me about physics, but I don't mind."
Her ears perked up at the idea of having a big sister to go with her big brother, but then they fell. "But you're going to be going away to college after the school year is over."
Layla rubbed a wing against a foreleg. "About that, you might not have heard, but for a lot of ponies this is going to be kind of a lost school year. Our school isn't going to be up and running again until next year, and a lot of the other schools were in the pony district. We have the choice of going to the human area schools, and getting bused to schools all the way in Augusta and Columbia, but those are going to be really overcrowded with students because of that. I'm just going to take a year off, and start senior year again next year. I kind of want to help my aunt and parents get back on their hooves...after our houses got destroyed and everything."
Jessie's ears went completely flat. She hadn't even thought about how many of her friends had their homes destroyed. "So, are you living in a tent now?"
Layla blinked in confusion. "No one told you? I'm living right here; me, my aunt, my parents, the Gilmores, and four other families. Wild Growth said she would house who she could, and this is a big place. Me, my aunt, and a night pony couple are even getting paid to do overnight security for her, in shifts."
"Oh," she replied, and looked around. "Is that where the ponies I don't know are from?"
Layla shook her head. "No, they are all either upstairs or out trying to help with the rebuilding. This party is kind of for you."
Her ears flicked. "It is?"
"Yes it is," Layla assured her. "Everyone here has been wanting to see you. We've been worried about you. Wild Growth and your parents thought it would be a good idea to just gather everyone together, let us see you, and let you know how much you matter to all of us."
She didn't know why, but she felt like crying. Why should she feel like crying? She wasn't upset. This was all really really nice of them. It had to be the stupid hormones fault; causing her to do crazy things.
Layla gave her a sympathetic pat. "Feeling a little overwhelmed? That's understandable. Take a second to go to the bathroom, cry if you need to, and wash your face. People will understand."
She passed the papers back to Layla and then wiped her eyes. "Can you hold this for me? I don't have anywhere to put this right now. I can't wear my saddlebags anymore. My mom said she was going to get me a backpack, but she hasn't gotten around to it yet."
Layla nodded to her as she took the report under a wing. "I'll do that. Go take care of yourself."
Jessie went over to the bathroom. Wild Growth had both a human sized sink and a pony sized one, which was nice. She washed her face, and looked herself over in the mirror. It was surprising how much her features had changed, but how natural they still felt; as if she had always been this way. She thought of herself as human, but at the same time didn't find anything out of place about her ears, tail, or furry legs. It was all part of her, just like her fingers and toes, and it just felt right together. There were mental changes, but they didn't seem so dramatic that anyone thought she was behaving really different. She was still herself. What made her smile was that everyone still saw her as herself, and still cared about her; cared enough about her to do this party for her. She had friends and family that loved her, and that was what mattered.
As she left the bathroom, and almost immediately tripped over a pony in her hurry to get back to her friends. She hurriedly looked to see who she had walked into so she could apologize, but froze when she saw who it was. It was Ms. Jean.
The mare looked up at her, and seemed torn between saying something and running away. Jessie couldn't help feeling the same way. She licked her lips then made herself be brave. "Sorry, I didn't see you there. I'm not used to having to look down for other people, yet. I should watch where I'm going."
Her words seemed to give Ms. Jean some confidence, and the mare gave a small smile. "It's okay. I was probably standing too close to the door." The smile dropped, and so did the mare's gaze. "I wanted to apologize. I never wanted to hurt anypony...excuse me, anyone--Wild and Rosetta keep fussing at me to watch my pronouns--anyway...I don't know how I can ever express how sorry I am about everything. That need for magic, it just drove out all my other thoughts. I can't even remember more than quick flashes of those two days when I was hurting ponies."
Jessie tried to think of an appropriate response. "I forgive you. Um, do you forgive us for dropping a locker on you?"
The mare seemed to lighten up. "I honestly don't even remember that part, and the doctors seemed to have fixed whatever hurt you did before I had a chance to start really remembering things. So, forgotten and forgiven. I should probably be happy that you did drop a locker on me."
"How do you feel about being a pony?" Jessie asked, trying to be polite and make conversation. Ms. Jean still scared her, and might always be scary to her.
"It's just what I am. I figured you might feel the same way about being human," Ms. Jean replied. Then her ears dropped. "I'm not a permanent pony yet. They'll do that in Equestria. I was actually going to see if they could turn me into a different type of pony, any other type of pony; I don't really care what. I don't ever want to absorb magic again after they've done the permanent spell on me. It...it's just...you understand…"
"I understand," Jessie said softly.
Ms. Jean gave a barely perceptible nod of her head. "I'll let you get back to your friends and family. I just wanted to make sure I had a chance to say my apology, even if it will never be enough."
Jessie watched as the mare turned away, then decided she needed to do something. She hurried over to the mare. "Wait!"
The crystal pony turned around just in time for Jessie to bend down and wrap her arms around the mare in a hug. Ms. Jean stiffened, then started to cry as she leaned into Jessie's shoulder. They sat like that for a minute before the pony pulled away and looked at her with tear filled eyes and a smile. "Thank you." Ms. Jean whispered. Then turned and walked away.
The foals were still doing their rough play, oblivious to what else had been happening. So she didn't choose to go back to them yet. Instead she decided to go over to her parents on one of the couches. She took a seat next to her mom who was busy breastfeeding Dusk.
"What did you think of Twilight's friends?" Her mom asked as she brushed a little but of blue hair away from Jessie's eyes.
"They were nice. Beverly wants to give me a job in ten years," she replied, then brightened up. "She was saying that they were trying to develop ways of integrating human magic and technology, and they were really impressed with how smart I am. Beverly said she wanted to exchange emails later."
"Hmm," her mom said. "They are a little old for you, but having human friends that are rehumanized like you is a good thing. I'm glad you're making new friends."
"Well, they didn't treat me like I'm six," Jessie replied, with a tiny bit of angst. "And I'm friends with Layla too. She says she isn't going to treat me like a little child either."
Her mom gave her a long look and she wondered if she had said something wrong. Her mom then looked down at Dusk and sighed. "You know, everyone else believes that spell aged you up because of how smart you are. I don't think it was that at all." She paused and carefully handed Dusk over to Jessie's dad. "Paul, Dusk needs a diaper change. Can you take care of that for me?"
Her dad took Dusk in his arms and grabbed up the diaper bag. "Yeah, I'll go take him in the kitchen real fast. Be right back."
After her dad left her mom smiled at her. "You know, as soon as you get a little better with using your hands I'm going to teach you how to change Dusk's diapers. If you are going to be homeschooled you can help out around the house a little while you're at it. You may need to know how to change diapers someday anyway. Robby knows how to change Dusk's diapers already, and he doesn't have hands."
She scrunched up her nose at what Robby must go through changing diapers. Robby was pretty dexterous with his wings, but she was pretty she he'd need to use his mouth at some point. What would she have done if she had to change Dusk's diapers and was still an earth pony? The thought made her want to be sick. Now that she had hands, and knew she didn't have to use her mouth, it might not be too bad. She couldn't even smell dirty diapers as much as she used to.
"What do you mean you don't think the spell made me older because of my intelligence?" She asked her mom.
Her mom looked at her. "I miss you being small enough to get into my lap. You're almost as big as me." Her mom looked down at her own hands and started fiddling with a loose piece of string. "When you were in that school, with all the adults gone, and your lives were in danger, you were put into a very adult situation. Anyone else in your position would have panicked; your brother told me he panicked, and he's a nearly full grown night pony. You didn't panic. You took charge and got all of your friends safely to the roof even though you had people literally hunting you. Regardless of your age, you had to grow up right then and there, and I'm very proud of you."
"I was really scared, the whole time," Jessie replied.
Her mom rubbed one of her ears. "But you didn't panic. Panic is when your brain shuts off and you stop being able to think rationally because you're so scared. You were scared, but you were thinking. You also recognized that everyone around you was panicking and got them to focus on doing what you told them. I know you haven't wanted to talk about what happened, but the other foals told us bits and pieces of what happened in there. We've been able to put together a pretty good picture of it, and I know I would haven't have done half as well in your position. You weren't a scared little filly, you were a scared young mare leading a bunch of terrified foals. It didn't matter that you were smarter in that part, it mattered that you decided what needed to be done and made sure it happened."
Her mom pulled her into a tight hug. "And after you all got out and were in that tree. You saw that your friend was in mortal danger and you sat there and made a conscious decision that you were going to make sure your friend wasn't going to die. That had nothing to do with how smart you are, because that wasn't smart at all. It was heroic and stupid, and you scared everyone half-to-death. I don't know if I should scream at you or kiss you for what you did. At some point I'm probably going to do both. They say they think the only reason you didn't have your cutie mark after that was because Bill was draining your magic all the way down."
Her mom started crying. "A pegasus found you, down on the ground, barely alive. You'd landed near Bill when the two of you finally collided with the ground, and the leaves were the only thing that cushioned your fall. That was a twelve story fall! You had so many broken bones and failing organs, you'd been run through with a branch; I thought I was going to lose you again."
Her mom wiped her nose. "They got you back to the hospital and had you on life support. They said you'd probably wouldn't pull through, but if you did you'd be in constant pain for the rest of your life, and two of your legs were not going to be usable, with a third one they weren't even sure if it would be. This was the second time I saw my baby on life support and doctors telling me that you'd probably never have a normal life, if you lived at all."
"I remember waking up in the hospital, it didn't seem that bad. Phobia Remedy was there," Jessie said slowly. Why had just Phobia been there? Shouldn't her parents have been there.
Her mom shook her head. "No, you didn't wake up. Not until after the rehumanization procedure. They needed your consent to do it, and they were afraid to do anything to force you awake in your condition. Phobia had to bring Twilight into your dreams and get it. She brought some pony doctors into your dream with her for witnesses, but kept them out of sight. They still almost denied it at that point, but Twilight said they'd do it no matter what, and they weren't going to argue with an alicorn."
"I'm sorry, Mom," Jessie cried.
"Don't you be sorry, my brave, stupid, brilliant little girl!" Her mom cried. "Just please, never do anything like that again. We've gotten two miracles with you. You have tempted fate enough." Her mom let her go and looked her in the eyes. "And you aren't just a little girl. You are a mature young lady, and that's why that spell aged you up, no matter what those fancy mages think. You've got a little bit of filling in the gaps to do on some things, but that's nothing new. As far as I'm concerned you're at least as mature as you look, and I won't treat you as any less. You're always going to be my baby girl, though."
Jessie wrapped her arms around her mom and hugged tight. "I love you, Mom."
Her mom hugged her back. "I love you too, baby girl … but… can you let me go? You might be cracking my ribs."
Jessie released her mom in a hurry and blushed. "Sorry."
Her mom took a deep breath. "It's okay. That part of you decided to mature too, and I'm perfectly happy it did. It means the next time you are in danger you're strong enough to fight back. We just need you to work on controlling your strength. Maybe Wild Growth can help you with that."
"Maybe," Jessie agreed, as her dad came back and sat down to the other side of her mom.
"Everyone, may I have your attention please!" Phobia Remedy called out from the center of the room. "I would like to say a few words."
"Oh no, everyone run! My wife is going to monologue!" Ms. Rosetta shouted in mock terror. Laughter erupted around the room.
Phobia Remedy chuckled. "It is nice to know as the Warden of Fear that my voice is capable of inspiring such dread." More laughter followed and Jessie smiled.
The Dreamwarden cleared her throat. "I wanted to talk about what today means to me. I look around this room and I see friends and family, along with new faces that I've never personally met. Seven years ago many of us were living very different lives, and I don't think any of us could have imagined then the direction our lives would take. If any of us could go back and talk to ourselves back then." Phobia paused, then smirked. "Excluding the few of you who have time traveled." There was some nervous chuckling from Twilight Sparkle, one of the unicorns she didn't know, and her auntie. "Our past selves would see someone who was very much a stranger. The world has changed. We've changed."
Phobia Remedy paused and took a small sip from her drink. Ms. Rosetta took this opportunity to take another shot at her wife. "Oh no, everyone get ready to be here for a while. The mistress of monologues is having to take time to wet her throat. It’s going to be a big one." More laughter came after that.
"I scare everyone but my wife," Phobia Remedy said with a smile, as she set the mug down. "That's part of why I married her. At the end of the day she always has some snarky remarks to give me. It keeps me humble." A few bits of laughter followed this, but a few awes as well.
The Dreamwarden looked at the mug on the table, and lost her smile. "In the past few weeks many of us had our world changed once again. We have faced tragedy and adversity. Everyone of us who were here for Thanksgiving have endured hurt, terror, and heartbreak. It has been a frightening few weeks, and most of us cannot say we are the same people we were a month ago. For so many of us, the world we had grown accustomed to came crashing down, and as before, it can't be put back together again the same way."
Jessie could feel the mood of the room change, and she looked down at her hands in her lap. Her ears flicked as she heard a few people sniffle in different parts of the room. There had definitely been a lot of hurt.
"But we only need to look around at one another to know that despite all of that we have a room full of new beginnings for all of us. Everyone has had their lives changed forever, and just like six and a half years ago that change can be scary. We have no way of knowing what will come next. Change is opportunity though, change is the hope of rebirth, change is inevitable. The changes we face may be scary, but we must face that fear so we can reap the rewards of what can be."
Jessie had tears in her eyes as she looked up at Phobia Remedy again, and she didn't know why. She wasn't the only one. A lot of the grown-ups had tears in their eyes too. Sunset Blessing was openly crying, and Wild Growth had her head down so no one could see her face. No one was laughing now.
"The future has a lot of scary things yet to face," the Dreamwarden said soberly. "For all the fears we've faced, the worst may yet be coming. But we've journeyed this far. We've faced many fears that we would never imagined we'd ever have to face. If we have overcome and moved forward every step of the way up until now we can continue overcoming and moving forward if we have the bravery to do so. We're at our greatest when we're brave, and we're bravest when the world looks darkest. The greater the challenges ahead, the higher we have an opportunity to rise. This is part of why I have always focused so much on fear, as it's what pushes us to show what we truly can do. Life is the scariest thing anyone has ever experienced, and that is why so many accomplish the impossible. I want everyone to remember that, and if you do, then your best is yet to come."
Jessie looked around at all the people in her life. Her parents, her brother, all the foals, everyone. She had a lot of great people in her life. People might talk about how lucky she was to know an alicorn princess and a Dreamwarden, but everyone here had a big impact on who she was. Her life had definitely changed, more than she imagined it could have. She couldn't imagine how her parents must feel. Well, she could, because her mom had told her. The people in this room were what made her life full. In two years she'd start college, and that would be the beginning of a whole new part of her life. Given how everything had gone so far in her life there was no way of knowing how that would turn out. Life was unpredictable, but she was okay with that. What mattered was what she was going to do right now.
She looked at her mom and smiled. "Mom, I'm going to go play."
And went to her laughing friends and did just that, and she laughed too.