//------------------------------//
// Chapter 22: A Little Mèng Before Bed 
// Story: Pandemic: Starting Over 
// by Halira 
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Violin music played over the house's audio system as I settled down on the couch. Lántiān was upstairs, tucking her siblings into bed, and would be going to bed herself within minutes. I had done my best to avoid Shǔguāng since our talk earlier. Despite my objections, I was his new mama, right alongside Yinyu, and he refused to take no for an answer. I had been adopted, and I didn't get a say in the matter. Lántiān was not pleased with the development, but had said nothing. When I had questioned her about it, she said if her brother deemed me part of his family, then I was. She wasn't going to take another loved one away from him. 

At least I would have some peace for the evening-

CRASH

-if Mèng's foalsitter would ever arrive.

I got up from the couch to investigate the noise. Mèng was huddled under the dining room table, and three of the chairs were knocked over. How he managed to get three at once might be a mystery for the ages, as I saw no practical way he could have done it. The crash had spooked him, though, and he was whimpering. 

I bent down low and locked eyes with him. "How in the world did you manage to knock three chairs down at once?"

Mèng didn't know English, and his understanding of Mandarin was likely fuzzy, so I didn't expect an answer, nor was I given one. 

I gestured for him to come to me. "Come on out. I can find something to distract you and keep you busy till your foalsitter gets here."

He didn't budge. I sighed and decided I could budge a little on the Mandarin. "<Come here. We go play>."

He stopped whimpering, and his ears perked. "<Play>?"

My God, he did know more than just one word. We now had two! One of them was in the wrong language, but it was progress.

"<Play>, " I confirmed, then decided to repeat it in English so he could start learning the word. "Play. <Play>." I was sure I sounded like an idiot. 

He got up and cautiously walked out into the open, before looking to me expectantly. Great, now I was expected to play with him. I didn't know how to play with a three-year-old colt. I had no idea what games I could do that could keep him entertained. I wasn't ready to use my horn yet either, so I wasn't going to be able to pull the same tricks I'd seen Starlight doing. 

My cluelessness about how to play was becoming quickly apparent to him, and I could see the demon in him ready to start acting out. I needed advice, quickly. It was laughable, but even though I was the adult in the house, I had a sudden fear of Lántiān hurrying downstairs to the sound of her brother's wails, and looking at me disapprovingly. It was an irrational fear, but I still was determined to avoid it happening.

I hurried over to the landline phone and dialed up the number for my daughter. When in doubt, ask an expert. There was no shame in running to someone else who knew more about the subject. 

After a few rings, the line was picked up. "Dreamwarden's residence, this is a recorded line. All prank callers will be hunted down mercilessly."

I rolled my eyes at Crystal's greeting. "It's Sunset Blessing."

"Oh! Hiya, Sunset," Crystal replied. "We never get together and talk. Remember that time I kicked you so hard that you had to be hospitalized? Good times."

I wasn't going to let her get a rise out of me. "Is my daughter available to speak?"

"Nope, meeting with some people, doing important- stuff. Nothing too Earth-shattering. She and Tempest are talking with some officials about Tempest's plan for applying for citizenship. I tell you, it's crazy seeing Tempest as a human. I didn't think she'd go through with it."

Mèng had followed me to the phone, perhaps thinking I would do something fun, but he seemed to be under the impression he was being ignored, and his eyes were starting to water. I couldn't spend a long time on the phone talking with my daughter's buffoon bodyguard. 

"That is all fascinating, and I will pray all goes well, but I need help." I was sure I'd regret this next question. "Is Rosetta available?"

"Uhhhh- are you sure you want to talk to her? I'm pretty certain she hasn't fully gotten over you turning her mother into a monster, one that put her into a brief coma and tried to eat all the magic out of her foals. She was pretty pissed off about all that for some reason, can't imagine why. It's not like little mistakes don't happen."

I didn't have time for this. "Okay, maybe you can help me since you're a glorified foalsitter. How do I occupy a three-year-old night pony colt?"

"Just one colt?" Crystal asked. 

"Yeah, just one."

"They like to chase things, explore, fight with other foals; you can distract them with short cartoons too- just make sure they are short cartoons, they haven't got an attention span for a movie. Also, they aren't quite at an age for climbing correctly yet, but that doesn't mean they won't try their darndest. Really, think of night pony foals like little kittens instead of ponies, because they act more like cats than equines. Little cats with bat wings instead of claws. You like cats, right? You left us this wonderful ball of fluff that you had the foresight to name Satan."

"I don't intend to treat him like a pet cat, " I snapped. "I told him I would play with him."

"So, why haven't you asked him what he wants to play?"

"Because he has said two different words in the three nights I've had him."

"Oh, he's just quiet. You're too used to Phobia, Rosetta, and the twins. The fillies will yak your ear off, normally with a lot of snark. The colts tend to be quieter. Alfie tends to keep quiet while his sisters do all the talking; even Robby is kind of quiet. I promise you that colt knows a lot more words than what he's saying. Probably a few hundred words, if he's three."

I looked down at Mèng. That little devil had been holding out on me! I wondered about the other one. "Side question, how much should a one-year-old know?"

"Eh, not much. They might recognize two dozen words or so, but only be able to say two or three, if that. It can vary. I'm told that Jessie was talking in short sentences by the time she was one, and just starting to read those Little Golden Books, but then again, she's a super genius."

"That's good to know," I replied. Mèng or his niece might not be geniuses, but I'd still been underestimating the average intelligence of a foal. "You've been a great help. I need to get going, though. God bless."

"Same to you."

 I turned my full attention to the distraught night pony colt as I disconnected the call. "<Time to play>."

That instantly shifted his demeanor. "<Play>?"

I nodded. "<Word game. You say a word, and I say a different word. You say both words then. You understand>?"

He shook his head in confusion. He understood me well enough to know I was asking him if he understood. That was something.

"<I will help you. Say> Mèng, " I instructed. 

"Mèng," he repeated, then pointed a hoof at himself while giggling. I didn't see why that was worth laughing about, but I wasn't an expert on toddlers. 

I gave him a big smile and stomped my hooves. "<Good. You get a point>." 

He stomped his hooves in turn and flapped his wings. "Ya!"

I pointed to myself. "Auntie Sunset. <You say> Auntie Sunset."

He gave me big eyes as if I'd just asked some very hard. "Ahyee Sunseh?"

My ears folded, even though I did my best to prevent them from doing so. I was hoping I wouldn't have to sit around working on pronunciation with him, but it seemed that I would have no choice.

The sound of knocking at the door stopped me from continuing. 

"<Hit>!" Mèng said excitedly, and bounded towards the door. I hurried after him, and quickly passed him. I hoped he didn't intend to hit the foalsitter. Maybe that was just his way of describing a knock at a door?

I reached the door first and gently shoved him back away from it as I opened it. A night pony with midnight-blue fur and wings, a purple mane and tail, stood just outside the door. Her dark green eyes went wide as she looked at me. 

"Holy sh-" She cut herself off as she noticed the foal. "You really are the Sunset Blessing! I thought it was just a joke."

I could see workers cleaning the yard and pool behind her. I couldn't get a good view of her cutie mark from where I stood. "You're Josie Woods? I was expecting a human after reading your name."

The younger mare, who I guessed was somewhere in her twenties, looked relieved for some reason. "Yeah, that's me. I never really saw the point in a pony name." Her eyes widened again as she realized again who she was speaking to. "Not that there's anything wrong with pony names."

I stepped aside. "Come on in, Miss Woods, and I'll introduce you to Mèng. No offense taken, by the way. To each their own. The Lord loves variety."

She stepped inside and looked down at Mèng with a big smile. "Hi, there! Are you Mèng? I'm Josie."

I shut the door as Mèng was staring blankly in response to her greeting. She turned and looked at me. "I'm guessing he's shy?"

"He doesn't know a lick of English," I explained. "The only thing he likely caught out of all that was his name."

Mèng blinked a few times, then sat down. Josie watched him and pursed her lips. "Oh… well, that's going to make this interesting." She then turned back to me. "I was a little shocked when I got your email. I don't get a lot of people emailing me out of the blue to foalsit. I'm great with kids, and I need the money, but I’m still a little baffled about how you found me."

"Your name was recommended to me by my daughter, the Warden of Fear, who had the name passed to her by the Warden of Peace. They gave me a list of names of potential foalsitters, and your name was the first name on the list."

Her ears flattened. "The Dreamwardens gave you my name?"

I raised an eyebrow. Typically night ponies took being noticed by a Dreamwarden as a badge of honor. She looked horrified. "Is that going to be a problem?"

She looked back and forth between Mèng and me, and started muttering to herself. "It's just a foalsitting job. You love foals. It pays well. You need the money."

"Is there a problem, Miss Woods? Is it Miss or Mrs, by the way?"

She shook her head. "Definitely Miss, no night pony stallion would- nevermind. Anyway, the Dreamwardens and I have a messy history, but it won't be a problem."

I looked her over. Her cutie mark was a stylized eye, which was as cryptic a mark as I'd ever seen. She had no tattoos on her wings, so that meant she wasn't a lesbian, as night pony lesbians always tattooed their wings. Her half-finished remark about stallions meant other night ponies scorned her for some reason, and having a messy history with the Dreamwardens indicated she'd done something at some point to run afoul of them. Was I letting a criminal watch over Mèng? She hadn't faced the worst punishment the Dreamwardens could do; otherwise, she wouldn't be here, but being scorned by night ponies didn't usually happen if justice had already been served or if she was just one of those unfortunate souls who made Sha'am Maut angry. Still, it was the Dreamwardens that gave me her name, and I wasn't someone with the right to judge other people's checkered pasts.

I gave her a reassuring smile. "A messy history with the Dreamwardens isn't going to be an issue with me. My wife had her own messy history with them, and she ended up being selected as a Dreamwarden to replace that horrible mare, Sha'am Maut. However, I need to let you know that Mèng is one of Yinyu's orphaned foals."

Her eyes briefly almost seemed to pop, but she closed them and took a few deep breaths. When she opened her eyes again, she seemed calmer. "I have no personal issues with Yinyu, and even if I did, who his mother was doesn't change the fact he's a foal going through a difficult time. I focus on doing what I can for upset foals."

I looked at her odd cutie mark. "Is that what your mark is for?"

She frowned and covered her flank with a wing. "My mark is for… something else. I still have a passion for helping foals and children, though."

If she wasn't sharing, I wouldn't force her. "Well, Miss Woods, you have free rein to go about as you please downstairs. He is to be supervised at all times. You can cook anything you please in the kitchen. You may use the television, but keep the volume low, since the rest of us need our sleep. He is allowed into the backyard. I would normally allow supervised time in the front, but I don't want him out there till they confirm everything is clean. He is not to leave the grounds under any circumstance, and should be within sight of the door if he goes outside. The only time you are to go upstairs is if you need to get me because of an emergency. I should be awake and downstairs around dawn, but if his older sister comes down first, she is acceptable to release him into the care of, and at that time, your shift shall be done. You shall need to wait on me for payment, though. Is this fair and clear?"

She nodded. "That's all fair and clear. How many days a week do you need me?"

I looked at Mèng. "Ideally, I need a nanny seven days a week who just moves in, but I understand that's impractical on such short notice. I need to have multiple interviews with anyone going to be moving in. I'll divide your time with another sitter until I can procure a permanent full-time nanny for him. How many nights a week are you available?"

"I can do three, for sure," she replied. "I may be able to do more, but I don't want to promise I can do more and then have something come up. I can do the next two nights as well, and will need at least one day off after that."

I nodded. "That will do. It gives me time to find an additional sitter for the other days. We are moving to a different house soon. I'm not sure when. It is still within Denver. Will that be an issue for you?"

"Not as long as you give me some directions and landmarks. I might be a little late the first day after the move, just because I have to find the place, but I should be prompt after that." 

"Good," I said with a smile. "Everything is in order then. Try to keep the noise down, and good luck." Mèng was still quietly sitting where he had been since first seeing Josie. He seemed fascinated by her. I wondered how many night ponies the colt had seen in his life, other than his mother and himself. I assumed night ponies had flocked to his mother like they did to Phobia, but then again, she hadn't had any real protection while running for her life. "<Be good, Mèng>."

"Sleep well," Josie replied. Then turned her attention to Mèng. "Now, let's figure out how to communicate."

I silently wished her good luck on that in my head, as I headed towards the stairs and up to bed. Yinyu and Tonya were almost certain to have words to say tonight. I was sure Yinyu, in particular, was going to have some harsh ones about having struck her daughter, and wouldn't be very understanding about the circumstances.