//------------------------------//
// Chapter 48: Body Paint 
// Story: Child of Mine 
// by Starscribe 
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Twilight needed little help to find the magical hotspot they were searching for. The closer they got, the more the tracking spell seemed to prefer this destination over others. They huddled close together, with her friends stumbling jerkily towards their destination. Only Rainbow and herself could do a passable imitation of one of the locals.

The girls will get it. If we have to stay here for any length of time, they'll get it. Unfortunately there was little reason to suspect that this would be the last leg of the trip. The tracking spell wouldn't make such a profound mistake. As they walked, Twilight considered how long Flurry would've had to stay in one place to make an impression deep enough to sense.

It wouldn't just be time. She would have to cast powerful enough magic to leave traces behind. Maybe she broke something. When this was over, Twilight and a dozen other ponies would be getting published for it. Maybe traveling across the Worldgates would change Equestria too.

She was less than happy about the sense in the back of her mind that they were being watched. It wasn't like any single individual was following them, like one of the trenchcoat-wearing villains in those novels Rarity liked. She felt the hair stand up on her neck, and saw eyes from her peripheral vision that never manifested.

There are others here looking for travelers. We made an impression the first time.

After a short distance the tracking spell took them past homes that would've fit in perfectly in the upper district of Canterlot, heavily featuring marble and stained glass. Some of the construction sensibilities were even similar, though she'd never seen anything quite as excessive as these anywhere in Canterlot. Maybe that was why they lived out here in the countryside, where they could build their own little palaces. 

The spell took them towards one of these—though the house was big enough that it actually pulled them closer to one half than the other. She considered it for a moment, then turned to look back at her friends. 

"This the place?" Rainbow asked, the only one who was keeping pace with her without difficulty. She stifled a yawn with the back of her arm. "Looks... a little run down."

"Don't tell them that," Rarity hissed. "We're here for information, maybe even Flurry herself. Flattery will get you everywhere."

"Nopony do anything crazy," Twilight said. "I don't feel... safe here. Oh, and stay close. The transformation spell on you won't go further than a kilometer, and probably won't make it that far. If it fails, it won't just come back when you get close again, I'll have to recast."

"Yeah, ah know," Applejack said. "We're not gonna make a scene."

The home had a towering fence of wrought iron, but the paint was flaking away in places and rust had begun to collect. The grounds were slightly overgrown. But the glass around the front was clean, and there was a car parked in the driveway. 

If nobody's home, how can we get in without raising suspicion?

They could cross that bridge if it came to it. For now, Twilight strode straight up to the front doors, dodging through a gate that didn't properly close. She lifted the oversized knocker, then banged it loudly. 

The others hurried to keep up with her, doing their best imitations of her casual attitude. But even Rainbow had a hard time with human body language—that would take more practice.

They waited, long enough that Twilight began to get nervous. Maybe they'd have to try breaking in? But... no, there were shapes on the other side of the glass. There was nothing for it: Twilight waved. 

A figure took shape on the other side, a female human she guessed was about the age of her own parents, maybe a little younger. She opened the door a crack, staring skeptically out at her group. She froze in the doorway, staring at them in utter disbelief. She pointed a feeble finger at them one at a time.

"I think you girls must be lost. There's no sorority party happening here. Try a few doors down. This might not be the best place to be walking around in body paint."

She moved to close it, but Twilight pressed one hand on the door, putting just enough pressure on it to make it hard to close. "Please, ma'am, we're not here for a party. We're..."

She lowered her voice to a whisper, as much to make the other human feel comfortable as to make them harder to overhear. "We're here looking for a pony foal. About this big, pink with purple and blue mane. Was she here?"

Twilight wasn't the best at reading human emotions, but she was probably better than any other Equestrian alive. That was recognition on the woman's face, with a twinge of fear. The human let go of the door, stumbling backward a step. "Did Edgar send you? I'll tell you what I told the last bruisers he sent, I haven't gone to the police. Alan and I are staying out of it, just like he asked."

It was their turn for surprise. But some of her friends were faster at this. Rarity cleared her throat, nudging the door gently open with a foot, but not stepping inside yet. "We have no relation to—whoever that is. But it sounds like it would be better to have this conversation inside."

"Her family sent us," Twilight added, hopefully. There were family pictures on the wall behind this woman. Maybe that would mean something to her?

The woman's shoulders slumped for a moment, and she glanced nervously behind them. Maybe afraid of whoever might be watching this very conversation. But after a few seconds, she nodded. "Inside then."

They took the opportunity eagerly, before she could change her mind and shut them out again. Twilight couldn't let that happen now, not after clearly finding someone who had contact with Flurry. Her mother would be demanding answers when they got back to Equestria. For their sake, those answers better be good.

The stranger led them to an expansive sitting room with plenty of fancy furniture. There was a slightly worn look to the old couches and polished tables, though Twilight couldn't place it exactly. Her spell kept pointing past them, out through the back wall of the house.

There couldn't be another row of houses, could there? There's not enough room, they're too huge. The tracker says it's close.

"So, who are you exactly?" the woman asked, as soon as they were situated. "I'm Theresa. My son is the one who first found the, uh... what did you call her?"

"Foal," Twilight said. "Her name is Flurry Heart. Alicorn foal. I'm her aunt, Twilight Sparkle. These are my friends." She introduced them in turn, though only Rarity seemed in any hurry to talk to the human stranger.

Theresa reacted strangely to their names, as though she was remembering a joke with each one. "How did you know she was here?" she asked. "Not that I wouldn't welcome more information about what the hell is going on." She raised an eyebrow. "Like... aunt, you said? I should be laughing at this story."

She wasn't laughing though. She wrapped both arms around one of the musty pillows, squeezing it so hard it seemed like it might start vomiting stuffing any moment. 

"This." Twilight held up the tracking spell in both hands, balancing the disk in arms that were only just wide enough to hold it comfortably. It wasn't her fault everyone here was so small! "I don't know how much you know about magic, but this is a tracking spell. This doll used to belong to Flurry, and we followed it here."

Theresa reached toward it with one hand, but pulled it back quickly. "Just like the one in the stable." She rose, tossing the pillow aside. "I wouldn't believe a word you've said, except that it seems to match perfectly. You don’t look like you're related to a horse, but everything else seems to fit. At this point I'd take advice from an infomercial if I thought it would get my kids back."

She led them through the house, past the scowling faces of ancient humans frozen in stone and wood. Twilight couldn't be sure, but she thought she could make out hoofprints in the soft wood, lingering near the stairs. But these were far larger than anything Flurry should've had, easily as wide as her hands. 

Someone had tried to buff them out, with only moderate success. Rarity hesitated near the stairs as well, pointing. "Forgive me if I sound impolite, ma'am, but... these hoofprints look like they're from a grown pony, not the foal we're looking for. Are we not the first to come inquiring after the foal?"

Theresa shook her head. "You're the first ones who came looking for a baby. My father-in-law knows everything, but we came to him for help, not the other way around. My son made those, after being exposed to the baby."

"Oh dear." Rarity's face fell. "I hope you'll share all the details with us."

"Maybe I will," Theresa said. "We'll see. I'd like to hear what you can tell me. You should see the stable first—that's where my son took the baby while he was caring for her. The results speak for themselves."

She wasn't wrong. The tracking spell practically bucked itself out of Twilight's hands. This was certainly what it had sensed. Flurry's magic had recreated her Equestrian nursery here in another world. 

The details were almost perfect, or close enough that Twilight’s brief memory of the place matched. She picked up a stuffed toy, the twin of the one on her tracking spell. She wanted to examine it further, but manifesting magic here would require breaking the illusion. Considering the state of this woman, she was probably better off waiting. 

"Would you mind if I took this?" she asked, tucking it away. "It will be very helpful to determine the nature of Flurry's magic here."

"You said your kids were ponies?" Pinkie asked. "Is that why they wanted to help Flurry out so much?"
 
Theresa shook her head, expression darkening. "They are now, thanks to that—" She choked back something darker, before eventually muttering, "baby." She slumped back into the oversized nursing couch. "I'll tell you everything. But before I do, I want your word that you'll help fix my kids. I thought Edgar... I was skeptical before he sent us away. Making us lie, like we're only a few hours from coming in thanks to some imaginary quarantine... of course magic isn't radioactive. We hid them at home for a week and nobody lost their hair."

What in Tartarus is she even talking about? They were burning time, and potentially contending with other creatures just as interested in the foal's fate.

"Ah can't speak for Twilight," Applejack said, adjusting her hat with one hand. "But I'm under the impression we're not just here to bring Flurry back. Didn't you say this was about fixing things like they were? That would include... whatever happened to yer kids."

"Right." Twilight removed a clipboard from her pack, holding a pen uneasily in one hand. "Please, tell me everything. There's another mother where we come from who just wants her daughter back. I'm sure we can help you both."

Theresa nodded. She glanced nervously at the open door behind them, gesturing for Applejack to close it. Then she told them.