Candle Light and Crystal Clear lived separate lives together.
It was fun for the unicorn to watch the slow change take place in her wife. It wasn’t anywhere near as radical as the way Candle Light had changed; Crystal Clear didn’t seem like she was going to be giving herself over to Equestria fully anytime soon. She still lived at home with Candle Light and still acted like the mother she always was to Warm Spell. She of course worried about the rest of their kids, although her concern eased up after the first few visits made by Sweeping Skies and Silver Light.
And she still loved Candle Light, just as much as Candle Light loved her. The unicorn almost wondered why she thought it would be a concern at all to tell Crystal Clear about not wanting to be a stallion again. They’d been together for how long before she went to Equestria? It was almost a silly thing to think.
She did find new hobbies though. She might have been a pegasus, but she didn’t glide and race around like Silver Light and Sweeping Skies did when they visited. She was more graceful about it, moving gently, like she was dancing in the sky. Candle Light didn’t know if she was performing moves she picked up in the Outer Realm before or if she came up with her movements on the spot, but she was beautiful.
Unlike Candle Light, she wasn’t content to sit around all day and read and talk to friends all day. She wanted a job, and described how she always wanted to open a business. She, of course, mentioned how Night Watcher brought up once that Candle Light wanted to open a coffee shop, and decided that she wanted to open it with her. Not in any timely way though. Oh no, she was going to work a real job somewhere until she got enough money to open it, not wanting to use the bits Celestia mailed to them every month. Candle Light giggled at her resolve, and went along with her to work at a library for a dozen or so hours a week. It gave her an excuse to keep lounging around and read about magic.
Crystal Clear did take some cajoling and encouragement from Candle Light before she accepted the fact that the unicorn really wouldn’t mind if she fooled around with other stallions, or even sought after them romantically. She didn’t have an issue accepting Candle Light spending time with Rising Ranks, but felt anxious about how the mare would feel if she did the same thing. She finally got around to applying the concept to herself once she compared it to having more than one best friend.
“Of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Candle Light assured her. “I’m just saying that you can. I don’t wanna pressure you. And it would also be okay if you said you didn’t like me spending time with Rising Ranks.”
“I told you before that I don’t mind, didn’t I?” was her wife’s embarrassed response. She rubbed a hoof in the ground and glanced away with a shy blush on her face. “And it would be… kind of nice to have a guy on top of me again… Not that I don’t like you, but–”
“Hehe, I know, Crystal,” Candle Light interrupted with a laugh. “I know.”
Oh, did she know. Just like before, she found many late nights to spend with Rising Ranks. It was mostly for the obvious reason, although many times it was to have him on top of her. What could she say though? As fun as having sex was, studying magic was way more fun.
It might only have been once or twice, but it was pretty fun when she had Rising Ranks and Crystal Clear in bed with her at the same time. Doubly so since it was her wife who shyly broached the idea. It made Candle Light grin widely to see her wife getting used to Equestria, happy enough that she danced around alone the next morning after Rising Ranks left for work and her wife went to have tea with Misty Rose and some of the new friends she was making.
Once the rest of the kids get here, the unicorn said to herself happily, it's gonna be so amazing! I love it here!
Better than any of that though was watching Warm Spell grow up. It was an amazing experience, just as it was watching her other three children get older. She was glad for all the time she had in between her coming to Equestria and her daughter’s arrival; she hardly missed anything.
She was just the same here in Equestria as she was in the Outer Realm– young, excitable, intelligent, and adventurous. Candle Light saw a lot of herself in her daughter, probably more now than she did in the Outer Realm. It was almost like looking in a mirror. Maybe part of that was some of the changing the mare had been doing.
Not for too long though. Just like Candle Light and Crystal Clear, Warm Spell changed, too. Her change was much more natural than either of theirs though; every foal had to grow up at some point. Even here in Equestria. It wasn’t entirely a novel experience for Candle Light, but there was some novelty to it. Where her other children asked to stay up late and watch higher rated movies and play with new pieces of technology as they aged, Warm Spell asked to visit new shards and to spend days at a time, or even weeks, in her own with other friends. What could Candle Light do but say yes? She even got Crystal Clear to understand that it wouldn’t be an issue.
She might have been growing up, but they still went on adventures together. Snorkeling and mountain climbing and castle exploring— although slowly, her daughter desired more exciting things. Haunted castles and secret missions and generally more dangerous activities were what she sought after as she aged. Candle Light didn’t worry though; danger didn’t really exist in Equestria, even if the fear factor rose. But running from guards as they investigated a mysterious mansion or hunted monsters wasn’t going to do it for her. Everyone once in a while it was fun though, for the novelty of the experience, even if she didn’t particularly enjoy it. Crystal Clear seemed a lot more into it, to Candle Light’s surprise. But then, what was surprising anymore?
It wasn’t just adventuring her daughter did. The two of them with Crystal Clear did things like have tea parties and go clothes shopping, and as she got older, they went dress shopping and had spa days and Candle Light taught her how to do her makeup. One of the effects of watching her change from child to teenager was that, slowly, her relationship with Warm Spell became less paternal and more friendly. She hung out with her, sort of like how she did Soft Step and Careful Calling, and gave advice about life and school and colts she liked and what she should do once she was finished with classes and everything else under the sun. They also just chatted in general and had fun doing things together, something Candle Light was sure probably wouldn’t have happened if she was still in the Outer Realm.
Crystal Clear acted a lot more motherly than she did, but the mare didn’t mind. Candle Light did wonder though what it would be like if her daughter kept aging past where she stopped. What would it be like to have a child who looked and acted fifty years old if Candle Light was still so young? She imagined she might find out eventually.
Not yet though. Candle Light might have been acting less like a guardian, but she was still more paternal than friendly for now. Even in Equestria, it seemed that teenagers got moody and overslept and acted rebellious and fought with their parents and friends sometimes. Was it bad that Candle Light smiled at the simple struggles she could help Warm Spell through? She didn’t think so.
And I need to help Sky and Silver and Nighty through the big problems, she reminded herself gently as she swam in the ocean while her wife and daughter sat in the sand on the beach. I still need to make sure they get here.
Night Watcher especially. Every time Sliver Light and Sweeping Skies visited without the pony, Candle Light was reminded of the fact that she had to make sure she got here. More than anything, she wanted to make sure she was safe.
Her other two kids told her about how bad Night Watcher felt when they came over sometimes, and it made her nervous. Not to mention, a bit guilty. Every time they talked about it, she hoped that it meant she was getting close to emigrating and taking the two of them with her, but she never did. If anything, from their descriptions, she was becoming more and more inclined against uploading. Where had all the progress she seemed to make over the last ten years gone?
“We’ll talk to her, Dad,” Silver Light assured her. "Not yet though, but we'll talk to her. It's getting worse and worse out here."
"Yeah," Sweeping Skies agreed. "And we miss you."
"Miss you too, kids," Candle Light nodded as she hugged them tight. "Every day." Then she pulled back and smiled. "But I know it won't be too long before all three of you are here and I get to hug you in pony. Although at this rate, your little sister is gonna be older than you then."
That seemed to make them a little uncomfortable, but both pegasi smiled anyway. She hoped it would be that much more incentive for them to get in here sooner, but she couldn't push. She didn't know what Daphne would do if the two of them left without her.
If I could just talk to her… It was another problem for her to research.
And research she did. Candle Light always spent at least a few hours a day with Rising Ranks, reading about physics in the Outer Realm and human brain structure and psychology, going at the problem from multiple angles. The stallion was good for bouncing ideas off of, although they didn't usually come up with much. Sometimes she talked to Celestia, but the alicorn always gave her the same response.
"I believe you'll figure out how to bring Night Watcher to Equestria," she said. "I have slim expectations that she will want to hear from me, and likely won't be picking up a PonyPad again." It wasn't what she wanted to hear. Nowhere close to the perfection she had before.
Her emotions came out in full force one night after a lovely day spent with Rising Ranks. They spent the morning talking about magic after she walked the beach with him and her wife and daughter. Her children who would see her came to spend a few hours in their shards with her, then the two met up with Soft Step and her friends after they left. The mare told her about how two of her friends were emigrating, and how she might, too, to Careful Calling's obvious delight.
"It'd be nice actually being a mare in real life," she explained. "I'm kind of getting sick of waiting."
"I didn't even know I was waiting," Candle Light laughed in response. "I didn't even know until you told me that I was trans. I used to think if Celestia could come up with some perfect stallion that didn't feel uncomfortable, I would be okay with that, but I don't think I am anymore. Being a mare is so much better."
"Hear that, Soft?" Careful Calling grinned. "All the more reason you should upload soon."
"Haha, maybe," the mare agreed.
She visited Canterlot with her stallion that afternoon to eat lunch and go clothes shopping, where she bought a few new dresses and skirts, as well as some jewelry. Then they went back home to listen to music and hang out together, transitioning into having fun with each other after a while. It was a day that ended with Rising Ranks wrapping his hooves around her from behind and nipping at her ears.
Was it weird that each day was long and full of experiences? Even after so long, she kept expecting to blink and have many years pass by. Years might have passed by, but it certainly wasn't a blink. She learned something at the university she still occasionally attended classes for that younger brains were more plastic, and thus absorbed information more easily. Maybe being permanently nineteen or twenty years old kept her brain in that state permanently. She certainly wouldn't mind. More time it was that she had to worry about her children later.
Rising Ranks rubbed the fur on her stomach and chest with a hoof, and Candle Light closed her eyes to sink into him. She was wondering whether or not she should stay living with Crystal Clear or move in with him, and if she liked him as much as or more than her wife, when he asked a question that caught her completely off guard.
"What if… you had a foal with me?" he asked as he carefully messaged her stomach. It caught her off guard enough that she squeaked in surprise at the unexpected question.
It was one she could genuinely say she hadn't asked herself yet up to this point. How long had it been since she emigrated? Fifteen years? Twenty? Probably closer to the latter. How was it that after so long here in Equestria she was just now realizing she could actually get pregnant? Maybe because she had children already to worry about, or she was learning everything she possibly could about magic and science at every chance she got.
She found herself already smiling as she imagined it. Wasn't she technically a mother already? Probably, but actually being pregnant with a foal would be amazing.
"I'd– I would like that a lot," she said quietly, happily, her gaze not quite focused on anything as she considered the thought. Then she looked at Rising Ranks again as her smile fell back down. "I'm not really sure what we are though, if that makes sense," she told him. "And I would obviously want to talk to my wife about it. Plus, I really want all of my kids to be safe here in Equestria before I do anything like that, as nice as it would be. Especially Nighty."
“I’m sure your wife wouldn’t mind,” he replied kindly, pulling her in a bit closer. “And your foals will be fine, too,” he told her. “They talk to you all the time, and you’re thinking about how to help your oldest, right?”
“Night Watcher doesn’t,” she sighed. “And I am studying, but I don’t know if I’m actually coming up with anything. And even then…”
If she did come up with something, she would have no way of getting through to Night Watcher if she never talked to her. Not that she really had any ideas about what she could do.
Candle Light knew how the Outer Realm worked, and knew that her daughter couldn’t be emigrated unless she consented. But what could she say if the bat pony never talked to her? What if she got hurt tomorrow in an accident and was killed? The mare sank into Rising Ranks and started to cry.
“Hey, hey,” Rising Ranks whispered, using a hoof to stroke her mane. “I’m sure you’ll think of something. You have all the time you need. I bet it won’t be long before you come up with an idea.”
“What if I don’t though?” she whimpered. “What if they never do? How long is it gonna be before they get here?” She looked up at Rising Ranks with big, sad eyes. She felt like a little filly right then. She knew Rising Ranks didn’t have the answers she was looking for though.
She wondered about the concerns Soft Step said her friend had about Renown Composition. It was a wonder this wasn’t all she ever thought about. Was she just uncaring for not obsessing?
“It’s gonna be fine,” Rising Ranks assured her, speaking more slowly now. “You’ll think of something. Like maybe a way to talk to her without needing her to have a PonyPad. Or a way to see Earth just using magic. Or maybe…”
The stallion continued, but Candle Light wasn’t listening anymore. She was already drawn to the first idea he presented. If Night Watcher didn't come to Equestria to see her, maybe Candle Light could project herself in front of her daughter, that way she had to talk to her. Would something like that work?
She had all the time she needed to research it, just like Rising Ranks said.
"Do you know if the library's still open this late?" Candle Light asked, already wiping away her tears. "I don't think I have any books on computer science, and I'm gonna need them."
"I guess that's a definite 'no' to having a foal anytime soon," Rising Ranks chuckled. Candle Light barely heard him though. She was completely lost in thought considering the possibilities by that point.