When Murky awoke, she looked at Tincture's legs holding her, and snuggled close. Murky smiled, "Mom…" She whispers gently, "I don't know if you really are my mom, but… I hope I'll be a good daughter," She expressed, hugging Tincture's legs close to her chest.
Tincture stirred awake sometime later, looking at Murky. The red pony was humming gently, holding Tincture's legs close.
"Good morning, Murky," She greets softly, nuzzling Murky's head.
Murky gasped a little, "G-good morning, mom!" She replies.
"Did you sleep well?" She asked gently.
Murky nodded, "I did, mom," She says gently, nuzzling into Tincture.
Tincture smiled gently, "Good," She replies, returning Murky's nuzzle.
Her mind renewed with sleep, Tincture realized that this was her opportunity to prove, once and for all, that she was better than Miasma. She would take care of this filly, better than the tyrant ever did.
She stroked Murky's head gently, pausing slightly as she heard the filly's stomach growl. Tincture smiled.
"Are you hungry?" She asks gently.
Murky nodded softly.
Tincture slowly crawled out of bed, walking to her shelf of potions, grabbing a pair of bottles and pouring them out on a plate, letting it spring up into a familiar, lumpy mass of brown bread.
She gently brought the plate over, and sat next to Murky, who had sat up.
"Here," She says, gently bringing the plate before Murky's snout, "Eat as much as you want."
Murky took a long moment, but eventually reached out, taking a piece of the bread and eating it.
"It's a little dry, mom," Murky expresses after a hard gulp.
Tincture chuckles gently, setting the plate down next to Murky. "It is," She admits, "I'll go get you some water," She says gently, walking out of her room.
Tincture froze as she got the the front room; Bottle, Angel, and Hazy were all up.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Bottle greets with a soft giggle.
"It's not like you to sleep in, hun," Hazy observes gently.
Angel would zip over to the unicorn, giving her a hug. "You must've slept real good, huh?" She asks.
Tincture hesitated as she hugged back. "I… Yes, I was very tired," She admits.
Angel giggles a little, "Aww. You're allowed to sleep, you know," She expresses, "I know all of us here have spent at least a couple days of our life just hunkered down in bed."
Tincture smiles awkwardly, "Hah… Actually, I was just getting up to get a glass of water," She admits.
"Oh," Angel says, letting go of the unicorn, "Okay!"
Tincture sighed softly in relief, walking to the kitchen and grabbing a glass of water, filling it as full as she could without spilling. She was thankful that her friends respected her space; even if she could've used some advice right now.
She slipped back into her room, closing the door behind her.
Murky had eaten a good amount of the ration spell; more than Tincture could've eaten, at any rate.
Tincture gently magicked the glass of water to Murky, allowing the filly to drink.
Downing the glass in a few gulps, Murky looked up at Tincture. "Thank you, mom," She says softly.
Tincture smiled awkwardly. It was still a bit strange, being called "mother". But, she bit those feelings back. Tincture had committed now, even if it wasn't of her own volition.
"You're welcome, Murky," She says gently, sitting next to the earth pony.
Murky leaned on Tincture's side. "Who were you talking to while you got me water?" She asks.
Tincture tensed a bit, "Just some friends. No one bad, don't worry," She says gently, one of her front legs wrapping around Murky.
"Can I talk to them?" Murky asks.
Tincture hesitated. "Eventually," Tincture said gently, "I don't understand where you came from, Murky; I want to be ready when I introduce you to them. For now, you stay in here, okay?" She expresses, hugging Murky tighter to her side.
Murky blinked a little, "Okay, mom…" She agrees softly, leaning into Tincture's embrace, "But you'll let me meet them eventually?" She asked.
Tincture nodded. "I promise," She says gently.
Tincture stood up after some time. "I'd like to try and find out where you came from," She expresses gently, looking at Murky, "I'll be reading for a while… Did you want something to do?" She asked.
Murky nodded, "Yes please, mom," She says gently.
Tincture thought for a long moment, before setting some things on the table; a couple pencils, and a stack of paper.
"Come have a seat," She says gently.
Murky got up, trotting over to the table, setting the plate of bread down next to the papers and hopping up into the seat.
"I'd like you to try making something; writing or drawing, it doesn't matter," Tincture explains gently.
Murky's ear twitched. "What do you want me to write or draw, mom?" She asked gently.
Tincture shook her head, "What comes to mind. An blank piece of paper is an empty canvas," She explains, gently setting a single sheet in front of Murky, "I'd like you to fill it."
Murky nodded. "Okay!" She says, grabbing the pencil in her mouth.
Tincture smiled and walked to the other room, grabbing a large book of spells.
She opened it, looking through conjurations… What sort of spell had she used? Had she even used a spell at all? Had she abducted a random filly? She hoped not. No, that couldn't have been it. A foal had no reason to lie to her; no malice, no motive. If Murky had said Tincture was familiar, then Tincture was familiar to Murky.
Tincture's focus was broken as she heard the sound of four hooves hitting the floor. "I'm done, mom," Murky says.
Tincture looked up and walked to the door.
Murky's paper had been more or less evenly coated in pencil lead; scribbled over so the paper (save perhaps for the very edges) was completely full of pencil lead.
Tincture failed to suppress a soft chuckle, "That's… Not exactly what I meant by 'filling the page', Murky," She says gently, patting the filly's head.
Murky's ears drooped. "I-I'm sorry, mom," She whimpers softly, shrinking away.
Tincture stopped for a moment. Was Murky scared of her? The fear was back in her purple eyes.
Tincture lowered her head to be more on Murky's level. "Murky, you're not in trouble," She promises, voice a bit more stern than she had intended, "You just took my directions a bit more literally than I intended."
Murky blinked a little, "Y-you mean it?" She asks, still shrank away.
Tincture stepped forward, pulling the filly into a gentle embrace, nuzzling her head. "Of course. You're my daughter; I won't punish you for an innocent mistake," She says gently.
Murky sniffled a little, leaning into Tincture's embrace. "O-okay, mom…" She says softly.
"Here. Let me show you," Tincture says, gently helping Murky back into the seat and drawing a piece of paper and a pencil over her.
Tincture would quickly sketch a set of mountains over a horizon; not that it was that complex. A few triangles over a line. "See? There's something on the paper now," She explains.
Murky looked at the rough sketch and nodded a little. She took her own paper and the other pencil, and started drawing.
Tincture stepped back, giving the filly some space, but observing her with a gentle sense of curiosity.
After a few minutes, the filly looked up, "Like this, mom?" She asked gently.
Tincture's eyes widened slightly. The drawing was similar to hers; mountains overlooking a horizon. However, there were trees, and even a river at the bottom of the page.
"Yes, exactly," She says, "I want you to draw whatever comes to mind, okay? Use as much paper as you want," She explains.
Murky nodded, "Okay, mom," She says gently.
Tincture smiled, heading back to her book to study.
Tincture did eventually find a likely spell candidate:
"Pomunculus Summoning:
As described by Starswirl et al., circa 1009.
A 'Pomunculus', as described in a classical setting, is a reflection of the conjurer's will. A microcosm of their thoughts that oft manifests as strong desire. This spell aims to corporealize that conceptual creature into something physical; because of this, the results of this spell can vary widely in both quality and efficacy. Attempting the spell alone is not recommended, even for alicorns, for the magic drain of conjuring a living being is far beyond that of any possible dead matter."
Tincture poured over the page. How could she had even managed to cast it? Was the valley that willing to give its magic unto her?
She sighed softly. At least she had a presentable explanation. Not adequate to her, but adequate enough to excuse herself around others.
Tincture walked back to the room where Murky was sitting, eyes wide.
Several papers laid across the table, all with different things drawn on them. Landscapes, houses, even an attempt at… Her?
Murky looked up from her current page; a drawing of the alchemy set Tincture used for brewing potions. She dropped her pencil as she started to speak, "Are they any good, mom?" She asked gently.
Tincture nodded. "They're lovely, Murky. You have talent that I could never hope to surpass," She says with a gentle chuckle.
Murky hugged Tincture tightly, "Thanks mom," She says, "Which one do you like most?" She asked.
Tincture hugged back, "You're forcing me to pick one?" She asked gently, chuckling a little.
Murky nodded, and Tincture thought for a long moment, before slapping her front leg over the table, touching most of the drawings. "Each one I'm touching," She says, a small smile on her face.
Murky huffed a little. "Moooom…" She protests.
Tincture giggled a little, "If you won't play fair, neither will I," She teases gently, "I can't pick just one."
Murky bit her lip and buried her face in Tincture's side. "Fine," The filly huffed gently.
"Now, I think I'm ready to show you to everyone," Tincture said gently.
Murky looked up and gasped a little, "Really!?" She asks excitedly.
Tincture nodded, "Yes, really. Come along," She instructs gently, heading back out of the bedroom. Murky slid off of the chair, thumping on the floor with a soft "oof", before following after Tincture.
Tincture lead Murky out to the front room.
Murky hid behind her as she saw the three other ponies. "L-lots of ponies," The filly whimpers softly.
Tincture cleared her throat, "Good morning, everyone," She says gently, projecting her voice a bit.
Bottle smiles a bit, "Are you ready to join the land of the living now?" She asked with a gentle chuckle.
Tincture nodded, "Yes, I am…" She trails off as she steps forward, Murky still hiding close behind her.
"You can come out, now," Tincture says to the filly.
"Who can?" Angel asked, peering over the top of the couch.
Hesitantly, Murky stepped out from behind Tincture, still sticking close to the mare's side.
The other three ponies in the room gasped, and Angel zipped over.
"Aww! Who's this?" She asked, gently patting Murky on the head.
Murky squeaked a little, flinching back from the sudden attention.
"It's okay, Murky," Tincture said gently, "Angel won't hurt you."
Angel dialed back her energy a bit, rubbing Murky's head softly, "Don't worry, I don't bite," She promises with a soft giggle.
Murky leaned into the head rubs. "O-okay…" She replies hesitantly, her eyelids slowly falling shut.
"Anyways, this is Murky. She's my…" Tincture's voice caught in her throat again. It was a weird thing to own up to, but she'd come this far, "My daughter," She finishes.
Bottle's eyes went wide. "Your daughter?" She asks.
Tincture nodded a little, "It's a bit more complicated than that, but that's the closest approximate," She explains, gently stroking Murky's mane.
Murky had calmed down, even as Angel still rubbed her head.
Tincture had to suppress a laugh; despite the age difference, Murky was still around Angel's height, and was much more well-built than the pegasus.
"Well, out of all of us, I have to say, I didn't think you'd be the first one of us to have foals," Hazy comments.
Tincture hesitated. It wasn't really her choice, but she didn't want to say that in front of Murky. "It's… Funny how that works, I suppose," She says.
Angel smiled at Murky, "You wanna come sit on the couch with us?" She asks gently.
Murky opened her eyes as Angel's hoof pulled away, looking up at Tincture for approval. Tincture smiled gently. "Go ahead," Tincture says.
Angel giggled, leading Murky over to the couch and helping her up, sitting next to her.
Tincture walked over, sitting on the other side of Murky, letting the earth pony snuggle up to her.
Bottle smiled softly, "Don't worry, little one; you're in good company here," She says gently.
Hazy chuckled a bit, "Trust me, you'll never be starved for love around here, hun," She promised.
Murky nodded a little, looking around at the other ponies in the room.
"How did you find her, Tincture?" Bottle asked gently.
Tincture blinked, recalling last night as it came to her.
"What do you remember, Murky?" Angel asked as Tincture finished recalling her story.
Murky blinked, "R-remember?" She asks softly.
"Well, yeah. You met Tincture at the river, didn't you?" Angel asks.
Murky scratched her head. "Well… I don't remember a lot. I just remember being scared, and lost, and… Then I thought I heard someone scream," She expresses, "And then I heard mom talking to someone…"
Murky squeaked a little as she felt Angel hug her, but relaxed when she realized that it was just that: a hug.
Tincture sighed a little and bit her lip. She wasn't ready to discuss Murky's origin in front of her. Not that she had a very good idea of Murky's origin, but that was another problem entirely.
"It was… A long night," Tincture concludes simply, "But, I think I need to take on this responsibility. I can finally prove I'm better than she was."
Bottle sighed a little, "Tincture, you don't need to take this on alone," She insisted.
Tincture bit her lip. "I… I know, Bottle. Thank you," She says, head tilting down and away.
Murky leaned into Tincture, hugging her tightly.
Tincture forced a smile and hugged back, "I- We'll take care of you. I promise," She expresses softly, holding the filly tighter.
Bottle gave a small smile, "I'll get started on breakfast," She says gently, sliding off the couch.
Hazy nodded, "I'll lend a hoof this morning," She says, following Bottle into the kitchen.
Tincture looked at Murky and Angel, smiling a little. "Hah… I'm glad you two are getting along," She says gently.
Angel giggles, "She's so cute! Why wouldn't I like her?" She asks, finally pulling away from Murky, who remained clung to Tincture's side.
"Because she's taller than you?" Tincture thought to herself. She kept that thought quiet.
Murky blinks a little, "I'm cute?" She asks.
Angel nods, "Well, yeah. Look at you! And your chubby cheekies!" She expresses with a giggle.
Murky blushed a little, "Oh… Okay," She says softly.
Tincture smiled, "It's a good thing, Murky. Don't worry," She says, nuzzling the confused-looking earth pony.
"Oh. Thank you, um…" Murky trailed off as she looked at Angel, shrinking a bit as she tried desperately to remember her name.
"Angel's Kiss; Angel for short," Angel says gently, smiling warmly at Murky.
"O-oh… I'm just Murky," She replied softly.
"Where'd your name come from?" Angel asks.
"H-huh?" Murky questions.
"I mean… I'm called 'Angel's Kiss' because I'm light as a feather and tend to jump around a lot," Angel explains, "So… Where does Murky come from?"
Murky put a hoof to her chin and thought deeply for a moment. A number of emotions flashed over her face, before she blinked, "I don't know," She squeaks, a little panickedly.
Tincture nuzzled her snout gently into Murky's mane. "It's okay, Murky. Angel's just curious; it's okay if you don't know," She says gently.
Murky whined a little, nuzzling into her mother and closing her eyes.
Angel's ears went flat. That had gone about as poorly as it could have. "I'm sorry, Murky," Angel says, looking away.
Tincture sighed a little, rubbing Murky's back. "It's alright, Angel. This whole thing has been… A bit of a sudden occurrence," She expressed, "Murky's just a little sensitive…" That didn't begin to describe it. If Murky had been made from her inner self, like the spell's description stated, then Tincture understood just how broken the earth pony was. Or at least, she had a good idea.
Angel rubbed Murky's back, feeling immensely guilty.
Tincture gently magicked Angel up to hug Murky.
Angel squeaked a little, but obeyed the unicorn's wishes.
"You forgive Angel, don't you, Murky?" Tincture asked gently.
Murky nodded a little, murmuring a soft, "Mhm."
Angel sighed a little in relief, just joining in the hug to comfort the filly.
Eventually, the three's focus would be broken by the warm sound of Hazy's voice. "Breakfast's ready, huns, come on over," She says gently.
Angel carefully piled off of Murky, quickly jumping over to the table.
Tincture helped Murky down from the couch, leading her to the table and helping her into a chair, sitting next to her.
Murky watched as Hazy and Bottle brought out plates of eggs, toast, and some assorted vegetables.
"Looks good, guys!" Angel says, excitedly bouncing in her seat.
Tincture smiles, "It does look lovely; thank you," She says gently.
Bottle sat down, and so did Hazy. Bottle smiled warmly at Murky, "Go ahead, little one," She says, gently nudging the plate of eggs towards Murky.
Murky stood up to reach the serving spoons, taking some of everything. "Thank you," She says softly as she sits back down, allowing the others to take their food.
Murky looked at the breakfast for a long moment before she dared to try it, sampling the eggs first, then the vegetables, then the toast. "It's all good," The pony thought, "I like food."
Tincture smiled as she watched Murky dive practically face first into her breakfast, eating her own food more reservedly. It seemed some things didn't pass over directly… Tincture had never had such a voracious appetite, even when she was starving.
Angel giggles a little, "Gee, Murky. You're eating like me after a day of labor," She says.
Murky's ear twitched, and she looked up from her food, a small piece of egg sticking to her muzzle. She licked it off. "Huh?" She questions, tilting her head a little.
Hazy chuckles, "She's saying you seem hungry, hun," She clarifies, "Have some more breakfast if you want; we made plenty."
Murky nodded a little, taking some more eggs and toast to eat, returning to her face-dive eating style.
Breakfast would eventually conclude, and Murky blinked. "It was really good," She says softly, giving a cute smile to Bottle and Hazy.
Bottle smiles gently, "I'm glad you liked it, little one," She replies, "Did you get enough to eat?" She asks.
Murky nodded, "Mhm! Mom fed me earlier this morning," She explained.
Angel giggles, "Some of the ration stuff, right? You must've been real hungry," She supposes.
Murky nodded, and blushed slightly.
Tincture smiles. "She's a growing filly; if she's hungry, she can eat," She says, voice a bit defensive.
Bottle smiles, "Of course," She agreed, "You won't starve here, Murky. We'll all be sure of it," She expressed.
"Okay," Murky said, looking at Tincture, "Can I draw some more, mom?" She asks gently.
Tincture smiles a little, "Of course, Murky. Did you want to draw out here?" She asks.
Murky thought for a long moment, but eventually nodded, "Okay," She replies softly.
Tincture nodded, leaving the table to bring over the paper and pencils. Murky watched as the other adults cleared the table, but looked over at the paper and pencils with excitement.
Tincture smiled, setting the drawing supplies down and gently nuzzling Murky's head, "There you are," She said gently.
"Thanks mom," Murky replies, nuzzling into Tincture gently.
Tincture left the room to help the rest of the adults with cleaning up, leaving Murky alone with her art supplies. Murky didn't mind; after all, Tincture wasn't far. She just focused on drawing, ears twitching in response to the occasional crackles of the fire behind her.
Murky hummed gently as she drew. She tried drawing the ponies she had met this morning; there were a lot of them, so she started with Tincture first. She then drew Angel, followed by Bottle, and lastly Hazy.
She looked at her drawing and frowned a little. It was missing something… So she wrote on it. Her writing wasn't very good, but it was legible. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough for her to pick it up and bring it over to the kitchen, "Look!" She says simply.
The adult mares would all turn around to look at Murky's drawing. A picture of the four adults around her, subtitled "family".
"Oh, Murky, that's adorable!" Bottle expresses, a wide smile on her face.
Hazy smiles, "You've got a lot of talent, you know," She says, rubbing the filly's head gently.
Angel was about to comment, but she noticed Tincture tearing up. "You okay, Tincture?" Angel asked gently, pacing over to Tincture and hugging her.
Tincture's words were choked, "Y-yes, it's… It's lovely, M-Murky," She attempts, sitting back.
Murky set down her drawing and hugged Tincture tightly. "What's wrong, mom?" She asked gently.
Tincture whimpered a bit, trying (and failing) to restrain the tears in Murky's presence. "N-nothing, Murky," She chokes, "I-I'm just very proud of you."
Bottle and Hazy would join in the hug, letting Tincture cry out her emotions, even if the unicorn fought them at first. Tincture was fully convinced, now, that she would protect Murky at all costs.
Some time later, when Tincture had a chance to recompose herself, Bottle and Hazy had gone off to work. Murky was once again drawing at the table, with Angel and Tincture playing cards so they could watch over her. Murky would show the adults her drawings now and again, and the positive responses each time made her swell with pride.
Angel smiles a little, "You're really good at drawing, Murky," She says.
Murky looked up from her latest drawing, "Oh, thank you," She says softly, "I guess I think of a lot of things, so drawing helps me look at them."
Tincture smiles gently, "It's always good to have an outlet; I'm glad you found yours so quickly," She says.
Angel giggles, "I'm sure she'll find other things she likes, Tincture," She says.
Tincture nodded a bit. "I suppose so," She replied, a weak smile on her face. Already, her heart welled with turmoil at the idea of Murky growing up and wanting to leave home. She tried to push the thoughts down. "That's a long time away," She promised herself, briefly closing her eyes to clear her head.
Angel would eventually look up, "It's getting a little late. Wanna go get lunch?" She asks.
Tincture blinks, "We could have lunch at home, couldn't we?" She asked.
Angel shrugged, "Well, sure, but it'd be good to get out of the hou-" She was cut off by Tincture.
"We will have lunch at home," Tincture says firmly.
Angel winced, shrinking slightly as her ears pinned to her head. She had never heard Tincture raise her voice before, except when shouting at Miasma on that fateful day, "...Well, okay," She says gently.
Tincture's ears flattened as she realized what she had done, "I-I'm sorry, Angel, I-" She stammered, "...I'll go make us some lunch," She finally offers quietly, stepping down from her chair and walking to the kitchen.
Angel took a deep breath and walked to the kitchen, "Tincture…" She begins gently, walking up beside the unicorn.
Tincture didn't say anything, focusing on the sandwiches she was making.
"Tincture, I know this is a new thing, but you need to stop hunkering down when something serious happens," Angel attempts to reason. Angel wished Bottle was here; Bottle was generally better with the interponial things like this. However, Bottle wasn't here, so she had to try.
Tincture gave the pegasus a brief glance, "I need to protect her," She insists with a huff.
Angel's Kiss took a short breath, "I know, and being protective is a good thing, but Murky's a growing filly; she needs to get out of the house, just like you or I," She explains.
Tincture bit her lip, "She's not a foal," She says.
Angel blinked, "Well, what is she, then? She looks like a foal to me," She expresses.
Tincture lowered her voice, briefly checking to make sure Murky wasn't listening from the door, "Last night, I conjured her in a fit of emotion, using the magic from the valley. She's a pomunculus, not a natural-born pony like you or I," She explains, voice somewhat grim.
Angel gasped and backed away slightly. That wasn't exactly what she'd expected to hear. "What's a pomunculus, Tincture?" She asked.
Tincture waved a hoof; a motion intended to quiet Angel down. "It's a sort of… Manifestation of our inner self," She explains, "She's not a foal of mine by blood, but she was born from my thoughts. All that fear of Miasma I carry, that entire foalhood of living under that tyrant; she knows about it. Or at least, she feels it."
Angel blinked, looking away a bit, "So you want to protect her from anyone who could hurt her like Miasma hurt you," She theorizes.
Tincture nodded a bit and sighed, "I promised myself that I'd be a better mother than Miasma," She states, "I will do right. If not for my sake, then for Murky's."
Angel rubbed Tincture's side gently, "Well… Okay," Angel says gently, "But you need to take her out of the house tomorrow. Being cooped up inside, well… Miasma never let you out much, did she?" She asked.
Tincture's eyes widened in realization, "Oh, Celestia…" She whispered, looking away from the counter and Angel.
Angel gently hugged Tincture. "It's okay, Tincture. You're just doing what you know to protect her; that's why Bottle, Haze, and I are here. You're not alone," She promised, hugging Tincture tighter.
Tincture took a shaky breath. She'd cried enough over the past two days. "You're right, Angel," She decides finally, "I need to do something… Tomorrow, though. I just need one more day," She insists.
Angel sighed a little, but nodded. "Okay; what are you going to do?" She asked.
"I will take her to the market with me. That way, I can keep an eye on her, but she can get some fresh air," She plans.
Angel nods a little. "Alright, that sounds good," She says gently, giving Tincture a small squeeze before releasing her, "Want some help with lunch?" Angel asks.
Tincture nodded, "Yes, thank you," She says gently, watching as Angel hopped up on the counter to help.