//------------------------------//
// Chapter 24: Breaking Bread with an Alicorn and Zombies 
// Story: Partial 
// by Halira 
//------------------------------//

Jessica awoke and was greeted by a rictus smile of exposed bone. 

"YAH!" she yelled as she fell out of the bed. 

Someone was hopping around, hoofs hitting the wooden floorboards. "We can do that, too! Yarrr! Yarrr! Yarrr! We're a pirate!"

"Patches! No jumping inside the house! And leave our guest alone! She's not familiar with you! Please, play outside. It is a nice day out today."

The hoofsteps retreated from the room so fast that Jessica barely caught sight of the retreating pony. Something seemed off, but she was too unfocused to tell what. Hooves echoed down the stairs and out the farmhouse's front door. The pony, a filly by the sounds of it, giggled and made pirate sounds the entire way. The sound abruptly vanished as the filly got further out into the crops and out of range of Jessica's powers. 

"Weird kid," Jessica muttered as she stood up. 

The earth pony mare that had greeted her and Luna upon their arrival last night stepped into the doorway, ears flickering. The daylight did not make her eyes any less unsettling, and Jessica tried not to stare at them, telling herself that staring would be rude, even if the mare couldn't see.

"I hear you moving around, miss," the mare said. "I hope Patches didn't give you too much of a fright. The foal is curious about unfamiliar people and is rambunctious. She means no harm."

Jessica smiled. "I'm okay. I didn't expect to wake up to a filly in a weird mask staring down at me."

"A mask?" the mare asked in confusion. "Patches doesn't have a mask. Although, that could be an interesting idea. I'm told her face is very unpleasant to look at–a horrible disfigurement, although I can only take the words of others on that. Perhaps one of the workers can make her a mask. She would enjoy that."

Jessica went wide-eyed. "Oh, no! I'm very sorry. I didn't know. That was very insensitive of me. I should go apologize to her."

The mare didn't blink. "That won't be necessary. Patches doesn't take offense to anything. She is nearly imperturbable. As long as you're happy, she's happy."

"If you're sure," Jessica said with uncertainty. She'd have expected the mare to be more protective of the filly. 

The mare gave a short nod. "I'm sure. Just don't be afraid if you see her again, and don't show anger at her. It can take her time to figure out you're scared or angry, but that is what upsets her. Don't run, don't scream, don't cry and point; just smile and tell her that she's a special filly."

Now, she felt awful. She worried about people treating her as a freak, and this poor little filly had some sort of disfigurement that was so bad it scared others. She resolved that she would take time to talk to the filly and be nice to her if she saw the filly wandering around. 

"I came to tell you that the workers are preparing breakfast for you and your companions and will be setting the table in front of the house," the mare continued. "We get few guests to the farm. Our dining room is adequate for my son and me, and perhaps a single guest, but to sit so many guests, we needed to do something different. To have a Dreamwarden, her husband, a princess of Equestria, you, and these army officers, even if your stay will be brief, we had to do a great meal for you. It would be disrespectful otherwise."

"Thank you. I'll be down as soon as I shower," Jessica replied. 

The mare's ears twitched again. "The water may be cold. You are the last of your companions to rise, and the water heater for the house is not made to accommodate so much usage. The Dreamwarden and her husband were in it for a long time."

Her ears sagged. She wasn't in the mood for an ice-cold shower. She had showered just yesterday morning, so it wasn't that urgent. However, it might be Monday before she got another chance to do so. They were supposed to be leaving around noon.

"Thanks for letting me know. I'll just brush my teeth and head down," she said. 

The mare nodded. "Take your time. They are still setting up." The old earth pony then turned and walked away at a normal pace, not seeming to need any care in walking around the house blind. She likely knew the hallways and rooms by heart, and smell and hearing helped keep her aware of what was happening around her. Given how much the mare relied on her hearing, it was probably second only to Jessica's acuteness out of everyone on the property. 

It wasn't until the mare departed that Jessica realized she hadn't asked where the bathroom was. Last night, she had been quickly ushered to her room with a warning to keep the noise down so as not to wake the old mare's son and had seen little of the property in the dark. She could narrow in on the sounds of dripping water, but that wasn't always reliable since there were plenty of houses with minor leaks in the plumbing or condensation in air conditioner vents. Maybe it would be obvious, or someone was up and about who could point her at it. She had seen several workers on the property outside the house when she arrived. Did they live on the farm as well? She'd seen only some other barns and a silo when arriving, but other buildings could be hidden behind treelines. If so, maybe they had a separate bathroom somewhere.

She gathered up her bathroom pouch from her luggage and left the room, almost instantly running into Rebecca's husband, who, luckily, seemed to be exiting the bathroom. 

He smiled at her. "I heard Patches gave you a wake-up call. You have stronger nerves than me. If I woke up to that filly staring at me, I would have shit my pants. I locked our bedroom door last night because I don't think that kid sleeps, and I didn't want any visitation at three in the morning. She seems harmless unless you threaten the old mare's kid, but she's still creepy as hell."

Jessica's ears flattened. "It's not nice to talk about a kid that way. I didn't get a good look at her, but she is still just a kid."

Russell blinked at her. "You do know what she is, right?"

"All I know is she's a kid with a disfigurement. That's no fault of hers," Jessica said sternly.

"They haven't told you," Russell said in amazement  

"Told me what?" she asked, losing patience.

He shook his head. "If they didn't let you in on what's up, I ain't blabbing. Probably best not to know. She can be sweet, I guess, and she ain't the only freaky thing here. I recommend not trying to figure out what you're looking at if you do get a good look at her, and don't go asking too many questions about anything here. There's a wrongness to this place you don't want to know the truth about. You'll sleep easier not knowing."

Rebecca came out of a nearby room and waved her wings at her husband as she approached him. "Babe! Why are you trying to scare Jess like that? I knew this place was going to be too much for you. Are you sure you don't want to wait somewhere in town? Phobia has an extra room she can let you stay in for free if you want. She'll know right away when we come back. You don't have to stay here and prove your bravery."

He shook his head again. "I can deal with this place. I'll even play some games with Patches to keep her busy and happy. I'm just locking my door at night."

Rebecca sighed. "I don't like you being uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable dealing with this stuff before I became a Dreamwarden. I know how it has to get to you."

"I'll be fine," Russell insisted 

"What's so bad about this place and the kid?" Jessica asked in frustration. 

Rebecca waved a hoof. "Don't worry about it. We're leaving in a few hours and won't return until Sunday. You won't ever have to visit here again. Your nerves have been frayed enough lately without knowing what this place is about. The only reason I told my honey about it was he was insisting on waiting here and spending a night and a few hours here is a whole lot different than four days. Hurry up and do what you've got to do, and then eat breakfast with us. It's all fresh farm produce–good stuff. I think Ulga even baked us some biscuits–yummy-yummy biscuits.

"Do you ever not have your mind on food, Rebecca?" Jessica asked. 

"More than I'd like," Rebecca answered. She then turned and trotted away. "Come on; the food on the trip won't be this good!"

Russell shrugged and followed his wife. Jessica rolled her eyes and went into the bathroom. 

It took a few minutes to finish in the bathroom, mainly because she took time to scrub a few areas with a washcloth. Just because she couldn't shower didn't mean she couldn't clean some critical spots. Who knew if she'd be able to clean herself over the next few days properly? 

She made her way downstairs and wondered who was the taxidermy fanatic that filled every room and hall with their work. It seemed like a strange hobby for Ulga since she was blind. Ulga's son was only eight, so he seemed unlikely to be the taxidermist, especially on the scale seen around the house. It was an odd hobby for ponies in general since ponies tended to be much more leery of killing an animal, and the buck heads were a sign someone was hunting. It wasn't that they never killed an animal, but that was always for butchering meat to sell to humans, providing food for a carnivorous pet, or the rare mercy kill when an animal was suffering. Ponies never killed for sport. It must be one of the human farmhands. 

She stepped outside and immediately saw a large table had been set out. Present was Luna, three uniformed army officers–one human, one pegasus, and one earth pony, Rebecca, Russell, Phobia Remedy, Rosetta Stone, another unfamiliar earth pony stallion, Ulga, and four human farm workers who were setting the table. 

Having eight unfamiliar people about did give her a moment of hesitation, but it was only brief. There was something else odd that she couldn't quite place. Luna seemed to be watching the farm workers with intense scrutiny and was frowning. The human officer was making a show of not looking at anyone and sitting up straight in his seat. The two pony officers seemed taken aback at sharing a table with an alicorn princess. The non-officer stallion was glaring at any farm worker that dared walk near Phobia Remedy; that meant he must be Wallace. Rebecca was ogling all the food as her husband started filling her plate. Phobia and Rosetta were whispering with one another about what farm life must be like. Ulga seemed to be listening in on their conversation by the angle of her ears. The farm workers set out food and prepared Ulga's plate silently, not giving anyone so much as a glance. 

Then she realized what was off. The farm workers were too silent. There was no heart beating, no breathing, and barely any sounds that bodies typically had. Were they androids? That didn't seem to fit either. There were no electronic or mechanical sounds. They weren't illusions or projections. Illusions and projections couldn't touch anything, the food they were setting out was authentic, and she heard their feet as they took steps and their hands making contact with plates and bowls. Perhaps they were some sort of magical golems. She'd heard Auntie Sunset propose making magical golems once as a theory. Luna must have picked up on their strangeness as well; that would explain the look she was giving them. It would make for a perfect workforce that could keep secrets. It would also explain the secrecy about this place. Who was controlling them? Ulga seemed the likely culprit–the elderly earth pony had all the typical bodily functions going on, and she did seem to run the farm. 

That made her feel a little more at ease. If the farm workers were merely constructs, they wouldn't be judging her. She went and took a seat between the two Dreamwardens and across from Luna. 

Luna pulled her gaze away from the constructs to look at her and smile. "Jessica Middleton, it has been nearly a decade since I have seen you. Your physical maturation seems to have gone very well in that time."

She smiled back. "Thank you. I'd like to think my mental and emotional maturation has gone equally well. How goes babysitting retired Dreamwardens?"

Luna sighed. "Psychic Calm operates a mental health therapy practice and does well for himself. However, Krik is what people in your world would call quite the character even in his waning years. He has a filthy sense of humor and tries to keep active. His mind is as nimble as ever, even if his body is not. I do not expect him to reach the same age Sha'am had when she expired, but I hope he has a few happy years left. We are anticipating the Warden of Order joining us in Equestria soon. That should be interesting."

Rebecca looked up and leaned over to look at Phobia. "Hey! Phobia! I forgot to tell you. Sha'am said that Moses is off limits for being a Dreamwarden. She said if you try it, she'll slit his throat first. I don't think she's bluffing."

Everyone stopped and stared except for Phobia, who grimaced. 

Rebecca cowered down in her seat. "Maybe I should have told her that in private. Carry on, everybody. Ignore the loudmouthed Marshmallow!"

Ulga snarled at Rebecca. "Ayedonno would never threaten my son in such a way."

"Um, she kinda did; I heard her, so take it up with her, and don't shoot my wife for being the messenger," Russell said. 

"Aww! My spotty man is defending me!" Rebecca gushed, shaking her rear. "I wish we had some extra time because you're making me all hot and bothered in all the right ways."

"TMI, Rebecca!" Rosetta shouted. 

"I'd love to tuck man inside," Rebecca giggled. "Well, a word that rhymes with tuck, anyway."

"That's not what TMI means, and you know it!" Rosetta yelled. "You are so unbelievable!"

"That's part of why I married her," Russell said. 

"Another part is he can't get enough of all this curvy sexy goodness!" Rebecca giggled again, giving an even more animated shake of her rear. 

Rosetta shook her head. "I'm just not talking to you anymore."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get the same points across yelling and throwing things at me," Rebecca chuckled. 

Rosetta shook her head in exasperation. 

Luna grimaced as she brought some fruit over to her plate. "It seems my wayward mistake continues to be vile in her behavior even after release from her imprisonment and ceasing to be a Dreamwarden."

"Sha'am Maut is alive?" Jessica asked in disbelief. 

"I wouldn't call her alive, per se. It's complicated," Rebecca answered, then shoved a biscuit in her mouth and talked around it–surprisingly well. "I think what she threatened is pretty drastic and evil, but I can kinda see where she's coming from. It will be fine and won't come to that. She may be bluffing. She is no longer required to be honest, and the farm workers would never allow her to get near him if she had that intent. They would know instantly that she meant to harm him and wouldn't let her near."

"Let's not get distracted worrying about her threats," Phobia said. "She's derailing my plans, but I'm not going to risk Moses's life by calling her bluff, not that Sha'am ever bluffed. She wins and gets her way–that settles the matter. Let's not discuss it further." Rosetta put a wing over Phobia's back and gave her a comforting nuzzle. It was rare for Phobia to display much emotion, but the Warden of Fear was very clearly pissed off. 

"Is no one going to tell me how Sha'am Maut is back?" Jessica asked. 

"No-pe!" Rebecca said, popping her lips. 

"She has no access to the dream realm and is no longer a Dreamwarden, so don't worry about her," Phobia said with a note of finality. She then got up from her seat and flew away. Rosetta followed after her a moment later. Wallace took off on hoof in the general direction they had fled. 

Rebecca chomped into a pancake. "She'll be back; give her a few minutes. She's just mad, hurt, feeling betrayed, all that kinda stuff, and needs to blow off some steam. Maybe cry without us seeing. Rosetta is all the company she needs or wants right now."

Luna looked out where Phobia had retreated. "And if you are wrong, and she decides she needs more time than that and heads home instead?"

Rebecca shrugged. "Then we respect her by giving her space and don't bother her. She doesn't need to be here to see us off. She was only doing that as a courtesy. We do need to wait, though; we're still missing two of our crew members. Jonathan and Ashley aren't here yet, and that ship isn't going anywhere without them. I checked in on them earlier; they're stuck in traffic–some bozo truck driver didn't properly secure their cargo and dumped a huge industrial-sized tractor into the middle of the Interstate. I know somebody is getting fired. Anyway, people are having to make a huge detour through roads not meant to handle that volume of traffic, so things are moving at a crawl."

"So, we just wait?" Jessica asked. 

"Finish eating all this good food; then we'll go take a tour of our starship, the S.S. Dolphin III," Rebecca said, then scarfed down another pancake. She wasn't using silverware. She just lowered her head and gobbled up her food like a fat goose.

 "Three? What happened to one and two?" Luna asked. 

Rebecca swallowed her food. "Olimar crashed them."

"Who is Olimar?" Jessica asked. 

Rebecca tilted her head. "He's a video game character from Pikmin. Am I the only one here who has played a video game?"

Jessica crossed her arms. "I've never had time for stuff like that. I couldn't waste time goofing off."

The fat pegasus raised a hoof high. "Those who don't take time for goofing off will surely take time later to be throwing up. No wonder you're a bundle of nerves. You should play more video games; it's good for your health."

"Why did you choose to name it off something in a video game?" Luna asked curiously.

"Well, I thought about naming it the S'more, but I don't want to be a melted Marshmallow and didn't want to give fate any ideas. Then I considered naming it The Voyager, but that had bad omens about getting trapped in the wrong galaxy. Then I considered The Magic Seeker, but you know what else is a magic seeker–Devourers, so that was all kinds of bad juju. I considered Sugar Star and Cotton Candy, but then I thought those would make me hungry. Then I thought about the Eternal Spring because that sounded nice, but then I realized that it rhymed with eternal dream, and I was not taking that chance. After that, I considered Millennium Enterprise, combining Millenium Falcon and Enterprise, but after I mentioned in passing that I might name something that, my best friend said I was poaching from her fanfiction and wanted financial compensation for that. The OMMR wouldn't approve the payout."

"So, you named it after a ship a video game character repeatedly crashed into a planet?" Russell asked, sounding baffled. 

Rebecca blinked. "You know, now that you mention it, that sounds like bad omens too. Hey, Ulga, can these guys do a quick paint job over the name?"

"You could name it Starswirl's Hope," Luna suggested. "My old master spent many nights gazing at the sky and confided in me he would love to have traveled to the stars."

Jessica groaned. "It's just a name. You can call it Shippy McShipface, and it would still serve its purpose. We don't need to rename it."

"I like The Orca," one of the military ponies said. 

Everyone looked at him. 

"If we're giving out suggestions," the pony said unabashedly.

Rebecca laughed and pointed. "Smiley, I knew I liked you! And it wasn't just your name, but, um, no, I don't want to call it that, but thanks for the suggestion! I guess we're sticking with Dolphin III. Olimar always ended up getting home, and so shall we."

"I'm still shocked the obvious red herring turned out to be the Dreamwarden," the human army officer whispered to Smiley. 

Rebecca climbed up on the table and spread her wings wide. "Everybody, eat, socialize, and relax!" Rebecca shouted. "For those of us going on this mission and those waiting worriedly for their loved ones' return, this may be our last chance for a few days to feel relaxed. We go forth into places long ago devastated by the Devourers to find ways of combating them. It shall be a melancholy affair to see what once was. Take this time to remember what we are protecting and savor the joy of each others' company and this good food. Life is worth living, and it is worth living with joy, good food, companionship, and wonder. We shall not let the Devourers win again. We shall not despair. We shall not perish. We will laugh. We will dream. We will win. I salute you all. Now, eat!"
 
Jessica politely clapped, and everyone else either clapped or stomped their hooves as Rebecca got back down from the table after delivering her address–a surprisingly serious one, considering who had been giving it. Rebecca was not known for taking a serious tone. Jessica knew that Rebecca could be very serious in private, and even though her upbeat and carefree attitude was her nature, it was deliberately exaggerated to boost the morale of those around her. The fact that the Marshmallow gave a somewhat serious address was more powerful a message than how the short speech was worded. 

A farm worker came and set an enormous bowl of apples on the table directly between Rebecca and Luna. The Equestrian Dreamwarden and Earthling Dreamwarden both eyed the bowl greedily. After locking their lips in anticipation, they both reached for it simultaneously, looked at one another, and then reluctantly took a single fruit each. Jessica gathered some pancakes onto her plate as she watched and listened to the two.

Luna bit into her apple and spoke around it as she looked at Rebecca. "I believe this is our first opportunity to sit down together without your siblings since you became a Dreamwarden. We haven't had time to talk casually to one another. How is Dreamwarden life treating you?"

They both finished their apples at the same time, and they each reached for another. The human army officer tried getting one, and both Rebecca and Luna glared at him. He timidly but quickly retreated. 

"Well, lately, the others have been giving me much more work to do, and I prefer to be doing my own thing," Rebecca said around a mouthful of apple. 

Luna finished her apple at the same time as Rebecca, and both grabbed another. 

"You were chosen to be the friendly face of the Dreamwardens," Luna replied with a full mouth. "Dearest Phobia was the face, and still is, but she gets such a bad reputation for her association with nightmares."

"Except for on Halloween; everyone loves her on Halloween," Rebecca said as she finished her apple and went for another. Both she and Luna went for the same one before awkwardly moving on to others. "I suppose slowly becoming the face of a holiday is a lot of work I don't want, so she can have it. The most annoying things about being a Dreamwarden for me are not getting to have time for my dreams and knowing way too much about what goes on in ponies' heads."

Luna chewed her apple and swallowed. "It sounds like someone needs to take their advice about relaxing. I understand the feeling concerning knowing too much. Over the years, I have become accustomed to only tending to nightmares and avoiding looking at most other dreams. I fear what I may see. Even during my exile, when it was my only way of interacting with others, I avoided most dreams, and my sister's nightmares I still only tend when they are especially bad." Luna glanced at Russell. "I envy you finding a partner who you don't have to fear the thoughts of."

Russell blinked. "I know Dreamwardens inherit things from previous Dreamwardens. I've always been curious about what Rebecca inherited from you."

Rebecca shoved another apple into her mouth. "I don't have a clue."

Luna grabbed another apple. "It is a mystery."

Jessica tried her luck at grabbing one of the last two remaining apples and immediately got death glares from the pair. She slowly pulled her hand back without taking anything.

One of the farm workers who had been tending the table bent down next to Ulga. Jessica decided to focus her listening on them. 

"A human man, a unicorn mare, and night pony mare have entered the property through the gate. They had a key card," the farm worker whispered. 

"That must be the missing parts of the crew, although it is one more than expected," Ulga replied. "How is Moses doing at school?"

"They are teaching us multiplication tables. The teacher is dull. We are falling asleep," the farm worker answered. 

Ulga sighed. "Moses will need extra time practicing tonight if he falls asleep."

"We just shook our head to wake ourselves. We don't want extra homework," the farm worker answered.

Ulga smiled. "Good. Now, where is Patches?"

"Hiding in the tall grass. We are watching the strangers eat. You said to keep out of sight; we are doing as we are told. We want to come out and play with the strangers," the farm worker answered. 

"Stay put, Patches," Ulga whispered urgently. 

Jessica looked over at the tall grass near the house and focused her hearing. There was no heartbeat there, no breathing. There were insects out there, plenty of them, but there was no sign of–

She spotted something moving in the grass, but there were no sounds that should be coming from a pony. Was Patches another one of these golems? Ulga did seem to be talking to her through the farm worker. She'd also been talking to her son. Was he a construct, too?

Rebecca gave Jessica a kick in the shoulder. "Hey! Stop trying to spy on Patches. She's behaving herself, but she won't if she thinks you've spotted her. She'll take that as her permission to come play, and I don't want people freaking out when they see her. It would hurt her feelings and lead to me having way too many explanations to make."

Jessica looked at Rebecca. "What's going on with her and these farm workers? You know how good my hearing is. You know what I'm not hearing. You had to know I'd notice."

"I'll tell you later, in private," Rebecca assured her. "For right now, let it go and eat. The apples are delicious."

Jessica looked at the empty bowl. "You and Luna ate all the apples."

"The farmhands can pick more apples."

"Are you and Luna going to let anyone else have one if they do?"

"I make no promises. They're good apples." Rebecca turned and looked at Luna. "If the farmhands get more apples, will you let anyone else have any?"

Luna's ears perked. "There are more apples?"

Rebecca looked back at Jessica. "No, that's not happening. I'm surprised I got the ones I got. I think Luna's got a problem when it comes to fruit."

"Lies and slander!" Luna shouted. She then looked at the high grass. "You, come out of the grass. Let me see why the Marshmallow is so intent on hiding you. I already know there is necromancy at work here."

Necromancy? As in bringing the dead back to life? That's what was going on here?! Jessica suddenly felt ill as she realized there had been a zombie sitting inches from her face as she slept. 

All the farm workers paused and took several steps back, clearly afraid. It was the first real emotion they had shown. 

"Don't hurt her. Don't hurt any of them. They do no one harm," Ulga pleaded. "If you hurt them, you may hurt my son."

Luna continued to stare impassively at the grass. "We have commanded you to show thyself. Present yourself at once."

"She's slipping into formal court-speak; that's not good," Rebecca muttered, then increased her volume. "She's not going to come out. Look at the farm workers. They are afraid. She might not understand why, but she knows what they are feeling. You have to be terrifying to her right now. I can only imagine what this is doing to Moses because he can tell when something's up. I know Equestria has harsh laws against necromancy, and I know we brought Sha'am back a few times, and she's…well, Sha'am, but this isn't Equestria. This place is under Dreamwarden protection."

"We shall not violate your peace," Luna said, still using the royal we. "Little one, reveal thyself. We promise no ill fate shall befall you."

The grass rustled, and a tiny pony emerged from the grass, causing gasps from the military officers. Her fur was a patchwork of multiple colors, with visible stitches separating each color and along each joint. Her ears seemed to have been sewn on as well. Her tail was a long gray thing without any fur whatsoever and had bone visible in some of its segments, and her face was missing both flesh and fur along part of her mouth, revealing her teeth and the bone which they are socketed into. 

Luna looked upon the stitched creature after briefly flashing a look of disgust but quickly making her face neutral. "Come closer. Do not be afraid. We wish to see your movement."

Patches advanced cautiously, clearly afraid she would still be struck down. The farm workers all looked extremely tense, as did Ulga and Rebecca. Everyone else was still shocked and horrified as the undead creature approached. 

"That is close enough," Luna said when Patches was two meters from the table. "Tell us, are you in pain?"

"No, we don't hurt," Patches said. "We don't want to go back to sleep. Don't put us back to sleep. We like being awake. We like meeting new friends. We like seeing things. We like feeling things. We like hearing things. We like to play."

Luna's gaze remained impassive. "What were you before you occupied this body?"

Patches tilted her head. "We don't understand. We were us."

"What is the earliest thing you remember?" Luna clarified. 

Patches shook her head in distress. "We don't understand."

Rebecca hopped down from the table and placed herself in front of Patches. "You aren't going to get answers by asking those questions. Patches doesn't comprehend sequences of events well, especially if you ask her to think back more than a few days. Let me help." Rebecca turned and looked at Patches with a smile. "Hey, Patches. This is kinda scary, isn't it?"

Patches nodded. "Yes."

Rebecca reached a wing around the creature, fearlessly hugging it. "Don't worry; I'll protect you." She released the filly and looked her in the eyes. "Tell the big pony about what you remember when you were alone, things that happened without Moses. Tell her about the time you weren't a we but instead a me. Do you understand?"

Patches seemed to perk up and nodded more enthusiastically. "Oh! We understand now! Big pony will be happy if we tell her that?"

"That's what the big pony wants," Rebecca answered. 

The patchwork filly sat down. "I felt warm. I moved around in warm. I found more who were warm and they were happy. Me and others played together to see who could get the most warm. Many, many getting warm and happy. Sometimes, I did not get as warm as others, then I get sad, then colder. Sometimes others get sad and colder, but they get warm later, and things are better."

"What did you look like?" Luna asked. 

Patches tilted her head. "We don't understand."

"What did the others look like?" Luna tried instead. 

Patches cringed down, and her ears flattened. "We don't understand. Is Big Pony going to be mad?"

Rebecca sighed. "You're asking her a question she can't answer, Luna. She was a simple magical creature of our infant universe, something we would have difficulty fathoming. The type of creature she was had no sense of sight, smell, hearing, or time, and its sense of touch was extremely primitive. It understood its world through temperature, emotion, and magic. It didn't understand concepts like hunger, fear, or anger. She didn't even fully understand birth, growth, and death. These are all things Patches learned through Moses and her experiences since she was created. She isn't malevolent. She is curious and revels in experiencing new things. She is very simple because she is still learning how to process all these things, and she wants to know about them. What she came into his body knowing is what was imparted to her by a four-year-old colt, and that's the lens through which she experiences and learns. She's a child, Moses is a child, and I protect kids."

Luna nodded. "I share your passion, Rebecca, and can only imagine that passion has grown with each generation of Dreamwarden that followed after me if the individual cared deeply for the young. Even Sha'am Maut stayed her cruelty to those under a certain age and showed foals her rarely-seen kindness. I shall do her and the colt that created her no harm. I had concerns, but I see they are unnecessary." Luna's look hardened as she looked at the nearest farm worker. "These creatures I'm not as confident about. The rate and scale at which Moses makes these things is exceptionally troublesome. It is long forgotten, but there was an era on my world before ponies where creatures such as these were used to commit unspeakable atrocities. I personally banned such magic in Equestria for a reason. To see it here, guided by one who shares a soul with Sha'am, unsettles me."

"Sha'am was a monster because she experienced nothing but cruelty and loss, so that's all she learned," Rebecca asserted. "Moses is our chance to do things right. We shall show him love, affection, trust and do everything to give him a good life. Yes, he can make zombies, but they protect him and keep his more horrific powers in check. He would have no chance of a good life without those powers being in check."

Luna looked around. "My understanding was it takes but one of these to curb his other powers. There is a small army here."

One of the farm workers stepped forward and pointed at Patches. "If it protects us, all of us but this one can go once more to sleep. This would add to Ulga's burden in caring for us and this farm, but we shall if it is what's needed. Would this satisfy you, dread queen?"

Luna looked around, considering. "I shall not ask that of you right now, but I must insist, no more. There are more than enough here to run this farm and guard Moses. Give him no more aid in making these creatures."

Jessica's ears twitched as she heard a car approaching. That must be their missing crew members. They would be confused when they got out and saw this standoff. 

Rebecca looked around. "I'll see we give him access to no more bodies. He'll have to make do with what is already here. You are right; he has plenty."

Luna relaxed. "Then I am satisfied, for now. I shall monitor this place from afar and give it no trouble unless it gives us a legitimate reason to act against it."

The farm workers and Ulga relaxed at last. Patches, seemingly noticing the reduction of tension, perked up and wagged her bony tail like a dog. 

"Can we play now?" Patches asked as if her existence hadn't just been on the line. 

Jessica shook her head. She was glad she was done having to deal with the Dreamwardens after this trip. This kind of stuff was insane, and she was eager to have a normal life.