//------------------------------//
// Division of Labor 
// Story: The Royal Fillies REDUX 
// by blazikenking 
//------------------------------//

Cadence opened the door and saw her expected guests. "Twilight, Rarity, thanks for arriving on such short notice."

"It was a tough teleport, Cadence," Twilight said with a tired breath. "I'm worn out from it."

"Shouldn't a two pony teleport from Ponyville be easy for you?" Twilight pointed a wing across Rarity's back. Cadence looked where she was pointing and saw what looked like Rarity's whole workshop there, neatly packed and arranged. "Oh. For your theory?"

"I'm going to make her the best and most comfortable clothes ever!" Rarity declared. "Could you help me move everything in?"

Over the course of most of an hour, the three mares set to work moving furniture around and setting up Rarity's workspace, with Cadence breaking off occasionally to check on Human Inova. There were a lot of magazines among the stuff as well, and once things were mostly set up, Twilight took some of them through the rough hole that used to hold the door to Inova's room, the human part still in there and in her cocoon in bed. "Inova?"

"Aunt Twilight?" Human Inova glumly and tiredly responded.

"Do you remember what I said about knowing a bit about being human?"

"I still don't believe you."

"We'll see about that." Twilight tossed the magazines on Human Inova's lap like it was incriminating evidence.

Human Inova got her arms out of her cocoon, readjusted it, and started going through the magazines. The humans in them looked different from her, sporting hair and skin tones that covered all the same colors as the ponies, and their proportions were different as well, though she couldn’t mistake them for anything else. "I think you made these up."

"Within two weeks?" Twilight put more magazines on Inova's lap. "Titles, pictures, articles, bar codes, designs, names, and all that? Not even magic can let me create all that out of nothing. I don't know enough about fashion to come up with most of these designs or the names for them. What I do know, what I think to be the truth, is that you're hiding in your cocoon because you don't have any clothes to wear, leaving you exposed. Does that sound accurate?"

Human Inova gave it some thought as she browsed the magazines. "Yeah. That, and it's chilly in here. I want my fur and feathers back."

"I'll get Rarity in here to talk and draw with you." Twilight left and Rarity entered a minute later. 

"We'll start off with some basic undergarments for decency and comfort purposes," Rarity stated. "Twilight's told me that they're very important. Once those are done, I'll make something to keep you warm and modest, then we can move on to more creative designs."









Out in the Empire, under the watchful eyes of Shining Armor and Skyla, the Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Inovas were at work, free of their previous bindings. Unicorn did what she could to repair the cracks in nearly everything, Earth was moving large chunks of debris, and Pegasus was using her wings to sweep up the smaller stuff.

One new thing they were each sporting was an iron collar with a glowing red core instead of the chained ones. With a single spell from Shining Armor, he could pull them back to him at a moment's notice. Pegasus had provided a good demonstration of that feature after she tried to fly away.

The three, with a shared goal, moved with a high degree of coordination, slowed down only by an upset subject coming up and chewing them out on occasion. Shining was prepared for violence, after being told of Lucky's talk with Human Inova and reading the article he released, but thankfully, nothing more than harsh words and upset voices came to the young orange mares.

The one hurting the most though, was Shining Armor himself. He had to fight his instincts to leap to the defense of the Inova parts when they were accosted, he had to hold himself back from helping with the cleanup and repairs, and he struggled to keep the stern look on at all times. It was one of the hardest single tasks he'd ever taken on, right ahead of that time he had to stop a twenty minotaur bar brawl by himself. Skyla wasn’t faring much better than he was.





Shining came home that evening an hour after Skyla, with a defeated look on his face and a weary heaviness in each step, more so than she had. The fact that Carousel Boutique seemed to have moved into the house barely registered and fazed him even less. "Honey?"

Cadence showed up at his tired call for her and promptly pulled him into a hug. "Don't say anything. I understand."

He returned the hug. "I'm talking anyways. Carrying out the punishment for the equine Inovas is tough. The last time she was punished was for getting Skyla some midnight snacks."

"And she simply accepted that one."

"Her getting in trouble like this is surreal."

"Human Inova has her share of difficulties too." Cadence nuzzled along her husband's neck for a moment. "She's been trying to figure out how to walk on two legs, and she's had. . . Let's just say I've had to magic away a few messes today. She's emotional and scared right now, and she doesn't want to leave the house."

"That's probably for the best." Shining broke the hug. "She doesn't need that kind of attention right now."

"No, she doesn't. Maybe what she needs is some attention from you while I finish making dinner."

"I can do that." The two shared a quick kiss before going their separate ways. He knocked on the wall next to where the door used to be. "Inova?"

"Hi dad," came the tired and defeated voice of Human Inova from the darkened room. She was wearing a fuzzy robe and slippers, all orange with black trim, and she was sitting at her desk, her back to the entryway.

"Is everything okay?"

". . . No. I don't know what to do. I'm scared. I want to go home, but I'm already here. What do I do?"

Shining turned on the light and looked around the room. The neat and tall stack of unopened boxes in the corner caught his attention. Luna, almost habitually, kept sending her Golem Brick sets, practically as they came out, and a number of completed sets were on display around the room. He picked one box out, a white and red vehicle called Mach Machine, and tossed it onto the desk. "Let's build something."

Human Inova looked at the box for a few seconds, then picked it up and inspected it and her hands. She carefully pulled the box open and let the bags of pieces spill out. Shining floated the instruction book to the back of the desk and set it against the wall, letting her have more space to work.

It didn't take long for Human Inova's frown to start tilting upwards as she and Shining started building together. "This is much easier now. Ow!" She quickly learned that pressing on the corners hurt, and concluded that stepping on the pieces barefoot would be worse than with hooves. Somehow, she could vividly imagine it, and her toes curled at the vision.

"And once you master levitation, it'll be even easier."

"Yeah." Human Inova stopped building and took a moment to inspect and flex her hand. "It's strange, but it feels. . . Natural. Is that weird?"

Shining shrugged. "Probably, but that's not important right now. Come on, let's keep building. Maybe this will help with the visualization part of levitation."

Human Inova went back to building. She and Shining only stopped when Cadence called them for dinner. It was a simple cheese and veggie casserole with baked potatoes on the side, lacking in hay and flowers since Human Inova, according to Twilight, couldn't eat those things.





Dinner, while delicious, was a bit awkward, to say the least. None of the six at the table knew what to talk about, if anything. Even Skyla ate slowly, the awkward aura of the whole situation weighing down on her just as much as everyone else.

Nopony objected to Human Inova leaving the table and retreating to her room without a word when she was done. With her departure, the tension lifted enough to allow some discussion. "So, Twily, why are you and Rarity here?" Shining asked.

"Human Inova needs clothes, and Rarity has the skills to make them," Twilight explained. "Humans don't have fur, so clothes provide protection from the elements. Here in the Crystal Empire, she really needs them."

"I made some sets of basic undergarments, the robe, and slippers today," Rarity explained. "After working out some sketches with Inova, I decided I needed to practice a bit for her build."

"Human Inova was more willing to get up and move around after getting dressed," Cadence added.

Skyla finished her meal while everypony else was talking, and was able to leave just as easily as Human Inova did, even going to the same place. "Are you okay, Inova?"

Human Inova, back at her desk, looked up from the Golem Bricks and the unfinished build on it to turn to look at Skyla through the doorless doorway. "No, not really. Nothing I can do about it though."

Skyla sat next to Human Inova. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Human Inova turned some pieces around in her hand for a few seconds before responding. "I'm sorry, Skyla."

"Excuse me?"

"I haven't been a good sister to you. You've always come to my defense, helped me, supported me, but I haven't done any of that for you."

Skyla frowned, very unimpressed with what Human Inova was saying. "Really?"

"I haven't even helped you that much with your schoolwork, and you did everything you could to help me with my magic, flight, and hoofwork. The basics!" She dropped the pieces and watched them bounce a bit on the desk before they stopped. "I haven't helped you, I've just been. . . There. Present. Not really doing much."

A purple glow briefly enveloped Human Inova before she was pulled out of her chair and into Skyla's embrace. "You're my sister, you’ve helped me a lot, and I don't blame you for any of that. It's just how you are."

"But-"

"It's fine. We've got each other, and I can't imagine a better sister to be stuck with."

"Yes you can," Human Inova snarked as she returned the hug.

Skyla's response was swift and free from hesitation. "A sister made of mom's pancakes wouldn't last long."

There was sputtering laughter at the unexpected remark. "R-really?"

"I'd let you have her wings."

"That's all you'd let me have! You'd eat the rest of her before I finished one wing!"

"With butter and warm syrup." Human and alicorn sisters shared a good laugh at the banter, and for a moment, Inova's troubles were forgotten.









The next morning, Cadence walked into Inova’s room and set a mug of hot chocolate on the desk by the bed. “Inova, wake up,” she softly said as she gently rocked Human Inova awake.

“Mmm. . . Hm?” Human Inova, just as much a light sleeper as her Alicorn form, was quick to wake up. “Morning,” she tiredly said before the scent of the hot chocolate registered and she sat up.

“Good morning to you too. Would you like to help me make breakfast?”

Human Inova took a sip of the drink and savored its warmth for a bit before answering. “Sure.” She set the drink back on the desk and got her fuzzy slippers on before standing up.

“You slept with your robe on?” Cadence asked, only mildly confused.

“It’s warm, and it’s cold here.” She took a few moments to straighten the robe out.

Cadence shrugged before sniffing the air. “Seems I have nothing to clean up here. Let’s make some muffins.”





Human Inova slumped over the counter and multiple very broken eggs, the shells and yolks splattered and dripping off the edge. “I can’t even crack an egg right,” she groaned. The fact that there were bits of egg on her slippers didn’t even register.

“It’s okay, Inova,” Cadence assured her as she cleaned the egg off the floor and slippers with a single spell. “It took lots of tries for me to figure out how to crack an egg without it going everywhere too. Twice. You can try again.”

Human Inova looked between the eggs, the edge of the counter where she’d broken the eggs, and the bowl she was trying to get the eggs into. Instead of trying to crack the eggs on the counter again, she tried it on the edge of the bowl. The different approach worked better, giving her a crack in the shell without spilling the contents. Very carefully, she pried the shell apart and was rewarded with the egg’s contents falling into the bowl. “That’s better.” She reached for another egg.

“Much better, but there’s some shell in the yolk.” Cadence picked out the fragments with her telekinesis and set them aside. “Go ahead and keep at it. We’ll need two more eggs for the muffins.” 





Human Inova set the plate of fifteen muffins on the table while Cadence levitated bowls of fruit and a plate of cheesy eggs around it. Twilight, Rarity, and Skyla were at the table, while Shining had taken one muffin to eat on the way to the castle. He had some troublemakers to see to, after all.

“Did you make these, Inova?” Twilight asked as she put two muffins on everyone’s plates.

“Mom helped,” Human Inova said as she sat down at the table.

“She had some difficulty at first, but once she started figuring things out, she started having fun,” Cadence said. “Oh, Inova, we’re all going to be busy today.”

Human Inova slumped a bit at the answer. “Really?”

“That includes you, dear,” Rarity said.

Human Inova perked up at the added explanation. “Really?”

“Oh yes. I’ll be working with you so I can make more clothes. A robe and slippers just aren’t enough for you. We’ll start after breakfast.”

“And that’s not all,” Twilight said as she produced a checklist. “I’ll help you find your physical and, if present, magical capabilities.”

“And you’ll be helping me make every meal,” Cadence added. “Cooking will help you with your. . . What was it again, Twilight?”

“Fine motor skills, tool use, getting used to using your hands, and just moving around in general.”

“Have fun, sis,” Skyla said. “I got excused from school so I can help dad. He’s calling it a lesson for me.”

“And it is,” Cadence said. “Sometimes, you have to do these things, and it’s not easy.”





In the hours after breakfast, and after multiple rounds of trial and error, Rarity had created a whole outfit for Human Inova. “So, how is it?” Rarity tiredly asked.

Human Inova looked herself over in the mirror. Only a sliver of the light blue shirt, going from her neck to part way down her chest, was visible. The rest was covered up by a nice orange sweater that was at once casual, yet acceptable for semi-formal occasions. The bottom hem of the jacket was well concealed by a black knee length pleated skirt with a thin light blue waistband on top. Helping her stay warm in a way the robe couldn’t was a pair of fleece lined leggings, and on her feet were a pair of black socks and simple orange shoes with a single light blue stripe on the side, going from ankle to toe. “I like it a lot. Thanks, Rarity.”

“Wonderful! I knew you’d love your own colors. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to rest.” Rarity went over to the couch and promptly lay down on it. “I am burnt out.”

“But it isn’t even lunchtime yet.”

Rarity’s rebuttal was swift. “Inova, you’re the first and only human I’ve made anything for. Twilight’s reference materials are not fully accurate to your body, so I’ve had to figure out what to modify as we worked. The fact that we got a whole outfit that looks this nice this fast is a miracle in itself. The only reason the robe was so quick was because of its simplicity. I need time to let my mind settle down so I can think more clearly next time, and maybe inspiration will strike while I’m resting. It has happened before.”

“Oh.” Human Inova thought it over for a bit before going to her room and coming back with the double eagle blanket. As gently as she could, she put the blanket over Rarity. “There you go.”

“Thank you, Inova,” Rarity said as she looked at the design and got comfortable. “Hmm. . .” The comfort from the blanket soon put the fashionista to sleep.





“We’ll start with a simple strength test,” Twilight said as she enchanted two small sticks in the backyard. “Pick them up.”

Human Inova obliged, the sticks proving easy to pick up. “Now what?”

“Just hold them until you can’t.” Twilight started slowly increasing the weight of each stick. Human Inova did her best to hold on and keep the sticks in her grasp before letting go. “Hmm. . .”

“How much was that?”

“Twenty pounds each.” Twilight looked through one of her thick notebooks and found the chart she was looking for. “Which isn’t bad, but it’s also below physical unicorn strength.”

Human Inova slumped. “Aww. . .”

“It’s okay, Inova. Keep in mind that humans and ponies are very differently shaped, so comparisons done that way aren’t quite fair. Given everything, I’d actually say it’s rather impressive. Let’s test your range of motion and balance next.”





Human Inova, under Cadence’s watchful gaze, made a simple spaghetti and veggie lunch. It went smoothly, with the only issue coming when Human Inova accidentally cut her hand on the knife. Cadence had been quick to clean and heal the wound, leaving no trace of it except the memory.

Rarity yawned as she came to the table. “What a productive nap. I have some new ideas.”

“Really?” Human Inova excitedly asked as she put some of the food on Rarity’s plate. “Can I see?”

“After I draw them.”

“Inova, I’d like to take a look at your teeth while we’re here,” Twilight said. Her notepad was next to her, and she was prepared to begin the examination.

“Twilight, this isn’t the time to do that,” Cadence stated. “You can inspect my daughter’s teeth after lunch.”

“But-”

“After.” Cadence’s firm tone held no room for argument. Once Twilight relented, lunch went smoothly.





“Hmm. . . Yes. . . I see. . .” Twilight said as she inspected Human Inova’s teeth after lunch. “Strong and healthy. And not at all an equine set of teeth either.”

“Huh?” Human Inova asked without closing her mouth.

“These are the teeth of an omnivore, designed for plants and meat. You should be able to eat meat safely.”

“But I already could as an alicorn.”

“Oh yeah, you could before. . . I have another test to run now, but it’ll have to be before you eat or drink anything in the morning, and I’ll need Cadence’s permission. It won’t be pleasant for either of us, but it’ll be easier than throwing up.”

Human Inova was suddenly concerned. “What kind of test?”

“Stomach acid composition. We’ll do it another day.”





“So, what do you think?” Rarity asked as Human Inova looked over the newly made dress.

“Hmm. . .” Human Inova examined her reflection. The black dress had a short skirt that only went down to the middle of her thighs, still clad in the warm leggings. The long sleeves, like the rest of the piece, hugged her form very well. Below the neck and across the shoulders was an elegantly curved golden design based on the double eagle blanket. “It’s very warm.”

“I figured you’d like something warm to sleep in that won’t twist and tangle as easily as the robe. You could even wear it under another dress or ensemble if you’d like.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Cadence entered the workspace. “Inova, I think you’ve forgotten about something.”

Human Inova was promptly confused. “I have?”

“You need to take a shower, young lady. You haven’t taken one since your second split.”

Human Inova promptly started to blush at the reminder. “Oh. Uh. . . How do I ask this?”

“Just say it, Inova,” Rarity assured.

The nervous human worked up the courage to ask what she needed to ask. “Can you wash my clothes while I’m in the shower? Or at least use a thorough cleansing spell?”

“Of course we can.”

“Thank you.” Human Inova went to her room to prepare for her shower.





Human Inova took longer than Alicorn Inova did to take her shower, and came out of her room with her robe on. “I’m done for today,” she tiredly stated.

“Did you slip and fall in there?” Cadence asked, promptly starting to check Human Inova for injuries.

“Only twice, but I’m fine.”

“What happened to your hands?” Cadence levitated Human Inova’s hands up. “Your fingertips look like raisins or something.”

“That’s normal,” Twilight helpfully chimed in as she brought the bundle that was nearly all of Human Inova’s clothes over, freshly cleaned and refreshed with the help of magic. “It happens with prolonged water exposure and smooths out on its own over time. I believe it’s a method of heat retention.”

As soon as Human Inova’s hands were free, she accepted the clothes. “I’m going to bed.” And so she did.





As the days wore on, Human Inova grew more confident in herself and her abilities. Twilight’s tests and cooking with Cadence contributed greatly, as did working on clothing designs with Rarity. By the end of the third day of Twilight and Rarity’s visit, she was matching the energy and positive outlooks of her family and Rarity.

Shining and Skyla kept on coming home looking and feeling incredibly tired, and Human Inova took it upon herself to greet both of them with a big hug. 

After coming home from helping handle the punishments, Skyla managed to keep Human Inova out of her room with board games and arts and crafts. Human Inova even combined the two to make a new game, which she called Battlefleet. Five ships, two grids, a bunch of white and red dots, and educated guesses on each side. Cadence made a note to talk to the girls later about selling the game with royalties.