Chapter 73 - Boundaries
“Hey PRHL, anything helpful you might know about the wildlife that resides here?”
“Fish.” He blatantly replies.
“Anything else?”
“Deer.” I so wish I could shoot him a dirty look right about now. “Oh. You wanted to know about the Iron-hounds? That’s weird.”
“How is that weird?”
“Because they’re not wildlife. They’re sentient beings. I’ve told you before to be more specific with your questions.”
“Fine... Tell me about the Iron-hounds then.” I asked as I explore the surrounding woods.
“Cousins of the Diamond dogs, they’re just as dimwitted but even more savage. They live in mountainous regions filled with the richness of ores. Extremely territorial, they strip mine the mountains for their ores. If they challenge you, or us, it will be an uphill battle; for them.”
“I don’t wish for conflict. Please, tell me more.” I hunt for anything edible. I’ve managed to gather some wild berries, nuts, onions, and herbs.
“They eat the lesser quality ore they collect and forge the higher quality ore into weapons, armor, and ideally, trade it to other packs for food and other things.”
“Any ideals? Who do they worship? Celestia? Luna?”
“Neither, they worship their own greater being. I do not know whom, or what.” Silence falls on us as I continue to explore the forest. I do enjoy the crisp, clean air that only the mountains can bring. That, mixed with the warm autumn wind that gently sways the tree tops is refreshing.
I stay relatively close to the house, only adventuring just under a half-mile away. This is when I catch first whiff and sight of the territorial markings of the Iron-Hounds. “That’s strange.” I remark as I explore this boundary. “It’s at this tree line, and begins just a few feet away. Like some invisible wall.” This is most strange indeed. I would’ve thought the Iron-Hounds would take the house, instead the stray from it. “PRHL, any ideas why they haven’t taken over the mining house?”
“None. Either they condemn the building and the surrounding areas out of fear, or I simply do not know.”
“Are they superstitious?”
“Possibly. What I’ve told you is what I know of this.”
“Thank you. Would you advise against me seeking an audience with their leader?”
“You’re seeking an audience of peace? Or of war?”
“Of peace. I am in outsider in their lands. I don’t want to cause trouble for anyone.”
“Your persuasiveness is-.”
“What you’ve seen of my persuasion abilities is merely the tip of the iceberg. The ex-Don was easy to fool. If these Iron-Hounds have a strong religious backbone, they’ll prove to be a much greater challenge to win over.”
With enough food to tide us over until dinner, I make my way back to the house. “Very well.” PRHL says just as I’m about to step through the door.
- - -
“Hey guys, I’m back. Anything exciting happen while I was gone?”
“Not really.” Colt replies from the couch. “Cloud and Pinkie are in the bathroom still. Cloud must be dirtier than we thought. Well, dirtier in one sense anyways.”
“I see. Whelp, I did a perimeter sweep while I was gone. Their markings are all over the place.” I say, keeping the fact that they avoid this house. “But I didn’t find any dog creatures.” They need not know of their names as of right now. If I go into any real detail about them I’m sure Colt would get his feathers ruffled and want to go fight them. “I’ve scavenged up some onions, nuts, and berries for us to eat. Got a handful of herbs that I can brew a much stronger healing potion from for you Colt, I’ll do that later on tonight.” I say as I lay everything out on the table.
“Alright. Cloud, Pinkie, the food is here!” Colt announces, about a minute later they come trotting. Besides Pinkie Pie, she gleefully bounces down the hallway.
“Oh, hey 27, welcome back.” Cloud flies into the living room/kitchen nonchalant.
“Don’t you look better? Was Pinkie Pie kind enough to lend you a helping hand?” I’m glad to see Cloud not looking like a walking cotton ball anymore.
“Yup!” Pinkie shouts, bouncing back over to Colt.
“Yeah, kinda-sorta. I’m starving, what’s for lunch?”
“Not much like I said, but enough to tide you all over until dinner.”
“Good enough for me.” Colt says as he grabs a handful of berries to snack on. The girls split up the rest of berries and nuts between themselves, leaving me the onions.
“Looks like that leaves the onions to me...” Not really looking forward to having onion breath for the remainder of the day. I take one small bite out of an onion, and I’m rather surprised by it’s flavor. “Huh, they’re sweet, looks like I lucked out.” With that said, I nearly two shot both the onions.
- - -
“Oh 27, you mind coming in here for just a moment?” Fade whispers.
“Yes? What is it Fa-...” The very first thing I see when I come into the Darkness is Friend, sweating like a pig as he rearranges furniture inside an exact replica of the house. “It seems someone has been busy.” Friend looks over to Fade who has her hand to her mouth, she shakes her head and gestures to the left with her other hand.
“Here?!”
“No no, a little more to the right.”
“Better?!”
“Just a little more.” This is rather entertaining to watch.
“There!”
“No no, too much to the right.” A flustered Friend isn’t a happy Friend, and he expresses his frustration by kicking the love seat. “Perfect!” Fade happily says, clapping her hands in excitement.
“If you didn’t eat all of my damned servants, they could’ve done this!
“Yes, yes. But they just looked too tasty to not eat.” Friend’s face contorts from an exhausted look to a disgusted one. “Looks can be misleading... They were not that flavorful.” I watch as Fade glides across the Darkness, before she joins Friend on the loveseat. “27! What perfect timing! As you can see, we’ve been quite busy. What are your thoughts about our, or should I say, Friend’s hard labor?”
I’m astonished by their handy work. The kitchen half of the largest room of the house has a long oak table that seats up to six. A large fridge at the edge of the grey stone countertop, in the middle is a wood burning stove next to a dishwasher and sink. The countertop itself is shaped as an L, following the back wall into the corner and then towards the backdoor. The cabinets below the countertop and the ones hanging on the wall are both made of a darker wood, giving good contrast to the light grey stone of the countertop. The living room has a large couch setting in front of the fire place with various pillows scattered on and around it. Next to the large bay window near the double front door are two solo comfy seats on both sides of the windows; both the couch and solo seats are a light blue in color.
I walk down the hallway and open the first door on my left. “You were thinking of splitting this room into two, no?” Fade asks, taking my arm by wrapping hers around it.
“I was, and this is suppose to be Cloud’s room, right?” Fade silently nods. “She should design her room.” Another silent nod from Fade. “Now, let’s see what you’ve done with the baby’s room.” Fade quickly pulls me out into the hallway and down to the next room. “You’re really excited about this, aren’t you?”
“Most definitely.” She says just as the door opens, revealing something that knocks me flat on my ass. “Come on.” Fade pulls my hand with her as she walks in.
I’m speechless, truly awe-struck. The very first thing I see is this magnificent mural of the sky painted on all the walls and even the ceiling. It’s a painting of the twilight hour, just as the sun is setting behind large white puffy clouds in great detail, with rays of light peeking out from behind the clouds. The ceiling is the transition point, with stars that seem to shine in the sky, and the other side of the room has the clear night sky with a glorious painting of the moon on it. There’s a grass-green changing table setting in front of the window that’s overlooking the forest. The crib is a light brown and setting against the left wall. A colorful placemat with numbers and letters lays in the middle of the floor with a toy chest and bookshelf setting next to the door. Last but not least is a rocking chair resting in the corner.
“Jesus Christ...” Are the only words I can utter. “I... just Goddamn...” Fade gleefully claps her hands together before setting me in the rocking chair. “How...?” I ask as she sits in my lap.
“How what?” She asks before leaning back into me.
“How did you come up with all of this?” I just don’t even.
“Since we don’t know the gender of our baby, I wanted to keep it neutral.” Neutral? This is what she calls neutral?! “The idea for the painting came from one of your memories.”
“Must be one hell of a memory to inspire you to do this!” We both share a laugh. “You did the entire house, didn’t you?”
“Of course.” She says as she places my hand on her stomach. “Don’t be shy.” As Fade says this, a small pulse emanates from her stomach. “There she, or he is.”
Such an alien feeling, to feel the pulse of one’s own child. “Morrigan was your choice, correct?” Fade nods with a smile. “Ull is mine.” Fade’s smile becomes even more beautiful when she hears my name.
“A strong name. Just like his daddy.” Fade snuggles in deeper to my chest, the top of her head resting against my cheek. We stay there in the rocking chair for quite some time, so long that Fade nods off for a few minutes. “I’m sorry 27.” Fade whispers as she comes to.
“You’re perfectly fine. I kinda miss our alone time.” I help Fade back onto her feet and we make our way to the supply closet at the end of the hall.
“You wanted to turn this into a library, correct?”
“Something like that.”
“Okay, I’ll leave this as a blank slate for you then. The last room is our room.” She ushers me into our room.
There’s a king size bed sets in the middle of the room, flanked by two dark brown night stands. Creeping out from under the bed is a large white rug with swirls of red, blue, and orange that come together like waves crashing together in the ocean. In the corner is another comfy looking rocking chair, and right across from the bed hangs on the wall is a large mirror. “Still thinking of a color scheme for the house. Do you have any suggestion?”
“Warm colours. Maybe peach pink in here almost rust orange. For the living room and hallway, we could do more of a cool, calm colour; perhaps light turquoise?”
“I love it!” Fade cheerfully agrees. But her zealous attitude quickly changes into concern. “27, what’s weighing so heavily on your mind?”
“It’s just... well... I don’t know really. Something just feels off.” Fade reassures me by taking my hands into her’s.
“What?”
“Finances for one thing. I know the hospital is doing well, but no one has given me any numbers describing just how well.”
“Don’t worry 27.”
“I have to worry. If I don’t, no one else would.”
“I have this covered 27. While you were recuperating, I had a long conversation with Gramps, Razor, and Pops. They all agreed to cover all of the financial issues we might encounter when it came to turning this house into a home.” She gaves me a warm smile. “I know you need to worry; and you’re right, if you don’t, no one else would. Please, put your mind at ease and trust that everything is going to work out for us.”
“Thanks Fade.” I show my appreciation by embracing her in a hug. A hug that’s short lived because of some little one wanted to make themselves known. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you.” I kneel down, wrapping my arms around Fade’s waist and pressing my face against her swollen tummy. “We haven’t met yet, but I’m excited for when I finally can meet you.” I softly whisper. “I love you and your mother very much.” This earns me multiple small and rapid pulses.
“We love you too, 27.” Fade wraps her hands around the back of my head as I talk to our unborn child.
“When you going to come out and say ‘hi’ to everyone?”
“Soon, I’m just about done here.”
“Okay. I better be going before they stick me in another cannon or something.” I give Fade’s tummy one last nuzzle before departing.
- - -
I come back to everyone either having a friendly conversation or still nibbling on their light lunch. “Okay, so the missus has been rearranging things inside my head ever since we got here.” More like she’s been managing a construction site. “She’s pretty much has everything planned out for the decor and what have you; needless to say I don’t have much of a say in it. I’m just the muscle.” And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“So Fade’s finally got you whipped, eh?” Colt chuckles, but awkwardly stops when he notices the girls staring at him. “What?” They then start to pelt him with berries.
“Being whipped is no laughing matter Colt. It hurts. It really, really hurts.” Tail wags happily behind my back.
“Oh, he knows.” Belle says with a smirk, the other girl’s eyes go wide while Colt just sits there in silence.
“I didn’t know you were into such kinky things Belle.” Cloud playfully jabs at Belle with her wing.
“Only with him.” She says, nuzzling his arm.
“Spoilsport.” Cloud pouts. I laugh, seeing the amusing look on Cloud’s face, but reassure her by patting her on the head.
“There there Cloud, these wooden walls are thick enough that one could scream bloody murder in one room and no one else could hear it.” Or at least I hope so. They seem pretty sound proof.
“W-Why would you want to know that?” Fluttershy asks.
“Just letting you all know if you decide to fool around a bit tonight.”
“O-Oh my...” Flutter says in a near whispers, her wings pomf-ing. Trixie and Pinkie Pie giggling at the sight.
“Well, that escalated at a reasonable pace.” Cloud teases while I shake my head ‘no’.
“Shy, are you really tha-.”
“N-No!” She quickling says before darting behind Colt.
“Shame on you Colt for not giving Fluttershy the proper attention she needs.” Cloud scolding causes Colt to spit out his berries in surprise.
“W-What?!” He shouts.
“It’s obvious that you’re not giving her enough attention, just look how fast her wings erected!” Colt awkwardly looks over to Fluttershy.
“I don’t know how to respond to this... I had trouble with one girl back home, confound you ponies and your socially acceptable polygamist relationships.” Wow Colt, you just said a mouthful.
“Not our fault the ratio of mares to stallions is 3:1.” Trixie points out. Colt turns to Cloud for confirmation.
“That sounds plausible, I guess.” Cloud shrugs.
“Why haven’t I heard of this before?”
“With all the mares around, I thought you would’ve figured it out by now.” Belle says, slapping Colt on the back of the head.
“Sorry, hard to learn all of the culture’s social norms and history in a month.” Colt replies with heavy with sarcasm.
“It’s okay Colt, not everypony can be smart!” Pinkie Pie shouts.
“Adaptability is one of the strongest traits the human species has.” And a damn good one, I might add.
“Yes but adapting to such a steep change in gender ratios is weird. I mean earth was 51% women last time I checked.” He states.
“Colt, what year was it on earth before you came here?” Not just out of curiosity, but I wanted to get a timeline going.
“2014, why?” That’s just when almost all of Europe fell to the virus.
“Really? And your age?”
“Eighteen, why?” Dang, I was pretty close, and here I thought he was nineteen or twenty.
“Yeah, I was right, you’re still just a baby.” A naive child who still has a lot to learn. Granted, we were all dumb idiots during that stage of our lives. Personally, I really don’t care much for Colt, I don’t hate dislike, nor particularly like him, just in that grey area. “The ratio before I left... You don’t want to know.” Population, Horror.
“How bad did we screw up? I was never one for politics.”
“You’ll be better off not knowing, trust me.”
“Is your world really that saddy waddy?” Pinkie Pie asks with a small frown.
“Colt, I’ll leave this one for you to answer.”
“Considering my past was uncommon, but not an isolated event...” Uncommon? I don’t think that’s the correct word to use. “Yeah, it was a bit sad. But I think me and 27 are glad we ended up here, right man?” Colt ask, tousling Pinkie Pie’s cotton candy mane.
“Of what I know of my old life, yeah, I’m grateful that I’m here. I’ve met some interesting characters, had more than my share of hardships; and if I could have it any other way, I wouldn’t.” I run my hand down the back of Cloud’s mane, she leans against my side and sighs happily.
“Well enough of this touching conversation. How about we get to cleaning a bit, my allergies are still killing me.”
“Agreed. Girls, how about you all get started on cleaning? I’ll get started on repairing what I can on the damaged floorboards.” There are a few warped, broken, or rotten floorboards I spotted; shouldn’t be too hard to replace them. “Colt, clear the fireplace’s of any debris in their chimneys. The one right here in the living room is the largest of the three, the other one is in the master bedroom, last door on your right; and the third is in the living quarters, second door on your left. If you guys need anything, there’s a room filled with stuff that might be useful at the end of the hallway.”
“Got it, how will I clean them though?”
“You have three options to choose from: A: crawl into the fireplace and dislodge anything that’s stuck in the chimneys; 2: climb up on the roof and do it from there; C: grow a tail. Oh, please try your best not to hurt yourself.” Because I really not in the mood to nurse you back to health.
“I think I will stick with Choice A... I’m going to get a stick to help me knock loose anything else that might be stuck up there. Be back in a second.” Colt takes his leave out the front door, in search for a large stick. I on the other hand get started by removing any faulty-looking floorboards I see in the living room.
Doesn’t take me very long at all to remove the few that are in the living room, I inspect the hallway and find only one and then make my way to the living quarters. As I get started in here, Colt limps in with stick in hand. “All done with the first one I take it?” I try to strike up some conversation between the two of us.
“Yeah, thing was absolutely filthy.” He says, getting down on the floor before crawling into the chimney.
“I can only imagine. But they needed to be cleaned before we can use ‘em, don’t want to set the house on fire, do we?”
“No, and I know a few things about being on fire.” He jokes.
“Trust me, I know.” I do find it a bit amusing that we can find something funny about our battles together. “On the brighter side though, whoever built this house, built it to last. Not much work needs to be done.” Another floorboard I send flying at the door, it collides with the wall before falling to the floor.
“So, taking out the old floorboards I take it?”
“Just the rotten ones, thankfully there’s only two in this room. I plan on installing carpeting in this room and the master bedroom; rest of the house can stay hardwood floors.”
“Ah, wanted to pad the room as not to hurt your knees when you and Cloud have your fun?” Does everything have to involve sex?
But, I decide to play along with his lacking attempt at a joke. “Stand and deliver Colt, Tail likes to join in. But mainly because carpeting acts as a better padding than wood floors for children.”
“So she’s carrying eh? Congrats, or feel free to run like hell, depending on your views of a committed relationship.” I’m pretty sure, no, in fact I’m one hundred percent sure I’ve mentioned that Fade is pregos. Hell, he’s even seen her back at his house.
“Not Cloud, Fade is. I want to be around for my children.” It pains me to say that, it really does. “I don’t want to make the same mistake my father did when I was young.” Sadly, I’m forced to follow in his footsteps. Either that or the alternative, which would destroy me if I picked the latter.
“Same here, but how did you get Fade pregnant? That would be like Daimon having a brain tumor.” Okay, honestly, like what the actual fuck. What does Daimon and brain tumors have to do with anything?! I would love to see how Colt comes up with these things, or at least have a grasp on how he thinks so I could understand how someone could be so s-. No, no need to work myself up over this.
It still baffles me that I was able to get an energy entity pregnant. I couldn’t even begin to explain it if I wanted to. “Fade, love.” Hopefully she can though. “Mind answering this question for me? I’m just as stumped as Colt is.” I say out loud, and shortly after, Fade appears next to me.
“I’ve already told you what caused me to be with child.” She says a little aggravated but I’m glad she’s finally out.
“Yeah, how did you guys do this? I am actually interested in how this happened, unless somehow you can take a physical form.” Colt says jokingly.
“You see Colt, when 27 first met me in the facility, I was starved; trapped ever since my mistress Nightmare Moon was banished by the Elements of Harmony. I was only able to take form as a mere shadow. But since 27 has been willing feeding me pieces of his soul. I was able to regain my former self. He is the only creature that I’ve encountered that is compatible with my soul; be it his love for the cold or the fact that he’s a Horror, we were able to merge together.” With loving eyes, Fade takes my hands into hers. “There was a high risk that one of us would consume the other during merging, but we managed to find a balance and became one. The result of this was getting the small miracle that’s inside me now.”
“Ah, happy for the both of you, and I’m sorry to say Daimon REALLY wants to come out and speak his mind; willing to hear the ravings of a madman?”
“You have met Friend, no?”
“Touche, just do me one thing before he comes out. Have Fade promise not to freeze me.”
“Very well, you have my word that I will not deep freeze you.”
“Alr-.”
“How’s it going lard ass?!” Daimon shouts, laughing maniacally.
“I swear dude, you are slowly turning into Friend.” Fade reroutes her anger by squeezing my hand, causing ice to slowly creep up my arm.
“I’m well Daimon, you?” She retorts.
“Good, just not as good as you did at the buffet I see.” He states.
“F-Fade, you’re squ-.” The ice has made its way up my elbow.
“You’re such a charmer Daimon, how you haven’t met a pretty girl by now is beyond me.” Her vice-like grip is crushing my hands now.
“Who do you think you’re talking to, I got four girls.”
“Fade, p-plea-.” More ice continues to travel up my arm as Fade crushes my hand.
“Correction Daimon. Colt has four girls, you have zero.”
“But I’m him, so technically I’m right. All 27 here has is a fat housewife, a mare who wants to jump in bed with anything that can breathe, and a gryphon who doesn’t know her place!”
“Daimon, you’re going a bit too far man...”
“And this whole time, you’re stuck in there while I can walk around on my own accord.”
“Doesn’t all the weight slow you down? You know gravity and all?”
“Fade, you’re going to b-break my hand if y-.” The ice has encased my entire arm now and has begun its way across my chest.
“Oh Daimon, I-... Baby is kicking!” She releases my hand from her vice-like grip and quickly grabs Colt’s and places it on her swollen stomach. I watch, hiding in the corner like a wounded animal, Colt’s face transform from confusion to surprise in the matter of seconds as the baby kicks.
“Fade, I wouldn’t!” He yells a bit loud, pulling his hand back. “I absorb magic, remember? Who knows how it’ll affect you two.”
“It’s energy, not magic. I’m made up of energy, not magic silly. If anything you’ll just absorb a small bit of my frozen power, you can’t harm my child even if you wanted to.” Yeah, because if he tried, he’ll have to deal with a pissed off Fade, and trust me, that’s scary.
“Just being careful.” And just like that, Daimon disappears as quickly as he came. “Sorry about him, he’s been getting harder to suppress, I have to let him out eventually or he’ll force his way out. Not to mention the headaches.”
“I know what’cha mean.” I don’t, I really don’t. But I can see how scared Colt is right now and I’d like to comfort him as much as I can; he’s just a kid after all. “I’ve been struggling to keep my armor down at times.” I shake my arm vigorously, the ice cracks and shatters into pieces.
“Is it just me, or are we just slowly deteriorating?”
“Sure feels like it, could just be all the fighting or my old age.” Jeeze, saying that really makes me feel old, heh. “I’m just glad I’m finally done with all of it, I can finally retire and live an easy life now.” For a few months at least...
“Yeah, I still have a bit to go before I can join you in that.”
“I’ll leave you boys to do your thing, I’m going to walk around the house for a while.” Fade stands on her tiptoes and gives me a kiss on the cheek. Which I find adorable.
“Hey Fade, no hard feelings? Towards me anyways?” Colt asks sheepishly.
“We’re cool Colt.” Ha! I don’t know if she was trying to do a pun or not, still good.
We both watch as Fade glides out the room and shuts the door behind her. “I can’t tell if she hates me or not.” Colt says awkwardly.
“To be honest, I’ve been asking myself the same question when she has her mood swings.” I say, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly.
“Alright, thankfully if she freezes me, I can try to melt it away.
“Come on, there’s work to be done. It’s going to be cold tonight so you need to get that last chimney cleared.” With the storm coming in, and the air already starting to cool due to autumn, it might get down to 60 degrees tonight.
We both head to the master bedroom, he gets started on the fireplace while I get started on the floorboards. “So what else is new in the world of Subject 27, hmm?” He asks with a smirk.
“Nothing too exciting.” I replied nonchalantly. “Still retrieving old memories everytime I go to sleep. Soon to be a father, have a place of my own now, you?”
“I just watch movies as I recover from my burns, you know how it goes. Oh yeah, I got tended by my nurses.” He laughs a bit.
“I bet you’ve enjoyed yourself on that last part.”
“Maybe... Okay, I did; but tell me how you wouldn’t enjoy Fade, Cloud, and Silver in nurse outfits, taking care of you for five days?”
“All I can see is them in scrubs...” Curse you imagination!
“Eh, still, tell me that doesn’t sound fun?”
“I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I was ever in that position.” I literally wouldn’t know. Jeez, just thinking about Fade cosplaying gets me all hot and bothered. “How close are you to finishing with that last stack? Need a hand? I just finished with the last board.”
“Nah, I’m about done, these small ones got a lot less use than the main one.”
“Cool, good work, let’s go see how the girls are doing.” Before I step out the door, Colt catches my arm and pulls me back into the room.
“Oh wait, they haven’t seen Fade yet, this should be interesting.” The two of us step out into the hallway, we hear laughter and idle chit-chat coming from the living room. We quietly walk down the hallway and peer around the corner to see Fade being the center of attention as the girls hold their hooves against her swollen stomach.
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