'Spec?' A paw pushes on the squirrel's back. 'Spec, wake up.'
The black-furred tree-climber stirs, his yellow eyes opening and peering down at the feline through the mass of mane he had decided to snooze in. His eyes focus on the feline rearing up, her front paws on the back of the unicorn’s head. 'Hmm? What is it Selena?'
The Russian blue pouts at him, batting at his nose. 'I can't believe you just fell asleep without answering my question.'
He blinks, looking around a moment and noting that Rhino and the small changeling had finished their tour and were chatting in the kitchen. He turns back to Selena. 'And what question was that?'
‘The one I asked you earlier in the bathroom.' Her tone is wary, her tail flicking rapidly behind her. 'Don't tell me you've forgotten, already!'
Specter crouches a bit into the mane. 'Well... things were very hectic...'
She sighs, closing her eyes and leaning into the stallion's crest. 'It was about us, and the possibility of having kittens.' She gestures to him with a paw. 'Do you remember now?'
As their ride turns and heads toward the living room, the squirrel responds. 'Yeah... I remember.'
A bit of color comes to his cheeks. 'Well... it's a bit sudden... but I knew something was on your mind since that time you hid five months ago...'
'Yes, that's what was on my mind.' Her gaze darts away momentarily. '...you still didn't answer my question, Spec.'
The squirrel goes silent a moment, hanging on as Rhino leans down and picks up Ruby, who had finished her meal that her mother had slept through in its entirety. As the stallion brings his head back up, Specter uses the momentum to perform a small hop next to the cat. He looks at her seriously. 'Yes.'
She smiles softly, leaning close and gently touching noses with him. 'Thank you.' She glances at the filly as she laughs brightly, holding her hooves up for her daddy. '...I hope our kittens will be as cute as her...'
'Me too...' As their ride starts back to the kitchen with his new pink passenger in her distinguished front seat, the squirrel continues. 'So... umm... how do we... go about this?'
Selena holds up a paw to respond but stops. She puts the paw to her chin, frowning. '...I actually don't know. I was hoping you would.'
'Not really... I mean, I think the topic came up once when Winona came to the clinic, but all she did was smile and say to do what felt natural...' He looks around, seeing Rhino and the new changeling chatting again as they get things out to cook. 'I feel like maybe we shouldn't be discussing this around others... should we go to the room?'
She gestures to the door, a small smile on her lips. 'After you.'
He bounds down to the floor, looking back up at her.
She quickly joins him and nuzzles his cheek, purring softly.
His tail flicks happily as he returns the gesture, the two of them making their way upstairs after. As they enter the room, Specter wanders over to the row of pet beds, curling up in his large, soft, but simple looking one, and beckoning her to join him.
Selena glances at her equally large but lavish bed, shaded by the silk canopy above. Without any further hesitation, she hurries over to the squirrel's bed, climbing up and curling up right next to him. 'Anyways, you were saying something about what felt natural?' She smiles at him and licks his nose with her slightly rough tongue, waiting for him to continue the subject.
He shivers at the affection, returning it ten fold with licks of his own before continuing. 'Yes... I tried to press her for what she meant, we were talking about the puppies by the way, and she said... that the females would let the males know when they were ready, and things would go from there. I suppose... this is you telling me you're ready?'
'It is.' She purrs, tickling his nose with her fluffy tail. 'What are you going to do now?'
'I'm... not sure...' He curls up tight against her, their fur mingling. 'I mean, this is natural, we like it... but we do this all the time. Is there a place we should start?'
'I think so...' She nuzzles him, her tail now wrapped around them both. '...you're right, though. This doesn't seem like it'd be enough.' She sighs, closing her eyes. '...but what else can we do?'
'Well...' He runs his tiny claws through her fur on her chest like she likes it. 'What sparked all this? Maybe there's a clue in that?'
'Well, it was when I hid...' She purrs softly, pushing her chest against his motions. '...I was in the closet. I couldn't help but think about wanting a litter of kittens...' She peeks open an eye, smiling at him. '...I wanted to be the mother of your kittens... and I still do...'
He smiles back at the pointed teeth he had never been afraid of. 'And I'm honored you think that... but, what made you suddenly think of kittens? I don't think anything like that had crossed our minds before you hid...'
She blinks, tilting her head to one side. '...well, I had a bit of a tingling sensation, before then. I asked mom, and she said that it meant I was ready to have kittens.' She fidgets a little. 'It took me a few days to think about it, but I decided I was okay with that. That I wanted that.'
‘And I'm glad you do, but that doesn't really help us since we're figuring this out from scratch...' He dips his head and worms his way under one of her front legs so that it's around him as he continues scratching her. 'What do you mean, tingling sensation, though?'
'It was strange.' She glances down between them before looking at him once again. 'There was a place between my hindlegs... I felt like it was empty...' She shakes her head. 'It's really hard to explain.'
He licks her nose. 'Well... maybe we start there?'
'...I guess that sounds alright...' She slowly nods, smiling shyly at him.
They rub noses before the squirrel moves around her to see if they can figure out what they need to do.
The navy nymph on the couch slowly stirs, her eyes blinking open blearily. She sits up, the blanket sliding down off her shoulders, confused. "...what just happened?" She carefully gets up, wandering out of the room. She stumbles slightly in the doorway as a hoof moves out awkwardly. She shakes it for a moment before continuing, hearing a slight clanking from the kitchen.
Inside, she comes across a lovely scene. Her husband stand in front of the stove, slowly stirring a pot while the white apron he wears swishes. On the counter to his right, under his watchful eye, is her daughter, watching him curiously as she plays with a few of her blocks. To his left is her own mother, comically having to rear up to see the counter, even with the chair she's standing on as she slides over ingredients to the chef.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're both working together." She walks up behind them, smiling warmly.
Dior looks behind her. "Oh, hello, sleepy-head." She pushes a chopped carrot over to the stallion before continuing. "He wanted to make something for lunch. I figured I'd lend a helping hoof."
Rhino snarks as he taps the wooden spoon to stop it from dripping. "And I'm sure the fact that you're getting a steady supply of lunch love from me didn't persuade you at all. Hope you're saving room."
"Hey, I'm hungry." She pokes his chest with a hoof. "I went three weeks without a good source of love. I had to resort to a colt's puppy love, for crying out loud. So don't judge me!"
The stallion pats her head with a chuckle. "Now now, no need to get fussy. I'm just saying you don't want to eat all of it at once and end up a little changeling ball."
She smacks his hoof off her head, growling at him. "What did I say about touching my head?"
His smile doesn't fade. "Well, it is the easiest part of you to reach, so..."
"Even so, I don't like being touched there!" She rolls her eyes and puts a tomato on the counter, cutting it with her blade-shaped foreleg. "It doesn't feel right."
"Hmm, touchy... or not, as the case may be." He turns around and walks over to Gel, giving her a deep kiss to express his love for her.
She smiles and returns the gesture, giggling softly. "That was wonderful." She looks at her mother, hesitating a second.
Before she can say anything, the smaller nymph speaks up, a bittersweet smile on her lips. "I want to apologize." At her daughter's confused look, she lowers her head. "I had any number of opportunities to find you, to let you know I was alive. I always kept myself from doing so out of fear of Mimic finding out."
Gel steps forward, reaching out to the silver changeling. "...mom..."
Suddenly, Rhino's horn lights up and Dior finds herself floating into a startled Gel's forelegs. "Sorry, I thought this might help. Plus... it's very cute."
Dior looks at him a moment before closing her eyes and nuzzling her daughter's chest. "I really am sorry, sweetie..."
Gel smiles, gently rubbing her back. "I'm just glad you're alright. I missed you... but everything's better, now."
The stallion just stands next to the foal, smiling at the scene as she does the same.
The navy nymph eventually breaks the embrace, curious and confused. "...what happened? Why did you disappear?"
She grimaces, averting her gaze. "Mimic happened."
Rhino's ears lay back as he listens, though he keeps Ruby occupied so she doesn't pay attention.
Dior straightens up, sighing softly. "He came up to me that day - your birthday - and challenged me. He stated a rule that we could only use our elemental magic." She laughs dryly, shaking her head. "I accepted without a thought, certain my earth could cancel his lightning. I didn't even mind that my rank was on the line."
"I take it things did not go as planned?" Rhino asks as he is nuzzled by Ruby.
"He cheated." She growls, her body tensing as she continues. "I don't know how, but he stole my strength, made me weak..." She takes a few deep breaths, her body visibly shuddering. "...I didn't stand a chance."
Rhino walks forward, bringing Ruby with him. The two of them hug both of the changelings in one big warm embrace.
Dior sniffs, hugging the stallion tightly. "...what made it worse was what he said..." She groans, turning to Gel with an apologetic look. "...he said 'I'm going to take your daughter as my own. Just thought you should know before you left.' And then he..." Her voice trails off and her body trembles violently as she is no longer able to hide her sorrow.
Ruby's face scrunches as she sorts through the strong emotions around her. On hoof, the small changeling is giving of particularly potent waves of terror and depression. On the other, her parents are giving off supporting love to Dior, each other, and herself. Luckily, the love is stronger than the depression, and she finds herself patting the small changeling's back as she rides her emotions out.
She looks up at the filly, smiling softly at her. "...thank you, little one..." She gently nuzzles her cheek, turning to Rhino in trepidation. "I'm sorry. I forgot about your daughter's empathy for a minute, there."
"It's fine... she lets us know when it becomes too much. If anything, I think it helps her connect with others easier, even if she doesn't quite understand why she responds to it." He looks at Dior worriedly. ""Do you want us to stay like this for a bit?"
She stays silent for a moment, considering his offer before nodding. "...yes, please."
They do so, just standing there supporting each other for a few minutes until Rhino has to break off to stir the soup. He does leave Ruby with the nymphs though, thinking they'd like to spend time with her too.
Dior sniffles, rubbing her moistening eyes with a fetlock. "Thank you." She looks down at the filly, smiling and kissing her forehead. "All of you."
Gel giggles, patting her mother's back. "It's our pleasure. We wouldn't want our family to be upset, now would we?"
Ruby seems to share this sentiment as she reaches out from her mothers forelegs and boops Dior on the nose while giggling.
The silver changeling laughs, pointing at the filly in mock-accusation. "You are the only one allowed to get away with that."
The larger nymph playfully rolls her eyes. "Is it because you're her grandma?"
Dior freezes, her whole body tense. "...I'm a... grandma..." She twitches, starting to back up before collapsing to the ground.
Gel squeaks and rushes over, gently placing a hoof on her mother's forehead. When it's promptly knocked away, she sighs softly, relaxing. "...thank goodness... she just passed out..."
Rhino raises an eyebrow from where he had been watching by the stove. "And yet she can still swat you? That's dedication. Though I do wish the two of you could chat for longer than five minutes without one of you being rendered unconscious in some way."
"That tends to happen when we touch on certain subjects." She giggles, blushing slightly. "Believe it or not, she assumed I was dating Luster and Flick. At the same time." She waves a hoof dismissively. "She only approved of Luster, though. She thought Flick was too... well, serious."
"Amazing how that description is backwards now... Still though, she doesn't seem too bothered by your choice." He flashes her a grin.
"Don't let your guard down." She glances at the unconscious nymph. "She's always judging others while watching them. She was unbelievably strict with my lessons, to boot." She rolls a hoof. "She would make me go over how to act like a proper soldier every. Single. Time. She knew it wasn't like me, but she said 'I know you can do better! Don't just settle for being a worker!'"
"Well... some parents do have different styles... It sounds like she was just trying to motivate you to be your best. I know mine did the same." He looks down at Dior. "Not saying she was perfect... but you turned out alright, huh?"
"I'd like to think so." She sheepishly smiles, kicking at the ground with her free hoof. "Some might say I was too kind. That's what Port told me once, anyways... strangely enough, I've never let my facade drop around any of the soldiers."
"Well, as a pony who's seen both sides of you..." He walks over, smiling at how Ruby is snuggled against Gel's chest. "I think I've made my preference known." He nuzzles the changeling lovingly.
She giggles, pulling her husband close and tenderly kissing him. "And I'm more than happy with your choice. You might want to get back to the soup, though." She points at the pot, which is currently boiling over.
"Uh oh." He zips back over to the soup to calm down its little fit at being left alone so much. As he stirs it, he remarks to Gel. "Is it odd for you, seeing her like this? Small, I mean. It seems like it would feel like a sort of role reversal."
"Even if she's no longer the same size..." She smiles, looking down at her mother. "...she's still got the determination I remember. A fire that will never die."
"So it seems..." Rhino turns back to the stew for the moment.
Ruby, meanwhile, decides that she wants to have her mother's attention for a bit and taps her chitin. "Ma!"
Her attention snaps to the filly, her eyes wide in surprise before she calms herself down. "Y-you're almost there, sweetie." She giggles and nuzzles her cheek. "Can you say 'mama'?"
"Ma! Ma!" She claps her small hooves together as she plays what she sees as a new game. Her tail swishes back and forth as she nuzzles Gel back, even giving her a lick on the cheek.
She happily nuzzles her back, gently tickling her belly. "Close. I'll take it." She sticks her tongue out at Rhino. "Hear that? She said my name first."
He narrows his eyes at her. "Hmm... not sure if that's cheating or not... I thought we were going for 'Mommy' and 'Daddy' not Mama and Dada... Plus she did say it separated..."
"Hey, she said 'mama'. Whether there was a pause doesn't matter." She smirks playfully at him. "If it'll make you feel better, though..." She looks back down at Ruby, smiling softly at her. "...can you say 'mommy' for me?"
The foal looks at her happily, clapping her hooves together. "Mama!"
Gel laughs, kissing her cheek. "Good try, sweetie!" She glances at Rhino before continuing. "How about 'daddy'? Can you say 'daddy'?"
"Mama!" She chirps again, laughing away.
She blinks, stunned by her daughter's word. "...well. I guess you don't understand what it means, yet." She looks up as the door opens, smirking as a silver fox pokes his head in. "Hey there, sleepy head. You feeling better?"
He looks up blearily, looking around to see where everypony is. Not seeing his friends and seeing that Ruby is in good hooves, he sets his sights on another destination. Using the chair Dior did, he jumps from the floor to it, then to the counter, curling up on the windowsill to nap in the light.
Rhino chuckles. Looks like he wasn't quite ready to wake up yet, just wanted to see where we were." Checking the soup, he nods, turning off the flame and letting it sit while he heads back over to Gel, his apron shaking with every step. "Maybe Ruby thought it was a game? There's no telling how she associates words now, only that she knows how to say them." He bends down to the filly, who squeals as he lightly blows air on her ears to tickle her. "Maybe if I ask her..."
“Go right ahead." She carefully holds their daughter out to him, slightly nervous. "I was going to ask if she could say Mercury's name. You know, see if she can associate his name with him."
"Hmm... a good idea... she might have just said you because she was looking at you." He takes the filly and walks over to the sill with the fox on it. Pointing at him, the father asks. "Who's that, Ruby?"
Seeing where his hoof is directed, she smiles. "Me'cwy!"
"That's very good!" He leans down and nuzzles her before bringing her back to where Gel is. Pointing to the nymph, Rhino asks again. "Who's that?"
Again, she follows his hoof. "Mama!"
He kisses her head. "Good girl. Now..." He adjusts her so she is in her usual position on her back in his foreleg, tucked up against him and looking up at his face. "Can you say Mama?"
"Da!" She squeals, nuzzling up against him.
He chuckles as he turns to Gel. "Yeah... I don't think she understands us yet, she's just at that point where she's trying to say what we say, but mostly she's just saying what she sees."
"I'm glad she can associate words to us, at least." She giggles, walking up and kissing him once more. "I wonder what she'd say when looking at your friend."
He kisses her again before he responds. "Probably that same babble as she tried to say what I did. One thing though..." He looks down to the filly. "Ruby? Can you call me dada?"
Her hooves flail as she embraces the attention. "Dada!" She squeals victoriously.
Gel laughs, shaking her head. "Congrats, love. Just remember, she said mine first!" She playfully sticks her tongue out at him.
"Fine fine... you win this time..." He gives her a celebratory kiss as he scoops up her tongue before she can withdraw it. "Congratulations, love. Do you want a prize?" His tone is playful, not sarcastic.
"I would, actually." She glances down at Ruby, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "...do you think your friend would mind foalsitting for us?"
"Would Hydro mind? No, I wouldn't think so..." He looks at her thoughtfully. "Why? Got something planned?"
"Well, it's been a while since we've been on a date." She blushes softly, pawing at the floor. "I'd like to go on one sometime this week..."
"Oh... yeah... I suppose we haven't had a night to ourselves since Ruby came into our lives." He stroke's the foals mane fondly. "Not that I regret it of course, but we couldn't really go out when you were almost due either."
"I know." She smiles at him, a hopeful glimmer in her eye. "Could we, please? It'd be a nice change of pace..."
He looks down at the foal in his foreleg before looking back up to Gel and back again. "Alright... I suppose one night away won't be too bad... She's never been away from us though... I'm not sure how she'll react."
"She'll have two adults watching her, right?" She gently nuzzles him. "She'll be fine."
He relaxes at her touch. "I guess... maybe we can keep her up that day though, so she'll sleep through most of it. I don't want her upset because we're gone..."
"I guess that's a good idea." She looks down at Ruby, gently tickling her belly. "You won't be too much trouble for mom and Hydro, will you?"
The filly only giggles and extends her hooves towards the changeling. "Mama!"
"I'll take that as a yes." She sighs and gently kisses her forehead.
Rhino looks down to Dior, nudging her with a hoof. "So... when do you think this other little one will be up?"
"Maybe later this afternoon?" Gel shrugs slightly. "I think she did this when I was younger, too... mostly when Flick hit on her."
He raises an eyebrow. "Why would that make her pass out?"
"Because he got..." She blushes, clearing her throat awkwardly. "...r-rather descriptive with his words..."
"A mouth on him even at that age..." Rhino chuckles as he lifts the small nymph off the floor. "Well, how about I get her a more comfortable place to sleep and we'll start lunch?"
She nods quickly, moving to sitting down at the table. "T-that sounds good to me."
***
The house is quiet as Hydro walks up to in at about mid-afternoon. He has a content smile after a day out taking care of things. His hooves click on the wooden porch a he steps onto it and up to the door, opening it quickly with his key he had gotten from Rhino and Gel the previous day. The front hall is dim as he enters, shutting the door behind him. Not seeing any lights on to indicate which room the couple is in, he shrugs and starts to head down the hall toward the guest room he is staying in.
As he passes by the open living room door, a voice calls out to him from the darkness. Its tone is icy, and a pair of pure sapphire eyes gleam from what little light there is.
"And just where have you been?"
There is a click and the room is bathed in light, revealing the couple. Gel sits in an armchair, her fetlock still wrapped around the chain of a table lamp. She quirks an eyebrow at him, frowning deeply. "Well?"
The red stallion freezes like a deer in headlights, his mind blank and his eyes wide. "Umm..."
"Hmph..." She squirms, her serious expression wavering for a second before it completely cracks. She openly laughs, falling from her seat in the throes of humor. "That was great! Oh, your expression was perfect!"
Rhino rumbles with chuckles from his own seat, and high pitched giggles reveal the pink body of Ruby laughing from where he's holding her.
After a moment, Hydro exhales, laughing as well. "Wow... okay, you got me. Good one. You had me going there with the sheer seriousness you had."
She stands up a bows, struggling to hold in her laughter. "Thank you. I pride myself on my acting abilities." She gestures to him, smiling softly. "In all seriousness, I would like to know where you've been. Could you please tell us?"
He raises an eyebrow. "That curious huh? Well... I did promise." He walks into the living room and sits on the couch, leaning back and adopting the air of one about to tell a tale of epic proportions. "So... you want to know what I've been up to?"
"Yes, I do." She turns the chair enough to face him. She leans forward, giving him her full attention.
He smiles as he gazes towards the ceiling. "Well..." Suddenly he looks down and says matter-of-factly. "I was finishing up some paperwork and checking up on the house I'm buying here in town."
Rhino would have stumbled had he not been sitting down as this particular bombshell is dropped. "Yeah... same blunt Hydro as always..."
Gel blinks, completely blindsided by this news. "...that's wonderful, but..." She turns to her stallion, worried. "...does this mean mom would be the only one who can foalsit?"
Rhino wordlessly looks to his friend.
Hydro holds up a hoof. "Hey, don't worry, you haven't gotten rid of me yet. Like i said, I was checking up on it. They're still doing a bit of fixing and cleaning before I move in. It's part of the reason I came down here so long, no point in hauling all my stuff down here before the house is ready, right?"
The nymph considers this for a moment, tapping her chin. "...I suppose that makes sense." She sighs, nervously laughing. "Sorry for assuming like that."
"No problem, it was the plan to suddenly spring this on you two as a surprise after all." He chuckles. "Of course, the first plan was to wait until my last day here, then spring it on you then sort of like 'hey I'll see you around some time because I'm moving into town'. This works too though."
"That sounds like it would've been a wonderful surprise." She shrugs before getting up off the chair, walking closer. "So, would you be able to watch Ruby sometime this week?"
“Umm... sure, I could do that." He tilts his head at her. "You must really want to do something since you're just sort of skimming over my announcement."
"Yes, sorry about that." She blushes brightly, her hoof pawing at the ground. "It's just that Rhino said we could go on a date soon and I wanted to be sure Ruby was in safe hooves." She gently hugs him. "I didn't mean to belittle your news. I'm glad you're moving here. Rhino really needs a friend who's a guy."
The earth pony grins at his friend over the changeling's shoulder. "Really? Do you have any guy friends you hang out with here?"
"Ah... erm... well..." Rhino averts his eyes in embarrassment. "I mean... I know other guys but we never really... no..."
"Well, there's Flick." Gel shrugs half-heartedly. "They don't really do much together, though."
A small groan comes from under a blanket next to Hydro, cutting off any retorts that might've been said. The mass moves around a moment before part of it rises, tenting the fabric. "Why am I under this fabric?" Something shifts underneath the red stallion's frame. "And what the fuck is on my legs?"
"Dior, language." Rhino corrects. "And calm down, Hydro just sat on the edge of the blanket I tucked you in with."
"Tell him to move. The fabric caught my legs and won't let go." She sits up and glares at the earth pony, her expression quickly becoming one of surprise. "Oh, it's you... uh... green pony? Red?" She waves a hoof dismissively. "The pony who yanked the branch out of my mouth."
"Red pony. If we go by actions, that makes you the little ghost changeling that was muttering gibberish and attacking me in the middle of a storm." He turns to Rhino and motions with his head towards her.
Rhino nods.
Hydro grunts as he turns back to the small nymph. "Well, looks like Rhino trusts you, so you're okay."
"That's sweet of him and you." She points a hoof at him, frowning deeply. "But you have to earn my trust, just like everyone else." She huffs and turns her attention to the unicorn, quirking an eyebrow. "Your best friend, right? Not what I assumed he was earlier?"
The green stallion clears his throat awkwardly as he nods and looks away.
This of course raises an eyebrow from his red friend. "Do I even want to know?"
Rhino shakes his head. "No... no you don't."
She looks at him closely, eyes narrowed as she considers him. She holds a hoof out to him, smiling coyly. "Are you single, Red?"
He blinks at this, looking at her hoof, unsure how to react. "Umm... yes..."
"Maybe you could join me in town. Find an activity we could learn more about each other over." She winks at him, her hooves clutching the blanket balled up around her waist. "Does that sound alright?"
His face still betrays his surprise. "You know... if you wouldn't have lead with that first question, I would have said yes, but with those motives... you're a bit too young."
She scowls at him, jabbing his chest with a hoof. "I'll have you know I'm thirty-nine, Red. How else could I be Gel's mom?" She scoffs, resting her head on a hoof, muttering to herself. "Figures he'd be one of those superficial stallions..."
As Hydro remains stunned, Rhino interjects on his behalf. "Actually, he really isn't. You have to admit though, in this case it's not really your age that's the issue, but the fact that you literally have the body of a little filly."
She flares her wings, fiercely glaring at Rhino. "I still have needs, da-" She cuts herself off, her gaze falling to the filly cradled in his foreleg. "...darn it..."
"Surely you've found some way to deal with that after 11 years of being like this?" He looks at her curiously. "Plus, at this point, wouldn't the size difference make that activity impossible without serious damage to you?"
She narrows her eyes at him, speaking through clenched teeth. "I wouldn't know. It's been eleven years since I've last been laid."
"Nope." The nymph hurries out of the room, her ears flat against her head. "I'm not listening!"
As Rhino and Ruby watching the retreating nymph, Hydro winces and replies to Dior. "Ouch, that has to suck..."
"It does." She huffs, laying back down on the couch. "I know my body doesn't naturally want it, but... I still miss that feeling of intimacy..."
The green stallion scratches the back of his head. "Well... I admit I do sympathize with you on that, and I really do wish there was some way to help you, but I really don't see how it would be possible."
She groans, covering her head with her hooves. "I know, but that only makes the desire stronger!"
Hydro scoots away from the freaking, mentally mature nymph, unsure how to react to all this.
"And that's the worst part." She points at the red stallion. "Ponies assume I'm crazy or are just plain scared. I'm not that scary, am I?"
"To be fair, I would do this is it was any mare acting this way, so it's not just you, it's a survival instinct. 'Tartarus hath no fury' and all that." He looks to Rhino for help.
The stallion obliges as best he can. "Plus, you look like you're about to explode from frustration or do something drastic or desperate." He looks down and thanks that his daughter is blissfully ignorant of the situation as she sucks on a hoof and dozes lightly.
"I just want some closeness." She looks at Hydro, eyebrow quirked in annoyance. "I'm not trying to force anything on anyone."
"Look, lady, I feel for you, I really do, but... I can't help you on this. It's a bit too much for me, and the whole 'perpetually a filly' thing is a bit of a hurdle." He stands up. "I'm just... gonna drop off my stuff in my room and come back when I think the subject has changed." He quickly leaves.
Rhino sighs, getting up as well, but coming over a sitting down next to Dior, putting the foreleg not hold ing ruby around her. "Look, you can't be too hard on him for that, it is... not really a normal situation. I can understand your side of it though."
"Thanks." She groans, hanging her head in shame. "...what should I do, Rhino? I can't see any way to make this situation... manageable."
"Umm... well..." He thinks a moment. "Is it really the 'physical' aspect of it you want? Or is it something else?"
"Like I said before," she sighs, rolling a hoof at him, "I want the intimacy. The closeness with someone else. It doesn't have to be physical."
He nods. "I assume you mean the sort of one-on-one intimacy of a relationship of a couple, instead of just a familial relationship, right?"
"That's right." She leans into his embrace, closing her eyes. "But what can I do? No one would like a changeling that looks like me..."
"Now come on, that's not true... I'm sure there's someone that can see past everything... None immediately come to mind, but I'm sure there's someone.." He sighs and mutters as he hugs the changeling to him. "It'd be easier if we could somehow make your body more reflective of your mind..."
"...the only way for that to happen... would be for me to change bodies..." She shakes her head dejectedly. "...but that's something that can't happen...can it?"
"Well..." he begins thoughtfully, "you did already do it once... so it can happen, but considering what it took last time..."
She recoils, staring up at him in horror. "What the hay? Why would I want to die again?" She shivers, shaking her head. "It was painful enough the one time..."
His eyes soften as he brings her back into a hug. "No no no, no one is putting you through that. I didn't mean to insinuate that. I just meant that it has happened once, so it is possible for you to change bodies again... obviously just with a better way to do it."
She relaxes into the embrace, sniffling softly. "What other way is there? The only one I can think of involves that circle I found years ago... and I don't think that's possible... right?"
He rubs her back to try and sooth her. "Well, in a way it does. Those circles are my talent after all... this is just a theory, but I could maybe adapt the one you saw into one more suited for our purposes."
"But we'd need the circle, first." She shakes her head, looking up at him in confusion. "How would we obtain it? It's not like we can just waltz into the General's office to get it."
"Well... do you think it would still be in there after all these years?" He looks at her questioningly.
"It should be." She huffs, waving her hoof dismissively. "I hid it well enough."
"Well then... I think it may actually be possible to get it back." He smiles knowingly at her. "Does the name Port ring a bell?"
She blinks, considering the name for a few seconds. "...it does, actually. He was lieutenant general when I was in charge." She taps his forehead, frowning slightly. "How do you know him, though?"
Rhino chuckles. "Suffice to say we met.. fought... and met again later when Gel recommended him for a job. He now serves as the changeling ambassador."
She stares at him blankly. "...you're serious." She smirks softly, chuckling a bit. "I don't know if he'll let you into the hive. He's a stickler for rules, as I'm sure you know."
"Who says I need to go?" He looks at her with a raised eyebrow. "I have a family to see to. If you trust him enough, maybe Port will get it himself as a favor, if not maybe you could go, another changeling, there are many options."
"...I suppose that's true." She sighs, leaning up against him once more. "...maybe I should see him sometime soon, to make the request. Maybe you could come with me then?"
"Sure..." He looks down to his other foreleg a moment as Ruby rolls over to her side in her sleep. "We could send him a letter if you want, requesting to meet with him. He tends to split his time between the hive and Canterlot from what I hear, so it's better to do that than to just show up."
"Great idea." She taps her chin, thinking out loud. "Maybe we should ask him to come here. It might be easier for him, that way..."
"I'll leave that up to you, it's your request after all." He looks towards the door. "Want me to tell Gel that we're done talking about your sex life?"
"Yes, that must've been terribly awkward for her." She laughs, shaking her head. "If I know her, she likely dove into some form of work to distract herself."
"I guess we'll see." He reaches out with his thoughts. Gel? Love? You can come back now.
But... Her thoughts sound distracted. ...I'm almost done with this teeter-totter... can you wait a few minutes, please?
Sure, love. He looks back down to Dior. "So apparently she's putting together playground equipment."
"So I was right." The silver changeling laughs brightly, shaking her head. "Well, then, I guess that just leaves us three, unless Red returns early." She gently strokes the pink filly's mane, smiling warmly. "Of course, the little one here seems content to sleep for now."
"She does like her midday nap..." He leans down and kisses Ruby on her head, the foal letting out small content sounds as he does so. "Anything you want to do until Gel comes in then?"
"I don't know." She jumps off the couch and stretches, turning to him right after. "Maybe you'd like to tell me more about what you plan to do with the rune circle? Maybe why you looked so odd when I mentioned the number of layers in it?"
"Well..." His horn lights up and the arcane circle for his Res spells appears in the air. "This is what I would loosely describe as one of the more complex spells that I've done. Three layers and a separated section here for frequent and easy reversal." He points to a long shard-like shape. "But even with all this, I've never actually created a spell that uses multiple separate circles. Although, just now you said layers, but earlier you said circles. So... which is it?"
"Well...it was both, actually." She taps her chin, narrowing her eyes as she considers the light-based shape. "Seven circles, one big with six within it... three layers each, and the symbol for life in the center." She looks at him, slowly nodding. "They were written separately and then as one large circle on the last page."
"Hmm..." The circle fades away and one like Dior described appears in Rhino's green writing, all the circles and layers blank except for the symbol from her neck he stuck in the center. Finally seeing what he's going to be working with, the stallion exhales and scratches his chin. "Wow that's complicated... definitely going to be a challenge..."
"I figured as such." She sighs, slumping down to the floor in sadness. "...but you'll try, right? I mean... it won't be too hard, will it?"
"Well, it depends on what runes are in these." He gestures to the blank circles. "If I know all of them, theoretically I could have a new form of the spell in a week. If I don't though, I'll have to go through each new one individually and conduct dozens of simple spell variants to determine exactly what they do. Don't worry... I can figure it out."
She slowly nods, tilting her head to one side. "...I think most of the runes were outlined in the notebook... but I may be wrong about that..." She nervously laughs, rubbing the back of her neck. "My memory's not the best, after all..."
He smiles. "And here I thought Gel got her perfect memory from you."
"No, it seems to be an anomaly." She shrugs. "I have no explanation for where she got it."
He erases the circle as he continues. "Guessing it wasn't from her dad then?"
She quirks an eyebrow at him. "You're kidding, right? From that dreamer?" She shakes her head, sighing softly. "I'm amazed he made it to the rank he did..." She blushes, her gaze growing distant. "...still, he was bright when he applied himself... and had an outstanding-" She cuts herself off, jolting slightly. "...er... personality. He wanted to bring unity between ponies and changelings. I never thought it would become a reality, though."
"Many still can't believe it. As one of the ones who benefits most from it though, I tend to be thankful and not worry about how unlikely it was." He sits back down on the couch. Out of curiosity and a way to kill time, how did he draw your eye anyway?"
"He came up to the Queen and I for an assignment." She looks at the ceiling, trying to avoid his gaze. "He was so nervous, she figured he'd be better off working as an MP for a while... and he was assigned to my office. The next day, there weren't any documents for me to work on, so I struck up a conversation with him." She smiles softly. "I had to order him to chat with me, poor thing... but it was just so endearing, at the same time..."
He chuckles. "Ah, I think I see where this is going."
"Then there's no need for me to continue." She sticks her tongue out at him.
"Well, if it's not too personal, there is one question I had about it." He looks at her seriously. "What made you and he decide to have Gel outside of normal breeding patterns, and against the usual orders?"
"A long night together at the office, one too many drinks..." She waves a hoof dismissively, despite the luminescent blush on her cheeks. "I soon found out I was pregnant and gave myself and my lover a top-secret assignment for the next few months. I couldn't let Port find out about it, after all... I didn't want 226 to get in trouble for my own lack of foresight."
"Ah..." He looks at her with a smile. "Worth it, though?"
"Oh, so worth it." She smiles coyly. "And having Gel was great, as well." She gestures broadly in his direction. "She didn't exactly need too many diapers, though. Most pupae only need them the first month, after all."
He blinks. "I thought they didn't need them at all since they don't produce waste."
"They drink milk, Rhino." She rolls a hoof at him. "They haven't created the stomach acid to completely digest food yet because their bodies can't handle it. That's why they need the diapers."
"Ah... that makes sense. Good to know." He looks towards the direction of the back yard. How's it coming, love?
I think I need help. It doesn't look a thing like the picture!
Rhino chuckles as he shakes his head and turns back to Diorite. "It looks like she needs some help back there. Want to come?"
"Sounds like it'll be fun." She smiles softly, gesturing to the door. "Lead the way."