//------------------------------//
// Chapter 44. Homecomings 
// Story: Dust on the Wind 
// by Sparky Brony 
//------------------------------//

A text message comes through from Irony, so instead of Montana, I head south. Texas is my destination, it's where my herd is, so I dutifully follow them. But this time, instead of Corpus Christi, we end up at a resort south of Corpus, down in South Padre Island. I follow the instructions and end up on the top floor of this resort. Though I got really odd looks from the humans as I trotted through the lobby, I hit the button for the elevator. A few moments later, the door opens and Irony's grinning face is in front of me.

"I've told everypony else, but now it's your turn." She seems to almost be bouncing.

I cock my head to the side, "What?"

She sticks a hoof out so the door reopens, "Come on out of the elevator."

We end up heading down the hall, "So, what's the news, Irony."

"Dr. Ray checked me out today, I'm pregnant."

I stop in my tracks, "What?"

She laughs, "I'm pregnant Dust, I'm going to have a foal."

I shake my head, "How did that happen?"

She looks at me seriously, "Do you remember my heat a couple of months ago?"

I giggle, "Yes, but you said that Moon placed a no foals spell on you."

"She said she did, but after Dr. Ray told me, I tracked her down, and she told me since I bawled her out for not getting the spell and ending up pregnant herself, she decided she wouldn't do it for me. And from what I've been told, Helen was in on the decision. I had to apologize to Moon because apparently when I bawled her out, I really hurt her feelings."

I growl, but am stopped by Irony, I look into her magenta eyes, "That was wrong of them."

She sighs, "Yes, I know. But I find I'm happy, I mean seriously happy about it. So, if you get mad at them about it, you will have to get mad at me too."

I cock my head to the side, "Really?" I sigh at her nod, "Well, fine. But why did you have Dr. Ray check you out?"

She rubs the back of her head with a hoof, "It started with my teats being tender, to the point of distraction when I walked. But the clincher was when I tried to transform, it took a lot of effort, and my head immediately started to hurt. Dr. Ray scanned me and said my foal was doing fine. Then he stopped and looked at me, saying that he thought I had the no foals spell. Then he apologized for getting me pregnant."

I chuckle, "He apologized?"

She laughs, "Yes, and I had to give him a long hug and kiss to calm him down. He knew that Moon Shadows foals were his, and now finding out I've got a foal on the way. He didn't know what to think."

I laugh, "Poor Dr. Ray. But that is life in Equestria. If you're a stallion in a herd, you are going to end up being a daddy."

She nudges against me as we start walking again, "How was the flight, and Blue Lagoon?"

I let Irony know about what has been going on while I was taking the long route home. I tell her about the pony that visited in the night. She stops in her tracks and frowns, "Should we be worried about this pony?"

I shake my head, "I don't think so, nothing happened, it was just really odd. Maybe it was a pony from the small community they have in Hawaii, wanting to bring Blue into the fold, and was spooked by having another pony there. It's all good." I shrug my wings as Irony knocks on the suite door.

Magic grips the door handle and the door opens. Moon Shadow waits patiently for us to enter the suite. It's apparently pretty crowded, though I was told we have several rooms for the size of our party, they all seemed to congregate here. I follow Irony inside and I see two foals being played with, with my parents. My mother is sitting on the floor holding Dot. Cloud Burst is sitting on my father, who is laying on the floor, smiling at the foal on his chest.

I smile at the sight, "So, the grand foals are agreeing with you?"

My mom looks up, "Oh, they are so cute!"

I nod, "Of course they are, they are Mindy's."

My mom looks slyly at me, "And when are you going to add your own foals to the herd?"

I shake my head, "Not going to happen, Mom. You know what Dr. Ray told me."

My mom laughs, "Are you so certain? When magic is involved, you never know."

With all this talk, I head over to Dr. Ray, "Dr. Ray, can you settle all this? I've been told outright that I'm pregnant by Blue Lagoon, and it seems like everypony thinks I'm pregnant." Eyeing a smiling Sunset Shimmer, "I want you to scan me, and tell everypony that I'm not pregnant, and I can't become pregnant due to my injuries."

Dr. Ray moves close and lights his horn. He scans me, and then is silent for a long time.

I look at him, "Go ahead, Ray."

"I think we should talk about this in private, Dust."

I shake my head, "No, my family knows the extents of my injuries. They deserve to know the truth."

I look over at him as he looks down, "Dust, I really think we should talk in private about this."

I stomp a hoof, "Ray, just tell them it's impossible for me to have foals, and we can leave it at that."

"It's a filly." He whispers.

I shake my head, "Ray, don't joke with me. You yourself said I was too injured."

He smiles, "I'm not joking, and apparently that pegasi healing factor has worked in your favor. You not only can bear foals, you are pregnant, with a single pegasus filly."

My ears and tail drop, "That's not funny, Ray. It's really not."

He comes up and kisses me, "I'm not joking Dust."

I look at my family, at my herd. Everypony and human is smiling at me. I have a foal, she's currently growing inside me, and in nine or ten months, she will greet the world. I look at Irony, Mindy, Moon Shadow, Sunset, I turn and look at Dr. Ray, then over as Star Shine. My head is whirling with the news, I finally look at Helen, her smile is the largest of them all. I whisper, "That's impossible."

Irony comes over and nuzzles me, "Congratulations to you, Love."

I bounce away, wings aiding me, I end up planting all four hooves on the wall, then I land by the door to the suite, "No, that's impossible!" I scream, tears flowing down my face, I fumble with the door, and when I'm unable to open it immediately, I flash out a wing, with a crash of lightning, the door explodes outward, I rush down the hall, my wings aiding me in the narrow hallway. Turning to the stairs, I hop up a single flight and crash through the door to the roof. I flare my wings to take off, then stop. Where do I go to get away from this? This is inside me, no matter where I go, I'm going to be pregnant still. I fold my wings to my sides, and trot away from the roof entrance. I look over at the ocean view, I finally hop off the roof, gliding gently down to the sandy beach. The brackish water of the Gulf of Mexico in front of me. I finally sit down, letting the gentle waves wash over my hooves.

I sit there and cry for a long time, but I'm stopped by a hoof on my withers. I turn and look, it's Sunset Shimmer. She's smiling gently at me, I bury my head in her mane, tears continuing to stream from my eyes.

She hugs me as I cry, petting my mane and making comforting sounds as I continue to sob.

Finally she chuckles, "You are taking it like a lot of new moms."

I bring my wings around her, hugging the golden mare tightly, "It's not that, I had to deal with the fact that I was barren. I thought I was finally at peace with that. And then I find out that I'm pregnant. It's just too much."

"Do you want a foal? If you don't want it, distasteful as it is, there are spells to end an unwanted pregnancy."

I pull back in shock, "Never! It's innocent!"

She smiles at me, "I never thought for a moment that you would want to go through with something like that. But if you are really distraught about being pregnant, I offered a solution, as much as I hate that option, it does remain."

I growl, "Not a chance in Tartarus, Sunset. I'm pregnant, and I'm going to have this foal."

She smiles and hugs me closer, "Thank you Dust. That is exactly what I expect of you."

I sniffle a little bit as I gain control of myself, "I'm sorry Sunset. That was happy news, and I freaked out."

She leans forward and kisses me. My wings pull away of their own volition and end up tight and upright, I kiss her back hungrily. I put a hoof to her cheek and turn my head a little bit, and our mouths open, tongues playing against each other. 

We are interrupted by the clearing of a throat behind us. I pull away, nuzzling Sunset then I look behind me, Star Shine is sitting there, his wings down and limp, ears down.

"I'm sorry, Dust."

I bowl him over, ending up with him on his back and I'm holding him down with my hooves, I kiss him thoroughly, feeling his wings extend as I continue kissing him.

Finally I pull back, "Nothing to apologize for, Star." I kiss him again, then, "I wanted foals, I couldn't tell anypony how badly that hurt thinking I was injured too much for foals. But now I'm better, and you gave me a foal. I'm so happy!"

I let Star up and move over to Sunset, nuzzling her again, "Thank you, Sunset."

***

Three days of relaxation at the beach, though I think a herd of ponies playing in the surf has drawn quite a crowd. My parents are sitting in the sand with Dot, Cloud Burst, and Mindy, making sand castles together. Dr. Ray and Star are galloping through the waves, their raucous laughter floating back to me. Helen is in a skimpy bikini, sunning herself. Sunset, Irony, Moon, and I are all laying on towels, soaking up the sunshine and enjoying a bright warm day.

Sunset sighs, "Now, this is a date."

I look at her, "This isn't a date, this is family time."

Sunset moves over and lays down next to me, leaning against me, "My life was driven before. As a pony, as a human here, I was pushing myself, I wanted it all. I wanted the most power," her ears drop, "Twilight's friends were really nice and helpful in showing me what friendship truly meant. I'm not the same pony I was then, but in this life. As a human, before I changed, before I heard about the humans changing into ponies, I was driven to succeed. I graduated early from high school, then I was done with college by twenty. Then I was lost."

I cocked my head to the side, "Lost?"

"I grew up knowing I had to push myself, I was pretty, I was popular, but I didn't care about popularity, I wanted to get my education, I skipped prom because I was too young, and was worried about prepping for college. My parents were a huge help, but once I got my degree. Real life slammed down on me."

"What did you get your degree in?"

"Double degrees, Master Structural engineering, and electrical engineering."

I look at her sharply, "Boy, you certainly were driven. Did you get a good job?"

She sighs, "Yes, for a couple of years."

"Huh?"

"I had my degree, I had a good job, paying pretty damned good money. But I would go home to my apartment, and I would be so damned lonely." Tears start welling in her eyes, "I got hooked, on drugs. I lost my job, I lost what few friends I had. My entire life focused on that next high."

I drape a wing around the unicorn, she snuggles closer to me, "For over a year, I burned through all my savings, I sold my Mercedes, I briefly considered the world's oldest profession for a while. Then I hit bottom."

She stops for a long time, Irony comes over, along with Moon Shadow, nuzzling the unicorn. I am content to just stay next to her, let her work through her emotions. Finally she continues, "I woke up in a dingy hotel room, I was filthy, I heard a siren outside. I walked out there, and saw a crime scene being set up, a friend of mine, one who had been my drug buddy, I guess you could say. Was lying on the ground, her head bashed in." The tears really start to pour down her face. She suppresses a few sobs, "That could have been me, I remember she was going outside to score another hit, and then I had passed out. I could have been dead, my skull crushed by a baseball bat. I had to do something to change that. I checked into a rehab program that day. I cleaned myself up. I was able finally get a new job, I was turning my life around." She sighs heavily, "Then these appeared on my hip." She indicates her cutie marks.

I nuzzle her, "And are you happy with how things are now?"

She smiles through her tears, "Yes, I freaked out at first when I started getting the mane, I liked Sunset Shimmer in all the movies, but I totally freaked out once my human memories came flooding back. Since Discord didn't get rid of them, I remembered a lot of what I did as a equestrian in human form. I was on the same path as a pony as I'd taken as a banished human."

She looks around at all of us, "I wish I had found a herd, a family like yours before I went through that portal the first time."

We all stay close to the golden mare, "Well, you have us now." Moon Shadow says.

I think these new tears are tears of joy.

***

One quick teleport half way across the country, courtesy of our resident level five unicorn, we all trot into the Maze by Gordon Ramsay, in New York City. A popular restaurant from what I was told. The eponymous and foul mouthed chef isn't there. But the smells that greet us are amazing. The host boggled at the three humans along with seven ponies joining them.

He stands there, looking at us for a long time, I clear my throat, getting no reaction.

"We have a reservation, under Helen Shaw."

He looks at his list, then at us, "For ten?"

I nod.

"And where is Helen?"

She steps forward, "That's me."

He looks around at all of us. "I don't think I can seat you all."

I look at my family, I wanted to eat here, I pull my wallet out of my small satchel that I keep with me almost all the time, I open it and pull out four one hundred dollar bills. I hoof them over to the stunned human, "We aren't beasts, you know. We left the kids with a sitter." I smile, Dylan is being paid rather well to watch his sister and the foals.

I continue, "We are celebrating, additions to the family, both now and in the future." My tone darkens, "But if you want to be a xenophobe, we can take our business elsewhere."

He looks at the cash in his hand, then at me, then back at the money. It disappears and he greets me with a smile, "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking, of course we can seat you."

In moments we are all sitting in an absolutely silent restaurant, I look at all the faces turned towards my family. Their scrutiny finally gets under my skin, I call out loudly. "We are a family wanting to celebrate, nothing more. I know you've heard about the ponies, now let us eat in peace."

Suitably chastened, the other patrons turn their attention to their own tables. The waitress appears and takes our drink orders, I decide on bottles of champagne for all of us. I pick up a glass,

"To our newest herd sister, Sunset Shimmer." She blushes as we clink glasses and drink.

Sunset raises her glass, "To our newest moms to be, Moon Shadow, Irony, and Lightning Dust."

Once again, glasses are clinked together.

Dr Ray leans over, "I don't mind you drinking occasionally, but remember, moderation."

I chuckle, "Moderation is for monks." At his dark look I continue, "I very rarely partake in consumption of alcohol, Doctor. Cool your jets."

He smiles at me.

Shortly our food is ordered, and we enjoy chatting as we wait. I look around, although we are still getting sidelong glances from the other patrons, most are returning to their own meals. I look at my herd. Helen is chatting happily with Moon Shadow, I never knew how quickly their friendship blossomed. And I found out that they were behind that first time with Irony. I didn't know I was being pushed into it, both by Helen, and by Moon Shadow. All those questions she asked was her way of determining how I felt about the massive mare sitting next to me. Doctor Ray, on my other side, leans over. 

"Dust," He says quietly, "you are pregnant, and you have healed to a degree that still boggles my mind, there is still scar tissue. Normally I would tell you to be on bed rest for the entire pregnancy." He chuckles at my sour look at him, "But I didn't feel like being told to go to hell. So, take it easy, Dust. Pregnant mares may be resilient, but you aren't invincible. Please, for the sake of you, and that foal inside you, keep your adventuring to a minimum."

I sigh, "We will be pretty far along when the portal opens next. My goal for the next few months is to get ponies ready. Those that want to head back to Equestria."

I stop and look at Dr. Ray, "Do you want to go through, then come back, and be human again?"

He looks thoughtful for a moment, then shakes his head, "I like what we have going on here Dust. I am actually pretty happy as a pony."

I lean over and kiss the stallion, "I'm glad."

*** 

One more long distance teleportation, back to Texas, we all sit in the large living room in our suite. Apparently somepony visited the local liquor store, and mixed drinks are being portioned out. I've got just enough for a pleasant buzz. I am on my side, cradling my head on Irony's barrel as we continue chatting and laughing. Finally, my dad stands up.

"It's getting late, I'll see you ponies in the morning." He helps my mom up, and they head off to their own suite. Mindy disappears with her foals, and Dylan and Hannah head over to their own rooms. Soon it's just us, Irony, Moon, Mindy, Helen, Sunset, Ray, and Star. 

Sunset stands up, "I'm thinking we continue our date."

I cock my head to the side, is she thinking what I think she's thinking.

The answer comes quickly as she steps forward and kisses me, her tongue playing along my lips, then invading my mouth as I open it in answer.

***
Chapter 43a, in cloptional story
***

Three more days in this beautiful seaside resort and finally we take a chariot home. Well, the family does, the pegasi of the family, Star, and myself, fly ourselves. But we enjoy the nice long flight. After hours of flying we land at our house. There's a mare sitting there, Gold Dust, I furrow my brow as we land, what is she doing here?

I trot up to her, and open my mouth to ask her why she's here. She brightens and gallops towards me, I stop as she brushes past and I turn and watch her tackle my son. She's pressing her lips to his, and he's kissing her back enthusiastically. Irony puts a hoof on my withers as my wings extend. I look at her and get a shush look from her.

I turn back to the enthusiastically kissing couple, and after a moment, I clear my throat. Causing them to part very quickly, both red faced, I look again at Irony and step forward. Both are warily eyeing my wings.

"Gold Dust, what is the meaning of this?"

Gold Dust looks curiously at Dylan, then at me, "He was supposed to tell you while you guys were out of town."

I look over at my son, apparently he's trying to stammer out a response, I wait a moment then..."Dylan?"

"Dad, uhh, Dust, Gold Dust and I just started dating, while we were in Australia was when it all started. Though, we had been talking the last few weeks, and well, with you finding out you were pregnant, and all, I just never had the chance to tell you."

I narrow my eyes, and my son apparently tries to pull into himself, but I don't have a chance to say anything as the gold mare tackles me, "Oh my Celestia, you are pregnant, Dust? I can't believe it! You had said that you were too injured, and that..." She trails off as she sees the look on my face, her horn lights and she teleports over next to Dylan.

I get up slowly and brush myself off, "Gold, you're twenty-five, my son is seventeen."

She chuckles, "I may have been twenty-five before I changed, but I was sixteen when Discord took me, and most of the ponies are going by the ages they were when Discord got them, so as far as we are concerned, I'm eighteen, and your son is only a year younger. Is that okay?"

I look at Dylan, and at Gold Dust. I shake my head, then I sigh, "Gold, he's a man now. If you two are interested in each other, I'm not going to stand in your way." I chuckle, "I just never thought that Dylan would end up with a pony."

He crosses his arms over his chest, "Well, Mom and you are still together, and I know of at least two herds in the new pony town that have human members." He stops and looks unsure, "I am not going to ask permission, Dust. But I do hope that you won't object."

I look at both of them, then I walk to Dylan, and rear up to give him a hug, wrapping my wings around my boy, I whisper in his ear, "If you really care about her, take care of her." I drop down on all fours, then move over to Gold Dust, and give her a hug, whispering in her ear, "He's my son, if you hurt him, I will have a lot of trouble forgiving you."

I step back and look at them, a little bit of fear in her eyes, and my son is beaming, he kneels down and hugs Gold Dust, who holds onto him strongly.

I trot into the house, Irony next to me, "Well, handled, Dust."

"He's my boy, I want him to be happy."