//------------------------------// // chapter 10 // Story: Life In Lace // by Harasha the Gryphon //------------------------------// Amethyst’s eyes snapped open. He found himself in his own bed with the sun shining through the window. He searched his memories for what had transpired last night, only to be greeted by a huge blur. Amethyst held his hoof to his forehead as a sharp pain radiated through his entire skull. “What the buck happened last night?” Amethyst asked the air in the room. “I feel like I’ve had somepony smash a wine bottle over my head…again” Amethyst looked towards the window. He immediately winced as a ray of light shot into his eyes, intensifying his headache even further. Cautiously, Amethyst swung his fore hooves out of bed, trembling as he felt his stomach lurch. “Oh Celestia, I’m gonna be sick.” Amethyst looked around in a panic. With a flick of his magic, he levitated a green gemstone out of a nearby drawer and zapped himself with its magic. Instantly, Amethyst felt his stomach settle as some magic sparked off his horn. “That was close,” Amethyst let out a big sigh before the intense headache returned. “Better do something about this headache.” Amethyst rooted around in the drawer where the green crystal had been and levitated out a red gemstone. With a quick motion, Amethyst zapped himself with the red gemstone’s magic as well. Amethyst sighed in relief as his headache started to wane. “Much better”, Amethyst said, bringing a hoof to his chin. “I wonder what could have caused such a big headache?” “Hangover,” Amethyst whipped his head around to see none other than Sunny Skies standing in the doorframe with a look on her face that could scare off an changeling. “You got yourself pretty damn drunk last night, Amethyst.” Amethyst cocked an eyebrow at Sunny. “Drunk?” Amethyst shook his head. “I never get drunk, and my name is Lavender not Amethyst” “Drop the Act Amethyst, I know the truth. You’re really a stallion and some magic statue changed you into a mare.” Sunny spread all four of her legs and stared confidently into Amethyst’s eyes. “So go on, confess”. The ex-stallion flinched at Sunny‘s gaze. How could she possibly know? Maybe I was drunk last night. Amethyst squirmed a bit. Calm down Amethyst, you got this. She has no real proof of anything. “I am not Amethyst. My name is Lavender Star and I’m most certainly a mare.” Amethyst closed his eyes and looked up into the air. Sunny groaned and rolled her eyes. “You‘re not fooling anypony, Amethyst. You told me the truth last night. You should really avoid hard cider when you’re trying to keep a secret.” Amethyst mustered his most confident face and looked Sunny right in the eyes. “Look Sunny, I don’t know where you got the idea where my name is Amethyst, but I assure you I most certainly am a mare, the mareiest mare that ever mared.” “Ok then, I believe you.” Sunny’s hard look started to warp into a more neutral expression. Following that, her eyes bugged out and she pointed her hoof at a spot right behind Amethyst, “Hey Amethyst, look at that!” Amethyst snorted, “Look Sunny, I’m not Amethyst. how many times do I need to tell you that before it sinks in?” “It’s no use Shard, she knows.” Amethyst looked over and saw his friend Misty standing in the doorway to his room. Amethyst glared at him, “Of course she knows NOW, you just bucking told her!” He swept his foreleg across his chest sarcastically. Misty cringed. “I’m sorry Amethyst, she… tricked me into telling her last night.” He blushed a bit. As Amethyst shot Misty a look, Sunny broke out into a giggling fit. “I’m sorry I must have missed the joke,” Amethyst groaned. “I’m sorry,” Sunny squeaked between giggles. “It’s just that the whole idea of a smart pony like you falling prey to a tiny, yellow rock is downright hilarious!” Sunny couldn’t contain herself any longer and broke out into hysterical laughter. Amethyst sighed, rolled his eyes, and watched as Sunny rolled on the floor in laughter. His eyes drifted toward a clock and watched in agony as eleven whole minutes went by before Sunny got up. “I can’t believe I got so sauced up last night,” Amethyst brought a hoof to his forehead as his headache and nausea started to reemerge. “I could have done or said anything and wouldn‘t remember a thing…” Without much warning, Amethyst’s eyes bulged out of his head. Misty moved in closer at noticing Amethyst’s sudden demeanor change. “What’s up Amethyst?” “I could have done anything. What if the reason I’m so sick is because I somehow got myself pregnant last night!” Amethyst’s eye started twitching. Misty tilted his head and cocked his entire body. Sunny scrunched her face but that didn’t last long and she broke out into laughter again. “You? pregnant? That’s just rich. I can’t…” The laughter resumed as she started pounding her hoof on the floor. “Shard that’s got to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Misty face hoofed. “Look Amethyst I’ve been around with a lot of mares and trust me pregnancy doesn't turn up that fast.” Sunny had stopped laughing while Misty was talking. “Look Amethyst, we pretty much had our eyes on you the whole night and we can both say for certain that you didn’t have sex with any of the stallions. The only time we didn’t watch you was when Orchid took you home.” “Then that means there’s a whole period of time that you can’t account for!” Amethyst started sweating. “If that’s true than I could have had sex with a stallion. Sure I’m confident Orchid wouldn’t let it happen on purpose but Orchid could have gotten strong armed by a strong stallion or worse…” Amethyst sighed and brought a hoof to his head. “Celestia, I sure wish I paid more attention in sex-ed class.” Sunny sighed and stretched out her hoof, “OK Amethyst there is one thing we can do, we can go and talk with Orchid.” “That’s a good idea” Amethyst said with a nod. --- “What the buck do you think of me?” Orchid glared at Sunny. Amethyst, Sunny and Misty were in Orchid’s apartment. Orchid and Sunny stood muzzle to muzzle glaring at each other with an intensity that was making Amethyst and Misty flinch. “You think I’d be so stupid as to allow my best friend to get raped right after I rescued him from another rapist?!” Orchid screamed Sunny gave Orchid the stink eye. “Hey! That’s my friend you’re talking about, how dare you assume he would do such a thing. He’d never rape Amethyst or any other mare!” Misty shrank from the implication. Orchid rolled her eyes. “Suuuuure, of course Sunny. Misty hasn’t raped anypony and you’re not an ungrateful bitch!” Sunny pointed at Orchid. “I’ll bet Amethyst did get raped because you were too busy prettifying yourself in front of a mirror.” Sunny spoke in a sarcastic voice and made a gesture and pose to look sarcastically stylish. “You little whore! Amethyst was on my back the whole way home. If anypony raped her Misty did after I brought him home.” “No I didn’t. He’s my best friend. Do you have any idea how awkward that would make things?!” Misty glared at Orchid. “Will you all shut the buck up!” Every pony turned to the source of the voice to see an exacerbated Amethyst looking on. “For the love of Celestia will you please stop this pointless bickering? Let’s leave the cat fighting to Hair Ball’s cat colony.” Amethyst took a deep breath. “Now, Orchid, Misty and Sunny have told me that nopony had sex with me in the bar and I know most of the ponies well enough to know they most likely wouldn't be using or carrying a pregnancy inducing crystal. With that said Misty, Sunny, would you please leave I’d like to talk to Orchid alone.” With a sigh Sunny said, “Fine, come on Misty let’s go--the weather team needs us today.” Misty nodded and said, “You’re right; see you tonight Shard.” Without another word both Sunny and Misty left. “Now then Orchid, what exactly did you do with me last night? I don’t remember anything aside from some cheering for something, so I need to get some blanks filled in.” Orchid let out a deep sigh. “After I took you from Misty and Sunny, I brought you straight home to your bed then I locked the door behind me. I even stayed up all night to make sure Misty didn’t try any stunts.” Amethyst smiled. “Thank you Orchid for looking out for me. One more question: did you see any magic flashes in the darkness?” “Most certainly not!” Orchid said with a shake of her head. At hearing this, Amethyst let out a deep sigh. “That’s good to hear--it means I most likely didn’t get exposed to any magic that would make me pregnant. When I woke up sick this morning I thought for sure I was having morning sickness.” Orchid stared blankly at Amethyst. “Morning sickness doesn't develop overnight, and I must admit your understanding of how mares work in a physical sense is a little bit off. Maybe you should see a professional.” Amethyst nodded, “Perhaps you’re right, Orchid. If I end up stuck like this, I better get more acquainted with my new self.” --- “I need an appointment, I’ve got some reproductive issues to discuss with the doctor.” “OK, the doctor will see you in a few minutes.” Amethyst stood in front of a glass window in which sat a young mare with a nurse’s hat on. Amethyst turned around, glancing at the tan wallpaper of the room he was in. His hooves clicked against the clean black and white tiles on the floor. With a sigh, Amethyst leaped up into a red fabric chair and sat on his haunches. He sat there for a few minutes before levitating a selection of magazines off one of the nearby racks. Boring, boring, uggh why does that magazine even exist? Amethyst thought as he glanced through the magazine titles. With a huff, he returned the magazines from whist they came and took to looking at the various ponies in the doctor’s office. One stallion had his head completely wrapped up in bandages; another nearby him was a young mare holding back vomit and sporting a green head standing in contrast to her orange body. Amethyst couldn’t help but cringe as his eyes found their way to a blue furred mare with a heavily distended stomach. She rubbed it with a blissful look on her face. Sweet Celestia I hope that isn’t going to be me in a few months. What if I were to have a baby, first would be all of that morning sickness just the thought of that puts me on edge. Of course, I wouldn’t be able to do any adventuring. I’ll be too busy looking after my foals to get in any work. Not to mention the huge belly would get in the way. Just the idea of having such a large belly- even for a week or two- is freaky. Amethyst cringed and stretched out his legs. Then there’d be the foals. In all of the years, I’ve been looking for artifacts, the most terrifying monsters I’ve ever encountered have been toddlers, and I’d have to deal with one for a very long time. I can’t even begin to imagine the…. Amethyst’s thoughts came to a screeching halt by the sensation of someone tugging on his teats. He let out a small eep at the sensation and looked down to the source of the irritation. There was a young foal not more than half a year old suckling on his left teat. “What the buck is going on?” Amethyst tried to scoot away in his chair but the youngster persisted. A young pegasus mare with a similar shade of purple fur to Amethyst quickly rushed over. “Stop it sweetie,” she said, snatching up the youngster from Amethyst‘s teat. “I’m so sorry miss, he got away from me when I wasn‘t watching.” “It’s… OK,” he replied, sweating and jittering all over. ”No harm done.” The mare walked away from Amethyst; he could hear the young mother scolding her child as she sat back down.. How could I forget feeding my foals, the thought of having that happen to me intentionally...gahhhh. “Miss Star, the doctor will see you now,” the nurse said as she casually opened a door right next to her. Amethyst gulped and rose to his hooves, “Well, here goes nothing.” --- Amethyst sat on the examination table. He looked around at the imposing room. Outside the window, he saw the bustle of ponies in Maple Mountain. He looked over at a device hanging on the left wall. Amethyst put a hoof to his chin in recognition. “I know that device, Silvertail came in and asked me to repair it a while back.” He glanced over to the other side of the room and saw a counter with a steel sink built into it. The door to the examination room opened and the sudden noise of it caused Amethyst to jump about half an inch. Sitting in the doorframe was a mare with red fur, a brown mane, a nurse’s cap, and a dull look on her face. The nurse walked over to Amethyst, her hooves clicking against the tile floor. “Ok Miss Star, I’m going to need some things from you. Can you light up your horn for me?” Without hesitation, Amethyst complied. The nurse held up a white film to his horn before pulling it away. “Ok now I’m going to need a sample,” the nurse produced a small plastic cup. With a blush, Amethyst took the cup in his magic aura and silently proceeded to a lavatory just down the hall. Amethyst entered the small bathroom, it’s relatively unclean appearance caused him to sneer. That piece of brown paper has been there since I started coming here Amethyst waited in the bathroom for a few minutes before he felt the urge. Several awkward splashes later, he had filled the small cup. He washed off his tail and exited the bathroom. Before leaving however, Amethyst put his sample into a cabinet nearby. Once back in the examination room, Amethyst took a seat on the examination table. “Just wait there, Miss Star, the doctor will see you shortly.” Without another word, the nurse left and shut the door behind her. Amethyst sat alone in the examination room once again. I better milk Silvertail for all the info he’s got, who knows what pitfalls there are in this body. Once again, Amethyst leapt up at the sound of a male gryphon walking into the room. He had brown fur, a black feathered head, a tail ending in prominent silver fluff, and green eyes. “Good morning Miss Lavender, I’m Doctor Silvertail. I see you came in because…” Silvertail looked at a chart he was holding. “you’re looking for advice on reproductive health,” disbelief evident on his face. “Miss Lavender, this is more a question for your gynecologist, you do have a gynecologist right?.” Amethyst looked on wide-eyed, “Sure I do…but she’s out of town. I apologize, doctor. I know you’re a busy gryphon, and I shouldn’t have troubled you with something like this.” Silvertail shook his head, “It’s no concern, Miss Lavender. I figured since you came all this way I might as well give you a regular checkup. So I had your magic analyzed and it indicates there‘s no anomalies in your magical aura.” “You can do magic analyses, how?” Amethyst smiled internally, already knowing the answer. “A young stallion that comes to my office was kind enough to donate a magic scanner to my office after my wound healer over there” Silvertail motioned to the device on the wall, “broke and he repaired it.” “Can you tell me about him?” Amethyst’s smile became external and he leaned in on his forehooves. “Umm OK… He’s a very smart unicorn but I think he’s a bit reckless. He often comes in with pretty major physical injuries, patient confidentially unfortunately prevents me from discussing further.” Reckless? Is that what he thinks about me…? “Let’s not dwell on him any further I’m going to do a reflex test.” Silvertail produced a metal hammer. “Doctor Silvertail I know you’re not a gynecologist but can I ask you a few questions anyways?” Amethyst looked away squeamishly. Silvertail hit Amethyst’s left hind leg knee and it reacted immediately. “Sure, I’ll try my best.” “I know this might seem like a stupid question but what is estrus like? I haven‘t experienced it before because… I take potions to suppress it.” Amethyst nodded nervously. Silvertail hit Amethyst’s other hind leg with the hammer. “Well Miss I can’t personally speak from experience, and I’m sure the textbooks I read in medical school won’t mean much to you. Some of my other female patrons describe it as an intense sensation in the vaginal area that occurs every few months.” Amethyst nodded and winced at having his left foreleg hit by the hammer, “So how about pregnancy? I’m just curious.” Silvertail hit Amethyst’s other foreleg, “Reflexes are sharp as ever. Mothers who come into me for natal care are always keen to tell me how much their little ones like to kick them. Say ahh, miss,” Amethyst complied and opened up his mouth. Silvertail stuck a tongue depressor onto Amethyst’s tongue and used a flashlight to look around in Amethyst’s mouth. “Nothing out of the ordinary there; let’s take some blood pressure readings.” Silvertail walked over to the nearby counter and produced a blood pressure cuff from a drawer. Amethyst looked on as Silvertail went over to his right side and strapped the cuff onto his left foreleg. “So, umm, Doctor Silvertail…I’ve been having trouble keeping my tail from getting dirty while using the bathroom.” Amethyst rubbed the back of his head. Silvertail carried on as if he hadn’t heard Amethyst’s question. Amethyst heard several hisses as Silvertail squeezed on the black ball of the blood pressure device. He slowly released air from it until he completely removed the air and the cuff. “Blood pressure is a little high, but I suspect that’s just because your heartbeat is a little fast right now. Let’s get a listen of that heart, miss.” Silvertail returned the blood pressure reader to the drawer and while there, he pulled out a stethoscope. Amethyst cringed as he felt the coldness of the stethoscope touch his left side. “Deep breath, Miss,” Silvertail asked and Amethyst complied. What felt like several minutes passed as Silvertail held the scope on Amethyst’s chest. He then switched the scope onto Amethyst’s back and once again held there for what felt like an inordinate amount of time. “Heart rate is normal. So Miss Lavender, when was the last time you saw your gynecologist?” “Gynecologist?” Amethyst tilted his head. Silvertail shot Amethyst an odd look, “You do have one, right?” Amethyst shook his head before enthusiastically nodding, “Yes of course I do… Her name is Doctor Down… There. Yeah, Dr. Down There.” “OK sure, well you seem to be in good working order, you may leave now.” Silvertail promptly opened the door to the examination room. “OK, thanks, Doctor.” Amethyst smiled and showed himself out. ------ “How could I have been so stupid?” Amethyst paced back and fourth. He was once again in the basement of his cabin, his research notes sprawled out on the desk. The green book he found in Clovis’s castle sat on the left side of the desk and a map of some tunnels sat on the right. “Dr. Down There! Damn it, that has got to be the stupidest thing I’ve said since I told Dad that I couldn’t make the gala because of a thrown horseshoe.” Amethyst paced furiously back and forth in his cabin. “And I thought I was pregnant. Come on Amethyst, get a grip on yourself. I’ve gotta change myself back and soon before I really do end up pregnant…or go totally nuts.” Amethyst stopped his pacing a moment to glance back at the map. “Blue alicorn? Who is this blue alicorn? I’ve heard rumors that the princess has a sister with blue fur, but is she truly the key? Of course that’s considering this blue furred princess actually exists. Nah, that can’t be right.” Amethyst leapt up from his chair and started pacing again. “Think, Amethyst, think!” He stopped and hit his left fore hoof on his forehead. “There’s got to be something I’m missing...” As Amethyst stood there, he found his eyes drawn to the map once again. His eyes went wide as they settled on the far left side of the map. “By Celestia’s mane…a stain.” What Amethyst was looking at was a large red splatter mark on the left side of the map. He rushed into a back room of the basement and returned with a teal crystal. With a sweeping motion, Amethyst waved the crystal over the stain and it vanished. What lay before Amethyst was a hidden chamber cut off from the rest of the map. Within the chamber, Amethyst saw the diagram of a blue alicorn. “That’s gotta be it. The blue alicorn has to be in that chamber. Now if only I could divine a way to enter it...”