Cindy looked scared and hopeful, the others, more anxious. I could put Cindy in one of the children, giving her life a new direction, maybe better, maybe worse. Would she be the same person?
Of course not. I wouldn't be the same person either. We would both be changed, forever. "That's life."
Luna twitched an ear at my statement. "Pardon?"
I moved to stand beside Cindy. "That's life. Cindy has been extraordinarily kind. The others casually merged with their host ages ago, never announcing what they were doing. It's been written off as part of the craziness that the infection causes. Cindy, I think you're inflating this."
Cindy turned to face me, wringing her fingers nervously. "How do you mean?"
I put my hands on her shoulders. "I'm saying we're already together. You went slowly out of fear and compassion, but that changed things. Instead of either of us being lost in the soup, we've taken snatches of the other, made it part of ourselves. I am you, Cindy."
Cindy cracked a smile gently. "I am you. Your thoughts are familiar and wonderful."
I leaned in and nuzzled at her gently. "Even if you were pulled out to somewhere else, we would be one. Silly girl, we already merged. The eyes were probably the most obvious sign of that."
Cindy tilted her head one way and then the other. "Are you saying there would be no difference if we came together completely?"
I shrugged. "I doubt there'd be no difference, but that's life. We change. I am not the person who entered this situation. I'm not even the guy who finished High School those years ago, or the one that scored the job that saw the end of the world as I knew it. The world itself isn't the same one. We've been staring at this idea of change being death."
Neon snorted softly, then looked at Luna. "By the way, the power inside of me, the 'princesshood'. She's been mostly good."
Luna nodded, but looked distracted at the exchange between Cindy and I. Cindy wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tightly. "Does that mean you want to come together, and make one amazing whole?"
I stroked over Cindy's ears with a hand as I smiled at her. "Silly girl, I'm telling you we already did that. I'm already part-pattern, and you are part-human, and we're both better than where we were before."
Cindy looked excited, but confused. Her ears fell as confusion became fear. "That's... That's good, I think, but what do we do now then? Will we always be like this? I'm not... I've never heard of two merged patterns living side by side, instead of as one whole."
I lifted her chin and nibbled along her snout slowly, my multiple tongues escaping to caress across her flesh as I gazed into her eyes. "We'll be the first then. Take that body, but we're not splitting. We can't split. You're already a part of me, and I'm already part of you. When you're born, we'll just be able to look each other in the eyes and embrace properly, for real."
Her body warmed with emotions and I could feel her mind exploding with both fear and building joy. "We will be the first. Twins, identical at a glance, but subtly different on the inside." She glanced away a moment. "You understand we won't have our full power unless we're in contact."
I grabbed for one of her hands and squeezed it gently. "Then we'll have plenty of excuses to be close. Besides, you're guessing. You might be wrong. You're in here." I tapped at my own head. "I'm in there." I tapped her head gently, turning into a gentle petting. "You were trying so hard to avoid merging, but we're already there."
Neon tapped at a cobblestone with a hoof. "I don't assume to understand most of what you're talking about, but if I grasped my part, Cindy's hopping inside of me and she's going to make me explode?"
Cindy blinked at Neon. "Gosh no. You'll just feel the urge to lay that egg, and it'll mature quickly. Once I'm out, I'll need your help, or--"
Luna waved a hoof. "I apologize, this is very important, but I wasn't expecting it and I do have other affairs. It sounds like you've come to a decision, all that is left is doing it?"
I squeezed Cindy's hand gently and walked her over to Neon. "Sorry for crowding up your garden with this. How long will this take, Cindy?"
Cindy started to approach Neon and hesitated as fear began to become dominant again. "Cindy, I'm in there. Just ask yourself what I'd do."
She closed her eyes a moment, then nodded back at me. "You'd be scared, but do it anyway." Then a smile overtook her face. "You are with me, and soon we'll be together, physically." The fear in her seemed pushed aside for the moment, and she leaned in on Neon, going in for a kiss. Neon drew back at first, but lip contact wasn't needed. Cindy kissed Neon on the belly instead, and Neon collapsed with a loud moan. Cindy's form faded into a bright spray of reds and oranges that flowed powerfully into Neon, parting her nethers to fill her already egg-filled womb and overwhelm the egg that was so young.
Neon rolled onto her back, panting as her hooves cradled her swollen looking belly. "If... that's what it feels like when I surprise someone, I don't see why people get so upset about it." She slowly rolled upright, sluggish and bloated. "Can we wake up now? I want to get this over with."
Luna smiled gently. "You may. I'm glad this has been resolved." She didn't look quite sure of exactly what was resolved or how. "I look forward to seeing you both back here. There are other things to discuss, later, I imagine."
We awoke. It was dark and we were on a soft surface. It was home, we were on the bed. Neon was beside me, already climbing off the bed. Sandra perked up from the other large bed. Dust Kicker and Hope were soon to awaken as well. Hope flicked the lights on. "You're back. Is... what happened?"
My balance felt off, and the reason for it and Hope's confusion was easily discovered. Running my hands over my shoulders, I had no second head, just the one a person would expect to have. I didn't hear Cindy's voice, or feel the caress of her thoughts against my own, and a tear welled up in my eyes unwillingly. Had I been wrong? Was this another change? I realized in that moment that I was feeling exactly what Cindy feared. We really had merged. I was not who I was before.
Neon grunted and sank to the floor. "She's working faster than I expected..."
Eyes turned to her, gawking at her swollen belly and her pained noises. Dust hopped to the floor. "Someone tell us what's going on, now!"
I half-fell from bed. Was I smaller? If it was, it wasn't by much. "Dust, everyone, Neon's laying her egg. The egg's Cindy."
Sandra colored and hurried over to Hope. She began whispering hurriedly in his ear, likely catching him up on what exactly happened and where. "W-what?! Doesn't that mean I'm Cindy's... dad now?"
Neon grunted and wriggled. "Oh sure... ignore the woman giving birth here... No big deal..." She hissed as she struggled, the egg starting to peek from her, eager to escape her body it seemed.
Dust moved to Neon's side and gently set a hoof on her rounded belly and whispered soft encouragements. "You're doing fine, go on. A big, tough mare like you? This isn't a problem for you. You can handle this."
Sandra spoke with Karen's voice, "Is Neon alright? Sandra, bring me closer!" She obliged, rising up and moving to curl partially around Neon. Neon wasn't alone anymore, and looked more relaxed for the company as she huffed and puffed. The egg was approaching its widest point, stretching her wide as she gave a keen howl.
Hope crashed beside me. "Are you alright?"
All the madness, and he asked me if I was alright. I put a hoof over Hope and drew him close, squeezing him. "No, but I will be. How are you holding up? You're going to be a father."
Hope's ears pinned. "But it'll be Cindy, right? She doesn't need raising or anything. She's more of my mother than my daughter."
With a final loud groaning and a full-body tremble, Neon pushed the egg free of herself and collapsed in a panting pile, held comfortingly by Sandra. Dust Kicker carefully retrieved the fallen egg and smiled. "Looks healthy and intact. You did a good job."
I gazed at the egg, imagining Cindy within, alone and scared. I was a part of her, as she was a part of me, but she was still in the dark, physically isolated. I rose to my hooves. "Hope, Cindy will want your company, as a parent, and family." I approached the egg, my tongues starting to wave and dance. "Sandra, Hope, as her parents, may I borrow some?"
Hope quickly bobbed his head. Sandra's was a little slower coming, but without question. I took the power from them with slow licks, leaving my tongues throbbing with power. I wrapped them around the egg and the egg jumped on contact. Did she feel my presence close by? Good. I cradled her tightly in that wet embrace and fed her the borrowed power. I could feel the egg becoming warmer and warmer. She was using that power, just as I hoped she would. I ran out of the borrowed energy and began giving my own, and still she grew and developed.
Dust Kicker put a hoof on her chest. "Go on, I'm part of this herd too." Her energy was taken with a lick across the snout and added to the effort. We were all tired, but the egg still had growing to do.
With a dazzling flash, Crystal appeared. "I'm sorry for intruding on your bedroom of all places, but ev... What happened?!" She was gawking at me and my lack of two heads. "Are you alright?!" She began to dance in place a little. "I thought something felt off, but this!"
I reached for her with a tongue. "We need more power, please. It'll be tiring, but you won't be hurt."
Crystal shrank back in surprise, but quickly righted herself. "Oh, of course, if it'll help." Probably not the way she thought it might, but I took it anyway. Power flowed from her to me, then to the egg. The only pony in the room she hadn't been fed from was Neon, but she already gave a most painful contribution to the process. The egg quivered and pulsed in my grip. It didn't hatch immediately, but I knew... I knew for certain that Cindy had felt all of us, and she was happy. She could stand a little longer before reaching us, and it would only be a little longer. I collapsed with the others. We were one huge pony pile around that egg. She wasn't yet born, but she was already welcomed to the herd. She would like that.