Chapter 12
The water cascading against the pale-green claw-footed enameled cast iron tub made a thunderous sound while it filled. The bathroom was already filling up with steam and Pebble was eager to get into the tub, where it would be warm. She was too little to get in by herself—she had to be eased in just a little bit at a time—and if she just plopped in it would hurt far too much. But a little at a time? The sting—and the anticipation of the sting—was delightful.
Sitting on the toilet, she felt the radiant heat coming from the small black wrought iron stove, and she looked over at her mother. Both of them were naked and Pebble felt just a little bit awkward about that fact. Her mother’s nakedness didn’t bother her, but her own sure did. With no dress, no clothing of any sort, her rolls of pudge were visible, her big thighs, and all of the extra padding around her middle. All of it was ugly, and she hated it. She sat with her thighs squeezed tight together, because there were parts of her that were far, far uglier than other parts, and she didn’t like the two new additions to her body that were growing in, not at all. She resented biology’s cruel tyranny.
“Mother, can I ask you an earth pony question?” Pebble looked at her mother and waited for a response.
“Well, you’re an earth pony, and you just asked me a question, so, you just did,” Maud deadpanned, “and can’t you call me something like ‘Mama,’ or ‘Mom’... would it kill you?”
“But it is a serious question.” Pebble’s cheeks and belly grow warm from embarrassment while she considered just keeping her question to herself. Listening to the sound of the wood burning inside of the small, pot-bellied stove, her ears twitched with each pop and crackle. The tub was taking a long time to fill, and at the moment, it seemed like it was taking even longer. Like a watched pot, a watched bathtub never filled.
Standing beside the tub, Maud poked her hoof into the water, held it there, and concentrated for a moment. After a few seconds, she said, “That’s about one-hundred and four to one-hundred and six degrees. Perfect.” Then, she just stood there with her hoof held in the bathwater.
“Mom, when and how did you know that Dad was the one?” Pebble asked while she tapped her two front hooves against one another. “How did your earth pony senses tell you that he was the one? My senses are always so confusing and overwhelming. They’re too strong and I have to try and shut them out.”
“I think you’re a little too young to be worried about that—”
“Just answer the question!” Pebble demanded, her impatience manifesting as a deadpan whine.
Sighing, Maud turned to look at her daughter with her usual sleepy expression. Pebble, naked, seemed all the more vulnerable at the moment and she was unable to look her mother in the eye while her front hooves kept tap-tap-tapping together. With a splash, Maud lifted her hoof out of the bath, gave it a shake, and put it down on the floor where it darkened the stone floor with wetness.
“I gave your father the silent treatment just to see what might happen. It was stupid of me, and the truth was, I was flustered and overwhelmed by him, and it was easier for me to deal with all of my own feelings by being silent and trying to sort them out. It was just a dumb thing to do. When he freaked out and started to pour his heart out to me, I just knew. He was the one. It was like a bell going off, and all of my earth pony senses alerted me to the fact that I had just found my ideal mate and breeding partner.”
“Yes, but how?” Pebble looked her mother in the eye and her tiny nostrils flared.
“Hunch. Gut instinct. Just that… feeling. When you just know and everything just feels calm and right.” Maud paused for a moment, blinked once, and when she continued speaking, there was a curious quality to her voice. “There was also this strange, persistent arousal that wouldn’t go away, and I suspected back at the time that it was magical in origin. I still feel it sometimes, when he and I are separated, and there is this strong instinct to keep him close. For him to be near me.”
Pressing her lips together, Pebble’s cheeks poofed out and she focused her attention on the wood burning stove. While she stared at it, her mother turned off the water, and when Pebble raised her head to look, she saw her mother coming to get her. On two legs, Maud lifted Pebble from the potty, held her up, hugged her a bit, and kissed her on the head, just over her eye.
“Being an earth pony is confusing,” Pebble grumbled.
On two legs, Maud approached the tub, which was now full, and she dangled Pebble over the water. Driven by instinct, Pebble’s legs began to kick, to paddle, and the grumpy little filly scowled, not much caring for her instincts at the moment. Maud lowered her daughter a bit, and Pebble hissed when her hooves hit the hot water. The contrast of the cooler air and the hot bath water was delicious, and Pebble shivered with anticipation of the dunking to come.
There would be heat, too much heat, and then the air of the bathroom would feel even colder by contrast. Her stubby, chubby legs kicked, moving on their own, as most mammals tended to do when held over the water, and her hooves splashed as they submerged. She was dunked in a little more at a time, and Pebble knew it would sting the most when her belly hit the water, well, her belly and her two most-unwelcome developments. The hot water would hurt those the most, and Pebble gritted her teeth as even more of her sank in.
At least her mother was careful and slow.
“Hot, hot, hot!” Pebble murmured, and the cautious dunking process halted for a second so she could recover. Fear manifested, as Pebble didn’t like being held up off of the ground, and panic joined anticipation, making her heart race. “Mama, I think Sumac is the one.”
“You’re a bit young for that conclusion,” Maud replied in deadpan.
“That doesn’t make it any less true,” Pebble retorted as her mother continued to ease her in just a little at a time.
Maud’s voice still had a curious quality to it. “I never said it wasn’t true, just that you were a bit young to have reached that conclusion. Look, I respect you, your instincts, and your hunches as an earth pony. But as your mother, I am going to have moments where I balk at certain things. We can always talk about it though, never forget that. Just remember, I’m your mom and I have certain feelings of my own because of my love for you as my daughter.”
With a plop and a splash, Pebble was dropped into the tub, which was deep enough for her to bob up and down in. Her mane and tail flowed all around her, trying to float in the water, and she looked up at her mother with bright, curious eyes. Loving eyes. The little filly watched as her mother threw one leg over the edge of the tub and began the slow, cautious process of getting in. There was a splash and ripples formed when Maud’s hind leg broke the surface of the water, and the earth pony mare let out a cautious hiss from between gritted teeth.
Bathtimes were the best times, because anything could be talked about.
After the excitement of the morning, the house was now quiet. Some had gone, off to visit Adventus to bring him a bit of much-needed holiday cheer. Others were having a bit of a nap. Still others were having a bath. Tarnished Teapot was having a spot of tea, and he was not alone. Sitting with his chin resting on the edge of the table to support his head, Sumac Apple watched everything around him with keen interest.
A roaring fire blazed in the kitchen’s hearth, filling the kitchen with heat and light, driving away the dull winter’s shadows. Vinyl Scratch moved around the kitchen at an elderly pace, preparing cucumbers so she could make bread and butter chips. With lean times ahead, the almost paper thin cucumber slices would be pickled and then served between buttered slices of bread. The smell of Vinyl’s endeavours was amazing to behold; the scent of brine, of cucumbers, onions, of garlic, and the twang of spicy, fruity peppers.
For Tarnish, he was having an Igneous moment, which is to say that there was a colt present he wished he could call his son. Having Sumac around helped Tarnish to understand his own father-in-law a little better, as Igneous was not the easiest pony to figure out. While Tarnish loved his girls, he wanted a son and hoped that at least one colt was coming.
Had Tarnish been paying a bit more attention, he might have noticed Sumac’s ears pivoting around and the colt drawing in a deep breath, but he failed to notice. As such, he was completely off guard when the curious little unicorn asked his question.
“Crown Agent Cocoa killed a god,” Sumac began. “What happened in Skyreach?”
Almost dropping his tea, Tarnish began trembling and the panic came on so strong and so sudden that it almost overwhelmed him. A thousand nightmarish images rushed into his mind, each one more terrible than the last, and a faint, almost imperceptible whimper escaped from Tarnish’s lips
“Where is Vinyl in these stories?” Sumac kept going, unaware of Tarnish’s growing panic.
“Crown Agent Cocoa is an amalgam of Tarnish and I,” Vinyl said in Octavia’s voice, which seemed to come from somewhere above, from the ceiling, or maybe the light fixture. It was obvious that she still needed a great deal of practice with this new spell.
Fighting to control his telekinesis, Tarnish put his teacup down on the table, took a deep breath, and thought of happier thoughts. With a quick turn of his head, he looked at Vinyl, and saw that she appeared to be okay, but she was good at hiding things, better than he was, anyhow. Hesitant, he licked his teeth with his tongue, and took another deep breath for good measure.
“Sumac, Miss Yearling… she takes a bit of poetic license with those books.” He felt his calm returning and Tarnish could see Sumac’s vivid green eyes behind the colt’s darkened tea shades. For a moment, Sumac looked so much like his father, Flam, that it left Tarnish feeling disturbed. He had first met Flam in Dodge City Junction…
“But you did kill a god, right?” Sumac waited, looking both curious and anxious.
“I… we… well, you see… Sumac,” Tarnish stammered, unable to form a sentence. Another deep breath was taken, and Tarnish blurted out, “What happened there was complicated. Miss Yearling had to write everything out as a way of healing. Some bad things happened. A lot of bad things.”
“Is it true that Princess Celestia destroyed it?” Sumac asked. “Skyreach, I mean.”
Upon hearing these words, Tarnish felt the tightness in his barrel ease off a bit, and the next deep breath he drew was a little easier. “Yeah, Sumac, that’s true.”
“How?” Sumac’s voice was one of astonished disbelief. “That’s an entire mountain range and valleys.”
Tarnish felt his ears droop, and he listened to the sounds of Vinyl shuffling around the kitchen. His hoof began tapping against the table, but he was unaware of his own actions. The teacup trembled when he lifted it, and he dribbled a bit of tea when he slurped some out. Licking his lips, he cleaned away the tea, and then looked down at the table where several drops of creamy brown liquid had fallen.
“Princess Celestia was angry. She thought she had lost her friends and she was grief stricken. There was a whole lot of emotion there… maybe too much emotion… anyhow, she flew east, on her own, leaving her sister Princess Luna in charge of Equestria. I don’t know what happened, I wasn’t there, but Equestria had almost forty-eight hours of darkness. She told me that she turned the fury of the sun upon that place, and she refused to talk about it any further.”
“Daring Do said that the sun set on Skyreach,” Sumac said.
“Maybe it did, Sumac… maybe it did.” Tarnish felt his panic easing away, and he managed to smile. Eager to change the subject, Tarnish slurped more tea, then said, “Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I got shot in the behind?” While he spoke, he heard Sumac suck in a deep breath. The sound of the colt breathing was precious to Tarnish, for reasons he did not understand. “I still have the gun that did it, you know. It’s on display. I came home and I asked Maud to kiss my booboo and make it feel better. She asked me where I got hurt and I turned around. She bit me. I deserved it. And that’s how marriage works, Sumac.”
“That’s so awesome.” Sumac breathed these words while his ears rose and fell.
“Yeah, having a mare love you enough to bite you on your bum is pretty awesome…”
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Looks like Skyreach has a new name... Vacant Lot.
How do Earth Pony senses evolve over time? Could Pebble be right? Is Maud correct in recommending caution?
Good deflection there Tarnish.
Cocoa because chocolate and cream make up the drink?
Am I the only one waiting for Gosling to just appear, out of nowhere, in the bathtub ?
Oh, oh, I know, Gosling can be the Alicorn of the Bathtubs. Whetever there is a bathtub, he can appears on it and saves the day !!!!
Now we know why none of the centaur tech or data archives get investigated.
We could tell you, but then we'd spoil the end of another fanfic, and then Derpy would kill you.
More and more is revealed about Skyreach, even outside the actual story. Shame about all that lost knowledge. Even with, you know, the whole "covered in eldritch horrors" thing.
8140284
Devotees of the alicorns often wear a symbol representing them. I guess Devotees of Gosling could wear an actual rubber duckie on a necklace. Appropos for someone who's talent is cheering people up.
8133151
Or maybe homosexuality is a natural way to reduce overpopulation. Nicer than wars, for sure.
8132769
We are animals. Animals with bigger brains, nothing more.
"Rrawk! Skyreach, I have not been this close to her in many years!"
And you never will again, talky bird man.
8140330
I feel like I'm missing something.
8140260
You could say that Skyreach finally reached the sky but the sky wasn't too happy with it barging in.
It's a bit concerning how much body shame Pebble is suffering under.
Honestly, being anything is confusing.
The sun gives life, but sometimes the sun purifies an entire valley.
8140260
More like "Sheet of Glass"
8140260
No, Skyreach turned into Skyreached.
I am imagining an awkward moment where Sumac askes Pebble to bite him on the bum.
Now I am laughing at what I just imagined.
8140406
Was not planning on it. I don't think I could take a horror story from you.
I have an odd relationship with horror. In recent years, I've taken to watching let's plays of horror video games like Outlast and Five Night's at Freddy's. I've even played a couple horror RPGs as well as Slender: The Arrival. As I write this, I realize that I can tolerate fiction that place me into the midst of horror better than I can deal with reading about other people dealing with horror. I'm not entirely sure what that says about me.
8140419
It's not a horror story, but it is horrifying.
SPOILERS SPOILERS
8140260 not sure it would qualify as that toss the output of the sun against something it will be atomized. Hole in the ground maybe if it didn't get too hot silcon would become glass rock would become molten for a time
8140419
i think it portrays a deep care for your fellow beings
if that makes sense
Skyreach spoilers! Yay!
I wonder if any of Daring's rogues considered seeking the power of Skyreach? I picture Cabarellon or Azuhitol seeing the latest book on the stands frustrated that they were beaten to the punch again. Only to read the book realize it's the edited foal friendly version of events and sigh in relief for dodging a bullet. Possibly they send her a sympathy fruit basket afterwards.
Congrats Kudz, you have two featured Weedverse stories right now.
8140517 Caballeron did go, though. If I may quote Skyreach;
Well that answers that question... sort-of-not-really.
I still want to know just how much she put in that damn book.
8140260 Or Can't Reach
8140510
I'm not sure I'd give myself that much praise, but thanks for saying so anyway. Seriously, it's brightened my day a bit.
8140335
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor reference. The Arakkoa, bird-men, had a capital 'city' in a mountain known as Skyreach full of ancient Apexis technology, where they (twisted devotees of the phoenix goddess of the sun) used solar laser weapons to destroy villages who didn't cooperate with their rule.
I realized beforehand you had no idea about this, but made the reference because it makes me smile. And I like the idea of both Skyreaches going up in raging sun-goddess plasma.
With all the different story lines, I have become a bit confused - how old are Pebble and Sumac in this chapter?
8140844
Same age as the previous story, but a few months older.
Five.
Boo-boo bitten butt buck shot!
Say that 5 times fast.
Not until Wednesday (yes I'm being dang literal
)
Fri. Sat. Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri.
Sunny Partly Cloudy Sunny Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Scattered Showers Showers Showers
66°49° 63°41° 65°43° 69°49° 74°56° 74°55° 60°48° 60°47°
8140260 2:35 for the relevant phrase! Just need to imagine a thousand times more BOOM!
8140702
i just calls it as i sees it
8145889
I'd argue that if they were really that smart, they wouldn't sign on with Grogar in the first place. But point taken.
Oh! I had another thought. An optimistic one this time! About Spike, no less!
Does anyone remember that fanfiction I wouldn't stop yapping about? Breath of Fire II: War of the Demons? Is anyone even still reading after I mentioned that?
There's a character in there, a genderless plant creature named Spar. A species with limited emotional capabilities that live for centuries. They tend to be more logical than anything, so it's rather heartwarming when, sometimes after he joins the main cast, assures another character that getting to know everyone, forming meaningful connections with creatures he will outlive several times over, is worth it. It's worth it even though losing them will hurt so much.
I've been saddened in the past that Spike, being physically a child for at least another century, will be unable to form the kind of deep connections with the adults he's so close with. That even children he befriends will simply grow past him. I briefly compared his situation with Spar's, and almost dismissed the comparison. After all, Spar is in its adolescent phase, not a child. But then I remembered, Spar shares many of the same issues that Spike faces. Spar's physiology is completely different from its friends. As a being that reproduces asexually, it can't understand the sexual motivations of its friends any more than Spike can, and never will. Spike mentioned that he has trouble with the emotional side of things, and that's something that's biologically built into Spar. Spar really does not fit in among the many different people who form their group, from a biological or a societal standpoint. Yet, that does not prevent Spar from forming those deep connections with its friends.
I posit that Spike can and will form such deep connections, if he hasn't already. He may be physically a child, but mentally he has matured past that, at least somewhat. He has responsibilities and a work schedule that would crush an average adult, after all. Spike has seen some shit. Despite his age, he has a strong sense of self, and a valuable worldview. He has the love, care, and respect of his friends. Spike is going to be fine. He won't go into his adulthood lamenting that he never really got to form adult friendships with his oldest friends, because the physical maturity barrier never really mattered, at least not in the respect that counts. Spike can have adult friendships from a position of mental maturity and from knowing what its like to shoulder great responsibility.
I'd still like to see more about how the other Mane Six view Spike. I'd like to see his crush on Rarity get proper resolution (I mean, really, at this point he has to understand it can't work out with the physical maturity difference. He's too smart not to.). I'd like to witness his personal relationships with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. But even if I never do, I will be satisfied knowing that those relationships exist, and that they are as deep, meaningful, and yes, adult as any they share with each other.
8151691
Ponyville, the Rock Farm, and Manehattan.
8151709
Huh...I was under the impression that Manehatten hated them. Clearly more has happened than I realize.
I meant to say so earlier, but I don't fully get what Olive and her mother were talking about earlier. Hearth's Warming's Warmth? Or something like that. The Earth Pony stuff. I mean, I kinda get it, but a bit of it's going over my head.
This was a nice set of interactions. I don't know enough about Skyreach to fully appreciate some of this, but it's good to know things ended well enough and that there's not a city producing killer mechanoids running unchecked. That I know of.
That leaves the question of: Why, if Skyreach was destroyed, is the secrecy so necessary? Which leaves me with the question of: Do I really want to try picking Skyreach back up?
8151737
Heat. Horsie heat. Pebble will grow up and get a hot little horsie hole that has a terrible itch. Rampant biological desire.
I've been trying not to say anything about this, because I didn't want to start another rant, but it kind of is pissing me off.
The Moondancer thing. The thing where Ponyville's citizens are being dicks to her for no justifiable reason. Seriously, you lot are going to dump all over her for having the audacity to be tortured for an undefined length of time? Really? She is one of your own. What happened to all that small-town togetherness stuff?
Look, I get it. They're scared because their security feels threatened. And you know what, if that manifested in the form of having less trust in Twilight Sparkle, that would be fine. I wouldn't be happy for Twilight, but on a practical level they do need to be able to trust her to keep them face. But taking it out on the primary victim in the whole thing? Not cool. It's selfish and petty, is exactly what it is. It is not okay to blame people for things that aren't their fault.
It is never okay to blame people for things that are not their fault.
Moondancer deserves better. And I would be much happier if Ponyville wasn't being a bunch of dicks. I am disappointed and disgusted with the apathy they're showing towards her suffering.
Hey, isn't Twilight Velvet's thing fighting against apathy? Or is that just for child-care? Either way, if she somehow got them to not be dicks, it'd go a long way towards making me like her for a change. I don't know if that's a plausible plot possibility or if I'm just pulling things out of my ass. It's just something that struck me, is all.
I'm actually hoping that one of my most hated characters will come in and fix a messed-up situation. I don't even know how to feel about that.
black wrought iron stove, Probably cast iron, wrought iron is more for tools, fasteners, etc etc. (yeah, I know picky picky history of technology freak.)
Hold the f&$# up, did this just spoiled skyreach for me !!???!!??!!?
9517422
No. This happens after Skyreach.
9517424
I'm working my way through the timeline. Already read what's released of Skyreach. This half-assed spoiler here angers me.
I need the reast of that story!
10183533
It's not a spoiler. It doesn't take place in the story itself. It comes after the fact.