Pandemic: Starting Over

by Halira

Chapter 11: Eviction Notice

My bloody nose wasn’t actually that bad so it didn’t take all that long to get under control so I could take over watching the younger foals. Lántiān didn’t waste any time going for her flight, and truth be told, I was glad to have a break away from her. I was sure she was just as happy to have some freedom away from me, and from having to play adult to her younger siblings and daughter. She was still a young mare and shouldn’t have to deal with so much responsibility. I wished I could have a break from playing adult for a while, my aches and pains reminded me that I was definitely no little filly. Even though ponies aged more gracefully than humans I had still caught and removed several grey strands of hair from my mane and tail in the past few months. I felt silly worrying about grey hairs, such an outdated human concept. Ponies mane colors came in all different shades and colors; why should I be concerned that mine was changing again?

I sat on my haunches, staring out the door the same way Lántiān had earlier. Qīng Yǔ was quietly laying next to me, not really showing much in the way of foalish energy. I wondered if she was always this calm and mellow. She certainly had been upset earlier when I had been struck, but that was an understandable reaction to seeing violence. She was too young to actually have a conversation with, and I was unsure what she possessed for a vocabulary. I had yet to hear her use any of it, if there was any.

Méng had finally had enough sun, and was fast asleep on the couch. I had considered taking him up to a proper bed, but decided that it was just easier to watch him when he was on the couch. I didn't really think he was going to get up and get into any trouble, but I hadn't learned his habits as of yet, and wasn't going to risk him being too far out of my sight. I remembered being told once by my daughter that night ponies could notoriously sleep through any noise around them, but preferred to sleep in the dark- even though bright sunlight made them sleepy. We didn't really have any dark rooms though, short of stuffing him in a closet. I made a mental note to add some blackout curtains to the list of things to buy.

The other two colts were starting to slow down outside, and it didn't seem to be because they were tired. No, the expressions on their faces said the culprit was boredom. The small backyard really didn't present much to do, and they had done what they could in that confined space. There were a few small bushes around the edges, a small unadorned patio, and an open grassy area, and nothing else- not even a tree. I needed to find something to occupy them before they got too restless.

My ears twitched as I heard my phone ringing. I had left it in my room and really didn't feel like running up stairs to answer it. It could go to voicemail or if it was really important they could try again on the landline. After about a minute of incessant ringing it stopped. A few seconds of silence followed before the landline started ringing. I sighed and stood up, startling Qīng Yǔ for a moment, but she got up and followed me as I walked over to the phone.

I hit the speakerphone button. "Hello, Sunset Blessing speaking. Who is it?"

"Good, I was afraid I'd have to track you down when you didn't answer your phone," Wild Growth answered over the line. "I've made a decision. By the end of the week I'm moving you out of there."

That was sudden. "May I ask why, and where to?"

"You aren’t going to be living on SPEC's money anymore. I've determined it is best if the organization distances itself from you," Wild replied briskly. "However, I’m not going to just throw you out on the street. I have a privately owned property in that area which I can move you to. It is a unique historic property that I felt was worth purchasing now, before the property market finally makes a full recovery in Colorado- which Number advises me should happen soon. Long-term, I'm considering maybe giving it as a gift to one of my nieces or my nephew, once they grow up."

My eyebrows shot up. "You bought a historic house for my grandfoals? How big a house is this?"

"Technically, I don't know for sure who I'm gifting it to yet, or if I'm gifting it at all," Wild corrected. "My little brothers are eventually going to get married and have families too. As for the size, I'm not exactly sure about the square footage, but it's a big mansion- fifteen bedrooms I think, at least if I remember correctly."

"Good God… that's excessive," I breathed out.

I heard the smugness in her voice as she continued. "Perhaps, but I got it at a good price. I'm also heavily considering flipping it in ten to fifteen years when the property market is more likely to be booming, and using the profits to buy all my family more modest, but pleasant homes. I did learn some things from you and Number about how to seize opportunities that will grow my fortune over time. I may be magicly crippled, but that won’t stop me from growing my wealth so I can use it. I will not be powerless."

"Ten to fifteen years is a long time to just sit on a property."

"Yeah, but I've been told by multiple experts that I am going to be very long-lived, and that saps my urgency for immediate returns," she answered somberly. "My brothers' and sister's grandchildren and grandfoals are likely to pass away of old age before I go completely grey in the mane, and that is a very sobering thought for me. Forgive me if I wish to indulge them while I can."

I wiped a tear from my eye as I thought of my young wife, dead far too soon. What would I have done for her if I knew that I wouldn't have been the first to go? Once again I cursed myself for living while she died. She might persist in the dream realm, but she had become something else- something that shared only the echo of who she once was. I should have done things differently. If I had...

Wild's tone hardened, and it brought me out of my misery. "For right now it is a place that I can send you that is on my dime and not SPEC's. I’ll pay you to be the groundskeeper for however long you want to stay or until I decide what to do with it. That way I can point to you and say you're doing a job for me instead of just getting handouts whenever anyone starts asking."

"You're prepping for a further scandal that might involve me," I said in a lower voice.

"Correct you are," Wild said with a tired sigh. "I don't know if I can keep a lid on news getting out about this lab in Nevada, and I'm terrified I’ll find worse in some other secret lab of yours. There are at least one or two of the labs that are cooperating fully with my investigations of them, but there are several that I'm going to just have to show up unannounced to with a security force in order to demand answers. I wish you would be forthcoming with me about what went on or is still going on in each of these labs. I don't want to have to treat you like a villain."

"I honestly don't know for sure in many cases," I replied. "I had certain projects that I required secrecy on, and in exchange for their absolute silence they got materials, funding, and land for their own projects-- technically they were still owned by me, but with them free to experiment as they pleased outside their assigned projects. I'm not always sure what projects they did on their own with these resources."

"I need more information, Sunset," Wild growled. "If you really want to turn over a new leaf you should be open and honest with me, instead of having me have to root these things out myself."

I shook my head. "I'll send you an encrypted email with as much information as I can disclose, but there's many things I can't. I'm under compulsion for secrecy in some cases. I can't break those kinds of contracts."

"And I'm assuming you can't tell me who demanded compulsion agreements? Those things are really fishy, and still being debated on whether they should remain legal."

"I'm sorry, but client confidentiality is part of the agreement," I said dejectedly. "It's not that I don't want to be open with you, but I made deals I literally can't break."

I heard her letting off a frustrated groan. "Damn it, I hate all this damn secretive crap. I'm putting an organizational ban on such agreements going forward. They're too legally questionable. It might cost SPEC some contracts, but I'm not getting entangled with anything like that going forward. Things will not be run under me as they were under you."

"How bad is what you found in Nevada?" I asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"I've got a large creature that resembles nothing else on Earth or Equestria. From what I can tell she used to be human, but her memory is a complete mess. She's extremely hostile to ponies, and I think it's because of who made her and continued to experiment on her afterward. I'm trying to gain her trust, but she's already slammed me around more than once. If it had been any other pony she attacked like that they'd be dead; me, I just get a nasty headache from it."

"Slammed you around?"

"Have you ever seen the first Avengers movie?"

"Yes."

"Remember the scene where the Hulk slammed Loki repeatedly around? Well, she was the Hulk in this case and I was Loki," Wild explained.

That sounded painful. I knew Wild was as close to as invincible as they came, but… damn. "Doctor Rossman was the pony in charge there. You should be able to pull up his information under the old contractor database. That's all I can really give you, since I didn't even know about this. I'm sorry, Wild."

"It isn't for me to forgive you," Wild replied in a tired voice. "Since this was tied to the temporary transformation research I'll be dealing with investigators as well. It was my money going into this after all. I've already notified the government, and you should be expecting a visit before the day is out- so don't go anywhere until you speak with them."

Qīng Yǔ started to butt her head against me and whine. My best guess was she was hungry. All the foals except Méng could use some lunch, and I could too.

"I have some hungry foals to feed," I informed my benefactor. "Thank you, Wild. I really do appreciate everything you've been doing for me. I admit, I didn't think you'd be willing to give me aid after… well, you know."

"You can thank Twilight Sparkle for advocating for you," Wild replied. "I have every reason to hate you after Riverview, but she seems sure that taking care of you will pay off in the long run, and that you aren't the same person you were before the Bastion exploded. Don't disappoint her or make me feel like a fool for giving you a chance. I'm generous, but I'm not gullible. This is the only second chance you're getting."

My ears sagged. "I understand. I still thank you, and hope the Lord blesses you."

"I have been blessed more than most. Save your prayers for you and those foals," Wild said stiffly. "I will let you know when I'm ready to move you, just stay out of trouble. Good bye, Sunset."

The call ended perhaps a little too late. I flattened my ears as the tiny pegasus filly beside me decided that she had enough of being ignored and turned on her full waterworks and siren. So much for being calm and mellow.

I pushed the glass door open and shouted over the noisy filly. "Shǔguāng! Bring your brother with you and come inside. It is time for lunch!"

"<What?>" Hé Líng yelled back in Mandarin.

Shǔguāng turned to his brother. "<It's time to eat.>"

"<Why does she use strange words?>" He Líng complained. "When can I learn strange words?>"

"<It will happen eventually!>" I shouted. "<Come on, so you can eat!>" I wondered if Trixie was awake yet so she could deal with that issue. I would love to not have to be talking in two different languages to get things done.

Shǔguāng turned to his little brother with a grin. "<Race you!>" And the colt took off ahead without giving Hé Líng any warning.

The earth pony didn't seem to care. He just immediately started running. "Cowwabungga!"

Well, he had at least one strange word down at least.

Qīng Yǔ stopped crying to flap her wings and let off a birdlike squawk as her uncles came hurtling towards her. I pulled the filly aside as they came running through the door almost neck and neck, despite Shǔguāng's early lead.

"<Watch out for your niece!>" I scolded them.

The two colts looked suitably abashed for nearly running over the filly, and Hé Líng walked over and gave Qīng Yǔ a nuzzle with his nose. The attention and show of affection seemed to be enough to appease the tiny filly, and she let off a happy squeal as she grabbed his face with her wings.

I watched this exchange impassively, and wondered: how different were they from me? It wasn't just that they were Chinese either, although that was a big difference. With the exception of their older sister all these foals had been born ponies. It seemed at times as if I had always been a pony, and it was hard to imagine that my forty-third birthday had been the first that I had celebrated as a pony- with my fifty-first birthday only a month away now. Shǔguāng's life as a pony and my own weren't that different in lengths. Was I pony enough to do right by them? Could I truly understand them?

I turned and headed towards the kitchen. "<Come on, let's go eat.>"