Pandemic: Starting Over

by Halira

Chapter 67: Beds, Baths, and Bodyguards

We returned to the house, and I dusted down everyone before we stepped through the front door, paying extra attention to hooves. Yes, we were still filthy, but I got us to where we wouldn't be tracking mud through the house.

As we walked in, we met Rosetta and the other night ponies coming down the stairs, looking like they just woke up, with Méng riding Robby's back. They all paused on the stairs to stare at us.

"What happened to you?" Rosetta asked as she looked us over. "You look worse than my foals do after being left unattended for an hour."

"I'm the queen and champion of the mud pit," I said matter-of-factly. "The colts and I all needed to blow off some energy after being cooped up so much, and so we did."

"You got into a mud fight?!" Robby asked bewilderedly.

"Auntie cheats. She uses her magic," Líng accused.

I gave him a look of mock outrage. "And you three ganged up on me. Such ruffians, ganging up on an old mare like that."

"You still won," Sinker pointed out.

"You better believe it, Bro," I replied with a smirk.

Rosetta raised an eyebrow at me. "Have you been drinking? Eating funny mushrooms? Or is this just the inevitable mental breakdown that was bound to happen sooner or later?"

I smirked at her. "Is it so wrong to want to let loose and play with the foals in my care? I'm told that you've been known to roughhouse with my grandfoals on multiple occasions."

She stood up a little straighter. "Well… that's me. You aren't exactly known for being playful. Everything I heard about you from Phobia, Tonya, and Tom indicates that you have always been a sour authoritarian with kids."

My smirk fell off as my ears drooped. "That's true… and I can still be an authoritarian. I may not be able to change who I am completely, but I can try to be a better version of myself. One of my biggest failings back then was trying to get Phobia and other kids to conform to what I thought they should be instead of embracing and celebrating who they are. I've made my mistakes there, and I intend to do better this time."

"And what does that have to do with you being decked out in mud?" Robby asked, then shrank back. "Sorry, just asking. It just didn't seem related."

My smile returned. "Líng is a pony who loves the soil and water, and that equals out to him liking mud. I'm not typically going to go rolling in the mud, but I can show him I embrace him for what he is."

Líng came and hugged me. He would have smeared mud all over me, but it was too late to worry about that. I hugged him in return, and without thinking about it, kissed his head.

Rosetta continued to blankly stare at us for a few seconds, as if we were a puzzle to figure out, then she looked up at my face with a frown. "Since you are being so tender and understanding, I have something I've been putting off that I need to discuss with you." She looked me over again. "After you bathe."

My ears flattened. "This sounds like something that's going to ruin my mood."

She nodded. "Probably. That's why I'm trying to catch you when you are at your most understanding."

I couldn't catch a break. "Very well. I'll get with you after I have cleaned up and gotten these three clean. By the way, you were asleep when I made the announcement. I don't want anyone to be alone by themselves at any time on this property. Always have at least one buddy with you, even if it is a foal, at least until this whole barking thing is resolved. Wild is sending extra security tonight."

Rosetta sighed. "I'm used to having guards in place at all times; it comes with being married to Phobia. I hoped we could get away from that a little while with this trip, but oh well. We can deal with it."

I gave her a sympathetic look, although I was still irritated that she was about to drop some news I was probably not going to like on me. "I understand. I had avoided it to some extent until now, even with ties to two Dreamwardens and having all the Shimmerists wanting to crucify me, but I may not have that luxury now that I have Yinyu's foals. God willing, I will keep them safe."

She nodded. "That is what matters. Let me get these hooligans something to eat. Can we use your kitchen, or do you already have dinner plans?"

"Check with Lántiān and my mom," I answered. "I know they were working together in the kitchen earlier, but may be in the family room. I'll let the three of you decide. Mind that we have humans here with us, so make sure whatever you decide on is going to work with them too." I paused. "And let Lántiān and my mom do the cooking. I don't want you to burn down the house."

Rosetta looked like she was going to protest, but Robby cut her off. "Miss Rosetta, she's right. You are a great guardian, but you shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a stove."

"Bad things happen when you cook, Mama," Charlotte said gently.

The night pony mare flipped her purple mane back. "Fine, I'll only help in the decision-making process, but what would you do if I was the only one available to make dinner?"

"Pretend we aren't hungry," Tabby replied.

"Figure out how to cook," Charlotte replied after that.

"Go hunting bugs in the yard," Alfie replied after his sisters.

"Find the cookies and steal them," Tabby suggested.

"Call Mom, or Grandad, or Robby, or Miss Amanda, or Tempest, or Crystal, or Titi," Charlotte said helpfully, with Rosetta's face souring more and more with each name.

"Or the fire department," Tabby added on.

"Or run for our lives! Ahhhh!" Alfie shouted.

My grandfoals took off running. They got half a foot past the bottom of the stairs when Rosetta jumped down and grabbed the three with her wings and flipped them on their backs.

"Traitors! This demands retribution!" Rosetta shouted. The night pony then bent down and started blowing raspberries on each of her and Phobia's offspring's exposed bellies.

"Ack! Mama's got us!" Alfie cried out, half-giggling.

"She's going to eat us up!" Tabby giggled unabashedly. Her sister couldn't even respond through her laughter.

Méng made a move to try to join in on this fracas, but Robby blocked him from jumping off his back with a wing. The youngest night pony gave a shrill cry of displeasure, then bit down on the teenage colt's mane and gave it a good yank.

Robby winced, but didn't yell out. Instead, he looked over at me. "Do you want this one back? Maybe he needs a bath too."

My memories of dealing with Méng in the tub were still very fresh. I wasn't eager to deal with that headache at the moment.

"Not this second," I answered. "How about you go introduce him to Alice. That's the teenaged human girl your sister has been spending time with. I'm trying to see if she can start foalsitting overnight, and that requires her to get to know Méng first. Your dad can help you; he watched Méng last night."

Rosetta sat up after finishing her roughhousing and looked at Méng. "It's good to see so many night pony colts coming down the pipeline. It might take a few generations, but it shows our gender imbalance won't last forever, and our tribe can start to flourish. Maybe then we won't need Yinyu's blessing anymore. As it stands, the only thing keeping crystal ponies from quickly leaving night ponies in the dust for tribal size is the fact crystal ponies are more open to relationships with other tribes, which means less surefire crystal pony foals."

"It isn't a competition to have the most ponies of your tribe," I scolded.

"No, it's not," Rosetta agreed. "But being the minority tends to never end well for whoever that minority is. We have our unique problems and less of a voice in getting them addressed. I wouldn't expect someone who had been a non-Hispanic white woman who deeply closeted her homosexuality as a human to understand."

That was enough to make me sneer. "That kind of talk might win you points with others like you, but that tone won't make much for inroads with those you condemn for having power. I'll have you know; I do get it. Ponies as a whole are a minority, and I worked hard to maintain our rights. I also am no longer closeted and can get defensive when I hear anything remotely bigoted about my sexuality."

"So, in other words, you started caring only when it started impacting you," Rosetta shot back.

I am not going to rage at her in front of the foals. I am not going to rage at her in front of the foals. I repeated to myself in my head. Seriously, was she trying to piss me off? It was Rosetta, so that was probably a stupid question. It didn't help that there was a part of me that was nodding right along with her. It was part of me that I was trying not to let rule. There was no denying that part of me was, but I couldn't let that part win. The foals didn't need me to be depressed and self-hating. I couldn't be there for them if I was wallowing in self-pity.

Calming breaths. "We can continue this conversation in an adult-like manner later when the foals aren't around. Let's put a pin in it for now. I need to get these colts clean, and myself too."

"Agreed," Rosetta replied.

We marched past each other. My grandfoals, recognizing the tension, kept their heads down, and walked away as if trying not to be noticed. Perhaps because they didn't know who to be protective of when two family members didn't seem to like each other. Yinyu's colts and my brother also recognized the tension between Rosetta and me, but they had no feelings of familial loyalty to Rosetta, and they instead decided to give her dirty looks as we passed.

The bathroom I chose was the one connected to the foals' room. I could see that Rosetta had all her luggage in the corner of the bedroom and had only unpacked some. Honestly, there was nothing at the moment to identify it as belonging to Yinyu's colts. It could have been a random hotel room from what was shown. That would need to be addressed. As soon as possible, I was going to start getting them things to give the room personality. This may be their new home already, but it needed to feel like one.

"Okay, time for you three to get clean. I'm going to be showering you down first. Otherwise, you'll just be soaking in your filth," I said as I levitated them into the tub, one at a time.

"What about you?" Shǔguāng asked as I placed him in the tub.

"There's room for you three together, but it would get a little cramped with me in there," I replied. "I'll wash after you three are done."

I turned the shower on, and Líng squealed with joy. If that colt didn't get some water-related cutie mark, I'd eat my mane. In the meantime, I got to rubbing him with my magic.

The colts were mostly clean, and it was about time for the bath when my phone started ringing again. I looked down at it and sighed. This better not be Jordan again.

"Sunset Blessing speaking," I said as I answered.

"Hi, it's Number," the voice on the phone announced. "Just touching base with you quickly. I'll be there in about an hour with the security. They'll need to set up a temporary base in the house after arriving, probably the basement for now. Tonight they'll start moving some monitoring equipment in, but they'll be doing the majority of the setup tomorrow. You and everybody else should take a day out of the house tomorrow so they can work without anyone getting in anyone's way. I can get a small bus and driver for you. I know you've got a lot of people there."

"I can find some things to keep us occupied. Maybe go to the museums. Do some shopping. Catch a game over at Coors Field," I listed off.

"Baseball? Never figured you to be a sports fan," Number chuckled.

I shrugged. "I'm not, but it is something to do, and I want to expose the colts to different things. Do ponies even play baseball?"

"I don't know. I don't keep up with sports. It seems like it would require a lot of accommodations to work. At least for playing side-by-side with humans," Number replied. She went silent for a few seconds before continuing. "You'll probably hear about this tonight, but figured I would pass it on now. The Dreamwardens are planning on giving you and the foals bodyguards as well."

"Okay…" I replied slowly. "And why do you sound concerned?"

Number sighed. "These bodyguards aren't like normal security for hire. These are people fanatically devoted to the Dreamwardens. They are not on SPEC's or Wild's or my payroll. They don't come in and do a shift and then leave. These people will be living with you full time, and you can't fire them. You need to make sure you get along with them; otherwise, it is going to be hell."

"So, we are getting our own Tempest Shadow and Crystal Dreams," I mused. "I'm sure the Dreamwardens won't choose anyone who they know will have personality clashes with me. I guess this also means I'm going to have to make both wings of this place fully inhabitable. When are these extra bodyguards supposed to arrive?"

"No idea," Number confessed. "I figure it requires them to do extensive interviews and reviews. Signing someone up for a twenty-four-seven job that becomes their whole life is no easy task."

I nodded along as I plugged up the tub and started running the bath for the colts. "You still sound more concerned than I would think. Is there anything else wrong?"

"I just don't know how to feel about these people, Sunset," Number said in frustration. "The Dreamwardens are known for employing plenty of bodyguards for people of note. They typically keep those ones low-key, and their jobs are only temporary. They are basically volunteers that agree to help keep an eye on someone for a few months, and they are under no obligation to stay bodyguards or put themselves in harm's way. They are just regular people acting almost like a neighborhood watch. They keep an eye out for trouble and inform the Dreamwardens of trouble. Generally good people."

I flattened an ear and began scrubbing Shǔguāng. "And these ones they are sending differ how?"

Number's voice dropped. "These ones they are sending you are very overt about being bodyguards and serve for life. These are fanatics, the Dreamwardens' elite guard, answerable only to the Dreamwardens and willing to sacrifice themselves at a moment's notice because a Dreamwarden told them to. They are hardened fighters and killers if need be. I'm a little wary of fanatics like these. They typically only guard Dreamwardens and their households. You might think that one guard Phobia has, Crystal Dreams, is a jolly crystal pony, but if Phobia told her to kill someone or walk out into a busy street and let herself get hit by a car, she would, without question. These elite fanatics give me shivers."

I frowned. The thing that may have given Number shivers was that she started much the same way when she was a pony, a devoted fanatic, at least until I stabbed her in the back by trying to get her to murder someone.

"I understand, and I'll be careful about them… How many are we talking about—one, two, three?" I asked.

"No clue," Number replied. "Figure at least two; they always try to keep someone awake at all times to guard."

"I'll ask Tonya about it tonight. Thanks for letting me know," I said as I moved onto scrubbing Sinker.

"Are you ever going to call her by her chosen name?" Number asked. "You're normally very respectful about how people want to be addressed. It seems odd that your deceased wife is an exception."

My face hardened. "I have her permission, except for when I don't."

"Except for when you don't?" Number asked in confusion.

"When she's pissed at me," I muttered. I looked at the colts and narrowed my eyes. "Don't say that word."

"What word?” Sinker asked innocently, batting his eyes. The little twerp!

I groaned internally. He'd certainly be using that word before the day was out. There was no stopping it, and banning words often had the exact opposite effect. Making something forbidden only made it that much more enticing. Yeah, my parents would be asking me where he picked that word up by the end of the day for sure. If they asked me, my choice of answers was clear. He heard it from Rosetta. I guess we could strike honesty off the list of options for being my primary friendship language.

"If you are going to be here in about an hour, let me go so I can get clean. I'm coated in dried mud," I told Number as I began lifting the colts out of the tub with my magic.

"How did you… never mind. I'll ask you later," Number replied, bemused. "See you in a bit, Sunset."

She hung up, and I finished removing the colts from the tub and started drying them each off with a towel as the tub drained. There would be no time for me to have a bath, but a quick shower was possible.

"I need you to stay where I can see you from the bathtub," I instructed the colts.

"We have to stay in the bathroom?" Sinker asked with a pout.

I shook my head. "You can go in the bedroom; just make sure you can see me from wherever you are at."

"Can we jump on the bed?" Shǔguāng asked in a hopeful tone.

I looked over at the bed. It was built steadily enough. They didn't weigh much at all, so I doubted they would wear out the springs. There really wasn't much else for them to do, and the bed was in my range of vision. It went against my better judgment, but I couldn't leave them sitting there bored. Bored foals got up to mischief.

My ears perked as I heard barking start somewhere up above us. It seemed like it had returned to its original room. I wasn't the only one that heard it; the colts were all looking upward. Was it louder than before? Perhaps they were trying to be more threatening now that they knew we were aware of what they were doing. Security couldn't get here soon enough.

I made a decision. "Ignore the barking. You may jump on the bed, but please be careful, okay?"

The words were barely out of my mouth before the three went galloping towards the bed and up the tiny set of stairs used to mount it. Within seconds they were hopping on the bed, giggling like they were crazed.

I rolled my eyes and carefully climbed into the now empty tub. The barking was short-lived and was over with by the time I turned the shower on. It was relaxing, letting the stream wash away all the dirt and gunk. I, unfortunately, left my shampoo and conditioner in my bathroom, but I didn't need to be that thorough. I carefully worked out any knots in my mane using my magic and made sure any stubborn dirt came out.

"Ahhh-aww-ahh!"

My bliss was cut short at the sound of a foal crying. I blinked out of the shower and went running into the other room. Líng was on the ground, rolling around and screaming while the other two were still up on the bed with their ears flattened as they peered off the side of the bed at the sobbing foal.

"What happened?" I asked as I hurried over to Líng. I don't know why I asked. It was clear what had happened. This is what came of going against my better judgment.

"We were bouncing, and Líng got too close to the edge and fell off," Shǔguāng said in a guilty tone. I'm guessing he felt responsible since he had suggested jumping on the bed. He wasn't accountable; I was. I was the one who let them do it.

I held the earth pony colt still as I examined him. It looked like he had scraped his leg on something, maybe the bed frame, when he had fallen off. It was bleeding, but didn't seem to be twisted in any way that it shouldn't, and didn't have any swelling that might indicate a sprain.

He kept crying as I pulled him into a hug. "There there. I know it hurts, but it isn't that bad. We will put some disinfectant on that and bandage it up, and it will be okay in no time. Didn't I tell you to be careful?"

He cried something in Mandarin that was so muddled I couldn't make it out.

"Don't worry, you aren't in trouble," I assured him as I rocked him gently. "It's at least partially my fault for taking my eyes off you."

"Is Líng going to be okay?" Shǔguāng asked as his brother's sobs started to peter out.

I nodded. "He'll be fine once we treat his scrape. It hurts worse than it is."

"So… can we go back to jumping on the bed?" Shǔguāng asked in a cautious tone.

I looked up at him and didn't even try to keep my ears from going flat.

He flinched back. "I guess that's a no."

"That's a no," I confirmed flatly.

Líng, I noticed, had stopped his crying and snuggled closer to me. "You're all wet."

If there was ever a sign he would be okay, that was it.

Comments

[harts fire]

interesting the Dreamwardens are sending in the big guns.
i kind of feel bad for who ever is behind this. (not)