Grounded

by KorenCZ11

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be

Despite Fin being a good driver, despite being in a pickup truck—the safest vehicle passengers could be in—despite not even driving for five minutes, it still made me nervous. Cages with wheels and exploding boxes making them go. I know it’s supposed to be safe, I know everything should and did go fine, but none of that comforted me. Anything that took my wings away, for even a moment, makes me nervous. If Twilight doesn’t have something for me, I’ll be without my wings a lot.

I thanked Fin for the ride, waved goodbye, then faced the castle. I was supposed to see her three hours ago. In the event she was fooly-cooly-ing around with Diamond Dust, dude’s got stamina, that’s for sure.

Though I was around to see the castle sprout from the ground, what it had become was always cool to see. From the highest point waved the Equestrian flag. Garden plots surrounded the castle, all filled with flowers arranged in patterns that spelled either ‘Ponyville Castle’ or ‘Welcome to Ponyville.’ On holidays, they’d swap them out for ‘Happy X’ depending on the season. Banners from across the globe adorned the walk to the castle doors, all happily displayed together though our relationships around the world were ‘less’ than happy in most places. All things considered, not everyone wanted the technological revolution, but they were getting it one way or another. Some places had already adapted and taken advantage of being our neighbors, while others… didn’t. They might like to fight us for shifting the balance of world power, but we had weapons beyond their wildest dreams now. ‘Outgunned’ was only the beginning.

Speaking of outgunned, it was still strange to walk up to the castle doors and see guards armed with machine guns around their necks instead of spears but still wearing the traditional armor. Compared to the weapons we have now, that shit might as well be paper when you point a gun at it. But tradition is as tradition does, and these guys, while they could defend the castle if need be, were mostly for show. A warning to dissidents and foreigners looking to start trouble: we will never be defenseless again.

Course, these guys knew me, so they said, “Hello there Mrs. Dash. Here to see the Princess?” and let me in. To be honest, I didn’t know their names, but I saw them every time I came. Orange pegasus with a blue mane and tail, mahogany earth pony with a two-tone green mane and tail. Guards typically rotated around the country every half decade or so, but these guys had stayed here ever since Twilight took on a more active role in the political-governance sphere.

Finally inside, Her Purpleness was trying her best to get Diamond Dust to go away. “And I assure you, I’ll take a look at your proposal as soon as I have time, but I do have other appointments today, so—”

A dark blue coat, a pale blue mane most ponies thought was a toupee, an expensive suit, a bright red tie; the dude just reeked of money. “Of course Princess, I completely understand. Ponies love to talk to ponies they think they’ll get somethin’ out of. Time ain’t exactly friendly to the powerful some days. But don’t keep me waitin’, if you will. With the plan I’ve laid out, we can make this city even greater than Manehattan or Canterlot ever dreamed of bein’!” Southern drawl on this guy was thick. Like listening to syrup pouring on pancakes.

Twilight bowed her head to him. “I will, I promise.” Then she spotted me, a convenient excuse to shoo Diamond Dust away. “Oh! And would you look at that; my next appointment is already here. I do apologize, but I can’t exactly keep a pregnant mare waiting!”

I couldn’t even attempt to hide my disdain. Yeah. Sure, Twilight, sure. She swallowed, then lit her horn. “Flash, Timber? Would you please escort Mister Dust to his vehicle?”

The castle doors opened, and the two guys from outside came in. “Yes ma’am. This way, Mister Dust,” they offered.

“Sure, gentlemen. Keep me in mind, Princess. I look ever so forward to hearin’ from you again.” A wink, and off went Mister Dust with his entourage.

Doors closed, and Twilight relaxed. “Oh thank the Goddess.”

My hooves tapped. I'd waited too long for this. “Uh-huh. Can’t keep a pregnant mare waiting alright. I guess you didn’t get it in your mane after all.”

Twilight’s whole body seemed to sink and a forehoof flew to her forehead. A groan, “why, yes. Hello Rainbow Dash, how are you today?”

“Stressed, tired, unhappy, uncertain, upset. What about you, Princess?”

“I suppose that makes two of us.” She let herself slide the rest of the way to the floor and laid her head on the cool castle crystal. “Let’s go to my chambers. My schedule for the day was absolutely destroyed, so I think I’m about done with today.”

Yikes. That’s not a good sign. I didn’t get so much as a word out before Twilight’s horn flashed and my world was enveloped in violet light.

---

“So… long meeting?”

We’d settled into some chairs with her favorite tea. Now that I was less upset with her, I could see she’d had a long day. Bags under her eyes, disheveled mane but not in the fun way, couple feathers out of place, crown not exactly straight. I knew Twilight better than all my other friends, and this was bad day Twilight.

“I just… I can’t with that stallion. While, no, I’ve never done anything with him, that doesn’t stop him from making advances on me whenever he’s in my presence! He brought me flowers, he gave me jewelry, and he wants to buy half the space I’ve allotted for new districts! I can’t tell if he actually wants a piece of me or if he’s just trying to get in bed with me so I’ll give him a good deal!”

She rubbed her forehead in circles. “If things hadn’t become the way they are, Cadance marrying my brother would probably be something that very few ponies know. Because things have become the way they are—and it’s all my fault, by the way—every remotely rich stallion in Equestria thinks the Princesses are available! Yes, Celestia has the occasional suitor, but they're all from legitimate royalty because she’s practically a queen. Ponies expect that kind of behavior from kings and queens: that’s how the old world was before Equestria was founded.

“But me? My station is clearly and obviously below Celestia and Luna, so I’m an easier target! Between Diamond Dust and Gold Mane and Terra Trot, I have an entire wardrobe filled with dresses I’ve never worn, jewelry boxes which have never seen the light of day, enough flowers to put in every room in the castle, all the candy my pantries can hide… well, mostly from me. Those get eaten. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the proposals that get filed away into the shredder every few days too.

“Heh.” Is this what it feels like to be Applejack when I complain to her? I totally get it now. “Must be nice, huh?”

Twilight pointed an angry hoof and glared at me. “Oh, don’t you even start! Some of these guys expect to hook up and start dynasties! They have no idea! And what’s worse, even if I actually find myself in love at some point, that still wouldn’t be an option. How do I tell ponies something like that won’t ever be possible?”

“You know, ponies usually communicate with their voices, Twi.”

She fell back into her chair and hid her eyes with forehooves. “Have I not already apologized? What more do you want from me, Dash?”

I sipped at my not sweet enough tea. “I mean, a way for my new baby to live in the house I already have would be nice. But, I suppose I can forgive you regardless. You know how Applejack is, so I felt the need to pass the shit talk along.”

“See, when I complain to her, I get crap about it, but at least she’s interested to hear about the proposals.” she put an elbow on the arm of her char and rested her head on her hoof. “You know, I have to actually read those. Some of them are good. These guys didn’t make their money by being idiots; they know what they’re doing, and my city planning is a field day for them.”

She sat up straight now, the gears in that egghead turning faster and faster. “Did you know that Ponyville is the shape it is because I was approached by Diamond Dust in the early stages? He advised me on how to set up the grid so I could later expand further with roads that go above parts of the city to expedite traffic to districts that would need higher access than others. Aside from trying to get under my bedsheets like usual, that’s what he was here to capitalize on today. I only skimmed it when he gave it to me, but what caught my eye already had my attention. I’m gonna have to call him back. I’m gonna have to deal with him again, and most likely in the near future if he has anything to say about it. As bad as traffic is getting with just a few thousand driver’s licenses out there, a new system has to be implemented sooner rather than later. I should probably take another week away to see how the humans deal with this, but I don’t know when I might have the chance.”

Twilight stared into her tea for a few seconds in silence. “Oh! But yes, I did call you here for a reason.”

I finished off the tea and set the cup down. “I mean, I figured, but you seemed like you needed to vent so I kinda let it go.” It’s not like home is a place I really want to be right now anyways…

“Aww, Dash!”

I couldn’t tell if it was the genuinely happy tone or the smile it put on her face that made me blush, but I wasn’t happy about it. “Oh, just tell me why I’m here already! I don’t need any of that.”

Twilight waved that one away. “Bah, you care and you know it. I do too, for that matter, which is why I’ve spent my free time over the last month developing…” she held out her hoof and horn flashed, “This!”

Sitting on top of her hoof was some kind of headband with a weird jewel sewn in it. It looked like it was made with polyester or something, a lot like the sportswear we used to have for performances back when Soarin and I were Wonderbolts. The gem was a softly glowing violet, and the band itself was twi-purple with her cutiemark patterned across it.

She passed it to me. After taking it in my hooves, I stretched it out just to see if I was right. I was, as it seemed to act like elastic. “And this is…?”

Smug face on, “Take a guess.” Her horn glowed and she called to the air, “Timber, can you come to my chambers?”

If we were honest here, I really didn’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this. It looked kinda like a watch, but it clearly wasn’t that. “Twi, I have no idea what this is.”

She rested her back on her fancy chair, very satisfied with herself. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Once Timber gets here, you’ll understand.”

We waited and watched her bedroom door for a few minutes. My ears twitched when I heard a sound form behind me. The bathroom door opened and what came out was the best surprise all day. “I’m here, Pr— Ah. You… still have a guest.”

I had to contain it. Do everything I could not to just bust out right then and there. I leaned back in my chair and put a hoof over my mouth to smother it. “Oh, I understand something alright.”

Twilight laughed nervously, cheeks red as the dusk sky. “Oh, Timber, coming up the emergency exit! You didn’t think I was in trouble or anything, right?”

The armorless and weaponless earth pony guard straightened up and saluted. “I was concerned, so I ran up here as fast as I could.”

Oh, oh this is gold. “Sure you did. Twilight, quit being an idiot and show me what this thing does.”

Adorably frustrated to the point she couldn’t even begin to hide it, Twilight took the band in her magic and passed it to Timber. “P-put this on, please.”

As stiffly as possible, the guard did as he was told. Once it was on him, the gem in the band changed colors to match his mane, the cutiemarks changed to match the tree on Timber’s admittedly nice flanks, and the hue of the band shifted to match his coat.

Next, Twilight spawned a cloud a few feet off the ground in the room with her magic. “Dash, could you go stand on that?”

I had an idea of what the band did now, but as Applejack said, her track record on these things wasn’t exactly great: for every one invention Twilight made that worked, there were a hundred in a garbage dump somewhere. I stood on the cloud and it was as generic as a cloud could be. Not artificial either; she must’ve pulled this one in from somewhere.

“Timber, please stand next to Dash.”

“Yes, Princess.”

If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it. The guard planted his hooves on the cloud, and hopped to get the rest of the way up here. Ho-lee shit. She did it. I looked at the band for a few seconds before I noticed the guard. This guy was… pretty. Really pretty. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was a magazine model. The few scars on his forelegs suggested otherwise, but he had the face and the body for it. “Wow. Well done Twi.”

She jumped up, excited in a way I hadn’t seen since she sprouted wings. “Right!? It took so many tests and failures, but I finally found a gem of high enough quality to hold an augmentation spell! However, I could never get it to sit right in anything; it just kept burning through materials after a few hours of use. It was only after I realized that polyester and nylon are used in sportswear because they handle heat and moisture so well—”

“I mean, I was talking about the guy, but the band is cool too.”

And Twilight deflated on cue. “Oh.”

The poor guard was trying his damnedest to keep a straight face, but even through his reddish-brown coat, you could see a brighter shade on his cheeks. Oh, yeah, this is absolutely gold. I motioned for him to give me the band. “Why don’t you hand that over and go back to your post? I’m sure she’ll call you later.”

He swallowed, looked to his Princess for confirmation, and after getting it, took off the band. The moment he wasn’t touching the thing anymore, he fell through the cloud like a sack of bricks

“Yikes!”

Twilight shooed a mostly-unphased Timber away and cleared her throat. “Ahem. Yes. If you remove the band, obviously, the augmentation goes with it. The band itself is of course cloud-proof, but anything you put inside it will also become cloud proof, organic or otherwise.

“All things considered, you should still think about moving somewhere solid, just to be on the safe side. But, with this, you can at least take your time. Based on your and Soarin’s measurements, I made it big enough to fit around a foal’s barrel of your statures, but once it adjusts to him, it should expand with him over time in a comfortable way. If it’s in a place he can’t get to easily, it’ll be harder to get off. It’s machine washable as well, so if he ever gets it dirty, just leave him somewhere safe and throw it in with whatever.”

I studied the band more, and out of curiosity, I put it on myself. Just like with Timber, the gem turned red, the band turned cyan, and the cutiemarks on it shifted to mine. I didn’t feel any different though. Probably because the cloudwalk spell was innate to my body as is. “Well… thanks, Twi. I… you have no idea how much shit this is going to save me from.”

The band flashed off my leg in purple magic, re-appearing on Twi's hoof.

“Hey!”

“You know what I want.”

I rolled my eyes. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Not a word.”

My Pinkie Promise said, Twilight teleported it back to my leg. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Mm-hmm. So…” I started, snickering along the way, “Is it just him? Or is Flash in on this too?”

Twilight’s wings popped out and she froze. “Th-that is none of your business!”

I snorted. “Damn, girl! And here I thought you were still a virgin!”

“Sh-shut up! I… I just wanted to know, alright? I… I needed to know if I was… if there really never could…” She shook her head. “You have what you came here for, right? Go home.”

Laughing the whole way, I hopped down from what was left of the little cloud and draped myself over my best friend. “I get it man, I do.” Then the laughing stopped. “I… I don’t blame you one bit. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t… well, it was kinda your fault, but you had no idea what the price was. They know, right? You’re not just using them, right?”

Twilight leaned her head against me. She seemed tired, even more so now than before. I’m sure she thought about it a lot, especially with all of us poppin’ kids out every few years. “Yes, they know. They were supposed to go to Canterlot three years ago, but they didn’t want to leave. They’re the only ones who stayed.”

She sniffed and rubbed at her snout. “When I asked them why, they said… w-well, you know what they said, and I… didn’t know how to respond to that. I mean, was it even okay for somepony like me to… to be felt about that way? If… if they chose any other mare, they could have families. They could have homemakers and kids and grandkids, and they could have whole lives that ponies dream of having, and yet… they chose me. Even knowing all the things we can’t be, still they chose me.”

Poor Twilight. If this had happened years ago, I don’t think I’d be able to empathize with her. They say maturity comes with age, but for me, I think it came with Prism. I can’t look at ponies hurting like this without seeing my little boy. It brought out the mom in me, and somehow, I felt I knew just how to make it better. I smoothed her mane down and tightened my grip on her. “Hey, you deserve somepony too, alright? I mean, the reverse harem thing is weird, and it’s not exactly fair to either of them if you keep this up, but there’s no reason you can’t have somepony.”

Twilight put a hoof on mine and leaned against me a little more. Hearts are just so complicated no matter who you are. “You’re a good friend, Dash.” A cold sigh left her muzzle. “I also know it’s not fair… but they don’t exactly seem to care about that.”

“How long has this been going on?”

She swallowed. “S-since New Year’s. Discord is just… he’s so unfair. He did it all wrong. He did some of the most evil things in the world, he’s stuck with the same curse we are, but the powers he got let him break the rules too! And now he’s… he’s not even a bad guy anymore, and I hate it. He’s become a completely different person since Fluttershy entered his life, and…” she let out a breath. “He made me an offer. I turned him down, but he… he said that he could break the rules for me too.”

I reared my head back. “Woah, woah, woah. What does that mean?” He made her an offer? He could break the rules for her? I know this is Discord and all, and I couldn’t imagine him with anypony other than Shy, but, was he offering to…?

Twi’s lips wavered. She formed a couple words, but dropped them before they could make it out. “It’s… not that the system was removed from my body since I cast the spell. It’s just halted and sterile. He worked tirelessly to figure out how to fix himself after Fluttershy asked him for foals, and he figured it out, obviously. He… he thinks he could fix me, if I ever…”

She scratched at her mane and scratched that line of thought away. “It’s too late for that now. I have to be a Princess, I have to perform my duties, I have to run this city. I wouldn’t have time for a family. At the very least, I have a pair of ponies who I can go to when I need them. But since Discord put the idea in my head, I wondered if it was really true. I’d never… up until January, I was still a virgin.”

I sucked in the dead air through my teeth. “Geez, Twi. What were you going to do if it turned out you could?”

She turned away from me, her gaze off to a world I couldn’t see beyond the balcony window in the depths of the setting sun. “Carry it to term. Give it to my brother, my parents, or somepony I trusted who also wanted it, and watch from afar.”

I felt the air leave me. “Dude…” She was totally prepared to lose it even if she managed to get one. I… couldn’t even begin to imagine having to give Prism or even the new one away.

Wrapping myself tight around her shoulders, I brought her a little closer, hugged Twilight a little harder. “You’re one hell of a mare, you know that?”

She eased into me and I felt her muscles relax. Maybe she didn’t think this was weighing her down as much as it was, but the relief that passed through her told the real story. “Thanks, Dash.”

We sat together like that for a while, but then Twilight’s ears perked up. “Did you just poke me?”

I shook my head. “How could I? In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve kinda got my forelegs on your neck.”

She tilted her head. “What the…?” She shook me off and turned around. Her horn lit up like a glowstick and the bedroom followed suit. Violet light passed through everything until it settled on me. She stared at me in confusion, her ears twitching every which way trying to figure out what happened until finally, she snorted. “Oh. He poked me.”

We both watched my belly for a minute. Sure enough, it bumped up from inside again. “Ha! Maybe he just wanted to cheer you up?”

Twi snorted again. “Like mother, like son, I suppose.” Then she furrowed her brows. “He?”

“Yeah… it’s… been a process. We haven’t even talked about names yet.”

Then, an idea came to me. “Actually… since you may never have your own, why don’t you name him for us? We didn’t even go with the name we initially picked out for Prism after we saw what he looked like, so it’s not like we’re super hard about naming our kids something super specific.”

Twilight scratched at her cheek. Her ears twitched again too, and that caught my eye. If you didn’t know her as well as I did, you wouldn’t know that meant she’s interested. “Oh, Dash, I can’t do that! You guys should name your own kids. It’s something only you get to do as the parents.”

I threw that away. “No, I mean it. Some things suck more than others, and sure, there are a ton of upsides to what happened to you, but there are just as many downsides. He might not really be yours, but you’ll get to see him all the time, and you’re one of my best friends. If anything, Soarin’s gonna be happy that he won’t have to stress over it like we did last time. I’m sure whatever you pick will be great.”

Twilight clicked the tips of her forehooves together. “…and you’ll keep it, even if you get an idea when you see him for the first time?”

“Cross my heart—”

“Haze.”

I blinked. Not prepared for such a fast response. “Haze?”

Twilight nodded. “Haze. Synonymous with fog, a sort of cloud that sits above the ground. It’s the perfect name for a Wonderbolt’s earth pony foal.”

That was quick. I rubbed my belly. What do you think, little guy? Do you wanna be Haze?

As if he understood, I felt two bumps from inside. A warm feeling washed over me and I couldn’t help but smile. That’s it then. From here on out, you’ll be my little… “Haze. Just right for somepony like you.”

As the moment faded, I couldn’t help but notice how pleased Twilight seemed with herself. Made me wonder. Is it just me? Or does she do this when any of us have foals? “Been sitting on that one for a while?”

She shied away. “Kind of. I think of names every time you guys tell me about new kids. However, nopony ever really wants or asks for my input on these things, which is understandable considering it’s their kids.”

“Yeah, I get it. Discord wasn’t happy about it when I taught Amity how to fly, so names would definitely be in his jurisdiction. Applejack seems to have a theme in mind for her kids, and all of Pinkie’s kids start their names with the letter C… for some reason.”

Twilight shrugged. “Even knowing her for over a decade, I couldn’t tell you what goes on in Pinkie’s head. Cheese is like her male counterpart, and had I not known better, I’d say they’re like Pinkie’s new twins.” She smiled and let out a breath of relief. “It does make me glad that everypony seems like they’re in a mostly good place now. So much could’ve gone so wrong…” she shook worst-case scenarios out of her mind. “Anyways, let me send you home so you don’t have to pay for the balloon fare. I doubt anypony’s flying right now anyways.”

I looked out the window, and at this point, the sun wasn’t even visible. Dusk had truly settled in now, and it wouldn’t be long before the moon was in full view. Most services won’t fly in the dark, especially with planes still being active for trips around the world. If Twi didn’t send me home, I wouldn’t be going home tonight. I stretched my shoulders back and forth. “I was told I’d have the trip paid for, but I guess it’s really not important. Thanks again for doing this Twi. I’ll see ya’ later.”

“Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything else. I’m always busy, but I’ve gotten pretty good at making time even when the Diamond Dusts of the world come to screw it all up.”

I saluted. “You got it!”

I was enveloped in a world of violet light, and with the crackle and pop of lightning, the light fell away and I was standing in front of my door. Stars and deep blue above, a field of white and electric lights coming out of fluffy white windows all around. Home. But… not for long. As much as I’d like to stay, to never leave this place, It just wasn’t meant to be.

Haze sits above the ground, afterall.

Comments

[0PinkamenaDianePie0]

haze, omg my heart. how cute.