The Facts of the Matter
“Thanks for coming girls. I know this was very short notice but I... well, it was important.” Twilight Sparkle stood by the door to the library as her friends entered. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy filed past in various states of confusion. Pinkie Pie was already there, setting out baked goods and hot cocoa.
“It was very unusual, but a lady is always prepared for eventualities,” Rarity said with a casual flip of her mane. She looked around for a moment and then said, “Twilight, where has our little Spike gone? It's a bit late for him to be out. Oh my, has he located a mare to take him around?”
Twilight laughed softly, a little of her tension dissolving. “No. I gave him a little free time. I sent him up to Canterlot with some petty cash and a list of nice places to go. Mostly he'll be settled in a high fourth terrace bed and breakfast feeling very mature because he's not just hanging around the palace. He'll probably wander around and stare at mares then head up to eat at Joe et Gustave's.”
“Oh how pleasant. It'll be good for him to relax for a few days,” Fluttershy said, standing demurely beside Rarity.
“Yea, never mind that, why did you call us here?” Rainbow Dash was already sitting at the main table with a cup of cocoa and a cupcake.
Applejack gave Dash a quick whip with her tail and a scowl. “Rainbow Dash, have some manners! You are a guest in this house...”
“It's a library, not a house, AJ,” Dash said, with a cheeky grin.
“It is also Twilight's house, and part time house for Pinkie, not that ah'm sayin' anything about that,” AJ said, with a light blush. “But keep a civil tongue in yer head and thank Twilight fer invitin' us before ya go blabbing about demandin' answers.”
“Sorry, AJ,” Dash said, looking contrite. “Thanks for having us over, Twilight. Now why did you invite us over here?”
Applejack gave and exasperated sigh and hugged Dash tightly. “Dang it's a good thing yer cute, sugarcube.”
“Everypony have a seat around here and get some snacks and cocoa,” Pinkie said, taking up her own glass and treat, a cupcake in Twilight's colors. “Twilight told me about this and it's really a doozy.”
The mares all gathered around the table and sat down, taking a steaming cup and a sweet treat. Twilight looked around at all of them and licked her dry lips. She hadn't been so nervous since she had abdicated her alicornhood. “I just heard news from Princess Celestia. There is something... new. Something scientific.”
“Leave it to the egghead,” Dash muttered into her cocoa. A tail flick from AJ made her look over with a grin, “Chillax, I mean it as a compliment.”
“It is... being kept very quiet. There are some very good reasons for that. First of all, the research has been halted before anything big came out of it, mostly for standard reviews of everything that has happened so far. Secondly, the implications of it would be quite... far-reaching. And it opens up a lot of new possibilities. More than for anypony else... for us.”
“Well don't jes keep us waitin', tell us what the big fuss is,” Applejack said, sipping on her cocoa and eating an apple fritter.
“Yes, yes. This mystery is most unbecoming,” Rarity concurred.
Twilight tapped nervously at the table, looking over the other five. “They have begun an effective program to take unfertilized ova from two mares and, using a thaumatomedical procedure similar to the natural process in parthenogenic creatures, combine them.”
A sea of blank stares met her. “That sounds... nice,” Fluttershy said, with an encouraging smile that nonetheless spoke of not understanding.
“Yea, sugarcube, that sounds like a ring-tailed tooter of a thing. Good for them there science folks in Canterlot,” Applejack added, toasting Twilight awkwardly.
“'Parthenogenesis' literally means virgin birth. In a scientific sense it refers to giving birth without... sexual intercourse...” Twilight blushed a bit, as did Fluttershy. Rarity hid a smile behind a hoof, while Applejack, Dash and Pinkie Pie just grinned. “It is a kind of asexual reproduction, but... far more complex. I barely studied it myself, it's pure biology without much in the way of magical interference. It's found in some simple creatures, some insects, a few sharks, and a small number of lizards, including a rather well-studied desert lizard that has what can be called Filly Foolers, in a sense. So... scientists are working on... combining eggs. With science and magic. And making... children.”
A silence descended on four of the mares. Pinkie was lightly humming to herself as she enjoyed her cupcake. She had already heard the news, after all. Surprisingly, Dash was the first one to speak. “Children? You mean... they can make foals... from two mares?”
“The research suggest it is possible,” Twilight said. “The processes in natural parthenogenesis are complex; using magic to replicate them involves a lot of experimentation, and needs to be carefully managed to prevent any defects or other similar. But... they are on track.”
Applejack, after coming out of her shock, asked, “So... if they ain't got it done... why are ya tellin' us about it? Jes get the word yerself an' y'all wanted ta share?”
“Because... I was looking into the scientific journals, just as light reading, and I started thinking about the future... about me and Pinkie. Pinkie only has sisters, and my brother is no longer technically a citizen of Equestria. The laws of the Imperium are similar but there is no agreement about cross-border matters, especially with a member of royalty. Donation is always an option, it was always going to be the option. And then I talked about the research papers with Princess Celestia... she said there was something else. She and Luna have a power that can take eggs and magical essence and... with their powers over orderliness make two foals, one of each race of the mothers.”
The silence returned, broken by Fluttershy who asked, “Have they done it a lot?”
“Not a lot. But they have. Usually as some kind of secret reward for some great service. We have earned it. Or we could wait for this new technology. The question is complicated. Don't you see how this could change the world?” Twilight asked, looking seriously at the five. “No need for donation unless it is desired. The laws would be rendered obsolete. But on the other side, males would become less common, except for species with more even percentages.”
“I can only imagine. Fewer males, a less diverse client list, fewer partners for pure Populators... perhaps even more negativity towards Colt Cuddlers! Scandalous!” Rarity gasped, summoning her fainting couch. As a more dramatic touch she grabbed Fluttershy, falling onto the couch with her.
“There is something that could be done. There is a way to select spermatozoa to get a Y-chromosome-containing one. The male population could be increased to offset the female population climb. Or biological magic could be advanced to temporarily change mares into stallions. Another thing the princesses can do, to allow dams to be sires for each other. The options aren't important. What matters is that we, unlike the rest of the nation, have these options. And the princesses want to know if that's okay,” Twilight said, slowly taking a seat.
“What's wrong with it?” Dash asked, casually shrugging her shoulders. “It's not like we're going to ruin the world or anything. We're responsible and stuff.” She ate her treats, ignoring the fall of crumbs all over.
“Things will change, they always have. But there are two things to think about. First, if this kind of progress is good or should be quietly set aside and ignored. And secondly, maybe more importantly, if we should accept these options. We're not exactly hidden. It might be very apparent what has happened. Sure, we're just engaged, not married yet, but we will be. And after marriage comes birth. Would doing this be... wrong? It's not traditional, and might get too many questions or even make others think we're better than them. Would it be arrogant?” Twilight nibbled on her cupcake and stared deeply into her cup of cocoa.
Soft chatter passed between the others, mostly of a confused tone. “Uh, Twi? If'n it is 'r ain't... don't got nothing ta do with us needin' ta gather. Jes one-a them there 'academic' questions ah hear mah brother's fiancee talk about, usually with Zecora. Ah swear them two get on like apples an' carrots. They're gonna bring a powerful lotta learnin' ta the family,” Applejack mused. She noted a glare drilling into the side of her head and gave a sheepish chuckle, “Not that ya ain't bringin' that too, sugarcube, but ya bring more... uh, radicalness! Ah think that's what ya say.”
Dash leaned in and kissed Applejack on the cheek. “And awesomeness and coolness. And my big ol' brain too. Yea, I feel sorry for Smarty Pants and Zecora. I bring the whole package.”
“Yea, ya bring a whole lotta stuff, Dash,” Applejack said with a playful eyeroll.
“We're very important, and what we do matters more than most ponies. There's a lot riding on this. Does the impression outweigh it. Does it even matter at all? The old ways have worked fine. There's no shame in it. Princess Celestia actually asked me to ask you all this. To think about it. And vote on it. We'll go off and think, mark down a decision and then see,” Twilight levitated out six identical pieces of paper, distributing them evenly. She then passed out six stamp pads and twelve stamps. “Identical paper, ink colors and stamps. One says 'aye,' one says 'nay.' It has to be unanimous, and anonymous. If we do this... we're breaking a lot of traditions, and might spark curiosity for something... I don't even know what to think of it all. But for right now, this is just for and about us.”
Once the materials were distributed all six mares moved on to different parts of the library, soundproofing fields going up to leave them alone with their thoughts.
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what the fuck
This is interesting. but at a few parts i had a hard time understanding Applejack normally i can understand her accent.
i couldn't understand what she meant here.
Damn, this is almost exactly what I was planning to do in my Poneverse. Like, seriously close. I guess I am copying you after all.
2442495
"If it is or isn't it has nothing to do with us gathering. It's just one of those 'academic' questions."
2442782
Heh. Sorry. It's the only magic baby making in this universe and they are considering if they even should.
2442957
Ah i see now thanks.
Huh. Interesting idea but I didn't love the execution.
Two small typos I spotted: where are little Spike gone? it should be where "has" and twilight blushed a bit In this case Twilight's name should be uppercase.
Huuu, this seems exciting! Though I think there's something screwy with the Follow User doodad - I was just about to comment "OMG Hero's Journey spoilers!" when I realized that HJ had actually updated and finished! (Review on that in a mo - just got caught up.) This idea of magic!bebbies seems intriiiguing, though it certainly makes sense that Luna and Celestia have been able to work it before, considering how they can magically create crossbreeds and allow would-be sterile crossbreeds to breed normally. The thing with making one of each breed as the mother cells strikes off warning signals to me about parthenogenetic clones - a large number of species that reproduce via parthenogenesis create straight clones of the parent, which isn't really what having a foal is supposed to be about, ahaha... Still, I'm sure that via magic, they can still scramble up the sequencing from the two eggs being used in order to make two "proper" children that are mixes of both parents.
I guess I don't see the conflict because I've already chosen a side on this sort of issue. You can't nor should stop scientific progress. To do so is to purposely cripple society and let ignorance win. Same reason I found the restrictions on stem cell research so egregious.
I can see Twilight's point about perceived favoritism though, but that would go away if a medical means of doing what the princesses can do, came about.
2443991
When I say "One of each breed" means they would essentially take four eggs and combine them, one from Mother A one from Mother B each, implant them and then let it go from there. Say you take Pinkie and Twi. Pinkie would birth a unicorn (by design) and Twi would birth an earth pony (By design) but each one would be genuine daughters (that is, each would be half Pinkie and half Twi)
2444526
Social good is important to these Equestrias, something I have tried to emphasize. I mean, they have ads and shows about inter-species harmonty and supporting dating between the species, as well as giving respect to maligned groups like male homosexuals and ethnic minorities. Twi worries about the state of males in the future (And Rarity understands what that means.) It is not a trivial problem. They really have fears about this. Society, in this world, has always developed first before science could throw it asunder. They need more males and more restraint before they let this loose.
where are little Spike. where's our.
Yea, never mind. Yeah. We've talked about that one, different words.
demandin' answer. answers
intercourse.." twilight. Twilight
You either must have been on the front page for a bit with all those negative votes, or people don't understand how ratings work.
I don't see why they shouldn't take the offer, as they all have possible advocates (even if Twilight is worrying about international law a bit too much with hers) and it was going to happen one way or another anyway. Now the worry about gender diversity I can understand, but they themselves can help with that by choosing one of the other options she outlined. Yes they still need to continue working on that in the science side, but it can also be mitigated by the princesses subtly stacking the odds in favor of male births from advocated parents.
2446505 Yer, the half-and-half of each was what I was hoping for. I figured magic would be able to suss out the DNA combining - I was just speculating on what would happen if it worked like most straight-up parthenogenesis and Twilight basically birthed a clone of herself. It would certainly help increase the alicorn population!
Twilight: I've renounced my position as Princess and given up my wings, but here, have a clone in my stead! It'll only take her like twenty years and another new ultimate form of magic to get there!
Clone!Bebbie:
Then again, we've already seen what happens when you make clones of Pinkie Pie...
2444526
Scientific progress isn't always good. The V-2 rocket was a scientific breakthrough. Was it a good thing? Only one aspect of it: it allowed humans the ability to travel into space. However, the rest of it was nothing but bad news for humanity. It was first and foremost a weapon, and the V-2 rocket is the whole reason we have ICBMs. The stuff North Korea now has pointed in firing position? The Taepodong 2s? The U.S. Minutemen? Those are successors of the V-2 rocket.
At the same time, there is a major, major ethics problem with everything they're discussing. Even though Gabriel's society is pretty well ordered, there are bad elements present in it, and pride is the fall of everyone. They're literally playing with the creation of life here. If life can be created through the whim of whoever is giving birth in any fashion they choose, then what value does life itself actually have? How much is that person's life worth? Those are the questions that will be asked at some point down the road, no matter what sort of decrees the Princesses might give.
And then you also get this potential: what about that scientist who lets the idea creep in that he or she can create a master race? Making people into some sort of mockery of perfection?
No. Scientific progress is not always a good thing. In fact, it can be more evil than anything ever seen, even with progress that has good intentions. Especially with progress that has good intentions.
2446946
It's not so much like the combination of different species. There's no real law regarding direct egg combination via royal power. It's so rarely done. Twilight's concern was about the standard sperm donation thing. In regular situation the sperm, even if from a known individual, is legally regarded as that of the non-dam mare, the child is socially and legally that of the two mares and the male understands he's pretty much done after donating. But Shining Armor is an Emperor and if he wanted to press a case there might be a minor international incident. Not that Twi thinks he would do that but she is good at worrying over potentials.
The gender percentage thing is what her concern is mostly about.
Sheesh, I wouldn't advise any steps that'd throw an entire gender under the bus, but I'm sure they could think of something to keep the other gender going just as strong.